04-25-2012

Cycling club is wheel-ly helpful The Bike Stand offers free service at weekly farmers market Stephanie Saccente staff writer San Diego State’s new cycling club, The Bike Stand, is a free resource for students and members of the cycling community to maintain their bikes and keep them operating safely. Fairly new to the SDSU campus, current members welcome the opportunity to expand their club and establish a “bike kitchen” community members can depend on.

Current president Forrest Brodsky was approached by founder and nursing student Clancy Thost to create a resource for a more sustainable cycling community. While Thost and Brodsky came together last fall, The Bike Stand was not recognized as an official SDSU club until February.

“I got my first road bike a few months back. I didn’t have any idea doing so would introduce me to such

a diverse, friendly, helpful group of people,” Melinda LaVive, sophomore and avid Bike Stand user, said.

The Bike Stand offers cyclists a variety of services ranging from fixing a flat tire to a full tune-up. For those interested in becoming involved with the club, Brodsky encourages potential members to speak with a current member to pick up a volunteer pamphlet.

“We are a completely free service.

If you want to come by with your bike and use the tools yourself we will let you use them or if you want to come by and learn how to use the tools, we will help you learn how,“ Brodsky said.

Currently, The Bike Stand meets at the SDSU farmers market every Thursday on Campanile Walkway, although it would like to expand in the near future.

“My personal microscopic goal is to get us a space to work out of. We’re seeing if we can share space with the Aztec Recreation Center and do more workshops and safety workshops out of the annex buildings over there,” Brodsky said. “Although, space is a hot commodity right now.”

Alejandra Paz staff writer Last Saturday, the San Diego State Office of Intercultural Relations’ Women’s Resource Center hosted its first annual “I Am A Woman” Summit at the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center.

Director of the Office of Intercultural Relations, Dr. Tanis Starck, said the event was held to progressively develop a more diverse community.

“It is our hope that this conference will help to create a road map for developing methods and best practices for creating, exploring and embracing women,” Starck said.

The first panel, “Women Leadership Roles in a Diverse Workforce,” focused on how women can become leaders in professional fields. Successful panelists shared their experiences and challenges as women in the workplace.

Associate Director of Career Services, Rosa Elena Moreno, offered her advice about working for a company. She said it is important to know how to dress and the direction, the

goals, the information and the history of a company.

“There are a lot of opportunities and struggles that we go through, but it’s all upon you to turn them around to work in your favor,” Moreno said.

Assistant Dean for Student Affairs in the College of Sciences, Dr. Estralita Martin, said she does not live a life of regrets. She said if one does not have a good self-image, it is easy for altercations to become nooses instead of allies.

“I never think of what could of, should of, would of — it is what it is.

These are the cards that are dealt to you,” she said. “How are you going to make them be aces? You can turn them into aces or you can turn them into deuces.”

Assistant Dean for Student Affairs in the College of Education, Dr. Patricia Lozada-Santone, said if women love and protect themselves, nobody can harm them. She also offered relationship advice.

“If you choose to marry, you better hope and choose wisely that your partner is going to support you,” LozadaSantone said.

In response to the panel discussion, SDSU student Chelsie Punter said, “I have a very aggressive personality. Young men almost look at it as a downfall. They proved to me that it is not a downfall.”

contributor According to recently released public records, San Diego State increased its holiday and end-ofyear party budget for staff by $12,000 last year.

These records indicate SDSU spent $48,907 on staff parties last year, which is an increase from the $36,907 it spent in 2010 for approximately 6,000 employees.

SDSU officials told the San Diego Union-Tribune almost all staff parties were not paid for by state funds or tuition revenue, with the sole exception of the 38th Annual Staff Awards Luncheon held last November, which used $5,500 to partially rent out Viejas Arena.

However, the same officials also said the discretionary money that covered staff parties last year could have been used for scholarships or other priorities regarding SDSU students, which made some students question the party budget’s purpose.

Volume 97, Issue 109 W W W.T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M

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The Bike Service sets up on campus every Thursday. | DUSTIN MICHELSON, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Freshman and mechanical technician for the club, Andrew Jen, also feels strongly about growing the student organization.

“In one year from now, I’d like to see the club with double the membership in our volunteer mechanics

department, and triple the amount of students served on a weekly basis,” Jen said. “I believe this is a very feasible vision to make into a reality, because once people stop by and see what we do, they will spread the word of The Bike Stand.”

After the first panel, all attendees came together and discussed body image and how it’s cultivated.

Following the discussion, everyone participated in a yoga and Zumba class to help release tension in the body.

EOP Outreach, Recruitment and Admissions Officer, Trimaine Davis, gave the last presentation about the facts and myths of men and women.

During the presentation, Davis said women have the gift to control the world but often try to think like a man to accomplish this, which is not the route to take. He said women should feel encouraged to think like women, just as males should think like men.

Davis said he felt advantaged to be able to engage and listen to the issues in the lives of women. He said the information he received will

only help him become a better man and men should be held accountable for the roles they play in the lives of women.

“This is why my presentation was called, ‘The Apology’ because as a man of color, I feel we do owe our women a real heartfelt apology due to our lack of accountability as men in our community,” Martin said.

“That is also including me as a man.”

After the summit, students expressed feelings of satisfaction and enlightenment. SDSU student Mykeya Rivera said every woman should experience an event like this.

“I feel this event is something every woman should experience,” Rivera said. “It was very empowering and I look forward to attending next year’s event.”

“There are a lot of opportunities and struggles that we go through, but it’s all upon you to turn them around to work in your favor.”

Rosa Elena Moreno, Associate Director of SDSU Career Services

SDSU increases party budget Jenna De Stefano

April 25, 2012

INDEX:

Summit empowers female leaders “I Am A Woman” summit uses wisdom of SDSU professors

WEDNESDAY

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“When looking at a potentially problematic situation like this, it is always good to remember to look at both sides, because looking at the (figures) definitely can make some of us starving students heated,” junior Crissy Salas said. “SDSU throwing (its staff) a party once in a while can do a lot for employee morale, but I personally think that they need to tone it down a bit.”

“SDSU takes seriously its responsibility to be a good steward of public funds and other financial and material assets,” SDSU Director of Media

Relations and New Media Greg Block said. “We also believe people are the university’s most important resource, and we will continue to appropriately acknowledge our employees for their many contributions.”

If students have questions regarding how funding staff parties could be affecting student tuition, there will be an opportunity to ask questions following an open presentation about SDSU’s budgeting process and fiscal outlook between 2 and 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 3 in Arts and Letters, room 201.

E N T E R TA I N M E N T

Joss Whedon talks about directing Marvel’s “The Avengers.”

SCIENCE & T E C H N O LO GY Eateries tap into the future of food service with Presto tablet.

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Those years felt like growing up again. You wake up sore and angry and depressed. You work and ... none of your work is ever enough.

B A C K PA G E

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W E AT H E R : SHOWERS HIGH: 69 LOW: 56 SUNSET: 7:26PM

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D A I LY

AZTEC Wednesday, April 25, 2012

E N T E R TA I N M E N T

UNDER THE SCOPE

Whedon shares his filmmaking wisdom The acclaimed director talks about “The Avengers” Andrew Younger senior staff writer Five films and four years into arguably the most complex movie marketing scheme in history, Marvel Studios is set to unleash supra-franchise “The Avengers” on May 4. However, the shrewdest business decision Marvel made was to hire writer-director Joss Whedon to helm the superhero collective. Whedon, whose bona fides include “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly,” possesses Comic-Con credibility while commanding critical respect for his work. Whedon spoke to The Daily Aztec about directing with his own style, seeing out of his left eye and why he won’t direct a movie based on Parcheesi.

The Daily Aztec: Because Marvel is attempting to create an interlocking film universe, did you feel the need to maintain a directing style and aesthetic similar to the work of the other Marvel Studios directors?

Joss Whedon: There’s no way you could make a movie that looked like a Jon Favreau, Kenneth Branagh, Joe Johnston, Louie Lettieri movie. You have to take from each of them the thing that is useful and will jive with the rest of them. I do think the DNA of the Marvel movie begins with “Iron Man,” and that’s very grounded in the real. I tend to be a tiny bit florid with my camera work and my dialogue, but hopefully in a way that feels like a realistic version of a comic book universe.

So it is the way that I can reconcile the different styles. My own style is actually kind of smack dab in the middle of what all those guys do.

Therefore it plays.

DA: “The Avengers” is based on S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) trying to unite heroes with extraordinary powers and egos. Did you feel like Nick Fury, trying to bring the actors together in a team concept and how did you handle creative differences in this type of situation?

JW: I felt very much like Nick Fury. He is, you know, he’s the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., literally, and that puts him at

a remove from everybody, even if he likes them. He knows he’s putting them in harm’s way. Hopefully I’m not putting my actors in harm’s way.

Hopefully I’m not even making them uncomfortable, but, I’m not nearly as intelligent or manipulative as Nick, and I didn’t have as many problems because my actors actually wanted to be together. They enjoy each other.

But you do feel that responsibility that you’ve gotta get all of these people to give their best. You know, for him it’s in battle and for me it’s when we’re rolling, to really come up with their best stuff and play off each other as well as possible. And you have a great responsibility to service them with your camera at the same time. So definitely felt some of the pressure, but I can see out of my left eye.

DA: Is there something about “The Avengers” that resonated with you during your childhood that you were able to bring to this movie?

JW: Well, the fact that “The Avengers” are all really, really messed up people, I think is a fine reflection of me. With “The Avengers” itself, the thing that I loved was that it, the comic books, it was a little bit steeped in science fiction that Marvel was known for its gritty realism, and Spider Man was sort of the template for, oh, they could just be people in New York.

And even though the Avengers made their home in New York, they were so often out in that space and dealing with artificial intelligence and grand beings from another world, and gods and monsters. And I love that element. That’s definitely a part of the film.

DA: College students have a lot of summer movie options. What makes “The Avengers” stand apart from other summer blockbusters?

JW: I think “The Avengers” is the kind of movie that I grew up wanting to make and thought they had stopped making.

When I grew up, the summer movie was literally created as a concept, and all my life I wanted to do something like that, something like the first “Indiana Jones.” Something that was steeped in character, in love of the genre that it was portraying, had intelligence, had real acting, had a story that unfolded and wasn’t just a sort of big premise that you already knew going in, or isn’t based on, you know, Parcheesi or something just because it has a name.

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Director Joss Whedon talks with Black-Widow (Scarlett Johansson) about her role on the set of “The Avengers.” |

More and more summer movies have felt a little cynical. There are very, very, big exceptions to that, but that has been the case when people throw so much money down.

They’re not interested in a story, they’re interested in, in just barraging you with excitement and imagery and brand names. And Marvel doesn’t operate that way.

They care about the people. That’s why they hire some of the best actors in the business to play their

heroes and this is an old-fashioned movie. It’s a little bit bigger than life, but it’s very human.

DA: What advice would you give to any student with ambitions of one day sitting in the director’s chair?

JW: My advice would be sit down.

Now you’re in the director’s chair. We live in an age where anybody can make a movie. If you have a phone,

COURTESY OF ZADE ROSENTHAL

you can make a movie. OK, maybe not a huge movie, maybe phone-sized, but it’s there. When I came up, you wrote a script, and you hoped and hoped. Or you raised enough money to make a short film. Things are different now and the best way to get your work out there, not just as an offering to somebody else to hope they’ll make it, but to show yourself as a filmmaker, and to learn as a filmmaker is just make movies. There’s no excuse not to now.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

D A I LY A Z T E C Wednesday, April 25, 2012

3

Presto launches restaurants into digital age “People say it’s ... inhospitable.

But it’s the epitome of hospitality.

It empowers the guest to get in and to get out.”

Charlie Ayers, owner of Palo Alto’s Calafia Café and former executive chef for Google

MCT CAMPUS

Brittany Fasano staff writer Innovative start-up company E la Carte has created a device that could make waiters obsolete. It’s called Presto tablet and it lets diners order food with the click of a button.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology dropout Rajat Suri founded E la Carte in 2009, which has already sold Presto tablets to 300 restaurants and expects that number

to grow to 1,000 by the end of the year, The Atlantic reported.

In an interview with Fast Company, Suri said, “It’s cool because we’re almost inventing a new category. There are web apps and mobile apps, (but) who’s putting software into places where you can go and engage with software in places you didn’t before?”

Presto does not just take orders, it also shows each meal’s nutritional information and allows customers to filter menu options by typing food instructions. Presto also has a 18-hour battery life, displays photographs of

meals, predicts when food will arrive, provides games, splits checks, calculates tips and reads credit cards. A receipt can also be emailed to customers. This is the first tablet to encompass all features in one device.

“It’ll have a larger presence in fast food, where a quicker turnaround matters,” senior industry analyst at IBISWorld Nima Samadi said about tablet menus in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “In traditional, full-service restaurants, it’s still kind of a gimmick.”

Santa Monica College psychology sophomore Alexa Palacios is a frequent visitor at a Torrance restaurant that utilizes the tablets. Stacked, which has a sister restaurant in Fashion Valley, is one of many eateries now using this technology as a form of service.

“I don’t really like it that much,” Palacios said. “The service is disengaged because nobody has a specific table — they all just walk around aimlessly. I don’t think it worked out like they wanted it to.”

Recalling her own experiences as a waitress, she added, “I understand they meant to be tech savvy, but because the service is horrible it ruins the experience. You have to stop anyone to get anything because no one personally tends to you.”

Some restaurants are using tablets in diverse ways. Bones in Atlanta uses the tablet to display its wine list. The Lark Creek Steak restaurant in San Francisco uses Presto to advertise its steaks.

Umami Burger utilizes the tablet as a means of attracting customers to its Los Angeles-based chain.

With the advent of the Presto tablet, restaurants may be creating a direct connection between the

kitchen and the customer, while also allowing a fresh way to promote menus. But at what cost?

Tablet computers could eventually replace waiters at some restaurants, and with them social interaction and personalized service.

However, according to Suri, E la Carte isn’t aiming to replace waiters. It’s simply making the whole experience more efficient while filling the gaps of tableside service within the restaurant.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “E la Carte’s research shows the tablet can cut a restaurant’s labor costs by 26 percent, increase sales by up to 10 percent per check and reduce how long diners linger at the table by seven minutes.”

Whether customers prefer oneon-one human interaction or Presto, it seems these tech savvy devices will be here to stay.

“It’s the future,” owner of Palo Alto’s Calafia Café and former executive chef for Google Charlie Ayers said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. “People say it’s very inhospitable. But it’s the epitome of hospitality. It empowers the guest to get in and to get out.”

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D A I LY

AZTEC Wednesday, April 25, 2012

B AC K PAG E

FICTION

HOROSCOPE

Falling asleep forever

“I

’m tired,” Laura said after eating.

“You and everyone else. We’re all tired.”

“No, not like this. I’m truly exhausted.”

As David washed the breakfast dishes, Laura sat on the couch and rested her head against its spine. She draped an old magazine over her face. Faint traces of sample perfume soured her lips. “When I used to lifeguard back in college,” she began, her words partially muffled, “I remember running out into the surf to pull out a little girl. There were some other kids trapped in the current also. She needed the most help though — she was drowning. I got to her and pulled her up onto my float. But the rest of the group swam to me and started hanging on. They had their arms around my neck, my arms, everything. One bigger kid had his legs around my stomach. It felt like they were squeezing everything out of me. I thought we were all going to die.”

“Well you got out alive, didn’t you?”

She let the magazine fall to her lap as she looked up at him. “I blacked out. Someone else saved us — another lifeguard or two on a boat.

Anyway, that’s how I feel right now —

Mason Schoen fiction writer like there’s someone else’s limbs wrapped around me and if I don’t save myself we’ll all drown.”

“If it were me, I’d break those kids’ fingers,” he said, snapping an apple core in half and forcing it into the drain.

“You would not,” Laura laughed, but he ran the disposal so he could pretend not to hear her.

“Dave? What’s the most tired you’ve ever been?”

“I don’t know if I can point to one specific event. Nothing sticks out in my mind. I guess … I guess working my last job was tiring, but that’s not really the same thing as yours.”

“Doesn’t have to be. Maybe it’ll be closer than you think.”

He sighed and rubbed his neck.

“Those years felt like growing up again. You wake up sore and angry and depressed. You work and work and work and you come home every night and wonder when it will ever be enough, when you’ll have enough to find some grain of happiness or

accomplishment. None of your work is ever enough. I wanted so bad to just fall asleep forever. I didn’t even want to dream, I just wanted to sleep, devoid of thought, devoid of feeling.

Then you wake up the next morning and you have to do it all over again.

Day in and day out you wonder if you’ll ever get away. And if you wait long enough, you don’t care. It’s like sheets of the thinnest, threadbare fabric keep draping over you in layers. The first few don’t bother you because everything’s still light and you can still move easily enough.

Soon though, even the little things feel heavy and burdensome.”

“I’m glad you got out alive.”

“Me too.”

“I wonder what you’d be like if you were still working there today.”

It wasn’t a question, but David felt compelled to keep talking.

“There wouldn’t be any light.

There’d only be a dark reserved for the bottom of a well, or the deepest part of the ocean. You wouldn’t have to close your eyes then. It wouldn’t make any difference.”

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (4/25/12) - You could turn a hobby into a business. Focus on what you love, and you'll get the satisfaction you crave. You'll get acknowledgment later this year. The money is coming in, with more on the way in June. Renovate diet and exercise practices to inspire.

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 an 8 Slow down. Don't take on a new responsibility before considering what you want. Listen to someone who's been there.

Get the facts. How will it impact home and family?

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20) - Today is a 7 Distractions abound this morning. More practice leads to greater skill and increased power. So keep it up! Let a partner, coach or trusted adviser support you.

GEMINI (May 21 - June 21) - Today is an 8 Go by the rules you set to gain respect and wealth. A careful work investment may be necessary, like a power suit or some polish for the presentation. It pays off.

CANCER (June 22 - July 22) - Today is a 7 Don't be too hasty this morning. Keep it simple, and stick to core commitments.

Rely on a loved one and your own common sense. Reaffirm your bonds.

LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22) - Today is an 8 Things may seem illogical or confusing.

Rely on old standards for solid quality. Do more planning and research. Friends chime in. Think it over more, and the situation

BY NANCY BLACK, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES resolves itself.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22) - Today is a 9 Think through the consequences of your actions before committing. Rely on experienced friends, if you get stuck or confused. They've been there before.

LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) - Today is an 8 Orders are coming in. The breakfast rush could leave you all aflutter; chaos could distract you from your purpose if you let it.

Concentrate on providing good service.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) - Today is an 8 - Bring your balanced view into the project. Make a choice, despite your fears.

Have faith in your own solid skills. Your transformation continues as you keep up practice.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) - Today is a 9 - Flexibility and a sense of humor keep you dancing gracefully today. Don't worry about the money. When all it's done, receive an acknowledgment with a bow.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) - Today is a 9 - Running around with your head cut off doesn't help. Breathe deep. Find a goal to focus on, and then take one step at a time.

An older person offers partnership.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) - Today is an 8 - Immerse yourself in writing or another artistic endeavor while your creative juices are flowing. Reinterpret a negative as a positive. Choose love. Howl at the moon.

PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20) - Today is a 7 Try to stay grounded and close to home.

Don't rush your decision. Don't lose your sense of direction, either. It will all get easier soon. Lie low for a while. ©2012, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES INC.

—Mason Schoen is a creative writing graduate student.

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Letters to the editor can be sent to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Story ideas can be sent to tips@thedailyaztec.com.

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SUDOKU

Difficulty Level: 3 out of 4 Instructions: Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudokudragon.com Solutions available online at www.thedailyaztec.com ©2012, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES INC.

M O .C C E T Z A Y IL A D E H .T W WW CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Fodder figure?

5 First Greek consonant 9 Antlered grazers 13 Australia’s national gemstone 14 Wail 15 Winter forecast 16 Melodies for a soothing atmosphere 18 “Henry’s Crime” actor Reeves 19 College application part 20 Nothing to suggest, as foul play 22 Positive energy 25 Home of the Ivy League’s Bulldogs 28 Safe havens 32 Lawyers’ org.

33 Shopping center?

35 Pooh-pooh 36 With 39-Across, convenience that might include the dish spelled out by the first few letters of the answers to 16-, 22-, 50- and 60-Across 39 See 36-Across 41 Course’s 18 42 Sci. class 44 Sorority letter 45 Black hair and almond-shaped eyes, e.g.

47 Certain sail spars 50 Pick up momentum 52 Tour in a double-decker bus, perhaps 55 Valium maker 59 Southwestern brick 60 2002 Jodie Foster thriller

BY RICH NORRIS & JOYCE LEWIS, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES

Solutions available online at www.thedailyaztec.com 63 Deli subs 64 Nile slitherers 65 Par for the course 66 Unwelcome look 67 Apollo’s instrument 68 “Don’t move, Spot!”

DOWN 1 Unspecified amount 2 Wall St. events 3 Landlocked Asian republic 4 Gerontologist’s study 5 Mitt Romney’s alma mater: Abbr.

6 Homer’s saffron-robed goddess 7 Star shine

8 Big name in foil 9 Refined and discriminating taste 10 Low in fat 11 Numbers game 12 Double __ Oreo 15 Alpine competitor’s protection 17 “Don’t interfere,” briefly 21 Grads-to-be: Abbr.

23 “My bad!”

24 Dork 25 Harbor party site 26 Can’t stomach 27 Ali who retired with a perfect 24-0 record 29 Clucking quarters 30 Faith 31 Opposition group

34 Brownstone hangout 37 Dennis, much to Mr. Wilson’s dismay 38 Will subjects 40 Mont Blanc, par exemple 43 “Piece of cake!”

46 Bro’s playmate 48 Grand Marquis, for short 49 Decks out 51 Landlocked Asian republic 52 Satirist Mort 53 Nantes notion 54 Reason for an R rating 56 Odd old fellow 57 Wedding dance 58 Award for “Modern Family” 61 “Fresh Air” airer 62 Sussex suffix