NEWS FEATURES COMDEB A & E Greek life: up in the air Bobby Brown’s gritty busi- The racist rhetoric of Fox Pitchfork music festival ness of loaning liberty News rocks Chicago Aly Wisler 4 Gordon Matthewson 6 Ben Quam 11 Ben Cronin 14 Volume 41 No 1 Learn more about the THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF COLORADO COLLEGE Springs’ Muslim Community Page 7 Man on fire: the ultimate experience in organized > September 10, 2010 insanity catalystnewspaper.com Josh Raab Photo Editor uddenly the Conchman brought our side- Sby-side tandem bike to a halt, pointed into First block the mass of scantily clad bodies thrashing to Mimosa, and exclaimed, “See, it’s really all about survival guide the tits. I’ve seen thousands here and never a Ben Cronin pair I didn’t like.” It was then I realized I was in the middle of the oddest and most entertaining ComDeb Editor interview I had conducted yet. The Conchman tudents who have made it past their first was a member of the notorious drug-infused “Syear can recognize some striking paral- free-love Rainbow Family, and was in the middle lels between Blocks 1 & 8. The first of these of explaining to me his perception of sexual- similarities is the exquisitely beautiful Colorado ity at the Burning Man Arts Festival last week weather. We are all able-bodied, free-minded during my research for my sociology senior students here, right? The block plan predicates a thesis paper. I ventured out to the middle of high level of outdoor activity, and when class is the desert for a week to try and figure out why over we can sprint towards the mountains—or 50,000 people every year decide to spend their Yampa—and run free. Another similarity hard-earned vacation living in the harshest between the first and last block is the level of climate in the country to ultimately burn a 75-ft alcohol consumption that goes on, because effigy of a man. hey—what better to top off a day filled with Despite months of research the event academia and mountain-exploring than an ice- remained shrouded in mystery. I heard it cold beer? There are several ways to make sure heralded as the spiritual journey of a lifetime that we can balance these activities: first we must from one source and the best party in the world learn how to get drunk when we want (and/or by another. I decided the only way to gain any need) to, and secondly we need to know how to true insight would be to go out there myself. I sober up. Strap on your boots, let’s get after it. packed my tent, designed a shade structure out of pvc and rebar, and recruited my uncle Getting Booze When You Need It to come with me. What I found was totally overwhelming, epically amusing, and ultimately 1. Jack Quinn’s, located at 21 S. Tejon, has a life changing. running deal every Wednesday on Bombs and The first man erected was an 8-foot wooden Wings. For $4, a waitress will bring you a shot statue burned by Larry Harvey and Jerry of Bailey’s Irish Cream dropped into a half glass James on San Francisco’s Baker Beach. It was of Irish Stout. It’ll also buy you a relatively large the Summer Solstice of 1986 and this would plate of chicken wings. Wednesday is a grueling become the first burning of “the man”. The day, and with so many rowdy events scheduled reasoning for this seemingly random act has for first block weekends, an Irish Car Bomb been lost over the years; however, its ability to may be just what the doctor ordered. Just make bring people together has only grown. Two burners take a stroll on the esplanade towards “the man” at Burning Man 2010. Photo: Josh Raab sure that if you attend this boisterous affair, you The next year “the man” was built larger, Following the 1990 burn, the event was rocket launch to reach space was achieved. wake up in time for class. Deals on bombs and continually growing and attracting more curious deemed the Burning Man Festival and moved When the festival first moved out to Black wings starts at 10 p.m. passerbys until the event was banned by the out to the least likely place it would be interrupt- Rock Desert (referred to by burners as “the San Francisco Police Department. When it was ed: Black Rock Desert in Nevada. The desert Playa”) there was no official police force and vir- 2. Hunan Springs, located at 24 E. Kiowa St, banned in 1990 the man was 40 feet high and is a dry lake bed with an area of around 1000 tually no limitations. Only two rules were really is your archetypal, grimy Chinese food. MSG drew around 800 participants. An act of pyro- square miles. It was part of both the California emphasized, and both are still held in high re- hangs in the air like dust; it is not the kind of technics for no relevant reason became an ex- and Oregon Trails in the mid-1800s, but was gard. The first was meant to increase participa- fine Chinese cuisine that leaves your stomach cuse for people to do whatever they felt like for deemed uninhabitable by settlers. Since then it tion; it claimed “No spectators”. The other was feeling settled. To their credit, Hunan Springs equally little reason. As the spectators began to has been used by the army during World War II a general rule that anything was allowed as long express themselves freely, they transformed into for bomb testing. In 1997 the land speed record as it did not harm or disturb other participants. Continued on page 14 participants and a community began to form. was set there, and in 2004 the first amateur Continued on page 15 2 September 10, 2010 News CC demographics shift as financial aid sinks Basalt, Colorado- that counselor’s not going to Elizabeth Findell call me.” News Editor ‘10 Percentages of fall first year students The school indicated that, in the end, it is This article originally appeared in the Catalyst on most important for them to devote recruitment May 11, 2010 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 resources to the locations where they are most High school type While families that make over $200,000 per likely to find students who are academically, year may represent only 3.4 percent of the •Public 65.9 60.8 56.7 57.8 52.5 61 culturally and sometimes financially most likely United States population, at Colorado College •Private 26.3 31.9 27.3 27.3 32.9 39 to find a place at CC. Admission counselor the figure is a good indication that they may be Michael Shum, described the relationship as: paying full tuition- and the full-pay demo- Reported race “Paramount- especially with private institutions.” graphic has risen to well over 60 percent of the •Caucasian 81.2 83.7 81.9 75.1 81.6 n/a “Feeder schools have produced college-going students because of the communities they feed student body. •American ethnic 17.9 14.4 14.7 20 15 n/a from too,” Garcia said. As the percentage of students on finan- minority cial aid decreases and campus demographics •International 0.8 1.8 3.4 4.9 3.4 n/a slowly slide toward the more elite, the school THE CHANGING FACE OF CC No doubt, the demographics of CC are has instituted a suggested $6 million ballpark Top 10% of HS class 66 66 60 67 63 figure to spend on aid for incoming students, shifting. Last year, 85 percent of admitted CC in an effort to break the boom/bust cycle of students came from families making more LOSING GROUND ON FINANCIAL percent, compared to less than 23 percent for financial aid. than $100,000 annually, though only about AID students who demonstrate financial need. 16 percent of American families fall into that The overarching conversation about financial The school defended the “need-sensitive” THE YO-YO PHENOMENON category. Less than 5 percent of students come aid and admissions has been more persistent admission process, saying that they want to For years, the college has seen great fluctua- from families making under $50,000 per year- and long-coming than just the spike of 2008 be able to fund every student they admit. To tion between classes as the ethnic, socioeco- the median household income in the US. and the dip of 2009. The Committee on initially admit students based on merit and then nomic and academic characteristics of each “We are not a middle-class college,” Student Admission and Financial Aid (CAFA) released determine their financial situation, they said, incoming year vary with the amount of avail- Government President David Carlson said. a report during Block 6 of this year address- would not be desirable. able financial aid. Admissions spent between Many in the school administration, however, ing what they called “insufficient scholarship “If you go on need-blind you are knowingly $5.1 and $5.4 million on need-based financial maintain that CC remains an institution of mid- aid.” The committee, composed of five faculty admitting a bunch of students who won’t aid for the incoming classes in 2006 and 2007, tier individuals. members and three administrative staff, was be able to come- we feel it’s kind of cynical,” providing at least partial funding for roughly “The vast majority of our kids come from created a few years ago to provide an advisory Grace said.