Volume 81 // Issue 8

Brazillian Jiu Jitsu IN THIS The team is looking forward to its upcomcompetitions against other schools ISSUE ing on PAGE 11.

Late Nite Art

Learn more about the power of art on PAGE 8.

Dean of Students

Read about what the dean of students does, and who he is, on PAGE 4.

SINCE 1979

VOLUME 81 // ISSUE 8 OCTOBER 16 - OCTOBER 22, 2018

THE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT RUN NEWSPAPER

@SONOMASTATESTAR

Judy Sakaki visits the STAR AMANDA HADLEY STAFF WRITER

O

n Oct. 9, Sonoma State University president, Judy Sakaki, came to speak to the STAR newspaper about her experience with the North Bay fires, and answered questions about Sonoma State’s student life on campus, housing, safety, university improvement and more.

Judy Sakaki was one of many to lose their homes in the devastating fires.

Her story began at 4:03 a.m. when she heard her smoke detector go off and then walked down the stairs to see f lames already tearing up her house.

“We think it is just our house on fire. We were barefoot, in our bathrobes… I didn’t even have time to grab my cell phone… we jumped off the porch which was already in f lames… We just took each other’s hand and started running because there was nothing else to do,” she said, describing the way she and her husband pushed each other to keep going.

Sakaki said it has been a long road of recovery, but she said, “What has lifted me are all of you students and the campus and the faculty here.” She has lived in six different places since and has decided not to rebuild in favor of getting settled sooner. She just recently bought what she hopes is her permanent home.

She used an analogy to describe the

strong community saying, “An imagery I have is of bamboo, as a plant this is a very strong plant, but it is also f lexible.

A bamboo can blow from one side to the other and withstand through a strong wind. It can have various uses, it can transform itself. What is characteristic for me of that bamboo plant is that it remains f lexible, no matter where it blows it’s eventually going to come back to center… If each of us maintain our core values of who you are, no matter what happens to you, you’re going to come back and continue to be resilient and thrive.”

When asked about how Sonoma State has responded to the fires, Sakaki explained that she thinks the school did an incredible job with the team they have and everyone bonded with all of the help they gave. Sonoma State made sure all of the students and faculty that had lost their homes were safe and got them the help they needed as well as students throughout campus.

Student housing became critical to find especially after the fires. “We pride ourselves at Sonoma State that more than a third of our students live on campus.

I set a goal for us to have more than 50 percent of our students live on campus to create more of a sense of community.” see SAKAKI on pg. 5

STAR // Natalie Dolan President Judy Sakaki tells the class about Sonoma State’s strategic plan.

SSU hires Greek Life advisor LUKAS BROWN STAFF WRITER

S

onoma State University hired Leonard Serrato as the new lead campus advisor for fraternity and sorority life this summer. Serrato’s on a mission to make the most out of his time at Sonoma State.

Serrato was involved in a hazing related death while attending Fresno State in 2012, where one of his pledges died from excessive drinking caused by hazing. Serrato plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of hazing and providing alcohol to a minor causing death in 2014. According to the Press Democrat, he was sentenced to 90 days in the Fresno County Jail, 90 days in the county’s adult offender work program, three years probation, and a $220 fine.

“When I was new member educator, one of our new members passed away from a hazing related incident and it was that incident that truly inspired me and opened up my eyes to what my mission and purpose is in life and that is to educated students on hazing,” Serrato said.

One of Serrato’s duties as new member educator was to purchase alcohol for the parties; these actions were directly related to the new member, Philip Dhanens’ death. Dhanens died at his initiation from swelling of the brain due to acute

alcohol consumption after drinking about 37 shots, according to the Press Democrat.

Serrato was charged with misdemeanor hazing and a misdemeanor contributing to alcohol because of his role as new member educator within his fraternity, Theta Chi. Because of these charges, Serrato was suspended from school, spent 45 days in jail, served 720 community service hours, and did not graduate on time. The fraternity, Theta Chi, was later suspended by their national organization and Fresno State University.

“Philip Dhanens is always in the back of my mind, he is the driving force behind everything that I do when it comes to working with our students, because the night that he passed away I pledged to him and his family that I would not let his death be in vain.”

Serrato said he had a different college experience than most, because he attended three different junior colleges and later transferred to Fresno State where he graduated with a B.A. in Psychology. see SERRATO on pg. 4

COURTESY // Sonoma State University Leonard Serrato was convicted of hazing in 2014, and is now an anti-hazing advocate.

Sonoma State only at 53% classroom utilization

LAURIE KELSO STAFF WRITER

S

onoma State’s classroom utilization rate is at a low of 53 percent, making it nearly impossible for the school to receive capital project funding, prompting concern at the university.

A good rate of classroom utilization would be anywhere from 70 to 80 percent.

Classroom utilization refers to the usage rate of classrooms during the day, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The academic scheduling office is in charge of overseeing the building of the schedule of classes.

STAR // Kaylie Boettner More classrooms will become available after Tech High leaves and Stevenson Hall is remodeled.

They use a tool called 25live to schedule the rooms and time. The difficulty comes from the rule that departments can’t schedule more than 50 percent of their classes from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m, Monday through Thursday.

25Live was put into place in 2013, and there are no plans on purchasing a new one.

Elias Lopez, the Associate Vice President for Academic Resources, believes that classroom utilization is a problem that needs to be fixed at Sonoma State.

He believes that low classroom utilization hurts the students because, “Sometimes for students it is important to have as many courses during the day from 8am to 6pm.” If only 50 percent of classes from each department can be scheduled during the prime time, it can be hard for students to get into those classes.

The problem is certainly not an easy fix. Lopez explains why the university can’t just build more buildings. “Typical standards for classroom utilization during 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. would be 70 to 80 percent. For the legislature to consider funding another classroom building, they typically want to see utilization rates upwards of 70 percent.” With the classroom utilization rate as low as it is, the chances of receiving capital project funding are basically zero.

Lopez also believes that all universities have this problem at some point. see CLASSROOM on pg. 5

4 News

OCTOBER 16 - OCTOBER 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

New dean of students settling in

MANDELA LINDER STAFF WRITER

S

onoma State has a new dean of students, Ryan-Jasen Anders Henne. Henne has been at Sonoma State since Dec. 2017 after leaving the University of Alaska, Anchorage for the dean position.

One of the main reasons that he choose Sonoma State was because he felt it had the goal of putting students first.

“The people were really engaged and really wanted to put students first, and that aligns with my values,” he said.

“There were two students on the hiring committee and for me that’s a great sign of an institution wanting to put students first.”

Henne did his undergraduate work at East Carolina University, with a major in Communications and a double minor in Business and Theater. He got his masters in Education from Grand Valley State University, and his Phd in Educational Leadership and Counseling Foundations from the University of New Orleans.

According to the Sonoma State website, the dean of students position includes “support and supervision in the areas of Residential Life, Campus Recreation, The Hub Multicultural Center, and Student Involvement.”

Henne also said that he works with Student Conduct. He was especially attracted to the Campus Recreation aspect of the job because it would provide him with a new professional experience. “The position was unique because it was a dean of students position that oversees all the traditional functional areas, but also the rec center and that was something that I didn’t have a lot of experience with,” he said. “I was looking for an opportunity to grow as a professional.”

He also loved the beautiful campus and the welcoming community. “As a person who has three kiddos and a same-gender spouse we needed a place that was going to be welcoming to us as a unit, and we have found that here.” Henne and his husband Justin were the second male same-sex couple to adopt in Alaska.

One of Henne’s main objectives in his new role is to make students comfortable expressing themselves. “In my time at Sonoma State I hope to create a space where students feel like they can be their authentic selves. I hope to create a space for discourse because I don’t think that everyone has to have the same opinion on any topic.”

As someone who is responsible for much of what happens outside of the classroom, Henne feels it is important to make sure that students are able to accomplish what they want out of campus life. “What I perceive to

COURTESY // Sonoma State University As the dean of students, one of Henne’s responsibilities is to oversee the rec center on campus.

He last worked at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. be the most important aspect of my job is that I provide students access to the best possible undergraduate and graduate student experience they choose to have,” he said. “I want to make sure there are no barriers for them to participate in whatever it is they want to do.”

The most challenging time in Henne’s career, a time that has changed who he is as a professional, was when he was 23. He was working in his first year out of grad school and a student was killed in a car accident.

“Knowing him personally, knowing the impact that his loss had on campus made it difficult for me,” he said.

“I couldn’t help his friends, I couldn’t help his fraternity brothers. I was limited in what I was able to do...It definitely has informed on how I do the work that I do.”

When making an important decision in his work, Henne looks at the big picture. “I think about if you were to drop a rock into water, there’s a ripple effect. The center of it obviously is going to be the student. And around that is going to be the immediate family and friends, the next ring is going to be classmates, maybe clubs or organizations that they’re participating in, and the last ring is going to be the institution as a whole.”

Henne’s office is located on the third f loor of the Student Center in the Student Affairs Suite and he welcomes any students who would like to talk to him.

SERRATO: Formerly convicted of hazing, now an anti-hazing advocate continued from pg. 1

While attending Fresno State, Serrato said he rushed a fraternity because he didn’t know anyone.

He later held leadership roles within the chapter, he served as brotherhood chairman, alumni relations, assistant new member educator, new member educator and IFC representative.

After graduation, Serrato was working toward applied behavioral analysis with autistic children, but because of his hazing experience through his fraternity he decided to change his trajectory of his life. Serrato was hired on at Fresno State as the assistant greek life advisor where he implemented a new policy on new member education and hazing prevention. “That experience was amazing, I would not have been able to come into Sonoma State had I not had the experience I had at Fresno State,” said Serrato.

With Sonoma State being one of his top choices, Serrato applied for greek life advisor roles all over the country. Serrato said that Sonoma State was one of his top choices because of the location—it being closer to his family—and the large concentration of greeks on a smaller campus.

“I saw there was a lot of opportunity within the greek life community,” Serrato said.

Some of Serrato’s main goals as Sonoma

State’s new greek life advisor is to implement hazing prevention strategies, to focus on rape culture, sexual misconduct, and alcohol use and misuse. Serrato said that he wants to support the students by giving them stability. “I felt like that was something they were lacking in an advisor, and I have a clear path I want to take in creating a structure that gives them a sense of security,” Serrato said.

While in graduate school, Serrato wrote a called, ‘Greek Life Hazed and Confused’. In the book, he speaks about his experiences and the need to empower new members to give them their voices back. Serrato said that new members can shift the alcohol and hazing culture after attaining the proper education about what hazing looks like and the multiple levels of hazing.

“We are working with the Max Gruver Foundation, Max is one of the four individuals that passed away last year to a hazing incident and working with that to bring more hazing awareness on to campus.”

Serrato said his future plans would include traveling around to universities across the country to give keynote speeches about his hazing incident experience and educating students on hazing prevention. “I do not want anyone else go through the awful experience that I went through, there are so many ways in which we can take action and

prevent these things from happening again,” Serrato said.

Daisy Agers, the president of Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority at Sonoma State said, “Leo has already made changes in our community by rebranding us, instead of Greek Life, he wants the new brand to be Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Leo is working on making Greek Life more positive at school and in the community.”

STAR // Braden Cartwright Brandon Ray participates in Phi Delta Theta’s annual teeter totter event for charity, on Oct. 15. Nearly 20 percent of the student body is involved in a fraternity or sorority, across 22 chapters.

CAMPUS CRIME Crime

Date

Location

Status

Disturbance

Oct. 5

Sauvignon Village

Closed

Petty Theft

Oct. 5

Salazar Hall

Suspended

Petty Theft

Oct. 7

Student Center

Open

Petty Theft

Oct. 8

Sauvignon Village

Suspended

Rape

Oct. 1

Unknown dorm

Desired no report

Burglary

Oct. 10

Sauvignon Village

Closed

Vandalism

Oct. 11

Darwin Hall

Suspended

Sodomy

Oct. 11

Zinfandel Village

Open

Disturbance

Oct. 12

Beaujolais Village

Closed

News 5

OCTOBER 16 - OCTOBER 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

Bay Area artist visits Sonoma State ANALY BRAVO STAFF WRITER

B

ay Area visual artist, Tara Tucker visited Sonoma State University on Oct. 11 to talk about her artwork and involvement in Creative Growth. She studied sculpture at California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, receiving a Masters degree. Tucker emphasises in drawing and painting animals inf luenced by the human emotion and behaviour and inspired by her first few interactions with the animal kingdom, her mother’s taxidermy work.

At an early age, Tucker was surrounded by animals (mostly stuffed) and drawings of animals after her mother volunteered to do taxidermy at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. She helped the workers in the lab by collecting and numbering the bones and skeletons to be catalogued. At the age of fourteen, she was able to see Leonard Baskin’s illustrations of raptors at a natural history museum and was immediately inspired.

Her work began to consist of birds and her mother’s taxidermy and even incorporated orchids, plants and f lowers into her work.

“I think a lot about human emotion and behavior, and that usually dictates what type of animal I end up choosing” said Tucker during an interview for Juxtapoz magazine.

Most of her work primarily consists

of domestic animals paired with guinea pigs and monkeys. “I like the mix of wild with domestic” Tucker said. “I think it speaks about the unpredictability of the untamed, as opposed to the solidarity bred and familiar characteristics of the domestic animal.”

“I’ve seen her drawings on shopping bags in San Francisco,” said Sonoma State junior student Steve Schneider.

Tucker’s 2008 “It’s Always The Same By” graphite piece was used for MAC bag on Modern Appealing Clothing in San Francisco. “Her work definitely has a Bay Area feel to it.”

Currently, Tucker works with disabled adults in teaching them how to make rugs at Creative Growth. “This is something I think is great and I am very proud of,” Tucker said during her lecture at Sonoma State. Creative Growth is a nonprofit organization that offers disabled artists a valuable platform for self expression by providing studio space and gallery representation.

This space began over 40 years ago in Oakland, when six individuals opened their doors for disabled people to come in and make art. During that time, California had made a decision that people with developmental disabilities would not automatically live in hospitals but rather be institutionalized. They were provided with art materials and tools to work on their art pieces everyday. Over 40 years later, the center serves as a creative space for over 160 adults.

COURTESY // Tara Tucker Top: “You’re going to reap just what you sow” Bottom: “Tongue and Groove”

SAKAKI: High occupancy freshman housing in the future continued from pg. 1

COURTESY // Tara Tucker Tucker’s “If wishes were horses...” drawing. Tucker likes to bring together the wild and domestic in her art. She also makes rugs.

NEWS IN BRIEF Turkey

59 year-old Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering a Saudi Consulate on Tuesday, Oct. 2 around 1 p.m.

For hours after his disappearance and suspected murder, his fiance could be seen waiting for his return outside of the building. President Trump has sent Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate his disappearance. Some evidence has suggested that the Saudi Arabian government was responsible.

Florida

Hurricane Michael—the third-most powerful Atlantic Hurricane to make contact with the United States—touched down in Florida on Oct. 10. Since then, miles of property has been destroyed, at least 18 have been found dead, and another 46 are considered missing.

Santa Rosa

A Santa Rosa Junior College student reported an armed robbery around 8:15 p.m. last Thursday. According to the Press Democrat, two men approached the unidentified female victim from behind with a black handgun and demanded money. While both suspects wore dark-colored hoodies and had dark complexions, one was described wearing a gold chain with medium build. The other was 6 feet tall and heavyset.

New York

FBI agents arrested 56-year-old Paul Rosenfeld the morning of Oct. 10 for manufacturing an illegal explosive. Sources revealed to ABC that he intended to detonate the home-made bomb in Washington, D.C. on election day. Ultimately, his plan was to draw attention to his political ideology with a suicide bombing.

The limited number of housing is not only hurting students, but potential faculty on campus as well. Sonoma State loses one in five potential employees that they offer jobs to due to housing costs. That is why they are looking into purchasing a housing development off campus.

Also, the school wants to build more freshmen housing, where they would live closer together, in order to offer upperclassman students, transfer students, and faculty members more options for housing.

Sakaki says her biggest accomplishment thus far is refocusing the campus of students to success.

Safety was an issue that was brought up and she said while the safety on campus is getting better, it is not quite there yet. “It’s about education,” she said. Sakaki said the way residential life is structured was looked at for improvement following last year’s dorm room stabbing.

Sakaki went on further to say that putting cameras all around campus could potentially invade privacy of students, but there are cameras around the GMC and the school is looking to install lockers by the cafeteria.

She also announced that Sonoma State’s emergency plan has been updated and that on Oct. 25, the emergency operations team will be going through four days of intensive training.

CLASSROOM: Tech High leaving will free space continued from pg. 1

“Classroom utilization is reviewed by all universities from time to time. This is usually done in partnership with the Academic Senate.” he explained.

Mark Perri, the chair of the Academic Planning, Assessment, and Resources Committee, believes the problem should be fixed with a different scheduling program. “I feel that a less-complicated scheduling module in combination with interdepartmental cooperation and planning is the best solution. I feel that departments should communicate so that pre-reqs and co-reqs don’t conf lict between departments.”

Also, Tech High leaving its space in Salazar Hall and the Stevenson Hall remodel will open up more classrooms in the future.

Perri also acknowledges that classroom utilization is an issue when scheduling classes for faculty.

“We should try to schedule our classes more efficiently so that the number of sections that are run isn’t limited by scheduling. But, this will also require increased funding to mount the additional sections, or there’s no reason to be more efficient.

Perri cares about an increased

student graduation rate. “I would like to move towards a system where no students are waitlisted and no students have to resort to winter or summer classes to graduate in four years.” Perri said.

Perri explained the issue is difficult for the faculty as well. “It is difficult because we request certain times for our classes, but then they turn out not to be available. Then we have to adjust the schedule, which is very difficult to do after everything has been set. So for example, I had to move a class this semester from 1 to 3 p.m. to 12 to 2 p.m. because there weren’t any available classrooms open at 1 to 3 p.m. This time makes it difficult for the students and faculty to eat lunch.”

The idea of having certain classrooms only for three unit or four unit classes to avoid times when the classroom is empty has also been f loated at the Academic Senate.

Provost Lisa Vollendorf said there is a new software in place that may further help the students and faculty, called Platinum Analytics.

This software “helps us predict student demand for GE and required classes in the major. This will help us better predict and plan for class demand across all disciplines at Sonoma State.” Vollendorf said.

2 Editorial THE STAR Editorial Board Kendall Grove, Editor-in-Chief Braden Car twright, News Editor Luis Mejia, Opinion Editor Ashley Napier, Ar ts & Enter tainment Editor Haley Kara, Student Life Editor Brennan Craig, Spor ts Editor Alyssa Archerda, Photo Editor Lukas Brown, Adver tising Manager Christine Von Raesfeld, Social Media Manager Savannah Lizarraga, Copy Editor Gillian Chaffer, Copy Editor Mandela Linder, Copy Editor Corinne Asturias, Faculty Adviser Staff Writers Morgan Arancio, Jessica Bennett, Analy Bravo, Kelly Britton, Lukas Brown, Madeleine Brown, Nicholas Ceschin, Gillian Chaffer, Mar tin Contreras, Christian Francisco, Alex Funchess, Ashley Gieseke, Teresa Maria Gulli, Amanda Hadley, Emily Hoffman, Laurie Kelso, Mandela Linder, Nina Lopez, Mariah Maldonado, Emiliana Mar tinez, Carly Olsen, Kathleen Perry, Joseph Piombo, Kailey Priest, Renee Rodgers, Alison Snider, Jennifer Spence, Natalya Swensen, Michelle Tadlock, Emily Twisselmann

Photographers Mariah Ponce, Luis Madrigal, Natalie Dolan, Kaylie Boettner

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: “SSU hires Greek Life advisor” Staff writer Lukas Brown interviews the new Greek Life Advisor Leonard Serrato.

Read the story on page 1

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.

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.

OCT. 16 - OCT. 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

Proposition 1 will support affordable housing

P

roposition 1 will be on the ballot Nov. 6 and has the opportunity to create positive change within the California housing crisis.

Proposition 1 is the Housing Programs and Veterans’ Loans Bond and would authorize $4 billion in general obligation bonds to fund housingrelated programs, loans, grants and housing loans for veterans.

Similar to Santa Rosa’s Measure N, Proposition 1 would help alleviate the tension within the current housing shortage in California.

The break down of the $4 billion would allot $1 billion for the CalVet Home Loan Program that helps provide loans for veterans to buy houses and places to live.

Another $1.5 billion would go to the Multifamily Housing Program, which aims to provide loans for construction, rehabilitation and preservation of rental housing for those with incomes of 60 percent or less than the median income.

This funding in particular would help developers, who

argue that it’s not economic to build housing that lower income families can afford, change their perspective towards affordable housing.

Another $300 million of the general obligation bonds would fund a Regional Planning, Housing and Infill Incentive Account that would offer grants for infrastructure that promotes high density housing that is affordable and acknowledges mixed-incomes. The Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Fund would receive $150 million to provide loans and grants locally to developers who are building close to transit stations.

The remaining would be split between the Home Purchase Assistance Program, Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Fund, Local Housing Trust Matching Grant Program and the Self-Help Housing fund. All of these programs aim to provide loans and resources for people who need it most.

According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, “the bond funds would provide annual

subsidies for up to 30,000 multifamily and 7,500 farmworker households.

The funds also would provide down payment assistance to about 15,000 homebuyers and home loans to about 3,000 veterans.”

Proposition 1 would help keep California on track with the population growth that is said to need 180,000 new housing units each year.

According to the LA Times, California would require 3.5 million homes built by 2025 to keep up with housing demand and to secure prices. Such a large building boom would be more than California has seen for almost 80 years.

By making money available, California can aim to build housing that is affordable for families of low income.

Although this proposition will not fix the housing crisis, it does contribute by creating new housing which will help to alleviate the shortage in the future.

Vote YES on Proposition 1.

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.

Opinion 3

OCT. 16 - OCT. 22 , 2018 sonomastatestar.com

Guardians director makes comeback too soon for accountability’s sake

ALISON SNIDER

STAFF WRITER

W

hen “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn was fired back in July over the resurfacing of old, highly offensive, pedophillic tweets, the cast and crew of the Guardians films quickly protested the shocking termination defending his character.

While Disney did not rehire Gunn for the project, the Guardian reports that DC Cinematic Universe recently picked up Gunn to direct the sequel of their highly criticized “Suicide Squad.”

But many superhero fans everywhere are wondering if James Gunn’s return to cinema is too soon.

Offensive jokes on Twitter are a difficult subject to navigate these days.

Frankly it depends on the content of the tweets, how long ago the statements were made, and the sincerity of the apology. Gunn’s tweets are not to be excused, especially with his lackluster apology.

For those who are unfamiliar with the content of Gunn’s damning tweets, his statements happened sporadically over a four-year period, from 2008-2012, containing phrases so disturbing that they ought not be repeated.

While, yes, sometimes humor is simply just humor, the normalization of pedophilia cannot be overlooked. If these tweets had occurred once many, many years ago, it would be easier to forgive, but the repeated use of pedophillic jokes in this manner is not representative of the words of someone who views pedophilia as a serious crime.

On the other hand, Gunn has not released any statements containing pedophilic language or humor since 2012, so it is entirely possible he has changed his views over the course of six years.

What separates Gunn’s situation from that of the Weinsteins or the Spaceys of the world is how Gunn’s colleagues stepped up to the plate to defend him, writing an open letter that the cast

signed and tweeted out. “In casting each of us to help him tell the story of misfits who find redemption, he changed our lives forever,” the letter reads, according to the Verge. “We believe the theme redemption has never been more relevant than now.” The letter is signed by “The Guardians of the Galaxy.”

Fans tagged along on the defense of Gunn, tweeting in advocacy for his work and even starting a petition for Disney to rehire him on Change.org, currently sitting at more than 420,000 signatures.

Gunn has since apologized for his past tweets, but the apology seems to be dodging responsibility. Including phrases such as “I truly felt sorry,” which implies that he no longer feels sorry for his word, and, “I don’t blame my past self for this.” The apology as a whole acted more as an excuse for his past than him owning up to his mistakes and promising to move towards righting his wrongs.

The tweets should not be excused, nor should any pedophilic statements, but Gunn is not entirely past the point of no return. Though returning to a directorial grand re-opening so soon may not be the best way to show remorse for his actions. It may be in Gunn’s best interest to keep things quiet for awhile before revisiting Hollywood.

Melania interview neither impresses nor informs

KATHLEEN PERRY

STAFF WRITER

I

t is Melania Trump’s mission to encourage people to “be best.”

Well it’s time she starts committing to that campaign herself.

On Friday, ABC’s highly anticipated interview with the First Lady was aired. The interview was promoted with no questions being off limit yet concluded with viewers still having many questions and wanting more.

It is tempting to want to give Melania the benefit of the doubt for this interview. After all, she agreed to sit down with ABC during her tour in Africa to talk about things she has yet to comment on before.

She did not choose to have a limited interview with a narrow set of pre-approved questions, nor did she sit down with Fox News, a station that the current administration has made it clear it is typically more trusting of and comfortable with.

However, the hour-long program was a summary of already

public information and most questions were answered with things Melania believes are important but has yet to actually act on.

According to the White House’s website, Trump’s campaign aims to target three elements: the well-being of children, social media and cyberbullying, and how the opioid crisis is affecting children.

Melania wants to help America’s youth to be their best today for a better tomorrow.

She tells ABC that her campaign is important to her as she considers herself one of the most bullied people in the world, yet she has never used her voice to stand up for the people on the receiving end of her husband’s cyber-bully attacks.

The First Lady does not deny that she is very private, but in upholding that privacy, people don’t really know where her values are or what she stands behind and supports.

Many news stations have judged her not based on her actions, but on her husband’s actions and more often, on her appearance.

News stations like CNN have reported on her wardrobe choices and compared her to former First Lady Jackie Kennedy, also a fashion icon in the White House.

Melania has stated that she wishes more people would focus on what she does rather than what she wears, but she has not done anything worth talking about besides wearing a jacket that says “I don’t care” while visiting children in camps who were separated from

their families per her husband’s own policy.

Throughout the interview, FLOTUS tries to refocus the conversation back to things she believes in: her campaign to help children, standing with her husband despite his affair and speaking against his opinions when she disagrees. But her actions rarely speak for the things she claims to be important to her.

When comparing what she has done for her campaign “Be Best,” to the previous First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, she has done fewer things for the organization in the same amount of time as Obama according to NPR. She also says she loves her husband despite how the media has portrayed their relationship, and that she speaks out when she disagrees with him. But speaking up in private is not really speaking out.

She has a platform and a following and she never chooses to use it.

She has her own voice, but admits that she tells her husband her opinions and then accepts that he is going to do whatever he wants anyways.

That is not a way for her to be heard, and it is not standing up for her campaign to be best and stop cyber bullying.

When asked to describe who Melania Trump is, she claims that she is a strong and independent woman with much to prove just like her husband. If that is the case, we certainly have not seen that side of her yet.

Apple takes measures against phone addiction

TERESA GULLI STAFF WRITER

I

t’s time we put our phones down. This not a suggestion to be taken lightly, but a demand of the utmost importance.

People have grown addicted to their cell phones more than they are aware of, and just like any other addiction, this one will be hard to break. Well, in truth, people are not addicted to the phone itself per se, but the applications that live inside, social networking and entertainment, all designed to keep a person trapped in a world of digital vices.

We are trained like Pavlov’s dog to associate a notification bell with a strong urge to check the phone.

This leads to instant gratification by the notification regardless of the message. Notifications have individuals feel better about themselves such as receiving likes on a photo, which to many passes as self-validation. The addiction of keeping in touch with everyone in your network and their whereabouts is important to note as it brings a sense of fear of missing out.

According to a study by psychologists Laila Chaudhry & Faye Prichard, “The fear of missing out, a phenomenon that can be found in nearly 75 percent of young adults using social media these days, is linked to constant use of social media . . . This can lead to addiction to social networking sites, and through the medium of mobile apps, to phones also.”

Although cell phone creators have made these devices to addict us to their products, some companies are taking responsibility and giving us the option to limit our usage.

Screen Time is Apple’s newest setting in iOS 12, in response of the phone addiction claims, where the user can put a limit on their screen time of the applications they are using. This is a way to control how users allocate their time on the phone if and when they find the discipline to implement the feature in the first place.

Of course, a person can always go back and change the limit, so this setting is actually better suited for children as they would not have access to the passcode of a parent.

Even Apple CEO Tim Cook admits his phone addiction has gotten to him. “I thought I was fairly disciplined about this,” he said, “and I was wrong. When I began to get the data, I found I was spending a lot more time than I should. And the number of times I picked up the phone were too many.”

The Apple Watch is another way to begin breaking phone habits, more specifically when a user is outside, as many individuals are concerned with safety issues when distracted by the phone too much in public.

Of course, having a phone has many perks like GPS, wireless phone calling and simple searches on Google, but the problem these instill can be lessened by carrying an Apple Watch with LTE in place of an Apple phone.

According to Apple-specific news website 9to5Mac, “Experiences without iPhone can include workouts (outdoor workouts or even gym workouts with the iPhone secured in the car or locker), trips to the movie theater or dinner at a restaurant, visits to parks with your family or spending time outdoors on your own, or even an hour spent grocery shopping.”

It is time we start depending on phones a little less and commit to being present in our everyday experiences a lot more. Remember, along with a great tool to stay connected with friends and the environment around, they also run the risk of disengaging us from our own lives.

Circumcision practice infringes on human rights

GILLIAN CHAFFER STAFF WRITER

I

n the United States, male circumcision is seen as normal, desirable and expected.

In different countries, however, circumcising babies is not a common practice, and is seen a more invasive procedure.

Female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation, or simply, “cutting,” is when part or all of the external area of a woman’s genitals are sewn up or removed.

There is no medical reasoning behind this procedure. However, according to Women’s Health, 140 million females

alive have endured this practice.

The history behind male and female circumcision is a long and complicated one.

Male circumcision was first recorded in Eastern Africa, as a way to “purify” young boys by removing part of their sexual organs, hoping that this will stop them from having intercourse or any form of pleasure, according to CIRP. Jewish people used circumcision as a religious practice, which continues to be a norm today. Female mutilation began around the same time, and was performed by untrained doctors, even mothers, to remove the labia and clitoris of a young girl for hygiene reasons, and because many believed doing so would give more pleasure to a man. Many women who were not cut were not allowed to be married until they went through the procedure.

Male circumcision in developed countries is a safe and quick event that occurs typically right after birth with few complications. Female circumcision is illegal in the United States, though is relevant in many other countries that most likely belong to the third world.

The procedure is done when the child

reaches age 11 or 12, performed with no anesthetic, and can cause severe complications.

Pain during sex, infections, a damaged urinary tract and pregnancy issues are just some of the horrific side effects of this procedure.

One woman featured in a BuzzFeed video titled “How I Survived Female Genital Mutilation” described the procedure performed on her when she was 13.

She was called “three legs” by her peers at school, since she still had a clitoris intact.

When she was cut, she could not walk for months, had to leave her legs tied together, and faced many infections and painful complications.

Male genital mutilation is far from being seen as torturous by the general American public. According to NoCirc, an anti-circumcision group based in Michigan, states, “Male circumcision is a barbaric practice driven by the same reasons as female genital mutilation: cleanliness, tradition, religion, and pseudoscience.”

Many are so used to the practice that it is normal to request to have your child circumcised. Even though it is performed in a safe environment at a young age for boys, these babies still feel the procedure, and they are

not making their own decision whether to be cut or not. Though female genital mutilation is a more invasive and painful procedure with more complications, the practice is still based on the same ideologies.

No matter the age, gender, religion or origins of a child, they are not giving consent to have their genitals mutilated at such a young age. Therefore, it is not the parents’ right to make that choice for them and poses a horrible violation of one’s rights.

Regardless of who this child is, they are capable of cleaning themselves properly, and do not deserve to endure the extreme pain of circumcision, even if they are just a baby. In 2018, removing parts of one’s genitals so a child can grow up and not enjoy intercourse as much as they deserve is infringing on their rights as a human.

If one chooses to go through the medical procedure at 18, that is their own choice.

Though it is a tradition to many, sometimes, traditions become outdated, and are meant to be changed.

Young children should not be put through this pain for hygienic, aesthetic, or religious reasons. It is their body, and not their parents’.

4 News

OCT. 16 - OCT. 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

New dean of students settling in

MANDELA LINDER STAFF WRITER

S

onoma State has a new dean of students, Ryan-Jasen Anders Henne. Henne has been at Sonoma State since Dec. 2017 after leaving the University of Alaska, Anchorage for the dean position.

One of the main reasons that he choose Sonoma State was because he felt it had the goal of putting students first.

“The people were really engaged and really wanted to put students first, and that aligns with my values,” he said.

“There were two students on the hiring committee and for me that’s a great sign of an institution wanting to put students first.”

Henne did his undergraduate work at East Carolina University, with a major in Communications and a double minor in Business and Theater. He got his masters in Education from Grand Valley State University, and his Phd in Educational Leadership and Counseling Foundations from the University of New Orleans.

According to the Sonoma State website, the dean of students position includes “support and supervision in the areas of Residential Life, Campus Recreation, The Hub Multicultural Center, and Student Involvement.”

Henne also said that he works with Student Conduct. He was especially attracted to the Campus Recreation aspect of the job because it would provide him with a new professional experience. “The position was unique because it was a dean of students position that oversees all the traditional functional areas, but also the rec center and that was something that I didn’t have a lot of experience with,” he said. “I was looking for an opportunity to grow as a professional.”

He also loved the beautiful campus and the welcoming community. “As a person who has three kiddos and a same-gender spouse we needed a place that was going to be welcoming to us as a unit, and we have found that here.” Henne and his husband Justin were the second male same-sex couple to adopt in Alaska.

One of Henne’s main objectives in his new role is to make students comfortable expressing themselves. “In my time at Sonoma State I hope to create a space where students feel like they can be their authentic selves. I hope to create a space for discourse because I don’t think that everyone has to have the same opinion on any topic.”

As someone who is responsible for much of what happens outside of the classroom, Henne feels it is important to make sure that students are able to accomplish what they want out of campus life. “What I perceive to

COURTESY // Sonoma State University As the dean of students, one of Henne’s responsibilities is to oversee the rec center on campus.

He last worked at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. be the most important aspect of my job is that I provide students access to the best possible undergraduate and graduate student experience they choose to have,” he said. “I want to make sure there are no barriers for them to participate in whatever it is they want to do.”

The most challenging time in Henne’s career, a time that has changed who he is as a professional, was when he was 23. He was working in his first year out of grad school and a student was killed in a car accident.

“Knowing him personally, knowing the impact that his loss had on campus made it difficult for me,” he said.

“I couldn’t help his friends, I couldn’t help his fraternity brothers. I was limited in what I was able to do...It definitely has informed on how I do the work that I do.”

When making an important decision in his work, Henne looks at the big picture. “I think about if you were to drop a rock into water, there’s a ripple effect. The center of it obviously is going to be the student. And around that is going to be the immediate family and friends, the next ring is going to be classmates, maybe clubs or organizations that they’re participating in, and the last ring is going to be the institution as a whole.”

Henne’s office is located on the third f loor of the Student Center in the Student Affairs Suite and he welcomes any students who would like to talk to him.

SERRATO: Formerly convicted of hazing, now an anti-hazing advocate continued from pg. 1

While attending Fresno State, Serrato said he rushed a fraternity because he didn’t know anyone.

He later held leadership roles within the chapter, he served as brotherhood chairman, alumni relations, assistant new member educator, new member educator and IFC representative.

After graduation, Serrato was working toward applied behavioral analysis with autistic children, but because of his hazing experience through his fraternity he decided to change the trajectory of his life. Serrato was hired on at Fresno State as the assistant Greek life advisor where he implemented a new policy on new member education and hazing prevention. “That experience was amazing, I would not have been able to come into Sonoma State had I not had the experience I had at Fresno State,” said Serrato.

With Sonoma State being one of his top choices, Serrato applied for Greek life advisor roles all over the country. Serrato said that Sonoma State was one of his top choices because of the location—it being closer to his family—and the large concentration of Greeks on a smaller campus.

“I saw there was a lot of opportunity within the greek life community,” Serrato said.

Some of Serrato’s main goals as Sonoma

State’s new Greek life advisor is to implement hazing prevention strategies, to focus on rape culture prevention, sexual misconduct, and alcohol use and misuse. Serrato said that he wants to support the students by giving them stability. “I felt like that was something they were lacking in an advisor, and I have a clear path I want to take in creating a structure that gives them a sense of security,” Serrato said.

While in graduate school, Serrato wrote a called, ‘Greek Life Hazed and Confused’. In the book, he speaks about his experiences and the need to empower new members to give them their voices back. Serrato said that new members can shift the alcohol and hazing culture after attaining the proper education about what hazing looks like and the multiple levels of hazing.

“We are working with the Max Gruver Foundation, Max is one of the four individuals that passed away last year to a hazing incident and working with that to bring more hazing awareness on to campus.”

Serrato said his future plans would include traveling around to universities across the country to give keynote speeches about his hazing incident experience and educating students on hazing prevention. “I do not want anyone else go through the awful experience that I went through, there are so many ways in which we can take action and

prevent these things from happening again,” Serrato said.

Daisy Agers, the president of Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority at Sonoma State said, “Leo has already made changes in our community by rebranding us, instead of Greek Life, he wants the new brand to be Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Leo is working on making Greek Life more positive at school and in the community.”

STAR // Braden Cartwright Brandon Ray participates in Phi Delta Theta’s annual teeter totter event for charity, on Oct. 15. Nearly 20 percent of the student body is involved in a fraternity or sorority, across 22 chapters.

CAMPUS CRIME Crime

Date

Location

Status

Disturbance

Oct. 5

Sauvignon Village

Closed

Petty Theft

Oct. 5

Salazar Hall

Suspended

Petty Theft

Oct. 7

Student Center

Open

Petty Theft

Oct. 8

Sauvignon Village

Suspended

Rape

Oct. 1

Unknown dorm

Desired no report

Burglary

Oct. 10

Sauvignon Village

Closed

Vandalism

Oct. 11

Darwin Hall

Suspended

Sodomy

Oct. 11

Zinfandel Village

Open

Disturbance

Oct. 12

Beaujolais Village

Closed

News 5

OCT. 16 - OCT. 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

Bay Area artist visits Sonoma State ANALY BRAVO STAFF WRITER

B

ay Area visual artist, Tara Tucker visited Sonoma State University on Oct. 11 to talk about her artwork and involvement in Creative Growth. She studied sculpture at California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, receiving a Masters degree. Tucker emphasises in drawing and painting animals inf luenced by the human emotion and behaviour and inspired by her first few interactions with the animal kingdom, her mother’s taxidermy work.

At an early age, Tucker was surrounded by animals (mostly stuffed) and drawings of animals after her mother volunteered to do taxidermy at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. She helped the workers in the lab by collecting and numbering the bones and skeletons to be catalogued. At the age of fourteen, she was able to see Leonard Baskin’s illustrations of raptors at a natural history museum and was immediately inspired.

Her work began to consist of birds and her mother’s taxidermy and even incorporated orchids, plants and f lowers into her work.

“I think a lot about human emotion and behavior, and that usually dictates what type of animal I end up choosing” said Tucker during an interview for Juxtapoz magazine.

Most of her work primarily consists

of domestic animals paired with guinea pigs and monkeys. “I like the mix of wild with domestic” Tucker said. “I think it speaks about the unpredictability of the untamed, as opposed to the solidarity bred and familiar characteristics of the domestic animal.”

“I’ve seen her drawings on shopping bags in San Francisco,” said Sonoma State junior student Steve Schneider.

Tucker’s 2008 “It’s Always The Same By” graphite piece was used for MAC bag on Modern Appealing Clothing in San Francisco. “Her work definitely has a Bay Area feel to it.”

Currently, Tucker works with disabled adults in teaching them how to make rugs at Creative Growth. “This is something I think is great and I am very proud of,” Tucker said during her lecture at Sonoma State. Creative Growth is a nonprofit organization that offers disabled artists a valuable platform for self expression by providing studio space and gallery representation.

This space began over 40 years ago in Oakland, when six individuals opened their doors for disabled people to come in and make art. During that time, California had made a decision that people with developmental disabilities would not automatically live in hospitals but rather be institutionalized. They were provided with art materials and tools to work on their art pieces everyday. Over 40 years later, the center serves as a creative space for over 160 adults.

COURTESY // Tara Tucker Top: “You’re going to reap just what you sow” Bottom: “Tongue and Groove”

SAKAKI: High occupancy freshman housing in the future continued from pg. 1

COURTESY // Tara Tucker Tucker’s “If wishes were horses...” drawing. Tucker likes to bring together the wild and domestic in her art. She also makes rugs.

NEWS IN BRIEF Turkey

59 year-old Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering a Saudi Consulate on Tuesday, Oct. 2 around 1 p.m.

For hours after his disappearance and suspected murder, his fiance could be seen waiting for his return outside of the building. President Trump has sent Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate his disappearance. Some evidence has suggested that the Saudi Arabian government was responsible.

Florida

Hurricane Michael—the third-most powerful Atlantic Hurricane to make contact with the United States—touched down in Florida on Oct. 10. Since then, miles of property has been destroyed, at least 18 have been found dead, and another 46 are considered missing.

Santa Rosa

A Santa Rosa Junior College student reported an armed robbery around 8:15 p.m. last Thursday. According to the Press Democrat, two men approached the unidentified female victim from behind with a black handgun and demanded money. While both suspects wore dark-colored hoodies and had dark complexions, one was described wearing a gold chain with medium build. The other was 6 feet tall and heavyset.

New York

FBI agents arrested 56-year-old Paul Rosenfeld the morning of Oct. 10 for manufacturing an illegal explosive. Sources revealed to ABC that he intended to detonate the home-made bomb in Washington, D.C. on election day. Ultimately, his plan was to draw attention to his political ideology with a suicide bombing.

The limited amount of housing is not only hurting students, but potential faculty on campus as well, Sakaki said..

Sonoma State loses one in five potential employees that they offer jobs to due to housing costs. That is why they are looking into purchasing a housing development off campus.

Also, the school wants to build more freshmen housing, where they would live closer together, in order to offer upperclassman students, transfer students, and faculty members more options for housing.

Sakaki says her biggest accomplishment thus far is refocusing the campus of success student.

Safety was an issue that was brought up and she said while the safety on campus is getting better, it is not quite there yet. “It’s about education,” she said. Sakaki said the way residential life is structured was looked at for improvement following last year’s dorm room stabbing.

Sakaki went on further to say that putting cameras all around campus could potentially invade privacy of students, but there are cameras around the GMC and the school is looking to install lockers by the cafeteria.

She also announced that Sonoma State’s emergency plan has been updated and that on Oct. 25, the emergency operations team will be going through four days of intensive training.

CLASSROOM: Tech High leaving will free space continued from pg. 1

“Classroom utilization is reviewed by all universities from time to time. This is usually done in partnership with the Academic Senate.” he explained.

Mark Perri, the chair of the Academic Planning, Assessment, and Resources Committee, believes the problem should be fixed with a different scheduling program. “I feel that a less-complicated scheduling module in combination with interdepartmental cooperation and planning is the best solution. I feel that departments should communicate so that pre-reqs and co-reqs don’t conf lict between departments.”

Also, Tech High leaving its space in Salazar Hall and the Stevenson Hall remodel will open up more classrooms in the future.

Perri also acknowledges that classroom utilization is an issue when scheduling classes for faculty.

“We should try to schedule our classes more efficiently so that the number of sections that are run isn’t limited by scheduling. But, this will also require increased funding to mount the additional sections, or there’s no reason to be more efficient.

Perri cares about an increased

student graduation rate. “I would like to move towards a system where no students are waitlisted and no students have to resort to winter or summer classes to graduate in four years.” Perri said.

Perri explained the issue is difficult for the faculty as well. “It is difficult because we request certain times for our classes, but then they turn out not to be available. Then we have to adjust the schedule, which is very difficult to do after everything has been set. So for example, I had to move a class this semester from 1 to 3 p.m. to 12 to 2 p.m. because there weren’t any available classrooms open at 1 to 3 p.m. This time makes it difficult for the students and faculty to eat lunch.”

The idea of having certain classrooms only for three unit or four unit classes to avoid times when the classroom is empty has also been f loated at the Academic Senate.

Provost Lisa Vollendorf said there is a new software in place that may further help the students and faculty, called Platinum Analytics.

This software “helps us predict student demand for GE and required classes in the major. This will help us better predict and plan for class demand across all disciplines at Sonoma State.” Vollendorf said.

6 Arts

OCT.16 - OCT. 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

A Sweet Surprise hidden in Petaluma MARTIN CONTRERAS STAFF WRITER

H

idden amongst the endless shops and restaurants that consume downtown Petaluma, it’s very easy to miss Lala’s Creamery. The beloved ice cream shop is a gem that is well worth checking out if ever find yourself with some spare time and a craving for some delicious, affordable ice cream.

Lala’s Creamery has been around for years, making every customer’s life a little sweeter.

Giovanni Mendez, a sophomore business major at Sonoma State University, shares his reaction when he first walked into Lala’s. “I opened the door and was immediately greeted by the sweet, intoxicating smell of ice cream and sweet treats.”

Lala’s is located on Petaluma Blvd North and situated snugly in between the RiverFront Art Gallery and Jungle Vibes Toy store, across from Putnam Plaza Park and Starbucks. It’s an old fashioned ice cream parlor, with classic black and white tiles that line the f loor, and red brick walls that surround you- invoking a comfort that everyone appreciates. Lala’s is also equipped with about a half dozen parlor stools that give you a front row seat to where the magic happens, and a lovely outdoor patio to relax in the sun with your friends if that’s what you prefer. They even have various games like mancala and tic-tac-toe available so you can play while you enjoy your ice cream.

If the friendly and inviting atmosphere at Lala’s wasn’t enough to make you want to give it a try, the great menu and affordable prices might provide you with that deciding push. A single scoop of any of the 24 available f lavors starts at $3.95 and from there any additional scoop is another dollar. A double scoop comes out to $5.95 and a triple will run you $7.95. With any of these choices you receive a complimentary cake cone, but if you prefer a sugar

cone, you will have to pay an additional 60 cents, and a waff le cone is an extra $1.25. Shakes and malts are available starting at $6.25 for regular (12oz) and $7.25 for a double. Floats are another popular choice that will only cost you $6.50 and can be made with either root beer or Coca Cola.

No ice cream shop would be complete without providing sundaes and splits. A two scoop banana split with hot caramel and fudge, topped with whipped cream, nuts and a cherry is delicious and for only $8 it’s a great bang for your buck. Lala’s offers plenty of others options besides their classic banana split. Some popular options include classic brownie sundaes, cookie sandwiches or “cookiewiches,” and plenty of other variations.

“Regardless of what you get, whether that be an elaborate sundae concoction with seven scoops and five toppings or a simple scoop of vanilla, it’s delicious and affordable,” said Mendez. One of the many amazing things about Lala’s creamery is that nothing on the menu is more than $10, besides a quart of ice cream which costs $15, and the infamous “Ooh La La” which is dish that contains eight scoops of ice cream topped with 5 sauces, 4 toppings, chopped peanuts, honey whip cream and seven cherries. This monster will run you $35.

Lala’s has surpassed most ice cream shops by not only providing amazing customer service and a friendly environment, but the quality and care that they offer is incredible. All of their ice cream,

COURTESY// Lala’s Creamery sauces and baked goods are made daily in small batches with the highest quality ingredients. Their ice cream contains 100% organic bases. They also cater to those with specialty diets by offering various gluten free and vegan options that are not only delicious but affordable as well.

Lala’s creamery receives five out of five stars. The location, atmosphere, employees, and ice cream are top notch. It’s a great option for any occasion, be it catching up with an old friend, hanging out with friends, or even taking that special someone on a date.

Gruesome crime movie based off true story MADELEINE BROWN

Review

STAFF WRITER

“22

July” is a true story based on the mass shooting that occurred in Norway seven years ago. A lone terrorist killed 77 people over the course of two attacks, eight of which were killed in the bomb explosion that occurred in the country’s capital, Oslo. Another 69 teenagers and young adults were shot dead on the island of Utoya right off the coast of the city. Over 200 people were injured as a result of Anders Behring Breivik’s terrorist attack.

This film documents the horrors and realities of mass shootings, including the aftermath and struggle that victims face following their tragic experience. Without having read the description of the movie prior to watching it and having no previous knowledge of what is is about, it is obvious from the beginning that something dreadful is going to happen. This is clear due to the binary opposition of the giddy teenagers as they enter summer camp on Utoya and the sketchy man sneaking around worrying the mother.

Breivik is skulking and it is clear that he is

about to unleash some type of terror on these kids, though the brutality that occurs is unimaginable.

The first attack is a car bomb detonated in the middle of the Governor’s District where most government officials work, including the Prime Minister. His strategy is to attract the attention of all emergency and first responders to the scene so he would able to sneak off and attack the children on the island. Breivik is very sly and thorough, dressing as a cop to mislead everyone. The camp hears of the bombing and everyone begins frantically calling their family. As Breivik makes his way onto the island of Utoya he acts as the hero, there to protect them and gather them all together to brief the camp on the bombing. However he almost immediately begins shooting every terrified face he sees.

We later discover that Breivik has political motives. He is a national terrorist that believes multiculturalism is destroying Europe and his intention is to start a war to take back control of Norway and the rest of Europe. He

strongly disagrees with Norway’s immigration laws and multicultural policies, explaining his first attack on the Governor’s District.

His second strike targets children at a camp run by Norway’s Labour Party and he despises them for being “children of the elite” and “traitors.” Ultimately, his attacks target the entire country and the democracy for which it stands.

“22 July” continuously shows the struggles that each victim and victim’s family faces. The film follows Viljar and his family overcoming the loss of loved ones and healing from injuries sustained in the attacks.

This includes learning how to walk again and regaining muscle strength in every part of his broken body. One of the toughest struggles for the entire country, though, is moving forward. It is incredible to watch the strength of the victims in this film stand up to Breivik in court and share their disturbing experience, to share about watching a deranged man dressed in a uniform that is designed to protect you shooting directly at you.

The film does a terrifyingly good job of

making you feel as if you are there, internalizing the terror and fear that the children on the island must have felt. It puts the audience in the shoes of every child and young adult that has been shot at or killed on their school campus in the United States, wondering why the U.S. government is continuing to let this happen. “22 July” shows the horror and brutality of the one and only mass shooting Norway has ever experienced. The sequential attack has resulted in two films: “22 July” and “Utoya- July 22.” The film depicts many top Norwegian government officials sitting down at a table to work out how this got past them, how to respond, and how to fix their laws and policies to make sure it never happens again.

America has seen 154 mass shootings just in the first six months of 2018 and not one Blockbuster movie documentation of any. “22 July” uncovers the reality of this mass shooting for Norway and the reality of the aftermath, something we only read about.

You can steam this movie on Netflix.

15 eligible for music’s most prestigious honor KASEY WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

E

arly last week, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its nominations for the class of 2019, and like recent years, the potential inductees are a mix of new and old, familiar and not-so-familiar.

First-time nominations were awarded to groups and individual artists such as Def Leppard, Stevie Nicks, and John Prine, while familiar names like LL Cool J and Kraftwerk find themselves in the mix once again. Other nominations include Devo, The Cure, Todd Rundgren, Roxy Music, Janet Jackson, MC5, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, and The Zombies.

In order for a group or individual artist to be eligible for induction, they must have released their first commercial recording 25 years prior to the nomination, making LL Cool J legally ancient.

While some of these artists may sound familiar, a large percentage of them are likely to be unfamiliar to even the most ardent, music-loving, millennial-aged student.

Roxy Music, for example, has been eligible for the Hall of Fame for some 20 years and is likely overlooked by people unfamiliar with early-70s glam-rock, yet their significance to rock and roll is irrefutable. The evolution of the band from

its early, brassy renditions (“Roxy Music”) to art-rock (“Stranded”) to global pop (“Avalon”) felt natural, seamlessly transitioning with the times. Their induction is all but guaranteed.

Craftsmen like Todd Rundgren and John Prine are two well-known, early70s auteurs. While the former is unquestionably worthy of entry after decades of writing, producing, and performing pop hits, his tendency to lean heavily on flamboyant on-stage outfits may prove too much for the hall to overlook. After all, a majority of the 1,000-member voting committee are old white men, and never mind the fact that an entire band of manly-men in tight black spandex get rushed in without so much as a blink (Kiss). That may be a conversation for another day.

Fans of LL Cool J and Def Leppard should probably avoid getting their hopes up this year as well, as the Hall tends to avoid induction of hip-hop/pop artists that double as “Lip Sync Battle” hosts and overproduced, critically-ignored metal bands. But stranger things have happened.

It may seem like 25 years is a long time to wait for Hall of Fame eligibility, but that means that artists and groups like Beck, Outkast, or even Wu-Tang Clan can garner a nomination if the 30 members of the nomination committee see it fit. Although that would mean an overwhelming majority of the 1,000 members

in voting committee would need to agree on induction, but it remains a possibility.

That is not to discredit past and potential future inductees, but the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is no stranger to controversy. While notable, worthy inclusions obviously exist, like Prince or Bob Dylan, an alarming amount of mediocre, and often downright bad, artists/groups have seen their names added to the list, like ABBA, Laura Nyro, and The Moonglows.

Ridiculous criteria often play into these inclusions, like number of records sold, whether or not they are outspoken advocates of the Hall, or if they seem like they might play at the Awards show. The

Hall loves their publicity and anything that could potentially cast a bad light on the show is often avoided at all costs, so Radiohead may find themselves on the outside looking in after several of the bands members disparaged the Hall repeatedly.

The 2019 induction ceremony will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on March 29. As usual, fans will have their chance to vote for who they believe deserves induction into the hall by visiting Rockhall.com through December 9. Voting is capped at one ballot per day and will be tallied to determine the top five artists within the “Fan’s Ballot.”

COURTESY // Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Entertainment 7

OCT. 16 - OCT. 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

Sophomore dances her way to the Palace of Fine Arts

Michelle Tadlock STAFF WRITER

I

sabel Siu, a sophomore at Sonoma State University, isn’t a typical college student. Instead of exploring her unfamiliar college town or going out with friends, she spends her weekends traveling back to her hometown of San Francisco. Here she practices with the Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu’s, a Hawaiian dance company.

At a young age she became fascinated with the Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu dance group and hula dance in general.

She remembers watching the movie Lilo and Stitch and instantly fell in love with Hawaiian dance. Siu states, “I looked like the movie character Lilo when I was younger and people would constantly tell me that I remind them of her. I came to recognize myself with her at a young age.” Isabel started an after school hula program at the age of four, but it wasn’t until she turned nine that the Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu decided to open a children’s class. Before that, the minimum age to enroll in their classes was sixteen.

At the end of her junior year of high school Isabel was asked to join the professional adult group. The director, Patrick Makuakane, had never asked someone from the kids class to join their professional program. She was honored; this was a group she had looked up to ever since she could remember. Being able to actually perform with them was a dream come true.

Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu, a group of about forty people, perform traditional Hawaiian dance in more of a theatrical light. They incorporate forms of contemporary and traditional hula dances.

Each performance has a unique story, where they honor Hawaiian royalty or significant figures in their history. Siu states, “Patrick Makuakane, our director, has invented his own style called hula mala where we don’t dance to typical Hawaiian music.” They use songs from pop-radio, electronic dance, alternative, or even opera depending on the segment.

Their current show, “Hula in Unusual Places” will be at The Palace of Fine Arts on the last two weekends of this month.

The segment will be focusing on powerful women and they will be dancing to different female artists, including Ella Fitzgerald.

They have a segment devoted to Burning Man and San Quentin prison. This last August/September the dance company got the opportunity to perform at the COURTESY// Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu week-long art festival Burning Man. Isabel states, “this was noth- Isabel Siu (back left) performs alongside her fellow dance partners sharing ing any of us have ever experienced. their heritage to a large crowd.

We were used to performing in front hard finding a balance sometimes. I ology. It’s a subject she has always been of thousands of people, but here our biggest audience was maybe two hun- have to make sure I bring home all of interested in, but she’s not sure what she dred people. Yet, the responses we got my school work because I devote my would do with it yet. As for her dance back was amazing and very emotional.” Fridays and Saturdays to studying and career, she can’t see herself becoming Additionally, their director has been getting homework finished. Then on a hula dance instructor for a profession. teaching classes to the prisoners of San Sundays we practice for almost seven Siu claims, “I like having my dance Quentin for the last five years. This past hours.” At times she feels torn because life just as one aspect of what I do and year they were able to film the prisoners she knows she’s missing out on so- it’s not my whole life. There’s so much cial events and being with her friends more for me to accomplish and learn I learning hula dance.

Being a part of the Nā Lei Hulu I from Sonoma, but the Nā Lei Hulu I Ka don’t want to limit myself.” Isabel may Ka Wēkiu dance company has been a Wēkiu is her second family. They mean not be set on her career path but she is big commitment and takes up a lot of so much to her that it makes those sacri- sure of her love for this company. She said she’ll only stop being with them Isabel’s free time. She explained how fices seem small. when she is at the point of her life where

Isabel Siu is an undeclared stuexhausting it can be traveling back and she is physically unable to dance. dent, but is thinking of going into Sociforth every weekend. Siu states, “it’s

Seawolves SPEAK! What is the best TV show or movie to stream right now?

EMILY HOFFMAN STAFF WRITER

A

s midterm season comes into full swing, Sonoma State students need something to help them take their mind off school and relax.

For these students, we asked them what their favorite TV show or movie is to stream to take their minds off school.

“ ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’ It gives girls hope to do what they want when they get dumped!.”

“ ‘Parks and Rec.’ Its a classic!”

-JC Cooper, Sophomore

-Alexis Mercado, Junior

“I love watching ‘Mama Mia’, it just makes me want to dance!”

-Kadie Defino, Freshman

“I cant stop watching ‘Explained’ its a documentary series ion worldy things and its pretty interesting.”

-Ariel Grippo, Junior

“ ‘The Office.’ Everyone in college watches that when they have nothing to do. ” -Noah falcon, Junior

“‘Riverdale!’ I loved it and I finished it just in tome for the most recent season to come out.”

-Daisy Agers, Senior

8 Student Life

OCT. 16 - OCT. 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

Students relax with ASP Late Nite Art

MORGAN ARANCIO

STAFF WRITER

M

ost students are unaware of what Late Nite Art is. Many walk into the room expecting to have a casual craft night with friends. In fact, it is a facilitated experience that uses art to communicate and break through walls and express yourself. Thursday Oct. 11 was the first Late Nite Art of the year on Sonoma State campus.

Pablo Avendano, Junior Business major, explained how he wasn’t sure what he was walking into, “One of my friends was talking about attending and asked me to tag along with him. I wasn’t ready to sit next to students I didn’t know and talk to them for the entire hour and 50 minutes, but it was an eye opening experience”.

Jeff Shiau and Brady Gill were both in attendance from Late Nite Art. Shiau is the Director of Operations and Gill was the facilitator. Both were very excited about being at Sonoma State and bringing in as many students as possible.

Late Nite Art is a organization that has hosted 150 events since its creation in 2012 and in only 7 years has had a major impact worldwide. They have been to 9 different countries and reached around 6,000 people. Some of the clients they have worked with are major companies such as Kaiser Permanente, Ebay, Linkedin, Google, and GAP. They work with all kinds of private business and schools.

Many times they work with corporations when they need some imagination and team building help.

Shiau discussed the power of these events by describing how business savvy people come in suited up and stiff, usually not wanting to be there and just to get it over with.

Often times they leave with their shirt untucked, laughing and with such a different attitude. Shiau has seen many clients leaving crying because their experience was so amazing and they hope to reach as many people as they can.

On their website, Adam Rosendahl, the co-founder and CEO of Late Nite Art, clarifies what the goal of every

COURTESY // Morgan Arancio Late Nite Art facilitator Brady Gill begins the event on Oct. 11. event is. “I use music and art supplies and provocative conversations to kind of trick people into being creative,” said Rosendahl.

Late Nite Art was created when Rosendahl was teaching an art class at an elementary school. He found that all the kids and everybody were going through hardships at home and this gave them the space to not think about it and have fun. Rosendahl wanted to give that opportunity to and space for everyone and Late Nite Art was born.

Late Nite Art is a great way to find yourself and learn how creative you really are. The fun thing is they bring crafts that many haven’t used since childhood, like water-

color paints and crayons. It’s a calm setting that is open to everyone and you may even end up leaving making many new friends or grow deeper friendships with the friends you came with.

At the end of the night, you’re able to reflect on the experience and your life aswell as look at the artwork you’ve created and what you’ve created with the people around you. This kind of hands on activity that forces you to connect with strangers may not be for everyone, but is an experience many won’t forget.

This was the only event planned with Late Nite Art for the year but they plan to come back to Sonoma State soon.

Mental Health Fair showcases mindfulness MARIAH MALDONADO

STAFF WRITER

L

ast Wednesday in the bustle of students scurrying to classes and grabbing their morning espresso, Seawolf Plaza was transformed into the Mental Health Awareness Fair. From 11:30 through 1:30 p.m., students were able to step away from the stress of college and take a moment to themselves, along with finding out about all of the resources campus has to offer.

Mental health is often overlooked by college students and those around them. NBC News reported in 2017 that 75 percent of all mental health conditions begin before the age 24, making college a critical time to take care of oneself. UCLA Higher Education Research also conducted a survey in which over 12 percent of college freshmen reported that they were frequently depressed.

SSU’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) aims to create a safe mental health conversation on campus. CAPS on campus offers counseling, consultation, training, and outreach to all students and faculty.

CAPS intern Rosse Linares assisted in planning for the awareness fair on campus over the span of the last month. She strived to be an intern in this specific department due to her psychology major, along with noticing that mental health seems to go overlooked on college campuses. Her explanation of why mental health is often overlooked focused on the fact that mental health problems are not as easy to notice as the physical ones. Linares added the assistance given on campus helps students know they are not alone, which is crucialon a college campus. Linares shared that she too has been able to use CAPS as a resource in her college career: “As someone with anxiety, I know how scary it can be to take that first step. CAPS is such an amazing resource, and know if you ever feel alone, the doors are always open,” Linares said.

At the fair, students could stop and relax by to color, make glitter jars, flower crowns, stress balls, finger paint, and even grab from a “take what you need” table.

Along with CAPS, Student Government, Voter Registration, the Student Health Center, and Colleges Against Cancer tabled as well.

Freshman Alex Rosselli was able to stop by the

event and relax from her busy schedule to color. In her life of the college bustle, she understands that time must be set aside for mental health. She keeps her mental health prioritized by practicing mindfulness everyday. The fair was able to give her a relaxing break from the stress of midterms.

“I decided to stop by because midterms are soon and art is a good way for me to distress,” Rosseli explained.

Marco Angrisani, a Junior, was tabling for Phi Delta Theta’s Teeter Totter event when he noticed the activities going on in Seawolf Plaza. He couldn’t help but to share how proud he was that SSU was creating a conversation about mental health.

Angrisani shared, “Mental health is a very important aspect to ones everyday life. It’s the foundation to a successful and healthy lifestyle, which in turn creates a happier life for that individual.”

CAPS is located in Stevenson 1088 and is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. during the week, excluding Thursday when they are open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. They also open emergency drop in hours for particular situations Mon.- Fri. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. For more information, go to their website at sonoma.edu/counselingctr or give them a call at (707) 664 - 2153.

Club Spotlight: SSU Line dance club CARLY OLSEN STAFF WRITER

W

ith many clubs on campus, it’s difficult to find which one is right for you. However, if you’re looking to get active and have fun while doing it, the Sonoma State Line Dance Club might be your match. This club teaches and practices line dances in order to perform at local, all age line dance bars.

Line dancing is a form of dance that originated in the 1970s. To summarize it, people line up in one or more rows and perform movements in a synchronized manner. These choreographed dances consist of a sequence of steps and people generally face either each other or the same direction and move at the same time without physically touching.

This club meets every week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 - 9:30 p.m. in the Niagara Room, the bigger dance room, at the Recreation Center.

They typically learn two new dances each meeting from their instructors Megan Barsuglia and Chris Gonzalez.

Some of the dances are local while others are globally known. Some can be harder than others to master, but members have a lot of fun learning new ones. They take what they learn in practice and perform in front of crowds on Thursday nights at either the Twin Oaks Roadhouse in Penngrove or HopMonk Tavern in Novato.

If you are interested in joining the club, it’s simple. Junior Rileigh Varga, treasurer of the club, stated line dancing is easy and everyone can learn.

“The dances are much easier than

most would think, so we encourage everyone to join, regardless of their skill level.” said Varga. “All you have to do is show up when we meet and you can dance with us. We love new members and will work with them to make them more comfortable and be able to get the dances down,” Another positive of this club is that it’s free and doesn’t require any dues.

This college student budget friendly, and is espcecially important because

if you’re worried about money, this is something you can enjoy without having

to pay for it.

The Line Dancing Club also tables almost every week in the Seawolf Plaza.

This allows students to talk to a member first without first going to practice, allowing students to ask any or all of their questions.

Something else to consider is while line dancing is well-known for country music, that’s not the only type of music this club dances to.

They pull songs from many different genres to switch it up and make it fun for everyone.

When asked what her favorite part of being in the Line Dance Club was, president of the club Morgan Ruthig shared how line dancing helps her relax.

“I really like how line dancing helps me relieve stress from school.

Whenever I’m learning a new dance, I have a smile on my face. It’s my way of taking a break from classes and having fun!”

If you think this club is something

you’d be interested in, make sure to reach out and show up to a practice to meet the dancers and watch them! You might decide to join and discover a new talent or hobby, or simply find a sense of community and fun on campus.

Student Life 9

OCT. 16 - OCT. 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

Heather Matarazzo connects with students during “Real Talk” NINA LOPEZ

STAFF WRITER

I

n honor of World Mental Health Day, actress and writer Heather Matarazzo, most famously known for her role as Lily Matzkevich in “The Princess Diaries,” arrived at Sonoma State University to share her insight about mental health and the simplistic importance of allowing yourself to be seen and the active involvement of seeing others.

Just last August, Matarazzo received the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award for her unapologetic openness and advocacy for life and love. Because of her inspiring battle with mental health, Associated Students Productions at Sonoma State asked Matarazzo to share her story and give some advice for people struggling with their mental health.

“We felt Heather had a lot of life experience to offer and she was a big name so students could relate to her but also look up to her,” said ASP member Sammi Glatt about booking the actress on behalf of World Mental Health Day. Matarazzo’s interactive lecture took place last Wednesday in Ballroom A located on the second f loor of the Student Center, and despite the venues large space, she managed to make the atmosphere feel very intimate and safe.

Matarazzo was brave enough to share her story with the students of Sonoma State - a story that involved a suicide attempt at age nine, cutting at age eleven, rape, depression and sexual assault.

Given the cards she was dealt, she struggled to repair her mental health for years. However, what saved her life was a trip to Costa Rica and a spiritual ceremony involving the hallucinogenic plant-based drug, ayahuasca.

The medicine made her feel like she was actually going to die in a way that

was out of her control, and she didn’t like that.

“There’s this illusion of safety… and it’s great! Safety is great. But for me, that illusion of safety was causing me to slowly die. I learned to befriend death. I didn’t realize how much I had taken my life for granted in the sense of, I didn’t really know what it was to be alive and to live,” Matarazzo said.

She now strives to better others and conceptualize the idea of self worth. She also emphasizes the importance of love and how everyone is worthy of being seen. Matarazzo explained this concept by making direct eye contact with multiple members of the audience for extended periods of time.

Fourth year Samantha Perez found this to be a very meaningful message in Matarazzo’s interactive lecture.

“It’s important to ‘see’ people because you never really know what’s going on in their life. I feel like Heather emphasizing the whole ‘being seen’ thing was her way of saying that a small action could easily help someone.”

Second year Daniel Manjarrez was also moved by this specific aspect of Matarazzo’s lecture. “Seeing her take the time to hold eye contact with people and recognize their presence seemed so simple, but at the same time, it was really powerful in a way that I didn’t expect.”

Matarazzo passionately reassured the audience that everyone was worthy of being seen, held and loved. She stated that she would stay and recognize the presence of every single person in the lecture hall if needed.

She finalized her lecture by stating, “none of us know what happens after we die. None of us know what tomorrow is gonna bring or even the next moment! But you’re worthy of every single moment and it’s not my job to convince you of that, but sometimes a little eye contact goes a long way.”

STAR // Mariah Ponce Actress and activist Heather Matarazzo connects with students through her personal expereinces during and after show business.

Student Life Calendar Wednesday, Oct. 17

Scene It Movie ft. The

SHAC Doggy Play Day

Incredibles 2

11 a.m.

7 p.m.

Darwin Lawn

Lobovision

ASP Presents Campus

Game Night with Lobo

MovieFest Launch

8:30 p.m.

12 p.m.

Lobo’s

Ballroom C

Saturday, Oct. 20

Cooking Class with

Dig Into Nature: History

Executive Chef Don

Hikes

Cortes

10 a.m.

2 p.m.

Fairfield Osborn Preserve

Chef’s in The Kitchens

Magician Daniel Martin

ASP Open Mic Night

7 p.m.

8 p.m.

Ives 101

Lobo’s

Sunday, Oct. 21

Thursday, Oct. 18

End of Family Weekend

Harvest Stomp

1 p.m.

3 p.m.

Multiple locations

Stomping Grounds’ Patio

around campus

Friday, Oct. 19

Tuesday, Oct. 23

Start of Family Weekend

Pan, Café, y Chocolate

7 p.m.

10:30 a.m.

Multiple locations

Library, Second Floor

around campus

COURTESY // Kailey Priest Teachers and faculty discuss the importance of service learning.

Merits of service learning KAILEY PRIEST STAFF WRITER

S

ervice Learning is a topic that comes into play every year at Sonoma State University, and for teachers, it is time to decide if it should apart of their classroom environment.

Tips and Trends is a resource for students and teachers put on by Merith Weisman and Caroline Banuelos from the Center for Community Engagement (CCE). This year’s topic was service learning and how it can be incredibly beneficial to students in their years here for college.

For many who don’t know what service learning is, it can be best described as, “the opportunity to do what they are learning in the class through experiential education,” said Weisman. While it is not an internship, it can deliver the same sort of satisfaction and experience one can receive through an official one.

A VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) and Sonoma State alumni, Elizabeth Villasenor’s main job at the CCE is to be the liaison between Sonoma State students and service learning projects. She too was introduced to service learning from her time in the classroom and is now working in Santa Rosa, taking part in the Neighborfest program.

“I feel that service learning is an important experience students should have all throughout out their lives, that means learning never ends,” said Villasenor. “Especially when it’s integrated into their classes and it’s relative to the material they are learning.

From my experience as a sociology major,

it can be difficult to separate what we have learned from our socialization to what people truly experience.”

Students can expect to start seeing a lot more of service learning as it becomes integrated into classroom curriculum. The goals include having students provide relevant and meaningful service in their community, increase their academic learning and inspire a lifelong love for civic learning.

“I would say, it takes the classroom beyond the text and takes us outside of our comfort zone,” said Villasenor. “You can expect to spend time outside of the classroom in new places and learning about your community.

Another thing to understand is that service learning is not community service.”

Another VISTA who attended Sonoma State is Susannah Littlewood, who graduated in May 2018 with BA in cultural anthropology. She explained her role: “VISTAs are all about supporting agencies that are working to end poverty. So, I work with Community Action Partnership [CAP], a non-profit that provides services to low-income folks in Sonoma County.”

Giving back to her community is something Littlewood has always felt to be an important role in her life. Because of service learning she is now inspiring other students to do the same.

“CAP is essentially a hub for a bunch of different programs that all work together to help people get out of poverty,” said Littlewood. “We don’t like to say that we “empower” people, because people are already powerful. We just provide resources to people.”

10 Sports NATALYA SWENSEN STAFF WRITER

A

OCT. 16 - OCT. 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

Athlete Spotlight: Armani Nicolis

rmani Nicolis is the captain of the Sonoma State men’s basketball team.

He is currently a fifth year and is majoring in American Multicultural Studies and minoring in Film and Philosophy.

He grew up in LA in Culver City and went to Culver City High School.

Nicolis started playing basketball in sixth grade and made that decision because he felt that football was too violent and jokingly stated that baseball was not a fit because, “I didn’t want to stand at the plate and have balls thrown at me.”

Nicolis’ dad played basketball as well and though a cliché, he states “it was the first thing they handed me as a kid.”

Like many athletes, Nicolis has his own way of preparing for each game.

As a ritual he always puts his left sock on before his right and dresses bottom to top.

Some rituals might seem odd to non-athletes, but these small actions are what put players in the

right mindset to play and win each game.

During the warm-up Nicolis listens to hip-hop and rap music but is not the kind of player to be closed down and just listen to his music.

Instead, he tries to stay loose and interact with his teammates; this interactive nature with his teammates before game-time is what makes him such a great leader.

According to fellow teammate, freshmen Jacob Williams, “Armani has been a mentor to me since the beginning and I hope he is able to take basketball further.”

Williams states that Nicolis biggest attribution to the team, other than being an incredible player, is that he makes an incredible leader.

Nicolis loves the aspect of competition in the game of basketball, but most of all his fellow teammates.

He describes being on the team as “having 16 other brothers.” There is no question why Nicolis is a captain, he shows in-

credible leadership on the team and off.

Beating Chico at ‘Pack the Den’ night, being the biggest home game for the team, was his best memory from last season.

His hopes for this upcoming season for the team is to make playoffs and hopefully win league.

For anyone that has not heard of Pack the Den, it is similar to homecoming for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Coach David Broome’s hopes for Nicolis is “to lead by example and pick up where you left off last year.”

When asked about the hopes for the team as a whole, Broome answers “we want to play up-tempo, be tough, and unselfish and get back to the success we had the year before last.”

When asked where he sees himself after college he answered, “if I don’t play professional basketball, I am going to get my masters degree, but I want to use my god given ability as long as I can.”

Nicolis, along with the other men on SSU’s basketball team,

are very talented and their games are full of students, families, and friends.

COURTESY// Armani Nicolis

COURTESY // sonomaseawolves.com

COURTESY // sonomaseawolves.com

Armani Nicolis celebrates with teammate Jordan Hickman after beating Humboldt State

Lewayne Grant #5, Davion Mize #15, and Armani Nicolis #1, watch as one of their team members dunks on a Humboldt defender

Sports Schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 16

Saturday, Oct. 20

Wednesday, Oct. 17

Women’s Cross Country Lumberjack Invitational Humboldt, CA

Men’s Golf Regional Preview St. George, UT Men’s Golf Regional Preview St. George, UT

Friday, Oct. 19

Women’s Volleyball @ Cal State San Marcos 7 p.m.

Women’s Volleyball @ UC San Diego 7 p.m.

Men’s Soccer @ Humboldt State 2 p.m.

Sports 11

OCT. 16 - OCT. 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

Greek Week brings unity to campus CHRISTIAN FRANCISCO STAFF WRITER

T

he inaugural Greek Weekend event was a success as these festivities brought a lot of excitement to Sonoma State Greek life as every fraternity and sorority participated in some friendly competition.

As different fraternities and sororities team up in order to win the championship plaque, the assimilation of different organizations in one team allows for new friendships to be made.

Greek Weekend comprised of different events, winning each event adds to the overall score of the teams, there were four different events for this years Greek Weekend. The inaugurating ceremony started on Friday with volleyball following after that. The following day, Saturday, started with tug-of-war and then dodgeball.

On Sunday, the final day of competition ended with kickball. These friendly games were eventful as the different teams had fierce but friendly competition. The fact that organizations team up takes the stress off individuals, rather it creates an environment where the people rely on each other.

Greek Weekend is a special event because it is different from any other Greek event on campus. The collaboration of different organizations for this event creates a different type of environment. Unlike events such as Greek Olympics, Lip Jam, Moon Ball or even Xi-Man, individuals from different organization don’t have to worry about the pressure about representing their organization. Rather, the team bonding experience gained from this weekend is memorable for all parties that participated.

The championship trophy of this years Greek Weekend belongs to the team comprised with the sorority Phi Sigma Sigma and fraternities Sigma Lambda Beta and Tau Kappa Epsilon.

Catching up with the President of Sigma Lambda Beta, Dallas Burciaga, he said he enjoyed his Greek Weekend experience. Burciaga spoke about the unity that he witnessed during this weekend, it was nothing like he’s ever seen before at Sonoma State.

Burciaga dives deeper into the unification of the organizations. “Greek Week was awesome! It’s the most I’ve seen all the Greeks come together. Not just during the games, but the overall support during the events throughout the week,” says Burciaga.

After asking Burciaga about how he felt about winning Greek Weekend, he stated “It feels pretty dope.

Getting to host an actual physical trophy was just icing on the cake y’know? It was a pleasure being able to play with TKE and Phi Sig. They were very friendly and

COURTESY // Dallas Burciaga Members of Phi Sigma Sigma, Sigma Lambda Beta, and Tau Kappa Epsilon show their trophies after winning Greek Week overall just fun to play with. They made our Greek Week experience even better.”

The Beta President adds that "we had some real ballers on our team. I know my brother Elvis killed it in volleyball and I did pretty well in our kickball tournament. But there’s no way we could’ve gone as far as we did without the help of TKE and Phi Sig. They got some real athletic players themselves too who helped our team in a big way. It really felt like a team effort, we all contributed our part in the games. And I feel like that’s what Greek Week is all about, unifying together to better ourselves and strive for success.”

The Sigma Lambda Betas are excited about participating next year to hold their title, Burciaga stated "Our team had a bunch of fun playing in Greek Week and we’re ecstatic to have come out as champions. We’re already looking forward to next year.”

Tau Kappa Epsilon was extremely pleased about the results of this years Greek Weekend. After winning the IFC f lag football tournament last year, the Tekes were excited about participating in this year’s new competition, as they love competing for the grand prize.

President of Tau Kappa Epsilon, Grant Peters,

was proud of his guys as they competed hard for the championship plaque. Peters also enjoyed being able to connect with new people from Sigma Lambda Beta and Phi Sigma Sigma.

Peters explains, “Being able to team up with Phi Sig and the Betas made this event feel special, the environment was enjoyable as we were able to have friendly competition as well as getting to know each other. This weekend built comradery for our fraternity and we hope that the other organizations feel the same.”

After talking to Peters about Greek Weekend, he had this to say about the event, "Our fraternity had a wonderful time at Greek weekend. It was cool for IFC to put on an event that brought in greek unity while a competitive nature at the same time. I was proud of our guys and it was cool for us to get some new hardware from the weekend.

Minimum effort, maximum results. We are always looking forward to the next event, this was great for greek life.”

The first ever Greek Weekend at Sonoma State was a success thanks to IFC, the organization of this whole event was enjoyable for all of Greek life.

This weekend encompasses greek unity and will be a staple event for greek life for years to come.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu hopes to continue success JOEY PIOMBO STAFF WRITER

T

he Sonoma State Jiu Jitsu club is looking to add to their medal count. The club has been fighting since 2014 and throughout the teams history the club has primarily competed in three leagues.

First the team competes in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF). The team has also been fighting in the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) and the Sport Jiu-Jitsu International Federation (SJJIF) in past years. Here the teams members compete against other fighters in Northern California.

The sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has many rules. Since this is a fighting sport it is important to compete with integrity. When fighting, each competitor cannot slam their opponent in hopes of escaping a submission. The fight takes place on a mat and if the fight is moving towards the side of the mat then the referee will restart them from a set or standing position.

Last year the team only competed in the white belt level but this year they plan to have some athletes fight under the blue belt level which requires different rules and longer match lengths. The fight is based of off a point system to find a winner.

For example, a fighter is rewarded two points if they take down or throw their opponent.

Last season was a huge success for the club. They competed at four different competitions. Each competition they sent a variety athletes ranging from 10 to 15 different club members. The team’s effort earned them many medals. The team racked up an impressive 28 medals throughout their four competitions. They earned eight bronze medals, twelve silver medals and eight gold medals.

The club has yet to compete this year but has plans to win more medals in the near future.

Tournaments are run year round but the team only competes each school year. President of the club, Emily Sussman, explained their plans, “it can be difficult to find tournaments that are hosted in a location that is somewhat nearby to us.

When we find a close tournament we will plan on competing.” The team is currently spending their time training for the moment they find a tournament to compete in. The club practices on Monday and Wednesday from 8-10 p.m. and Friday from 8-10 a.m.

They have a heavy practice schedule that shows the teams great efforts to prepare. These practices benefit all members, “We are preparing for the season right now by going over a lot of basics, this is mostly to help new members understand the basic techniques of Brazilian JiuJitsu but it is also great for returning members to go over and polish up their technique as well.” Sussman explains.

With competitions right around the corner, the team has many goals to achieve. These goals take place on and off the mat. The club has been flourishing on campus and they plan to continue this. “We are also looking to increase our social presence on campus. As two time winners of Sports Club of the Year presented by Student Involvement we are looking to continue achieving the high level of accomplishment that we have done in the past,” Sussman said. The team also has had a huge impact on promoting sexual assault and bullying awareness and plans to help students learn self defense in the spring.

The team plans to achieve success by being a family and bonding together to reach their goals.

The team plans to compete all over the bay area this year but have not decided on what events they will go to yet. For more information visit the facebook page @sonomastatebjj.

COURTESY // Sonoma State Jiu Jitsu Club Conner Mengert and Sean Alves partner up for doubles (top) while Alex Wong sends the ball over the net (bottom).

12 Photo

OCT. 16 - OCT. 22, 2018 sonomastatestar.com

Competitive weekend for the Greeks

STAR // Kaylie Boettner Team Alpha Xi Delta and Alpha Psi in a competitive game of volleyball against their opponents Tau Kappa Epsilon and Alpha Delta Pi.

STAR // Kaylie Boettner Ryan Ucker, from mens lacrosse, serving the ball to get the game started.

STAR // Kaylie Boettner Tau Kappa Epsilon and Alpha Delta Pi warming up before their first game of the day.

STAR // Kaylie Boettner Sydney Trump goeing for a spike.

STAR // Kaylie Boettner Phi Sigma Sigma and men’s lacrosse breakout from a team huddle.

STAR // Kaylie Boettner Ciara Magyar recieving the ball in a game between team Alpha Xi Delta and Alpha Psi and team Tau Kappa Epsilon and Alpha Delta Pi.