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FEB. 27, 2013
WEDNESDAY
Coheed and Cambria, Page 5
WWW.DAILYAZTEC.COM
WEDNESDAY, FERBRUARY 27, 2013
VOLUME 99, ISSUE 78
U.S. Border Patrol violence sparks protest
local Ana Ceballos
Assistant News Editor
Amid a crowd of protestors, a woman raised the picture of Anastasio Hernández-Rojas, a man who protestors claim was “tased and beaten without mercy” by more than a dozen border patrol agents. In 2010, 42-year-old HernándezRojas, a father of five, was in the process of being deported after living in San Diego for nearly three decades. During his arrest, he was hog-tied and handcuffed. According to the arresting agents, Hernández-Rojas resisted, which prompted them to use a stun gun on him. He suffered a heart attack before being transferred to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead due to lack of oxygen to the brain, according to KPBS. Abajo y a la Izquierda community activist Bertha Gutierrez organized a crowd of protestors, including children, wives and activists; she considers the acts of the border patrol as an “abuse of power and corruption.” Protestors gathered less than 20 feet away from the San Ysidro Port of Entry. More than 50 protestors stood together holding banners reading “We want transparency” and “Stop killing our families,” along with dozens of pictures of the alleged victims of abuse by customs and border agents that have resulted in death. “I’m sick and tired of being here at the border protesting about this,” Gutierrez said as a tear ran down her cheek. “But there is no accountability. When are we ever going to see justice for these families?” Families of the victims used microphones to amplify the names of their dead family members. Standing less than 20 feet away, five border patrol
Aztecs set to battle the Lobos men’s basketball
monica linzmeier , assistant photo editor
PROTEST continued on page 2
campus
This van drove around urban areas collecting greenhouse gas emissions in order to calculate carbon budgets of cities. Staff Writer
Every day, the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere changes. These changes occur through the natural processes of the planet and from the ever-increasing emission of greenhouse gases from human sources, such as the burning of fossil fuels. The presence of these greenhouse gases in the atmosphere creates a type of barrier that traps solar radiation, a process known as the greenhouse effect. As the greenhouse effect grows stronger, it produces a warming effect across
Contributor
Frontcourt: Aztecs: The frontcourt had a respectable offensive performance last Saturday in a win against the University of Nevada. Senior forward DeShawn Stephens and sophomore forward JJ O’Brien combined for 24 points on 11 of 13 shooting. Freshmen forward Skylar Spencer contributed on the defensive end, recording four blocks in Saturday’s win, along with setting a freshman single-season record with 47 blocks at San Diego State and the most blocks for a freshman in the Mountain West Conference.
agents across the street were seen mocking the protestors’ chants. One of the border patrol agents, who refused to state his name said he did not hear or see any people protesting, despite being approximately 10 yards away from the crowd and having started his shift 12 hours prior to the protest. “They put on a uniform and their personalities change completely,” Gutierrez said. “They are no different than us, but once they put on that badge, they transform into someone they are not.” Gutierrez says Hernández-Rojas’ A young lady holds up a picture of Anastasio Hernández-Ro- ana ceballos, assistant news editor jas. Rojas was beaten and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
Van collects gas-emission data
Will Houston
Terence Chin
Children stare off into the distance as they hold up signs in front of the San Ysidro border. Families joined together last Saturday to protest the recent violence by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
courtesy of sdsu associate biology professor chun -ta lai
the globe. Currently, the amount of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere is the highest it has ever been in human existence, and it is still rising. According to the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2012” report, San Diego was nationally rated seventh for worst ozone pollution in a metropolitan area. The city is no stranger to greenhouse gas emissions and shows no significant improvement. An ongoing research project by San Diego State biology associate professor Chun-Ta Lai will begin to implement the change needed to stabilize
and control San Diego’s air quality. The collaborative project, which includes Lai and two other faculty members from the University of California, Irvine and the University of Utah, seeks to create a mobile platform in order to collect data of greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas to calculate the carbon budget of each city. The team received approval and funding from the Department of Energy in San Diego. “We ran into a lot of problems designing the power system because the van has a combustion engine which is a source of carbon emission,” Lai said. “We didn’t want to be measuring the emissions from the van, so we needed a clean energy source to power it. We had to come up with a power system to run the van when it is both stationary and on the move.” Along with the power source, the lab was equipped with three gas analyzers to measure a variety of greenhouse gases, a GPS to mark the location of each reading and temperature and humidity sensors to help analyze the data. GREENHOUSE continued on page 2
BASKETBALL continued on page 3
Crime Beat Thief steals photo A sorority house was broken into in the early hours of Sunday morning. The sorority sisters of Pi Beta Phi said intruders broke the door of their house on College Place at around 3 a.m. The only item reported stolen was a photograph. A report was filed with San Diego State Police Department, but no arrests have been made. Vehicle break-in occurs in PS 2 SDSUPD officers were dispatched to Parking Structure 2 on Hardy Avenue after receiving a report of a vehicle being broken into. The incident occurred at approximately 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23. The reporting party claimed someone
gained access to the interior of the vehicle through an unlocked sliding back window. A backpack was stolen. The report was filed with SDSUPD. There are no suspects at this time. Medical aid needed in dorms Medical aid was provided at Zura Residence Hall early Sunday morning. A little after 1 a.m., SDSUPD was called to assist an intoxicated female between the sixth and seventh floors of the Zura stairwell. The subject had passed out from alcohol consumption, but regained consciousness. Police located the woman and escorted her to her room. –– Compiled by Staff Writer Michele Pluss
Corrections: In yesterday’s front page article titled “Campaign launched to create PR center” by Stacey Oparnica, the end of the article was cut off. The end of the article should’ve read: “We’re very, very proud of the faculty and the staff,” Hirshman said. “It all presents something really special to the students and, of course, we hope the students will take full advantage.” In yesterday’s article titled: “Spending cap limits A.S. candidates to $850” by Arturo Garcia, there was a factual error. The spending cap is limited to $800.