Spring 2014 Issue 16

MAY 21, 2014 ISSUE 16 VOLUME XCIX GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG SERVING THE SAN FRANCISCO STATE COMMUNITY SINCE 1927

FREE

FRANK LADRA / XPRESS COMMENCEMENT: SF State class speaker for the nursing program Shanalyn R. Angeles addresses graduation attendees while faculty and students look on from the stage behind her Monday, May 19.

A Byte of the Valley: See page

4

SF State teachers and students delve into the tech-boom era, creating everything from a party locator app to portable fruit-shaped lights.

2

News

MAY 21, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

FOR MORE ON ADJUNCT FACULTY VISIT: GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

RACHEL ASTON / XPRESS

ADJUNCT: Sheila Tully, SF State’s California Faculty Association chapter president, poses in her office on campus Tuesday, March 18.

Lecturers face job insecurity, low pay

A

BY JENNIE BUTLER jennieb@mail.sfsu.edu

nthropology Lecturer Sheila Tully took what’s known as the “academic path.” She obtained a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degree in areas of study that inspired her, and took a part-time teaching position at SF State.

Tully thought that if she worked hard she could live comfortably in San Francisco, which she did, for 28 years on an income never exceeding $40,000 annually – until two years ago when the rent-controlled building she lived in with her family was sold.

“Getting evicted was an emotionally hideous experience,” Tully said. “We raised our daughter there, we knew all our neighbors, we used to have pizza night on Fridays. And then it was just like ‘sorry, you don’t have money, you have to go.’”

After a disheartening process of competing, often times with her own students, for apartments in their budget, Tully and her husband settled on a flat renting for $900 more a month than what they were paying.

As they struggle to make ends meet, Tully puts her faith in the CSU system to consistently provide her with enough courses to teach. If it proves unreliable, as it has in the past, she and her husband might have to leave San Francisco altogether.

Tully’s circumstances are not uncommon among contingent faculty. Lecturers, the accepted term for part-time professors hired on a contractual basis, are often constrained to frugal lifestyles similar to the students they teach.

In a national survey released by the House of Representatives, lecturers reported living with multiple roommates, commuting long distances and supplementing their income by waiting tables or working in retail. Last fall, Al Jazeera highlighted an SF State lecturer with a Ph.D. and stellar student evaluations, whose financial woes drove him to reside in his parents’ basement.

Lecturers’ troubles only begin with their low salary – part-time adjuncts in the U.S. earn between $20,000 and $25,000 per year, NPR reports.

The position often provides no job security, no promise of a substantial pay increase or few opportunities for full-time or tenure-track positions. SF State has more part-time lecturers than ever before, as more than half of the University’s faculty is off the tenure track, according to SF State data.

College was not always like this. In 1975, part-time adjunct faculty made up only 24 percent of the national two and fouryear college instructional staff, according to a report by the House of Representatives. Now, contingent faculty make up 75 percent of the nation’s academic workforce.

“The idea of lecturers has evolved,” said History Lecturer Mark Sigmon. “It used to be an emergency fill-in-the-gap thing, but then as the budget tightened, the administration started seeing the financial advantages of hiring lecturers.”

Sigmon attributes the growing number of adjunct faculty to CSU hiring lecturers to replace retiring tenured professors.

The CSU usually pays tenured professors $93,644 per academic year, almost double the average

RACHEL ASTON / XPRESS

STACKED: Mark Sigmon, an SF State history lecturer, sits in his office among hundreds of papers waiting to be graded in the Science Building Wednesday, May 14.

CSU lecturer’s salary, according to CSU data.

Employment instability is a frustration among lecturers and those who seek employment at other universities or community colleges, often resulting in lengthy commutes between multiple institutions.

English Composition Lecturer Georgia Gero-Chen said she’s

the Spring budget.

Tully says she often faces this problem, forcing her to pick up suppressed classes – courses the University rolls out after they publish the official class schedule. Sometimes this is with less than 24 hours notice.

“It’s extremely stressful.

You’re trying to pull together a class and order books. You’re

Cobbling together a living from various places leaves lecturers scrambling.

Georgia Gero-Chen, ENGLISH COMPOSITION LECTURER

lucky to have split her teaching between multiple schools only once, because the practice is common among part-time faculty.

“Cobbling together a living from various places leaves lecturers scrambling,” Gero-Chen said. “They’re juggling different policy procedures and different curriculum. They’re not as available, and they have to work harder as a result to mitigate the impact on students.”

Staying at one school does not promise lecturers job stability. SF State’s course offerings coincide with student enrollment and CSU funding. A lecturer could teach four classes in the fall semester, to be left scrambling when there is only enough room for two of those classes in

totally unprepared; students think you’re unorganized,” said Tully.

“My all- time record was picking up a graduate seminar at 7 p.m. on Sunday night, and it met the next morning. I taught it for three weeks without books.”

Tully believes suppressed classes are not only unfair to faculty, they also obstruct students’ educational needs, as most of them end up in classes released at the last minute to those who care little about the subject matter.

Lecturers have little control of their own job growth. Even with a PhD in their field and consistently positive student evaluations, lecturers have no ensured path to tenure.

According to Sigmon, lecturers are unlikely to work

their way up to the tenure track because the university would rather hire a recent graduate with a cutting-edge dissertation or a published best-seller for those positions than reward a lecturer’s job well done. After Sigmon obtained a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley he took a part-time lecturer position at SF State, hoping he could work his way to tenure-track.

After 25 years, Sigmon has never been offered a pathway to tenure.

“I’m teaching five classes, whereas my tenure-track colleagues are teaching three classes and they’re making about $15,000 more a year than I do,” said Sigmon.

But there is promise for better working conditions. A nationwide campaign working to empower contingent faculty launched a local chapter, Adjunct Action Bay Area, in January. The campaign helped adjunct faculty at Mills College form a union last week, and they are filing a petition for a union election at San Francisco Art Institute.

Despite frustration, Tully does not seek tenure track opportunities at other universities. But, giving up the profession altogether is not an option, she said.

“I don’t make a lot of money, but when my alarm goes off in the morning I don’t hate my job,” Tully said. “Most days I go home feeling pretty satisfied that I’ve done a good day’s work. Do I wish I was compensated for it?

Yeah. But you change people’s lives as a teacher, and there’s no price for that.”

4

News

MAY 21, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

A BYTE OF THE VALLEY

A deeper look into SF State’s tech studies, scenes and students

BY NENA FARRELL | haydee@mail.sfsu.edu

AND BY HALEY BRUCATO | hbrucato@mail.sfsu.edu

AND BY JULIA MIDDLEMISS | jmiddle@mail.sfsu.edu

SEE THE ENTIRE COLLECTION ON

MEDIUM PRESENTED WITH MORE STORIES AND VIDEO ON THE SF STATE TECHNOLOGY SCENE

MEDIUM.COM/ A-BYTE-OF-THE-VALLEY

JENNY SOKOLOVA / XPRESS

A

CREATIVE MIND: Trevor Myers, a 31-year-old graduate design student, focuses his pieces on benefiting underserved populations.

t a campus surrounded

by Silicon Valley and the tech boom, it’s no surprise that technology has begun to shape the SF State campus through a variety of student entrepreneurs, app developers, engineers and designers — but also the aim of the University itself.

A close look into various departments, students and faculty showed a huge community of brains that could launch the next tech giant, or even the perfect local app that SF State students and San Franciscans need. Whichever one it may be, there’s no doubt of the brainpower behind the technology flowing from SF State’s doors, even if it’s not the first school in the Bay Area that’s thought of when tech comes to mind.

APPLICATIONS If you were to guess what kind of app students were creating at SF State, a first guess might not be a party locator app.

But that is exactly what Randy Tovar and his business partner Jimmy Felix came up with in October of last year, while in their first semester at SF State.

“It was a Friday night and everyone said ‘what’s goin’ on tonight Randy,’ no one had any idea of a party or event,” Tovar said.

“Me and Jimmy were hanging out in our dorm room thinking of ways to get rich and I had a moment where I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have an app that could tell you where the parties are at, with photo sharing, video sharing, guestlist and all that.”

An idea was born, and the partners have just gotten legal rights to the App “Spots”, after Tovar’s uncle gave him the advice that the most important step was to protect the idea.

Their app now has a trailer, and the duo is learning to code and looking for programmers.

Getting even bigger traction is the app two information systems majors Jeff Carpenter and Afsheen Agahi came up with.

An award-winning app, it’s focused on catching shoplifters with the ability to take a photo of the alleged and upload it to the store’s server.

Since the information systems department partnered with SAP American University Alliance Program in 2012, SAP has given recognition to apps like Carpenter and Agahi’s. SF State information systems students have also received awards for apps including a mobile water conservation app.

Carpenter and Agahi declined to respond to interview

requests from Xpress.

But apps aren’t only getting made by SF State. Apps are also making a beeline for campus — and the administration is more than happy to bring them in.

A great example of that is the Tapingo app.

It’s an app that will now sync with SF State’s food vendors, allowing students to place a mobile order and pick it up when they arrive at their favorite eatery rather than waiting in line. The only place on campus that has anything similar is Ike’s Place downstairs, but Tapingo will offer this to students for other vendors on campus.

“Overall, SF State is an exciting campus that is set up really well for mobile ordering,” said Ben Anderson, Tapingo director of campus sales. “The University is looking closely at ways to leverage technology to improve campus life and Tapingo was one of the things they were interested in.”

It was a match quickly made, since SF State’s administration was just as interested in bringing Tapingo onto campus as the app developers were.

“It is important the campus takes a lead on obtaining new technology that will make life easier for the students, all the way from ordering sandwiches to registering for classes,” said Lyle Margerum, business management senior and operations manager

I DO THINK THAT STATE IS IN THE POSITION TO PREPARE US FOR, YOU KNOW...

THE COMING REIGN OF TERROR OF GOOGLE. -KYLE BRAY

for various cafes on campus.

“We are in the tech capital of the world, let’s take advantage of it.”

DESIGN While information systems is an obvious department to look to in search of tech, a huge portion of technology at SF State comes from departments like art and design.

One example is Trevor Myers, a 31-year-old graduate student in design who sells eclectic design pieces through Etsy and his website, behance.net/ trevormyers.

He has several designs, but an interesting combination of tech and design is a tree lamp that has fruits for lights. Which doesn’t sound exciting — until the design “lil oberon” reveals the fruit lights are rechargeable and removable, and can be taken off the tree to be used as portable night lights.

Although SF State designers are competing with students from the Art Center in Pasadena, SF Art Academy and California College of the Arts, Myers said SF State is different from the other design schools.

“I think our department has more of a focus on human design.

About really kind of getting in

News there…seeing an underserved group of people and thinking ‘I’m going to go in there and help them,’” said Myers.

Another student that’s looking to benefit others with her design is Brianna “Bobie” Vilijoen.

As a designer, surfer and graduate design student, she’s identified that the inaccurate information on tidal currents and their strength, direction and timing is a problem for anyone who gets too close to the water. A Bulgarian native, she’s lived in the Bay Area for 12 years to pursue a career in combining her deep love of water sports with data design.

“You don’t realize how dangerous it can be,” she said as she gestured towards the large ships in the water at Crissy Field.

“It is a big shipping channel...the ships can’t stop for you. If you’re in their way you are in trouble. You have to avoid them.”

Vilijoen took it upon herself to meet science with design. Although two engineers at the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies created a similar app called “Currents Cumalitive Work” in 2010, she is designing the best way to communicate what the water is doing in a visual sense.

With her research, she is combining the design and engineering that the Romberg Tiburon Center did, taking radio waves that bounce off water with multiple sensors around the bay.

Working with water has an entirely

MAY 21, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

5

different meaning for students in the conceptual information arts department. The department combines artistic vision with basic computing and gave a set of students the landscape of Lake Merced to create their projects.

From this program, projects range from tracking the lake’s currents with a board covered in rubber duckies to a robot that goes around the lake using color sensor, showing there’s no lack of ideas when art and tech combine.

“Some students are interested in sound, others say, motion or gesture. So they could sort of do what they want, but within the context of the technology we’re using and the general ideas of bringing aspects of research and human computer interaction, and using those again in an arts context,” said Carlos Castellanos, an SF State grad and visiting professor to the CIA department.

The program has given students plenty of room to create their own side of the projects, and get hands-on experience that goes beyond simply being an art student, as Kyle Bray learned this semester.

“I learned tons of things that I hadn’t before, especially concerning Arduino and stuff, I didn’t even know what an Arduino was before coming to this class,” said Bray, a 21-year-old junior and BECA student. “I do think that State is in the position to prepare us for, you know, the coming reign of terror of Google.”

FACULTY

It’s not only students that are creating a name for themselves in tech and entrepreneurship — but faculty as well.

College of Business Dean Linda Oubre is not the typical college dean.

Although she does not have a PhD, she is not a scholar, she is a business woman and a successful entrepreneur of over 30 start-ups.

“I’ll tell you what companies tell me,” she said. “I talk to a lot of start-ups and corporations...they love our graduates because they roll up their sleeves and get things done.” This is the kind of experience that has made her own career successful. She got in there and executed her big ideas.

Students ideas come from them wanting to solve basic human problems, what she calls “social innovations” of their time.

SF State students are not looking to make money on the next Apple company, said Oubre, but instead are community focused - they want to solve social problems.

“Students get the best ideas from themselves and each other,” Oubre said.

“We train leaders who look like their customers - we have the diversity in gender, nationality, ethnicity and students who are just used to dealing with diverse populations, that is what sets us apart.”

Oubre said that students need to remember Apple started in a garage and most of the innovation that is happening in the Bay Area is from a company of four to six people. All the companies had to start somewhere.

“Use your brain and your gut and your heart,” she said. “You don’t always have to analyze everything, just trust yourself.”

Her vision for the future of the College of Business is creating those connections with corporations who need great future leaders and building services with a career center for all business students.

“I really think we need to build a pipeline of leaders for the Bay Area,” Oubre said. “The key way is connecting with organizations...you guys need jobs and corporations need great future leaders.”

But as they have seen, there isn’t just business behind these great ideas, but purposeful design.

The heart of start-ups and inventions

at SF State come from the design industry department, and Mark Ciotola said it is no accident that he teaches there, having worked on several start-ups, done research for NASA and worked on 3D projects.

“They created (my) course because there were so many inventions and start ups coming out of here,” said the design and industry lecturer. “Students are charged early on to create things and come up with a solution to a problem with no pre-established conclusion.”

SF State has been at the cutting edge with computer science he said, although some don’t see the light of day, there are others that do.

“It is tough with computer applications to get the type of publicity for anyone who tries to do an app,” Ciotola said.

“There are only a few big success stories and the odds are stacked against you.”

TREVOR MYERS / SPECIAL TO XPRESS

BRINGER OF LIGHT: One of Trevor Myers’ designs is a tree that has rechargable fruit, turning them into portable night lights.

I TALK TO A LOT OF START-UPS...THEY LOVE OUR GRADUATES BECAUSE THEY ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES AND GET THINGS DONE. -LINDA OUBRE

TREVOR MYERS / SPECIAL TO XPRESS

CONNECTING YOUTH: Pathways is a game designed by Trevor Myers to help children with varying ability levels socialize with one another.

8

News

MAY 21, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

Professor enters six-month hiatus after 44 years

BY JULIA MIDDLEMISS jmiddle@mail.sfsu.edu

oga instructor Larry “Lar” Caughlan will roll up his mat for a six-month hiatus after 49 years spent as a student and teacher at SF State.

“It’s amazing to have such a long run in the same place because I would have never thought I’d be here since 1965,” said Caughlan, who has both taught and attended classes at the University.

Caughlan began his undergraduate degree as a music major in 1965. During a brief 90-day stint in jail, while a junior at SF State, Caughlan had his first teaching gig when he showed other inmates yoga to pass the time.

Upon his return to school, Caughlan was met with the beginning demonstrations of the 1968 campus strike, which he participated in by handing out pamphlets until events became increasingly violent

RYAN LEIBRICH / XPRESS

BALANCE: Yoga professor Larry “Lar” Caughlan does a headstand next to his pyramid in Burk Hall Thursday, May 15.

and against his belief in the Gandhi tradition of social change.

“It was probably one of the worst campuses on earth at that time because of the chaos,” Caughlan said. “If universities get too radical, you can’t just be a student and focus in. I didn’t participate in any of the radical stuff, that’s why I was doing yoga out on the lawn.”

Almost immediately after graduating in 1972, Caughlan was given a position teaching free yoga to students for a year under Phys-Ed for the People, a university-sanctioned group at SF State that taught classes not offered in the curriculum.

SF State Women’s Physical Education soon wanted to incorporate yoga into their

program and offered Caughlan two co-ed yoga classes that turned into five sections.

By 2004, there were 17 different yoga sections taught by various instructors at SF State.

“This was a pretty radical idea, having men and women doing yoga together in the same room,” Caughlan said. “There was hardly any yoga around, but students wanted to learn.”

Suzanne Caughlan, once an eager student interested in learning the art of yoga, married Caughlan 11 years after she took one of his classes at SF State. Suzanne had become intrigued and continued to come back to his classes each week before starting to teach her own.

“He’s good at allowing everyone to have their own spiritual space,” said Suzanne, who will take over Caughlan’s classes while he is on leave. “His teaching is unique to the individual.”

Caughlan prides himself on teaching the basics of yoga to his students without all the fuss of modern forms. To maintain the goal of delivering an honest spiritual journey with every class is what he hopes students will carry with them.

“For reasons largely unknown to me, I have a strong cathartic experience during almost all of Lar’s classes,” said Dave Peterson, a graduate student and first-year music major. “I suppress my tears. The outcome is that I feel an increased capacity for love and patience in every other facet of my life.”

Caughlan taught at multiple schools and recreational centers to earn a living.

With no summer break and balancing over 10 yoga sections at different facilities, Caughlan feels an increased strain spiritually and physically on his 68-yearold body.

“I’ve been teaching here for 44 years and I need a break,” Caughlan said. “I hope to come back. I don’t want to stop teaching, I just love it too much.”

After a six-month break, Caughlan hopes to teach half of the sections he does now to maintain a more practical regime.

“I kept on teaching at state because I started realizing the impact I have on the students,” Caughlan said. “I never went into yoga to make money. I went into yoga just to help people learn it. I just love helping students learn something totally different—how to be at peace with yourself.”

Former director of residential life becomes interim dean of students

BY CHLOE JOHNSON | chloej@mail.sfsu.edu

Mary Ann Begley replaced Joseph Greenwell April 30 as interim dean of students at SF State, a position she will have until the university finds a permanent dean.

As dean of students, Begley, who has worked as director of residential life since 2010, oversees student recreation, dorm life, counseling and the Student Involvement and Career Center.

“I have had the pleasure of working very closely with Dr. Begley for several years as a colleague,” said former Dean of Students Joseph Greenwell, who is now the vice chancellor and dean of students at the University of California Berkeley. “I’m confident that she will continue to move student life forward in this role.”

Begley said that getting to know students personally and understanding their challenges, interests and concerns is essential to doing her job well. She makes a point to talk with students during her daily walk to campus or on the quad.

“One of my big things is getting to know (the students),” Begley said. “I intend to do that

as much as possible.”

Begley plans to offer more social and recreational activities on campus based on what students want. Events that have been popular include live music, comedy shows and casino nights.

Kinesiology major Ricardo Arias would like to see more campus recreational activities, particularly intramural sports, but also wants Begley to focus on SF State’s large number of commuter students.

“That should be a priority before the parties and stuff,” Arias said. “I don’t feel that (social events) would make a difference, because we’re still on a budget.”

Arias, who lives off campus, said that he would like Begley to talk to commuter students about what would make their experiences at SF State easier, such as classes at more convenient times.

Begley has been involved in student affairs for over 20 years, first at East Kentucky University in her native state, and later at the University of Ohio in Bowling Green. When she first arrived at State, she quickly realized that she loved the city

and school.

“The number one difference for me is that it’s very monocultural in Kentucky and Ohio, and here the diversity is phenomenal,” Begley said. “A lot of universities tout that they’re diverse.

This is the first place I’ve worked where that’s actually true.”

Most of Begley’s friends and family are still back East, which she said has been hard for her. Begley has adjusted to life in San Francisco by throwing herself into her career, spending time in nature and exploring the city she now calls home. Over the summer, Begley plans to visit family in Kentucky and Florida, and to go up to Portland, Ore. for the Fourth of July.

Begley will also spend the summer planning for the fall semester, organizing events such as Welcome Days for incoming students.

“As advice for Dr. Begley, it is the same as I have for all my former team at SF State,” said Greenwell, “to stay focused on the enhancement of the student experience.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOWNAI SAETERN / SPECIAL TO XPRESS

Stephen Guillermo to recieve posthumous degree

SF State will award Stephen Guillermo a posthumous degree in international relations this summer, University officials announced Tuesday. Guillermo, who was shot and killed when he entered the wrong apartment May 3, was a few units away from receiving his degree before his death, said Mary Ann Begley in a press release. The 26-year-old student would have been the first in his family to earn a college degree, according to family members. “The SF State community was saddened to hear of his sudden passing,” Begley said in the press release. “Upon the request of the Guillermo family and the faculty and administrators in the College of Liberal and Creative Arts, a posthumous degree will be awarded.”

10

Arts & Entertainment

MAY 21, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

A student’s guide to get out of town this summer AS CHARMING AS PARKMERCED AND THE OUTER SUNSET MAY BE, THE REST OF THE BAY AREA ISN’T SO BAD. NOT GOING HOME THIS SUMMER? MAKE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS A CAR AND GET TO KNOW WHAT’S WHAT.

BY KYLE DA SILVA | kdasilva@mail.sfsu.edu

1

5 STINSON BEACH (25.4 MILES)

MUIR WOODS & MOUNT TAMALPAIS (18.5 MILES)

Don’t let Ocean Beach set your standard for Northern California beaches. Just west of Muir Woods is Stinson Beach, a seaside town with a population of less than 650. Summer is whale-watching season, so catch the gray whales as they make their annual trip from Alaska to Baja California. Then go grab a drink and a bowl of clam chowder on the Sand Dollar’s patio.

Get out to the world’s most visited redwood park.

Just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge you can hike, bike ride and camp in Muir Woods. Mount Tamalpais, affectionately known as Mt. Tam, offers striking views of the North Bay, East Bay and Peninsula. Its popularity might make it hard to find a parking spot, but you live in San Francisco, you’re used to that.

2

HALF MOON BAY (24.3 MILES)

1

4

CASTLE ROCK STATE PARK (48.3 MILES)

Take all the rock climbing practice from Mission Cliffs, Dogpatch Boulders and Planet Granite and give the real thing a shot.

Castle Rock State Park boasts over 31 miles of hiking, two overnight camp sites and some of the Bay Area’s finest rock climbing.

7 5

You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant down Skyline Boulevard. From Skyline, along the crest of the Santa Cruz mountain range, tucked away in a redwood grove and surrounded by vintage cars and motorcycles, is the restaurant that Woody Guthrie made famous. Alice’s is worth the drive alone, but make a day out of it and stop to hike one of the trails along the way.

2

8

4

Key SF State San Mateo County Marin County

3 8

OAKLAND (19.8 MILES)

San Francisco can feel like an island sometimes, with water on three sides. Right across the bay, Oakland feels like the westernmost edge of mainland America. With one of the fastest rising rents in the United States (12.3 percent since last year), people are catching on to the East Bay trends. Hang out in the East Bay sunshine near Lake Merritt, get a freshly squeezed greyhound at Cafe Van Cleef or see one of Oakland’s hot new bands at the Night Light (all before the last BART home).

6

ALICE’S RESTAURANT & SKYLINE BOULEVARD (32.2 MILES)

UC BERKELEY (21.8 MILES)

SF State is a commuter school, we like it like that. But if you want a second shot at the college experience, brush up your chops and try and get into grad school at the number one public university in the world, according to Shanghai Rankings.

7

The San Mateo County coastline is beautiful. Drive down Highway 1 for some of the Bay Area’s finest fish’n’chips at Barbara’s Fish Trap, stroll historic Main Street in San Mateo County’s first real town and catch a wave at Mavericks before the winter big wave season.

3

6

SANTA CRUZ (70.3 MILES)

Is Santa Cruz part of the Bay or not? Well, I guess it depends on where you’re from. But regardless, take a day to surf some of Northern California’s best breaks like Steamer’s Lane, or hang out at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, California’s oldest amusement park. Grab a scoop at Marianne’s Ice Cream and see a show at The Catalyst.

Alameda County Santa Cruz County

Hackathon welcomes newcomers, expert hackers

BY APRIL HALOG avhalog@mail.sfsu.edu

When people think of a hacker, the image of a person sitting in a dark room, using their computer to break into websites and steal sensitive information often comes to mind.

However, that is a misconception.

A group of SF State staff is hosting an event to showcase that hacking can be used for good.

On May 31 and June 1, the campus will be home to an all-day collaborative computer programming event, also known as the “Hackathon,” for the San Francisco Day of Civic Hacking @ SF State. This will be the second year the campus will host the event as part of National Day of Civic Hacking.

Julio Feliciano, a web

developer for SF State, is one of the three leaders of the event. He said the group aims to reclaim the word “hacking” by showing the potential the group has and the positive side of hacking.

“We are trying to differentiate between hacking and cracking. Hacking is the good part. Cracking is the bad. Hacking is using limited resources and getting (the) biggest bang for your buck or whatever you have (as) the outcome. Cracking is when people try to break into a system, trying to steal your credit card,” Feliciano said.

A civic hacker works with others to build and create applications using open source code to provide solutions to problems in their community, city or state.

According to the National Day of Civic Hacking website, 105 civic hacking events in 91 cities

will take place nationwide.

Tom Kelleher, an information technology consultant for the College of Business, said the event is a “unique opportunity to solve social issues for people that need help.”

According to the group and the National Day of Civic Hacking website, the main purpose of the Hackathon is to gather computer programmers and engineers to collaborate and solve problems.

They work together and create solutions through technology and make applications or software that others can benefit from.

“The main focus is using open data and public information to produce something.

Right now it just sits there and a lot of money is spent producing this data and never goes anywhere,” Feliciano said. “If you

hand (the data) over to people and see what they can do with it, that becomes powerful.”

According to Sri Ramya Bachu Venkata, a project analyst and one of the three leaders of the event, challenges will be presented at the beginning of the event and groups will form according to the challenge they are interested in tackling.

About 60 participants came to last year’s hackathon, according to Venkata. MedLink, which provides information on available medical supplies and service in developing areas, is one of the winning apps created at last year’s Hackathon.

The app was featured at a White House talk on civic hacking a month later.

The leaders of the event said that the event is not limited to those with knowledge in coding or technology and the

group encourages anyone with a passion for solving social issues to participate.

“It doesn’t have to be an app that has to be built; It can even be an idea. (They can) make a PowerPoint presentation or even a prototype with pictures and stuff,” Venkata said of those who want to enter. “Anyone who is interested in participating can do it.”

At the end of the second day, projects will be presented and judged and the winners will be awarded prizes.

This year the winning groups will be awarded with a one-hour mentoring session from top technology experts.

The event will take place all day starting at 9:45 a.m.

An exact location has yet to be decided, but will be announced in about a week.

12

MAY 21, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

Arts & Entertainment

Outspoken, aspiring CEO chosen as hood recipient

S

BY ANGELICA WILLIAMS | anwms@mail.sfsu.edu

ix students from each of the academic colleges at SF State were named hood recipient for undergraduates, two of which will speak at the commencement ceremony Saturday, May 24.

To be chosen as a hood recipient, the Office of the President sends out a list of GPAs of the eligible students to each department. Hood recipients are outstanding students with unique stories and ambitious plans for the future.

According to Dotti Ross, assistant to Associate Dean Amy Sueyoshi, the chairs of each department meet and discuss the potential recipients.

“We had 10 honorees in the College of Business, including economics and labor studies, and then the department chair and deans vote on those 10 students for the hood recipient,” said Kathleen O’Donnell, associate

dean in the College of Business. The marketing department selected Anvari as the student representative.

Dana Anvari is getting her BA in business administration with an emphasis in marketing and is one of the students speaking at the ceremony. Anvari was chosen as the hood recipient for the College of Business after getting a second chance to continue her education.

According to Anvari, Associate Professor of marketing Mahmood Hussain nominated her as the department honoree because she left a lasting impression on him during one of his classes.

Eventually faculty members let Anvari know she was one of the hood recipients and the University asked her to speak at the commencement ceremony.

Anvari was born in Iran but her family moved to England, where her father got his PhD, when she was just one year old in 1984. They eventually moved to the Bay Area in the 1990s.

“I think the hardest aspect for them was having a daughter

Congratulations to the journalism department’s graduating class Rhys Kawika Alvarado Rachel Catherine Aston Beza Beneberu Samantha Darian Benedict Michele Lesley Bird Justice Paul Boles Haley Brianna Brucato Stephanie Danelia Castillo Nicole Kiana Dobarro Haydee Annette Farrell Lovelie Selica Faustino Thomas Delbert Figg-Hoblyn Gabriella Petra Gamboa Guadalupe Gonzalez Kristie Rebecca Haruta Melissa Vanity Landeros Craig Thomas Lifto Erica Mae Linker Erika Christine Marquez Dariel Carlo Medina Jessica Suzette Mendoza Jacob Michael Montero Jennifer Michele Moreno Holly Beth Nall Daniel Anders Nelson Lindsay Akiko Oda

Coburn Vinson Palmer Ruby Melissa Perez Rebekah Lynne Phillips Jonathan Ramos Kenneth Matthew Redublo Matthew Santos Reyes Brian David Rinker Ayesha Shahab Rizvi Adrian Ramirez Rodriguez Shayna Dorothy Rubin Matthew Phillip Saincome Stephen Anthony Santos Vanessa Serpas Kevin Joseph Skahan Andrew William Sweet Benjamin Daniel Tasner Jasmin Devi Taylor Virginia Marie Tieman Maegan Marie Tingling Sarah Elizabeth Todd Godofredo Alexander Vasquez Kale Lukert Williams John Bradley Wilson Treya Mykiya Winfield Jessica Lee Worthington

that spoke up a lot, spoke her mind (and) asked a lot of questions,” Anvari said.

Anvari did not have much direction after completing high school, but a long-term job at a bank offered to pay for some of her education. This gift gave her the opportunity to return to school.

“Honestly I would be a fool if I didn’t take that opportunity to go back to school,” Anvari said.

Given the opportunity to continue her education, Anvari took a few classes at Diablo Valley Community College.

There she discovered her path in business and marketing after seeing that her creative background and ability to think out of the box were skills that consumers wanted.

“I think that is really important to marketers because they didn’t consider their consumer base,” Anvari said.

Anvari’s primary goal at SF State was proving to herself that she could get her bachelor’s degree. For Anvari, the sacrifices she made and the all-nighters she

SUMMER

MOVIES X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST STARRING: Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart.

DIRECTOR: Bryan Singer.

RELEASE DATE: May 23.

RATING: PG-13 SYNOPSIS: This movie is based off the acclaimed Days of Future Past comic storyline written by Chris Claremont and John Bryne. The future and past collide in this sequel to X-Men: First Class. In an alternative future, giant robots called Sentinels patrol America and hunted mutants to near extinction. Wolverine, Professor Xavier and other mutants go back in time to work with their past selves and other mutants to reshape the course of history and save both mutant and humankind.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL ASPER / SPECIAL TO XPRESS

RECIPIENT: Dana Anvari, born in Iran and given the opportunity to continue her education, is one of six students receiving the honor of hood recipient.

pulled were worth it because they made her stronger and taught her that if she wanted something, then she would have to figure out how to get it.

Anvari hopes to become a CEO at a marketing company

Viking Hiccup and his dragon Toothless. They fly through the skies and explore new territories. They discover a secret ice cave and new kinds of dragons and meet the power-hungry Drago. It’s up to Hiccup and Toothless to protect Berk.

THE PURGE: ANARCHY

Starring: Frank Grillo, Michael K. Williams, Carmen Ejogo. Director: James DeMonaco. Release Date: July 18. Rating: not yet rated Synopsis: The Purge, a night where all crime is legal and all police stations and hospitals are shut down, is happening again. While on their way home, a family’s car runs out of gas just as the Purge starts. Meanwhile a mother and her daughter escape from their home after criminals break in. Also, a man walks the streets looking to find his son’s killer. They all meet and run through Los Angeles trying to survive the night.

after completing graduate school.

“I want to work for a company that is influential,” Anvari said. “In 15 years I want to retire and buy a little boat, have a nice little cocktail in in my hand, and then come back and teach.” $35 general admission. Top Picks: SKATERS, Fitz and the Tantrums, M.I.A. BURGER BOOGALOO July 5-6, Mosswood Park, Oakland. $50 weekend, $35 single day. Top Picks: Thee Oh Sees, Shannon and the Clams, OFF! PHONO DEL SOL July 12, Potrero Del Sol Park, San Francisco. $25 advance, $30 door. Top Picks: White Fence, The Tambo Rays, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down FIRST CITY FEST Aug. 23-24, Monterey Fairgrounds, Monterey. $160 weekend pass. Top Picks: Beck, Dawes, Cool Ghouls OUTSIDE LANDS Aug. 8-10, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. $275 weekend pass. Top Picks: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Arctic Monkeys, Tedeschi Trucks Band

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 STARRING: Jay Baruchel, Craig

Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, TJ Miller.

DIRECTOR: Dean DeBlois.

RELEASE DATE: June 13.

RATING: PG SACHI CUNNINGHAM / SPECIAL TO XPRESS

SYNOPSIS: The series

continues to chronicle the adventures of the young

MUSIC

FESTS LIVE 105’S BFD June 1, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View.

STERN GROVE MUSIC FESTIVAL Sundays June 22-August 24, Stern Grove San Francisco.

Free, donations accepted.

Top Picks: Patti Austin, Rufus Wainwright, Andrew Bird

14

Sports

MAY 21, 2014 GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR

FROM UPSETS TO CAREER RECORDS, XPRESS COUNTS DOWN THE TOP SPORTS ACCOMPLISHMENTS BY SF STATE ATHLETES FROM THE 2013 TO 2014 SEASONS

BRADLEY FOCHT

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

MICHAEL BARBA

1

PRINT MANAGING EDITOR mdbarba@mail.sfsu.edu

LAUREN SEWARD

ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR lseward@mail.sfsu.edu

EVELYN CAICEDO

ART DIRECTOR ecaicedo@mail.sfsu.edu

KAITLIN AGUILAR

ART ASSISTANT kaitlina@mail.sfsu.edu

SOFIA LIMON

ART ASSISTANT slimon@mail.sfsu.edu

GENESIS CHAVEZ-CARO COPY EDITOR gchavezc@mail.sfsu.edu

SARA GOBETS

PHOTO EDITOR scgobets@mail.sfsu.edu

FRANK LADRA

PHOTO EDITOR fladra@mail.sfsu.edu

BY CURTIS UEMURA | cuemura@mail.sfsu.edu

10

M

TRACK & FIELD

MEN’S SOCCER

aya Cabiness is named the CCAA female track athlete of the year at the CCAA outdoor championships after placing in the top two in the 100m dash, the 400m hurdles and the 4x100 relay. Four other Gators are named to the All-Conference team: Janesha Anthony in the 100m sprint, Alex Jones in the shot put, Ashley Black in the Heptathlon and Michelle Chung in the discus.

The Gators upset CSULA 1-0 Sept. 20, 2013, who was ranked seventh in the country at the time.

2

PHOTO BY GAVIN MCINTYRE / XPRESS FILE PHOTO

ANNA HECHT

A&E EDITOR ahecht@mail.sfsu.edu

MADISON RUTHERFORD 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

SCOT TUCKER

MULTIMEDIA ADVISER tucker@sfsu.edu

KEN KOBRE

PHOTO ADVISER ken@kobre.com

EVA CHARLES

ADVERTISING & BUSINESS echarles@mail.sfsu.edu

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

SADE BROWNE

CIRCULATION sbrowne822@gmail.com

ALEXANDRA SOISETH

STUDENT GRAPHIC DESIGNER asoiseth@verizon.net

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

Letters are subject to editing.

Send letters to Annastashia Goolsby at: agoolsby@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

2 TRACK & FIELD Tiana Wills places second at the USA track and field indoor championships in the high jump, barely missing out on qualifying for the olympic trials. She went on to place third in the NCAA indoor championships, where she was named an All-American.

8 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

1

7

PHOTO BYGAVIN MCINTYRE / XPRESS FILE PHOTO

PHOTO BY NELSON ESTRADA / XPRESS FILE PHOTO

3 MEN’S BASKETBALL

MEN’S BASKETBALL

4

The Gators make the CCAA conference tournament as the fourth seed, becoming the only SF State team to make their conference tournament.

PHOTO BY JENNY SOKOLOVA / XPRESS FILE PHOTO

WRESTLING Wrestling sends Zack Jimenez, Andrew Reggi and Isaiah Hurtado, who placed eigth and was named an All-American, to the NCAA Division II Championships. This marks the 51st straight year that the Gator’s have sent at least one wrestler to the NCAA championships.

The Gators go 3-1 vs teams ranked in the top 25 in the country, highlighted by a 17-point victory over 11-ranked Chico State Dec. 6, 2013.

7

Nefi Perdomo becomes SF State’s career leader in three point field goals made, free throws made and assists. He finished his career with 198 three-pointers, 395 made free throws and 283 assists.

4

SOFTBALL The Gators win their first four games in the Tournament of Champions in Turlock, Calif., including a 3-0 shutout of the number two team in the country, Cal Baptist.

NASHELLY CHAVEZ

NEWS EDITOR nashelly@mail.sfsu.edu

9

5 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL After starting her career as a walk-on, Angela Van Sickle breaks SF State’s record for career three-point field goals made against Chico State Dec. 6, 2013. She finished her career with 175 career three’s.

6 MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY Bruk Assefa is the only SF State runner to qualify for the cross-country NCAA championships.