Volume73 issue4

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Women’s soccer undefeated

P. 11

Hypnotist draws crowd

P. 8

P. 3

Bike rules confuse students

Sonoma State Star SINCE 1979

VOLUME 73 // ISSUE 4

SONOMASTATESTAR.COM

SEPTEMBER 16 - SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

Remembrance day marked with speeches, memorial

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Peter Njoroge Copy Editor

ith nearly a full attendance and moving personal speeches, the Filipino American Association of Sonoma State University and the Rape of Nanking Redress Coalition of the Bay Area organized a Pacific War Remembrance day on Sunday at 2 p.m. at SSU’s Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Grove. According to an article on Sonoma State’s NewsCenter website, Pacific War remembrance is specifically related to crimes the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces committed against people in the Pacific during World War II. “Thousands were crowded into the holds of Japanese ships without water, food or sufficient insulation… massacres only occurred in schools, hospitals and convents,” said senior and biology major Paolo Ochoa. The memorial event continued with Ochoa giving a speech on the history of the war and asking for the Japanese government to acknowledge its past military actions. “My ancestors had suffered untold pain and loss. The government of Japan must formally acknowledge its war crimes and make fair compensations to pacific war victims and their families,” Ochoa said. Professor of mathematics and statistics Jeen Bee Chan, who’s also chair of the Rape of Nanking Redress Coalition gave the next speech. She began with thanking all the attendees and pointed to the memorial rock that she helped contribute to the memorial grove. “This memorial rock is significant. It is the first and only memorial in North America to honor the memory of all 35 million Pacific War victims. The enormity of 35 million is staggering,” said Chan. “If you add up the population of the 27 most populous U.S. cities, it is still under 35 million. Just imagine, all of those people were killed in Asia during the forgotten holocaust.” She continued by addressing how much the memorial rock represents in context to the atrocities that the people endured. She termed these atrocities as the “forgotten Asian holocaust.” “People in Manchuria were chased away from their homeland, they gave up their treasure and they left their old parents to die there because they couldn’t run away. That marked the beginning of the Japanese invasion of China. They lost their homes, they were murdered, burned, villages were looted and women were raped. All of the numerous unspeakable, physical and emotional torture,” Chan said. Chan also addressed the issue of living human beings being used as experiments during the war. She also used the example of Germany, acknowledging their war crimes and paying their dues and asked this to be done with the “forgotten holocaust”. As for the students who were in the crowd, some expressed the fact that they learned more and connected certain aspects of the presentation to their own family history. “I could actually relate to this whole situation as well because my parents are Albanian and they just recently got their independence five years ago. If people know about this, then people become more aware and if more people are aware they become more active and more involved into making sure this doesn’t happen again,” said junior and biochemistry major Liridona Leti. For more information about SSU’s Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Grove, visit their website at sonoma.edu/holocaustmemorialgrove.

STAR // Gustavo Vasquez The Carpenters 46 Workers Union protested in front of the Sonoma State University last week.

Labor union protest sparks controversy Sara Molenda Staff Writer

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embers of University Carpenters 46 Workers Union gathered in protest at Sonoma State early last week. Representatives from the union passed out flyers on campus sporting a grim reaper holding a money bag with the words SUNDT and Profit on the image. SUNDT Construction is not working on any current projects at Sonoma State, however this is the third demonstration where members in construction unions have protested against the actions, or lack thereof, of SUNDT Construction and the lack of action against the university to act on the demands of the protestors. Two separate protests occurred on two other California State University campuses earlier this year, one at San Jose State University and the other at Cal State East Bay. Descriptions of the flyers from each of the protests all seem to match up. The flyer states, “Community Beware: SSU has failed to require SUNDT Construction and all of its subcontractors to pay the Carpenter Area Standard Wages and Benefits and to provide Training and Apprenticeship requirements on all their jobs all the time!!!” The other side of the flyer, bearing the title, “Shame on SSU & SUNDT,” provides two contacts, Ruben Armiñana, President of SSU, and Eric Hedlund, chief operations officer/executive vice

president. Though the contact information listed was incorrect. The disclaimer at the very bottom of the flyer reads, “We do not seek recognition nor are we asking anyone to stop working, stop deliveries or cease doing business with any employer. Carpenters Local 46.” The union representatives were not chanting nor answering questions. Rather, they passed out the flyers and stated that all of the necessary information was on the flyer. While union members were not available for questioning, a representative from SUNDT Construction, Jeffrey Perelman was able to comment on the protest. In response to the printed statement about SUNDT failing to require certain stipulations involving equal wages and benefits, Perelman said that the union is responsible for Training and Apprenticeship requirements. “Promises between the union and its members are for the Union’s consideration,” said Perelman. The definition of a union, as found online at the Carpenters Local 46 website, states that men and women within the union work together to stand together for better wages, working conditions and benefits. According to this definition, the union is responsible for what workers need to work in a safe and suitable environment, not the employers. While it is difficult to know who is responsible, SUNDT Construction, SSU or the union, it is evident that the issue will continue.

Young’s Market donates to Wine Business Gustavo Vasquez Staff Writer

Business and Economics Dr. William Silver. “It was an incredibly exciting conversation, because they aren’t merely interested in helping us to build the Wine Spectator Learning Center, but are also interested in building a collaborative partnership,” Silver said. Young’s Market Company plans on not only making a partnership with the Wine Business Program, but also plans on having several of their own staff participate in the program. Gaby Aguirre, a junior and business major with a concentration in wine business strategies had many positive things to say about the recent contribution and partnership with Young’s Market Company. “Young’s Market has great values and business ethics. It has already been very supportive in the past of the Wine Business Institute. They’ve even hired graduates from the program. Partnerships like this are what help better the institute and its growth to becoming the best,” said Aguirre

Aguirre also had this to say about the program and partnership with Young’s Market Company. “The institute is already a prominent aspect of the campus but there has never really been a physical and more technical building to actually aid the students here. A main worry of students in today’s generation is not getting a job when they graduate. The career center and other partnerships like Young’s Market have definitely helped put that worry at ease,” said Aguirre. The recent contribution is just one of many which were made to Sonoma State for the construction of the Wine Spectator Learning Center. In July, President Ruben Armiñana announced that Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator Magazine donated $3 million toward the Wine Spectator building.

Volleyball splits series

Jhené Aiko’s “Souled Out” is refreshing

Escape to Italy at Riviera Ristorante

See the recap on Pg. 10

See the review on Pg. 7

Read more on Pg. 9

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nother donation was made to Sonoma State University for the construction of the new state of the art Wine Spectator Learning Center, which is described as the showcase of the Wine Business Program by the recent donor. Young’s Market Company, a distributor in the United States of wine and spirits recently donated $250,000 to Sonoma State for the construction of the Wine Spectator building, which begins construction in 2015. “I am pleased to announce the gift from Young’s Market Company in support of SSU’s Wine Business Institute. The President and executive vice president of Young’s Market Company came to campus to discuss our programs and students and how they can be involved and support our goals,” said Dean of the School of

See DONATION on Pg. 4


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