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MONDAY Issue APRIL 29, 2013 FRESNO STATE
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SERVING CAMPUS SINCE 1922
Dance Marathon raises money, the roof By Haley Lambert The Collegian The Fresno State Dance Marathon was held Saturday evening in the Student Recreation Center. The marathon raised money on behalf of the Bulldog Pantry. Associated Students Inc. (ASI) as well as the Student Recreation Center, Administrative S e r v i c e s, G r e e k L i f e, Au x i l i a r y Student Union, University Student Union, Student Affairs and Alumni Association. With caution tape cordoning off the exercise machines, flashing lights and music blaring, the Recreation Center was transformed into a dance club. The fundraiser gave students the opportunity to reach out to their friends, family and community for donations to the Bulldog Pantry. For every hour a student danced, a sponsor pledged a certain amount of money. Kris Wescott, a Fresno sate students majoring in kinesiology raised $200 dollars by pledging to dance for the full eight hours. He is the chairman for the University Student Union board of directors. “Once it becomes a tradition, its going to be amazing,” Wescott said. That doesn’t mean students in attendance didn’t have fun. Yasmeena Alqatami, a Fresno State student majorSee DANCE, Page 3
Roe Borunda / The Collegian
Fresno State students participate in the first Fresno State Dance Marathon, sponsored by ASI. The event raised funds for the Bulldog Pantry.
Valves and Value: Water Conference Women’s Resource By Brianna Vaccari The Collegian
BlueTech Valley will host its second water conference on Wednesday and Thursday in Clovis, focusing on water efficiency technology’s role in securing food supply in the future. The conference targets agribusiness, suppliers and food processors in the Valley to encourage innovation in the field and educate about water efficiency and how that connects to the food supply. Fresno State’s Water, Energy and Technology Center (WET Center) partners with BlueTech Valley and the Central Valley Business Incubator to host the conference. It serves as the academic segment of the water initiative.
BlueTech Valley serves as a marketing vehicle recognizing the Valley as a hotspot for water and energy efficiency in relation to agriculture and food, said Helle Petersen, the general manager of the WET Center. Petersen said BlueTech Valley unifies the water business community. “We have a really unique ecosystem to get those new technologies tested and fitted and commercialized out of this area, but we just need one group to get the message out,” Petersen said. This year, Doug Rauch, former CEO of Trader Joe’s will kick off the conference by speaking about innovation. Each day there will be a keynote speaker, panel sessions and a showcased company. The panel sessions will be on topics like food processing, research and innovation and recycled
wastewater. The panels will consist of multiple speakers that are professionals and experts in that specific subject. From Fresno State, professor David Zoldoske from the Center for Irrigation Technology and Sarge Green from the California Water Institute will be speaking on the panels. Petersen said this year there will be a special announcement with the organization Imagine H20 that is based in San Francisco. This is the second time BlueTech Valley has put on the conference. The first time was in 2011, when the conference focused on investment and innovation in water. In 2012, and in the opposite years of this conference, the See WATER, Page 3
Campus club cleans up for Earth Day By Crystal Deniz The Collegian This year’s Earth Day theme, “Our Earth: Handle with Care” mimicked the words we often see printed on fragile packaging, but considering the state our environment is in, it fits. What originally started as a day of education about green awareness and the environment in 1970 has become a holiday that can sometimes last a week, according to history.com’s website on Earth Day. Since then, it has expanded and grown to encompass multiple aspects of community, environment and effects on individual health. “In 1990, Earth Day went global with 200 million people in over 140 nations participating, according to the Earth Day Network (EDN),” the site reads. EDN is a nonprofit organization that coordinates activities for Earth Day, originally established on April 22. See EARTH, Page 3
Photo Courtesy of Project IMPACT 4 Life / Facebook.com
Ciggy Butts, the mascot of Project IMPACT 4 Life, appeared alongside student volunteers from the club who cleaned up cigarette butts for Earth Day.
Center offers safe reprieve location By Jena Rodriguez Special to The Collegian
The Women’s Resource Center functions to support female students on campus who make up 58 percent of the student body population. Jenny Whyte, coordinator for the center, said that it offers a variety of resources which include peer counseling, study space, discussion groups and more. “The Women’s Resource Center offers a safe, supportive environment for students to connect to one another and to have discussions on issues pertinent to them with the overall goal to increase student success,” Whyte said. The center was established in 1990 by the Women’s Center Working Group, a committee that consisted of Fresno State students, faculty and staff. Whyte said that she believed a center such as this was important to have on campus and available to students because of gender issues that still exist. “Women might outnumber men on campus, but inequity still exists in many realms,” she said. “Women need a place to connect and to find support.” Along with the support the center offers, it acts as a teaching agent to students on campus on present day issues. “A women’s center is central to educating the campus on issues such as sexual assault and harassment, dating and domestic violence, as well as for celebrating and highlighting accomplishments of women throughout history,” See WOMEN, Page 3