FRESNO STATE HOLDS ‘MASQUEERADE’ FOR LGBTQ+ STUDENTS INSIDE Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 RYAN’S RUN
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RUNNING FOR AUTISM
Darlene Wemdels • Collegian file photo
Fresno State alumnus Ryan Stiner crosses the finish line of his first 10-day, 206-mile run from San Francisco to Fresno on Nov. 8, 2014 that benefited the Autism Center at Fresno State. Stiner’s third annual “Ryan’s Run” is set to start Nov. 3 at Fisherman’s Wharf and return to Fresno on Nov. 12.
Fresno State alumnus to run 200 miles to raise awareness and funds for autism By Chueyee Yang @chueyee15
Fresno State alumnus Ryan Stiner will be running from San Francisco to Fresno in hopes of raising $20,000 for the California Autism Center and Learning Group. The event, Ryan’s Run, is a one-man run in which Stiner, 29, will run 200 miles in 10 days to raise awareness and funds for children with autism.
“I’m the one that’s doing the running and so it’s a one-man event, but it’s completed by so many people who are donating while I’m doing this run from San Francisco to Fresno,” Stiner said. Ryan’s Run started in 2014 after Stiner saw a segment on CNN showcasing a map of California. The map gave him the idea to run from San Francisco to Fresno. He said he wanted to run for a cause and not just for himself. “I was at a place in my life where I was
sort of reflecting on everything that had happened to me, both good and bad,” Stiner said. “Everything has been sort of about me for my whole life and that’s OK. There’s a time and place you need to be selfish. There’s also a time where you have to step outside and you’ve got to give back.” Forty-five days later, Stiner was on his way from San Francisco to Fresno for his first Ryan’s Run route. This year, Stiner will be starting his route on Nov. 3 at Fisherman’s Wharf and
returning to Fresno on Nov. 12. On the last day, he will end his route by running five miles from Woodward Park to Fresno State. Residents are welcomed to join Stiner on his run. Last year, Stiner said about 40 people walked and ran from Woodward Park to Fresno State with him. Next year, Stiner is planning to run 250 miles in a 10-day timespan. “Because truth be told, I can continu-
See RYAN, Page 3
TOP DOG TALKS
Top Dog honorees talk leadership and volunteering By Marcus Karby @MKarby
Several of this year’s Top Dog honorees spoke about issues close to them at the second annual Top Dog Talks on Oct. 13 at the Maya Cinemas Fresno 16 in Campus Pointe. The speakers of this year’s first Top Dog Talks were James Brumm, Raj Beasla, Dr. Lois Tarkanian, Anthony Rubino, Valerie A. Vuicich and Dr. Richard Whitten Jr. Brumm was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and Vuicich received the Arthur Safstrom Service Award.
“The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor given to an alumnus of the university,” said Jacqui Glasener, executive director of the Fresno State Alumni Association. “The Arthur Safstrom Service Award is an award given to any alumnus who has given outstanding service for the alumni association or the university.” The Top Dogs are alumni who are nominated by any member of the community, then narrowed down to three possible recipients by each of the colleges that are giving out the awards: those three then are reviewed by an alumni award committee and finally decided on, according to the alumni association website.
Beasla, senior director of service planning and design for PG&E, spoke on the No. 1 thing in the corporate world: safety first. He said, “Zero is Achievable” in terms of zero accidents for a large company. He graduated from Lyles College of Engineering with a bachelor’s in electrical engineering in 1989. Rubino, the range squadron director for the 412th Test Wing located at Edwards Air Force Base, titled his speech, “When we talk about leadership, we talk about developing tomorrow’s leaders today.” “Leaders are readers” and challenged everyone to read 15 minutes a day. He said you should take five ideas from each book
you read; with this, you should be able to “change your family, neighborhood, city, state, community and then the world.” Rubino graduated from Lyles College of Engineering in 1988 with a bachelor’s in electrical engineering and with a master’s from the Craig School of Business in 2010. Whitten Jr. is an active member on numerous boards and advisory committees as well as the medical director for Vision Health International. He spoke on “volunteering with a purpose” and about his own experiences with Vision Health International, an organization that gives free eye
See TOP DOG, Page 3
OPINION
GOT OPINIONS? We want to hear them. COLLEGIAN-OPINION@CSUFRESNO.EDU MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2016
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RAPE CULTURE
‘Locker room talk’ contributes to rape culture Trump’s words are harmful to victims of sexual abuse
By Amber Carpenter @ambscarpenter
Rape culture is an environment in which sexual violence against women is so normalized that it is excused by most of mainstream culture. Even if you’ve never heard the words rape culture before, you’ve probably seen it. Rape culture is someone excusing the sexually explicit behavior of men by saying, “Boys will be boys.” It’s asking a woman what she was wearing the night that she experienced a sexual assault. It’s assuming that a man can never be a victim of rape because masculinity is defined by sexual aggression and dominance. When confronted about his derogatory and sexually aggressive comments toward women, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wrote it off as “locker room talk” that he wasn’t proud of. In minimizing his brags about sexual assault as “locker room talk,” Trump joins the decades-old tradition of casual banter that contributes to a rhetoric that’s damaging for women and trivializes the sexual abuse of women everywhere. In fact, professional athletes, including Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Doolittle, have come out and given public statements on how incredulous Trump’s words were – that talk that vulgar would never occur in their locker rooms. Rape culture is even prevalent in ways that people don’t realize. People often make jokes about how women go to the bathroom in packs. However, constructs like that exist because many women are terrified to go anywhere alone for fear of being verbally or physically assaulted. Sexual assault isn’t just a statistic you read about on a mandatory training you
do to register for your classes. Sexual assault is a 12-year-old girl having to experience being groped on the bus ride home from school. It is a violent rape on a night when you thought that you were just getting drinks with an old friend. Between Brock Turner’s arrest and the joke of a prison sentence he was given, and Trump’s continuously degrading remarks about women, the inexcusable mentality of rape culture is more prevalent than ever. When you write off or excuse the severity of Trump’s words, you become part of the problem. When an elementary school boy slaps a little girl’s butt on the playground, she’s told that “boys will be boys.” When a sixth-grade girl wears a shirt with spaghetti straps to school, she is sent to the office because her clothes are distracting for boys, even though she had no such intention. When girls are sexualized from such a young age, people become desensitized to the constructs of gender and sexuality in our society. It’s time to address the inane double standard that for
some reason only applies to Trump’s actions and words. During the 2012 election, GOP hopeful Herman Cain bowed out of the race after several sexual harassment allegations from past employees of his. If tapes featuring Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama or even GOP presidential hopefuls like Ted Cruz and Chris Christie were released saying sexually vulgar and aggressive comments toward men or women alike, it’s far more likely that those candidates would be asked to bow out of the race. Why then is Trump still being considered the Republican nominee? Why are women at Trump’s rallies wearing shirts that suggest they be the ones that Trump grabs by the pussy? Is it because of party loyalty? Or Trump’s lovable temperament? Or is it the way that our society accepts sexual abuse as a trivialized point of conversation? Trump’s comments are far bigger than any nomination, election or future impeachment. Women are coming out in droves, each with more and more allegations that Trump has forceably
kissed or groped them in the past. Possibly one of the most disgusting aspects of the allegations against Trump and the way that he’s handling them is that he considers himself the victim of a “distorted media pushing Crooked Hillary” and that the election is not only rigged by media preference,“ – but also at many polling places,” as stated on his Twitter account just Sunday morning. During a campaign stop in Charlotte, North Carolina last Friday, he called himself “a victim of one of the greatest political smear campaigns in the history of our country.” When Trump portrays himself as a victim of a media smear campaign, he trivializes the emotional scars that the women he’s assaulted over the years have borne. What Trump needs to know is that he isn’t a victim of a smear campaign – he is the culprit in a decadeslong rampage of sexual assaults against women. First lady Michelle Obama said it be0st during a speech given last week in New Hampshire: “This is not politics as usual. This is disgraceful. This is intolerable.” If we elect Trump to be the leader of our country, it’s as though voters are saying that the emotional scars of past, present and future victims of sexual assault don’t matter. I refuse to take part in a rhetoric where my president is a culprit of sexual assault. When victims of sexual assault see allegation after allegation against Trump on the news, they don’t just see him: they see the person that sexually assaulted them being able to hide behind the words “locker room banter” or “media smear campaign.” It’s impossible to end rape culture overnight, but a good start would be disposing any possibility that this man can lead our country.
Kaitlyn Lancaster • The Collegian
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THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2016
PAGE 3
Ryan’s Run to begin Nov. 3 at Fisherman’s Wharf RYAN from Page 1 ously run about 500 miles in 10 days,” Stiner said. “Two hundred miles is a trip. It’s not easy, but if I’m properly trained for this, I really believe that there’s a day, maybe 10 years down the road, where I’ll be able to get up [and] I’ll do 50 miles a day.” This year, 100 percent of the proceeds earned from donations will be donated. “We’re blown away by, you know, by the fact that he wants to continue doing this to support us and we’re in awe of him, and it’s just inspiring that he would want to take on this huge feat all in support of autism,” said Nicki Cerniglia, director of marketing and community relations at the autism center. For Ryan’s Run in 2014 and 2015, Stiner said each run raised about $15,000. This year, the goal is $20,000, according to Ryan’s Run’s website. “I don’t think it’s going to be as high as the last two years, unfortunately,” Stiner said. “If we hit $10,000, I’d be happy.” According to Ryan’s Run GoFundMe account, $2,202 had been raised as of Oct. 16. Cerniglia said with the funds donated
Khone Saysamongdy • The Collegian
Fresno State alumnus Ryan Stiner after completing of his second 10-day, 200-mile run from San Francisco to Fresno on Nov. 5, 2015 that benefited the Autism Center at Fresno State. Stiner’s third annual “Ryan’s Run” is set to start Nov. 3 at Fisherman’s Wharf, and he’ll return to Fresno on Nov. 12.
this year, the autism center is hoping to open additional centers in Clovis and Fresno. “Right now, we actually have a waitlist of probably about 150 kids, and we want to try to help those families as quickly as
possible,” Cerniglia said. “We’ll definitely be using the funds raised to help us open additional centers in the area.” The autism center currently has two locations – one in West Fresno, the other in Central Fresno. A third center will be
opened in Merced in a couple of months, said Cerniglia. Donations can be made on GoFundMe. com/ryansrun2016 or www.ryansrunforautism.com.
STUDENT DAY
Fresno State celebrates National Student Day By Hayley Salazar @Hayley_Salazarr
Students were invited to gather outside the Kennel Bookstore on Thursday, Oct. 13, to celebrate National Student Day. Student organizations such as Student Involvement, Associated Students, Inc., and Vintage Days; Fresno State facilities like University Courtyard and the Kennel Bookstore; and businesses like Apple and Maya Cinemas Fresno 16 hosted booths. Each group offered a variety of prizes and information sheets. USU Productions hosted a social media challenge in which students could take photos with the National Student Day geofilter and post it with the hashtag “USU Productions” and “FSNSD” (Fresno State National Student Day) on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat to win one free ticket to the homecoming game on Oct. 14. “We want them [students] to get more
involved, celebrate being a student here at Fresno State and also see the football game,” said Marian Pagaduan, a sophomore and member of the USU Pit Crew. Q 91.1 All the Hits was there to DJ and emcee a series of competitions such as a box balancing race and a limbo challenge. Winners were given movie tickets to Maya Cinemas 16. “It seems really cool. I like that Fresno State is taking the time to appreciate its students,” said John Karanja, a senior at Fresno State. The Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning was also in attendance to promote its Picture the Change Campaign. Students were encouraged to write personal pledges on the “I Pledge” board for service. David Barrera, a junior ambassador for the Richter Center, explained the campaign. “For example, if I don’t normally do volunteer service, I could pledge to start volunteer service,” he said. “It could be within my major or with something I love. We encour-
Hayley Salazar • The Collegian
Students playing games on National Student Day at Fresno State on Oct. 13, 2016.
age students to do volunteer work with our community and with our campus.” Students were able to engage with one
another to celebrate their hard work thus far in the semester.
‘Passion and persistence are the most important things necessary to succeed’ TOP DOG from Page 1 care in underdeveloped countries. He began his college experience at Fresno State, then moved to the Bay Area. There he got his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and his medical degree at UC San Francisco. Tarkanian, the Las Vegas city councilwoman for Ward 1, spoke on her conclusion that “passion and persistence are the most important things necessary to succeed.” Tarkanian told of how Sid Craig of the Craig School of Busi-
ness was her friend here at Fresno State. She spoke about how Craig introducing her to her husband, Jerry Tarkanian, the former basketball coach at Fresno State. Brumm is president of Glastonbury Commons Ltd. and the former general counsel of Mitsubishi International Corporation in the U.S. Brumm spoke about his time at Fresno State preparing him and gave him the experience to be able to live the life that he has. He graduated magna cum laude from Fresno State in 1965 with a bachelor’s in political science. He went on to earn his law
degree from Columbia University. Vuicich, the administer of the Career Technical Education/ Fresno Regional Occupational
Program for the Fresno County Office of Education, spoke about public service and its importance community. Vuicich said, “Service
is like planting a tree – you will never be able to sit in its shade.”
A&E
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2016
MOVIE SCREENING
‘No Mas Bebes’ teaches Fresno State students about reproductive justice By Ron Camacho @ron_camacho4
In the late 1960s and early 1970s Latina immigrants sued Los Angeles County doctors after they were sterilized without knowledge of the procedure. These sterilizations were performed while the women gave birth at USC Medical Center. This story became a documentary called “No Mas Bebes.” The California Latinas for Reproductive Justice organization screened the film in the Alice Peters Auditorium on Thursday night. Virginia Espinosa, producer, said she helped make the film to bring awareness to the issue of sterilization without consent. “This is a story that is not part of our collective memory in Los Angeles, so when I learned about this story in graduate school I was outraged,” Espinosa said. “It became a film because I’m very interested in bringing history to a wide, diverse audience.” Espinosa said the most difficult part of making the film, which took five years to make, was convincing the women who were sterilized to speak on camera. “Many of these women felt guilty or ashamed because of what happened to them,” Espinosa said. “We often had to
convince their kids to persuade them for us.” Laura Jimenez, Latinas for Reproductive Justice Executive Director, said the organization has held screenings of the film on college campuses around the nation to promote reproductive justice and spread awareness of mass sterilization incidents in the United States. “These issues are not taught in public school. Even at some colleges they are barely touched upon, so a lot of people are unaware,” Jimenez said. “We want to open this discussion to the public and to college students in particular.” The screening at Fresno State drew a crowd of around 20 people, though Espinosa and Jimenez said the film has attracted crowds of up to 400 people at other campuses. Jimenez said her organization is trying establish a chapter in Fresno. Besides reproductive justice, the organization also focuses on immigration issues. She said she was deeply affected by the film and believes many audience members will feel the same way after viewing it. “It puts a face on the issue, it puts a face on the woman, her husband, her children, her grandchildren,” Jimenez said. “It showed how everyone in the family reacted
Ron Camacho • The Collegian
Laura Jimenez, Executive director of Latinas for Reproductive Justice presented “No Mas Bebes” at the Alice Peters Auditorium on Thursday night.
and responded. Seeing that effect on real people really drives home these issues.” Espinosa said she thinks the film will continue to spread awareness and bring closure to those who were affected. She said some of the women who were initially reluctant to speak in the film are now vocal activists. The organization will continue to screen the film and fight for reproductive justice for Latinas and other minority groups.
“This film helps people across the country. African-American women have talked about this happening in the south and native women have experienced it on reservations,” Jimenez said. “ Women with disabilities and mental health issues have dealt with it. All these women are able to connect with this story.”
REVIEW
Chuck Zlotnick • Warner Brothers Pictures/TNS
Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff in a scene from the movie “The Accountant” directed by Gavin O’Connor.
‘The Accountant’ does a number on the big screen By David Chavez @d23chavez
GREAT
Hard-hitting action, dark comedy and an enticing storyline, add it all up and you get “The Accountant”. The film directed by Gavin O’ Connor stars Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons. Affleck plays the lead role of Christian Wolff, an accountant who does more than just crunch numbers. As a child, Wolff is
diagnosed with autism which leads to difficulties between his parents on who and how their son should be raised. His father decides the best thing to do to ensure his son grows up to become an independent adult is to schedule him and his younger brother, for military-type training. Wolff’s condition makes it nearly impossible for him to leave a project unfinished. There’s a scene that includes him causing a scene when he cannot find the final piece to a puzzle he is putting together. What one would call mental challenges are the complete opposite for Wolff. He uses his acute attention to detail and his acquired fighting skills to help clients all over the world who are involved in criminal organizations.
While working for a client, he meets Dana Cummings (Kendrick) and together they discover something a bit off with the client. When rumors of the two come to surface, a wild goose chase ensues to capture them, dead or alive. Ray King (Simmons) is an agent from the Treasury Department who has been working on a case of his own which leads him on the trail of Wolff. Together with his partner Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) they begin to put the pieces together. Affleck’s ability to deliver subtle, witty remarks without having to rely on overthe-top humor aids in creating a character the viewer can connect with. There’s an
interesting dynamic when you mix a quiet, shy individual with a brutal, no-nonsense alter-ego. The amount of flashbacks throughout the film may make it a bit confusing for some to keep up with the timeline. The film also leaves the viewer wishing there was more room for the relationships or chemistries to develop. For action movie lovers, this is definitely a film to check out. For those who are expecting a lot of humor or romance, this film may not be for you. If the audience takes away anything from the film, may it be to think twice before doubting that a person diagnosed with autism can live a normal life.
THE COLLEGIAN • A&E
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2016
MASQUEERADE
PAGE 5
Fresno State hosts LGBTQ+ prom
Christian Ortuno • The Collegian
Attendees dance at the masQUEERade Prom event at the North Gym on Oct. 15, 2016.
By Jessica Johnson @iamjesslj
Fresno State’s Cross Cultural and Gender Center (CCGC) hosted its first “masQUEERade” on Saturday night in the North Gym. A “prom” for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community was meant to be a do-over prom for those who potentially did not have pleasant prom experiences in the past. “We wanted an event within the com-
munity that was more specific, so we felt that it was really important for us to bring the community together as well as allies,” said Joury Robles, lead student coordinator at CCGC for the LGBTQ+ Program and Services. Robles said the production of “masQUEERade” began last semester. The prom had colorful decorations, buttons with phrases that promoted equality such as “Black Trans Lives Matter,” a photo booth, masquerade masks, a professional photographer, a D.J. and a royal court.
Our increased income guidelines
have made it easier for students to qualify!
“We realize that we do have LGBTQ+ students at Fresno State but we don’t have a lot of different programs,” Robles said. “We only have one club, so it’s kind of hard to bring all of the LGBTQ+ on campus together.” Robles said the event was important to her because she wasn’t able to attend her high school prom with her partner. “I was already dating my current girlfriend, and we weren’t able to go together because of different things within our families,” Robles said. “They were too worried about what society would think, and so we definitely wanted a do-over.” Robles said she knew she and her partner were not the only ones who felt that way, so she made sure to coordinate an event that would re-create an experience and provide them with that opportunity. Perla Ocampo, Fresno City College student and Robles’ partner agreed that this event was extremely important to her because her prom experience was not what she wanted it to be. “In high school, I went to prom but with someone of the opposite sex, so it was really uncomfortable for me,” Ocampo said. “So for this [“masQUEERade”] to happen, I was actually able to go with someone that I wanted to go with, and it’s a great expe-
rience. We get to see new people from the community coming together.” Ocampo said the event was different than a traditional prom. “You don’t see this often because people don’t like to go to stuff like this or because there’s not a lot of funding for stuff like this,” Ocampo said. Upon arrival, guests were encouraged to vote for the royal court, in which the titles of the nominees are not gender exclusive as they are at a traditional prom. “The prom royalty thing was really cool because they didn’t actually say ‘prom king’ or ‘prom queen’,” Ocampo said. “They didn’t actually put a label. It was just royalty.” Robles said the outreach to the community doesn’t stop on campus. The program reaches out to high school campuses to let younger students know “it gets better.” “We wanted to give them a view of what’s ahead and let them know ‘be yourself,’ and if in high school you don’t feel like you can do that, in college you’ll feel a little safer,” Robles said. “Fresno State is a safe campus and we’re continuing to make efforts to continue to see progress on campus, to make it a safer space.”
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NEWS
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2016
FREE SPEECH
Promoting free speech: voicing passion and frustration By Hayley Salazar @Hayley_Salazarr
The Free Speech Ball was brought to Fresno State Wednesday to promote free speech by encouraging students to write a thought on a giant inflatable beach ball. Two representatives from Turning Point USA, a nonprofit political activist organization, and the Leadership Institute, an organization that trains conservatives in political campaigns and communications, provided the Free Speech Ball. Students could write anything that came to mind. Words of passion or frustration, political or personal – all voices were welcome and open for discussion. The goal was to promote free speech around the entire campus, not just in a free speech zone. “Basically what we do is we roll this around campus, and we let anybody write whatever they want on it because we want to remind people that they have that ability,” said Sara Correia, field director for Turning Point USA. “We are against free
speech zones and safe spaces because we think that once you start to confine somebody’s free speech to [an area] … we are Americans we have those rights. We are able to practice our First Amendment right — all of our rights wherever we please.” A majority of students responded well to the activity. Groups followed the ball from the Kennel Bookstore to the start of the Free Speech Area near the Henry Madden Library. The Free Speech Ball was also used as a way to start a conversation between individuals with opposing opinions. “I think we should all value each other’s opinion, and people have the right to disagree and so do I, and that’s the beauty of being an American,” Correia said. Both representatives reminded students that with freedom of speech comes responsibility. “What we stress to students is that freedom of speech does not mean you have the freedom to harass, threaten or call for the death of somebody. That’s not freedom of speech,” said Nicole Sanders, field representative of the Leadership In-
Courtesy of Nicole Sanders • Leadership Institute
A student writes on the oversized beach ball to promote free speech on Oct. 12, 2016
stitute. “You’re not free from the consequences of your speech. If you want to use your speech in a really offensive or hateful way, degrading people based on their
sex, or their religion, or their [skin] color, you are not free from the consequences of that.”
RENAISSANCE PROGRAM
Fresno State provides a family for homeless, emancipated minors, orphans
By Samantha Mehrtash @Sam_mehrtash
Fresno State’s Renaissance Scholars Program received national attention when Kleenex made a video showing the difficulties of move-in day at the dorms when student don’t have family there to support then. The video features Kizzy M. Lopez, director of the program, and John Hunt Jr., a program graduate, helping Fresno State students move into their dorms and share their experiences. The video has since received over 5 million views. The video was inspired by Hunt’s experiences when he first started at Fresno State. “He had talked about how he moved into the dorms alone, and he wanted to make sure that other people in his family or people like him didn’t have to move into the dorms alone,” Lopez said. Kleenex teamed up with Renaissance Scholars to provide the students with baskets packed full of dorm essentials, room decorations and even simple necessities like toilet paper. The program has helped students at Fresno State since 2008, and, according to Lopez, it has recently grown, allowing a wider range of students to receive support. “Just this last year, we have expanded our program to all unaccompanied youth, so that might be homeless, unaccompanied, emancipated minors, orphans, all attending the university,” Lopez said. The program currently has 54 students that it is working closely with in order to get them through their bachelor degrees.
“If I had to put it in a nutshell, it takes students from surviving to thriving,” Lopez said. “We have a group of students that could get through school anyway because they’re gritty, but this program helps provide them with a network of support so that they can refine themselves.” Renaissance Scholars is more than an educational tool. The program was created to ensure student graduation success, but Lopez said she tries to focus on minimizing their stresses as well. “Our services are in three broad categories: academic support, personal or social and financial, so we have a wide range of services,” Lopez said. Students often take for granted the luxuries of having a family to turn to, and Lopez said the program tries to fill that void. “We talk about what are the things that are frustrating them with life and school,” Lopez said. “Think about this — if you are used to having mom there just to talk about life stuff, those students don’t usually have that available to them, so we try to create spaces for that.” While the program focuses on education first, Lopez said, it also tries to focus on other important things like creating memories with one another and building a little community among themselves. “We do a Thanksgiving dinner and a Christmas dinner together with each other which is great. We even brought Santa Claus out,” Lopez said. Aside from the emotional and educational support, the program also provides financial support when students need it. According to Lopez, students receive a stipend at the end of
semesters if grades are up; they get help studying abroad; money for conferences; and even have an emergency fund. “The emergency fund helps students when money is short,” Lopez said. “You may go to mom and dad and ask for money for groceries, ‘Can I get $50?’ and they may not have that luxury.” The program strives to make students feel like they always have assistance — not limited to office hours — so Lopez said they remain available to contact at all times, regardless of the circumstance. “We’re available to students 24 hours a day. Students have the staff’s cell-phone number available to them,” Lopez said. “We’ve met students at hospitals, changed their tires or brought them soup. You name it, whatever you need from me, I’ve got you.” The difficulties these students have to face hits close to home for Lopez. She said she was once in their shoes. “I was in foster care. I was homeless when I started college. I was actually the founding coordinator of this program,” Lopez said. “I don’t have a magic wand, and I can’t fix everyone’s problems, but we can just love on students, support them the best that we can and help make it a little easier for the young people that are coming behind me.” Since its start in 2008, Lopez said, Renaissance Scholars students have gone on to become directors of programs, university faculty members, teachers and have turned their lives around. “We’re graduating more students and making our little dent in the world,” Lopez said.
THE COLLEGIAN • SPORTS
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2016
PAGE 7
Curses will be broken, homages will be paid MLB from Page 8 Tuesday, Major League Baseball is now left with three season-ending possibilities that will tug at the heartstrings of any baseball fan. Baseball fans with a poetic sensibility have never had such a feast. After a rough second half of the season following the All-Star break, the chances of the Giants even making it to the playoffs were slim, but their hopes were kept alive in large part due to the wild card. Giants fans everywhere rejoiced when Conor Gillaspie took the New York Mets closer deep in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 3-0 unanswered lead in the National League wild card game and advance them to the National League Division Series against the Cubs. Having won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014 and then topping the Mets, it seemed only fitting that the Giants move on and continue winning to keep their recent tradition of being crowned champions every other year. Unable to overcome the Cubs, #BeliEVEN was stopped short this year when the Giants were eliminated in four games. Now baseball fans are left with the Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays to potentially be crowned the best baseball team in the world. With the exception of the Blue Jays, each of the three other teams taking home the trophy would be not only historic, but entirely poetic. Let’s start with the Indians. The last time they won the World Series was in 1948 over the Boston (now Atlanta) Braves. Cleveland won an impressive 111 games in 1954 behind the pitching of Bob Lemon, Mike Garcia and Bob Feller. The Indians’ good fortune was short-lived as they lost four straight to the New York Giants in the World Series that
featured “The Catch” by Willie Mays, better known as “The Say Hey Kid.” Lack of winning did not just fall on the Indians, though, as the Browns have not won an NFL title since 1964 and the Cavaliers (NBA) had never won a championship until they powered past the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 season. Before the Cavaliers brought the trophy home, winning had been virtually foreign to the city of Cleveland. The possibility of the Indians advancing to and winning the 2016 World Series would be a fairytale ending to 2016 for “Believeland.” With the Dodgers’ incredible payroll and Hollywood personalities, baseball fans as a whole await the day that the Los Angeles team can successfully make it through the playoffs and advance to the World Series. The Dodgers haven’t won the championship since 1988 when MVP Kirk Gibson hobbled around the bases in Game 1 of the series after hitting a pinch-hit, walk-off home run. Making it to the playoffs seven times in the last decade, the Dodgers seem to be due. What would make their potential championship-winning season truly awe-inspiring is the recent retirement of the longtime voice of the Dodgers, Vin Scully. His 67-year broadcasting career with the organization dates back to when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn. A world championship would be the perfect farewell to the beloved Scully. Finally, and what seems to arguably be the most poetic of all, would be if the “Cubbies” bring the trophy home for the first time since 1908. The Cubs won countless National League pennants leading up to 1945, but the streak ended there due to the “Curse of the Billy Goat.” In Game 4 of the 1945 World Series, Bill Wrigley, of Wrigley’s bubblegum and the
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Law School 101
Wednesday, October 26, 7-9pm
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Wally Skalij • Los Angeles Times/TNS
Los Angeles Dodgers broadcast announcer Vin Scully and Willie Mays wave to the crowd on Sunday, Oct. 2. 2016 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California.
Cubs majority owner, asked Billy Goat Tavern owner Bill Sianis to leave Wrigley Field because his goat was causing an unpleasant odor in the park. Upon being ejected, Sianis said, “The Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.” It is said that Sianis put a curse on the Cubs, and they have not won a National League pennant since. They came close in 2003 when they were just five outs away from winning the National League Championship Series in Game 6. Chicago had a comfortable 3-0 lead over Florida going into the eighth inning. The Marlins’ Luis Castillo hit a foul ball in the top of the eighth inning toward left field that was deflected by a Cubs fan, Steve Bartman. The Cubs’ left-fielder Moises Alou expressed his anger toward Bartman, convinced that he could have caught the ball, giving the Cubs their second out of the inning. This led to additional errors in that inning and eight Florida runs and a Marlins’ victo-
ry as a result. The Cubs lost in Game 7 and failed to reach the World Series. Of course, each generation has its own “this can’t be topped” postseason. For the post World War II generation, the 1955 World Series may come to mind when the Brooklyn Dodgers put the “maybe, next year” mantra to rest by beating the hated New York Yankees in seven games. Jackie Robinson, who broke the MLB color barrier eight years earlier, led the Dodgers in his only World Series championship. There was the lovable “Miracle Mets’” five-game victory over Baltimore in 1969, noted as one of the greatest upsets in history. And no one can forget the Boston Red Sox breaking “The Curse of the Bambino” in 2004. But when it comes to both quantity and depth, no postseason in the history of America’s pastime can top 2016’s triple-play among Believeland, Scully, and the Cubbies.
FRESNO STATE
SCOReBOARD Volleyball (11-8) Conf. (2-6) 8th in MW
Fresno State 3 Boise State 3
Air Force 2
Fresno State 0
Soccer (7-8-1) Conf. (2-5-1) 10th in MW
Fresno State 2 Wyoming 2
Colorado State 0 Fresno State 1
Football (1-6) Conf. (0-3) 6th in MW-West
Nevada 27
Fresno State 22
SPORTS
8
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2016
ATHLETIC FUNDING: PART III
BULLDOG STADIUM: INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
Courtesy of Fresno State Athletics
The planned renderings of the $60 million renovation project of Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California, to be completed in 2019.
By Daniel Gligich @DanielGligich
The Bulldog Stadium renovation project took a big step forward on Saturday when it was officially announced that the global engineering firm AECOM was selected as the architect. Fresno State Athletic Director Jim Bartko laid out his vision for the stadium in the summer of 2015. This announcement now kicks off a design and development phase that he expects will take six months. Going ahead with this part of the project was made possible by a $1.5 million donation from a former student-athlete who doesn’t want to be identified publicly. Design and development is the start of
the major changes coming to Bulldog Stadium. The renovation project consists of four phases. Phase 1 dealt with adjusting the surrounding concourse space with new signage, which was completed before the football season started. Phase 2 begins with Saturday’s announcement, which will include construction on cross aisles, concourses, restrooms and fan amenities. Bartko plans on bringing a contractor and project manager on board with the goal of actually breaking ground on Phase 2 in December 2017. The renovations are projected to cost a total of $60-$80 million. Bartko’s plan is to bring in $20 million in donations, and said he has already raised over half of the goal. For many years, the athletic department
under previous administrations has been seeking money from big donors and has often struggled to obtain it. Bartko is not concerned with the past and feels that now is the time for action. “We have very loyal fans. I think they know it’s time to invest,” Bartko said. “The stadium has been built, so we either invest in it and do it the right way or we don’t. It’s 30some years old now, and it hasn’t had a lot of work done to it.” AECOM was responsible for the initial drawings and renderings shown to the public when Bartko first announced the project. The global engineering firm is centered in Los Angeles and has built and renovated many stadiums and arenas. The company’s past projects include the 2016 Rio Olym-
pics and the Barclays Center – home of the Brooklyn Nets. In July, AECOM was chosen along with Turner Construction Co. to build the new NFL stadium in Los Angeles for the Rams. In addition to stadiums, AECOM has also worked on a variety of other engineering projects such as the One World Trade Center in New York City. Bulldog Stadium was constructed in 1980, initially seating only 30,000. In 1991, the stadium was expanded to its current capacity of 41,031. With AECOM on board and fundraising in progress, Bartko feels the community will step up and embrace the project. “It takes a lot of people to step forward. I think we have it,” Bartko said. “I think people know it’s time, and I’m very confident that we’ll get it done.”
MLB
The poetic postseason possibilities of America’s favorite pastime By Jenna Wilson @fsjennawilson
Wally Skalij • Los Angeles Times/TNS
Chicago Cubs pinch hitter Miguel Montero hits a grand slam against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth inning during Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016. The Cubs won, 8-4.
The 2016 Major League Baseball postseason is arguably the most poetic that this or any generation has seen since 1903 when the first World Series was played. With the San Francisco Giants having been eliminated by the Chicago Cubs last
See MLB, Page 7