04-09-2012

Davis provides insight for AS

MONDAY April 9, 2012 Volume 97, Issue 100 W W W.T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M

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Congresswoman Susan Davis meeting with A.S. Executive Board members and Lobby Corp representatives. They discussed a range of CSU related topics. | PETER

Amy Williams staff writer Associated Students representatives met with 53rd District Congresswoman Susan Davis on Wednesday to discuss the recent financial cutbacks to education.

A.S. Executive Board members and Lobby Corp representatives spoke with Davis to gain a Washington perspective on the cutbacks and to share their own views.

Davis opened the meeting with the comment, “There’s somehow this belief (in Washington) that if we give students too much in the way of helping them out with student fees, it will only increase tuition in universities and colleges,” as administrators will think students have more money

to give. “We know that that’s not true; there are many reasons today that costs go up.”

Davis said the “competition for the best and the brightest” is one of the main driving forces of fee increases.

Universities feel pressure to constantly spend more on the most innovative technology, best-looking buildings and most qualified staff.

While those investments do benefit students, “You can leave your students behind by doing that. Trying to give them the best (is good) but at the same time can make it less accessible” by adding costs.

“Accessibility is next,” A.S. Vice President of External Affairs Krista Parker told Davis. “That’s terrifying for students who have worked their whole lives to get into a college and now

can’t even get into a state school.”

Davis mentioned a lack of political pressure as another reason for the decreasing federal funding. She compared the United States to countries such as South Korea, Finland and Singapore, which have noticeably increased their math skills.

“When they looked at their students and their scores globally, they determined they would have a strategic plan and would do everything possible to make certain students were succeeding at higher rates and teachers were prepared,” Davis said.

The A.S. representatives also brought up the lack of communication between students and legislators.

Parker told Davis students are becoming politically active again and want to know what’s going on, but it’s difficult for them. According to Lobby Corp Chair Nicole Ganz, “Those who

KLUCH, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

need the most support (are the ones who) go to night school because they work all day. They don’t have the time to meet with legislators or become socially active in campaigns.”

A.S. President Cody Barbo emphasized to Davis the importance of social media in informing students.

“We really are looking at new ways to reach out to students that don’t live on campus.” When 20,000 students live off campus and aren’t involved in extra-curricular activities, “Social media is our best form of communication,” he said. He advised Davis to increase her social media activity.

After the meeting, Parker said she appreciated the time Davis took to meet with the representatives because Davis understands students, despite her limited amount of time able to devote to communicating with students.

OPINION

Require labeling of GMOs by food companies in the U.S.

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‘KONY’ sequel released Latest Invisible Children video addresses criticisms Ilgin Karlidag staff writer Last Thursday, Invisible Children released “KONY 2012: Part II Beyond Famous,” its sequel to the viral video “KONY 2012.” The release comes despite worldwide criticism and the recent breakdown of the activist group’s co-founder, Jason Russell.

In an attempt to address the criticism “KONY 2012” has faced, such as the Lord’s Resistance Army’s current inactivity in Uganda, Invisible Children explains in the second video that the LRA is still actively terrorizing areas of the Central African Republic, which borders South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“In the four weeks since “KONY 2012” launched, the LRA has reportedly abducted 57 more,” narrator and CEO of Invisible Children, Ben Keesey, said in the sequel.

Similar to the previous video, the filmmakers urge viewers to take action and make their voices heard to policy makers. The video reminds viewers to take part in the “Cover the Night” movement in which supporters and members have planned to take to the streets on April 20 to spread the word about ending LRA violence.

Billy Hamlin, a computer science student at San Diego State, was involved with Invisible Children in high school.

Hamlin reports becoming disillusioned to the goals of the organization.

“The day after doing research I realized I wasn’t in support of the goals; I’m not saying they’re bad, but I don’t agree with the goals they’re seeking to get there, such as

The release comes despite worldwide criticism and the recent breakdown of the activist group’s co-founder, Jason Russell.

direct military action,” Hamlin said.

“The biggest thing to do is to educate people in general. When people watch the video they need to do more than just watch. There are other possible scenarios and results that could come from it.”

Sarah Nader, a business administration student, said the sequel doesn’t give an in-depth analysis behind LRA violence.

“I was aware of the atrocities against the people of Uganda and Central Africa before watching the first video,” Nader said. “But after watching both “KONY 2012” videos, I still haven’t learned much about the political history and relations between the LRA, Uganda and Central Africa.”

Nader said what made the previous “KONY 2012” go viral was the emotional appeal used by Russell by including his son in the video.

“The video encourages viewers to become active, but before you fight for something you need to know its historic background. You need to know the cause and effect of what you’re fighting for.” Nader said. “I think it is precisely because of both the videos’ lack of in-depth political and historical analysis that they have begun to lose steam.”

N AT I O N A L N E W S Navy plane crashes in rural Virginia On Friday, a struggling Navy twoseater F/A-18 jet crashed into five apartment buildings in Virginia Beach, Va. The two pilots, the only passengers aboard the plane, ejected safely and sustained only non-life-threatening injuries. Four others were also taken to the Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital with minor wounds. The aircraft was not carrying live ordnance and crashed 2.2 miles away from the runway after a faulty takeoff, a senior Defense Department official told CNN. After the wreckage site was extinguished, rescue crews prepared to complete a thorough search for others who may have been injured or killed Virginia Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Riley said. Luckily the pilots spilled the jet’s fuel prior to the crash landing, thus minimizing the inevitably fire-stricken landing; otherwise the wreck could have likely caused even more destruction.

—Compiled by Copy Chief Kristen Caldwell

THROUGH OUR LENS

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They share their silence while the television flickers on one side of the room. She reaches for the glass of water again. This time it seems closer. She almost has it when the television cuts to black ... everything expands ...

B A C K PA G E

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W E AT H E R : PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH: 76 LOW: 53 SUNSET: 7:15PM

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D A I LY

AZTEC Monday, April 9, 2012

OPINION

Label GMOs to increase eating awareness nformation is power – especially when it comes to knowing what we’re putting in our bodies. Yet food industry giants appear hellbent on keeping that knowledge out of reach. And the government agencies responsible for regulating the industry remain unable to enforce the kinds of protections we need.

Calls for the labeling of genetically modified organisms in food products have been steadily gaining traction in recent years. Now several grassroots campaigns have petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to create labeling laws. The Just Label It group submitted a petition to the FDA with more than one million signatures.

The only government responses so far have been negative or noncommittal. The central problem is the FDA’s position that GMOs are not “materially different” from other organisms, and no scientific evidence has proved them to be a danger to human health. Therefore, the labeling of GMOs is considered an issue of “consumer curiosity,” for which the FDA does not currently have the authority to mandate labeling. Not such a difficult fix: Congress can give the FDA the authority by amending the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

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Randy Wilde assistant copy chief products. Japan, China, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and countless other countries also require labeling.

Granted, GMOs may be much less common in other nations – a recent Grocery Manufacturers Association study found that 80 percent of packaged foods in the U.S. contain genetically engineered components. That only makes the need for labeling even more urgent. I don’t want to debate the science or spread more sensationalized “Frankenfood” rhetoric.

Personally I believe it’s too soon to say whether genetically engineered foods represent any human health risks, but my main issue is not on an individual health level.

What I really fear is the effect GMOs may have on a larger scale. This kind of danger is much harder to predict and prevent. And unfortunately, we have a pretty poor track record of seeing the danger coming. Genetically engineered agriculture could be another environmental disaster in the making, the next Deepwater Horizon.

The real reasons consumers should be wary of GMOs are not the ones you typically hear about. They are

The only government responses so far have been negative or non-committal. The central problem is ... GMOs are not (considered) “materially different” from other organisms.

Another issue industry representatives love to bring up – and probably the real reason at the root of government inaction – is the cost associated with labeling. The requirement to label any final products containing GMO ingredients would complicate entire supply chains. In this day and age when so much of our food is highly processed, with a cocktail of chemicals and novel-length ingredient lists, separating GMO and nonGMO items would be no easy task for food corporations.

But this issue isn’t such an insurmountable hurdle as they would have you believe. Many other countries have adopted strict regulation of GMOs and require labeling. The European Union member nations have probably been the strictest. In 2003 the EU adopted new regulations and mandated labeling after lifting a complete seven-year ban on GMO

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

much more complex and subtle, yet ultimately more frightening.

First of all, extensive genetic contamination of wild plant varieties has been proven as a result of GMO crops.

Last year, researchers found abundant populations of transgenic canola growing wild in North Dakota.

Because it is irreversible and impossible to control, gene flow into wild populations may lead to serious unintended ecological consequences down the road.

Biotech corporations such as Monsanto tout genetic engineering as the best way to feed the world into the future, but in many ways the widespread use of GMOs actually reduces food security. A healthy amount of diversity means some plants will be more resistant to disease, pests or environmental conditions. The reduction in genetic diversity from switching to geneti-

Requiring GMOs to label their goods is an important — and necessary — gauge on potentially harmful elements we consume. | MCT CAMPUS

cally modified seeds leaves our food crops vulnerable to massive failure, hurting both farmers and the people they feed.

Farmers also get the short end of the stick in terms of profitability.

Biotech firms love GMOs because they are able to patent the seeds, giving them much greater control of what goes on at the farm. Farmers are stuck buying expensive seeds year after year because replanting harvested seed is a violation of the firm’s patent on the seed’s genetic code.

Monsanto has even sued hundreds of farmers who were the victims of accidental cross-pollination of GM crops.

Another added cost for farmers, and probably the most tangible environmental threat posed by GMO crops, is the massive amounts of

Acres of GM crops in the U.S. in 2008, in millions

25

Countries using GM crops in 2008

68

Percent of the worldwide GM crop production by the U.S.

61

Percent of genetically modified cotton

80

Percent of packaged foods in the U.S. have GM products

54

Percent of genetically modified soy

14

Number of farmers who plant genetically modified plants, in millions

0

Number of consumers made aware by companies they are eating GM foods

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consumer information and input to guide producers? Regardless of scientific proof of safety issues, consumer choice ultimately decides what is and is not produced. If food industry giants are afraid putting more knowledge into the hands of consumers will lead to a loss of sales, perhaps they should consider alternatives.

A recent survey by the Mellman Group found 91 percent of those polled would support GMO labeling.

Such near-unanimous public opinion is certainly a rarity. Perhaps it would be wise to listen.

For you, job market worrier

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chemicals they rely upon for success. Most bio-engineered seeds require huge inputs of fertilizers and pesticides, not to mention perfect environmental conditions, to reach the advertised yield potential. All those chemicals are incredibly damaging to not only the surrounding area, but even ecosystems thousands of miles away. Fertilizer runoff into the Mississippi River has created a 7,000-square-mile hypoxic dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Clearly consumers have a right and a responsibility to know how their food is produced. The stunning lack of information available to consumers is a serious market failure. To those who see mandatory labeling as a market disruption, I would ask: How can a market function properly without

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D A I LY

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B AC K PAG E

FICTION

HOROSCOPE

When we had each other

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (4/9/12) Things that seemed stuck now align with forward motion. Partners, family and friends serve as anchors and lifelines., despite the temptation to spontaneously dash off on adventures. Career and finances lead to more travel and education. Put aside a money cushion. Grow leadership.

D

o you remember when we were just starting out?” She asks as they get into bed.

Blue light from the television screen drapes over the furniture and casts shadows along the far side of the room.

“We could barely afford a mattress.

We had to sleep on the floor for months. My back remembers.”

“It wasn’t so bad. At least we had each other. Sometimes I think about what we’d give our kids if we died. That’s something we should be planning for.”

“We don’t even have kids yet,” he says and turns the television on mute. “We should plan that first, before we worry about willing our hand-me-downs to them.”

She twists around to face him.

She can’t make out his expression with the television burning bright behind him until the news program cuts to a commercial, and a darkness falls over everything. Just before her eyes are allowed to adjust, the commercials begin again, and the artificial light swallows everything before her. “How often do you think about having kids?”

He doesn’t answer. The blankets rise almost imperceptibly, then fall again, as if the bed was some sort of

Mason Schoen fiction writer amoeba and they were trapped within it, waiting to be digested.

“Are you sleeping?” She asks.

“I wasn’t.”

“That means you were.”

“You tell me first,” he says. “Do you think about kids often?”

She rises in bed and reaches for the glass of water she placed on the dresser. It’s too far away and too cold, and she feels something pinch when she stretches that far, an old injury.

She sinks back, the pain radiating throughout her midsection. The dresser wobbles and the water teases her. She sighs. “The thing is, when I do think about kids, I fixate on being a parent when they’re a little grown.

Like, not little anymore. You know, the early years, that sounds fun to me. It’s long, time-consuming work, but it’s easy. Definitive. They have a problem, there’s one correct answer in solving it. All you have to do is find it. But what about when they start middle school? You remember middle school? Everything becomes a problem, and nothing’s black and white anymore. So do you help them, even when they don’t want your help, or do you force them to help

themselves, even when they do want your help? How do you know you’re making the right decisions?”

“Sounds like you think about this a lot.”

“I guess I do. Sure seems like it now that it’s out in the open.”

“That’s OK. I think about it too.

But when I think about having kids, I never get too far. What scares me is if the kid will be born healthy or not. What’ll we do if he’s like my brother? What’ll we do if he’s born … different?”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll figure that out.”

“What if we can’t even have kids?

What then?”

They share their silence while the television flickers on one side of the room. She reaches for the glass of water again. This time it seems closer.

She almost has it when the television cuts to black and everything expands away from her. There’s a tiny fear snaking through the darkness, she can hear it approaching. She gives up the water and moves to embrace him, but in the darkness he seems further away then she remembers, further away and comfortable with his own distance.

To get the advantage, check the day's rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

ARIES (March 21 - April 19) - Today is a 6 Expanding into adventure? Intriguing.

You're gaining respect. Gather with family.

There's a promise of more money coming in. Keep communication channels open.

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20) - Today is a 7 Assemble the team. You have no trouble getting the message across, and the group contributes. Do the numbers. Authorities may need persuasion. Ask for what you need.

GEMINI (May 21 - June 21) - Today is a 7 For the next two days, partnership is the name of the game. Hold off on travel.

Impulsiveness causes accidents. Accept more responsibilities. Choose privacy over publicity.

CANCER (June 22 - July 22) - Today is a 7 It's getting busy, and your creative juices are flowing. Get productive, and don't be afraid to be unorthodox. Price your materials. Include your team. Save time and money.

LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22) - Today is a 7 There's another opportunity for income.

Let your conscience be your guide. Avoid big promises. Leave time to play like a child (or with one). Your friends are your inspiration.

BY NANCY BLACK, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22) - Today is a 7 Make household decisions for the next two days. Clean up a mess, figuratively or literally. Consult a partner on a decision.

Follow a dream to a mysterious destination.

LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) - Today is a 7 Get a financial deal in writing. Learn from friends at a seminar or class. You've got the study advantage with your extra ability to focus.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) - Today is a 7 The people around you are more respectful. It's a good time to ask for money. It could get spent easily. Keep track. Entering a two-day domestic phase.

Express your sentiment artistically.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) - Today is a 6 - Your confidence can make a big difference, like a sense of ease and space.

With new freedom comes a new responsibility and satisfaction. Enjoy the growth, and keep expanding.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) - Today is a 5 - Renew yourself through private examination, perhaps in the shape of an artistic project. Don't worry about the money. Conserve resources out of habit.

Create beauty.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) - Today is a 5 - See how you can use your connections to generate new income. You'd rather play than work now, but what if you could combine both? Choose romance. And fun.

PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20) - Today is a 5 Your community participation and creative mind for problem-solving makes you quite attractive. Listen to someone who loves you. It's guaranteed to be better than internal radio. ©2012, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES INC.

— Mason Schoen is a creative writing graduate student.

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FREAKIN’ TWEET! RIDING THE DANCE WAVE Editor in Chief Allie Daugherty captured this photo of the Young Choreographers Showcase and Prize put on by Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theatre at the Neurosciences Center.

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