Although there still is a global pandemic, that is not stopping historic Durango from being a destination for tourists from around the country. However, the increasing tourist population does bring concerns about local guidelines regarding COVID-19.

Seniors express gratitude but harbor disappointment in this year’s commencement ceremony.

Here’s how the decision was made and what the student response has been.

Throughout my life, I have always introduced myself as a softball player. It has been my identity, the thing I fell back on when, on the first day of class, the teachers ask to tell them and your fellow classmates something about yourself. But come the middle of May, I will no longer be able to call myself a softball player because I am graduating with my degree in journalism and multimedia studies with two minors in psychology and marketing. 

Sometimes puff but mostly rough, it seems these days that everything’s falling apart. Turn on the news, browse the web, or scroll through twitter and you’re sure to come across media that fills your brain with hazardous waste, leaves you feeling disenfranchised and as an apparant antidote offers nothing but vapid platitudes. Some might say it’s a shame, many will ignore it but I say it's a God-damned travesty, or as I will refer to it in this column, a God-damned Travis D. 

Based on the decision made by The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, sporting events that are held outside at Fort Lewis College are now allowed to have fans in attendance while following local health guidelines, Brandon Leimbach, FLC athletic director, said. 

The mood was high-spirited and welcoming as several of Fort Lewis College’s women filed into the Student Life Center building with their carabiners attached, chalk dusted on their hands and climbing shoes on to participate in FLC’s Womxn Take Over the Wall event. 

The event, orchestrated through a collaboration between Outdoor Pursuits and fairly new student organization, Keeping Women Wild, was the kick-off event for a month of events in celebration of Women’s History Month, Ryanne Clough, a FLC adventure education and business administration double-major who is a Student Outdoor Leader for Outdoor Pursuits, said.

Backcountry skiers, snowboarders, and all types of winter outdoor recreationists are aware of the strange and fatal winter that the western U.S. has been having. 

Welcome to “People of Durango,” a new column from the Independent. Our very first profile of the term is featuring Patrick Langlois, a non-traditional student here at Fort Lewis College.