Fall2016 Issue 13

GOLDEN GATE XPRESS Serving the San Francisco State community since 1927

Volume CIII, Issue 13

FREE SINGLE COPIES

Wednesday – November 16, 2016

goldengatexpress.org

IDEAS talks undocumented student safety

by Rita Berríos Riquelme rberrios@mail.sfsu.edu Representatives of Improving Dreams, Equity, Access and Success spoke to the academic senate on Tuesday about their concerns for the safety of SF State’s undocumented community on campus in the wake of the election of Donald Trump as America’s next president.

Pamela Ortiz, president of IDEAS, and Janet Lopez, a member of the organization, explained to the senate the importance of having a Dream Center, a place where undocumented students can learn about resources and also feel safe.

“These are fundamental needs that our students need now more than ever,” Ortiz said to the senate.

Ortiz and Lopez also requested that SF State to join a UC-wide movement to make educational institutions a sanctuary where undocumented students do not have to worry about their information being given to Immigration and Customs Enforcement or that the organization will come looking for them on campus.

IDEAS knows of about 550 undocumented students at SF State but there could be more who don’t feel comfortable stating their legal status because of fear of deportation, an action that Trump promised during his presidential campaign.

“Regardless of government decisions, students need the support from the University,” Dream Coordinator of IDEAS Norma Salcedo said.

IDEAS will present a formal resolution to the academic senate on Dec. 6 with a plan on how the University, faculty and staff can help protect undocumented students on campus.

Ana Maria Barrera, academic advisor at SF State and IDEAS ally, said undocumented students feel uncertain about the next four years.

“By having them (SF State) on board, students can feel more at ease.

They will also get the power advocate for themselves,” Barrera said.

President Leslie Wong and Vice President of Student Affairs Luoluo Hong contacted IDEAS to talk about the issues concerning undocumented students on Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s great they want to talk to us, this means the administration wants to support us in that sense,” Ortiz said.

Demonstrators perform a sit-in at an intersection on Market Street around a parachute as other protestors circled around them during a the Standing Rock rally in San Francisco on Tuesday. Photo by Brenna Cruz

Students join NoDAPL protest

in downtown

San Francisco

by Kevin Vega kvega1@mail.sfsu.edu

SF State student Savanah Maya lights an incense as she walks around the demonstrators performing a sit-in at an intersection on Market Street during a the Standing Rock rally in San Francisco on Tuesday. Photo by Brenna Cruz

Picket signs and burning sage filled downtown San Francisco as students and community members gathered in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the North Dakota Access Pipeline on Tuesday, taking part in a nationwide day of action.

The early morning protest began at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza with prayers from people all over the Bay Area. Nov. 15 was declared a national day of action by the Indigenous Environmental Network and its allies in response to alleged attacks on protesters in North Dakota on Oct. 27.

“People at standing rock are fighting their own war, but the public

is not going to listen until thousands of people are out here in the streets you know,” said Arlett Hernandez a firstyear nursing student at SF State. “It’s all quiet over there, but once we start marching all over the country we’re going to be heard.”

Organized by Idle No More, a group of Native Americans who advocate for indigenous rights, the protest reached a 2,800 “going” attendance on Facebook with over 6,000 other people stating their interest in the protest.

Idle No More asked that protesters join them in urging the American government to end the construction of the pipeline by emailing, calling and writing letters to their local representatives prior to Tuesday’s events.

DAPL protest cont. pg. 2

Electoral voting system questioned

Possible tuition increase for CSU

Student athlete kneels in solidarity

Slam poets prepare for competition

by Nick Madden – pg. 2

by Jason Rejali / Jeianne Baniqued – pg. 3

by Seki Shiwoku – pg. 5

by Jacqueline Haudek – pg. 7

NEWS

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goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | November 16, 2016 23-yearold Camelo Rodriguez walks with the crowd in solidarity with Standing Rock in San Francisco on Tuesday.

Rodriguez a Colombian native is currently visiting the U.S. Photo by Brenna Cruz

North Dakota pipeline protesters joined

by University students at Civic Center DAPL protest cont. pg. 1

“No matter how many millions of dollars these corporations are using we’re asking as people of the United States, as people of all nations coming together, to protect this water because it’s precious and it’s life giving and no corporation should have the opportunity to destroy that for profit,” said Corrina Gould, a

member of the Ohlone tribe as well as a speaker at the protest.

Protesters began their march on McAllister Street and settled in front of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering building. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineering is the organization granting the multiple companies behind the pipeline permission to build through Sioux territory. Participants willing to be arrested for the cause sat in the middle

of Market Street on a parachute with the words “Defend Mother Earth” painted in black bold lettering.

“I feel like taking to the streets, it makes a statement,” said Christabel Ramirez, an undeclared sophomore at SF State. “We’re here for Native Americans and we’re not going to stop fighting for them because water is life. They deserve it.”

Pipeline protesters are worried that its construction under the

Missouri river, the biggest river on the continent, would not only endanger sacred Sioux land, but also harm the environment with constant threat of oil spills.

“We just hope that the decision can be overturned and that respect could be given to mother earth and the land and to the water so that we may fuel future generations,” said Vanessa Saucedo, English Education major and senior at SF State.

Earlier this year, SF State students and faculty held a teach-in in support of the NoDAPL protesters, as reported by Golden Gate Xpress.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been protesting the pipeline in North Dakota since April this year, however construction on the pipeline continues and there have been no legal mandates to halt its completion.

Voting system questioned in wake of close election

by Nick Madden nmadden@mail.sfsu.edu Donald Trump has won the 2016 presidential election but millions of people aren’t ready to throw in the towel and accept that fact just yet. Many are demanding changes to be made through anti-Trump demonstrations that are popping up across the country and a petition – that is spreading like wildfire across the internet – is demanding the Electoral College make Hillary Clinton president on Dec. 19.

The petition, which has 3,320,518 signatures by the time of this writing, was created by Elijah Berg is asking that the Electoral College “ignore their state’s votes,” and instead cast their ballots for Clinton, who won the popular vote. This along with thousands of people stating their dislikes for Trump has raised many to questions to whether the current method of electing the U.S. president is still the best possible approach.

Presidential candidate Jill Stein has suggested that the U.S. should get rid of the current election process and adopt a rankedchoice voting system – where voters can rank the candidates of their choice from first to last for a single office – and elect officials by a majority vote without the need for a separate run-off election. Or the popular vote system – where Clinton has a lead over Trump by more than 200,000 votes – whereby the candidate with the most votes from all 50 states wins.

“The solution to a compromised and sick democracy is not less democracy, we need more voices and choices, we need rankedchoice voting so that you’re not confined to two toxic parties and two predatory candidates that the American public dislikes and distrusts,” said Stein, the 2016 Green Party presidential candidate, in a recent interview with Al Jazeera.

“The moment we create Ranked-choice voting we will have a multi-party democracy.

Steve Benen, a producer for MSNBC said in a recent article that under the current system, third-party candidates like Stein and Gary Johnson could have hypothetically handed the election to Trump, despite Clinton winning the popular vote.

“We had an election ... that wasn’t a national popular vote election,” said Patrick Rosenstiel, senior consultant to National Popular Vote. “The problem we are trying to fix is the problem that happens in every election, we are working to get the candidate with the most popular vote in all 50 states, which is the only way to right side the influence of battleground voters and make every voter relevant in California or every voter in North Dakota, relevant in every election.”

Rosenstiel said that part of the problem with the presidential election is that “two thirds,” of the campaign only occurred in six states and 94 percent of the campaign occurred in 12 states, which leaves many states and voters primarily ignored.

National Popular Vote has also been pushing for an interstate compact – where states agree to award all their electoral votes to the candidate that has the overall popular vote in all 50 states – and bills under the same name to “guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes.”

FairVote, a group that advocates RCV believes that the election results could have been different if the voting system was shifted to prioritize the majority vote over the electoral vote.

“I cannot say for sure if RCV would have changed the results of the election,” said Michelle Whittaker, communications director at FairVote. “But I think that you would see more (candidate) engagement with voters to really understand where they stand.” Which in

turn could have changed the way voters look at the candidates that are before them.

RCV is currently used in 11 cities across the U.S. including four Bay Area cities – San Francisco, Oakland, San Leandro, and Berkeley – and the state of Maine; that on Nov. 8 voters passed into law, the implementation of RCV to be used in all of Maine’s state and federal elections.

San Francisco saw the introduction of RCV as an amendment to the City Charter in 2002 and according to the San Francisco Department of Elections website has been used in every city election since its first official use in 2004.

“Rank-choice voting was introduced as a reaction to a lot of people running for a particular seat (in San Francisco),” said Pedro Hernandez, deputy director of FairVote California. “What you saw back then was conversations about the budget value and about election being as diverse as possible.”

San Francisco’s District 1, 7, 9 and 11 supervisorial races utilized the RCV system, where a voter’s first choice is counted then if a candidate receives a majority of first choice votes, they win the election. If no candidate has a majority, the candidate with the lowest ranking is eliminated. This process repeats itself until there is a majority vote winner and a candidate is elected.

“There is a lot of interest from across the aisle as to why RCV would be a preferable system,” Hernandez said. “Because you have a plurality winner and you want to have a majority candidate.”

Jason McDaniel, associate professor of political science at SF State said that RCV does have some downsides and is known to cause a small percentage people not to vote, due to the process being more complicated.

“I see a lot of push for it,” McDaniel said.

“But, it is more complicated for some voters

which has led to more ballot errors.”

McDaniel said that errors are sometimes caused by confusion or by filling out the RCV ballot incorrectly. This confusion can sometimes lead to over-voting – where someone votes for more than the maximum number of selections allowed in an election – which then invalidates the ballot altogether.

According to an article from the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association, data from the 2011 election showed that 1.2 percent of voters cast an over-vote. Despite being a small number, the rate is said to be higher than in a typical “votefor-one” election.

In a press release from the San Francisco Department of Elections as of Nov. 9 the department must still “review and tabulate more than 114,000 ballots” from general election.

“The ballots themselves are counted much like others,” McDaniel said, in an email. “But the process of tallying and allocating second and third choices can take considerable time.”

There is no definite answer to whether RCV or a popular vote would work on a national level, or if it would have changed the outcome of the recent election. But according to an article from FairVote, if RVC was used during the primary elections Marco Rubio would have beaten Trump. Under the popular vote however, Trump and Clinton both led in votes compared to their runner-ups, which would have left the GOP and Democratic primary elections with the same result.

“Right now four out of five voters are almost ignored in every presidential election,” Rosenstiel said.”We (National Popular Vote) are are doing all the work necessary to make 2016 the last time we suffer under the current system, where voters in battleground states are far more important than the rest of us.”

NEWS

goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | November 16, 2016

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Student rally against proposed tuition increase

by Jason Rejali jrejali@mail.sfsu.edu Jeianne Baniqued jbanique@mail.sfsu.edu

“

SF State political science major Pat Racello speaks to the students through a megaphone about the five percent tuition increase in Malcolm X Plaza on Tuesday. Racello said, “Education is a fundamental human right, we need to fight the five percent (tuition) increase.” Photo by George Morin to consider options such as reducing programs and services or an increase in tuition.

SF State’s ASI Vice President of External Affairs Celia LoBuono Gonzalez said she is working to help avoid the increase and encourages students to voice their oppositions on the matter.

“In my opinion, you have to look at the context of where we’re living. There are so many other external factors right now that makes it challenging for students to even accomplish finishing school, even if the institution had all the things in place for you to graduate in four years,” Gonzalez said.

“There are a lot of other factors that I personally don’t think the state of California and the governor are taking into account.”

Gonzalez feels that since San Francisco is going through a housing crisis that students who are affected by fast-rising rents should be considered if this tuition increase comes into play.

University Spokesperson Jonathan Morales said SF State knows that college affordability is one of the top concerns of students and helping to reduce the cost of attendance is one of the school’s top priorities.

“College affordability is an issue that touches not just our campus but campuses throughout the nation. We empathize with our students and are committed to doing all that we can to help reduce the cost of college.

We will also continue to advocate at the state level for full funding for the CSU,” Morales said in an email.

We can’t continue studying here at SF State or at any CSU schools if our tuition is too high...

Yeseenia Mendeze

“

A group of more than 30 students formed a circle at Malcolm X Plaza on Tuesday and shared a microphone to express concerns and poetry in protest of a possible five percent tuition increase.

Students were notified about the CSU-wide tuition hike, effective fall 2017, by a campus-wide email from Associated Students Inc. last week. The email explained that the state of California neglected its responsibility to fund public higher education, resulting in funds being short $168.8 million for the 20172018 academic year.

“I am here today because I believe that a five percent tuition increase that’s being imposed on by students is criminal, and is economic violence committed against students, and I believe we as students have to speak out and organize against that five percent tuition increase,” said political science major Pat Racello.

Biology student, Yeseenia Mendeze, who read excerpts from the poem “Let America be America Again” by Langston Hughes, explained why the students had gathered.

“We can’t continue studying here at SF State or at any CSU schools if our tuition is too high, you know if we can’t afford it, so that’s why we’re here. We’re actually standing up so we can fight against that; fight against the increase in tuition,” Mendeze said.

The ASI email linked to the information on the proposed increase and cuts to services if the full funding from the state is not given. In the proposition, Chancellor Timothy White stated that he hopes assistance from the affected groups can help avoid the painful step of tuition increase and that the Chancellor’s Office will “continue to explore every option to keep costs low for our students and their families.”

The possibility of a tuition hike was first raised by the CSU in September, prompting meetings with the California State Student Association and other affected groups.

The CSU has two funding sources: the state general fund, provided by the state legislature and governor, and systemwide tuition, paid by students and their families.

Every year, the CSU requests adequate funding from the state as part of the budget cycle.

“Even though the state has started to reinvest in the CSU, state funding for the CSU is still below pre-recession levels by $135 million, even as the University serves an additional 41,500 students. As of right now, there is a $167.7 million gap between the CSU’s preliminary budget plan for 2017-18 and the state’s funding plan,” said Elizabeth Chapin, manager of public affairs at the CSU Office of the Chancellor in an email.

Chapin said that if the state does not fund the gap, the CSU may need

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NEWS

Standing Rock protesters show solidarity

goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | November 16, 2016 Demonstrators hold signs and chant during a rally for Standing Rock in front of City Hall in San Francisco on Tuesday.

by Brenna Cruz bcruz14@mail.sfsu.edu

30-year-old Diana Delgado holds part of a banner on Market Street at the Standing Rock rally in San Francisco on Tuesday.

25-year-old Rita Gillan holds her sign as people gather on Market Street for a rally in solidarity with Standing Rock on Tuesday.

Demonstrators march onto Market Street for a rally in solidarity with Standing Rock on Tuesday. The demonstrators proceeded to perform a sit-in on Market Street before continuing their march.

SPORTS

goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | November 16, 2016

Gators keeper kneels in solidarity

by Seki Shiwoku sshiwoku@mail.sfsu.edu On a summer night, Arianna Wesley was almost hit by a car on her stroll to the gym. She exchanged words with the the driver, a White male, who responded by popping his head out the window. When he saw that Wesley was a Black woman, he replied “Shut up, Shaniqua,” turning a stereotypical Black name into a racial slur.

Because of instances of overt racism like this, Wesley is one of many athletes who has chosen to kneel during the national anthem or sit during the pledge of allegiance.

Wesley, goalkeeper for Gators women’s soccer, took up the sport about seven years ago after watching her father play the same position. Growing up, she saw the differences in how her Black father and White mother were treated in her predominantly White hometown of Temecula.

“I think living through that and growing up to understand what our national anthem means and what our pledge means made me consider kneeling,” Wesley said.

Wesley first heard about kneeling after Colin Kaepernick and women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe protested earlier this year. Although she wasn’t a huge fan of Kaepernick, she came to respect him after he chose to kneel during the national anthem and was inspired to try the act of protest herself.

“When you listen to the words and you say the words out loud, I feel as if, sure, that could be America,” Wesley said. “But that’s not talking about my family or me. I don’t feel we are free. The good majority of groups are

SF State Gators goalkeeper Arianna Wesley (bottom right) kneels during the playing of the national anthem before a game against Cal State San Marcos at Cox Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 9.

Photo by Brenna Cruz

oppressed in the U.S. I don’t believe we have full equality.”

Because Wesley doesn’t feel that the equality and freedom championed in the pledge is extended to all Americans, she feels confident in her decision to challenge the status quo.

“I think growing up it’s just put in your routine, and as a kid you don’t think much of it

to question it,” Wesley said. “You do it because you’re told to stand and you’re told to do this.

I feel like if we don’t believe in something it’s okay to break routine and speak out for how you feel.”

When Wesley decided to start kneeling, her family was concerned of the possible backlash she would receive, considering how other

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President Obama’s ‘SECRET CRIMES’ Today, it is important for the Public to know that our US Federal Government has secretly STOLEN, DESTROYED, AND ENSLAVED our FREEDOM, LIBERTY, EQUALITY, AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY by secretly NOT ENFORCING AND NOT DEFENDING our 14th Amendment (to provide all its citizens “equal protection of the laws” against Crime and Racism) as President Obama continues to secretly maintain and enjoy His UNCIVILIZED ‘OPPRESSIVE GRIP OF CRIME AND TERROR AGAINST HIS KIDNAPPED AND TORTURED’ Asian-American Hostages who still seek TRUTH AND JUSTICE after being severely punished and confined by the US Federal Government (for 29 years) for being the ‘INNOCENT VICTIMS’ of Federal Crimes by NBC. @lelandyoshitsu lelandyoshitsu.com see: Hillary Clinton’s letter to Leland (pg 4)

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athletes such as Kaepernick were being publicly criticized for their actions.

“She has a right to,” said Justine Mills, an athletic event staff member. “The flag is supposed to represent freedom and if the flag doesn’t honor her or do her justice, she doesn’t have to do it justice.”

Uninhibited by the possible consequences of kneeling and without asking for the permission of her teammates or coaches, Wesley kneeled for the first time on Sept. 18.

Afterward, coaches pulled her into their offices and reminded her she represents the program and that her actions reflected the program but said that it was her right and that they remained neutral on her actions.

“I think it’s good she’s taking advantage of this platform,” said Jada Williams, teammate and center defender. “We have a lot of people at games, people recording. She’s definitely caught a lot of peoples’ eyes and has people talking about it.”

Wesley said that politics are rooted deeply in sports, especially at the professional level and that the industry is very restrictive on players’rights to express themselves through actions, speech and clothing.

Wesley feels fortunate enough to have the privilege to play a sport and to have the audience and platform where she can express her discontent with what she calls “injustice in America.”

“Why not? I’m a young African American woman with a platform, so why not use that privilege to my advantage,” Wesley said.

“There could be people who feel just as strong or stronger than me but they don’t really have an audience to advocate to. I just think it’s so important that young adults use their platforms to speak for such a big matter.”

OPINION

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goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | November 16, 2016

GOLDEN GATE XPRESS KELSEY LANNIN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF klannin@mail.sfsu.edu

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METRO NEWS EDITOR nmadden@mail.sfsu.edu

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LIFESTYLE & CULTURE EDITOR sshiwoku@mail.sfsu.edu

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OPINION EDITOR jmv@mail.sfsu.edu

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Illustration by Jessyln Los Banos

My relatives’ love of Trump brings hateful rhetoric to Thanksgiving dinner

by Katherine Minkiewicz keminkie@mail.sfsu.edu At the start of Thanksgiving break last year, I was excited. I was looking forward to spending the holiday with my uncle, cousins and grandpa, despite the tedious two-hour drive to Sacramento.

Sitting around a cramped table with family, reconnecting over roast turkey and steaming plates of mashed potatoes and talking with my cousins about what we had to be thankful for has always been a pleasant experience. But this year, my excitement has been replaced with fear. I am frightened and worried about sitting down with my loved ones at the table, because I know that side of my family despises Hillary Clinton and are jubilant about Trump and his hateful rhetoric.

Even though most of California is reliably Democratic, my mom’s side of the family lives in the Central Valley, an area that makes up a vast majority of the Republican population in California, according to the Public Policy Institute of America. Central Valley and the greater Sacramento area are 60 percent Republican, of which my relatives represent the majority in this demographic statistic. While they have always been committed conservatives, Trump’s presidency

has given their opinions legitimacy. This now gives them the opportunity to gloat about Trump after years of having their viewpoints eclipsed by an eight year Democrat presidency.

Two Thanksgiving dinner horror scenarios have been playing in my mind. In one version, I explode in response to a comment, flinging profanities and long tirades about why a Trump presidency is an awful one, thereby disowning my own family members. In another, I excuse myself from the dinner table and find a spare room to cry in, while my relatives praise Trump for his ideals.

Even though family squabbles are often part of the holiday get-together experience, neither scenario is one that I would want to face. My idea of Thanksgiving involves taking the time to set aside differences in order to be thankful for one another, not inciting hurtful arguments.

While this may sound melodramatic, these reactions aren’t unreasonable, considering that it is appalling to me how people who I call family believe it is wonderful to have a president who thinks it is okay to “grab women by the pussy.” It will be hard for me to sit down with them knowing this reveals that the stark divide between the ideals of race, gender and equality that exists in America is embodied in my own family.

Avidan Milevsky, an associate professor of

psychology from Kuztown University, explained in an Al Jazeera article that the “vitriol in the political system” is helping to contribute to “a level of tension that is clearing impacting family dynamics in destructive ways.” An ABC News poll recently found that approximately 40 percent of Americans claimed that opinions on the 2016 presidential election has incited “tension” between family and friends.

This family tension first started during the primaries when my grandpa suggested that he wouldn’t call my mother his daughter anymore if she voted for Hillary, he also said that if someone like Obama would be elected then he would move to Canada.

Whether or not he was being serious, these conversations have created a tension that has reached a tipping point. Now my immediate family are the ones saying that we’ll move to Canada now that Trump is elected.

While I usually try to respect others’ opinions, I’m worried that I will cause more strain to the family on Thanksgiving by not being able to respect my family’s beliefs. People may say that respecting other’s viewpoints is important and fair, especially within a family dynamic, but I just can’t stomach our president elect’s hateful message.

women I know. It is reported by RAINN that one out of every six women in America has been the victim of sexual violence at some point in her life.

Unfortunately, that statistic does not account for the two out of every three assaults that go unreported.

Donald Trump has been accused of rape or sexual assault on numerous and unrelated occasions. He’s used language that seems to condone the violation of women. What message has this election sent to predators? Protecting my 13-year-old girl and teaching my boys to respect women just became much harder. The increased fear I have for them is almost unbearable and I’m not in any way okay with that.

Second, I will never stand for racism or xenophobia.

My family is a mixture of races and religions, as are my friends. The rise of intolerance and hate crimes throughout this election cycle has made me worry for the safety of people I love. And it only seems to be getting worse by the day. Incidents have increased dramatically since the electoral college count came in.

What am I supposed to say when my kids ask why the new president wants to deport or ban their friends? How do I explain the surge of racial tension reported in the news? I don’t have good answers to those questions because I can’t understand them myself.

I’ve asked decent, good-natured Republicans why they voted for Trump and have encountered

some common responses. Many have put faith in his ability as a businessman and just as many hope he won’t do most of what he promised on the campaign trail.

Here’s my problem with that: he never proved that he was a good businessman through any tangible evidence like his tax returns, but he did clearly state what he wanted to do as president. He showed us who he is and nearly half the nation chose to ignore the obvious in exchange for the fantasy.

We’ve traded our humanity for unsubstantiated promises and hope for “hope not.”

Our reluctance to acknowledge each other as human beings with real lives and real fears has created the situation we are currently in, where half the country is celebrating and the other half is crying.

I have too much faith in humanity to accept that this is who we are and have to believe that we’ve arrived here because we’ve lost sight of what matters. People feel strongly on both sides and everyone should have a place at the table to express what is important to them and why, but this is not the way to go about it.

I write this hoping it might resonate with at least one person on the other side of the ideological aisle so that in turn they might share their story and help me understand their point of view. We may not like what each other has to say, but starting the conversation is the best first step to bridging the divide before it has the chance to get any worse.

An open letter to all Americans

by Nik Wojcik nwojcik@mail.sfsu.edu Slinging derogatory terms around to describe political leanings has become commonplace in modern American discourse – neither the leftwing nor the alt-right are innocent in that. But one word you don’t hear in many of our polarized conversations of late is the only one that really matters: human.

There was a time when politicians and citizens could both literally and theoretically cross the aisle.

We had long and heated debates about things like taxes and gun control, but in the end, you’d often find those same opponents commiserating together over a beer. In better times, strong opinions and beliefs were tempered by an ability to hear the other side and make compromises for the better good. These are not those times.

I desperately miss humanity right now and the best way I know to deal with that is to be as human as I can be. I am writing to share my own story and I hope that you’ll take the invitation to respectfully return the favor so that we can begin to understand each other.

I don’t hate the other side but I do the hate the choices they’ve made and I’ll share two simple but substantial reasons why.

First, I am a woman and mother.

I am a survivor of sexual assault, as are many

goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | November 16, 2016

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

7 Christian Rivera Nolan performs slam poetry at SPEAK’s last Open Mic night of the semester at the Depot on Tuesday. The event provided local poets a chance to perform in front of a live crowd.

Photo by Lauren Saldana

SPEAK prepares for national slam poetry competition

by Jacqueline Haudek jhaudek@mail.sfsu.edu After holding their last open mic of the semester on Tuesday, Spoken Poetry Expressed by All Kinds are organizing a slam poetry team and setting their sights on national competition.

While SPEAK’s monthly open mics are open to everyone — including, rappers, singers or storytellers — the preliminary rounds for the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational are for students who are serious about performing slam poetry at a competitive level and representing SF State. However, SPEAK president and English education major Nicole Reynolds, 21, doesn’t want the pressures of entering a competition to discourage students from trying out for SF State’s team.

“We always want students to bring their best, but I don’t want them to think that their best isn’t good enough,” Reynolds said. “There’s no stereotype or stigmatism towards poems. It’s whatever they have; that’s what we want to hear.”

Judges for the preliminary rounds at SF State are random audience members who are not involved with the performances. Each poet performs two pieces during the preliminary rounds, and eventually the contestants get whittled down until the finals, where five students will be selected to represent SF State at CUPSI in April.

CUPSI will be in Chicago this year and will feature slam poetry from over 60 schools, from Ivy Leagues to community colleges. 2017 will be SF State’s sixth year competing. Unlike the preliminary rounds on campus, students will be competing as a team instead of as individuals. SF State has never reached the final stage of

Christian Rivera Nolan performs slam poetry at SPEAK’s last Open Mic night of the semester at the Depot on Tuesday. | Photo by Lauren Saldana competition, but has been close many times. Two years ago, they were the first Cal State team to ever get to the semi-finals stage.

“There are not a lot of national events for writers, besides writing contests, but I’ve yet to find something that’s on a larger scale like CUPSI that really encourages students to not only help themselves become writers but also to develop the community surrounding them,” Reynolds said. “A lot of people don’t know that the slam poetry community is really inclusive regardless of what

you write about. For college level poets, CUPSI is the only thing that gives us this big space to share our work together.”

Destiny Evans, a 22-year-old broadcasting major and vice president of SPEAK, is hoping to make the team this year for CUPSI. “I’m just going to write as much as I can and edit and practice and perform as much as I can. Hopefully I make the team this year because I really want to go to Chicago,” Evans said.

Evans has made the team the

previous two years and said she loves the supportive community she found there.

“It’s very competitive but it’s also a really supportive environment,” Evans said. “It helps that I’ve done this before and that I have SPEAK backing me each and every step of the way, especially when I’m super critical of my poems.”

For the CUPSI team, there is more of a commitment required than at an open mic, but Reynolds said they still want more students to join the team.

“We’re still looking for at least

five more students in order to have a fair final slam in December,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds hopes this creative space for poetry will continue even after the SPEAK members graduate.

“The hope is that students will remember what kind of space we created and that they are encouraged to continue that, because every year SPEAK gets passed down to different students, so it becomes their job to continue to create a space on campus for students who really just want to share poems,” Reynolds said.