What to do around SDSU? Read where we’d go on pages 3 through 5.
THE NEWSPAPER OF SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1913
CFA secures tentative agreement MONDAY AUGUST 6, 2012
campus
Allie Bidwell Staff Writer
After two years of bargaining and the threat of a systemwide faculty strike, the California State University system reached a tentative agreement with the faculty union late last month.The California Faculty Association represents more than 23,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches throughout the CSU system. If the contract is ratified, it will run until the end of June 2014 and would include such provisions as a systemwide online evaluation process and a campus-based equity program that targets specific faculty classifications. Before it can go into effect, the contract must be ratified by both the faculty association and the CSU Board of Trustees, which both parties hope to complete at the September trustees meeting. Challenging negotiations during the last two years have spurred strikes and several unsuccessful bargaining sessions. Both California campuses CSU East Bay and CSU Dominguez Hills held oneday strikes last November to protest what they believed were unfair requests from the CSU. Last spring, after a mediator was unable to break the deadlock in negotiations, CFA voted on whether to strike
if mediation and fact-finding did not reach a settlement. However, last month the two sides came to an agreement and a system-wide strike never occurred. “In this extremely challenging budget climate, we are pleased to come to an agreement with the CFA that will allow both parties to move forward and focus on the state’s reinvestment in higher education,” CSU Associate Vice Chancellor for Labor Relations John Swarbrick said. Representatives from the CFA said the agreement is the best possible outcome, given the tough financial situation the university has endured within the last several years. “The CSU faculty persisted at the bargaining table and in public action to assert that a fair contract is fundamental to a quality system of public higher education,” its statement reads. “Faculty members at every campus realized the terms of this contract would affect not only what happens to us but also to our students, to our co-workers and to the people of California who rely on the CSU.” One highlight of the agreement is that salaries and benefits will be maintained for union members. The agreement calls for no salary increases for 2010-11 and 2011-12, but provides opportuni-
VOLUME 98, ISSUE 123
SDSU alumni contribute to ‘Curious’ Mars landing: Read Online!
CSU faculty protest for a fair contract within the California State education system.
antonio zaragoza , editor in chief
ties to reopen negotiations for the following two years, depending on state funding to the CSU. The CFA referred to most terms as “modest gains,” and focused on having contested more severe proposals from the CSU. “We know that other public employee unions are taking pay cuts, losing benefits and enduring many other painful losses,” the CFA statement reads. “While this agreement doesn’t solve everything that we believe is needed, we did fight off management’s attempt to impose pay and benefit cuts during the contract.” The CFA also stated that it gained a number of improvements
to the faculty contract. For example, a joint union-administration committee will track and study the impacts of changes in workload and faculty will have greater flexibility in scheduling parental leave. A joint statement issued by the CSU and the faculty association stated that moving forward, a concern for both parties, should be securing state funding for the CSU system in the November election. The statement claims the parties are hopeful that this agreement will allow the CSU community to shift its attention to critical matters related to increasing revenue to the state and to the CSU.
Affordable care act provides birth control Gun licenses national aren’t enough Jenna de Stefano
opinion
Staff Writer
Last February, law student Sandra Fluke made national headlines when she spoke before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee regarding the lack of accessibility to contraception for women. Fluke rallied for all insurance companies to cover free contraception, as contraception can be too expensive to purchase with the co-pay, even if religiously affiliated employers and institutions object to such coverage. Almost six months later on Aug. 1, the government enacted a plan to cover contraception without charging. The new mandate is part of the Affordable Care Act, which covers birth control, as well as seven other co-pay-free women’s preventive care services. Services include annual well-woman doctor visits, diabetes testing for pregnant women, HPV testing, sexually transmitted disease counseling, breast feeding support and domestic violence counseling. According to a news release by the Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 47
Mike Heral Contributor
MCT Campus
million women are now covered by their health plans and can receive these free services. “Women, not insurance companies, can now make health decisions that will keep them healthy, catch potentially serious conditions at an earlier state, and protect them and their families from crushing medical bills,” the news release stated. However, not all women have access to the free women’s health services yet. Certain religiously affiliated institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church were granted a one-year exemption from providing
David Dixon reviews the Old Globe’s ‘Gods Of Carnage’ on page 2
free contraception, but must provide insurance offering the other health services. The Obama administration plans to find a compromise that will give women the protection they need that also adheres to the Roman Catholic Church’s beliefs. Women who bought or renewed their private insurance plans before Aug. 1 must wait for the services until they can renew their plans again. Although all forms of contraception are covered, the generic forms approved by the Food and Drug Administration will most likely be offered instead of the costly brandname birth control.
The start of school is a time for hope: a successful year, a great roommate, adventures and friendships that’ll stand the test of time. Lately, it’s also become a time to fear you’ll find yourself entangled in a burgeoning web of campuses paralyzed by madmen. Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University, University of Alabama in Huntsville and Oikos University are some of the sites of campus shootings in the last six years. San Diego State made the list on Aug. 15, 1996, when a graduate student opened fire, killing three. James Holmes, the alleged gunman behind the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting spree, could have acted at his University of Colorado campus instead. Students at Georgia Tech, reacting to an epidemic of armed robberies, are fighting back, petitioning state politicians for the right to carry concealed weapons. continued on page BACKPAGE
Autopsy of SAE pres. announced
campus
Jenna De Stefano Staff Writer
After months of speculation since San Diego State’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon president was found dead on April 20, the Medical Examiner’s Office reported the cause of death on Aug. 2 to be an accidental overdose of commonly prescribed medications. According to toxicology tests, SDSU junior Barzeen “B.B.” Barzanji died from acute intoxication from oxycodone and alprazolam, more commonly known as Xanax. The medications are prescribed for pain and anxiety, respectively. Barzanji, a 20-year-old criminal justice major, was discovered unresponsive the morning after attending a party at SDSU’s Phi Kappa Theta fraternity house. Before the tests were released, Barzanji’s family members did not suspect foul play, sayng he may have died from a heart condition he’d had since childhood. Following Barzanji’s death, Phi Kappa Theta was put on interim suspension by Student Life and Leadership while an investigation was conducted. Prior to the release of the toxicology report, the suspension was lifted after it was determined Phi Kappa Theta was not responsible for the events surrounding Barzanji’s death. The details of Barzanji’s death do not change SLL’s conclusion. According to SDSU Media Relations, the SDSU Police Department will continue its investigation with the new information.