If the sidewalk adjacent to Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) building is any indication, the city’s pedestrians are in dire straits.
“Our infrastructure for sidewalks in Denver is not acceptable and leads to some pedestrian issues and traffic fatalities because people don’t have the means to walk safely around the city,” said Adrienne Razavi, the organizing manager at the Denver Streets Partnership.
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Even though Colorado consumers threw roughly 5.9 million tons of trash into landfills in 2020, according to the State of Recycling & Composting in Colorado Report, getting the trash into landfills and out of Colorado streets may just be the first hurdle to tackle.
This article addresses the state of littering throughout Colorado and sheds light onto the increasing issue in the state. According to Colorado’s statute § 18-4-511, The term “litter” is defined as all rubbish, waste material, refuse, garbage, trash, debris, or other foreign substances, solid or liquid, of every form, size, kind, and description. The statue also defines a person who litters as any person who deposits, throws, or leaves any litter on any public or private property or in any waters.
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On May 2, 2022, the news outlet, Politico, received a leaked draft of the draft opinion that is 98 pages long. The incredibly rare leak of the supreme court decision revealed that the court will reconsider the standing of the Roe v. Wade case.
In 1973, Roe v. Wade was brought to the supreme court to settle whether abortions should be regulated or proscribed during the first trimester of one’s pregnancy. The supreme court came to the consensus that the woman should come to a decision with the consultation of her physician.
“I think Roe v. Wade opened doors for women in many ways. For example, it helped women who don’t have money or aren’t white. Many institutions make it hard to be a single mother and if you don’t have those resources, then getting an abortion is an important way to preserve your own life,” political science major at the University of Denver Ellie Stetson said.
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Metro Denver has been experiencing a rise in homelessness within the past few years, and it has become more noticeable by those local to the Denver area. Homelessness has been a prominent issue in the United States for some time, and U.S. citizens have been urging higher powers to do something to put an end to it, or at least slow it down.
In a poll conducted by the Gallup Organization in April 2022, they asked a sample of 1,018 American adults about what the most important problem facing the United States is. Only 3% of those polled said homelessness. The top three problems according to the poll-takers included: the government/poor leadership (20%), high cost of living/inflation (17%), and the economy in general (12%). All of these issues can correlate with the nationwide problem of homelessness.
Though some of the overall numbers of homeless people in the country have decreased, it is becoming more of a problem state by state, especially in larger metro-areas such as Denver.
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The main mission of Divest DU is to get the University of Denver to stop investing in the fossil fuel industry, which many view as untenable as a future major source of energy.
Founded at the University of Denver, Divest DU is an on campus student-run organization at the University of Denver self-described as a “student activist organization aiming to push the university to become fossil free,” according to their website mission statement.
The statement continues, “Divest DU organizes campaigns to both divest from fossil fuels and re-invest in renewable energy. Students aim to hold the University of Denver accountable to its mission of “a private university dedicated to the public good” through the lens of climate justice.”
“DU has invested a lot of money in fossil fuels, and we hope to change that by actively protesting against it,” stated Ally Corradimo, the vice president of Divest DU.
“We have a responsibility to guide our University towards divesting from fossil fuels,” continued Corradimo.
Made up of 4 officers and around 78 overall members according to their website, Divest DU still manages to run many on campus events supporting their cause, such as on campus protests and calls to action to the University.
The most recent protest occurred on June 3, and was held at Carnegie Green on campus at the University of Denver. Students from another on campus action group called Students Against Investment in Fossil Fuels (SAIFF) also joined the protest.
One student attending the protest stated that “DU has a lot of infrastructure related to being sustainable, and often pushes that message, but has all this money tied up in fossil fuels? It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
The organization has also performed acts of protest in other ways besides gathering:
In 2020, students from the group hung a large white banner above the Josef Korbel school of International Relations, and called out the University for investing $22.6 million dollars invested into fossil fuel related holdings.
Another member of Divest DU, Martine Gelb, stated that “I am very upset that DU is choosing to invest in a climate disaster instead of protecting the future of its students.”
The group is targeting the Board of Trustees at the University of Denver, and has been for quite a few years now, but the group is just now garnering a larger quantity of support.
“We started getting really active in 2020,” continued Gelb. “People really began to care more about the cause, climate change, and the planet overall.”
Many students feel the same way as Gelb, and it shows. Divest DU sports an instagram page with 610 followers, a good following for an on campus student group. The Facebook page for the group also has 832 likes and 854 followers, a healthy group in size.
However, only 690 people have officially signed the change.org petition for Divest DU, which is a smaller number than is reflected in their online following presence.
When asked about this discrepancy, Vice President Corradimo stated “It is a lot easier just to have people say they will support a cause than to actually see them do something about it,”
“We have tried to offer more student friendly ways to support, especially this past year. Our most recent event was an on campus pot luck party to celebrate the achievements of the year,” continued Corradimo.
Other events held by Divest DU this year included an open mic night and a food and game night, all hosted on campus and in support of the cause.
“I think it is nice that they are trying to get more students involved, but I am skeptical as to how easy it will be to get support during the summer months,” stated Becket Mohns, a student at the University interviewed for his thoughts about Divest DU.
“I can see support falling off as students return home and could forget about it,” he continued.
The group leaders, however, maintain their confidence that Divest DU will continue to fight for DU to make the decision to stop investing in fossil fuels.
“Hopefully the younger classes will be able to take on the torch we are passing and keep protesting for Divest DU in new and meaningful ways,” stated Vice President Corradimo.
[The march for reproductive rights in downtown Denver. Photo courtesy of Alexis Spittal]
On Monday, May 2, 2022, the first draft of the Supreme Court’s majority motion written by Justice Samuel Alito to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the general public. The historic decision is slated to be deliberated and finalized in the coming two months.
Roe v. Wade was a landmark lawsuit that lead to a Supreme Court ruling in 1973 that solidified a woman’s constitutional right to abortion, especially in the first trimester when a fetus lacks viability and deduced that governments could not impose a regulation that favors a fetus’s life over that of the mother.
The case pursued was between Jane Roe (a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey) who was a 22-year-old unemployed Texan who was pregnant for the third time. Her opposition was Henry Wade, the Dallas District Attorney, who enforced the state law that abortions were only permissible to save a woman’s life. Though the court ultimately sided with Roe, she had already given birth and placed the child up for adoption.
Though this is the first change to be proposed on a national scale, this is not the first time abortion rights have been challenged in recent years. With a 5 to 4, conservative anti-abortion majority in the Supreme Court, it is believed that the turnaround with has been a long time coming.
In 2020 Louisiana proposed an abortion law that required abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of their clinics before they could offer the service which would have shut down all but one of the state’s abortion clinics. This was identical to a similar bill proposed in Texas in 2016.
Since the establishment of Roe v. Wade states have enacted 1,313 abortion restrictions. Between January and June 7, 2020, 561 abortion restrictions and 165 trigger bans in preparation of the overturning.
Texas’s, “heartbeat ban” was the most strict of those enacted in recent years. This ban prohibits abortion as soon as fetal heart activity can be detected and allows anyone to sue the abortion provider or other individuals who assisted the woman in receiving the abortion financially or through transportation.
Most women don’t find out they are pregnant until two weeks after their first missed period, which coincides with the time the heartbeat begins. Pregnancy is only detected three to four weeks from the last day of the most recent period and tests are only designed to detect human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) which is produced 6 days after fertilization.
With this potential revision of the court’s stance on a woman’s bodily autonomy, many are concerned that the precedent could lead to changing circumstances in other facets of life such as the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, and impose further racial divides. For example, the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia established a right to interracial marriage could be at risk as well.
“The overturning of Roe v. Wade means that every person who has been discriminated against and then protected by a ruling now has a new cause to worry. Women, in general, are going to continue to lose power because conservatives and liberals are being pitted against each other to make choices for every woman even when it doesn’t concern us specifically,” said Claire Broemmer, a freshman criminology student at DU.
The stigma around abortion comes largely from those that oppose it. Historically, conservatives post outside of Planned Parenthood with signs preaching “murder” and “the right to live”. The Planned Parenthood in Arvada, CO sends a disclaimer to those seeking an appointment that they often get protesters out front who have a tendency to yell and throw trash.
“ A lot of people in my family were raised Mormon or are Mormon so most of them are anti-abortion, but a lot of times when I talk to them I feel like the difference in beliefs isn’t that stark if you take the time to understand. A lot of religious people have anti-abortion views I think because they think that people that advocate for abortions are having sex willy-nilly and not being responsible when that’s not really the case. Most of the time when I talk about abortion, I’m not even thinking about late-term abortions where the fetus would be viable at that point whereas when my dad is thinking about abortion he’s thinking of late-term,” said Annalyn Jensen, a student at Utah State University and a member of the Mormon Church.
Such contrast in thinking is highly evident in instances such as when Republican Rep. Mike Johnson if Louisiana demanded a gynecologist give her stance on abortions “halfway out of the birth canal”. To which she responded that such occurrences are unfathomable.
The loss of the fight for abortion rights can inevitably influence the contraceptive market. With condoms running on average at a dollar each and birth control at $30-50, there are growing concerns about accessibility to such resources.
“I believe that the rulings in states like Texas are providing a map for the Supreme Court and other states to restrict access to basic medical care for women and trans folks. I think we will begin to see increased debates about sex education in public schools like we have been witnessing with “critical race theory.” As these white Christian nationalist trends amplify, access to accurate and vital information will become increasingly restricted from young folks,” said Taylor Wesley, Social Justice Professor at DU.
Wesley goes on to explain that it is highly likely that this ruling was leaked as a means to dampen opposition and outrage before its official rendering with the ability to garner votes and mitigate.
“Unfortunately, I do not believe that those in power feel like they need to listen to or follow the people at this point. For the people, by the people was always rather meaningless in terms of representation and exclusion, however, it has become increasingly devoid of meaning (especially re: material change). The wealthy/political elite (including political institutions) are not held accountable and have not been for a long time — to deleterious effect,” said Wesley.
Though action may not create a significant impact in the minds of the Supreme Court themselves, that has not stopped many women, uterus wielding, and allied people from taking to the streets to protest.
“Overturning Roe will just cement the fact in American politics that we don’t live in a democracy and can’t trust our government as it exists to act on behalf of people and their desires and rights. The ruling would give power to the voices of an extremist minority that cares about “traditional” relations between genders, said Aidan Phillips, a freshman international studies major at DU.
Despite the constant backlash, restrictions, and opposing state rulings, Roe v. Wade has stood the test of time among other monumental court cases that dictate the sociopolitical state of the nation. In recent months, it remains to be seen just how drastically that sociopolitical climate will change.
The streets of Louisville Colorado show a bleak new reality for homeowners throughout the western United States.
On December 30 2021 a grass fire by hurricane-force winds burned 1,084 structures in Louisville and the neighboring town of Superior.
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Greek life has been around for many years in the United States, including, the University of Denver. Students at DU have viewed and commented on Greek life with skepticism. It’s not uncommon in today’s discussions and news articles for criticism about the history of hazing and associated deaths across time. Others say Greek life offers many benefits that more than overshadow the darker history.
Interviews at the University of Denver show a variety of views on sorority life and, in particular, its impact at DU student’s college experience.
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The American housing market is one that has seen immense change in the 21st century. It is often viewed as a pivotal marker of economic health in the US.
Young people all over the country are having doubts about whether or not they will ever be able to afford a home.
Millennials and Gen Z are two of the largest generations in history according to Statista. But the ability to buy a home while making a reasonable income as their parents and grandparents may have done seems to be just out of reach for this generation.
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College can be framed as a time of change and preparation for those who have/are going through the process. The process of becoming an adult and forging a path for yourself. Whether it be two to the four-year college experience, college can determine someone’s future path.
The college has a learning curve of learning what you are capable of before setting out with that experience and knowledge you gain. Stress and mental health can go hand in hand, especially with young adults transiting from high school and the educational requirements that come with college.
Anyone who has passed through the experience knows that it can be a time of happy memories as well as making friends and memories that can last a lifetime. From sports to parties with friends.
However, the territory it comes with is not all sunshine, and rainbows as students have to deal with various obstacles. Examples such as stress that comes with classes and homework.
MFJS Reporter Spring 2022 