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APRIL 22, 2015 ISSUE 12 VOLUME C GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG
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Activists scold US policies in Israel ANGELINE UBALDO aubaldo@mail.sfsu.edu
A mock wall stood at the entrance of Malcolm X Plaza between the stage and the Cesar Chavez Student Center as a simulation of the barrier in West Bank in Israel to draw attention to the current affairs on that side of the world. The General Union of Palestine Students hosted a rally to commemorate Israeli Apartheid Week April 17. The rally at SF State is part of a series of international events to draw attention to the global and political policies the state of Israel holds against Palestinians, according to GUPS president Lubna Morrar. Morrar said she holds Western imperialism accountable for the current state of affairs in Palestine. “I just think that the general public is also very confused of what this conflict is,” Morrar said. “It’s very much normal repeated history of Western imperialism and global capitalism.” International relations professor ZHENYA SOKOLOVA / XPRESS
PATRIOTISM: General Union of Palestine Students member Awwad Yasin waives the Palestinian flag during the Israeli Apartheid Week Rally in Malcolm X Plaza Friday, April 17.
Students Continued ON PAGE 2
Community feasts on sustainable delicacies AVERY PETERSON averylp@mail.sfsu.edu
Students and members of the San Francisco community enjoyed a mix of tangy grapefruit wedges and crisp beets folded into a medley of fresh organic greens as one of the sustainable dishes served at the 6th Annual Farm to Fork lunch April 16.
The luncheon was held outdoor at the main quad and was co-hosted by the Office of Sustainability and Chartwells, the food service provider behind the on-campus dining centers at SF State. Farm to Fork centered on both sustainability and community building, according to Caitlin Steele, SF State’s director of
sustainability and energy. “(The event is about) getting everyone to come out of their office and classroom to come and sit together to take a break from our busy schedules and connect with each other,” Steele said. Popularity of the event has increased this year with 275 LOCAL Continued ON PAGE 2
MARLENE SANCHEZ / XPRESS
NOURISHMENT: A server passes a plate of food to another server at the Farm
to Fork event, hosted by the Office of Sustainability and Chartwells in the Quad Thursday April 16.
Masculinity is redefined through performance EVA BARRAGAN
evbarrag@mail.sfsu.edu
HELEN TINNA / XPRESS
WORDSMITHS: SF State student and CockTales co-director Vincent Lim (left) sits with Nathan Barone in Little Theater Tuesday, April 21. Barone will perform a spoken word piece in this year’s CockTales production, “Unplugged and Redefined.”
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Before being diagnosed with the painful musculoskeletal condition Fibromyalgia halfway through his sophomore year of college, 24-yearold Nathan Barone associated being a man with his ability to play sports. “It forced me to surrender and understand I won’t be able to do the things that were part of my identity as a man,” Barone said. “It left me feeling very vulnerable. Vulnerability and traditional masculinity are not two
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things that coincide in the minds of many men.” Barone’s diagnosis was the basis for his spoken word piece for CockTales, a production for men and women to discuss masculinity and gender-related issues. In his piece, the University of Oregon graduate said he will share how he has coped with Fibromyalgia and how it has affected who he is as a person and as a man. His piece is one of nine that will be presented at “Unplugged and Redefined,” the 7th Annual CockTales performance put on by The Sexual
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Abuse-Free Environment Place in the Studio Theatre in the Creative Arts building May 1. The SAFE Place, a resource center at SF State that provides sexual violence prevention and crisis, puts on performances to raise awareness every spring about gender issues, violence or anti-violence in the community and the importance of getting involved, according to The SAFE Place Coordinator Laurene Dominguez. “I feel like a big part of a lot of the
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2 News
APRIL 22, 2015
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Students call for Palestinian freedom
STUDENTS Continued from the front ter Benjamin) Netanyahu, they Mahmood Monshipouri said that it would take an entire course to understand the complexities of the Israel and Palestine conflict. Monshipouri described the conflict as a dispute over land in Israel, West Bank and Gaza. “The U.S. foreign policy all along has been to create two states,” Monshipouri said. “One state called Palestine, the other state called Israel. Israeli’s politicians, like (Prime Minis-
talked of two state solutions, but they do not walk the walk up to this day.” According to Monshipouri, the Jewish people in Israel declared independence from the state of Palestine in 1948 despite a U.N. commission that recommended the two separate states of Israel and Palestine. Monshipouri said that although a lot of youth in Europe and the United States sympathize with Palestinians, he is not very
ZHENYA SOKOLOVA / XPRESS
TRADITION: General Union of Palestinian Students member Awwad Yasin (right) dances with another GUPS member at Malcolm X Plaza during the Israeli Apartheid Week Rally Friday, April 17.
optimistic about the future of Palestine. “When I listen to my Israeli friends, I go to the conferences, I go to the conventions, when I listen to scholars, when I listen to experts, I don’t think the Israelis are going to give up the land,” Monshipouri said. “I don’t see it in their heart to part.” Members of GUPS and the greater Palestinian community in the Bay Area gave speeches and performed poetry at the SF State event. “America could care less,” GUPS secretary Abdula Harara said in his poem. “How could any Zionist tell me this is painless because they are ‘peaceful-ist’? Tell that to the 8-yearold boy who’s left legless.” Professor Rabab Abdulhadi, associate professor of race and resistance studies recited a poem in Arabic and spoke about the new classes she was teaching. Abdulhadi said that the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative minor that she teaches was approved by the Academic Senate on April 14. Other student organizations like the Student Kouncil of Intertribal Nations and MEChA
GOLAN HEIGHTS
Mediterranean Sea
Syria IRAQ
WEST bank
Tel Aviv
GAZA
JERUSALEM
Saudi Arabia
JORDAN
ISRAEL
Israel’s borders are highly contested in the Middle East and North African region as well as the world. This map shows the disputed areas as they are mapped by the U.S. Department of State.
EGYPT
AREA OF DISPUTE INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
ILLUSTRATION BY KATRINA ANDAYA / XPRESS
voiced their support for GUPS and sent representatives to speak out about similar struggles that they faced in their homeland. Students from the SF State Hillel watched from a table set up nearby. Keren Erlich, the president of SF State’s Israel Team and a member of Hillel said they were present to contribute another side of the argument. “We’re here to listen to what they have to say and provide another perspective if anyone has any questions,” Erlich said. The event finished with people dancing dabka, a traditional Palestinian dance, around the
quad. Students like Arthur Savangsy, a studio art major, stopped by to watch. “I kind of have been out of the loop with groups on campus, so it was good to be reminded that there’s a lot of work to be done, a lot of changes to be made,” Savangsy said. Morrar said she was pleased to know that people were listening to what the demonstrators had to say. “If we affected anybody, we could just affect one person and that would still make the world a better place,” Morrar said.
Local farmers nourish real food movement on campus LOCAL Continued from the front tickets sold, according to Steele, who said there were about 230 tickets sold last year. The meal prepared by Chartwells featured organic, local produce grown within 250 miles of campus. Christina Yan, the director of marketing and guest experience at Chartwells, said the company regularly works with several different farmers to source food as locally as possible. “We are really proud to support the local community of farmers,” Yan said. “It’s great that events like this introduce different foods into people’s diets that they may otherwise never try themselves.” Chartwells used produce like mushrooms as a meat substitute in order to eliminate meat from the menu. “Our vegan meals are enjoyed
by everyone,” Yan said. “We chose vegan to be inclusive of everyone and to show that you can have a full, filling meal without meat.” The vegan cuisine at the event was a change of pace for political science major Jaime Murillo, who said he typically eats meat two to three times per day. “I’m a carnivore,” Murillo said. “It was a different experience and I think it was very delicious.” Chartwells’ executive chef Don Cortes, who created the menu from his original recipes, said he wanted to put a unique spin on something very familiar to everyone attending. He chose to serve a modern take on tacos inspired by seasonal produce. “I look for what is available and in season when I design the menu,” Cortes said. “I wanted to make sure that it is approachable, because I want people to use
more sustainable, local products and apply it to what they can do at home.” Cortes said students should learn about the seasonality of produce and be aware of sustainable foods that are readily available. At the lunch, SF State President Leslie E. Wong said the meal was thought-provoking. “It really got me thinking that this is a way to show people you can get really flavorful food in vegetarian menus,” Wong said. “You can do some clever things to reduce your carbon foot print and yet eat well and stuff yourself.” Associate Students, Inc. Vice President of University Affairs Celia LoBuono Gonzalez sits on the Sustainability Committee at SF State. She utilizes sustainable food sources and said she thinks people are too disconnected with how the food they eat gets to
MARLENE SANCHEZ / XPRESS
SERVICE: Employees of the Office of Sustainability and Chartwells prepare for the Farm to Fork event in the quad Thursday, April 16.
their plates. “Events like Farm to Fork are important because they help bring awareness to the lack of transparency in our current food system and speak to some of the other problems our food system is causing as well as solutions that each of us can be part of,”
Gonzalez said. She said she wishes students knew their food choices impact both the longevity of their bodies and the earth. “Every time we purchase and eat something we are making a choice for how we want the world to be,” Gonzalez said.
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NEWS 3
APRIL 22, 2015
University policies scrutinized by students
SARA GOBETS / XPRESS
SUPPORT: Sociology and art major Sebastian Rene writes on one of the
posters during the Mobilize For Change event at the Depot Thursday, April 16.
PRISCILLA SALAHUDDIN prodarte@mail.sfsu.edu
S
tudents expressed their concern for the current state of University education through spoken word poetry at the Depot April 16. The Student Union of San Francisco hosted “Mobilize for Change,” an event where an array of student organizations gathered to discuss issues that the campus community faces on a daily basis. Student Union member Mazin Mahgoub said he was concerned about the rising cost of education at SF State.
“Education is supposed to be free, it is supposed to be of quality,” Mahgoub said. “It should be relevant to all, it should be covering the narratives of all peoples not particular to just one experience and not brainwashing us all to be worker slave ants.” Fossil Free SFSU, Real Food Challenge, League of Filipino Students, Black Student Union, Student Union, General Union of Palestine Students and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano De Aztlán were among the student organizations that participated in the event. Attendees wrote the issues they have with the education
system on yellow posters that hung on the walls. Several students called for quality and free education. The Student Union hoped the performances would inspire students to raise their concerns to university officials, according to member Michael Sanchez. “Art is a beautiful way to empower people,” Sanchez said. Rapper, activist and SF State student Reza Harris, known as Dregs One, kicked off the performances with spoken word. His poem drew attention to gentrification, displacement and evictions in his community in San Francisco. The audience snapped and cheered in correspondence to Harris’ message. “This is my first time doing poetry about gentrification and some of the other issues going on in the San Francisco community,” Harris said. Patrick Racela of LFS spoke about the challenges of enrolling in classes at SF State, a process he said hinders students’ access to education. Racela urged the crowd to join his organization’s movement favoring educational equity. “Students can join or partake in our ‘education is a human right’ campaign,” said Racela.
“Once we’re able to organize and unify with different student groups, then we can start to see a push for students to assert the democratic right to education.” Student Union member Larica Thompson spoke about student issues and the conflicts professors endure like low pay and lack of job security. GUPS president Lubna Morrar read a poem that compared
U.S. imperialism in Palestine to racism in the United States. “I think that we are living in a time where a lot of us a lot of young folks very much romanticize the ways in which the student body has organized on campus and I feel that we’re just kinda stuck,” Morrar said. “I think it’s because we’re looking for leadership versus us realizing that we are the leadership.”
SARA GOBETS / XPRESS
OPEN MIC: Mazin Mahgoub emcees the Mobilize For Change event at the Depot Thursday, April 16.
4 LIFESTYLE & CULTURE
APRIL 22, 2015
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Thesis show conveys struggle through art KALANI RUIDAS
kruidas@mail.sfsu.edu
Rolling on a wheeled wooden frame in the corner of SF State’s Fine Arts Gallery, a queen-sized mattress enabled with motion detectors makes its way across the floor. It indiscriminately approaches anyone in close proximity in an attempt to seduce them into bed. “Bedfellows” is part of fine arts graduate student Randy Sarafan’s collection “Objects Behaving Badly.” The series is an examination of materialism, relationships and the accumulation of shared possessions that come as a result. Sarafan is one of four graduate students whose work will be shown at the 2015 Masters of Fine Arts Thesis Show at SF State opening April 25. Fine Arts Gallery curator Mark Johnson has seen many graduate students install their best work for the annual show throughout the years he has worked at SF State. “Every year, the MFA graduate thesis exhibition is very different,” Johnson said. “But what is constant is the high levels of ambition and invention.” Johnson said this year there will be a range of humor, pathos,
HYUNHA KIM / XPRESS
WIRE ART: Graduate student Randy Sarafan installs his piece “Bedfellow” in the Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition in the Fine Art Gallery in the Creative Arts building Thursday, April 9.
abstraction and the hard realities of life represented in each artist’s body of work. The students planned and proposed their collections individually, making for an art show that reveals personal parts of their lives. SF State fine arts graduate student Brittany Powell filed for bankruptcy before entering the graduate program to alleviate her credit card debt after a significant
loss of income in 2008. Over the course of three years, Powell said she has traveled across the U.S. inviting ordinary individuals to share their stories of debt. Inspired by medieval Flemish portrait paintings, she said she her subjects are formally seated in their homes, surrounded by their material belongings. She has taken 50 photographs thus far, and plans to take 99 in total
to represent the 99 percent of average-earning Americans. The photo series and a short film that Powell installed for the thesis show are excerpts from a larger venture called “The Debt Project.” “The project gives a social perspective to the shared experience of debt,” Powell said. “It’s somewhat of social faux pas that people don’t often discuss, but
permeates through every day life nonetheless.” In her sculpture series, MFA candidate Alex Lederer will present a personal collection she said was influenced by processing difficult emotions of loss. Lederer said each piece is dedicated to remembering her father who died last January. The objects depict past memories from her own experiences, parallel memories or stories about her father shared by someone else and future memories, or imagined events or experiences she expects to have, she said. In the center of the gallery stand three floor-to-ceiling panels that MFA candidate Centa Schumacher will use for a large scale video projection which she said was inspired by occult groups in the pursuit of exploring the unknown. Schumacher captured images of symbolic metaphysical tools filtered through different crystals that enhance each implement’s respective mystical property, she said. “All of our pieces come from a personal place,” Powell said. “Randy’s objects have to do with his relationship, Alex’s collection is about her father who recently passed and Centa’s work is connected to spiritual pursuits. I would say it all ties together that way.”
Festival exhibits student playwrights
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he sounds of accusatory shouts and heavy fist-pounding punctured the silent hillside neighborhood of Rockridge in Oakland as several sets of footsteps darted across the wooden floors of the cream colored cottage at the end of Pedestrian Way. Amongst the domestic upheaval, SF State creative writing major Adam Ambriz stood in the corner peering over his laptop, taking notes of stage direction as the actors of his play “Puddles” rehearsed at director Terry Boero’s East Bay home. The three-person cast will perform Ambriz’s production at SF State’s Greenhouse Festival April 22-26. The Greenhouse program is a playwriting class at SF State that ends with an exhibition of student-written plays hosted by performing arts venue Z Space in the Mission District. The festival will feature work from MFA candidates Carson Beker, Conrad Panganiban, Patricia Reynoso and undergraduate student Ambriz. Ambriz is the newest talent on the campus community’s playwriting scene. The 21-year-old participated as an actor in Greenhouse last year and has since switched roles as a writer this semester. “It feels a lot like being thrown out of a helicopter,” Ambriz said. “At first I was trying to grab onto any idea that might give me a sense of direction. But with the support of my director, Terry Boero, I’ve built a foundation on what questions I’m trying to ask and answer with my play.” “Puddles” is a dark tale of love, murder and mermaids, according to Ambriz. Growing up near a beach, Ambriz said he was inspired by the ocean’s dual nature. He said that while the water can be calm and nurturing, it still has the potential be the one of the most destructive forces on ILLUSTRATION BY KATRINA ANDAYA / XPRESS
KALANI RUIDAS kruidas@mail.sfsu.edu
the planet. The play’s main character, Madestra, is a recurring character in Ambriz’s work that he said embodies the paradoxical concept of gentleness and severity. Played by theater major Elyssa Mersdorf, Madestra’s character struggles with accepting her wayward brother, while protecting her younger sister June from self-harm. Throughout the play, each character faces an internal conflict between responsibility to one’s family and the pull of their own desires. In her fourth season as a director for the Greenhouse Festival, Boero said she prefers to work with new playwrights and enjoys being a part of their artistic process. “They’re our future,” Boero said. “My job is to help students find their voices so they can move forward with a strong sense of their artistic vision and individualism in their craft.” Boero described “Puddles” as a delicate, well-written and beautifully layered theatrical experience. She said it has been a dream to work with someone so wholly dedicated and gifted. The event’s faculty advisor and creative writing professor Anne Galjour said she was impressed with Ambriz’s commitment to the project and hopes that he considers enrolling in the master’s program. “Playwriting is an art form that’s meant to be seen, heard and incite a reaction,” Galjour said. “As someone so new to the process, it’s been interesting to see how his KATIE LEWELLYN / XPRESS ideas have come to life from the printed page and the deciARTISTIC PROCESS: Theater major Jennifer Marte mimics sleeps for her scene as she and a few of the cast members sions he’s had to make for his vision to become a reality.” rehearse Sunday, April 19. The upcoming play called “Puddles” Galjour said that Z Space is “proud as punch” to work will be performed at the Greenhouse Festival April 22-26. with SF State in an innovative collaboration that promotes new artists as well as effectively pooling resources bethe festival is an exhale of relief for everyone involved,” tween the creative arts and theatre departments. Galjour said. “It’s going to be a great time. It always is and “After so much hard work over the past semester, that’s why we continue to do it.”
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APRIL 22, 2015
LIFESTYLE & CULTURE 5
Spoken word provides a safe outlet for men masculinity Continued from the front work - we do at The SAFE Place is really kind of pushing things beyond violence just being a woman’s issue,” Dominguez said. “In order for us to really look at violence and make changes to how people are interacting, men have to be in the forefront.” CockTales provides a space where men can have discussions around gender, masculinity, violence and sexual assault, according to Dominguez. Anyone can join in the production, he said, whether they
attend SF State or not, by contacting The SAFE Place. Barone said that before his Fibromyalgia diagnosis, he latched on to an invisibility he feels most men tend to have about themselves. “Ignoring mortality, it’s definitely something I did a lot,” he said. “I think it just ties into the history of men being the type to conquer, win or be king of the hill. Trying to separate ourselves from the pack by being reckless and validating our invisibility.” After his diagnosis, Barone said he
HELEN TINNA / XPRESS
PERFORMANCE ARTS: SF State student and CockTales co-director Vincent Lim smiles in his
office Tuesday, April 21 as he talks about this year’s CockTales production “Unplugged and Redefined,” an annual performance of monologues and spoken word poetry put on by The SAFE Place.
had to develop a whole new lifestyle and learn how to be more careful with how he views himself. “I kind of just define (my masculinity) as persevering through my own situation and being someone who is comfortable where he is in his life,” he said. “How I define being masculine or feminine at this point, just being fully comfortable with who you are and your personal version of what it means to be a man or a woman. You are as masculine or as feminist as you need to be.” Barone said putting his feeling with everything he has been dealing with into words for CockTales has been a cathartic experience for him. Fourth-year psychology major Vincent Lim is this year’s co-director of the production but has worked as stage manager and performer for the show in the past. Lim has been involved with CockTales since its beginning six years ago when HELEN TINNA / XPRESS he and former SF State student Ismael de MASCULINITY: CockTales performer Nathan Guzman came together to organize and Barone shows off his shirt on one of the develop CockTales for SF State. Lim said performance stages in the Creative Arts building Tuesday, April 21. he and de Guzman saw a need to develop male allyship on campus. “We wanted to create something according to Lim. specific for men to talk about their stories “Not a lot of people are comfortable about masculinity and how their masculin- speaking about (masculinity or violence),” ity helps shape their experiences as they Lim said. “But using an art form provides are going through life,” he said. an opportunity for people to interpret it Because of social norms, there are for themselves and provides a different often limitations over what kind of emomedium for people to have these convertional expressions can happen for men, sations.”
6 Spotlight
APRIL 22, 2015
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BREATHING MASK: Kinesiology major Jan Pena finds a steady pace while he takes the fitness test on an exercise bicycle in the Exercise Physiology Lab Wednesday, April 15.
KATIE LEWELLYN / XPRESS
Cyclist performs under pressure KELLY SODERLUND kls10@mail.sfsu.edu
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etween commuting to school, running errands and recreational riding, it is not unusual for student Jan Pena to peddle 100 miles a week on his bike. Having an analysis system fastened to his face while a team of students measure his heart beat and rate of perceived exertion while he cycles, however, is unusual for the 43-year-old kinesiology major. Pena is a member of SF State’s cycling team and a student of instructor Katlyn Camper’s Exercise Physiology Lab. Part of the class involves exercise tests that incorporate students as subjects. Pena was part of the pulmonary response exercise lab April 15, where students determined how much oxygen a body consumes while performing aerobic exercise. The more oxygen a body consumes, the more fit the subject is, Pena said. “During my free time I practice riding hard, so the hard effort I experienced during the graded test is something that I often feel during my training or racing,” Pena said. “In my mind, I was pretending that I was racing, running late to class or trying to out-ride friends on the weekend group ride.” The pulmonary response of students in the lab was determined through a graded exercise test, where exercise intensity is gradually increased through resistance or
work rate by adjusting the power on the cycle. Calculations done prior to the test determined 90 percent of Pena’s maximum heart rate. Once his heart rate reached that percentage during the lab, the test would be stopped. The testing would also be stopped if he indicated that he had reached a rate of perceived exertion that made it uncomfortable or difficult to talk, Camper said. Pena never indicated he had reached an exertion rate that was uncomfortable, so the test ended when he exceeded 90 percent of his maximum heart rate. The test proved he was able to consume an amount of oxygen that placed him in the top tier of aerobic fitness, Camper said. “Thankfully the numbers from the testing tell me that all the hard work I do by riding my bike and the time I spend at the SFSU gym pays off,” Pena said. Pena said he returned to school to study kinesiology after he became unhappy with his career as an auto technician. Camper’s lab has taught Pena about his body’s limitations as a cyclist, he said. “I now know from my exercise physiology class you can’t go totally all out on a super long 100-mile ride because the body can only supply energy for a maximum effort sprint for 10-15 seconds,” Pena said. “So in my bike racing I know it’s important to manage my physical effort.”
KATIE LEWELLYN / XPRESS
CADENCE: Kinesiology major Jan Pena pedals at consistent pace to
accurately read his vitals in the Exercise Physiology Lab Wednesday, April 15.
Throughout the semester, the lab performs a total of 11 labs that assess individuals strength, blood pressure and heart rate changes, exercise capacity and body composition. Camper said the goal is to promote exercise physiology as a career, which could provide nutritional and exercise plans to encourage healthy habits. Camper said that the ability to teach this portion of the class was exciting to her as a hands-on learner who needs to witness actual results in order to have a full understanding of it. “This course allows students to visually see changes within the body that occur with exercise that are discussed during the lecture portion of the course,” Camper said. “I try to make my class a fun learning environment for my students by playing music throughout class and encouraging group discussions to gain understandings of the material.” Skylar Belsher, 23, studies kinesiology at SF State and tested Pena during Camper’s exercise lab. She said she decided on the major after a high school soccer injury gave her a personal interest in taking physical therapy and sports medicine classes. “This class teaches the students a lot about themselves,” Belsher said. “Through this class I have learned plenty on how my body works and what it is capable of.”
KATIE LEWELLYN / XPRESS
STRAPS: Jan Pena adjusts his breathing mask to fit comfortably in the Exercise Physiology Lab Wednesday, April 15.
8 OPINION
x FRANK LADRA
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APRIL 22, 2015
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STAFF EDITORIAL
Gender doesn’t define capability
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recent Gallup poll projects that approximately 16 million Americans would be opposed to a Hillary Clinton presidency, strictly based on the fact that she is a female. While nearly one-fifth of Americans indicated in the poll that the most positive thing about having Clinton serve as the 45th president would be her status as the first female in office, five percent were against the idea of a female president or said they felt the U.S. was not ready for one. Judging a person’s capability to be a leader based purely on gender is not only wrong, it’s absolutely ridiculous. But America’s fascination with stereotyping and compartmentalizing human beings based on categories like gender, race or even sexual orientation continues to influence historical decision-making processes, even years after many triumphs have been made. When President Barack Obama was elected into office, adversaries took to the media, adamantly opposing his win. White supremacy groups flooded the Internet, expressing disbelief that American voters, especially those of white descent, would opt for a leader of African-American heritage. Several other assassination threats have followed since, yet Obama continues to lead the country, successfully adding to a long list of accomplishments that some never
WHEN hillary clinton ANNOUNCED HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENCY, five percent of polled americans expressed their opposition strictly because of her gender. believed he could achieve. When Tyrus Byrd was voted in as the first black female mayor of Parma, Missouri last week, five of the six police officers in town offered their resignation immediately. Some residents said the mass exodus had more to do with “safety concerns” rather than race, but only a month prior, heated dispute erupted when a white police officer used a Taser on a black teen, who happened to be a cousin of the soon-to-be-appointed mayor. So why are people so quick to make assumptions about a person’s qualifications before there is any actual evidence of how they will perform their job duties? Some opponents of Hillary’s possible presidency claim she is inexperienced and will not succeed, yet she has been instrumental in several successful leading roles including Senator, Secretary of State and of course first lady to her husband, former President Bill Clinton. With a resume like that, Hillary sur-
passes what most presidential hopefuls have brought to the table in past elections. While there has yet to be a female American president, there are currently 22 female world leaders around the globe, a record high for simultaneous female world leadership. For those still under the impression that a woman does not have the ability to lead a successful nation, the global evidence speaks for itself. It is disheartening to read that so many Americans could potentially sway their choice for president based on whether the candidate is male or female. We are conditioned at an early age to adhere to gender-based socialization, where boys play sports and girls play with dolls, but as adults, it is our responsibility to recognize that leadership roles are not gender exclusive. In modern society, change is an imminent and necessary element of growth. We must learn to live together and not only respect the differences we have with one another, we need to foster an expectation of equality for all persons. Don’t assume that because a person of a certain race or gender has never held a particular leadership role, they don’t have the ability to succeed in that role. Everybody deserves an equal opportunity.
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JOURDON AHN
jahn@mail.sfsu.edu
In the span of two short weeks, death plagued my daily routine. In less than fourteen days, four of my five roommates lost somebody close to them—a friend, a neighbor, a family member. The emotion was overwhelming and I started drinking alone, isolating myself because it felt good. I skipped class and called out of work. My personal time was of the essence but I usually preferred to sleep. My impending depression made it easy to isolate myself and create auras of anxiety around particular people or things. I knew it was unhealthy to allow stress to grow legs and debilitate my body, but I allowed myself to sink deeper into my melancholy. College is hard. Beyond all the studying, exams, punctuality, and classed social atmosphere, some of us still have to work three jobs to pay for a 500-squarefoot, shared room at the bottom of a rat-infested shit hole house with five other students. Somewhere between the stresses of relationship drama and 10-page term papers, we need to stop and reassess. I finally decided to put pants on. I was tired of letting life happen without being an active
participant in it. I needed to make decisions with consequences. I wanted to talk to somebody. I bought myself a red Moleskine journal and retreated to the side of the Humanities Building, where I could unify my thoughts with the cigarette-smoking collective. But in my haste to connect, I overcompensated and took on too much. Working extreme overtime with three jobs while maintaining class four days a week and trying to salvage a decaying relationship, I was spending more time and energy than I could afford. I was embarrassed when friends would look at my frenzied manic compression and ask me if I was tired. I just wanted to feel linear and present, but my attempts to appease everyone left me with a self-manifested guilt about what others might think of me. I drowned myself in self pity and degraded into a chain-smoking cynic. I reexamined my life so I could better understand myself and why I needed to do things. This new perspective helped me decipher the stress of college and logically remember the redeeming qualities. Sure, it's expensive and time-consuming, but it's also beneficial for my future, so I need to persevere. I started meditating to help with my anxiety. I lit candles and
sat crosslegged as I focused on individual facets of my life, giving each element the necessary attention. I also gave myself time to celebrate. I acknowledged that the parts of my life that I valued were clearly very special to me for a reason and deserved the extra appreciation. This helped me think positively and reaffirm my own choices. I've always had difficulty feeling like my choices were important or right, but now I recognize the value of my own voice. It is dire that I trust in myself to make the right decisions and enjoy the new settings where I will eventually find myself. I like to think of life as a selection of photographs. Some photos force you to face harsh realities, like those that document death or tragedy. Other images capture the beauty of life and progress all around us, like a patch of young seedlings developing into a lush and fertile
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DAYVON DUNAWAY
ASSISTANT MULTIMEDIA EDITOR ddunaway@mail.sfsu.edu
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PETER SNARR
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR psnarr@mail.sfsu.edu
Introspection casts light on healing
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SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR hmullins@mail.sfsu.edu
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flower garden. These images remind us of the realities of change that occur on a daily basis. Sometimes they are a lot to handle, but they cannot be ignored. My internal transformation forced me to face a lot of realities about my life that were tearing me down, but it also helped me appreciate the things that keep me going. It may have required a hell of a lot of journals, cigarettes, bourbon and prayer, but every day it's worth knowing myself that much more.
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Opinion 9
APRIL 22, 2015
DUIs impact more than the offender MICHAEL DURAN michaeld@mail.sfsu.edu
When my mom called me one afternoon, I was expecting a regular conversation– catching up and seeing how my family was doing– but what she told me gave me the chills. She said my cousin Deana had been in a vehicle collision while under the influence of alcohol and slammed into a semi-truck. The police said that based on the car’s condition, she was lucky to be alive. My body began to shake and tears streamed down my face as I looked through pictures of the car after the crash. I thought to myself, “Why would she get behind the wheel if she was drinking? What if she hurt someone or even worse, what if she lost her life?” A thoughtless decision like drunk driving and the consequences that come after are not worth it. Within the same month, my cousin Rosa, after having a few drinks, drove her car off the side of the road. Luckily, neither of my cousins were seriously injured but the two accidents have really opened my eyes to a huge issue, one that never seems to go away. Drunk driving effects not only the person behind the wheel, but others on the road as well. In 2013, more than 10,000 people died in drunk driving crashes—one person every 52 minutes—and another 290,000 were injured in drunk driving-related accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A small mistake like this can be costly. In California, the cost of DUI-related fines alone can add up to $4,000, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Taking someone else’s life away because of drunk driving is the biggest consequence of all. The emotional burden would be unfathomable. Over the years, the amount of accidents have decreased, but some people under the influence will still get behind the wheel. Mothers Against Drunk Driving has advocated to end drunk driving since 1980, when they were founded. Since then, drunk driving deaths have decreased by almost half.
When I have witnessed friends stumble to get into their car without thinking twice, I have wrestled the keys away to keep them from driving anywhere or hurting anyone, including themselves. Speaking up can prevent an incident like drunk driving from happening. Being able to drive is a responsibility and a privilege, not a right. Drivers should not abuse that. Even if someone who has been drinking thinks he or she is sober enough to get behind the wheel, it is never a good
ILLUSTRATION BY JOURDON AHN / XPRESS
idea. There are more responsible and safer options, such as taking an Uber or staying at a friend’s house. Being inside the jail cell for 12 hours, my cousin Rosa had time to think about drunk driving and her experience. “It will break you,” she said. “It was the most emotional I’ve been in my entire life and I told myself I don’t want to be in here.” There are also actions the state has taken in an attempt to decrease drunk driving incidences. The threat of a DUI checkpoint can reduce the chance of drunk driving from occurring. In California alone, there are over 2,500 sobriety checkpoints conducted in one year, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study also found that sobriety checkpoints reduce alcohol-related death or injury by 20 percent every year. For my cousin Deana, the accident changed her way of thinking. “It made me see my life in a different way,” Deana said. “It was a wake-up call. I have stopped drinking since then.” My cousins mean the world to me but their poor decisions to get behind the wheel after a couple of drinks has left me disappointed. I love my family and I couldn’t handle losing them this way. With poor choices, there are consequences, some which are life-threatening. I want my cousins to know that I love them and that there are more responsible options.
10 SPORTS
APRIL 22, 2015
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Athletes receive scholarly recognition in my interview process to say ‘yeah we want to win champijmontoy1@mail.sfsu.edu onships but I’m more concerned Coaches and faculty honored with encouraging student athletes 54 Gators who accomplished and making sure we set students a 3.5 GPA or higher in the Fall up to succeed up out of college.’ 2014 semester at the 2015 SF Today’s event was a reflection of State Scholar Athlete Reception that.” at the Seven Hills Conference Among those Gator scholars Center April 21. honored was senior track and Apryl Guisasola, academic field star Hilary King, who recoordinator for the Gator Acacently broke the SF State school demic Resource Center and part record in long jumping, and of the NCAA Senior Woman Adbaseball outfielder Danny Souza. ministrator, organized the event King walked onto the stage to to honor each scholar athlete for accept her award with a speech their academic achievement. To about how she found acceptance receive the award, each athlete within the criminal justice dewalked onto the stage with a propartment and how she balanced fessor who has had a significant being a full-time student and an impact in his or her academic NCAA Division II athlete. success. “It takes a lot of sleep, a lot of “We want to honor the stuwater and staying positive really DANIEL E. PORTER / XPRESS dent athletes for their academic helps me get through the tough ACHIEVEMENT: SF State Gator baseball outfielder Daniel Souza and track team captain Hilary King laugh about a question achievement and the balance times being away from home and during an interview after the Scholar Athlete Reception at the Seven Hills Conference Center Monday, April 20. between the academic component your parents,” King said. and the athletic component,” the highest graduation rate in the “I do a lot of one-on-one Guthrie said he made it his goal to Souza said he will miss Guisasola said. “We also want California Collegiate Athletic meetings talking about classes, emphasize the importance of stu- baseball after his last season with to honor the faculty and the San Association conference. advising for the upcoming sedent athletes being students first the purple uniform and said that Francisco campus community and Every student athlete must mester, referring them to campus and athletes second. As he looked he would try to stick with the how much they do to support our maintain a 2.0 GPA to participate resources, working with students around the crowded room and game once his time as a Gator has student athletes. We want to let in competition, according to the having difficulties and helping congratulated the Gators being ended. our community know how well SF Gator’s Student Athlete Hand- them with time management and honored, Guthrie said it is events “I’m really exciting to gradour students do.” book. Any Gator who falls below organizing,” Guisasola said. “I like the scholar athlete banquet uate, college was a whole lot of The featured speaker for the a 2.3 GPA or who is a first-time definitely enjoy the one-on-one that demonstrate a positive signif- fun, but at the same time I’m event was SF State’s first lady freshmen is required to log three interactions with the students and icance in student athletes’ success excited to see what’s next,” Souza Phyllis Wong, who said she hours of study hall each week I have background in counseling off the field. said. “For the last 20 years of my was very proud of the Gators’ at the GARC, where Guisasola so I really enjoy working with “This is just a reflection of life it’s been sports and school, outstanding academic achieveworks with student athletes during them.” what I signed up for which is to and now the real world is coming ments. As the room filled with academic advising or refers to From the very beginning of have strong academics,” Guthrie but I’ve prepared myself well and applause, Wong ended her speech them with resources offered on his leadership as the Universisaid. “When I interviewed nine I’m excited to see what the future by mentioning the Gators have campus. ty’s director of athletics, Charles months ago, I made it a point holds.” JOHN MONTOYA
SportsCenter features game-winning catch VINCE FAUSONE IV vfausone@mail.sfsu.edu
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ying dazed on the grass in deep center field with a baseball nestled in the webbing of his glove, Nick Jackson could not hear the fans in Maloney Field’s wooden bleachers as they yelled out the distinct tune that precedes ESPN’s sports highlight videos. SF State’s leadoff hitter would have another chance to hear the famous string of notes accompany his play from the April 17 baseball game against Chico State as it replayed on national television that night during ESPN’s SportsCenter programming. Jackson’s dive eclipsed a slew of spectacular baseball catches at the MLB and Division I college levels on ESPN’s daily rankings. The catch severed an eighth-inning surge of offense from the visiting Chico State Wildcats and helped the Gators hold on to a 4-3 lead through the end of their California Collegiate Athletic Association division matchup. “I was just running and thought ‘well this is the game’ so I had to lay out, and the ball just happened to get in my glove,” Jackson said. “It took me a second on the ground to recuperate myself and get up because I hit my head
pretty hard on the way down.” Joined by his roommates on their living room couch, Jackson tuned his TV to ESPN and watched himself pounce headfirst to make a kinetic marvel of a grab. The all-out sprintturned-superman-dive ranked number two on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays of the Day segment, which attempts to assemble the 10 most impressive athletic maneuvers within a 24-hour period from contests across all sports, at every level. “It was a great experience, kind of a bucket list thing,” Jackson said. “Getting to be on TV, especially on SportsCenter, is something that every athlete wants to do. I missed (the video) two different times before finally catching it at 11 p.m.” While Jackson garnered national attention for SF State’s athletic program out on the field, senior broadcasting and electronic communication arts major Ashley Keehn sat on top of the Gators’ dugout, swinging her camera around to catch the action that would later be televised. “After the game we had to move pretty quick to get everything done,” Keehn said. “I went up to our room and got the clip edited before we posted it online. ESPN told me to send them the link when we got in touch so I sent it
over. We saw that it was on TV before we even got an email back.” Keehn interns for SF State’s Sports Information Department under sports
tenure as director of sports information. Decensae White’s buzzer-beating shot from three-quarters of the way down the court brought national light to the Gators basketball team in 2013. “People always think that playing at the Division II level that we’re not playing at that kind of ball and we are, we’re right up there,”Danahey said.
information director Joe Danahey as part of the BECA program. She is responsible for streaming Gator sporting events on BECA’s website and SF State’s athletics page. Her contribution of the clip to ESPN helped SF State’s athletic program gain well-deserved national prominence, according to Danahey. “It means a lot to get on there, it’s unbelievable what it can do publicity-wise,” Danahey said. “We got the most hits we’ve ever gotten on the YouTube video. It’s not just publicity for us either. It gets recognition for the entire conference and NCAA Division II. COURTESY OF SF STATE BECA DEPARTMENT Jackson’s catch marked the second appearance by an SF State athlete on DIVING CATCH: Screen grab from a video of the SF State Gators ESPN’s Top 10 during Danahey’s
baseball game against Chico State Friday, April 17.