Fall 2016 Issue 9

GOLDEN GATE XPRESS Serving the San Francisco State community since 1927

Volume CIII, Issue 9

FREE SINGLE COPIES

Wednesday – October 19, 2016

goldengatexpress.org Comedian Demetri Martin performs his comedy act during ‘Jokes for Votes’ event to promote voter registration in Jack Adams Hall on Monday.

Photo by Perng-chih Huang

Demetri Martin jokes for votes at registration event and comedy show

by Karina Bueno kebueno@mail.sfsu.edu As volunteers stood outside the entrance of Jack Adams hall, speaking to students about props and voter registration, attendees piled

into the hall filling the rows of chairs facing the stage.

The stage was lit by red, white and blue lights and housed a stool, a microphone and a lone guitar.

SF State was the sixth stop for Funny or Die’s free comedy tour “Jokes for Votes,” headlined by Demetri Martin, which aims to get

college students to register to vote.

The show was hosted by BrokeAss Stuart, better known as Stuart Schuffman, who ran for mayor of San Francisco in 2015.

Schuffman opened the show with his own take on the presidential race.

“The presidential thing is a shit show, complete and utter shit show

and while I’m not necessarily the biggest Hillary fan, at least when she fucks over the American people she does it with some professionalism,” Schuffman said. “Whereas Donald Trump is like Animal from the Muppets, he’s just like ‘WOMAN!’” Schuffman also stressed the importance of voting locally.

“Even if you’re in college for only a couple of years, it’s still really important to vote locally because you’re still making a footprint on where you’re at,” Schuffman said.

“We’re all part of the problem and we can all be apart of the solution.”

Jokes cont. pg. 2

Posters found on campus linked to conservative activist group

by Nick Madden nmadden@mail.sfsu.edu The David Horowitz Freedom Center, a conservative activist group, took responsibility Friday for posting fliers around the SF State campus that depicted a professor as a terrorist sympathizer, according to a press release issued by the center.

“Our goal in placing these posters on prominent campuses across America is to expose the true motivations and allegiances of these groups who have chosen to join forces with terrorists, to challenge their lies and to expose the financial and organizational supports which allow them to pursue their genocidal agenda,” David Horowitz said in a press release.

In a statement released today, SF State President Les Wong condemned the actions of those responsible for the posters, saying that “a line has been crossed.”

SF State has been the latest school in a group of California universities that has been targeted in the “Stop the Jew Hatred on Campus” poster campaign. Other universities that were targeted were UC Berkeley, UCLA,

Trump supporters biased, study shows

by Rita Berríos Riquelme – pg. 3

San Diego State and UC Irvine.

One of the posters depicts an illustration of Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi, an associate professor in the ethnic studies program, with the statement next to it, “a leader of the Hamas BDS campaign; collaborator with terrorists; San Francisco State professor.” BDS stands for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which calls for an international effort to put economic pressure on Israel for its treatments of Palestinians.

“Fliers were posted by an outside extremist group in numerous locations, singling out one of our faculty members, our students and vandalizing our campus,” Wong said. “We know that this group is not affiliated with San Francisco State University.”

Wong goes on to say that even though “we disagree on many issues, we must defend each other from personalized attacks that serve no purpose but to incite fear and promote division.”

An article released by frontpagemag.com –– a website operated by the David Horowitz Freedom Center –– stated that “SF State has repeatedly enabled the most extreme actions of its General Union of Palestinian Students

SF State students walk past inflammatory posters plastered on the steps of the Malcolm X Plaza on Friday. David Horowitz Freedom Center claimed to be the source of the posters that were found plastered around campus on Friday morning. Photo by Nick Madden (GUPS).” The article goes into describing recent SF State events involving GUPS, such as an April protest of the Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, which led the University to implement a five-step protocol, after heavy scrutiny according to an article released by the Golden Gate Xpress.

SF State has been at the center of ongoing

controversy involving Jewish and Palestinian relations, when a petition went out in September questioning the University’s partnership with An-Najah National University.

“Let me be clear, this is not an issue of free speech; this is bullying behavior that is unacceptable and will not be tolerated on our campus,” Wong said.

Teacher’s work leads Non-famous LGBTQ+ Athletes respond to to new minor should be remembered ‘locker room talk’

by Amanda Aragona – pg. 4

by Jordan Vail – pg. 6

by Laura Monique Ordoñez – pg. 7

NEWS 2 White nationalist group no-show at University rally

goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | October 19, 2016

A news helicopter hovered over Malcolm X Plaza Monday as students and faculty gathered for a planned rally by a European heritage advocacy organization, but the group unexpectedly changed the location of the protest.

Identity Evropa, an “organization dedicated to promoting interests of people of European heritage,” according to their Facebook page, retweeted a post from Red Ice Radio stating its plans to host a rally at SF State protesting against San Francisco’s status as a sanctuary city.

Red Ice is a media organization based in Sweden and the U.S. with the goal of “seeking an alternative to the mainstream, covering politics and social issues from a pro-European perspective,” according to its website.

According to the tweet, the event was scheduled to take place in Malcolm X Plaza, but it actually

“

Based on observations, they used this as a decoy and then went downtown.

Elizabeth Smith

Satirical poster causes confusion

by Nik Wojcik nwojcik@mail.sfsu.edu

SF State students laugh at stand up during the Jokes for Votes comedy event to promote voter registration in Jack Adams Hall on Monday. Comedian Demetri Martin headlined the event with a comedy act. Photo by Perng-chih Huang

‘Jokes for Votes’ aims to register students Jokes cont. pg. 1

When Schuffman asked who was registered to vote almost the entire room raised their hand and cheered.

Seating was available on a firstcome, first-served basis and chairs were packed by the start of the show, with latecomers plopping down on the ground.

Funny or Die also placed fliers on every seat with statistics on California voters.

“There are more than seven million Californians who are eligible, but not registered to vote. This is more than the population of 36 of our U.S. States,” the flier stated. “In order for California to lead the nation in taking bold action on climate change, income inequality and issue of social justice, we have to transform the unregistered electorate into registered voters, and turn them out to vote.”

The flier also stated that unregistered Californians are disproportionately

urban, young and people of color, and the number continues to grow.

Tania Spezza, 25, has been a longtime fan of Demetri Martin and was able to come out to see the free show.

“I think this event is great. It brought a lot of people together, some who weren’t registered, and got them to register to vote,” Spezza said.

“I remember when Rock the Vote was a thing but I wasn’t old enough to vote yet,” Spezza said. “And now I think so many people like comedy and it’s a common thread people connect on.”

Once Schuffman introduced Demetri Martin, the room erupted in applause and whistling.

Martin spent the beginning of his segment interacting with SF State students and poking fun at the school’s mascot choice.

An audience member suggested the Mashouf Wellness Center as a topic for Martin to speak about.

“Is that finished? No? I drove by

it and I just thought it was extremely modern,” Martin said.

Martin asked what the Wellness Center would offer and audience members shouted out indoor track and rock climbing as some of the amenities.

“Indoor track, rock climbing. All things that were available outside.

It’s a very arrogant building really,” Martin said laughing. “There’s a 50 mile hike inside the halls, there’s a waterfall in the basement.”

Each show has a different lineup of comedians, while Demetri Martin headlined for SF State, Sarah Silverman will headline for the show in Berkeley along with other comedians such as Taylor Tomlinson, Thomas Dale and Jordan Rock.

The tour is set to visit other universities such as Cal State San Marcos, UC Merced, Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State and any more before California’s registration deadline on Oct. 24.

Faculty and students discovered a racially-charged flyer posted on the College of Ethnic Studies building on Tuesday that later turned out to be satirical art by a student.

Associate Dean Amy Sueyoshi said that the flyer, in the form of a mock advertisement, was part of an art production by a class in the Asian American studies department.

According to pictures taken by students and at least one professor, it read: “Proudly used in Hollywood and gentrified neighborhoods. Do you have a colored dilemma in your life?

Dirty stubborn stains that won’t go away? Too many colored folks in your neighborhood? Fear not, Clorox is the best detox. Historically proven to remove bacteria of all cultures, Clorox is the #1 solution to a cleaner & whiter lifestyle.”

University spokesperson Jonathan Morales said that the flyer was determined to have been posted as satire by an ethnic studies student.

Sueyoshi confirmed that the student has been held accountable but is unaware of what, if any, disciplinary actions have or will be taken. Sueyoshi acknowledged that students are understandably sensitive following another racially-charged message discovered on a whiteboard in the College of Ethnic Studies building in August.

“It exposed the rawness many of us are feeling during this period

“

of frequent racialized insult in the public media and forums,” College of Ethnic Studies Dean Kenneth Monteiro said. Although the dean calls this incident a “false alarm,” he sees it as an opportunity for growth and discussion.

Monteiro issued an email statement on Thursday afternoon, which describes the flyer found on a classroom window as appearing to disparage Asian Americans. A picture shared with Golden Gate Xpress staff shows the flyer taped to an interior door as well. The actual number and exact locations of flyers found on Tuesday is unknown at this time.

Monteiro stressed that protocol was followed and reports were made to University police immediately.

The student who created the image has been identified through the investigation and has written a letter of explanation and apology for the negative effect it had, which is posted on the student’s Facebook page.

The student’s name has not been disclosed. According to the email statement, the College of Ethnic Studies will hold a wide-open forum on physical, psychological and social safety in coming weeks.

“The good news is that this was not a direct threat to our community,” Monteiro said. “The better news is that our community looks to deepen our understanding of our current social climate, learn from this inquiry and strengthen our community from the experience.”

The good news is that this was not a direct threat to our community.

Kenneth Monteiro

“

A SkyFOX helicopter hovers over Malcolm X Plaza for the pro-white group Identity Evropa event titled No Sanction on Monday. The group did not arrive after posting a Twitter post about their proposed gathering. Photo by George Morin

occurred at the Embarcadero after Red Ice began its live stream of the event at 3 p.m.

The exact reason for the change in location is unknown, but some speculated it could have been to mislead counter protesters.

“Based on observations, they used this as a decoy and then went downtown,” said Elizabeth Smith, associate vice president for marketing and strategic communications at SF State.

Nester Castillo, a Latino/Latina studies lecturer, said he brought his students out to watch the protest, hoping it would be an example of the current political milieu.

“As soon as I found out about it, I thought it was important to see the political climate as of right now,” Castillo said. “This exemplifies the rise of Trump and new nationalism.”

As of this time, Identity Evropa has not provided a comment on the cause of the location change or if it has plans for a future rally at SF State.

“

by Grady Penna gpenna@mail.sfsu.edu

goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | October 19, 2016

NEWS

3

Study shows Trump supporters’ racial bias It’s been a month since Hillary Clinton publicly expressed regret for grouping half of Donald Trump’s supporters into a “basket of deplorables,” saying they are “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it.” While NPR may say that there is no data to support Clinton’s accusations, Jason McDaniel, an associate professor of political science at SF State, and Sean McElwee, a policy analyst at Demos Action, find the allegations to be true in their analysis of a study conducted earlier this year.

McDaniel and McElwee analyzed the data released by the American National Election Study Series, a study funded by Stanford University and the University of Michigan. The sample included 1,200 U.S. voters, and is the first in the 21st century to examine people’s feelings and thoughts toward police use of force, stereotyping, race and racial consciousness.

“I think there is a lot of racial resentment out there, but Americans like to believe that they are not racist,” said McDaniel, who published two articles this year using the collected data of white respondents identifying as Republicans.

The first article, published in March, measured stereotypes and racial resentment linked to Trump’s popularity, which McDaniel compared with those who supported Marco Rubio.

The second article, published in May, showed the attitude of Trump supporters toward different groups in the country where “Trump’s blend of casual racism and muscular nativism is the core of his appeal,” McDaniels says in the study.

For the stereotype section of the survey, respondents stated how well they felt the words “lazy” and “violent” describe Blacks, Whites, Hispanics and Muslims.

The belief that races other than White were lazy and violent increased among white Trump supporters and decreased among Rubio’s.

“People tend to follow political leaders in their opinions,” McDaniel said, “Trump is making it okay among Republicans to talk in explicitly racist ways and to make our society about that, one group versus another. That’s not good.”

To find out about racial resentment among

respondents, the survey focused on how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the following statements taken from the Systemic Racism theory, which establishes its origins “in a blend of anti-Black affect and conservative values”: • Irish, Italian, Jewish, and many other minorities overcame prejudice and worked their way up. Black people should do the same without any special favors.

• Generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for black people to work their way out of the lower class.

• It’s really a matter of some people not trying hard enough; if black people would only try harder they could be just as well-off as whites.

• Over the past few years, black people have gotten less than they deserve.

“When you ignore color, you ignore that other people have privileges, that people of color are looked down upon, targeted and treated unfairly,” said Timothy Walker, member of the California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board.

After the civil rights movement, explicit racism declined in the country, even in surveys.

However, it found a way to remain present.

“There are a lot of Americans who are not vocal, but they still hold the same views (as Trump),” said Serie McDougal, Africana studies department chair.

Racial resentment started to be expressed by beliefs that races other than White, especially Black people, do not deserve benefits from the government or they should work harder to achieve the American Dream, according to McDaniel.

“It’s a way to say that they are not consistent with the American values, ‘we work hard, we don’t rely on the government, we are all equal’,” said McDaniel, about race as part of the problem and the preference of people to be colorblind.

The second article is based on a “Feeling Thermometer,” where respondents placed groups and political figures on a scale that determined favorable feelings (very warm) and unfavorable feelings (very cold).

McDaniel took this information and classified the subjects into Trump supporters, other GOP candidates’ supporters and the general population to observe their biases toward Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, transgender, gay and lesbian, feminists,

Racial resentment among Trump and Rubio supporters

percent

by Rita Berríos Riquelme rberrios@mail.sfsu.edu

Infographic by George Morin and Ahalya Srikant scientists, Whites and police.

The results showed that Trump supporters have the coldest feelings toward every group except Whites and police, to which they felt the warmest. Other GOP candidates’ supporters and the general population felt somewhat similar or close enough to each other about all the groups in that section of the study.

Racially identifying as White contributes to negative feelings toward people of color and different groups, according to the study.

“Trump supporters demonize people who are not white,” McDaniel said. “They will lose. The

Republican party will reject the Trump message.”

Using the study as a reference point, McDaniel focused upon the Republican Party due to the fact that the Republican responses varied in each demographic compared to that of Democrats, whose differences were minimal.

GOP constituents’ responses were unique regarding stereotypes and racial resentment.

“You can have a list of reasons leaving aside the race, but when you make it about race, they have to admit that they are doing something wrong, that they are part of the problem,” Walker said.

CORRECTION: The article “New restrictions limit birth control options” that ran in issue nine on Oct. 12, 2016 incorrectly attributed the Benson Jen’s statement to SHS pharmacist Lien Ho. Additionally, Jen disputed saying “There’s no way around it,” referring to Family PACT’s changes in coverage. Due to an editing error, the article also misquoted pharmacist Jen saying, “As of June they changed their formula to be consistent with the MediCal formula which is much stricter,” when Jen said instead “As of June they changed their formulary to be consistent with the MediCal formulary, which is much stricter.” The article also gave the impression that big box providers like Blue Shield, Cignan and Kaiser were no longer accepted, when in fact they have never been accepted, according to University spokesperson Jonathan Morales. Lastly, the previous version of this article didn’t include the information that student health services sent an email in June to the 179 students affected by the changes to Family PACT.

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4

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | October 19, 2016

(TOP) Different page excerpts from SF State humanaties and liberal studies professor Nick Sousanis’s book titled Unflattening from his website, www.spinweaveandcut.com. (LEFT) SF State humanaties and liberal studies professor Nick Sousanis, author of the book Unflattening, poses for a portrait in his office on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016. Photo by Connor Hunt

Teacher’s graphic novel inspires launch of comic studies minor Nick Sousanis has been passionately drawing comics all his life. Although he studied mathematics in college and believed pursuing comics professionally wasn’t a possibility, he overcame those boundaries and turned comic studies into a career.

Sousanis, an assistant professor in the humanities department, won the 2016 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize for his graphic novel, “Unflattening,” inspiring the creation of a comic studies minor at SF State starting in the spring. The award is sponsored by Penn State University Libraries and honors the best graphic novel by a living U.S. or Canadian citizen or resident.

“Unflattening” is about visual learning in academics, instead of the conventional style of teaching done by reading texts. Written and drawn in the form of a comic strip, Sousanis attempts to empower the readers to explore whether visual learning would be more effective for students.

“It’s an argument that we make sense of the world visually and that teaching and learning ought to reflect that,” Sousanis said.

The graphic novel was written for his philosophy doctoral dissertation, which is traditionally done in a text-based format.

Sousanis took a risk and challenged those

standards by submitting “Unflattening.”

Steven Herb, director of Pennsylvania Center for the Book, said convincing a doctoral committee to accept a graphic novel as a dissertation is something to be admired.

“The creation of (Unflattening) is in the direction of helping people understand the big picture of what comics are about,” Herb said.

“That’s a brave and interesting undertaking.

Nick is obviously a brilliant guy, he’s a great educator and he’s a comics genius.”

Sousanis said he uses this technique of channeling creativity in his first semester teaching humanities classes by having his students draw out their thoughts, rather than write them.

“The new comics studies minor will bring several faculty together from across campus to teach courses on various aspects of comics history and culture,” said Cristina Ruotolo, director of the School of Humanities and Liberal Studies.

Two classes Sousanis will be teaching, comics and culture and making comics, will focus on the theory and analysis of comics, the history and culture of comics and the application of comics into other fields of study.

“Studying comics will be like how other classes study film and literature,” Sousanis said. “Getting people to think through drawing changes how you think and changes what you can do.”

Sousanis has been making comics since he

“

The creation of it (Unflattening) is in the direction of helping people understand the big picture of what comics are about.

That’s a brave and interesting undertaking.

Steven Herb

was a young child. In high school he created his own comic book character, Locker Man, who is mentioned and featured throughout “Unflattening.” In college, Sousanis studied mathematics, he thought comics would always be a hobby, not something he could do as a job.

“It took me a little while to see that this is the best way I can do my thinking,” Sousanis said.

“When I came to doctoral school, I realized I can make comics that are really complex and ask difficult questions but are still readable to people who don’t know as much as I know about the topic.”

Cinema major Schuyler Yager, who has been interested in comics since he was a kid, thinks these classes will be beneficial to students like

“

by Amanda Aragona aaragona@mail.sfsu.edu

him who want to learn more about their hobby.

“Comic studies would benefit those of the student body who want to expand their knowledge about comics in both production and history of comic creation,” Yager said.

Sousanis believes that by getting recognition for “Unflattening,” it will break down barriers for other students who want to submit academic work beyond traditional formats. He hopes to expand the boundaries of what scholarly text can be, allowing more people to succeed in learning.

“You look at the first things that are human and that is people drawing on walls and putting handprints on walls. I don’t think we should forget that.” Sousanis said.

goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | October 19, 2016

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE SF State

5

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTING FEDERAL CRIMES (for 29 years)?/COMPLETE by Leland Yoshitsu

available on iTunes • Kindle • nook • ($2.99) ISBN: 978-1-945563-86-7

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)

Filmmakers S. Leo Chiang (left) and Johnny Symons, SF State documentary professor, answer audience questions after the screening of Out Run in the August Coppola Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016. The film was presented in honor of National Coming Out Day. Photo by Steven Ho

LGBTQ+ filmmakers screen documentary for National Coming Out Day When beginning their documentary, S. Leo Chiang and Johnny Symons decided on the title first — a title meant to represent outrunning bigotry and running toward progress. “Out Run” was the result five years later, with the goal to inspire and unite the LGBTQ+ community. The documentary was screened at SF State’s Coppola Theatre on National Coming Out Day. “Out Run” follows the year-long campaign process of the Ladlad party in the Philippines, the world’s first and only LGBTQ+ political party.

The documentary follows Bemz Benedito’s campaign to be the first transgender woman in the Philippine Congress and chronicles Benedito and her LGBTQ+ team from their first day of campaigning up until the day of the election.

“We’ve seen a lot of advances here, but we were really curious about other parts of the world, so we looked for stories overseas,” Chiang said. “We were actively pursuing out candidates, but the tricky part is that the media only reports on these people when they’re elected, not when they’re running.”

One of the main problems the LGBTQ+ community has in the Philippines are the roles that they’re relegated to, according to the filmmakers. The documentary emphasizes how homosexual or transgender individuals are rarely accepted unless they’re working in beauty parlors or performing

in pageants. The party and the documentary fight to erase these marginalizations.

In addition to being filmmakers, Symons and Chiang are both professors. Chiang has been an adjunct professor at UC Santa Cruz and Northwestern University, and Symons currently teaches at SF State.

The concept for “Out Run” began in 2011 and was officially released in April 2016. Since its premiere, it has been screened at several festivals, most notably Frameline40, San Francisco’s annual international LGBTQ+ film festival at the Castro Theatre. According to Symons and Chiang, the reactions to the documentary have been very positive and viewers have strongly identified with the LGBTQ+ politics in the film.

“Audiences have been struck by the experience of viewing such a familiar thing through a different lens,” Symons said. “They’ve taken a deep dive into something they didn’t know anything about.”

As Symons and Chiang are both part of the LGBTQ+ community, they hoped viewers would be inspired by the different efforts of the Ladlad

“

party and get a real sense of LGBTQ+ issues as a global phenomenon.

“I feel it lets people see various experiences, so they understand and don’t assume that everyone has the same narrative,” Chiang said.

SF State’s cinema department played a large part in producing this film. About eight to 10 of Symon’s students helped with some of the postproduction aspects such as translations, editing, outreach and distribution.

“It’s the way things go,” said 34-year-old John Alonso, a cinema major and one of Symons’s students.

“I recognized a lot of the names in the credits, there’s so much support within the department and amongst the faculty.”

Alonso, who came to the screening, thought the documentary was brilliant and said he believes that portraying this type of narrative is an important thing.

“We’re very fortunate to be in the Bay Area, where LGBT communities have so much support from the general public,” Alonso said. “It’s great to see a different type of society that’s also having a movement.”

I feel it lets people see various experiences, so they understand and don’t assume that everyone has the same narrative.

S. Leo Chiang

“

by Amanda Aragona aaragona@mail.sfsu.edu

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NOTICE In compliance with the Education Code, Section 89900 and Title 5, Section 42408, The University Corporation, San Francisco State Audited Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, may be reviewed at: http://ucorp.sfsu.edu/sites/ default/files/documents/auditedfinancials-2016.pdf

OPINION

6

goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | October 19, 2016

GOLDEN GATE XPRESS KELSEY LANNIN

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

GRADY PENNA

PRINT MANAGING EDITOR gpenna@mail.sfsu.edu

BRIAN CHURCHWELL

ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR bchurchw@mail.sfsu.edu

SHEENA TADIFA

ART DIRECTOR stadifa@mail.sfsu.edu

JESSYLYN LOS BANOS

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR jessylyn@mail.sfsu.edu

GEORGE MORIN

PHOTO EDITOR gmorin@mail.sfsu.edu

AHALYA SRIKANT

CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR asrikant@mail.sfsu.edu

NICK MADDEN

METRO NEWS EDITOR nmadden@mail.sfsu.edu

SEKINAT SHIWOKU

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE EDITOR sshiwoku@mail.sfsu.edu

AMANDA DAVIS

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE EDITOR atdavis@mail.sfsu.edu

JORDAN VAIL

OPINION EDITOR jmv@mail.sfsu.edu

JOSUÉ DE LOS SANTOS SPORTS EDITOR dlsjosue@mail.sfsu.edu

AVERY PETERSON

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR averylp@mail.sfsu.edu

GARRICK WONG

ASSISTANT MULTIMEDIA EDITOR gwong3@mail.sfsu.edu

TRAVIS MACKIN

COPY EDITOR tmackin@mail.sfsu.edu

RACHELE KANIGEL PRINT ADVISER kanigel@sfsu.edu

Graphic by Jessylyn Los Banos

LGBT History Month forgets own history

by Jordan Vail jmv@mail.sfsu.edu When you visit the LGBT History Month’s website, you’re presented with a list of 31 famous members of the community, one for each day of the month. These icons, as they’re referred to on the website, are selected based on their success in their career, their status as a celebrity or political figure, or their work towards LGBTQ+ civil rights. A lot of the names are recognizable: trans pioneer Lili Elbe, bisexual musician David Bowie and and lesbian actress Ellen Page are among those honored. But as I read through the list, I found myself searching for a different set of names — a set of names that would actually need a month and 18 days to honor every one.

The Pulse nightclub shooting, which killed 49 people and injured 53 others, left the LGBTQ+ community raw with grief and reeling in shock. It was the deadliest mass shooting by a single shooter, the deadliest incident of violence against LGBTQ+ people in the U.S., and the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9/11. Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that made it

legal nationwide for same-sex couples to wed, wasn’t even a year old when LGBTQ+ people made history the way we usually do: bloody and grim, in death tolls and body counts. The rest of LGBT Pride Month, usually a time of unabashed celebration, was spent mourning and struggling to cope with yet another massive, unexpected loss.

I can understand the desire to have LGBT History Month focus on the positive, and to dedicate these precious 31 days to those who had their coming out met with acceptance instead of a gun to the face. I get the need to remind people, especially those who are on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, that you don’t need to be straight or cis to be guaranteed a long lifespan. I know how important role models are for a community of which a significant portion is younger than 20.

But those who died due to the actions or inactions of others are part of history as well, and to deny that does a disservice to their memories.

People like Ellen DeGeneres and Laverne Cox have done a lot to normalize sexual and gender variance, but for every queer or trans celebrity, there are hundreds of thousands of people who struggle anonymously against a hostile system that constructs legal, medical and societal barriers that

make daily life that much harder.

LGBT History Month isn’t just for the people who came out on top, but for those who lived their lives the best they could and for those who died before getting the chance to come out at all. It’s for the more than half a million people the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate died of AIDS-related illnesses in the U.S. since the start of the epidemic in 1981. It’s for the LGBTQ+ teenagers who, according to The Trevor Project, attempt suicide at a rate four times that of straight teens. It’s for the 49 people who were killed at Pulse.

The late author and activist Paul Monette wrote: “most gay history is buried in shallow bachelor’s graves.” I can’t help but wonder what kind of history the countless number of LGBTQ+ people who died could have made. I can’t help but think that some of those names would be on this year’s list, but then again, Monette’s wasn’t. So while a list of those who made it in spite of adversity inspires hope for the future, we cannot forget the silent past still lurking in those shallow graves. The list will be gone at the end of the month, but those graves will remain, reminders of a history we may not want to, but must remember nonetheless.

LAURA MOORHEAD FACULTY ADVISER lauralm@sfsu.edu

KIM KOMENICH PHOTO ADVISER komenich@sfsu.edu

EVA CHARLES

ADVERTISING & BUSINESS echarles@sfsu.edu

ARUN UNNIKRISHNAN I.T. CONSULTANT arun@mail.sfsu.edu

SAMANTHA VASQUEZ CIRCULATION

EVA RODRIGUEZ

STUDENT GRAPHIC DESIGNER ggxads@sfsu.edu

WRITE US A LETTER The Golden Gate Xpress accepts letters up to 200 words.

Letters are subject to editing.

Send letters to Jordan Vail at: jmv@mail.sfsu.edu

ABOUT XPRESS The Golden Gate Xpress is a student-produced publication of the journalism department at San Francisco State University.

For more information or comments, please contact Kelsey Lannin at: klannin@mail.sfsu.edu

To the Xpress Editor: Thank you for publishing your recent article, “New Restrictions Limit Birth Control Options,” on October 13, 2016. We at Student Health Services (SHS) welcome every opportunity to enhance student knowledge of our programs and services.

Recently, the SHS’ pharmacy has had to make adjustments to our birth control formulary due to changes mandated by the California state program that provides low- or no-cost birth control services for SF state students, Family Pact. Family Pact decided to eliminate 7 birth control prescriptions from their coverage. In June 2016, the SHS sent an email advising affected students of these changes, encouraging patients to make an appointment to see a primary care provider for assistance in determining an alternative pill or other form of birth control.

The article also suggested that three insurance companies are no longer accepted at the SHS. Unfortunately, while 90 insurance policies are accepted at the SHS, Blue Shield, Cigna and Kaiser all declined SF State’s application for student coverage at our pharmacy from the beginning of our new prescription insurance program which began in the fall semester of 2015.

We at the SHS remain committed to partnering with students to provide the best health and wellness services possible.

We are dedicated to working with each individual student’s circumstances to identify an effective solution that is also cost effective. Please visit us at health.sfsu.edu for more information or stop into the Student Health Center to visit a provider.

Sincerely, Teresa Rebeiro, MD, Interim Director, Student Health Services, Student Affairs & Enrollment Management

goldengatexpress.org Wednesday | October 19, 2016

SPORTS

7

Soccer player draws inspiration from grandfather

by Terence Scott tscott2@mail.sfsu.edu

SF State Gator’s freshman forward Richard Leon (8) dribbles the ball down field during their 1-0 golden goal win over Holy Names University in the First Round of the Golden Gate Classic at Cox Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016. Photo by Brenna Cruz

It has been 12 years since one of SF State’s men’s soccer players returned to the country where his passion for soccer began.

Born in Ventanilla, Peru, Richard Léon moved with his family to the U.S. when he was six years old.

While Léon’s family shares a love of soccer, he credits his grandfather with imbuing him with motivation and inspiration to play the game.

“I was very close to my grandma and grandpa back in Peru,” Léon said. “My grandpa used to play soccer. He taught me how to play when I was a little kid. He would take me everywhere he went. He was a really big influence.”

Moving from Peru to San Francisco had its share of struggles.

“It was challenging trying to learn a new language and everything,” Léon said. “But I really missed my grandparents. It was hard.”

Léon is a freshman forward for the SF State men’s soccer team and is off to a hot start in his career. He currently leads the team in goals scored and is ranked top five in goals scored in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Léon has also contributed with three game-winning goals and describes each one as memorable and crazy.

“It’s an indescribable feeling,” Léon said.

Léon’s transition from high school and club soccer to college has been smooth so far. He prepared for

the season by playing with the San Jose Earthquakes academy team.

“The transition for me was easy.

I learned a lot there, and we played a similar style to the one here,” Léon said. “We trained every day for two hours and traveled a lot. It was hard doing that in high school but it prepared me for college.”

His preparation and demeanor hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Gators coaching staff.

“Richard is having a fantastic first season,” head coach Javier Ayala-Hil said. “He plays with ease. Nothing seems to faze him. He finds ways to put the ball in the back of the net.

Those are some intangibles you can’t teach. That’s in him.”

Despite being a freshman, Léon has started to influence his teammates with his performance on the field.

“He pushes himself to better –– you can see that,” said junior forward Ranier Plantinos. “He pushes me as well because he’s the top goal scorer on the team, and I want to try and get that.”

Off the field, Léon is majoring in mechanical engineering with hopes of one day working with cars.

His teammates, coaches and staff describe him as a quiet, keep to himself kind of guy.

Léon believes he can develop into an all-conference player later down his career and lead the Gators to multiple winning seasons.

“I want to become SF State’s top goal scorer,” Léon said. “And as a team, I want to win a championship, go to nationals and win it.”

SF State athletes respond to Trump’s ‘locker room’ defense

by Laura Monique Ordoñez lordonez@mail.sfsu.edu College athletes have joined the ranks of many professional athletes speaking out against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent “locker room talk.”

On Sunday, a letter from the Amherst College men’s soccer team in Massachusetts was published denouncing Trump’s idea of what is discussed amongst athletes in team locker rooms.

“We cannot imagine one of our 30 guys ever making or condoning, in our private locker room, comments similar to Donald Trump’s disgusting statements about sexually assaulting women,” senior soccer player David Lander wrote in the letter.

The statements Lander refers to are those made by Trump in a recently released video from 2005 in which Trump boasted about groping and making sexual advances toward women in a conversation with former “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush.

On the heels of the second presidential debate, Trump attempted to apologize for his comments, but instead angered many athletes when he attributed his comments as “locker room talk,” a term he used repeatedly during the debate.

Several well-known professional athletes took to Twitter as well as other forms of media to dispel any notion that athletes degrade women or promote sexual assault when conversing in the locker room setting.

This sentiment is shared by SF State’s college athletes and coaches as well.

SF State men’s basketball head coach Paul Trevor said that Trump’s comments are nowhere close to representing what players talk about in the locker room.

“They talk about sports, they talk about school, they talk about video games, and there is a certain sense of respect these athletes carry,” Trevor said.

Trevor, who has a young daughter, said that if he ever heard any of his players making

comments remotely close to those of Trump’s they would be immediately kicked off the team.

SF State men’s basketball player AJ Kahlon admitted that he and his teammates are more candid in the locker room and tend to joke around and make “stupid” comments they may not make in public, but said they would never degrade other people.

“Yeah we go outside of our comfort zone and joke around, but we’re never serious,” Kahlon said. “We will talk about what we saw on Vine or memes, but we never go that far, we never make fun of other people, that’s not what we do, that’s not what we’re about.”

Kahlon said that the locker room is technically a private place, where athletes would expect their privacy to be valued and that is probably why Trump said such things, but Trump is not an athlete, he is a presidential candidate.

“Sometimes when we are in the comfort of our friends or our family we say dumb things and we may not mean them, but in his case, I don’t know,” Kahlon said.

SF State men’s cross country runner Kenny Trejo said he feels that Trump’s comments have the potential to be detrimental toward athletes.

“I can’t imagine Donald Trump being a spokesperson for what athletes would say in a locker room,” Trejo said. “As an athlete I think it sucks that he said that because it puts a bad light on us and gives people a reason to stereotype us.”

Trejo said that the most his team does in locker room is change.

Women’s cross-country runner Allie Arsiniega said she is disgusted by the comments, especially as a female athlete.

“That does hit home that he would even associate the locker room with something like that; it’s disgusting,” Arsiniega said.

She said that girls do talk about the opposite sex in the locker room, but never in a derogatory manner.

“Of course we are going to talk about boys and stuff too, but it’s never degrading and we don’t like to be degraded either,” Arsiniega said.

Graphic by Jessylyn Los Banos

Though many athletes and coaches said they had not heard Trump’s specific comments or watched the debate, the consensus amongst the SF State athletic department was that obscene commentary is not tolerated nor is it common

amongst teammates.

“That may happen in other locker rooms, but that’s definitely not what goes on in our locker rooms,” women’s volleyball player Emily John said.