Spring 2023, Issue 6

Seawolves get comfy in The Kitchens with a pajama themed dining experience.

World Baseball Classic.

Fearful students demand their voices be heard

CÉLIA ALINE AMARAL STAFF WRITER

Justone week after the fatal stabbing that occurred at Montgomery High School two other students were caught with knives on campus. MHS was made aware of this situation via social media. Instead of immediately reporting the incident to police, the administration decided to take matters into its own hands.

Santa Rosa police later learned about this occurrence directly from a parent who was informed by an announcement sent out by the school. The two students, a 15-year-old and 17-yearold were then arrested on Saturday.

The Santa Rosa City Schools put out a commitment statement in order to combat the press they have been receiving. In this statement, which can be found on the Santa Rosa City Schools website, they claim to be increasing campus security and say, “We will continue to work with the SRPD to create see PROTESTS on pg. 4

Physics department reaches new heights with grant

SACHA WEDNER STAFF WRITER

OnMarch 2, a $950,000 grant from the Department of Energy’s RENEW (Reaching a New Engine Sciences Workforce) program was awarded to Sonoma State Professor Alexandra Miller in partnership with Stanislaus State Associate Professor Wing To in order to teach high energy physics and keep students engaged with research and internship opportunities.

The upcoming program, titled GROWTH-MSI (Growth and Research Opportunities With Traineeships in High Energy Physics at Minority Serving Institutions), will support ten students annually starting January 2024.

The grant supporting this program will be split into three parts. First is the traineeship itself. Second is the funds for Miller to write a series of primer articles about quantum gravity for graduate students, and help create resources for undergraduate students interested in learning more about quantum gravity. These resources, which will also be available online, will make it easy for Miller, To, and other professors to help more students in the future.

Finally, the grant will help create a consortium and community of different scientific institutions and schools in California. Miller says that “It will help us to create a community with the aforementioned research institutions, as well as with several other CSUs: Stanislaus State, CSU East Bay, SFSU, and Fresno State. This consortium will promote future collaborations among scientists at the various institutions.”

On top of resume-building, each student will receive $19,000 in scholarship and stipend support for the junior and senior years. As a part of the consortium, students

will also have the opportunity to collaborate with professors and scientists from Lawrence Berkeley Lab and Lawrence Livermore Lab, the SLAC National Accelerator Lab, plus UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara.

In addition to helping students reach new heights and helping them work on new research on high energy physics, these collaborations will also grow research at MSIs, and increase the visibility of MSIs in the scientific community.

As explained by Professor To, “The GROWTH-MSI will create a pathway for students from underserved minority serving institutions (MSI) to learn, engage and pursue a career in particle and high energy physics. They will receive an introductory course in particle/high energy physics and learn about research opportunities from Department of Energy funded scientists and professors.”

Third year physics major Somi Zingkhai says that the MSI scholarship is a much needed aid to underserved communities and groups of people. “The introduction of a new focus on careers in the field will enable these students to make more informed decisions on their future career,” said Zingkhai, “The introduction of a new focus on careers in the field will enable these students to make more informed decisions on their future career, and give them vital on-the-job training which will help them learn through application of their coursework.”

Considering the field of high energy physics is overall lacking in diversity and representation, these partnerships with MSI’s can bring in new perspectives in the field that were previously absent.

long-term strategies for safety.”

Thousands of Sonoma County students protested on Wednesday, March 8 calling for change through organized walkouts and marches across town. These were some of the largest student protests Sonoma County has seen since 2013. Credo and Technology High students met in La Plaza Park in Cotati before marching down to Oliver’s Market as part of the county wide walkout.

Santa Rosa middle and high schools joined together at the courthouse square before walking to City Hall where Santa Rosa City Schools held their board meeting.

Students and parents were expressing frustration over this violence and the lack of safety precautions on campus. To address these issues a listening session was held last Tuesday, March 7 in the Friedman Center of Santa Rosa

Members of Gamma Phi Beta sitting in on one of the many title IX trainings required for SSU sororities and fraternities.

Greeks weigh new drug and alcohol trainings

MARIAH FORSTER STAFF WRITER

Greek organizations are required to complete multiple trainings, one of which is on drugs and alcohol education. However this semester, many organizations are veering from their usual training and opting for an alternative option.

Drug and alcohol training is nothing new on college campuses. Sonoma State is just one of many schools that have implemented prevention programs to educate students on the dangers of abusing drugs and alcohol. An example is the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program, the DAAPP. This alternative option has been perceived as additional training which has raised concerns for some students.

According to the Division of Student Affairs, DAAPP is “intended to support student and employee health, safety and security by increasing awareness, preventing abuse, and decreasing potential drug and alcohol related crime.”

“With Greek life being associated with partying across the country, it’s good to learn these things though the [view that] Greek life is not [just about] partying,” said

SSU alumni Alex Crosby competes in

STAR// Malia Teran

High school students, traumatized by a stabbing death and more weapons on campus this week, express their concerns with protests across Santa Rosa.

STAR // Malia Teran

THE STAR

Editorial Board

Rosalee Padilla, Editor-in-Chief

Nicholas Roth, Copy Editor

Ana Fingerson, News Editor

Mikayla Fritzemeier, Opinion Editor

Adriana Gonzalez, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Cec Fernandez, Photo Editor

Zachary Gonzales, Student Life Editor

Javier Hernandez, Sports Editor

Corinne Asturias, Faculty Adviser

Staff Writers

Célia Aline Amaral, Rene Cassano, Mariah Forster, Tito Fuentes, Mia Garcia, Elias Kaplan, Olivia Keeler, Kathleen Mootz, Alec Padilla, Cooper Perry, Kylie Perry, Bernardo Ramos, Jake Renteria, Justin Simpson, Ally Valiente, Sacha Wedner

Photographers

Dennae Taylor and Malia Teran

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

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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.

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The commentary expressed in the unsigned editorial represents a majority opinion 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.

Academic Integrity on the line

COURTESY // commons.m.wikimedia.org

Artificial Intelligence (AI) may actually be taking over. Technology continues to rapidly develop in our modern world, and AI gets more advanced by the minute.

AI is seen and used by most people on a daily basis. Asking Siri about the weather, using GPS navigation apps, or listening to a specially curated Spotify playlist are all examples.

In November of 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that, according to the OpenAI website, “is trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response.” ChatGPT is currently available online and free to use as a research preview. OpenAI is looking for users’ feedback to find the AI’s strengths and weaknesses.

OpenAI is upfront about ChatGPT’s limitations and makes them known to users. ChatGPT’s knowledge comes from a large text data set but it warns that it still may not produce accurate information and that the chatbot has limited knowledge of the world and events after 2021.

Despite its limitations, this chatbot can be used for a multitude of reasons. It could be asked to create blocks of code, answer questions, make calculations, create a customized resume, translate, and much more. This technology is incredible and can be used in so many creative ways, but the immoral uses of the chatbot have to be considered.

Professor Christian Terwiesch at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School published a paper detailing an experiment where he gave ChatGPT final exam questions for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. Terwiesch found that “Chat GPT does an amazing job at basic operations management and process analysis questions including those that are based on case studies. Not only are the answers correct, but the explanations are excellent.” Though ChatGPT did not answer every question with complete accuracy, the chatbot generated answers that Terwiesch said would’ve received a B or B- grade.

Terwiesch broke down the implications of this technology and stated, “Many educators are interested in the Chat GPT discussion out of a concern that their students might be cheating on homework assignments and final exams. They should be.”

The chatbot can produce detailed and well crafted assignments in seconds. Ask-

ing the chatbot to “write a five paragraph essay about Trump’s presidency” will generate a decently written essay on the topic. This AI technology allows students to generate assignments for them easily and this shortcut completely undervalues the importance of education.

Assignments may be frustrating to students at times, but sacrificing academic integrity and undermining the education system by not taking the time to research and learn is disappointing. Academic integrity is characterized by six core values; honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. If students start to solely rely on AI technology to generate assignments for them, they will not get value out of those assignments.

Students are all too familiar with the tool Turnitin. An assignment can be run through Turnitin and it checks what percentage of the work is original. This is a useful tool to detect plagiarism, but AI-generated content is not plagiarism. It is original work that hasn’t been published anywhere before, so it is undetectable to Turnitin.

When asked if she believes AI Classifiers will be as common as Turnitin as a way to check for plagiarism, communications professor Gina Baleria said, “I do actually, as people look for solutions to combat the unethical uses, these things will become more common.”

AI classifiers may need to become a necessary measure to prevent the use of this technology as more and more students discover and abuse the capabilities of the technology.

“If ChatGPT is used as a shortcut to generate assignments without any meaningful input or guidance from the educator, it could have a negative impact on the learning of students. Assignments generated solely by ChatGPT may lack the necessary depth, complexity, and relevance to the course material, leading to a shallow understanding of the subject matter. Additionally, if students become too reliant on ChatGPT to generate assignments, they may not develop critical thinking skills or the ability to independently research and analyze information. This could ultimately hinder their ability to learn and succeed in the long run,” generated by ChatGPT when asked, “How could ChatGPT impact learning for students if it is used as a shortcut to generate assignments?”

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 later than the Friday before the publication date. Send letters to star@sonoma.edu, include your full name, year in school and city of residence.

Serious action is needed to protect young students

on school campuses was removed in the summer of 2020. So what do schools do now? Do they reinstate a police presence, or do they figure out different security measures to employ without the police?

ELIAS KAPLAN STAFF WRITER

After the altercation at Montgomery High School on Monday, March 1 that left 16-year-old Jayden Pienta dead and another student in the hospital with a stab wound, several walkouts were performed throughout the local district where students and parents called for heightened security measures on campuses.

As mentioned In a previous article from the STAR, there were “97 calls for a response from the school in the past 12 months. There were 945 calls for police response for all Santa Rosa schools in 2022.” This was after the police presence

In the last several weeks, there has been an increase in calls for a response by law enforcement on local school campuses. On the day of the stabbing, there was a report of a firearm on campus at Maria Carrillo High School, and a week prior, a fire that was possibly set by a student at the same school. Last Tuesday, school faculty found a hunting knife in its sheath in a student’s bag during a routine search upon entering campus. Without extra security measures, and without police presence, similar incidents are more likely to occur.

However, police officers on campus, especially many to heighten security, could come across as intimidating and concerning for students and parents. What if metal detectors were installed or an increase in se -

curity guard presence as opposed to law enforcement?

SSU Alumni Lauren Yagi worked locally as a student teacher in the Multiple Subject Credential Program offered by the university. When asked about possible solutions, Yagi mentioned that a police presence would make students and faculty feel safer coming to school every day. She continued, “When it comes to metal detectors, it sounds like a great idea at first. But, students would most likely find another route,” influencing students to be more deceitful.

Current SSU student Trinity Jane is a full-time student teacher in the same program as Yagi. Jane works at an elementary school in Rohnert Park. “It’s disheartening and frustrating,” Jane comments, adding that she doesn’t want the kids she teaches to feel like they need to bring weapons to protect themselves at a place that is supposed to make them feel safe and comfortable.

When asked for her thoughts

about school safety, Jane said, “I don’t think a lot of this is related to school safety… There needs to be more mental health intervention.” She noted that teachers have become so caught up in curriculum and setting goals for students to pass tests to boost the schools’ scores, that they’ve forgotten to work on the emotional needs of the students. “We spend so much energy on our high flyers and big behavior kiddos that so many more slip between the cracks.”

A police presence on campus might not prevent crime, but other security protocols could. If schools use search methods similar to what people go through in airports, it could prevent crimes from being committed and instill confidence in students that their campuses will be safe. For example, students could walk through metal detectors and get their bags searched, similar to Amarosa Academy’s system. It is clear that school systems need to do so much more for their students.

Lack of equal pay worries women entering the workforce

Since the foundation of Women’s History Month in 1987, people have been celebrating and recognizing the significant contributions made by women throughout the past and present with one of the biggest achievements being the Equal Pay Act, which passed in June of 1963. The act requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work and protects against wage discrimination based on sex. While it is a huge step forward for women, unfortunately it remains one of the biggest issues that is still unresolved.

According to the Pew Research

Center, in 2022, American women typically earned 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. While it may not seem too bad, this was about the same as in 2002, when women earned 80 cents to the dollar. Comparatively in 1982, women earned just 65 cents to each dollar earned by men. The Pew Research Center also noted that Black and Hispanic women experience the largest gender wage gap compared to white women and that wage gap varies by race and ethnicity.

This is especially worrying for students about to graduate this semester, and even discouraging for young women entering their first job.

In 2019 alone, women between the ages of 16 and 29 in the Santa Rosa metro area made 88% of what men their age earned, according to the Pew Research Center.

Students such as Nicolette Rasha, a second year global studies major, and Yasmine Marquecho, a first year English major, said that they are dismayed and outraged over the narrow gap.

Rasha said, “It’s kinda ridiculous if you think about it. Doesn’t matter how hard we work, it’ll always feel like we’re trying to catch up. I’m an assistant manager at a restaurant in Cotati and I work twice as hard as my male counterparts, but they’re getting paid more than me. It’s a joke.”

Marquecho said that she doesn’t want to live in a world where by 2050 the wage gap would have only narrowed by a couple cents. “I want progress, real progress. And I’m sure I’m not the only one, in fact, I know all women want to see that.”

Despite occupation, research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows a very similar entry-level salary gap of 18.4%. This means that women on average are earning $52,266 in entry-level positions, versus $64,022 earned by men. In 2023, the jobs with the biggest wage gap are occupations in sales, technology, medical assistants, and lawyers.

Cheyenne Cadejo, a fourth year biochemist student, said that the wage

should be geared towards occupation and not gender.

“Obviously a surgeon or a nurse is going to make more than a grocery store clerk. But if both a man and woman are surgeons, they should be getting the same amount of pay. That’s how it should work. Anybody doing the same occupation, should get the same pay,” said Cadejo.

However, occupations such as tutors, mechanical engineers, teachers, transportation security screeners (such as TSA) and social workers have the smallest wage gap, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Dajana Silvio, a second year education major, is worried about finding a job after college because of the unfair wage gaps that remain.

“I do worry about [finding a job], especially if I’m not going to be paid fairly as the other guys. I hope one day we get equal pay but I worry that even by the time we get to 2033, ten years from now, the wage would’ve only increased by a couple cents,” said Silvio.

Crisis team unnecessary at this year’s slap-free Oscars

necessary or able to stop any situations like last year’s.

BERNARDO RAMOS STAFF WRITER

Last year’s Oscar award show was a bigger deal than usual and not because of the results. The now infamous moment from last year when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage after a joke aimed at Smith’s wife, has forced the Oscars to introduce a “crisis response team”. The team was dedicated to handle any unexpected event in hopes that they could prevent any more scandalous moments from happening. However many are split on whether or not this team was

Will Smith’s actions at last year’s Oscars stunned people around the world and left everyone with questions. Of course, Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock but many felt that it was half hearted and not sincere. Chris Rock had remained publicly silent up until his Netflix special “Selective Outrage” dropped on the platform on March 4. In the special, Rock goes into detail about what happened that night. Answering the question of whether it hurt or not by reminding the crowd that Smith is much bigger than him and also portrayed Muhammad Ali in a past role. Rock also threw some more shade at Jada Pinkett Smith in his special when he said, “she hurt him way more than he hurt me,” obviously referring to the romantic “entanglement” Jada Smith had that was largely publicized.

The new crisis team was at the

ready to stop any unwanted incidents but, it could be in the Oscar’s best interest to just let things happen. Last year’s ratings for the Oscars were up 60% from 2021 which only had 10.4 million viewers.

Some people enjoy the spectacle and looked forward to what might happen just like second-year computer science major William Cohen who said, “I only saw the clip of Will Smith slapping Chris rock. I didn’t watch the whole thing but I thought it was just so out of character for him, it was kinda funny.”

Even though it was funny to some, others like third-year sociology major Sonia Garcia found it uninteresting she said, “I thought it was annoying. I was tired of everyone talking about it in my class at work and even at home. If they are putting in a team to stop things like that from happening again it could save me a headache.”

First-year Business major Danny

Guzman and his friends were excited to watch the show. “I didn’t know they had a team that is looking out for things like that. I still hope something funny happens.”

Even with the boost in ratings for last year’s Oscars, the award shows seem to be losing relevance among the public. Going from 40 million viewers in the last decade to 16.6 million last year has shown that maybe a little drama during the show could be good for ratings.

Fortunately, Sunday night’s Academy Awards went smoothly, with host Jimmy Kimmel mentioning the crisis team in his opening monologue and in his closing remarks. Some notable wins of the night were Brendon Fraser taking home the best actor award for his role in “The Whale,” and Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh making history by winning the best supporting actor and best actress awards, respectively.

Sonoma State University celebrates quality instruction

RENÉ CASSANO STAFF WRITER

An award can symbolize a variety of achievements depending on the context. For a Little League team it symbolizes teamwork and knowing how to hit a ball. For an artist, it can symbolize amazing creative achievement. Sonoma State’s Excellence in Teaching Award represents a unique set of standards for teaching, and this year’s nominees were announced last Tuesday.

Since the award was initiated in 1997 at SSU, winners and nominees of the Excellence in Teaching Award exemplify “quality of instruction, creation of an academic environment that successfully encourages high intellectual aspiration and achievement, effectiveness in mentoring students, and promotion of learning outside the classroom.” This was stated on the Excellence in Teaching Award webpage.

This year’s nominees were announced through e-mail, and include nine professors. Six of the nine professors teach for the School of Science and Technology, including beloved professor of mathematics André Minor who passed away in February.

Two geology professors were nominated, that being Marissa Mnich and Matty Mookerjee. Anthropology Professor Alexis Boutin, Chemistry Professor Monica Lares, and Biology Professor Shannon Erickson Lee are also nominated.

Philosophy Professor Andy Wallace and Choral Director Jenny Bent represent the School of Arts and Humanities, and Psychology Professor Elisa Velásquez-Andrade is the sole nominee from the School of Social Sciences. One or two nominees can win the award in a year, depending on the available funding. The award is currently funded by the Office of the Provost.

The period for students and community members to submit public comments for the nominees is now open until April 3 and must be sent through an email directly to the Academic Senate at senate@sonoma.edu.

Computer Science Professor Mark Gondree was the winner of last year’s award. Speaking on his award, Gondree said

He added: “Every one of [this year’s] nominations is well-deserved. I am so proud of seeing the School of Science and Technology represented strongly among the nominees this year!”

Overall, Gondree emphasized the importance of growth and how the campus as an environment fosters that: “I initially felt unprepared and undeserving to receive [this award]. I am still growing. I am thankful that SSU is a place where growth as a teacher is valued and supported.”

Anybody in the campus community can submit a nomination for professors they feel embody the requirements for the award. Nominated faculty submit a collection of documents called a dossier to the Academic Senate Office which outlines their teaching philosophy, experience, and recognition from outside entities such as research institutes or past students/ employers. The dossier also includes all submitted public comments.

The Teaching and Learning Senate Subcommittee (TLS) convenes to vote on nominees and refer to each nominee’s dossier. Chair of the TLS, Elizabeth Ducy, elaborated on the voting process and its student representation. “A student representative from Associated Students has been invited to participate in the selection process, but at this time, this spot remains open. TLS will meet in March and April regarding the selection and nomination process.”

Nominees will be recognized and the winner(s) will be announced at Convocation at the start of the academic year, though Ducy revealed “there has been recent interest in establishing an in-person reception to honor teaching and research awardees, but this is still in discussion”

The awardee(s) will receive a cash reward and a portrait to be displayed in the library. Ducy could not yet confirm whether the awardee(s) will receive a certificate or some type of physical award.

Convocation will be on August 18 and Seawolves are encouraged to attend and submit comments for nominees.

New money, new opportunities

continued from pg. 1

The STEM department in general, especially when compared to other college departments, has had a reputation for being very difficult. As Professor Miller explains, these fields are vertical in nature, the courses build up upon each other, thus forming a very rigid prerequisite structure.

Miller explains, “If a student fails a class or just misses taking it for some reason, they can really get behind. This makes the degrees especially challenging for our working students.”

Professor To also faced this challenge when he was in the same position as many of his students years ago. “From my own experience, I worked 32 hours/week during the last 2-years of undergraduate degree,” said To. “Having to work to pay for college reduced the amount of time I can spend on studying and working with classmates and impeded my ability to do research as an undergraduate.”

With the program being both experience as well as a source of income, it will hopefully alleviate some of the stress faced, and the amount of funding will be enough for students to focus on their academics and research. The program will also be flexible in terms of when students can conveniently complete their work, so it doesn’t interfere with their other courses. At the same time, the work does help improve their knowledge of physics, helping them in their academic career, plus look very strong on their resume.

Zingkhai states that “enabling people to work at a traineeship who would otherwise be forced into working an unrelated retail job allows students to focus on studying. Investment in the knowledge of the younger generations is sowing the seeds for a prosperous and bountiful future.” Failure to do so will only the inevitable void being filled up by a lack of high value talent.

In addition to the efforts of both Professor Miller and To, Professors Marteen Golterman, Kathryn Grimm, Yongsheng Gao, and Anna Nierenberg of San Francisco State, Cal State East Bay, Fresno State, and UC Merced respectively. Participants will be selected from the aforementioned schools in addition to Sonoma and Stanislaus State, however, the program plans to expand to other CSU’s in the future.

The fight for safety continues

continued from pg. 1

to allow for the community to express concerns. More than 800 people were present and voicing their opinions. Kaitlin Wood, a parent, said, “I came to get answers. I’ve been to board meetings and parents aren’t getting answers.”

Concerns about the way information was communicated during the lockdown was a common theme. A few students pointed out that they are consistently learning about incidents from peers or social media rather than directly from school officials.

Will Mosier, a student at Maria Carrillo High School expressed frustration about the failure of the system, especially when it comes to solving conflicts. “When students get in a fight, they should be offered counseling instead of receiving a slap on the wrist,” said Mosier.

The other major point expressed at the meeting was the lack of resources available for mental health. It is estimated that only five counselors are on campus for about 1500 students. Many parents feel the district should hire more counselors or other qualified staff members.

“I want to see students identified when they have behavior issues. And when they are identified, they [should] receive the mental health that they deserve,” said Reuben Crow Feather, a member of the Lakota tribe.

Students and parents have mixed feelings about bringing police officers back on campus. Rather, they ask for more restorative justice. Students, parents and teachers are taking action and urging for more youth support after the death of 16-year-old Jayden Pienta. Santa Rosa City School superintendent Ann Trunell is promising changes to the way in which the school notifies people about emergency situations.

Ana Fingerson and Rosalee Padilla contributed to this report

Greek life updates drug and alcohol prevention procedures

continued from pg. 1

third year kinesiology major, Libby Sarto.

Abbie Page, who is the advisor for Sorority and Fraternity life clears the confusion stating, “Usually, chapters complete the alcohol and drug training in their chapter meeting with a guest speaker or representative from their headquarters, however, this semester we have so many on campus opportunities that may fulfill the requirement as well.”

Save a Seawolf was a program created at SSU to spread awareness about drug and alcohol abuse. Sororities and fraternities have the option to attend one of these events as training in their chapter. The most recent event from the program centered around fentanyl.

“I think it’s worth that extra hour if it could save lives,” stated Sarto. “The point of these programs is not to shame people…rather it is teaching us how to be safe and smart.”

What is being offered to greek life organizations is a different way of completing their training rather than adding to it.

Sarto discusses the difference between the normal chapter training and the alternative of attending an event on campus.“Chapter training is usually a general overview of drug and alcohol safety, don’t post underage drinking, be smart, what to do in an emergency…Alternative training tends to focus more on one or two things,” said Sarto.

Piper Collins, fourth year business student thinks that the alternative training comes in handy when someone is unable to attend training during chapter meetings. “Attending chapter (meetings) is mandatory, but if someone missed a meeting, it’s nice they can make it up another way instead of trying to schedule a meeting with our standard chair,” said Collins.

Although different, students, a part of Greek life, value the training they complete in their chapters on drug and alcohol prevention. “These alternatives teach something new that is just as important,” said Sarto.

Sarto believes that with substance use being common on campuses, it’s important to know the signs of addiction and recognize when someone is not using safely. The drug and alcohol prevention program events are for all Seawolves to learn about resources to help themselves and other students.

While some may view the training as redundant, there are students who appreciate the prevention programs and understand the purpose. “It can be seen as repetitive but you never know when it could come in handy one day,” said Collins.

“You can never stop people from partying but you can teach them how to party safely,” stated Collins.

STAR// Malia Teran

A student holds up a sign reading “AM I NEXT?” in protest.

Arts & Entertainment 5

Sonoma Film Institute presents: Pierrot Le Fou

KYLIE PERRY STAFF WRITER

OnMarch 10, the screening of Pierrot Le Fou, a popular French film, was put on by the Sonoma Film Institute. The film was shown in Darwin 107. Dr. Ajay Gehlawat in the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies introduced the screening. The film is 105 minutes and is in French with English subtitles. This film focuses on Ferdinand (Jean-Paul Belmondo) who is not happy in life, leaving everything behind and going off with the babysitter. This is Jean Luc Godard’s tenth feature in six years. Pierrot Le Fou is described as “one of the high points of the French New Wave, and was Godard’s last frolic before he moved ever further into radical cinema.” (the Criterion).

Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director born in 1930. Godard is a radical writer. Pierrot Le fou was originally booed when shown at the Venice Film Festival in September 1965 but later was recognized as being a great film. It inspired many people including Chantal Akerman, a famous Belgian Film

director.

There were about 15 people in total that showed up to the screening. The room was small, but had seats that you would find in a theater, all facing towards the front of the room. The film started exactly at 7 p.m. and everyone put away their phones and became very quiet. There were only about two students out of the attendees. Through the duration of the film there were many parts that would receive a laugh from the audience. The film contained nudity and violence which was most likely the reason for it to be considered a radical film, especially since the violence was being caused by the babysitter, Marianne Renoir, in part.

A quote that was very popular among the audience and was specifically pointed out by Kaitlynne Droubay as her favorite quote was, “Why do you look so sad?’ Because you speak to me in words and I look at you with feelings.” Droubay likes this quote because “It is very powerful. It’s what drew me to

this film in the first place.” Droubay had considered viewing the film because her family is French and so she wanted to “explore French media.” After looking up the film prior to the screening, this quote is what made her want to go.

To help the Sonoma Film Institute, a $5 donation is suggested, but admission is free. You can also go online to the Sonoma Film Institute’s page and donate there as well. The first three films “Breathless,” “Pierrot Le Fou,” and “Life & Life” are shown in Darwin 107, but the screenings are usually shown in Warren Auditorium in Ives Hall on campus. They will be shown here again once construction is finished. The next screening, “Life & Life” by N.C. Heikin is going to be shown on Friday March 17 at 7 p.m. by Dr. Bryan Burton, Assistant Professor in Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies, and again two days later on that Sunday, March 19 at 4 p.m. The film schedule can be found on the SSU’s Film Institute’s page online.

DIY crafts with Seawolves

On the evening of March 11, at Weyden & Brewster (W&B), Seawolf Living hosted DIY: “Self Care Body Scrubs.” At the start of the event some first impressions were that it was quiet, while people started to walk in, but it turned out to be really fun and sociable. This event allows Seawolves to channel their creative energy into a way to exfoliate their skin during their next self-care night.

Bianca Delgado, coordinator of the Friday Night Lives (FNL) and Do It Yourself (DIY) events gave background on the function: “The event is just one of the many functions hosted by student involvement that give students a chance to meet and connect with others after a week of classes. Our events range anywhere from free grocery BINGO, which is always a hit, to movie experiences like Harry Potter Night. Getting to know new people and making new friends can be hard, but doing so over an interesting DIY event like creating your own body scrub helps kick start conversation and create a sense of community.”

Seawolves enjoyed the night of creating their own body scrub using different ingredients including brown sugar, coconut oil, honey, and essential oils. Many students that attended the event found making their own scrubs to be relaxing, they added it allowed them to

take a break from school work and just have fun with their peers.

Liza Schoen, a third-year Communications and Media Studies major explained why she decided to attend the event. Schoen shares that “I like doing them for fun. I don’t think that I often have the time or money to go and do stuff like this, so when it is provided by the school for free, is stress relieving, fun, and something I can do with my friends, it sounds good.” Schoen went on to add what a self-care night looks like for her: “I have a skincare routine that I have done every single night for the past four years. Also, I pause sometimes when doing homework just to remind myself that ‘okay, I’m human, I should take a deep breath.’”

Ava Diaz, a third-year environmental studies major shared her own form of self-care which is “sleeping with my cat because she acts like a weighted blanket and eases stress from work and classes. The best part of the weekend is coming home from a hectic day at work having her on my stomach helps slow down my heart rate and helps me relax quicker, putting me in a napping mood.” Regarding this event, Diaz comments that “face masks or skincare routines aren’t really my thing, but I did enjoy making a nice smelling body scrub from scratch, and it was fun making them with

other people.”

It is a great way to meet fellow students and participate in a fun activity. If you would like to find out more information on when student living is hosting fun and inclusive DIY and FNL events, you can visit SeawolfLiving.com.

De-stress with TRIO in CASSE Lounge

ic support, advising, and personal coaching. They also offer a quiet study lab and free printing in the CASSE office and lounge.

TRIO is a program that is divided into two programs: the Multilingual Achievers Program (MAPS) and United for Success. It is open to undocumented students, low-income students, students registered with DSS, and first-generation students. TRIO can offer advice to help with courses and where students can ask about graduate school and other opportunities after graduation. The academic support that they provide students with is tutoring in math, reading, and writing support from specialists.

MIA GARCIA STAFF WRITER

Withmidterms coming many seawolves are stressed with assignments and studying for finals that they feel like they are not prepared for. TRIO has events like De-stress Before the Test to help seawolves to take a break from their school work and relax and do something creative. Not only do they host events like this they provide services for students to help them with academ-

What is the CASSE Lounge? CASSE is the Center for Academic Access and Student Enrichment. According to Natalie Reyes, a fourth-year sociology major, “The CASSE Lounge is a space for students where students can come in with friends or study by themselves.They have access to free printing, computers, and snacks, it’s a spacious room where students can come and do homework.” The lounge is a safe space where students de-stress from the workload they consume every day in class.

De-stress Before the Test was a great way to introduce students to what TRIO is and the CASSE lounge. Reyes said, “De-stress before the test is a workshop that allows students to step away from their school work, any homework or test coming up. They can de-

stress by coloring, using the notebooks that are provided, grabbing a snack with friends, or rock painting.”

For some students like Ashley Martinez, thirdyear early childhood studies, it was their first time visiting the lounge. Martinez said, “I came here because I wanted to get to know the CASSE lounge. I’m also a little nervous about the midterms. I have an upcoming midterm this Monday (yesterday) for sociology.” With De-stress Before the Test, activities allow students to distance themselves from academics and focus on themselves.

Giselle Hernandez, a third-year early childhood studies student, has taken advantage of TRIO and the CASSE Lounge. Hernandez said, “I have frequently been using their writing center for class essays and scholarships. Receiving that feedback from the tutors that are helping me out is a great relief for me.” Tutors and peer coaches are there to help and not criticize. Hernandez continues to say, “writing is not my specialty and the tutors don’t judge my writing skills, they are there to support me and it feels great walking out knowing that my essay was looked over by someone who does feel confident in writing.”

Fellow seawolves interested, can take a tour of the CASSE lounge and see if TRIO can help them with any assignments or tasks. Make sure you don’t miss an event with TRIO so make sure you check out their Instagram @ssu.triosss or triosss.sonoma.edu.

KATHLEEN MOOTZ STAFF WRITER

STAR // Mia Garcia

Ashley Martinez painting the stress away in the CASSE lounge.

Rose Hammock guides students through the art of basketry

to weave.

Rose’s first time weaving a basket was at the age of 11. During the pandemic she had rediscovered her talent and has been doing it for four years consistently. Hammock holds the position of Manager of Community Outreach for the Redbud Resource Group, a non-profit organization that stands for Native American advocacy. One of the organization’s goals is to connect Native and non-native communities. This year, The Press Democrat highlighted her as one of the 23 people to watch in 2023 for her work as a resource for young Indigenous people.

The day of the basketry tutorial, attendees were welcomed with an introduction and handed materials. Everyone introduced themselves and their reason for attending. There were a number of students with an Indigenous background that mentioned wanting to feel connected to their culture.

ite style of baskets were feathered baskets, which requires a lot of skill. Native history and culture isn’t elaborated on often in our country, so students with a Native background seemed excited to learn more.

Rose noted that baskets are very sacred to Natives. She said that, “Tribal people get buried with basketry and art.”

Upon research, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley is estimated to have the remains of 9,000 Indigenous people on campus. Native people have a sacred burial process. Oftentimes, they were buried with items such as baskets. Rose stated, “Museums still have a lot of Native remains and art that no one knows about or how they got it” she added. Tribal people are securing the remains back, but there is so much that has been taken from them.”

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Rose Hammock made her second appearance at the HUB to demonstrate to fellow Seawolves the art, culture and beauty of basketry. Hammock is a member of the Pomo, Wailaki and Maidu tribes from the Round Valley Indian Reservation. There were about 20 people in attendance, and everyone took a shot at learning how

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Mackenzie Hoffman, a first year Early Childhood Studies major, explained, “I’m part Native American on my father’s side, but I’m not really connected to the heritage. I’ve been coming to a lot of native events at The HUB and [basketry] seemed really interesting... I think it’s important that our campus has these kinds of events.”

After everyone gave an introduction, Hammock explained why basket weaving is so important in Native American culture. She noted that her favor-

People began to weave baskets with Rose’s instruction, and many people got the hang of it quickly. The room felt calm and there were people helping others that didn’t get the hang of it quickly. Hammock was very concise and helpful in her instruction, and along the way she gave pieces of history and information about basketry.

For more cultural events on campus, visit The HUB located on the second floor of the Student Center, find them on Sonoma State’s website, or you can contact them at thehub@sonoma.edu.

Pajama party in The Kitchens

PJ’s at The Kitchens? Sounds cool right? Once a month Student Involvement as well as The Kitchens turn the SSU cafeteria into a unique dining experience. This past Thursday the theme was Pajama Party Dinner. Students joined in on the experience by wearing their coziest bedtime attire.

Freshman Jaelyn Zachery and her friends were at The Kitchens enjoying the fun scenery and food. Zachery was asked by the STAR about her experience and spoke about how she really enjoyed going to these events once a month. Unique Dabbs also liked how the chefs could show the students their creative side. She thought it was nice to be able to come to The Kitchens after a long day, “[the themed days] creates a little community and bond with other students around here.”

The Kitchens make sure to create innovative foods for these special occasions. Scarlett

Argueta said her favorite thing about coming was mostly to hang out and bond with her friends over food. She was also a big fan of the desserts and said she loved “making her own sandwiches because they’re bomb”

Staff member Gustavo Pimentel Perez noticed that these events had an impact on the way students interact with the dining hall. He explained that The Kitchens is meant to be an outlet for stress and he loves to see people take advantage of that. He said, “I enjoy seeing that for at least thirty minutes, they forget about homework, school and how hard college life can be.” Perez talked of how these events were The Kitchens’ attempts to give their meal plan holders a different dining experience at least once a month. He wants students to post these events on social media so that other students and future applicants see that the dining halls are meant

to feel like home. He described The Caf as “not just a dining hall, but rather a dining room.” He also told the STAR that The Kitchens have an engagement team that takes care of putting up all of the decorations as well as running different social media platforms.

This Thursday’s evening menu included some of The Kitchens’ favorites as well as some specials. Slice served their regulars as well as s’mores pizzas, Chefs served an array of breakfast specials and Sizzle allowed you to design your own stir fry. Other favorites included Garden’s delicious salad bar, Passports taco bar and Flames Backyard Grill styled eats. On top of all of this was Baking Gone Wild with a wide array of cookies, cupcakes and Soft Serve Delights. The next event The Kitchens is hosting will be the “Out of This World Special Dinner” on April 20 from 4 until 7 p.m.

Puppy love; Seawolves volunteer at local shelter

Everwonder how to spend your Saturday morning? Why not spend the time getting to play with cute little furballs. As part of Sonoma State’s program Join Us Making Progress (JUMP), student volunteers woke up bright and early for a Days Of Service event at the Rohnert Park Animal Shelter. For JUMP events off campus, students meet in front of the school and carpool to the volunteer location. Students were then shown a tour around the shelter while learning about what goes on behind the scenes. Students had the chance to see the animal’s rooms, outdoor play facilities and feeding rooms. The shelter takes in different types of animals from dogs to bunnies. For pets they offer spaying, neutering as well as free microchipping.

As soon as they got situated at the shelter, Seawolf volunteers were put to work outside. In the doggie play pens, they began shoveling piles of wood chips into wheelbarrows and then raking them to cover the older ones. Unfortunately, the weather did not hold up and the shelter supervisor took everyone to do some tasks away from the rain. Students were divided into smaller groups and each assigned different rooms throughout the shelter to give a deep

clean. Designated teams cleaned the break room, cat visitor rooms and worked on other small tasks that needed to be done. Seawolves worked hard and made sure to leave every room spotless.

After accomplishing all the tasks, students had some fun with the animals. They brought two sweet puppies named Pickles and Jelly Bean out for everyone to play with for a much needed rest break. Getting to pet the dogs gave everyone a boost of serotonin. For the rest of the event, shelter staff took students around and gave each volunteer a choice of dogs, cats, bunnies or guinea pigs to spend more time with.

The animals that students got to interact with are all adoptable and the shelter brings in new pets every week. When talking to student volunteer Madison Moreno about her favorite part of the event, she said, “My favorite part was playing with the different dogs and meeting all the other volunteers that were passionate about animals…I was glad we got to help them out.” Getting to volunteer at a place that works so hard to care for animals was a big draw for the students attending. “I had a great time with the animals and you should definitely check out the shelter

as they have a variety of animals there” said student Emily O’Reilly. JUMP is also hosting a similar event in April with the Humane Society of Sonoma County.

This event emphasized helping the local community and getting rewarded with plenty of animal time. The shelter was very grateful for Sonoma State’s involvement and generous help on Saturday. After a successful morning of volunteering, every student walked away with smiles on their faces.

OLIVIA KEELER STAFF WRITER

JAKE RENTERIA STAFF WRITER

STAR // Dennae Taylor

Seawolves learn basket weaving from Rose Hammock on March 9.

STAR // Dennae Taylor SSU student showing some love to a puppy.

Athletes Spotlight of the Week: Mia Golovich

TITO FUENTES STAFF WRITER

The clubs are swinging at full effect for Sonoma State’s Women’s Golf Team as Mia Golovich recently won the CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association) Player of the Week Award. At the San Marcos Fujikura Invitational event last week, she finished third overall leading the Sonoma State team. She finished with a tournament-best of eight birdies, 16 pars and was a top CCAA finisher.

From Lake Elsinore, Calif. first-year business major, Golovich is the first female golfer to be named CCAA player of the week for SSU this spring season. Through all of her achievements and hard work from the past, Golovich feels her work is finally paying off. “Being selected as CCAA golfer of the week felt amazing. It showed that my hard work and countless practices are finally paying off. And to get that award against all the amazing and talented golfers in this league felt amazing.”

At Murrieta Mesa High School, Golovich was a three-sport athlete. She spent four years playing varsity golf and became a two-time MVP, along with being selected First-Team All-League. She spent four years playing varsity basket-

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ball, winning an Offensive MVP award and also making First-Team All-league. And she also played two years as a varsity lacrosse player.

Golovich has been golfing all her life and is hoping to one day compete in the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association). She comes from a family of golfers but started playing competitively about four years ago. Despite being a multi-sport athlete, she pursued golf because of her dad and the quality time she would spend with her family on the course. Golf is such a meaningful sport to Golovich as it brings out her competitive side. “Golf means a lot of things to me. It is able to bring out the competitiveness in me. It shows me how the grind and practice will get results. It shows me a lot of things that I can take into my everyday life.”

“I feel great, but for me, it’s more about them just recognizing that they have that ability to earn those kinds of honors and hopefully they look at it and they don’t think it’s a one time deal. I want them to think that they think they can do it again and again,” said Head Coach Val Verhunce on what he hopes his players take away

from winning the award.

This year’s Women’s golf team has a ton of talent and is pushing hard to finish strong these last few events. Coach Verhunce mentioned that some of the conversations they are having right now are about how the team can prepare better.

“In my eyes, it’s more about preparation, they’re all really skilled players.

Sometimes, I equate it to taking a test, a student can breeze through because they are really prepared, doesn’t mean they are smarter than anybody else, they’re just better prepared. It’s the same with golf, the preparation goes a long long way in your ability to make the opportunity that much more obtainable. To get the results they’re hoping for.”

Seawolf represents Great Britain at WBC

When Alex Crosby first visited Sonoma State before the 2014 season, he probably never imagined that he would one day represent Great Britain on the national stage. But after helping them qualify for the World Baseball Classic, he is getting the chance to do just that.

In 2014, Crosby joined the Sonoma State baseball team as a transfer from Solano Junior College. He played first and third base, appearing regularly in the lineup for the Seawolves. During his first season, he was able to achieve a .268 batting average and helped SSU dominate with a 24-8 CCAA record.

Coach John Goelz recalled, “In 2014, we played Chico State in the championship game and Alex hit a home run in the top of the 9th to win the CCAA Title.” Goelz described Crosby as “clutch”, saying he would always step up and perform when

it mattered most.

Crosby commented on his time with SSU, “Coach Goelz did a good job of running the program as if it were a professional program. It prepared me for the next stage of my career and the facility was so beautiful it made you want to go take those late-night swings in the cages to get your extra work in constantly.”

In 2015, Crosby would improve his game, leading the team in hits with a .365 batting average, four home runs and 31 RBIs in his senior year. After graduating, he signed with the Gary SouthShore RailCats of the American Association of Professional Baseball, where he spent five seasons before a brief stint with the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks in 2020

Since 2021, Crosby has been playing for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the Atlantic League of Profes-

sional Baseball, an official MLB partner league. During his time with the Blue Crabs, he has sustained a .298 batting average in over 200 games played and helped his team make a playoff appearance.

Crosby said his goals for the tournament are, “To shock the world and show how relentless Great Britain baseball is.” He added that he wants, “To help grow the baseball community in the United Kingdom and show them that you can get here from there.”

He recalled, “Growing up watching the WBC as a high schooler, my dream was to compete and be a part of this tourney on team Great Britain. It’s a surreal moment for me and an honor to represent what made me who I am.”

Great Britain started their World Baseball Classic campaign this past weekend with two losses against The

United States and Canada. The second game against Canada broke the record for most runs in a WBC game with 26 runs total scored by both teams.

SSU Lacrosse steamrolls UC Davis Aggies

was worth a lot more than just the win. That win then spilled over into the Seawolves’ last game against UC Davis which finished 17-5. This triumph was the biggest margin of victory so far in the season. The second half of the game saw the team score eleven points in a row. This was all while conceding none.

JUSTIN SIMPSON STAFF WRITER

Sonoma State Men’s Lacrosse season has been nothing short of chaotic. What started with a season-opening win against Stanford quickly flipped into four consecutive losses, leaving the team with a desire to regroup and regain that opening game energy. Luckily

for the Seawolves, the tides have turned in their favor as they turned that losing streak on its head.

The week before last, the team was locked in a tight affair against the Santa Clara Broncos; only coming out on top by a single point. That single point

Sonoma State’s Men’s Lacrosse hasn’t usually been seen as one of the top contenders in their league. The team had a poor run its season prior, suffering multiple disappointments and only three wins. Flash forward to last week’s domination of the Aggies and things are looking very different. They already have matched last season’s number of wins with half a season still to play. Attacker Daniel Beglin spoke of this newfound optimism that has infected the whole team and spread fear to future opponents. Beglin said, “This season has definitely been a completely different feel from last year. Last year we weren’t a team. There was no chemistry or anything.” He further emphasizes the shift in the mentality by stating, “We’ve really come together. Everyone is building and growing together and it’s showing.”

The once bottom of the table team is announcing its rise in a big way. The respect is being forged because of the way they are capitalizing on their good form and turning it into a fearsome momentum. “Every team we’ve played this year has come into the game expecting to beat us but every game has been a battle. We’ve shown that we’re meant to be with the top teams and this weekend was just a glimpse of what we can do,” said Beglin. The team grows stronger with every victory and it is clear that with little weight of expectations at play, the team can only rise to the challenges from here on out.

Team captain, Michael Trujillo, was brought up by Beglin who described him as, “A big part of why we have been more successful this year”. His leadership has impacted the team’s results. Trujillo spoke of how this leveling up took place saying, “Our team has really started to find its rhythm. All the pieces are falling into place, and I am very excited to see how far we will go this season.”

The attention now turns to next weekend’s double header clash against Oregon State and Boise State in Idaho.

COURTESY// Greg Siller

Coach Verhunce helping Golovich line up a putt.

STAR// Dennae Taylor Daniel Beglin, Benen Powers and Elias Kaplan celebrate a team goal.

COURTESY// @sonomaseawolves on Instagram Crosby was on the SSU team from 2014 -15.

STAR// Dennae Taylor Clayton Powers looks to score against the Aggies.

Rose Hammock teaches students art and culture

Seawolves lend a paw for Days of Service

SSU Lacrosse beats rain and UC Davis

STAR // Dennae Taylor

Rose Hammock helping student with their projects.

Students fill The HUB Cultural Center as they make baskets of their own alongside Rose Hammock.

STAR // Dennae Taylor

Jennifer Alamilla and Emily O’Reilly enjoyhing the puppies at the shelter March 11.

STAR // Dennae Taylor Read more about students helping at the animal shelter on page 6.

STAR // Dennae Taylor

Students got to help spread wood chips around the outside of the shelter.

STAR // Dennae Taylor Dominic Giomi makes his way past UC Davis’ Nicolas Chicoine.

STAR // Dennae Taylor

Dominic Giomi, Mitch Stock, and Zach Gee huddle up as they celebrate a succcessful game.

STAR // Dennae Taylor Dominic Giomi plays defense against four Aggies at Saturdays game.