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WALKOUT PROTESTS BRUTALITY ANGELINE UBALDO aubaldo@mail.sfsu.edu
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wo groups of protesters converged on San Francisco City Hall Tuesday afternoon to call attention to the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement and participate in a national day of action. Stop Mass Incarceration Network, an organization who vocalizes its devotion to ending the police brutality of Black and Latino youth, led a march from 24th and Mission streets to City Hall. Members of SF State’s Black and Brown Liberation Coalition coordinated an unconnected but related demonstration at the same location. A thin line of riot police was all that separated the two groups. SMIN organizer Joey Johnson called on the community to walk out of school and work to join the protest.
City Continued ON PAGE 2
ANGELICA EKEKE / XPRESS
CONFRONTATION: Protesters hold up signs in front of the police at City Hall demanding access to enter on National Walk Out Day Tuesday, April 14.
Musical artist shares craft as professor
Discount
transit passes underway
FARNOUSH AMIRI famiri@mail.sfsu.edu
IDA MOJADAD
idajane@mail.sfsu.edu
The commute from Fairfax to campus costs linguistics major Alexander Williams $6 each way, and compounded over dozens of trips every semester, the expense has become a strain for which he would welcome assistance. SF State students and administration have discussed implementing a transit pass over the years, but despite neighboring institutions like University of San Francisco having free Muni access included in their tuition, SF State has never implemented such a program. “I pay $12 a day,” Williams said. “Any (discount) is nice. It saves money.” Student representatives have paralleled the meetings with student outreach, including a town hall meeting April 13 hosted by Associated Students, Inc. in the Cesar Chavez Student Center. The event provided attendees with updated information on transit passes and helped students voice their concerns. Participants also completed a short transportation survey initiated by ASI last
ZHENYA SOKOLOVA / XPRESS
KNOWLEDGE SHARE: Christine Brandes (right), voice teacher, directs dance student Nadia Endara at rehearsals for “La Calisto” opera in the Creative Arts Building at SF State Monday, April 13.
Assistant professor of music Christine Brandes’ pursuit for a career in classical music started in a small church in rural Ohio where she was raised but has led to her perform at the nation’s most renowned orchestras and symphonies. The tick of the clock pierced the vocal studio in the creative arts building as Brandes tried to decide on the luckiest moment of her life–the first time she performed at the Berlin Philharmonic or the first time a song was composed with her mind. Throughout her career, Brandes has performed with all of the Big Five Orchestras in the U.S. and in February she released a
PROFESSOR Continued ON PAGE 5
G-EAzy Performs on Campus SF State's Rhythms music festival gives new and young Bay Area DJ's, musicians and bands a connection to the music industry through exposure. TURN TO PAGE 6
SARAHBETH MANEY / SPECIAL TO XPRESS
University Continued ON PAGE 2
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HEADLINER: Gerald Gillum, better known as G-Eazy is the main act at the Rhythms Music Festival put on by the Associated Students at SF State Friday, April 10.
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APRIL 15, 2015
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Student scorn city officials in protest students Continued from the front “It’s not enough to have tears of sympathy for (victims of police brutality) or anguish in your own heart about this,” Johnson said. “You have to actually act to stop it.” Liz Roja, a liberal studies major and member of SMIN, led the Mission crowd in chants as they took to the streets. She said that her emotions toward the issue are justified because the current state of police will not change, regardless of who is in power. “It’s never gonna happen, so I think it’s up to the masses to say ‘No more,’” Roja said. Protesters stopped at the San Francisco Police Department Mission Station during the march to write “pigs,” “murderers” and “fuck the police” in chalk on the front of the building. Officers watched from the inside as marchers pressed megaphones to the doors and demanded justice for victims of police brutality, like 28-year-old Alex Nieto who was shot and killed by the
SFPD in 2014. At City Hall, a group of demonstrators including BBLC and San Francisco Student Union members stormed the weekly San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting just before the SMIN marchers arrived to the scene and demanded action. When the SMIN marchers arrived, they were stopped by a line of dozens of police officers in riot gear. ApproximateANGELICA EKEKE / XPRESS ly 200 marchers crowded between the DEMONSTRATION: Sam R. holds up his fist up while walking down Mission Street toward City Hall on entrance and the security checkpoint and National Walk Out day Tuesday, April 14. were denied access to enter. Lea Volk, a sociology and Latina/o disciplining the police officers who sent as an impromptu spokesperson during studies major and a member of the Student homophobic and racist text messages to the protest, addressing the San Francisco Union, said the shutdown was important each other in 2012. Board of Supervisors. Moore not only to her because she believes in the Black “People aren’t allowing such racist and discussed police brutality but the gentrifiand Brown Lives Matter movement. prejudiced behavior to happen within their cation issues affecting people of color in “The ongoing police brutality and imjustice system, so I appreciate that people San Francisco. punity and just outright murder of people are beginning to stand up,” Volk said. “When you continue on with business of color is unacceptable and it’s not just a “But we also need all of the board of (suas usual, you don’t get to continue on,” black problem,” Volk said. pervisors), we need the governor, we need Moore said. “You don’t get to sit in this Volk said having the protest at City the mayor, we need everybody to stand up room. Rest assured, we’re not going anyHall will hold local politicians accountin solidarity to speak out against this.” where and this is only the beginning.” able and she applauds the SFPD for BBLC founder Brittany Moore acted
University inches toward BART discount university Continued from the front
week that will continue online. A 2014 SF State transportation survey shows Williams falls into the 19.1 percent of students who pay $10-14 round-trip on their daily commute, while a third of students pay $1-4. Nearly half of SF State commuters ride Muni and 26 percent take BART for some portion of their trip to campus, according to the survey. House representative Jackie Speier took note of students’ concern with cost of living during her fall campus visit and convened a meeting in February to address transportation, according to her press secretary Katrina Rill. Speier facilitated a meeting for President Leslie E. Wong, student representatives, BART Director Nick Josefowitz, Supervisor Scott Wiener and Mayor Ed Lee to finalize a strategy. An online petition created by president of the College Democrats at SF State Marcus Ismael to support a comprehensive ‘Gator Pass’ has garnered more than 650 signatures since the start of April, with a goal of 1,000 signatures before May. The petition outlined cost of transportation in the Bay Area that other local universities have subsidized. Student Sustainability Coordinator and delegate Miguel Guerrero said he predicts
MARLENE SANCHEZ / XPRESS
GATOR PASS: Passengers enter the Inbound M-train at the intersection fo 19th and Holloway avenues Tuesday, April 14.
students will be able to vote on whether or not they want to pay for transit passes as a campus fee by the end of they year if BART approves a discount policy. “There’s lot of back-end work that needs to be implemented—things don’t happen as fast as you’d like,” Guerrero
said. “It’s all contingent on what agreement we work out with BART.” Josefowitz said he hopes for a potential BART discount of 25 percent or more while Guerrero said it could be in the 30-40 percent range. If they reach a consensus for a pilot program, Guerrero
said he and his colleagues hope to pave the way for other universities in the Bay Area to implement the first BART discount for college students. Some SF State students who must drive or walk to campus said the transit pass would only cost them more in tuition without added benefit. For graduate student Jacquie Mitchner, working in Palo Alto means public transportation is too slow to be on schedule. “I need my car all day for work and I live on the opposite side of the city,” Mitchner said. “I don’t have time.” For those who typically drive, 44.1 percent of survey respondents chose a reduced fare transit pass for Muni as their first choice for an incentive to use alternative modes. Nearly 90 percent of respondents said they would support a student fee to provide a transit pass that offers unlimited Muni rides and a discount on BART if it resulted in savings. Josefowitz said he will meet with University administration and student representatives, who are continuing outreach and public discussions this week. Without student outreach and approval, the pending deal would be invalidated, further postponing a transit pass, he said. “This is really coming from the students,” Guerrero said. “It’s the only way.”
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NEWS 3
APRIL 15, 2015
Alumna recognized for charity work KELLY SODERLUND kls10@mail.sfsu.edu
HELEN TINNA / XPRESS
NOMINATED: SF State alumna Molly Diedrich poses for a
portrait in front of a wall of former students, faculty and staff at UCSF Medical Center Tuesday, April 14.
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n SF State alumna is the youngest candidate in the running for the Bay Area chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s annual Woman of the Year award. LLS’s national fundraising competition, which officially awards both Man & Woman of the Year, recognizes candidates who raise as much money as they can for the organization. After 10 weeks, the two people from each chapter who raised the most money are crowned that chapter’s Man and Woman of the Year. Molly Diedrich, 23, was nominated in the Bay Area’s LLS chapter in November and has raised almost $1,000.
“They call it a competition, but all the proceeds go to the same amazing organization,” Diedrich said. “So it’s like each dollar counts as a vote.” Diedrich, who graduated in December from SF State with a degree in child and adolescent development, is no stranger to community service. She was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, whose philanthropic endeavors include volunteering at the SF Food Bank and cleaning up the Marin Headlands, and also served as the sorority’s chapter president during her final year at school. “It’s interesting because everyone else who is participating has a very personal connection with blood cancers specifically–either they themselves had it or someone very close to them has,” Diedrich said. She said that since beginning the competition she has had multiple people with whom she is close tell her that they have battled leukemia or lymphoma. Diedrich was nominated after a chance meeting with LLS nominating committee member Larry Gerquest at a family dinner. The two bonded over Diedrich’s memories of the Light the Night Walk, an LLS-sponsored event where she had volunteered with Alpha Gamma Delta. Two years prior, Deidrich’s sorority sister Katie Thompson was diagnosed with Leukemia and it had become a personal cause for the sorority chapter. Diedrich said that when she told him she had helped out at the event, Gerquest’s ears perked up and through him, Deidrich was officially nominated by November 2014. “I was impressed with her enthusiasm, outstanding leadership skills and experiences as a student at San Francisco State,” Gerquest said. “When I learned that she had a passion for the cause of fighting blood cancers, I knew right away that we had a 2015 candidate for Wom-
an of the Year.” When campaigning began, Diedrich compiled a team consisting of four SF State alumni who were in her sorority and her biological sister Amelia, 27. The team is dedicated to help Diedrich meet her goal of raising $20,000 for LLS, she said. Diedrich, inspired by the latest Amy Poehler book, named the campaign “Cure Cancer? Yes, Please.” “(Poehler) had talked about how ‘yes, please’ is a powerful and concise phrase,” Diedrich said. “It’s a response and a request, and so I’m responding to my call to action and requesting a cure.” Robyn Hester, a 23-year-old SF State alumna, graduate student at the California College of the Arts and member of the “Yes, Please” team said it was important to her to participate and try to make a change to help out her friend. “I joined to lend my support to my friend Molly (Diedrich) and help her support this organization that is so close to her heart,” Hester said. To help Diedrich reach her fundraising goal, the team utilized direct queries through their personal and sorority networks and organized a series of events, including an awareness hike at Land’s End, a bake sale and an upcoming scavenger hunt. Diedrich will also guest-bartend at the Buffalo Club in the Mission from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 29 and will donate the tips to her campaign. Diedrich said the “Yes, Please” team has raised $940 to date and she is optimistic about the next seven weeks, whether or not she meets her goal. “I’m doing this to have fun and raise as much as I personally can and continue my involvement with this organization,” Diedrich said. “I’m always thinking about who I can talk to to help raise more money.”
AIDS epidemic of 1980s remembered AVERY PETERSON averylp@mail.sfsu.edu
SF State alumnus and AIDS activist Cleve Jones remembers the University during the 1980s when the AIDS epidemic began. By the Fall of 1985 many members of the community were dead, dying or caring for loved ones who contracted the disease, Jones said. “SF State was hit very hard - almost all of the gay male students that I knew back then died,” Jones said. “As I talk (about it) I see all these faces in my mind of all these boys I went to school with who didn’t survive the epidemic.” After losing many friends to the disease, Jones created the AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1987 and dedicated the first panel to Marvin Feldman, a close friend and SF State student who died from AIDS-related causes. The quilt became the world’s largest community arts project with over 48,000 panels added and was later named the NAMES AIDS Memorial Quilt Project, according to the project’s website. Jones said when he was a student, many dismissed the threat of the disease believing it only effected gay people and African-Americans, which created a powerful negative stigma that still exists today. To remind students of the epidemic and help end the stigma, Alpha Phi Omega’s Mu Zeta chapter hosted the 19th Annual Multicultural AIDS Awareness
DRAKE NEWKIRK / XPRESS
DEMONSTRATION: (left to right) Leilanie Dacuycuy, Jasmine Calix and Logan Limm inflate
condoms to make balloon art during the Multicultural AIDS Awareness Day in the quad Thursday, April 9.
Day April 9 at SF State. The event included educational workshops from local organizations, free HIV testing and contraceptives, which all serve as a reminder of SF State’s long history of involvement in the campaign against AIDS. Michael Ritter, chair of SF State’s AIDS Coordinating Committee, said he helped establish the ACC in the mid1980s when HIV and AIDS were rampant in San Francisco and on campus.
“The campus lost many of our faculty, staff, students and administrators during this time and the committee came together to help out those who were living with HIV and to provide prevention education,” Ritter said. The school set an example for AIDS policies and programs on college campuses throughout the country, according to Ritter. SF State offers financial resources for students with HIV including two scholar-
ships and the Cindy Kolb AIDS Donation Fund, which is a grant for people living with the disease. The school also holds many AIDS awareness events like MAAD throughout the year. As a founding member of the ACC, Ritter observed the evolution of MAAD since its inception in the early 1990s. APO fraternity member Mathew Ong approached Ritter after a three-year hiatus and said the fraternity wanted to bring MAAD back to campus. With some members of the SF State community currently living with the disease, Ritter said the event is important to remind students that HIV still exists. Shirley Kim Tang, the event’s publicity chair and member of APO, said MAAD seeks to end the silence surrounding AIDS in the SF State community. “I personally hope students just learn that it is okay to talk about HIV and AIDS and that there are resources on campus and all over the city if they need them,” Tang said. Events like MAAD contribute to SF State’s distinguished role in the area of AIDS awareness, according to Tang. “It is slowly becoming a part of SF State’s history and sets us apart from other campuses,” Tang said. “SF State is one of the most open and accepting campuses when it comes to controversial topics and we should continue to celebrate that.”
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Trans activist educates through music EVA BARRAGAN evbarrag@mail.sfsu.edu
MELISSA MINTON / XPRESS
RISE ABOVE: Ryan Cassata performs two songs at the Sacred Grounds Cafe open mic on Thursday, April 9.
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uring an open mic night performance, singer-songwriter Ryan Otto Cassata exuded a confident demeanor that he said has been the key to his national recognition as a civil rights activist in the transgender community. Cassata, a former SF State student, said he came to the realization that he wanted to live his life as a female-to-male transgender person at 13 years old when he heard a transgender man speak at the
LGBT Community Center in Long Island. Cassata has been educating the public through his music and activism ever since. “Living life as a girl would have been the easiest thing to do for everyone around me,” Cassata said. “It was never a decision. It’s something I needed to do to be happy.” Cassata’s childhood best friend, Rebecca Prichard, recalls the first time Cassata told her he felt he was living inside the wrong body.
“I just told him, ‘Ryan, if you decided you wanted to be a tuna sandwich, I would still love you,” Prichard said. The activist has always been vocal about his transitioning journey on YouTube and started to do the same in school. He led the Gay Straight Alliance at Bay Shore High School in New York with his friend Matthew Klapak and started a YouTube channel, Facebook page and a paper petition to have “Ryan,” his legally changed name, appear in the yearbook. Cassata’s efforts resulted in him being a recipient of the first Harvey Milk Memorial Award presented at his high school. It was in 2012 that Cassata moved to San Francisco to attend SF State. Upon his arrival he said he found it difficult to find a trans community. Despite some backlash from others throughout his life, including resistance to his decision to not take hormones, Cassata continues his journey as a trans activist to serve as a reminder to others that they are not alone, he said. “There’s this constant competition in the trans community of ‘who’s trans enough,’” Klapak said. “Ryan’s choice to pursue his dream (as a singer) and be who he is wasn’t good enough for other people.” Cassata said he understands coming out is a different experience for everyone and feels many individuals never come out or transition because they are afraid of what people will think.
Eric Alan Weidner, teaching associate for SF State’s communication studies department and peer counselor at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender National Help Center in downtown San Francisco, agrees with Cassata’s sentiment about why individuals fear coming out. “You don’t just say it one time in your life and then you’re done,” Weidner said. “I wish it was just a singular event. It would make (coming out) much easier.” Cassata said his confidence to speak out comes from his friends, his family and his music. By the age of 21, Cassata became the youngest keynote speaker at the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference and appeared on Larry King Live and The Tyra Banks Show to discuss his journey as a transgender man. Cassata has produced nine records and is embarking on his new album tour across the country April 17. “As my friend, I would describe Ryan as unique but as an individual, seeing all things he’s doing now, I would say he is inspiring,” Prichard said. “He’s so concerned about others and knowing that he’s been bullied he doesn’t want anyone else to experience that.” Cassata said his main focus in everything he does, whether it be activism or music, is to give people hope. “Every single experience I’ve (endured), no matter how negative, has helped me help someone else,” Cassata said.
Filmmakers translate social issues to documentary FARNOUSH AMIRI famiri@mail.sfsu.edu
While filming the award-winning documentary “Peace Officer” in 2012, SF State alumni Scott Christopherson and Reeny McCauley did not realize the social issue they were highlighting would coincide with the Ferguson unrest that incited the nation. Christopherson, the director of the film, and McCauley, the film’s editor, met in the same class at SF State and both graduated with a master in fine arts in cinema. A year after graduation, the two worked together on a film that exposed the access of military weaponry to smalltown police departments in the U.S. The film would go on to win awards at the South by Southwest Film Festival last month. “We hadn’t thought a whole lot about the militarization of police until this came up,” McCauley said. “But when I started working on (the film), the evidence that something was wrong and somebody needed to start talking about it was pretty clear to me.” “Peace Officer” is based on the true story of William “Dub” Lawrence’s fascination with resolving the systematic failings of small-town police forces, according to the film’s website. Lawrence’s obsession led him to become sheriff of Davis County, Utah where he assembled the state’s first SWAT unit, which would fatally shoot his son-in-law 30 years later. Christopherson and McCauley said
they credit their professors and the cinema department at SF State for opening their eyes to the magnitude of filmmaking and the social impact of documentaries like “Peace Officer.” “I think that it was due to my time at (SF) State that I realized that documentary films are a much more important and effective way of analyzing culture and improving society because millions of people could potentially see it,” Christopherson said. “I am really grateful that Scott and Renny have focused their passion, work
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Through filmmaking, let’s shine light on something that can help people alter the course of history to make it a better place to live.
”
-Reeny Mccauley
ethic, and creativity at tackling the issues in “Peace Officer,” said Greta Snider, a professor of cinema at SF State. “Their success and their commitment to engaging in dialogue on the urgent social issues in the film are what keep us energized at SFSU.” McCauley said it was his experience in the cinema department that helped him gain a sense of responsibility through his craft. “When I realized the power behind (filmmaking) I started taking it more seri-
PHOTO COURTESY OF PEACE OFFICER
TRAINING: Combat officers collect behind an Abrams Main Battle Tank in a scene from the docu-
mentary “Peace Officer” filmed in 2012 and directed by SF State alumni Scott Christopherson and Reeny McCauley.
ously,” McCauley said. “I think I got a lot of that out of taking classes and realizing how much is conveyed through film and a plan to take that responsibility seriously.” That responsibility led both filmmakers to the annual SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, where their feature-length film took home the Grand Jury and Audience awards. “I had never been in a huge festival like South by Southwest so I was surprised and really elated that I got in and it was really like a dream when we won,” Christopherson said. “I thought we had a chance but I never really expected it.” During the two and a half years it took to film the documentary, the duo never envisioned that the social issue of their film would play out in real life with last year’s fatal police shooting of Michael Brown Aug. 9 and the nationwide protests that ensued. “My feeling is that something public (like Ferguson) was bound to happen at
some point but the coincidence of it happening when we were finishing our film, I mean you don’t want to use the word ‘luck’ because it’s horrible that something like that happened but it was sort of a fortunate coincidence,” McCauley said. Through their film, the filmmakers said they highlighted some of the issues prominent in today’s society, like the use of lethal force by police officers in the country. Christopherson and McCauley first debuted the film with a large audience at SXSW and said they felt a bond between the audience and the social issues featured in the documentary. “I could see that people were really connected to the issues and were ready to start asking more questions about what is the problem and how can we help deal with it,” McCauley said. “Through filmmaking, let’s shine light on something that can help people alter the course of history to make it a better place to live.”
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LIFESTYLE & CULTURE 5
Professor finds passion in career as a soprano Professor Continued from the front CD titled “Of Color Braided All Desire.” “I’ve never in my wildest dreams thought I would do half of what I’ve done which is kind of an amazing thing to say,” Brandes said. “I’ve really loved the variety of work that I’ve done because it’s allowed me to be in contact with all kinds of musicians and doing all kinds of repertoire.” Brandes grew up in a family of musicians, where she said she learned about preforming from her father and defined discipline from her mother. Growing up in a musical family, Brandes said she had dreams of achieving her father’s natural talent but her voice and musical interests did not fit in the genre of classical music. After receiving an undergraduate education at Ohio State, where she was once told by a professor that she would never become a professional singer, the soprano singer was offered a full scholarship in a performance practice program to earn her master’s degree at Case Western Reserve University in her home state. “I finished my master’s and I said ‘I’m going to go to New York and I’m going to be a singer,’” Brandes said.
Brandes said her parents were hesitant about her move to the Big Apple but after six months of auditions and working a catering gig, the 17th Century opera singer said she was making enough money to do the only thing she was interested in doing: singing. “I was singing for a living and I know that is a rare and amazing thing to do, especially in New York,” Brandes said. Bill Patant, an International Management Group representative who oversees musical artists, scouted Brandes during a performance in New York almost 20 years ago and the singer has been with the company ever since. “I first heard her in autumn 1996 in a recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City,” Patant said. “(Brandes) has always been a performer who doesn’t just sing but she tells a story. The words are just as important to her as is the music.” Since their first meeting, Brandes has performed in orchestras and operas all over the U.S. and has added international work to her resume. The music professor has collaborated on recitals with pianist and professor of music at Stanford University Laura Dahl for nine years.
ZHENYA SOKOLOVA / XPRESS
TRAINING: Voice teacher Christine Brandes (right) directs dance student Nadia Endara (left) at rehearsals for “La Calisto” opera in the Creative Arts Building at SF State Monday, April 13.
“(Brandes) has an absolutely beautiful voice that, in combination with her work ethic, scholarship, creativity and innovative programming, make her an ideal collaborative partner,” Dahl said. It was after a life-altering event that Brandes said her life shifted from a lifetime of singing and performing to becoming a professor of music. “I had this massive upheaval in my life; my long-term partner of 14 years died suddenly,” Brandes said. “My world was really turned upside down and in the back of mind I thought ‘I don’t really know if I want to be a singer anymore.’” Brandes said her choice to become a music teacher in 2011 allowed her to have stability while still pursuing her craft and passion for performing music. “I told myself that while I’m figuring
out all the crazy questions in my life maybe I’ll try out teaching,” Brandes said. Brandes said her time teaching students in the music department has taught her about her own work and has helped her develop new passions she had not explored before, like directing. “While directing, I began to see the students grasp and understand classical music, which is thrilling,” Brandes said. Brandes said performing music is a way of life, not just a profession. Through directing and teaching, the professor said she is able to see the other side of classical music and produce shows with students. “The medium of music is so profoundly engrained in me that it’s an amazing thing,” Brandes said. “Singing feeds me in every possible way, it’s completely unbelievable.”
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SARAHBETH MANEY / SPECIAL TO XPRESS
PERFORMERS: (LEFT) Rapper Casey Veggies of Inglewood, California performs the song “Back Flip” at Rhythms SARAHBETH MANEY / SPECIAL TO XPRESS
Music Festival put on by Associated Students, Inc. at SF State Friday, April 10. (ABOVE) Campus Battle of the Bands winners Zemyran Prater (left) and Voris Forte (right) of Stewards of the City opened the Rhythms Music Festival in the Annex Friday, April 10.
Rhythms music festival hypes new artists
U
nder the vaulted ceiling of the Annex, a congregation of approximately 1,120 students ceremoniously raised their camera phones as rapper G-Eazy emerged from a veil of smoke into a single spotlight. Ambient background lighting gradually rose around the Oakland-born artist as he asked the crowd, “Are we turning the fuck up and raging our faces off tonight?”
KALANI RUIDAS kruidas@mail.sfsu.edu
G-Eazy’s performance at SF State Friday was the culminating event of Associated Students, Inc.’s annual Rhythms Music Festival. The week-long series showcased Bay Area DJs, bands and musicians on campus April 6-10. G-Eazy played for a full house at the Annex along with surprise guest artists Devon Baldwin and Casey Veggies. The initial ticket release sold out within the first eight hours, according to Associat-
KATE FRASER / XPRESS
TURNTABLES: SF State business marketing major Michael “DJ Mike Cool” Soto, 21, works the
deck with his scratching skills during the College DJ Championships, held at The Depot Tuesday, April 7.
SARAHBETH MANEY / SPECIAL TO XPRESS
FINALE: Gerald Gillum, better known as G-Eazy, closes out the Rhythms Music Festival with an explosion of confetti in the Annex at SF State Friday, April 10.
ed Students Programs and Services social media administrator Lupita Uribe. ASPS director Horace Montgomery attributed the concert’s success to student involvement. “From the beginning, we took input from students on who they wanted to see perform,” Montgomery said. “Then we narrowed it down and we were able to give the kids what they wanted.” The event kicked off Monday with a music symposium held in the J. Paul Leonard Library conference room, where a panel focused on maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit, presenting an authentic artistic brand and keeping a close circle of supportive fans and colleagues. The speakers included industry professionals such as producers, personal managers, marketing strategists and event coordinators who offered insight to their professional position to students interested in pursuing careers in the music industry. James Guttman, account manager at music marketing company Fame House, underscored the importance of perseverance in one’s professional journey. “Take a look at yourself in the proverbial mirror and believe what you see,” Guttman said. “Things may not always turn out the way you plan, but results will come with consistent effort.” College talent and entertainment platform CAMPVS hosted Tuesday’s national Campus DJ competition at The Depot. The event served as a regional contest including participants from SF State, West Valley College and University of California, Berkeley. Heather Liu, who was last year’s competitor from UC Berkeley, and CAMPVS founder Evan Shapiro judged the competition and scored each contender on a scale from 1-10 on originality, technical skill and stage presence during their 10-minute set. The audience also had the opportunity to cast a vote for their favorite performer on Campus DJ’s website and on Tinder. The contest resulted in a tie between the judges’ tally and the fan favorite. SF State’s Michael Soto, also known by his stage name, DJ Mike Cool, took the campus title and earned an opportunity to open for G-Eazy on Friday. Both he and Berkeley DJ Al Truest will move on to the semi-national final round May 9.
Soto said he was running high on adrenaline and was rendered speechless after his winning set. “I really can’t put into words how I’m feeling right now,” Soto said. “I’m shaking. That was so crazy.” Five SF State bands went head-to-head in a contest of originality, quality of talent and appeal to the judge’s personal preference for CAMPVS’s College Battle of the Bands at The Depot Wednesday night. The six-person hip-hop group Students of the City took first place. Their high-energy performance earned the band a $250 cash prize, Sol Republic headphones and an opening spot at G-Eazy’s concert. Local indie pop band, The Y-Axes placed second with a prize of $200, followed by SF State’s Speakeasy in third place with a prize of $150. Students of the City frontman Voris Forte said their win came as a shock to the band. He said he hopes that the group’s one-of-a-kind sound inspires the next generation of artists. “We’re motivated by God’s blessings and, of course, our fans’ support,” Forte said. “It’s always fun to feed off their energy and party with them onstage.” The Annex pulsed with electronic dance beats at Thursday’s student dance. The night’s talent included SF State DJs Ryan Pau, Michael Milano and Turn 2 DJ duo Jack Veronin and Miguel Flores. Pau, a freshman broadcast and electric communication arts student, said he was slightly disappointed with the event’s minimal attendance but enjoyed his experience playing out of a large sound system. “Although the turnout wasn’t that great, I did have fun seeing my friends come and support me,” Pau said. “As a DJ, it makes me happy to see others dance and have a good time to the music I provide for them.” Involving students in on-campus activities was just one aspect of Rhythms Music Festival, according to ASI special events assistant, Sam White. “The event gives students the opportunity to get a foot in the door with people who are already in the business,” White said. “Our goal is to help our students have a great time and if they want, make some important connections along the way.”
8 SPORTS
APRIL 15, 2015
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GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG
Ultimate Frisbee broadens into two teams EMMA CHIANG / XPRESS
VINCE FAUSONE IV vfausone@mail.sfsu.edu
Two ultimate Frisbee teams occupied the artificial turf of the West Campus Green for the first time in SF State’s history on Friday. As men’s team member Cooper Wright whipped a white disc toward an uninhabited plot of field, sending his teammate Jesse Saekow tearing after it, women’s captain Gianna Tesler led a series of back-and-forth drills on the other side of the field, critiquing the essential short throws of her fellow players. “You want to float it up and let your teammate run underneath it,” Tesler shouted. “Make it easy for them to get to it.” In its second year as a campus-recognized program, a recent crop of new players has not only given SF State’s ultimate Frisbee team more athletes that head coach Michael Lopez hopes to develop into talented players, but has also allowed the unit to separate into men’s and women’s squads. The sectional tournament April 18-19 will mark the first time the Gators have ever fielded a full seven-player women’s team, including during past
GLIDE: Brianna Bright throws a Frisbee to her teammate during SF State’s ultimate Frisbee team’s practice on the West Campus Green Friday, April 10.
years when SF State had ultimate Frisbee clubs that were eventually disbanded. “We’ve never had enough women to branch off, so next weekend will be exciting,” Tesler said. “Getting a lot of game time is important and I think it will be good to compete in an all-women tournament to see how we can do.” For their first four tournaments of the season, the Gators played as a mixed-gender unit in an open format against opposing teams comprised mostly of all men. The separation of the men and women into two teams will improve the competitiveness of both squads, according to Lopez. “Apart from the obvious fact that the men will do better against men and the women will do better against women. I find that both genders are more fierce and perform better overall when they aren’t playing co-ed,” Lopez said. The squad has striven to add the disc-throwing precision characteristic of higher level frisbee teams to
its abundance of raw athletic talent. With less than two weeks until the sectional tournament in Livermore, the team has ramped up the intensity of its twice-a-week practices, according to Lopez. “It’s really all about raising the Frisbee IQ’s of our guys and girls,” Lopez said. “We’ve seen a huge increase in participation between last year and this year with a lot of good athletes, and now it’s all about making them into better players.” Tesler, along with men’s captain Graeme Brunst, co-founded SF State’s club in 2013 and manage the team by sign up for tournaments in the NorCal College Open Division. The pair said they enjoy sharing their years of experience with newer players. “We try and introduce them to how the game looks at a higher level,” Brunst said. “Whether that be by watching videos on YouTube or by getting more practices in. A lot of people on this team have come a long way and we’re getting very close to being competitive with other schools who have ultimate ingrained into their culture.”
Historic performances highlight Chico meet ELIZABETH CARRANZA ecarranz@mail.sfsu.edu
300-meter steeplechase and set a new personal time of 11:45.74, ranking her third in SF State history. Foley finished fourth overall and is now ranked sixth in SF State history with a time of 12:12.56. The Gators’ success this weekend will only evolve as the season continues to unfold and with the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships right around the corner there will be more success to come, coach Reimer said. In the finals for the 100-meter hurdles event, break-out sophomore Laura Stokes finished second overall with a personal best time of 14.78. She said the COURTESY OF SF STATE ATHLETICS best feeling of the day was knowPERSONAL BEST: SF State Gator Laura Stokes competes in the hurdle event during the Johnny Mathis Invitational at ing she pushed herself to tie her Cox Stadium Saturday, March 21. personal best time. he SF State womAfter shattering SF State’s long performance at Chico State. “It was my first week running en’s track and field jump school record with a mark “She’s not fully rested and four events,” Stokes said. “It’s a squad returned from of 5.79 meters at the Johnny she still did that,” Reimer said. great feeling because you work an outstanding team Mathis Invitational March 21, “All her hard work is coming so hard and you train for these performance at the Chico State King broke her own record and through and coach (Marissa) moments. We’re doing amazing Distance Carnival and Twilight set the new school record with Chew has been working with her. right now and everyone is peakMeet April 11. The team placed a mark of 5.83 meters at Chico We’re hoping for more and we’re ing. We’re going to come into fourth overall with a score of State. really looking forward for her conference and smash it.” 84.50 points and had 11 Gators King is on track to excel hitting a good mark in NationSenior triple jumper Malikah set new personal records in their and go beyond her potential at als.” Wilson crushed her competitors events. the NCAA Division II National First year SF State distance with a 11.25 meter jump to place The meet kicked off with Championships, according to runners Adriana Calva and Jackie second overall in the clash, and another record-breaking perforhead track and field coach Kend- Foley had notable accomplishnow ranks sixth in SF State histomance by senior team captain ra Reimer, who said she couldn’t ments at the all-day Chico State ry. With all the hard work put into and long jumper Hilary King. be happier with the squad’s event. Calva finished first in the practices and taking her coaches’
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advice to heart, Wilson said it’s great to know her hard work throughout the season is starting to reflect in her performances. “I think I did really well this weekend and I think it’s the best I’ve jumped in my career,” Wilson said. “Right when I got up to the sand I looked at the measuring tape and waited for what the official called out. I just jumped to the sky and I hugged coach Chew. It felt great to break my personal record.” SF State has a rigorous week of competition ahead of them where the team will compete in four different meets within five days against teams such as Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State East Bay. The team has been preparing all season for the end of the year and the team’s hard work is starting to flourish on the track with record-breaking performances, coach Reimer said. “We have a big weekend when we go down to SoCal and there’s going to be great competition,” Reimer said. “My main goal is to keep everyone healthy, get to the line healthy and be ready to compete. If we get some more big marks that’s great, but I’m really satisfied where we’re at and hopefully they carry that on to conference.”
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SPORTS 9
APRIL 15, 2015
Dedication fuels student boxer STEVEN CALDERON snc@mail.sfsu.edu
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eminist studies and sociology major Sandra Magallon said it only took a sparring match with a champion fighter and a resulting bloody nose for her to get hooked on boxing. Magallon is an amateur boxer in the 118-pound division who trains at the Babyface Boxing Gym in Pacifica, California. At 21, Magallon juggles two jobs working 35 hours a week and is a full-time student. “I like it because I feel like it keeps me busy,” Magallon said. “Plus, you get to take all your frustration out on a bag or on a person but you don’t really feel bad (because) it’s okay to do it.” She attended SF State during the spring semester before spring break but decided to transfer to the University of California, Santa Cruz to be closer to where she lives. Her attraction to the sport began after a friend from De Anza College recommended she take up boxing last summer in order to keep busy. Magallon said she was not initially interested in the offer but decided to take up her friends invitation and visited the Ultimate Fighting Championship Gym in San Jose. At the UFC Gym, Magallon said she anxiously waited a year for boxing sessions that never came. She said she felt as if she was never considered as a com-
MARLENE SANCHEZ / XPRESS
PERSEVERANCE: Sandra Magallon swings a posed punch in the ring where she spars at Babyface Boxing Gym in Pacifica, California Tuesday, April 6.
petitor by trainers and suspected it was because she is a woman. “I didn’t feel like I was taken seriously,” she said. “Soon after, I realized I was the only woman in the gym who wanted more than cardio boxing. I finally got tired of waiting and I left.” Magallon decided to pursue boxing at a different location and started training at Babyface Boxing Gym in July 2014. It was on her second day at the gym that
she sparred professional champion fighter Melissa McMorrow, a moment that Magallon said continues to be one of her favorite moments in the ring. Magallon met the owner of Babyface Boxing Gym, Blanca Gutierrez, who is well-known in the Bay Area boxing community for training, managing and promoting female fighters. Gutierrez’s most notable fighter is Martha “The Shadow” Salazar,
who is currently the women’s World Boxing Council heavyweight champion. Gutierrez said she was impressed that Magallon sought her gym out, but was skeptical of her as a boxer when she first met her, thinking she was just another athlete pretending to be a fighter. It was after she held up the red and blue pads for Magallon to punch and slip that Gutierrez said she saw the potential talent of the
young fighter. “She’s probably one of the best fighters I’ve ever trained,” Gutierrez said. “She does everything we tell her to do and a 100 percent more. She sticks to her program, she doesn’t eat a lot, she runs a lot and she’s just everything anybody would want in a fighter.” Magallon’s last fight was at the University of San Francisco Koret Boxing Invitational March 20, where fellow college amateurs can compete in three-round fights. Inside the ring, Magallon snarls at her competition, as she throws jabs and stays on the offensive. Outside of the ropes she transforms back into a quiet, nice person, according to Salazar. Magallon lost by decision in the invitational. Gutierrez and Salazar said Magallon needs to improve and develop her own boxing style. Magallon is 0-2 as an amateur but said she has enjoyed fighting so far and wants to consider entering the professional ranks once she gets at least 25 fights under her belt. Her next fight will be May 2 in Salinas, California. Magallon said there is a stigma about boxing being a man’s sport but believes women’s boxing is the future. Despite this, Magallon said she will continue to work at boxing every day she can make it to the gym.
10 OPINION
x FRANK LADRA
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF fladra@mail.sfsu.edu
NASHELLY CHAVEZ
MANAGING EDITOR nashelly@mail.sfsu.edu
MICHAEL DURAN
ONLINE SUPERVISING EDITOR michaeld@mail.sfsu.edu
SERGIO PORTELA
PRINT SUPERVISING EDITOR sportela@mail.sfsu.edu
KATRINA ANDAYA
CREATIVE DIRECTOR kandaya@mail.sfsu.edu
JOURDON AHN
PRINT CREATIVE ASSISTANT COPY EDITOR jahn@mail.sfsu.edu
DANIEL E. PORTER
PHOTO EDITOR danielep@mail.sfsu.edu
JENNAH FEELEY
NEWS EDITOR jfeeley@mail.sfsu.edu
TIMOTHY SMITH
NEWS EDITOR tsmith@mail.sfsu.edu
CALLA CAMERO
LIFESTYLE & CULTURE EDITOR ccamero@mail.sfsu.edu
NICOLE PARADISE
OPINION EDITOR nparadis@mail.sfsu.edu
ELIZABETH CARRANZA
SPORTS EDITOR ecarranz@mail.sfsu.edu
HANNAH MULLINS
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR hmullins@mail.sfsu.edu
PETER SNARR
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR psnarr@mail.sfsu.edu
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PRINT ADVISER kanigel@mail.sfsu.edu
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MULTIMEDIA ADVISER jgarnier@sfsu.edu
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ADVERTISING & BUSINESS echarles@mail.sfsu.edu
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STUDENT GRAPHIC DESIGNER smperk@sfsu.edu
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ABOUT XPRESS
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STAFF EDITORIAL
Trash clean-up is everybody’s job The trash situation in San Francisco is getting out of hand, not due to increased product consumption, but because of a fostered sense of ambivalence toward cleaning up after oneself. Mission Dolores Park, located between the Castro and Mission districts, has long been a gathering spot for a diverse plethora of subcultures in San Francisco. Nowhere else in the City can one see drag queens, tech yuppies, child-wielding mothers and homeless transients mingle in such close proximity, but when it comes to responsibility for its upkeep, everybody seems to be passing the blame. Recent media attention has pointed fingers at the entitled population of San Francisco, targeting weekend picnickers for leaving behind the remnants of a pampered afternoon– champagne bottles, oyster shells, decorated cakes–with the assumption that somebody else will see to its disposal. San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department fronts $400,000 annually just to clean up the 14,921 cubic yards of waste left behind by Dolores Park visitors, according to a recent SF Chronicle article. In fact, Dolores Park’s trash is six times the amount of refuse generated by California Academy of Sciences, Botanical Garden, Kezar Stadium and de Young Museum, and Golden Gate Park combined, according to the same article. The garbage abundance is just one element of the negligence and lack of respect Dolores Park has been facing in recent months. In February, two teens allegedly hotwired construction equipment and joyrided across freshly laid sod, leaving $100,000 in damage. Then two weeks later, vandals left broken glass in the playground sandbox, necessitating the removal and replacement of 20 tons of sand.
Some officials attribute the overall “lawlessness” in the park to a lack of patrol–the city has only two rangers to monitor more than 220 parks–and even those officers get criticized for doing their jobs, as seen in a recent viral amateur video. Nobody wants to be the bad guy, calling people out for having fun. Others may think, “What’s one candy wrapper dropped on accident?” or “Piling my trash on the ground next to the already full waste basket is ok, right?” But passing the responsibility on to somebody else is not ok. The laissez-faire attitude is not just exclusive to the weekend park environment. It is visible right here at SF State. As our editor-in-chief was walking across campus last week, he passed a trio of young women walking in the same direction. One of them carried a paper plate topped with a slice of pizza and a paper napkin canopy, which suddenly caught a breeze and lifted off the food. As the napkin floated to the ground, the women watched in unison then looked at each other and walked away unphased, leaving the trash to drift in the wind. On the same commute home, he witnessed more than one SF State student nonchalantly drop trash on the floor of the inbound M-line train. This negligence with regard to garbage can be seen throughout SF State, whether it is the trashed bathrooms in the Business building or the piles of debris overflowing on the Muni platform along 19th Avenue. And who hasn’t paddled their way through the river of cigarette butts that flood the sidewalks
and gardens around the perimeter of campus? We pride ourselves on being forward thinking students–the future generation of scholars and success stories who pave the way to a better tomorrow. Yet, it seems some of us still can’t be bothered to pick up the waste we create. It is our responsibility to change the social expectation around waste. When we see somebody casting their trash aside without regard, we can either look the other way or we can speak up. San Francisco’s District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener has said, “it takes a village to manage a park,” and the same can be said for the campus environment. We need to work together to initiate change and foster the right behaviors.
ILLUSTRATION BY JOURDON AHN / XPRESS
Cultural pride holds high value
ASSISTANT MULTIMEDIA EDITOR ddunaway@mail.sfsu.edu
RACHELE KANIGEL
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APRIL 15, 2015
SERGIO PORTELA sportela@mail.sfsu.edu
I watched my grandfather lie peacefully in a mahogany casket as they lowered him slowly into a burial plot. His casket was filled with objects that mattered the most to him: his cowboy boots, hat, a Mexican flag and photos of his grandchildren. He was a man who loved his culture more than anyone I have ever known. My Wayfarer sunglasses blocked my eyes from the sun but they couldn’t block the stream of tears that flowed down my face. In that moment, I knew I had lost the most prideful man I had ever known and I wished I could be like him someday. I feel like I have never possessed the same pride my grandfather held for his culture. Instead, I have been running away from my Mexican heritage for as long as I can remember, mostly because of the stigmas surrounding it. In my experience, Mexican-Americans are
MARLENE SANCHEZ / XPRESS
CULTURE: Journalism student Sergio Portela poses for a portrait at Balmy Alley in front of a mural in the Mission District Tuesday, April 14.
either stereotyped as gang members or undocumented immigrants. At least that is how I have seen it portrayed in the media. My entire life I have been trying to stay away from conforming to these stereotypes, but now I am not sure I have much of a culture to pass on to my future children as a result. Growing up my parents did not teach me
much about my heritage. They even avoided teaching me Spanish, something that I believe could have given me some pride in my ancestry. Spanish is so important to the Mexican culture, it is how we are supposed to communicate. When my inability to speak Spanish surfaces in conversations, some people call me a “Mexican’t” or “Non-Mexican.”
But at the end of the day, the thing that bothers me the most is knowing I will never be able to have a conversation with my grandmother and tell her how much she means to me without having a translator. I do not blame my parents for my inability to speak Spanish. They have assimilated into an American culture, especially
my mother. Growing up she lived in a rural area in Sacramento where she was always picked on for being different, so she changed to fit in with her peers. My mother’s sense of heritage is like the Mission District, an area once proud and full of culture that has been slowly stripped of the culture that once made it special. I am not as prideful about my heritage as my grandfather was but I want to be. I would love to be able to say to my child, “Mijo or mija, this is what being an Mexican-American is all about,” and truly know the meaning of my words. To do that I need to learn Spanish and sit down with my grandmother to absorb all that I can of the knowledge of my culture. Then I would have something worth sharing with my future children. I do not want to leave my culture by the wayside anymore, I want to be proud of it.
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OPINION 11
APRIL 15, 2015
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ILLUSTRATION BY JOURDON AHN / XPRESS
Elite buses widen gap between classes PETER SNARR psnarr@mail.sfsu.edu
san francisco's new luxury bus line leap is more than just another transit option: it is a representation of gentrification and class divide. An Xpress editor wrote an opinion piece April 1, supporting Leap, a new transit option launched in San Francisco with the goal of providing a better public transportation experience. Leap is a luxury bus service that follows a Muni route to and from the Marina and Financial districts and boasts comfortable seating, drinks, snacks and onboard Wi-Fi. To ride this shuttle one must cough up a hefty $6 each way which many, including my colleague, believe is worth the price to avoid Muni, the city’s public transportation service. I, however, disagree. Not only are there cheaper and more convenient options, Leap is another representation of gentrification in San Francisco and the widening of the gap between lower and upper economic classes. As of now Leap only provides service with one route, and while the company plans to expand, the current route speaks highly of where Leap wants to keep its customer base. The Marina District is notoriously known for its high-end nightlife, expensive rent and for being a popular destination for young professionals, while the Financial District is the central hub for business executives and fine dining. Leap CEO Kyle Kirchhoff said in a KQED article that he wanted his service to be used by all types of San Franciscans, not just a high-end customer base. With no wheelchair access, discounts for seniors or reserved seating for disabled and pregnant riders, it’s not hard to be skeptical of Kirchhoff’s statement. Muni provides all of these services as well as allowing children to ride
for free. To board a Leap bus, you must be a least 18 years old. Ridesharing company Uber recently launched UberPool, an offshoot of the service that lets riders go anywhere in the city for $7 if they ride with another party, making Leap’s $6 price tag seem inconceivable in comparison. Why pay only one dollar less for a limited service Leap ride when Uber will take you to any door in the city? Leap launched at a time when tension between long-term San Franciscans and a new generation of tech workers is at a boiling point. The new found wealth by a young workforce has caused displacement of multi-generational families who can’t keep up with a skyrocketing rent market. Between Google shuttle protests and fist fights over Google Glass, both sides feel alienated.
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The announcement of Leap is more than just another startup entering the fold, it is a proclamation to outsiders of the tech world and high society that they are not welcome.
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-Peter Snarr Leap, however, is not an attempt to bridge the divide but a further estrangement of the two camps. The announcement of Leap is more than just another startup entering the fold, it is a proclamation to outsiders of the tech world and high society that they are not welcome. If Leap and other technology companies genuinely want to provide services that will change they way we live, they need to make those services affordable or have them improve and work in unison with public utilities. As of now, they are only servicing their own inner circles.