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Process of selecting a new SF State president barely underway, but current president is hopeful.
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VOLUME LXXXXII ISSUE 1
OCCUPY: New year, same mission BY KRISSA STANTON | kstanton@mail.sfsu.edu
UNIVERSITY LOOKING FOR A NEW LEADER BY SARA DONCHEY | sdonchey@mail.sfsu.edu
SF State is preparing to undergo a major change it has not seen the likes of in 24 years. The University is officially looking for a new president. President Robert A. Corrigan announced in August 2011 that he would retire at the end of the year. Corrigan has been in this position since 1988 and is the 12th president in SF State’s 112-year history. The process of selecting Corrigan’s successor is officially in motion, and the president says that he feels confident the right person for the job will be chosen. “I think we’re going to do well,” said Corrigan. “San Francisco is a very attractive city, obviously. This campus has become a very well known and admired institution, so there will be people who will be very interested.” The procedure in place for selecting a new president for a CSU is fairly intricate and could take up to several months for a campus as large as SF State. Two separate committees are formed to facilitate the search for the new president, but only one has the power to make a final decision. The trustees committee is made up of CSU administrators—namely, Chancellor Charles Reed, four members of the Board of Trustees and the chair of the board—and functions as SEE PRESIDENT ON PAGE 2
TAKING ACTION: Josephine Tolbert, 75, talks in front of the Bank of America in the Financial District Jan. 20 about being evicted from her home of 38 years. Members of the movement are focusing on coordinated demonstrations of banks and corporations in the Bay Area. Photo by Nelson Estrada
Members of the Occupy SF Following a large-scale city-wide rally and other demonstrations in front First District Court of Appeals. movement, including students protest Friday, more Occupy events of the from SF State, returned to the “San Francisco State University, and rallies are planned for the streets Friday, shifting their focus like all the CSUs and UCs across upcoming months. to coordinated demonstrations the state and other public institutions across the city. across the country, have suffered Now known as Occupy drastically. We are losing classes, Wall St. West, protesters launched a city-wide protest, with lecturers, professors, and money. Students are being denied the goal of disrupting businesses in the Financial District. solely because there are no funds,” said Federico Villalobos, Protesters targeted banks and corporations that they say have a member of Occupy SFSU. damaged communities in the Bay Area by complying with Villalobos, an art history major at SF State, spoke to proevictions and foreclosures, economic injustices, war profitesters outside of Bank of America Friday evening about the teering and labor rights violations. failing public higher education system. Members of Occupy SFSU, whose encampment in Mal“It is befuddling why our institutions of higher educacolm X Plaza was evicted at the start of the winter break, led tion aren’t being funded the way they should. So, we need one of the marches from the Hyatt Hotel on Stockton Street to the Financial District Friday. They also participated in a SEE OCCUPY ON PAGE 11
01.25.12 | GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG
2 CAMPUS
SF SPEAKS OUT
Budget will be challenge for successor, says Pres
SHOULD A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VISIT CAMPUS BEFORE SELECTION?
LEAVING: President Robert A. Corrigan announces his retirement during a faculty meeting at SF State Aug. 22, 2011. File photo by Erik Verduzco CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
I think that the candidates should come to the school, how else will they know what the school environment is like, what the school needs. JENNIFER CERVANTES CHILD ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT MAJOR
If student input and teacher input isn’t a part of that process, then you can’t really call him a president at all. HALSTON CHAPMAN, PHILOSOPHY MAJOR
Candidates should have to come on campus; they’re going to be representing our school and they have to get involved with the community. JESSICA PERELMAN, AMERICAN STUDIES MAJOR
the actual decision-making body. The advisory committee is made up of campus representatives who can offer guidance, but do not have the power to actually hire anyone. The advisory committee is composed of two faculty members appointed by the Academic Senate, one staff member recommended by a high-level official or group on campus, one member of the campus advisory board, one member of the Alumni Association, one vice president or academic dean, the president of another CSU selected by the chancellor and one student chosen by ASI—likely the ASI president. According to CSU spokeswoman Stephanie Thara, the advisory committee has not yet been finalized, but should be announced in the next few weeks. Even though the search for the new face of SF State is in a stage of infancy, Corrigan noted that it is already clear to him what his replacement’s biggest challenge will be. “You need somebody who could be in place for the long haul, because it’s going to take a while for the budget to come back,” said Corrigan. “It could be as much as five or six or seven years, in terms of the state of California. It goes without saying that anybody who’s looking for a major presidency now has to know how to handle (the) budget.” Corrigan acknowledged that his biggest regret of the last 24 years as president has stemmed from that exact issue. “It really is the budget, how different and how much better this place could be with the kind of money that it really should have,” said Corrigan. “Our faculty is underpaid. Our staff, for living in a place like San Francisco, is not paid what it should be.” Sue Rosser, who has served as provost for the last three years,
UPDATE: Parkmerced shooting REPORTING BY KRISSA STANTON
A shooting occurred in Parkmerced Wednesday, Jan. 18, leaving one person injured. The victim was waiting on the 300 block of Arballo Drive for a friend at 9:20 p.m. when an unknown male approached and shot the victim in the leg, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The victim was taken to UCSF Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Although SFPD initially responded, University police did follow up on the incident, according to University spokeswoman Ellen Griffin, who also noted that no students were involved. No arrests have been made and there appears to be no connection between the victim and the suspect. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Police Department’s anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.
CRIME BLOTTER
12.20
through
01.20 REPORTING BY MICHELLE OLSON PHOTOS BY GODOFREDO VASQUEZ
also conceded that the incoming president will need to be prepared to deal with the fiscal crisis. “Given the current budget, it would be good if this person was a good fundraiser externally,” said Rosser. “We need all the help we can get.” Both administrators noted that they are optimistic that the new president, whoever it may be, will continue to build opportunities for quality education at SF State, but some members of the campus community have slightly less faith in the CSU administration. American Indian Studies lecturer and advocate Phil Klasky is leery of the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Reed’s involvement in the search. “Frankly, I’m scared that if Charlie Reed is in control of this process that we will end up with a corporate model and not one of public service,” said Klasky. “I just hope that the new president will focus on making education affordable and will advocate for a reverse of budget cuts.” Corrigan admitted that he plans to continue to stay involved with the University after retiring by furthering his research on recently published works about SF State, but that it will be the responsibility of the new president to fight the school’s budget battles at the state level. “By and large, no outgoing president should get in the way of the new president,” said Corrigan. “The day I walk out the door, I no longer am the spokesperson for the University. If there are ways in which I can help in Washington to get people to better appreciate higher education then, surely…(But) the person that goes into Nancy Pelosi’s office, for example, has to be the president of the University.”
Compiled by Scott Graf
AFTERMATH: San Francisco Police respond to a non-fatal shooting in Parkmerced Wednesday, Jan. 18, that took place around 9:20 p.m. The victim did not appear to know the shooter. Photo by Godofredo Vasquez
Grand Theft Twinkie:
The vending machine in the HSS building was vandalized Jan. 4. Presumably, the suspect heard the impending news that Hostess Brands was filing for bankruptcy. Overcome with rage, and penniless due to constant tuition increases, the suspect must have attempted to claw their way to Ding Dong delight.
Salt and Peppa-Spray:
A disoriented person on the sidewalk who had likely just lost a dispute with their roommate over an Xbox game Dec. 20, flagged down a passing University officer. Apparently, the person had just been peppersprayed by their roommate during an argument. It goes to show that Black Friday isn’t the only time of year you get to test your favorite household weapons.
Money Laundering Fail:
Officers responded to a reported petty theft in one of the dorms Jan. 20. The suspect stole a wallet from one of the laundry rooms. Apparently, you can’t just leave your wallet out in the laundry room and trust people not to steal it. In other news, water is wet.
CAMPUS 3
| 01.25.12
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Library opens little by little staff members on the lower level, who then distribute them to students. Cal State Northridge, Sonoma State University and Cal The new J. Paul Leonard State Long Beach are the only other CSUs and Sutro Library are equipped with a LRS. When the library is ready for full admispartially unveiled, offering sion, students and faculty can expect a numonly book retrieval services ber of improvements from both the former J. and quiet study spaces. Paul Leonard Library and the stand-in Annex I. The J. Paul Leonard and Sutro Library, “Once it is fully opened, it will include arguably the biggest and most highly antici50 percent more seating, 300 percent more pated campus revamping in the past group study rooms and twice four years, is taking the smallest as many computers than the steps in fully revealing itself to the original library, plus a cafe public this week. and a 24-hour research comAlthough the building officially mons,” Griffin said. opened along with other classroom She added that throughout doors at the beginning of the sethe staged opening, the Annex mester Monday, the only accessible I will maintain its round-thearea was the west side of the first clock hours. floor, offering students a quiet space While most current stuto study and a pickup and checkout dents have only a faint recoldesk for library books. lection of the original J. Paul Under construction since the Leonard Library, some, like demolition of the former J. Paul Antonio Taylor, are familiar Leonard Library in Fall 2008, the with all three libraries. new development will be reopened “I came to State in 2002, “portions at a time,” according to and I was in the library 24/7,” University spokeswoman Ellen said Taylor, a 27-year-old Griffin. post-baccalaureate student. HITTING THE BOOKS: Art history major Sarah Bowser (left) studies on the first “We’re billing it as a sneak “And even though I graduated floor of the newly-opened J. Paul Leonard and Sutro Library Jan. 23, the same day preview,” said Debbie Masters, in Spring 2008, I continued University librarian. “We know how the library began its staged opening. Photo by Gregory Moreno taking some classes, so I used eager the campus community is to the Annex, the Library at HSS get in, but I can tell by walking in This is because of the Library Retrieval and the computer labs in the Cesar Chavez there that there is still a lot of work to do.” System, a cutting-edge addition to the Student Center.” Currently, this work includes furniture building. The LRS is a densely packed book Students can track the progress of these delivery and installation, paving the east side storage facility located on the top two floors staged openings on the Leonard Library entrance of the library and completing the of the library. It features a robotic crane Spotlight Blog web site, http://library.sfsu. transfer of books from the pseudo-library that finds and delivers requested items to edu/blogs/spotlight. BY TAMERRA GRIFFIN | tgriffin@mail.sfsu.edu
at HSS to the new building, according to a project presenation prepared by Masters and Maggie Beers, director of Academic Technology. But despite the ongoing transition, the new library is complete enough to offer students an expedited book request process. “In the past, requests have taken one full business day, but that has been reduced to four hours in this stage of the reopening,” Griffin said. “And when everything’s all finished, the process can be completed in 10-15 minutes.”
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E T A T S F IN S HISTORY hives
s arc
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the X From
SEPTEMBER 6, 1988: In order to reduce library thefts, the library committee installed a new security system. It also converted one of the five study rooms into an instruction area for librarians to give informational sessions about the reference department.
OCTOBER 30, 1979: After lending out its
collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts that spring, SF State received display cases from Macy’s department store as a gift of gratitude.
OCTOBER 9, 1959: The Creative Arts listening room opened on the third floor, making it the largest and most modern of its kind in the Bay Area. The room consisted of more than 5,000 records, 12 group listening rooms and eight individual booths designed for foreign language study. Researched by Carolyn Copeland
CATHOLIC CAMPUS MINISTRY NEWMAN CLUB St. Thomas More Church Father Labib Kobti, Pastor 1300 Junipero Serra Blvd. San Francisco, CA 94132
(415) 452-9634
www.stmchurch.com/newman email: newman@stmchurch.com Weekly Meeting, For Current Activities: Cesar Chavez Student Center: St. Thomas More: (415) 452-9634 Mondays: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Close to campus! Please call Verbum Dei: (415) 573-9062
01.25.12 | GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG
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The SF State Alumni Association
CONGRATULATES Student-Athletes Named to the Athletics Academic Honor Roll, Fall 2011 Arts & Humanities Naveed Bagheri Brittany Catherine Barcellos Samantha Lee Battles Cassie Lynn Belk Charlotte Justine Campion Lauren Michelle Cech Jeffrey Ryan Clegg Stephanie Nicole Daily Kendall Jean Dye Lauren Elisa Floro Tamerra Nikol Griffin Tiernan Marilyn Hebron Lauren Hendrick Kayleigh Noelle Hendrix Tiffany Ann Hicks Katharine Frances Judd Alicia Marie Lomeli Julia Louise Middlemiss Ivan Hiroshi Otsuka Adam Michael Perez Symone Gabrielle Ramirez Reyna Nicole Rochin Logan Taylor Smith Caitlin Michelle Stark Andrew Suvunnachuen Antonio Miguel Ugarte Thomas Lane Wood Jenna Marie Wermes
Business Elizet Pilar Ceja Sujung Choi Maxwell Endre Fodor Kylie Irisa Grabowski Casey Foley James Megan Victoria Johnson Michelle Karen Kay Thomas Paul Martin Jami Rebecca Murray Martin Jay Ruiz Daniel Taylor Souza Daniel Stephen Stebbings Brian Martin Trejo Nicole Marie Vanni Eric James Watts
Health & Human Services Kyle Patrick Acevedo Bria D. Adams Camilla Jane Barnes Ruth Ann Le Beau Kaylie Ann Belk Deirdra Stella Rose L. Bridgett Thomas David Comer Paxton Taylor Cota Ian Drew Fregosi Otilio Anthony Gonzalez Robyn Janelle Hall Kylie Olivia Herrada Michelle Elaine Hoehn Melissa Anne Horton Nicole Lauren-Joy Hicks Ashley Maree Huff Kirsten Ann Jackson Zuleima Jimenez Mark Kavanagh Johnson Annicia Renea Jones Devon Garrett King Allison Land Kyle Joseph Lew Steven Ross Lujan Kelly Michelle Mast Mari Elizabeth Mendizabal Jason Cole Ochart Arman Ostadsharif Julian Perez Jr. Anthony John Pianto Summer Breanna Powell Deana Faye Quitevis Querubin John Matthew Quintero Harjit Randhawa Andrew Luigi Reggi Jennafer Michelle Robertson Torrey Helena Rook Kyleah Nicole Rozario Kimberly Morgan Sanders Bryan Paul Seefried Jordan Alexis Stanaland Courtney Elizabeth Stephens Allison E. Taylor Iris Jannelle Tolenada Alicia Marie Trujillo Jorge A. Valadas
Science Chris Kirtz Behroozian Michaela Evie Booker Sarah Ann Catania Ryan Lap Chio Kara Faye Cunningham Lindsay Rene Enright Magi Osiris Frazier Kristian Ramon Fuentes Alejandrina Jean Garcia Brittany Monique Johnson Armando Javier Martinez Meagen Christine Moiola Cara Rose Spence Carrie Elisabeth Thomas Angela Marie Van Sickel Jakob Papaoli’I.Velega Alexander Stanton Williams
Undeclared Bruk Alem Assefa Jordan Mackenzie Brenner Michelle Chung Kaitlin Ellen Dick Kelly Ann DiMeo Lucia Angelica Fernandez Robert Davidsson Gilbert Chloe Jeanne Harrington Justine Lauren Hernandez Maggi Laine Horn Hillary Jennifer King Abraham Leibovitz Mark Andrew Martelaro Keenya Akeiba McDaniel Sherika Miller Kelsey Sumie Murakami Rebecca Kei Nakano Jessica Marie Nicerio Kelly Marie Ostello Karly Denise Prelewicz Peter Delgado Reyes Erika Marie Scott Farrah Trina Shokoor Jazmine Alyssia Williams
Go Gators! ATHLETIC TEAMS — Men: baseball, basketball,
cross country, soccer and wrestling Women: basketball, cross country, soccer, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball To learn more about Athletics at SF State, scan this code.
CAMPUS 5
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Fear is no factor for SF State student
BITE-SIZED Microbiology major Amanda Gomez overcame her fear of bugs to eat five live scorpions on her way to winning the TV show “Fear Factor” and a $50,000 prize. Photo by Nelson Estrada
physical endurance, and gross stunts, testing mental resolve, most of which include contestants facing their fears. If contestants complete their task, they advance. If fear stops them from completing a stunt or they fail the mission, they are immediately eliminated. The team that wins the final stunt wins the grand prize. The original series was broadcast from June 2001 until September 2006, when the show was cancelled by NBC due to poor ratings. The revived series of the show premiered Dec. 12, 2011, featuring the Gomez siblings. According to the office of Paul Telegdy, NBC president of alternative and late night programming, the television program was revived with a new format formula. Wanting to test out her luck, Gomez
applied and got an immediate response. Matt Kunitz, executive producer of “Fear Factor,” said the Gomez’s stunts were larger and more spectacular than in the original series. “Their episode was a perfect example of how the show starts off with a bang (because) their first stunt started with them dangling beneath a helicopter, and once dropped on the ground they had to jump into a moving truck and release as many flags as they could before the truck slammed into a live ammo dump,” Kunitz said. “They were yanked out the truck moments before its impact and spectacular explosion. In the past, the show would start off with a much smaller stunt and end with a large ‘Hollywood action movie’ stunt. Now we start huge and end even bigger.”
The episode was filmed in September 2011 and was shot in various locations of Los Angeles County such as the Long Beach docks and warehouses near NBC Universal Studios. Although Gomez said that the action sequences were intense the one challenge that frightened her the most was the devouring of live scorpions. “I seriously wanted to quit when I had to eat the scorpions, because I had to eat everything—pinchers and tails and all and it was nasty having to feel the scorpions moving in my throat,” Gomez said. “But what people didn’t see on air was that the mom on the other team was talking and saying that I was weak and going to lose. That was when I was driven to keep chewing and to not let some mom win and prove her point.” Gomez is a computer teacher at Daniel Webster Elementary School in the Potrero Hill District of San Francisco and according to Principal Moraima Machado, she is an inspiration for the students at the school. “Amanda is a great model for our students,” Machado said. “Many of them are saying that they would like to be just like her.” Despite showing that explosions and insects don’t frighten her much, Gomez does have her own set of fears. Her greatest fear is not being successful in school. “Before ‘Fear Factor’ the craziest thing I had done was ride a roller coaster, but those science classes at State, man, they are tough,” Gomez said. “I’m always afraid to fail them because you fail in your career if you fail this, but I keep trying and I’m still going strong.” But with the show under her belt and her share of the $50,000 to put toward medical school after graduation, Gomez said she doesn’t let fear and obstacles get in her way of success anymore.
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trapped to a flying helicopter while plunging into a burst of explosions, diving into motor oil sludge, eating live scorpions and being chained in front of a cement truck while it’s ramming into obstacles are stunts usually designed, executed and supervised by trained professionals. They should not be attempted by just anyone, anywhere, anytime. But these were the challenges SF State microbiology major Amanda Gomez encountered on the path to winning the “Fear Factor” grand prize of $50,000 and proving that a woman of a thin build and bubbly personality can compete in challenges of extreme danger. “I grew up watching the show, so when I saw that it was coming back, I thought ‘Why not apply?’” said Gomez, 21. “But one of my main reasons was because my older brother and everybody else I know says that I’m weak and a girly girl and I wanted to prove them wrong. I didn’t do it for the money; I did it to prove stereotypes wrong.” Her brother, Alex Gomez, 24, competed alongside her and initially didn’t take her seriously. “She came up to me to ask me and to be honest I laughed in her face because I thought she was joking. And there was one time when a moth landed in her hair and she started crying,” Alex said. “My sister actually surprised me during the show because I know my sister is tough, but she pushed her limits and exceeded her capacity and I was impressed by that. I have two other sisters and they are physically tough, but Amanda proved she was mentally tough.” In “Fear Factor,” four teams of two are presented with a series of challenges that include feats of strength, testing their
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STICKING IT TO THE ART SCENE
CHINATOWN EDITION Part visitor-pleasing tourist attraction and part mystic enclave, Chinatown is one of the densest and most culturally distinct neighborhoods in the city. By weaving between locals in the neighborhood’s clogged side streets, you’ll discover a neighborhood ingrained with rich history and culture exhibited through distinct offerings of Chinese cuisine.
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GOLDEN GATE FORTUNE COOKIES
HINT: You’re almost guaranteed a free sample of this warm, crisp cookie when you walk in, which is reason enough to go. You’re sure to get a kick out of their “naughty” cookies. 56 Ross Alley
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UNCLE’S CAFE
HINT: Boasting a hefty menu of affordable entrees ranging from $7 to $9, the servings are mountainous for the price. Be sure not to overlook their chicken nuggets served with sweet chili dipping sauce. That’s right, chicken nuggets. 65 Waverly Place
ROMANTIC
THE POT STICKER
HINT: Be ready to pucker your lips! Not for a kiss, but from the burning Sichuan peppercorns. This restaurant specializes in Sichuan cuisine, which is known for its use of fiery chili peppers. Their numbing spicy pots may require a glass of milk on the side. 150 Waverly Place
WILDCARD
SAM WO RESTAURANT
HINT: This compact three-story restaurant has been serving Chinese comfort food for more than a century. Open ‘till 3 a.m. Monday to Saturday, you can satisfy your late-night hunger with their freshly prepared noodle dishes, like the Singapore Style Chow Mai Fun. 813 Washington St.
AN XPRESS GUIDE TO DINING IN THE CITY. COMPILED BY EAST BAY DWELLER AND VORACIOUS FOODIE MATT MAXION, WHO ENJOYS WRITING ABOUT THE BAY AREA FOOD SCENE. HE IS ALSO THE SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR FOR THE GOLDEN GATE XPRESS.
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BY HUNTER MULICH | hunter@mail.sfsu.edu
as far away as Seattle F STREET and Chicago, though art is the some artists were underbelly of hesitant. the highbrow “When you write art world, your name you have a then handreputation towards it, drawn stickyou hold this staners, often dard of how people slapped on newspaper perceive you. Some boxes or light poles, are so of these reputations to the graffiti world. are admirable, or A new exhibit in the are larger figures in SF State Art Gallery, the graffiti scene, “Slap In The Face: A Triband they don’t want ute to Sticker and GrafSLAPPED: Event co-curator and art major Jessy Gaumann puts the their reputations to fiti Art,” is exploring this be tarnished by some culture. The gallery, which finishing touches on the art gallery mural, located on the Terrace Level show,” Ayoub said. is located inside the Cesar of the Cesar Chavez Student Center, in preparation for the “Slap In The “The hesitancy was Chavez Student Center, is Face” opening reception Friday night. Photo by Henry Nguyen. understandable, but having its opening recepafter I explained the tion Friday at 5 p.m. show most people were willing.” “Stickers don’t really get the attention that other Collecting the stickers wasn’t the only challenge in forms of graffiti do,” said Marcus Valderama, a San putting the show together. Figuring out how to puzzle Francisco resident who helped set up the exhibit. “You can do so much more with a sticker than you can with a them together, and more importantly protect them, was also an issue. An unfortunate fact of working with a quick tag.” bunch of vandals is, well, they’re vandals. Many of Carolyn Ho, a fourth-year student majoring in the artists were concerned about their pieces, many of creative writing and the manager of the art gallery, estiwhich are valuable within the community, being stolen mates there are more than 2,500 stickers on the wall. and tagged over. To buffer that, a clear laminating film “This dude came in with this book of stickers,” was placed over the stickers. The rest of the Student said Ho, who co-curates the event along with SF State Center, Ho mentioned, might not be as safe, which is students Ali Hawkes and Jessy Gaumann. “It’s such a why there will be a dedicated space for crowd participaspecific type of street art. It’s fabulous.” tion within the gallery. The man she speaks of is Jordan Ayoub, a 19-yearAyoub has been active in graffiti since he was 13 old SF State student who plans on becoming a graphic years old, and said stickers, which are respected as design major. much as any other form of street art, are just another This is his first time curating a gallery, but inspiraway to put yourself in the city. This event is a chance to tion came from pictures he saw of a New York hotel promote and understand the adhesive art. lobby. An artist had collected pieces of graffiti and For Ho, it’s a chance to root for the underdog. She’s photocopied them together to make the wallpaper that advertising the gallery, but is also advocating the art to filled the room. help it gain respect.“There’s such an art form within Ayoub was struck by the image and decided the graffiti, and within stickers themselves. I thought it same thing could be done in San Francisco. He spent would be really rad to bring the life of stickers to a galmore than a year adding to his personal sticker collection through “the huge networking scene” of the graffiti lery and to the community,” she said. “We’re not here to change the world, but to alter it.” world. Excited contributors came in locally and from
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8 OPINION
STAFF EDITORIAL
STUDENTS DESERVE FACE TIME WITH CANDIDATES
A PUBLICATION OF SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY KELLY GOFF
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF kgoff@mail.sfsu.edu
SARA DONCHEY
ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR sdonchey@mail.sfsu.edu
SCOTT GRAF
PRINT MANAGING EDITOR sgraf99@mail.sfsu.edu
GODOFREDO VASQUEZ
MEDIA EDITOR gvasquez@mail.sfsu.edu
NATALIE YEMENIDJIAN ART DIRECTOR nataliey@mail.sfsu.edu
MICHELLE OLSON
ONLINE COPY CHIEF maolson@mail.sfsu.edu
CASSIE BECKER
PRINT COPY CHIEF cassbeck@mail.sfsu.edu
TAMERRA GRIFFIN
CAMPUS EDITOR tgriffin@mail.sfsu.edu
LISA CARMACK
CITY EDITOR lcarmack@mail.sfsu.edu
HUNTER MULICH
A&E EDITOR hunter@mail.sfsu.edu
KC CROWELL
OPINION EDITOR kcrowell@mail.sfsu.edu
KEALAN CRONIN
SPORTS EDITOR kealancronin@mail.sfsu.edu
KRISSA STANTON
BREAKING NEWS EDITOR kstanton@mail.sfsu.edu
HENRY NGUYEN
PRINT PHOTO EDITOR nenhenry@mail.sfsu.edu
GIL RIEGO JR.
ONLINE PHOTO EDITOR griegojr@mail.sfsu.edu
JUAN DE ANDA
T
HE APPOINTMENT OF A new University president is an incredible opportunity for the campus community to find a leader who will shape its next 25 years, much as current President Robert A. Corrigan oversaw a vast expansion of the school during his tenure. Unfortunately, the CSU trustees took a giant leap back in both transparency and community involvement when they recently decided that campus visits would be optional for applicants to this crucial role. The detachment between students and their soon-to-be departing president has grown through the years. Most students on campus wouldn’t recognize President Corrigan if he was in line behind them at Café 101. For those who do know what our president looks like, seeing him on campus is a rare and remarkable event, sort of like a Bigfoot sighting. We, as students, need an accountable and integrated president. The past year saw social movements like Occupy shine a spotlight onto the rift between the governed and the governors at SF State and beyond. Never before have students wanted so earnestly to discuss things like tuition hikes with administration members. Even Corrigan saw this and met with students during a recent demonstration. Still, the Board of Trustees doesn’t see a public campus visit as necessary. In notes from the September meeting when the measure was passed, committee members stated that past experience shows that qualified candidates sometimes lose interest when they are required to make a campus visit. These visits have not been just a casual stroll through campus, but public visits where they make their interest in becoming president known. How qualified is a candidate who stalls at the most minor requirement for transparency? Public disclosure is a common practice at SF State. When hiring or promoting to tenure-track positions, many departments require finalists for the job to present to classrooms and give sample lectures. If faculty must be this open in its desire to become members of the community, why not the institution’s leader? As a public university there is a certain expectation of trans-
ART BY NATALIE YEMENIDJIAN | nataliey@mail.sfsu.edu
parency in hiring practices. This should extend to the presidential search. The search for a new president is an opportunity for a new chapter in collaboration between students, faculty and administration. This opportunity does not come often. Instead of dropping the requirement for campus visits, the Board of Trustees should place a new importance on the president’s involvement with campus life. No one can reasonably be expected to lead a community they have never met.
ASSISTANT CAMPUS EDITOR juand@mail.sfsu.edu
ELISSA TORRES
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR elissat@mail.sfsu.edu
MATT MAXION
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR mmaxion@mail.sfsu.edu
RACHELE KANIGEL
FACULTY ADVISER kanigel@mail.sfsu.edu
KEN KOBRE
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JUSTIN OROZCO
CIRCULATION jaorozo@mail.sfsu.edu
ARUN UNNIKRASHNAN I.T. CONSULTANT arun@mail.sfsu.edu
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OPINION
On matters of virginity BY JUAN DE ANDA | juand@mail.sfsu.edu
Between all the oohhing, awwing, groaning and groping I never thought that me jerking off to Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba was when I lost my “virginity” back in middle school. Did it happen when I received oral sex in high school? Or was it finally “officially” lost when I had sex with my girlfriend for the first time in college? When does virginity actually vanish and the cherry pop? Is it when there is some sort of penetration, whether it be vaginal or anal, in the strict traditional sense, or when my hand became my groin’s best friend? Does it matter what came first: the hand or the lips? I hate the term “virginity” and it should be abolished from our vocabulary. Culturally, it has become irrelevant and attempts to define it only complicate and confuse its meaning. Virginity should be defined as having experienced sexual pleasure. According to Merriam-Webster, virginity refers to an individual who has never had sexual intercourse. But then let’s look up sexual intercourse: “Heterosexual intercourse involving penetration of the vagina by the penis or intercourse (as anal or oral intercourse) that does not involve penetration of the vagina by the penis.” This is just too ambiguous.
CORRECTIONS FOR XPRESS PRINT EDITION
So why do we need to define virginity? The English language is constantly changing and each individual person creates their own connotative meanings with words. The percentage of those who claim virginity appears to be increasing, according to a National Center for Health Statistics study released in 2010 of 2006 to 2008 data. Among 18 and 19-year-olds, about onequarter of men and women said they hadn’t had sexual contact with another person, up from 17 percent of women and 22 percent of men in 2002. Among those ages 20 to 24, 12 percent of women and 13 percent of men said they were virgins, up from 8 percent for both sexes in 2002. But when looking at what the terms and definitions were, the survey admits that it only counted vaginal penetration between heterosexual partners as a loss of virginity. The survey excluded homosexual sex and other acts of sexual pleasure such as masturbation. So as it stands, even national surveys and studies are limited in their definitions and don’t take into consideration the wide range of sexual practices and possibilities. Although the government data offers no explanation for the growing percentage of virgins, there has been plenty of speculation, also stating that the study referred to vaginal
The story headlined “Thinking a Little Differently” on page 1 of the 12.14.11 issue was uncredited. It should have been attributed to Juan De Anda. The story headlined “SF State Buildings May Not Be Ready to Quake” on page 6 of the 11.30.11 issue incorrectly stated that the last seismic upgrade to a
penetration as being the determining factor for virginity loss and excluded anal and other forms of non-penetrative sex such as cunnilingus, fellatio and mutual masturbation. Also contributing to this virginal vagueness was the case of Nicki Blue, a porn star who caused controversy in January when her company was going to broadcast her deflowering live via the Internet. Although she had plenty of anal and oral sex on camera, Blue never once had her vagina penetrated. She stated that her hymen was intact. She had dildos penetrate her anally but never had one go through her vaginal area because she didn’t want to lose her virginity to a sex toy. Are we to think that a porn star can still be a virgin because there hasn’t been vaginal penetration? Are we just supposed to stay with an antiquated term that has lost its cultural value of prized esteem in the United States? Virginity has never been clearly defined and is a word that is becoming more slippery than KY lubricant. Let’s get rid of this word and replace it with sexual experience. This in turn can avoid such technicalities and confusion. So when does the “fooling around” end and “having sex” begin? Let’s leave that question alone.
building on campus was in 2003. The most recent seismic upgrades to take place on campus were the John Paul Leonard and Sutro Library in 2012 and Parking Lot 20 in 2011. We regret our errors.
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10 S P O R T S PLAYER
NICOLE HICKS
BREAK
BASKETBALL
of the
Junior guard Nicole Hicks has been chosen as the Xpress Player of the Break. Hicks averaged 22 points and 33 minutes in the eight games played by the SF State women’s basketball team during winter break. She played a total of 239 minutes and scored 137 points.
PHOTO BY TYLER DENISTON/SF STATE SPORTS
GATORS’ SPORTS SCHEDULE THURSDAY, JAN. 26 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SF State vs. Cal State San Bernardino at 5:30 p.m. (San Francisco, Calif.) MEN’S BASKETBALL SF State vs. Cal State San Bernardino at 7:30 p.m. (San Francisco, Calif.)
SNOWFALL
LOWER THAN EVER
SATURDAY, JAN. 28 WRESTLING SF State vs. Adams State at 3 p.m. (San Francisco, Calif.) WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SF State vs. UC San Diego at 5:30 p.m. (San Francisco, Calif.) WRESTLING SF State vs. Grand Canyon at 5:30 p.m. (Phoenix, Ariz.) MEN’S BASKETBALL SF State vs. UC San Diego at 7:30 p.m. (San Bernardino, Calif.) SOFTBALL SF State vs. Alumni Game at 12 p.m. (San Francisco, Calif.)
SCORES FROM THE LAST WEEK OF GATOR SPORTS
WRESTLING Jan. 20 SF State
LOSS vs. Stanford 12-25
Jan. 21 SF State vs.
LOSS Southern Oregon University 15-22
MEN’S BASKETBALL LOSS
LOSS
LOSS
Jan. 17 SF State vs. Cal Poly Pomona 54-65 Jan 20 SF State vs. Cal State Los Angeles 71-82 Jan 21 SF State vs. Dominguez Hills 55-60
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WIN
Jan. 17 SF State vs. Cal Poly Pomona 56-53 Jan. 20 SF State
LOSS vs. Cal State Los
LOSS
Angeles 59-82 Jan 21 SF State vs. Dominguez Hills 74-52
Annual December snowfall
2008
72’’
2009
104’’
2010
188’’
2011
18’’
FINALLY SNOW: The Northstar ski resort was left barren Thursday, Jan. 19 due to the severe lack of snow in the Sierras so far this winter. Friday marked the first real snowfall of the season that continued through the weekend, but may not be enough to salvage the area’s lackluster economic performance. Photo by Scott Graf
Late storms freeze season
T
The snowfall in the California Sierras, which has finally arrived, came too late for students and disappoints Tahoe locals and winter sports enthusiasts alike.
BY KEALAN CRONIN | kealan@mail.sfsu.edu
he months of December and January bring a notion of glistening mountains and icy terrain. Hopeful mountain-goers pack tire chains, skis, snowboards and sleds in anticipation of visiting the snowy California Sierras. This year, all preparation was in vain as the lack of snow in the Tahoe area continued to disappoint eager skiers and snowboarders. “I’ve never seen a year like this,” said Garret Faulkner, a junior at SF State who grew up in Truckee, Calif., and has been skiing for 15 years. “I’ve been disappointed with the season.” The Sierra Mountains are most visited in the winter months as tourists flock to the resorts to vacation. Year-round population in the Lake Tahoe area is about 66,000 but reaches up to 250,000 on peak tourist days in the winter, according to a 2010 survey by civil and environmental engineer David Antonucci. For college students, the limited time away from classes becomes an opportunity to escape and many opt for visiting the mountains during the holiday break to take advantage of student discount tickets. More than 2,000 student discount tickets were sold at various resorts last year according to that same survey. This year, only a handful of tickets were sold. The Tahoe area recently received about six feet of snow and weather experts continue to predict snowstorms to hit late January and into early February. While these predictions excite locals who hold out hope for prolonged powder days, the snow will be too little, too late for SF State students who have returned for the spring semester. “I might still try to get a few more days,” Faulkner said. “But the season was pretty much a bummer.” The lack of snow presents a problem for those eager to go on ski trips who must find alternative vacationing options. This presents an even bigger problem for locals who wait year-round for the storms to hit, bringing with them the tourists that boost the economy. “No one has been coming up,” said Caleb Clapp, who has lived in Tahoe for three years and works at a restaurant at the Squaw Valley resort. “People are getting laid off left and right because business has been so slow.” Popular mountain resorts such as NorthStar, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley have remained opened throughout the season, but most runs are only open due to man-made snow. Although these mountains are open, Clapp said some resorts are losing money to maintain staff and equipment. Clapp, who
worked at Northstar and Squaw Valley resorts, said that most of the money coming into the resorts is from season and student passes bought pre-season, which the resorts refuse to refund. He said that locals are hopeful for a late surge of snow and business, but the last few months have been relatively desolate. SF State meteorology professor Jan Null explained that the lack of snow derives from high pressure along the West Coast that diverts the storm track. “Periodically the atmosphere gets into a state of equilibrium,” Null said. “The pattern doesn’t move and gets stuck under high pressure for that period of time.” The storms expected to hit Northern California this week are not the beginning of a steady snow season, Null explained. He predicts the solid snowfall to last between seven and 10 days. “This is well below normal,” Null said. “If people want to get up there, the snow will be best within five days of the storms.” The correlation between snow and economy has had an immense impact on local restaurants that rely on the busy snow season to boost business. The no-snow season has disappointed locals, visitors and especially restaurant owner Chris Thibaut of Jakes on the Lake in Tahoe City. “Over the last two months, we are at about half of our normal sales, and that number actually improved due to holidays,” Thibaut said. “We’ve seen a serious decline in business due to the lack of snow.” Not all businesses in Tahoe have suffered due to the lack of snow. Diana Graves, an agent of Keller Williams Realty for the last seven years, has been busy showing houses and condos to potential buyers. “We are probably one of the few businesses who is actually busier this year,” Graves said, despite the lack of snow and tourists. “Without the storms, people can still see properties and landscape. The last few months we’ve been very busy.” Graves, who lives just outside of Tahoe City, said although her business continues to prosper, restaurants in the area remain quiet and there are few vacationers in the area. Those already living or owning properties in the area have been forced to find alternative means of entertainment through the dry season. Mountain biking and hiking remain popular activities among Tahoe locals. The low temperatures have frozen over many of the Tahoe lakes, creating plenty of locations for ice skating. “We are supposed to get some snowstorms sometime late January,” said John Bossi, a Tahoe resident for the last 30 years. “But until then, hiking and ice skating have been the popular activities. It’s been a good year to improve your ice skating.”
C I T Y 11
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OCCUPY CONTINUES, REJUVENATED
THE sNS & OUTS
the building. “I am a teacher and I see that many students money so we can be educated. We need the are working full time; they are going to school system to change,” Villalobos said. full time and they still don’t have enough money. Friday’s action was the largest-scale action in So they take out a predatory loan and they are the city in several months, and up-coming rallies underwater by the time they graduate,” Kaufmyn are already planned. said. “So what are we doing with the future?” Upcoming Occupy events include the OakA mock foreclosure took place at the Citiland Occupy “Rise Up” Festival Jan. 28 and group Center, 1 Sansome St., where protesters 29. The event is slated to include a rally, mass piled furniture and moving boxes into the revolvbuilding occupation, concerts, workshops and ing door of the main entrance. Other demonstrapresentations. tions were also held in Bernal Heights, Excelsior Also, Occupy SFSU is currently trying to and the Mission District. mobilize a March on Education for March 1, Many of the demonstrations and marches when many college students and other Occupy disrupted public transportation and snarled traffic movements across the for several hours. country will partici“This is pate in a march against interfering with tuition hikes and the a simple man’s corporatization of uniliving,” said Mike versities. Jankowski, an SF To kick off the day State alumnus, Friday, many protestwho was observers gathered in front of ing from the sideBank of America’s main walk as protesters branch at 345 Montmarched by him gomery St. and Wells on California Fargo Corporate HeadStreet. quarters at 420 MontJankowski gomery St. in the early did acknowledge A man who identified himself as “Jesus Marijuana” (center) leads that the banking morning hours. They Occupy Wall Street West protesters in cheers in front of the blocked the entrances system is out of Bank of America building near the corners of Montgomery and and chained themselves hand, but doesn’t California streets, Jan. 20. Photo by Gil Riego Jr. to the building, eventufeel demonstraally causing both banks tions like OWS to close for the day. West are effective. “I am here because Wells Fargo is part of a “What happens is they are disrupting their broken system that needs to take responsibility,” own people. Shutting down streets is not the way said Wendy Kaufmyn, a professor from City to do it,” Jankowski said. College of San Francisco, who is currently on The final march and day of action ended sabbatical. at Van Ness Avenue and Geary Street where Kaufmyn chained herself to the door handles hundreds of protesters had a standoff with SFPD of Well Fargo Corporate Headquarters at 6:30 as they tried to enter the vacant Cathedral Hill a.m. After six hours, she and the others chained Hotel. Police pepper sprayed about a dozen with her deemed their actions successful and protesters. unchained themselves. Wells Fargo eventually A total of 23 arrests were made during the boarded up the windows, ATMs and entrances to demonstration Friday, according to SFPD.
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One night stands F YOU ARE THE TYPE WHO LIKES A STEAMY semi-anonymous rendezvous, the electricity that takes over in a one night stand can be addicting. It’s a flurry of sexual tension, which can only lead to both parties getting caught up in doing things they’ve only ever seen in porn. Sounds great in theory, but it’s a necessity to figure out if you’re the type of person who’s OK with a one night stand. There’s no shame in only having sex with the one you love. Yet, there are those who keep love and lust separate and there’s nothing quite like letting loose with someone you just met and can’t take your eyes off of. The most important thing is to take care of yourself. It’s too A SEX COLUMN BY CASSIE BECKER easy to get lost in the moment Since breaking up with her and that’s what can get you into inner prude, Cassie Becker has done it all. Her interest in sexual trouble. If you’re going to play, exploration has lead her to write get your head in the game. several blogs and break even First, make sure someone more beds. She’s extensively knows where you are at all researched and written about it - all with a sexy smile. times. Wandering away with a stranger is far less dangerous if your roommate, best friend or entourage know exactly where you are. Frequent check-ins are even better. Don’t make your friends paranoid! Once the fun has begun, safety should remain priority number one. If someone’s got a dick (real or fake), use a condom. The second that thing is outside the pants, wrap it. It doesn’t even matter which orifice is its intended destination: Do not risk the spread of disease to anyone ever. For heterosexual pairings, eliminating the risk of pregnancy is an added bonus! By the same token, dental dams and finger cots or gloves are also very important. Even during a one night stand, touching someone else’s genitalia is a big deal. The gender pairing is irrelevant; if part of one person is touching a private part of another person, there needs to be a protective barrier. And if all else fails, SF State health educator Ingrid Ochoa encourages using an emergency contraceptive. “I would say that would be the best thing if they don’t have a condom or aren’t on birth control,” Ochoa said. It’ll either be a night to remember or a night to regret. But the safer you play, the less likely you are to walk away with consequences that will lead you straight to the health center the next morning.
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