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Taxing oil for school Student lobbies for A.S. support
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
since 1957
They asked, he told
Soldier shares his story on how the changing of a law could change the mind of nation RoN RoKhY DAILY SUNDIAL
a
iVETTE LoPEZ DAILY SUNDIAL
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upporters of a proposed bill that would impose new taxes on oil companies and divert the money to state education lobbied Associated Students Tuesday for their support. AB 1481 proposes a 15 percent severance tax on oil and natural gas be implemented, potentionally bringing over $3 billion budget to California’s educational system with14 percent of those revenues going to the CSU. The senate did not take any action on the measure during Tuesday’s senate meeting. “Let us be statues and be unmoved in our convictions to change things,” said Justin Marks, CSUN student and supporter of the measure. “CSU could be ballin’ once again.” Marks said the support of A.S. could bridge relations between other clubs and organizations that
rmy Lt. Dan Choi was recently reinstated after being dishonorably discharged for violating the military’s don’t ask, don’t tell policy two years ago “We’re showing that we are fighting for love,” Choi said during his Tuesday night presentation at the Northridge Center. “Even though we are the most stigmatized people in history, we fight for love.” Brought to CSUN to celebrate love week and national coming out day, Choi said gay people deserve the same rights as everyone else, whether they’re in the military or not. “Gay people can die for America, but they can’t have equal rights,” Choi said. “We’re not battling homophobia here, we’re battling straight supremacy. When politicians tell us we can’t serve or get married because of our sexual orientation, it just reeks of supremacy.” Advocating freedom and equality is a duty of all people enlisted in the armed forces, Choi said.
John Saringo-rodriguez / Contributor
See choi., page 2
Lt. Daniel choi adresses the csUN community about the repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell police during a speech at the Northridge center at the UsU on Tuesday.
See A.s., page 3
Student adjusts to more open military KARLEE JohNsoN hANsooK oh DAILY SUNDIAL
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hanSooK oh / DAiLY SunDiAL
cinema and television arts major hugo Valencia, 21, has served with the U.s. Army National Guard for five years and will serve one more year. he kept his sexual orientation a secret until Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed last year.
IN TODAY’S
ISSUE
VOLUME 53 ISSUE 27 • A FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
hen Hugo Valencia enlisted into the Army he was 17-yearsold. “I didn’t know much about my own sexuality. I didn’t think Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was a big deal,” Valencia said. “I thought I would just keep (my sexuality) to myself and it would be easy.” But he became increasingly uncomfortable. “As time went by, I started to realize that I was surrounded by so many people who constantly talked about their experiences,” he said. “I
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Angelenos ditch four wheels for two in CicLAvia p. 4
The silencing of the lamb
Men’s soccer team wins big at Cal Poly
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couldn’t talk about my own, so I had to just keep everything bottled up.” Valencia felt that keeping quiet about his sexuality inhibited his ability to create a sense of camaraderie with his colleagues, but he would come out carefully to those he did become close friends with. “Prior to them knowing I was gay, they would make comments that were often hurtful, even from the upper ranks,” Valencia said. “I couldn’t say anything to defend myself, it would have been kind of a confirmation. I was afraid of losing my job. I would have no money to pay
See VALENciA, page 3
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2 News October 12, 2011 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • city@sundial.csun.edu
John Saringo-Rodriguez / Contributor
An engaged audience listened, laughed and sometimes cried after hearing Lt. Choi’s stories and philosophies. He continues to be a champion for full LGBTQ civil rights.
choi
Continued from page 1 “This uniform is not just for white people or straight people anymore,” he said. “It’s for all Americans now, and anyone who doesn’t defend equality doesn’t deserve to wear the uniform.” Choi said the constitution guarantees equality for all people, and politicians should take that into consideration when passing laws. “When I read the Constitution, I see a mandate for everyone’s equality, and we should fight for that equality,” Choi said. “I condemn Republicans who stand up and boo gay soldiers, and I also condemn Democrats who sit idly by and do nothing about it.” Choi called for all gay people and their straight allies
to band together and demand equality for everyone. “Our straight allies are extremely important to us,” he said. “After all, straight people literally birthed the gay movement, and, mark my words, in 50 years, gay people will have equal rights.” Choi, the son of a pastor, grew up a Southern Baptist Christian and said he wasn’t afraid of the military’s policy. “When I first came out, I wasn’t afraid of the don’t ask, don’t tell policy,” he said. “I was afraid of my parents because they’re very religious.” Choi said his father had trouble accepting him because being gay was considered a grave sin according to his father’s faith, and goes against the fundamental teachings of Christianity. “My father said being gay was the number one sin, but I
reminded him that Christianity’s number one rule is to love your neighbor like you love yourself,” Choi said. “I came out because I love my parents.” Being gay and a Christian shouldn’t be mutually exclusive, he added. “Being a Christian and gay is seemingly a dichotomy,” Choi said. “But it’s not. You can be both, because those anti-gay scriptures are archaic and times have changed.” Martin Pousson, a CSUN professor who teaches English and queer studies, said he thought Choi was an inspiring figure to the LGBTQ community. “The way Choi came out on national TV was extremely encouraging,” Pousson said. “He was ready to take it head on, and he showed people you can be yourself and still support the things you love.”
News 3 October 12, 2011 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • city@sundial.csun.edu
a.s.
Continued from page 1 could come together to collaborate on the initiative. He suggested hosting competitions between organizations to see who could obtain more signatures to get the initiative on the November ballot. He also urged A.S. to help fund the measure to support television and radio promotions. “If we could promote B.o.B., I think it would be good to promote one of our own,” Marks said, referencing the headliner at this semester’s Big Show.
The measure has already received 35 student campus organization endorsements, six A.S. endorsements, three CSSA endorsements as well as the support of Cal State Los Angeles. President Amanda Flavin said she would not support the initiative until amendments were made to ensure the overall budget would not be penalized with the addition of new funds. The proposal drafted by Cyprus College professor Peter Matthews stipulates that this tax cannot be passed to consumers “by way of higher taxes for oil, natural gas, gasoline, diesel or other oils and consumable gas products.”
Companies that fail to comply could face a fine double the amount raised to the consumer, the proposal read. All fines would be directed back to customers as a rebate check at the end of each year. California is the third largest producer of oil, behind Alaska and Texas, Marks said. California had one of the best educational systems, but has now dropped in stance due to the state’s many economical problems, he said. “We can change our reputation at CSUN,” Marks said. “We can be at the vanguard of what this country is facing.”
VALENCIA
Continued from page 1 the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, which discharged gay and lesbian service members who made their sexuality known, was repealed after 18 years. “With this whole repeal, it’s kind of hard to adjust because the last five years I’ve been having to switch mentalities from being totally me to having to go back into
the closet whenever I got back on duty,” Valencia said. For Valencia, who is the current president of CSUN’s LGBT Alliance, the repeal of the policy is a victory, but it’s still hard to adjust. “The last time I was in drill ... I suddenly thought to myself, ‘Woah, I’m wearing my uniform, but I don’t have to hide who I am,’” he said. “It’s just hard to come out and just say it now, so I just have to slowly adjust to this new change.”
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4 Photo October 12, 2011 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • photo@sundial.csun.edu
Bicyclists cruise down Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles during the 3rd CicLAvia event on Sunday, Oct. 9.
Allen Hubsch is one of many who chose to ride the Metro Gold Line to CicLAvia in Los Angeles. “I have high hopes for (CicLAvia) and it’s a great day for riding,” Hubsch said.
Car-less day in
STORY AND PHOTOS BY ANDRES AGUILA
L.A.
Bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades, scooters and even unicycles were among the many modes of transportation used during the third CicLAvia event in Los Angeles Sunday. Ten miles of roads were closed down for five hours, from Boyle Heights to East Hollywood, for the estimated 130,000 people who enjoyed the car-less streets. “It’s a beautiful experience,” said Alexandra Lippman, who attended the event for the third time. “It’s such a rush to be surrounded by so many bikes.” There were six locations, or hubs, throughout L.A. where people could get free bike repairs, buy food from vendors or lunch trucks, and participate in activities. Buses and trains were packed with Angelenos headed to the event with their bikes, and many dressed up for the occasion.
A bicyclist smiles as she and her friends cruise through the car-less streets of Downtown Los Angeles.
“We love it. We try to come every time … and since its October, we decided to dress up as something,” said Donny Lazo, who, along with his friend Eddie Torres, was dressed as The Aquabats. One fast-traveling bicyclist said CicLAvia was “the best way to see the city.”
Eddie Torres and Donny Lazo dress as The Aquabats during CicLAvia.
Aidan Black checks out a lowrider bike with one of the members of Real Ryda’z Bike Club.
Scan this QR-Code to check out more photos from CicLAvia
October 12, 2011 • Daily Sundial • CSUN
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Opinions
October 12, 2011
The sacrificial lamb Postcards from abroad With Tommy Vinh Bui
I
t’s just what they do here. They’ll collect all their garbage and light the pile on fire. That’s practical waste management in former Soviet states. I wonder if I’ll ever get tired of watching giant fires raging idly in the background wherever I go in Kazakhstan. It’s alluring, no? It probably stems back to the time when we were cavemen and things were catching us and dragging us off into the darkness, and fire was the only thing keeping us from a grisly death. Or maybe I just like the crackling noise. It’s definitely why I like bubble wrap. But braving jeopardy and getting out of your comfort zone is what the Peace Corps is all about, right? I was just thinking about that moment when I was fishing with my host family, and my father asked me to hand him a worm. As I reached into the bucket’s writhing contents, I remembered that I’m fearful of worms, and all things worm-like. It’s profoundly debilitating. I remember thinking that
terminating my service early might be an over-reaction. And staring at my father blankly – and oddly not responding – was an underreaction. I dove right in. Diving right in. It’s become a droning cadence. With vim I accepted an invitation to help prepare a sheep for a looming celebration. Over the last few months I’ve developed quite a knack for deluding myself that sheep meat doesn’t absolutely tap dance and wreak havoc on my intestinal wall. I’m constantly convincing myself that I have cholera after sheep. So, maybe I shouldn’t be involved in this. You always struck me as the squeamish type, hey. But I hear myself rationalizing it, and I want to shake some sense (nonsense) into me. Lest I forget how I found myself here in Kazakhstan in the first place: brash decisions. So we slaughtered, cleaned and butchered a sheep. It was messed up. It was like a mob hit. They pulled this thing ostensibly out of a trunk and dragged it over to the sacrificial stone. Then they laughed a bit (as wise guys do) – and then a knife was casually unsheathed and out came the
trachea. There was a small degree of pomp and circumstance, though. We uttered a quick prayer before the knife began tickling the sheep’s throat. The sharpening of the knife was a chorus of death that troubled the meek. For a moment, my father placed the knife atop the sheep to attend to something else. And I thought of Jesus Christ having to carry his own death instrument up Golgotha. There was just the hissing and whistling of the sheep’s windpipe after the death stroke. The eyes big and confused. This inlet of blood flowing into a hole prepared beforehand. And it took a long time for it to die. The sheep evacuated its bowels before expiring. And it kicked and heaved for everything it’s worth. Two of the young girls ran across the way to shield their eyes. But curiosity overpowered their childish fears, and they peeked anyway. Then came the grisly sound of vertebrae cracking as my host father busted a Steven Seagal on it and deathbent the neck. The sheep then started to convulse violently and steadily. The entire process was a good two to three minutes. Then came the dissection. A T-section was cut into the belly, and the guts came spilling out. Everything was neatly removed. It looked like they were removing fleshy jellyfish out of the sheep and into a bowl. The heart and the lungs looked like a facesucker from “Alien.” Then it was sewed right
back up and click, click went the flamethrower. Before my eyes, the sheep seemed to shrink -- a solid scorching. It was braised and cleaned thoroughly. Its tongue leering in a morbid rigor mortis. Every time the flame seared across the eyes, they would slowly close, as if the sheep was watching midnight infomercials and was fighting a losing battle with sleep. He would soon be counting himself. By the end, the sheep looked like a charcoal drawing of itself. Its legs frozen as if in midleap over a fence to freedom. But on its back, it looked sadly inevitable, like a dead cockroach. I must admit it smelled rather delicious. The ashes from the sheep rose up and rained down upon us. The butchering commenced. Every part of the sheep was partitioned and salted. I witnessed the entire process. From mewling in the trunk to butcher shop-window meat. I looked away for a moment and saw a doddering old man with his grandson on a tricycle. They were walking out into the cool, evening air. They could care less about sheep at the moment. And that day, Oslo bathed in blood. In our celebrations, no one mourns the sheep. Later, we arrived home and we watched our fish tank for awhile. It’s one of the past times I actually enjoy quite immensely. We watch and we let the fish’s obliviousness do the talking for us. Tommy Vinh Bui is a CSUN alumnus volunteering for the peace corps in Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda.
opinion@sundial.csun.edu
Question of the Day Kristina Sanborn / daily sundial Should health insurance companies provide no-cost birth control for its members? In August, Obama signed a new health care law that will require health insurance companies to offer oral contraception at no cost to their members starting January 2013. Birth control, according to the Obama administration, should be added to the list of women’s preventative care, which includes well-woman examinations, screening for gestational diabetes, HIV, and HPV, breastfeeding equipment, and domestic violence screening and counseling. What would be the long-term benefits of this regulation, or will it wound insurance companies so much they’ll have to increase premiums to recover costs from lost co-pays on birth control?
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Photo Courtesy of Tommy Vinh Bui
Beshbarmak is the national dish. In the corner you can see an entire sheep’s head. The head is distributed and eaten in a very specific sequence according to custom. The tongue is consumed for the gift of eloquence, and then the eyes are eaten for the gift of foresight, and then the brains for wisdom.
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Sports 7 October 12, 2011 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • sports@sundial.csun.edu
men's soccer
CSUN beats Cal Poly, back in first place anthony carpio daily sundial
B
ouncing back from a loss to UC Irvine on Saturday, the Matadors (6-5-1, 3-1 Big West) now find themselves tied for first place in the Big West Conference after a 2-0 victory over Cal Poly (5-5-2, 2-2) Tuesday night at Alex G. Spanos Stadium. “After the loss (to UC Irvine), all of us weren’t too happy, and we knew we had to come out and get three (Big West) points,” said midfielder Thomas Ramos, whose team is now leading the league standings with UCI. Forward Brian Behrad ensured the team’s victory with a goal in the 66th minute to put CSUN ahead 2-0. After attempting a shot, Behrad picked up a loose ball and went head to head with Mustang goalkeeper Patrick McLain. CSUN had the early lead when Ramos scored the first goal of the match, finding the back of the net in the seventh minute. Defender Nicholas Hamilton flicked the ball
past Mustang defenders and Ramos found himself in a one-on-one scenario against McLain. “We came out aggressive, and (Hamilton) played a good long ball to the top that I knew I could get to,” said Ramos, a sophomore. “Luckily, I got to the ball and put it away.” It was more than playing offense for the Matadors Tuesday night, CSUN assistant coach Peter Bomar said. “(It wasn’t) so much offense, I think it was more of playing our game,” Bomar said. “After Irvine, we had to reassess ourselves because we didn’t play well at all offensively. So I think we focused more on playing a little more simple.” With Tuesday’s win, Matador goalkeeper Michael Abalos picked up his fifth shutout of the season. Abalos racked up four saves in the match. Besides Ramos’ goal, the Matadors had three other shot attempts, finishing with four at the end of the first half. Garcia attempted the first shot of the game in the fourth minute of the game. Ramos and forward Christian Gon-
zalez Diaz had the other shot attempts. CSUN finished the match with 12 shots and six on goal. Cal Poly was just as offensively-minded as CSUN, tallying seven shots with two on goal in the first half, and ending with 17 shot and four on goal. Mustang defender Cameron Walters came close to finding the equalizer in the 29th minute, but his shot hit the crossbar. Then as the second half started, Mustang forward Kyle Montgomery came out shooting, with shot attempts in the 46th and 48th minutes of the game, but both shots sailed over the crossbar. Montgomery led Cal Poly with five shots, but with none landing on goal. Montgomery had another chance to score in the 62nd minute by way of a free kick. Unfortunately for the forward, the ball hit the post yet again. The Mustangs earned two yellow cards in the match, one in the first half to midfielder Chris Gaschen and another in the second half to forward Benny Estes. Behrad had the same idea
Andres Aguila / Daily Sundial
Midfielder Thomas Ramos, middle, scored the first of two Matador goals on Tuesday night.
in the second half, with shots in the 49th and 51st minutes, but both shots were saved by McLain. Ramos and Behrad had identical stats in the game, with four shots, three on goal,
and a goal apiece. According to Ramos, the team was operating more efficiently Tuesday in contrast than at UCI. “We were playing a lot better as a team than we did
over at Irvine,” Ramos said. “There were some moments where (Cal Poly) was on us, putting the ball in the box, but we stuck together and worked it out and didn’t give them any goals.”
FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 12, 2011
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
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ACROSS 1 Skips, as stones 5 __ jure: by the law itself 9 Ancient Briton 13 Catchall survey opción 14 Like a prof. emeritus: Abbr. 15 Raw fish dish 16 *Itching for a fight 18 From years past 19 Elephant in stories 20 Prints a new edition of 22 Suffix in taxonomy 23 *Steady guy or gal 26 Gathered together 27 Objective 28 “Cats” poet’s monogram 29 Up to, casually 30 Author Harte 32 “Let’s not” 34 Like law school courts 36 *Third base, in baseball lingo 40 Gumbo thickener 42 Quite small 43 “Oedipus Tex” composer P.D.Q. __ 47 “There’s no __ team” 48 Cat’s pajamas? 51 Man of the house 53 However, briefly 54 *Shower convenience 57 Suffix for velvet 58 Batman, for Bruce Wayne 59 Surprise hit, maybe 61 Threw verbal tomatoes 62 Football linemen, or an apt description of the last words of the answers to starred clues 65 Black hues, in poetry 66 Spread in a tub 67 Pierre’s South Dakota? 68 A whole bunch
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33 Question of method 35 Ball 37 Laced dress shoes 38 Start from scratch 39 Tide table term 40 1970 John Wayne western 41 Painting the town red 44 Eroded, as profits
10/12/11
45 11-Down flavor 46 Lincoln forte 47 Writer Allende 49 French 101 article 50 Convertible, in slang 52 Balance due, e.g. 55 Hammer parts 56 Churns up 60 Reader of signs 63 “Go figure” 64 Ad __ committee
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8
October 12, 2011
Sports
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Weekly Column
Playoffs need to be more fan-tastic MLB's regular season way too long, postseason needs to adopt more teams timeout with tacanga
alonso tacanga Sundial sports editor
T
he Tampa Bay Rays’ path into the 2011 MLB playoffs was one of the most exciting runs baseball fans ever witnessed. Erasing a nine-game deficit in the standings in less than a month to storm into the postseason, the Rays’ comeback won over haters while breaking the collapsing Red Sox fans’ hearts into pieces. A marathon of 162 games. A rally for the ages. The biggest storyline of the regular season fulfilled. But a couple days later, the Rays were gone, eliminated in four games by the Texas Rangers. Baseball is “America’s game.” What the MLB does, however, makes that description seem a bit anti-patriotic. The league puts teams and their fans through an amount of games that renders regular-season outcomes almost unimportant. Only the last month of it matters. And after all those countless (because fans don’t care to count
that high) nights of three-hour contests, the stakes shoot up astronomically. All of a sudden, teams have a week of life left. Why, baseball? Why? Purists will say the system is fine the way it is. People with more common sense will see the deficiencies of this scheme. Currently, only eight out of 30 teams make the postseason: three division winners plus a wildcard per league. Thanks to the MLB not having a salary cap, however, one of those playoff spots is practically always reserved for the New York Yankees. Another spot is also usually kept aside for whoever finishes second in the AL East. Since 2003, only once has a non-AL-East team won a wildcard spot: the 2006 Detroit Tigers. Granted, more often than not, the Yankees will choke and win nothing – like this year – but that’s not reason enough to not do something about these playoffs, because it takes too much to get there and too little to be out of them. It’s ridiculous. According to reports, the MLB has already decided to add an extra wildcard per league to the playoffs. The two wildcards would have a one-game playoff to determine which advances to its league’s division series. While that’s progress, that’s not enough. Making the playoffs to just be out in one game? This isn’t football. Each team plays 162 times, why must the playoffs be so difficult to get into and so easy to get out of? Maybe the problem lies in that length: 162 regular-season games?
Courtesy of MCT
The Rays got into the playoffs in the most amazing way possible, and were eliminated four games later.
It boggles the mind. What is the need for so many games? The first round of the playoffs is a best-offive series. They could have at least made it a best-of-seven. Poor Rays. But the best solution is to just add more teams. The expansion from four to five teams per league is a sign the MLB is heading in the right direction. But they’re still ways from the way it should be: that is, realignment to 15 teams per league and eight playoff teams per league. The case could be made for six teams making it and giving the top two seeds a bye, like in the NFL, but in a league that makes you play everyday, a week of rest could be disastrous for a team. If there’s going to be that many
games, most of those should matter. Chop the regular season a bit shorter, add an extra round of action. No one’s going to care about 20 regular-season games less. And the best part is that more teams will get a chance to be in the playoffs. Or are we that selfish that we don’t want to give other cities a chance for glory? Teams that deserved to be in there but didn’t make it, like the Angels, Giants, Braves and yes, even the Red Sox, will be assured to take part in the postseason. You shouldn’t have to win 100 games to make it and then be out in a week. There would be several financial, TV-deal obstacles to over-
spotlight
come before this could even begin to take shape, but it’s the only thing that makes sense when one actually sits down and thinks about it. The NBA has done it and its playoffs are one of the most looked forward to postseasons. While the Rays’ amazing regular-season knockout of the Red Sox happened in the current 162game format, such a feat can also be achieved in 140 games. It just wouldn’t have been the Rays doing it. Maybe it would have been the Dodgers and their second-half-ofthe-season resurgence doing it to someone else. Whoever it is, the concept remains: make the season matter more for everyone. Sorry, purists.
by Sundial Sports Desk @sundialsports57
What are the Matadors saying on the social network? 4-1 for first time since 2002! Alex Smith for president. @CoachTrutanic Coach Trutanic, women’s basketball 49ers r back! Oct. 9
Wonder what Matadors played on happy ride back from SLO. @JO3FRANCO Joe Franco, men’s soccer playing "would you rather" on the bus ride over here made it that much quicker #goodtimes Oct. 11
Sweet. @kpeas13 Kaitlyn Petersen, women’s basketball Time to get my season haircut!! #shorthairdontcare
And the Raiders did. R.I.P., Al Davis. @coachbbras Bobby Braswell, men’s basketball coach Just win baby!!!
Professors should cut the Matadors’ kill leader some slack, though. @HoniHina Mahina Haina, women’s volleyball Why? Do I do this to myself and leave homework until #sundaynight ! ?
I don’t know about at the NFL level, coach. We’ll see. @Jason_Flowers Jason Flowers, women’s basketball coach They can stop watching film cuz it doesn't always look pretty but @TimTebow is a winner. #CheckTheResume
We at @sundialsports57 jealous at mere sight of a bike. Walks to Redwood from Manzanita not the business. @T_Jacobs12 Thomas Jacobs, men’s basketball I'm legit jealous of all the people I see riding their bikes with no handle bars
Everyone should be allowed to be a big baby once in a blue moon. @Bconejo Bridgette Conejo, women's basketball such a baddd day. for real.. i just wanna b a big baby right now.. but i gotta man uppp
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