Dr. Jeremy Haefner, Chancellor of the University of Denver Photo: University of Denver
Jason Evans, a DU alumnus and former CNN journalist who now lives in Denver, has recently started a new blog called “inthebluecrewdu” which addresses news topics and stories in the wider University of Denver community. He recently scored a 30-minute interview with DU Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. Among the topics covered were specific questions regarding both DU Athletics in the pandemic era, as well as questions about the recent IRISE controversy with the Pioneer nickname. With Jason’s permission, we’ve clipped Haefner’s answers to these key questions below. If you’d like to read the entire interview, you can read it on Jason’s blog, here.Continue reading Chancellor Haefner Comments on DU Athletics and Recent Pioneer Nickname Events→
On May 4, 1970, 1,500 DU students gathered on the University of Denver campus to publicly mourn four students at Kent State University in Ohio who were shot and killed by national guardsmen. The protest also centered on President Richard Nixon’s foray into Cambodia which risked an extension of the Vietnam War.
In a community announcement, DU Chancellor Jeremy Haefner said DU will “reopen with face-to-face classes when we begin our fall quarter in mid-September, even if it must be modified in some way.” This assumes no local, state, or federal barriers that would limit, modify, or halt a planned reopening. Continue reading DU Planning on Fall Re-Opening→
Illustration:DU’s IRISE Institute used this poster to promote undergraduate sessions. Note the Denver Boone image filled with arrows and a sign stating, “Decolonization Territory – No Pioneers Allowed”.
A University of Denver institute is teaching DU students to protest against what the institute calls DU’s “historical and present-day oppressive toxic campus environment(s)”, and using Denver Boone and the word “Pioneers” as explicit targets of the online sessions as they “demand institutional change”. Continue reading DU Encourages Students to Target Boone, Pioneer Nickname→
The Denver Pioneers hockey roster continues to change, as rising junior forward Emilio Pettersen has left DU to sign an entry level contract with the Calgary Flames, while fellow rising junior Tyler Ward is transferring from DU to the University of New Hampshire, where he will need to sit out a year. According to the Grand Forks Herald, DU will help mitigate these losses asthe beneficiary of two incoming graduate transfers with immediate eligibility join the DU team next season in- all-WCHA forward Steven Jandric of Alaska-Fairbanks and defenseman Bo Hanson from St. Lawrence University of the ECAC. While DU has yet to publicly announce the two transfers, both transfers were confirmed to LetsGoDU last week. Continue reading Pettersen and Ward Leaving Pioneers, Jandric and Hanson Transferring In→
The Mayor of Denver, Michael B. Hancock, issued stay-at-home orders a month ago on March 23rd. We examined Denver crime statistics for the combined neighborhoods of University and University Park to get an understanding of crime in our current stay-at-home world. Continue reading Crime Around DU During Quarantine→
In an email communique to the University of Denver community, Chancellor Jeremy Haefner shared Denver’s efforts to work with government officials “however long it takes to recover from the effects of COVID-19.” Prior to the April 20th announcement,$4.6 million of the $12.5 billion pool of funds related to Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act had been allocated to DU. At least half of that will be awarded for emergency financial aid grants to students. Continue reading University of Denver Seeking Additional Necessary COVID-19 Assistance→
For years we have openly dreamed about DU membership in the Mountain West Conference or the BIG EAST, packed with schools just like the University of Denver. Sure, it means jumping onto a plane and traveling 1,000 or 2,000 miles for games, often in non-revenue sports, but this was in the old ‘normal’ and made good sense.
The commissioners of the nation’s major college football conferences held a 30-minute conference call Wednesday with Vice President Mike Pence and stressed that college sports cannot return from the COVID-19 shutdown until campuses have re-opened, according to an ABC news article. And, the same, likely, holds true for all other universities and sports. Continue reading Message Sent: No Students on Campus, No Athletics→
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, many references are made to the Spanish Flu that killed 675,000 Americans. In the state of Colorado, 50,000 were infected and 8,000 people died.
