March 21 2012

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WEDNESDAY Issue MARCH 21, 2012 FRESNO STATE

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Dilemma for crim students after college

By Stephen Keleher The Collegian Mike Howells / Collegian File Photo

There is expected to be fewer Fresno State students roaming campus a year from now as a spring admissions freeze was ordered by the CSU system.

Spring 2013 applications frozen Possibility of wait-listing applicants for fall 2013 semester as well

By Alexandra Norton The Collegian In the midst of potential budget cuts and more tuition hikes, prospective students took a significant hit by the CSU system: an admissions freeze.

Spring 2013 applications have already been frozen not only for Fresno State hopefuls, but at 14 other CSUs as well.

Dr. Paul Oliaro, the vice president of student affairs, said that there is a possibility that cutting enrollment beyond spring 2013 might have to happen as well.

“We’re certainly disappointed that we’re not going to be able to serve all the students who we want to serve and who want to come to Fresno State in the future,” Oliaro said.

If Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax initiative proposal to fix the education isn’t approved in November, $200 million will be cut from the state mid-year.

Brown’s proposal calls for an increase

in sales tax and taxes on the wealthy in order to raise $9 billion to help the education system.

Oliaro said the state of the CSU system would suffer if this initiative is not passed in the election.

“If that trigger of $200 million affects the CSU, that is for the foreseeable future — that doesn’t go away in one year, that’s permanent,” Oliaro said.

“That’s a serious impact, it has some serious consequences on the number of people who want to go to college in the state of California.”

Applicants for the fall 2013 semester will be wait-listed and won’t see if they’ve been accepted until university officials know the outcome Brown’s proposed tax plan.

“We would usually start admitting students November, December and beyond,” Oliaro said. “But right now we will have to wait-list everybody until we know exactly what’s going on.”

The Fresno Bee reported on Tuesday that Channel Islands, Chico, East Bay, Fullerton, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Bernardino and Sonoma are the eight CSUs that will dodge the spring freeze.

Oliaro said that if the $200 million trigger is pulled, prospective students will still be enrolled, just not as many.

“If you are the parents of a sophomore, junior or senior I would seriously be taking a look at the merits of the governor’s proposal,” Oliaro said.

Students currently enrolled in CSUs could also see problems if Brown’s proposal is not passed.

“It could result in students not being able to take as many credits as they would like, just because we will not have the resources to provide the classes,” Oliaro said.

President John Welty plans to address the issue further at a special meeting for faculty on Thursday at 10 a.m.

Although recent budget cuts in city and county governments statewide have dampened criminology job prospects, the major is still in high demand at Fresno State.

“To be perfectly honest, this is the only reason I came to Fresno State,” said Raul Reyes, a third-year criminology major. “It was either here or [CSU] Northridge, and I chose Fresno State because [it has] a forensic science building here.”

Fresno State is home to the largest Criminology Department in the CSU system and remains an area of intrigue for prospective students.

Ruth Masters, chair of the Criminology Department, said the program hasn’t seen a change in enrollment.

“We’ve not reduced the number of students coming in,” Masters said.

“It’s a strong major.”

The Criminology Department offers four options: law enforcement, corrections, victimology and forensics.

Of those four, law enforcement is the choice of more than 55 percent of students.

But a 10-year projection by the California Employment Development Department found that only 2,380 job openings are available statewide for police and sheriff patrol officers.

“The job market out there, especialSee CRIMINOLOGY, Page 3

ASSOCIATED STUDENTS, INC. ELECTIONS 2012

Graphic by Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

The

Collegian

Opinion PAGE 2

THE REAL WORD OF THE DAY

hegemony (noun) Preponderant influence or authority; leadership; dominance.

Source: The Lexicon by William F. Buckley Jr.

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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

The ‘B’ word is possible T

he city of Fresno, after treading water for the last few years with stopgap measures to shore up the budget deficit, now appears to be sinking.

The city is under “severe financial stress,” Mayor Ashley Swearengin explained last week. City Manager Mark Scott even warned that the “B” word — bankruptcy — was a possibility.

Indeed, the city is in big financial trouble.

The economic The Right Tone recession, poor Tony Petersen city investments and extremely generous pension plans have resulted in a $2.1 million deficit this year, which would grow to almost $66 million by 2017.

Needless to say, this is unacceptable.

Rather than relying on the shortterm fixes of the past, Swearengin has proposed a Fiscal Sustainability Policy to restructure the city budget and make it sustainable. Her plan controversially relies on the backs of city workers.

According to the mayor’s plan, “employee compensation constitutes such a major portion (80 percent) of the General Fund that meaningful cost changes necessarily require reduction

in salary and employee benefit costs.”

Instead of laying off more employees and cutting more city services, Swearengin proposes overhauling city workers’ compensation, including salaries, medical benefits and retirement benefits.

It seems this is a non-starter for Fresno union bosses.

After declaring his disappointment in the administration, police union president Jacky Parks, in a letter to Scott, said, “Surely you do not believe that threatening the [Fresno Police Officers Association] membership will generate the meaningful discussion that has to take place to resolve the city’s financial crisis.”

Kirk Wanless, the president of the firefighters union, also expressed his disappointment, saying, “If we make another deal, do we get asked again next year? When does it stop?”

It seems that Parks and Wanless, in their efforts to protect their workers, have a short-sighted view of what is best for their union employees.

However generous the current rates of salary, medical benefits and pension may be for current employees, unless they are restructured now, they will inevitably be restructured later, for the good of no one.

Unless the unions agree to decrease employee compensation, the city will be forced to lay off more employees and cut more benefits. It will have a hollowed out structure, serving as a pension provider for former employees

while traditional city functions will be cut or eliminated en masse.

In a down economy, private businesses are forced to make tough decisions. Employees must be laid off. Budgets must be restructured.

Salaries and benefits must be frozen or decreased.

Government is not above the struggles that the private economy must withstand. Budget gimmicks and short-term solutions cannot work in the long run. City government must be restructured in a way that it can prosper in the years going forward, rather than being drowned in millions of dollars of debt.

Unions must capitulate, both for the good of the city and for the good of future employees. If Fresno is going to survive in the future without making harmful, drastic cuts to essential government functions, as Swearengin says, “structural changes in employee compensation are now required.”

Scott’s warning that bankruptcy is possible may have been politically unwise, but it certainly reflects the gravity of the situation.

Living within our means

Tony Petersen is the opinion editor of The Collegian. Follow him on Twitter @tonypetersen4.

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

I

have four dollars in my wallet, just one dollar short of getting tofu at Panda Express.

While this is a frustrating situation (because I am quite hungry as I’m writing this), I realize that I spent most of my money on Saturday when I was out with friends. And while I was spending this money, I knew that I might be a little hungry on Tuesday afternoon when I’m writing my next column.

C’est la vie.

Maddie Shannon So now that the news about Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax initiative and how it’s going to affect enrollment is breaking, I think the CSU needs to have the same realization I had. Dinner yesterday might just mean no after-school snack today. Or, in political terms, excessive spending a few years ago means that there will be a lot of high school and transfer students who can’t go to school with us next year, and the year after that.

But when you’re talking about people’s futures, not food, the situation becomes much more complicated.

So instead of saying tough luck, CSU applicants, better luck next time, the best solution to the problem lies in private funding, not taxes and not budget cuts.

Last year, private donors alone gave more than $344 million to the CSU system, and Fresno State raised $15.7 million through private funding.

(Probably through the Campaign for Fresno State, whose telemarketers call my parents for donations. Every.

Single. Night.)

Which just goes to show that when you bug people about taxes for education (or taxes for anything, for that matter), people grumble about it, but pay, because if they don’t they’ll go to jail. When you bug people about donations for education (or donations for anything, for that matter), people don’t really grumble as much, and then they pay when they actually want to. Again, C’est la vie.

Private donors have more money than the state does at the moment.

Until the state of California starts to live within its means, that will continue to be the case.

So do your thing, Campaign for Fresno State, do your thing. Maybe by increasing private funding we can offset the enormous cost of going to school, and then I’ll have money to eat more tofu.

Maddie Shannon is a former arts & entertainment editor for The Collegian who now writes a fortnightly column for The Collegian.

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CRIMINOLOGY: Majors may have to go elsewhere for work CONTINUED from page 1 ly here in the Valley, is not looking too good,” said Scott Serpa, a senior law enforcement student. “There’s a huge freeze now and they’re actually laying some people off.”

Getting accepted to work in law enforcement with a degree from Fresno State can be hard for other reasons.

“A lot of students have an interest in getting into law enforcement, but you can’t just have an interest,” said Dr. Harald Schweizer, coordinator of the law enforcement option at Fresno State. “There are qualifications that have nothing to do with the degree that ultimately determine if you can get in.”

Schweizer said that law enforcement job applicants are often required to pass a background check and drug test.

Some criminology students plan to go to graduate school to make themselves more marketable and wait out the current job market.

“My goal is to try to find a job right after graduation, but the likelihood of that is very slim,” said Reyes. “If I can’t find a job, I’ll come back for my Master’s in social work.”

Reyes said he’s always been interested in helping victims go through rehab.

A criminology student is required to do a 120-hour internship relating to their

“T

major during their final year.

“This internship program helps you get your foot in the door, see what’s out there and network,” Serpa said.

Serpa is fulfilling his internship requirement at the Fresno Police Department, where he mainly does office work for a detective.

Overall, Serpa is satisfied with his education in the Criminology Department.

“Fresno’s [Criminolo g y] Department here at Fresno State is one of the nationally ranked best criminology departments,” Serpa said.

“We have some great professors and it’s one of the strongest departments on the campus.”

Although Serpa said he is happy with his education at Fresno State, but understands that he might have to make some compromises, such as leaving the Central Valley to find a job in his field.

“I’ll have to relocate to get a job, to pay those bills,” he said.

PAGE 3

BRIEF Fresno State Students to Host Tailgate for Boys & Girls Club The Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado Park are joining Fresno State students for a day at the ballpark on Wednesday.

Fresno State student volunteers will be a hosting a tailgate for the El Dorado Park Boys and Girls Club youth before accompanying them to the Fresno State baseball

game at Beiden Field.

The ASI Activities Committee will host the pregame tailgate featuring an “Ultimate Fan Booth” where children of the El Dorado Park Boys & Girls Club will enjoy pizza, games, face painting and the opportunity to make and decorate signs for the game.

“We just want to show our support for the kids in the community and provide an opportunity for them to enjoy

our campus and do something really fun,” Victoria Partida, senator of activities at Fresno State said.

The tailgate starts at 3 p.m., location TBA, and the game starts at 4:05 p.m. The tailgate and game are a part of larger revitalization efforts at Fresno State.

For more information, contact ASI at (559) 278-2656.

Fresno State community remembers Rodney Anderson

he job market out there, especially here in the Valley, is not looking too good.”

— Scott Serpa, law enforcement student

Photos By Brad Soo / The Collegian

(Above) Students of political science professor Dr. Rodney Anderson gathered in the Henry Madden Library to pay their respects. Political Science Department Chair Dr. David Schecter welcomed attendees and spoke about the late professor. Several students spoke as well as faculty members. Members of Associated Students, Inc. presented a resolution that was constructed by Sen. Jaime Moncayo, who was also one of Anderson’s students.

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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

'Hunger Games' star thrilled to have attention-getting role

By Theoden Janes McClatchy-Tribune A black Cadillac Escalade with tinted windows is idling in front of the Four Seasons Hotel, when the right rear window slides down to reveal Jennifer Lawrence looking like a movie star.

Makeup flawless. Hair glowing. She smiles brightly and waves to onlookers as the vehicle pulls around to get onto Doheny Drive. Then it stops, as the star of the Next Big Blockbuster "The Hunger Games," in theaters Friday greets fans toting movie posters emblazoned with her likeness, signs a dozen of them, t h e n w ave s a g a i n a s t h e Escalade peels away.

It's a big change for Lawrence, 21, who just over a year ago was living among an ocean of young actresses fighting for roles in smaller films and assorted TV shows.

Then in January 2011, she was nominated for an Academy Award up against

Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams for her performance as a teen trying to negotiate a web of criminals in the Ozark Mountains to find her missing father in "Winter's Bone."

Two months later, she landed the lead role in "The Hunger Games," the first in a series of movies that is as highly anticipated as the first "Twilight" film had been. Anonymous no more.

"It was fast, but I'm grateful for it," says Lawrence, who spent four months in Asheville, Charlotte, Concord, and other par ts of Nor th Carolina last year during "Hunger Games" shooting.

"When you get a promotion at your job, you don't go, 'God, that was too fast. Can I stay in the mailroom?' You take it, thankfully. ... I think I'm as ready as I can be which is not that ready."

In "The Hunger Games," Lawrence portrays a 16-yearo l d g i rl n a m e d K a t n i s s

Everdeen, who lives with her mother and young sister in a future where a totalitarian government every year forces two dozen teens to fight to the death. Katniss' sister is selected to participate, but Katniss steps in and volunteers to enter the battle in her place.

Suzanne Collins' 2008 book is written from Katniss' point of view, and director Gary Ross has made a faithful adaptation; hence, Lawrence is in almost every scene of the 140-minute film.

So she submitted to six weeks of pre-production training that included running, climbing, combat, archery and yoga; suffered through a heat wave while shooting in Shelby, N.C., last spring; and almost every day for two months last summer, she trudged to remote forest locations near Asheville that were overrun by bears and wild turkeys.

Ultimately as evidenced by the film Lawrence turned in an astonishing piece of acting, not unlike her breakthrough

turn in "Winter's Bone": Early on, she is brittle and naive, but as she develops a better understanding of the stakes and of her own personal ethics, she exudes a raw, realistic resolve that is reminiscent of a young Jodie Foster.

"I think you see this once every 10 years, someone who comes along with this kind of talent, these sorts of chops, control over what she's doing, the subtlety she has ... at 21 years old, I don't even understand it," he says. "Honest to God, I'm directing this girl and I'm in awe of it a lot of the time. I'll just go, 'Damn, how does she do that at her age?'"

Lawrence reportedly beat out dozens of actresses for the coveted role of Katniss, star of Collins' bestselling books. Thanks to the new movie, Katniss' and therefore Lawrence's fan base will continue to swell over the next few years.

On one level, the actress is really just happy to be here, as the saying goes.

"I've been thinking about how this movie would affect people and young girls, but I haven't actually thought about how it would affect me," says Lawrence, a Louisville, Ky., native who has never had an acting lesson. "I guess when I think about the positives, it's just I get to be this character.

When I drive by the posters, I laugh, and once in awhile I'll get goose bumps."

She is already trying to prove she can do more, though.

In September, Lawrence will star in a horror movie with Elisabeth Shue titled "House at the End of the Street"; then in November, she'll play a sex addict in "The Silver Linings Playbook," a comedy also featuring Robert De Niro.

And this spring, Lawrence will begin shooting a drama based on Western Carolina University professor Ron Rash's 2008 novel "Serena."

Graduate student makes unique effort to support local artists

By Monica Rivera The Collegian Many students at Fresno State make an effort to "go green," but Alvero Romero is taking a whole different approach to getting the word out about sustainability.

It took the graduate student about two weeks to open what he calls a sustainable lifestyle shop in the Warnor's Theatre complex in downtown Fresno.

The shop is called "The Miscellaneous Trading Co.," and stays true to the name by containing several distinct, recycled objects that Romero hopes will encourage people to buy used items.

Fourth-year interior design students Jolene Millar and Miguel Castañeda visited the sustainable lifestyle shop and were impressed by Romero’s store and efforts to promote local artists.

“I really like the way he organized his merchandise,” Castañeda said. “The way he had it set up was really cool.”

Romero's store sells a variety of different things such as jewelry, clothing, artwork, furniture and home accents.

"Our push is really on sustainable consumption, so we want to make sure that when people shop here they get that message," Romero said.

"We do a little bit of everything here and we’re called Miscellaneous for that reason.”

Romero has always made it a priority to buy used items and hopes to encourage others to do the same by offering unique items.

“A lot of our pieces here are made by local artists and they are handcrafted," Romero said.

The jewelry is one of the many items at the store that is handcrafted. The jewelry is made by a woman who uses vintage pieces and comes up

with her own designs.

"We also have a bag maker who is local," Romero said.

"He makes bags from vintage canvas and vintage leather so this is all collected from belt buckles and different types of leather that they find and then they make their own designs.”

Another thing that inspired Romero to open the store was to raise awareness about local artists he feels are not getting the attention and money they

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deserve.

He said people are drawn to purchasing new items, but doing so can cause large struggles for local artists.

“When you take into account who is making those clothes and who is profiting and who is losing that’s where I come in," Romero said. “I’m not interested in new. I’m interested in things that are being crafted by hand and [are] generating jobs in this area.”

“It’s great for this community since [it tries] to support the art community, and especially the younger art community,” Millar said.

Romero said he is always looking for artists to contribute pieces to the store. He encourages artistic Fresno State students to contact him if they are interested in selling any of their handmade items, or making pieces to display inside.

LOCAL

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Collegian

SCIENCE & CULTURE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

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

PAGE 5

No pesticides required; research offers a possible genetic resistance to plant disease

By Johnathan Wilbanks The Collegian Peppers — an ingredient in so many American dishes are being threatened by a plant disease that is costing farmers a significant amount of money.

Root rot of pepper plants infects more than 50 plant species. Innate genetic resistance, meaning disease resistance that is literally incorporated into the plant itself, is one of the ultimate goals of genetics professor and Biolog y Department Chair Dr. Jim Prince.

Prince, along with two students, is working on an environmentally friendly solution that could potentially eliminate the use of pesticides.

This solution involves genetic resistance without harmful chemicals.

“We have peppers that can naturally resist disease,” Prince said.

Root rot, a type of water mold, destroys a number of plants including squash, cucumber, honeydew melon, tomato, eggplant, pumpkin and watermelon. Chemicals and well-drained soil are a couple of the control measures currently used for plant disease.

The disease means plant destroyer in Greek, and is caused by a pathogen known as Phytophthora Capsici.

The elimination of pesticides is not only healthier for consumers, but it can also reduce the use of pesticides that can be detrimental to the environment and increase the yield of pepper crops.

Prince exposes his pepper plants in the green house to a disease-causing agent that is a water mold. The agent was formerly thought of as a fungus but it’s a slightly different organism.

Johnathan Wilbanks / The Collegian

In Biology Department Chair Dr. James Prince’s research laboratory, Heather Brewer is preparing a nutrient-rich substance the root-rot disease-causing agent will be grown in. Prince’s lab is working on a solution to root rot, one of the most important pepper diseases in the world.

The disease predominately attacks peppers growing in low areas where moist soil is abundant. The spores can move within the water and infect a larg e number of plants.

“It’s probably the most important pepper disease in the world,” Prince said.

Prince said plants that resist

disease are bred with plants that don’t resist disease.

Once offspring of the plants is produced, Prince said that they can follow the genetics of a certain trait in subsequent generations.

“We can simultaneously do that with DNA markers, and then see which markers associate with the trait,” Prince

said. “We can produce maps of the chromosomes with little blips on it that say, ‘Hey, there’s a gene that controls this resistance in this area.

An ideal situation for Prince would be to produce plants which are resistant to multiple diseases without the use pesticides. “So you don’t have to spray chemicals,” Prince said.

As an adjunct to the pepper research, Prince is starting a next-generation gene sequencing project.

A research g roup at UC Davis has produced a densely populated molecular map of with approximately 4,000 markers. This is helpful for Prince and his team because they are able to view the hundreds of individual markers on each chromosome, whereas before this work was produced the team had about ten markers located.

“I’m hoping that this nextgen sequencing project may help illuminate some genes that we don’t even know about,” said Prince.

Biology graduate student Pierre Boivin is trying to find different spots on the genome that correspond to agricultural interests, such as total yield, ger mination rate and fruit characteristics. This means he is trying to locate each part of the gene that gives a code for desired qualities in a plant.

“What I’ve done is basically grow four different genotypes of pepper, which each have different characteristics,” said

Boivin.

Some of these genotypes code for faster growth or better fruits. A genotype is a fancy word for physical traits that may or may not be expressed in an outward appearance.

Similar to a lineage that gives a person certain physical features similar to their parents.

“What I will be doing is RNA extraction from all four genotypes and sending it in to UC Davis to get sequenced… comparing all four and looking at where the differences lie and which sites in the genome actually correspond to that trait.”

Biology graduate student Heather Brewer is dealing directly with the water mold.

“I work with the pathogen that infects chili and bell peppers,” Brewer said. She screens different types of plants against inbred lines of pepper.

Brewer uses plants that are resistant to the pathogen and those who are susceptible to come up with a scale of disease manifestation. A certain location on a gene has been found to have a correlation with disease resistance in the plants.

“We found that a locus [location of a genetic code] isn’t necessarily attributed to resistance in all peppers. That’s normal to find, because resistance to disease isn’t just associated with one gene. There’s multiple gene interactions that lead to different resistances and susceptibilities.”

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

The daily crossword Across 1 17-time NBA champs 6 Stern with strings 11 Hrs. before noon 14 Filing board 15 Word of praise for el niño 16 House plant’s housing 17 With “The,” Bette Midler’s debut album 19 Gun lobby org.

20 Funny Idle 21 Regarding 22 Classic name in toys 24 Floors 26 Kellogg’s cereal 28 1-Across, e.g.

31 Govt. cryptanalysis org.

32 Bar graph, say 33 Alluring 35 Purely academic 39 Ones making deliveries at colleges?

41 Lady in a Beatles song 43 Carafe cousin 44 First razor with a pivoting head 46 Acquire, as debt 47 Austrian article 49 Conceals from the enemy, in a way 51 Riboflavin 55 An ace has a strong one 56 Italian violin craftsman 57 Sci. with cliff notes?

59 Shiite Islam is its state religion

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63 Slangy refusal 64 Spectacular concert ender, or what 17-, 26- and 51-Across numerically contain 67 Self-esteem 68 Caribbean country 69 Dry out, in rehab 70 Cross-reference word 71 “__ were the days!”

72 Plus Down 1 Give up 2 Muslim noble 3 Jeans pioneer Strauss

27 One-named Irish singer 28 “Close call!”

29 Political contest 30 __ D.A. 32 Largest OH airport 34 Marvel superhero 36 Tots’ story starter 37 Burden 38 Roof application 40 Rajah’s wife 42 Big name in couture 45 University officers 48 “Perhaps” 50 Young dolphin 51 Windmill blades 52 Public relations concern 53 Second-deepest U.S. lake 54 New Zealand-born crime writer Marsh 58 10-Down drooler 60 “Bah!” 61 Natural skin treatment 62 “Who’s turn is it?!”

65 Stadium sound 66 Wyo. neighbor

4 October custom done in costume 5 Dict. entry 6 Some PCs 7 “I’m fine with that” 8 Greek with 12-Downs 9 Crossword entry: Abbr.

10 Funny pages 11 Sleep disorder 12 Point 13 Pursue, cat-style 18 The life of Riley 23 De Beers properties 25 Hall of Fame quarterback Graham

Co-stars’ chemistry is the key to the new sitcom ‘Bent’

By Rick Bentley McClatchy-Tribune

LOS ANGELES — It’s a tale as old as time: A tough, type-A lawyer hires a surferdude contractor to remodel her kitchen. OK, the type-A lawyer and surfer-dude characters aren’t that classic, but the story of two very different people finding a connection has been around forever.

NBC’s banking that a new spin on this old plot will create enough sparks to make the new comedy “Bent” a hit.

It will be up to Amanda Peet, the lawyer, and David Walton, the surfer, to generate those sparks.

“I think chemistry, in real life, it’s hard to put words around it. You either have it with someone or you don’t,” Walton says. He thinks viewers will see — and be attracted to — the chemistry between he and Peet.

“It’s not something that I think about or that I set out to accomplish. It’s just play the scene,” Peet says of the connection she has to her co-star.

She has played those kinds of scenes in TV and film projects before, from “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” to “The Whole Nine Yards.” The key to making the audience believe there is some type of connection is believable casting.

Peet and Quill knew immediately Walton was the guy for “Bent.”

“When Tad and I were looking for a co-star, we definitely wanted to find something that would make the show really sexy. We wanted to create a real kind of lifestyle rift between these two people. And when David Walton came in, it

was obvious that he was our guy. And, frankly, from the bottom of my heart, I am shocked that I get to be with him and not Reese Witherspoon or Jennifer Lopez or some movie star right now because he’s just a really crazy genius combination of being really funny and really gorgeous and kind of a dork,” Peet says. “I feel very lucky that we found him.”

Walton’s a veteran of situation comedies, having starred in “Perfect Couples,” “100

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

Questions” and “Cracking Up.” “We’re trying to be funny, but it’s also people talking in sort of the way my friends talk. Maybe a little bit natural dialogue,” Quill says. “What I really love about it is that we blend in this sort of ensemble family comedy aspect to it too.

What I was shooting for was not just a romantic comedy, although I think that part of it is really great and I think that will actually hopefully hook people in.”

C

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

SOLUTION: http://collegian.csufresno.edu

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

Volleyball adds new assistant coach

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

SPORTS BRIEFS

The Fresno State volleyball team will have a new addition on its sideline for the 2012 season.

Justin Hutchins agreed to be head coach Lauren NetherbySewell’s first assistant coach following maternity leave.

Hutchins started his Bulldog career this month after serving as an assistant for the Cal Poly Mustangs for the past two seasons. He is a southern California native, having grown up in Simi Valley and played collegiately at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. He finished his collegiate career at Utah Valley University, where he also served as a technical advisor from 2005 to 2006 and also in 2008.

Hutchins replaces the vacated slot left by Ed Jackson, who

resigned to become the head coach at the Academy of Art University.

Baseball routs Kent State Fresno State baseball opened a t wo - g a m e h o m e s e r i e s against Kent State with a 14-2 win.

The Bulldogs (11-9 overall) won their fourth straight game after sweeping Cal State Bakersfield over the weekend.

Fresno State got a strong showing from first baseman Jordan Brink, who was 3-for6 from the plate with three RBI. Kenny Wise and Pat Hutcheson added two RBI apiece.

On the mound, senior Tom Harlan paced the dogs, pitching six innings, allowing four hits and no runs. Harlan struck out six Golden Flashes and improved to 4-3 on the sea-

son.

The Bulldogs scored in every inning they batted except the first, including a four-run sixth to help the ‘Dogs go up 10-0 on Kent State.

Wi l l i a m M u n r o , M a t t Fontaine and Austin Wiggins also saw time on the mound, collectively giving up seven hits and two runs.

Just five wins away from 600, head coach Mike Batesole will coach his 1,000th game today.

The first pitch will be thrown at 4:05 p.m.

PAGE 7

QB Alex Smith agrees to three-year deal with 49ers

Lacrosse downed by Aztecs on the road Following its first win in program history, the Fresno State lacrosse team fell 15-8 at San Diego State on Tuesday.

The ‘Dogs lead 2-0 just five minutes into the contest, but fell behind 9-3 by halftime. The Atzecs didn’t let up in the second half, racing out to a 12-5 lead in the first five minutes and cruised to the seven-goal victory.

Briana Hetherington, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer on the season, paced Fresno State with three goals and eight shots. Natalie Harrington and Kara Concheck tacked on two goals apiece as well.

The ‘Dogs had little answer for the Aztecs’ Meris Walsh, who scored a game-high five goals on just eight shots. The ‘Dogs cut the Atzec lead to five with just more than 13 minutes remaining, but couldn’t manage string together the program’s second win in its 46-game history.

Karl Mondon / McClatchy-Tribune

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith runs for a 28-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California on January 14. The 49ers defeated the Saints, 36-32, in an NFC Divisional playoff game.

By Matthew Barrows McClatchy-Tribune SANTA CLARA — He’s been battered, booed, screamed at by one of his head coaches and ripped in the media, but Alex Smith always has returned to the 49ers, the team that drafted him No. 1 in 2005.

And now it appears the quarterback will be back again. The NFL Network reported Tuesday that Smith had agreed to terms with the 49ers on a three-year contract believed to be worth roughly $24 million, including $10 million guaranteed.

Because Smith hasn’t signed and the contract is not yet complete, the 49ers haven’t officially announced the deal.

However, a league source confirmed that the 49ers and Smith were closing in on a deal and that details likely would be finalized on Wednesday.

It’s exactly what everyone around the NFL was expecting, especially after coach Jim Harbaugh praised Smith throughout the 2011 season and publicly committed to him for the future, and Smith repeatedly said he wanted to be back.

But reaching a deal took a far more circuitous route than anyone imagined.

The 49ers made their offer more than two weeks ago, and it was lower than any of the multi-year deals signed by other starting quarterbacks in recent years. Smith hadn’t signed by the time free agency began on March 13, perhaps on the behest of his agent, Tom Condon, whose agency represents nearly half the starting quarterbacks in the league.

At about the same time, the 49ers got a call from another free-agent quarterback, Peyton Manning, who said he might be interested in playing for the 49ers.

That call prompted Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman to take a cross-country flight to Durham, N.C., to watch Manning, a four-time

league MVP who has had four neck surgeries in recent years, work out.

With that, the 49ers officially entered the race for Manning.

Harbaugh and Roman made that trip Tuesday, but it wasn’t until Friday that it was revealed to the public, and perhaps to Smith, who had his best season in 2011, including a dramatic win over New Orleans in a divisional playoff game.

The involvement with Manning, who signed with Denver on Tuesday, prompted Smith to take his own crosscountry trip, to Miami, where he met with Dolphins coaches and officials Sunday and reportedly was working on a deal with the Dolphins that night.

Miami, however, agreed to a deal with quarterback David Garrard on Monday, and another team Smith was hoping to visit, the Seahawks, signed quarterback Matt Flynn.

With his options dwindling, Smith met with Harbaugh for an hour or so Monday in an effort to bridge the gap that had opened between Smith and the organization, and they spoke again Tuesday.

“Nothing’s changed,” Harbaugh said of his relationship with Smith while leaving the team facility Tuesday. “It’s a strong relationship as always.”

Harbaugh declined to comment on Smith’s contract status. “Based on experience, it’s never wise, it never benefits anybody concerned to discuss negotiations, contracts in the media,” he said.

It’s unclear if Smith agrees with Harbaugh that they are as tight as they’ve ever been. The team’s offer did not exactly mesh with Harbaugh’s statements of devotion during and after the season.

While it’s all but certain Smith will be the 49ers quarterback this season, it also leaves an opening for Colin Kaepernick to take over before the three years are complete. Kaepernick has been a regular at the 49ers’ training facility this offseason.

The

Collegian

SPORTS PAGE 8

THIS WEEKEND...

The road to the Final Four runs through Fresno as the Save Mart Center will host regional games for the Women’s NCAA Tournament on March 24 and 26.

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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

MEN’S TENNIS

Photos by Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

Fresno State’s David Ayoun returns a volley in his singles match against New Mexico State’s Germain Degardin. Ayoun went on to win the match in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-4.

Bulldogs ace Aggies for 11th-straight win

By Angel Moreno The Collegian The No. 18 Fresno State men’s tennis team continued its winning streak and dominance in the Western Athletic Conference against New Mexico State Tuesday at the Wathen Tennis Center.

The Bulldogs routed the Aggies, 6-1, in a rematch of last year’s WAC Championship.

The ‘Dogs improved to 3-0 in conference and 12-1 overall with the win. The Aggies fell to 4-9 overall and 1-1 in the WAC. “Today our guys played very well and we’re fortunate to get the win,” head coach Jay Udwadia said.

The Bulldogs won the doubles point over the Aggies as they swept all three doubles

matches.

Nationally ranked in doubles at No. 64, Remi Boutillier and Francis Alcantara defeated New Mexico State’s Mateji Stakne and Luis Ramirez, 8-2.

In singles play, the ‘Dogs continued their winning streak, taking all the sets until the final match of the day.

No. 22 in singles, Boutillier defeated Stakne, 6-1, 6-0, while teammate Alcantara (No. 58 nationally) downed Ramirez, 6-0, 6-0.

“I think I played a solid match today,” Boutillier said.

“I was feeling well and practicing well lately and feeling confident, so I was just taking advantage of it and played my game.”

B u l l d o g s J e a n - C h a rl e s Diame, David Ayoun and Reid DeLaubenfels all won their

singles matches in straight sets.

Fresno State, which has been undefeated since a Jan. 29 loss to UCLA, has its eyes set on defending its title and winning the WAC. “It’s a big goal for us to take down conference,” Udwadia said.

“We’ve got more goals ahead, so we’re going to keep pushing,” he added.

Boutillier also has his eyes set on helping the Bulldogs defend their WAC championship title.

“Winning the WAC is the first goal,” he said. “We’re trying to take care of business.”

The Bulldogs will host No. 27 Tulsa on Friday before heading back into conference play against Hawaii on Saturday.

Zachary Leslie returns a serve against the Aggies’ Felipe Frattini. Leslie lost the match in a tiebreaker, 2-6, 7-6 (3), (10-6).

FOOTBALL

Football prepares for spring game

By Angel Moreno The Collegian The Fresno State football team took the field for its 12th practice Tuesday afternoon, in preparation for the annual spring game at noon Sunday.

New head coach Tim DeRuyter said the team has been improving but still has a lot of work to do before Sunday.

“We’re making really good progress,” DeRuyter said. “We’ve still got a long way to go but I like the progress we’ve made so far.”

The Bulldogs suited up in full pads Tuesday as they polished the new offensive and defensive schemes that DeRuyter’s staff has created. Fans will

get a chance to see the new system for the first time Sunday.

DeRuyter said Sunday’s display may be “a little sloppy,” because second- and third-string players would be putting in more playing time because the team is light on numbers. He also said the game would give those players a final chance to compete before fall camp.

Despite the low numbers, DeRuyter said the attitude among the players has been positive as the team continues spring practices.

“The attitude has been g reat,” DeRuyter said. “I don’t know if I’d be surprised by it, but they’ve adapted to our schemes really, really well on both sides of the ball.

“We’re still a little bit rough around the edges as far as getting the right guys in the right spots,” said the firstyear head coach. “But we’re really excited for what the future will hold because of the guys we brought in.”

Offensively, the ‘Dogs appeared to be catching up with the pace DeRuyter wants them to play. Junior quarterback Derek Carr connected to tight end Marcel Jensen on a slant route that was probably the most well-executed play during the practice.

The Fresno State defense took on many for mations during practice, including 3-4 and 5-2 defenses, but DeRuyter said the team still has some adjustments to make. He said the cur-

rent players weren’t recruited to fit his positions, but they’ve been adapting well to the transitions.

“They’re guys who have been working with their hand on the ground who now have to stand up and play in space,” DeRuyter said. “Some guys have adapted to that well; some guys are a little bit slower with it so we’re trying to find different roles for guys.

“That’s probably the toughest thing… trying to put all the pieces together.”

DeRuyter and his staff have two more practices, Thursday and Friday, to put the puzzle together before fans will see the team in the spring game noon Sunday.