January 31- Features

Promising New Athlete Breaks into the World of Professional Snowboarding

Amy Garten
South Coloradan

Welcome back to the 2010 Winter Olympics. We are here in Vancouver as the contestants get ready for the women’s half pipe. There are many promising athletes here today, but the one to watch is the American newcomer Melissa Becker, who hails from little-known Adams State College. Only four years ago she was considered an amateur, but since that time she has matured into a solid competitor. Melissa Becker, currently a senior at Adams State, has not made the Olympics yet, but she is a sponsored and has already won many prestigious competitions. She began snowboarding her senior year in high school. With only a few lessons she was hooked. She started mountain boarding during the off season of snowboarding to stay in shape. She still considers her self an amateur, which is funny because she doesn’t like waiting on others. She likes to get out and snowboard as much as possible after all this is no surprise because as a child she loved the mountains. It doesn’t matter if she competing with men or women. She does find that some men are intimidated by her. While women don’t think they can win against her. Becker finds many mentors, but she must look up to Gretchen Blyer and Tiffany Ecker. Ecker is Melissa Becker’s friend and a pro mountain boarder. Blyer’s a great snowboarder. Melissa Becker is a sponsored amateur. That took first place in the Aspen/Snowmass USASA Halfpipe on January 12 and eleventh place in the USASA Freestyle overall on April 1, 2007. She made nationals, to do this as an amateur can be a very big deal. Becker’s regular stance on the snowboard and mountain board has helped her win fourth, second and first place in the triple crown of mountain boarding on October 13 of 2007. She took first place in the altitude sickness on September 23, 2007. Fourth place in the 2007 and 2006 US open women’s freestyle.

She also took first place in the 2007 USASA southwest Colorado slope style. Becker does not compete just because of her sponsors or because she wants to become better. It’s simply because she can not afford bad days.
She competes for the “rush of being right there next to a pro and being able to compete against her.” When she falls she will tell anyone, including herself “If you fall get back up and try again.” Even a broken tailbone can’t get this girl down for long. When wanting to obtain sponsorship to become a professional, it is always helpful if you know someone that is already sponsored. This way they can at least help you get your foot in the door. Some sponsors might even find you without networking help. Remember to “Do it yourself and have as much fun as you can get” Becker said. Becker did not get Pretty Tough, SixSixOne, DonJoy, and Awake Apparel on the first day she snowboarded. Some she received due to her Boyfriend others approached her on an individual bases. Nevertheless, Pretty Tough, SixSixOne, DonJoy, and Awake Apparel all believe her to be a winner.

Snowboarding is not something that can be taught in a day. Although you could learn the basics in a day, no one can become a decent boarder and actually complete tricks. You have air, spins, flips, grabs, inverts, slides, miscellaneous, combination, and various tweaks tricks. Within these groups you have multiple tricks that can be combined in many ways. In addition to Ollies, pop tarts, 180, 360, 1080, front, back, lime, melon, stiffy, McEgg, 50-50, and switch/fakie. This is maybe a third of all the various tricks. If you really want to belong you better learn some slang. You might know what sick, slush, bail, and crud means. Do you know what flail, Zoozoo2, poach, rodeo, corduroy, stinky, or what waist-with means? I didn’t think so. A Zoozoo2 is a type of t-shirt. Poach is when you ride the half-pipe when it’s roped off. Rodeo is a black flip with a spin. Corduroy is when a snow cat has just freshly groomed the trail. Stinky is when you ride with legs open on the lift. Waist-with is the smallest part of the board. The narrower it is the faster you go. Snowboarding is fun but you still need to be carful. Of all the injuries in Scotland and the United Kingdom with snowboarding 22.1% are to the wrist, 10.3% are involving the shoulder. Additionally, 5.2% involve the Elbow, 3.8% thumb and 3.8% hand and finger. This doesn’t even include avalanches.
When asked about the many avalanches that have happened in the past three years Becker stated “You have to take more precautious. Safety is most important. You need to have all the tools to survive, but I would never stop its too exciting.” For everyone that believes that it won’t happen to them, everyone even professionals have a 1 in 3 chance of survival.

So here are some tips to help you. Pay attention to all warning signs. Stay in a group. Keep mouth closed and teeth clenched. Dig once the avalanche has slowed or stop if you are not injured. Stay calm and regulate your breathing.
Melissa Becker is currently getting her degree in HPPE. She plans on working with kids and women to bring the knowledge, fun and adventure that mountain boarding and snowboarding can bring into their lives. Remember what Bud Keene said “We did free runs, nonstop. Just him and me. We just went snowboarding. We just went up, we made turns, and we slashed. Instead of standing up at the top, letting pressure build staring into the pipe, we went out and had some fun.” If this doesn’t explain it listen to Lexi Petrosino when she said “Snowbording is life, the rest are just details.” Most of all remember that when you snowboard be safe have fun, and try not to fall too many times.

Second Love Bug: Serious but Curable

Vicki Roberts
South Coloradan

The second love bug in this series is Gonorrhea, which is one of the more common STDs. It is caused by a bacterium that likes to grow in warm moist places. For females it would be any part of her reproductive tract. For both men and woman it can grow in the urethra, mouth, throat, eyes and anus. You can get gonorrhea from any kind of sexually activity: through oral, anal, or sexual intercourse. P egnant woman can also transfer it to their baby when it passes through the birth canal. Some of the symptoms of gonorrhea will appear two to five days after coming into contact with the infection. In some cases it can be as long as a month before you will see any symptoms. Some of the symptoms that appear in men are burning sensations when you urinate, a discharge of white, yellow, or green from the penis, and painful or swollen testicles.

In females there are usually no symptoms, and if there are they are usually mistaken for a bladder infection or vaginal infections. If symptoms do appear they are burning when urinating, increased vaginal discharge, and bleeding between periods. If you contact gonorrhea from anal sex some of the symptoms are discharge, painful bowel movements, soreness, bleeding, and anal itching. There also maybe no symptoms. If gonorrhea gets in your throat there usually is no symptom or you can have a sore throat. If you let gonorrhea go untreated it can cause serious complications in both men and woman. In men it can cause pain in the ducts of your testicles. If left untreated it can also cause infertility. In woman it can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can be mild or severe, pain in your stomach, fever, internal abscesses, chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy and infertility. No matter your gender if left untreated gonorrhea can move into the blood or joints which can lead to life treating condition.

People with gonorrhea are more susceptible to aids or HIV than people who don’t have gonorrhea. If you think you have gonorrhea see you doctor as soon as possible. The doctor will take a sample of the discharge and send it to a lab, or some doctors can check it under a microscope immediately. There is medication to treat gonorrhea and cure it. Although there are some drug resistant strains of gonorrhea, and they are increasing in the United States as well as other areas of the world making it harder to cure this particular love bug. It is important that you take all of your prescribed medication, to make sure that you are cured of the disease. Abstain from any kind of sex until you are completely healed, and inform all of your partners that you have gonorrhea so that they can also be treated. The best way to prevent getting the disease is to abstain. The following corrections need to be noted. Viral cannot be treated and bacterial can. Trichomonas is caused from protozoan. Lastly, even though you cannot get any medication for a virus you can get treatments to reduce the symptoms. Additionally, there are vaccines being used to help prevent HPV (human papillomavirus) and hepatitis B.from sex, or have a monogamous relationship. It is also wise for you and your partner to be tested to ensure no STDs are present. If condoms are used every time and used correctly
it can help reduce the risk of an STD. All information in this article is from the CDC web site

Campus Cop: ‘I’m where I want to be’

Hannah Dolecki
South Coloradan
Joel Shults is the Director of the Department of Public Safety here at Adams. He joined our team of campus police in August of 2007. He has been a police officer for 32 years, and can’t think of any other job that would be more satisfying. “I’m a cop in my heart of hearts... I am where I want to be,” stated Mr. Shults. Mr. Shults went to the University of Central Missouri and graduated in 1975. For one year Joel was at Hannibal - LaGrange College, which is a Christian liberal arts college located in Hannibal, Missouri, where he taught and received his PHD in education. Joel has worked in a few different precincts in Colorado including Veil, Trinidad, and Walsenburg. He taught for 6 years at the police academy in Trinidad, before it was shut down, and takes pride in knowing that he has trained some of the best police here in the valley.

Two of his former students actually work under him at Public Safety. When asked his favorite place he replied, “I have always had a soft spot for Colorado. Especially Southern Colorado... I’m comfy, it’s a good fit.” Alamosa needs good, dedicated officers and without a doubt that describes Joel Shults. He is a very collected individual who knows what he is doing and what he would like to see accomplished by Public Safety. There are some misconceived ideas about the department. Some people here on campus refer to Public Safety as “rent-a-cops” or “false authority,” Mr. Shults would like to set the record straight. D.P.S. officers have had police training, and work in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies; they are campus police. There is rarely a time when an actual police officer is not on duty. Mr. Shults thinks that the community has gotten the wrong idea about the D.P.S. due to the hiring of student officers
known as campus security agents. “These officers wear the light blue uniforms, and carry no weapon. Although, they assist other officers with their duties, they cannot take charge of a police situation.” No case is ever actually easy for police officers to handle, but for every officer, there is at least one case, if not more, that really made an impact on the person.

The most difficult question to answer during his interview was, “What was the hardest case you ever worked on?” After a long pause Joel Shults gave this story. “In 1978, I was working in Missouri and I was called to my first domestic disturbance.” A woman opened the door to the home very calmly. She had blood running from her nose and lip and looked very distraught and disheveled. It took a lot of persuasion to get the lady to file a complaint against her husband to have him arrested. Finally the woman agreed and the man was taken into custody. About an hour later, the woman showed up at the jail posting bond for the man that had just beaten her. Mr. Shults stated, “Change is hard for folks, change is really hard for folks.” This is so very true; change is scary and confusing at times and once a routine has been set into action, it is difficult to change it. Good or bad, habits, routines and rituals are all things that some people have to get through the day. Another case that was brought to Joel’s mind was another domestic call. A man was threatening his girlfriend with a knife and yelling. When Mr. Shults arrived at the scene, the woman attacked him in an attempt to protect her boyfriend.

“You go into a situation trying to be a hero and rescue the attacked, and they end up attacking you.” He went on to say that any case involving domestic abuse or violence is the most difficult case to work on. To see families in distress
is a disheartening situation and no one should ever find that to be an easy situation. Working on a college campus can be difficult considering that the 18 to 24 age range has statistically the most arrests and violence, but Joel Shults “can’t think of anywhere (he’d) rather be.” Adams State College appreciates all he has done for us since he took the position of D.P.S. director, and we look forward to seeing our campus police keeping us safe for many years to come.

White Takes Gold at X Games

Ashley Grover

South Coloradan The 2008 Winter X Games were held this past weekend in Aspen, Colorado. Despite the cold weather, the X Games continue to be one of the largest winter sports events in the world. The annual event featured competitions in snowboarding, skiing and snowmobiling. Shaun White, a recognizable name in snowboarding, racked up his 7th gold medal when he took first place in the Men’s Snowboard Superpipe. White had a slow start, disappointing his fans, when his main snowboard broke early on in the competition. Fortunately for him, his ladder runs were nearly flawless allowing him to take the gold. Another big name in snowboarding is Gretchen Bleiler. Bleiler is a superstar from Aspen and had many fans supporting her at the X Games. This support helped land her a gold medal in the Women’s Snowboard Superpipe while she turned heads with her tricks. Jamie Anderson swept the 2008 gold for the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle while Lindsey Jacobellis took Women’s Snowboarder X to win her fourth gold. As for the men, Andreas Wiig won Slopestyle and Nate Holland was the gold medalist for Snowboarder X.

Tanner Hall came up big in skiing, landing his 7th gold in the Ski Superpipe Finals. Twenty-four-year-old Hall beat out tough competition from Simon Dumont on Thursday. Andreas Hatviet was another important name this weekend in the skiing world. He took home the gold for Men’s Ski Slopestyle. Sarah Burke definitely did not disappoint with her performance in Women’s Skier Superpipe. Ophelie David also made history for the women when she claimed a gold in Women’s Skier X. The snowmobile competitions never fail to capture people’s attention. Between the backflips on a 500-pound machine and the intense crashes, it is now known as a popular sport to watch. Freestyle snowmobiling made its debut at the Winter X Games a year ago, shocking fans with the high amount of risk involved.

This year Tucker Hibbert won the snow cross gold medal making it his third Winter X. Levi LaVallee was impressive in freestyle. LaVallee came up third in the final qualifier but won the gold by tenths of a point, passing Joe Parsons.

 Personals

Dwight-
Do not drink the coffee after 8 am someone poisoned it.
~Future Dwight

Hott Boy in Class-
Thanks for giving me something
nice to look at when I’m bored.
~The Fidgety One

Ashlee,
I miss you tons!
~Kachow

Matt-
I wish you all the courage to defeat the Zombies. I’m there for you.
~Red, Green, Yellow Plants

Guitar Hero-
Why are you so Fun?
~Future Hero

Whitney Houston-
Why’d you have to start crack?
~True Fan #2

Spamy-
Turns out great stories do begin here.
~Your offical Bff

To the Big Grizz-
There is more to life than....LOL....
~Your Texting Pal

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