n e d l o a te GGX
wednesday, APRIL 20, 2016
Fashion students repurpose bookstore discards on Page 6
IDEAS gains ground in fight for resource center for undocumented and AB540 students on Page 3
XPRESS
Latinx students share stories of familial struggles JEREMY PORR
jporr@mail.sfsu.edu
BRIAN CHURCHWELL / XPRESS
Senior Latinx studies major Maria Gonzalez-Chavez is a first-generation Chicanx whose mother just recently received her citizenship.
“My dad became a citizen in 1993,” said senior Latinx studies major Maria GonzalezChavez. “He was very vocal about racism and discrimination. He called people out, and sometimes he would get in trouble for it because people would be like, ‘Who is this brown man standing up for himself?’” Gonzalez-Chavez is a first-generation Xicana whose mother also just recently received her citizenship. “They got married in Mexico and my dad basically said, ‘I’m going to go back to the states to get money and send it down here for you,’ and she basically said, ‘No,’ and now that they’re married she was going to go with him,” GonzalezChavez said.
Latinx students make up nearly 35 percent of the student population at SF State, and amongst that lies a wide array of diverse experiences. Some students are undocumented, there are others whose parents were born in the U.S., and some have grandparents who moved here many years ago. The “x” in both Latinx and Xicana is used to promote gender neutrality. According to Gonzalez-Chavez, her mother, Rita Chavez, came to the U.S. in the late 1980s from the city of Yuriria, in Guanajuato, Mexico. “It was probably less than a year (until she found work),” Gonzalez-Chavez said. “My dad wanted to be the one working, but my mom, being who she is, said no, and that she was going to help out. So she started working with my dad at McDonalds.” Sophomore student Yocelin Martinez also had parents who
Issue
#12
Volume CII goldengatexpress.org Serving the San Francisco State community since 1927.
Women scientists foster community with new club JESSICA NEMIRE jdn@mail.sfsu.edu
W
omen majoring in physics and astronomy at SF State can now easily network with each other, thanks to a new club on campus. Formed in November 2015 by physics lecturer Dr. Reiko Toriumi, the Women In Physics and Astronomy club was founded to support the community of female physics and astronomy majors within SF State, according to its president, senior Miranda Waters. “Women tend to be underrepresented in the sciences, particularly the hard, physical sciences,” Waters said. “Thankfully, women now make up approximately 50 percent of biology, which is phenomenal, but in terms of numbers, women are still a lower percentage of the people pursuing degrees. SFSU has really fostered equality within the sciences. We’ve got a really strong community and it’s amazing to be a part of it." Roughly 40 percent of the undergraduates in physics and astronomy at SF State are women, according to Adrienne Cool, a physics and astronomy professor at SF State. The club, which currently has 22 members, mostly juniors and seniors, is run entirely by students. Cool, who has been teaching at SF State for 20 years, said that she’s seen a higher percentage of
GEORGE MORIN / XPRESS
Planetary scientist Carolyn Porco speaks about the importance of women in the sciences to the Women in Physics and Astronomy club during their meeting in Thornton Hall Monday.
generatio n Continued ON PAGE 5 facebook: /GoXpress
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Wednesday, April 20, 2016 goldengatexpress.org
NEWS
Bonita Tindle breaks silence about viral dreadlocks video MIRANDA BOLAR
mbolar@mail.sfsu.edu
B
onita Tindle spoke out on her Facebook page for the first time since the video of a confrontation between her and a white student with dreadlocks, Cory Goldstein, went viral March 28. Tindle talked about how her life has changed significantly over the past few weeks regarding the contents of this video. She stated in her Facebook post how the video, now with more than 3 million views, and threatening online comments affected her life. “In the aftermath, I have been the subject of violence in the form of death threats, rape threats, sexual harassment, and anti-Black hate speech,” Tindle said in her Facebook post from April 11. The post, which was initially public, no longer appears on Tindle’s public profile. Some comments went
further and leaked her personal information online. “Further, the racist and misogynistic vendetta against me has resulted in my own personal information including home address, phone number, social media accounts, places of employment and other details about my private life leaked and mass distributed on YouTube comments, Facebook posts, and other Internet forums,” Tindle said. She went on to talk about how what was caught on camera was not the full story. Tindle claims the incident began with her passing out flyers, and after Goldstein walked by, Tindle joked about his dreadlocks. She says Goldstein then called her a bitch and that part was omitted in the viral video. “As a black woman, verbal assault by men comes easily as women are dehumanized, objectified and over-sexualized by them,” Tindle said in the post. Tindle’s story corresponds
“
It frustrated me that I didn't get the opportunity to have a voice. -bonita tindle,
via facebook
with witness Maddy Gray. Gray, a communications major at SF State, said the viral video started halfway through the exchange.
“He called her a bitch after she tried to give him a flyer so she went to talk to him about his dreads and not to call her a bitch (naturally),” Gray said in a public Facebook post a day after the initial incident. Although Goldstein denies calling her a bitch, he posted on Facebook April 2 about how he was sorry for what has happened after the video and wishes they could have spoke in a different way. “I never called her a bitch,” Goldstein told Golden Gate Xpress. “I’m not that kind of person, that’s not what I’m about, that’s not what I’d do.” Tindle also had a problem with the way the video was presented online. “The White male student’s motivation is suspect in that it does not come as an objective point of view, by his own divisive word choice of “assault” (in the title of the video when posted), in order to incite controversy by framing me as the stereotype of
the “Angry Black Woman” and the man in the video as a fragile white victim,” Tindle said in her post. She also defended her actions by saying that Goldstein actually touched her first and that her actions have not been “legally deemed assault.” “I tried to continue to talk to him,” Tindle said. “It frustrated me that I didn’t get the opportunity to have a voice. He touches me first. He touches me first (at 0.19 seconds). He places his hand on my arm to move me away to leave from the conversation. You can see this nineteen seconds into the video. I naturally respond back with touch. I nonviolently place my open hand on his shoulder.” Tindle declined to speak with Golden Gate Xpress. You can read Tindle’s full statement on goldengatexpress.org
Women scientists foster community with new club astronomy continued from the front female physics and astronomy majors at SF State than in any other program around the country. “(The high proportion is something) we’ve always been very happy about, but it’s also something that we realize and believe that we shouldn’t take for granted,” Cool said. “An organization like this is very helpful to continue to support and encourage any women in the field.” Cool said that she thinks WIPA will make it possible for more students to feel more connected to the other students in the department. “I think that one can be surprisingly isolated as a student in physics, and making connections really helps you stick with it,” Cool said. “Increasing connections between women at all different stages of their studies at SF State will be really a great thing for students.” When asked if she thought the club has had any impact on the physics and astronomy program, Cool said that although the club is still fairly new, its inception can only help to increase the numbers of women in the department and deepen the connection between its female students. “They’re already dreaming
up all kinds of good things to do,” Cool said. “Right now, they’re trying to identify more of the women in the department who they may not know yet.” So far, in its five months of existence, the club has been to NASA for a conference, as well as hosted dinner parties at one of the members houses in order to "get closer as actual friends instead of just group members," said Brittany Redd, the club’s official event coordinator. Additionally, along with the Women in Science and Engineering program, WIPA brought award-winning planetary scientist Dr. Carolyn Porco to SF State to give a talk Monday, April 18 about Saturn’s moon and its potential to support life. Porco leads the imaging science team on the Cassini-Huygens, a spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn. “We believe that the only way that equality can actually be achieved in (science education) is to actively promote and support fellow women in the discipline, like bringing fellow female physicists to campus,” Waters said. “Instead of just seeing a bunch of guys lecture on physics, we’re seeing women who are active in these fields pursuing very worthwhile careers in our field.”
Redd also specified that anyone is welcome to join WIPA, regardless of their gender or major. “We want to make it clear that men are definitely invited to
join our club," Redd said. "It’s not just for women in physics and astronomy, it’s also for the support of women in physics and astronomy. They’re capable of doing anything that anyone else
is capable of doing.” Any students interested in becoming involved in the club can check out their Facebook page for updates on meetings and events.
GEORGE MORIN / XPRESS
Astrophysics majors Wendy Crumrine (left) and Audrey Dijeau (right) engage in a discussion about their love for physics with planetary scientist Carolyn Porco during their Women in Physics and Astronomy club meeting in Thornton Hall Monday.
CORRECTIONS: In last week’s print version of the Associated Students, Inc. presidential candidate interviews, the candidates’ responses to questions 5-7 appeared under the wrong names. Shannon Deloso’s responses appeared under Evan Gothelf’s name, and Gothelf’s responses appeared under Deloso’s name. In the April 6 print edition, Kennedy Hardemion was mistakenly identified as Tamiyah Thomas in the main photo for the story, “Gator shatters steeplechase record for second time during Distance Carnival.”
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 goldengatexpress.org
NEWS
IDEAS gets closer to confirming Dream Center NASHANTA WILLIAMS nwillia1@mail.sfsu.edu
A
ssociated Students, Inc. voted to support a Dream Center for undocumented students on campus last Wednesday, April 13. “The goal is to let the institution know that undocumented students are here and we are your classmates,” said Miguel Castillo, graphic design major and president of Improving Dreams, Equity, Access and Success, the group that proposed the center to ASI. “To gain institutionalized support from the University, and also have a centralized location (for these students).” Naeemah Charles, the vice president of external affairs, brought the motion before the committee and supported funds to be allocated for the creation of the center. IDEAS is a group lead by SF State students on campus. The members advocate for undocumented and AB540 students, provide a network of support, and assist excelling in higher education. Castillo formally presented the goals of the Dream Center to the ASI panel. IDEAS asked for awareness of undocumented students on campus and to gain recognition from SF State. According to an information guide provided by IDEAS, since 2008 SF State’s undocumented student population has risen 600 percent. The Dream Center will aid in securing lower tuition costs for AB540 and undocumented students and give students access to job opportunities that are not available through work study. The vice president of IDEAS, Pamela Ortiz, urged the ASI representatives to
PABLO CABALLERO / XPRESS
Miguel Castillo (left), president of Improving Dreams, Equity, Access and Success, and vice president Pamela Ortiz speak to ASI in support of a resource center on campus for AB540 and undocumented students in Jack Adams Hall Wednesday, April 13.
move forward with the creation of the Dream Center. Ortiz emphasized that SF State is the only Bay Area CSU campus without a space devoted to undocumented students. Francesca Colonnese, a physics major at SF State, supported the creation of a Dream Center, especially because it aided in financial support for students. “Anything to make college more affordable for students is a good idea,” Colonnese said. AB540 students have attended high school in California for at least three years
and received a high school diploma or equivalent. These students are exempt from paying the nonresident student tuition fees and may or may not be undocumented. “AB540 students, with the mass majority being undocumented, doesn’t mean they are necessarily (all) undocumented as well,” Castillo said. “AB540 applies to tuition. Someone could be a U.S. citizen coming from Nevada but went to high school here. Now they qualify for in-state tuition.” “There are nine sister campuses right now that have resource centers,” Ortiz said.
“We were hoping to be the first as a social justice school, but we have fallen behind. We are the only public university in the Bay Area without a resource center.” The ASI board fully supported the creation of space and funding for the Dream Center for the amount of $8,000. The board motioned to have the Dream Center approved by their last board meeting on April 27. The future location of the resource center is still unknown.
Xpress magazine
spring print issue now available
What: Graduate Research and Creative Works Showcase When: Thursday, April 21, 2016, 3 to 5 PM Where: Main Gym Who: ALL Students Are Invited Cost: FREE
FREE Food!!!
Gators, remember to
Recycle!!
More info on the web at: http://grad.sfsu.edu/content/gra duate-research-and-creativeworks-showcase or E-mail: britneys@sfsu.edu
Special Thanks for all the support from the College of Health and Social Sciences
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 goldengatexpress.org
LIFESTYLE & CULTURE
PERNG-CHIH HUANG / XPRESS
Casey Spiegel, Jonathan Dregs, professor Anne Galjour and Audrey Janner (left to right) practice their plays for the Greenhouse Theatre Festival Monday.
Annual Greenhouse Theatre Festival brings scripts to life ASHLEY BOWEN
anbowen@mail.sfsu.edu
A
n awakened puppet, a lovable narcissist, a crippled coal miner and online lovers – these are just a few characters that will soon jump from page to stage at the annual Greenhouse Theatre Festival. Plays that “bend form and perception” will be read at Z Space and the Poetry Center as collaboration between the creative writing and theatre and dance departments at SF State. Student playwrights Alandra Hileman, Casey Robert Spiegel, James Lacek and Julius Rea will showcase their works at Z Space Wednesday, April 20 through Sunday, April 24, while Ai Ebashi and Audrey Ann will present their readings at the Poetry Center May 2 and 6. Greenhouse, an annual festival held since 1999, is the culmination of the hard work and dedication of students in the theatre production class taught by faculty advisor and creative writing lecturer Anne Galjour. Playwrights had to submit their pieces, and the top plays were selected. The course works toward producing the festival, with master classes to teach how to progress as a playwright in the real world, according to Galjour. “In a nutshell, this class is a bridge in between everything you’re learning here in your academic environment, and just the reality of trying to cobble together a living as an artist,” Galjour said. She noted each play receives help from professional directors and actors as well as student actors to strengthen ties with the surrounding theater community. “Hiraeth,” a play by 27-year-old Hileman, who is pursuing a master of
fine arts in playwriting, is the story of strangers who meet in a bar and shockingly discover they all have memories of being characters of Arthurian legend. While some wholeheartedly believe it, others simply think it’s an illusion. Hileman said with the exception of one, everyone is cast as a different gender or race of the past life character. “Our Lancelot character is played by a young Hispanic woman, and so what we’re really pushing is this idea of playing with this very subtle level of how identity and gender and race inform our perception of self,” Hileman said. Spiegel, a 23-year-old senior theatre arts major, has been working on his play, “I’m Here, I’m Queer, and I’m Hungry,” since the first semester he transferred. Spiegel will be starring as the lead, Ben, whom he allows to be self-aware and break the fourth wall to provide the opportunity to play with perception. “The show is an exercise of Ben’s desperation to be successful, and it kind of speaks for I think a lot of young queer people in 2016 on trying to put out an image of yourself that maybe isn’t accurate, but it’s what you think people want to see,” Spiegel said. “Because, in order to be liked, I think a lot of young people have to conform to a stereotype because it’s easier – socially it’s more acceptable. So the show is really Ben’s journey and seeing the bad side to that.” Spiegel reflected on Ben’s storyline and how it’s relevant to his own. “I have that problem constantly, and I know it’s not just me – a lot of it plays into being afraid people aren’t going to accept you, because you’re an other of some kind,” Spiegel said. “... I was one of three out gay men in my high school. It wasn’t like an amazing inclusive area ... so
it was really easy for me to know that this happens to other people too.” Ebashi, a 43 year old studying a master of fine arts in playwriting, wrote “Puppet Show,” illuminating a Bunraku – a traditional form of Japanese puppet theater – puppet’s isolated struggle with realizing he has been manipulated by puppeteers his entire life. Her play evokes deep questions that she said she hopes will make the audience think. “Everybody is sort of a puppet, conditioned by his or her culture or family background or ethnicity, so that is where I drew my inspiration from,” Ebashi said. Galjour said she is moved by alumni who still support the festival, such as Peter Nachtrieb, a playwright currently at Z Space. Nachtrieb participated in Greenhouse twice, with his second play becoming one of his first major career hits.
He emphasized how vital the festival is to helping playwrights getting their work on stage. “Plays don’t exist to simply be on paper, and Greenhouse is one of the few chances SF State playwrights have to really get a feel of their work on its feet in a professional environment,” Nachtrieb said. “It’s essential to developing live work and it’s crucial to hear pieces heard in front of an audience.” Galjour said she is proud of all the unique voices and bold visions illustrated in the strong works this year. “Plays don’t exist purely as literature, it’s an art form that’s meant to be heard out loud,” Galjour said. “To see them out loud, it’s great beauty.” Tickets for the Z Space showings are on sale for $5 to $10, and readings at the Poetry Center are free.
PERNG-CHIH HUANG / XPRESS
Professor Anne Galjour instructs the theatre production class on Monday.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 goldengatexpress.org
LIFESTYLE & CULTURE
Latinx students share stories of familial struggles Generation continued from the front
immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1980s, but spent a short portion of her youth traveling to and from Mexico alongside them. “I was born in Mexico, and my family and I migrated to the U.S. permanently in 1999 here in the Mission District, but before that we used to jump back and forth because it was a lot easier back then,” Martinez recalled. “I was three, so for the first three years of my life I would come to the U.S. and leave, come again, and leave.” Martinez said her father found work doing construction, while her mother started working as a janitor and currently works at a small local business. Maria’s parents shared slightly similar experiences working in both landscaping and in the food industry, where her mother was subject to discrimination from her employers. “I remember one night – she worked at a Taco Bell; she would always pick us up after school and take us there until her shift was over,” Gonzalez-Chavez said. “Me and my brother were playing tag ... I remember the manager, who was white,
basically was yelling at my Mom that she needed to speak English better.” Martinez said she has also witnessed varying degrees of discrimination throughout her life. “My brother was in 4th grade, and the teacher told my mom that the reason why he wasn’t doing good in school was because she didn’t speak English, and it turned out later that he had dyslexia,” Martinez said. Martinez said her father has also faced discrimination in the workforce. “He doesn’t like talking about it, but I know that he does,” Martinez said. “I’ll hear stuff that he tells my mom. The people that own the buildings he works on treat him like he isn’t human or as if he isn’t an adult. He works way harder than these people, and he isn’t getting paid what he should be getting paid.” Senior history major and thirdgeneration Latinx Tamera Cabrera had a slightly different upbringing, although both of her grandparents are also from Guanajuato. “My grandmother was a maid – she didn’t even finish high school, but she
worked really hard and still inspires me to this day,” Cabrera said. “I don’t like the concept of borders. I’ve always seen that as a really exclusionary political thing.” Both Martinez and Gonzalez-Chavez agree that the concept of international borders is boring and outdated. “Fuck borders,” Martinez said. “I’m undocumented myself and I don’t fuck with borders. It’s sad to see other people that have been here for 50 plus years and haven’t been able to go back to see family members or say goodbye to certain family members.” For Martinez, being undocumented has presented her with little access to key resources, including lack of health insurance or financial aid. “If they want us to do better in this society, how are we going to do that if we don’t even have the money or the resources available?” Martinez continued, tearing up. “Sometimes I think about whether or not I really want to be in school ... if I were to drop out, it’s like my parents’ struggle would’ve meant nothing. For me, it’s kind of like a thank you to my parents to graduate school because the
whole reason for us moving here was for me to receive a better education.” IDEAS President Miguel Castillo took special care to note that differences within the community should be celebrated. “I wouldn’t say that there is a divide, general support and solidarity within the community I feel is widespread,” Castillo said. “Despite generational differences I think everyone probably knows someone, or maybe has had someone in their family who is undocumented and can sympathize with that.” Although the life experiences of undocumented, first generation or second generation Latinx students vary, pride is a key uniting factor that surpasses generational divides. “I think the one thing that unites everyone in our community is the respect we have for our culture,” Cabrera said. “That goes beyond borders.”
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Wednesday, April 20, 2016 goldengatexpress.org
LIFESTYLE & CULTURE
Students redesign bookstore duds EMILY CHAVOUS
echavous@mail.sfsu.edu
A
jumble of mannequins and measuring tape provides the backdrop for apparel design student Becky Tu as she pins the sleeve on an upcycled ’90s-inspired bomber jacket. Its waterproof shell is made with a deconstructed umbrella. Tu, 27, has been pinning and patterning, pulling 12-hour workdays with her peers in preparation for “Runway 2016: Emerge,” SF State’s 21st annual fashion show, which will be held at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria April 28 at 7 p.m. “I’ve been in the lab for a good 36 hours in the past threeand-a-half days,” Tu said. “I’m having so much fun seeing what kind of ideas come to life. But honestly, finishing the whole thing – that’s most rewarding.” Part of the show will feature designs by Tu and her flat-pattern classmates, constructed from faulty, unsellable products donated by the SF State Bookstore. This is the third year the fashion show features “reuse” collections and the second year the bookstore provided the materials, according to apparel design professor and Bookstore Advisory Committee member Connie Ulasewicz. “We’re really trying to educate students, faculty and those that come to the show (about textile waste and reuse possibilities),” Ulasewicz said. “It’s a very different approach to creative design.” Student athletes will model the repurposed garments in the fashion show, which Ulasewicz said is a fun way to get the campus community involved. “They’re used to playing sports together, so they’re sort of playing down the runway,” she said. Basketball player Jon McMurry, a 23-year-old kinesiology student, will model Tu’s colorblocked bomber jacket and drop-crotch jogger pants. He said he’s never participated in a fashion show but he’s EMILY CHAVOUS / XPRESS
SF State flat pattern lecturer Danette Scheib looks over a student’s design progress in Burk Hall 410, Monday, April 11.
EMILY CHAVOUS / XPRESS
Apparel design student Becky Tu, 27, pins a sleeve on the upcycled bomber jacket she made with materials repurposed from the SF State Bookstore Monday, April 11. SF State basketball player Jon McMurry (left) will model the garment at the upcoming spring fashion show on April 28.
excited to walk the runway. “Some of my teammates did it last year and I heard good things about it,” McMurry said. “No idea what to expect, but I think it’ll be fun.” Bookstore director Husam Erciyes said damaged retail is typically thrown away, so he’s glad to see students recycling the material and promoting sustainability awareness. He said he looks forward to seeing the products transform. “Last year I was really impressed,” Erciyes said. “We collected items throughout the year and they used that merchandise for their designs. … For example, the letters (may be) misprinted; maybe somebody was putting it on and there’s a makeup (stain) that you can’t get out.” Apparel design major Sydney Beres, 20, flipped a stained sweatshirt inside-out and added laser-cut leather detailing at the neck, the remnants of an unwanted camel-colored handbag. “It’s hard to imagine what you can make with this stuff,” Beres said. “There were a lot of sweaters, T-shirts, baseball hats and random things like purses, books and coffee cups. It was definitely interesting to work with such unconventional things.” Danielle Hickethier, 24,
EMILY CHAVOUS / XPRESS
A stained hoodie and damaged purse from the bookstore repurposed by apparel design student Sydney Beres on Monday, April 11.
agreed. She said she had never considered designing with damaged goods. “It kind of puts a funky spin on new designs,” Hickethier said. “(The project) has me thinking of how I could incorporate (reuse) into my designs later on and be more conscientious of waste.” “Runway 2016: Emerge” tickets are priced from $10 to $40 and available through Eventbrite.com.
EMILY CHAVOUS / XPRESS
Apparel design students will showcase “reuse” designs made with items donated by the bookstore at the spring fashion show, like these SF State hats being upcycled in Burk Hall 410 on Monday, April 11.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 goldengatexpress.org
OPINION
oldaetne GGX
XPRESS
DARCY FRACOLLI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF dfracoll@mail.sfsu.edu
REID CAMMACK
MANAGING EDITOR reidcamm@mail.sfsu.edu
EVA RODRIGUEZ
ART DIRECTOR erodrig2@mail.sfsu.edu
JARED JAVIER
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR jjavier@mail.sfsu.edu
BRIAN CHURCHWELL PHOTO EDITOR bchurchw@mail.sfsu.edu
JOEY REAMS
NEWS EDITOR reams94@mail.sfsu.edu
MIRANDA BOLAR
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR mbolar@mail.sfsu.edu
ASHLEY BOWEN
LIFESTYLE & CULTURE EDITOR anbowen@mail.sfsu.edu
JESSICA NEMIRE
STAFF EDITORIAL
Earth Day is more important now than ever
T
his Friday will mark the 46th annual Earth Day. Since this holiday isn’t accompanied by raucous partying, excessive drinking or any special types of food, like many popular holidays are, it may seem like one of the more insignificant holidays. Even if you don’t usually care about Earth Day, you should care about this one. Although we are only four months into 2016, we as a planet have already reached record-breaking global temperatures, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. Consequently, President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping of China are planning to sign the Paris climate agreement, the first-ever contract that commits nearly every country to taking action against climate change. Earth
Day just so happens to be the date on which they plan to sign the document, making this Friday an historic event. Another reason this Earth Day is particularly significant, at least for our city, is that an agreement to work to protect the earth was signed in San Francisco in March 1969, when the idea for Earth Day was initially proposed. Since 2011, the state of California has been in a severe drought, with the year between September 30, 2014 and September 30, 2015 being the warmest year on record, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. The severity of the drought prompted Governor Jerry Brown to declare a State of Emergency in January 2014. However, as of earlier this month, California residents have collectively conserved enough water to last almost 6 million people for a year, according to the State of California's government
website. This is 96 percent of the statewide conservation goal Brown set. Despite this victory, there are still some California residents who don't feel as though they should be doing their part to help conserve water and assist in ending the record-breaking drought that has plagued our state for five years so far. This Earth Day can serve as a way to celebrate California's water conservation victory, as well as encourage other Californians to pay more attention to their water use. Ride your bike to work or school this Friday. Turn off the lights when you leave the room, even if it's only for one day. At least then you can say you participated in one of the most historic Earth Days since its inception. JESSICA NEMIRE Opinion Editor
Free market system devalues education
OPINION EDITOR jdn@mail.sfsu.edu
TYLER LEHMAN
SPORTS EDITOR tlehman@mail.sfsu.edu
CHRIS DEJOHN
COPY EDITOR cdejohn@mail.sfsu.edu
JOCELYN CARRANZA MULTIMEDIA EDITOR jcarranz@mail.sfsu.edu
KELSEY LANNIN
ASSISTANT MULTIMEDIA EDITOR klannin@mail.sfsu.edu
GRADY PENNA
SOCIAL MEDIA/ONLINE EDITOR gpenna@mail.sfsu.edu
RACHELE KANIGEL PRINT ADVISER kanigel@sfsu.edu
JESSE GARNIER
FACULTY ADVISER jgarnier@sfsu.edu
KEN KOBRE
PHOTO ADVISER kkobre@sfsu.edu
EVA CHARLES
ADVERTISING & BUSINESS echarles@sfsu.edu
ILLUSTRATION BY JARED JAVIER
ARUN UNNIKRISHNAN I.T. CONSULTANT arun@mail.sfsu.edu
SAMANTHA LOPEZ CIRCULATION
EVA RODRIGUEZ
STUDENT GRAPHIC DESIGNER ggxads@sfsu.edu
WRITE US A LETTER The Golden Gate Xpress accepts letters no longer than 200 words. Letters are subject to editing. Send letters to Jessica Nemire at: jdn@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 Darcy Fracolli at: dfracoll@mail.sfsu.edu
CECILIE LYNGBERG
clyngberg@mail.sfsu.edu
After having spent four months at an American university, one of the biggest differences I have noticed is how education here, contrary to Scandinavia, is something you pay for and, in that sense, a part of the free market. This affects a lot of things in and around American universities and their approach to teaching, which I see as problematic for a series of reasons. One of these problems is exemplified in websites like Rate My Professors. com, where students can publicly and anonymously review professors and their courses. I had never heard about Rate My Professors before I came to the U.S. because it isn’t relevant in Denmark, where I’m from. But an American student explained to me that a lot of
students in the U.S. go to the website to compare professors’ ratings before they decide which classes to take and which to avoid. My first thought when I heard about Rate My Professors was it seems logical that, in a society like America where you have to pay for your education, you would want to see how the product has been reviewed before you buy it, exactly like you would when you purchase an item online. But although I see a page like Rate My Professors as a natural symptom of an unregulated education market and a paid-for university system, it also gave me a strange feeling and sparked skepticism in me. I feel bad for the teachers who get horrible ratings on this digital, public pillory. And more importantly, it raises the larger question of education in America, and what kind of quality it provides when it’s
a business in which all the goods are ranked and in constant competition with one another. One might argue that the free education market and sites like Rate My Professors make the universities and teachers do their best every day, because they are dependent on returning and satisfied costumers, but at the same time we need to look at what kind of educational environment this really provides. And I don’t think this really makes teachers teach better or students learn better for a number of reasons. How can anybody do their best when everything is about performance and rating? A teaching assistant once told me some teachers fear making the education level in their classes too difficult and their feedback on assignments too honest, because they are afraid of how it will be received and how they will be rated. In Denmark, I have never
experienced anything like this. People do not turn to a website before they choose classes; they simply choose the courses they find most important and interesting. One might say that the free market results in better education because both universities and professors have to deliver in order to keep the customers. But it can also result in a twisted situation where universities and professors care more about how they are rated, graded and perceived than the quality of their students’ education. Students get a sugarcoated assignment back instead of one with honest, constructive criticism they can really learn from. Given that the purpose of going to a university is to get an education, receive constructive criticism and become wiser, I think this free market university model is a problem.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 goldengatexpress.org
OPINION
The experience of music festivals outweighs the cost GABRIELLA POVOLI
I
gpovolli@mail.sfsu.edu
t’s that time of year again – when girls wear flower crowns, fanny packs come back in style and fratty electro-bros feel the need to shotgun a beer at 8 a.m. Yes, festival season has returned. Coachella Weekend 1 has just passed, and now others, like myself, are gearing up for Weekend 2. Although I still don’t have a wristband, and the festival is now just days away, on a whim I bought a plane ticket to Palm Springs and have high hopes of getting one there. I somehow made it through all of high school and almost all of college without attending a single music festival. That was, until I caved last year and coughed up more than $500 on a wristband to Coachella. Other
than the awfully hot weather in Indio, lengthy shower lines and my constantly dead phone, the overall experience was enjoyable. Like many others, I used to think people were crazy if they paid a large sum of money to attend a music festival. I thought all the festivals were overpriced and overrated. Now, after attending a handful, I think these prices are justifiable and the experience is well worth it. Thinking about last year’s Coachella, I remember waking up sweaty every morning at 6 a.m., sitting around the campsite with my friends and reminiscing about the previous night’s debaucheries. The hope of eating wellnourished meals throughout the weekend would become a luxury quickly replaced with pretzels and beer. Today, Coachella has evolved into a multimilliondollar enterprise that is recognized worldwide. The festival is known for housing the Instagram-famous Ferris wheel, entertaining copious amounts of celebrities,
and uniting music, food and art. Though the crowds at music festivals are much larger than typical concerts, and the likelihood of being able to see every show is slim, it’s an experience every person should consider. Coachella is one of the many music festivals that happen in the U.S. and is continuously becoming more popular each year. In 2015, Coachella grossed almost $85 million in wristband sales from a total of 198,000 wristbands sold, according to Billboard. Spring is now upon us and is the time when festivalgoers from all over the country gather to enjoy weekends filled with music and good company. Reminiscing on the past years has motivated me to make a somewhat irrational decision and book a flight to Palm Springs in hopes that I may get my hands on the coveted wristband and partake in the festivities once again.
ILLUSTRATION BY REID CAMMACK
Your bindi is not trendy AHALYA SRIKANT
asrikant@mail.sfsu.edu
Fashion trends at summer festivals often come under scrutiny for their cultural appropriation. Bindis have been one of the biggest trends at festivals and it needs to stop. Summer festivals like Coachella have their own fashion and set their own trends. Celebrities like Selena Gomez, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, and Vanessa Hudgens are among the celebrities who have been spotted at Coachella wearing a bindi. Gomez went as far as posting a photograph on her Instagram wearing a bindi with the caption “sari, not sari,” creating a joke out of the traditional Indian clothing. The use of a bindi as a fashion statement strips away the cultural aspect of the item completely. These fashion trends make their way into popular music videos too. A few months ago, Coldplay released a video depicting scenes of snake charmers, a Holi festival and small slum children running around them while they sang “Hymn for the Weekend.” In this video, Beyoncé, an icon of intersectional feminism and a champion for the Black Lives Matter movement, was on my screen dressed in Indian clothes
and wearing jewelry that made it look as though she had a bindi on her forehead. The video itself used the Indian people and religious festival as nothing more than a theme. Major Lazer’s “Lean On“ and Iggy Azalea’s “Bounce“ are examples of other music videos that use Indian culture as a theme. Cultural appropriation is defined in the Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature as “a term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group.” If you are not a Hindu or an Indian, the use of a bindi is by definition cultural appropriation. A bindi is a beautiful part of Hindu culture that many people passionately believe in. But the bindi has been a reminder for many Indians of why they will never be truly American. The bindi is a religious Hindu item. It’s history in India is immeasurable and it holds deep meaning for many Indians. The country of India, being comprised of a little more than a billion people, has many different subcultures. A big reason why most Hindus can’t answer the question, “What does a bindi mean?” is that there are so many meanings assigned to the object by different groups in India. Hinduism is a religion that says any practices or religious texts are just supposed to act as a guide. The religion essentially allows you to take any aspect of
it that will help you to personally reach “moksha,” or enlightenment. With such ambiguity, it’s no wonder that there are so many different meanings that can be assigned to a bindi. When a non-Hindu person wears a bindi, it creates a sense of “otherness” towards Indian Americans. When you wear a bindi as a fashion statement, you’re telling Indian people that their culture is a prop to you. Every experience they have had from childhood to adulthood regarding their culture is erased and they are made invisible. If I were standing in a room wearing a bindi, I would not be considered a fashion icon. I would just be Indian. I would still have to put up with jokes about cows and arranged marriages. It took me a long time to come back to appreciating my culture. I spent most of my childhood condemning Hinduism and Indian culture because it made me so different from my peers. I realized that I had condemned generations of heritage because of a society that, years later, adopted my culture as a fashion statement. As an Indian American, I have a lot of heritage to be proud of. Thanks to my ancestors, people get to enjoy going to yoga, love their paneer masalas, and can even use ayurvedic medicines. But the bindi is a religious symbol that needs to be worn only by those who belong to its heritage.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 goldengatexpress.org
SPORTS
ALEX KOFMAN / XPRESS
SF State Gators baseball head coach Tony Schifano talks with catcher Dalton Pizzuti (29) during a game against the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters at Maloney Field Saturday, March 19.
Gators look to make late-season conference splash CHRISTOPHER CONTRERAS
U
ccontreras@mail.sfsu.edu
nder new head coach Tony Schifano, the Gators are off to a solid 16-17 start, but must keep their foot on the gas as they look to make a push into the postseason with an underwhelming 9-13 conference record. The Gators started out the season strong, winning seven of their 12 first games, a better start than the past few years. Last year's team started 4-10, and in 2014 the Gators started 6-6. Last year, the Gators were dead in the water from the start. 2014’s team was the last time the Gators had a sniff at the playoffs. They started out strong with an 11-7 record in their first 18 games, but a bad string of losses in the middle of the season tore their postseason aspirations apart. A 12-game losing streak would push them down to 11-19 and out of playoff contention early. With a little more than two weeks left in the current season, it's do-or-die for the Gators, who will need their best players to take the team to new heights. Myles Franklin will be key to the Gators' success down the
stretch. He leads the team with a .379 batting average, which ranks eighth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Franklin has also hit nine doubles, two triples and one home run. Bryce Brooks' .336 overall batting average and 18th ranking gives the Gators two players in the top 20 batting averages in the CCAA. Ryan Bohnet’s strong arm will be pivotal for the Gators, as he leads the team with a 2.97 ERA and ranks him 15th in the conference. Bohnet leads the team with 28 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .274. Ulices Moreno has the second-lowest ERA on the team at 3.44, but is closely followed by fifth-year player Peter Reyes’ 3.90 ERA. Moreno and Reyes rank 22nd and 25th respectively in the CCAA in ERA. Reyes has thrown 23 strikeouts while Moreno has thrown 21. The Gators have also had one CCAA player of the week award winner in Chris Nicholson. He had eight hits, which included four doubles and three home runs in four games. The award came for the week of March 28 through April 3 where the Gators won three games and lost one. Nicholson is the first Gator to win the award since April 2014. Nicholson and other key players will try not to falter down the stretch, like the team did in
2014. The current team started out the season strong, earning a 16-13 record before dropping four straight, two to the UC San Diego Tritons. The Gators are sitting in fifth place of the North Division of the CCAA with a 16-17 record. An early-season three-game series in which the Gators were swept by the Fresno Pacific and a mid-season five-game losing streak against CSU Dominguez Hills and Cal State Monterey Bay have hurt the Gators' record the most. Their 13 losses are tied for second-worst in the conference, but third-place Cal State East Bay is only four conference wins ahead of SF State with 13 wins. The Gators have lost and won a game against the Pioneers this season, but their most recent game was dominated by the Gators, who had 23 hits and won 14-3. This season also includes a five-game win streak, where the Gators swept the Academy of Art in a three-game series, pounded the Sonoma State University Seawolves 6-1, and then stole a game against the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos. With 15 games remaining, the Gators will have to play smart, mistake-free baseball to have a chance at the playoffs.
ALEX KOFMAN / XPRESS
SF State Gators infielder Bryce Brooks (39) throws to home plate after tagging out a base runner from the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters Saturday, March 19.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 goldengatexpress.org
SPORTS
Gators softball snaps eight-game losing streak CHRISTOPHER CONTRERAS ccontreras@mail.sfsu.edu
T
he Gators managed to end their eight-game losing streak during their last home games of the season on Monday, beating the Sonoma State Seawolves in game two of a doubleheader, 3-1. The Gators were not able to take both games though, and lost the first game of the doubleheader, 3-1. It was a pitcher’s duel in game one, as Seawolf Amanda Llerena pitched seven full innings, allowing only one run and three hits. Llerena threw 10 strikeouts and didn’t let the Gators score until Angelica Terrel hit a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Gators’ pitcher Jenny Obbema had a solid outing, keeping the Seawolves scoreless until the sixth inning, when a barrage of errors by SF State led to three runs, including an insidethe-park home run. Obbema gave up three runs but only one was earned. “We had some defensive miscues that really hurt us to give up those couple other runs,” head coach Lisa Allen said. “But Megan came in and did a really good job.” Pitcher Megan Clark subbed
in for Obbema with no outs in the sixth and would close out the final two innings, holding the Seawolves scoreless and hitless while tossing two strikeouts. “I felt really good,” Clark said after game one. “I was hitting my spots and my corners. It was good to have my defense behind me too.” It was a tough first game for the Gators as they committed more errors – four – than hits – three. For the Gators, Terrel was the only one to score a run, with Jennifer Lewis and Alexis Mattos being the only other Gators to get a hit, both going 1-for-2 at the plate. After losing the first game of a doubleheader, the Gators responded in the second game with their own 3-1 win with a dominant pitching and hitting performance. The win brought the Gators conference record to 18-18 and leaves them in sixth place of the conference. Megan Clark started at pitcher and went a full seven innings against the Seawolves, allowing only one run and two hits. Clark pitched the final two innings of the first game, making it nine innings total on the day, allowing only one run. “Megan was able to come in and shut them down,” Terrel said. “She pitched great again the second game and they really
didn’t know what to do with her.” The Gators found themselves with no runs and in a pitchers duel with Seawolves right-hander Brielle Vidmar, until the bottom of the fifth inning when Kayli Shaw hit a double to center field. Vidmar had allowed no runs, but Amanda Llerena subbed back in to pitch after already throwing seven innings in game one. SF State only scored once against Llerena in the first game, but things changed in game two. Jennifer Lewis singled to center field but would get to second off a fielder’s choice after Shaw was thrown out at home. Alexis Mattos bunted and was able to get to first while also advancing Lewis. Gabby Retta then hit a single that scored Lewis and Mattos, giving the Gators a 2-1 lead. In the next inning, Gator Mallory Cleveland hit a home run that sealed the Gators 3-1 victory and ended their eight-game conference losing streak. “I was so proud of the team,” Allen said, “They brought that pitcher back in for game two, and the team could have went either way. They could have hung their heads, but luckily they were ready to go.” After only three hits in the first game, the Gators responded with eight hits and were led by
PERNG-CHIH HUANG / XPRESS
SF State Gators infielder Jennifer Lewis (7) slides into second base during the second game of a doubleheader against the Sonoma State Seawolves Monday.
Cleveland and Lewis, who both went 2-for-3. “It feels great to get out of the losing streak – this month hasn’t been easy,” Allen said. “We talked to the girls about that. We knew we were going through a pretty tough stretch here. We’re playing the top teams in the
CCAA right now.” The Gators have two doubleheaders left, both against Chico State this upcoming weekend, to try and get to fourth place in the conference before the season ends.
New course for FALL 2016! PLSI 216: The 2016 Presidential Election Public Lecture Series Day: Tuesdays Time: 4:10-5:55pm Place: McKenna Theater
• 2 UNITS • Credit/ No credit • Can attend in person or online
Register online for FALL 2016! Course number: PLSI 216 Schedule number: 8956 Contact the instructors for more information: Dr. Kassiola, kassiola@sfsu.edu Dr. Garcia-Castañon, mgcs@sfsu.edu Sponsored by the Department of Political Science and the College of Liberal and Creative Arts