Free laser tag for all UW students will be held from 9 p.m. to midnight on Friday January 14 in the Union Ballroom. Also there will be three showings of “The Social Network” at 6:30, 9 and 11:30 p.m. in the Union Family Room.

“Students should attend FNF events because we put on free, quality entertainment every Friday night,” Lead Student Programmer for FNF Julianne Friesen said.

“We always show first-run movies, which are movies that are still in theaters and have not been released on DVD yet. We try to put on events that Laramie doesn’t have such as laser tag, concerts, comedy shows, and different, unusual activities.”

There is no other opportunity for laser tag in Laramie. Buisness major April Hughes is excited for Laser tag.

“Bring it on, I will go Rambo,” Hughes said. “If Chuck Noris played this Laser tag I think I could beat him.”

All FNF events are made possible by student fees and take place on campus.

“FNF is great if you are looking for something to do and don’t have a lot of money—which is most college students. We aren’t just something for freshmen students to do; FNF is for every full or part time fee-paying student. Every week is completely different and 2011 is packed full with awesome events,” Friesen said.

Some other events that FNF will be hosting this semester include a performance by Dead Prez, a hip hop duo, known for their underground, political, and conscious hip hop style at 9 p.m., Friday, Jan. 21 in the Union Ballroom as part of MLK Days of Dialogue.

UW Idol will have open call auditions on Friday, Jan. 28 in the A&S Auditorium, with the semifinals and finals to follow later in the semester. Students compete for the chance to win prizes. 1st place receives $1,000; 2nd place, $500; 3rd place, $300; and Audience choice Award, $100.

Battle of the Bands, Triple Feature Movie Night and other events will also take place throughout the semester.

Email the author: lkottens@uwyo.edu

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While the nation’s capitol enjoys a 65-foot Jackson Hole Christmas tree, Laramie celebrates the season with a festival of individually decorated pine trees.

To help kick off the Laramie holiday spirit the annual Festival of Trees will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, at the Centennial Complex, 2111 Willett Drive, across from War Memorial Stadium.

The Festival of Trees is a silent auction and tree lighting reception hosted by the UW Art Museum.

“The Festival of Trees is an annual event that is made possible through volunteer decorators in the community and is a combination of the silent auction and the Lighting of the Trees reception.  Members of the Laramie community, as well as the UW community, participate in this annual event,” Beverly Schroeder, administrative assistant to the Art Museum, said.

Participating community members decorate a tree that will be sold at the silent auction. 

“There is no set theme; the participants decide themselves what they would like to do and we always end up with a great variety of trees,” Schroeder said. 

Along with the trees, the silent auction will include many pedestal items like pre-lit wreaths and wall hangings and holiday creations from local florists. 

This is the 18th annual Festival of Trees and it is open to the public. 

“The proceeds from the silent auction help to support the Art Museum programs and to aid in supplying scholarships for all ages,” Schroeder said. 

One of the trees included is a “Forever West” tree, decorated by Gov. Dave Freudenthal and his wife, Nancy.

“Santa’s Garden,” a tree decorated by the UW president’s office, will also be up for bid. The art museum decorated two trees this year calling them the “Nutcracker Suite” and “Candy Warhol.” 

First Interstate Bank, UW Football and Habitat for Humanity have also decorated trees for the Festival of Trees.

The silent auction continues on Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and ends on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.. 

“People can come to preview the decorated trees and place advanced bids while they enjoy and evening of music, refreshments, and holiday lights,” Schroder said. 

Email: Lauren Kottenstette  

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Ellen J. Kennedy, executive director of World Without Genocide, spoke at UW Monday night. Her talk also included Rwanda, Cambodia and Bosnia.

World Without Genocide is a non-profit organization based out of William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.

She began by showing students pictures of people affected by the genocides. She first spoke about a girl named Alice from Rwanda, where 800,000 people were killed in 100 days. In all, almost one million people were killed in the genocide. 

She said that though governments around the world continue to say “Never again,” genocide continues to happen because there is no political motive to stop the killing.

“Every genocide has multiple layers to it,” Kennedy said. 

As for the Darfur genocide, she said at a local level the conflict is resource-based. On the regional level, it is a tribal and ethnic dispute, and on the national level, it is a political conflict. 

She said this is not a new conflict but it has become more lethal because of the new weapons. Also, the government has been polarizing the Arab population against the African population. 

Kennedy explained to students the process of the genocide in Darfur. She explained how the government bombs African villages, after which the government’s soldiers come into the villages to attack the remaining population. She added that there is also an extensive amount of gender violence in Darfur, and women as old as 80 and as young as six months are being brutalized.

She told students that though resolutions came to the U.N. Security Council 17 times, they were all vetoed by Russia and China. Kennedy added that the two countries have oil and weapons interests in Sudan.

“There is great fear that the violence will break out into a genocide that is country-wide,” Kennedy said. 

By 2009, the situation in Darfur had turned into genocide by attrition – genocide by starvation and disease. Kennedy said even polio had broken out in the internally displaced persons camps. 

“Genocide in the 21st century is going to become more dangerous that genocide in the 20th century,” she said.

 She attributed this to resource scarcity of water, food and fuel as well as population growth, increasingly lethal weapons and a psychology of violence.

She said she believes there is racism that has gone into the lack of effort to stop the genocide. Because it is taking place in Africa where the people do not look like the majority of people in the U.S., it is even easier for the country to shut its eyes, she said.

Kennedy also talked about the stages that take place in cases of genocide.

First was classification of people followed by creating symbols for such people. Third was dehumanization, then organization, preparation, extermination and finally denial. 

Kennedy finished by speaking about the stages in genocide prevention and what bills have gone to the government to aid in this prevention and how students can get involved to help stop these atrocities. 

 Email:Erin Jarnagin 

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“Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout,” by acclaimed playwright Tomson Highway, begins 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 to Oct. 30 and 2 p.m. Oct. 31 in the Fine Arts Studio Theatre. 

The play’s director, UW professor Rebecca Hilliker, met the playwright Tomson Highway. “[Highway is] an amazing individual with an incredible sense of humor but also sense of compassion with a desire to really give something back to his people,” Hilliker said.

“I saw the play at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and was incredibly moved by it. I believe it’s a story that everyone should hear and we very seldom see productions that discuss first nation issues,” she said.

The play takes place on Aug. 25, 1910 in Canada as four women of the Shuswap Nation prepare for Prime Minister Laurier’s visit to their village. 

 “Although [Highway’s] play deals only with the native Shuswap people of Kamloops, British Columbia, I believe it translates to native peoples everywhere. I think it’s important for everyone to understand just what the consequences were for first nation peoples like the Shuswap when the white settlers took away their rights, occupied their land and even took away their language and identity,” said Hilliker.

“Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout” stars Brittany Byers, Cheyenne Christian, Noelia Antweiler and Shanna Dana, all of whom are theatre and dance students. 

“If you are looking at the surface, it’s a story about Indians but if you go deeper into it, it’s a story about any culture that has had something terrible happen or something taken away from their culture,” Byers, who plays Ernestine Shuswap, said.

“My favorite part is having the opportunity to tell a story from the side of the story that people don’t normally see” Byers said.

Following the show, a discussion will follow drawing directly from the Laurier Memorial, a deposition signed by 14 chiefs of the Thompson River Valley.

For Hilliker, this has been the most challenging play she’s directed at UW. “The play moves from a place of very dark comedy to intense tragedy and can turn on a dime,” she said. “I was extremely fortunate to have John O’Hagan as the fight choreographer, Margaret Stalder as the movement choreographer and Lou Anne Wright as the speech and vocal coach. The play wouldn’t have been possible without their hard work and dedication to the piece.”

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The Service, Leadership and Community Engagement office kicked off its Leadership Development series Monday with a discussion on how students can better identify and understand leadership skills.

The series, which has been setup and managed by Rachael Sherman, will focus on helping students recognize their own leadership styles, and to show students how to best use their natural skills in a broad variety of real world settings.

“This series is not just for students looking to beef up their skills in a board room or at a conference table,” Sherman said before starting the first workshop on Monday.

“The goal of this event is to help students identify what kind of leaders they are, and to help them develop their own unique leadership styles in a way that will make them most effective in a variety of situations, both on campus and off,” Sherman said.

Monday’s session focused on showing students how to identify personal strengths and weaknesses, and how to most effectively use these strengths in group interactions. Sherman introduced the session by asking the question, “If I say that I am a leader, what does this really mean? What exactly is a leader?”

Associate Professor Kent Drummond from the Marketing and Management Department led Monday’s event.

“I think this is a great opportunity for students to learn about something that has lifelong importance,” he said.

The second installment in the series will take place Oct. 25 in form of a panel discussion called “What Does Your Leadership Look Like?” This panel will be made up of both students and faculty, and will be focused on examining how people are different, and how these differences have helped them to become leaders.

“Everyone possesses different skills, and it’s important to not only know yours, but also be aware of what others can do,” Sherman said. “Leadership is about more than being the loudest in the room; it’s about learning how to work with others and encouraging everyone to do their best.”

The third and final session in the series will take place Nov. 1 and tie everything together in a practical application where Becky Adair from Residence Life and Dining Services, will be talking about unique ways to make meetings more productive and possibly even more bearable.

This session will be looking at how everyone has their own set of unique leadership skills, and how to work productively with individuals with different sets of skills. Sherman highlighted the importance of these lessons by presenting a common group dynamic situation.

“You know what skills you do or do not have, you know that someone else might possess a skill that you lack, and now you have a meeting or group project with everyone and you have to find a way to make it work,” Sherman said.

Both talks for the leadership development series will take place from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in room 211 in the Business Building. 

Email the author:  rkubiche@uwyo.edu

jsindt

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RSO Funding Board has about $11,000 left to give out to organizations for events for the remainder of the semester as of last week’s ASUW meeting, RSO Funding Board Chair Katie Cusack said.

During meetings, several senators have become concerned at the low amount of funding the board has left.

Several have expressed concern about allocating large amounts to organizations on campus because the funding board may not have funding left at the end of the semester.

However, according to the RSO Funding Board, the process is on a first come, first serve basis and no event should be refused funding because of concerns about having money left over.

College of Law Sen. Will Reese has said during Senate meetings that it is important for organizations to show a good faith effort to secure funding from sources outside of ASUW for their events before requesting large sums from ASUW because funding is so low.

Funding board requests which total more than $1,000 must be brought before the ASUW Senate for approval.

RSOs requesting money last spring for events taking place this fall was the reason for the low amount of remaining funding.

The funding board allocated money from this semester’s budget to events that would take place this semester, but in doing so spent most of its budget last year, which has created concerns for groups requesting funding this semester.

“RSOs became proactive and requested funds for this fall last spring,” Cusack said.

The funding board has about $60,000 for activities for next semester but RSOs are already starting to request funding for the spring, she said.

The Senate may choose to allocate some of the money from the ASUW reserve fund to the RSO Funding Board for the remainder of the semester.  However, the issue will first have to be discussed at the Budget and Planning Committee meeting, which will take place Tuesday.

According to the ASUW Finance Policy, the reserve is made up of extra student fees, which are put into the reserve at the end of the year. Access to reserve funds is monitored by the Budget and Planning Committee.

The reserve is used to secure the ongoing development of activities, programs and the advancement of ideals of ASUW, according to the policy.

Recently, the funding board allocated large amounts of money to the Chinese Student Association’s Moon Festival, the Betty’s collaborative concert with Jubilee and an event for Alpine Ski Club. 

There are several more requests exceeding $1,000 coming before the Senate at Tuesday’s meeting.

“More programs are being held, you should take advantage of them because it’s your money,” Cusack said.

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The University of Wyoming held a panel discussion on Freedom of Speech in Academia yesterday afternoon at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Panelists included Joan Del Fattore, author of “What Johnny Shouldn’t Read: Textbook Censorship in America.” Kenneth Lasson, Philippa Strum and Robert O’Neil were also speakers at the panel. 

American Heritage Center director, Mark Greene said the event could be viewed as a response to the Dick Cheney and Bill Ayers controversy last semester. “The event is an attempt to provide some discussion and put into context the broader issues on a national level,” Greene Said. “The symposium was a way for the University to continue the conversation [on freedom of speech],” he continued. 

Greene said that the event received high interest in the UW Community. He also said that the speakers were very enthusiastic.

Panelist Phillipa Strum said that freedom of speech in academia is incredibly important. “The real meaning of the First Amendment is to protect the right to articulate what we hate,” she continued, “If there is a place where all ideas must be expressed, it is the university.” 

Panelist Joan DelFattore said that interpretations of the First Amendment are no place for universities. “I don’t think the First Amendment is the best way to define academic freedom. If we do that, we leave it up to the courts,” she said. 

The event hosted both university students and Laramie residents. The event began when AHC Director Mark Greene suggested to Myron Allen that we should have a similar event to the likes of the William Ayers controversy last spring. 

codyconnor

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By Paul V.M. Flesher

In the political fuss over the New York Islamic community center (with a prayer room) a couple blocks from “Ground Zero,” the Constitution’s First Amendment supporting religious freedom has become a casualty. Some critics have argued that it does not apply, while others have used it as a tool of discrimination giving them the right not to have a particular religion in this place.

Neither is the case. The First Amendment was designed exactly for this situation and it stands solidly on the side of the Muslim association planning to build the center. That judgment may be politically controversial, and many do not agree with it, but it stands squarely in the middle of United States’ law governing treatment of religious groups. The legal position is straightforward.

First Amendment laws prevent the interference of government entities in religious matters and ensure our country’s widely respected freedom of religion. The majority has regularly used it to uphold the rights of religious minorities against opposition. Historically, these minorities have included Quakers, Native Americans, Catholics, and most recently, evangelical Christians. Ironically, evangelical Christians, who are generally opposed to the Islamic center’s construction, have in recent decades been highly active in the courts expanding our country’s First Amendment rights of worship and assembly.

The most puzzling aspect of this controversy is the willingness to ignore or reject the Constitution’s First Amendment as if it were optional. Optional! How can such an idea even arise?

The idea comes from viewing the Constitution like another important document, namely, the Bible. In the generalized, Protestant-derived worldview common in many segments of American society, the Bible is viewed as the founding work of the Christian religion, revealed by God through Moses and Jesus, prophets and disciples.

Similarly, the Constitution forms our nation’s founding document. There is a strong tendency to view the founding fathers composed it as superior to normal men, possessing a prophetic vision that enabled them to shape this work to last. Although these men were not divine, there has recently been a movement to Christianize them and to downplay their deist and secular beliefs.

Both documents guide the communities for which they constitute the foundation. The United States looks to the Constitution and Christianity looks to the Bible as the ultimate authority. However, both works require ongoing interpretation to remain relevant and applicable to changes in society, technology, and communal growth.

It is the differing character of that interpretation that explains the notion that the First Amendment is optional.

In law, interpretation takes place through court decisions (the application of the law) and legislation (the writing of new laws). Specific interpretation can be challenged, usually through more court cases, but once the interpretations are made, they form part of the law. They become potentially applicable to any and all situations within the country. However individual authorities may treat a particular law, laws are legally not optional and the state provides enforcement means to ensure they are followed.

In religion, interpretation takes place differently. Individuals and organizations (e.g., churches and denominations) can interpret. Sometimes religious organizations have the means to enforce their interpretations of belief and practice (e.g. the Inquisition, pledges of belief), sometimes they do not.

Protestantism began as a rebellion (initially by individuals) against the interpretation of the Bible propounded by (the organization of) the Catholic Church. Protestants also rejected a number of books in that Bible (books now called the Apocrypha). In other words, Protestantism not only discarded centuries of interpretation of the founding Scripture, it changed the contents of that Scripture. Even as these radical changes took place, however, Protestants elevated the Bible as a whole, claiming that they were being more true to that sacred text.

That legacy leads many Americans whose worldview is informed by Protestantism to view the Constitution in the same way. The First Amendment and its history of legal interpretation can be rejected because they believe it is not “true” to the intentions of the Founding Fathers.

It is the intellectual equating of the Constitution with the Bible, and seeing the Constitution within the Protestants’ interpretive history of Scripture, that enables the notion that the First Amendment and its guarantee of religious freedom can be discarded. But since the Constitution is a legal document rather than a theological one, that position is false.

Flesher is director of UW’s Religious Studies Program. Past columns and more information about the program can be found on the Web at www.uwyo.edu/RelStds. To comment on this column, visit http://religion-today.blogspot.com.

kmarti29

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Observations from a Townee

Max D’Onofrio

More than the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving or Christmas, it is the month of August that brings the citizens of Laramie together.

Just before the aspens take their fall colors and the mountains are fit for exploring, the citizens prepare for the annual onslaught of returning college students.

Though many students may take Laramie as their new home during the summer, the arrival of the students back into this sleepy summer town is far from unnoticeable.

1. Traffic, traffic, traffic. Without a doubt traffic is the first noticeable change in the community.

As UW is not located in a downtown metropolis, those who don’t like to get their clothes online or at Walmart will have to travel at least 45 miles to find suitable garments. This results in almost every student bringing a car, adding several thousand automobiles to the already tarnished (which is putting it lightly) city roads.

Though the traffic is noticeable, the citizens could learn to handle the situation calmly if the city didn’t decide every year to shut down at least two major roads just as the students come back.

Though some say it is an annual practical joke by a streets department, which is past its prime; the closures that infuriate the locals and confuse the newbies every year just add to the hell that convinces some the change from cars to horses came too soon for this town.

2. Wally World. Without a mall, “Da Walmart” is the place to be. Whether it be school supplies or chips galore, the local mega store has everything that a family needs at prices that, let’s face it, cannot be beat.

These low prices, and the absence of a Target, make Walmart not only the place for locals, but the first stop for students who need to spruce up their new room and buy some cheap food.

More muttering about the “damn students” can be found in Walmart than anywhere else.  

It should be noted that the citizens of Laramie understand that they owe the livelihood of their town to the students. It is understood that without the university, and thus the students, this town would still be a one street light town that was bidding for the construction of a prison or mental institution.

Despite this silent acknowledgment, it doesn’t mean that Townees don’t have a right to complain about the annual influx of students that make lines long and parking lots packed.

3. Why so much noise?

Though the occasional stupid teen will take the opportunity to set off a firework a month before or after the Fourth of July, and Wyo Techers should be taught how to put a freakin’ muffler on their cars, UW students take the cake on the decibel meter.

Students can take a night of video games and Keystone Light to a level so loud that even their elderly neighbors with hearing aids are wondering where all the noise is coming from.

Just remember that many locals have been getting to bed at a decent hour for the last three months and when they come to your door at 3 a.m., the only reason they are grumpy is because you woke them up. They are done being in their 20s.

4. The biggest impact that students make is on the daily conversation of all locals. Be it at the grocery store, the hair salon or the dump, the one subject that beats the weather every time is chatting about the return of the college students.

“You notice the traffic this weekend? Students coming back a little earlier this year than I expected.”

“With the students back I can’t find a single three pronged converter anywhere in town.”

“ Remember not to go out for dinner this weekend, parents are bringing their kids into town and the restaurants are going to be packed.”

Be it only a few years or a lifetime, no Laramite misses the opportunity to chat with another local about the not-so-peculiar effects that the returning school year has on the city, and most wouldn’t know what to talk about if they didn’t have it.

5. As a local who has lived here since elementary school, the month of August in an opportunity for me to remind every person I meet that despite the fact that I go to UW, I am not a student, I am at Townee.

Be it the Thai place, city hall or Walmart, I take the opportunity to separate myself from those returning to the college.

I have been complaining about the returning college students since fifth grade, and I don’t plan to stop just because I go to school with them. Damn students.  

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BI: What did you learn from your battles with Jordan Shipley and the Texas receiving core last season?

Gipson: It made me like that I could play with the best receivers.

BI: At the end of your press conference last year following the Texas game you said that you felt the Cowboys should have won the game. Does that fuel you for this year’s match up?

Gipson: I feel like, honestly we should win every game. It’s not just Texas.

BI: What is the best thing about UW athletics?

Gipson: All the changes that Coach Christensen has put in. New gear, better stadium; it’s all been great.

BI: If you could change one thing about UW athletics what would it be?

Gipson: More stipends. Definitely more stipends, but in all seriousness they’re doing a good job as is.

BI: What is your favorite thing about playing football in Laramie?

Gipson: The small town atmosphere. I’m from a big city in Dallas, Texas so you don’t get that kind of atmosphere.

BI: Who is faster, you or your brother?

Gipson: I’m the fastest person on the team so he ain’t even compete.

BI: Who has better style?

Gipson: I’m going to say me on that too.

BI: What is the best thing about playing football with your brother?

Gipson: The chemistry we got.

BI: What is the worst thing about playing with your brother?

Gipson: There’s so many good things, but I would say us dealing with each other’s attitudes.

BI: Do you have any hidden talents?

Gipson: My hidden talent would probably be that I sing songs with my daughter.

BI: Does Coach Christensen have any hidden talents that we might not be aware of?

Gipson: He’s kind of a joker. People think he’s serious all the time but he’s got a sense of humor too.

BI: Best place you’ve played?

Gipson: Tennessee

BI: Worst place you’ve played?

Gipson: Florida Atlantic

BI: What players do you admire?

Gipson: Darrelle Revis and Champ Bailey.

BI: What do you most want to accomplish before you’re finished with your football career?

Gipson: Most definitely catch an interception. That will probably be a big thing for me.

BI: Who has the best nickname on the team?

Gipson: I would probably have to say myself. They call me Low-So. Or other than that it’s Pro-Boogie [Chris Prosinski].

BI: Favorite movie?

Gipson: Paid in Full

BI: Favorite food?

Gipson: Enchiladas. But only my mama’s, though.

codyconnor

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