Society, Law & Politics

Religious studies professor says Twelver Shi’ism is open to discourse

Megan Maneval — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 16:25:23 +0000

Religious studies professor says Twelver Shi’ism is open to discourse Megan Maneval Mon, 03/24/2025 - 10:25

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

Associate Professor Aun Hasan Ali’s book about Islam’s School of Hillah explores the dynamics and formation of Twelver Shi’ism, arguing that the faith was open to diverse intellectual traditions.

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How March went mad ... for basketball

Megan Maneval — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 19:12:37 +0000

How March went mad ... for basketball Megan Maneval Thu, 03/20/2025 - 13:12

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

The big business of the annual college basketball tournament—when fans throughout the country prepare to watch 136 men’s and women’s basketball teams battle—has been more than a century in the making.

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People of color breathe Denver’s smelliest air

Yvaine Ye — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 15:56:51 +0000

People of color breathe Denver’s smelliest air Yvaine Ye Thu, 03/13/2025 - 09:56

Yvaine Ye

In Denver, people of color and those with lower household incomes are more likely to live in neighborhoods near facilities that emit bad smells, a new ��-led study reported.

For many Denver residents, the city’s crisp mountain air is a perk of living near the Rocky Mountains. But every so often, a gust of wind can carry less welcome scents, like the pungent odor of pet food factories or the skunky smell of marijuana grow houses.

In a paper published Feb. 22 in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, scientists revealed inequality in exposure to Denver’s odor. The research found that while racial minorities and socioeconomically marginalized communities are more likely to be exposed to bad smells, residents in gentrifying neighborhoods file more odor complaints.

If you experience strong environmental odors:

Submit a complaint to the City and County of Denver by phone at 720-913-1311, or email at 311@denvergov.org.

“Our study suggests that there's potentially an underreporting of odor in certain neighborhoods,” said first author Priyanka deSouza, a researcher with ��’s Institute for Behavioral Science and assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver. “Some residents in these communities that are disproportionally affected by odor may not feel that their voices are being heard.”

Before 2016, Denver, like many cities across the U.S., used an inefficient and archaic way to address odor issues, according to Shelly Miller, the paper’s senior author and professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at ��.

Traditionally, when the city received complaints about an odor issue, an odor inspector would go to the site and sniff through an odor measuring device, but these inspections often found nothing. Because odor is very transient, by the time the inspector arrived, the smell might be long gone.

A 1938 map illustrates the redlining of neighborhoods in the City and County of Denver. (Credit: Home Owners' Loan Corporation/Wikimedia Commons)

“Odor is a complex issue. It’s very hard to measure, and it’s subjective. You probably smell things differently than I do, but that doesn’t mean what you’re smelling is any less valid than what I’m smelling,” Miller said.

Miller’s previous studies in odor and air quality, as well as concerns from local communities, prompted the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment to update its air pollution control ordinance in 2016. A new rule requires odor emitting facilities, including pet food factories and marijuana growers, to submit odor control plans if they receive five or more complaints within a 30-day period.

“This updated rule is one of the most innovative odor ordinances of all major cities in the U.S. It’s willing to take action based on community complaints,” deSouza said.

The team mapped out all 265 facilities in Denver that had to submit an odor control plan as of 2023. More than 96% of these facilities were marijuana growers, processors and manufacturers. The rest included pet food manufacturing, oil refining and construction.

They found that malodorous facilities are more often located in historically redlined neighborhoods. After the Great Depression, the U.S. government implemented a racist and discriminatory policy that designated neighborhoods with racial and ethnic minority residents as high-risk, or “red” for mortgage lenders.

In Denver, these neighborhoods are located along the city’s two major interstate highways, I-70 and I-25, and still host a higher percentage of people of color. A prior �� study revealed that residents in these historically redlined areas are exposed to higher levels of air pollution.

When the team compared the odor facility map to an odor complaint map, they found that neighborhoods more susceptible to odor did not file more complaints than other neighborhoods. Instead, more complaints per population came from older neighborhoods that are transitioning into more modern, wealthier neighborhoods, like River North in Denver’s city center.

It is unclear why gentrification has led to more odor complaints, but it could be that the more privileged feel more empowered to file complaints, the authors said. New residents could also be more sensitive to the city’s smells compared to long-term residents.

“Given that odor complaints are the primary driver for Denver to take action on odor control, I hope our findings could encourage the city to continue working on rebuilding trust with these communities and empower them to use the tool,” deSouza said.

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A new study found racial and socioeconomic disparities in where odor-emitting marijuana grow houses and other malodorous factories are located in Denver and in how communities report these issues.

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Ariel view of Denver. (Credit: Jacob/Adobe Stock)

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‘Kenough’: Is ‘Barbie’ more revolutionary for men than women?

Megan Maneval — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 16:41:08 +0000

‘Kenough’: Is ‘Barbie’ more revolutionary for men than women? Megan Maneval Tue, 03/11/2025 - 10:41

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

A �� doctoral student’s paper argues that the hit film “Barbie” exemplifies “masculinity without patriarchy” in media.

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'You don't throw them in plastic bags or boxes.' Archaeologists, Indigenous scholars call on museums to better care for animal remains

Daniel William Strain — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:01:39 +0000

'You don't throw them in plastic bags or boxes.' Archaeologists, Indigenous scholars call on museums to better care for animal remains Daniel William… Mon, 03/10/2025 - 10:01

Daniel Strain

Two years ago, Chance Ward began opening boxes of horse remains that had been shipped to the CU Museum of Natural History from other institutions around the country. What he saw made his heart sink.

At the time, Ward was a master’s student in Museum and Field Studies at ��. The researcher, who had grown up riding horses, was taking part in a large-scale study exploring the history of these iconic animals in the American West. But when he looked inside the packages, he sometimes found bones in disarray—horse remains were in bags and boxes with little care or cushioning and had banged together in transit, occasionally causing damage.

Ward is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota and a member of the Mnicoujou and Hunkpapa bands of the Lakota Nation. Lakota traditions, like those of many other Native American groups in the West, place animals at the center of their spirituality and view them as relatives.

“You care for horses. You not only feed and water them, but you connect with them on a personal, spiritual level,” Ward said. “Even when they pass on, you still respect and honor them as non-human relatives. You don't throw them in plastic bags or boxes.”

Today, he’s leading a team of archaeologists and Indigenous scholars urging museums around the country to take a more respectful approach to caring for animal remains. It’s an example of what the researchers call “cultural humility,” an approach to engaging with different cultures that emphasizes self reflection, lifelong learning and recognizing power imbalances. The team says that museums must partner with Native American groups to rethink how they catalogue, store and display remains.

The group laid out its approach in a paper published this month in the journal Advances in Archaeological Practice.

“Now that Native people are getting into the museum field more, there’s been a greater understanding of things like representation and having control over our own cultures and issues that affect our cultures,” Ward said. “The old way of doing archaeological methods is outdated and in need of fresh perspectives.”

William Taylor, curator of archaeology at the CU museum and the study’s senior author, agreed. In 1990, U.S. Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). It requires institutions that receive federal funding to return human remains, sacred objects and more to Indigenous people.

But NAGPRA, which often doesn’t apply to animal remains, is not the only principle that should guide how museums act, said Taylor, author of the 2024 book Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History.

“We need to reframe the way we think about museums. Are they places where we treat archaeological objects as inanimate things?” he said. “Or are they places of living stewardship that come with responsibilities, some of which include connecting and listening?”

Chance Ward with a horse skull at the CU Museum of Natural History. (Credit: Samantha Eads)

Life on horseback

Ward, who now serves as the NAGPRA Coordinator for the State of Colorado and Office of the State Archaeologist, grew up on the Cheyenne River Reservation where horses were an essential part of his life. His father’s family owned a ranch, and every spring, Ward helped to round up cattle on horseback. He remembers when his dad first put him on a horse at age 8.

“There was no riding lesson. It was just ‘get on, and let’s go,’” Ward said. “I remember telling myself, ‘I’m not going to fall off no matter what’ because I didn’t want to disappoint anyone.”

Historically, the field of archaeology hasn’t always treated animals with respect. During many early digs, researchers overlooked the animal bones they found during their work. They often removed those objects from their cultural context and even threw them away.

Ward wants to change that. He noted that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach for how to treat the remains of horses, bison and more. There are currently more than 570 federally recognized Tribes in the U.S. and more recognized by the states, all of which hold their own distinct views on the living world.

But museums can begin by thoroughly documenting all the animal remains they have in their collections. Many institutions, Ward said, don’t even know what kinds of bones they have hiding in boxes and cabinets in rooms away from the public eye.

Study co-author Jimmy Arterberry, a tribal historian for the Comanche Nation in Oklahoma, sees the new paper as an urgent call to action. He acknowledges that most museums today are short on funding and staff. But he says institutions can still do a lot right now to change how they handle animal remains.

“Why are you keeping them if you’re not going to care for them?” Arterberry said.

Bison herd

Arterberry and Ward agree that the most important thing museums can do today is listen to Native American groups. NAGPRA requires museums to obtain consent from Native American nations around how these institutions store, house and treat many archaeological collections.

The CU museum is committed to strengthening relationships and honoring knowledge. Taylor and his colleagues began with one of the museum’s most extensive collections: In the 20th century, archaeologists at the museum unearthed thousands of bison bones from an arroyo near the tiny town of Kit Carson, Colorado. Ancient peoples had hunted and butchered the animals following the end of the last Ice Age roughly 11,000 years ago. Archaeologists originally stored nearly 200 bison skulls in plaster or burlap casts. But decades later, many of those casts were fragmenting, threatening the remains inside.

Over several months, the team transferred the skulls to stable and open casts and arranged them safely on shelves in a new storage space. In February 2024, a delegation of Lakota elders traveled to the �� campus to meet with researchers and to see the bison collection. Chief Harold Left Heron spoke and sang a blessing in the Lakota language as he stood next to the remains.

“One of their suggestions was to keep these animals together as a herd in the museum, as they might have been in life,” Taylor said.

Going forward, he said, the museum will continue seeking out opportunities to build community perspectives into the care of ancient animal remains.

Ward said that anyone can learn a lot by forming interpersonal relationships with animals like his own favorites, horses.

“Just being there with them, standing next to them, feeling them physically and spiritually is very powerful,” he said. “It takes both sides, the horse and human, to connect with each other and be comfortable—but not so comfortable that we dominate them.”

Other co-authors of the new study include Christina Cain, former collections manager at the CU Museum of Natural History; Dr. Joseph Aguilar at the Tribal Historic Preservation Office for Pueblo de San Ildefonso in New Mexico; Natalie Patton, a graduate of the CU Museum of Natural History; and Dr. Emily Lena Jones at the University of New Mexico.

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Many Native American traditions in the American West place animals like bison or horses at the center of their spirituality and view them as relatives.

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1 in 15 US adults have been on the scene of a mass shooting

Lisa Marshall — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 20:55:52 +0000

1 in 15 US adults have been on the scene of a mass shooting Lisa Marshall Fri, 03/07/2025 - 13:55

Lisa Marshall

A memorial for victims of the King Soopers shooting in Boulder, which took place on March 22, 2021. (Credit: Glenn Asakawa/��)

About 7% of U.S. adults have been present on the scene of a mass shooting in their lifetime, and more than 2% have been injured during one, according to new �� research.

The study, published March 7 in the journal JAMA Network Open, also found that younger generations were significantly more likely to have been exposed than their parents or grandparents were.

Generation Z—adults born after 1996—were at greatest risk.

“This study confirms that mass shootings are not isolated tragedies but rather a reality that reaches a substantial portion of the population, with profound physical and psychological consequences,” said senior author David Pyrooz, a professor of sociology and criminologist in the Institute for Behavioral Science at ��. “They also highlight the need for interventions and support for the most affected groups.”

A ripple effect

For the study, Pyrooz and his colleagues surveyed a nationally representative sample of 10,000 adults in January 2024. (The researchers chose January because the month tends to see a lull in mass shootings.) They asked a series of questions, including: “Have you personally ever been physically present on the scene of a mass shooting in your lifetime?”

The group defined “mass shooting” as a gun-related crime where four or more people were shot in a public space. The researchers defined “physically present” as “in the immediate vicinity of where the shooting occurred at the time it occurred, such that bullets were fired in your direction, you could see the shooter, or you could hear the gunfire.”

Just under 7% of respondents answered yes. Just over 2% of respondents said they had been injured, which not only includes having been shot, but also hit by shrapnel, trampled by people fleeing the scene or other injuries.

“We are talking about one out of every 15 people in the United States,” said Pyrooz. “These are really high numbers for this seemingly unique and small subset of gun violence,” said Pyrooz.

While these numbers might seem high, Pyrooz said he was not surprised by the survey results. A single mass shooting can impact far more people than many realize.

For instance, during the 2017 shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music festival in Las Vegas, the shooter killed 60 people and wounded 413 others. But another 454 people were injured during the ensuing panic as people fled to safety. In all, there were about 22,000 people at the concert—plus onlookers from surrounding hotels on the Las Vegas strip.

“That translates to about one out of every 11,000 Americans who were on the scene of that shooting alone,” said Pyrooz. “Continue that to other events that have occurred around the country and the numbers, unfortunately, add up.”

The ‘mass shooting generation’

Black people and males were more likely to have witnessed a mass shooting.

More than half of the respondents who had been present during a mass shooting said it happened in the last decade—a finding that reaffirms the notion that younger generations are experiencing a cultural phenomenon their parents didn’t have to deal with.

“Our findings lend credence to the idea of a ‘mass shooting generation,’” said Pyrooz. “People who grew up in the aftermath of Columbine have these unique experiences that are really distinguishable from the older population.”

Three-quarters of the respondents experienced mass shootings in their local communities—in places like bars or restaurants, schools, shopping outlets and synagogues.

More than one-third of mass shooting happened in neighborhoods.

"These are primarily shootings that occur between gangs or crews, and related actions, which occur in parking lots, yards, porches or other residential locations," said Pyrooz. "It's the type of mass shooting that completely escapes media attention."

The income and education level of respondents had no measurable impact on their chances of being present, or injured, at a mass shooting.

The aftermath

The study did not quantify how mass shootings impact mental health, but Pyrooz and his colleagues are publishing a forthcoming paper that will.

It found that about three-quarters of those who were present at the scene of a mass shooting but uninjured still experienced psychological distress, including fear, anxiety and depression. (For comparison, about 20% of people in the general population report these symptoms.)

Pyrooz hopes the ongoing research will help fill a research gap around the public health impacts of the relatively new, and understudied, phenomenon of mass shootings. He also hopes it will underscore the need to support programs aimed at reducing gun violence, and bolster supporting those suffering lingering effects from exposure.

He can still remember the sound of the sirens from the March 22, 2021, mass shooting at a King Soopers just miles from his office in Boulder.

He wasn’t personally exposed but knows what a toll it took on his own community.

“It’s not a question of if one will occur in your community anymore but when,” he said. “We need to have stronger systems in place to care for people in the aftermath of this tragic violence.”

�� criminologist David Pyrooz calls for more mental health support for people who have been exposed to gun violence.

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5 ways to make K-12 schools safer: New report offers guidance

Lisa Marshall — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 18:33:01 +0000

5 ways to make K-12 schools safer: New report offers guidance Lisa Marshall Mon, 03/03/2025 - 11:33

Lisa Marshall

How do lockdown drills and metal detectors in schools impact students?

When someone sees warning signs that a student may become violent, what should they do?

What strategies work best to prevent bullying?

In the past decade, the U.S. Department of Justice has invested heavily in research projects aimed at understanding the root causes of school violence and determining how best to make K-12 schools safer.

A new ��-led review of the findings provides some answers.

Sarah Goodrum

“We know that addressing school climate, physical security and student behavior problems are all important, but we really haven’t had clear guidance on what schools should do,” said lead author Sarah Goodrum, a research professor in the Prevention Science Program at the Institute for Behavioral Science. “This report is the first to clearly spell out what the evidence shows.”

Seeking solutions after Sandy Hook

For the 59-page report published in January, Goodrum and her colleagues pored over more than 150 research papers funded by NIJ’s Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI). The CSSI initiative grew out of the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in which an attacker gunned down 20 children and six staff members in Newtown, Connecticut.

Today, school violence remains a serious problem.

In 2024 alone, at least 330 shootings occurred at K-12 schools in the United States, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. That’s the second highest number ever—down just 19 from the record in 2023. Already in 2025, 29 shootings have occurred at U.S. schools.

While such tragedies dominate the headlines, research shows they are almost always preceded by subtler warning signs, including troubling behavior or lesser acts of violence by the perpetrator, or a school climate in which bullying is pervasive or mental health issues go unaddressed, said Goodrum.

“After a tragic school shooting, we often hear people wanting to look for the panacea—an easy, fast solution that will make us feel like it's OK to send our kids to school,” said Goodrum, noting that physical security measures tend to get the most attention. “We tend to neglect the importance of the relationships that educators have with students as an important way of preventing harm and promoting wellbeing. School safety takes a multi-pronged approach.”

Among other things, the report recommends that schools take these steps.

Gauge school climate

Schools are encouraged to administer a climate survey at least every other year to students, parents and staff to assess how safe they feel at school; whether they are subject to bullying or harassment; and whether there is a trusted adult they can turn to if they are in trouble or see something concerning. With results in hand, school administrators can then choose evidence-based programs to address gaps.

“We found that in schools that have a positive school climate, there are not only lower levels of bullying, victimization, fighting, substance use and suspension, but also higher attendance rates and stronger academic performance,” said Goodrum.

Create a continuum of response

Goodrum warns against one-size-fits-all policies to address student behavior problems.

“Research consistently finds that a ‘get tough’ or zero-tolerance approach is ineffective and can damage school climate, impede academic progress and create disparities across racial and ethnic groups,” Goodrum said.

Instead, the report recommends a continuum of responses. This might range from providing support to address trauma, depression or anxiety fueling minor problems early on (like pushing in the lunch line or acting out in class) to suspending or expelling a student deemed by a team to be a threat for more serious violence.

Address physical security thoughtfully

School officials should be discerning when selecting physical security measures, said Goodrum. Little research exists on surveillance cameras (which more than 81% of schools now use) and metal detectors, and most of that research has been done by vendors.

“We don’t know if having surveillance cameras or metal detectors reduces crime and bullying in schools, and we do know that there can be some downsides,” she said.

For instance, one study found that while security cameras outside made people feel supported, cameras inside were associated with “decreased perceptions of safety, equity and support.”

Research on lockdown drills is also mixed, with some studies showing they make students and staff feel more prepared, while others show they elevate stress and make students more scared of being attacked in school.

Encourage upstander reporting

In almost all of the more than 170 averted cases in the National Policing Institute’s Averted School Violence Database, a concerned citizen, or upstander, helped to thwart violent plans by reporting their concern to someone.

“Having an anonymous reporting system” like Colorado’s Safe2Tell, and teaching students how to use it is critical,” said Goodrum. Safe2Tell is also available to students at ��.

Implement universal interventions

While targeting at-risk kids for support is important, research also shows that as many as 70% to 80% of violent offenders don’t fall into this high-risk category, said Karl Hill, professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Prevention Science Program at ��.

The new NIJ report is unique in that it also emphasizes the need to provide services—like anti-bullying programs and social and emotional learning programs—for all students, not just those at higher risk.

“These universal strategies can reduce the overall background noise of violence in a school and make these tragic acts of violence less likely,” he said.

Goodrum acknowledged that some schools lack the staff or funding to implement a multi-tiered system of supports or programs.

If schools can only do one thing to improve safety, what should they do?

“I would ask: Does every student have a trusted adult they can talk to when a problem arises,” said Goodrum. “It’s these interpersonal connections that provide the building blocks for a positive school climate, which enhances student wellbeing and school safety.”

Safe2Tell at ��

Colorado’s anonymous reporting platform allows the �� community to report safety concerns to people who can help. Safe2Tell’s reporting process is simple: Call 1-877-542-7233 to speak with a live, trained analyst or fill out a form on the Safe2Tell website or mobile app (available in the App Store and Google Play). Reports can be made 24/7, 365 days a year, and in multiple languages.

A new systematic review, led by �� researchers and published by the National Institute of Justice, analyzes 150 studies to provide a framework for preventing school violence.

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A statue sits at the entrance to a memorial at Columbine High School in Colorado, where two students killed 13 people on April 20, 1999.

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A statue sits at the entrance to Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, where two students killed 13 people on April 20, 1999.

What's going on with the United States, Russia and Ukraine?

Jennifer Soules — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 21:29:56 +0000

What's going on with the United States, Russia and Ukraine? Jennifer Soules Thu, 02/27/2025 - 14:29

Jennifer Soules , Nicholas Goda

Editor's Note: This interview was conducted before Presidents Zelenskyy and Trump met at the White House and before Trump paused U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

President Donald Trump says negotiations to bring peace between Ukraine and Russia are moving along quickly. In a break from United States foreign policy precedent, however, Ukraine is not involved in said talks, sparking outrage in Ukraine and across Europe.

Now, a possible mineral deal between the U.S. and Ukraine may be on the table, with vague details of what it includes and when and how it may be signed.

Sarah Wilson Sokhey is an associate professor at the �� who specializes in comparative politics and political economy in post-communist Central and Eastern European countries. She sat down with �� Today to give her take on the evolving relationships between the United States, Russia, Ukraine and Europe.

What’s going on with the relationships between the United States, Ukraine and Russia?

There's recently been a huge shift in the US foreign policy with the new Trump administration, given that the previous policy was to isolate Russia for its war of aggression against Ukraine. One of the big things is that Russia and the United States have recently met. I can’t overstate how huge of a reversal it is on foreign policy, that the U.S. would be having talks about peace in a country without that country present, as if it’s not an independent country. That's a very imperialist kind of model where the big countries decide what happens to the smaller countries.

Also, the United Nations recently voted on a resolution about peace in Ukraine and the United States allied itself with Russia, North Korea, Belarus—countries that did not vote with a majority-approved U.N. resolution to end the conflict in Ukraine, affirm that Russia was to blame and declare Russian troops should leave Ukraine immediately.

It's really a huge about-face in U.S. foreign policy. It’s hard to overstate the implications of that for the world. It also means the United States does not align itself with Europe anymore, and that's unprecedented in recent times.

Sarah Wilson Sokhey

How did we get here?

The war started in 2014 with the territorial invasion. The full scale invasion was three years ago. For many Ukrainians, this hasn’t just been three years for them, this is more than a decade of fighting, although certainly the full scale invasion massively escalated the war.

What we’re hearing from President Trump now is a repetition of Russian propaganda that has been out in the world for as long as Putin has been saying it. But now we see the American president repeating Russian propaganda and Putin's lies about Ukraine. Putin said that Zelenskyy was a dictator, for example, a false claim recently repeated by Trump. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy won by an overwhelming majority in 2019. He had the largest winning majority of any Ukrainian president when he won. He would have been up for reelection in 2024, but they're under wartime and cannot hold elections. The notion that Russia is blaming Ukraine for not having elections while Russia is bombing Ukraine is just mind boggling. A close colleague of mine sent video from the past weekend of the extended overnight drone attacks in Kyiv. These are not conditions under which elections can be held.

Furthermore, reliable polling data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology shows that Zelenskyy currently has a 57% approval rating and that the majority of Ukrainians agree that now is not the time to hold elections.

How does Europe factor into all of this?

Ukraine is in a very precarious and tough situation now and leaning heavily on its European allies. And Europe has been rallying to that call. The United Kingdom, which of course is not a European Union member, has been a firm supporter of Ukraine. The EU is still a firm supporter of Ukraine as well, but we’re also seeing how daunting of a task it is for Europe to take on more in the absence of U.S. support for Ukraine.

The Trump administration's actions will have a devastating effect on relations with Europe. It will likely take decades to rebuild trust between the United States and European allies. I think we're only seeing the beginning of the implications of cutting ties and cutting allyship with European powers.

What do you think President Trump gets out of aligning himself with Russia and Putin?

Trump and the Trump administration appear to be primarily and solely motivated by power, wealth and a transactional kind of politics.

So, what wealth and power can he get out of siding with Russia when the rest of the world are saying they're the aggressors?

There's probably a lot of potential opportunities Trump sees. Perhaps there could be business deals and trade agreements with Russia. In the recent talks between the U.S. and Russia, there were talks about renewing economic cooperation and economic ties.

In a larger sense, it could be influence over certain territories of the world. It's likely, or possible at least, that the Trump administration sees allying itself with Russia as a potential leverage point it can use with other countries. Essentially signaling the U.S. will not promise on any ideological grounds that we are your allies; that's something that has to be continually negotiated.

It looks like Presidents Zelenskyy and Trump are working on a raw materials deal. What kind of impact could a deal like that have?

There was a deal previously proposed that Zelenskyy strongly rejected, where the U.S. would get an enormous portion of Ukraine's mineral wealth from the country. And this goes to the transactional nature of how the Trump administration is doing business. Zelenskyy had initially hoped to meet with President Trump, which was rejected, all while Zelenskyy has generally been pretty respectful of President Trump, despite the challenging situation.

On Wednesday (Feb. 26) it was announced that some agreement had been reached about Ukraine sharing its mineral wealth with the US although not all of the details have been released, and both sides are claiming to have gotten a good deal (or for Ukraine, at least a better deal) in this version of the agreement. This may be useful for Ukraine if it keeps the lines of communication and negotiation open with the Trump administration.

How does this end for both sides, Russia and Ukraine?

Russia's goals are not realistic—there cannot be a total domination of Ukraine. Russia and Putin have already failed in their main objective to control Ukraine. Russia has been using its full military force for three years and has still had to turn to North Korean weapons and North Korean soldiers to keep even waging battle. On Thursday, Feb. 27th, it was announced that even more North Korean troops are being sent to Russia.

For Ukraine, independence, freedom and peace are absolutely possible as long as they have the support of Europe and, ideally, the support of the United States.

What would you like the public to know about this?

Amid all of this, it will be very important for the public to use reliable news sources. Sources like the BBC and The Guardian are doing an excellent job reporting on Ukraine and fact-checking erroneous statements about the war. It’s vital the world pay attention to this war that has consequences for all of us.

I recommend the following recent coverage:

�� Today regularly publishes Q&As with our faculty members weighing in on news topics through the lens of their scholarly expertise and research/creative work. The responses here reflect the knowledge and interpretations of the expert and should not be considered the university position on the issue. All publication content is subject to edits for clarity, brevity and university style guidelines.

The United States and Russia's ongoing talks about peace between Russia and Ukraine have excluded one major player—Ukraine.

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Counting hidden deaths at the US’s most dangerous border crossing

Megan Maneval — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 21:07:04 +0000

Counting hidden deaths at the US’s most dangerous border crossing Megan Maneval Thu, 02/27/2025 - 14:07

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

�� doctoral candidate Chilton Tippin is working to document migrant mortality in El Paso.

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Nationalism and diplomacy are inherent to international sporting events

Megan Maneval — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 21:00:53 +0000

Nationalism and diplomacy are inherent to international sporting events Megan Maneval Tue, 02/25/2025 - 14:00

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

The current International Cricket Council Champions Tournament highlights how national rivalries and geopolitical tensions can meet on playing fields.

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Society, Law & Politics

Religious studies professor says Twelver Shi’ism is open to discourse

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'You don't throw them in plastic bags or boxes.' Archaeologists, Indigenous scholars call on museums to better care for animal remains

Life on horseback

Bison herd

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1 in 15 US adults have been on the scene of a mass shooting

A ripple effect

The ‘mass shooting generation’

The aftermath

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5 ways to make K-12 schools safer: New report offers guidance

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Gauge school climate

Create a continuum of response

Address physical security thoughtfully

Encourage upstander reporting

Implement universal interventions

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What's going on with the United States, Russia and Ukraine?

What’s going on with the relationships between the United States, Ukraine and Russia?

How did we get here?

How does Europe factor into all of this?

What do you think President Trump gets out of aligning himself with Russia and Putin?

So, what wealth and power can he get out of siding with Russia when the rest of the world are saying they're the aggressors?

It looks like Presidents Zelenskyy and Trump are working on a raw materials deal. What kind of impact could a deal like that have?

How does this end for both sides, Russia and Ukraine?

What would you like the public to know about this?

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