Photo courtesy of http://www.csupueblo.edu/commencement/Pages/default.aspx

The 2016 Graduation Fair was held March 8 and  March 9. As usual, it guided graduates at Colorado State University-Pueblo with the answers to questions that students have about the sometimes confusing process of graduating.

The Graduation Fair was held in the bookstore for all students graduating fall 2015, spring 2016 or summer 2016. The fair is a very useful tool to help get many tasks accomplished. Students could attend all day, between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with opportunities to get a lot of the most stressful parts of graduating out of the way.

Students who attended the Grad Fair were be able to reserve their seat for commencement, purchase and be sized for regalia, including the cap, gown and tassel, have their picture taken by Grad Images, order class rings, order CSU-Pueblo Legacy Cords, purchase a diploma frame, order graduation announcements, meet with the CSU-Pueblo Alumni Association and pre-order a commencement DVD. They were also able to receive answers to any commencement ceremony questions they might have had.

Cindy Hall, the manager of the bookstore said that the graduation fair went really well this year.

“It was a lot busier than last year. In the two days it was held, there were approximately 400 graduates that came by. Since there are normally about 600 students walking in graduation, that is a good percentage of the graduating class that came through,” Hall said.

Sommer Street, an interim marketing and communications specialist who works in External Affairs at CSU-Pueblo, is the main coordinator of the Graduation Fair. She said she was happy to report that this year’s fair was a successful one. She explained that the point of the graduation fair is to make graduating a little less complex. With a good portion of the things needed for graduation all in one place, it removes some of the hassle for students.

“The point of the Grad Fair is to make it very simple, like a one stop shop for graduates.”

Potential graduates who missed the Grad Fair can still RSVP online at http://www.csupueblo.edu/commencement/Pages/default.aspx. Graduates can also get their cap and gown through the book store.

The 2016 CSU-Pueblo Commencement Ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. on May 7 at the Events Center at the Colorado State Fair grounds.

Members of Rev 89 promote the radio station at Pi Day. | Photo courtesy of Rev 89/Instagram

At Colorado State University-Pueblo, Pi Day is a tradition filled with puns, math and of course, pie. This was the ninth year that the Student Organizations Leadership Program held its annual Pi Day event, which took place outside by the university fountain.

Student clubs, organizations and different departments signed up to set up booths around the fountain in the center of campus. Each of them had different pies for students to enjoy while hearing about organizations and departments on campus.

Juliette Mogenson, the incoming graduate assistant for the Student Organizations Leadership Program, was in charge of overseeing Pi Day and put together the entire event with the help of the Student Organizations team.

“We like to put on Pi Day as close to March 14 as possible,” Mogenson said. “Really it is just a fun time for student organizations to come promote their club. We ask all the student organizations to bring a pie filling. The office of Student Engagement and Leadership gives out pie crusts, so everyone can go around to each organizations booth and fill their crust with different fillings.”

Since the event is held outside, the weather is a good indicator of how many people will show up to Pi day. In past years, a few hundred people have shown up. This year the wind was stirring things up a bit, but the warm sun ensured a fairly large crowd.

“Every year Pi Day is a little bit different,” Mogenson said. “We do it at different locations, but we typically like to hold it at the fountain if the weather is nice. Last year it was raining, so this is definitely a step up.”

Student Organizations encourages as many clubs or departments, or even just students who want to promote something, to sign up. The promotions can consist of whatever they want including things such as games, contests and especially food, a popular commodity among college students.

“If they have a cool thing they want to promote they can totally just come sign up. We don’t like to restrict it to any sort of sub group,” Mogenson explained.

The Residence Hall Association was promoting their organization with a game that encourage students to guess how many Starbursts were in a jar.

They also handed out flyers and, of course, pie. Other groups such as the French club, marketing club, and the diversity research also promoted themselves at the event.

“We are trying to have as many traditions here at CSU-P as possible,” Mogenson said of the goals of Pi day. “We are a smaller campus but if we can bring the same type of event back every year and create more of a community and traditions here, then we definitely want to get as many people involved as possible.”

Photo courtesy of Grant | Flickr

Auditions for this semester’s poetry slam, put on by The Black Student Union, were held Feb. 9 to select 12 poets to compete in the upcoming event.

The auditions were held in order to decide which poets are going to get the chance to compete with one another for first, second and third prize. The winner of this year’s poetry slam completion gets a $30 Visa gift card, and according to The Black Student Union, it’s going to be a tough competition.

The overall goal of holding the poetry slam auditions was to get an idea of how many poets will be performing and how the competition will run.

The judges also made sure all the pieces the poets will be performing were appropriate. According to Katy Barnes, who was in charge of finding a place to audition as well as keeping the pieces appropriate, in past years poems have gotten a little graphic.

Barnes said this year they wanted to have a more formal approach to the auditions and the competition.

“We are allowing students to perform original work that speaks to them. However, we do not want a piece to be too graphic or demeaning to any races or genders or target anyone in particular since we attract a diverse audience,” she said.

Poems that were presented at the auditions were mainly free verse with personal themes. These poems were about various topics from the importance of history to daily life in the perspective of the writer.

The maximum number of people that were allowed to audition this year was 20.

From those 20 people, they must choose 12 to fill the slots. If more people are interested in performing however, the club said it can make room, as a lot of poems tend to be relatively short. The Black Student Union encouraged all Colorado State University-Pueblo students as well as non-students, and even staff to try out.

Poetry slam flyers are posted around campus, and that is the main way they are getting the word out. The Black Student Union has reached out to the English department and other organizations to spread the word as well. Barnes said they are expecting a large audience.

The Black Student Union is advertising “A night filled with jazz, refreshments, and a calm environment.”  For anyone interested in poetry, or would like to attend a first poetry slam, the event is taking place on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Occhiato University Center Ballroom.

Photo courtesy of csupueblo.edu

Colorado State University-Pueblo’s student-run radio station, Rev 89, has made some major changes and improvements in recent months. Beginning in November of 2015, the station introduced voice tracking and live streaming, a first in the station’s 45-year history.

Rev 89 has also made some changes and upgraded their website, improving upon past versions. Owner and operator of Pueblo graphic design company Multi-Designs, Nicki Hart, designed the most recent website. Hart is also an alumna of CSU-Pueblo.

According to Jenna Mangino, the station’s faculty advisor, the site is able to do online contesting and feed stories from the CSU-Pueblo Today. An app is also in the works and will is expected launch sometime this year.

Expanding the radio station has had a wide variety of benefits. The website’s popularity has resulted in local businesses hoping to sponsor the station.

“The benefits have included reaching a global audience and expanding our listenership outside of Pueblo. Families of students from Colorado Springs, Denver, California, all over the nation or around the world, are finally able to tune in and listen to their loved one on air,” Mangino said. “It’s expanded our terrestrial signal and made it possible to take the station with you wherever you go. We’re very excited and proud that Rev 89 is now global.”

Running the website and keeping it up to date is now easier for the tech-savvy radio station staff. The Rev 89 staff is mainly focused on their on-air work when it comes to responsibilities.

The Rev 89 staff does everything from on-air work, voice tracking, production, producing daily news segments for the Five at Five to various other segments and hard work that comes with working at a successful radio station. The website provides a vast amount of exposure for the station while being easy to maintain.

Other changes that have been taking place recently include a new staff and implementing a radio automation system. This year’s Rev 89 staff is new and Mangino said she is excited to get everyone up to speed on the station’s new technology.

The station now has WideOrbit, a program Mangino called the most sophisticated radio automation system on Earth.

“The implementation of WideOrbit has changed the way we teach broadcasting in the department and is something the students really enjoy learning,” Mangino said.

Let’s Move Campaign. Courtesy of imls.gov

CSU-Pueblo professor Karen Marley and her program management class will be hosting its annual “Let’s Move” campaign April 25 to promote an active lifestyle among Pueblo’s youth.

The event is aimed at kids grades kindergarten through eighth grade, but all ages are encouraged to participate.

Among numerous incentives to attend the event include free T-shirts to the first 300 participants, various prizes and giveaways as well as activities ranging from yoga and a rock wall to field hockey and rugby.

“In doing this event, my management class gets hands on opportunities to develop and run a highly successful event,” Marley said. “The class is running the entire thing. My job is to simply guide them through the process.”

While the main goal of the event is for the kids to have fun, the class also wanted to be sure to do a good job at letting children and their parents know of the recreation options out there. The “Let’s Move” campaign is designed to help kids get on the right track toward a healthy lifestyle.

In order for the event to be executed, the management class has come up with a mission statement to motivate them. Additionally they have various committees in charge of different parts of the campaign. Each committee has a chair and a vice chair, as well as student liaisons in charge of getting volunteers for the event.

“It’s been difficult to plan the event given the large size of the class. There are so many people, it gets chaotic at times.  I think we are doing a great job despite the difficulties though,” said Cole Gilmore, a student in the management class. “Everything is falling into place and it should go really well.”

Whether it is weight loss or nutritional health or anything in-between, each vendor at the event aims to provide health information to children and their parents. Vendors range from those in the community that promote health throughout Pueblo to the National Governing Bodies of the U.S. Olympic Committee, which will help with volleyball and field hockey.

Registration for the “Let’s Move” event  starts at 8:30 a.m. in the Massari Arena on April 25. The activities run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and athletic dress is required.

Student volunteers are also needed and should email Karen.marley@csupueblo.edu for more information.

This theme of this year’s International Extraganza was sports around the world. | Photo by Jessica Warren

The International Students Association’s 77th Annual International Food and Cultural Extravaganza attracted around 300 people to participate in a night of cultural exchange April 9.

Emceed by mass communications majors M. Talha Qureshi of Karachi, Pakistan and Sarah Zarr of Pueblo, the theme of this year’s extravaganza was sports around the world. The event featured a potluck style feast with various dishes representing many heritages.

In addition to international cuisine, the event included an international sports fair, fashion show, talent show and recognition of the International Supporter of the Year.

The International Supporter of the Year award is an award given to families based upon their contributions and support to the international students at CSU-Pueblo.

Seven families from the Pueblo community were nominated for the award this year, including Helen and Don Banner, Karen and John Zondlo, the Grossman family, the Baker family, Martha Brown, the Edwards family and the Gasper family. This year, instead of honoring only one family, CISA honored all seven families for their contributions.

Other awards given at the extravaganza included recognizing the accomplishments of international students during the 2014-2015 academic years, including those who participated in one of CSU-Pueblo’s 22 intercollegiate athletic teams.

Hosts Sarah Zarr and Talha Quereshi address the audience. | Photo by Daniel Potter

The fashion show, which was hosted by business administration student Harshita Ojha, featured 30 models displaying various traditional outfits and sportswear from around the world. Each model and outfit were popular with the crowd, but Center for International Programs Director Annie Williams said mass communications professor Julie Armstrong was the showstopper.

“The event went well. Having organized this program for over 30 years, I can say it was one of the best to date. The entertainment segment went very well, with multiple acts performing.  We had close to 300 people attend, including several CSU-P administrators,” Williams said.

The International Extravaganza branched out and decided to have a first annual after-party.

“It, too, went better than anticipated, with several international and American students hanging out to dance, mingle and take photos of each other,” Williams said.

Ivan Pagano Aragona, who is from Brazil, served as the disc jockey for the event and Girl Scout Troop 1652 from the Corwin International Magnet School helped to end the night with singing, “Make New Friends.”

According to CSU-Pueblo’s website, this semester CSU-Pueblo is home to 150 international students, representing 34 countries, including large contingencies from China, South Korea, Brazil and Germany.

This theme of this year’s International Extraganza was sports around the world. | Photo by Jessica Warren

The International Students Association’s 77th Annual International Food and Cultural Extravaganza attracted around 300 people to participate in a night of cultural exchange April 9.

Emceed by mass communications majors M. Talha Qureshi of Karachi, Pakistan and Sarah Zarr of Pueblo, the theme of this year’s extravaganza was sports around the world. The event featured a potluck style feast with various dishes representing many heritages.

In addition to international cuisine, the event included an international sports fair, fashion show, talent show and recognition of the International Supporter of the Year.

The International Supporter of the Year award is an award given to families based upon their contributions and support to the international students at CSU-Pueblo.

Seven families from the Pueblo community were nominated for the award this year, including Helen and Don Banner, Karen and John Zondlo, the Grossman family, the Baker family, Martha Brown, the Edwards family and the Gasper family. This year, instead of honoring only one family, CISA honored all seven families for their contributions.

Other awards given at the extravaganza included recognizing the accomplishments of international students during the 2014-2015 academic years, including those who participated in one of CSU-Pueblo’s 22 intercollegiate athletic teams.

The fashion show, which was hosted by business administration student Harshita Ojha, featured 30 models displaying various traditional outfits and sportswear from around the world. Each model and outfit were popular with the crowd, but Center for International Programs Director Annie Williams said mass communications professor Julie Armstrong was the showstopper.

“The event went well. Having organized this program for over 30 years, I can say it was one of the best to date. The entertainment segment went very well, with multiple acts performing.  We had close to 300 people attend, including several CSU-P administrators,” Williams said.

The International Extravaganza branched out and decided to have a first annual after-party.

“It, too, went better than anticipated, with several international and American students hanging out to dance, mingle and take photos of each other,” Williams said.

Ivan Pagano Aragona, who is from Brazil, served as the disc jockey for the event and Girl Scout Troop 1652 from the Corwin International Magnet School helped to end the night with singing, “Make New Friends.”

According to CSU-Pueblo’s website, this semester CSU-Pueblo is home to 150 international students, representing 34 countries, including large contingencies from China, South Korea, Brazil and Germany.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft Office clip art

Attending a four-year university can be an expensive means of gaining an education. Between the tuition and housing, attending a university is a huge financial commitment.

One of the most expensive parts of attending college is purchasing the textbooks for classes. At Colorado State University-Pueblo, members of the Associated Students’ Government are working on a plan to bring the cost text books way down.

President Timothy Zercher and information technology director Jim Wiley have proposed a new idea to help save students the cost of expensive textbooks. After stumbling upon a few free textbooks online, Wiley decided to write up a proposal for free online textbooks. The proposal could land CSU-Pueblo a spot in the Open Textbook Network, a collection of renowned universities already utilizing the free textbooks.

According to Zercher, there are 37 courses at CSU-Pueblo that have the means to transfer their textbook curriculum online. These courses mainly consist of lower level freshmen and sophomore classes as well as some other general education courses. This means that for these 37 courses, almost all the material students need from the books will be online and free to access.

Implementing a free online textbook catalog has major advantages. According to the Minneapolis Community and Technical College website, the estimated textbook expense for a full-time student is $450 per semester. Moving these books to the Internet for free would not only save college students money, but they would have immediate access to their books at all times.

Teachers who implement this online system would benefit as well.

When CSU-Pueblo students were surveyed and asked their reasons for not purchasing textbooks from the bookstore, the most popular response was that large sections of books are not used in class.

With online books, professors would have complete creative freedom over the publications. Professors could cut out unnecessary or outdated chapters, add in their own lessons and customize the textbooks however they want. This eliminates the problem of buying an entire book and only using a few of the chapters.

Although there are great benefits to the program, implementing this system is going to come with some challenges. The main hurdle to overcome is the extensive amount of time it would take.

According to Zercher, almost every department chair at CSU-Pueblo is on board with the plan. However, in order for the free online books to have credibility at the university, they would have to be read, re-read and read again. This means each department head would have to take the time to fact check each book on their subjects.

Despite the time to transition, most agree that this would be well worth the effort. President Lesley Di Mare was on board after the ASG members proposed the idea.

“If the president thinks free textbooks online is worthwhile, we should absolutely look into it,” Zercher said.

For the skeptics who aren’t sure about the idea, the CSU-Pueblo bookstore would still be readily available. Since it is the professor’s choice whether or not to offer their textbook online, they can always stick to traditional paper textbooks.

In order for CSU-Pueblo to be innovative academically, many steps must be taken. The process of implementing free online textbooks would certainly help to qualify the university as a modern, progressive school, a goal many universities strive for. Colleges such as Purdue University, The Ohio State University, The University of Oklahoma and many more have all taken the steps to become a part of the Open Textbook Network.

ASG is determined to launch CSU-Pueblo toward progressive learning and academic innovation. Free online textbooks would not only increase our universities academic standing, but save students thousands of dollars while improving the way they learn.

The mass communications department invites all students to attend Mass Comm Madness on March 12.

The mass communications department at CSU-Pueblo will be holding a “Mass Comm Madness” event to promote its program March 12 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Buell Communications Center.

The free event is to help newly declared freshman and sophomore mass communications students navigate the department. It also aims to attract students with undeclared majors.

At the event, students can register for fall classes and get to know more about Rev 89, the CSU-Pueblo Today and Rocky Mountain PBS.

There will also be free food and prizes.

In order for students to experience each of the media labs offered by the department, there will be stations set up throughout the department. Rev 89, the Today and the Rocky Mountain PBS affiliate television station will have different booths and areas set up with information.

Some activities include a green screen set to the music of “Happy,” “Uptown Funk,” “All about That Bass,” or “Shake It Off” that participants can create their own music videos to in the RMPBS studio.

Visitors of Mass Comm Madness will also be able to go on air on 89.5 FM, visit with the reporters from the Today to ask questions about journalism, and see live streaming reporting right there in the studio.

Various prizes will also be given out throughout the event. Students will be able to enter to win Beats headphones, a GoPro, a $50 iTunes gift card, two tickets to the upcoming All American Rejects concert on campus and a remote controlled Diamondback helicopter.

This is the second year the mass communications department has hosted this event. While it hopes to encourage students to major in mass communications, it also welcomes students of all majors to attend.

Photo courtesy of the Pueblo Zoo

Having a zoo in Southern Colorado means some animals have to adjust to the cold, snowy temperatures during the winter season.

In order to make sure the animals have comfortable living arrangements during the bitter Colorado winters, the zookeeper staff cares for the animals in all weather for the entire year.

General Curator Ashley Bowen is in charge of the animal care department. She is also responsible for managing the keeper staff. In her position, she manages all animal shipments, oversees their care and makes sure that all the applicable laws and regulations dealing with animals are followed.

While most of the animals would probably prefer basking in the warm sun outside, the cold snowy Colorado winters are unavoidable at this zoo. When it does start to snow they do have indoor options to keep the animals warm.

Bowen said that when it falls below a certain temperature, some animals cannot handle the cold. These animals have alternate indoor housing and when the chilly weather starts to arrive, the animals are kept inside.

“We keep an eye on the weather, so if we notice that we are going to have a cold night, we’ll make sure the animals have what they need to stay warm,” Bowen said.

There are, however, some animals at the Pueblo Zoo that can handle the cold weather, Bowen said. These animals, unbothered by the cold, can be kept outside during the winter.

“We have several species of animals found in Colorado, and they can all stay outside during the winter.  Plus, we have cold weather animals from around the world that have evolved to deal with cold temperatures,” Bowen said.

Some of the animals that particularly enjoy the cold, snowy season include red pandas, Pallas’ cats, Canadian lynx and North American river otters. These animals are out and about year-round, making it easy for visitors to them almost all the time.

Although the winter season does mean fewer visitors to the zoo, there are some advantages. Bowen said that some of the animals prefer the colder weather, so they are more likely to participate in training, or just be more active.

One of the oldest attractions in the city, the Pueblo Zoo is home to more than 400 animals and 120 species, as well as many exhibits including the Serengeti Safari, which includes Masai lions, plains zebras, ostriches, Thomson’s gazelles, East African crowned cranes, lappet-faced vultures, white storks and waterbucks.

There is also The Australian Outback with emus and red kangaroos from Australia.

The Pueblo Zoo, which is located within City Park, is open all year, seven days a week.