02-17-2016

weekly PRINT EDITION

wednesDAY, FEBRUARY 17 – tuesDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016 volume 102, Issue 23

SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1913

NEWS

Dance marathon leads west coast P2

sports

Aztec baseball beefs up schedule P2

special

New method of STD testing on campus P9

SPECIAL

ARC memberships hit record-high P14 The Daily Aztec publishes its printed weekly edition on Wednesdays and serves the students, faculty and community of San Diego State University.

COVER ART BY KAYLEE ANDREWS

W W W . T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M

2 NEWS

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: JAMIE BALLARD • NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

#FACULTYONSTRIKE

CFA defends plan for faculty strike WILL FRITZ CONTRIBUTOR ____________________________________ California Faculty Association leaders defended the union’s decision to plan a general strike at all California State University campuses in a press conference held on Friday, Feb. 12.

The strike, which will only occur if the union and CSU officials are unable to come to an agreement on salary increases, is planned for Wednesday, April 13, through Tuesday, April 19.

The union has asked for a 5-percent salary increase, while CSU officials have offered 2 percent.

Dr. Jennifer Eagan, Director of the CFA and philosophy professor at CSU East Bay, said the decision “was made over the course of many months,” and faculty are “extremely angry, and with good reason.”

She said faculty did not receive a pay increase between 2008 and 2012, and in fact took a 10-percent pay cut in the form of furlough days during the 201011 academic year.

The furlough days were voted upon by the CFA and taken voluntarily in the face of budget cuts and a weak economy.

Eagan said while faculty received an $800 raise in 2013, and most have received a 1.6-percent raise in 2016,

this was not nearly enough to keep pace with pay increases at other universities, or with the rising cost of living.

She went on to say the CSU system has “misplaced spending priorities,” and has “plenty of money to continue to freeze student fees in place and pay faculty.”

She also said the union’s announcement of plans for a strike should not be seen as a sign of doubt that a deal can be reached, as preparations for a strike require significant advance notice.

Eagan declined to state whether any amount below 5 percent would be acceptable, saying “we would be bargaining against ourselves,” and that “the ball is in their (CSU officials’) court” to make an offer better than 2 percent.

Eagan also said it was important for campuses to begin hiring more tenuretrack faculty, as 59 percent of faculty are lecturers on temporary contracts with fewer benefits and decreased job security.

EFFECTS ON STUDENTS CSU Director of Public Affairs Toni Molle said in an email, “If a strike occurs, campuses intend to remain open. Many classes will be offered, and students should check with their

instructors regarding the status of their classes. The strike should not interfere with students being able to complete their semester and quarter courses and graduate on time.”

She also said updates would be available on campus websites and social media accounts.

In the same email, Molle said students should plan to attend class even if strike activity does occur, and that “we anticipate that many classes will continue to meet as not all faculty will strike.”

However, in the CFA press conference, it was noted that 80 percent of faculty turned out to vote on strike activity, and 94 percent of those approved a strike.

In addition to teaching faculty, the CFA also represents librarians, psychological counselors and assistant coaches.

Molle also said in the email, “No individual, including students, can be compelled to take a position by either the administration or the faculty.

Classroom time cannot and should not be used by faculty to discuss issues related to the strike. Students cannot be compelled to walk out of class, walk picket lines or support the strike as part of a class assignment or in exchange for a grade.”

Dr. Eagan said chapters of several

other unions have sanctioned the faculty strike, meaning that members of those unions will not cross picket lines to serve university campuses.

Two of these sanctions will affect SDSU: Teamsters Joint Council 42 and San Diego — Imperial Counties Labor Council. This means that UPS drivers and some construction workers will potentially avoid serving SDSU during the strike.

The CFA announced their plans for a strike on Monday, Feb 8., after approximately two years of the “Fight for Five” campaign. The CFA and CSU have been in negotiations regarding faculty pay since May 2014.

Their campaign has included various demonstrations on campus during the last two years.

In October 2015, faculty met with President Elliot Hirshman to ask for his support regarding salary and contract issues.

Later that same month, several faculty members held a demonstration outside of the library.

“We feel that (faculty) should be paid a fair wage so that we can provide quality education, and (faculty) don’t have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from,” social work lecturer Kim Archuletta said in an October 2015 interview with The Daily Aztec.

#AZTECDANCEMARATHON

Students raise $84K for children’s hospital JOCELYN MORAN STAFF WRITER ____________________________________

Students, children and families danced the night away at the Aztec Dance Marathon.

COURTESY OF CHILDREN’S MIRACLE NETWORK

San Diego State students showed their support for children by dancing for 15 hours straight at the Annual Aztec Dance Marathon on Feb. 12-13 and raised $84,000, the most of any west coast college, for Rady Children’s Hospital.

SDSU was aiming to surpass University of Colorado, Boulder, throughout the night as Boulder raised $70,000, during its dance marathon this year.

More than 500 Aztecs danced through the night in Montezuma Hall for kids with a variety of illnesses.

Each hour, a family would share their story and experience at Rady Children’s Hospital.

“It’s really fantastic knowing that someone wants to make a difference,” 15-year-old patient Gigi Mansen said.

Mansen had chronic liver failure by the time she was 10 months old, and by the time she was almost 2, she received a liver transplant from her mother. In the seventh grade, she was diagnosed with rumination syndrome, which prevented her from digesting food correctly, and last year, she was diagnosed with a kidney disease.

She has lived with feeding tubes and gone through chemotherapy, but with the help of Rady Children’s Hospital, Mansen now only has to go to the hospital once a year for two weeks.

Mansen also said she is extremely thankful for the support of the Aztecs and their willingness to help others like her.

The families’ stories ranged from conditions like Mansen’s to heart transplants and different types of cancer.

“I think it’s beyond words as you hear stories and think about the impact,”

said Christy Samarkos, associate vice president for Student Affairs. “It’s immeasurable. Students gain experience from a humanity standpoint.”

This dance marathon was part of “Dance Marathon,” a nationwide movement that takes place in more than 450 schools to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

The event was a year-long effort and was organized by students and faculty from Student Life and Leadership.

SDSU’s goal for this year was $100,000 after raising over $40,000 last year.

When signing up, the participant set a goal and was given a link to share among their peers who were willing to donate in order for the participant to reach that goal. A large portion of the Aztecs present were from fraternities and sororities.

“I’m here because I like kids, and 15 hours is really daunting, but just to see them smile is amazing,” said freshman Tiana Hodzic, member of Alpha Chi Omega. “It’s even cooler that the patients are here to participate.”

Other students formed their own groups, such as resident advisors, who encouraged their hall members to attend as well.

“I heard a lot of great feedback last year, and I wanted to experience it myself,” said sophomore Mireille Garcia, resident hall advisor at Tenochca.

Besides dancing, a variety of games and activities were provided throughout the night where patients and students had the chance to interact.

The Aztecs were notified with the amount they raised at 8 a.m. after dancing for 15 hours.

“It was for a great cause because we were standing for the children who couldn’t,” Garcia said. “Hearing their stories and strength was really touching.”

SPORTS 3

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: RYAN POSNER • SPORTS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

#AZTECBASEBALL

Baseball beefing up its schedule ZACHARY ENGBERG STAFF WRITER ____________________________________ In 2011, San Diego State baseball painted a completely different picture than it had in the previous three years.

With Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn at the helm, the Aztecs finished the season 22-36 and were the second team to be eliminated from the Mountain West tournament.

Part of their struggles stemmed from the challenging schedule Gwynn and company put together.

SDSU faced seven teams ranked in the National College Baseball Writer’s Association’s Top 25 poll, six at home, an abnormal gauntlet for a program that had made one NCAA Regional appearance since 1991.

Five years later, SDSU is coming off its third consecutive MW championship.

While a lot of things have shifted since the 2011 season — most noticeably, Mark Martinez taking over for the late Gwynn — the Aztecs are still offering a healthy menu of opponents.

The schedule is, however, slightly less meaty.

“Tony was scheduling the 1927 Yankees,” Martinez said of his longtime friend, comparing the schedule to the New York Yankees’ infamous Murderers’ Row. “That was a little too much. You want to have an opportunity to win some of those games.”

For the 2016 season, the Aztecs are set to play three teams in D1Baseball. com’s preseason top 25 in No. 14 University of Oregon, No. 5 Oregon State and No. 21 Cal State Fullerton. Far less demanding than the onslaught the team has faced in years past.

But it’s all part of a plan.

Well, as much of a plan as college baseball lets you have.

“It’s organized chaos,” Martinez said. “You try and design it where you can put a great product on the field to compete on a national scale.”

He dreams of a schedule littered with top-25 opponents coming to Tony Gwynn Stadium.

But SDSU has yet to be in the position to make that dream a reality.

Back in 2011, the Aztecs didn’t have sustained success, even under coach Gwynn.

The lone NCAA Regional SDSU had reached in the 20 years prior was in 2009, when future MLB No. 1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg was shutting down opposing hitters.

Loading up the slate with national powerhouses, coincidentally, ensured the team would not experience the growth necessary to reach the next level.

It’s like when you first start lifting weights, you don’t go straight to the 35or 40-pound weights.

First, you have to start with the 15 pounds, then 20 pounds and slowly make your way to the heavier sets.

That is the strategy that SDSU has adopted in the past few years — and it’s paying dividends.

The Aztecs have played only two top-25 teams in each of the past two seasons, a far cry from the seven that terrorized the schedule only a few years ago.

That has played a factor in SDSU’s ability to make three consecutive NCAA Regionals, allowing the team to flex its muscles.

But after taking on relatively easy schedules the past few years, the

San Diego State baseball head coach Mark Martinez and his team will open its season on Feb. 19 against No. 14 University of Oregon.

FILE PHOTO

powerlifting Aztecs are ready to move to the next weight rack.

SDSU needs to play the top dogs if it wants to truly compete with the best.

“In order to play on a national stage, you got to play a national-type schedule,” Martinez said.

Likewise, they have to recruit on the national stage — something that necessitates a high-level schedule as well.

“The recruits like to see who you’re playing,” Martinez said. “Being one of the top teams in the MW, we have to design our schedule like this.”

Playing teams like Oregon and Texas Tech University, while on the road, will vastly improve the recruiting outreach and power the Aztecs possess.

Going forward, SDSU already has its 2017 schedule locked up and full of top teams.

The Aztecs will face at least four top25 teams (according to this seasons’ rankings), all from Southern California, in UCLA, USC, UC Santa Barbara and CSUF. This is also coinciding with the Tony Gwynn Classic, which will be played for the first time this season, and is hosted by SDSU and cross-town rival University of San Diego.

The event is supposed to bring top teams to San Diego every year.

This year alone, UCSB, University of Kentucky and University of Nebraska will make the trip to San Diego, and in 2017, so will University of Oklahoma and Oregon.

Redshirt-senior outfield Spencer Thornton sees the value of playing top teams not only for the program, but for his own experience.

“Some of your fondest memories are with the best teams,” Thornton said.

“It’s like the cherry on top.”

And with the talent and success that SDSU baseball now has, it can create more of those memories for players and schedule with the same fervor and optimism of former head coach Tony Gwynn.

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FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: RYO MIYAUCHI • ENTERTAINMENT@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

Who’sWho?

#EDUCATION

EDITOR IN CHIEF Kelly Hillock MANAGING EDITOR Matthew Bain NEWS EDITOR Jamie Ballard ASST. NEWS EDITOR Jacob Sisneros SPORTS EDITOR Ryan Posner ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Anthony Reclusado OPINION EDITOR Joseph Ciolino ARTS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR Ryo Miyauchi ASST. ARTS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR Olivia Litsey The Center for Teaching and Learning is on the second floor of the Administration Building.

ALEK SANCHEZ, STAFF WRITER

Teacher hub instills success ALEK SANCHEZ STAFF WRITER ____________________________ Students aren’t the only ones with resources available on campus.

Professors have their own space to improve on teaching and expand on the learning process.

Welcome to the Center for Teaching and Learning, located on the second floor of the Administration Building in room 220.

The CTL’s main function is to serve as a hub for expanding knowledge for teachers.

It provides guidance and learning resources for professors to continue their education on how to effectively educate.

The center offers a wide variety of services and programs San Diego State educators can use.

CTL hosts presentations and workshops about contemporary issues that offer opportunities for hands-on learning.

Topics range from the design of learning activities to cultural and psychological factors in student learning and achievement.

The CTL also offers minigrants from $500 to $2,000 to

professors who participate with events.

Faculty may submit proposals on course redesigns or new teaching innovations.

CTL director and economics professor Jennifer Imazeki said the center’s biggest goal is supporting faculty in all aspects of teaching.

This is currently done through learning communities and one-on-one consultations.

Her vision for the center’s future is playing the central role of a strong community of scholarly teachers on campus.

The CTL provides instructors with ways of dealing with issues that commonly arise through the course of the semester.

These topics are broken down into six main subjects: Assessing Teaching and Learning, Managing the Classroom, Pedagogies and Strategies, Preparing to Teach, Supporting Students and Teaching Core Competencies.

“My experience with CTL has been truly transformational,” civil, construction and environmental engineering professor Thais Alves said. “I attended virtually (all) of their events … to be the best teacher I could be, to understand my

students’ needs and also to communicate with my peers about my own work.”

Technology has become almost vital for any class to run as smoothly and effectively as possible.

reach out and help students.

All these topics are small examples of what is available at the CTL. The CTL is hosting a collection of events available during the rest of February.

“ MY EXPERIENCE WITH CTL HAS BEEN TRULY TRANSFORMATIONAL.”

- Thais Alves professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering

PHOTO EDITOR Cristian Rangel DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR Annalise Dewhurst VIDEO PRODUCER Daniel Galuppo PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Kaylee Andrews Hannah Lingle-Veale VOLUNTEER WRITERS Alek Sanchez Adriana Millar Emely Navarro Zachary Engerg Will Fritz Jocelyn Moran Cami Buckman Christine Whitman Andrea Lopez-Villafana Giovanni Reyes Nicole Menges _______________________________

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Radbeh Rabaz SALES MANAGER Matthew Volk

As technology continues to increase within the classroom setting, teachers are constantly adapting to the new playing field.

The CTL works closely with Instructional Technology Services to help teachers fully utilize assets such as video, multimedia and Blackboard.

Students may feel reassured knowing professors are able to continue to expand their teaching methods.

There’s no bigger fear as a student than walking into a class on the first day to find out that a professor does not use Blackboard, has an unorganized and unhelpful syllabus and does not offer to

On Thursday, Feb. 18, the CTL will host the workshop “Student Evaluations as Tools for Improving Instruction” to review evaluations and consider changes to make them more useful for improving instruction.

On the following Monday, Feb. 22, the CTL will provide an instructional seminar addressing writing with international students, titled “Writing Across Borders.”

Focusing on the cultural gap and challenge with evaluating international students’ writing, this event will also feature a documentary from the department of rhetoric and writing studies.

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Alexis Evans-Bendel Alex Gamboa Christopher Garcia Kamisha McKnight Keon Siavoshani Kelsey Silver John Weil ACCOUNTING & CONTRACTS Alfonso Barajas Kalie Christensen _______________________________

GENERAL MANAGER Jay Harn GRAPHICS SPECIALIST Chris Blakemore _______________________________

ADVERTISING 619.594.6977 advertising@thedailyaztec.com EDITORIAL 619.594.4190 editor@thedailyaztec.com PRINT The Daily Aztec publishes 5,000 copies of its weekly print edition on Wednesdays.

WEB Daily content is available at www.thedailyaztec.com MOBILE The Aztec App (available for iPhone and Android)

SOCIAL MEDIA facebook.com/dailyaztec twitter.com/thedailyaztec instagram.com/thedailyaztec _______________________________ Weekly in print, daily online.

The Daily Aztec has been San Diego State University’s independent student news source since 1913.

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: JAMIE BALLARD • NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

MENTAL HEALTH

5

#HEALTHISSUE

How to be a healthy SDSU Aztec JAMIE BALLARD NEWS EDITOR ____________________________________

What does it mean to be healthy? We talked to several students, staff and faculty to find the answer as to what makes a healthy Aztec.

When it comes to mental health, SDSU has a number of resources that help students maintain a healthy mind, from peer support groups to cozy massage chairs. Counseling and Psychological Services is working with student groups like Active Minds to de-stigmatize mental health issues (pg. 7).

Sexual health is another important factor to consider, so we talked to peer educators and other advisors about maintaining a healthy sex life. See more on pg. 9.

Of course, no checkup is complete without an evaluation of physical health. From the ARC update to the Zika virus, pg. 11-15 have info on physical well-being.

For more stories on health, visit thedailyaztec. com. Stay healthy, Aztecs. #ECHECKUP

Underage drinking up despite E-CHUG JACOB SISNEROS ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR ____________________________ In the seventh year since e-Checkup To Go (E-CHUG) was required for incoming freshmen and transfer students, disciplinary referrals for alcohol in the residence halls have gone up.

Total arrests on campus are down from 131 in 2012 to 66 in 2013, but disciplinary referrals are up to 364 from 173 in 2012, according to the 2014 San Diego State safety and security report.

E-CHUG Project Director Leslie Wilson said the program was developed to address the repetitive questions Counseling and Psychological Services was receiving regarding how one’s drinking compares to other students, what percentage of the student population doesn’t drink and how to drink responsibly.

“What is unique about it is what’s effective is different for every single student,” Wilson said. “It’s really challenging and (that is) why we give broad-based feedback to students in many different areas because we don’t know what’s going to be effective with the student.”

Wilson said whether students are concerned about how much money they spend on alcohol, the time it takes

them to sober up or their blood alcohol content, they can use E-CHUG to help them make an informed decision.

“We want to give people accurate information, again not to make them drink or not drink, but so they can make the decision based on accurate feedback,” she said.

Wilson said there have been 16 independent studies on alcohol consumption based on the data gathered by E-CHUG. “It’s not meant to be a

research tool itself, but there are independent researchers who do research on effectiveness,” Wilson said.

“Because anytime a university is doing anything for a health prevention

program they want to make sure it works.”

The online alcohol intervention and prevention program was developed in 2002 by SDSU’s Counseling and Psychological Services thanks to a grant from the Aztec Parents Association.

A study of 150 students conducted at a Northeast liberal arts university with no fraternities or sororities found a significant reduction in typical weekly drinking,

number drinks on a peak day of drinking, and frequency of heavy episodic drinking after E-CHUG was implemented.

Brandon Esswein, a sophomore economics major, said he didn’t find E-CHUG too

effective when he took it as a freshman.

“I was in a frat so at the

time I already knew I drank too much,” Esswein said.

“It might help kids that don’t know they drink too much.”

Wilson said Counseling and Psychological Services still does in-person workshops and events especially in the dorms

and with fraternities.

Sophomore communications major Tabi Hoshmand said she thinks binge-drinking is a big issue among college students, but she didn’t remember much from taking the E-CHUG.

She said she was surprised to learn that around a third of SDSU students don’t drink.

“We know that students often misperceive the number of students who drink on campus so that is something that we know if quite effective,” Wilson said.

E-CHUG also has an option for students to get personal data on their marijuana use, although it is not required, and has another project on the horizon.

“We’ve had a lot of requests for (a checkup) from students who do use tobacco,” Wilson said.

“Although tobacco use is much lower here in California and particularly in Southern California, there’s still a need and it’s a challenging area.”

6

MENTAL HEALTH

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: JAMIE BALLARD • NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

# #ASPIRE

ASPIRE program raises questions Counseling and Psychological Services, which coordinates ASPIRE, is located on the fourth floor of the Calpulli Center.

CRISTIAN RANGLE, PHOTO EDITOR

CAMI BUCKMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER _____________________________________ Students in violation of alcohol- or drug-related offenses on campus are often subject to complete the Alcohol and Substance Prevention Intervention Redirection Effort program, or ASPIRE, as part of their disciplinary action.

Through ASPIRE, students mandated to complete the program are required

to meet three times with a trained counselor.

The Counseling and Psychological Services website describes these oneon-one meetings as opportunities for students to discuss lifestyle choices in regards to alcohol use, learn about drinking and drug trends at San Diego State, and build emotional intelligence.

Depending on the case, most students are put on temporary

probation and are required to complete ASPIRE. The first requirement in registering for ASPIRE is a $100 fee.

“There is a fee for service, so you can’t have the service without having the fee,” Counseling and Psychological Services Director Jennifer Rikard said.

The fee was developed with the intent of benefiting students mandated to complete ASPIRE without taking away the regular services voluntary students would be seen for.

Co-coordinator of the ASPIRE program Leslie Wilson said this service fee goes toward the hiring and staffing of ASPIRE counselors.

“If someone voluntarily comes to the center and they voluntarily want to be seen for depression, alcohol use, drug use or anxiety, there is no fee for that,” Wilson said.

“We wanted to know how we could have a positive series of conversations with students in ASPIRE and how we could fund that in a way that doesn’t take from the regular services we would see a student for.”

When a student receives their settlement agreement from their judicial officer, a strict deadline is given.

The settlement agreement outlines the exact date when a student must complete the ASPIRE program, and it outlines an exact date when a student must schedule their first ASPIRE session.

The settlement agreement states that failure to complete the program will result in immediate suspension.

However, in order to schedule the initial ASPIRE session, students must pay the $100 payment in its entirety.

Sophomore Miranda received a policy violation during spring semester 2015.

For anonymity, she preferred to not give her last name.

Miranda was told during a phone call with the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities in May that she should expect to know what her disciplinary action was during the first weeks of summer.

Instead, she received her settlement agreement on Aug. 21 of the following school year.

Since the settlement agreement outlines strict deadlines, this meant Miranda had to pay the fine within the first week of school.

“I felt that an earlier request would have been better because having a sudden $100 bill due during your first week of classes is really hard for most

students,” Miranda said.

Typically, students are given anywhere from one to four weeks to pay the $100 fee and begin their first ASPIRE session.

Wilson said when the ASPIRE program was first created, a student board known as the CFAC committee decided to not provide ASPIRE students with a fee waiver.

However, with the short time frame given to pay the ASPIRE fee, there’s a logical question: What would happen if a student could not meet the given deadline in time? “(Counseling and Psychological Services) does not have anything to do with the mandate or time frames,” Wilson said.

“We just want to provide the student with a series of conversations and to look at where they are in their life, where they want to go and how substance use can play a part in their lives today.”

When a student receives a violation, they are required to meet with a judicial officer to discuss their disciplinary actions.

Student offenses could include violations like possession of alcohol in the residence halls or intoxication on campus.

Rikard said the judicial offices are responsible for creating deadlines and Psychological Services is only responsible for the counseling sessions.

“I would imagine the judicial office would give a different sanction if a student could not meet a deadline,” Rikard said.

The Daily Aztec was not able to reach the judicial office for an interview or comment.

Some students feel as though the required ASPIRE payment feels more like a fine rather than a fee.

“I think the fee was too high,” Miranda said. “My experience with the ASPIRE counseling sessions was only positive, but it was hard for me to come up with $100 so quickly. “ Counseling and Psychological Services referred The Daily Aztec to the judicial offices for ASPIRE questions they did not know, and the judicial offices referred back to Counseling and Psychological Services for questions they did not know, as well.

If a student mandated to complete ASPIRE could not meet their deadline and pay for the program, what consequences could occur?

The answer continues to be unclear.

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: JAMIE BALLARD • NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

MENTAL HEALTH

7

#MENTALHEALTH

Analyzing mental health at SDSU JAMIE BALLARD NEWS EDITOR GIOVANNI REYES CONTRIBUTOR ____________________________________ Located on the fourth floor of Calpulli Center, the Counseling and Psychological Services is a hub of resources designed to help students, faculty and staff address mental health issues.

One of the first places many visitors go is the Center for Well-Being, which offers everything from a massage chair to a meditation station.

One of the more popular resources is an egg-shaped chair in the corner of the room, which promotes relaxation by creating alpha waves in the brain, similar to what happens during meditation.

“The center was designed by our peer educators, so it’s really by students, for students,” said Jennifer Rikard, Counseling and Psychological Services director.

The Center for Well-Being is only one of the many mental health resources available for students at San Diego State. Students can also attend personal counseling sessions, speak with a therapist by phone and attend group sessions focused on specific mental health concerns such as coping

with stress.

Rikard said the number of students seeking help for mental health concerns is on the rise. While depression was the most common concern for many years, anxiety is now the No. 1 issue students struggle with.

“You can speculate that life is more stressful and fast-paced, that more is being demanded from students,” Rikard said.

Financial worries surrounding paying for college and securing a job after graduation are some of the most common concerns among college students. Academic pressure is another common stressor, and one that Rikard said is prevalent at SDSU as the admission requirements continue to rise.

To meet the increasing demand, Counseling and Psychological Services is offering a wider variety of services this semester.

A Women’s Empowerment Group, in collaboration with the Women’s Resource Center, and a Healthy Emotional Living course are some of the new offerings.

One notable tool Rikard said students may not know about is the biofeedback machine, which tracks the user’s heart rate and breathing. By visualizing these physical reactions, users can learn how to manage their stress and anxiety. Breathing exercises

are a common solution to help manage these issues, Rikard said.

Additionally, the department was able to add two new psychologist positions this year, thanks to an increase in resources. Counseling and Psychological Services is funded almost entirely by the health fee all students pay, which came to approximately $300 per student for the 2015-16 academic year.

As enrollment continues to climb, so does the funding. Despite this increase in resources, the demand for services remains higher. This means some students are put on a waitlist to access services.

Students in the midst of a severe mental health crisis, such as suicidal thoughts, death of a loved one, or an assault, are brought in for face-toface counseling immediately. Other students,with less severe mental health concerns may have to wait weeks for an individual face-to-face meeting.

Rikard recommends students call the center and speak to a therapist, who can recommend several resources.

Even if a student can’t be scheduled for individual therapy sessions immediately, they may be able to address their problems through one of the group sessions or another resource.

One of the major initiatives Counseling and Psychological Services continues to address is the de-

stigmatization of mental health issues.

“It’s not like it’s just ‘other people’ who have this problem with mental health,” Rikard said. “It touches all of us and so it’s up to us to reduce stigma.

It’s all of our responsibility to speak about it in a way that helps the problem and doesn’t hurt it.”

She said she believes SDSU is doing a good job of destigmatizing. She said around 10 percent of the SDSU population utilizes the mental health resources and many students are getting involved as peer educators.

One of the campus organizations that seeks to promote an open culture around mental health is Active Minds.

“Our main goal is to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and to make the subject approachable and part of the conversation,” said Jasmine Belleza, president of the organization.

“Active Minds is about reducing that fear and stigma and making sure they get the help that they need.”

They encourage students from all majors to consider joining the organization.

“We have had many biology majors, business majors, basically a lot of people that have wanted to make a difference in the community. Anyone is welcomed to join,” Belleza said.

Interested students are encouraged to attend meetings on Thursdays at 1 p.m.

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MENTAL HEALTH

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: JAMIE BALLARD • NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

#SOCIALWORK

$8M grant to fund in-home care

The Social Policy Institute and Calpulli Center are two health-focused organizations.

CRISTIAN RANGEL, PHOTO EDITOR

ADRIANA MILLAR SENIOR STAFF WRITER

____________________________ The Social Policy Institute in San Diego State’s School of Social Work recently received a $8 million grant to create a statewide training program for social workers.

The grant, funded by the California Department of Social Services’ Adult Programs Division, will help develop a training

program that aims to help elderly, blind and disabled Californians stay out of institutional care.

The program will be developed over the course of three years by the Social Policy Institute, with help from the Academy for Professional Excellence and SDSU’s Institute on Aging.

The target group for the program is California social workers who assess eligibility for In-Home Supportive

Services.

There are more than half a million Californians receiving IHSS programs across the state, Social Policy Institute Director Steven Hornberger said.

“Most people — even if they have limited mobility or limited faculty or limited capabilities — would much rather be in their own home than be in a residence,” he said.

Certified nursing assistant and public health junior Jessica Adams has worked both in nursing homes and in the home health care system.

“They recover and get better much (more easily) in their own homes because it’s comfortable for them, it’s where they’ve always been, and then they don’t feel as sick, so I think it’s much better to keep people at home,” she said.

In addition to improving the quality of life of IHSS consumers, limiting the amount of residents in institutional care would help taxpayers save money.

“If a person can remain in-home, it’s much less

expensive to provide the care they need than if they have to go to a skilled nursing home or a residential program,” Hornberger said.

The announcement of the grant coincided with the implementation of the the fair labor standard act on Feb. 1, which would change the federal labor standards in terms of being paid overtime for caregivers in California, Hornberger said.

“So the immediate push was to create materials and webinars and training of trainers to these new standards,” Hornberger said.

The training program will teach social workers to uniformly assess and authorize IHSS program benefits to consumers, promote choice and selfdirection in daily life for IHSS consumers, support those served in achieving the level of physical, mental and psychosocial well-being that is possible and desirable for each individual, and facilitate the highest quality of care, according to NewsCenter.

In addition to the development of the training

program, the Institute on Aging will also be conducting additional research that will focus on the effectiveness of the training programing, as well as the growing field of gerontology, Hornberger said.

Although the Social Policy Institute at SDSU has been active in the past, the institute has been on pause for the past couple of years, Hornberger said.

“I started teaching at SDSU last year, and identified some areas where there could be a contribution from the school of social work to San Diego as well as the profession as well and California,” he said.

The training program marks the first project under one of three areas of research the Social Policy Institute plans to initiate: aging, health and behavioral health, and child welfare, Hornberger said.

“One of my goals for the institute is to be a real source of information and communication, for the respective stakeholders in SDSU as well as the larger San Diego and California community,” he said.

PHYSICAL HEALTH

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: JAMIE BALLARD • NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

9

#GETTESTED

A better way to test your tubes NUMBERS OF TESTS PERFORMED IN 2015 AT SDSU LAB:

HIV:

GONORRHEA:

850

1900 CHLAMYDIA:

1800

SYPHILIS:

900

According to Cindy Cornelius, medical director of Student Health Services.

HANNAH LINGLE-VEALE, PRODUCTION DESIGNER

JAMIE BALLARD NEWS EDITOR

____________________________ A new screening system for STD testing will soon be available to students at San Diego State.

While students previously were required to see a nurse practitioner or a physician to obtain an STD test, the new system relies on a machine.

“This is called self-directed STD testing and (it’s) only

for screening purposes,” said Cynthia Cornelius, medical director for Student Health Services.

She said the department has recently gotten approval to purchase the machine, and they hope to have it up and running before the end of the spring semester.

While typical testing methods can require drawing blood, the machine works with urine samples, as well as vaginal and

endocervical samples. Students can self-collect these samples rather than going through the process of an appointment and exam. Cornelius emphasized that the new system is only for STD screening.

“I think it will be a wonderful new option for students without symptoms or known exposure to an STD,” she said. “Of course, an exam is needed if a student is experiencing symptoms in order to provide a full evaluation.”

Student Health Services reported performing 1,800 chlamydia tests, 1,900 gonorrhea tests, 900 syphilis tests and 850 HIV tests in 2015.

Cornelius said SHS has recently had to increase the prices of STD testing, but that prices will drop when the machine is implemented.

“The cost of the testing on the new machine has not yet been determined but will be less than sending the tests to an outside lab to have done,” she said.

SHS isn’t the only organization on campus that promotes STD testing and healthy sexual behavior.

Kashmoné Hamilton is a staff member in the Health Promotion department, which was one of the organizations that participated in “Every Kiss Begins with Consent,” a campus event on Feb. 11 that emphasized the importance of a healthy sex life.

“I would say that some students are aware (of STD safety), but maybe not as educated as they would like to be,” Hamilton said.

“I feel they may not realize how common STDs are.

Especially chlamydia, which is

the most common STD among college students,” she said.

“And a lot of these STDs are asymptomatic, which means you might not even realize you have them unless you went to the doctor and got tested. So we encourage people to get tested at least once a year.”

The California Department of Public Health has guidelines for how frequently people should be tested for various STDs. The department recommends all sexually active women up to age 25 and all sexually active men at increased risk be annually tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea. All sexually active men and women should be tested for HIV at least once, and annually if they are at increased risk. Men who have sex with men and all people who are positive for HIV should be tested annually for syphilis.

“Increased risk” refers to people who have a new sexual partner, multiple sex partners or a sex partner who has multiple sexual partners.

For more information on STD testing and safe sex practices, contact Student Health Services or the Health Promotion department.

DANIEL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR DANIEL GOBLE INVENTED A PORTABLE INSTRUMENT TO HELP DIAGNOSE CONCUSSIONS AFTER SPORTS-RELATED INJURIES. HE LAUNCHED HIS COMPANY FROM SDSU'S ZAHN INNOVATION PLATFORM (ZIP) LAUNCHPAD, WHERE STUDENTS, FACULTY AND ALUMNI TURN GREAT IDEAS INTO VIABLE BUSINESS VENTURES. IT'S NO WONDER THAT FORBES RANKS SDSU AS ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST ENTREPRENEURIAL UNIVERSITIES. VISIT CAMPAIGN.SDSU.EDU

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: JAMIE BALLARD • NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

PHYSICAL HEALTH

11

#SDSURESEARCH

Finding balance with new device ADRIANA MILLAR SENIOR STAFF WRITER _____________________________________ A portable medical device developed at San Diego State has been found to be twice as effective at determining whether a person has a concussion compared to the previous standard.

The Balance Tracking System, or BTrackS, is a device that measures body sway. Developed in 2013 by assistant professor of exercise and nutritional science Daniel Goble, the force plate offers an objective measure of balance.

“Anything that goes wrong in the brain or in the muscles, generally you can pick up in your body sway with a force plate like this,” Goble said.

Typically, balance is either measured by expensive force plates, which can cost over $10,000, or a visual test called the Balance Error Scoring System. The BESS test requires athletes to stand in six different positions while an athletic trainer counts any errors made, such as hands coming off the hips or stepping out of placing or

opening their eyes. The problem with the BESS test is that it is subjective to what the trainer considers an error, Goble said.

“So the accuracy of the test is not good, but people use it because it’s free and easy,” Goble sad. “The better alternative is to use a force plate like BTrackS, but up until now it’s been too expensive to be widely used in the athletic training.”

Goble was inspired to create the BTrackS plate to bridge the gap between inaccurate visual clinical balance tests and expensive force plates solutions, he said.

“We wanted to create something that was in between, which used force plate technology, but you could actually afford and get good good data from,” Goble said, “That’s really the future of medical device development now.”

The BTrackS device, which costs $800, offers an affordable and accurate way of measuring balance. For the past two years, Goble has been running tests in collaboration with SDSU Athletics and head trainer Tom Abdenour with more than 500 student-athletes from high-risk sports such as football, water polo, club

#PUBLICHEALTH

Zika concern grows EMELY NAVARRO SENIOR STAFF WRITER ____________________________________ The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus an international public health emergency because it can cause birth defects.

Children born with the Zika virus may experience birth defects such as microcephaly, which causes small heads and sometimes brain damage.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged pregnant women to refrain from traveling to countries in Central and South America that have the Zika virus or to refrain from sexual activity with a man who has visited Zika infected countries.

“There have been isolated cases of spread through blood transfusion or sexual contact and that’s not very surprising, the virus is in the blood for about a week,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC director. “How long it would remain in the semen is something that needs to be studied and we’re working on that now.”

WHAT IS ZIKA? Zika is a tropical infection transmitted through mosquitos. It attacks the neural system and development of the brain.

According to the CDC, about one in five people infected with the Zika virus will become sick from it. The virus’ most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis.

Muscle pain and headaches are other common symptoms that people with Zika experience.

Currently there is no vaccine or specific medicine to treat a Zika infection.

HOW LIKELY IS THIS VIRUS TO COME TO CALIFORNIA AND SPREAD? Joy Phillips, research assistant professor at the Donald P. Shiley BioScience Center at San Diego State said she doesn’t think the virus will

make its way to California and spread.

“I’m hoping that with the mosquito prevention efforts they will be able to hold them off,” Phillips said. “Having said that, if we keep getting this big El Niño year that they said we will get, there will be mosquitos.”

In fact El Niño may bring some mosquitoes over to California, but the survival of these mosquitoes is based on if the state experiences a dramatic dry patch afterwards.

“If El Niño comes, but then it gets extremely dry and we experience great weather, then the mosquito eggs will die, which is good,” Phillips said.

HOW TO FIGHT THE ZIKA VIRUS Roland Wolkowicz, associate professor and director of the Flow Cytometry Core Facility, said the best way to completely stop Zika is to kill all mosquitos or to create a vaccine.

Although it is incredibly difficult to kill all mosquitos, there is a way to reduce the spread of them.

There have been new genetically engineered male mosquitoes created to pass a lethal gene when they have sex with a female mosquito, killing the newborn offspring before they reach adulthood.

These mosquitoes have been tested in small areas and have lowered mosquito populations by more than 80 percent.

A Zika vaccine is also in the works.

Various companies are interested in coming up with a vaccine, but Phillips said there are some setbacks that can cause a delay in the vaccine.

“The first problem is that I don’t know if there is a good animal model besides monkeys, and you don’t want to start basic vaccine study in primates,” Phillips said.

Once they get an animal model, researchers have to test the vaccine and get it approved before it can be distributed to the public.

Wolkowicz said once they create a vaccine they will have to update it every year because the virus will learn how to fight it.

rugby and lacrosse. The study tested athletes at baseline using BTrackS, and also gathered data from 26 concussions that occurred.

“We were able to show that our balance test is actually twice as effective as at determining whether a person has a concussion or not compared to the previous standard,” Goble said.

On Feb. 10, Goble was notified his paper would be published next month in the International Journal of Sport Physical Therapy.

“You’d never think it, but the NFL, who has unlimited money, uses that very simple visual test instead of a force plate, and so we’re showing that we’re twice as good as what the NFL is using for their balance testing,” Goble said The BTrackS system is also used within five different labs at SDSU. Goble hopes to have several more papers published within the next year. Different areas of research including working with Huntington’s disease patients, Parkinson’s patients, stroke patients and patients with autism, as well as finding a fall risk

solution for older adults.

Kinesiology junior Carly Graff is one of Goble’s undergraduate researchers working with stroke patients. Graff said her research goal was to see if BTrackS could be implemented in a clinical setting.

Using the BTrackS system, she was able to find having a stroke does increase fall risk.

“I’ve always been very interested in how pathologies affect your motor movement, and so with this system I was able to take advantage of that and take that over to the (SDSU adaptive fitness clinic) and test these people with different pathologies and see how it impacts their balance,” she said.

Finding a fall risk solution is one of Goble’s biggest goals for the next year, particularly for older adults.

“If we could implement this as a screening tool for older adults, we could potentially save lives by letting them know their balance is bad, they have high fall risk potential, and then getting them into an intervention where we train their balance and help them avoid catastrophic falls,” he said.

UP-TO-THE-MINUTE NEWS @

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12

PHYSICAL HEALTH

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: JAMIE BALLARD • NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

#HEALTHCAREERS

Nursing majors share their stories

Atheena Garcia is a junior in the San Diego State School of Nursing.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATHEENA GARCIA

CHRISTINE WHITMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER _____________________________________ According to San Diego State’s School of Nursing, the nursing profession “has its foundation in the biophysical and behavioral humanistic sciences, as well as in specific nursing practice skills and techniques.”

Although the undergraduate nursing program at SDSU is open to incoming freshmen, continuing students and transfer students, the admission process is highly selective and does not guarantee entry.

The admission process has changed recently. Before the new curriculum, pre-nursing students fought tooth and nail after two years for one of the few designated seats.

“The nursing program is a bitch to get into,” nursing junior Atheena Garcia said. “It’s a really complicated program with the whole new curriculum change.”

Like her peers that were admitted to SDSU in 2013 as pre-nursing students

before the curriculum reform, Garcia faces a five-year graduation date as a continuing nursing student.

With the change in curriculum, the number of units per class changed and many classes were removed. Many of the class units don’t necessarily match the amount of hours spent learning.

Now, high school graduates receive direct admission into the nursing program and a four-year graduation

she said. “There was no supplemental application, although on the application it did say ‘pre-nursing.’”

Warfield currently serves as the cohort representative for her class, which is similar to being class president. Both continuing and directadmission students currently admitted into the school of nursing have been divided into track-one and track-two students. Both Garcia and Warfield

“ YOU DON’T REALIZE HOW MUCH YOU’RE HELPING SOMEONE ... ”

- Atheena Garcia nursing major

date.

Nursing sophomore Sheryl Warfield was one of the students that experienced the direct admission process.

“When I applied, it was just like every other major you would apply for,”

are track-two students. This semester, track-one students attend the fundamental clinical, which teaches all the necessary hospital skills, while track two-students attend a psychiatric and mental health clinical.

“They split us straight down the

middle alphabetically for track one versus track two,” Warfield said.

As both students are considered track two, both attend the psychiatric and mental health clinical where they learn practical skills concerning psychiatric medicine and the care of patients with chemical imbalances or drug and alcohol dependencies.

“Everyone had these expectations like ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ or something like that, or something really crazy, but that’s not it at all,” Warfield said.

“I don’t envision myself being a psychiatric nurse in the future, although both of my parents were psychology majors at Stanford and Berkeley — sorry parents.”

The nursing school offers a health assessment lab, the Sharp Healthcare human patient simulation center, the nursing fundamental skills lab and the media lab where Garcia has worked as an assistant for three years.

Similar to the media lab in Love Library, the media lab is a resource specifically for nursing students.

Garcia also works at the nursing fundamental skills lab, a place where students practice the set number of skills needed for working at the hospital.

In the words of Garcia, “not to toot my own horn but, nursing is hard, it’s a rigorous career that mixes science and humanities and applies scientific concepts.”

So why did she decide to become a nurse?

“The orthodox answer is because I want to help people,” she said.

“You don’t realize how much you’re helping someone, even if you’re just bringing them a glass of water. ” She believes her drive to become a nurse stems from her being born in the Philippines and witnessing the horrors of the homeless not receiving medical care, her multiple hospitalizations as a child and her family’s chronic illnesses.

“The nurses always made me feel like an actual person, not just a kid in a bed,” Garcia said.

“I realized that I was way more interested in the people side of things rather than the medical side,” she said. “When I’m on the hospital floor I realized that the nurses spend all the time with the patients, and that’s attractive to me.”

FEB. FEB.17 17--23, 23,2016 2016••THE THEDAILY DAILYAZTEC AZTEC EDITOR: EDITOR:JAMIE JAMIEBALLARD BALLARD••NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

PHYSICAL HEALTH

13

#CAMPUSFOOD

Dining Services serves up options ANDREA LOPEZ-VILLAFANA CONTRIBUTOR ____________________________________ Kinesiology freshman Abraham Gallegos enjoys a bowl of fries in front of East Commons before heading to his 2 p.m. class.

Gallegos chose the TJ Fries bowl from So-Cal Chicken because he needed a meal that would fill him up for his next class.

“Personally I don’t think there are enough healthy options on campus,” Gallegos said. “And the few options available are kind of expensive.”

There are more than 30 restaurant locations at San Diego State where students like Gallegos can pick up a bite to eat. Dining Services offers more than 1,800 items to choose from to eat or drink.

Paul Melchior, director of SDSU Dining Services, said in the process of selecting restaurants for campus, they look for differentiation in menus and rely on student input.

“Part of the process of providing healthy options is getting the message out to our customer base so that they can find them,” Melchior said.

Nutritional information charts or links for each location’s website are available in the SDSU Dining Services website. Some of the charts allow students to input their meal information and get an idea of what the nutritional value in their meal was for that day.

English junior Jasmin Polloni remembers trying to make her Flex 5 meal plan stretch as much as she could during her first year on campus.

“Sometimes going to the market

and getting a thing of fruit and a water bottle can be as expensive as getting a cheap hamburger, but it doesn’t fill you as much,” she said.

Polloni also said she believes most people consider the price when they’re deciding what to eat, but those who are dedicated to eating healthy can do so on any budget.

Melchior mentioned SDSU Dining is a nonprofit organization based on cost in and cost out. He also believes the choice of spending money on a healthier meal compared to the cheaper meal is on the student.

“The dining room is the same price whether you eat healthy or not healthy,” he said. “Students have to make the choice.”

Melchior said what is considered “healthy” can depend on what results a person is seeking. Someone looking

to gain weight may have different needs than someone looking to lose weight. With that in mind, he said Dining Services looks to provide few processed foods.

“Healthy means different things to every person,” Melchior said. “What I look at as overall totality of healthy is anything that we can make from scratch. That we can start with fresh ingredients and buy less processed food. That’s what we consider healthy.”

International business freshman Tim Wenning believes healthy meal options are available in places like Rubio’s, Olive Oil, Oggie’s or the Salad Bistro.

“I think it’s up to the student to make the right choice,” Wenning said.

“If someone was so inclined I think it would be very easy to make a healthy lifestyle.”

#HEALTHDATA

Taking a snapshot of SDSU student health JAMIE BALLARD NEWS EDITOR _____________________________________ The Health Promotions Department at San Diego State is striving to develop a better understanding of student health by implementing the National College Health Assessment survey this spring.

The survey, which was developed by the American College Health Association, asks about various aspects of student health. Topics including illness, injury, mental health and availability of health resources on campus are all addressed in various questions.

Sample questions from the NCHA website include, “Within the last 12 months, how often did you wear a seatbelt when riding in a car?” and “Over the last two weeks, how many times have you had five or more drinks of alcohol at a sitting?”

James Lange, the director of Health Promotions at SDSU, said that in addition to the standard NCHA survey questions, there will also be questions developed by the California State University Chancellor’s Office, as well as some SDSU-specific questions.

The CSU Chancellor’s Office has mandated that this survey be implemented on all 23 CSU campuses.

Approximately 7,000 students at SDSU will be randomly selected to take the voluntary survey, which is open for two weeks. Students who take the survey are entered to win gift cards from the SDSU Bookstore. Once the survey closes, the info goes back to the ACHA, which then processes the data and sends it back to the university.

The CSU system is paying approximately $3,010 for SDSU to administer the test. They are also paying $500 worth of incentives in the form of bookstore gift cards.

Lange said the survey will most likely be offered to SDSU students in March, meaning that the results should likely be in before the end of the spring semester.

Given that some of the survey questions address student behaviors related to sex, alcohol consumption and drug use, privacy is a large concern.

“Students who are asked to

participate are not identified, and the data that comes back to us will not include any of their information,” Lange said.

“We’ve done similar surveys in the past, and these sort of surveys have been done on campuses across the nation, and we do find that people are often pretty forthcoming.”

Freshman computer engineering major Eric Le likes the idea of the health survey, but he fears students won’t actually participate.

“If you were to send out a survey with more than 60 questions, some people might do it to help promote the school and promote a healthier lifestyle for college kids,” Le said. “But I think a lot of people wouldn’t care to look at it. ... Sadly, no, I probably wouldn’t take it if it were sent to me, I just have a busy schedule.”

Lange explained that the survey is important in deciding where the health services organizations — such as Health Promotion, Counseling and Psychological Services, and the Aztec Recreation Center — should allocate time and resources.

“We have all this, what we need to know is, are we fine-tuned to our students’ needs?” he said.

“And are we meeting those needs?

Are we having an impact on the health of our students? Those questions are pretty important from a strategic perspective, because we can make changes to better meet the needs, but only if we know what those needs are.”

Lange said SDSU has collected previous student health data, but it was difficult to make changes. For many years, the surveys offered to students only addressed issues related to alcohol and drugs. In 2012, the survey was expanded to include more general health issues. However, it was also the last year the survey was offered.

“A lot of times these types of things aren’t useful unless you can do it over time, or if you can look at it in comparison to national norms,” Lange said.

“NCHA is being done on many campuses, so we’ll be able to see if our campus is higher or lower on certain issues. That can help us understand if we need to target something a little more forcefully.”

The Calpulli Center is host to the Health Promotion Department, which is implementing a new health survey.

CRISTIAN RANGEL, PHOTO EDITOR

14

PHYSICAL HEALTH

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: JAMIE BALLARD • NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

#FITNESS

ARC memberships at all-time high GIOVANNI REYES CONTRIBUTOR _____________________________ The Aztec Recreation Center is currently at an all-time high for membership.

With more than 18,500 members, current space is becoming increasingly crowded.

“As of now, Associated Students does not plan on capping membership,” said Chris Thomas, recreation and wellness commissioner. “This is a community-based gym so it’s not just SDSU students that use the gym, it’s the community as well.”

Recently, a new state-of-the art gym, exclusive for club athletes, opened up.

It also facilitates Olympic and instructional classes, as well.

As of now, though, it will remain just that, an exclusive gym for only a few as opening it up to the wider student body would require A.S. to staff it for health and safety reasons.

Sophomore international business major Kate Seperack

said the new gym shouldn’t be open to students.

“Honestly, I think it’s fine how it is,” she said. “You just have to find the prime time to go.”

A future expansion may be on the horizon, though.

There are ongoing development talks that would set a roadmap for expanding the main ARC. Afterwards, the old area would be renovated to match the new development.

It would most likely be a horizontal expansion, as that would allow the old gym to remain in use during construction.

A vertical expansion to build a second story would require the entire facility to shut down and would be more expensive thanks to overnight construction costs. The current plan is to double the square footage from 70,000 to 140,000.

“Just because it is currently experiencing a lot of overuse, a lot of new memberships are coming in,” Thomas said. “It’s getting to become a small space for the

Memberships at the Aztec Recreation Center are at an all-time high.

CRISTIAN RANGEL, PHOTO EDITOR

amount of people we have to accommodate on a daily basis.”

In terms of canceling inactive memberships, that is not an option on the table.

“I would hope you would use it as you are paying the $19 per month. I do not see us revoking it just because you are not going to the gym,” Thomas said.

“At that point it is the member’s responsibility as

to whether they would like to cancel their membership or not.”

Several students shared their concerns about the ARC. “I do feel the ARC is overcrowded, but it just depends at what time you go,” freshman business administration major Marty Rascon said.

“For the most part it’s really hard to find equipment.

People are always using things you want to use and it takes forever to transition to new exercises.”

Senior communications major Logan Lopez agreed.

“The ARC can be overcrowded, especially during the peak hours from 3 to 7 p.m.,” Lopez said. “Unless you are there really early or really late in the evening it can be really overcrowded.”

FEB. FEB.17 17--23, 23,2016 2016••THE THEDAILY DAILYAZTEC AZTEC EDITOR: EDITOR:JAMIE JAMIEBALLARD BALLARD••NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM NEWS@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

PHYSICAL HEALTH

15

#HEALTHCAREERS

Health club has two main goals NICOLE MENGES STAFF WRITER ____________________________________ There are a number of career-related clubs on campus that students can join to learn more about an area of study, boost a resume or make connections. Some of these clubs require large time commitments or hefty fees, but Alpha Epsilon Delta isn’t one of them.

Alpha Epsilon Delta is a preprofessional health honors society and service organization. While there are lots of health-based organizations to choose from at SDSU, AED focuses more on the academic side and service side of health majors than the career training.

Sophomore biology major Scott Schmidhauser is the president of AED. “It’s a really unique organization, because it’s not just an honors society, it’s also a service organization, because all of the healthcare careers are also service careers,” Schmidhauser said.

The requirements to join AED are

simple. Members must have a 3.2 GPA, pay the $10 fee and attend at least five events during the semester.

Club leaders emphasized that the club tries not to be too demanding when it comes to members’ time.

A large part of what AED does is

which is free for members and $5 for non-members.

Junior biology major Niveen Kryakos is vice president of AED. She has been involved in AED for a year, and learned about it a year before officially becoming a member.

“ IT’S A REALLY UNIQUE ORGANIZATION BECAUSE IT’S NOT JUST AN HONORS SOCIETY, IT’S ALSO A SERVICE ORGANIZATION ... ”

- Scott Schmidhauser AED President

provide an organized environment in which members can study and volunteer in the community.

“Other people are doing the same thing that they are, it just helps members have a place to to be studying a lot and volunteering a lot,” Schmidhauser said.

One of the services that AED provides is its tutoring program,

“I found out about it my first semester of sophomore year when they held the biology tutoring sessions,” Kryakos said.

“I went to their meetings but I decided to really commit myself this year so I ran for vice president.”

Besides hosting tutoring sessions, AED also reaches out to other organizations to help serve the

CROSSWORDS

CLASSIFIEDS 28 Boot attachment 30 “Bridge of Spies” actor Alan 31 Onion rings are fried in it 34 Worldwide economic org.

37 1988 movie set in a Southern California high school 40 Tam or trilby 41 Pencil tip 42 Time in ads 43 FBI agent 44 __ of influence 46 Start of el año 49 Record players, briefly 52 Improve a lawn 53 Roman baker’s dozen?

54 More sudsy 56 1996 movie set in Nevada’s Area 51 61 Nicks on many albums 62 1967 Temptations hit 63 Like some movies ... literally including 17-, 37- and 56-Across 64 Wine competition attendees

ACROSS 1 Way back when 8 __ top 14 Winnipeg’s province 16 Doubleheader half 17 1986 movie set partly in the Australian Outback

community.

“Last year we partnered with the Red Cross to hold a blood drive, and it went really well,” Schmidhauser said.

“We actually exceed the capacity for pints of blood their truck could hold.”

AED was able to organize the blood drive to be in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. While blood drives are often held at the top of Campanile Drive, the club believes that the different location increased traffic.

Other events that AED hosts for its members include networking workshops and study sessions.

The honors society doesn’t focus on hosting bonding events for its members, instead focusing more on professional and academic growth.

According to the website, other activities include “sponsoring community service events, a blood drive, hands-on learning in professional health fields, workshops on how to write personal statements, tips on the application process and much more. The society also features guest speakers at meetings, hospital tours, and social events.”

19 Shoe parts 20 Loch with a legend 21 One-named singer 24 Biol. or ecol.

25 Under attack 26 Co-star of the 2015 film “Joy”

DOWN 1 “Better Call Saul” network 2 Long-nosed fish 3 “Microsoft sound” composer 4 Like cannoli 5 One making amends 6 Mars and Venus 7 Bios are often part of them 8 Vanilla containers 9 “The Simpsons” shopkeeper

10 Star of E! network’s “I Am Cait” 11 Machu Picchu’s range 12 Attorney general under Reagan 13 “Give it __” 15 Novelist Waugh 18 Single show 21 Cookbook measuring words 22 Fourth of 24 23 Run until 25 Calf father 27 Tara family name 29 Harborside strolling spots 32 Without end 33 NFL scores 34 Green climbers 35 D.C. underground 36 Set loose 38 Sample in a product pitch 39 Hard-wired 43 Mourn 45 Summary 46 Have a place in the world 47 Critical inning 48 Down for a pillow 50 Actress __ Pinkett Smith 51 Competed in a British bee 54 Flower starter 55 At Hollywood and Vine, for short 57 Crusty dessert 58 Fourth of 26 59 __ Lingus 60 Cloth meas.

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PLEASE visit facility and fill out an application. ________________________________

PLEASE NOTE: The Daily Aztec does not endorse or support and has no affiliation with the products or services offered in the Classifieds section. To place an ad in the Classifieds section, please visit thedailyaztec.com/classifieds ______________________________ The views expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of The Daily Aztec. Comments? Email us at letters@thedailyaztec.com

UNLOCK YOUR FUTURE! NOW HIRING FOR

EDITOR IN CHIEF OF THE DAILY AZTEC FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/17

REQUIREMENTS: • Knowledge of newspaper editorial and art production operations, journalism ethics, media law and AP style • One year of collegiate newspaper experience; a minimum of one semester experience at The Daily Aztec is preferred • 60 or more units of completed coursework; minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 • Must be currently enrolled at San Diego State University, taking a minimum of 6 units

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY NOON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2016 Interested persons may pick up an application packet from The Daily Aztec, located in the basement of the Education and Business Administration (EBA) building or in the A.S. Office, located on the 3rd floor of the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. Applicants may also download the application packet at www.thedailyaztec.com/jobs > The Daily Aztec is an equal opportunity and at-will employer as defined by California law.

16 THE BACK PAGE

FEB. 17 - 23, 2016 • THE DAILY AZTEC EDITOR: RYO MIYAUCHI • ENTERTAINMENT@THEDAILYAZTEC.COM

#SOCALWEATHER

Say goodbye to San Diego winter CAMI BUCKMAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER ____________________________________

T

here has been a heat wave in San Diego, and it seems like just yesterday San Diego residents were sporting their favorite winter beanies, boots and sweaters.

Oh wait, that was yesterday.

That’s right, it’s time to put away the barely used sweater, and it’s time to shove those rarely worn leg warmers to the back of the drawer: “Winter” is over.

However, there’s one thing I have always noticed when the winter season comes around in San Diego. Even though people bust out their winter wardrobe, it seems like everyone complains about being cold. How can this be?

For the winter season, many residents of Southern Californian cities will gladly switch their flip-flops for boots, their shorts for pants and their tank tops for sleeves. However, there’s something about Southern Californian winter style that is unlike anywhere else. If you are sporting your chic winter wardrobe and continue to feel chilly, follow these words: If your long-sleeve shirt is also a crop top, expect to feel cold. _If you bought a sweater with holes in it on purpose, expect to feel cold.

If you wear a beanie while also wearing shorts, expect to feel cold.

If you wear ripped pants to make a fashion statement, expect to feel cold.

We have all heard a million times about the amazing condition of San Diego weather. It spite of that, San Diegans want a taste of winter too. That is why when the weather drops below

70 degrees, it’s time to bust out those beanies, Ugg boots and wooly jackets.

At San Diego State, scarves are a fashion accessory. When was the last time your neck was actually cold while attending this university? That’s right, never.

There is no need for scarves, there is no need for gloves and there is certainly no need for fuzzy Ugg boots in San Diego.

Yes, it does get chilly here. And yes, once in a while it is necessary to bundle up. However, when the east coast was getting pummeled with more than 2 feet of snow while facing power outages, impassable roadways and major city shut downs, odds are you were wearing flip-flops at the beach.

To put it simply, we are not built for blizzards here.

Instead of owning one large coat for warmth, we have to layer three separate jackets to even feel remotely cozy.

But it’s OK. Go ahead and keep snapping Snapchats of rain drops on car windows when there’s a light drizzle outside, and keep on complaining about the heat when it is barely 80 degrees.

When you live in San Diego, it’s normal to feel cold when it’s 65 degrees outside, and it’s normal to not own anything meant for snow.

People want what they can’t have.

Just like east coasters want a taste of San Diego weather this time of the year, the people of San Diego want a taste of any season change.

So go ahead and bust out that knitted beanie. Wear that crop top sweater with sass. Work your Ugg boots and jean shorts like your about to walk the runway because one thing is for certain: San Diego weather is pretty great.

#DASNAPSHOTS

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BON APPETIT

Managing Editor Matthew Bain took this photo of some escargot before devouring it in a bar in Paris over winter break.