Fall 2014 Issue 10

October 29, 2014

Annual costume dodgeball tournament motivates student rivalry

ISSUE 10 VOLUME XCIX GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

Serving the San Francisco State community since 1927

RIVALRY ON PAGE 10

Student accessibility motivates museum move LULU OROZCO

ohlulu@mail.sfsu.edu

The Sutro Egyptian and Treganza collection will be moved as part of the University Museum’s relocation into the Fine Arts building next semester for specialized care and greater student accessibility.

“We are moving control of all collections in the college to Museum Studies and, thus, with the professionals who know how to care and manage them according to museum standards,”

Interim Dean for the College of Liberal and Creative Arts Daniel Bernardi said in an email.

The Museum Studies gallery is located on the fifth floor of the Humanities building which, according to Museum Studies Professor and Director Edward Luby, has been inaccessible to students and local families who want to visit the museum.

Since then, the Treganza collection, which has been stored in the Science Building for almost two decades, has undergone tremendous enhancements,

Bernardi said.

The Treganza collection carries an assortment of pieces, including Pacific Island masks and several wooden carvings of African storyboards. Many of the pieces originate from Mexico, China, the Philippines, East Asia and South America.

The University Museum move is part of a much bigger plan to unify the College of Liberal and Creative Arts, which is currently spread over MUSEUM CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

ERIC GORMAN / XPRESS

SARCOPHAGUS: Nes-Per-N-Nub is one of two mummies in the possession of SF State University’s Museum Studies Program located in the Humanities Building.

ROYALS 10 - GIANTS 0

Giants crushed in Game 6

Student enrollment for Persian studies decreases ALMA VILLEGAS

avillegas@mail.sfsu.edu

ANNASTASHIA GOOLSBY / XPRESS

DISAPPOINTMENT: Wendy Cubillo, left, and Karina Jones, right, react with emotion while watching the Royals continue to score against the Giants during the World Series Game Six broadcasting at City Hall Tuesday, Oct. 28. The Giants lost 10-0 against the Kansas City Royals.

KYLE MCLORG

kmclorg@mail.sfsu.edu

Converging upon the Civic Center in downtown San Francisco to watch the Giants clinch a World Series victory has become an every-year tradition for fans, but Tuesday night marked the first time thousands of orange and black faithful departed disappointed after watching their

Program receives millions for training ALMA VILLEGAS

avillegas@mail.sfsu.edu

TWITTER

@XpressNews

Series tied up at 3 after San Francisco Giants suffer crushing defeat to Kansas City Royals The National Institutes of Health granted SF State $17 million this month to promote the success of marginalized students and train faculty within the natural sciences.

NIH, a national medical research agency, awarded Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity, or SF BUILD, the grant, which will be disbursed over the next five years.

The program is expected to promote

FACEBOOK /GoXpress

team collapse at the hands of the Kansas City Royals 10-0 in Game 6.

The Giants hoped to carry the momentum of Bumgarner’s complete game shutout 5-0 from Game 5 victory back with them to Kansas City and fans showed up as early as noon to find a spot in front GIANTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Low student enrollment in the Persian studies program triggered three class cancellations this fall, causing concern within the 2-year-old minor.

“I’m worried that they’re going to take it away,” said Nagin Iqbal, who decided to minor in Persian studies last spring. “It’s the first CSU to have a Persian Studies program and we’re very lucky to have the minor.”

When three Persian studies classes were cancelled Aug. 25, their total enrollment consisted of 11 students. Mitra Ara, the founding director and assistant professor of the Persian studies program said that since the program began in 2008, it never experienced class cancellations before the first day of instruction.

“Thirteen is not even the ideal size of a course,” said Daniel Bernardi, interim dean of the College of Liberal and Creative Arts. He added that it’s fair for the college to cancel classes before the first day of instruction to give students the option to adjust their schedules.

Bernardi explained that scarcely-enrolled courses don’t meet LCA standards of a quality learning environment. The LCA usually drops classes with less than 17 students, but kept two Persian studies courses that fell under the threshold.

SOLE CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

a diverse range of student perspectives in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

“There (are) a number of studies showing that if you have multiple perspectives, you will get innovative solutions,” said SF BUILD principal investigator Leticia Márquez-Magaña.

GRANT CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

WEBSITE goldengatexpress.org

MARTIN BUSTAMANTE / XPRESS

or scan here:

MINOR: The Persian Studies Center, in the Humanities building Monday Oct. 27.

2

NEWS

OCTOBER 29, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT

Museum to overtake dance studio six different facilities including the Humanities, Creative Arts, Fine Arts buildings and Burk Hall, according to Bernardi. To accommodate this move, the dance department may lose one of two of their rehearsal studios, which students are petitioning against.

“It is not simply about unifying the college. That’s a goal, of course, but it’s also about space management,” Bernardi said.

“We aim to return 17,000 square feet of classrooms and offices in Science and HSS buildings to the University as we have roughly that amount of space.” He added that the idea would be to free up space to optimize use in the current buildings.

As the University Museum assembles its collections, the new spaces must be prepared with adequate temperature systems, pest control supervision in addition to properly packing, storing and documenting items for future exhibits. The process could take the entire spring semester and possibly part of the summer, Bernardi said.

“The plan also is to move museum studies, along with its collections, into Fine Arts, and to create a collections space to house college collections, in addition to the gallery in FA 203,” said Luby. Once the final move takes place next semester, the museum studies gallery in

ERIC GORMAN / XPRESS

PRESERVED: The mummified remains of Nes-Per-N-Nub rest beside the upper layer of the inner sarcophagus in SF State’s museum studies department in the Humanities Building Tuesday, Oct. 21.

the Humanities Building will be re-purposed.

So far, only 50 percent of the Treganza collection has been properly documented and stored using materials that won’t interact with the objects and cause damage before it is completely

moved and can be made public in the Fine Arts building, Luby said of the collection.

“Any object can be damaged by conditions that aren’t good for it,” Luby said. “We are starting from scratch, given what we found we thought it would be

the best,” he said, regarding the care and storage of the Treganza collection.

Some University Museum graduate studies students are investigating ways to alter and make proper use of the collection’s future spaces, Luby said.

“We want to improve how things will be in the future (space),” museum studies graduate student Sophie Laidler said.

The Sutro Egypt Collection houses over 1,000 diverse pieces from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome societies, according to the University Museum Collection website and is part of the museum studies department.

The collection includes two mummified remains from Ancient Egypt; Nes-Per-N-Nub, one of three sarcophagus triple-nesting mummies in the country, and a second mummy referred to as Yellow Sarcophagus, which X-rays indicate was reburied with extra bones.

The collection was purchased in Egypt by Adolph Sutro, a former mayor of San Francisco, in the 1880’s, Luby said.

“The collection was displayed at the Sutro Baths in San Francisco from around 1895 to the mid 1960s,” he said and was later donated to the University

by George K. Whitney Jr., the owner of the baths.

“The plan is to consolidate college museum and gallery operations into the Fine Arts building so that we have a centralized, readily accessible and collaborative exhibit ‘hub’ on campus,” said Luby. “Since the beginning, we have been wanting a gallery that can be more accessible.”

CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT

Sole professor left to teach Persian studies minor From 2008-2011, the average student enrollment in Persian studies courses was 35 students per class but has since declined to half that number, according to Ara. Ara first proposed the idea for a Persian studies program in 2006, and two years later, SF State opened student enrollment to the first Persian studies courses, according to Ara. The program was founded on private and public grants, which Ara considers necessary to expand the program to its envisioned department and major.

By 2012, SF State became the first and only school in the CSU system to offer Persian studies as a minor, with 26 students enrolling since then. Of those, Ara said there are 15 declared minors left

to graduate.

Students have traditionally maintained the Persian student center in addition to organizing cultural events and tutoring other students, according to Ara. “This semester we have about eight students who are facilitating the student activities of the center and the media lab,” Ara said. “ I don’t think we need more staff, but we could use an additional instructor.”

Temporary faculty and graduate teaching assistants are hired based on budget, availability and enrollment, according to Mohammad Salama, associate professor and chair of the department of foreign languages and literatures.

Nagin Iqbal, who is of Persian background, said that the course she took with Ara last semester

was the first time in her educational experience she actually learned about Persian history.

“Growing up you never learn about Eastern history. You always learn Western history,” Iqbal said.

She also said that the Persian studies program offers students a critical analysis of Middle Eastern studies that is not readily available in the evening news.

“The media gives you a wrong image. It’s misleading,” Iqbal said. “You have to understand the people, the background and the history.”

Iqbal said the courses are not the only means through which student’s access Persian culture, and that interacting with students of Persian tradition is key to understanding Middle Eastern history.

“It’s definitely a good oppor-

tunity for students to connect with people from that background,” Iqbal said.

This semester, three of her four classes are Persian studies courses, all taught by Ara. Ara said she showed up, out of respect for the first day of instruction, to personally inform the students where class had been canceled and collected signatures as proof of student interest to apply for outside funding, which the program relies on.

“Not only our program’s classes were canceled, but other programs (as well),” said Ara, who pointed to the Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Italian, German and Arabic programs.

An additional six classes were canceled in the department of foreign languages and literatures

Aug. 22, according to Caterina Mariotti, administrative support coordinator for the department.

“It’s a small byproduct of major changes,” Ara said.

SF STATE / SPECIAL TO XPRESS

PORTRAIT: Persian studies Founding Director and Assistant Professor Mitra Ara, Ph. D.

NEWS

OCTOBER 29, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

3

HANDS UP: (LEFT) Students parade to Malcolm X Plaza Wednesday, Oct. 22 for the “Die In” demonstration to honor the National Day of Awareness Against Police Brutality and discourage repression and the criminalization of a generation. (BELOW) SF State junior Eleni Andersen lays on the ground within a chalk tracing of herself during a “Die-In” protest at Malcolm X Plaza Wednesday, Oct. 22.

AMANDA PETERSON / XPRESS

PROTEST FOR FERGUSON

Students rally against police brutality JENNAH FEELEY

jennah@mail.sfsu.edu

At the sound of three bangs, dozens of bodies dropped to the ground of Malcolm X Plaza last week as a part of a “Die In” demonstration for people killed by police brutality.

Hosted by the Black and Brown Liberation Coalition in collaboration with the Student Union of San Francisco, the action took part in the National Day of Awareness Against Police Brutality. The demonstrators pointed to the deaths of San Francisco’s Alex Neito and, more recently, Michael Brown as a need for urgent change.

“The idea is we want to occupy the space, we want to make it so—yes people have places to go, they will be able get to, we

will not stop or block anybody, but you’re going to have to physically step over people,” said Brittany Moore of the Black and Brown Liberation Coalition.

“Everyday we continue with the normalcy of our lives as if this isn’t a tremendous issue because it‘s not right in front of our faces.”

Around 30 marchers flooded into the Malcolm X Plaza chanting “black and brown lives matter.” Clad in shirts donning slogans like “Hands Up Don’t Shoot,” statistics and names of victims of police brutality, the group spread out

across the plaza and dropped “dead” at the sound of simulated gunfire.

“I saw a bunch of people on the ground but I couldn’t really hear what they were saying. I started reading the signs and then I knew what was going on,” said business major Jake Hocedai.

The bodies blocked major

walkways and forced students to work around the demonstration.

Chalk outlines of the bodies emulated a large crime scene, which drew a crowd of onlookers.

“Our goal with this event is to bring more awareness so that way more students can join us in our activism and join us in making it clear that what is going on now in Ferguson,” said Yesenia Mendez, a biology major who participated in the event.

“Not only in Ferguson but everywhere throughout the United States. Every 28 hours life is getting lost because of police brutality.”

Poetry and speeches followed a moment of silence to honor victims of police brutality.

The speeches covered topics of police militarization, racial profiling and the arming of University police. Slogans and statistics were pasted on banners surrounding the demonstrators.

The BBLC plans to organize two task forces in the coming months, according to Moore.

One will address issues of police brutality and the other will target the education of young minority groups.

“Police brutality doesn’t just affect those deemed criminal, it allows for the militarization of the police, it allows for our rights to be trampled on,” Moore said.

“We have to continue to work for these justices or they will be taken away from us.“

Campus sustainability events promote eco-friendly lifestyle TIMOTHY SMITH

tsmith@mail.sfsu.edu

SF State students and volunteers from around the Bay Area came together last week to celebrate the fourth annual Campus Sustainability Festival with environmentally friendly activities like planting fruit orchards and repurposing discarded jeans.

Various departments, several student clubs and a few outside nonprofit groups collaborated to put together eight events on campus — many of which were run on almost no budget — where students were encouraged to become involved in their local environment and engage in sustainable practices.

“We do our best to do a big event without having to pay a lot and I think that’s also an example of what you can do to be more sustainable,” said Miguel Guerrero, student sustainability

coordinator.

Friends of the Urban Forest, a San Francisco-based nonprofit group, provided proper instruction for volunteers to plant more than 60 fruit trees in University Park North.

“It really has been a collective effort,” Guerrero said. “We reached out to different organizations and asked them to come in today. We’re just filling the gaps where we can.”

In just a few years, students in UPN will have access to two types of plums, apples, cherries, pears and Asian pears in addition to three different types of apples, according to Doug Wildman, program director for Friends of the Urban Forest.

“It’s an exciting thought to think that in walking by them, kids are free to pick them,” Wildman said.

In the quad, groups invited students to engage in sustainable practices, but the recycled

Levi Strauss & Co. jean sale, a partnership between the apparel design and merchandising program and Goodwill, drove foot traffic.

“I just like taking part in these types of events because they try to get the community together,” sophomore Holiday Hagan said. “Plus, it helps the environment. I think where real environmental change happens is here — getting involved in nature.”

Prior to reselling the jeans to students at discounted prices, Goodwill took the donated denim to wholesale textile vendors by the half ton, making only 22 cents per pound, according to Tim Murray, the director of Brand, Marketing and Advertising at San Francisco Goodwill.

Before partnering with Goodwill, Levi’s just took the material to the landfill rather than reusing it.

“For us, it’s not just about our bottom line,” said Maureen

DANIEL PORTER / XPRESS

SEEDING: SF State freshman Alexia Barba helps position a new tree that is planted in University Park North during the Sustainability Festival Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Sedonaen, the president and CEO of San Francisco Goodwill.

“It’s really about our triple bottom line, which is people, planet and prosperity.”

Connie Ulasewicz, a professor who teaches in the apparel design and merchandising program, coordinated with Goodwill to make the sale possible. She said the money made from the repairs will go to a scholarship for the student who wins a denim design competition, judged by

representatives from the department, Levi’s and Goodwill.

“Our hope is that students get inspired and leave with a motivation to change their habits and understand that everyday actions can lead to being more sustainable,” Guerrero said. “I would say that if we could reach just a few dozens students that we’ve been successful, but I know that we’ll do more than that.”

4

NEWS

OCTOBER 29, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

Midterm Elections 2014 The standout issues

TIMOTHY SMITH

tsmith@mail.sfsu.edu

JENNAH FEELEY jennah@mail.sfsu.edu

WILL CARRUTHERS wcarruth@mail.sfsu.edu DAYVON DUNAWAY ddunaway@mail.sfsu.edu

PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY KAITLIN AGUILAR / XPRESS

LOCAL MEASURES Proposition E If passed, Proposition E would impose a two-cents-per-ounce tax on distributors of select sugar-sweetened beverages.

The proposition aims to combat health degradation caused by sugar sweetened drinks. The funds collected would go towards active recreation, health and nutrition programs in schools, parks and other entities in the city.

The tax is estimated to collect between $35 million and $54 million per year depending on consumer and market

CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY San Francisco Supervisors David Campos and David Chiu are vying for the California State Assembly District 17 seat, which represents the eastern San Francisco peninsula.

Tom Ammiano, a Democrat heavily involved in San Francisco politics since the 1970s, reached his term limit this year and left the position open to one of the two San Francisco supervisors leading the race.

According to Campos, who passed legislation that provides free Muni passes to low and middle-income minors, affordability in San Francisco will be one of his priorities if he gets to Sacramento.

“The kind of development that has come out of city hall that David has overseen as the president of the Board of Supervisors is a development that is disconnected from reality because it’s development that puts forward $5 million condos that no one can afford.”

-David Campos

factors, according to City Controller Ben Rosenfield.

The measure defines a sugar-sweetened beverage as a drink that not only has added sugar, but is 25 calories or more per 12 ounces. Some beverages are exempt from the tax even if there is sugar added. Diet sodas, milk, infant formula, drinks that only contain natural fruit and vegetable juice, meal replacements and supplement beverages will not be affected.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors Members Scott Wiener, Eric Mar, Malia Cohen, David Chiu, John Avalos and David Campos sponsor the measure while the Libertarian Party of San Francisco and the Coalition for an Affordable City and Californians for Food and Beverage Choice oppose the proposition.

During his tenure with the Board of Supervisors and as president since 2009, Chiu sponsored policies that afforded new protections to renters in San Francisco such as a tax rebate program that provides financial assistance for low-income tenants in the city.

Both candidates have made affordability the foundation of their platform, but they differ greatly in campaign finance sources. Campos said individual supporters contributed greatly to his campaign, but the majority of the financing is from large donors like teachers and workers unions.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee endorsed Chiu’s candidacy at a campaign meeting last week.

“The difference between David and I is that he is unable to get things done at city hall and I have been able to deliver. It’s important for us to develop support from the more conservative members of the state assembly.”

-David Chiu

W

ith the 2014 midterm elections around the corner, voters will soon pile into poll booths next Tuesday, casting their ballots to determine the fates of local and statewide elected positions and proposed measures.

Among the high-profile selections, San Francisco residents will decide on two different transportation propositions,

STATE MEASURES Proposition 47 Proposition 47 will bump some non-violent crimes down from felony to misdemeanor classifications. The offenses that would be impacted include shoplifting, grand theft, fraud, forgery, writing bad checks and receiving stolen property — all up to a certain monetary amount.

It would also reduce the sentence for personal use of most drugs, including cocaine and heroin. If passed, the initiative would allow resentencing for those convicted under these offenses. The initiative would also create a Safe Neighborhood and Schools Fund for prevention and rehabilitation.

Joseph Miles, office coordinator for Project Rebound, said that he is in support of the law because it will free some inmates he sees as ready for release, such as older inmates at the end of long drug charges. However, Miles said the law does not go far enough to solve the systemic problems in California’s correctional system.

GOVERNOR Republican candidate Neel Kashkari is challenging Gov. Jerry Brown, Democrat, in California’s 2014 gubernatorial elections.

According to election results from the June 2014 primaries, Brown held more than 50 percent of the vote, while Kashkari obtained 19 percent. Collectively, Republican candidates captured roughly 40 percent of voter support.

Kashkari has spent almost 90 percent of the $7 million he’s received in 2014 contributions campaigning across the state.

During the single gubernatorial debate of this election season Sept. 4, which was held in the state capitol, Kashkari

a sugary-beverage tax and a minimum wage proposition. Statewide, the gubernatorial assembly will pit incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown against Neel Kashkari, former banker and assistant secretary of the treasury for financial stability.

Below, Xpress has selected the most influential — and controversial — legislative issues of this year’s race.

“The only thing the proposition will do is release some of those individuals serving time for marginal felony or wobbler crimes,” Miles said.

Depending on the individual crime, wobbler crimes can be charged as felonies or misdemeanors.

The California Legislative Analyst estimates that about 40,000 criminals will be affected every year by the raised monetary limits to misdemeanors.

The proposition does not do enough to tackle prison overcrowding, which is often alleviated by placing more inmates in county jails instead of state prisons, Miles said.

Californians Against 47 leads the opposition, citing concerns over victim’s rights, excessive standards for new sentences and the early release of dangerous felons.

said reforming the public education system and creating jobs for Californians were his top priorities.

“Let’s have smart, sensible regulations where businesses can invest,” Kashkari said. “We can improve the business climate, bring jobs back here and rebuild the middle class.”

Incumbent Brown is sticking to the agenda of his current term and hasn’t established a clear platform, but his campaign has received roughly $7.8 million in contributions just this year. With more than $20 million left to use before the election next week.

NEWS

OCTOBER 29, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT

Grant confronts inequity in sciences Five professors at SF State and the University of San Francisco, core members of SF BUILD, plan to train science faculty to engage in a method of teaching that engenders safe classroom environments, according to Márquez-Magaña.

“You walk in and it’s a desierto,” said Márquez-Magaña recounting her experience walking into a classroom as a Latina woman, feeling like she had stepped into a lonely desert. “It was hard because I didn’t see myself reflected in my professors. I didn’t feel like I belonged.”

In the proposal for the grant, SF BUILD argued that institutional structures, such as “stereotype threat,” are the issues that prevent student diversity in the field of sciences — not the students themselves.

Stereotype threat, or being at risk of confirming a negative stereotype related to a person’s identity, is a concept used to guide research on the effects that racial, gendered and sex prejudice have on people’s ability to perform in math and science subjects.

A classroom environment can make marginalized groups feel unsafe if it doesn’t guard against stereotype threat, according to Márquez-Magaña.

Public health major Jeanette Wright said she has felt the direct impacts of stereotype threat as a City College of San Francisco transfer student who felt too insecure to declare a biology major.

“I said to myself ‘I’m not good enough’,” said Wright, who currently conducts lab research with biology professor and SF BUILD member Carmen Domin-

go. “Science has been closed off to people like me. It’s always been about white men in white lab coats.”

Wright said her work with teachers at the SF BUILD program has reaffirmed her love for science and how to apply it to everyday environments.

“That’s where we need to start asking the questions,” said Wright, who added that science can be used to fix issues in disenfranchised neighborhoods.

Márquez-Magaña said students often come to her disillusioned because they do not understand how subjects such as calculus or biology can be applied to reducing disparities in their communities.

Organic chemistry, for example, could potentially be used to gather evidence on the effects of toxic facilities around poor communities.

“Research is connected with our environments and connected to policy,” said Wright, adding that identifying this relationship builds the necessary confidence in students to succeed in the field.

It is unclear how NIH will measure SF BUILD’s progress, but University of California Los Angeles will compile a body of evidence based on the research conducted at SF State and 10 other universities, according to Márquez-Magaña.

After five years, the program’s members can reapply for the grant.

“We need diversity, or else we’re going to have these people that don’t trust medicine,” Wright said. “The community has to be involved from the very beginning. The community is diverse.”

5

News Bites COMPILED BY XPRESS NEWS STAFF

Affordable Learning Solutions for faculty Reducing the cost of instructional materials and textbooks will be the focus of the Affordable Learning Solutions Faculty Showcase Oct. 29 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the J. Paul Leonard Library room 121. Faculty can learn how costly class materials and textbooks impact students as well as hear stories from SF State faculty who have accomplished lowered costs of instruction.

Retirement planning workshops California Public Employees’ Retirement System will host retirement planning workshops for members retiring within the next five years. Both workshops will focus on calculating and expanding on benefits before the retirement application process begins.

The sessions will take place from 9 a.m. to noon and again at 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 4 and Nov. 6 on the fifth floor of the Administration Building.

Those interested can register for the event at the MyCalPERS website.

Farewell Reception for Retiree A farewell reception will honor Maria Meyer Nov. 17, an administrative coordinator for the Office of the President who has worked for the office since 1985. The reception comes after Meyer announced plans to retire and will take place at 2:30 p.m. on the fifth floor of the Administration Building. Those who wish to attend can RSVP with Jennifer Villarreal at jrosev@sfsu.edu.

World AIDS Day SF State will remember faculty, staff and students who have died from HIV/AIDS Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 in conjunction with World AIDS Day Dec. 1.

Names of people who have died from HIV/AIDS, along with the year they died, their department or major and their title at SF State can be emailed to mritter@sfsu.edu.

6

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

OCTOBER 29, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE

Phone’s buzz at center of comical play HANNAH MULLINS

hmullins@mail.sfsu.edu

RYAN LEIBRICH / XPRESS

A

RING: The cast of “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” a comedy written by Sarah Ruhl and directed by Roy Conboy, gives a curtain-call bow after their performance in Little Theatre Tuesday, Oct. 21.

quiet café is where it all went down. A woman sat at a table addressing thankyou cards, when the bothersome buzz of a man’s cell phone begins. This new age comedy tells the tragic tale of a man with loose ends.

“Dead Man’s Cell Phone” was the first theater production of the semester at SF State and attracted a large audience in Little Theatre Oct. 21. The play, which ended five days later, was written by Sarah Ruhl, one of the most prominent playwrights at the moment, according to Roy Conboy, the director of the play.

Conboy, a playwright professor at SF State, has directed for almost 40 years and likes

to look at each of his plays as a tricky project made of people.

“I like the play a lot, I think it’s really interesting,” Conboy said. “It’s kind of a puzzle so it was an adventure to figure out how it works and I like that about it.”

As two tables sat in the middle of the stage, the lights illuminated a modern day setting with a vintage feel. Jean, the main woman, strives for love in her old fashioned ways, showing how obsessed society is with technology and the lost art of human interaction.

“It felt pretty unbelievable, I’m still a little bit in shock, and it all feels like a dream,” said Lauren Prentiss, the spunky 19 year old who played Jean. Prentiss walked out after

the show in a vibrant green dress with a contagious smile and was greeted with cheers and applause.

“It’s been an absolute wonderful experience,” she said.

“My first main stage, so I’d say I’ve been spoiled.”

Heather Bridgman, a 21-year-old theater major, played the character of Mrs. Gottlieb, a lost soul who knows no love but that of her affection toward her now dead son.

Bridgman jumped at the chance to play such a charismatic role.

“I’ve worked with Roy in the past and I was keeping really up-to-date with his next project because I enjoyed the last project,” she said, “So I hopped on board and we had a series of auditions and callbacks.”

Jessica Bent is in her final semester at SF State and took the opportunity to be the lighting designer for “Dead Man’s Cell Phone.”

“It gives a lot of dimension for lighting, and there’s not a lot of set design, so it’s really interesting and hard and I really wanted that,” Bent said.

“Something to really push me in lighting.”

Lighting for the show was a lot of work for Bent, as she drafted and designed on paper to give the play a noir feeling through colors and focus.

“I just think theater, as a whole, has kind of lost its realm,” she said. “I think being able to come to these shows at State and see what we actually do and how much hard work

we put in to this, I think that’s the main thing I want people to realize.”

The outfits, makeup and lighting, which were owed to the work of the cast and crew, made the older woman behind Bridgman’s talent believable.

As the audience erupted in laughter and the play’s reign on stage came to an end, friends and family eagerly waited outside the theatre to congratulate their loved ones.

“I didn’t know it was a comedy, so it was surprisingly funny and I laughed a lot,” said Madison Zimmerman, a film major at SF State, while she eagerly waited to greet her friend Bridgman after the play.

‘Sunland’ author tells of drug smugglers in visit to alma mater PETER SNARR

psnarr@mail.sfsu.edu

Vivid depictions of the sprawling emptiness of the Southwest, drug smuggling and the importance of multi-generational friendships are what readers can expect from Don Waters’ new book “Sunland.”

Waters, a graduate of SF State’s creative writing program, read excerpts from his book to students last week. “Sunland” is the fictional story of Sid Dulaney, a man who decides to smuggle prescription drugs across the Mexican border to cut down costs for his grandmother’s medication.

The story is inspired by time Waters spent working at an elderly care facility in the East Bay, as well as his appreciation for nature and the contrasts between U.S. and Mexican border towns.

Waters told the audience that while writing the novel, he lived in Arizona and immersed himself in the culture of the Southwest.

He would drive up and down the roads along the fence separating the United States and Mexico, talking to border patrol agents, interacting with members of the Minutemen Project and hiking out into the desert with Humanitarians Without Borders.

“I wanted to show the reader and bring all of this to life,” Waters said. “This stuff was so alive in my head when I was writing (the book). I really felt it.”

The book includes deep, rich characters, and students were curious to know the inspiration behind them, such as the character of Epstein, who is an old man who befriends Sid and helps him with his tasks.

Waters said that while working at an elderly care center, he met a man who had a profound affect on him and inspired the character of Epstein.

“We had baseball in common,” Waters said. “He was a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, so we would talk about baseball. He was

so dynamic. He was 100 percent himself. There was something really amazing about spending time with someone like that.”

This connection over baseball even made it into the book where Sid and Epstein are together for the last time as they sit and listen to the Arizona Diamondbacks game.

“Don’s heroes can be described as community-minded loners,” said Bob Glück, the host of the event.

After the reading, students’ questions ranged from the inspiration behind the characters to the publishing process, of which Waters admitted was a challenge.

“I had this big time New York agent who was submitting my book to all these big publishing companies,” he said. “They kept coming back rejected.”

After getting a new agent, Waters remembered his time working at a small independent press and decided to publish with University of Nevada Press,

MARTIN BUSTAMANTE / XPRESS

BORDERS: Author Don Waters signs a copy of his book “Sunland” for creative writing senior Jessica Gonzalez after a lecture in the Humanities Auditorium Monday, Oct. 20.

which he said was the right move.

Matthew Ankeny, a creative writing graduate now working on his master’s in fiction, attended Waters’ talk and said he enjoys the author’s writing style.

“(The book) is right up my alley and the kind of writing I like,” he said. “It’s a dystopian, realistic portrayal of American life gone bad.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

OCTOBER 29, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

Graduate student creates acclaimed design of innovative eye drop bottle ANNA HECHT

ahecht@mail.sfsu.edu

JENNY SOKOLOVA / XPRESS FILE PHOTO

UNIVERSAL: (ABOVE) SF State graduate of design Trevor Myers poses for a portrait in his home Wednesday, June 11, 2014. (BELOW) A hand demonstrates usage of a prototype of Trevor Myers’ eye dropper bottle.

Graduate student Trevor Myers went above and beyond to design an innovative eye dropper bottle, and now seeks to propel his prototype forward to help people facing difficulties with the standard After taking a break following graduation to bottles on the market. pursue other interests, Myers came back to his Myers’ design seeks to solve these struggles passion for design and enrolled in Professor Hsiaoby implementing colors, shapes and a better mold.

Yun Chu’s design class in the spring, one of the last He used foam for his first prototypes and later used courses required for his degree.

3D printing to create the prototypes that won him Myers worked alone on his project but had first place for universal design at the Morton Kesten Gomes and Chu overseeing and helping him in his Summit in Los Angeles Oct. 9. work. Chu acted as Myers’ faculty adviser and was The bottles feature a clothesline-shaped mold thrilled when she found out Myers won. Chu said he so users can pinch the ends to get drops out more worked hard to really understand his design and how easily with less pressure. The prototypes are also it would help people. color-coded—yellow circles, brown triangles and “I think where Trevor really excelled in this pink squares—to assist doctors and users in locating project was that he used a lot of the research techthe correct drops. niques that we teach in our department,” Chu said.

“It was a good attempt at trying to prevent “In particular, he worked very closely with users. I people from using the wrong medication,” Myers think that is probably why his final design ended up said. “So one color might be beta-blockers, being so well-rounded.” one color might be steroids, one might be For his class project, Myers quickly began another medication.” researching and talking to people and eventually He added that he took into concame to the idea of designing a better eye dropper sideration that people who are color bottle after hearing of numerous complaints to get blind would not be able to follow the drops out of standard bottles. This, he realized, this coding, and so is implewould be his project for the universal design catementing other designs gory. onto the bottles “That’s one of the key aspects of universal to adhere to design,” Myers said. “It’s just low physical effort people’s other to make a design that can be used efficiently and senses, comfortably with a minimum amount of fatigue and such as sustained physical effort.” touch.

Through research and interviews, he learned The that elderly people and those who have had Summit, cataract and other eye surgery, specifiat which Myers’ cally, had trouble using eye drops project won, occurred because of their poor design. Too at the University of Southern small of bottles, difficulty in California Davis School of squeezing them to get the Gerontology, one of the most drops out and mistaking renowned summits according to Provarious bottles for othfessor Ricardo Gomes, who teaches in er medications were I was glad that the SF State’s design and industry department. the most frequent Gomes helped oversee Myers’ project and said it difficulties users competition recognized fit perfectly for the Summit’s area of gerontoloexperienced. the quality of the work and gy, the study of aging, as well as the category One for which Myers won. extreme misto me it helped to validate not “I was glad that the competition take, Myers only the competition, but the recognized the quality of the work and learned, was to me it helped to validate not only the significance of universal design that many competition, but the significance of uniusers had that was being promoted by versal design that was being promoted by mistaken the conference,” Gomes said. “The theme Super Glue for the conference. was aging in innovation and certainly his the eye drops Ricardo Gomes, concept was an innovative concept to help because their Design and industry professor support those in aging.” bottles looked Myers was shocked when he won the award similar. and said he didn’t know what was going on in the Since winning the moments leading up to the announcement, as there award for his design, Myers were only three finalists announced for the category is now looking to figure out the and the winners were read off backwards. logistics of his prototypes and delve into “They read third place and I was like ‘What? the final stages of design and packaging. He hopes I’ve got to be second? That’s awesome,’” Myers to release these innovative eye dropper bottles into said. “Then they cleared up someone else’s project society to help bring a solution to a problem so many for second place and I was like ‘Holy crap, I won.’” people face.

Myers is currently pursuing his master’s degree Whether he stays in San Francisco or travels in industrial arts at SF State. He previously completelsewhere after receiving his master’s degree, Myers ed his undergraduate work in conceptual arts when said he wants to continue working in the field of he graduated from the University in 2006. design, where his future lies.

7

8

OPINION

OCTOBER 29, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

STAFF EDITORIAL

PROP E BRADLEY FOCHT

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

MICHAEL BARBA

PRINT MANAGING EDITOR mdbarba@mail.sfsu.edu

LAUREN SEWARD

ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR lseward@mail.sfsu.edu

Prop E would put a two-cents-per-ounce tax on the distribution of some sugar-sweetened beverages in San Francisco. The 24 extra cents for a can of coke would help fund city-operated programs and grants for San Fran-

PROP A cisco Unified School District health, nutrition and physical education programs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of San Francisco’s children are overweight or obese. Two cents is a small price to pay to pave the road to a healthier San Francisco.

The majority of the editors support a more reliable and accessible public transit system

as well as cleaner and safer streets for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. People in a city as large as San Francisco should be able to rely on consistent and clean transportation. The $500 million in bonds issued by the city would come from property taxes.

EVELYN CAICEDO

ART DIRECTOR ecaicedo@mail.sfsu.edu

KAITLIN AGUILAR

ART ASSISTANT kaitlina@mail.sfsu.edu

SOFIA LIMON

ART ASSISTANT slimon@mail.sfsu.edu

FRANK LADRA

PHOTO EDITOR fladra@mail.sfsu.edu

NASHELLY CHAVEZ

NEWS EDITOR nashelly@mail.sfsu.edu

IDA MOJADAD

NEWS EDITOR idajane@mail.sfsu.edu

PROP J

PROP B

Xpress editors unanimously voted for a gradual increase in minimum wage in the city. The current wage of $10.74 would increase to $12.25 by May 1, 2015 and it would eventually raise to $15 per hour by 2018. Although we hope to be making more than minimum wage in four years, we believe it should be higher.

We don’t think it’s necessary to increase funding to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency based on annual population increase.

We should continue to fund SFMTA with revenue that is not contingent on the city’s population. Not to mention the backlash from nonprofit coalitions, citing the $22 million

ANNA HECHT

A&E EDITOR ahecht@mail.sfsu.edu

in city services SFMTA would pull from to call Prop B an attack on low-income residents.

= In Favor

MADISON RUTHERFORD

= Against

OPINION EDITOR maddie@mail.sfsu.edu

THOMAS DE ALBA

SPORTS EDITOR tdealba@mail.sfsu.edu

MICHAEL DURAN

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR michaeld@mail.sfsu.edu

WILL CARRUTHERS

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR wcarruth@mail.sfsu.edu

RACHELE KANIGEL

PRINT ADVISER kanigel@mail.sfsu.edu

JESSE GARNIER

MULTIMEDIA ADVISER jgarnier@sfsu.edu

SCOT TUCKER

PHOTO ADVISER tucker@sfsu.edu

California needs to crack down on gun laws

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SOFIA LIMON / XPRESS

EVA CHARLES

ADVERTISING & BUSINESS echarles@mail.sfsu.edu

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

SADE BROWNE

CIRCULATION sbrowne822@gmail.com

SHAWN PERKINS

STUDENT GRAPHIC DESIGNER smperk@sfsu.edu

WRITE US A LETTER The Golden Gate Xpress accepts letters no longer than 200 words.

Letters are subject to editing.

Send letters to Madison Rutherford at: maddie@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 Brad Focht at: bfocht@mail.sfsu.edu

MICHAEL DURAN michaeld@mail.sfsu.edu

I will never forget the day that such a small object had so much control over my life.

My friends and I were heading back to campus from Broad Street and Capitol Avenue in Ingleside around midnight. As a 17-year-old student, it was my first year living in the Bay Area.

A young man approached us, reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. He asked each one of us for our phones and belongings. I couldn’t believe what was going on. Every single laugh, smile and memory from the past flashed before my eyes. He got what he needed and ran off into the shadows of San Francisco.

Gun accessibility should be stricter to prevent events like this from happening, especially within the SF State community where four student deaths from 2013 to 2014 have been gun-related.

It began with the shooting of Justin Valdez in Fall 2013, and within the next year SF State stu-

dents Stephen Guillermo, Mark Madden and Cecilia Lam were all shot and killed in succession.

Though the events are unrelated, the trend has me convinced that guns are falling into the wrong hands — and this needs to be stopped.

One person is killed by a firearm every 17 minutes in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2012 alone, there were seven mass shootings in the US, including the Sandy Hook massacre and Aurora theater shootings, some of the most infamous of our generation.

In mass shootings that occurred between the years of 1982 and 2012, 49 percent of killers used weapons that had been acquired legally according to Mother Jones. Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old shooter of Sandy Hook, took his mother’s gun, killed her, and then went on to commit one of the biggest mas-

sacres the US has ever seen.

In Isla Vista, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger purchased several guns and went on a rampage, killing seven, including himself.

According to the National Rifle Association’s lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action, all firearms must be purchased through a licensed dealer.

It also states that a civilian may not carry a loaded firearm in a public or incorporated area, but no permit or license is needed for an individual to have a gun inside their home or business.

California’s gun laws are some of the strictest in the country, but gun violence is still rampant.

According to the NRA-ILA, “ILA is committed to preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes.”

The guidelines they use to

constitute a law-abiding citizen should be more defined. The current laws are not stopping guns from falling into the hands of criminals.

In inspections conducted between 2008 and 2011 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 62,000 firearms were found missing from licensee’s inventories, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The debate over gun control and accessibility is an ongoing battle that cannot be solved overnight.

It is much easier said than done, but we need gun laws to be stricter everywhere and we need government support now more than ever.

OPINION

OCTOBER 29, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

9

HALLOWEEN ISSUE

Ray Rice costumes reveal our skewed morality MADISON RUTHERFORD maddie@mail.sfsu.edu

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SOFIA LIMON / XPRESS

U

nfortunately, Halloween is no stranger to culturally misappropriated and wildly offensive costumes (cue Native American headdresses, blackface and poking fun at celebrity scandals), but the recently surfaced slew of Ray Rice Halloween costumes expose new truths about how insensitive and misinformed we are as a society.

Rice was suspended indefinitely from the Baltimore Ravens after a video surfaced in September, which showed him knocking his then-fiancée unconscious and dragging her out of a hotel elevator in Atlantic City, N.J. Just one month later, Instagram was

marred with a middle-aged white man in blackface posing next to a woman with a “black eye” crafted from eyeshadow. Pictures of a man in a Rice jersey dragging a blow up doll that represented Janay Rice flooded Reddit. Perhaps the most appalling — a child donning blackface, clutching a doll by the hair.

While the Internet fought back with an infinite arsenal of “too soon” comments, timing is not the biggest issue.

The problem is not that it’s too soon to make light of a domestic abuse case, it’s that this is happening in the first place.

Though the costumes warranted a fair amount of backlash from the public, no one was less amused than Janay Rice

herself, who is still reeling from the initial incident.

“It’s sad, that my suffering amuses others,” she tweeted Oct. 22.

It’s events like this that reveal to us the bitter truth — our society is still riddled with ignorance. In a decade known for “progress,” people still think that racism and domestic abuse are funny.

Instead of using Janay Rice’s tragic situation as a means to get a few laughs or shocked looks on Halloween, we should examine the overarching consequences of this behavior.

Racial stereotyping and condoning domestic violence do not make you clever and culturally relevant, they make

you ignorant and insensitive. To use Halloween as an excuse to make light of deeply serious pitfalls in our society is sickening.

Domestic Violence Statistics reports that a woman is beaten every nine seconds in the United States. While someone covered in face paint clings to a blow-up doll and gets drunk at a Halloween party, a woman is being abused.

For every four dolls used as a prop for someone’s costume, there is one real woman in the U.S. enduring abuse.

This shouldn’t be just another scandal that fades with the season, it should be a wake-up call.

10

SPORTS

OCTOBER 29, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

ERIC GORMAN / XPRESS

TAGGED: (LEFT) Teams Bobby Small Hands and The Milkman go head to head at the beginning of the final round of SF State’s Annual Costume Dodgeball Tournament in the Gymnasium Friday, Oct. 24. (ABOVE) Creative writing major Sam Silverstri walks off of the court as a ball, thrown by criminal justice major Jeremy Dutra, flies at the back of her head during game two of SF State’s Annual Costume Dodgeball Tournament Friday, Oct. 24.

Rivalry caps off dodgeball tournament NICOLE PARADISE

D

Part of being a college student is building friendships and creating

nparadis@mail.sfsu.edu

odgeball made its way to SF State Friday in tournament fashion and the final round came down to a friendly rivalry between teams Bobby Small Hands and The Milkman.

The fifth annual Costume Dodgeball Tournament came to a close in the championship game of a best of three set, where Bobby Small Hands claimed a victory over their heated rivals.

“We just want to beat Bobby really bad,” said Bobby Small Hands team captain Mike Cala of his friend Bobby Medina, who played for The Milkman. His team had never participated in the event before and did not practice, he added.

Seven teams played in this year’s tournament in hopes of winning the championship title and best costume. The

memorable experiences with one another that you will cherish beyond your time at SF State. I hope we are helping to make that happen.

Ryan Fetzer, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CAMPUS RECREATION

tournament started in 2010 and is open to all SF State students, according to Ryan Fetzer, assistant director of campus recreation.

“Students really seem to enjoy it and have fun dressing up,” said Fetzer.

“It makes it more of a fun and social atmosphere.”

Out of the seven teams, only one had female players. Magic was a co-ed team whose costume theme was Harry Potter. Their creativity outshined the rest, and won the title of “Best Costume.” As a grand prize, each player on the team received a yellow SF State T-shirt, with

the University’s new logo on it.

“I came for the good laughs and relationship building,” said Magic teammate Julia Ballou, an apparel design and merchandising student.

The bleachers were mostly filled with participating teams of SF State students. The crowd cheered for all teams while they danced along to a live DJ who played popular house music during the event.

In addition, members of Pi Kappa Phi came dressed in blue and yellow “Do it for the Bay” T-shirts. This was their third year participating in the tournament

and they hoped to take the championship as they did in 2012.

“We’re confident in our skills, but we really just want to have fun,” said team captain Rafael Gallardo before the event.

Gallardo’s team finished in sixth place this year.

Garrett Mason, player of The Milkman, said he was disappointed this year because it was played differently than previous tournaments. “It used to be best out of five games,” said Mason. “It will probably be the last year I play.”

When the dust settled, Fetzer deemed the event a success and said he looked forward to improving on it next year.

“Part of being a college student is building friendships and creating memorable experiences with one another that you will cherish beyond your time at SF State,” said Fetzer. “I hope we are helping to make that happen.”

CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT

Giants move on to Game 7 after defeat by Royals

of the big screen, anxious for another championship celebration.

San Francisco placed their fate in the hands of veteran pitcher Jake Peavy, who battled through a sore thumb Tuesday night, which may have had an affect on his 1.3 inning disaster of an outing, in which he allowed five runs before retreating to the dugout to watch the wheels fall off.

The Civic Center crowd stood, watching helplessly as the Royals ballooned their lead to 7-0 at the close of the second inning.

“He had a few nice pitches,” Caden Reed, an Urban Studies major from SF State, said of Peavy. “Unfortunately, a few mental errors cost him.”

The crowd didn’t dissipate into the fourth inning, but miserable groans were as ever-present on the backdrop of an orange-lit Civic Center as the clouds of marijuana smoke filled the sky.

With relief pitcher Jean Machi extending the damage on the mound and offensive futility showing up when it wasn’t invited, panic started to set in for Giants fans.

“I’ve always felt like this squad was just good enough to break our hearts,” Martin Orpeza, a creative writing major at SF State, said of the 2014 Giants.

“I’m feeling like that’s what might happen.”

The police presence at the Civic Center was considerable.

Uniformed officers were visible everywhere, enforcing the no alcohol policy diligently and keeping tensions low.

“People were getting real angry up front,” said Kent Malama, describing some altercations between fans who couldn’t see the big screen.

Malama decided to hightail it to a nearby bar when the score became insurmountable, but his faith was only tested. The Marin native has already planned his return trip Wednesday night for his team’s decisive Game 7.

“I’ll be back tomorrow regardless,” Malama said. “The Giants will pull it out. They always do.”

Kansas City will take the mound at 5:07 p.m. tonight for Game 7 against the Giants, which will decide the 2014 champion of the Fall Classic.

ANNASTASHIA GOOLSBY / XPRESS

OPTIMISTIC: Gian Portuguez stays positive and roots on the Giants during the World Series Game 6 broadcasting at San Francisco City Hall Tuesday, Oct. 28. The Giants lost 10-0 against the Kansas City Royals.

SPORTS

OCTOBER 29, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

11

Wrestling eyes nationals as season nears

W

ith the 2014-15 season looming, the SF State wrestling team will lean on the experience of 10 letterwinners and one All-American to lead the team to hopefully its first national title since 1997.

Head coach Lars Jensen, who is beginning his 32nd year at the helm for the Gators, led SF State to an 8-5 overall record last year and has high expectations for his scrappy group going forward.

“Our goals are to place in the top four in the region and we want to take multiple folks to nationals and have at least two or three All-Americans,” Jensen said. “That’s our goal every year, to place top 20 in the nation.”

Redshirt seniors Andrew Reggi and Vincente Aboytes are two of the leaders on the team and are in their final years as Gators. With the season only a few days away, both seniors have one common achievement in mind.

“My goals are to be an All-American this year and to win a national title,” Reggi said.

“I want to go all out this year, leave nothing on the mat and have fun.”

As two of four seniors on the team, Reggi and Aboytes look to be leaders and set the tone for a

JOHN MONTOYA

jmontoya@mail.sfsu.edu

We’re excited about this season because we have some guys who are real hungry this year.

Lars Jensen,

WRESTLING HEAD COACH

LORISA SALVATIN / XPRESS

ANTICIPATION: SF State seniors Andrew Reggi and Vicente Aboytes take a knee in the wrestling room, where they train and practice Friday, Oct. 26.

team made largely of freshman and transfer students.

“If we see them (underclassmen) struggle in certain aspects, we try to help them push through

it on the mat,” Aboytes said.

“Outside of the mat we try to make sure they don’t feel like they’re alone and that they have other guys with them.”

Even with three decades of coaching experience under his belt, Jensen has always instilled the same philosophy from day one of practice.

“Come in with a good work ethic, work hard and good things are going to happen,” Jensen said. “You might not be the starter and injuries do occur, but if you keep pounding away you’re gonna be successful by the time you’re a senior.”

The Gator team has a tough schedule ahead, facing Division I schools such as Stanford and Cal Poly.

“I think we’re excited about this season because we have some guys who are real hungry this year,” Jensen said. “We have a good group and we’re working hard — we’ll know in the next couple of weeks how good we are.”

Last year was the first time in four years that the Gators did not achieve an All-American for the team.

The Gators take to the mat for the first time this season Nov. 1 for the Alumni Purple/Gold Match.