By Linneya Gardner

Australia has been a constant inferno since bushfire season started in September, with—according to BBC News—more than 24.7 million acres blackened by the devastating fires across the country. The entire nation is being affected, raising questions as to whether climate change is a contributing factor to the worsening flames.

2019 was an unusually dry and hot year for Australia, driven in part by the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), which is defined by differences in sea surface temperatures across the ocean. The IOD has contributed to reducing rainfall in regions of Australia, causing droughts which leaves the country vulnerable to bushfires.

Although it is currently winter season in Colorado, climate change is also a continuing conversation about the wildfires that occur during the summer months in Colorado. Colorado natives from the University of Denver especially, are quite familiar with the effect wildfires can have on an area.

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Fracking, oil drilling and traffic have dramatically increased the amount of air pollution in Denver’s metro area. Denver has been breaking records, as the city is being monitored for the unhealthy air quality that has reached hazardous levels.

“When I came to Colorado I assumed the air everywhere would be very clean because of the mountains, but Denver is not because it is a city trapped in a valley below the mountains filled with emissions, traffic and pollutants,” Ellie Janette, a sophomore at the University of Denver, said.

As candidates gear up for primary season, the rivalry between democrats Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren is heating up. DU students, however, seem unconcerned.

The conflict started when Warren’s staff claimed that Sanders had said that a woman would be unable to win the presidency in a private meeting with her in 2018. Four others confirmed the allegation, two who had knowledge of the meeting and two who Warren spoke with immediately after. Sanders denied the accusation, saying that the staff are lying.

At the University of Denver, however, students seem to see the growing rivalry as inconsequential.

Jack Hamblin, a DU student, doesn’t think that there really is a significant rift between the two candidates, saying “I think it’s something that the news is probably playing up a little bit more than anything else.”

By: Sophie Smrcka

 University of Denver students are pleased and relieved as the federal age to legally purchase tobacco products rises from 18 to 21. 

By Zoe Grossman

Among NCAA Division I schools in the United States, the University of Denver ranks 13th on the all-time list for most national championship titles per school with 33, coming in right behind Michigan, Florida, and California.