AS executive board sworn in Amy Williams staff writer The new Associated Students Executive Council was sworn into office at the semester’s final A.S. meeting on Wednesday along with the new general council members. San Diego State President Elliot Hirshman stopped by to talk to the new leaders. “As we look forward to next year, there’s no question this is a time of challenge in California, but it’s also a time for some opportunity for us,” Hirshman said. “People often say it’s darkest before the dawn, but I like to say at night the stars come out.” The new A.S. Council held its first
meeting for the 2012-2013 year. The Council elected former Rules Committee member Shannon Clark as President pro Tempore and seven Executive Committee members to represent students at large: Sean Guardian, Dara Majdi, Helena McAllister, Paul Contreras, Jon Davidi, Brandon Williams and Virginia Johnson. During the upcoming summer, an A.S. task force led by Matt Cecil, the new Vice President of University Affairs, will work to change the bike lane rules to allow skateboards. Executive Vice President Channelle McNutt started a cultural competency certificate program that can be taken online during the summer. She encouraged all incoming leaders to take it.
Tara Millspaugh staff writer Three photojournalists and one of the journalist’s girlfriends were found slain and dismembered in plastic bags by a canal in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz last Thursday. According to Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, 74 media workers have been slain from 2000 to last year, making Mexico one of the most dangerous coun-
tries for journalists in the world. The discovery of the bodies was only five days after police officials found Regina Martinez’s corpse in her bathroom. Martinez was a drug trafficking correspondent for the national magazine, Proceso. The victims found slain were some of the few Mexican journalists willing to cover crime-related stories in Mexico. Last year, all three victims reportedly received threats against their lives, according to press freedom groups. Most of these threats and murders were unresolved and have left terror among journalists. The fear to report is increasing censorship, and journalists are relying heavily on
(From left to right): O’Keefe, McNutt, Rivera, Anderberg, Cecil. |
outlets such as social media and blogs to report serious crime. Press advocates call for immediate government action. On May 3, dozens of Somali journalists celebrated World Press Freedom Day, immediately after discovering the death of a fifth Somali journalist this year. Representatives spoke about the importance of journalists’ safety in conflict zones. “Countless others face intimidation, harassment and censorship at the hands of governments, corporations and powerful individuals seeking to preserve their power or hide wrongdoings and misdeeds,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.
Grad tickets cause stir Tara Millspaugh staff writer College graduation is one of the greatest accomplishments in life. Unfortunately, the number of tickets given to each student varies, so oftentimes every family member may not be able to attend the momentous ceremony. San Diego State graduation ticket allotment depends entirely on which college the student is graduating from. For example, the College of Arts & Letters graduates received six tickets each, while each College of Engineering student received 12. Therefore, the ticket disbursement depends entirely on how many students applied to graduate from each college. “I’m graduating from the professional studies and fine arts college so I only received six tickets. I think having even just two extra tickets would have been great so I didn’t have to be so selective with my guests,” criminal justice senior Kelley Vallecillo said. Currently on Craigslist there are SDSU students selling commencement tickets ranging from $5 to $50 each. There have been fliers around campus of students asking for more tickets. For graduate students, it is slightly easier to obtain the desired amount of tickets. Var Cummings, a
Volume 97, Issue 116 W W W.T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M
facebook.com/dailyaztec twitter: thedailyaztec
COURTESY OF CODY BARBO
F E AT U R E S
Capsule offers a private and personal social media experience
SDSU students question distribution of graduation tickets among colleges. | THINKSTOCK
all the coordinators of the colleges and when issues arose, graduation ticket allotment was not one of them. “It is not up to the commencement coordinators to determine the number of tickets students receive. It depends entirely on how many graduates are from each college. Students will have the opportunity to pick up extra tickets soon,” Jacobs said. SDSU is a large university, and has a limited amount of space inside Viejas Arena. Beginning next Monday, students will be able to wait in line and obtain two more tickets, from their respective colleges until all seats are filled.
2
C R I M E B E AT Male harasses hospital patients A tan, bald white male was reported to have been inappropriately touching patients from Alvarado Hospital in a parking lot close to Alvarado Road. The subject, who was last seen in the parking lot, was also reported to have been repeatedly approaching women at the location. When police arrived at the scene, they were unable to locate the subject. Trespassing in Tenochca Two male subjects were seen breaking into a room in Tenochca Residence Hall at 8:24 p.m on Thursday, April 26. During their attempted break-in, they removed the screen to gain access through the window. Police conducted a field interview after the incident was reported, but no arrests were made. Intoxicated student gets arrested Five subjects were seen lying unconscious in the side yard of a house at 1:26 a.m last Saturday on Lindo Paseo Avenue. After police made contact, they arrested SDSU student Raul Sierra for presumably challenging someone to a fight, being intoxicated in public, disturbing the peace and obstructing an officer from their duties. Sierra was transported to jail.
graduate student from the College of Education, received 10 tickets. “Surprisingly there are several graduate students who opt not to participate in the ceremony, or don’t have as many family members attending as undergrads. Plus it’s our second or third time doing this thing, we’re kind of over all of the hoopla,” Cummings said. According to Cummings, he had a classmate who only needed two of her tickets and gave the rest to him free of charge. SDSU Manager of Media Relations, Gina Jacobs, said that there was a commencement meeting held with
May 7, 2012
INDEX:
Journalists found dead Photojournalists’ bodies discovered in Veracruz canal
MONDAY
SCAN CODE FOR MOBILE CONTENT
SDSU’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT N E W S PA P E R SINCE 1913
Strong Arm Robbery Police reported at approximately 3:30 on Saturday morning that two females walking on 55th street were victims of strong-arm robbery, resulting in their cell phones being stolen. Reportedly, the two victims were approached on the street by two African-American males who told the two females to surrender their cell phones. One of the suspects lifted up his shirt to imply he was carrying a handgun, although no weapon was reported being seen. One victim handed over her phone, the other refused. One of the suspects snatched it from her hand, at which point the two males fled down 55th Street toward Montezuma Road.
—Compiled by Senior Staff Writer Ana Ceballos
OPINION Kenneth Leonard writes about Junior Seau’s only flaw — his pure selflessness.
5 6
SPORTS
“After that saga, the idea of feelings and relationships seemed bleak. I had no interest in getting back on the wagon.” B A C K PA G E
8
W E AT H E R : PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH: 73 LOW: 56 SUNSET: 7:35PM