Mustang Daily 03-09-09

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CA L I F O R N I A P O LY T E C H N I C S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y Cal Poly Arts struggle during economic downturn.

Celebrating voting rights, hundreds recreate the Selma-toMontgomery march.

IN ARTS, 6 Volume LXXII, Number 107

IN NEWS, 3

Monday, March 9, 2009

Find out what happened over the weekened in Cal Poly athletics.

IN SPORTS, 12 www.mustangdaily.net

When computers and the classroom

connect

Alex Kacik special to tHe mustang daily

Cal Poly computers and society lecturer Kurt Voelker spent the majority of his two-hour class showing YouTube videos of various news organizations to demonstrate the societal impact of social networking. His curriculum consists of online videos, classroom discussion and research compiled online. Yet, there is something missing from this prototypical teacher’s repertoire — a textbook.

Voelker spends hours during the weekend downloading video from dozens of sites, cutting them down and compiling them into condensed informative videos that cover an array of topics from privacy rights to globalization. This involves waiting for that pesky progress bar to fill, importing the file and splitting the sound track from the video. Though it’s a tedious process, it’s all worth it when a student receives the message, Voelker said.

“You have to come up with your own materials, see what works and what doesn’t,” he said regarding creating lesson plans. “And if you can tell it works by the reaction of the students, that’s a no-brainer. If we connected in class today with some of those (YouTube) videos, that’s the direction I want to go.”

More and more, technology’s rapid advancement is being mirrored in classrooms nationwide. More resources are available to target cur-

riculum to today’s students. Some of those resources include Quia, an online game, quiz and workbook generator that allows instructors to track student activity and collaborate with other teachers. Another popular asset are Wikis, editable Web pages that promote communication and collaboration across the Internet. Instructors can also hold online office hours via Webcast; schools such as UC Berkeley feature lectures online and offer lecture-specific podcasts through iTunes U, where students always have access to a teacher’s digital lesson.

Learning is no longer confined to a desk.

“In terms of application for teaching, it’s amazing; the crossover is so vast,” Cal Poly journalism professor Brady Teufel said.“Intuitive programs that are designed for people to be

able to produce things without a lot of knowledge — that’s the teacher’s dream.” Teufel uses programs such as Adobe Dreamweaver and Flash, relatively self-explanatory programs that create and customize Web pages.

Hours of an instructor’s monologue with maybe a PowerPoint presentation or chalkboard illustration induce many daydreams that negate the teacher’s message. The key to facilitate discussion is providing multimedia that engages the students,Voelker said.

“Nobody really wants to listen to the teacher,” he said. “You’ve got your moments (as a lecturer) and then you’ve got a lot of other time.

I try to not overuse what I (alone) can present.”Voelker will often show pertinent current events found online to further explain his lectures. see Technology, page 2

graPhic By omar SancheZ mustang daily

Recession on track to be longest in postwar period Deb Riechmann associated press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Factory jobs disappeared. Inflation soared. Unemployment climbed to alarming levels.

The hungry lined up at soup kitchens.

It wasn’t the Great Depression. It was the 1981-82 recession, widely considered America’s worst since the depression.

That painful time during Ronald Reagan’s presidency is a grim marker of how bad things can get.Yet the current recession could slice deeper into the U.S. economy.

If it lasts into April — as it almost surely will — this one will go on record as the longest in the postwar era. The 1981-82 and 1973-75 recessions each lasted 16 months.

Unemployment hasn’t reached 1982

levels and the gross domestic product hasn’t fallen quite as far. But the hurt from this recession is spread more widely and uncertainty about the country’s economic health is worse today than it was in 1982.

Back then, if someone asked if the nation was about to experience something as bad as the Great Depression, the answer was, “Quite clearly, ‘No,’” said Murray Weidenbaum, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan White House.

“You don’t have that certainty today,” he said. “It’s not only that the downturn is sharp and widespread, but a lot of people worry that it’s going to be a long-lasting, substantial downturn.”

For months, headlines have compared this recession with the one that began in July 1981 and ended in November 1982.

— In January, reports showed 207,000 manufacturing jobs vanished in the largest one-month drop since October 1982.

— Major automakers’ U.S. sales extended their deep slump in February, putting the industry on track for its worst sales month in more than 27 years.

— Struggling homebuilders have just completed the worst year for new home sales since 1982.

— There are 12.5 million people out of work today, topping the number of jobless in 1982.

“I think most people think it is worse than 1982,” said John Steele Gordon, a financial historian. “I don’t think many people think it will be 1932 again. Let us pray. But it’s probably going to be the

rich aDDickS associated press

In this file photo, thousands of people line up at a federal govsee Recession, page 2 ernment job fair in downtown Atlanta.

2

News editor: Rachel Glas; News designer: Omar Sanchez www.mustangdaily.net

Technology continued from page 1

Many teachers recognize the Internet as an important tool to find new resources and meet rising standards.

“I’ve moved to engaging the students more; they’re not passive anymore,” said Walt Bremer, director of Cal Poly Center for Teaching and Learning (CLT) and landscape architecture professor. “They’re more involved in the learning process. I feel that they are much more engaged, much more active and I believe more excited about the process.

There are obvious benefits when teachers implement new media in the classroom. Both freshmen and senior online learners reported deeper approaches to learning in their work relative to classroom-based learners, according to the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement. Online material seems to stimulate more intellectual challenges and educational gains. Also, online learners were more likely to participate in discussion enhancing their understanding of different cultures and discuss topics pertinent to their majors. Cal Poly, along with 769 other four-year colleges, was surveyed.

“A broader range of technologies could help students of different learning styles learn

mustang daily

News

better,” Bremer said. “You can talk about how a molecule works, but to really see how it actually works rather than seeing a static image and talking about it can really help a lot of students.”

The integration and synthesis of media, such as social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter is, “on the horizon; people don’t understand the ramifications of (conglomeration),” he added. For example, a citizen journalist posted the first photo of the submerged U.S. Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River on Twitter. Thirty-four minutes later MSNBC interviewed him on live TV. The potential of these sites has practical applications in all areas of study.

Yet, some of the consequences of technological reliance are still being explored.

Many instructors are so enthralled with the intricate details of new technology that their basic message is lost, Teufel said.

“You get wrapped up in the bells and whistles and you lose the foundation,” he said. “You constantly have to be looking at multimedia and technology and find the actual application (to the curriculum).”

The drive to innovate teaching methods stems from each individual professor,Voelker said.

“No one is telling me how to do it,” he said. “There is a lot of academic freedom and there should be. When a person develops

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a style of teaching that works and students thought it was good, that’s the direction you should go.”

Yet, time is a major hindrance for professors trying to revamp teaching styles.

“The biggest inhibitor is (that) faculty have a steep workload here, and it’s just hard to make the change because if you make change it takes time,” CTL director of faculty development Joe Grimes said. “It isn’t good practice to just throw something in.

You typically have to make some changes so the class flows well.”

Grimes explained that faculty members often recognize the technological gap between teachers and students but lack the resources to bridge that gap. Yet, students appreciate the effort a teacher makes to step out of their comfort zone and try new methods,Voelker said.

“There’s an honest respect from students if they can tell the teacher is trying to deliver for them,” he added. “Students are willing to accept it if you are trying to hit the target.”

The CTL strives to help teachers improve their methods through workshops and classes on topics such as social networking and digital media.

“We don’t necessarily stress the use of technology or any particular tool,” Grimes said. “We try to work with faculty members to see what they are trying to accomplish in

Monday, March 9, 2009

their teaching and see if there are ways to improve that. If that means using the Internet, then we provide some advice as to how they might use that.”

While teaching, Grimes substituted physical office hours for virtual office hours via Blackboard.

“When students had questions, I had them post them there and they would answer each other’s questions,” he said. “It gave them quick feedback and they answered them well... when students were ready to study and ask questions.”

Yet, implementing technology doesn’t necessarily mean a more effective class.

“You have to figure out what you want to do first and then use the technology,” Bremer said. “Technology is moving very rapidly as you are well aware of; it’s hard for the university to keep up.”

Teufel said there is less resistance to technology in the classroom because it’s understood that it will not go away. Despite technological advances, the bottom line remains: Content determines a teacher’s effectiveness.

“The content that you deliver really does override the presentation,” Voelker said.

“It could be an old record player that is all grainy, but if it’s good content you can transcend the media.That’s all you’re really trying to do is transcend the environment to get the students engaged.”

Recession continued from page 1

worst postwar recession, certainly.”

The 1982 downturn was driven primarily by the desire to rid the economy of inflation. To battle a decade-long bout of high inflation, then-Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, now an economic adviser to President Barack Obama, pushed interest rates up to levels not seen since the Civil War. The approach tamed inflation, but not without suffering.

Hardest hit was the industrial Midwest; the Pacific Northwest, where the logging industry lagged from construction declines; and some states in the South, where the recession hit late.

Frustrated workers fled to the Sunbelt to find work. In Michigan, which led the nation in jobless workers, newspapers offered idled auto

workers free “job wanted” ads in the classified section. Mortgages carried double-digit interest rates. When the 1982 recession ended, the national jobless rate had hit 10.8 percent.

Just like today, that recession led to political finger-pointing.

When the government reported a 10.1 percent jobless rate for September 1982, organized labor rallied across the street from the White House. A few protesters chained themselves to an entrance at the Labor Department. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called it a national tragedy and blamed Democrats.

Democrats called it a national tragedy and blamed Reagan.

Even months after the recession officially ended, Reagan was greeted in Pittsburgh by signs that said: “We want jobs, Mr. Hoover” and “Reagan says his economic program is working — are you?” President Herbert Hoover’s term is forever linked in history with the Great Depression.

mustang daily

Monday, March 9, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

Wire Editor: Cassandra J. Carlson

News

3

Briefs

kevin glackmeyer associated press

Marchers led by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., trace historic footsteps as they cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., Sunday on the 44th anniversary of the Voting Rights March.

AG, Wallace’s daughter observe Selma anniversary Phillip Rawls associated press

The nation’s first black attorney general and Gov. George C. Wallace’s daughter celebrated the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march Sunday — 44 years after state troopers from her father’s administration beat marchers as they started the landmark journey.

Peggy Wallace Kennedy introduced Attorney General Eric Holder at a historic Selma church filled to overflowing.

“It’s reconciliation and redemp-

tion,” Wallace’s daughter said.

Selma’s annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee, commemorating the 1965 voting rights march, brought together civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Joseph Lowery in addition to the attorney general and several members of Congress, including Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who was beaten in the original Selma march. More than a thousand people took part in recreating the march Sunday.

Holder and Kennedy embraced at Brown Chapel AME Church, see Selma, page 5

State

National

International

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bruce Lindsay left behind a tip officials at Vanguard University won’t soon forget.

Lindsay, who passed away last month at 79, bequeathed his estate to the small Christian university in Orange County where he ate daily at the cafeteria for decades. The donation, estimated to be at least several million dollars, will likely help the school that is saddled with $42 million in debt.

Known as the “campus grandpa” by students, Lindsay amassed his fortune by buying up cut-rate oil leases and flipping beachfront homes. A product of the Great Depression, Lindsay relished a good, cheap meal and abandoned a nearby hospital cafeteria for Vanguard where he found all-you-can-eat meals for $1.25.

MARYVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Illinois state police say a man has shot a pastor to death and injured others at an church during a service in the community of Maryville.

Illinois Master Trooper Ralph Timmins says the man walked down the aisle during the early Sunday service at First Baptist Church in Maryville.

He said the man exchanged words with pastor Fred Winters and then pulled out a .45-caliber handgun.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the killing of two soldiers in Northern Ireland will not derail the peace process.

Brown extended his condolences to the soldiers’ families on Sunday and vowed the assailants would be caught.

The Saturday night shooting was the worst in more than a decade in Northern Ireland. It appeared designed to undermine Northern Ireland’s Catholic-Protestant administration and the wider peace process.

•••

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of gasoline continues to creep upward and is about 1.8 cents a gallon higher now than it was two weeks ago, according to the national Lundberg Survey of fuel prices.

The U.S. average price for regular gasoline, according to the survey released Sunday, is $1.96 a gallon.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said that’s still much lower than the $3.20 a gallon that was being paid this time last year. It’s also well below the record high of $4.11 last July.

•••

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — An American journalist detained in Iran showed no signs of physical torture during a prison visit from a lawyer sent by her father, he said Sunday.

The lawyer did not see any visible signs that the man’s daughter had been tortured during his visit Sunday, but Reza Saberi said, “certainly, they have interrogated her under pressure.”

The Iran Foreign Ministry has said Roxana Saberi, 31, was detained because she continued working in Iran after the government revoked her press credentials in 2006. A spokesman for the Iranian judiciary has said she was being held in Evin prison north of Tehran.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has called for Saberi’s release.

•••

BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. military has announced that 12,000 American and 4,000 British troops will leave Iraq by September.

Maj. Gen. David Perkins says that will reduce U.S. combat power from 14 brigades to 12 brigades.

He also said Sunday that the U.S. is turning over more facilities to the Iraqi military as part of the drawdown.

President Barack Obama has decided to remove all combat troops by the end of August 2010 with all troops gone by the end of 2011.The 4,000 British troops due to leave are the last British soldiers in Iraq.

There are currently about 135,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

mustang daily

Monday, March 9, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

Word on the Street

“Do Cal Poly classrooms have updated technology?

“No, I think Cal Poly still has a long way to go. I still hear a lot of teachers complaining that it’s not up to par.

-Alex Chin, aerospace engineering senior

“I think the science building could use some more though.

I know my professor still uses chalk. I like it, but it might stop the learning somehow.”

-Samantha Kleen, nutrition freshman “I think they are not too bad.

Being a graphic design major, I have a computer and there are plenty of other technological resources that I can usually get for it.”

-Melanie Sengstock, art and design freshman

“I think it depends on the classroom. I’d say the business building is pretty updated and I know the engineering buildings are pretty updated but the Spider building (is) not quite as technologically advanced.”

-Jason Racz, business freshman compiled and photographed by samantha mcconnell

News

Wire Editor: Cassandra J. Carlson

Schwarzenegger cabinet member steps down Rosario Marin, a former U.S. treasury secretary and member of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cabinet, resigned Thursday after questions arose about her income from speaking fees.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear called Marin a “great asset” to the administration but said her actions were unacceptable as the head of the State and Consumer Services Agency.

“We believe that being compensated for speeches is incompatible with her office,” McLear said in a statement. “In order to avoid any distractions she has decided to offer her resignation.”

State law prohibits officials from accepting speaking fees except in certain situations, such as when the income is related to the speaker’s “bona fide” business, trade or profession.

Marin, 50, quit her $175,000 position on Thursday, sending a resignation letter to the governor: “At this time, I have decided to pursue other opportunities,” she said.

Last weekend, the Los Angeles

Times reported that pharmaceutical companies paid Marin for speeches within months of her agency’s push to reduce oversight of prescription drugs.

That included $15,000 from Pfizer Inc. and $13,500 from Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Financial disclosure forms show Marin was paid at least $50,000 for appearances between April 2004 and the end of 2007.

The exact amount cannot be determined because of the broad categories contained in the forms.

Separately, the California Fair Political Practices Commission was investigating her income from the speeches. Fines can reach $5,000 per violation.

Marin told the Times that most of her speeches were inspirational in nature, chronicling her rise from poverty in Mexico to become the U.S. treasurer under President George W. Bush. She was appointed to that position in 2001.

A replacement has yet to be named.’

-Associated Press

5

Selma continued from page 5

where marchers organized on March 7, 1965, to begin their 50-mile trek to Montgomery.

A few blocks into the march, they were beaten by state troopers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge an event that became known as “Bloody Sunday.”

The march to Montgomery was later completed under federal protection, with Martin Luther King Jr., leading it. It prompted passage of the Voting Rights Act, which opened Southern polling places to blacks and ended allwhite government.

“I am a beneficiary of Selma,” Holder said.

Wallace’s daughter endorsed Barack Obama for president last fall, but she and Holder had never met until Sunday. But the ties between them go back decades.

Her father stood in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama in 1963 in an unsuccessful attempt to keep Holder’s future sister-in-law,Vivian Malone Jones, from integrating the university.

“I so wish Vivian had lived to see this moment,” Holder said after hugging Wallace’s daughter.

6

Monday, March 9, 2009

Arts and Entertainment Editor: Emilie Egger Arts and Entertainment Designer: Milena Krayzbukh

Cal Poly arts feel the budget pinch too have been forced to cut their tours short or stand firm on the cost of their acts and performances.

The poor economy forces Cal Poly Arts to offer fewer shows.

The price range for shows depend on which venue the artists Ars gratia artis – Art for art’s sake.

It’s a nice thought, but the recent economic downturn has the will visit. Lerian said that shows at Spanos Theatre cost as low Cal Poly Arts organization paying closer attention to its bottom as $5,000 but can but can sometimes reach $12,000 to $15,000.

Shows for the PAC can range from $10,000 to $50,000 depending line.

“Our contributions are down,” said Director of Cal Poly Arts on the artist.

“In some cases the artists understand and they’re saying ‘yeah, I Steve Lerian.“There’s probably a small dip in the number of people contributing, but there’s a bit of a larger dip in the amount that they get it, we’ll share the pain and work for less,’” Lerian said.“In other cases, they’re like ‘no, that’s my price.’” are contributing.”

The downturn hasn’t only taken its toll on Cal Poly Arts, but Contributions for Cal Poly Arts have dropped off about 10 to 15 percent, according to Lerian, and ticket sales for events put on by on the PAC as well.

Managing director of the PAC Ron Regier has seen contributhe organization have dipped by as much as 20 to 25 percent.

Lerian, who hailed from Wayne State University’s fine arts mas- tions to the center dwindle and usage of the facility decline by 25 ters program before a 15-year stint as the executive director for the to 30 percent in the past year.

“We kind of anticipated this,” Regier said. “It hasn’t been as bad Kirkland Performance Center in Washington state, is in his rookie as you might think given season as Cal Poly’s art a 25 to 30 percent drop director and was hired in in usage. Some of the November to develop the drop in usage isn’t even organization’s programrelated to the economy.” ming, as well as its donaThe PAC doesn’t tions. work directly with the “I’m pretty new here,” artists themselves but Lerian said. “I’ve done a rather with 31 clients — lot of background research like Cal Poly Arts — that on what’s gone on in the rent the facility for perlast year. Clearly since the formances. beginning of 2008, you “There’s not a whole just can feel, palpably, that lot of commercial activthe attendance has settled ity going on so there’s down.” not a lot of commercial In addition to the promoters who are out low attendance numbers, there looking to book,” Lerian said that other Regier said. factors have potentially graPhic By milena krayZBUkh mustang daily The PAC hosts 130 played a role in the fewer Several of Cal Poly’s art programs are facing budget cuts in the upcom- to 150 events a year and its numbers.

One possible explana- ing seasons. Fewer donations and smaller audience sizes are part of the current operating budget is $2.4 million. tion Lerian came up with reason for fewer productions.

“We earn about 40 was that the “honeymoon period” with the Performing Arts Center, which opened in 1997, percent of our annual operating budget through the fees that we has ended and because of that, the local public has pulled back its charge,” Regier said.

He added that the remaining 60 percent comes from contrisubscriptions, contributions and ticket purchases.

“The first 10 years or so people want to see everything, then butions from Cal Poly, the City of San Luis Obispo and private after awhile they need more motivation,” he said. “When money is donations.

PAC management had planned to add a few full-time positions tight, that becomes more of a challenging proposition.”

Subscriptions are offered in several packages, according to the at the beginning of the 2008-2009 fiscal year but had to surpass Cal Poly Arts Web site, that allow patrons to obtain seats to select those arrangements as the economy started to nose dive in the fall. events for 10 to 20 percent off the single ticket price.

“We could see the handwriting on the wall pretty early and we Lerian said that subscriptions have fallen off about 15 percent over the last year but people are still making purchases on single put a hold on all those plans,” Regier said,“so that was one way we saved money this year.” tickets.

Despite similar small efforts to save money, such as cutting back Another element Lerian noted has nothing the hours of part-time staff, Regier said that he anticipates the PAC to do with Cal Poly Arts, may have a deficit as much as $100,000 at the end of the fiscal year, per se, but rather with the which ends June 30 but it’s too early to predict.”

The PAC has reserve fund that is primarily used for mainteartists themselves. Lerian said that with a slow nance of the building and Regier said that, if needed, they will dip economy some artists into the cache to help cover a potential drop in ticket sales.

Josh Ayers

MUSTANG DAILY

Campus writing club provides creative outlet Chelsea Bieker MUSTANG DAILY

The Cal Poly Creative Writing Club began last spring and has since become a source of inspiration and motivation to many student writers. The laid-back environment takes away the stresses and demands of a classroom setting and allows creative writing to be, well, creative.

English professor and the club’s faculty adviser Todd Pierce said that it was based on a student initiative and is a place for people to share their interests in writing.

“People are writing stuff, they are reading stuff and that’s fabulous,” he said. “Because once you get outside of college it becomes more difficult to find people with the same interests as you.This is a great thing for them to be doing.”

Pierce said that the club offers more freedom than a classroom, because the people truly want to be there.

“It’s all about the love of writing, or the love of stories or the love of poems,” he said. “It’s about really wanting to be involved with language.”

Currently run by English seniors Cody Morales and Cheryl Cochran, the club is a great way to connect all majors and styles of writing together in one place.

Morales said that club meetings usually include some sort of warm-up writing exercise, as well as a chance to share any work that students would like critiqued.

“Usually someone brings in a piece, either commissioned or we commission everyone to write two pages of something and we will help with what they have so far,” he said.“What we did last meeting was I thought of a basic plot line, and then I had people draw perspectives out of a hat.”

Morales said that the club caters to people who are not interested in a rigorous academic environment, but just want a place to share their writing, whatever it may be.

“Whether it’s just the poetry they scribbled in their notebook, or whether they just like short stories for fun, we’re not very judgmental,” he said.“It’s really a ‘for the love of the game’ type scenario.”

Both Morales and Cochran have known they wanted to be writers since a very young age, but without an outlet to share their work, it was easy to lose the drive to improve.

“It’s really important in order to improve your writing, or just to keep writing, that you do things like this,” Cochran said. “For me, I won’t write much or revise if I don’t have people to show it to. Otherwise whatever I write stops when I stop writing it. It’s a motivation to keep producing things and to see what other people are doing.”

Morales said that having a community of writers is important if you want to expand your writing and get a sense of what other people think of it.

“I have been writing since I was in junior high, but if you don’t show anybody you can’t really improve, and eventually that part of you stops sometimes,” he said.“But if you have people there to encourage you and say, ‘hey, I like this,’ or ‘this isn’t working here.’ that’s what is so nice about the club. It is there every week, and it’s not stressful.”

Morales said that the club allows people to show different aspects of themselves in a safe and friendly environment.

“I think it is neat to meet other people who enjoy that activity,” he said. “You get some good criticism and perspective. It’s all very positive in working towards improving. I would encourage people to come check it out and not feel intimidated. The more people the better.”

The club is currently on a brief hiatus but will start back up the second week of spring quarter. Morales and Cochran encourage everyone with an interest in writing to come out and give the meetings a try.They are open to all majors and all genres of writing.

If you would like more information about the club or to join the mailing list, contact cpcreativewriters@gmail.com.

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opinion/editorial mustang daily

Monday, March 9, 2009

Editor in chief: Marlize van Romburgh Managing Editor: Giana Magnoli

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editors & staff editor in chief Marlize van Romburgh managing editor Giana Magnoli news editor Rachel Glas news designer Omar Sanchez wire editor Cassie Carlson sports editor Scott Silvey sports designer Kate Nickerson online editor Lauren Rabaino arts editor Emilie Egger arts designer Milena Krayzbukh copy editors Alex Kacik, Jennifer Titcomb, Breehan Yohe-Mellor, Megan Hassler head photographer Kristen Hays photographers Nick Camancho, Michael Constable, Patrick Fina, Matt Fountain, Megan Keating layout manager Andrew SantosJohnson advertising coordinator Jessica Lutey business managers Sarah Carbonel, Ian Toner, Brittany Kelley advertising managers Gaby Horta, Ashley Singer, Charlotte Lilley ad designers Daryl Daley, Justin Rodriguez, Andrew Santos-Johnson, Mai-Chi Vu, Jason Cope, John Dixon, Sara Hamling advertising representatives Megan Dilley, Jessica Schroeder, Kacy Shin, Jenny Staskus, Colin Princi, Brittni Kiick, Kristin Coplan, Adam Plachta, Erika Powers, Drew Toney faculty adviser Teresa Allen general manager Paul Bittick

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March 9, 2009 Volume LXXII, No. 107 ©2009 Mustang Daily “It’s just like a baby bird — you squeeze it too hard and it poops.”

9

UAMUSS: using abbreviations makes you sound stupid

I would like to use my column this week as a Public Safety Announcement. Most weeks I spill my guts about what’s bothering me, or I endlessly complain about what you are doing wrong, but this week I am stepping down from my soapbox. This week we are all affected. So, my PSA to all of us is as follows: “Do you think everyday about sounding like an intelligible functioning member of society? Abbreviation is an epidemic pervasive in youth culture. It consists of the shortening of sever words or phrases, not in jest but out of a need for effortlessness. It can be identified within the 12-21 age group and effects males and females (though That’s generally is more common among females). A first sign can be the use of “O-M-G” in a mocking tone.This condition can be treated if spotted early on. If you or a loved one is plagued with Abbreviation, contact your doctor as soon as possible.”

I can think back to the first time I heard someone abbreviate. I thought they sounded ridiculous; I thought to myself, “Who says B-T-W?” and immediately began ridiculing them. Of course, as anyone who knows me and as most of you may guess, today I probably use abbreviations more than the majority of you. Is it a joke? Yes, a little bit. But is it more

by Rachel likely that I have gotten used to speaking like this?

Definitely. Please, help me stop.

Think to yourself, how many conversations you have had or just overheard in the last week that have used at least one silly abbreviation? I mean, I have heard, and occasionally say, abbrev instead of abbreviation. Is this where spoken language is heading? Are we so lazy that we can’t even summon enough energy to use full words?

Abbreviations, once popular only among prepubescent teens, have somehow saturated television and advertising. I know that we can all

She

remember the AT&T commercial that spouted, “IDK my BFF Jill.” I wonder to myself, how is it that all of us, young and old, understand the above sentence?

Is it only a matter of months or years before our president addresses the public by saying, “Sup? IDK how we are going to fix the crisis in the Middle East, but OMDB (over my dead body) will this affect any of us. Moving on to the economy, repairing it will be NBD (no big deal). I mean OMG we are on this.”

Would you take Obama seriously?

Not convinced? OK let’s try a little word play.

Which sounds best to you?

Said A) I hope you have a good night, and by the way you are grounded until further notice. Love, Mom B) I hope you HAGN, and BTW you are grounded UFN. ;hearts&, mom The problem with speaking like sentence (b) is that when it starts to trickle down into our real vernacular we don’t even sound as smart as rocks. I have no problem asking a friend if they want to get fro-yo later, but I worry that I could be in an interview and answer a “What if this happened” question with “Oh, don’t worry, that’s NBD.” Newman No one with a speck of intelligence would hire me, and rightfully so. I am in no way suggesting that we start speaking in a Shakespearean tongue, but I am personally considering carrying around a type of curse jar so that every time I blurt out “FML” or “BFD” or, god forbid, abbreviate the word abbreviate, “that’s a quarter.”

What

Rachel Newman is an English junior. “That’s What She Said” takes a fresh and lighthearted look at issues at Cal Poly and in San Luis Obispo.

Sunshine not only winner during daylight savings time The sunlight hits your face and instantly you’re awake.You would sleep in an extra hour if the sun wasn’t already shining through your blinds at 6 a.m.

Hey folks, it’s time for daylight saving. Most of the U.S. population dreads this day of the year where we lose an hour and gain sleep deprivation.

Who in their right mind wants to wake up one hour earlier than they should?

The idea of adjusting clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less first resonated with Benjamin Franklin. In 1784, Franklin coined the proverb, “Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

Though Franklin cannot be credited with the proposal for DST, he was one of the first to advocate sleeping less in turn for more productivity during the day.

In today’s society where economic stimulus is much needed, an extra hour in a workday really wouldn’t hurt anyone.

It was prominent British outdoorsman William Willett who gave DST a solid purpose about a century later. But who would adopt and practice such a drastic change to the time standard?

Germany dialed its clocks an hour forward during World War I as a way to save energy for war efforts.The United States adopted it about 10 years after DST first started out as a buzzword.

Since then, the world has seen many adjustments and arguments for repealing DST. Although losing an hour of sleep sounds very unappealing, it is only unappealing for the first few days of adjusting. Just as with any sort of change, whether it be with time or proposals for legalizing illegal drugs, people moan and groan about it until they realize, it’s not that bad.

Believe it or not, DST actually works in everyone’s favor. Surprise? It shouldn’t be.We’ve known about it and been complying with DST for a century now.

Without the spring forward in time, we couldn’t get up earlier to enjoy the many outdoor recreational activities that require daylight like tennis, golf, running and picnics.

We live in a society that preaches sustainability.

Conserving all forms of energy, especially light, is definitely at the head of the “save the planet” mantra. DST follows our society’s needed guide-

john overmyer newsart

lines for a sustainable future.

“We conserve energy and America’s families pocketed $500 million in savings from the extension — and the wise Ben Franklin invented the idea,” said U.S. Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Fred Upton, R-Mich.

So you can complain about setting your clock an hour ahead, or you can quit whimpering, go outside and play some baseball while you can.

Krizia Torres is a journalism senior and Mustang Daily reporter.

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Monday, March 9, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

Round-up continued from page 12

UC Santa Barbara’s Jane Doolittle, who placed at the Big West Conference championships last year.

Freshman Tenise Brewer won the 100 Hurdles with a time of 14.69 seconds while senior Jhana Samuels won the long hurdles in 1:01.90.

Jarred Houston, also a member of the Cal Poly football team won two events, running a 10.87 in the 100 and 21.89 in the 200. Tynan Murray, a teammate of Houston’s on the football team, won the high jump with a mark of 6-8 1/2.

Cal Poly will host Fresno State in a dual on Saturday.

women’sbaseball

uc riverside 74, cal poly 61 Cal Poly (19-10, 11-5 Big West Conference) jumped out to an early

5-0 advantage over the Highlanders (19-10, 14-2), who finished with the conference’s second seed.

UC Riverside would respond with a 12-0 run to take the lead for good. The Highlanders led by seven points at halftime but would eventually run out to a 21 point advantage to put the game away midway through the second half.

UC Riverside senior center and potential Big West Player of the Year Kemie Nkele had a double-double collecting a game-high 26 points as well as adding a game-best 13 rebounds.

Sophomore forward Kristina Santiago led Cal Poly with 13 points.

Four Mustangs had five rebounds apiece.

Despite the loss, Cal Poly earned the third seed in the Big West Conference Tournament and will have a first-round bye. The team’s 19 wins this year are the second-most in program history.

The Mustangs will play the tournament’s lowest remaining seed at noon on Thursday.

sports Beckham continued from page 12

New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium, which will be moved up two days from its original date on the league schedule.

The change is necessary to accommodate another part of the deal, an exhibition between AC Milan and the Galaxy at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on July 19.

In all, Beckham will be available for just six home games and 13 of the team’s 31 overall.

“It’s great to have resolution,” Arena said. “Is it perfect? Of course it’s not perfect, but that’s OK. Just getting this thing finalized is a key part of us moving on and getting better.”

When he does return, Beckham is likely to be demoted from the captain’s role, which Landon Donovan turned over to him in 2007.

Beckham said his family is

Sports designer: Kate Nickerson happy and will remain in Los Angeles.

In a move to accommodate fans who endured the back-and-forth speculation on Beckham’s future in Los Angeles, the team said it will cut ticket prices by an average of 10 percent.

Refunds will be issued for anyone who has already purchased season or individual tickets.The failing economy, coupled with the Beckham saga, has kept sales down.

“It’s been difficult,” said Tom Payne, the Galaxy’s business operations president. “People have been sitting on their hands wondering what’s happening.”

Beckham said his ideal scenario for the year would be to help Milan reach the Champions League and for the Galaxy to make the playoffs and win the MLS Cup. But the Galaxy haven’t come close to postseason play since Beckham arrived with ankle and

11

knee injuries amid much hoopla in July 2007.

He had no goals and two assists as the Galaxy finished with a 9-14-7 record. Last season, Beckham had five goals and 10 assists, but the Galaxy’s 8-13-9 record tied for the worst in MLS. Beckham was injured last season, when he left the Galaxy at various times for appearances with England’s national team.

Arena said Sunday that he doesn’t want Beckham recalled to England duty for that country’s friendly on Aug. 12.

Beckham’s greatest impact in America has come at the turnstiles.

The Galaxy’s average home attendance last season was up by 24.9 percent since 2006, and the league’s attendance increased 6.9 percent during the same period.

Average ratings of games on ESPN in which Beckham played rose by 23 percent.

mustangdaily.net Monday, March 9, 2009

SPORTS

sports editor:

Scott Silvey mustangdailysports@gmail.com

MUSTANG DAILY

WEEKEND men’s basketball | UC Riverside 76, Cal Poly 69

Seniors fall in season finale Omar Sanchez mustang daily

It definitely wasn’t the outcome the Mustangs (7-21, 3-13 Big West Conference) wanted for their final game of the season and senior day.

Less than 17 minutes remained in the second half when senior Chaz Thomas was ejected after a scuffle with UC Riverside’s Javon Borum. Then as the game neared its end, senior center Titus Shelton fouled out but not without receiving a standing ovation from the 1,376 in attendance who witnessed the Highlanders (16-13, 8-8) defeat the Mustangs 76-69 at Mott Gym. “(It’s a) tough way to go out when you’re a senior,” head coach Kevin Bromley said about Thomas’ ejection of the game. “He was having a decent floor game, made some shots for us then (got ejected). I’m not sure the referees got that one

right. There was a call on the fight but not on the foul that started the whole thing. He was just protecting a teammate. It was an emotional game,” Bromley added.

An emotional game in which the future of the program showed its prowess.

The Mustangs’ point leader in the game was not a senior but sophomore forward Shawn Lewis who racked up 23 points to wrap up his season while junior guards Lorenzo Keeler and Justin Brown added a combined 25 points.

Justin Brown had his rallying performance in the second half, having three steals within a game minute, two of which resulted in layups.

“I think we came out strong as ever knowing we have no chance of making the conference tournament. We showed great resilience.

John crashed the board, and Titus

nick camacho mustang daily

Cal Poly senior forward Titus Shelton attempts to block a shot against UC Riverside during the Mustangs’ 76-69 loss in Mott Gym.

played as physical as ever. (What Thomas did) we loved it, he (was) just backing up a teammate and that hyped me up a little bit,” Lewis said.

But the seniors made an impact right from the start.

Thomas put up the first points on the board with a three-pointer, and with seconds to go in the half Thomas attempted a layup with no avail but his fellow senior John Manley was there to tip in the rebound that put the Mustangs up by two.

The second half belonged to the Highlanders who lead up to the finish.

Rudy Meo and Konner Veteto led the Highlanders with 13 points each.

Senior center Titus Shelton said he wasn’t happy with his final performance but said he saw in this game what he saw throughout the whole season; a team that is ready and prepped for next year.

A ceremony preceded the game for the three seniors departing.

Forward Manley is working on his master’s degree in public policy and aims to get a job in the business sector. Fellow seniors Shelton and Thomas said they will pursue professional basketball careers overseas.

With the seniors leaving, Brown said he is concerned the team will lose maturity and leadership but that “There are a lot of leaders in this team and they will step up.

We’re also losing a lot of size in Titus and John but we should be good next year,” Brown said.

After the game, an emotional Thomas choked up while realizing that his Cal Poly career had come to an end.

“It’s over,” he said. “You don’t realize it till it’s over.”’

baseball

houston 3, no. 17 cal poly 2 The Mustangs got a solid outing from starter DJ Mauldin who pitched a complete game, racking up a careerhigh 13 strikeouts on Sunday afternoon.

The loss, which ended Cal Poly’s eight-game winning streak, lowered its record to 8-2 on the season. The Cougars improved to 3-10.The streak had been the Mustangs longest in 12 years.

After scoring 26 runs in the first two games of the weekend series with Houston, the Mustangs could muster just four hits against freshman Michael Goodnight, who allowed two runs in seven innings while striking out six and walking none.

Despite the loss, Cal Poly won the series 2-1, winning Friday’s game 13-5 and on Saturday 13-9.

The Mustangs will continue their eight game road trip at 3 p.m.Tuesday when they visit Pepperdine.

softball

game 1: cal poly 2, utah state 1 (13) game 2: cal poly 8, temple 1 Cal Poly (14-6) romped through the competition at the Mustang Classic over the weekend, completing play with an undefeated 6-0 mark.

Senior third baseman Cristen Lee scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning on a single by sophomore catcher Stephanie Correia.

Left-handed sophomore pitcher Anna Cahn held the Aggies without a hit over the final five innings just a day after pitching a perfect game against

nick camacho mustang daily

Cal Poly junior first baseman Krysten Cary swings away during the Mustangs’ 2-1 win over Utah State on Saturday afternoon. them. The no-hitter on Saturday was the first by a Cal Poly pitcher in four years.

Cahn (9-3) was dominant during the Cal Poly-hosted event, finishing the weekend with a 0.21 ERA. She had 35 strikeouts and allowed just a .106 opposing batting average in 34 innings of work.

Cal Poly senior shortstop Melissa Pura added to her already illustrious career with a career-high four hits against Temple in the late game.

The Mustangs will finish their first homestand of the season at 2 p.m.

Tuesday when they host Providence in a doubleheader.

trackandfield At the Mustangs All-Comers meet.

Freshman Whitney Sisler won the high jump with a 5-7 leap topping see Round-up, page 11

Beckham, AC Milan to pay Galaxy for loan extension Beth Harris associated press

LOS ANGELES — David Beckham is confident he’s fit enough to embark on a year-round, continenthopping soccer marathon.

The midfielder will stay with AC Milan through the end of the Italian team’s season, which concludes May 31. He’ll be available for England’s two World Cup qualifiers in June before taking a few weeks off and rejoining the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 1.

Beckham, who turns 34 in May, is renowned for his stamina.

“I feel that physically I’m in possibly the best shape of my career,” he told The Associated Press-affiliated SNTV. “I know that when I’m physically in the right condition it doesn’t matter what age I am. I know that if I’m physically fit enough then

I can play at the highest level.

“People have talked about the amount of games that I will be playing and the amount of hours I will be playing football. But it’s never bothered me, that side of the game.

I have always loved playing as many games as possible.”

It’s going to cost Beckham to stay overseas. He and AC Milan are jointly paying the Galaxy in a “multimillion dollar deal” to extend his loan, the Galaxy said in a statement issued late Saturday night.

“A lot of players show their affection just with words. David Beckham is one of the very few who has shown it with deeds,” AC Milan chairman Adriano Galliani said Sunday on Italian state television.

“He has made an incredible economic commitment, paying a lot of money from his own pocket,” Galliani added.

Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed. The Galaxy had sought at least $10 million for the outright purchase of Beckham, but AC Milan officials had offered $3 million.

The two sides were negotiating for weeks and agreed on the loan extension hours before it was due to expire after AC Milan’s game Sunday.

“The obvious (reason for staying at Milan) is giving me the chance to play in the 2010 World Cup,” Beckham said. “I personally have to do everything I can do to be involved in that. Everyone knows how passionate I am about playing for my country and, if it gives me a better chance of being involved in that squad, I’ll do anything possible to make that happen.”

The announcement came three weeks after Major League Soccer

commissioner Don Garber’s Feb. 13 deadline to resolve the situation.

At the time, Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive of the Galaxy’s parent company AEG, had said the negotiations were over and that Beckham needed to return to Los Angeles and end the distraction.

“We never felt we were losing David; we felt all along he was getting back,” Galaxy general manager and coach Bruce Arena said on a conference call Sunday. “That was one way of Tim sending a message to AC Milan that we were pretty serious in this negotiation and there were certain issues that had to be resolved.”

Beckham has scored two goals in 12 games for Milan and looks to be in his best form since leaving Real Madrid two years ago. He played in Milan’s 3-0 win over Atalanta on Sunday.

“He was involved in the action and handled himself very well,” Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said.

The former England captain repeatedly said he didn’t want to return to the Galaxy. Arena believes Beckham’s attitude has changed, based on their e-mail exchange Sunday.

“He’s pretty pleased with coming back. He wants to be in LA, he wants to take on this challenge,” the coach said. “If this player had no interest in being here, we would not have done this, I can guarantee you that.”

Beckham has a five-year contract with MLS worth $32.5 million, and he can buy out the final two years and leave in November when the season ends.

Beckham’s first game with the Galaxy will be July 16 against the see Beckham, page 11