During World War I, Herman Bausch was an outspoken German-born farmer living in Yellowstone County. On April 13, 1918, he told a county committee, “I won’t do anything voluntary to aid this war. I don’t care who wins this war. I would rather see Germany win than England or France. I am not prepared to say whether Germany is in the right. We should have never entered this war ...”

Those words were enough to land Bausch in prison.

The farmer was one of 74 people convicted of sedition during 1918-19, when Montana was ruled by perhaps the harshest anti-speech law ever passed by any state in the history of the United States. Sedition is the illegal promotion of resistance against the government, usually in speech or writing.

Now 13 law and journalism students at UM are preparing petitions for posthumous pardons from Gov. Brian Schweitzer for those found guilty under the old sedition law.

The students were inspired to take up the cause by UM journalism Professor Clem Work, whose recently published book “Darkest Before Dawn: Sedition and Free Speech in the American West” details Montana’s old draconian sedition laws.

The law students participating in the Montana Sedition Project -- also called the Pardon Project -- are part of the law school’s criminal defense clinic. Jeff Renz, the faculty member who leads the clinic, said project participants hope to present their findings to the governor in April.

UM researcher Mary Poss and her colleagues have shown that species-specific viruses can act as “genetic tags” to track the history and distribution of animal populations. Their work is published in the Jan. 26 issue of Science, one of the world’s most prestigious research journals.

Poss and her co-workers tracked feline immunodeficiency virus in cougar populations in Montana, Wyoming, British Columbia and Alberta. Typically more than one-quarter of cougars are infected with FIV, which is similar to human HIV. Although FIV causes AIDS in domestic cats, Poss and a co-worker have shown that infected cougars can carry this feline virus without major health problems.

Poss said FIV evolves measurably every few years, so it can provide information about virus and host dynamics over extremely short time periods. Her group collected genetic samples from 352 cougars in a region covering more than 600 miles during the course of the study.

Poss and her colleagues found eight separate FIV lineages among cougars in their study area. By studying the distribution of these separate viral lineages, they were able to infer how the big cats have spread and repopulated portions of the Northern Rockies in recent decades -- especially after they were almost eradicated in the 1920s.

The Health Careers Opportunity Program’s next Saturday Science Day gives area seventh-graders the chance to solve their own forensic case.

“CSI Missoula” is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 4 at UM.

Students who are selected to attend will learn scientific techniques used to interpret remains found at the scene of a crime. Using bones, ashes and casts, participants will learn how to distinguish the remains as male or female, human or nonhuman, as well as how to determine a victim’s age, height and physical abnormalities.

The course will be taught by Garry Kerr of UM’s Department of Anthropology. UM students consistently rank Kerr as a favorite teacher.

Students must fill out a short application form to be considered for “CSI Missoula.” Seventh-grade students from any middle school are welcome to apply, but those from low-income households or families whose parents do not have bachelor’s degrees will be selected first.

Students selected to attend will receive a $30 stipend. Those who come from outside Missoula also will be given an additional sum to help with transportation costs.

Deadline for “CSI Missoula” applications is Friday, Feb. 17. Applications and more information are available online.

UM’s Environmental Studies Program is sponsoring the Wild Mercy Reading Series, now under way on Wednesdays in Missoula.

The series features the environmental and nature writing of second-year graduate writing students and alumni. It also highlights Kim Todd, the Environmental Studies Kittredge Visiting Writer, and two local writers, Tom Peterson and Jeff Hull.

Upcoming readings are scheduled for Feb. 15, March 1 and 15, and April 5 and 19. The free public readings begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Missoulian Angler, 401 S. Orange St.

“Ethics 2020: Envisioning the Promises and Perils of Building a Just and Sustainable Future” is the topic of six spring-semester lectures in the Ethics at Noon speaker series at UM.

The lectures are sponsored by the Center for Ethics and are free and open to the public. They will be held Mondays from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in Gallagher Business Building Room L14.

The series begins Feb. 6 with “The Energy Paradigm: An Ethical Conundrum,” by Paul Williamson, UM special assistant to the provost, Hydrogen Project and UM College of Technology New Campus Project.

A complete schedule is online.

UM officials have stepped up efforts to inform students about the ‘flat spot,’ the line drawn at 12 credits, after which additional credits up to 18 don’t cost any extra tuition.

What are the benefits of taking more than 12 credits each semester? A UM study has shown the benefits are legion, ranging from graduating in four years to a higher likelihood of staying in school -- in addition to saving money.

According to the study, a resident undergraduate at UM who arrived in fall 2001 and took 15 credits each fall and spring semester could graduate in four years with an estimated cost of $52,444. This includes tuition, mandatory fees, books and supplies, room and board, and other living expenses.

However, the same student entering school at the same time, but lightening the load to 12 credits, would graduate in five years, with an estimated cost of $66,170. That’s a 26 percent difference -- $13,725 more -- besides the additional year in school.

A sculpture created by Montana artist Bill Stockton in 1972 to honor Hugh Galusha now is displayed for public viewing in the atrium of the Helena branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Titled “Dialogue,” the bronze and concrete sculpture is on permanent loan to the bank from the Montana Museum of Art and Culture at UM.

Galusha, a native of Helena, was a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and president of the 9th Federal Reserve District. He was head of the accounting firm, Galusha, Higgins and Galusha, and partner in a law firm with the late Pete Meloy.

A scholar of western history, especially the creation of the National Park system, Galusha was a conservation activist and wilderness advocate. The sculpture, which was exhibited at UM’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library in the 1990s, was commissioned by a committee of Galusha’s friends.

The UM Multicultural Alliance is sponsoring a series of films on campus during February and March.

All films will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesdays in the University Center Theater and are free and open to the public.

The next film in the series, “Black Is ... Black Ain’t,” shows on Feb. 8. This 1995 documentary is the culmination of Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Marlon T. Riggs’ work on black identity and representation.

The complete schedule is online.

The UM Athletic Department will celebrate the 20th anniversary of National Girls and Women in Sports Day by hosting a sports clinic Friday, Feb. 10, before the Lady Griz basketball game against Montana State University.

The clinic, which will feature athletes from the UM volleyball, soccer, track, tennis and golf teams, will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Adams Center's West and East auxiliary gyms. Admission for children under 12 is free. Adults must have a ticket to the basketball game to attend the clinic.

NGWSD is an event that was started to honor female athletes and promote physical education as well as equality in sports. February marks the anniversary month of the national celebration.

The Lady Griz take on the Montana State University Bobcats at 7:05 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.

The Montana Grizzlies defeated the Portland State Vikings 98-77 Jan. 26 in a Big Sky Conference basketball game. All 12 Griz players who suited up scored.

The Griz shot the lights out in the first half, making 18-of-29 field goal shots for 62.1 percent and 5-of-12 three-pointers (41.7 percent). Senior guard Kevin Criswell had 15 of his game-high 22 points in the first half, while sophomore forward Andrew Strait scored 14 of his 15 points in the first 20 minutes.

Saturday night Montana overcame a 10-point second-half deficit and went on to defeat the visiting Eastern Washington University Eagles 78-72 in UM’s Dahlberg Arena.

Sophomore forward Andrew Strait scored a team-high 19 points for the Griz, senior guard Virgil Matthews added 18 and senior guard Kevin Criswell tallied 15. It was Criswell’s 17th game in double figures, and his 15 points give him 1,466 career points. He now trails Griz assistant basketball coach Wayne Tinkle (1,500 points, 1985-89) by 34 points, to move into fourth on the career list.

The Grizzlies improve to 16-3 overall and 6-1 in conference play. This week the Griz are on the road for a pair of Big Sky games. They played Weber State last night and face Idaho State Saturday. The ISU game begins at 4:35 p.m. and will be televised by Altitude Sports.

Montana freshman Tamara Guardipee nearly had a triple-double with 14 points, a school-record 10 blocked shots and nine rebounds to lead the Lady Griz to an 81-59 victory Jan. 26 at Portland State.

Guardipee, a 6-foot-2-inch center from Browning, also went 7-for-7 from the field. Freshman Mandy Morales led four Lady Griz players in double figures with 23 points. She also added seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.

On Saturday, Eastern Washington's Brittney Osborn hit a jumper with 1.6 seconds remaining to give the Eagles a 58-56 win over Montana in Cheney, Wash. The win snapped Eastern Washington's 14-game losing streak to the Lady Griz. Senior Katie Edwards led the Lady Griz with 20 points, but she was the lone UM player to reach double figures.

The win-loss left Montana 14-4, 3-2 in league play before three home games. The Lady Griz faced Weber State last night and take on Idaho State at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.

The UM Cheer Squad will compete in the United Spirit Association’s National College Cheerleading Championships Feb. 5 and 6 in Las Vegas.

The squad has been working toward getting to the competition since the beginning of the school year. To date, they have raised more than $11,000 for travel expenses through various events.

A portion of the funds raised paid for a choreographer from Memphis, Tenn., who worked with the squad for three days in early December. In January the squad practiced nearly every day, including weekends, to prepare for the competition.

On Sunday, Feb. 5, the squad will compete against schools from across the nation such as the University of California, Los Angeles, and the universities of Oregon, Michigan and Wisconsin. They also will compete against other Big Sky schools, including Weber State, Northern Arizona and Idaho State.