Social media backlash continued to mount in reaction to the death of Hoover High School student Rashid Al-Hakim Jr., with community members calling for a protest on campus.
In an apparent connection to the protest, on Monday university ofcials announced a oneday closure of the Fresno State art building. The decision was rescinded hours later.
The Hoover student, 15, was hit by a car on Oct. 4 outside the high school and died on Oct. 14. At an Oct. 20 Fresno City Council meeting, his mother, Ragina Bell, named a Fresno State graduate teaching assistant in the art department as the driver.
At the city council meeting, Tina Grifn, deputy city attorney of the City of Fresno, said that, because of the ongoing investigation, the name of the driver was not released publicly. However, the family is able to release any information it received and anything prohibited would have been redacted, she said.
After receiving a copy of the Fresno Police Department report, Bell named the driver in a public comment. In the aftermath, online posts trended across social media with the face and name of the individual that Bell named: Lisa Spoors.
Fresno Chief of Police Paco Balderrama said the family received the information the day before the meeting.
“It’s released to the people who requested [the public records act request]. That [driver] hasn’t been charged with the crime yet. Therefore, we’re limited on releasing it to the public,” Balderrama said during the council meeting.
On Oct. 22, Lauren Nickerson, associate vice president for University Communications, provided information regarding Spoors’ current status at Fresno State.
“Lisa Spoors was placed on investigatory leave pending further review by the university,” Nickerson said.
The university did not confrm whether or not Spoors was the driver involved in the incident, or whether the investigatory leave was due to any involvement with Al-Hakim Jr.’s death.
Nickerson said the university currently has no updates to provide.
Two days earlier, The Collegian contacted University Communications regarding whether or not Spoors was involved with the incident.
“Lisa Ellen Spoors has been employed as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Art and Design since fall 2021. We send our condolences to Rashad’s family for their tragic loss,” said Lisa Bell, Fresno State public information ofcer.
The Collegian tried to contact Spoors through her personal Instagram account;
however a response was not received by presstime.
Family and community members organized and promoted a protest calling for Spoors’ arrest. The protest was scheduled for noon Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the Phebe Conley Art Gallery.
However, on Sunday, a Facebook post on an organizer’s page noted that the protest was canceled. University ofcials were apparently unaware of that cancellation early Monday afternoon. The Department of Art and Design sent a 2 p.m. email to students in the department announcing that the Conley Art Building would be closed on Tuesday, the same day of the expected protest.
“The Art, Design and Art History Department and the Conley Art Building will be closed all day tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022,” students were told. “No classes will be held in the Conley Art Building… Please do not attempt to attend any classes in person within the Conley Art Building. If your class is held in another location, such as [in the] Music, IT or Education buildings you may still have an in
Several hours later, Lisa Bell told The Collegian the building will no longer be closed. She did not comment on the reasoning behind the initial closure or whether or not it was related to Spoors.
“In light of information received this afternoon, the Conley Art Building will not be closed tomorrow. We will monitor and support campus activities accordingly in the event a protest is held,” Lisa Bell said.
In an interview on Monday with The Collegian, Ragina Bell said the protest was canceled so the family can focus on upcoming funeral services for her son on Nov. 4.
“I was a part of [the protest]. But right now, I withdrew myself from it because I have a time limit to plan a funeral, and I just want to put my son to rest properly,” Ragina Bell said.
As of 10 p.m. Monday, art department students had not received an update on the closure.
During the Oct. 20 Fresno City Council meeting, Ragina Bell spoke to council members regarding the collision that killed her son.
Ragina Bell made a public comment while carrying a sign that said “Justice for Rashad Al-Hakim Jr.” She demanded the city council release the name of the driver.
“This accident happened on Oct. 4. My son’s information was released. He is a 15-yearold child. He’s a minor, yet his information is released yet [the driver’s] information was not released to the public,” Ragina Bell said in her public comment.
Ragina Bell has set up a GoFundMe for the burial costs. The funeral for Al-Hakim Jr. will be held on Nov. 4, at 11 a.m. at the Westside Church of God on 1422 W. California Ave.
Fresno State’s Associated Students Inc. (ASI) gathered for its second senator meeting of the semester on Oct. 19, discussing its newly approved stipend pay and practice locations for club sports.
Although there was heavy debate between both topics, no action was voted on for either club sports or senators pay because they were both discussion items.
ASI Sen. Aidan Garaygordobil, also speaking for ASI’s legal committee, began the meeting by proposing a change in the policy that would lower the required hours to fve per week for senators who waive their stipend,
cutting their required time in half.
According to Garaygordobil, senator for the College of Arts and Humanities and also a reporter for The Collegian, a $500 stipend will be paid twice a month to ASI senators unless they are out of town, gone for a prolonged period of time or have not completed 20 hours of work during their stipend period.
However, senators who have another
auxiliary job on campus also cannot get compensated by ASI.
Therefore, they have to either waive their stipend or no longer serve in the Senate.
“Essentially, senators [without pay] are still required to meet the same amount of hours as a
The nonproft newsroom Fresnoland invited the local community to discuss politics over Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co. during its “Ballots and Brews” event in Downtown Fresno on Oct. 18.
The all-ages event was previously held in 2020 but was put on hold in the following years due to COVID-19, according to Isabel SantosGonzalez, Fresnoland’s communications manager.
The return of the event packed the Lookout Room at Tioga-Sequoia, leaving many attendees standing in the outskirts of the room to listen to the panelists.
This year’s panelists, from community leaders and Fresno Council members, gathered to discuss local and state election topics, including the renewal proposal for Fresno County’s transportation sales tax, Measure C; a proposed countywide sales tax intended to improve Fresno State, Measure E; and the ethics of sports betting in propositions 26 and 27.
Fresnoland Executive Director Danielle Bergstrom moderated the event, asking questions to speakers Miguel Arias, Fresno’s District 3 council member; Neil Chase, CalMatters publisher; Veronica Garibay, cofounder of Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability; Aida Macedo, Fresno-based attorney and co-founder of Cid and Macedo, Inc.; and Clint Olivier, former Fresno City council member and executive director of Central Valley BizFed.
Bergstrom began by asking about the multiple tax measures on the ballot this year, particularly in the light of rising infation.
“Everybody knows infation is at a record high, and everybody anticipates a future recession. They all want to get the requests for more money before the economy takes a turn. The November ballot is that point in time,” Arias said.
Macedo agreed with Arias, saying the ballot doesn’t factor in the infation currently afecting people with low incomes.
“Communities are really struggling to pay for everyday expenses,” Macedo said. “I think that having these ballot measures is not necessarily taking into account how the communities are hurting and the lack of oversight for these taxes.”
Arias said that having multiple tax measures on the ballot may discourage voters from voting
yes on any of them, noting he himself intends to vote no on most. He also pointed out that even as a member of the Fresno State Alumni Board, he intends to vote no on Measure E.
“One person has put in [a million] to fund the Fresno State tax [Measure E]. That person happens to be a construction company owner that anticipates getting the construction contracts awarded to them,” Arias said.
Garibay transitioned the conversation to Measure C, which she argued community members were not involved enough in the process of creating the measure.
“How many of you in this room knew there were hand-picked committee members that were going to guide the renewal measures of Measure C in 2021? Nobody,” Garibay said.
She said that the 30-year renewal proposal failed to include the community despite directly impacting residents.
According to Garibay, Measure C’s vast coverage makes it an “access to opportunity” issue, impacting how Fresno County residents can navigate their city for work, school and more.
“You’re all voting in the election because we know how important it is for our democracy and for our community. But you all didn’t know and didn’t participate [in Measure C] because
you weren’t invited into a space to decide how we should spend $7 billion that can be leveraged in multiple ways for state and federal funding,” she said.
The speakers then discussed online and inperson sports gambling in California.
Chase said opponents of propositions 26 and 27 are concerned about gambling addictions while proponents hope the taxes raised by the propositions can fund the homelessness crisis.
“What’s really mind-blowing about this proposition is the amount of money [being spent on it]. $400 million. You’ve seen it. The real lesson here is next election, own a TV station,” Chase said.
Chase criticized the amount of money in political ads for these propositions because the money could’ve been used for the same causes it claims to support, like homelessness.
The speakers also discussed the accessibility of the ballot and voters’ levels of engagement.
“I think as a news rights advocate, I think [the ballot] is very confusing for voters. Miguel and I were joking about how some of the ballot measures take up 20 pages in the sample ballot,” Macedo said.
Macedo argued that there’s not enough “safeguards and education” for voters to make informed decisions, leading to community
organizers taking up the responsibility to conduct community outreach.
Olivier argued that these issues may stem from the lack of interest in voting among constituents.
“When I ran for city council, out of 100 eligible voters in District 7, 50 were registered to vote. Of the 50 who bothered to register to vote, 10 voted in the election that sent me to City Hall. Of those 10, six voted for me… Am I simply there because nobody cared enough to vote?” Olivier said.
However, many of the other speakers like Garibay and Arias disagreed with Oliver, saying it’s unfair to blame the voters. Despite the consensus agreement for many of these measures, the speakers did spend the remainder of its time debating opposing views like these.
The event concluded with speakers answering questions from the crowd while attendees were given information and stickers.
Those who missed the event can watch the recording on CMAC and YouTube.
Front Cover — Graphic by Wyatt BibleIn September, former Fresno State president Joseph Castro utilized his retreat rights power as former California State University (CSU) chancellor to become a tenured professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo next year.
Retreat rights are contractual guarantees within a CSU administrators’ contract for former faculty who gave up tenure for a higher position. If an administrator wanted to return to a teaching position, it’d be an executive right to retreat as a tenured professor.
Despite the CSU Board of Trustees’ announcement to investigate retreat rights in March, the California Faculty Association (CFA) has called for reform on executive perks, according to Fresno State professor Diane Blair.
“That includes what we think is sort of a mislabeling of retreat rights that allows executives like Castro to retreat into the classroom,” Blair said.
CSU has not made it clear to CFA if any changes have been made, she added.
Blair is the CFA secretary, which is a statewide ofcer position. CFA is the union for professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches on the 23 CSU campuses.
The union has been calling for reform because Castro was never a professor, never taught at Cal Poly and resigned because he mishandled Title IX cases, Blair said. She believes this should not qualify him to use his retreat rights.
“His executive perks basically are allowing him, after he had to resign in disgrace, to go and be a fully tenured professor at a CSU institution that he’s never worked at before; in a college and a department that he’s never worked in before,” Blair said. “Where he will be a professor of leadership and public policy, a position he’s never held before. So how [does] this qualify as a retreat right? Doesn’t make any sense to me.”
She also said that this is a larger problem in the CSU system because executives can misuse these perks, and it shows a lack of accountability for people in higher positions.
This is also why other Fresno State professors like Kenneth N. Hansen said he wasn’t surprised when he heard the news about Cal Poly.
“Somebody who’s never gone up for tenure,
who doesn’t have much teaching experience. All of a sudden, they get this cushy job afterward? That is a little problematic,” Hansen said.
Hansen said he’d have no problem if an administrator like the current Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval used retreat rights because he was a former professor.
Retreat rights were initially intended for faculty who followed the tenure track to move up in their career in administration, like a dean, according to Blair.
Hansen used Jiménez-Sandoval as an example because he was a tenured professor who moved up to dean, then provost and fnally president.
Other Fresno State professors, like Thomas Holyoke, agreed with Hansen and weren’t surprised by the news. However, Holyoke said he was irritated Castro would be teaching a subject regarding ethics in policy after he supported “another administrator who seems to have had no ethics at all,” referring to Frank Lamas.
Retreat rights are negotiable, so it had to be approved by former CSU chancellor Timothy White and the CSU Board of Trustees, despite Castro never teaching in the CSU system.
Blair said Castro’s retreat rights were “misappropriated” and used as an “incentive to hire executives.” because he never taught in the CSU system or followed that tenure track.
“It’s demoralizing… I think it’s very
demoralizing to faculty who feel like there is no accountability for executives in positions of power in the CSU right now,” she said.
Other faculty like Hansen and Holyoke said it would’ve made more sense if Castro retreated to a lesser position within the CSU or returned to a student service position because his background is solely in administration.
“It’s clear that… the CSU Board of Trustees has basically been generating these sort of ‘sweetheart deals’ for executives for years. In some cases, they are allowed, when they retire or resign, to become a consultant at our
universities. And they get paid an exorbitant salary,” Blair said.
Blair used former Fresno State president John D. Welty as an example, who took a similar position after his presidency, making over $100,000 after retiring according to her. She said this is another reason reform needs to happen because CSU pays millions of dollars to executives after they resign or retire.
One of the policy changes that should be made is no tenured professor position for an executive who did not do their job well or resigned because of a controversy like Castro, Blair said. She also added that there shouldn’t be these other guarantees in their contracts and instead need to be held at some ethical standard.
Hansen shared similar sentiments with Blair.
“I think if someone is dismissed for cause, then they probably should not have retreat rights… If they abuse their power, or if they refuse to faithfully carry out their duties and allow people to engage in bad behavior and even break the law, which is what Frank Lamas was accused of doing, then I don’t think there should be a cushy job afterward,” he said.
CFA is currently working with the Cal Poly chapter, hearing faculty’s concerns with the Castro decision, Blair said. They had no input on whether or not Castro should join, she said.
“This is a very common practice in the CSU. Even in cases where presidents or chancellors have had to resign because of inappropriate behavior or mishandling of situations, they still get as a part of their contracts these sorts of payouts, so it’s not just Castro. It’s a larger problem,” she said.
Fresno State’s boilers, which are responsible for providing heat and water for the campus buildings, will not be turned on until Nov. 7, 2022, according to Tinnah Medina, associate vice president for Facilities Management.
To support the construction of the Central Utility Plant Replacement (CUPR) Project, turning of the boilers will allow more time for contractors to fnish one phase of the project.
As the winter season looms in the Valley, students and faculty members are encouraged
to prepare for cooler temperatures in campus buildings until the boilers are back up and running.
“It would be best to prepare to bring a sweater appropriate to the changing weather and temperatures,” Medina said.
In partnership with Fresno State and the Bulldog Infrastructure Group (BIG), CUPR Project will update and support the campus central utility infrastructure system to improve energy efciency on campus.
Students, staf and faculty can contact Facilities Management at (559) 278-2373 with more questions or concerns.
ASI Sen. David Klein disagreed.
requirement of a senator that is paid…The legal committee believes this is no longer equitable,” Garaygordobil said.
Since some senators are not able to accept the money because they are working another job, Garaygordobil believes this to be unfair.
Currently, ASI senators must work 10 hours a week whether or not they are able to get paid.
“This would cut down the amount of work they put in drastically while still giving a moderate amount of time for them,” Garaygordobil said.
Karen Carrillo, ASI executive vice president who also serves on the legal committee, said it will give senators, who are also students, the opportunity to work for ASI and focus on their own fnancial responsibilities that pay their bills.
Other senators like Megan Torres agreed with Carrillo and Garaygordobil that fve hours is reasonable and supported the policy change.
“I hate to put ASI in a bad light like that, but there very much are senators who will do the bare minimum and this is going to enable that even further,” he said.
He said while it makes it more equitable for the senators, it makes it less so for the students who want to communicate with ASI.
“If you can’t fulfll the minimum hours, then I believe there are students out there who can and who would see this as a privilege to serve those required hours,” Klein said.
Carrillo disagreed with Klein’s sentiments and said the hours assigned doesn’t account for the impact a senator can make to students. It’s possible ASI senators can create the same or more impact with less hours, she said.
“At the end of the day, you guys were voted in here because you were trusted by your student body to serve your constituents the best way you guys believe… you’re capable of doing. So I trust my senators can create great impact in fve hours,” Carrillo said.
With time ending for that discussion item, ASI moved on to the next item and talked about club sports. The senate gave the foor to Chetna Kumar-Naicker, a player for the women’s rugby team.
Kumar-Naicker said both rugby teams, men’s and women’s, are struggling to fnd a feld. The team is currently practicing at Vinland Park at Gettysburg Avenue, which KumarNaicker said has poor, unsafe conditions for players.
Last year, the men’s rugby team sufered the same issues with players getting their cars broken into.
The team was permitted to use the kinesiology feld with lights by the Fresno State Police Department because of those issues, but according to Kumar-Naicker, they are no longer doing so.
Ortiz said the rugby teams received “a really terrible contract” from Fresno State for this year, and one reason is because they can no longer practice on the kinesiology feld.
“It got overturned. Now, they can no longer do any of those things on that feld. They can only hold tournaments or games on the weekends if no one has booked it,” he said.
Other organizations like intramural sports have priority over club sports, Ortiz noted, so he said this is an issue for all club sports.
Ortiz also said Vinland Park has cigarette butts on the feld, unhoused people and recently had a shooting there, so it is a liability to Fresno State if a player gets injured.
Rugby is proposing a minimum of four hours per week to practice on the kinesiology feld. According to Ortiz, the main problem is not money but scheduling the competing time with intramural sports.
Ortiz is also working with Head Coach Jef Tedford and the Athletics Department to determine if the old lacrosse feld is also an option.
Kumar-Naicker said as a student who pays tuition, she feels she has the right to play on those felds.
On Oct. 10, Fresno State’s annual event Take Back the Night brought over 100 students, staf and faculty members together to raise awareness regarding domestic violence and sexual assault.
The event coincided with Wear Purple Day, in which students were encouraged to wear purple to support domestic violence survivors and raise awareness by posting on social media.
Both events were part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM).
The Women’s Alliance club and the CrossCultural and Gender Center (CCGC) facilitated the events.
Attendees marched from the University Student Union (USU) to the Peace Gardens as the culmination of the event, carrying lit candles and shouting “Break the silence, end the violence, take a stand against domestic violence!”
Mindy Kates, Fresno State’s survivor advocate, emphasized that Take Back the Night is intended to raise awareness and spread support for survivors of any interpersonal violence, including sexual assault or domestic violence.
“[This event is] to show our support and take back our campus. It’s also to say that we want a safe environment for our college campus,” Kates said.
Each year the event has a diferent theme,
and this year’s was uplifting the voices of LGBTQ+ survivors.
Prior to the march, students were able to visit a resource fair where organizations such as the Marjaree Mason Center, Fresno County’s Victims of Crimes Services, Centro La Familia and Project Hope tabled to distribute information.
Students gathering around were given
white fowers and purple ribbons with safety pins featuring afrmations such as “You are brave.”
The Raging Grannies, an activist group composed of older women who sing songs promoting social justice and peace, performed for the crowd with songs focused on women’s issues.
Rosio Léon Velasco-Stoll, the founder and president of The Fresno Spectrum Center, provided an emotional testimony before guiding students, faculty and staf through breathing exercises to ground those who may have shared a similar story.
Many attendees show up to Take Back the Night each year, but for some students, like sophomore food and nutrition science major Martha Morales, it was a new experience
“It caught my eye because my mom was a victim of domestic violence, and I wanted to be here to support and encourage others to come,” Morales said. “I came to learn more and to just be present.”
The event also gave attendees the option to come up to the podium to share their own experiences with domestic violence, leaving many in the crowd tearful and inspired.
“People can come and speak their truth out loud and really feel as a community that we are being supportive and that their voices are being heard,” Kates said.
After an hour of sharing accounts of abuse and resilience, those who shared and those who didn’t were honored with a medallion to recognize all who break the silence regardless of how they do so.
For those who know someone who is experiencing any form of interpersonal violence, Kates recommends using resources like the Rainn Network, which incorporates the acronym T.A.L.K., to reach out.
“Talk pledge” encourages individuals to pledge to use T.A.L.K. to thank someone who opens up for telling you, ask how you can help, listen without judgment and keep supporting people.
“
People can come and speak their truth out loud and really feel as a community that we are being supportive and that their voices are being heard.
— Mindy Kates, Fresno State survivor advocate
Halloween may be on a Monday this year, but there’ll be events all week on campus and of for students to celebrate.
Spotlight Events will be hosting one spooky and one “not so spooky” event this week. The group will transform the Satellite Student Union (SSU) lawn into “The Carnival of Nightmares” on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 7 to 10 p.m.
Students are encouraged to wear costumes for this event, which will feature free food, live music, competitions and attractions throughout the night.
On Halloween, Spotlight Events will present the “Not So Spooky Scavenger Hunt” around the University Student Union (USU) and Resnick Student Union (RSU) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Students looking for a nearby pumpkin patch only need to travel a few blocks from campus to Planet Pumpkin, located on Nees Avenue and First Street.
Planet Pumpkin opens annually to sell homegrown pumpkins, squashes and gourds
to visitors, while also featuring carnival rides, food trucks and photo opportunities.
Ghost Golf, located on Shaw and Blackstone avenues, ofers family friendly indoor mini golf with a haunted theme all year round.
Admission will cost $14 for kids 10 and under, and $16 for kids 11 and older and adults. It includes 18 rounds of mini golf, unlimited play in the mummy shooting gallery and free play on video games.
The Chafee Zoo is bringing back its annual ZooBoo celebration, which encourages guests to come in family-friendly costumes to view over 1,000 pumpkins with unique patterns and personalities and take part in pumpkin hand carving demos, magic shows, live entertainment and “more candy than ever,” according to its website.
There are three ZooBoo dates left from Oct. 27 through Oct. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $22 for adults or $20 for children, with further discounts available for zoo members.
For those willing to travel a little for their scares, Raisin Hell Ranch in Madera is open now through Halloween with the “Deadwood Cornfeld” and “Sinister Cornfeld.”
“Deadwood” features a macabre take on the wild west while “Sinister” takes visitors through the Raisin Hell Hotel, which features “the desolate domain of psychotic freaks and depraved maniacs that are not very welcoming to visitors,” according to its website.
Gates open at 7 p.m. each night, with ticket booths closing at 10 p.m. Ticket prices start at $15 for one attraction or $25 for both at raisinhellranch.com.
Hobb’s Grove in Sanger is back as well, featuring a haunted forest, house and hayride. In between attractions guests can linger in the Midway, which features food, photo
opportunities, merch, vendors and warming fre pits with “Kookie Karacters” to interact with.
Parking and concessions open at 6 p.m. and attractions begin after dark. Ticket prices start at $18.50 for the hayride and vary depending on additional attractions and dates selected at hobbsgrove.com.
With Halloween inching closer, The Collegian reached out to students about their spooky experiences on campus.
The multiple replies received through social media revealed that, for many students, the creepiest spots on campus are bathrooms in buildings that seldom receive a lot of attention. Several replies emphasized the Family and Food Science’s third-foor bathroom and the Speech Arts bathroom, for example.
Sabrina Ramirez, a senior and actor in the upcoming “Misery” production, also shared that she believes the downstairs bathroom in the Social Science Building is a hot spot for ghastly activity, specifcally noting “the third stall [is] hella creepy.”
Naturally, The Collegian investigated these
spots to see if they truly are as spine-chilling as students say. This is what we found.
The bathroom located at the top food of the Family and Food Science building sits in a dark corner atop a dimly lit stairwell. The only sound comes from the ventilation system’s hum that permeates the building walls. Within the bathroom, however, the sound stops, with a single lightbulb illuminating the room. Though no footsteps were heard, nor any apparitions seen, there was a feeling of eeriness.
Bizarrely, not a single person was on this foor at the time The Collegian investigated the bathroom. The long hallway between both ends of the building is flled with classrooms and ofces, however, there was not a soul in any of them – at least, not any living ones.
Near the entrance of The Collegian’s ofce rest two small bathrooms in a narrow hallway, which seems to suspiciously never have any lights on.
Once inside, the sound of students’ footsteps and conversations penetrated the walls. However, once the buzz of activity was noted, all sounds stopped. What was left was only the buzz of the lights overhead and a chilling puddle of water from a fooded stall.
A horrifying roar suddenly enveloped the bathroom, and the frightful sound of the building’s old water pipes would cause even the most courageous Bulldog to shudder in fear.
Although no supernatural phenomena were recorded, this does not detract from the bathroom’s frighteningly poor plumbing.
This bathroom was remarkable in that it was in an even narrower hallway than the last. Even more terrifying was how big and bright it was, leaving almost no shadows for any creepy fends to hide in. After checking the third stall, it was confrmed that no otherworldly beings were haunting the bathroom
Despite widespread student concerns about these creepy bathrooms, it seems the ghosts and ghouls are taking a break this Halloween season.
In our investigation, The Collegian was not able to capture any sounds, apparitions or unexplained phenomena within any of the locations. However, our camera equipment did malfunction, causing our audio to fail and corrupting our footage.
Perhaps the spirits are waiting until Halloween to truly petrify students.
By Diego Vargas A&E Editor
Stephen King’s “Misery” will be the University Theatre’s second production of the 2022-23 season.
The screenplay, written by William Goldman, is based on King’s novel of the same name and was made even more famous by the 1990 flm starring Kathy Bates. Fresno State’s take, directed by Thomas-Whit Ellis, will be a Fresno premiere that kicks of on Oct. 28 and runs through Nov. 5.
The play revolves around a romance author, Paul Sheldon, who gets into a car accident and wakes to fnd himself in the care and at the mercy of a volatile woman who kidnapped and trapped him in her property.
Stephen Cloud, who will be portraying Sheldon, shared his excitement for the opportunity to work with Ellis.
“I was a former student who always kept in touch. It’s an honor to return. It brings back a lot of fun memories,” Cloud said. “He’s an amazing director. He’s got an eye for movement and he’s cinematic in the way he moves actors.”
Fresno State brought Cloud in as a guest artist.
Cloud, who was formerly on “Days of Our Lives” on NBC and worked with actors like Michael Madsen, talked about sharing his experience with the younger cast members.
“When you’re dealing with other artists, everyone’s trying to fnd their own path to get there. You might know how to get there
quicker, but you have to do it while they fnd their own way,” Cloud said.
The cast also includes Bethany Rand, who will play the role of Annie Wilkes.
Sabrina Ramirez, a senior at Fresno State,
will make her acting debut in this production as Buster, a sherif of Sidewinder, Colorado, where the story takes place.
“I’m really excited, honestly,” Ramirez said. “I didn’t think it was gonna be this demanding because I am a third character.”
Ramirez also talked about the difculties of juggling her three jobs along with school and acting. Recently, she had to put in her two-weeks notice at one job in order to make time to prepare for the play.
“I have a total of three jobs and I’m a full time student. I probably get about three hours of sleep,” Ramirez said. “My opening night will be my last day at Starbucks, which I think will give me some time to breathe and then go forth with the shows and not be so exhausted.”
She said she is particularly excited to fnally be able to act onstage and use props to bring her character to life.
“I’m like a backroom person. I do a lot of designing [and now] I have knee pads. I’m gonna hit hard on the ground,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez shared the same sentiment as Cloud regarding Ellis’ eye for actors and movement. She expressed her hopes
to audition for Ellis’ flm class for her last semester.
In an interview with the College of Arts and Humanities blog regarding the production of “Misery,” Ellis emphasized his excitement to direct this production.
“I jumped at the chance to do one of [Stephen King’s] most iconic works set to stage,” Ellis said. “The production provides unique and engaging opportunities for our student actors, designers and stage managers. As an added bonus, this production falls right in the middle of the Halloween season, a perfect time for this thrilling play from the master of horror himself.”
Tickets are available online at the Department of Theatre and Dance’s website. Tickets are $17 for general admission, $15 for faculty, staf, seniors, military and alumni and $10 for students. Tickets are also available at the ticket booth in the Speech Arts Building.
Audiences are advised to take note that the production will include fashing lights, haze, and use prop blood and prop frearms. Due to its gory content, no one under the age of 13 will be admitted into the production.
By Ashley Flowers Managing Editor
Glass didn’t break by itself and injure a mother and her daughter at the homecoming football game on Oct. 15. A graduate assistant coach committed the act by lashing out in anger at his surroundings when a play didn’t go his way.
However, much of the attention in the aftermath of the event has been on the glass itself rather than the history of violent incidents involving Fresno State football.
The Fresno Bee reported days after the game, on Oct. 17, that Fresno State was obtaining quotes to replace the windows in the press box with safety tempered glass.
Fresno State football Head Coach Jef Tedford told ABC30 that the incident “could happen to anyone.”
“I did hear that one of our [graduate assistants] got frustrated and hit the window and it broke. Obviously [he] wasn’t expecting it to break, which is very unfortunate. A learning lesson for everyone because it could happen to anyone. It could happen to the opposing team’s booth,” he said.
While Tedford’s comment takes some accountability moving forward, the suggestion that it’s a mere accident rather than an inappropriate act of anger is disappointing to hear from the man leading our football team. Realistically, it’s not something that “could happen to anyone.”
If a reporter in the press box or a frenzied fan or family member hit a glass window hard enough to shatter it, they’d likely be banned. It’s something that would normally land a regular person with charges, especially if people were sent to a hospital.
Instead, because it’s a coaching staf member, Fresno State continues to refuse to name the individual who actually broke the glass or acknowledge the unnecessary anger
In doing so, an adult who evidently lashes out when things don’t go their way is protected by the university rather than fully ousted from a position of infuencing and guiding our student-athletes.
While the glass-breaking incident has landed Fresno State in hot water in publications such as USA Today and Sports Illustrated, it’s hardly the frst time Fresno State football has been the source of harm.
Instead, it’s the frst time people are beginning to notice.
Physical violence is hardly uncommon at Valley Children’s Stadium. A fght in the aftermath of the glass-breaking incident last week was widely circulated on Twitter, but most fans can tell you they’ve seen a fght at nearly every game.
One of the most violent games was on
Nov. 6, 2021, against Boise State, during which the Fresno Bee reported that multiple fghts broke out, including one that involved at least 10 people and led to arrests and injuries.
One attendee interviewed at the time, Armando Gonzalez, described it as chaos and said innocent bystanders were pulled into the fray.
“I was really concerned for the safety of the kids, the people who’d come to the game with children and the elderly. They were trying to get out of the way of the fghting,” he said.
And it’s not just physical violence. The student-athletes on the feld – emphasis on students – are used to being called derogatory names and slurs by the Red Wave the second they slip up.
Star quarterback Jake Haener’s brief
foray into the transfer portal was met with immediate backlash, prompting him to make a public apology to the fans who had just slammed him online and even hung a sheet at the practice feld that read “Haener is a traitor.”
Kicker Abraham Montaño faced intense criticism following the Oregon State game. He went 4 for 6 in feld goals and 2 for 3 in PATs.
If Montaño had made those kicks, the Bulldogs would’ve been ahead of Oregon State. Instead, the Beavers walked it of against Fresno State.
One reporter from The Collegian overheard Montaño being called slurs by fans in the stadium during the game, and a quick Twitter search for his name afterwards yielded a stream of insults directed at him.
Again, these are Fresno State students. But that’s not enough to protect them from the vitriol.
Fresno State football is not safe. It’s not safe to attend a game, where you might get caught up in a nearby fght or be cut by glass broken thanks to an angry coach’s tantrum. It’s not safe to play the game, when even of the feld student-athletes are facing slurs and threats.
How many more incidents is it going to take until Fresno State takes action?
It’s clear that injuries aren’t enough. There have been plenty over the years with little done in response. Apparently incidents of bullying and harassment aren’t enough either.
What will it take for Fresno State to stop blaming everything else – the heat of the game, the sale of alcohol, the outdated glass, the passion of the Red Wave – for violent, cruel actions?
What will it take to stop blaming glass for breaking and start blaming the person who broke it instead?
The Collegian is a student-run publication that serves the Fresno State community. Views expressed in The Collegian do not necessarily refect the views of the staff or university
The Collegian
State University, Fresno 5201 N. Maple Ave., M/S SA42 Fresno, CA 93740-8027
News Line: (559) 278-5732 Business Line: (559) 278-5735 Advertising Line: (559) 278-8179
The Collegian carries four different ethnic supplements inserted several times throughout each semester into its print publication. Each supplement is produced by its own staff and advisers and is separate from The Collegian.
The news stories or opinions in the supplements do not refect those of The Collegian.
Fresno State traveled to Albuquerque to take on the University of New Mexico this past weekend, resulting in a dominating 41-9 win. This is the frst win on the road for the ‘Dogs and their second Mountain West (MW) conference win.
The matchup against the Lobos allowed the Bulldogs’ ofense to show what the Red Wave has been anticipating all season. They went up against one of the top defensive groups in the MW, putting up 510 yards total against the Lobos.
“That was the second-best defense in the conference against a rush, and our guys did a nice job controlling the football,” said Fresno State Head Coach Jef Tedford.
Some Bulldogs from the ofensive line led the way for the fnal outcome.
Bulldog quarterback Logan Fife threw
225 yards, one pass touchdown and two rushing scores. Receiver Jalen MorenoCropper and running back Jordan Mims both were key assets for the team on Saturday. Moreno-Cropper totaled 158 receiving yards and Mims led in total rushing yards with 165.
“Mims ran really hard, and I thought he showed good vision to bounce it outside a couple of times for some big plays, especially the last touchdown,” Tedford said.
He highlighted the balanced attack between the passing and running game for the Bulldogs, and how the ofensive line “did their job” to make that happen. Fife agreed with Tedford about the ofensive line.
“It all started up front. Those linemen are consistent the whole game, and I don’t think any of that’s possible without those guys in. It allowed everyone to kind of get into a groove and we’re kind of able to play the ofense that we know that we can play,” Fife said.
This is Fife’s ffth game as a starter this
The Fresno State’s women’s basketball team welcomed the community to the North Gym on Sunday to introduce themselves over ice cream as the team prepares for its upcoming season.
In addition to the ice cream courtesy of Gibson Farm Market, fans were able to play a selection of games, including cornhole, Connect Four and Jenga.
There were also small basketball hoops for kids to play with, and a visit from Fresno State’s live mascot, Victor E. Bulldog III.
To close out the event, Head Coach Jaime White and her players stood in front of the crowd and introduced themselves.
This was the frst opportunity for several players to interact with and meet the fans.
The Bulldogs will have eight new players on their roster this season, including four
who are coming to Fresno State from another country.
During this time, fans were able to ask questions to the players and coaches.
When one fan asked how far the team was going this season, the players answered, “We’re going all the way.”
With this years team including a lot of new faces, coach White concluded by noting that while her team may lack experience, the players are putting in a lot of efort before the season starts.
“We are a little bit young… But we are committed to being competitive this year,” White said.
Fan will have a chance to see the Bulldogs kick of their season next month in their exhibition game against San Francisco State.
After its fnal exhibition game against San Francisco State on Nov. 4, Fresno State will tip of its season against Fresno Pacifc on Nov. 7 at the Save Mart Center.
season after Jake Haener’s injury against USC, and Tedford noted how comfortable Fife looks on the feld as he runs the ofense. Despite throwing a pass that got intercepted, Fife set a career high when he snuck to score a 30-yard touchdown run.
Another highlight was Fife’s 75-yard touchdown pass to Moreno-Cropper in the second half. Tedford said he thought the pass was overthrown, but Moreno-Cropper was able to reach the pass putting it in the end zone.
Fife praised his teammate MorenoCropper’s performance in the game against the Lobos, his performance was what the Red Wave had been waiting for, said Fife.
“It felt like we saw the old Crop out there. Let the guy work in space and being able to hit him down the feld is a good feeling,” Fife said.
The Bulldogs are back at home on Oct. 29 to take on San Diego State at Valley Children’s
David Perales has made his way up in the month of October. Last week, Perales’ performance in the homecoming game against San José State led him to be named the defensive player of the week for the Mountain West Conference.
This season, Perales leads the team with eight tackles for a loss (TFL) and 6.5 sacks. In his Fresno State career, Perales has 17.5 sacks and is one sack away from breaking the Top 10 in Bulldog Football program history for career sacks.
Perales fnished the game against the Spartans with fve tackles that were all for a loss and four sacks. With this new career high, he currently has the most sacks in a game by any MW player this season.
He now holds the second-most in a game among all Fresno State football players this season.
By Alexis Castellanos Reporter
The Morse Wittwer Sports Performance Center ofcially opened its doors on Sept. 22 with a celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The 6,000-square-foot facility is the new home for Fresno State athletes and features 12 platforms, a large turf area and iPads with ad vanced technology to track the performance of student-athletes throughout their workouts.
The noteworthy project was made possible through a donation provided by Chris and Mi chelle Morse and Ken and Kristi Wittwer.
“The fnances are pretty simple with this one. The project cost $500,000, made up of fooring, weight equipment, branding, etc. and was funded by a $500,000 donation from the Morse and Wittwer families,” said Frank Pu cher, senior associate athletics director.
Space for new buildings is scarce at Fresno State, so the new facility repurposes an area in the North Gym where the swimming pool was previously located.
“We’re so proud of that facility and we’re really thankful for our administration because you know how it is here. Space is so import ant,” Fresno State Athletic Director Terry Tu mey told The Collegian.
“We don’t have a lot of buildings here, so being able to convert that back to a perfor mance center means the world to us.”
Much like Tumey, Bulldog athletes, coach es and staf are thrilled for the introduction of a second training room. Prior to the invest ment, all 17 athletic programs shared a single weight room located near the Duncan Build ing.
Coaches are especially pleased by one key aspect the new building ofers: fexibility.
As a result of the limited space the athletic programs previously had, there were often is sues with scheduling.
It created a bottleneck efect in which teams couldn’t practice at ideal times because other teams had to use the facility as well.
With the addition of a second weight room, there is now fexibility for coaches to take ad vantage of when scheduling practices.
“The new space allows teams where may be we weren’t training at the exact time we wanted because of scheduling, it takes that away and lets us have a little more fexibili ty in our schedule when we lift,” said Fresno State track and feld Head Coach Jason Drake. “The thing is simply when you look at all the teams we have, trying to schedule everyone in the weight room, it just opens up whole new options because you’ve basically doubled your space.”
The additional space not only creates scheduling fexibility, but it also saves time when it comes to getting into the weight room itself.
The old weight room required athletes to cross North Cedar Avenue to reach the Dun can Building, which is a 10-15 minute walk from the North Gym.
The new weight room cuts out the lag time from locker room to weight room completely, making it a seamless transition.
“Well, it’s amazing,” said swim and dive Head Coach Jeanne Fleck. “It’ll cut of 24 minutes of their time for their day. We would go over to the weight room on the other side, so we’re going to get an extra half an hour of training in that we never got in before. It’s wonderful.”
In-season athletes are allowed a maximum of 20 hours of practice per week.
Time is valuable, so the efciency of going from practice to weight room is a much wel comed change for all coaches and athletes.
“My group, the cross country group, would get on their scooters and hurry up and scoot over to the other side and just wouldn’t have much time. The ease of going from practice to lift is really nice,” Drake said.
As many Fresno State programs look ahead to the start of their respective seasons, they will be looking to convert that investment in the program into results in the win column.
Over one week following Fresno State’s homecoming game against San José State, the Spartans are mourning the loss of a team member.
Camdan McWright was a freshman on the Spartan football team. He would have turned 19 in December.
On Friday morning, McWright was on his way to school riding an electric scooter when he was struck by a San José Unifed School
District bus carrying 14 students.
California Highway Patrol ofcer Ross Lee told Bay Area News Group that McWright was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lee said the bus was traveling eastbound while McWright traveled northbound two blocks away from the campus. The collision was reported at 6:51 a.m.
SJSU administration informed students regarding the accident. President Steve Perez shared his condolences.
“The loss of our student is heartbreaking and devastating for our San José State community. We grieve for Camdan, his family,
friends, teammates and the Spartan family. We grieve together and will provide all of the support that Camdan’s family, our students and our football program require to help move through this tragic time,” Perez said.
San José State Football Head Coach Brent Brennan noted the athlete’s bright future and the personality he brought to the team.
“We lost an amazing young man tragically this morning. Camdan had a bright future ahead of him and everyone in this community that had the opportunity to spend time with him knew that,” Brennan said. “We are still trying to deal with the news of this tragedy,
and appreciate everyone’s support during these difcult times. ”
McWright was from Pacoima, California and graduated from St. Genevieve High School. This was his frst season playing with the Spartans and appeared in only one game this season against University of Las Vegas on Oct. 7, 2022.
The Spartans postponed their game this past Saturday and held a vigil to commemorate McWright.
“We will never forget you 6,” said the San José State football account on Instagram.
Denise Dy is paving the way for many Asian American coaches and players in the collegiate feld.
Preserving culture is something Dy said she strives for in her team.
“I feel that one of the things that really comes down behind our success is that openmindedness and in terms of what everybody can do, and basically what our strengths can add into the group,” she said.
Particularly as a Filipino coach and tennis player, Dy’s has worked to become a role model for other Asian Americans within the industry.
“I think, obviously, having Asian American role models is really tough. It’s almost like we are the frst,” she said. “We have to kind of make our own path if for lack of a better word and I think that but at the same time that comes with a good challenge, and I also think that it gives other people some eyes to kind of understand that.”
In her own career, Dy is no stranger to being in the spotlight.
In her frst stint as Fresno State’s head coach, she led her team to an undefeated 2022 Mountain West (MW) spring season. She was then named MW Coach of the Year.
Despite her early success in her coaching career, her passion for tennis and cultural
“They’re really serious with school. They didn’t really take sports very seriously. They’re like, ‘It’s not a job.’ I think that was one of the biggest things growing up,” she said.
Dy’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines around the late 1970s and early 1980s to San Jose, where she was born and raised. Her passion for tennis began early after her uncle introduced her to the sport when she was 9 years old.
“I loved the strategy aspect of tennis when I was younger [with moving] and being able to be a little bit more active,” she said.
This passion for tennis fueled Dy’s goal to play in a junior grand slam in high school, and at one point, Dy was homeschooled in high school to enable her to pursue her dreams.
For Dy and her family, one of the biggest challenges was balancing school and tennis while also facing constant expenses to travel for games and equipment.
“There was a lot of pressure on a week-toweek basis to be able to kind of keep doing what I’m doing. Because if it didn’t work, then we would have to enter into Plan B mode,” Dy said.
But her persistence and dedication paid of. She played in the junior grand slams for the Philippines and represented the country in the Fed Cup.
She then went on to represent the Philippines at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games where she
American and was ranked a No. 3 athlete in the country in singles. In doubles, she ranked as high as No. 6.
Now, Dy’s passion to play has transformed into a passion to coach, especially after her own experiences playing collegiate tennis. She started of as an assistant coach for the University of Arizona, the University of Washington and then the University of Iowa.
She fnally settled into the head coach position at Fresno State in 2020.
“If you compare [collegiate tennis] to what people do in a professional level, or in the junior level, even in the high school level, it’s really incomparable,” she said. “Just having the individual aspects and then combining that with the team dynamic is just a huge challenge. It’s something where I just have a passion.”
With a team composed of many students from around the world, forming a strong team dynamic is something that requires both motivation and respect, according to Dy.
Cristina Flaquer, a Fresno State senior tennis player from Barcelona, Spain, said the team has become a “big family” under Dy’s guidance.
“We support each other so much because we all are in the same position. We are very far from home and sometimes it is difcult, but with all the support of the team, it is much easier,” Flaquer said.
Assistant coach Calvin Song said Dy has
brought the team signifcant knowledge about the game both from her own career and time as a coach, and her own emphasis on respecting the culture of those around her brings the players closer together.
“Defnitely, there are, I would say, fewer minorities in the coaching world, and I believe… we might be the only, or we might be one of the few, I would say Asian minority coaching staf,” Song said. “But just our values have really helped us bring this team closer together and [be] able to succeed on and of the court.”
Playing tennis and coaching in the U.S. as a minority is something that Dy said is a platform for opportunities.
“That’s the great thing about, not just the Valley, but in the U.S. too, that we can be anything that we want to be,” she said.
Carrying on the legacy of both her Filipino culture and her career through tennis is something that continues to drive Dy, who said that being that person to take the frst step into chasing their dreams is something that can help inspire others in college athletics.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s nice, and I think representation is key,” Dy said.
“Whether you’re a woman, you’re a minority or whatever… At the same time it also comes with its challenges, and it comes with challenges when you’re the frst one, but there has to be somebody who started.”