Mustang Daily 07-30-09

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SUMMER MUSTANG 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 football team will undergo many changes in the upcoming school year

The art of Letterpress printing thrives in San Luis Obispo IN ARTS, 5

IN SPORTS, 8

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Volume LXXIII, Number 6

www.mustangdaily.net

Fate of faculty furloughs finalized after CFA vote Lauren Rabaino mustang daily

The California State University (CSU) and the California Faculty Association (CFA) finalized agreements Wednesday on two-day per month faculty furloughs.

The CSU will save about half of the $584 million budget deficit through the furloughs. Of that total, Cal Poly will save approximately $16 million.

Furloughs are mandatory non-work days

without compensation. About 8,800 CFA members, decided to cut their own wages by 10 percent in the vote that passed by 54 percent.

As a Cal Poly lecturer of 12 years, Sherrie Amido had to decide between the possibility of her job being cut or everyone’s salary being reduced.

“I couldn’t imagine myself standing up in front of the classroom and letting my students ask me why I couldn’t take a 10 percent pay cut, when they may have a 30

percent tuition increase,” she said.

The alternative — retaining full faculty pay and implementing layoffs,which would likely cut a majority of lecturer positions — doesn’t comply with the CSU’s mission in Amido’s eyes.

“We still have students that we’re trying to get through the CSU system,” Amido said. “That’s what the CSU is focused on.

How do we do that? We offer furloughs.

Why furloughs? Because it can save classes, see Furloughs, page 2

kevin black mustang daily graphic

Second sign of sharks in SLO Tim Miller mustang daily

A bloodied sea lion is the second sign of shark activity in San Luis Obispo County in the past week.

Shark notices were posted Wednesday morning at Port San Luis because of a suspected shark attack on a sea lion, cautioning beach-goers. No beaches will be closed.

Eric Endersby, the harbor operations director for Morro Bay, said a credible shark sighting was filed Monday by two surfers in Cayucos of a 8-10 foot shark.

Signs were also posted at Morro Bay, Montana De Oro and Cayucos on Monday.

The sea lion was sighted at the sport docks in Port San Luis around 7 a.m. Wednesday, said Greg Weisberg, chief harbor patrol officer at Port San Luis.

No one saw the shark that attacked the sea lion and despite a press release by Cal Fire and reports by other news agencies that the shark was 15 feet in length, the size of the shark is unknown.

Weisberg said that he could not confirm the size of the shark but that the bite was fairly large.

The sea lion survived the attack so it is unclear where the animal was bitten. Weisberg said the still-bleeding sea lion has

been in and out of the water all day. He added that harbor patrol did call the Marine Mammal Center to help the sea lion but the center’s staff had not arrived by the time Port San Luis Harbor Patrol had left.

Reports of sharks are followed up by the harbor patrol to make sure the sighting was of a shark and not some other sea creature. see Sharks page 2

State budget cuts $3 billion from higher education mustang daily staff report

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a state budget Tuesday, that made the $3 billion cut to the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems official.

In addition to faculty furloughs finalized Wednesday, the CSU Board of Trustees voted to increase student fees by 20 percent on July 21. This fee increase is on top of a 10 percent fee increase that was already approved. One-third of the fee increase will go financial aid.

Brian Ferguson, communications specialist for the CFA, said “This budget crisis has been a very painful experience for students.”

With the increased student fees, quarterly tuition for Cal Poly students will be $2,066 — which totals at $6,198 in a three-quarter school year, not including summers.

This amount is higher than the $4,827 CSU average, but still lower than the UC average of $8,700.

Cal Poly’s tuition is also lower than other polytechnic universities like Cal Tech, which will see tuition of $33,324 in 2009-10 and Virginia Tech, which has an annual tuition of $8,604.

The chancellor’s office also announced an enrollment freeze for spring quarter July 9 that would help reduce enrollment by 35,000. The chancellor’s goal is to reduce enrollment by a total of 40,000 students for the 2010-11 academic year.

A few infrastructure projects at Cal Poly will be put on hold as a result of the deficit, including a $124 million upgrade of the science “spider” building and the project to turn South Perimeter Road into a plaza in the fall.

Projects like the $71 million Rec Center remodel and the $3.1 million University Union Plaza renovation will continue because the projects use funds that cannot be used for academics.

Koob said there is no way to reallocate the money in light of the current budget situation.

“The fact is that it’d be illegal to spend it anywhere else,” Koob said.

Cal Poly’s current $226 million budget will see a cut of about $33 million, which is a 15 percent cut for the 2009-10 school year.

Lauren Rabaino, Katie McIntyre and Tim Miller contributed to this report.

2

Furlough continued from page 1

it can save some of these lecture jobs so that we can get students through in a timely fashion.”

But she realizes why many of her fellow faculty members planned to vote against the furlough.

“You can understand why people would be unhappy, because, guess what? We’re not paid that much to begin with,” Amido said.

History professor Lewis Call said the pay cuts will devestate his personal finances because, although he and his wife both work, it’s not enough money to sustain his family.

“Even before the furloughs, we just weren’t making it financially,” Call said. “The 10 percent pay cut will completely cripple us, and I’m sure many other faculty — especially junior faculty — are in the same boat.” ­ Call said that the furlough is unfair because there is an expectation for the same amount of work with less pay.

“A real furlough brings some reduction in workload, but we have not been offered any workload reduction, so it is simply a 10 percent pay cut,” Call said.

Although faculty are expected to take off two days each month, which is technically a 10 percent reduction in workload, details of where that time will come from and how it will impact class schedules is yet to be determined.

Another problem he has is that the CSU furlough cuts everyone’s pay equally instead

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of proportionately to their salary — like the UC’s proposed furlough plan.

The University of California furloughs range from 11 days (a 4 percent pay cut) for the lowest paid employees to 26 days (a 10 percent pay cut) for the highest-paid.

The Memorandum of Understanding issued Wednesday said the president of each CSU campus may designate specific furlough days or partial campus closure days, depending on the needs of the campus.

Faculty members are not permitted to take more than one furlough day in the same work week and all furlough days must be taken before June 30, 2010. Administrators like Vice President of Academic Affairs Bob Koob and President Warren Baker are also included in the 10 percent salary cuts.

There is also a concern that a ‘brain drain’ will make it harder to attract and keep the most qualified faculty and staff.

Koob said that the economic damage will likely cause some Cal Poly employees to be drawn to other higher-paying institutions, but it won’t be a permanent loss.

“Clearly this damage will cause people to leave, but it’ll be short-sighted,” Koob said.

“These economic recessions happen in cycles. We can develop more flexibility if we can deal with this one . . . and come out stronger on the other side.”

In a press release issued by Cal Poly last week, President Baker said management is “working hard to avoid layoffs, but some may be necessary.”

News editor: Tim Miller, News Designer: Kasey Reed mustangdailynews@gmail.com daily Thursday, July 30, 2009

Shark continued from page 1

“Attacks are very rare,” said Endersby, “but sightings are fairly common, especially in the late summer and early fall.”

Endersby said after the fatal attack in Avila in 2003, people have reported shark sightings more often.

The 2003 attack was the last one in the area, said Endersby, adding that the one before that was in the 1970s.

Anyone in the water is at risk, he said. “You’re in the wild.”

The last two victims of a shark attack in the area have been swimmers. Endersby said that sharks have a huge

territory and that they don’t normally travel in pairs or groups.

Local experts agree on some basic precautions that beach-goers can take to keep safe.

Tim Cowin, part owner of Morro Bay Surf Company, said the best way to avoid sharks is to pay attention to the beach postings.

Another important sign to watch for is other feeding activity in the area such as groups of birds diving and large groups of sea lions and dolphins in concentrated areas.

John Thomas of Central Coast Surfboards said that he has seen sharks at Montana De Oro State Park and near the Morro Bay rock.

“There’s not a whole lot you can do,” he said. “If they want to be invisible, they’ll be invisible.”

Thomas’ only advice: “Don’t get eaten.”

lauren rabaino mustang daily graphic

Large tree population declining in Yosemite Jared Grigsby associated press

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday there are fewer large-diameter trees growing in Yosemite National Park than in years past, most likely because of climate change.

Warmer temperatures and smaller snow packs are creating

conditions where fewer Ponderosa and sugar pines and other heartier trees can flourish, said Jim Lutz, a researcher at the University of Washington who co-wrote the study.

“Most of the water that becomes available in the Sierra Nevada comes from the snow pack,” Lutz said. “Higher temperatures might increase populations of insects or make fungi more aggressive ... which all could increasingly contribute to tree mortality.”

Lutz explained that when smaller snow packs collect in April and May, the trees have less water to sustain them in the dry sum-

mer months that follow. Warmer temperatures also can increase the severity of wildfires, which can kill off trees, he said.

Another factor in the decline may be that parts of Yosemite haven’t experienced wildfires for 100 years. That could have allowed other species that compete with the bigger trees to survive and suck up the water large-diameter trees need to keep growing in girth, Lutz said.

Overall, researchers concluded that the density of large-diameter trees inside the park dropped by 24 percent from 1932 to 1999, according to a detailed analysis of

data from two groups of tree sur“What we are really concerned veys taken throughout the park. with, is can all of the species that Trees in the make up the park’s higher elecosystem evations were continue to among the most persist with affected, the characteristic USGS found. a bu n d a n c e,” Yo s e m i t e ’s Lutz said. protected status Yo s e m i t e as a national park spokesman — and rangers’ Scott Gediand ecologists’ man said that good stewardthe informaship of its fortion gathered ests — allowed will be valuresearchers a able for future unique opporresource mantunity to study agement. trees’ health over “A healthy time, Lutz said. forest is Future studies s o m e t h i n g —Scott Gediman could examine we strive to Yosemite spokesperson the decline’s immaintain as a pact on animals national park,” like the spotted Gediman said. owl and fisher, “The fact that which need the habitat large trees they looked at these trees and provide to live, as do some veg- talked about a smaller number of etation like mosses, orchids and larger-diameter trees means somelichens, researchers said. thing’s going on.”

A healthy forest is something we strive to maintain as a national park.

mustang daily

Thursday, July 30, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

News

Wire Editor: Cassandra J. Carlson

3

Afghan candidates campaign in burqas Rukmini Callimachi associated press

scott applewhite associated press

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivers a report on the country’s economic and financial health before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill last week in Washington.

Financial stabilization seen in some regions Jeannine Aversa associated press

The economy is finally showing signs of stabilizing in some regions of the country — especially in parts of the Northeast and Midwest — bolstering hopes of a broader-based recovery this year.

A Federal Reserve snapshot of economic conditions issued Wednesday found that most of the Fed’s 12 regions indicated either that the recession was easing or that economic activity had “begun to stabilize, albeit at a low level.”

The economy remains fragile.

But the fact that some Fed regions reported signs of activity beginning to level out raises hope that the recession, which started in December 2007, is drawing to a close.

Four Fed regions — New York, Cleveland, Kansas City and San Francisco — pointed to “signs of stabilization,” the survey said. Two regions — Chicago and St. Louis — reported that the pace of economic declined appeared to be “moderating.”

Five other regions — Boston, Philadelphia, Richmond, Atlanta and Dallas — described activity as “slow,” ‘’subdued” or “weak.” Only one region — Minneapolis — indicated that its downward slide in economic activity had worsened.

Combined, the assessments of businesses on the front lines of the economy appeared to be brighter than those they provided for the previous Fed report in mid-June.

The observations in the Fed survey are consistent with an assessment made just last week by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke: that the economy should start growing in the second half of this year, ending the longest recession since World War II. Many analysts predict the recession eased considerably in the Aprilto-June quarter. They’re forecasting that the economy shrank at only a pace of 1.5 percent in the second quarter.

That would mark a big improve-

ment from the annualized 5.5 percent drop in the first three months of this year. The government will release the second-quarter results on Friday. Many economists also believe that the U.S. could start growing as soon as the current quarter.

The survey’s findings will figure into discussions when Bernanke and his colleagues meet next on Aug. 1112. The Fed is expected to keep a key bank lending rate at a record low near zero to help nurture a recovery.

Economists say the Fed is likely to hold rates at such record low levels through the rest of this year.

Worsening joblessness remains a major concern. More than 90 percent of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas saw their unemployment rates climb in June from the previous month, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Some of the biggest increases hit college towns, where the annual summertime exodus of students causes bars, restaurants and other businesses to cut staff.

The metro-area unemployment rates aren’t adjusted to account for seasonal trends, such as lifeguards hired during summer or retail clerks let go after the holiday shopping season. So they tend to be volatile from month to month.

The U.S. jobless rate, which hit 9.5 percent in June, is expected to rise to 9.7 percent when the department reports the July rate next week.

Separately Wednesday, the government said orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket durable goods plunged in June by the largest amount in five months, reflecting the troubles in the auto industry and a steep drop in demand for commercial jets.

Overall, orders fell 2.5 percent, much larger than the 0.6 percent decline economists had expected. Orders for commercial aircraft, dampened by the global recession, plunged 38.5 percent.

In the Fed report, manufacturing activity showed “some improvement” in the Richmond, Chicago and Kansas City regions.

SHIRAK PIRAK, Afghanistan (AP) — Sima Matin’s burqa limits her vision. It gives her migraines.

Now it’s causing another problem: It’s hiding her from the voters she hopes will elect her in next month’s provincial election.

For women running for office in one of the world’s most conservative countries, getting out the vote is an uphill battle against social norms. In a place where most women still wear the burqa and do not speak to men outside their immediate family, female candidates are courting danger simply by putting up posters of their uncovered faces. They risk being called prostitutes for trying to explain their platforms to male voters.

In the Aug. 20 election, two women are running for president and 328 female candidates are vying for seats on the country’s 34 provincial councils. In remote villages where women do not work outside the home, they face stiff resistance, from death threats to whisper campaigns accusing them of being bad Muslims.

Whenever she heads to a campaign event, Matin, 36, throws on her burqa. On a recent afternoon, the blue, tent-like fabric billowed behind her as she skirted fields of green shoots at the feet of the rugged mountains in Kapisa province where she is running for a second term on the council. When she reached this village a 20-minute walk away from the nearest road, she ducked into the house of a supporter.

Safely behind the mud walls, she took off the burqa, sat down on a cushion and began explaining her credentials to a group of women.

That’s the way most of her campaign events go — behind walls, in the company of other women.

“If I try to go to a meeting where there are men, my husband says no,” explains Matin. “So how can I campaign? The work I am doing is not just for women. It’s also for men. I

rafiq maqbool associated press

Sima Matin, left, a female candidate in a provincial council election, talks with a male villager, right, on her way to take part in a campaign as her security guard looks on in Shirak Pirak in Kapisa province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday. need to be able to talk to them, too.”

Afghanistan’s constitution calls for at least 25 percent of seats on provincial councils and at least 27 percent of seats in parliament to be reserved for women. So in most cases, women are running against other women for set-aside seats. But the two presidential candidates are running against men, and there are also many seats open to both men and women.

Of the 3,196 candidates running for provincial seats, about 90 percent — or 2,868 — are men.

In some provinces, like Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban, too few women are on the ballot to fill the quota. In Kapisa, where Matin is running, there are three seats reserved for women and six female candidates running. By contrast, more than 60 men are competing for the remaining six seats, which are open to both men and women.

While their male counterparts hold rallies and plaster their districts with posters, female candidates mostly campaign in private, carefully choreographing each foray outside the home. Even women who did not wear the burqa before say they’re being forced to put it on to draw less attention to themselves.

Malika Mayeelzada, a 45-year-old

teacher, refused to wear the burqa during the Taliban era until militants beat her with a club, breaking her arm. She took it off eight years ago after the fall of the Taliban — only to put it back on when she announced her candidacy for the provincial seat in Parwan, a district of brown hills just west of here.

“When I go into the villages, I’m always trying to encourage my sisters to take off the burqa,” she says. “But because of fear for my safety, I can’t show my face anymore.”

Many female candidates are pushing the limits of what is considered decent by putting up posters of themselves. Their face is shown, though all of them cover their heads with scarves.

Matin says her husband drove her to a photo studio in Kabul and hovered over her as she took her photo, instructing her to pull her veil tightly around her chin so that her hair does not show. But as soon as she put up the poster, a cleric complained, saying the portrait was provocative and unIslamic because she wore eyeshadow and lipstick.

So in its place, she put up a second poster where she is not wear see Elections, page 4

4

Mustang Daily www.mustangdaily.net

Thursday, July30, 2009

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National

International

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — A report by San Luis Obispo County officials says a county administrator was fired over an improper relationship with a union official.

The 246-page report made public Tuesday by a Superior Court judge says Gail Wilcox had an affair with Tony Perry, executive director of the Deputy Sheriff ’s Association.

The report says Wilcox and Perry, who is married, sat on opposite sides of the bargaining table, Wilcox for management and Perry for union.

CHICAGO (AP) — The country’s oldest black sorority is suing to have its president removed, alleging that she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of the group’s money on herself — some of it to pay for a wax figure in her own likeness.

In the suit filed in Washington, D.C., Alpha Kappa Alpha members allege that President Barbara McKinzie also bought designer clothing, jewelry and lingerie with the sorority credit card. The attorney representing the plaintiffs suing the Chicago-based sorority said Wednesday the spending is shocking.

But McKinzie denies what she describes as “malicious allegations” in the lawsuit. In a statement issued by the sorority, McKinzie says the accusations are based on fabrications.

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) —Police broke up opposition rallies protesting the outcome of Kyrgyzstan’s recent presidential election on Wednesday, detaining dozens of demonstrators.

Opposition activists accuse the government of rigging last week’s vote, during which President Kurmanbek Bakiyev won a second term with 76 percent of the ballots.

Kyrgyzstan’s stability is of interest to Russia and the United States.

The Central Asian country hosts a U.S. air base crucial to operations in Afghanistan and has been the focus of competition between Washington and Moscow for regional influence.

•••

PASDENA, Calif. (AP) — Two campus suicides have prompted the California Institute of Technology to consider forming a mental health task force.

Caltech’s president made the recommendation at a trustees meeting Tuesday. The elite science school in Pasadena has seen a handful of student suicides in the past decades, including two in the past few months.

Caltech senior Jackson Wang, a mechanical engineering major from Hong Kong, was found in his dorm earlier this month — three weeks after the suicide of junior Brian Go. Go was a computer science and math major from Maryland.

Both students asphyxiated by inhaling helium but authorities say the deaths don’t appear to be linked.

•••

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — An Auburn University veterinary student has vanished during a sightseeing trip to Thailand, and officials from the Alabama school are in Tokyo trying to find him.

University officials say 29-yearold Michael Griffin Harrie was last seen July 14 in Bangkok. He left for the trip July 7 from Japan, where he was participating in a study abroad program at Iwate University in Morioka. He was supposed to meet his parents July 16 in Tokyo, but never arrived.

•••

MADRID (AP) — A suspected car bomb exploded early Wednesday near a Civil Guard barracks in the northern city of Burgos, the Interior Ministry said.

Authorities did not have any immediate details on injuries or damage. State broadcaster RTVE said in its early morning radio and television news bulletins that several dozen people were slightly injured, mainly from flying glass, when the bomb detonated.

Police and emergency services did not receive any warning that a bomb had been planted, but the explosion had the hallmarks of a terror attack by the separatist Basque group ETA, the broadcaster said.

rafiq maqbool associated press

Matin, second from left, on a campaign walk with her security guard in Shirak Pirak in Kapisa province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday.

Elections continued from page 3

ing makeup — her face washed of all color and her expression blank.

Even so, her husband has asked her not to hang the posters outside. With the exception of a few shops, her posters are distributed to supporters, who put them up behind the walls of their homes.

Those trying to intimidate female candidates also use their families as a pressure point. Last year, militants kidnapped the husband of Nuria Hamady, a female delegate on the council in Baghlan Province. They beat him and said they would come back to kill him if he did not dissuade his wife from running for a second term.

“It became a family problem for me,” says Hamady, 36, the mother of nine children. “Now my husband is against me. He no longer wants me to

be a candidate. ... What should I do?

I’d like to serve my people, but I’m finding it very hard.”

Hamady has stopped campaigning and she goes to and from her home and office under armed guard.Another woman running for the Baghlan council recently went into hiding after a hand grenade was thrown into her home.

Women in politics say the obstacles intensify the more public they become.When they stand up to speak, women parliamentarians say they often find that their microphones have been switched off. Water bottles are thrown at them. The most outspoken are met with jeers of “Kill her!”

Malalai Joya, 31, one of the youngest members of parliament, slept in a different house every night after publicly denouncing the fact that numerous former warlords are now in parliament. She has survived five assassination attempts.

WORD ON THE STREET “Will you going into the ocean after the recent shark sighting in Avila beach?”

“Possibly, yeah. Shark attacks are very rare even though there was a shark attack in Avila a couple of years ago.”

-Andrew Garcia, general engineering junior

“No, ‘cause I haven’t been in the water since I’ve been at Cal Poly.”

-Michael Parolini, architecture engineering assistant professor

“No, I’ve never gone in during the last 11 years I’ve been here.”

-Kelsey Parolini, architecture engineering assistant professor

“I wasn’t planning on it. But I haven’t heard of sharks near SLO since I’ve been here. It makes going to the beach a little bit scarier.”

-Donna Mena, architecture sophomore COMPILED AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY CASSANDRA J. CARLSON

Arts editor: Krizia Torres, Arts Designer: Amber Kiwan mustangdailynews@gmail.com

Mustang Daily

Thursday, July 30, 2009 www.mustangdaily.net

Arts

5

Letterpress: Traditional technology for a modern world

Daniel Triassi MUSTANG DAILY

The kiss of metal.

This may sound more like a hard rock mantra, but in the case of letterpress printing, it refers to the “kiss” of inked metal pressing down on soft, thick paper.

“It’s so yummy, you just want to rub it and touch it,” said Jessica Tringali, owner of the paper boutique Paper Sky. Letterpress was the world’s primary form of printing for about 500 years originating with Guttenberg.

A surface with raised letters is inked and pressed to the surface of the printing substrate (such as paper) to reproduce an image. Typically, metal type is used, but carved wood and stone blocks are also employed.

The process is messy, requiring manual labor and meticulous attention to detail. Letterpress imprints the paper with either type or illustrations and creates a three-dimensional quality. The uneven touch and antique feel of the stamped and pressed paper is what separates letterpress from other printing processes. The look goes straight back to Guttenberg — crisp and tangible.

Terms from letterpress days are still used in current design programs

such as Adobe InDesign. For example, leading, the amount of vertical spacing between lines of type in InDesign, originates from the amount of actual lead strips set between lines of type in letterpress printing.

“Letterpress is important in today’s society — it is a part of the history of communication,” graphic communication lecturer Donna Templeton said. “It is essential to see where things have come from and appreciate the art and antiquity of yesteryear.”

Whether found on ornate wedding invitations, produced by hip graphic artists or used for holiday greeting cards, letterpress is catching on with a generation eager for an antidote to the slick, ephemeral quality of modern correspondence.

As we move quickly from one form of digital media to the next, art and design senior Dante Iniquez believes letterpress printing still has great value in the modern world.

“I think that is only natural that people tend to gravitate to something that is real and interactive since the sense of touch is almost completely neglected in digital design,” Iniguez said.

For creative types, it’s a way to do something different — working with your hands rather than sitting at

daniel triassi mustang daily

Local paper boutique Paper Sky uses letterpress techniques for invitations and cards. The traditional style is making a comeback.

a desk all day. Letterpress transforms paper into art, it changes it from planar to sculptural. And it holds color elegantly, as if the pressed areas are reservoirs of ink.

Until recently, letterpress was headed for extinction, replaced by faster, mass-produced techniques such as offset lithography. In that process, images on metal plates are transferred to rubber blankets or rollers and then onto the print media. The printing substrate is neither raised above the surface of the printing place (as in letterpress printing) nor sunk below it (as in gravure printing). Lithographic printing is flat.

Letterpress is not just antiquarian, arcane or deeply nostalgic; it’s sometimes innovative and original.

Graphic communication profes-

sor Lorraine Donegan feels letterpress can also stand out from a business prospective. People are reluctant to throw letterpress business cards and invitations away.

In a world of mass production, creating something that people hold onto is more valuable than ever. Letterpress printing offers that distinction.

“These are not disposable invitations; they’re designed and printed with the utmost attention to detail,” Donegan said.

San Luis Obispo letterpress studio, Sugar Plum Invitations, has several letterpress printers, 60 and 90 years old each. The owners, Becky and Troy Hawkins, were intrigued with producing something that requires both skill and care.

“I compare letterpress printing to cookies. Anyone can buy a box of national brand cookies that are made in a huge factory that are tough and bland. But then only your Grandma can make homemade cookies that are hot, fresh and taste amazing. It’s nostalgic, comforting and made at home with love,” Becky said.

Of course, letterpress will never regain its place as a primary printing process. But, as with professional presses, the number of amateur letterpress printers is increasing, and so are the number of universities adding letterpress centers for printmaking and graphic design classes.

“More people are learning about letterpress and falling in love. Everything old becomes cool and new again,” Becky said.

mustang daily The voice of Cal Poly since 1916 Graphic Arts Building, Suite 226 California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 (805) 756-1796 editorial (805) 756-1143 advertising (805) 756-6784 fax mustangdaily@gmail.com e-mail

editors & staff editor in chief Emilie Egger managing editor Alex Kacik news editor Tim Miller news designer Kasey Reed wire editor Cassie Carlson sports editor Scott Silvey sports designer Kevin Black online editor Lauren Rabaino arts editor Krizia Torres arts designer Amber Kiwan copy editors Katie McIntyre, Breehan Yohe-Mellor photographers Nick Camacho, Patrick Fina production manager Andrew Santos-Johnson assistant production manager Jason Cope advertising coordinator Charlotte Lilley business manager Sarah Carbonel marketing manager Kelsey Magnusen advertising manager Kristin Coplan ad designers Mai-Chi Vu, Sara Hamling advertising representatives Erika Powers, Giana Ronzani, April Manalotto, Brittni Kiick, Adam Plachta,Tarah Brinkerhoff, Lindsey Bly faculty adviser Brady Teufel general manager Paul Bittick

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July 30, 2009 Volume LXXIII, No. 6 ©2009 Mustang Daily “David Grohl ... just the way he sings, you know he’s good.”

opinion/editorial Thursday, July 30, 2009

Editor in chief: Emilie Egger Managing Editor: Alex Kacik

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6

To tweet or not to tweet...

In 1600, Shakespeare wrote one of the most famous quotations in literature: “To be, or not to be.”

Fast-forward 400 years, and Shakespeare could be typing his line on the Internet as: “To tweet, or not to tweet.”

On the surface,Twitter is a mix of social networking and micro-blogging that enables users to send and receive 140-character messages and updates known as tweets. You can tweet on Twitter using the Web, text messaging services or third-party applications. Twitter is essentially a tool that condenses our lives into haiku.

Those who can turn life’s banal details into interesting tidbits garner a big audience.

The first reaction most people have to Twitter is confusion, or a fear of the unknown. Why would someone want to read short messages about what someone else is eating for dinner or watching on television?

But Twitter is much more than that. It can help you get a job, brand yourself and provide you with breaking news (and also insight into what your friends are eating for dinner).

Throughout history, new technology has usually been feared when first introduced. Socrates feared the effect that writing would have on the ability to think. The printing press arrived with fear that convenience would prompt intellectual laziness, making us study less. The calculator was feared by professors who thought students would use it so much they wouldn’t understand simple calculations. But from a long term perspective, rather than hurt us, these new

technologies have increased our productivity.

Like its predecessors there are also many ways you can benefit from Twitter. Twitter enables you to get quick feedback from an audience of your peers. You can ask your advice

manage. One of the primary benefits of Twitter is to develop your casual persona by establishing yourself as an approachable and well-connected social personality.

Twitter can be used to mold your Internet image.

The Obama

campaign (known on Twitter as @BarackObama) is an excellent example of this, as it used Twitter to appeal to technologically savvy voters. Town hall meetings and radio addresses may nurture our nostalgia, but Obama’s Twitter feed met our need for speed.

For serious Twitterers, there is a commerical aspect to this. Building a base of colleagues and peers could

pedro molina newsart

and receive instant replies. These collective opinions can provide great insight and influence.

Once, I asked where a good place was to eat sushi in Los Angeles.Thirty minutes later I had five responses with restaurant recommendations.

Gone are the days when we only had to worry about our identity in our immediate community; now we also have our Internet identity to

lead to possible marketing opportunities. With thousands of subscribers to your thoughts, you gain a salable asset. A penny for your thoughts becomes prospective legal tender.

With the rise of citizen journalism, Twitter is often the place for breaking news. I remember first hearing about Michael Jackson’s death from the site.Twitter has also been the leading source for coverage on the Iran elections, the Hudson plane crash, sports and movie reviews.

In the case of the Hudson plane crash, a Twitter user (@jkrums) was aboard a ferry used to rescue stranded passengers. He uploaded a breaking news photo instantly. The New York Times didn’t have the information on their Web site until 30 minutes later.

Furthermore, you can follow many famous athletes including: Shaq (@THE_REAL_SHAQ ), Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) and Lamar Odom (@RealLamarOdom). One athlete, Miwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva (@CV31), wrote “In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt.We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half.

Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.”

Using Twitter for its potential networking and noteworthy information ultimately provides users with a powerful media outlet, a source for recommendations and breaking news.

Something to consider, or even to tweet about later.

Daniel Triassi is a journalism senior and Mustang Daily reporter.

U.S. falling behind in green technology This summer I'm interning at the San Francisco offices of a Chinese solar panel company, which by some measures is the biggest manufacturer of solar photovoltaic panels in the world. For a couple years I have avidly followed the course of climate legislation in the United States as well as in the international community, but getting to watch that debate unfold from within the "green economy" bubble has been an eye-opening experience, made all the more interesting by the fact that my employer is Chinese.

In brief, the last couple of months have left me with the strong impression that unless America begins making massive investments in renewable energy and pledges sharp cuts in emissions, we are effectively dropping out of the race to become the world's leading provider of these technology.

Whatever your thoughts on the causes of climate change, the irreducible fact is that enough people around the world are sold on the threat of global warming, as well as the long term problems from the air pollution, dwindling supply and ever-increasing costs of fossil fuels.

Trillions of dollars are going to be spent over the course of the next century on renewable energy technologies. No country, nor even any American state, can expect to stake a leading position in this emerging

industry unless there is a strong base of domestic consumption underpinning the industry.

Governor Rick Perry seems to have gotten that message, along with his Republican cohorts in Texas, some of whom remain unconvinced that global warming is even a man-made threat to the planet but are nonetheless aggressively seeking to attract high-tech renewable energy companies. Not surprisingly, Texas has long since surpassed California in installed wind capacity.

The U.S. currently trails Japan, Europe and China in the number of top renewable energy companies.

America currently ranks third behind Germany and Japan in installed solar capacity, and is first by a slim margin in installed wind capacity, ahead of Germany, a country with less than a third of our population.

The American Clean Energy and Security act (ACES), the federal climate and energy legislation under consideration this summer, which has cleared the House, but is likely to be watered down, if it ever passes the Senate, would aim for between 12 and 15 percent renewable energy by 2020.

If other countries follow through with already-existing commitments, in 2020 we'll be well behind all of Europe, Japan and China in installed renewable energy (as a percent-

age of our total energy demand).

The company I'm working for, like many solar photovoltaic companies, has relied on sales in Germany and, until the market collapsed, Spain. It is thought that the Chinese market for photovoltaic panels could grow tenfold by 2020.

In the debate over ACES, the Republicans and coal-state Democrats opposing or at least seeking to neuter the legislation repeatedly speak about the competitive disadvantage America will suffer if it takes the lead in fossil fuel regulation, particularly in relation to a still developing country but major rival such as China. Yet China, for all its unwillingness to commit to carbon caps, stands poised to seriously outpace us in the global renewable energy market.

The Chinese are actively pursuing a beefed up version of what Republicans like to call an all-ofthe-above energy policy.Yes, plenty of coal-fired power plants, but also generous emphasis on wind, solar and nuclear. It appears as though China will have little difficulty surpassing its 15 percent renewable energy target by 2020, and will end up closer to 18 percent—between 3 and 6 percent more than the U.S. To give just one example, the so-called "Three Gorges of Wind" project—named after the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest—

aims to produce 20 gigawatts of electricity by 2020, and is merely one of six similarly-sized projects currently in development. To give you a sense of how big that is, the entire U.S. today has 29 gigawatts of installed wind power. Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens’ roadmap for energy independence, the "Pickens' Plan," which got so much press last summer, involves only 4 gigawatts of wind.

Servicing a billion-plus person domestic market, the Chinese energy industry looks to a future of being both the world’s biggest polluter and source of carbon emissions, as well as the globe’s largest and most mature market for renewable energy. As a result, China could come to dominate the international market for renewables.

America, which only very recently ceded the title of “top carbon-emitter” to China and is still living down the Bush administration’s rejection of the Kyoto treaty, seems poised to position itself as an also-ran in perhaps the most critical industry for the future world economy, despite the best efforts of the Obama administration. It is troglodytes in Congress who are putting America at a “competitive disadvantage” vis a vis China.

Clay A. Dumas is a former Harvard Crimson associate editorial editor.

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New challenges await Cal Poly football Kate McIntyre mustang daily

The Cal Poly 2009-2010 football season brings change: a new head coach and staff, returning players stepping up to leadership roles and a different defensive strategy. But one thing hasn’t changed: the winning attitude.

“Every year you play football is different than the year before and the next year … It’s what you make of it,” said defensive end Gavin Cooper.

Cal Poly placed 12th out of the top 25 in the 2009 Any Given Saturday preseason poll. They finished eighth in the polls last season after being knocked out of the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs by Weber State in the opening round.

The team is playing the Football Bowl Subdivision’s Ohio and San Jose State this year, along with old rivals such as UC Davis. They will also visit Weber State in the regular season finale on Nov. 21.

They’re getting ready for a competitive lineup with a new head coach, Tim Walsh.

Offensive lineman William Mitchell said he could tell he was going to like Walsh as soon as they met.

“I was like, Coach Walsh, William Mitchell,” he said. “He gave me a fist pump and said, ‘How you doing?’”

Walsh brings a lot of energy to the field and is very involved with

training, he said.

“He’s everywhere. He brings new life.”

Walsh has a 117-82 record and has been a head coach at the college level for 18 seasons. He spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Army.

From its recruiting to its personalities and availability, Walsh said the coaching staff is playing a big role in getting the team ready for the season.

“I’m big on our staff getting to know (the team) not only as players but as people,” he said.

New staff members include cooffensive coordinators Bryan Cook and Saga Tuitele, defensive coordinator Greg Lupfer and strength and conditioning coach, David Wood.

“They’ve been working on agility, speed, strength and power,” Wood said.

The team has a strong overall work ethic and is very committed, he added.

He is working with the players to improve for next year. Many players, particularly on the offensive side, will be getting increased playing time.

“I think we’ve been addressing their weaknesses by individualizing workouts,” he said.

While spectators and fans may wait anxiously to see how the team does without graduates Ramses Barden, Jonathan Dally, James Noble and Ryan Mole, the players and Walsh aren’t fazed.

“A lot of guys will have the opportunity to step up because the graduates are gone,” said Walsh.

“Every year is different and we don’t know everything. It’s a continuous learning process.”

Tony Smith is favored as one of several candidates to replace Jonathan Dally as quarterback, but Walsh will make the final decision in August.

“If we were to play today, he would start,” Walsh said.

The offensive team is sticking with the same spread triple option strategy, but the defensive team has switched from former head coach Rich Ellerson’s double eagle flex to a more traditional 4-3 style.

The defensive players have adjusted really well, according to Lupfer.

“They don’t have to play so much man coverage; they can play some more zone coverage,” he said.

In addition to working out and running drills several times a week, the team has been spending time bonding, which isn’t only fun but also helps the players perform better as a team.

“When you’re on the field, if you’re tight with a guy you’re a lot more willing to trust him and not throw him under the bus,” Cooper said.

Football has meant more than bright lights, cheering fans and uniforms to the players. It has changed their lives.

“If I did not play football I would probably not be at this school …

Without it I would not be the same person” said offensive lineman Scott

Winnewisser.“Without it I’d be the fat kid on YouTube dancing to some stupid song.”

The team will begin officially practicing with Walsh on August 17 and open its 2009 season hosting a Hall of Fame game against Sacramento State on September 12.

The opening game will be very exciting for the Mustangs, Walsh said.

“It’s our first game as a new football team.”

nick camacho mustang daily file photo

Sopohomore quarterback Tony Smith, shown above, is in the running for the starting job next season.

Giants get 3-time All-Star Sanchez from Pirates Janie McCauley associated press

SAN FRANCISCO — Freddy Sanchez offered handshakes and hugs and bid farewell to the Pittsburgh Pirates before walking some 100 yards down the hallway to his new team.

San Francisco swept the Pirates on Wednesday, then plucked one of their top players.

The Giants acquired Sanchez and made it a convenient switch for the three-time All-Star hours after double-play partner and shortstop Jack Wilson was traded to Seattle.

The teams announced the swap

following the Giants’ 1-0, 10-innings victory — so Sanchez merely had to change clubhouses to join his new organization, which is in the thick of the NL wild-card race.

“It’s crazy,” said Sanchez, who’s unsure when he’ll make his Giants debut because of a knee injury. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s a little crazy, a little hectic. I’m here for a reason.”

Once it was official, Sanchez left the visitor’s side and headed to San Francisco’s locker room to pull on his new No. 28 jersey and a black Giants cap before being formally introduced.

Indeed the Giants haven’t reached the playoffs since 2003 and have en-

associated press

Freddy Sanchez, right, and Bruce Bochy field questions on Wednesday.

dured four straight losing seasons.

San Francisco sent minor league pitcher Tim Alderson to the Pirates for the 31-year-old Sanchez, the 2006 NL batting champion.

“Simply put, our long-awaited next move has finally been consummated,” Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. “A kid that has distinguished himself as an All-Star three out of the last four years and a batting champ within that time frame. The timing’s great.”

The Giants’ medical staff twice examined Sanchez this week to make sure his inflamed left knee was fine.

Sanchez was a late scratch Monday night and didn’t play at all during the Pirates’ three-game series in the Bay Area, giving San Francisco’s medical staff ample time to evaluate him.

He also sat out Friday night’s game at Arizona.

“It’s tough coming to a new team not knowing if you can play or not,” Sanchez said.“That’s the last thing you want to do is come to a new team and be in the trainer’s room. I want to get there as soon as I can but I also want to be smart about it.”

Sanchez is hitting .296 with six home runs and 34 RBIs, and did not play in this week’s series against the Giants because of the knee. He was an All-Star in 2006, 2007 and this year.

He will move into the No. 2 hole in the batting order and be the regular second baseman. Sanchez is 3 for 34

over his last eight games, but hopes to be back on track soon.

It was the second trade of the day for the last-place Pirates, and second swap of the week for the Giants after acquiring infielder-outfielder Ryan Garko from Cleveland on Monday.

Friday is the deadline for teams to make deals without waivers.

“We’re relieved this has come to fruition,” Sabean said.

So is Sanchez, who had been dealing with the trade rumors since the All-Star break.

“I’m human,” he said. “You try to put things in the back of your head and be professional about it but we’re all human. It just feels good that it’s over with. There was a little uncertainty. Now I can just concentrate and go play and help these guys win.”

Pittsburgh sent Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell to the Mariners for shortstop Ronny Cedeno,Triple-A catcher-first baseman Jeff Clement and three minor league pitchers earlier in the day.

Since starting the season with a $48.7 million payroll, ahead of only San Diego and Florida, Pittsburgh has traded what had been its four highestpaid players: Wilson ($7.45 million), Adam LaRoche ($7.05 million), Sanchez ($6.25 million) and Snell ($3.2 million).

“It’s just part of the game. It happens,” third baseman Andy LaRoche said. “I don’t know if this is normal but it’s just the way that our brass sees

it and our front office feels we need to get us going in the right direction.

It’s obviously a tough loss losing guys you’ve become close with and you’ve played with and the guys you have fun being around and you’ve gone into battle with.You can’t let it really affect you.”

With Garko and Sanchez, it gives the club a completely new look on the right side of the infield.

“It’s just exciting to be a part of this,” Garko said upon learning about Sanchez. “The pitching’s so good and we’ve got real good players. I think we can make a run at it. Coming from Cleveland, where kind of the opposite is going on, as a player, when ownership and the general manager are going out there and getting you help, it’s a great thing.”