The trip was a study abroad program offered through the department of Journalism and Technical Communications at Colorado State University. The program started in England, then moved from Belgium, to Holland, to Germany, and ended in France.

PART TWO

Belgium is a beautiful country graced with breath-taking architecture, quaint parks and open-minded people who have very down-to-earth attitudes. The transition from London to our second destination was very drastic, but very easy to make.

While in Belgium we met with Dr. Steve Paulussen, professor at Ghent University. Dr. Paulussen has done extensive research on Belgium media.

Paulussen believes there will be new trends in journalism, different from the way Belgium knows it today.

“The mind shift we are trying to make is that it we are not so much journalists anymore, but communicators,” Paulussen said.

This is a conversion that the United States has been perfecting over the past few years. For example, the Journalism and Technical Communication department at CSU has re-strung the program to gear students toward a multimedia communication focus, rather than solely technical journalism.

Though Belgium is a little behind the conversions being made in the rest of the world, Dr. Paulussen emphasizes the idea of ABJs.

“ABJs are All Platform Journalists. We are striving to get the younger students to be more cross-media minded. Right now it is difficult to find multicultural students,” Paulussen said. “Most who focus on print don’t know enough about online and vice versa. It makes it hard to offer some courses when students simply don’t want them.”

Paulussen has done research on online news for 10 years. His research shows that, in Belgium’s future, people will most likely not pay for news.

But there will be extensive conversion trends.

“News is going to be more about collaborations. I think companies are going to be more dependent on the freelance market because the mainstream isn’t paying well,” Paulussen said.

In the United States, the demand for freelance journalists has been on the rise, supporting Dr. Paulussen’s research.

The only way to survive may mean subsidies and funding from the government, potentially sparking ethical concerns.

“Now more than ever journalists need to be critical and transparent. We need to focus on professionalism,” Paulussen said.

Though the future of journalism is cloudy, one thing is certain: it is crucial for newspapers to make the online shift in order to survive. And the ones that don’t will most likely disappear completely.

While places like London, Paris and Frankfurt are making fast-paced moves to adapt to the future of technology and communication, Belgium doesn’t seem to be in any hurry. Is this a result of the laid-back, carefree attitude of the Belgium people? Does the lack of 24/7 cell phone use and technology help or harm Belgium? What does this mean for the future of communication of Belgium media? Will they make the transition?

Self-Reflection on the Quaint Country:

Travel journalists and economists argue that Belgium has possibly the highest quality of life, distinguished by their world records for high productivity and low poverty.
I experienced this high quality of life personally through Belgium’s excellent food, good beer, open-mindedness and overall good living.

The first thing we did upon arriving in Belgium was a Big Bus Tour of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The city was drastically different than London. The architecture is Romanesque, the people are laid back and the media regulations are much more lax compared to the United States.

But the biggest difference between England and Belgium was the lack of pride for their royalty. It would be hard to visit London and not know about Queen Elizabeth and her grandsons. But in Belgium, the citizens have a lack of interest in the royal family. This may be because the people of Belgium make very little distinctions between classes and social status. It doesn’t matter if you are a rich banker or a blue-collar worker, Belgians allow everyone to obtain the same respect and privileges.

One highlight of Belgium was our day trip to Bruges, which is a very touristy town with a non-touristy feel. I was convinced that the citizens of Belgium have a much closer social distance compared to London and the United States. Very few people are on their cell phones, and are still very personally connected to each other.

Aside from the incredible waffles and chocolate, Belgium reminded me a lot of Fort Collins: quiet, quaint and filled with friendly people.

Our adventures in Belgium ended in Ghent, where we met Dr. Paulussen and three Ghent University journalism students – Khael, Dominique and Karen.

All three were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about American politics and culture. After talking to them, it was clear that they had very liberal yet grounding views on topics such as religion, socialism and homosexual rights. Their intelligence and composure opened my eyes to a lot of things that we, as Americans, can sometimes be ignorant.

Overall, Belgium ranks at the top of my list for countries to visit while in Europe. They have the right combination of food, beer, good people, laid back personalities and a shared love for life, which creates a peaceful atmosphere.

It was easy to understand why Belgium is economically and characteristically a rich country.

Stayed tuned for our travel adventures in Holland, which will be posted next week.

The trip was a study abroad program offered through the department of Journalism and Technical Communications at Colorado State University. The program started in England, then moved from Belgium, to Holland, to Germany, and ended in France.

PART ONE

The first leg of our trip was spent in London, England, where we met with Jack Starks of Orange Telecom. Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators and provides Internet, television and mobile services for over 131 million customers.

The strategy at Orange focuses on innovation, convergence and effective cost management. Keeping the customer in mind, Orange provides products that are user-friendly and simple in a fast-paced and ever-changing technological world.

Like many companies in the United States, Orange is making the switch to online resources to keep their company name toward the top of Google searches.

Starks is a member of the advertising team and works closely with the digital team, creating television ads, product placement and building social networking sites.

“Integration is the biggest buzzword right now. Social networking has taken off. Orange is definitely making the switch to online networking sites,” Starks said. “We are learning, like a lot of other companies, how to effectively advertise on the Internet. We have spent some money well and some poorly when it comes to advertising on the Internet.”

Recently in the United States, the switch to online media has been the trend for many companies. After talking to Starks, it seems London is right along side the U.S. in regard to switching, mirroring moves like integrating online networking and advertising.

Though the U.K. is thousands of miles away, the effects of new technology have posed the same threats and changes as they have in the United States.

Blackberries, iPods, Facebook and even using Facebook while on your Blackberry are used by people in London constantly while riding the Tube, walking to work, or sitting down to lunch. These characteristics are also commonly seen in daily life of U.S. citizens.

To some, the future of technology can be scary. But Orange wants to assure customers that “the future is bright.”

“We want to send the message of being optimistic about the future of technology. Don’t worry, we’ll keep it simple,” Starks said.

In a world that is constantly changing it is nice to know there are companies, like Orange, who value their customers and simplicity.

Personal Reflection on the Busy City:

London is full of contrast because of the amount of history and authenticity accompanied by new age shops, restaurants and entertainment. It is far from home but everything is only slightly different. They have the same stores with different clothing, the same physical appearance with different accents.

While in London, we did a lot of touristy things like wander around the city, take pictures and stop at every statue or monument. All of these aspects come with traveling to a new place, accompanied with feelings of frustration. Being a tourist of another culture can be exhausting and degrading at times, but it is the only way to encounter people and places and seek adventure in far-off lands.

The people in London were very busy and somewhat unfriendly, which is probably a product of most big and populous cities. Both men and women were dressed very fashionable and business professional. No woman was seen without her designer bag and sunglasses. I quickly realized that London is an expensive place to live, and if you can afford to live there, you can afford to keep up with fashion and flaunt it.

A highlight of London was visiting the Tower of London, which has been the seat of British government and living headquarters of monarchs, the site of renowned political imprisonment and is the current keeper of the Crown Jewels.

We toured the old castle grounds and saw prison cells, tombs and of course the Crown Jewels. After visiting the Tower of London, I realized that America is a teenager compared to our European Great-grandfather.

Other activities in London included visiting museums like The National Portrait Gallery, seeing Big Ben and taking the famous Big Bus Tour of the city. All of these activities were necessary in order to see as much of the city as we could in three days, but were a once in a lifetime deal. Let’s just say I could come back to London and do without the Big Bus Tour.

If you are looking for a quiet, quaint and relaxing European town, I would not recommend London. Though London was a memorable city filled with history and distinction, I would put it at the bottom of my list of the places we traveled to in Europe. London reminded me of New York City: a lot of people in small spaces, impersonal and dirty. However, I am very grateful that I was able to tour this city and witness its history first hand.

Stayed tuned for our travel adventures in Belgium, which will be posted next week.

Standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing in at 110 pounds, she walks into the lounge of the Lory Student Center countering the weight of a bulky black shoulder bag, which looks like it weighs half as much as she does.

But don’t get the wrong impression.  If there is anyone who can shoulder a load, it’s Scott, who at 26 years old has shared lenses with some of the biggest names in the photography business, and has scaled up to 22,000 feet on and around Mount Everest as a photographic assistant to National Geographic cinematographer David Breashears.

“People shouldn’t follow a specific pattern,” Scott, a senior journalism major, says, gesturing with her hands. “You should make your own.”

And indeed Scott has sewn an intricate quilt of connections and opportunities in pursuing her passion for photography.

Starting at her high school in Omaha, Neb., Scott began taking classes in the development and technique of photography, but according to her twin brothers Steve and Tom Scott, she always had a knack for it.

“I have a lot of memories of her always trying to take photos of us at different locations,” Tom Scott, 20, says.  A sophomore psychology major at St. Louis University, Tom Scott recalls how Scott would drive him and his twin to interesting places in order to set up the perfect shot.

“She would take us to schools or parks just to take photos,” Tom Scott says.  “For our Father’s Day present, she made us dress up and we each wore signs [that said], ‘I love you, Dad.’ She took us to a park and got photos of us all.  She was always into using [photos] as presents.”

Once she graduated from high school, however, Scott’s educational path became a bit erratic, and she temporarily abandoned her hobby.

Enrolled as a philosophy major until her sophomore year at Lake Forest College in Chicago, Illin., Scott didn’t like the college and transferred to Colorado State University in 2002.

Scott took classes at CSU until she was a junior, when she realized her love for photography and dropped out of the university for the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif. She graduated from Brooks in 2008 with a degree in Professional Photography, then returned to CSU to complete a journalism degree.  She is set to graduate in May.

“I didn’t think she was ever going to graduate,” says Steve Scott, a 20-year-old sophomore exercise science major at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. Steve Scott said he was initially unsure whether his sister would achieve much success.

“She kept changing her mind,” Steve says. “I kind of thought she would end up screwing up because she left, but she came back with two bachelor’s degrees, a trip to Mount Everest working with National Geographic, [and] these internships with huge companies in a short period of time.  She’s had more than I probably will in 10 years.”

Armed with an unusual talent and fierce tenacity, Scott journeyed across the country in order to gain experience with some of the world’s most renowned photographers.   Her resume includes internships at the Mark Seliger Studio in New York City, as well as the Norman Jean Roy Studio in Los Angeles, where Scott sharpened her skills as a photographic assistant.

Both studios are regular contributors to Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines, and Scott worked in the same space as legendary photographers Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz and Patrick Demarchelier.

She also obtained career know-how from a 2009 internship with advertising powerhouse Crispin Porter and Bogusky in Boulder, a move that rounded out her already impressive knowledge of the industry.

“You really have to pick a specialization [in photography],” Scott says.  “[Now] I can do everything, so when I’m ready to specialize I’ll be ready to jump into it. I think I understand every part of the business.”

And it’s not that Scott is arrogant about her talents. According to her friend Heather Goodrich, 27, she just has a thorough understanding of who she is and what she can do.

“Steph is a really caring, thoughtful, precise and driven person,” says Goodrich, who is also the developmental advisor for College Avenue magazine and editor in chief of FS Life. “Steph’s work is real. No matter what she’s shooting she’s capturing the essence of what is being told. She is going to be really successful because she has incredible drive.  It’s insane how focused and driven she is.”

And sitting forward in her chair with her arms resting on the table, Scott does emanate a sense of order and directness.  Her light brown hair, striped with lighter streaks of blonde, is combed neatly into a thick ponytail that skims the middle of her back.  Her voice is low but her words are bold and quickly delivered, and she seems to catch every detail in the room with a glance from her sharp gray eyes – eyes that see a different view of the world which she translates from the lens of her Canon 5D camera.

“I love portrait work,” Scott says. “Getting to know people and seeing a side that they don’t normally express unless you have that intimate setting. Being able to create your own experience with people and express it is amazing.

“[And] the type of photography [that] can contribute toward a greater cause than enjoyment, [where] there’s more of a higher purpose to the work I’m doing. That would be ideal for me.”

It was this enthusiasm and work ethic that secured her the valuable internship positions and, ultimately, the pièce de résistance of her career so far: a six-week stint in the Himalayas documenting a National Geographic expedition with photographer David Breashears, whom she met while working in an outdoor retail store in Chicago.

Scott continued to e-mail Breashears about his work, and eventually he called her in the fall of 2009 and invited her to assist in his project.

“It was kind of agonizing because I was like, ‘s—, I’m so close to graduating, what do I do?’” Scott says.  “I went to all of my professors with the assumption that I wanted to let them know personally that I was going to have to drop out again and they were like ‘hey we’ll work with you.’  Everyone was so supportive and awesome.”

Scott arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Oct. 14 of 2009, loaded with 12 bags of camera equipment for the six-person team involved in the project.  Then Scott, Breashears, three Nepalese sherpas and a few Tibetan porters drove to Xangmu, China, and to the Rongbuk monastery, which is close to the north base camp of Mount Everest.

“I was a photo assistant, so basically I was documenting David documenting glaciers,” Scott says. “The project was taking match photography from 1920s and 1890s photographs, and based on GPS locations we took pictures from the same spots those explorers were, and showed change.

“There are only one-fourth of the glaciers left, so there’s a serious issue in the Himalayas glaciers. All of that water provides for five of the largest rivers in Asia, so for the people whose livelihoods depend on that water, it’s going to be a huge issue.”

After thoroughly photographing the mountain region from the north side, the team intended to explore another 8,000 meter peak close in proximity to Mount Everest, but their permits were denied and they returned to Mount Everest, this time documenting glacial lakes forming on the south side.

“We kind of orbited around [Mount Everest],” Scott says, pointing to photos of the mountain on her laptop.  “We did the circle from north to south base camp – it was a dream I always wanted.”

In living her dream, Scott had to operate outside of her comfort zone.

“It broadened my horizons as to what my limitations are physically and mentally,” Scott says.  “Hiking for eight hours and having your lungs feel completely raw and getting to your camp and then realizing that you still have to hike [for another] two hours up to the photo point and then work—it’s nuts.”

Scott’s friends and family expressed worry and excitement about her opportunity, but were confident in Scott’s ability to endure the difficult conditions she faced.

“I was really nervous for her, but she’s tough and I knew she could do it,” Tom says. “From hearing some of the experiences she had, I guess I should have been more worried about it but she’s a tough and strong person.”

Scott’s boyfriend, Kelly Adair, 25, had only been dating Scott for a few months when she left for Nepal.

“I was concerned,” says Adair, a University of Colorado in Boulder graduate. “We were early on in our relationship, so it made our relationship a lot stronger from the get-go because we would correspond as much as we could via e-mail. It made me realize what she was going through just by the way she was describing the things that she was doing.  I knew how high she was going and how it can be very dangerous to do that.”

And though she says she would take the trip again “in a heartbeat,” Scott says the expedition was “the biggest love/hate experience” she has ever had and that it took a severe toll on her health.

“I got altitude sickness one night where I had to breathe myself down in the tent,” Scott says.   “I had a massive migraine – it was pretty scary.  It was too high for helicopters so it was kind of a mental issue at that point.  [I had to] deal with it. Altitude deals with you in funny ways. It slows your thinking [and] it slows your breathing. I felt deficient in every possible way up there. People are not meant to be that high.”

Also affected by the extreme altitude were Scott’s eating and sleeping habits.  According to Scott, she didn’t get much of either.

“You don’t eat up there ‘cause you’re not hungry,” Scott says.  “It’s a matter of really monitoring what you eat and what you drink.  I didn’t sleep at all up there. You can’t really sleep until the early morning hours.  You just kind of toss and turn.”

Aside from losing about 12 pounds from her already diminutive frame, Scott also had to cope with severe illness during the latter portion of the trip.

“I got so sick—the sickest I’ve ever been,” she says.  “I couldn’t keep down fluids but I also couldn’t keep them in.  I [was] just expelling all of my water.  I had to take medicine to keep the medicine I needed down.”

Once the team returned from Everest, Scott was able to receive the medical attention she needed, and she spent another week in Nepal recovering and eating pizza from a local Italian restaurant.  She returned to the U.S. on Nov. 23, exhausted but satisfied with her adventure.

“I think learning my own limits was the thing that I took away from it,” Scott says. “Knowing that my limits are limitless if you set your mind to it [and that] if you have no other option, you really can do whatever you want. Not many people have the opportunity to realize that about themselves.”

Once she was back in Fort Collins, Scott had to return to her busy life, which included working as a photography editor for College Avenue magazine and completing the assignments she missed while away.  Scott currently lives in Boulder and commutes to class three to five times per week.

“To shoot for National Geographic and to go to Tibet and to climb Everest in and of itself – each separate thing is incredible,” Goodrich says.  “But for her to do all of those together in college during [her] senior year with capstone courses, she’s incredible.  She really can do everything. I don’t know how she manages it all.”

On top of juggling her schoolwork, internships, various photography jobs and outdoor activities with Adair, Scott also finds time to reinforce a strong relationship with her twin brothers.

She smiles when she receives a text from her brother Tom and murmurs, “Tommy.”

According to both brothers, Scott is the glue that holds their family unit together.

“Both of our parents have been married a couple of times each, so it is what you make of it,” Scott says, shrugging her shoulders. “You can be super maladjusted, or you can count on what you have, so we just make a point that the three of us do what we do and always stay that way, and then everything else can circle around that if that’s the case.”

Every year for the twins’ birthday, Scott and her brothers go to a different stadium to see a baseball game together.  Scott and Steve are Red Sox fans, while Tom prefers the Yankees.

“Every cool experience I’ve had has come directly or indirectly from her,” Tom says. “Out of everyone in my life, she’s probably the closest person to me.  She helped me a lot growing up and was always there when I needed to talk to someone.”

And talk she does. But after a 54-minute interview, Stephanie Scott hoists up her black shoulder bag and pushes chair in under the table.  And all 5 feet and 4 inches of her, that has focused a camera with the industry’s biggest names and climbed part way up the world’s highest mountain, turns to go.  She still has things to do.

Evan McCormick, 20, is a zoology major at Colorado State University.  In his freshman year of college, some of his friends invited him to go to an event put on by the student organization Not for Sale.  This event forever changed his direction in life.

McCormick learned in depth about human trafficking, which is the act of people being tricked and persuaded to leave their country – or forcibly taken – to work for someone without being paid.  In short, slavery.

With his blonde hair perfectly smoothed down on his head and his inviting tone of voice, he took this new challenge head on. 

At the event, three different types of human trafficking were stimulated, as if McCormick himself were a slave.  The people running the event treated all participants as if they were slaves of the sex industry, sweat shops or soldiers. 

McCormick knew this was not something he could blink away.

“My heart was just broken for it, so I was like, ‘I can’t just sit here and do nothing,’” McCormick said with passion in his eyes. “I have to do something about this.”

After this event, he enrolled in the Not for Sale Investigator’s Academy in San Francisco, which took place last summer.  The two-week course taught him how to research and document human trafficking. McCormick recalls this as an amazing experience.

“They taught us how to do the mapping system online and what we are looking for whenever we go out investigating this stuff,” McCormick said.  “Basically, anything there is to know about human trafficking they touched on.”

McCormick said he learned certain red flags to look for when doing investigations, such as a place with bars on the windows and possibly a camera out front.  The name of a place will often change, making advertisements an easy source of information.  Human trafficking areas are often disguised as massage parlors. 

As McCormick’s passion for promoting awareness to stop human trafficking grows, it is powered by a spiritual connection.

“I’m a Christian and God is the biggest part of my life,” McCormick said.  “That really plays into this passion about human trafficking – seeking justice and showing love and just loving everyone and everything.”

McCormick’s good friend of two years, Bruce Mayberry, 21, shares this deep connection with God. 

“God gives him the love he needs to love others,” Mayberry said.  “Faith is something that feeds his desire to be a part of Not for Sale – he gives himself over for it.”

As a child, McCormick was always exposed to religion because his father is a pastor.  With this career, his family moved around a lot. 

Born on Feb. 9, 1990 in the bay area of California, his father took a job in Indiana when McCormick was three. At the age of 10 the family moved to Arizona, and at 15 they moved back to the same area of California. 

Although moving around a lot as a child often bothers people, McCormick was not fazed by it.

“Looking back now, every area was perfect for the time period in my life,” McCormick said.

Through all the moving, McCormick established a strong faith in God, but it wasn’t until the summer before he left for college that he fully believed. 

For the past three summers, McCormick has gone on a weeklong houseboat trip with people from his church.  He had not planned on going again, until he found out there was one spot left on the trip and it had already been paid for. 

He took that as a sign that God wanted him to go on the trip, so he did.  McCormick knew that if he went, God would show him why he was supposed to go.

“I wrote out a prayer telling God that I expect him to show up that week and take over my life,” McCormick said. 

At the time, McCormick didn’t feel completely immersed in God at all times, which is what he wanted.   

During the trip, there was required solo time where attendees simply sat by themselves and read the Bible for three hours.  McCormick used this time to pray to God.

“Alright God, I’m just going to sit and listen and be in silence – I just want to hear your voice right now,” McCormick prayed.

Finally he heard the voice of God, telling him that he was going to talk to a girl on the trip named Ana tonight, and He wanted him to tell Ana that He loves her.  McCormick sat there for a while, confused and in awe.

He did not know much about Ana, so he wasn’t sure how God’s plan would work out. 

Sure enough, McCormick had an in-depth conversation that night with Ana.  She told him her life story, and most importantly, how she felt unloved.  She told him she didn’t feel like God hears her prayers and she didn’t think He loved her.

At this moment McCormick gave her God’s message, that He did love Ana.

“We just sat there in awe witnessing the miracle that just happened,” McCormick said.   “That’s exactly what she needed to hear and that’s exactly what I needed to know that God exists.  Since then my relationship with God has grown.”

Now McCormick feels God in everything he does in life, including stopping human trafficking.

“I couldn’t do this by myself,” McCormick said.

McCormick is going to Uganda this summer for four weeks to work with various projects involved with Not for Sale. 

“Our goal there is to go document all of those so we can have some on file to use for awareness,” McCormick said.

He will be investigating and documenting cases of human trafficking, working at a school being built for former child soldiers and helping construct an amphitheater so the community can come together using music. 

He stays motivated by knowing that everything he does could be to help one person better their lives.

“This could be for one slave to be freed, that’s why I do it,” McCormick said. 

McCormick’s girlfriend, Britny Beffort, 19, has known him for almost two years.  She is amazed by his drive to better the world and fully supports his trip to Uganda. 

She describes McCormick as caring, inviting and genuine.

“Evan has a heart for God,” Beffort said.  “After talking with him for five minutes you want to share your life story with him.” 

Beffort said he has a unique personality that makes him a perfect candidate for all that he does for human trafficking.

“A lot of what makes him unique is his heart for people whether his knows them or not,” Beffort said.

McCormick’s fantasy is to be in the presence of God, in heaven.  He feels he reaches close to this by being surrounded by nature.

McCormick enjoys playing the drums, guitar and ukulele.  He loves to rock climb and do anything involving nature. 

With the help of God, McCormick is motivated to change the lives of former slaves.  He is very involved in Not for Sale and his presence makes those around him feel at ease. 

“I love building relationships and having fun with people,” McCormick said. “To me, the only real things in life are God and relationships – that’s all that’s going to matter and it lasts eternally.”

The changes were made after many dispensary owners expressed concern that they were being made illegal by regulations. The original ordinance, passed on March 16, allowed for over 850 acres of land citywide for dispensaries and around 1,500 acres for cultivation sites. The proposed zoning changes will add an additional 544 acres for cultivation outside of industrial zones.

“Even in the public comments, people seemed pretty agreeable,” said Ginny Sawyer, an administrator with Fort Collins Neighborhood Services, noting that dispensary owners and other community members were in attendance at the meeting. “It’s hard to tell who is representing who, but overall, I think people were positive.”

According to Sawyer, the decision to up the amount of marijuana that can be bought in a seven day period was based on feedback from dispensary owners. The change only applies to licensed dispensaries who handle multiple patients, not individuals or single primary caregivers.

“I think those are arbitrary amounts and I didn’t hear any compelling argument that 4 oz. was needed to protect patient’s rights under Amendment 20,” said councilmember Wade Troxell, who voted against the change.

Amendment 20, passed in 2000, is the Colorado law that allows for medicinal use of marijuana by state-licensed patients. It makes no mention of dispensaries or commercial cultivation.

Presently, only six of 36 total commercial dispensaries are legal under the March 16 ordinance. Most of the new property under the proposed grow site changes will be north of Mulberry Street along College Avenue. There is only one dispensary that currently operates in that area.

The changes will allow for dispensaries to grow on-site, addressing complaints that the ordinance set aside a disproportionately  small amount of land, most of which is controlled by property owners who do not want cultivators in their buildings. All on-site growing must have separate ventilation and security, and patients will not be allowed access at any time.

“From my perspective, there wasn’t enough evidence put forward that the industrial zoning needed to be expanded,” Troxell said. “For example, under the original ordinance, you had one square mile of industrial land available for cultivators. If that’s not enough for patients and caregivers, I don’t know what is.”

Troxell, who played an important role in passing the original ordinance, was the single dissenting vote on both measures. After revision, the changes will be sent to council on May 4 for a second reading before being made final.

“I’m leery of any expansion attempts because I think the ordinance that was put into place was well-crafted and thought through,” Troxell said. “When you start to incrementally change, you allow for a lot of uninteded consequences.”

The April 20 decision was the first in a long string of future challenges to the ordinance. After the second reading and expected final approval on May 4, current businesses will have until June 30 to reapply for a medical marijuana license.

By July 14, all dispensaries and growers in residential areas will have to shut down and remove their inventory, one of the major goals of the original ordinance.

In September, the council will meet to decide whether the 36 current commercial businesses can stay at their present location. Until then, the city will not grant tax or marijuana licenses to new businesses.

Kim Bruno, a chiropractic physician and certified clinical nutritionist in Fort Collins, and Stacy Miller, a Colorado State University graduate student seeking a Ph.D. in human nutrition, revealed that many foods people think are healthy may be doing more harm than good.

Right off the bat, Bruno said that diet foods are a big problem area for many of her patients.

“They come in believing that diet sodas, for example, are better because they are low in sugar and low in calories,” Bruno said.

What could be wrong with being low in sugar and calories? Many believe it aids in weight loss, but Bruno and Miller said that just isn’t the case.

Bruno warns that even though these diet drinks and foods are low in sugar, they may contain artificial sweeteners that actually raise insulin levels in the body, which still stores fat.

Anything sweet that touches your tongue triggers an insulin release, Miller said. This can be harmful because your body recognizes even artificial sweeteners as regular sugar, which can have the same fat-storing effects.

“Just because something says diet, it doesn’t mean it’s good for you,” Bruno said.

Many people have been taught that dairy strengthens bones and prevents osteoporosis. But actually it is inflammatory to the body. Bruno said that contrary to popular belief, it isn’t a good source of calcium because of its acidic properties.

She notes that dairy products like milk and cheese can actually cause calcium to be leached from the bones due to the acidity.

“You need to have a balance of minerals in the body,” Bruno said. Dairy makes it harder to keep calcium in the bones, she said.

Aside from milk being acidic, it really isn’t the best or only source of calcium, Miller explained.

“People don’t realize there are lots of other sources of calcium, like dark green vegetables and calcium-fortified foods,” Miller said.

Does your bread have “enriched flour” as one of the ingredients? If it does, then it isn’t good for you.

“Enriched flour is stripped of pretty much everything and then they add in things like riboflavin, folate and calcium,” Bruno said.

She said you want the nutrients that naturally occur in the food; you don’t want it to be stripped of anything.

“If you are on a continuum, you have wheat in a field, sprouted wheat, whole grain, whole wheat and then white flour,” Bruno said. “You want to find foods that are closest to wheat in a field.”

She mentioned that the reason whole wheat is closest to white flour on the continuum is because it is mostly colored with brown food coloring to make it look healthier.

Bruno and Miller said they believe that marketing is behind making these foods seem healthy.

“The food industry is driven by money,” Bruno said. “Look at the commercials shown when kids are home from school. They are all about sugary cereals and juice boxes that make kids want them.”

Sometimes these foods are even marketed as healthy because they are natural and made from fruit. But hidden behind the advertising, foods like juice have negative implications on the body.

“Fruit juice is not the same as biting into the real fruit,” Bruno said. “When you eat a whole apple, you have fructose but you also have fiber. If you just have juice, you have fructose but no fiber.”

Much like other artificial sweeteners, when you add sugar and take out fiber, it leads to an insulin spike, which stores fat.

Miller believes real fruit is always better than juice because the fiber can help counteract the fructose in the fruit.

“Fiber is good. It helps your digestive system, helps lower blood sugar and can lower cholesterol,” Miller said.

All these foods can have unseen consequences. Bruno said eating unhealthy foods can cause stress on organ systems, such as the liver’s ability to detoxify and the gastrointestinal system, which keeps everything balanced. If you have an imbalance, bad bacteria takes over and can cause bloating, diarrhea and food allergies or sensitivities.

Consuming too much sugar can also result in diabetes. Bruno said that these foods can cause insulin spikes that shock you body until it is no longer able to resist, which can lead to diabetes.

To prevent these common ailments and diseases, Bruno gave some advice about grocery shopping.

“Shop the perimeter of the store and steer towards whole foods, not processed foods,” Bruno said. “Also read the labels. You want the fewest ingredients as possible.”

Miller also advised that people read the entire labels and not just the nutrition facts.

“Some people want the antioxidant properties of pomegranate juice, but if you look on the label, there are usually filler juices like grape or apple that represent most of the bottle, with just a little bit of pomegranate,” Miller said. This is because filler juices are cheaper to produce than fruits like pomegranates.

Along with a healthy diet, Bruno also recommends drinking a lot of water, taking the time to chew your food and doing some form of stress management, like yoga or meditation. Relaxation and slowing down is a big part of keeping your body balanced, she said.

“Basically, just take the time to think about what you’re eating and drinking and definitely read the labels,” Miller said.

Did You Know?

–It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to signal to the brain that it is full.

–By eating slower, you actually eat less because you feel full faster.

–Whole wheat isn’t really whole. It is stripped of most of the natural nutrients.

5 Primary Ingredients You Want to Avoid

1. High fructose corn syrup

2. Hydrogenated oils – they are actually trans fats

3. Sugar

4. Animal or saturated fats, such as butter or lard

5. Enriched flour – try to find whole grains

“New Moon,” the second movie of the four-part series, grossed $140 million at the box office on opening weekend, earning $72 million on opening night. According to Michelle Lee, an undeclared sophomore, “‘Twilight’ equals ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Harry Potter’ – it’s that big.”

But why has “Twilight” become such a sensation? For one thing, the story allows us to indulge in the idealized love story between human and superhuman and to escape the flaws of realistic relationships in order to experiment with the prospect of eternal love.

Beyond that, “Twilight” has, shall we say, “re-vamped” the popularity of vampires in mainstream pop culture.

The vampire of today is a humanized, tortured hero who struggles morally with its existence as a monster and has compassion for humanity, a characterization that has evolved and transformed numerous times over the last century.

Tim Kane, author of “The Changing Vampire of Film and Television,” categorizes the characterization trends of the vampire in visual media into three cycles: The Malignant Cycle (1931-1948), The Erotic Cycle (1957-1985) and The Sympathetic Cycle (1987-Today).

Movies created during the Malignant Cycle are exemplified by “Nosferatu” (1922), the unauthorized adaptation of Dracula made in Germany (a silent film). Others dealing with the original Dracula, including “Dracula’s Daughter” (1936), “Son of Dracula” (1943) and “Return of the Vampire” (1944), portray the vampire as a ruthless and brutal killer who has no compassion for humans.

As the genre progressed, the vampire evolved from cold-blooded killer into the exotic sex symbol of the Erotic Cycle. During this film period, the vampire most often attacks victims slowly and seductively while the victims, often women, lie sleeping and unaware in a bedroom setting.

The best examples of these vampires appear in the 1974 and 1979 re-makes of “Dracula.” Dracula seduces his female victims by first kissing them as a lover would, then biting them. In both films, the victims respond with moans of arousal and pleasure rather than pain.

The vampire transforms once again during the Sympathetic Cycle, maintaining its erotic symbolism but also taking on some human emotional and psychological characteristics, and even expressing varying degrees of dissatisfaction with its existence as a vampire.

This is where “Twilight’s” Edward Cullen comes in. Cullen curses his existence as a vampire and criticizes the nature of vampires heavily throughout the series.

Author Stephanie Meyers characterizes Cullen as a victim of his condition and grants him compassion, respect, love and jealousy of the position of humans, an emotion that the supernatural creatures have never before expressed in cinematic history.

One of the newest and most recently popular sympathetic vampires is Bill Compton, the Louisiana Civil War soldier-turned-vampire of the HBO series “True Blood,” based on the “Sookie Stackhouse” novels by Charlaine Harris.

In “True Blood,” vampires have “come out of the coffin” in modern-day Louisiana, where Bill Compton tries to the best of his ability to assimilate into the human community.

The series weaves sexuality, religion, politics and the supernatural into a complex allegory that explores the modern search for identity. Compton greatly condemns his existence as a vampire, and tries to reconnect with his humanity through his relationship with Sookie Stackhouse, a human woman.

Exemplified by Bill Compton and Edward Cullen, contemporary vampires maintain their nature as blood drinkers, but attract massive audiences because of their emotional complexity, physical perfection and compassion for humanity.

Their current dynamic and humanistic characterization allows the viewer to interpret vampires not just as immortal monsters but as beings that reflect the nature and image of ourselves.

With the fight for viewers’ attention growing more difficult in a highly saturated market, advertisers are searching for ways to stand out and win the battle for your attention. One prominent tactic is the use of sexual imagery.

But does sex sell?

According to Donna Rouner, a Colorado State University associate professor of journalism and technical communication, the success of advertising that uses sexual imagery often depends on the product being sold.

“Research has shown that people are pretty turned off by sex in ads if neither the product nor the lifestyle being portrayed [are relevant to] nudity or sex,” Rouner said. “Where sex works for people generally is when the product itself has to do with sex or intimacy or nudity.”

Kathleen Kelly, an associate professor of marketing at CSU and the director for the Center of Marketing and Social Issues, agreed with Rouner.

“It’s often around how [advertisements] can be sensual, because it fits with the type of product we’re promoting,” Kelly said. “You really have to look at whether it complements the product, makes sense for the product and [think about] how far to go.”

Junior accounting major Nick Lederhos said that advertisements for the clothing brand Abercrombie and Fitch, which often feature models wearing little to no clothing, do not appeal to him.

“They go too overboard without focusing on the [clothes],” he said.

the buzz factor

Whether people love or hate a sexually explicit ad, Rouner said they’ll probably remember it, and possibly talk about it – or so advertisers hope.

“It creates buzz,” Rouner said. “That kind of effect is something that advertisers like. Even though it’s not selling [the product], it is making people pay attention to [the product]. Negative publicity is better than no publicity.”

However, while consumers may remember sexually explicit ads, they won’t necessarily remember the product.

“If you get really caught up in the sexuality of a commercial, you think ‘oh, that is effective because I’ve got them watching,’ but you often forget what’s being sold,” Kelly said.

But for high-end fashion labels like Dolce and Gabbana, a company who has become notorious for their sexually explicit print ads, the purpose may not be to sell a specific product, but the brand itself.

The company received criticism in particular for a 2007 ad that featured a woman being pinned to the ground by a man, while other men watched them – an image that many perceived to be a depiction of gang rape.

“It’s all about branding,” Rouner said. “You may never buy that product, but you will have that branded notion of Dolce and Gabbana as being on the edge, racy and sexual. In that sense, the advertising works in terms of attention and branded belief about that organization.”

targeting an audience

Although the success of sex in advertisements is sometimes questioned, Kelly said sexual imagery is used strategically. In fact, behind every 50-second television commercial, 8-by-11-inch print ad and 75-foot-long billboard, there are hours upon hours of consumer research and target audience analysis.

“The purpose of advertising is to get you to buy stuff,” added Elissa Braunstein, an associate professor of economics. “Consumption is at the root of the American economy. It’s the big driver of economic growth in the United States.”

According to Kelly, advertisers often conduct research to find niche groups to target as a means of breaking through the clutter of a heavily saturated market.

“[Advertisers] are constantly looking for a segment that isn’t already being [focused on],” she said. “What you see happening a lot now is that if a company is trying to target a young market, and particularly a young male market, they’re more likely to use sexuality or sex in advertising.”

Kelly cited Burger King as an example of this strategy. The prominent fast food company released multiple television and print ads in 2009 that played off of sexually suggestive themes.

“[Burger King was] competing with McDonalds head-to-head for so many years going after families and McDonalds wins that game hands down,” Kelly said. “With young males being the group that eat fast food the most, they positioned their promotion to target this group.”

While sex may have nothing to do with burgers, it might get the average young male’s attention.

“It’s easy to say ‘well that was a stupid ad,’” Kelly said. “[But] I’m not the target audience. I always have to remind myself of that.”

men vs. women

Research has shown that men react more positively to sexually explicit ads than women, a fact that Rouner attributes not to the display of nudity or sexual acts itself, but the implication that these images make about gender.

“Males tend to like nudity, sexuality and sexual explicitness across the board, but women tend not to like it because they are the ones who are the objects of the sex,” Rouner said.

A 2009 study in Journal of Consumer Research, suggested that women react more favorably to sexual imagery in ads if it is within the context of a committed relationship.

The study said this is likely due to the fact that men tend to have positive attitudes toward casual sex, while women tend to care more about relationships involving intimacy and commitment.

Rouner agreed, and said most ads with sexual imagery that we see today reflect men’s ideals rather than women’s.

“[Advertisements] are very male oriented, so they don’t show a lot of committed relationships,” Rouner said. “I don’t think women are objecting to the sexual act or the nudity. I think they are objecting to the oppression of it, the oppressive nature of it.”

Adriane Ciavonne, a senior journalism and technical communication major, agreed and said that ads objectifying women bother her.

“I think that men have never been on the other end,” she added. “They don’t really know what it’s like [to be objectified].”

defining the problem with sex in advertisements

Braunstein teaches Gender in the Economy a survey course, which focuses on different gender issues within the economic system, including the issue of sex in advertising.

She explained that sex in advertising becomes an issue when problematic images of women are used and that suggesting this tactic is justified simply because it works is a “cop-out.”

“[The saying] ‘Sex sells’ is too passive,” she said. “It’s missing the other side of the equation. It partly sells products because advertising uses it to sell products. They could use other kinds of images and be just as effective.”

Kelly said businesses are starting to become more aware of their responsibilities in regards to minimizing harm.

“Certainly businesses have improved a lot in recent years with regards to recognizing that they have a lot of responsibility and accountability to the public,” she said. “We’re doing a much better job of it. They have had to really get into this area of corporate social responsibility.”

But according to Rouner, a lot of changes still need to be made in how sexual images are used in advertising.

“It’s clear to me that really good ads can exist without sexualizing or sexually objectifying people,” Rouner said. “You can use sex in advertising in a beautiful way, just like art.

Had enough time to think?  The correct answer (of course) is Fort Collins, local music and rock ‘n’ roll.

If those weren’t the exact words you had in mind, you’ve come to the right place.  Welcome to The Playlist, a guide to all things involving local music in and around Ft. Collins.  Whether you’ve been a part of the scene for a long time or are interested in a little something homegrown to liven up your iPod, it’s never too late to get educated on the sounds of your own backyard.

Ft. Collins is arguably the center of the Northern Colorado music scene.  The Aggie Theatre in Old Town regularly lends its stage to acts such as Social Distortion and Tech Nine.  Tour buses for Foreigner and Willy Nelson can often be spotted in the parking lot of the Budweiser Events Center just down the road in Loveland.

Part of what makes Ft. Collins such an eclectic mix of auditory delights is the influence of the student body at CSU.  Campus has played host to a wide variety of big name acts, from Colorado heavyweights The Fray in 2006 to Lupe Fiasco in 2008.

Names such as these may hog all the space on marquee boards and fill the coveted Saturday evening slots at venues, but they all had to start somewhere.  At one point, even the biggest names were local.

Case in point: In 2005, Tickle Me Pink formed in Ft. Collins.  According to their official MySpace page, the band rose quickly, releasing two EP’s on their own before catching the attention of Wind-Up Records in 2008.  Their first full-length release, “Madeline,” was greeted by a sellout crowd at the Aggie and receives regular airplay on the radio station Channel 93.3.  Still in their early 20’s, their MySpace biography bills them as “one of the biggest bands in Colorado.”

But local music is not only about the prospect of eventual nationwide name recognition, tour buses and groupies.  It is about experimentation, fun and boundless energy.  But most of all, it is about music made by music lovers, for music lovers.

The possibility of finding something that fits your own unique tastes is endless.  Enjoy indie rock with a healthy dose of violin?  Check out the three-piece Stella Luce.  More inclined towards funky bluegrass?  The five person outfit Good Gravy! might be right up your ally.  In the mood for ukulele-playing singer/songwriters with a penchant for creating YouTube video’s?  There might only be one, but you’ll find her in Danielle Ate the Sandwich.  Looking for a bit of good old fashioned hard rock to get you in the mood before a Friday night binge?  The whiskey-loving five-piece Give ‘Er Hell will put some fire in your veins.

No matter what your cup of tea, Ft. Collins is home to a rich underground of musicians just waiting to have their music heard.  The Playlist will supply you with all you need to become a connoisseur of the Ft. Collins local music scene.  You’ll find info on venues, artist interviews, concert reviews and much, much more.

However, if you just can’t wait to delve into the scene, an excellent resource is the Fort Collins Musicians Association Web site.  You’ll find an extensive list of bands arranged by genre with links to their personal Web sites.  Dig around, get your hands dirty, and you’re bound to find something you like.

The incredible thing about becoming involved with any local movement is the people.  MySpace is a good place to get a glimpse of what exactly you’re looking for, but if you do discover a band you like, go and check them out.  Say hi after the show and let them know you appreciate what it is they do.  Buy (never steal) their album.  But most of all, take the opportunity to connect with a vibrant community that represents the musical tastes of our city.

a personal challenge…

Have you ever scrolled through your iPod, trying to find that same old Rolling Stones album you’ve listened to a hundred times, and just happened to stop on the vintage B-side you never knew you had? Well, I haven’t, but I think I’d like to.

It’s easy for music to get lost once it’s digitized. Maybe it’s because good old analog devices can’t fit in my pocket. Maybe it’s because people can afford to steal more Mp3’s than physical CD’s. Maybe I really don’t care about all 12 tracks on Kesha’s new CD, but downloading it was the only way to get the single.

Whatever the reason, files on a computer don’t stick out the way a pile of CD’S and records does. I guess you could call me a musical democratist: all music deserves to be listened to, even the lowest, oldest digital dregs.

With this in mind, I’ve set a challenge for myself. I’ll be keeping a personal “musiclogue” (like a travelogue for music) through blogspot. If you’re interested in hearing my game plan, want to join with me on your own sonic journey, or just want to discover the funky stuff I find in the nearly 11 days of music I have on my iPod, check my blog. It will be updated every week, and I promise it won’t disappoint.

High above one of the baskets, I stand sheepishly next to my roommate on a bleacher when the band, cheerleaders and Cam (the two-legged) Ram take to the court to hype up the crowd. The fraternity that has just filled the bleachers next to me begins to cheer and sing: “I said I’m proud, to be, a CSU Ram!” Meanwhile, I stand there laughing, embarrassed at the entire situation; the noodles, the painfully happy cheerleaders and the fist pumps to fight! Fight! Fight!

This immense school pride is all foreign to me. Back in England at the University of Leicester, we have only one charity sports event each year.  Even though it is against our rival university, it is still poorly attended because school pride is just not our thing. We don’t have a band and just barely have what constitutes a cheerleading team; they take 15 minutes to form a wonky pyramid before chucking someone into the air, only to fall awkwardly and kick another in the jaw (I am not exaggerating, I’ve witnessed this).

As for school colors, I’m not sure the majority of students are even aware of them. Our sports teams rarely play in the original maroon and green, and the merchandise in our bookstore is in every color aside from the correct ones. Apparently no one wants to buy an off-brown hoodie.

So as I stand in Moby Arena, I’m desperately trying to embrace this culture. But it is just too weird for me. The fight song makes me cringe every time I hear it, and as I join the fist pump on the last few beats I feel as though I’m betraying my culture; one that stands and watches while shouting expletives at the opposing team due to their sporting inabilities.

There are no frills, no half time show and no ‘go team.’ We play serious sport: We don’t put on a special show for the spectators; the game is the show.

I know I will never feel completely comfortable at an American sporting event for these reasons, but despite the feeling of violation I have when the game ends, I love the idea of team spirit and school pride. It defines the American character; always willing to support each other and always positive. It unites people and gives everyone a place in a society with a common goal, making students believe they are at the best university there is and no one can take that away.

How did the American psyche develop so differently from the English one?

Part of me wishes that the English could express themselves similarly so that the next time I play a soccer game, I have a sideline chanting my name. Even if I make a handball or score on my own goal, I’ll get a pat on the back.

I know this is a ridiculous hope though. We can’t incorporate school colors, mascots, cheerleaders and all the other additions without the magnificent cheesiness that American’s seem to pull off without batting an eyelid. Regardless, it never seems as though anyone is that proud of going to my university despite its notable status. People are always willing to acknowledge that another university is superior.

Obviously our university experience is incredibly different. When we begin university, we are encouraged to go out to clubs and drink. We are taught that the university is purely an academic institution with a few sport clubs tacked onto the side.

Here, on the other hand, we have Ram everything: Ramapalooza, RamCT, Ramweb and now the new edition of Ramwiches! Students are almost brainwashed into loving Colorado State.

This “brainwashing” begins at the beginning of the semester with Ram Welcome. Everyone is assigned to a Ram Welcome leader who leads them in activities that pummel Ram pride into even the most rebellious individual.

It is frankly quite frightening to watch this indoctrination process, but it does leave everyone feeling happy to be here and overtly proud of CSU, evident from the sounds of freshmen chanting outside my window for the first week of fall semester!

Despite my seemingly dower descriptions of English culture, not expressing excitement and pride is a trait I am proud to have because it makes me English. At the same time, I am glad American’s express themselves in a different way; it would be boring if we were all the same.