Roadwork annoys commuters Beth Elderkin
WEDNESDAY April 11, 2012 Volume 97, Issue 102 W W W.T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M
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INDEX: An ongoing construction project has continued to block lanes on Montezuma Road between Collwood Boulevard and College Avenue, as well as cause headaches for some San Diego State students who commute to campus. “My 20-minute commute is now a 30, 40 or even 45-minute commute because of the backup of traffic,” media studies senior Katelyn Garcia said. “It just backs up the whole way down.” The Montezuma Road project, officially known as “Water Group Job 923,” was unanimously approved by the San Diego City Council last July. According to SDSU’s Media Relations Specialist Gina Jacobs, SDSU was not consulted about the project prior to its approval. The school’s consent was not required because the streets being worked on are property of the City of San Diego. The project is being managed by the City of San Diego’s Engineering & Capital Projects Department. According to the department’s official project fact sheet, the goal is to replace aging and deteriorated castiron water mains installed in the early 1950s or earlier, as mandated by the California Department of Public Health. San Diego’s website lists multiple benefits of the construction, including increased water capacity, decreased possibility of disrupted service because of main breaks and installation of new curb ramps where necessary. The project has partially closed lanes on Montezuma Road between
Estimated to finish by June, “Water Group Job 923” has closed lanes along a large stretch of Montezuma Road. | ALLIE DAUGHERTY, EDITOR IN CHIEF
8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays and blocked off most street parking. Garcia said this has made her late for class on more than one occasion. “I’m late pretty much three days of the week, and I’m here five days a week,” Garcia said. The project has affected students who live near campus as well. Students who live on Montezuma Road have reported temporary power losses and loud construction noises, sometimes as early as 7:40 a.m. “As with any construction project, there will always be some inconven-
iences,” ECPD Senior Public Information Officer Racquel Vasquez wrote in an email. “However, the newly installed pipeline system will increase water reliability to the entire community.” According to Vasquez, students should incorporate extra time into their daily commutes or use alternative means of transportation, such as carpooling and mass transit. The project’s fact sheet stated it was originally estimated to start in April. However, the project commenced March 3 because of a City
of San Diego-issued notice to proceed, approximately a month ahead of schedule. According to Vasquez, the contractor is currently ahead of schedule and should finish before the early June deadline. Garcia said she wishes they had started in June instead. “I don’t understand why they couldn’t have pushed it to summer, when not as many people are coming to campus,” Garcia said. “I’m sure it has a great purpose, but it’s kind of annoying to a driver who wants to get to school.”
E N T E R TA I N M E N T
“Bully” rating downgraded by MPAA, film opens to big audience.
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Culture Week highlights diversity Arturo Garcia staff writer Culture Week inaugurated its annual celebration of diversity last week. A collaborative project of 18 cultural organizations, the event consisted of one fair, two days of lectures and the inclusion of Pledge Diversity and the Aztec Unification Project. “Cultural Week gives us confidence that not only does everyone have a voice on the San Diego State campus, but also that students of all different background and cultures can come together and share positive, affirming experiences,” a member of Project Nur said. “We are a club dedicated to pluralism and understanding, especially across culture and faith.” The five-day event was organized
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by Associated Students’ MultiCultural Caucus. The MCC’s mission is to celebrate, educate and advocate for diversity, culture and inclusion. It is reminiscent of Pledge Diversity, a movement started by A.S. Representative and future Vice President Channelle McNutt. The lectures were divided into two days. Tuesday focused on history lectures while Wednesday addressed social injustices. The Pledge Diversity event was held on Thursday. According to the SDSU Diversity Pledge, diversity is more than being aware of differences of all people, but embracing them as well as actively creating a campus that supports and understands the diversity of its students. The Diversity Pledge encourages its participants to embrace diversity, strive toward social justice, refrain
Violence continues in Syria, despite cease-fire Violence between the Syrian government and the popular opposition continued yesterday, despite the newly sanctioned United Nations cease-fire agreement. The plan was brokered by U.N. Special Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan and agreed to by the central government of Syria. It called for the immediate halting of violence against Syrian citizens by the government. World leaders condemned the regime for backtracking on what was supposed to be a positive measure. Syrian Foreign
from using derogatory terms, not contribute to stereotypes, educate themselves about cultures other than their own, engage in and contribute to the diverse world and actively honor the pledge itself. The Aztec Unification Project is a joint community service project, according to the SDSU student newsletter. It consists of three different student organizations collaborating to volunteer for a nonprofit organization in San Diego. Last semester, the Afrikan Student Union, the Hispanic Business Student Association and Sigma Phi Epsilon delivered food to homeless students and their families at the Monarch School in downtown San Diego that served approximately 80 people. The organizations involved in Culture Week included several religious and culture-based groups, such
Minister Walid al-Moallem said the “escalation of violence” by the “terrorist groups” is to blame for the continued aggression. Concurrently, tensions at the Syrian and Turkish border continued to rise as Turkey provides shelter for Syrian refugees. North Korean satellite launch is a go North Korea claimed yesterday its satellite was ready for launch and denied accounts that the program was a cover-up for conducting missile tests. The North Korean administration argued the level of technological sophistication and scope required for missile tests is much greater than what is currently being used for the satellite
as the Association of Chicana Activists, Aztecs for Israel, Asian Pacific Student Alliance, Arab Student Association, Afrikan Student Union, Cross-Cultural Center, Jewish Student Union and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Student Union. Other groups included were the Lebanese Social Club, Muslim Student Association, Nikkei Student Union, Project Nur, Students for Justice in Palestine, Student Veteran Organization, Vietnamese Student Association, Womyn’s Outreach Association and Andres Bonifacio Samahan. “Culture week was great,” AB Samahan Political Affairs Coordinator Ignacio Lauder said. “It was a lot of fun getting to know all the other cultural organizations that participated and I hope more and more will continue to do so in later years.”
launches. The launch is scheduled for sometime between tomorrow and Monday and will commemorate the centennial birthday of Kim Il Sung. Rick Santorum suspends presidential campaign Rick Santorum announced yesterday in his home state of Pennsylvania he would be suspending his campaign indefinitely. The announcement came after taking a weekend off to tend to his recently hospitalized three-year-old daughter.
—Compiled by Assistant News Editor Kevin Smead
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The men they’ve dated before they find me: These are silent predators. Raptors. From my shady cove beneath the ocean, I peer up into the fractured sky and watch their silhouettes fly silently above us. B A C K PA G E
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