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[X]press The Golden Gate Wednesday, April 20, 2011

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VOLUME LXXXX — ISSUE 12

Losing a leader

By Sara Donchey sdonchey@mail.sfsu.edu

Longtime SF State administrator appointed president at CSU East Bay

SAM E. HELLER — [X]PRESS

TRANSFERRED: Leroy Morishita, SF State executive vice president and chief financial officer, was recently named interim president for CSU East Bay. Morishita will make the transition to his new job July 1.

In an emergency, students with disabilities must wait Calls to school group coordinate aid to stranded

By Jennifer Terman jterman@mail.sfsu.edu While everyone else is rushing out of a campus building during a drill or an evacuation, students with disabilities are often left behind, waiting for extra assistance from emergency personnel or volunteers.

Students with disabilities who do not receive assistance from classmates or faculty must go through the process of calling an emergency organization and waiting for help to arrive. This happened to several students after the April 17 regional power

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outage.

“Pretty much, being in my position, you should always know something like this could happen,” said microbiology major Fekadu Andeberhan, who uses a motorized wheelchair to get around because she has a muscle weakness that makes it difficult for her to walk.

When the lights went out, Andeberhan was in the computer lab on the second floor of the Humanities building.

“Some students waited with me,” she said. “It’s not good to be stuck, but I had help from kind people.”

After the lights went out, Andeberhan called the Disabled Student Program on campus, which arranged for her to be assisted by the fire department.

“We try to provide accessibility as much as possible. If peo-

ple are stuck in elevators, we call the fire department,” said Mikael Miller, the front desk clerk at the Disability Program and Resource Center. “During an emergency we still run a system of call-ins, but there is staff designated inside the buildings to help if someone needs to get downstairs.”

Some students said that prevention is better than waiting for outside help. SF state visitor Carlos Zentella was in the Cesar Chavez Student Center at the time of the power outage.

“I think it’s better to take the necessary precaution before panic strikes,” said Zentella, who has polio. Fortunately, the elevators in the student center worked after the outage, unlike most other buildings on campus.

“I went back up the elevator

SAFETY continued on Page 9

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]

In a time where much of the anger over academic woes has been directed toward administrators, Leroy Morishita has maintained an image of integrity.

After a 29-year tenure, executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Morishita will be leaving his home at SF State to become the interim president of Cal State East Bay. Morishita, 58, is best known for his role in the acquisition of University Park North and the development of the University’s physical master plan.

Considered by fellow administrators to be a huge asset to the University and integral part of the administrative team, Morishita’s reputation of being a friendly, honest and hard-working man will present the University a challenge in finding a comparable replacement.

“Dr. Morishita is a rare combination of visionary and pragmatist,” said President Robert A. Corrigan in a recent press release discussing Morishita’s departure. “(These are) qualities that will serve him well as East Bay’s leader, and qualities very much in demand during this most challenging time for public higher education in California.”

Morishita acknowledged his enthusiasm at his appointment to the new position by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed.

“It was quite humbling,” Morishita said. “It was very exciting. I’ve gotten well over a hundred emails from people around campus. They all congratulated me. They all said that they were going to miss me and that they are going to miss what I do for the University.”

Morishita’s long history at SF State began in 1978 when he worked as a counselor in the Education Opportunity Program, after which he attended Harvard University where he obtained his doctorate degree. He returned in 1984 to work in the admissions and records office doing analysis and enrollment projections.

It did not take long for Morishita to get noticed.

Don Scoble, the University vice president at the time and current vice president emeritus, saw enormous potential in Morishita.

“I recognized that he was an extraordinary talent,” Scoble said. “I asked the president if I could have Leroy come and work with me.”

In 2001, Morishita excelled and became the vice president of physical planning and developing.

Since then, he has won important battles for the University, particularly in the attainment of

VP continued on Page 9

AHOY! Unique class sails Lake Merced

GREGORY MORENO — [X]PRESS

Did you know we have a sailing class? All hands on deck!

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Campus - 2 Photo Story- 4 City - 5 A&E- 6. 7 Opinion - 8 Sports - 10

Campus

2 Wednesday, April 20, 2011

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Family takes on campus SPEAKS

SF STATE

OUT

A weekly unscientific survey of SF State students.

“What was your reaction when class was canceled Monday due to the blackout?”

Reporting by Jennifer Terman, Photos by Sasha Tivetski “When they blacked out, I blacked out.”

Ronald Nguyen, undeclared, freshman, 19 “I was pissed off and irritated. I need my education.”

Stanley Chang, child development, senior, 23 “None of my classes were canceled, but I did take a comparative literature test in the dark.

We had light outside so we just opened the windows.”

Enya Barcelon, Japanese, sophomore, 19 “I tried to find power and went to the mall to try to get Internet.

Borders was hella crowded, so I gave up trying to be productive and had an early dinner at the mall.”

Felicia Escalona, electrical engineering, junior, 20 “I didn’t come to school and found out from the email about it.”

Renee Goree, humanities, junior, 21

Asia Express copes with reality of shutting down

By Megan Taros ch3no2@mail.sfsu.edu Frank and Shally Meng, employees at Asia Express in the Cesar Chavez Student Center, work tirelessly 14 hours nearly every day and barely make more than $20,000 combined each month.

They recently mortgaged their house in order to pay off their $51,411.37 debt to the student center.

The rent is due today. They don’t have nearly enough money to pay it.

“Nothing has changed,” Shally Meng said.

“It’s all the same.”

Last month, the two were served a threeday notice to close after an attempt to retract the original eviction notice, which ordered them to vacate by April 1.

Today, they are still fighting to reduce their $10,000 rent. However, their rent has decreased $1,000 since the business opened in 1997. Adjusted for inflation, it is a decrease of more than 50 percent.

The fight began in 2009, when the Mengs first experienced financial hardship. Since April 2010, the restaurant pays half their rent.

The attempt to save the business picked up momentum late February when Frank started a petition that collected 1,300 student signatures and generated letters of support.

The couple also planned to meet with Associated Students Inc., March 8 to explain their case.

“The board only gave us two minutes to speak and we did not have time to show our presentation,” Meng said in an email.

Meng claims that the business office lost the petition and letters of support from faculty and staff.

“It was a big petition with so many sig-

Featured media for this week

Dancing in the dark, spinning in the rain The eerie gloom that fell upon SF State after Monday’s rainy weather and power outage sent just about every class to a screeching halt.

One class that did persevere through the chaos, however, was Wendy Diamond’s advanced

natures. How could they lose it,” he said. “I had extra copies of some of the letters. I sent them two copies of each extra I had. I said: ‘You lost them, so here’s two more so you won’t lose them anymore.’ They never contacted me.”

Students also pulled together to provide support for the Mengs.

“Forty percent of students at SF State are of Asian background,” said Shi Zeng, president of the Chinese student and scholar association, in a letter. “We are very proud of our university to have a restaurant like Asia Express that serves real Asian food.”

In addition to rent, the Mengs pay for upkeep on their business, including heat, power and new renovations. Last year, the Mengs paid $350,000 for improvements. Only $89,000 of it was returned, according to doc-

uments shown to [X]press by Meng.

“This is my business, but not my space,” Meng said. “I put money in to help them.

They owe me still.”

The Mengs must also pay a Pacific Gas and Electric bill that Meng finds disproportionate to his actual energy use.

“I don’t even use the elevators, I just use what’s in here,” he said. “I don’t know what to think. I ask to see a copy of my energy bill and no one can show me.”

Guy Dalpe, managing director of the student union, declined to comment on the allegations made by the Mengs.

When the eviction notice was sent out in March, the Mengs hired a lawyer whose cost comes to $350 an hour. Due to financial constraints, they could not afford to pursue the matter.

PROHIBITION Student travels

Earthquake, tsunami halt study abroad in Japan

By Megan Taros ch3no2@mail.sfsu.edu For Scott Ruddello, a Japanese major, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan not only devastated a country he loves, but also set back a year’s worth of plans.

The California State University has issued a 90-day travel ban on Japan, prohibiting study abroad until at least June while leaving many prospective study abroad students discouraged.

“I was just angry and frustrated because I knew it couldn’t be helped,” Ruddello said in reference to an email sent by the study abroad office March 15. “I felt like I was left with so many unanswered questions.”

The continuation of the fall study abroad program in Japan will be determined based on the status of the national travel warning and Japan’s progress in dealing with the disaster.

“Right now there are risks and the situation poses danger,” said Yenbo Wu, director of in-

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[X]PRESS ONLINE

ERIK VERDUZCO— [X]PRESS

GRUB: Students line up to grab some Chinese food at Asia Express in the Cesar Chavez building Tuesday, April 19.

PRESS

ballet class.

Relocating from a dark classroom to the rain soaked concrete by the Creative Arts building, about 20 of Diamond’s students leaped, spun and sashayed as they practiced their final routine under her direction.

- Gil Riego, Jr.

[ GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG ] FIND THE FULL ARTICLE AND VIDEOS :

ternational education at SF State.

“When things get back in shape, we will re-open the program, but right now it just depends.”

Japan’s northeast coast, which was hit with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami March 11, is currently combating a nuclear crisis amid the destruction.

The severity level reached a maximum level of seven last Tuesday, putting it on par with the Chernobyl disaster.

“Our concern is students being exposed to radiation and getting sick,” Wu said. “It’s a health risk, and we want to keep them safe.”

As a result, the 12 SF State students who were studying abroad in Japan during the disaster were sent home four days after.

Wu is optimistic that the program will be open for students at least by spring, but he is hoping to have students back in Japan by fall at the latest.

“We still have students applying,” Wu said. “The CSU is already planning for the fall, though it’s not been clearly an-

nounced.”

While applicants are disappointed by the change of plans, they are still anticipating a future of studying abroad in Japan.

“At first it was really upsetting,” said Japanese major Clifford Phan. “I still got an acceptance letter that said they were looking to let people apply again in spring, so I’m hopeful.”

Phan, who did not have to make significant financial changes prior to his departure, said he feels luckier than most.

“I know people who had to go as far as selling their cars and got an email days later saying they weren’t going anymore,” Phan said. “It could have been a lot worse for me, so I can’t complain.”

Wu suggested that students who applied to study abroad visit a study abroad counselor to establish a back-up plan for their academic year.

“Right now we’re facing an unknown, so no one can really say for sure what students should

do,” Wu said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. There could be another earthquake tomorrow and we’d have to deal with that, too.”

Though Ruddello still does not know what his future entails, he knows he will be applying again to study abroad in spring.

“I’m not really sure what my plans are now,” Ruddello said.

“My hope is to apply again and that those who could not go because of the travel warning will get priority over those who newly applied.”

THE BLOTTER

Campus crime log from the past week

Park it in the garage Two reports of auto burglary were made this week. The first occurred along Winston Drive on April 12 between 4 and 5:30 a.m. The total loss was estimated at $400. The second burglary took place on Holloway Avenue between 5 and 7:45 p.m. April 12. There are no leads in either case.

Garbage burns well Officers responded to reports of a burning dumpster on the first floor loading dock of Hensill Hall around 5 p.m. April 15. The officers extinguished the fire by closing the lid of the dumpster.

A brief investigation determined that an inappropriately disposed cigarette caused the blaze.

— Compiled by Tom Garcia

Golden Gate [X]press - goldengatexpress.org

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

3

4 Wednesday, April 20, 2011 SAILING: Professor McCreary (left) and Adrianna Lantorno bring sailboats from the boathouse to the dock at Harding Park in Lake Merced so students can set sail.

Focus

goldengatexpress.org - GOLDEN GATE [X]PRESS

Sail

Away

KNOTTY: Freshman Anthony Burt practices tying a knot in preparation for sailing Lake Merced.

Photos and Text by Gregory Moreno

gmoreno@mail.sfsu.edu

Unbeknownst to many students at SF State, the recreation, parks and tourism department offers a sailing class that meets on Lake Merced during the last four Fridays of the spring semester. The class has been offered since the 1970s, but was downgraded from a semester-long three-unit class to a one-unit class two years ago due to budget cuts.

Patrick Tierney, chair of the recreation, parks and tourism department, said the class is very popular for GE units. Although, “most people take it not so much for the units. I think they take it because they want to take it,� Tierney said.

LEFT TO RIGHT BEGINNERS: Jamieson Prevoznak, foreground, and Kyle Day sail Lake Merced. Each had only sailed once before.

RIGGING: Sailing assistant Dash Johnson (left) helps Jacqueline Co rig a sail. The sailboats had to be assembled before setting out.

OBSERVATION: Jamie Hamel sails past a fisherman on Lake Merced.

City

GOLDEN GATE [X]PRESS - goldengatexpress.org

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 5

Chancellor’s visit marred by picketers

SCOTT HOPKINS — SPECIAL TO [X]PRESS

WRITING: Students scrawled goals in chalk in front of the Student Services and Administration building.

SCOTT HOPKINS— SPECIAL TO [X]PRESS

CUT THE FAT: A protestor pickets at CSU East Bay during Chancellor Charles Reed’s visit Monday.

CSUEB students, faculty call for contract, halt to fee hikes

By Krissa Stanton kstanton@mail.sfsu.edu Students and faculty picketed outside the Student Services and Administration building at California State University East Bay April 18 as Chancellor Charles Reed met with its President Mohammad Qayoumi on the building’s fourth floor.

Reed was on campus to meet with Qayoumi, who is slated to transition to his new role as president of San Jose State University at the end of the academic year. He also agreed to meet with members of the academic senate while in Hayward.

Frustrated students and faculty used the visit as an op-

portunity to voice their displeasure with the CSU system.

“Our goal is to draw attention to a lot of the stuff that has been going on within the system and to join with our sister schools, such as San Francisco State, to present a unified voice,” said Nicholas Baham, an associate professor and chair of the department of ethnic studies.

Baham joined others in picketing and handing out fliers to passers-by, explaining the California Faculty Association’s anger that many teachers are working without a contract and students’ ire at rising tuition costs and class cuts.

“We understand that we may not see Chancellor Reed, but we are out here and it is important that they know we are here,” said Frank Quintana, a junior at CSUEB studying political science. Quintana is also president of the campus’ Students for Quality Education.

He explained that the group’s purpose was to support student demands.

“We try to inform students on budget issues and try to engage students on some of the issues they are facing,” Quintana said.

The picketers chanted slogans such as “Bye, bye, Porky Pig!” and “No cuts, no fees, Chancellor Reed should work for free,” while carrying signs that read “We want a fair

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contract now,” “Proud member of the CFA” and “Resign (G)Reed.”

Dianne Rush Woods, chair of the academic senate at CSUEB, was prepared for a last-minute meeting with Reed and explained that her hope was to discuss many concerns that directly affect the campus.

“He is coming to talk to us about the campus,” Woods said. “We want to ask him some types of questions about what our concerns are. We want to hear what is going to happen and who our president will be.”

She also noted that one of the faculty’s biggest concerns is that they have been working without a contract since June 30.

“Chancellor Reed’s strategy is to delay giving us a contract by hiring outside consultants to negotiate out of the chancellor’s office,” Woods said. “That is just a waste of $4.3 million of money that we can’t afford to lose.”

As Woods met with Reed upstairs, other faculty remained downstairs picketing in support.

“We are picketing outside the building in support of members of the academic senate of our university who are meeting with Chancellor Reed inside the building,” said Brian McKenzie, chapter president of the CFA at CSUEB.

A&E

6 Wednesday, April 20, 2011

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goldengatexpress.org - GOLDEN GATE [X]PRESS COSTUMED: A man dressed as a Samurai is assisted out of his costume as the Cherry Blossom Festival’s Grand Parade winds down April 17.

HONORING Japan relief

herry lossom Festival

GREGORY MORENO— [X]PRESS

RHYTHM: Drummers with the Taiko Dojo perform for onlookers during the Cherry Blossom Festival April 17.

CATHOLIC CAMPUS MINISTRY NEWMAN CLUB St. Thomas More Church Father Labib Kobti, Pastor 1300 Junipero Serra Blvd.

San Francisco, CA 94132

(415) 452-9634

www.stmchurch.com/newman email: newman@stmchurch.com Weekly Meeting, For Current Activities: St. Thomas More: Cesar Chavez Student Center: (415) 452-9634 Mondays: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Close to campus! Please call Verbum Dei: (415) 573-9062

GREGORY MORENO — [X]PRESS

By Chris Ternate cternate@mail.sfsu.edu Amid the sounds of heavy Taiko drumming, shamisens and cheering crowds, the call for aid in Japan could still be heard and, more importantly, answered.

In the wake of the devastating tsunami in Japan, participants and attendees alike celebrated Japanese culture and tradition at San Francisco’s 44th-annual Cherry Blossom Parade in Japantown as one of many ways of supporting those in need.

“My feelings are a little bit of a mixed bag, since people donated more for Haiti than Japan, they have the impression that Japan can take of itself, etc.,” said Kendall Shelffo, a Sonoma State University student and member of Hands for Japan. “People are still suffering over there right now.

Some people have forgotten, but the festival is still here and you know Japan is still alive and well on the other hand, the culture and people here that is.”

The SSU-based organization was one of several groups hoping to raise money at the festival and was a reminder that in light of the disaster, attendees could still give aid in addition to celebrating.

“This is a very good association for us,” said Yoshimi Nimura, a Hands for Japan member. “We have already passed one month, but its kind of a reminder. After one month, two months, little by little, we

might forget, so that’s why it’s good for us to be here.”

The group made a goal to raise $10,000 through the sale of wristbands.

Many patrons donated cash, but other attendees showed support in other ways, like musician Tom Yamashita who brought a message flag, a banner on which individuals could write messages of solidarity.

“There are no borders for taking care of the people, so even this can give the soul peace,” Yamashita said.

Yamashita thought the messages were both strong and touching.

“I feel like I’d almost cry,” Yamashita said. “Some people would take 20 or 30 minutes drawing these beautiful pictures and some people would just write ‘be strong,’ it’s so beautiful. There’s over 15 international languages, 4,000 messages, with more and more coming, and by the time I get to Japan it will probably be six or seven thousand.”

Festival attendees had many opportunities to demonstrate support, as vendors — selling everything from Okonomiyaki, a Japanese-style pancake, to beer — pledged to give a portion, if not all, of their profits to those in Japan.

“It’s kind of good to see that, that people are coming out here and thinking about not just having fun, but helping,” said Jamie Wilson, a 23-year-old graduate from Waseda University.

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A&E

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7

Alien ‘sightings’ at University Martian conference turns out to be hoax

By Spencer DeVine spencerd@mail.sfsu.edu Break out the tinfoil hats—SF State is under an alien attack.

In order to fight alien anxiety, graduate student David Daw and renowned SF State metaphysics professor Dr. Richard Pearson held the campus’ first Martian Life and Visitation Conference last Friday. The conference discussed the strange occurrences at the University with documents, firsthand accounts and other “evidence.”

The only problem with the conference: It was a hoax.

Daw, a broadcast and electronic communication arts student, organized the convention as part of his creative project required to receive his degree.

His plan was to organize an interactive, multimedia re-creation of Orson Wells’ 1938 “War of the Worlds” broadcast.

“It says something about people’s relationship with media that they were kind of so willing to go along with this, even in the face of it being so patently ridiculous, so I wanted to do a project that would explore that idea,” Daw said. “When you actually listen to the broadcast, there’s a lot about it that is absolutely brilliant. …

But it’s also kind of pathetic because, in a weird sort of way, it’s like so obvious that it’s fake and yet people had such a visceral reaction to it.”

As a part of his project, Daw worked with students from the BECA class Writing for Electronic Media throughout the semester.

The students served as actors for

JASMINE BEAGHLER — [X]PRESS

OUT OF THIS WORLD: Students at the “Martians on Campus” conference watch and listen to a performance on alien encounters Friday, April 15 at SF State. the convention and also helped create a reliable background for the event.

The students created a Facebook group titled “Explosions on Mars,” a reference to “War of the Worlds,” and posted videos, evidence and personal testimonies of weird occurrences around campus to build an unfailing suspicion of extraterrestrial activity.

On the night of the event, Daw and his team led several dozen participants from room to room in the Creative Arts building to experience individual presentations, from informative speeches to faux broadcasts and special effects.

Daw said he wanted to create an entertaining experience without being too frightening.

“Unlike Orson Wells, I’m trying to get a degree out of this, so I can’t create mass panic throughout the entire state, and I’m actually trying to avoid that a little,” Daw said. “I don’t think it’s going to have that kind of viral effect, but I would be shocked if there weren’t at least a couple of people who thought it was real when they arrived.”

Several attendants found out about the event from friends and were not sure of what to expect.

“I was hanging out with my pals and they said, ‘Hey do you wanna go see some Martians?’” said Mike Bush, a freshman BECA major. “And I thought to myself that I would go because it sounded like a lot of fun.”

Pearson, an “expert” in metaphys-

ics, was actually former Associated Students Inc., Vice President Travis Northup, who is also the leader of SF State’s Improv Nation.

He gave a speech about paranoia leading to a physical manifestation of alien life. From there the lights shut off and a glowing red alien eye appeared.

Then a faux radio broadcast reported attacks on San Francisco by Martians.

The project used multiple forms of media such as radio, PowerPoint and even a silhouetted scene on a projector made with an Xbox Kinect.

All of the characters were humorous references to science fiction classics: BECA student Ashley Lindnere’s character, Kim Robinson, was a reference to Kim Stanley Robinson, author of “The Mars Trilogy;” Pearson was a character directly from the original Orson Wells broadcast in 1938.

After each group had experienced all of the presentations, Daw gave a director’s commentary on how the organizers had created the special effects.

“I thought that the whole thing was great,” said conference attendee Riley Bright. “It was very immersive and did an excellent job at creating an environment that used all of our imaginations.”

The BECA students had to develop their own characters and put in hours on their Facebook group page, but Lindnere, a BECA senior, said the work was part of the reward.

“It’s been a great time working with David, and we’ve done a lot of interesting projects,” Lindnere said. “In a sense it’s not that I don’t believe, but it’s the fact that we’re going with this and playing all this up, and it’s brought forth a lot of information out in the world.”

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Fashion Show Event: Runway 2011: Enchantment Venue: SF Design Center 101 Henry Adams St. Date: April 21 Time: 7 p.m.

Price: $15-$25 Age: All Ages

Music Event: Battle of the Bands Venue: The Depot 1600 Holloway Ave. Date: April 22 Time: 5:30 p.m.

Price: Free Age: All Ages

Opinion

8 Wednesday, April 20, 2011

[X] press

CASTROS Capitalism

The Golden Gate

A PUBLICATION OF SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kelsey Avers - kavers@mail.sfsu.edu OPINION EDITOR Jessica Heller jeheller@mail.sfsu.edu ART DIRECTOR Geena Stellato geena@mail.sfsu.edu SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Daniel Gamberg gamberg@mail.sfsu. edu A&E EDITOR Eric Green egreen@mail.sfsu.edu CAMPUS EDITOR Tom Garcia tlgarcia@mail.sfsu.edu CITY EDITOR Kelly Goff kgoff@mail.sfsu.edu COPY CHIEF Caitlin Olson caitpat@mail.sfsu.edu COPY CHIEF John Blomster blomster@mail.sfsu. edu PHOTO EDITOR Eric Soracco esoracco@mail.sfsu. edu

MANAGING EDITOR Chris Haire - chaire@mail.sfsu.edu

MANAGING EDITOR Audrey Arthur - audreya@mail.sfsu.edu

EDITORIAL CSU budget cuts

Picketing petulance

S

tudents and faculty gathered at California State University East Bay Monday morning to picket against CSU Chancellor Charles Reed and make a demand for quality education.

Unfortunately, they are targeting the wrong man.

Reed is not the source of the budget cuts affecting our school system. The problem originates with the current state of the California budget.

Students complaining of budget woes should not picket the chancellor; instead, they should take their aggression to a higher power and confront the state legislature itself, as well as the voters.

California is currently facing a $28-billion budget deficit. This deficit has inevitably led to many heart-wrenching cuts to the CSU, forcing the system to operate with a general fund of about $1.6 billion, which is approximately $600 million less than what the state fund supported a decade ago – not taking into account the 100,000 more students that are in the CSU now.

The money to curb the deficit is not going to appear out of nowhere, either.

Reed cannot simply pull money from the sky and use it to close our deficit. Gov. Jerry Brown

already proposed a $500 million cut for the 20112012 fiscal year, and more potential cuts could further harm the CSU budget.

As a business model, Reed is doing all he can: The CSU officials are allocating the little funds we have in the way they see fit, raising student fees and reducing each university’s overall budget.

It is unfortunate but necessary.

If students want to make a difference, they need to press the state legislature to resist cutting education.

More over, they need to target the California voters and urge them to vote for the sales, vehicle and income tax increases in the upcoming special election.

If California voters decide to pass the tax increases, the $12.5 billion in revenue could help prevent another potential $500 million cut from the CSU system, which equates to another $35 million cut for SF State alone.

In general, students should urge voters to get over their visceral opposition to raising taxes and put revenue-increasing measures on the ballot.

Otherwise, picking the chancellor seems like petulance from those who do not clearly understand fiscal responsibility.

AARON TEIXEIRA Investigative Cartoonist

SPORTS EDITOR Alberto Penalva apenalva@mail.sfsu. edu MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Aaron Williams aar0n@mail.sfsu.edu FACULTY ADVISER Rachele Kanigel kanigel@sfsu.edu PHOTO ADVISER Ken Kobre kobre@aol.com MAGAZINE ADVISER Don Menn donmenn@mail.sfsu. edu

ADVERTISING Eva Charles echarles@mail.sfsu. edu PRODUCTION & BUSINESS Barbara Landis ggxads@mail.sfsu.edu Erika Rae Langdon elangdon@mail.sfsu. edu Justin Morrison jjmorrison88@yahoo. com CIRCULATION Cory Rayden crayden@mail.sfsu.edu I.T. CONSULTANT Arun Unnikrashnan arun@mail.sfsu.edu

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Cuba needs to embrace move to privatization

By Chris Haire chaire@mail.sfsu.edu

T

here are few constants in global politics: American imperialism, IsraeliPalestinian tensions - and the Castro brothers ruling Cuba.

The latter, however, may soon change.

And for the first time in the more than five decades since the revolution, capitalism could materialize without the admission of Cuba’s leaders.

Since assuming the presidency from his brother Fidel in 2008, Raul Castro has been as blunt about Cuba’s economic outlook as a worn out grandfather bitterly complaining about dry holiday ham.

But unlike the fragile ego of a below-average cook, Cuba’s depressed economy needs such critical realism.

Besides proposing that politicians should be limited to two five-year terms (which is ironic coming from one in a pair that has been at the helm of Cuba for 52 years), Raul is supporting the elimination of ration books, the government’s giving of 180,000 licenses to small businesses, and the loosening of restrictions on purchasing and selling homes.

The president contradicts these capitalistic proposals by maintaining that socialism will not fail and that he simply wants to modernize the model; however, considering the potential changes, he comes more than a tad disingenuous.

Plus, if Cuba continues its progression to an open market, the United States may become inclined to lift its embargo.

Castro can claim all he wants that his changes, proposed during a speech at the first party congress since 1997, do not contradict socialism; but privatizing certain industries and stating that two plus two is “never five or six,” does, in fact, lay the foundation for capitalism.

And that is good news for the people of Cuba.

With most once-socialist countries now in the “former” category and the few remaining that still practice socialism renowned for subpar living conditions, it is clear that socialism does not work.

Now, while capitalism is not perfect and Cuba should attempt to privatize certain sectors while still giving its people universal health care and education (as should the U.S.), holding onto a failing system is counterproductive.

Castro, who could very well cast himself out of the job in two years, needs to admit to what his proposals are: a first step toward liberalizing the Cuban economy.

Not only would doing so allow Cubans to finally have a sense of where the country is heading, but it would also give marching orders to those who will take over after he retires and make the U.S. more willing to re-engage with a long-lost neighbor.

Castro, it’s time the system changes and you know it all too well. As such, it’s time that you cop to it.

BIBLE: Eve’s apple

One lost paradise and women get blamed for everything

By Audrey Arthur audreya@mail.sfsu.edu

I

n the beginning, God created a glorious being called Adam, man, and when he got bored he scrounged up the leftovers and made some chick named Eve. According to Genesis, Eve really screwed up the whole humanity game one day when she nibbled on a Granny Smith.

Because of Eve’s Vitamin C deficiency, God got pissed, threw them out of this really epic garden and, ever since, the girl’s reputation has been in the pits.

Eve hasn’t been the only girl picked last on the Bible’s all-star kickball team; women have been historically excluded from consideration in the

ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION

religious text.

Saturated with phrases such as the Father, the son, Him, brothers and mankind, it seems an impossible feat for women to get in this creed conversation. Can I get an a-women?

Luckily, the New International Version Bible has given a woman-word or two in the book that structures more than 2.1 billion worldviews throughout the globe.

Though the capital “Him” and “He” terms are kept in their patriarchal preservation, words like brother are accompanied by an “or sister” and the new Bible refrains from the usage of “he” or “him” when referring to an unidentified person.

The benefits of gender inclusivity in the text read by more than 33 percent of the world’s population is im-

measurable. Since many young Christian girls often hear a sermon before a history lesson, acknowledgement from the supposed almighty entity might give a small boost of confidence for later years, wouldn’t you say?

However, the gender-neutral Bible has been met with heavy opposition.

Namely, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, an organization dedicated to spreading the word of Christ’s love through male domination, believes that such equality would shift from the “natural” order permitted by God. “In the home, men lovingly are to lead their wives and family as women intelligently are to submit to the leadership of their husbands,” the CBMW website says.

According CBMW, the rise of femi-

The Golden Gate [X]press is a student-produced publication of the journalism department at San Francisco State University.

For more information or comments, please contact Chris Haire at chaire@mail.sfsu.edu.

WRITE US A LETTER

nist egalitarianism has become a huge threat to the gender divisions that serve as a foundation to Christian men and women.

Are we really supposed to believe that when Mother Theresa entered heaven, accompanied by her renowned compassion and incomparable kindness, Jesus took one look at her and said “Make me a pie, woman”?

Gender-neutrality must be implemented into religious texts in order for society to work toward a state of equality.

If we can apply equality to a text considered so cardinal to centuries of oppressive chauvinists, think of the implications this could have to each little girl in her Sunday best.

And to the CBMW, for the love of God, get over yourselves.

The Golden Gate [X]press accepts letters no longer than 200 words. Letters are subject to editing. Send letters to Jessica Heller at jeheller@mail.sfsu.edu.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 9

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SAM E. HELLER — [X]PRESS

TRANSITION: Leroy Morishita, SF States executive vice president and chief officer for administration and finance was recently named the new interim president for CSU East Bay. Morishita takes office July 1.

State bids farewell to accomplished admin continued from Page 1 University Park North, which Morishita attributes as one of his greatest successes at SF State. The acquisition added 25 acres and 697 apartments to the University.

The University budget, which Morishita admits has been his biggest challenge during his vice presidency, is another issue for which he has earned respect and recognition from his colleagues.

“He has refined the budget process,” Scoble said.

“Among all the vice presidents in the system, he understands how the budget works. Even in a time of difficulty with resources shrinking, he has managed to keep the budget balanced and to minimize the pain.”

The ongoing issue of the budget is something that Morishita admits will challenge him at his new position.

“We’ll have to confront the budget issues and try to provide as much access as we can for students to come to CSU East Bay and further their education,” Morishita said.

“Those are the two biggest challenges that I’m going to confront right away.”

In addition to combating budget woes, Morishita has taken on various other endeavors. He presides over the Academic Senate, chairs the CSU Risk Management Authority, and founded and co-chairs the campus sustainabil-

ity committee — which he acknowledged as one of his many passions.

“We’re trying to reduce our carbon footprint on the environment,” Morishita said.

“I’m very proud that San Francisco State is now below our 1990 levels of our carbon emissions, which is the goal for 2020 for the state.”

Morishita, a Buddhist and regular practitioner of Tai Chi, has managed to preserve a reputation of honesty and likeability, and has been described as friendly, forthright, confident and supportive.

Throughout his long and varied experience as an administrator at SF State, Morishita learned that good character, above all, is a vital part of being an effective campus leader.

“You have to have a lot of integrity,” Morishita said. “You have to garner peoples’ trust and you have to be able to laugh at yourself and have a little humor.”

Morishita explained that he wanted to be remembered and respected for having “the highest integrity,” a revered quality that his colleagues admit will leave an undeniable void around campus.

“I told him this morning that I am sorry to see him leave,” Scoble said. “It won’t be the end of our friendship, but I’m sorry that he won’t be here as a friend and a colleague to talk to on a regular basis.”

SAFETY: Outage leaves some students in need continued from Page 1 quickly because it would be more difficult if I waited,” Zentella said. “I don’t know what I would have done if the elevators weren’t working.”

Waiting for help would have been the only option. Not only did the power go out, but the rain also added to the difficulty of the situation. But in order to alleviate such chaos, the fire department has a system of helping people get out of buildings and evacuating them to safe areas.

“Generally what we do, if we’re notified, is we instruct people to stay in place or assist,” said Mindy Talmadge, a San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman. “And how that would happen would be that an area of refuge would be designated and the fire department would direct people to that area.”

However, the compounded problem of rain and a power outage makes things interesting.

“It’s like a domino effect with the lights out and the rain,” Zentella said. “It creates chaos.”

Are your toenails thick and discolored? Researchers in the Department of Dermatology at UCSF are doing a research study using an experimental topical medication for fungus infected toenails.

Subjects (age 18 and up) who currently have their large toenail(s) infected with fungus are needed.

Study related medication, exams, and tests will be provided free of charge.

You will be compensated for your time if you qualify. Call Dermatology Research, UCSF at 415-476-7122 or email: CRU@derm.ucsf.edu Find out more about the study and complete the initial screening questions online here:

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10 Wednesday, April 20, 2011 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Baseball 4/26 at University of San Francisco 1 p.m.

Softball 4/20 vs.

Academy of Art University (DH) 1 p.m.

4/22 vs.

Cal State Stanislaus (DH) 1 p.m.

4/23 vs.

Cal State Stanislaus (DH) 12 p.m.

Women’s Track and Field 4/22-23 Brutus Hamilton Invitational Berkeley, CA TBA For more information on game dates, visit www. sfstategators. com

Sports

goldengatexpress.org - GOLDEN GATE [X]PRESS

SENIOR DAY Last home game

Softball sends off seniors with win

By Juan Martinez juanm@mail.sfsu.edu Amid the clouds and the fog, gold balloons floated and giant purple posters hung last weekend on the outskirts of a tall black fence in what turned out to be an emotional day for seven SF State softball players.

Family, friends and supporters of the SF State softball team came together for Senior Day April 16 to celebrate the accomplishments of seven graduating seniors and the journey they took to get there.

It was a memorable sendoff during their last home game of the season against the Humboldt State Lumberjacks.

In a pregame ceremony before the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, loved ones took the time to remember the accomplishments of the graduating seniors - Lea Cardenas, Alyssa Esquibel, Ashley Jackson, Rachael Kroneder, Kelly McDonald, Kelsey Wood and Kendra Wood.

“Oh, Senior day. Yeah, it was emotional,” said head coach Cristina Byrne. “I have been with this first group of freshmen for the four years. They have helped build up this program and I am real proud of all the records that some of them have met.”

After the ceremony, the Gators (923) split the series’ final two games with the Lumberjacks (12-16), though they failed to win the series.

After dropping the first three games, SF State avoided a sweep by

winning their final home game of the year 6-1, though losing the series 3-1 and failing to move up in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings.

“I was happy with the way we came out today,” Byrne said. “We swung the bats well and scored some runs.”

The Lumberjacks swept the Gators in the first doubleheader, winning 6-2 and 8-3 respectively.

Despite walking five batters and receiving her 15th loss of the season, Jackson pitched well considering the amount of appearances she made in the series, Bryne said.

Heading into game three, Jackson, who leads the team in wins, losses and ERA, had already accumulated 11 innings of work.

“Ashley works hard for us,” Byrne said. “I was very proud of her performance.”

The Gators’ offense did most of their damage in the final game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

They scored six runs on 11 hits while stranding eight runners in scoring position.

“I think in game three we were not doing the little things,” Kelsey said.

“In game four, we scored a lot of runs.

The difference was that we turned things around in that last game.”

The Wood sisters led the way for the Gators in the series as they combined to go 3-10. Together they drove in two RBIs, were walked six times and scored a total of three runs.

“It is nice to see that one of them

KAREN M. KINNEY — [X]PRESS

THE END: SF State senior Kendra Wood pitches her last home game for the Gators against Humbolt State Saturday, April 16. is the pitcher and one of them is the catcher,” Byrne said. “They have been here for all four years. They are great technicians of the game and have taught the rest of the girls on this team.”

Byrne also said that it is always special when Kelsey and Kendra play together, especially bearing in mind that each has had several lingering injuries in their athletic careers.

“Kendra and Kelsey have dealt with severe injuries,” she said. “They’ve had elbow and leg problems. Kendra hasn’t been able to pitch much in recent years.”

For Kendra, who toed the rubber in game four, her first win of the season came when her twin sister Kelsey took her place behind the plate, calling and catching the game.

Kendra picked the Lumberjacks apart one-by-one. She notched a complete game while allowing just one earned run on five hits, while striking out four on 91 pitches.

“It was great to finish this game out,” Kendra said. “I am more reserved and optimistic than my sister. She is more vocal and speaks her mind. It is a good mix. We make a good combo because we balance each other.”

Kelsey explained that the reason they make such a good pair is because she and her sister are always on the same page.

“As the catcher, I know her the best,” she said. “I really don’t need to think. I read her. I do not have to call timeout to communicate with her. This gives us an edge. I obviously know her better than any other pitcher.”

Gators wrap up series with win over Seawolves Seven-game slide ends after baseball team focuses efforts

By Sara Donchey sdonchey@mail.sfsu.edu Sunday’s much-needed victory over Sonoma State could be the inspiration that the SF State baseball team needs to regain a positive outlook on what has been a challenging season.

The Gators (13-27, 8-24) snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over their bitter rivals, the 28thranked Sonoma State Seawolves.

The Gators, who have been struggling to piece together a winning season, saw an opportunity in the successes of Sunday’s game to turn it all around.

“We’ve been battling,” said junior infielder Will Klein.

“It’s been a tough season for us, but everybody stuck together today and had each other’s backs. I think that’s a lot of what gave us the win today.”

Klein had an impressive three RBIs, including a twoout, run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth inning that would lock down a Gator victory.

After several tough losses in close games, Klein admits that the team had been struggling to maintain a positive outlook.

“The team morale was kind of down in the dumps after all the losses,” Klein said. “But it feels good to get that win.”

The Gators and Seawolves battled back and forth for the first several innings; Sonoma opened up the second inning with a run by infielder Randy Wells.

Disaster was averted, however, as SF State junior pitcher Nic Banaugh shut down the Sonoma bats and got out of a bases-loaded jam.

SF State evened the score in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI single from Will Klein that scored junior outfielder Chris Schindler.

Klein added another RBI single in the bottom of the fourth that would reclaim the Gator lead 2-1. “(Klein’s) been having pretty good at-bats and he found the hole today,” said head coach Mike Cummins. “He’s a

GIL RIEGO JR. — [X]PRESS

CLOSER: SF State pitcher, Jeff Clegg throws the final pitch against Sonoma State outfielder Steven Filippi in the final inning of the April 17 game. The Gators won with a final score of 5-to-4. scrapper. Today it all came together for him.”

The sixth inning belonged to the Seawolves, who recorded three runs to reclaim the lead 4-3.

But a combination of solid pitching, strong defense, good hitting and a touch of luck would turn it around for the Gators by the eighth inning.

Banaugh, who pitched the first six innings, allowed four runs, struck out four and walked two before being lifted for reliever junior Jeff Clegg.

Clegg also played an instrumental role in the Gator victory, preserving the one-run deficit with three scoreless innings. The junior noted that such crucial moments are when he truly thrives.

“I felt I did my job to keep the game as close as possible and give our hitters a chance to win,” Clegg said. “I like those pressure situations; I like coming in in those close spots. I feel that’s when I do best.”

While the win was a sigh of relief for the team, Cummins recognized the challenge that lies ahead in upcoming matches, including a non-conference duel with Division I University of San Francisco Tuesday.

“We’ve got 10 games to go, we want to finish strong and build some momentum for next year,” Cummins said.

“Our goal all year has been to play good baseball. We’ve had our moments, but not enough of them.”

THE GATOR SCOREBOARD

The latest game scores and statistics

BASEBALL 4/12 vs. Nevada L 3-4 4/15 vs. Sonoma State University L 3-7 4/16 vs. Sonoma State University (DH) L 4-6, L 0-5 4/17 vs. Sonoma State University W 5-4 4/19 vs. Cal Baptist L 1-11 SOFTBALL 4/15 vs. Humboldt State University (DH) L 2-6, L 3-8 4/16 vs. Humboldt State University (DH) L 3-4, W 6-1

[

UPDATED SPORTS COVERAGE AT: @XPRESSSPORTS YOUR SOURCE FOR GATOR SPORTS

]

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11

GOLDEN GATE [X]PRESS - goldengatexpress.org

GREGORY MORENO— [X]PRESS

ABOVE: A student walks down a darkened hallway in the gym during a power outage at SF State. The entire campus was affected by a loss of power at approximately noon Monday.

LEFT: Students wait outside the Humanities Building during a campus-wide power outage that triggered the buildings’ fire alarms Monday, April 18.

JON WEIAND — [X]PRESS

12 Wednesday, April 20, 2011

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