Fall 2015 Issue 10

press GOLDEN GATE

october 28, 2015 ISSUE 10 VOLUME CI GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

Serving the San Francisco State community since 1927

SF State buys in to prison labor

Marine biology class learns from West Coast waters

Athlete remembered for drive CARLOS GUERRERO

biology Continued ON PAGE 6

cguerrero@mail.sfsu.edu

DAVID CURL

BRIAN GRABIANOWSKI

dcurl@mail.sfsu.edu

bgrabian@mail.sfsu.edu

SF State has spent more than $600,000 on furniture and services from the California Prison Industry Authority in the past fiscal year from July 2014 to June 2015, according to University records.

The University has utilized services from CALPIA, a prison labor agency that assists inmates with occupational skills, for more than 15 years, according to Stephen Smith, SF State’s director of procurement.

Residence halls are furnished by desks, chairs and beds assembled by inmates employed by the CALPIA. Underneath each piece of furniture made by CALPIA has a label with CALPIA's logo.

CALPIA pays incarcerated workers between 35 to 95 cents per hour, which is taxed by as much as 50 percent, according to the agency's website.

Jason Bell, the director of Project Rebound, an organization at SF State geared toward helping formerly incarcerated students earn their degrees, said he wished students knew that agencies like CALPIA are more focused on making money than helping inmates.

Although the companies involved readily profit off inmate labor, they consider inmates unhireable after they are released from prison because of their criminal record, according to Bell.

prison Continued ON PAGE 2

PHOTO COURTESY OF SF ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT

REMEMBERANCE: Ariana Luster,

SF State Gator track and field athlete, died Oct. 21 after battling cancer.

RYAN MCNULTY / XPRESS

EXPLORATION: Cristina Provencio, a marine bio major, (left) and Jordan Abantao (right) use a quadrat, a PVC pipe with string attached in a grid, to isolate a unit of area and identify the distribution of organisms that are used as a sample to represent a larger area of the marina in San Francisco Monday, Oct. 26.

Despite undergoing grueling chemotherapy treatments that made it difficult to breathe, SF State graduate student Ariana Luster made school and athletics her top priority until the very end.

“She came to every class while going through chemotherapy, no matter how bad she felt, because her education was that important to her,” said Marty Martinson, her professor for community health education theory last spring.

The cellular and molecular studies graduate student with a passion for track and field died Oct. 21 after a year-anda-half-long battle with stage 4 neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer.

SF State was a big inspiration for Luster, who remained independent and passionate while living with her disease, according to Luster’s track and field coach Kendra Reimer.

athlete Continued ON PAGE 4

Instructor uses life experiences to inspire students CARLOS GUERRERO cguerrero@mail.sfsu.edu

IMANI MILLER / XPRESS

STRIKE: SF State taekwondo instructor Bill Dewart demonstrates a

move to his students during the taekwondo club practice in the Gymnasium Monday, Oct. 26.

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About a dozen students dressed in white martial arts robes and colored belts made their way down into the basement of Burk Hall.

Before stepping onto the blue mat, they bowed in respect to their instructor and the class began.

Grandmaster Bill Dewart, an eighth-degree black belt who

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has been practicing taekwondo for 50 years, is not short on life experiences. He said he has taught taekwondo in France, trained in the Shaolin Temple in China and served as a fan repellent for Bruce Lee at the 1969 All-American Open Taekwondo tournament. He later came to SF State in 2003 to teach taekwondo.

But for all he’s seen and done, he said his toughest opponent to

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date has been a bigger challenge than anything encountered on the mat. In the fall of 2001, Dewart was diagnosed with stage 4 skin cancer.

“When someone tells you you have cancer, you’re like, ‘I’m going to die,’“ Dewart said. “I’m supposed to be dead, but I’m just too busy teaching.”

taekwondo Continued ON PAGE 11

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2 NEWS

Wednesday, october 28, 2015 goldengatexpress.org

prison Continued from the front

Rehabilitation program leads campus debate over prison labor

“It sounds good while you’re in (prison), because it’s better than having nothing,” Bell said. “You’re good enough to work in custody; you can do a lot of good things that make you employable on the outside, but it doesn’t always transfer beyond the walls, and I hope students know that when (people use the term) for-profit (prison), it’s not for the profit of (the inmates).”

With nearly 7,000 prisoners employed in 22 California prisons under the California Department of Corrections, CALPIA operates within more than 50 service, manufacturing and agricultural industries, according to the agency’s website.

“The conditions are very similar to what these men and women will encounter when they are working on the outside,” said Michele Kane, the chief of CALPIA’s office of external affairs in an email. “We have factory, office and classroom settings.”

To assist with employment options after prison, CALPIA trains inmates to build a variety of furniture products including chairs, desks and beds and even offers training in computer programming, according to CALPIA’s website.

As the director of Project Rebound, Bell currently works with former inmates and said he spent most of his 20s behind bars.

“When I was housed in Solano prison, it was more like a factory setting,” Bell said. “They were making beds and tables. Folsom (prison) does license plates, but a lot of the furniture in the state agencies is from (CALPIA).”

The low labor costs and high profit margins ultimately benefit CALPIA but

EMMA CHIANG / XPRESS

COMFORT: Ashely Reddic, cinema major, sits on chairs in the Village at Centennial Square made by the California Prison Industry Authority, an agency that provides labor for inmates at 24 California prisons, Thursday, Oct. 8.

not the inmates, making the company money in an exploitative way, according to Bell.

“The goal is (reducing) recidivism,” said Roy Sorenson, the staff services manager of sales at CALPIA. “Offenders are 28 percent less likely to come back (to prison),” after

EMMA CHIANG / XPRESS

LABEL: Furniture, including chairs and desks, in SF State’s residence halls is made by

the California Prison Industry Authority, a company that provides labor for inmates at 22 California prisons, Thursday, Oct. 8.

participating in CALPIA’s program.

The recidivism rate has decreased by nearly 7 percent from 61 percent to 54.3 percent from 2008 to 2010, according to CDCR’s 2014 Outcome Evaluation Report.

“If the CALPIA program can give job training and work experience that translates into acquiring job skills that could get someone a job upon release then I believe there is a benefit there,” Jim Dudley, a criminal justice lecturer at SF State, said in an email.

Helping inmates obtain employment after prison has a greater benefit for society as a whole, Dudley said.

“Otherwise, we, the tax-paying public, run the risk of continuing financial support to those released, in some form or another,” Dudley said.

“We may end up paying into welfare or other support or by way of being victims to continued criminal behavior.”

Prison industries are essentially free labor, according to senior international relations major Cynthia Morfin, who said she believes SF State utilizes CALPIA as a cost-saving measure.

“It’s really sad that SF State is willing to compromise its morals and the history it has of being so progressive,” Morfin said.

Joseph Miles, the office coordinator of Project Rebound, said he is completely against CALPIA. “It’s simply slave labor, and the socalled skills taught aren’t useful under

any circumstance or even applicable in today’s job market,” Miles said.

Resolving the issues with for-profit

EMMA CHIANG / XPRESS

FURNISHINGS: The furniture shown in

sophomore Daniel Conceicao’s Village at Centennial Square dorm room is made by the by California Prison Industry Authority.

prisons entails establishing a system that empowers and successfully rehabilitates prisoners, Bell said. “(Prison labor) is a state-wide problem that is bigger than just this school,” Bell said. “A large portion of the Rebound master plan has to do with taking the profit out of prisons and putting the power of reentry in the hands of formerly incarcerated people.”

XPRESS yoursELF WE ASKED SF STATE STUDENTS:

How do you feel about SF State using furniture made by prison laborers?

“It’s sad that we use the labor of people who aren’t even being paid like human beings.”

“I think it’s a good thing, because they get an opportunity to do something constructive while in prison.”

alba leon, 18 pre-psychology MAJOR

Jordan Weiser, 22 hospitality MAJOR

“I don’t think they are being paid enough for their work, and it’s like they’re being taken advantage of.”

midley michaud, 19 pre-biology MAJOR

NEWS 3

Wednesday, October 28, 2015 goldengatexpress.org

Business club carves out space for women MOBY HOWEIDY

mhoweidy@mail.sfsu.edu

After being inactive for nearly four years, SF State’s Women in Business Club is being restarted as Providing Opportunities for Women, which held its first meeting Oct. 26.

SF State business students Brenda Ibanescu, Jodi Chen and Abigail Pearse took on the unique challenge of resurrecting a dead organization at SF State.

“I sought out a women in business group here on campus, and there wasn’t one,” Ibanescu said. “I found out there was an inactive one that hadn’t been active for four years. When I started talking to people, they were like, ‘Why don’t you just start it? Stop being pissed about it, stop trying to analyze why it’s happening and do something about it.’”

Ibanescu said she started the club in response to how underrepresented women are in corporate business. She said she was tired of hearing the negative statistics about women in business, so she created POW to help empower young business women.

“You know it just irks me,” Ibanescu said. “I think women are just as qualified as men to be there.”

Though Ibanescu said rebuilding POW has been a fun and rewarding experience, she said she and her team ran into a few challenges while trying to establish the club.

“

I hope this will encourage women to take more leadership positions in college or whatever they do and take that experience with them when they graduate.

”

- Jodi chen

“It’s harder than starting an organization from scratch — the operational aspect of getting all the paperwork and meeting all the requirements is really nit-picky,” Ibanescu said. “The other thing is the marketing perspective: who are we trying to acquire in this club, and how are we going to get those people to come?”

As of 2014, women made up 47 percent of the United States’ total labor force and 52 percent of the corporate labor force, according to The Center for American Progress.

Though women have made some strides in breaking into the corporate business world, they still face significant adversity when trying to climb the corporate ladder, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. As of 2015, only 16.9 percent of board members of Fortune 500 companies were women — of those same companies, only 5.2 percent had female CEOs, the report said.

“I think a lot of women in the business world are hesitant to enter this world because they are afraid to achieve something they deserve,” said POW member Alex Gingerich. “(Women) can be the CEO or manager of one of the biggest companies.

It’s a very male-dominated world — there hasn’t been a kind experience towards women, and I think it’s important that (women) get together now and motivate each other.”

Along with the lack of representation

in leadership roles, women are still battling to reduce the significant gender wage gap, according to an analysis from the Pew Research Center. The analysis showed that women 16 and older earn only 84 percent of what men do on an hourly basis.

“Sexism still exists; we’re trying to change it, but it still exists,” said SF State accounting professor Tina Caratan.

“I don’t think business takes (the wage gap) seriously. I don’t think (companies) recognize that they have to change the way they are operating.”

As an organization, POW’s main goal is to connect aspiring businesswomen with some of the most successful female leaders in the corporate world today, said Chen, POW vice president. By establishing those connections, POW aims to give its members the knowledge and confidence to seek out leadership opportunities as they advance in their career, Ibanescu said.

“I hope this will encourage women to take more leadership positions in college or whatever they do and take that experience with them when they graduate,” Chen said.

4 News

Wednesday, october 28, 2015 goldengatexpress.org

2015 municipal election roundup COMPILED BY XPRESS NEWS STAFF

With the 2015 San Francisco municipal elections only a week away, the Golden Gate Xpress has put together a list of the five most relevant propositions on the ballot. State students’ vote will play a part in deciding the City’s future.

A If passed, Proposition A would allow the city to borrow up to $310 million in bonds in order to renovate housing, making it affordable for lowincome residents.

San Francisco is currently on track to build and renovate 30,000 housing units by 2020.

Of the units, 33 percent will be for low-income residents, while more than 50 percent will be for middle class households.

Mayor Ed Lee said if he were re-elected in the upcoming election, he would be able to implement this proposition over the next four years, according to an SF Gate article.

Lee acknowledged that San Francisco’s housing market is difficult to afford for low to moderate income families, according to the San Francisco Voter Information Ballot website.

“If passed, the Proposition A bonds will give City Hall insiders more funds to spend on their developer friends at the expense of San Francisco taxpayers,” said County Central Committeeman Terence Faulkner, who is against Proposition A, on the Voter Information site.

Banks, securities firms, bond salesmen, attorneys, building developers and real estate companies are just a few of who will make substantial profits if Proposition A passed, Faulkner said.

If necessary, the required funds for Proposition A will be obtained by raising property taxes, according to the text of the proposition. Landlords would be allowed to charge tenants additional rent to cover as much as 50 percent of the tax increase.

F

H

i

Proposition F would impose further restrictions on short-term rentals in San Francisco.

The ballot measure would limit short-term rentals to 75 days per year for San Francisco, which currently does not have a maximum for short-term hosted units or rented rooms.

According to Dale Carlson, one of the authors of the measure, proposition F is important to help preserve the availability of housing in San Francisco.

“It is a chance to restore thousands and thousands of residential units to the housing market,” Carlson said. “We have lost between 10,000 to 12,000 units of housing to short-term rentals to tourists. If (Proposition F) fails, then that severely impacts the availability and affordability of housing in San Francisco.”

Additionally, the measure would prohibit short-term rentals of all in-law units and make it a misdemeanor for people to unlawfully list a unit for short-term lease, according to the measure summary.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Supervisor Scott Wiener and Airbnb, a large corporation that offers short-term rentals around the world, all oppose the measure.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Mayor Ed Lee said that proposition F is unnecessary, because the city already has laws in place to regulate short-term rentals.

Measure H would define specific types of clean and renewable energy using standards similar to state law in order to provide San Francisco residents and businesses with more accurate information regarding the origin of their power sources.

The measure serves to help the city meet energy goals set by the California Renewable Portfolio Standard, which calls for a 33 percent increase in the use of eligible energy sources

by California’s electricity retailers by the year 2020, according to the California Public Utilities Commission.

San Francisco does not currently have definitions for clean, green and renewable, greenhouse-gas-free energy.

“This measure would allow the city to call more of the energy produced by its community choice aggregation, CleanPowerSF, ‘clean,’” according to Ballotpedia.

Supervisors London Breed, John Avalos, Scott Wiener and Julie Christensen introduced the measure.

The measure also includes a new city-run renewable energy program called CleanPowerSF, which beginning this spring will collaborate with PG&E to provide residents cleaner energy options, according to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. San Francisco businesses and residents will have the choice to purchase energy from either energy provider, according to the San Francisco Ballot Simplification Committee.

According to the Digest by the Ballot Simplification Committee, the measure would entail little financial impact because existing mailings would be used to the inform potential customers of the percentage of clean, green and renewable energy sources.

If approved, Proposition I will suspend construction on luxury housing projects in the Mission District for 18 months to make room for more affordable housing projects.

Permits for demolition, renovation and new construction for any building containing five or more units would be delayed by the measure. It would also suspend these permits for industrial, automotive and storage facilities, according to a City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s title and summary of the measure. Permits related to the creation of affordable housing are the only exception to this measure.

The proposition would require the development of a neighborhood stabilization plan by Jan. 31, 2017 to increase and protect affordable housing in the Mission District and that 50 percent of the housing in the district be available to low-tomiddle income Mission District residents.

Gabriel Medina, the campaign manager of Save the Mission, said that the displacement of Mission District residents needs to stop. Housing in the Mission District is not affordable to 85 percent of the people living there, according to Medina, who said that “evictions have been rampant” causing about 2,400 people to lose their homes.

“San Francisco is home to unique neighborhoods such as Chinatown is a gateway for Chinese and the Mission is a gateway for the Latino community and the gates are being shut,” Medina said. “There needs to (be) an accommodation of growth and protection of the residents.”

B Drafted by District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang, Proposition B aims to expand San Francisco’s parental leave policy to allow city-employed parents to take 12 weeks off at the birth, adoption or foster-care placement of a child, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

“We’re trying to get to issues of making the city more family friendly and providing more quality of life for city workers,” Tang told the Chronicle. “But we also want to set an example for the private sector about what can be done for workers.”

Current regulations, passed in 2002, require that employees split the 12 weeks of paid leave between each parent if both are city employees.

The Libertarian Party of San Francisco, which opposes the proposition due to financial concerns, argues that employees of small businesses are not offered these same benefits and currently earn less than city employees.

“For every dollar that a city employee makes, there’s a little guy losing a dollar, and that is the main reason why we are opposing,” said Marcy Berry, vice chair of the Libertarian Party of San Francisco.

The Libertarian Party said SF State students should be aware of where the funding for Proposition B would come from.

“The impact of Prop B is an increase in government costs, which taxpayers, including students at SF State University, would need to pay for,” Berry said.

According to Dyanna Quinzon, Tang’s legislative aide, Proposition B would only improve conditions for parents.

“We are saying that both parents who (are city employees and) have a child should get equal time to spend with their child,” Quinzon said.

“It shouldn’t have to be decided

athlete Continued from the front

Love for SF State guided athlete’s final days “She was having a really hard time breathing, and just seeing her wake up and walk to class – she was truly an inspiration for so many girls,” Reimer said.

Luster was involved with the team, despite being unable to compete, by working as a manager, according to Reimer.

“If you were having a bad day, she was always the first one to come and cheer you up,” said Marina Tucker, a sophomore on Luster’s team. “She was one of the most positive people I ever met. Even on her worst days, she had her chin up.”

The track and field coaches said

they saw a selfless nature in Luster.

Luster demonstrated her love for her teammates, even offering her home to a freshman thrower who had no other place to stay. “(Luster) went the extra mile to make it happen,” Reimer said. “Taking in someone that you don’t know that well, and through everything she was going through, to do that was a very cool thing for her throws group.”

Luster was enrolled at SF State as a student between 2010 and 2015, having received her bachelor's degree in 2014, according to her professors.

“She was deeply committed to her education, and she came to class until

her final days,” Martinson said.

While not in school, Reimer said that Luster was actively involved in extracurricular life. Outside of school, she was officer and vice president of A Step Against Heart Disease Organization, according to her LinkedIn profile. Luster also belonged to the PreHealth Honors Society and the Black Student Union on campus.

Before her death, Luster had plans to remain involved with the SF State community and athletic programs, according to Reimer.

“She always talked about coming back to throw after her treatments,” Reimer said. “She came back to visit the

campus in the fall, and it was really big for her to come see the team and come be around everyone. I felt like that was such a huge part of her life.”

Family and friends will commemorate Luster's life Saturday, Oct. 31 at 10:30 a.m. in Inglewood.

Members of the SF State community said Luster made a lasting impact on campus.

“I clearly remember her story, and she will be greatly missed,” said Lisa Moore, Luster’s health education professor. “The one thing I will never forget about her was the strength she always showed and her smile.”

Wednesday, october 28, 2015 goldengatexpress.org

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE 5

History buff turns fitness into business

W

COURTNEE BRIGGS cbriggs@mail.sfsu.edu

ith a master’s degree in history and an extensive background in fitness under her belt, SF State alumna Tia Kilpatrick combined her seemingly unrelated set of skills to open her own fitness studio, Versa Indoor Cycling, earlier this month.

Located on the corner of 27th Avenue and Taraval Street, Kilpatrick described her gym as a “smart studio” with classes tailored for fun, focused and sustainable exercise. Her intern, James Gaddi, a third-year kinesiology major at SF State, said Kilpatrick’s classes are unlike anything he’s taken before.

“The ‘smart studio’ aspect

of it is the future — it’s where fitness is going to go,” Gaddi said. “(Kilpatrick’s classes) are broken down in a way that simplifies exercise science.”

Kilpatrick said she has benefited from her education in history, even in the field of fitness and exercise. Her formal education has strengthened her writing and teaching skills, according to Kilpatrick, which she uses to organize her classes.

“That’s what I went to school to become — a teacher and a writer — and I’m doing both,” Kilpatrick said.

Kilpatrick earned a bachelor’s degree in history from California State University, Sacramento.

She then went on to receive her master’s degree from SF State in 2010.

During her time at Sacramento

State, Kilpatrick was captain of the triathlon club and one of the founding members of the Western Collegiate Triathlon Conference.

She said her time as a triathlon athlete directly influenced her teaching experience.

Kilpatrick taught multiple fitness courses at Sacramento State University and the YMCA as a student, but found the number of jobs as a history teacher was limited when she graduated from SF State.

“Irrespective of my formal training in history, I’m able to make my living in fitness,” Kilpatrick said.

Eva Sheppard Wolf, an adviser in SF State’s history department, said the skills taught in the master’s program — writing, critical thinking and research — are applicable to students

MELISSA MINTON / XPRESS

INSTRUCTOR: Tia Kilpatrick, owner and lead instructor of Versa

Indoor Cycling & Fitness, poses for a portrait on an exercise bike in the fitness studio at Versa Indoor Cycling & Fitness in San Francisco Thursday, Oct. 22.

regardless of what field they enter.

“Having those intellectual skills helps you no matter what,” Wolf said. “I figure, if you can write well, you win.”

The history program at both Sacramento State and SF State did more than equip her with the skills needed to open a business, according to Kilpatrick. She said history “fed her soul” and she felt a compulsion to finish her degree.

For that she has no regrets, she said.

Kilpatrick said she was very lucky to have a second set of skills, because it allowed her to have a career in teaching, even if the subject material is different from what she originally envisioned.

“The biggest thing I would tell students is to diversify their skills,” Kilpatrick said. “Be flexible.”

MELISSA MINTON / XPRESS

CYCLING: The exercise bikes at Versa Indoor Cycling & Fitness, owned by SF State alumna Tia Kilpatrick, sit at the ready for class in San Francisco Thursday, Oct. 22.

6 spotlight

Wednesday, october 28, 2015 goldengatexpress.org

Study by the sea

O

RYAN MCNULTY

rmcnulty@mail.sfsu.edu

n a bright afternoon with a clear view of the Golden Gate Bridge, students traversed rocks looking for crabs, seaweed and other ocean life. The field trip to tide pools along the jetty at the San Francisco Marina Monday, Oct. 26 was a hands-on learning experience for SF State professor Dr. Edward Carpenter’s Biological Oceanography class.

“I think it’s exciting,” Carpenter said.

“Seeing something with their own eyes and touching it, it’s a thousand times better than reading about it in a book. They really get excited about it.”

The class also took a trip to the Hog Island Oyster Farm Sept. 30 to learn how oysters are grown and how researchers use their facility to measure ocean acidification.

Morgan Kelley, an environmental studies major and student in the class, said she enjoys getting out of the classroom and going on field trips.

“They’re great,” she said. “I think without them the class would be just a ton of material and not really getting out much. So I think it makes the class. I wish that more professors did field trips, like all the time.”

The Biological Oceanography class is one of many courses held at the Romberg Tiburon Center, SF State’s off-campus marine biology center in Tiburon. The facility is on a 46-acre parcel of land, which was formerly used by the Navy as a coaling station and later as a manufacturing site for anti-torpedo and antisubmarine nets to be used at Navy bases along the West Coast and in the Pacific. It was active from World War II through the Korean War until 1958 when it ceased production.

In 1977, SF State proposed building a marine laboratory to focus on studying the San Francisco Bay. It was finished in 1978 and gets its name from the University president at the time, Paul F. Romberg.

Today, the RTC provides many classes and research projects devoted to the study of marine and coastal environments, according to their website.

“In my opinion, I try to make it – and my wife laughs at me when I say this – the best biological oceanography course in the country,” Carpenter said. “I think I have a damn good course. I don’t know anyone who has a better one.”

RYAN MCNULTY / XPRESS

MARINE LIFE: (TOP TO BOTTOM) SF State professor

Edward Carpenter’s Biological Oceanography class walks along the jetty at the San Francisco Marina on their way to the tide pools Monday, Oct. 26.

Karen Backe (left) and Lindsay Faye (center), both marine science graduate students, prepare a slide with a sample of phytoplankton during their Biological Oceanography class at The Romberg Tiburon Center Monday, Sept. 21.

Morgan Kelley (left) and Erin Blackwood (right), education and outreach coordinator for the RTC, inspect and identify organisms along the jetty at the marina Monday, Oct. 26.

A PVC pipe with attached strings in a grid, called a quadrat, is used to isolate a unit of area and identify the distribution of organisms Monday, Oct. 26.

Cristina Provencio, a marine biology major, looks through an epiflour microscope, which shines neon light through a sample of phytoplankton illuminating them red during a class session at the RTC Monday, Sept. 21.

(BELOW) Students from the biological oceanography class enjoy fresh oysters after their tour of the Hog Island Oyster Farm in Marshall Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Wednesday, october 28, 2015 goldengatexpress.org

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE 7

Students pitch clandestine shows

S

CODY WRIGHT

crw@mail.sfsu.edu

hrouded in the dappled moonlight that filtered though the eucalyptus trees in John McLaren Park, a crowd of more than 80 people swayed to the acoustic sounds of a guitar.

Coordinated by the Secret Show Society, Saturday night’s concert is part of the larger trend of invite-only events held under a cloak of secrecy.

“We started this because the city is changing, and we wanted something of our own,” said Peter Ryan, an organizer of the event and a member of Cloves and Bones, the opening band.

Ryan said that, because most of the artists involved in the Secret Show Society have only moved to San Francisco within the last few years, it’s been difficult to land gigs without any connections in the business. Along with creating an opportunity for up-and-coming musicians to play shows, Ryan said that the Secret Show Society hosts events to establish a sense of community among people who share similar interests and taste in music.

Brendan Page, one of the Secret Show Society founders, said the society has already done five of the secret shows around San Francisco.

The crowd for Saturday’s

JAMES CHAN / XPRESS

IN THE WOODS: Julian Borrego plays his guitar at the Secret Show Society concert in John McLaren Park in San Francisco Saturday, Oct. 24.

show swelled to more than 70 by the time the fourth band was setting up around 10 p.m.

“Yeah it’s secret, so don’t share this online,” read the flyer, sent via text or email, for Saturday’s show. The invitation had a map to help party goers navigate though the darkness of

the park after hours.

“We’ve done full shows with generators — this is just our first show back from a brief hiatus, so we didn’t want to stress,” Page said.

The lack of electricity didn’t slow down Echobends, one of six different acts featured Saturday.

“This is a little stripped down compared to our normal set, but was still great,” said Echobends guitarist Ryan Elliott.

Page said he worked to collect groups of local performers who have something different to bring to the stage.

Julian Borrego, who usually

plays keyboard and sings in the band Paisano, took the stage as a solo artist for the night.

Melodic love songs flowed from his guitar and the crowd bubbled with laughter during his comedic ballad, ”You Looked Better from Far Away” – a song about the experience of finding someone attractive from afar, but not up close.

The spectators, mostly SF State students, came to support live music and, of course, to have fun, said SF State students Erin Stokes and Paulina Leon.

Stokes and Leon said endured the fog and cold to enjoy the live performance.

“We just came out because our friend was playing,” Leon said. “It’s a really cool idea.”

Page says he considers a number of factors when choosing a band for a show. The Secret Show Society chooses bands that can draw a crowd, are enthusiastic about their craft and have a good energy during their sets, according to Page.

“We try to tailor each one,” Page said. “We stay away from stages and distancing the performers from the audience as much as we can.”

To find a secret show may prove slightly difficult, though not impossible, Page said.

“Part of it is who you know.

We want to make it just a little difficult to find out,” Page said.

“We figure, if you’re willing to put the time in to find it, you’re not just going to get drunk.”

8 OPINION

Wednesday, october 28, 2015 goldengatexpress.org

STAFF EDITORIAL

press

GOLDEN GATE Stringent regulations are the

only solution to gun violence

NASHELLY CHAVEZ

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

DARCY FRACOLLI

MANAGING EDITOR dfracoll@mail.sfsu.edu

RISTI TEWOLDE

ONLINE SUPERVISING EDITOR tewolde@mail.sfsu.edu

EVA RODRIGUEZ

ART DIRECTOR erodrig2@mail.sfsu.edu

HARLAN FROST

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR hfrost@mail.sfsu.edu

EMMA CHIANG

PHOTO EDITOR echiang@mail.sfsu.edu

AVERY PETERSON

NEWS EDITOR averylp@mail.sfsu.edu

CREO NOVENO

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR cnoveno@mail.sfsu.edu

KALANI RUIDAS

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE EDITOR kruidas@mail.sfsu.edu

REID CAMMACK

OPINION EDITOR reidcamm@mail.sfsu.edu

VINCENT FAUSONE IV

SPORTS EDITOR vfausone@mail.sfsu.edu

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

LULU OROZCO

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR ohlulu@mail.sfsu.edu

JOCELYN CARRANZA

ASSISTANT MULTIMEDIA EDITOR jcarranz@mail.sfsu.edu

JESSICA NEMIRE

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR jdn@mail.sfsu.edu

RACHELE KANIGEL

PRINT ADVISER kanigel@mail.sfsu.edu

JIM TOLAND

FACULTY ADVISER toland@sfsu.edu

SCOT TUCKER

PHOTO ADVISER tucker@sfsu.edu

EVA CHARLES

ADVERTISING & BUSINESS echarles@sfsu.edu

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

SAMANTHA LOPEZ CIRCULATION

SHAWN PERKINS

STUDENT GRAPHIC DESIGNER ggxads@sfsu.edu

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San Francisco’s last gun shop, the High Bridge Arms, is scheduled to close later this month as a result of strict gun regulations in the city. According to The Guardian, gun dealers in San Francisco are required “to carry liability insurance, report inventory details and keep records of ammunition sales.” These regulations are in addition to the already strict state laws.

The Board of Supervisors passed a new city ordinance Tuesday, mandating the video recording of all gun and ammunition sales in San Francisco. It will also require gun dealers to keep specific records of ammunition sales and gun transfers, among other information, according to the ordinance’s text. Lastly, the

the shooter used firearms that he and members of his As San Francisco's last gun shop prepares to family legally purchased. close its doors for good, cities nationwide must It’s hard to be opposed to one less gun shop after a follow in its footsteps to reduce white supremacist killed nine people in a historically black firearm accessibility church with a gun that he legally purchased because the examiner screwed up his recordings would be made laws and lower rates of gun background check. And it’s available to law enforcement death. California’s laws were very, very hard to be sad about agencies. ranked the strongest in the U.S. 1,000 fewer annual gun sales San Francisco is taking Other states must take note. the necessary preventative For the small businesses and in San Francisco after the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, when the action by enforcing stricter gun families that have lived in San shooter used guns his mother control. These regulations are Francisco, there is typically legally obtained to slaughter 26 crucial barriers to ensure that a real sense of loss in the people, mostly children.

San Francisco doesn’t succumb community when a business It’s hard to say when the to the national threat of mass goes under. The closing of San rest of America will have bled violence or become another pin Francisco’s last gun shop is not enough to wake up, or if we’ll in the latest map of our nation’s one of those cases. mass shootings.

It’s hard to be opposed to the just drift unconscious from the cumulative blood loss, but in A graph created by Slate High Bridge Arms closure after the meantime, San Francisco clearly shows the emphatic the recent shooting at Umpqua needs to protect itself. correlation between gun control Community College, where

NFL shouldn’t cater to fantasy gambling VINCE FAUSONE

vfausone@mail.sfsu.edu

I’ve had my ups and downs with sports gambling. I’ve sulked about the over-under even when my favorite teams were winning, almost had my ass kicked by a bar full of Manny Pacquiao fans and leaped off my couch because of meaningless touchdowns or home runs more times than I care to admit.

What I haven’t felt until recently is the suspicion that my bets are threatening the way games are played.

FanDuel and DraftKings, relative newcomers to the fantasy-football-driven genre of sports gambling, have clawed their way into prominence as of late through a series of aggressive ad campaigns and low-risk betting options. Both websites allow users weekly and even daily chances to digitally draft athletes from a number of sports and compete for cash prizes with their virtual teams.

Their ascensions have been controversial– namely their exploitation of online gambling legislation loopholes and accusations that employees have used insider information to win money on the opposing site.

While shady, these pitfalls are burdens on the gambling industry and will likely be dealt with as states rush to patch up ambiguities in their respective online gambling regulations.

Just last week, a lawsuit filed in Ohio accused DraftKinds and FanDuel of operating illegally in the state that bans “game of chance.”

Sports fans, and particularly fans of the NFL, shouldn’t be worried about how these companies make their money. They should be concerned about the identities of the industry’s beneficiaries and their effect on the actual games.

The NFL is essentially the father of screaming twins at the candy shop who buys his kids an aisle’s worth of whatever they want.

The league has given the duo of DraftKings and FanDuel everything from ubiquitous advertising to built-in fantasy lounges in NFL stadiums, and it’s easy to see why.

The list of DraftKings investors reads like a who’s-who of professional sporting elites.

It’s shamelessly studded with companies like Disney, the owners of ESPN, and 21st Century Fox, which airs NFL games on its networks.

Most alarming on the list is the presence of

ILLUSTRATION BY EVA RODRIGUEZ

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft whose stock in DraftKings is undoubtedly intertwined with his decision making when he votes on the NFL’s rule changes.

The relationship between daily fantasy gambling and the NFL is far past flirtatious.

They’re so comfortably in bed with each other that they’re arguing about who should get up to cook breakfast, and the actual football game play – the finished product that is presented to fans – will suffer as a result.

It’s important to keep in mind the scoring systems of FanDuel and DraftKings when considering how their advents might affect football. A paying participant on the site drafts a team of predominantly offensive players who earn points by gaining yards and scoring touchdowns. This makes high-scoring games much more exciting than defensive stand-offs for fantasy gamblers. And as the NFL and daily fantasy sites know, more excitement leads to more wagers and more money, so the incentive to provide those high-octane offensive battles is even higher than it was from a purely

aesthetic standpoint.

The league has already been trending toward favoring offenses when passing new rules. Quarterbacks are basically untouchable, and defensive backs are increasingly timid when covering receivers, resulting in a steady rise in QB completion percentages over time — excluding a certain pair of red-and-gold outliers.

Long gone are the days of “Defense wins championships,” and the popularity of daily fantasy sports could prod the NFL into passing even more offense-friendly rule changes.

DraftKings and FanDuel are the catalysts that could finally squeeze the last bit of defensive dignity from the sport.

I truly fear the possibility of an NFL where daily fantasy sports are the king, unharnessed offenses are the queen and the sanctity of balanced football is the jester. I’m hooked on football for life, with no exceptions. I’d just rather not settle for less when it comes to the competitiveness of my favorite sport.

OPINION 9

Wednesday, october 28, 2015 goldengatexpress.org

My culture isn’t your Halloween costume

T

GENESIS CHAVEZ- CARO gchavezc@mail.sfsu.edu

he scariest part of Halloween is not the monsters or gory costumes but how ignorant people are about other cultures.

During Halloween, we often see people dressed as Native Americans for “Cowboys and Indians” partner costumes, the fiesta girl or Día de Los Muertos costume, the mystical belly dancer or “snake charmer” costumes.

All of these costumes are offensive, because it makes a parody out of other people’s cultures.

With Halloween right around the corner, the colorful flowers and designs of a Día-de-Los-Muertos-painted skull face make it an easy costume for cultural appropriation during the Halloween season.

This Latin American tradition of painting a sugar skull on your face is typically saved for the cherished holiday Día de Los Muertos, where Latino people celebrate the loved ones who have passed on. However, many people don’t know the significance behind the art and tend to demean its sacredness by wearing it as a Halloween costume.

Non-Latino people shouldn’t paint their faces or dress up with a Día de Los Muertos theme, because it’s offensive to our culture, and those who wear it don’t understand the history and meaning behind it.

This vibrant festivity is a time to rejoice and commemorate the life of our dearly departed, and people of non-Latino heritage who use it as a Halloween costume devalue and make a mockery of the tradition.

Día de Los Muertos combines Catholic and Aztec traditions to create a celebration unique to the Latin

American culture, according to National Geographic.

The holiday is celebrated in the beginning of November by visiting cemeteries to decorate tombstones and altars with marigolds and candles.

Attendees hold dinners of traditional foods and goodies like pan dulce and sugar skulls.

ILLUSTRATION BY REID CAMMACK

‘Star Wars’ won’t live up to the hype A

REID CAMMACK

reidcamm@mail.sfsu.edu

long, long time ago in a barn far, far away, the Virgin Mary gave birth to a little, bloody baby Jesus. Mary gave life to our lord and savior so we could eventually celebrate his birth with bright Christmas trees and overplayed Mariah Carey songs. But she did not push out a messiah so we would waste Christmas by complaining about a new Star Wars movie.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is the first major Star Wars movie to be released in a decade, and the world’s nerds won’t shut up about it. The most recent trailer was viewed more than 128 million times in a single day, and over 200,000 tickets were sold during the first day of

ticket sales in the U.K. last week, according to Lucasfilm.

The new movie is being pumped up too much and the excitement surrounding the film will eventually backfire. Fans are too nostalgic about the series, and no matter how amazing the film is, it’s not going to live up to their unrealistic expectations.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m pumped for “The Force Awakens.” My best friends and I waited a couple days until we were all together to watch the final trailer last week. It was so good that we watched it a couple times, bought our opening night IMAX 3D tickets right then and there, and then parted ways to respectfully rub one out and cry.

As I was sitting alone, touching myself and thinking about how amazing the trailer was, I had to remind myself not to get my hopes up. I’m sure Disney is going to produce an adequate movie that will be somewhat satisfying, but there’s no way the new series is going to surpass or even match the quality of the original trilogy.

While the new films may not live up to the quality of the first three movies, it’ll be almost impossible for them to match the disappointment of episodes I-III. It was a different time in 1999 to 2005, where tent-pole movie franchises didn’t make or break movie studios. Now Disney knows that if they can pull this new movie off, they can endlessly expand the Star Wars universe by releasing countless spinoffs, sequels and even a

In elementary school, teachers and students would always talk about Día de Los Muertos around Halloween. We would color printed skulls and make paper flowers for the altars. No one saw it as out of the norm, because most of the kids in my school were Latino.

However, Día de Los Muertos became more meaningful to me when my grandpa passed away in 2010.

Before he passed away, I didn’t really have anybody to commemorate or make an altar for. His passing made it an important holiday for me, because it’s a time for me to honor him. Seeing nonLatino folks, especially while in college, painting their faces takes away from that meaning.

What makes the face painting so offensive is that it’s seen as nothing more than a cute, easy costume, when in reality, it’s a representation of the death of friends and family. You can find endless tutorials on Pinterest and YouTube on how to make designs for a painted skull face, but they don’t mention the history behind it.

If people knew what the holiday stood for, then Día de Los Muertos would garner the respect given to other commemorative holidays, such as Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day. For those trying to avoid cultural appropriation around Halloween, a good rule of thumb is: If you have to ask yourself whether your Halloween costume is offensive or not, it probably is.

Reid It and Weep is a weekly column highlighting the frequent disappointments in contemporary pop culture.

billion-dollar theme park.

Disney owns the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so they obviously know how to make a sustainable series that audiences will pay to see. The first two Avenger’s movies alone have grossed nearly $3 billion, according to Box Office Mojo.

So there's no doubt that the movies will be passable and at least watchable. Disney will get audiences to keep returning to the same franchise until they die.

But just because Marvel movies are profitable, that doesn’t mean they’re premium quality. Even though Marvel continues to top the box office, their movies have received criticism for having similar plot points, boring villains and cheesy one liners. If Disney wants "The Force Awakens" to top the original trilogy, they need

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to focus less on just making the movies watchable enough to sustain a franchise and actually focus on making them original and quality enough to stand on their own.

While the “The Force Awakens” won’t be as bad as “The Phantom Menace” and probably won’t match the quality of “A New Hope,” it will at least be enjoyable. Starting now, the Star Wars fans of the world need to lower their expectations and stop thinking “The Force Awakens” is going to be the greatest movie ever produced.

I don’t want to hear anyone complain about the new movies this Christmas. If anything is going to ruin my holiday, it’s going to be my drunk, racist family — not a bunch of angry fanboys.

10 SPORTS

Wednesday, october 28, 2015 goldengatexpress.org

Can you dig it?

Jessica Nicerio

DAVID CURL

dcurl@mail.sfsu.edu

They say it’s great defense that prevails over great offense in sports. No statistic encapsulates defensive excellence in volleyball more so than the dig, in which a player saves an opponent’s kill from registering a point. Jessica Nicerio has dominated this statistic at SF State for four seasons, shattering the record books with an astonishing 1,728 in total.

Total Career Digs :

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

BY EVA RODRIGUEZ PHOTO BY BRIAN CHURCHWELL

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464

2014

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29 28

Wednesday, october 28, 2015 goldengatexpress.org taekwondo Continued from the front

sports 11

Taekwondo instructor and SF State club founder kicks cancer

Dewart said he first Dewart said he gladly tells remembers feeling alarmed them what happened. when his nose started bleeding A former captain of his regularly. He said he visited a college track team and semi-pro doctor hoping that the bleeding football player, Dewart said he was from an injury he received has always loved being active while sparring. Deep down, and using his legs.

Dewart said he knew something “Even with his age, he’s was seriously wrong. still able to kick my ass,” said “I was hoping, but I really biochemistry major and club knew better, and then (the member Jose Gonzalez. “He’s doctor) told me I had cancer,” a huge inspiration to me to Dewart said. “That’s a pretty continue working harder and big shock to your system.” doing taekwondo.”

After getting opinions from After starting his teaching three other doctors, Dewart career with a one-unit had surgery three months after taekwondo class at SF State, he was diagnosed to remove he said he decided to start the his nose and the tumors that taekwondo club in 2007 to give were found inside. The surgery his students a place to practice completely removed after taking the course. the cancer, “I realized that according to students had Dewart. nowhere to go “It was after they got a pretty their yellow upsetting belt,” time in Dewart my life, said. “So but my I decided martial to start the arts club so that training they could helped me continue their -Bill dewart deal with it,” training.”

Dewart said. “It The club is kept me focused.” open to anyone from He now lives with a experienced fighters to prosthetic nose that he said his beginners. students are politely curious “This club is a good way about. If questions arise, to immerse yourself into a

“

I’m supposed to be dead, but I’m just too busy teaching.

”

IMANI MILLER / XPRESS

FRONT KICK: SF State taekwondo instructor Bill Dewart warms up with his students during taekwondo club practice in the Gymnasium Monday, Oct. 19.

different culture,” said member and first-degree black belt Jim Sevilla. “You can try out something new and build really good habits and manners.”

On top of the taekwondo club, Dewart also teaches a two-unit self defense club and a one-unit taekwondo class. He also instructs at his own school, the Academy of Tae Kwon Do,

where he has trained and taught since 1979.

“I’ve been doing this since 1965,” Dewart said. “If I didn’t do this, I’d have to get a real job – and I don’t want to have to do that.”

Although he has been cancer-free for almost 15 years, Dewart said that his experience with cancer will be hard to

forget, but he isn’t worried about it coming back.

“Fourteen years later and it’s not back, so they consider me cured,” Dewart said. “Now it’s always in the back of my mind, but I don’t worry about it at this point in time. I feel if it comes back, I’ll handle it again.”

Gators look to take a bite out of eSports TYLER LEHMAN

tlehman@mail.sfsu.edu

Members of the SF State League of Legends club are preparing to get their minds focused and mouses clicking for a major upcoming League of Legends collegiate competition.

The Gators will be competing in the League of Legends North American Collegiate Championship, a single elimination gauntlet

that includes over 300 colleges across North America.

League of Legends is a part of a new wave of sports called eSports – electronic contests of skill, intelligence and reflex that are played on competitive platforms, according to an article by re/code.net.

“I’m really happy that eSports are growing as a whole,

QING HUANG / XPRESS

ATTACK SPEED: (From right) Jasmine Hong, president of the League of

Golden Gators, an eSports club formed by SF State students, coach Calvin Foo and gamer Jesse Christiansen practice in a computer lab at Burk Hall at SF State Friday, Oct. 23.

because it opens up a lot more opportunities for another avenue of athletes, eSports athletes,” said SF State League team head coach Calvin Foo. “They finally get a chance to show off what they can do with their skills.”

The SF State League team is comprised of five players and a coach. Foo chose the starting roster during a tryout Oct. 9, according to League of Legends club president Jasmine Hong.

“I’m pretty confident in our team,” Foo said. “I think we’ll get pretty far, enough to get our name out there and maybe get some other schools to respect us a bit more.”

Foo said his job as coach is to analyze what his team can do better and give them advice on how to improve their play as individuals and as a cohesive unit.

“The coach is really compiling all the strategic data of the game, such as drafting teams and proper character selection for a team,” Foo said. “As you go higher up, the champions you can secure for your team really influence how the game will go.”

League of Legends is a massive online battle arena computer game where teams of five players go head to head on a game map called “Summoner’s Rift.” The object of the game

is to get into the enemy team’s base and destroy their Nexus.

Maneuvering to destroy the Nexus is accomplished by gaining gold, taking objectives and outplaying opponents with one of 127 selectable characters, called champions. The Nexus gives players control of their champions, and once destroyed, the player-champion tie is severed and the game ends.

SF State is now a part of the eSports phenomenon, which has seen games like Defense of the Ancients II receive coverage from major sports outlet ESPN. “The growth rate for eSports in general has caught on by being aired by major sports channels,” Hong said.

“I can definitely see (League of Legends) becoming super mainstream, especially with how there are world championships; it’ll just keep getting so much bigger.” eSports is growing in the collegiate ranks, and some schools are even offering scholarships for students to play at their college, according to an article on pcgamer. com. The University of Pikeville in Kentucky offered 20 scholarships to high level League of Legends players.

The winner of the NACC tournament will receive $30,000 in scholarship money per player,

according to a lolesports.com article. Gator starter Jesse Christiansen said he can’t wait to go toe to toe with some of the best League players in North America.

“I love the competitiveness of League of Legends,” Christiansen said. “I’ve been playing (for over five years), so I just have so many games racked up that it’s still fun for me. I can’t get bored of it.”

Christiansen is the team’s starting jungler — the player in charge of killing monsters not on the main paths — and shotcaller. His role in the game is to control the map for his team and make in-game changes.

Christiansen and the rest of the team will play in the NACC between Nov. 3 and Nov. 15 during an open qualifier. The qualifier is single-elimination, so the loss of one best-of-three contest means the end of the road for any team. Despite the large amount of competition, Christiansen said he’s confident in his team’s ability to take home the NACC Championship Trophy.

“If you don’t plan on taking it all the way, then what’s the point in ever making a team in the first place?” Christensen said.