Issue 9, Spring 2012

GOLDEN GATE XPRESS

STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER PROUDLY SERVING THE SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1927.

// 03.28.12 //

VOLUME LXXXXII ISSUE 9

THE BIG COLLEGE

FREEZE

STUDENT PROFILE

CARTOONIST NOT DAUNTED

BY VISUAL IMPAIRMENT While cuts continue, incoming spring students face suspended admission and pay increases roll out to executives.

ART BY SARA DONCHEY

sdonchey@mail.sfsu.edu

BY BRITTNEY BARSOTTI bbarsott@mail.sfsu.edu

Yet again, the Board of Trustees has authorized more executive pay increases in the same year as they approved a tuition increase.

Last Wednesday, while students and faculty at SF State were on Spring Break, the board voted in favor of a 10 percent pay increase for the next CSU Fullerton president and the new CSU East Bay president.

This comes before a looming $750 million cut that the CSU system could face in the fall, and the decision by CSU Chancellor Reed’s office to waitlisted as many 25,000 students applying for Fall 2013.

Admission for the Spring 2013 semester is also frozen and only a few students with specific

requirements will be admitted to select campuses.

“When the students are suffering, CSU should not be handing out such exorbitant executive compensation,” said Senator Leland Yee in a press release.

Students who are applying or have been accepted for Fall 2012 may not be directly impacted by this decision, according to CSU spokeswoman Stephanie Thara.

“This may increase the challenge to get in (for applicants), such as increased GPA requirements, but there have been no cuts to fall admisSEE PRESIDENT ON PAGE 4

REFLECTING: Patrick Ward prefers to sketch with his guide dog at his side, rather than interact with friends and classmates.

Photo by Andrew Lopez

Despite an eye condition that requires him to need extra assistance, Patrick Ward feeds his creativity by illustrating cartoons and aspires to become published.

BY BRYAN VO | bryanvo@mail.sfsu.edu

Patrick Ward makes himself comfortable on a bench in Cafe Rosso’s popular patio area, hunched merely 6 inches away from his sketchpad and intent on drawing his next cartoon masterpiece to add to his portfolio. He is visually impaired, making this no small feat.

Ward, 28, student and cartoonist, faces unique challenges in both the publishing industry and the campus community.

The graduate student has pitched his drawings to The New York Times, Union Democrat and Mad Magazine, but like many others who submit creative work in hopes of being published, Ward has become accustomed to the sting of rejection.

“I haven’t been published yet,” Ward said. “With Mad Magazine, the first couple times I sent them something, they’ve always said, ‘We don’t have room for this right now.’ When they rejected me, they were very nice about it.”

He once wrote a letter to the editor of Access Magazine, a national publication that has since discontinued, describing his style of drawing and expressing his desire to be hired as a cartoonist. When he received a call back from that publication, the editor told him the pictures SEE ARTIST ON PAGE 2

PART TWO IN A SERIES OF FOUR STORIES

H

MERGE PAYOFF UNCLEAR H

BY KATHERINE YAU | kyau202@mail.sfsu.edu

If last year's complex college merger has saved the SF State $1 million, it is unclear where that money came from, or where it ended up.

To date, the University has not explicitly listed the administrative costs the merger eliminated. While the University Planning Advisory Council cited early on in the consolidation process that the elimination of two deans, two associate deans and two college development officers would total in $1 million in savings, that result has yet to come to fruition.

Comparing UPAC's projection to reality, the merger has saved $266,016, 73 percent less than the baseline $1 million the advising council predicted.

Contrary to previous UPAC suggestions, no positions from the University Development Of-

fice were eliminated, according to Robert Nava, vice president of University Advancement. He said cutting staff and faculty was not part of the University agenda.

"Staff were not laid off; that was never in the final report," said Nava, whose office oversees the development department.

"Private money is raised by development officers. We rely on that department for outside fundraising." According to the 2011-12 University budget, the office spent $36,328 less than the year before.

Though they now work as professors, former Creative Arts and Behavioral and Social Science college deans Kurt Daw and Joel Kassiola, respectively, are paid the same executive SEE MERGER ON PAGE 3

$1 million

GOAL IN CUTBACKS AFTER MERGER

$266,016

TOTAL POST-MERGER SAVINGS

$733,984 73.4 PERCENT LESS THAN THE INITIAL MERGER GOAL

03.28.12 | GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

2 CAMPUS

SF SPEAKS OUT HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CSU CLOSING MOST OF ITS CAMPUSES FOR SPRING ADMISSIONS NEXT YEAR?

“I think it’s a disadvantage (to) many of the students in California who have no other chance than to come in the spring. Even if they don’t come in the spring,what are they going to do for six months?”

JIM MITCHELL, 72

HISTORY GRAD STUDENT

“It’s like going down a downward spiral…I think it’s almost a good thing though. Now that it’s a concrete disaster, I hope that people will say, ‘Oh wow, that’s insane. Something needs to be changed.’”

DYLAN ROSS, 20

BROADCAST AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION ARTS MAJOR

“I’m a little bit shocked. Tuition’s going to be higher because you have other students who will not be admitted. The cost won’t be spread out over a greater number of people.”

JAZZ! JERALD BURKS, 32

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

looked like they were drawn by a disabled person. Comments like near Burk Hall or Cafe Rosso drawing away on his sketch pad, these indicate that while the editor may have seen his photos, they coffee in hand. The golden retriever has been with Ward for the past four years and has become a trustworthy friend in direction did not read the letter. and assistance.

Ward has a genetic retinal disorder called rod/cone dystrophy.

Ward adds that Clay is a social advantage, attracting random His eyes lack a sufficient number of rods and cones in his retina, people to come over and play with him. In this way, he becomes a which are responsible for color and depth, and the ones he has conversation starter for Ward. are slowly decaying. The disorder leaves him with a vision of ap“Before I had him, no one really paid attention to me,” Ward proximately 20/1000 in both eyes. This means, for example, that said. “Clay provides hours of entertainment and love which makes Ward would need to be about 6 inches away from the whiteboard my life a bit more enjoyable.” in class in order to read what a professor wrote, while a student Editorial cartoons are Ward’s expertise. He believes that with 20/20 vision would be able to read the same print from the there is a lot to poke fun at and could actually get people to think back row.

He recalls seeing the signs of his declining vision when he was through his drawings, and usually watches the news or “The Daily Show” for inspiration. younger.

Ward has worked around his impairment and developed a “When I was a kid, my drawings looked a little odd because I special technique to sketch. had trouble when someone unwrapped the crayons, removing the “I have enough vision to lift my pen and move to other spots name of the crayon and making it harder for me to tell between a on the paper once I’ve started red, purple, green and drawing. I just have it 5 or 6 blue,” Ward said. “Some inches away from my face,” colors are harder for me he said. to see than others.”

Long-standing family According to Anne friend Judith Lesner-Buxton, Ward, Patrick’s mother, 69, supports his drawings and the family didn’t notice future plans as a cartoonist. he had a visual prob“I know Patrick will be lem until he was about a successful cartoonist. He’s 3 years old. His eyes funny and he’s been drawing would move rapidly since he was a kid,” said Leback and forth in an unsner. “I support whatever he conscious effort to imwants to become and I know prove his vision, which he will be good.” is part of a condition Lesner bought one of called nystagmus. This Ward’s clay sculptures during was accompanied by art exhibit in Ukiah, Calif., head shaking, another where they feature a local effort to see better. artist every four to six weeks “The eye oscillation at a yoga studio. and head shaking have “He had all of his artwork mostly disappeared, and clay sculptures everyeven though his vision LOYAL COMPANION: Ward depicts classically humorous moments and pokes fun at politics in his cartoons. Due to his visual impairment, he must hold the paper closer to his face where and I can tell he was had worsened over the when he draws. Art courtesy of Patrick Ward years,” she said. excited. I purchased a clay sculpture of a dragon, but His vision plateaued I’m not sure if he sold a lot when he turned 18 years of paintings. But I do know that he made the Ukiah Daily Journal old and it created more obstacles for him to face. His vision worsnewspaper,” added Lesner. ened, making it harder for him to do his school work.

Even though Ward made the Ukiah paper, not everyone knows Even as a student at the University, Ward has distinct needs about his artwork. that could hinder him from academic success if they aren’t met.

Ali Borjian, an associate professor of secondary education “I have to have my books converted into a format that I can at SF State, was Ward’s professor in literacy instruction, which read. Sometimes I have to wait a long time,” he said. “If a teacher focuses on preparing teacher candidates for teaching reading to doesn’t post a book before the start of the semester, that might diverse students. mean I might not have the book in a form that I can read until “I met Patrick at the beginning of the semester and quite honabout a third of the way through or more. Quite often, I have to estly, I haven’t done enough to get to know him,” Borjian said. play a lot of catch-up.”

Anne believes that people with deficiencies should not be Ward admits the difficulty in seeking out assistance from othstifled from having healthy social lives. ers in a fast-paced city like San Francisco.

“All too often, other people seem to think that having a dis“The hardest thing for me, because I’m not somebody who ability means that the person with the disability is less than hulikes to go up and bother people, is asking for help, assistance man. I think that disabilities are intimidating to other folks, to the or direction when I’m out in public or when I get lost,” he said. point where they just avoid the topic,” she said.

“Especially in San Francisco, where everyone else can look up Matt Ward, one of Patrick’s brothers, said he’s unique because and see the street sign, I have to find somebody who’s willing to of his distinctive sense of humor, imagination and wit. answer my question.”

“He is an inspiration to anyone who is disabled, showing that Ward has had to deal with instances of others attempting to your physical impairments don’t need to get in the way of your take advantage of him in public spaces. dreams. He is an amazing, talented artist,” he said.

“When I was out purchasing things, a clerk at a liquor store Patrick prefers to keep to himself, finding company with his (tried) to overcharge me for something and I knew they were dog and his sketchpad. because I had bought the same thing in the store like a month before,” said Ward. “I had to go and get a manager involved.”

SEE A VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH WARD AT One of Ward’s closest companions is his guide dog Clay, with whom he can be seen when he sits outside

q

ELECTRONIC ENGINEER AND PRODUCTION DESIGN MAJOR

Artist doodles past setbacks in sight

CRIME BLOTTER

“Bummer for all the potential students who aren’t going to get in, because where else can they go? I would want to research more and see what it is exactly that would motivate them to cut it off like that.”

HEATHER BRIDGMAN, 18 THEATER ARTS MAJOR

REPORTING BY TAMERRA GRIFFIN PHOTOS BY HENRY NGUYEN

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

03.14 through 03.27

Compiled by Xpress staff

URBAN SUPERHERO REACHES NEW HEIGHTS THE (PICK-UP) ARTIST

GEOCACHING GONE WRONG

Officers saw a young man jumping a fence at the Creative Arts building March 21 at approximately noon.

The officers probably didn’t know that the apprehended subject was practicing his climbing skills to replace Tobey Maguire in the fourth “Spiderman” movie. The aspiring super hero was cited, but luckily was able to hang onto his infamous costume. The lesson: consult your doctor and local law enforcement before practicing to save the world.

A Good Samaritan reported seeing an abandoned backpack on Winston Drive March 17. It was later discovered that the satchel belonged to a tourist whose car was broken into at Golden Gate Park. This is likely an instance of some SF State students horribly botching the lovely pastime of geocaching, an outdoor sport where participants use a GPS to locate objects at specific coordinates around the globe. Luckily, the woman got to her bag before it could be hauled off to Timbuktu.

Officers came across more than shamrocks and leprechauns during a routine traffic stop March 17.

A entrepreneurial student had been giving taxi rides, without a license, to make some last-minute dough to spend on St. Patrick’s Day festivities. The culprit was cited and released at the scene just in time to make the parade downtown, where he presumably spent his earnings buying rounds of green beer for his friends.

| 03.28.12

3

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

Expectations, reality differ post-merge $1,950,008

$1,913,760

DEVELOPMENT OFFICE SALARY BUDGET 2010/11

$36,328

DEVELOPMENT OFFICE SALARY BUDGET 2011/12

POST-MERGER SAVINGS

*All salaries were extracted from the university budget books for 2010/11 and 2011/12.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

salaries they received as deans. Daw made $195,000 and Kassiola made $166,632 in both the 2010-11 and 2011-12 fiscal years, according to the SF State budget books.

While former CA Associate Dean Ronald Caltabiano left SF State, and former BSS associate dean Sacha Bunge is not currently compensated as Dean of Faculty Affairs, the Liberal and Creative Arts College hired former theater chair Todd Roehrman as an additional associate dean this spring. At an average wage of about $115,000, the merger essentially cut the cost of one associate dean.

"The money saved was very small, possibly a couple of secretaries," said Steve Kovacs, a theater professor at SF State. "The college merger made absolutely no difference."

While the merger's savings are less visible, its organizational consequences are more obvious.

Liberal and Creative Arts College Dean Paul Sher-

win presides over 10 more departments post-merger, but makes the same $177,684 he did as dean of the former seven-department College of Humanities. Additionally, Sherwin earns $17,316 less than Daw did as former dean of just six departments, although Daw now serves as a theater professor.

Although Deputy Chief of Staff Shawn Whalen asserted the college consolidation savings "easily surpasses $1 million,” he said UPAC was only in charge of engineering budget solutions, not putting those plans into action.

"I can't speak to what happened. UPAC hasn't met since the middle of last year," said Whalen, who served as the former chair of UPAC. "The concept was to remove administrative salaries and spend that on teaching students and faculty." He said the provost's office was responsible for the merger's implementation.

Both the provost's office and the budget office were not available for comment.

Though SF State chose the six-structure merger as a solution to the budget crisis, there were other options to consider. Most notably, an independent auditor recommended in 2011 that the University expend the school's nearly $100 million in reserves before downsizing faculty or even administration.

Sophomore and hospitality and tourism management major Ryan Taylor thought that the merger was more bark than bite.

"It seems like they're trying to look like they're saving all this money, but they're not," Taylor said. He is grateful the merger had only displaced departments, not eliminated them completely. "In the end, nothing changed."

Nava maintains that patience will be a crucial virtue in analyzing the fiscal benefits of the merge.

"It's being structured for the long term. We're going through the early phases of streamlining some of those colleges," Nava said. "We're going to have to give it some time."

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4 CITY

Ranked choice voting not as easy as 1,2,3

The Board of Supervisors, in an effort to decrease voter confusion, has introduced a voter initiative to eliminate the current electoral system.

BY ANA PREZA | acpreza@mail.sfsu.edu

It seems that top three lists are successful in ranking movies and tourist destinations, but not so much in elections.

A measure to eliminate ranked-choice voting will be given to constituents on the upcoming November ballot as an attempt to avoid voter confusion and streamline the voting process.

Instead of the current system, which allows voters to choose their top three candidates, this measure would reinstate a run-off election in which the voter picks only one candidate.

Supporters of the measure say ranked-choice voting is confusing, tosses out votes and gets candidates in office with less than 50 percent of the majority vote.

“We should be focusing on who to vote for (and) what to vote for, not how to vote,” said Supervisor Mark Farrell, who proposed the measure to eliminate ranked-choice voting.

Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank their top three candidates in order of preference. If a candidate does not receive more than half of the votes, the candidates with the lowest votes are eliminated; ballots are then re-tallied and the second rank choice vote is redistributed. This continues until a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes.

The charter amendment would eliminate ranked-choice voting for mayoral and city official elections and would reintroduce a reformed run-off system. The new voting system would have a primary election in September. If a candidate does not receive 65 percent of the votes in the primary election, a run-off election would take place in November with the top two candidates.

Farrell failed to get the measure on the June ballot back in February. He now has enough support from his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to place the reformed run-off voting system on the November ballot.

Farrell said ranked-choice voting confuses voters, especially when English is their second language.

According to exit polls conducted by SF State political science professor Francis Neely in 2004 and 2005, 85 percent of voters knew what ranked-choice voting was, but had a hard time understanding how votes were tallied. He said minority voters had more trouble understanding the system but generally understood the process.

Supporters of ranked-choice voting, on the other hand, say run-off elections are costly, increase negative campaigning and have a lower voter turnout.

Kristina Lee, president of the Political Science Student Association, said it is better to keep ranked-choice voting because replacing the current system would confuse voters and reduce voting participation.

“It is more difficult to get young voters in the first place,” Lee said. “If we have fewer (young) people voting, there is less influence,” Lee said.

Lee said the young voters she spoke with had a hard time understanding rankedchoice voting but more voter education would be a better option than replacing it.

According to Supervisor David Campos, too many elections would fatigue voters, which would cause low voter turnout.

He suggested the current system be reformed rather than eliminated because rankedchoice voting has worked the way it was intended.

“As a result of ranked-choice voting, we have more involvement by the electorate (voters), which is ultimately the objective of any kind of voting system,” Campos said.

Opponents of ranked-choice voting are also concerned with the number of votes that get tossed out in elections.

“You’ve got somebody who has made the effort (to vote), but the system as it is disenfranchises them,” said Supervisor Sean Elsbernd who is in favor of replacing rankedchoice voting. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

Neely described tossed votes as exhausted votes. He said that this happens when a ballot is no longer counted in the election because the three candidates on that ballot are eliminated.

“Allowing people to rank as many candidates as are running would be an undeniable improvement to the system we have now,” Neely said.

Neely said reforming ranked-choice voting is a better option than replacing it because exhausted votes are the biggest flaw and the biggest concern in the current system.

Supervisor John Avalos, who ran for mayor last year, said he had a hard time getting funds for his campaign in the first place. Raising more money for a run-off election would have been harder.

“To be challenging them about giving more would be something that, for candidates like myself who are pretty grassroots, would be very difficult to be able to accomplish in a run-off,” Avalos said.

Avalos and other advocates for ranked-choice voting say it provides a better arena for political discourse, diminishes negative campaigning and promotes diversity in city officials.

While those opposed to the current voting system say it is flawed, Elsbernd said the majority vote no longer exists because officials are put in office without it.

Neely said every voting system is imperfect and has faults.

“Every election system is flawed,” Neely said. “It’s just what flavor of flawed system you prefer.”

President pay increases raise eyebrows CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

sions yet,” she said.

According to Thara, the CSU system typically receives about 700,000 applications for the fall semesters and accepts about 90,000.

Spring admissions next year have been suspended except for students who have received an associate degree for transfer. Only eight campuses will be accepting transfer students in Spring 2013, including SF State.

The CSU will not accept any eligible students for Fall 2013 until after the Nov. 6 election, when the Board of Trustees will know if Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax initiative passes and whether or not an additional $200 million "trigger" cut will occur.

This also comes at the same time that SF state is searching for the next University president to take over when President Robert A. Corrigan retires at the end of this semester.

The two pay hikes approved Tuesday are for incoming campus presidents. Upcoming CSU Fullerton President Mildred Garcia will receive a salary of $324,500 plus housing and a $12,000 per year car allowance, while a $303,660 salary, $60,000 per year housing stipend and $12,000 per year car allowance will be paid to CSU East Bay's newest president, Leroy Morishita.

The interim president for CSU Fullerton, Willie J. Hagan, was making $3,000 less than President Corrigan, who currently makes $298,749 plus a $60,000 housing stipend.

According to a Mercer Report that analyzed CSU executive pay for 2010, despite these seemingly high presidential salaries, the compensation numbers are actually below average.

After comparing the 23 CSU campuses to 15 public

and 5 private universities, the report concluded that CSU presidents make 45 percent less than the market average. It also found that cash compensations are 52 percent below average.

The Senate Education Committee voted to ensure a 10 percent cap on executive pay raises for the next six years the day after the pay hike decision. Thara says that while this should not affect the search for the next president for

CSU FULLERTON AND EAST BAY PRESIDENTS RECEIVED A 10 PERCENT INCREASE

CSU system has been cut 33 percent in the past four years

to recruit and retain the best leader for each campus,” Thara said.

The CSU system has been cut 33 percent in the past four years, yet incoming presidents are receiving pay increases, including housing stipends up to $60,000 a year.

"Increases in student tuition fees have not made up for drastic state funding cuts to the CSU," said Robert Turnage, CSU assistant vice chancellor for budget. "The university system is still a half-billion dollars in the hole, and if this trigger cut goes into effect, we will be at the same level of state funding as 1996, but serving 90,000 more students."

In addition to budget cuts to the CSU system, the total number of faculty and staff have been decreased by more than 3,000 or 6.6 percent of its workforce. Class sizes have increased, faculty have been asked to teach more, and administrative functions are being consolidated.

“I haven’t had a raise since 2007,” President Corrigan said when addressing a group of students in December. "The staff on this campus have not had a raise since 2007. The faculty on this campus have not had a raise since 2008. Every single member of the staff and the faculty took a 10 percent furlough 2 years ago. They took less money in order that classes should be taught."

President Corrigan also took a 10 percent furlough two years ago, according to Ellen Griffin, University spokeswoman, but she was unable to clarify if President Corrigan has declined a raise.

"It’s symbolic to go out and say I’ll take a cut," Corrigan said. "The budget that goes out to support all of the management people on this campus is less than 4 percent of the budget. If you’re going to get anything done, you have got to get new money coming in.”

Total faculty and staff has decreased more than 3,000, or 6.6 percent

SF State, candidates will be able to know what their maximum compensation could be.

“We have worked with the CSU system and we had hoped that they had learned their lesson, but last fall they increased tuition and executive pay,” said Adam Kiegwin, chief of staff for Senator Leland Yee. According to Thara, the issues of increasing tuition and executive pay are unrelated, despite public perception.

“Presidential compensation is not linked to enrollment decisions in any way. Potential enrollment reductions are a reflection of the CSU revenue, as it relates to the state budget. Presidential compensation is established

CITY 5

| 03.28.12

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

BART board explores new fee hike Depending on which option is chosen, the average cost of taking the train will go up by five cents per trip starting in July. Officials say the increase is designed to raise funds for the planned system renovation.

BY BRAD WILSON | bradw949@mail.sfsu.edu

T

HE COST OF GETTING TO SCHOOL may soon climb higher, with the BART Board of Trustees set to raise fares within the next few weeks, which will go into effect by July.

BART hosted local community meetings throughout March to hear public feedback on the announced new plan that may increase average fares by five cents and an overall 3.9 percent increase by 2014.

The increase will allow BART to pay for the new fleet of trains already in the works.

“Our cars are old. They are almost 40 years old,” said Pam Herhold from BART’s finance department. “Our car fleet needs replacing if we are going to continue to be able to provide reliable service to a growing ridership.”

The estimated cost for a total fleet replacement is $3.2 billion and BART will provide 25 percent of this cost.

Federal, state and regional local services will cover the other $2.4 billion.

BART has three different options on approaching this increase.

The first option is to implement an inflation-based fare increase, an approach used in the last three increases, which results in a 1.4 percent fare increase.

It’s approximately five cents more from downtown San Francisco to downtown Oakland. BART may extend this inflation-based fare increase out for another four increases. This would mean a small increase once a year for the next four years.

A second option is a 10 cent increase to all transbay fares, but keep San Francisco fares the same. The third option would raise all fares by five cents.

Chi Huynh, 21, an SF State senior, commutes from Berkeley to SF State five times a week and feels this is nothing more than extra money out of her pocket.

“I’ve been spending $8.10 a day for a round trip from Berkeley and it adds up having to take it out of my

paycheck,” said Huynh. ”From a student’s perspective, raising BART fees is serious due to budget cuts and increase in tuition.”

The revenue raised by the fare increase will be one part of BART’s overall goal to raise $800 million, with approximately $5 million coming in over the next year alone.

“If we continue this out for another four years using regional projections for inflation, that would estimate in a 3.9 percent fare increase,” said Herhold. “If we did this 1.4 percent fare increase in 2012, and then raised your fares again by 3.9 percent in 2014, your $2.95 fare would go to $3.10.”

According to Herhold, some of these funds, if continued with implemented fare increases, could go toward paying for their share of the rail cars and rehabilitate facilities and equipment.

“Our system needs a face lift,” said Molly Burke, BART spokeswoman. “Our system is aging in terms of transit, and fare increases are going to help that.”

While not all college students look forward to an extra fare, some feel it is a necessity.

“It feels like a necessary tax for what it is intending to do,” said City College of San Francisco student Michael Tirella, 22. “It’s (BART) been around for 40 years and it’s a progressive tax.”

Despite attempts by BART to advertise meetings PAY UP: Biology major Nes Martin loads up a BART card at the Daly City both online and by posting flyers at various stations, BART station on his way to a Golden State Warriors Game. Fares are set few people attended. to increase by July. Photo by Gil Riego Jr. According to Herhold, this type of increase is part of their policy linking fares to inflation and was already approved in 2003 when the program began.

“Technically, we don’t have to go out and get public F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N : comment or board approval,” said Hurdhold. “Although, About the proposals and to complete the we don’t think that’s a good idea to take that approach.” fare increase, visit www.bart.gov.

Surveys about the increase are being handed out at the The last public meeting is scheduled for meetings and all the information collected, along with ontonight at Hayward City Hall, 6:30 p.m. line and phone-in surveys, will be compiled into a larger report before it goes for review of the board in April.

03.28.12 | GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

6 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ON CAMPUS

LAUREL HEIGHTS Laurel Heights may lack the urban appeal of the Mission or Haight districts, but this unassuming neighborhood has an elegance all its own. The Victorian and Edwardian feel of the neighborhood is apparent in its offering of old-fashioned, rustic restaurants that line its main commercial sector, Sacramento Street.

SHERLOCK HOLMES FANS FIGHT HATE WITH UNIQUE MARKETING

SWEET TOOTH ’s ns of the BBC Passionate fa of the classic n eir TV productio ied around th ll ra e v a h ry sto in unique and celluloid hero from posters to sunusual way room stalls. th a b to meetups

SWEET THINGS

HINT: You can tell a cake is moist when a few stubborn crumbs cling to the fork, and this can’t be any more true for the dense and tasty treats at this bakery. The cream cheese-injected red velvet cupcakes will make even adamant dieters swoon. And if the cakes don’t impress, the tart - yet sweet lemon bars will.

3585 California St.

CHEAP EATS

PICNIX BISTRO CARRY OUT

HINT: Sometimes a craving pops up for a traditional, nofuss Vietnamese sandwich at a reasonable price. For $6.35, try the grilled Banh-Mi, complete with grilled chicken, matchsticks of carrots and radish, cilantro and their special dressing. All this is stuffed inside a toasty french baguette, which provides that extra crunch.

3872 Sacramento St.

ROMANTIC

SPRUCE

HINT: This restaurant isn’t your typical high-society, uppity establishment. With a laid-back atmosphere and a still-legal offering of succulent foie gras served with fluffy Vadouvan waffles, pear jelly and a couple of scoops of pistachio, Spruce is a no-brainer when attempting to impress a date. Just be prepared to pick up an extra shift at work to cover the bill.

3640 Sacramento St.

WILDCARD

SUNSTREAM COFFEE

HINT: If this little Brazilian joint seems mismatched from its suburban surroundings, that’s because it is. This atypical coffee shop dishes out ice cold acai bowls topped with crunchy granola, which nicely offsets the smoothness of the acai and yogurt. It’s to die for.

W

BY KIRSTIE HARUTA | kharuta@mail.sfsu.edu

HEN SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE wrote the death of Sherlock Holmes in 1893, fans wore black armbands to mourn the loss of the famous fictional detective.

This year, when the BBC’s modernday Holmes plummeted to his apparent death, fans took to both the internet and the real world to spread their message: “We believe in Sherlock Holmes.”

The fan reaction to the series two finale of Sherlock, “The Reichenbach Fall,” was immediate and passionate. Across the world, fans have made and posted fliers expressing their support for Holmes and their stance against his nemesis, Jim Moriarty. A small group of SF State “Sherlockians” have joined the fight.

“My friend and I went around with posters that said things such as ‘Moriarty was real’ and ‘Believe in Sherlock Holmes,’” said Sadie Queally-Sammut, an SF State music and comparative literature major. “We went all over Humanities and Creative Arts, hoping that someone would understand us and be gladdened by the knowledge that there were other Sherlock fans on campus.”

Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Along with the fliers, fans have been doodling their messages on the blackboards in the campus bathrooms and on hallway walls. Students began taking photos of the signs and graffiti and posting them to Tumblr, where more Sherlockians started finding each other.

“I have a small group of friends that are Sherlock fans, but I’m always delighted to meet more,” said Queally-Sammut. “It creates a larger sense of community and shared experience, and sometimes, that’s a really nice thing to have.”

Since the emergence of more Sherlockians on campus, fans like Queally-Sammut and fourth year art major Miranda Ramsey have set out to bring them all together. Ramsey started the SFSU Sherlockians blog, and has organized a meetup to take place next Sunday.

“I really love how the Sherlockian fandom is like a large family who shares all their theories about everything in the show,” said Ramsey. “The fandom is full of intelligent and patient people, and I am really glad I get to be a part of that.”

Fans of Sherlock have joined this widespread fandom so they may have an outlet for their appreciation of the show. Viewers who are familiar with Conan Doyle’s original stories were pre-

pared to see their hero fake his death, but didn’t know he would be “dying” with his reputation in shambles, thanks to Moriarty.

“The ‘Believe In Sherlock’ campaign is very unique and something only a show of this caliber is truly deserving of,” said Jaden Pratt, a second year English education major at SF State.

“This is a time, between seasons, where the whole world is rallying behind one man, whom only exists in six episodes of a BBC television show.”

The cult following the show has gained leaves people who are not familiar a bit confused with what all the fuss is about.

“I had no idea what it was,” said SF State sociology major Mandy Kerr, who recalled spotting “Believe in Sherlock” signs in the Creative Arts building. “I pictured a little old man with a cane. Is that what he looks like?”

Indifference to the movement has done little to deter the displays of devotion for this work of fiction, which comes not just from a love of the series, but also an identification and connection with the title character.

“I understand what it’s like to have no one believe what you have to say, and have one person championing the fact that I was nuts,” admitted Queally-Sammut. “It’s the fact that these characters could be real people that I love so much.”

Ramsey couldn’t resist a Sherlockian reference to explain why she is committed to the campaign.

“Because this is a three-patch problem,” she laughed. “But in all seriousness, I feel a connection to Sherlock Holmes much like Sadie does: being an outcast with people who don’t believe in you and put you down.”

Sherlock may be a fairly new show, but the characters are classic and the fan support is undying. From Conan Doyle’s original story “The Final Problem” to “The Reichenbach Fall,” fans won’t stand to see Sherlock Holmes dead.

“In essence, we are the longest-running fandom ever,” said Pratt. “To think that this character has inspired this many people to come together and share their admiration for one thing for this long is simply astounding. It’s not about the fictional character.

It’s about uniting against injustice, a goal that has just as much merit when inspired by fiction as by fact.”

SFSU Sherlockians will meet April 1 at 3 p.m. by Cafe Rosso to make and post more “Believe in Sherlock” signs. Sherlockians are encouraged to bring materials to make posters, and to dress as their favorite Sherlock characters.

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| 03.28.12

GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

Shy guy seeps onto indie scene

BY KIRSTIE HARUTA | kharuta@mail.sfsu.edu

Deadlines and self-promotion may not be his working together through a company called the Bay Area strong suit, but acoustic crooner Tre Burt is networkNative. And after that we kind of just stuck together and ing his way to becoming a musical staple of San started working together on some more videos.”

Francisco.

Burt is currently working with Owl Paws frontman Burt, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, has and SF State broadcast and electronic communication played on nearly every stage available at SF State, arts major student Derek Schultz to record his next demo, many others in the Bay Area and in his hometown of a five or six track work that Burt describes as having a Sacramento. With a captivating voice on stage and a different “flavor” from his previous recordings. He has quiet demeanor in person, he is looking to expand his hopes for a full-band album and more “strategically” audience. planned shows in the city in the near future.

“I’m constantly kind of working on music,” he “It depends on what venue you play at first and how said. “Outside of school and performing music, I’m many times you play there, and how close is that venue to just kind of working on it and managing it in my the next show you’re planning on playing,” he explained. head, making connections.”

“There are just some semantics about it all that you’ve got Burt prefers to share new songs on his own to pay attention to.” through the internet and self-recorded videos, as he Stephanie Escoto, assistant manager at The Depot, did March 25 with a song called “Silly Trouble.” praised Burt’s talent and the simplicity of his sound.

“I kind of like keeping to myself with my music “He’s great,” said Escoto. “He has a good blend of until I feel ready, so self promoting isn’t necessarily voice and acoustic guitar, and when he adds other instrusomething I like doing,” he said. “I kind of have hazy ments, it brings everything out.” feelings for it.”

Even as part of the collective sound of Tre Burt and a But when a last-minute opportunity to play at the Big Gust of Wind, guitarist Jordon Jo draws attention to SXSW music festival in Texas arose, Burt took a step the lyrical ground upon which their music is built. out of his comfort zone. Having missed the initial “He’s very good-hearted,” said Jo. “For how young he deadline to play in the festival, he entered a tournais, he’s a very mature writer with a developed sound that’s ment-style contest to try to win a spot through talent earthy and genuine.” discovery site TopBlip.com.

Burt arrived at this sound through a transition of “It’s incredibly frustrating,” he said. “It’s very musical taste from hard core screamo, to Ace Enders of nerve-wracking. I really don’t like those things, beThe Early November, to Paul Simon and Bob Dylan, and cause it involves a lot of self-promotion, and a lot of mixed in an interest with contemporary and ragtime jazz. things can go wrong with that.”

His music tends to be autobiographical, but in an “abSTRUMMING SLOW: Tre Burt bounced back after losing a competition to He made it to the third round of the tournament, stract” sense. play SXSW by releasing a single, and is currently working on a new demo. but was disqualified after the next song he entered “It’s about events I’ve gone through, but kind of in a He is becoming a regular on the San Francisco music scene. into the competition’s website failed to upload. more fictional format,” he explained.

Photo by Juliana Severe Not one to dwell on a loss, Burt released a video Burt’s previous recordings, including his album “Little for his song “A Shaken Snow Globe” at the same Mornings,” are available on his Bandcamp page for free. time that he announced his disqualification from the He prefers to not charge for his music.

SXSW contest. It features Burt and his band, A Big Gust of Wind, and was shot by local “If I could have it my way, it would be completely free,” he said. “But at the same director and cinematographer Brad Brok. time, I need food. So I think I’m going to start charging for future albums. But as much “It was shot at Fort Funston, in one of the barracks,” said Burt. “(Brok and I) started as I can, I’ll put songs up for free.”

KSFS GRABS ‘BEST OF’ NOMINATION, AGAIN SF State’s radio station KSFS was recognized by the mtvU Woodie Awards once again. Although the station didn’t win, it’s showing signs of a growing audience.

BY CAROLYN COPELAND | carolync@mail.sfsu.edu

Every day, dozens of students enter the KSFS radio station inside the Creative Arts building, put on their headsets and talk about a wide variety of topics, ranging from hip-hop to sports news, with music jamming in between.

Although some students have never tuned in to any of the more than 50 shows on SF State’s radio station, KSFS was recently nominated for the mtvU Woodie award for being one of the best college radio stations in the country. KSFS didn’t receive enough votes to place in the top 10, but this is the second consecutive year it has placed in the top 25.

“We’re disappointed,” said Jeff Jacoby, a radio professor and adviser to the radio station. “We think we’re the best college radio station in the country so we think we should be number one. Still, we’ll take any recognition we can get.”

According to Jake Urbanski, a spokesman for mtvU, the top college radio stations are chosen based off of the Princeton Review’s top college radio stations list, online nominations through Twitter and Rate My Professors, CMJ College Radio acknowledgements and independent questionnaires. After the nomination list is posted online, people can log on and vote. Humboldt State University’s radio station was the only other university in California to be nominated.

KSFS has programming for 15 hours a day Monday

ON AIR: Mark Loeffler co-hosts “Barbecue Sauce with Mark and Leon” from inside the KSFS studio. The station as a whole was recently nominated for an mtvU College Radio Woodie award for the second year in a row. Photo by Henry Nguyen

through Friday, and eight hours a day on weekends. There are currently about 100 student hosts on the station, which has been around for more than 50 years.

“There is a legacy at KSFS and I think everyone involved with it wants to live up to the station’s prestige,” said Casey Cagle, who co-hosts a Saturday morning music show called “The Finger.” “There is a huge pool of professional-caliber talent at KSFS, and they are all putting every ounce of effort into producing and promoting quality shows.”

This legacy includes careers of people like rock journalist Ben Fong-Torres and “The Real World: Seattle” star Irene McGee. More recent KSFS radio hosts have received attention from radio stations like satellite giant SiriusXM and KROX, a popular independent music station based in Texas.

On average, KSFS has more than 2,400 listeners each week. Since the station is only streamed online, there is no FCC to regulate language or certain topics. Still, Jacoby tries to get his students in the habit of adhering to certain FCC guidelines.

“We don’t like to dictate to students and tell them what radio shows to do,” he said. “We want our students to have the creative experience, the production experience and the professional experience of conceiving, writing, producing and performing their own radio

show.”

Although some radio shows have only a handful of listeners, students who maintain their shows for a longer period of time tend to build larger audiences. Shows like “The List” and “Hard Edition” have attracted up to hundreds of listeners.

Broadcast and electronic communication arts major Mehgan Bowers hosts the Friday night sex talk show “Erotic City Radio,” one of the most popular shows on KSFS. When she first brought Erotic City to KSFS two years ago, there were less than 10 listeners for each episode. Today, however, her episodes have reached up to 30,000 downloads after the podcast is posted online, another sign of the station’s growing reach.

“The listenership got ridiculous once I put it up on the internet,” said Bowers. “I post (the podcast) on PodOmatic and on iTunes, and the numbers just keep growing.”

Although KSFS has become more popular since Jacoby became the radio station adviser in 2007, he said that there is much more work that needs to be done in order to gain a satisfying level of listeners.

“KSFS is a class and not really a University radio station, even though we like to think of ourselves as that,” said Jacoby. “We’re not that well known. We have a long way to go to get our name out there in a big way, but I think we deserve it.”

03.28.12 | GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

8 OPINION STAFF EDITORIAL

KELLY GOFF

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

SARA DONCHEY

ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR sdonchey@mail.sfsu.edu

SCOTT GRAF

PRINT MANAGING EDITOR sgraf99@mail.sfsu.edu

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MEDIA EDITOR gvasquez@mail.sfsu.edu

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ONLINE COPY CHIEF maolson@mail.sfsu.edu

CASSIE BECKER

PRINT COPY CHIEF cassbeck@mail.sfsu.edu

TAMERRA GRIFFIN

CAMPUS EDITOR tgriffin@mail.sfsu.edu

LISA CARMACK

CITY EDITOR lcarmack@mail.sfsu.edu

HUNTER MULICH

A&E EDITOR hunter@mail.sfsu.edu

KC CROWELL

OPINION EDITOR kcrowell@mail.sfsu.edu

KEALAN CRONIN

SPORTS EDITOR kealancronin@mail.sfsu.edu

KRISSA STANTON

BREAKING NEWS EDITOR kstanton@mail.sfsu.edu

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PRINT PHOTO EDITOR nenhenry@mail.sfsu.edu

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ONLINE PHOTO EDITOR griegojr@mail.sfsu.edu

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ASSISTANT CAMPUS EDITOR juand@mail.sfsu.edu

ELISSA TORRES

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR elissat@mail.sfsu.edu

O

vote holds hostage the dreams of thousands of high school and commuNCE UPON A TIME, PUBLIC EDUCATION nity college students who have scrimped, saved and struggled to make catered to the public. Thanks to the continued sure that they could go to school. Politicizing student lives is disgusting. efforts of Chancellor Charles Reed, that legacy is Apparently cutting our classes and stiffing our teachers is not slowly being dismantled. enough of a “screw you” to students. There are no words for the level of While many students reveled in their Spring recklessness at play here. We are not pawns. And we should never have Break reverie, the CSU was once again taking our access to education cut off. tragic steps toward ruining what up until recently Thousands of students have now had the door to higher education has been one of the finest public higher educaunapologetically shut in their faces. That’s thousands tion systems in the country. future engineers, teachers, writers, nurses and profesLast week, CSU officials announced they are freezing adsionals who have been stifled. Those are thousands missions to CSUs for the spring 2013 semester, with few of students who were planning on transferring exceptions, and plan to waitlist all eligible students for from other institutions. Those are thousands of the 2013-2014 academic year pending the outcome students who might choose to cut their losses of the November elections, to see if voters will and try to work to pay off the student loans approve a $200 million tax increase to fund the they’ve already accumulated. Thousands of system. students who can’t afford to wait another The following day, the Board of Trustees semester to finish their degrees. voted to increase the pay packages for two The CSU should be ashamed of itself campus presidents to more than $400,000 – for using hard-working, dedicated, hopeful and may have gone higher if not prohibited by students as political pawns in their continual a new mechanism that regulates pay raises for game of chicken with the California legislanew presidents. ture.

This is appalling.

Instead of rolling up their sleeves and Trustee Steven Glazer getting down to the job of eliminating said after the salary vote redundant positions, wasteful prothat he was disapgrams and pet projects so that the pointed with the pay majority of students can continue increases, given the their path toward degrees, the CSU admissions freeze, is more inclined to pick a political noting publicly that fight. he felt that in this time All these steps have done is fuel of economic difficulty, the fire against Chancellor Reed and the there needs to be a perceptrustees’ allegedly secretive “for-profit tion of shared hardship. While model” goals. the paltry thousands of dollars given to the two There doesn’t seem to be much secret presidents would most certainly not save the CSUs, ART BY SARA DONCHEY | sdonchey@mail.sfsu.edu about it now. It’s time to stop debating or decrying he is most certainly right. each of the stupid decisions this group makes.

As students, the perception of these recent acts The one common denominator in all of these anti-education steps is is that the CSU administrators, trustees and Chancellor Charles Reed don’t care one bit about what happens to the students whose futures and the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Reed. Unless they can pull their heads out of the sand soon – an unlikely possibility – then it’s time stueducations they have been charged with protecting. dents stop complaining about tuition increases and enrollment freezes Thousands of students have now been sent the message loud and and focus on the decision makers. clear: They are no longer the ones who CSU cares to provide for. InThese are public representatives who seem to have lost interest in stead, they are a liability that CSU officials seek to control and exploit. the public good.

CSU officials have already gambled away the educational future of Maybe it’s time for them to quit while they’re behind and start enthousands upon thousands of students. Now they are leaving the only joying those retirements we’ve so generously paid for. lifeline in the hands of an unpredictable voter population that is already Or maybe a forced retirement is in order, before they do any more hotly divided on whether to increase taxes. damage.

Holding up the admission of students based on an impending tax

MATT MAXION

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR mmaxion@mail.sfsu.edu

RACHELE KANIGEL

FACULTY ADVISER kanigel@mail.sfsu.edu

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Letters are subject to editing. Send letters to KC Crowell at: kcrowell@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 Kelly Goff at: kgoff@mail.sfsu.edu

Students victims of Reed’s recklessness

I

True value of interns exploited

T’S THAT TIME OF THE school year when I start to wonder where all that financial aid money went. I can look back and justify most of the money I spent this semester. I definitely needed those burritos and I’m hoping those expensive textbooks come in handy around finals time.

What I can’t seem to figure out is how I ended up paying roughly $600 to SF State for the opportunity to work at an unpaid internship for zero dollars an hour.

Internships have become pretty common for college students these days, and for good reason. An internship can provide valuable on-the-job experience, great networking opportunities and gives students a foot in the door, where otherwise there might not be one.

The problem doesn’t lie with internships themselves, it lies in the fact that many of them are unpaid. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that students receive course credit in exchange for their labor, but unpaid interns are missing out on more than a paycheck.

Presumably, we’re all in school so that we can eventually find a job that we enjoy that pays us enough to get by. It sets a dangerous precedent to instill in the heads of students just entering the workforce that their time is worth so little. It’s demoralizing and can lead to a devaluation of one’s own self-worth. Beyond the negative implications to the interns self-confidence, working for no pay leaves students woefully unprepared to negotiate for an actual salary when they enter the world of paid labor.

BY KALE WILLIAMS | kale@mail.sfsu.edu

The Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets guidelines as to how interns are to be utilized, stipulates that employers aren’t supposed to derive any economic benefit from the actions of the intern, but this rule isn’t always followed, according to Fog City Journal Executive Editor Kat Anderson.

“Internships are supposed to be about preparing the intern for whatever industry they’re going into,” Anderson said. “But what I’m hearing a lot of the time is that interns are being taken advantage of. You have the employers asking ‘What can you (the intern) do for us?’ and it should be the opposite.”

Carl Hall, executive director of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, thinks that the economic downturn may have something to do with employers taking advantage of unpaid staffers.

“I realize that money is an issue,” Hall said. “But hiring an intern shouldn’t be about saving money. It should be about serving the students, stocking the talent pool and building the student’s skill set. It’s not supposed to just be a source of cheap ass labor.”

With tuition hovering around $3,100 a semester and the average SF State student taking between 12-15 units, we’re each dropping roughly $225 per unit. It doesn’t take a statistics major to figure out how much a three-unit internship will cost you, without even considering lost opportunities to work at jobs that might actually result in a paycheck.

As if having to pay to work for free wasn’t bad enough, many of us who do so

are paying with borrowed money.

The 2011 Project on Student Debt, conducted by the Institute for College Access and Success, found that 42 percent of SF State students finish school owing money.

Approximately $17,000 worth, to be exact.

While not all of this money can be attributed to paying for internships, it does mean that the $600 I paid to work for free this semester is likely to cost me much more after interest begins to accrue.

There are less concrete ramifications of having to pay to give your labor away for free.

A 2012 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that unpaid interns were far less successful than their counterparts who were compensated for their work. Paid interns (who averaged roughly $16 an hour) were more likely to get a job offer from their employer, have a job upon completing their education and receive a higher starting salary than their peers who worked for free, according to the NACE survey.

In a perfect world, we’d be moving toward a system where anybody who works, including the lowly intern, would be fairly compensated for their time. I’m not naive enough to think that this is coming anytime soon, but in the interest of taking baby steps toward some semblance of fairness, it only seems rational to stop making students pay to work for free. Either colleges needs to come up with some sort of no-cost unit applicable to unpaid internships or these companies that “hire” interns need to pony up the money it cost to take on these unpaid positions.

| 03.28.12

9

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In a KSFS/Xpress crossover, Cassie Becker will be a co-host this Friday on Erotic City Radio 7 to 9 p.m.

ASSERTIVE SEXUALITY ISN’T SLUTTY

THE INS & OUTS A GUEST SEX COLUMN BY MEHGAN BOWERS eroticcity.radio@yahoo.com

Looking back on my days as a college freshman, where I am today amazes me.

As SlutWalk LA’s Hugo Schwyzer said, being a slut is a choice.

Through the blurs of alcohol, the smell of dirty sex and unknown names of the many “Some of us embrace the word slut. Some don’t. But we’re all marching for two conquests I had, I have never called myself a slut. vital liberties: both the freedom to be sexual and the freedom from violence, harassment Slut is a derogatory term many people use to refer to a woman who and rape.” has sex with a lot of people, even though men are often rewarded for I embrace my sexuality both in everyday life as Mehgan and on their conquests. Slut shaming is the implication that a woman should the radio as Sapphire, host of KSFS’s Erotic City Radio. I choose to A senior in the Broadcast feel guilty and inferior because of how she lives her sexual life, and be open with my sex life because of the stories behind it; every person and Electronic Arts sometimes just because of how she is dressed.

I come into contact with leaves with a little more knowledge than Department, Mehgan Instead of bashing a woman on who she’s sleeping with, you they had originally. It may make others feel uncomfortable but both Bowers’ show and podcast, Erotic City Radio, where she may want to consider the facts. According to the Kinsey Institute, 85 Sapphire and Mehgan feel it’s necessary to fly the freak flag high. We is known as Sapphire, has percent of males aged 20 to 21 have already had intercourse versus 81 always speak the truth, no matter the outcome. been entertaining as well as percent of females the same age.

But there are not enough men and women in this world who actushocking the KSFS airwaves.

We shouldn’t judge women by the number of people they’ve had ally sit down and think about these shameful labels associated with Her show has taken sex sex with. A few of my girlfriends were marked as sluts at almost every sex. education to the next level and has been featured party, even though they’d slept with no more than five guys in total. I As a person who has to hear and deal with situations like slut globally. too have been called a slut because of my openness with my sexuality shaming frequently, I like the ability to talk it out with someone and and active sex life, but I think a slut is someone who absolutely has no slowly make a change that others can see. You can start making a conscience, no self-confidence and no respect for herself. We need to change by simply trying to rephrase your communication between stop pointing our fingers at the woman who is merely embracing her sexuality. friends to eliminate the use of this harmful language, and participating in activities such Lately, I’ve realized that it’s getting worse and we are branding ourselves with the as SlutWALK when it comes to your area. label. SlutWALK, a series of rallies worldwide that began in 2011 dedicated to reclaimIf you’re a victim of slut shaming, remember this: Screw what society says and ing the word slut in the name of feminism and fighting against the use of the word to just be careful. Stop being afraid of walking into your local clinic or hospital for STD justify rape, started because Toronto Constable Michael Sanguinetti suggested that checkups. Stop listening to what the media is portraying as the perfect sex life and just women stop dressing like sluts to avoid sexual assault. be you.

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10 S P O R T S PLAYER

CASSIE BELK

WEEK

TRACK AND FIELD

of the

Freshman Cassie Belk has been chosen as the Xpress Player of the Week. Belk was one of three first-place finishers at the Johnny Mathis Invitational when she captured the title in javelin. She threw 124 feet 5 inches, improving her personal record by two feet and earning her the seventh place spot on the Gators all-time list.

PHOTO BY TYLER DENISTON/SF STATE SPORTS

GATORS’ SPORTS SCHEDULE

Rugby gender roles redefined

FRIDAY, MARCH 30 SOFTBALL

SF State vs. University of Hawaii at Hilo at 12:15 p.m.

(Turlock, Calif.)

SF State vs. Central Washington University at 6 p.m.

(Turlock, Calif.)

SF State vs. Notre Dame de Namur University at 8:15 p.m.

(Turlock, Calif.)

BASEBALL

SF State vs. Sonoma State University at 3 p.m.

(Rohnert Park, Calif.)

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: SF State students Sally Le and Brittany Johnston tackle teammate Brittany Rickman during practice for the women’s rugby team. Students from both USF and SF State play on the Bay Area Touring Side rugby team. Photo by Andrew Lopez

SATURDAY, MARCH 31 SOFTBALL

SF State vs. Northwest Nazarene University at 12:15 p.m.

(Turlock, Calif.)

SF State vs. Grand Canyon University at 3:30 p.m.

(Turlock, Calif.)

BASEBALL

SF State vs. Sonoma State University at 11 a.m.

(San Francisco, Calif.)

SF State vs. Sonoma State University at 2 p.m.

(San Francisco, Calif.)

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

SF State at the Bulldog Invitational (Clovis, Calif.)

SUNDAY, APRIL 1 BASEBALL

SF State vs. Sonoma State University at 11 a.m.

(Rohnert Park, Calif.)

The women of the intercollegiate rugby team find empowerment in physical competition, proving that the sport is more than just a man’s game.

BY SEAN DUFFY | scduffy@mail.sfsu.edu

Burly athletes sprinting up and down the field aiming to hit others with bone-crushing tackles aren’t images typically associated with female athletes.

A group of 10 athletic women from SF State has taken up the international sport of rugby, defying stereotypical gender roles by playing one of the world’s most grueling sports. The game of rugby, a sport similar in physicality to football, tends to attract male competitors. Yet the women of the intercollegiate Bay Area Touring Side rugby team have taken on the challenge.

Players from SF State and the University of San Francisco make up the team, which plays against other nearby colleges in 30 minute matches. The club has a roster of around 25 girls, tripling its membership after initially struggling to field a team. The recruitment was mitigated by generalizations of what it means to be a female rugby player.

“It’s hard to recruit girls to come out and play because they feel like it’s not a girly sport,” said Stephanie Wills, the club president. “They don’t want to play because boys don’t like girls who play rugby.”

Wills, a senior nursing major at USF, joined the team in 2008 when the squad had about four to seven girls. She feels that rugby is a sport worth trying, whether a player wants to play a physical sport or meet new people.

“I would hope that they would find a warm, welcoming environment,” Wills said. “And get them involved in something that has changed our lives so positively.”

Despite the rewarding aspects of the team, the players recognize the mental and physical downfalls of playing a full contact sport.

In addition to stereotypes about female rugby players, injuries have been a determent for potential players. Several girls on the team have suffered serious injuries, and minor injuries are nearly ubiquitous during games and practice.

Brittany Johnston, a senior at SF State, dislocated her knee while practicing with the team. Back on the field after months of rehabilitation, Johnston hasn’t let the injury discourage her from playing rugby.

She feels that a common stereotype the team has had to overcome is the idea that women are weaker or not as athletic as men, a notion that the team quickly disproved while playing against the USF men’s rugby team.

“A guy said ‘Oh wow, you can pass it.’ I was like I know we’re girls, but we can do it,” Johnston said. “I think it’s hard for a women’s

rugby team to deal with (sexism) because we’re really about women being equal with men.”

The men’s head coach told his team that the girls were tough and strong hits by Johnston and teammate Brittany Rickman reinforced his warning.

Although the team has shown the capabilities of competing physically with men, the players are still learning proper tackling techniques.

Most of the women on the team began playing rugby in college and have had to learn the basics from older players and the coaches.

Kathy Flores has coached the BATS since 2008 and has helped turn the team into one of the best in their division. Besides coaching the Berkeley All Blues and the Fog men’s team, Flores has played for and coached the Women’s National Team.

She played for the Women Eagles, who won the inaugural women’s rugby World Cup in 1991. She brings the experience of performing under extreme pressure to her coaching, which has helped her effectively prepare her team for difficult games.

“The upper level stuff like coaching at a World Cup is stressful.

Coming down to this level and all other levels, I’m stressed. But it’s nothing like a World Cup,” Flores said. “I learned to make quick decisions.”

Flores’ experience has given her an eye for talent. She sees potential in many of the BATS players, notably 21-year-old SF State senior Sally Le who plays scrum-half, rugby’s version of a quarterback. This is one of the most important positions because she makes a lot of the decisions for the team upon clearing the ball from the scrum.

“Rugby definitely empowers me. I have more confidence. It’s made me be a leader,” Le said. “It’s helped me be more social.”

Her physical strength and agility have propelled her to success, and Flores feels that she has a real future in rugby.

“Le has a lot of talent, she gets the game,” Flores said. “I’d like to see her continue to play because she’s got the potential to play on the Women’s National Team.”

Changing people’s attitudes toward rugby has not been easy, but Wills points to her positive experiences as motivation for future women’s rugby players.

“I didn’t think that this was going to do everything it’s done for me.

I just wanted to hit people,” Wills said. “And now it’s so much more than that.”

S P O R T S 11

| 03.28.12

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WORKING THE FOAM TO EASE STRESS STRETCHED OUT: Instructor Arnel Valle directs the new Work the Foam fitness class as Rachel Critelli rolls her back over the foam roller, a practice proven to release stress. Photo by Cindy Waters

The technique of foam rolling has been incorporated into a campus recreation class designed to release muscle pressure and help students relax through exercise.

BY VONIQUE STRICKLEN | vstricklen@mail.sfsu.edu

T

Class participant Rachel Critelli, 20, said that the class works her muscles in a way HE FEELING OF RESTLESS MUSCLE TENSION IS ALL that relieves tension from the stress of the day. too familiar for a student who has had to sit through a weekly “I really enjoy the class,” she said. “It’s really interesting because you start off with three-hour lecture class. SF State’s Group X program now offers the foam rollers, and that’s something that not a lot of people do.” a solution for teachers and students feeling tense or stressed from Valle started teaching classes after working out at the local 24 Hour Fitness and took long hours in the classroom. a significant interest in Tai Chi. Valle’s enthusiasm and energy in class led him to find a Work the Foam, a class designed by fitness instructor Arnel position as a fitness instructor.

Valle, allows students to experience Tai Chi and a new concept “There are certain personality types that inspire called foam rolling. The class is people to work out,” Valle said. “I think that makes the structured in a way that helps students feel more combiggest difference because I actually want people to love fortable in their day-to-day activities by using a foam going into a class.” roller, a cylindrical object anywhere between 1 to 3 feet Valle designed the class so that techniques are folong, used to perform self-massage. cused on areas of body tension. Valle discovered that he “For people coming to my classes, they’re able to could use the foam roller in the same manner he would a sit at a desk and have really good posture,” Valle said. balance ball or a yoga brick.

“They’re sitting up, they’re not slouching.”

The foam rolling helps to relieve pain and allows the Valle, inspired by an idea from former fitness manmuscle to be used to its fullest potential. SF State kinesiager Jackelyn Ho, created the class by incorporating ology associate professor Matt Lee explained that adding Friday Noon to 1 P.M. techniques from yoga, relaxation concepts from Tai Chi pressure from foam rolling helps release the muscle and and cardiovascular exercises to elevate heart rate. The Open to all SF State students improve comfort. class was added to the recreation schedule this semester No units. Free. Gym 147.

“Personally I’ve done it and it does help,” Lee said. to teach students how to improve posture, ease stress The idea of foam rolling is so new to SF state and increase circulation in the body. students that many don’t know what it is and some are Students are Valle’s ideal candidates for foam rollskeptical of its validity. Senior and physiology major ing because they spend hours sitting down at desks listening to lectures or studying at home. These lifestyle patterns and movement behaviors Thaddeus Blustein, 22, has seen people foam roll but doubts if it actually helps.

“I think some of it is probably a homeopathic thing,” he said. “But a greater portion can cause muscles, especially in the legs, to become hyperactive and even shortened to of it is placebo.” a degree, said Ryan Saplan, personal trainer.

Effective or not, health education major and junior Renee Quesada, 20, enjoyed how “It’s almost like your brain and your muscles start to think, oh, we’re supposed to be the class challenged her mind and balance. She found Tai Chi to be the most challenglike this. We need to stay like this,” he said. ing aspect.

A study by the University of Wisconsin La Crosse found that foam rolling may not “I liked it because it was something different that I have never done,” Quesada said. increase flexibility, but using foam rollers for self-massage decreases stress.

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