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Feedback: Fall 2024

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:26:44 +0000

Feedback: Fall 2024 Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 10:26

Always a Favorite

The Coloradan is always a favorite read of mine, and the Summer 2024 issue was especially personal for me. Mary Hanley Machacek (MBA’81) and I created an endowment for first-generation students at �� Leeds. As a result, we’ve had the opportunity to meet Phil and Yvonne DiStefano and learn about and be inspired by their actions as leaders and ambassadors of �� Boulder. We have increased our commitment as a result of their example of paying it forward. As a first-generation college student myself, the article about �� Boulder’s Precollegiate Development Program reinforced the importance of creating gateways for young students to be barrier breakers — and our pride of being �� Buffs. Yvonne’s ongoing work with the Guardian Scholars is exemplary, and we have no doubt that Phil will continue to improve our society and world at the Center for Leadership and the School of Education.

Larry Machacek (MBA’81)

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Shout Out

Thanks so much for mentioning Marcos Perez (Psych’97) and me and The Next Good Thing book in the �� alumni magazine. We appreciate the mention and are proud to be listed with the other alumni.

Go Buffs!

D. Eric Maikranz (Russ’91)

Stuart, Florida

Class Material

Hello, I am a �� alumna and am now an adjunct faculty member at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. I’m planning to use your article “Soft Skills Are the New Power Skills,” by Katy Hill, in my COMM 3150 Team Communication Course.

Thank you,

Alison Christofferson (Engl’03; MComm’21)

Colorado Springs

A Powerful Issue

Thank you for the great issue of the Coloradan titled “Leading with Heart.” I especially appreciated the editor’s note where Maria shared about her own supervisor who provided tough feedback in a kind manner and how that had an impact. This is a powerful issue for sure!

Nancy Marchand-Martella

Colorado Springs

Compassionate Pages

Just now collected my latest Coloradan with its beautiful cover (kudos to Ben Kircher). I thumbed through the progressive, compassionate pages and felt so proud to be remembered in previous issues. I turned 70 last October. Brimming with new ideas, I truly feel decades younger, which I owe to sobriety and daily meditation with wonderful friends.

Thank you for the Summer 2024 Coloradan!

Fondly,

Gregory Hinton (PerMgmt’77)

Los Angeles

Brass Queens

I opened my issue of the Coloradan today, and wow! “Black & Gold in Our Soul” turned out so perfectly. I absolutely LOVE the big, bold dynamic spread of the first two pages. Thank you all for taking the time to hear our story and for being so collaborative to make it just right.

Black & Gold in Our Soul forever!

Best,

Ally Chapel (ArtHist’14)

New York City

Format Matters

Thank you for the work you all do to help create the Coloradan. My wife Barbara and I are long-time Alumni Association volunteers and appreciate how well the publication keeps people informed about what’s happening at ��.

I noticed something different in the summer issue that we just received: the “In Memoriam” section’s listings were sorted by last name rather than graduation year. Although I always at least scanned that section, as I’ve gotten older I tend to check it out more carefully. While that might sound kind of morbid, I graduated 45 years ago and the reality is that more of my contemporaries may be on the list now.

Can the data management folks in Advancement change the listings back to a more user-friendly format?

Thanks!

Ray Cooke (Fin’79)

El Segundo, California

Editor’s note: For the Fall 2024 issue, we have adjusted the magazine’s “In Memoriam” section to once again be chronological by graduation year.

Gladstone Tidings

Wow, what timing! This past weekend, I found the perfect spot in my living room to display "Gladstone, Colorado" by Muriel Sibell-Wolle, a gem I found at an estate sale recently. I could hardly believe it when I saw the photo with Sibell-Wolle and Gladstone in your final pages of the Summer 2024 issue. Thank you for a fun reminder of the small and beautiful world we live in as �� alumni. Acquiring Gladstone felt like receiving a long-overdue graduation present.

Sincerely,

Anna Penry Walker (RelSt’94)

Boulder

Memories of Southwestern CO

Thanks for the “Then” tribute to Muriel Sibell-Wolle. I have, and still refer to, her "Stampede to Timberline" and "Timberline Tailings" after all these years, having jeeped many of the so-called "roads" she describes, mostly in the San Juans in southwestern Colorado — often being terrified on many of them.

There is little as soul-lifting as the lush fields of August’s columbines nearing timberline in Yankee Boy Basin far above Ouray and enduring a mountain thunderstorm rolling down the canyon. Scattered there are the ashes of my beloved wife of 56+ years, and one day mine will join hers there.

Doug Irish (Law’63)

Scottsdale, Arizona

Summer (Issue) Fun

Thank you for the wonderful Summer 2024 edition of the Coloradan. It is always nice to catch up on art, science and athletics. I especially enjoyed the two music articles, the interview with the �� College of Music dean, and learning all about the New Orleans-style brass band in New York City. I also like the stunning photograph of Folsom Field from this year’s commencement. It reminds me of the times I played percussion in the �� summer band in the middle of the football field for Fourth of July concerts. Finally, I am happy that the �� Music Library has my books, articles and dissertation papers in collection. Thanks again for your excellent work!

Cordially,

Geary Larrick (DMA’84)

Glenview, Illinois

Radio 1190

I just got my alumni magazine in the mail today and I saw the article about Radio 1190. I was very active in the station and was a member of the air board during my stint there. I am so happy to see the station growing again. We had a lot of pride for the station, with shows like “Basementalism,” and we had earned our 10th "Best of Westword" award my last year there. We had something really special, and I was sad to hear that the station all but died in the years since.

I can see the station is in good hands, and in this resurgence of audio media and podcasts, I hope the station serves as a way to prepare a new group to entertain and inform new audiences.

Thank you,

Gabe Romero (PolSci’09)

Golden

His Holiness on Campus

Dear Editor,

Very nice photo with the Dalai Lama on page one. At UMass Boston, when my office was near the Boston Common, I was returning from lunch one spring day when I looked ahead of me and saw the Dalai Lama and his group walking toward me. I went up and introduced myself to him. He was in between meetings, so we agreed to sit on a park bench in the Common where we had an hour-long conversation. We had a wide ranging discussion before he had to move on to his next meeting. He was a very nice man, and I am pleased that a �� Boulder group was able to meet with him in India.

Philip S. Hart (Soc’66)

Los Angeles

Staying Current

I appreciate receiving the magazine. The stories are informative, educational, and intriguing, and it warms my heart to be kept abreast of all that is taking place at ��. Kudos to the editorial team!

Blessings,

Nancy Pelander Johnson (Span’77)

Mesa, Arizona

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Feedback: Summer 2024

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Feedback: Summer 2024 Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/16/2024 - 00:00

Fan of the Coloradan

I have wanted to tell you how great the last edition of the Coloradan is. I am an alumni of the class of 1964. I am very impressed with your editing and wanted you to know that and to tell several of the authors their articles were excellent. Lisa Marshall did a good job with her article, “Secrets from the Grave,” interesting. All the articles about the problems with the supply of water to the West were very informative. The short bios of those graduating were good. Elijah did a great job, and you can tell him if you like.

Bill Wilson (A&S’64)
Grand Junction, Colorado

Can’t Argue with Larry Zimmer!

The Coloradan is my favorite of all the magazines and newspapers that pile up around my recliner, and the last to be condemned to the recycle bin on trash day. I have great regard for it journalistically (said the retired journalist) and love the way it conjures up my �� recollections. Most of all I love the size. It’s so little and cute, which totally belies the quality within.

In the Spring 2024 edition, I was amazed and thrilled to see that Larry Zimmer, the late announcer for the Colorado Buffaloes, named the Sept. 24, 1994, “Miracle in Michigan” as his favorite football play out of the 486 �� football games he called over 42 years.

As one of the few �� alums screaming quite unpopularly amid a sea of maize ’n’ blue Wolverine fans in Michigan Stadium that day, I witnessed that miraculous Hail Mary pass from Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook. I can never forget how the capacity crowd of more than 100,000 fans sat stock still, stunned, for at least 15 minutes after the game was over. Nobody moved, as if to will the scoreboard back to 26-21 Michigan, where it was six seconds prior to that touchdown.

Thanks for the memories, Coloradan staff.

Jennifer L. Holmes (Edu’67)
Goodison, Michigan

Coloradan vs. Coloradoan

Not at peace with “Coloradans!” I’m a native, born and raised and for 72 years. It’s always been “Coloradoans,” and for me it shall stay “Coloradoans.” I’m trying to cope with all the unrecognizable landscape that surrounds me; and since I can’t halt progress, I shall at least hang onto my Coloradoan roots.

Jennie Schrock

[Editor’s Note: The distinction between Coloradoan and Coloradan is one of our most common questions. We addressed the distinction in our Spring 2019 issue. You can read the digital version here: Origins: Coloradan or Coloradoan?]

Rabbit Holes

Great content on what is one of my favorite rabbit holes to go down, Western water.

David Martus (Rec’88; MBA’97)
Boulder, Colorado

Cloud Seeding

I read with interest the article about cloud seeding in the latest issue of the Coloradan.

I wonder whether Professor Friedrich and the SNOWIE group have looked at the legal implications of their work. Grounds for an article or letter from a prof at the Law School?

Steven Bookshester (A&S’72)
Annapolis, Maryland

A Historical Event

I enjoyed reading about Professor Katja Friedrich and her cloud seeding work. Was 1946 really the year that cloud seeding was discovered? A historical event in San Diego in 1916 comes to mind.

There was a drought, so the City of San Diego hired Charles Hatfield, a former sewing machine salesman, to make rain. Mr. Hatfield built a tower, put a secret blend of chemicals on top and lit the concoction on fire. Fumes rose up into the clouds.

Unfortunately, Mr. Hatfield was too successful. Was it an El Nino year? There was a major flood that killed 22 people in the small city. Mr. Hatfield wisely did not stay around to collect his $10,000 fee.

Irene Eggers (MusEdu’60)
Wheat Ridge, Colorado

Water in the West

I enjoyed reading your article about the challenges of providing water to communities in the Mountain West. As the president of the board of directors for the San Lorenzo Valley Water District in Boulder Creek, California, I have a keen appreciation for the complexities of water supply and distribution. Here on the California coast we have many of the same issues you have in Colorado regarding water rights that in some cases go back to frontier times. Our water resource situation is very different, however. We are able to source our water from stream flow and wells in the local Santa Cruz Mountains, instead of relying upon distant rivers, large reservoirs and melting snow runoff from the Sierra Nevada.

A few challenges we face — winter mudslides and washouts that damage collection points, pipelines and treatment facilities, damage from a major forest fire in 2020 that burned 7 miles of plastic raw-water collection piping in steep terrain, and aging distribution infrastructure. Parts of our system still rely upon old Redwood tanks for water storage, but not for much longer.

Jeff Hill (MBA’72)
Scotts Valley, California

Solar Eclipse, �� Style

Grateful to the clouds for parting a bit for us to experience totality here in Austin. Incredible to see the street lights come on, animals quieted, and experience the moment with our neighbors. ��: Thanks for the glasses! #Eclipse2024 #SolarEclipse #ATX #ForeverBuffs

Elizabeth Eger (Comm, Engl’06; PhDComm’18)
Austin, Texas

Bennet’s Brick Oven

I’m responding to Earl Noe’s (Jour’66) comments in the Spring copy of the Coloradan regarding Bennet’s Brick Oven. I definitely remember eating at this pizza restaurant many times during my four years at ��.

I was a freshman in the fall of 1966 and spent many a time on the Hill eating at the various eateries that were available back then. Bennet’s was located diagonally across 13th St. from The Sink and a few doors up. I originally stumbled onto it and really enjoyed the thin crust pizza that they served. I have many fond memories of the variety of eats there were on the Hill and Bennet’s was one of my favorites. I remember the gentlemanly owner who ran the place. Always had a smile on his face when I came in.

Jim Trotsky (Bus’70)
Englewood, Colorado

Los Seis de Boulder

Thank you for sharing the beautiful sculpture by Jasmine Bates honoring Los Seis in the Spring Coloradan. I am a Class of ’84 Journalism grad and had never heard the tragic story. Maybe the cold case will heat up now.

Tracy Lehr (Jour’84)
Oxnard, California

A Cosmic Surprise

John and I would like to thank you for the genuine eclipse glasses. What a surprise! John graduated in 1959, and I was there two years and loved it. I am 85 and John is 87. We have lived in Dallas for 61 years of our 65 years of marriage. We met at �� and forever hold it in our hearts. Thank you for the reminder.

John Kochan (ElEngr’59) & Pat Wheelis Kochan (Art ex’61)
Dallas, Texas

Correction: In the sports section of the Spring issue, we incorrectly stated that the women’s soccer team made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 years. It was the first time since 2020. We regret the error.

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Photos courtesy University of Colorado and Elizabeth Eger

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Feedback: Spring 2024

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Feedback: Spring 2024 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/04/2024 - 00:00

Casa Bonita Musings

$40 million? We could build a new health clinic for outpatient care, with a welcoming building, a diagnostic testing laboratory, an X-ray department, a pharmacy, plenty of examination rooms with bright lights for the doctors, physicians assistants, nurses and patients, conference rooms and staff offices, a comfortable sunshine-filled waiting room, plus all of the equipment needed, large and small, down to the last bottle of rubbing alcohol and canister of fluffy white cotton balls, for $40 million. Just sayin’.

Nancy McCurdy (Mktg’90)
Denver

The current edition of the Coloradan features an article about Trey Parker (DistSt’18) and Matt Stone’s (FilmSt, Math’93) acquisition, renovation and relaunch of Casa Bonita. The article states Mr. Stone as having earned degrees in math and art. This is not accurate: Mr. Stone earned degrees in math (BA) and a BFA in film studies (currently “cinema studies & moving image arts”). We proudly list Mr. Stone as one of our alumni, and would really like to see a correction in your online issue and in your next print issue. The readers of the Coloradan should have accurate news and information about the institution that they so much love and support, and the individual departments should be acknowledged properly.

Ernesto R Acevedo-Muñoz
Professor, Chair, �� Boulder Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts Boulder

[Editor’s Note: We have updated Matt Stone’s degree information to reflect his film studies degree.]

Our readers also sounded off on social media about the 2023 Casa Bonita renovation:

They did a really great job with the restoration. The food is worth the price, and the entertainment is top-notch.

Eric Anhold (PolSci’00)
Via Facebook

Yay for Matt and Trey and saving Casa Bonita! Always enjoyed it as a kid.

Susan Schlatter (Psych’93)
Via Facebook

Fantastic alumni story.

Chris Rockne (MechEngr’07; MS’07)
Via Facebook

During my four years at �� (1990–94), I recall on several occasions walking past the fine arts building on the way to the UMC from my dorm at Cheyenne Arapaho. I’d see the students on the grass, and I arrogantly thought to myself — “what a bunch of suckers studying art.” Not long after graduating, I learned that two of those actual “suckers” were the geniuses behind the show I was then obsessed with: South Park. I got such a kick out of realizing how stupid I was back then, and I still tell that story to anyone who foolishly tries to reduce someone’s path. Shout out to �� fine arts. And shout out to Matt and Trey for repping the Buffs as good as anyone ever did.

@themiket
Via Instagram

This is so awesome for me — a reminder of fond trips to Casa as a family when I was young, and then even sweetened as I remember reading Matt and Trey’s cartoons when I was at Boulder during the same time.

@carterasc5
Via Instagram

A Gift from Betty Woodman

I worked for Betty Woodman [Origins, Fall 2023], and she gave me a very large teapot at my wedding reception that she attended. I have a photo of her at my reception which would have been about 1970.

Marie McCreery (A&S’67)
Niwot, Colorado

From Casa Bonita to Star Trek

Lovely job — thank you. I really enjoyed your stories on the remodeling and new ownership of Casa Bonita, and on the science advisor for Star Trek.

Sabrina Sideris (Engl, Hist’00)
Niwot, Colorado

The Tiny Hill Diner

It was with something of a shock I opened the fall issue of the Coloradan and saw the photograph of the little diner that sat just across Pennsylvania Street opposite The Sink. For years I have interrogated friends and acquaintances, even Boulder history writers, in search of someone else who remembers this diner. At some point, it simply vanished. I had begun to think of it as a will o’ the wisp.

But here is the Twilight Zone part: Contrary to the account in the Coloradan, I could not have eaten there prior to the summer of ’63, which was when I came to Boulder, and I remember it being the Buff Top Hat Diner.

Now if I can only find someone else who remembers Bennet’s Brick Oven.

Earl Noe (Jour’66)
Boulder

Are We Ready for Self-Driving Cars?

In reference to the Fall 2023 article “Is the World Ready for Self-Driving Cars?,” an image by Sam Gross from page 21 of Everyone’s a Critic: The Ultimate Cartoon Book edited by Bon Eckstein.

Ernst Anton Kemper (ChemEngr’59)
Lakewood, Colorado

Coloradan Shenanigans

I’d like to share my recent experience regarding the alumni magazine. My son Page (CivEngr’05; MS’15) and I are both �� graduates, so we’re both on your list to receive the Coloradan. However, for many years his copy has come to my address. I asked him to notify you of this but he couldn’t be bothered. So, every time it comes, I hand off his copy, usually in a batch of articles I’ve curated for him from magazines and newspapers. When I hand him one of these envelopes, he goes through it, surreptitiously or blatantly, and when he finds the Coloradan he sneaks it back into my stuff, under the windshield wiper or slipped through a cracked-open window of my car. We’ve played this game a looong time.

But this Christmas he took it to the next level. When I visited, he told me to sit down and close my eyes. When he said I could look, there was the cover of the Fall 2023 Coloradan on a shower curtain. Of course, it was his copy, with his name and my address. We laughed and laughed, after which I was left wondering, “How do I top this?”

Clearly, the only way to go one better is to have you print the shower curtain pic in your next issue, and to update his listing to his address!

Without silliness, we are all doomed.

Nancy Ball Weil (Russ’77)
Denver

��’s First Female Olympians

I’d like to offer a fact check and possible correction on page 65 of the Fall Coloradan.

According to my research, �� ski coach Bob Beattie took over the U.S. ski team in 1962. He created a de facto national training center at �� and most of the men and women lived in Boulder and went to ��. Some were down the road at DU and some not in college, and at least one was too young and went to high school in Boulder. �� this time of year they would take “incompletes” in their classes and head to Europe to race, then come back and continue classes in the spring. They also trained at Eldora and on St. Mary’s Glacier. In the spring of 1963, that ��/U.S. program became the core of the 1964 Olympic team. Again Boulder was the epicenter, and most of the team that went to the Innsbruck Games were full or part-time �� students. So, this leads me to believe the note in the Coloradan about Sandy Hildner (A&S’67) [“THEN,” Fall 2023] might not be accurate.

I was on the B team in 1976, did some pro skiing, then helped with the �� skiing program working for then-head coach Tim Hinderman. Later I worked for filmmaker Warren Miller and have been involved in the ski industry in various ways ever since. This includes occasional writing gigs.

David Butterfield (Hum’81)
Ketchum, Idaho

[Editor’s Note: Further research shows that while Sandy Hildner was among ��’s first female Olympians, she was not necessarily the first. We regret the reporting error.]

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Photos courtesy Nancy Ball Weil (shower curtain); Marie McCreery (Woodman photo); Casa Bonita
Illustration by Sam Gross from Everyone's a Critic by Bob Eckstein © 2019; Used with permission from Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco.

Casa Bonita, automatic cars and nostalgic memories.

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Feedback: Fall 2023

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Feedback: Fall 2023 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/06/2023 - 00:00

The Prime Effect

Coach Prime is spot on with his observation regarding the ambience and culture of the Boulder campus [Summer 2023 cover story]. To be successful at this level, the program must attract the best talent in the country regardless of race. The program and the community must “get in the game,” as the coach says. All of our players must feel comfortable in Boulder. Let’s all make that happen for them.

William Childers (EPOBio’75)
Durango, Colorado

While everyone seems to be overjoyed that the obviously talented Deion Sanders has been hired, I have some questions regarding how this advances the educational mission of the university. His $5 million per year salary and the other expenses of the football program are enormous. Do any of the revenues to the football program go to academic programs or buildings or academic scholarships?

Peter Urone (Phys’65; PhD’70)
El Dorado Hills, California

[Editor’s Note: The �� Athletic Department operates its own budget that is completely independent of �� Boulder’s operating budget. The department’s revenue is largely made up of media rights fees, ticket sales to events, sponsorships and donors. This revenue is in turn largely dedicated to student-athlete resources related to academics, mental health, nutrition and career services.]

Very impressive interview with Coach Prime. This was so much more meaningful than any other report in the local paper or other media. I wish we could have dinner together so he could meet a normal resident of Boulder who remembers his track coach with fondness and a recipe for life.

Spense Havlick
Boulder, Colorado

Thanks for the Coloradan article on new �� head football coach Sanders. Your article really straightens out what the general media has been saying. He is primarily a teacher, and that is good.

Geary Larrick (DMus’84)
Glenview, Illinois

You are to be commended for your article “Prime Time in Boulder” featuring Deion Sanders. I am a graduate of �� who over the past few decades has become more disenchanted and ashamed of my alma mater. In the past few years the culture of the school has drifted more to the progressive left.

When I first picked up this recent copy of the Coloradan with Mr. Sanders on the front, I almost immediately went to trash it. However, something compelled me to read your article; and I can tell you that for the first time in years I felt proud of the direction the school seems to be headed. This is a man who truly has all of the attributes of a winner; and it is understandable why the school has been all abuzz.

I will be sending your article to my three sons, as well as numerous friends who will be blessed by this man.

Thank you so much for being a part of taking the school in a new and “winner” direction.

Rev. Samuel H. Shafer (A&S’63)
Oakland, California

Punch Cards

I read with interest the short article “�� Boulder Computing: Punch Cards to AI.” You’re mistaken in stating that classes were graduate level only. In 1972, a new A&S major was announced — mathematics with a computer science option. I was in those first classes graduating in fall 1973 with that degree.

We had no books and all our work was done with technical papers. I also worked in the computer center on the help desk with the punch cards and helping students review issues with their green bar results. I recently retired from a long career in computer science and systems management that was made possible by that new degree option.

Gale Bridgeman (Math’73)
Grand Prairie, Texas

I used punch cards in my business statistics class in 1967. I believe they were using an IBM computer. We punched the cards, stacked them in order and waited for the results on a printout the next day.

Joseph Gorski (Fin, Mktg’69)
Conroe, Texas

The Sink … And Clothes

Regarding your Sink story [Spring 2023 issue], I have many Sink memories, and some of them, strangely enough, center around clothes.

I am a member of a �� legacy family, the Garbarino-Miles clan featured in your Spring 2017 issue. I grew up in and around Boulder, and one of my earliest memories is being with my grandparents (James Pike and Alice Miles Pike) and parents for lunch at the Sunken Gardens after church. These seemingly very long lunches involved my staying in my starched, itchy church clothes the whole time.

Later, in the 1950s, as a �� student there were unwritten rules in lots of groups about what to wear on campus. But it was permissible on Friday nights to wear Levis (often with fraternity letters painted on the seat) to drink red beer at The Sink.

One night a group of us snuck out of the sorority house after hours. We were in our pajamas and went to The Sink to pick up snacks and then went to the Boulder Theater, still in pajamas, for the late movie. We got home safely via the fire escape. Being relatively law abiding and extremely chicken I never did anything like that again.

Nancy Pike Hause (Jour’53)
Estes Park, Colorado

The Roof of Old Main

Saw the article on the upcoming renovation of Old Main and wanted to share a couple photos [my friends and I] took just before we graduated in 1981. I don’t even remember how we got access to the roof of Old Main, but somehow, that happened!

John Schwartz (EnvDes’81)
Bellevue, Washington

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Photos courtesy John Schwartz

Reader's thoughts on the last issue

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Anonymous — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Feedback Spring 2021 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/18/2021 - 00:00

Social Buffs

'Tis the Season for Buffs Pride

#skobuffs @elerik ledezma

A Buffs Fan in the Wild

@scottdbender

Best Pals on Campus

@denver_dood

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Beyond a Moment, a

Movement

What a phenomenally powerful piece! As a multi-generation �� Buff, these essays will open up some important conversations with my family.

Kristi Bishop (Mktg’07; MBA’10) Erie, Colorado

I grew up in Boulder in the 1940s and 50s, living in the rooming and boarding house my mother ran for college students on the Hill. The Coloradan always brings back powerful memories. The Fall 2020 issue with its emphasis on racism was particularly meaningful given my subsequent involvement with the civil rights movement. During vacations with the �� dorms closed, my mother would feed those (mainly international) students who were not able to return home, with a special meal at Thanksgiving. I got an amazing education eating with them.

Ray McKinnis
(Phil’61) Raleigh, North Carolina

COVID Economy

Thanks for the feature on Richard Wobbekind. I first met Rich in the late 1980s when I began my career in local and regional economic development. We’ve been collaborators ever since and now are friends, too. Much of what I know about the Boulder and Colorado economies I learned from him. “First and foremost an educator,” indeed!

Clif Harald
(DistSt’75) Boulder

Fake News

I take issue with the “Fake News” article in the recent Coloradan. There have been recent congressional hearings on the unmitigated power of organizations such as Facebook, Google and Twitter. Interestingly, �� professors Hopp and Ferrucci write that Facebook now removes news it deems inaccurate and sends out warnings to those who have liked or shared it. The question I would ask — who is to judge our freedom of speech? Short of obscene content, I would say it is entirely up to the reader to decide, not journalists, professors or tech giants.

Pete Rabbitt
(Mktg’64) Newport Beach, California

The issue of misleading the public through incorrect information or deliberate disinformation cannot be overemphasized. Tiny, local events can be magnified and dispersed as “national news” via a simple post on the internet. Fabricated posts — designed to distort facts and inflame human emotions — are used to distort our values as a nation and incite distrust and hostility among our citizens. The “Fake News” article in the fall issue of the Coloradan only touches the surface of this clear and present danger to our democracy. I suggest developing a focus group — made up of individuals at �� in collaboration with other institutions in the state — to develop a concerted effort and strategies to help turn this around. It’s not enough to just sit back and think or write about it. Our “best and the brightest” need to start changing how we deal with this attack on our information systems, with intent to disrupt, manipulate and tear apart our society.

John Radley Matis
(Geol’67) Loveland, Colorado

I wanted to respond to the article titled “Fake News.” Unfortunately, this article misses the point. No doubt there are many fake stories of the kind the author points out — I do not question those. But what the author, and most likely the university, fails to recognize is that most mainstream media has gradually become fake — meaning they only espouse and endlessly push one left-leaning ideology.

When I was a journalism student at �� in the early 90s, we discussed concerns about concentration of ownership, but nothing was done about it. And here we are, where one idea — progressivism, globalism, name your ism — is all the media will show. I hope universities, the news, social media and tech companies start re-embracing a respect for the free exchange of ideas that the First Amendment protects, then start rejecting the concept of “safe spaces” where no one can even consider ideas to wrangle the best ones.

Laura Wright
(Jour’92) Fort Worth, Texas

Yard Signs

With �� being a forerunner on environmentalism, I would have hoped that the “Yard Signs” article would have noted the massive downside of all those signs. So. Many. Signs. Welcome to preschool, every team ever played on, every birthday, graduation, political signs... Here’s a movement: Stop putting out so many signs, and spare our earth all the vast dumping of signs in landfills — not to mention the mining, energy production and most likely toxic paints and dyes that go into making them.

Natalie Nordin
(Econ’93) Atlanta, Georgia

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