The strategic plan contains four goals that the university faculty and staff hope to achieve: excellent academics, affordable education, transformative opportunities and student support life. File photo

Colorado State University-Pueblo will hold an open forum this Tuesday for strategic planning. The forum is an opportunity for the campus and community to give feedback on proposed ideas to better the university. The forum only takes place once every five years.

“The 2013-2018 strategic plan is totally dedicated to ‘student success,’” said Jennifer Mullen, CSU-Pueblo’s chief of staff. “In other words, its focus is on how best to recruit students to CSU-Pueblo and how to retain them so that they graduate college with us.”

The strategic plan contains four goals that the university faculty and staff hope to achieve: excellent academics, affordable education, transformative opportunities and student support life.

In the area of excellent academics, the staff is looking into ways that it can better meet the academic needs of both current and prospective students at CSU-Pueblo.

“We’re looking at who we should be recruiting to CSU-Pueblo, how to ensure our academic programs continue to be excellent for our students, and what kinds of things we should be teaching our students so that they are successful in whatever they choose to do after college,” Mullen said.

The primary focus of the second area, affordable education, is stressing to students the importance of understanding the potential consequences of student loans. The staff is also exploring ideas to keep CSU-Pueblo affordable for students through financial aid and scholarships, Mullen said.

In order to provide transformative opportunities, the university will to continue encouraging diversity among the students, staff and faculty and finding the most effective ways to teach students. These methods could include more online courses, hybrid courses and various types of curriculums in the classrooms.

The final goal of the strategic plan is the area of supportive student life. This area targets the students’ activities and events, campus safety, technology on campus and the grounds and maintenance of the university.

“Your ASG leadership is interested in ideas students may have, particularly in this fourth area, to include in the plan,” Mullen said.

Taking the steps to initiate this plan will take time, and according to Mullen, the action which will come of this plan haven’t been determined yet, and probably won’t be until 2014.

“It takes many months to develop a plan such as this because we have a very large group of dedicated students, faculty, and staff and they all share in its development,” Mullen said.

The plan will continue to change over the course of the next five years because society, the state of Colorado and the students at CSU-Pueblo will all change, according to Mullen.

The Strategic Planning forum will take place Nov. 5, in the Hearthwell Lounge of the Occhiato University Center from noon to 1:30 p.m. Students are asked to RSVP by 3 p.m. on Nov. 1. To RSVP, students can contact Shirley Duran at 549-2718 or email her at shirley.duran@colostate-pueblo.edu

Students at Colorado State University-Pueblo saw their parking permit rates go up this year, and the extra $80,000 expected to be raised from those permits will go toward paying for new roads and other improvement projects on campus. File photo.

Katie England

Students at Colorado State University-Pueblo saw their parking permit rates go up this year, and the extra $80,000 expected to be raised from those permits will go toward paying for new roads and other improvement projects on campus. 

“Rates went up because we need to address the continuing issue of parking lot maintenance and to build the reserve to take on projects in the future,” said Marty Hanifin, vice president for Finance and Administration at CSU-Pueblo.

Last year, the total revenue earned from parking permits was $350,000, and the estimated revenue for this year is $430,000, according to Christopher Fendrich, interim director of Auxiliary Services.

It’s an estimate, because total revenue for this year, depends on how many people buy parking permits and get traffic violations during the remainder of the year, Hanifin said.

So far this year, parking permit revenue is up by $57,000 from what had been collected at this time last year, Hanifin said, even with the decrease in student enrollment.

All revenue from the parking permits goes into the Parking and Transportation Fund, Hanifin said, which also receives the revenue from traffic tickets and football parking.

The money in the fund is used for everyday repairs in the parking lots, such as painting lines, and for resurfacing the roads on campus, Hanifin said, while the money not being used right away is saved for projects in the future.

One project which will be a direct result of the higher parking fees is a new road to complete the loop around campus, which would make navigating campus easier and safer, according to Hanifin.

The new road will be located on the east side of the recreation field, and an estimate of the cost is $800,000 to $1 million. Fendrich expects the road to be completed in the next four years.

Another use for any extra money is new signage in all the parking lots.

“We would like to improve the signage in the lots to clearly communicate to drivers the different lots and uses of the different colors of lines,” Hanifin said.

The new signs may also include new names for each parking lot, names that would be unique to the university, Hanifin said.

Another project being considered would make visitor parking easier by allowing campus visitors to purchase permits from meters to put on their dash rather than running inside buildings to get visitor permits, then having to take them back out to their car, Hanifin said.

In fall 2012, a decal parking sticker was $75, while a hangtag was $100. Both were good for one year, and the hangtag was transferable from vehicle to vehicle, but the decal was not.

In fall 2013, the decal was discontinued and the hangtag was made the only available parking permit for students to purchase, other than motorcycle permits and fuel-efficient vehicle permits. Last year, 1,560 of the decals were sold.

The decision to discontinue the decals was made by the Parking Advisory Committee, which consisted of representatives from the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, Auxiliary Services and Associated Students’ Government.

The student representatives were favorable to the raise in parking fees, Hanifin said, because the hangtags are transferable and some students do not like something as permanent as a decal on their cars.

Diwali Night 2013-CISA brings Festival of Lights to CSU-Pueblo. Photo courtesy of the Center for International Programs.

Talha Qureshi

Colorado State University-Pueblo International Students Association celebrated a Diwali festival with Henna tattoos, cultural dances and internationally flavored food.

The event was planned in collaboration with the Diversity Resource Center, Office of Student Engagement and Leadership and the Center for International Programs, and took place on Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in the Occhiato University Center Underground.

Between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., the international students offered free Henna tattoos. Afterwards, Director of CIP, Annie Williams, began with a welcoming address. Pantea Matinrad, an international student from Iran, hosted the rest of the event.

After the welcome note, Sri Vatz, a CSU-Pueblo student from India, gave a small presentation about the history and culture of this Hindu festival of Diwali.

An official Puja ceremony took place, where the audience was shown how Hindu prayers are traditionally performed on this occasion.

“Diwali night 2013 was CISA’s attempt to bring something new to CSU-Pueblo,” said Nishesh Singh, CISA president. “It was celebrated for the first time at CSU-Pueblo, and given the attendance and the enthusiasm shown at the event, I think CSU-Pueblo is ready for more such events to celebrate the diversity and festivals from around the world to introduce various cultures and traditions.”

In order to keep to the theme of the event, South-Asian refreshments were served, which included a snack called “Samosa,” a drink called “Lassi,” and a desert called “Jalebi.”

The international students volunteered to serve the refreshments to the guests in order to give them the touch of the South-Asian cultures, where serving meals to the guests is important culturally.

Sofy Shrestha, an international student from Nepal, performed a solo dance routine on two Bollywood Diwali songs.

“The event was so much fun and full of joy and colors. I love to dance and this was also a mid-semester stress-buster for me,” Shrestha said.

After Shrestha’s performance, a group of students from Brazil, Colombia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Mexico gave a group dance performance on the famous Hollywood song called “Jai Ho,” from the movie “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Once the dance performances were over, the floor was open for the audience members to dance to the traditional Diwali songs with “Dandia,” which are two decorated sticks used in a certain way for group dance.

“It was amazing to perform Dandia dance, where our South-Asian students were teaching us how to do it, and it was not only easy to learn but a fun thing to try,” Williams said. “It is such an honor to learn about different cultures and their traditional events. We at CSU-Pueblo are so lucky to have such a diverse student population both from within and outside the United States.”

South-Asian students, students from other countries, students from the United States, community members, faculty and staff were among those attending the event.

The board will consist of ten student volunteers that fit a variety of demographics. They will work together with Patty Witkowski, director of Student Engagement and Leadership, by giving input and coordinating major events. Photo courtesy of lifeworkbalances.files.wordpress.com

An advisory board of students is being formed to help plan student activities for the 2014-15 school year. 

The board will consist of ten student volunteers that fit a variety of demographics.  They will work together with Patty Witkowski, director of Student Engagement and Leadership, by giving input and coordinating major events.

“I’d like a real diversity of perspective,” Witkowsky said. “Not all students live on campus and not all students enjoy the same activities.”

Witkowsky hopes to fill the 10 positions with one first year undergraduate, one sophomore undergraduate, one junior undergraduate, one first-year transfer student, one second year transfer student, one graduate student, one international student, one on-campus resident student, one off-campus resident student and one non-traditional student over the age of 24.

Students who fit the criteria and want to serve on the advisory board will also need to have some previous campus involvement.  This may include club memberships, volunteering, playing a sport, serving in student government or working in a campus facility.

Other eligibility requirements include full-time status, a minimum grade point average of 2.5, being in disciplinary good standing and continuing as a student in the 2014-15 academic year.

The board was initially formed last year and those who served discovered firsthand the challenges that the student engagement and leadership team faces when planning events.

Money, attendance, facilities and timing are all factors that affect programming each year.

One challenge is staying within a budget.  The office is given a set major-events budget of approximately $100,000 for the year, as well as a supplemental amount to use from its operating budget.  These funds are used for everything from publicity to booking fees, and with rising costs, the funds don’t go very far.

Booking well-known entertainers can be very expensive and many are unwilling to accept invitations from smaller schools where attendance at the event may be questionable.  If a large portion of funding goes toward booking a top-billed performer, it can also limits the scope of other events. One solution to the dilemma is to collaborate with other schools in the area to book attractions.  Witkowsky refers to this as “block booking.”  When an entertainer or band can perform at several venues in the same general area, it saves money for all involved.

The advisory board will meet on Fridays during the spring semester from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. They will propose activities and then conduct outside research about the cost, contacts for booking and venue requirements for those activities.  Witkowsky said she hopes the group will be able to present some innovative ideas for programming next year.

Those who are interested in serving on the Student Engagement Advisory Board can fill out an application available in the Room 006 of the OUC before Nov. 15.

Had any pizza lately? If not, it’s probably because students had no idea that Pizza with the President was happening on Oct. 22. Photo courtesy of http://www.glitterandlazers.com

Sarah Matott

Had any pizza lately? If not, it’s probably because nobody knew about Pizza with the President on Oct. 22. 

At Pizza with the President, there is, of course, free pizza. But it is also a meeting where students have the opportunity to meet with the Colorado State University-Pueblo President, Lesley Di Mare, and voice their concerns as students.

I’m guessing the only students attending were those who either attend the event regularly or who check their student email account religiously.

At 8:38 a.m., an email from the President’s Office was sent out to students, informing them about the free pizza, only three hours before the event was scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m.

Of course, every student at CSU-Pueblo was just sitting in front of his or her computer, waiting with anticipation for an email to arrive which would tell them where to go to lunch.

Except most might not be, because they have more important things to do than constantly check the student email. Even if students did check that account at least once a day, would they have checked between 8:38 and 11:30 a.m.?

One has to wonder how much the school really cares about hearing student concerns and issues.

If administration really wanted to hear what the majority of the students had to say, wouldn’t they advertise this meeting and free pizza better?

It would seem that at CSU-Pueblo, students are not informed enough about any of the events that occur on campus. Surely, there are better ways of announcing what’s going on than through the mostly unused student email accounts.

If students solely relied on the university email to find out about events, then they probably missed out on the entire first day of “Geek Week.” The email announcing this weeklong even wasn’t even sent until 1:46 p.m. on Oct. 21, the day it was supposed to start.

If the email was the first time the students heard of this “Geek Week,” then I’m sure they were as devastated as I was that to know they missed nearly a full day of Cosplay Day.

Now the student email is not the only way students can learn about the events taking place on campus. There are plenty of posters around campus, and then there’s always the “Howl,” but how effective is that, really, in reaching out to the average CSU-Pueblo student?

After all, unless that burrito for lunch just was not working and the masses spent a considerable amount of time  in the restrooms, when do students have the time to read every bit of the “Howl?”

Students are constantly encouraged to get involved on campus, but getting involved is made difficult because of the lack of effective advertising and the poor communication surrounding these school events.

The student email system sucks, especially when the majority of CSU-Pueblo students forget they even have a student email.

If the school really cares about getting students involved with all the events that are happening on campus, then they need to use something besides the student email that rarely gets checked, or the “Howl,” which is only noticed in the bathroom stalls.

If for some reason, the student email is the only possible form of communication between students and admin, could they at least send the email more than three hours before an event? Surprising as this may sound, more students might show up to Pizza with the President if they had time to squeeze it into a busy college schedule.

Running back Chris Ashe running in for a touchdown vs. the Orediggers. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker

Nick Jurney

CSU-Pueblo traveled to South Dakota and enshrined their version of Mount Rushmore in a 51-17 win over Black Hills State on Saturday. 

The victory gives the ThunderWolves sole possession of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference winning streak record, which now stands at 28, and thus makes head coach John Wristen the CSU-Pueblo football equivalent of George Washington.

Wristen, who now has 51 wins since taking over the reemerging program in 2008, is now enshrined in RMAC history with the longest winning streak in conference and longest regular season winning streak, which has now been run to 35, the second longest active streak in the entire NCAA.

Despite throwing two interceptions on the day, Pueblo quarterback Chris Bonner had one of his finest performances of the season, completing 73 percent of his passes with a season-high 345 yards. He also added three touchdowns, bringing his season total to 23 and solidifying his place as second member of the hypothetical CSU-Pueblo landmark.

A new star was born and earned his bust on the mountain in Darius Millines, a former Division I standout for Illinois. Millines contributed two rushing touchdowns on just five attempts, caught two passes for 33 yards, and averaged 31.5 yards on just two kick returns, which gave the ThunderWolves great field position each time and led to points both times.

Senior wide receiver and leader Josh Sandoval turned in a presidential performance as well, accounting for 162 yards receiving and two long touchdowns, including a 62-yard catch-and-run that got the scoring onslaught started for the ThunderWolves less than five minutes into the game.

Though the foursome of Wristen, Bonner, Millines and Sandoval complete Mount Pueblo in full, the rushing attack of Chris Ashe and company is not to be dismissed.

Ashe was able to bust through the porous Black Hills State defense, gaining 140 yards on just 16 attempts, good for an average of over eight yards-per-carry, and also found the endzone twice.

Freshman Marche Dennard stepped in to play a huge role in the running game as well, gaining 71 yards on 8 attempts to all but equal Ashe’s yards-per-carry, while Patrick Thompson switched from his usual defensive post to gain 59 yards on the ground.

The victory runs the ThunderWolves’ record to 8-0 on the year, 6-0 in the RMAC, and puts them in a position to control their own playoff destiny with only three regular season remaining.

The ThunderWolves will return home next season for a matchup with Colorado Mesa University on Nov 2. at 6 p.m. at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl.

The Outdoor Pursuits program at Colorado State University-Pueblo offers the CO-OP membership to students, staff, faculty and community members for a one-time fee. Photo courtesy of colostate-pueblo.edu.

Adventure seekers on a budget may not have to search very far for gear at a bargain.

The Outdoor Pursuits program at Colorado State University-Pueblo offers the CO-OP membership to students, staff, faculty and community members for a one-time fee.

Through the CO-OP membership, individuals would gain access to rental equipment at the OP for as many times as desired throughout the semester.

“You sign up for the membership, then you can come in as often as you like and check out equipment,” said Luke Poole, lead facilitator with the OP.

With the CO-OP membership, individuals would have access to tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, stoves and other gear suited for camping and backpacking trips.

“We have just about everything you need for most backpacking, camping type of adventures and some snow, winter adventures as well,” Poole said. “We can also do the car type set up. We can send you with an ice chest, a big tent for a lot of people, and that way you won’t need to carry it anywhere, you can just throw it in the back of your truck.”

In addition to the camping and backpacking gear, the CO-OP membership provides snowshoes, Telemark skis, winter gaiters and other winter and snow gear for renters.

Say someone hiked a really cool trail over the summer, and they wanted to hike it again over the winter, the CO-OP membership will have the gear to do that sort of winter hiking activity, Poole said.

The CO-OP membership also has biking gear such as locks, child carrier trailers, helmets and mountain bikes available for members.

“With us, for the biking stuff, it’s here on campus. If you wanted to check out a bike here, then ride it downtown, we have bikes for that,” Poole said. “Some of the trails start really close to campus and you don’t have to worry about transporting the bike on a car or in a truck or something like that.”

The CO-OP membership costs $40 for students, $60 for staff and faculty and $80 for members of the community.

“We’re primarily geared to help the student body. We’re not here to use up fees to help the community go do that kind of stuff,” Poole said. “We do allow community members and faculty and staff to do stuff with us, but mostly focused on the students.”

For those who may be looking for one specific item, the OP offers a one item one-time option, which costs $15 for students, $25 for staff and faculty and $34 for community members.

If an individual has all of the equipment beforehand, and just needs one item, the OP won’t make that person buy the whole CO-OP membership to get that piece of equipment, Poole said.

The OP Equipment Room is located in the Student Recreation Center; equipment is on a first come first serve basis. Gear that is checked out Monday through Thursday must be returned within 24 hours, while gear checked out on Friday must be returned by the following Monday at 6 p.m. Late fees will begin to accumulate after the equipment due date, starting at $10 per day. After five days, the renter will be billed with the full replacement cost of the equipment, according to the OP website.

“The late fee stuff is unfortunately necessary, because people won’t bring back their gear,” Poole said. “Most of the time, if people call ahead of time and just arrange for an extension or say ‘hey, I just won’t be able to bring it back by the cut off point,’ we’ll work with them more often than not.”

When CSU-Pueblo travels to Spearfish, S.D. for the first time in school history Saturday to take on Black Hills State University, it will be a matchup of two teams heading in opposite directions. Photo courtesy of gothunderwolves.com.

Nick Jurney

When CSU-Pueblo travels to Spearfish, S.D. for the first time in school history Saturday to take on Black Hills State University, it will be a matchup of two teams heading in opposite directions.

For CSU-Pueblo, things couldn’t be much better. The story of the season thus far has been streaking, and that doesn’t mean they’ve been running around without clothes.

The ThunderWolves are 7-0 on the season and riding a series of streaks, including 27 consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victories, one shy of breaking the record set by Chadron State from 2006-09.

A win on Saturday would also run the ThunderWolves’ streaks of consecutive regular season wins to 34, consecutive wins away from home to 19 and would likely keep them in the top-10 in the polls for an NCAA Division II best 28 weeks.

On the other end of the spectrum is Black Hills State, who has yet to win a game more than halfway through the season. The Yellow Jacket’s defense has been vulnerable at best, allowing a Division II-worst 310.8 yards per game on the ground, and giving up an average of 47.3 points each contest.

Those numbers bode well for the ThunderWolves, who come in boasting 44.6 points per game, good for highest scoring in the RMAC and ninth best in the nation.

Head coach John Wristen emphasized that although Black Hills State has seen its fair share of struggles thus far, no opponent can be overlooked.

“The challenge is not the opponent,” Wristen said. “The challenge is within yourself, to demand more of yourself, to demand that you get better each week.”

The ThunderWolves have one of the more potent offensive attacks in the RMAC, and even the nation, led by junior quarterback Chris Bonner.

Bonner heads into Saturday’s contest with Peyton Manning-esque numbers, throwing for 1,905 yards and 20 touchdowns against only three interceptions on the year. At this point in the season, it may be reasonable to suggest Bonner be considered for the Harlon Hill Award, Division II’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” Wristen said. “I think we have a lot of guys that are playing at a pretty high level, and (Bonner) is one of them.”

The ThunderWolves’ defense will prove to be a difficult code to crack for the Yellow Jackets as well. The defense has recorded 29 sacks on the season, fourth most in the nation.

Sophomore defensive end Morgan Fox contributed three-and-a-half of those sacks last weekend, and is working well with counterpart Darius Allen, who is third in the nation with 10 sacks on the year.

“Everyone just does their job,” Fox said. “You never really get a sack by yourself, you don’t ever want to let anyone else down by not doing your job.”

The ThunderWolves are traveling to Spearfish by bus, and are planning on making a stop at Mount Rushmore before “taking care of business” on Saturday.

Saturday’s game will kick off at 1 p.m.

Colorado State University-Pueblo volleyball snapped a season-high six game losing streak Thursday with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-12 victory over Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foe Chadron State. Photo courtesy of gothunderwolves.com

Colorado State University-Pueblo volleyball snapped a season-high six game losing streak on Oct 24 with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-12 victory over Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foe Chadron State. 

Playing at home for the first time in nearly two weeks, the ThunderWolves got the spark that they needed as they took down the 3-17 Eagles in the seventh annual “Block Out Breast Cancer Awareness” game.

“That game was huge for our confidence,” head coach Jen Gomez said. “It was good for us to go out there and remember how it feels to win again, especially with big conference games coming up.”

Morgan Wilkening and Brianna Bryant each reached 200 kills on the season in the effort, with Wilkening adding eight and Bryant 12 on the night.

Kacy Griffin also contributed in a big way on the night, amassing 36 assists and five digs in the winning effort.

The victory gives the ThunderWolves their fifth conference win in 12 tries, and puts them in a competitive position coming into the final stretch of games.

The ThunderWolves will play at home for the second straight night on Friday as they take on Black Hills State at 7 p.m.

The On the Move Campaign, spearheaded by the foundation, plans to raise a total of $5 million for athletics. Photo courtesy of riverwalkmamas.com

Kara Mason

Colorado State University-Pueblo will be home to six new sports next fall regardless of how much the CSU-Pueblo Foundation raises in its fundraising campaign, which announced the additions in August. 

The On the Move Campaign, spearheaded by the foundation, plans to raise a total of $5 million for athletics.

Half of the money will serve as start-up funds and scholarships for the six sports and the other $2.5 million will be used to renovate the soccer field so it can also house the lacrosse teams.

Despite the fact the foundation has only raised $5.45 million of $25 million for its total campaign, which will give $15 million to scholarships and academic programs and another $5 million to the Occhiato University Center renovations, Todd Kelly, CEO of the CSU-Pueblo Foundation, said there is currently enough money to start the sports next fall.

The money has already been raised through the foundation, Kelly said. The foundation is fronting the university the $2.5 million so construction on the soccer field can begin.

Men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s cross country, men’s indoor and outdoor track and field and women’s swimming and diving will add to the already existing 16 sports teams at CSU-Pueblo.

The new sports were chosen based on sports that already exist at other schools in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and a survey of student’s opinions.

Lacrosse, track and field, and cross-country are all sports that require a high participation, which will bring more students to CSU-Pueblo, said Athletics Director Joe Folda.

Women’s swimming and diving were added because NCAA title 9 requires an equal number of men’s and women’s sports at a university, Folda said. Kelly added that it was a sport students wanted to see the university add.

The six new teams will bring in around 130 student athletes, most of which will bring in money for the university.

“A majority of student athletes are paying something out of pocket to come to school here,” Kelly said.

Kelly explained the NCAA has found each student athlete brings an additional student to the university attended, whether they are a sibling, a friend, a boyfriend or a girlfriend.

So, It is likely there will be anywhere from 250 to 300 additional new students on campus next year because of the new sports both Kelly and Folda said.

“A majority of them will be paying their way to get here,” Kelly said. “So, it will be more students on campus and more tuition and fees coming in. More people in the dorms and in the classes. We see it as a positive economic impact for the university that way.”

Coaches of the new sports will start working on building the teams during the spring semester. The athletics department is currently in the middle of the hiring process.

“We’ve already hired the men’s track and cross country coach, we did that when we hired our women’s coach,” Folda said.

The department is in final stages of hiring lacrosse coaches and is just beginning the search for a swimming and diving coach, but it is expected the positions will be filled within the next month.

While recruiting efforts have not officially started, there has been quite a bit of interest already, according to Folda. Prospective students have already been filling out recruitment questionnaires on the athletics website.