Centennial
Citizen
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 2
STARTING A NEW TRADITION
November 30, 2012
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcentennialnews.com
Debt disdain drives group Citizens want overhaul while keeping safety net By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com
Peakview Elementary student Zachary Abbato and Centennial Mayor Cathy Noon have the honor of lighting the city’s first official Christmas tree Nov. 28 at Centennial Center Park. More than 1,000 people attended the inaugural holiday lighting ceremony, which included a round of traditional holiday chorale music performed by area school choirs. The ceremony is set to become one of the city’s signature annual events. Photo by Deborah Grigsby
Centennial gains college campus Dwindling student base prompts move by Columbia College By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com Centennial is now home to Missouribased Columbia College after shrinking student numbers prompted the private nonprofit institution to move to its only Colorado campus from Aurora to its new location at 6892 S. Yosemite Court. “When we first opened our campus near Lowry Air Force Base, there were lots of students, particularly those serving in the military,” said Andye Wolff-Yakubovich, campus director. “But since then, Lowry has closed, and base populations have shrunk.” While the actual move took place back in August, Colombia College marked the event with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 28 by college administration and the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce. Dubbed Columbia College of MissouriDenver, the new 12,000-square-foot building houses 10 classrooms, two computer labs, a testing center and open area atrium for students to gather. “The bulk of our students are working adults, military and law enforcement personnel, but we have students as young as 17 and as old as their late 60s,” said WolffYakubovich. “And because we are a nonprofit university, our tuition is far less than many other schools, coming closer to that of a community college.” The college has a current enrollment of approximately 60 students and employs 45
Columbia College of Missouri now calls Centennial home for its sole Colorado campus. Dwindling student numbers in Aurora and an expiring lease prompted the private, nonprofit school to move closer to the Tech Center and closer to light rail services. Photo by Deborah Grigsby faculty members. Columbia College offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in a variety of formats. “Many of our classes are available in both in-class and online formats, as well as hybrid,” said Wolff-Yakubovich, “and we are fully accredited and have among the highest ratings with the Veterans Administration.” In light of some for-profit schools closing physical campuses and moving to wholly online campus, Wolff-Yakubovich said there will always be a demand for brick-
and-mortar campuses. “I don’t see them going away at all, and many students prefer to interact with the instructor,” she said. “And our low student-to-instructor rations ensure that.” Columbia College was founded in 1851 as Christian Female College, the first women’s college west of the Mississippi River to be chartered by a state legislature. In 1970, the college changed its name to Columbia College when it became a coeducational, four-year liberal arts and sciences institution.
Business guru John Brackney says when it comes to long-term federal debt and the impending fiscal cliff, the key to change starts right here in Colorado. Along with a distinguished list of nonpartisan business leaders, community leaders, elected officials and individual citizens who have banded together as the Colorado Fix the Debt Campaign, Brackney plans to call on lawmakers to address the ballooning Brackney national debt. “We, as citizens, should have an appropriate disdain for Congress based on their marginal performance,” said Brackney, Colorado Fix the Debt steering committee member and CEO of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce. “And the only way things are going to change is if people like you and me make ourselves heard.” Brackney, a former Arapahoe County commissioner, said the nation’s debt problems stem from uncertainty and years of “just kicking the can down the road.” “The problem is the federal budgeting system is set up to be adversarial, and to make the other side look bad,” he said. “That kind of thinking gets us nowhere and is what’s put us in the position we’re in now.” According to a press release, the national Fix the Debt Campaign advocates for elected leaders to avert the “fiscal cliff,” which happens at the end of this year, when terms of the Budget Control Act of 2011 go into effect. And the way to do that, said Brackney, is by making smart, gradual spending cuts while increasing revenue streams such as eliminating wasteful government spending, and changing the tax code while preserving safety-net programs like Social Security. “It’s essentially the same budget principles many small businesses, as well as families, use every day,” he said. “We simply can’t keep spending what we don’t have and that’s what Fix the Debt is about, being able to effectively manage the debt we have while still sustaining the programs we need.” The U.S. Treasury Department reports the current national debt at approximately $16 trillion. The national Fix the Debt Campaign reports the publicly held portion now equals somewhere near 73 percent of the U.S. economy. On Jan. 1, a series of tax increases and spending cuts, totaling more than $600 bil-
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