January 23 2012

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‘Dogs shine at indoor invitational SPORTS Graduate degrees sought after, but hard to fund SCIENCE Bulldog basketball should leave SMC, go back to Selland OPINION

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MONday Issue January 23, 2012 FRESNO STATE

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SERVING CAMPUS SINCE 1922

Report faults professor, UCLA in death of lab assistant

By Kim Christensen McClatchy Tribune

Photo illustration by Esteban Cortez / The Collegian

Students saw delay in grades Professors of 65 classes did not make the January due date

By Alexandra Norton The Collegian Typical Fresno State-issued syllabi outline what to expect from the course.

They may also address university-wide policies, turn-in dates and rules for the class.

But, despite the premises each professor’s syllabus lays forth, a handful of students in the fall were alarmed to find that their grades weren’t posted by the set due date in January.

By Jan. 3 teachers were expected to have submitted grades online, and by

are dependent on knowing the grades of their members.

“For many of the fraternities and sororities, being in good academic standing is part of the criteria for being a member in good standing,” said Eddie Dominguez, coordinator of student involvement. “So if there are students who fall behind on their GPA, that’s how it can affect them.”

Dominguez reports the grades for fraternities and sororities and has the responsibility of looking up each member of Fresno State’s 42 combined fraternities and sororities at the start of

“I

could use more time to more thoroughly consider all aspects of each student’s progress and skill development.”

— Thomas-Whit Ellis, Drama professor

Jan. 4 the Admissions, Records and Evaluations Office at Fresno State deemed them late.

“We run a report that tells all the classes that are still ungraded,” said Tina Beddall of the Admissions, Records and Evaluations Office.

Once the report is printed it is sent to the Academic Personnel Office, from there it is distributed to the different deans and their departments to notify the teacher that they haven’t received grades.

And while only 65 class sections out of the 4,296 offered this fall didn’t make the deadline, some organizations are affected by the delay.

Frater nities and sororities are among the various organizations that

each semester.

“That alone takes a couple weeks to do just with the staff in our office. But we are working on a process right now that were hoping we can implement for future semesters is OrgSync — which all students organizations are apart of.”

OrgSync is run through the university’s PeopleSoft application where students can access their own grades and class schedules.

“We’re hoping that will address the time it takes us as an office to generate that report,” Dominguez said. “But, again, we are reliant on all the instructors to get their grades in.”

But with continuing budget cuts and reduction in classes, teachers have had

to take on more students with fewer resources.

Thomas-Witt Ellis, a drama professor at Fresno State, is one of the many professors that has the duty of turning in grades and believes having time to examine a student’s grade is important.

“I could use more time to more thoroughly consider all aspects of each student’s progress and skill development,” Ellis said.

Ellis also points out that the registrar has made it easier for professors to turn in grades.

“The biggest change with final grades was a technical one put into place by the university about eight years ago, which allows us to file final grades online,” said Ellis. “This grants faculty the flexibility to calculate and file grades from any location with computer access.”

The registrar also modernized the filing of incomplete grades and grade changes.

“This reduction of formal paperwork, which could only be filed during business hours, is a major step away from an inefficient bureaucratic morass,” Ellis said.

However, even with a more efficient process, several professors were not able to make the deadline. Fresno State doesn’t issue a penalty for late grades, but Ellis believes the sooner grades are turned in, the better for both students and professors.

“It does finish the academic process for the semester,” Ellis said. “Students have grades and faculty are released from duties for a short time — closure.”

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Ever since Sheri Sangji was fatally burned in a December 2008 lab fire, UCLA officials have cast it as a tragic accident, saying the 23-year-old staff research assistant was a seasoned chemist who was trained in the experiment that went awry.

But Sangji was neither experienced nor well trained — if trained at all — in the safe handling of air-sensitive chemicals that burst into flame, ignited her clothing and spread severe burns over nearly half her body, according to a report on a Cal/OSHA criminal investigation obtained by The Los Angeles Times.

The 95-page report adds new detail to the circumstances surrounding Sangji’s death and provides insight into the basis for felony charges filed last month against University of

“W

e didn’t just pluck her off the streets and put her in a chemistry lab. She was a trained chemist.”

— Kevin Reed, Vice Chancellor for legal affairs California at Los Angeles chemistry professor Patrick Harran and the UC Board of Regents. Based on labor code violations, the charges are thought to be the first stemming from an academic lab accident in the United States.

University officials have blasted the charges as “unwarranted,” “outrageous” and “appalling” and say they contradict an earlier Cal/OSHA investigation that resulted in nearly $32,000 in Cal/OSHA fines but no findings of intentional, or “willful,” violations.

The findings of the subsequent criminal probe, conducted by a different investigator, were far harsher.

The report states that UCLA, by repeatedly failing to address previous safety lapses, had “wholly neglected its legal obligations” to provide a safe environment in campus labs and that Harran was personally responsible.

“Dr. Harran simply disregarded the open and obvious dangers presented in this case and permitted Victim Sangji to work in a manner that knowingly caused her to be exposed to a serious and foreseeable risk of serious injury or death,” the report by senior special investigator Brian Baudendistel states.

If Harran had trained his research assistant properly and assured that she wore clothing appropriate for the work, “Sanji’s death would have been prevented,” it said.

Harran’s attorney, Thomas O’Brien, disputed those conclusions.

“Dr. Harran remains devastated by this tragic accident,” he said. “There See UNIVERSITY, Page 3

The

Collegian

Opinion PAGE 2

THE REAL WORD OF THE DAY

concupiscent (adjective) Lustful.

Source: The Lexicon by William F. Buckley Jr.

OPINION EDITOR, TONY PETERSEN • COLLEGIAN-OPINION@CSUFRESNO.EDU

EDITORIAL

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

EDITORIAL

Ditch SMC, go Ethics and the back to Selland new media C

onsider two scenarios.

One is of a basketball arena with a sellout crowd night after night. The consistently competitive team it features is boosted every night by the 10,000-plus screaming fans all clad in red. Opposing teams are scared to play here: from 1968-2003 the home team won 406 games, nearly four wins out of every five.

The other is of a huge, magisterial arena which attracts an increasingly dwindling fan base. Actual attendance is always a great deal less than paid attendance, students, who get in free, can barely fill three rows of the student section and, perhaps most depressing of all, the arena gets louder for free pizza than it does for the team it cheers for.

Obviously, the former picture is of Selland Arena, home of the Bulldogs from 1966-2003. Known as “Grant’s Tomb” during the era of head coach Boyd Grant, the ‘Dogs made three NCAA Tournament appearances under Grant, along with winning the 1983 NIT Championship over DePaul.

Ten years after Grant left, Jerry Tarkanian arrived, leading the ‘Dogs to six 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Sadly, the latter is of the Save Mart Center, now in its ninth year.

The Collegian compiled attendance records for Fresno State men’s basketball dating back 11 years, including the first eight seasons in the Save Mart Center and the last three in Selland Arena.

What we found was staggering.

During the Bulldogs’ final three seasons at Selland, attendance averaged more than 9,500 fans every game, while the arena was filled at or above the 10,132-seat capacity an unbelievable 34 times.

Since moving to SMC, the story has been much different. Since averaging 14,064 fans at every home game during the 2003-2004 season — no doubt buoyed by the grand opening of a luxu-

“T

here are more problems than Fresno State’s wonloss record. The ‘Dogs have no home-court advantage: The arena is too spacious. SMC rivals NBA arenas in its attendance capacity.

It is simply too big for a mid-major college basketball team. Not once has SMC been sold out, and a huge black curtain covers the top level of the arena at all home games today.”

THE

rious arena — average attendance has declined every year, except for a slight uptick during a 22-win 2006-07 season.

During the last three seasons, attendance has declined even more rapidly, plumbing to the depths of 7,767 in 200910, 7,332 in 2010-11 and, in spite of the normal excitement that comes with the hiring of a new coach, 6,066 thus far this season.

Why is this the case?

Obviously, the lack of winning has not helped. Since playing in the SMC, the ‘Dogs have only posted three above.500 seasons.

But there are more problems than Fresno State’s won-loss record. The ‘Dogs have no home-court advantage: The arena is too spacious. SMC rivals NBA arenas in its attendance capacity. It is simply too big for a mid-major college basketball team. Not once has SMC been sold out, and a huge black curtain covers the top level of the arena at all home games today.

Fresno State will never have a homecourt advantage so long as it plays at SMC. Thus, we propose a radical solution: ditch Save Mart and go back to Selland.

Moving the team back to Selland Arena could play a key role in the effort to revitalize Fresno, bringing basketball fans and Fresno State supporters into Downtown and the myriad of shops and restaurants that exist in the area.

Selland is a great basketball arena.

It seats enough fans to satisfy the wants of the public, but not more than would look bad if the team experienced a swoon. And, the way it’s built, it holds the sound close to the court, making the crowd sound much louder than it normally would be.

But the major draw would be the tradition. There is so much history at Selland. It would be a return to the glory days, when it was not unheard of to see Fresno State in the Top 25, when players like Rod Higgins, Wil Hooker, Chris Herren and Melvin Ely roamed the court.

The Save Mart Center is not an arena for sports, it is a home to concerts and other special events. It should be officially treated as such.

Selland Arena should once again be the home of Bulldog basketball.

Collegian editorials represent the views of the editorial staff, not necessarily those of the faculty or the university.

For news updates, links to articles and more, follow The Collegian on Twitter @thecollegian.

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Collegian

The Collegian is a student-run publication that serves the Fresno State community on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Views expressed in The Collegian do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or university.

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COMMENT: The Collegian is a forum for student expression. http://collegian.csufresno.edu

T

he news of Joe Paterno’s death on Sunday morning shook not only the college football world, but the entire sports landscape as well. However, it was news, or, rather, misinformed news, released hours prior to Sunday’s announcement that reminded student-journalists just how powerful the press can be.

As reports surfaced across ESPN tickers, Facebook walls, Twitter feeds and just about any sports news website that Paterno’s health had taken a turn for the worse, eager followers awaited to hear what seemed like just a matter of time. Likewise, reporters sat on edge for the confirmed word that college football’s all-time winningest coach had passed away.

But in an ever-evolving world of journalism where access to news publishing is literally just a click — or tweet — away, the mantra of “be the first to get it, but first get it right” went unfollowed by a Penn State news source and its managing editor, Devon Edwards.

Onward State, a student news site serving the Penn State community, tweeted Saturday evening from its Twitter feed that Joe Paterno had passed away, a post that was picked up globally and treated as “breaking news” by such prominent outlets as CBS Sports.

Onward State is a self-described “blogging fraternity,” and a rather small entity compared to its studentjournalism counterpart, The Daily Collegian, Penn State’s campus newspaper.

“I

n the news business, simply being close does not count.”

No matter the prominence or establishment, however, being a studentjournalist carries weight that parallels professionals. Edwards resigned before Saturday was over, issuing an apology on behalf of Onward State for a lack of caution and restraint in its reporting.

Published is published, and Edwards found out the hard way.

The Collegian, our Collegian, has likewise encountered situations over the past two years that have forced us to deal with reporting the news and getting it right.

In November 2010, we broke the news that former Associated Students, Inc. President Pedro Ramirez was an undocumented immigrant. Naturally, this got a lot attention: the story spread from local radio stations KMJ and KYNO to the Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and Washington Post.

The story was controversial as well.

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 © 2012 The Collegian.

“I

n an ever-evolving world of journalism where access to news publishing is literally just a click — or tweet — away, the mantra of ‘be the first to get it, but first get it right’ went unfollowed by a Penn State news source and its managing editor, Devon Edwards.”

Several of our editors were forced to explain to Fresno State faculty why we published the story, and many negative comments, both about Ramirez and The Collegian, were posted online by readers as well.

In this situation, we had to evaluate whether or not to publish such a scoop. We had to consider whether we had sufficient proof, whether the story would be fair to all involved and whether it would be worth it to publish. We ended up answering all of these questions in the affirmative.

All this is not to paint The Collegian as the ideal student newspaper, just to point out that we have been in this situation too.

It is easy to imagine how things could have snowballed had we published the story before we were completely sure of our facts, and The Collegian wasn’t on near the time crunch Onward State was in.

Remember, Onward State is a strictly online publication attempting to overtake The Daily Collegian as Penn State students’ news source of choice. Previously, it had a reputation of scooping the other, bigger campus newspaper. And they obviously weren’t that far off, considering Joe Pa did succumb to death shortly after.

But, in the news business, simply being close does not count.

Edwards took the honorable road in falling on his sword. And we certainly feel sympathy toward an otherwise excellent student journalist. But his story shows the pitfalls of the new media and the care even student newspapers must have for their craft.

Collegian editorials represent the views of the editorial staff, not necessarily those of the faculty or the university.

For news updates, links to articles and more, follow The Collegian on Twitter @thecollegian.

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Editor in Chief News Editor Senior Writer Features Editor Science/Culture Editor Sports Editor Opinion Editor Photo Editor

Local Advertising Manager Ben Ingersoll Local Advertising Manager Alexandra Norton National Advertising Manager Stephen Keleher Special Projects Thomas Pearson Special Projects Johnathan Wilbanks Assistant Art Director Angel Moreno Distribution Manager Tony Petersen Accountancy Assistant Esteban Cortez

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Rachel Waldron Dalton Runberg Garrett Horn James Ramirez Sergio Robles Jeff Perlmutter

General Manager Financial Manager Advertising Faculty Adviser Editorial Faculty Adviser MCJ Chair Former Business Manager

Russell Goolsby Dan Koenig Skeye Gage Matt Tracey Mitchell Canizalez Carlos Lujan Kirsten Hernandez Anthony Samarasekera Richard Marshall Toni Carmona Jan Edwards Prof. Emeritus Jim Tucker Dr. Tamyra Pierce Virginia Sellars-Erxleben

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS NEWS EDITOR, ALEXANDRA NORTON • COLLEGIAN-NEWS@CSUFRESNO.EDU

UNIVERSITY: Implementing more safety precautions CONTINUED from page 1 are numerous misstatements in that report, but I will refer you to the UC regents for any comments.”

Harran and the Board of Regents are to be arraigned Feb. 2 in Los Angeles Superior Court on three counts each of willfully violating occupational health and safety standards.

Harran faces up to four-and-ahalf years in prison if convicted; the regents could be fined up to $4.5 million.

Kevin Reed, UCLA vice chancellor for legal affairs, said he “vehemently” disagreed with the findings. He said Sangji was well trained, had previously performed the experiment safely and successfully, and chose not to use available protective gear.

“It was not as if UCLA found a newbie who didn’t know what she was doing and put her in a lab with no regard to the consequences; there is just no evidence to support that,” he said. “We didn’t just pluck

her off the streets and put her in a chemistry lab. She was a trained chemist.”

Sangji, who graduated in 2008 from Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, had worked in Harran’s organic chemistry lab for less than three months when the accident occurred.

She was transferring about 1.8 ounces of t-butyl lithium from one sealed container to another when a plastic syringe came apart in her hands, spewing a chemical compound that ignites when exposed to air. The synthetic sweater she wore caught fire and melted onto her skin. She died 18 days later.

Sanji had not used pyrophorics in her undergraduate work or during a brief stint at an Azusa, Calif., pharmaceutical company just before she took the UCLA job, according to the Cal/OSHA investigative report, which was completed in December 2009 but not previously made public. Nor had

she been properly trained in their handling by a senior researcher, as Harran said, according to the report.

When interviewed by Cal/ OSHA, the researcher said he might have given Sangji some “general guidance” on the procedure but could not recall any formal training. The report also said the researcher’s own methods were “contrary” to the chemical manufacturer’s instructions and generally accepted lab standards.

“Despite Dr. Harran’s assertions to the contrary, it is clear that Victim Sangji was not properly trained, if at all, in the procedures necessary for the safe handling and transfer of t-Butyllithium,” the report noted.

Since Sangji’s death, UCLA has instituted more rigorous lab inspections, issued more fire-resistant lab coats, enhanced training in the use of air-sensitive chemicals and established a Center for Lab Safety.

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NEWS BRIEFS

File Photo/ McClatchy-Tribune

Former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, seen in this 2007 file photo, died Sunday, January 22, 2012. Paterno passed away at the age of 85 after being diagnosed with a form of lung cancer in November. His diagnosis came not long after a scandal swept the Penn State family in the wake of a child sexual abuse investigation regarding former Paterno understudy Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno did nearly as much for the academic aspect of Penn State as he did for the football program, leaving as Division I college football’s winningest coach with 409 wins.

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VIDEO: Scan the QR Code above with your smartphone to access the YouTube video.

Rep. Gabrielle Gifford announced that she will resign her position in congress on Sunday afternoon on a YouTube video. “I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week,” Gifford said. Gifford suffered a head injury in a shooting spree last January in Tucson that killed six and injured 12. Gifford finished her statement saying, “I’m getting better. Everyday my spirit, is high, I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country.”

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THE COLLEGIAN • FEATURES FEATURES EDITOR, THOMAS PEARSON • COLLEGIAN-FEATURES@CSUFRESNO.EDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

Social media a modern way to employment Employers are constantly looking for new ways to find employees, and online presence is important in today's society

Thomas Pearson

W

ith a California unemployment rate of 11.3 percent and a Fresno unemployment rate of 15.7, which is almost twice the national unemployment rate, getting a job these days can be tough. People searching for a job are constantly looking for a way to get a head-up on other people also searching for a job.

One way to separate from other competitors is to have an online presence. In today's digital age, having an online presence should be considered an absolute must. Social media is an excellent way to execute this objective.

"More and more job seekers are using social networking to enhance their preparation for interviews, gather an advantage over less-wired peers, and and even gain an edge with recruiters," career experience counselor Aleta Wolfe said.

Employers can use social networking sites to gain background information on prospective employees. While this may sound like it gives the advantage to the employer, it can also be used to give the job-seeker an advantage as well.

Those seeking jobs can use the websites for the same thing that employers do. By researching about the company and the current management of the company, jobseekers can shift the advantage to themselves.

"By finding out about topics that will interest the recruiter, you may gain an upper hand in the interview process," Wolfe said. "In addition, stronger connections with a potential employer can be made by talking about the clubs he or she belongs to and even the friends you may have in common — information that can be discovered on Facebook."

Another useful social networking site is Twitter. On Twitter you can follow the company or follow employees of the company. This can be useful in finding out what is going on with the company and what events it may have coming up via its tweets. You can also use the tweets to have conversations you may not have been able to have without Twitter by talking about pictures and links to posted articles.

The most useful social networking site when it comes to looking for a job is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a professional

Richard Sennott / McClatchy-Tribune

Lisa Hendrickson, the self-proclaimed "LinkedIn networking goddess," and owner of LinkedMinnesota, is one of many who stresses the importance of social media when searching for a job.

social networking site specifically designed for those seeking employment and recruiters.

"By using the alumni connections available through LinkedIn you can gain insight into potential employers," Wolfe said. "You can have a conversations with alumni via LinkedIn that you wouldn't have in an interview such as, 'Do you like the company?' or 'Can you negotiate salary?'"

LinkedIn also has groups that members can join where they can have conversations with people who are in their same field of employment to

gain tips on being successful or just learning something they didn't know.

LinkedIn's primary use however is that its profile feature essentially acts as the user's online resume. Users can post their resume to their profile, as well as a link to their person website, blog and online portfolio.

Wolfe said, almost 40 percent of HR managers predict resumes will soon be replaced by social networking profiles.

Wolfe's advice for those utilizing social networking sites are:

• Be aware of what other people can see on your page.

Recruiters use these sites or ask their colleagues to do searches on candidates.

• Determine access intentionally.

• Set a standard. If anything appears on your page that you wouldn't want an interviewer to see, remove offending content.

This column is the first in a series of columns that will appear in The Collegian in coming issues.

Fashion Inc. provides students the opportunity to learn what it takes to succeed in the fashion world

By Thomas Pearson The Collegian For students with an interest in Fashion and the world behind it, Fashion Inc. offers students a bevy of different opportunities.

F a s h i o n I n c. i s a c l u b designed to support, promote and aid the fashion merchandising program. Fashion Inc. gives students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in things like retailing, management, merchandising, design, event planning, design, style and business operations.

"The fashion merchandising program here at Fresno State emphasizes the business aspect of the fashion industry.

Fashion Inc. offers students the hands-on experience needed to succeed in the industry as a whole," Fashion Inc. vicepresident Reyna Cazares said.

The club was created in spring 2010 by for mer club president April Curran Prado.

Before Fashion Inc. was cre-

ated, there was another fashion club. But since that spring, Fashion Inc. has remained the only f ashion club on the campus. The Fashion Merchandising program on campus is relatively small, so Prado decided to create the club to give these students a

“T

he fashion merchandising program here at Fresno State emphasizes the business aspect of the fashion industry. Fashion Inc. offers students the hands-on experience needed to succeed in the industry as a whole.”

— Reyna Cazares, Fashion Inc. vicepresident

chance to gain experience in the world of fashion.

“I joined the club because I have always had a high interest in fashion. It is something I enjoy doing and lear ning about,” Cazares said. “When I first joined I was a different major, but still wanted to experience a fashion club. I joined and ultimately learned that it would be the industry that I wanted to make a career of one day, so I switched to fashion merchandising.”

Fashion Inc. provides its members with experience through things like volunteer activities, writing for the club's blog and its yearly fashion show. The club also does themed photoshoots, learns how to do fashion sketching, create fashion look books, blog and shopping days.

“The club also allows students to become leaders because there are several committees in which one student takes charge. For example, there is a fashion blog where

“A

ll of these activities give our members a chance to gain first-hand experience in the fashion industry, and be able to create a portfolio.”

— Reyna Cazares,

students can write for the blog,” club public relations officer Nathaly Juarez said.

The club's fashion show is its yearly highlight and gives students experience in a plethora of different things. In order to put on the fashion show, the club needs student-designers, photographers, models, DJs and stylists.

"All of these activities give our members a chance to gain first-hand experience in the

fashion industry, and be able to create a portfolio," Cazares said.

Inter nships are another great thing that members can obtain as a result of being a part of the club.

"This summer I was given the position as an intern for designer Eva Franco in Los Angeles. Without Fashion Inc. I would have never had the confidence to go and seek it," Casarez said.

Fashion Inc. also alerts its members about local fashion shows in the area and gives them the opportunity to attend these shows.

"Anybody who loves fashion should join. It allows you to connect with people of common interests and teaches you hard work and determination.

It's not easy and takes a lot of time," Juarez says

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The

Collegian

SCIENCE & CULTURE MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

SCIENCE & CULTURE EDITOR, JOHNATHAN WILBANKS • COLLEGIAN-FEATURES@CSUFRESNO.EDU

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Graduate degrees in the sciences profitable; financing becoming more difficult to find GRE scores important in admission process

By Johnathan Wilbanks The Collegian More than 20 million students were enrolled in graduate schools in the United States in 2010. A person with a bachelor’s degree averaged $43,000 annual income while the holder of a master’s degree averaged $53,000 according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

These figures, combined with the difficulties many young people now have securing a job in the downturned economy, are motivation to pursue higher education.

The average graduate school costs $30,000 per year, according to the national center for education statistics.

Much of the financial aid for Ph.D. students, about 66 percent, has historically come from academic institutions.

Master’s degree students received about 20 percent of their financial aid from their institutions.

Financial aid programs are now being cut, along with tuition benefits for employees of companies, such as Boeing, a manufacturer of commercial jetliners.

To gain financial assistance, some students who are qualified for prestigious universities are opting to attend

less well-known programs to get free tuition. Also, many Ph.D. students are conducting research to get grants and assistantships.

Applying early in the application cycle can offer a financial advantage as many graduate schools look for qualified applicants early on.

On-campus jobs also can provide a buffer for tuition expenses, although many schools with intense programs prohibit students from working. Some apprenticeships can greatly off-set the cost of tuition.

Choosing a graduate school can be a difficult task, given the competition for a small number of open seats.

Being successful in graduate school usually involves being aware of how to apply, what standardized test to take and how to finance one’s education.

For most, the first step is choosing the right school to attend.

In biolo gical sciences, the top four schools in the United States are Stanford University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technolog y and University of California, Berkeley, according to US News & World Report.

Computer science, a rapidly growing field, can be a gateway into careers

in research and technology. The topranked institutions in computer science are Carnegie Mellon University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley, according to US News & World Report.

If interested in chemistry, the top schools are California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of CaliforniaBerkeley and Harvard University according to US News & World Report.

Jobs commonly open to students with graduate degrees in chemistry can be found at research institutions, pharmaceutical companies and laboratories.

Most graduate institutions rate applicants by their GPA and GRE scores.

The GRE, which stands for graduate record exam, is taken by more than 600,000 people each year. It is an adaptive computer-based test. This means that the more questions a person answers correctly, the more difficult the questions become.

There are three sections on the GRE: analytical writing, verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning. The scoring range of each section is from 200 to 800. The first 10 questions are the most important to answer correctly in order to achieve a high score, said national GRE content director for Princeton Review, Neill Seltzer. Preparation assistance is available from several companies in multiple formats to fit students’ busy schedules.

“If you keep getting the early questions right, eventually you’ll put yourself in such a high scoring bracket that no matter how well you do on the remainder of the test, your score can only go so low,” said Seltzer in an interview with US News.

“If you get those first 10 questions right, you’ll be happy with your score no matter what happens on the rest of the test,” Seltzer added. “If you don’t get those first 10 questions right, it doesn’t matter what happens on the rest of the test—you’re already in a hole that you won’t get out of.”

Allen J. Schaben / McClatchy-Tribune

USC graduate student Kevin Haworth uses protective clothing as he selects vials of HIV-1 for testing as he works toward a cure for HIV at a medical research lab on the USC Medical School campus in Los Angeles, California.

Air quality report

Today’s forecast for air quality Fresno County: 29, Good Madera County: 25, Good Tulare County: 25, Good Merced County: 22, Good Stanislaus County: 29, Good Kings County: 26, Good San Joaquin County: 25, Good Source: San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

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The daily crossword Across 1 Thumbs-way-up reviews 6 Knocks with one’s knuckles 10 Not feral 14 Low-budget, in company names 15 Happily __ after 16 October birthstone 17 Hexes 20 Dined 21 Twosome 22 Heart chambers 23 Positive thinker’s assertion 25 Cleopatra’s river 27 Surprised party, metaphorically 32 Beelzebub 35 Oboe or bassoon 36 Baled grass 37 “Jurassic Park” terror, for short 38 Meanspiritedness 40 Home plate, e.g.

41 Above, in verse 42 Apple computer 43 Showed on television 44 Destination not yet determined 48 Detest 49 Oscar-winning film about Mozart 53 End of __ 56 Yard sale warning 57 British mil. award

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

THE COLLEGIAN • SCIENCE & CULTURE SCIENCE & CULTURE EDITOR, JOHNATHAN WILBANKS • COLLEGIAN-FEATURES@CSUFRESNO.EDU

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis Los Angeles Times

Puzzle by Mike Peluso

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PUZZLE SOLUTION: http://collegian.csufresno.edu Copyright 2012. Tribune Media Services, Inc.

58 Beatles song, and a hint to the hidden word in 17-, 27- and 44-Across 62 Opera solo 63 Like a steak with a red center 64 “That is to say ...”

65 Double O Seven 66 “P.U.!” inducer 67 Willy-__: sloppily

Down 1 Satisfy, as a loan 2 Like most triangle angles 3 Chooses at the polls 4 USNA grad 5 Slight trace 6 Symbol of financial losses 7 State firmly 8 For each

9 Málaga Mrs. 10 Best-seller list 11 Mimic 12 West African country 13 Jazzy Fitzgerald 18 Indian bread 19 “To your health,” to José 24 Big-screen format 25 Russian rejection 26 “That’s clear now” 28 Angels shortstop Aybar 29 Sear 30 Operate with a beam 31 Kept in view 32 Halt 33 Zone 34 Alaska, once: Abbr.

38 Obscene material 39 Glazier’s fitting 40 Tough spot 42 Newton or Stern 43 Inundated with 45 Needle’s partner 46 Sadat’s predecessor 47 Leave out 50 ‘50s Ford flop 51 Typical 52 Hot-headed Corleone brother in “The Godfather” 53 Moby Dick chaser 54 Fiddling emperor 55 “__ Brockovich” 56 Flying prefix 59 Gold, in Granada 60 Insane 61 Record label initials across the pond

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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

Congressional Review To loosely read or breeze through a document, likely missing a fair amount of the information contained within.

Source: UrbanDictionary.com

The

Collegian

SPORTS MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

THIS COMING WEEK...

“The Governor” Jerry Brown and the rest of the men’s basktball team travels to Louisiana Tech in a conference match-up Thursday at 4 p.m.

SPORTS EDITOR, ANGEL MORENO • COLLEGIAN-SPORTS@CSUFRESNO.EDU

‘Dogs shine at invitational Football stand-out Jalen Saunders hopes to revive the role of the two-sport collegiate athlete

By Jeff Perlmutter The Collegian The women’s track and field team kicked off the indoor track season with the Run for the Dream Invitational on the state’s only indoor track at the Save Mart Center on Friday.

Former Fresno State track and field coach Bob Fraley created the event six years ago to bring premiere talent to the Central Valley. The invitational has since grown with schools and individual athletes from across the nation, and even around the world,

making the trip to compete.

USC, UCLA, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and Fresno State were some of the schools that competed in the invitational. Run for the Dream also had an open divi-

sion for individual athletes who wanted to compete over the weekend.

Fresno State wide receiver Jalen Saunders, a firstteam All-Wester n Athletic Conference football player,

“I

have a tendency of doing that sometimes and it’s a bad habit that I need to break, but I just need to try to come out and run faster next time.

— Jalen Saunders, Bulldog football player was among the male athletes who competed in the open division. Saunders, who led the WAC in receiving touchdowns with 12, returned to the track for the first time since his days at Pleasant Grove High School.

Saunders competed in the 55-meter dash against some most talented runners from across the state on Friday.

Among them was for mer Fresno State track star Josh Norman, who has been training for indoor events for years.

In his first heat run, Saunders nearly won, finishing a close second behind Norman. Off the blocks, he was faster than anyone, but near the end his speed topped off, giving Norman opportunity to pass.

“I have a tendency of doing that sometimes, and it’s a bad habit that I need to break,” Saunders said. “But I just need to try to come out and run faster next time.”

Saunders’ 55-meter dash time was 6.47 seconds, comparable to his 40-yard dash time of 4.51 seconds. Saunders said he wants to make a run at becoming a two-sport collegiate athlete this year, if

1-3 Units Academic Credit Available

new head football coach Tim DeRuyter lets him.

The women’s indoor track team was the only Fresno State-affiliated team that competed in Run for the Dream. In the women’s 55-yard dash university division, both sophomore Breeauna Thompson and freshman Tanea Turner finished first in their heats. F reshman Annette Wa s h i n g t o n a n d j u n i o r Shanelle Stephens finished second in their heats, giving Fresno State four sprinters in the top 16 overall in the university division. Stephens was the lone Bulldog to qualify for the finals, clocking a time of 7.08 seconds, good enough for a third-place finish.

But it was in the Livestock Pavilion where sophomores Meagan McKee and Caitlin Byrd stole the show in shot put and weight throw. McKee took the title in shot put, throwing a personal-best 51-feet 0.25-inches. McKee also finished fourth in the weight throw with a mark of 59-5.50.

Byrd gave Fresno State a firstplace finish in the hammer throw on her sixth-and-final attempt with a 61-8.50 throw, beating out UCLA’s Ida Storm by nine inches.

Run for the Dream is now the premiere indoor track and field event in Fresno. Fraley originally started the invitational to help teach high school students to not give up on their dreams and to strive for the highest level of competition.

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VIDEO: Visit The Collegian Online for a one-on-one interview with Jalen Saunders, and a recap of Friday’s events at .... http://collegian.csufresno.edu

Community Service Opportunities Fair Wednesday January 25, 2012 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Satellite Student Union

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Sponsored by the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning with assistance from University Student Union.

Visit with over 50 nonprofit agencies to learn how you can enhance your education while serving in our community.

PAGE 7

SPORTS BRIEFS DeRuyter fills last three coaching positions Fresno State football head coach Tim DeRuyter finalized his coaching staff Friday after noon, hiring his last three assistants.

Cameron Norcross of Nevada was named the offens ive l i n e c o a ch a n d Ro n Antoine of South Alabama will coach wide receivers. The only returner from the Pat Hill era is running backs coach Joe Wade, who was retained by DeRuyter.

Antoine and Norcross are no strangers to DeRuyter, as both have worked with him during previous stints at both Nevada and Ohio University.

Antoine said it was an easy decision in picking Fresno State because he has history with other Fresno State assistants. Antoine has worked with DeRuyter, defensive coordinator Nick Toth, special teams and defensive line coordinator Pete Ger mano and offensive assistant and recruiting coordinator Phil Earley.

“You’re working with guys that you know, who you’ve been in the fight with before, and it makes it very comfortable,” said Antoine.

Norcross’ decision wasn’t as simple as he leaves his alma mater after nearly a decade of coaching.

“The biggest reason is Coach DeRuyter and what his vision of Fresno State Athletics and Fresno State football is,” Norcross said. “I see the energy the Valley has for Fresno State football, and it’s something I couldn’t pass up.”

In a move to ensure productivity in the running game, DeRuyter retained Wade, who coached both former-Bulldog Ryan Mathews and Robbie Rouse to 1,000-yard seasons.

“We’ve got some guys that have a passion for coaching football. They’re outstanding teachers, outstanding men, and to have our full staff on board right now feels great.”

Women’s basketball on four-game winning streak Head coach Adrian Wiggins led his Bulldo gs to their fourth-straight victory beating Idaho 72-49 Saturday night, despite only making 36 percent of their shots, including 22 percent from behind the 3-point line.

But it was the in the paint and on second-chance plays where the ‘Dogs dominated the Vandals, outscoring them 42-22 and 17-2, respectively.

Sophomore Ki-Ki Moore scored a team-high 16 points while g rabbing a careerhigh 15 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.

Senior Veronica Wilson made an immediate impact for the ‘Dogs finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds in just 18 minutes off the bench.

Fresno State (15-4, 3-0 WAC) retur ns home to host longtime rival San Jose State at the Save Mart Center, Thursday at 7 p.m.

PAGE 8 • THE COLLEGIAN • MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012