A man, a bear, and a pig walk into a theater

On an evening much too brisk for most students to leave the comfort of their dorms and apartments, a group of motivated individuals braved the commute to Miner’s Alley Playhouse in order to witness an event that would change their evenings for the better (especially after having their hopes crushed by not having a single snow day this week). With a name deriving from three seemingly average things, Man Bear Pig Night (MBPN) was anything but average. An event centered around the rule of three, MBPN celebrated three people, two Mines students and a faculty member, passionately talking about anything they express an interest in.

The three speakers chose unique topics that likely would never have fit in an academic curriculum here at Mines and yet, everyone in attendance would likely claim they learned just as much that evening as any formal lecture. Annabelle Peterson, a Junior at Mines, kicked off the night by talking about black holes, and while many of the listeners became enamored by the concept of “spaghettification,” the real meat of the topic was her striking analogy between black holes and heavy metal mosh pits. The two are more alike than one would think! The second student speaker was a Mines Senior, TomHenry Reagan, who took the stage to talk about how we can define free in terms of “Free Beer” and “Freedom.” While those of us over 21 definitely perked up at this analogy, TomHenry’s impassioned ex- planation about how what we do online is not always free – and maybe pirating is a viable option to maintain the freedom to create independently and uniquely?

The final topic of the night may have been the most awe inspiring as it came with its own dino back up dancers. Yes. You read that correctly. Toni Lefton, director of Honors and Scholars Programs here at Mines was the final guest to appear on stage for MBPN where she and two guests donned inflatable dinosaur costumes. This was not without just cause though, as Toni’s passion from an early age has revolved around dinosaurs and their mysticism in our lives. From inside an inflatable triceratops, Toni shared this passion and enthusiasm to conclude the evening to everyone in attendance, while her two T-Rex friends looked on. It was a lecture truly worthy of any philoso-raptor.

As MBPN came to a close, everyone was invited to partake in one final Q&A session with each of the speakers where questions about each topic were flung about from every which corner of the theater. The final challenge of MBPN was to discover the connections between all of the different topics in three words or less – a challenge met with wild answers and even wilder people. As everyone began to filter out into the cold streets of Golden, they all had smiles on their faces. Listening to what people are passionate about and simply listening to them is a treasure in itself, and at its heart, that’s what MBPN is all about. While this was the last one for this semester, organizer of the event, Melanie Brandt announced that there will be two more MBPN next semester so keep an eye out, especially because advertising for the event tends to be a little… secretive. And as a sincere and final question, if any of you clever readers of The Oredigger know what a Man, a Bear, and a Pig have in common, let us know, because even after attending the event myself, your guess is as good as mine.