It’s hard to say who ultimately handed down the punishments, whether they were truly up to Couture or whether he was simply Dennison’s marionette. What is clear is that suspending students who peacefully engaged in protest is unjust.

Officials need to show the restraint to suspend students only in the most extreme cases.

The protesters sat peacefully in Dennison’s office. They did not hurt anyone, nor did they put anyone in danger. They did not harm any property, nor did they threaten to.

What they did was illegal, and the legal system will dole out proper punishment. There is no reason for the University to take it further.

The greater good is not served by keeping these students off campus. SESJ has shown no history of posing a threat to the campus population; banning them from University grounds shows only bitterness to being challenged by students.

The letter of apology, too, amounts to little more than a waste of time. They aren’t sorry. Why add lying to the litany of transgressions?

All punishment in this matter should be handled by the legal system, not by administrators overzealously trying to prove a point.

The purpose of prosecution is to seek fair punishment for crimes, not to establish a starting point for further discipline.

Couture needs to let the courts do their job, and go back to doing his.

He should have left these kids alone.

If students are dissatisfied with the decisions made by Couture, they have a right to protest through a hearing with University Court. None of the eight students said they planned to protest, but member Ella Torti said the group would meet Tuesday night to decide whether individuals should appeal.

Fennell said he was told in his meeting with Couture that if he appealed to the court, it could decide to impose further discipline.

Fennell said that he was given the option to serve his suspension in the fall, when it wouldn’t interfere with finals, but students who plan on graduating this spring did not have that option.

Kendra Kallevig’s suspension will stretch from Friday through Tuesday. She will graduate next month having received high honors, including the Outstanding Student Leader Award.

In addition to the suspensions, each student must pay the fines for trespassing. Torti, one of the SESJ sit-in participants, said the fine with court fees came to $151, but she took an option of 30 community service hours instead.

Craig Shannon, a Missoula attorney, represented all eight students pro bono.

“This group of students hold themselves to the highest standard of ethics,” Shannon said. “If we don’t speak up, our freedoms are gone.”

The Kaimin was denied access to the meetings between Couture and the students, despite repeated requests to be included. The Kaimin solicited an opinion from Mike Meloy, attorney for the Montana Freedom of Information Hotline, who sent a fax to Couture.

The fax was received after the meetings ended around 2:30 p.m., but urged Couture to include the press in future meetings. Meloy wrote that the meeting should have been public under the Montana Open Meetings Law.

Each of the eight students agreed to waive their right to privacy and to have a Kaimin reporter included, but the requests were still denied.

“As I understand it, each of the students involved in your meetings have waived the right of privacy,” Meloy wrote. “In that event, your meetings must be open.”

“I went through it. I slept with women. I prayed to the God of heterosexuality,” Charles said.

But he said he doesn’t do it any longer. “I am buying into my right to desire who I want to,” he said.

Charles questioned what right scientists have to study homosexuality. He said instead of inquiring into biology, people should fight for equal rights and celebrate homosexuality’s heritage and culture.

Panelist Anya Jabour, history professor and co-director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program, suggested that sexuality is the product of culture, which changes over time. 

Jabour said certain sex acts were made criminal like adultery and sodomy, but sex mainly centered on the realm of marriage and procreation. Jabour cited a case from Scotland in 1811 where two women were tried for “deviant sexual acts.” The women were acquitted because of the common belief that women had no passion. Jabour provided a quote from the judge on the case: “Sex between two women is like committing murder with hocus pocus.”

The common view of the 19th century was that women were thought to be passionless and physically unable to have sex without the presence of a man, according to Jabour. Same-sex female relationships weren’t seen as homosexual but as superior – free of economic exchange and passion, she said.

It wasn’t until the time period of 1880 to 1920 that scientists defined homosexuality as a condition related to non-conforming gender roles, Jabour said.

She said if a man was the dominant partner in a relationship he would be regarded as normal, even if he were having sex with a member of the same sex, because he was fulfilling the traditional gender role.

“Sexuality is culturally constructed in history. Homosexuality is neither biologically dictated nor individual choice,” Jabour said.

Bryan Cochran, a professor of clinical psychology, said that the question is not black and white.

In 1997, the American Psychological Association reversed an established precedent that homosexuality is a mental illness and stated that it is not an illness and there is no therapy to “cure” it, he said.

Homosexuality is a part of one’s self just like culture or language, and it isn’t a matter of choice, said French Professor Michel Valentin. He said sexuality is something that is embedded in one’s self from biological determinism. It is something that can’t be controlled, he said.

Valentin asserted that there is no such thing as healthy sex; there are rifts in all cultures regarding sex, whether it is the incest taboo or sexual relations between men and women. It all comes from the subconscious, he said.

“You don’t choose to be homosexual; there’s something in you; there’s nothing wrong with it,” said Valentin, adding that it’s the cultural reaction that’s often bad.

Human sexuality instructor and clinical sexologist Lindsey Doe said she gets upset when she teaches human sexuality with an old curriculum that tells her to ask, “Where does homosexuality come from?” Doe said if that question is to be asked, then the same needs to be asked about heterosexuality.

The panel of professors took questions and comments after their individual speeches.

One audience member asked how homosexuals could promote dialogue to overcome intolerance.

Charles answered that broaching dialogue involves risk-taking to break down the stigma surrounding homosexuality, and it can be dangerous.

Another audience member remarked that the risk-taking isn’t needed by homosexuals, but rather by many heterosexuals who should interact and get to know everyone, regardless of sexuality.

Micus said this is a problem because class schedules are printed six months before finals. It’s difficult to plan something that far in advance, and changes might happen even if mistakes aren’t made, he said.

“Next semester, we’re not going to even put the finals times in the printed schedules,” Micus said.

And few schedules are even being printed anymore. Starting last semester UM stopped printing class schedules for students. Teachers and advisers are still getting printed schedules, but students have to look on the Web for class listings and finals times.

This is a needed transition, Micus said. So much of what’s printed in schedules becomes obsolete the minute they’re printed. Class times change, and students can’t see what classes are full.

With the Internet version of the class schedule, things like this finals schedule mishap can be corrected immediately for every student to see. And the University doesn’t have to worry about notifying students because updates are instantaneous on the Web site, Micus said.

“Again, this is why we want to do away with printed schedules,” he said.

Incoming president Hunter is a 20-year-old junior majoring in history and political science from Kalispell, and Smillie is a 21-year-old junior majoring in political science from Billings.

They said their first objective once they get into office is transparency, and this is the issue they felt won them the election.

“The biggest difference is we wanted to make ASUM accessible to all students,” Hunter said. “They (Harrison and Yerger) were more advocating for change in ASUM itself, for student groups.”

Hunter and Smillie credited their win to pounding the pavement and talking to student groups and individuals on a daily basis throughout the campaign.

“We worked our asses off,” Hunter said.

Waiting patiently at Finn & Porter restaurant for her phone to ring, Harrison thanked current ASUM president Dustin Leftridge for the news and passed it on to her running mate, Yerger. They took the news well, and congratulated each other on a good race, commenting on how much they learned through the campaigning process.

Harrison and Yerger said it wasn’t any one issue they campaigned on that cost them the election. Hunter and Smillie simply got more people to vote for them, Harrison said.

She said she and Yerger hope to share their ideas with next year’s senate. ASUM is currently disconnected from the students and it’s time to approach the students instead of waiting for them to come to the senate, Harrison said.

“I have a lot of faith for the future of the campus,” she said.

Yerger said he wishes Hunter and Smillie the best of luck and hopes they can follow through on their promises and make UM a better place.

“It just wasn’t meant to be, to use a really bad cliché,” Yerger said.

“I think this year we had a really good senate, there was a lot of consensus,” Leftridge said. “They will really have a chance to follow through with some of the things they started in the fall.”

Advocating student rights and ensuring the sustainability coordinator follows through with the job of reducing greenhouse gas emissions on campus are two of the issues the Hunter and Smillie administration plan to keep plucking away at.

Hunter did not think the blip on Wednesday, which stopped voting on CyberBear for three hours, affected the outcome of the election. 

“The only people that voted between midnight and 8 a.m. was us.  It was us and the senators,” Hunter said.

Elections committee chair Rikki Gregory said that if anything the error helped turnout.  She sent out a campus-wide e-mail notifying students of the error, potentially letting more students know about the election.

The turnout was far less than during last year’s election, but Gregory attributed this to no referendum on the ballot this time around, which only happens every two years. There were approximately 100 more votes than two years ago when the ballot also lacked referenda such as fee increases.

The new ASUM administration is made up of three friends this cycle. Hunter and Smillie celebrated the results of the election at Sean Kelly’s along with the new business manager, Alex Gosline.

Also at Sean Kelly’s, holding a separate rally, was state democratic attorney general candidate Steve Bullock. He picked up the food and drink bill for Hunter and all of his supporters. 

Gosline has big plans for his term as ASUM business manager. He wants to get ASUM out of their current deficit, provide adequate funding for student groups and start a discussion to remove ASUM’s administrative assessment, he said.

The assessment is essentially a tax the administration charges on money ASUM gets through student fees and student group fundraising. This year that assessment totaled about $88,000, Gosline said.

“It’s probably going to be the toughest fight a business manager has put up in a while,” Gosline said. 

For the past 18 years, Hayes, 68, has taken the minutes for ASUM meetings, missing just a handful of meetings in all that time. She has seen 18 ASUM administrations and has coached them all in the ways of bureaucracy. She has discovered the financial needs of student groups, and doled out funds to groups while teaching the art of penny pinching.

“She can stretch a dollar further than anyone I’ve ever met,” said Marlene Hendrickson, ASUM accountant.

Hayes and Hendrickson have worked together for 17 years, and there is a glassless window between their offices so they can talk to each other.

“When they renovated, we requested this window,” Hendrickson said. “We call it our drive-up window.”

In Hayes’ office, a boxing-nun puppet perches atop the metal coat rack, looking out on the small, somewhat disorganized room. On her office door, Clint Eastwood squints from a poster, ready to make your day with a revolver in each hand and a pistol in his belt. Passersby might assume Hayes has an edge, and, in a sense, they’d be right.

“She’s … how do I put this … the iron fist in the velvet glove,” Hendrickson said. “She’s just very in charge, and yet she never is impatient. She never seems to mind repeating instructions to group after group, year after year.”

ASUM Vice President Tara Ness agreed, saying Hayes has been a great mentor, always offering information and advice, while keeping tight lips on her own opinion.
“Regardless of what precedents have been set, we always get the last word,” Ness said.

Like many in the office, Ness said Hayes is irreplaceable as the institutional knowledge of ASUM, guiding executives and senators through pitfalls of the past.
Hendrickson spoke similarly.

“You can’t replace Carol,” she said. “We’ll hire someone new, but we’ll never be able to replace her.”

ASUM senator Sean Morrison praised Hayes for her personality.

“There’s nobody I know who doesn’t absolutely love Carol to death,” he said.

Newly elected ASUM President Trevor Hunter also shared fond memories of Hayes.

“On Halloween, she came as ‘the authentic cowgirl,’” he said. He said she wore an outfit complete with a cowboy hat, vest, and a toy six-shooter to match her poster of Clint Eastwood.

In order for Hayes to leave, the newly elected ASUM has to write a job description, advertise the position and find someone to replace her.

Even if that happens in time for fall semester, there’s one last hurdle for Hayes.

“She’s promised she won’t leave until her office is cleaned out,” Hendrickson said. “And by the looks of it, she might be here for awhile.”

But in all likelihood, Hayes will continue with her plans to retire at the end of summer.

She has had a significant impact on students in her years with ASUM, and there’s no doubt they feel the loss. But her long-time co-workers may be left with an even heavier weight in their chests.

“It will be a very sad day for me when she leaves,” Hendrickson said.

He said he wasn’t aware that MTVU had entered his film into the competition.

Andrews routinely posts comedy sketches and other films “all over the Internet,” including the MTVU site, and he guessed that they automatically entered him into the competition.

Once films are posted on the site, students vote to decide the grand-prize winner. Voting continues until April 28, at which point the top two winners will be flown to the MTV Movie Awards.

The grand-prize winner will receive the Golden Popcorn Award and a film development deal worth upwards of $10,000.

“We were blown away by the work we received in this years’ competition,” said Jason Rzepka, director of communications at MTVU. 

Over 2,000 filmmakers have entered the competition. So far, Rzepka said, Andrews is the first from Montana to be recognized.

Also, seniors and graduate students usually take home the top prize, so this kind of recognition is a feat for a freshman, Rzepka said.

Andrews said he isn’t in the film business to win awards but to do something he loves.

“My friends and I have a weird sense of humor, and we like to make movies about what we think is funny,” Andrews said. “Not everyone agrees with us, but if we think something is funny, then someone else in the world must think so too.”

“Banana Hands,” the title of Andrews’ film, was the product of his last summer with some of his high school friends. He said he wanted to do something fun to remember them by.

So far, quasi-fame hasn’t changed him or led to any Hollywood film deals. He has gotten a lot of people asking about him online and a few requests to do “commercial stuff” in Bozeman.

He is in the process of writing a feature movie and plans to make short films over the summer. Whatever happens, Andrews said he is proud to have put Montana on the map with his film.

Go to http://www.bestfilmoncampus.com/contests/bfoc/default.aspx to check out “Banana Hands,” along with the other top 25 films.

“We do it every semester, and it’s all student-run,” said producer Karie Pietrykowski. “But this time, it’s a little more than just plays. We’ve got a lot of variety acts performing too.”

Those “variety” acts include a full program of tap dancing, singing, acrobatics, improv and belly dancing.

“We asked around the department to see if anyone wanted a chance to perform at the festival, and we got a huge response,” said producer Martha Neslen, who is also acting in two of the plays.

The event’s unusual name came from how the festival was thrown together, Pietrykowski said.

“‘Shotgun’ was just a way to describe some of the scattered, quick decisions we had to make in organizing it.”

After only four weeks of production preparation and two weeks of rehearsal, the performers pulled the trigger on the festival last night. Among the featured plays were: “Limbo” by Sara Greenfield, about a girl who is diagnosed with Huntington ’s disease; and “Interview,” by Ryan Fish, which follows an applicant through an off-kilter job interview.

“We’re trying to create an experience for everyone,” Neslen said, “something engaging in only ten minutes.”

Pietrykowski acknowledged as well that it’s all about the crowd.

“The Crystal lends itself very well to festivals like this,” she said. “It’s an intimate stage where the actors and the audience can form a kind of community.”

Shotgun Theatre runs at the Crystal Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., doors open at 7. Student tickets are available at the door for $5. General admission is $7.

Lance Boyd, festival organizer and UM jazz director, said he works with DeFranco each year to decide the guest performer line-up. He claims that one of the goals of the performance is to display a model of high-class musicianship for the college, high school and junior high students who typically attend.

“What I want to present for them is a good example of good jazz,” Boyd said. “We’re really here to educate and be a resource to the state.”

Robert Ledbetter, UM director of percussion studies, said the festival provides students with the opportunity to interact and learn from big name musicians while experiencing the “big band” atmosphere common in the 1930s and 1940s.

“Universities are one of the only places that keeps this music going,” Ledbetter said. “Big bands are still alive and well all over the country.”

Ledbetter, who will play percussion in the Festival Jazz Trio, said playing with DeFranco can be both “inspiring and a little nerve-racking.”

“You never know what he’s going to do,” Ledbetter said. “He’ll just get inspired by the moment … you got to be ready, you got to be on your toes.”

Boyd, after years of collaborating with DeFranco, also holds him in very high regard.

“He’s probably one of the best jazz clarinetists in the history of jazz,” Boyd said. “He’s a legend.”

The festival will begin at 8 a.m. both days, with college, high school, and junior high performances. The high school and college bands will play for 30 minutes each, and will be critiqued by guest artists afterward. Musical clinics will follow at 1 p.m. The concerts featuring Buddy DeFranco, guest musicians, the Festival Jazz Trio and the UM Jazz Band start at 7:30 p.m. This year’s guest performers include Phil Woods, James Morrison and Bucky Pizzarelli.

Tickets are available at all GrizTix outlets. Prices for both nights are $40 for adults and $30 for students. Single night tickets are also available for $22 for adults and $17 for students. All seating is reserved.

In a college town where the fuzz is a little loose on marijuana enforcement, doing time actually takes some effort. But leave it to University of Montana kids to get creative. This one’s a tie.

1) Storm President Dennison’s office.

2) Join the Griz football team.

Sexiest cankles to touch down in Missoula:

Hands down, this award goes to Hillary Clinton. How does the Clintons’ song go? “Hey Hill, if you ever dump Bill, come date me.”

Worst VH1 reality show:

Although Tila Tequila’s bisexual search for love certainly piqued our interest (and was a fresh twist on the usual “B” celebrity looking for “love” routine), we’ve got to hand it to Flavor Flav. Let’s hope that the third time is a charm. Someday someone will love you; we just don’t want to see it.

Best way to flog a dead horse:

Run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Seriously, enough is enough.

Best Missoula Art Walk alternative:

Forget the martinis, wine and cheese. In fact, forget all the downtown delicacies associated with First Friday. This award goes to the Pylon gallery, a house in a Missoula trailer park. Nothing screams high culture like broken lamps, crushed mailboxes and a back-alley entrance.

Best book reviewed by Kaimin Arts:

We’re big fans of the penis, so we’re naming “Superbad: The Drawings” winner. It even inspired one of our reporters to pursue phallic-based artwork of her own.

Worst book not reviewed by Kaimin Arts:

We received a copy of the self-published book “From the Stall,” a collection of photos taken in bathroom stalls. Some of the poetry was funny, but most of the images just reaffirmed our suspicions that for some men, female anatomy remains a mystery.

Best line from “There Will Be Blood”:

“I drink your milkshake.” There were so many to choose from, but only one generated a gut-busting SNL parody.

Best way to screw up a concert in the Adams Center:

One word: wristbands.

Best Montana Kaimin blotter entry:

The Denny goes to an anonymous 17-year-old female who got a little too wild with her Nissan at 2:50 a.m. on April 10. Downing a light pole is old hat for drunk drivers, but mad props for vomming in a squad car.

Best buzzword found in letters to the editor:

The award goes to “green.” However, we’d like to point out that “green” should never, ever, ever be used as a verb. Ever.

“I don’t think it really had the effect we were hoping for,” Cox said.

The Students for Concealed Carry on Campus were trying to start a conversation about gun policy this week, but by Wednesday, they had to change their goal.

Steve Dogiakos, UM chapter president of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, reframed the protest.

“We’re barely noticeable, and that’s just the point,” he said.

Dogiakos said some people argue carrying concealed handguns on campus would distract from the learning environment. But since no one’s noticed the holsters, out in plain view, a hidden weapon wouldn’t distract either, he said.

In Montana, lawful gun owners don’t need a permit to carry weapons in plain sight, but it is illegal to carry a hidden handgun without a concealed weapons permit.

But even licensed carriers cannot take their guns into banks, government buildings or bars – and according to state law and university policy, guns cannot be carried on campus.

Scott Martin, president of the UM College Democrats, thinks that’s a good thing.

“I don’t like to think about the guy next to me packin’ a gun,” he said.

Gary Marbut, president of Montana Shooting Sports Association, said those who wish to break the law would have no problem getting a gun onto campus. He said that while Martin doesn’t like the idea, it’s entirely possible that the guy next to him actually is packing.

Marbut said University policy would never deter a shooter.

“It’s not like he’ll get to the edge of campus and think, ‘Wait, I can’t do this because the policy prohibits it,’” he said.

Police can’t really do much in this area, he said, either in keeping guns off of campus or arriving in time to stop a shooting in progress.

“It’s not that they can’t always be there, it’s that they can almost never be there,” he said, adding that it’s not a problem with law enforcement, but a problem with logistics.

Jim Lemcke, director of UM Public Safety, spoke similarly in an earlier interview.

“Remember that in most cases, the damage is already done by the time police get the call, so folks have to prepare to respond and help themselves,” he said. He refused to comment on whether allowing concealed weapons on campus is the answer.

In the wake of shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is lobbying for licensed gun carriers to be allowed to carry on campuses to protect students from future shootings. The organization, whose Facebook group has 29,000 members, says campuses should legally be the same as malls, grocery stores, movie theaters and parks, where permits allow concealed weapons.

Martin downplayed the possibility of a shooting on the UM campus.

“These school shootings, albeit serious and tragic, are relatively isolated,” he said. Bringing guns into schools, already on heightened alert, would only cause problems.

He said that while he doesn’t like what the protesters propose, he recognizes their freedom of expression.

“Good for you for speaking your mind, but we have to keep our campus safe,” he said.

The Brady Center, an anti-gun organization in D.C., has issued statements against Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. Brady Center spokesman Doug Pennington said the idea of adding handguns to the university atmosphere is horrifying.

“Putting loaded, hidden, semi-automatic handguns in the hands of 21-year-olds is a terrible idea,” he said. “This is a case of creating risk where there was none before.”

But Marbut disagreed. He said leaving students without defense would make them vulnerable.

“Some people seem to think, ‘If we just disarm the victims, everybody will be more safe,’” he said. “It’s a non sequitur. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Both sides say they want to keep college students safe but will continue the debate on how best to make that happen.

Backhands have to go out to a Brazilian priest who, after attaching himself to hundreds of helium-filled balloons, drifted above the Atlantic Ocean where he is believed to have crashed and likely perished. This just seems like a bad idea from the get-go. “I hear there are easier ways to get high,” UM director of Public Safety Jim Lemcke didn’t say. But wouldn’t it have been effin’ hilarious if he had? 

Big Ups to ASUM elections for wrapping up. When summer actually gets here, the sun will be able to shine through the windows of the UC without being obstructed by posters of people you can’t vote for anyway.

While complimenting the competition isn’t really a favorite pastime of BU&Bh, Big Ups to the Missoula Independent for slapping a picture of a naked person on its cover this week. That’s one area where the Kaimin failed its readers this year: not enough nudity.

We need a formulaic entry to accommodate the antics of the constantly-in-trouble Chicago Bulls mascot. It would go something like this: “Backhands to Chicago Bulls’ mascot Benny the Bull, whose real-life alter-ego is former Griz mascot Barry Anderson. The artist formerly known as Monte has been sued by _________ for _________.” This week the “fill in the blanks” would be “an oral surgeon” and “hyperextending the doc’s arm while giving him a high five.”

An 18-year-old Missoula man who hijacked a Papa John’s delivery guy and punched him in the face was charged with felony robbery Wednesday as a result of the early Tuesday morning assault. Backhands to Papa John’s pizza. It’s too greasy.

In light of Team Kaimin’s humiliating, 3-inning 16-3 loss Wednesday in intramural softball, Big Ups to the conclusion of softball season. The finale was disappointing and hit its low point when the team’s coach––BU&Bh––dropkicked his glove over a tree. We’ll see you next season.

We know you’ll miss us in the lead up to finals, but maybe you’ll actually learn something in the final week, without the crossword to distract you.

Eastern Washington isn’t a team to be overlooked, Anderson said, despite the fact Montana beat them soundly 5-2 during the regular season.

“They are a pretty tough team,” Anderson said. “One of their goals for the last couple years was to beat us. So it will be tough for us, from the No. 1 spot all the way to the No. 6.”

Anderson said she is looking for her lone senior, Mari Castello, to lead the way for Montana.

“I definitely feel she will step up,” Anderson said. “She’s been really vocal, cheering on the other girls. She’s stepped up into a leadership role.”

Top-ranked Sacramento State is the team everyone is gunning for. The Hornets are currently No. 48 in the nation, boasting only one loss this season.

“They’re the team everyone wants to beat,” Anderson said. “No match is easy, but everyone definitely wants to beat Sac State.”

The other quarterfinal matchup is between No. 3 Montana State and No. 6 Northern Colorado. The quarterfinal winners move onto Saturday to face either No. 1 Sac State or No. 2 Northern Arizona.

On the men’s side, Montana (7-8, 3-5 BSC) looks to avenge a 5-2 regular-season loss to Weber.

“It’s a totally different game,” said junior Felipe Raw. “Last time we played indoors and at their home. Now we’re playing outdoors at a different site,” Raw said. “I have a good feeling about it. We should pull it out.”

The men’s team faced Weber State just two weeks ago but this time, head coach Kris Nord is changing things up at the bottom of the lineup. In the first matchup, junior Raydner Ramos was at the No. 5 spot, while freshman David Cysneiros was at No. 6.

For today’s game, Ramos was bumped up to No. 4, Cysneiros to No. 5, while junior Alexandre Gorj rounds out the bottom at No. 6. Nord will keep his doubles the same as the last time these two teams met.

“Our guys have to play better to bump them off,” Nord said. “We’ve got our hands full. There will be different matchups at the bottom. I hope that helps.”

In the other quarterfinal men’s match, No. 4 Montana State takes on No. 5 Northern Arizona. Winners will move on to face No. 1 Sac State and No. 2 Eastern Washington.

This is the 19th straight postseason appearance for the women’s team and the 18th for the men. Both are looking for their first BSC championship.

It’s the second consecutive year that both Sacramento State’s men’s and women’s team took the top seeds and hosted the tournament. 

Alongside coordinating an open meet this weekend in Missoula, where red shirts are allowed to compete and Big Sky qualifying is on the line, athletes competing in the Midwest also have high stakes.

Among those competing for the men are Brett Carter in the 10,000 meters and James Stanton in the discus. For the women, Baily Cox will continue her strong senior campaign in the heptathlon, 400-meter and triple jump. Kosovich will compete in the pole vault and junior Amber Aikins will fulfill duties in the heptathlon, 100-meter long jump and triple jump. 

Montana had a strong opening day in Des Moines on Wednesday, with sophomore Chris Hicks cementing career bests in the long jump, shot put and the 400 meters, while Cox and Aikins finished 10th and 17th in heptathlon, respectively. 

The weekend in the Midwest also presents another opportunity for UM’s 1,600-meter relay team to shatter the school record, where Loni Perkins-Judisch, Stephanie Radke, Erin Clark and Jenna Haven will have to run an average 55.75 seconds per leg in either the Drake Relays or the Simpson Open in order to break the mark.

While many miles will spread his team thin this weekend, Raunig believes his squad is fit to turn the corner at the mid-season point.

“Every team does it,” Raunig said of teams splitting into two events. “But not all those teams are putting on a home event, so it’s more of a challenge for us, just trying to get officials and putting together a meet.”

There are currently 29 athletes qualified for the Big Sky Conference Championships, with 17 men hitting the mark in 22 events and 12 women in 16 events. Raunig said the program typically expects 20 to 25 athletes to qualify in each class.

The Montana Open gets underway Saturday afternoon at 12:50 p.m. with the men’s steeplechase. Carroll, Great Falls and MSU Billings will have athletes competing, along with Montana State, who also will send athletes to the Drake Relays.

Next weekend Montana will hit the road to face MSU in the annual Griz-Cat Dual, then will return to Missoula the following Friday to host the Tom Gage Classic in its final home appearance of the season. Those two events will provide segue into the Big Sky Conference Championships, which will be held May 14-17 in Sacramento. 

“It’s definitely the case that a lot of grad students will be far better off,” said John Copeland, president of GSA.

Copeland said he would like to have been given a definite answer but this is a step in the right direction. GSA has brought the three-credit issue a long way, and we’d like some closure, he said.

Christine Fiore, the UM professor of psychology who headed the graduate survey’s committee, said in an e-mail that the committee does not support the implementation of the three-credit minimum.

“We felt it was too harmful to graduate students and graduate education,” she said.

Although the credit requirement would bring financial gain to UM, Fiore said the personal costs, program and university costs outweigh the financial benefits.

The committee offered several alternatives to imposing a credit requirement, but it is up to Engstrom and UM President George Dennison to ultimately decide whether the credit requirement will be put in place.

Fiore said Engstrom asked to meet with the Graduate Council again to discuss his understanding of the information that was gathered, and the Graduate Council is “interested and involved in this process.”

Copeland said several people are being considered to fill an open position as associate provost. He said he has hope that the new associate provost will help continue further discussion about how to improve graduate education.

“It seems like there isn’t much more we can do about it this semester,” Copeland said. “It’s bittersweet.”

Terrell received significant media attention in 2004 when the Joint Terrorism Task Force subpoenaed him for testimony about his participation in an anti-war forum. The investigation was eventually stopped due to public pressure, but it sparked a debate on the government and rights of protest groups.

“The best way to talk about what is happening broadly is to talk about our experiences,” Terrell said.

The peace activist said he is coming to Missoula at an appropriate time, especially in light of events at UM.

Terrell is aware of the recent sit-in at Main Hall by the Students for Economic and Social Justice and said he is especially concerned about the seizure of their cell phones, calling it an extremely serious measure.

Terrell said he hopes he can make local groups aware of what types of actions are currently taken by the government on non-violent activism and advise groups on what they can do.
Non-violent activism is extremely important, he said, citing the significance of protests in women receiving the right to vote and the ending of the Vietnam War.

“If you look at history,” he said, “there hasn’t been any major change without civil disobedience.”

Terrell is the executive director of Catholic Peace Ministry and lives at a Catholic Worker Farm in Iowa. Catholic Worker activists acknowledge that there will always be inherent violence in the world, he explained, but realize “we depend on a military infrastructure because we control the world’s resources.”

Therefore, the Catholic Worker Farm has gardens and farm animals so residents can live closer to the land and grow their own food, he said.

Terrell will also speak in Butte on Saturday for a panel discussion with local leaders in law enforcement and civil liberties defense. He said the only way his speeches will make a difference during his time in Montana is if he can reach groups protesting for change.

“If nothing else, we can show that everyone in the world is not going along,” Terrell said. “The best way to do that is to put our body on the line.”

In keeping with annual tradition, a flock of stoners congregated on the Oval Sunday morning in observance of 4/20. Exactly two minutes after the light-up hour, the cluster of about 50 people was greeted by three Public Safety patrol cars that closed in on them, sirens blaring. Sgt. Ben Gladwin of the Office of Public Safety said officers advanced toward the pot-smokers before most of them could settle in the middle of the Oval this year. “We didn’t give them much time to get to the Oval,” Gladwin said. As police cruised inward the group broke away and scattered in all directions. “We made our best effort to contain them. That’s not gonna happen in the Oval,” Gladwin said. Nobody was cited this year.

April 20, 1:40 p.m.
During the night, someone broke into a black Nissan pickup truck outside of the Lewis and Clark Villages. In an attempt to steal the in-dash stereo, the thief only succeeded in severely damaging the dashboard area of the car, said Captain Gary Taylor of the Office of Public Safety. “They did more damage than the stereo is worth,” Taylor said. However, the thief did manage to get away with an iPod touch. So far there are no leads.

April 21, 12:20 p.m.

A man stole a sandwich from the University Center market, but was apprehended by police before he could run off to enjoy it. The man was cited for theft.

April 23, 11:00 a.m.

Once again, a man stole a sandwich from the UC Market, but this time, he grabbed a drink to wash it down. He too, was caught and cited for theft before he could chow down his pilfered prize.

April 23, 11:40 p.m.

A young man was staggering around Craig Hall and making noise when a few of his friends found him, as well as a Resident Assistant who overheard him. The RA believed the man may have been in danger of alcohol poisoning and called for medical assistance. After they arrived the young man was left in the care of his roommate who was told to watch him during the night. He needed no treatment, but was cited for an MIP.

Citations:
Hubert Two Leggings, 24, criminal mischief
Brandon Kimnel, 24, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, misdemeanor assault
Steven Schorzman, 19, theft
Ryan Gramm, 20, theft
Alexander Romcevich, 19, MIP

Senate
1) Miranda Leftridge 659
2) Katie Singer 636
3) Yan To Cheung 531
4) Sean Morrison 529
5) Andrew Dusek 519
6) Matt Fennel 488
7) Gail Tangiaipak 487
8) Svein Newman 486
9) Adina Kaliyeva 476
10) Aly Spear 465
11) Emily May 456
12) Mary Kettering 442
13) Lucas Hamilton 422
14) Mary Martin 404
15) Dan Stusek 394
16) Whitney Sjostrom 393
17) John Wilke 383
18) Tara Haupt 378
19) Daniel Zulnikov 354
20) Jon Dempersmeir/Sean Schilke 350*

Not elected:
21) Drew Nelson 344
22) J Sky Orndoff 323
23) Tyler Kondelik 295
24) Justyn Field 287
25) Joseph Sanders 253
26)Keith Weasel 251

*Tie to be broken by run-off election April 29, from 12:01 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Diaz and the elections committee met for the third time an hour before the senate meeting to discuss discrepancies concerning Diaz’s expenditures.

The committee amended their original recommendation to say that they find Diaz to have spent between $107.14 and $134.16, which is over the allowed $100 campaign limit for business manager candidates and that he should not be able to take office if elected.

Gregory told the senate that there is nothing in the ASUM bylaws addressing punishments for candidates that have overspent. In the past when candidates have overspent they have been disqualified, Gregory said.

The University of Montana had been involved in a lawsuit with Aaron Flint, who was kicked off ASUM senate for overspending on his campaign, Gregory said. The courts set a precedent saying that if the bylaws are violated, ASUM senate and elections committee can decide a punishment for that candidate.

“We’re following the precedent of the Aaron Flint case,” she said.

Diaz said he feels that if the senate and elections committee didn’t want him to run then they should’ve told him in the first place.

“A couple of people on the committee have started a Jose Diaz witch hunt,” he said.

Business manager Erica Henderson said that if Diaz had come to the committee ahead of time and said he’d overspent on several accounts she would’ve recommended he take down some banners and posters to bring him back under the $100 spending limit.

One issue the senate had with voting to disqualify Diaz from taking office next year was that by approving this they would be choosing next year’s business manager and the student’s votes wouldn’t matter.

Senator Abbey Effertz said she didn’t feel comfortable picking the next business manager, which is what the senate would be doing if they voted that Diaz couldn’t hold office next year.

Hours later in the meeting Effertz said ASUM senate has to uphold its bylaws or the body would fall apart. She said it’s a hard and not fun decision, but it’s what the senate has to do.

Senator Trevor Hunter said the senate has bylaws for a reason and that they can either stand by them 100 percent or not stand by them at all.

Diaz urged the senate to entertain other possible consequences besides disqualification. He said he has admitted that he overspent by a little and has done everything the elections committee has asked him to.

“I’m willing to do anything to stay in the race,” Diaz said.