Western's Newsroom

February 21, 7:30 p.m. | All-Colorado Honor Band Host Concert

February 23, 2 p.m. | All-Colorado Honor Band and Colorado Brass Band Concert

February 28, 7:30 p.m. | Faculty Artist Recital: Shelley Warren (flute) and Martha Violett (piano)

March 7, 7:30 p.m. | Western Vocal Department Showcase

March 9, 2 p.m. | Western Slope Choral Festival Concert

March 12, 7:30 p.m. | Opera Colorado Guest Artist Concert

March 14, 7:30 p.m. | F. George Damson Music Competition

“The new venue allows us to create a larger, more fun course for our riders to compete on,” said Ryan Zimmerman, a member of the hosting student group Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Project.  

Hosting Rail Jam at Cranor Hill expands competition to all athletes who are 18 years old or older. Previously, when the event was on campus, only Western students were allowed to participate. 

The guests will deliver a keynote address and hold a question and answer session, followed by refreshments. They also will spend two days on campus, visiting classes and interacting with student clubs and sports teams.

The keynotes will be video- and audio-recorded, to be released on Western’s YouTube account and Blister’s podcast.

This first-of-its-kind speaker series—coupled with Western’s first-of-its-kind Outdoor Industry MBA program—will further Western’s role in cultivating future leaders of outdoor-oriented businesses and media.

Colorado has made strides when it comes to diverting trash from landfills by reducing, reusing and recycling waste, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. According to CDPHE, in 2007 the state diverted only about 7 percent of the nearly 10 million tons of household and commercial trash generated that year. Seven years later, those numbers have improved as 11 percent of roughly 9 million tons of waste was diverted from landfills in 2014. Yet Colorado still lags well behind the national average of 35 percent for waste diversion.

The program begins at 7:30 p.m. and is open to the public.

The lecture titled “Fire and Ice: Investigative Environmental Journalism in the World’s Harshest Landscapes” will take place in the West Wing Reading Room within the Leslie J. Savage Library on campus from 6-8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The event celebrates the release of Todd’s revised, updated and re-released poetry collection, “Tamped, but Loose Enough To Breathe.”

Todd will be joined in the spotlight by 2018 Fort Collins poet laureate Natalie Giarratano, who will read from her most recent book of poetry, “Big Thicket Blues.”

All ages are welcome to attend the audition and try their hand at acting. No prepared monologue is needed. The time commitment for filmmaking will be “around a handful of hours per part,” said Western professor of communication arts Jack Lucido.

Production dates will fall between mid-October through early November 2018. Filming times will likely be scheduled during evenings and weekends.

“These filmmakers have written engaging stories to be produced,” Lucido said. “Topics include grocery store science fiction, camping horror and friendship juxtaposed with homelessness.”

The evening’s program of music, life stories and in-the-moment inspirations is free, and the public is cordially invited to attend.

Gallagher, internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, actress and storyteller, adds an unusual twist to her music—her instrument of choice is the harp. She handily dispels the stereotypical image that surrounds the harp by playing music that ranges from wailing Blues to Latin grooves, from touches of Celtic to Classical inspirations and from swinging Jazz to richly varied contemporary Americana/folk/roots. 

In the Jan. 10 edition of the Gunnison Country Times, guest commentator Enid Holden reflected on the growth not only in enrollment, but also programs in an editorial entitled “What’s up at Western?” Among the examples cited by the columnist:

Every Tuesday from 8-10 p.m., the pool in the Aquatic Center is open to any and all kayaks. The two-hour class allows people to come in to practice or learn to roll their kayaks.

The class isn’t open to just students; people from the community can also jump in. It is free for students and nonstudents pay $3.

As long as you bring your own skirt and paddle, you are ready to hop into the pool. If you need to borrow a kayak, there are some available there.

The family fun activities started Friday, Oct. 26. There was a welcome table where students and their families could sign up for events, such as taking a trip with Wilderness Pursuits (WP) and solving an escape room.  

Saturday was a fun-packed day. It kicked off with a pancake breakfast in the University Center with the Jazz Band performing. 

“We are enjoying breakfast,” said Catharine Hayzlett, grandparent of student Rhys Hayzlett, “before heading to the football game.” 

On Nov. 13, Kodas spent approximately 90 minutes covering numerous fires in recent history along with his personal experience around them for an audience nearing 100. He explained that many of humanity’s worst forest fires—such as The Fourmile Canyon Fire in 2010, The High Park Fire and Waldo Canyon Fire in 2012, and The Black Forest Fire in 2013—are the result of poor human practices.

The Education Department at Western emphasizes the importance of hands-on learning when considering what it takes to be a full-time teachers. Because of this, every student in the education program at Western is afforded the opportunity to student teach for an entire school year. Although residency programs at Western allow students to complete their residency period anywhere in the world, some students choose to stay in the Gunnison Valley and begin their teaching experience locally.

Students who attend Western Colorado University have their own stories on how they found this school located deep in the Rocky Mountains.

“I discovered [Western] after moving to the Gunnison Valley in the fall of 2015,” Otero said. “I actually had no intention of returning to school after my military service ended. However, once I uncovered my own need [and] desire for additional life learning, I began to explore what college would look like for me.”  

Otero served in the Air Force for 12 years, including combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Parade

As the festivities for this year’s homecoming at Western Colorado University began, Western students and the community came together to celebrate. 

Students and the community lined the streets late Friday afternoon to come together to celebrate another Western homecoming.  

The parade included homecoming royalty, NCAA sports, club sports, clubs and organizations. Jim Gelwicks, Mayor of Gunnison, led the parade as the marshall.  

One of the biggest commitments the Sustainability Program has is helping the campus commit to zero waste by producing less waste and recycling more here on campus. There are three organizations on campus that focus on sustainability: Sustainability Coalition, Organics Guild and LEAD Sustainability. 

In the LEAD Sustainability program, there are work-study positions available for students. They act as sustainability advocates on campus. 

Western’s men’s club rugby team squared off against Colorado Mesa University (2-1) and beat the Mavericks 64-19.   

Michael Lennen, who has been playing since he was a freshman, described how he found out about the sport.  

“I was introduced [to rugby] by one of the guys playing at the time, who asked me during class if I wanted to play,” Lennen said. “I was hesitant at first, knowing that rugby is a brutal sport, but after going out for my first practice, I [fell in love]. 

On Sept. 11 and 12, students and staff were encouraged to listen to the man once deemed to be “the most dangerous man in America” by Vice President Spiro T. Agnew. The event was hosted by Think Radio to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the “Chicago riots,” a nonviolent gathering to advocate for the end of the Vietnam War. In his talk, Davis shared this story in the realistic, spine-chilling detail hundreds of thousands of Americans witnessed on television 50 years ago.