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UN I V E R S I T Y O F D E N V E R 0 7 . 2 0 0 9

CAMPUS | NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE | RESEARCH ARTS | EVENTS | PEOPLE

Stubbed out
Campus to be smoke-free under new policy
Inside
• L acrosse coach
• S hakespeare quiz
A n effort to simplify and extend the University
policy on smoking will go into effect Jan. 1,
2010, making DU one of a handful of smoke-
• Carbon neutrality
free campuses in Colorado. • Self-defense class
The decision comes on the heels of
nearly two years of surveys, letters, • Soap opera star
petitions, research and debate on
smoking policy that considered
everything from smoking areas
marked by yellow umbrellas to a
total ban on all tobacco products.
“A complete ban on the use or
possession of legal tobacco prod-
ucts among the DU community is
not reasonable,” Chancellor Robert
Coombe said in a letter to the DU
community. “[DU] does not regulate
legal personal choice unless such choice
has a deleterious effect on the community as The Class of 1959 recently
a whole. … At DU, personal choice is a part of per- celebrated its 50th reunion
sonal growth.” on campus. Here are some
The policy will prohibit smoking in all locations on campus except for an area 25 feet from public facts about the class:
perimeter rights-of-way. Also exempted from the ban are two yet-to-be designated smoking areas out- • T he number of 1959
side the Ritchie Center and the Newman Center that will be available to smokers during public events. graduates from all schools is
University officials said the new standard also will apply to off-campus university-owned buildings. 1,547.
“It’s a public health issue,” says Dr. Sam Alexander, director of the Health and Counseling Center,
• T he number of 1959
who spearheaded a DU Tobacco Task Force that examined the issue. “Our main concern was the effect
graduates residing in
of secondhand smoke on the health of people who choose not to smoke.” Colorado is 347.
Nationally, there are about 150 institutions that are smoke free or tobacco free.
• In 1959 the business school
According to a survey conducted by the DU Tobacco Task Force, 62 percent of students, 73 percent
was located in downtown
of staff and 61 percent of faculty support a smoke-free campus. The survey indicated that 4 percent
Denver.
of students smoke regularly on campus, another 4 percent smoke socially on and off campus, and 8
percent smoke socially off campus. • Tuition was $15 a credit
hour.
According to research compiled by the Tobacco Task Force, the danger for nonsmokers is in the
carcinogens in secondhand smoke, which can cause lung cancer, heart disease and asthma in non- • More students attended
smokers and pose a danger even in “occasional exposure.” football games than hockey
—Richard Chapman games.
DU names new men’s lacrosse head coach
Princeton men’s lacrosse coach
Thou shalt know
Bill Tierney has been named the head Shakespeare?
men’s lacrosse coach at the University
of Denver. If you are a student at University Park
During his 22 seasons with Elementary School, then you likely do. For
Princeton, Tierney led the Tigers to six
NCAA championships, eight NCAA 10 of the last dozen years, a team
Beverly Schaefer/Princeton OAC

championship games, 10 NCAA Final of fifth-graders from UPark


Four appearances and 14 Ivy League has crushed all-comers at
championships. He compiled a 238–
86 career record at Princeton and has
the annual Denver Public
a career collegiate record of 272–93 Schools Shakespeare
for a .745 winning percentage. Festival trivia contest just
In 1992, Tierney won the Morris Touchstone Award as the Division I Coach of the Year to
as it did in early May. Try
go along with the Division III Coach of the Year honor he received in 1983 at Rochester Institute
of Technology. He was elected to the Long Island Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1994 and your luck:
the New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1999.
Outside of his collegiate coaching honors, Tierney coached the United States to a world 1. Queen Elizabeth was a descendant of
championship in 1998 and was inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame as part of the 2002 what royal blood line?
class.
2. Who did Queen Elizabeth marry?
Tierney replaces Jamie Munro, who resigned on May 7 after posting a 91–70 mark in 11
seasons. Tierney began as head coach of the Pioneers on July 1. 3. In what Shakespeare play is the
—Athletics Media Relations following quote: “A horse, a horse! My
kingdom for a horse!”

DU seeks carbon neutrality by 2050 1. The Tudors 2. No one 3. Richard III


Answers
More than a year in the making, the University of Denver’s plan for achieving carbon
neutrality has been approved and the goal is set.
Under the plan, by the year 2050, DU will achieve climate neutrality. The plan is one of
the promises the University made in 2007 when Chancellor Robert Coombe signed on to the
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UN I V E R S I T Y O F D E N V E R

American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.


The commitment defines climate neutrality as “having no net greenhouse gas (GHG) w w w. d u . e d u / t o d a y
emissions, to be achieved by minimizing GHG emissions as much as possible, and using carbon Volume 32, Number 10

offsets or other measures to mitigate the remaining emissions.” Vice Chancellor for University
DU’s plan was crafted by the Sustainability Council, a collaborative body made up of Communications
Carol Farnsworth
students, faculty and staff and led by outgoing chairman Fred Cheever and Lyndsay Agans, lead
Publications Director
writer and incoming chair. The 93-page document lays the groundwork for what will be an Chelsey Baker-Hauck (BA ’96)
ongoing effort to reduce carbon emissions, achieve new energy efficiencies and change the way
Managing Editor
the University uses energy. Kathryn Mayer (BA ’07)
The proposal focuses on conservation, reduced consumption, and appropriate alternative Art Director
energy sources. Craig Korn, VeggieGraphics
DU already has taken steps toward its goal, including producing a full inventory of the Community News is published monthly by the
University’s greenhouse gas emissions and adding an energy engineer to look for ways DU can University of Denver, University Communications,
2199 S. University Blvd., Denver, CO 80208. The
be more sustainable. In the past year, DU has substantially boosted its recycling campaign, added University of Denver is an EEO/AA institution.
vehicles that run on cleaner-burning compressed natural gas and kicked off a bicycle-sharing
program.
The plan calls for everything from generating some of the University’s own power to Contact Community News at 303-871-4312
including a curriculum in sustainability so that future generations will continue the fight for carbon or tips@du.edu
To receive an e-mail notice upon the
neutrality. publication of Community News, contact us
—Chase Squires with your name and e-mail address.

2
Strike force
On-campus self-defense class packs a punch

A woman walks home after a night out,

Wayne Armstrong
striding down a poorly lit side street
without trepidation. She’s heard the oft-
repeated statistic that one in four women will
be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, but her
confidence in the precautions she has taken
— carrying pepper spray and chatting with a
friend on the phone, a measure intended to
ensure she returns home safely — assuages
any instinctual unease.
Preoccupied, she doesn’t notice the
approaching stranger. As she gropes for the
pepper spray in her purse, her hands come up
empty. The stranger makes his move. The call
ends and her friend, although disturbed by the
abrupt goodbye, can only guess at the reason
and her friend’s location.
This sort of scenario concerns DU Campus
Safety Sergeant Jason McKelvy and his fellow
officers, who regularly see students ambling
across campus, distracted by their cell phones
A self-defense student practices her striking technique on a mock attacker.
and oblivious to their surroundings.
So, each quarter, Campus Safety offers a
basic physical defense course through RAD, the largest self-defense training network in the country.
Being cognizant of possible threats and putting away the cell phone can make a world of difference.
“Ninety-percent of self-defense education is awareness,” says RAD instructor Kelly Raeburn. “By educating participants about what makes
women more vulnerable to attacks, we hope women will have a heightened awareness of their surroundings and avoid a confrontation.”
Open to students, employees and members of the public, RAD also teaches women how to use their personal weapons — voice, hands,
feet, elbows, etc. — to survive dangerous situations like the stranger-on-the-sidewalk scenario.
A woman’s voice, instructors emphasize, is her most valuable weapon because predators don’t want to fight or attract attention.
Consequently, assertive verbal commands like “stay back” and “no,” as opposed to screaming, can help prevent an altercation.
Participants spend most of the three-day, four-hour-long course learning and practicing a comprehensive array of combative methods for
blocking advances, striking back and, above all, escaping physical confrontations.
“When in an altercation, the adrenaline kicks in and humans have a tendency to revert to what they feel most comfortable with and what
feels natural to them so these skills are simple to learn and retain,” says McKelvy.
By the final class, participants have learned how to favorably alter the possible outcomes of the stranger-on-the-sidewalk scenario.
So a woman, having completed RAD training, knows to be aware of her surroundings and gets a good look at the stranger’s face as he
approaches. “Stay back,” she would shout with authority, shifting her right-foot back into a balanced stance, bringing the left-arm up to block
and securing a fist with her right-hand.
She knows to aim her strike at vulnerable areas such as the nose or throat, to anticipate the direction of her attacker’s counterstrike by
watching his shoulders and to continue voicing assertive commands so as to attract attention. She knows to steady her breathing and prevent
panic from freezing her. She knows how to survive and believes she can.
Empowerment and confidence is the end goal of the course, says Raeburn.
“The most important thing I hope women walk away from the basic physical defense course with is that no matter their age or physical
ability, they are not powerless if confronted by an attacker.”
“I thought it was a good class for us,” says Denver resident Monique Cameron, who took the class with her 12-year-old daughter. “Jazmyn
is not confrontational like her mother. I’ve always felt I could defend myself, but now I am more confident that Jazz can.”
Women interested in taking a RAD class can e-mail Tyrone Mills at tyrone.mills@du.edu or visit www.du.edu/campus-safety/rad.htm. The
course costs $25. Courses can be scheduled upon request.
—Samantha Stewart
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[Events]
July

Arts Real-life lawyer plays serial killer on soap opera


12 Rafael Mendez Brass It looks like Sean Moynihan has two lives to live
Institute. Hosted by the after all.
Lamont School of Music. For In the early 1990s, Moynihan (JD ’04) was a regu-
information, contact director
Alan Hood at ahood@du.edu or lar on the soap opera “One Life to Live.” Now, he’s a
visit www.mendezbrassinstitute. Denver deputy district attorney living a “normal” life.
com. But, most normal attorneys don’t get calls from
television writers asking if they’d like to return for a
16 Rocky Mountain
Conservatory Theatre’s 10-episode stint.
Annie Jr. Noon and 6 “I was a little shocked,” he says about the call ask-
p.m. Margery Reed Hall, ing him to return as his character Powell Lord. His
Little Theatre. Additional episodes recently aired on ABC.
performances July 17 at noon
The last time viewers saw Lord, the killer and
and 6 p.m. and July 18 at noon
and 5 p.m. Visit RMCTonline. rapist was sent to a psychiatric hospital. “He was a
Courtesy of ABC Television Network

com for tickets and information. college boy who got involved with some bad college
boys. He’s certainly done some bad things,” Moynihan
26 Lamont cello camp. Through
July 30. For information, contact says.
director Richard Slavich at That was 15 years ago.
rslavich@du.edu or www. “I haven’t heard from them [since then],” Moyni-
rockymountaincellofest.org. han says. “I kind of moved on.”
It’s a far cry from the life he has now. He lives in
Around Campus Boulder County, Colo., with his wife and two young children.
After “One Life to Live,” Moynihan moved to Los Angeles and guest starred on shows such as
3 Independence Day holiday. “Caroline in the City” and “Sliders.” But the L.A. lifestyle proved to be unstable. So he moved to
Campus closed. Denver and applied to DU’s Sturm College of Law.
4 Fourth of July annual parade. “I’m glad they gave me a shot; they gave me an opportunity,” he says of DU.
10 a.m. Observatory Park. “It was a very rich and rewarding experience,” Moynihan says, adding that he got to apply him-
Community welcome. self much more than he did as an undergraduate at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
18 Women’s College Open “For three years, I had the luxury of dropping out from the workforce and jumping into learning
House. 10 a.m. Chambers the law.”
Center. That jump landed him in the Denver district attorney’s office. Moynihan took off about seven
days this spring to take two separate trips to New York City to film the shows.
“I enjoyed walking along the streets of New York again,” he says. “For a brief moment, I was a
professional actor; I was no longer a lawyer.”
It took some warming up at first, though. “The first few episodes I was a little nervous, a little
stiff,” Moynihan says. “The more I did it, the more I loosened up.”
He hadn’t been acting except for a few local events “just for fun,” he says. And he hadn’t really
planned on it, either.
“It was like going back into a time warp,” he says. “It was really bizarre.”
But a good bizarre, he clarifies.
Does the soap character have one more life to live? “There are no plans as of now. I viewed it
as a lark. But if they were to inquire again, I’d certainly consider it.”
Perhaps he should.
Powell Lord got shot in his last episode, but it wasn’t clear whether he lived or died.
iStockphoto

“I certainly miss [the show],” Moynihan says, “but I have a good life here, too.”
—Kathryn Mayer

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