CSU-Pueblo is hosting a GALA in support of the Honor Flight Network. Photo courtesy of starsandstripeshonorflight.org.

The American Legion Post 203, a local non-profit organization will be hosting a GALA to benefit Honor Flight of Southern Colorado. The fundraising event, which is co-hosted by The Student Veterans of America Chapter at Colorado State University-Pueblo, will be held in the Occhiato Center ballroom on Feb. 7, 2015 from 4 to 11 p.m.

The Honor Flight is a non-profit organization that aims to send Southern Colorado veterans to memorials that represent the wars they fought in. They are placed in various parts of  the world, including Washington, D.C. and Normandy.

DJ Parker, a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps student at CSU-Pueblo, believes it is important to help send these veterans to visit the memorials, especially those who served during World War II.

Parker, who is spending his third year majoring in criminology, said that he joined ROTC in order to become an officer in the U.S. Army. He wanted to gain knowledge and skills to help him succeed in and out of the army that he would not be able to get anywhere else.

“There’s not many of them left and after all these years, this may be their first and only chance to see these memorials, and the friends they lost, a last time,” Parker said.

Parker’s role in ROTC is as a Cadet MS3 consists of running the ROTC program and mentoring younger cadets.

“I think it’s a great cause to help these veterans because many of them may not be able to afford this experience on their own,” Parker said. “Any organization that helps give back to the people that sacrificed so much for us is a great one.”

Student Veteran Zachary Coolidge said the Honor Flight of Southern Colorado does a lot of great things for our older veterans who served in WWII, along with other veterans who served in a war.

“These men and women are getting older and definitely need to be remembered and allowed closure as an American who has served their country, the same one you and I live in,” Coolidge said.

Coolidge was in the army for 12 years and eventually became Staff Sergeant in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was assigned to the 1/25^th SBCT as a Human Intelligence Collector Platoon Sergeant.

He has served at many duty stations, nationally and internationally, and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Coolidge is currently a senior majoring in mass communications with an emphasis in electronic media. He is also minoring in computer information systems with an emphasis in web development.

“WWII was in my opinion one of the worst wars, it had to have been a mentally and an emotionally wild roller-coaster. As a veteran who has fought in recent war, I couldn’t imagine the horrors of WWII so it’s important to send them to the memorials,” Coolidge said.

Student veteran Kenneth Pitts said he thinks more people should know about the Honor Flight, as it lets veterans know that citizens appreciate their service.

“It would help motivate the veterans to be more positive, make them feel like we appreciate them and their past efforts for serving,” Pitts said.

Pitts, a sophomore mathematics major served in the Unites States Air Force for three years at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.

The event will consist of entertainers Reveille 3 and comedian Jeff Valdez.

Reveille 3 has been performing since 2009 and adds choreography to their vocal performances, consisting of songs performed by the Andrew Sisters, a close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras.

Valdez, a Pueblo native, spent time in his early career doing comedy, followed by producing media.

State Sen. Leroy Garcia will also be presented at the GALA as master of ceremonies, with Southern Colorado Honor Flight President Cesar Ochoa and CSU-Pueblo President Lesley Di Mare serving as speakers.

Tickets to the GALA are $25 per person and $300 for corporate tables. All proceeds of this event will be used toward sending veterans to visit their memorials. For more information regarding to the event contact Marie Manzanares at 719-250-1463, Dawn Wade at 719-582-3676 or Butch Chavez at 719-821-1211.

“These honorable people cared and fought for America. The Honor Flight allows a way for them to make peace with what they’ve gone through,” Coolidge said.

Photo by Daniel Potter

Coach Ken Carter’s presentation for the Distinguished Speaker Series at Colorado State University-Pueblo drew more than 750 attendees to the Occhiato University Center Tuesday night. Carter delivered a powerful, interactive program to his audience about motivation and success using the real-life situations that he overcame growing up.

Carter was introduced by former CSU-Pueblo student-athlete Kevin Coates, who graduated in 2012. Coates shared a little about his hardships and compared his life to some of Carter’s former basketball players.

“It’s never about how you started, it’s all about how you finish,” Coates said as he introduced Carter to loud applause from the crowd.

“All the people in this room today, this is called the ‘Coach Carter Experience.’ When you leave here, you will not be the same,” Carter began.

Carter used real-life examples to show how he has helped individuals reach their highest potential.

Photo by Jessica Warren

About his experience coaching at Richmond High School, Carter explained how Richmond, at the time, was considered the most dangerous city in the state of California.

“Fifty percent of our student-athletes never ever graduated. You were 80 times more likely to go to jail than you were to go to college unless you played for Coach Carter,” he said.

CSU-Pueblo student Joseph Rosenbrock, a junior mathematics major, said the event was not what he expected.

“I honestly thought he was going to stand up there, tell his whole story and summarize the movie,” Rosenbrock said.

According to Rosenbrock, Carter did not go that direction at all. Instead, he gave more valuable life lessons than just his experiences. He encouraged success and showed how to achieve it by overcoming hard situations and setting goals.

“I have a 100 percent graduation rate, and every senior who has ever played for me has gone on to college. I’m really proud of that,” Carter said.

“And on the way, we were able to win a few basketball games and get a movie made,” Carter said, getting a laugh from his audience.

“He really cares about having personality and was able to engage the whole audience,” said Doug Watterson, a junior economics and finance major.

“He was very funny and had a lot of good words to say. He was very enthusiastic, joking around, but was also serious. It was good,” said junior Jake Ludwick. “He really inspired me. I learned to take opportunities that are given to me.”

“I liked that he said to write down your goals because they won’t come true unless you write them down. Otherwise you will forget them,” Rosenbrock said.

“I liked how he described coaching a girls’ basketball team. Basically, the underlying message that you have to be able to connect with the group you’re working with,” Watterson said. “He’s able to walk up to anyone or any team, his team and tailor his personality to fit the situation, which makes him dynamic as a person. I will definitely try to repeat that and shoot for it for myself.”

As the event came to an end, Carter told the audience to stand and to raise both hands high.

“I want you take your right hand and put it over your heart. Now I want you turn 360 degrees all the way around,” Carter said. “Now you can put down your hands.”

“Now, when anybody asks you ‘how was Coach Carter’s presentation here at P-town?’ this is what I want you to tell them: ‘He made me rise to my feet, raise both of my hands, he touched my heart and he turned me around,’” Carter said, and the crowd erupted into applause.

The event ended with a short question and answer session with Carter and a meet and greet outside the ballroom. Attendees took photos, got autographs and were able to purchase merchandise including t-shirts, Audiobooks and the “Coach Carter” movie starring Samuel L. Jackson.

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Coach Ken Carter

Former high school basketball coach Ken Carter will be featured in Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Distinguished Speaker Series Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Occhiato University Center Ballroom.

Carter coached basketball for more than 15 years and has inspired many young individuals to reach their fullest potential.

He made headlines for locking his entire undefeated basketball team out of the school gym at Richmond High School in 1999 because of poor academic results and broken behavioral contracts.

Initially outraged at Carter’s actions, parents of Carter’s players and the community eventually changed their opinions and praised him for his determination in striving for success in his players, not only on the court but also in the classroom.

News of Carter’s experience prompted letters from supporters all over the country. He also received calls from CNN, Sports Illustrated, People Magazine and USA Today.

His strategy proved successful when every one of his players at Richmond, where he coached from 1997 to 2002, graduated from high school.

Carter’s story served as the basis for the 2005 film “Coach Carter,” where he was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson. The cast also featured actors Rob Brown and Channing Tatum, and singer Ashanti. The film stressed professional ethics, academics and athletics, and it received positive critical reviews. It grossed more than $76 million worldwide.

Currently, Carter is a successful author and speaker. He is also the founder and chairman of the Coach Ken Carter Foundation, a non-profit organization that offers mentoring programs for minority youths.

Trace Gray, a junior at CSU-Pueblo, majoring in exercise science, health promotion and recreation said that it was a good thing that Carter emphasized academics to his student athletes.

“Everybody knows that as a student-athlete, being a student comes first,” Gray said.

Gray said he would be very disappointed as an athlete if he was in a situation like Carter’s lockout, but he would understand it.

“Academics always come before sports,” Gray said.

Gray is a linebacker on CSU-Pueblo’s national championship football team. He said that education plays an important role in achieving success, and he is planning to attend Coach Carter’s program.

“Yeah, I am very excited for the event, it would be cool to see,” Gray said.

The Office of Student Engagement and Leadership hosts the Distinguished Speaker Series each year and previous guests include Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard, Dr. Juan Andrade and Lt. Dan Choi, and performances by Cirque Zuma Zuma and Su Teatro.

“A distinguished speaker is somebody notable who comes and gives inspirational speeches to our students in order to guide them into the right direction through their college journeys,” explained Kelli Gawel, a student employee in the SEAL office.

Admission to the program is free to all CSU-Pueblo students and to the public.

More information regarding the Distinguished Speaker Series is available in the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership located in the lower level of the OUC, room 006.

Created at http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

Finals week is here, and Colorado State University-Pueblo will be hosting a few campus events to help minimize stress. Those events will include “Calm Before the Storm” and the “Relaxation Station.”

The “Calm Before the Storm” event will be held at Greenhorn Hall, Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. It will include snacks, drinks, coloring, 90’s themed T.V. shows, yoga and more.

The “Relaxation Station” event will be held in the OUC Ballroom Wednesday, Dec. 10, from noon to 4 p.m., and Kelli Gawel, a junior at CSU-Pueblo who has worked with Student Engagement and Leadership for about a year, is in charge of organizing the “Relaxation Station.”

“The planning was harder than it usually is. Usually, we have a lot of time to plan things, but the companies we usually use closed,” Gawel said.

“We’ve been working hard to give students a break from finals,” said Caleb Flack, who also works for Student Engagement and Leadership.

Relaxation stations that will be available at the event are yoga, manicures, massages, bingo, coloring and play dough. In addition to the stations, there will also be chocolate fondue and free food and drinks.

“We encourage students to go to lower their stress level and try to forget all of the finals they have to worry about,” Gawel said.

In addition to these events, CSU-Pueblo’s Associated Students’ Government will hand out several dozen doughnuts Monday morning in the lobby of the LARC.

Events are open to all students that need a quick break from the stresses of finals.

Keep in mind also that the CSU-Pueblo library has extended hours during finals week.

On Sunday, Dec. 7, the library will be open from 1 p.m. to midnight. Monday through Thursday, the library will be open from 7 a.m. to midnight.

More information regarding the upcoming events is available at the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership located in room 006 in the lower level of the OUC.

“The First Thanksgiving” by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris 1915

Many of us never truly understand the value of our everyday lives or the people we call family and friends, but we try, especially on Thanksgiving.

“Thanksgiving” is an expression of gratitude, the quality of being thankful, and it is a day that we show appreciation to others that have returned kindness to us.

This national holiday, celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday in November, is also a time where Americans gather for a day of feasting, football and family. The Thanksgiving celebrations today would be unrecognizable to those who were a part of the original 1621 harvest meal, but despite the changes, it is still time for friends and family to come together.

The “first” Thanksgiving dinner was said to be held in 1621, when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast in celebration of their first successful corn harvest.

Days of “thanksgiving” were celebrated by individual colonies and states for more than two centuries, but in 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

Modern, traditional foods that are served on Thanksgiving are turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

In some American households, the celebration of Thanksgiving is centered more on cooking and having a large meal with family and friends, not for the original purpose of celebrating and giving thanks. They may take for granted the time they spend with their families.

We live in a technology-driven age, where everything is constantly moving and changing; we often let it take control of our lives without even noticing.

I’d like to challenge you to cut out everything around you; put away your phone, turn off the TV, and just think about the life you are living. Take the time to think about what you have and what you are thankful for.

To truly understand the value of our lives, we should do this now and then. We should think of all the sacrifices that past generations have made for us so that we can live as freely as possible.

We should think about how we are living our lives. We should think about family and what it means to us. We should embrace the present, live in the moment, with the people who surround us today.

So stop. Stop where you are, for just a moment. Stop all the chatter; stop all the movement. Stop and listen. You might just realize a little something new about yourself, about the people that are a part of your life, and what you have to be thankful for beyond the feasting and football this year at Thanksgiving.

by ColoradoGives.org

Community First Foundation and FirstBank are partnering to host “Colorado Gives Day” on Tuesday, December 9.

This is the fifth year in a row the organizations have hosted the event, and for the first time ever, it will be featuring a $1 million incentive fund created by the partners. The incentive fund has increased by 300 percent since last year.

A year-round, online giving website, ColoradoGives.org was started by the Community First Foundation in 2007. “Colorado Gives Day” is its annual statewide movement to celebrate and increase philanthropy in Colorado.

The Colorado event has one of the largest “gives-day” incentive funds in the country, and it aims to strengthen the state’s nonprofits through online giving.

According to Colorado Gives, here’s how the $1 million incentive fund works: If a nonprofit organization receives 10 percent of the total amount of money raised on “Colorado Gives Day,” that same nonprofit receives 10 percent of the $1 million incentive fund.

At the completion of “Colorado Gives Day,” the Community First Foundation will determine each nonprofit’s proportionate share of the incentive fund by dividing the total amount each charity raised by the total amount of donation to all participating nonprofits. This amount will then be multiplied by the total amount of dollars in the incentive fund.

This may sound complicated, but the bottom line is, the more money a nonprofit raises during “Colorado Gives Day,” the higher their percentage of the incentive fund.

FirstBank will also have $100,000 in prizes for trivia, rally, and luck-of-the-draw contests.

“Colorado Gives Day” features nearly 1,500 Colorado nonprofit organizations and encourages charitable giving by providing up-to-date information about the nonprofits.

Some nonprofits in the community of Pueblo that are participating in “Colorado Gives Day” are:

• Animal Welfare and Protection Society – PAWS for Life
• Catholic Charities Diocese of Pueblo
• Nature and Raptor Center of Pueblo
• Pueblo Arts Alliance
• Pueblo Child Advocacy Center
• Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains Inc
• Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center
• Senior Resource Development Agency, Pueblo, Inc

The “Gives Day” event starts at 12 a.m. on December 9 and lasts for 24 hours.

At the beginning of November, donations were able to be scheduled ahead of time. To participate in “Colorado Gives Day” and help any of the local nonprofits, donations can be made at ColoradoGives.org.

Cameras have been installed in the residence halls. Photo courtesy of csupueblo.edu.

Cameras have been installed in the residence halls at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Crestone, Culebra and Greenhorn Halls were subject to the installation, while cameras in Belmont Residence Hall are currently in the process of being put up.

“Cameras help us with the number of people that we have at the front desk,” said Marie Humphrey, dean of Students and Residential Life.

According to Humphrey, the front desk does not have coverage at all times. She said the cameras that have been installed so far have helped with incidences that occur in the residence halls.

“It leads us directly to where the issues are,” she said.

“Our colleagues in the sheriff’s office, when reviewing that information, find it very helpful.”

Regardless of the purpose of the cameras, students at the university aren’t too fond of them.

Humphrey said students questioned the use of the cameras in the residence halls.

“I explained to them that it’s for their safety,” Humphrey said. “Most colleges all have cameras.”

Resident assistant Josh Smith said there was an initial shock when student residents first noticed the cameras.

Resident assistants are students who are hired by the university to live on a floor community within the residence halls. As an RA, Smith has been able to see student reactions firsthand.

Smith said that after the purpose of the cameras was explained, residents began to have a better understanding.

“Since they contribute to keeping the residents safe, I believe they are a helpful tool we can utilize in housing,” Smith said.

Regardless of security, it is easy to gain access to residence halls and crimes still have the potential to happen on college campuses.

“It is better to be safe and know that you can do something about it instead of having it happen and you can’t do anything,” Humphrey said. “You’re only as safe as you want to be. I can only do so much.”

In a 10-year study conducted by the Durango Herald about safety on Colorado college campuses, CSU-Pueblo scored well. The study measured safety based on seven criteria, which include drugs, forced sex, weapons possession, aggravated assault, burglary, arson and liquor violations.

The study also included Fort Lewis, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Northern Colorado, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Colorado State University-Fort Collins, Western State Colorado University, Colorado School of Mines, Adams State College and Mesa State College.

New residential policies that were introduced this year at CSU-Pueblo have been criticized by students, especially amid CSU-Pueblo’s proficient safety scores.

Regardless of being one of the safest college campuses in Colorado, Humphrey states that it is just a list of statistics compared to others. The statistics do not show incidents that have occurred or could occur.

“It would be concerning for me as a director and dean of students if a student was hurt, I knew I could have done something about it but I didn’t because I was too afraid to institute a policy,” Humphrey said.

In previous years at the residence halls, there have been damages made by guests of students residing in the halls. Because of these damages, students who lived in the halls where the incidence happened were charged. With the new camera installations, it is now easier to detect who was responsible for these occurrences.

“I know I have taken some risks this year on some of the changes I’ve made but I know I am on the right track because everything that we have instituted has come back to us in a way that has been very supportive,” Humphrey said.

“Initially students are not agreeing but when something happens to you, believe me you will agree.”

Humphrey said the use of the university swipe card lets Residential Life know who is in the building.

As for guests who enter the building, the use of the sign-in policy helps let them know who is in the building for safety purposes and in case of an emergency. Next year, Humphrey said she is thinking of adding a color-coding aspect to student IDs.

“It will be easier to identify who is residential or not,” Humphrey said. In order for this to happen, Humphrey said that her team will have to partner up with Auxiliary Services and believes that it will be helpful for future purposes.

“At the end of the day, I have to be able to sleep at night because I am responsible for everybody in these halls and I don’t take that too lightly,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey is responsible for all students and parents entrust them into the univeristy’s care. Therefore, it is her job to ensure safety and security for students. She also said that she is looking out for the best interests of students and that the new installation of cameras will help ensure that.

“People don’t think that we have crime and things don’t happen, but when we do, we want to proactive and not reactive to any situation,” she said.

The Denver Scholarship Foundation program at Colorado State University-Pueblo has consistantly excelled academically and has one of the highest success rates of the 40 technical, community and four-year colleges and universities in Colorado that participate in the program.

In the 2013-2014 school year, of the 60 DSF scholars at CSU-Pueblo, 98 percent met their academic requirements. There are 74 students in the DSF program this school year.

DSF was founded in 2006, and according to its website, its mission is “to inspire and empower Denver Public Schools’ students to enroll in and graduate from postsecondary institutions of higher education, by providing tools, knowledge and financial resources essential for success.”

In a video filmed for CSU-Pueblo on the DSF program, student scholars discussed how DSF has offered them, not only opportunities, but hope to succeed in education beyond the high school level, which is not a viable option for many DPS students.

“When I came in as a freshman, I knew nothing, but there are some programs that DSF has that really sets you up for success,” said Edward Kusi-Mensah, a sophomore majoring in mass communications.

“They’re just there to help make sure that you graduate and help you along the way,” he said.

Jaszymn Johnson, a junior exercise science major said that the students, environment, and opportunities that she gets from DSF have changed her experience in college.

“Denver Scholarship Foundation is basically your support, when you don’t even believe in yourself to do it. It’s more than just money. Without it, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am now, because I wouldn’t have met the people I met or gone to the study sessions I went to,” Johnson said.

A reception was held Friday to honor DSF scholars. Colorado Lieutenant Gov. Joe Garcia was among the guest speakers at the event. He was president of CSU-Pueblo from 2006 to 2010.

DSF is one of the eight programs being celebrated by Garcia as part of the Colorado Completes initiative. A key component of the initiative is to increase access to postsecondary education, while enhancing student support services.

“We know we are doing a better job of enrolling first generation, low income and minority students. That’s what CSU-Pueblo does so well. That’s what community colleges do well, but what we don’t do so well is actually graduate those students. That’s our challenge,” Garcia said.

“We want to make sure that you not only persist but also graduate.”

According to Garcia, the partnership with DSF is exceptional, seeing a growth in persistence from 60 percent to 90 percent.

“Access without support is not opportunity,” Garcia added.

CSU-Pueblo DSF adviser Jishirll Clifton said that the student requirements and success rates are what make the school different.

“There isn’t another school that has so many requirements, but I don’t think there is as much support at other schools as we have here,” Clifton said.

“I think holding the students accountable is what works. Students know, if they don’t meet the requirements, they will not be awarded the scholarship the following semester,” she said.

“They give you the tools and the right equipment that you need to be successful in your college years,” Kusi Mensah said. “They talk to us about work after college and how to improve our resumes, so even though we are still in school, they have given us this workshop, preparing us for the work field before we even step out.”

“I just wanted to get my bachelor’s and be done, but now I actually want to get my masters, get a doctorate and go further in life,” said Miriam Flores, a CSU-Pueblo senior. “If you actually try, you can achieve your dreams. There’re people out there, like the scholarships that actually help you and want you to succeed in life. If anybody tells you, ‘no, it’s not possible,’ DSF can make it possible.”

Photo courtesy of csupueblo.edu.

Dean of Students and Residential Life Marie Humphrey addressed a controversial new policy in the 2014-2015 resident handbook for CSU-Pueblo. The policy says that “only guests of the same sex are allowed to stay overnight in a resident’s room” under the visitors and cohabitation section in the handbook.

It has been speculated that the new visitors and cohabitation policy had already been implemented in previous years. However, past resident handbooks do not state that only guests of the same sex are only allowed to stay overnight in a resident’s room, and they do not define who is considered a guest.

Humphrey agreed that the policies were already implemented, but said they were not as specific as they are this school year. This year, they enforce what was previously intended.

“When I came on board, we were reviewing late in the semester and we had professional staff coming on and reviewing it. I do agree, the language may not be as perfect as I wanted it to be but we knew we had to do something,” Humphrey said.

According to Humphrey, as a new person on campus, it is her job to observe and implement intentional change but to also support students.

Prior to making new policies, she attended town hall meetings and also individually went out to meetings for each of the residence halls, which consist of Belmont Residence Hall, Crestone Hall, Culebra Hall and Greenhorn Hall.

Humphrey believes she made the right decision when implementing the policies. “I have several parents calling daily about issues concerning their daughters and sons. This verifies to me that I am on the right track,” she said.

“Additionally, after all of the residence hall meetings, students came to speak with me regarding issues with their roommates and suitemates regarding overnight guest of the opposite sex.”

Humphrey added that when she implemented the new policies, she was aware that problems would occur.

“As a leader, I understand that every decision that is made is not necessarily going to be popular but part of it is if you have an issue with it, come ask me and I will tell you why things are instituted,” she said.

Instead of students complaining about the policies, Humphrey wants them to be active participants and to speak their minds.

“We knew coming in that we were going to have some challenges with returning students because they’re not used to it. New students have not been here to know that difference. But you know one of the things that we did have trouble with was the language, which we will correct,” she said.

“We are in the process of doing that now. (Residence Hall Association) has submitted the draft to us and from there we’ll implement the new policies. I will be asking them as a team, RHA collectively, as to how we will best communicate that and advertise that change,” Humphrey added.

The policy that “only guests of the same sex are allowed to stay overnight in a resident’s room” under the visitors and cohabitation section in this year’s handbook, has raised many questions about discrimination of a student’s sexual orientation.

“I think that it does raise questions and I’ll be very blunt, it’s not my job to regulate any student’s morality, that’s their decision,” Humphrey said.

The change in language was due to past experiences that occurred when guests would overextend their stay and hinder a student’s ability to study, sleep or occupy his or her room.

“So it’s not really same sex, opposite sex, or anything. We want to be inclusive, not be discriminatory but part of it is the struggle of language. I think that’s where Residence Hall Association is going to support getting that language correct,” she said.

According to Humphrey, if you go back and read the language that is being used in previous handbooks, these are not new policies.

“We’ve just had issues and challenges with what the language should be,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey does not mind changing policies, but her biggest concern is being able to support students while following professional guidelines when implementing policies.

“With the support of RHA, the language for the overnight guest policy will be changed based upon what student inputs are currently here,” Humphrey said.

RHA has a representative for each of the residence halls at CSU-Pueblo, which is the Residence Hall Council. They are the voices of students, and any student can go to a member to discuss any of the concerns they have regarding the residence halls.

“We collectively as students, faculty, staff members, and administrators can be solution oriented and that is what we should be about as a university, a community,” Humphrey said.

“If you are going to change something, let’s make it intentional change. Let’s make it better not just for you, but for the people after,” she said.

This article is part three of a three-part series.

The roommate bill of rights allows students to have “an environment conducive for studying and learning.”

Dean of Students and Residential Life Marie Humphrey said that there are certain guidelines and best practices nationally that are used to institute new residential policies.

New to CSU-Pueblo, Humphrey began her duty as dean of students and residential life on Jan. 20.

Prior to that, she served as the director of residence life and housing and event services at Regis University since 2003. She also has a doctorate in educational leadership and human resource studies from CSU-Fort Collins.

“There is an umbrella that we have to comply with, what I have to comply to, and this is what I have been trying to do,” Humphrey said.

“It is really important that students know that I’m not out to get them. I’m not trying to regulate their lives in that context. I want them to be happy, safe and to respect their roommate, and their suitemates which is the most important thing,” she said.

According to Humphrey, the processes in implementing the new policies in the residence halls are based on the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International, the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education and the Association of Intermountain Housing Officers.

The ACUHO-I is dedicated to more than 1,000 member campuses, as well as more than 250 product and service providers. It says it is “dedicated to creating educational and enriching residential experiences on campuses located around the world.”

ACUHO-I also said they strive “to provide a variety of information resources such as magazine and journal articles, conference and institute sessions, online programs, blog posts, and more to educate its members.”

“Your rights as a student affect others which means students should be able to eat, sleep, and study in the residence hall space,” Humphrey said.

The ACUHO-I statement of residents’ rights and responsibilities and roommate bill of rights are also essential to the decision process in implementing new policies. It states several rights that residents must abide by and be responsible to, and the Roommate Bill of Rights also defines mutual responsibilities and rights among roommates.

Along with the ACUHO-I statement, the CAS standards in higher education and AIMHO, which is the regional organization for housing officers, are important in making decisions when instituting new policies.

According to CAS, it is their mission to “promote the improvement of programs and services to enhance the quality of student learning and development.”

They work collaboratively to develop and promote standards and guidelines to encourage self-assessment. AIMHO’s purpose is also to work for continual improvement of housing operations for students and staff members in institutions of higher learning.

According to Humphrey, this is what programmatic pieces are based upon within colleges and universities. They are also used as some guiding principles, guidelines, assessments and learning outcomes.

“So for each housing area within the region, nationally, and internationally, there is a mission that is clearly stated. We have our mission as well. Each housing and residence life programs must be a part of the overall development of the whole student,” Humphrey said.

“The programs must be reflective of the needs of individuals, populations, and constituents that you are serving and overall support for students’ rights in residence hall living.”

“We should be enhancing the academic side overall with supporting grade point averages and that goes back to the bill of rights so that students have a safe place to live, sleep, eat but also an environment conducive for studying and learning,” she said.

This article is part two of a three-part series.