March 21, 2018

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Wednesday, Mar. 21, 2018

Fresno State’s Award-Winning Newspaper

ASI ELECTIONS 2018

Have you voted yet?

@hellobineet

See PEACE GARDEN, Page 6

See TUITION, Page 3

PEACE GARDEN

ASI donates $1,000 for Mandela statue

Why are supporters upset? By Angelica Hernandez @avh1992

T

Illustration by Kong Thao

nance Cam Patterson urged senators to take into consideration the amount of funds that have already been spent on projects this year. “We had a meeting where we allocated $105,000,” Patterson said. “We had another meeting where we allocated another $15,000 reserve pull, and I just want us to be considerate of future senates that we have for ASI.” Sen. Edgar Castro, parking and safety, also spoke about fiscal

By Bineet Kaur

responsibility and the impact a monument would have for students. “I’m in favor of this project, but I feel like the amount [$25,000] is a lot of money,” Castro said. “For example, that could go to more sponsored activity grants, something that will affect the students directly.” A motion was later made by Sen. Travis Childress, Greek affairs, to lower the donation

Ramuel Reyes • The Collegian

seph Castro. After public comment, the senators began to deliberate over the amount of funds to donate to the project. ASI President Blake Zante expressed his support for the project and said that any contribution would be significant to help install a monument that would demonstrate “the values that we claim to hold as a university.” Various senators argued against the requested amount of $25,000. Vice President of Fi-

Students fight to ‘fully fund’ CSUs Next month, California State University (CSU) students and faculty will gather at the state capital to unite in favor of funding higher education. The efforts are in the name of “a fully funded CSU,” said CSU spokeswomen Elizabeth Chapin Hetherington. Jennifer Eagan, president of the California Faculty Association (CFA), said that CSU campuses were originally intended to be universities that serve all kinds of students who are seeking higher education. But now, Eagan said the cost is becoming a barrier for many students. “The CSU is supposed to be a place where anyone who was willing and able to do the work and take the classes and get the grades was promised a place in a fouryear university,” Eagan said in an interview recently. “It’s not supposed to matter how much money a student could afford to pay.” As tuition has increased over time, CSU campuses can no longer accept everyone like they used to, Eagan said. She added that the CSU system turns away more than 30,000 qualified students a year. The reason, she said, is underfunding from the state. “The funding from the state does not keep up with the number of qualified students who want to attend the CSU,” Eagan said. Along with the rising cost to attend a CSU, the CSU student body has evolved, according to Eagan. She said that the student body in the CSU system used to be approximately 70 percent white. Now, about 72 percent of the CSU student body is composed of people of color. Eagan said CSU advocates believe it’s the state government’s responsibility to treat CSU students just as worthy as those from the past. She also said that more students with college degrees are beneficial to California overall. “Those are really not so much expenditures, but investments,” Eagan said. “For every dollar spent by the state on the CSU, the return on the state economy is between four or five dollars.” Eagan noted that the state government has a surplus reserve of approximately $7 billion. “These are very good fiscal times for the state,” Eagan said.

Gina De Young votes during the Associated Students, Inc. Elections at the voting booths set up at the Armenian Genocide Monument on March 20, 2018. Voting ends March 22, 2018. Check your Fresno State e-mail for instructions. The ballot also includes the New USU referendum.

he Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) voted to donate $1,000 for a Nelson Mandela statue, but it’s not the amount for which supporters of the project were hoping. Professors from the Africana studies department spoke during public comment at last week’s ASI senate meeting in an attempt to persuade ASI to donate funds for the installation of a Mandela statue in the Peace Garden at Fresno State. Professor emeritus Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor addressed the senate once again to stress the need for student ownership of the Peace Garden. He had made an appearance at the last senate meeting to propose the donation with University President Dr. Jo-

TUITION


OPINION

GOT OPINIONS? We want to hear them. COLLEGIAN-OPINION@CSUFRESNO.EDU WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018

COMMENTARY

Preaching to the wrong choir?

Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado • The Collegian

A preacher from The Campus Ministry USA and a Fresno State student argue on March 20, 2018 during a campus visit by the ministry group. Jed Smock, the preacher in the brown coat, said the visit was successful after several students gathered to listen to him speak. Students mostly shouted their arguments toward the preachers.

CAMPUS COLUMN

North Gym 118 used to be a swimming pool By Dan Waterhouse Special to the Collegian

Have you ever wondered if North Gym 118 has always been a conference room? It used to house an aquatics center. Before the aquatics center was built eight years ago, Room 118 was a swimming pool. It was built in 1953 when North Gym (then the Men’s Gym) was constructed. The pool was technically 25 yards long (if you counted the gutters), had six narrow lanes and had both shallow and deep ends. Two diving boards were at the deep end of the tank. There were two portholes for people to observe what went on under the water’s surface. The south side of the space that’s now glass was originally home to six sliding panels that opened onto a grass patio that’s now concrete. The spectator seating area is still there, hidden by a false wall across the room from the glass wall. I spent many hours in that pool – in swim for fitness classes and recreation swim. In 1978, I saved a life during a swim class. When I worked for Recreation-Intramurals, I’d sneak in to swim after hours. I was depth-bombed by chunks of ceiling one

The Collegian is a student-run publication that serves the Fresno State community. Views expressed in The Collegian do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or university. collegian.csufresno.edu

night in the mid-1980s. Delta Gamma’s anchor was found dumped in the deep end on a Sunday morning back in the 1980s. The old pool had issues. The chlorination system frequently malfunctioned as it aged. One time, the pool self-drained after the main drain pipe was chopped through by a backhoe. The lifeguard and I tried sandbagging the bottom drains to slow down the exodus of water. We failed miserably. The problems with the chemistry eventually led to lawsuits and the pool being condemned by the county health department. In October 2002, 12 women swimmers reported they had body rashes and hair loss to an assistant coach, who quickly reported it to athletic department administrators. The administrators claimed chlorine test results were always normal and the rashes were due to “stress” over the team’s coach leaving. But swimmers still suffered from rashes, hair loss, chemical burns and respiratory problems. After the swimmers refused to enter the water on Nov. 13, 2002, it was discovered chlorine levels were three times normal. It later turned out chlorine levels were really eight times normal limits. Lawsuits filed by the swimmers in early

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2003 were later settled out of court. Women’s swimming along with men’s soccer, cross country and indoor track were dropped in 2004 supposedly “to stabilize the financial future of Fresno State athletics.” In 2006, I heard discussions were being held about the future of the old pool. The kinesiology department reportedly was thinking about moving all its aquatics classes off campus. Other people were talking about dusting off the idea of a full-fledged aquatics center. After women’s swimming and diving were reinstated in 2008, the notion of an aquatics center picked up steam. The old pool couldn’t be used for competition anymore because it wasn’t really 25 yards long, and the deep end was too shallow for diving safely. After some financial fits, construction started on the new pool complex in 2010, and it opened the following year. It has a 52-meter by 25-meter deep water main pool with a bulkhead, a smaller pool for some classes,and diving boards. The proposed diving tower hasn’t been built yet. The cover over the spectator seating took a few years to be finally installed.

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 Ramuel Reyes General Sales Manager Benjamin Cruz National Sales Manager Alyssa Honore Special Projects Manager Juan Alvarez Agency Sales Manager William Ramirez Art Director Michael Ford Assistant Art Director Nugesse Ghebrendrias Distribution Manager

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

2

By Cresencio RodriguezDelgado @cres_guez

A group of fired up Fresno State students may be the wrong group to lecture to about the Bible — or maybe not. On Tuesday, amid dark clouds, a group of Fresno State students surrounded Jed Smock, a preacher from The Campus Ministry USA as Smock tried to get in a few words about the Bible. One student whipped out a megaphone and scolded Smock. The crowd of students, recording the event on their cellphones, laughed and cheered their peer. Though the confrontation seemed like Smock was wasting his time in “teaching about the Bible,” as he told Collegian staffers who walked to the Free Speech Area, Smock said it was actually exactly what he wanted. At one point, he sat back on an elevated folding chair placed on a concrete block near the Henry Madden Library. With a Starbucks drink on his lap and one leg folded over the other, as if to indicate he was taking a break from preaching, Smock watched a fellow preacher scream her words at students who stopped and listened — or argued with her. A small student protest adorned with LGBTQ flags and cardboard signs popped up. The protesters stood between the two preachers. And Smock said a professor had come out to ask what the screaming and yelling was about. Some of her students had missed class, she said according to Smock, and she found them at the Free Speech Area. Asked if the visit to Fresno State was successful — despite protests by students — Smock said it was absolutely successful, and the protest was just what he wanted to see. According to his thinking, it was a success because the students stopped what they were doing and paid attention to what words came out of the preachers’ mouths. Some of the shouts included denouncing LGBTQ individuals over “sexual immoralities.” Other words included scolding remarks by the preachers toward the students because they don’t know much about the Bible, according to Smock. There was likely some outcry from students and faculty beyond the Free Speech Area. University President Dr. Joseph Castro promptly issued an email message in which he told students to remain civil and to respect the visitors. He included that the message of the preachers did not necessarily reflect the values of the university. The focus of the group, Smock said, is to visit campuses across the U.S. and engage students on the topic of Christianity. It raises one question: Are devout, religious students the target of these religious group visits? Or is it angry students resisting the message? If Smock’s words indicate anything, the answer is the latter. It appears the mission of the missionaries was accomplished Tuesday at Fresno State. Accountancy Assistant General Manager Financial Manager Advertising Faculty Adviser Editorial Faculty Adviser MCJ Department Chair

Edgar Jimenez-Ordaz Rich Marshall Cheryl Carlson Jan Edwards George Hostetter Dr. Katherine Adams

The Collegian carries four different ethnic supplements inserted several times throughout each semester into its print publication. Each supplement is produced by its own staff and advisers and is separate from The Collegian. The news stories or opinions in the supplements do not reflect those 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. All content Copyright © 2018 The Collegian. Letters to the Editor (collegian@csufresno.edu): All letters submitted to The Collegian should be between 250-500 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.


THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018

PAGE 3

TUITION from Page 1

“We think that it’s starting to sound like the governor doesn’t care about public higher education and about educating our qualified students.” For this reason, individuals from different parts of California are making their way to Sacramento on April 4 to ask the state government to prioritize higher education funding. “We’re going to do what it takes to get the funding that CSU students really need,” said Eagan. “We all have to put pressure on the governor and the legislature -- and that’s what we’re going to do at our event at the Capitol.” Although Gov. Jerry Brown will not be in office after the election later this year, Eagan still thinks that the event will be effective. Besides Brown, other members of the

Illustration by Casey Supple

current legislature will run for re-election in the next election. She feels that gathering at the capital will allow others to witness the importance of funding the CSUs. “We need to be visible and vocal because

in a lot of ways, we’re communicating to our next governor,” Eagan said. “It might seem like chanting and having a party out on the lawn doesn’t do anything, but our experience and all the evidence says it re-

ally does.” Representatives of Fresno State’s Associated Students, Inc. recently visited Sacramento to speak with legislators about funding for the CSU system. President Blake Zante recently told The Collegian that if the CSU board of trustees votes to increase tuition, the state government might choose to provide less funding to the CSU system. He said that would affect students on a personal level. “There may be less classes,” Zante said. “Students may not be admitted in the future for a semester or two just because of the lack of funding.” Because many individuals rely on the CSU system for an affordable way to earning a bachelor’s degree, Zante feels that reduced funding could have severe effects on California as a whole. Zante said, “If we don’t have an educated, trained workforce, then the economy is going to fail.”

HUMANS OF FRESNO STATE

Local journalist says ‘knowing your community’ makes the difference By Razmik Cañas @Raz_Canas

I

t was was pitch black on a Thursday. The electricity went out at Fresno State in 2013. It was the perfect story for a budding student-journalist. That was when Megan Rupe, now a reporter and anchor for KSEE 24, ran across campus to gather information and broke one of her first stories, which later was printed on the front page of The Collegian. “That was such a cool day as a student, but that was wild,” Rupe said. Journalism was not always Rupe’s career choice. She loved theater in high school and continued that passion when she entered college. After one year in as a theatre arts major she told herself, “This is so fun for me to do, but I don’t know if this is what I want my life to be all about, every day.” She then thought about the other skills she possessed and wondered what that next step would be. She knew she loved to write, present and communicate. All perfect skills for a broadcast journalist. Then her mom gave her the idea. “Well, why don’t you do the journalism thing,” she told Rupe, who was finishing her first few semesters at Fresno State. “You know, the TV version.” And with that, Rupe enrolled in her first class in what was then the department of mass communication and journalism. She took media law, taught by broadcast journalism professor Faith Sidlow, who is a former news anchor at KSEE 24. That was when she realized how technical journalism was – something many people don’t understand, Rupe said. “We don’t just talk – there’s so much that goes into every single day,” she said. While moving forward as a student-journalist, Rupe had many opportunities to get hands-on experience. One of them being the arts and entertainment editor at The Collegian. It was then that her passion for the arts collaborated with her new venture in media. She covered the arts in many aspects, including fashion, which was one of her first features in the paper. She realized her writing was becoming much more than words on a paper. “I’m telling a story. It’s not just ques-

We don’t just talk – there’s so much that goes into every single day. — Megan Rupe, Fresno State Alumna

Alejandro Soto • The Collegian

Megan Rupe talks with staffers of The Collegian as she reads an article in a previous issue of The Collegian where she was the writer for the front page story. Rupe is an alumna of Fresno State and the Mass Communication & Journalism department.

INSTAGRAM: for more on this story, visit Humans of Fresno State on Instagram instagram.com/ humansoffresnostate/ tions and answers. Now I’m actually doing it,” Rupe told herself. She also had internship opportunities, one being with her current employer, KSEE 24.

She started as an intern and moved up to a freelancer. She then would go out in the field and write the stories, and then bring them back to the studio for a reporter to audio track. Her work was on air, but nobody really knew. Rupe knew she had to land a real job, and with graduation approaching, she knew it had to be fast. At that time, just down the street from KSEE 24, KMPH Fox 26 news was looking to hire a new reporter.

She took the chance and applied. She got an interview and even recorded a “fake live-shot” for executives to critique. Her high hopes were then shot down when it was realized she had no prior experience. Although the reporter spot was gone, they did offer her a producing position. But Rupe knew that being in the studio was not what she wanted. “My passion is being out in the field,” she said. Later that day, she went back to KSEE 24, where she told her internship boss about the producing opportunity. He told her that they wanted to keep her at KSEE 24. They had noticed endless amount of effort in the projects she was given. Soon after, she began as a “MMJ” or “multimedia journalist,” which means she shot, wrote and reported the stories all by herself. She remembers her first assignment that went on air. It turned out to be every reporter’s worst nightmare. “I hit the wrong button on the camera and all the video was in slow motion,” Rupe said. “So I could only use like 10 shots.” Events like that helped her learn new things along the way. Rupe reports during the week but is in the “driver’s seat” on the weekends. She does the work of multiple people by herself as the weekend night anchor. She said she produces, times and reports the entire newscast. Rupe said she owes her journey to her parents and those who supported her as a student-journalist at Fresno State. She said she takes pride in being from the central San Joaquin Valley and the opportunity to cover the news that happens in it. She realizes that some Valley students may think there’s no future because they’re from a small town. But with Fresno growing by the year, the opportunities for locals become more plentiful, she said. She said she knows firsthand the impact a community can have on one person. “Never let people laugh at you for that or anything,” Rupe said. “Knowing your community is what can set you apart.”


A&E

4

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018

RECEPTION

Award-winning writer honored

Benjamin Cruz • The Collegian

Award-winning author Renée Watson is the Arne Nixon Center’s new artist-in-residence. She attended a reception in her honor on March 20, 2018 where she read from her books.

Renée Watson is the new Artist-inResidence

I had to come to this place where I could be proud of who I was regardless of who I was around, and not shun away from my blackness, my identity and just accept who I was.

By Christian Mattos @ChrisssyMattos

A

ward-winning writer Renée Watson visited Fresno State on Monday in honor of being named the new artist-in-residence for the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at the Henry Madden Library. Watson, who is also a performer and educator, has written several books, including her latest young adult novel, “Piecing Me Together,” which won the 2018 Coretta Scott King and Newbery Honor awards. “One of the best parts of being a writer and having books out in the world is getting to talk to people about the books and talk about the work,” Watson said. The welcoming reception took place at the University Dining Hall and was co-sponsored by the Cross Cultural and Gender Center, African-American Programs and Services and the Black Faculty and Staff Association. As the fellowship recipient, Watson will work in English, education and women’s studies classes to connect with students about the importance of children’s literature. She will also receive a $10,000 stipend

Benjamin Cruz • The Collegian

Several people attended the reception held in the Henry Madden Library in honor of award-winning author Renée Watson on March 20, 2018.

from an anonymous donor. Watson said she knew she would pursue writing when she wrote a 21-page story at 7 years of age. Much of her writing is centered around her experiences growing up in Portland, Oregon. She said that she writes about life events that she wasn’t able to talk about or process as a child. “A lot of the work that I do is kind of going back and righting some wrongs and rethinking a lot of things that happened in my childhood and also celebrating home,” she said. Watson noted the importance of telling your own story. She said that she tries to envelope the honesty of the painful and joyful moments in her own writing. “I try to put both of those things up against each other and have the bitter and the sweet happening in one poem, in one novel, so then people see that it’s OK to critique the places that we love,” Watson said. During the reception, Watson read a few

of her poems, including “Where I’m From,” “Resurrection” and “Black Like Me.” She also read excerpts from her books “What Momma Left Me” and “Piecing Me Together.” Though her work is based in fiction, Watson said that she is inspired by people she has met over time and the things she has seen and experienced herself. She said that she feels a responsibility to tell the truth in writing about the neighborhoods she grew up in past the stereotypical tragic portrayals. “I had to come to this place where I could be proud of who I was regardless of who I was around, and not shun away from my blackness, my identity and just accept who I was,” she said. For Takkara Brunson, an assistant professor in the Africana studies program, Watson’s work correlated to her own interest in children’s literature with historical themes. “It was really amazing to hear her poetry [and] her experiences integrating

— Renée Watson, Author [into] a predominately white Portland-area school,” Brunson said. Brunson said she also liked how Watson presents black girlhood in a nuanced way. Her writing says a lot about African-American culture that youth can relate to, she said. “I think, more broadly, they speak to a range of themes relating to coming-of-age and figuring out your place in society and how you might go about navigating that,” Brunson said. Also in attendance was a group of female students from Wawona Middle School who came to Watson’s presentation for a class field trip. Sanai Jones said she was inspired as a black girl because Watson went through a racial struggle her generation has been lucky to avoid. The students said they related to Watson’s work, and Nakiyaah Easter said she left with a positive message in mind – “It is great being a black female.”


THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018

PAGE 5

NEWS BRIEF

Psychologist to address ‘The Voices in Our Heads’ Social psychologist and professor emeritus of psychology at Fresno State Dr. Robert V. Levine will give a lecture titled “The Voices in Our Heads.” His talk is scheduled for March 22 from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Alice Peters Auditorium and will revolve around the inner workings of the human mind and the voices within it. Levine’s latest book, “Stranger in the

Mirror: The Scientific Search for the Self,” is the basis for the lecture. He also wrote “A Geography of Time” (1998) and “The Power of Persuasion: How We’re Bought and Sold” (2006). His writing has been featured in The New York Times, American Scientist and Discover. “The voices can be frightening, as in the uncontrollable hallucinations sometimes

experienced during mental illness,” Levine said. “But inner voices aren’t confined to the mentally ill. They are as normal as thinking, for better and for worse and in a symphony of forms. They may be experienced as silent or aloud, as friend or foe, sometimes helpful and other times annoying.” Levine has won a number of awards for

his research, teaching and writing. He received the Excellence in Teaching Award from Fresno State in 2007. The lecture is part of the spring programming for Fresno State’s Center for Creativity and the Arts and ties into the programming’s theme of “Voice and Silence.” “Dr. Levine’s ‘Voices in Our Heads’ is a provocative exploration of the idea of expression through the stories and narratives we create internally,” said Dr. Cindy Urrutia, director of the center.

Have a great

Spring Break

BE A PART OF THE HISTORIC CELEBRATION

MARCH 24


NEWS

6

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018

CULTURE

Scholar gives lecture on Armenian history By Bineet Kaur @hellobineet

The battle between history and the human mind was examined on Monday by Hayk Demoyan in his lecture, “Multiple Identities and Memories of the Armenian World.” The lecture, which was a part of the Armenian studies program spring lecture series, showcased the research of Demoyan, who is a Fulbright U.S. scholar at Harvard University. Fulbright visiting scholars are from other nations and conduct research at universities in the U.S. Demoyan is the director of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute in Yerevan, Armenia and has written 12 books. He also served as the secretary of the state commission on coordination of the events dedicated to the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Demoyan’s lecture examined how physical symbols of Armenian history like monuments, statues and stamps vary throughout different countries. He explained that through the construction of these physical entities, some try to frame history the way they would like it to be framed. This can lead to differing narratives among people. An overarching theme of the lecture was that there are disputes regarding whether certain historical figures or events should be perceived positively or negatively. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, coordinator of the Armenian studies program at Fresno State, said that although history is factual, people’s personal opinions often interfere with how history is portrayed.

PEACE GARDEN from Page 1

to $500. The discussion continued with many senators echoing the argument that a Mandela statue would not directly impact students. Sen. Elias J. Karam, Lyles College of Engineering, expressed concerns about the rate of spending and warned senators that they could potentially “exhaust reserves.” Zante asked that the senate consider a “reasonable” $5,000 donation instead of the $500. Sen. Alexandra Chavez, student affairs, amended the motion, and the senate voted to increase the donation amount to $5,000. The discussion continued with Sen. Amber Malhi, diversity, equity and inclusion pointing out that representation does have a direct impact on international students and students of color on campus. “There’s representation in the Peace Garden,” Mahli said. “For some international students, there is a lot of emotion connected with who the figures are in the Peace Garden. So just remember that this is representing students.” Childress argued that a poll he posted to the Fresno State Book Trade & Advice Facebook page on whether ASI should fund the statue overwhelmingly showed that students did not want ASI funds to be used for the monument. The poll asked people to give their opinions about the proposed donation of ASI

“There always are contesting versions of history. We always choose based on our own biases,” Der Mugrdechian said. “It should be done on a factual basis. It shouldn’t be done on the basis of trying to formulate the future.” Those who attended the lecture said that the knowledge brought by Demoyan was something to look at as the Armenian culture evolves. “Armenia is changing very rapidly – and it’s changing along with how Russia is changing,” said Armenian studies professor Sergio La Porta. “To get a more up-todate view of how its own recent history is being reinterpreted today was particularly fascinating for me.” La Porta said that, at times, certain representations of history can be offensive to others. “Obviously, [it] would be uncomfortable to see that people who, for years, they considered as criminals now being restored with a nationalist interpretation,” he said. Demoyan’s lecture also touched on the strain between Armenians living in Armenia and Armenians living outside of Armenia. La Porta said that divide can be diminished with events like these that get people from other environments to share their input. “The only way that these tensions will be relieved is through continuous dialogue between the two communities,” La Porta said. “The more that we can encourage scholars who are Armenian to come here and Armenians from here to go there and talk to each other – I think having that conversation brings the two communities closer.”

funds by selecting from poll responses. The responses included: “I don’t think ASI funds should go towards this;” “Mandela would want that money going towards our education.” Other responses included: “No! Big no no” and “I want ASI funds to go towards this statue.” Out of 300 responses only 20 people chose “I want ASI funds to go towards this statue.” The Facebook group is made up of current and former students. “We should be spending our money wisely. It should go to advocacy efforts, student well-being and I don’t believe the beautification of the campus is our general purpose in ASI,” Childress said. “As representatives of students, we should listen to the student voice. Students are saying ‘no’ so, of course, we should not do this.” Zante countered Childress by saying that a social media poll is not a representative sample of campus, and the poll voters were not verified as current students. Mahli added that the vote to create a senator for diversity and inclusion last year, means that students expect ASI to highlight diversity on campus. Childress moved to amend the amount one last time and ultimately the senate approved a $1,000 contribution to the Mandela statue project. Africana studies professors including Kapoor left the meeting after vocalizing their disappointment in the lengthy debate. Kapoor stated, “We respect your decision, but we are terribly disappointed.”

NEWS BRIEF

Building to be named after late viticulture professor Fresno State’s first viticulture professor is being honored with the naming of the campus viticulture building. Vincent E. Petrucci founded the Fresno State Viticulture and Enology Research Center in 1985, and served as the director until he retired in 1993. He died December 2016. The California State University (CSU) Trustees approved the naming on Tuesday, according to to a university news release. Petrucci is known for raising more than $1.5 million for the viticulture building which includes teaching and research laboratories, a discipline-centered library and research center. “His extraordinary work transformed the lives of thousands of students at Fresno State and influenced an entire grape-growing and winemaking industry,” Fresno State President Dr. Joseph Castro said in a news release. The professor emeritus was awarded an honorary doctorate of science by the CSU in 1994. He helped establish the viticulture and enology department, and in 1997, Fresno State became the first university in the nation with a winery marketing student-produced wines. “It is a distinct honor to name the viticulture building in [Petrucci’s] memory, given his many enduring contributions to Fresno

Dr. Vincent E. Petrucci

Fresno State

State and the San Joaquin Valley,” said Dr. Sandra Witte, dean of the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, in a news release. Petrucci published papers and books about wine and grape cultivation upon retiring, and he is also the namesake of a student-produced, limited-edition wine introduced in 2016, Petrucci’s Crush. An official naming ceremony of the Vincent E. Petrucci Building is being planned.

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Whitney Northington Barnick general Civil Litigation & appeals attorney

Rajinder Sungu Workers’ Compensation Law attorney

Thinking about applying to graduate school? Choose a Juris Doctor degree. A law degree provides “One Degree a World of Options.” Learn from a panel of San Joaquin College of Law alumni in this free forum and discover the diverse career opportunities a law degree can provide. Reserve your space now at sjcl.edu or 559/323-2100. A bachelor’s degree in any major qualifies you to apply.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018

THE COLLEGIAN • SPORTS

PAGE 7


SPORTS

8

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Season ends after record-breaking night By William Ramirez @willoveslakers2

A

26-point deficit lit a fire in Candice White that led to a scoring effort unlike any in the history of Fresno State women’s basketball. White finished with 40 points on 17-of-29 shooting, setting the school record for points in a game. “Honestly, I wasn’t too aware. One of my coaches told me, ‘It’s March, you never know what could happen in March.’ That was my focus in the second half, you never know what could happen, let’s try and get this win,” White said. The herculean effort was not enough, though, and Fresno State was ousted from the Women’s Basketball Invitational, losing 86-74 to Nevada. White found offense all night long and from anywhere on the floor; off the dribble, catch and shoot, cutting and free throws. “She had an urgency and a fight, and that’s something that I think comes with experience,” said head coach Jaime White. The ‘Dogs struggled to match Candice White’s effort early on. Of the 11 Bulldogs who played Monday night, only four of them had scored going into halftime. Coach White said they simply shot too many outside shots, and they did not hit enough of them. Nevada, on the other hand, was hitting its. “I don’t think we came out the way we

Fresno State Athletics

Junior Candice White ends the season with a record-setting 40 points in the Women’s Basketball Invitational on March 19, 2018. Fresno State lost to Nevada 86-74.

had planned, although Nevada did. I thought they played really well and shot really well,” the coach said. “I just didn’t think we had our defensive intensity in the first half.”

That lack of defensive intensity turned into a 17-2 run by the Wolf Pack in the second quarter. Nevada dominated the Bulldogs from all angles. Wolf Pack guard T Moe

scored 9 of the points on that run. Moe nearly matched Candice White’s performance, scoring 34 points. She was on fire from deep, hitting 6-of-8 3-point attempts. Fresno State went into halftime down 46-24. White had 14 of those points. But Coach White said the game was a “tale of two halves.” The second half saw the Bulldogs fight their way back into the game. Bringing the deficit to within three points with about three minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs got the comeback going in the third quarter, when they shot 13-for-19 from the field. “I thought we went into halftime with a little bit of bounce, and we came out and proved it was true,” Jaime White said. The crowd could also feel the team’s effort was at another level in the second half. The fans grew louder with each point the team chipped off the lead. But the Wolf Pack did not surrender their lead. They went on a 10-3 run with the ‘Dogs within three to make the game 82-72 with 43 seconds to go. The loss brings the Bulldogs’ season to an end, but junior Candice White and freshman Aly Gamez are already looking ahead to next season. “It’s exciting. I know it’s not what we wanted, you know, losing, but to see how far we’ve come since the beginning, it’s exciting. I’m ready for [next season],” Gamez said.

BOXING

Freshman looks to compete in 2020 Summer Olympics

Eric Zamora • The Collegian

Fresno State student and two-time world champion Marc Castro trains in his home boxing gym on Feb. 19, 2018.

By Eric Zamora @ehhreec

Marc Castro is a Fresno State kinesiology major with a secret. But he doesn’t hide it. Aside from being a student, Castro is an internationally-known boxer, with world championship titles to prove it. “My biggest accomplishments [are] winning the junior world championships in 2015, which is the best 15-16-year-olds in the world, and then 2016, winning the youth world championships, the best 17-18-yearolds in the world,” Castro said. “So I’m the second American to ever have back-to-back junior and youth world championships.”

WATCH: for video on this story, visit our website: fresnostate.edu/collegian The 18-year-old boxer has traveled around the world to destinations such as Saint Petersburg, Russia, winning gold medals, all while balancing life as a student. “It’s pretty difficult because I was in high school last year; it was pretty different than college,” Castro said. “But at the same time, [in] college you can make your own schedule so that’s what I do, and I’m happy to be at Fresno State.” This semester, Castro takes online courses, making it easier for him to travel and go

to tournaments, which was an issue for him during his first semester as a freshman. With the leeway that his current schedule gives him, Castro is able to focus on his main goal: the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. “I’m on Team USA right now. We go to international competitions. We’re fighting against the top athletes,” Castro said. “So it’s just going to be the same guys in a couple years, so you just got to get experience and just be ready.” Inside of his bedroom, he has rows of photographs of previous boxing Olympians, such as Muhammad Ali, as a reminder of his ultimate goal. “Once I make the Olympics, my photo could be put up there as well,” Castro said. Castro’s start with boxing began with his father, Tony Castro, who was a boxer as well. “He was in soccer before, and what I see is that he works hard, and soccer is a team sport, and if not everybody puts out the same effort, you’re not going to get the same result that you expected,” the older Castro said. “That’s when I see in him that he’ll be good in a one-on-one sport, because he puts all the effort into it.” Along with his father, the rest of Castro’s family is just as involved in his career as a boxer. “My family’s everything in my boxing career, from my mom, to my sisters, to my dad who’s my trainer. So it’s just family [oriented] boxing, and I feel like it’s always gonna be that way,” Castro said. Castro trains nearly every day, starting in the early hours of the morning.

Marc is a two-time world champion. There’s not many people who have ever actually achieved that level. — Efren Lopez, Professional Fighter “Right now it’s wake up like at 4:30 a.m., go train strength and conditioning at 5 o’clock and that’ll last until like around 6:30, come back home at 7 and rest, and then probably go run,” Castro said. Occasionally, Castro will spar with another boxer such as professional fighter Efren Lopez, who he has known since childhood, while training. “Marc is a two-time world champion. There’s not many people who have ever actually achieved that level of being considered a world champion,” Lopez said. “He’s a tough kid, so you better watch out for him.” For the older Castro, he did not expect this for his son. “I never dreamed to have a world champion at my house, and I got a two-time world champion,” the older Castro said. “But it’s just the beginning, and with what he’s doing right now, I’m pretty sure he’s gonna get the gold medal in the Olympics [in] 2020.”


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