Anderson College of Business Hosts Purnima Voria, Founder & CEO of National US India Chamber of Commerce

Photo Source: Katie Clark

By: Marley Weaver-Gabel, Editor in Chief

On February 5, Purnima Voria of the National U.S. India Chamber of Commerce (NUICC) joined Regis students and faculty as the guest speaker of the executive speaker series hosted by Anderson College of Business. Students, professors and faculty members gathered in the Mountain View Room for snacks, networking and conversation.

Associate Professor Luka Powanga kicked the night off and introduced the guest speaker, commenting, “It is all about networking, so make sure you don’t leave here without getting her business card.”

Purnima Voria is currently the Founder and CEO of the National U.S. India Chamber of Commerce and she has served on several advisory councils, including Governor Owens’s and Mayor Hickenlooper’s Asian Advisory council. Voria is also known for her motivational speaking, international business expertise and advocacy for small and medium-sized corporations.

In 2005, Voria founded the NUICC with the goal of deepening trade relations between India and the US. Voria works with thousands of businesses, advising, supporting, and guiding them through negotiations and logistics of bilateral trade between the two countries.

“India is going to lead the world in the 21st century,” Voria shares, explaining the focus of NUICC: promotion of global businesses to cross barriers and borders. “It is vital for Colorado to embrace global change and create opportunities for businesses by going to India,” she goes on to say, indicating her hope for Colorado under the administration of Governor Jared Polis.  

“Who you know is very important,” she said. A large part of successful business partnerships in India comes down to networks and relationship building.  In fact, relationships are a critical component of a business’ success around the globe, so the work that Voria does largely revolves around using her networks to connect U.S. businesses to Indian businesses.  

“You make whatever you want out of your life,” Voria reflects in her closing. She moved to the United States in 1977 under a marriage visa and has since raised three children as a single mother. She started her own businesses, including NUICC, along the way. She embodies the spirit of hope and hard work and implores the audience “to be persistent and go after your dreams.”
The Anderson College of Business hosts several executive speaker nights throughout the year on a wide range of topics for students to attend and network. For more information regarding upcoming speakers, contact Jasmine Ralat, the Administrative Assistant in the college of business at jralat@regis.edu or follow Regis Anderson Business on Facebook.

Is Hate Speech a Necessary Part of the Truth?

Dr. Rob Margesson addresses guests of Romero House, a banner in the background reads “Resist” //Marley Weaver-Gabel

By: Marley Weaver-Gabel, Editor in Chief

On Wednesday, November 14, Romero House welcomed students and friends into their home for a hospitality night titled Freedom of Speech, Hate Speech & Crimes. Dr. Rob Margesson joined the group as the guest speaker for the evening to guide discussion and provoke thought and commentary throughout the night.

The night started out with a delicious meal of traditional ethiopian cuisine, cooked by three of the Romero House residents. As guests arrived in pairs or alone, friends greeted each other and sat together to share a meal. After getting hands deep into spicy lentils and well prepared potatoes, the group of roughly 15 students hushed themselves and started discussion.

Dr. Margesson started the discussion by sharing the theory of the marketplace of ideas, which proposes that the only way to understand the truth and the good, we must come into confrontation with the false and the bad. This theory also explains that in order to engage in critical inquiry, we must have access to an abundance of ideas, including those which we may find wholly repugnant. So if we believe in this marketplace of ideas, does hate speech aid in the search for truth?

This was the question that students engaged in throughout the night with thoughtful commentary and inquiry. In discussion, the conversation touched on topics regarding the meaning of truth, the role of the oppressed, and the invitation of hate speech on to college campuses.

“Truth is not only known, but it is felt too,” comments Veronica Postit. With this comment, students faced what the truth is and how it can be defined, either as subjective or objective. There is no clear cut answer of the truth, which is one of the reasons it becomes so important that we are participants in the marketplace of ideas. The free sharing of ideology creates a space to understand truths that can be subjective to each individual.

Through the evening, the conversation transitioned towards the question of obligation. Nick Aranda asks, “Who carries the obligation of understanding the others truth?” The question guided students to reflect about the roles of the oppressor fighting for their own humanity. If not the oppressed, than who will stand up? Does it then inherently become the marginalized to confront the oppressors? While this is a compelling argument, Isaiah Pramuk suggests, “It can really hurt us if we push too far into it.” In many ways, there is a certain level of self care that we must consider when confronting discrimination. Context matters and each person can only do their best, based on their abilities in the moment.

Another large theme addressed the invitation of hate speech into our spaces. Considering the marketplace of ideas, one could say that inviting hate speech into our spaces is a necessary evil to be able to confront those volatile ideologies. Students were hesitant to embrace this idea, instead cautioning that these ideas could become more polarizing and for those who are under informed, it could become their truth.

Leaving Romero House, I had more questions than I came with and more thoughts that I continue to organize. In this safe, comfortable space, with well educated and thoughtful young justice seekers, I found myself comforted by this community. This conversation did not address specific actions, nor did it address our multitude of grievances in response to the hate that has infiltrated our school. Instead, it brought together truth seekers and gave us a space to not react with hate, but react with thoughtfulness in the face of those statements we fundamentally disagree with. THIS is what it means to me to be part of a social justice university.

Supernatural skills on the mixing board

(Photo: Marley Weaver-Gabel)

By: Marley Weaver-Gabel, Editor-In-Chief

On October 28, ghouls, ghosts, and goblins paraded into the National Western Complex center for a night of Halloween themed festivities and head-banging electronic music at the first ever Supernatural Festival. Global Dance organized the sinister Halloween event.

Global Dance is a national electronic dance music (EDM) event producer working across the country, hosting events ranging in smaller shows and large festivals like Decadence NYE and Electric Daisy Chain. For the past 20 years, Global Dance had coordinated the well-known Hallowfreak’n’ween to deliver wicked vibes. This year, Global Dance transitioned and rebranded with the Supernatural Festival 2017.

Inside the complex, eight stages hosted over 54 DJ’s ranging from artists like Alesso and Infected Mushroom, to smaller up and coming performers like Xander and DJ E.

Through the spooky decorations of flying ghosts and spider webs, rave-goers could find the Phantom Academy stage where Regis’ very own DJ E started out the night with a bouncy, dance-filled set!

Jamming to an MC Hammer remix, DJ E answered a couple of questions before his set. DJ E commented that he was most excited “for people dance.” And boy did they. For a full hour of hoppy drops and twisted beats, DJ E and his mentor, Walt White threw down their best to get the crowd up and moving!

You may know Ethan Beaudoin, junior at Regis University, from his impressive mixes at many of our sporting events. Ethan has been DJing for close to four years. He is a student of Walter White at the Global DJ Academy where he has been mentored through the programs and stages of developing and creating a fluid DJ set.

As part of the program, Ethan got backstage access to the Global Dance Festival over the summer and even got to meet artists like Louis the Child and Deorro. Mentor Walter White also DJ’s at Colorado Rapid games, which Ethan has gotten to attend. Through his connections, Ethan has learned more about the EDM industry and continues to train as a young DJ with vast potential.   

Before Walter White founded the Global DJ Academy, he was a professional speed skater and cyclist. When he lost recognition for athleticism, he developed a new interest in electronic music. For a while, he worked the behind the scenes at raves because he was well versed in the programs and technology. He often was called “The Wolf of Raves” and was known for his ability to fix equipment. White started making his own music and found that there was no community to learn how to create electronic music. His journey inspired the Global DJ Academy  because “no one deserves to have to struggle as I did.” Now, the academy serves around 200 students with six instructors.

Ethan is passionately producing music and taking each lesson in stride. His performance at Supernatural 2017 was a landmark moment in his career. Based on his energetic performance, it is clear that DJ E is only at the beginning of his career as an EDM artist. Keep your eyes open for his next event as it will be sure to delight!

Regis Innovation Center offers networking platform for interested students

(Photo: Regis University)

By: Marley Weaver-Gabel & Ethan Lockshin

At the Innovation Challenge launch party on October 23, many students attended to get more information about the challenge. In total, about 80 students with unique, creative ideas expressed an interest in participating in the year-long project. With so many students interested, they will all be looking for teams and mentors to get their project off the ground.

Ethan shared that many students who expressed interest didn’t know how to go about finding a team or a mentor. With quick thinking, the Innovation Challenge team found the perfect networking solution to connect innovators with interested team members and mentors.

Lockshin comments, “You spoke. We acted. Regis University invested in StartupTree and the platform is live!”

StartupTree provides the easiest way to manage, track, and support founders and startups in your network. StartupTree is used by schools such as University of Colorado Boulder, Virginia Tech, Michigan State University and is a proven solution to effectively collect data and metrics surrounding your program.

Within StartupTree, you can create your own profile and add all of your details. The more detailed you make your profile, the better you will be able to find people that are a good match for your team! A detailed profile is the best way to make solid connections with like-minded innovators.

Any questions please contact Ethan Lockshin at ELockshin@regis.edu 

https://regis.startuptree.co 

Reformed Neo-Nazi speaks at Regis

(Photo: Emily Schneider)

“We had no idea how pressing these issues would be when this conversation started,” remarked Dan Justin, the director of the Institute on the Common Good (ICG) at Regis University.

Justin was introducing reformed Neo-Nazi Christian Picciolini to a group of Regis students on Tuesday, Sep. 12 in the chapel. Picciolini described his life story and how he came to be who he is now.

Living in Chicago during 1987 at the age of just 14, Picciolini was recruited by the first white-supremacist skinhead group in America. From there, he rose through the ranks to become the leader of the group at 16 after all the adults in the group were sent to prison for the murder of a woman.

Picciolini explained that growing up he had always been an outsider. He was alone and despondent. He explained that now he recognizes those hateful ideologies as wrong, but at the time, it was not the ideas that drew him in. It was the sense of belonging that he had never experienced before. The skinheads paid attention to him, and trusted him, making him a part of their community.

He coined a term for these feelings of loneliness of inadequacies: potholes. Potholes are anything that takes us off our path or changes our direction. Picciolini says we are all continuously searching to fill the potholes in ourselves or our lives, and that potholes are often reasons people turn towards extremism, in any form.

As he got older, Picciolini fell in love, married, and had two kids. For this reason, he started to take a step back from the Neo-Nazi group by opening a record store. There he sold mainly white power music but also included genres of hip hop, punk rock, and heavy metal.

Selling these genres brought in a more diverse group of people than Picciolini had ever experienced. He describes the people selling this music attracted as those whom he had treated the worst. Picciolini reflects, “I was shown compassion when I least deserved it, and from the people, I least deserved it from.”  

The diverse customers acted compassionately toward him - engaging in meaningful conversation. Slowly they became some of his best friends.

Picciolini had found a sense of community with the people he had taught others to hate. He had found community with African Americans, immigrants, people of all religions that treated him with humanity. After years of practicing and preaching hate towards people that were not similar to him, his customers showed him a more positive community that celebrated diversities and engaged in their differences.

Through this realization, Picciolini started on the path towards restoration and change. In 2009, he founded Life After Hate, an organization that seeks to offer community to people who are disengaging from their extremist lifestyle. He explained that the first part of his job was to find their “potholes” and understand why they chose to become part of an extremist group.

“My job is to fill potholes,” he shared. He offers a variety of services, like job support, tattoo removal, and medical assistance. Through connecting lost individuals with these resources, he attempts to fill the holes that led them down a path of hate in the first place.

Picciolini explains that if he tries to throw people into situations with those that they were told to hate right off the bat, it will be an unsuccessful interaction. Instead, he works to help individuals become more stable then slowly allows them to engage with those that are different from themselves. Often, extremists have not even interacted with the people they are so hateful towards.

“We need to find common ground and start with our similarities and then work into our differences,” Picciolini explains. This is the method he uses to introduce people to each other and to bridge the gap built between them. Through his organization, he is uniting people and transforming life after hate, into love.

Picciolini closed with a challenge to students and faculty in attendance: “Find someone you don't think deserves compassion and respect, and give it to them because often, they are the ones that need it the most.”

Catie Cheshire & Marley Weaver-Gabel
Staff Reporter & Editor-In-Chief

Get To Know The Staff: Marley Weaver-Gabel

(Photo: Frances Meng-Frecker)

Why did you want to join the Highlander?

Initially, I joined the Highlander because I had been involved with the newspaper in high school. Joining the Highlander was just a natural transition into college. I joined, initially wanting to help in whatever way I could. I started out doing reporting and layout. Hayley Lokken and I did the bulk of the layout during my first year with the Highlander. By the end of that first year, I had moved into doing some editing and then was asked to take over when the previous Editor in Chief Gina Nordini graduated. So why did I join...mostly because of my passion for student journalism that was fostered in high school. Why did I stay? Because I witnessed the potential for what the Highlander could become and knew I wanted to be part of creating a sustainable, student focused publication.

Will you describe your position?

Currently, I am the Editor in Chief of the Highlander. In this position, I get to oversee a lot of the little pieces that make our whole organization successfully function. During our weekly meetings, we assign stories, and I take note of those, making sure reporters know what type of story they are writing, and when it is due. I also work closely with the photo editor, Frances Meng-Frecker, to ensure all of our stories have an accompanying photo. On the back end, once the story is finished, I have the last set of eyes on that story before I send it to the digital media editor Natalia Zreliak to post on to the website and the app. Being part of a team like the Highlander is incredibly rewarding, and it brings me joy to see writers develop and progress. One of my absolute favorite things about the job is getting to edit and give feedback to stories when reporters bring them to me for extra assistance. Helping my peers become better writers makes me indescribably fulfilled, and I am so thankful for this position to allow me to unleash that passion.

What's something that makes you unique?

Something the general populace might not know: I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Haiti over spring break as part of an Opus Prize Foundation site visit team. In October, the Opus Prize Nominees will be on campus to visit Regis. On October 11, the recipient of the 2017 Opus Prize will be announced at a formal presentation, and the student body is encouraged to attend!! For more information visit: http://www.regis.edu/About-Regis-University/Regis-University-Leadership/Office-of-the-President/Opus-Award.aspx

Samantha Jewell
Social Media Editor