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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

UU Gallery to host English student’s photography.

Toyota to undergo three detailed investigations.

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Softball aims for third Big West title in four years. IN SPORTS, 12

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

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CSU student research Students host livestock show competition ongoing Leticia Rodriguez mustang daily

The 24th Annual California State University (CSU) Student Research Competition is underway for students who want to compete at the state level at the end of April. The competition promotes graduate and undergraduate work from the 23 CSU campuses. The contest, which is hosted by a different campus each year (this year’s will be held at San Jose State University), is open to all students in the CSU system as well as those who graduated last spring or later. Applicants can choose to do their research on any topic that relates to their particular field of study. The dean of the student’s college evaluates all projects before they are given to Susan Opava, dean of research and graduate programs. When reviewing projects that will be sent to Opava, Camille O’Bryant, kinesiology department chair, said the College of Science and Mathematics looks for student projects that show variety in the kinesiology field such as the psychology of exercise or adaptive physical activity, as well as being appropriate for the particular science the student is researching. “I just want to see that it’s something that’s grounded in the current trend of kinesiology and physical education,” O’Bryant said. Not all student projects go on to compete in San Jose, however. The competitors are reduced to 10 after presenting their work to the academic senate grants review committee, a subcommittee of the academic senate comprised of representatives from

each college. When selecting the projects that will move on to compete with other universities, Opava said the Cal Poly panel looks for clarity, organization, interpretation of results and also what will be best received by the competition judges. In the past, Opava has seen projects that were higher in quality but too advanced. “It’s been very hard actually, because usually they’re all meritorious and sometimes it’s a question of ‘Well, what’s likely to be better received by judges?’” Opava said. “They might be equally good projects, but this one probably has a better chance at winning something.” Cal Poly is no stranger when it comes to winning the competition. In 2005, six of the nine competitors sent to represent the university took home first and second place awards in the 10 categories. In the past five years, Cal Poly students have won multiple awards every year except for 2006. Opava said it’s Cal Poly’s reputation for research excellence that should interest the average student in their peers’ work. “I would want to be able to brag about my university,” Opava said. “I wouldn’t want to be able to just talk about the athletic program if I was a football player. I’d want to be able to say,‘Yeah, Cal Poly is a great place, and students do great things in engineering and in agriculture.’ Just like the engineers go to football games, it’d be nice for even a football player to care about some engineering project.” One dean said the act of actually participating in research is just as important because it prepares students see Competition, page 2

aimee vasquez mustang daily

Austin Traynham prepares one of his family’s heifers for a showing at the Western Bonanza junior livestock fair last weekend. The event is hosted annually by a Cal Poly Livestock Show Management class. Aimee Vasquez mustang daily

Showing animals is exciting, 13-year-old Austin Traynham said over the noise of the rattling generator as he vacuum-cleaned one of his family’s glossy, blackfurred heifers. “It’s fun, just being out with the cows,” he said. “I’ve been out with the cows since I was 2.” Traynham was one of more than 450 animal-savvy, young exhibitors at Western Bonanza Feb. 12 to Feb. 14. Western Bonanza, the largest student-run junior livestock fair

this side of the Rocky Mountains, is open to exhibitors aged 9 to 21. The 26th annual show, held at the Mid-State Fairgrounds in Paso Robles, is the product of a Cal Poly class’s quarter-long efforts. A junior livestock show is similar to a county fair. There are the booths, animals and food stands offering funnel cake and sausage, but the similarities end there. Wendy Hall has been one of the show’s faculty advisers since 1997, when she took over for her husband and Western Bonanza’s founder, animal science professor Michael Hall. She explained the difference.

“It’s not a fair because we don’t have a carnival, we don’t have any other exhibits except the animals. We’re really just a junior livestock show,” Hall said, adding that everything from the trade show to the Friday night taco feed is oriented towards the young participants. “It’s really about the kids.” The children compete for points with hand-raised swine, steers, heifers, goats and lambs. Many of their families came from all over California, and even other states, to take part in Western Bonanza. see Livestock , page 2

Students join local climate change movement with online campaign Zach Lantz mustang daily

Eight Cal Poly students and alumni who attended the UN Global Climate Summit in Copenhagen were discouraged by the lack of political involvement, so they decided to implement change on a smaller scale with an Internet campaign called “Help Us Mom” and by giving lectures about climate change. City regional and planning graduate Mike Marcus struggled to write a letter conveying his frustration regarding climate change to a politician whom he had never met. He decided the best way to communicate his feelings was to pretend

he was writing to his mother. This idea developed into the group’s online campaign. HelpUsMom.com encourages young people from around the country to write letters about climate change to the people who care about them most. Mechanical engineering alum Neil Bulger said the campaign was born near the end of the conference as their group was becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of political progress. “It was a way to channel our feelings of deep frustration and confusion as to how 120 heads of state were together in one room and they couldn’t make any decisions,”

he said. With the right motivation and right mix of people, the idea for the campaign and its execution was formed, he said. “We were in Copenhagen with friends that had created campaigns before, we had people that could do marketing, we had people that could make the Web page, so we just devoted the rest of our time there to really getting the nuts and bolts of this campaign in order,” Bulger said. The campaign’s goal is to initiate dialogue within families across the United States. The “letters to mom” written with the help of HelpUsMom.com will be collected and

mailed to the U.S. Congress and President Obama on Mother’s Day 2010. “It may sound kind of stupid to be honest, but we all thought that it was going to be a very effective way because (when) writing a letter to your mother, she can’t say no to it and it’s mother instinct to protect her child,” environmental protection and management senior Michael Symmes said. Symmes, along with Templeton high school junior Kayla Clark, who also went to the conference, lectured to a crowd of nearly 100 people at Atascadero Lake Pavilion Feb. 10. They talked about the people they met, the lectures they

attended and what they gained by attending the conference. The lecture was a resounding success according to those who attended. “I’ve lived here for 30 years and I’m shocked by how many people showed up,” Atascadero resident David Broadwater said. Symmes said it is his mission to open people’s minds to the critical environmental issues facing society. “I just hope people get a broader sense of what the actual scope of climate change is. A lot of people, in my honest opinion, are pretty ignorant about the issue … I want people to think critically,” Symmes said.


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Animal science sophomore Alexander Thompson described livestock show-hopping as a way of life. “My family is in the cattle business,” said Thompson, who has participated in Western Bonanza since he was young, and is helping run it this year. “We traveled to about eight different shows a year, but Western Bonanza was always the big one. It’s the biggest show on the West Coast, the one we always looked forward to.” Thompson’s experience is not unusual. Sonoma County residents Gennefer Dorr, 20, and her younger brother Davey, 11, also participated in livestock shows since they were young, traveling with parents and often family friends to eight or nine shows a year. “It’s definitely a family event,” Gennefer said. “Not many people can do it by themselves. It’s a teamwork process.” Davey said he enjoys showing his family’s livestock. “I show the lambs for fun, just to have the feeling of going out there and competing,” he said. “Walking out of the ring, no matter what you got, you had a good time.” Winning awards also improves the family’s chance of selling the livestock at the county or state fair later in the year. Western Bonanza faculty adviser Jacky Eshelby, whose children compete in livestock shows around the state, explained the lifestyle. “It’s like any other thing that a child’s involved with,” Eshelby said. “Instead of being in club volleyball or club soccer, they’re into showing livestock. This is what they do for fun.” Western Bonanza is two full, back-to-back shows the same weekend. In theory, a Western

News editor: Kate McIntyre mustangdailynews@gmail.com

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Bonanza participant can come away with double the points they could obtain from a normal livestock show. The fair is also run jackpotstyle. Sponsorships cover the cost of the fairground, awards, judges and other expenses. This means that the junior competitor’s entry fees, which are $10 per event and $30 to $40 per animal, are paid back in awards and prizes. Animal science senior and financial chair Jackie McArthur said they paid out more than $90,000 in money and prizes to the 426 participants last year. Allotting for sufficient Tshirts, awards and prizes is just one small aspect of planning a show like Western Bonanza, and all of these decisions are made by Cal Poly students in the Livestock Show Management class. At the beginning of winter quarter, the class divided into eight committees. One committee is in charge of set-up, another takes care of sponsorship, publicity or animal care. Each committee has at least two student chairs, and there are three student managers who oversee the process. Committee chair and business agriculture senior Annie McIsaac said this is her third year helping with Western Bonanza and her second year as chair. “As far as taking me into the future, it’s probably the most hands-on thing I’ve done at Cal Poly,” she said, adding that she’s gotten more networking opportunities and job offers from this than from any other thing she’s done while at school. For a Cal Poly class, Western Bonanza is a way to not only “learn by doing,” but also to enhance the lives of young animal enthusiasts across the West.

News Competition continued from page 1

for their future career in which good writing skills and communication will be beneficial. Mark Shelton, the associate dean for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences said the agriculture college generally receives anywhere from two to six applicants each year on topics such as dairy product research, soil science, horticulture and animal science. Shelton said encouraging students to do academic research further emphasizes Cal Poly’s ‘learn by doing’ philosophy. “This is a technical university, it’s not a technical school or a technical college but it’s a school that emphasizes technology and science no matter your major,” Shelton said. “I think research is just a natural outcome of a school that emphasizes scientific and technical education.” The students’ ability to conduct research and understand their findings in relation to their particular field of interest is important when being judged at the final competition with other schools. At the state level, participants present their project in front of an audience and a panel of judges made up of people from various industries, or from private or University of California schools. Students have 10 minutes to give their oral presentation, which can include audio and visual demonstrations, before answering questions from the judges and, if time allows, the audience. A portion of their overall score is based on how well they answer questions. While giving a good presentation in front of a panel of judges is important, seeing the work from other stu-

Wednesday, February 17. 2010

dents is just as important. Competing against the other schools allows students to see the academic successes of their peers at other universities, Opava said. In doing so, students get an eyeopener at the academic abilities of other CSU students. “There are many universities where students are getting just as good an education as we are and are doing really great things as well,” Opava said. “I think we tend to often minimize the value of other CSU campuses because we’re always singled out as being the best campus in the CSU system, and I think it’s kind of eye-opening to go out there and see that we’re not always the best. Students will win prizes, and we won’t, and when you look at what they’ve done, you can

necessary because of how imperative it is for people to know their health risks. “I think it’s important to conduct research and educate participants and people in general about cardiovascular disease,”Vaughan said. “It was awesome to be able to do my project for my senior project as opposed to just doing a paper because it was such a great experience for me. I got to work with subjects and work with faculty that I don’t normally work with. I worked with professors from all different disciplines.” Advisers,instructors and deans have been pushing the competition a little more this year in all of the colleges. Debra Valencia-Laver, associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts, said the college hasn’t changed its practices in terms of promoting the competition, but advisors and instructors inquired about it earlier in the year than usual. She thinks a reason for this is because of two more gradu—Susan Opava ate programs in dean of research and graduate programs liberal arts: history and public policy. see the justification for it.” Valencia-Laver is expecting five to 10 Competing against other students entries this year from the college and wasn’t what drew kinesiology senior hopes that the added applicants will Katy Vaughan to enter the compe- add a bit more competition and qualtition. After completing her senior ity of projects to the event. project last year,Vaughan was encour“I think the College of Liberal Arts aged to enter her research into the is kind of an untapped resource in competition by her advisor. terms of its participation in the CSU Her study, which focused on the research competition, and I think health status of Cal Poly’s faculty and we have some great potential there, their risk for cardiovascular disease, so I’m excited about that,” Valenciaallowed her to interact with real-life Laver said. “I have to say we haven’t subjects and put to use some of the really participated, I think, at as high a skills she acquired in classes. Subjects level as we could have or should have were asked to fill out questionnaires, in the past. In some ways, I’m kind of perform exercise tests and have their looking forward to upping the comglucose levels tested. petition and getting more College of Preparation for her project took Liberal Arts students involved.” two quarters, during which she had to However, increased quality of train assistants to read tests and gather projects can be a drawback for the paperwork needed for the study. In students. While the judges typically particular, she said her research was include professionals from various industries, Opava said the projects that go above and beyond are sometimes overlooked because the judges don’t realize the project is “really pushing the frontier.” Thus Opava said she warns students that when they’re presenting to the panel, they aren’t always going to be talking to experts. The projects that are relevant to the time though, “seem to rise to the top.” “You’re not going to be able to get judges that are experts in everything that they’re going to see there and occasionally a project will win more because it fit the judge’s field of knowledge and they understand it,” Opava said. “And some other project that we felt was really spectacular just flew over their heads.” Even so, Opava enjoys seeing the competition between the different colleges and going to the state competition to see the different studies students have conducted. “I have a really busy schedule, and I always start grousing about having to go to the competition, but then it’s always so fun,” Opava said. “And it’s such a pleasure to be there with the students, and I quite enjoy it actually.” Approximately 200 students will participate in the competition being held at San Jose State University from April 30 to May 1.The final competition is split up in 10 sections with an undergraduate and a graduate division in each. First place winners receive approximately $300 and second place winners receive $200. The Cal Poly finalists will be decided after a presentation in front of the Academic Senate Grants Review Committee Feb. 27.

Just like the engineers go to football games, it’d be nice for a football player to care about some engineering project.


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News

Toyota under intense scrutiny By Ralph Vartabedian, Ken Bensinger and Jerry Hirsch los angeles times

LOS ANGELES — In an extraordinary challenge to Toyota Motor Corp., federal regulators Tuesday launched three far-reaching investigations into both the timeliness and the adequacy of the company's recalls for problems that can cause sudden acceleration in its vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demanded a massive volume of Toyota documents, including engineering reports, internal communications and customer complaints involving sudden acceleration.The agency also asked Toyota to identify employees with knowledge of unintended acceleration. Regulators said they were examining whether Toyota acted promptly in ordering a string of safety recalls and whether the company fully considered other potential causes of sudden acceleration besides interference from floor mats and sticking gas pedals. "We are seeking to determine whether Toyota viewed the underlying defects too narrowly ... without fully considering the broader issue of sudden acceleration and any associated safety-related defects that warrant recalls," said NHTSA in one of three letters to Toyota. The action represents a significant shift in the agency's approach to Toyota. NHTSA officials opened at least eight investigations into sudden

acceleration into Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the last seven years, but closed at least five of them without any finding of a defect. Now, with congressional investigators and others looking into both Toyota's and NHTSA's actions, the federal agency is turning up the heat. "NHTSA is saying it wants to make sure it has all of the information. That is an unprecedented step for the agency," said Ricardo Martinez, who served for six years as NHTSA administrator in the 1990s. "When I was administrator, Toyota was one of the better citizens, but the issues they are dealing with now are very disappointing. They are not acting like the Toyota that built the brand of trust." In the letters to Chris Tinto, vice president of Toyota Motor North America Inc., the agency asked why the company waited for years to address a growing volume of complaints about sudden acceleration crashes in its vehicles. One of the letters questions whether the unintended acceleration problem extends far beyond floor mats and sticking pedals, "and how Toyota assessed potential electromagnetic interference" as a potential cause. After years of rising motorist complaints,Toyota began its recalls to address sudden acceleration in 2007, but that initial action was limited to two models comprising 55,000 cars. Since then, the company has incre-

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Toyota team member Scott Whitaker inspects a Camry at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Kentucky Feb. 8. mentally expanded the list of models subject to recall and the reasons for the recalls, starting last September. The growing size and breadth of the recalls has fueled questions about inconsistencies in the company's position and whether it was fully disclosing everything it knew about the safety problems promptly. "Only Toyota knows what they knew and when they knew it," said Nicole Nason, former NHTSA

chief at the time of the 2007 recall. "Manufacturers have to give NHTSA whatever safety defect information they have as soon as they have it. This seems to be a problem between NTHSA and Toyota." Toyota spokeswoman Cindy Knight said the company would cooperate with the investigation. see Toyota, page 4

Climate continued from page 1

sion as to how a 120 heads of state were together in one room and they couldn’t make any decisions,” he said. With the right motivation and right mix of people the seeds of the campaign were sowed, he said. “We were all in Copenhagen all with friends that had created campaigns before, we had people that could do marketing, we had people that could make the Web page, so we just devoted the rest of our time there to really getting the nuts and bolts of this campaign in order,” Bulger said. The campaign’s goal is to initiate dialogue within families across the United States. The “letters to mom” written with the help of HelpUsMom.com will be collected and mailed to U.S. Congress and President Obama on Mother’s Day 2010. “It may sound kind of stupid to be honest, but we all thought that it was going to be a very effective way because (when) writing a letter to your mother, she can’t say no to it and it’s mother instinct to protect her child,” Symmes said.


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Toyota continued from page 3

"Toyota takes its responsibility to advance vehicle safety seriously and to alert government officials of any safety issue in a timely manner," she said. "We are reviewing NHTSA's request and will cooperate to provide all the information they have requested." The new investigation by NHTSA also extends the scope of the investigation beyond the U.S., where NHTSA normally focuses its attentions. "We expect that all manufacturers address automotive safety issues quickly and in a forthright manner," said David Strickland, NHTSA's administrator. NHTSA has the power to subpoena information from automakers or punish them for compliance failures, but it rarely exercises them. The agency can fine an automaker as much as $16 million for infractions, but the largest fine it ever levied, against General Motors in 2004, was for $1 million. That fine was for delaying a recall of windshield wipers. Early this month, NHTSA said it would consider civil fines against Toyota for its handling of the unintended acceleration issue and potentially dragging its feet on announcing the recalls. The new investigation is almost certain to deepen Toyota's image problem, which is already causing a steep slide in sales, a sharp drop in its share price and has even threatened its vaunted financial ratings. Sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles has been blamed for at least 34 fatalities over the last decade, according to complaints filed with NHTSA. The safety agency has received more than 2,000 complaints from Toyota owners about their cars lurching and speeding unintentionally. Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at IHS Global Insight, an auto industry consulting firm, said she didn't remember a time when one automaker was involved in recalls of so many different models involving so many issues. Efraim Levy, a Standard & Poor's equity analyst, recently downgraded the company's stock to a "hold" from a "buy" because of the fallout from the recalls. "Toyota has been blindsid-

ed by the explosion of developments in regard to the recall and quality issues," he said. The NHTSA letters request documents, lists of potentially affected vehicles and chronologies of Toyota's understanding of the sudden acceleration issue, as well as a full accounting of complaints of the problem registered in the company's internal databases. "It's a unique situation," said Dale Kardos, who owns a Washington, D.C., consulting firm specializing in auto regulation. "These investigations are usually done very quietly. Usually nobody hears about it until there's a recall." NHTSA's action comes as Congress plans to hold three investigatory hearings that will examine not only Toyota but NHTSA's handling of the sudden acceleration issue. On Tuesday, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the ranking minority on House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which plans on a hearing next week, sent a letter to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group to which Toyota belongs, seeking information about NHTSA. Meanwhile, Toyota said Tuesday that it plans to briefly idle two U.S. auto factories to adjust to slowing sales caused by its massive recalls in recent months. Toyota plans to shutter a truck factory in San Antonio for the weeks of March 15 and April 12, said Toyota spokesman Mike Goss. It also will close a Georgetown, Ky., plant that makes the Camry and Avalon models on Feb. 26 and has told workers that it might also not produce vehicles on up to three more days in March and April. "We are trying to keep a close eye on inventory and match it to meet sales demand," said Rick Hesterberg, spokesman for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky. The problems are slicing into Toyota's business. While most automakers posted year-over-year gains in January, Toyota's sales fell by 16 percent or, 18,500 fewer vehicles. Ford Motor Co. is now expected to replace the Japanese automaker as the second-biggest seller of autos in the United States this year, according to Edmunds.com, the Santa Monica, Calif., automotive information company.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

News

King Tut died of broken leg, malaria, study shows

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This gray granite statue of Tutankhamun is featured at the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas. Thomas H. Maugh II los angeles times

LOS ANGELES — Archaeologists have weaved intricate

tales of intrigue and deceit about the death at age 19 of Egypt's fabled boy-king Tutankhamen, with theories that include poisoning by his minister Aye and a blow to the

head by thugs hired by Aye, but new research indicates his cause of death was probably more mundane — complications from a broken leg and malaria. Using a new approach (for mummies) they call molecular Egyptology, an international team of researchers found DNA traces of malaria parasites in the boy-king's brain, suggesting an infection was a major factor in his death. Examination of Tut's body and his genes showed he also suffered from a cleft palate, a club foot that would have necessitated walking with canes and a degenerative bone condition called Kohler disease II. He did not, however, suffer from Marfan syndrome or any other disease that would have feminized his appearance, as many researchers have speculated from observing busts from the period. It now appears that the busts were simply a distinct artistic style chosen by the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty of Egypt's New Kingdom, who ruled from 1550 B.C. to 1295 B.C.. By matching DNA samples from other mummies, the team reported Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assocation, they were able to identify one previously see Tut, page 5

Word on the Street “What celebrity would you like to be Cal Poly’s next president?

“Well we had Arnold as governor, look where that got us.”

“Danny Devito, because he’s on ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.’”

“Oprah, because that way we wouldn’t have to worry about budget cuts.”

-Christine Atyia, industrial technology senior

-Jason Chapman, business administration senior

-Claire Lyles, industrial engineering junior

“Jamie Thomas, because we could shred at school.”

“Eddie Murphy, because he’s classic and funny.”

-Tyler Niday, biological resources and agricultural engineering junior

-Tavia Meredith, journalism junior

“The ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ cast because they’re funny.” -Matthew Cameron, manufacturing engineering sophomore

compiled and photographed by Alex kacik


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News

Briefs

Tut continued from page 5

State

National

International

LOS ANGELES (MCT) — A woman was convicted Tuesday in the killing of a Westminster, Calif., fortuneteller and her daughter four years ago that prosecutors said was motivated by a spell that didn’t work. After less than a day of deliberations, an Orange County jury found Tanya Nelson, 45, of North Carolina guilty of first-degree murder in the slayings of fortuneteller Ha “Jade” Smith, 52, and Anita Vo, 23. Nelson faces the death penalty in her sentencing hearing next week. Deputy District Attorney Sonia Balleste argued in court that Nelson blamed Smith for telling a bad fortune and was so angered that she decided to travel to Orange County to kill her. Smith andVo were found stabbed and covered in white paint in their home.

SANFORD, Fla. (MCT) — A man who says he opened his door and was slapped by a bear pleaded no contest Tuesday to feeding wildlife and was fined $200 and placed on six months’ probation. Ernest Stamm, 49, had been ticketed for feeding bears. He lives in a heavily wooded community north of Orlando near Wekiva Springs State Park. He called for help Dec. 10 and told authorities he opened his door and something swiped him across the face. When emergency crews arrived, they found a black bear in his yard. Once the animal left, Stamm was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for cuts to his face and released. Defense attorney David Oliver on Tuesday said Stamm required several stitches to his eye and cheek. He has recovered fully, Oliver said.

AFGHANISTAN (MCT) — The United States has delivered a fleet of drone aircraft and billions of dollars in aid to coax Pakistan to do more to confront Afghan Taliban militants taking refuge inside the country. But the Islamist group’s second in command was captured in Karachi last week largely because the United States was also able to provide something else Pakistan has demanded for years: solid intelligence on where Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar could be found. U.S. and Pakistani officials said Tuesday that the capture of Baradar was driven by a rare intelligence break that enabled American spy agencies to pinpoint the Taliban military chief.

LOS ANGELES (MCT) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest proposals to close California’s budget shortfall would end public assistance for most new legal immigrants, eliminating emergency cash, food and medical aid for those who don’t yet qualify for federal welfare. The proposal would represent an about-face for the state. California and other states established programs to fill the gap. Now, officials say the state can’t afford the price tag.

WASHINGTON (MCT) — President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order establishing a bipartisan commission to recommend ways to rein in the nation’s escalating federal debt on Thursday. University of North Carolina President Erskine Bowles, a Democrat, and former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson, a Republican, will lead the panel. The most recent estimates put the annual federal budget deficit at $1.56 trillion this year.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

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ISLE DE TORTUE, Haiti (MCT) — Another large group of Haitian nationals was repatriated to Haiti after Coast Guard officials said they were rescued from a sinking 50-foot sail freighter discovered about 45 miles north of the country’s Isle de Tortue. Eighty-eight Haitian nationals were returned to Cap Haitien on Tuesday, according to Coast Guard officials, who said they found the “grossly overweighted’’ freighter about 4 p.m. Saturday in the waters off Haiti.

known only as KV55 as the pharaoh Akhenaten, father of Tut; another as Tiye, Akhenaten's mother and Tut's grandmother; and a third as a sister of Akhenaten who was probably Tut's mother. The results represent a sort of proof of concept showing that DNA analysis of mummies can provide valuable insights into their lives and set the stage for a much more thorough examination of mummies from other eras, said archaeologist Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities and leader of the research team. Tutankhamen became pharaoh in 1333 B.C. at age 10 and ruled for only nine years, a period during which most of the governing was probably performed by his regent, the commoner Aye (pronounced "I").Tut was considered a minor king and very little was known about him until archaeologist Howard Carter discovered his riches-filled tomb in 1922, at which point Tut became an international celebrity. Gold and other artifacts from the tomb have been touring museums around the world to standing-roomonly crowds. The find also triggered much speculation. Busts showed a long, feminized face and gynecomastia, feminized breasts. But study of his family's DNA, performed over a two-year period at a specialized ancient-DNA laboratory at the University of Tubingen in Germany, showed no evidence of any genetic

condition that would lead to such characteristics. "It is unlikely that either Tutankhamen or Akhenaten actually displayed a significantly bizarre or feminine physique," the authors wrote. "It is important to note that ancient Egyptian kings typically had themselves and their families represented in an idealized fashion." The first examinations of Tut's skull many years ago showed a fracture, and historians wove elaborate tales about it. Archaeologist Bob Brier of Long Island University published "The Murder of Tutankhamen," speculating that the murder was carried out by Aye's henchmen so that he could continue to rule. But CT scans performed in 2005 showed that the fracture actually occurred long after death, most likely during the embalming process. The CT also showed a cleft palette and a fracture in his left femur, or thighbone, that most likely occurred a few days before his death. But the new testing showed the presence of several genes from the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in Tut and three other mummies, suggesting the disease was a fairly common problem among the Egyptian royalty. That infection, combined with necrosis, or death of bones, caused by Kohler disease could have weakened him severely, the authors speculated. The broken leg, possibly from a fall, could then have been the final event that led to his death. Two one-hour documentaries about the researchers' studies will be presented on the Discovery Channel on Sunday and Monday.


Wednesday, february 17, 2010

arts & Entertainment editor: cassandra keyse

book column

movie column

“Tale” explores human nature in shaken society

Big name stars cannot save “The Wolfman” The Wolfman [2010]

What would society be like if half the population was treated like an inferior race? If their civil liberties and basic human rights were taken away based on a physical trait? These are the very questions that Margaret Atwood addresses in her 1985 novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Although this novel is probably older than most students reading this column, the issues it addresses are still hauntingly relevant. Atwood’s novel gives us a very vivid description of what life could

be like if we as a society did not continue to fight for human rights, to stand up to oppression and define ourselves as more than the drones that women and men become in “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Atwood’s semi-science fiction novel is set in the fictional land, the Republic of Gilead, which has formed within what was formerly the United States. After a huge earthquake hits California, the Unit see “Tale,” page 8

Remaking a beloved classic is one of the most difficult, and at times unnecessary, tasks filmmakers can undertake. George Waggner’s original 1941 horror film “The Wolf Man” helped set the standard for monster movies. Director Joe Johnston’s (“Jumanji,” “Jurassic Park III”) remake, “The Wolfman,” proves to be an energetic, high-toned and gory thriller that unfortunately unfolds into another misguided Hollywood attempt at reimagination. It succeeds in getting the audience to occasionally flinch, but fails to build tension, curiosity or even a sense of fun. The film opens with an introduction to Chatsworth in Derbyshire, an

overwhelmingly regal and impressive British country manor.The broken down and deteriorated home is inhabited by the familiar menacing old man character, Sir John Talbot, entertainingly played by the incomparable Sir Anthony Hopkins. Sir John’s son, Ben, and his fiancée, Gwen, were also living in Chatsworth up until Ben’s unfortunate brutal murder, an act attributed to the mythical monster lurking in the shadows of the countryside. Gwen is played by the superb Emily Blunt (“Young Victoria,”“The Devil Wears Prada”), who provides arguably the best performance of the film, and whom I also had the pleasure of seeing in person this last weekend. Gwen enlists in the aid of Ben’s estranged brother Lawrence Talbot, a hopeful American actor who is set to appear in a London production of “Hamlet.” Talbot was portrayed in the original film by the legendary Lon Chaney, who once described the creature as being his prized performance, his “baby.” In this film,Talbot is personified by talented Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro (“Traffic,” “The Usual Suspects”). Lawrence is eventually attacked by the same beast that killed his brother and in turn evolves into the wolfman under the supervision of his father.The movie’s mayhem then comes fast and often, which prompts the entrance of ScotlandYard inspector Francis Aberline, played by the underrated Hugo Weaving (“The Matrix,” “Lord of the Rings”). You can already probably guess the rest of the plot, which is filled with a repetition of the same type of werewolf attack over and over again, an aspect that eventually became quite annoying.

In terms of photography and design, Shelly Johnson and makeup guru Rick Baker (“Tropic Thunder,” “American Werewolf in London,” “Men In Black”) combine to present a visually enthralling picture that will do enough to keep you from leaving completely disappointed. It also may be worth mentioning that I rather enjoyed the score, which was composed by the ingenious Tim Burton-regular Danny Elfman (“Edward Scissorhands,” “Batman,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas”). One of the chief complaints critics have about “The Wolfman” is the reliance on CGI special effects and the unbelievably fast speed with which a creature of this size moves. I must say that I have to agree, for I have never been a fan of scenes that are obviously completely computergenerated when they could just as easily have been made to be more realistic with a little more time, effort and planning. The performances are acceptable and Johnston’s direction serves well with this type of film, but what disappointed me the most was the script. When I first learned it was written by Andrew Kevin Walker, this movie moved to nearly the top of my must-see list, since he is responsible for what is, in my opinion, one of the greatest scripts that has ever been put on a movie screen: director David Fincher’s “Seven.” All in all, I left the theater pretty unhappy, but I still wouldn’t label this film as unworthy of being viewed, especially for those who like a good shocker. Alex Petrosian is a biological sciences sophomore and Mustang Daily movie columnist.

mcclatchy-tribune

Mr. Conliffe (Robert East, from left), Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt) and Sir John Talbot (Anthony Hopkins) in the Universal film “The Wolfman.”


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

mustang daily

Arts

Arts editor: Cassandra Keyse mustangdailyarts@gmail.com

Student’s photography to be displayed in U.U. Gallery exhibit

photo by brandon smith

Raquel Redding mustang daily

When English junior Brandon Smith first expressed interest in showcasing his photography in the University Union Gallery, he was told that they were booked through the end of the year. “I was going to try again when I thought I was ready, when I thought I was good enough. But then they contacted me,” Smith said. “Visions by Brandon Smith” will go on display tomorrow night in the UU Gallery. Associated Students Inc. program coordinator Missi Bullock said the gallery is open to both students and nonstudents, which results in many forms of art. “We have had photographs, 3D paintings, sculptures … ” Bullock said. “There will be a paper artist next quarter … the stuff in there really varies.” Bullock has help in finding the artists with UU Gallery and outreach supervisor Brittany Lipson. Lipson said finding artists can take a lot of research, but some of the time artists do the work for them. “A lot of the times people are interested in being displayed (in the gallery) and will contact us,” Lipson said. Smith, a self-taught photographer, said his art is a play on fiction and reality. “I love fiction so much I think it kind of comes through my photos, because they kind of have a fictional atmosphere to them. I like to say they border between fiction and reality a little bit, but I try and keep them as real as possible,” Smith said. He says nature and architecture are his favorite subjects to photograph. “I feel when I’m out taking pictures of nature ... I’m supposed to be doing,” he said. “I really just love being out there.” Summer vacations were what inspired Smith’s love of photography. After taking control over the camera each summer, his parents finally designated him the “camera guy.” Smith didn’t have his own camera until 2008, but now uses a Canon Rebel XXI with the stan-

dard lens. “Every time I’m about to buy a new lens something happens that makes me spend that money on something else,” Smith said. Until he can buy a news lens, which can cost between $500 and $1000, Smith plans on working on his technique by reading a lot of books, ranging from photography to Photoshop. see Photography, page 8

“Ripples”

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Arts

MTV drops “Music Television” from logo, looks to broaden brand Scott Collins los angeles times

LOS ANGELES — Twenty-five years ago, MTV was best known for music videos starring Michael Jackson and Madonna. These days, its reigning queen is not a recording star at all but rather Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, the rowdy party girl from the reality series “Jersey Shore.” So maybe it’s not surprising that last week the 29-year-old network bowed to the inevitable and finally scraped the legend “Music Television” off its corporate logo. The change was a belated acknowledgment of what has been obvious for years: MTV has evolved into a reality channel that occasionally runs programs that have to do with music. But the shift is significant because, in an era of rapid technological change and microscopic attention spans, how networks identify themselves matters more than ever, experts say. MTV “realized being ‘music television’ was too limiting,” said Dave Howe, president of Syfy, home of such series as “Stargate Universe” and the now-defunct “Battlestar Galactica.” Howe says the right brand is essential “to cut through the noise and clutter of the media explosion” bedeviling the TV industry. And he should know. Last summer, his network underwent a controversial name change, from the Sci-Fi Channel to Syfy, a made-up word that Twitter users said looked more like the name of a mop or a gossip magazine than that of a cable network. One newspaper called it the “dumbest rebranding ever.” But Howe says the name change has reenergized the network and sharpened its identity. Because it referred to a well-established genre, “sci-fi” could not be trademark-protected, an important consideration

for a network looking to establish a distinctive identity. Also, he said, scifi evoked images of “space, aliens and the future,” turning off some viewers and advertisers. “We totally expected there to be a backlash from core sci-fi fans,” Howe said. But the shift has “far exceeded our expectations ... It’s opened up the network to a broader range of viewers” and helped boost ratings.

The people who watch it today ... don’t refer to MTV as music television. —Tina Exarhos MTV’s head of marketing

For its part, MTV says viewers had moved beyond what the old logo said. “The people who watch it today, they don’t refer to MTV as music television,” MTV’s head of marketing, Tina Exarhos, said last week. Other networks have gone much further. In 2003, Viacom rebranded the New TNN, which itself rose from the ashes of the Nashville Network, as Spike TV, a network targeted aggressively at males. (It’s now simply called Spike.) The Learning Channel was originally an outpost for little-watched educational fare; as TLC, it booted the explicit reference to self-improvement and achieved

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

household recognition as the purveyor of the pop-culture smash “Jon & Kate Plus 8.” Often, outlets extensively overhaul programming — and chase higher ratings — without changing their names at all. Over the years, Bravo has moved away from foreign and art movies and reinvented itself as an outpost of such hip reality shows as “Queer Eye” and “Top Chef.” A&E’s nowdefunct fine-arts shows, such as “Breakfast With the Arts,” are a far cry from “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” and the other decidedly unartsy reality shows that now rule the channel. Howe says the generic names — Music Television, Sci-Fi, Arts & Entertainment — date from the dawn of multi-channel television, when it was enough to tell viewers you were offering a certain type of programming. That approach poses problems in today’s teeming media market. “It’s too old-fashioned,” he said. “You might as well be called Milk or Gas.” Ira Kalb, a veteran marketing expert who teaches at USC, compared MTV’s logo change to Apple Computer’s decision in 2007 to call itself Apple Inc.That shift signified that the company’s focus now encompassed a broad range of tech products, such as the iPhone and the iPod. While the name change might seem minor, consumers do absorb such branding shifts over time. Kalb said he often tests students to see whether they recognize the NBC chimes; most still do. “And they also know the five notes for Intel,” he added. But other analysts, while conceding the importance of brands, wonder whether such marketing concepts will matter in what might be shaping up as a post-network age. Kathy Sharpe, chief executive of New York-based marketing firm Sharpe Partners, noted that whatever its name or logo, MTV might not have the centrality in young people’s lives that it once did. “MTV isn’t really competing with VH1 or Fuse. It’s competing with Facebook and YouTube.”

“Tale” continued from page 6

ed States is thrown into nuclear meltdowns and pervasive strains of disease that limit fertility. In order to turn things around and stop the country from its downward spiral, a chauvinistic military coup group, who call themselves the “Sons of Jacob,” step in and take control of the nation, renaming it the Republic of Gilead and making some huge changes to human interaction and society as a whole. Since infertility was the problem, this group blamed women for the halt in reproduction and take measures to better control them. What unfolds is a haunting description of how far hate and prejudice can go in putting people against each other, recreating social hierarchies and completely redefining how people can live their lives, particularly women in Atwood’s tale. The redefined social hierarchy is very rigid and unyielding. For men, there are five main stations, four of which are defined through their career positions. The fifth class is that of “gender traitor,” which are men who partake in homosexuality. Aside from the “gender traitors,” the men are in charge of guarding society and making sure that everything is in running order; that no one crosses their stations. As we can see from the men’s social classes, there is certainly a stigma around sexuality, since the only men who are shunned from society are those who are viewed as sexual beings. Expanding on this idea, women too are viewed as mere sexual objects, so their entire class system depends on their definition as sexual beings. All of the eight classes for women involve how they are defined by someone else — that is, who they are married to, who they are permitted to have sex with or what children they take care of. The highest status for a woman is Wife; the lowest is Jezebel (essentially a prostitute working in a brothel). The protagonist of Atwood’s novel is Offred, a woman who is placed as a handmaid in the new

Republic of Gilead. As a handmaid, Offred’s sole purpose in life is to bear children for the wife of the family she is placed in. Wives are not permitted to have children because it is too dangerous, as well as taxing on their physical appearance. Offred’s life as a handmaid is a very isolated one, as we discover quickly through Atwood’s seamlessly crafted prose. Offred was once what we would call a normal woman; she had a daughter and a husband, a job and a happy life. However, after the Republic was formed, she was separated from her husband, her daughter was ripped away and adopted by an infertile wife and Commander. Offred had her entire life taken from her under this new regime — even her name Offred is not her own. Her name is actually a name drawn from the terms given to slaves and is broken down to Of-Fred, meaning belonging to Fred, the husband in the house she serves. We don’t learn much about Offred except for momentary flashbacks that give us the information about her former family, and that her name was once June. By the end of the novel, June is almost entirely erased and replaced by the isolated, lonely and desperate Offred. Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” is an intricately woven and developed novel of an alternate society. It is not a simple and lighthearted book, but one that forces the reader to ask questions of self, friends, society and how those interact and function within our worlds. Atwood did not make up class hierarchies; they all have a real grounding in history and society. With this novel, she is asking us to think about how the origins for her Republic of Gilread could be initiated. How can we let those prejudices and feelings of inequality and hate get in the way of being equal and being fair to other human begins? We can’t, and Atwood reminds us why. Melinda Truelsen is an English graduate student and Mustang Daily book columnist.

Photography continued from page 7

“I’ve been working on my perspective in my shots lately, just getting everything from every angle,” he said. Improving his technique requires him to be inspired and he said the San Luis Obispo area is where some of his best shots have taken place. He said sometimes, driving aimlessly when he’s bored, results in his favorite pictures. “My most popular photo that I have ever taken was at Montana De Oro, it was an abstract shot,” Smith said. “I sold my first online print of it a couple of days ago. It was pretty exciting.” “Visions by Brandon Smith” will open tomorrow at 6 p.m.

www.mustangdaily.net Always in color


opinion/editorial Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Editor in chief: Emilie Egger Managing Editor: Alex Kacik

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Fighting fire with FIRE: Free speech suffering on campuses

Free speech is the cornerstone of American government and the foundation of democracy. We have all heard the unusual arguments for free speech in situations of burning flags, but we often fail to acknowledge the day-to-day restriction of free speech on college campuses. College campuses are perceived to be the exemplum of free speech. During the Vietnam War, organized groups of college students held some of the largest demonstrations in the history of America, that gained considerable media attention with their mass protests against government policy. Well, four decades have come and gone, and the concept of free speech seems to be fading away as well. Students are still protesting against the government’s foreign policy and social issues, but the times have changed, and “freedom of speech” has gradually come to mean “freedom of liberal speech.” The conservative voice is frequently muted on campus under the social pressure of professors and peers alike. Conservative students feel like they have to look both ways before talking politics or discussing their viewpoints. Cal Poly did not receive national media attention for its activism during the Vietnam era, and its largest student protest was probably the Poly Royal Riot of 1990, which was over alcohol. Nonetheless, restrictions on free speech have become more prevalent on our campus. The issue exploded in 2002 when Cal Poly officials tried to censor a student who was simply exercising one of his First Amendment rights. Most current students are probably unaware of this major controversy, in which former Cal Poly student Steve Hinkle posted a flyer on the Multicultural Center bulletin board announcing a Cal Polysponsored speech by social critic Mason Weaver. The flier contained the title of

Weaver’s book, “It’s OK to Leave the Plantation,” as well as his picture, and the time and place of the event. The flyer was misinterpreted as being racially offensive when the speaker was actually arguing that government dependence has placed African-Americans into “circumstances similar to slavery.” Hinkle was reported to the police, and accused of “disrupting” a bible study group at the Multicultural Center. The Cal Poly Office of Judicial Affairs deemed it a “disruption of a campus event,” even though there was never proof of an “official” event at that location and time. Hinkle had quietly posted the

flier, and was “civil” during the entire engagement. Although the Judicial Affairs Office argued that the matter had nothing to do with First Amendment rights, it was clear that their argument of a “disruption” was merely a cover-up. Hinkle refused to apologize, as demanded by Cal Poly, and the university was soon under FIRE. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (commonly known as FIRE), which prides itself in defending and sustaining individual rights on college campuses, took Hinkle’s case immediately. After a seven hour long hearing, Cal Poly refused to restore Hinkle’s basic First Amendment rights. FIRE organized a lawsuit against President Baker and other administrators, and made the case nationally known. In the end, Cal Poly settled, but not until they suffered nationwide embarrassment and significant legal fees for their blatant rejection of individual rights. It is also important to note that Cal Poly never actually apologized for their wrongdoing, but simply dropped the case without explanation. So much for

setting an example. The college campus is supposed to be a place where students are encouraged to stand up for their beliefs and discuss their opinions with others. It is troubling to see campuses restrict free speech, and take the politically correct side of an argument, instead of the one with the greatest constitutional support. Political “sensitivity” should never infringe upon basic individual rights. Tonight, the Cal Poly College Republicans and Office of Student Affairs will be hosting Adam Kissel, the director of the Individual Rights Defense Program for FIRE. Mr. Kissel will be discussing freedom of speech on college campuses in further depth. The presentation will be from 7 to 8 p.m. in The Science Building, Room E27. This event is free to the general public. Freedom of speech is a constitutional right; we need to work actively to promote and defend it. Brendan Pringle is an English sophomore and Mustang Daily political columnist.

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Olympics continued from page 12

race and, during the 5,000-meter event, the surface turned frosty for the final pairings. "The skaters have to push everywhere," said Enrico Fabris of Italy, who finished seventh in the 5,000. "This is very slow ice for strong men." Luge is even trickier with its multiple runs, workers smoothing out grooves and holes only periodically. A complicated system reshuffles the start list for each round. "From 16 to the back of the pack, the changes in conditions can be drastic," USA Luge spokesman Sandy Caligiore said. "A lot of it depends on the weather but, as a general rule, early is good." Results are only part of the equation here, the sliding venue came under intense scrutiny last week when Nodar Kumaritashvili, a 21-year-old from the Republic of Georgia, flew off a turn and died in training. Officials might have frosted the surface to slow things down, but the weather in Whistler was too warm. "It is correct that we did not expect those speeds on that track," said Josef Fendt, president of the international luge federation. If ice can be difficult to manage, then snow is downright capri-

Pac-10 continued from page 12

in the league, historically a benchmark for NCAA qualification, is more liability than lock this year. The league is 5-26 against top50 teams in the RPI computer, 1432 against the top 100. A percentage of .304 against the top 100 is pretty brutal. Pac-10 coaches will tell you the league is better than it was two months ago.

11

mustang daily

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 cious, no ice-resurfacing machine to smooth the mountain between runs. In Alpine events such as the downhill and super combined, the top 15 skiers, as determined by World Cup rankings, draw for starting spots eight through 22. This gives them a chance to watch and learn from the first racers, then get down the hill before the course becomes too rutted or the hard snow crumbles. Again, the rules are general. A good starting spot can turn ugly if clouds part unexpectedly, letting in sun that melts the surface. A late slot can benefit from chilly breezes that harden the snow. Earlier this week, Hakkinen watched the first biathletes in the 10-kilometer sprint start in cool, fast conditions. By the time he got on the course, dark clouds let loose with rain and wet flurries. Skis stopped gliding. Small, distant targets became nearly invisible. "When that does happen and rain turns to snow, the sharp crystals slow the track down so much," said Jeremy Teela, another U.S. biathlete. "Everyone had waxed their skis for rain." The first 15 competitors finished in the top 15 spots, save for a few exceptions, and the rest of the 88-man field had almost no chance. "I was confident that I would be on the podium because the weath-

"I would love to say that if you threw in a nonconference game against a Top-25 team right now," postulated Craig Robinson of Oregon State, "a lot of teams in our league would win that game." California's Mike Montgomery noted injuries to several teams, including his own, early in the season. Fair point. Collectively, though, that won't affect the committee and its decisions. So, to the specifics: Could Washington possibly win 24 games and not make the NCAA tournament?

mcclatchy-tribune

Washington forward Quincy Pondexter is averaging 20.4 points per game. Even with the 23rd leading scorer in the nation, the Huskies could face trouble trying to compete for a bid to the NCAA tournament.

sports

mcclatchy-tribune

American Bode Miller earned a bronze medal in men’s downhill Monday. Switzerland’s Didier Defago won the gold. er conditions were hopeless," said silver medalist Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway. "I am very lucky with the conditions I got during the race." That same day, at the nearby ski jump, winds swirled unpredictably, whipping up for one jumper, then disappearing for the next. "It takes a little bit of luck," said

The Huskies have 17 victories. Winning out, and taking their first two in the Pac-10 tournament, gets them to 24, which would include a 12-6 league record. No Pac-10 conference mark like that ever went begging, but remember, this may be Conference USA we're talking about. Problem is, UW won't enter the Pac-10 tournament with a road or neutral win against a team with a top100 RPI. (Stanford is 164, WSU 119, Oregon 158, OSU 184.) The guess:With 24 wins,Washington goes dancing. But it might take all of that. Is Cal safe yet? The Bears are 17-8 and 9-4. They have a league-best 24 RPI. The troubling scenario would be one in which they fall into a tie for the regular-season title, say at 12-6, and then drop their opener in the Pac-10 tournament. The guess: Comfortable, but not safe. What'll it take for Arizona State? ASU is 18-8, 8-5. As the accompanying chart suggests, its resume is relatively thin. The guess: The Sun Devils need another four, and possibly five, wins. And what's more ... Arizona coach Sean Miller after Oregon State's upset victory in Tucson: "This is rock bottom for me. I don't think I've ever been more disappointed about a team as I am today." Where's the old streak-buster, Dick Bennett, when Washington State needs him? Entering Thursday night's game in Pullman, WSU has lost 16 straight at home to UCLA. After a 3-for-19 weekend in the desert, Oregon's Tajuan Porter is shooting .349. How would Ken Bone's last two Portland State teams, both of which went to the NCAA tournament, have fared in this year's Pac-10? Said Bone, now at WSU, "Not very good. They would have won a couple of games. There's definitely a difference in the level of play."

Johnny Spillane of the U.S., who won silver in the Nordic combined. "You need a really good jump, if you have bad conditions, to get through it." Not that Spillane gets too worked up about this sort of thing. He's lived through too many winter days, seen too many dark clouds blow in and out.

The mood was much the same at the men's downhill where Steve Nyman of the U.S. talked about starting sixth, running blind down that rough lower part. Those bumps robbed him of precious speed, putting him 20th in the final standings. Still, he shrugged, "that's ski racing."


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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

SPORTS

sports editor: Brian De Los Santos

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MUSTANG DAILY

Softball looks to mimic last year’s success Jessica Barba mustang daily

The Cal Poly’s softball team is no stranger to winning. In six seasons under the three-time Big West coach of the year Jenny Condon, the Mustangs have yet to record a losing season. With two consecutive Big West titles in their back pocket, the expectations aren’t dissipating for 2010.The Mustangs have been projected by the 2010 preseason coaches’ poll to capture their third Big West title in four seasons. While the team is honored to receive the projection, Condon said the team will not be blinded by success and will return this season to give it their all. “It’s nice to know you are respected by other coaches, and for us there is no added pressure because we know what needs to be executed,” Condon said. She admits this season will be difficult, but also said that she looks forward to battling for the title against some tough competition. Their schedule features 48 games, 19 of which will be against programs that earned a spot in last year’s NCAA Tournament. “As we prepare for Big West we don’t really have a rival and we (CSU Fullerton and CSU Long Beach) are all battling to be the top three spots. This season is going to be less about rivalry and more about just good competition,” Condon said. This season Condon said Cal Poly will stick to the same practice routine that has been successful in the past.

kristen hays mustang daily file photo

Head coach Jenny Condon (right) is entering her sixth season as head coach of the Mustangs. In her tenure, she has accumulated a 166-90 overall record. Condon has yet to post a losing record with the Mustangs. She will wait until the first games to see players showcase their talent to really get an idea for the months ahead. “I think we prepare the same every

It’s not just how well Olympic athletes perform, but when David Wharton los angeles times

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The day was still young, the sun still low, when Bode Miller pushed out of the starting gate for the men's downhill. Shadows masked the fast and rugged lower portion of the run. "I was hitting bumps I couldn't see," he said. "I had a pretty strong feeling I wasn't going to win." The official results show that Miller finished third in Monday's race, a mere .09 of a second behind

the winner, but he and other skiers talked about a bigger difference, a half-hour that passed before gold medalist Didier Defago started in better light. It's a question of timing, athletes at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics say, not just how you perform but also when. These aren't the blue-sky Summer Games played on synthetic tracks and hardwood courts. Each new skier carves a rut in the mountain and each triple lutz puts another dent in the ice. Freak winter storms can play havoc with the consistency of the snow. "It's mountain weather," U.S. biathlete Jay Hakkinen said. "It's frustrating." And that makes the starting order a big part of the story in Vancouver. At the Richmond Olympic Oval, officials have struggled to keep the ice consistent for long-track speed skaters. A delay marred the men's 500-meter see Olympics, page 11

year, and not until the first weekend out do we really get a feel for competition and know where certain players should be positioned to showcase their strong points,” Condon said.

After losing five senior players, the softball team returns four starters from last season’s squad. With a majority of newcomers finding their way onto the diamond, questions

have arose on whether the team will have the experience needed to win another championship. “We haven’t really done anything different. Our preparation hasn’t changed,” said senior first baseman Krysten Cary. “We do have some younger girls, but bringing them in we know they know the game just was well as we do.” Heading into this year, junior pitcher Anna Cahn does not see inexperience as an obstacle. “Last year I felt a lot of pressure because we just lost a senior pitcher and there were only a few of us left. Everything went by so fast last year and this year and now I just want to keep building on what was happening last year,” Cahn said. Last month, Cahn was added to the Watch List for the 9th-Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award and was named Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year. She attributed her success to her team and coaches who have been practicing intently to uphold their title. “We have been trying to get as many repetitions in as we can and practice almost any situation we can possibly think of that we have seen in the past and that could come up,” Cahn said. “It’s a tough schedule but I think coming off of what happened last year, we are just going to take it one game at a time.” The Mustangs will open their 16th season against Portland State in the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Invitational held on Feb. 19 in Los Angeles.

Pac-10’s tournament hopes dwindle

mcclatchy-tribune

After suffering a loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year to Maryland, California entered this season ranked No. 13. More than halfway through the year the Bears are 17-8 overall and are not nationally ranked. Bud Withers the seattle times

SEATTLE — Think of all the metrics, all the standards, you've historically applied to deciding what's necessary to make the NCAA basketball tournament, you know, number of victories, placement in the conference, a hot finish, etc. Now forget everything you knew.

This is one theory about how the Pac-10 is going to be judged by the NCAA basketball committee in a few weeksm as a mid-major conference. Pac-10, your rank and privileges as a big-six power conference have been suspended for a year. Washington, think of yourself as Northeastern, trying to claw your way in out of the Colonial Athletic Association. Arizona State, you're Wichita State, hoping to emerge out of the

Missouri Valley. Arizona, you're Saint Mary's, attempting to become an atlarge team from the West Coast Conference. Not to say this is how the committee would frame it. But with the Pac10 mucking through one of its most lamentable seasons, the old assumptions that go with a BCS conference are likely not applicable. Going 11-7 see Pac-10, page 11


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