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University of Colorado Boulder

The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system. CU Boulder is a member of the Association of American Universities and is classified among R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity.

The university consists of nine colleges and schools and offers over 150 academic programs, enrolling more than 35,000 students as of January 2022. In 2021, the university attracted the support of over $634 million for research and spent $536 million on research and development according to the National Science Foundation, ranking it 50th in the nation.

The Colorado Buffaloes compete in 17 varsity sports and are members of the NCAA Division I Pac-12 Conference. The Buffaloes have won 28 national championships: 20 in skiing, seven total in men's and women's cross country, and one in football. The university has produced 10 Olympic medalists. Alumni, faculty, and affiliates include 5 Nobel Prize laureates, 10 Pulitzer Prize winners, 11 MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipients, 1 Turing Award laureate, 20 astronauts and 2 associate justice of the United States Supreme Court have been affiliated with CU Boulder as alumni, researchers, or faculty.

History
On March 14, 1876, the Colorado territorial legislature passed an amendment to the state constitution that provided money for the establishment of the University of Colorado in Boulder, the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, and the Colorado Agricultural College in Fort Collins.

Two cities competed for the site of the University of Colorado: Boulder and Cañon City. The consolation prize for the losing city was to be the home to the new Colorado State Prison. Cañon City was at a disadvantage as it was already the home of the Colorado Territorial Prison (there are now six prisons in the Cañon City area).

The cornerstone of the building that became Old Main was laid on September 20, 1875. The doors of the university opened on September 5, 1877. At the time, there were few high schools in the state that could adequately prepare students for university work, so in addition to the university, a preparatory school was formed on campus. In the fall of 1877, the student body consisted of 15 students in the college proper and 50 students in the preparatory school. There were 38 men and 27 women, and their ages ranged from 12 to 23 years.

During World War II, Colorado was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a navy commission.

CU hired its first female professor, Mary Rippon, in 1878. It hired its first African-American professor, Charles H. Nilon, in 1956, and its first African-American librarian, Mildred Nilon, in 1962. Its first African American female graduate, Lucile Berkeley Buchanan, received her degree in 1918.

Campus
The main CU Boulder campus is located south of the Pearl Street Mall and east of Chautauqua Auditorium. It consists of academic and residential buildings as well as research facilities. The East Campus is about a quarter-mile from the main campus and is composed mainly of athletic fields and research buildings. CU Boulder's campus has been ranked as one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States by Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler.

Architecture
CU Boulder's distinctive architecture style, known as Tuscan Vernacular Revival, was designed by architect Charles Klauder. The oldest buildings, such as Old Main (1876) and Macky Auditorium (1923), were in the Collegiate Gothic style of many East Coast schools, and Klauder's initial plans for the university's new buildings (approved in 1919) were in the same style. A month or so after approval, however, Klauder updated his design by sketching in a new wrap of rough, textured sandstone walls with sloping, multi-leveled red-tiled roofs and Indiana limestone trim. This formed the basis of a unified style, used in the design of fifteen other buildings between 1921 and 1939 and still followed on the campus to this day. The sandstone used in the construction of nearly all the buildings on campus was selected from a variety of Front Range mountain quarries.

Residence halls
Currently, freshmen and others attending the University of Colorado Boulder have an option of 24 on- and off-campus residence halls. Residence halls have 17 varieties of room types from singles to four-person rooms and others with apartment-style amenities. There are several communities of residence halls located throughout the campus, as well as in a separate area called Williams Village which is located approximately 1.5 miles off of the main campus. There is a free bus service that transports students to the main campus from Williams Village and vice versa. The university also offers Residential Academic Programs (RAPS) in many of its Residence Halls. RAPs provide students with in-dorm classes tailored to academic interests (international affairs, environmental studies, etc.).

Engineering Center
The Engineering Center on the North-East side of campus houses the nation's largest geotechnical centrifuge as well as ion-implantation and microwave-propagation facilities, spectrometers, electron and other microscopes, and a structural analysis facility. In 2021, the Rustandy Building joined the Engineering Center to the Koelbel Building, in order to increase collaboration with the School of Business.

Norlin Library
Until 1903, the library collection was housed with the rest of the school in Old Main. The growing size of the library required a move, as the weight of the books was causing physical damage to the floor. The cornerstone for the first separate library building was laid in January 1903, and the building was opened in January 1904. When the new Norlin Library opened in 1940, the old library was turned over to the Theatre department and was converted into classrooms and a theatre.

Norlin Library was the last building to be designed by Klauder. There are two inscriptions on the western face of the building, overlooking the Norlin Quadrangle. Both were composed by President Norlin. The larger inscription reads "Who knows only his own generation remains always a child," based on a Cicero quotation, while the smaller inscription on the marble just over the door reads "Enter here the timeless fellowship of the human spirit."

Macky Auditorium
Macky Auditorium is a large building on the north edge of the University of Colorado campus, near 17th Street and University Avenue, which plays host to various talks, plays, and musical performances. Andrew J. Macky was a prominent businessman involved with the town of Boulder in the late 19th century. Macky served as the President, as well as a stockholder of the First National Bank, an institution founded by another early CU supporter, Lewis Cheney. Macky is credited with a number of landmarks throughout Boulder, where he was a carpenter and involved in politics.

The Auditorium opened its doors in 1923, thirteen years after construction started. Macky's adopted daughter, May, sued for a third of Macky's estate, a case that took thirteen years to settle. May was angered that her father left her no money in his will while leaving $300,000 to CU for the hall's construction. The university eventually won the case, and the majority of critical construction on the building resumed.

The building has a variety of architectural elements from various buildings around the globe that President James Baker, CU's president at the turn of the 20th century, admired. The design of the auditorium is primarily Neo-Gothic, with the primary materials being sandstone and red tile, like the rest of campus. The result is a unique building, with two large towers and sprawling ivy, that sets itself apart from the rest of the CU campus. Macky was refurbished in 1986, with improved seating, custom carpeting, modern plumbing, and an elevator. Currently, there is an electronic bell system in the towers of Macky which rings the hours during the day.

Macky is the home of two departments both in the College of Music, the Jazz Studies Department and the Choral Department, and it houses an art gallery that is open Wednesdays, and to patrons during performances. The hall houses almost all performances by the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, the Artist Series, and the CU Opera. Macky is also the home of many lectures including part of the Conference on World Affairs held at CU each spring.

University Memorial Center
In 1947, Colorado Governor Lee Knous issued a proclamation to create a memorial to Colorado's servicemen at the University of Colorado Boulder. A proposal to house this memorial in a student union building resulted in a remarkable fundraising effort. The University Memorial Center (UMC) opened its doors in October 1953 with President Robert Stearns presiding over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The UMC quickly became the central landmark of the Boulder campus. A 1964 addition created a new bookstore, conference facilities, additional dining facilities, and offices to house the rapidly growing student activities and organizations. The expansion was financed through bonds granted by student fees.

The 1960s and '70s put the UMC at the center of student activism as students staged strikes, grape boycotts, love-ins, sit-ins, and walk-outs. The UMC Fountain Court (now the Dalton Trumbo Fountain Court) became a familiar sight to network television news watchers as the famous and notorious promoted their cause at CU Boulder. Entertainers as diverse as Ramsey Lewis and the Grateful Dead have performed in the Glenn Miller Ballroom. The UMC Connection, a student entertainment center in the basement, is a more informal gathering place, featuring pool tables and a small bowling alley. It also features Club 156, which hosts concerts from local and up-and-coming bands. In 1986, students passed another bond issue to remodel the food services area. The Alferd Packer Grill gets its name from Alferd Packer, a Colorado prospector accused of cannibalism.

Center for Community
The Center for Community, also known as the C4C by students, follows the distinct architecture guidelines of Charles Klauder and is a 323,000 sqft facility that is promised to be 20 percent to 25 percent more energy- and water-efficient compared to similar-sized buildings. The facility was completed in September 2010 at a cost of $84.4 million. The building is originally bond-financed through the CU treasurer and will be repaid through a combination of sources. A large portion of the debt, $47.4 million, will be repaid by Housing and Dining Services, through room and board fees. Fees from Permit and Parking Services will contribute as well. The center also relies on $18 million in donations, a goal which has not been achieved, but has become a top fundraising priority for the university. The building houses offices of Student Services including Campus Card Services, Disability Services, and Career Services among others. These services have been relocated to the C4C from various locations around campus. For example, Career Services was previously housed in the basement of the Willard Dormitory. There is a 140,000 sqft underground parking structure that contains approximately 365 to 375 parking spaces. Student study areas are located on the upper floors and conference centers are open to campus and non-campus affiliates throughout the building. The dining services offered within the C4C include a CU on the run "grab-n-go", The Bakery, a late-night dining hub called the Weather Tech Café, open until 2 A.M., and finally a central dining facility. This dining facility seats 900 and offers students up to nine specialty dining choices including Persian, Asian, Latin, sushi, Italian, Kosher, a grill, salad bars, and desserts. Overall the Dining Center is projected to serve around one million meals per year.

Recreation Center
In 1973 the student recreation center was built on the CU Boulder's main campus, by the architect James Wallace. The funding to build the recreation center came entirely from student fees, which also funded the expansions in 1990 and 2014. The recreation center features strength and cardio space, basketball/volleyball courts, the only ice rink in Boulder proper, lap pool, dive well, fitness studios (cycling, rowing, etc.), climbing gym, turf gym, and an iconic outdoor pool in the shape of the CU Boulder buffalo mascot. It is currently about 300000 sqft and operates on a $5 million annual budget. The center is co-managed by the division of student affairs and CUSG, CU Boulder's student government. It is located on the northern edge of campus next to Folsom Field. It is open seven days a week and on average 16 hours a day with most of its facilities available for use during those hours.

Mary Rippon Theatre
The Mary Rippon Theatre is an outdoor theater and the site of many cultural events, notably the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. The Theatre was named after Professor Mary Rippon, the first female instructor at the university and one of the first female university instructors in the United States. She taught English grammar, German, French and mathematics.

Old Main
Old Main is the oldest building on campus, and previously served as the Medical School for the University of Colorado system.

Galleries
Norlin Library features two art galleries, several dedicated art spaces, and artworks on display throughout the building. The CU Art Museum features works of modern and contemporary art, as well as historical artworks. The Museum's permanent collection includes over 5,000 works of art from numerous time periods and cultures. The UMC Art Gallery exhibits a variety of visual offerings ranging from student works created on campus to presentations of internationally recognized artists. Andrew J. Macky Gallery showcases the work of both local and national artists and is housed in the historic Macky Auditorium.

Museums
University of Colorado Museum of Natural History has one of the most extensive natural history collections in the Rocky Mountain and Plains regions, representing the disciplines of anthropology, botany, entomology, paleontology, and zoology. It is located in the Henderson building, named after its first curator, Judge Junius Henderson, and hosts the Museum and Field Studies master's (MS) program. The CU Heritage Center tells the stories of CU Boulder's past and present and is housed in Old Main, the first building constructed on campus. Seven galleries exhibit art and memorabilia associated with CU faculty and alumni. The Fiske Planetarium and Science Center features a 60 ft. planetarium dome and produces laser shows, live concerts, and an ongoing series of public programs. Fiske also offers a hands-on science museum with interactive exhibits and space-themed art.

Performing arts facilities
The University of Colorado Boulder College of Music presents over 400 performances and educational events bringing together faculty, students, and guest artists each year through the Pendulum New Music Series. They present musical genres including classical, jazz, world music, and new music. The University of Colorado Boulder Department of Theatre & Dance is home to the Charlotte York Irey Dance Theatre, the University Theatre, and the Loft Theatre as well as Grusin Music Hall and the Chamber Music Hall in the College of Music. More than twenty productions are presented each year featuring student and faculty actors, dancers, choreographers, directors, and designers, as well as the work of professional guest artists. Student work is also showcased in the annual CU Boulder Fringe Festival, produced by OnStage, a student performing arts group.

Visual Arts Complex
A new visual arts complex that houses the Department of Art and Art History and the CU Art Museum officially opened in 2010. The facility houses art programming and studies. The building also contains a 200-seat auditorium as well as twenty-eight student exhibition spaces, and the Colorado Collection (an art collection of approximately 5,000 pieces).

The Hill
The Hill, a college neighborhood in Boulder, Colorado, lies directly west of the University of Colorado campus. The central street of the neighborhood is 13th street, which features a variety of attractions including the renowned concert venue, The Fox Theater and is nearby The Sink and several other attractions.

Undergraduate
The 2022 annual ranking of U.S. News & World Report categorizes CU Boulder as "selective". For the Class of 2025 (enrolled fall 2021), CU Boulder received 54,756 applications and accepted 43,576 (79.6%). Of those accepted, 6,785 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 15.6%. CU Boulder's freshman retention rate is 87%, with 74% going on to graduate within six years.

Of the 32% of the incoming freshman class who submitted SAT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite scores were 1180–1380. Of the 16% of enrolled freshmen in 2021 who submitted ACT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite score was between 25 and 31. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 8 freshman students were National Merit Scholars.

Academics
The University of Colorado Boulder is divided into several colleges and schools. While the college of Arts and Sciences is by far the largest, the university also consists of the college of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Program in Environmental Design, Education, Music, Law, and the Leeds School of Business, plus a new College of Media, Communication, and Information that debuted in 2014. Most, if not all, of these colleges and schools, also incorporate master- and doctorate-level degree programs. At the university, there are currently approximately 3,400 courses available in over 150 disciplines making up 85 majors ranging from Accounting to Women's Studies.

University of Colorado School of Law is the smallest and most selective of the colleges. The Wolf Law Building, the new home of the Law School, was dedicated on September 8, 2006, by United States Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer.

The Leeds School of Business has an enrollment of 3,300 students including undergraduates, master's candidates, and Ph.D. candidates. The undergraduate program ranks 39th in the country and the undergraduate entrepreneurship program ranks 14th in the nation. The MBA program ranks 26th among all public universities. The faculty are ranked 38th in the nation according to the Academy of Management Journal.

CU Boulder adopted an honor code in 2000 following growing concerns about academic dishonesty on campus in the late 1990s. A copy of the code stating "On my honor, as a University of Colorado Boulder student, I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance on this work" is engraved on a metal plate and posted in every classroom on campus.

Undergraduates who seek an academic challenge may participate in CU's Honors Program. Begun in 1931, the Honors Program currently consists of the top ten percent of incoming freshmen and participating undergraduates with a 3.3 GPA or greater (on a 4.0 scale). The program offers over 40 honors classes each semester taught by tenured or tenure-track professors and limited to class sizes of 17 students. Honors students also have the opportunity to graduate with honors, high honors, and highest honors, by writing and defending a thesis during their senior year. The program extends into the residence halls through the Kittredge Honors Program. The Presidents Leadership Class is a program for top scholars at the University of Colorado Boulder. Scholars participate in a four-year leadership development program. The program provides opportunities to the top fifty students at CU from every major and discipline.

One option for students (mostly freshman and sophomores) living on campus is to join a residential academic program (RAP). Each RAP focuses on a curricular theme and offers courses in the residence hall itself. The programs also include educational activities.

Rankings
U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Colorado Boulder tied for 105th best among all national universities, tied for 51st among public universities in the U.S., and tied for 70th best among all universities globally for 2023. The Center for World University Rankings ranked CU Boulder 19th among U.S. public comprehensive institutions and 63rd overall in the world in its 2014 ranking of the top 100 degree-granting institutions of higher education.

Fifteen CU Boulder graduate school specialty programs are ranked in the top 50 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2020. CU Boulder's atomic/molecular/optical physics program is ranked second nationally. Other CU Boulder programs ranking in the top 10 are environmental law (8), ceramics (5), quantum physics (6), physical chemistry (10), and aerospace engineering (10). U.S. News & World Report also ranked the Education school 29th, the Engineering school tied for 23rd, the Law school tied for 45th, and the Business school tied for 79th for 2020.

In 2015, Thomson-Reuters ranked the University of Colorado system as the 28th most innovative educational institution in the world.

In 2015, Sierra Magazine ranked CU Boulder 52nd in its "Coolest Schools" in America list for campus sustainability and climate change efforts.

Faculty
, there were more than 3,800 tenured or tenure-eligible faculty members, as well as 4,400 non-tenured adjunct professors and instructors. Current faculty include Nobel laureates David J. Wineland (physics 2012), John Hall (physics, 2005), Eric Cornell (physics, 2001), and Thomas Robert Cech (chemistry, 1989). Carl Wieman was also awarded a Nobel prize for his work with Eric Cornell. He maintains a part-time appointment at the University of Colorado Boulder but his primary appointment is Professor and Director of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at the University of British Columbia. Controversial writer Ward Churchill was a professor of ethnic studies until he was terminated in July 2007. Robert T. Craig an International Communication Association Fellow and author of "Communication Theory as a Field" is a professor in the Communication Department. Professor Emerita Susan Kingsley Kent is the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

Center for Advanced Engineering and Technology Education
The Center for Advanced Engineering and Technology Education (CAETE) is a partnership between the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the Division of Continuing Education and Professional Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. As the distance learning and professional studies arm of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, CAETE provides courses from the college to working professionals via the Internet and CD-ROM. Students can take courses for professional development or toward earning a master's degree or graduate certificate (in some disciplines) in aerospace engineering, computer science, electrical, computer and energy engineering, engineering management, and telecommunications. Founded in 1983, CAETE currently receives over 1,000 enrollments a year from over 250 job sites in Colorado, across the nation, and abroad.

Media
The CU Independent is the award-winning, student-run news publication for the University of Colorado Boulder. It has been digital-only since 2006, one of the first major college newspapers to drop its print edition. The publication has a staff of about 60 editors, reporters, and photographers who are responsible for producing new content to update the website at least once a day during the fall and spring semesters. Most contributors are journalism majors, but other CU programs are represented as well. A managing editor and an editor-in-chief oversee the website. The CU Independent serves as a testing pad for community news and multimedia.

1000-Word Philosophy is a philosophy blog that publishes introductory 1000-word (or less) essays on philosophical topics. Most of the authors are the students and graduates of the CU Boulder. The blog is created and edited by Andrew D. Chapman, a philosophy lecturer at this university. The essays generally include references or sources for more information.

What’s Wrong? is the "not quite official" blog of the University of Colorado, Boulder's Center for Values and Social Policy. It is edited by David Boonin, professor of philosophy and Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities. The blog's purpose is to provide "a forum for discussing and reporting on topics in applied normative philosophy".

Research institutes
CU Boulder's research mission is supported by 11 research institutes within the university. Each research institute supports faculty from multiple academic departments, allowing institutes to conduct truly multidisciplinary research.

The Institute for Behavioral Genetics (IBG) is a research institute within the Graduate School dedicated to conducting and facilitating research on the genetic and environmental bases of individual differences in behavior. After its founding in 1967 IBG led the resurging interest in genetic influences on behavior. IBG was the first post-World War II research institute dedicated to research in behavioral genetics. IBG remains one of the top research facilities for research in behavioral genetics, including human behavioral genetics, psychiatric genetics, quantitative genetics, statistical genetics, and animal behavioral genetics.

The Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS) at CU Boulder promotes interdisciplinary research and training in cognitive science. ICS is highly interdisciplinary; its research focuses on education, language processing, emotion, and higher-level cognition using experimental methods. It is home to a state-of-the-art fMRI system used to collect neuroimaging data.

ATLAS Institute is a center for interdisciplinary research and academic study, where engineering, computer science and robotics are blended with design-oriented topics. Part of CU Boulder's College of Engineering and Applied Science, the institute offers academic programs at the undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels, and administers research labs, hacker and makerspaces, and a black box experimental performance studio. At the beginning of the 2018–2019 academic year, approximately 1,200 students were enrolled in ATLAS academic programs and the institute sponsored six research labs.

In addition to IBG, ICS and ATLAS, the university's other institutes include Biofrontiers Institute, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Institute of Arctic & Alpine Research (INSTAAR), Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS), CU Boulder-NIST joint institute JILA, Laboratory for Atmospheric & Space Physics (LASP), Renewable & Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI), and the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History.

The University of Colorado Student Government
The University of Colorado Student Government (CUSG) is the student government for the University of Colorado Boulder. The government contains three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. Presiding officers for the student government are elected in a bi-annual vote administered to the 30,000 students at the university. The student government has an autonomy agreement with the University Administration and oversees an annual budget of $36.6 million. CUSG is responsible for the management of the University Student Union, the Recreation Center, the LGBTQ Resource Center, the Women's Resource Center, and the Wardenburg Health Center, along with various other facilities on campus. The government also oversees the fiscal appropriations of over 120 student groups on a yearly basis.

CU Gaming and Esports
Founded in December 2015, CU Gaming is the University of Colorado's largest student organization with over 3,500 current members. The organization offers biweekly and monthly gaming events for its members as well as the general student population at CU. CU Gaming offers leadership, career, and internship opportunities for members who are interested in working in the gaming and esports industries.

CU Esports, CU Gaming's sister organization, fields over a dozen teams in a variety of games. In November 2020, CU Esports' Valorant Black Team was crowned the Collegiate Valorant Conference Fall 2020 Series Champions after defeating UCF Esports 2–1 in the finals.

Hiking Club
Founded in May 1919, the Hiking Club is the longest running student organization at the University of Colorado Boulder. It is a non-profit, student-run organization for university students and affiliates interested in hiking and outdoors activities, with hundreds of active members on campus.

The club motto, "half mile more," dates back to the 1940s of the club's tradition-rich history. A slide show of the club's activities is shown on campus during semi-annual new member meetings and the alumni association meets annually.

Radio 1190
KVCU AM-1190, popularly known as Radio 1190, is a college radio station affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder. Staff of the station are compensated with funds provided by the University of Colorado Student Union while operating funds are raised during biannual on-air pledge drives. It is also run by volunteers from the journalism program.

Boulder Freeride
Boulder Freeride is the ski and snowboard club at the University of Colorado Boulder. It was started in 1933. Boulder Freeride is active year-round. Boulder Freeride organizes a number of ski trips each year. Past trips have included Jackson, WY, Innsbruck, Austria, Whistler, BC and Chamonix, France.

CU Cycling Club
Founded in 1983 by Jim Castagneri, the cycling team was taken to the national championships in 1987 by 1992 Olympian John Stenner. The CU cycling team frequently ranks in the top five USA Cycling Collegiate teams in both road cycling and mountain biking disciplines. They have won the national championship on several occasions, including 2005, when they won in both disciplines. Many members of the club have gone on into professional cycling, including Sepp Kuss and Tyler Hamilton.

A founding club member of the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference, the team is open to any student who pays annual dues and meets a minimum amount of credits during the semester. The members include nearly every different type of cyclist, from BMX riders, trials, and bicycle commuters to elite amateur or part-time professional road and mountain riders. Specifically, to qualify for road or mountain nationals, a rider must have enough high race results to upgrade to "A" category in the USA Cycling rankings. A number of "A" riders will be chosen by the coaches to represent CU at the National Championships. The number of riders the team is allowed to send is based on how well the team did overall during the season.

Program Council
Established in 1953, Program Council is a student-run group that coordinates concerts and movies played on campus throughout the year. Program Council mainly focuses on organizing concerts around campus. Over the years, this group has brought such acts as The Rolling Stones, The Who, Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., The Ramones, Henry Rollins, and many more to the University of Colorado. Concerts vary in size ranging from large-scale concerts to smaller local acts, some of which are free to attend. Besides concerts, Program Council also hosts a film series throughout the year which allows students to see soon-to-be-released movies as well as cult classics for free in one of the large lecture halls on campus.

The Herd
The Herd is one of the largest student alumni groups in the nation, with over 6,000 members. The Herd's main goal is increasing school spirit. It encourages students to attend school activities such as sports games and club meetings. The Herd also sponsors discounted bus rides to the ski slopes, discounts around Boulder, and football pre-game parties. Sixteen student leaders run the group; the group is open to currently enrolled students.

Volunteer Resource Center
The Volunteer Resource Center is a student-funded organization aimed towards promoting volunteerism in the Boulder community. They provide a database with volunteer opportunities of 250 organizations around campus and in the Boulder area. The CU Boulder campus was recently one of 3 U.S. Universities to receive the Presidential Award for Exemplary Student Community Service in 2008. The Volunteer Resource Center hosts or participates in special volunteer events and activities including Alternative Breaks, Better Boulder Better World, and The Buffalo Can Challenge. The Volunteer Resource Center is also a yearly Volunteer Internship Program which engages six selected students through an interview process to create events aimed at involving more freshmen in volunteering, effectively managing all logistics of the event, and implementing the events on campus.

Greek life
The Panhellenic sorority community consists of roughly a dozen chapters. The men's fraternities at the University of Colorado are not officially affiliated with the school; however, they are still a presence on campus. About 13% of the undergraduate student body participates in Greek life. The Multicultural Greek Council acts as a liaison between the member organizations and university administration.

The death of Chi Psi pledge Gordie Bailey from alcohol poisoning during hazing in 2004 caused Boulder fraternities to re-organize and sever legal affiliation to the university. Students gathered for a candlelight vigil for the deceased football player on the Boulder campus on September 20, 2004.

Left Right TIM Improv Comedy
Started in 2008 by CU-Boulder students, Left Right TIM is the Boulder area's premier and longest-running improv comedy team, performing a weekly improvised comedy show every Friday during the university's academic year in the Hale Anthropology Building Room 270 of the school's campus. The team has performed in cities around the country as well as opening for established stand-up comedians and improv theaters.

Sports, clubs, and traditions
Sports teams at the school are called Buffaloes. The varsity athletic teams participate in the NCAA's Division I (FBS for football, see Bowl Championship Series) as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. The school officially joined the Pac-12 on July 1, 2011, ending its affiliation with the Big 12 Conference. (CU had previously been a member of the former Big Eight Conference, whose members had merged with four schools of the former Southwest Conference to create the new Big 12 Conference in 1996.) The official school colors are silver and gold, as opposed to the common belief of black and gold. Silver and gold were chosen to represent the state's mineral wealth, but the colors did not look good together on the uniforms, so black was substituted. There are three official fight songs: "Glory Colorado", "Go Colorado", and "Fight CU." In the early 1980s, the Board of Regents changed the school colors to sky blue and gold; but the changed proved highly unpopular with students and alumni, and the colors were changed back after 1985.

In 1934, the university teams were officially nicknamed the "Buffaloes." Previous nicknames used by the press included the "Silver Helmets" and "Frontiersmen." The final game of 1934, against the University of Denver, saw the first running of a buffalo in a Colorado football game. A buffalo calf was rented from a local ranch and ran along the sidelines.

Varsity athletics

CU's varsity teams have won national championships in skiing, men's cross country, women's cross country, and football. Conference championships have also been won in several sports. Several club sports, such as cycling, swimming & diving, and triathlon, have won national championships in addition to the varsity teams.

In football, CU enjoys an in-state rivalry with the Colorado State Rams in the "Rocky Mountain Showdown", a game that is played at the neutral site Empower Field at Mile High. Additionally, Colorado and former Big Eight and Big 12 rival Nebraska Cornhuskers have played some notable games, often finishing their respective seasons in nationally televised confrontations on the Friday following Thanksgiving since the 1990s. This ended after the 2010 season as a result of CU joining the Pac-12 and Nebraska joining the Big Ten Conference.

Colorado once had rivalries with the Utah Utes and the Air Force Falcons, but these have not been played in recent years. However, the Utah rivalry was renewed in 2011, as the Utes also joined the Pac-10 (which became the Pac-12).

The CU ski team has won 20 National Championships at the Division I level. The sport is not sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, however (nor was it sponsored by the Big 12).

Club sports
CU also maintains one of the largest club sports departments in the U.S. It supports over 30 club teams with leading clubs such as both men's and women's water polo, crew, cycling, ultimate, swimming & diving, fencing, men's lacrosse, baseball, softball, ice hockey, rugby union, and the CU Triathlon Team.

Mascot & spirit program
CU also includes a spirit program. The spirit program consists of three teams: two cheerleading squads, and the CU Express Dance Team. The cheerleading program consists of a competitive co-ed squad as well as a competitive all-girl squad. Both the cheerleading squad and the Express Dance Team compete at NCA/NDA College Nationals. In 2007, the cheerleading squad finished sixth at NCA Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida. All squads support the home games of football, Women's Basketball, Men's Basketball, and Women's Volleyball teams, along with other athletic and social events.

The school's live mascot is a female American Bison named Ralphie. The costumed mascot CHIP is also a part of the CU Spirit Program. CHIP is a costumed buffalo that represents the University of Colorado at numerous athletic and social events. Along with the Cheer and Dance Program, CHIP competes on a national level once a year against mascots from around the country, including Bucky Badger, Sparty, Aubie, Goldy Gopher and many other Hall of Fame mascots. Most recently CHIP competed in the 2009 UCA national competition and was crowned #1, and the national champion after performing a skit titled "CHIP's Favorite Video Games".

Clubs and other organizations
CU Boulder offers a variety of political student organizations which cover the full spectrum of politics. Among them are Amnesty International, which focuses on human rights worldwide, Model United Nations (MUN), which simulates the UN with a focus on international relations and diplomacy, as well as the College Democrats and the College Republicans. The University of Colorado also offers many clubs promoting diversity and human rights, such as the Gay Straight Alliance. Students can also choose from a plethora of clubs and organizations centered on ethnicities and countries, as well as different religious groups. CU Boulder also maintains one of the nation's most competitive student-run parliamentary debate programs. In 2010, CU Boulder became the first fully student-run program to win the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence (NPTE).

Demographics
As of Fall 2021, there were 35,897 students enrolled. 66.2 percent of the student population identifies as white and 56.9% are Colorado residents and 10.1% are California residents. A 2014 survey stated that 16.3% of the students are registered as members of the Republican Party, along with 10.5% of CU Boulder non-faculty staff and 6% of CU Boulder faculty. Most students are aligned with the political left.

Notable alumni
The University of Colorado Boulder ranks fourth among U.S. universities in the number of astronauts produced, not including military academies. In addition, the University of Colorado Boulder has graduated two Heads of State: Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; and two associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States: Wiley Rutledge and Byron White. Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla was also an alumna, as was the filmmaker and director Monty Miranda. Yolanda Shea, a research scientist at NASA Langley Research Center, is also an alumnus.

Notable accomplishments at CU

 * First to create a new form of matter, the Bose–Einstein condensate, just seven hundred billionths of a degree above absolute zero.
 * First to observe a "fermionic condensate" formed from pairs of atoms in a gas.
 * Developed the "FluChip" to aid physicians in diagnosing respiratory illness and differentiating between three types of influenza and other viruses that cause similar symptoms.
 * First place in the 2002 and 2005 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. At these first two Solar Decathlon competitions, students and faculty from the Engineering and Architecture programs collaborated to design, construct, transport, and rebuild a house powered exclusively by the sun.
 * The Squid server was created at the University of Colorado Boulder by Duane Wessels as part of Harvest project under grant from the National Science Foundation.
 * First zero-waste sports stadium (both collegiate and professional) in the nation.

Scholarships
The Charles and Mildred Nilon Teacher Education Scholarship Fund honors Charles and Mildred Nilon, CU's first African American professor and librarian, respectively. The scholarship is designated for students who are "committed to advancing educational opportunities in under-resourced schools, especially those that serve African American communities."

The Lucile Berkeley Buchanan Scholarship was created to honor Lucile Berkeley Buchanan, CU's first African American female graduate who graduated in 1918.

title: University of Colorado Boulder


text:
Queer as Folk (American TV series)

Queer as Folk is a serial drama television series that ran from December 3, 2000, to August 7, 2005. The series was produced for Showtime and Showcase by Cowlip Productions, Tony Jonas Productions, Temple Street Productions, and Showtime Networks, in association with Crowe Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. It was developed and written by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who were the showrunners and also the executive producers along with Tony Jonas, former president of Warner Bros. Television.

It is based on the British series created by Russell T Davies. Although it was set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, much of the series was actually shot in Toronto and employed various Canadian directors known for their independent film work (including Bruce McDonald, David Wellington, Kelly Makin, John Greyson, Jeremy Podeswa and Michael DeCarlo) as well as Australian director Russell Mulcahy, who directed the pilot episode. Additional writers in the later seasons included Michael MacLennan, Efrem Seeger, Brad Fraser, Del Shores, and Shawn Postoff.

Show premise
The series follows the lives of five gay men living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Brian (Gale Harold), Justin (Randy Harrison), Michael (Hal Sparks), Emmett (Peter Paige), and Ted (Scott Lowell); a lesbian couple, Lindsay (Thea Gill) and Melanie (Michelle Clunie); and Michael's mother Debbie (Sharon Gless) and his uncle Vic (Jack Wetherall). Another main character, Ben (Robert Gant), was added in the second season.

Main
Brian Kinney: a veritable sex-machine. At 29 years old, he is living life for the now. He is his own man and believes in having sex for the sheer joy of doing it. While he and Justin have an on-and-off-again relationship, Justin is the only one of his sexual encounters that Brian finds himself falling in love with and the only one he continues to have sex with after the first night. He makes his living as an advertising executive for Vangard, and later on builds his own company, Kinnetik, which was named by Justin. While he purports not to be part of the gay and lesbian community, he will do what he can to protect his fellow gay men and women. His motto when it comes to straight people: "There are two kinds of straight people in the world, those that hate you to your face and those who hate you behind your back."
 * Gale Harold as Brian Kinney (UK version: Aidan Gillen as Stuart Alan Jones)

Justin loses his virginity to Brian at the age of seventeen and falls in love with him. He runs away from home after coming out of the closet, primarily because his father is not accepting of his sexuality. Nicknamed "Sunshine" by Debbie because of his bright smile and cheery disposition, Justin is queer-bashed at the end of Season 1, resulting in Brian taking him in during Season 2. A talented artist, Justin briefly contemplates attending business school to appease his father but ultimately decides to attend art school to become a visual artist. He and Brian further their relationship over the five seasons, which eventually ends in a marriage proposal. Justin says yes, but Brian tells him to go to New York to pursue his art because he would be more successful there than he would be in Pittsburgh.
 * Randy Harrison as Justin Taylor (UK version: Charlie Hunnam as Nathan Maloney)

Brian's best friend since adolescence, Michael secretly harbors feelings for him. He enjoys reading comic books, particularly Captain Astro adventures. He starts the series as a manager at a Kmart-like department store, the Big Q, but eventually follows his dream of opening a comic book store. From Season 2, he and Justin create the comic book Rage, based on Brian as the character Rage, Justin as JT (Justin Taylor), who is Rage's lover/sidekick, and Michael as Zephyr, Rage's best friend/sidekick. After a somewhat stormy relationship with older Dr. David Cameron during season 1, Michael finds himself in a long-term relationship with Ben Bruckner, an HIV-positive college professor, beginning in season 2; Michael and Ben eventually marry near the end of season 4.
 * Hal Sparks as Michael Novotny (UK version: Craig Kelly as Vince Tyler)

Originally from Hazlehurst, Mississippi, Emmett is the most flamboyant of the group. He goes through several jobs, including shopkeeper at a clothing store called Torso, porn star, naked maid, party planner, and correspondent for a local news station as well as several relationships during the course of the series.
 * Peter Paige as Emmett Honeycutt (UK version: Antony Cotton as Alexander Perry)

An accountant with low self-esteem who envies Brian's lavish lifestyle, Ted is constantly rejected by men at gay clubs around Pittsburgh and eventually struggles with an addiction to crystal meth. He is a few years older than Michael, Brian, and Emmett. He has a relationship in Season 3 with Emmett as well as an on-again-off-again relationship with Blake.
 * Scott Lowell as Ted Schmidt (UK version: Jason Merrells as Phil Delaney)

Brian's close friend since college who becomes the mother of his child Gus, Lindsay works as an art teacher but takes time off to care for her son. Lindsay's WASP parents are ashamed of her bisexuality and of her same-sex relationship with Melanie.
 * Thea Gill as Lindsay Peterson (UK version: Esther Hall as Romey Sullivan)

Lindsay's Jewish partner who works as a lawyer. Melanie dislikes Brian, partially because Lindsay is very affectionate towards him, but she becomes friendlier towards him in later seasons. She carries her and Lindsay's second child, Jenny Rebecca, whose biological father is Michael.
 * Michelle Clunie as Melanie Marcus (UK version: Saira Todd as Lisa Levene)

A college professor who becomes Michael's long-term partner from Season 2 on, Ben also lives with HIV. Michael's mother, Debbie, at first disapproves of their relationship because she fears that her son will become infected, but eventually she realizes that Michael loves Ben and so she accepts him.
 * Robert Gant as Ben Bruckner (seasons 2–5)

An active PFLAG member, Debbie is fiercely proud of her son Michael's homosexuality, to the extent of making him embarrassed about it. She treats all the boys as her own family, especially Justin, who briefly lives with her after he runs away from home. She is also one of the people who see past Brian's cockiness for what he really is. She works at the Liberty Diner, and at home she takes care of her ill brother Vic.
 * Sharon Gless as Debbie Novotny (UK version: Denise Black as Hazel Tyler)

To help Debbie pay the bills, Vic starts working as a chef at her diner. He also works as a caterer for Emmett's event planning business. Not long after an altercation with Debbie in Season 4, he dies of AIDS complications.
 * Jack Wetherall as Vic Grassi (UK version: Andy Devine as Bernard Thomas)

Michael's boyfriend during Season 1. After falling off a ladder, Michael has therapy with David, a chiropractor. Their relationship evolves quickly, and in a few months Michael moves in with David and meets his son. There is friction between David and Brian since David is jealous of Brian's relationship with Michael.
 * Chris Potter as Dr. David Cameron (UK version: Peter O'Brien as Cameron Roberts) (season 1)

Recurring
Hunter is an HIV-positive teenage hustler who meets Ben and Michael while standing outside their apartment. Ben feels sorry for Hunter and takes him in. Eventually, he and Michael adopt him. Hunter initially has an unrequited crush on Brian but later falls in love with a girl named Callie Leeson.
 * Harris Allan as James "Hunter" Montgomery (seasons 3–5)

Jennifer is Justin's mother and works as a real estate agent. After having difficulty with her son's coming out, with Debbie's help she embraces the fact that her son is gay, joining PFLAG. After divorcing Craig Taylor, she dates a younger man named Tucker (Lucas Bryant) in season 5, much to Justin's disapproval.
 * Sherry Miller as Jennifer Taylor (UK version: Caroline O'Neill as Janice Maloney)

Debbie's boyfriend. He meets Debbie while working on a case involving the murder of a young gay man named Jason Kemp. He is slightly homophobic when Debbie first meets him, but she teaches him to be more accepting of homosexuals. He asks Debbie to marry him and she accepts, but she later decides that she cannot marry Horvath as long as Michael cannot legally marry. Instead, the couple decides to live together in a common-law relationship.
 * Peter MacNeill as Carl Horvath (UK version: Dave Nicholls as PC Stroud) (seasons 2–5)

Bully from Justin's school. Justin gives him a hand job early in the series, but he is then revealed to be homophobic. After assaulting Justin with a baseball bat, he is charged with assault and battery and sentenced to community service and probation. He is later shown working in construction, not expressing remorse for his actions until Justin, at Cody's urging, forces him at gunpoint to apologize. Justin plays into Chris's homophobia by claiming that Chris will not report them to the police for fear that people would know he was almost killed by "a couple of sissy fags".
 * Alec McClure as Chris Hobbs (UK version: Ben Maguire as Christian Hobbs) (seasons 1, 2, and 4)

Brian's assistant. Quits Vangard to follow Brian when he starts his own firm, Kinnetic. Charming enough to dazzle clients and firm enough to handle Brian.
 * Stephanie Moore as Cynthia (UK version: Alison Burrows as Sandra Docherty)

A crystal meth addict at the time he meets Ted at Babylon. His relationship with Ted ends quickly after Ted finds out that Blake is still hooked on drugs. In Season 4, he is sober and is Ted's counselor at a rehab clinic. They finally reunite in the series finale.
 * Dean Armstrong as Blake Wyzecki (UK version: Andrew Lancel as Harvey Black)

Justin's best friend since high school and the first person Justin comes out to (not counting Brian or Michael). She asks Justin to take her virginity, since he has experience, and as a result falls in love with him. He quickly turns her down, but they remain friends. Later, they move in together as roommates.
 * Makyla Smith as Daphne Chanders (UK version: Carla Henry as Donna Clark)

Melanie's college girlfriend and best friend. She's a biker and, although Lindsay is rather hostile towards her, soon warms up to her. Later on in season 2, Leda helps rejuvenate Melanie's and Lindsay's sex life when it experiences a drought by having a threesome with them but soon grows further attached.
 * Nancy Anne Sakovich as Leda (season 2)

Music student at PIFA who romances Justin. Feeling neglected by Brian, Justin leaves him for Ethan. It is a short-lived relationship, however, as Ethan cheats on Justin with a fan. Justin leaves Ethan, who had vowed to be faithful, and reunites with Brian, since Justin had never expected Brian to be faithful.
 * Fabrizio Filippo as Ethan Gold (UK version: Jonathon Natynczyk as Dazz Collinson) (seasons 2–3)

A star quarterback who, although engaged, is a closeted homosexual. He has an affair with Emmett and later leaves his wife to be with him, although they do not stay together. Drew comes out to the media with a controversial on-air kiss with Emmett.
 * Matt Battaglia as Drew Boyd (seasons 4–5)

A mayoral candidate with Brian as head of his ad campaign. Stockwell is a homophobic police officer who abuses his authority. Initially, Brian helps with the campaign, but at a certain point he decides to sabotage the campaign with Justin's help, as Stockwell is closing the gay nightclubs. Brian launches a smear campaign, and as a result Stockwell loses the election and is indicted.
 * David Gianopoulos as PC Jim Stockwell (season 3)

Brian's senior partner at the advertising agency. He buys Ryder's from the previous owner and christens it Vangard, firing every single ad exec but Brian—who proves himself indispensable by going after and signing up the Brown Athletics account that Vance had been after for years. Brian becomes a partner after this and continues to be until the Stockwell smear campaign in season 3, which results in his getting fired.
 * Carlo Rota as Gardner Vance (seasons 2–4)

A renowned artist who is notoriously difficult to deal with. He is instantly attracted to Lindsay and pursues her even though she is a lesbian. After his Pittsburgh art exhibit (which Lindsay organized), Lindsay gives in and they have a brief tryst at the gallery.
 * Robin Thomas as Sam Auerbach (season 4)

Leads the "pink posse" and convinces Justin to join.
 * Mitch Morris as Cody Bell (season 4)

Worked with Michael at the Big Q. She had strong feelings for him and was devastated to find out that he was gay but eventually remained his friend. After Michael left the Big Q to start his comic book store, Tracey made several appearances, including when Ted interviews for the store's assistant bookkeeper position in season 3.
 * Lindsey Connell as Tracey (UK version: Caroline Pegg as Rosalie Cotter) (seasons 1–3)

Hunter's high school friend and at one point his girlfriend. When she finds out that he has two fathers and is HIV positive, she is surprisingly not worried. Her parents embarrass Hunter at a swim meet when he hits his head in the pool and begins to bleed. When Callie rushes to the pool to help him, her father shouts that he "has AIDS". The entire room hears, and soon the entire school knows. Callie remains a friend of Hunter and appears occasionally through the remainder of the series.
 * Meredith Henderson as Callie Leeson (seasons 4–5)

Hollywood movie producer who offers to produce a movie version of Rage.
 * Mike Shara as Brett Keller (seasons 4–5)

Deb's replacement after she quits the diner so that she and Carl may spend more time together. Loretta applies for the job with no prior experience but convinces Deb to hire her when she tells Deb that she was kicked out of her house by her abusive husband because he caught her making out with her best friend, a woman. After Loretta works at the diner for a couple of weeks, her husband comes to take her home. When she refuses, he tries to drag her out, but Deb comes to the rescue, threatening him with a baseball bat. Afterward, Loretta and Deb become friends, but things go awry when Loretta kisses Deb while they are out for drinks. Deb eventually lets Loretta down gently, and Loretta decides to leave town, saying that she loves Deb too much to be anywhere near her.
 * Rosie O'Donnell as Loretta Pye (season 5)

Plot
The first episode finds the four friends ending a night at Babylon, a popular gay club. Brian picks up and has sex with Justin, who falls in love with him and eventually becomes more than a one-night stand. Brian also becomes a father that night, bearing a son with Lindsay through artificial insemination.

Michael's seemingly unrequited love for Brian fuels the story, which he occasionally narrates in voice-over. Justin's coming out and the budding relationship with Brian has unexpected effects on Brian and Michael's lives, much to Michael's dismay, as Justin is only 17 years old. Justin confides in his straight high-school friend Daphne while struggling to deal with homophobic classmates and his dismayed, divorcing parents, Craig and Jennifer. Later in the second season, Justin and Michael co-create the sexually explicit underground comic Rage, featuring a "Gay Crusader" superhero based on Brian.

Brian's son Gus, being raised by Lindsay and Melanie, becomes the focus of several episodes, as issues of parental rights come to the fore. Ted is Melanie's accountant who once harbored a long-standing crush on Michael. He and Emmett begin as best friends but briefly become lovers later in the series. Their relationship ends as Ted, unemployed and with a criminal record earned from running a legitimate porn website that was targeted by a chief of police running for mayor, becomes addicted to crystal meth.

In the fourth season, Brian, who has lost his job by assisting Justin in opposing an anti-gay political client, starts his own agency. He also discovers he has testicular cancer and hides his treatment from his friends. Michael marries Ben Bruckner, an HIV-positive college professor, and the couple adopts a teenage son, James "Hunter" Montgomery, who is also HIV-positive as a result of his experiences as a young hustler.

Ted's affair with a handsome crystal meth addict, Blake Wyzecki, sets the pattern for Ted's later tragic but ultimately redeeming experiences with drug addiction.

Melanie and Lindsay's relationship, while on the surface seeming to be stable, is actually quite tumultuous. Each cheats on the other at various points in the series; both partake in a threesome shortly after they marry but are separated for much of the fourth and fifth seasons. Melanie is impregnated by Michael (through artificial insemination, as Lindsay was) in the third season, and thus best friends Brian and Michael become co-fathers to Lindsay and Melanie's children.

Melanie gives birth to a girl, Jenny Rebecca, over whom Melanie, Lindsay, and Michael have a brief legal custody battle following the women's transitory breakup. Brian's new advertising agency, Kinnetik, becomes highly successful, through a combination of Brian's customer loyalty and his edgier advertising. As a result, Brian is able to purchase Club Babylon from its bankrupt owner.

In the fifth and final season the boys have become men, and the series, perhaps more comfortable in its role in gay entertainment, tackles political issues head-on and with much more fervor.

A political campaign called "Proposition 14" is depicted during much of the final season as a looming threat to the main characters. This proposition, like so many real-life recent legislative moves that have affected many U.S. states, threatens to outlaw same-sex marriage, adoption, and other family civil rights. The many ways in which such a proposition would affect the characters are depicted in nearly every episode.

Debbie, Justin, Jennifer, Daphne, Emmett, Ted, Michael, Ben, Lindsay, Melanie, and the children stand up and fight against this proposition via active canvassing, political contributions, and other democratic processes, but they are met with staunch opposition, discrimination, outright hatred, and political setbacks.

The show climaxes near the end of the series when a benefit to support opposition to Proposition 14 hosted at Brian's club Babylon (after repeated relocations of the benefit owing to discrimination) is attacked by a bomb that initially kills four people (and eventually another three) and injures 67.

This horrible event sets the bittersweet tone for the final three episodes, in which Brian, frightened by this third possible loss of Justin, finally declares his love for him. The two even plan to marry, but Justin's artistic abilities get noticed by a New York art critic and the two decide, for the time being at least, in favor of a more realistic approach to a stormy relationship that nevertheless works for their characters. Melanie and Lindsay, realizing they have more in common than not, resume their relationship but relocate to Canada to "raise [their children] in an environment where they will not be called names, singled out for discrimination, or ever have to fear for their life."

Emmett becomes a Queer-Eye type TV presenter but is later fired when professional football player Drew Boyd kisses him on the news to signify his coming out. Ted confronts his midlife crisis head-on and finally reunites with Blake. Hunter returns and the Novotny-Bruckner family perseveres.

The series came full circle with the final scenes staged in the restored Babylon nightclub. In the final scene, Brian dances to Heather Small's "Proud", a song that accompanied a pivotal scene between Brian and Michael in the very first episode of the series. It ends with a final narration by Michael: "So the 'thumpa thumpa' continues. It always will. No matter what happens. No matter who's president. As our lady of Disco, the divine Miss Gloria Gaynor has always sung to us: We will survive."

Cultural implications
The American version of Queer as Folk quickly became the number one show on the Showtime roster. The network's initial marketing of the show was primarily targeted at gay male (and to some extent, lesbian) audiences, yet a sizable segment of the viewership turned out to be heterosexual women.

Groundbreaking scenes abounded in Queer as Folk beginning with the first episode, which depicts the first sex scene between two men shown on American television (including manual sex, anal sex, and anilingus), though not as graphically as the scene in the UK version that it was based on.

Despite the frank portrayals of drug use and casual sex in the gay club scene, the expected right-wing uproar (aside from some token opposition) never materialized. Cowen and Lipman, however, admitted in 2015 that they were surprised by a backlash from some quarters of the LGBT community, fearing negative implications that may result from the show.

Controversial storylines explored in Queer as Folk have included the following: coming out, same-sex marriage, ex-gay ministries, recreational drug use and abuse (cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, GHB, ketamine, cannabis); gay adoption, artificial insemination, vigilantism, autoerotic asphyxiation, gay-bashing, safe sex, HIV/AIDS, casual sex, cruising, "the baths", serodiscordancy in relationships, underage prostitution, actively gay Catholic priests, discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation, the internet pornography industry, and bug chasers (HIV-negative individuals who actively seek to become HIV-positive).

The series at times made humorous references to its image in the gay community. A few episodes featured the show-within-a-show Gay as Blazes, a cheesy, dull, badly acted, and abundantly politically correct drama which Brian particularly disagreed with, and which was eventually canceled.

Cultural implications in the Asian context
Acting as one of the pioneering dramas depicting gay characters from a complex perspective, alternative media and platforms within Asia had also adopted the drama. In South Korea the Queer film festivals (first labeled as a "scandal" in 1998) were slowly accepted and even popularised across South Korean society. Queer as Folk played a significant role when it was screened during the festival in 2000, providing a narrative for an alternative lifestyle, especially with respect to the LGBT community.

Cast's real-life sexual orientation
The actors' real-life sexual orientation has been the subject of speculation by the public. In a 2015 Queer as Folk reunion, actors Gale Harold and Scott Lowell said they refused to discuss their own sexuality in the press, at least during the show's first season, in an effort to lessen distractions, which was corroborated by Lipman, who went on to say that during the show's first season, even he did not know their real-life sexuality.

In an interview on CNN's Larry King Live on April 24, 2002, show host Larry King described Randy Harrison and Peter Paige as gay, and Michelle Clunie, Robert Gant, Thea Gill, Gale Harold, Scott Lowell, and Hal Sparks as straight.

Three months after the interview on Larry King Live, Gant came out as gay in an article on The Advocate.

In 2004, Gill, married to director Brian Richmond at the time, came out as a bisexual in an interview with Windy City Times.

Meanwhile, Sharon Gless's life as a woman married to a man was already well known by the time Queer as Folk was in production, as she had married Barney Rosenzweig in 1991. She has been described as a straight woman.

In the years since Queer as Folk ended, Harold, Harrison, Lowell, Paige and Sparks have openly discussed their sexual orientation in gay publications.

Setting
The series was set in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is depicted with a good deal of creative license; one example is the numerous references made to the Susquehanna River, which flows in the eastern and central parts of Pennsylvania whereas Pittsburgh is in the west. Pittsburgh was chosen as the closest parallel to the UK series' industrial setting of Manchester, England. However, since Pittsburgh does not have a large gay district like San Francisco or New York City, almost all of the Liberty Avenue scenes were filmed in and around the Church and Wellesley area of Toronto, which is that city's gay village. In fact, not a single shot of the real Liberty Avenue was ever used in the series. Toronto was chosen as the production center of the series because of its lower cost of production and established mature television and film industry. And, as it happens, Toronto's gay village had the look the producers needed to bring their vision of Liberty Avenue alive.

Woody's, the central bar in this fantasy Pittsburgh, is the name of a leading gay bar in Toronto, whose real exterior was shot with only minor disguise. (In a Season 4 episode in which several characters traveled to Toronto, the real Woody's was dubbed "Moosie's".) Babylon was also the name of a real gay bar in Toronto, which was open during the show's run but subsequently closed, although the real establishment was a sitdown martini bar; the dance club scenes in the series were actually filmed at a different Toronto nightclub, Fly.

International and online release

 * United States
 * From February 1, 2014, to February 1, 2019, the entire series was available for online streaming via Netflix.
 * Canada
 * In Canada, the series aired in first run on Showcase, and still airs in reruns on OutTV.
 * United Kingdom
 * Season 1 was broadcast by the BBC on its digital channel BBC Choice in 2002. Seasons 3 and 4 were broadcast by Channel 4's digital channel E4 in an unpromoted post-midnight slot (Channel 4 was the broadcaster of the British series). While the BBC still holds the rights to Season 2, it has never been broadcast since BBC Choice was rebranded BBC Three and its remit was changed. All five seasons have been released on DVD in the UK; Seasons 1 and 2 were first released exclusively through HMV, but are now also available as part of a boxed set and separately from Amazon.
 * Europe:
 * In Norway, the first season started on March 31, 2006, on Canal Digital.
 * In Romania the show started airing in late 2008 on a gay-themed network, Purple TV.
 * In Poland the show began airing on March 1, 2010, on nFilmHD at 11:00 pm.
 * In Greece, only the first season of the show was aired on Star Channel in 2002. The first season was repeated on the same channel in 2003, but the rest of the seasons were not broadcast in the country. The Greek title of the show was "Anamesa Mas" (Between Us).
 * Asia:
 * In Israel the show was aired on Channel 3 and yes stars channels. Currently the show reruns on HOT3. Owing to linguistic problems, it was renamed "הכי גאים שיש" ("Hachi Ge'im SheYesh"; lit. "Proud As Can Be").

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Queer as Folk (American TV series)


text:
West Country

The West Country (An Tir West) is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. The West Country has a distinctive regional English dialect and accent, and is also home to the Cornish language.

Extent
The West Country is bounded by the English Channel to the south and the Atlantic Ocean, Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary to the north. The eastern limit is less clearly defined.

Some definitions match that of the official South West England region. In a 2019 YouGov survey, 72% of respondents considered Cornwall and Devon to be in the West Country, while 70% included Somerset, 69% included Bristol, and 55% included Dorset. Other counties received less than 50% agreement, with 28% including Wiltshire, 27% including Gloucestershire, 12% including Herefordshire and 9% including Worcestershire, though those last two counties are officially part of the West Midlands region.

Specific uses
The term West Country derby is used to refer to sports matches between such cities as Bristol and Bath or Gloucester and Bath.

West Country Lamb and West Country Beef are EU Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) covering products from animals born and reared in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire or Gloucestershire. "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar" is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) limited to cheddar cheese made in the traditional way in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset or Somerset.

ITV West Country is an ITV franchise which broadcasts local news, weather and current affairs programmes over two regions; ITV West Country West covering the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon and parts of Dorset and Somerset with ITV West Country East covering the remainder of Somerset and Dorset together with Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. ITV West Country West was an ITV franchise in its own right (ITV Westcountry) until 2014 when it merged with that of ITV West, formerly HTV West, having been initially launched as Westcountry Television with its main studios in Plymouth in 1993.

West Country Carnivals are held in many towns in and around Somerset. A government-supported museum, galleries, and major attractions atlas matched the South West Region, save for Gloucestershire.

A former brewery in Cheltenham traded as West Country Ales; their ceramic plaques can still be seen built into pub walls around Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and parts of Wales.

title: West Country


text:
Talk:Talking to Americans

Comments
If it seems I'm obsessed with Talking to Americsns, I may well be. I actually liked a lot of Talking to Americans, although I think Michael Moore was more effective with his piece about how Canadians are smarter than Americans. Trontonian

 * I was with you until the last paragraph, which seems to have dissolved into gibberish. Could you clear it up a bit? Also seems like it might be a bit POV... Graft 16:53, 5 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * I had trouble working out the second sentence, which is largely Zanimum's. Is that what you're referring to? I think I understand it, but it seems questionable -- that's why I changed was to may have been or whatever. As I interpret it, the idea is the show didn't get a nomination because people thought American exposure would make it difficult to do the follow-up that an award would have forced upon Salter Street, but perhaps I have that wrong. If it's the last sentence then I'm to blame; let me know where the confusion arises. Trontonian

 * On second thought my last sentence is just as questionable, so I'll take it out. But Nightline, where the show got its American exposure, was cancelled, eh? Trontonian
 * Nightline is still on. Or was that a joke? Rmhermen 17:12, 5 Aug 2003 (UTC)
 * It was ignorance, Rmhermen, sheer ignorance. I'm not as up on TV as I was since I cancelled my cable. But anyway, if Nightline was its only exposure I don't imagine it's stuck in many people's memories. Trontonian
 * Those of us near the border saw it on broadcast Canadian TV. Rmhermen 02:41, 6 Aug 2003 (UTC)
 * Well, that supports Zanimum's idea. I would have liked to see an American program turn the tables -- the things Canadians believe about the States are highly interesting. Trontonian

I removed the last paragraph because I do not understand it. "Blew the joke's cover"? Why? Which cover? September 11 inappropriateness? The show was broadcast in early 2001 - when would the Gemini Award nomination have taken place?—Eloquence 12:16, Aug 26, 2003 (UTC)
 * The Geminis are in October or November. He said it on a talk show just a couple months ago. Would everyone like me to type out the exact quote from Rick to give the exact context and all that, when the episode is repeated? - user:zanimum

 * That would be helpful.—Eloquence

I heard a rumour that during the United States Presidential Campaign, Al Gore's guards where given Rick's picture and told him not to allow him near Al Gore. Can anyone confirm this? I believe it would make an excellent addition to the article. Thapthim 22:08, 29 Sep 2004 (UTC)

I heard that during an interview of Mercer by an American news station, they talked about how the news station had tried a "Talking to Canadians" segment but that it didn't work out. Apparently one of the things they tried to convince the Canadians of was that the US president was Adam West... Has anyone else heard of this?--TEAKAY-C II R (talk) 12:38, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Is "jay-walking" the same as what Mercer does ?
Is Jay Leno's "jay-walking" the same as what Mercer does? The jaywalking article gives an example that seems like a trivial test of general knowledge, that a well educated person could fail, without looking like an idiot. Granted, some of Mercer's questions, like the "double-double", fall into this class. But others reveal a deep and fundamental flaw in American culture -- its National Introspection. America's cult of National Introspection, allows many Americans to fail to realize the obvious absurdity of petitioning Canadians to abandon the practice of abandoning the elderly on ice floes, or the impossibility of a "National igloo". -- Geo Swan 17:20, 28 August 2005 (UTC)

 * From the article, it appears that 'jaw-walking' is some sort of quiz, whereas the defining feature of Rick Mercer's segments is that the participants are unaware that they are taking part in anything other than a usual television interview. David Arthur 13:27, August 29, 2005 (UTC)

 * I'll asume neither of you have seen the show so i'll explain the difference from a point of view of a person who's seen both. Talking to americans is a show where rick mercer goes to the usa and interviews everyday people and celebrities and politicians whenever he can. he asks them questions that only canadians will think are humerous. Canadians think they're funny because have a high opinion of their intelligence over america, i know because i know many americans and i live in canada (it's not a racist comment, it's observant.)Jay walking is when jay leno would go on the streets of just LA and asks questions of basic history and current headlines. he then takes the funniest wrong answers and airs them.

 * "i know because i know many americans and i live in canada (it's not a racist comment, it's observant.)" Yeah, don't be racist against us Canadians... This comment goes to show that anyone can be stupid- even my fellow Canadians.
 * Desire Campbell 02:20, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

 * I've seen both show's as I am Canadian (from Vancouver, BC). Yes, sir, you are being offesnsive, yes your claim is baseless, and yes it is inapproriate.  Many Canadians like Americans, like the US, even though most vastly disagree with the political views of many (if not most) Americans (namely the Red states).  Some Canadians do think their better, some hate the states, but the majority view the US (whether they admit or not) as a sort of sibling (with a different personality type); someone who you feel a conneciton with, even though you sometimes (or often) disagree.

 * You should watch the 1 hour television special, talking to Americans: It was a show that sometimes makes inside jokes only Canadians will understand; however, most of the statements in that special were in fact planly obvious facts that should be known by everyone on this contenient. Yes, I'm sure many people were playing along.  Yes, I'm sure lots of people got the answers right and were cut out.  Yes, I'm sure people called Rick out and it was not shown in the special, but you know what?

 * -A presidential candidate should know who the Canadian Prime Minister is.
 * -A presidential candiate should immedatley recognize Toronto is not the Canadian capital.
 * -Every professor at Harvard should know that Saskatchewan is landlocked.
 * -You should not be able to find more than one person in the same place (at the same time) that seriouslly thinks Canada does not have access to the ocean.
 * -And there shouldn't be even one poltical science student at Berkley that thinks that Canada's Prime Minister is Chinese (then go on about how progessive Canada is and how America should do the same).

 * This doesn't mean Americans are all stupid, *every* Canadian knows there are massive numbers of educated Americans. Though is it not a little curious as to why Rick Mercer was able to catch that profesor, or George Bush, or the Govenor of Iowa (in a different statement I didn't list above)? Catching them making or agreeing with these statements?  Is that not noteworthy?  Do you think you would find even one professor at Oxford that would forget that Ireland has access to the ocean?

 * And once again, don't go thinking Canadians hate Americans, despite what some people might say. We do like the US, however, more in the sibling sense (as I mentioned above).  Don't get your nose out of joint and insult an entire country, just because you see something from it you don't like.

 * 09:24, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

 * So this link is an inside joke amongst the people who wrote this article? I cannot fathom what Jay Leno's bit has anything to do with this article and really don't think it should be listed as as further reading. What else comes next? "Are you smarter than a fifth grader?" --71.110.80.129 (talk) 23:27, 7 September 2011 (UTC)

Question (not serious).
Is this segment a statement to the ethnocentricity of Americans, or to the general irrelevance of anything Canadian?

 * It's about the people in the U.S. a) knowing next to nothing about one of their largest trading partners, and b) still being willing to express strong opinions about it. David Arthur 16:25, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Yeah, I get it. I was making a joke.

 * Should point out that most of the outside world doesn't know much about Canada. We're not in the news that much and our culture, at least in the media is not portrayed that much differently from the Americans.  Most youths I meet, in France and UK (for instance), assume that we have much the same values and ideals as Americans (even the stereotypical traits like xenophobia and right-wingism).  Not saying that Canadians are superior to the Americans, just that we're not exactly the same, and anyone who spends a few weeks up here (outside a huge city) would pick up on the subtle differences that make us Canadian :-) Tomstdenis 01:04, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

 * Kind of nitpicking here, but thought I'd say: even in a big city you'd find subtle differences that make us Canadian. Just because one is from a large city doesn't mean we're suddenly American clones. ;D Otherwise, I concur on your point. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.141.29.59 (talk) 03:00, 14 March 2007 (UTC).

 * Fair enough. Though when I was in Toronto it was really hard to see the Canadian spirit around, mostly because the people I interacted with on a daily basis were new immigrants.  Not knocking them, just saying, they're not Canadian.  For example, Canadians say sorry when they're bumped into, we hold the doors open for people (a lot more than Americans seem to), we're not hyper competitive in all we do (re: college sports, kids spelling bees) but love hockey to the extreme, although religion is strong in Canada, it doesn't seem to drive our policies quite as much as say the Americans or middle east countries.

 * Before I get flamed, this isn't to say Americans aren't nice, honest, hardworking folk [etc]. But if you bumped into a typical american, they're not likely to say "sorry" to you, or if you make fun of high school football, you're likely to get a lot of people upset at you, etc.  It's those little things that really separate us and it stems from our values and upbringing really.

 * The segment on the show is kinda misleading. Though they use hyperbole to the extreme, most Canadians don't know much about our own history.  If I asked who was the 13th prime minister of Canada, I doubt anyone could tell me (heck, I don't even know).  etc.  So this idea that Americans don't know anything about Canada and Canadians are oh-so-much more smart is just bollocks.  I think the point of the show though is that many Americans don't know anything about Canada.  It's one of those "I don't need it, I don't want to know about it" scenarios.  That the show goes off the deepend to entrap victims is purely for comedic effect.Tomstdenis 14:24, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

 * Just so you know, I find it a little offensive that you would perpetuate sterotypes of the "typical American". I'd be willing to assume you haven't met a high enough proportion of the roughly 300,000,000 residents of the US to make that kind of statement.

This show on video

 * Does anybody know if there's a place that has this on video such as Amazon or the CBC? --Riley 01:07, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
 * It's on Youtube. It's technically illegal, but it exists.--Planetary 05:46, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Why is this article tagged?
I don't understand the idea behind the 'this article does not cite its sources', how hard can it be? It's all from a TV show that is available on DVD. If a book can count as a source, why not a DVD? If anyone wanted to verify statements in this article there's only one place to get your sources, and that's the TV show. I say we should get rid of the tag, anyone agree?
 * I agree completely, unless the tag references something else.
 * Also, please sign your comments, XD. Jaimeastorga2000 06:34, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

title: Talk:Talking to Americans