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Monday, March 8, 2010

Volume LXXIV, Number 87

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Students, faculty protest budget cuts

Public education advocates turn out for March 4 events nationwide

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Students and faculty members gathered on Dexter Lawn Thursday morning before marching to the Administration building to protest budget cuts to public education, where Provost Robert Koob joined the march.

Other events included a teach-in at the University Union and a protest by more than 200 people at State Senator Abel Maldonado’s office on Marsh Street later that afternoon.

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“Fire the politicians, not the teachers” read one woman’s sign at a rally outside Sen. Abel Maldonado’s office in San Luis Obispo, one of hundreds of events that took place all over California and the rest of the nation on March 4, “a day of action for public education.”

Nationwide reports cited pro-

tester arrests, shutdown freeways, and police using pepper spray to disperse crowds and car windows were broken throughout the 17 states that held protests.

For Cal Poly, the day began with a walk-out at 10:30 a.m. where a brigade of roughly 60 students, faculty and staff met at Dexter Lawn to march to the Administration building. In front of the building, Jane Lehr, assistant ethnic studies professor, and Jose

Montelongo, of the office of education, spoke out against budget cuts. Students also spoke, including social science sophomore Jose Montenegro, an organizer for the days events and member of the group “United to Save Public Education” at Cal Poly.

Their demands included admission for all eligible CSU students, democratization of the university and ending furloughs, pay-cuts, tuition hikes and lack of class

availability.

The group then went to the third floor of the administration building to talk to Provost Robert Koob. Montenegro said Koob was reluctant to answer questions at first, but ended up marching with the group.

“It shows what organized students can do,” Montenegro said.

“I think they were energized that something was finally being done.”

Montenego’s advice for student involvement beyond March 4 is to read up and stay educated on budget cuts.

Following the rally, the group traveled back to Dexter Lawn where anyone was invited to discuss concerns about budget cuts and how to improve the situation.

At 2 p.m. there was a teach-in at the University Union on how see Protest, page 2

Former Israeli soldier speaks on Local residents raise hope for peace in Middle East $13,000 by bowling Zach Lantz mustang daily

Nobel Peace Prize nominee Jeff Halper spoke to Cal Poly students about his ideas for peace between Israel and Palestine Wednesday.

Nominated for his peace activism in 2006, Halper talked about his experiences in Israel and what

he thinks needs to be done to achieve stability in the region.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been one of the most intensely-covered world events in recent history. People on both sides of the conflict claim rights to the land between the east side of the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River.

During the Six-Day War in 1967,

Israel captured multiple territories in the region including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Since then, Isreal has periodically moved settlers into those territories.

According to Halper, this transportation of settlers creates see Soldier, page 3

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The third-annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake event, organized by Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Luis Obispo County, attracted more than 300 children of all ages — from 3 to 76 — Sunday

at Mustang Lanes to celebrate an annual fundraising campaign.

An estimated $13,000 has been donated but final numbers have yet to be released.

Fifty-four six-member teams signed up for two-hour windows to bowl between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. see Bowling, page 3

Protest continued from page 1

budget cuts affect students.

Not everyone was on-board with the walk-out or missing class for the day’s events. Jason Iijima, a biomedical engineering senior, said walking out of class was not the most effective solution to make a statement about our education system.

“If the problem is that we’re not getting as good of an education with budget cuts and what not, to walk out on class is to further deprive ourselves of education,” Iijima said. “When you’re taking out thousands of dollars for loans, your classes seem a little more valuable.”

Iijima said he found out about the day of action from a flier he was handed while standing in a line of roughly 300 students and faculty who waited for hours to get free burritos at the restaurant Chipotle’s mock grand opening.

Most of the students were throwing the fliers on the ground, Iijima said.

On March 4, the crowd waiting for free burritos was larger than the one that stood in front of Sen. Maldonado’s office to fight for education just a few blocks away.

About 200 individuals, including Cuesta students, Cal Poly students, k-12 students, community members, teachers and academic professionals marched outside the building for two hours. They chanted phrases like “Education is

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a human right, students and teachers are here to fight” before listening to speeches from students to public educators to Sen. Maldonado himself.

The first to approach the senator’s steps was Glen Thorncraft, vice president for the California Faculty Association. He said the size of the crowd was way more than they anticipated. Some points made in Thorncraft’s speech in-

engineering junior at Cal Poly and member of the “United to Save Public Education” group spoke as well.

“Our leaders have forced me to miss class in order to demand my education back,” Fernandez said.

He also talked about furloughs creating an incomplete education and the effects of classes being cut.

“They deny us classes of liberal

It’s a scary prospect if we don’t invest in education ...

We may be the canary in a coal mine.

—Glen Thorncraft California Faculty Association vice president

cluded the CSU system cutting 40,000 students from enrollment and students paying 182% more for their education since 2000.

“It’s a scary prospect if we don’t invest in education,” Thorncraft said. “We may be the canary in a coal mine.”

Senator Maldonado then spoke briefly.

“I support and I agree with what you’re doing here,” Maldonado said. “I hope Sacramento is hearing you right now.”

Eric Fernandez, architectural

arts ... further throwing us into a factory, making drones out of us.”

“We’re not robots,” a protester then yelled from the crowd.

Fernandez said he was glad students were actually speaking up earlier in the day.

Other speakers included Allison Merzon from the Cuesta College Federation of Teachers, James Lynett from Paso Robles Public Educators, Tom Comar from People United for Health Care, Jobs and Education in Atascadero and Joshua Shepherd, Associated Students

of Cuesta College president.

Cal Poly ASI President Kelly Griggs came up at the last minute to speak as the group was beginning to disband.

As members of the crowd shouted “Where were you at Cal Poly today?” Griggs commented through the mega phone that she had class and was unable to attend.

“Education is important to everyone,” Griggs said. “This effects our economy and our community.

Fight for education and continue what you guys are doing.”

Natasha Weldon, a senior at Cuesta college attended the the rally. Weldon said she’s upset because she can’t go to summer school now at Cuesta because of budget cuts and she had to wait a month to see a counselor because so many were fired.

“A lot people don’t really think that it affects them when it really does,” Weldon said.

Natalia Walicki, political science junior at Cal Poly and a member of the executive cabinet for ASI came to rally after a day of class and work. Walicki said she’s angry because none of her concentration classes that would normally be offered are being taught next quarter. She also said she wishes there were more city council members at the rally.

“I don’t want them to cut my classes. I’m pissed,” she said.

The group trickled off the sidewalk around 5 p.m. as the lone police car parked across the street drove away.

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Soldier continued from page 1

conflict for housing space among Palestinians and Israeli settlers.

This involves housing demolition, a tactic used by the Israeli Defense Force in the occupied territories.

“Israel has demolished about 24,000 Palestinian homes (in the region) so far and its an attempt to really drive the Palestinians out of the country or at least confine them to little islands within the country,” Halper said.

This is why Halper co-founded the Israeli Committee against Housing Demolition (ICAHD) which according to its Web site is a “non-violent, direct-action group originally established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories.”

Cal Poly history instructor Manzar Foroohar moderated the event.

She said Halper’s message comes from a mediated perspective.

“He is an Israeli Jew, he served in the Israeli army for 20-odd years.

So nobody can question his commitment to the state of Israel,” she said. “But at the same time he is a peace activist, and that’s one of the messages I want students and people to take away from this.”

In the first part of his lecture, Halper outlined how American support is detrimental to the peace process and America itself. He argued that being seen as Israel’s main ally alienates America from Muslims around the world. Isreal has less motivation to seek a peaceful resolution because it’s backed by one of the most powerful countries in the world.

“The American people have got to say to congress, ‘Look, this is an issue that concerns us, it really is compromising American interests in the world and we want you to

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Monday, March 8, 2010 do something about it’,” Halper said. “Members of congress want to get reelected so as long as they feel that people are pro-Israel, they are not going to speak out. So we have to let people know that this occupation should be ended in general, but it also should be ended because its in the interest of the United States to end it.”

The second part of his speech chronicled the work of ICAHD, in which Halper told an emotional story of a Palestinian family that had their house bulldozed and destroyed four times. Halper and a team helped rebuild it. Helping is the only way to begin to understand their situation, he said.

“I’m not just some guy that has an opinion, but I’ve been in the occupied territories. I’ve been in the Israeli army; I’ve lived in Israel for 40 some years, so I know what I’m talking about,” Halper said. “The Palestinians are living under occupation and they’re caught between a rock and a hard place. If they resist, they’re called terrorist and they’re anti-semetic and if they don’t resist and simply accept oppression then they will be oppressed forever.”

Religious studies professor Stephen Lloyd-Moffett said the short amount of time alloted for his speech made it difficult to grasp of such a complex issue. However, he added that Halper played on people’s emotions too much.

“Halper comes with an activist agenda that necessarily simplifies the narrative in order to lure people to a conclusion, which is inevitable in some cases in the course of an hour talk,” he said. “But his goal is not for people to understand the complexity of the issues but to illicit an emotional response in order to create activism.”

Halper said individuals should perform their own research and come to their own conclusion about the conflict.

News Bowling continued from page1

at Cal Poly’s bowling alley.

Among the noontime crowd was Susan Howe, 76, of Oceano.

Her e-mail prefix, “radsenior” reflects her hip, energetic character — something her Little Brother, Frankie M., 10, finds refreshing.

“Frankie helps keep me young,” Howe said between bites of pizza and clearing pins.

“Volunteering here gets me involved with a young person.

Frankie’s a peach.”

Howe discovered Big Brothers Big Sisters while working in the same building in 2007. Soon after, she met Frankie when he was 7 years old. Howe never had children of her own.

“We do a lot of fun things together and I like (Susan) because she is like my friend. I can do anything with her and its always fun,” said Frankie before he explained to the world that someone rigged his last frame.

Suddenly shouts and cheers erupted near the center of the alley; the winner of the hour’s first raffle, Holly Mislavsky had won.

One of several raffle winners, Mislavsky attended the event

on behalf of Founders Community Bank in San Luis Obispo, an event sponsor, to support her friend David Axberg who works with her and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“We all support one another,” Mislavsky said. “That’s what this is

Frankie helps keep me young ... Volunteering here gets me involved with a young person.

—Susan Howe Oceano resident, Big Sister

all about.”

Bowl for Kids’ Sake started three years ago with 17 teams, grew to 27 teams last year and now hit 54.

Each team member was asked to raise $75, a minimum of $375 per team.

“The money goes mainly to matches,” said development director Ken Kehs, referring to the

process of finding Big Brother, Big Sister pairs like Frankie and Susan.

“A lot of it helps afford background screenings, support for volunteers, and ensuring child safety.”

With little government funding, Big Brothers Big Sisters, a nonprofit organization, is supported by its donors and volunteers. All mentors act as volunteers.

Beginning at 10, the morning included a competition between local media KZOZ and KCOY team members.

“I got to take a picture with Arturo,” said Brody, 9, relishing on his face time with KCOY news anchor, Arturo Santiago.

Mike Hall, resident of Arroyo Grande, is Brody’s Big Brother and sits on the board of directors.

“I knew getting involved would give me an opportunity to meet and interact with a young person,” said Hall.

Having been in a “dark place in the past,” said Hall, he is now able to mentor someone like Brody which is encouraging. “I put my mind to doing something valuable and meeting Brody has been wonderful,” he said.

The two, 40 years apart in age, enjoy sports and outdoor activities, especially hunting and fishing, both which they did recently together. Bowling was right down their alley.

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More than 300 people ages 3 to 76 bowled at fundraiser benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Luis Obispo.

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Monday, March 8, 2010

News

States weigh in on sales tax on services Pamela M. Prah

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Pamela Hahn, a licensed cosmetologist for 44 years, says Michigan’s proposed tax on hair salon services could further hurt a recession-damaged industry and push more stylists to forego renewing their licenses and instead work off the books in their own homes. If there are fewer legitimate businesses. A paying into the state coffers, “how does that help?” she asks.

Secretary of the Michigan Cosmetologists Association in Lansing, Hahn says salons are closing down completely because people are cutting back, and many can’t afford to get their hair done. “There has to be a better way, what I don’t know, but what do we pay these government people for if they can’t figure it out?”

Hairdressers like Hahn are fighting the same fight that funeral home directors and other businesses are waging in Pennsylvania against sweeping proposals to add sales taxes to an array of services that most states currently don’t tax.

With tax revenues at a historic low and federal stimulus dollars drying up, states like Michigan and Pennsylvania are eying adding a sales tax to some of the 180 services that states could be taxing, ranging from pet grooming and dating services to dental and legal services.

The change would be a fundamental shift in states’ tax systems, but the proposals are already running into stiff opposition from the business community.

“There is little rhyme or reason why we tax some items or services and wholly exempt others, except that in years past someone lobbied to secure favored treatment for themselves at the expense of others,” Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell said when he unveiled a sweeping proposal that would reduce the basic sales tax from 6 percent to 4 percent, but would apply it to 74 goods and services currently exempted. The package from the term-limited former mayor of Philadelphia encompasses personal and business services, including funeral homes, advertising, accounting and plumbing services.

“If you do your own laundry, the laundry detergent is subject to

the sales tax. But if you have your laundry done, it’s sales-tax free,” Rendell, a Democrat, said as he laid out a litany of current exemptions that he said “defy logic.”

States have long taxed goods, like cars and appliances, since the 1930s, bringing in nearly 35 percent of the general revenue for the 45 states that have a sales tax. (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon don’t have one.)

But the shift in the U.S. economy from producing goods to services has meant fewer tax dollars flowing into states that have been slow to

revenue each year, a 5 percent increase in sales tax receipts.

Some two-thirds of the country’s $13 billion economy is servicerelated, most of which states don’t tax, says Sujit CanagaRetna, a senior fiscal analyst at the Council of State Governments. He says taxing services “moves state tax systems into the 21st century” and away from the outdated system that states have used for the last 70 years.

California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Virginia probably could increase their sales tax revenue by more than a third if they broadly

There is little rhyme or reason why we tax some items or services and wholly exempt others, except that in years past someone lobbied to secure favored treatment for themselves at the expense of others.

—Michael Scrippa Pennsylvania Gov.ernor

tap the service pool. Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota and Washington state tax more services than other states, according to the most recent data available, a 2007 survey from the Federation of Tax Administrators, a group representing state tax authorities.

Estimates of the revenue states could reap by expanding the sales tax to services vary widely, but it’s easily in the billions of dollars nationwide. New Jersey, for example, expanded its sales tax to roughly a dozen services in 2006 to include tattooing, tanning and private detective services, and has collected more than $400 million in new

taxed services purchased by households, such as landscaping services, health club memberships and car washes, according to Michael Mazerov, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C., group that examined states’ options for expanding sales taxes on services in a 2009 report.

A handful of states, among them Arkansas, Connecticut, Ohio and Nebraska, did levy sales taxes on additional services as they began to recover from the 2001 recession, but the changes were largely incremental, not comprehensive like the plans in Michigan and Pennsylva-

nia.

States back then took the slow approach because taxing services is politically explosive and a few wellpublicized debacles have made others leery of trying.

Florida, for example, passed a far-reaching tax on most personal and business services in 1987 only to repeal it the following year because of intense business opposition. Massachusetts approved a sales tax on certain services in the summer of 1990, and it was canned by the following spring. And more recently, Maryland in 2007 added what was dubbed the “tech tax,” which was rescinded before it took effect after the computer industry mounted an aggressive campaign against it.

No one knows the battles over service taxes better than Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who is once again trying to levy a sales tax on certain services — even though her 2007 tax on some services lasted just six hours before it was dumped.

Granholm, a Democrat who is in her last year in office because of term limits, says her new plan will hopefully have a better shot, because it is “modeled after something the business leaders of Michigan have said is something they would like to see happen.” But she admits, “it’s going to be a tough sell.”

On the other hand, the Business Leaders for Michigan, a group of top executives from the state’s largest job providers, says Granholm’s proposal doesn’t go “ far enough, fast enough to make us more competitive.”

Likewise, state Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker, a Republican, says the governor’s proposal is better than her earlier attempt, but the latest version still “places a target on the back of everyday taxpayers, the people who are struggling most in our economy and who can least afford a tax hike.”

Kentucky and North Carolina are among other states where taxing services is on the agenda this year.

Kail Padgitt, an economist with the Tax Foundation, says that, in theory, most economists support a broader tax base and lower rates.

“But it’s very political how it is done,” which brings up the issue of

fairness. A sales tax, he says, should tax a final sale, not a good or service in a business’s supply chain. For example, a sales tax on a financial service that a business pays would get added to the price of that business’s product, which essentially then would result in a tax on a tax, he says.

He calls another tax measure that Maine voters will take up this June “imperfect.” While lowering the state income tax rate, it would expand sales taxes to an array of services — but specifically exempt some. It excludes ski lift tickets, for example, a lucrative business in the state that is clearly a “final sale and should be included,” Padgitt says.

Maine voters will weigh in on the new tax because of intense opposition from businesses and Republicans. As soon as the Democratic legislature approved and Democratic Governor John Baldacci signed the sweeping tax changes into law last June, the GOP started gathering signatures to repeal it.

“It’s a giant tax shift,” says Jay Finegan, a spokesman for the House Republican leadership. He says the new tax would place a burden on thousands of businesses that never had to collect sales tax before. Plus, Maine’s neighbor, New Hampshire, doesn’t have a sales tax, which will encourage people to cross the state border to get work done cheaper.

“It’s a sham,” he says.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Stan Saylor, a Republican, agrees that expanding the sales tax to more services needs to be considered as the U.S. enters more of a service economy. “However, such a proposal should not be debated on the grounds of generating more tax revenue for government spending,” Saylor says. “It should be debated on the principles of good tax policy. Unfortunately, that is not what is happening in Pennsylvania.”

The Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association, which represents 1,100 of the 1,600 licensed funeral homes in Pennsylvania, opposes the proposed tax on its business, which it calls a tax on families in mourning. “In a tight economy, grieving families don’t need to face the added charge of sales taxes on funeral services and merchandise at the time of death of a loved one,” the group said.

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Music Monday If you could be any musician for a day who would you be?

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“Julian Casablanca from the Strokes.”

-Rena Suginara, aerospace engineering freshman

-Salvador Aguilar, mechanical engineering sophomore

“Maybe one of the guys from Kiss.”

“Taylor Swift.”

-Nick Cross, biological sciences freshman

-Janelle Borelli, social sciences sophomore

“Brandon Flowers because I just like The Killers.“

“Tommy Lee because he was with Pamela Anderson.“

-Calista Randazzo, animal science freshman

-Ryan McKellar, bioresource and agricultural engineering sophormore

compiled and photographed by jessica barba

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Biden leads U.S. push to revive Mideast peace talks Sheera Frenkel

“Matt from Muse because his songs are awesome.“

Wire Editor: Jessica Barba

JERUSALEM — Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to arrive in Jerusalem Monday, topping off a string of high-profile visitors who appear to have succeeded in pushing reluctant Israeli and Palestinian leaders back to the negotiating table — or at least to separate tables.

Palestinian leaders announced over the weekend they had approved a proposal for indirect negotiations with Israel through U.S. mediators. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu voiced his support last week in a statement to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, saying the “time was ripe for peace.”

The two parties are expected to issue a declaration within days announcing their participation in four months of peace talks, a deadline the Arab League set last week.

“We’ve been working hard in the region for several months to create the kind of political support that the parties will need if they make the decision to enter into discussions,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said after the Arab League voted to back negotiations.

Although they’ll end a 14month hiatus in negotiations, there’s a Biblical flood of skepticism about the talks, in large part because this is the first time in 16 years that Israeli and Palestinian leaders won’t talk to one another directly, but instead rely on the Americans to carry messages between them.

Both sides face serious internal divisions, as well. Netanyahu leads a largely right-wing coalition that has resisted the concessions that would be required to move down the internationally recognized road map for creating an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is battling the political schism that was created when the militant Islamic group Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in June 2007, effectively different Palestinian governments in Gaza and the West Bank.

In an article called “Talks to Nowhere” in the newspaper Yediot Ahronot, veteran commentator Shimon Shiffer wrote that the proximity talks “only demonstrate just how high runs the wall of alienation between them. It is difficult to believe that the mediator is going to succeed in bridging the deep chasms that separate them in the four months that have been allocated.”

“We think it’s unlikely that these indirect negotiations with the Netanyahu government will succeed, but we want to give an opportunity to the U.S. administration to continue its efforts,” said Azzam alAhmad, a senior Fatah official.

Writing in the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram, Dina Ezzat said in the Arab world “the most optimistic and moderate peace process diplomats in the region — when approached off the record — give indirect talks close to zero chance of producing a peace deal.”

Israeli leaders said they have faced intense U.S. pressure to reenter negotiations.

“There has been fantastic pressure placed on us by the Americans,” said a Foreign Ministry official, who spoke anonymously because he wasn’t free to discuss the talks before they’ve been announced. “This is clearly something that the Obama administration feels needs to happen, and they are frustrated that they have not yet gotten everyone smiling around a table.”

Netanyahu, the official said, had accepted the principle of two states, but he opposes many of the concessions to a future Palestinian state that previous Israeli administrations had tabled.

While former prime minister Ehud Olmert said at the end of his term that Israel would need to recognize a Palestinian state “around the 1967 borders,” Netanyahu has resisted discussing any Israeli withdrawal from Jewish settlement blocs on land earmarked for a future Palestinian state.

U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, a former Democratic senator from Maine, was in Jerusalem this weekend to prepare for Biden’s visit, which will be the highest-level visit to the area by an Obama administration official.

Walking into a meeting with Netanyahu Sunday, Mitchell said the goal of the talks is a “credible, serious, constructive process that will accomplish the objective which we all share: a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.”

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Briefs International

SAN LUIS OBISPO (MCT)— Officials in two South County cities want to use redevelopment money to help build a shelter to serve the homeless population in the region.

But first, those in organizations working toward helping the hundreds of homeless people living in the South County have to determine what should be built, where it should be constructed and how it will be funded and maintained.

Another need is to win state support to take funds set aside for low- and moderate-income housing and allow the money to be used instead to fund emergency shelters.

NEW YORK (MCT) — Cablevision said Sunday afternoon it is willing to enter into binding arbitration with Disney, to help end an impasse that has left 3 million viewers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut without access to WABC on the eve of the Oscars.

“Senator Kerry and other public officials have suggested that arbitration is appropriate in this highly unusual situation,” Cablevision said in a statement.

Under binding arbitration, both parties would agree to whatever a government-appointed overseer determines is a fair retransmission agreement.

NIGERIA (MCT) — The attacks came in the night, as the villagers slept. Hundreds of Muslim herdsmen armed with guns and machetes swept down on three Christian villages outside Jos in central Nigeria, killing more than 120 people early Sunday, according to witnesses.

There were contradictory reports on the casualties. Some said more than 120 were killed, while others put the number at about 200.

The massacre in volatile Plateau state long beset with ethnicreligious violence was apparently a revenge attack.

•••

LOS ANGELES (MCT)— Federal officials said Sunday that they have shut down the Los Angeles bus company involved in a crash that killed six people in Arizona as records revealed that the company had skirted government regulation, amassed a poor safety record and was operating off the books.

Tierra Santa Inc. President Cayetano Martinez signed a consent decree Friday acknowledging that his company never had federal authorization required to transport passengers over state lines, according to court documents released Sunday.

•••

WASHINGTON (MCT) — When Joe Jacobazzi got a flat tire about 20 years ago on a cold night, he didn’t hesitate to call Jeffrey Kramer at 2 a.m. and ask for help.

Kramer, who owned an auto repair shop, immediately sent someone out to fix Jacobazzi’s flat.

Since the deaths on Tuesday of Kramer, 50, his wife, Lori, 48, and their son Michael, 20, Jacobazzi said the crime has been “eating me. There’s no rhyme or reason.”

That sentiment resonated with the hundreds of people who paid their respects Sunday for the Kramers, who were shot to death in their west suburban Darien, Ill., home.

•••

AFGHANISTAN (MCT) — Simmering divisions between rival Islamist groups erupted into open warfare in northern Afghanistan this weekend as Taliban forces battled fighters from one of their main allies, Afghan officials said Sunday.

With their leader pursuing tentative peace talks with the Afghan government, more than 100 Hezbi-Islami militants fighting the Taliban put down their weapons and surrendered to Afghan government forces, said officials in Baghlan province, where the battles broke out.

The battle in northeastern Afghanistan came as President Hamid Karzai paid his first visit to Marjah, the former Taliban town in southern Afghanistan where U.S. Marines have led a major offensive

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Wire Editor: Jessica Barba

Sandra Bullock wins Italian in hiding after scandal Oscar for best actress Jeffrey Fleishman Los Angeles Times

Michael Goulding orange county register Sandra Bullock arrives for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The actress won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role in “The Blind Side.”

ROME — The governor made off to a monastery after having affairs with transsexuals, but not before the cops videotaped a tryst, all flesh and white powder, and offered to sell copies to a magazine owned by the prime minister, who, at the time, was rumored to be entangled with an underage Neapolitan model.

Then one of the transsexuals, a Brazilian named Brenda, turned up naked and dead, her laptop computer submerged under a running tap. The drug dealer who supplied cocaine to the governor and Brenda would meet his own demise. It’s an odd coincidence.

Piero Marrazzo, a married governor and one-time crusading TV reporter, was having a dalliance with Natalie on a July afternoon when four cops burst into her apartment and began recording with a cell phone camera. Marrazzo, blushing in his skivvies, found himself the victim of blackmail, while Natalie, a transsexual with an artistic flair for makeup, hit YouTube and the news show circuit.

Marrazzo resigned his government post and reportedly sought refuge in a Benedictine monastery. The police officers were arrested and charged with extorting about $27,500 from

Marrazzo to keep the video hushhush. Unpleasant as it all was, the tawdriness might have vanished in the clamor of unending Italian scandals had not Brenda, who was Natalie’s friend and Marrazzo’s other lover, been found dead in November.

She was asphyxiated when a suitcase surrounded by candles caught fire in her flat, filling it with smoke.

Police say Brenda was drinking heavily and may have passed out, but that doesn’t explain why the laptop had been doused.

Prosecutor Giancarlo Capaldo doesn’t think so. Investigators found no incriminating tales on the hard drive, but Capaldo, a circumspect man, believes Brenda was slain and so was the drug dealer, Gianguerino Cafasso, who overdosed in September on heroin and cocaine.

People here mutter of a byzantine, puppet-master political conspiracy to set up Marrazzo, an opposition center-left politician, and rub out anyone connected with the case, but there’s no proof of that. It appears to be more a blackmail scheme run by sloppy cops, but in Italy.

“We don’t know if anyone outside of the four officers was involved,” Capaldo said, predicting that the killings would be solved within weeks, but not disclosing the identities of the suspects.“The crime has potential political value. It speaks to the kind of political battle that’s fashionable these days in which one reaches to destroy his enemy not on the political stage but on a personal level.”

7

Enter billionaire Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who owns the magazine, Chi, was offered the videotape of Marrazzo and Natalie; the cops were arrested before negotiations got very far.

Berlusconi, 73, has denied allegations of an affair with the teenage model, saying that nothing “spicy” happened. He has also suggested he was unaware that women at his villas, some romping naked, others dressed as Santa Claus, were escorts.

His wife wants a divorce.

In a speech last month, the prime minister said, “When I see women, you know, I lose the thread of the conversation. But do you prefer people like me or the other ones, Marrazzo, for example?”

Brazilian transsexual prostitutes peeked from doorways; it was afternoon and they had yet to put on their working faces. China, as she calls herself, said, “Brenda could have been murdered. There’s lots of fear. It’s a big mess. Oh, and by the way, I only grant interviews if I get paid.”

“But then she started seeing Marrazzo,” she said. “He came here many afternoons, and Brenda told me, ‘Alessia, we have no problems anymore.’ So we went shopping.”

Alessia glanced down at her ripped coat and unpainted nails: “I become more beautiful at night.”

China signaled from upstairs for Alessia to stop talking for free. Alessia considered this, mumbled something about a nightmare and wandered away.

monday, march 8, 2010

arts & Entertainment editor: cassandra keyse

Chipotle opens to large crowds

mikaela akuna mustang daily

The line for free Chipotle burritos spanned multiple streets Wednesday. Restaurant-goers waited on Chorro Street and wrapped around the block from the new restaurant. mustang daily staff report

Chipotle Mexican Grill hosted its grand opening last Friday in downtown San Luis Obispo. On Wednesday the restaurant offered a free burrito to anyone who came with a Cal Poly ID. The line spanned three blocks and it took some restaurant-

goers hours before they reached the entrance to claim their burrito.

More than 5,000 free burritos were given away Wednesday night.

The restaurant, located on the ground floor of the Wineman Building on the corner of Higuera and Chorro Streets, opened after a planning process began last summer.

The opening occurred after more than 1,500 people in the city signed an online petition via Facebook.com that was aimed at bringing Chipotle to the Central Coast.

Wednesday’s free burrito offer caused a line that wrapped around see Chipotle, page 11

“Flag runner”

10

mustang daily www.mustangdaily.net

Arts

Music fans upset over Coachella ticket policy Todd Martens los angeles times

LOS ANGELES — The decision on the part of Coachella organizers to no longer sell single day tickets for the three-day 2010 event has provoked the ire of many a fan.

“Make it fair for all us people who obviously want to attend but cannot afford $269,” reads a note on the Facebook group created by 22-year-old San Diego resident Brian Lozano.

In a shift from prior years, AEG/Goldenvoice opted to forgo the single-day ticket option for the 2010 edition of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Only a three-day pass retailing for $269, which ultimately comes to $303.60 once various service fees have been added, is being offered for this year’s festival.

In an earlier interview, Goldenvoice leader and festival architect Paul Tollett said his primary goal was bettering the experience for those who opt to buy threeday passes, pointing to a lack of hotel rooms in the Indio area as well as increased festival traffic for those coming down for just

one day.

“We’re really trying to make it great for the fan,” Tollett said.

“We understand it will affect some people who want to go for one day, but we have to protect the three-day people. It was a complex decision. We put some thought into it, and we’re trying our best to make it a good experience.”

San Diego Mesa College student said he had about 500 members.

As of this posting, the number has increased to more than 5,000.

“My heart was broken,” Lozano said of when he read that singleday tickets would not be available.

“I saw that, and I thought, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going to go.’ I’m not really able to make it Friday or Saturday, and I was only look-

It was a complex decision. We put some thought into it, and we’re trying our best to make it a good experience.

— Paul Tollet Coachella festival architect

Lozano started his “Coachella 2010 Single-Day Pass/Wristband Petition Group” after reading the Jan. 27 Los Angeles Times item, as he had intended originally to go to the event only on Sunday, when alt-rockers Pavement will reunite and Damon Albarn’s adventurous Gorillaz project will headline. Within the first two days of launching the group, the

Monday, March 8, 2010

ing forward to going on Sunday.

So what can I do?”

Lozano’s Facebook page continues to provoke discussion on the topic, as do the Coachella forums. An earlier Los Angeles Times post has generated close to 50 comments on the matter.

For his part, Lozano has been see Coachella, page 11

music column

Gonjasufi’s new album blends sincerity and sex appeal Having spent the past two months working a soul-crushing dead-end job, listening to mostly the same ten corporate pop songs for seven continuous hours because, according to my boss, KCPR is weird and messes with your vibes (I’m not kidding — KCPR actually threatens my boss and his poor, perverted vibes), my body and brain have been slowly dying. It takes a lot more effort than I could have imagined to not take a huge bite out of my wrists.

I am no longer continuously surrounded by like-minded individuals who are seeking and challenging universal truths of art and the soul. And so, it is scary to think that I might be suckered into falling for the deadly, yuppie, homogenized trap of bastardized yogis.

But apparently Gonjasufi, a San Diego-born, Las Vegas-based yoga instructor, is producing music to “scratch the resin of all the bullshit that’s been out lately.”

Gonjasufi isn’t your run-ofthe-mill, hippy-dippy yoga instructor that is just regurgitating stale clichés that are typical of the niche. Though his music does contain the sometimes (usually) off-putting elements of pan-globalism that bombards and molests my senses, he takes it in a more twisted, dark and sexy direction.

The album, entitled “A Sufi and a Killer” off of Warp Records, is sort of an acid folk hiphop album that is primarily concerned with evolving the state of music and expressing the mind, body and soul with “as few

microchips as possible.” Though it isn’t the type of music I’m typically into, and the fact that it is fairly challenging to review due to my shallow dullness, the album is surprisingly refreshing and good.

Having just spent a weekend in Vegas myself, it’s not hard to see this album as a paranoid soundtrack of the city, which operates on a mob mentality that is sustained by individual sacrifice to every one of the seven deadly sins. This album, too, somehow sustains the sexiness of Las Vegas by the giving of Gonjasufi’s analog soul to the sinful complexity of the synthetic.

As a final note, apparently this is a man who has been called many weird, yet oddly descriptive things.

He has, according to Malik Meer from The Guardian, been known as “hip-hop mystic,” “nomad soul,” even “Method Man aged 95.” I guess Gonjasufi has, however, decided that he is more of an “electro Hendrix.” And throughout the smoky drawl of the album, you can hear and feel the influence of his idol, which has inspired a more enlightened approach to music.

Now, I am fully aware how silly some (or all) of this may sound to you.

It sounds just as silly to me, I assure you. But before you dismiss all this as some sort of cracked-out rant for the case of universal consciousness or some other bullshit, give the album a quick listen and you’ll hear what sexiness mixed w i t h sincerity sounds like.

Jack LaPorte is a KCPR DJ and “Hipster Bullshit” contributing columnist.

M D

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Monday, March 8, 2010 www.mustangdaily.net

Arts

Arts editor: Cassandra Keyse mustangdailyarts@gmail.com

11

book review

New book gives “Alice” a darker side Jane Henderson st. louis post-dispatch

Alice looks gaunt and goth in her latest print incarnation.

In a new separate, but welltimed, HarperCollins edition of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the blond heroine retains her puff-sleeved dress and white apron.

But a black hair bow evokes bat wings, and the pupils in Alice’s sad, lined eyes are fanglike.

Artist Camille Rose Garcia knows her audience: “I have a lot of fans who like darker things.”

Garcia’s punkish, black-lipped Alice is a 21st-century version of a girl who has inspired hundreds of artists.

When Garcia re-examined the

Coachella continued from page 10

surprised at how many people disagree with him, posting on his Facebook group that it’s a good thing the 2010 edition of Coachella is now for die-hards-only.

“Who are all these people that are just hating on people who love music? Everybody would love to attend all three days. It’s one big party. But the negative messages?

We don’t delete them. People can’t spend $269, especially in times like these.”

The comments section on Lozano’s Facebook group is filled with pleas from fans who say they either can’t afford the three-day pass, or the time off work. Lozano himself hopes that as the festival draws closer, Goldenvoice will offer single-day tickets. Yet that appears unlikely. An e-mail to “info@coachella.com” generates an immediate auto-response, with the note that only three-day tickets will be available for 2010. Tollett has said it is likely that those who buy tickets at the gate will find them pro-rated, but a Coachella spokeswoman had no further de-

Chipotle continued from page 9

the Wineman building onto the next block. Many waiting for food were Cal Poly students.

Kirk Wagner, a civil engineering senior, said he had been in line for about two and a half hours.

“I was driving downtown around 4:30 p.m. and saw a friend of mine in line,” Wagner said. “In the time it took me to go park and come back the line was another half a block long.”

Vincent Luchsinger, a mechanical engineering junior, said he doesn’t like the Chipotle menu very much because of the restaurant’s cafeteriastyle of serving and limited food options. Wagner said he was really only there for the free food.

“I’m not a huge Chipotle fan myself,”Wagner said.“But I’m from Santa Barbara and I know people who will call me and say ‘Hey I’m coming into town; we’re getting Chipotle!’”

Santa Barbara was home to the

adventures for a new book, she noticed that the story is, in fact, grim.

“It is darker and weirder than I remembered it being,” the California artist says. “It’s like a bad dream.

Everybody is really mean to Alice.”

No wonder Alice looks so weepy in Garcia’s illustrations, which complement the goth mood of the upcoming Tim Burton movie.

(Movie-linked goth clothing, plus necklaces that say “Drink Me,” are even offered at Hot Topic stores.)

Garcia’s print version (Collins Design, 159 pages, $16.99) is already No. 6 on The New York Times’ best-seller list of children’s chapter books.

“I’m glad no one hates it yet,” Garcia says with a laugh.

tails at this time.

Lozano admits he may ultimately spring for the three-day pass. “Yes, I am considering it,” he said. “At first, I just didn’t want to go, just to spite them. Out of anger, I didn’t want to give them my money.”

Tollett earlier noted here that the vast majority of Coachella attendees opt for the three-day pass. Since Coachella expanded to three days in 2007, more than 80 percent of concert-goers have bought multi-day passes, Tollett said. While cutting out the singleday, $99 ticket may result in alienating a number of fest-goers—a financially sizable 20 percent — Coachella, Tollett said, should be known as a three-day event.

“The thing is,” Tollett said, “there’s a lack of hotels in the Coachella Valley, and most have a three-day minimum. Many times what happens is people get a hotel for the three days, and only go to Coachella for one or two of the days. They hit Friday and Saturday, and go home or rest at the hotel on Sunday. That’s no problem, but the problem with that is that there are people who want that hotel and are going for three days.” closest Chipotle location before this franchise opened. Since the company’s start in 1993, it has opened locations in more than 120 U.S. cities.

According to their Web site, Chipotle’s corporate initiative is to serve organic, sustainable and naturally-raised products.

Samuel Tseng, a biomedical engineering junior, and Jessica Hernandez, a political science junior, said they braved the rain on Wednesday night to try the restaurant.

“I didn’t know that (Chipotle) sourced some of their products around here until the other day. I like that. It means my food is going to be a lot fresher than any other fast food I’m going to get in San Luis Obispo,” Tseng said.

Hernandez joked about her affinity towards the Mexican food chain.

“Chipotle is definitely not real home-style Mexican food but they make a damn good burrito,” Hernandez said.

Mikaela Akuna and Cassandra Keyse contributed to this report.

In a cheerful voice, Garcia talked by telephone about how her art is known for its pale-and-depressed, “Edgar Allan Poe-type” mood.

Born in 1970 in Los Angeles, the daughter of a mother who painted murals and a father who directed TV movies, she was influenced by Disney animation and cartoons. Those she reinterpreted in art exhibits including “The Saddest Place on Earth.”

About a year ago, a HarperCol-

lins editor who knew Garcia’s style asked her to produce about 50 illustrations for a trendy “Alice.”

Garcia didn’t want the book (marketed to ages 9 and up) to be “too frightening,” and she’s not entirely thrilled with the “Alice goes goth” label.

She emphasizes that she loved the Victorian illustrations by John Tenniel and wanted to pay homage to Lewis Carroll’s original illustrator. She even kept the composition

of some of the drawings.

An adult who sees the Burton movie and Garcia’s artwork may find the psychedelic feel of the mushrooms and Alice’s potion enhanced. But the original 1865 story is full of reality-altering substances. Garcia doesn’t think kids will be traumatized by her new watercolors of an Alice with black eye shadow and lips: “I consider this a fairly conservative, classic version,” she says.

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editors & staff editor in chief Emilie Egger managing editor Alex Kacik news editor Kate McIntyre wire editor Jessica Barba arts editor Cassandra Keyse online editor Megan Hassler sports editor Brian De Los Santos design editor Kevin Black copy editors Beth Shirley,Tim Miller, Haley Nahman, Will Taylor photographers Ryan Sidarto, Nick Camacho, Patrick Fina, Elizabeth McAninch, Daniel Triassi advertising coordinator Stephanie Murawski production manager Andrew Santos-Johnson assistant production manager Jason Cope business managers Brittany Kelley, Joe Merkel marketing manager Kelsey Magnusen advertising managers Kristin Coplan, Giana Ronzani ad designers Mai-Chi Vu, Sara Hamling, Justin Rodriguez, John Dixon advertising representatives Erika Powers, Giana Ronzani, April Manalotto,Tarah Brinkerhoff, Lindsey Bly, Jenelle McDonnell, Amanda Dennin,Tess Capacasa, Cambrie Marks, Erica Savage, Breann Borges faculty adviser Brady Teufel general manager Paul Bittick

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opinion/editorial Monday, March 8, 2010

Editor in chief: Emilie Egger Managing Editor: Alex Kacik

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12

We must get back to basics after incremental changes in the wrong direction As a human being, I can’t think of anything more important than having rights and having them respected: it’s the difference between tyranny and liberty — and in some cases, between life and death. I was going to write about the differences between rights and privileges, as I believe there has been a blurring of the line between the two lately, but I was having a hard time describing and defining rights; so many of our rights are trampled in one form or another in this country. It’s amazing that people want to expand the pool of “rights” when so many of our fundamental (and easily agreed upon) rights aren’t currently respected.

The dream our founders had for this country and in creating the Constitution was to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,” as is written in the preamble. In some respects, it’s positively amazing how far we’ve come since declaring independence back in 1776, but in other ways, it’s downright terrifying. As an example of this, we can juxtapose current conditions in the United States to a few points of communist Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto.

Marx lays out 10 points or “planks” in the manuscript that he sees as necessary to topple a free en-

terprise system and replace it with a communist state. Arguably, of the 10 points in the manifesto, we currently have all (in some form and intensity) in the United States.What a scary sign of how this country has changed since its inception.

One of the planks is “abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes,” which perhaps, upon a first glance, we don’t have in the United States, but upon further inspection we do have to pay in perpetuity for the land we supposedly own in the form of property taxes. We are renters of what is supposedly our own land.

“A heavy progressive or graduated income tax” is another plank which is alive and well. As a bit of history, the marginal income tax rate in the United States has been as high as 94

percent from 1944-1945. I know income taxes aren’t as high nowadays, but consider the fact we used to have zero income taxes. A similar plank of “abolition of all rights of inheritance” is not completely implemented, but we do have estate taxes which restrict inheritances.

A plank whose concept seems to be getting a lot of attention lately is “centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.” Our implementation of this plank is the Federal Reserve which has been pointed to as an accomplice for some of our current economic conditions, and I believe rightfully so. “Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws,”Amschel Mayer Rothschild said.

There are more planks of the Communist Manifesto than what I have mentioned thus far but hopefully by now you get the point:We have strayed from our Constitutional Republic and we have done so in some significant ways. I would not go so far as to call us a communist country, but I think calling us capitalistic is also a bit of a stretch.

I’m not sure people are aware of how much this country has changed since the revolutionary spirit was still alive and well when we effectively “stuck it to the man” (if you will) during our Revolutionary War. Members of our country fought and died for freedom and we seem to be slowly erasing it with time.We need to wake up and reclaim our freedoms before more are lost and it gets harder to get back the ones we’ve already lost.

It’s time for the government to get back to the basics; for the federal government that means providing national security (in a manner that doesn’t infringe on our rights or lead to our bankruptcy) and that’s about it.

There are 18 enumerated powers of Congress (Article I, Section 8) and they should stick to those; the more the federal government dabbles in peoples affairs, the more freedoms we lose and we’re worse off for it.

Aaron Berk is a computer engineering junior and Mustang Daily political columnist.

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The “right” of education is not what is at stake here. The problem lies with school systems that are unsustainable, due to the fact that they operate on the same grounds as our government. There are too many people at the school that don’t do any work ... The solution isn’t to raise taxes on the wealthy.

The solution is to cut costs from within.There are too many corrupt people in our government, school and legal systems that manipulate the system for their own benefit.

Imagine, we raise taxes, and what does the state do? Increase spending. It’s a never ending cycle.

—Jason In response to “Join the statewide protests today on Dexter Lawn and Marsh St.” Good point.

Many of the student protests on other campuses focused on ‘cutting from the top.’

If you look at Cal Poly in the 1980’s you will have found that Warren Baker’s predecessor left a lean mean fighting machine that is now clogged with redundancy and irrelevance.

How many provosts do we need? (Once we had none.)

How many vice presidents do we need?

The person(s) who save public education in California will do so by bringing back administrative services to 1980 levels. We may not be able to go back to the days where the faculty would vote one of their own as ‘President,’ but would that really be so bad?

—Roger In response “Join the statewide protests today on Dexter Lawn and Marsh St.”

letters to the editor

In his March 2 opinion piece, “‘Inclusive Excellence’ is a flawed solution to a growing issue,” we believe Brendan Pringle mischaracterizes the university’s commitment to inclusive excellence and does a disservice to campus community members who support and encourage mutual respect, academic integrity and a diverse learning community.

The cornerstone of the Inclusive Excellence program is the belief that student success is best achieved in an academic and social environment where all members of the university community are treated with dignity and respect.

13

mustang daily

Self-interest protests to protect the education system are meaningless unless protestors are willing to support cuts to the social programs that are taking away money from education. If Stephaine had stepped up to that challenge, then this would have been a valued article.

—Lance In response “Join the statewide protests today on Dexter Lawn and Marsh St.” No where does it say that education is a right, that is, unless you live in a communist or socialist country. But then again,it could be closer than we think.

—Alex In response “Join the statewide protests today on Dexter Lawn and Marsh St.” Education is a service, not a right. It has costs and the government forces a lot of those costs on taxpayers through subsidizing the schools. This benefits the admitted students in the short run because they pay a price less than what the market would decide on its own. It also benefits faculty because they get paid more than they would in the market. This system is unsustainable because it is parasitic and the host (the taxpayer) is on life support.

—Dan In response “Join the statewide protests today on Dexter Lawn and Marsh St.”

Wonder when the rally ended if the faculty/staff participating in the march took the students through their compensation packages?

As has been reported in the press for months, the pensions and benefits given to State employees and civil servant at all levels is what’s breaking the system.

Just this week, newspapers around the State reported that the State controller must pay State workers more than $500M for

Mr. Pringle argues that “now is not the time to be focusing on achieving diverse environments.”

We disagree. So do our our alumni and the companies they work for.

Alumni tell us that their Cal Poly experience provided them with a sense of purpose and a need to make a difference in the world.

Employers tell us they value our distinct learning community and Cal Poly’s ability to produce resourceful professionals capable of working in diverse environments.

Mr. Pringle also argues that Cal Poly’s approach might lead to a retreat from a merit system and unfairly discriminate against applicants, faculty or staff who are not from minority groups. This has never been and never will be our intent, nor is it legal.

Rather, we seek to ensure that

op/ed

saved vacation. This is just another perk State workers receive that the private sector worker doesn’t get. Add to things like this that a State worker can retire after 30 years with a handsome pension into which they’ve paid little to nothing and it’s understandable why the State is in deficit.

If students want to understand why fees keep rising, look no farther than Cal Poly’s faculty and staff and state workers at every level. It’s really that simple.

—Robert In response “Students, faculty protest budget cuts” These children are acting, well, like children. A state-supported education is not a right.

Rather, it is a luxury that taxpayers provide for society to the extent that it can be paid for. If these students are unhappy with the level of funding the taxpayers put forth for their educations, I welcome them to get jobs of their own to make up the difference.

Simply put, the state does not owe anyone a free or subsidized education. Most students in California have no idea just how much the state already pays for their schooling. I attended graduate school in New England at a private university, where one semester of tuition was more expensive than my entire undergraduate Cal Poly education. California public education is still extraordinarily inexpensive; to deny this is to deny reality.

—Stephen In response to “Students, faculty protest budget cuts.”

NOTE: The Mustang Daily features select comments that are written in response to articles posted online. Though not all the responses are printed, the Mustang Daily prints comments that are coherent and foster intelligent discussion on a given subject. No overcapitalization, please and watch the exclamation marks!

anyone can apply to Cal Poly; that applicants are judged solely on merit; that every Cal Poly student is treated with dignity and respect, and with the expectation that they can and will succeed; and that the university will strive to do all it can to provide students with the help they need to achieve their goals.

We urge all students, faculty and staff to learn more about Inclusive Excellence. For more information, please see http://www.aacu.org/ inclusive_excellence/index.cfm.

W. David Conn Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and Director of Ombuds Services Cornel N. Morton Vice President for Student Affairs

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sports

Round-up

a 6-0 lead with two runs in the second and four more in the fourth.

Cal Poly cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth as Evan Busby singled through the left side of the infield to drive in two runs and Yoder hit into a force play to knock in the third run, but Cal Poly couldn’t piece together enough offense to pull out the win.

The loss went to Mustang freshman right-hander Joey Wagman (1-1), though three of the six runs he allowed were unearned.

Cal Poly’s final game of the series, originally scheduled against Oregon State, was cancelled due to weather issues. The Mustangs will return to the diamond this Tuesday as they square off against Northern Illinois in Baggett Stadium.

continued from page 16

singled up the middle to drive in the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh inning.

The two-run single gave the Mustangs a 5-4 lead to pair with two more runs in the seventh. Cal Poly then added one in the eighth en route to snapping a two-game losing streak.

Sophomore left-hander Kyle Anderson (1-1), despite being hit on his pitching hand on a comebacker in the third inning, pitched over seven innings for his first win of the season. He allowed 12 hits and six runs with no walks and five strikeouts.

Brayton finished with three hits, all singles, and scored twice while knocking in two runs to lead Cal Poly’s offense.

Junior infielder J.J. Thompson collected two RBIs — one on a bases-loaded walk and the other on a squeeze bunt in the seventh inning.

In the final game, a five-run ninth-inning wasn’t enough as Cal Poly fell two runs short to Florida International, 10-8.

Trailing 10-3, Cal Poly filled the bases on a single and two walks with nobody out. After a strikeout for the first out of the inning, Adam Melker’s single scored one and David Van Ostrand drew a bases-load-

15

mustang daily

Monday, March 8, 2010

women’s basketball cal poly 83, UC irvine 69

mustang daily staff report

ryan sidarto mustang daily file photo

Junior guard Rachel Clancy was one of five Mustangs who scored in double figures in Cal Poly’s 83-69 victory against UC Irvine. ed walk for the second run.

A dropped fly ball by Florida International allowed two more runs to score and cut the lead to 10-7.

Brayton’s single to right-center cashed in the fifth run, but Mitch

Haniger and Elliot Stewart both struck out to end the game.

Stewart and Brayton each had three of Cal Poly’s nine hits as both went 3-for-5.

Florida International jumped to

Junior forward Kristina Santiago led five Mustangs in doubledigit scoring figures on Saturday afternoon as the Cal Poly women secured the No. 2 seed in the Big West with an 83-69 victory against UC Irvine.

Junior guard Rachel Clancy totaled 18 points and senior forward Becky Tratter added 16 for Cal Poly (18-10, 11-5), which earned the program’s first automatic bye to the

Big West Tournament semifinals by virtue of splitting its season series against fourth-seeded Long Beach State (13-16, 9-7). UC Davis (20-9, 12-4) earned the No. 1 seed.

Cal Poly shot 55.2 percent from the floor against UC Irvine (9-20, 6-10) and trailed just twice — never by more than three points.

Up at the break, 36-33, Cal Poly converted five of its initial seven chances from the floor to open the second half, but led by one point with just under 12 minutes remaining. The second of two free throws from UC Irvine guard Rebecca Maessen tied the game at 59-59, but the Mustangs produced a 15-4 run during an ensuing four-minute span to pull away.

Senior guard Brittany Lange also recorded 10 points while Santiago finished with 10 rebounds to claim her ninth double-double of the season.

Cal Poly matched single-season program records for Big West victories, fewest losses and winning percentage this season.

The Mustangs will open Big West Tournament play against the field’s highest remaining seed on Friday. Should Cal Poly prevail in its semifinal match at the Big West Tournament, the Mustangs will contest the championship game for the second-straight season on Saturday. Cal Poly dropped last year’s title bout against UC Santa Barbara, 64-57.

Cal has momentum, but can the Bears keep it Monte Poole oakland tribune

From the 22-9 overall record to the various calculations and formulas that determine the overall quality of a team, the numbers speak well of Cal. The Golden Bears own the Pac10 championship outright with a 71-61 dumping of Stanford on Saturday at Maples Pavilion and will take a season-high four-game win streak into the conference tournament this week.

Yet we still don’t know what to make of these Bears, how they’ll respond to the grind of the Pac-10 tournament and the high-magnitude games of the NCAA Tournament.

What we know is they are a much better team when Patrick Christopher is assertive and accurate and, above all, highly motivated.

The senior guard made clear during the week he wasn’t terribly impressed with the share of the Pac10 title Cal gained with a victory over Arizona State last Saturday in Berkeley. He talked about wanting to win the Pac-10 title for the five seniors on the team and doing it at Stanford, where Mike Montgomery spent the majority of his career.

Then Christopher went out and tried to win it practically alone. He took a team-high eight shots in the first half, making only two and missing all three of his 3-point attempts.

He played every minute, scoring 6 points the hard way.

He made up for it after halftime, with a Superman move.

Clark Kent typically entered phone booth to shed his suit and tie, emerging with an “S” on his chest and a cape at his back. Christopher merely entered the locker room and

changed shoes.

The self-admitted “sneakerhead”, he has dozens of pairs, found a more comfortable pair and was immediately more effective. He scored 17 points after halftime, including 11 of Cal’s 14 during a pivotal stretch to close out the victory.

“Hopefully we can have that kind of game from him all the time,” guard Jerome Randle said of his four-year teammate.

Christopher’s 3-pointer with 1:42 left gave the Bears a 67-59 lead

and pretty much buried a plucky Cardinal team that spent most of the second half close enough to keep Montgomery on the edge of his seat and the crowd very much into the game.

“I thought he had a tough shot,” Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. “Jarrett Mann was right there.

And it was a deep 3.”

That’s the thing about Christopher and Randle. They can extend to 23 or 25 feet in a blink. With Randle off his game (11 points on

2-of-10 shooting, with five assists and four turnovers), Christopher took it upon himself to compensate.

Making 6-of-10 from the floor in the second half, Christopher finished with 23 points, tying Stanford forward Landry Fields for game high. Christopher added seven rebounds and three steals.

“Christopher made some big plays down the stretch,” Dawkins said.

Christopher acknowledged his

mcclatchy-tribune

California forward Jamal Boykin scored 13 points in the Bears’ final game of the season against Stanford.

struggles early in the game, saying he got some open looks that simply didn’t fall. Yet it was imperative he keep shooting. He’s Cal’s No. 2 scorer (15.9 per game) and he kept finding creases in Stanford’s defense.

“Pat over time is going to make shots,” Montgomery said. “He’s not going to miss over and over and over.”

Really, this game was kind of a microcosm for Christopher’s season. After a junior year that fostered NBA ambitions, he has been less inconsistent, undoubtedly the result of knee tendinitis that has limited his practice time and continues to nag.

Though he plays through the discomfort, it has a visible effect. His jumper seems to vary from game to game, if not shot to shot. Since posting three successive games of more than 20 points in January, Christopher topped 20 only once in the next 11 games.

Then came Saturday, when the 6-foot-5 Los Angeles native took the court with motivation at his back, shaking off sore knees and a forgettable first half.

“I wanted to give coach Montgomery a win in here,” Christopher said. “I don’t think we really wanted to share a Pac-10 championship.”

The desire to win it outright was evident in the way Cal attacked the boards (41-30 advantage), in senior forward Jamal Boykin’s fierce first half (11 or his 13 points) and in Montgomery’s sideline gyrations.

This was about winning the Pac10, yes, but also about establishing something that has been elusive.

“We especially wanted this, to come in here and get some momentum for the postseason,” Christopher said.

mustangdaily.net Monday, March 8, 2010

SPORTS

sports editor: Brian De Los Santos

mustangdailysports@gmail.com

MUSTANG DAILY

men’s basketball cal poly 84, UC irvine 91

Patrick Leiva mustang daily

For 39 minutes, the Cal Poly men’s basketball team controlled its last home game of the season. But the last minute belonged to UC Irvine.

It appeared all but certain that the Mustangs (11-18, 7-9 Big West) would win. Until, UC Irvine staged a furious 38-second, 12-point rally in the final minute of regulation to force overtime. The Anteaters rode their momentum to secure a 91-84 victory on senior night in front of 2,876 fans in Mott Gym. Trailing by eight points with 48 seconds left to play, Irvine (14-17, 6-10 Big West) cut the deficit to three with a series of three pointers. Irvine’s Darren Moore capped the comeback with a three from the left wing with 0.9 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

It marked the fourth three-point shot the Anteaters converted in the final minute of play.

Head coach Joe Callero said his team could not recover from what occurred during the final minute of regulation. He also said the last four shots were some of the most spectacular shots that he has seen in his 23 years of coaching.

“Obviously we didn’t regroup,” Callero said. “I thought when we got to overtime that we were hanging our heads a bit. It looked like our energy was down and didn’t look like we had much confidence.”

sequences.

“We can’t control what they did because they did a great job,” Callero said. “We’ve got to focus on what we can do in response to that.

We didn’t do a good job of that tonight.”

Callero said he is confident that his team will bounce back since they have experience dealing with tough situations.

Both teams had four players score in double figures on the night. Junior guard Shawn Lewis led all scorers with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Lorenzo Keeler scored 21 points in his final home game, while sophomore David Hanson added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Kyle Odister contributed 16 points off the bench.

The Anteaters were led by Moore and junior Patrick Rembert who scored 24 and 20 points, respectively. The Anteaters needed the victory to move to No. 7 in conference and advance to the upcoming Big West tournament while Cal Poly sits at No. 6.

Cal Poly built a 13-point lead with 7:15 remaining in the half following a fast-break layup from Keeler that energized crowd. The Mustangs held Irvine to 1-18 shooting to begin the half, but the Anteaters closed the half on an 11-3 run to narrow the gap 33-28 at the half.

The back-and-forth second half was marked by physical play. There were 52 total fouls; the Mustangs went 26-35 from the free-throw line, while the Anteaters converted 35-43. The pesky Anteaters continually fought back as the Mustangs

I’ve met some of the greatest people in my life here these last three years ... It’s been a blessing, man. I wouldn’t take it back for the world.

—Lorenzo Keeler Men’s basketball senior guard

Callero said he wants his team to learn from the mistakes made in the game and move on to the next play following heartbreaking

tried to extend their lead, until they eventually tied the game with under a second remaining. Cal Poly was outscored by a 17-10 margin in OT. Before the game, the Mustangs honored three seniors who played their final game in Mott Gym. Keeler was joined by fellow seniors Charles Anderson and Ryan Darling in pregame ceremonies. Keeler said the feeling was bittersweet beforehand since he knew it was his final home game, but he knew that everything comes to an end at some point. He said he will remember all the people he has met both on and off the court.

“I’ve met some of the greatest people in my life here these last three years at Cal Poly,” Keeler said. “It’s been a blessing, man. I

ryan sidarto mustang daily

Senior guard Lorenzo Keeler finished with 21 points in a 91-84 loss against UC Irvine. Keeler, along with forward Ryan Darling and guard Charles Anderson, played their final regular season game as a Mustang. wouldn’t take it back for the world and wouldn’t trade it for nothing.”

It was an emotional night for Darling as well. He said he was disappointed for fouling out of the game, but was proud of the effort he gave on the floor.

“I feel like I left my heart out there,” Darling said. “It’s an unfortunate loss. You always wish that your last home game you want to come away with that victory, but that’s how it goes. We’re still in the tournament so it’s not over yet.”

The Mustangs will get a chance at redemption against UC Irvine come tourney time. The Big West tournament begins on Wednesday March 10 at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena. The winner of the entire tournament receives the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

Anderson said the Mustangs are playing their best basketball of the season and must play a complete game in order to be successful in the tournament.

“We have to play a full 40 minutes,” Anderson said. “Teams aren’t going to give in as Irvine showed tonight. We’ve got to learn how to compete for the whole 40 minutes and not let down no matter what the score is. If we do that, we’ll be fine in the tournament.”

matched up against No. 2 Arizona State. The Mustangs belted four solo homers, but still couldn’t top the Sun Devils’ offense — Cal Poly fell 12-9.

Third baseman Raoul Torrez belted a grand slam in the seventh inning for Arizona State to snap an 8-8 tie.

Luke Yoder and Matt Jensen lead Cal Poly’s 12-hit attack with three hits apiece. David Van Ostrand and Ross Brayton each added a pair of hits.

The loss went to Mustang junior left-hander Matt Leonard (0-2), who gave up nine runs, three unearned, and 10 hits in six-plus innings. Senior right-hander Mark DeVincenzi gave up three runs and a hit in one inning while sophomore righty Jeff Johnson tossed a scoreless eighth inning.

In the second game, Cal Poly rallied to defeat Utah Valley, 8-6.

Senior catcher Ross Brayton see Round-up, page 15

baseball mustang daily staff report

Rally after rally, the runs seemed to come in bunches for the Mustangs. Yet, even with the barrage of offense, Cal Poly surrendered two of three contests in the Coca-Cola classic this weekend.

In its first game, Cal Poly

ryan sidarto mustang daily file photo

Junior J.J. Thompson went 2-3 in a 12-9 loss against Arizona State in the Mustangs’ first match-up of the Coca-Cola Classic.