In this issue: Sports: Women’s Volleyball on 14 win streak
Opinion: Cat-calling, a too-common occurence for women. Pg. 3 A&E: Petaluma Art Center shows diversity in art. Pg. 6
Student Life: Preview of Mental Health Awareness Week. Pg. 8
SINCE 1979
VOLUME 75 // ISSUE 10
NOVEMBER 3 - NOVEMBER 9, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT RUN NEWSPAPER
Fake gun scare prompts alert Kayla E. Galloway News Editor
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STAR // Nicole Detmers Democratic Assemblymember Bill Dodd was present at a California Faculty Association meeting last Wednesday at Sonoma State University, where faculty discussed negotiations for a salary increase and a potential strike.
Faculty association strike decision to be announced Wednesday Joseph Encinas Staff Writer
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fter extended negotiations with the California State University, the California Faculty Association is gearing up for a demonstration on Nov. 17. The demonstration is in response to the Chancellor’s Office denying the association a 5 percent salary increase and offering a 2 percent wage raise instead. The association held a vote to decide whether to strike in protest of the CSU’s refusal to increase their wages by 5 percent. The results of the vote are expected to be announced tomorrow. As covered in the STAR, the faculty association and the Chancellor’s Office were in talks about finding a solution to the problem as peaceful as possible, however, since that story broke, mediation has concluded and the mediator has enacted the process of fact-finding. In this stage, both parties find as many facts, backed up with evidence, and present them to a neutral third party, who will then create a factfinding report that ultimately suggests the best way an agreement can be found. Both the faculty association and the university system will have 10 days to evaluate the report and possibly find common ground, and if not, the report becomes public record. At any point in time after the report has been made known to both parties, they can come back to the table and try to find an answer to this issue. “Fact-finding is set to begin on Nov. 23 in Sacramen-
to,” said Toni Molle, director of public affairs for the Office of the Chancellor, “Each side will present their proposals to a three-party panel, one neutral and one representative for each party [CSU and CFA].” According to Molle, the Office of the Chancellor and the California State University expects the strike vote authorization to pass, but the results will not be known until Wednesday. Since the ending of mediation and the commencement of fact-finding, the CFA chapter at Sonoma State held a postelection get-together at Lobo’s last Wednesday to acknowledge the next step in the battle over wages. “The clear message to the chancellor is, 5 percent is a fair amount. They have the money, we deserve it,” said Andy Merrifield, professor of political science and member of the bargaining team for the faculty association, “two percent is not enough and we deserve more, we have taken enough hits financially for many years.” The meeting featured Democratic Assemblyman Bill Dodd, who represents the fourth district in California which includes all of Napa County, Lake County, and parts of Sonoma, Yolo and Solano counties. “The Legislature worked very hard to get that $97 million for the state university system,” said Dodd. “I have taken a look and listen to the length of time that they’ve [faculty] had a raise, and I don’t think that what they are asking for in unreasonable.” When it comes down to the process of fact-finding, the
name of the process says it all; facts will be the only things reviewed and all opinions get taken out of the argument. The only party that gets to form an opinion is the neutral party. “At the end of the statutory process, the CSU can impose their last, best and final offer, which is apparently 2 percent,” said Merrifield. “If they propose 2 percent, then we [faculty] can use our economic weapon which is to strike.” Both parties have no idea what a possible strike would look like on the 23 California State University campuses. There is no word on whether strikes will occur, and if they do occur, the strikes could be rolling strikes or a full strike across all higher education schools in the system. A strike authorization vote does not necessarily mean that the only option on the table for the CFA is a strike. It means that the members of the faculty association have granted permission to the leadership to authorize a strike or other concerted activities at the end of the statutory process. “If a strike does occur, the CSU will take the appropriate steps to keep students on their path to degree completion.” said Molle. “We have no interest in striking, unless we have to, and we have no interest in harming the students,” said Merrifield. “Our primary goal is to be faculty to teach our students, nonetheless, if the system breaks down because the chancellor refuses to spend money he has on the faculty, the implications for the overall system are impossible to predict at this time.
onoma State University students were on alert Friday afternoon when Police Services notified the campus of an alleged gunman between Lot G and the Environmental Technology Center. Students received an alert about the alleged threat to campus at 12:25 p.m. on Friday. In a Facebook post, Sonoma State officials confirmed the gun was fake and part of the individual’s Halloween costume. “Police Services quickly located the person, who had a fake gun as part of their Halloween costume,” wrote officials. According to sources, the student with the fake gun is a member of Sonoma State’s baseball team and the fake gun was part of his Halloween costume. Two students on the base-
ball team, including the student with the fake firearm, were dressed as members of the Taliban, sparking fear in students. “I was in the car driving back to campus when a police car zoomed past us,” said Sophomore Lily Denesha. “The driver had to pull over because we were going towards the parking lot [when officers] said to stay clear. We weren’t sure what to do.” Sonoma State University officials encourage students who didn’t receive an alert on Friday to sign up for the Emergency Notification System (ENS) at sonoma.edu/ps/ emergency/ens.html. Under the emergency alert systems, those who signed up receive alerts via text, email and phone in times of emergency or potential threat. “It was pretty scary and sudden,” said Denesha. “It’s reassuring to know that the campus texts us as soon as something happens.”
El Niño storm approaching
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Olivia Hunt Staff Writer
anceled classes, inside-out umbrellas, fallen trees and drenched clothes are all viable scenarios for this year’s El Niño, according to statistics. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting this year’s El Niño to be among the strongest on record and is expected to influence weather and climate patterns this winter by impacting the position of the Pacific jet stream. The waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean are heating up, scientists say, building towards an El Niño with the intensity level of the 1997 weather anomaly. “There is a greater than 90 percent chance that El Niño will continue through Northern Hemisphere winter 2015-16, and around an 85 percent chance it will last into early spring 2016,” the NOAA said in a statement. Although some theories claim global warming will affect El Niños in the future, The United Nations says confidence is low that this is the case. Despite this, one of the likely by-products of global warming is more extreme precipitation, as warmer tem-
peratures can hold more water vapor in the atmosphere; thus making El Niño floods even more devastating. “I remember last year right before winter break there was a lot of flooding around campus due to all the rain,” Sophomore Ella Corbett said. “There was a huge puddle in front of my dorm, making it difficult to get up the stairs.” Extreme weather phenomenons such as these require preparation to ensure a safe environment for the community. The County of Sonoma Emergency Operations Center provides prompt and accurate information regarding current weather conditions to the general public, media, and local agencies during periods of potential emergency. The Auxiliary Communications Service is another branch of the Sonoma County Department that aids in providing the community with valuable time-sensitive information. The radio is part of local government and operates under the Authority of the Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services Department. ACS may provide communications support using amateur radio, cellular and See STORM on Pg. 5
Warren Court essay contest deadline on Thursday
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Francisco Carbajal Staff Writer
onoma State University has an annual scholarship opportunity for students interested in writing about civil liberties and ethics. The Warren Court Essay contest is sponsored by the
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Center for Ethics, Law, and Society, a sub-department of the Philosophy Department, with the submission period ending Thursday. The contest is open to all students in good standing, with a 2.0 GPA. The contest is named after Earl Warren, 14th chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. For the con-
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test, students must write and research a topic related to ethics, justice, or constitutional law that reflects empirical research, textual analysis, or theoretical innovation and must present an argument. The winner will be awarded at a ceremony on Dec. 2 in Stevenson 1002. The essay contest rewards the first place win-
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ner with $500, $250 for second place and, $100 to an honorable mention. The prize money is donated by retired professor Dr. Ken Marcus. “The goal of the Warren Court Prize is to encourage excellence in student See CONTEST on Pg. 5
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