THE OREDIGGER

The student voice of Mines since 1920

Volume 95, Issue 5

Digger Den cuts

late-night hours

Frank J Knafelc
Staff Writer

With the opening of the muchanticipated Mines Market in the Elm

Hall, Mines Dining has supposedly
stepped into a new age of superior
dining services with Sodexo at the
helm. Despite these recent improvements, many in the student body
cannot help but think things have
gotten much worse. Along with the
new eatery is an entirely restructured
set of hours for the popular Digger Den
grab and go food court.
Digger Den, which was once open
as late as midnight on weekdays, is
now only open until 7:00 PM with
Mines Market taking over after that
point until midnight on weekdays. In
lieu of the old late night Digger Den
menu, Mines Market now offers a
short buet menu of pizza, cereal,
drinks, a random entree, and the necessary conveniences for those with
dietary restrictions. Generally speaking, Mines Markets lack of options and
increased cost, especially for those

not possessing an unlimited access

meal plan, has thrown many late night
Digger Den customers into an uproar.
After attending a recent meeting between Mines Dining Services and concerned students, the problems and
potential solutions became apparent.
After the new Mines Market was
opened and the initial excitement had
worn o, many students were quick
to note that their favorite late night
hotspot, Digger Den, had been
closed and replaced with the new
Mines Market eatery. Not only was the
popular hangout closed after 7:00 PM,
but it also had been substituted with
a more expensive and less diverse
selection. After 8:00 PM, Mines Market
oers only a limited menu. In response
to student complaints, Mines Dining
Services recently expanded these
options to include salads, desserts,
sandwiches, pizza, side dishes, and
rotating entree specials.
Continued at Reduced Late
Night Options on page 5

Which would you rather have

as a late night dining option?
Mines Market
6.4%

93.6%

January 26, 2015

The Oredigger reviews the Physics Department on pg. 6!

Favorite Professor?

New weekly leadership

seminar debuts on campus
Katrina San Nicolas
Staff Writer

Are leaders ordinary people made

extraordinary through hard work and
training, or are certain individuals
destined to make a difference in
the world? While this nature versus
nurture debate is big enough for a
class of its own, the new Leadership
Practices and Assessment Seminar
series seeks to develop the leadership skills of Mines students and
faculty of all backgrounds, majors,
and interests.
Sponsored by the Economics
and Business Department, The
Leadership Practices and Assessment Practices seminar is held
Tuesdays at 4 PM in Hill Hall 202.
The leadership training sessions are
specically geared towards graduate
students seeking a degree in Engineering Technology Management,
but remain open to any student or
faculty member looking to learn
about leadership styles and gain
confidence in situations involving
group communication.
Leadership is my life and it is
in fact my passion, declares John
Bedker, the main instructor and key
speaker for the seminars. Bedker is
originally from Annapolis and attend-

ed the United States Naval Academy.

Throughout his career with the Navy,
he found himself with dierent commercial air piloting responsibilities
and many leadership roles along
the way. After retiring from the Navy,
he discovered a love for leadership
consultation, and he is excited and
honored to continue following that
passion at Mines today.
Mr. Bedker is quick to assert that
leadership is an art and not a science,
and therefore the lectures are carefully constructed to mimic the realworld experiences that students are
likely to encounter in the workforce.
For instance, the class will feature
guest speakers in government and
small business arenas and challenge
participants to analyze examples of
successful and unsuccessful leadership practices.
The seminars are built upon the
idea that leadership in the real world
matters, and that this ability is in fact
measurable, learnable, and teachable all at once.
The rst seminar was attended
by a myriad of students and faculty,
each expecting something a little bit
dierent out of the extended learning
experience. While many participants
are Mines graduate students, the
class also features non-traditional

Paris Spinelli

Digger Den
See more results from the campus
wide survey about the new dining
options and opinions from USG
and Mines Dining on page 5!
w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t

students seeking advancement to

leadership roles in the workforce and
Mines faculty hoping to teach and
lead classes more eectively. With
such a broad audience, one highlight
of the seminars is their individualized
nature.
We grow and we evolve because
we are dynamic human beings,
suggests Bedker. To quantify these
developments, Bedker will be individualizing the curriculum by giving each
participant an initial survey about their
current leadership abilities and then
assisting each with a Leadership Development Plan to map out possible
areas of improvement and suggest
specic resources. At the end of the
leadership series, students will be
asked to give a short speech reecting upon their classroom journey and
explaining their future endeavors.
Youll of course take your technical knowledge to the workplace,
Bedker explains. However, in an industry of competition, technological
communication, and team projects,
mastering essential skills like public
speaking, management and delegation, and leadership ethics can make
all the dierence. Bedker puts it best
with The leadership piece really
matters. Make a bigger and better
contribution.

n e w s

page 2

Paris, France - A large international team led by Francois Leroy of the

INSERM Neuroimaging Unit in Paris has compared brain images of people
ranging from infancy to adulthood to chimpanzees. They have discovered that
many brain landmarks may be the key to understanding what the communality between the two species is. The researchers found features important for
communication in the brain to be similar between primates and humans. There
is a shallower groove in humans that is directly linked to language. However,
there is still a lot of work in order to fully understand the two species dierences. So far, Leroy says, This symmetry is related to speech and social
cognition, which are both abilities where humans outperform primates.

Colorado, USA - Scientists at Colorado State

University have invented a device that allows deaf
individuals to hear again, not with their ears, but
with their tongues. Although the system that attaches on the tongue does not restore hearing,
it converts sound into wave vibrations that can
be felt by the tongue. The user would then be
able to interpret the sensations. This would be
signicantly cheaper than ear implants and not
require surgery. A Bluetooth-enabled earpiece on
the device converts the sound waves into words.
When a user presses their tough against the
mouthpiece, tiny electrodes send impulses that
stimulate nerves on the tongue and then relay it
to the brain, where it can be converted to words.
Currently, anyone can buy the device for $2000.

Oredigger Staff
Lucy Orsi
Editor-in-Chief
Emily McNair
Managing Editor
Taylor Polodna
Design Editor
Connor McDonald
Webmaster
Amos Gwa
Business Manager
Katerina Gonzales
Content Manager
Karen Gilbert
Faculty Advisor

january 26, 2015

Magnus Chun, Staff Writer

Germany - A brand new pair of earbuds will be on sale

in April across the world for a whopping $300. What is so
special about them? These earbuds will be the rst ever
waterproof, wireless, and smart earphones. People can
store music up to 4GB, take phone calls with them, and
wear them while swimming, as well as many other functions that track a persons tness. The earbuds are wireless
and can play music through a Bluetooth connection. Also,
these smart earphones act as a tness tracker and record
distances, speed, heart rate, and calories burned.

South Pole - Scientists at the South Pole have started digging the rst ever deep ice
core samples. These ice core samples are not the same ice that people slip on while walking
on an ice-covered sidewalk. These ice core samples can provide information about the historical climate, which can be used to help with the current climate change crisis. The digging
will continue until the end of January and the temperatures of the ice can reach down to -50
degrees Celsius, according to T.J. Fudge, the lead researcher. This low temperature is benecial because it can preserve rare organic molecules and gases inside the ices air bubbles.
So far the researchers have drilled 500 meters and their goal is to reach 700 meters.

Local News

Headlines from around the world

Ramiro Rodriguez, Staff Writer
Attorney General Eric Holder
is now barring local and state
police departments from seizing
assets without warrants or criminal
charges. This comes through a new
limiting of Equitable Sharing, a federal program that allowed for relatively easy seizures and allowed for
the police department making the
seizure to keep 80% of the property.
The decision comes after a Washington Post investigation found that
local and state police ocers were
routinely pulling over drivers over
minor trac violations, pressing
motorists to allow for warrantless
searches, and seizing cash without
returning it unless it was proven to
be legally acquired.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo
has announced plans to sue Fox
News over a misleading story
regarding so called no-go zones
for non-Muslims. The story by Fox
stated that there are sections of the
city where sharia law is practiced
and that non-Muslims and police
ocers feared to go into. The idea
of this has been generally mocked
and pointed out as inaccurate by
European and especially French
media outlets and has been said to
have been made up purely to create anti-Muslim sentiment following
the terrorist attack in Paris earlier
this month. Outside legal analysts
are generally in agreement that the
lawsuit would not work in US courts
and US law protects publishers from
international defamation suits. There
has since been a formal apology by
the news network.
The US Senate has passed 98-1
an amendment arming that climate change is not a hoax. The
vote in question came as part of an

amendment to a proposed law regarding the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The amendment
was proposed by Senator Sheldon
Whitehouse (D-RI) following comments by Senator James Inhofe
(R-OK) that climate change was a
hoax. The lone no vote came from
Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), who
has since stated his no vote was because he was opposed to the idea
of what he is calling a political show
vote.
Following a Bay Area womans
heavily publicized eort to allow herself to end her life after a terminal
cancer diagnosis, California lawmakers have put into a law a bill
that will allow for a more expanded right-to-die for Californias
terminally ill. The bill now makes it
legal for doctors to prescribe lethal
doses of medication to terminally
ill patients rather than being forced

to die of natural causes over the

course of what could be months.
According to advanced end of life
option advocate group Compassion
and Choices, similar laws are being
planned to be introduced in Washington, DC and twelve other states.
Despite being a leading force in
the war against the terrorist group
ISIS, the Kurdistan region was
not invited to an anti-ISIS conference in London where world leaders plan to strategize and pledge
support in defeating ISIS. Kurdistan
Region President Masoud Barzani in
a statement said, I express my and
Kurdistan peoples disappointment
with the organizers of this conference and it is unfortunate that the
people of Kurdistan do the sacrice and the credit goes to others.
Outside analysts say that the reason
Barzani said this is to not oend Turkey by recognizing Kurdistan.

w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t

The Colorado Department of

Transportation has closed the o
ramp from I-25 southbound to
eastbound Sixth Avenue. This closure is expected to last six months
during a realignment of Sixth Avenue onto new bridges. Motorists
will detour to Eighth Avenue and
use Kalamath to get on to Sixth
Avenue.
Residents in a Commerce City
neighborhood recently complained
about the smell marijuana coming
from a grow house. The police investigated and found seventy-six
marijuana plants in a basement
that was converted into a grow
house. However, the owners of the
house have permits to grow medical marijuana. The District Attorney
has closed the case.
The Colorado Avalanche are
scheduled to play on Coors Field in
2016. This is the rst outdoor NHL
game in the state. The Avalanche
will play against the Detroit Red
Wings as a part of the Coors Light
NHL Stadium Series.
Rocky Mountain National Park
is celebrating its 100th birthday.
The park has hosted a record
number of visitors this year, 3.4 million, which is its highest since 2000.
The parks recent success is attributed to the recovery eorts in Estes Park. During the 2013 season,
Estes Park was ooded, making it
nearly impossible for visitors to get
to Rocky Mountain National Park.
The Army Corps of Engineers
Omaha Division say that a three day
storm that dumps 24 inches of rain
in the Denver Metro Area will likely
cause a breach in the Cherry Creek
Dam. This breach would send water through downtown Denver and
even as far away as Nebraska. Although the chances of the breach
are 1 in 90,000, the dam will be
modied to further lower the probability of such a catastrophe.

f i c t i o n

january 26, 2015

Hidden Remains - Chapter 3: Response

Kathy Cheng
Staff Writer

The village elder sighed, his

hands tightening over a wooden
cane. His eyes slipped shut, remembering the face that the boy
had worn before he had revealed
crystal violet eyes. It was intriguing
to say the least; the childs reaction
was not one anyone would put to a
semi-burned village. As for his eyes,
no one had seen violet eyes since
Ziqla Eirthi.
Head elder? The old mans
eyes opened, his meeting the stare
of a young teenager, his hands
clenching the fabric of his shirt.
Theres something you should see.
A gentle nod prompted the
younger man to move forward,
helping the elder walk towards the
temple that sat in the village center.
Its the Crystalline Scythe, sir. Its
glowing.
The teen tripped over his own
feet when he felt the elder freeze.
What was that son?
Its glowing, elder, the teenager
repeated, his eyebrows furrowing in
confusion. Its giving off a pale gray
light.
Then it was him. The old man
paled, recalling an old legend. Hurry, I need to see this.
The teen blinked in surprise at
the sudden shift, letting go of the
mans arm. Sir, what did you mean
by It was him? The teenager was
ignored as the elder of the duo started walking. Sir?!
The cave seemed dark. Darker
than it ever had been before; but,
if anyone had walked into it, they
would have noticed that it was not

black. Rather, it was a dark shade

of amber emitting from the rowan
bow that sat innocently on the center rock table. It remembered the
battle from the days past like it was
yesterday. It knew when the Crystalline Scythe began glowing and why
it was glowing. The glow flickered,
as if the bow itself was sighing. Perhaps this battle will be better than
the last.

Dark green. The shadows underneath the earth had taken on a dark
green hue, pulsing energy into the
surrounding life. He surged against
the confines of the earth, wanting
nothing more than to get involved in
the battle. The green faded as the
earthen barrier stayed firm, the relic
giving up for the time being. Maybe
his siblings would sense where he
is.
It was bright. It was far too bright
for the steel to only be reflecting the
sun. A pair of daggers, both about
a forearms length, shook as it tried
to reign in its excitement. She felt
the awakening of her eldest siblings. She felt the awakening of her
older sister; most of all, she felt the
awakening of her youngest brother.
It was only a matter of time before
she chose a wielder. And the warrior would be no less skilled than her
past wielder.
The other clans are worried.
They think we will go after the remaining relics that are being housed
by them, Nilast murmured. In addition, theyre mobilizing against us.
They wish to reclaim the Blade of
Sorrows.
Ewald sighed softly, his hand

running through his hair. I figured

as much. Does Itel know? Nilasts
head shook. Good. Keep it that
way. The last thing we need is for
him to take the blade and leave.
That probably will happen if he
found out about this, Siele murmured, ice forming in the palms
of his hands. But the question is,
what would be his reasoning? The
little crystals grew closer, forming a
snowflake as he allowed the growth
to continue. His intentions still are
not known, so I am unsure if he will
run because he wants the relic, or
if he would be trying to protect us.
Ewald sighed, running a hand
through his locks as his eyes closed.
Nilast tilted his head against the pillar of the tent while Siele sat on the
floor, ice coating the nearby ground.
What could Itels intentions be?
Would he really run away with the
relic just to protect them? Or is he
after something more than just the
relic?
Commander? Isidores voice
broke through the trios thoughts,
bringing their attention to the warrior. Theres something wrong with
the Blade of Sorrows.
The commander paled. What
do you mean, Isidore? Is Itel....
Hes still here. But you really
should see this. The trio sighed in
relief before following the golden
haired male out. Siele froze, Nilast
tripped, and Ewald paled.
Siele was on his knees with Itel
propped on his arm. On the other
side of camp, Rhea had formed an
ice wall, blocking a majority of the
pulsing energy from reaching few
children of the clan. Scattered in a
random array were the rest of the
clan, each picking themselves up

to their feet. In the center of the array, the Blade of Sorrows hovered a
good few feet off the ground, pulsing in shades of black and blue; the
sheathe discarded a few feet away.
What happened? Nilast demanded, his eyes narrowing their
most recent addition. Itel flinched,
a hand pressing against a fresh
wound. Itel Ewalds hand on the
white haired males shoulder halted
any words that the ice user had. Ignoring the worried looks, the commander walked forward, his hands
wrapping around the relics hilt.
The pulse grew in intensity, causing the clan members eyes snap
shut. A stunned cry left Ewalds
throat as his form flew through the
air, crashing into a nearby tree with a
pained grunt. There was the sound
of cracking as Rheas ice wall shattered, sending sharp shard into the
scattered warriors. A wave of energy condensed and slammed into
everyone standing, sending into
various trees that dotted the camp
grounds.
It was Siven who stumbled to his
feet first, an arm against a nearby
tree trunk to steady himself. What
was that? His only response was
pained grunts and a worried look
from his commander.
It was well into dusk when the
boy came to, his violet eyes flickering open to stare into the star filled
sky. A hand absently rose to cover
his eyes. What happened?
Thats what I want to know. The
boy frowned, raising himself slowly
off the bedroll. The teen turned his
head until he saw a lean figure resting against the side of a rock, highlighted by the light of the fire. Why

page 3

did that voice sound familiar? Why

did he recognize him? How do you
feel?
Groggy? The figure chuckled,
pushing off his perch. And my arm
hurts. A hand absently covered the
white bandage. Do I know you?
Have we met?
The stranger ran a hand through
his dark brown hair, his midnight
blue eyes taking in the confused violet. His mouth opened but he found
no words. It was only when the boy
flinched back as he approached
that he spoke. No. Weve never
met before. Do you have a name?
The boy shook his head. How does
Ziqla sound? The boy blinked in
confusion when the figure offered
his gloved hand.
Ziqla? The figure nodded.
Thats my name now? The figure
shrugged.
Up to you. When the boy nodded, and grabbed the hand, the figure revealed a small smile, even if it
didnt reach his eyes. And Im Ezra.
Ezra Cel. Its nice to meet you.
Clan Corner: Liaru Clan
In a way, the Liaru clan is not really a clan. Beyond the commander,
there really exists no command
structure. The individuals come and
go as they please, as long as they
alert someone to their absence, and
no form of treachery was taken. Of
all clans, this is the most accepting,
mainly since all members were exiled or left of their own accord.
They are hidden from the clans,
and most know them only as a rumor. Very rarely do they show up;
though they always keep an eye
out, just in case some form of trouble stirs up.

Take your Mines Pride for a Drive

Purchase your Mines license plate today:

MinesAlumni.com/MinesPlates
Buy online or come to the alumni association at the Coolbaugh House (17th & Maple St.)

Cost: $75 tax-deductible donation + $50 DMV Fee

Ride with Pride brought to you by:

w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t

m i n e s

page 4

m a r k e t

d i g g e r

Mines Market Improvements

Rebecca Flintoft
Director of Auxiliary Services,
Division of Student Life

The January opening of Mines

Market as the newest, largest, and
most state-of-the-art dining facility on the Mines campus marked a
significant milestone toward creating
a best-in-class residential and dining
experience for on- and off-campus
students, faculty, and staff. Since
opening, Mines Dining by Sodexo
and Student Life have received a
variety of helpful suggestions and
feedback from the campus, through
in-person conversations, USG meeting, student food service committee,
and other feedback loops.
Many changes have already been
incorporated, based on feedback
received since the opening of Mines
Market. Mines Dining is committed to
hearing and responding to feedback
from students, faculty, staff, and other
guests. Some changes that have already been incorporated include the
following:
Expanded late-night options in
Mines Market, including salads,
desserts, sandwiches, side dishes, and rotating entree specials,
as well as whole pizzas and pizza
by the slice.
Late-night la carte menu items,
which can be purchased individually, including snacks (popcorn,
chips, candy bars, trail mix) and
specialty beverages (Naked Juice,
Muscle Milk).

Rotating late-night menu options

will be advertised during the day,
so students can plan their latenight dining options in advance.
Gluten-free, Halal, vegetarian, and
other options for special dietary
needs are always available upon
request, at any time in Mines
Market. For example, gluten-free
pizza crusts are always available
upon request.
The to-go container option that
had been available in Slate Cafe
is now available in Mines Market.

If you have a dietary need, concern, or question, please just ask!

Mines Dining is always happy to accommodate special dietary needs
and/or respond to questions or feedback.
Although Mines Dining has been
able to respond to most of these
critiques promptly, other critiques
such as the overall hours of operation in Mines Market and Digger Den
are less easy to change during the
semester, largely for financial and
personnel reasons. When campus
dining hours of operation are determined jointly by Sodexo and Student
Life each semester, many factors are
taken into account, including customer demand by location, day, and
time. When opening Mines Market
(which seats 600 people as compared to about 330 in Slate Cafe), we
expected to see a reduction in patrons at Digger Den, especially during
the crowded lunch period at Digger
Den. Additionally, as part of the Stu-

dent Center renovation which is already under way, the Digger Den will
eventually close and be replaced by a
new retail-style food court in the location of the former Slate Cafe, which
will open in Fall 2015 and include a
full Starbucks, convenience store,
WOW Cafe (grill, pizza, salad, wraps,
etc), and Habaneros (a Chipotle-style
southwest concept). Thus, dining location hours will be adjusted again in
the fall semester, in order to anticipate
changing behavior patterns of the
campus community in response to
new dining concepts and locations
on campus.
The following two charts show
daily customer counts by location for
the first two weeks of both Fall 2014
and Spring 2015 semesters. As anticipated, Mines Market received significantly more customers in the first
two weeks of the semester than did
the Slate Cafe. Digger Den counts
remained relatively steady, and other
campus dining locations saw a reasonable decrease. Notably, in the first
week, there was a 2.5 times increase
in faculty, staff, commuter student,
and visitor sales in Mines Market,
as compared to Slate Cafe. Overall,
weekly customer counts on campus
held steady, but we have seen a more
consistent distribution of customers
throughout the weekdays and higher
participation in campus dining overall on weekends. Mines Dining and
Student Life will continue to monitor
customer demand and student and
faculty/staff feedback and respond
accordingly, in order to continue to offer a best-in-class dining experience
for the entire campus community.

Hours of Operation for On-Campus Dining:

Spring 2015

Fall 2014

Slate
M-F 7:15 AM - 7:15 PM
Sat-Sun 9:00 AM - 7:15 PM

Mines Market
M-F 7:15 AM - Midnight
Sat-Sun 9:00 AM - 11:30 PM

Digger Den
M-F 7:00 AM - Midnight
Sat-Sun 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Digger Den
M-R 7:15 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday 7:15 AM - 5:00 PM
Sat-Sun 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Reduced late-night options

Frank J Knafelc
Staff Writer

Continued from page 1

However, the options at Mines
Market are still more limited than the
options previously offered at Digger
Den which included multiple entree
options on its menu in addition to
la carte items (e.g. naked juice, energy drinks, candy bars, etc.). The
reduction in options is also accompanied by an increased dining cost.
For individuals without a meal plan,
just getting into Mines Market costs
upwards of $10, regardless of how
much (or little) food you eat.
In response to the latest uproar
one must be quick to note that Sodexo has not only called meetings in
an effort to learn the opinions of the
student body, but also made efforts
to appease the dissenters through
policy changes. For instance, when
Mines Market first opened, the to-go
option previously available at Slate
had been removed. This angered
many students, but Mines Dining

Services quickly responded by reinstating this option. Furthermore, they

have been working hard to increase
the diversity of late-night options offered by Mines Market and have recently introduced la carte options.
However, while they are making
efforts to rectify the apparent fault,
they are quick to defend their position. Mines Dining Services points
out that the current plan capitalizes on making the food services at
Mines more efficient for both its customers and its employees through
better management of meal plans.
From the perspective of Dining Services, Mines Market is a brand new
facility that has the ability to seat and
serve many more students than the
terribly cramped, overburdened Digger Den, creating a superior eating
environment for late night eaters.
Even with these improvements
however, it is undeniably clear that
the students have received a significant and unexpected downgrade
in food services from Digger Den
to Mines Market, albeit with more
space to enjoy it in. Dining Services

clearly realizes this to some extent

and seems to be trying to rectify the
situation with stopgap measures,
but it is unclear whether or not the
predominating interest here is students well being or a bottom-line
profit margin for Sodexo and Mines
Dining Services.
The solution here is clear: Digger Dens late-night hours should be
reinstated and if necessary, Mines
Markets should be decreased. Current Mines students have already
paid for their meal plans and have
grown accustomed to the options
offered during the first semester. Any
new dining structures should be introduced at the beginning of the next
academic year. Unfortunately, Dining
Services seems very reluctant to revert recent changes. At the very least
though, Dining Services should give
the new Mines Market more selection and more efficient price to product selection. While they have taken
steps on the first issue, they have
yet to introduce a reasonable pricing scheme for the average Mines
student.

d e n

January 26, 2015

Figure 1: The number of customers per location for the first two weeks of
the fall 2014 semester.

Figure 2: The number of customers per location for the first two weeks of
the Spring 2015 semester.

USG discusses
new dining options
Colin Marshall
Student Body Vice President

On Thursday, January 15th, Undergraduate Student Government

(USG) had our first meeting of the
semester. The main topic of the evening was the recent opening of Mines
Market and the resulting changes in
campus dining options. Specifically,
Mines Market is now open late at
night, while Digger Dens hours have
been cut back. This has caused a lot
of uproar from students on campus.
As a result, USG asked a few staff
members involved in this decision to
come and speak with USG. Rebecca Flintoft, vice president of Student
Life, Gayle Witzke, Campus Dining
representative, and Susan Fukushima, Campus Dining representative,
all attended the meeting and offered
their perspectives and opinions on
this issue.
First, Flintoft and her associates explained the reasoning behind
the decision to switch the late night
option from Digger Den to Mines
Market. For starters, Mines Market
is closer than Digger Den is to the
majority of on campus residents and
they wanted to showcase the new
location in order to make it more of
a hang out area for students who live
on campus. Furthermore, it is more
cost effective for them to run Mines
Market than Digger Den since producing food in a made to order style
is more expensive. After looking into
the numbers of people who went to
Digger Den after hours, they honestly
thought that Mines Market would be
viewed as a reasonable replacement
for Digger Den late at night.
Obviously a significant number of
students do not feel that Mines Market is a suitable replacement for Digger Den after 7:00 PM. There have
been over 1000 votes on Whats
Your Beef? and several complaints
on social media about the switch.

w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t

We brought up every concern that

we heard to the three staff members.
We determined that the main issue is
the lack of options offered by Mines
Market. Students used to have a
wide variety at Digger Den, from full
meals to little snacks. Now, their
options have been significantly decreased. For students with evening
classes that go past seven, only having one food option for dinner is unacceptable. This issue is only going to
get worse when students start having common hour exams and need
something to eat afterwards, or when
the semester starts getting harder
and people are up late studying.
Another concern expressed on
Whats Your Beef? was that there
are hardly any healthy options past
7:00 PM. Mines Market recently
opened both the salad and sandwich bars, but that is it. Students
were also concerned about options
for gluten free or dairy free food for
people with food allergies, but it was
explained that there is always gluten
free or dairy free option all that you
need to do is ask for it!
The next big issue was that Mines
Market is a terrible option for people
without unlimited meal plans. Getting into Mines Market costs about
$9 dollars where as at Digger Den
you could get a full meal for $5. This
does not really affect people with
unlimited meal plans because they
would most likely use a meal swipe
at either location, so cost is the same.
But for upperclassmen or anyone on
a lower tear meal plan it is an issue.
Anyone with a meal plan lower than
unlimited only gets two meal swipes
a day. If they use those up they have
to use Munch Money to get food past
7:00 PM and that may cost them significantly more than Digger Den did in
the past.
Continued at USG Opinion on page
11

d i g g e r

january 26, 2015

d e n

s u r v e y

page 5

Had you heard about the

Digger Den controversy?

*NUMBER OF RESPONSES

NO
15

YES

What year are you

at Mines?

495*

SENIOR
50

FRESHMAN

SOPHOMORE
113

246

JUNIOR
86

How often do you use late night dining options on campus?

MORE
THAN ONCE
A WEEK

0.0%

MORE THAN
ONCE A WEEK

MORE THAN
ONCE A WEEK

85.7%

40.7%

MORE THAN
ONCE A WEEK
28.2%

ONCE A WEEK
28.6%

ONCE A WEEK

ONCE A WEEK

9.0%

25.7%

ONCE A WEEK
29.4%

30.9%

ONCE A
MONTH

0.0%

ONCE A MONTH
9.7%

ALMOST
NEVER
2.9%

ONCE A
MONTH
16.5%

ALMOST
NEVER
16.8%

ALMOST NEVER
16.7%

ALMOST NEVER
16.5%

NEVER

NEVER
NEVER

2.4%

ONCE A MONTH

7.1%

NEVER

9.4%

w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t

23.8%

p h y s i c s

page 6

i n

r e v i e w

Easiest class?

Interview with Department Head

John Squier
Katerina Gonzales
Content Manager
What is the student to Prof
ratio?
We have 23 faculty and have
245 undergraduates - so that
gives us roughly a 10:1 student
faculty ratio.

Favorite class?

Number of undergrads versus grads?

We have approximately 80
graduate students [and 230 undergraduates].
What are you most proud of
in regards to the department?
Or what makes this Dept stand
out at Mines?
I am so proud of so many
things in our program there is no
way I can choose just one! I am
a rookie this year - this is my first
year as Department Head, and
it is really giving me a different
perspective. What I can tell you,
having gone to my first round of
national meetings for Department
Heads/ Chairs in Physics is that
we really do have an amazing
faculty, staff and student body!
We are pushing on all fronts - research and education, and are
excelling in both. There are not a
lot of programs that can say that!

Toughest Class?

january 26, 2015

What would you tell incoming freshman to point them towards Physics as a major?
If you are driven to understand
the nature of the world at a fundamental level, and are excited about
applying this knowledge to solve
real-world problems, then Engineering Physics is for you!
Where do degree holders
from this department usually
end up career-wise? And how
are the career prospects?
Its amazing to me the expanse
of careers we are seeing the graduates enter. Half the students enter graduate school for more advanced degrees - and these are not
limited to physics. They are doing
electrical, mechanical and nuclear
engineering, computer science,
medical and biological science and
much more. Students that enter industry are going to work for a broad
range of companies. Many of these
are energy related,but also include
companies such as IBM, Intel, Martin-Marietta, Ball Aerospace. There
are local favorites too - like Epilog Laser located here in Golden!
There are a lot of exciting start-ups
happening along the front range as
well - it is great to see our graduates finding opportunities in these
companies.

According to the
Department...

How many hours on average do you spend

doing major related coursework each week?

The Engineering Physics de- degree with the rigorous foundagree combines the deep under- tion of traditional physics. Our
standing of science fundamen- Engineering Physics program
tals with the practical knowledge is fully accredited by ABET, the
and skills of engineering practice Accreditation Board for Engiand design. When you gradu- neering and Technology. We are
ate from CSM with a major in one of only seventeen schools in
Engineering Physics you will be the country with this distinction,
ready to jump right into jobs that and the only one in Colorado.
require a broad technical educa- With an appropriate selection of
tion. Our graduates can be found electives, many of our graduates
at places like Texas Instruments, apply to and are accepted at enAmoco,
IBM,
gineering gradOur curriculum com- uate programs
Lockheed-Martin, and many
in mechanical,
many
others. bines aspects of an engi- electrical, and
You will also be
materials engineering degree with the neering.
well-prepared
to
continue rigorous foundation of
In
addition
specialization
to the collection
through graduof core courses
traditional physics.
ate school, in
that are required
physics or other related tech- of every student at Mines you
nical fields. The analytic skills will study advanced topics in
developed in the study of phys- mechanics, electromagnetism,
ics are highly prized in other ar- thermodynamics,
electronics,
eas such as medicine or law. and modern physics. The deThose CSM physics graduates partment also offers a broad
who have chosen to continue to selection of electives, including
study physics in graduate school optical, nuclear, and solid-state
have successfully competed with physics, as well as biophysics,
the best students from around astronomy, and photovoltaics.
the country for admission to A total of 130.5 semester hours
the most competitive gradu- of classes is required. Of these,
ate schools, such as Cal Tech, nearly one fourth are electives.
Berkeley, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, This flexibility makes it possible
Princeton, Stanford, Illinois, and for you to minor in almost any
many others.
area. Common choices include
There are sound reasons why electrical engineering, mechaniour graduates have been so suc- cal engineering, materials engicessful. Our curriculum com- neering, geophysics, mathematbines aspects of an engineering ics, and computer science.

w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t

january 26, 2015

b a l l r o o m

m a s q u e r a d e

w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t

page 7
ALL PHOTOS RONALD KEM / OREDIGGER

page 8

c o o k i n g

c o r n e r

Ground Turkey Recipes

Kathryn Dykes
Staff Writer

As the price of ground beef has

been getting higher and higher, it is
a good idea to look for some hearty
alternatives to the well-loved beef.
Ground turkey is currently about
half the price of ground beef per
pound and is both a healthy and
delicious alternative. Here are two
recipes with ground turkey that will
fill the hungry students stomach
and your wallet.
Ground Turkey Meatloaf
This simple, 5 ingredient meatloaf takes minimal time, money,
and energy to make and is a
hearty and tasty dinner time meal.
Breadcrumbs can be found in the
baking aisle in either a seasoned
or unseasoned form and, for just
a few dollars, work as the perfect
binder for the meat. If barbecue
sauce is not on hand, ketchup can
be used as a substitute.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg
cup barbecue sauce
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 (or more) strips of bacon (op
tional)
Directions:
1. If the turkey is frozen, thaw

thoroughly for a few hours beforehand.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a medium bowl, combine
ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg,
onion, and barbecue sauce.
4. Mix well with hands. Imagine
that they are the brains of your enemies and squish with vengeance.
5. Grease the inside of a loaf
pan (or any other kind of pan)
and place mixture inside and form
into a relatively loaf shape. Put a
light to medium coating of barbecue sauce and lay optional bacon
strips across the top.
6. Bake for 45 minutes and
serve.

Turkey and Peanut Butter

Fried Rice
It might sound a little nutty (no
pun intended) but soy sauce and
peanuts have always been great
together as a savory and salty
compliment. The flavor combinations taste complex and deep
but the preparation and cooking
are easy. This recipe uses leftover
rice, perfect for the day after Chinese takeout or dinner after stir fry
lunch.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
cup sliced onions
3 cups cooked, cold rice

cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons peanut butter
Assorted vegetables (frozen
peas, spinach, peppers etc.)
1 teaspoon sugar*
teaspoon garlic powder*
teaspoon cayenne pepper*
teaspoon ground ginger*
*Note: most of the extra spices
are optional and will be mostly
drowned out by the peanut butter and soy sauce so if these are
not available, do not sweat it. The
cayenne pepper or anything other
spicy component (chili powder, red
pepper flakes) is nice to add a bit
of a kick to the sauce
Directions:
1. Thaw ground turkey fully.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet
on medium high heat
3. Pour scrambled eggs into the
skillet and leave until fully cooked,
stirring occasionally. Remove eggs
and set them on a plate aside.
4. Break up turkey and add to
skillet. Add sliced onions. Cook
until meat is no longer pink.
5. While the turkey is cooking, in
a small bowl whisk the soy sauce,
peanut butter and any spices you
want to add until creamy.
6. Add rice and any vegetables
and cook until heated through
7. Add sauce and eggs, stir
and serve!

Build-your-own Muffins
Jacqueline Feuerborn
Staff Writer

All that is needed to rectify

the horrible situation of waking
up minutes just before class is a
fast and easy breakfast option.
Anything that can be grabbed
quickly and munched on during
the walk or drive to school will
serve hungry students well. What
better than a muffin? Muffins are
conveniently shaped for holding while walking and they usually are not too crumbly so most
of the muffin will make to the
mouth. Are some of the ingredients in most muffins not tasty?
Do not worry! This is a recipe
that can be adjusted to suit each
individual persons tastes, or use
whatever happens to be in the
kitchen.

tsp of cloves
tsp of nutmeg
tsp of ginger
tsp chili powder
cup of molasses
1 cup carrot (or other vegeta
ble. Its taste will not be appar
ent, but it just makes the muf
fins moist and a little healthier)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, milk, sugar (or other

january 26, 2015

sweetener), and butter.

4. Pour into dry ingredients
and mix until thoroughly combined.
5. Add any additional, optional
ingredients and mix thoroughly.
6. Add some more ingredients
that are found in the cupboard.
7. Place liners in muffin tins or
spray with cooking spray. Scoop
batter into muffin tins, filling
about 2/3 full.
8. Bake for 15-17 minutes,
until toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.
9. Eat and Enjoy!

SENIOR GIFT
MAKE A GIFT
to The Mines Fund or to the
area that means the most
to you.

Triple your gift! President and Mrs. Scoggins,

and Mines alum and Presidents Council Co-Chair
Jeff Johnson 78 will match your gift 2:1.

DEADLINE
APRIL 28
Mines Senior Gift on

giving.mines.edu/students
COURTESY JACQUELINE FEUERBORN

Muffin essentials (These are

the ingredients that make a basic plain muffin. Without them,
results are unpredictable):
2 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tbsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar (brown or white
or powdered or honey)
Cooking spray or muffin liners
Tasty addition ideas (all optional):
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp grapefruit zest
2 tbsp grapefruit juice (or oth
er fruit juice)
cup of oats (uncooked oat
meal)
cup of butterscotch chips
(or chocolate chips)
cup of walnuts, chopped
(or any other nut that is pre
ferred)

Build-your-own muffins can be adjusted to suit each indviduals persons tastes, or use whatever is in your kitchen.
w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t

r e v i e w s

january 26, 2015

Munchkin: A Hilarious Game for all Ages

Kathryn Dykes
Staff Writer

Loot a castle. Slay a dragon.

Betray friends and poison neighbors. Sounds like the perfect Friday night. Munchkin is a hilarious
card game based on role-playing
games like Dungeons and Dragons. However, unlike DnD, there
is no Dungeon Master required to
create the games story. All game
plays are decided by the cards
and the players. This results in a
wacky game with hundreds of different ways to play and an infinite
number of outcomes.
The goal of the game is to
reach level 10. Each player (or
munchkin) begins the game as
a level 1 with six cards in hand.
There are two types of cards:
treasure cards and encounter
cards. Treasure cards are generally items like different types
of armor, swords, weapons, and
other things to raise ability points.
Encounter cards are the scary
things: monsters and curses.
Each monster has different abilities and points and can attack
differently depending on the
players class or faction. When

a player kills a monster, they advance one level and win treasure
cards. There are also cards that
can increase a players level or
decrease it.
The caveat? Players do not
get to actually fight the monsters.
If the player has a larger number
of ability points than the monster
they are fighting, they automatically win. If they do not win or if
other people in the game pile on
curse cards or give the monster
extra points they have to take the
bad stuff written on the card.
This can include anything from
losing ones headgear to losing
a level to dying. Yes, players can
die in this game.
Munchkin is no ordinary card
game. The cards are wacky and
random and the game play is hilarious. One card is only allowed
to be played during the hours of
7AM to 7PM. Another gives the
wielder the ability to dismiss a
monster with no questions asked
(very fun to use on friends when
they are trying to fight a monster
for points). Some let players add
points to the monsters and encourage them to eat opponents
while others add points to the op-

page 9

ponents to preserve the players

friendship. Even the instructions
are witty and funny. The first instruction is to decide who goes
first by any method that will not
lead to excessive bloodshed
and later any disputes in the
rules should be settled by loud
arguments with the owner of the
game having the last word.
There are currently 15 different stand alone Munchkin games
including Munchkin Zombies,
Munchkin Cthulhu, Adventure
Time, Star Munchkin, Munchkin Fu, and others. But there are
also over 20 booster packs ranging from Munchkin Princess and
Munchkin Holidazed to Munchkin
Conan and Munchkin Booty: Fish
and Ships. Many of these games
can be combined to a bigger set
and more crazy possibilities.
Munchkin is a wacky and funny game perfect for all ages. Kids
will enjoy the funny cards and
action packed game play, while
larger kids (often called adults)
will enjoy betraying their friends
and battling to win. Whatever the
age, everyone will enjoy spending
time bonding with (or vowing vengeance on) friends and family.

Salvage the Bones Into the Trees (2010)

Katrina San Nicolas
Staff Writer

Combining a hopeful teenage

girl, a prize-winning pit bull, and
the hurricane of a lifetime, Jesmyn
Ward weaves an unforgettable tale
in her heart-wrenching novel Salvage the Bones. The story of 15
year-old Eschs journey to womanhood through the dirt and despair
of her Louisiana home, this National
Award Winning book will keep readers emotionally hooked from beginning to end.
Residing alone with her father
and three brothers, 15-year old
Esch is living
with responsibility far beyond
her years. She
regularly takes
care of her
younger brother
Junior and has
certain duties as
the only woman
in the house. To
add to the situation, Esch is
several months
pregnant with
a baby that
she does not
want and has
no clue how to
take care of
and she is terrified to let anyone
else know. The novel reveals Eschs
closest thoughts and deepest fears
in the 12 days leading up to the disastrous Hurricane Katrina.
Wards story is an incredibly
powerful character study, giving
Esch and her family enough dimension that it feels as though they
could walk right out of the page.
Esch herself resembles a lost but
hopeful soul, desperately clinging
to her favorite storybook characters and the promise of a better
future someday. While she makes
the rash decisions of a teenage girl,
Ward uses her innocence as a representation for all of the children lost
to tough home lives. However, the
courage she gains throughout the

novel shines through and makes her

an incredibly dynamic and well-developed character. Eschs brother,
Skeetah, could be an excellent role
model and provider, but he chooses
to channel his energy into a prizefighting pit bull while his two younger siblings struggle to put food on
the table. Both the horror of the illegal dog fighting and the reality of the
childrens situation provide piercing
evidence of the desperate situations
that exist right here in the country.
While this is a purely fictional
piece, Salvage the Bones is a
voice for many issues impacting
children in the
COURTESY BLOOMSBURY
United States
today.
Esch
struggles without her mother,
and
because
she lacks a female role model, falls into one
bad situation after the next. Her
alcoholic father
has a few shining
moments
but
mainly
spends his days
in a whiskey-induced fog. The
value of family,
the destructive
nature of sexual
violence,
and
the cultural divide in America are all
explored in Salvage the Bones. Ultimately, this novel is a very powerful
representation of povertys cyclical
nature and debilitating impact.
A chapter of Salvage the Bones
is filled with more hardship than
most people come across in a lifetime. However, it is emotionally riveting novels like this that transform
a reader and push societal boundaries until something begins to
change. Consider picking up a copy
of Jesmyn Wards masterpiece and
experiencing the loyalty of a brother,
the fear of surviving a hurricane, and
the powerful voice of one little girl.
Once readers see the world through
Eschs eyes, it is impossible to remember it any other way.

Joseph Hunt
Staff Writer

Classical music has found

a place among modern music,
manifesting as strong string solos
among synthesized drumbeats or
classical composition interlaced
with glitch transfusions. At times,
these hybridizations result in highly
memorable and musically valuable
studies in modern electronic music. One such musician, Zoe Keating, helps introduce the listener to
a unique and utterly distinct brand
of music.
Since age eight, Keating grew
up playing classical cello in Canada, honing her skills and becoming fluent in writing pieces with
the instrument as an adult. In her
twenties, she worked for a software company in San Francisco,
where she began using her technical skills to develop a means of
layering pieces of cello together
as a means of musical expression.
Described often as avant garde,
Zoe preferred the independence
of rock music as a child, often
wishing that classical music took
inspiration from these genres. As
a musician today, Keating has effectively blended the two stylistic
differences into a complex and fascinating experience.
Upon first listening to Into the

Trees, a listener cannot easily decide how many cellists are playing
at once; at times, it sounds as if
there are five, maybe six musicians playing together in each
track. However, each and every
track is written and performed by
Zoe Keating alone a feat that is
not unnoticed when listening to
the quality and depth of the music.
Each track has an individual personality; some pieces are moodier,
with sparse, high notes that give a
feeling of foreboding and danger.
Other tracks give the impression
of vibrance, emotion, and energy.
The creative range within which
Keating works produces music of
variety and immense volume. Each
piece is made compulsively listenable as the stiff, perfectionist ideations surrounding classical music
are laid aside for more creative,
spontaneous expression. Notable
tracks include Flying and Flocking, Optimist, Dont Worry, and
Seven League Boots.
Most impressive of her talents is
her ability to recreate the sounds of
other instruments with only her cello. Keating has often employed the
use of microphones along points
on her cello so that she can amplify
percussive sounds, namely drumming, played against the bridge
and belly to add to her music.
However, Keatings live perfor-

w w w . O R E D I G G E R . n e t

mances far outclass her recorded

work. in 2010, Keating performed
for ABC RN, an Australian radio
show, showcasing her ability to
spontaneously edit her work as
she plays. For example, the recorded version of Optimist, a
song written for her son, pales in
comparison to the passion and
heart with which she plays the live
version to the radio audience. The
momentary expression of each
thought is masterfully laid against
the strings and leaves the listener
in awe. Needless to say, no two
renditions of her work are the
same, and Keating has expressed
that she prefers her music to vary
each time she performs.
Into the Trees is a wonderful introduction to Keatings work.
Each track plays as a different musical expression and creative approach. Modern electronic music
today often employs repetitive lyric
structures and one-dimensional
instrumentals to poorly deliver an
experience, but Keatings music
is anything but repetitive or bland.
Keating can accomplish on her
own what most musicians would
need a retinue of talented musicians to replicate. A listener will
be very pleased to have taken the
time to listen to her work, and experience a new, modern approach
to a beautiful genre.
COURTESY CHASE JARVIS

r e v i e w s

page 10

january 26, 2015

The Imitation Game - Behind Every Code is an Enigma

Erica Dettmer-Radtke
Staff Writer
Based on a true story and by far
one of the best movies of 2014, The
Imitation Game has been nominated for eight Academy Awards.The
Imitation Game was the Englishlanguage debut of director Morten
Tyldum. Graham Moore adapted the
screenplay from Alan Turing: The
Enigma by Andrew Hodges. The
Imitation Game follows the story of
Alan Turing in his childhood, during
World War II, and in present time.
The movie focuses on how Enigma,
the machine that encoded German
messages, was broken by Turing
and several others at Bletchley Park
during World War II. There are also
undertones about how homosexuality is treated in society.
The movie features an incredible
cast who play their roles perfectly.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan
Turing and Keira Knightley plays the
brilliant Joan Clarke. Joan Clarke
comes to Bletchley Park to help Turing solve Enigma. Matthew Goode,
Charles Dance, Allen Leech, Mark
Strong, and Rory Kinnear also play
key roles, but the actors are not the
only phenomenal performances in
this movie. Alexandre Desplat, who
also composed the scores for movies such as The Kings Speech
and The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button, composed the films music.
Although the score is not the focus
of the movie, it definitely adds to the
cinematic quality of the film.
During World War II, one of the
main goals of the English was to
break Enigma. Enigma encoded
German messages, but the code to
break Enigma changed every day,
which meant that the Germans could
communicate battle plans without
the knowledge of the English and
their allies. At Bletchley Park, they
were attempting to break Enigma.
In a demonstration of his cunning,
Turing told Commander Alastair
Denniston, the man in charge of

COURTESY TIME WARNER CABLE

Bletchley Park, that the reason they

needed someone like him is because
they are trying to break Enigma. Impressed by Turing, Denniston gives
him the job.
Alan Turing was primarily a mathematician. He was also greatly interested in Artificial Intelligence. However, he lacked the social skills that
most people have. The movie does a
brilliant job of demonstrating his lack
of understanding of humans in that
he does not quite understand societal norms. Turing was also homosexual, a fact which he hid from everyone because the society that he
lived in was incredibly homophobic.
He was a genius who helped to save
millions of people, but in the end he
was brought down by the society
that he helped to save.
The Imitation Game mainly
centers around the story of Bletchley Park. However, the premise of
the story is Turing telling his version
in present time. The film also flashes
back to when Turing was a young
boy. As a child, Turing went to an all
boys school where he was endlessly
bullied by his classmates. He had a
single friend named Christopher, and
the movie implies that Turing had
feelings for his friend. Tyldum does
an incredible job of demonstrating the complexities of how society
deals with homosexuality.
Parts of the movie are heartbreaking, and the actors play their
roles well. Turings story was kept secret for decades. One reason for this
is that much of the information about
the work that was done at Bletchley
Park was not released until recently,
as it was a government kept secret
for over 50 years. Although Turing
machines were never perfected, they
led the way into a whole new path
of research without which, we would
not have computers. As with any historical movie, there are inaccuracies.
If the movie is taken as a whole, it is
overall well done, with good cinematography, a great soundtrack, and
fantastic acting by all involved.

A Trail of Greatness: Wild Movie Review

Katrina San Nicolas
Staff Writer

I was amazed that what I needed to survive could be carried on

my back. And, most surprisingly
of all, that I could carry it.Cheryl
Strayed in Wild. Armed with only
a backpack full of camping supplies and her own determination,
Cheryl Strayed embarked upon
a 1,100-mile solo journey on the
Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in 1995.
As she endured three months of
harsh weather, mountainous trails,
and a plethora of wildlife, Cheryl
ultimately managed to find herself somewhere along the journey.
In the movie adaptation released
December 2014, actress Reese
Witherspoon astounds as she
brings this courageous womans
adventure to life.
The movie shadows Cheryl
Strayed as she hikes along the
trail, day after day, but it is the
flashbacks to her previous life that
make the movie a powerful emotional experience. Following the
loss of her mother to cancer in
1991, Cheryl quickly spiraled into
a depression that ruined her marriage and eventually led her to heroin use. While never rich, Cheryls
mother Bobbi (Laura Dern) tried
her best to bring happiness and
love to her children even in the

darkest of circumstances. In the supplies, and of course consemovie Cheryl describes her moth- quently ran into several problems
er as the love of her life. Laura along the way. The movie humorDerns performance as Bobbi em- ously portrays the sheer weight of
bodies both the heart of a mother her pack, the fact that she bought
and the surprisingly resilient spirit the wrong kind of stove fuel and
of a woman living in poverty. The thus could not cook any of her
flashbacks
food, and the
also show the Armed with only a backpack moment she
dissolution
loses
ones
of
Cheryls full of camping supplies and of her shoes
marriage, the
off the cliff of
her own determination,
heartbreaking
a
mountain.
event of putHowever, her
Cheryl Strayed embarked courage
ting a beloved
in
horse to sleep, upon a 1,100-mile solo jour- facing these
and her deciobstacles resion to have ney on the Pacific Crest Trail veals a person
an
abortion
who
seizes
(PCT) in 1995.
after an acthe day `and
cidental pregrefuses to let
nancy. As she delves into the miles others tell her something is imof the PCT, she works through possible.
these memories and learns to acCheryl originally decided to
cept the past for what it is.
hike the PCT to become the
One of the most admirable woman my mother thought I was,
things about Cheryls story is that and one of the best parts of the
her journey was spontaneous. movie is how well this change is
While people generally train for portrayed. While she starts out
several months to hike the Pacific upset and uncertain, Reese WithCrest Trail, which runs from the erspoon looks confident and at
deserts of California through Or- peace as she concludes the hike
egon and eventually Washington, at the Bridge of the Gods in
Cheryl faced the trail having never Oregon. This touching movie ultieven been on a backpacking trip. mately challenges viewers to find
She relied exclusively on the ad- themselves along the trail of their
vice of workers at REI to buy her own spiritual adventure.

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january 26, 2015

p u z z l e s

USG Opinion
Colin Marshall
Student Body Vice President
Anyone without a meal plan
must pay approximately $10
for food they may not even
want that much of, but it is
now the only option at that late
hour. Finally, Mines Market is
like Slate: there is not anywhere to sit unless you pay to
get in. This really reduces the
atmosphere that Digger Den
had. Several freshman would
go there weekend nights and
hang out, regardless if all their
friends were eating. Now this
hang out spot is gone.
USG communicated to the
staff that the beset option
would be to reopen Digger
Den and close Mines Market past 7:00 PM. However,
the response to this was that
there would be some serious repercussions for
doing this. This may include
taking away hours from other
locations like Subway or raising the prices at Digger Den.
USG thinks this is ridiculous
since its essentially the same
plan as last semesters.
Unfortunately, we do not
know what we could do to
prevent that from happening.
The Mines Dining staff were
very open to all of the feedback we had to give them
about Mines Market and they
have started implementing a
few things to make it better
for the students. First, they
agreed to allow people to
take full to go boxes of food
again, which is great! Anther
change they are going to start
making is rotating food options from night to night and
trying to have at least two

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page 11

or three options available a

night. That way it is not just
pizza all the time. They are
also working on bringing in
a la carte options. This includes snacks like ice cream,
candy, fridges for drinks, etc.
that are offered at Digger Den.
This way people who want to
grab a snack to take back to
the dorms or upperclassmen
without meal plans can get
a cheap snack. We are really
hoping that these changes
help and we will continue to
give feedback to Mines Dining Services so that they can
continue improving.
Overall USG wanted to
convey to the three staff
members that the school is
solely responsible for the food
options that on campus students have. Mostly freshmen
rely on campus dining options
and they dont have cars
to transport them to locations
downtown. They are forced
to spend thousands of dollars on a meal plan already
and should not be forced to
buy additional food because
their options are inadequate.
Switching Digger Den and
Mines Market hours back to
what they previously were
will apparently have serious repercussions and we
dont know what we can do
to prevent that. USG is trying
very hard to make sure that
Mines Market is improving.
We really appreciate hearing
what people have to say and
want to hear if the proposed
changes help or not. Any
feedback you have will be
taken to Mines Dining Services so that they can continue
to make improvements.

m u s i c

page 12

f e s t i v a l

january 26, 2015

CORAL CREEK music presents

llr
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Music Festival
JAN 30 - FEB 1 2015

CSM Weekend Pass

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Jayme Stone Thunder & Rain Ragged Union Whiskey Tango Uptown Toodeloo String Band
Caribou Mountain Collective Kitchen Dwellers Gypsy Cattle Drive Sweet Lillies Burn It Blue

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