Image courtesy of csupueblo.edu

On Nov. 10,  Colorado State University-Pueblo Archives and the local Chicano community joined efforts to co-sponsor two events related to the online archive of La Cucaracha, an alternative Pueblo newspaper that focused on the Chicano movement in Colorado during the seventies and eighties.

The event, which was open to the public, took place in LARC 109 from 6 to 9 p.m.

According to a 10/11/16 CSU-Pueblo press release, the “CSU-Pueblo’s University Archives is a part of the University Library. Its mission is to collect, preserve, and make accessible materials that document the University’s history and Southern Colorado’s ethnic heritage and diversity.”

La Cucaracha, which was published between 1976 and 1983, reported stories of interest to the Chicano population. CSU-Pueblo archivist and associate professor, Beverly Allen, was responsible for arranging the event.

“La Cucaracha was a very high regarded Chicano newspaper published in Pueblo to provide an alternate view from mainstream outlets like the Chieftain,” said Allen.

The newspaper had ended primarily due to financial issues in 1983, she added.

“Not only did it report on stories of interest to the Chicano population that the Chieftain did not, but it also provided an alternative viewpoint which helped give a fuller picture,” Allen said.

The three-hour long campus event featured a discussion by former La Cucaracha editors and staffers David Martinez, Juan Espinosa and Rita Martinez, who talked about their most significant contributions to the newspaper.

Martinez, Espinosa and Martinez were students of the University of Colorado-Boulder during the Chicano Movement, in the early 1970s. They had participated in rallies, protests and other events at the time, according to the Colorado Chicano Movement History Portal.

After graduating and deciding to start a newspaper that reached out to the Chicano people, the three contributors settled on Pueblo because of the city’s large Hispanic population.

La Cucaracha covered several topics, including police brutality, healthcare, land rights and education as well as both local and national news.

“La Cucaracha just went online in early October because we believe it will make an important resource for Chicano history much more accessible to the public at large,” said Allen.

The website is currently available through the Colorado Historic Newspaper Collections website.

According to the 10/11 press release, “the Archives received grants from the Statewide Internet Authority (SIPA), the Colorado Association of Libraries’ International Library Cultural Exchange Interest Group (CAL-ILCE) as well as CSU’s President’s Gala Fund to pay for several projects related to La Cucaracha.”

A workshop was held Nov. 12, between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., that focused on accessing and navigating the website.

For additional information about the incentive, visit:

 http://www.csupueblo.edu/Communications/Media/PressReleases/2016/Pages/10-12-2016-1.aspx

Edited by: Theresa Wolf

Poster for upcoming events from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
~ photo by: Adrienne Burthe

The Prizm organization at Colorado State University-Pueblo held a PRIDE Fest Oct. 5 from 2-4 p.m. in the Psychology building.

Prizm is an on-campus group that supports students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual.

The event, which was open to all students and organizers, was aimed at garnering support for those involved with the LGBTQIA community.

It was Prizm’s second event of the day. The first, “Cupcakes for Diversity,” took place in LARC from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Festival activities included arts and crafts, a PRIDE movie screening and trivia on the LGBTQIA history. Prizes and snacks were provided.

Vera, who has been to every Prizm meeting and event since she started school at CSU-Pueblo, was disappointed by this year’s turnout.

“I desperately want us to grow more like other clubs here on campus,” said Vera.

Vera hopes more people will show up to their weekly Wednesday meetings at 6 p.m. at the Walking Stick residence clubhouse, where the group comes together to talk both about personal and other daily issues they face as a community both locally and worldwide.

Graduate assistant for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Steven Parker agreed with Vera that the number of attendees of Prizm events tends to vary each year.

“Sometimes we get a lot of attendance, like with the drag show, but last year’s prom there was no one there,” said Vera.

She added the members strive to be like a family and hope to get more members, as well as support from students who don’t identify with LGBTQIA.

Those who do not identify with LGBTQIA are still welcome to attend all events as well as their weekly meetings and join Prizm.

In fact, according to Parker, this year’s Prizm President Bonnie Fruland identifies as heterosexual.

Vera thinks the best way for Prizm to get support around campus is by people asking questions and educating themselves about the issues.

“I think the best way to educate people is for them to ask questions. I believe that it’s important to ask questions, that’s how we can learn to be supportive of each other. I always encourage questions as long as they come with no judgment,” said Vera.

October is LGBTQIA History Month, so there will be plenty of other events to attend.

A Cultural Movie Night is scheduled for Oct. 13, from 4-6 p.m., in room 153 of the Psychology building.

Vera’s personal favorite event, the annual drag show, is expected to have the highest turnout rate for students and will be held at the OUC Ballroom Oct. 27, from 7-9 p.m.

Other events for Prizm can be found online through CSU-Pueblo as well as in the office for diversity and inclusion on campus.

Edited by: Theresa Wolf 

Image courtesy of gothunderwolfves.com

Pueblo Tennis Center and Colorado State University-Pueblo men’s and women’s tennis collectively hosted its second tennis mixer for club members on Aug. 30 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.The event featured several tennis drilling events, serving and aiming contests, and doubles play. Participants had an opportunity to socialize and enjoy pizza afterward.

The goal of the event is to help club members improve their game while drumming up support for CSU-Pueblo tennis, thereby encouraging locals to attend matches at City Park.

Proceeds fund men’s and women’s tennis at CSU-Pueblo, as well as the Pueblo Tennis Club.

“I think it’s good for the club members to see a higher level of play, and it’s good for them to see strong energy from the college players and realize the levels of players out there,” said Mark Jacques, owner of Pueblo Tennis Club.

“We’re trying to build that relationship between the school, team and tennis community, and it’s more personal for the community to know about the players they’re reading about,” said CSU-Pueblo tennis coach Mark Schlief.

Sophomore returning player David Mould agreed that this fundraiser is helpful to the team.“It publicizes the team, so they come out to our matches,” he said.

“It gets the fact that CSU-Pueblo has a tennis team out there. I think it lifts the team and our moral to have the community come to our matches.”

Club members of all ages agreed that the mixer encouraged them to attend the team’s local matches for the fall and spring seasons.

Mould shared his hope that Pack Tennis will get more exposure and support from the local community and other CSU-Pueblo students.

“We could use more support from the Pack Athletics, and it could be more well publicized on campus about our team,” said Mould.

He expressed hope that the school’s local radio station REV89 will announce matches and other tennis-related events.

Shlief expressed that Pueblo’s various outreach programs, including the YMCA, women’s league, or even the local newspapers could help the team gain exposure.

The men’s and women’s teams will have their first home matches at Pueblo City Park on Sept. 9-10, during CSU-Pueblo Pod matches. They will face off against Colorado Mesa University, Metro State University, Nebraska Kearney, Fort Hayes, Central Oklahoma, Colorado College, and Air Force.

Match schedules and other team information for CSU-Pueblo tennis can be found online at gothunderwolves.com. For more information on Pueblo Tennis Center, please visit pueblotennis.info or it’s physical location at 1001 W 31st. St., Pueblo or call 719-543-0450.

The CSU-Pueblo women’s tennis team took fourth at the RMAC tournament. | Photo courtesy of gothunderwolves.com

The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for both men and women’s tennis was held this weekend on April 22 and 23 at City Park in Pueblo.

The schools in the conference included Colorado Mesa University, Metro State University, Colorado Christian University and Western New Mexico University.

Both the men and women’s team placed fourth out of five in the conference.

Western New Mexico University finished in first place for both the men and women’s team, Colorado Mesa University ended in second place for both men and women’s, Metro State University ended in third place for men and women’s, Colorado State University-Pueblo ended in fourth place for both men and women’s and Colorado Christian University placed fifth.

After this season, the men’s team will be able to keep all of their players, but the women’s team will lose several of their seniors who will be graduating this spring. Graduating seniors include Mariana Hosomi from Brazil, Toni Alverez and Brooke Trevithick, both Pueblo natives, and Teresa Haro, from Monument, Colorado.

Junior Gia Montoya is currently undecided on playing next fall because she has a one and a half year old child.

Returning women players for the fall include juniors Kaitlin Bos, Kristin Jensen and Samantha Cachutt.

The women’s team currently has a local Pueblo incoming freshman who will play next fall and are hoping for a transfer from a California junior college. They are hoping to at least get one to two more players in order to get the minimum six players needed.

The men’s team will have returning sophomores David Mould and Keaton Qualls, juniors Siggy Menzel, Ryan Ray, Stevel Alcala, Brenden Sullinger and Sazhnev Konstantin and senior Marchelo Chaparro.

The CSU-Pueblo men’s tennis team also took fourth in the conference. | Photo courtesy of gothunderwolves.com

It is unknown if the team will have any more incoming players this fall for the men’s team.

The team will have a summer break and start up again in the fall for their offseason and many players are planning on returning home for the summer.

The team’s offseason will start in fall of 2016 and the official season will be held in the spring semester of 2017.

Practices and matches will be held at City Park in Pueblo.

Admin members Rick Kremenski, Karl Speicker and President Lesley Di Mare discuss campus issues at a Behind the Scenes meeting. | Photo by Jason Prescott

Students, faculty and staff got together April 13 for a monthly “Behind the Scenes” meeting with university administration members to cover questions about what’s going on at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Administration members present included President Lesley Di Mare, Vice President for Finance and Administration Karl Spiecker and Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Rick Kremenski.

This month’s meeting covered subject matter on marijuana research on campus, gender disparities on campus, possible new degrees to offer, a healthy kids event on campus, energy savings, the 78th Annual International Extravaganza, expansion on the Occhiato University Center and the closing of Belmont Residence Hall.

Researchers at CSU-Pueblo have been speaking to legislators in Denver about impacts of marijuana on the campus. A rumor stated that the idea was shot down, however, a research proposal may just happen.

“We should be getting the almost $1 million,” Di Mare said.

Out of the $1 million, “$50 thousand was going to go towards impact studies,” Di Mare said.

In spite of the plans, though, the campus is facing more problems with the idea of having marijuana on campus.

“A group of people on the ballot don’t want recreational weed in Pueblo,” Kremenski said.

Although the weed would be on campus, it would be used strictly for research purposes.

The meeting also spoke about gender disparities on campus and found that, “gender was not statistically significant,” Kremenski said. The ultimate concern came down to whether or not male student employees make more than females.

He noted that these sort of studies take several years to discover whether female employees are paid less than male employees.

CSU-Pueblo has also submitted eight new ideas for degrees to be taught at the university and are hoping for three to five new majors. The board meeting for this will be held on May 5 and 6.

Upcoming events at the university include “fitness fun” for kids from kindergarten to eighth grade as well as parents, staff and students on April 23. The event is aimed to help kids learn about a healthy, active lifestyle choices as well as have fun. It is from 9 a.m. to noon. The first 300 kids will also receive a free T-shirt.

Another important issue covered was energy saving on campus. Goals for the university include saving money, as well as becoming a more eco-friendly campus.

“At the end of the day, we will have a smaller carbon footprint on campus. This is something we’re excited about,” Spiecker said.

Small changes such as lighting are estimated to pay itself back overtime.

A second rumor has also popped up on campus about the Annual International Extravaganza being cancelled this year due to a marijuana-laced pastry incident last year. However, this rumor was shut down.

According to Di Mare, last year there was a pot-laced cake brought to the event, which lead to several students getting sick. After the incident, Chartwells, the university’s food provider, did not want to supply food to the event this year for liability issues.

Di Mare offered the option of allowing students to participate in a potluck, but it would only be open to the international students, who would have had sign a waiver beforehand. Students decided to cancel the event instead.

Chartwells has also become a topic of complaint at the meeting. Students and staff have complained about the Pack Café not being open over the summer. This is because Chartwells doesn’t make enough money over the summer. This situation can make summer living in Pueblo unattractive to international students.

Regardless, the Pack Café will also be expanded from the OUC this upcoming November.

“The new OUC is going to be a bright and beautiful place,” Kremenski said.

There are also plans of adding another food truck onto campus due to its popularity.

Lastly, the administration members addressed Belmont Hall, which has been sitting vacant for the past year.

Di Mare said Belmont only had about 30 applicants for the 2015-2016 school year. The building is over 60 years old and needs a lot of repairs, but costs too much money. It would cost an estimated $18 million to renovate, and even a few million dollars to tear it down, which is the ideal plan. So far, no plans are set for the building.

No date for the next meeting was announced.

The CSU-Pueblo men’s tennis team | Photo courtesy of gothunderwolves.com

Every player of the CSU-Pueblo men’s tennis team won his match in the team’s first home match on March 16. The matches were at the Pueblo Country Club, where they played against Dallas Baptist University.

At No. 1 doubles, junior Siggy Menzel and freshman David Mould won their match 9-8 (7-3). At No. 2 doubles, sophomore Brenden Sullinger and sophomore Steven Alcala won their match 9-8 (7-5). The No. 3 doubles pair, senior, Marcelo Chaparro and junior Ryan Ray won their match 8-4.

Menzel also plays No. 1 for the singles roster as well and won a tight match at 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. He said he felt the first home match went great.

“I’m really happy with the way everyone played and competed,” he said. “Great energy, fight at positivity. Decent crowd turnout as well.”

He also has a few goals for the season. “My season goals are to have more wins than losses in doubles, win two out of four of my RMAC singles matches at number one, and win three out of four of the RMAC matches as a team and to always give 110 percent”.

Menzel thinks that he and his partner, Mould, will have a successful season because they work well as a pair. Menzel is from Australia and Mould is from England.

“I feel like David and I get along really well” Menzel said. “Even off court, we share similar things. England and Australia are very similar also, so that definitely bring a lot of things in common, and we just get along very well. David is very good at listening and is open to ideas and suggestions which makes it great playing with him.”

Menzel also said that David has a “mentality very similar to mine to always give 110 percent. Him being a lefty helps a lot also”.

The other men were successful in their matches as well. The No. 2 singles player, Acala, won his match 6-3, 6-4, No. 3 Chaparro won 6-3, 7-5, Mould won at No. 4 with 6-2, 6-1.

Ray won at No. 5 with 6-2, 6-3, and Sullinger won at number six singles 6-1, 6-4.

Ray also said the felt this match was the best he has played all season so far for singles. For doubles, Ray said “My partner and I stepped up our game and ended up winning comfortably in doubles after having a tough time in the beginning of the set.”

Like Mezel, Ray also has team goals for the season.

“As a team we want to beat our rivals Mesa and Metro in the RMAC and just do well in the conference,” he said.

The men’s team has several more matches in their season. Their next match will be March 23 at 1 p.m. at Pueblo City Park.

Other season information such as the roster, team pictures, match results and season schedule can be found online on the CSU-Pueblo athletics website under men’s tennis.

Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/LEAFColorado

The Leaders in Ethical Action for the Future Club is a new club to Colorado State University-Pueblo that started last August. The LEAF club aims to promote a healthy self, community and Earth.

The club’s primary contact, Meral Sarper, said that the club was started by two founding members who wanted to create a club to foster the positive transformation of the community and Earth.

“However, we wanted a club that first focused on mindfulness, meditation and yoga as an access to create powerful sustainability events,” Sarper said.

The club currently has 12 active members and 30 total members that attend events and some of the meditations. Sarper said that the LEAF club meets regularly and practices meditation/mindfulness sessions as well as light yoga practice.

Aside from yoga, the club has also hosted two clean up days along with community leader Lee Jones and K-12 students at Runyon Lake Park.

“We were featured in the Pueblo Chieftain for this,” Sarper added.

LEAF Club is asking students to come to SustaInnovation, a free event hosted by the club that is offering free snacks, drinks, giveaways and prizes. The event will also have a bike powered smoothie machine, spin art, gardening and more.

The event will take place on Jan. 28 from noon to 6:30 p.m. in room 108 and 109 at the CSU-Pueblo Library and Academic Resources Center. The club members are hoping to inspire others and gain new members to their club.

More information can be found for this event at www.sustainnovationcsup.eventbrite.com as well as on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LEAFColorado.