T H E CATALYSTOF THE COLORADO COLLEGE April 6, 2007 Est. 1969 Issue 18, Volume 52 The Sisterhood Empty Bowls fundraises for A Portrait of the Pikes Peak Derby Dames Community Kitchen Genai Odhner Staff Writer A line of hungry people began forming at the entrance of Bemis Hall on Monday evening and grew until it stretched across the Bemis driveway. The crowd was congregating for Empty Bowls, a fundraiser for the CC Community Kitchen, where attendees received a hand-thrown bowl and all-you-can-eat homemade soup. The ninth annual Empty Bowls event was organized by the student group Hunger and Homelessness Awareness (HHA) and the Cen- ter for Service and Learning. Sophomores Meg Reamer and Lindsey Davis, the co-chairs of HHA, pulled together a band of dedicated volunteers to help plan the event. As a result, Empty Bowls was more organized and better at- tended than ever before. The event raised about $2,500, which is to be donated to the CC Com- munity Kitchen. The Pikes Peak Derby Dames, a team of competitive women roller skaters, stretch out before practice. Ellie Wood/Catalyst Upon reaching the front of the line and hand- ing over their tickets, attendees were presented with an impressive array of handmade ceramic bowls. The bowls were donated by the arts and Matthias Barker & Mat Elmore pretty ordinary women. A few kids run around on end in hopes of winning the prize. Seltzer crafts department through the continued com- Contributing Writer & Staff Writer and friendly chatter fills up the room. turned the competitions into walkathons, and mitment of Greg Marshall, the clay instructor. From what one can tell, they are just an aver- then combined the walkathon with the fad hit of He and his students crafted and glazed 116 A platinum blonde approaches. Her arms are age group of young women—but that’s not quite roller skating. Roller derby was born. beautiful bowls, which were added to roughly tattooed up and down, one with a mural includ- accurate. They’re derby dames, and they’re here The sport would experience varied popular- 100 remaining from previous years. ing a 50s-era Creature from the Black Lagoon. to hone their skills in a sport that has seen a re- ity and transformations over the next 50 years. After selecting a bowl, attendees faced the She’s wearing candy cane-swirled earrings and surgence of popularity in the last five years. Today, the derby subculture is centered around problem of selecting something to fill it with. bright red lipstick. A true ‘American sport,’ roller derby was all-female teams that compete on flat (as op- Empty Bowls featured about 20 different “I’m Slugs-N-Kisses,” she says in a sugar- founded during the Depression when a film- posed to banked) tracks. National unification >>> Continued on pg 2 sweet voice. “I’m the founder of the Pike’s Peak publicist named Leo Seltzer grew annoyed with came in mid-2004 when a number of the all-fe- Derby Dames, and I’d be happy to answer any ‘dance marathons’ stealing customers from his male leagues banded together to form the Wom- questions you have.” cinema business. en’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The anxiety is lifted for the moment, but re- Seltzer organized his own dance-athons, in The creation of the WFTDA allowed for inter- turns as soon as we enter the roller rink. Despite which the winner was given a prize of $2,000. state play by standardizing the rules of derby. some dyed hair, a few piercings, several tattoos, The dance competitions quickly digressed into “I do something derby every day,” said and striped leggings, the occupants appear to be groups of vagrants shuffling their feet for hours >>> Continued on pg 12 Ritter signs renewable energy bill into law John Graham Guest Writer utilities will have to produce 10 percent of their crats, and representatives from Xcel Energy power from alternative sources by the same commended the legislation. On Tuesday, March 27, Colorado Governor Bill year. Utilities will also be required to upgrade Will Coyne, the program director for Envi- Ritter signed two landmark pieces of renewable their transmission lines to carry new energy ronment Colorado, said that the legislation “will energy legislation into law during a signing cer- sources, but there are provisions that allow them secure the market for renewable energy in Colo- emony at the National Renewable Energy Labo- to recover the cost of upgrades. rado, adding $1.9 billion to our economy and at ratory’s Wind Technology Center in Boulder. Ritter was joined at the signing ceremony by the same time reducing soot, smog, and global The new pieces of legislation will require hundreds of lawmakers, energy providers, and warming pollution by 11 percent.” Colorado’s large, investor-owned utilities to environmental activists who praised the new Increasing Colorado’s commitment to re- Empty Bowls attendees select bowls made produce 20 percent of their energy through re- legislation in a rare broad-based endorsement of newable energy was a centerpiece of Ritter’s by CC students. Sam Hartnett/Catalyst newable sources by 2010. Smaller cooperative environmental legislation. Republicans, Demo- >>> Continued on pg 3 FEATURES SCENE SPORTS OPINIONS Faculty Hiring Process Explored Dragged Out Tree Climbing for Grown-Ups Emotions in Politics Have you ever been lying on the newly sprouted Roman Dial and Carl Tobin are what some might Participating in a political argument is usually an spring grass and wondered, “Just how are call “Alaskan Hardmen.” They are multifaceted outright frustrating experience. It does not take but professors hired at CC?” adventure seekers, and to the community of like- a couple of minutes to realize that there will be no Recently, Colorado College has been searching minded extreme-sport masochists (alpinists, eco- declared winner, and by the end each person in- for new professors for several departments, challenge racers, glacier cyclists, class V pack-raf- volved is usually more staunchly opposed to con- including the Religion and English Departments. ters, etc.), inspirational heroes. flicting views than they were before the argument It is a long and arduous process that brings new But Dial and Tobin appear in the scholarly began. These conversations are neither productive faculty to our campus, one that hopefully this journal Ecology even more frequently than Rock nor informing. article will demystify. and Ice. As Alaska Pacific University biologists Whether or not you are “into” politics, you have Professor Jane Hilberry, co-chair of the English merging mountaineering’s technical rope skills probably had this experience. Not only does this department, agreed to an interview to with a deep knowledge and interest type of political conversation hinder explain just what it takes to be awarded ...p.7 ...p.8-9 in forest canopy ecology, these men ...p.11 progress in personal political conver- ...p.15 PAGE 2 NEWS APRIL 6, 2007 Empty Bowls CC Community Kitchen to receive all proceeds from record-breaking event >>> Continued from front kinds of soup, made almost exclusively by stu- dent volunteers (Outback Steakhouse also do- nated 10 gallons). While enjoying whichever soup they eventually picked, attendees were also treated to a musical performance by singer/ guitarist Patrick Kratzer. Two representatives from local charitable organizations spoke during the event. The first, Heather Martin, is from an organization called Care and Share, which collects food and distrib- utes it to the poor and hungry. She cited statis- tics and stories that emphasized how close hun- ger and homelessness are to everyone. People who are food-insecure usually have jobs and a roof over their heads but just can’t make ends meet, she explained. Daniel Byrd from Urban Peak spoke about the young people his organization provides temporary homes for. These youths often come directly from the street, eating whatever they can find, and, as he observed, “nutrition goes by the wayside,” making organizations like Urban Peak that provide nutritious meals essential. This year, 100 percent of the proceeds from Empty Bowls ticket sales, which were $10 apiece, will go to the Community Kitchen. The Community Kitchen provides a hot meal ev- ery Sunday for those in need, operating out of Shove Chapel basement. The funds will be used to help replace other sources of funding that have recently diminished, helping to buy food, utensils, and new appliances. The fundraiser is part of a 15th anniversary benefit celebration for the Community Kitchen, which will host a bar- beque open to everyone on April 15. The event will be held at 2 p.m. on the east side of Shove. Thanks to advertising in the community as well as on campus, Empty Bowls was so popu- lar this year that they ran out of ceramic bowls and almost 30 people were issued IOUs. At least 250 people attended, a considerable in- crease from the 180 attendees last year and 130 the year before. Empty Bowls exists to raise awareness as well as money. Reamer, who has been planning the event since the beginning of the semester, celebrated its enormous success. “It’s an important issue,” Reamer explained, “because at CC, people are so privileged, and we don’t often think about people who don’t have enough money for food. It’s important to step out of our bubble.” If you missed out and want to get involved next year, Reamer is seeking volunteers for next year’s Empty Bowls. Contact her for additional information. Left, top two: Local community members serve themselves. Almost half the at- tendees at Empty Bowls this year were not students.