The Debate on the 2nd Amendment

By Patrick O’Neill, Staff Writer

On Friday February 15, Regis’ Debate Team held a public debate on the steps of the Dayton Memorial Library. The debate focused on two sides of the infamous gun control argument. One side which featured debate team members Nicholas Aranda and Sally Andarge argued that the 2nd amendment ought to be changed to promote gun control. The other side of the debate featured debate team members Amadia Al-Amin and Timothy Smith, arguing that the 2nd amendment was a fundamental human right that should not be taken away.

Debate team member, Amadia Al-Amin, kicked off the argument that the 2nd amendment was a fundamental human right by elaborating on that side’s perspective on the purpose of the government. She continued, saying that “freedom of action” was fundamental to an American citizen’s right and that action includes protecting oneself. She claimed that repealing the 2nd amendment would make the U.S. an authoritarian and oppressive regime. There would be, she elaborated, a fundamental flaw in the system if the right to protection is taken away; and, the intentions of the government would become obscured. She finalized her argument by saying that American rights must be ensured by regulating guns, not taking away the right to bear

arms.

To counter, debate team member, Nicholas Aranda stood at the podium, claiming that there is already a fear of state sanctioned violence in America—that the authoritarian regime that Amadia claimed would develop already existed. He elaborated that Americans already live in a system of tyranny with police brutality, gun violence, and school shootings. The Constitution, he claimed, is in no way a moral document. It is necessary to change and develop the Constitution to uphold human rights and prevent the mass-murder of people. To further his argument, Nicholas utilized mentions of the Abolition of Slavery and the Women’s Suffrage movements. He made the outstanding claim that America will become synonymous with violence if changes are not made to the Constitution. Nicholas also elaborated with examples of how the government might handle the repealing of then 2nd amendment by using buy-back programs such as those in the U.K. and Australia. Nicholas concluded his arguments with mentions of the outdated policies of the 2nd amendment and that changing the Constitution effectively represents what ought to be legal—gun violence, he said, is largely if not completely avoidable.

Two other debate team members, Sally Andarge and Timothy Smith spoke on the issues at the beginning and at the end of the debate, furthering the riveting gun control argument. Sally Andarge kicked the debate off but I unfortunately missed that part of the event.

The debate lasted about thirty minutes and gave attending Regis students and faculty a look at what the debate team really does.

The event went to promote Social Justice Fridays, which occur on the 3rd Friday of every month.

An Acoustic Evening With Kelley Jakle

Kelley Jakle preforming in the Student Center

By: Allison Upchurch, Staff Reporter

After a full week of school and work, what better way to kick off the weekend than with a visit from a singer and actress straight from Hollywood. Kelley Jakle, most notable from her role of Jessica in the Pitch Perfect movies, performed on the Walker’s Pub stage last Friday February 8, accompanied on the guitar by her songwriting partner, Tom Strahle.

To start off the show, Jakle performed a cover of the song “Trampled Rose” by one of her favorite performers, Alison Krauss. She followed up this song by performing two songs that she and Strahle had written together, “Sparrow” and “Lead Me Out.”

“We wrote ‘Lead Me Out’ at a shifting point in my life,” Jakle said as she explained how she is experiencing the transition from being in her late 20s to her early 30s. “It is about learning to let go of the parts of myself that are not coming along for the next ride.”

Jakle and Strahle also treated the audience to a selection of new songs the pair had a hand in working on for the upcoming Netflix movie Walk. Ride. Rodeo. It was the first time that those songs of “Cry Baby” and “Late Bloomer” were performed live in front of an audience. “Cry Baby” in particular was significant for both Jakle and Strahle as they each recounted personal life experiences of isolation and separation that eventually worked their way into being inspirations for the creation of the song.

During a song transition, Strahle recounted how he and Jackle had met two years ago at a party in Hollywood. “I’m not very good at socializing,” Strahle admitted, “but I just sat down and started chatting with the person next to me, who happened to be Kelley.” They talked together about their careers in Los Angeles, and decided to meet up again to see if they could write some music together. “When we met up again, we wrote, or at least started, 5 songs in about 6 hours, and we’ve been collaborating ever since.”

Other songs performed that night included a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, “California” by Jakle’s Houston based band Robin Alice, and “Home to Mama” which Strahle helped write for Cody Simpson and Justin Bieber. Jakle even invited a member of the audience up to help sing “Home to Mama,” and the night ended with another Alison Krauss song called “When You Say Nothing At All.”

This show was put on in partnership with two non-profits based here in Colorado, Epic Experience, a program providing adult survivors of cancer a fun outdoor camp experience, and The Love, Hope, Strength Foundation which helps people get registered to be a bone marrow donor to potential save a life sometime in the future.

Valentine’s Day? What’s it all about?

Photo Source: https://www.readthespirit.com/religious-holidays-festivals/tag/st-valentine/

By Patrick O’Neill, Staff Writer

Like many holidays, Valentine’s Day has had a long and fabled history marked with occasional bloodshed, commercialism, and a little bit of Shakespeare. But what is the holiday really about? Why is the history of this February Lovefest so muddled? Where did Valentine’s day originate? Well, I’ll tell you.

It all began, as many things do, in Roman times. But the story is still a bit muddled as there are multiple legends of a now saint called Valentine or Valentinus. In each story Valentine is martyred, but he still remains a popular heroic and romantic figure in the Christian community. In one legend, according to The History Channel, Valentine was reportedly an early priest in Rome during the 3rd century. The Emperor Claudius II decreed marriage illegal for young men on the basis that single men were more equipped as soldiers than those with wives and children. Valentine believed this was wrong and defied the Emperor, continuing to marry young couples despite the decree. And so, he was executed for his illegal activity.

There are other legends of St. Valentine and his illegal activities, but the important fact became that he was a heroic and romantic figure—he also always gets himself killed by a Roman emperor, so what’s new?

But, the history of our pink and red heart-shaped holiday doesn’t end there.
You see from about February 13 to 15 the Roman festival of Lupercalia was once celebrated.  

Lupercalia, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica is a fertility festival wherein an order of priests known as the Luperci performed fertility rituals associated with the god, Faunus and the legendary she-wolf who nursed the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. The name Lupercalia probably stems from the Latin, lupus meaning wolf.

NPR claims that eventually by the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I combined St. Valentine’s Day and Lupercalia in order to erase the pagan traditions of Lupercalia.

Gradually, the holiday would gain popularity as Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized it in their writings. The holiday gradually became a celebration of love between friends and romantic partners. Soon enough, it became customary to offer hand-made paper cards to loved ones and eventually Hallmark came stomping into the picture.

Hallmark began mass-producing Valentine’s Day cards by 1913, making the holiday a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Fun Facts About Valentine’s Day:
1. In the early 1700s Americans began exchanging hand-made Valentine’s Day cards (The History Channel)
2. The oldest known Valentine was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans (The History Channel)
3. Valentine’s Day spending is expected to top $20 billion (National Retail Federation)
4. On Valentine’s Day in 1929 in Chicago with the murder of seven men in the North Side Gang during an event known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (The History Channel)

Regis Hosts FTC Colorado Championship 2019

Rover Ruckus in action at the First Tech Challenge Colorado State Championship

By Kamil Wojciak, Staff Writer

On Saturday, February 9th, Regis University hosted the FIRST Tech Challenge Colorado State Championship 2019 at the Regis Field House. The FTC comprised of a robotics competition that students (grades 7-12) built and programmed for the ROVER RUCKUS challenge.

ROVER RUCKUS is a competition where an alliance (three teams combined into one) and another alliance face off to obtain a higher score than the other. Each team separately builds and programs their own rover, to participate in the competition. Although there are many methods to obtain points in this game, the main and most important method is by grabbing materials that are shaped as blocks and balls, and transporting them to the lander.

At the end of the final round, a new record was created for ROVER RUCKUS. Previously, the Colorado state record was 444 points; after the final round, the new Colorado state record is 445 points.

With limited amount of events that revolve around computer science, this was a great addition to the Regis community. Hopefully, Regis will continue to show support to this field (especially through public events), using its ability to fascinate and even inspire others.

Dillon Ice Castles

By Emily Lovell, Associate Editor

Dillon, Colorado hosts a spectacular winter phenomenon every year: the ice castles. Featuring ice tunnels, caverns, fountains, an ice throne, slides, and plenty of photo opportunities, a visit to the Ice Castles will be full of laughter, awe, and unforgettable winter memories.

The company that creates them is based in Utah and spent about 4,000 hours dripping, shaping, and artistically hand-placing icicles throughout the palace. They also embedded the icicles with LED lights that change color so that the castles are light up like the northern lights. So, while they sparkle by day, be sure to see them glow after sunset.

Brent Christensen founded the company in 2011. In order to get his six children with cabin fever outside during Utah winters, he built an ice cave for them in the front yard. Soon, his winter playground became enormously popular throughout the town and has only continued to do so. Now, ice castles are built in six locations throughout North America: Dillon, CO; Edmonton, AB; Excelsior, MN; Lake Geneva, WI; Lincoln, NH; and Midway, UT.

Tickets are limited, so you’ll want to purchase them a week in advance online. They are open every day of the week except Tuesday and Wednesday. General admission is $15.95 during weekdays and $18.95 during the weekend. The season generally lasts from late December to early March, but it depends on Mother Nature. More information can be found here: https://icecastles.com/dillon/

Another surprise awaits within the castle’s walls: a show by Insphyre Performance. Watch men and women dance and duel with fire. They swallow fire; they catch flames in their hands and use it to light their props; they brandish fiery batons. And, they perform with the perfect soundtrack like “Hedwig’s Theme” from Harry Potter or “Light it Up” by the Fall Out Boys.  

Once you are done admiring the Ice Castles’ fairytale-like beauty, and your hands and toes are numb with cold, you can go just right across the street to a little place called Cameez for hot cocoa. They also serve coffee, ice cream, frozen yogurt, and crepes. Be sure to cross this fantastic adventure off your winter bucket list!

Cards Against Hypnosis at Regis University

By: Kamil Wojciak, Staff Writer

“I felt so relaxed . . . I felt excitement when I won one million dollars” John Butler said, one of the performers on Cards Against Hypnosis. On February 8th, for Thursday Thrills, David Hall performed his comedy hypnosis show Cards Against Hypnosis. This performance took place at the Main Cafe in the Student Center at 8:00 PM, open to all individuals looking to have a great laugh.

To start off, Hall demonstrated the power of hypnosis through the “Magnetic Fingers” trick to the audience, showing the audience how hypnosis really works. Hypnosis, even though it may seem like magic, utilizes the power of one’s consciousness to heighten one’s ability for suggestion. By Hall’s skill of persuasion and the audience members focusing on the objective of holding their fingers in place, it really seemed that their fingers were magnetic and pulling each other closer.

After showing the power of hypnosis to the audience, he asked for volunteers to become “the stars of the show”. With the volunteers, David Hall put them in a dream-like state ready for the acts to come; these acts are the fundamental core of Cards Against Hypnosis.

The special mechanic of Cards Against Hypnosis is that the audience decides the outcome of the scenario that is going to take place. On a black card, a scenario is written on what the hypnotized participants will perform. After being shown the black card, Hall will show a white card that has possible outcomes of the scenario to the audience. An audience member (or sometimes just the audience in general) will decide on one of the possible outcomes.

With this unique and inclusive mechanic, the audience members made the participants carry out all sorts of acts, ranging from having a pen that can shoot out an invisible sleeping dart, having the participants hate dancing until they hear the words “Do the Nae Nae”, winning one million dollars from a slot machine, to even singing the ABC’s in heavy metal.

Even with all the silly and crazy acts, many of the performers have little recollection on the acts they participated in. “I remember some things, like the Bahamas, some dancing” G’avonti Patton stated, a performer on the show.

Although the performers themselves may not have a clear memory of the event they partaken in, the audience will for sure remember the highly comedic and amusing show, Cards Against Hypnosis.