The Riverwalk in Pueblo will offer tour rides to locals and tourists alike for the summer season starting May 4. Photo by Nico Fatta.

The Pueblo Riverwalk is opening for the summer season May 4. There will be one dollar boat rides and half off prices for the pedal boats.

The Riverwalk is one of Pueblo’s top-visited tourist spots because there is several activities to do there down including sight-seeing, narrated boat tours, paddle-boat rides and summer events. The Riverwalk helps draw in tourists and in turn, attracts those people to local businesses and shops on Union Ave.

“I’m looking forward to opening day and seeing how many people we are able to bring in this year,” said Sean MacIndoe, manager of Boat Operations. The Pueblo Riverwalk includes several staff members who attend CSU-Pueblo while also driving a university-themed boat throughout the Riverwalk.

The excursion boat tour lasts roughly 15 to 20 minutes while covering historical data about the downtown community and what the town experienced after the flood in Pueblo in 1921.

There will be a booze cruise available for people of legal drinking age that will start at 5 p.m. Mixed drinks and Budweiser products will be available made by the bartenders while your tour is being given.

For more information, go to www.puebloharp.com or their Facebook page by typing Pueblo Riverwalk in the search option.

David Arnold speaks about alcohol statistics at CSU-Pueblo at the forum April 12. Photo by Tyler Shomaker.

As the meeting started in the OUC Underground, Majorie Villani, the associate dean of Students, started off with a welcoming introduction to the event as police officers, nurses, members of the district attorney’s office and many others took their seats.

With nearly 60 people seated in the crowd, David Arnold, the Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention coordinator, walked up to the stage. Since his addition to the campus in January, Arnold was eager to get out his research on trends in alcohol and other drug use, he said.

“Students don’t have to look any further than to MTV to see a bad role model when it comes to drinking” Arnold said. As Arnold pointed to a picture of Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi from MTV’s “Jersey Shore,” which revealed her drinking a margarita out of a glass with two bottles of Corona wedged in it.

Arnold went on to explain how the media has helped underage drinking become the latest trend because most media is directed towards the youth. Data he collected in a survey displayed that three in four students report to have drank alcohol before they graduated from high school.

“Though most students are coming in with an experience with alcohol before college, it is college that helps transforms the trend into binge drinking,” Arnold said.

His data also revealed that one in two students used an illicit drug before entering college.

“One in four students at CSU-Pueblo have reported current use of marijuana,” Arnold said.

Next, Andy Cohen and Shadia Lemus, from Webb PR, an organization that helps with public relations, were put in charge of the communications of this project, came up to the stage.

With some strategic planning, they have come up with the “Social Norming Initiative.”

Their specific area would be to focus on impaired driving behaviors.

“The campaign will run with the title ‘Even Zombies Know,’” Lemus said.  

Cohen explained how most of the funding was going to be coming from the Persistent Drunk Driving Committee and they are going to launch a promotion for the project through Facebook, as well as other social networks. The launch is scheduled to take place this summer, so that it has time to become popular by the fall semester, he said.

The meetings will take place every other month.

For more information, contact Arnold at 719-549-2121, or by e-mail at david.arnold@colostate-pueblo.edu.

Kiko Denzer, visiting artist, and Maya Avina, professor of art, pose together on the last day of the workdshop. Photo by Melissa Miller.

Kiko Denzer, creator of “Earth Art, Mud Mural,” presented 15 student participants with a one-credit workshop on mural making through CSU-Pueblo’s Department of Art.

Denzer has been working with this technique for 20 years. He started out making clay-stone sculptures and used brick-floored, domed fire ovens for baking. Denzer and Maya Avina, art department faculty, know each other through their mutual interest in natural building techniques.  

Benefits of this medium are that it is non-toxic, cheap and readily available, the bugs won’t eat it and it can be reused by rewetting it, Denzer said. He noted that unlike lime plaster and concrete this medium requires no kiln burning. Cement has to get up to 2,000 degrees and in that respect its processing is a major greenhouse gas contributor, he said, while mud is ecologic, economic and aesthetic.

The group of students saw many other works by Denzer and discussed design principals during the Friday evening lecture and introduction. On Saturday at 9 a.m., the group gathered again for an eight hour day of mud mural making.

The layer of thickness that creates the panels of the mural is composed of clay, sand and manure. The mixture is both soft and textural.

“It is an ancient addition to earthen plaster because it both improves water resistance and makes the mixture adhere better,” Avina said.

A complaint from one participant was the manure smell of the mixture and getting her hands in it.

Manny, sociology major in classes at the Citadel Center in Colorado Springs, said he enjoyed the camaraderie. He felt connected to indigenous culture and working with this medium reminded him that art was like communication for ancient people, Manny said.

Megan Soto, a health promotion major graduating this May liked the experience, a hands-on exploring art and genera outside of her major field, she said. It took about three hours to get the mud ready, Soto said.

It took a half hour of work just to get the mud to stick, Flo Nethery, an art major, said. Students would press the mud up on the walls and it would fall, however, the results were forthcoming.

“It was a pretty big class. I was surprised we had such a big number. I wish we could do more,” Nethery said.

“I took it because I’m interested in natural building. It is so much fun. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it,” said Alyssa Costanza, a ceramics art major.

Smaller, darker panels were added Sunday, April 8, when the group gathered for their final efforts. A layer of grey slip clay was painted onto the designs to add to the visual spectacle and design principals. See the display of designs on the panels of mud in the art courtyard through this summer.

CSU-Pueblo Group Folklorico performs a traditional Mexican folk dance at the extravaganza. Photo by Ye Ming.

“The purpose is basically for the international students to show off,” said Annie Williams, director of the Center for International Program. “They can make others aware of their countries, their traditions, their cultures and food.”

The event attracted more than 150 people, including international students, university faculty and staff, as well as friends and host families of the students. A few recent graduates also came back for the celebration.

It opened with Sri Lanka guitar music performed by Nirman Jayasena, a student from Sri Lanka studying mechatronics engineering at CSU-Pueblo.

Derek Lopez, director of the First-year Programs, led the opening prayer and performed the Native American guitar and flute for the audience. Several performers also showcased their traditional dances from Ireland, Mexico and Nepal.

While people were enjoying delicacies from countries such as Japan and Mexico, an international fashion show also gave them a taste of culture through the traditional costumes students and staff wore to the event.

Face painting and Henna, a popular body art form in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, were also offered to the audience.

Currently, there are 111 international students representing 30 countries enrolled at CSU-Pueblo. The event gave spotlights to every country by hanging their national flags and displaying their art crafts and souvenirs.

Paperboards with information of individual countries were also displayed in the room.

“We have a lot of ethnicities here, and we all get along pretty well with each other,” said Nehal Mhatre, an Indian student pursuing her Master of Business Administration.

The extravaganza first started in 1939 and has become one of the oldest events on campus. It originated with the idea of honoring and saying goodbye to international students graduating during the spring semesters, Williams said.

“For me, it’s the first goodbye party,” said Franz Weisbrich, a German student graduating in May with a degree in MBA. “It feels kind of sad.”

Anais Escobar, a senior studying mass communications from Venezuela, helped organize the event as a CIP public relations intern.

“We are just trying to give the best we can give for the students,” she said. With a relatively small staff, the CIP and international students need more support from the campus, she said. “I’m sure I will be missing everyone.”

Every year, CIP gives out an “International Supporter of the Year” award to a person who has made immense contribution to the international community on campus.

This year, Seongjong Joo, a professor of business received the award. In the past years, he has helped CSU-Pueblo establish the exchange program with Korean universities and recruited many Korean students to study at CSU-Pueblo.

He continuously interacts with international students and helps them break in and experience American culture, said Mhatre, who has Joo as professor in business.

A new club at CSU-Pueblo is the rugby club, which is currently seeking more students to come play the sport. Photo by Tyler Shomaker.

“I wanted to start a rugby team in college because I played in high school,” said Mike Adams, president and co-founder of the rugby team. “We really need to get more people to get this team really going smoother.”

The members of the team all agreed on the fact that rugby is great way to pass the time. “Exposing CSU-Pueblo’s students to the great sport of rugby is the goal of this club,” Adams said.

Approximately half of the members have played rugby before joining the club.

“Get ready to have some fun,” said Antonio Reyes, who plays the lock position.

The club is all about having fun and learning to play a sport that is different, Adams said. The team starts off practice by passing the ball around while they wait for everyone to meet up, he said.

The club practices every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 p.m., at the multi-purpose Recreation Field by the Child Care Center. If the field’s lights aren’t on Adams said not to worry because the club is there stretching waiting for the lights to come on. In addition, they want to make sure that anyone interested in playing is welcome to come, he said.

New players start practicing right away with the club. This involves stretching, drills and a practice game of rugby to allow them to learn the rules.

“This is the best sport I have played, even better than football,” said Cody Zimmerman, the club’s scrum-half.

Potential players should check out the club’s Facebook page, CSU-P Rugby, for more information.

Photo courtesy of the Hasan School of Business' website.

Clifford Nowell, associate dean of John B. Goddard School of Business and Economics at the Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, interviewed Monday, March 19. Bruce Raymond, associate dean for administration and finance at the Montana State University College of Business interviewed Friday, March 23.

The candidates each had a day touring campus, meeting with other academic deans, the provost and HSB faculty and staff.

“The dean has the obligation to create a culture where faculty are fulfilled by what they do,” Raymond said in the interview with HSB faculty and staff.

The HSB provides undergraduate and graduate business education. It consists of 24 full-time faculty and serves more than 700 students, according to the CSU-Pueblo press release. Sue Hanks currently serves as the interim dean since the fall of 2011.

The dean of HSB is expected to provide leadership and administration to the faculty, staff and students of HSB.

The dean also has the responsibilities such as fostering teaching, researching and service to the campus and community; overseeing the education within the school; and maintaining its accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a premier non-profit international accreditation organization in business education.

In order to help maintain the accreditation as the dean, candidates are required to have comprehensive knowledge of the AACSB standards, according to the job description CSU-Pueblo’s Human Resources Office posted on the website www.higheredjobs.com.

“I’m intimately familiar with AACSB standards,” Raymond said. CSU-Pueblo is a solid school for the accreditation, he said.

The dean will have an annual salary in a range from $140,000 to $150,000, according to the job description, which is the highest salary among all deans in the four colleges and schools of CSU-Pueblo.

Nowell received his Doctor of Philosophy in Economics from the University of Wyoming in 1988. After graduation, he became an assistant professor in Economics at Weber State College, which gained university status as Weber State University in 1991. He worked his way up and has served as the associate dean at the university since 2011.

His fields of specialization include applied microeconomic theory and applied econometrics. His teaching experience includes managerial economics, business statistics, econometrics and public finance, among others.

Raymond received his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Utah in 1987 in the field of production and operations management. He has taught for various universities including University of Utah, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and MSU. 

He served positions in various accreditation organizations such as the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and Northwest Association of Schools and College.

He also served as the accreditation director for AACSB from 1995 to 2003 and the team member from 2006 to 2007.

Attorneys discuss the ups and downs of attending law school at a panel discussion March 21. Photo by Marcus Hill.

The importance of law school and the various aspects of preparing for the journey of becoming an attorney were shared by a panel March 21.

The Pre-Law Advising event was hosted at the Hasan School of Business where four attorneys shared several different experiences about preparing for law school, the rigors of getting through it and ways to prepare in order to make it to graduation.

Each member talked about the difficulty and struggles that they had to deal with to survive law school and to get to where they wanted.

“There’s a lot of reading. You’ll have to read 100 pages or more a night,” said Christopher Turner, Attorney at Law.

More than one person could agree with what Turner said about the constant reading. Deputy General Counsel of CSU-Systems Johnna Doyle also talked about her excess amount of reading during law school.

“Every class you have to read so much. You have to know the cases that you read and hope that you remember the correct portion when you get called on in class,” Doyle said.

Getting in to law school can be very difficult, she said. In order to get accepted, most law schools require students to take the Law School Administration Test. The LSAT is considered essential for success in law school, according to information from LSAC.org.

“Fifty percent of law schools say that this test makes or breaks you’re chances for law school. The results follow you for five years so you have to apply for a school before the test results expire,” Doyle said.

Preparation is a big part of law school. Students should know what they are doing before they get started, it helps give them a jump on the people in your class and to understand what they’re getting into, Turner said.

“They (law schools) pretty much have your first semester planed out for you. You’ll take five specific classes right off the back. Using all of the things on the internet, such as Google, to help prepare for classes really helps you not feel so overwhelmed in class,” Turner said.

Some aspects of being an attorney are not as great as people believe them to be. District Attorney Bill Thiebaut said that they don’t all make six figures right out of school and sometimes students may have to do things that they don’t want in order to get where they want to be.

“Don’t count on making a lot of money unless you do the hard work. Sometimes you have to do cases that you don’t want just to pay the bills. Things like divorce cases can get ugly, but you have to do it sometimes just to get by,” he said.

There are other aspects of law school that can take its toll on students. Pueblo County Commissioner Jeff Chostner talked about the constant pressure that law students may have on them while in school.

“Staying in school was a big worry. It wasn’t necessarily hard to get in but it was hard to stay in. I had a class of 240 students and when I graduated, it was down to 86. Those six semesters were tough,” Chostner said.

Chostner also explained the amount of work that he had to do just to be average in his classes. 

“You have to set aside so much time and do so much reading. I had never worked so hard for average grades,” he said.

Although it may seem like there’s a lot of hard work involved with law school, it does have its benefits in the end, Turner said.

“I love my profession and what I learned in law school I wouldn’t trade for anything. I look at the world differently now,” he said.

Peyton Manning at a news conference March 20, after he signed a five-year contract with the Denver Broncos. Photo by Ed Andrieski, Associated Press.

Peyton Manning has signed a five year $96 million dollar contract with the Denver Broncos, along with having the choice to go to the Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals and the San Fransico 49er’s. Inevitably, Manning picked Denver.

“I speculated for months if this was the right decision, I will make sure it was the right decision. Why we all play this game, we work hard in the off season lifting weights and getting out on the field,” Manning said in an interview.“I know what a challenge I’m in for there is no question about it. I’d rather have not taken a year off but I will turn that into a positive, and make sure my body is healthy and hopefully not take as many hits this year.”

Questions were asked by the media that were allowed to be in Manning’s press conference about how he felt about starting over and his connection with the Denver Broncos organization.

“It’s very new and it’s not 100 percent comfortable because of the relationships I had in Indianapolis, but this is a change and I’ve known John Elway and Mr. Bowlen, the Denver Broncos owner, will help me get situated and feel comfortable again.”

Merril Hoge, a former NFL fullback and now an ESPN commentator and analyst, said “He knows the trainer’s name, the equipment manager’s name and most of the other personnel. To have a hall of fame quarterback come into an organization and know most of your training staff is something quite different knowing he has only met with the team for about a week.”

When his new teammate Tebow, the Broncos former starting quarterback, came up in the interview Manning said, “If Tim Tebow is on my team next year we will do all that we can to make this team the best we can. If not I hope he gets the opportunity to start over, and if not I hope he can compete for a starting position if he does not remain a Denver Bronco.”

Vice president and former Broncos Super Bowl champion and hall of fame quarterback John Elway said, “Without a doubt in my mind this is the best decision for the Denver Broncos at this time. My goal is to make Peyton Manning the greatest quarterback ever to play the game.”

ThunderWolves baseball team loses three games in a series v. Colorado Mesa. Photo by Chris Lujan

The ThunderWolves lost three out of the four games, the one win coming on Sunday. The Pack fell to 7-10 for the season and 4-4 in the conference.

The disappointment began Friday with a heart breaking loss in the 9^th inning. After being down by three for most of the early innings, the Pack fought back scoring two runs on a hit by centerfielder J.T Greenhood, senior.

After the 6^th inning the pitching duel continued between the Maverick’s Nolan Snell and the ThunderWolves’ Mike Fabrizio. Both pitchers performed extremely well, allowing few base runners throughout the game. The battle ended at the top of the 9^th when Mesa scored two runs on three hits and a timely error by the right fielder.

The ThunderWolves were unable to answer in the bottom of the 9^th handing the first game to Mesa. Fabrizio’s record became 2-2 for the year. Snell recorded 11 strikeouts and improved his record 4-0.

Saturday’s double-header only added to the Packs’ problems as the Mesa Mavericks won both games in a close fashion. The first game was a 7^th inning battle that resulted in the ThunderWolves coming up one run short and lost the game 4-3.

The second game was yet another tight matchup lasting till the 9^th. In the top of the inning a lead-off walk and infield error would put Maverick players on third and second bases with two outs. The next batter, Mesa’s Jeff Popick, would then single up the middle scoring the two unearned runs that resulted in another Maverick victory.

Sunday was the last chance for the Pack to avoid a sweep. It was a hard-fought game with momentum switching sides inning by inning. The Mavericks jumped out to any early 1-0 lead in the top of the 3^rd, only to be erased as the Pack answered with three of their own runs in the bottom of the inning. 

Mesa fought back scoring runs in the 4th and 5th innings to tie the game going into the 6th. The Pack again took control of the game as they scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning to regain the lead. Mesa responded by tying the game up with a run in the 8th.

The two teams would head into the 9^th and final inning with Mesa behind by one run.  In the top of the 9^th the first batter Colton Little reached on a crucial error by ThunderWolves shortstop Michael Knueppel. With the tying run on first, the Mavericks put in Jake Kluge, a pitch runner for Little.

Kluge would eventually steal second and score on a double by Tamatoa Demello, allowing Mesa to tie the game heading into the bottom of the 9^th.

With the score all knotted up, down to their last three outs and facing a possible sweep, another loss seemed to be inevitable for the Pack.   Andrew Castaneda stepped into the batter’s box for his first at bat of the day. A lead-off double down the right field line gave the ThunderWolves new life.

After a line out by Evans, two consecutive walks to Chase Lacomb and Greenhold would load the bases for the Pack. After Jovany Valenzuel struck out the ThunderWolves were down to their third and final out. At the bottom of the 9^th, with the bases loaded, two outs and a tie ball game, junior Curtis Cowell steps up to the plate.

This was  a situation every player dreams of. The hero or the goat, Cowell’s at bat seems to be scripted by Hollywood.  Cowell seizes the opportunity by drilling a single up the middle, scoring the game-winning run with his walk-off heroics. Cowell’s single allowed the Pack to get a game back from the Mavericks.

Miguel Angel Chiquin prepares for a Mayan energy reading. Photo by John Pantoya.

The first lecture took place March 10 at the Unitarian Universalist Church and the second was held at the CSU-Pueblo campus Monday, March 12, at the Underground of the Occhiato University Center.

The first visit that Chiquin made to the Pueblo area occurred last spring when he spoke to a full auditorium in the Hasan School of Business. The message he continues to share is that the doomsday prophecies associated with the Mayan calendar are false, and that the fifth and final cycle of the sun will start and mark a new beginning for humanity, he said.

Using a Spanish interpreter for translation, Chiquin spoke to a crowd of approximately 50 people in the OUC Underground.

“We are preparing ourselves for the great cosmic walk,” he said.

Chiquin believes it is time for people to put a stop to the mental sabotage they have been under for years, he said. People have gotten lost in the intellect and must return to nurturing their spirits as well, he said.

The controversial date of Dec. 21, is when the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to an end. This date will not be one of doomsday, but rather one of a spiritual awakening for humanity, Chiquin said.

“Many are speaking of destruction or death. None of that is going to happen,” he said. “Beautiful things are coming. We are just a few months from encountering the fifth sun which is for all humanity.”

The fifth cycle is the final 5,000 year cycle of the sun and is when humanity will reach its full spiritual potential, he said.

“According to our sacred book the Pop Vu, the first sun is when people were made of mud, but they didn’t work. Our second sun was when people were made of wood and they didn’t work. Our third sun was when there were organic people, and they didn’t work.  Our fourth sun is when people were made of corn and were almost perfect,” he said.

Though men and women were almost perfect in the fourth cycle, they lost track of the importance of their spirituality, Chiquin said.

“Our first ancestors said that when we looked up we could see to the ends of the universe, but as they began to evolve they got lost in the intellect and they separated from the spirit,” he said.  “Our fifth sun is when men and women will begin to walk with the sacred flame of spirituality.”

Chiquin also provided Mayan energy readings with a donation of choice. A reading consisted of decoding a person’s Mayan energies and discussing what type of influence they have in their lives, he said.

There are a total of 20 Mayan energies of which everyone will have four based on their date of birth.

“Each of these 20 energies of spiritual awakening plays a great role,” he said.

Chiquin ended his lecture by reiterating the fact that people should not listen to the hype surrounding an end of the world scenario Dec. 21, 2012, but instead prepare their spirit for a great cosmic encounter.