By John Pantoya                 

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The current CSU-Pueblo time capsule that was prepared by the university’s library was placed in the university archives on April 22, the day of its grand opening. The capsule will remain sealed for 100 years, and will be opened in the year 2111.

There aren’t many things out there in which you can say that it’s been done before, yet when someone else does it, it‘s completely different from any other before it. This is why many groups, including schools, continue to partake in the tradition of burying time capsules.

More important than what is inside the capsule, is the question of why those things are chosen to be included. After all, who wouldn’t want to be considered interesting to those in the future?

The capsule is a perfect way to capture more than simply a year or day. The pieces of nostalgia represent an era of human existence unlike any time before or after.

What was the college like for students?  What gave us joy? What did we like to eat? These are just a few of the questions that will be answered by those who explore the capsules contents in 2111.

Another great aspect of any time capsule is the thought of what the future may be like in the declared year of its opening. So what could the future hold for 2111? Flying cars? Teleportation? Many usually envision a world in the future to be far more advanced in technology.

However, many think that the Earth may endure a drastic change in 2012. If an Earth altering event did take place, and the capsule was somehow preserved until found by the few surviving human beings, what a capsule that would be. Our past is, as they say, the guidance to our future.

Barring such an event, those in 2111 will undoubtedly know their century old brethren a little more upon opening this capsule. Hopefully the message will be clear that we were not only knowledgeable and hardworking people, but that we were spirited as well. 

What types of artifacts should then be put in the capsule? Perhaps feats of art or architecture? The popular music and movies at the time? What about something that states the current conflicts in the world? One could only imagine what the state of international affairs would be in 2111.

What is true is that what’s important to us now will be important once again when the capsule’s contents are revealed. If only for a matter of minutes, those in 2111 will anxiously await the opening of this capsule and experience aspects of people a century before them that they never thought they would.