02-14-2018 by The Daily Aztec

Wednesday, Feb. 14 - Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018 Weekly Print Edition

Vol. 104, Issue 23 www.thedailyaztec.com

Special Issue Valentine’s Day San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

WHAT’S INSIDE

THE SAGA CONTINUES University officials have missed their target date for announcing the mascot task force. PAGE 2

PROTESTA DE DACA Candidato para Congreo se une con SDSU para protesta en favor de DACA. PAGE 7 Photo by Joe Kendall

SDSU’s next selected president, Adela de la Torre, with current President Sally Roush.

De la Torre makes first visit to campus MONEY HONEY Don’t let your empty wallet keep Cupid away this Valentine’s Day. PAGE 9

DOCUMENTARY A San Diego State alumnus debuts his first feature-length documentary. PAGE 14

BIBLE BEATS CANCER Redshirt junior baseball player Chad Bible returns to team after taking year off due to cancer. PAGE 19

by David Santillan SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

San Diego State introduced its next president to the campus community during a welcome reception held a week after her name was announced. Adela de la Torre took the stage in Montezuma Hall to address the university for the first time Thursday morning, joined by

current SDSU President Sally Roush, Associated Students President Chimezie Ebiriekwe and the rest of the presidential search committee. The newly-appointed president and current UC Davis administrator came out in support of SDSU West. “Expansions are complicated and require dedicated long term efforts,” de la Torre said. “The

benefits (of the expansion) to San Diego State and San Diego are worth the hard work.” De la Torre also addressed undocumented students Thursday. She created one of the first AB540 and undocumented student centers at UC Davis, and previously told The Daily Aztec that centers like these were important to students.

Candidate, activists rally for DACA fix by Sofia Bert and Jessica Clemons

Advocacy groups joined a local Democratic congressional candidate Friday in front of Hepner Hall to call for a longterm solution to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gave amnesty to some people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. President Donald Trump announced in September that he would rescind the administrative program, effective in March. Victories against the Trump administration in court, juxtaposed against the failure of Congress to include any legislative version of the DACA program in a recent budget deal, have placed deferred action recipients in a teeter-tottering state of limbo. Ammar Campa-Najjar, a candidate for California’s 50th Congressional District, cosponsored the “Defend the Dream” rally along with San Diego State Education without Borders, SDSU Democrats, Pi Sigma Alpha,

Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force and Indivisible CA-50. “I’m co-leading it with other activists and show(ing) people that we haven’t given up,” CampaNajjar said. “The fight’s not over. We’re going to keep pushing because this is a good thing not just for dreamers, but everybody who calls San Diego County home.” The congressional seat CampaNajjar is running for does not include the College Area, but covers a large swath of northern and eastern San Diego county, stretching from Alpine in the south to Temecula in the north and the Imperial County line in the east. “If we want to make America great again, go back to its founding,” he said. “Look at the way we built America on the backs of immigrants, for immigrants and by immigrants.” Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez, advertised as a featured speaker for the rally, said he was unable to attend due to the partial federal government shutdown Friday morning.

Three supporters who said they were DACA recipients stood behind a microphone to give their testimonies to the rally-goers. “I’m afraid that I will lose everything that I worked so hard for,” said Natchel Bello, a student at Mesa College. “I’m afraid to give up on my own education, on my dreams and aspirations. I’m afraid to be treated like a criminal when I am just a student.” Bello said she is hoping to transfer to a state school next year, but the process of applying for schools and scholarships amid the uncertainty of her legal status in the U.S. is difficult, she said. Another speaker, Ali Torabi, said he moved to the U.S. from Iran and hasn’t seen his father or any of his family there in more than 22 years. “All I’m asking for is the opportunity to see my family,” Torabi said. “My grandmother calls me crying saying ‘I haven’t seen you in twenty-two years. Have you forgotten about me? SEE DACA RALLY, PAGE 2

“I also want to highlight that I support our faculty, staff and students in accessing the American dream, regardless of their immigration status,” de la Torre said on Thursday. “We are here together.” In Spanish, she told the crowd: “Everyone at San Diego State will receive the same opportunity to SEE DE LA TORRE, PAGE 5

Man burglarizes apartments near campus by Will Fritz NEWS EDITOR

Police are searching for a man suspected of burglarizing apartments near San Diego State’s campus. Between about 10:20 and 10:45 p.m. Monday, the man entered two units in the Hardy Avenue Apartments through unlocked windows, according to university police. The apartment complex is located at 5584 Hardy Ave., just south of the campus boundary. The suspect fled after he encountered someone in one of the apartment’s interior rooms, police said. He was not seen with any weapons, and no injuries were reported. A cell phone and an iPad were believed to have been stolen. Witnesses described the SEE BURGLARIES, PAGE 5

The Daily Aztec

News

Feb. 14, 2018 - Feb. 20, 2018 EDITOR: Will Fritz, news@thedailyaztec.com

Mascot task force to be decided by Bella Ross STAFF WRITER

Photo by Sofia Bert

Congressional candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar addresses a crowd at a rally for immigrant rights Friday in front of Hepner Hall.

DACA rally:

continued from page 1 I’m getting sick and I might leave this world soon and I want to see you again before I do so.’” While people with valid DACA status aren’t being deported for now, they risk not being able to return to the U.S. if they travel abroad. “They’re holding us hostage,” Torabi said. “They are playing politics with our lives and I’m done with that. We’re human too.” An aerospace engineering student at UC San Diego who identified himself only as “Diego” gave the final testimony. “As a dreamer, the scariest thing is not knowing if there are people that support you,” he said. Kaila Cooper, a political science and urban studies junior at SDSU and a member

of Pi Sigma Alpha – a national political science honor society – said she stands behind DACA recipients. “A large number of students on this campus are DACA recipients, so this is something that is affecting people on this campus and we should be aware of it and be fighting alongside the cause,” she said. History senior Cole Parker, a member of the SDSU College Democrats, was another supporter at the rally. “These are individuals who in every sense, except for on paper, are Americans already, and the fact that we can’t address that is increasingly frustrating,” he said. Torabi will host a benefit art event for San Diego DREAMers called “Our Dreams Live” on Feb 16. The event will take place from 5 - 10 p.m. at the Bread and Salt art gallery at 1522 Julian Ave in San Diego. All proceeds will go toward advocacy for a legislative solution to the rescission of DACA.

San Diego State officials have not yet announced the members of a task force to explore the appropriateness of the Aztec Warrior mascot. The university had previously said in a press release that an announcement would be made by Feb. 2. In November, the University Senate passed a non-binding resolution to retire the use of the human Aztec Warrior mascot and called for the creation of the task force. The university announced on Jan. 17 in an SDSU Newscenter article that they were seeking nominations for members to be on the 17-member task force. Director of Media Relations Jill Esterbrooks said President Sally Roush is currently in the process of seeing if those who were nominated want to be on the task force. “We may have been a little ambitious in saying we would have an announcement Feb. 2,” Esterbrooks said. University Senate member and women’s water polo head coach Carin Crawford said the large number of members could be contributing to the delay. “(The issue) could be simply trying to coordinate a lot of schedules of nominees and the simple logistics of getting together that many people from quite a variety of factions, departments and agencies across campus,” Crawford said. However, she said this delay should not result in worry. “While we are past the deadline, I think we’ll hear news soon and I don’t see any reason to be concerned about a lack of

transparency,” Crawford said. Victoria Gonzalez-Rivera, associate professor in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, said the nomination process highlighted one of the central issues of the mascot debate regarding who has the authority to speak on part of the Aztecs. She said, in reviewing statements from task force nominees, she found a number of the nominees wrongly identifying themselves as being of Aztec ancestry. “Several of them were very enthusiastic about ‘being Aztecs,’ which led me to believe that, not only do they have no real interest in learning about real life native peoples, but they are attempting to impersonate them without regards for the consequences,” Gonzalez-Rivera said. While Gonzalez-Rivera said she believes it is important for task force members to be well-versed in the history of the Aztecs, what qualifies expertise in this situation has become an open question. “I have a feeling that most of the members on the task force have never picked up a book written by someone who has academic credentials about the history of the Aztecs and has actually read that book,” she said. Gonzalez-Rivera said San Diego State has opted to give voices to stakeholders in the issue rather than purely experts. However, Crawford said this approach is necessary to make a fair decision. “This seems to be the best way to gather together representatives of various stakeholders and hear their opinions and maybe revisit this issue with maybe the lense of 2018 rather than 2003 and see if attitudes and cultural opinions have changed,” she said.

News

3 New MRI machine soon to be operational at San Diego State Feb. 14, 2018 - Feb. 20, 2018 EDITOR: Will Fritz, news@thedailyaztec.com

by Lauren J. STAFF WRITER

The Daily Aztec

Mapp

Researchers at San Diego State will soon have access to the unversity’s first MRI machine. The $2 million Siemens 3T Prisma MRI system was funded as part of the $90 million budget for the new Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences building, according to Martin Sereno, director of the MRI Imaging Facility. It’s set to be completely installed in two months. SDSU researchers who use MRI data as part of their research have been using systems at UC San Diego. Sereno said this will continue until SDSU’s MRI system is fully operational, at which point he said he hopes research teams on the Mesa will use the new machine. “There are quite a few people at SDSU who are currently going to UCSD and paying UCSD to run research scans on the scanners at UCSD,” Sereno said. “Our first function, in part, here is to attract those guys back here to use our magnet.” Physics Department Chair Usha Sinha, who uses MRI research to study muscle fiber architecture, said she currently collaborates with her husband, UCSD researcher Shantanu Sinha, to conduct their research at his university.

observe when we see a person in the clinic by looking at their posture and movement. We don’t know what is going on underneath the skin,” she said. “It will really open up a lot of possibilities to get multimodal measures of individual participants within the same study without having to ask them to come to two separate sessions.” Having an MRI system at SDSU will open up the possibility of collaboration between various investigators and departments across campus, Gombatto said. “Now that all of the work (will be at) SDSU, it has brought to light all of the different MRI studies that are happening with investigators across campus, so I am really excited about the possibility of collaborations,” Gombatto said. Photo by Petey Dyer

Martin Sereno, director of the MRI Imaging Facility at SDSU.

Once the SDSU machine is ready for use, she said the scanning for their research will move. It’s a “state-of-the-art scanner,” and more customizable. “To have a scanner on-site, one can scan many more imaging experiments,” Sinha said. “We’ll also have the option of doing more protocols and sequence design, which is not a flexibility we had when we had to use a scanner outside (of SDSU).”

Researchers currently spend about $600 per hour to use UCSD’s machine, Sereno said. After SDSU’s scanner is operational, they will instead be able to pay to use the new machine. Funds from the charges for using the SDSU scanner will be used for maintenance and program funding, he said. MRI data can be useful to a wide variety of research fields, including physics, geology,

engineering, biology, psychology and more, Sereno said. Sara Gombatto, a physical therapy researcher who specializes in lower back pain, said her research will benefit from the on-campus MRI system because it will eliminate the need to schedule research participants for two separate sessions at two separate universities — something she has to do often. “There’s only so much we can

Correction:

A Feb. 7 story mistakenly said San Diego State researchers discredited concerns about outdoor smoking bans. Only one researcher from SDSU was involved, and the research looked into indoor smoking bans. The article also incorrectly gave SDSU researcher Brandy Lipton’s title as “associate public health professor.” Her title is actually “assistant professor.”

Opinion

The Daily Aztec

Feb. 14- Feb. 20, 2018 EDITOR: Dana Tsuri-Etzioni, opinion@thedailyaztec.com

Safe spaces restrict students Being politically correct ruins chance of expressing opinions and joining the conversation by Ryan Price CONTRIBUTOR

The political correctness debate commenced following President Trump’s comment calling Haiti and African nations “sh*tholes.” The overuse of terms such as microaggressions and safe spaces, as well as cases where students prevented conservative speakers from presenting, represent a threat to the constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech on college campuses. Students must be able to debate controversial issues without infringing upon freedom of speech. Students too often deem harmless speech offensive, which overshadows the harm of actual hate speech. Although it is wrong to physically prevent someone from speaking, it is imperative college students learn how to calmly, rationally and intelligently refute

hate speech. Also, by protecting the right to freedom of speech, students will preserve their right to speak out in cases of injustice without fear of censorship. A recent Rasmussen poll found that 73 percent of Americans say freedom of speech is a cause worth dying for. This means that a substantial amount of Americans take the First Amendment seriously. In today’s polarized society, it is crucial college students learn how to cope with the speech that triggers them so they can effectively participate in political discourse. It would benefit students to step out of their college bubble — the biggest safe space — and learn how to debate the rest of society on politically charged issues. According to The Telegraph, a student at Edinburgh University in Scotland recently received a complaint about raising her arms in disagreement with something

said at a student council meeting. She received backlash because raising your hand indicates disagreement and violates the school’s safe space policy. According to The Daily Wire, at California State University Los Angeles, a “healing space” was created to deal with the pain and trauma created by a controversial speech that most students did not even attend. When an extreme group of students at the University of California Berkeley wanted to ban conservative — albeit provocative and insensitive — speakers such as Ann Coulter, Milo Yiannopoulos and Ben Shapiro, most students were not outraged at the suppression of speech. Students even protested against HBO host, Bill Maher, when it was announced he was scheduled to make a commencement speech at the university. The leaders of the Free Speech Movement in the

mid 1960s were UC Berkeley students, and the notion that only 50 years later, students are fomenting distaste to keep controversial speakers from presenting, is ironic. As the future of this nation, college students must adopt a new approach to how we look at freedom of speech. In this fragmented political system, it is imperative students have a voice. Many students are deemed “snowflakes” and are not taken seriously by conservatives. Now that the racist and bigoted altright has a national platform, it is up to students to challenge those ideas. If students want more political power, they must change the way they discuss issues in our society and must stop being so politically correct. Ryan Price is a senior studying marketing.

EDITOR IN CHIEF Andrew Dyer MANAGING EDITOR Lilly Glenister NEWS EDITOR Will Fritz ASST. NEWS EDITOR Jasmine Bermudez OPINION EDITOR Dana Tsuri-Etzioni MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Jocelyn Moran ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Cami Buckman SPORTS EDITOR Abraham Jewett DIGITAL SPORTS EDITOR Mary York ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Alex Piscatelli PHOTO EDITOR Kelly Smiley MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Mirella Lopez SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR David Santillan ART DIRECTOR Noah Callahan VOLUNTEER COPY EDITORS Brian del Carmen Katherine Cooke

U.S. foreign policy flubs threaten long-time ally by Chance Page STAFF WRITER

Most attendees greeted the unified Korean Olympic team with applause as they entered the stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. One notable exception to this was Vice President Mike Pence, who remained seated. Pence’s actions, and the backlash that followed, wasn’t only a North Korean propaganda victory, but the latest in a series of incidents that suggest a strained relationship between South Korea and the U.S. Recent actions by the Trump administration have drastically increased tensions on the Korean peninsula, and in doing so, have pushed away South Korea. President Trump’s bluster, from his infamous threat of raining fire and fury on North Korea, to name-calling contests with Kim Jong Un, have been a problem. However, a bigger concern is the disregard the U. S. appears to have for the safety of South Korea. CIA Director Mike Pompeo said, “This administration is prepared to do what it takes to ensure that people in Los Angeles, Denver and New York aren’t held at risk from Kim Jongun having a nuclear weapon,” in an interview with Fox News last month. Note that no concern is made for South Koreans, or the people of another U.S. ally in the region, Japan. Both have also been threatened by the presence of North Korean nuclear weapons. But this goes deeper than the exclusion of South Korean and Japanese cities from Pompeo’s quote. Proposed actions are also

unsettling. There is discussion by the Trump administration of a “bloody nose” strategy, which entails responding to a North Korean nuclear test with a limited strike against North Korea, in order to dissuade North Korea from further development of missile and nuclear technology, and draw a proverbial line in the sand. Such a strategy is risky. It risks North Korea responding with unleashing the full force of their nuclear arsenal in response. And an immediate nuclear response is possible. According to a Vox panel that included a retired South Korean general, as well as former members of the CIA and U.S. military, most respondents believed that North Korea would use nuclear weapons in the initial stages of a war, rather than as a desperation attack when cornered. The U.S. is risking global thermonuclear war with the strategies it’s considering. South Korea has entered separate diplomatic talks with North Korea. While peace on the Korean peninsula would be beneficial, a separate peace between the two Koreas would do nothing to cool the nuclear tensions between North Korea and the U.S. South Korea — and any other nations involved in an agreement — would likely roll back sanctions on the North Korean regime as part of a peace deal. In order to avoid losing the help of one of its staunchest allies, and to curtail the North Korean nuclear program, the U. S. must embrace diplomatic talks between the two Koreas, however distasteful the regime may be. Chance Page is a junior studying journalism and political science.

GRAPHICS ASSISTANT Maritza Garcia SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Julianna Ress Cassidy McCombs Sydney Sweeney Emely Navarro Nicole Badgley Sofia Bert Kayleigh Venne Alex Noble

A skateboarder rides on a footbridge where it is

Photo by Kelly Smiley

Letter: Skateboard crashes make me smile I don’t know why I waste my time reading this fish wrap you call The Daily Aztec. Thank God you are not wasting paper every day on it. The staff never fails to come out with something incredibly stupid every issue. Ceighlee Fennel (Haters hate; Skaters skate) gets the award this week. I hate skateboards and have a great disdain for the people at San Diego State who ride them. They are rude, inconsiderate, lazy, immature and a danger to themselves and others. The university spends thousands of dollars installing anti-grind guards all over because of the damage those morons do to curbs, walls, steps and benches. Skateboards have no business on campus. There are too many pedestrians and vehicles to be safe. The reason the cops are cracking down is because skateboarders ride too fast for conditions and endanger pedestrians, and because of the accidents and injuries they cause. When I see one of them

speed down a hill around a blind corner and eat it and crash, or run into someone, or hit a rock or crash into my state vehicle, it actually brings a smile to my face. I truly believe stupid should hurt. I have no compassion for them. But they should keep riding where they’re not supposed to and get those $75 tickets. The university is making a lot of money due to their stupidity. I know they don’t give a damn because their mommies or daddies are paying the ticket when they call them up crying. Fennel’s opinion that the cops are wasting their time with “little infractions” is incorrect. We, as the majority of people on the campus who walk or drive state vehicles as employees, have told the campus police we have had enough of skateboarders. It’s going to get worse for them. We do not feel safe. Grow up and leave your toys at home. Go to school and shut up. Charles Barranco

STAFF WRITERS Lauren J. Mapp Bella Ross Vladimir Salazar Chance Page Amal Younis Carolina López Jeffrey Chacón Kelly Kerrigan Stephan Early Stacy Marquez CONTRIBUTORS Ryan Price Jessica Clemons Brenden Tuccinardi STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Petey Dyer Joe Kendall Elissa Tauscher ________________________________ ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Connor Brooke SALES MANAGER Peter Saridakis ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES George Saridakis John Weil Josh Diaz Rauda Valerie Barrientos Miguel Souza Kaden Cowles Garrett Munt ACCOUNTING & CONTRACTS Tyler Burnett Meah Mapp ________________________________ GENERAL MANAGER/ADVISER Jay Harn GRAPHICS COORDINATOR Quentin Skaggs ________________________________ EDITORIAL 619.594.4190 editor@thedailyaztec.com ADVERTISING 619.594.6977 advertising@thedailyaztec.com PRINT The Daily Aztec publishes 5,000 copies of its weekly print edition every Wednesday throughout the semester WEB Daily content is available at www.thedailyaztec.com QUESTIONS/COMMENTS letters@thedailyaztec.com ________________________________ The views and opinions expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of The Daily Aztec.

Feb. 14, 2018 - Feb. 20, 2018 EDITOR: Will Fritz, news@thedailyaztec.com

News

The Daily Aztec

report: New media lab to open soon Crime singing amid by Bella Ross STAFF WRITER

A new media studio in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union will offer a nonacademic, innovative space for students when it’s operational in late April. The studio will provide professional equipment and guidance for all students and projects, including, but not limited to, audio recording, green screen filming, professional headshots and photo editing. According to Associated Students, the 514 square-foot space will include: • A reservable audio and/or video recording studio • A green screen • A control station with remote monitoring • A soundproof room • Three reservable content editing stations for video, audio and graphics “It’s a place for students to be creative and use the space for what they want it to be,” Stephanie Dathe, director of the student union, said. “We have in mind ways they can use the space, but sky’s the limit in what students want to do.” Dathe said several concepts were made to fill what was the last vacant space in the student union. None exactly fit for students until former A.S. president Jonathan Cole and the Aztec Music Group brought forward the concept of a non-academic media studio in 2015, she said. Although the studio provides professional equipment and software, A.S. Vice President of External Relations Carmel Alon said the space is accessible to all students at any level. The studio will host any type of project

Burglaries:

continued from page 1 Witnesses described the suspect as a 30-to-40-year-old black man, bald, about 5-feet-5-inches tall and 160 pounds. He was seen wearing a dark hoodie and

De la Torre:

continued from page 1 reach their own point of success.” SDSU Undocumented Resource Area Coordinator Cynthia Torres got a chance to speak with de la Torre after the speech. “I told her I was very anxious to work with her and that I appreciated very deeply the comment she made about our undocumented students,” Torres said. “That’s part of social justice. That’s part of who we are as a campus.” Professor of Chicana/o studies Roberto Hernandez said he has been following de

students desire, including headshots, video applications, resumes and band recording. “Students don’t have to be in a certain major or experts on how it works,” Alon said. “The whole point is that students can learn more on something they’re passionate about or have some interest in.” Kyle Zive, assistant director of operations for the student union, said the studio will be composed of two seperate rooms for recording and editing. A 65-inch touch screen television will control both spaces, along with an 80-inch monitor for green screen filming, he said. Zive said A.S. plans to use the studio to hold events like film festivals for students. He said the staff plans to bring people from the community and campus with expertise and background to do seminars for students. “Right now we are still installing all the hardware. We are bringing the staff on board at the end of the month for training.” Zive said “We are going to do practice projects towards the end of March and plan for a grand opening mid-April” The studio will be run by students and allow for more opportunity for on campus jobs, Alon said. “It’s wonderful to see that a student union with so many different aspects are taking in student input and figuring out what they really need,” Alon said. “Everything we do is in hopes we are benefitting students, allowing them to have more opportunities to try different things.” The media studio will be located on the first floor of the student union, adjacent to the pedestrian bridge. For additional information and updates, visit the A.S. website.

jeans. The San Diego Police Department is investigating the incident. Officers asked anyone with information on the burglary to contact SDPD at (619) 531-2000, SDSU police at (619) 5941991 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 5808477.

la Torre’s academic career and is interested to see what changes she will bring to campus. “She has a proven track record of advancing diversity in the student body and in the (academic) field itself,” Hernandez said. Ebiriekwe, who was part of the presidential selection committee, expressed his excitement for the next president and shared the qualities that made de la Torre stand out from other candidates. “She dreams big, and here at San Diego State everyone dreams big,” Ebiriekwe said. “San Diego State is headed in the right direction. President Roush helped us

indecent exposure, hotwiring a golf cart by Amal Younis STAFF WRITER

BATTERY A non-SDSU student was ordered to stay off campus for seven days after he reportedly punched a female employee at Subway on Lindo Paseo just after 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 1. He is also believed to have struck the employee’s boyfriend. PUBLIC INTOXICATION A non-SDSU student was arrested and taken to county jail for public intoxication after she assaulted a man near Campanile Drive at about 10 p.m. on Jan. 27. An SDSU student was arrested for being a minor in possession of alcohol, public intoxication and possession of a controlled narcotic substance around 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 28 near University Towers. DISTURBING THE PEACE At about 1:50 a.m. on Jan. 28, a student was arrested for fighting on school grounds and resisting a peace officer at the Tenochca residence hall. The student was taken to county jail. INDECENT EXPOSURE Police were called at about 6:20 p.m. on Jan. 28 after a man was seen “dancing, singing, and exposing himself” near University Towers. THEFT Police were told a laptop was stolen from Life Sciences North around 3:50 p.m. on Jan. 25. Police were told about 11 a.m on Feb. 1 that a golf cart was stolen near 55th Street. The reporting party told officers that a man had been seen hot-wiring the cart on a security camera.

continue in that direction and President de la Torre is going to be the one to push us all the way.” Students also said they are excited to see a new face who represents change as their university president. “I think it’s awesome that we have a (permanent) female president,” Ebony Price, a teaching credential student, said. “I’m excited to see what she has in store for us.” De la Torre will leave her current position as vice chancellor for student affairs and campus diversity at UC Davis to take over as president of SDSU in late June.

Illustration by Noah Callahan/Photos courtesy of Special Collections & University Archives, Library & Information Access, SDSU

Obituary: Ernesto Martin Barrera 1935-2018 Dr. Ernesto Martin Barrera, a former chair of the San Diego State Spanish Department, died in the early morning of Feb. 6, 2018 from complications of a stroke and heart disease. He was 82 years old and is survived by his wife, Marion, of 55 years; his three sons, Ernesto, Richard and Douglas; and four grandchildren. He came to America from Colombia in 1961 as part of a tour of student leaders. His tour took him to the White House for a chance to meet President John F. Kennedy, and eventually to Los Angeles, where he met his future wife, Marion Holmes. Barrera graduated from the University of Cartagena Law School, and earned a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in Spanish and Portuguese literature and theater from the University of Southern California. He taught at UC Los Angeles before being hired by SDSU President Malcolm Love, and he worked at SDSU from August 1969 to September 1997. A renowned scholar, his works include a book on Colombian playwright Luis Enrique Osorio titled “Realidad y fantasía en el drama social de Luis Enrique Osorio.” He served on the University Senate for two decades and was chair of the SDSU Spanish Department for over a decade in the 1980s and early 1990s. During his tenure as chairman of the department, he organized the first of several internationally regarded literature symposiums which brought noted authors and scholars to the campus, including Everett Hesse, Carlos Fuentes, Elea Poniatowska and Octavio Paz, among others. He never missed a single day of work in 30 years at SDSU. His family and friends noted that beyond anything else, he loved teaching more than any other aspect of his career. He taught all levels from introductory Spanish courses to mentoring graduate students seeking their own master’s and doctoral degrees. He never missed an opportunity to teach during winter and summer sessions. His favorite author was Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but one of his favorite passages came from Alexis de Tocquevilles’ book “Democracy In America.” “From the time when the exercise of the intellect became the source of strength and of wealth, it is impossible not to consider every addition to science, every fresh truth, and every new idea as a germ of power placed within the reach of the people … knowledge, and literature became an arsenal where the poorest and the weakest could always find weapons to their hand.” He will always be remembered as a man who brought joy and spirit to those around him. His family hopes everyone who misses him recalls him with a smile. That is what they know he would want.

Mundo Azteca

The Daily Aztec

Feb.14- 21, 2018 EDITOR: Jocelyn Moran, mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

La Universidad Estatal de San Diego escoge a la primera mujer como presidenta por David Santillan EDITOR DE MEDIOS SOCIALES

La Universidad Estatal de San Diego anunció a Adela de la Torre como la nueva presidenta permanente de la universidad, estableciendo la primera vez que una mujer latina es fijada a esta posición oficial. El Patronato de la Fundación anunció su decisión el 31 de enero, después de varios meses en busca de un nuevo presidente permanente para la universidad. Actualmente, de la Torre sirve como vicerrectora de asuntos estudiantiles en la Universidad de California Davis. El anuncio llega durante una etapa en la cual la universidad se enfrenta con varios conflictos, incluyendo la resolución de la mascota Azteca, la situación de estudiantes que son recipientes del programa Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia y la distribución de folletos racistas alrededor del campus. De la Torre dijo que apoyaría a los estudiantes quienes son recipientes de DACA. “Es importante que (los estudiantes) tengan centros universitarios donde puedan ser apoyados”, dijo de la Torre. “Yo tengo experiencia en creando asociaciones entre estos centros y la universidad para que los estudiantes entiendan sus derechos legales”. Cynthia Torres, la coordinadora del Área de Recursos para los Indocumentados, dijo

Foto por Joe Kendall

Adela de la Torre se dirige a la comunidad de San Diego en Motezuma Hall.

que está emocionada que la universidad ha escogido a alguien que pueda relacionarse más estrechamente con la comunidad de SDSU. “Estoy feliz y emocionada de tener a una mujer hispana como presidenta de la universidad”, dijo Torres. “Dada nuestra proximidad a la frontera, pienso que ella reflejerá nuestra comunidad mejor”. Daniel Munguia, estudiante de la justicia criminal, dijo que piensa que de la Torre podría brindar cambios positivos a la universidad.

“Espero que pueda traer un cambio positivo a las mentes de los estudiantes y que los estudiantes no la rechacen”, dijo Munguia. Linda Márquez, estudiante de desarrollo familiar, también dijo que está feliz de tener a una mujer hispana como presidenta. “Me hace feliz que es una mujer latina, espero que continúe ayudar a latinos”, dijo Márquez. Pero no todos están convencidos que de la Torre traerá cambio solamente por el hecho que es una mujer hispana.

“Sí, es una mujer, pero todo depende del apoyo que dé”, dijo Diana Vergara, estudiante de nutrición. “¿Se pondrá verdaderamente por parte de las necesidades estudiantiles”? Recientemente, la distribución de folletos promoviendo a grupos supremacistas blancos ha inquietado a varios estudiantes. Munguia dijo que piensa que es irónico que mientras la universidad contrata a la primera mujer hispana como presidenta, estos grupos supremacistas están promoviendo su ideología alrededor del campus. “Yo, siendo hispano y un estudiante de México, esperaría sentirme bienvenido a una universidad donde se supone que incluye a diversas culturas”. Aunque la distribución de folletos por grupos supremacistas no es algo nuevo, es algo que ha estado pasando con más frecuencia a través de universidades en San Diego, y a través del país entero. La universidad no ha comentado públicamente todavía, pero Torres dijo que recomienda hablar con la Oficina de Diversidad a cualquier estudiante que se sienta incomodo. La nueva presidenta también tendrá que tomar una decisión sobre el tema de la mascota Azteca, la cual algunos piensan que es insensible a la comunidad indígena. De la Torre empezará con su puesto oficial en junio, reemplazando a Sally Roush como presidenta.

Adela de la Torre expresa apoyo para indocumentados por David Santillan Jeffrey Chacón

La Universidad Estatal de San Diego le dio la primer bienvenida a la nueva presidenta, Adela de la Torre, el 8 de febrero, con estudiantes, profesores, graduados y otros miembros de la comunidad asistiendo. De la Torre es la primera mujer en la historia de SDSU de servir como presidente. Ella expresó su apoyo hacia los estudiantes indocumentados de la universidad. “Yo quiero resaltar que yo apoyo a la facultad, empleados y estudiantes en tener acceso al sueño americano, a pesar de su estatus de inmigración”, dijo de la Torre. “Estamos aquí juntos”. De la Torre creó el primer centro de estudiantes indocumentados y AB540 en la Universidad de California Davis. De la Torre le dijo a la audencia en español que todos tendrán la misma oportunidad para alcanzar su propio punto de éxito. Cynthia Torres, coordinadora de la Área de Recursos para los Indocumentados en SDSU, tuvo la oportunidad de hablar con de la Torre después de su discurso. “Yo le dije que estuve muy ansiosa de trabajar con ella y que apreciaba profundamente el comentario que hizo acerca de los estudiantes indocumentados”, dijo de la Torre. “Eso es parte de la justicia social. Eso es parte de quien somos como un campús”. Roberto Hernández, profesor de estudios chicano y chicano, dijo que ha estado siguiendo la carrera académica de de la Torre y que está interesado en ver los cambios que traerá a la universidad. “Ella tiene una trayectoria de avanzando la diversidad en el cuerpo estudiantil y en el campo (académica) en sí misma”. De la Torre fue seleccionada de un grupo de tres finalistas. Actualmente, de la Torre está sirviendo como la vicerector de asuntos estudiantiles en UC Davis. Ella también fue la directora del programa de

estudios chicano y chicana allí. Chimezie Ebiriekwe, presidente de Estudiantes Asociados y quien fue parte del grupo quien seleccionó a la presidenta, expresó su emoción por la nueva presidenta y las calidades compartidas que hizo a de la Torre resaltar entre los otros candidatos. “Ella sueña grande, y acá en la Universidad Estatal de San Diego, todos sueñan grande”, dijo Ebiriekwe. “La Universidad Estatal de San Diego está yendo en la dirección correcta, y Presidenta de la Torre va ser la quien nos va a empujar al final”. Estudiantes también expresaron su entusiasmo en darle la bienvenida a una

“Yo quiero resaltar que yo apoyo a la facultad, empleados y estudiantes en tener acceso al sueño americano, a pesar de su estatus de inmigración. Estamos aquí juntos”. – Adela de la Torre, Próxima presidenta de SDSU

presidenta que representa cambio. “Yo estoy tan entusiasmada de conocer a de la Torre”, dijo Tiffany Harris, estudiante de segundo año estudiando psicología. “Estoy entusiasmada en esta nueva época en la historia de SDSU”. De la Torre empezará el rol de presidenta en junio. “Yo creo que este día es grande en la historia de SDSU porque va cambiar las vidas de mucha gente por los próximos años”, dijo Martin Krumming, profesor de periodismo.

Adela de la Torre, la próxima presidenta de SDSU, se ríe con Chimezie Ebiriekwe, presidente de A.S.

Foto por Joe Kendall

Feb. 14-21, 2018 EDITOR: Jocelyn Moran, mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

Mundo Azteca

The Daily Aztec

Candidato congresista se une con SDSU para una protesta en defensa de DACA por Carolina ESCRITORA

López

Ammar Campa-Najjar, el candidato Demócrata nominado para el 50 distrito congresional de California, dirigió la protesta a favor de la Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia el 9 de febrero en la Universidad Estatal de San Diego. Decenas de personas asistieron la protesta en defensa del programa. Entre los reunidos se encontraban medios de comunicación, estudiantes y exalumnos. El Presidente Trump anunció que accedería a un trato para los recipientes de DACA si incluye el muro y fuertes medidas de seguridad en la frontera. Campa-Najjar, junto a tres soñadores que compartieron su historia, dijeron que los recipientes están siendo utilizados como una moneda de cambio en las negociaciones del muro y la reforma de inmigración. Ali Torabi, un graduado de UCLA que planea aplicar a escuela

Ammar Campa-Najjar, candidato congresista, se une con estudiantes de SDSU en una protesta para proteger a DACA.

de medicina, dijo que estaba cansado de ser visto inferior por carecer de un simple documento. “Nosotros estamos pagando impuestos y estamos contribuyendo a la sociedad”, dijo Torabi. “Si a esto no se le llama cobrar impuestos sin ser representados, no sé que es”.

Campa-Najjar dijó, que los recipientes del programa son americanos en todos los sentidos, menos por escrito. “Estudian aquí, sirven en el ejercito, son maestros, doctores, abogados”, dijo Campa-Najjar. “Ellos valoran a este país, y espero que también nosotros los

Foto por Sofia Bert

valoremos a ellos”. Otra cuestión en el supuesto trato es lo que sucederá con los 11 millones de indocumentados que no forman parte del programa. Francisco Peralto, quien planea estudiar ciencias del medio ambiente en SDSU, no está de acuerdo en que los recipientes de

DACA se queden a cambio de que los papas salgan del país. Él es recipiente de DACA, pero su mamá corre el riezgo de ser deportada. “El tiempo está corriendo”, dijo Peralto. “No vamos a cruzarnos de brazos”. Peralto es un ejemplo de la situación que sufren miles al ser separados de sus familias por causa de su situación legal. Este es el caso de Arlene Flores, quien estudia artes liberales en SDSU. Con lágrimas en los ojos, describió la experiencia que marcó su vida a los 14 años cuando su madre fue deportada a México. “Hay gente que no se da cuenta del daño que causan”, dijo Flores. A pesar de que el apoyo a esta población se demostraba al escuchar los gritos “Sin pena, sin miedo, todos los inmigrantes son bienvenidos”, para Flores es inevitable sentir temor. “Tal vez pueden caminar en mis zapatos por 10 minutos, pero tienes que ser uno de nosotros para ver lo que se siente el que te puedan arrebatar DACA en cualquier momento”, dijo Flores.

López Obrador realiza campaña presidencial en Tijuana por Vladimir ESCRITOR

Salazar

El 30 de enero, el precandidato a la presidencia del partido Movimiento Regeneración Nacional, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, realizó un mitin en la ciudad de Tijuana. La república mexicana está pasando por una campaña electoral en donde se decidirá quién será el nuevo presidente. Los candidatos y partidos políticos han saturado los medios de comunicación con spots políticos promocionando su campaña. México a diferencia de los Estados Unidos no cuenta con un sistema político de dos partidos, es decir, hay varios candidatos a la presidencia cada sexenio. Pero los tres candidatos con más apoyo alrededor del país, visitaron la ciudad de Tijuana el mes de enero. Esos tres partidos políticos y candidatos son, Ricardo Anaya del Partido Acción Nacional, José Antonio Meade del Partido Revolucionario Institucional y López Obrador. De estos candidatos, el más reconocido a nivel nacional, y el que lidera las encuestas realizadas por la Consulta Mitofsky, es Obrador por un margen de 23.6 por ciento de aprobación. La Consulta Mitofsky es una empresa mexicana que se especializa en realizar encuestas sobre la opinión pública en México. Es la tercera ocasión en la que López Obrador se postula para ser presidente de la república mexicana, lo cual lo ha convertido en un nombre familiar dentro de la ciudadanía mexicana. López Obrador fue el último de estos tres candidatos en visitar

la ciudad de Tijuana, pero el que logró reunir a más seguidores. La calle en donde tomó lugar la ceremonia fue cerrada, ya que estaba llena de más de mil simpatizantes y partidarios de López Obrador. Alrededor de las 6 p.m., López Obrador arribó al área. Hizo su entrada hacia el escenario atravesando por toda la multitud, saludando y estrechándole la mano a las personas. Lo único que separaba al pre-candidato de sus seguidores era una barricada que medía un poco más de un metro de altura. Después de 10 minutos, López Obrador logró llegar al escenario, en donde introdujeron al equipo Tijuanense del partido MORENA. De los integrantes del equipo, el más reconocido fue el exboxeador y ex-campeón mundial, Erik Isaac Morales Elvira, o mejor conocido como “el terrible”. A las 6:20 p.m., López Obrador comenzó su discurso en donde dijo sus propuestas. En esos 45 minutos de discurso, su principal enfoque fue hablar sobre la corrupción que se vive en el país mexicano, y prometió en deshacerse de ella si llega a la presidencia. “Vamos a acabar con la corrupción”, dijo López Obrador. “Es el cáncer que está destruyendo a México”. El precandidato usó ese tiempo para señalar al gobierno actual como el causante de la corrupción y de la inseguridad que se vive en el país. López Obrador mencionó la pensión vitalicia como una de las maneras en las que el gobierno y presidentes del pasado han cometido actos corruptos. La pensión vitalicia es una pensión que se le otorga a los ex-presidentes de México por

Asistentes demostran su apoyo hacia López Obrador en Tijuana, México.

el resto de sus vidas, que tiene la equivalencia al salario que tuvieron como presidentes. “Esa pensión que se les entrega a los ex-presidentes no está en la constitución o en ninguna ley”, dijo López Obrador. “No puede haber gobierno rico, con pueblo pobre”. Después de haber dicho esto, el público comenzó a gritar en sintonía, “Es un honor, estar con Obrador”! Aparte de la corrupción, mencionó que uno de sus propósitos sería crear trabajos en la república mexicana, para que los mexicanos ya no tengan que emigrar hacia los Estados Unidos. “Que él que se quiera ir al norte a trabajar que lo haga por gusto no por necesidad”, dijo Obrador. López Obrador mencionó varias propuestas que causaron emoción entre el público. Entre ellas, seguro de vida para los mayores de edad,

becas para todos los estudiantes y reducir el IVA en las ciudades de la garita del 16 al 8 por ciento. Al final, López Obrador le dijo a su público que se necesitaban unir para el primero de julio. El evento concluyó con el himno nacional mexicano y montones de personas gritando y celebrando en la calle donde tomó lugar. Al momento de ser escoltado, una multitud rodeó a López Obrador y le dificultaron el paso hacia la camioneta que lo llevaría de regreso al aeropuerto. Personas cargaban libros escritos por el precandidato y obsequios que le querían otorgar. Ana Belén Rodríguez, una de las asistentes que cargaba un cartel apoyando al precandidato, dijo que la razón por la cual estará votando por él, es debido a que las cosas no han cambiado en el país. “Tenemos muchos años bajo el mismo régimen, y no se ha visto

Foto por Vladimir Salazar

ningún cambio, y con él, lo vamos a ver”, dijo Rodríguez. Roberto Solano, uno de los asistentes, dijo que la mayor razón por la cual apoya a López Obrador es por la unión que está tratando de crear entre la sociedad mexicana, y el fin que quiere darle a la corrupción del país. Abelardo González, uno de los asistentes, dijo que la razón por la cual la ciudad está llena de violencia, es debido a la corrupción que existe en el país. González, comenzó a decir que esta elección será distinta, debido a que tiene una nueva generación de seguidores que se manifiestan por medio de las redes sociales. Al terminar de decir esto, varias personas a su alrededor le aplaudieron y mostraron su apoyo por lo que dijo sobre el precandidato de MORENA. Las elecciones se llevaran a cabo el primero de julio del 2018.

8 / The Daily Aztec

Feb. 14 - 20, 2018

Feb 14-Feb.20, 2018 EDITOR: Cami Buckman, arts@thedailyaztec.com

Valentine’s Issue

The Daily Aztec

Celebrating Valentine’s Day on every budget: where to go on the day of love by Stacy Marquez STAFF WRITER

Cupid is making their way down to the sunny city on Wednesday. In honor of the day of love, here are a few things to do in San Diego for every budget: These activities are not limited to couples however, this can also be a time to appreciate platonic love. $$$: Big Baller Got the money? Flaunt it. There are plenty of luxurious

hotels for a getaway or exquisite restaurants for an fancy dinner. Balboa Park offers a romantic art tour and garden picnic where guests can learn about the love behind the artwork. The tour will be followed by a gourmet picnic for two at the May S. Marcy Sculpture Court and Garden at Panama 66, nestled among sculptures and greenery. Where: San Diego Museum of Art, Balboa Park When: 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Price: $110- $125

Looking for something a little more fancy? Downtown San Diego is the place to be. Enjoy Shigoku oysters, roasted cauliflower and romanesco, California spiny lobster “surf and turf” dry aged New York strip, Marin French truffle cheese “en croute,” deconstructed red velvet cake and more at Grant Hill in downtown. Located on Broadway Street, there are plenty of bars and clubs to go to after Grant Hill. Where: Grant Downtown San Diego

Hill,

When: 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Price: $105 $$: Can’t Break the Bank For those with a more modest budget, there are still many options for celebrating. San Diego is a never-ending party, and Valentine’s Day on a Wednesday will not stop San Diegans from going out. For those who choose the single life, Bankers Hill will have a singles game night. Sip free champagne and play games with other singles in a classic mansion that was once the most expensive home in San Diego. Where: Britt Scripps Inn, Bankers Hill When: 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Price: $49-$59 If there is a vegan in the mix, EVE Encinitas will have four course vegan dinners with a live performance by Miss Violette. Non-vegans welcome, of course, and they might not even taste the difference. Where: EVE Encinitas, Encinitas When: 5:30 p.m. Price: $45 $: The College Budget is REAL

Photo by Stacy Marquez

SDSU Flowers located near East Commons at San Diego State displays Valentine’s Day items to purchase.

Money may be tight, which is fine, but it should not prevent anyone from enjoying a nice day with a loved one. Here are a few free or low cost ideas for the special day.

The forecast calls for rain this week, so the typical San Diego activities like hiking and laying on the beach might be out of the question, but nothing is more relaxing than staying in and cooking a meal at home. Purchase flowers from a local florist or support street vendors and surprise a loved one with their favorite flowers. Plan ahead, as this a busy time for florists. Craft stores like Michael’s, Artist & Craftsman Supply and Blick Art Materials are the perfect opportunity to tune in those artistic skills and make something for the people that matter while keeping the spending at a minimum. Business junior Bryana Perez will spend her Valentine’s Day in class but it will not deter her from enjoying the day. “I enjoy the holiday, even though the majority of my life has been spent single on this day, but if I had a boo-thang, (the day) would be with them,” she said. She does however think practicing self care is important, especially on this day of love. “I would get my nails done and do a face mask. If I had a nice bathtub I would probably take a bath with some little Lush bombs,” she said. Whether it’s spent at an extravagant restaurant, chugging drinks at a singles bar, cuddled in bed with Netflix or in class, celebrate the love everyone deserves to experience.

Single students share tips on how to survive Valentine’s Day by Stephan STAFF WRITER

Early

Tinder matches got no spark? Fish not so plentiful? Some might say these aren’t good signs – especially around Valentine’s Day. Several San Diego State students shared their thoughts on what it’s like to be happily single, and shared tips on what they do to show themselves that it’s ok to be in love with themselves. “You know what? It’s hit or miss with that kind of stuff and it’s a big distraction once it all goes to s---,” aerospace engineering junior Trevor Neiman said. “A lot of times it’s better to not get involved with all that riff raff.” Many singles find it hard to be alone on Feb. 14. Often, media outlets and places of commerce are flooded with Valentine’s Day promotions, heart shapes and anything to remind people that the day is coming and being alone isn’t the ideal situation. “Just when you thought the holidays were over–Valentine’s Day,” recent SDSU graduate

Shona Neufeld said. For college singles this may be even harder to deal with when it seems like the whole campus is out to find that special somebody — or at least somebody for the night. Getting caught up in the search for love might be daunting enough without the added pressure of needing to have someone to smooch on this special day. The list of self-care and distracting activities students came up with were mostly “F” words with the exclusion of a few: Food Virginia Wolfe once said, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Special meals don’t always need to be for two. Making or ordering a dish for one can be delicious and exclusive. Here’s some student favorites that campus solos might find equally satisfying. “Oh spaghetti, spaghetti marinara,” mechanical engineering major Diego Draguicevich said. SEE SINGLES, PAGE 11 Illustration by Maritza Garcia

10 / The Daily Aztec

Feb. 14 - 20, 2018

Feb 14-Feb.20, 2018 EDITOR: Cami Buckman, arts@thedailyaztec.com

Singles:

Arts & Culture

favorite movies. Family and Friends American author Jim continued from page 9 Butcher famously said, “When He said he prefers food everything goes to hell, the from his favorite restaurant people who stand by you Phillipe’s Pizza Grotto on days without flinching, they are that might require a meal that’s your family.” more than ordinary. Neufeld agreed with this. “New Mexico green chili “Your friends are going to be chicken casserole. I will there for you throughout your definitely be picking up life, and lovers come and go,” ingredients for that and Neufeld said. making myself my favorite Draguicevich said he likes to meal,” Neufeld said. spend time with his family and Neiman said he too recently friends on all days of the year, discovered he enjoys making not just Valentine’s Day. and eating “a nice bowl of “It’s always nice just to see spaghetti.” friends that you haven’t seen Fashion in awhile,” he said. Coco Chanel once said, “I Neiman felt similarly. don’t do fashion, I am fashion.” “The biggest thing for friends Some choose to make and family is just to be there, statements with their clothes. it’s the best thing you can do,” “On Singles Awareness Day Neiman said. “Physically and I like to wear black. It’s been emotionally be there.” a tradition of mine since I was Fun 15,” Neufeld said. Here are the honorable Others go for the comfortable mentions that that didn’t start route. with F: trips to the beach, “I like wear something warm massages and days spent at and cozy, like a flannel or a the zoo were phrases that were sweater,” Neiman said. spoke of repeatedly. Flicks Facials, bubble baths and Famous actress Audrey things that one finds moving Hepburn said, “Everything I to take part in were also learned, I learned from the discussed. movies.” Overall, the sentiment was V-Day just might be the romantic partners aren’t the perfect day to get lost in a only things to be passionate movie on Netflix and nap. about. “‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin,’ Also, masturbation doesn’t believe it or not, that’s kind of get the respect that it deserves my rulebook,” Neiman said, because after all, there is no expressing love for one of his love like self-love.

The Daily Aztec

Alumnus creates online language learning course by Brenden Tuccinardi CONTRIBUTOR

For many people Spanish language education ends after high school, however, San Diego State alumnus Abraham Arechiga and his business partner Alvaro Sanchez Diaz are trying to change that. Together the two of them created Spanish55, a company that offers 55-minute Spanish lessons via Skype personalized to each client’s needs. Arechiga first came up with the idea while at SDSU. “I met a lot of people that wanted to learn Spanish but none of them gained conversational fluency which is what you need in the workplace,” Arechiga said. After graduating from SDSU, Arechiga went to work for a financial services company and experienced first hand the challenges many financial advisors faced when trying to communicate with their Spanish-speaking clients. “I thought, ‘why not create something that is tailored for busy professionals?’” he said. At first, he and Diaz worked

with SDSU students, mainly biology majors, and those interested in attending medical school. Since then, Spanish55 has grown into a successful new business. In just four years the company has hired six Spanish coaches

“It is a matter of creating this environment where the student feels safe and not afraid to make mistakes.’” – Abraham Arechiga, Spanish55 creator

and has a large portfolio of success stories and testimonials. The program begins with a 55-minute consultation where the student discusses personal interests, prior experience with learning Spanish, their fears and their goals.

They are then matched with a coach that is best equipped to meet the client’s specific needs. For example, Spanish55 works with many nurses in the San Diego area. These lessons focus on building a rapport with patients that speak Spanish and teach them the grammar and vocabulary for better doctor and patient communication. “I feel many programs in a university are great but they lack the conversational aspects of the language,” Arechiga said. Spanish55 provides busy professionals the specific language tools to help them with their job. Arechiga said Spanish55 is unique compared to other language learning platforms like Duolingo and Rosetta Stone. “It is a matter of creating this environment where the student feels safe and not afraid to make mistakes,” he said. Students practice conversation with the coaches in a supportive and constructive manner so that when they go out into their workplace they SEE SPANISH55, PAGE 15

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Arts & Culture

Feb 14-Feb.20, 2018 EDITOR: Cami Buckman, arts@thedailyaztec.com

Scene at State: KOI clothing By Kelly Kerrigan STAFF WRITER

A streetwear brand that promotes more than just fashion is beginning to make its appearance on campus. KOI Clothing, a streetwear brand created by marketing senior Noah Chen, puts the message of “knowledge over ignorance” into the clothing it creates. Although the message can seem simple, Chen expresses deeper meaning behind it. What is KOI and what is the meaning behind the name? “KOI Clothing is a streetwear brand that encourages you to experience and try out new things in order to gain more knowledge throughout one’s life. KOI is an acronym for ‘Knowledge Over Ignorance’ meaning that you shouldn’t be ignorant towards something, or anything really, especially if you haven’t even given that thing a chance or even tried it out. So that’s why when people wear my clothes I want them to want to go out and try to learn something that could enhance their own lifestyle. Also, koi fish are my favorite fish and are symbolic of wisdom and good fortune.” Why did you create this brand? “My inspiration for creating the brand was really just me noticing the lack of sympathy and respect for other people especially in today’s society with what’s happening in politics today. I’m not a political person at all but when I hear people arguing about one side or the other all I hear is ignorance towards the other side. I also am extremely picky about what I wear and got tired of not seeing things I liked so I decided to start designing my own clothes.” What are your future goals for the company? “My future goals are to be an established brand in San Diego and then move to LA and open a storefront there, as well as become more notorious as a designer, separate from the brand. I want (everyone) around the world to know who I am as well as my brand. Down the line, I also want to incorporate my brand into a multimedia company and work with the rap industry since that’s another important aspect of my life.”

Photos by Elissa Tauscher

Marketing senior Noah Chen models his own fashion line Koi Clothing.

How and why did you get involved in fashion? “I’ve always been interested in fashion. I always cared about how I dressed in front of other people and loved to stand out in a crowd, but I really didn’t start studying brands until I got to college. I believe that the way you dress is important because that’s the first impression you give off when you first meet someone.” Who and what are your greatest inspirations? “My biggest inspirations are all a part of hip-hop culture. I look up to people like Kanye, Carti, Uzi, xxxtentacion, Rocky and Travis Scott. Their music and style kind of helps me visualize my designs in my head. As for designers, I like Ian Connor, Inq and Virgil Abloh since they all have a kind of dark and

edgy twist to their clothing which is what I’m really into at the moment.” Do you have any cool stories since creating the company? “I’ve done some exposition shows in LA already for me as well as my brand and am starting to get in connection with some rappers about designing custom pieces. One company wanted me to design a whole collection for a fashion show put on by Vogue in either NYC, Paris, Milan or London, but I couldn’t afford it, so I had to turn it down. I am hoping to actually do it in the future though once I have enough money to do so.” Find KOI clothing online at their website and follow the brand on Instagram @KOIClothing.

Feb. 14 - 20, 2018

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The Daily Aztec

Arts & Culture

Feb 14-Feb. 20, 2018 EDITOR: Cami Buckman, arts@thedailyaztec.com

Film tells the story of police, mental illness and a family’s fight for justice San Diego State alumnus Erik Ljung premieres his first feature length documentary “The Blood is at the Doorstep” by Cami Buckman ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR

Community members and supporters met at a candlelight vigil to support the Hamilton family and the tragedy that occurred. At the vigil Dameion Perkins overheard a neighbor in the crowd of dimly lit faces say his deceased brother was homeless before his death. This was false. He turned to his mother, out of frustration for how his family was being portrayed, and said, “We need to make a movie.” And that is what happened. “The Blood is at the Doorstep,” directed by San Diego State alumnus Erik Ljung, looks into the 2014 police shooting of Dontre Hamilton, and the unseen moments his family faces while dealing with an unapologetic media, mental health falsities and a questionable criminal justice system in the process of finding justice for him. The film tells the story of Dontre, an unarmed AfricanAmerican man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, who was shot 14 times by a Milwaukee police officer responding to a non-emergency wellness check. Ljung followed the family as they navigated through the chaos of getting answers from the police, dealing with false media portrayals that plagued their family name and mourning the loss of their loved one. “At the core of it, it’s about family, it’s about growth and it’s about challenging power structures,” Ljung said. “But it’s also examining mental health issues related to policing and the inherent challenges with that.” Ljung graduated from SDSU in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. However, years

after graduating he made the switch to pursuing journalism and photographic related work — something he knew he had always wanted to do. His freelance work brought him to Milwaukee about 10 years ago. Ljung said he was initially intrigued by the Hamilton’s story because of the unusually high amount of gunshots fired for a non-emergency wellness check in the middle of the day—he was left with many questions. He reached out to the Hamilton family at one of their first rallies, and that soon began their nearly four year journey together. “The things people were saying about the Hamilton family were disgusting, and that wasn’t the family that I knew,” Ljung said. “I just felt like if people got to know this family it would change the narrative in Milwaukee, but also for a lot of families going through something like this.” On the day of Dontre’s death, he was sleeping in Red Arrow park. This led to the assumption of him being homeless. Dontre was not homeless, but many media outlets held on to this falsely reported narrative. In addition, one year before the shooting, Dontre was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Dameion Perkins, Dontre’s halfbrother, said Dontre’s condition was never something he dealt with alone, and that he never acted irate—the only thing he had gotten in trouble for was a speeding ticket. However Perkins believes the authorities never knew about Dontre’s condition until his mother told them hours after the shooting occured. Like him being “homeless,” the media and police authorities attached on to his mental illness as a justification for his death.

Photos by Cami Buckman

Director Erik Ljung and Dameion Perkins, one of the subjects in the film, address the audience in a Q & A session following a screening of their film at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival on Feb. 4 at The Museum of Photographic Arts.

However “The Blood is at the Doorstep” shows the efforts of the Hamilton family trying to rid the falsities surrounding Dontre’s name, and tell the story of what really happened. “It’s inspiring that we get the opportunity to tell our truth versus our loss. We lived a tragedy, but we also know the positive and stick together,” Perkins said. “A lot of families break apart due to their own issues, but we stay together.” The death of Dontre pushed the Hamilton family to become activists in a fight that has plagued America for decades—a fight they would have never imagined themselves to become advocates for. “The Hamilton family were not activists, they were apolitical

Dameion Perkins wears a denim jacket crafted to promote “The Blood is at the Doorstep” at the film’s screening in the Human Rights Watch Film Festival on Feb. 4 at The Museum of Photographic Arts.

people and forced into a fight and they created a lot of change,” Ljung said “Even to this day they wouldn’t tell you they are activists, they were forced into this.” In the film Nate Hamilton, Dontre’s brother, calls himself a non-confrontational person. However this trait in him and his family was tested as media inaccuracies and relationships with the criminal justice system were tested. The documentary was shown as the closing film of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival on Feb. 4 at The Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego. Ljung and Perkins, adorned with a handmade denim jacket painted to promote the movie, attended the screening and participated in an audience Q and A after. “Now that you’ve had the opportunity to see the film, did it change your perspective?” Perkins asked the attentive audience. “You get the opportunity to see the family involved with the police and what we have to go through.” The film has been screened at the SXSW Film Festival and has been well received by audiences and critics alike. “This was the hardest thing I have ever done financially, mentally, physically and emotionally,” Ljung said. “Now it’s just open to public scrutiny and there’s no feeling like it.” The film shows the grassroots efforts of community organizing from the earliest stages of its formation, something that isn’t usually seen in films involving activism. Compared to the publicity of police brutality cases in cities like Ferguson or Baltimore, the story of Dontre Hamilton’s death in Milwaukee wasn’t as known nationwide. “Some people think cases

that reach a national level are more believable or they’re more tragic, but I think to these families it doesn’t really matter the circumstances,” Ljung said. “The loss is the same for the families involved and it’s really unfortunate that some families don’t get the community’s support because it doesn’t hit the media.” According to an ongoing database being collected by The Washington Post, 995 people were shot and killed by police in 2015, just one year after Dontre’s death. The number of deaths continue with 963 people in 2016 and 987 in 2017. While these reports are comprehensive of cases in which suspects were both armed and unarmed, The Post reports mental illness played a role in a quarter of the incidents. There is no comprehensive database for police related shootings. “The blood is at everyone’s doorsteps if we’re ignorant to the fact of what’s going on outside of the door,” Perkins said. “It means that whatever your talent is, use it in a way that you can use it. Some people don’t want to protest, but there are things we can do within our communities where we can help each other.” To join the Hamilton family in their fight for justice, follow Coalition for Justice on Facebook and mothersforjusticeunited. org. “The Blood is at the Doorstep” is being screened in select cities across the country.

Listen to the audio version of this story online at

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Feb 14-Feb. 20, 2018 EDITOR: Cami Buckman, arts@thedailyaztec.com

Arts & Culture

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SDSU alumna honors the loss of her father in a new self-published book by Nicole Badgley SENIOR STAFF WRITER

On a Thursday morning in May 2016, Anna Cambria was taking her final steps as a San Diego State college undergrad. She eagerly awaited the moment when her diploma would be in her hand and she would officially have her English literature degree, ready to start the newest chapter of her life. She said she always wanted to be a writer. The next month, however, her life changed when her father attempted suicide on June 24, 2016. Two weeks later after his first attempt, he took his own life. “His first attempt was just something completely unexpected,” Cambria said. “I was at a high in my life. I just graduated. I had a great internship. Then all of this just came crashing down.” At what was supposed to be one of the happiest times in the world for Cambria came pain, loss and grief. Feeling lost and alone, Cambria searched online for information from people her own age who had lost a parent to suicide. Seeing how little information there was for her to relate to and find support in, Cambria began and eventually published a journal-style book about her experiences dealing with the loss of her father called “My New Normal: Surviving Suicide Loss.” To keep the book’s anonymity around this topic, Cambria changed the names of the subjects in her book. She goes by Anna Cambria in her author bio and changes the name of her boyfriend and editor to Peter. “Through this book I think it can help others as it did myself, so I definitely think it’s a winwin situation since I’ve been able to do my passion as well as help myself heal and maybe help others,” she said. Cambria said that her dad’s mental health was completely hidden. After joining a support

Spanish55:

continued from page 11 are confident in their abilities. SDSU Spanish professor Denise Anguiano echoed Arechiga’s sentiment. “In order to have what we consider an active language or an active conversation you need to practice,” Anguiano said. However, she feels that Spanish is not something that can be taught outside of a classroom. “Spanish is a language class. It is not like history, biology

Courtesy of Anna Cambria

Anna Cambria poses with her self-published book “My New Normal: Surviving Suicide Loss.”

group and talking to other family members of people who have lost loved ones to suicide, she said that many times there were no symptoms of mental illness at all. “That’s why I think it’s an important discussion to have and bring awareness about,” Cambria said. “He was like the best dad. And I still think that. “It’s just unfortunate how some people remember him as someone who was a selfish person but that’s not true.” From 1999 to 2014, suicide rates in the U.S. have increased 24 percent from 10.5 to 13.0 per 100,000 population, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention. Cambria said one of the

or anatomy where if you are organized you can take by yourself online or by Skype,” she said. However in the end, it comes down to the student’s own decision. Undeclared freshman Sophia De Runtz is in her second semester of taking a Spanish class. “I think it is cool that there is a company out there that offers this kind of service. If I thought learning Spanish would help me in my profession I would definitely use something like Spanish55,” she said. To find out more about Spanish55, visit its website.

goals of her book was to end the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide. She said that, before going through the loss of her dad, even she had a sort of naïve take on people who would do this to their family. After going through the experience herself, she realized that it can be the people that you might least expect to do this. “A lot of people and men wouldn’t want to go admit to another person that they need help,” Cambria said. “I didn’t know how trapped in your mind you can be. It can’t just go away on its own. I think the view needs to change for a lot of people because (mental illness) is

something that is out of their control. You never really know what someone is going through.” Cambria and her boyfriend Peter were dating at the time when her father committed suicide. Peter was also the editor of the Cambria’s book once she was finished writing her story. He said that Cambria’s book appeals to a younger audience because of how much people her age would relate the same way to loss. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death in people ages 15 to 34. Among college students aged 18 to 22, 8 percent of people have had suicidal thoughts, according to the

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “The reason Anna started writing the book is because it’s very hard to find literature about somebody losing a parent or even, say, a friend or sibling at Anna’s age group or younger,” Peter said. “Most people at her age just don’t decide to write a book. Everybody has their own ways of dealing with it. That was her therapy.” Peter said he’s seen a lot of other books in that genre or memoirs where many offer advice to their readers. “While Anna’s does offer advice, it’s mainly just her telling her story and the reader either takes away from it lessons or just the novel side of it,” Peter said. “She doesn’t claim to have answers to everything. “She just says ‘this is what helped me and this is what I dealt with.’” Cambria said she feels that mental health is just as important as physical health, it should be treated on equal platforms and it shouldn’t be an embarrassing thing for people to seek help for. “It’s normal to hear someone take the day off for the flu… or a sickness that you can see physically, but people don’t understand that a lot of people need mental health days,” Cambria said. “They wouldn’t look at it the same way as they would a physical illness and I just think that the stigma about the topic of suicide and mental illness needs to be erased.” Cambria’s book is selfpublished and available on Amazon. She said she’s gotten responses from people worldwide who have expressed how much her book has helped them during their own losses. “It’s really cool to hear from people around the world who I don’t even know who said they read my book,” Cambria said. “Friends and family who have read my book have told me that it’s given them closure and helped them remember the good thing about my dad.”

Courtesy of Abraham Arechiga

Abraham Arechiga and Alvaro Sanchez Diaz are the creators of Spanish55, an online language learning course.

Feb. 14 - Feb. 20, 2018 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett, sports@thedailyaztec.com

Sports

Week in review

Feb. 7 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SDSU - 60 vs. Fresno State - 66 Aztecs lose fourth straight after blowing nine point second half lead.

MEN’S BASKETBALL SDSU - 58 vs. Nevada 83 Aztecs fall apart on the road in second half, get outscored 41-18 to finish game.

Feb. 8 SOFTBALL SDSU - 2 vs. No. 25 Georgia - 23 Aztecs granted mercy rule in fifth inning during season opening blowout loss.

SOFTBALL SDSU - 3 vs. Nebraska - 5 Aztecs jump out to early lead but can’t overcome late deficit during team’s fourth loss in first five games.

SDSU - 0 vs. Stanford - 4 Aztecs lose second game of day after giving up four runs in the sixth inning.

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Senior Bonnie Drexler ties SDSU pole vault record with 4.30 meters while finishing in second place. Senior Ashley Henderson finishes in second place in the finals of the 60 meters with 7.19, the second fastest time in school history.

Feb. 9 MEN’S TENNIS SDSU - 1 at No. 14 Missisippi State - 6 Aztecs drop to 0-5 on the season after losing five of six singles matches against Bulldogs. SOFTBALL SDSU - 5 vs. Western Michigan - 0 Junior pitcher Julie McDonald throws a four-hit shutout in the Aztecs first victory of the season. SDSU - 6 vs. Northwestern - 7 Aztecs erase five run deficit but lose on international tiebreaker rule in eighth inning. WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Senior Ellison Grove finishes in second place out of 20 in the 600 meters with a 1:33.41, while junior Lisa-Anne Barrow jumps 6.04 meters to tie the sixth farthest long jump in SDSU history. Feb. 10 WOMEN’S WATER POLO SDSU - 7 vs. T-No. 13 UC Santa Barbara - 4 Aztecs, led by two goals from senior Lizzy Bilz and freshman Emily Bennett, win for first time in last six tries against the Gauchos. SDSU - 2 vs. T-No. 2 University of Southern California - 14 USC jumps out to early 3-0 lead and never trails in drubbing of Aztecs. WOMEN’S TENNIS SDSU - 2 vs. Brigham Young University - 5 Aztecs drop five of six singles matches for first home loss of the season. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SDSU - 75 vs. Nevada - 72 Aztecs hold on to late lead to end their four-game losing streak.

Feb. 11 WOMEN’S WATER POLO SDSU - 8 vs. No. 23 CSU Northridge - 5 Aztecs shutout CSUN in fourth quarter to help earn spot in fifth-place game of Triton Invitational. SDSU - 8 vs. No. 10 UC Davis - 13 Aztecs can not recover from early 5-2 hole, lose in final game of Triton Invitational. WOMEN’S LACROSSE SDSU - 12 at UC Berkeley - 11 Aztecs start season with dramatic last second victory after junior Harlowe Steele scores winning goal with 28 seconds left. WOMEN’S TENNIS SDSU - 2 University of San Diego - 4 Aztecs capture doubles point for sixth time in seven matches, but lose lead during singles play for second home defeat in two days. MEN’S TENNIS SDSU - 1 at Alabama - 4 Aztecs stay winless at 0-6 while Alabama remains undefeated at 11-0. Sophomore Arnaud Restifo earns lone point for Scarlet and Black. SOFTBALL SDSU - 2 vs. UC Davis - 3 Aztecs leave 11 on base, lose in bottom of the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly, fall to 1-5 on season. Feb. 11-13 WOMEN’S GOLF Aztecs finish in 18th place in the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge after shooting a combined 24-over par 308 in final round.

The Daily Aztec

Aztecs welcome in Wyoming

Junior guard Jeremy Hemsley drives the ball in 95-72 win over Colorado State on Jan. 2.

by Abraham Jewett SPORTS EDITOR

San Diego State men’s basketball will try to get back on track when they welcome the University of Wyoming to Viejas Arena on Feb. 14. The Aztecs (13-10, 5-7 MW) have lost two straight games coming in, and will be looking to avenge a late December road loss to the Cowboys (16-9, 7-5 MW). “The Cowboys are playing well, the Aztecs need a win in the worst way,” head coach Brian Dutcher said. “It’s good to be back home, this is the place to do it.” SDSU has performed better at home this season, with nine wins in 11 games, compared to only two wins in nine tries on the road. Wyoming senior forward Hayden Dalton scored a career-high 36 points with 15 rebounds and 5 assists in the team’s first meeting, and SDSU will look to corral the Cowboys second leading scorer at 17.9 points per game. “We’re going to do some things to try to limit (Dalton),” Dutcher said. “He had a magical game. We have to find a way to slow him down if he does get going.” Another Wyoming player to watch out for is junior guard Justin James, who leads

Photo by Kelly Smiley

the team with 18.3 points per game and has scored over 30 points in four games this year. “James is also capable of putting in huge numbers,” Dutcher said. “They’re a very dangerous offensive team, we know that.” The Aztecs will remain without senior guard Trey Kell, who has been out since injuring his ankle in the team’s loss at University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Jan. 27. “This is where you need your seniors to carry the team, and (senior forward Malik Pope) is doing his best, but not having (Kell) out there at times hurts us,” Dutcher said. SDSU could use another big performance from Pope, who had 21 points with nine rebounds in the first meeting with the Cowboys. The Aztecs will also continue to rely on strong performances from its freshman players, including starting forwards Matt Mitchell and Jalen McDaniels. “At this point in the season you don’t really look at them as freshman even though they are,” Dutcher said. “They’ve played enough games and had enough minutes where they have to make a step forward, and they have for the most part, but at some level they’re still freshmen.”

Sports

The Daily Aztec

Feb. 14 - Feb. 20, 2018 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett, sports@thedailyaztec.com

Softball set to host Campbell/Cartier

by Abraham Jewett SPORTS EDITOR

San Diego State softball started its season on the road in the Kajikawa Classic, hosted by Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. SDSU played six games in the desert, and only won one time. It marked a slower than expected start for the Aztecs, who came in to the year fresh off a 31-win season. “I wouldn’t say slow, I would say disastrous,” head coach Kathy Van Wyk said. The most lopsided loss came in SDSU’s opening game, when the team was blown out by a score of 23-2 against the University of Georgia. “The start obviously against Georgia didn’t help,” Van Wyk said. “Not only (have you) lost a game, but your trying to rebuild confidence the whole time.” SDSU also lost to Stanford University, Northwestern University, University of Nebraska and UC Davis during the event, but Van Wyk said that the games — all within four runs and two that went into extra innings — could have easily had different results. “We were in five games that we should have won and we weren’t far off,” Van Wyk said. “The biggest thing right now is keep them positive, keep working and challenging them to look for different things and find ways to get on base.” The Aztecs lone win came against Western Michigan University, thanks largely to a four-hit shutout from junior pitcher Julie McDonald. “(McDonald) had very very good command of her pitchers,” Van Wyk said. “She was hitting the corners very well and just keeping them off balance.” The team will face one final road test — a Valentine’s Day clash at UC Riverside — before heading back to SDSU for the annual Campbell/Cartier Classic. The event is named for former Aztecs softball players Susanne Campbell and Karin Cartier, both of whom lost their lives in a car accident during the 1991 season. This will be the Classic’s 28th year,

Junior Molly Sullivan takes batting practice during practice on Jan. 30

and the Aztecs will kick it off on Feb. 15 against a ranked team in No. 25 University of Kentucky. “That’s always the goal for our Campbell Cartier is to bring in good teams,” Van Wyk said. “Hopefully the community of San Diego gets to see good softball.” Kentucky comes in with a record of 1-2 after winning the last of a three game road slate against New Mexico State University on Feb. 11. The Wildcats scored five runs in the seventh inning of a 10-2 victory, and were led by five RBIs from junior utility player Abbey Cheek. “Kentucky, a (Southeastern Conference) program, is a very good program and we are looking forward to starting out with them,” Van Wyk said. Second baseman Katie Byrd, a redshirt junior from Santee, is currently leading the team in batting average with .421 and said that she is excited to play in

Freshman Konner Dahlberg throws a pitch at practice on Jan. 30

Photo by Elissa Tauscher

front of the hometown fans. “I’m really excited just because I like playing at home more,” Byrd said. “I’m a San Diego kid so my family gets to come and it’s just nice playing on your own field.” SDSU will then play a doubleheader on Feb. 16, first taking on North Dakota State in the afternoon before an evening

game against University of Illinois at Chicago. NDSU is coming off a 2-1 victory in nine innings over Utah Valley College on Feb. 11, with senior pitcher Jacquelyn Sertic striking out 16 as part of a complete game. UIC, meanwhile, has gotten off to a 2-2 start, most notably defeating the University of Samford by a score of 11-1 in the Mardi Gras Classic. Center fielder Lexi Watts went a perfect 5-for-5 in the game with three runs for UIC, and the junior leads the team in batting average at .464. One player who the Aztecs will be counting on for their own offensive production is junior catcher and third baseman Molly Sturdivant. Sturdivant leads the team with two home runs, but said that her main focus is simply on making good contact. “I mean home runs are always nice but I’m trying to work on just line drives this season,” Sturdivant said, “(I’m) not getting too big not trying too hard and just making some solid contact.” The Aztecs will have a day of rest before completing the event with a pre-noon matchup against Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 18. CSUF has started the season a record of 3-1, and is looking to improve on its NCAA tournament regionals appearance from a year ago. “Fullerton is always a great rivalry,” Van Wyk said. “They beat us one-to-nothing last year so we’ll be ready to come back and get another one back from them.”

Sports

The Daily Aztec

Feb. 14 - Feb. 20, 2018 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett, sports@thedailyaztec.com

Women’s tennis falls back-to-back at home by Marissa Bell CONTRIBUTOR

San Diego State women’s tennis started the weekend undefeated at home, but back-to-back losses against Brigham Young University and University of San Diego have put a damper on the team’s fast start. The Aztecs won five of their first six games, but now sit at a record of 5-3 after falling to BYU 5-2 on Saturday and 4-2 to USD on Sunday. Still, SDSU has already matched last years season win total — the team finished 5-18 — and look like a squad which is ready to make noise in the Mountain West Conference. Head coach Peter Mattera has seen it all during his 23 years at the helm, and said that he is choosing to focus on the positives from the weekend. “What I try my best to keep focused on is are we playing better every time,” Mattera said, “because it’s not always going to be reflected in the score.” SDSU started out strong against USD, earning the opening point in doubles play for the sixth time in seven matches, but could not hold onto its lead in singles play. “It was a hard fought match,” Mattera said. “We knew it would

Freshman Nnena Nadozie hits the ball during a home doubles match against USD on Feb. 11. The Aztecs lost the overall match by a score of 4-2.

be, it’s always an exciting match playing your cross town rival.” Sophomore Mia Smith and junior Jenny Moinard helped clinch the Aztecs doubles point with a come-from-behind 6-3 victory against juniors MariaPaula Torres and Sophia Chow. Moinard was emotional and verbal while Smith took the lead with her powerful shots to help the pair erase an 0-3 deficit.

“I love their attitude on the court,” Mattera said about the duo. “I think they know no matter the score given the fact they have so much offense to them that they’re never really out of a match until they shake hands.” SDSU junior Magda Aubets and freshman Nnena Nadozie also won their doubles match, by a score of 6-4 over sophomore

Photo by Alex Vasquez

Gemma Garcia and freshman Carolin Nonnenmacher. Aztecs seniors Jana Buth and Paolo Diaz fell in doubles by a score of 3-6 against USD sophomores Nicole Anderson and Daniela Morales. Once singles play began only Diaz earned a point for the Aztecs, with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory over Garcia. There was some controversy

during the match, with both players failing to agree at times with the others calls. “There were some balls where we weren’t sure about each other’s calls,” Diaz said. “We would be questioning and questioning and then you would get really into the match so you’d just start screaming and yelling.” Aubets, Moinard and Nadozie all went down in two sets against their opponents, while freshman Abbie Mulbarger had her game called while down 2-5 in the third set, after the overall match was decided. Buth and Anderson played a three set game, with Buth taking the first set 6-4, before losing the second 1-6. In the third set Anderson jumped out to a 5-0 lead, and was able to withstand a frantic comeback, after Buth double faulted while serving on deuce with a chance to even the score at 5-5. “My serve for me was super hard today because it was windy with the toss,” Buth said. “On the last one my toss was terrible so I should have not hit that one, but yah I missed that one and it was game.” SDSU will continue its sixgame homestand with a match on Feb. 16 against the University of Southern California.

Feb. 14 - Feb. 20, 2018 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett, sports@thedailyaztec.com

Sports

The Daily Aztec

Chad Bible returns from cancer diagnosis by Tony Zarate STAFF WRITER

Cancer: The word itself strikes fear into the hearts of those who hear it. The pain and suffering that family and friends endure during a fight with cancer is something people do not wish upon their worst enemy. Baseball, meanwhile, is America’s national pastime. Fans flood the stands to watch their favorite player and boo the opposing team because of a longstanding rivalry. These two words, cancer and baseball. So distant from each other in meaning and yet, for one San Diego State baseball player, closely connected. Chad Bible, a redshirt junior outfielder from Valencia, Calif., was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on Jan. 10, 2017. During the summer of 2016, Bible had a lump on his neck that eventually spread to under his chin. Within six months, Bible was diagnosed with the cancer that would change his life. After tears from his immediate family, it was time to break the news to his teammates, who he shared a sibling-like bond with. “I could tell that they were more worried for me than I was worried for myself,” Bible said. But the homecoming that he received after first returning from treatment created another mood swing for his teammates. “When I came back from my first treatment, back to State, that was pretty awesome,” Bible said. “Everyone stopped what they were doing mid-practice, and that never happens.”

Photo courtesy of San Diego State Athletics

Chad Bible competes in a game early in the 2017 season.

Bible was unable to play for the remainder of the 2017 season, but he still sat and cheered on his team. During Senior Day last season, then pitcher and teammate CJ Saylor, now of the St. Louis Cardinals, presented Bible with a homemade quilt that was signed by all of his teammates and coaching staff. “It just showed how much these guys cared about me,” Bible said. “They were in the fight as much as I was.” The team was there, going through the battles with him, and checking up on their friend and teammate became a priority.

“The biggest thing that we did was put our arms around the situation and supported him and his family through the process,” head coach Mike Martinez said. Martinez always made sure to keep his players in the loop with what was going on with their teammate. Whether it was asking and making sure that Bible was doing okay, or cheerfully welcoming him back to the diamond, they did everything they could. “Whenever I was able to come down and hang out with the guys, they made it appoint for me to be the center of

Baseball to receive rings before UCSB opener

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by Abraham Jewett SPORTS EDITOR

San Diego State baseball starts the year off with three-game home slate against UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 16. Before they do, however, the Aztecs will receive their championship rings from last years fourth Mountain West Conference championship in five seasons. This will be the first time SDSU hands out the rings on the field, whereas in previous years the team has chosen to hold the ceremony at Viejas Arena. “Its exciting, it’s the first time we’ve done it in baseball,” head coach Mark Martinez said. “It’s going to be really exciting to bring back the guys from last year’s team… to come back to the baseball field and celebrate another championship at Tony Gwynn Stadium.” SDSU finished last season with a record of 42-21, and Martinez said he is ready to continue that success coming in to the new year. “We have a lot to build on,” Martinez said. “We are looking forward to opening weekend and the rest of the season.” Senior outfielder Chase Calabuig, a local product from Mission Viejo, said that he is excited to receive his ring, and that it will provide motivation for the upcoming season. “I think it just kind of reminds us what we went through to get to that point last season and it kind of just allows us to reflect on the success we had,” Calabuig said. “I definitely think it’s more of a motivation to want to do it again and be able to see that ring and be able to put it on again.” Once the pregame festivities are through, it will be time for the Aztecs to play ball against a familiar foe in UCSB. SDSU took two of three on the road against the Gauchos last season, and

attention,” Bible said. “They made me feel like I was still apart of something.” Last season, while playing in honor of Bible, the Aztecs finished with a record of 42-21 and made it all the way to the NCAA tournament regionals. In August of 2017 — less than a year after his diagnosis — doctors deemed Bible cancer free. “It was the best feeling in the world. I couldn’t stop smiling. I was crying,” Bible said. “Just imagine getting a death note and having it be lifted.” Bible wasn’t the only one that had a weight lifted off his shoulders. After months and months of worrying, all of his teammates could take a major sigh of relief. Senior outfielder Chase Calabuig described Bible’s fight as a testament to his resilience and his will to never give up. “It just shows that in your lowest of your lows, the grass is always greener on the other side,” Calabuig said. “If you really want to work through something like (Bible) did, you can get through anything.” Bible will know in five years if the cancer has fully left his body, but for now he is in remission, and he will play this season as a starting designated hitter and outfielder. Throughout his hardships, trials and tribulations, Bible attributes his speedy recovery to his doctors, but also, to everyone that supported him during his journey. “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart,” Bible said. “The fact that everyone had my back and pushed me to succeed and beat that cancer really meant the world to me.”

Aqua Pros is seeking those who love children, swimming and want to make a difference in the lives of others. Our warm 90*indoor swimming pool and year-round swim program has opportunities for you! We offer: - A fun, fast paced, positive work environment - Convenient Clairemont area location - Flexible, part time work hours - Extremely competitive wages - Quarterly raises based on work performance - Medical and Dental health insurance - 401K benefits. Positions Available: - Swimming instructors and Lifeguards start at $15 per hour

Senior outfielder Chase Calabuig throws a wiffle ball during practice on Jan. 13

historically have had strong success against the boys from the beach, holding an all-time wins advantage of 83 to 30. Still, USCB has had a good amount of success in recent years, most recently winning 43 games and making it all the way to the College World Series in 2016. The Gauchos followed that up with a disappointing 24-32 season last year, but Martinez said he still expects a great challenge. “It’s going to be a great test for us,” Martinez said. “It’s a great way to open the season kind of get a barometer of where we are moving into our 2018 campaign.” Calabuig is also excited to play against UCSB, and agreed with his coach that it will be a good test to start the new year.

Photo by Alex Vasquez

“(I’m) very excited. I think that’s a great program and I think that them coming in here is going to be a little bit different than last year going there,” Calabuig said. “I think they have a lot of talent and it’ll be a good chance for us to prove to ourselves what we can do as a team and what we can do as individuals.” More than anything, Calabuig said that himself and his teammates are ready to start playing competition other than themselves. “We had a lot of fun playing with each other… but I think it’s time we started playing someone new and someone different,” Calabuig said. “Start having some fun playing the game as Aztecs.”

Requirements: - MUST love kids! - MUST have a strong swimming background - MUST be reliable, responsible and enthusiastic - MUST currently have or willing to get CPR and First Aid Certifications (Lifeguarding Cert. preferred) - MUST be able to pass criminal background and drug screen To become a part of the Aqua Pros Team, Please contact us to receive an application by email or in person at aquaprosswim@hotmail.com or at the pool. 4635 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. San Diego, CA. 92117 The Boys and Girls Club indoor pool. Check us out at www.AquaPros.org Any questions please give us a call at (619) 209-2990 Email aquaprosswim@hotmail.com

The Daily Aztec

The Back Page

The Anti-Valentine’s Day playlist for solos

Feb. 14-Feb. 20 2018 Editor: Cami Buckman • arts@thedailyaztec.com

SUDOKU HOW TO PLAY Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. LEVEL

Music selected especially for single people on the special day of love

1|2|3|4

by Kelly Kerrigan STAFF WRITER

SOLUTIONS Available online at www.thedailyaztec.com

It seems like in one way or another music always finds a way to relate to love. On Valentine’s Day, the last thing any single person wants to hear is gushy love songs all over the radio. So I created the ultimate ‘Anti-Valentine’s Day Playlist’ mixed with songs about love that went wrong or no love at all for those of you who would rather not celebrate this staple Hallmark holiday. The Beatles - “With a Little Help From My Friends” Going back to the classics, the British rock band reminds us that no matter what happens in life, our friends are always there for us. Whether you have a love or not, are experiencing heart break or just want to have fun, friends will always bring you to life in your time of need. The Beatles highlight the importance of friendship in this rock hit. Drake - “God’s Plan” “‘She says do you love me,’ I tell her ‘only partly’/ I only love my bed and my momma, I’m sorry” This new anthem of the year puts emphasis on the best parts of life — our beds and our mothers. Why in the world would you need anything else? Drake’s new single commends the things that life gives us when we least expect it and focuses on staying positive through whatever comes our way. Red Hot Chili Peppers - “Under the Bridge” This rock ballad Anthony Kiedis sings is about one of the worst days of his life after experiencing a love rollercoaster. He reminisces on the worst feelings in the world and talks about finding love in the

place you are at in your life, and not just a person. “I don’t ever want to feel like I did that day/ take me to the place I love take me all the way” Fleetwood Mac - “Go Your Own Way” The folk rock band revealed the difficulties of relationships throughout its career and this song helps many listeners part ways from toxic relationships. This Valentine’s Day, a song like this can remind you of all the reasons you and your ex split. Demi Lovato - “Sorry Not Sorry” This chart topper is the most confident anthem on the radio right now. Demi Lovato reinforces the idea that people should never ever apologize for being themselves, and she does this while making them want to dance like no one is watching. Portugal. the Man - “Feel it Still” This groovy 1960s sounding song, that has nothing at all to do with love, is the perfect song to start your single Valentine’s Day festivities. The song’s hook catches the attention of all listeners, regardless of age, which can cause you to forget about the day of love and dance the night away. Taylor Swift - “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” The break up queen herself sings about the one relationship that seems to never be over even when it’s over. If this is you, this song might be your best friend this Valentine’s Day when deciding it’s time to finally bring the relationship to an end. You can also listen to this song while thinking of that one ex who you are never getting back together with, like ever.

Tame Impala - “The Less I Know the Better” The title says it all, knowing less sometimes really is the best option. The psychedelic rock band stepped aside from its normal sound to create a 1980s disco funk song that can make you groove along without even realizing the meaning behind it. The story behind the lyrics tells of a love triangle that causes the singer to go mad with confusion where he ultimately decides that knowing less is better. This can apply to any single with a crush in the back of their mind this Valentine’s Day.

Tribune News Service / Sponsored by Aztec Recreation

Lorde - “Perfect Places” It seems like in the world of social media we currently live in everyone is always searching for perfection. But Lorde addresses this in the song as being unrealistic. In the ballad she debunks the superficial obsession with perfection. So for all you singles who absolutely hate “perfect relationships,” this can be your song of the night.

CROSSWORDS

The Killers - “All These Things That I’ve Done” Taking all you’ve learned and moving on from your past is one of the most gratifying feelings, and The Killers take all of this into account in the 2004 song “All These Things That I’ve Done.” The catchy song reminds you to hold on even when it seems hard. This self reflecting song closes the AntiValentine’s Day with a positive look at your accomplishments of the past, while having a prospective outlook for the future. Regardless of whether you loathe Valentine’s Day or love it, this playlist is about praising the glorious life that is being single. And hey, who knows where you will be next year?

SNAPSHOTS

Photo by Kelly Smiley

SKATER LOVE A couple holds hands as one takes a break from skating on campus.

Tribune News Service

ACROSS 1 Drive-thru device 4 Org. people line up for? 7 Sell under false pretenses 14 Tries to scam online 16 South Pacific region 17 Good thing to break gently 18 Bought time 19 Has no chance of working 21 “__ Lisa” 22 Golf’s “Big Easy” 23 “This is a sure bet” 28 “Halt and Catch Fire” network 31 Writers Patchett and Brashares 32 Korea setting 34 Rhodes of Rhodesia fame 36 “__-Man”: superhero film 37 Longtime SeaWorld star 38 Four-legged collar wearer 40 Indigo plant 41 Rubble-making stuff 42 “Hold on a sec” 46 Storybook crone

47 Close at hand 48 2000s sitcom starring Jason Lee 53 “God willing!” 55 “We’ve heard enough” 57 Accumulates 58 Cautious bettors 59 Mailer’s need 60 Many promos 61 Spot for family game night DOWN 1 Manhunt letters 2 Winter warm spell 3 Skirt style 4 Title role for Geena 5 Attached, as a button 6 Give the go-ahead 7 Something struck by a model? 8 One in a cast 9 Circulars 10 Store collections 11 The Beach Boys’ “God __ Knows” 12 Quaint “For shame!” 13 Fidget spinners, apparently 15 Kate McKinnon is in its ensemble, briefly 20 End of a question begun by part of

19-, 23-, 42- and 48-Across 23 Regatta entry 24 Diamond situation after a leadoff double 25 Full-length, as a film 26 Several CBS dramas 27 Bread grain 28 Yoga pose 29 Make like 30 Sink sealant 33 Captain described as a “grand, ungodly, god-like man” 35 Beirut natives 36 Bubbly prefix 39 Winged steed of myth 43 Performer with many fans? 44 Secured, as a gate 45 Tire features 46 Bouncing off the walls 48 Shape 49 Hairdressing challenges 50 Uru. neighbor 51 Swamp thing 52 Angler’s fly, e.g. 53 Pub letters 54 Squirreled away 56 Bank acct. info