5-20-09

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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 Global nuclear bank is discussed for storing ‘safe uranium fuel.’

English alumnus turned Hollywood producer visits Cal Poly.

IN ARTS, 6 Volume LXXIII, Number 149

IN NEWS, 3

Melissa Pura and Ramses Barden were named Cal Poly athletes of the year.

IN SPORTS, 12

Wednesday, may 20, 2009

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Previously undiscovered fault found near Diablo Canyon

Little wheels cause a big deal

Joy miller courtesy photo

No clear-cut directions for campus in case of nuclear incident at plant Tim Miller special to tHe mustang daily

Inside Cal Poly’s public safety office there is a red phone to be used in case of an “unusual event”— specifically, a mishap at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, 12 miles west of campus on the Pacific Coast. How “unusual” such an event may be is subject for recent debate.

PG&E, the company that operates Diablo Canyon, announced in November that a previously undiscovered fault was found less than a mile away from the plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced on April 10 that the fault posed no additional threat to the power plant based on the information that PG&E pro-

vided.

Some concerns have been raised about the quality of the information currently available.

Both the California Energy Commission and San Luis Obispo Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee want PG&E to use more up-to-date mapping technology.

In December, Assemblyman Blakeslee introduced a bill that would require that PG&E to use three-dimensional geophysical mapping in order to more accurately determine the risk.

PG&E opposes the bill.

“Results of these surveys might alter fault parameters that are used in existing seismic hazard assessments,” said a report by The California Ensee Diablo, page 2

neel DeSai courtesy photo

Uniformed officers helped pull over an unidentified man on a small automobile around 1 p.m. yesterday on the corner of South Perimeter and Campus Way, according to onlookers. According to the University Police Department, the incident was dealt with by the San Luis Obispo Police Department which originally spotted the vehicle off campus, though the UPD assisted during the pull-over.

The San Luis Obispo Police Department could not be reached for comment.

Students, community walk in memorial for Cal Poly student

New Obama rules will transform US auto fleet Tom Krisher associated press

DETROIT (AP) — Some soccer moms will have to give up hulking SUVs. Carpenters will still haul materials around in pickup trucks, but they will cost more. Nearly everybody else will drive smaller cars, and more of them will run on electricity.

The higher mileage and emissions standards set by the Obama administration on Tuesday, which begin to take effect in 2012 and are to be achieved by 2016, will transform the American car and truck fleet.

The new rules would bring new cars and trucks sold in the United States to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon, about 10 mpg more than today’s standards. Passenger

cars will be required to get 39 mpg, light trucks 30 mpg.

That means cars and trucks on American roads will have to become smaller, lighter and more efficient.

Eric Fedewa, vice president of global powertrain forecasting for the auto consulting firm CSM Worldwide in Northville, Mich., said the changes will make pickup trucks so much more expensive that they will be used almost exclusively for work.

And instead of a minivan or SUV, more parents will haul their families in much smaller vehicles with three rows of seats — something more like the Mazda 5 small van, he said. The Mazda 5 gets about 28 see Obama, page 2

getmore ONLINE

md

To get the full story of the event, go online to mustangdaily.net. riley arthur courtesy photy

Students and community members attended the Forward for Frances memorial walk Sunday to honor Frances Chang, a Poly student and member of Gamma Phi Beta who died in November.

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Obama continued from page 1

mpg on the highway.

“I think what you’ll see is a lot more creativity in interior packaging,” Fedewa said. “You’ll get more rows of seats where you traditionally had cargo space.”

Already on Tuesday, some drivers were skeptical. Dixie Bishop, who runs a plumbing business in San Antonio that uses vans, worries the new requirements will drive up her costs at a time when customers are cutting back on repairs.

“Are they going to take my horsepower down?” she asked. “I have to be able to carry old water heaters and toilets. It’s not beneficial for me to haul one water heater at a time. We need the power to pull these heavy items.”

The changes will start with smaller cars and trucks, and improvements to the internal combustion engine, Fedewa said. Automakers also already working on new technology, including direct fuel injection and high compression of the air-fuel mixture, that will make cars and trucks more efficient.

Car companies are rewiring vehicles so components such as air conditioners and power steering pumps are powered by electricity rather than by the engine, saving fuel.

And they’re developing computer-controlled transmissions with six or more gears, adding efficiency, and rolling out more gas-electric hybrids — among the few cars sold today that meet the 2016 standards.

Of course, developing the technology will cost money — billions of dollars — and automakers will pass

that on to their customers.

The Obama administration says the changes mean the average vehicle would cost about $1,300 more, although some private analysts say the increase will be much heftier. The administration says gas savings will make up the difference in about three years.

Automakers have said they need stable, relatively high gasoline prices to create a market for electric vehicles. General Motors fears rolling out its rechargeable Chevrolet Volt next year with gas at $2 per gallon.

American consumers have already shown their car-buying habits can change rapidly depending on gas prices. When fuel cost $4 a gallon last summer, people flocked to smaller cars. Gas is much cheaper now, and sales of hybrids have plummeted.

“The U.S. consumer has consistently chosen performance over fuel economy given the relatively low cost of fuel,” David Leiker, senior automotive analyst for Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee, wrote in a note to investors.

The Volt is designed to run 40 miles on battery power when it is fully charged. After that, a small internal combustion engine kicks in to generate electricity and keep the car going. Other automakers are working on similar systems.

But the Volt is expected to sell for $35,000 to $40,000, and buyers may be unwilling to pay that much for a sedan, even if tax credits help ease the burden, unless gas prices soar.

Rechargeable electric vehicles, which under government calculations could get 100 mpg or more, will help automakers meet the standards and offset sales of larger, less-efficient models.

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News Diablo

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continued from page 1

ergy Commission. The state required report came out the same day PG&E announced the discovery of the new shoreline fault.

PG&E has this statement up on its Web site concerning potential risks to the power plant from an earthquake: “DCPP (Diablo Canyon Power Plant) is one of the strongest structures on the face of the earth; built to withstand the largest earthquake deemed credible from the nearest earthquake fault. PG&E is the only utility in the country that employees a fully staffed seismic department with a mission to continually assess the current state of seismic knowledge as well as large earthquakes around the world.This information is then applied to DCPP so we can be sure that the facility remains safe based on up to date science.”

Diablo Canyon is not a primary concern among emergency personnel in case of a major earthquake, said Ron Alsop, Emergency Services Manager for the County Office of Emergency Services. Dam failure and roadway damage are more pressing because of the immediate impact they have on the county’s response, he said, adding that there are PG&E employees to work on any problems at Diablo Canyon immediately after they occur.

When asked if the current fault mapping techniques were adequate to determine the safety risks, Alsop said, “Yes and no.”

“It’s adequate with what we know but the challenge is what we know is constantly being updated,” he said, adding that the Office of Emergency Services was fully supportive of legislation that provides more information not only about the faults near Diablo but throughout the county.

Cal Poly is included in “protection action zone eight,” which means that the state of California is primarily responsible for any emergency steps that would be taken, whereas zones one through five are the responsibility of FEMA. In the case of an emergency, Cal Poly takes direction from the county, said David Ragsdale, Cal Poly’s Manager of Environmental Health and Safety, adding

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

that Cal Poly has plans in case there is a need to shelter or evacuate the students and faculty. The specifics of these plans are not available to the public because of safety concerns over allowing anyone to know where a large group of people would be evacuated. “Homeland Security has had us pull out of public information,” Ragsdale said.

Cal Poly has a text message alert system that notifies students of any kind of emergency affecting campus.

The lack of information leaves Cal Poly students uncertain about what to do in case of an emergency at the plant.

Rachel Ellis, animal science senior, said that if something happened at Diablo Canyon, she would probably call her mother. She did know that taking iodine could help to prevent some contamination.

The Office of Emergency Services Web site states that “Potassium iodide protects the thyroid gland against exposure to radioactive iodine in the unlikely event of a radiation release from a nuclear power plant emergency.” The Web site also said that the best protection against radiation is evacuation or sheltering.

Cal Poly has a small supply of potassium iodine on campus for emergency personnel, Ragsdale said.

The Office of Emergency Services lists two main factors in determining a course of action in the event of an emergency: The amount of radioactive material released and the speed and direction of the wind.

The warning sirens are the first notice to the general public of an emergency.When they go off, people are asked to go inside and turn on the radio and television to a local station. Information about evacuations will be broadcasted as part of the Emergency Alert System.

If an evacuation is ordered, residents are advised to leave the protective action zones and to stay with friends or family that live over the grade. The general evacuation areas are north to Camp Roberts in Monterey County or south to the Santa Maria Fairgrounds. Those without a car or a ride can go to one of three staging areas for Cal Poly students on the event of any campus evacuations, Alex G. Spanos Stadium, the corner of Mont Bishop and Highland Drive and in the G1-R2 parking lot by Grand Ave. and Slack Street.

mustang daily

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

News

“Not very. I briefed through the article in the Mustang and I got a packet in my mail at home, but I haven’t really looked at it.”

-Jen Russell, business administration junior

-Trevor Ingraham, art and design junior

“Not very much at all.”

-Chris Warmuth, business administration junior

“The only proposal I know about regards CSU fees.”

-Josh Jacobs, business administration senior

compiled and photographed by ashley cuillo

Big names and bucks back nuclear ‘bank’ Charles J. Hanley associated press

Buffett’s bankroll, Obama’s clout and the partnership of a savvy ex-Soviet strongman may turn the steppes of central Asia into a nuclear mecca, a go-to place for “safe” uranium fuel in an increasingly nervous atomic age.

The $150 million idea, with seed money from U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett, must still navigate the tricky maze of global nuclear politics, along with a parallel Russian plan. But the notion of such fuel banks is moving higher on the world’s agenda as a way to keep ultimate weapons out of

State

National

International

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proposed a per-pack fee on cigarettes sold in San Francisco to cover the expense to remove the litter. He says that a review earlier this year shows that tobacco-related trash makes up onefourth of all the garbage removed from city sidewalks and gutters.

WASHINGTON (AP) —U.S. officials and lawmakers pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to make peace with the Palestinians and halt construction of Jewish settlements, echoing President Barack Obama’s blunt demands.

Winding up a three-day trip after talks with Obama, Netanyahu met with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and held sessions with House and Senate leaders and a group of Jewish legislators. He also met with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters Tuesday that she reiterated the U.S. government’s commitment to a two-state solution and its demand that Israel halt construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

LONDON (AP) — The powerful speaker of Britain’s House of Commons has resigned after a backlash over excessive expense claims by lawmakers, the first time in three centuries a speaker has been forced from office.

Though Michael Martin wasn’t caught up in recent revelations about lawmakers expenses — reimbursement claims for chandeliers, moat cleaning and mortgage payments outraged taxpayers — he was blamed for creating a climate in which such excesses were allowed.

Martin said Tuesday he would leave the position June 21.

Martin resisted reforms designed to make lawmakers’ expenses more transparent and fought to block publication of the claims. But lawmakers themselves were reluctant to expose their spending. Martin’s defenders say he’s taking the fall for their avarice.

•••

“I know a little bit about the initiatives for funding on the state college level. It’s really hard to get accurate information from people on campus because everyone has their own biases.”

many more hands.

Decisions may come as early as next month here in Vienna.

The half-century-old vision, to establish international control over the technology fueling atom bombs, was resurrected in 2003, when Iran alarmed many by announcing it would develop fuel installations — for nuclear power, it insisted. Mohamed ElBaradei, U.N. nuclear chief, then said the time had come to “multinationalize” the technology, to stop its spread to individual countries.

Last month, the new U.S. president gave the idea its biggest boost. see Nuclear, page 4

3

Briefs

Word on the Street

“How informed were you on the on the special election propositions?”

Wire Editor: Cassandra J. Carlson

SAN LUIS OBISPO (AP) — A Santa Maria man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for burying his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son in sand at Pismo State Beach.

The child breathed in sand and suffocated. Juan Francisco Nunez was convicted of felony involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. He was sentenced Monday by San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Dodie Harmon.

The 24-year-old man told police he didn’t think burying Jesse Alvarez during a July 4 beach outing last year would cause harm. He apologized during the sentencing hearing, saying he didn’t mean to hurt the boy.

•••

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Pinto Lake anglers are being warned not to eat their catch because fish in the 80-acre Watsonville lake are contaminated with unsafe levels of DDT, a pesticide banned more than three decades ago.

The high dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT, levels were detected in carp during a two-year study of California lakes.

Water quality specialist Robert Ketley says it’s prudent to warn the public against eating carp or largemouth bass caught in Pinto Lake, which is fed by runoff and springs.

State Water Resources Control Board spokesman William Rukeyser says the pollution is part of the legacy before environmental laws took effect. DDT was banned in 1972.

•••

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials have honored the first Jewish woman to serve in Congress with a portrait that will be permanently displayed at the U.S. Capitol.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled the portrait of Florence Kahn on Tuesday. Like Pelosi, Kahn represented a San Francisco congressional district. The portrait shows her with a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, which she helped advocate for while in Congress.

Kahn served from 1925 to 1937 and was a proponent of a strong armed forces. The House biography of her says she secured a variety of military installations in the Bay Area, including the Naval Air Depot in Alameda.

Kahn came into office by winning a special election after the death of her husband. She was reelected five times.

•••

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The arrest of a drug cartel lieutenant as he stepped off a private plane — fresh from a brazen baptism party held by his boss — has sparked a debate about whether Mexico is winning the drug war or facing a fearless enemy.

Soldiers acting on an anonymous tip arrested Rodolfo Lopez Ibarra on Tuesday at an airport in the northern city of Monterrey, as a convoy of armed men waited to ferry him to a luxury house and a set of offices in an upscale suburb.

The surprising thing wasn’t Lopez Ibarra’s private plane or the five women accompanying him on the flight. It was what Lopez allegedly told soldiers after he was arrested: He said he received his latest orders from Arturo Beltran Leyva at a baptism party held by the most-wanted cartel leader at the seaside resort of Acapulco.

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Fossilized remains found

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

News Nuclear continued from page 3

Charles J. Hanley associated press

mary altaffer associated press

Scientists unveiled the skeleton of a 47 million-year-old creature from Germany, Tuesday that may help illuminate the early evolution of monkeys, apes and humans.

Buffett’s bankroll, Obama’s clout and the partnership of a savvy ex-Soviet strongman may turn the steppes of central Asia into a nuclear mecca, a go-to place for “safe” uranium fuel in an increasingly nervous atomic age.

The $150 million idea, with seed money from U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett, must still navigate the tricky maze of global nuclear politics, along with a parallel Russian plan. But the notion of such fuel banks is moving higher on the world’s agenda as a way to keep ultimate weapons out of many more hands.

Decisions may come as early as next month here in Vienna.

The half-century-old vision, to establish international control over the technology fueling atom bombs, was resurrected in 2003, when Iran alarmed many by announcing it would develop fuel installations — for nuclear power, it insisted. Mohamed ElBaradei, U.N. nuclear chief, then said the time had come to “multinationalize” the technology, to stop its spread to individual countries.

Last month, the new U.S. president gave the idea its biggest boost.

In a historic speech to tens of thousands in Prague, the Czech capital, Barack Obama detailed an aggressive plan for arms control, including setting up an international fuel bank, “so that countries can access peaceful power without increasing the risks of proliferation.”

That’s the fear: The centrifuges that enrich uranium with its fissionable isotope U-235, to produce power-plant fuel, can be left spinning to enrich it much more, producing fissile, highly enriched uranium for nuclear bombs.

Only a dozen nations have enrichment plants, but ElBaradei’s Viennabased International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) foresees nuclear-power use almost doubling in the next 20 years. More and more governments may want the fuel-making capability.

“The real risk is that highly en-

mikhail metzel associated press

A worker is in the process of blending down highly-enriched uranium pellets at the Ulba Metal Plant in eastern Kazakhstan, 900 km (560 miles) east of the capital Astana. Warren Buffett’s bankroll, Obama’s clout and the partnership of a savvy ex-Soviet strongman may turn the steppes of central Asia into a nuclear mecca, a go-to place for “safe” uranium fuel in an increasingly nervous atomic age. riched uranium could be acquired by, say, terrorist groups,” Russian government adviser Alexander Konovalov told a conference in Rome on nuclear dangers. “All they need is 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of enriched uranium. All the rest (to make a bomb) can be found on the Internet.”

The IAEA’s 35-nation board of governors is expected to address the issue at its June meeting.A raft of proposals has surfaced, including a German idea to build an IAEA enrichment plant on “internationalized” soil somewhere, to sell fuel to countries committed to nuclear nonproliferation.

“Assurance” is the byword — a desire to assure future Irans there won’t be politically motivated cutoffs of nuclear fuel supplies, and so they needn’t build, at huge cost, their own enrichment plants.

Only one proposal has upfront money behind it, however — the idea advanced by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a Washington-based organization founded by philanthropist Ted Turner and former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn.

Calling it an “investment in a safer world,” investor and NTI adviser Buffett, considered America’s rich-

est man, pledged $50 million to such a bank, provided governments put up an additional $100 million. That threshold was passed in March, most of the money coming from the U.S. and the European Union.

The $150 million would buy enough low-enriched uranium to fuel a 1,000-megawatt power plant, jumpstarting a constantly replenished fuel stockpile that would be owned and sold by the IAEA at market prices and on a nondiscriminatory basis.

On April 6, the day after Obama’s address, another piece of that picture fell into place nearly 3,000 miles (5,000 kilometers) from Prague, when another president spoke in Astana, capital of the ex-Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.

“If a nuclear fuel bank for nuclear energy was created, then Kazakhstan would consider hosting it,” Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced to reporters.

The ex-communist Nazarbayev, a canny political survivor from Soviet times who has led Kazakhstan for two decades, is eager to develop his nuclear industry, based on Soviet-era facilities and Kazakhstan’s large uranium deposits. Nazarbayev regularly reminds the world that he gave up leftover So-

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Wednesday, may 20, 2009

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

comic book column

A New Hope for Star Wars fans: Comics!

I have to say that my first step into the world of nerdy things was Star Wars. I first saw “Episode IV: A New Hope” when I was about four or five.

There were a few years during my childhood I remember watching all of George Lucas’ original trilogy on the original, not special edition, VHS at least once a week. I was hooked.

As time went on, I found myself in a bookstore with my parents and stumbled upon a new drug, if you will: Star Wars fiction, better known as the “Expanded Universe.” My nerd senses were tingling.

My first glimpse into the Expanded Universe was “Shadows of the Empire,” a pretty epic story that takes place between Episode V and VI, detailing the missing pieces that were never really explained in the sixth film.

Let me tell you, I was hooked.

From that point on I began to devour Star Wars fiction left and right.

From the “Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina” to “The Mandalorian Armor” series, it was like a drug. I was so well versed in Star Wars lore that I could pretty much name most species, vehicle, star ship, you name it, in all the movies.

Then the second trilogy came out.

Due to my disappointment with the new trilogy and my continual love for Star Wars even though I felt George Lucas had ruined it, I began doing perhaps the nerdiest thing of all: Star Wars role playing.

I’m going to assume that most people have heard of Dungeons and Dragons. For those of you who haven’t, basically it is a game where nerds get together, make characters, roll dice, have fun and let their dorkiness run wild. Don’t confuse this with LARPing, however. Live action roleplaying is an entirely different class of dork, where guys and the occasional girl dress up and act out a role-playing game. I’ve never actually done it myself, but sadly, I’ve always wanted to try…

So in high school my friends and I began to play Star Wars RPG. Let

courtesy photo

Boyish Norwegian wins Eurovision Song Contest Peter Leonard

Comic

associated press

Relief

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BAM!

smack!

by Jon Monteith produced by Mustang Daily me tell you, it was awesome. Most of the time we would play in our friend’s garage, drink a lot of soda, eat a lot of chips and roll a lot of dice.And I know what you’re thinking, but I did have a girlfriend back then and she was cute too.Thank you very much.

However, these last few years my interest in Star Wars has waned. I’ve sort of moved on to newer nerd things, like comic books, and I don’t really think I’ll ever read another Star Wars novel. However, to my rather recent discovery, there are some fairly decent Star Wars comics.

Dark Horse, the wonderful comic book publisher, has put out Star Wars comics for the last few years.The biggest two are “Legacy” and “Knights of the Old Republic.” I myself have just read the first story arcs of both of these series, and I must say, they’re really good.

“Legacy” takes place in the future, some 100 plus years after episode VI, with the main character being a descendent of Anakin Skywalker.

“Knights of the Old Republic” is the complete opposite, taking place thousands of years prior to Episode I. Each book is full of the force, aliens, lightsabers, blasters and general awesomeness.

So if you’re like me and you miss

Star Wars but don’t really know how to get back, then give Dark Horse’s Star Wars comics a try.

Jon Monteith is a history senior and Mustang Daily’s comic book columnist.

MOSCOW (AP) — A boyish, fiddle-wielding Norwegian singer won the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow on Saturday night, his bouncy ditty the highlight of the musical bonanza studded with pyrotechnic artistry and stunning electronic visuals on an epic scale.

Twenty-five performers from across Europe competed in Moscow in a musical bonanza that is one of the most watched annual television events in the world, despite being written off by some as European kitsch.

“Fairytale,” penned and performed by 23-year-old fiddler Alexander Rybak, blew away competition from Iceland’s Yohanna, who finished second, and Azerbaijan’s

AySel & Arash, who was third, with a folksy melody to the accompaniment of an acrobatic dance routine and two blonde female support singers.

The elfin-faced Rybak, the winning graduate of a Norwegian television talent show in 2006, accrued the most points in Eurovision’s 53year history, outstripping Finland’s Lordi in 2006.

“Thank you so much, Russia.

You are just great, thank you,” an emotional Rybak, said, speaking in Russian from the stage after the result was announced. “You are the greatest public in the world,” he proclaimed, before launching into a repeat performance of the winning entry.

Russia was trying to capitalize see Eurovision, page 7

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Arts & entertainment

Wednesday, may 20, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

Cal Poly education helps Hollywood writer Jim Kouf may have left San Luis Obispo’s laid-back lifestyle for the fast-paced Hollywood scene, but he took with him the love for writing he developed while attending Cal Poly.

Since graduating from Cal Poly in 1974, Kouf has become a screenwriter, director and producer for films and television shows. Some of his credits include writing screenplays for “National Treasure,” “Rush Hour,” “Snow Dogs,” “Stakeout” and episodes for the TV shows “Ghost Whisperer” and “Angel.”

Kouf returned to his roots last week as part of the College of Liberal Arts’ distinguished speaker series. He discussed his career path, offered advice to students and community members interested in working in the movie and television business and screened his new independent film “A Fork in the Road.”

Kouf majored in English with a history minor. Ironically, those were his two least favorite subjects in high school.

“I decided it was more of the teachers than anything else that made the subjects come alive.The professors I had here were great; especially Krieger in history,” Kouf said.

His history background came in handy when writing the script for “National Treasure,” a film filled with historical landmarks that the main characters encounter as they embark on a hunt for treasure.

Kouf said discovering he had the ability to write well was the most important skill he learned at Cal Poly.

“It was when I took playwriting that I discovered I could do this and get As and it wasn’t that difficult and I really enjoyed it,” he said. “Everyone was suffering with their senior projects and I wrote a play. It was really then that I discovered I could maybe do this and make a living at it.”

After graduation Kouf moved back home to Burbank, Calif. for a few weeks before moving in with friends in Canoga Park, Calif.

“I didn’t want to leave San Luis Obispo. I was living the life, there was no traffic, the weather was good, I was right next to the meGan keatinG mustang daily

Hollywood producer, screenwriter and director and Cal Poly English alumnus Jim Kouf spoke at Cal Poly last week as a part of the College of Liberal Arts distinguished speaker wseries.

beach,” he said. “That was a hard, hard transition; I didn’t know what I was going back to.”

Kouf worked jobs selling paint and driving a truck while writing in his spare time.Two years, A Fork in the Road (2009)** 11 TV and six feature scripts later, he had his National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) first success. He gave National Treasure (2004) the script to his future Taxi (2004) agent, who was working Snow Dogs (2002) in the mailroom at the time and who then forRush Hour (1998) warded it to his mother, Disorganized Crime (1989)** a producer at the time.

Stakeout (1987)* “His mom liked it “Ghost Whisperer” (2006, 2007)* enough that she paid me $500 and made me re“Angel” (2001-2002)* write it about 10 times,” Kouf said. “It took me Con Air (1997) awhile to understand that you really need Kalifornia (1993) to go over it again and Indian Summer (1993) again and again to make White Fang (1991) sure it’s alright, but that White Water Rebels (1983) script got into such great shape that the script then Silent Fall (1994) started to get me work.”

Save the Dog! (1988) His script “WhiteSecret Admirer (1985) water” was later renamed Class (1983) “White Water Rebels” and appeared as a madePink Motel (1982) for-TV movie. And he’s been working in the in*also produced dustry ever since. ** also directed Kouf met his wife on the Paramount Pictures set. She is a producer and was working on “Airplane 2” while he was working on “Airplane 3,” he said in his presentation. The couple have four children and have worked as business partners for the past 20 years.

“We’re always around our offices at home; he’s in one room and I’m in the other,” Lynn Kouf said. “Then at six o’clock, sort of when it’s all over, then we are parents and husband and wife. It’s great; we work really well together.”

Their most recent film,“A Fork in the Road,” cost $1 million dollars and was filmed in Montana where they live sporadically throughout the year.

“We cast this movie out of our living room; it was great.We had all these actors showing up at our house and the kids kept peeking around the corner while they were reading,” she said.

The movie’s fate is unknown. It is currently with a sales agency that will try to find buyers worldwide who then sell it to distributors.

Kouf described the film as a classic farce. “‘The basic idea was what if a guy escapes from prison, hides out in a house and sees something that will ultimately changes his life? That was the basic beginning of that.”

Kouf said he doesn’t know how his mind keeps coming up with new ideas for scripts, only that it just does.

“There is drama going around every day all around, and some of it’s funny and some of it is not,” he said. “You get an idea and you write it down and my feeling is that if the idea sticks with you long enough, it is worth pursuing and some ideas you look at it the next day and think that’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”

He explained his thought process when writing the script for “Stakeout.”

“I wanted to do a movie about two guys stuck in a room; that was it, that was my basic concept.Two guys stuck in a room, why are they stuck in a room?

Who gets stuck in a room?” he said. “Well cops can get stuck in a room during a stakeout.Well now I have two cops stuck in a room, now what can they do?”

The movie won an Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Motion Picture in 1988.

Kouf said his proudest accomplishment is his family. Professionally, however, “I have had three movies in the top 10; ‘Stakeout,’ ‘Rush Hour’ and ‘National Treasure’ have all been in the top-10 money makers for their respective years,” he said. “There is a movie called ‘The Hidden’ and my name on it is Bob Hunt because at one point in my career I had a science fiction side and a regular side and that happened to go into the science fiction side and that became a cult movie.”

In the future he has no plans of retiring or to stop what he loves best:Writing scripts.

“I don’t think this has ever been a job because I’ve never not wanted to go to work and my hours are never set so I could work a five-hour day or a 14-hour day, you never know,” he said.

He compares his line of work to a circus with constant travel. Kouf ’s films have taken him to France, England and Mexico. Currently he’s developing several different projects and will go to Italy for five weeks to teach a writing class for New York University.

“My advice is find whatever you are passionate about and do it,” he said. “If you’re passionate about it that’s what you’re going to want to do and you’re not going to object to going to work.

“Follow your passions because money doesn’t matter,” he added.“If you love what you are doing, you don’t care, you really don’t care.”

PRODUCER

MUstaNG daiLY

WRITER

Jennifer Titcomb

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

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Dolls take over Downtown Brew

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Members of Delta Lambda Phi performed as part of a drag show Thursday night at Downtown Brewing Co. in San Luis Obispo. The event, the fraternity’s first large-scale philanthropic function, raised money for the Aids Support Network.

7

Eurovision continued from page 7

Peter Leonard associated press

MOSCOW (AP) — A boyish, fiddle-wielding Norwegian singer won the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow on Saturday night, his bouncy ditty the highlight of the musical bonanza studded with pyrotechnic artistry and stunning electronic visuals on an epic scale.

Twenty-five performers from across Europe competed in Moscow in a musical bonanza that is one of the most watched annual television events in the world, despite being written off by some as European kitsch.

“Fairytale,” penned and performed by 23-year-old fiddler Alexander Rybak, blew away competition from Iceland’s Yohanna, who finished second, and Azerbaijan’s AySel & Arash, who was third, with a folksy melody to the accompaniment of an acrobatic dance routine and two blonde female support singers.

The elfin-faced Rybak, the winning graduate of a Norwegian television talent show in 2006, accrued the most points in Eurovision’s 53-year history, outstripping Finland’s Lordi in 2006.

“Thank you so much, Russia.You are just great, thank you,” an emotional Rybak, said, speaking in Russian from the stage after the result was announced. “You are the greatest public in the world,” he proclaimed, before launching into a repeat performance of the winning entry.

Russia was trying to capitalize on the prestigious event to showcase the nation’s hospitality and growing role in modern society, but those efforts were undermined several hours earlier when riot police attacked gay pride rallies in the capital.

Gay rights activists sought to use the international competition to draw attention to what they call widespread discrimination against homosexuals in Russia. No injuries were reported.

Police hauled away around 40 demonstrators,including British-based activist Peter Tatchell and American activist Andy Thayer of Chicago, cofounder of the Gay Liberation Network.

“Today’s arrests go against the principles of Eurovision, which are about peace, harmony, cooperation and unity between all the peoples in Europe,” Tatchell told The Associated Press after being released by police.

Rybak criticized the protesters for choosing the same day as the contest — which has a large following in European gay communities — to vent

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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,Tim Miller head photographer Kristen Hays photographers Nick Camacho, Patrick Fina, Megan Keating, Matt Fountain 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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Opinion/EDitorial mustang daily

Wednesday, may 20, 2009

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

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War on drugs puts the fight in otherwise peaceful exchange of goods Throughout martial history there have been many occasions where armies have fought against each other to gain supremacy of a certain advantageous hilltop. But, correct me if I am wrong, there is no single instance of which I am aware where a man has fought with a hill. Men may fight for hills, but men do not fight against hills. We, the hills and humans, have enjoyed an unbroken peace since our first encounter.

Looking about me, I am delighted to see that man enjoys peaceful relations with a number of inanimate objects. Still, on some days I fear this peace may be in jeopardy. Each day, across every landmass, a cruel and bloodthirsty army of countless insolent rocks position themselves to stub the toes of hapless passersby.

But even such offenses as these do no not usually provoke more than a swear word or a wince. Certainly, it is a rare instance when the person with the bleeding toe seeks to even the score with the rock by scolding it, spanking it, or (most ill-advisedly) kicking it with his other toe.

Why does man display such sufferance and mercy towards the rock which stubs his toe?

We all know that man is a passionate creature, prone to his emotions and quick to seek retaliation when he feels wronged. History, with its countless scores of bloody wars, testifies loudly to the fact that man has very little qualms about going to battle. So why the uncharacteristic forbearance towards rocks?

I submit that men prefer to settle scores with other creatures that actually have an appreciation for the concept of a scoring system, that is, other men. You can beat a tree all day with your fists and it probably will take very little offense and will, no matter how ferociously you beat, refuse to show remorse for any wrongdoing.

There is a very famous scene in literature in which the dauntless Don Quixote rushes the windmills. Miguel de Cervantes, the author of this classic, entertainingly illustrates the striking and comedic contrast between the windmills and their fiery assailant, Quixote. Quixote is an animate being, alive and invigorated, drenched in the perspiration that comes before battle, and hopelessly overwhelmed with emotions so grand only a human being could feel them. The windmills, by contrast, are utterly unfazed. They do not contemplate their attack, nor their retreat. They remain fixed to that spot where human hands constructed them.

They are lifeless and unmoved.

Thus far, I have told you that man does not battle with inanimate objects except, perhaps, in rare circumstances when he is in a foul temper. Generally speaking, he does not seek revenge against the rock or retribution for the tree. And, with the exception of certain fools of fiction, he does not battle with windmills.

But I’m afraid that I would not be relating the whole truth if I told you that everyone is adult enough to realize the foolishness

Mustang Daily reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, profanities and length. Letters, commentaries and cartoons do not represent the views of the Mustang Daily. Please limit length to 250 words. Letters should include the writer’s full name, phone number, major and class standing. Letters must come from a Cal Poly e-mail account. Do not send letters as an attachment. Please send the text in the body of the e-mail.

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Don’t Tread on Me

by Jeremy Hicks of fighting a battle with inanimate objects. It makes no sense, but a very large, violent, and expensive campaign is being fought, purportedly, with the object of vanquishing drugs.

Of course, the idea of engaging in mortal combat with cocaine is preposterous on its face. Men can’t battle with drugs anymore than they can joust with windmills. The “war against drugs” is not a war against drugs.

Like all wars, this one is a war against other humans, in this case drug users, drug vendors (most recently a Cal Poly freshman from the dorms) and producers.

For whatever reason, the government has decided that it does not like drugs. I don’t know why precisely. Perhaps the government simply does not like potheads (even when one sits in the Oval Office) or perhaps it doesn’t like for its citizens to use objects that could potentially endanger the user. If the latter is true, we should expect to see the government expand on this general principle and outlaw scissors in the very near future, or at least criminalize running with scissors and other potentially harmful behaviors.

But who really cares what reasoning the government employs to defend its violent behavior. Who really cares whether drugs are a good thing or a bad thing? Harmful or healthful? I certainly don’t.

You see, I defend the right of people to engage in peaceful exchange to acquire goods which they desire, regardless what those items might be. I even go so far as to defend the right of people to buy things (like kitchen knives) which could potentially be used to cause harm against themselves or others (willfully or accidentally). If a free society is our objective, how can it be otherwise?

Jeremy Hicks is a 2008 political science graduate, the founder of the Cal Poly Libertarian Club and a Mustang Daily political columnist.

LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR

Local police departments wasted resources by pulling over the Powerwheels rider Today on Cal Poly’s campus I witnessed a great injustice taking place: Three motorcycle officers and an SUV-driving officer (all of whom I assume are fully armed) pulling over a young man driving a Powerwheels. While the ridiculousness of the situation rightfully provokes a good chuckle at least, I

must ask: What the hell, campus police? Really?

Four cops to nail a guy in a Powerwheels? Were my tax dollars or student fees or whatever really paying the salaries of those guys?

In light of the recent spending spree by the department on those goofy tricycle things to supposedly “go green,” I can only scratch my head. I guess they’re right; cops riding bicycles aren’t very green,

or for that matter letting a kid ride a Powerwheels to school instead of driving a real car isn’t very green either. God forbid they would let us ride a skateboard or chain our bikes to tree!

University Police, give me a break.

Mark Paulick biomedical engineering senoior

priNted BY

UNiVersitY GrapHic sYsteMs UGs.caLpoLY.edU

UGs@caLpoLY.edU

May 20, 2009 Volume LXXII, No. 148 ©2009 Mustang Daily “Today’s paper was brought to you by Hoegarden.”

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Opinion

Customer service: Want manners with that?

Have you ever seen that obnoxious lady in Starbucks complaining to the barista about her soy chai tea latte not being exactly 180 degrees?

What about the man who storms out because he’ll have to wait two more minutes for his coffee to brew? Have you ever been that person?

Well, you might not have been, but I am that barista.

It’s astounding how many people come in each day that seem to think my name is “grande mocha” when I say hello to them at the register. A friend of mine used to work at a clothing store downtown and I guess people who went in there thought her name was “how much.”

I often find myself wondering why people like to be rude to those in customer service. At my job, I have little control over what they receive at the end of the bar. At most I can give someone decaf espresso in their latte so that they’re falling asleep in their cubicle later. The same goes for the people you’re often dealing with when buying food or clothing; they often don’t have as much power as you may think.

I got to thinking about it the other day while getting yelled at by a girl because I didn’t put the whipped cream that she didn’t order on her vanilla latte. And I thought that maybe people just don’t realize how rude they really are.

So in an attempt to improve society and the common consumer, at least the ones who read this article, I’ve compiled a pretty basic Do and Don’t list that I hope will make not only coffee buying and clothes shopping but all human interaction a bit more enjoyable — for both parties.

3) don’t: Neglect the three most important words you can say to someone you don’t know. do: Remember that the words “please” and “thank you” are welcomed. I don’t think elaboration is necessary.

4) don’t: Forget that neatness is nice. do: Remember what a trashcan looks like.

Although they’re generally in uniform, the employees of whatever establishment you in are probably not your maids. Trashcans and recycle bins are plentiful in San Luis Obispo and can be found on most sidewalks as well as inside stores.

The counter of a food place and the floor of a dressing room are in fact not trashcans and not where you should put things you no longer want.

5) don’t: Get too upset by small things. do: Realize that most employees are truly trying to do their best and be as helpful as they can be.

Whether it’s more free peanuts on your flight

home, another pants size or even the paint color for the walls of your new apartment, the staff of the store can probably help find just what you’re looking for. And if they can’t, well, remember that sometimes stock just runs out and there’s not always anything anyone can immediately do.

Now that I’ve shared a few quick tips on how to act and not act towards the people that are merely doing their jobs, I hope you think about this the next time you walk into your favorite downtown boutique, Home Depot or even Starbucks.

With just a little common sense and manners, you can avoid awkward stares from other customers for being the man who is way too upset that his iced coffee is too cold or the woman who couldn’t find those perfect shoes in her size.

Moreover, you’ll make the person behind the register’s day a little better and in doing so, probably send some good karma your own way too.

Oh, and before I forget: “Thank you” for reading.

Mikaela Akuna is a journalism sophomore and a Mustang Daily reporter.

9

I have an idea for how we can lessen pollution on campus, go ”green”, and save money: officers could walk or ride a bike instead of dropping ten grand on a Segway. This has to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen Cal Poly spend money on in my four years here, especially since we are allegedly in a budget crisis.

I realize that the cops who ride these things around can now hand out more parking tickets with a gusto, which must be a major source of funding because Cal Poly never resists a chance to stick it to students by writing them up for a $25 ticket if we are five minutes late on a parking meter, but we have to draw the line somewhere.

— S. Paul Rhodes Response to “T3 patrol vehicles offer campus security to go green” Bud, it’s the parking officers and CSOs who hand out most parking tickets, and they dont use these things.These are for getting places where speed and maneuverability are needed where cruisers cant go to assist the public. By the way, if its $15 dollars for a expired meter, not $25 and I doubt it was just 5 minutes late. As for bikes, they already use bikes.They are also used for assisting injured mountain bicyclists since they can go up on hill and uneven terrain to give first aid. So, actually do some research before spouting uneducated opinions.

— William Response to “T3 patrol vehicles offer campus security to go green”

1) don’t: Forget to not speak like a caveman. do: Say “hello” back to the person behind the counter.

Indeed these petite phrases called “greetings” have been invented in the last 2,000 years or so. Generally one person will greet another at the beginning of a conversation. More than likely they have already said hello to a hundred people that day but will still enjoy hearing and returning that greeting one more time around.

2) don’t: Reference the person helping you as the item that you’re trying to purchase. do: Acknowledge that the person behind the counter is a human being and not named “tall coffee” or “for here.”

Be our guest!

The Mustang Daily is always accepting guest commentaries.

Send your commentaries of about 500 words, and on an original topic to mustangdailyopinions@gmail.com Please include your year and major.

Do we have a toy expense account set up for our campus police officers?

If not, how else is this $20,000 expenditure covered? Is it from writing more on-campus skateboard violation fees? This is the only time I have seen one of these T3s in use. And when the officer was trying to drive away, he couldn’t push the machine back onto the path and almost fell off. It didn’t increase my confidence of our campus patrolmen.

Also, someone please explain how the purchase of this machine will “help lessen pollution”? As clearly stated in the article, it does not replace any traditional patrol cars. Just like adding a Prius to a collection of Hummers, these won’t stop global warming, Cal Poly.

I saved my optimism for last — I think it is awesome that the T3s will be used at night to increase security in poorly lit areas. Using the machines as a way to make students feel safer is the only way this “investment” can be justified.

— Anonymous Response to “T3 patrol vehicles offer campus security to go green” That was awesome! Biomimicry is such and interesting topic. Nature really has the best designs and solutions to many of our problems. I think biomimicry is essentially a mix between biology and engineering, but is still a rather small and unexplored industry. I would love to have a job trying to remake nature.This is just a step of humans becoming more in touch with nature and their surroundings, and working with it instead of against it!

— Sean B. Response to “Future of innovation reliant on nature.”

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Dog Sitter Female student to care for dog in SLO. 1 - 3 trips per month, 2 days - 2 weeks per trip.

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NP, NS. 805.698.4558 Rooms for Rent 2 rooms available 4 rent in Santa Maria. $500 each + dep, all utilities included. Call/ text Freddie @ (805)268-0942 for more info.

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Announcements

Raise the Respect presents “Exposed: Criminal (In)Justice System Panel” on Wednesday May 20, 6pm-9pm, in UU 220.

Come and enjoy refreshments and mingle with others, listen to poems from Guantanamo Bay, and learn about the Criminal Justice System through a panel discussion. Speakers include: Social Science Professor Chris Bickel, Ethnic & Gender Studies Professor Dr. Jane Lehr, an ex-prisoner, and other associated with the Criminal Justice System.

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Wednesday, May 20, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

sports

Sports designer: Kate Nickerson

11

women’s water polo

Water polo team goes back-to-back

courtesy photo

The Cal Poly women’s water polo team won their second-consecutive national championship on May 3.

Zach Lantz mustang daily

The Cal Poly women’s water polo team successfully defended its national title by winning the water polo collegiate club championships for the second straight season with a 6-4 victory over Notre Dame in the national championship game on May 3 at the UC Davis Schaal Aquatic Center.

“We take it very seriously, always been known as a powerhouse, this is our fifth national championship (in eight years,)” environmental and protection management senior Greta Carroll said.

The women’s water polo team, one of the most dominant clubs at Cal Poly, starts their season as soon as they get back from winter break and go through the end of April.

“We’re gone 80 percent of the weekends that we have,” head coach Dirk Camilli said. “We leave (most) Friday mornings.”

Their weekly schedule involves practice every night from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and then two individual swimming sessions a week to make sure they stay in shape for their hectic schedule in what Camilli calls “one of the toughest leagues in the nation.”

“We go to tournaments down south, up north, UC Davis, San Jose and we go to a tournament in Ohio.”

Carroll said.

The national tournament is the culmination of the club season and is a dream only realized by a few teams.

With so few teams playing out of their league due to travel constraints, the seeding of the tournament is based off the results from last year.

After clinching a birth by winning at regionals, Cal Poly, still carrying the target of defending champs on their back, was awarded the No. 1 overall seed.

Also going against Cal Poly was the curse of the number one ranking.

With seeds determined by the results from last year the teams would gun for the No. 1 ranked team not just the No. 1 seed.The players were all aware of the fact that it had been a long time since the team ranked No.1 won the tournament.

“We were the first team ever to be ranked No.1 coming into (the tournament) and win the national title.”

Camilli said. “That was the biggest thing … we were ranked No. 1 the whole season except for two weeks.”

Despite the supposed curse, the team still had confidence in its chances to be victorious.

“Going into the tournament I was very confident in our team,” Carroll said, “All year we had been playing

for this tournament; we wanted to go in seeded first we wanted to be first in the polls.”

Cal Poly made quick work of most of their tournament opponents en route to the championship. They beat Chico State 13-5 in the tournament’s first round. After dispatching Michigan 9-7 in the next round, they trounced Penn 14-4 in the semifinal.

With successfully completing their title defense the team already has its focus on next year.

“What’s going to be important for us is to stay humble and make sure we keep working hard for this and not take anything for granted.” biomedical engineering sophomore and MVP of the tournament Sarah Ur said.

“It’s kind of a legacy we’re building right now.”

mustangdaily.net Wednesday, May 20, 2009

SPORTS

sports editor:

Scott Silvey mustangdailysports@gmail.com

MUSTANG DAILY

Barden and Pura honored at award banquet of an undefeated regular season losing to both Montana and Big10’s Wisconsin in the final moments.

Although they are already two of the most accomplished Pura leaves as Cal Poly’s career leader for home runs (34), RBI athletes in Cal Poly history, Melissa Pura and Ramses Barden (135) and slugging percentage (.583). grabbed one more honor Tuesday evening when they were She had one of the best single seasons in program history named Cal Poly’s 2008-09 Athletes of the Year at the annual this year as she finished as the only conference player to rank Night of the Mustang banquet and awards ceremony Tuesday among the top 10 performers for batting average (.370), slugging night at Embassy Suites. percentage (.571), on-base percentage (.441), hits (57), homers Barden became the fourth football player to win the award in (seven), RBI (32), runs (33) and total bases (88). the past six years following defensive end Chris Gocong (2006), Pura was at her best in dangerous situations. She hit a teamlinebacker Jordan Beck (2005) and cornerback David Richard- best .415 (22-for-53) with runners in scoring position and .360 son (2004).

(32-for-89) with runners on base while 20 of her 32 RBI ocPura became just the second curred with two outs. softball honoree in 11 years.

Barden and Pura also drew praise at the professional level.

Outfielder Lisa Modglin The New York Giants took Barden in the third round of the won in 2007.

NFL draft while Pura was taken with the fourth round of Both players helped the National Pro Fastpitch Senior Draft by the Akron bring their team’s to Racers. their highest point at Other male athletes nominated for the Athlete of the the Division I level.

Year award were baseball second baseman Adam BusBarden caught 67 chini, basketball forward Titus Shelton, cross country passes for 1,257 yards runner Daniel Gonia, golfer Geoff Gonzalez, soccer and 18 touchdowns goalkeeper Eric Branagan-Franco, swimmer Peter Kline, (tying his own school tennis player Drew Jacobs, track and field decathlete James record) last season. He Nunno and wrestler Chase Pami. caught at least one touchFemale athletes nominated for the award were basdown in all 11 games this ketball forward Megan Harrison, cross country runner season, tying an NCAA mark for Bridie McCarey, golfer Stephanie Yocum, soccer deconsecutive touchdown catches fender Carrie Andrews, swimmer Lacey Buck, tennis in a single season set by Randy player Brittany Blalock, indoor and outdoor track Moss. and field thrower Julie Dufresne and volleyball Barden was named offensive opposite Kylie Atherstone. player of the year in the Great Other athletes honored at the banquet inWest Conference for the second cluded baseball senior outfielder Ryan Lee straight year and was named to and junior women’s tennis player Steffi the All-Great West first team Wong who were named Cal Poly’s Big four times. He finished fourth West Conference scholar-athletes. in the balloting for the Walter Cal Poly’s Scholar-Athletes for Payton Award, given to the the 2008-09 school year are Leif Football Championship SubAnderson of cross country and division’s best offensive player. track and field and Caitlin Lee He helped lead the Musof women’s swimming. Antangs to an 8-3 record and a derson is a biomedical enprogram-high No. 3 ranking gineering junior while Lee, a in the FCS polls. The Musdistance freestyler, is a kinesiology sophotangs were within seconds more. mustang daily staff report

Cal Poly’s nominations for the NCAA Leadership Conference were wrestler Eric Maldonado, men’s soccer centerback Josh Didion, volleyball defensive specialist Caitlin Suttich and women’s basketball guard Tamara Wells. Maldonado has been selected to represent Cal Poly at the conference.

The baseball team was also recognized by the Big West Conference, earning a team sportsmanship award.

kristen hays mustang daily

Cal Poly senior shortstop Melissa Pura accepts her Cal Poly Athlete of the Year award on Tuesday night.

Chavez has herniated disk associated press

Lakers hold off Nuggets to take Game 1 associated press

Los Angeles guard Kobe Bryant dunks during the Lakers’ 105103 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night in the Staples Center. Bryant had a game-high 40 points. Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 39 points.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Oakland Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez has a herniated disk and could be facing career-ending surgery if he injuries his back again.

Chavez, rehabbing in Arizona, was moved from the 15- to 60-day disabled list Tuesday. He was placed on the DL May 1 with a strained right forearm, a move retroactive to April 25. He experienced back spasms May 10 and underwent an MRI exam one day later.

“We’re at a pretty serious point,” Athletics assistant general manager David Forst said before Tuesday night’s game against Tampa Bay. “We’re doing everything we can medically to get him back on the field.”

Chavez was limited to just 113 games over the 2007-08 seasons due to back problems, and was recently informed about the herniated disk. He was told the disk could go out at anytime, which would require a spinal fusion procedure.

“Pretty much game, set and match,” Chavez told The San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s disheartening. It was kind of the worst-case scenario. I’ve just got to be careful

now. It goes beyond baseball.”

Chavez is hopeful of returning this season, but it will be at least five weeks before that might happen.

“He’s optimistic,” Athletics manager Bob Geren said.

We’re at a pretty serious point.

We’re doing everything we can medically to get him back on the field.

—David Forst Assistant general manager

Chavez has three hits in 30 atbats over eight games this season.

“He needs to recover from this in order to play,” Forst said.

Also, injured infielder Nomar Garciaparra, out since April 29

with a strained right calf, could be activated from the 15-day disabled list Wednesday.

“It is getting better,” Geren said.

“He’s close.”

The Athletics made several other roster moves on Tuesday, including purchasing the contracts of right-handers Edgar Gonzalez and Chris Schroder from Triple-A Sacramento. Pitchers Sean Gallagher and Gio Gonzalez were optioned to Sacramento.

Edgar Gonzalez could take Gallagher’s spot in the rotation and start Saturday’s game against Arizona.

Minor league outfielder Javier Herrera was released to make room on the 40-man roster. Oakland plans to try and re-sign Herrera, who will likely undergo season-ending shoulder shortly, to a minor league deal.

Backup catcher Landon Powell, who hurt an hamstring running out a ninth-inning grounder Monday night, was sore but available off the bench.

Minor league catcher Curtis Thigpen, sidelined by a back injury, is set to join Oakland’s extended spring training team, while Sacramento catcher Joel Galarraga went on the DL with a right shoulder strain.