Volume 76 // Issue 5

In this issue: Sports: Women’s tennis team makes history. Pg. 11

Opinion: Finding a balance between security and privacy. Pg. 3 A&E: Student looks for inspiration outside the classroom. Pg. 6 Student Life: Actress Maria Sorvino talks human trafficking Pg. 5 SINCE 1979

VOLUME 76 // ISSUE 5

MARCH 1 - MARCH 7, 2016

THE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT RUN NEWSPAPER

Low graduation rate prompts new legislation Kayla E. Galloway News Editor

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STAR // Sara Wildman Sonoma State University students gathered in the Cooperage over the weekend to watch “The Vagina Monologues,” an annual theatrical performance put on by a group of students to encourage an end to sexual violence. Alix Parkhurst, pictured above, gave a performance from the perspective of a 72-year-old woman.

Combining feminism and

theater for a good cause ‘The Vagina Monologues’ tackle sexual violence, raise money for local organization Carly Saber Staff Writer

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aginas are not typically the topic of many conversations, let alone entire events. However, “The Vagina Monologues” has become one of the most discussed events at colleges across the United States. The play was originally performed in 1994 off Broadway and was written by activist Eve Ensler. The play consists of a series of monologues, both comedic and dramatic, that cover topics ranging from pubic hair to orgasms to rape and sexual violence.

Madi Anderson, a junior at Sonoma State University, directed this year’s per-

formance. She welcomed the audience with a speech where she got a little choked up.

“I am the woman that I want to be,” said Anderson.

She informed the audience the production was entirely student-run and all of the proceeds would go to Verity, Sonoma County’s Rape and Crisis Center.

Anderson said she wants nothing more than to make sure women know they have a safe place to be who they are in a loving environment.

“If I wasn’t the director, I’d have a lot more free time in my life, but my heart See MONOLOGUE on Pg. 9

ineteen percent of first-time freshmen in the California State University graduate within four years — a statistic that’s prompted state Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) to propose legislation to increase the current graduation rate.

The bill, proposed last week, would offer students financial and academic incentives for agreeing to take a minimum of 15 units a semester, allowing students to graduate in four years — something few CSU students achieve based on current data.

Glazer, a former CSU trustee and strategist for Gov. Jerry Brown, is an alum of the CSU and was an advocate for students as part of the California State Student Association during his time at San Diego State University.

“The 19 percent four year graduation rate is really upsetting. As freshmen in high school, we’re told it only takes four years to get a college degree,” said Sonoma State University Associated Students Senator for Sustainability Claudia Sisomphou. “I think our generation is the first to face the dilemma of having to pay for extra years

of college.”

If the proposed legislation is adopted, CSU students, who agree to take 15 units or more, would be eligible for priority registration — which would ideally help students enroll in the required classes needed to graduate, leading to graduation after four years.

In recent years, Sonoma State students have become all too familiar with the struggle of registration and class availability.

“I think the fact that students get wait-listed and the lack of available class [is what makes it difficult to graduate in four years],” said Stephanie Fuentes, a junior political science major. “It’s not that students don’t want to take classes, it’s the availability.”

The CSU graduation rate of 19 percent is substantially lower than the national average of 34 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Meeting in the middle, the four -year graduation rate at Sonoma State is 29 percent, according to College Board data from 2012.

Elizabeth Chapin, interim public affairs director for the CSU, said part of the reason students in the CSU take longer than four years to graduate is because many

of them are required to take remedial level classes in their freshman year.

“Students entering the CSU fully prepared for college-level coursework graduate in shorter periods of time,” said Chapin. “But a large number of students entering the CSU are not prepared for college-level coursework.”

With Glazer’s bill, students who agree to take the minimum unit load and maintain a specific GPA would be relieved of the burden of registration with priority.

In addition to priority registration, students could also be eligible for tuition waivers, or refunds for required classes that weren’t offered during their first four years at the university as well as more academic advising, according to the bill.

“I think it’s great [legislators] are coming up with incentives, but personally, I try to take as many units as I can, however I am still facing the dilemma of [graduating] in five years,” said Sisomphou.

Chapin said the CSU hasn’t taken a position on the bill and the CSU has yet to draft a cost analysis in regard to the bill.

“The California State University shares Senator Glazer’s goal SEE GRADUATION RATE on Pg. 5

Associated Students scholarship application period opens today Shane Welch Staff Writer

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ecognizing the need for students to be rewarded for achievements in the campus community, the Associated Students at Sonoma State University is giving scholarships, each valued at $500, to 20 students. The period to apply for the scholarship begins today and ends April 1.

“This scholarship program is Associated Students’ opportunity to help our underprivileged students that are going above and beyond here at Sonoma State in leadership, service, and academics that could use a little extra help to make ends meet,” said President and CEO of Associated Students Brandon Mercer.

The Associated Students Scholarship and Program Fund was adopted on April 19, 2013.It was created in order to help students with rising tuition cost and has a yearly budget of $10,000.

Follow The STAR:

Qualifications for the scholarship are based on levels of academic and community engagement with the Sonoma State campus.

“The student must demonstrate financial need, academic excellence and campus and/or local community involvement,” said Asha Nettles, Associated Students government coordinator. “Applicants must demonstrate leadership skills and thorough participation in a diverse set of activities including, but not limited to, volunteer work or leadership roles in academic, co-curricular activities, chartered clubs and organizations, and student government.”

The scholarship application is assessed based on grade point average and merit, with portions of the application covering achievements, financial need and recommendation. The scholarship application requires a 3.0 GPA, two letters of recommendation, a financial need statement and an essay describ-

@sonomastatestar

ing the applicant’s engagement with the campus community and the skills they have acquired, according to Nettles.

“Students are asked to demonstrate how they have thrived at Sonoma State based on academic excellence and/or local community involvement demonstrating leadership skills while also demonstrating financial need,” said Mercer.

The scholarships awarded in previous years consisted of 10 scholarships at $1,000 each.

This year, Associated Students have changed the quantity of scholarships offered to 20 scholarships, each valued at $500 dollars.

“This year, the Senate voted to change the number of scholarships available as well as each individual award amount.

The total amount available is $10,000 and each award is $500, so we are offering 20 total scholarships instead of the 10 scholarships we have offered in years past,” said Mercer.

@sonomastatestar

STAR // Gustavo Vasquez Sonoma State University Associated Students President Brandon Mercer encourages students to apply for the organization’s scholarship program.

Once the scholarship period begins, Associated Students Vice President of Finance Kevin McMahon will be overseeing the scholarship process and will create a scholarship committee that will sort through the applications sent in. “[Kevin] McMahon will convene a scholarship com-

/sonomastatestar

mittee who will read through applications and eventually determine the top 20 candidates who will be notified later this semester and eventually receive their award scholarship,” said Mercer.

To apply for the Associated Students scholarship, visit orgsync.com.

Visit: sonomastatestar.com

Page 2

Editorial

March 1 - March 7, 2016 sonomastatestar.com

THE STAR Editorial Board Brandon Stachnik, Editor-in-Chief Peter Njoroge, Executive Editor Kayla E. Galloway, News Editor Joseph Encinas, Asst. News Editor Jenna Fischer, Opinion Editor Ashley Mar tin, Ar ts & Enter tainment Editor Shannon Brown, Student Life Editor Thomas Call III, Spor ts Editor Brennan Chin, Photo Editor Kaila Sanders, Asst. Photo Editor Kimberley Baptista, Copy Editor Kyler Khan, Copy Editor Cassandra Owens, Adver tising Director Connor Gibson, Distribution Director Paul Gullixson, Faculty Adviser

Staff Writers Audrey Altman, Diana Arroyo, Shane Bickford Nikki Bridges, Josephine Clements, Sean Curzon Rene De Amaral, Nicole Detmers, Emilie Devitt Christine Edwards, Noe Felix, Sarah Fishback Nathanael Galvan, Nicholas Gray, Florencia Hasson Ethan Helms, Michele Herber t, Naaman Hightower Olivia Hunt, Allison Kelley, Vasilios Loufas Rachel McCloskey, Katelyn Quinn, Kathryn Reidy Blake Robinson, Carly Saber, Bianca Sanborn Edgar Sanchez, Andrea Serles, Nathan Shapiro Jessica Shipma, Kristen Spear Shane Welch Hailee Zastrow

Photographers Megan Corcoran, Sara Wildman

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

Editor’ s Pick This week’s can’t miss article: “Basketball team ends regular season with upset over #19 UCSD”

The men’s cagers of Sonoma State University visited San Diego to upset the Tritons on Saturday. Staff Writer Bianca Sanborn delivered an excellent play-by-play of the team’s huge win.

Read the story on page 10 Corrections/Clarifications The STAR values accuracy and works diligently to check facts before publication. However, if inaccuracies occur, we want to know. Please report errors to the editor at star@sonoma.edu.

Publication The STAR is published every Tuesday during the fall and spring semesters. Printing is done by Sonoma Media Group. The weekly publication of the STAR is made possible by Instructionally Related Activities Funding.

STAR // Julia Albo

Restoring the road to graduation Proposed legislation raises questions

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raduation is about to get a whole lot easier.

At least, that’s what California Sen. Steve Glazer is hoping.

The Los Angeles Times reported that only 19 percent of first-time freshmen will graduate in four years while attending a California State University.

Compare this to the 34 percent national average, and one is left even more puzzled.

Although two CSU campuses, including Sonoma State University, already have their rate at or above the national average, 23 CSU campuses still fall at about 19 percent.

In order to combat this, Glazer has proposed new legislation intended to assist students and provide incentives to graduate in four years. However, the proposed legislation generates more questions than answers.

Beginning with the requirements, he proposes students take a minimum of 15 units per semester and maintain a predetermined GPA. Although seemingly reasonable to do, questions need to be raised. Because CSU classes vary in unit amounts, it will be extremely difficult for students to have 15 or more major relevant units.

Throwing in a one-unit ki-

nesiology class just to get the incentive of registration priority would cause more panic and stress to students than possibly taking 13 necessary units.

Because the cost of attending college per year is expensive, Glazer says his legislation, SB 1450, would save students thousands of dollars by keeping their college stay short. After all, when college students hear “reduce the cost of attendance,” they begin to pay attention.

However, in order for students to graduate in four years, more classes need to offered For that to be, more faculty and staff are neccasary.

This vicious and expensive cycle has been a struggle of the CSU for years.

The bill proposes an increase in academic counseling. If passed, students would receive advising which would help them down a quicker path to graduation.

Thousands of students banging on the doors of these proposed “academic counselors,” hoping for a chance to graduate is the only image that comes to mind.

The cost needed to make this bill work effectively begs the question as to where this money is coming from. Glazer says the bill requires little to no additional funding but it’s

no secret that annual tuition raises due to inf lation are on the horizon.

It’s clear something needs to be done about the graduation rates for CSUs. Cal State officials blame it on the fact that CSUs have more part-time, working students who don’t take a class load heavy enough to graduate in four years.

Although this is true for the more than 420,000 CSU students, it’s evident that the four-year graduation rate still needs to rise regardless.

Unfortunately, as of now, this bill may only serve as an unfunded mandate forced upon by the government to all Cal State Universities rather than the students.

The requirements, although seemingly simplistic, have many complications. The incentive of priority registration seems enticing, but what happens when half of a CSU’s population earns it?

It begins to not feel as important and students’ ambition to continue with the program can suffer.

With all of these questions raised, it’s clear this bill still has a long way to go.

Change is needed and and hopefully with the cooperation of the CSU system, graduating in four years in college will be the norm, again.

Editorial Policy: 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. The board encourages readers to write letters to the editor about all topics, including the editorial.

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 Letter writers may expect prompt publication in the newspaper’s op-ed section, as space is available. 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 responsibility of the editor to check statements purporting the facts. The STAR reserves the right to refuse publication to any letter and to edit for length. Letters must sign all contributions and the editor must verify the signer and the writer are one in the same through personal conference. To send a letter to the editor, email star@sonoma.edu.

Letters to the Editor

The STAR is shining

D

ear STAR Editors and Staff: I have been at Sonoma State University since 1970, and so I have been an observer of the student newspaper for its entire history.

Over the years, I have seen it rise and fall in quality. I am happy to tell you that right now the STAR is in a period of splendid ascendancy. I have been very

impressed with each of the issues of the STAR so far this term.

Your news articles are very professional, well-written, and carefully chosen for importance and relevance.

Your editorials too have been very sophisticated and thoughtful, dealing maturely with issues of current importance. Even your op-ed pieces have admirable cogency, depth and class.

Best of all, your writing is literate! I have been quick to complain and criticize in the past when writing in the STAR has been embarrassingly puerile, shoddy, silly, and unprofessional, so I am delighted to be able to give you an enthusiastic and welldeserved thumbs-up now!

- Rick Luttmann, PhD, ­ Professor Emeritus of Mathematics

Opinion

M arch 1 - M arch 7, 2016 sonomastatestar.com

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Apple vs FBI: Should privacy be sacrificed?

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Rene De Amaral Staff Writer

rivacy: Something most of us value. We go through life every day with a certain amount of trust that our privacy will not be violated.

We also take measures to help ensure that privacy, whether it be adding extra characters to our social media passwords, emails and school logins or a 4-digit code for their iPhones and iPads.

Privacy is important, but should it be more important than discovering more information about what the FBI calls an “act of terrorism?”

Not long after the Paris attacks in November last year, California experienced a horrible shooting in San Bernardino that left 14 people dead. Soon after this, an iPhone 5c that belonged to Syed Farook, one of the shooters, was found and taken by the FBI to further its investigation.

The iPhone had a passcode on it, and Farook set up his phone to com-

pletely wipe the data from it after ten failed passcode attempts. The FBI asked Apple to create a new operating system specific to Farook’s iPhone so they may unlock the phone and retrieve whatever information may be on it.

According to the Washington Post, in response to a court order signed by a United States Federal Magistrate that “does not ask Apple to break the phone’s encryption but rather to disable the feature that wipes the data on the phone after 10 incorrect tries at entering a password.

That way, the government can try to crack the password using ‘brute force,’ attempting tens of millions of combinations without risking the deletion of the data,” Apple released a letter to the public directly defying the order.

In its letter to the public, Apple stated “All that information needs to be protected from hackers and criminals who want to access it, steal it, and use it without our knowledge or permission. Customers expect Apple and other technology companies to do everything in our power to protect their personal information, and at Apple we are deeply committed to safeguarding their data.”

There’s a lot of merit to what Apple says.

If Apple were to create this iPhone specific operating system, and nothing of importance can be found on the iPhone, it will have essentially handed over our privacy to the FBI, and as Apple stated, potential hackers and crimi-

nals. The FBI and the U.S. government are putting a lot of stock in there actually being important information on the phone. They are willing to put our privacy at risk on a 50/50 chance that the shooter kept important information on his work issued iPhone.

But at the same time, who am I, a person who was not a victim of the San Bernardino shooting, to deny potential closure to the victim’s families, whose lives were forever ruined that day. Even with nothing to hide, I still don’t want Big Brother to be even more privy to the contents on my phone. But does that give me the right to bar every possible aspect of the FBI’s case to be investigated?

Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t.

But as Apple stated in its letter, “The

government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices.

In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.”

The power and opportunity that would be created by the availability of this operating system is too risky to be available, since it could be modified and used on the general populace.

Whether it would be used by a government agency, hackers or criminals, I’m not quite ready for my privacy to be invaded more than it already is.

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Student-friendly over inexpensive

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President Obama’s constitutional right

Naaman Hightower Staff Writer

“M

y job is to fulfill our constitutional duties,” said current President of the United States Barack Obama. One would think that this statement is redundant; what else is the president supposed to do? An outpouring of political outrage brought against the president rose after the unexpected death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Now, with a new Supreme Court replacement who needs to be appointed in our president’s last 11 months in office, all eyes are on Obama.

If you were expecting an article filled with the political back-and-forth, debating of Democratic and Republican nominees, look elsewhere. When looking at political figures, I try to simply evaluate character. Unlike Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, who last week threatened to punch a man at a press conference, President Obama chooses his words carefully when speaking about the empty court seat at Scalia’s eulogy.

“For almost 30 years, Antonin Nino Scalia was a larger than life presence on the bench. A brilliant legal mind with an energetic style, concise wit and energetic opinion.

He will no doubt be remembered as one of the most consequential judges and thinkers to serve on the Supreme Court.”

When looking at his eulogy in entirety, one would have to ask themselves: Why is Obama getting so much flack about appointing a new Supreme Court justice? He clearly has the character and judgment to be able to appoint a new justice. After all, it’s his constitutional right! Most of the heat is due to the fact that Obama is in his last 11 months of his term. This is just another attempt at pettifogging Obama. In other words, people are placing undue emphasis on the fact that Obama has an entire year left to appoint a Supreme Court justice. Ex-President George Bush took out a 700 billion dollar bailout during the end of his presidency, yet he did not nearly receive the amount of flack Obama did.

The media selectively targets Obama for anything he does that tows the line of questionability. Instead of focusing on bigger issues such as ISIS, our humongous incarceration problem, the presidential candidates and more, the news unfairly targets Obama on a small issue as this.

Don’t get me wrong, who sits in our Supreme Court after Scalia is important, but instead of questioning Obama’s judgment, why are not questioning the judgment of President Bush’s choices for Supreme Court justice, whom still hold positions in the court? This is the president that left Obama a 1.4 trillion dollar deficit along with big mess to clean up as president.

All I’m asking for is consistency. The media finds the smallest issues to attack the president over simply to raise tension. It’s inhumane and frankly, immature.

Peter Njoroge Executive Editor

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onoma State University’s switch to Microsoft products and software was shortsighted and from a qualitative standpoint, rather tasteless. Granted the campus wasn’t the only one to make the abrupt and mindless switch, but for standards sake someone has to say something. Clearly, I’m said person.

Campuses across California, such as San Francisco State University and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo offered Microsoftbased products and software for free to students.

The only benefit was that they were free to students and the true cost is both the software and products are of lesser quality on all fronts related to academics than Google products.

Google is unequivocally a better company and offers better services and software across the board.

Google offers college students everything they need to work effectively from virtually anywhere and allow them to communicate while doing so. For instance there’s Google Drive, which is a cloud oriented platform that makes working on a team effortless.

The ease of automatically saving any edits made on a Google document and knowing they’re there the next morning saves many-a-headaches.

Next comes Google Scholar, which is a free database with thousands upon thousands of academic journals and articles, which also automatically links to Sonoma State’s database if the school has access to the same research article.

Further, in a research article in the Computer Networks journal, Google founders Sergey Bin and Lawrence Page had a framework for researchers and students in the original design and architecture of the multilayered search engine.

They not only wanted the search engine serving as a driving force for data collection and accessible information, but more so a place where students or scientists could go to find ideas and collect research information in record time. As they state in the article, Bin and Page used a compressed form to save all of the rel-

evant data from the search engine into a place specifically tailored for research and contextually, for college students.

In addition to e-mail, Slides, Docs and photos as well as YouTube, it’s clear all of Google’s programs are orientated towards a holistic and integrative user interface.

They also cater to a majority of student’s needs, granted said students have adequate Wifi access and a functional laptop or desktop.

From watching a relevant YouTube video on any course content to presenting material using Google Slides, the usability aspect for college students is virtually unmatched.

Apart from the many applications that Google offers to students, there’s one thing the company does differently to set itself apart from Microsoft; it puts the user first.

Apart from the many applications that Google offers to students, there’s one thing the company does differently to set itself apart from Microsoft; it puts the user first.

The company’s first motto on its website is “Focus on the user and all else will follow,” which goes to show the dedication Google has towards consumers.

“You can be serious without a suite,” is another motto, one exemplifies the company’s culture and disruptiveness in terms of straying away from the traditional 9-5 business culture, values and work ethic.

In all fairness, Microsoft does deliver on single well designed software such as Word and Excel, but they poorly execute integration and consistency. Its products seem to cater to corporations and businesses better than academic institutions.

However, my Outlook email application crashing on a weekly basis is a testament to the lack of consistent software or glitch-free aspects of programs offered by Microsoft.

In contrast, Gmail has never crashed or gave me error messages from the time I created the account, whether I accessed it on iPhones or MacBooks, respectively.

From a purely financial basis, transitioning to Microsoft software was probably cheaper and manageable for universities in California but as stated, it was quite a rash and shortsighted move in terms of what students would’ve gained with an integrated and long-term Google system at their immediate and free disposal.

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March 1 - March 7, 2016 sonomastatestar.com

Students invited to submit work to campus literary magazine Sarah Fishback Staff Writer

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zaumliterarymagazine.wordpress.com ZAUM, Sonoma State University’s student-trun literary magazine, is accepeting submissions of poetry, prose and art for the spring edition.

onoma State University has many opportunities for students who are passionate about writing.

One of those opportunities is ZAUM, the university’s student-run literary magazine, which is accepting submissions of poetry, art and prose until March 21, with a priority deadline on Sunday.

Students have the ability to emit different pieces that range from poems, prose writing and art.

Additionally, students have a choice to join the creation process of the magazine.

In order to do so, students need to be currently enrolled in English 368 during the school year.

The class is held in the spring semester each year and taught by professor Gillian Colloney, a known poet in the Bay Area. Her works of poety include: Peace, Plot, Genie, Profane Halo, Lovers in the Used World and Tall Stranger.

Because of Colloney’s efforts, she has created many opportunities for Sonoma State students.

“What I really appreciate about the ZAUM is that it provides students with an opportunity to have their voice uniquely expressed and heard through art and literature,” said Hannah Richardson.

Richardson is a sophomore and English major with a concentration in creative writing.

“It is a great outlet for students to have their pieces published and displayed to a broader audience. This year, I will be submitting a few pieces of my poetry,” said Richardson. “As an English major, I am very proud that ZAUM is available in which all students are invited to participate.”

Students can access ZAUM at zaumliterarymagazine.wordpress.com and to submit work to the magazine, students can also email their submissions to zaummag@gmail.com before the respective deadlines this month.

The deadline for priority submissions is Sunday.

New study shows financial aid cause for rising tuition costs Nate Galvan Staff Writer

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study by the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that federal government aid to students is the reason for increasing college prices.

With over 8,000 Sonoma State University undergraduates receiving financial aid, this study proposes a reason as to why tuition and other college fees have increased over the years past.

The recent study, conducted

by Grey Gordon and Aaron Hedlund of the bureau, explains how federal financial aid is the cause for increases in college tuition.

They are suggesting that because of the expansion in financial aid availability, colleges are increasing their tuition based of the assumption financial aid will still cover the additional costs.

Over the past few years, there has been an increase in both subsidized and unsubsidized loans available for students.

For subsidized loans, the federal government pays the interest of the loan while the student is enrolled in school, if they’re taking at least six credits.

Subsidized loans are not based on financial need and the responsibility is left to the owner to pay the money back.

“When I think of financial aid, I think of loans that are given based on financial status,” said Steven Johnson, a sophomore history major. “I thought that was how most loans worked in terms of college students.”

The study states that from 1987 to 2010, tuition has experienced a 106 percent increase.

In the 2010-2011 academic school year, the annual cost of tuition and fees a Sonoma State un-

dergraduate would have to pay was $5,290. In 2012-2013, this number rose to $6,862 and currently, an academic year for a student of Sonoma State University costs $7,330, according to the university website.

“I think it is just set in people’s minds that when you think of college, you think of a lot of money that needs to be spent in order to get a good education,” said Madison Muro, a sophomore art major.

“I have never heard of financial aid being an explanation to college costing more, but it does kind of make sense.”

Economic professor Dave Feldman, author of “Why Does College Cost So Much?”, is one of the few economists who found flaws in the study’s findings.

Feldman has said that a college’s prices are set by its wealthiest students not by federal aid.

He has pointed out the study is

based on information from a hypothetical college that was made from data given from private, as well as public universities, which are very different in terms of price and financial aid.

“Private universities price is based on a business model, where willingness and ability to pay definitely dictates the highest tuitions paid by some students,” said Professor Robert Eyler, interim dean at Sonoma State University and professor of economics. “At Sonoma State, a public university, tuition is relatively low versus the competition and generally reacts to changes in costs rather than a change in the ability of students to pay.”

While financial aid may be the cause for increasing tuition, the study does point out that faculty salaries are not the reason.

The theory of rising prices due to faculty salaries increasing has been around for some time, but the

college model made in the study says that an increase in enrollment is the reason for an increase in faculty expecting higher salaries.

“The cost is not a per-student cost,” Gordon added in an article titled “Why is Tuition so High?” written by Ellen Wexler. “It has not become more costly to educate an additional student. It’s become more costly to educate all students in general.”

Some Sonoma State faculty are threatening to go on strike in the coming months due to disputes in their current salaries.

“As the son of two teachers I may be biased, “said Sean Mantooth, a senior psychology major, “But I do think teachers should get paid more, absolutely.”

As word spreads of a possible new explanation as to what is and is not causing rising college prices, more economists will give their take on the study’s data.

High housing costs prove problematic Edgar Sanchez Staff Writer

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onoma State University is nationally recognized for providing students with highquality housing accommodations, however; it may soon be recognized for having one of the highest off-campus living costs, according to reports.

Like many other counties near hubs like San Francisco and the Silicon Valley, rent prices for both apartments and houses are dramatically increasing.

Sonoma County is experiencing the third largest rent increase in the country according to a study by RentRange. Currently, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Rohnert Park is $1,600, according to Zillow.com.

“I’m almost thinking about transferring, because of the high rent prices here, and the very low chances of getting on-campus housing,” said second-year anthropology major Cindy Rios.

Renting a two-bedroom apartment with one housemate would

cost students $9,600 a year not including other necessary spending such as utilities and groceries.

“This year, juniors and seniors will automatically end up on a waiting list,” said Director of Housing Services Nicole Hendry.

This means the option to live on campus for students like Rios are likely nonexistent. This new policy may even raise off-campus rent prices, since there will be a greater demand of third and fourth years students searching for a place to live.

“It’s economics,” said economics professor Steven Cuellar, “Simple supply and demand.”

In other college towns such as Berkeley and Santa Cruz, governments have taken economic measures such as rent control in order to impose a maximum amount of money landlords can charge tenants. “[Rent control] tends to get passed in college towns where the idea is to help students, however; it tends to do the opposite,” said Cuellar.

Rent control is known for creating housing shortages, and loop-

holes as landlords will do everything in their hands to charge the highest possible amount even if it means not renting to students.

Sonoma State housing officials are well aware of the rent increase problem and has begun to take measures in order to ensure it doesn’t get out of hand in the years to come.

“We are in the process of doing a housing-demand study in order to propose additional on-campus housing,” said Hendry.

The University District, a privately owned housing complex, is under construction right across the north side of campus. Although it will not be owned by the university, Housing Services expects it will be of great relief to students, with its promising 1,236 housing units, and its proximity to campus.

Housing Services recommends students to take advantage of the annual off-campus fair which will be held on April 12 in the third floor of the Student Center. Here, students will have the opportunity to meet landlords and renting companies in order to ease the process of finding a place to live.

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Page 5

IN BRIEF

Berkeley UC Berkeley is now home to napping pods where students can rest and sleep in between classes and their busy schedules. The napping pods are a result of an initiative led by students who reached out to the student union and university officials. The napping pods are scattered throughout the campus and have been well-recieved by students so far. The university expects to install more in the next year.

Mountain View Map: calstate.edu, Data: collegeboard.com Based on 2012 data from the College Board, Sonoma State University has the highest four-year graduation rate in the California State University. As a whole, the CSU has a four-year graduation rate of 19 percent, something Sen. Steve Glazer (DOrinda) is trying to change with his bill introduced last week.

GRADUATION RATE: 19 percent of students graduate in four years Continued from Pg. 1

of helping students earn their degree in a timely manner,” said Chapin. “Currently, we are analyzing the bill and we look forward to working with him.”

Glazer’s bill is similar to programs used at four CSU campuses — a program intended to raise graduation rates through student incentives. The Finish in Four program at CSU Fullerton, implemented in 2010, has some of

the same goals as Glazer’s bill to help students graduate in a four-year span with the help of academic advising and educators committed to student success.

Glazer’s bill remains under review in the California Senate, though Glazer says he is confident in his proposed program and that it can succeed with little funding, he told the Los Angeles Times.

“I don’t think the bill is realistic,” said Fuentes. “If you can’t get funding for the school itself, how can you get funding for this bill?”

Professor part of team confirming Einstein’s gravitational predictions Joseph Encinas Asst. News Editor

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ne hundred years ago, Albert Einstein developed what he called the theory of general relativity, the idea that massive objects cause a distortion in space-time which is felt as gravity.

For a century, countless scientists have dedicated their lives to finding these distortions, and for the first time, ripples in the fabric of space-time have been observed.

These ripples are known as gravitational waves and have presented the science community with a whole new avenue to explore in explaining the world around us.

Lynn Cominsky, chair of the physics and astronomy department at Sonoma State University, was on the team of 1,000 authors who published this discovery in the journal Physical Review Letters on Feb. 12. Cominsky joined the LIGO team in 2007 where she served as part of the Program Advisory Committee until 2010. Currently, she is the chair of the Formal Education Working Group which works to create educational materials for K-12 and college students.

The discovery came about in the early morning hours of Sep. 14, 2015 and was detected by both of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). Physicists have confirmed this was the first gravitational wave signal from a merger of two black holes previously not known to be possible.

“It was the first gravitational wave signal, it was the first time anyone has ever seen merging black holes and it was the first

time that anybody even knew that black holes would be in a binary system so they could merge.” said Cominsky.

According to David Reitze, executive director of LIGO, one of the black holes had the mass of 29 suns while the other had a mass of 36 suns, each believed to be approximately 30 miles in diameter. Another aspect of this occurrence was that these black holes didn’t collide in the last 100 years; these objects barreled into each other more than a billion years ago moving at half the speed of light. To measure a gravitational wave is extremely challenging because it’s something we cannot replicate here on Earth. According to Cominsky, the signal that was detected is like measuring a change in length that is 1/10,000 the size of an atom over the baseline of four kilometers.

“I think that it is an amazing discovery that opens up a different way of measuring things in the universe,” said Weston Henry, sophomore physics major at Sonoma State University, “It is crazy how, even after all of this time, Einstein’s theory is true.”

In other words, it’s like trying to measure the width of a hair with an instrument that is as big as the distance between here [Earth] and the next star – which is four light years away.

Cominsky wasn’t the only representative of Sonoma State University on the LIGO team; two alums, Benjamin Owen and Ryan Quitzow-James, from Noma Nation were also authors on the work.

Having Sonoma State graduates featured in this groundbreaking discovery can have some positive implications for the

university, in particular the physics and astronomy department.

“I think people will be excited that we are part of it,” said Cominsky, “For example, there is nobody from UC Berkeley that is part of LIGO.” Although Sonoma State is a smaller state school, the physics department has a good reputation for doing what Cominsky calls ‘real physics’, relating to astronomy and material science.

Cominsky believes being part of this breakthrough will bring more students looking to jump into astronomy; this will merely be an added bonus on top of the strides the astronomy department has made, such as having NASA satelites and the on-campus observatory that will undergo some upgrades in the near future.

“Astronomy is definitely going to be getting stronger here,” said Cominsky, “We also will be having a new degree concentration, which will be a b.s. in physics with a concentration in astrophysics that we are trying to do all the paperwork for that will hopefully start next year.”

With this discovery still fresh off the press, the future for research seems boundless; it’s the hope of physicists all over the world to use similar technology to see neutron star mergers and get a better grasp on what takes place when a star blows up.

“It is beyond exciting for someone like myself who has been intrigued by how our universe works,” said Jorge Bautista, sophomore computer science and physics double major, “With the measurement of gravitational waves, we can now find new methods of discovering how our universe works.”

Google has accepted some responsibility for its self-driving car that crashed into a bus last month near the Google headquarters. The crash took place on Feb. 14 and involved a self-driving Lexus RX450h moving at 2 milesper-hour when it hit the bus. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation authority is expected to investigate the accident and the circumstances.

San Juan, Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico is calling for the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. territory, something that he believes would lower crime rates on the island. According to Fox News, Puerto Rico’s Health Department has recently taken steps to allow the cultivation, manufacturing and distribution of medical marijuana.

Radford, Va. At a rally for Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency on Monday, a fight broke out between a Secret Service agent and news media photographer complete with profanity and a body slam. Chris Morris, the photographer, was escorted out of the rally, where intense anti-Trump protests occured during Trump’s hour-long speech. Trump’s campaign said they know nothing regarding the fight and wouldn’t ackowldege the incident, according to the Washington Post.

Menlo Park Facebook created and released “Reactions” on Feb. 24 to add to their “like” functions on their ever-popular social media website, according to reports from WIRED. Some reactions include “love,” “sad” and even “angry”.

Facebook will use the emoticons or reactions to gauge what a user is drawn to. Specifically, Facebook’s News Feed algorithm will also receive and infer a users preference based on the reactions they post on the site.

Baltimore, Maryland The first penis transplant in the United States will be attempted on a veteran who suffered substantial injuries around his lower abdomen and penis overseas according to reports from Scientific American. Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital also plan on performing more penis transplants on veterans and up to 60 individual transplants over time. In terms of the actual operation, skin color and age are respectively important factors according to Dr. Richard Redett, who was quoted in the article and will be part of the surgical team on the first transplant. A “functional” penis from a donor is another key aspect of the operation and doctors at the hospital were careful in the selection process and mindful of the families of selected donors. According to Scientific American, there have been two penis transplants in the world and one was unsuccessful.

Page 6

Arts

March 1 - March 7, 2016 sonomastatestar.com

The Oscars address the white elephant in the room Christine Edwards Staff Writer

Commentary

D

uring the 88th Academy Awards host and comedian Chris Rock opened the ceremony with several jokes pointing to a lack of diversity, blatantly admitting that this would be the second year in a row that only white actors were nominated.

Diversity seemed to be the theme of the evening, subtle at times and at other times in the form not-so-subtle racist jokes causing uncomfortable silences and an awkward mixture of chuckles and obligational applause.

Some might say that Chris Rock was chosen as this year’s host because they felt the need to compensate for the lack of African American actors nominated. While the jokes made by Rock and other presenters may have been making light of the black struggle, others could argue that Rock was trying to bring awareness to the issue as he referred to the Academy Awards as the “white people’s choice awards.”

As the show carried on, the skits started to make the show even more uncomfortable. These short reenactments were of some of the films nominated, but were redone with black actors inserted into the scenes.

Whoopi Goldberg made an appearance in the reenactment of “Joy,” in which she boldly stated, “A black actor would have to invent the cure for cancer in order to get her own TV movie.”

Later, in their new version of “The Martian,” Rock took the place of Matt Damon’s character. He briefly discussed the cost of bringing him back down to Earth with co-star Kristen Wiig, referring to him only as “black astronaut” before deciding that $2500 would cost too much to bring a “black astronaut” back. While the audience laughed, this seemed very insensitive and a bit shocking for such a mainstream event as the Oscars.

The level of discomfort culminated when Rock introduced Stacey Dash as the new “director of their minority outreach program,” at which point Dash stumbled

out and said, “I cannot wait to help my people out. Happy black history month.”

This comes after her recent controversial comments about the BET network and Black History Month, stating that there should be no Black History Month because, “We have to make up our minds.

Either we want to have segregation or integration. We’re Americans. Period. That’s it.”

I think she makes an excellent point, but some critics argue that her comments were inappropriate, accusing her of not supporting the struggle that African Americans face to receive equal representation in the entertainment industry.

A final racially-laced joke occurred during the Oscars “Black History Month Minute,” a short segment where noteworthy African American director and actress Angela Bassett introduced a man who “has long been an inspiration to his people.”

Surprisingly, the actor ended up being Jack Black, which at first I took as a joke that they could not find a talented enough black actor to recognize for this honor.

They could also be saying that we are all people, similar to Dash’s message that we are all Americans and should not be categorized.

While “Mad Max,” which won six awards and “Spotlight,” which won Best Picture, were the obvious big-winners during Sunday evening’s Oscars, diversity was the true star of the show.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio’s highly-anticipated first Oscar win for his role in “The Revenant” was out-shined by the issue of diversity. I believe that this year’s Oscars did do a good job of having a diverse mix of nominees and presenters, despite the controversy surrounding the issue. There were many international winners, some of which did not even speak English, and the presenters throughout the evening could not have been more diverse as there were men and women from all walks of life.

The Oscars did a good job of recognizing social issues by using this global platform to raise awareness, but they could have chosen a more tasteful route with their choice in jokes and commentary.

COURTESY // Thomas Lynch Thomas Lynch photographs events, portraits and landscapes.

Thomas Lynch developed a passion outside of class

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Blake Robinson Staff Writer

hotography is a practice that seems to be undermined by the average iPhone user, but for Sonoma State University student Thomas Lynch, photography is much more than taking a “unique” picture on a camera phone. Lynch, an aspiring photo artist from San Jose is 21 years old and striving for a bachelor’s degree in business marketing with a minor in studio concentration.

“I want photography to be my career, my life,” said Lynch.

With goals as high as taking pictures for National Geographic to traveling with Bay Area sports teams, Lynch has quite the journey ahead of him.

“I like to shoot almost anything,” said Lynch.

With a background in event photography, Lynch has been able shoot a vast amount of subjects ranging from intimate weddings to high-energy concerts. Tiffanie Esposito is an event photographer that Lynch has worked with in the recent past.

“I was so happy with the pictures that Thomas took,” said Esposito. “He made that day so special for me.”

Lynch took candid pictures of Esposito and her new fiance a few months ago.

“I would gladly work with Thomas again,” said Esposito.

Through portraits, Lynch builds imaginative narrative stories that could easily be seen in any magazine advertisement.

“My favorite is a portrait, that’s where I get to be the most creative,” said Lynch.

“Since Thomas and I became friends in middle school I always knew he viewed the world differently than I did,” said Luke Ferguson.

Ferguson is a senior business major at Sonoma State, and has been friends with Lynch since middle school. Ferguson was in Lynch’s first photography class during their senior year of high school.

Lynch liked the philosophy of the course and says he had stumbled upon a natural gift. With a strong urge for adventure, Lynch would go on to “take the picture that would change my life.”

Lynch won 2nd place at the 2012 Congressional Arts Competition, and had the honor of meeting congressman Mike Honda. The winning picture was one that Lynch took standing on top of a rock facing out toward the coast.

“I get inspiration from everything I see,” Lynch said.

Lynch often times finds inspiration when he asks himself, “what picture can be taken next?”

His spare time is spent studying the deeper meaning of photography. He enjoys finding different ways that his art can be improved and likes to alter their perspective.

Amir Ghasemian and Lynch were classmates in the photography department at Westmont high school. Soon Ghasemian became a mentor to Lynch.

“He showed me everything he knew when it came to photography,” said Lynch.

From initial Instagram filters, to eventually using a tripod and editing, Ghasemian introduced Lynch to a number of new photography methods.

“If it wasn’t for his help and guidance, I would not know as much as I do or be where I am today,” Lynch said.

Lynch has even recieved encouragement from acclaimed photography businesses such as Geared Nomad, a company that shoots adventurous travel and urban technology.

“It felt great to getting acknowledgement from them,” said Lynch.

Currently Lynch is doing photography at Sonoma State. This past November Lynch covered Sonoma State volleyball home game and has photographed private events. Lynch’s most recent event was at Sally Tomatoes when Jimmy Tatro and his posse came for a comedy appearance. Lynch was able to take a series of action shots, along with some standing portraits.

Lynch has many plans for the future.

“Sometimes you just have to take your time on [your plans] so they come out how you envisioned,” said Lynch.

COURTESY // Thomas Lynch Sonoma State student Thomas Lynch has high hopes for his future in photography.

Seawolves SPEAK!: Overrated artists Nico G ray Staff Writer

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ne of the great mysteries of radio is how the sounds of classic, nostalgic artists have been completely muted when artists who pump out the same monotonous tones stay in rotation for the longest time. Certain artists have been known to produce hits with staying power; however, over the last couple years listeners seem to be overwhelmed by a number of overplayed artists who never seem to go away. Music always seems to be a topic of conversation, and with the recent controversy at the Grammys regarding who was deserving of winning best album of the year, the STAR asked Sonoma State University students: Which artists do you think are the most overrated?

“Beyoncé. I do not think her music really differs from that of other musicians. I think local artists would be super cool to hear over the radio. It would give us a break from regular pop.” -Ashlea Thomas, third year communications major

“I don’t like Fetty Wap. He has no talent, he sounds terrible.

It’s not an appealing sound to me and I don’t know how people can listen to that. I’d enjoy the radio much more if they didn’t repeat the same type of music so much.” -Romel Styles, sociology major

“I don’t think that pop stars are overrated. Everyone has worked hard to get where they are and it is not my place to label them ‘over rated’ for simply doing their job.”

-Keira Danehy, second year Hutchins major

“The music on the radio is trash. I personally cannot stand Taylor Swift or Pitbull, almost 90 percent of the pop genre. I’d like to hear about something meaningful, not just ‘hitting the club.’”

-Jack Szarabajka, third year political science major

“I think most pop music is super catchy and fun to sing and dance to when I’m mobbin’ in my car, but Demi Lovato is seriously so over-rated.” -Katelyn Foley, third year communications major

Entertainment

March 1 - March 7, 2016 sonomastatestar.com

Page 7

‘Fuller House’ goes up in flames as original fans watch in horror Katelyn Quinn Staff Writer

Commentary

“F

uller House,” directed by Jeff Franklin, is the long awaited sequel series to “Full House.” It promised to provide a fun rush of nostalgia and to display the new adventures of the characters of the original series. It made improvements to the original series, and tried to add a few new elements to freshen up the series; but it accomplishes neither.

The sitcom “Full House” developed a large following during its run from 19871995. Its impact didn’t end there, however. Despite being recognized in recent years for being a tad too corny, as a product of its time, many people still hold nostalgic fondness for it. After discussion of a potential sequel series for quite a long time, John Stamos (who played Jesse Katsopolis in the original and has ownership stake of the series) announced in April 2015 that “Fuller House” was officially given the green light. It premiered on Friday in a 13-episode bundle on Netflix, and many fans of the original tuned in for the series they had been anticipating for nearly 20 years.

Unfortunately, it was not worth the wait. The series has been met with abysmal reviews from both fans of the original and non-fans. While it can be said that there have been much worse sitcoms, along with sequels to shows in general, this series really only appeals to anyone with very low expectations.

“Fuller House” takes place 20 years after the original series. Danny, Jesse, Becky, Joey and Danny’s new wife Teri are spending their last days in the family home before it’s sold and they go their separate ways. DJ is now a widowed mother of three boys (Jackson, Max and Tommy), and has a career as a full-time veterinarian, who struggles to keep it all balanced.

Because of this, Stephanie decides to move in with DJ to help raise her children. In addition, Kimmy, who is now recently divorced and has a daughter named Ramona, decides to move in with her as well. They end up receiving the house and the series follows the women as well as their children’s shenanigans.

If the plot sounds very similar to the synopsis of the original, that already describes the first problem. It’s simply a repeat of the original: recently-widowed parent has family move in to help them, and they have various misadventures together as their house grows. Many of the episodes copy former episodes, ideas, jokes and overall morals of the original. For instance, “Moving Day” duplicates the plot of the original pilot where Jackson is forced to share a room with Max and he decides to run away because of it (in the original pilot DJ is forced to share a room with Stephanie and moves out for the same reason). They only continue to repeat from there on out, not just overusing “Full House” clichés but sitcom clichés in general.

However, the problem isn’t even that it’s simply the original series all over again; it’s that it wants to be nostalgic for fans but unfortunately it mistakes nostalgia for either repeating in-

effective, tired clichés from both “Full House” and sitcoms in general or exact plot points from the show, invariably needing to point out how certain moments in the show happened and how it feels like it’s happening again. It makes it feel like an overly long, unfunny “Saturday Night Live” sketch than it does an actual sitcom.

A running gag in the show is displaying how the characters are adjusting to the world of 2016, along with constantly throwing out as many references to it as they can, and it’s just as annoying as it sounds. It can be argued that the original series referenced pop culture and topics only relevant to the 80s-90s a bit too much, but it felt much more balanced then. Here, there needs to be constant jokes about how they use social media, how they’re adjusting to the fact that iPhones exist, hammering in random reference after random reference-it almost makes you wonder if they had to be literally transported from the 90s to now.

As far as positive elements about the show go, the classic characters thankfully do feel familiar and none of them feel like they have changed for the worst (if they’ve changed at all, that is). It especially helps that the actors are really trying with what little material they’re given; the strongest performances coming from Stamos, Andrea Barber (Kimmy)and Dave Coulier (Joey). The new characters aren’t unwatchable either, even if they could be more interesting, and the child actors are clearly trying.

Despite how the scripts consist mainly of references and copycat writing, it can’t be said that the show’s necessarily awful. It’s annoying, but it doesn’t reach the absolute level of disaster that many bad sitcoms hold.

Overall, “Fuller House,” while certainly not the worst sequel series, has a poor understanding of how to create a nostalgia trip and/or an improvement upon the original show. It doesn’t help that it’s ridden with tired sitcom clichés and references that make it even more topical. However, it’s generally not as offensive as it could’ve been. If one is looking for a simple, basic sitcom and they don’t mind that it’s been done before,“Fuller House” may find a bit of an audience. Perhaps it’ll improve as time goes on and fix what the first season did wrong. It all depends on whether this will actually appeal to enough people to get that second season and whether people decide if the sequel to “Full House” was worth the wait.

facebook.com/FullerHouseNetflix Netflix released the first season of“Fuller House” on Friday.

‘This Unruly Mess I’ve Made,’ accurately titled Noe F elix Staff Writer facebook.com/GodsofEgyptMovie “Gods of Egypt” earned a measely $14 million on its opening weekend.

‘Gods of Egypt’: Lazy, dull and unconvincing Sean Curzon Staff Writer

Review

T

his movie is awful.

The acting is dull, the story is predictable and the action is boring. “Gods of Egypt” is directed by Alex Proyas, and is a loose adaptation of the Egypt mythology story of Horus and Set. At his coronation, Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), god of air, is attacked and blinded by his evil uncle Set (Gerard Butler). Set declares himself pharaoh, along with enslaveing all humans. In order to get his eyes and throne back, Horus must team up with the mortal thief, Bek (Brenton Thwaites) for these reasons. They are joined by Horus’ grandfather, Ra (Geoffrey Rush), in addition to his ex-girlfriend Hather (Elodie Yung).

One can’t even laugh at how bad the movie is because it manages to make boring fun. The movie is too bland to be considered so awful it’s good.

For a movie taking place in an African coun-

try, the cast is seemingly allwhite. There are a few black extras in some crowd shots, but there are only two black actors that have speaking roles, only one of which has a name.

Also, everyone is British because Hollywood thinks all pre-20th century nonAmerican countries talk like they were in a Shakespeare play.

The acting isn’t completely awful, but the script gives the actors nothing to work with. The script only gives them one liners, cliched ones at that.

These are some of the worst special effects that have been in a movie in a long while. The CGI (computer-generated imagery) appears as if it’s in wildly different places of development. It doesn’t look finished in a quarter of the shots, like something out of a Playstation 1 video game. The use of the green screen is obvious.

The background looks flat.

The gods are supposed to be giant compared to the mortals. The effect they use to achieve this is so distracting and awkwardlooking. The filmmakers must have realized the same thing because gods and mortals are barely in the same shot even though half the movie is about a

mortal and a god traveling together.

Instead of having the gods be part animal, the film gives them this weird full-body armor with animal helmets that appear out of nowhere. It looks fake and it’s not clear what animal it’s supposed to be.

The lazy fight choreography, in addition to bad camera work doesn’t help either. The action consists of mostly rolls, but a few times Proyas tries to do the matrix thing where everything on screen freezes and the camera rotates around the freezed action.

Combined with the above mentioned effects it creates some truly terrible, terrible scenes.

The most surprising thing is how boring this whole movie is. It’s blander that untoasted white bread served with a glass of tap water. There is a scene in this movie where half-naked women ride giant snakes that breathe fire; “dull” should be the last word that describes a scene like this, but it does.

“Gods of Egypt” wants to call back to classical mythology movies such as “Jason and the Argonauts” and “Clash of the Titans.” Unfortunately the movie fails on nearly every level to entertain.

Review

I

n 2012, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis arrived on the rap scene with an astonishing freshmen debut. Their album “The Heist” was a great rags-to-riches album that addressed social issues plaguing people at the time. It spawned numerous hit singles, taking mainstream radio by storm. Four years later, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis try to re-create the magic they brought during their debut, but sadly, they fall short. Their sophomore album, “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made,” lacks the soul, energy and social awareness that made the “The Heist” so memorable.

At times, “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made” tries too hard to re-create some of their prior hits. Their lead single “Downtown” is their attempt to rekindle their huge hit “Thrift Shop.” While a fun and good track, “Downtown” is nowhere near the level of “Thrift Shop.” Likewise, “Brad Pitt’s Cousin” feels like “Can’t Hold Us.” Both songs try to take the more pophit route, as they’re written to be catchy singles.

The two songs are meant to be wacky and fun, and while they are, they just can’t capture the spirit of what made “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us” so great. The songs are desperately trying to make the top 10 list, but fail in the process. Often times throughout the album, Macklemore seems to be stagnant. An artist like him needs to grow and keep pushing.

“This Unruly Mess I’ve Made” is by no means a terrible album, gems are scattered throughout the hour-long journey, along with great features that range from Ed Sheeran to YG. The production here is slick, Ryan Lewis uses a wide arrange of musical instruments to create a deep atmosphere. Many songs have multiple textures and layers to them, making them feel as if they’re on a grander scale.

Macklemore is at his best when he’s preaching about social issues. On

album highlight, “Need To Know,” Macklemore is found criticizing commercialism, along with people’s infatuation with social media.

“And got some Jordan’s on my feet, I went to match them with my shirt/ And I just instagrammed them both to show you that I got them first,” he raps.

Chance the Rapper steals the show on this track as he discusses the fears he has for his daughter growing up in these times.

Chance raps, “I cry when she smile with her eyes closed/ I’m already afraid of tight clothes/ I want all her friends to be white folks.”

The powerful “White Privilege II” addresses, you guessed it, white privilege in America. This track finds Macklemore talking directly to white people, asking them to acknowledge the advantages and benefits they have for being white. The hefty nine-minute song holds nothing back, while Macklemore shows off some of his best lyricism to date.

“White supremacy isn’t just a white dude in Idaho/ White supremacy protects the privilege I hold/ White supremacy is the soil, the foundation, the cement and the f lag that f lies outside of my home.” The track is haunting as gospel singers sing, “Blood in the streets, no justice, no peace/ No racists beliefs, no rest till we’re free.”

The heartfelt “Growing Up” is a love letter to his newborn baby daughter. It finds him opening up to her and giving her advice on how to live a fulfilling life. Backed by the soulful vocals of Ed Sheeran, “Growing Up” is one of the best on the album.

“Kevin” finds Macklemore rapping about his friend that overdosed on prescription medication. He targets the pharmaceutical industry and how it needs to be regulated.

“This Unruly Mess I’ve Made” isn’t on the same level of “The Heist,” which is a tragedy. At times throughout the album, listeners will find glimmers of hope of what the album could’ve been if they had given it more time. On “Bolo Tie” Macklemore raps, “You don’t know what I’m doing/ Focusing on what I’m giving back/ Man, make better music.” Well my man, make better music.

Page 8

Student Life

March 1- March 7, 2016 sonomastatestar.com

STAR // Megan Corcoran Sonoma State University hosted it’s annual Career Fair in the Student Center Ballroom Thursday. Dozens of companies had their best recruiters there to talk to students about their careers. With careers ranging from the FBI to State Farm, there were a variety of interests for students.

Career fair showcases local and national careers Josie Clements Staff Writer

I

t’s that time of year again. Graduation is in just a few short months and students are beginning to think about specific careers.

In order to get students more prepared for the job world, Sonoma State University put together it’s annual Career Fair. Last Thursday, the ballroom was filled with over 112 employers who came to talk to students about their future jobs and internships.

Starting Feb. 15, Career Services created multiple workshops for students to utilize in preparing for the Career Fair in what was called “Professional Development Week.” These workshops included a resume workshop, how to present yourself to employers, LinkedIn and networking, and “Resumania.”

These opportunities helped students better prepare and present themselves to the companies that came to Sonoma State. It also aided students in bettering their resumes and attitudes for the future.

Employers lined up in booths on the third floor ballrooms eager to talk to optimistic students. Snacks, employer cards, brochures, applications, videos and free mousepads were given to students to urge them to get a jump-start on their careers.

Dressed in professional attire, many students browsed through the booths looking for employers that interested them.

“We hope the Professional Development Week better prepared the students and different events, and made them more confident in themselves for the career fair on Thursday,” said Carrie Klaphake, a career advisor.

Employers represented varied from the FBI, Tesla Motors, Kohl’s, Lagunita’s Brewing Co. and State Farm.

“We hope students leave here with a win-win feeling,” said State Farm employee Lisa Elkins-Reuter.

“We want to show the different opportunities, markets, and networks available to the Sonoma State students, and show there is no limit to building a career.”

Whether students were looking for a brief summer internship or to start their future careers, the Career

Fair presented many opportunities.

“I was nervous about coming here to look for internships, but the friendly and helpful environment made it easy to talk to employers,” said sophomore Hutchins major Stefanie Bautista. “I’m happy to say that I got a lot of information and internship applications from employers today that makes me excited for my future.”

Klaphake emphasized how the programs during Professional Development Week and the Career Fair help students get out of comfort zones and connect to employers in the area.

“I’m happy to see all the students here utilizing this event. Our goal today was to close the gap between students and employers and give them experience with networking,” said Klaphake.

The Career Fair gave students an idea of what jobs are available and what companies look interesting. After the homework and lectures are done with, students have the pressure to go and find a real job.

However, life after college can be intimidating and exciting, and the Career Fair was able to give students a quick glance as to what’s to come.

Mira Sorvino combats human trafficking Rachel McCloskey Staff Writer

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ne of the first things the audience heard while patiently awaiting Mira Sorvino’s presentation, was this lecture was going to be very different than all the other speaking engagements in the series.

Both President Arminana and Andrea Neves said they were excited for Sorvino’s engagement because it was going to be discussing a topic that’s not discussed enough.

Human trafficking is a worldwide issue. It happens everyday, all over the world. Mira Sorvino, the Goodwill Ambassador for Global Fight Against Human Trafficking for the United Nations, spoke at the Green Music Center last Tuesday.

Sorvino has been an activist for human trafficking for over 12 years now, and has made several documentaries while travelling all over the world working for the cause.

“The whole goal of the process is a good discussion about social justice,” said Erik Dickson, an employee for On Campus Presents. “We’ve brought speakers who talked about race and social justice, we’ve talked about class, so this is the first time we really talked about something as specific as human trafficking, really focused on a hyper specific issue.”

Sorvino’s talk covered different topics relating to human trafficking. She revealed statistics such as 30 million people are currently enslaved and 79 percent of all women and girls are in slavery.

She also told stories about how women were told they were lower than dogs, and the way that traffickers get their slaves to do what they want is by threatening their families. This method works every single time and traffickers all over the world use it.

“She’s a really good speaker, I thought it was interesting but different in a good way,” said sophomore Colin Chinn. “She seemed like she was crying the whole time. It’s an emotional topic but that just kind of pulled me in more and it made me really aware of some things that I’m not aware of.”

Sorvino was able to keep the audience’s attention not only through the use of emotion while speaking, but also by laying out statistics and showing the audience clips from different documentaries she has been apart of.

“I’m always I’m an advocate for human rights and making a change in the world so it just gave me more to get involved with it, like at something I’m already passionate but then getting more information on it was helpful,” said Chinn.

After Sorvino finished her lecture, there was an audience Q&A that featured

facebook.com Actress and activist Mira Sorvino came to Sonoma State University on Tuesday to discuss human trafficking. Her lecture, part of On Campus Presents, went into detail about how the local community can get involved in helping end human trafficking. both students and community member voices.

The Q&A became a form of discussion for those who were willing to participate and people were answering each other’s questions and letting others know of other resources in the community.

Many asked how they could get involved in the issue of human trafficking, which Sorvino went into detail about in the last ten minutes of her lecture. The Neves/Evans Lecture Series takes place every year at Sonoma State. “[It’s]a great foundation Sonoma State University, it’s something that’s happened for a lot of years. They’ve had some great speakers, so it’s something that I think the campus, we are a huge beneficiary of the lecture series,” said Dickson.

“There’s a lot to be discussed and if you look into media there are social justice conversations going on everywhere particularly on college campuses. It’s a very relevant topic right now.”

Student Life

March 1 - March 7, 2016 sonomastatestar.com

Page 9

Vagina monologues: Activism and social justice Continued from page 1

would be a lot less full,” said Anderson. In the lobby of the Cooperage were various booths the audience could check out before the show started.

One of the booths was occupied

by Verity. The company’s prevention manager, Kristen Bricker, was there to give helpful information about what it is they do.

“We provide counseling, support groups, and a 24-hour crisis line. We also work towards youth prevention, which is the department I am a part of,” Bricker said.

Verity has been around since 1974 and is the only center of its kind in the Sonoma area.

Another booth that grabbed people’s attention was Spice, a sensuality boutique. Spice is all about sex positivity and promoting a safe and healthy sex life. Kris Hanks, the manager, was passing out coupons and free condoms.

“I was in the Vagina Monologues last year at the junior college and now I try to help out as much as I can,” said Hanks.

The show started with the blasting of “Formation” by Beyoncé and the participants dancing throughout the aisles and up onto the stage. The audience clapped and danced along with them.

The first monologue set the tone, and addressed how forbidden and taboo the subject of vaginas are, comparing them to the Bermuda Triangle.

“Flood” was the name of one of the monologues that was performed from the perspective of a 72-year-old woman by junior Alix Parkhurst.

“It’s a part of the house, but nobody thinks about it,” Parkhurst said.

This piece reflected the story of a

Tuesday, March 1 Study Away Information Meeting 3 p.m.

International Hall 107 #InSolidarity 6 p.m.

The HUB Wednesday, March 2 Women of Color Collective 12 p.m.

The HUB Jazz Forum with Alberto Faya 1 p.m.

Green Music Center Live at Lobos Open Mic Night 8 p.m.

woman who was so embarrassed by something that happened on a date as a teenager that she has not dated since.

Sophomore Simritt Jawanda performed a “Happy Vagina Fact,” where she revealed that the clitoris has over 8,000 nerve endings–which is twice that of the penis.

“Why do you need a hand-gun, when you can have a semi-automatic?” Jawanda said.

Some of the monologues focused on more serious topics. ‘Trans’ They Beat the Girl Out of My Boy… Or So They Tried” was performed by five different actors.

Sophomores Alejandra Martinez, Harper Tadross, Jasmin Lewis, Destiny Rawdon and Lacie Patterson all performed.

This piece reminded the audience that not all women are born with vaginas and that it’s important to accept everyone, no matter their identity.

There was also the “Not So Happy Fact” performed by junior Analicia Garcia. This piece brought a hush to the room as she described the horrors of genital mutilation that happens to women across nations.

Another piece that had the audience captured was “The Little Coochi Snorcher “That Could” performed by sophomore Kristen Veira. It explained a series of memories of a young girl that included being raped by her father’s friend, and then moved into the first time she had sex with a woman.

The piece was powerful and touched many different challenging topics.

Overall there were 26 performances, each one different and unique.

lobos Thursday, March 3 Social Media: Your Best Friend, or Your Worst Nightmare? w/Krista Naher Lecture 8 p.m.

Student Center Ballroom Alpha Gamma Delta Lip Jam 8 p.m.

Weill Hall ASP Free “St Patrick’s Day” Bowling Night 10 p.m.

Double Decker Lanes

COURTESY // Gustavo Vasquez

STAR // Sara Wildman “The Vagina Monologues” were packed full of audience members in the Cooperage. All 26 performances were on topics like feminism and what it means to be a woman.

STAR // Sara Wildman Last Friday, Sonoma State University’s Student Center and Recreation Center were packed full of a variety of activities for students to enjoy.

Stress-free fun before midterms Audrey Altman Staff Writer

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onoma State University Student Center and Recreation Center opened their doors with games, food, crafts and more for students to enjoy.

Students entered each building with options on every floor. Starting on the first floor of the Student Center, there was karaoke, free food and a balloon drop for students to win NomaNation gifts or gift cards to local places.

Students who participated in the balloon drop ran to each balloon and popped it to see if they were a grand prize winner. Those lucky enough to win, redeemed their tickets for a gift card of their choosing.

“I loved the balloon drop, everyone was popping every balloon they could find to win a prize, and I was able to win a starbucks gift card,” said junior Megan Carvahlo.

On the second floor of the Student Center students had more options of things to do. There was sugar candy making, along with free NomaNation gifts such as phone chargers, keychains and license plate frames.

The Student Center Valley Rooms each had different crafts for students to participate in, such as plant making and decorating. The HUB was also filled with backdrops and photo booths for the perfect photo opportunity. There was also free popcorn right outside of the hub, along with the caricature artists

that had a lengthy line all night long.

On the third floor of the Student Center, there was a live trivia game.

There were games going on continuously throughout the night with prizes given out to any and all winners.

“Campus programming is really thrilled everyone came out and had a good time,” said sophomore Colin Chinn.

The Rec Center had games going on all night long, similar to the game “Wipe Out.” They also had basketball games, a ball pit for students to play in, and plenty of competitions.

“The Rec Center looked great with all of the events,” said Chinn.

Along with all the games, there was also a magician roaming around both buildings. Not only was he able to amaze students with his card tricks, but he was able to do mind tricks as well that left students stumped.

The magician wasn’t the only one roaming the building. Lobo came out and made an appearance to take pictures and sing karaoke.

“I loved all the free food and Lobo wandering around,” senior Kristin Purvis said. “You could really feel the seawolf spirit” Although some outdoor events were not able to go on because of weather and other circumstances, all of the indoor events made up for it.

Every part of both buildings were stuffed full of different events for students to try. Building Takeover provided students a stress relief night before midterms.

Page 10

Sports

March 1 - March 7, 2016 sonomastatestar.com

Basketball team ends regular season with upset over #19 UCSD Seawolves face Tritons in playoff rematch today Bianca Sanborn Staff Writer

T

wo legends of the deep sea surfaced to duel when the Seawolves squared off against the UC San Diego Tritons The RIMAC arena in La Jolla was buzzing in favor of the home team, who holds the No. 2 spot in CCAA standings. Unfortunately for them, the underdogs came to win, challenging San Diego with every possession and eventually securing the late 64-62 victory.

After a grueling loss to Cal State San Bernardino the night before, the Seawolves recouped and came prepared for their final game of the season.

Less than two minutes into the first half, James Slade drained the first 3-pointer of the night off of a slick assist from James Davis.

Senior guard David Ahern reinforced the 6-0 start with another trey, setting the pace for what would soon become one of the most crucial wins of the season.

The Seawolves played well on both ends of the court, denying the Tritons’ first six attempts to get on the board. UC San Diego, scoreless for almost five minutes of the game, redeemed their slow start and eventually gained their first lead of the night with 11:23 left in the half.

Although the Tritons maintained the advantage for the remainder of the first half, the Seawolves kept the game close, trailing 31-26 at halftime. It only took Slade 18 seconds to sink a layup at the start of the second half, dropping San Diego’s lead to just three points. However, the Tritons, defending their 20-5 overall record, exploded with an 11-2 run against Sonoma.

Down by 12 (47-35) with 12:03 remaining in the game, the tides began to turn for the Seawolves when Ronnie Harris sunk a field goal from beyond the arc, ending the Triton run while chipping away at their lead.

“I went in with the second unit and our job was to put pressure on UCSD by picking up full court on defense,” said Harris. “At that point of the game we were able to find a rhythm on the offensive end, which ignited the team’s energy.”

The starters checked in at the 10 minute mark, dominating the floor to close the doubledigit deficit to 2 points in just five minutes of play. With 1:49 left, Ahern sunk his second 3-pointer of the game to give the Seawolves the 1-point advantage. The Tritons put up one final layup to defend their home court, but Luke Cochran pushed back, scoring the field goal that ultimately changed the fate of the match. Sonoma State gained the final lead of the night and pulled away with a 2-point victory.

In this weekend’s clash of the Tritons, Sonoma State fought to safely secure the No. 7 seed in the upcoming CCAA Tournament.

“Going into the game everyone wanted to prove that we can compete with one of the best teams in the league,” said Slade after his impressive 13-point game on Saturday. “We need to come out with the same intensity that we started the game with. We need to play our tempo and make sure we do the little things right. We proved that we can hang with these guys, we just need to come out and play like we can play.”

The Seawolves will return to the RIMAC to challenge the No. 2 seed Tritons once again

in the opening round of the conference championship tournament.

“Coach Fuscaldo keeps emphasizing, ‘Confident and calm,’ so we’re striving to keep that in mind,” said Harris. “We’re going to approach Tuesday’s game knowing that it can be our last, so we’re going to give all our heart.”

Today’s game will determine which team will advance to the semifinals in Stockton on Friday.

COURTESY// Ken Grosse Big Man Luke Cochran backs down a UCSD defender

Women’s basketball bitter season ends in defeat Kristen Spear Staff Writer

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nowing their fate for post-season was tarnished, Sonoma State University’s women’s basketball team battled until the final buzzer, not only to end their season strong, but for their seniors. The Seawolves were able to steal a glorious victory against Cal State San Bernardino but dropped bittersweet loss against UC San Diego to end its forgettable season.

Cal State San Bernardino came out strong on Friday night’s game, leaving Sonoma State to play catch up as they trailed behind by ten points with six minutes left in the second quarter.

Freshman guard, Kylie Kiech changed the momentum after her 3-pointer inspired her teammates to push through with a 13-0 run in just four minutes. Sonoma State ended the third quarter ahead 45-36, but it wasn’t a big enough lead as the Coyotes came back to take ahold of the lead 46-44 halfway through the fourth.

“The spark was just from all the energy we had and we all wanted to win. We knew we could win,” said Kiech.

Kiech played 32 out of the 40 minutes while contributing a team-high 14 points, but all eyes were on junior center, Jerrica Crosby. In a matter of two minutes, Crosby hit back-to-back three-pointers to secure the seawolf victory and the upset over CSU San Bernardino.

The Seawolves played the part of troublemaker against the Coyotes, as their Seawolf upset spoiled the chance for CSU San Bernardino to host a playoff game.

Along with her game-winning triples, Crosby contributed 13 points for the Seawolves as well as nine rebounds. Kiech and Hannah Sourek tied in second with seven rebounds a piece.

“We all contributed in our own ways and really fought hard toward the end of the half when things started getting more physical,” said Crosby. “These are our seniors’ last games and as a team we wanted them to leave on the best note possible. We constantly compete for each other and we all really wanted that win.”

Saturday’s game against UC San Diego was an emotional one as the three seniors, Tanner Adams, Taylor Acosta and Hannah Sourek, knew this would be the last time they geared up in blue and white.

“I just wanted to leave my basketball career with my head held high, I’ve learned a lot through all the highs and lows...” said Tanner Adams.

“Our mentality was to finish this season strong,” said senior captain Tanner Adams. “We were playing the number one team in our league, so we had to stay optimistic and motivated.”

UC San Diego and Sonoma State fought evenly throughout the entire game as they traded off leads. The Seawolves stretched the first lead 27-20, but the Tritons made it known they had had endurance to fight back. Both teams headed into the locker room with the Tritons up by four.

The Seawolves struggled in the last quarter to put points on the board only shooting 41 percent from the field. The Tritons, however, were able to hit 51.8 percent, which helped them in the last quarter to seal a 13-point victory against the Seawolves.

The seniors left their mark in their last game with Hannah Sourek leading with 18 points, Acosta with 12 and Adams with five points.

“I just wanted to leave my basketball career with my head held high,” Adams. “I’ve learned a lot through all the highs and lows, and I just want my teammates to remember me as someone who always had their backs.”

“This was my favorite team that I’ve had while playing four years at Sonoma,” said Acosta. “Everyone gets along so well and supports one another. It’s the biggest family of a basketball team that I’ve had.”

The Seawolves end their season 10-19 overall and 5-15 in the CCAA.

Tuesday 3/1 Men’s Golf

Tearney Pioneer Shootout

Softball

vs CSU Monterey Bay (DH) Noon & 2 p.m.

Seawolf Diamond CCAA PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND

Men’s Basketball @ UC San Diego 7:30 p.m.

Thursday 3/3

Women’s Tennis

vs Concordia-Irvine 10 a.m.

SSU Tennis Courts

Men’s Tennis

@ Concordia-Irvine 2 p.m.

Friday 3/5

Men’s Basketbal CCAA PLAYOFFS Semi-Finals

Softball

@ SF State (DH) Noon & 2 p.m.

Women’s Water Polo vs Redlands 12:40 p.m. vs Pomona-Pitzer 6 p.m.

Saturday 3/6

Men’s Basketball CCAA PLAYOFFS FINALS

Women’s Track

@ Kim Dunst Invitational 9 a.m.

Women’s Water Polo

vs Chapman University 10:20 a.m. vs Cal-Lutheran 2:20 p.m.

Women’s Tennis vs Mills College Noon

Men’s Tennis

vs UC Santa Cruz 1 p.m.

Baseball

@ Cal Poly (DH) 2 p.m. & 5 p.m.

Softball

@SF State (DH) Noon & 2 p.m.

Sunday 3/7 Baseball

vs Cal Poly Pomona 11:00 a.m.

Women’s Water Polo @ Chapman Noon

Monday 3/8

Women’s Golf

Tearney Pioneer Shootout All Day

Sports

March 1 - March 7, 2016 sonomastatestar.com

Page 11

Women’s tennis off to best start in history Allison Kelley Staff Writer

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hey can’t stop and they won’t stop. The Sonoma State University women’s tennis team remains undefeated after its two matches over the weekend. The No. 26-ranked team in the country dominated with a pair of 9-0 victories over the weekend.

The Seawolves left the mark of perfection on its opponent, Dominican University, in San Rafael this weekend after the clean sweep.

Freshman Jensyn Warren has led the way in the Seawolves historic run so far and has been rewarded.

Warren was named Pac-West women’s tennis athlete of the week.

Quite the honor for the young Seawolf star.

“It felt pretty amazing especially being a freshman. I’m proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished so far this season,” said Warren. “I couldn’t have done any of it without such an amazing team and coaches.”

Sonoma State got off to a fast start with impressive wins in doubles play.

This led them to an early 3-0 lead.

STAR// Sara Wildman Players Karlee Budge and Katherine Long prevailed in their matches with Jordan Kearney gearing up a serve

easy 6-0, 6-0 wins at number five and number six singles. Sophomore Amanda Zuidema also had a great match as she piled it on with 6-0, 6-1 victories at number four. Jensyn Warren then added her 6-2, 6-4 wins to amp up the score 8-0.

To wrap up the shutout, Kaitlyn Haithcock rallied in number three singles play. She started with a 6-1 firstset loss, followed by a 6-2 win in the second set, then beating her opponent 10-6 to secure the ninth and final point for her team.

The best just kept getting better as the Seawolves hosted their a match against Stanislaus on Sunday, where they yet again walked away with a 9-0 victory.

Sonoma State started off with a bang in doubles play, giving them a 3-0 lead. Players Zuidema and Hillary Fazekas got the Seawolves on the board with an 8-2 win at number two. Budge and Haithcock proceeded to add to that score with an 8-5 win at number three.

Partners Warren and Jordyn Kearney improved 6-0 in dual matches with an 8-6 sweep at number one doubles.

The Seawolves excelled in singles play on Sunday as well. Haithcock achieved a 6-3, 6-2 win at number three to once again cap the match for

Sonoma State.

“My favorite part of this game was beating my opponent in straight sets, when in past years it has usually taken a third set to win,” said Haithcock. “So it was nice to see my improvement that I have made throughout the years.”

Zuidema managed a 6-2, 6-1 defeat at number four, along with Kearney’s 6-0, 6-1 victory at number two.

Both Kearney and Warren remain undefeated in singles play. Budge wrapped up the 9-0 win for the Seawolves when she sent her opponent packing with a 6-4, 6-4 at number one victory.

The Sonoma State women’s tennis team has remained undefeated in their first seven games of the 2016 season.

This is the best start in program history. The Seawolves have shutout their opponents five times this season, and continue to outscore other teams, 58-5.

“It feels like we have deserved to be in the top 20 nationwide. We’ve worked hard for it, and each and every one of us has made an impact in our ranking,” said Warren. “We’re all getting better at the net, and better under pressure.”

Sonoma State is scheduled to host their next game against Concordia-Irvine Thursday at 10 a.m.

Golf teams bring home topthree finishes Vasilios Loufas Staff Writer

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oth the men’s and women’s golf teams from Sonoma State University brought home honorable accomplishments this past week in their respective tournaments. The men’s team was crowned champions of the San Bernardino Coyote Invitational while the women’s team squared off against some of the best golf teams from across the country in the St. Edward’s Invitational in Austin, Texas. Senior Sarah Rotter highlighted the team’s third place finish with a hole-in-one.

The men’s golf team set the Arrowhead Golf Club in San Bernardino ablaze taking home the tournament win. This victory was the team’s first tournament championship and the second top-three finish of the spring.

“Our performance last week was a good week to win and a huge confidence booster,” said Justin Shulker. “ We played well when we needed to and thats really all that counts.”

Nicholas Daniels led the team scoring one-under-par at 212 (68-74-70) for the tournament, finishing third among all players in competition. Daniels had his best collegiate round of golf last Monday with a score of 68, beating his previous best of 70.

Shlukler scored a 221 (+8) finishing in a tie for 17th overall. Spencer Clapp ended in a tie for 10th place with a (72-76-70) adding to 218, only 5 strokes over-par. Brandon Lee tied for 8th place with a score of 73-72-72 adding to 217, four-above-par.

Runner-up Cal State East Bay (870; +18) finished six lengthy strokes behind the Seawolves. Host team Cal State San Bernardino (871; +19) couldn’t defend their course and fell to third place.

Everything’s bigger in Texas but, luckily for the Seawolves, the smallest score is the one that counts.

As for the women’s team, Sarah Rotter drilled an amazing hole-in-one on the seventh hole. “Im still in shock it went in. It took one bounce and hopped right in the hole,” said Rotter, “My coach was there with me when it happened and we both looked at each other in disbelief.”

Rotter used the ace to slim her score to only three-over-par in the last round, placing her in third for the tournament individually. Rotter scored a total of 148 (+8) for both rounds.

The Seawolves secured a third-place overall finish at the St. Edward’s Invitational tournament.

Alexis Hayes scored 79 and 77 in her rounds for a sum of 156 (+16), ending in a tie for 23rd place. Samantha Oliva scored 82 and 75, 17-over-par in a tie for 28th place. Haley Whitbeck finished 18-over-par in 31st place and Erin Martens finished 19-over-par.

They competed amongst 80 female golfers from different schools in different states. Among the 15 schools, Sonoma State finished third place with a total of 611, 14 strokes behind champion Florida Tech and just four shots behind second place Indianapolis.

“Our goal was to beat all teams in our region,” said Rotter. “With our third place finish as a team, it helped our regional ranking and we played really well” The men’s golf team will be competing this week in the Tierney Pioneer Shootout in Vallejo at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club. The women will be in the same tournament on the same course next Monday and Tuesday, March 7 and 8.

Coutesy // sonomaseawolves.com Sarah Rotter celebrates her hole-in-one on hole number seven

STAR// Connor Gibson Aubie Tolliver smacks a base knock in a late-inning rally

Seawolves take CSU East Bay to comeback city Hailee Zastrow Staff Writer

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he Sonoma State softball team showed conference opponent Cal State East Bay what they were made of this weekend, beating them in three out of four games.

Jena Kaser wasted no time in the first game of the doubleheader Saturday, launching a 2-run bomb over the left field fence in the first inning. They went on to cushion their lead, scoring two in the fourth and one in the fifth, making it 5-0 heading into the sixth inning.

After those five scoreless innings, the Pioneers pushed a run across the plate on a Seawolf fielding error in the top of the sixth. But Brielle Vidmar, who came in for starting pitcher Amanda Llerena, quickly put an end to rally by striking out one and producing a groundout with loaded bases. She went on to shut the East Bay offense out in the seventh and final inning, which sealed the 5-1 victory for Sonoma State.

In the rematch later that day, the Pioneers fought for redemption and came out edging the Seawolves in a 4-3 defeat.

East Bay capitalized on Seawolf miscues, scoring two unearned runs off of Llerena in the first. The Seawolves stayed in it, however, never down by more than two. They came within one in the final inning when Langley hit an RBI single to left, scoring Lindsey Calcany-Blair, but the Pioneers would get their final out of the game before Sonoma State could make a comeback.

The Pioneers came out swinging in game one on Saturday and Seawolves found themselves down 3-0. But, with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Alison Strycula ripped a triple to rightcenter, which scored Daniel and Lean-

na Georges. But the ultimate hero of the game was Jordann White, who came up to the plate and knocked in Daniel and Emma Ryan. Her two-run double gave the Seawolves the 4-3 victory and the momentum going into game two.

Although the Seawolf offense scored just one run throughout the seven innings in game two, which they got from an Strycula single that scored Calcany Blair, that was all the support starting pitcher Vidmar would need.

She tossed seven scoreless innings allowing just three hits.

Vidmar improved to 3-0 on the season and also earned herself her first complete game. After the victory, Vidmar gave the credit for her successful outing to her team.

“Our defense stood strong in the series this weekend and our offense was clutch,” said Vidmar. “The team thrived under pressure and coming out victorious this weekend was well deserved.”

Kaser, a senior first baseman for Sonoma State, attributes their wins to the hard work they have been putting into practice. “We are starting to feel more team chemistry and starting to see more results while on offense and defense, something we had been working on in the past couple of weeks,” Kaser said. “We were able to string hits together more successfully.

After the three wins on the weekend, Sonoma State’s record improves to 8-6 overall and 5-3 in CCAA conference play.

The Seawolves will look to build upon that record with a doubleheader today against Cal State Monterey at the Seawolf Softball Field at noon.

They then head to San Francisco to take on the SF State Gators in a fourgame game series on Friday and Saturday. First pitch for both days are at noon.

Page 12

Photo Gallery

March 1 - March 7, 2016 sonomastatestar.com

STAR // Sara Wildman Sophie Cassetta performed “Hair” at “The Vagina Monologues.”

STAR // Gustavo Vasquez Left: Kiana Clerkely performed “Intro to Cunt” at “The Vagina Monologues.” Right: “Moaner” was performed by Kylie McCabe, Montana Moore and Pamela Rivas on Sunday.

STAR // Sara Wildman Left: Jensyn Warren reached out for the ball against Stanislaus State on Sunday. The women’s tennis team improved to 9-0.

Middle: Jordyn Kearney returned a serve against Stanislaus State.

Right: Amanda Zuidema hit the ball against Stanislaus State on Sunday.

STAR // Megan Corcoran Top: Sonoma State student Stephen Ayres (right), talked with a Redwood Credit Union employee at the Career Fair Thursday.

Bottom: Sonoma State student Kristi Mitrick (right), spoke with Keith Anderson, a Buckle representative at the Career Fair.