The 65th annual Conference of World Affairs starts April 8. With tens of panels and hundreds of speakers every day, it might be hard to decide just which panels to go to. Let the CU Independent help you decide which panels to attend through the week. Check back to the CUI for updates on CWA coverage. The full schedule is on CWA’s website.

A map of where this year’s speakers are from. View in a larger map. (Kai Casey/CU Independent)

MONDAY
Looking for God in the Particles
1:00 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
Where: Old Main Chapel
Panelists: Michael Chorost, Elaine Miller-Karas, Jo Muse
Moderator: Andrew Franklin
Legal Pot: Hemp, Hemp, Hooray!
3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Radio broadcast: KGNU 88.5 FM/1390 AM
Panelists: Sanho Tree
Moderator: Hannah Leigh Myers
North Korea: A Severe Case of the Kims
4:30 p.m. – 5:50 p.m.
Where: Muenzinger Auditorium
Panelists: Joe Cirincione, Tom Gold, Heather Hurlburt, Jim Walsh
Moderator: Kim Savit

TUESDAY
Addy, Oxy and Molly: College Drug Use
11:00 a.m. -12:20 p.m.
Where: UMC 235
Panelists: Ross Haenfler, Howard Schultz, Sanho Tree
Moderator: David Elm
Civil Liberties: When Left Meets Right
2:00 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.
Where: UMC 235
Panelists: Guy Benson, Chip Berlet, Andrew Goddard, Michael Stoff
Moderator: Mary Jo White
Opiate of the Masses: Pop Culture’s Obsession With Stupidity
3:30 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.
Where: Eaton Humanities 1B50
Panelists: Jim Borgman, Robert A. George, Ross Haenfler, Howard Schultz
Moderator: Ryan Van Duzer

WEDNESDAY
Fashion, Tattoos and Piercings: Body as Billboard
10:30 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
Where: UMC Gallery
Panelists: Jeff Lieberman, Clare Muireann Murphy, Jenni Schaefer
Moderator: Lisa Radelet
What the Frack!
11:30 a.m. – 12:50 p.m.
Where: UMC 235
Panelists: Michael Franc, Francesca T. Grifo, Charles Love, David Orr
Moderator: Richard Polk
Veganism: We Have to Stop Meating Like This
3:00 p.m. – 4:20 p.m.
UMC Gallery
Panelists: Robert Egger, Gooding, Alicia Robb, Keith Harmon Snow
Moderator: Rose Pierro

THURSDAY
Obama’s Foreign Policy: Audacity or Hope
9:00 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.
Macky Auditorium
Panelists: Gordon Adams, Guy Benson, Phillip James Walker, Valerie Plame Wilson
Moderator: Kaye Howe
Getting America Back to Work
11:00 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.
Where: UMC East Ballroom
Panelists: Robert Egger, Reza Ramazani, Howard Schultz
Moderator: Bruce Dierking
The Right to Bear Arms
1:20 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
Where: Boulder High School
Panelists: Margot Adler, Guy Benson, Lou Dubose,Colin Goddard

FRIDAY
NCAA: National Cartels of Amateur Athletics
9:00 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.
Where: UMC West Ballroom
Panelists: Guy Benson, Robert A. George, Jurek Martin, William Nack
Moderator: Jefferson Dodge
Food: Waste, Want and Culture
11:00 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.
Where: Muenzinger Auditorium
Panelists: Zulfiqar Ahmad, Robert Egger, Tom Gold, Phillip James Walker
Moderator: Dave Newport
Gay Today
1:00 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
Where: Old Main Chapel
Panelists: Joel Gallant, Peter Lighte, Tammy S. Schultz, Sanho Tree
Moderator: Charles Steinberg

Contact CU Independent News Budget Editor Avalon Jacka at Avalon.jacka@colorado.edu.

Disney’s latest live-action film, “Oz The Great and Powerful,” is neither great, nor powerful.

The film is visually stunning, but that’s the only strong pull keeping the audience invested until the end. The acting is mediocre and the story ends with a morally ambiguous message.

James Franco does the best acting job of the main cast. His jokes are well delivered, often sarcastic, but never over the top. He is convincing as the womanizing conman Oz because he doesn’t show much emotion beyond a flirtatious smile or vague surprise when a woman is scorned or her angry bodybuilding boyfriend comes back for revenge.

James Franco in “Oz: The Great And Powerful.” (Courtesy of Disney)

The three witches, however, are a different story when it comes to acting. Mila Kunis is introduced to Oz with an almost-believable naiveté as the never-before loved Theodora. When she finds out that she is just another prospect for Oz, she lets her temper take over her soul and becomes how we better know her, the Wicked Witch of the West. That is when all hope for Kunis’ acting is dashed. Kunis’ character, Jackie, in “That ‘70s Show” had the right amount of evil for Kunis to play. She was conniving, but never irate. The Wicked Witch of the West, however, is an angry woman prone to rage tantrums and Kunis doesn’t bring the wrath out in her character. Instead, she just seems like an annoying, disgruntled green woman who can’t talk any other way but through her teeth.

Rachel Weisz, who plays Theodora’s more evil sister, Evanora, the Wicked Witch of the East, is even more disappointing at being evil than Kunis. Even when the dialogue between other characters describes Weisz as cruel and manipulative, her acting isn’t convincing. It is possible that Weisz was trying to be subtle about her evilness, after all, the story notes that Evanora had the people of Oz convinced for years that Glinda was, in fact, the evil one. However, I think Weisz isn’t suited to play the second-most evil character in “Oz,” given her more emotional, dramatic resume.

Michelle Williams, who plays both Oz’s love interest in Kansas and Glinda the Good Witch, does a more acceptable acting job than her supposedly evil counterparts. She doesn’t even have to play the character, it seems, because it comes across naturally. The downside of Williams’ sweet nature is that in the scenes where she should be acting terrified, surprised or even angry, like in the final moments in the film, she can’t convey any emotion other than sweetness or happiness.

The main cast may have underacted, but the supporting cast carries the film with comic relief. Zach Braff as Oz’s flying-monkey assistant, Finley, is snarky and sarcastic, but cute and endearing at the same time. The China Girl, played by Joey King, is innocent with an attitude. Her snappy retorts to the Wizard elicited the most laughs of any joke in the movie.

The story is weak for a Disney film, though character development is relatively strong despite the lack of support from the acting. Every plot twist is more predictable than would be expected of a prequel, considering we already know what happens years down the road when Dorothy comes along. I don’t want to spoil the movie, but I will say that the ending conveyed that violence is bad, though lying and manipulation on the behalf of good can triumph over evil. But isn’t lying evil itself? This moral ambiguity isn’t the type of message that the audience should be getting from Disney.

The best part of the movie was the visual effects. Disney has enough money for the audience to expect greatness out of its computer animators, but “Oz” went beyond expectations. Fantastical scenes like a forest of emerald crystals, a lake with giant flowers growing out of it and a city made of porcelain tea sets looked like they were shot on location rather than in a studio. The effects are absolutely worth the extra money for 3D, and you will probably never hear me say that again. I couldn’t say that for “Avatar.”

The effects are so good, however, it seems Disney paid for them in acting and story.

Contact CU Independent News Budget Editor Avalon Jacka at Avalon.jacka@colorado.edu.

Sam Raimi, director if the “Spiderman” trilogy, has a diverse resume. His latest work, “Oz: The Great and Powerful,” adds the family fantasy genre to his list of skills. Raimi talked with CU Independent’s Avalon Jacka and other college news outlets about his inspiration for the movie, his favorite character and composer Danny Elfman’s contribution to the story.

What was it about these actors, who between them have a very diverse acting background, that makes them so prefect for their respective roles?

It all comes down to the casting process.  I wasn’t looking for necessarily the very best actor or actress in the

(Josh Shettler/CU Independent Graphic Illustration)

world.  I was looking for that actor or actress that had the qualities of the character they’re going to portray. When the camera gets in close, really close to the face of the actor or actress, the audience knows whether they’re true or not.  They can judge it from a critical point of view; you can feel it.

What inspired your version of the World of Oz?

I drew it all from the great author L. Frank Baum, his vision of Oz, that he had written about in 14-some books. I was also inspired by the illustrator, [W. W.] Denslow, he was the original illustrator of the L. Frank Baum books. I was also inspired by the great classic movie, “Wizard of Oz,” of course, who would not be inspired by that? What inspired me about the “Wizard of Oz” movie was the character’s sense of love that they have for each other, that very soulful sweet message that comes at the end of the picture when we learn from the Wizard that all of us are complete, all of us broken, lonely individuals, we have within us the thing to make us complete if we only recognize it. That gave me a great source of inspiration. It reminds me of the enduring power of love after death, how things go on.

What was the most challenging part of making the film?

The most challenging, I think was probably not dissimilar from other filmmakers and their ensemble movies, where there are many characters, many back stories and many interconnected relationship tales, and juggling what part of their back story should I include? What part should I cut out?  What part should I give the audience? What part would be most effective if I let the audience use their own imagination to fill in the blanks? That’s really the secret I think – letting the audience participate.

What is your favorite creature in the Land of Oz?

My favorite creature in the Land of Oz?  I think that would be the China Girl. L. Frank Baum wrote about this porcelain village called China Town and the inhabitants were all made of porcelain. I feel bad for her because her family and her village were destroyed by the evil witch’s winged baboons. She’s a broken character, literally, until the Wizard glues her together. Despite her tragedy she’s got a lot of spunk, which I admire, she’s got a lot of courage. She doesn’t mope about her place in the universe.

What was the best part of working on the film?

The best part of the picture for me, as a director, was once I had worked on the thing for two years and eight months, was to hear Danny Elfman, our composer, create such a fantastic score. He took the emotions that were in the movie and he elevated them. He took the drama and he deepened it. He basically made everything better. He was the secret sauce that brings it to the next level.

What you do think Elfman’s music brings to the atmosphere of the film?

He made the love story much deeper. The Wizard in Kansas, he has a love story with a girl named Annie, played by Michelle Williams, and this is a love that’s right before the Wizard, if only he would recognize it. It’s only once he gets to Oz that he starts to realize that true love is the most valuable thing that one can strive for. Danny Elfman creates a love theme that he’s decided to play with Annie and the Wizard, and it’s an incomplete fragile broken thing. Later when the Wizard meets Glinda and their love story blossoms, you’ll hear that theme in all of its orchestrated fullness. It helps you feel that a mistake that he made in the past could be corrected, the same love can be reborn. He also added great mood when those winged baboons are around, and the drums and the horns come on.  They’re very primal and they get your heart beating. He’s the emotion of the picture.

What are you most excited about for audiences to take away from seeing the film?

Ideally, I’d like them to feel uplifted. The best thing that stories could do for us is reverberate with truth and show us the way in a way that is not pushy or preachy. If you could see there is a way to be happy without material goods, without the pride, without sense of self-being, there’s a simple beauty in loving another person and friends coming together, in being selfless. That’s what this movie’s message is.

What advice would you give to aspiring directors looking to forward their careers after college?

Be directing now, not after college. Every day you should be writing a script or a scene, every weekend. Every Saturday, you should be shooting a scene from the script you’ve been writing. Around Sunday you should be cutting the thing, and on Monday you should be showing it to a university audience. They won’t like your damn little picture. You’re going to have to take it back and recut it and make it better, and rewrite it on Friday, reshoot it on Saturday, recut it on Sunday, put some music on it, and show it to them again on Monday. They might like it a little bit better.  That’s what you’ve got to do and you got to keep doing it. If you wait for some after-school thing, or sometime in the future to start your career, that waiting will expand. Just do it now, and you will always be a director.

Contact CU Independent News Budget Editor Avalon Jacka at Avalon.jacka@colorado.edu.

James Franco is known for his more serious roles, but in Disney’s new film, “Oz: The Great and Powerful,” he plays a more comedic role than many fans are used to. The actor talked with the CU Independent‘s Avalon Jacka and college news outlets across the country about his approach to his latest role, his love of L. Frank Baum’s books and his friendship with “Oz” and “Spiderman” director Sam Raimi.

James Franco in “Oz: The Great And Powerful.” (Courtesy of Disney)

Recently, you’ve been doing a lot of serious movies.  Why did you decide to attach yourself to this more family fun, adventure film?

I’ve been a fan of the L. Frank Baum Oz books since I was a boy. They were some of the first books that I read on my own for pleasure. I’ve worked with the director, Sam Raimi in three previous films, so this was another chance to work with him.  In addition to that, I saw the role as something I could have a lot of fun with and could be fairly creative with. [Oz] was written as a comedic character within this fantastical world. I thought it would be a juxtaposition of two different things, comedy and fantasy, that would result in something entertaining.

When taking up this project, did you have any initial hesitations about portraying this character?

I wanted to be sure that they had a sound approach. I knew that they would capture the visuals of the movie very well, or at least I had hopes that they would. They had the Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City and witches and flying monkeys, and a bunch of strange creatures and Munchkins: all the things that make up what we imagine Oz to be. Their emissary into the world was not a male version of Dorothy, fortunately. My character was, instead, a con man that was stumbling through Oz. I thought that comedic edge would help distinguish this version of Oz from other versions.

How did you prepare for the role of Oz?

I had to be able to carry myself as a magician because my character starts off as a traveling magician in a circus. I needed to be able to do those tricks convincingly and to hold myself on stage like a magician. So they hired one of the best magicians in Las Vegas, Lance Burton, to come to Detroit. I was fortunate enough to have private lessons with him. He taught me how to make it look like I’m having people levitate and make it look like they’re evaporating in front of everyone’s eyes and also how to hold myself on stage.

What was your first impression or interpretation of the character Oz when reading the script?

His character starts off as a flawed man.  He’s selfish; he’s a bit of a womanizer. He thinks that happiness will come from financial success and fame.  It blinds him to the love of the people around him. I saw that one of the reasons to start the character off that way was that it would allow for growth in the character. The movie would not just be a physical journey through a mystical land, but it would also involve an inner journey of the character.

What’s different about working with Sam Raimi now than it was when you worked on “Spiderman”?

When I worked on Spiderman with him, I was a supporting character, and Sam Raimi identifies with his lead characters very closely.  So he very much identified with Peter Parker.  Because my character was trying to kill Peter Parker, I think Sam blamed me for that, not in a harsh way. I felt like I got a little less love than Tobey McGuire on those films, because of what the character was doing.  Now that I’m the protagonist in “Oz,” Sam is identifying with my character.  I felt a lot more of Sam’s love on this film.

How has it been balancing between your acting career and your collegiate education and endeavors?

I insist that I have this balance of an academic career and a film career. I love the academic world.  During the past seven years, I’ve gone to quite a few schools.  I got a little addicted to school, but now I’m doing a lot more teaching than I am studying. It’s a great new chapter in my life. I usually teach in creative programs: film programs, writing programs, art programs. I love being able to focus on other people’s work. It takes me out of myself.  I don’t have to think about my work all the time.

How do you balance your work in “Oz” with an indie film like “Spring Breakers”?

They’re very different movies made on different scales and have very different subject matter. But there are essential things about making movies that are in place in both films. I go into the different projects trying to figure out what the tone of the film is, what my place in the film is and how I can best fit into that world. “Spring Breakers” has a particular character. He’s a gangster, mystic/rapper and the Oz character is a magician/con man. I had to figure out how to play each of those roles as realistically as possible.

Contact CU Independent News Budget Editor Avalon Jacka at Avalon.jacka@colorado.edu.

Bryan Simpson, co-founder and CEO of 5 Pound Apparel, started an illegal t-shirt screenprinting company from his college beer pong room in December 2010.

Just over two years later, he now runs a socially conscious – and legal – retail store that supports 15 nonprofits. For every 5 Pound Apparel item sold, the company donates five pounds of nutritional supplement to its partner, Nepal Nutrition. Nepal Nutrition was founded by CU alumni Mark Arnoldy, who founded the CU-Boulder GlobeMed chapter. GlobeMed will present a talk with Simpson on how he successfully started 5 Pound Apparel as a college student at Missouri State University. Mar. 6 at 7:20 p.m. in ATLAS 100.

What was the inspiration to start 5 Pound Apparel?
I started 5 Pound Apparel while I was senior in college. Until that point in my life I hadn’t done my part to give back. On the way to soccer practice one day, my friends and I decided to help an old man whose car had died on the side of the road. It was a simple and insignificant act, but it was enough to inspire me to start a business with the ultimate goal of helping people every day.

Where does the name 5 Pound Apparel come from?

When we found out it was illegal to operate our screen-printing in our residential living room – long story – we took a leap of faith and opened a retail store. To continue our relationship with Mark and his work with Nepal Nutrition, we decided to donate 5 pounds of food and fortified peanut butter to NN for every shirt sold. Hence, 5 Pound Apparel.

What is 5 Pound’s mission?

Why was it important to you to partner with CU Boulder’s GlobeMed program to design a limited edition shirt?

Playing at Denver’s intimate Bluebird Theater, Menomena left few things to be desired, except for a stoic audience to show its enjoyment of the concert.

The Portland, Ore., indie rock duo’s performance on Friday was strong and entertaining, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many fans getting down with the music more than tapping their toes or swaying throughout the night.

Justin Harris of Menomena performs at the Bluebird on Friday. (Avalon Jacka/CU Independent)

Maybe Menomena’s live audiences are meant to consider various complexities of the compositions rather than dance to the beat, but while listening to Menomena’s discography, it’s easy to expect their live audience to break into borderline-mosh pit dancing, especially in songs with driving rhythms like “Five Little Rooms,” “Muscle’n Flo” and “Don’t Mess With Latexas.”

When the band’s songs came though the Denver speakers, however, only a few fans sprinkled throughout the floor section and further back in the theater bobbed with the bass. Even fewer fans kept moving with slower, less danceable songs, such as “Capsule” and “Queen Black Acid.”

The lack of physical expression of enjoyment might just be how the indie community appreciates a setlist because the applause and cheers grew louder between each song as the night progressed.

It’s possible that the audience had danced themselves out during opening act, Guards. Menomena’s Danny Seim described Guards as the, “pop side of the music spectrum,” compared to his band’s darker tones.

Regardless of the reasoning, Denver may be too cool for its own good when an audience won’t dance for Menomena’s upbeat songs, which are as danceable as any EDM song. But at least we can scream out our lungs with what little oxygen is in them for a great performance.

Despite my own disappointment with Denver’s dance moves, Menomena played a solid set that put them on the top of the “Best Indie Live Shows” list. Because both singer-songwriters Seim and Justin Harris are multi-instrumentalists and their own back-up band, it was interesting to watch the evolution of which player would man what instrument from song to song.

Seim and Harris carried the energy of the band and audience on their shoulders. Both were highly physical musicians. Seim manned the drums while Harris switched between an baritone sax, bass and occasional guitar. By the end of the night, Harris had sweat through his shirt and Seim was literally dripping. It was proof enough that they gave Denver everything they had for the Friday show.

Menomena bass lines are the most intricate and melodic bass lines in indie music. The bass was loud enough to reverberate through the floor and cut straight up audience members. The show might have even out-bassed a hip-hop show in a competition. Often times, the bass carries more importance than the guitar line, especially in the encore-opener “TAOS.” As a person who cranks up the bass specifically to listen to a Menomena song, I encouraged its overwhelming power live.

The one upsetting part of the actual show was Harris’ vocal sound levels. His voice blended evenly with the back-up vocals through most of the set. Although this enhanced the band’s complicated harmonies, Harris is one of two lead singers, not a trio or quartet. His line should stand out, not blend in. His crescendos are some of the more inspiring segments of Menomena music. Live, those should have been the highlights of the show, but because of the wrongly chosen mic levels, Harris’ highest points were set apart from the back-up, but just barely. All discredit on that one goes to the sound guys.

Disregarding the mic level issues and an audience that for the most part was too cool to show their enthusiasm, Menomena played one of the best indie shows in Denver in the last year. Near the end of the show, pianist Dave Becker said that, for him, Denver was the best show on the tour. For Denver, Menomena and Guards was the best show of the night, regardless of who was playing at the 1stBank Center.

Contact CU Independent News Budget Editor Avalon Jacka at Avalon.jacka@colorado.edu.

Menomena has undergone plenty of change since the release of its 2010 album, “Mines.” When founding member Brent Knopf left the band after “Mines” was released, remaining members Danny Seim and Justin Harris debated carrying on with the project. Luckily for fans, the duo continued working together and released its fifth album, “Moms,” in September. Seim and Harris finish their winter tour in Salt Lake City this Saturday. Menomena will make a stop at Denver’s Bluebird Theater Friday before hitting the Great Salt Lake. Tickets are still available through the Bluebird’s website. Avalon Jacka talked with Seim while the band traveled through the blizzarding Midwest on their way to the Mile High City.

(Josh Shettler/CU Independent Graphic Illustration)

How is it going playing with Guards on tour?

It’s been good, I wasn’t super familiar with them before we started the tour and it’s going well. They bring the pop side of the music spectrum … to whatever we play. It’s a well-rounded package deal that you’re getting. We’re enjoying it.

What was the recording process for “Moms” like compared to your other albums?
Overall it seemed to be a lot more streamlined, a lot faster to put that together once we started. I think we’ve become kind of notorious for taking a long time because we record a lot when it’s just ourselves at our own houses and no real time constraints. They always tend to drag on and on. This one, Justin and I put it together pretty quickly and stayed pretty positive the whole time.

You and Justin are both multi-instrumentalists. Did you perform all of the instrumentation on “Moms” just between the two of you, or did you bring in back- up instrumentalists for that?
We did all the composing and recording of the core instruments and called in a few friends to add little flourishes here and there.

What was the inspiration behind the cover art?
The guy that did our “Friend and Foe” art, Craig Thompson, is an amazing illustrator from Portland and he’s also a close friend of ours. He had one of his friends that he grew up with in Wisconsin, this painter named Dan Attoe. Justin and Dan, I guess several years ago now, talked through Craig. He’s a more famous artist than Menomena will probably ever be. He’s a painter that shows all over the world and he’s really amazing. Justin and I decided that if he’d be willing to do it, we’d love to have him involved in the art. He came up with this whole thing to sum up the songs he was hearing as we finished them, so that became the cover.

How was your experience with making the video for “Plumage”?
It was actually a lot more traumatic than it looks. We were in the desert outside of Los Angeles. It went from this extremely hot, 110-degree weather to this crazy flash flood where we had to evacuate because the dry desert that we were filming in started flooding and we were getting stuck. We eventually had to stretch out the shoot for two or three days longer than we expected so we went over budget. But we got out of there intact and we now have the video to show for it. It was a wild experience.

How is Menomena different now that it’s a duo instead of a trio?
It was definitely an experiment getting back into the studio atmosphere together and get this “Moms” record together, because we were a third less than we were before. It’s fortunate that all three of us always brought our own songs and own arrangements to the table back when it was the three of us. Since everyone just swapped instruments in the studio it was still pretty easy for us to record. But there was the question of “Are we gonna carry on and try to do this, just the two of us?” We just thought we’d give it a try and see how that went. I’m really proud of the result, and I’m proud that Justin and I could put something together in the wake of losing a third of the relationship. Because there’s only two of us, there’s less chefs in the kitchen, as they say, so that contributed to us putting it together faster than in the past because there’s less people to argue about it. I think it’s the best-case scenario for all of us.

Are your set lists exclusively from “Moms,” or do you include some of your older songs?
It’s definitely a good mixture of everything. There were just two songs, I think, that Brent sang on “Mines.” So a lot of those songs we’ve been used to playing it with Justin and I singing anyway. Every album has a handful of songs that it’s just us singing. We’re trying to mix it all in there. The “Moms” thing is important to me because my mom was from Boulder, Colo. So coming back to Colorado to play some new songs is a big deal for me because everything that surrounds my mom, my memories of her, are wrapped up in Boulder and in Denver.

Your tour wraps up in Salt Lake City on Saturday. What plans do you have for after the tour?
We have plans to go to Europe, I believe, at the end of May and play a festival in Barcelona. Then we fly back to play a festival in the Northwest here in the states. We’re just trying to put some more stuff together for the summer. I am personally an optimist when it comes to recording more stuff. I’d love to start trying to think about the next record as soon as we can. Until then we have enough to keep us busy this summer.

Listen below to hear the full interview:

Contact CU Independent News Budget Editor Avalon Jacka at Avalon.jacka@colorado.edu.

The renovations of CU’s Fiske Planetarium cut off astronomy students from a valuable learning tool this semester, but the technological updates will bring the planetarium experience into the 21st century for students and community members.

According to Matt Benjamin, the academic services manager at Fiske, the advancements in astronomy required a more dynamic approach to teaching that the current 40-year-old set-up can’t provide.

A worker readjusts electrical cables inside Fiske Planetarium on Wednesday afternoon. The Planetarium is currently closed until Fall 2013. (Haleigh Jacobson/CU Independent)

“Our starball, our star projector, which we affectionately call Fritz, it’s on its last legs,” Benjamin said. “We quickly were able to identify that there were some parts…that if they failed, everything would shut down.”

According to Benjamin, the updates come at a time when the needed technology is at its peak, but is still cost effective. He said that the updates would have cost $10 million for less advanced technology compared to the $2 million renovations taking place today.

“Over the last 10 years, this technology has finally matured to where we at Fiske felt it was a worthwhile investment for the university to make,” Benjamin said. “We felt the time was right to do it now, and the university agreed with us.”

The behemoth star projector, Fritz, will be replaced with a high definition star projector the size of a beach ball. Because of the high resolution of the new projector, visitors will be able to see not only the 6,000 stars seen with the naked eye on the screen, but the 20 million stars across the universe with special binoculars, according to Benjamin.

“It’s like R2D2 on steroids,” Benjamin said.

Due to the finite detail of the new projector, the current projection screen will be torn out. Benjamin said that some of the stars are so small and distant, the light projected would pass through the holes in the screen and not be seen.

The old slide machine will be traded for six new projectors with a resolution of 8000 dpi (dots per inch), compared to the standard HD television 1080 dpi resolution. Each projector requires four computer servers in order to project 8000 dpi. To support the new technology, a new console and projectors will be installed, as well.

Although the advancements will be useful for both astronomy students and the general population, it has been a set back for students currently taking astronomy. Nick Schneider, associate professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences, is currently teaching Introductory Astronomy 1. His main method of visualization for students is Skygazer software, but it doesn’t convey the same experience.

“We’ve resorted to using software to show the sky on the flat screen in the classroom,” Schneider said. “It’s a very poor substitute for the immersion that everyone experiences in the planetarium, but it’s mathematically accurate and I’ve been able to demonstrate the same phenomena.”

Despite hindering some students’ experience with astronomy, the renovations haven’t conflicted too much with the astronomy teaching process.

“We always teach the first part [of astronomy class] with a combination of what we see in the sky versus what we see from the outside,” Schneider said. “So we use the globe and the light bulb and the hula hoop [for visualization]. So Fiske was just part of the experience.”

Senior instructor of astrophysics and planetary sciences Seth Hornstein noted that the renovations are positive in the short run because he has had more class time to go deeper into certain subjects.

“This semester I’ve been going into other things into a little more detail than would be covered in Fiske,” Hornstein said. “In one case, the show that I normally do at Fiske is just a modification of a previous lecture that I used to give, so I can go back to that previous lecture.”

Although students don’t have access to Fiske this semester, Hornstein sees that as “the cost of progress.”

“We always have the students in mind when we’re [making renovations],” Hornstein said. “We took into account, when can we do this to have the least impact?”

“We wanted it to be something that students would have access to,” Hornstein said. “We wanted students to realize this is something they’re getting at CU that they might not get anywhere else. We’re going to be on par with professional, public-driven planetaria, so the fact that it’s on a college campus is a great opportunity for students.”

According to Matt Benjamin, Fiske is targeted to reopen in September or Early October.

For weekly updates on Fiske Planetarium’s renovation, visit http://fiske.colorado.edu.

Contact CU Independent News Budget Editor Avalon Jacka at Avalon.jacka@colorado.edu.