The canoe ride was interesting. Used to our heavy river canoe at home, this narrow plastic ship was squirrelly, and wobbled. I told my son to sit still and hold on. We crafted past herons up on one leg, herons down-beaked after fish, herons standing and stretching in their best John J. Audobon poses. We glided as kingfishers cackled and darted cross-river before us.

We paddled through lily pads and milfoil thick enough to choke a frog. With water green as a leprachaun's sweater, murky as Montana fire skies, visibility of no more than six inches, there wasn't going to be any swimming.

The green was oppressive, the flatness terminal. An unbroken line of trees made up the nether bank of the stream, and docks tethered with motorboats made up the residential side.

Idiosynchrosies

My sons and I departed Montana a week into smoke season for a back-east family reunion. The kids were going to meet grandparents and cousins, aunts and uncles they'd never known.

As a Montanan, I don't get back east anymore. The last time I'd gone, my ten year old was four, and my youngest son was just a blastocyst.

This time, they were coming along: extant, independent, armed with game boys and Encyclopedia Brown. I was excited.

My brother had rented a "cottage on a lake." At least that's what the brochure told us. I was immediately suspicious, as the lake was also a river, the river a part of the Erie Canal.

"Okay, whatever," I thought. It'll be green, there'll be fireflies, and we can swim.

So off we flew.

We got to the cottage late Saturday afternoon. The road is unmarked.
Miraculously, my brother and his wife, who live about an hour south, found us just in time. It was they who were lost.

They'd been tooling around for a couple hours, wondering where to go in the maze of driveways, gravel paths and river accesses. They were just turning onto the two-lane highway when we passed them. Talk about synchronicity!

Our introduction to the cottage was typical: Hi, how are you? etc. with the owner.
But then we were told: there is no stove. An electric hot plate was provided, but no stove? A week of Polish family gathering and no where to cook??

The owners set off. "Call if you need anything!" they chimed. Turns out, the wall phone provided couldn't call anyone but them.

My brother put the kielbasa on the grill, while my sister-in-law and I went to set the table. We pulled plates from the cupboard to discover the previous tenants had not washed them. Disgusted, we next discovered there were no clean sponges - none - with which to do the dishes. We both groaned, and grimaced, and shuddered.

Surely, for $1000 a week, one could expect cooking oil, a clean sponge, and pre-washed dishes? Surely, we were wrong.

The cottage itself was quaint and solid, built to resemble a hundred year old house. It abutts a murky slough covered in lily pads and milfoil. Fish rose to nibble myriad flying things - there were remarkably few mosquitoes.

After dinner, we set about choosing sleeping rooms. My sons and I got the king bed, where all three of us could sleep but use only one bedrooms. With four families expected plus one single brother, that arrangement made sense.

I sank to the gargantuan bed, and practically fell off! The mattress may have been king-sized, but the bedframe beneath it was not. A good six inches of mattress just hung in midair. Not the most appealing to a sore-backed sleeper, I moved to the other side, and sheepishly told my five-year-old he was to have that end.

new day, new surprises

Morning rose brilliantly blue, sun upon the thick greenery surrounding us.
Ah! I antipated a quick shower before a quiet canoe ride down the slack water slough.

My shampoo foamed richly in the local well water, but as I set to rinse, the shower suddenly went to ice- then stopped. Two seconds, no warning.

I stood lathered, dumbfounded.

In the dawn stillness I heard a sink downstairs. Haven't these people heard of water righs, I thought? Who was here first, should at least get to finish! I just waited.

By noon, I was settling into the realization this was a low-budget retreat.

The decorating style of the cottage-holders was beyond me. Feather-edged pillows of royal blue satin, bright blood red bathroom, and clutter of kitsch of no discernable theme: I'm sure it was someone's idea of Btter Homes and Gardens.

Too, I was in electronic exile: no phone, no internet, no laptop to write on. It unsettled me, and I knew it was going to be a long week.

soldier found, optimism lost

The report was stamped as posted twenty minutes ago. The body of one of the three kidnapped soldiers in Iraq had been found afloat in the Euphrates river.

Reading it, I was struck with a sadness I have not felt up to now in this war.

I have had a friend leave for Iraq; miraculously, he came back. Our friendship changed dramatically with his leaving: he grew insular, retreating to the people he knew and loved before his too-recent move to Montana was cut so abruptly short by his being called up. He came back, not terribly altered, but more closed than when he had left. Still, he came back.

This child's family has news of his passing, news of his death that will shatter their lives and be a story through the generations. But they will not have their son back. He is not returning home, anymore than the hope that so many held for the soldiers' safe return can come home now. We are all lessened by this loss.

More than once, I heard the tale as I was growing up of a cousin I would never know. He went off to another war. He was shot, he was killed, I'll not tell the details.
He was ever a legend, and a ghost of sadness. Whenever his tale was told, the room grew cold, and silent. The women weeped, and the men departed to linger in the halls, thrown off balance by this son they could not hold.

This sadness returned to me, reading of our soldier's loss. It seems inevitable now that another report will come, and another. I cringe thinking of the horror,the fear, these young men must have suffered. I pray they died quickly, they died well.

This can be no consolation to the family who has lost their child. Like my aunt, they will go on, burdened with his loss.

I pray only that soon, very soon, the madness ends.

~Namaste

goodbye/Hello!

With the end of the university's school year upon us, I will no longer be posting articles written for the UM Kaimin. I will, however, continue to publish interesting thoughts, ideas, and interviews as they occur. Life at large! Stay tuned, and keep reading! annie

A Talk with Robert Hass on Poetry in Society

Robert Hass graciously took time out of his uber-busy teaching and lecturing schedule to speak with me about the impact of poetry on society, and whether or not such art can influence the public's viewpoint on war. This interview was conducted April 26th, 2007, from Missoula MT, in anticipation of his April 30th talk at the University of Montana, “Study War No More.”

Robert Hass is an outspoken poet, reflecting on world affairs, environmental issues, and most recently, the war in Iraq. Currently serving as chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, he was our US Poet Laureate from 1995 through 1997, under the Clinton administration.

Though best known for his poetry, Hass teaches literature at UC Berkeley, calling it his "paying job." "Every artist has two full time jobs," he said. "One that earns them a living, and thier art. Inevitably, you must do something (other than writing) to pay the bills."

Hass is now on the lecture circuit, speaking about art's influence on consciousness and war. The progression from artist to activist happened early for Hass, who was a grad student during the Vietnam War.

Married with children, he was deferred from the draft, and became active in the Sixties antiwar movement. Hass remarked on our current war: “I don’t think there’s apathy about it; I think people are very worried about it.” Yet he noted students aren’t actively campaigning against the US involvement in Iraq as they did against Vietnam “because there’s no draft.” With no disincentive, they can be blasé.

Hass emphasised the full impact of the war is not being felt by the American public because “people aren’t asked to foot the bill for it.” He said our current increase in gas prices would have happened anyway, due to the scarcity of the resource, and that the real cost of US involvement in the middle east will not be felt for a generation, just as happened with Vietnam. "It wasn't until the mid-seventies, in the Carter administration, that society felt the impacts of the cost" the government had borne to fund Vietnam.

"Suddenly we had seniors living on fixed incomes from social security who were eating dog food, because it was all they could afford," Hass said.

Another barrier to emotionally involving the public in what Hass called the "true cost of the war" is a ban on taking or running photographs of deceased soldiers, he said. “The government will not allow anyone to take pictures of the dead Americans coming home,” nor does it “keep track of Iraqi civilian deaths.” This artificially cleanses the war, making it no more real to most people than a TV show.

Hass said as long as the real costs of war - both economic and social - are hidden from the public eye, the war will continue. And once it ends, Hass believes society will feel the impact of the government's current budget deficit through the loss of social programs, coupled with commodity cost increases.

Still, Hass isn't necessarily trying to make a particular statement through his poetry. When asked if he writes about the war in order to change society's thinking, Hass replied “I find myself writing about war for the same reason I write about divorce or nature or my children growing up. It’s there to be dealt with and thought through and felt through.”

“I’m not trying to reach anyone,” he said, “I’m making something.”

Poetry is an art form of the educated middle class, Hass said, and most poetry is a reflection of the world. Yet, “there are poets who are profoundly talented, like Shakespeare, who generate new ideas.” Some, he said, are able to “crystallize a whole society around an idea.”

“Writers come to this in different ways. All artists need to say things in public. In my own case, it comes down to growing up in a household with alcoholics. I have a strong impulse to (reveal the truth) if I think it’s there unspoken.”

Hass doesn’t believe writing will lose ground as an art form, but the medium which is popular at any given moment is the medium which shapes that moment’s heroes. At one time, he said, it was newspapers, and writers were held in esteem. Now, he said, visual media dominate, creating Hollywood's version of celebrity and importance.

With most young people more concerned about Paris Hilton than great literature, Hass said he doesn’t “have any illusions about the reach of poetry in the short run.”

As for poetry impacting society on a large scale, Hass said he’s always held that poetry works by the trickle-down effect. "It takes about a hundred years in the economy of the industrial period," he said, "for a poet to influence government."

Still, “the world is changing and as it does the role of poetry is going to change.”

“Mass literacy is a new phenomenon” which could broaden poetry’s reach, said Hass. With a college education becoming common, and access to publishing one’s work more readily available, “more people are writing than ever before.”

“Emily Dickenson said, tell the truth, but tell it slanted.”

Ruminations

As Virginians mourn and sit in shocked silence, North Easterners are having their lives turned into flotsam. Thailand, too, is flooding, and our new pope turns eighty.

Does anyone else out there remember Malachi? Has anyone else read Revelations?

I am in that blessed spot on the continent, where fires may rage come summer drought, but floods are few and far. Shooting sprees are typically kept on the news, and not in our own back yards. No wonder so many people are moving here, where life, to urban dwellers, must still seem charmed.

The world is changing faster, even, than those affecting the changes know.

As I watch in stunned reaction, I continue to live. Plnats grow. We plant vegetables, plannng for the future. Flower buds are forming on the chives, and the second wave of tulips starts to bloom.

The marjoram is thick and green, while in New York it's flooding, and there's snow. What can I say to this reversal of fortune but Thank God?

I don't wish any illness or tragedy upon my fellow man, but truly, I feel blessed, to be here now, where the air is fading dove-wing grey, and rain looms, but we do not fear flood.

The sun that warmed my breast today was sparkling, while in Virginia, blood ran. I biked home alert for speeding cars (for drivers here are insane) but did not fear random gunfire.

I have no answer for why the world is warped, except it has been ordained, that if we, our planet's stewards, do not care for her rightly, the tilt will become skew, the balance broken, and the circular yin/yang will fall like an egg from the counter and splatter.

I fear we have unbalance. It is, though, not too late - to put down our hatred, to dissarm our disdain, to focus on rebirth and renewal that is spring, and carry those seeds of wonderment to every interaction with another.

Certinaly, many will be rebuked. Some people are not ready for a world view of faith, of hope. Yet those of us who can, must persist.

And so, as Earth Day is upon us, I wish you all faith, sprouting seeds, and hope.

Community and Campus Join to Celebrate Earth Day

Earth day was established on April 22, 1970 to focus on ecological issues.
This year, University of Montana students and Missoula residents will be able to celebrate Earth Day twice, with campus events this Thursday and on Sunday with a huge party in Caras Park.
The dual celebration is the brain child of the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project(MUD) in conjunction with the University student group MontPIRG.
In previous years, Earth Day events were predominantly riverside and community cleanups or weed pulls, said MUD director Lou Ann Crowley. This year, MUD wanted a true celebration, albeit with an educational component.
MontPIRG organizer Bill Pfeiffer is excited by the collaboration.
“We wanted to have a concert on campus, but it wasn’t gonna happen,” said Pfeiffer, “so we decided to see what we could do to throw in to the celebration MUD was planning.”
The result will be a bigger bash than either group could have organized alone, Crowley said.
Although Earth Day is officially Sunday, the campus will celebrate on the Oval Thrusday, Pfeiffer said, because “we know from experience that turnout at weekend events on campus is always low, so we decided to do something on a day students were still here.”
One of Thursday’s events will be an eco-footprint race, in which participants complete a number of “Survivor-like” tasks based on the size of their ecological footprint. An ecological footprint is a determination of how much energy you use to maintain your personal lifestyle, Pfeiffer explained.
Thursday evening will feature an outdoor movie. Pfeiffer wasn’t sure what that film would be, only that it isn't “An Inconvenient Truth.” He said the group is trying to get a bicycle-powered generator to pop popcorn during the film.
Sunday’s day-long event runs from noon through 7 p.m. downtown in Caras Park.
Local musicians Amy Martin, Tom and the Tomatoes, Reverend Slanky and the Gravely Mountain Boys will provide entertainment via a solar-powered PA system.
Three Montana car dealerships will hold a “Green Car Show” featuring hybrid and electric vehicles and “Smart” micro-cars. (The Smart car was the tiny vehicle driven by Steve Martin in “The Pink Panther.”)
In addition, forty exhibitors will offer information and examples of sustainable living.
Local food, wine and beer vendors will be on hand to feed the need as it arises. And there’ll be plenty of free activities for the kids, including a Karelian Bear Dog demonstration (with a costumed “bear” attacking trash cans), a giant paper mache globe to paint and more.
A primary example of the “town and gown” crossover is a portable glass pulverizer being rented for the event by the student group, said Crowley.
Campus organizers will collect recyclable glass during UM Earth Day events Thursday, and on Sunday, crush the glass in the machine to create a landscaping mulch called cullet, that will be distributed to Caras Park event goers free of charge.
The pulverizer is housed in Helena, and is used by eight Montana counties to recycle glass, Crowley said. Students are renting it for about $1800, Pfeiffer added, and held fund raisers throughout the semester in anticipation of the event.
The theme of Sunday’s event is “Living Sustainable Solutions.”
“We want people to be able to take away simple lifestyle changes that will contribute to the sustainability of our community,” Crowley said.

Jim McKusick uncovers Coleridge's Faust

Jim McKusick, Dean of the University of Montana’s Honors College, has cracked the code.

McKusick, a scholar of 19th century English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, has all but proved an
anonymous translation of Goethe’s Faust is really the work of famed poet Coleridge.

The discovery was a long time coming, and may never have been as provable as it is today, thanks
to modern mathematics and computers.

McKusick used a tool called stylometrics to analyze the 1821 coffee table publication.
Stylometrics is a computerized statistical analysis of a writer’s style, focusing on such things
as word counts and word usage. However, McKusick says, it’s “not a matter of matching up exact
phrases.” That’s what’s done to test for originality versus plagiarism, he adds.

McKusick used stylometrics to compare known Coleridge works with the anonymous Faust translation.
Word counts, pronoun use, conjunctions and prepositions were all examined by McKusick, and found
to be a match with Coleridge’s distinctive writing style. “Everyone has a characteristic
fingerprint of style,” McKusick points out.

To be sure the 1821 publication could only be traced to Coleridge, McKusick also did comparative
analyses with other known German translators of the time. There was no other match. Stylometrics,
McKusick says, does not offer proof of Coleridge authorship, but a high probability of it – and,
importantly, evidence that the other translators of the time were not the author.

Before 2003, when stylometric software became widely available, such analysis was the province of
mathematicians. “You still have to have a good understanding of mathematics,” to use the programs,
McKusick says, but it opens up the world of statistical analysis to others.

The work in question was published as an illustrated “coffee table” volume in 1821, and due to its
popularity, reissued in 1824. “It was widely read back then,” McKusick says, “but in the twentieth
century it’s been an obscure, rare book.” That rarity, oddly, is what first brought it to light as
a possible Coleridge work.

Paul Zall spent his career as a research scholar at the Huntington Library in California.
According to Fred Burwick, co-editor of the newly revealed work, Zall suspected the anonymous tome
was the work of Coleridge. “He showed it to me and said, ‘This looks a lot like Colerdige.’”

“I didn’t believe it,” Burwick adds.

Eventually, though, Zall convinced other scholars of his theory’s viability. As the findings were
set to be published by the New York Public Library, the library closed its press. Discouraged,
Burwick says Zall “gave up on it, until he met Jim McKusick.”

McKusick was a newly-minted PhD working at the library at the time. With their common interest in
Coleridge, Zall literally handed the project to the young McKusick. Zall gave McKusick the
two-foot tall stack of notes he had on the volume, with the statement, “Jim, this is my legacy.
Good luck and Godspeed.”

As we all know, God works in His own sweet time, and the speed that Zall wished for the project
has taken almost two decades.

The wait, perhaps, has been worth it. “Faust is arguably the greatest work of the modern literary
world,” says McKusick. Proving Coleridge’s authorship is “not only of historical importance,” the
work, he says, is “magnificent. It’s a gorgeous translation. It’s a book people will want to
read.”

The Oxford University Press agrees, and has just begun taking advance orders for the book, which
will be released in September. McKusick said the Press’s acceptance of the work for publication
was the key factor for finally releasing the evidence he has held “for several months.” The
credibility of Oxford University, the dean says, tells the scholarly community “they regard it as
a legitimate discovery.”

McKusick is quick to share the credit for validating Coleridge’s Faust with his fellow scholars.
Visiting professor Robert Pack is “one of the very few people in the whole world who has read the
complete translation.”

Professor Dave Patterson, chair of the University’s Mathematics department “has carefully read”
McKusick’s analysis. “It’s a very nice use of stylometrics and statistics to prove the case,” of
Coleridge’s authorship, Patterson adds. “This is a strong piece of evidence in conjunction with
the other evidence.”

One of those pieces is a letter from Goethe himself, referring to Coleridge’s translation of his
Faust.

Co-editor of the forthcoming work, UCLA’s Fred Burwick, unearthed the corroborating evidence.

“I do specialize in Anglo-German literary translations,” Burwick said. “I was doing a presentation
on Colerdige in Germany, and I remembered Paul’s argument. I became convinced my skepticism was
totally out of place.”

“Once I knew there was a connection,” Burwick explains, “I went through Goethe’s published
correspondence and did an electronic search. Goethe mentions Coleridge twice,” although he
misspells his name once, Burwick says. But he does say expressly “Coleridge is translating my
Faust.”

Burwick contacted Zall, Zall told him he’d passed the torch on to McKusick.

Burwick had been doing work regarding “verbal echos,” the repetition of particular phrases in a
writer’s work. “Our computers can’t do this very well, but a trained scholar can,” said Burwick.

Unlike the stylometrics, which looks for recurring words, “verbal echos won’t show up on frequency
lists,” Burwick explained. He said Coleridge used certain stylistic phrasings, such as
adjective-modifier-participle, like “wild singing birds” that was unique. “He loved to say things
were wild, but then he’d modify that, whereas another writer would not.”

Contacting McKusick about Coleridge, Burwick said “Jim had found 21” verbal echos. After reviewing
the work, Burwick said “I discovered more than 800.”

“In the following year,” Burwick went on, “we turned to computer-based authorship software.”
Using the stylometric software produced by Leeds University, McKusick “did a really remarkable job
of comparing other translators of the period and the Coleridge,” Burwick said. “Coleridge’s
version is distinctly Coleridge.”

Still, “without Jim’s computer-based analysis, we’d still have a lot of skeptics.” Burwick added
the computer analysis of word structure is similar to DNA analysis, “when your probabilities get
above 98 percent, it’s pretty certain. It’s the biggest breakthrough in Coleridge scholarship in a
hundred years.”

McKusick hopes the inherent poetry of the work will draw its own fans, not just scholars. “It’s a
scandalous work and everyone (will) want to read it,” mentioned McKusick.

Burwick agrees that Coleridge’s translation of Faust is special. This translation “was written
fairly late in Coleridge’s career. Like Faust, he’s looking back… Faust has squandered his life as
a scholar and now wants love and companionship. I think Coleridge related to that.”

Both Faust and Coleridge, Burwick said, were philosophers who contemplated Theism and Pantheism.
In Faust, Mephistopheles leads the main character to the top of Mount Brocken. Coleridge himself
had climbed the mountain twice while in Germany. Both were troubled men. “There were so many
touching points it’s almost uncanny,” says Burwick.

In addition, the story itself reflected an ironic twist in Coleridge’s life. Faust’s popularity in
the 1800’s led to it being widely translated in England. Coleridge was first commissioned for the
job in 1814, when he received a hundred pound advance, but failed to produce a full translation.
“I think it was too much for him,” Burwick says. Coleridge was known as an opium addict, though
McKusick is quick to point out, opium “was cheap and legal” and being an opium addict in the
mid-1800s was akin to being an alcoholic these days.

“Coleridge translated half the play into beautiful English verse,” says McKusick, and connected
those scenes with prose transliterations. In 1820, he was approached by another publisher, Thomas
Boosey, who had a number of German engravings of the play. Boosey’s intent was to produce a
coffee-table volume, and he didn’t need a full translation for that book.

Still, it made sense for him to Coleridge. “He was known to be a poet of the supernatural and
demonic,” says Burwick.

There is extant correspondence between the two in which Coleridge insists upon anonymity for his
part in the work. Because Coleridge had reneged on his arrangement with Murray, the first
publisher, it makes sense he would want his authorship to remain unknown on the newer volume.

In addition, McKusick says, Faust, though widely popular, was “morally questionable.”

“it’s hard for me to evaluate the relative importance of these two reasons for keeping anonymous,”
says McKusick of Coleridge’s decision. “Was it about the money (he owed Murray) or moral
squeamishness? Both of those are valid and significant.”

Both McKusick and Burwick will present their findings at a one-day conference in California on
March 16, honoring “Colerdige’s Faust: A celebration of Paul Zall.” In addition, Anne Basinski of
the UM Music department will give a talk on the musical history of Faust, while three UM student
musicians, sopranos Immanuela Meijer and Veronica Turner and pianist Emily Trapp will present
musical selections of the operatic version of Faust.

Faust is not only a literary work, but a great play, said McKusick. “UM could have the honor of
staging the world premier of this play.” His co-editor, Fred Burwick, just happens to be “a
talented producer of 19th century plays. It would be a beautiful translation to produce,” says
McKusick.

Allitt Expounds on the Why of Conservatism's Rise

More animated a presentation than the title might lead one to expect, “The Transformation of American Conservatism” was presented by Emory University History Professor Patrick Allitt as an afternoon seminar in the President’s lecture series.

Fifty people watched the powerpoint progression of philosophers and tomes that mark the evolution of American conservative thought.

Conservatism, Allitt expounded, has a “profoundly anti-utopian view of the world.”
Its base is “belief in original sin,” he said, requiring people to struggle to be virtuous, “but they will always have a will to power.” Allitt explained Conservatism holds that “conflict can never be abolished. Therefore, there will always be war.”

Allitt’s talk presented a broad overview of America’s return to conservatism on many fronts: political, economic and social among them.

From the 1930ís thru the 1960ís, Allitt said, political conservatives “complained about the degree to which the government was taking over the civilian economy” as social programs were instituted to combat the Great Depression.

Ayn Rand, for example, was a conservative philosopher and writer who believed that bureaucrats were cowards, but entrepreneurial spirit would lead to personal freedom, he said. Other schools of conservative thought held different points of view, but all were united in that era against a common enemy: communism.

“Conservatism is very contextual, it looks very different depending on what it finds threatening at the time,” Allitt explained.

As a response to the cultural changes of the sixties, and a settling of society after the upheaval and insecurities of the Great Depression, conservatism began to regain popularity and took over ground previously held by the lofty ideals of social welfare programs.

With the implementation of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society reforms, which ushered in desegregation and affirmative action, conservatives found a new common “enemy” White Southerners, who previously had voted democrat, began voting republican in retaliation to the preferences given to blacks. Conservatism, Allitt said, “believes in the reality of human inequality.”

The “social revolution” of the sixties cemented the shift, Allitt said. “The development of the hippie movement … really embodied everything that the conservatives hated.”

However, the cold war was still a factor in political thinking, and fear of communism played out in the voting booth. Nixon coined term “the silent majority” to reflect the growing conservative base of American voters.

Ronald Reagan, Allitt said, may have won the 1980 presidential election because of that fear. “Regan’s view of the cold war was that someone had to win it, and it can’t be them, so it’s got to be us.”

The Cold War’s successful end, wherein the USSR dissolved into independent republics, validated conservative thinking, Allitt said. “Karl Marx had been superannuated. What more marvelous way of proving the point than by ending the cold war?”

President's Lecture Review

“I don’t want a comfortable class. I want an anxious class. You learn better when you’re on edge.” Emory University History Professor Patrick Allitt explained his philosophy to a full house in the University Theater during the President’s Lecture Series Monday night.

Allitt’s talk, on “The Crisis of Education in America,” met with a willing audience who jotted notes throughout and asked a plethora of questions after the talk.

Allitt, who is from England, said his teaching methods are a bit stricter than the usual American student is used to. On the first Monday of class, for instance, he gives his students a vocabulary quiz. “Most walk off and get a zero,” he quipped. On the first Friday of class, he insists that students discuss their first reading assignment.

Inevitably, he says, a number of students won’t have read the work, and are duly embarrassed when questioned it. “In that one embarrassing moment,” he said, “you transform the entire atmosphere of the classroom.”

Allitt believes if you do not, you have accepted illiteracy as par for the remainder of the semester. Some of his colleagues disagree with his methods, but Allitt emphasises “these people didn’t come here to be your friends. They came here to learn something.”

Allitt had a few other suggestions as to how the American educational system could be improved.

In Britain, students begin their specialization after age 16, he said, while American students are learning a “defiantly impractical” liberal arts education. Still, he agrees “it enriches your life to be educated in things other than what you’re going to specialize in,” but American students do not learn their specialties as deeply as European or Japanese students.

Make students use a dictionary. And teach them to read and write. “There’s no discredit in not knowing a word before reading a passage,” he said, “but there certainly is if you did not look it up.”

“Student writing,” he explained, “is like listening to someone pick up a violin for the first time.”

Probably the biggest improvement could be made if American Universities eliminated multiple-choice tests, Allitt said. “The American population would take a quantum leap upwards,” if writing and critical thinking were taught, rather than multiple choice’s process of avoiding the wrong alternative when testing.

Allitt’s suggestion to students to improve their education was simple. “Write,” he said. “Keep a diary. You’ll be absolutely astonished when you read it twenty years from now. And, it will teach you to write.”

“Here’s what it comes down to in education,” he said. “You educate yourself. If you care about it, and you want to learn, you will.

The whole history of the world tells us this.”

Random Ramblings on April's Birth

Thnak God for Global Warming: It's Spring!

My crocuses are up and gone, withered to memory as the tulips take thier place. I have to keep reminding myslef of the date. It's April 1st, and it's spring.

Stranger things can happen, I suppose, but this global shift in climate is noticeable to a gardener. I've planted herbs. My son has spinach. And it's up- growing despite the light frosts of early morning, sending green fingers to the sky.

"It's April 1st," I keep reminding myself. I don't recall ever planting this early before. The peopnies are poking vein-red noses from their soil bed. The flax is feathery and getting taller. Tulips are blooming, for goodness sake!

I let my mind jaw on the implications, the possibility of death-dry August, of smoke-beleagured air, of drought. Yet how can anyone complain when salad greens will come up in spring, as they are meant to be, if one believes in old nursery rhymes, old tales of four seasons...

I don't love winter. Can't say I ever have. I enjoyed the fabled Blizzard of 77 with it's mountians of drift, it's tunnels my brothers and I dug in eight-foot snow, playing eskimo. We stood higher than cars that winter, walking onthe ridges of the mounds shoveled to the side where the saidewalk ought to be. It was like walking in air, or being an adult. "How lucky they are," I thought back then,"those grown ups who see from on high all the time."

And now spring has touched me with her softening glance. Her chapped wind hands graze my cheeks.

The green shoots come up to beautify the impoverished earth. The brown decay seems dingy now, out-of-place, like trash on a polished museum floor. I hold my breath. Soon, all this weight will lift, and like birds our spirits soar. Thank God for Global Warming. Man may have created it, but it is a gift, nonetheless. ak

Monday Night Scrabble

Sure, you're feeling erudite- but can you spell it? And more importantly, can you make it stretch to that triple word score in the corner?

“That would be the wow of the game,” says Missoula Scrabble League founder Suzanne Reed, “to get a triple word score and use all your letters.”

While everyone else was watching the final game of the final four, a dozen Missoulians were lively debating whether ur or ar are acceptable words. And what about aa?

The game is on at the Monday Night Scrabble League.

I've come for my second visit. Welcoming smiles and calls of "Well, you came back!" greet me, and I feel "yeah, this is a good crowd." Disappointingly, I notice the Super Scrabble board is full. Too full. "Hey! Can you have five players?" I ask the knowing elders. "Sure," they say, referring to the oversized board. "It's got double the tiles, why not?"

This is not cut throat Scrabble, and I'm glad of it.

This winter, my latent Scrabble obsession came out of remission, and I got hooked on an Internet version of the game. (I'm ranked at 500.) The Internet Scrabble Club is populated by players all over the world, but lacks the camaraderie of live play. That's why I've come here tonight.

"Hi. My name is Cindy and I'm a Scrabbler." Laughter fills the Missoula Public Library boardroom. "We don't give last names because we're addicts." More peals ring out, and the shuffle of small wooden tiles is lost in the din of too many conversations happening at once.

Newbies are welcomed with inquiries as to what they do, while players who've been at it longer are deep in the scuffle of matching letters upon the board, raking up the points in an effort to beat their friends.

The Scrabble League draws a lively group of word aficionados that appreciate both the beauty of the language and the beauty of the tiles.

"I've never played with tiles this color before," Paula Strong said, placing a rosewood E on the deluxe game board. Next table over the Super Scrabble players found uses for two q's, two z's, two x's.

Suzanne Reed, an adjunct professor of Organizational Psychology at the COT, is the club's founder. She's using an original board. "Original original?" I ask incredulously. "Yes," she says. "This board is from 1948."

It's owner, Frankie Morrison, chuckles when asked how long she's been playing. "As long as there has been Scrabble," says her compatriot Sarajane Savage.

The two women, both over seventy, have been playing the tile crossword game since it’s inception. They play together at their condos in the Maplewood Apartments, and they play at the library -- but they refuse to play at the senior center. “That was a fiasco," Frankie says of their one journey there. The women tell me of improper play styles, of botched rules, of sore losers. “We don’t play with senior citizens anymore,“ Savage finishes. “We’re too young for that.”

Tonight’s crowd is anything but the senior circuit. Twenty-something Lauren Monroe has come for his first visit, learning as he plays. Other players range in age “from 12 to 82,” Reed tells me.

“Hey! You used the word bogarted!” one player shouts out. “Yeah?” comes the repsonse.

In a different league, the word might be challenged. Here, “it comes down to agreeing which dictionary you’re going to use,” says Reed.

Most folks learn of the league through ads in the newspaper. Some become regulars. And some come just to watch. “We have a lot of photography students come. We’re a very attractive subject,” Reed states.

The Missoula Scrabble League welcomes all players every Monday at the public library. Maybe we’ll see you there next week.

No Sweat

As thousands of students caromed across campus, hustling to classes and lunch dates,
about a hundred and fifty gave up their lunch hour to attend a rally sponsored by the Students for Economic and Social Justice, protesting Griz gear purportedly manufactured in sweat shops around the world.

The student group gathered before the Main Hall offices of the University of Montana's president and vice president, offering informational literature and free cookies to attendees.

Rhythmic beats of a conga mingled with the chant "Dennison, Foley: Grizzlies sweat free," but the named men were unable to hear them. Both President Dennison and VP Jim Foley were out-of-town at the time of the rally, a point the students knew in advance, said Foley.

Their absence didn't stop the crowd from pouring like a reverse fire drill up the stairs of Main hall and into the quiet corridors, where the chanting continued before unopened doors.

Speakers at the rally called conditions in the factories where the Griz gear is made "akin to slavery," stating their belief that "what affects someone halfway around the world affects you."

Sean Morrison, an ASUM senator majoring in English Lit spoke eloquently about the university's motto, Lux et veritas, as being a call to action. "How can you be committed to truth and support sweatshops?" he asked. "Ultimately, this is our university, our logo, and our decision," Morrison said.

Sam Schabacker, a senior in economics and SESJ organizer, urged rally goers not to be "apathetic like the administration. We need to keep pressuring them," he said.

Schabacker referred to a recent ASUM resolution and petition signed by 500 students urging the administration to join the Workers Rights Consortium, an agency that monitors working conditions in apparel factories. Claiming the university ignored a March 1st deadline, Schabacker said "we need to let them know this is unacceptable."

But Andrea Helling, ASUM president, said the resolution did not have a deadline.

"We are in full support of workers rights," Helling said, acknowledging the unanimous vote for the resolution. But unlike a law, a resolution has no teeth, and cannot be construed to command action.

"They're not getting the point across to me," said rally observer Graham Scott. "The spinner is wearing Nike gear, and they're protesting Nike," he said of the DJ at the rally.

Katie Pritchard, a junior in EVST, said the issue isn't with all Nike gear. Right now, she said, the university purchases items through a contract with Nike that has no way to monitor where those items are produced.

The group has met with Vice President Foley "at least six times," Foley said, and will do so again this Friday. "I look forward to working with them on a process that's best for the university as a whole," Foley said. "We look forward to doing the right thing for this institution."

Lou Terri, Head of Procurement at UM agrees, and said "we want everyone to be treated right." However, she would like students to remember one thing: "We don't have any jurisdiction outside of U of M."

International Week at University of Montana

Human rights and international politics are inextricably linked. That's the message of the keynote address that marks the beginning of the University of Montana's International Week, five days' worth of seminars, talks and presentations focusing on international culture.

History professor Paul Lauren will give the keynote address, "Conscience of Mankind: Human Rights, Values and International Politics," at 7 pm Thursday March 8th in the UC Ballroom.

Merdad Kia, director of the university's International Program, calls the address "a major presentation on a major international issue." The talk focuses on human rights, which Kia calls "paramount."

Lauren will use his personal experiences to reflect on the US civil rights movement, the trial of Serbian leader Slobadan Milosovich and on Lauren's cold war travels behind the iron curtain.

Kia stated this is the first lecture in what he hopes will be an annual part of the five-year old event. "We have tried to make (the week's offerings) as diverse as possible," he said.

For example, he said, there is "so much interest in women in the middle east right now," that Tuesday will feature a talk by visiting scholar Thuwayba Ahmed Issa Al-Barwani on the topic. U of M has used the week as an "opportunity to bring visiting scholars and lecturers to campus," Kia said.


"We want to broaden the international reach of our campus," Kia stated. Events that aim to do so include lectures on volunteer opportunities in Southeast Asia, study abroad, the peace corps and a workshop on "How to pay for your summer travel overseas."

Information about study abroad opportunities will be available in the UC Atrium all week, while the lectures take place across campus.

A full schedule of the events comprising International Week can be found at www.umt.edu/oip, or by calling the Office of International Programs at 243-2288.

Kia said the broad variety of offerings should provide everyone with something of interest, with talks on cultures as diverse as Ireland ("Guinness Education and Business"), the former USSR ("Georgia, Land of the Golden Fleece") and Tajikistan: a Hidden Pearl of Central Asia."

Kia noted that international student representation at U of M is increasing, and the events of International Week are a great way "to showcase the international activities of students, faculty and staff."

The student-run International Food and Cultural Festival will take place from noon to 5 pm on Sunday.

International Food and Culture Festival at UM

Sunday, you'll be able to taste foods from Africa and Japan, watch a Thai puppet show, and hear Native American Coyote tales, all as part of the 2007 International Food and Culture festival presented by the University of Montana's Foreign Student and Scholar Services and International Students Association.

The International Culture and Food Festival takes place from noon to five p.m. Sunday on all three floors of the University Center, and is the "anchor event" of the newer International Week, said Mona Mondava, festival director. "We've been doing this about fifteen years now," she said, remarking that the event has grown to include four different, simultaneous components to keep visitors "happily busy" the full five hours.

The festival starts with a "World Flag Parade" led by Missoula's Celtic dragon Pipe Band. There will be hot food samples from 20 student organizations, a non-stop international culture show, "Children's World," and an informational bazaar featuring 40 different cultural, student and community organizations.

An exciting aspect of the festival is the non stop international culture show in the UC Ballroom, said Mondava, which highlights cultural performances from around the world.

The local Thai community, she said, will be conducting a fashion show using traditional textiles brought in just for this event. In addition, there will be drumming, music and dance from Poland, Arabia, Japan and other cultures, all on stage in the ballroom, with one act following the next for the full length of the festival. The activities, said Mondava, "showcase the talents and contributions of our international students."

"Without the students, there wouldn't be a festival," adds Kofi Abaidoo, president of the International Student Association. The students act as coordinators and performers for the event, he said, beginning the previous semester to ensure the festival is a success. The ISA, Mondava said, is one of the oldest student groups on campus, with approximately 500 student members.

New to the event this year is "Children's World," in the second-floor UC Commons. Up to 15 booths will offer kids of all ages the opportunity for hands-on intercultural learning activities such as making Hawaiian friendship leis and having their hands painted with henna in the Indonesian mehndi form.

A six-page program, free with the $2 admission charge, describes all the activities and events.

The festival "is a way for the International students to give back to the community," Abaidoo said. The university and community provide many services to acclimate international students to life in Missoula, and this, he said, is their thank you gift for that assistance.

Still Sweating it Out

Last Wednesday, the University's Students for Economic and Social Justice held a "No Sweat" rally outside the offices of President Dennison and Vice President Foley, protesting the production of Griz gear that may be made in sweatshops around the globe.

On Friday afternoon, Foley met with the group and two faculty members to discuss their concerns.

The SESJ is demanding the University align itself with an independent monitoring group, the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), which would survey apparel manufacturers to ensure all licensed Griz gear comes only from those factories with fair labor practices.

The students and Vice President Foley came to one agreement: another possible monitoring agency, the Fair Labor Alliance, did not meet UM or SESJ objectives. "The WRC (is) the only option to ensure Grizzly gear is made sweat free," said SESJ member Sean Morrison.

The Workers Rights Consortium, according to Sam Shabacker, investigates factories producing collegiate licensed apparel. They identify those paying their workers a living wage and offering humane working conditions, and considered them "designated suppliers." The WRC then promises to direct all university apparel orders to those factories.

Foley was not convinced the mechanism works, saying "the WRC has admitted they're not there yet," regarding certifying the apparel factories.

He handed out a list of ten questions he said must be answered before the University commits. One was ensuring there are enough designated factories to produce the highly popular Griz gear.

Although only a moderate-sized school, Morrison pointed out that UM is one of the top 50 purchasers of collegiate licensed apparel in the country. "It's much more than would be expected from a school of this size," he said.

Other questions dealt with monitoring the factories and with attaining what Foley called a "critical mass" of participating schools to guarantee the designated factories year-round business, calling collegiate gear procurement "seasonal."

"If we meet all these questions can we be assured that the university will affiliate with the WRC?," asked Tara Ness, one of three ASUM senators in the group.

Foley replied "Why would I make an assurance to something I'm not aware of myself?"

Undaunted, the students agreed to tackle the questions before their next meeting.

"It's really frustrating," Ness stated. "We want to get this solved as quickly as possible, and the questions keep coming up to prolong the process."

The students, who last year forged changes with the University's contract with Coca Cola, began meeting with the administration in October, 2006 regarding the sweatshop issue.

Morrison contends that with its buying power, UM "has a lot of clout" in leading the charge that all collegiate wear be made "sweat free."

While Foley acknowledged the hard work done by the students, he refused to pushed. "Nothing's off the table," he said, but added "You can't have the tail wagging the dog."

Foley pointed out that processes of this type take time. For example, he said, the university's purchasing "Code of Conduct" is in it's sixth draft since the students and the administration began work on it in Spring of 2006.

That code addresses labor standards, worker health and safety and environmental considerations when selecting vendors, according to the draft document Foley distributed. The code will automatically apply to Griz gear manufacturers as well as other University suppliers.

The students will continue their talks with the administration later this week.

New Speech Pathology Program Approved by Regents; Awaits Legislative Funding

The University of Montana's proposed Masters in Speech Pathology program has been given the go-ahead by the State Board of Regents. Now all that's keeping the program from getting off the ground is the passage of a state budget by the Montana legislature.

An email from Lynn Hamilton, Regents Chair, stated "the board approved the proposal at our meeting (on March 2d)." But the program is still dependant on one-time start-up funds from the legislature, said Chris Merriman, a Speech and Language Pathologist the University's Rural Institute. The funding is necessary to hire a department chair, set up the program, update the current facilities and upgrade equipment and technology, she said. However, Merriman added, that funding is included in all six budget variations being contemplated by the legislature.

After the initial influx of state money, faculty and staff positions will be funded by the university, said Lucy Hart-Paulson, a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Educational Research and Service.

"President Dennison said there is money in the budget to sustain the program once the state legislature approves the start-up funds," Hart-Paulson said, adding they were told "this program will not take money away from other departments."

"What's missing is the one-time start up funds," said Merriman.

Still out of town, Dennison was unavailable for comment.

But Merriman said the program has the advantage of already existing facilities. Until 1990, the university housed a Communications Science and Disorders department in the basement of the Curry Health Center and the new Speech Pathology program would utilize those same facilities, she said. "This facility is available for the program to come to, so there's no need to build a building," Merriman said. The Rural Institute is located there now, so some support staff are already in place as well.
Both Hart-Paulson and Merriman agreed that Speech Pathology is a financially-intensive program.

Merriman, who specializes in alternative and augmentative communication, works under a Rural Institute grant to provide Montanans who need them with electronic communicative devices, which often cost thousands of dollars apiece. Most insurance will cover the costs of the devices if deemed medically necessary, she said.

Merriman relayed that people familiar with the former program still call seeking speech and language assistance. "We have a lot of need out there," she said, "so it's exciting to have this opportunity (to begin a new program)."

According to information from the Montana Speech, Language and Hearing Association, over 25 percent of the available speech pathology and audiology jobs within the state are vacant, and 40 percent of those currently holding those positions will retire within the next ten years.

Currently, individuals with language development delays receive free counseling and treatment through the Scottish Rite-supported RiteCare Language Clinic, housed in the Rural Institute.

Hart-Paulson, who works as a Speech and Language Pathologist at the clinic, said it will be used as a training facility for the masters candidates in the new program. "Each student will need 400 hours of supervised clinic time with different age groups and disabilities," she said.

The Scottish Rite, a philanthropic arm of the Freemasons, currently funds the clinic through donations and fundraisers.

One fundraiser, a "meet and greet" dance and auction with award-winning Montana painters, will be held this Friday at the Joker's Wild. Tickets are available at the door, Hart-Paulson said. Next month, a "four-person scramble" golf tournament will be held at King Ranch. Information about both events can be had by calling the clinic at 243-5261.

"The outpouring of support has been tremendous," said Merriman of interest in the new program. "Now we just need to convince the legislature."

ASUM Budget Finalized

After seventeen hours and one missed Modest Mouse concert, ASUM had a budget.

The senators and executive board of the student run organization determine the budgets of all ASUM approved student groups on campus. After dolling out the majority of $750,000 to their own needs, ASUM had about $36,000 left over for student groups.

New this year was a protocol for fund allocation, said ASUM President Andrea Helling.
Previously, groups were allocated funds in a random manner that allowed for favoritism, she said. This year, striving to improve equity, each group was given a proportional amount for basic office needs, and told to seek special events funding for such activities as concerts, performances and lectures.

As a result, many groups were allocated far less than they requested, while a few groups with zero-dollar requests received funding anyway.

But as with all things budgetary, you’ve got to dig to find the truth. Turns out, many groups received more funding this year than last - just less than they requested.

One such group is the Montana Anthropology Student Association. The group requested $10,303 from ASUM, and was allocated just $2,976. When contacted by the Kaimin, their response to the apparent “reduction” was gratitude.

“We really increased our funding over last year,” said group president Erika Scheuring. “Last year we received only $475, so what we were given this year is really considerate.” The amount they asked for included funds to pay off debts left from last year, Scheuring said. “We wanted to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Any group unhappy with the executive board’s initial recommendations could petition the senate at a March 5th meeting, Helling said. All groups were given a written statement as to why any funding was denied, as well.

Still, not all groups were fortunate.

The literary magazine Cutbank suffered the greatest cut, said Helling, who doesn’t “feel too good about that. Cutbank is a legacy,” she said, but the group turned in their request almost a month late, and that hurt them. Last year, the journal received $13,815. This year, they got just $1000.

Due to what Helling characterized as an ‘oversight,’ Cutbank was not recognized as an official student group. Helling explained that all groups must go through an annual process of being recognized by ASUM before being allocated funds. “We were emailing them at an address they didn’t check,” she said.

To remedy the mistake, which Helling said was the fault of both the magazine and ASUM, Cutbank was “recognized as a student group during the budgetary process, and we gave them $1000.”

Establishing the budget for student groups takes commitment from both the groups and the senate, Helling emphasized. “We had some quorum issues,” she said. For some senators, “Modest Mouse took precedence over the senate.”

Typically conducted on a Saturday, this year’s budget meeting was rescheduled to Friday so as not to collide with St. Patty’s Day festivities. “We knew a lot of people would be drinking,” Helling remarked.

Still, the Friday night concert and student work schedules left ASUM in a bind. “Senator Lucas Hamilton gave up his Modest Mouse tickets to stay and meet quorum,” Helling said. “He’s just incredible.”

The problem may not repeat next year, though. “This was a young senate,” Helling said. “There were only a handful of people who had done budgeting before.” Only three of this year’s senators are graduating, though, so next year may see some institutional memory that streamlines the process, Helling said.

Reviving the Unheard: The Poetry of Richard Hugo available on CD

Richard Hugo is an iconic figure in Montana poetry. He is a people’s poet, a man’s poet, who wrote of drinking and fishing and war. His work is renowned for its descriptions of place, the profound silence of prairies and constant talk talk talk of river’s babble.

Hugo was at his most prolific in the 1970’s, living in Missoula with his wife Ripley and her two children while directing the University of Montana’s creative writing program. It was then he wrote – and recited - many of the poems considered today an epitome of Montana writing.

Though Hugo died of leukemia in 1982, his work is now reaching forward to another generation through a newly-released 2-cd set of his readings, compiled by Missoula author Mark Ratledge. Ratledge first moved to Montana a year after Hugo’s death, when the poet’s words were still fresh in the air. "Everywhere I went, people were talking about Hugo's poetry," he said. The impact on Ratledge lasted.

As an adjunct professor of literature from 1999-2001, Ratledge was trying to inspire his mostly non-English major students, so he assigned Richard Hugo’s poetry to them. Ratledge believed the tales of drinking, fishing and driving Montana’s long, grey roads would be “familiar” to students not previously exposed to literature.

Ratledge searched for sound-recordings of Hugo’s poems to use in his classes, knowing that “students can tell more about (Hugo) and his works through hearing the poems,” than they could by merely reading them in silence. Ripley Hugo, the poet’s widow, heartily agrees. “Dick’s words really should be heard,” she said. “When you hear (his poems) you hear a man who is so aware … of the music in the words.”

Indeed, a universal humanity comes through in Hugo’s introductions to many of his poems. He tells stories that preface the poems not only with context, but a larger feeling for the poet’s mind.

The idea of compiling Hugo’s recited poems for a greater audience came to Ratledge while he was teaching. Asked to collaborate on the project, Ripley Hugo was thrilled with the prospect of returning her husband’s voice to Montana. “I was eager for it,” she said. “He was such a good reader.”

Through Ripley, Ratledge received legal permission to access the copyrighted works. In addition, he needed approval from the original sound producers. Tracking down the paper trail was difficult.

“One recording,” Ratledge said, “was made in 1962. This was before the internet. There was little record-keeping done.”

It took Ratledge a full year to access one tape, but he eventually succeeded in finding every available known recording.

Much of what Ratledge found was in bad shape: old audio cassettes and scratchy sound recordings haphazardly stored in basements and living-room desk drawers. Nonetheless, Ratledge viewed them as treasure, and hit pay dirt when he located a reel-to-reel recording archived at the Library of Congress.

That tape provided most of the source material for the new two-disc set. All in all, Ratledge sifted through 150 recorded poems, many on audio cassettes, to glean the 38 poems and introductions that make up the new 1 ½ hour digital recording.

Using audio-editing software and his laptop, Ratledge worked over three years removing scratches, flubbed words and background noise to produce the master discs for the project. Just a week after they were shipped to Portland for reproduction, his i-book died.

Early into the project, Ratledge recognized it would be a labor of love. Because of various copyright issues, the discs cannot be sold. Instead, Ratledge received a grant from the Montana Committee for the Humanities to distribute the finished sets to every public library and high-school within in Montana.

“I’ve gotten a lot of nice, hand-written notes from librarians across Montana,” he said. “Every week, I run into someone who really appreciates them.”

And that, after all, is the point.

“Everywhere else in the world,” Ratledge said, “literature and poetry are an integral part of society. In Ireland, people stand up and recite poetry in the pubs. In China, they sing opera in the parks. In this country, it’s losing footage.”

And that is something that needs to be remedied. Hugo’s poetry, said Ratledge, speaks to today’s world. “Look at the poems about Hugo’s bombing missions, and look at what’s going on in the world today,” Ratledge said. “His poetry is political. He wrote about war, Native Americans, environmental issues. They’re perfectly contemporary.”

And now they are available for every Montanan, for free. The two-CD set, “Eat Stone and Go On,” can be found in the English Dept., as well as the Mansfield and Missoula Public Libraries. The companion website, www.eatstone.org, has lesson plans, a Hugo biography, and links to related sites.

KUFM wants your money - but they’re willing to give you manure, music, and news in return.

UM’s public radio station relies on its listeners to supply 65 percent of its operating budget. Last year, that amounted to $439,000, all gathered during a one-week pledge drive that makes KUFM different from other public broadcasting stations across the nation.

Other National Public Radio affiliates run two to four pledge drives during the fiscal year to ensure they meet operating expenses. KUFM runs just one.
According to Linda Talbot, Fundraising Director for the station, operating costs are not going to go down. “(Our) total operating budget for the year is close to $1 million,” she said, adding that inflation pushes that budget higher every year. “Public radio has seen a flattening of federal funding,“ Talbot said. “Congress has been challenging continued budgeting of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.” The CPB, which is perhaps best known as the funding source behind the well-loved children’s show “Sesame Street,” supplies a little more than 17 percent of the station’s annual budget. Another 17.5 percent comes from the University, though KUFM receives no student fees.
KUFM broadcasts to all of western and central Montana and offers listeners jazz, classical, and “free form” shows, Talbot said. But their biggest draw might be the news. KUFM provides Montanans with National Public Radio News and the British Broadcasting Corporation’s World News. Talbot says NPR offers “a great alternative to commercial media, which has become shallow.” In contrast, NPR’s news is “far-reaching and in-depth,” she said. Talbot said that depth is important in a post 9-11 world. “Younger people are more interested in in-depth news,” since that pivotal event, she said, noting KUFM’s 18-25 year old listenership has increased since 9-11. Students download podcasts of news they miss due to class schedules from the KUFM website, Talbot said. “We (also) archive the Montana Evening News.” Regulatory constraints currently disallow streaming of the station’s shows, although the cost is within reach. Streaming is “actively under consideration,” Talbot noted.
This year’s fundraising theme, “Public: of the people, for everyone, available to all” was chosen to reflect the service that public radio provides, Talbot stated. Over 2700 premiums are expected to be donated by listeners as thank you gifts to other listeners who pledge monetary support for the station. That involvement, and the concept of listener-donated premiums, is fairly unique to Missoula, Talbot acknowledged. She said radio representatives from outside Montana have inquired how to model their own pledge drives on Missoula’s successful format. While other stations script their pledge drive, KUFM is entirely ad-libbed, Talbot remarked. All program hosts participate, along with 250-300 volunteers who answer phones in the hectic control room during the fundraising week. The station tries to make it fun, providing beverages and noise-makers for on-air celebrations of landmarks en route to the funding goal. This years goal has not yet been finalized, partly due to the earlier date of this year’s pledge drive. Steam tunnel work slated for April is disrupting the typical pledge week, Talbot said.
That has not stopped listeners from donating the premiums that make KUFM’s pledge drive so unique. Live goats, llama manure, a trip to band golden eagles, and “a homemade pie each month” are all available by donating to the station. Home grown vegies, sailing on Flathead Lake and lots of cds also stock the premium coffers. Lower-valued premiums (a dozen home-raised eggs, for instance) tend to be snapped up early in the week, while larger ticket items (a bear discovery outing with Chuck Jonkel, say) tend to be re-advertised throughout the “week of celebration,” Talbot said. Listeners may donate premiums, pledge funds, or volunteer time to the station by calling KUFM at 243-6400, or through the station’s website www.mtpr.org. Pledge week begins Monday, February 12, and runs through Sunday February 18.

Cynthia Enloe is a research professor of women’s studies and militarism, and as the next speaker in UM’s President's Lecture Series will give a talk on "Women and the Iraq War," Monday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. in the Montana Theatre.

“I'll be talking about both us and Iraqi women as they relate to this war -- and why we need to
look at both together,” Enloe said. “I've been trying to make sense of women's diverse but important relationships to both war and to peacetime militarism since about the early 80s ,” she continued.

Enloe is a research professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. She is this year’s
Maxine Van de Wetering "Women Making History" Lecturer at UM, and studied and wrote about militaries and racism before turning to women’s issues. Enloe says, “I had not realized I could learn a LOT about militaries and wars and the cultures of militarism by taking women's lives seriously - it was my women students at Clark University who first nudged me to ask these questions.”

For the past twenty years, Enloe has been taking the topic seriously, and has authored the book "Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives," which focuses on that work.

On Iraq, Enloe says, “Iraqi women had very mixed experiences under the 1980s and 1990s Baathist party regime. In the 1980s when the Baathists were dedicated to secular politics and to modernizing the economy, many - not all - women gained access to education and to professional jobs -- at the same time many women were arrested for alleged dissent and suffered in prison.”

She noted that while many Iraqi women today are very critical of the recent Saddam Hussein regime, they look at the war, and its impacts on their country, in a complex manner that doesn’t always translate through the media.

Enloe’s talk Monday night will be preceded by a seminar on "Women and the Globalization of Factories," in the Gallagher Business Building, Room 123 from 3:10 to 4:30 p.m. Both events, presented in conjunction with UM's Women's Studies Program, are free and open to the public.

Rick Graetz and the Mountain Institute

Rick Graetz is not your ordinary adjunct. He's a world-class mountaineer, renowned landscape photographer, ambassador for Big Sky, MT, and a respected, successful publisher. And now he wants to help UM forge a "Mountain Institute," to offer degrees and study of the topography he knows and loves best.

"UM is becoming more a presence in my life, "he said. "I'm involved here with some of the best and brightest people." Graetz and his colleagues hope to get the Mountain Institute and a corresponding PhD program up and running soon. "It makes such common sense to have a mountain program here," Graetz added.
The Mountain Institute already has support from some key players, including Jerry Fetz, Dean of the College of Arts and Science, and President George Dennison. "There's no road block in the way of good ideas," said Graetz, adding Dennison has been especially supportive in a time "when Montana has been de-investing in education."

The department has already sent investigative teams out to proffer the institute idea, and is strengthening ties with like-minded programs, such as the Glacier Institute. From Fort Peck to Tajikistan , university officials have been working to establish UM's expertise in mountain and ecosystem tourism. Fetz, Dennison, and Director of International Programs Mehrdad Kia went to Tajikistan last year to establish ties with universities there. Gratez and fellow professor Artie Kia followed this year. "Tajikistan," Graetz said, "is this little gem. It was the nerve center of the Silk Road. It's undiscovered territory, with the greatest concentration of ice fields in a temperate zone."

Graetz said "most of the world's mountains are tough, harsh places to live in. There are lots of cultures being disrupted (by global tourism)." One goal of the Mountains Institute will be to "help these people help themselves, to see what they can do with sustainable tourism that doesn't destroy the culture of the country, but works with it." The philosophy of cooperation is integral to Graetz. "If you stand up alone, a strong wind can blow you down," he reflects.

Graetz hopes to apply the same principle to eastern Montana, as well. The Geography department, along with the Foundation for Community Vitality, will hold two symposiums in the fall of 2007 discussing possibilities for sustainable tourism and sustainable agriculture in the eastern two-thirds of our state.

Another visible face of the Institute will be a mountain geography text currently under development by Graetz and Ullie Kamp, a UM geography professor and earthquake consultant to Pakistan.

"I feel a geography degree is perhaps one of the most useful degrees a student can earn, especially if they emphasize the human/cultural aspect" Graetz said.

A Place of Their Own

UM is home to tribal students form 22 states across the country, but they don't have a place on campus to call their own.

In an effort to right that wrong, the University plans to erect a Native American Studies Center. Unlike other academic buildings, the new structure will be a comprehensive cultural center/academic building/gathering place for native students, a home away from home.

"I think it's a great idea," said Adrian Bear Don't Walk, a Crow business student. On campus two years now, Bear Don't Walk said of his initial encounters with UM, "I didn't see enough Crow. I (still) miss hearing the language."

That sense of being out of place drastically affects Indian student retention, said Salena Hill, a counselor for American Indian Students Services. "It's very important that our students have a place to go," she noted. The AISS offices are currently housed in the Lommasson Center, but "we have no confidentiality," Hill added. The three small rooms open onto each other, disallowing the privacy necessary to council students in crisis, she said. Hill said her organization serves over 250 students per semester.

Right now, Native Student organizations have no set meeting place, either, despite the fact most clubs meet weekly, said Hill. Kiyiyo has organized a growing Northwest Powwow for thirty six years now, she said, but cannot get a meeting room from ASUM.

The new building, designed by Little Shell architect LA Olsen, should change all that. UM Foundation's Julie Horn is coordinating the capital campaign to fund construction. She said the center will be the first of its kind.

"It will be a one-stop shop," she said, with rooms for classes, meeting spaces, counseling services, and cultural activities such as dances and ceremonies. The building, which will be located just east of the Lommasson ceneter, will be a 20,000 square foot wedge, with a unique glass-enclosed circular front designed as a performance/gathering space. A miniature amphitheater, designated the "story-telling place" will be located outside of the building.

The building comes with a price tag of $6 million. Only $1 million has been raised so far, in an effort that began in 2003. Identifying and garnering access to large donors is the hardest part of the process, Horn said. "Buildings are one of the hardest things to raise money for."

States generally don't fund construction of academic buildings. The money has to come from private sources. Most new academic buildings rely on alumni or those with a vested interest in their programs to succeed in their funding goals. Without that base, "we have to find people with money who are willing to part with that money," said Horn.

In an effort to drum up support, both Horn and University Tribal Liaison Linda Juneau visited Montana's seven reservations in December. "They were all very enthusiastic," said Horn, but noted Montana tribes do not have large coffers. Still, all the tribes pledged support, with some offering in-kind donations such as a bison hunt on the Fort Peck Reservation to be auctioned to the highest bidder. Horn said the University needs $5 million in hand before groundbreaking can occur.

Horn hopes to expand fundraising outreach to out-of-state tribes with large gaming revenues, as the center will serve students from all over the country. Even so, "identifying prospects is probably the hardest part of this job," she said.

UM Press Comes to Life

Ready for Press
Montanans wishing to publish books about the state won't need to look far for a press anymore. The University is reviving its imprint, University of Montana Press, for selected works by Montanans about the state, its people, cultures and art.

The goals of the University Press will be threefold. Jim Foley, UM's Executive Vice President, said the press will have a forward-thinking strategy to put UM on the map, make a little money and bring forth visionary thinking about the future. "It matters how this works," Foley remarked, explaining the careful tack the University is taking in the press's revival.

Rick Graetz, founder of "Montana Magazine" is deeply involved in the press's resurgence. "We're trying to get books out that should be published," he said. "We will hit the ground running." The UM Press's first publication is due out this spring.

"Last Tango in Melrose, Montana" is a collection of humorous columns written for regional magazines by the late journalist and UM alum Dan Vichorek. All royalties from the book will go to a scholarship fund for the school of journalism. "Our focus is to get into the fabric of the state," said Graetz, "not just to entertain, but to educate people about Montana."

"We're going to publish things that pay for themselves or make us some money," added Foley. "This isn't going to be a losing proposition."

A seven-member committee decides the direction of the press, and what to print. Three books have been agreed upon thus far. After "Tango," a book by historian Rafael Chacon about Montana architect AJ Gibson will be released in conjunction with the anniversary of certain Gibson buildings. Last is a book of photography by Helena's Richard Buswell.
Dr. Buswell will self-fund publication and marketing of his book, providing the University Press free publicity.

The first three books were chosen for their potential to reach diverse audiences, expanding knowledge of the University Press. "So few people even know there is a University of Montana Press," said Foley, adding "we get a couple proposals every month." With the new press up and running, Foley anticipates interest to surge. "Everybody's excited about this," Graetz concurred.

The press will be a full-service shop, the men explained. "We'll be doing everything," said Foley.

"All design, pre-press work, etc., is going to be done here," Graetz added. Even the proofreading contracts are with Montanans - former UM alums, Graetz pointed out. Graetz believes there will be opportunities to employ more Montanans, and to involve University departments and programs as the press expands.

Actual printing will be done in-house, too. The University Printing and Graphics department is now computer-to-print ready, and has a recently purchased four-color press, allowing for faster, better color printing. Ken Price, Director of Printing and Graphics, is credited with bringing the department into the modern world.

Before Price took over two and a half years ago, the print shop relied on an old two color press, and everything had to be run through twice to get full color. Price is now testing chemical free printing. "We are one of the first, if not the first, University trying this system," he revealed. "There are still a few bugs to work out," he said, but there is excitement for the new process. "We're trying to push the limits on our quality," said Price.

The 2002 four color press (purchased used by the cost-conscious Price) uses "some of the latest automation" to ensure color accuracy. "For a college," Price said, "we're on the cutting edge of some of our printing technology." That technology will work to the advantage of the University Press, Foley believes. "Momentum will build, and people will say "Wow."