The Colorado State University-Pueblo University Library will hold a monthly independent film series on various Sunday evenings throughout the spring semester to promote cultural appreciation and lifelong learning.

The series will kick off at 7 p.m. on Jan. 26 with “The Fall,” which came out in 2006, and will continue with different films on Feb. 23, March 16 and April 20.

Admission is free, and the theater will seat 75 people.

Bubba Sparxxx has been signed as the opening act for the concert, which is set for April 18, 2014, at 8 p.m. in the Massari Arena. Rap entertainer Sir Mix a Lot is still in negotiations with CSU-Pueblo. Photo courtesy of http://www.last.fm.

Today Contributor 

Booties and butts will be the theme at the spring concert being hosted by Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Bubba Sparxxx has been signed as the opening act for the concert, which is set for April 18, 2014, at 8 p.m. in the Massari Arena. Rap entertainer Sir Mix a Lot is still in negotiations with CSU-Pueblo.

According to a Florida State University news article, Bubba Sparxxx is a Southern hip hop artist known for his hit song “Ms. New Booty,” featuring the Ying Yang Twins. Sir Mix a Lot is a hip hop and rap artist most known for his song “Baby got Back,” according to his official website.

The Old School Booty Tour includes songs from both artists containing lyrics about “booties or butts,” said Patty Witkowsky, director of Student Engagement and Leadership.

Student bands are welcome to audition as openers as long as they have performed in CSU-Pueblo’s Got Talent shows, according to Witkowsky.

Tickets for the concert will go on sale sometime at the beginning of February through online vendors. Tickets will also be available at CSU-Pueblo in the SEAL office and at tables in various locations around campus.

Student tickets can be purchased at a pre-sale for $5 and at the door for $10. For community members, tickets at the pre-sale are $10 and $15 at the door, according to Witkowsky.

The concert will be funded by student fees taken from the major events budget section of the Student Fees fund, according to Gena Alfonso, assistant in the Division of Student Life. The revenue made from the concert will go back into at budget, Witkowsky said.

Although the possibility of alcohol was initially discussed in the Spring Concert Meeting, it is unlikely that will be served at the concert.

Witkowsky said if alcohol were to be served there would be a “beer garden” where consumers would be required to remain while drinking.

Security will be provided by the CSU-Pueblo Sheriff’s Office and by a private company. The number of security officers will be determined based on the type of event, venue and size, according to Witkowsky.

Although alcohol is unlikely to be served at the concert, there are other concerns about minors attending the event. Witkowsky said all advertisements of the concert would feature an explicit language warning.

Advertisements for the concert will be sent to newspapers, high schools, community colleges, social media outlets and radio stations, such as CSU-Pueblo’s REV 89.5 and Magic 98.9. Buildings around campus will feature banners promoting the concert.

REV will be giving away 30 concert tickets, while Magic will be giving away 20, according to Witkowsky.

CSU-Pueblo has hosted or co-hosted concerts dating back to the early 1980s. In the last seven years there have been five concerts featuring artists such as Gym Class Heroes, 3OH!3, Ludacris, The Used and Kanye West.

According to Witkowsky, students have been requesting for an event such as this on campus for many years.

“The concert will provide a social atmosphere for students to enjoy music together and share in an awesome college experience,” Witkowsky said.

Christy Wiabel

As the fall semester comes to a close, Michael Weiner, vice president of the Colorado State University-Pueblo Associated Students’ Government, revealed his thoughts on his accomplishments as a member of the ASG this year and plans that are in place for next year.

“The goals I set at the beginning of the semester included working with administration to effectively complete campus projects, upgrading my campus network to include more administrators and staff around campus that I can go to for advice or help with projects I am working on, and to advocate for student friendly changes through the committees that I sat on,” Weiner said.

Of the many projects Weiner has been involved in, the issue of biweekly pay for student workers has been one of the most important. He feels this will be a huge benefit for campus workers and has made this initiative a priority throughout the semester with great success.

Student Voice: What is ASG? from CSU-Pueblo TODAY on Vimeo.

“The biweekly payroll project has been passed on to Henry Willauer (speaker of the ASG Senate) as we have now reached a more technical stage in the project as far as working out a few things with the payroll office before the change can be implemented,” Weiner said.

Another major project Weiner initiated this semester is the formation of the new Residence Hall Association.

“The Residence Hall Association is a very exciting organization that will be making changes for the coming school year. In the spring, I will become a full time member of the RHA and assist them in becoming a more prominent association on campus, working to help them transition to a new overall structure that will strengthen their ties to the ASG. It will create a more effective method of hearing student input and help in making changes within housing that better the overall experience of a student who resides on campus at CSUP,” he explained.

Weiner has been an active part of several committees this semester and feels he has worked hard to make sure he advocates on behalf of students.

As part of the Dining Services Advisory Committee, he helped to voice student opinions about what should be offered through dining services, how to treat students who use dining services, and how programs can be better implemented.

Weiner was an active member of the Search and Screen Committee that helped select the new dean of Student Life as well as several other major positions on campus.

“I made sure that all of the different students who made it clear they wanted input on the matter, had their voice heard when helping to choose finalists and discuss those candidates who were brought to campus,” Weiner said.

Weiner was also an involved member of the Student Fee Governing Board and the Facility Fee Committee.

As part of the Student Fee Governing Board, he questioned each proposal by campus offices that use the fees to make sure the expenditures would truly benefit students at the university. Likewise, on the Facility Fee Committee, he marketed a survey that allowed students to have a voice in how their facility fees are spent.

This past semester Weiner has attended numerous administrative meetings and conferences, hoping to have a positive impact on campus. Along with several other members of the CSU-Pueblo ASG, he attended a conference in Denver this past October that included student government officials from across the state. He was excited to report that a constitution has been drafted to form the Colorado Student Government Coalition, or CSGC.

The coalition would consist of a representative from every four-year school in Colorado and would meet throughout the school year to draft joint legislation to present to the Colorado Capitol on behalf of all students in higher education in the state of Colorado.

“This will be huge because it will create a voice for all of the students in the state of Colorado and will more than likely have a major impact at the state level of government,” Weiner said. “I have volunteered to serve as our representative and will be meeting with the group early next semester to begin the process of ratifying the constitution for the coalition.”

“I am excited to see what gets accomplished next semester. My only wish is that I could have had more time to dedicate to ASG, but I am happy to say that I have managed to get the ball rolling on a lot of positive change that will hopefully continue, not only next semester, but the following school year as well,” Weiner said.

Next semester, Weiner will continue in his position as vice president of the ASG. He plans to dedicate as much time as possible representing student interests and advocating for positive change at CSU-Pueblo.

The budget model recently released at Colorado State University-Pueblo indicates that tuition will go up during Fiscal Year 2015, but the model is not final and could change depending on many factors. Photo from http://upload.wikimedia.org

Katie England

The budget model recently released at Colorado State University-Pueblo indicates that tuition will go up during Fiscal Year 2015, but the model is not final and could change depending on many factors.

The FY 2015 begins July 1, 2014 and ends June 30, 2015. The budget for this time period will be gone reviewed constantly and changed over the course of the next five months, according to Jen Mullen, chief of staff at CSU-Pueblo.

The budget will be presented in its final form in May 2014, to the Board of Governors of the CSU System.

The current budget model shows a 6 percent increase in tuition for students at CSU-Pueblo in FY 2015. It also shows an increase in the differential tuition rates, which are higher rates on tuition for nursing, engineering business and computer information systems, from $25 per credit hour to $75 per credit hour. But these numbers are by no means set in stone.

“There is no decision yet on what a possible tuition increase will be, because it’s a complex process. We work very closely with the CSU System and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education to develop the budget,” Mullen said.

CSU-Pueblo’s administrators are not alone in making the decisions about whether to raise tuition, Mullen said, since they must get approval from the CSU System Board of Governors before making any changes.

Now that the budget model has been released, the University Budget Board will continue to give President Lesley Di Mare feedback on the budget. The University Budget Board consists of representatives from the various colleges on campus, as well as student representatives from the Associated Students’ Government.

Then, Mullen said, in December the university administration will consult with the Board of Governors about the budget.

Once changes have been made to the budget, President Di Mare will share that draft of the budget with the campus in either January or February. Input will be gathered from staff and students through a process, which will be figured out over break.

That draft of the budget will look much different than the current budget model, Mullen said.

Mullen said that, though the budget model currently includes a tuition increase for next year that could easily change by the time the budget is presented to the Board of Governors for approval.

“Keep in mind, that when we create any budget, it’s always a bunch of moving parts. It’s a plan, a projection. Sometimes we get more revenue than we expected, or less. Sometimes things cost us more than we thought, or less. So even when it (the budget) gets approved each year, every single month we revise it and see how we’re doing based on the projections we made,” Mullen said.

The university is currently looking at options for generating revenue and making sure it can live within the budget projects it establishes.

“We don’t want to spend more than we bring in,” Mullen said.

The more students Colorado State University-Pueblo attracts through its new enrollment strategies, the better it is for its budget. But not all students bring in the same amount of money. Photo courtesy of http://chass.colostate-pueblo.edu/

Katie England

The more students Colorado State University-Pueblo attracts through its new enrollment strategies, the better it is for its budget. But not all students bring in the same amount of money.

“We are heavily dependent on enrollment. But we have to unpack enrollment by what type. Are the students international? Are they graduate or undergraduate? It makes a difference,” said Marty Hanifin, vice president for finance and administration.

An undergraduate, in-state student taking 12 credit hours per semester brings approximately $3,120 to the university through base tuition. However, a non-resident, undergraduate student brings in $7,356 in base tuition per semester, more than double the in-state undergrad. Graduate student tuition rates are even higher. Fee rates are the same for both categories.

Approximately 100 international students are currently enrolled at CSU-Pueblo, providing extra cash for the university, though Paul Orscheln, vice president of student services and enrollment management, said there is still room for recruitment and growth in that demographic of students.

In order to grow the international recruitment, CSU-Pueblo is currently concentrating on several countries in Central and South America.

“Latin America has some exciting new enrollment opportunities for us,” Orscheln said.

One of CSU-Pueblo’s recruiters is from Venezuela, and is very proactive in recruitment there.

“Our recruiter has visited Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico,” Orscheln said. “But, she has also gone to Europe, visiting Italy and Spain.”

Another recruiter is from Germany, and visits that country at least once a year.

Another factor that determines how enrollment affects the budget is which major a student decides to take, since some majors have higher tuition rates than others.

“Some of our majors have what we call ‘differential tuition’ because their costs are higher than other majors,” Orscheln said. Because of the differential tuition, he said it is in the universities best interest to attract students in as many majors as possible.

Undergraduate majors such as engineering, business, computer information systems and nursing are all majors that charge $25 more per credit hour than CSU-Pueblo’s standard tuition rates.

Concurrent enrollment, high school students taking college classes while they are still in high school, is another area of enrollment, which CSU-Pueblo is working to strengthen. But it works differently than other categories of enrollment, because the tuition is paid through the high school.

Right now, CSU-Pueblo has approximately 20 students enrolled concurrently, though Orscheln said there is room for improvement in this category, and enrollment strategies are being worked on.

For now, the university recruits by maintaining a strong presence in Pueblo County high schools, and by prioritizing other high schools in Colorado.

Recruitment and marketing strategies involve personal recruiters visiting schools, direct mail, direct email, telephone calls, social media and media advertising, but because recruitment is expensive, the university has to prioritize where it recruits.

“We can’t be everywhere, and not every high school student is interested in CSU-Pueblo, so we have to do our research and identify the high schools and their students who we think are most interested in attending CSU-Pueblo,” Orscheln said.

Although keeping enrollment up does play a part in keeping tuition at CSU-Pueblo from going up, Orscheln said there are many other factors, which also play a role.

“We also rely on some state assistance from a couple of different categories to fund our budget. Also, we are part of the CSU System and the state department of education, so those entities also play a very important role in determining whether or not we raise tuition, or by how much,” Orscheln said.

John Wristen (middle), head coach for the ThunderWolf football team, is currently in fourth place for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker.

Kara Mason

Colorado State University-Pueblo may have the best football coach in NCAA Division II athletics, and that could lead to a big pay off for the university’s Alumni Association.

John Wristen, head coach for the Thunderwolf football team, is currently in fourth place for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award. The award includes a $20,000 grant to the alumni association of the school with the winning coach and a $50,000 donation to a non-profit of the coach’s choosing.

Tracy Samora, director of Alumni Relations, said if Wristen wins, the association would like to use the money to help provide more scholarships for students.

“We’ve decided that three fourths would be earmarked for scholarships,” Samora said. Currently, the association sponsors one scholarship per year, and the $20,000 would help build the endowment fund, which would allow for more scholarships in the future.

The association is also considering using the money for a museum area in the Occhiato University Center. The area would either be incorporated into the center’s renovations, which will begin in February, or be in the form of an electronic kiosk.

“That’s kind of our pie-in-the-sky dream,” Samora said.

When Wristen made it into the top 15 two years ago, the association had planned to use the money for events and to build a discount program for alumni. Since then, the association has received a budget increase, which allowed those proposals to take place.

In addition to the $20,000 that would be granted to the association, the St. Mary Corwin Breast Center for Excellence would receive $50,000. Wristen originally chose the non-profit two years ago, and has chosen to stick with it.

The organization works closely with the athletic department. Each sport has a pink-out game where proceeds benefit the breast center. Additionally, St. Mary Corwin provides medical attention, specifically orthopedic surgeons, to CSU-Pueblo’s athletes.

Rochelle Wristen, director of public relations at the hospital and wife to coach Wristen, said the $50,000 would help create a physical location for the breast center. All of the center’s programs are in place, but don’t have an actual home.

To win the title of Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year, a coach has to first be voted into the top 15 by fans. Ten coaches are selected from Division I schools and the other five are chosen from the remaining three divisions. The fan votes account for 20 percent of the selection process.

Then, a committee of 57 individuals formed by Liberty Mutual evaluates the finalists. Liberty Mutual says the committee considers excellence both on and off the field, sportsmanship, integrity and responsibility. This is the most important part of the selection process with a 55 percent weight toward the final determination.

If a coach or his staff has any major infractions or integrity violations, they are automatically ineligible, the award website says.

The remaining 25 percent comes from 19 national media votes.

The ThunderWolves were eliminated from the playoffs following a 34-30 loss to Grand Valley State on  Nov. 30. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker.

By TODAY writer Nick Jurney on Gothunderwolves.com

The third-ranked CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves fell to No. 22 Grand Valley State in a back-and-forth game that saw four lead changes and resulted in a 34-30 loss that ended the ThunderWolves’ unbeaten season in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. 

Grand Valley State played their best defense in the fourth and final quarter, as they managed the clock with the rushing game and held the potent ThunderWolves offense to zero points in the final 21 minutes. 

In the end, the ThunderWolves had a couple of chances to win the game, but were halted by an interception and a failed fourth-down conversion on consecutive late fourth quarter drives. 

“(Grand Valley) came out and withstood some adversity in the beginning,” said head coach John Wristen. “They came out and took the lead in the second half, and that’s part of playoff football.”

The ThunderWolves jumped out to a quick lead early on, scoring on their first possession off the strength of a 52-yard pass from quarterback Chris Bonner to wide receiver Paul Browning on the first play of the game.

The ThunderWolves then took advantage of offensive miscues by Grand Valley State on the next two drives, forcing an interception that led to a field goal and a pair of sacks for defensive end Darius Allenafter botched snaps by the Lakers that set up a 29-yard touchdown from Bonner to Browning on a well-designed screen pass. 

Allen, already the school record holder for sacks in a season, brought his season total to 18.5 with a school and conference record five sacks on the day. 

Grand Valley State refused to go away despite falling into a 16-0 hole in the first quarter, as they stormed back with 13 unanswered points and ultimately took a 27-23 lead at the half, marking the first time the ThunderWolves had trailed at halftime all season. 

Bonner had a respectable day that was marred by a late interception despite absorbing several hits courtesy of the Lakers, including a crushing blow that kept him on the turf for several minutes after throwing a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kieren Duncan. 

Coach John Wristen said afterward that Bonner likely suffered a broken thumb on the play, an injury that hampered his play in the second half and will possibly require surgery. 

“What a gutsy performance,” Wristen said. “He tried to grip the ball, and we tried getting the running game going, but we needed the play action pass.”

Bonner, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference offensive player of the year, managed to return to the game and finished with 297 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He broke single game school records in pass completions and pass attempts in the process.

Cornerback Stephan Dickens brought the ThunderWolves back into the game with a pair of interceptions on consecutive Grand Valley State possessions to start the second half, one of which led to Bonner’s third touchdown toss of the game, this time to tight end Stehly Reden to give the ThunderWolves the lead 30-27 midway through the third quarter. 

However, the ThunderWolves were unable to stop the aerial attack of the Lakers, giving up what turned out to be a decisive 22-yard touchdown pass from Grand Valley State quarterback Heath Parling, his fourth of the day. 

Coach Wristen commended Grand Valley State and said with grace that the ThunderWolves’ program will come back strong. 

“I’m proud of our seniors, I’m proud of CSU-Pueblo and I’m proud of the athletic department,” Wristen said.

International students view Thanksgiving as an opportunity to learn about American culture through the Thanksgiving holiday. Photo courtesy of http://www.timeanddate.com/

Most students at Colorado State University-Pueblo spend Thanksgiving break back home with their families, but international students have a slightly different experience with the holiday.

International students view Thanksgiving as an opportunity to learn about American culture through the Thanksgiving holiday.

The international students got to experience their own Thanksgiving on Nov. 20, when the Family and Friends group in Pueblo organized the annual Thanksgiving dinner at the CSU-Pueblo Ballroom.

Family and Friends consist of volunteer families in Pueblo who partner with the international office at CSU-Pueblo to organize events related to American culture both off and on campus. These events give international students a sense of being welcomed and a chance to experience American culture.

At 5:30 p.m. the Family and Friends members welcomed the international students and socialized with them. Once everybody was seated, three Family and Friends volunteers presented a history of thanksgiving to the students.

The volunteers served the customary turkey dinner, along with the proper description of the food, to all students who attended the event.

Ryad Mahmoud, a CSU-Pueblo student from Saudi Arabia, is spending his first year in the U.S. and had no idea what Thanksgiving is about.

“I did hear from a couple of friends that there will be a week off during the last week of November, but had no idea what was the main reason behind this holiday is. The Thanksgiving presentation made at the event was very informative,” Mahmoud said.

International students were learning about American culture at this event, but they were also encouraged to share the famous festivals celebrated in their home countries.

Since the international students celebrated Thanksgiving the week before the actual holiday, they made big plans to visit major U.S. cities and sites over break.

“I am visiting California, Los Angeles and Las Vegas during the Thanksgiving break along with my fellow South Korean friend. It’s my first time visiting these places and I am very excited,” said Jae Kyun Ming, a student from South Korea at CSU-Pueblo.

A large crowd of international students head to Las Vegas, New York City and different parts of California and Florida.

“I am visiting New York City during Thanksgiving break with my French and Dutch friends, and really looking forward to visit the Brooklyn Bridge,” said Kevin Debien, a student from France at CSU-Pueblo.

Not all of the international students some international students decided to stay in Pueblo, but decided to stay and use the break to catch up on homework and study for finals.

“I love thanksgiving break, as it is an awesome break from classes during which the brain can calm down and get ready for the final wave of exams,” said Nirman Jaysena, a student from Srilanka at CSU-Pueblo.

Though not traveling this break, many international students will use Christmas break as a time to travel around the U.S.

“I have so many projects to take care of that I decided to stay here and work on my projects,” said Shiva Sam, a student from Iran at CSU-Pueblo. “But during the New Year’s Eve, I am going to Las Vegas.”

Nick Jurney

After a securing the top regional seed and a first-round bye in the NCAA Division II playoffs, the Colorado State University-Pueblo ThunderWolves are preparing for their opening game against Grand Valley State University (Mich.).

The 11-0 ThunderWolves will host Grand Valley State on Saturday in the second round of the playoffs after the Lakers routed their in-state rivals Saginaw Valley State 40-7 in the opening round.

Grand Valley State is 10-2 on the season, with both losses coming on the road to Ohio Dominican and Ferris State. The Lakers, out of the Grand Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, secured the fourth regional seed after defeating Saginaw Valley State in the final week of the season, who they also beat the following week to advance in the playoffs. 

The Lakers and the ThunderWolves both bring a dynamic offense to Saturday’s matchup. The ThunderWolves have a slight advantage in the scoring department, averaging 43.8 points per game compared to 36.9 for the Lakers.  

Led by junior running back Michael Ratay, the Lakers have racked up over 2,500 yards on the ground this season, complemented by a passing offense that has accounted for 26 touchdowns and 2,800 yards between two passers.

On the ThunderWolves’ side, the success of junior quarterback Chris Bonner has been well documented. Bonner, recently named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award, has set school records for passing yards (3,116) and passing touchdowns (30).

 The difference for the ThunderWolves may very well be the play of the defense, which has stifled opponents to 18.5 points per game and an average of only 113.5 rushing yards per contest.

 “(Grand Valley State) is a darn good football team,” said ThunderWolves head coach and RMAC Coach of the Year John Wristen. “It’s going to be a great test for our offense and defense…our guys are excited to go play.”

The ThunderWolves and Lakers will kick off at 12 p.m. on Saturday at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl with a trip to the Division II quarterfinals on the line. 

Christy Wiabel

Bring a Kid a Book from CSU-Pueblo TODAY on Vimeo.

CSU-Pueblo is reaching out to the community this holiday season through its annual book drive sponsored by the Teacher Education program and its student organization. 

“Bring a kid a book” began in 2000 and has helped provide books for needy children in Pueblo elementary schools each December.

Jeremiah Blaha, curriculum center coordinator for the Teacher Education program at CSU-Pueblo, is very proud of the efforts he’s seen over the years.

“We’ve been sponsoring the book drive for 14 years now, and it has grown into the largest children’s literacy drive in Pueblo,” he said. “Last year we collected 3,813 books and distributed them to children at four elementary schools in the area.  We’re hoping to surpass that number this year.”

The Teacher Education program has a history of involvement in the community and the connection goes far beyond the literacy program.

“Our students put in 210 hours of field experience before they get to student teach,” said Blaha.  “They are in the schools, working in the community.”

Service projects such as school-supply drives have been a part of the experience in the past and this year a new program called “Outreach to Teach” is being implemented.

“Outreach to Teach focuses on improving our local schools.  If a school needs painting or other improvements, we’ll go in and do the work,” Blaha said.

School budgets are not equipped to cover such improvements in low income areas, and the volunteers from the CSU-Pueblo Teacher Education program can help do whatever work needs to be done.  Blaha said the program would not only benefit those participating, but will also give much needed assistance to schools in the community. 

The BAKAB book drive is the main focus of the department as the end of the year approaches. They hope to have enough to distribute before the end of semester classes.  The goal this year is 4,500 books, and so far, the collection totals are just shy of 2,000. 

“We’d like to be able to distribute to at least three large elementary schools this December,” Blaha said.  “So far we’ve committed to Minnequa Elementary and two other schools are on board for donations.  We need more donations so if anyone would like to contribute new or gently-used children’s books, we’ll be happy to take them.”

Blaha said they would also accept moderately used books that will be distributed to local family shelters like the YWCA.

“We don’t turn down any books,” he said. “There are always places that can use them, even if they aren’t perfect.”

This year, kids from kindergarten to sixth grade will receive the donated books. More books and volunteers from all areas of campus are needed to help sort, box and deliver books when the drive is complete. 

“We can use volunteers to help us process and distribute the books to the schools,” Blaha said. “Students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to help.”

If you have books to donate or would like to assist with the book drive in any way, you may do so by contacting Jeremiah Blaha at 719-549-2216 or at jeremiah.blaha@colostate-pueblo.edu.