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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’s James Nunno came back from a life threatening injury to win the Big West decathlon. IN SPORTS, 12 Volume LXXIII, Number 158
As the Tiananmen 20th anniversary approaches, China monitors communication, shuts down Twitter.
Local store enriches plants and minds
IN NEWS, 6
IN ARTS, 8
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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Adderall, study drugs abundant on campus Daniel Triassi, Katelyn Ball, Brittany McKinney and Jessa Squellati SPECIAL TO THE MUSTANG DAILY
EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to the illegality of using and selling prescription ADD/ADHD medications for use other than their intended use, many of our sources have requested anonymity. They will be referred to by their first name or a pseudonym. Last quarter, 11,407 students frequented the 24-hour study room at Kennedy Library after hours. Courtney, a bleary-eyed business senior, was one of them. Like many students, she often finds herself pressed for time and she has pulled countless all-nighters in her academic career. Staying up all night to study is never easy, but Courtney enlists some chemical help: a 30-milligram tablet of Adderall. This prescription medication, which she acquires illegally from a friend, is a tiny orange pill that she washes down with a caffeinated beverage to stave off sleep and help her focus. “I would use it like candy if it was always available to me,” said Courtney, who requested that her last name not be used. When on Adderall, she typically doesn’t sleep for at least a day, but she does not believe the drug is dangerous. She usually scores As on her exams. On college campuses nationwide, the ingredients for academic success now include a dose of analeptics, the class of prescription amphetamines that is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. By some accounts, the use of Adderall and other ADD/ ADHD medications as study aids are be-
PART 1 of 2 Check out Thursday’s issue for part two
will taylor and omar sancheZ mustang daily photo illustration
Many students, both with and without a prescription, enlist the help of prescription drugs when faced with a test or paper to finish. coming almost as socially accepted as energy drinks and coffee. In an online poll conducted by the Mustang Daily, 34.5 percent of students who responded admitted to having used Adderall, Ritalin or Concerta without a prescription. Ninety percent of them said they used it as a study aid; other uses included weight loss
and as a recreational drug. A recent survey by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that fulltime college students aged 18 to 22 are twice as likely as their counterparts who were not in school to have used Adderall non-medically in the past year. Studies at other college campuses have found rates of
illegal stimulant use that range from 4 to 35 percent. Helpful or harmful? Like Courtney, many students see their use of these drugs as technically illegal but see Drugs, page 2
Upcoming Poly program accused of violating free speech rights Chris Jagger MUSTANG DAILY
The launch of an upcoming Cal Poly program aimed at reducing the number of discriminatory incidents on campus has been postponed after claims of possible free-speech violations surfaced. CARE-Net, a campus advocacy group, was slated to start in May to allow students to report any “biased-related” incidents they encounter on campus. The program has been in the works since January after Cal Poly President Warren Baker and Cal Poly President Robert Koob asked student affairs and academic affairs to develop the program. However, the implementation of the program was sped up following what some say were discriminatory incidents from last October when a noose and a confederate flag were displayed outside the crop house. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that advocates for individuals on college campuses nationwide, thinks the CARE-Net program is unconstitutional and impedes upon
Cal Poly students’ First Amendment rights. to review the wording and make sure it is unFIRE claimed responsibility for “pressuring” derstood correctly.” Cal Poly to not support the future of the CARE“As far as we are concerned we are still on Net program due to potential “bias” speech and track. The Web site is being suspended but our said that the program was unconstitutional in a progress toward implementing the program has press release. FIRE claims that not been suspended.” Cal Poly has suspended the The CARE-Net team deentire program. However, no fines a biased incident as “any FIRE representatives could speech, act or harassing inciThe Web site is be reached by press time. dent or action taken by a perVice Provost for Aca- being suspended but son or group that is perceived demic Programs David Conn to be malicious or discriminaexpects CARE-Net to be our progress toward tory toward another person or launched next fall. In the ingroup based on bias or prejuimplementing the terim, CARE-Net facilitators dice relating to such characterprogram has not have suspended the Web site istics as race, color, sex, sexual in order to make sure that the orientation, gender identity, been suspended. language used to describe the national origin, ancestry, ethprogram properly reflects its nicity, religion, age or mental —david Conn purpose. or physical disability.” Provost for Academic programs “The intent (of CAREAccording to FIRE’s press Net) is to provide additional release, Cal Poly has promised modes of communication that any future CARE-Net and dialogue for students,” Conn said. “We real- program “will not function to suppress controized the original language could have been mis- versial, offensive or any other kind of protected leading, so we suspended the Web site in order speech.”
“I don’t agree with (FIRE’s) interpretation of what CARE-NET is all about,” Conn said. “It never intended to impede on free speech rights.” About 25 students, staff and faculty are involved with CARE-Net, including 12 campus advocates who will be available for students to report incidents to. Students will also be able to report incidents anonymously through EthicsPoint, a third party online entity. This is not the first time Cal Poly has dealt with FIRE. In 2003, the organization led a campaign against Cal Poly’s decision to charge student and member of Cal Poly College Republicans Steve Hinkle with “disruption” for posting a flier on the Multicultural Center’s bulletin board announcing a College Republicanssponsored speech by a black social critic. In that case, Hinkle successfully fought Cal Poly’s disciplinary action in a federal lawsuit against Cal Poly led by FIRE and the Center for Individual Rights. Cal Poly was forced to strike the disciplinary action from Hinkles’ record, and to pay significant attorney fees in a settlement of $40,000. — Cassandra J. Carlson contributed to this report.
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News editor: Rachel Glas; News designer: Omar Sanchez
Drugs continued from page 1
otherwise benign, but drug enforcement officials and some medical experts disagree. Adderall is an amphetamine and therefore classified as a Schedule II controlled substance — the same class as cocaine — by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration due to its high potential for abuse with consequences including severe psychological or physical dependence. Possession of these drugs without a valid prescription is a misdemeanor, according to California Health and Safety Code, Section
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11550. Violation of the law means a jail sentence between 90 days and one year and possibly probation for up to five years. There have been at least four cases involving the illegal use or possession of Adderall by Cal Poly or Cuesta College students since January 2009, according to Officer Cory Pierce of the San Luis Obispo Police Department. “All the students involved with the recent Adderall cases have given two specific explanations for using or possessing the drug,” Pierce said. “The first explanation is that they need Adderall because they have ADHD or ADD and need it to self-medicate, and the second is that they need it to help
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them study.” Health risks Though doctors frequently prescribe these drugs for ADD/ ADHD treatment, that doesn’t mean they are safe for off-label use. The difference between legal and illegal use is the presence of medical supervision, said Laura Freberg, a Cal Poly psychology professor. “My students are commonly under the misconception that somehow if you don’t have ADHD, the stimulant meds behave differently,” she said. “They don’t.” Doctors modify prescription doses according to a patient’s age and body weight and do not prescribe these drugs to those who have any sort of pre-existing condition that would put the user in increased danger. For instance, there are several types of antidepressants that can be hazardous when combined with Adderall; therefore, it is never prescribed to patients who use those antidepressants. According to PDRHealth, a physician reference Web site, if Adderall is taken within 14 days of taking one of these antidepressants, a life-threatening spike in blood pressure could result. Equally serious is the effect of Adderall on those with a preexisting heart condition. In 2005, Canada suspended the marketing of Adderall after a dozen children using Adderall died. It was discovered that the deaths were the results of underlying heart abnormalities in each child. “Misuse of amphetamine may cause sudden death and serious cardiovascular adverse events,” reads the warning that was immediately placed on the Adderall label by the FDA in response to the Canadian deaths. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration compares the effects of amphetamines like Adderall to the effects of cocaine. However, an article on the U.S. DEA’s Web site describes these effects as having a slower onset and a longer
duration. Drugs with a slower onset are typically considered to be less addictive, however the longer duration means that amphetamines typically remain in the central nervous system longer, which produces prolonged stimulant effects. Chronic abuse of amphetamines can produce a psychosis that resembles schizophrenia, according to the U.S. DEA. “It is characterized by paranoia, picking at the skin, preoccupation with one’s own thoughts, and auditory and visual hallucinations.” The Partnership for a DrugFree America gives a description of both the short-term and long-term effects of Adderall use. Short-term effects can feel like an increase in alertness, attention and energy partnered with a sense of euphoria. Yet short-term effects when the drug is abused also include the potential for heart attacks or lethal seizures. If Adderall is used compulsively it can be addictive. Repeated uses can lead to feelings of paranoia as well as hostility. Taking high doses of it may also cause a dangerously high body temperature and irregular heartbeat. Scoring pills Illegal and potentially harmful as they may be, Adderall, Ritalin and Concerta are not difficult to acquire. According to a study done on the use of “cognition-enhancing drugs” in the April 2008 edition of the science journal Nature, approximately one-third of survey respondents claimed that they purchase the drugs on the Internet. In the Mustang Daily survey, 58 percent said that they got the pills from friends who shared their prescriptions, 53.5 percent purchased it from someone, and of those who chose “other” as a response, most said they had obtained their own prescription from a doctor. (These percentages add to more than 100 because participants were allowed to choose all answers that applied to them.)
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A student who asked to be identified by his first initial only, A, is one of the many who receive pills from a friend. “It’s not my prescription,” he explained. “My friend has one and gives me the rest of the pills that he doesn’t end up taking.” Students who have legal prescriptions to Adderall become quite popular among friends who also take the drug for studying purposes, but who do not have their own prescription. “I don’t sell Adderall, but will trade it from time to time,” said Jim, an agricultural systems management senior. “I find it amazing how during finals week my cell phone rings off the hook.” The Adderall experience Adderall affects each individual differently, but students typically describe a period of jittery hyperawareness, followed by a crash. “At the peak … it makes me feel completely concentrated and also very irritable,” said Jim, who gives Adderall partial credit for his academic success. “Sometimes I even find myself looking for fights,” he said. Other side effects: “I get a love toward techno music, weight lifting and sex.” Like other amphetamines, the experience can be uncomfortable when the pill wears off. “There is an extreme ‘comedown’ and sometimes I find myself leaning toward a state of depression,” Jim said, adding that he combats the feeling by self-medicating with another drug, marijuana. “If I smoke weed I can relax and have a smooth comedown without the headache.” Despite the psychological rollercoaster and potential health effects, Jim said he sees Adderall use as critical to his success in school. “I would not be as far as I am academically if Adderall was not there for me,” he said. — Fallon Scholl, Jesssica Wynne, Zach Lantz and Kate McIntyre contributed to this report.
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Chicago officer convicted of battery on bartender Don Babwin associated press
A hulking Chicago police officer who claimed he pummeled a female bartender half his size because he thought he was in danger was found guilty Tuesday of aggravated battery.
Judge John Fleming rejected Anthony Abbate’s claim that he acted in self defense when he threw, punched and kicked Karolina Obrycka as she tended bar in February 2007 in an attack caught on a tavern security tape. The altercation happened after she refused to serve him more drinks.
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Abbate, 40, faces probation to up to five years in prison when he is sentenced June 23. He remained free Tuesday after Fleming denied a request to revoke bond. The video footage of a drunken, 250-pound Abbate punching and kicking the 125-pound Obrycka circulated widely as another example of misconduct by Chicago police. During the controversy, thenSuperintendent Phil Cline suddenly announced his retirement, and Jody Weis was appointed with an order to clean up the department’s image. Testifying Tuesday, Abbate acknowledged he was drunk, but said the bartender pushed him first as she tried to remove him from behind the bar. Abbate said he “didn’t want to receive another injury, I threw her to the ground to get her off of me.” Two charges of official misconduct were dismissed by the judge, who said there was no evidence Abbate abused his position as a police officer, noting that Obrycka testified Abbate never identified himself as an officer. Abbate has been “suspended pending separation” and relieved of his duties and pay, said Chicago police spokesman Roderick Drew. Weis has said he wants Abbate fired.
Word on the Street
“Other than pot, what drugs (including prescription) do you think are most used by Cal Poly students?” “Adderall is used because a lot of people have prescriptions for it if they have ADD. I’ve heard of people who don’t have a prescription but use it to keep them awake and help them study.” -Diana Eckert, horticulture senior
“Claritin is used frequently because of the high allergy risk that we have at Cal Poly due to the wide variety of environmental surroundings.” -Natalie Ramezani, business administration junior
“Ibuprofen and Advil are commonly used because more people at Cal Poly probably want to get rid of their headache than get wasted or faded.” -Tyler Charlesworth, software engineering senior
“Besides pot, medicines like Tylenol and Ibuprofen can help people who have trouble sleeping.” -Ryan Naval, English sophomore
compiled and photographed by ashley cuillo
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Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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Briefs State
National
International
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The incoming chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco said Tuesday the state’s budget crisis will mean making some “tough decisions” for one of the country’s leading medical schools. Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann takes over in August as head of the university, which has an annual budget of $2.5 billion and ranks as San Francisco’s second-largest employer. Desmond-Hellmann told The Associated Press following the opening of a new cancer center Tuesday that she and the outgoing chancellor, Dr. J. Michael Bishop, have been in discussions about how to respond to likely funding cuts as the state struggles to close its budget deficit.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Authorities revoked the licenses of a South Carolina funeral home and its director after he admitted one of his employees cut the legs of a 6-foot-7 man without the family’s permission so the corpse would fit in a casket. The state Board of Funeral Service voted unanimously Monday to close Cave Funeral Home in Allendale. The board also fined funeral director Michael Cave $500 and ordered him to pay $1,500 for the investigation. In an agreement with the board, Cave said employees never told James Hines’ family that his body might not fit in a standard casket. An unlicensed worker, Charles G. Cave, cut the legs with an electric saw without consulting relatives.
COPENHAGEN (AP) — Early results Wednesday suggested a possible power shift in Greenland’s last parliamentary election before the residents of the ice-capped island assume greater autonomy from Denmark. Polls before the vote suggested the Social Democratic Siumut Party could be ousted after 30 years in power in a vote focusing on corruption allegations and political wrangling. The first official election results from small hamlets on the mostly Inuit island showed the left-wing opposition Inuit Ataqatigiit getting more support than Siumut, although it was unlikely either party would get an outright majority.
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SACRAMENTO (AP) —A crime-fighting bill moving through the California Legislature would force patients to get a doctor’s prescription to buy a common remedy for stuffy noses. The measure by Sen. Rod Wright, an Inglewood Democrat, would make it an infraction or misdemeanor to obtain ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or related drugs without a prescription. Those are common ingredients in cold medicines, but they’re also used to make illegal methamphetamine.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An activist abortion opponent was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the death of late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, and the prosecutor said the evidence in the case ruled out the death penalty. Scott Roeder, 51, was shown via a video link from the Sedgwick County Jail. He fiddled with the charging documents on a podium in front of him, and said “OK” three times as Judge Ben Burgess read the charges and explained the court process.
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SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said a rancorous Organization of American States conference in Honduras failed to reach a consensus on moves to allow Cuba to rejoin. Clinton said before departing for Egypt to join President Barack Obama that a frantic day of negotiations had not produced agreement among the 34 members about what to do about Cuba. But she said the talks would continue in her absence and that a deal could be possible.
andy wong associated press
On Tuesday, Chinese authorities rounded up dissidents and shut down Internet chat and image sharing sites in an apparent clampdown ahead of the 20th anniversary of the bloody suppression of 1989’s Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.
China rounds up dissidents Christopher Bodeen associated press
Ahead of the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on Tiananmen Square this week, Chinese authorities have rounded up dissidents and shipped them out of town. Now, they’ve even shut down Twitter. Along with their usual methods of muzzling dissent, the authorities extended their efforts Tuesday to silence social networking sites that might foster discussion of any commemoration of the events of June 3-4, 1989. The action is a new sign of the government’s concern of the potential of such technology in an authoritarian society where information is tightly controlled. “There has been a really intensified clampdown on quasi-public discussion of awareness of this event,” said Xiao Qiang, adjunct professor of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley, and director of The Berkeley China Internet Project. “It’s a discussion about where China is now and where China can go from here. So the authorities are making a major crackdown to block user-generated sites such as Twitter and show there is no right to public discussion,” he said. China has the world’s largest online population, and Internet communities have proven increasingly influential in spreading word of events to everything from student protests to group shopping excursions. People are going outside the normal, controlled channels to set up communities online, spreading
information about campus unrest and other activities that the government considers to be potentially subversive. Government Internet monitors have shut down message boards on more than 6,000 Web sites affiliated with colleges and universities, apparently to head off any talk about the 1989 events, according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. Numerous blogs maintained by edgy government critics such as avant-garde artist Ai Weiwei have been blocked and the text-messaging service Twitter and photo sharing site Flickr could not be accessed within China on Tuesday. Video sharing site YouTube has been blocked within China since March. “We understand the Chinese government is blocking access to Flickr and other international sites, though the government has not issued any explanation,” said Jason Khoury, spokesman for Yahoo, which owns Flickr. “We believe a broad restriction without a legal basis is inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression.” Officials from Twitter did not responded to a request for comment. Authorities have been steadily tightening surveillance over China’s dissident community ahead of this year’s anniversary, with some leading writers already under house arrest for months. Government critics, including activist Ding Zilin and former top government adviser Bao Tong, could not be reached amid reports that they had been ordered to leave the capital prior to the anniversary of the crackdown.
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Wire Editor: Cassandra J. Carlson
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Air France crash leaves global trail of victims
rebecca blackwell associated press
French pilot Lieutenant Jean-Noel Herbette speaks to journalists at France’s air base in Dakar, Senegal, as he returns from a mission seeking the site of the crash of a missing Air France flight Tuesday. Shawn Pogatchnik associated press
Three young Irish doctors — one a Riverdance performer — returning from a vacation to Brazil. An American geologist and his wife headed to Europe for work and some R&R. An 11-year-old boy traveling alone on his way back to an English boarding school. All were among the victims of Air France Flight 447, leaving broken hearts from Rio to Paris and far beyond. “We will miss your dancing feet,” read a tribute from the Northern Ireland family of Eithne Walls, 29, the dancer-turned-doctor. “We will miss
your silliness, your wit and your hugs. We will always hold you in our hearts and you are never truly gone.” John Butler initially thought his 26-year-old daughter, Aisling Butler, was booked on a different flight and had to retrieve her itinerary from his deleted e-mail folder to check. “When I opened it up, a nightmare opened up as well,” he said, speaking from the family’s home in rural County Tipperary. Walls, Butler and their best friend from Ireland’s Trinity College, 28year-old Jane Deasy — the daughter of a Dublin surgeon — graduated together from medical school in 2007 and had spent two weeks in Brazil as part of a larger group of Trinity grads.
While others traveled on to Australia, the trio headed home to resume their busy medical careers. “Her friends will, we hope, remember their special time together with fondness and joy, despite its tragic end,” read the tribute to Walls, who spent nearly a decade dancing in Riverdance troupes from New York to Shanghai and was pursuing a career as a Dublin eye surgeon. Some families recalled how their loved ones had survived dangerous jobs or medical crises, only to perish in Monday’s unexplained crash over the Atlantic Ocean, which was presumed to have killed all 228 on board. Christine Pieraerts, a 28-year-old Michelin tire engineer from France had recovered from a stroke and was returning home after a 10-day visit to see her boyfriend in Brazil. “We were very happy because she was starting to take up her activities and a normal life again. Fate caught up with her and us,” said her older brother Michel. Graham Gardner, a 52-year-old seaman from Scotland, had braved gale-force winds and other dangers aboard tankers, ferries and container ships before taking charge of an oil pipe-laying vessel, the Lochnagar. He commuted monthly from Brazil back home to his wife, Joyce, who described him as “such a loving, caring and laid-back man. Nothing fazed him.” Brazil-born orthodontist Jose Souza, had honed his skills as a surfer since the age of 9, traveling worldwide to take on the most challenging waves.
Souza “would regularly chase waves all over Europe and the world at a moment’s notice,” recalled Ben Farwagi, president of the London Surf Club Big Wave Team, which counted Souza as a member. In a statement still posted on the club’s Web site Tuesday, Souza spoke of his love of the sea. “I have ridden big waves all around the world, but particularly like Sunset Beach (Hawaii), J-Bay (South Africa) and Mundaka (Spain). I now just want to go bigger!!!” The two Americans on board the plane, geologist Michael Harris and his wife Anne, had moved to Rio from Houston 10 months ago, and were on their way to Europe for work and vacation, said a spokesman for his employer, Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corp. Harris, who turned 60 last month, had planned to attend seminars in Barcelona, Spain, then enjoy “five days on R&R in Paris,” said spokesman Chip Minty. “They were both gregarious, caring, patient, kind, fun-loving individuals,” Anne Harris’ sister, Mary Miley, told the Lafayette, La., newspaper The Advertiser. “My only comfort is that they died together.” Among the 61 victims from France were 10 salesmen and their spouses from a French electronics supply company, CGE Distribution, who won a company prize of a free trip to Brazil. They “had a great year that wrapped up with this dream trip,” said a CGE manager, Jean-Pierre Nardou.
Salesman Stephane Artiguenave, 35, and his wife Sandrine, 34, left behind a 9-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son in their Bordeaux village of Saint-Martin-de-Sescas. The man’s brother-in-law, Christophe Champenaud, complained that Air France officials had provided no help. “Not even to figure out how to tell the children about their parents’ deaths,” he said. Eleven-year-old Alexander Bjoroy was returning to his English boarding school, Clifton College in Bristol, after spending a school break with his family in Brazil. “Our deepest sympathies and condolences are with the family in Brazil at this time,” said the school headmaster, John Milne. Among the 58 Brazilian victims was Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, a 26-year-old descendent of Brazil’s last emperor, Dom Pedro II. Patricia Coakley’s husband Arthur, a 61-year-old English oil-rig engineer, shouldn’t have been on the ill-fated flight at all. He was supposed to have taken a weekend flight out of Rio, but was bumped because it was overbooked. She tried phoning her husband’s cell phone Monday, but gave up on Tuesday. “He worked so hard for his family. That’s all he wanted, to retire. It’s not going to happen, is it?” she asked tearfully. -Associated Press writer Emma Vandore in Paris and AP bureaus worldwide contributed to this report.
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Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Arts and Entertainment Editor: Emilie Egger Arts and Entertainment Designer: Milena Krayzbukh
Locally grown plants aid in local recovery Jennifer Titcomb MUstaNG daiLY
Upon arriving at Growing Grounds Downtown it appears like many other plant shops filled with dozens of different varieties of plants and flowers, but its unique background in service makes the shop one-of-a-kind. Growing Grounds Downtown is a store run by Transitions Mental Health Association. Its main focus is horticultural therapy which involves
the clients of the program working both at the 956 Chorro St. store location and Growing Ground’s farms in San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, where the majority of plants sold at the store are grown. “People have found and studies have shown that working outside and working with your hands and working with plants and getting that physical activity really has a lot of good results,” said Transitions public relations coordinator Hannah Brown. “It really does help
people manage what they are going through and channel their energy in a creative and good way.” The store site is well hidden in a space that was once a driveway for the building next door. Growing Grounds Downtown sells more than just plants; a wide variety of locally made products such as olive oil, honey, herbs and teas are also available. “We have stuff to accommodate those who are looking for gifts or see Plants, page 9
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Plants continued from page 8
people that have been gardening for years that just want one more thing to add to their garden,” said assistant coordinator and philosophy senior Shannon Todd. “People usually come in and say that it’s just a really soothing place and it’s kind of a breath of fresh air.” The sounds of birds chirping, blowing of wind chimes and the trickle of fountains create a tranquil working environment. Some of the mental illnesses that Transitions works with are bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and depression. Clients fulfill tasks around the store such as helping open the store and putting out plants as well as acquire customer service skills by helping customers, teaching them about plants and working the cash register. “Our goal is to help people recover; a lot of people think that mental illness is like a destiny, once you’ve been diagnosed that’s it and that is really not true,” Brown said. “People recover all of the time.” Transitions’ vocational service programs match interests of clients with jobs that include more than just Growing Grounds. Clients can choose to work other places in the community with the help of Supported Employment which aids with counseling, job preparation and the job search.
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arts & Entertainment “It’s hard to find a job in normal life especially for someone who has a mental illness or gap in their resume that makes it even harder,” Brown said. “Our programs help people redevelop that sense of selfworth that comes with work and to re-enter the community.” Annually, Growing Grounds helps serve over 100 clients. This year marks two special anniversaries for the Transitions organization. It is the 30th year of Transitions Mental Health Association as well as the 25th year of the Growing Grounds San Luis Obispo farm. To celebrate there will be a special event from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, June 26 at the San Luis Obispo farm, 3740 Orcutt Rd. The event is meant to be a thank you to all the people who have volunteered throughout the years and will feature three bands, grilled foods and booths from local organizations. Promotional coordinator for events and fundraising Lesta Travis said Cal Poly students have always been a great help with volunteering. Many campus organizations and clubs have come to the farm and cleaned up or painted, whatever needed to be done, she said. Growing Grounds Downtown will also take part in Art After Dark on June 5. Ceramics craftsman Charles Varni is the featured guest. He will also be giving a presentation from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, June 6 as part of Growing Grounds Downtown spring lecture series.
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photos by megan keating mustang daily
Growing Grounds Downtown is operated with an emphasis on horticultural therapy.
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arts & Entertainment
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net
‘Hangover’ is inspired, until it wears off Christy Lemire associated press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — You’d be forgiven for thinking “The Hangover” is a documentary. After all, who hasn’t woken up in a trashed Las Vegas hotel suite with a missing tooth, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet and little or no memory of what happened the night before? Director Todd Phillips and screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore take this familiar “What happens in Vegas ... “ idea to bold new heights — or depths, depending on your perspective — with a comedy that stays weird and wild for the first two-thirds, only to disappoint in the final act. Structurally, though, it’s based on a clever concept: Three guys take their buddy Doug (Justin Bartha) to Vegas for a bachelor party right before his wedding. When they wake up the morning after their bacchanal, they realize the groom is missing — and that’s only the beginning of their trouble. As they nurse their pounding heads and retrace their steps, they
frank masi associated press/warner bros.
In this film publicity image released by Warner Bros., Zach Galifianakis, left, Bradley Cooper, center, and Ed Helms are shown in a scene from “The Hangover.” stumble down an increasingly absurd, and surprisingly dark, path. And because it all turns out to be so unpredictable, we feel like we’re solving a mystery right along with them. The wordless sequence alone in which we survey the full damage of their Caesars Palace hotel suite will probably require a second viewing; there’s no way to take it all in at once. (It must have been fun to be the production designer that day.) As in Phillips’ “Old School” — by far the best movie he’s ever made — the casting of these motley pals goes a long way toward making such crazy situations even vaguely acceptable. Bradley Cooper (“He’s Just Not That Into You”) once again plays it breezy and arrogant as de facto leader Phil, a school teacher who steals from his students and hates his life
(a fact that will miraculously reverse itself by the movie’s end). Ed Helms co-stars as Stu, a sweet but insecure dentist who lives under the tyrannical reign of his insulting, smothering girlfriend (Helms’ fellow former “Daily Show” correspondent Rachael Harris in a grating one-note role). “The Hangover” does give Helms a chance to show some unexpected dramatic chops and singing skills, though. And although he’s there to tag along, Zach Galifianakis steals many a moment as Doug’s soonto-be brother-in-law Alan. As a loner with a sketchy past who clearly yearns to be accepted by the other guys, his performance is a fascinating balance of creepy and endearing; it’s risky but it works. But Ken Jeong, veteran of several Judd Apatow productions as well
as “Role Models,” is stuck here in a role that’s a distasteful (and unfunny) stereotype of both Asians and gays. As a vengeful gangster, he’s part of a third act that ends up being a huge letdown compared to the inspired antics that preceded it. We won’t say where Doug was the whole time — we can’t even say much about Doug himself, because he’s barely there — but the answer is sadly mundane. Maybe that’s the point, the final gag: that the joke’s on Phil, Stu and Alan and, by association, us. But that makes for one hell of a rude awakening. “The Hangover,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release, is rated R for pervasive language, sexual content including nudity and some drug material. Running time: 99 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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Conan on ‘The Tonight Show’ wins high ratings David Bauder associated press
NEW YORK (AP) — Conan O’Brien has reason to smile after his debut as “Tonight” show host. His first Nielsen Media Research report card showed a 7.1 rating and 17 audience share in the nation’s biggest media markets. Those numbers indicate more people checked out O’Brien’s show out than watched David Letterman’s “Late Show” on CBS and ABC’s “Nightline” combined. “We were very happy,” said O’Brien’s boss, Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Movie Studios. The trick is the second night, and the third — and the hundreds more likely to come. O’Brien set himself apart early from predecessor Jay Leno with his reliance on taped comedy bits, but that approach drew some mixed reviews from the critics. “I just wish O’Brien had shown more nerve on his opening night,” said David Zurawik, The (Baltimore) Sun TV critic. O’Brien’s Nielsen numbers were 19 percent lower than Leno’s farewell Friday night, which had an 8.8 rating and 20 share. History suggests goodbyes draw more interest than hellos, even if Leno’s exit is only temporary.
(He hosts a prime-time weeknight show starting in September.) Leno drew more than 16 million viewers to his 1993 debut replacing Johnny Carson; Carson’s farewell was seen by 41 million people. A typical “Tonight” show this season had a 4.0 rating. Each ratings point represents 1 percent of the nation’s homes with TV, which means 7 percent of homes had someone watching O’Brien on NBC. The audience share is the percentage of televisions on at a given time; 17 percent were tuned to O’Brien. O’Brien opened his show with an extended segment supposedly showing him running across the country from New York to Los Angeles, only to realize when he got there he had forgotten his keys. Separate taped bits also had him commandeering a tram full of tourists on the Universal lot and driving his Ford Taurus in his adopted, auto-obsessed hometown. The Washington Post critic Tom Shales said it wasn’t encouraging seeing O’Brien devoting the entire first half of his debut to himself. Newsday’s Verne Gay said opening-night jitters were apparent. “The first night of what will probably be the first night of the rest of Conan O’Brien’s professional life was not a disaster,” Gay wrote. “Not at all. But it was far
from a success ... A few million ‘Tonight’ show habitues turned to their spouses and said, ‘tell me AGAIN Mabel why NBC dumped Leno for this guy?’” Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker said the debut was “glitzy, glamorous fun” and that
the taped material showed how much planning O’Brien is putting into the show. Silverman said he was optimistic that O’Brien can keep NBC ahead of its chief late-night competitor, Letterman. O’Brien is 46; Letterman 62.
“I’m hoping that Conan’s youth and smart sense of humor and kind of transparent kindness comes across,” he said. “I think that comes through with Fallon and Leno, too. These are genuinely kind people that care about the people around them.”
paul drinkwater/nbc associated press Conan O’Brien makes his debut as the host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” Monday in Universal City, Ca.
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June 3, 2009 Volume LXXII, No. 158 ©2009 Mustang Daily “I’m down with zen.”
Opinion/EDitorial mustang daily
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Editor in chief: Marlize van Romburgh Managing Editor: Giana Magnoli
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Capitalists are society’s true humanitarians It is vital to recognize that the humanitarian is necessarily limited and defined in his efforts to promote good by those who are able to give. A world inhabited only by humanitarians of the usual variety would quickly whither from lack of production. In a matter of weeks, many of you will be handed a college degree. On this day of anointment, no doubt many of you will reject the traditional career paths that white collars have been traditionally groomed for. Many of you, sensing the futility of acquiring a decent job in today’s gloomy market, will opt instead to devote yourself to altruistic, humanitarian causes. For those of your bent, there is a burgeoning source of jobs (or callings) in the nonprofit arena. With such a job, you may not enjoy a hefty salary, but you will assuredly be able to bask in the social status that these positions seem to automatically earn. Or, if you’re like the president’s wife, you might possibly be able to enjoy both the sainthood from working for a nonprofit and the extravagant salary of a Wall Street tycoon. But whatever you end up doing, I must submit a note of caution to the next generation of do-gooders. The first point that must be soberly attended to is one which is often overlooked. You see, many people assume that by becoming a do-gooder, they naturally and inevitably become agents of good. This is hopelessly mistaken. It is important to remember that the road to hell is most often paved by those with good intentions. Nowadays, it is distressingly difficult to find a true black hearted villain. Yet still the world is without respite in turmoil and agony over the trouble that people cause one another. Evil abounds, but self-admitted evil-doers do not. How is this? We must come to grips with the fact that a great deal of evil is perpetrated not by the evil-doer or even the disinterested, but by those with the purest of intentions and the noblest of motives. For even these can use the wrong means to achieve their objectives. This observation may offend sensibilities, but it is difficult to deny the evidence. After all, consider all the evils which humans have committed against one another — crimes of murder, rapine, fraud, etc. Even a limited accounting of all the atrocities committed by man against man will quickly illuminate the statistical impossibility that villains are always to blame. There simply aren’t enough scoundrels to accomplish the job. The second point which can-
Don’t Tread on Me
by Jeremy Hicks
not be hardly overemphasized is that the vocation of humanitarian is not for everyone. In fact, it is probably best reserved for only a very few. Over the course of history, society has generally suffered only a minority of the population to act as professional humanitarians. After all, the career humanitarian is a unique breed. The humanitarian seeks alms for the poor and must, in turn, seek alms for himself to continue his alms-seeking vocation. And from whom does the humanitarian seek alms? From those with the means to give alms, naturally. This is a neglected portion of society, I’m afraid. Of course, there are those of enormous means who make sensational headlines with their giving, but I don’t speak of those. I refer to the bedrock of society, the backbone of industry, the ordinary people of means who, prompted by religious or moral convictions, give humble amounts out of our marginal surplus. It’s ordinary people like this who are the unsung heroes of every despairing and humbled person. For it is vital to recognize that the humanitarian is necessarily limited and defined in his efforts to promote good by those who are able to give. A world inhabited only by humanitarians of the usual variety would quickly whither from lack of production. Those who enable the generous habits of humanitarians are part of productive society and their roles is at least as important, if not essentially much more so, than the humanitarian’s. They go to work and make money; their earnings are not considered donations but payment for productive, meaningful labor; they are, in a word, capitalists. They are society’s true humanitarians.
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Jeremy Hicks is a 2008 political science graduate, the founder of the Cal Poly Libertarian Club and a Mustang Daily political columnist.
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Corporation’s records should be public I think the article about the legislation that would force the Cal Poly Corporation to open its records is great news and I sure hope that this bill passes. On many occasions I have been disgruntled with the cost of goods and services on campus and the significant price mark-up of certain items over off-campus alternatives. For example, bananas at The Avenue are sold at over four times the price of the same banana at Trader Joe’s. A pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich from The Avenue costs over $5, more than a freshly-made footlong sub at Subway. Sure, The Avenue offers convenient on-campus eating, but to me it’s more of a monopoly over location than the actual cost of convenience. These facts are frustrating, but even worse is the fact that these on-campus organizations are blanketed under a “non-profit” label, yet their finances are not publicly accessible. I find it laughable that they say the bill would “put the corporation at a disadvantage in competing with off-campus, for-profit businesses.” As it stands, few things on campus are price comparable with off-campus, let alone competitive. And is it any surprise when you think about the services? How many offcampus for-profit businesses do you know of that have large flat-panel televisions to display mostly stagnant menus? On campus, Backstage Pizza has two and 19 Metro Station has four. That system alone must have cost thousands of dollars to put in place. Personally, I would rather have more affordable food than the pleasure of reading a menu off of a flat-panel television. And what about in regards to the bookstore — what of their earnings? I once took a course with a professor who had recently published a textbook to compliment the course. He said he had no control over the price of the textbook, but did mention his profit and the publisher’s price for a new book. Based on this, and what
the bookstore on campus was selling the book for, the bookstore would have been making three times what the author was making for each new book sold. This doesn’t even take into account the profit margin the bookstore will also make buying and re-selling used copies, all done without any additional compensation to the author.Yes, there are off-campus alternatives, but they tend to price based upon the campus bookstore, in order to maintain an only slightly competitive edge. Those of us who really want to save money on buying textbooks are forced to shop for books online. However, it can be difficult to purchase just the book you need with enough time for shipping. The campus bookstore releases course material information only weeks in advance of the quarter and they never give the ISBN, only the author and book title. They don’t even give the edition of text that is needed; the only way to be sure is to peruse the shelves of the bookstore and write down the ISBNs of the textbooks you need. Perhaps if this bill passes, public scrutiny may force the on-campus businesses to be more competitive. I understand that any profit (technically referred to as “surplus” for non-profits) is turned around and used to grow the business, but it seems like private companies tend to make changes more quickly and economically than is done on campus. It seems like in the private sector, things are done efficiently in order to save money for both the business and the consumer, whereas for a non-profit company on campus, any surplus earned is often quickly spent on trivial things, or even wasted on things we may not know about as long as their financial records are kept private. Jeff Lewis is a mechanical engineering sophomore and a Mustang Daily guest columnist.
Angela did a fantastic job as ASI president.This was a tough year to be in those shoes, what with the crops science incident, the death of Carson Starkey and all the other major events on campus and in the world. I’m not sure how she does it, but I’m glad she stepped up to the plate. — Kate Response to “Kramer’s presidency: a look back” Angela Kramer is going to go very far in life. All of us back in New York is very proud of her. — Diana Cola Response to “Kramer’s presidency: a look back” “We’re just concerned about people dissecting what we’re doing, how we’re doing and how that’s going to impact the services that we provide for the campus.” If there is nothing to hide, why be so afraid of a little scrutiny over what goes on behind closed doors? Remember, it’s our money being collected and spent. “The bill would also put the corporation at a disadvantage in competing with off-campus, for-profit businesses, Murphy said. ‘We do want to make sure that
we are taking care of our students on campus.’” Aside from being one of the lamest excuses I’ve heard, this response would be almost laughable if it wasn’t a blatant admission of price gouging. Right, so if students find out how much they’re getting ripped off for textbooks, they might go somewhere else? Gee, you think!? But hey, what consumers need competition and the free market when CPC has your best interests at heart… — Cameron Shew Response to “Bill could force Poly Corp. to release records” I must be missing something. How does this fall anywhere above the realm of “mediocrity?” Denise’s columns were better, get off your high horse. — Kevin Response to “To do it or not to do it: That is the question” I do call it whoopie in real life. Most girls don’t find it that attractive. — Tehl Response to “To do it or not to do it: That is the question”
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Nunno continued from page 16
as a challenge, from getting out bed on his own a week later to eventually get back into old form, agonizingly slowly. After three months, he could jog and after about five months he could lift light weights and begin to strengthen his core. It was his competitive spirit that willed him to spend hours on the track, regain eligibility and recover from missing months of class with a demanding major. “It was probably one of the most
after only throwing one javeline, mustering up enough energy and favoring a sore groin for the final event — the 1,500. “I really have a shot at this,” Nunno said. “I have put so much work and so much of myself into it that I just went out there and gave it my all.” He needed to beat Duer, who was in first going into the final event, by seven seconds. Nunno said he probably “scared the crap” out of his coach after he recorded splits of 28 seconds at the first 200 and 62 seconds after the first lap. Hoyt was yelling “Slow down” from across the
courtesy photo
Cal Poly senior James Nunno, shown above competing in the long jump, completed a year-long comeback in winning the Big West decathfrustrating parts of my life,” Nunno said slowly as his voice deepened. “It was just like overwhelming, being given this huge list of things I have to do that you need 10 years to do it and I had only less than a year to do it.” Afraid of re-aggravating his injury, Nunno didn’t even attempt vaulting until November. He didn’t have enough time to regain his strength, but he could perfect his technique, said Hoyt, who was worried his technique would diminish in order to compensate for the significant decrease in strength. “He probably likes having the challenge (of rebounding from the injury),” Hoyt said. “He picked the hardest major, the hardest sport and wanted to do it all. I wouldn’t want to take anyone else to a meet because he is the most competitive guy ever, because if you want it that badly you won’t lose.” About a year later, Nunno found himself neck-and-neck with Duer on May 8 at the Big West Conference Multi-Event Championship hosted by University of California, Irvine. Nunno gained ground in the standings by posting a 16 foot, 4 3/4 inch clearance in the pole vault and earning second with two events to go. He dropped a spot
track, Nunno acquiesced, but not until he clocked a personal best 4:32.57 and accumulated a 7,208 points. He finished 20 seconds in front of Duer who finished second while tallying a personal best 7,135 points. “It was too fast, that’s like a 4-minute mile pace; it would’ve won conference,” Hoyt explained. “I didn’t know if he was actually going to finish or if was going to pass out.” Hoyt said the run was inspiring, Nunno looked as though he was possessed; it gave him goosebumps. “His passion for the sport and race took over; running on pure passion, you don’t run any better when you are doing that,” Hoyt added. “I was blown away that he took it out so hard after the second and third lap; I was amazed at what he was able to do,” Duer said. Nunno was emotional after crossing the finish line for the first time after winning an event, he said. “When you see people get emotional after that, it’s just because you invest so much of yourself into it and to have the reward of getting the payback is so overwhelming,”
sports Van Gundy continued from page 16
in the game today,” said Riley, the Heat president who has five NBA titles as a head coach. “I coached for 25 years. My best days are way behind me. His best days are in front of him. He’s a pure coach.” Van Gundy gets it done with one gear. The coach is rarely outworked. There have been nights when Van Gundy has gone straight from the airport after a road trip to the Magic’s practice facility to watch film until the team meeting the next morning. He was so engulfed by work this season that he had to buy a new car after he went about 30,000 miles without changing the oil in the old one. The NBA finals are only causing that stress to swell. “At 3 in the morning, I can’t sleep because I’m worrying about how to stop Kobe Bryant,” Van Gundy said. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who worked with Van Gundy in Miami, has said he worries about Van Gundy’s constant intensity. Spoelstra said Van Gundy often wouldn’t eat on the team plane because he was too worked up after games, so Spoelstra would throw food at him. “He’s always 100 percent real. He’s not coming from any other angle, other than what he’s actually feeling,” Spoelstra said. For Van Gundy, a husband and father of four, the time to relax comes in the summer, when the lifelong baseball fan heads to Miami to attend Florida Marlins games.
Sports designer: Kate Nickerson Van Gundy is good friends with Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez and the rest of the organization and often spends time around the clubhouse before games. But even Van Gundy admits Gonzalez is “totally opposite” of him because he’s “totally under control.” Van Gundy is so at peace with baseball he even jokingly lobbied for a summer gig as a bullpen coach on Florida’s staff. “Fredi said that I don’t know anything about pitching,” Van Gundy said. “I said, ‘No. But I can answer a phone.’ I’ve offered to do dinner reservations, really, anything I could do.” Van Gundy might not know much about pitching, but he is a confident basketball coach. He didn’t flinch after O’Neal called him the “master of panic” in a wicked rant after Van Gundy said the Big Fella flopped during a game in Orlando in March. As it turned out, O’Neal was reduced to watching Game 3 of the conference finals as a fan in the second row in Orlando. Van Gundy said he never felt he had to be vindicated. “We’re way past that,” he said. “Did it bother me? Of course. I think anytime somebody says something negative about you, you know, does it bother you? Yea. How much it does is the point and everything
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else. That didn’t stick with me very long at all.” Van Gundy has even more reason to look forward to the NBA finals. His brother, Jeff, the former head coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, is part of the broadcast team on ABC. While that may be a conflict of interest — Jeff has said he will try to be objective but will root for the Magic — it does give the pair rare time together. The two are best friends. “It’s a little strange,” Van Gundy said. “I know it has got to be tough. I know it was always hard for me to watch his teams playing, because you can’t do anything about it.” Now he can do more than just be a spectator. No more watching on TV or in a luxury suite, scribbling notes to give to another coach, as he did for Riley during the Heat’s stretch run in 2006 while he was still on the payroll.This time, all eyes are on him. And don’t expect him to change his ways. “You’ve got to be yourself,” Van Gundy said. “If I try to be (Lakers coach) Phil Jackson, number one I couldn’t do it. And number two I think it would come off as very, very phony.That’s just not me.” AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this story.
SPORTS
mustangdaily.net Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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track and field
Nunno completes grueling comeback taking a full swing at your ribs with a bat, adding the broken pole could have easily impaled the architectural engineering senior. But a Cal Poly trainer determined nothing was wrong with his ribs despite the constant pain, swelling, trouble breathing and the significant welt caused by the pole that spanned across his back, down his side and through his ribs. The trainer simply instructed Nunno to go home and rest. If Nunno had taken the trainer’s advice there is a good chance he would not be alive, let alone be the No. 20 ranked decathlete in the nation or earn his second Big West title May 8, about a year after his injury. While in the trainer’s room, a friend of Nunno’s noticed he was losing color in his face and said, “If I didn’t know any better, it looks like you are bleeding out.” But everyone seemed to brush it off, Nunno said. Luckily, Nunno’s mom was in town and advised her son to go get an X-ray. At the Health Center the athlete’s vision became spotty and he almost passed out. “That’s when everybody realized there’s probably something more going on,” Nunno said. After rushing to the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, the CAT scan revealed Nunno ruptured the main artery in his spleen and lost 3 pints of blood. His only option was to have surgery immediately or else he would internally bleed to death. “It was a blessing that his mom was at practice that day and could just load him in the truck and get him to ER because he may have just wandered off to his room and died there,” Hoyt said. Nunno echoed his coach’s observation.
Alex Kacik MUSTANG DAILY
I
t was just another jump for Cal Poly senior decathlete James Nunno. Last March, Nunno said he was feeling bigger, faster and stronger than he had ever felt before, training to defend his 2007 Big West Conference decathlon title. Deciding to test his best event on a warm Tuesday afternoon, he took the pole-vaulting runway, ready to catapult himself in the air after a full sprint like he had done so many times before. Yet as Nunno left the ground and the pole flexed, it shattered in half — ricocheting off the ground and striking him in the abdomen as he awkwardly fell into the pit. The worst he expected were some broken ribs, but little did he know this time he was competing for his life. “I was in a ton of pain, not matched by anything I’ve felt before,” said Nunno, who was feeling woozy and had to recollect himself before jumping down from the pad. “But there wasn’t external bleeding; it felt like my ribs were really sore so maybe I thought I bruised or fractured ribs.” Cal Poly’s multi-event coach Jack Hoyt likened the rare accident to someone
“If I would’ve went home and went to sleep that night, I wouldn’t have woken up,” Nunno realized. Freshman Cal Poly decathlete Corbin Duer had been training closely with Nunno and was integral to his recovery, Nunno said. “Once I heard he had to go the hospital, I was scared he might not be back,” Duer said. When he first got into the emergency room, they gave him medicine to take his mind off the pain, but it did the exact opposite. “(The medicine) amplified the pain,” Nunno said. “It was like Chinese water torture, all my focus was on the pain and I thought, ‘pull the plug, do what you gotta do because I’m going crazy.’” Once Nunno woke up from surgery, he looked down at
It was a blessing that his mom was at practice that day and could just load him in the truck and get him to the ER because he may have just wandered off to his room and died there. —Jack Hoyt Multi-event coach
21 staples in his stomach where doctors cut from his sternum to his belly button through abdominal muscle and tissue and rearranged his internal organs. He was forced to live off an IV for a week until his digestive system functioned again. It felt as though his stomach was trying to rip open each time he laughed or coughed. “I had enough nutrients to live but that’s about it, so my body pretty much started eating itself, my eyes had sunk in, cheek bones became pronounced and I looked like death.” Hoyt said he looked like prisoner of war of 10 years having lost about 20 pounds of muscle, a frustrating setback. From the day after the surgery Nunno viewed everysee Nunno, page 15
courtesy photo
Stan Van Gundy working Magic toward first title Antonio Gonzalez ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO, Fla. — Stan Van Gundy never wears the championship ring from Miami’s 2006 title. He coached the Heat for the first 21 games that season but can’t say for sure where he put the jewelry. His best guess is it’s in storage somewhere collecting dust. “It really does not mean anything,” the Orlando Magic coach said. “I was not part of that,”Van Gundy said. “I don’t feel a part of that. I don’t feel any sense of accomplishment from that at all.” Van Gundy walked away from the Heat after a slow start to the 2005-06 season and Pat Riley returned to the sideline to lead Miami to the title. He arrived in Orlando in 2007 and now has a chance to win a ring that would mean something to him. The Magic begin the finals Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. “He talks about winning a championship every day,” Magic general manager Otis Smith said. “So really, he deserves the credit for raising the bar, that just getting to the playoffs is not good enough.”
Van Gundy is four wins away from his own championship. One that he will have earned despite being criticized, questioned and second-guessed perhaps more than any successful coach this season. Van Gundy’s past (Shaquille O’Neal) and present (Dwight Howard) superstar centers have taken swipes at him. O’Neal called him the “master of panic,” and Howard publicly criticized his coaching strategy. Van Gundy’s approach is unorthodox by NBA standards. He doesn’t wear a tie with his jacket. His face is often unshaved and scruffy. He seems to live and die with each play. He’ll cover his face, pull his hair, stomp his foot and scream at players in that high-pitched tone — which Howard loves to mock — for even the smallest detail. Sometimes he’ll do it all on the same play. “Me and Stan have had our ups and downs, but he is a great motivator,” Howard said. “Even when he’s yelling and screaming, throughout all that, he finds a way to put in just an ounce of something to get us fired up.” Rafer Alston’s favorite Van Gundy moment this season came in April.
The Magic point guard, who also played a season under Van Gundy in Miami, had a late turnover against Cleveland and was ripped by Van Gundy on the sideline. The Magic were blowing out the Cavaliers. “I said, ‘What could you possibly be yelling about? We’re up by 40,’” Alston said, adding that he loves Van Gundy’s passion. But in the end,Van Gundy’s teams win. He led Miami to the 2005 Eastern Conference finals and the Magic have won division titles in each of his first two seasons. He has Orlando in the NBA finals for only the second time in franchise history. Since March 4, 2004,Van Gundy’s record is 198-90 in regular-season games, a winning percentage of .688. Only two NBA franchises (San Antonio, 307-124, .712) and Dallas (299-133, .692) have posted better winning percentages since that date. Not bad for a cast off who was the Magic’s second choice to Florida Gators coach Billy Donovan. “I think he’s probably at the top, if not the very best, x-and-o strategist see Van Gundy, page 15
AssocIAteD press
Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, shown above, has his team four wins from an improbable first NBA championship.