GOLDEN GATE XPRESS //
STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER PROUDLY SERVING THE SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1927.
// 04.24.13
VOLUME LXXXXVI ISSUE 12
Check out goldengatexpress.org for exclusive video content on these two arts and entertainment stories
MUSIC
THEATER
Avenue Q
Rachel Larsen
Bomb threat: delayed information upsets students
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BY JOE FITZGERALD | jfitzger@mail.sfsu.edu
SF State student. His post was on SF State's N THE SHADOW OF THE official Facebook page. Boston Marathon bombing, the Though warnings from the University nation grieves and stands at high were posted on Facebook and Twitter while alert. Amidst the fear of terrorthe excitement ensued, the emergency call ism, a smaller drama played out was made after the all clear was given — not at SF State Monday, April 22 — before. The bomb threat was called in around a bomb threat on campus. 9 a.m., and the mass student phone messages The “bomb” turned out to were sent out at 10:15 a.m. be just an ordinary black shoebox. It is still All over SF State’s Facebook page, stuunknown, and difficult to prove, whether the phone call tip to campus police was intention- dents were calling the University’s priorities out of whack. ally false. Forouhari’s Facebook It's what happened next comment received 59 "likes," that has some students at the but more than 70 people University outraged. “liked” his next post which As the bomb threat was “With all due respect, being cleared, a phone call ADMINISTRATION’S started, you guys really screwed up was sent via the University’s SLOW RESPONSE TO this morning.” A similar comEmergency Notification THE BOMB THREAT plaint on the SFSU ConfesSystem, alerting SF State's sions page had over 400 likes students that the bomb PAGE 8 by Tuesday afternoon. threat in the Creative Arts University spokesperson Building was a hoax. SimEllen Griffin said the situailar messages went out via tion happened fast and no one Facebook and Twitter, leavwas in danger inside or near ing questions unanswered: the building due to the efforts of University Why were the students learning of the bomb Police and the San Francisco Police Departthreat only after it was neutralized? Isn’t the ment. whole point of the system to alert students to “The first priority (of the University) was impending danger? to secure the building and make sure it was “Still trying to figure out why we weren't safe,” Griffin said. called and/or emailed about this. Some of my SHOE BOX: A SF State police officer walks out of the Creative Arts Building holding a shoe box after a friends don't have (Facebook) so they never reported bomb threat and put it in his trunk, then drove away. Photo by Andy Sweet would have known,” Michael Forouhari postSEE ADMINISTRATION ON PAGE 2 ed, whose Facebook page identifies him as an
R E L AT E D E D I T O R I A L
Campus copes amid tragic news stories BY LULU OROZCO | ohlulu@mail.sfsu.edu
After hearing news of two incidents that shook the country within a week’s time, counselors advise students to de-stress
Within a few days last week, a number of tragic events hit the country leaving college students, who are already struggling to get through their last month of finals, to cope with tragedies on a massive scale. Monday, April 15, the sound of two terrifying bombs shook and frightened runners near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The twin blasts killed three and injured more than 100. Just a few days later, a massive explosion and fire at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, killed at least 15 and left up to 180 injured, as reported by The New York Times.
Though neither of the events happened in close proximity to SF State, tragedies of this scale can affect students nonetheless. Mental health professionals say the best way to cope with catastrophes is to make use of our existing social circles. “The first thing we should all recognize is that our best resource against these type of events is to appreciate and rely upon the social support networks we belong to,” Assistant Professor of Psychology Kevin Eschleman said in an email. Between a social life, a job and school work, college students have no problem losing motivation. The weight of anxiety and a lack Counseling and Psychological of adequate sleep can leave Sources Center students with little time to debriefings for the Boston Marathon think about who they can talk to about common stresses they may be experiencing during Wednesday, April 24 noon to 1 p.m. tragic events. Thursday, April 25 noon to 1 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m.
Friday, April 26 noon to 1 p.m.
SEE IMAGES ON PAGE 11
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SF STATE SPEAKS OUT
Administration criticized for late response
DO YOU THINK THE RESPONSE TO THE BOMB THREAT WAS ADEQUATE?
VIVIAN LAI, 19
PRE-NURSING MAJOR
I feel like there should of been a notification before hand, I was sitting in class in that building and had no idea until someone came in and pulled us out.
CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE
She then recounted the order of events: the University Police Department received a call about a suspicious package around 9 a.m. Within ten minutes campus officials sent out messages via Facebook and Twitter to students warning of a bomb threat. The Creative Arts Building was then evacuated and around 9:30 a.m., the police determined there was no threat. As the situation unfolded, misinformation about the severity of the bomb scare started spreading via social media, Griffin said. It was the misinformation that prompted the campus to send out an alert via the Emergency Notification System, sending phone messages to every student saying, “The bomb threat at Creative Arts is all clear. Thanks to the UPD and SFPD for the quick response. More info is available, all classes are in session.” One phone call activated the phone alert, Griffin said. It took just a minute. By Tuesday afternoon, there were more than 100 comments on SF State’s Facebook page, most of which were from students angry about the timing of the phone warnings — even parents were concerned. “My son who's on campus does not know about it and here I am sitting in my office in Oakland on Facebook and I'm aware of it, SMH (shaking my head)...,” Tiffany Muang Saephan posted. Griffin said that the decision not to use the phone alert system was made by the Emergency Operations Center. Gayle Orr-Smith is SF State’s emergency preparedness coordinator. Orr-Smith declined to be interviewed, instead directing all interviews to Griffin. Campus police also directed the Xpress to Griffin. “They have trained work they need to focus on,” Griffin said in response. Student anger wasn’t just limited to social media. A walk through the Creative Arts Building, where the bomb threat was reported to be, revealed a wealth of students bewildered about the calls. “A bomb threat is more pressing than a flood,” said Adrian Blount, a 23-year-old theater major with classes in the Creative Arts Building, referring to a February incident when the building flooded and classes were cancelled for the broadcast, theater and music departments. Students found out about the flood through the Emergency
Notification System. Students were called, texted and emailed to stay away from the Creative Arts Building. Students are all too familiar with how easily they can be notified of danger. “We got progress even as the water rose, like, every three minutes,” theater design major Kirsten Royston, 21, said. But she was taken off guard when she got the phone call about the Creative Arts Building bomb threat. “It’s good to know the bomb threat I didn’t know about was cleared,” she said. Both women were worried, since they have classes in the Creative Arts Building. Blount laughed loudly when asked if she felt safe after seeing the University’s response to the bomb threat. “No, I definitely felt unsafe,” she said. SF State President Leslie E. Wong wrote in an email to Xpress that student’s outrage showed a need to change the way they handled bomb threats next time. “Our internal communication was efficient and direct and we quickly determined that there was no credible danger,” Wong wrote. But, he added, “Given the feedback that you reference and the desire of our community to have this kind of information, even when first responders have determined that no threat exists, we will be using the Emergency Notification System more for events like this in the future.” Notably, when the tragedy of the Boston bombing struck, and shortly after a shooting took place on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus killing a campus police officer, Sean A. Collier, students knew about the situation as it developed. Students got their information through campus-wide phone alerts and social media. MIT’s Facebook page had up-to-date warnings about possible shooters on campus as the situation unfolded, and according to MIT’s student-run newspaper, The Tech, the campus’ alert system warned students to stay home the next morning. Computer engineering major Elleen Palencia's post on SFSU Confessions summed up most of the students' anger. "I got the text and the e-mail about it being cleared and I just stared at my phone for a good 3 minutes, wondering why they didn't alert me about the threat when it was first suspected. I had gotten to school about thirty minutes earlier. What if I had walked in on the detonating bomb?"
LAUREN DIZON, 19
KINESIOLOGY MAJOR
I think State was unprepared but I understand that it was very unexpected.
ANTHONY TO, 19
CRIMINAL JUSTICE MAJOR
ALL CLEAR: SF State’s Creative Arts Building is reopened to students after a bomb threat was made and police removed a shoe box from the building. Photo by Jessica Worthington
They should of notified us earlier. I saw the news on Twitter and immediately thought it was too late, an earlier quicker response would have been better.
International student of the week
VINCE TORRES, 23 ENGLISH MAJOR
In lieu of what happened in Boston, I guess the response was fine but to call it a hoax is demeaning, it takes away from the situation. Photos by: Virginia Tieman Reporting by: Ellie Loarca
Name: Alex Sanchez Lopez Age: 20 From: Spain, but grew up in the Netherlands First thing you noticed about the U.S.? The U.S. is pretty anal about security, before I got my visa they asked me a series of questions like “do you ever plan on killing the president?” What’s the biggest difference between home and the U.S.? The Dutch are pretty direct with their comments and it’s not as easy to meet strangers back home. People here are easy to approach. What do you miss the most about home? I miss riding a bike, which I know I can do here but there are all these hills.
GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG
| 04.24.13
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: The Golden Gate Xpress will feature a photo every week in print and online from SF State students — and it could be yours! email your photos:
xpressnewsstaff@gmail.com
A protester wears a mask and marches down Market Street to the UN Plaza in San Francisco Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. The march was part of a protest against the U.S. drone strikes being used around the world. Photo by Gavin McIntyre / Special to Xpress
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4 CITY
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Police provide safe haven for LGBTQ folks Crimes committed against LGBTQ people are underreported due to a rocky relationship between the police department and queer community
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BY BRIAN RINKER | brinker@mail.sfsu.edu
OMMI MECCA STILL doesn't totally trust the police. For years, Mecca said the police harassed him and others for being gay. “I’m 61, and I grew up in a time when we got beaten up by the cops,” said Mecca, an activist and counselor for the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco. Mecca's mistrust of the police is shared by many LGBTQ people. As a result, members of the LGBTQ community are less likely to report crimes. That is why certain community activists have teamed up with the San Francisco Police Department to create safe zones for LGBTQs in all 10 police stations, hoping it will encourage them to report more crimes. To help ease the process, each police station will have an officer available who feels comfortable taking on the role of an LGBTQ liaison. A safe zone sign, with a rainbow colored police star, is posted in the stations, designating them LGBTQ safe havens. The idea for the Safe Zone project came out of the SFPD Chief's LGBT Community Advisory Forum, a group of volunteer LGBTQ activists and organizers. The forum was formed about a year ago. The Safe Zone project was based on similar safe programs that have sprung up in police stations in certain European countries and from designated safe places, areas free from judgment and hate, located on most college campuses. Community groups have heard a lot of anecdotal evidence of serious crimes, including harassment, rape and burglary that target LGBTQs. Many of these crimes are never reported to police. According to Craig Scott, a former member of the advisory forum, the number of crimes that go unreported in the LGBTQ community are "hard if not impossible to measure." There’s no hard data, most accounts are heard “word of mouth,” he added. Guys hooking up on Craigslist and then getting robbed or sexually abused are common stories that Scott has heard. "It’s embarrassing for them," Scott said, adding that people don’t feel comfortable going to the police. “If something like that happened to me,” Scott said, “I would feel more comfortable talking to a gay cop.” That’s where the LGBTQ liaison officers come
in. Their job is to act in a nonjudgmental and helpful manner. Scott said when the forum was coming up with the liaison idea, they imagined them as interpreters. “We need more cops who speak gay,” he said, jokingly. Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a sexual violence awareness group that dresses up as drag queens, has members who pass out safety packets to people in the Castro Friday and Saturday nights. The packets include a rape whistle, condoms and lube. They also go to bars and clubs warning patrons to watch for roofies in their drinks. Scott Bray, aka Sister Eve Volution, said they’ve heard a lot of stories about older gay men being roofied at bars and waking up at home robbed. Bray said they were surprised and very concerned, especially since the alleged crimes weren’t reported. “They seemed to laugh it off,” Bray said about the men who said they’d been roofied. “They acted like it was a rite of passage for living in a gay metro area.” Sexual crimes are even less likely to be reported. It is hard to know how large the problem is and whether the instances of people being drugged at bars lead to rape. “The sexual thing is way underreported,” Bray said. “How many guys are willing to say 'I was roofied?'” The police are hoping to get better crime data now that safe zones have been established, Bray added. The Mission District police station, which includes the Castro, has a Castro crime alert on their website warning people about roofies and to not leave their drinks unattended. Mission police Captain Robert Moser did not return requests for comment. The Mission District reported 23 rapes in 2012, according to COMPSTAT data. The Community United Against Violence, a LGBTQ advocacy group, put out a report last year that counted 141 incidents of hate violence. The data was self-reported by survivors of hate crimes. Of those reports, 54 survivors identified as gay, 15 as lesbian and 19 reported their gender as transgender. Greggy Carey, a member of Castro Community on Patrol and volunteer with the advisory forum, said that some of the reason crimes against LGBTQs go unreported might stem from fear, “the fear of not being respected.” Many people in the LGBTQ community don’t trust the police. Carey said the mistrust of the police has many origins. Some people moved here from oth-
er parts of the country that might not be as accepting as San Francisco and in their hometowns they had negative experiences with the police. Others still remember the SFPD of 1970s and the White Night riots, where officers were known to harass and arrest gay men. “There’s historic distrust between the LGBT community and the police force and in some instances it’s for good reason,” Bray said, who is also a volunteer for the advisory forum. “That mistrust doesn’t just go away.” SF State history lecturer Sue Englander was at the 1979 White Night Rally, when the gay community protested the lenient sentence of Dan White, who killed Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. She said she went home before things got crazy. The police responded to the riots by beating and arresting dozens of gay people. “The police have used the color of the law to harass and beat gay people,” Englander said, adding that “the cops haven’t earned the right” to have safe zones in their stations. Mecca still remembers when, at age 19, the gay bar he was at got raided by the police. “Luckily, I snuck out the back, but the guys who got arrested their names were in the paper the next day along with their addresses and their employers,” Mecca said. Englander said that things have improved since those days for her and the LGBTQ community. There are even LGBTQ identifying police officers. According to the San Francisco Police Officer’s Pride Alliance, they represent about 200 LGBTQ local law enforcement employees. Englander said that it’s all a step in the right direction but the police need to reach out more and then there might one day be a possibility to have a relationship with the police. Mecca’s not so sure. He said the LGBTQ safe zones are just a bandage. “I’m not big on symbolic steps,” Mecca said. “I think the cops have to be in the community showing the community that they really do care” Bray admits that there is still work to be done. But he sees the safe zones as a huge success. “If the safe zones can take down some of those walls and let the LGBT community know that the SFPD is not there to judge you, they’re there to help,” Bray said, “I will see it as an accomplishment.”
SAFETY: Police stations in San Francisco now display a sign on the front of the building stating that they are safe havens for the LGBTQ community. In the past, according to members of the LGBTQ community, crimes against them were overlooked or not taken seriously. Photo by Andy Sweet
GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG
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5 PART THREE IN A THREE-PART SERIES
This is the final installment of a three-part getting sober series, which explores some of the more memorable moments that led up to my sobriety date, Dec. 19, 2008.
A WEEKLY COLUMN BY BRIAN RINKER brinker@mail.sfsu.edu
Sobriety: embracing a new lifestyle
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The recycling bins were filled with beer cans and bottles. T WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING My landlady had the audacity to accuse me of having a and I was dopesick again. The monotony was drinking problem. I laughed it off. What a fool she was, disgusting. But I hurt bad and needed money I thought. I was a heroin addict, not an alcoholic. for heroin. I planned to comb the parking I daydreamed about dying and wondered who would lots of my favorite stores and shopping malls attend my funeral and what would they have to say looking for old receipts. If I found one, I about me. “Brian was a tortured soul.” I couldn't imagwould steal the item listed and return it back ine anyone saying nice things about me, so I resolved to the store for cash. It was a classic scam. that suicide by heroin was not a good option. I hobbled across the street, not showered, unshaven Then one day I just gave up: I was a hope-to-die and stinking from the cold sweats of the night before. junkie. Not some artsy, brooding genius waiting for a I glanced up and saw the world. The morning light break. Sitting in that trailer, I had one last moment of was hazy and the air crisp. Cars drove down the street. clarity. My junkie future flashed before my eyes. I knew People headed to work. The gears of society continued that one day I would go to prison, but before I did, I to grind without me. I couldn't believe it. How could would plunge into the junkie life, no holds barred, shootpeople live their lives while I was sick, dying inside? ing dope and stealing as much as I could. And when I How could anyone function in the world without did get to prison, I planned on getting heroin by sucking using heroin? None of it made sense anymore. It was a dick and taking it up the ass. glimpse into a world I had left behind. It seemed like a very practical plan. I just couldn't After I said “fuck it” and got high, my life got really get sober, so why bother. Plus sobriety was boring, life miserable, really quick. Even though I had started using would be even more miserable without heroin. Then I heroin again, I continued to live in sober housing. had my greatest revelation: It didn't last long before I was stealing from friends Maybe I was wrong? What if I didn't know everything? and family or begging them for money again. I lasted How could I even possibly know what life would be another couple of weeks at the sober house before I like without drugs and alcohol? I decided to give it one faked a piss test and the house manager got suspicious. last try. I could always return to my junkie life if sobriI threw a tantrum. It was getting late at night. The manager said she’d test me again in the morning. Before ety didn't work out. Only when my life became too miserable to bear did anyone awoke, I packed my bags and moved out. I left a scathing letter to the manager on my pillow: How dare I ever give up and try something new. A few days later I left town. I moved back in with she accuse me? my parents and joined the recovery community. It was I spent the next three years using heroin and living the Dec. 19, 2008. I haven't used since. It was difficult to junkie life all over again before I ended up in a trailer park. stay sober at first, but after three months clean, the obThe girlfriend from rehab had kicked me out, my parents session to use began to dissipate. I don't know why my had moved out of town years ago and none of my old previous attempts to quit drugs had failed. All I know is friends wanted me around. I was near rock bottom. that I didn't get sober by myself. My family, friends and I had reached a whole new low. I wasn't stealing many people in the recovery world supported me. much. Somehow I had managed to get a job at a deli. I don't take any credit for My heroin use was now costing getting sober or for the wonme $100 a day, which was three derful life I've been given. How grams of heroin. I never felt Journalism student Brian Rinker could I? If it had been up to me, high, unless I downed a 12 pack takes the ideals of full disclosure I would've stayed high forever. of beer with it. I couldn't get and transparency to an exteme level Luckily, it wasn't up to me and into my car without cracking when he reflects on his days as a heroin junkie. life had greater plans in store. a beer and lighting a cigarette.
6 ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
04.24.13 | GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG
Singer’s search for Filipino song BY KRISTEN MARTZ | kmartz@mail.sfsu.edu
Standing at a mere 5-foot-3, 22-year-old Rachel Larsen is packed with passion and — surprisingly — one of the biggest voices you’ve ever heard. As a graduating senior this May, pursuing a degree in vocal performance, Larsen performed her senior recital March 8, which is a final project requirement for all performance music majors. While most students use easily accessible music for their performances, Larsen had a tough time finding her music of choice. “I’m half Filipino, so I feel very involved with my culture and my heritage, and I thought it would really be great to be able to involve a piece of Filipino culture in my senior recital. So, I Googled it and woah, there was a whole bunch of stuff — except I couldn’t find any music,” Larsen said. With close personal and familial ties to the music, Larsen was determined to get her hands on as much Kundiman as possible. Kundiman, also known as Filipino art song, is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs that is rare to come by in the United States. “I’d say it’s just as rare as classical music is in general," Larsen said."Not everybody really recognizes classical music, or even the sub-genres of each classical music repertoire, so to go beyond that to something ethnic. It’s Filipino, it’s classical and it’s romantic, and it’s just different from what we even learn in music school as classical musicians." After almost two years of extensive searching on Internet archives and asking multiple friends and family members, Larsen finally found eight pieces of Kundiman, fulfilling her need to collect as much of the music as possible. One of Larsen’s teachers, Alexandra Sessler, was there to help Larsen during her musical journey through Filipino art song. “I got to learn a lot about singing in a language I was completely unfamiliar with, and Rachel got to learn how to fit that language into techniques we’d already been
ROOTS: Inspired by her grandmother, Rachel Larsen prepared Kundiman, or Filipino art song for her final recital. Photo by Samantha Benedict
working on,” Sessler said. The passion for Filipino music stems from something much deeper for Larsen than just her Filipino ethnicity. She attributes most of her inspiration to her grandmother, Ursula Chuling Alba, lovingly called Lola Chuling, or
“Grandma Chuling." A famous Filipina soprano in her day, Larsen’s Lola Chuling tragically passed away at age 38. Though Larsen was never able to meet her, she was always told that she inherited her famous voice. “Ever since I started taking lessons, I always hear family members tell me, ‘Oh, you got your voice from your Lola Chuling. You’re doing such a good thing. This is making her proud and making all of us proud.’ So I really wanted to find music to sing for my family and to dedicate it to her memory,” Larsen said. Larsen's passion was very apparent through these songs, as noticed by her accompanist, Osvaldo de Leon Davila. "She had such passion for these songs; it was almost as if by singing them she exposes her pride of who she is and where she comes from. She is a great musician and singer, but everytime she would sing these particular songs she became vulnerable, transparent, exposed, pure, full of love and in a word, she embodied beauty," de Leon Davila said. Along with her family, Larsen also finds support in her peers. "It was a great pleasure to work with her, she is musical, expressive and an extremely hard worker and has the good fortune to have a beautiful voice. I was honored and excited to be trusted with the responsibility of being her pianist," de Leon Davila said. “Rachel is dedicated to bringing to light repertoire that is underrepresented — such as Filipino art song, and especially music of women composers. It’s been a joy to be her teacher and to be a part of that. I am completely on board with this mission of hers,” Sessler said. Larsen and Sessler plan to team up in planning events and recitals in the near future to shed more light on female composers, which is another of Larsen’s musical passions. “As a musician, a big part of it is just to have fun because of the music and singing and everything like that, but another really huge part of it is that this music is history and this music means something to very many people. I feel so proud to have it, and I feel so proud to be able to give it to my family,” Larsen said.
Punk activist fights cops, founds venue
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BY MATT SAINCOME | saincome@mail.sfsu.edu
ITH SMOKE SLOWLY floating out of his mouth as he sits on the legendary stage that he built at Burnt Ramen, a former underground venue inside the iron triangle of Richmond, John Eppard is at home. At 50, many would consider it time to give up on music, touring and activism, but Eppard has never been one to give up without a fight. Better known as "John The Baker" for his time as a vegan baker, the political musician is synonymous with Bay Area punk. Eppard was arrested in 1994 for the lyrical content of his songs in the town of Woodstock by a police officer who felt the songs he was performing contained language too vulgar for children in the park. After being thrown in jail and released on a $250 bail, Eppard decided — like he has many times in his life — to fight back. "The cop thought I was just some transient with a guitar like it always is in Woodstock and he was going to exercise his moral authority. He messed with the wrong guy," Eppard said, alluding to his family's musical prominence, which includes several musicians, one of whom is in the band Coheed and Cambria. Over the course of the next couple of months, Eppard proved in court that his arrest was unconstitutional and sued the town of Woodstock for $1 million, settling out of court for $20,000. Over the next three years, Eppard "collected dirt” on Shawn Ost, the officer who arrested him. He found out that Ost and other officers on the force were having sex with underage girls and wrote a song called, "The Cops Are Fucking Little Girls." Eppard talked to members of the city board, and they had the New York State Police lodge a secret investigation against the Woodstock Police Department. Eppard's song, along with the findings of the police investigation led to the termination of Chief of Police, Tim Keefe, and Ost, Eppard's arresting officer. "That was when one of the ladies on the town's board who was sympathetic to my cause came to me and said 'Ok John, now it's time for you to get out of town, I can take
the heat a lot better than you,'" Eppard said. So that's what he did. He took the money from the settlement, put out a record and toured the country. Eventually he landed in Richmond, Calif., where he helped Mykee Ramen turn a warehouse into a no-rules underground venue that would become one of the biggest hubs for local and touring bands to play. "We would talk all the time about 'the vision' that we shared. We were going to get something going in the middle of nowhere," Ramen said, busy picking up empty beer cans in between two skate ramps that are set up inside the warehouse he owns and lives in. Now on the other side of the country, Eppard has conDO-IT-YOURSELF: John Eppard sits near the audio mixer at Burnt Ramen, a former hardcore rock and tinued his activism through his music. His band, Fuckpunk music venue that he lives in and helps run in Richmond, Calif. Eppard has been a musical activist tard, released a free EP called for decades, leading a crusade to bring justice to the corrupt police officers in Woodstock, NY during the "Corporate Rats" in support of mid 1990s. Photo by John Ornelas / Special to Xpress the Occupy movement. Scotty Heath, owner of shave their heads, bathe in a river and pray to God. Tankcrimes records who But Eppard isn't interested in forcing his beliefs on digitally released the Fucktard's EP said that Eppard has anyone in the scene, or pursuing those who disagree — a way of "living by example," rather than pushing his he just wants people to speak their own mind. beliefs. "It's really important to lay down seeds that may "I think he has been extremely influential on some grow even when you aren't around anymore. Songs that peoples lives," Heath said. "He has great tenacity and is try to wake people up or encourage them to be better truly passionate about what he believes in." people. Music that tries to break the boundaries inside Eppard also runs a yearly chain of concerts where your brain that confine you, and help you to become a groups of kids skate all across the bay to each show, more compassionate and knowledgeable person," Epgetting sponsors for each mile called Skate Til U Die. Half of the money collected last year was donated to pard said. "I try to live in a way that plants those seeds. I'm just symbolically planting seeds that will one day Occupy Oakland. This year, the money will go towards grow and burst through the roof of oppression." the Music Cares foundation. Skate Til U Die 2013 takes place at venues around He held a benefit concert for the punk kids in Inthe Bay Area May 17-19. donesia who made the news when they were forced to
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8 OPINION
04.24.13 | GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG
STAFF EDITORIAL
KALE WILLIAMS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF kale@mail.sfsu.edu
BRAD WILSON
PRINT MANAGING EDITOR bradw949@mail.sfsu.edu
ADRIAN RODRIGUEZ
ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR arrodrig@mail.sfsu.edu
ELISSA TORRES
ART DIRECTOR elissat@mail.sfsu.edu
WYATT McCALL
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR wmccall@mail.sfsu.edu
NENA FARRELL
PRINT COPY CHIEF haydee@mail.sfsu.edu
SAM MOLMUD
ONLINE COPY CHIEF smolmud@mail.sfsu.edu
VIRGINIA TIEMAN
PRINT PHOTO EDITOR tieman@mail.sfsu.edu
JESSICA WORTHINGTON
ONLINE PHOTO EDITOR jlwphoto@mail.sfsu.edu
ELLIE LOARCA
CAMPUS EDITOR emloarca@mail.sfsu.edu
ERIN DAGE
CITY EDITOR erindage@mail.sfsu.edu
MATT SAINCOME
Admin’s bomb response too little, too late
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ITH ALL that has gone on in the last week in Boston, you’d think that a bomb threat at a large public university would warrant a rapid and robust public response from that university’s administration. But that was not the case at SF State. After a suspicious package was reported in the Creative Arts Building Monday morning, the administration was slow to react and students were left looking to outside sources for information. It’s the final month of the semester and students are itching to finish up their classes and nerves are all over the spectrum. If a lack of sleep and substantial study time were not enough, the last thing students need right now is to be left uninformed about a potential safety threat. Crowds of people were kept from the Creative Arts Building, police swept the area and students were immediately evacuated from classrooms by men without uniform. Students on campus saw news helicopters, and heard of a bomb threat, but waited anxiously for any confirmation from authority. The delay would be understandable if the situation was in flux or if informing the public could have hampered some sort of an investigation, but this was not the case. At 9:19 a.m., this simple message appeared on the SF State Facebook page: “UPD reports
bomb threat in Creative Arts bldg. Evacuation underway. Stay away from area.” That means that the administration was aware of the situation at least a full hour before students began receiving the automated phone calls, text messages and emails that the school sends out during emergencies. For those students who do not have Facebook accounts, these messages were too little, too late. The late phone calls and emails long after after the dust had settled showed students, if anything, our school is ill-prepared. Notifications came too late for students still arriving to campus, unaware of the cause of commotion. President Wong sent an email late Monday afternoon to all students and faculty alerting them the threat had been neutralized and thanking law enforcement for their diligent work. We share in his gratitude to the University Police Department for defusing the situation quickly, but we are disappointed in the administrations apparent reluctance to pass along vital information in any sort of timely manner. The real irony lies in the fact that the University was quick to act when a water main broke in the very same building earlier this semester. Students’ cell phones were flooded with text messages and voicemails alerting them to their cancelled morning classes. SF State has a history of reacting late to
ART BY MATT SAINCOME
threats. In April 2012, a fake gun was brought to a BECA class. Rumors quickly spread concerning cancelled classes and a credible threat through word of mouth and social media. No campus-wide message was sent to students regarding the gun threat by police or administration. Administration should show this type of quick reaction when swiftly reporting any emergencies to students for their safety, especially in the case of campus threats. In his email Wong encouraged students: “If you see something, say something.” We simply ask the administration to do the same.
A&E EDITOR saincome@mail.sfsu.edu
LINDSAY ODA
OPINION EDITOR loda@mail.sfsu.edu
DAN NELSON
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR danelson@mail.sfsu.edu
JONATHAN RAMOS
ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR jonaramo@mail.sfsu.edu
HOLLY NALL
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR hnall@mail.sfsu.edu
RACHELE KANIGEL
FACULTY ADVISER kanigel@mail.sfsu.edu
KEN KOBRE
PHOTO ADVISER ken@kobre.com
JESSE GARNIER
ONLINE ADVISER jgarnier@sfsu.edu
JUSTIN OROZCO
CIRCULATION jaorozo@mail.sfsu.edu
ARUN UNNIKRASHNAN I.T. CONSULTANT arun@mail.sfsu.edu
EVA CHARLES
ADVERTISING & BUSINESS echarles@mail.sfsu.edu
SADIE CROFTS
STUDENT GRAPHIC DESIGNER sgcrofts@mail.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 Lindsay Oda at: loda@mail.sfsu.edu
State unit cap plan harmful to students You stare longingly at the caps and dent student would pay $14,400, nearly three BY MEGAN EMME | memme@mail.sfsu.edu gowns, the diploma covers and the tassels times the cost of in-state tuition. in the bookstore. That happy graduate in the What kind of students may be affected advertisements should've been you this semester, but a pesky six units by this cap? The list is a rather long one. As stated before, half of all kept you here. students who’ve delayed graduation (84 percent of CSU students) This scenario seems all too common. Tuition hikes, added fees have done so because they can’t get the classes they need. Students and a lack of available classes have created roadblocks to attaining who need full-time status to keep financial aid or housing applications the education we need (and pay for). In fact, only 16 percent of Caliend up taking classes they don’t need in order to stay enrolled. Thus, fornia State University students graduate in four years. they are in danger of exceeding the unit cap due to excess units. And why is that percentage so low? In a survey of more than Students who have transferred from the community college 2,800 students, SFSU Students for Quality Education found that 50 system may also have excess units due to poor counseling. Students percent delayed because they can’t get the classes they need. The who’ve changed their major, double majored or taken a minor are study found 35 percent said the delay is due to economic reasons, likely to be in danger. Some students may have to take many pre-reqsuch as rising tuition or having to work more to support themselves uisite courses, or are enrolled in a major that requires more than the while in school. standard 120 units. For those students, the chances of exceeding these The solution to increasing graduation rates should be to provide unit caps are even greater. more classes, however, Gov. Jerry Brown’s new budget proposal is Considering how many students fit any number of the above situataking a much more drastic approach. tions, it’s clear that this proposal places unfair blame on us instead of According to the proposal, Brown's plan is to make students gradaddressing the root of the problem. The system is set up in a way that uate in five years by charging students “the full cost of tuition” if they keeps students from graduating on time. exceed certain unit caps. And what exactly does “the full cost of tuiThe fact is students want to graduate. We don’t want to rack up tion” mean? Essentially that California residents will be charged at the more debt. Instead of motivating us to graduate on time, this cap will same rate as an out of state student once they exceed these unit caps. only make it more difficult. Many students simply won’t be able to In Fall 2013, students will be capped at 180 semester or 270 afford these increases and will be forced to drop out, a loss of investquarter units. In Fall 2015, students will be capped at 150 semester ment for both students and the state as a whole. or 225 quarter units, equal to about five years of education. CommuBrown’s proposal places a cap on our education, it disinvests in nity college students will be equally affected, capped out at only 90 students and it creates incentives for students to drop out, rather than semester units. graduate. How drastic is this difference? A California resident who took 24 Join the conversation about unit caps by tweeting the hashtag, units in a year would only pay about $5,472 in tuition, but a nonresi#cappedout.
Clarification
CORRECTIONS FOR XPRESS PRINT EDITION
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 Kale Williams at: kale@mail.sfsu.edu
We regret our errors.
In the article “Filipino men find strength in each other,” published April 3, general details about a meeting in the Counseling and Psychological Services Department on campus were described, but the specifics of all meetings are confidential. None of the quotes that appear in the article are from any meeting. The quotes from Bo Aleanav are from a phone call with him after the meeting and the quotes from Eric Pido are from a video interview conducted before the meeting by student Antonio Castellanoz. All group and individual sessions in the Counseling and Psychological Services Department are completely confidential.
In our April 16 issue, the “New SF proposal would limit tobacco licenses” story, a source was incorrectly identified as Azni Desai. The name should have been spelled Avni Desai. In the same story, it was stated that TURF’s proposal has been presented to the Board of Supervisors, when in reality, TURF has met with supervisors individually to discuss the proposal and have not yet presented their proposal to the full board.
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| 04.24.13
A WEEKLY ENVIRONMENTAL COLUMN BY ELISSA TORRES elissat@mail.sfsu.edu
There’s something fishy in the water
I
T'S NO SECRET THAT THE MEDICATIONS prescribed by doctors aren't always healthy for us, but their disposal can be harmful to the environment too. Whether it’s through the natural process of digesting these medications or disposing of them in the trash, both have had lasting effects on the creatures that inhabit the earth. There have been various environmental issues tied to some of the most widely used prescriptions: birth control and antidepressants. From women who try to prevent pregnancies to those suffering from depression, taking a daily pill can help solve their problem. Over the course of the day, the contents from any given pill passes chemicals through to the urine, which is then flushed down the toilet. Most of the contents are filtered out, but the rest is then flushed into our wastewater treatment system. Research has focused on the environmental impact of estrogen and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the active ingredient in antidepressants. According to a study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, estrogen has been linked to the feminization of male fish. Constant exposure to these chemicals led male Fathead minnows to become feminized. The results of the study showed evidence of gender androgeny in males and altered how females produce eggs. Ultimately, this can lead to near extinction of the species. The observations demonstrate that the concentrations of estrogens observed in freshwater can impact the sustainability of wild fish populations. Women do create estrogen naturally, but the hormones they are adding to their body in the form of birth control pills don't help at all. Women can switch to a progestin-only contraceptive pill, which will cut down the amount of estrogen they have in their bodies. A study in the Environmental Science and Technology journal found that antidepressants like Prozac and Zoloft were found in the brains of fish, which affected their behavioral and feeding patterns. The study stated they were collected downstream from wastewater discharge in Colorado and Iowa. Antidepressants can even change the behavior of shrimp. Shrimp were five times more likely to swim toward light instead of away from it after being exposed to the chemicals in antidepressants, making them more likely to be eaten by fish or birds, which could have devastating effects on the shrimp population, according to ScienceDaily.com. In San Francisco, the Department of the Environment and the Public Utilities Commission instituted a program called the Safe Medicine Disposal pilot program that will help combat the environmental issues tied to the improper disposal of prescription drugs. The program has collected more than 10,000 pounds of unused medicine that would have contaminated landfills. Birth control methods are very important, especially when it comes to preventing unplanned pregnancies, while antidepressants and medications assist in treating symptoms of mental illness. It's vital to have a program in place and for cities to adopt a safe medicine disposal program to curb the ways medications find their way into the environment. When Elissa Torres isn’t rescuing wounded marine mammals or hugging trees, the environmental studies minor spends her time writing this column. It’s based on equal parts opinion, statistics and life experiences. If you don’t like it, read and recycle.
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PLAYER
ALI GARCIA
WEEK
SOFTBALL
of the
Senior Ali Garcia went 2-0 in the Gators’ four-game series against Cal State San Bernardino. Garcia posted a 1.17 ERA in 12 innings of work. She only gave up three runs (two earned) and walked one.
PHOTO BY TYLER DENISTON/SF STATE SPORTS
SP OR T S SCHEDUL E
Softball takes weekend series
FRIDAY (4.26) BASEBALL SF State vs. Cal State East Bay 3 P.M. (Hayward, Calif.)
SOFTBALL SF State vs. Cal State East Bay (DH) 1 and 3 P.M. (San Francisco, Calif.)
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Brutus Hamilton Invitational 9:30 A.M. (San Francisco, Calif.)
SATURDAY (4.27)
KICK THE DIRT: SF State Gators’ Gabby Reta (11) slides into second base, but is called out, during the second game of the doubleheader against Cal State San Bernardino. Reta’s in-field hit helped the Gator’s score at the end of the game to win 5-4. SF State went 3-1 against the Coyotes. Photo by Mike Hendrickson / Special to Xpress
BASEBALL SF State vs. Cal State East Bay (DH) 11 A.M. and 2 P.M. (Hayward, Calif.)
SOFTBALL SF State vs. Cal State East Bay (DH) Noon and 2 P.M. (San Francisco, Calif.)
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Brutus Hamilton Invitational 9:30 A.M. (San Francisco, Calif.)
SUNDAY (4.28) BASEBALL SF State vs. Cal State East Bay 11 A.M. (Hayward, Calif.)
PITCHER PERFECT: SF State Gators’ Ali Garcia, (above), throws the first pitch of the second game of a doubleheader against the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes. The Gators won the game 5-4. Garcia pitched two games and won them both. YOU’RE OUT: Courtney Gravel, (right), catches the ball to tag out a San Bernardino player in the early innings of the second game of the doubleheader. Photos by Mike Hendrickson / Special to Xpress
S C O R E
SCORES FROM THE LAST WEEK OF GATOR SPORTS
B O A R D
BASEBALL SOFTBALL
W L
APRIL 20 SF STATE VS. CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO 6-2 APRIL 20 SF STATE VS. CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO 1-2
L W W
APRIL 21 SF STATE VS. CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO 5-6 APRIL 20 SF STATE VS. CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO 10-5 APRIL 20 SF STATE VS. CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO 8-4
WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD APRIL 19 WOODY WILSON INVITATIONAL ONE FIRST-PLACE FINISH ONE SECOND-PLACE FINISH
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| 04.24.13
Images of violence increase levels of student stress CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE
“Unfortunately, after you bare witness (to) so much violence in the media you become desensitized,” criminal justice major, David Williams, 25, said. According to Derethia DuVal, director of the Counseling and Psychological Services Center at SF State, media can play a major role in the amount of stress students experience. DuVal recommends limiting consumption of TV news to avoid becoming overwhelmed. “If you watch the news once a week, you’ll get the answers. The broadcast news thrives on sensationalism, so they keep it going night after night,” she said. “They run the same story over and over again, which can increase anxiety.” Early Monday, the Counseling and Psychological Services Center on campus began offering group debriefing sessions for students, faculty and staff who may be experiencing distress as a result of the Boston Marathon bombings. Mary Cavagnaro, clinical counselor at the Counseling and Psychological Services Center said few students use the center in relation to nationwide tragedies, but more students did use the center during the 9/11 attacks. Students who don’t seek outlets for this extra stress, whether through counseling centers or informal social networks, can become listless and agitated, according to DuVal. “Students tend to show a little anxiety. People might be more frustrated, a little nervous; they might have sleeplessness, problems with concentration, and being that it is midterms. It might be a little harder to get started in the morning,” DuVal said. Universities across the country have also seen their share of campus violence. Tensions were high at SF State Monday morning, April 22, after a reported bomb threat in the Creative Arts Building turned out to be a hoax. “This is our school, it makes you think, could this really happen here?” visual communication design major, Mariah Ortiz, 21, said. “The more of these events continue to happen, the less people are going to believe them.” The broadcast DuVal said the best news thrives on way to de-stress and cope with tragic events sensationalism so is to "get involved." they keep it going "Being isolated is night after night, not good,” she said. “If they run the same you’re feeling hopeless story over and about the world, getting over again, which involved in some kind can increase of social justice activianxiety ties helps you feel like you’re making a difDerethia DuVal, ference, and that gives Director of the you a sense of power, Counseling and which can reduce your Psychological Sevices anxiety.” Center
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