Month: April 2017

Long-time locals’ perspective on growth

By BAY STEPHENS/Montana State News

Big country and little towns with skies that stretch from one eternity to the other: classic Montana. An element of legend and grit has swirled around the state since its inception. For those that have grown up here, the land and culture have changed, especially in a place like Bozeman.

Once a town to supply the surrounding ranch and farm communities, Bozeman became a place where cultures met: cowboy and ski culture, rustic and modern, and everything beyond and in between.

With a university to draw young students, it didn’t take long for the word to get out. Today, Bozeman – often referred to as the next Boulder, Colorado – faces dramatic change brought on by a burgeoning population and a nexus of interests and people.

Though change is not inherently bad, three generations of locals attest that Bozeman is not what it once was, in some ways for the better, yet, in other ways, elements have been lost. Continue reading “Long-time locals’ perspective on growth” →

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Ultimate Frisbee team gain national recognition

By ZACHARY COE/Montana State News

The Montana State University Ultimate team is the unsung pride of this university’s athletic program. While the common name of Ultimate Frisbee cannot actually be uttered due to trademark laws on the actual word Frisbee, the players and captains of the sport have made this relatively overlooked event nationally recognized.

Captained by Quinn Hanson, Drew Shanafelt, Than Wiggins and managed by Thomas Walz, the MSU Ultimate team has been nationally recognized as the 35th ranked team in the nation with a perfect tournament record that may lead the team into this summer’s national competition in Cincinnati.

While many in the community consider this to be a hobby rather than a serious, school endorsed activity, the last five to 10 years have seen a sharp rise in the level of support from MSU. The team is considered a varsity association and is officially called The Montana State Rum Runners. As a result of this involvement, the team is required to do fundraising and volunteering activities in the community. In exchange, the school assists with car rentals, insurance and other miscellaneous costs. Continue reading “Ultimate Frisbee team gain national recognition” →

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MSU Swim Club flies under the radar

By JARED MILLER/Montana State News

Bozeman is an active community with runners, cyclists and fitness junkies of all kinds. However, if four years ago you were a student at Montana State University and loved swimming, specifically competitive swimming, you didn’t have an organized club to practice and compete with.

Today, though, the same cannot be said.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of current MSU Swim Club President Alex Irish and club Vice President Jordan Burt, the university was able to have a club for those who like getting their exercise in the water. Irish being a lifeguard at a local pool saw he had the perfect opportunity to get the club on its feet. “I love swimming,” he said, “and I was also in the great position to start (the club).”

It took some hard work and mentoring from his boss, but some two years ago MSU’s swim club was born. “We ended up with five to 10 regular members that first semester,” said Irish and since then the club has only grown. Now they have about 15 members that attend regularly according to Irish. Continue reading “MSU Swim Club flies under the radar” →

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Anger at United Airlines misplaced

By TYLER BARTON/Montana State News

David Dao, a paid passenger of United Airlines Flight 3411, screamed and struggled as he was forcibly pulled from his seat by security officers recently. Dao sustained considerable injuries, including a significant concussion, two broken front teeth, a badly broken nose, and injury to the sinuses.

David Dao, a 69-year-old Vietnamese doctor, said he was on his way to see patients the next morning. It did not matter. Security officers boarded the plane, and forcibly removed Dao. The company later accused him of being “belligerent and disruptive.”

But here’s the catch: The whole incident was caught on video by a nearby passenger. The footage clearly shows Dao remaining calm until the moments of the violent altercation.

The video was uploaded to Twitter the same day, with the caption reading:

“@United overbook #flight3411 and decided to force random passengers off the plane. Here’s how they did it:”

The video quickly went viral, gaining headlines in the mainstream news and being shared around the world. And people got angry. Continue reading “Anger at United Airlines misplaced” →

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Writing classes limited by faculty shortage

By CHELSEA ANDERSON/Montana State News

This fall semester’s registration has left a number of English students, with the writing option in particular, frustrated with the lack of classes offered. With a dip in funding, the English department doesn’t have nearly enough faculty available to teach the number of upper division classes that are necessary for seniors to graduate.

According to Kirk Branch, the English department chair, next year is a particularly difficult year for scheduling, “We’re stretched very thin.” Two tenured faculty will be operating next year with decreased teaching schedules, “We have one teacher who will have a reduced schedule for research purposes and another with a reduced schedule for the tenure application process,” says Branch.

According to Branch, the writing department has the funding for five tenured faculty, although four of them have reduced teaching schedules because of required administrative duties, “It really worked out quite poorly for next year because most of these administrative positions rotate through writing, literature and teaching faculty and currently most of the positions are held by writing faculty.” Continue reading “Writing classes limited by faculty shortage” →

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Vote Smart to leave Montana roots behind

By JORDAN SPARR/Montana State News

Nonprofit activism organization Vote Smart will leave its Philipsburg ranch in favor of Drake University’s campus in Des Moines, Iowa. After troubles arose from the remote location on Vote Smart’s Great Divide Ranch, President Richard Kimball has decided that a university-owned building in Iowa would be a beneficial change.

With a mission that reads, “Provide free, factual, unbiased information on candidates and elected officials to all Americans” and a history dating back to its inception in 1992, Vote Smart has become an important voice within the American political activism circuit.

According to its official website, Vote Smart is dedicated to helping American citizens take an unbiased look at political candidates in an election environment that is increasingly more dependent on how much those running for office spend on their campaign.

Vote Smart founders, such as American Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, wanted to make sure the organization was dedicated to defending democracy and fighting back against threats to the democratic election process. Continue reading “Vote Smart to leave Montana roots behind” →

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Students find escape at Norris Hot Springs

BY SAMANTHA SUNDLY/Montana State News

Montana’s natural hot springs offer Bozeman college students an escape from the chaos of campus life with some hot mineral water, draft beer and live music. Norris Hot Springs, or the “Water of the Gods,” is located in the Madison River Valley and aims to “provide a safe, relaxing soak in all of Montana’s seasons,” according to Holly Heinzmann, owner of Norris Hot Springs and creator of the Norris Hot Springs website.

Norris Hot Springs is made up of a series of artesian springs, formed when high pressures underground force hot, mineral groundwater to flow to the surface. According to Heinzmann’s website, the pool temperature ranges between the seasons, warming up to 106 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and cooling down below 100 degrees during the hotter months, and maintains a field pH level of 7.6.

The original Norris Hot Springs pool was built by miners in the 1860s who had come to Alder Gulch in search of gold, and was named after Alexander Norris who founded the town of Norris in 1865. The floor and walls of the pool were made by placing fir planks above the natural springs, causing the hot mineral water to bubble up between the boards and fill the pool. Continue reading “Students find escape at Norris Hot Springs” →

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New tyrannosaurus species named for Horner

By EMILY SCHABACKER/Montana State News

Seventy-five million years ago in northern Montana a lipless creature with scaly facial armor and cornified skin wreaked havoc on duckbilled hadrosaurs and other small carnivores. Newly discovered dinosaur D. horneri, unearthed in Choteau in the early 1990s, has finally been classified as a species closely related to Tyrannosaurus rex and was never before seen by paleontologists.

Twenty-five years since the dinosaur was excavated, the species has finally been named Daspletosaurus horneri or “Horner’s Frightful Lizard,” named after Jack Horner, the renowned former Montana State University paleontologist and Museum of the Rockies curator.

Paleontology professor David Varricchio of Montana State University suggested naming the dinosaur after Horner in honor of the mentorship he provided for paleontology students at MSU as well the contributions he has made to the field, according to Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Continue reading “New tyrannosaurus species named for Horner” →

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Many rally for ‘Take Back the Night’

By CULLAN STAACK/Montana State News

One out of three women and one out of every six men have been beaten, forced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetime by someone they know or are in a relationship with, according to Montana State University’s website. Less than 50 percent of assaults are ever reported to the police, leading the organizers of Bozeman’s “Take Back the Night” event and rally to try and make a change.

“Take Back the Night” is an international event and non-profit organization with the mission of ending sexual, relationship and domestic violence in all forms and for all genders. Hundreds of events are held in over 30 countries annually. Events often include marches, rallies and vigils intended as a protest and direct action against rape and other forms of domestic violence. Continue reading “Many rally for ‘Take Back the Night’” →

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20 years of research behind VOICE methods

By TIM STOVER/Montana State News

The mission of the Montana State University VOICE center is simple: “(The) VOICE Center is committed to the belief that all people have the right to live free from violence and the fear of violence.”

While their message is simple, their abilities and resources go far beyond what would be expected.

They offer a variety of services, from a confidential support line, to counseling, support groups, and in general, someone to talk to.

The VOICE Center is staffed by peer advocates who have been “trained to provide information, crisis intervention, and support services to anyone affected by sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking.”

Peer advocates go through rigorous training across the spectrum of support. Continue reading “20 years of research behind VOICE methods” →

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