Monday, August 2, 2010
DAILY
w w w. T h e D a i l y A z t e c . c o m
THE
AZTEC
Vol. 95, Issue 127
Tw i t t e r : T h e D a i l y A z t e c
San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1913
I N S I D E T O D AY OPINION
Camera found in SDSU restroom A guest discovered a video camera in a campus Starbucks
HARMFUL AND LEGAL A new synthetic hallucinogen is being legally sold as ‘incense’ despite harmful side effects. page 2
ENTERTAINMENT
SUMMER ‘SCHMUCKS’ Paul Rudd and Steve Carell provide chuckles in ‘Dinner for Schmucks.’ page 3
FEATURES
R O B E R T M ORENO S TA F F W R I T E R
A hidden camera was found in a campus Starbucks restroom last month. The incident occurred at the Starbucks on the corner of Lindo Paseo and College Avenue. A customer found the hidden camera tucked behind a trashcan in the unisex bathroom on July 17. San Diego State police said the discovery was made in the mid-morning hours of the day, although it is believed the camera was not placed in the restroom overnight.
SDSU Police Sgt. Steven Harshaw described the camera to be a small Internet Web camera. H a r s h a w declined to give any details regarding a suspect, but he said the S D S U p o l i c e department does have some active leads. The day of the incident police were given a description of a possible suspect as a white male, thin, blond hair,
wearing a dark-blue T-shirt and Khaki shorts. Theater freshman Monique Lopez said she couldn’t believe something like this would happen. “This is gross, o t h e r t h a n being a pervert I cannot see why someo n e wo u l d do this,” she said. Lopez also said this incident will make her more aware of her
surroundings when she uses a public restroom. Harshaw said although incidents like these are uncommon, they still happen. “It does happen from time to time,” Harshaw said. “It’s happened before but not like this, but it does happen infrequently.” Harshaw said in the last few years there have been two or three other cases. He said what made this case different from the other times is that the camera was found in the bathroom and usually it is with handheld equipment such as cell phones. Employees at Starbucks were not able to comment about the incident but did say that in order for customers to use the restroom, they now must get tokens from the front counter. Calls to the Starbucks HR department were not returned.
Fire season ablaze in San Diego SA RA H GR I E C O
OFF-BEAT SHOPPING A guide for ladies looking for alternatives to the typical shopping scene. page 6
CHECK US OUT ONLINE For more of today’s headlines, visit:
www.thedailyaztec.com Find us on Facebook: Search: “The Daily Aztec”
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheDailyAztec
DA TV
Watch interviews and more: www.youtube.com/DailyAztecVideo
CONTACT GENERAL INFORMATION 619.594.4199
EDITOR
IN CHIEF, RUTHIE KELLY 619.594.4190 EDITOR@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
NEWS EDITOR, RENEE VILLASENOR 619.594.7781
DAILYAZTECNEWS@GMAIL.COM
FEATURES EDITOR, MATT SALWASSER 619.594.6976
DAILYAZTECFEATURES@GMAIL.COM
SPORTS EDITOR, EDWARD LEWIS 619.594.7817 SPORTS@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
OPINION EDITOR, TOM HAMMEL 619.594.0509
DAILYAZTECOPINION@GMAIL.COM
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, MAGGIE PEHANICK 619.594.6968
ENTERTAINMENT.AZTEC@GMAIL.COM
ART DIRECTOR, BRITTANY PASLAWSKY 619.594.6979 ARTDIRECTOR@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
PHOTO EDITOR, DAVID OLENDER 619.594.7279 PHOTO@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
WEB EDITOR, JOSEPH YOUNG 619.594.3315 WEB@THEDAILYAZTEC .COM
ADVERTISING 619.594.6977
INDEX
OPINION.........................................................................2 ENTERTAINMENT............................................................3 FEATURES........................................................................6 CLASSIFIEDS....................................................................7 THE BACK PAGE............................................................8
MANAGING EDITOR
Last month, a brush fire broke out on a grassy hill in Mission Valley, less than seven miles from San Diego State. Interstate 8 was clogged both eastbound and westbound as drivers watched firefighters attempt to extinguish the flames. Eventually, with the help of a helicopter, the blaze was put out. The hill behind the Mission Valley Hilton is still charred. “Lately we have been seeing some very unusual fire behavior,” San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesperson Maurice Luque said to NBC. Unusual fire behavior warrants the oddity of the Mission Valley fire, but it serves as a reminder that SDSU’s campus is located atop dry, grassy hills similar to the one that burned in Mission Valley. The San Diego area is susceptible to fires thanks to a dry climate that desiccates shrubbery, making it easy for flames to spread for miles with the help of an occasional breeze. SDSU students may recall the October 2007 wildfires that caused the administration to cancel classes for almost a week, leaving many students stranded in residence halls or forced to flee for home. The campus did not fall victim to the flames, which scorched other parts of the city, but the college grounds reeked of smoke for days. Kaity Tully, a hotel tourism management senior, said she had never seen a fire before the October 2007 wildfires. Tully was a freshman when she saw the flames from the top floor of Zura residence hall. She said seeing the hills ablaze was nerve-racking and intimidating. Less than a day later, she headed home to Sacramento to escape the smoke. “I felt the administration could have handled it better,” she said. “When finals came around I felt it. It definitely made a difference since we had lost a week of instruction.” A former resident adviser who wishes to remain anonymous said that during the October 2007 wildfires the R.A.s were receiving directions from the administration in regards to fire safety. “We couldn’t do much ... but a few R.A.s were required to stay in
Courtesy of Sarah Grieco
Wildfires could be easily seen from the top floor of Zura in October 2007. Last month, grassy hills in Mission Valley burned and forced the evacuation of many homes in University Heights. SDSU is susceptible to fires as it is located on a dry, grassy hill.
halls during the week classes were canceled,” she said. “We also provided masks for the students who stayed on campus.” Fortunately, SDSU has not been subject to a massive wildfire in the past three years. But fire season is upon San Diego with full force, and residents are now being subjected to
abnormal fire patterns that have the potential to be disruptive. SDSU Director of Media Relations and New Media Greg Block said the administration makes a decision whether to cancel class depending on the scale of the emergency. Block also said there is an emergency committee for a variety of different types of situations that
determines emergency procedures, including wildfires. Since the fire in Mission Valley occurred less than a month ago, there have not been any large brushfires close to SDSU. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, wildfire season is expected to last through the end of November.