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THE METROPOLITAN « AUGUST 23.

2007 « METRO « A5

Teachers fall into the semester


Faculty congregates to discuss campus issues,
learn tricks of trade over fried dough balls, SOME OF THE EVENTS AT METRO’S FALL CONFERENCE
a chocolate fountain and school-spirit trinkets Conflict resolution strategies
Teachers shared resources on mediating student conflict and improving academic achievement.
By ANDREW FLOHR-SPENCE she said worked without a hitch.
spencand@mscd.edu Sponsored and planned by the Pay for performance
Just after 1 p.m., it was time for faculty senate, the fall conference Faculty discussed merit pay, or compensation based on achievement, in the latest pay for perfor-
the chocolate social. aimed to bring the professors up to mance proposal.
Carrying under one arm a card- date on faculty issues and offered a
board box with leftover T-shirts and chance to learn new skills, giving the Travel to China: Experiences of two Metro faculty
water bottles emblazoned with the faculty a chance to get back into the Faculty shared their experiences of international travel and of attending the International Nursing
Metro logo, Spanish professor Lun- swing of things. Topics of the semi- Education & Leadership Conference in China.
den Macdonald walked briskly into nars included, among many others,
the lobby of the King Center where a an explanation of the new pay-for- Hispanic Serving Institution
crowd of mingling professors stood, performance proposal currently be- Metro discussed what is and what is not considered discrimination, and focused on Metro’s future
drinking coffee and talking. ing negotiated with administration as related to the Chicano community.
Macdonald, co-director of the fall on how to protect against ID theft,
development conference planning how to use Podcasting in the class- The human voice as a vehicle for translational learning
committee, looked toward the banquet room and even a session on how to A model was presented for collaboration between an arts course and a science course.
tables decked in white with the choco- reduce student conflict.
late fountains surrounded by strawber- After breakfast at 8 a.m., the Teaching with primary sources
ries, pretzels and fried dough balls, and faculty attended three hours of Faculty shared tools for acquiring, downloading and sharing digital primary source materials.
she turned to co-planner and faculty seminars in the morning and then
senate member Vonda Knox. received a catered lunch, where key- from the area around it and reach out an Engaged Community,” was in- together with the greater Denver Met-
“Didn’t it all turn out beautiful- note speaker Joe Blake, president and to Denver’s business community. tended to include as many people as ro area,” Macdonald said.
ly?” she asked Knox. CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Reaching out to as many groups possible. Starting with the initial e- All day she and co-planner Vonda
“It really did,” Knox replied. Commerce, spoke about the future of as possible was the point of this year’s mail calling for volunteers, the plan- Knox had their hands full. With close
As co-director of the planning com- higher education. The future, he said, fall conference, Macdonald said. ning committee made sure to include to 400 attendees, the conference was
mittee, Macdonald said she is happy would see an alliance between higher “The community aspect was re- not only full-time professors, but also the biggest ever.
with how things turned out. She was education and small business. Blake, ally key,” Macdonald said. “We really part-time professors, staff members “We were really amazed by the
responsible for ensuring the faculty’s whose office in lower downtown over- want this to be interesting for every- and administration, Macdonald said. response,” Macdonald said. “It was
fall development conference, a sort of looks the campus, said Metro looks one.” “The question we wanted people a really good atmosphere –people are
educational back-to-school day for the like an island from his window. He This year’s event, entitled “A to think about was how do we all full of the beginning of the semester
teachers, held on Aug. 15, and which said Metro needs to distinguish itself Campus Conversation on Becoming work together – how does Metro work energy.”

Pregnancy center aids students facing surprise conceptions


“Option counseling” can provide unbiased choices
By AMY WOODWARD makes, every choice is a hard one.”
awoodwa5@mscd.edu
The University of Denver, the
The surprise of an unexpected University of Colorado at Boulder
pregnancy can add stress and uncer- and Colorado State University also of-
tainty to a student’s life unparalleled fer option counseling for unintended
by term papers and tests, and Auraria pregnancies at campus health clinics
provides resources for students facing and local counseling centers.
such circumstances. People are starting to look more
Although the majority of college at the woman and the difficulties she
campuses in Colorado offer sex edu- will face with an unplanned preg-
cation and birth-control methods, nancy, Keener said, noting that dis-
they also offer “option counseling” cussing pregnancy options appears to
for women seeking information about be more acceptable as the times have
adoptions and abortions. changed.
Ten percent of all college women Many counseling centers do not
become pregnant each year, states promote adoptions and abortions,
College Area Pregnancy Services, nor do they condemn those options.
a San Diego pregnancy-counseling “We don’t … recommend abor- Photo by ANDREW BISSET/abisset1@mscd.edu
center. Further, 34 percent of teen- tions, but we also recognize these
The controls of an ultrasound machine at the Alternatives Pregnancy Center located on 14th and Blake streets. A division
age girls and young women will be- choices,” Keener said. “We are help-
of the center sits in Auraria’s St. Elizabeth’s Church. The center provides students with “option counseling” for pregnancies.
come pregnant before age 20, and 80 ing women make the best choice for
percent of these pregnancies will be their life.” native information in the Tivoli every
unexpected.
The Alternatives Pregnancy Cen-
Patty Kintzingrn, a registered
nurse at the Women’s Clinic on the
Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ser-
vices at the Alternatives Pregnancy
34 percent of teenage girls and
ter at the Auraria campus has been CU-Boulder campus, said she wasn’t Center, which also offers pregnan- young women will become pregnant
serving students for three years. It of- comfortable discussing the impor- cy tests, are free, and walk-ins are
fers counseling and referrals tailored tance of campuses providing option welcome from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on before age 20, and 80 percent of
to the individual’s choice.
“We look at parenting, adoption
counseling, but noted that some
counseling is essential.
Wednesdays. The center, which is a
division of the Alternatives Pregnan-
these pregnancies will be unexpected
and abortion,” said Rachel Keener, “I think it’s important that college cy Center on 14th and Blake streets,
client services director at the Alterna-
tives Pregnancy Center. “The choice
campuses have someone to counsel
these people,” Kintzingrn said.
is located in St. Elizabeth’s Church. To
schedule an appointment, the center
COLLEGE AREA PREGNANCY SERVICES
is up to her, and whatever choice she Keener sits at a table with alter- can be reached at (303) 623-0860.

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