Spring 2015 Issue 6

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Alumna competes for one -way ticket to mars PAGE 6

March 4, 2015 ISSUE 06 VOLUME C GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

Serving the San Francisco State community since 1927

Designated housing offered for veterans KELLY SODERLUND kls10@mail.sfsu.edu

With SF rent costs at an alltime high, veteran students struggle to find affordable housing while maintaining student status SF State released applications Tuesday for designated off-campus housing that will carve out space for student veterans, according to University officials.

For the first time, the University offered a community dedicated to veterans, which will launch with residential opportunities for six qualified applicants, located at University Park North, Vice President of University Communications Ellen Griffin said.

Among the issues faced by student veterans is landlords who are unfamiliar with the benefits veterans receive when attending school. Veterans are only eligible to receive their Basic Allowance for Housing awarded through the GI Bill when they are enrolled in school, and only receive payments when school is in session, according to Veterans Certifying Specialist Ben Yang at SF State Veteran Services.

“If a veteran is coming to school for the first time and looking for housing, they have no proof of income to show the realtors since they have never received any type of payments,” Yang said.

Many veterans have faced difficulties in securing housing due to their inability to provide the proof of income required by

UNIVERSITY Continued ON PAGE 2 DANIEL E. PORTER / XPRESS

COMPOSTABLE: Nick Kordesch, the Sustainability Coordinator at SF State, stands in the middle of the school’s compost bins for a portrait Monday, March 2.

GREENER PASTURES AVERY PETERSON averylp@mail.sfsu.edu

EMMA CHIANG / XPRESS

OFFICE SPACE: Anthony Rueda, right, a veteran formerly stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas, assists a

veteran at the Veterans Services Center in the Student Services building at SF State Monday, March 2.

SF State has been selected to host this summer’s California Higher Education Sustainability Conference, a platform that encourages innovative solutions to sustainability issues throughout colleges across the state.

The conference will highlight sustainable practices that reduce the environmental impact caused by college campuses. Proposals must be submitted

by March 6 to be showcased at the conference July 20-24, according to Katie Maynard, UC Santa Barbara’s event manager and sustainability coordinator.

“CHESC is a rare opportunity for

students, staff and faculty from all four systems of higher education to share best practices and strategize around new policies and programs,” Maynard said. “In the past 13 years of this event, the conference has played a key role in the development of new system-wide policies in the CSU and other higher education systems.”

“Can We Change Fast Enough?” is the theme of the conference and emphasizes the urgency in addressing current environmental issues like the heavy hit

CONFERENCE Continued ON PAGE 2

Poet uses prose to provoke thinking KALANI RUIDAS kruidas@mail.sfsu.edu

Looking out into a sea of eyes staring back at him, Javon Johnson reeled in the audience’s attention with wit and laughter. After a few jokes that eased the crowd with humor, he dove into serious words of insight with a loud clear voice that captivated the entire auditorium.

Johnson, a professor of communications and poet Rudy Francisco shared their poetry and perspective as performance artists during a night of spoken word and conversation in the Humanities auditorium Feb. 26. The event engaged in conversation centered on process, politics, performance and the role of the artist in the contemporary moment.

“I think artists are poised, and even

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primed, to engage certain things from a perspective that people aren’t always ready to hear or didn’t see,” Johnson said. “Art plays an incredible role in moving us forward.”

Johnson is an acclaimed and seasoned poet who has performed on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, BET’s lyric café and co-wrote narration for the 2004 basketball documentary “Crossover.” His 2013 performance of original poem “Cuz He’s Black” has over one million views.

Professor of communications Christina Sabee said she invited Johnson to perform as a new

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INSIGHTFUL: Javon Johnson, an assistant professor of Performance and Communication Studies at SF State, recites poetry in the Humanities Auditorium Friday, Feb. 27.

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University allocates housing for student veterans

Continued from the front by most rental agreements, Yang said. He added that student housing does not require proof of income, but the application process is expensive and highly competitive.

On-campus housing is unavailable to students older than 25 years old, which excludes a large portion of the nearly 400 student veterans at SF State, according to Yang.

An SF State alum and U.S. Navy veteran, Yang welcomed the new veteran housing option, but raised questions about its implementation.

“I know that those houses are pretty expensive and most places want a first and last month rent for security deposits just to hold the location before moving in,” Yang said. “I would like to know if they are willing to work with the veterans and see if other arrangements can be made just in case they can’t provide that payment when signing.”

Yang also said he was interested in whether the University will offer veterans lower rates.

The veteran community housing is designed to aid the transition from military to university life and provides veterans a chance to live with others who have served, according to the Residential Life webpage.

The new system intends to fill the housing gap for veterans like JP Sacramento, who struggled to find a place after he served four years in the U.S. Army, including a deployment to Iraq.

Sacramento, an electrical engineering major at SF State, said he found himself in a situation familiar to many student veterans. Although he was set to receive the BAH benefit issued through his GI Bill, he could not use it as proof of income to secure an apartment until those funds were issued, Sacramento said.

Sacramento said he had been aware of the necessity to produce proof of income, but did not realize that the

EMMA CHIANG / XPRESS

PINPOINT: John Paul, left, electrical engineering major and veteran formerly stationed in Alaska, and Anthony Rueda, graduate

student and veteran formerly stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas point to their station locations on a map in the Veterans Services Center at SF State Monday, March 2.

enormity of the issue until later.

“The only way I could have been more prepared (for the transition) is by placing work before education,” Sacramento said. “However, this route would have been of further detriment to the transfer process.”

Upon transferring to SF State, veteran Stephanie Vazquez, an international business major who does workstudy at the VETS Corner on campus, had hoped to live on-campus but discovered she exceeded the age cap and settled in UPN instead. Vazquez received eviction letters over several months in spring of 2013 because rent is due at the beginning of each month, but BAH benefits are not issued until the end.

Vazquez said she decided to make the most of living in UPN by getting involved with the Residence Hall As-

sociation, a student organization that strives to enhance the campus housing experience.

Two years ago, Vazquez approached Johana Duarte, the Residential Life Project Coordinator at SF State about securing a veteran-themed community, much like the Greek Floor and Rainbow Floor theme communities.

“It was in a few of the RHA meetings that I had brought up the idea of having veteran housing,” Vazquez said. “Johana had mentioned that it was a great idea and that it was already a work in progress.”

Yang said he thinks veteran students will be eager to apply.

“No one in the veteran population knows about this and there are a lot of vets that are already willing to sign up,” Yang said.

Conference showcases campus sustainability Continued from the front of California’s recent drought, Maynard said. The conference offers students the chance to present sustainability projects they developed during the year.

“We have already passed many of the early deadlines to avoid the worst effects of climate change and the stakes are getting higher every day,” Maynard said.

“CHESC believes that we can change fast enough and encourages our speakers and attendees to help us brainstorm solutions to do so.”

Senior Daniel Feeney said he was excited about the chance to unveil his proposal for the first time at the conference. “(The conference is) a fight for a better environment for students,” Feeney said.

“A lot of us spend a great deal of time on campus and around the area, and more will in the future. If things don’t change, I think there could be serious livability and commuting problems.”

Feeney will represent the Students for Planning and Urban Affairs at CHESC this year. His proposal addresses SF State’s transportation demands by examining why students choose to drive rather than utilize public transportation.

“It isn’t attractive because the services (Muni, Bay Area Rapid Transit and SamTrans) underperform and are ultimately difficult and expensive for the riders,”

DANIEL E. PORTER / XPRESS

PATHWAY: (From left) Student coordinator Miguel Guerrero, SF State Director of Sustainability and Energy Caitlin Steele and Sustainability Coordinator Nick Kordesch kneel down next to the newly painted bike path sign which runs along the east side of Cox stadium Monday, March 2.

Feeney said.

PUA’s suggestions include bus- and shuttle-only lanes, modernized pedestrian and bike networks and a pedestrian tunnel from campus to the Muni stop on 19th Avenue.

There currently are no incentives

for students at SF State to utilize public transportation, according to Feeney. PUA proposes a discounted monthly San Francisco Muni and BART pass for students as part of tuition.

“Better infrastructure and administrative processes leads to a better per-

formance, which then leads to a better service, and from there we have happy riders,” Feeney said.

A CHESC speaker selection committee will review and choose proposals based on its ability to inspire actions, strategic value, overall quality, innovation and originality. Decisions on speaker selection will be made by April 6.

Nick Kordesch, Sustainability Coordinator at SF State, has spent months preparing for the conference, planning for the physical setup, food, classroom reservations and programming.

“San Francisco and the Bay Area are on the leading edge of sustainability in many ways and we are excited to share that with conference attendees,” Kordesch said.

At the conference, Kordesch will lead a tour of SF State’s waste management system, which he said is one of the most advanced compost collection systems among California universities.

“CHESC hopes to provide practical examples of how campuses are already taking leadership roles in reducing their environmental impact and improving the health of their communities,” Maynard said. “We also hope to create a space to further dialog among students, staff and faculty around where we need to be going in the future and what new actions need to be implemented to get there.”

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NEWS 3

Registry recruits donors to save lives STEVEN CALDERON snc@mail.sfsu.edu

Inspired by his cousin who once had leukemia, freshman Arturo Duarte swabbed a tissue sample from his mouth on campus last week as part of the process to register as a bone marrow donor.

Duarte is now on a list of possible donors eligible to donate his marrow or stem cells to a person in need. After seeing a

donor help save his cousin’s life, Duarte said he would be excited if he were called upon to donate.

“I definitely would (donate) because you’re saving someone’s life,” Duarte said.

The Asian American Donor Program teamed up with the Asian Student Union at SF State Feb. 25 and 26 and registered over 61 students willing to donate marrow or stem cells should they be matched up

DAVID HENRY / XPRESS

AWARENESS : Junior Mauricio Moreno smiles at a sign held by Megan Chen reading “Marrow me” as he visits the Asian American Donor Program table at Malcolm X Plaza Thursday, Feb. 26.

with a patient in need.

Students who participated in the registration joined Be The Match, a global registry that helps match patients with donors from all over the world. Donations take place at hospitals that work with Be The Match and are sent directly to the location of the patient, according to AADP Outreach Coordinator Diana Hong.

Donors’ stem cells and bone marrow go to patients suffering from life-threatening blood cancers, according to the Be The Match website. Hong said each person on the registry has a 1 in 500 chance of being a match for a patient.

If a member of the registry is a match for a patient, they are contacted to be sure they still want to participate in the donation procedure, Hong said.

AADP intern Jina Lee said Peripheral Blood Stem Cell donations are the most common, making up 75 percent of all donations. Donors receive an injection to increase the amount of stem cells in the blood in case the receiving patient is much bigger than the donor, Lee said.

“Blood is extracted from one side of the arm and it goes through a filter,” Lee said. “That filters out the stem cells in your blood and the rest of your blood all goes back in your body.”

The second form of donation is marrow collection, which extracts 2 to 3 percent of marrow from the donor’s hip bone, according to Lee. Anesthesia is given to donors beforehand so they do not feel the

procedure, however Lee said that donors should expect to wake up a bit sore.

While marrow collection donors can take up to three days to recover, PBSC donors can return to school or work the day after the procedure, Lee said.

The AADP registered 13,918 new members last year, 55 of which found a match and agreed to donate, according to a statistic provided by Hong. Even if none of the students that signed up are a match this year, Lee said they could be contacted up to 40 years from now to donate.

Sophomore Eric Wong-McFaul is among the students that registered as a donor.

“If I can be matched with someone who would otherwise be condemned to pain, suffering or even death, and I can do something about that? Then yeah, I’ll sign up for this,” Wong-McFaul said.

Computer science student Mahelet Gezachew also registered and said she would be willing to donate if called upon.

“You’re saving someone’s life,” Gezachew said. “I personally don’t know anybody with leukemia, but it still helps.”

Freshman Jose Ramirez said that he would jump at the opportunity to be a donor and possibly save a life.

“My mom’s a nurse who’s always been in the medical field, so I definitely see a positive light to this,” Ramirez said.

“Especially me being a healthy man, to help those who are not as fortunate.”

Education forum paves way for new school status initiatives like the SF State organization Improving Dreams, Equity, Access and Success, or IDEAS, which Northern California college supports undocumented students and students, faculty and staff determined advocates for AB 540, better known as ways to improve the university the Dream Act. environment for the Latino commu“I want (the undocumented student) nity during The Latina/o Students in community to be bold on campus,” Higher Education forum Feb. 27.

Iniguez said. “And I want SF State The focus of the forum was to to be a safe school for immigrants to prepare the campus for potential instidisclose their status — and for them tutional and infrastructure changes in not to face barriers the way I have at hopes of earning the Hispanic-Servother universities in terms financial aid ing Institution status, according to or (admissions).”

Teresa Carrillo, Latina/o Educational Oscar Pena, City College of San Achievement Partnership committee Francisco associated student body presmember and associate professor of ident and SF State student, participated Latino/Latina studies. in the event and focused on fostering SF State could receive funding personal development in K-12 schools for educational developments upon during a group discussion. earning HSI status, which requires a “I know teachers are swamped, but university’s total enrollment to conthen again, they are also the people DRAKE NEWKIRK / XPRESS sist of more than 25 percent Latino who are the main contact with the students in all undergraduate, graduate FEEDBACK: Belinda Reyes (center) speaks with audience members after her presentation about a survey of students,” Pena said. “So we need to 3,000 students at the Latinos in Higher Education forum at SF State Friday, Feb. 27. and post-baccalaureate programs. have more of those discussions, trainLatinos — classified as ‘Chicano or portionate admissions rates. lack of Latino faculty on campus. Latinos ing them, making sure that they’re held Mexican-American’ and ‘other Latinos’ The report said that while 50 percent comprised 7.6 percent of SF State faculty accountable and making sure that they’re — represented 26.1 percent of the total of Latino first-time freshman applicants in 2012, according to the most recent able to communicate with their students student population of SF State in 2013, were offered admission compared to statistics from the 2014 Data Book. properly.” according to the Office of Academic Insti- more than 70 percent of white and Asian “There’s a lot of really good informaBy May, LEAP will release a fully tutional Research. students in 2013, “many Latinos do not tion about best practices, but they all have revised report including suggestions for “We have seen a lot of (HSI) institueven consider four-year selective colleges to fit the culture and reality of the instituSF State to better accommodate Latino tions (handle policy changes) poorly and because of the complicated application/ tion,” Reyes said. “Assessing the campus students. The report will be based partially have the funds lead the way,” Carrillo admissions process, especially first-gener- needs is important for that.” on the discussion during the forum, Reyes said. “They haven’t had a lot of success ation college goers.”

LEAP will reframe student success by said. graduating students.”

CCI Director Belinda Reyes said Frichanging SF State practices to better serve Pena said that the forum helped him LEAP organized the forum and day’s event was also designed as a brainall students. realize he was “not the only one feeling released a report about Latino student storming meeting where participants could “So, the question is what should we alone” regarding the stigmatization of success at SF State on the César E. see data, share ideas on effectiveness and apply for funding for?” Reyes said. “What Latinos in higher education.

Chávez Institute website on the same day come up with goals for the University. are the priorities and the needs of stu“(The event) reassured that, yes, there as the event. The report pinpointed several Reyes presented SF State institutional dents? The institute got involved to try to are problems, yes, there are many chalspecific academic challenges for Latino data regarding academic success while answer those questions.” lenges and barriers but then again, there students at SF State such as the lack of discussing potential factors that might SF State graduate Veronica Garcia and are solutions,” Pena said. bilingual financial aid advising and dispro- be influencing Latino students, like the senior Jessica Iniguez spoke about several JULIUS REA

jrea@mail.sfsu.edu

MARCH 4, 2015

4 SPORTS

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WRESTLING

Team trio earns tickets to Nationals VINCENT FAUSONE IV

vfausone@mail.sfsu.edu

ANGELICA EKEKE / XPRESS

headgear: (From left) SF State Wrestlers Johnny Costa, Jordan Gurrola and Andrew Reggi, the three athletes who are going to Nationals, pose after practice Tuesday, March 3.

“

I can’t even describe the feeling. When I won I just kind of looked over at my coaches and we all knew. I had a good feeling that I was going to make Nationals, and I knew how bad I wanted to. It was a great feeling when it finally happened.

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-Johnny Costa

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urple mats spread across the floor at SF State’s wrestling room and typically teem with energetic athletes will feel unsettlingly barren in the weeks leading up to the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships on March 13 and 14.

Only three of the team's competitors, senior Andrew Reggi and sophomores Jordan Gurrola and Johnny Costa, performed well enough at last weekend’s West Super Regionals to finish in the top four of the tournament, earning a coveted berth at the National Championships. The group will sweat, scrape and fine-tune their technique without the rest of the Gators wrestling squad for the season’s seven remaining practices.

“Even though not a lot of our guys will be there, I have Jordan and Johnny in my corner and I’ll be in theirs,” said 197-pound Reggi, who secured his second trip to the National Tournament. “I just want to keep working hard and take it one match at a time.”

Though the comfort that comes with the camaraderie of a full-squad practice has undoubtedly diminished, the three remaining Gators look to retain the high

ATHLETES

level of focus that has already resulted in post-season success.

“Now that it’s the post-season you’re really just trying to go as far as you can, and how you do doesn’t really affect any of your teammates,” said Gurrola, a 133-pounder. “Obviously you want them to win, but we’re not fighting for a team spot as hard as we were at Regionals.

That tournament went really well for me, so I’m hoping to take that into Nationals.”

Gurrola posted a team-best 26 victories in his first season as a starter, and took second at Regionals after losing a close 3-2 match against the number-one ranked Division II 133-pound wrestler in the nation.

Reggi cruised through four matches at the tournament to finish third, and Costa exceeded expectations by placing fourth at 184 pounds despite being seeded fifth.

“I can’t even describe the feeling,” said Costa of the match that clinched his first National Tournament appearance.

“When I won I just kind of looked over at my coaches and we all knew. I had a good feeling that I was going to make Nationals, and I knew how bad I wanted

to. It was a great feeling when it finally happened.”

Head wrestling coach Lars Jensen beamed at the opportunity to talk about the success of his national qualifiers, and plans to utilize the last few weeks of practice to help them prepare mentally for the tournament.

“We’re going to support these three through these next weeks and do everything that needs to be done to get them prepared for the intensity of the National Tournament,” Jensen said. “A lot of guys when they get to Nationals are like a deer in the headlights, and I’m relying on Reggi as the senior who’s been there before to make sure that doesn’t happen for the new guys.”

Jensen was also optimistic about the Gators’ future, attributing their fourthplace team finish in the recently beefedup Western Region to the collective dedication of the program’s individual parts.

“There are a ton of sophomores and a great nucleus coming back next year," Jensen said. "Our new coaching staff has been outstanding. If things go right we could have one of our best teams ever as soon as next year.”

WRESTLING

BASEBALL

The 197-pounder returns from the NCAA Division II West Super Regional with a third place finish and ticket to the NCAA Division II National Championship. This will be the senior grappler’s second consecutive appearance at Nationals.

In the four home-game series against Cal State Los Angeles, the senior catcher had a total of six hits, four RBIs and threw out a runner on the last day of the series, March 1.

ANDREW REGGI

OF THE WEEK ANGELICA EKEKE / XPRESS

MARK LINDSAY

MARLENE SANCHEZ / XPRESS

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SPORTS 5

Gators’ superstitions drive on-field success JOHN MONTOYA jmontoy1@mail.sfsu.edu

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hrough a fan’s perspective, baseball is a game all about stats, strikeouts and home runs, but to the players, superstitions and rituals play a large part.

From not stepping on the foul line when entering and exiting a baseball field to clothing choices, superstitions and rituals have come handin-hand since the beginning of the sport.

SF State Gators’ pitcher Nolan Sheridan has a mental to-do list with precise times to help him prepare for each game he starts on the mound. He begins his pre-game ritual at 1:25 p.m. by running by himself in the outfield. When the clock strikes 1:45 p.m., the Gator cools off with a drink in the dugout and scurries to the mound to throw pitches into the glove of starting catcher Mark Lindsay by 1:50 p.m.

“The rituals kind of just happened,” Sheridan said. “You pitch good one day and you don’t change a thing. Other than that, it’s stuff you pick up in your head because it’s such a psychological game, like chess.”

Baseball has had superstitions since the days of “The Curse of the Bambino.” Boston fans believed that when the Red Sox sold star player Babe Ruth to the rival New York Yankees in 1918, they were jinxed. This ‘curse’ was said to doom the Red Sox from winning a World Series and lasted from 1918 to 2004, when they won their first World Series since selling Ruth.

This year’s Gator baseball team is no stranger to superstitions. Each player and coach has developed his own pre-game ritual over the years, and now the team has created new ones together.

“There’s some stuff that I think all baseball guys do,” said baseball head coach Mike Cummins. “The other day I came and washed the dugout out because we haven’t won a game at home yet. I just wanted to get the evil spirits out.”

Since cleaning out the dugout of those ‘evil spirits,’ the baseball team split a four-game home series against Cal State Los Angeles this past weekend. Each ritual that the players or coach have supports the mentality they need to keep their high performance level up, or shake off any poor performances.

“I’ll drive to school a certain way, or I’ll wear certain clothes if we’re winning and if we’re losing I’ll change them,” Cummins said.

“Like today I wore some clothes that I haven’t worn in a while just to kind of change things up.”

Humans cling to these rituals because their brains are accustomed to repetition and conditioned to believe certain factors are the key to our success, according to psychologist B.F. Skinner’s well-known pigeon experiment.

These rituals are coded in our brains, and even though they seem crazy, it is a part of being a human being.

Unlike his teammates and coach, senior catcher Lindsay believes baseball is about mentality and does not buy into the superstition MELISSA MINTON / XPRESS theory.

“To me it’s all about mentality,” Lindsay said.

There’s nothing really to me that you can change JUMP: The SF State Gators baseball team celebrates after winning 9-5 against the Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles at Maloney Field Friday, Feb. 27. or do something different and it’s all in the head.”

MARCH 4, 2015

6 SPOTLIGHT

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OUT OF THIS WORLD W

in Fresno,” Armbrister said. “Since then, I’ve been taking one-way trips all around the world.”

Armbrister moved to San Francisco in 1997 but took time that same year to study in Germany. When she returned to the United States, she enrolled at SF State, where she graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in History.

In order for her to apply for Mars One, she was required to be over the age of 18, make a one-minute video profile for the website and pay a $38 application fee. Of the 202,586 people that applied, 24 percent of them were from the United States, according to a Mars One press release.

The applicants endured a full-body medical exam before a second round of cuts in spring 2014. Armbrister was one of the 1,058 candidates left by March.

She and the remaining candidates went through an extensive interview process with the Mars One Chief Medical Officer Dr. Norbert Kraft in December 2014 and January 2015. Kraft tested them on knowledge and situational-based questions from information he sent out to the group a month before.

“When we are looking at candidates, we want to know if they really know what they are getting into,” Kraft said. “Most things you can back out of like marriage, but you can’t back out of this.”

Kraft evaluated potential participants to see if they could work well with others. Those selected to partake on the journey to Mars must be creative and able to overcome difficult conflicts, Kraft said.

The candidates that make the final cut will have to endure strict conditions that include living in an enclosed environment and undergoing medical examination at least two times a week, according to Kraft.

A water, nitrogen and oxygen levels checkup will be required constantly and food will be rationed for the first two years.

“The impossible can be achieved if we all work together as a team,” he said.

Mars One officials announced the final 100 candidates, 50 men and 50 women, Feb.16. Armbrister’s father, Ed Armbrister, said he is not scared for her, but rather feels excited.

“

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-Kenya Armbrister

Practice mission and satellite set to launch to Mars

2011

SPACE EXPLORATION: Kenya Armbrister, one of the 100 contenders for the Mars One mission, stands in front of display

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2024 2023

Rover to launch to Mars

Application process begins with a total of 202,586 Applications received

COURTESY OF KENYA ARMBRISTER

posters at the 17th Annual International Mars Society Convention in League City, Texas Aug. 2014.

2020

2018

SPOTLIGHT 7

In order to start a colony or society on Mars, you have to have people who are willing to stay there and create it.

“I am really proud of her and little bit jealous as well,” Ed Armbrister said. “I support her 1,000 percent because very few people get to do this.”

The remaining 100 candidates will be put to the test to see how they work as a team and if they can cope with being confined to a small space, according to Armbrister. Of the 100 candidates that are left, 24 will be chosen to get the full training needed to travel to Mars.

There are plans to send an automated survey vehicle to Mars in 2018, according to the NASA website.

Armbrister said she believes that in order to create a civilization, our society needs more than rovers.

“NASA doesn’t want to send anyone to Mars unless they have a way to bring the people home,” Armbrister said. “And in order to start a colony or society on Mars, you have to have people who are willing to stay there and create it.”

Armbrister will fill out a sheet of characteristics of likes and dislikes that will be used by Mars One this month to determine who are the best people to group based on characteristics. She will be able to select a team of about 10 to 15 candidates to determine how they work together.

For Armbrister, a trip to Mars is a once-in-alifetime opportunity. Even though she will not be able to be in the presence of her loved ones, she will still able to communicate with them online.

“Yeah, it’s sad, but I have friends all around the world that I communicate with Skype, email or Facebook,” Armbrister said. “I will still be able to communicate with my family. I won’t be able to touch them but I will still see them.”

Ed Armbrister said though he will miss his daughter, he still hopes for the best.

“If she makes it there, hopefully I’m still alive by then,” Ed Armbrister said.

“She will be my favorite martian.”

2013

MARCH 4, 2015

MICHAEL DURAN michaeld@mail.sfsu.edu

hen SF State alumna Kenya Armbrister was 10 years old, her father asked her if she would travel to outer space if given the opportunity. Without hesitation, she responded with a simple “yes.” Years later, a possible trip to Mars could make her childhood dream into a reality.

“I was like ‘this has to be a joke, this can’t be real,’” Armbrister said. “I might be going to another planet and it’s crazy that I’m saying that.”

Armbrister, 36, is an SF State alumna and one of the 100 candidates remaining in the Mars One project, a not-for-profit organization created by two entrepreneurs from the Netherlands in 2011 to send ordinary people from around the world to civilize the uninhabited Red Planet. Mars One accepted applications to be considered for the program in April 2013.

Only four people will be selected to make the trip to Mars in 2024, which is estimated to cost $6 billion.

The remaining 20 applicants will be used for backup in case any one of the four chosen decides to stay on Earth. Following the first trip, Mars One will send an additional four people every two years.

At the end of 2015, the application process will open up again for the next group of four candidates who will travel to Mars in 2026, according to the Mars One timeline.

The possibility of partaking in an interstellar trip like this would not be the first time Armbrister left everything behind to embark on a new journey.

A middle child, Armbrister is the only female among her siblings. Since leaving her hometown of Fresno at 18 years old, she has traveled around the world to 179 cities in 20 different countries and speaks both French and German.

“I remember my dad did not want to buy my first passport and tried to keep me

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2022

Rovers to set up units to prepare for human arrival

Living units, support systems and supply units sent to mars

Four trained people to set out to Mars

2026 Second crew Departs to mars

2025 Projected Arrival to Mars

2015 Final 100 Applicants announced and Astronaut Training begins

Bas Lansdorp and Arno Wielders based out of Netherlands plan out mission to Mars Timeline data compiled from Mars one webiste ILLUSTRATION BY KATRINA ANDAYA / XPRESS

8 LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

MARCH 4, 2015

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Professor sparks conversation with poetry Continued from the front

teacher to get involved with the campus community.

Sabee, who was part of the hiring committee that reviewed Johnson’s

application said what made him stand out was his acknowledged performance background.

Johnson said he can’t remember a time when he was not a performer and credits the skills and experience he has

HYUNHA KIM / XPRESS

LIVE POET: Javon Johnson, an assistant professor of performance and communication studies at SF State, recites poetry to a group of students in the Humanities building auditorium Friday, Feb. 27.

gained as a poet and performing artist to his securing a position as communications professor at SF State, where he has been teaching for two years. He said he views poetry and performing arts as forms that serve to educate and entertain.

“What’s powerful about performing art is the ability to connect to a full room,” Johnson said. “One of my favorite compliments is when someone says, ‘That’s my poem.’ That’s incredibly powerful, that it’s reached someone enough that they feel it’s a part of them too.”

Johnson recalled writing his first poem in high school for a girl he thought was pretty. He said she approached him and asked if he wrote poetry, and then told him that made him sexy.

Johnson allots a short amount of time per day to write as a force of habit. He cites these exercises as a common practice among famed poets like Maya Angelou and Octavia Butler.

“I think of the world in weird ways and I write it down,” Johnson said. “When you write out of habit, you just push stuff out. Sometimes you end up with crap, sometimes you end up with something really powerful.”

During the question and answer portion of the event, Johnson was asked

what advice he had for aspiring spoken word poets. He recommended reading a lot of everything and anything, writing out of habit and surrounding oneself with a community of artists for support and engendering creativity.

Francisco and Johnson are part of a five-piece poetry group called Fiveology, which includes Andrew Tyree, Prentice Powell and Shawn William. Johnson explained that writing poetry as a collective happens in parts. The process begins with one or two members of the group sowing a seed of creativity with a poem of their own. The others then nurture the idea until it branches out into five segments, with each member producing a piece to be assembled into a cohesive performance routine.

Francisco and Johnson have been close friends and team members since 2006 when they met on a road trip from San Diego to Las Vegas to do a show with a mutual friend.

“Javon is one of the biggest reasons why I am the writer I am today,” Francisco said. “Seeing him perform so often and seeing how well he engages with an audience and how he’s so honest with himself, I was like ‘Yo, that’s what I want to sound like one day.’”

Students criticize ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

F

EVA BARRAGAN evbarrag@mail.sfsu.edu

or SF State freshman Ariana Fletcher, bondage/ discipline/sadism/masochism is more than a trend brought on by the new film “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

BDSM is her sex life.

Though the controversial blockbuster aroused enough viewers to make it the highest grossing R-rated film after its first weekend in theaters, for 18-year-old Fletcher, the film portrayed her erotic lifestyle as a non-consensual, abusive practice. A portrayal that is furthest from the truth, she said.

“I think the relationship (portrayed in the book) was abusive and definitely not discussed as thoroughly as it should have been,” Fletcher said. “Showing up and spanking someone when they obviously don’t want it (like in the book), is abuse. There is no other way to put it.”

Fletcher, who identifies as pansexual, has engaged in the BDSM lifestyle for the past two years. Her ex-boyfriend introduced her to sadomasochism, or S&M, and she said she practices bondage, discipline, dominance and submission because it enables her to give in and submit sexually without having to worry about anything besides serving her master.

Since the release of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” some students at SF State have expressed support of the film’s introduction to an S&M relationship and the depiction of women’s ability to explore sexuality.

For Fletcher, neither the film nor the book were praise worthy.

“The book portrayed abuse, not kink,” she said.

A BDSM relationship generally involves a dominant who assumes the active or controlling role over the submissive and is often referred to as the master or mistress, according to an article on Submissive Guide’s website. A submissive submits the control of a large percentage of his or her day-to-day life to the dominant partner.

Fletcher finds the role of being a submissive to be liberating and said her real-life relationship with her dominant is nothing like the one portrayed in “Fifty Shades of Grey” between characters Ana and Mr. Grey.

Being a submissive is not about being beneath your master, it is about giving yourself to someone you trust, Fletcher said.

“No one is in control of your body but you,” she said.

“You always need to have communication and consent.”

Consent was missing from both the film and the novel, according to Jess Linares, sex educator and retail manager of the Mission District sex shop Good Vibes.

Linares is minoring in human sexuality at SF State and said that when it comes to BDSM or any sexual relationship, both parties need to approve everything that occurs.

“My biggest concern is that 13-year-olds watching ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ will see the relationship portrayed on the screen and they’ll think that’s healthy or okay,” Linares said.

A lack of consent in the film is what kept health education major and assistant director of EROS at SF State, Al Pugh, from reading the book or watching the film. Pugh identifies with gender-neutral pronouns and prefers to be referred to as “they.”

EROS is a dedicated, non-judgmental, sex-positive, student-run program on campus that addresses all aspects of sexuality regardless of racial, cultural or ethnic background and sexual orientation.

Pugh heard a lot of outrage from the kink community about the negative portrayals of BDSM in the film along with the misogynistic MARTIN BUSTAMANTE / XPRESS LEATHER: Freshman math major Ariana Fletcher lays among her treasured and abusive behavior demonstrated by the Mr. stuffed animals as she holds a new leather paddle used for BDSM play in Grey character. her SF State dorm room Monday, Mar. 2.

“The general public is getting a lot of their information about sex play from these books and it’s not accurate information,” Pugh said. someone, or that it is not okay to tell a women what to Although Pugh does not agree with everything “Fifty do,” Pugh said Shades of Grey” portrays, they don’t shame anyone who Pugh does believe the book gives women sexual freeread, watched or enjoyed it. dom, especially in a culture where girls are taught not to “It’s important to come to terms with your sexuality masturbate. Despite weighing every side of the argument in whatever way you choose,” they said. “I still think made for and against the book and film, Pugh said they it’s perpetuating that rape culture, that it’s sexy to be think there are too many things that can’t be avoided. this way, but I also don’t want to shame people who are “It’s hard to ignore these things like ‘Fifty Shades’ turned on by being submissive.” because of the amount of violence and sexual assault,” According to Pugh, viewers are not to blame for the Pugh said. “I’m angry that every single person that I absence of information on healthy versus non-healthy know has been sexually assaulted. There was a sexual assexual relationships like the one portrayed in “Fifty sault on campus just the other day, so when someone tries Shades of Grey.” to glorify it or romanticize it or make it cool, it feels like “Society doesn’t talk about consent, they don’t talk 10 steps backwards for people who have gone through about how to have sex, or talk to someone, or even hug this stuff.”

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.

FARNOUSH AMIRI famiri@mail.sfsu.edu

One little boy’s dream to fight crime as his favorite superhero transformed San Francisco into Gotham City for a day and is now the inspiration for a major motion picture starring and backed by Julia Roberts.

The vision for the upcoming film stemmed from cancer survivor Miles Scott, then five years old, and his wish to fight crime as Batman.

Tens of thousands of participants and spectators showed up Nov. 15, 2013 as the Make-A-Wish Foundation turned his dream into a reality. The event garnered media attention from major news outlets across the U.S. and around the world.

Director Dana Nachman, who was a journalist for 15 years before putting down the pencil and stepped behind the camera, heard about the story of Batkid just like most people--through the media and by word-of-mouth. But it was her role as a mother that convinced her to pursue the story.

“I had been working on pretty dark documentaries up until then and I have two little kids and they said, ‘Can’t you do movies that we would like?'" Nachman said. “I thought this was such a great thing. So many people got attached to the story and were interested in the story and I knew my

MARCH 4, 2015

Lifestyle & Culture 9

kids would want to participate if I were so lucky to get to do it.”

Unlike other Make-A-Wish Foundation wishes, Miles’ request was one for the record books. The organization traditionally keeps the experiences for children as private and intimate as possible, but for Batkid, the foundation and San Francisco went all out.

“The mayor’s office really stepped in and set it up where it could be like the Giants won the World Series,” said Jennifer Wilson, the marketing director for Make-A-Wish in the Bay Area. “It was really a sense of people who were out there to enjoy this and to experience it and make it better for Miles.”

Nachman's documentary film "Batkid: The Wish Heard Across the World" depicts the events that occurred on Miles' special day, including the Batkid capturing the Riddler in Union Square and arresting the Penguin at AT&T Park. Nachman and her producer, Liza Meak, met with the Make-A-Wish Foundation in December 2013 and finished filming almost a year later.

The documentary premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival Jan. 24, the night after Nachman received the call from Roberts’ production company wanting to showcase the story on a bigger screen.

“I really was concentrating on

finishing the film in time so I was pretty shocked when I heard the news that Julia Roberts wanted to produce and star in the movie,” Nachman said. “But it doesn’t really shock me because it’s such a great story. I’m excited to see where it goes.”

Although no date has been confirmed for the start of production, Roberts is set to star and produce the scripted film adaption of Scott’s story with her production company Red Om Films, and she has slated Nachman as the executive producer.

“I wasn’t really focused on doing movies like this possible Batkid feature but it could be a very cool direction to go in,” Nachman said.

“I think if this one works out well, I could see myself doing more (movies like this).”

Throughout this experience, Nachman and Meak said they continue to be taken aback by the public’s response to the story and the documentary portrayal of that day. “(It) was really exciting to hear the news about Julia Roberts’ interest,” Meak said. “I’m thrilled that there are people who found a connection to the documentary we did and we’re honored that people want to make a motion picture. Hopefully people will feel the same way about the movie that they did on that day and about the documentary.”

LIZ MEAK / COURTESY TO XPRESS

CAPE: (Far Above) Miles Scott

plays in a field while filming the documentary Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World

COURTESY OF KTF FILMS

ARM UP: (Above) A promotional

poster for Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World, directed

by Dana Nachman, presented by KTF films.

10 OPINION

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STAFF EDITORIAL

Perception doesn’t reflect majority Internet users were polarized in opinion last week after an image of a dress went viral, questioning not only the colors people were claiming to see, but whether or not an individual’s perception of the world was the same reality shared by everyone else.

“The dress,” as it is now known on and off the web, made headlines almost instantly after an amateur photo of it surfaced on Tumblr, launching a debate on whether it was blue and black or white and gold.

An online survey of nearly 3.4 million people revealed that close to 70 percent of responders believed that the dress was white and gold. So how can more than one million people who are confident the dress is blue and black be wrong about something they are seeing right before their very eyes?

Many scientists and so-called experts have come forward with a variety of explanations for this difference of opinion, citing retina interpretation of an under- or overexposed photograph. Others suggest overactive rods or cones within the eye create an abundance of sensitivity to light or

color, and some brains are more adept to compensate for lighting tricks in photography.

But the most alarming question in all of this is: Why the hell are we so obsessed with finding the right answer? The answer is hiding in the question: we need to know that our perception is the right one.

This is more than just a random BuzzFeed space-filling story that comes and goes as the calendar flips to the next day.

Reputable news organizations like The New York Times, SF Chronicle, Wired, and even the Wall Street Journal offered their own spins.

Some media outlets relied on the scientific expertise of medical diagnosis while others chased down the online reaction, weighing in on the opposing responses of modern day Hatfields and McCoys to fuel the fire of heated disagreement.

It seems obvious to say that each person is entitled to his or her own opinion of the world and its surroundings. Interpreting what we see is only a small facet of perception.

In journalism, we are often reminded of how one reporter’s

perception of an occurrence can vastly contradict the perception of another, even if the two were witness to the same event. To accurately tell the news, we must not only rely on as many other sources who were also present, but also follow up with those sources to verify the facts.

Suppose we interviewed 10 people who witnessed an event and seven of them accounted for one occurrence, while the other three saw something entirely different. Because the majority of witnesses shared the same experience, do we discredit what the other three claimed?

With photography, it’s a whole new ballgame. As technology advances, imagery has become just as necessary as the written word, and the influence it has on mainstream media consumption is undeniable.

When an image surfaced of President Obama posing for a light-hearted selfie at Nelson Mandela’s funeral in 2013, a viral storm of reaction ignited the Internet. It was not because the photo was terrible, but because some people’s vocalized perceptions influenced the interpretations of others who had not

formed their own opinions about what might have actually been happening in the photo.

Landscape photographer Ansel Adams once said, “Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.”

Adams believed that it was up to the viewer to perceive and interpret the photo as he or she desired. Photojournalists have to work that much harder today to tell an accurate story of life without the fear of creating unnecessary misinterpretation.

Social media has unfortunately turned photography into a bloodsport of judgment, finger-pointing and scrutiny, where uploading the wrong smartphone image could put you on the chopping block in a matter of seconds.

In the case of the now famous dress, USA Today confirmed in a Feb. 28 interview with the garment’s designer that it is in fact blue and black, providing a perfect example that sometimes even the majority opinion isn’t always the correct one.

College athletes deserve compensation JOHN MONTOYA

jmontoy1@mail.sfsu.edu

W

ith the college basketball season underway and March Madness right around the corner, the sport will garner attention from all over the nation. Fans will fill out post-season tournament brackets, players will celebrate and a champion will arise when it’s all said and done.

While the players and coaches commemorate their victory, the real winners will be the ones who are cashing in on the game– sponsors, schools and ultimately the NCAA. The NCAA agreed to a $10.8 billion deal with CBS and Turner Broadcasting in 2010, for the right to air its men’s NCAA tournament through the academic years of 2023-24, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The NCAA is also considered a non-profit organization.

Ninety-six percent of the NCAA’s profits go back to the schools to benefit student athletes, according to the NCAA website.

This puts into play the question of whether or not college athletes should be paid. A scholarship was once enough compensation for college athletes, who had been given a chance to showcase their skills to the world and make a name for themselves. But in the last 20 years, sports industry has become so large it seems unfair to choose to not compensate athletes.

I’m not saying athletes should be earning millions of dollars,

ILLUSTRATION BY JOURDON AHN / XPRESS

but some compensation for the revenue they bring to universities would be an ethical choice. If not that, then college athletes should be allowed to sell the rights to their name or hit the free market as desired.

College football player Johnny Manziel was suspended for receiving money in exchange for signing autographed merchan-

dise in 2013. NCAA rules should change so athletes are given the freedom to earn money for their talents.

The fair market value for a college football player in the top 10 programs can range from $338,000 to $604,000 per year, according to a Business Insider study.

Universities continue to por-

tray student athletes as primarily students, not athletes. Colleges use the term students to shadow the fact that the athletes should purely play for the love of the game while a university profits from the talents, jerseys and other merchandise with players’ names on them.

We are in 2015, where the costs of living, food and books are not cheap. An athlete devotes a large amount of his or her time playing a sport for the school and maintaining a full class schedule making it difficult to also secure a job to support themselves.

Student athletes devote full-time weekly hours to their respective sports: 43.3 hours for football, 42.1 hours for baseball and 39.2 hours for men’s basketball, according to an article by CBS. Not all NCAA athletes are playing a college sport with the intention of going pro, and a majority of them go on to take jobs in another field. In the three major sports of baseball, basketball and football, only baseball had higher than 2 percent of athletes who secured professional athlete positions, according to an article from Georgia Career Information Center.

Universities need to realize how much work and dedication the student athletes are putting into their program. Playing a Division I sport and getting an education is not easy, and college athletes should begin to be compensated for their hard work.

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MARCH 4, 2015

ing my s younger a w I n e h w m mo n’t any Asian why there were vision. families on tele

I remember ask

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OPINION 11 TV series delivers relatable Asian-American culture

-ANGELINE UBALDO

ILLUSTRATION BY JOURDON AHN / XPRESS

ANGELINE UBALDO aubaldo@mail.sfsu.edu

A

s a child of immigrant parents, my background and upbringing are similar to many in the United States. Growing up, I felt invalidated because I never saw anyone share my story and culture in the mass media. That was true until I decided to check out ABC’s “Fresh Off the Boat.”

Narrated by food connoisseur, Eddie Huang, author of Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir and star of VICE’s Munchies, Fresh Off the Boat is a sitcom about a Chinese-American family that is set in 1995. The show depicts the life of 11-yearold Eddie Huang and his family’s move from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Florida. There, the family attempts to blend in with a mostly white, suburban neighborhood for the sake of the father’s dream to get his Western-themed restaurant business off the ground.

To say that the portrayal of Asians in the media is inaccurate would be an understatement. We are forever typecast as the master of martial arts or the foreigner who can barely string together a sentence of English. Who can forget Sixteen Candles’ cringe-worthy Long Duk Dong? Also known as ‘Duckie,’ the cliche character is an awkward, confused foreign exchange student from China who is taken in by the Baker family. He speaks with a thick accent, dons a horrendous bowl cut and is introduced in multiple scenes with the ring of a gong. He is the epitome of everything Hollywood has built to define as “Asian.”

Approximately 17.3 million people of Asian decent lived in the United States in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Despite the growing population, the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium has found that Asian Pacific Islander Americans occupy a scarce 3 percent of total film characters and only 1 percent appear in the opening credits.

In a separate study of Asians and Asian-Americans on American television conducted by Ling-hsuan Larry Tung of Kean University, he argues that stereotypes and the lack of representation of minorities on

television have distorted public’s perception of these groups. Tung believes that the distortion can be avoided by hiring more production and editorial staff of minority background, which encourages more members of minority groups to make their voices heard by becoming active members of the media.

As I watched the show, I was relieved at the portrayal of Asian-Americans. Though some themes were forced, like the Huang mother’s excessive cheapness and the family’s awkward “I love you” exchanges, the show is fairly accurate in its illustration of the Asian-American family.

When I was younger, there were times when I was the one educating my parents on American culture, like Eddie informing his parents about 90’s hip-hop culture. We were often learning together.

Like Eddie and his siblings Evan and Emery, my siblings and I were always pushed by our parents to earn straight A’s in school. Getting progress reports in the mail would involve holding our breath until our parents opened the envelopes and either congratulated us or asked what prevented us from getting higher marks.

Growing up, I was always exposed to families of color on television. I watched “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “The Cosby Show,” “George Lopez” and more. I remember asking my mom when I was younger why there weren’t any Asian families on television.

Since then I have been constantly aware of the lack of representation of a huge portion of the American population.

I’ve played the incredibly offensive ethnic guessing game with people--”Where are you from? No, but where are you really from?” I have been called “exotic” with a name like “Angeline”. I need shows like “Fresh Off the Boat” to introduce viewers to Asian-American culture and help eradicate the insulting comments.

As a person of color and a member of the media, I understand that “Fresh Off the Boat” isn’t perfect. Like any other television show, it is an exaggerated version of reality, but I hope it can foster more discussion between viewers of how Asians are depicted on screen.

Then hopefully it will kick down some stereotypes and open the door for more Asian-American representation everywhere.