03-29-2012

Kennedy Library celebrates California Book Club centennial.

ARTS, pg. 5

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Volume LXXVI, Number 95

www.mustangdaily.net

Learn by doing

Professors practice new teaching format

inside

ERICA HUSTING

ericahusting.md@gmail.com

out

For some industrial and manufacturing engineering classes, it’s like falling down the rabbit hole — lectures are done at home, homework is done in lectures.

This new class structure focuses on a better way of learning. Several industrial and manufacturing engineering faculty, including associate professor Lizabeth Schlemer, have turned their focus to improving the traditional teaching structure to enhance students’ learning efficiency.

“We’re trying to shift what we are doing in the classroom,” Schlemer said.

The department is calling the new style of teaching the “insideout course.” The traditional layout of the class is reversed: Students view recorded lecture segments outside of the classroom, while classroom time focuses on interactive homework, problem sets and hands-on learning.

“If you think about it — the way teaching is now, where someone stands in front of the class giving

information to students in desks — that has been around since the Middle Ages,” Schlemer said.

“My thought is that we are somewhat behind in the way we do classroom activity.”

The inside-out class structure is aimed at addressing the educational objectives of better student learning in the form of active, collaborative hands-on learning experiences, Schlemer said.

Additionally, the course structure addresses teaching faculty’s on-going challenge of improving teaching efficiency, industrial and manufacturing engineering professor Daniel Waldorf said.

Waldorf brought the concept of the inside-out course to the department. A professor working within the small manufacturing engineering program, Waldorf was looking for the next step toward improving his students’ learning experience while at Cal Poly.

“It came to me in the middle of the night: ‘I want to be more efficient,’” Waldorf said. “I woke up thinking, ‘There’s got to be a way see TEACHING, pg. 2

MAGGIE KAISERMAN/MUSTANG DAILY

Christian greek societies denied affiliation SEAN MCMINN

seanmcminn.md@gmail.com

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of two California State University (CSU) Christian greek organizations earlier this month, denying them the potential for affiliation with their respective universities.

Both the Alpha Gamma Omega fraternity and Alpha Delta Chi sorority, whose San Diego State University chapters originally brought lawsuits in 2005 arguing the ability to provide membership to only Christians, have organizations in the San Luis Obispo community that are not affiliated with Cal Poly. This ruling sets a precedent that supports the current Cal Poly policy toward the two groups.

The San Luis Obispo Alpha Delta Chi sorority was founded four years ago as separate entity from Cal Poly. Alpha Gamma Omega was originally affiliated with the university but was later removed from campus in compliance with a California law known as Title 5.

Title 5 prohibits any state-supported organization from discriminating based on religion, age, race, color, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, sex or gender. Since Cal Poly is a public university, all organizations it funds must follow these guidelines.

This Supreme Court decision to not hear the case might have eliminated any hope of reaffiliation for the two greek organizations. Alpha Gamma Omega president and general engineering senior Robert Hobson said despite numerous attempts

to become affiliated once again, he does not believe the fraternity will ever be allowed back on campus.

“We always hoped that one day we would enjoy playing IFC (InterFraternity Council) sports again,” Hobson said. “But we’ve always planned on not getting back on campus.”

Both the fraternity and sorority engage in practices that are discriminatory against non-Christians, greek life director Diego Silva said. The Alpha Gamma Omega fraternity allows non-Christians in the fraternity, but executive board members must submit a statement of faith in their acceptance of Christianity. Alpha Delta Chi requires all members be Christian and to refrain from sexual relations until marriage. It also requires members to regularly attend church.

“We accept students from all types of backgrounds and beliefs and cultures,” Silva said. “So it’s a little tricky when you start to endorse groups that don’t do that and don’t fall in line with what is the mission of the university.”

Alpha Delta Chi president and civil engineering senior Sarah Cosseboom said she can see why the sorority’s membership requirements are labeled as discriminatory, but said they are right for the sorority.

“In a way it discriminates,” she said, “but I don’t understand why you’d want to join if you weren’t a Christian.”

Both organizations are not included in special privileges given to student groups, Silva said. They are unable to use on-campus facilities and be involved with Cal Poly

In a way it discriminates ... but I don’t understand why you’d want to join if you weren’t a Christian.

Do you think a religious fraternity or sorority should be allowed on campus?

SARAH COSSEBOOM ALPHA DELTA CHI PRESIDENT affiliated events, such as the Week of Welcome block party showcase.

Cosseboom said her sorority initially struggled with recruitment due to the lack of campus accessibility.

“It’s a little frustrating, but we’ve been able to maintain ourselves,” she said.

Sorority members found success in posting f lyers at local churches to bring in new members. Cosseboom also said word-of-mouth popularized the organization in the Cal Poly Christian community. Alpha Delta Chi currently has 11 active members in its San Luis Obispo chapter, all Cal Poly females.

Though Hobson said his organization faces several of the same challenges as Alpha Delta Chi, he believes the policy of denying nonChristians executive member status is important for the fraternity.

“If we want to run a Christ-centered organization, we need to have Christ-centered leaders,” he said.

Hobson said Alpha Gamma Omega national representatives have discussed removing the pol-

icy, but he does not believe it will change any time soon. “(A policy shift) would change our identity and how we serve the future generations of Alpha Gamma Omega,” Hobson said.

Similarly, Silva said he understands why the fraternity and sorority have their discriminatory practices and does not see problems with their conduct.

“They are well-intended groups, and they do do more good than bad, a lot more good than bad things,” Silva said. “I can’t think of anything to speak negatively on the groups themselves.”

But he said the university’s concern arises from the possibility of the fraternity and sorority changing their mission and further promoting discrimination at Cal Poly.

“Alpha Gamma Omega today is not going to be the same Alpha Gamma Omega it will be next year,” Silva said. “All it takes is a few bad seeds to turn them in a new direction. Worst case scenario, that could come back to really, really hurt Cal Poly and its mission and values as an institution as a whole.”

CHECK OUT

SPORTS, pg. 8

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“No. I don’t think that should be promoted on campus.”

• Shelby Fields biological sciences freshman

“Yes, because everyone should have an organization that they want to be involved in.”

• Melissa Smitheram nutrition sophomore

INDEX News.............................1-3 Arts..............................4-5

Opinions/Editorial...........6 Classifieds/Comics.........7 Sports...........................7-8

MDnews 2 TEACHING continued from page 1

to be more efficient — that I could handle more than my two or three classes if I could some how be more efficient.’”

Waldorf realized changing the way a class is taught could

change how often classes were offered, he said.

“I was thinking, ‘Is there a way I could teach five or six classes?’” Waldorf said.

“Or, instead of a certain class only offered once a year, maybe now we could offer it three times a year; wouldn’t that change the way students

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Thursday, March 29, 2012 have to deal with how they get classes,” Waldorf realized recording lectures would be the key to this effectiveness, he said.

Aside from minor updates, Waldorf’s class lectures were essentially the same from quarter-to-quarter. Capturing these lectures and using them in the future meant preparation time for lectures would be less, and therefore, there would be more hours for meeting with students.

“I didn’t want to reduce the face-to-face time,” Waldorf said. “That aspect is good for the student-faculty relationships. However, too much of that face time is wasted on this one-directional lecturing.

Students sit there and listen and faculty talk. That could be better recorded on video.”

Waldorf’s idea that night is now a reality within the department. In classes that follow this structure, students are required to view four to six short lecture videos a week, which usually run 10 to 15 minutes in length.

The segmented, digestible chunks are designed to be taken at the students’ pace as a way to improve their engagement and learning efficiency.

“Students can watch the lecture while eating breakfast or late at night,” Waldorf said.

“They can watch it twice, or if they are already familiar with a certain part, they can skip through it. These videos let them be in charge of what content they receive.”

Professors use interactive lecture videos that usually feature the professor talking as they would in a classroom setting. The ability to pause, rewind and fast forward allow the students to remain engaged in the material, Waldorf said.

“My videos are on my classes’ YouTube channel,” Schlemer said. “On the video, I move the mouse around to show what I’m talking about, or I write down equations on the screen.”

But the lecture doesn’t end there. After the assigned videos are viewed, students are

required to fill out and submit a small quiz. The short, graded assignments serve as incentives to keep students current in the material, Schlemer said.

Although students are given the freedom to view the material on their own time, the fast-paced advancement of the curriculum and the peerbased learning environment encourages students to watch the videos and do the assessment quizzes before they come to class, Schlemer said.

Industrial engineering graduate student Stephen Gilmore said he recognizes that in order to get the most out of the time in the classroom, students must prepare at home.

“To keep up in class, you have to follow along at home,” Gilmore said. “You can get by not doing it once or twice, but it is tough keeping up because you will have no idea what’s going on.”

The value of the inside-out course is seen during classroom time, Waldorf said.

The formal lecture setting is transformed into a collaborative working environment where students work together and with the instructor to complete problem sets and homework.

The group setting helps students learn the material in more ways than one. Collaborating in a group not only helps students apply the lecture segments to their homework, but Gilmore said teaching one another helps students understand the material better.

“With teaching in general, you have to know it in order to teach it,” Gilmore said.

“Teaching someone helps it to really stick in your brain.”

Learning aside, the collaborative environment also works to prepare students for the working environment they will experience once they step into the engineering field, Waldorf said.

“In the real engineering world, few people are tasked with solving problems alone. In engineering, you are really expected to work in groups,” Waldorf said.

“Companies really appreciate the value of a diverse group and how they solve problems, and that mimics what we are trying to do with this class.”

Although the inside-out structure is still in its adolescent years in the department, faculty members feel like this is just the beginning.

“There is no question that this is going to be the future of education,” Waldorf said.

“The technology is there now. The time is right. The time is ripe. What woke me up was that in five or 10 years, you will be behind if you don’t embrace change.”

Textbook purchases bring difficulties JOSEPH CORRAL

josephcorral.md@gmail.com

With college tuition on the rise, it can be a challenge for some students to allocate money for their education.

On top of food, gasoline, bills and basic school supplies, students regularly purchase textbooks, which can quickly drain bank accounts.

Though there are options to save money on textbooks such as renting or buying used books, students such as civil engineering junior Kevin McFadden, who spent approximately $300 on textbooks winter quarter, still experience buyer’s remorse when a book is barely used.

“I rented one textbook from (El Corral) bookstore for $80 that I hardly used,” McFadden said. “I easily could have used course reserves instead.”

Recreation, parks and tourism administration sophomore Lindsay Freund also has this problem. She said she spent $200 on textbooks last quarter, and did not feel she got her money’s worth because she hardly used some of her books.

When a student is certain they will use a specific book for a class though, there are ways to save money on top of buying them used, according to business administration junior Mackenzie Stack.

“I used my $120 intermediate accounting book fall (quarter) as well as winter, so really it was like $60 per quarter,” Stack said. “I also split an online finance book with a friend.”

But if a student does not want to share a book or thinks they will not be able to use a book multiple quarters, renting is also a popular choice.

Websites such as Chegg. com or Knetbooks.com have been popular textbook rental sites for years, and more recently campus bookstores have jumped on the bandwagon.

El Corral bookstore employee and agribusiness senior Ethan Larson said he’s seen a recent trend of students opting out of purchasing textbooks.

“In the last couple of quarters, the number of students renting from (El Corral bookstore) has definitely picked up,” Larson said.

Aside from difficulties arising from where to purchase a book, students also deal with other uncontrollable problems when buying textbooks.

Landscape architecture se-

nior Amanda Bender’s textbook didn’t come in on time, forcing her to spend more money, on top of the $269 she has already spent.

“A book I needed wouldn’t be delivered until the day after the paper I had to write about it was due, so I had to run to the bookstore and buy a second copy of the same book,” Bender said.

McFadden has also ended up with two copies of the same book, but for different reasons.

“I once bought two used books that came as a packaged deal from SLO Textbooks because it was a volume 1, volume 2 kind of deal for the same class,” McFadden said.

“Halfway through the quarter, when we started using the second book, I realized that they were actually both the same book. One was just a much older copy that looked different from the other.”

McFadden said when he took them back to SLO Textbooks the employee who helped him acknowledged the mistake, but didn’t have any copies of the correct book. He was also told the store would not refund him for one because he was only charged for one book in the first place.

Other students have had less than perfect experiences when returning their books as well.

“I tried to return a book from fall quarter that was $115 from SLO Textbooks on Friday of week one during winter quarter, since that is typically the last day to return books, but they wouldn’t take it because Thursday was the last day,” Stack said. “This information was stapled onto my receipt, but I felt scammed because I actually tried going Thursday, and they had closed early.”

Psychology senior Kelli Hoffert said she feels like she is undercut by the bookstore too because she is typically only refunded 10 percent of her money, if anything, when selling books back.

After her freshman year, she started selling back to Amazon.com and nothing has gone wrong since.

Because of the potential problems and often expensive costs of buying textbooks, students such as Bender said they have better uses for their time and money.

“I would buy better groceries and gas,” Bender said. “I also would not have to work as much and could focus more on school work.”

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MDnews 3

Thursday, March 29, 2012

House member dons hoodie, gets reprimanded WILLIAM DOUGLAS

McClatchy Newspapers

Rep. Bobby Rush went to the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday with two thoughts: a hoodie is not a hat. Nor is it an article of clothing that’s a true measure of an individual.

But when Rush, D-Ill., dramatically shed his suit jacket, donned a pair of sunglasses and pulled a hoodie over his head in a show of solidarity with those protesting the handling of the Trayvon Martin shooting case in Florida, he was scolded for violating House rules of decorum and escorted from the chamber.

For the 65-year-old former 1960s Black Panther Party activist, an act of civil disobedience never felt so good.

“I had recollections of my

younger life,” Rush told reporters afterward. "This came up from inside, the whole thing, it felt good doing it. It's the least I can do to fight for justice for Trayvon Martin and others."

Martin, 17, was fatally shot in Sanford, Fla., last month by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood-watch captain who thought Martin looked suspicious. A 911 attendant advised Zimmerman not to follow Martin. Zimmerman’s lawyer says Martin provoked the confrontation and assaulted Zimmerman, who shot in selfdefense. Details of what happened are under investigation.

Martin's death, and the lack of any arrest in the incident, have sparked a wave of protests nationwide, including people ranging from the Miami Heat basketball team to

NATIONAL

STATE

former Michigan Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm donning hoodies to protest the shooting and the way local police handled the case.

Rush appeared to be conducting House business as usual as one of several lawmakers who took to the floor during the morning hour — a time when members can speak for up to five minutes on any topic they choose.

“Racial profiling has to stop,” Rush said as he began to peel away his gray pinstripe suit jacket to reveal a gray hooded sweatshirt. “Just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum. Just because someone is a young black male and wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum.”

Almost immediately, Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., who

was presiding over the House, pounded his gavel, ordered Rush to suspend his remarks, and then proclaimed him out of order.

But Rush pressed on.

“A hood on the head does not mean a hood in the head,” he said. “I applaud the young people across this nation who are making a statement about hoodies and the real hoodlum, particularly those who tread on our laws wearing official or quasi-official cloaks.”

Harper called for Rush to be removed from the chamber.

He declared that the Illinois lawmaker violated Clause 5 of Rule 17 of House rules that forbids hats from being worn in the chamber when the House is in session.

“Members need to remove their hoods or leave the floor,” Harper said.

INTERNATIONAL

LOS ANGELES —

FLORIDA —

MEXICO —

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office charged singer Bobby Brown with three misdemeanor counts following his drunk-driving arrest in the L.A. community of Reseda on Wednesday. The charges Brown faces include driving under the influence, driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent and driving with a suspended license.

Sources said Brown’s license had been suspended for the last year because he failed to appear in court in connection with a speeding ticket.

Miami Beach police say two Transportation Security Administration officers partied a little too hard Tuesday night, trashed their South Beach hotel room and then picked up a semi-automatic handgun and shot six rounds out the window.

One bullet pierced a $1,500 hurricane impactresistant window at a nearby Barneys New York, penetrated a wall and tore into some jeans in the closed store’s stockroom, according to store manager Adelchi Mancusi.

No one was injured.

A scandal brought on by a leaked tape has stirred up Mexico’s presidential race, and the campaign hasn’t even officially started yet.

A voice thought to be that of Josefina Vazquez Mota, the conservative National Action Party (PAN) standard-bearer and first female candidate from a major political party, is heard in a leaked phone call suggesting that federal police chief Genaro Garcia Luna taps her phones but doesn’t monitor those of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the world’s mostwanted drug lord.

U.S. troops in Afghanistan on high alert DAVID S. CLOUD

Tribune Washington Bureau

ng wi

with Cal Poly since 1916

Gr

o

U.S. and NATO soldiers have been ordered to take extraordinary precautions against being shot by Afghan troops, including designating “guardian angels” to keep watch at joint bases around the clock, according to a senior military official.

Any time a group of Western soldiers is gathered on a joint base to exercise, train or even sleep, one member of the unit is required to be armed and on alert for possible fratricide attacks, the official said, describing the new requirement.

In addition, soldiers working in headquarters buildings or as advisers in Afghan ministries have been told to move their desks so that their backs are no longer facing the door, said the official, who spoke anonymously because he was discussing sensitive security measures.

Some soldiers have been given permission to carry weapons into certain Afghan government buildings where they were not allowed to be armed in the past, the official said.

The steps were ordered by Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, several weeks ago after the burning of Qurans by U.S. personnel near Bagram air base in Afghanistan. The destruction of the Qurans sparked a surge of shootings

by Afghans wearing military uniforms of troops from the U.S. and its allies. Officials said the increased security was ordered specifically in response to an incident last month in which two American officers were gunned down at the Ministry of Interior in Kabul. So far this year, at least 16 NATO service members have been killed by Afghan soldiers and policemen — or militants disguised in uniforms — according to U.S. officials, and 52 servicemen have died in such attacks since 2007. The spike in fratricide attacks has continued this month in the wake of an alleged massacre of Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier in southern Afghanistan.

On Monday, two British service members were killed by an Afghan soldier in front of the main gate of a joint civilian-military base in southern Afghanistan. A U.S. soldier was killed by a local Afghan policeman, officials said.

On Tuesday, several Afghan soldiers were arrested after authorities found suicide vests inside the country’s defense ministry. The vests were apparently intended to be used as part of an attack, though not one believed to be aimed at U.S soldiers, officials said.

The “tactical directive” issued by Allen that outlines the new security steps warns troops to be on guard against fratricide attacks and to watch

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Afghans they work with for signs that they are becoming radicalized, the officials said.

U.S. and Afghan troops work and live in close quarters in many bases across Afghanistan, and U.S. officials say they are sensitive about putting in place new security measures that suggest a lack of trust between allies, fearing that they will make cooperation and joint operations more difficult and tense.

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MDarts 5

Thursday, March 29, 2012 COURTESY PHOTO

Library celebrates Book Club centennial KASSI LUJA

The event will host professional bookbinder Erin Zamrzla who will demonstrate This coming April, Robert Japanese bookbinding and E. Kennedy Library will host lead a hands-on workshop. its spring exhibit, “Pressing “People can come to Forward: The Book Club of ‘Stitched!’ and learn from California at 100.” In honor (Zamrzla),” Lauritsen said. of the Book Club’s centen“She’ll talk about her work, nial, the traveling exhibition and she’ll give a demonstrawill host various activities tion (and) help people with including talks from a protheir own work.” fessional bookbinder and Later that day, Kennedy Liwoodcut artist. brary will also host an opening “Our mission is to proreception for the celebration. mote fine press printing re“We’re having an open related to the history and litception and talk,” Trujillo erature of California and the said. “A celebrated woodcut West,” programs manager artist by the name of Tom Georgeanna Devereux said.

Killion will be talking and “We’re dedicated to helping present his work.” people who love fine letterKillion, a Northern Calpress books learn more about ifornia-native, will disthose books and cuss his series, connect with fel“Landscape low book-lovers, Prints of CaliWe wanted to create a binders, printfornia,” as well traveling exhibit, telling ers, collectors as his printmakand sellers.” ing techniques, the story of the Book Founded in which accord1912, The Book ing to Trujillo Club.

Club of Califorfeature JapaGEORGEANNA DEVEREUX nia is a non-profnese-style wood BOOK CLUB PROGRAMS MANAGER it membership block woodcuts. organization that Students will be publishes fineable to see his press books. Devereux said time supporter of the club. work as well as buy his books the group wanted to create “Kennedy Library has been at the reception. a special way to celebrate its a book club member since “(Killion) has been pub100-year achievement.

1979,” Trujillo said. “We’ve lished in The Book Club of “To celebrate, we wanted to been collecting their books California’s publications,” create a traveling exhibition, for over 30 years.”

Trujillo said. “We’re really extelling the story of the Book The opening of the spring cited that he’ll be here. He’ll Club that would travel across exhibit is highlighted by two have his progressive proofs the state and beyond,” De- different events. with him and his slide prevereux said.

On April 5, Stitched! will sentations with his works.”

The exhibit will feature fine- feature a hands-on Japanese The opening reception and press books and keepsakes bookbinding workshop from talk will be 5 to 7 p.m. on from the Book Club of Cali- 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Kennedy Library’s second fornia (BCC) and selections “Stitched! is a Science Café, floor café area. from the library’s Fine Print which is an ongoing event The exhibit will be open and Graphic Arts Collec- series with an expert,” com- from April 5 through June 8 tion. In addition, the exhibit munications and public pro- on the library’s second floor will showcase photographs of grams coordinator Karen Learning Commons. It is club members and their own Lauritsen said. free and open to the public. kassiluja.md@gmail.com

libraries.

The exhibit will also feature winners of Kennedy Library’s Book Collection Competition. Photographs of the winning collections, student work from Cal Poly’s graphic communication department and “Flight,” an installation by art and design junior Bryn Hobson, will be included as well.

“Under the leadership of Catherine Trujillo, (Kennedy Library) photographed and interviewed several BCC members and their libraries,” Devereux said. “It is a stunning project.”

According to Trujillo, the Special Collections and University Archives library assistant, the library is a long-

MD op/ed 6

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Supreme court should support health care

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Thursday, March 29, 2012 Volume LXXVI, Number 95

©2012 Mustang Daily

“FTW, SMH“

Election fatigue Andrew Bloom is an English senior and Mustang Daily liberal columnist.

Spring quarter is a fascinating reversal of the dandy bravado with which we assault the returning of classes in the winter or fall. One hears less of the exciting pursuits of higher knowledge. The hallways instead seem to echo with party-hoarse voices invoking their separate muses, sober affirmations to survive another quarter and hasten escapes to the sunny weather outside.

The process of spring recalibration into college mode is always fiendishly complicated by lingering stupidity, a phenomenon that — as a subset of attention-deficit disorder — renders the task of retaining any one intelligentsounding thought virtually impossible for at least a week and a half. I too am a victim; everything in the news is written in Chinese and not even the creamy voice of Anderson Cooper reveals an appetizing route of journalistic inquiry.

The week’s top stories are as such: • The largest ever gathering of American atheists, agnostics and secular humanists braved inclement weather to hear Richard Dawkins speak in the Washington Mall.

• The Supreme Court begsn hearing arguments on the constitutionality of key parts of health care reform.

• The Romney campaign called its candidate an Etch-A-Sketch.

I wonder if I can unify these disparate stories behind one cogent ethos, perhaps explaining why, despite this nasty case of the “Spring Stupids,” each fuss feels to me like one side of an endlessly spinning coin.

Large organizations of atheists always worry me. I am immensely sympathetic to their cause and have in the past defended their status as the single most discriminated-against minority group in the history of both America and Western civilization. I agree with Dawkins, being an atheist in America closes doorways to virtually all positions of elected office — unless you choose to lie about it and remain closeted; if you are one of the many non-theists of scientific persuasion, American democracy presents you the dilemma of choosing intelligence or honesty.

I worry that a nationalized movement in the spotlight, such as last weekend’s march on Washington, will only cement in the misinformed minds of the American majority that atheists are in some fashion an organization or something that resembles a religion at all. This misconception is a deeply cynical one. It exposes the status quo for an instrument of paranoia and suspicion, seeking to

Are we really going to choose the next President based on Etch-A-Sketches and friends who own NASCAR teams? master at any cost the political consequences of assemblies of any substantial number of voting citizens.

The same misinformed status quo can also be found picketing the Supreme Court building, as the justices begin a lengthy debate over a key clause of Obama’s health care reform. In its current formulation, all citizens must have health insurance or else pay a penalty; the question to be decided is if this penalty is just that, a “penalty” which can be legally precluded or else a “tax” that cannot be legally stopped before it is officially levied. Unfortunately, the status quo cannot quite decide which meaning it supports, and picketers from opposing ideologies seem thoroughly confused over what they themselves support.

Finally, there is the promise from Romney campaign manager Eric Fehrnstrom that the candidate’s transformation from primary to general election mode will resemble the erasing of an Etch-A-Sketch.

What elevates this gaffe to one of everlasting, Kerry-like proportions is not merely that it has supplied the most fitting metaphor yet for the substantively empty Romney, but also that its symbol is so very simply and broadly understood.

The gaffe cycle truly dominates the 2012 election. Yet, as entertaining as they always are, what does their persistent hilarity say about us? Are we really going to choose the next president based on Etch-A-Sketches and friends who own NASCAR teams?

Each of these top news stories seems to paint a bleak picture of how our mass psychology functions in election season. Each seems to presume some innate well of outrage that we may all tap with little effort — if only we knew which direction to channel the effrontery. These stories are hardly news at all, but rather tales of public confusion pinned casually to the top of the political billboard. One wonders if we should instead long for the days of complete political indifference, if this is the best our election-frenzied interest can muster.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday began hearing three days of arguments over the nation’s health care reform law as the court began the momentous task of deciding whether the law — or which parts of the law — will pass constitutional muster. Given the court’s earlier decisions and the authority Congress has under the nation’s founding document to regular interstate commerce, we think that the chances are good that the justices will uphold the law. That would be the best outcome.

The Affordable Care Act — Obamacare, to its detractors — was signed into law two years ago by President Barack Obama after a protracted battle in Congress.

The law guarantees insurance coverage to most Americans either through their work or through exchanges that the states will set up to sell individual policies.

More than 50 million Americans are without health insurance; the percentage who said they didn’t have insurance rose to 17 percent at the end of last year, according to Gallup. One key idea behind the law was that insuring most Americans would, over time, help reduce the cost of health care as people are seen by primary care physicians instead of expensive emergency rooms and as people are treated before their conditions worsen.

But the key to this is the requirement, now under attack in the courts, that every American must carry health insurance. This “mandate” is at the heart of the Supreme Court case. Opponents argue that the government cannot make such a requirement. Backers of the law says the government has that power. Without it, the law may collapse because other pieces of the act, which have broad support, including coverage for people who have pre-existing conditions, may not be possible without the large insurance pool created by the mandate.

The court will hear arguments today on the mandate question; a decision by the justices is expected in June.

We’ve had our concerns with health care reform. We never were convinced, for example, that the bill passed by Congress in 2010 did enough to get costs under control. But

the law, overall, was a major step toward a healthier America.

We’ve also been skeptical of that Republican battle cry: “repeal and replace.” Replace with what? For the most part, the Republicans don’t have an answer. We do believe that Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee, has an intriguing plan for reforming Medicare, which he devised along with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon.

Under their plan, future retirees would be able to opt into traditional government-run Medicare, or they could buy a private plan on a governmentrun exchange. Seniors would receive a subsidy that would rise or fall based on the cost of the policies they selected.

But we also believe that the mandate as envisioned in the health care law is likely to withstand constitutional scrutiny.

Laurence Silberman, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, noted in a U.S. appeals court ruling in November that while the mandate “certainly is an encroachment on individual liberty, it is no more so than a command that restaurants or hotels are obliged to serve all customers regardless of race, that gravely ill individuals cannot use a substance their doctors described as the only effective palliative for excruciating pain or that a farmer cannot grow enough wheat to support his own family.”

In each case, the court has ruled in favor of federal regulation.

And neither do we buy the argument that health care is a matter of personal choice. Insured or not, all Americans, at some point, use the system. For far too many people without insurance, the only alternative is expensive care in emergency departments, which drives up the cost of care for everyone. Health care is a national market and should fall under the commerce clause of the Constitution.

“The right to be free from federal regulation is not absolute, and yields to the imperative that Congress be free to forge national solutions to national problems, no matter how local — or seemingly passive _ their individual origins,” Silberman wrote. We think he’s right — and that ultimately the Supreme Court also will see it this way.

No matter how the court decides, the issues raised by health care reform will not go away.

They will be central to the presidential campaign this fall. But two years in, the country is better off with the Affordable Care Act than without it.

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MDsports 8

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Weekend preview: Baseball, softball begin Big West play MUSTANG DAILY STAFF REPORT

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Three Cal Poly sports teams will compete on campus this week, and a basketball star will make her way to Denver to showcase her talent in front of professional scouts.

Baseball Friday night starter Joey Wagman started off the four weekend series with wins for the Mustangs, and the stakes will be raised tomorrow night as Cal Poly starts Big West Conference play against Long Beach State.

Through their first 24 games, the Mustangs have outplayed opponents on offense and with their pitching staff on the way to a 16-8 record.

The team compiled a 3.70 ERA while scorching opposing pitching, scoring 5.19 earned runs per nine innings as well. Five Mustang hitters are batting higher than .299 with senior shortstop Mike Miller leading the way at .379.

Mitch Haniger’s torrid hitting from last year has carried over to 2012 as he’s belted five home runs, driven in 30 runs and slugged .600.

Cal Poly took three of four games from San Diego State, coached by Hall of Famer Tony Gywnn, in its last series giving up 19 runs while scoring 24.

Softball The Mustangs will look to put a rough non-conference schedule behind them in their opening Big West series against Cal State Fullerton, starting with a double-header on Saturday and concluding on Sunday. Cal Poly owns a 7-20 record and has lost nine straight games going back to March 10.

The most recent defeat came on Tuesday against No. 14 UCLA at Bob Janssen Field.

The Bruins won in five innings in the first game after putting up seven runs in the fourth inning to take a 14-0 lead. Freshman Chloe Wurst conceded 12 runs in 3.1 innings of work before Jordan Yates relived her.

Cal Poly, with Yates starting, allowed 14 more runs in the second game of the double-header but managed to score five runs in the loss.

UCLA hit four home runs in each game, while the Mus-

tangs played small ball to earn their tallies. Shortstop Kim Westlund saw success when she plated two Cal Poly runners on a two-hit single in the sixth.

Women’s Basketball Kristina Santiago is raking in the honors following her record-breaking career with the Mustangs. She was invited to take part in the 2012 Pro Free Agent Camp in Denver alongside the Women’s Final Four which takes place April 1 to 3.

She led the Big West in points per game (23.1), rebounds (10.1) and field goal percentage (.588) and ranked nationally in the top 10 for points per game and field goal percentage.

Santiago also became the second Mustang to be named to the Associated Press AllAmerican team as an honorable mention. The only other Mustang to make the list was Laura Buehning in 1981. San-

tiago broke Buehning’s record for points scored as a Mustang in 2012 and concluded her career with 1,953 points.

She also holds the record for most rebounds in Cal Poly history (850) and field goal percentage (.540). Scouts from the WNBA and other foreign professional leagues will be on hand in Denver to watch Santiago perform.

Men’s Tennis Since losing its first three matches of the spring season, the Cal Poly men’s tennis team has won 10 of 12 matches using dominating play from Andre Dome, who is ranked 25th in the nation.

The Mustangs play Big West foe Pacific at 11 a.m. Saturday in their second to last home match of the year.

Cal Poly concludes its home season on April 15 against No. 18-ranked Fresno State before going to the Big West Championships April 27.

CHRISTIAN MILLAN/MUSTANG DAILY

Kristina Santiago wrapped up her Cal Poly career with school records in points scored, rebounds and field goal percentage. She will perform in front of pro scouts this weekend.