Metropolitan State University of Denver

The committee's 11-0 vote, with two absences, follows approval last month by the state Senate Education Committee and the full Senate. If the measure is approved by the full House, it will be sent to Gov. John Hickenlooper, whose signature will make the bill law.

The bill was presented in the house committee by Rep. Crisanta Duran, a primary sponsor along with Sen. Lucia Guzman. Duran cited one of the principal themes of the testimony: that by designating Metro State a university, students and alumni will be better prepared to compete for jobs.

“This name … will serve the institution well and also serve employers in the state well, so that they know exactly the value of the degree of students that graduate from hopefully soon-to-be Metropolitan State University of Denver,” she said.

Jordan echoed that remark, saying a degree that shows that a person graduated from a university is attractive to employers.

“Our students and our alumni both tell us that when they go to compete for jobs they are told … that employers are often sorting their continued interest … by whether the degree says college or whether it says university on it,” he said. “Why would we want to disadvantage 20 percent of our Colorado students by not allowing them to compete on a level playing field for those high-paying jobs?”

Jordan told the committee the name change resulted from a broad-based outreach that included surveys, focus groups and conversations that involved more than 10,000 people as well as successful negotiations with the University of Denver, which had originally balked at some of the proposed new names.

He said the change reflects the evolution of Metro State, from the initial enrollment of 1,187 students who attended classes in rented downtown buildings to an institution serving a diverse student body of 24,000. Jordan also noted growth from an academic perspective, citing as examples recent achievements by the Nursing, Aviation and Aerospace Science, and Math and Computer Science departments.

“We will continue to provide our students with a robust academic experience,” said Board of Trustee member Dawn Bookhardt, testifying for the name change. “We’re Metro and will continue to be the Metro we’ve always been except we’ll be better and we’ll have the name to prove it.”

Also testifying were Roy Alexander, a 1974 graduate and former CEO of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority; Caitlin Gibbons, a Metro State senior majoring in journalism, and Jesse Altum, president of the Student Government Assembly.

National Women's History Month

March is officially WOMENS NATIONAL HISTORY MONTH. It is my pleasure to highlight the achievements and social justice movements that women have paved along the way. From the earliest pioneers like Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and to our present day Michelle Obama and Angela Davis. Women have always had a voice that men are constantly trying to suppress. But I must admit times have gotten better and we have grown as a society. There several pros and cons but at the end of the day no one can question a women's worth.


 Although women now outnumber men in American colleges nationwide, the reversal of the gender gap is a very recent phenomenon. The fight to learn was a valiant struggle waged by many tenacious women—across years and across cultures—in our country. After the American Revolution, the notion of education as a safeguard for democracy created opportunities for girls to gain a basic education—based largely on the premise that, as mothers, they would nurture not only the bodies but also the minds of (male) citizens and leaders. The concept that educating women meant educating mothers endured in America for many years, at all levels of education.


Pioneers of secondary education for young women faced arguments from physicians and other “experts” who claimed either that females were incapable of intellectual development equal to men, or that they would be harmed by striving for it. Women’s supposed intellectual and moral weakness was also used to argue against coeducation, which would surely be an assault on purity and femininity. Emma Willard, in her 1819 Plan for Improving Female Education, noted with derision the focus of women’s “education” on fostering the display of youth and beauty, and asserted that women are “the companions, not the satellites of men”—“primary existences” whose education must prepare them to be full partners in life’s journey.


The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of women whose commitment to nature and the planet have proved invaluable to society

Alternative Spring Break

The 3^rd Annual Metro State Alternative Spring Break

Sunday March 18 through Wednesday March 21
African Community Center and Safari Seconds

International volunteer experience in your community!

 

Students will be volunteering with the African Community Center and Safari Seconds during the 3^rd Annual Alternative Spring Break. The African Community Center and Safari Seconds are local refugee resettlement programs which welcomes newcomers who have had to flee persecution within their home country. Refugees that they serve come to the United States from countries all over the world including Bosnia, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Burma, Congo, Burundi, the former Soviet Union, Somalia, Sudan, Liberia, and Eritrea.

 

The refugees arrive in the United States with minimal possessions and extremely limited funds. In order to address this need the Alternative Spring Break Toiletries Drive was created and takes place in the weeks leading up to Alternative Spring Break. Items that are needed include: toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo/conditioner, soap, and deodorant, in addition to any other toiletry items.

 

On Monday February 27^th from 11:00-2:00 in the Tivoli’s Multicultural Lounge there will be a Alternative Spring Break and Toiletry Drive Kick Off Event. We will be getting the Metro State community excited about Alternative Spring Break by providing students, faculty, and staff with the opportunity to view pictures and videos from previous years, talk with former participants, talk with professionals from this field, listen to culturally rich music, and enjoy a light lunch.

We would love to see you at the Kick Off Event and have you sign up to attend this life changing volunteer opportunity known as Alternative Spring Break!

 

For more information please contact the Student Service Club at studentserviceclub@gmail.com or check out our website at www.studentserviceclub.com. 

 

To apply for a spot on the Alternative Spring Break, please visit:

http://www.mscd.edu/urbanconnect/studentresources/

Peace Breakfast

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The great American hero is what I prefer to call him along with many other titles such as our King, our Leader, our Hope and so forth. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent human being that will always proclaim his throne in history. He was such a passionate preacher while equipped with a captivating presence. He once said, “At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love”. What he stood for is still highly regarded in our present day.

We remember Martin Luther King Jr. because of what he instilled into the fabric of American Society. Which brings me to a strong valid point, to be in opposition to Dr. Kings ideas is to be in opposition of America. Seriously take a moment and think about humans and how we have grown, how we have changed into a progressive direction. Obviously social injustice is still alive and well all over the world, which makes me along with the rest of society aware of the long road ahead.

This year we will honor Dr. King’s legacy and the Dream he bestowed for all mankind to achieve. Thank you Dr. King for enduring hardships so the next generation will have life to breathe, like myself. Special shout out to a fellow student who has made her mark in the community. This year the MLK Peace Award goes to Candace L Johnson, a former employee in our very own office. CONGRATS!

1Book 1Project

This Spring semester of 2012 we have our annual 1Book 1Project, which is a recurring series open to all Metro State faculty, staff and students along with the public. Combining a book discussion with a related service project plus the idea that we can all be transformed and can, perhaps transform others by what we read and how we participate in our community.

Helen Thorpe is the author of “Just Like Us”, our feature book this semester. It tells the story of four high school students whose parents entered this country illegally from Mexico. We meet the girls on the eve of their senior prom in Denver, Colorado. All four of the girls have grown up in the United States and all four want to live the American Dream. But they discover that only the legal pair sees a clear path forward. Their friendship starts to divide along lines of immigration status. 

Stop by our office Center for Urban Connections Tivoli 243 to inquire. THANKS!

-SGM 

Happy New Years!

Welcome to the freshly brand new year of 2012, it’s another anticipated year to be alive! Here at the Center for Urban Connections our mission is continuing in the same direction.  “We are dedicated to promoting collaborative relationships between Metropolitan State College of Denver and its surrounding community; provide resources for community partners, students, faculty staff and alumni. The center is committed to strengthening partnerships with neighbor organizations, enhancing and expanding community based learning and research opportunities, developing student leaders, supporting college wide service and outreach to advance the educational mission of the college and the common good. Inside or outside of class, the center seeks to enhance understanding of urban issues through meaningful involvement in urban solutions”.

-SGM

Ciao Ciao Servistas!

Today is my last day at the Center for Urban Connections. Its been a positive, growing experience for almost two years. As the main blogger for the office, the blog has been one of my main responsibilities and its been great to expand my writing style and understand true blog speak.

Fear brings out the unknown in everyone and because it is so unexpected  the overall nervous feelings that you have, can make you not want to take the risk. From not being afraid of stepping out, I have seen that  change, brings happiness and it allows you to have  become your own explorer in life.

Its been a great experience writing for the blog and finding out more articles about community engagement and volunteering that are interesting to me and other Metro State students.

My hope is that with every blog, you can think about ways to change your thoughts of engaging with the community and especially change that which can open your eyes. Volunteering has helped me as a person understand my passions, and its essentially part of why I worked at the Center for Urban Connections.

I leave you all with two quotes,

Keep constantly in mind in how many things you yourself have witnessed changes already. The universe is change, life is understanding. - Marcus Aurelius 

Life's most urgent question is.... what are you doing for others? - Martin Luther King Jr.