MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2013
WWW.DAILYAZTEC.COM
VOLUME 99, ISSUE 60
5k Fun Run gives back to Aztec baseball campus
O’Brien leads Aztecs to dominating win against UNM
Raquel Martin
Ryan Schuler
Staff Writer
Sports Editor
Amanda Guerrero Staff Writer
The San Diego State baseball program celebrated its third annual Stephen Strasburg 5K Walk and Fun Run on Saturday at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Supporting SDSU students, faculty and MLB super- alumni gathered on campus at 7 a.m. to star Stephen kick off the event. SDSU alumnus Jeff Strasburg Decker, who learned the Fun Run hosted the about and Walk through an fundraiser. email, traveled from his home in Orange County to participate in the race and contribute to his alma mater. The crowd also included San Diego community members of all ages. University of San Diego law student Kaitlyn Brum came to the event to meet former Aztec pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who is now an MLB superstar as a result of his career with the Washington Nationals, and who also hosted the fundraiser. Back in 2010 he was honored by being inducted into Aztec Baseball Wall of Fame and donated $145,000 toward the new Field Turf. Brum said she enjoyed participating in the fundraiser, which was her first 5k.
SDSU students, faculty and alumni crossing the finish line of the 5k Fun Run and Walk last Saturday. The event was held to raise money for the Aztec baseball team.
“We’re just trying not to get fat in law school,” Brum said with a laugh. “It was fun though, a perfect length.” Event coordinator Tammy Blackburn said the proceeds from the event, which will directly fund the SDSU baseball team, will help cover costs for team members’ summer school, tuition and supplies. “They need essential equipment,” she said, adding that the fundraiser
is meant to develop a lasting financial support base for the team in years to come. Members of the Aztec baseball team rallied on the walkers and runners, meeting them at the finish line with an uproar of cheer, laughter and water. At the end of the walk, each participant also received various prizes, including 2013 Aztec baseball tickets, signed autographed baseball
paige nelson , photo editor
cards and vouchers. Registering for the event cost $45 for adults, $40 for military members on active duty and $25 for students and children on the day of the race. The family-friendly event also featured live music, a food court, a “fun zone” for kids and an autograph booth where participants lined up to get signatures from former SDSU baseball players.
Multiple-choice testing to dissolve in 2015
state
Christina Koral Staff Writer
Starting in 2015, California schools will begin to get rid of the traditional multiple-choice form of test taking in exchange for a more modern measure of academic progress. Based on state recommendations released earlier this year, student academic progress will be measured by computer-based exams covering new voluntary national Common Core State Standards. State testing will now put more emphasis on critical thinking and problem-solving skills to reflect the new standards of education, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said to KPBS. According to the CCSS standards website, the new standards are designed “to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.” “We’ve been asking our kids to learn new skills and so the assessments must change, too,” Torlakson said. “We’re moving to a newer dimension, a higher dimension, a smarter and more effective learning system.” The new form of test taking will include open-ended questions that are based on the diverse academic performance of students. Torlakson said the
jan 28. 2013
monDay
The San Diego State men’s basketball team remembered the pain and disappointment of losing 77-67 to the University of New Mexico Lobos in Viejas Arena last season. The Aztecs remembered the sting and frustration of losing to the Lobos 68-59 for a second consecutive time in the championship game of the Mountain West Conference championship game in Las Vegas, and seeing Lobos head coach Steve Alford with the net hanging around his neck and the championship trophy in front of him. SDSU (16-4, 4-2 Mountain West) made sure the Lobos didn’t leave Viejas Arena with a third straight victory against the Aztecs, defeating New Mexico 55-34 to jump within a half-game of first place in the MW standings. Sophomore forward JJ O’Brien scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first doubledouble of the season, as the Aztecs (16-4, 4-2 Mountain West) dealt New Mexico (17-3, 4-1 MW) its first conference loss of the season and halted the Lobos’ four-game winning streak. New Mexico’s 34 points were its lowest in the shotclock era. BASKETBALL continued on page 5
sdsu
SDSU needs innovation on registration frustation Madison Hopkins Assistant Opinion Editor
R California schools will see a decrease in standardized tests in 2015.
new standards and tests will help prepare students for college and careers. Students will face more critical thinking questions throughout the school day rather than standarized multiple-choice questions. Students for example, may bring home fewer math problems, but each problem will take longer to finish, San Diego Unified School District Deputy Superintendent of Academics Nellie Meyer said. “They have more real-world examples,” Meyer said. “They have, in
some cases, multilayered problems— where first you have to solve this in order to solve the next problem. And so the difficulty at first blush—they do look somewhat more complicated.” The state Legislature must still approve the recommendations made earlier this year and write guidelines for the plans before they can go into effect. Students will still take multiple-choice exams for the subjects required by federal law for the next school year, but the non-mandatory tests will cease.
thinkstock
Most school districts in San Diego County are on track for the training necessary to prepare students for the new standards and exams, according to Assessment Director for the San Diego County Office of Education Sally Bennett-Schmidt. A proposal for increased school funding is expected to be presented to Gov. Jerry Brown for next year’s state budget. However, after five years of consistent cuts to education funding, there is no state money set aside to help districts with the testing changes.
emembering my past experiences with class registration at San Diego State, one thing comes to mind: the gutwrenching feeling of panic when registration opens and all of the seats in your wish list classes vanish. We do our best to have backup plans, ask friends to hold seats and desperately crash class after class, but it’s not always enough. It’s tedious and stressful, but no one seems to know a better way of handling the competing interests of 28,558 undergrads. This past registration, I took part in the particularly maddening experience of junior level registration. While it wasn’t as bad as it could have been—not as bad as sophomore registration—I was still left with only a bare semblance of my original wish list, and was forced to crash three classes. It leads me to question if this is really the only way. SDSU continued on page 3