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may 6, 2013
MONday
Activist filmmaker featured on page 5
MONDAY, MAY 6, 2013
WWW.THEDAILYAZTEC.COM
VOLUME 99, ISSUE 112
Limited tickets prompt students to trade
campus Stephanie Saccente Senior Staff Writer
For many graduating students, the commencement ceremony is an exciting time to spend with family and friends. However, with limited tickets available, students have been forced to find additional tickets for their guests through other methods. According to the San Diego State Commencement website, the number of tickets available to each student is contingent on the number of students graduating from individual SDSU colleges. This year’s ticket availability by college includes eight for Health and Human Services, seven for Business Administration and Sciences, six for Professional Studies and Fine Arts and Arts and Letters, and 12 for Education and Undergraduate Studies and Engineering. Public relations graduating senior David Rozul said because of the limited amount of tickets available to each student, it’s a selling frenzy among peers within the individual colleges to obtain more. While Rozul understands the university’s need to must limit the amount of tickets each student receives, he suggests future graduations be moved to other locations such as the Aztec Bowl or Qualcomm Stadium. “Despite how hard it is to get tickets, I understand why the university does it,” Rozul said. “Viejas Arena can only hold so many people, and this gives everyone in
“If you support women’s rights, you are immediately a feminist whether you deny it or not.”
Bird flu risk in China on page 2
Two tickets for the College of Education and Undergraduate Studies ceremony. Only a set amount of tickets are provided to each graduate within certain colleges.
their respective college the equal opportunity to bring their family members and friends.” While some students struggle to find more tickets, others have looked to get rid of theirs. Communications senior Alexa Johnson sold her six tickets for the PSFA commencement ceremony for $140. Johnson said at one point she had seven people interested in buying her tickets and while she could have sold them for more, she didn’t want the stress of waiting until the last minute. “Overall I’m very happy with
my decision to sell my tickets. Instead of spending money on graduation, I’ve made money,” Johnson said. “I’ll be using that money toward my trip to Europe.” Computer science senior Saif Alsharifi used SDSU’s “Class of 2013” Facebook page to find extra tickets for the College of Sciences commencement ceremony and noted in his post that he was willing to pay. While he was able to purchase extra tickets, he said many people have overcharged their tickets, which made it dif-
monica linzmeier , assistant photo editor
ficult. “There are plenty of extra tickets being sold on Craigslist, the only problem I have experienced is sellers overpricing their tickets,” Alsharifi said. “I was able to find almost all the tickets I needed for a reasonable price.” The first college commencement ceremony will take place Friday, May 17 at the Viejas Area with the College of Health and Human Services. For a complete list of commencement ceremony dates and times visit go.sdsu.edu/ commencement.
Former professor gives $1 mil to Honors College campus Michelle Pluss Staff Writer
Professor Emeritus Henry Janssen pledged a $1 million donation to San Diego State’s Honors College. On April 25, Janssen announced he would donate a portion of his estate to the institution where he dedicated 60 years of his life. The contribution is part of the Campaign for SDSU, a movement to raise $500 million to ensure SDSU’s role as a leading public research university.
Janssen’s donation will aid the Honors College by increasing enrollment and offering courses that will benefit the university as a whole. According to the Campaign for SDSU website, the funds raised will be divided to support the campaign’s four initiatives: engaging the region, leading innovation and discovery, competing globally and fueling potential. The campaign has raised $385 million as of March.
monica linzmeier , assistant photo editor
Honors College is located inside the Administration building on campus. The donation will provide more scholarships for honor students.
“The Campaign for (SDSU)” has the power to transform our university by increasing access and educational opportunities, strengthening our ties with the San Diego community and supporting our life-changing research,” SDSU President Elliot Hirshman said in a message to the public on the campaign’s website. During a time when most universities are limiting enrollment and cutting class variety and size, Janssen’s donation will aid the Honors College by increasing enrollment
and offering courses that will benefit the university as a whole. “I owe SDSU more for the life I’ve had than I can ever repay,” Janssen told SDSU NewsCenter. Janssen has been a longtime supporter of SDSU’s Honors College as an adviser on the Honor’s Council, which is comprised of student representatives from each of SDSU’s multidisciplinary honor societies. Janssen’s donation will provide more scholarships for honor students, increase the availability of
Professor Emeritus Henry Janssen.
courtesy of newscenter
student positions on the honors advisory council and create support for honors program faculty members. “One of the things of which I am most proud is my ability to bring together past and present students,” Janssen said. “It is an astonishing network of relationships that is not Henry-dependent … and they will continue to stay connected … to each other as friends, but also to the SDSU bond that ties them together in my absence.”
The bird flu H7N9 that has infected 127 people in China ... has generated fear of an epidemic outbreak.
SANDAG stinks up gas emissions discussion
I
’ve written extensively about the environment this semester. I can’t think of anything more important than ecology—particularly how we impact it. Human activity, such as the recent outbreak of massive wildfires on May 1, increases greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Those emissions disrupt weather cycles and overheat the Earth, resulting in droughts and heat waves that increase fire danger. What we’ve already witnessed could pale in comparison to what is to come. We have a fading chance to minimize calamity. That chance vaporizes when leaders tasked with reducing GHG emissions don’t take it seriously. The San Diego Association of Governments lost a lawsuit filed by the Cleveland National Forest Foundation last December. The San Diego Superior Court ruled SANDAG’s long-range transportation plan failed to reduce long-term GHG emissions. SANDAG stubbornly appealed instead of crafting responsible policies. The environmental doomsday clock ticks in the delay. SANDAG continued on page 7