Regency nightlife

One thing's certain: There's something to do every night of the week at the Regency.

We'll start with Monday, which is the night the Regency offers free Salsa dancing lessons. Yes, that's right. Free. Usually that costs like $40. And so does a Yoga class, also offered by the Regency on Tuesdays. Yes, that's also free. Tuesdays are also Midnight Madness, where people gather in our huge gym and plays basketball and stuff at midnight. ...So maybe that's technically a Wednesday thing... which is also the day of Movie Night, when our personal convenience store, The Rail, offers discounts on popcorn.

Thursdays are supposed to be the Regency Study Night, but really, it’s the start of the party weekend, a time to stay up late and go crazy since most students don’t have school on Friday. Actually, it’s really annoying for those who wake up early the next day. Thursdays actually seem to be crazier than Fridays since a majority of the residents stay at the Regency, as compared to Friday when everyone goes out.

Fridays are Pick-Up Basketball nights, along with Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, where teams square off.

Saturdays and Sundays are pretty much left up to the individual. Some go visit their families, most go clubbing. The Regency is almost deserted weekend nights.

The Regency on Wikipedia

Along with this blog, my online journalism class was given the task of creating an entry on Wikipedia involving some aspect of the Auraria Campus. Naturally, I did the Regency.

Along with three other students, we put together a presentation of Auraria’s three new dorms, my focus and expertise being on the one I lived in. On Wikipedia’s Regency page, I put everything from what amenities it has to the history of the hotel.

We had entries for Auraria’s other two dorms (Campus Village, The Inn at Auraria) also, but they were deleted. I guess others didn’t thing they were as interesting or important as the Regency, which is understandable. I don’t think the others even have a pool, let alone a big screen amphitheater. And friends tell me that the Inn at Auraria (basically rooms offered to students by an existing hotel) doesn’t even let you yell in the halls. What kind of dorm wouldn’t let college kids do that?

Anyway, check out the entry for everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Regency: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Regency

On the Big Screen

Of all the amenities at the Regency, I’d have to say my favorite is the big screen amphitheatre:

Every Wednesday at 9 p.m. is movie night at the Regency, where we’ve watched everything from Chicken Little to Reservoir Dogs. Most recently, we watched Labyrinth (barf!).

As former founder and president of my high school’s Film Club, someone who considers himself a film aficionado and the man with the biggest DVD collection at the Regency, I couldn’t resist taking advantage of this opportunity. The spring semester’s first official movie night was sponsored by my brother and me. We watched Fight Club, a favorite among people our age, and in reward for our participation and getting things started again we were given Nuggets tickets! I couldn’t go, but still, it was an honor.

And it’s great for those movies you were too cheap to go to the theater to see. I couldn’t get to the theater for Saving Private Ryan, but it was recently played on our big screen and if felt like I was watching it for the first time again. It was awesome.

Can a college change it's name?

You’ll notice that in the next few days, I’ll be posting much more, many of those posts being one right after the other as I scramble to make my post count before deadline. So just as a warning, some of the stuff I’m posting should have been posted earlier. Forgive me if I post about topics that happened weeks ago, though not all of them will go that far back.

Just a few days ago, in fact, I was riding the trusty Regency shuttle back home from school when I overheard something interesting. On the shuttle were two high-ranking Metro administrators that I had recognized from the night before at Metro’s annual scholarship dinner. No one but Regency residents are supposed to ride the Regency shuttle, but the administrators said they had a meeting at our dorms. Who the meeting was with or what it was about I have no idea, but I did hear something interesting in their quiet conversation. I think the Metropolitan State College of Denver is considering changing its name to Denver State College, or possibly Denver State University. At first I thought it was odd, since Denver isn’t a state, but then one of the administrators pointed out to the other that it’s not uncommon for a city’s university to be named that, i.e.: Mesa State, which I believe is located in southern Colorado.

And as for the changing of College to University, it’s well known that Metro is one of the most populated commuter/diversified colleges in the nation, it’s about time we achieved University status.

Whether that’s what the meeting was about, I’m not sure. But I think University status would be a great nod to Metro and increase its reputation.

Who knows, if it happens, maybe more people will stay at the Regency. I know that UCD is considering making it a requirement for incoming freshmen to stay at the Auraria Campus’ second student housing communitee, Campus Village. Maybe the same thing can happen here.

Delays

When I wrote the article for YourHub.com in February concerning the renovations to the Regency, I was told that the white DIA-like tent would be erected over the former gold-dome rotunda by early March. As we approach May, it has still to be erected. In fact, it doesn’t appear as if much of the outdoor renovation has even been attempted (that is, if you don’t include the lawns in front of the main tower, which look great). Supposedly, everything is supposed to be done by early June, which means construction has one month to look like this:

For the thousands of you who drive by the Regency daily, you know it looks nothing like this currently. And I seriously doubt they’ll have the pool done for swim season. Drats.

I'm not sure what's causing the delays, but hopefully they'll keep to their schedule and word.

Regency copper sculpter creates catchy artwork

Previously featured in the April 20, 2006 issue of YourHub, a Rocky Mountain News supplement.

Written by Jonathan Garcia. William McClung lives at the Regency.

"If I can vision it, then I can make it a reality," William McClung said, referring to his sculpting talent. "The list is endless of the capabilities of my work."

McClung, 30, is the founder and owner of Creative Copper Works, a one-man business in Denver that specializes in handcrafted copper plant sculptures and fountains. His talent stems from listening to his grandmother's knowledge of vegetation while he grew up in California, according to his business website, creativecopperworks.com.

Interested in craftsmanship from an early age, McClung began working with copper when he took on a job installing roofing. It wasn't long before he realized what he could do with the metal.

"I started designing and creating sculptures and fountains for myself and family just to see my capabilities," McClung said. After continual practice and the realization that each piece was better than the next, McClung felt confident enough to take his talent public with an art show.

"The people at the show were impressed and verbally expressed their feelings toward my work," McClung said.

From there, local art walks began showing McClung's work. His sculptures can currently be seen in coffee shops such as August Morning in Longmont and the furniture store Trios: Inspired Living & Design in Boulder.

It was in these local stores that people began to notice McClung's work, realizing that each sculpture shared a resemblance. McClung said that he recognized the need for a name to tie all of his pieces together, thus Creative Copper Works was born and McClung began receiving clients interested in commissioning artwork from him.

McClung explained that after meeting with a client and discussing what he or she wants, he would sketch a rendering of what the sculpture might look like. After getting the client's approval, McClung would get to work.

"The shaping and forming of the copper is done through rigorous hammering, bending and heating," McClung said. "The variety of color throughout the pieces is achieved through series of heat treatments, chemical baths and patina techniques."

The sculptures he has created range anywhere from bonsai trees to flowers, priced anywhere from $30 to nearly $3000. He also does floral fountains and tile work.

"People purchase my work for many reasons," McClung said. "The biggest one is they want something original, unique, one of a kind. Something they can have in their home that no one else is going to have."

Though there are some times of the year that are busier than others, such as the winter holiday season, McClung still manages to balance college life and a part-time job with Creative Copper Works and has on occasion mixed them together. Before Valentines day McClung sold a good number of copper roses to fellow Auraria Campus students for their loved ones.

In the future, McClung hopes to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design. And as for Creative Copper works, he will continue to develop his business and clientele.

"I always love a good challenge," McClung said, "so tackling every project I create is always very rewarding upon completion."