ʻDOGS DEFEAT SPARTANS Fresno State beats rival San Jose State 33-18 in 75th meeting
See why Hobb’s Grove is closed this year A&E The Collegian gives its recommendations for Nov.2 OPINION Fresno State parking lots are ‘trashy’ FEATURES
Monday Issue OCTOBER 25, 2010 FRESNO STATE
COLLEGIAN.CSUFRESNO.EDU
SERVING CAMPUS SINCE 1922
FCC to halt surprise cell charges By Andrew Veihmeyer The Collegian
Photo Illustration by Michael Uribes / The Collegian
The nearly limitless capabilities of today’s cellular d ev i c e s a re o f t e n p a i re d with service plans that limit the consumer’s usage per month. But when calls, text messages and web browsi n g a re a d d e d u p o n t h e monthly bill, it’s no question that some students get surprised by large overcharges they weren’t expecting. The Fe d e r a l C o m m u n i c at i o n s Commission unveiled proposals on Thursday, Oct. 14 to ease the shock. In what it calls “bill shock”, when consumers go over their plans without knowing, the FCC proposed that mobile providers be required to notify subscribers via text message or voice notification when they are about to exceed their limit and receive additional fees. Providers would also be required to inform the customer of international fees and roaming charges that would exceed normal rates or monthly plans. “[The FCC rules] would be good for us, but not for the cell phone companies,” said Alex Calderon, physical therapy major at Fresno State. “At a time like this in the economy, it would be good for students who are busy and lose track of
their minutes.” Calderon said the rules probably will not affect people like his father who doesn’t use text messaging nearly as much as most students. To give the user even more worry-free phone usage, tools that could be used to monitor usage and review balance on a device were also proposed. In addition, the option for a consumer to cap their usage to avoid overcharges may also be a requirement the FCC intends to enforce. Calderon said he can already check his balance
“I
t would be good for students who are busy and lose track of their minutes.” — Alex Calderon, Student, Fresno State
with his current cellular provider but said it should be an option with all companies. Janine Fer nandez, a pre veterinarian student supports the FCC’s proposed rules and thinks an alert system would help consumers avoid increased charges. “[An alert system] is what See SHOCK, Page 3
By Michael Kincheloe The Collegian Fresno State students who drive to school in vehicles or bicycles may have experienced the potholed, rutted, cracked and unevenly paved roads on campus. No matter what time of year it is, those who traverse the roads are in for a rough ride. Potholes can cause significant damage to a car’s suspension system or tires if the driver fails to avoid them. During the rainy months, potholes can fill with water, which often obscures the severity of the pothole to the unsuspecting driver. Liberal Studies major Daniel Ybarra experienced the severity of hidden road hazards on the way to his morning class. “I’d hit a huge pothole that I didn’t even see,” Ybar ra said. “The car wouldn’t steer right, and even after I had it aligned... it was never the same. I
sold it and bought another car.” Drivers who cannot avoid such hazards often suffer damage to their cars. Damage from a pothole may result in immediate damage like a flat tire, or it may be collective such as a misalignment of the car’s steering. “We get pothole damage all the time, especially after it starts to rain” said Barry Proxmire, manager of the Sears Auto Center on Blackstone Ave. “Blown tires and cracked rims are common, and we had one guy pull in with a lowered front end who’d torn the bumper off.” Repairs can cost hundreds of dollars, Proxmire said. Those who ride bicycles know all too well of the varying street conditions on the Fresno State campus. Riding in the bike path down Barstow Ave. will expose the rider to many
cracks in the asphalt, but other streets fair much worse, such as the many cracks, dips, ruts and other unevenness on Jackson Ave. between Barstow and San Ramon Avenues. Potholes form because asphalt road surfaces eventually crack from the heat and the constant stresses of traffic. These cracks allow rainwater to seep into the underlying dirt and gravel. During cold winter nights, this water freezes and expands. Some of the dirt and gravel is pushed out as a result, leaving a hole when the water eventually melts. Drivers continue to drive over these unseen holes, putting even more stress on the thin asphalt layer covering them. The City of Fresno’s Street Maintenance Division repairs thou-
The potholes at Fresno State, shown here on Campus Drive, are some of the rough terrain students face in their vehicles and See TERRAIN, Page 3 on their bicycles. Angelina Salinas / The Collegian
Disputes mean less free shows on Web By Ryan Nakashima Associated Press Broadcasters took a big step toward eliminating free TV shows on the Web after they blocked access to their programming online this month to enforce their demands to be paid. Recent actions by Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS in two separate fee disputes suggest that after a few years of experimenting with free, ad-supported viewing, broadcasters believe they can make more money from cable TV providers if they hold back some programming online. That could mean new limits on online viewing are coming: Broadcasters might make fewer of their shows available to begin with, or delay when they become available — say, a month after an episode is broadcast, rather than the few hours it typically takes now. It would make it tougher for viewers to drop their cable TV subscriptions and watch shows online instead. If cable and satellite TV providers can hang on to more subscribers, broadcasters can then demand more money from them to carry their stations on the lineups. Last weekend, News Corp.’s Fox made TV programming history by blocking online access to its shows, including “Glee” to 2.6 million Cablevision Systems Corp. broadband Internet subscribers. It was part of a fee dispute over how much Cablevision pays to carry the signals of Fox-owned TV stations. At around the same time, ABC, NBC and CBS turned off access to full episodes when accessed from the new Google T V We b b r o w s e r, w h i c h became available this month. Both actions sent the message that broadcasters are demanding to be paid for their shows wherever they are seen — just as new devices are making it easier to watch those shows on regular TV sets. “Basically, they’re trying to work hard to ensure that ‘cordcutting’ is not an attractive option anymore,” said analyst Derek Baine of research firm SNL Kagan, referring to the phenomenon of people cutting their cable subscriptions and catching shows online to save money. BTIG Research analyst Rich Greenfield put it more bluntly in a blog post on Monday. “Consumers must be made to realize that nothing is free anymore,” he wrote.