While July 4 is a date which easily brings people closer, the tight knit community effort to combat fires and support the brave men and women who have been fighting our wildfires for the last weeks has been outstanding.

For those who live close to LaBonte Park, this meant going out and chatting with firefighters who had been sleeping in tents in the park between shifts of fighting the fires. Others still started grassroots organizing support systems, such as the “Squirrel Creek Wish List.”

In the group, residents of both Laramie and other affected communities shared the needs of firefighters in terms of food and beverages, coordinated who was headed to fire stations and where items could be dropped off for transport to these fire stations.

Next to functioning as said support tool for the firefighters, the Facebook group allowed for direct dialog between residents to thank other volunteers or raise concerns about other developments.

“I am from Laramie but live in Aurora Colorado. I want to thank you all for helping the fire fighters and the evacuees,” group member Suzanne Cole-Rice wrote. “My cousins were evacuated. All are home now. All ranches and homes in the family & [sic] extended family are ok. My 2nd cousin is a Laramie fireman but was down fighting the Little Sand Fire in CO. I just found this FB page today & was impressed with how the community came together! This is why I love my hometown & why I love Wyoming! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

Perhaps the fires did on the low range of damages cause for some contact lenses to itch and on the extreme end cost residents their homes. In the end, however, it is important to also think and thank those who have been working tirelessly.

Therefore, the entire Branding Iron staff would like to thank and recognize those who have been fighting the fires on the front lines, the residents who were understanding of the fire and fireworks bans in the area and of course all the volunteers and residents who have been working behind the scenes for little more than a few warm words and a handshake.

David Demic

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Those who demonstrate that they meet the criteria will be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and will be eligible to apply for work authorization.

“Our nation’s immigration laws must be enforced in a firm and sensible manner,” Napolitano said. “But they are not designed to be blindly enforced without consideration given to the individual circumstances of each case. Nor are they designed to remove productive young people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language. Discretion, which is used in so many other areas, is especially justified here.”

The Department of Homeland Security continues to focus its enforcement resources on the removal of individuals who pose a national security or public safety risk, including immigrants convicted of crimes, violent criminals, felons, and repeat immigration law offenders. Today’s action further enhances the department’s ability to focus on these priority removals, according to a DHS release.

Later that day, President Barack Obama supported the announcement in a speech.

“Put yourself in their shoes.  Imagine you’ve done everything right your entire life – studied hard, worked hard, maybe even

graduated at the top of your class – only to suddenly face the threat of deportation to a country that you know nothing about, with a language that you may not even speak,” Obama said.

The president went on to point out that both parties worked on the DREAM Act legislation, yet Republican Party members blocked efforts to pass the bill.

The bill hasn’t really changed.  The need hasn’t changed.  It’s still the right thing to do.  The only thing that has changed, apparently, was the politics,” Obama said.

Hecklers interrupted the president to raise concerns in regard to home land security and unemployment.

Concerning security, Obama said that border defense has been given priority and that more individuals are guarding the border than at any time in history.

“Today, there are fewer illegal crossings than at any time in the past 40 years.  We focused and used discretion about whom to prosecute, focusing on criminals who endanger our communities rather than students who are earning their education,” he said.

Obama responded to the shouted question of whether “foreigners” were infringing upon American jobs by saying that these undocumented individuals would help the economy through the added creation of business and in turn jobs.

And as long as I’m President, I will not give up on this issue, not only because it’s the right thing to do for our economy — and CEOs agree with me — not just because it’s the right thing to do for our security, but because it’s the right thing to do, period.

David Demic

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Noelia Antweiler (center left) strikes a dramatic pose with inmates of the Kentucky Northpoint Training Centre as part of the Voices Inside acting rehabilitation program. PHOTO: Voices Inside Courtesy

Being well rounded is one of former university student Noelia Antweiler’s many talents. She has performed in over two dozen plays, both educational and professional, played roles as diverse as the “Chicago” sex idol Velma and a mother trying to help her ADD afflicted child in “Distracted.”

And then there was that time she taught prison inmates in Kentucky how to write touching plays and feel characters’ motivations.

“In the beginning it was kind of weird, just being in prison with all these guys in orange jumpsuits,” Antweiler said. “I just remember feeling overwhelmed but also really excited.”

She found herself in the position of a teacher during an internship with the Kentucky Pioneer Playhouse, which gave her the opportunity to first perform a play in the prison and later teach a classroom of ten inmates.

“Noelia was hired as an actress at Pioneer Playhouse,” Pioneer Playhouse Managing Director Roby Henson said. “Our theater does outreach services to our community and we consider the Northpoint Prison 9 miles down the road as part of our community.”

Antweiler was initially concerned whether her presence would disturb the group dynamic of the inmates, who had been part of the “Voices Inside” outreach program for a year prior to her teaching. Her worries were unfounded.

“She totally bought into the concept of rehabilitation through creativity,” Henson said. “She helped the incarcerated polish their writing and performance skills and became the inmate’s favorite instructor last summer.

“I decided the best way to handle it was to be myself and treat them like humans,” Antweiler said. “And so, I totally fell in love [with the work] that week and proceeded to come back three or four times a week, every week, for the rest of the summer.”

Over these weeks, Antweiler and Henson worked closely with the inmates on refining their self-written plays as part of the Voices Inside mission to “increase communication skills, build self-esteem and humanize and enrich the lives of those closed off behind bars,” according to the program’s website.

The connection Antweiler developed with the inmates became one of respect and trust. Even after she left Kentucky, the inmates continued writing her letters and asking for her advice.

In one case, an inmate by the name of Ricky wrote Antweiler that the work she did with them moved many to want to live a better life.

His dedication was put to the test during an incident at the prison.

“Two days ago, while at work with a friend, while we were upstairs, another inmate attacked and attempted to kill two female officers. We were upstairs in the building, they were down-stairs, alone with the inmate,” Ricky wrote Antweiler. “By the time we were able to reach them, both had been injured and were later removed by ambulance.

“In pulling him off the female officer (a Sgt.), I ended up in one of the most brutal fights I have been in for many, many years. I broke the middle finger of my right hand and also fractured my right hand. He was a terror, Noelie [sic]. The Sgt. Said that we had saved both of their [lives]. In my humble opinion, she is correct. As I told Robby, though I would have undoubtedly came to their aid, the fact is that by being involved in the Playwriting venture where one is forced to explore himself, I was able to help save two [lives] with a noble heart and a clear mind.”

To Antweiler, who considers theater to be her “creative wild child,” it is also one of the most important things in society because it brings people together, she said.

“Theater can talk about taboo subjects in a really constructive way and can just be plain entertaining,” she said. “It really speaks to my soul and it’s where I’m happiest. And I believe in happiness – not doing things for money.”

David Demic

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But as I just finished my last class for my bachelor’s degree, I could not help but wonder what experiences truly defined and educated me while I was in college.

And no, bikini-clad girls at international parties were not among those.

My conclusion was that working for the campus newspaper engaged me in challenging situations, which were the most educational experiences of all. Hence, I will dedicate this column as an advice to all incoming students.

As a journalism major my experience working on the Branding Iron pushed me to learn more about my craft and think creatively on highly controversial topics on many times.

Classes provided me, like many other students in may other degrees, with the bare minimum theoretical tools required to hypothetically work at a future job. Sure, being able to identify someone with a real politik outlook on foreign policy is a nice conversation starter, but it is not exactly going to pay my bills in the future.

An argument here is that all my liberal arts classes have allowed me to develop a critical mind, which is essential to innovative thought. However, in response I would argue that theory without application is like fawning over a girl at the bar who you have liked for a year and still not make a move. You will not be happy with the situation or yourself.

Instead, getting involved with something that might seem daunting at first will bring out aspects of yourself you might not have expected before.

So, if you like writing, photography, editing or design you might want to apply to the Branding Iron as a volunteer and eventually work your way up to an editor position. Vice versa, apply to clubs, organizations and even businesses that offer something you are interested in.

This crazy, drunken college time might be great for fun and exploring one’s own character. At the same time, it should be equal parts exploration of potential and professional interests as well.

David Demic

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Instead, two students at the University of Wyoming don expensive lingerie and shoes to work as exotic dancers – commonly referred to as “strippers” – in the Wyoming and Colorado area to earn their tuition money.

Photo: Edward Timmons. A dancer and customer at the Cheyenne based club "The Den."

“I’ve been doing this for 5 months now,” Suzan, a theatre major at UW, said. “I couldn’t afford school anymore and so I was working every day of the week and it was not cutting it close at all for what I needed for school and I was like ‘[screw] it’ and…I googled strip clubs.”

While both students were willing to go on the record under their stage names, for the purpose of avoiding any potential recognition, their names have been changed to “Suzan” and “Fiona.”

Fiona, a math major at the university, discovered her interest in the profession through a different route.

“I went to Amsterdam with a former boyfriend and participated in an amateur [stripping] night while we were there,” Fiona said. “It was a lot of

fun and I thought ‘I can do this back home. It would be great.’”

Sex work is often subject to stigmatization and stereotyping, depicting those working in the exotic dance industry as “whores” or worse.

“It is a reality that some women see sex work as a form of liberation,” Susan Dewey, assistant professor in the Gender and Women’s Studies Department, said.

Dewey, who wrote the book “Neon Wasteland” on her research with topless dancers, works with a group called Sex Workers Outreach Program, which works with sex workers in the Denver area.

Dispelling stereotypes, Dewey teaches classes on sex work on campus. She defines sex work as a continuum and a form of labor, she said.

“Think of sex work as a continuum ranging from complete choice to complete coercion. The reality is that many men and women who engage in sex work are somewhere in the middle,” she said.

Dewey referred to sex worker activist Carol Leigh who defined sex work as a liberating force in her life and a feminist choice “to use her body in a way that’s very empowering,” she said.

While money was a motivating factor to the two UW students, they said that dancing became about more than the monetary value.

“I think I’ve always been this, we’ll call it open-minded, person and stripping is nice because I meet girls who are just like me,” Fiona said. “Before, I was the crazy one of all my friends. I was more open-minded than they were and I was like ‘yeah, I’ll do that.’ And now, when you’re stripping, you meet girls who are exactly like you are.”

The dynamic of dancers both on stage and behind the scenes is one of camaraderie and competition.

“There is definitely a line of seniority that is respected beyond all believe,” Suzan said. “You don’t [mess] with this line.”

“When I was a new girl, you would not talk unless spoken to,” she said.

And while both girls had to earn their spots among the other dancers, the customers presented their own rewards and challenges.

“What’s funny is that I’m super confident, but the way I was raised I always have had some self-confidence issues,” Suzan said. “After working [as a dancer] those all went away, because you are dancing for 9 hours a day [and] you have people telling you how beautiful you are all the time.”

When it comes to dancing on stage and during private sessions, the dancers have full control, the students said. Any physical contact is only initiated by the dancers, or with consent of the dancers, giving them a high level of control over the customers.

But there are also “the creepers, the 50s, 60s – the truckers,” Fiona said.

“A guy comes in, gets a soda and tells me to tell him how much I love taking my clothes off. I get a lot of those,” she said. “Lots of guys … all they want to do is talk about sex and what they would do to me and blah, blah, blah, but they buy lap dance after lap dance so you say, ‘Yeah baby.’”

While both students work at establishments that have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to prostitution, or “hooking,” both said it does happen.

“Some girls do make that leap,” Fiona said. “Maybe 10 percent of the girls make that leap at some point.”

Both said that they have never engaged in the act or would ever want to.

“I mean we are in the sex industry, but there is different positions within that,” Fiona said. “We are not porn stars. I don’t know if I could ever do porn. And definitely no hooking.”

Work can follow the students home in other ways. One example is when dancers become so familiar with certain customers that they become their “regulars.” Customers will ask dancers for their phone numbers, to which dancers ask the customers to leave their numbers with the bar tender. When dancers feel comfortable enough to exchange numbers, they then have the option to text or call the customer.

“Regulars are a lot of work. So much work,” Fiona said. “Most expect you to call or text them on a daily basis.”

The benefit of keeping such relationships with regulars come in the form of more security in pay.

“If you’re having a slow night, you can text your regular ‘come see me’ and you make $500 that night,” Fiona said.

She said that the line between a relationship with a regular and a romantic relationship can become blurry.

“It’s a fine line, because a lot of the girls that are single meet guys in there and they become their boyfriend. It’s a grey area,” she said. “If you want to keep it over the phone that is fine, or you can grab coffee or go out to dinner — you can take it as far as you want to. You can take it to a physical, intimate sort of level [but] that will get you in trouble.”

Suzan said that she had coffee with a regular before, but would never do dinner.

“I have to drop a lot of them, especially when they realize that I won’t go home with them,” she said.

Suzan said she did not want to date while working as a dancer.

“I had a relationship when I started stripping and we weren’t doing so hot as is, but as soon as I told him on a trip, ‘hey I’m going to audition at [strip clubs]’ he looked both of them up and said that if I was at one club we could still be in a relationship but it wouldn’t work if I worked at [the other place],” she said. “So then I picked [the latter place] because you could probably make more money there and so we just kind of faded.”

Constant obstacles the students face are their families finding out about their employment.

“My family will never know, unless it gets out somehow, which I don’t think will ever happen,” Suzan said. “I mean it’s not like they’re helping me out with bills, so they couldn’t take away money from me, [but if they found out] I think half of my family would just be really angry and the other half would be really sad.”

Fiona would face monetary consequences in addition to familial stigma.

“I would be disowned,” she said. “I have a lot of inheritance money coming to me one day and it would be gone.”

Dewey said that this form of privacy and lack of unified sex worker movement is common internationally.

“Many women who are doing this kind of work [under that] stigma don’t want their families to know; don’t want their loved ones to know,” she said. “Then there are other women, like the street workers I’m working with in Denver, who don’t think of this as a form of work. When I say the [term] ‘sex worker’ to them, they’ll look at me like I’m crazy. To them, considering prostitution as work is crazy, because that’s how social norms tell them to think about it.”

Dewey also said that stigmatization over the years led to misconceptions regarding the difference between sex work and sex trafficking.

“Now what’s begun to happen in recent years is… that trafficking has become conflated with sex work,” she said. “I have many students who will use terms prostitution and trafficking synonymously, interchangeably. This is very, very problematic because when you say to someone ‘you do not have the right to do something legally’ that’s one thing entirely, but when you say to a person ‘you think are making a choice but you’re actually not, because no person with self-respect would make that choice,’ that’s a real problem.”

Fiona and Suzan plan on continuing their work as dancers for the rest of their time as students.

“[I think the stereotype] is funny, because I look at what we do every day and I’m like ‘it’s not that bad,” Fiona said. “I mean I do much less than the slutty girls at the club.”

David Demic

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Gov. Matt Mead meets in Beijing, China June 1 with New Channel International Learning’s Chairman and CEO Hu Min, as Carol Mead, Eleutian Chairman Bob Grady, Eleutian CEO Kent Holiday and New Channel VP John Gordon look on. Courtesy Photo.

Mead said that Wyoming is eager to capitalize on attracting diversified economic opportunities that add value to diversified natural resources.

The statement comes in light of a recent downturn in natural gas tax revenue numbers, which caused the governor to request 8 percent budget reduction proposals from all state agencies, including UW.

At an opening news conference, Governor Mead and Shaanxi Provincial Governor Zhao Zhengyong discussed advancing the collaborative relationship between Wyoming and Shaanxi Province, which share a reliance on natural resources, tourism and agriculture as economic drivers, according to a press release by the governor’s office.

Both governors agreed that continuing the relationship between Wyoming and Shaanxi Province offers many benefits now and in the future.

The 2012 International Advanced Coal Technologies Conference, hosted in Xi’an in the Shaanxi Province, is part of an ongoing collaboration among the University of Wyoming, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization – Australia’s national science agency – and Chinese counterparts to discuss advanced coal technologies, according to the release.

University speakers at the conference include UW Director of the UW School of Energy Resources Mark Northam, the university’s Carbon Management Institute Director Ron Surdam, Associate Professor in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Mohammad Piri, CMI Senior Research Scientist Zunsheng Jiao, according to the conference schedule.

China has a strong demand for coal-fired energy. It is currently a leader in applying the most advanced coal technologies available; as such, it is a prime testing location for new coal technologies, according to the release.

The conference, which runs Monday and Tuesday in Xi’an, will include a discussion about coal chemical technologies, a number of sessions about carbon dioxide use, management and storage. The conference kicked off with presentations on the status and future development trends of energy and the chemical industry in Shaanxi Province, Wyoming and Queensland, Australia, according to the release. Two days of presentations will be followed by two days of field trips to view advanced coal facilities in Shaanxi Province.

David Demic

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With the release of its 8 percent Section I, general funds budget reduction draft plan, the UW Office of Academic Affairs put into motion the roughly $15,664,903 in cuts (See a chart break down here: BudgetChart) that would come into effect July 1, 2013.

The cuts come in response to Gov. Matt Mead request on April 23 to reduce budgets statewide in light of low state natural gas revenue forecasts.

“The university recognizes the prudence of the governor and legislature in asking for budget reduction plans given the declining price of natural gas and its negative effect on state revenues,” UW President Tom Buchanan wrote in a memo to campus.

Next to the university’s general funds budget cuts, the drafts also include cuts for the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education funding and other medical education funding.

General Fund / Budget Reserve Account Revenue Forecast. Courtesy of the Wyoming government.

Financial Aid Reduced and Harder to Get

In total, students would receive $2.3 million less non-Hathaway, UW-funded scholarships, including reduced graduate education initiatives, according to the University of Wyoming (Agency 067) 8 percent budget reduction draft plan.

Since these cuts would reduce institutional undergraduate scholarships, which could result in increased student debt, the draft plan suggests that this could lead to a potential decline in enrollment, “especially for nonresident students.”

For remaining scholarships, the draft plan foresees higher academic criteria by necessity, as well as characterizing awards as less renewable and capped.

“The wording in this [draft] is broad, because we’re talking about possibilities,” Director of Student Financial Aid Joanna Carter said when asked about which scholarships would be affected and what new criteria might look like.

“It is easier to say what [scholarships] are not [affected], such as awards received from private donors through foundations,” she said. “But if you were to cap an award, it would mean that instead of eight semesters, you would have six instead, for instance.”

Carter said that renewal of awards could also be restructured from every four years to a year by year, based on funding.

She said there is no need for students to panic about receiving their financial aid.

Up to 125 Fewer Jobs Filled

While Buchanan wrote in his memo that cuts would be made in non-personnel areas to minimize workforce reductions, he also warned, “given a reduction of this magnitude it appears inevitable that UW will need to make reductions in workforce. As many reductions as possible will be made by attrition. We will endeavor to retain positions most closely aligned with the university’s core mission and our areas of distinction identified in UW’s strategic plan.”

The difficulty in avoiding personnel reductions during budget cuts comes from the relatively large sum that salaries make up in the Section I budget.

“Approximately 73 [percent] of the institution’s Section I budget is in salaries and employer paid benefits,” according to the faculty senate input for 2013-14 budget reduction scenarios.

Personnel cuts are planned in the academic, non-academic and administrative workforce, resulting in $6,448,903 budget reductions, making up about 41 percent of the total budget cuts.

In total, the budget cut would require the elimination of 60 to 90 administrative and non-academic positions through attrition or reductions in force, according to the draft plan. The impact this could have ranges from the loss of financial guidance and enrollment assistance to impaired IT and maintenance and repair.

Academic personnel, such as professors, lecturers, librarians and more, face a reduction of 20 to 35 positions, according to the draft plan. Whereas non-academic and administrative reductions might be mostly direct eliminations of positions, academic personnel would mostly be reduced through attrition, leaving positions open and not refilling them.

Potential results for students include “increased class sizes in large enrollment courses, some closed courses, eliminated options available within some programs of study and a reduction in statewide off-campus services,” according to the draft plan.

“Unfortunately, when 75 percent of you budget is wrapped up in personnel, you really can’t address a budget reduction of this magnitude without impacting positions. I think that’s the real hard part and the real unfortunate part of the financial circumstances we find ourselves in,” Buchanan said.

‘Other’ Budget Cuts Range From Athletics to School of Energy Resources

Of the $6.1 million reductions in non-personnel support budgets, affected areas would include instructional excellence, intercollegiate athletics, classroom technology and research computing, operations and maintenance of plant, administration costs and student services.

Impacts of cuts in these areas were not detailed in monetary numbers, but effective value.

Athletics operating budget would see reductions in part time staffing, outreach, summer school, fifth year grant in aids, scholarships, recruitment, team travel and equipment – such as funds for new uniforms, practice gear or shoes.

Student services are anticipated to see reduced grant writing capacity, student mentorships, advising and student transition services.

Other reductions would revolve around less up-to-date equipment, modification of insurance coverage and premiums, reduced rates of repair and reduced library collection acquisition.

In addition to these non-personnel support budget cuts, the School of Energy Resources would see a reduction of $816,000 in matching funds and graduate assistantships.

Thorny Path to Budget Cut Decisions

A hot button issue among both staff and faculty on campus has been a lack of salary increases over the years. Buchanan preemptively addressed the issue in his memo to campus earlier this month.

“We are all aware that UW salaries for academic personnel, administrators, and staff are significantly below the average for our comparator institutions. We have worked hard to bring salaries closer to average but have yet to reach that goal. A cut in salary and benefits would represent a serious setback to those efforts. Our employees are our most important and most valued resource. A cut in salary and benefits sends exactly the opposite message and could result in departures of the employees we most want to retain,” he wrote.

While the cuts will not be received as a blessing, Buchanan wrote in his memo that the state deserves the university’s support.

“Historically UW has benefitted from almost unparalleled, strong support from the State of Wyoming; now we are being asked to do our part to help the state survive what we all hope is a short period of weak natural gas prices,” he wrote.

The price for natural gas has been low because of a combination of demand imbalances and unusually mild weather in a traditionally high-demand heating season, according to a state revenue forecast.

“[This combination] has resulted in storage levels more than 11 [percent] higher than last year at this time. Prices at major hubs in early January fell below $3.00 [per million cubic feet] as a result, at a time when prices have historically exceeded $5.00 [per] mcf,” according to the forecast.

Wyoming’s General Fund and Budget Reserve Account revenue is estimated to lose $113.1 million in tax revenue in the 2013-14 fiscal year. Other funds affected by this include the School Foundation Program and the Permanent Wyoming Mineral Trust Fund. Taking into account all factors, the SFP is estimated to see a net loss of $74.4 and the PWMTF to have a reduced tax flow of $14.3 million, according to the forecast.

By the time Gov. Mead made the request, natural gas prices had been as low as $2.00 per mcf, according to a press release. In the release, Gov. Mead estimated that the statewide 8 percent budget cuts would save $74.5 million in fiscal year 2014.

“We have to see what we can live without,” he said.

David Demic

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Photo: Alumni Association. After seeing the changes that campus has undergone since her student days, Fumie Iwata Yahiro (middle) finished her tour at the Alumni House where she was surprised by University of Wyoming athletics mascot Pistol Pete (left) and UW President Tom Buchanan. Iwata Yahiro received a "67 Year Anniversary" certificate from the Alumni Office as part of her visit.

Almost seven decades after receiving her bachelor’s degree in home economics, one University of Wyoming alumna made her way back to campus to tour, buy souvenirs and receive a surprise visit by the school mascot, Pistol Pete, and UW President Tom Buchanan.

Born and raised in central California, 88-year-old Fumie Iwata Yahiro did not start her education at the university completely by choice.

“[Back then], all the Japanese were evacuated to the 10 different internment camps. So we went from California to Colorado,” Iwata Yahiro said.

She said that the relocation was especially hard on her parents, who had to abandon their farm.

“All the parents lost their business or farm. They lost everything because they had to leave everything. But we were fortunate that we had a neighbor…and they took care of everything on our farm. We had 20 acres and when we came back, everything was perfect,” she said.

Being chosen to attend the university as a Japanese student was a privilege for Iwata Yahiro.

“Now from us Japanese students, only 50 would be accepted to [attend university classes],” she said.

Life was very different then as compared to now, she said.

“In those days the men — all the boys — went into service, so mostly women were here on campus,” she said.

On her tour, she noticed how much campus had changed.

“[There were] no trees on Prexy’s Pasture, so you could just walk across and [there were] only a few buildings,” she said.

After living first at Merica Hall and then Hoyt Hall, when both buildings still functioned as dormitories, Iwata Yahiro started working for the then director of the Student Union and his family. In exchange for her room and board at the family’s house, she would help with daily routines, she said.

“In the home, I didn’t have to cook. I had to set the table and clean up the dishes. They had two boys named Robert and Martin,” she said. “My own two boys now are named Martin and Robert.”

Iwata Yahiro managed to receive her degree in only two years and eight months, which enabled her to leave with her family, after they were released after three years in the internment camp, she said.

Back in California, her parents received back their farm, while other families had lost everything they had owned.

“Everybody else just lost everything. We were so lucky,” she said.

She began working as a dietician in a hospital, then became a registered lab technician and eventually worked for Hughes Aviation in Los Angeles.

While she said she was sad that the home economics department does not exist anymore, Iwata Yahiro said she was happy to see her old campus again.

David Demic

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After officers were able to sort out participants, 19-year-old Deandre H. Stephens was stopped and identified as also participant in the fight. Stephens was found to have a $30,000 bond for a Bench Warrant for Delivery of a Controlled Substance, and arrested, according to the statement.

Citations for the other participants included assault and battery as well as under age consumption.

Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver is a felony and Stephens could face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

If readers have more information, witness accounts or any other useful leads, please inform the Branding Iron either via bi@uwyo.edu or send us a message on Facebook account. Further updates will be added to the story as information comes in.

David Demic

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Last week, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Committee tested a bike lane around Prexy’s Pasture in association with Earth Week. The goal of the lane was to minimize conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians, and to encourage bicycling on campus.

The committee is considering the permanent inclusion of a similar lane in the future. Many universities have dedicated bike lanes to minimize conflicts, and encourage bike use. In a survey we conducted last week, 73 percent of the respondents liked the lane, but the sample size was small.

Feedback to the committee via e-mail was less supportive. Some complained that the paint was unsightly (note: it is just temporary and will wash off), or that they did not like their student fees going to such projects (note: much of the time and money donated to the project came from Physical Plant, committee members, and ASUW’s Director of Sustainability).

The committee is still interested in your feedback on this endeavor. Specifically, the following three questions:

Do you like the bike lane?

Do you think the proposed bike lane would reduce conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians?

Finally, do you generally bike or walk to campus?

The committee asks that comments be submitted electronically to bike-committee@uwyo.edu.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Dan McCoy

Chair, Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Committee

As the letter to the left shows, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Committee has been working hard toward finding a way to make walking around Prexy’s Pasture a bit safer.

David Demic

However, there have been complaints and criticisms concerning the need for these lanes and whether students will comply with the measure.

The need for separate bike and walk lanes is obvious, especially during campus rush hours when hundreds of students make their way across our relatively closely packed campus. Suddenly, the traffic of the walkways turns into a NASCAR race where longboarders dodge people, bikers make full stops inches from a tour group and pedestrians feel like the galactic rocks out of the game “Asteroids.”

Whether students will comply is completely up to said students. Frankly, once the measure is put into place, getting used to it will take no longer than a semester. Quickly, the separate lanes will just become common nature on Prexy’s and those few who think they are “fighting the man” by walking in the wrong lane will be left to play chicken with bicyclists.

The benefits are most important. Avid bikers might enjoy the entertainment value of dodging pedestrians, but not having to weave in and out of clusters of people will significantly speed up their travel times. On the flip side, pedestrians will not have the paranoid need to glance over their shoulders to see if they have to get ready to dodge and dive.

However, all opinions are valued and the Branding Iron is looking forward to receiving more letters and views on the matter.

David Demic

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