Sonoma State STAR Issue 6

Influencers Jewish Music Series Emotional victory

Lion still prowls near campus

TYLER MELOAN STAFF WRITER

As if Rohnert Park residents haven’t had enough reasons to be fearful as of late, with clowns and prowlers seen roaming the area, mountain lion sight ings are once again popping up in multiple neighborhoods.

At least four individual sightings occurred on Sept. 27 from 3-4 a.m. Po lice were not called to respond to the sightings, which were captured by front door cameras and posted on Nextdoor by residents.

Chronologically, the first mountain lion was captured on camera at about 3:03 a.m. on Alice Drive in Penngrove, another was spotted at 3:18 a.m. on Mammoth Drive in Rohnert Park’s M-Section, a third sighting was at 3:29 a.m. in M-Section, and another at an unknown time on Wildflower Road in the Willowglen neighborhood.

These most recent sightings come after Rohnert Park residents spotted a mountain lion along Copeland Creek on Aug. 18, and near the Foxtail Golf Course on Aug. 20

The number of sightings across the Bay Area and the state have risen 17% since 2020 according to the Calif. Department of Fish and Wildlife. Despite this, the number of lions in the area remains relatively small. According to the Sonoma County Regional Parks website with an estimated population of 4,0006,000 statewide, and only about 75 in Sonoma County.

A variety of factors may be contributing to this increase. Ken Paglia, a spokesperson for the Calif. The Department of Fish and Wildlife, said that bi ologists believe the drought is forcing lions into residential areas in search of water, and wildfire damage has destroyed some of their habitats.

Jordan Raquel, a third-year economics major, stated, “I think the increased sightings may be a consequence of two things. The first being real estate ex pansion, as we build more houses, we dominate more land, possibly infringing on lion territory. The second might have to do with Prop 117. Efforts are being made to protect nature, and with this piece of legislation, conservation habitats are being created.”

For Isabel Hall, a third-year English major, the presence of the big cats is less troublesome than some of the recent human activity around campus. “The mountain lion sightings don’t worry me as much as the clowns and prowlers do,” she stated. “They rarely interact with people, I feel like they only attack when threatened.”

Hall is right. In the past 65 years, the Department of Fish and Wildlife has recorded only 20 verified lion attacks in Calif., and only three fatalities in the past 130 years. While incredibly rare, it’s still important for all locals to know the basics of how to handle a mountain lion sighting in person.

The National Parks Service instructs anyone who comes in contact with a mountain lion to do all they can to make themselves look large and intimidat ing. Speak Loudly, throw stones at the animal, and never crouch or run away.

SSU students host pro-abortion walkout

KAYLE NORRIS STAFF WRITER

Sonoma

State University students participated in a walk-out on Tues day, Oct. 4 at 12 p.m. in the Seawolf Plaza. Many students and teach ers participated in this event by bringing signs and wearing green, a color which has become a symbol of resistance amid the passing of anti-abortion laws.

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 abortion rulling, Roe V. Wade. Students have been protesting the deci sion since.

Sabrina Blais, an organizer of the walk-out and final year student, is not new to these protests. Blais said, “There have been many peo ple younger than me from different middle and high schools who have organized the walks out and sadly got in trouble. But here at SSU we are not as likely to get in trouble so I thought why not have a protest because this is not just for us, it is for the people who can’t speak for themselves.”

Adam Amjadi, a third-year creative writing major, joined the pro test over their strong feelings towards the Supreme Court and their de cision to overturn Roe V. Wade. Amjadi said, “I came out here because I feel like we’ve seen a slow moving invasion in the supreme court by right wing religious fanatics who lied basically to get confirmed by congress that they wouldn’t touch Roe V. Wade but they did, they lied

Two Rohnert Park children were injured in hit-and-run accidents on their way to school last week. Parents are worried about safety.

Local parents concerned over driver awareness following accidents

CHARLES BARRETT STAFF WRITER

Two Rohnert Park children were struck by vehicles in separate hitand-run accidents on Wednesday morning. The children suffered minor injuries but these accidents have sparked worry in the minds of some local residents

Shelly Nicolas, a mother of three, had this to say regarding the in cidents that occurred, “Now I am questioning whether I want to let my babies go out on their own. I understand that these kinds of incidents are rare, but you never want it to be your kid. It just makes me sick thinking of it.”

Nicolas, will still allow her children to go out but and about but says that she plans to make sure to remind her children of the importance of

STAR// Cec Fernandez Protesters wore green to represent resistance to the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the supreme court. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The color green has become a symbol in pro-choice protests.

STAR // Willow Ornellas

THE STAR

Editorial Board

Nicholas Roth, Editor-in-Chief

Willow Ornellas, News Editor

Mikayla Fritzemeier, Opinion Editor

Cléa Upcher, Arts & Entertainment 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, Adriana Gonzalez, Tyler Meloan, Jhery Mae Monteza, Paul Munoz, Kayle Norris, Marie’sa Rumsey, Daniel Serrano, Chasity Spady, Calvin Zeljak

Photographers

Cec Fernandez, Zachary Gonzales, 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

Have an opinion?

We’d like to hear from you!

The STAR welcomes letter to the editor

Correction

In a story last issue on page 5, we incorrectly iden tified the sponsor of the event. Coffee and Crochet was put on by the HUB.

Opinions

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

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor are encouraged and will be considered for publication based on relevance, accuracy and timeliness . Letters of up to 400 words will be allowed and must be submitted no later than the Friday before the publication date. Published letters must be free of libel, since the publication is held legally accountable for all content. Although personal controversy will be tolerated, it is the re sponsibility of the editor to check statements pur porting the facts.

Bars need to do more to protect customers

F

or most college students, turning 21 is a right of passage and this newfound free dom is often celebrated with going out to bars. However, these new environments also intro duce risk; risk that’s supposed to be intercept ed by security present at establishment doors. Unfortunately, security can’t catch everything.

Of course, it’s not the fault of the bar when customers get drugged inside their establish ments, but bars have a responsibility to do their best to protect beverage consumers.

Spiked drink incidents can be dangerous and often lead to sexual assault, rape, or worse. A 2014 study from The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) found that more than 11 million women have experienced alcohol or drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) over the course of their life time.

College students being drugged seems to be an increasing trend as well. A 2016 study published in Psychology of Violence released survey data taken from three universities of 6,064 students. The data revealed that 7.8% of the sample size, or 462 students, had been nonconsensually drugged. The survey also revealed that 1.4% of respondents, or 83 stu dents, admitted to 172 different accounts of intentionally drugging another person.

Some Sonoma State University students have also become victims of being drugged at local bars, as reported in a recent STAR news article. All of the bars students alleged they were drugged at, do have security present at the door, however students’ drinks are still getting spiked.

The reported victim accounts were all con sistent with consuming a date-rape drug with symptoms like gaps in memory, loss of bodily control, and excessive drunkenness af ter a drink or two.

After reports of multiple druggings were reported by the San Francisco Chronicle last spring, Duke’s bar in Healdsburg took the ac tions they deemed necessary to protect their customers.

According to bartenders, Duke’s invested about $40-50k to upgrade their security sys tem. There are cameras with every corner of the establishment in view. Law enforcement has access to all the footage from the cameras at any time and these cameras are enabled with facial recognition technology. On busy nights, there are six security guards on the premis es and everyone who enters the building gets their ID checked. At the door, there’s also a

security camera that captures footage of all the IDs checked so there’s a record of every person who enters the bar.

Duke’s bartenders will pour out any unat tended drinks to ensure someone doesn’t acci dentally sip a spiked drink and most of Duke’s bar staff are female. Also, every employee has completed training courses from The SAFE Bar Network.

Most area bars have not taken the same precaution as Duke’s so for anyone who wants peace of mind while ‘out’, there are some prod ucts available that can help with that. However, the reliability of these products is questionable.

A popular product on the market is a drug detection card from Drinksafe. The test areas of these cards change color when exposed to date-rape drugs like Ketamine or GHP. The Amazon reviews for this product were reveal ing. One user reported the cards inconsistent ly tested positive, even with water. Another claimed the cards arrived with already altered colors. An additional reviewer claimed to test the cards with real Ketamine and the cards still didn’t react to the drug.

TEST MY DRINK is an Amazon seller marketing nearly the same product as Drink safe. TEST MY DRINK also sells beverage drug test strips intended to detect Ketamine and GHP. The reviews for this product are bet ter, claiming it works, but one reviewer also had defective strips and strips react to water.

The highest rated product to test if a drink was drugged, SipChip, is no longer available for purchase. The website doesn’t appear to provide a reason for the lack of stock but still claims the single-use, coin sized drug testing kit was 99.3% effective at detecting the most commonly used date-rape drugs in seconds.

The NightCap Scrunchie appears to be the most reliable anti-drugging product on the market. Also, this product is actually in stock, unlike SipChip. The NightCap Scrunchie is an operable scrunchie that can double as a drink cover. The cover protects the drink, while al lowing the drinker to still sip with a straw.

At the end of the day, no one deserves wak ing up with a stack of unfamiliar Ubers on their phone, six to eight hours of lost memory, or in a hospital because they became a victim of a crime worse than a spiked drink. In some cases, being drugged can be a matter of life or death and bars need to be doing as much as they can to protect their customers from this fate.

Editorial Policy:

The commentary expressed in the unsigned editorial represents a majority opinion of the STAR Editorial Board on a topic facing the cam pus community in keeping with journalistic precedents of other major newspapers, and may not be shared by all staff writers. The board en courages readers to write letters to the editor about all topics, including the editorial.

Influencers: working hard or hardly working?

then spends about five to six hours filming videos, a few more editing, and she’s in meetings the rest of the day. “Try being an influencer for a day, try it because the peo ple who say it’s easy are so far out of their minds. Try it for a day, it is not for every body, in fact it’s for a very small handful of people who can do this job,” Nogueira said.

ators throughout 2022.

People who decide to step into the so cial media world have the resources and can most likely afford the lifestyle and risks that come along with it. Many want to do this, but just simply don’t have the time or money to do so.

world is moving. Noel Rogel, a SSU se nior majoring in Psychology works more than just a 9 to 5 job spending 16 hours at a hospital. He states, “The hospital is dif ficult mentally and emotionally, that’s its own realm, but being an influencer that’s ongoing.”

STAFF WRITER

Remember when you were young being asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Most re plied with answers such as a doctor, astronaut, veterinarian, or firefighter. Nowadays, kids aspire to be an influ encer or content creator.

Compared to a typical 9 to 5 job, influencers have it easier than most because they make money just by creating content such as posting photos and videos.

A popular beauty influencer, Mikayla Nogueira, has been receiv ing backlash after videos have been resurfaced where she describes her daily routine. She gets up at 6 a.m.

Sophie Rodriguez, a second year psy chology major, stated, “ I’m not sure what a typical work day looks like for an influ encer. However I can imagine that it would be challenging to live your life with a lens and thousands of eyes intently watching. We only see what is shared. Maybe we don’t always see or understand what hard work is.“

Influencers get paid depending on how many followers they have. As reported by Business Insider, an influencer with 275K followers made $700,000 just from brand deals in six months, another with a follow ing ranging from 10K-100K earned six-fig ure salaries as full time creators, and one made about $5000 each month just from affiliate links. July 2021, Meta announced that it would invest over $1 billion in cre

Being an influencer obviously has its perks, and the part where it gets difficult is the creative and privacy aspect. Maya Fiorella, an SSU graduate of Fall 2021 ma joring in Communications with a minor in Business, is currently residing in Los Angeles where she is a pilates instructor at Equinox and lifestyle content creator.

Fiorella states, “Influencing is hard in the same way being an entrepreneur is hard, it pushes you creatively, but there are definitely a lot of privileges. You es sentially make your own work schedule and can call out whenever you want.” She discusses that when you’re an influencer it never ends because your whole life can be turned into content making it difficult to learn how to set boundaries.

A requirement to be an influencer is to be on top of the latest trends because it is so easy to fall behind with how fast the

Influencers have the advantage by choosing that lifestyle, but most don’t be cause they have to pick a job that makes the most money to provide for themselves or their family.

Influencer Taraswrld expresses that she’s constantly productive, and that now adays no one wants to work anymore. Ash lynn O’Dell, 21-year-old paramedic went viral after responding back explaining she works 24 hours straight, two days off and then working again. O’dell states, “You make my bi-weekly paycheck in two days from social media posts and brand deals. Have a good day and go look up what humble means.”

There are many people who work not one, but two jobs just to make ends meet and for an influencer to disregard all of that is disrespectful because not everybody has the resources at their disposal.

Should fentanyl testing be available on college campuses?

DEVON BLY

JHERY MAE MONTEZA STAFF WRITER

J

ust walk around a college cam pus on a weekend, you won’t have to look hard to see inebriated college students celebrating the end of the week with drugs and alcohol alike.

Despite efforts to combat it, the use of drugs is intrinsically tied to college culture across the United States. According to The National Library of Medicine Na tional Institutes of Health, “37% of college students have used an illicit drug (Opioids, Stimulants, Benzodiazepines, Cannabinoids, Barbiturates) and abused alcohol on a regular basis.”

When asked about their expe

rience on campus when it came to drugs, an anonymous Sonoma State student said, “I pulled up to a dorm party and there were a few guys who I didn’t know there. The usual suspects [at parties] are always alcohol and weed. This particu lar time a couple of students I didn’t rec ognize showed up. And they were doing lines of cocaine off the table. No one tested the drugs or anything like that de spite the fact that it is widely known that fentanyl is present in certain batches of cocaine.”

The presence of illicit drugs on cam pus means that students are susceptible to fentanyl overdoses, so shouldn’t test ing kits be provided on campus? Or at the very least, shouldn’t students be able to purchase them on campus? As of now, no such program exists at SSU, despite the fact that it would directly combat fentanyl overdoses.

If the war on drugs has proven any thing, it’s that the strategy of promoting abstinence from drug use is simply in effective. According to a recent report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy, “Arresting and incarcerating tens of millions of these people in recent decades has filled prisons and destroyed

lives and families without reducing the availability of illicit drugs.” Regardless of the possible repercussions of using drugs from both law enforcement and campus officials, students continue to experiment with them.

However, the recent presence of fentanyl and other filler substances has made using drugs more dangerous than ever before. Provisional data from CDC’s National Center for Health Sta tistics indicate there were an estimat ed 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2021, and of those, “Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opi oid, was involved in the most overdose deaths in 2021 at 71,238.”

According to the CDC, ”Some drug dealers are mixing fentanyl with other drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, metham phetamine, and MDMA. This is because it takes very little to produce a high with fentanyl, making it a cheaper option.”

Although fentanyl is the leading cause of drug overdoses in the United States, testing kits are available to pre vent this from happening.

The CDC states,”Fentanyl test strips (FTS) are a low-cost method of helping prevent drug overdoses and reducing

harm. FTS are small strips of paper that can detect the presence of fentanyl in all different kinds of drugs (cocaine, meth amphetamine, heroin, etc.) and drug forms (pills, powder, and injectables).”

Despite the fact that many college students use illicit drugs that could con tain fentanyl, these testing strips are not widely available on college campuses. However programs such as the Team Awareness Combating Overdose, are working to make fentanyl fix this prob lem.

They already have distribution cen ters in seven states and hand out free fentanyl testing strips on campuses and make them available for purchase for as little as 1 cent per strip. This is a program that should come to SSU, as it could save the lives of students all across campuses.

”I think it’s a great idea. Too many young people die from fentanyl, and I believe it would be a great program to save students’ lives,” said an anonymous student.

Simply put, students will continue to use drugs on campus, and something as simple as widely-available fentanyl testing strips could protect the lives of many.

How aimlessly scrolling can affect your mornings

everyone checks their phone immedi ately when they wake up. A survey done by Tech Times shows that anywhere be tween 46% and 61% of people check their phones either before they get out of bed or within five minutes of waking up.

GONZALEZ

Not everyone is as attached to their phone and can go about their morning without their phone. Some have more control over their screen usage than oth ers.

Borenstein went on to say that they even took a four-day cleanse from social media for their Psych 270 class, “all I could do is text and call for emergencies.” Borenstein stressed how “it was boring without going on social media.” When they stopped the cleanse the first thing they did was go on Tiktok and Instagram.

brain. Leading you to be on alert mode which can trigger a stress response and put you on edge for the rest of the day. Es pecially because the content that we are exposed to can affect our mood through out the day.

W

hat is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? First, you go to just turn off your alarm on your phone, and then about 15 minutes later you find yourself scrolling through everything you missed while you were asleep. Whether that be checking your emails, Twitter, Tik Tok, Instagram, etc. Smartphones are infinite portals that take you from one place to another with a touch of a button.

In this day and age, almost

Although, most people can openly ad mit that they are attached to their de vices in numerous ways. Riley Boren stein, a senior at Sonoma State Universi ty said “I think most people our age are addicted to their phones.”

Borenstein admits that they are guilty of going on their phone right when they wake up. “I would feel uncomfortable if I couldn’t check my phone in the morn ing.” Borenstein explained, “I go on my phone in the morning for about 15 mins doing random scrolling throughout my phone.”

The constant urge to stay in touch with our social media platforms is insane. We are in a constant state of scrolling go ing from one app to another. Essentially getting the same content but on different platforms.

Checking your phone as soon as you wake up can mess with your brain and it is priming you to be distracted. When you first wake up your brain switches from, “delta waves, which occur in a deep sleep state, to theta waves, which occur during a sort of daydreamy state” explained in a Forbes article.

By reaching for your phone immedi ately when you wake up, you force your body to skip the important stages for your

Nadia Hernadez, a third-year at SSU said “There are times when the first thing I do is scroll on my phone when I wake up.” Hernadez explains “I come across bad news that affects my mood and mindset for the rest of the day, and it can be hard to snap out of it sometimes.”

To avoid these unnecessary respons es, adjust your morning routine and find other ways to wake up your brain in a positive way. For example, adjusting your settings and your surroundings. Plan to do morning activities like reading a book, making a cup of coffee while journaling, listening to music, or listening to a pod cast. Rather than aimlessly scrolling on your device. Be mindful of what content you are consuming because it can affect the way you operate throughout the day.

STAFF WRITER

Parents urge use of safety gear for child cyclists

continued from pg. 1

-of being careful while out and about on their bikes. She also said that she would ensure they wear protective gear while out riding. Nicolas said, “I don’t want to shelter them. I think it’s important for kids to get out and be active, but I will always be just a little nervous.”

Another anonymous biker that was out riding with his children said, “It definitely makes me think twice about sending my kids out to ride by them selves. I want to allow my children the freedom to go out and explore, but I want them to be safe above all else.”

Mark Sidorenko, a local biker, said, “I am not very concerned for myself. I feel that I am very careful when I am out riding. It does make me worry a little about kids.”

Sidorenko explained his concern about kids further, “Drivers are adults for the most part, and they need to be more careful with kids out on their bikes. They need to understand that kids might not be super dialed on the rules of the road.”

Sidorenko, who is currently trying for kids of his own, explained the precautions he would have his kids take if accidents like these continue, “ I would have them wear padding such as vests, knee pads, and helmets to make sure that they are as protected as possible. If drivers won’t act responsibly, then it is up to parents to have their kids take the necessary precautions.”

The first incident occurred at 7:40 a.m. when a female driver hit a cyclist crossing Snyder Lane at the Copeland Creek Trail crossing. People who wit nessed the accident told the driver to stay, but she drove away from the scene before emergency responders arrived.

The second incident happened at 8:05 a.m. on Snyder lane when a vehicle exiting a parking lot hit a child crossing the street on a bike. According to witnesses, the driver stopped initially but then left after briefly talking to the victim.

One of the Vehicles was a blue sedan or SUV. The driver was described as a middle-aged Asian woman with shoulder-length black and gray hair.

The second vehicle was red with a license plate of 7YPM635.

Investigators have yet to find the two drivers involved in the accidents. The Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety encourages anyone with infor mation to reach out.

Students walk out to rally support for abortion rights

continued from pg. 1

to get confirmed,” Amjadi continued, “I don’t respect the Supreme Court. How am I supposed to trust you and believe you are acting in good faith?”

Isabel Morrow, a first-year liberal studies major, was one of many stu dents who were at the protest spreading awareness. Morrow said, “I am here because I know countless people in our country, their right has been stripped from them of abortion and I personally cant imagine being in that situation or being denied to get an abortion so I want to adovcate for people who cant speak up.”

Angelina Torres, a senior sociology major, expressed how she may not be affected right now by these laws but knows many others will be. Torres said, “I take these laws very seriously because I believe all women should have their own voice and their own place to say what they believe in. I have two little granddaughters so this will greatly affect them in the future.”

Torres also expresses ways she will help her granddaughters in the future, “Ways that I am looking to help my grandchildren, future grand children and all others who will be or currently are affected by such an atrocity with losing autonomy of our bodies by either becoming an at torney myself, policy maker, to change the policies that allow others to dictate what we do with our bodies or a sociologists where I can research and develop different studies that show the damage that the overturning of Roe V. Wade has on the population.”

Thirteen states have already made abortion completely illegal. Those states being Idaho, Arizona, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Ala bama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Although, Indiana was the first state in the nation to approve abortions restrictions. The ban has been temporarily blocked in court, making abortion currently legal in the state. For the rest of the states they are all in the process of deciding what to do.

Many SSU students are passionate about making a change for all and

Mountain lion sightings continue near campus

continued

1

Veda Dean, a third-year communications and media studies major, said, “I would say we don’t need to be concerned for ourselves, but I think people with outdoor pets should be concerned. I would feel terrible for the people who suffer the loss of their pets to mountain lions.”

Unfortunately, this is fairly common. In a comment on one of the front door camera videos posted on Nextdoor, one user wrote, “Talking to someone from a mountain lion tracking group out of Sonoma a few years ago … when they find dead lions and do an autopsy, dogs and cats are found in the digestive system more often than not.”

In addition to mountain lions, other predatory wildlife has also been seen recently in the area, including coyotes and bobcats.

If you see a mountain lion, please call the Rohnert Park Department of Pub lic Safety NON Emergency number (707) 584-2600. If you see a mountain lion on campus, contact the SSU Police at (707) 664-4444.

STAR // Cec Fernandez

Protesting students could be heard accross campus. Some protestors drummed on buckets while the majority of the group chanted about abortion rights.

STAR // Rosalee Padilla

Protesters marched with signs accross campus to protest the overturning of Roe V. Wade.

COURTESY// Sondra Nicole-t, Rohnert Park Neighbor Facebook Group

At

four individual moutain lion sightings occurred on Sept. 27 from 3-4 a.m. Police were not called to respond to the sightings, which were captured by front door cameras and posted on Nextdoor by residents.

Arts & Entertainment

Veretski Pass performs during SSU’s JewishMusic Series

STAFF WRITER PAUL MUNOZ

Sonoma State jammed out with a performance from the band Veretski Pass filling up nearly every seat at the Schroder Hall venue on Oct. 6. The band returned to SSU grounds, as they have been invited multiple times throughout the years to share their musical talents, for yet another performance inviting students and residents of Sonoma County to enjoy. This time, their appearance was a part of the Jewish Music Series held every other Thursday at SSU, where various bands and musical artists perform different types of music inspired by Jewish heritage or influence.

Veretski Pass consists of three musicians, Cookie Segelstein on violin, Stuart Brot man on bass, and Joshua Horowitz who through their performance transi tioned from two instruments, an accordion and a unique instrument called the tsimbl. The trio specializes in the genre of Jewish Folk and Old Country music and has been constructing various forms of music as a band since 2002. According to Segelstein, their “music s a mix of all styles of music” and is “mixed with all types of compositions”.

With an excited audience that consisted of people of all ages, the band made their appearance and began to play almost immediately after a brief intro duction. Song after song a brief explanation was given informing everyone of the origin of what was being performed, and each description of a song was presented in a comical yet informative manner that truly entertained the audience, causing the arena to be filled with people who were constantly laughing yet engrossed in the music style and band itself.

The band named off a variety of the different songs they have created over the years with sounds echoing through the Hall from the two string instruments and Horowitz’s accordion and tsimbl following the rhythm.

When it came to their concluding act, the trio informed the audience that their last two songs were in support of those suffering due to the current events with the war in Ukraine. Both concluding songs played had connections to Ukrainian music, as the band had explained their strong emotions regarding the war, having not heard from close friends currently in Ukraine, and hoping for their safety.

After the first of the two concluding songs had ended, Veresski Pass took questions from the audience. Most of the questions asked referred to information about the members’ instruments, and how they are played, and once all questions were answered it was time for the band to present their final song.

The closing song of their performance was the shortest of the night, but was meant to be a tune that would be uplifting according to the band, as it is usually played when wanting to make people dance. The tune was inspired by a Hungar ian minority who lived in Ukraine. With the final song concluded Veretski Pass looked to the audience and bowed then immediately left the stage.

Sonoma State presents a variety of musical artists within its Green Music Center (GMC) from local artists to global rock stars. The next band performing as part of the continuation of the Jewish Music series will be Cantor Arik Luck: The Jewish Soul on Oct 21. Admission is free and everyone is welcome to take part in the event.

Seawolves relax with ‘Paint & sip’ at Weyden & Brewsters

Outside

Weyden & Brewsters, students waited patiently for the doors to open. Chat ter and excitement filled the air. Once the clock struck 6 p.m., everyone eagerly lined up to go inside and attend the Paint & Sip event on Oct. 4.

The Associated Student Productions (ASP) event offered free Panera desserts, and non-alcoholic beverages with all painting supplies included. Wine was available to purchase for students who were 21 or older. Near the door, ASP set up a table filled

with informational fliers and some of their team members nearby. Before engaging in activities, students were required to show their student ID.

Each table consisted of a canvas for each participant and paintbrushes. At the start of the event, attendees glanced around to find a perfect table to paint at. Others went straight toward the paint to search through the range of colors offered. Students gradu ally settled in with the help and ease of a 2010’s throwback playlist buzzing through the speakers.

Once settled, the search for inspiration began for the Seawolves in attendance. Students scrolled through their phones for references, using Google and Pinterest as tools to figure out what they wanted to paint. Eventually, many bright colors, fall themes, abstract paintings, and other ideas appeared across numerous canvases.

The news about Paint & Sip occurring spread through various flyers that were ei ther reposted online or showcased around campus.

Aubrey Webostad a fifth-year at Sonoma State University found out about Paint & Sip through a friend. What immediately intrigued her about the event, in her own words, “There was painting and booze which is a pretty good time.”

Webostad also offered thoughts on what painting can offer for some students, “I think it is pretty therapeutic. It’s very relaxing and calming.” Webostad explained, “You don’t have to think about other stuff and [don’t have to] stress out about midterms.”

Several other students shared the same idea of painting being therapeutic, espe cially during this time in the semester. Washaka Mahdi, an electrical engineering major, shared her thoughts about painting, “I always think painting is therapeutic. It is helpful, especially with midterms.” Madhi added, “It is the best session to have after an exam.”

Elizabeth Orona, Associated Student Productions event director, gave insight on coming up with the theme for the event, “It was so easy just because it is something that ASP usually puts on and is such a big hit.” Orona continued, “ It is important to keep the tradition of Paint & Sip going.” She also shared what she hopes she students will get out of attending, “I hope they get a good image of ASP in their minds… A school event like Paint & Sip can be fun. It’s not a dorky event that the college puts on.” Orona noticed that during some events students come alone. She saw the event as an opportunity for everyone to meet new people and make connections. She hopes the success of Paint & Sip will further motivate attendees to want to go to other events in the future.

STAR// Mariah Forster Veretski Pass performing the song “Tango Under the Influence” during SSU’s Jewish Music Seires on Oct. 6.

STAR // Mariah Forster

Students Anja Damazyn, Amanda Nascimento, Carolinia Sedano, Xiomara Espinoza, and Sharon Jones take a break from painting to pose for the camera.

Student Life6

Seawolves bowl the night away

of each month is when this event occurs and there is always a theme.

Double Decker Lanes has many other fun activities to do that dont even involve bowling. The bowling alley has a small arcade area with a car racing game, claw machines and many other games with opportunities to win fun prizes. Even adults in the arcade are able to enjoy their evening by playing pool or winning tickets to earn prizes.

Students at Double Decker Lanes were excited about free bowling explaining how they look forward to these events when they come. In an interview with the STAR, one bowler, Donnelle Irvin said,“I love going bowing, even though I’m not that good at it. It’s just fun to go and hang out with my friends plus the energy and environment there is nice too.”

This event gives students an opportunity to step off campus and out of their comfort zone to find new ways to meet new people.

Sonoma state student, Cielo Gonzalez said,“It’s a great way to get involved in the SSU community, meeting new friends and being a part of a fun atmosphere.”

CHASITY SPADY STAFF WRITER

College students are able to incorporate fun outside of their school life with these extra curricular activities. ASP holding entertaining events that are available to students outside of school helps them stay inspired and motivated throughout their years on campus.

Sonoma

students had a blast as they gathered together for free bowling at Double Decker Lanes. On Oct. 6 from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. students gathered to show their bowling skills and socialize with their friends. The theme of this event was ‘Noma Nation’ so everyone made sure to have on their favorite SSU gear.

As college students gathered at the bowling alley, long lines flooded the front doors. Sonoma State’s free bowling events encourage all students to gather together and bond with one another. Associated Students Productions is the host of the event and helps pro vide student funding for clubs, organizations, accounting services in clubs and transitional housing for students of Sonoma State University. In order to enter the event, Sonoma’s students bring their identification and match the theme of the night. Every first Thursday

NICOLE AWWAD STAFF WRITER

Gonzalez continued,“It gives us a balance of having a productive academic life as well as that social aspect into our college experience.”

ASP puts together themes of the month for chances to win fun prizes. The students of SSU are very enthusiastic about matching the theme and knowing all about it before entry. Every one at the alley seemed to go all out with the ‘Noma Nation’ theme, but will students continue their enthusiasm with the upcoming themes? The next event occurs on the first Thursday of November with the theme being Country and following that is the first Thursday of December with an Ugly Sweater theme. ASP also has many other events that help students get involved and gives them the opportunity to explore outside of campus grounds. Find out more informa tion at involve.sonoma.edu.

BOO! Greek life holds a Blood Drive

This week, on Oct. 5, our first annual Greek Week Blood Drive was held in the Mt De nali Gym. This event went on all day from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. and many students stopped by to donate their blood. Greek Week consists of all Greek Life organizations on campus competing on teams against each other in races such as, a school supply drive, blood drive, can-struction, and field day. In the end, a trophy is awarded to each chapter on the winning team.

Many students and people from the surrounding community participated in the donation. Some were excited to donate blood, but others felt a tad bit nervous as getting your blood drawn can be an intimidating experience. In an interview with the STAR, sec ond year communications and media studies major Nicole Elissiry described her feelings about the blood drive, “A lot of my family have benefitted off of donated blood before, so I figured it would be a good way to give back. I have not donated blood before so I’m a little nervous, but it’ll be worth it.”

It’s important to give back to our community and support people in any ways we can, especially when we have seen those close to us affected; it makes a lasting impact to know that you can pay it forward.

Second year and early childhood development major Abigail Reutlinger said “I’m donating blood for Greek Week. I’m in Alpha Gamma Delta and we’re Team Pop also

teamed up with Alpha Epsilon Pi and Sigma Pi Alpha. This is actually my first time donating blood but I’m not that nervous.” The race is on!

SSU’s Fraternity and Sorority life community sponsored this month’s blood drive along with Vitalent, which is a nonprofit organization that collects blood from volunteer do nors and provides blood. Vitalant is deeply committed to making a transformative difference, and ensuring patients have the blood they need to see tomorrow.

With coordination help, we had fraternity and sorority life advisor Abbie Page say, “I am the fraternity and sorority life advisor in student involvement, and this is our first annual Greek week blood drive. We have six teams participating in Greek Week, which includes our nineteen chapters that we have. They’re all paired together on a team and they were encour aged to come out today and volunteer for the blood drive and donate blood.” This event not only allows all Greek Life to bond, it gives back to the community in many ways.

If you’re interested in giving back to the community, be sure to attend the upcoming event titled Sustainable Seawolf Fair. This event will discuss the importance in our campus community, surrounding community and the world around us. As well as combining your personal ideas on how you can do your part. It will take place on Wed. Oct. 12 in the Seawolf Plaza and you can check out more details about this event on the Seawolf Living instagram or website.

Make your ‘Health and Wellbeing’ a priority

DANNY SERRANO STAFF WRITER

On Wednesday Oct. 5, Student Involvement hosted a health and wellbeing fair in the Seawolf Plaza to give students the tools to keep their bodies and minds in good enough shape to grind out the rest of the fall semester. At the height of the event, the plaza was packed with students. The temperature was perfect and the sun was glistening. Students from all grades showed up to gather these tools and tips from various clubs.

In an interview with the STAR senior and business major, Adrian Barreto shared his thoughts about the benefits of attending the fair. “I never knew that this fair was a thing. I am so glad that I had noticed it when walking to class. I also never knew how many resources and people there are to reach out to. I was also very happy to see the amount of younger students who were out there and going around to all the tables. I can’t remember whether this was offered when I was a freshman, but I would’ve loved to have had something like this available. But at least I was able to experience it.”

Mo Phillips, the director of Student Involvement, had a hand in putting the fair together, mainly led by the recreation center. “I am always happy to be in the plaza during these fairs. It is amazing to see some campus life and for students to learn more about the people in our Sonoma State neighborhood. These fairs are also both social and educational, passive and active ways for the community to learn more about , in this case wellness, but next week Wednesday Oct. 12, we will be hosting the sustain ability fair with some new information, campus partners and opportunities to learn,” said Phillips.

The preparation for the event wasn’t anything unusual. When asked what her role was for preparation, Phillips said, “Typically we will reach out to campus entities that have the Health and Wellbeing of our community in mind, so the health center, CAPS, recreation center, and Care team are important, but also we wanted to promote wellness in a variety of areas.....mental health, physical health, spiritual, financial, social well being, self awareness etc.”

For every event she puts on, Phillips mentioned she tries to make the event as appealing as possible. She tried to give an incentive to students to draw them into check ing out the event. She went on to say, “We also had Swirltime there for a sweet treat but yogurt is also a healthy sweet treat. Lastly, we typically have some type of gimmick or draw....the sweet treats, free hot dogs for the club fair, raffles where students can win just by visiting tables. When they visit the tables, they get raffle tickets that they can enter into drawings for prizes....this time was a yoga mat set, himalayan salt lamp, and some earbuds.”

In terms of upcoming events for students, Phillips said that there will be a sus tainability fair this Wednesday Oct. 12. Campus partners will be on campus offering new things for students to learn.

STAR // Zachary Gonzales

Office of Student Involvement passing out free swag to fellow Seawolves.

STAR // Zachary Gonzales

Spirited group of Seawolves happy to be attending a free bowling night.

Sports

Seawolves rack up weekly awards

Moving deeper into the Fall season, athletic stars here at SSU continue to shine. Outstand ing talent and hardwork has been displayed these past couple weeks by SSU athletes, one of which was freshman cross country runner, Gianna Bomarito.

It took Bomarito only a few short weeks to break a SSU cross country record she had tied earlier last month. On Sept. 30, Bomarito made history and set a new program record during the 2022 Paul Short Invite, hosted by Lehigh University. This recorded breaking performance earned her CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association) Runner of the Week.

The Fresno native recorded the only sub-21 minute 6k time in program history. Bomari to went on to finish with a time of 20:52.9 to set a new school record. Bomarito shared her thoughts on the record setting performance, “After last weekend I was very happy and proud of myself, I felt like I got a new level of self confidence that has made me even more motivated to keep working. I feel like I’m still growing as a runner and have developed even more deter mination than before and plan on working from last week to improve in the future.”

Bomarito also earned her first collegiate victory as she placed first in the team’s division out of over 300 runners. The entire five person team would finish inside the top-80, earning SSU a fifth place team finish out of the 42 teams in their division.

Bomarito attributes some of her recent success to the team she represents so proudly, “I still feel like it’s the beginning and there’s a lot left to work towards. After the race I just felt so glad I chose to run and join this program because I feel like I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I am now without it.”

In SSU soccer, sophomore midfielder Lexi Zandonella-Arasa was named CCAA Offen sive Player of the Week. On Sept. 29 during a game against Cal State East Bay, Zandonel la-Arasa scored the game winning goal with a header in the eighty-fifth minute of the game.

The goal went on to clinch the Seawolves a win against the defending CCAA Tournament Champions. Zandonella-Arasa spoke with SSU STAR via email and shared some thoughts on the match ups last week, “I’m very happy with the results we were able to get in both games last week! We didn’t have the best start but we came out in the second half of each game with more of an urgency and grit which definitely helped us win those games against two good opponents.”

On Oct. 1, Zandonella-Arasa scored two out of the team’s four goals and assisted another as SSU went on to win 4-2 against Stanislaus State. “I think something we focused on was if someone made a mistake they knew to just fix it the next play. It helped us and allowed us to play all out and freely, which is when we’re at our best,” Zandonella-Arasa said.

The SSU midfielder now has 10 goals and five assists in 10 matches this season leading her team to 7-2-2 overall record so far.

Capping off a stellar week of SSU sports, was volleyball player Jen Trephan. The senior setter accumulated 34 kills and nearly two triple doubles over the course of three games.

Trephan expanded on some thoughts regarding her performances, “I felt like I had a good performance but it was the team and our high level of effort that got us the wins. I think I’m hitting a little harder and placing the ball smarter than I did before. We have high hopes for the rest of the season and I hope our confidence stays at a high.”

Any time Jen Trephan is playing on the court, she’s also doing what she loves. Trephan expressed her appreciation for the sport she adores playing, “Volleyball has been my whole life and I enjoy it so much. My best friends always come from volley ball so I appreciate it so much.”

Women’s soccer victorious on emotional day

with her heart again when she went into cardiac arrest on multiple occasions, leading to her being placed on life support, and requiring a heart transplant.

This made Sunday a special day, when her number 22 was retired. It was a day to celebrate Courtney’s accomplishments and her impact on the program. “It’s a cliche, but it means everything,” Shoda said in a phone interview, when asked about the ceremony. Shoda continued saying “my whole heart goes out to the program and the future team, and the team now. It’s a huge honor.” The Seawolves celebrated Shoda with a ceremony before their game against Cal State Monterey Bay. The ceremony was short, but it was easy to tell how emotional people were, and how positive of an impact she has on the program and the people around her. Shoda has become a perfect embodiment of the Women’s Soccer program making it fitting that no future Seawolf will get to wear her number 22.

Of her chilling experiences Shoda said they “taught me a lot about life. Things may not go your way, but everything happens for a reason.” She now spends one day a week with a physical therapist, and up to five days a week with a trainer, recovering from the trans plant. Shoda has been making steady improvements as time goes on, walking better and better. Shoda emphasized how having a strong sup port system has helped her along the way, saying “I’m thankful for my family and my friends for being so supportive through it all. Basically starting from ground zero and being surrounded by so many people that lift me up and love me inspires me to try my all.”

C

ourtney Shoda spends four to five days a week training. Similar to when she was a member of the Sonoma State Women’s Soccer Team from 2014-2017, appearing in 55 matches and scoring three goals as a defender. The only difference is now, instead of training to make the first team, or help her squad reach the top of the league table, she’s training to relearn much simpler things, like walking and cooking. This is due to a pair of scary life threatening heart complications that have changed Sho da’s life.

In September of 2017, while training for a tournament in Hum boldt, Courtney used her chest to control the ball before striking it, like she had done thousands of times before. This time, instead of continuing into the next phase of practice, Shoda collapsed suffering from commo tio cordis, a disruption of the heart. Head Coach Emiria Salzmann and her husband Mark Dunn had to perform CPR on Shoda until her breath ing continued, saving her life. In 2021 Courtney faced complications

For the game itself, the Seawolves took home a 2-1 victory. The first 20 minutes of the match were pretty uneventful, with each team creating minimal opportunities in the opponents half. Monterey Bay got the scoring going by capitalizing on a Seawolves defensive mis take to take a 1-0 lead in the twenty-first minute. The score held until the half as the Seawolves struggled to create a clean look at the goal. Things changed in the second half with a goal from Andrea Lozano in the fifty-fifth minute, and another one following quickly from Julia Pritchard in the fifty-seventh. It looked as if the Seawolves had fig ured out the Monterey defense and were going to put the game out of reach, however the Seawolves failed to net another goal. Fortunately the Sonoma defense was strong throughout the second half, helping the Seawolves extend their win streak to five. Next up are fixtures with Cal State LA and Cal Poly Pomona down in Southern California.

COURTESY // @sonomaseawolves on Instagram

From left to right: Gianna Bomarito earned CCAA Runner of the Week following her record breaking performance, Lexi Zandonella-Arasa earned CCAA Offensive Player of the Week and Jen Trephan earned Offensive Player of the Week as well.

CALVIN ZELJAK STAFF WRITER

STAR // Cec Fernandez

Courtney Shoda (pictured second from left) and her family with former coaches includ ing current head coach Emiria Salzmann (middle) during her jersey retirement.

NOAH CLARK STAFF WRITER

Seawolves take to the lanes for ‘Noma Pride’ bowling night

SSU soccer retires impactful Seawolf Courtney Shoda’s number

ASP helps Seawolves relax with classic ‘Paint & Sip’ event

STAR // Mariah Forster

In the foreground, students Ty Fernando, Monica Lising, Nona Sanchez G, and Cec Fer nandez intensively paint.

STAR // Mariah Forster

Students begin their masterpieces during ASP’s Paint and Sip event at Weyden and Brew ster’s

STAR // Zachary Gonzales

A seawolf goes for a strike during ASP’s free bowling night at the Double Decker lanes in Rohnert Park on Oct. 6.

STAR // Zachary Gonzales SSU students Tucker Jensen (left) and Curtis Manley (right) smiling for a photo. They are a part of ASP, which helped to put on this event.

STAR // Cec Fernandez Courtney and the people who saved her life, after collaps ing during a training session in Sept. 2017. (See Pg. 7)

STAR // Cec Fernandez Courtney’s retired number banner is finally revealed on Oct. 9, before the start of the SSU women’s soccer game.

STAR // Cec Fernandez Courtney and the SSU team share a moment of joy as they celebrate her number being retired ahead of their game.