Sonoma State STAR Issue 12

Stevenson Hall’s long-awaited reopening

CALVIN ZELJAK STAFF WRITER

After a decade of planning and two years of construction through a pandem ic, Stevenson Hall will be reopening its doors this Friday, Dec. 2, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning.

A ribbon ceremony will signal the building’s reopening which will soon grant Seawolves access to additional academic resources. The project will move all administrative services to Salazar and make Stevenson a 100% ac ademic building. Salazar will serve as an administrative building and center for community engagement, Schulz will feature student academic services, and Stevenson will serve as a faculty center, office of research and center for envi ronmental inquiry. This change is expected to make access to resources easier for students.

Stevenson has been a staple of the school since it was established, as it was the first building constructed on campus in 1967. The building, named after for mer United States politician, Adlai Stevenson, was in need of a major upgrade from its original design after a 2017 lawsuit saw $2.9 million paid out to Steven son faculty and staff from 2013 to 2015 due to asbestos exposure. Additionally, there was also a major need for upgrades in terms of classroom resources

A webpage on the sonoma.edu website put together by the Stevenson Hall Renovation Task Force at the beginning of the project, emphasized, “This proj ect will transform the campus! It also is immense in scope and complexity.” Now serving as the home of the Schools of Business and Economics, and Ed ucation and Social Sciences, Stevenson’s new look aims to improve and mod ernize classroom functionality, increase student seat count in classrooms, and see STEVENSON on pg. 4

NOAH CLARKE STAFF WRITER

Tis the season to be jolly! With Thanksgiving behind us, a wide array of hol iday events can be found across Sonoma county scheduled throughout the month of December. Many Sonoma State University students are excited for these events, some of which include parades, Menorah celebrations and tree lightings

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first year we’re seeing the return of most holiday events. Specific events sorted by city can be found in a variety of places like Facebook, city websites and local publications.

If you’re close to Cotati, make plans to swing by the annual Holiday Tree Lighting happening this Friday. The event, organized by the city of Cotati, will be held in La Plaza Park. There will be food and craft vendors, as well as horse and carriage rides starting at 4:30 p.m. The evening will consist of music, free warm drinks, cookies, and more. The event details also include that there will be crafts for the children, story time, entertainment, and “special” guests.

The event is currently looking for craft and food vendors, providing an op portunity for anyone to sell their goods. For more information on the event or to become a vendor, please call (707)665-4222 or email awilson@cotaticity.org.

Next week, Petaluma will be celebrating events of their own. On De.10, brightly lit and decorated boats will bring holiday cheer at the Petaluma Light ed Boat Parade. During the event, onlookers can watch as the boats make their

Friends and family of Sourdough and Co. shooting victim speak out

JHERY MAE MONTEZA STAFF WRITER

@hersheyduke109 Instagram

Many local holiday events are returning in full swing this year following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thesuspected shooter in the Nov. 13 Sourdough and Co. incident, 19-year-old Jade Cutrer from Santa Rosa, was released on Nov. 15 without any charges. As of Nov. 16, the victim from the incident was still in the hospital having undergone some of the many surgeries nec essary for her sustained injuries. Following the suspect’s release from jail, the friends and family of the 16-year-old shooting victim that was shot while working last week have begun speaking out about the inci dent on social media and to reporters as the attack appears to have been targeted.

Nakahla Hill Rush, the victim’s sister, started a Facebook page to bring awareness for what happened to her 16-year-old sister. She de

COURTESY// SSU Announcements

Stevenson Hall will be reopening its doors this Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning after a long-awaited renovation.

Sonoma County is ready for the holidays, are you?

STAR // Willow Ornellas

Friends and family of the Rohnert Park sandwhich shop shooting victim have begun speaking out against the release of the shooting suspect who was released from jail last week.

COURTESY//

THE STAR

Editorial Board

Nicholas Roth, Editor-in-Chief Willow Ornellas, News Editor

Mikayla Fritzemeier, Opinion Editor

Cléa Upcher, Arts & Entertainment and Photo Editor

Rosalee Padilla, Student Life Editor Javier Hernandez, Sports & Health Editor

Corinne Asturias, Faculty Adviser Staff Writers

Nicole Awwad, Charles Barrett, Devon Bly, Noah Clarke, Zachary Gonzales, Tyler Meloan, Jhery Mae Monteza, Paul Munoz, Kayle Norris, Marie’sa Rumsey, Daniel Serrano, Chasity Spady, Calvin Zeljak

Photographers

Cec Fernandez, Adriana Gonzalez, Mariah Forster

Nichols Hall 323, 1801 East Cotati Ave Rohnert Park, CA 94928

Telephone: 707-664-2776

Business & General Inquiries: sonomastatestar@gmail.com

Corrections and News Tips: star@sonoma.edu

Publication

The STAR is published every Tuesday during the fall and spring semesters. The weekly publication of the STAR is made possible by Instructionally Related Activities Funding.

Opinions

Opinions expressed in the STAR are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the STAR or SSU. The editorial re flects the views of the STAR Editorial Board on issues it considers to be of particular rel evance to the campus community.

Editorial Policy

The commentary expressed in the un signed editorial represents a majority opin ion of the STAR Editorial Board on a topic facing the campus community in keeping with journalistic precedents of other major newspapers, and may not be shared by all staff writers.

CAPS: Blanket treatment in need of patches

Sonoma State University’s Counseling and Psychological Services department (CAPS) has been made a catch-all for students strug gling with their mental health but multiple students perceive CAPS as a performative band-aid. While there are numerous students with CAPS success stories, there are also many students who feel they were allowed to slip through the cracks of the mental health system leaving them worse off than before.

This was the case for one particular now second year communications and media stud ies student. At the end of the Fall 2021 semes ter, the student was at an all time low with their mental health so they turned to CAPS. “I had high hopes going in, just relieved I’d have someone to talk to about what I’d been going through, but my counseling session went hor ribly. I talked to her about how depressed and upset I was and she said that in this one session I’d have to pick one thing to discuss and we’d resolve it by the end. Not only was I limited, that one issue did not get ‘resolved’,” the stu dent said.

The student left the session visibly up set and feeling mentally worse off than when they’d gone in. “No one reached out about an other session, no referrals for long-term thera py or a therapist in the area were made. I was left completely alone to deal with my mental health. It’s such a shame because therapy out side of the school even with insurance is often unaffordable to the point that people don’t seek treatment. And the resources that we have here free to us (that we pay for with our tuition) are not helping. I have hope for CAPS at SSU but they need to wake up and realize that serious reform needs to happen,” they said.

In an email exchange with the STAR, An drew Kerlow-Myers, Ph.D., CAPS Clinical Co ordinator & Licensed Psychologist wrote, “We sometimes do brief periodic check-ins with students in concurrent therapy just so they feel they are connected to someone here on cam pus who could help them in a crisis.” Unfortu nately, the sophomore communications student didn’t receive these check-ins.

Another student explained that the negative experience of a former roommate has dissuad ed them from considering turning to CAPS themself. Third-year business major Mark Os hiro explained that their former roommate had turned to CAPS at a difficult time. Initially, CAPS was helpful, but eventually the room mate began to feel harassed by the service. Os hiro said, “Because my roommate didn’t pick up their call, CAPS sent someone over to my dorm even though my roommate clearly told them he wasn’t gonna be home. After hearing how invasive they were I was like, fuck, then I ain’t gonna go to them if I need help.”

Fourth year sociology student Ryan Harris described their experience with CAPS as “com plicated.” Harris met with two separate thera pists during his time with CAPS and while he

did feel they helped, he felt frustrated with the service’s policies. Previously, Harris had been seeing a therapist through Kaiser but at the time, wait times were long and he needed im mediate help. “Even after I told the therapist wait times through Kaiser suck and I didn’t want to wait six weeks to talk to someone, she told me the allowed amount of sessions I could have was cut in half. It was something about their increased demand I believe. It was kind of a ‘your next one will have to be your last’,” Harris said. As soon as CAPS found out Harris had the opportunity to see a therapist through Kaiser, despite the lack of convenience or un realistic wait times, the amount of sessions he was allowed was cut leading Harris to feel cast aside.

According to CAPS, if a student has an on going relationship with an external therapist, the standards of the field state that they should not provide therapy to a student. Kerlow My ers wrote, “If a student will not be able to have appointments with their home therapist during the semester, they can have individual ther apy here (sometimes we will need to consult with their home therapist to ensure they are in agreement).” However, many SSU students, like Harris, have been diverted away from CAPS and instead toward those other services, despite the student not currently receiving ex ternal treatment.

The CAPS website explains the number of individual therapy appointments a student is entitled to is ‘limited’ because CAPS oper ates on a short-term model. CAPS determines the amount of sessions a student can be allot ted based on what they deem they think the student needs, how much they want services, and their available resources. “Clinicians often have a discussion with students about session expectations at their first appointment, unless the student is in crisis in which case other top ics take priority,” Kerlow-Myers wrote.

It appears this short term model leaves many students feeling discarded, however in true crisis situations it’s effective.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, CAPS was the only form of counseling fourth-year communications student Ana Fingerson could get. “I was already super limited because of my insurance but in desperate need of just talking to a professional. Thankfully, I had CAPS who also gave me resources while I sought out a better fit,” Fingerson said.

While CAPS has provided fulfilling ser vices to some students, there appears to be a disconnect with the department’s perspective towards struggling students. This disconnect has led to worsening mental health and stress in many cases and considering $66 of every SSU student’s tuition pays for CAPS services, no students should be in a position where they feel they can’t get help or talk to someone.

Read more at sonomastatestar.com.

Letters to the Editor:

Letters to the Editor are encouraged and will be considered for publication based on relevance, accuracy and timeliness . Submit letters of up to 300 words no lat er than the Friday before the publication date. Send letters to star@sonoma.edu, include your full name, year in school and city of residence.

Elon Musk buys Twitter; already making big changes

misleading tweets.

The New York stock exchange filed to delist twitter’s stock, ending its 9 year run as a public company. Twitter will now be a private company subjected to fewer rules and to be more tightly controlled by the owner.

KAYLE NORRIS STAFF WRITER

Well, it finally happened. Elon Musk completed his purchase of Twitter, after months of lawsuits and attempts to back out of the deal. Musk bought twitter for $44 million after starting the deal in April.

Many twitter users are worried to see what changes are to come. One change made to the platform after Musk’s takeover was the introduction of a subscription service, which gives users a verified checkmark for $7.99 a month. The service did not last long as users created fake accounts pretending to be popular brands and sending out

One of Musk’s reasons for buying the platform is because he wanted “civilization to have a common digital town square” and said he planned to clean up spam accounts and pre serve the platform as a venue for free speech.

As free speech is a main goal, Musk also said he would reverse the permanent ban on former President Donald Trump. At the time, Twitter said there was a risk Trump would in cite further violence, but Musk has described the ban as “foolish.”

Sophomore economy major Donald Frank has mixed emotions about Musk run ning twitter. Frank said, “On the one hand, I whole-heartedly believe in the values of free speech and Twitter allows everyone to have a platform to express themselves. However, you also have to acknowledge that there are an overwhelming amount of toxic people on this platform who use it to troll people.”

Frank goes on to say his experience of what he has been seeing on Twitter, “For ex ample, I saw someone Tweet the n-word 40 times in response to Musk’s decision. Person ally, I can’t think of a clear solution. If they were to ban hate speech once again, we’d fall into the same argument of what exactly consti tutes hate speech, and we’d most likely end up banning people once again for expressing their constitutional rights, albeit in a very disgust ing and disrespectful way.”

On Nov. 17, Musk gave staff an ultimatum to either commit to an extremely hardcore cul ture at the company that involves longs hours at high intensity or leave with severance. The top leaders were fired shortly after Elon Musk closed the deal which included Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s chief executive, Ned Segal, the chief financial officer, Vijaya Gadde, the top legal and policy executive and Sean Edgett, the gen eral counsel.

Gina Baleria, a communications profes sor, perceives that time will tell on how this new change will affect everyone. Baleria said, “The choices Musk has made in the past cou ple of weeks indicate that he is not prioritizing

healthy discussion. What I mean is that he has fired many of those responsible for curating, dealing with threatening and hateful content, and otherwise moderating the Twittersphere... which to me indicates that these activities are not among his priorities.”

Many students and staff don’t know how to feel or don’t even know that this takeover is happening. Ysabella Pepe, a chemistry major, said, “I just personally think Elon has enough unnecessary ‘power’ and this is just a weird situation overall. I definitely think if Trump is going to continue to go the way he is then he probably has no right to be let back on.”

Chloe Hartley, a senior communications major, feels the same as other students that Musk has too much power. Hartley said, “I think that Twitter is a dangerous place with zero censorship. Elon has taken over Twitter because he has the power to do so. I think that free speech should be allowed but only to an extent. I think that messages should still be censored on twitter because then it gets to a point where people are fighting online and it creates a huge problem across the board.”

As many feel like twitter is a place with

Music streaming services fail to properly compensate artists

sets the production costs, and touring is no lon ger financially or logistically viable for most, especially in a post-pandemic era. This makes it almost impossible to ever make a living in music. Streaming is one of the last sources of revenue available to artists, but sadly, it’s also the least lucrative.

TYLER MELOAN STAFF WRITER

Over the last several years, streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music have normalized the notion that music should be easily accessible and affordable. These services provide un deniable benefits for listeners, allowing them to create and share custom playlists with each other and easily discover new artists, but at what cost to those artists? Compensation. Streaming poses a seri ous threat to the livelihoods of the vast majority of musicians and songwriters, as unethical and discriminatory payout models disproportionately reward only the absolute top-tier artists, leaving the rest in search of alternative sources of revenue as they’re compensated with mere fractions of pennies.

Selling merch and physical formats of one’s music, such as CDs, cassettes or vinyl LPs rarely yields a profit that off

Of all the streaming services available, Spotify receives the most criticism for this compensation controversy. It’s the most pop ular streaming service in the world, boasting 456 million users, and 195 million subscrib ers, according to its website. But while the New York Times reports that a 99-cent iTunes download used to yield artists about 7 to 10 cents after deductions for the retailer, record company and songwriter, services like Spoti fy are stooping far lower. A Business Insider report from 2020 found that artists earned an average of about $0.0033 per stream, though this is not a guaranteed amount. According to Vice, “Spotify also pays out royalties on the industry standard ‘pro-rata’ basis,” meaning that it determines an artist’s payout based on how their individual stream count compares to those of all other Spotify artists. And instead of paying the artists directly, Spotify pays the rights holders, who then pay the artists, per USA Today. This has resulted in a skewed system, where, as reported by Rolling Stone, “the top 10% of artists receive 99.4% of total streaming payouts…”

Some listeners make a point of support ing the lesser-known artists they care about through means other than streaming. Ana Fin gerson, a fourth-year communication and me dia studies major, said, “I stream music from all the bands I love but tend to only go to con certs or buy merch for smaller bands. I think it is important because it helps fund more music in the future for them as well as more tours.” However, listeners like Fingerson are argu ably the rarity. As a result, Spotify and other services are slowly but surely homogenizing music, by only paying livable wages to already thriving artists in popular genres, and paying less per stream to artists in niche genres like jazz, bluegrass and classical.

For Aaron Marcus-Willers, a 2022 music graduate, the root of this problem lies in the changing perceptions of music’s monetary worth. “[Streaming] forces new artists to ba sically give away their art for free in the slim hopes of making some payout by different means somewhere down the line,” he said. “It’s exciting that both making and listening to music have become so easily accessible, but I think it has also come at the cost of a decrease in the perceived value of the art form for both consumers and musicians, and a market that is more saturated than ever.”

Thankfully, some are working to change this flawed paradigm. This past summer, Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib met

with the Union of Musicians and Allied Work ers, a group who, according to Rolling Stone, “gained particular attention for its Justice at Spotify campaign, calling on the streaming gi ant to start a baseline payout of one-cent-perstream.” Tlaib worked with the group to craft and introduce a resolution, which requests that the federal government establish a music roy alty program that pays artists “fairly and di rectly,” on a “per-stream basis.”

Marcus-Willers sees this resolution as a promising step forward, but emphasized that it would present new complexities and challeng es. “The penny-per-stream model is a great starting point for slowly changing the trend of the devaluing of music, but the biggest is sue would be convincing listeners to shell out more money per month for their streaming platforms of choice,” he said.

There is clearly a long way to go for ethi cal streaming compensation for artists. But if we value the ongoing presence of authentic, diverse music in our lives, there are no other options but to raise awareness, and vote for candidates who prioritize the preservation of the arts. If we wait too long to address the inequities that exist, we may be stuck with a cookie-cutter musical landscape, where one artist’s content is indistinguishable from an other’s. We’re already well on our way to this reality.

Fans upset after Ticketmaster fails to meet ticket demand

we were assured they could.”

STAFF WRITER MARIE’SA RUMSEY

Frustrated fans are calling out Tick etmaster after its failure to produce a smooth ticket sale for Taylor Swifts’ upcoming tour. Those who were se lected obtained a verified plan for a code to ensure their early access pre sale tickets, however, the site crashed and caused delays which left many to question the site’s credibility.

Ticketmaster had promised Swift’s team that they were prepared for the high demand for tickets and Swift said later in a statement on her Instagram story, “I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and

Those selected for verified presale waited for hours for the chance to buy tickets on the website, with many having no luck. Fans were especially frustrated with the website, since they sent specific instructions for those with verified presale to have a smooth ticket buy ing experience. The website was not prepared for the demand and still crashed, despite fans’ efforts to follow instructions. Ticketmaster’s response to the crashing of the site stated, “There has been historically unprecedented demand with millions showing up to buy tick ets for the TaylorSwiftTix Presale.”

Since too many tickets were sold during the presale, Ticketmaster announced that they are cancelling their planned public sale of tour tickets, leaving more fans without even a chance of scoring tickets.

Stephanie Sandoval, early childhood studies major, expressed her frustrations with the Ticketmaster, “The whole point of being a verified fan is to get the presale tickets, which means we shouldn’t have had to wait 2 hours to even get the chance to see the tickets avail able.” Sandoval further explained how upset ting it was to be stuck in the online waiting room, to only be let in when the tickets were basically sold out.

Swift also stated in her statement, “It goes without saying that I’m extremely pro tective of my fans,” She continued, “It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excru ciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”

Others pointed out an even bigger issue when it comes to Ticketmaster. U.S. Con gresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) shared in a tweet, “Daily reminder that Ticketmaster is a monopoly. Its merger with LiveNation should never have been ap proved, and they need to be reigned in. Break them up.” Many were upset about not being able to secure their ticket or their code not working but AOC shed light on a topic many may have not thought about or known.

In response, a U.S. Senate antitrust hear ing panel is set to have a hearing for the ticket ing incident. According to a Billboard article by Marc Shneider, Senator Amy Klobuchar wrote, “The high fees, site disruptions and cancellations that customers experienced shows how Ticketmaster’s dominant market position means the company does not face any pressure to continually innovate and im prove.”

Ticketmaster and Livenation, both nota

bly known ticket sale companies, have been merged together since 2009. The longer these two companies stay together the more likely they will be a continuum of issues like sky rocketing prices of concert tickets. Almost everyone loves a sale or a decent pricing for tickets. The issue alone is raising a red flag as others may describe it as an abuse of power.

Although the hearing has yet to have a date, this will hopefully set a standard and make sure Ticketmaster is held accountable. Legally, the companies may be in the wrong. When describing what should have been done on the company’s part, Sandoval said, “Even if they were so certain they would be able to handle the number of people joining the queues at once, they should have been pre pared with a plan b. Especially since Taylor has one of the biggest fan bases in the world.”

Tours are one the best ways for artists to connect with their fans and make memories to look back on. Knowing this as a company, the main priority should have been to make sure customers were able to use the site with ease. The high demand for tickets was not a surprise to others knowing Taylor’s Swift im pact on her fans. Ticketmaster simply should have been more prepared.

Staff set for move to Stevenson Hall

continued from pg. 1

departments closer to instructional spaces, like labs. It will have underclass man classes such as: English 100 A&B and English 101; as well as upperclass men classes like: Psychology 411 and Psychology 425.

According to an article posted to SSU News on sonoma.edu published Nov. 2020, the project “is designed to refresh the building into a 21st century ac ademic learning environment and will provide educational and meeting spaces.” The modernized look will take advantage of natural sunlight, helping the school in its effort to increase sustainability.

English Professor, Barbara Beatie, emphasized her excitement for get ting to teach in the remodeled building by saying “I am so looking forward to teaching in the new Stevenson Building for Spring 2023…This new space holds the promise of the possibilities for the transformations that we all, as Seawolves scholars, hope to experience during our educational journeys at SSU.”

Refined lecture spaces and state-of-the-art classrooms throughout the build ing will feature a digital backbone strong enough to last 50 years of techno logical evolution and double the amount of wireless access points required by CSU (California State University) system, according to an article from Bisnow Media. Other changes include removing some of the original concrete slabs with floor to ceiling glass, a glass skylight over the internal courtyard creating an atrium and hangout space for students, and additional square footage within the building because of internal staircases being moved to the outside and mechani cal systems to the roof. The building’s design also aims to meet the LEED Gold sustainability standard.

“LEED certified buildings save money, improve efficiency, lower carbon emissions and create healthier places for people,” according to usgbc.org, serv ing as another example of the school’s effort to be more environmentally con scious. The university is also in the process of beginning a project to install solar panels across campus. That one aims to begin construction in the summer of 2023 and be completed by summer 2024.

Building design was handled by EHDD Architecture, a company based out of San Francisco, while construction was handled by Truebeck Construction. They added on their website that the core objectives of the project were “to improve utilization and learning outcomes, increase building spatial efficiency, and support planned academic growth.”

Events guaranteed to deliver holiday cheer before finals

continued from pg. 1

way down the Petaluma River in the spirit of the holidays. The coordinators encourage anyone to participate in the boat parade, as it’s described that, “No vessel is too small to join in the fun, and everyone is welcome.” Whether on the water or specacting from afar, the city of Petaluma promises spectators a night of holiday joy with the Lighted Boat Parade.

Senior SSU student Cameron Ghassemi lives in Petaluma and said, “The boat parade in Petaluma actually sounds really fun, I never knew that was an annual thing that happened every December!”

Ghassemi continued, “Above all it’s just nice and refreshing to see this kind of stuff back in full scale coming out of the pandemic. The holiday seasons are so special and it makes me happy to see these celebrations back in action.”

On Dec. 10, there will be a Rec the Halls Holiday Celebration at Callinan Sports & Fitness Center in Rohnert Park. The Recreation center located right off Snyder Ln will be offering raffles to win prizes, holiday cookie decorating, holiday games and workout demonstrations by their certified personal trainers.

The event will be free admission and is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m.

Sophomore Ajai Daner spoke with the STAR and said, “Christmas has al ways been special to me, even as I get older. It’s nice to know there are events happening all over the county, it would be fun to make it out to something with friends before winter break.”

19-year-old walks free after shooting 16-yearold sandwhich shop

continued from pg. 1

-scribes that Jade Cutrer has been released with no charges against her even though there was eye witness evidence and video surveillance. Rush states, “The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office & DA Jill Ravitch are failing to protect the safety of and seek justice for Kaihlea, a juvenile crime victim of gun violence. “

A former friend described the victim as a young, great girl with a bright and gorgeous smile. The friend explains that the victim is recovering but could’ve died the night of the shooting if one of the other minors who was present didn’t choose to help. According to the friend, a gun without a serial number was recovered at the scene, which means Cutrer, the shooting suspect, brought it with her to work.

The friend stated, “There has been ZERO justice for the victim, she’s in pain, confined to a bed, and that gorgeous smile of hers hasn’t been seen by too many since the incident.” The friend is wor ried that since Cutrer is in the same town walking around and the victim is in the hospital recovering, what happens if she attempts for a second time? The friend feels that the system is failing to protect the safety of a minor where an adult who is walking free without any punishment for bringing an illegal gun to work and attempting murder towards a minor at work while endangering more than just a few children.

Callie Adams, a fourth year SSU student with a double major in communications and political science, is an employee at Sourdough and Co. but wasn’t present when the shooting happened. Adams reports that the shooter waited until all of her coworkers left except for one, and that the coworker knew that the shooter might have planned to hurt the victim.

Rohnert Park Police Department believe that the shooting was not a “random act of violence because they knew each other since both are employees at the store. The establishment closes at 7 p.m. so at the time of the shooting there were customers present, but no other injuries were reported.

Sourdough & Co. was open the day after the attack which led people to speculate whether or not management handled this traumatic situation the right way. The employees aren’t required to work and despite what happened they have all chosen to stay. They are free to seek counseling if needed, Adams states, “I’m sure that management would support us if we needed counseling, but none of us have looked into it.“ She emphasized that the restaurant is com pletely safe other than what occurred, and they are all just shaken up trying to move on.

Sourdough & Co. District Manager Daniel Neal told the Press Democrat, “Unfortunately, our name got dragged through the mud and, as you can see, it’s lunch time,” Neal stated while showing a room without customers.

The Sonoma Scanner Instagram page posted about the Sour dough & Co. shooting. In response, a local commented, “Murder Park.” An Urban Dictionary post from 2005 defines “Murder Park” as, “The itty bitty city in the North Bay. Where bud gets rolled, sold, and blowed. Crime is on the steady rise and if you slip you could die. 707 is the area code where game is sold not told.” Locals described that Rohnert Park is no longer the “friendly city” that they once knew.

In a Press Democrat article, Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said, “We are working closely with Rohnert Park to get the information necessary to make a decision on whether or not to file charges before the next court date.” Ravitch described that her office needs more evidence before deciding to press charges.

Cutrer has a court date set for Nov. 30 at 8:30 a.m. in Sonoma County Superior Court at Santa Rosa.

COURTESY // @ Nakahla Hill-Rush Facebook

The 19-year-old Sourdough and Co. employee suspected of shooting her 16-year-old coworker was released from jail but has a court date set for Nov. 30.

COURTESY// SSU Announcements

Staff and students alike are looking forward to Stevenson Hall’s reopening following two years of rennovation.

Seawolves showcase their talents at ASP open mic night

STAFF WRITER DEVON BLY

Last Thursday, at 7 p.m., Associated Student Productions hosted an open mic night, where Seawolves showcased their various talents.

It was an evening filled with dark humor, acoustic love songs, poetry, and even a Sesame Street-inspired Weezer cover.

The event took place at Weyden and Brewster, where the low, contrasting lighting created an atmospheric and intimate experience. At one point, the lights were even turned off during a performance, while everyone held up their phone lights, something typically reserved for a Taylor Swift concert.

It took a little while for things to pick up, with many students being hes itant to go up and perform. Thankfully Curtis, a member of the ASP staff, stalled for time, armed with jokes from the internet and his deadpan sense of humor.

When asked about the event, Maya Madrigal, a senior biology major and the ASP event director, had this to say, ”We put on all different kinds of events on campus like Big Night and open mic nights. I feel like we’ve put on a bunch of good events that have gotten a good amount of students who want to come watch. But the participation, how do we get students comfortable enough to perform?”

Despite the initial lack of participation, things began to liven up as more people arrived and gathered the courage to perform. This was undoubtedly due to the encouragement of the animated audience, who supported and truly listened to each performer.

One of the performers even decided to showcase a handful of their origi nal love songs. The room was dead silent, as they sang about heartbreak and longing over a jazzy, acoustic guitar and whispery vocals. A couple stand outs were “Captain Bare Minimum” and “Therapist.”

Furthermore, Britney Glore, a biochemistry major, performed a vivace cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” and later sung a tune from an operatic number. Thankfully no glasses were broken while she hit her high notes.

Britney had this to say before her performance, “I’ve been to a few of these events. I’ve never done an open mic night, I’m a little nervous. Al though, I participated in “Seawolves Got Talent” and I got second place.”

These musical performances were wedged between various stand up acts, which acted as a nice change of pace from all the slower love songs.

One student recalled a time in high school, when he decided to roll tires down a hill towards someone’s house and was subsequently apprehended by police. Another student recounted the time she flew to Iowa to visit her boyfriend, was dumped by him, and then fell down an escalator. It was nice to hear how she found the humor in her situation, even though the story was somewhat of a somber one.

The next stand-up comedian told a story of how her brother saved her from getting in trouble with her police officer father for drinking underrage, despite the fact that she was blackmailing her brother.

However, what college open mic would be complete without a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep?” During that performance many audience members participated during the bridge section of the song, something which really brought everyone together.

The closing act was an unexpected vampire-inspired cover of REM’s “Losing My Religion.” During this, the performer sang in a voice imitating Count von Count from “Sesame Street,” a performance that had many mem bers of the audience laughing uncontrollably.

SSU students are encouraged to come out to more ASP events, as the participants always put on a show, and the audience is always supportive.

InMotion Cycling offers opportunity to get active

STAFF WRITER ZACH GONZALES

R eady, set, GO! Student worker Emily Urich leads an electrifying InMotion Cycling class at the Recreation Center. Tuesday, Nov. 15 roughly 15 sea wolves swiped into the Rec Center in order to conquer the cycling workout. The goal of the InMotion cycling class is for students to seek discomfort in a notori ously challenging exercise.

On top of being a cycling instructor, Urich works at the Welcome Center where campus tours are held for SSU. That night, members of the Welcome Team came to support their friend and were in full participation of the class. Welcome Center team member, Dion Roddey, emphasized how inclusive the environment is at the InMotion cycling class, “Show up, have fun and bring your best efforts, everyone at the class is there for each other.”

There were multiple friend groups who arrived at the workout studio. While setting up the cycling bikes, cheerful banter was beginning to form amongst the Seawolves. Fourth year student Camille Babida saw the cycling class as an oppor tunity to bond with fellow students, “I recommend bringing a friend, even if you are in the first initial stages of friendship, the class gives you a lot to talk about!”

Minutes before the class began, students helped each other adjust their bike seats. As everyone mounted the workout equipment, people began to strap in, mak ing sure they had a water bottle in-reach of their bike. Urich walked toward her cycling bike and made sure her microphone was working. As she glanced at the clock, the students in attendance knew it was go time.

While the class began to pedal, music filled the dance studio. The initial song, “Get into it” by Doja Cat made the crowd pumped for the InMotion exercise. Emily choreographs her cycling class around music. With more than 12 different playlists to choose from, Urich provides an engaging atmosphere for students to work out in, “There’s a bunch of different playlists and themes I cycle to… I plan on hosting a glow in the dark theme one day.”

Prior to the Fall semester, there hasn’t been an InMotion Cycling class at the Rec Center since 2020. Urich was selected as the cycling instructor to rebuild the program. Since then, attendance has been high. Students such as Rory Cloward and Layla Tournache are regulars to the cycling class, they show up every Tuesday and Thursday. Tournache explains why she likes to be in attendance, “The [Inmotion cycling] class isn’t as painful as it sounds, it doesn’t feel like you are working out.” Both students heard about InMotion cycling from their friend group and decided to go. Rory Cloward says that, “[cycling] has got me out of my comfort zone.”

Everyone who was in attendance challenged themselves; cycling is physi cally and mentally exhausting. Sweat was pouring out from peoples shirts, the Seawolves who showed up were giving it their all. Even though the cycling class looked grueling at times, there was always a smile in the crowd. After 60 minutes the playlist ended. As everyone’s heart rate decreased, Instructor Urich began to lead a stretching activity. Everyone who showed up looked pleased with the end result of the workout, they passed with flying colors.

Urich leads the InMotion cycling class every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. The InMotion group exercise is held in the Niagara and Silver strand studious on the second floor of the Recreation Center. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the class begins at 5:30 p.m. On Fridays for all the early birds, class is held at 8 a.m.

STAR // Cec Fernandez

Students smile as they climb onto their bikes at the begining of the InMotion class on Tuesday, 11/15. The class is welcoming to students of all skill levels.

STAR // Mariah Forster

A Seawolf takes the stage for a stand-up comedy routine during ASP’s open mic night on

History of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria

PAUL MUNOZ STAFF WRITER

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Sonoma State and the HUB Cultural Center took part in the presentation of the History of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. Matthew Johnson, member of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and a Cultural Resources Specialist for the tribe, gave an informative pre sentation on the history and culture of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo, from pre-European contact to the present day.

Many of the residents of Sonoma County are unaware of the historical events and people who built these communities and tribes within California prior to colonization. Johnson and the rest of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria community wished to inform the current members of Sonoma the history of the county and the cultural history of some of the first people who lived in the land we now call home.

The Graton Rancheria community is a federation of Coast Miwok and South ern Pomo groups recognized as a tribe by the U.S. Congress. The Coast Miwok an cestral territory spans Southern Sonoma County to the entirety of Marin County. The Southern Pomo people are from the Sebastopol area. Many of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people still live within their ancestral territories. At the beginning of the presentation, when informing all of the viewers, Johnson addressed the fact that the State of California is the one state within the US that has the highest number of Native Americans than any other state. He then transitioned into the cultural begin

nings and different aspects of the “early California Indians”. He showcased their lifestyle from where they lived to their roles as a community and their craftsmanship.

The audience was then educated about the timeline of the Natives of Sonoma County starting from 1579 when Europeans had first interacted with them to the present day and what the living members of the community of Natives do as a tribe. Johnson wanted to teach those who live in Sonoma County about a part of history that many are unaware of yet has high significance in history.

Santa Rosa Junior College student Alissa Rodriguez who attended the events shared her thoughts after the presentation, “Even though I have lived here most of my life I was unaware of the history of the land I walk on every day. The people who lived here since the beginning deserve to have their voices heard on a larger scale and learning about their history motivated me to learn more and support the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria in any way possible.” Rodriguez was not the only student who was enraptured by the information presented. Multiple students and guests questioned Johnson after his presentation, intrigued to learn on a deeper level of his ancestor’s history and where they stand today as well as how to give support in any way.

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria is one of the Tribes of California who have Tribal Sovereignty which means they govern themselves. Located in Redwood they welcome all to take part in their community to be informed and learn about tradi tions, honoring their ancestors and continuing to strive as a community.

Spotlight: Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

It’s always a positive to see our school giving back to the community in as many ways as possible and it’s even more outstanding to see Seawolves actively participating in these events daily. Lopez went on and shared that, “we also had three other events; one included Panel Speakers in which we had four different organizations that are part of Sonoma County, then we had a pop-up pantry with Lobos in which we provided students with nutritious foods, and lastly, we had a canned food drive with Lobos pantry which we ended up donating all of the food collected.” The can drive was located in the Student Center and it seemed to be a success. Many more opportunities will be coming up to con tinue the donation to Lobo’s Pantry.

NICOLE AWAAD STAFF WRITER

This past week, the Associated Students of Sonoma State put on an event called Hunger and Homlessness Awareness Week. They had multiple sponsors for this week as well as events put on every single day that all helped raise money and goods for those in need.

The director of this week, Victoria Lopez, shared some insight on the event with the STAR, “for our annual H&H week, we had two volunteer events: Mary’s soup kitchen with COTs in Petaluma on Friday and our Blanket Making and Mov ie Screening on Thursday.” All the proceeds were further donated to Lobo’s Pantry which is all given to homeless families during the holiday season. In addition, this is a great way for Seawolves to bond for a great purpose.

CHASITY SPADY STAFF WRITER

After a week of diligent planning, Lopez stated that the events were pretty suc cessful and, “many students came and took part, many of them have also given me posi tive feedback. Especially for the speaker event, many people were moved by the speakers and the work that their organizations do to work against food and housing insecurities. For our blanket-making event, we donated the blankets to catholic charities and their homeless shelter.” This turnout wasn’t only beneficial to our community but also a great way for students to bond and spend quality time together.

There are always plenty of opportunities to help support the community of Rohnert Park and Sonoma County as a whole. If you’re interested in doing so, the As sociated Students of SSU will be having another food drive for Lobo’s Pantry. Don’t throw away that extra food before leaving for winter break, donate it to Lobo’s Pantry. All non-perishable food can be dropped off to donation bins located in the housing laun dry rooms or to Lobo’s Pantry during open hours. Refrigerated and frozen food can be dropped off at the pantry during open hours. Lobo’s Pantry is open Mondays from 2-4 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and Fridays from 1-4 p.m.

Black Student Union prepares for finals

Sonoma State students gathered at The Hub on Tuesday, Nov. 17 for a study hall event that provided students with a safe space and productive environment to work toward bettering academics. Sonoma State’s Black Student Union gathers ev ery two weeks to support people of color that are within the campus. Students were encouraged to participate and help each other no matter what subject or topic they were there to study.

BSU operates with the mindset of teaching participating students, so every one who attends has an understanding of black culture while also having fun and meeting new people. The environment that BSU created this past Tuesday was one geared towards learning and progression in the classroom. Students around the cam pus are either finishing or completely finished with their midterms, so the study ses sion at The Hub got students past midterms season, and prepared them for the road ahead to the end of the semester, and finals, ready to bring home good grades and finish the semester strong.

Students who attended BSU’s study hall were either looking to receive help, wanting to get ahead, or those who have trouble studying at home. Students stated that studying at home is a lot more difficult because they are more focused on their phones instead of focused on their studies. While it may not be true for all, most students claim they study better when people are studying around them.

“When you have peers around you to help you out, it’s not as stressful as when you’re doing it by yourself because they can help you. Also when you’re around your friends it makes it easier and more fun when everyone is doing that similar activ ity. It makes studying a more fun environment,” said student Donnelle Irvin.

Seawolves at BSU embraced their environment and their surrounding com munity with open arms. People expressed that they are proud to be where they are and that they work for what they have and want. People of all colors surround them selves within the BSU environment and it becomes a diverse community that gathers

together with the true intentions of supporting each other. Many students also mentioned that they take pride in bettering their education and being around other students who take pride in it as well becomes a positive and motivating factor in their college experience.

“We are Black Excellence and BSU is bringing that forward. Many people judge people of color and belittle us but we are very intelligent and caring people who value our future careers as well as our education,” said Irvin.

The BSU event brought forward another way for students to love their work. College can be overwhelming for students, especially during midterms and finals week. For BSU to keep that in mind and set up the event for students at The Hub is something students appreciate, and it can be crucial help for people to either get back on track if they’ve fallen behind, or want to push forward and continue strong for the next few weeks they have left in the semester.

Another factor which always inspires college students to get involved was the free pizza provided during the event, as that is another struggle that college students ex perience at times. Having dinner and studying taken care of at once makes attending an event like this a no-brainer for the majority of seawolves in attendance.

STAR // Adriana Gonzalez

Associated Students JUMP (Join Us Making Progress) volunteers at the COTs facility in Petaluma to end Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.

STAR // Cec Fernandez

Jeremiah Akita and Taneesha Porter discussing classes at the BSU study hours.

Seawolves win first game at home

DANIEL SERRANO STAFF WRITER

The Sonoma State University Men’s Basketball team hosted the annual ‘SSU Thanksgiving Classic’ this past Saturday and Sunday, which re sulted in the Seawolves first win of the 2022-23 season. The Seawolves beat Holy Names University, 93-67 this past Sunday. Their first win came as the Seawolves have been playing competitive basketball as they had lost their two prior games by no more than eight points.

The attendance for both games this weekend was mainly dominated by fam ily members of the team and not as many students. Although the students were not there, the electricity of the atmosphere was all but absent. The crowd was roaring during Sunday’s win. You could tell the team was vibing with the energy within the gymnasium. Once the crowd was getting loud, the ball movement and the overall fluidity of the team was something this team needed. Finding this vibe in the future will be crucial for this team, as they will work to regain their playoff spot. Although they are 1-7, playoffs are not necessarily out of the question as they still have more than 20 games to play.

Per usual, sophomore Jaylen Wells led the team in scored points throughout the weekend, as he accumulated 47 points in both games. He also had 15 re bounds and 10 assists. Wells continues to be the shining star in this bleak starting season. In the last five games played, Wells has led the team in points. The 6’7” small forward had another excellent performance during Sunday’s victory. He

finished the game with 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

An electric moment in the game was when senior point guard Damian Wal lace scored a four-point play when he was fouled on a three-pointer. Wallace knocked down the shot right in front of Sonoma’s bench, sending the crowd into a frenzy. He then stepped up to the line and converted the free-throw. This was a key moment in the game as this was a huge momentment boost for the Sea wolves.

Senior and Business major, Ricky Reyes, was at Sunday’s win. “I am glad that the boys were able to figure it out and bring home their first win. Hopefully this win can up their morale and they can go on a win rampage,” said Reyes. He also mentioned that he felt like the referees had made some questionable calls over the duration of the game. He said, “I am glad they were able to still get the win after those calls the refs were making. Our guys were getting fouled left and right and a lot of them weren’t getting called. Sometimes, that’s the difference between a win or loss.” Though the refs didn’t seem to be giving the Seawolves the calls they wanted, Holy Names was no match for SSU’s offense.

The men are going to be on the road this week, as they take on Cal State East Bay this Thursday, Dec 1. Then they play Cal State Dominguez Hills on Satur day, Dec. 3. However, Dec. 8 will be their next home game against Stanisclaus State at 7:30 p.m.

A season to remember for Women’s Soccer

CHARLES BARRETT STAFF WRITER

SSU Women’s soccer accomplished a lot of things in the 2022 season. Of course, team accomplishments are the most important, and the Seawolves achieved something special with their third consecutive as CCAA Conference Champions. But there were some individuals on the team that received extra recognition for the stellar seasons that they had. The team had sev en All-CCAA players named and multiple AllWest Region first team nods as well.

Head Coach Emiria Salzmann was rec ognized as one of the individuals on the team, earning her third CCAA Coach of the Year nod. Impressive wins, including one over nationally ranked Western Washington, helped earn her the accolade.

What do the players think of Coach Salzmann? What makes her stand out? Sopho more Lexi Zandonella-Arasa shared her thoughts on her coach, “As a coach, I think what makes her so unique is her competitive mentality and the culture she creates within the team. She is always looking for ways to help each individual player, which allows the team to grow and con tinue to have successful seasons year after year.”

Zandonella-Arasa, also known as “Zandi” among her teammates, won a couple of major honors. They included CCAA Offensive Player of the Year, an All-West Region First-Team nod, and West Region Player of the Year. The soph omore shared that she feels very blessed by the recognition, but she’s not satisfied and will con tinue to work to improve.

Freshman Annette Sotelo shared what she sees in Zandonella-Arasa as a teammate, “Zan di is one of the best players I have ever seen, and I admire her every time she touches the ball. She deserves all the awards ever because she is a great motivation on the field, and she is so com petitive it’s contagious. When I first met Zandi, I knew instantly that I wanted to be beside her

and compete with her. She is like a bigger sister that continues to one-up me and even herself. She wants to do better than she did in the last game, and I love it. I hope to see her continue thriving and breaking more records.”

Sotello made her presence felt early and of ten in her first season with the Seawolves, going on to earn CCAA Freshman of the Year and AllWest Region Second-Team honors. Sotello shared her feelings on winning the accolades, “I feel like I have finally made my mom and my old coach, Danny, proud. But I know that I could do better, and I can’t wait till next season so that we can win the NCAA and CCAA. I want to do better for my team because they are the best team I could ever be on.”

Zandonella-Arasa said that Sotello made her presence known early on and highlighted her ability to score goals, her aggressiveness, and her work ethic. She also noted that she is excited to see what the future holds for the freshmen after such a strong start.

Another significant accolade earned by a Sea wolf player was the CCAA Defensive Player of the Year by senior Julia Pritchard. Pritchard was also named First-Team All-CCAA and All-West Region First-Team. Sotello shared what Pritchard meant to the team, “Julia was the mom of the team, and I am really going to miss her. She meant so much to everyone, even to the freshman who have only known her for one season. Any time she was in the game, she was a huge reassurance. I remember games where I was in my head, and she would turn to me and look me in the eyes and say, ‘Let’s go’. It’s such a simple phrase, but it means so much because it reminds me to hit that restart button and move on. Also, her goals were abso lutely beautiful. It was crazy watching her go from the defense with an amazing tackle to then dribble the whole team to either shoot a banger or give a great assist.”

STAR // Nicholas Roth Forward Pierce Rexford attempts a deep three-point er in front of his teammates.

COURTESY// Justin Ferarri

Julia Pritchard won CCAA Defensive Player of the Year.

STAR // Nicholas Roth Point guard Nick Medeiros controls the pace of the game while looking for scoring opportunities.

STAR // Nicholas Roth Small foward Jaylen Wells knocks a free throw down from the free throw line.

COURTESY// Justin Ferarri Lexi Zandonella-Arasa won West Region Player of the Year.

COURTESY// Justin Ferarri

Freshman Annette Sotelo won CCAA Freshman of the Year.

ASP hosts open mic night

Seawolves JUMP into service at local soup kitchen

Get active with InMotion Cycling

STAR // Mariah Forster

Seawolves were joined by students from Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) to enjoy the comedy/drama series ‘Reservation Dogs’ during Thursday night’s event at the HUB. (see more on pg. 5)

STAR // Mariah Forster

SSU student, Adam performing with his guitar at ASP open mic night that allowed students to showcase their talents.

STAR // Cec Fernandez

Instructor Emily Ulrich leads students through a cycling class at the Recreation Center. Classes are held every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. (see more on pg. 5)

STAR // Cec Fernandez

Seawolves are all smiles as they look to instructor Emily Ulrich during the InMotion cycling class at the Rec Center on Tuesday Nov. 15. (see more on pg. 5)

STAR // Adriana Gonzalez Nadia Hernandez, Director of DOS (Days of Service) and JUMP (Join Us Making Progress) were in charge of planning the event for Hunger and Homeless Awareness week on Nov. 18. (pg. 6)

STAR // Adriana Gonzalez

Students of SSU helping Mary’s Table x COTS, in Petaluma. COTS is a place for anyone who may be experiencing hunger and homelessness. (pg. 6)

STAR // Adriana Gonzalez Freshmen Nolan Best and Jadon Berkson get to work at Mary’s Table. This an opportunity that AS (Associated Students) and JUMP offer to help students get in touch with the community.