The controversial
new stadium proposal by Colorado State University President Tony Frank was the
center of this evening’s Fort Collins City Council meeting. One concerned Fort Collins
resident used tonight’s meeting as an opportunity to voice her opposition to
the new stadium.
Frank and CSU
Athletic Director Jack Graham have been fighting for the existence of a new
stadium, addressing the city council.
CSU’s Center for Public Deliberation, a group that fosters community
involvement in civic matters, has also hosted round-table type discussions to
gain community feedback.
Anne
Colwell, a 1996 CSU graduate and Fort Collins
resident, approached the council by saying, “I’ve become increasingly
disappointed by my alma mater. This has
not been an open and honest forum.” Colwell
was speaking about the 10 round table discussions that had been scheduled from
Feb. 23-March 7.
Colwell’s
goal is to “do her part to make this issue as open and honest as
possible.” She elaborated by giving the
example that Jack Graham had been coaching CPD facilitators on what to say
during these 10 discussions, emphasizing a conflict of interest. “CPD was used as an independent institute for
community feedback, but Jack Graham was given 45 minutes to speak to
facilitators before the CPD sessions.”
Martin
Carcasson, associate professor in the CSU Department of Communication Studies
is the director of CPD, and who Colwell claimed allowed Graham to “coach” the
facilitators.
“He (Carcasson)
said that after three or four sessions into the stadium discussions, Graham
requested the he present to the facilitators,” said Colwell, “this was when he
began speaking to them for 45 minutes before the discussions began.”
Colwell said that
Carcasson revealed this to stadium opposition group, Save our Stadium, Hughes,
a citizen group that is promoting the continued use of CSU’s current stadium.
Carcasson has
rebuked this claim. His explanation is
that Graham spoke to his CPD students while they were in class for about 45
minutes. The “class” being that of
communications students. Even though
this was before the community discussions were held, he did not view the
meeting as “coaching.”
Members
of the Fort Collins City Council had little say on the topic of Graham’s
accused coaching of CPD. Council member
Ben Manvel gave a scenario on what he guessed may have taken place, “Here’s
what I could have seen happening: Graham could have told the deliberators
beforehand ‘We’ll have a discussion about the stadium, and this is what the
issues are.’ He (Graham) was essentially
bringing them up to speed,” said Manvel, “I can understand how people could see
that as an advocate of the stadium coaching deliberators.”
Works Cited
Colwell, Anne. (970)227-9987
Manvel, Ben. (970)217-1932
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