A few tips to help you out with your sex life when you have roommates. By Alex Myers.

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Someone once said there is always a time and place for everything. But when it comes to sex, we don’t always consider the place – there are many times when we just have to satisfy our urges, and campus is not immune to that spontaneity. Norlin Library The library isn’t just for studying. “Donuts,” a senior […]

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Women are judged constantly when they go to the hill, and it’s affecting their safety. By Alex Myers.

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CU’s Native American Association brought to campus Bunky Echo-Hawk, a well-known Native American artist and designer.
By Alex Myers

The post UMC filled with stories, live art show for Native American Heritage Month appeared first on CU Independent.

The film engaged students and faculty in conversations on Africa that the producer said some wouldn’t otherwise have.
By Alex Myers

The post “Sincerely Ethiopia” viewing gets students talking about African culture appeared first on CU Independent.

It’s October again, and haunted houses are springing up all over the country. Denver’s 13th Floor Haunted House has a certain stigma. If you ask people on campus, a wide range of them might say they won’t go because of what they have heard – or seen.

The 13th Floor is based on the idea of buildings not including a 13th floor, using this concept to create a mystery surrounding what is really on that floor.

A ghoul interacts with kids outside of the 13th Floor Haunted House in Denver. (James Bradbury/CU Independent)

Ticket prices range from $25 to $45, with each $10 increase in price getting you into the attraction faster. Although the line to get in is long, there are performances along the way. Characters swarm the entrance, ready to scare, whispering in the ears of the people waiting in line.

The house is split up into two sections: a haunted house or graveyard and an area designed to look like the Amazon, which houses live animals. 

When you first walk through the entrance of the house, there is a dark, tight pillow tunnel you have to go through. You feel like something is about to pop out and scare you. Once you leave that section, you enter a smoky graveyard. Multiple characters pop out of the shadows to follow and scare you. This was the scariest section of the haunted house.

At times, while going through the haunted house, the characters did touch you, despite what the FAQ section of the website said. Other members of my group experienced some tense moments when actors made physical contact.

Once you go through this section, you are taken down one floor, where you enter the Amazon theme. There, they have live snakes and spiders. Towards the end, you enter a narrow hallway, which causes the room to feel as if it is spinning you around.

The entire attraction takes about 20 minutes to get through but is still worthwhile for horror fanatics.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alexandra Myers at Alexandra.myers@colorado.edu.

Jared Norman starts by putting on layers of makeup. He applies a combination of creams, shades and lotions to his face. After two hours, Norman is gone. In his place sits a woman of similar height, and similar build, but she is wearing oversized earrings, a necklace and a brown wig.

Peering out from the behind the makeup is Ruby Red Bouche, Norman’s drag-queen alter ego.

Norman, a 21-year-old film major at CU, has been doing drag since his junior year of high school. In his few years of performing, Norman has watched himself transform inside as much as out.

In his early days, he was “busted” — the colloquialism used for inexperienced, unconvincing drag queens. He told the CU Independent Oct. 2 that he is confident enough to really enjoy what he is doing.

Film major Jared Norman puts on make up as part of his transformation routine. Norman will be hosting the Gay-Straight Alliance’s annual drag show at CU at the beginning of November. (Patrick Fort/CU Independent)

Norman will be hosting CU’s annual drag show at 8 p.m. Nov. 2 in the UMC’s Glenn Miller Ballroom, an opportunity that came to him after his hit performance at a drag show in Denver.

For Norman, a show entails dressing up and performing for a crowd. He either sings, dances or lip-synchs. His multi-faceted performance style — different personas each transformation — has led to his aplomb. Drag lets him be another person, which lets him explore his own identity on stage and off.

“A lot of drag queens feel empowered,” Norman said. “When you do [drag] you have courage, and that courage can translate to real life. A lot of my self-confidence I gained from drag. I like that, because I always find something new about myself when I am out of drag.”

Doing drag is more than a performance for Norman. It’s a way to express his creativity. He said he is able to express his theatre and film roots within drag. His paint and his sculptures, he says, are expressed on the stage as makeup and costume.

“I have three different parts of my artistic expression: one is drag, and the other two are theatre and film,” Norman said. “Drag is an extension of my creativity. It’s a different way to express my creative outlook.”

Through the years Norman has had multiple stage names. This month, he is Ruby Red Bouche.

He adopted “Red” from his drag mother, Scarlet Red.

Within drag culture, he explained, younger drag queens receive experienced drag-queen mentors. Veteran queens teach newcomers how to prepare, including makeup application and sewing outfit. Eventually, the younger drag queen adopts their name. Norman, however, was uncomfortable taking the entire name and instead adopted only “Red,” which led to Ruby Red Bouche.

After he’s done his makeup, Norman pulls his wig onto his head, zips up his costume and finds the persona of Ruby. But at the end of the day, when he transforms once again into Jared Norman, Ruby doesn’t leave him.

“Taking on this persona has strengthened my own character,” Norman said. “I’ve learned not to close that door when I leave the theater and include it into my everyday life. I see drag as being that powerful — it has caused me to become a better person from it.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alexandra Myers at Alexandra.myers@colorado.edu.