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The Fort Lewis College News Magazine Issue 55 FACULTY IN DECLINE AT FLC AND MORE... February 2014 FREE DRUG ADDICTION MANAGE YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

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Page 1: The Independent Issue 55

TheFort Lewis College News Magazine Issue 55

FACULTY IN DECLINEAT FLC

AND MORE...

February 2014FREE

DRUG ADDICTION

MANAGE YOURDIGITAL FOOTPRINT

Page 2: The Independent Issue 55

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Ayla Q

uinn

Stephanie PenaLindsy Fuller

BUSINESS

Tia J. BegayAlexa Chance

Vanessa VangelderMariah Suneson

Tyler Pecore

COPY EDITING

BROADCAST

Julia Volzke

DESIGN

Josh PluttAndrea Araiza

Jonathan Helvoigt

PHOTOGRAPHY

Taylor FerraroRemi Majeski

Leah PayneSean Summers

REPORTING

Editors &

Staff

BUSINESS DIRECTOR

Haley P

ruittVISUAL EDITOR

Hana M

ohsin ASSOCIATE

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Trevor Ogborn

PRINT NEWS EDITOR

Deanna A

tkins

PRINT DESIGN EDITOR

ONLINE DESIGN EDITOR

Graem

e Johnston

Allie H

utto

CHIEF COPY EDITOR

Jaimee S

ouder

PUBLIC RELATION DIRECTOR

Aim

ee Gardere

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Chloe E

ckerman

VISUAL PRODUCTION EDITOR

Anthony M

artin

ONLINE & SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Carter S

olomon

Livia HoosonLio Diaz

Shaina NezChristina Tsosie

ONLINE/SOCIAL MEDIA

VISIT US

on the web for breaking news, daily campus and

community updates, sports, and much more!

www.theindyonline.com

LEAD ONLINE COPY EDITOR

Alie Pallat

Cover photo by Hana Mohsin

~

Page 3: The Independent Issue 55

From

the Editor’s D

eskCONTENTSBreaking News: 3

Drug Addiction in DurangoStory by Taylor Ferraro

FLC Students Apply for the Sus-tainable Initiatives GrantStory by Sean Summers

Faculty in Decline at FLCStory by Sean Summers

Be Aware: How to Manage your Digital FootprintStory by Chloe Eckerman

Increase in Sustainability Initiatives on CampusStory by Remi Majeski

Horoscopes, Recipe, Music Review, and Indy on the Street

COVER 7

9

Green 11

Entertainment 13

Dear Indy readers, As we are almost to the middle of the semester, I hope

you share my enthusiasm in being on track with accom-plishing your goals. This semester has been particularly exciting for me because I now fill the position of Print News Editor. I am honored by this title and hope that you, our readers, will enjoy reading this publication as much as I enjoy working on it.

I am happy to say that I am pleased at the growth our publication has experienced through the two semesters that I have been on staff. Watching something that you care about grow and grow is a meaningful sight to behold. But with a new position comes a different set of responsibilities and I am pleased that The Indy’s staff believes that I am capable of fulfilling them. Not only am I able to expand my journalism skills to editing and managing a staff and their work, but I am gaining lifelong experiences which I never thought I would gain in a college required course.

Another change I am happy to share is our newest addition to The Indy; Fort Fuel News segments are now posted on The Indy Online website. The fact that our staff has several excellent students providing our campus with these news videos is eye opening and shows what we can do when we put our mind to it.

Since The Indy is completely student run, our readers are important to us and keep us plugging along despite any major setbacks we may encounter. You, the reader, provide the proper incentive for my own motivation: the fact that you deserve a great publication dedicated to all things re-garding your college.

I am excited to continue being on staff and am commit-ted to the work that goes into this publication.

Sincerely,

Deanna AtkinsPrint News Editor

Connect with us!The Independent F

LC

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independentflc

The Independent FLC

Campus Living

Privacy

5

CORRECTION: In issue 54, the music review was by Jon Lynch, not Bryant Liggett.

Page 4: The Independent Issue 55

Resources such as private counseling and treatment facilities are available for individu-als struggling with substance abuse locally

and nationally. A study conducted by the National Survey of Drug

Use and Health from 2008-2012 showed that about 119,000 people in Colorado, ages 12 or older, are de-pendent on illicit drugs, Sonia Cote, Intake Advisor for the Elements Behavioral Health headquarters in Santa Barbara, CA, said.

“This amounts to 3 percent of the Colorado popula-tion 12 years and older,” Cote said.

Substance Abuse OutreachIn 2012, a single-day count was taken and showed

that 38,825 individuals were enrolled in substance use treatment facilities in Colorado, Cote said.

Of the 38,825 individuals who were enrolled in the facilities, 40.4 percent were in treatment for both drug and alcohol problems, she said.

In Colorado, there are 443 substance abuse treatment facilities, she said.

Of the 443 facilities, only 68 offer residential care. The rest offer some form of outpatient treatment, she said.

“The types of issues most common in those with sub-stance abuse and addiction are depression, anxiety and trauma or post traumatic stress disorder,” she said.

“Elements Behavioral Health, the facility that I work for, is a privately owned practice that owns about 30 different facilities in the United States,” Cote said. “We treat drug and alcohol abuse as well as sex and love addiction.”

A lot of the people who call do not have the resources or health insurance to help pay for the treatment, she said.

“If that is the case, we will refer those patients to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis-tration, which is a hotline for substance abuse,” she said.

SAMHSA will provide the individual with in-formation on local facilities, counselors and other resources that will help the individual overcome the addiction, Cote said.

If the patient has health insurance or the resources to pay for treatment, he or she will be sent to a facility that is near the individual’s current location, she said.

“We are busy at this particular time for the same rea-son gyms are busy at this time of the year. People want to change at the beginning of the New Year,” she said.

“We send a lot of our patients to the facility in Florida during this time of year because of the weather,” she said.

The facility in Florida has 120 beds, and they are usu-ally all full, Cote said.

The other facilities are smaller and usually can hold 30 to 60 patients, she said.

“Our closest facility to Colorado is the San Cristobal Treatment Facility, located in San Cristobal, New Mexi-co.” she said.

The San Cristobal Treatment Facility is a treatment center for males between the ages of 17 and 26 who are struggling with addiction, Cote said.

All of the programs at the different facilities provide care for both drug and alcohol addiction, she said.

Each program offers a personalized treatment plan that is tailored to each client’s needs, she said.

The program lasts 30 days, and some facilities offer a 60 day care plan if necessary for the patient, she said.

Each facility also provides a unique aftercare program for the patient, Cote said.

Counseling ServicesThe process that each patient will go through de-

pends on the severity of the addiction. It also depends on whether the client has been involved in the legal system, Certified Addictions Counselor at Preferred Counseling in Durango, Dr. Nicole Fuller said.

“If the patient’s treatment is court ordered, they will come with a treatment plan that has already been set by the court,” Fuller said.

If the treatment is voluntary, the counselor will de-termine a treatment plan that will be beneficial for the patient, she said.

The key with any client is finding out how motivated the individual is to change and if he or she is willing to take the steps to get there, she said.

“You basically have to start where the client is at in terms of their addiction,” Fuller said. “Then, you motivate them to make the changes that will be beneficial for them.”

It is also important for the counselor to determine whether an outpatient program will provide the right care for the patient, she said.

“Sometimes people come to therapy and they actually need to be in an inpatient setting because they need to detox or they are having medical problems as a result of their addiction,” Fuller said. “The outpatient setting may

Drug Addiction in DurangoStory by Taylor FerraroPhotos by Josh PluttGraphic by Julia Volzke

3

Breaking News

Top left: With the legalization of Marijuana in Colorado, marijuana can be found almost anywhere.

Page 5: The Independent Issue 55

not be the level of care that the patient needs.”In cases where the patient is dealing with substance abuse,

he or she will need to be detoxified off the drug before starting a treatment program, she said.

“If a patient comes to me and says they are in need of medical help because they are detoxing or their psychiatric problems are out of control, the best we can do in Durango is send the patient to Mercy Medical Regional Hospital,” she said.

At the hospital, the crisis worker will evaluate the individual with a mental health evaluation. At this stage, the crisis worker will determine whether or not the patient should be hospital-ized at the State Hospital in Pueblo, CO., or the patient can be sent to Cross Roads, she said.

Cross Roads is the only temporary involuntary based facility Durango has, she said.

“I am glad we have Cross Roads, but I wish that we had more beds and more funding so that clients could stay longer and get the help they need,” she said.

“Among the upper-middle class in the La Plata County, there is more cocaine use,” she said. “It is a fad amongst the 30-45 year-olds.”

Drug use for individuals runs a gamut. Methamphetamine is big in Durango, she said.

“It is mainly used amongst the low-income population be-cause it is cheap to make,” she said.

Another fad that is on the rise is the use of pharmaceutical drugs, she said.

Fuller said people can receive pharmaceutical drugs from their doctor which are primarily opiates.

“Those can be crushed, smoked, snorted, or ingested in any other way and create a quick high,” she said.

Substance Abuse on Campus“We do have issues with marijuana and alcohol on campus,”

Fort Lewis College Chief of Police Arnold Trujillo, said. “We have also had issues with more prominent drugs like hashish and mushrooms but have not seen very many cases of cocaine or other hard drugs.”

“I have been an officer at FLC for 15 years and have not seen any students on campus overdose on drugs,” Trujillo said. “I do know that there have been students who live off campus who have overdosed on drugs and have to be taken to the hos-pital.

The drug of choice on campus is usually marijuana because it is easy to get. It is also easy to get a medical marijuana card, he said.

“The largest problem we are having right now is people in-gesting marijuana in public,” Trujillo said.

The law states that if the individual is 21 years of age or older, it is legal for the individual to possess marijuana with a limit of up to no more than one ounce at a time.

But whether or not the individual is of age, they cannot possess marijuana on campus because it is considered to be a public place, he said.

“If a student is caught smoking in their car, they will be written a citation,” he said. “A car is still considered to be a public place.

When someone is caught with marijuana and he or she is at least 18 years of age and has a medical marijuana card, there is nothing that the campus police can do unless the individual is smoking in a public place, he said.

“If this is the case, we will usually ask the student to take the drug paraphernalia to a private place and ingest it,” he said.

If the person does not have a medical marijuana card and is smoking on campus, the campus police will write the individual a citation, he said

If the individual is under 18 years of age and is in posses-sion of marijuana, the campus police will write the individual a citation as well, he said.

On average, the campus police write out two to three cita-tions a week, he said.

This adds up to around 80 citations per year, he said.“When officers are out patrolling and they come across

someone who is smoking marijuana or using alcohol, they will write the individual a citation,” he said. “Sometimes people will call in and report someone.”

The citation charges the individual with possession of drug paraphernalia or underage use of alcohol, he said.

Once the citation is written, the officer will send the cita-tion summons to the court, he said.

“The police officers on campus are fully certified police of-ficers, so we can write citations and do investigations,” he said.

The judge will make a decision based on the circumstanc-es of the case, he said.

The judge may dismiss the case, or the individual may be charged with a fine or jail time depending on his or her history, he said.

If the individual pleads not guilty, the arresting officer has to appear in court and explain why he or she gave the cita-tion and what the circumstances were, he said.

“People will usually plead guilty,” he said. “We hardly ever see an officer going to court to defend the citation.”

After the hearing, the student will then meet with the disciplinary officer on campus, he said.

4Prescription and other pharmaceutical drugs can become an extremely dangerous addiction.

Page 6: The Independent Issue 55

5

Campus Living

FLC Students Encouraged to Apply for Sustainable Initiatives Grant

Story by Sean Summers Graphics by Julia Volzke Photo by Jonathan Helvoigt

The Sustainable Initiatives Grant offered at Fort Lewis College allows students and faculty to pursue projects in the community which promote environmentally

beneficial practices. The Sustainable Initiatives Grant has been available at FLC

since the 2009-2010 academic year when the Associated Stu-dents of FLC proposed the grant, said Mark Mastalski, the director of the Student Leadership Center.

The grant aims to fund projects proposed by students, which will aid FLC’s sustainability initiatives, Mastalski said.

The grant is funded through a student fee of five cents per credit hour that each student registers for, he said.

The fund totals around $5,000 each year, which is available to anyone on campus to apply for, he said.

The application process starts with the Financial Allocation Board, a student-run organization, he said.

The applicants must present a proposal to FAB, and they must approve it before it goes any further, he said.

If the project does not require more than $500, FAB can give final approval, but if the amount exceeds that, the ASFLC must approve the proposal, he said.

If the application is approved , then FAB moves the pro-posal on to the ASFLC agenda, where it gains final approval or denial, he said.

Applications for access to the grant funds are available on the FLC website, he said.

It is crucial that the proposal be well thought out, including how the plan will be implemented, he said.

“It takes a lot of planning to put together a really good and solid proposal,” he said.

The deadline for proposals is Feb. 21, he said.To apply, students must fill out the form provided on

the FLC webpage under the RSO Resources section of the website, Morgan Gurule, the director of FAB, said in an email interview.

Once the deadline is reached, all of the applications sub-mitted will be evaluated and passed on to the Sustainable Ini-tiatives Fee Advisory Committee. The committee will review the applications and make recommendations for which to ac-

cept, Gurule said. When the proj-

ects have been se-lected, the students will be notified, and they must then pres-ent their proposals to the FAB, she said.

Once the proposal is fully approved, funds will be trans-ferred to the appropri-ate college account. No funds are distributed to personal accounts, she said.

As of Feb. 10, no proposals for use of the grant money had been filed, she said.

Several projects using the grant money have been success-ful in the past, Mastalski said.

One such project is focused on encouraging recycling in the on campus residence halls, he said.

FLC student Drew Walters used the grant funds last year to purchase blue recycling bins located in residence halls on campus, he said.

The project also aimed to team up with the hous-ing department in order to educate the residents about recycling at FLC, he said.

Mastalski said that Walters wanted to do more than simply placing a blue bin in a room. He want-ed to do more and educate people about the impor-tance of recycling.

Another project carried out using the Sustain-able Initiatives Grant was the Lawns of Life project, Mastalski said.

This project encouraged FLC to eliminate the use of pesticides and other non-organic substances on FLC’s

Page 7: The Independent Issue 55

6

green spaces such as lawns, he said.While many are, not all projects are successfully imple-

mented, he said.One such project was the proposed biofuel generator

for the Student Union, he said.The plan was proposed by the Biodiesel club at FLC, and the proposal was ap-

proved by the FAB and ASFLC. The club was awarded the grant funds, but the project was never

realized, he said.In such a case, the grant

funds are revoked and re-stored to the Sustainable Initiatives Grant fund, he said.

These projects collec-tively aim to fill gaps in

the sustainability initia-tives at FLC, Rachel Landis, the coordina-tor of the Environ-mental Center, said.

The projects are de-signed to encourage en-vironmental awareness in students and faculty on campus, Landis said.

Many of the projects in the past have been cre-

ated to encourage long-term change in the sustainability of FLC and its facilities, she said.

The Sustainable Initia-tives Grant allows for a source of funding to carry out projects that help to maintain the resources that are available today for future

generations, she said. The Environmental Center is often

involved in the implementation of projects funded through the grant, she said.

Projects which require sustained implementa-tion, such as long-term initiatives which will not be completed in the time that a student is attend-ing FLC, are often teamed with the Environmental Center to insure continued implementation, she said.

The Environmental Center has acted as the fiscal agent for the grant funds in the past.

Not managing the funds, but the Environmental Center often acts as a holding place for the funds once

they have been awarded, she said. The main criteria for the projects carried out using the grant

money is to encourage sustainability for the long term at FLC, she said.

“The key things are that it addresses a need, it has some sort of long-lasting impact, and/or it hits the campus as a whole,” she said.

The implementation of the recycling bins in the residence halls on campus serves as a good example of this, she said.

The bins are available to students as soon as they arrive at an FLC residence hall, which hopefully sets the tone for recycling for incoming students, she said.

The bins also include educational material, which help to get the students thinking and aware of recycling here at FLC and elsewhere, she said.

Another example of the grant being used to help in attitude change in FLC community members was the implementation of the No Impact Project, she said.

This project was less of a tangible plan for sustainability and focused more on education and attitude change in students to encourage environmentally conscious behavior, she said.

The project was a week-long series of programs embedded into academic coursework and extracurricular activities, which challenged students to examine their consumption, she said.

This project encouraged sustainability in a long term ca-pacity by way of educating the FLC community about the impacts of consumption and challenged the community to reduce consumption, she said.

The Environmental Center is also available to help students who wish to have someone review their proposal before sub-mitting it to the Financial Allocation Board, she said

The grant is not unique to FLC, she said.As of 2009, 14 other schools in the country had similar

funds, Mastalski said.A number of other institutions for higher education offer

similar funds for such initiatives, Landis said. FLC is a member of The Association for the Advancement

of Sustainability in Higher Education, she said. This is a group of other colleges which offer sustainability

project funds, she said. FLC pays an annual fee of $1,500 to be a member of the

AASHE, which allows each FLC student access to an account at the AASHE website, she said.

Not every project uses all the available money in the grant every year, Mastalski said.

If there is any unused money in the account at the end of the academic year, it will transfer into the grant account next year. However, it is preferable to spend all the money in the account each year, he said.

“We want to give all the money out,” he said.

Page 8: The Independent Issue 55

Cover Story

Over the last 15 years, faculty numbers at Fort Lewis College have been fluctuating, with some departments seeing significant decline

in faculty numbers.Professors in the humanities departments at FLC have

noticed a distinct downward trend in faculty numbers.Ten years ago, FLC had 168 tenure-track faculty

members, and in fall 2013 that number had fallen to 122, Larry Hartsfield, the former chair of the English department, said.

The issues in faculty decline have not gone unad-dressed.

In 2008, a Task Force for Quality Hiring and Reten-tion was assembled, John Baranski, a professor of history and member of the Task Force, said in an email.

The Task Force was assembled in part to examine the inequity in wages for faculty members at FLC as com-pared to peers at other institutions, Baranski said.

The Task Force examined the discrepancy in wages and workload in comparison to other institutions and found that, on average, FLC faculty has been underpaid by 10 to 25 percent when comparing departments side by side to other institutions in the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, he said.

When the Task Force was assembled, faculty morale was very low and much of the issue stemmed from the

overwhelmingly heavy workload which was placed on faculty members in many disciplines, he said.

Since then, the issues of workload imbalance and low faculty morale have gotten worse, Keri Brandt, the chair of the sociology department, said.

“In light of the decision to move all classes to a three-credit model, the overall climate of the college is at an all-time low, and workloads will continue to increase,” Brandt said

The issues extend beyond current faculty at FLC to prospective faculty, she said.

The history department has suffered from these issues, Baranski said.

The history department used to have 10 historians who taught a range of courses covering a wide variety of geo-graphical locations, he said.

Baranski said in fall 2014, the department will likely be down to five historians total and only be able to offer courses on the histories of North and South America and Europe.

This decrease will negatively impact the department by cutting off whole curriculums, especially because the de-partment has not been allowed to hire any new faculty since 2008, he said.

“It will be as if Asia and Africa and the Middle East no longer exist,” Baranski said.

“In light of the decision to move all classes to a three-credit model, the overall climate of the college is at an all-time low, and workloads

will continue to increase.”-Keri Brandt,

Chair of the Sociology Department.

Story by Sean SummersPhoto illustration by Hana Mohsin

Graphics by Livia Hooson

7

Page 9: The Independent Issue 55

The cuts to the department also affect student-centered learning projects and programs, he said.

Some faculty members from the history department have left to take positions at higher paying schools with better working conditions, and others have left because of retire-ment, he said.

This is also true for professors in the English department, Hartsfield said.

The English department has seen a significant decline in number of full time faculty over the last 15 years, he said. Where there used to be 16 tenure-track faculty members, now there are 11.

The English department currently has three adjunct, non-tenure track faculty members, he said.

Similar to the history department, Hartsfield said that most of the faculty that have left in that time have left for retirement.

Those who have left have not been replaced because of how funds are allocated throughout the college, causing the department to see a noticeable decline in numbers, he said.

The department has also seen a decline in the number of students majoring in fields in the English department, he said.

Hartsfield said that the student to faculty ratio in the English department seems to remain high on the student side in the lower division courses, whereas in the upper divi-sion courses, the ratio is lower.

The modern language department has also seen a decrease in number of faculty, he said.

The consistently lower wages and low morale in the fac-ulty at FLC have made it difficult to hire and retain faculty over the last several years, Baranski said.

Along with inequities in the wages of FLC faculty and faculty at other COPLAC schools, some faculty members on the Task Force wanted to address the inequity in wages between departments at FLC, he said.

When the Task Force completed their study, they found that faculty in some disciplines made significantly more than faculty in others, he said.

For example, an FLC faculty member in the School of Business Administration might make 30 to 40 percent more money than a peer in the humanities departments with the same workload, he said.

“To a lot of us, this is unfair,” Baranski said. The imbalance of salaries was just one of the three pri-

mary issues the Task Force aimed to address, he said.The Task Force also examined the issue of low morale and

workload imbalances among faculty at FLC, he said.Since the Task Force issued its report, FLC has addressed

the problem of income inequity well, Brandt said.But the cuts in faculty have not been isolated to the his-

tory department, Baranski said.While the faculty numbers have been decreasing, the

number of students enrolling has remained relatively con-

stant, he said. However, the number of students in faculty members’

classes has steadily increased across campus in many disci-plines over the last several years, he said.

Baranski said the implementation of the three-credit model at FLC will only make the workload heavier for fac-ulty across disciplines.

In more recent years, faculty numbers have remained rela-tively stable, Darren Mathews, the director of Human Re-sources, said.

FLC has remained close to the national average for fac-ulty numbers in higher education for the last five years, Mathews said.

Although the faculty numbers do fluctuate, there isn’t a consistent direction college-wide numbers seem to move in, he said.

A large amount of the fluctuation in numbers has to do with the change in popularity of programs at FLC, he said.

Matthews said the student to faculty ratio has remained consistently below the national average, remaining between 17 and 19 students in each class, for the last five years.

The ratio has increased with the minor increase in enroll-ment at FLC, he said.

A large part of the consistency in faculty has to do with the small size of the faculty at FLC, Mathews said. This al-lows the faculty’s concerns to be addressed easily.

“None of our departments are really big, which makes it a lot easier to pay attention to,” he said.

When a sudden change does happen in faculty, FLC hires temporary faculty members to fill the gaps in the depart-ment in need, he said.

“I think we’re adequately staffed every semester, but some-times there is a scramble to get there,” he said.

If the need persists, the temporary faculty may become full-time faculty members, he said.

Mathews said while the temporary faculty may not be on a tenure track to full-time employment, FLC is constantly evaluating which departments may need more full-time faculty.

When new full-time faculty is needed, the hiring process is careful, and FLC considers many aspects, being careful not to rush to hire, he said.

With the shifting focus on education in science, technol-ogy, engineering and mathematics throughout the world of higher education, the physics and engineering departments are slightly understaffed, he said.

There has been a focus on strengthening the engineering department in recent years, he said.

Matthews said the math department has consistently been a tough department to keep adequately staffed, as there is always a need for remediation for some students, he said.

With the heavy workloads and low morale it will become increasingly hard to hire and retain quality faculty in de-partments across the college, Brandt said.

8

Page 10: The Independent Issue 55

Privacy

D IG ITAL

FO

OTPR

INT

Story by Chloe EckermanGraphics by Graeme Johnston

HOW to

MANAGE your

Be Aware:

The Internet has the ability to track almost everything students do. It’s nearly impossible for one not to leave a digital trail.

Steve Linn, owner of Digital Intelligence, a digital forensics company that serves the western slope of Colorado, said that anything a person does that has an elec-tronic signature can be traced back to that particular person.

“All of the electronic devices you have such as your computer, cell phone, TV, Play Station, and your credit cards are aspects of your digital footprint,” Linn said.

Every time you upgrade your technology, you are expand-ing your digital footprint and making your data that much more exposed, he said.

Lindsay Nyquist, the social media director at Fort Lewis College, helps raise awareness about the importance of rein-venting personal digital presence to plan for your digital future.

“Your digital footprint is an overview of anything that comes up when searching your name,” Nyquist said. “It can be anything from your social media presence to anytime you were mentioned in an article.”

Having a digital footprint has the potential to either help you or hurt you in the long run, she said.

“Overall, you have the choice of how you want to present yourself through your digital footprint,” Nyquist said. “It’s very important for students to see the importance of having a positive digital presence for the sake of their future.”

A digital footprint will help you if you have a variety of posi-tive accomplishments that pop up about you when you search your name on the Web, she said.

One of the main reasons it will hurt you is because you have little control of what other people are posting about you online, she said.

Be aware of what you are doing in public because you never know what’s being documented and could end up on-line, Nyquist said.

“One inappropriate picture of you could come back and haunt you in the future if the wrong person gets ahold of it and posts it on the Web,” she said.

Studies show that 35-50 percent of employers search your name on Google prior to hiring you, and employers will force you to “friend” them on social media once you are hired, she said.

“Future employers will search for you online to look at your positive posts just as much as your negative posts,” she said. “It will look great on your behalf if your LinkedIn profile is the first thing that pops up when searching your name on the Web.”

A LinkedIn profile is a professional form of social networking, she said.

“I advise students to create a Linkedin profile for future professional opportunities,” she said. “It’s beneficial for stu-dents to get their name out there and start networking early.”

Various social media sites form the main components of a typical college student’s footprint, and it’s vital to keep your page clean, Nyquist said.

David Longan, the systems administrator at FLC, said that

Page 11: The Independent Issue 55

10

social media is growing significantly and is one of the main ways that students stay in touch.

FLC students need to become aware of how impor-tant everything they post online is for the sake of your future, Nyquist said.

“Not just the photos that you post, but your language also mat-ters,” she said. “Once you post a picture or a status online, it’s essentially there forever.”

Facebook doesn’t only show who you are connected with but who you are related to as well if you have your family members listed on your page, Linn said.

Both Linn and Nyquist agree that setting your Facebook to private will help protect your digital footprint from the public eye.

Students should refrain from putting their birthday on Facebook because it’s one of the biggest profile security haz-ards, Nyquist said.

“If you do decide to put your birthday, don’t put the year,” she said. “It reveals your identity so easily.”

Social media serves as only your public profile and in order to find your true digital footprint, you need to dig deeper, Linn said.

“Social media excludes what you are searching on the Web, it only shows what you choose to post and your interests and friends,” Linn said. “Google will reveal much more, simply by the purchases you make and the sites you visit.”

The more you search on the Web, the more your digital trail expands, Linn said.

“Every site you touch can be tied back to you,” he said. “Every time you write reviews on various products online or link your accounts, you are dramatically increasing your digital footprint.”

One way to see your digital footprint from an outside perspec-tive is by searching your name on a public computer that you have never used before, so Google doesn’t recognize you, Nyquist said.

By doing this you can tell how positive your digital foot-print is, she said.

“Your digital footprint will benefit you if the first things that come up are publications, blogs you wrote, student websites, pro-fessional profiles, and other various accomplishments come up on the search engine,” Logan said.

However, if something from the police blotter comes up or inappropriate pictures of you, you know that modifications need to be made for the sake of your digital future, he said.

If you went to court for some reason, your digital footprint can help prove your innocence, he said.

For example, if you are being blamed for a crime but you have proof of credit card transactions or posting a Facebook status in a certain location, you can be saved, Linn said.

“If you are a good person it will keep you out of trouble,” he said. “The negative aspect is being the bad guy, by having a digital footprint, your crime can be easily traced back to you.”

The image you create for yourself through your digital foot-print depends on who you are and what you chose to do with your digital footprint, he said.

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Page 12: The Independent Issue 55

11

Green

Green efforts and sustainability initiatives are not brand new to Fort Lewis College but have re-cently taken off as regular projects on campus.

Recent initiatives include the student cam-paign to divest FLC from fossil fuel funding, the Rocket Composter operated by Sodexo and the

Environmental Center, and the single-stream recycling program implemented last year.

These efforts, paired with upcoming developments, are bring-ing sustainability to the forefront at FLC.

There has been a lot of buzz on campus since the beginning of this academic year about what is commonly known as the Divestment Plan.

This plan, run by the group FLC Divest Now, discusses the topic of fossil fuel divestment and includes a petition being cir-culated around campus as well as meetings and informational sessions, Campaign Manager and Campaign Founder of FLC Divest Now, Michaela Steiner said.

“The divestment movement is a student movement happening at over 500 institutions globally,” Steiner said.

FLC Divest Now is an entirely student-run campaign that frequently meets to organize what their next moves will be for the Divestment Plan on campus.

“Our aim is to divest the Fort Lewis College Foundation from funding the top 200 oil, coal and natural gas corporations within five years,” Steiner said.

The campaign wants to gradually stop the FLC Foundation from investing money in six of these oil, coal and natural gas companies and reinvest the money somewhere else, she said.

“The demand for energy is increasing globally, she said. “We are past the peak of oil, and it is projected that our supply of oil and other fossil fuels is decreasing.”

“It is likely that other schools will have to divest in the future. We are trying to do this in a way that is more voluntary without creating financial hardship they may face if they divest at a later date,” she said.

If the Divestment Plan goes through, the money managers on the Foundation board will determine what they will reinvest in. However, FLC Divest Now can make suggestions, Steiner said.

Some of these suggestions Steiner listed included other so-cially responsible initiatives.

This move towards divestment will not change or hurt the col-lege in any way, she said.

“It is essentially a moral and ethical stand by the college,” she said.The Divestment Plan seems to be widely supported amongst

the community at FLC.“There is a Faculty Senate Resolution in favor of divestment

that is also endorsed and supported by the Student Senate Reso-lution,” she said.

The petition circulated by FLC Divest Now has also gained over 1,000 student signatures since September.

In the campaign, some students work on media projects, some work with the Foundation, some have meetings with the admin-istration, and others work on recruiting, she said.

FLC Divest Now is also non-profit and neither receives nor raises funds for their activities, she said.

Steiner said this month FLC Divest Now will be meeting with the Foundation Investment Committee.

“The Investment Committee will recommend whether or not the Foundation should divest. Then, the Foundation Board will vote,” she said.

“We are recommending that the Foundation takes the ap-proximately $150,000 they invest in six oil, coal and natural gas companies in the top 200 corporations and over the course of five

Increase in Sustainability Initiatives on Campus

Story by Remi Majeski Graphics by Graeme Johnston Photos by Jonathan Helvoigt

The Rocket composter behind the Student Union Building drives Fort Lewis College towards sustainability.

Page 13: The Independent Issue 55

12

years invest it somewhere else,” she said.The approximate $150,000 that the Foundation invests in these

companies makes up only one percent of the college’s endowment.“You could realistically do this within two years,” she said.

“But, the five-year plan will make room for a gradual divestment.”If the Foundation were to vote to divest within two years, then

they would simply be pledging to not donate to fossil fuel compa-nies. The five-year plan makes room for a gradual divestment instead of a sudden move away from donating to fossil fuel companies.

“Hopefully we will know the decision by the end of February or beginning of March,” she said.

Another green effort on campus involves the Rocket Compos-ter located in the loading dock of the Student Union Building.

This large-scale composter was installed in 2012 and has since been used to reduce food waste and carbon emissions on campus, As-sistant Coordinator of the Environmental Center, Alex Brooks said.

“The purpose of the composter is to take food waste from the dining hall and turn it into compost to be used in the Environ-mental Center Garden,” Laura Owens, sustainability coordinator for Sodexo, said.

“The running of the composter is a partnership between So-dexo and the Environmental Center,” Owens said.

“At the moment, Sodexo is the only organization on campus that is putting food waste into the composter, and the Environ-mental Center picks up that food waste for their use,” she said.

The San Juan Dining Food Waste Audit was conducted by the Environmental Center in January on post-consumer food waste, waste that is leftover on plates after meals.

This audit concluded that in one day one student, over the course of three meals, wastes 0.71 pounds of edible and inedible waste. It does not include any waste produced from food preparation.

“In one meal, that equals about 0.36 pounds of waste, and 56 percent of this is edible food waste. This totals about 30,000 pounds of edible food waste in a semester and about 30 tons of edible food waste in a year,” Brooks said.

This food waste is what is used in the Rocket Composter. Some waste does come from inedible waste like napkins, cups and lids, but some of this is also composted, he said.

The Rocket Composter, which was installed in 2012, was estimat-ed to eliminate about 75,000 pounds of food waste per academic year.

“We’ve not been able to capture as much food waste as we

hoped initially, but we are slowly increasing how much we are able to capture,” he said.

Brooks said that in 2013, the first full year the Rocket Com-poster was in operation, it composted 818 gallons of pulped food waste, which is around 49,000 pounds.

“The 49,000 pounds of food waste composted in 2013 reduced carbon emissions by about 22 metric tons,” he said.

“When the food waste goes through the dining hall, it goes through a pulper which grinds it up and takes out the water. It takes any kind of food waste there is, and it comes out looking kind of like rice,” he said.

Large-scale composting is a small but growing effort across the country.

At the purchase time of the Rocket Composter, there were only nine composters of its kind in campuses in the United States. However, Brooks said this number is growing.

Another effort fairly new to campus is single-stream recycling. This project started in the Spring Semester of 2012 and now has single-stream recycling bins located around the campus.

“Single-stream recycling is where you collect multiple types of recyclables together and separate them at a later date, as op-posed to multi-stream recycling which keeps all the recyclables separate from the beginning and are separated at the facilities immediately,” he said.

Single-stream recycling is supposed to be more efficient than the standard multi-stream recycling.

While these three efforts are the most recent ones practiced here on campus, there are other developments happening now and within the next year. Both developments are within organi-zations on campus and individual projects.

“There is a new committee forming around sustainability at the college. It will be a collection of staff, faculty and students,” Brooks said. “They will be looking at sustainability from a cam-pus-wide perspective.”

“There’s also going to be a new position most likely that will be a one-third time Sustainability Coordinator within the faculty,” he said. “Those are two big things happening soon.”

The Environmental Center is also trying to organize a summit around sustainability at the college, which they are projecting to occur in April.

“We want to talk about what’s currently happening and what’s going to happen next,” he said.

Steiner, who has spearheaded the divestment campaign on campus, is also forming ideas for future proj-ects of her own.

“A project that I might work on is to see if we can get the Student Union Building to be solar paneled,” Steiner said. “That’s something I hope to work on after the Divest-ment Plan.”

Page 14: The Independent Issue 55

13

Entertainment

Music Review

Horoscopes

Capricorn~ December 22- January 19You’re headed for some sort of upheaval soon, either in your social or academic life. If you are careful you’ll be fine, but carelessness might be crippling.

Aquarius~ January 20- February 18You may be feeling busy lately, but no worries. You’re headed for a calm patch shortly. Enjoy your free time while you can.

Pisces~ February 19- March 20Your love life will take a turn for the better in the near future, but keep in mind that this doesn’t nec-essarily mean you’ll be happy at the outcome.

Aries~ March 21- April 19You are feeling nostalgic lately, and are frequently dwelling on things that have occurred in the past. Remember that you can’t change what has been, but only make it better in the future.

Taurus~ April 20- May 20Be wary of your social life: someone close to you is likely to do something surprising in the coming weeks that will change your relationship forever.

Gemini~ May 21- June 21Things may seem rocky for you right now, but you’re headed for an upswing soon. Just bear with it for now, and remember this too shall pass.

Cancer~ June 22- July 22You are feeling restless lately, and the constant in-activity of school is maddening. Don’t be afraid to explore new outlets and be adventurous.

Leo~ July 23- August 22Your life has been full-throttle lately, rendering you constantly occupied and verging on overworked. Take some time to smell the roses and enjoy what free time you can find.

Virgo~ August 23- September 22Be careful of what you say, as you could inadver-tently hurt someone close to you soon. Make it clear that the person is important to you, and they will be forgiving.

Libra~ September 23- October 22You’re right at the zenith of a lucky spell, so have fun! Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things. Enjoy life while you have the chance!

Scorpio~ October 23- November 21Your social life will change drastically for the better, although it might not seem like it at the time. Just keep your friends close and don’t worry.

Sagittarius~ November 22- December 21You’re headed for a calm patch in the coming weeks, so enjoy the respite. It would be wise to use this time to get ahead in the future.

Artist: The Notwist

Album: Close To The Glass Label: SUB POP

Ever since their start out in 1989, The Notwist has never really been able to stand still within the eternally vast landscape of music. This south German 4 piece band has pushed their sound from straight up heavy metal to minimalist dark indie rock. When the century turned over anew, the band acquired an electronic fetish that needed exercising. With the combination of lo-fi indie rock, the band could be heard playing with the two musical elements on 2002’s Neon Golden and 2008’s The Devil, You + Me. After a five year layover, that combination comes into full fruition with their new album Close To The Glass. Not surprising at all, present day finds the band in a very adventurous state, which can be attributed by the bands programmer Martin Gretchmann. The programmer known as “Console” is responsible for every synth-manipulated twist and turn. This becomes quickly evident when listening to the al-bum’s first track “Signals,” which starts out in lo-fi electronic fashion. The track gains momentum when Markus Acher adds his signature vocalizing into the mix, which allows Gretchmann to keep the pace steady with his intoxicating drum patterns. The programmer makes his craft realized on standout track “Lineri,” the longest of the album. The nearly nine minute track is the furthest thing from drawn-out. It’s instead a minimalistic journey, offering several synthed-out surprises along the way. The track can possibly be heard as a summery to the entire album. Close To The Glass is very much a musical journey, an adventurous leap into a never-ending landscape of sound.

Review by Chris Braun

Recommended Tracks: “Signals” “Kong” “Lineri”

Page 15: The Independent Issue 55

Recipe

Indy on the Street

Magaly TorresMazon, ILAthletic TrainingSophomorePay off student loans and travel

Amanda OrtegaDelta, COAthletic TrainingSophomoreGive about half of it to charity, and

then pay off loans and debt

Dylan MalewskaLittleton, COEnvironmental StudiesFreshmanHelp family out and donate

Lauren Polivk Wheatridge, COOccupational TherapyFreshmanBuy a car!

What would you do if you won the lottery?

Photos by Hana Mohsin

10% discount with a FLC Student ID!

Bring this coupon in for 50% off any one

concentrate productcoupons and offers cannot be combined

Eggless Cookie Dough¾ cup brown sugar¼ cup butter, softened¼ tsp. vanilla¼ cup milk1 cup flourPinch of salt½ cup chocolate chips

Put all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix fully.

Healthy cookie dough dip1 ½ cups of chickpeas or white

beans (1 can drained and rinsed very well)

Pinch of saltPinch of baking soda2 tsp pure vanilla extract¼ cup of nut butter of choice

(Nutella, peanut butter, etc)Up to ¼ cup of milk of choice, if

needed2/3 cup of brown sugar1/3 cup of chocolate chips2 tbsp oats

1) Drain and rinse beans thoroughly and put in food processor and pulse until smooth. It looks like a thick bean paste.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients except for the choco-late chips and the mixture in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly.

3) Add in chocolate chips until fully distributed. It should look similar to the texture of cookie dough.

Recipe and photos by Julia Volzke

Page 16: The Independent Issue 55

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