January 22, 2018

collegian.csufresno.edu

Monday, Jan. 22, 2018

Fresno State’s Award-Winning Newspaper

ANA ALCANTAR

Campus mourns loss Friends will honor ‘vibrant’ scholar

By Razmik Cañas @raz_canas

F

resno State’s office of student affairs announced last week that third-year business administration student Ana Alcantar died. She was 21.

A candlelight vigil will be held to remember Alcantar on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 5 p.m. in the Free Speech Area on campus. Those who wish to attend are asked to bring a candle with a cup to catch the wax.

Alcantar, of Porterville, is the second Fresno State student to die this semester. On Jan. 3, Omar Nemeth, 19, died from an apparent drug overdose near campus.

Alcantar’s cause of death has not been made public. The Collegian reached out to the Fresno and Tulare county coroner’s offices but did not get a response.

A GoFundMe page was shared hundreds of times last week by Alcantar’s friends and family.

“She was happiest while engaging in activities with family

Mass: 11 a.m. on Feb. 1 at Holy Cross Church in Porterville. and friends, and volunteering in the community,” wrote Alcantar’s brother, Juan, on the GoFundMe page. “She impacted every person’s life that she came into contact with.”

A Collegian staffer tried reaching Juan but did not get a response.

The fundraising page had gathered more than $14,000 by Sunday night.

A post to the Fresno State Book Trade and Advice Facebook page

by Maria Alvarez reported that Alcantar died Jan. 17. Alvarez had asked on Facebook for those who knew Alcantar to donate for funeral expenses to help Alcantar’s family “give her a special goodbye.”

@ChrisssyMattos

Ana Alcantar

Courtesy of the Hispanic Business Student Association

Aside from being a full-time student, Alcantar’s brother reported his sister was involved at Fresno State in clubs and dance. Alcantar was the fall 2017 vice president of the Hispanic Business Student Association (HBSA), according to the group.

In a Facebook post last Friday, the HBSA said Alcantar was one of its “most involved” members.

The post described her as a dancer who loved to surround herself with friends and family.

“She was very well-known and looked up to in the Fresno State community,” read a portion of the statement.

Last semester, Alcantar was recognized as a Fresno State Alumni Association scholarship recipient at the university’s Top Dog Alumni Awards Gala for earning the Mary Beekman and John Nichol Clark Memorial Grant.

In a statement to The Collegian, Craig School of Business Dean Dr. Bob Harper said that Alcantar’s death has greatly impacted the department.

“The faculty and staff of the Craig School of Business are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Ana Alcantar,” Harper said.

“We offer heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.”

In a statement to The Collegian, Associated Students, Inc. President Blake Zante said he was saddened after hearing the news of Alcantar’s death.

“While I didn’t know her personally, her friends describe her as a vibrant person with an infectious smile,” Zante said. “She was also a very involved student on campus. The entire campus community is affected by the loss of [Alcantar’s] life, and our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and loved ones.”

AWARENESS

After one of their own died, students aim to prevent another drug death

By Angelica Hernandez @avh1992

Fresno State students and community members braved cold temperatures Saturday morning to raise awareness about drug abuse and addiction.

The Drug Awareness Walk, hosted by Associated Students Inc. (ASI), began at the Free Speech Area, where participants gathered to hear from guest speakers and visit resource booths before a onemile walk around campus.

A map provided for the walk included statistics related to drug

WATCH: for video on this story, visit our website: fresnostate.edu/collegian abuse, as well as opportunities for participants to share the names of friends or loved ones suffering from drug addiction.

The group of about 100 Fresno State students walked with the goal of preventing drug abuse just weeks after one of their own, sophomore Omar Nemeth, died from an apparent drug overdose.

ASI President Blake Zante said the event was a way to respond to

A call for justice at Women’s March

By Christian Mattos

MEMORIAL:

Visitation: Myers Funeral Services and Crematory chapel in Porterville from 3 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 31.

PROTEST

Nemeth’s death and to focus on drug-abuse prevention – which became a topic much-talkedabout after his death.

“I felt like there was a need to bring awareness to it in a public way so that there weren’t underground conversations about it,” Zante said. “That way it wasn’t this kind of taboo subject. I really wanted to show that it’s an entire campus problem.”

Zante said Saturday’s walk can be the first step to bring the campus community together and build constructive conversations about students facing drug addiction and what resources are needed to

The second annual Women’s March in northeast Fresno brought many walks of life together on Saturday for a nationwide demonstration supporting women’s rights. The event not only focused on issues affecting women but on social topics that have been debated recently.

With the theme of “Hear Our Vote,” thousands of Fresno residents and people from throughout the central San Joaquin Valley used the march to voice their opinions on President Donald Trump’s political actions on the one-year anniversary of his inauguration.

This is a part of what it means to be American, to participate in protests when you see something wrong.

— Jennica Geddert Fresno resident

help them.

And part of having an open conversation about drug abuse began, for some, with a few questions.

At a booth for the Student Health and Counseling Center, a black box read: “How do Fresno State students party? The good, the bad and the ugly.” It asked students to share their experiences with drugs and alcohol on campus.

Cassie Valencia, student coordinator for the center, said the anonymous survey provides valuable information that will help shape future resources and work-

The event also provided a sense of hope for the future of those who attended. Speakers during a rally highlighted the importance of voting in order to progress social and political equality.

Native American, black, Sikh, Muslim, veteran, Hmong, Syrian, sexual assault survivors and Latina activists spoke of their plights and triumphs during the march.

One activist read a poem about a confession of a sexual assault victim, noting the lack of attention given to victims and modern politicians accused of sexual assault.

“He got away with it. It was the ‘60s. He got away with it. Until now. #MeToo,” she said to conclude her statement.

The hashtag “me too” began as a social media movement drawing attention to sexual assault and

See AWARENESS, Page 3

See PROTEST, Page 6

OPINION

GOT OPINIONS? We want to hear them.

COLLEGIAN-OPINION@CSUFRESNO.EDU MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

2

ART

Giving back to the community: a new campus mural

By Casey Supple | @Casey_Supple

Last year I was having my lunch break near a wall next to the McLane Hall building and I noticed how unsightly it looked.

It had a vent on it that looked slightly dirty, and the wall was painted a very bland color. So I thought to myself, why not try to paint a mural on that wall?

Thousands of people pass through that area of campus every day – the courtyard behind the University Student Union. If I were to paint a mural on that wall, the positive impact that it could have on people would be immense.

Not only would it beautify an otherwise bland setting, it would also seek to deliver an impactful message of cultural and community enrichment, as well as individual growth and prosperity.

With that in mind, I began creating some ideas I had for the mural, even though I knew the odds of getting to paint the wall may be slim.

I had never even painted an outdoor mural before, let alone at a university. I had no idea how I would go about getting

BLOG

A new mural in the courtyard behind the University Student Union.

permission to paint the wall, or if the idea of doing so would even be viable.

I really wanted to bring this idea to fruition.

There were so many positive things that could come from it, and I could inspire so many people.

The more I thought about that, the more I knew I had to persevere and work

Alejandro Soto • The Collegian

as hard as I could to make it a reality.

So after many months of sending emails to different school officials and attending meetings, I was eventually granted the opportunity to present my mural design concept to a committee of Fresno State officials who supported the vision that I had for the mural.

They granted me permission to begin

I come from a ‘shithole’

By William Ramirez | @willoveslakers2

Do I come from a “shithole?” I sure don’t believe I do, but I guess the President of the United States does.

El Salvador, Haiti and a pair of African countries all felt the wrath of President Donald Trump’s war against immigration.

Initially with policies stripping them of their protections as immigrants, and more recently, derogatory remarks.

Allegedly the remark was made in reference to Haiti and the African nations, but I don’t think I would be too far removed in assuming Trump has similar feelings about my native country.

I initially laughed off the quote from Trump. I laughed it off like I do most of his

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other outlandish and ignorant remarks. Not because I find them funny, but because I’ve just run out of astonishment and disbelief at the idea that someone like him is at the helm of this country.

But the laughter quickly stopped, and the anger soon began. I sat there and let that slur simmer inside of me. I let it simmer right alongside the people Trump threw that “shithole” blanket over. I felt an anger that day I had never felt towards a politician.

My mother is a Salvadoran immigrant.

She loves our family unconditionally and works tirelessly at home for us, rarely ever complaining.

The same could be said about my father, another Salvadoran, who wakes up at 2 a.m. to drive a truck for upwards of 15 hours so that our family can have the necessary provisions and luxuries that he wants us to have.

One such luxury he provided for my mother and I was a trip to El Salvador in the spring of last year. It was my first time back

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since I moved to the United States at age six. We spent 10 days there.

You’d think I’d feel awful about having to spend 10 days in a “shithole.” But in reality, I didn’t know what to feel. It had been so long. I had a few faint memories, but nothing that gave me a definitive idea of what to expect.

I reconnected with family and friends.

I met new family and friends. I swam in a warm water lake – a first for me. I ate a whole lot of great food. I visited a number of landmarks. But most of all, I learned.

I learned about a culture I had disconnected myself from for 16 years. And honestly, as cheesy as it may sound, I came home feeling like I had learned so much about love. My aunts and uncles, they treated me like a son. My cousins treated me like a brother. And my grandmother, well, she treated me like two grandsons.

I was left equally shocked by the love from complete strangers. Everyone waved, everyone greeted me, everyone smiled.

Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado Staff Reporter Chueyee Yang Staff Reporter Razmik Cañas Staff Reporter Selina Falcon Staff Reporter Vanessa Romo Multimedia Reporter Hayley Salazar Multimedia Reporter Alejandro Soto Multimedia Reporter Benjamin Cruz General Sales Manager Alyssa Honore National Sales Manager Juan Alvarez Special Projects Manager William Ramirez Agency Sales Manager Michael Ford Art Director Nugesse Ghebrendrias Assistant Art Director

Angelica Hernandez Bineet Kaur Chrissy Mattos Jorge Rodriguez Crea Jackson Ramuel Reyes Eric Zamora Bailey Margosian Omar Lopez Jr Danielle Schneider Jacqueline Solorio-Ayala Casey Supple Kong Thao

the mural during winter break of 2017.

I was able to afford the materials for creating the mural with funds that I had received from an art scholarship at Fresno State.

The mural is titled “Every Drop Of Life” and it depicts an abstract version of a heart with veins connected to it.

The veins symbolize us as people, all from different cultures and walks of life, and the heart represents the central life force to which we are all commonly connected as a community.

The heart was also a clever way to utilize the unsightly vent on the wall by turning it into an intriguing optical illusion.

The sun rising on the horizon below represents rising above strife and adversity, while the drips and spots of color throughout the mural depict a vibrant textural quality of passion.

I was amazed by the amount of positivity and support that I was shown by people who would pass while I was painting.

Connecting with people, and hearing the great things they had to say was an amazing experience.

To me, that was just as important as the creation of the mural. It's almost as if those positive experiences became a part of the mural itself.

I feel truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to share a piece of my art with the university and the community that I have grown up around.

Restaurant employees showed a genuine desire to make sure everyone that walked in to eat would feel like they were walking in to eat at their own home. Street vendors treated each and every customer like their most valued one, and the craftsmanship put into their products was unlike any I had ever seen before.

This may seem like some idealized picture of what El Salvador is like, and it very well might be. Gang violence is running rampant there, along with a corrupt government, and there is not a lot of money to go around.

But to me, those shortcomings do not define El Salvador. Trump’s slurs do not define El Salvador.

El Salvador is defined by my parents, my family and all of the people in El Salvador who have worked around the country’s struggles to provide the best life they can for themselves and their families.

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THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

AWARENESS from Page 1

shops provided by the university.

“We’re asking them what they see or what they’ve heard about how Fresno State students party to see which direction we need to go,” Valencia said. “Do we need to offer more workshops and programs pertaining to alcohol, tobacco and drugs? Do we need to focus on prescription drugs or marijuana and the policies and laws with that?”

The center plans to add more programs and workshops for students in the future, Valencia said.

The input gathered at the event will dictate the future programs and workshops.

The walk featured guest speakers, including Jamaal Bethea, a friend of Nemeth; Fresno State President Dr. Joseph Castro; and Assemblyman Jim Patterson.

Bethea, outspoken in the push for drug awareness on campus, shared Nemeth’s hopes of curing addiction before he died.

“If anyone knew him, the first thing that they would tell you is that it was his dream to cure addiction,” Bethea said.

Castro, who attended the walk with his wife, Mary, and son Jess, reflected on the loss of Nemeth and thanked students for leading the efforts to raise awareness.

“I think about all of our young people in our community, including our 25,000 students,” Castro said. “Every time there is an incident when there is a student who is in despair or is harmed by drug or alcohol abuse, that is a painful thing for me and for all of us here at Fresno State.”

Although the Drug Awareness Walk focused on campuswide solutions, Nemeth’s death localizes a nationwide problem with prescription drug addiction and chronic pain management.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 91 Americans die every day from an opioid or prescription drug overdose, claiming the lives of over a half a million people between 2000 and 2015.

Patterson spoke about the role of individuals and their responsibility to respond when drug addiction affects their community.

“Prescription drug abuse is ubiquitous. It is everywhere. It is in our families, and, unfortunately, it touched our university fami-

ly,” said Patterson, an alumnus of Fresno State.

Patterson has hosted forums in the past with doctors trained to treat drug addiction and hopes to provide similar resources to Fresno State students in the future.

“To see such a good turnout here is an encouragement,” Patterson said.

Nemeth’s death has also raised concerns about Greek life student activities on campus. Although he was not a member of a fraternity, Nemeth died after spending the night at the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house.

Various fraternities and sororities were represented during the Drug Awareness Walk.

Eddy Delgado, a member of the Zeta Kappa chapter of the Sigma Nu fraternity said he and other fraternity and sorority members felt compelled to participate to try to change misconceptions about Greek life.

“I felt like as a Greek student here at Fresno State, we had to come and show our support,” Delgado said. “You hear the word fraternity, and you assume raging party, but that’s not really what it is.”

Delgado said his fraternity

PAGE 3

We want to make sure that we are addressing these issues so that another unfortunate tragedy doesn’t happen again, — Blake Zante, ASI President house keeps him involved in school activities, offers study groups and participates in numerous charity and philanthropy events.

“It’s a great way to just be a part of your school. It’s not just parties,” Delgado said. “So I feel like the more we get involved and the more we show the right perception, more people will come together and help.”

Zante said ASI’s next step is to collaborate with the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Committee on campus.

“They do a lot of great work,” Zante said. “Now that we have shown a lot of campus support, this is something that I think our campus should really look into and see how we can make a concerted effort as an entire campus to address this problem that a lot of students might be struggling with.”

A Watchdog Safety Summit, being hosted by the Student Health and Counseling Center on Feb. 24, seeks to gather interested students who want to learn how to respond in emergency situations.

The two-day summit will present information about drug abuse, alcohol overdose, sexual assault, bystander intervention and general campus safety.

Students can receive a CPR certification on the second day and are given the title of “campus watchdog” upon completion of the training.

Registration ends on Feb. 9 and is $25 for students. For more information, visit the Student Health and Counseling Center’s website.

“We want to make sure that we are addressing these issues so that another unfortunate tragedy doesn’t happen again,” Zante said.

ASI NOTEBOOK

Two senators announce resignation

By Angelica Hernandez @avh1992

The Associated Students Inc. convened last Wednesday evening for the first meeting of the spring 2018 semester.

Announcement of resignations The meeting began with the surprise resignation announcements from two senators – Senator of Veteran and Transfer Affairs Cody Sedano and Senator of Resident Affairs Joseph Blair.

Sedano, who had taken on one of the newly added positions last semester, said his resignation will

be effective Jan. 24 at 4 p.m.

“Besides being a father and U.S. Marine, serving the students of California has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Sedano said. “I resign knowing that this position that I fought for, now an active voice for veterans, will be in good hands.”

Sedano said he is resigning to focus on his health, his future career and to spend more time with his 3-year-old daughter.

Although Blair did not attend the meeting, Executive Vice President Brandon Sepulveda confirmed Blair had submitted a letter of resignation.

With only one class this se-

mester, Blair did not meet the minimum-unit requirement to serve on the senate, Sepulveda said.

The two vacant positions will be opened up for applicants as soon as possible.

“We are losing two people, but we are giving two other students a chance to serve and get involved in ASI,” Sepulveda said.

Drug Awareness Walk ASI President Blake Zante discussed Drug Awareness Walk, which took place in the Free Speech Area on Saturday morning.

In light of the recent death of Fresno State sophomore Omar

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Nemeth, who died from an apparent overdose, Zante said the event aims to raise awareness about drug addiction.

Student Access to The New York Times Sepulveda announced that a news subscription contract with The New York Times will replace a previous contract with local the Fresno Bee which ended last September.

The digital-only deal allows students to access The New York Times for free using their school email address.

A campus wide email is expected to be sent out to all faculty and students with detailed instructions on how to subscribe.

New Club Grant now open for applications ASI Vice President of Finance Cam Patterson announced that the New Club Grant is now accepting applications.

The grant is available to any club on campus that has been operating for less than four semesters and is looking for a way to jumpstart its activities.

Patterson expressed a desire to reach out to more clubs and students on campus to promote the resources and financial opportunities available to them.

‘Endless possibilities’ for student fee reserve funds Accumulated student fees amounting to a reserve fund of approximately $700,000 spawned a discussion about their allocation during the meeting.

Zante proposed a possible donation of $5,000 to the Student Cupboard on campus using the reserve funds. ”This is just the first part of pushing that money back out to

students,” Zante said. “There are a lot of other great programs on campus, but I think it would be great if we could start with something like the Student Cupboard.”

There was no action on the proposal for use of funds during the meeting. However, Zante said the proposal will be drafted so that senators can outline expectations, such as food quality and fund usage concerns, before an official vote.

Other proposed projects for the allocation of reserve funds included adding benches to the Peace Garden to make the garden more inviting for students, as well as creating an ASI Impact Grant.

The ASI Impact Grant would be worth up to $100,000. Departments within the eight academic colleges and student affairs would be eligible to apply.

A draft of the grant application named five areas where grant recipients can request funds. Those include technology, sustainability, clubs, general and campus climate.

Patterson said the grant is meant for anyone hoping to make an impact on campus in a way that an ASI Sponsored Activity Grant or IRA may be limited on.

“I really think this expands the capacity that students have to make a difference on campus,” Patterson said.

Although funds have not yet been pulled from the reserves, Zante emphasized the importance of using the funds to benefit students.

“We need to look at what are the needs on campus and what can this money be going towards,” Zante said. “It should benefit student services or students on campus. Other than that limitation, the possibilities are endless.”

A&E

4

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

EVENT

A digital future is certain. For printed work, it’s necessary, says speaker

By William Ramirez @willoveslakers2

A

lthough Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library, holds 30 million digital media items, it came to the Henry Madden Library recently to ask for more.

Alexis Rossi, director of media and access for the organization, said the library is in need of more digital versions of books, audio, films and more.

She said there are also gaps in their library database that she seeks to fill. Last Friday, she spoke about “Defeating the Digital Information Gap” during an event at the Henry Madden Library.

Internet Archive gives free access “to researchers, historians, scholars, the print disabled and the general public,” according to its website. It provides books, television shows, music and access to other websites.

The gap that Rossi spoke about relates to the number of books that are available in print compared with those available in digital form. Rossi reported that the Internet Archive has only digitized 11 percent of books available in the Smithsonian Library.

In its current search to close that “dig-

ital information gap,” Rossi said Internet Archive is seeking digital material that was published between 1923 and 2000.

However, any work published during or after 1923 is at risk of still being under a copyright policy, she said, which makes it harder to scan and upload it to the website.

“This black hole is sucking in all of these published works from the 20th century,” Rossi said. “They are not accessible to people today, unless you make them accessible.”

Rossi began her presentation by stating that Internet Archive’s motto is “universal access to all knowledge.” Copyright laws are currently making that motto extremely difficult to achieve, she said.

Although print versions of literature are available, Rossi said they’re not enough and wishes more items can be digitized. She said it’s difficult for some people to access a physical library.

“If you go to rural areas, a lot of times these places only have a very tiny library, or it’s an hour away to get to the tiny library that is only open two afternoons a week,” Rossi said. “This information that is accessible to you and me in this building is not accessible to every person in the United States.”

Rossi added that the information is more

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Aly Honore • The Collegian

Alexis Rossi presents information about Internet Archive to community members in the North Wing of the Henry Madden Library on Jan. 19, 2018.

urgent in less-developed countries. Her work to bring more work to the digital space makes sense, she said, because society is growing more and more dependent on the internet for information.

“Someone who is far younger than I am has been trained to look to the internet first for information,” she said. “If it’s not online it doesn’t exist for a lot of people.”

Glenda Harada, director of administrative operations of the Henry Madden Library, agreed with Rossi’s justification for preserving the printed works.

“Just in one person’s lifetime, when you look at the acceleration and the rate of change [in technology], if we can’t preserve it in some manner like this, it’s all going to be gone,” Harada said.

Rossi hopes Internet Archive’s next allies are the other libraries. She hopes libraries are able to work together to find out which books need to be digitized and then get them digitized.

“We can make millions of books accessible to every single person in the United States who has an internet connection or a phone book,” Rossi said.

Fresno State alumna and retired teacher Linda Minier described Rossi’s presentation and goal to help printed work live longer online was “just amazing.”

“From a historical standpoint, this is our heritage, to a certain extent,” Minier said.

“To be able to store it in such a fashion that it can be accessed over time, just having it available, that’s a wealth of information.”

THE COLLEGIAN • A&E

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

PAGE 5

MUSIC

Gala provides musical sounds from faculty and students

By Bineet Kaur @hellobineet

Amanda Busick Fresno State BA, Sociology

“I chose to attend SJCL because I saw how successful the attorneys were coming out of the school. I realized I could have a successful career with an education that was affordable.”

In hopes of raising scholarship funds for Fresno State’s department of music, the annual gala concert, featuring an orchestra, was held last Saturday.

Faculty orchestra and vocalists performed alongside students in the concert hall. The performances featured a variety of instrumentals, including string and brass instruments and percussion.

“The main reason for this concert is to bring awareness to the music department and its wonderful faculty and students, but even more so to raise funds for student scholarships,” said Thomas Loewenheim, a professor in the music department and the orchestra’s conductor.

The concert was composed of four parts – Antonin Dvorak’s “Carnival Overture”; a composition by Fresno State professor Kenneth Froelich titled “Jefferson Rising”; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera “Cosi Fan Tutte”; and Reinhold Gliere’s “The Red Poppy Suite.”

Alexis Darrow, a Fresno State junior majoring in music, performed at the concert

REVIEW

‘12 Strong’ shows the pride and pain of war

By Christian Mattos @ChrisssyMattos

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and said “Jefferson Rising” stood out to her.

“It was definitely more contemporary,” Darrow said. “It’s really brass heavy, which is not usual for symphony music.”

Alex Chan, a Fresno State graduate student, said he attended the concert to see one of his friends perform and because he likes orchestra music. “[Orchestra music] will take you somewhere else from here,” Chan said. “You never know where it will lead you to and what will turn out next, and that’s fascinating.”

Loewenheim said he feels music can be used to bring people together.

“My goal is to bring peace and quiet to the people who come to the concert,” Loewenheim said. “And take them out of their daily, busy schedules to take some time to reflect and enjoy.”

In addition, Loewenheim said he feels that a variety of individuals can enjoy classical music.

“What’s so amazing about classical music is it really talks to everyone in their own way,” Loewenheim said. “For people who want to just listen to beautiful music, they can come.

For people who understand art form and theory and harmony, they can really see the complexity of each and every piece.”

MASTERFUL

The hardest part about watching a movie based on or inspired by true events is the harsh reality of it. A part of me wants to shake my head, close my eyes and say, “That’s not real. It’s just a movie.”

But with a film like “12 Strong,” it isn’t just a movie.

Directed by Nicolai Fuglsig and written

by Ted Tally and Peter Craig, “12 Strong” is based on the novel “Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan,” written by Doug Stanton.

The movie’s plot is summed up in the title of the inspiring book. Following the events of 9/11, a U.S. Special Forces team is deployed to Afghanistan to join forces with Northern Alliance Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum (Navid Negahban) in the fight against the Taliban government.

Led by Capt. Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth), the U.S. soldiers unite with Dostum’s men, traveling on horses and calling in air raids in cities throughout the country to liberate the people and avenge the attacks back home.

As I sat in the theater, I did not move throughout the entire film. I was curled in a ball, watching every second of the violence that ensued as our men fought for freedom.

When the first bomb dropped on members of the Taliban, I winced.

Elsewhere in the audience, people cheered.

This was not a film to sensationalize war. It did not aim to merely show who

our enemies were or to invoke violence against them.

The first characters we meet are Nelson, his wife and his daughter as they watch the twin towers falling on the morning news.

We learn that Nelson had asked for a reassigned position to allow him time with his family. But after these acts of terrorism, he and his team members are some of the first to request deployment to fight back.

“12 Strong” showed the humanity that persists even in the war zone. Nelson and Dostum bonded over the lives lost during the fight, and Nelson’s team member Sgt. 1st Class Ben Milo (Trevante Rhodes) protects the life of a young boy following Dostum and his men.

With every gunshot, bomb dropped or body falling, I felt a growing pain in my chest. I know it was all done with “movie magic,” but that doesn’t make it any easier to see someone get shot square in the forehead as children watch.

What kept me watching was the strength that Hemsworth exhibited in his portrayal of Nelson. He was a fearless leader. Hemsworth played the part with an appropriate amount of sensitivity, strategy and perseverance necessary for that situation.

The other members of the team, particularly Sgt. 1st Class Sam Diller (Michael Peña), provided comedic moments in between all of the action.

But even a laugh couldn’t distract from the gravity of the situation. Plenty of gunshots and explosions were littered throughout to excite any viewer, and there was hardly a lull until the film’s end.

There is pride and pain in serving our country, and “12 Strong” did a good job at showing the reality of war and what it means to truly fight for freedom.

“12 Strong” is in theaters now.

NEWS

PROTEST from Page 1

harassment. Members and supporters of the movement use the hashtag to tell their stories and to prevent the abuse from happening again.

The #MeToo campaign was a constant topic throughout the event. One speaker asked those in attendance to raise their hand if they had experienced sexual assault or knew someone who had.

Many hands went up.

Sophia Bautista, 19, was a younger voice on the stage during the rally. Upon learning one of her friends was protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Bautista became focused on defending the program after it was ordered to be rescinded last September.

“I just like marches in general because they’re kind of like a celebration of humanity because there’s people of all colors and age and gender, so that was really cool,” Bautista said.

Shannon Slavan-Lombre, social media organizer for the event, marched for the equality of all people, she said.

“I have a son. I want him to know what’s the right way to treat the women in his life,” Slavan-Lombre said. “Not only the women in his life, but the women he will come across in his lifetime.”

6

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018 For Slavan-Lombre, marching is a family tradition.

“My grandmother was a marcher, my great-grandmother was a marcher,” she said. “It’s what I was born to do, in a way.”

Jim Neptune, a former Fresno resident and a Fresno State alumnus, came to the march with his wife.

“I believed all my life in the equality of men and women, and what the world politics need is more women involved and a universal education of women throughout the world,” Neptune said.

The Fresno march was “Women’s March 2.0” for Neptune, since he attended a march at California State University, Monterey Bay last year.

“I’m glad to see the energy level not only sustained, but growing from last year’s march, and I look forward to the Women’s March 3.0,” Neptune said.

Fresno resident Jennica Geddert made homemade signs and marched with her daughter.

“She’s been coming home all week just yapping off my ear about Rosa Parks, Dr. [Martin Luther] King [Jr.], and so I’m so proud to be able to give her a chance to participate,” Geddert said. “This is a part of what it means to be American, to participate in protests when you see something wrong, and I’m thrilled to do this together with her.”

Benjamin Cruz • The Collegian

Participants of the second annual Fresno Women’s March walk down Blackstone Avenue near Riverpark on Jan. 20, 2018.

Originally from Canada, Geddert said she feels empathetic towards the undocumented young people in the U.S., often called “Dreamers” based on never-passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act that would have provided similar protections for young immigrants as DACA. “It was hard for me to go through the immigration process,

and I can’t imagine how tough it is for the Dreamers,” she said.

But not all in attendance were fully supportive of the event.

Some people wore President Trump merchandise and held signs saying “Abortion is Murder,” opposing Planned Parenthood’s presence at the march advocating for women’s reproductive rights and safe access to abortion.

But despite its push for inclusivity, not all the participants at the march held a good experience. For marchers Emily Cameron, Colleen Quine and Brittany Grant, the lack of representation for transgender women was an issue. Without a transgender woman speaking at the rally before the march, Quine, a transgender woman, said she felt more like a political object.

“I support the ideals of Women’s March, but I find this kind of exclusionary, white, wealthy, capitalist feminism to be kind of offensive,” Quine said. “It commodifies and turns a radical movement into a tepid, lukewarm thing that is very exclusionary.”

Quine said she hopes people learn from the march that feminism, the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes, is intersectional and that identifying as a feminist should align with support for other oppressed groups in society, including transgender people and people of color.

Bautista, the 19-year-old participant, hopes the march left participants feeling brighter and more hopeful. She wants people to recognize that life is “one big, long march,” and that taking political action at the polls will empower others.

“I guess we have to talk the walk this time,” she said.

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THE COLLEGIAN • SPORTS

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

PAGE 7

WRESTLING

Bulldogs fall to Utah Valley in home opener

By Vanessa Romo @VanessaRomo_

The Fresno State wrestling team fell to Utah Valley 26-12 in its Big 12 home opener Friday evening at the Save Mart Center.

The ‘Dogs drop to 3-11 overall and 0-2 in conference competition.

Freshman AJ Nevills, redshirt sophomore Khristian Olivas and sophomore Greg Gaxiola each recorded a win in front of 3,954 fans.

The dual started with redshirt sophomore Dominic Kincaid at 174 pounds. The match ended in an 11-5 decision for Utah Valley’s Kimball Bastian. Bastian quickly jumped out to a 6-5 lead. He extended that lead to 10-5 after a four-point near fall. The Wolverines were the first to take the board, 3-0.

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At 184 pounds, Fresno State’s redshirt sophomore Richie Brandt faced his former team and redshirt freshman Gary Jantzer. Brandt was able to make an escape, takedown and a twopoint near fall to take a 9-8 lead.

But Jantzer came back to secure a 12-9 win.

The Wolverines continued to lead the way in the 197-pound match. ‘Dogs sophomore Josh Hokit was able to tie the match 3-3 against Tanner Orndorff, but was unable to finish after Orndoff took the match 9-4 to extend Utah Valley’s lead to nine.

Nevills put the ‘Dogs on the board with a 7-3 win over senior Dustin Dennison. Ranked 28th in the NCAA Coaches’ Panel Ranking, Nevills improves to a perfect dual meet record of 14-0.

The Wolverines fired back with three straight wins to lead Fresno State 22-2. Sixth-ranked

Alejandro Soto • The Collegian

Fresno State sophomore Dominic Kincaid attempts to escape Utah Valley’s Kimball Bastian on Jan. 19, 2018 at the Save Mart Center. The ‘Dogs lost 26-12.

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Taylor Lamont won by fall over redshirt senior Sean Williams; Valley native and now Wolverine Durbin Lloren won by a 6-1 decision over freshman Trevor Williams; and Matt Findlay beat freshman Chris De Loza with an 11-3 major decision.

At 149 pounds, former Wolverine and No. 22 Olivas notched a major decision over Fresno native Matthew Ontiveros to give the ‘Dogs four points.

Keeping the momentum going, Gaxiola recorded his first fall

BASKETBALL

Government shutdown cancels games

By Vanessa Romo @VanessaRomo_

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of the season over junior Raider Lofthouse. But, the ‘Dogs still trailed 22-12.

The dual concluded at 165 pounds with redshirt sophomore Isaiah Hokit and 16th-ranked Demetrius Romero. Romero won in a 13-5 major decision and secured the 26-12 win for Utah Valley.

Fresno State will be on the road next weekend to compete against Northern Colorado on Jan. 26 and No. 11 Wyoming on Jan. 27.

The Fresno State men’s and women’s basketball games were cancelled over the weekend due to the government shutdown.

The men’s basketball team was set to play at Clune Arena against the Air Force Falcons on Saturday at 1 p.m. The women were also scheduled to play Air Force at the Save Mart Center Saturday at 2 p.m.

But on Saturday morning, the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Twitter page stated that “All Air Force Academy home and away intercollegiate athletic events have been canceled until further notice.”

The Academy said that if a budget deal was reached in Congress, it would work to reschedule its missed events. “We regret any inconvenience,” the Academy said.

According to CBS news, the U.S. Senate was unable to pass a short-term spending bill last

Friday night, leading to a government shutdown on President Donald Trump’s one-year anniversary as president.

The GOP-controlled Senate and White House were discussing issues regarding how long a government funding bill should last and what it should include, what to include in a bill to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and improve border security as well as the Children’s Health and Insurance Program.

But the republicans were unable to secure the 60 votes they needed to pass the bill. The White House blamed Democrats for the government shutting down, citing the party’s refusal to accept a deal that did not include a solution on immigration.

“We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands. This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

SPORTS

8

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

ATHLETICS

What is happening with Bulldog Stadium?

By Vanessa Romo @VanessaRomo_

The modernization of Bulldog Stadium is still happening – but it might take a while.

The Fresno Bee reported on Jan. 14 that Fresno State had “shelved” its $60 million Bulldog Stadium modernization project plans and was instead focused on upgrading the Robert E. Duncan Athletic Building and the Student-Athlete village.

Fundraising for the Bulldog Stadium modernization project was on the right track, according to former Athletic Director Jim Bartko, who said last semester that the department had donation commitments of more than $10 million.

He had announced his plans for stadium renovations in the summer of 2015 after a $1.5 million donation from a former student-athlete who wished to remain anonymous.

Shortly after, the design and development phase began.

Engineering firm AECOM was to discuss modernization plans with the athletic department, Bartko had said, and the university was to determine what price it could afford and move forward from there. The expected cost of renovations was around $60 million to $70 million, according to Bartko.

In a statement to The Collegian, Steve Robertello, interim athletic director, said that it was “recent information regarding financing viability of the project” that has led the university to adjust its plans.

“The original feasibility study [and] concept plan anticipated that the project would be implemented in multiple phases over several years under a ‘best case’ sce-

Fresno State Athletics

Fresno State Interim Athletic Director Steve Robertello said that recent financial information has led the university to adjust its plans for renovating Bulldog Stadium.

nario,” Robertello said. “While work is already underway, we acknowledge that the original timeline for the total vision may have been optimistic.”

Robertello stated that any donor who pledged funds toward the modernization project can revisit that pledge. In the coming months, Robertello assured, the university will roll out new plans for the Bulldog Stadium project, which are expected to be completed for approval by the California State University trustees in early 2019.

Though it’s not a shiny new stadium as some may have once wished for, Robertello said, the renovations sought by the university in the near future will still “dramatically improve the gameday experience for Red Wave fans.”

Bartko, who resigned from his position last semester citing personal reasons, wanted just that, according to a statement he gave in 2015. He also hoped that the Bulldog Stadium renovations would attract crowds to fill the Stadium.

This season, the Fresno State football team drew 30,362 people in average attendance in the football team’s 9-3 season. The team lost in the Mountain West Championship and won the Hawaii Bowl.

That came after the worst season in Fresno State history. The team finished 1-11 in 2016 and averaged an attendance of 25,493. Former head coach Tim DeRuyter was fired midseason.

In 2013, the attendance average was 36,917, and in 2008 it was 37,864.

Robertello has also looked into a po-

tential expansion and upgrade of facilities in the Student Athlete Village to improve teams’ overall success.

“This approach will serve all 21 of our sports teams and is fully endorsed by Coach [Jeff] Tedford and our other head coaches,” Robertello said. “We collectively believe improvements of this kind will lead to enhanced recruitment success and, ultimately, the success of our student-athletes and sports programs.”

In addition to attempt to improve teams’ success, Robertello stated that the university would carry out small renovations around Bulldog Stadium in the near future.

According to Robertello, the athletics department and the university are focusing on the most cost-effective upgrades for now. He said that the university has decided to focus on facility upgrades before addressing modernization plans once heavily sought for Bulldog Stadium, like premium seating.

But among plans that might soon be a reality is making the stadium more accessible in terms of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act rules on seating, parking, restrooms and elevators, Robertello said. There is also a focus on upgrading concession areas and restrooms as well as replacing aging utility and technological infrastructure.

The stadium has run into emergency repair cases in the past, like when an irrigation pipe burst last semester under the southeast side of the stadium.

And though work is being done on the smaller areas of the stadium, Robertello said that the modernization project “continues to be an urgent priority and has not been placed on hold.”

WATER POLO

Fresno State struggles in inaugural games

By William Ramirez @willloveslakers

Fresno State Water Polo began its inaugural season this weekend with a 1-3 record at the University of California Santa Barbara Gaucho Invitational.

Day one, on Saturday, brought the ‘Dogs their first victory in program history when they beat California State University Northridge 10-9 in the second half of a doubleheader.

The two teams were tied 5-5 going into the fourth quarter, but Fresno State managed to find a rhythm early in that quarter.

The ‘Dogs established a 9-6 lead with just over three minutes left on the clock.

The Matadors rallied back, but the ‘Dogs’ lead proved to be insurmountable.

Freshmen Claire Schade and Callie Woodruff each finished the game with three goals.

But the ‘Dogs were unable to find much success against their other three opponents.

In the first half of Saturday’s doubleheader, the team lost to No. 13 Indiana.

The ‘Dogs were able to keep it close in the first quarter thanks to a pair of goals

from senior Gabrielle Wiltse. The Hoosiers led 3-2 going into the second quarter.

The Hoosiers tapped into that nationally renowned potential in the second quarter and pulled away. They went into the half with an 8-4 lead thanks to a 4-0 run to close the half.

The Hoosiers never looked back and won, 12-6. Then on the second day of the invitational, the ‘Dogs lost twice.

The first loss came against the Chinese National Team. Again, the ‘Dogs found themselves in a tight game early on and failed to carry that effort throughout the game.

The ‘Dogs went into the half only down by one score, but by the end of the third quarter, the ‘Dogs were down 9-5. Fresno State lost 13-6.

The final game against the hosts of the invitational was much more lopsided. The ‘Dogs never ended a quarter with a lead, or a deficit smaller than two.

By the end of the first half, the ‘Dogs found themselves facing an 8-3 deficit.

The second half was not much different, and the ‘Dogs lost to the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 12-7.

“This group grew a tremendous amount in our first weekend of play, and now have

Fresno State Athletics

Freshman Callie Woodruff at last weekend’s UCSB Gaucho Invitational. The ‘Dogs finished 1-3 to win their first game in program history.

a better understanding of the pace of play at the collegiate level,” head coach Natalie Benson said. “We’re proud of their effort, and look forward to watching them grow throughout the season.”

Fresno State’s next tests will come in the Cal Cup Invite, which is another set of four games spread over two days, Jan. 27 to 28.