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WEDNESday Issue DECEMBER 8, 2010 FRESNO STATE
COLLEGIAN.CSUFRESNO.EDU
SERVING CAMPUS SINCE 1922
Honors program lacks diversity By Ana Mendoza The Collegian Smittcamp Honors College students are a small percentage of the university, but their presence and access to resources for success are immense compared to those of the average Fresno State student. When comparing the honor’s students to the general student body, ethnic and economic imbalance is evident. “I’m going to be able to g raduate debt free, and I don’t need to get any loans,” Kaitlin Morgan, a second year Smittcamp student, said. “It’s a nice relief to not have to worry about financial costs.” Hector Cerda, a Fresno State graduate student, is currently working two jobs to pay for his graduate degree. He said that the lack of economic and ethnic diversity within Smittcamp proves that institutionalized racism is present. “There is no income verification [on the application],” Smittcamp Director Honora Howell Chapman said. “There is nothing about what is your ethnicity, what is your fam-
The fall 2010 selected applicants showed little variance.
Source: The Smittcamp Family Honors College
ily’s income.” Applicants are not considered for the program based upon their economic standing but strictly on academic achievements, Chapman said. E ve r y ye a r, S m i t t c a m p accepts 50 new students from dif ferent Califor nia high schools, out of state and sometimes even out the country.
Infographic By Michael Uribes / The Collegian
Because the scholarship is only given for eight semesters, 50 students leave the program and 50 students are accepted every year. In fall of 2010, 647 students applied for the 50 positions available. Of the selected applications, the average GPA is 3.92 (4.19 weighted GPA) and the average SAT score is 1918
out of a maximum possible score of 2400. In the fall of 2009, Fresno State had 21,500 students. Of these 5.3 percent were black, and 33.7 were Hispanic and 34.8 were white. That same year, 66 percent of the 50 students accepted into Smittcamp were white, and 10 percent Hispanic and one black and two students were Asian-Indian. That same year, Smittcamp h a d 5 5 2 ap p l i c a n t s, w i t h 56.7 percent being white, 19.3 Hispanic, .014 African American and 13.7 Asian Indian. According to research studies published on the Fresno State website, in 2008, 58 percent of students’ families had a household income of $72,000 or more. The years’ statistics showed that only 5.2 percent of the families of students accepted to honor programs such as Smittcamp had a household income of less than $24,000 per year. According to the Smittcamp Honors College website, the program has 200 students who,
hazy policy By Christian Walker The Collegian
See BOOKS, Page 3
See PUB, Page 3
Matt Weir / The Collegian
Although the Kennel Bookstore on campus states giving back half of what the book was bought for, it could vary if the used book’s price was determined by a private company.
get half of used price.” But some students say that the bookstore’s buy back policy isn’t all it seems to be. Liberal studies major Melisandi Raya, 23, said she bought her textbooks online and plans to sell them back online because they pay more. “They give you so little here,” Raya said. “They say [they] will give 50 percent of what you bought them for, but in reality they give you less.”
alcohol, has
If students cannot sell back their textbooks to the Kennel Bookstore, they also take donations. Bartel said they donate all the books to Dr. William Rice from the Craig School of Business and the marketing and logistics department, who then ships them to Armenia, and to the Golden Key Inter national Honour Society, which has a
See SMITTCAMP, Page 5
By Lucerito Salgado The Collegian
the book, Kennel Bookstore is buying it back.” Durham said students sometimes don’t get half because a private profit used book company bought it, and they determined the price of it. “You get half of what you paid for it,” book department manager Susan Bartel reiterated. “If you bought it new, you get half of the new price and if you bought it used, you
pub sells
Fresno State is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for students, but having a pub that sells alcohol on campus may seem to be a contradiction. According to the Policy on Campus Use of Alcoholic Beverages, The Association Caterer’s Per mit operates under licenses issued by the Alcoholic Beverage Control. This permit is what allows The Bucket Pub and Grill on campus to sell alcohol. Licenses must also be authorized by the Vice President for Administration. The policy states that only wine and beer should be allowed to be served on campus. According to these requirements The Bucket Pub and Grill which provides food services and six dif ferent draughts of beer is in full compliance with Fresno State’s policy. The student who decides to drink while at school, on the other hand, could very well be violating the campuses rules and not even know it. “Students shall not be under the influence of alcohol while on campus,” states the policy. This at first seems to be contradictory to the availability of beer. But it is unclear as to what being under the influence actually means in the policy. Dr. Lisa Herzig, a dietician and nutritionist at Fresno State says it’s not straightforward issue. “To say that everybody across the board is going to have the same type of reaction, I couldn’t necessarily say that,” Herzig said. “We can only make some assumptions.” There are many different factors to consider when diagnosing blood alcohol content, Herzig said “Men typically have the enzymes that take alcohol longer to metabolize than females. Also body composition, fat rate versus muscle rate is going to af fect the metabolism of alcohol,” Herzig said. According to the Blood Alcohol Chart chart provided by the Fresno State Health Center, there are three zones of intoxication represented by colors. The blue zone represents the ideal level of alcohol content of around .02 to
Students have options with textbooks As the end of the semester approaches and there are no more book reports or reading assignments, students will have to decide what to do with their textbooks. There are different options that students can do: sell them back for an economic incentive, donate them to support a good cause, return them if they rent them or keep them for future reference. For those students who would prefer to sell their textbooks and get some money back, there are two main options: sell them at Fresno State Kennel Bookstore or sell them online. “You can go online and see what we are paying for the price before having to stand in line and see if it’s worth it,” Ron Durham said, Kennel Bookstore director. He said the textbooks’ prices change daily because they are determined by the faculty who decide which textbooks to use during each semester. Durham also said the Kennel Bookstore, which is a non-profit owned by the Califor nia State University, Fresno Auxiliary Corporations, will be having its textbook buyback period from Dec. 7 to Dec. 17. “When you sell your books back there are really two possible people buying it: the Kennel Bookstore or a private used book company,” Durham said. “If you get 50 percent back from what you paid for
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Opinion PAGE 2
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THATʼS WHAT THE PEOPLE ARE SAYING... lot of what goes on in our college campuses isn’t education at all. And much of it, I’m afraid, can’t be called ‘higher’ either.” – Prof. Andrew Hacker, NPR.org
OPINION EDITOR, ANNA JACOBSEN • COLLEGIAN-OPINION@CSUFRESNO.EDU
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010
Getting back to Christmas basics CAMPUSSPEAK
The Right Tone TONY PETERSEN “A nd the angel said to them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savious, which is Christ the Lord.” — Luke 2:10-11, KJV
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arlier this month, a group called American Atheists posted a billboard in New York saying, “You know it’s a myth: This season, celebrate reason!” As one might expect, this caused a bit of a stir, with the Catholic League returning salvos with a billboard of their own, saying, “You know it’s real: This season, celebrate Jesus.” Just like that, the armistice between culture warriors on each side ended, and the War on Christmas was back on.
And at least for the moment, it seems that those who “celebrate reason” are winning. For the past century, the Christcentered aspect of Christmas has been steadily marginalized and forgotten while the more commercial and materialistic aspects of Christmas have been exalted. Granted, holiday celebrations have not always revolved around the birth of Jesus. Many ancient Europeans celebrated the winter solstice and the coming of days with extended sunlight. Germans honored the pagan god Oden and Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a celebration of debauchery that would make New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebration pale in comparison. Even in Christian societies, Christmas wasn’t celebrated at the outset. Easter was the dominant holiday, and Christmas wasn’t celebrated until the fourth century. Even the date, Dec. 25, has been disputed—Pope Julius I picked it, but the Bible doesn’t give a specific date for the birth of Jesus and many believe the day the pope chose to be the wrong one. Nevertheless, Christmas developed into a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Christmas carols developed like “Silent Night,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Away in a Manger” that explicitly mentioned Jesus Christ, and the myth of Santa Claus was developed out of a real man, St. Nicholas, a saint renowned for his kindness. Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, Christmas has steadily lost this part of its past. It came slowly. Christmas mov-
ies, at first, at least alluded to faith. “Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings” is a famous quote from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” one of the most beloved Christmas movies in America. But the path Christmas celebrations have taken have mostly mirrored the direction American culture writ large has gone. Christmas instead became centered around Santa Claus, and not one based on the St. Nicholas of yore. Movies were now based on him, and songs became about the winter, the cold and reindeer. The culture became preoccupied with finding the best gift possible, giving birth to days specifically dedicated to shopping. The politically correct American culture has been replaced “Merry Christmas” with the less explicitly religious “Happy Holidays.” Instead of celebrating Jesus, family and peace, Americans rock out to “Glee Christmas,” visit the Christmas season exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, which features such “art” as an ant-covered Jesus, and earn affection by shopping for on-sale items on Black Friday. In light of all this, the atheist billboard in New York is simply a natural progression of what happens when Christ is removed from Christmas. Not all is lost, though. There is still hope. For as long as there is still a multitude saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men,” then there is always a chance for restoration. Merry Christmas, everyone.
Should WikiLeaks have published classified government cables? Danielle Harper Pre-Nursing Freshman “No, they should not be released. They were kept secret for a reason, to protect the public good.”
Tom Lake Jazz Performance Senior “On one end, it’s bad because it’s a breach of their whole system. They probably got leaked as a result of some relatively immoral situation. The other side is, I think it’s good in the sense that it gives some insight on how they’re really acting. It lifts the wool to see what’s really underneath. ”
Daniel Gonzalez Accounting Senior “It’s probably not a good thing.”
Backcountry needs tradition of diversity
The Annalog ANNA JACOBSEN
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ilderness land and the backcountry teem with diversity: Flora, fauna and geographic formations show a striking array of beauty. But in one area of the outdoors, diversity is markedly absent: its visitors. As a fan of National Parks and a frequent backpacker, hiker, cyclist and camper, I can’t help but notice the difference in representation between “traditional” park attendees, like Caucasians and international travelers, and other ethnicities that more fully represent the population of the Central Valley. Like a canary in a mine, this observation is a signal of a deeper
THE
problem. According to a 2009 Park Service study, only 1 percent of Yosemite’s visitors last year were “African American or black.” The majority of people visiting Yosemite last year were white, a staggering 88 percent of travelers to the park. Shelton Johnson, Yosemite’s sole full-time African-American ranger, recognizes the potential impact of exposure to the outdoors. “The result of that [exposure] is the expansion of what you perceive as the boundaries that are around your world,” Johnson says. However, Johnson recognizes that before a shift is seen in ethnic representation in the outdoors, traditions of outdoor experience must be built. It was this realization that provoked Johnson to contact Oprah Winfrey a few years ago, suggesting she use her position of influence to promote the outdoors. This fall Winfrey answered that challenge, filming a two-part segment for her show featuring her and a friend camping in Yosemite. The trip even included a pit stop at Fresno’s REI outdoor gear store. Winfrey’s segment is a major advancement in the diversification of the outdoors. However, there’s still work to do. Tim Cohee, owner of China Peak Mountain Resort, says he sees no increased movement of minorities
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toward skiing. But in the more than three decades Cohee has worked in the snowsports industry, he says that his most recent venture with China Peak has shown the largest multicultural draw. Cohee attributes this to the accessibility and affordability of China Peak compared to other resorts. While economic and geographic issues play a role, the missing link in the chain of outdoor diversity is family tradition. Without a heritage of outdoor experiences, children from non-white backgrounds are less likely to experience the outdoors than their white counterparts. While economic and geographic issues play a role, the missing link in the chain of outdoor diversity is family tradition. Without a heritage of outdoor experiences, children from non-white backgrounds are less likely to enjoy the outdoors than their white counterparts. When these youngsters enjoy the vast sky and fresh air of the outdoors, their boundaries expand. Their connections to what is real and calm and clean deepen. They experience the last truly wild and untamed gems of America and get a sense of reality: A sense of smallness, and at the same time, a sense of significance.
Letters to the Editor (collegian@csufresno.edu) All letters submitted to The Collegian must not exceed 250 words in length, must be type-written, and must be accompanied by a full name and phone number to verify content. The Collegian reserves the right to edit all material for length, content, spelling and grammar, as well as the right to refuse publication of any material submitted. All material submitted to The Collegian becomes property of The Collegian. Each member of the campus community is permitted one copy of The Collegian. Subscriptions are available for $25, on a semester basis. Staff positions at The Collegian are open to students of all majors. Contact the Editor in Chief for details. All content Copyright © 2010 The Collegian.
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Lionel Mora Political Science Junior “It’s fine that they were released. We’re the public. We should know what goes on between governments, and especially if it has to do with the American public. I believe it’s natural for us to know. It’s good that it became public.”
Paulino Soto Political Science Senior “The diplomats should take their positions very seriously. They should be acting in a professional manner. What they do reflects the office they hold and the people of the United States. They should have been aware of the consequences of what their actions were. I support the guy who released the information. He had every right to do so.” Local Advertising Manager Local Advertising Coordinator National Account Executive Account Executive/Special Projects Account Executive/Special Projects
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010
THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS NEWS EDITOR, ANDREW VEIHMEYER • COLLEGIAN-NEWS@CSUFRESNO.EDU
BOOKS: Selling off CONTINUED from page 1 partnership with Better World Books, an online book seller organization that raises funds for world literacy. “When the books are collected here in the store, we just kind of divide them in half and send half to Dr. Rice and to the Golden Key,” Bartel said. Child development major Araceli Perez said she has donated some of her textbooks to the Kennel Bookstore. “The books that they don’t accept for return backs, I usually put them in the donation box, so I don’t keep them,” Perez said. She also said she
“I
usually put them in the donation box.” — Araceli Perez, Student
has given some of textbooks to the Salvation Army in downtown Fresno. Junior student Yesenia Cruz, a social work major, said she knows of another place where students can donate their textbooks to migrant students; the University Migrant Services coordinated by Raul Moreno. “I think they share your books with other students who don’t have money to buy their books,” Cruz said. Some students don’t have to worry about what to do with
their textbooks, as they rented them from Chegg.com “[I will] retur n them,” freshman Conjellyfer Galang said, who rented some of her textbooks from Chegg.com because she was not able to find used books in the Kennel Bookstore. Fresno State freshman student Chongtoua Mouavangsou plans to use the old textbooks in other ways. “I am planning to let my friend borrow [them],” Mouavangsou said. “If not, I might as well keep them.” Kennel Bookstore Associate Director and Merchandise Manager Jack Gar ner said that graduate students tend to cling a little bit more to their textbooks than freshmen and sophomore students. “I usually save them [textbooks] for myself because I am planning to use them in the future, eventually when I teach,” Hipolito Ortiz, a master’s student, said. He also said that when he was an undergraduate student, he sold some of his textbooks, but now for the last two semesters he has been saving them for himself. Other students like Senior Gifford Samuel, who are in a professional career in which they need their books for reference, are also planning to keep their textbooks. “I am a history major and so a lot of my textbooks I actually want to hang on to for later in my career when I am a teacher,” said Gifford. “I can kind of reference them for different periods in history.”
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PUB: Campus beer, student choice to promote the best learning environment that they could .06 percent. The orange zone have,” Yarmo said. represents what they call the Dr. Oliaro said that on a “sloppy drunk” and the red campus with a majority of level is a representation of students over 21 that he is consevere mental and physical fident in the student’s deciimpairment. sions. There has never been After having one or two a recorded disturbance from beers at the Pub, most stualcohol consumption resultdents would still only fall into ing from The Bucket Pub and the blue category of the BAC Grill Dr. Oliaro said. chart. Dr. Herzig says that According to The University even with a minimal amount Courtyard’s Alcohol and Drug of alcohol in your system you Statistics, there are 37 busiare still susceptible to some nesses within a two mile radirisks in the classroom. us of Fresno State that serve “It very well could impair alcohol. Yarmo says it is the their ability to follow along universities hope that in the with a lecture. end we are I t m ay e v e n safe. cause some “It has to o say that everybody across the board is going problems physdo with the ically for them environment to have the same type of reaction, I couldn’t i f t h e y we re on the campus necessarily say that.” not to be as cogand the phinizant,” Herzig losophy here — Lisa Herzig, said. on this camHaving a pub Dietician and Nutritionist, Food Science and Nutrition pus is that we on campus may are not purserve as a bad porting that influence for people avoid some, but the Alcohol Safety alcohol,” Yar mo said. “We college and that ultimately as Council led by Dr. Oliaro says want to make sure that first adults we make our own choicit is always taking the approof all that those that are cones. priate measures to ensure the suming alcohol are of legal “If your 21 and you want best environment for all stuage. But if people are going to go have a beer at the pub, dents. to engage we want them to be that’s your legal right to do According to the Alcohol safe. We want them to have the so,” Yarmo said. Safety Council (ASC) misinformation hey need to make Yarmo also stressed that sion statement, Fresno State the best decision for them.” students need to be aware of strives to promote and sustain the outcomes of their choices a safe, healthy and responsible as well. learning environment regard“It’s certainly something to ing alcohol choices. think about. When you go to COMMENT: The Collegian is a They accomplish this by class we want the students to forum for student expression. developing and coordinating be as equipped as physically http://collegian.csufresno.edu alcohol-related education, and as mentally as they can
CONTINUED from page 1
prevention and intervention programs. They also work to advise and collaborate with the university administration, campus and community on alcohol-related issues. Dr. Oliaro, vice president of student affairs, says that interacting with alcohol will always be part of our daily lives. “It’s a natural part of life,” Oliaro said of student’s access to beer on campus. K a t hy Ya r m o , t h e Coordinator of Health P r o m o t i o n a n d We l l n e s s Services, said she had a pub on her campus while going to
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THE COLLEGIAN • FEATURES FEATURES EDITOR, JANESSA TYLER • COLLEGIAN-FEATURES@CSUFRESNO.EDU
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010
Employees at Student Health Center still adjusting to paperless structure By Megan Morales The Collegian F re s n o S t at e ’ s S t u d e n t Health Center has taken the leap to moder nize its system by adopting a completely paperless structure, but employees are still getting accustomed to being electronic eight months later. The new transition was implemented in April of this year, and according to employees working at the Health Center it’s made the process significantly more efficient. Wi t h t h i s n ew s y s t e m , charts can be accessed electronically when checking in. This will cut the wait time for students who are waiting to be seen. In addition, the system interfaces to the health center’s laboratory and pharmacy systems. “When you order tests, the system communicates with the lab software that ordered the tests,” Interim Operations Director Dirk Ruthrauff said. “So when the results come back, they go into the system and the provider just reads the results from within the point and click system.” Students no longer need to make a trip or even call the health center when waiting to receive lab results. They simply sign into their private portal that is interlinked with the health center to view their results in just a few seconds. “We are able now to radic a l ly ch a n g e o u r l o bby, ” Ruthrauff said. “We’ve taken out a lot of chairs because we don’t have as many people just waiting around.” The Patient Web Portal provides access 24 hours a day for students to book appointments, complete pre-visit questionnaires and medical forms, exchange secure messages with providers and even print online walkout statements. Using this portal will also have a mass amount of potential for cost savings. While efficiency has been the key improvement in using this system, removing room for error has also been a major factor. With the new electronic charts, nurses and physicians can see patients’ medications they’re currently on, family and social history, and allergies all with just one click of a mouse. The new implementa-
Matt Weir / The Collegian
Four computers are located in the Student Health Center's lobby to assist students in filling out a health history and immunizations form prior to appointments.
tion has also brought about significant time saving elements especially from a clerical standpoint, according to Ruthrauff. But with the new system receiving nothing but positive feedback from Fresno State’s Health Center employees, one California State University said it does present a few challenges. Brenda Lema, the health information coordinator for Cal State Chico, said the system has absolutely had a positive influence on their processing, but it wasn’t exactly the easiest move. “When you go from using hard copies to an electronic system, it’s a vast transition,” Lema said. “It’s a bit challenging when you deal with the new technology and updates.” Because Fresno State has only used the system for roughly eight months, it’s still
considered new and is taking some getting used to. Chico on the other hand, has used the system for almost four years so they’ve had a chance to experience more than just the simple honeymoon stage of the new addition. Other possible cons in making this move include worries of privacy. According to healthworldnet.com, some “privacy rights advocacy groups are the main opponent of electronic medical records.” Things such as a fear of intrusion into private information and ability for someone to hack into records if need be poses a threat to a comforting feeling of security. Other reasons for opposing come from the fear of a “loss of human touch in health care.” Digitalization isn’t always an easy transition for every-
one. And lastly, efficiency has been argued in terms of compatibility with all systems. But this newly added electronic system is a momentous step forward for Fresno State’s health center. Ruthrauff said there also might be some additional upgrades as well. Hopes to add simple checkin kiosks are in the works right now to make it simple for students to make appointments and check themselves in rather than waiting in line. With a simple swipe of an identification card, the patient can see all their information, update any status changes and the machine will direct them on where to go next. Administrators from Cal State Chico, Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton each said they’ve enjoyed the new system and its brought tremendous positive aspects.
In addition to Fresno State’s contentment with the newly added system, Cal State Fullerton’s medical records supervisor, Hilda Pelae z, described Point and Click as “wonderful and very easy to use.” Ruthrauff said its been a big step up for the health center and has brought about a great transition, but they’re still adapting to the modernized ways. “We’re still swallowing it,” Ruthrauff said. “We need to absorb it.”
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THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS NEWS EDITOR, ANDREW VEIHMEYER • COLLEGIAN-NEWS@CSUFRESNO.EDU
SMITTCAMP: The students' privileges CONTINUED from page 1 because of their academic achievements, are granted free in-state tuition scholarship, a stipend for a laptop and its accessories, on-campus housing, free parking, small classes of 25 students or less in
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The graph below shows a percentage of students whose family income is above $48,000.
all honors courses with prestigious university professors, access to the Honors College Office resources like copiers and fax machines and more. Smittcamp students also h ave re g u l a r i n t e r a c t i o n with university president John Welty and attend a wel-
Source: Institutional Research, Assessment & Planning
come event and an annual Christmas party at his university home. Students like Morgan also get priority registrations. “I don’t really have to worry about getting my classes, which is very nice especially in this kind of climate.” “If households are more successful financially, their children do appear to do better in school,” Chapman said. “That is a ter rible trend. That means that all the high schools that are serving the poorest students, they are facing this uphill battle of trying to increase the success of students who are fighting against odds.” Cerda, who inter ns at Students for Quality Education and a for mer Outreach Services employee, wonders why Smittcamp does
not have more ethnic and economic diversity. “If you can acknowledge and identify that there is an issue, then there is also a problem in being able to identify it and not being able to solve the issue,” he said. Despite concern about fair representation, many students, faculty and administrators believe that Fresno State needs these 200 students. “I think it’s good for the university to have role models like that who are motivated and succeeding so that other students can strive for similar things,” Morgan said. But Chapman admitted honor students receiving benefits need to contribute more financially. “If there are students receiving benefits on campus that are not available to other
Infographic by Michael Uribes / The Collegian
students and their households meet financial aid criteria for participating fully in the payment of tuition, then they probably should pay tuition.” “They should give other people the opportunities that are smart as well, but they just don’t have the money,” Fresno State student Isaura Olmos said. “I know a lot of people sometimes pre-judge us thinking we just have everything handed out to us but we had to work really hard in high school to get the scholarship, and we still have a GPA we have to maintain,” Morgan said.
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COMMENT: The Collegian is a forum for student expression. http://collegian.csufresno.edu
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PAGE 6 • THE COLLEGIAN • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010
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Arts & EnterTainment PAGE 8
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, MADDIE SHANNON • COLLEGIAN-FEATURES@CSUFRESNO.EDU
WEDNESDAY , DECEMBER 8, 2010
Popular Christmas time locale opens for 88th year Opening night draws thousands By Maddie Shannon The Collegian Christmas Tree Lane, a popu- set of 10 LED lights is equivalent rate, are urged to keep in the lar Fresno tradition that opens to the power of one lightning Christmas spirit when they decorate their houses. to the public each year, kicked bolts. “We encourage residents “About half of the lane is off its 88th season on Dec. 3 to an opening night of at least 30,000 decorated with LED lights,” of the lane to keep within the Christmas Tree Lane subcom- Christmas theme,” Alexander visitors. The Fig Garden Homeowner’s mittee member Dean Alexander said. “Anything pertaining to Association organizes the much- said. “The hard cost is around winter, Christianity, Christmas t re e s o r S a n t a . loved local tradiThe only thing we tion, which opens discourage is disfo r 2 0 d ay s e a ch t took me and my family seven weekends playing something December to feature to set up. We definitely had some help from inappropriate.” around 140 houses family friends.” Re m i n g t o n and 300 trees decoAlexander, a liferated in Christmas long resident of lights. — Remington Alexander, the lane, describes Christmas Tree Christmas Tree Lane Resident the set-up process Lane got its start for his family’s in 1920 when a famhouse as a timeily who lived on the street decorated a tree in front seven thousand to ten thousand consuming effort. “It took me and my family of their house in honor of one dollars each year.” The FGHA closes Christmas around seven weekends to set of their children who died that Tree Lane two nights a year to up,” said Alexander. “We defiyear. “The house that started it is cars, designating those nights nitely had some help from famidentified on the street,” FGHA as “Walking Nights.” The first ily friends.” walking night of the season was Christmas Tree Lane is open member Tony Pings SAID. through Dec. 23, and features This year, Christmas Tree on opening night. Residents of the lane, while one more walking night on Lane features 80,000 lights, half of which are LED light bulbs. A they are not required to deco- Tuesday, Dec. 14.
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Matt Weir / Collegian File Photo
Christmas Tree Lane, a popular local Christmastime attraction, opened Dec. 3. The next walking night, when the lane is closed to cars, is Dec. 14.
Students inspired by ‘I, Robot’ take science prize By Jessica Gresko Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A pair of high school students inspired by the science fiction movie “I, Robot” and another who studied star for mation took home $100,000 grand prizes Monday in a competition honoring the nation’s top math and science students. The Siemens Competition announced the winners of its college scholarships during a ceremony at George Washington University. Benjamin Clark of Lancaster, Pa., won the top individual prize for his research on binary stars which, unlike the sun, have companions. The 15-yearold plans to major in physics or astrophysics. Akash Krishnan and Matthew Fer nande z of Portland, Ore., won the team prize for their work on speech
recognition technology. They developed a computer algorithm that can detect a speaker’s emotion better than current technology and will split the $100,000 team prize. Krishnan, 16, and Fernandez, 17, watched “I, Robot,” while taking a break from trying to come up with a project idea. The movie featured a robot that could detect when its user was stressed, and they decided to try to improve on the existing technology. Their algorithm has a 60 percent accuracy rate, compared with about 40 percent for a previous system. They say their work could be used to improve computer automated phone systems, helping, for example, to tell if a caller was becoming irate. “You could automatically redirect them to a actual human person, so that you could handle those kind of angry people better,” he said.
The teens are also working to develop a wristwatch-like device that would display colors or happy and sad faces to help autistic children identify and interpret other people’s emotions. Krishnan plans to study computer science and electrical and mechanical engineering in college, while Fernandez plans to study engineering and computer science. Six individual students and six teams of students competed in Washington after winning regional competitions in November. They presented their research to a panel of judges Sunday. “What just blows me away is how advanced they are in their thinking,” said Dr. Thomas D. Jones, a former NASA astronaut who headed the judging panel. “Truly these research projects are often at the cutting edge of their field.”
News Briefs Brief news for the brief attention span BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Helen Mirren and Katie Couric told personal stories to inspire a group of Hollywood executives and power-brokers at the annual Power 100 Women in Entertainment Breakfast. The actress and news anchor were featured speakers at the gathering Tuesday at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Halle Ber ry presented Mir ren with the Sher ry Lansing Leadership Award in recognition of her personal and professional integrity. Berry lauded her fellow Oscar winner as “a giant talent” and someone who has “conducted her whole life with such grace and dignity.” Mirren says her parents “believed that a girl could do anything and she had the right to try for it.” Couric also credited her
parents during her keynote address and celebrated the memory of her eldest sister. NEW YORK (AP) — Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga and other celebrities can sign back online, thanks to donations from their fans and a philanthropist. Keys announced Monday that her charity, Keep a Child Alive, reached its $1 million fundraising goal in honor of last week’s World AIDS Day. A slew of celebrities signed of f digital platfor ms like Twitter and Facebook last Wednesday and asked their fans to donate to the charity, which supports families affected by HIV and AIDS in Africa and India. The celebrities could sign back online when the $1 million fundraising goal was met.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010
THE COLLEGIAN • FUN & GAMES ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, MADDIE SHANNON • COLLEGIAN-FEATURES@CSUFRESNO.EDU
The daily crossword ACROSS 1 Mr. T flick 6 Put a hood up? 10 Moranis of “Ghostbusters” 14 “Swell!” 15 Operation Allied Force gp. 16 Kind of silent come-on 17 Adams of photography 18 Shaving mishap 19 Burn soother 20 Become king by force 23 Letter upon which this puzzle’s theme is built 25 Confound 26 Lowly laborers 27 McDaniel of “Gone With the Wind” 29 Great way to leave Vegas 32 Roman port 33 Those people 34 “I solved it!” 37 Views as senseless 41 Mag. staffers 42 Light-hearted diversion 43 Bay on the English Channel 44 Some campus figures 46 Tippi of “The Birds” 47 Old West herd 50 Victorious shout in a card game 51 Suffix with the most of anything 52 Where to find pirates 57 Ersatz butter 58 Filled cookie
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DOWN
Edited by Timothy E. Parker
PUZZLE SOLUTION: http://collegian.csufresno.edu Copyright 2010. Universal Press Syndicate.
59 Couples 62 Okla., until 1907 63 Makes less squeaky, perhaps 64 Dickens’ Heep 65 “Don’t change it” 66 Hushed “Hey, you!” 67 Field of rice
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1 It may be used against you in a court of law 2 100-year time span (Abbr.) 3 Blockbuster rentals of old 4 To ___ (exactly) 5 Certain South American 6 Building extension 7 ___ and switch 8 Use acid to make art 9 Drag on a cigarette
10 Warned, lion-style 11 Hemispherical home 12 Performer with a big mouth? 13 Wails like a banshee 21 New York’s Tappan ___ Bridge 22 Audit rep 23 Drew a lot? 24 Disburdened 28 It’s found in poetry? 29 Polite interruptions 30 Disorderly pile 31 Ambulance letters 33 Stepped heavily 34 Previously mentioned 35 Pebble Beach targets 36 “Looks ___ everything” 38 Load from a lode 39 Shared one’s feelings 40 Cain’s destination 44 Partner in crime 45 Word before “... liftoff!” 46 “To each ___ own” 47 Dismisses unceremoniously 48 Mooring site 49 Cubic meter 50 Kind of town 53 Band around a barrel 54 Bloom with droopy sepals 55 Some hair products 56 Certain glow 60 Palindromic family member 61 Self-effacing
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Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively. SOLUTION: http://collegian.csufresno.edu
Word of the Day
Cool story, bro A phrase sarcastically used to indicate one’s disgust or indifference towards a story.
Source: UrbanDictionary.com
Congratulations to Club & Organization Advisor of the Month Winner for November 2010
Dr. Melissa Golden Advisor, Chemistry Club
Dr. Melissa Golden was nominated by her students within the Chemistry Club. Below are some of the comments they made about Dr. Golden as part of their nomination: "Through her motivation and dedication, in three years, the club went from no members to receiving the American Chemical Society's Outstanding Chapter Award, the highest award the society gives its student affiliates." "Overall Dr. Golden advises, donates her time, mentors, and most importantly, she cares." In receiving this award Dr. Golden will receive an automatic nomination for the Club & Organization Advisor of the Year Award, which will be announced at the Leadership Recognition Ceremony taking place Thursday, April 28th, at 3 p.m. In addition, Dr. Golden will receive a $25 gift card to the Kennel Bookstore.
THE COLLEGIAN • SPORTS SPORTS EDITORS, BEN INGERSOLL AND VONGNI YANG • COLLEGIAN-SPORTS@CSUFRESNO.EDU
PAGE 10
No need for energy drinks
BREAK: Basketball to miss holidays CONTINUED from page 12
By Jerry Huerta The Collegian Since most students have rigorous schedules during the day, they need something to keep them energized. Often times, students turn to energy drinks to help them get through the daunting stretches. Dietetics and food administration program director Lisa Herzig believes energy drinks provide more than just energy. “I know the purpose is that [the student athletes] want to increase the overall energy and output to improve performance,” Herzig said. “They’re not going to get the prolonged level of energy that their bodies require in order to have maximum output for performance.” Herzig explains that there are other fuel sources that provide energy, such as carbohydrates, proteins and certain types of fats. Also, there are other nutrients that will help for a long-term effect as opposed to just a short quick fix.
ing energy drinks, they are replacing other nutritious drinks. Water, milk, 100 percent fruit juice are just going to be providing some kind of nutrition whether it’s carbohydrates, electrolytes, vitamins, minerals which athletes all really need.” Tirapelle also gave her assessment about why student-athletes consume energy drinks. “The fact that it is a central nervous system stimulant and you have that boost of energy, it certainly can impact and enhance your performance, which is why a lot of athletes will consume them,” Tirapelle said. “The reasons I wouldn’t recommend them is because it impacts your sleep patterns in a negative way, which is not good for athletes because they need the sleep time to recover.” “Additionally, caffeine is very addicting,” she said. “So if you try to wean off at any time, you’re going to have headaches. The recommendation is 300 milligrams per day. To give you an example, a grande Starbucks coffee has about 300 milligrams. Most people probably consume more than that.”
athletes, four other players come from states outside of California, and will only get limited time to be with their loved ones. Although this may seem rather hard and insensitive to the young athletes who pour their heart and soul into Fresno State athletics, they all make the best of it by planning with their family and friends in advance of the upcoming vacation. On the women’s team, redshirt freshman Taylor Thompson, who comes from Cache, Okla., plans to visit home after the team heads to New York to play in the St. Johns Holiday tournament. “After we’re done in New York, I’m leaving from New York to go to Oklahoma to visit with my family for the holidays until we have to come
don’t really see a place in one’s diet for energy drinks. There are other products like guarana, for example, which are herbal stimulatns that over stimulate the body.” — Lisa Herzig, Dietetics and food administration program director
The program director said with a more balanced diet there is no need for energy drinks, but there are still some reasons why students drink them. “They may be fatigued going into the actual match or meet or game,” Herzig said. “So they feel like they need to have a stimulant in order to hype up their system so that they can perform. What they don’t realize is that many times it’s short lived, and it may queue their focus and their attention because their bodies are too hyped up and they’re not able to perform as well as they can because they’re not focused.” Even though, Herzig provided reasons why students consume them, she still doesn’t see a reason to drink them. “I don’t really see a place in one’s diet for energy drinks,” Herzig said. “There are other products like guarana, for example, which are herbal stimulants that overstimulate the body. So, if you have somebody who takes these things, and they’re not aware of how their body is going to respond then they can really have a serious nervous reaction to it.” Registered dietitian Kim Tirapelle also has similar feelings toward these drinks. “I think they are bad,” Tirapelle said. “The reason is if an athlete is consum-
One player who is used to needing extra energy is Fresno State defensive end Chris Carter. With all of the time spent on the football field, the senior has to find some ways of getting extra energy. “I just eat a lot,” Carter said. “I eat as much as I can and try to stay hydrated. Honestly, that’s the best way that I find to get energy. We actually do a lot of things real natural, so we don’t drink a lot of protein shakes. Some players get their own protein shakes, but the school doesn’t fund them for us. Protein shakes have to get approved through the school and the NCAA. There’s Muscle Milk Collegiate which is specialized for NCAA regulations, but I personally don’t use anything.” For the 2010 WAC Defensive Player of the Year, the added energy is apparent on the field, with his 55 tackles and a career-high 11 sacks this season. With a balanced diet, the defensive end shows that there is no need to consume energy drinks to be successful. Carter’s success on the field has contributed to the win column with the team finishing in fourth place in the WAC with a 8-4 record. The Bulldogs are bowl-bound for the fourth straight year.
back,” Thompson said. “When at home, we get to spend time with friends and family and then after the 26th, we have to come back to start practice again.” As for the student athletes who are from Australia, the chances of returning home are very bleak and all of them know that they will not be able to visit their families. However, in the circumstance of Bree Farley, a freshman from Kadina, South Australia, finds some hope by being able to visit with her mother who residess in Fresno. “When I found out that we weren’t going to be able to go home, I knew that was going to be the case and I didn’t get my hopes up,” Farley said. “I’m looking forward to the summer holiday anyways, and visiting with my mom who lives out here so I get to see her pretty often.”
CARTER: Among WAC elite CONTINUED from page 12
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010
his junior season, coaches converted Carter back to defensive end and he’s made a living there every since. Carter provided a relentless pass rush all season long for the Bulldogs in 2009, but it was his performance at Camp Randall Stadium against Wisconsin where Carter stamped his name as a legitimate sack specialist. In the second game of last season, Carter proved that his 6-foot-2-inch, 240 pound frame could hold up against the Big Ten’s 300-plus pound offensive linemen after sacking Badgers quarterback Scott Tolzien two times.
After a breakout junior season, Carter was selected as a second-team All-WAC performer for his 47 tackles and five sacks. Carter will end his decorated Fresno State career when he returns to the smurf turf in Boise, Idaho to face off against Northern Illinois in the bowl game. “I’m looking forward to go back to the Humanitarian Bowl,” Carter said. “They were great escorts to us the last time we went there. I’m just excited about it.”
PAGE 11 • THE COLLEGIAN • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010
The
Collegian
SPORTS PAGE 12
Today in sports... The Fresno State women’s basketball team travels down Highway 99 to face off against Cal State Bakersfield. SPORTS EDITORS, BEN INGERSOLL AND VONGNI YANG • COLLEGIAN-SPORTS@CSUFRESNO.EDU
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010
Carter WAC’s top defender By Vongni Yang The Collegian Chris Carter was regarded as an undersized defensive end that many of the big-time schools from automatic qualifying conferences shied away from. Recruiting websites pegged Carter as being “too small” to play on the defensive line at the Division I collegiate level. Many experts expected Carter to convert to linebacker in college because he lacked “ideal” size to be an every down impact player at defensive end. But Carter has proved his critics wrong. The senior from Fontana, Calif. was named by coaches as the 2010 Western Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year after registering a conferencehigh 11 sacks and 16.5 tackles for a loss in his 2010 campaign with the Bulldogs. “I’m just really proud and privilege to have such a team to make it possible for me to be able to do all that,” Carter said.
As a senior at Kaiser High School in 2006, Carter exploded on to the scene after tallying 106 tackles and 21 sacks, but the of fers from Bowl Championship Series schools didn’t start piling in, most notably the top California universities: California, UCLA, USC and Stanford. Carter received offers from only three BCS schools: Ore gon State, Washington and Washington State, but the schools in the Northwest didn’t seem too attractive of a destination. Fresno State was the lone California school to extend an offer to Carter, and it has paid off for both parties. In his first year with the Bulldogs in 2007, Carter suited up and played as a pass rush specialist on obvious passing downs. Carter was the player that flushed then-Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan out of the pocket that made teammate Marcus Riley’s devastating hit on Brennan possible. Riley’s bone-crushing hit
became a YouTube sensation soon after. Riley, coincidently, was the last Bulldog to receive the WAC’s Defensive Player of the Year award. “Marcus Riley got it when I came here,” Carter said. “I really wanted that award. I was just saying at the banquet, I told my parents that I really wanted to get that before I leave.” As a true freshman, Carter recorded 15 tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss in limited action. After showing glimpses of his playmaking ability as a freshman, Carter was inserted into the starting lineup at linebacker in 2008 after injuries decimated the Bulldogs at the position. Carter made 10 starts at outside linebacker and racked up a career-best 88 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. But even then, Carter knew that his natural position was still at defensive end. So, in See CARTER, Page 10
Matt Weir / The Collegian
Bulldog women stay home for the holidays Over winter break, women’s basketball will square off in seven matchups By Luke Shaffer The Collegian As students and faculty at Fresno State prepare to head home after finals are over for the holiday break, student athletes, more specifically the women’s basketball team, will remain on campus. Instead of settling down and relaxing with family and friends for the winter festivities, the players will start to focus more on the upcoming games ahead. This month-long stretch of no school from Dec. 17 to Jan. 19 will be a period of intense practicing and stiff competition in games for head coach Adrian Wiggins’ squad. With more time to concentrate on executing their team strategy, the women’s basketball teams will use this stretch to fine tune their games in preparation for the Western Athletic Conference schedule that lay ahead. For those student-athletes who hail from Fresno and the surrounding communities, being apart from their family for the holidays is much more relaxed as they are still able to see their loved ones on a regular basis. Even though the women’s basketball players receive a five-day vacation from Dec. 21 to 25 they must return immediately the day after Christmas pick up practice again. For those who come from other states, or even countries, this long stretch of no school and only on-court activity poses a small
Mike Howells / The Collegian
Taylor Thompson, who averages 5 points per game and 3 assists per game, is one of many players on the women’s roster who is not originally from the Fresno area.
nuisance. On the women’s basketball team, there are a five players who were recruited from Australia, and they most likely will not have a chance to go home and visit their family and friends. In addition to the Australian See BREAK, Page 10