09-05-2012

HOW TO FIT IN WITH A HOST FAMILY WHEN TRAVELING ABROAD: P6

THE NEWSPAPER OF SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1913 VOLUME 99, ISSUE 7

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

CFA and CSU come to an agreement

campus

antonio zaragoza , editor in chief

Members of the California Faulty Association rally against budget cuts at San Diego State.

Tara Millspaugh News Editor

The California Faculty Association, comprised of 23,000 faculty and staff of the California State University system, voted on a contract agreement with CSU management.

The contract negotiation has been ongoing for two years.

The voting period was open to all CFA members from Aug. 13

through Aug. 30th and resulted in 91 percent in favor of ratification.

The contract comes as a sigh of relief to CSU campuses and students. CFA members voted in May if a tentative agreement was not reached in the fall, faculty members from 23 CSU campuses would go on strike, which would have been the largest strike among faculty in the United States.

Although the contract does

not include all the CFA members have requested, the contract agreement is still regarded as a victory.

San Diego State Associate Professor of Africana Studies and SDSU CFA Chapter President Charles Toombs said professors should be proud of the new contract.

“CFA is victorious because we did fight back. In the settlement, we protect lecture rights, limit

Go-kart drivers get breathalyzed

campus

Stephanie Schauer Staff Writer

Last Saturday night, students enjoyed free Las Vegas-style entertainment in G Lot behind Cuicacalli suites at Monte Carlo, the sixth Aztec Nights event of the semester. Entertainment included a hypnotist show, “mock” gambling, mocktails and music provided by a disc jockey; however, the main attraction of the evening was the go-kart race.

Students lined up before the event was scheduled, eager to take a spin around the track. Before they could sit in the driver’s seat, drivers had to first pass the breathalyzer test given by Peer Health Educators.

A portable digital breathalyzer system determined blood alcohol concentration levels. To keep the process sanitary, disposable breathing tubes were utilized.

Each person exhaled into the tube for five to seven seconds to determine if he or she had consumed alcohol prior to standing in line.

San Diego State junior Sarah Braudaway supported the precaution for safety reasons.

“I’m a driver, so I don’t want to be out there driving on the roads and run into that one drunk guy

the role of the president and we take back our rights,” Toombs said.

The contract, which will be enacted through June 2014, has no salary increases for the previous and current academic years. But there is still potential in the following two years to renegotiate salary and benefits.

“In any negotiation, no side gets exactly everything their way, but it’s the best we could do under economic circumstances,” Toombs said.

The CFA’s new task is the proposition voting that will occur on Nov. 6. CSU Board of Trustees endorsed Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 tax initiative and is encouraging all students and staff to vote in favor. The tax initiative aims to ration state funding for the CSU and potentially roll back fees for students.

In contrast, according to a CFA press release, the association hopes to defeat Proposition 32, which is the “Paycheck Protection” initiative. CFA fears if Prop. 32 passes, CFA and other labor unions will lose their rights and contract negotiations would not be possible to implement.

“In no way does this contract solve all the problems our university, our faculty and our students face to get the CSU back on track,” CFA President Lillian Taiz stated in the release. “But it is a necessary step at this moment and in ratifying this contract, our members are taking a stand for quality, accessible, affordable public higher education.”

U-T’s biased rankings are shameful opinion

Leonardo Castaneda Opinion Editor

Students attending the Monte Carlo night get breathalyzed prior to rideing the go-karts in the event.

who’s gonna crash into me and all my friends,” she said.

Economics freshman Trevor Christiansen agreed.

“When you’re operating a vehicle, you shouldn’t be under the influence,” Christiansen said.

“That’s just basically for the safety of other people more and yourself.”

Giving drivers breathalyzer tests prior to getting in a go-kart was not to notify police of violators, but to bring awareness to a broader issue.

“This isn’t punitive, so basically we [gave] them the implica-

Stephanie

shcauer , staff writer

tions of drinking and driving and what that would be for them,” SDSU PHE Beth Preciado said.

If students’ BAC levels were at 0.01 percent or more, they had to wait an hour for each point before they could drive.

SDSU police officers were on stand by for the duration of the event, which lasted from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m.

Aztec Nights events have become an SDSU tradition since 2008 to provide an alternative safe weekend for students in lieu of off-campus festivities.

No one would enjoy sunny days without rainy ones, and no one would appreciate thoughtful newspaper editorials without U-T San Diego.

The latest example of “Papa” Doug Manchester’s soapbox journalism was a list of who the U-T believed were the best and worst presidents in American history.

This bizarre example of a newspaper judging history rather than reporting was clearly nothing more than a partisan push for the ultra-conservative politics the U-T seems to have recently espoused. This pseudo-historical analysis included a few obvious choices to maintain the aura of historical impartiality. It was also preceded by a reader’s poll for a dash of populism.

Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin D. U-T continued on page 4

Green Line takes you to Downtown local

monica linzmeier , staff photogr apher

Monica Linzmeier Contributor

The San Diego Trolley network routes changed last Sunday.

The new upgrade, dubbed The Renewal Project, includes direct trips to downtown on all lines. Additionally, downtown trolley stops now include the San Diego Convention Center and the Gaslamp District.

According to the Metropolitan Transit System website, the Green Line, which runs right through San Diego State, will continue directly to the downtown area, extending to the usual stop in Old Town to 12th street and Imperial Avenue.

Now, SDSU students have direct access to bars, shopping centers and restaurants in the Gaslamp District. Television, film and media senior Sarah Malone, said, the direct connection on the trolley line should make it easier for those who wish to drink and have a safe reliable ride home.

“I am so excited that the trolley is going to be going to downtown. Now, I will be able to explore more of San Diego,” Malone said.

This is one of the many changes implemented by the SDMTS. The upgrade not only changes the trolley routes, but affects platforms, trolley cars, overhead electric wire and seating. The total amount of upgrades for the project will cost approximately $720 million and will be completed by 2015.

The MTS also invested $3.2 million toward increasing bus services and in many cases, changing the schedules so they correspond with trolley times to reduce the wait times and traffic aboard popular routes.

According to a MTS press release, these changes “will make traveling more convenient and relieve crowding on some of its busiest routes.”

With more than 275,000 passenger trips taken daily, these changes should help those who want to explore San Diego, as well as those who travel via public transportation on a regular basis.

MTS trolley and bus passes start at $2.50 for a one-way pass and $5 for a regional day pass. There is no mention about a change in fare prices resulting from the upgrades.

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News

Wednesday September 5, 2012 The Daily Aztec

THE DAILY AZTEC NEEDS YOU! CONTACT LEO CASTANEDA AT OPINION@ THE DAILYAZTEC. COM

Food cost rises again Fong’s bill requires CSU fee transparency

world

state Fongsaid in a statement. “This bill allows the state and both the Staff Writer UC and CSU an opportunity to California’s public universities be transparent and accountable could be required to wait for as it relates to the need for and student input before implementing uses of student fees.” fee increases if Gov. Jerry Brown However, one provision in the signs a bill passed by the state bill states if California’s higher legislature. education institutions receive

AB 970, which would an additional midyear budget establish the Working Families cut, the bill would only require Student Fee Transparency and student consultation 30 days prior Accountability Act, would require to instituting the proposed fee the California increases.

S t a t e “ T h e University dramatic Board of t u i t i o n The dramatic tuition Tr u s t e e s reases increases ... prices out iatn cthe to consult CSU many students who students six over the past months before don’t know how much few years implementing not only they’ll be paying from fee increase. make it more one year to the next.

It would difficult for also require students and David Allison the board families to President of CSSA to provide a plan their justification budgets, it for the increase, as well as efforts prices out many students who to mitigate impacts of fees to don’t know how much they’ll students with financial need. be paying from one year to the “This act establishes a statewide next,” Chinese Students and student fee policy that will Scholars Association President improve communication between David Allison said. “AB 970 … the UC and CSU, students, the gives students and their families public and the Legislature to more time to plan before a tuition ensure that student fee increases increase is implemented, thus are discussed in an open and making it easier for students to public forum,” Assembly member complete their degree.” and co-author of the bill Paul

Allie Bidwell

Fruits at the local grocery store experience a hike in pricing.

Ilgin Karlidag Staff Writer

Global food prices rose 10 percent in July because of severe droughts in both the U.S. and Eastern Europe, threatening the world’s poor, according to the World Bank Group’s latest Food Price Watch report.

“Food prices rose again sharply, threatening the health and wellbeing of millions of people,” World Bank Group’s President Yim Yong Kim said. “Africa and the Middle East are particularly vulnerable, but so are people in other countries where the prices of grains have gone up abruptly,” Maiz, which is most largely exported by the U.S., and wheat prices rose by a record-high percentage from June to July, caused by damages to summer

paige nelson, photo editor

crops after a severe drought.

A contributing factor to the rise in U.S. prices is its use in producing ethanol biofuel, which represents 40 percent of U.S. corn production.

According to the Food Price Watch report, “prices are expected to remain high and volatile in the long-run as a consequence of increasing supply uncertainties, higher demand from a growing population on the low responsiveness of the food system.

“We cannot allow these historic price hikes to turn into a lifetime of perils as families take their children out of school and eat less nutritious food to compensate for the high prices,” Kim said.

MBAC is a multi-award winner A.S. gives free pizza and t-shirts to texters

local

campus

Students who texted A.S. last week picked up their T-shirts and free pizza.

Monica Linzmeier Staff Writer A View of the Mission Bay Aquatic Center, the world’s largest instructional waterfront facility.

Ethan Orenstein Staff Writer

Mission Bay Aquatic Center continues to earn accolades as one of San Diego’s best locations for water activities, classes and events.

Aside from the variety of classes offered, it is considered the world’s largest instructional waterfront facility, according to the MBAC website.

“We’re happy to be recognized as one of the top water sports facilities in San Diego,” programs manager Kevin Waldick said.

In San Diego Magazine’s “Best of San Diego 2012” issue in August,

MBAC was awarded two “Best Stuff to Do” categories. Its stand up paddle yoga and fitness classes were also named the best multi-tasking exercises. Additionally, MBAC is also considered one of the best party places for a range of private events such as birthday parties or a moonlit cruise on the bay.

In addition to the recognition the center has received throughout the years, MBAC Director Glen Brandenburg was recently recognized with a SANDEE Outstanding Individual Achievement Award by the California Center for Sustainable Energy. Because of this, the center is the first San Diego business to

mct campus

satisfy 100 percent of its electrical needs, mainly because of upgrades like the 44kW solarvoltaic power system installation, according to the MBAC June Newsletter.

MBAC also finished second out of 20 in the best water activities category on the San Diego A-List after results were announced Aug. 27. MBAC also won in both 2010 and 2011, when the category for best water activities was introduced.

New students experienced all aspects of the MBAC when it hosted SDSU Day at the Bay on Aug. 26.

Attendes met their new classmates while kayaking, SUP boarding and playing beach volleyball.

Tara Millspaugh News Editor

The San Diego State Alumni Association created a way to increase school pride, by giving away free Tshirts reading “Aztec for Life.”

The SDSU Alumni Association is comprised of more than 8,000 duepaying alumni. Its mission statement is to “build a lifetime relationship between alumni and the university.”

“We took on the challenge of student engagement, the overarching theme of our plan this year,” Associate Director of the SDSU Alumni Association Tammy Blackburn said. “The SDSU Alumni Association, we are partnering with groups and organizations on campus to make sure that the student

monica linzmeier , staff photographer

experience is really what they expect it to be and what SDSU deserves it to be.”

The Alumni Association set up a texting service for students. Students who texted the number “74499” last week received a text this morning telling them to pick up their “Aztec for Life” T-shirt and free pizza.

As SDSU freshman Danica Nuestro lined up to receive her free goodies, she eagerly awaited more texts from the Alumni Association.

“The Alumni Association still has events going on and you get one or two texts a month saying “Free Pizza,” or “Free Ice Cream,” Nuestro said.

Students and staff still interested in receiving a free shirt should text “74499.”

“This whole effort is just part of bringing a sense of Aztec pride to the students,” Blackburn said.

OPINION

Wednesday September 5, 2012 the daily aztec

3

Business ethics are the key to preventing future crises

L

eaving my Philosophy 101 class, I overheard a classmate bemoan the philosophical nature of the class. Clearly he didn’t think it through before enrolling.

He sighed, saying he had little desire to help solve life’s vexing riddles—an understandable sentiment coming from a young adult. However, one day his chrysalis stage will end and he’ll burst into society as an entrepreneurial butterfly charged with leading our troubled country into the middle of the 21st century.

If he can’t grasp philosophy he, must at least study civic ethics, even if it has to be waterboarded into him. Lucky for him, all anyone needs to know about civic ethics is the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This rule hasn’t been practiced in the business world since Christ walked the earth in his Birkenstocks. Now shady business practices are holding back our economic recovery.

This generation can change the direction. You can reintroduce civility to the business world. The steps are simple: businesses must pay the taxes they owe, bank stateside and treat employees like precious resources by paying fair wages and resisting the urge to outsource their jobs. Don’t worry—if you follow these rules, you can still become rich.

Iraq’s oil fields are back in play and contributing to an oil surplus.

Yet somehow, American consumers keep paying more for gasoline. The political blog ThinkProgress.org reports the top five oil companies earned a record $62.2 billion in last year, “more than what 96 percent of American households [combined] earn in an entire year.”

Pricing gas well above cost allows Big Oil to bathe in record profits year after year. Price gouging is illegal in times of weather-related

Mike Heral Staff Writer

disasters, but Congress won’t lift a finger when the sun is shining bright in the sky. There’s no reason, other than naked greed, for Big Oil to continually place the economy on the cusp of back-to-back recessions.

It’s too busy manipulating the stock market and lobbying politicians to notice or care.

Big Oil isn’t the only unscrupulous player in the business world.

Bailed out financial institutions happily continue their irresponsible ways. The Johnson Report reports top executive’s are expected to receive a 10 percent increase in bonuses, even as millions of Americans languish in unemployment offices. It’s inexcusable for CEOs to take lofty bonuses while America’s lower class is growing, especially because these top executives are to blame. Shrinking employee wages, union busting, layoffs and job outsourcing are the barbarous tools corporate America uses to kill the middle class.

Don’t take my word for it; take theirs. A recent Pew Research Center poll discovered 52 percent of responders in the upper economic classes don’t believe upper-income Americans pay enough taxes. From the upper class, 62 percent say they’re better off now than they were 10 years ago.

So called “job creators” receive a lot of credit, and they should.

America survives because of their ingenuity and hard work. Entrepreneurs deserve to reap what they sow given the financial risk incurred when starting a business. The harvest is poisoned when the cost of doing business shackles employees to a life of despair. The U.S. taxes cigarettes because of its expensive health costs for smokers. Then why not penalize employers when they

mct campus

purposely underpay employees or ship jobs overseas? Paying low wages places a burden on government and taxpayers similar to the cancer that comes from cigarettes.

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin famously renounced his U.S. citizenship to dodge paying taxes. His zeal to avoid paying his fair share is common among his peers. Through offshore bank accounts, more than $21 trillion in worldwide business assets is kept

hidden from American tax collectors. Factor in a 20 percent tax rate and $21 trillion means $4.2 trillion in unpaid taxes. Imagine how much good could be accomplished if this wealth wasn’t hidden by people with more money than they could spend in a lifetime.

Students must jump through hoops proving residency to pay in-state tuition, but businesses can move financial accounts and employees overseas and still be con-

sidered residents, receiving massive tax breaks. Businesses wanting to enjoy the cost-saving benefits of outsourcing and banking offshore must be treated as foreign companies. Otherwise, companies using American labor and abovethe-board accounting practices are punished.

Responsible business practice should not be the exception; it ought to be the rule. Besides, it’s easier than studying Plato.

Don’t watch absurd Obama film

I

am not a huge fan of President Barack Obama. He is a flawed man with a flawed presidency and there are several ways in which he could be performing more effectively. Conservative strategists should focus on the real decisions and policies the president is responsible for as they prepare the final stages of Mitt Romney’s campaign, educating and energizing voters as Election Day draws nigh. Unfortunately, instead of an educated conservative base, I keep running into people who want to talk about the latest propaganda piece masquerading as a documentary, titled “2016: Obama’s America.”

Conservative Dinesh D’Souza, whose book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage” served as a template for this film, guides viewers through a hysterical and speculative tour of Obama’s alleged psyche.

Obama has worn many labels throughout the last few years. He’s been painted as a socialist, Marxist, radical, Kenyan-born and a Muslim-in-sheep’s clothing by frantic right-wingers who claim to know who the president really is. Much speculation has been made regarding the true identity of the president.

This film blatantly aims to capitalize on speculation into Obama’s true identity. The tagline for the film is, “Love him, hate him. You don’t know him.” Fortunately for us,

Kenneth Leonard Staff Columnist

D’Souza knows the Barack Obama and he’s chosen to share his insight.

We know D’Souza has intimate knowledge of Obama’s character because of the amount of time he has spent with the president, by which I mean absolutely none. He’s never spoken to him.

D’Souza alludes to possession of a deep understanding of Obama because they share some characteristics. They are nearly the same age.

They are both members of minority communities. They both attended Ivy League schools. These are serious comparisons made in the movie.

D’Souza’s expertise relies heavily on Obama’s book, “Dreams From My Father.” D’Souza heavy-handedly points out said dreams aren’t “of” Obama’s father, but “from” his father. This meaningless semantic distinction is supposed to convince the audience Obama’s dreams are synonymous with his father’s ideologies, which requires a nearly superhuman leap to conclusions. As Bill Maher asserted during an interview with D’Souza last Saturday, if we are to assume political leaders share the ideological leanings of their ancestors, it’s safe to assume Romney only wants to be president so he can have polygamous relationships the way his grandfather did.

This type of assertion is ridiculous and making claims of this nature takes away from constructive political dialogue. It would be analogous to claim Obama is sympathetic to Muslim extremists and jihadists because he has Muslim relatives, which is portrayed in this film.

Without delving into D’Souza’s truly insane conjectures, it is worth touching on one point of the film.

The word “anti-colonialism” is repeatedly used in D’Souza’s narrative without much explanation.

It is clearly used in a negative way and the ideology of anti-colonialism is alleged to be something Obama inherited from his father, a socialist, economist and activist in Africa.

What is anti-colonialism, anyway? If the president is anti-colonialist, should he be demonized for this ideology? According to D’Souza, colonialism is “a system of piracy in which the wealth of the colonized countries is systematically stolen by the colonizers.” To be anti-colonialist, one would have to oppose a system wherein the wealth of colonies is being taken away by colonizers.

Dear reader, I am thinking of a specific document condemning colonialism. It was a radical document, responsible for great controversy and violence. It’s called the Declaration of Independence and it’s phe-

Dinesh D’Souza (left) talks with President Barack Obama’s half-brother George Obama (right).

nomenal. It’s really anti-colonial.

Is anti-colonialism supposed to be a negative thing? Even if Obama was some kind of hard-core anti-colonialist, who cares? Where are the colonies he’s trying to liberate? Does D’Souza think the conservative base is so dense and lazy they won’t look this stuff up? All it takes is the slightest amount of critical thinking for all of the ridiculous propaganda to become transparent to the point where one wonders if it could all secretly be a brilliant satire. Unfortunately, many people planning to see this movie are dense enough and lazy enough to swallow D’Souza’s infuriatingly misleading pill of a film. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter.

Remember when Michael Moore released a documentary the sum-

courtesy rocky mountain pictures

mer before the 2004 election called “Fahrenheit 9/11?” It made George W. Bush look like the embodiment of evil, but it did nothing to shape the outcome of the election. “2016: Obama’s America” is performing well at the box office, but the vast majority of people who are going to see it are doing so in hopes of reinforcing their presuppositions about the evil Kenyan Muslim who’s trying to destroy America through the clever and diabolical implementation of health care. These are the same people who view Fox News as a reputable news source. The wheels of bias just keep on spinning and the electorate gets seemingly more apathetic and ignorant with every election cycle.

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OPINION

Wednesday September 5, 2012 The Daily Aztec

from U-T page 1

Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt as respectively the first, second and fourth best presidents of alltime are obvious choices. Ronald Reagan as the third best president reveals a clear Republican bias, but it’s still somewhat within mainstream thought. Fifth place is where things started getting interesting. Evidently the U-T’s editorial board couldn’t decide which Bush it loved more, so it left it at a tie with both George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush in fifth place. Let that sink in for a minute. U-T San Diego, the biggest newspaper in the eighth-largest city in America with a circulation of more than 200,000 papers a day, believes presidents Bush Sr. and Jr. are the fifth best presidents in U.S. history. Better than Thomas Jefferson, Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy. Better than Lyndon B. Johnson who signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to end Jim Crow laws and Dwight D. Eisenhower, who built the infrastructure propelling the U.S. to international superpower. According to the U-T Editorial Board, they all pale in comparison to the man that coerced the country into invading Iraq and Afghanistan and left the economy in the worst recession since the Great Depression.

And what about President Barack Obama, the man succeeding Bush Jr.? Where does the U-T rank him in history after more than three years into his presidency? It ranks Obama as

Leonardo Castaneda Opinion Editor

the worst president in history.

Worse than James Buchanan, the man credited for pushing the country into the American Civil War, the bloodiest war in American history. And worse than Andrew Johnson, who allowed Jim Crow laws to be enacted and the only president to actually be impeached. Obama is the worst president of all-time despite keeping General Motors and Chrysler alive, ending the Iraq War, finding and killing Osama bin Laden and averting a collapse of the global financial system.

What scares me about this list is not the U-T embracing such a clear far-right ideology in its editorials. The U-T can say whatever it wants in its opinion pages.

If it believes Bush Jr. was a great president and we should all kiss the ground beneath his hallowed feet, that’s completely within its right. What scares me is the fact a major newspaper published a list of the best and worst presidents that read like a 17-year-old Young Republican’s high school political science class presentation. Of course, that’s also just my opinion, which has no more intrinsic worth than the U-T’s.

I don’t want it to publish a list based on an impartial analysis of history. It already did when it published a C-SPAN survey of historians. Incidentally, this list placed Reagan in 10th place, Bush Sr. in 18th place, and Bush Jr., in 36th place among all-time

presidents. But by presenting the list in a historical context, the U-T seems to be saying it’s not us who believes Obama is a terrible president, it’s an unbiased, historical fact.

The U-T’s editorial list elicited the expected confused and disappointed responses from readers.

In turn, the paper stated it had included Bush Sr. and Jr. in the list to “stimulate community discussion.” Sure, it sounds like a last minute cop-out after the Editorial Board realized its choices hadn’t gone as well as expected.

But there’s no way to know what the paper’s original intentions were when it put together what it called “Our Mount Rushmore.”

If it wanted community discussion, it got it. Not of Bush Sr. and Jr.’s legacy as presidents, but of the degree the paper’s editorials have become Manchester’s loudspeaker. All newspaper editorialists have biases. But to take the owner’s biases to an extreme and then present them as the official position of the newspaper is a disheartening development.

Readers used to expect a Pulitzer prize-winning newspaper, such as the U-T, to hold its editorial board to a higher journalistic standard than blatant partisanship.

Recently, the U-T seems to be busier directing and judging history than actually reporting it. In the end, the only history we’ll see will be the end of a once proud publication as readers flee a paper whose editorial and journalistic integrity can no longer be trusted.

In honor of U-T San Diego’s top five best and worst presidents lists, we here at The Daily Aztec we have compiled our own list. Here is our completely unbiased list of the best TV and movie American presidents of all-time.

President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) in “Independence Day” – This fighter jet-piloting president gave the greatest Fourth of July speech in American history.

President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) in “Air Force One” – No sentence from a U.S. president embodies what this country is about more than “Get off my plane!”

President Merkin Muffley (Peter Sellers) in “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” – Sure, he couldn’t avert nuclear catastrophe, but he took a strong stand regarding fighting in the war room.

President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews) in “Idiocracy” – Although his electrolyte-based economics weren’t exactly successful, he revitalized the Oval Office.

President Lindberg (Tommy “Tiny” Lister Jr.) in “The Fifth Element” – In America, anyone can be president, even Deebo.

Honorable mention: President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) in “24” – No president has asked, “Are you in good hands?” and meant it quite like him.

Students must adopt a better diet for a healthier life long-term health.

Take the Rubios we have on campus, for example. I dare you to try the entrée-sized Balsamic and Roasted Veggie Salad with chicken.

It’s really good. The best part is the entire plate has only 310 calories (with dressing) and is loaded with 20 grams of protein and seven grams of fiber. It’s like the superhero of fast-food salads because it packs so much protein, you’ll stay

Caitlin Johnson Contributor

A

nother semester has begun and if you’re like me, you’re already swamped with assignments, readings, work and everything else that goes with it.

Perhaps you also spend a full day on campus, leaving little-to-no time to sit down and have a decent meal.

With so much on our plates (no pun intended), it is difficult to maintain a healthy diet while balancing school and work. It’s no secret unhealthy meal plans are contributing to the increasing trend of health problems in our country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults in the U.S. are obese. Add our increasingly sedentary lifestyle and it’s no wonder this trend is worsening.

However, I’m a firm believer in the human ability to change and adapt. A little hard work and a lot of discipline may be all it takes to turn this around. It isn’t impossible—difficult, yes, but not impossible—to accommodate a healthy lifestyle. And it isn’t just about losing weight. While it may be your primary goal in the fight to get healthier, weight loss shouldn’t be the only factor you think about.

Certain diets allow the human body to drop weight quickly, but keeping it off is the hard part. We have to be more aware of what we eat. You can exercise all you want, but complementing your hard work with a diet filled with fattening foods but without proteins and vegetables won’t help in the long run.

What can we do to change this?

How can you adhere to the promises you made when fast food is

I’m a firm believer in the human ability to change and adapt.

A little hard work ... may be all it takes.

mct campus

the only option during a busy day?

There is nothing wrong with stopping for a quick bite to eat. But start looking at the healthier options your favorite restaurant has to of-

fer. I promise you, they are there.

In recent years, eating healthy has become a trend companies are marketing to students. Companies see we are making changes to our life-

styles and they are trying to adapt. I guarantee no matter where you find yourself during those 10 minutes of free time you will find something much more sustainable for your

full longer, enabling you to actually pay attention in class. Plenty of other restaurants also offer healthy options. Next time you go to In-N-Out Burger try a protein style burger – they’ll know what you mean. Read the menu and make a smart choice.

If you can’t find something, ask.

There are no excuses. Nutritional guides are accessible anywhere, even on your smartphone (I know you have one). To anyone saying “I don’t have time,” or “It’s not worth it,” quit lying to yourself. It isn’t about how we look as a society, or how others in our society look at us. It’s about taking the first step toward personal health and wellbeing. Who doesn’t want to live a long and fulfilling life? When making a change is so manageable, why wouldn’t you? It’s time for us to turn this around. Humanity has survived much worse than this and I know we can do it again.

ENTERTAINMENT

Wednesday September 5, 2012 the daily aztec

5

Zobel’s unsettling ‘Compliance’ is hard to resist

pass the popcorn

Andrew Younger Senior Staff Writer

It’s been about eight years since national news reported the false imprisonment and sexual assault of a McDonald’s employee under the supervision of her female store manager, at the behest of a prank phone caller. At the time, rampant speculation regarding how otherwise normal adults could be manipulated into committing horrendous acts against a fellow employee soon followed. Because the prank phone caller posed as a police officer, is it a defense to say the store manager was only following orders? Or does it suggest that people willingly commit atrocities if they are relieved of the burden of personal responsibility?

That is the crux of writer-director Craig Zobel’s Milgram experiment “Compliance.” Unfortunately for our society and humanity as a whole, Zobel doesn’t supply any easy answers to these questions.

Based on the aforementioned news story, “Compliance” shifts the setting to a snowy Ohio fast-food restaurant during a Friday night dinner rush.

When an attractive cashier named Becky (Dreama Walker) is accused of stealing from a customer by a prank caller styling himself as Officer Daniels (Pat Healy), middle-aged store manager Sandra (Ann Dowd) is charged with the task of detaining Becky in the office until police arrive.

As blissfully-ignorant customers eat

REVIEW

Dreama Walker stars as ChickWich cashier Becky in Craig Zobel’s tense, psychological film “Compliance.”

SDSU’s fall theater season is diverse sneak peek

David Dixon Staff Writer

The fall semester of performing arts at San Diego State will start in trippy fashion with a new production of William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” In this original rendition, several men and women’s lives intersect when they go to Duke’s Deep Woods, a burlesque/drag club in Arden.

Because the director is Peter Cirino, a man known for his unique vision in past shows including “Lydia” and “The Labyrinth of Desire,” there are bound to be plenty of visual surprises in this staging.

The next show is a musical revue, “I Love A Piano” (The Music of Irving Berlin) and will include plenty of songs from beloved American

their value meals, Daniels issues Sandra tighter and tighter until Becky is only and Becky an ultimatum: either Becky portrayed as a series of objectifying, can be arrested at the restaurant and disjointed close-ups. However, this spend the night in jail or Sandra can conscientiously unpleasant viewing help avoid an unnecessary spectacle experience is necessary to expose by strip-searching her in the office. By what allows rational adults to act creating a false dilemma that brings out against their own morality. What isn’t Becky’s fear of jail and Sandra’s fear of necessary is the epilogue tacked onto corporate involvement, Daniels praises the end of the film that attempts to the employees for their cooperation provide a conclusion via an interview by allowing Sandra to violate Becky between Sandra and a journalist further.

When ( J e f f r e y Daniels compels G r o v e r ) Sandra to bring that doesn’t one male coworker ... [it] devolves into a contribute any after another to repetitious, abhorent real insight into monitor Becky, the character. ... waiting game for “Compliance” By providing devolves into one employee to an outside a repetitious, hang up the phone. perspective abhorrent waiting to the events game for one of the film, employee to possess perhaps Zobel enough moral needed to fortitude to hang up the phone. distance himself from the material Daniels’ ability to shape reality lest he asks the same question the through language lends the film viewer asks: What would I do in this its terrifying power. Once he stops situation? referring to Becky as a suspect and begins calling her a thief, Sandra and her coworkers begin to treat her as a criminal. As Daniels pumps each coworker for details to use against Movie: Compliance one another, he tightens his hold on all of them.

Director: Craig Zobel Meanwhile, Zobel’s documentaryRelease Date: august 31st styled direction gives “Compliance” an immediate, visceral quality that makes (At the Ken cinema) the film all the more difficult to watch.

As Becky’s coworkers increasingly RATING: violate her body, the camera pushes in

composer and lyricist including “Blue Skies,” “How Deep is the Ocean” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”

Last is a family-friendly adaptation of Neverland, “Peter Pan and Wendy” in which characters will be acted out with giant puppets. It will be interesting to see how classic friends and foes of Peter Pan, such as Captain Hook, Tinker Bell and the crocodile, will be portrayed.

The selections of theatrical events for this season are generally lighter than previous years. Hopefully, they will attract large audiences to see some standout performances, hysterical moments and uplifting endings. Let the good vibes begin.

Tickets and information about “As You Like It,” “I Love a Piano” (The Music of Irving Berlin) and “Peter Pan and Wendy” can be found at theatre.sdsu.edu.

courtesy magnolia pictures

Brooke Schlyer

birthdays

Staff Writer

sightings

Tori Haynes Contributor

romance couple alerts:

“The Dark Knight Rises” actress Anne Hathaway and fiancé, Adam Shulman, grabbed lunch in West Hollywood at Real Food Daily on Aug. 28.

From the pictures of the duo’s lunch date, it seems like these two can’t keep their hands off each other. We’re happy to see Hathaway so happy.

“E! News” anchor Giuliana Rancic and husband Bill Rancic happily brought home newborn son Edward Duke to their Chicago home on Aug. 29. The couple opted for a gestational carrier as the couple’s Style Network reality shows “Guiliana and Bill” showed Guiliana’s struggle to carry a child. Guiliana tweeted Aug. 31, “@BillRancic and I couldn’t love little Duke anymore than we do. He’s a dream.” break ups:

On Aug. 31, ESPN reported that tennis player Maria Sharapova and fiancé, former Los Angeles Laker, Sasha Vujacic called off their engagement. The couple was engaged since October of 2010. Sharapova claimed the couple split up last spring.

Rock icon Gwen Stefani stopped by various radio stations this week in Los Angeles including Ryan Seacrest’s show on Aug. 29 to promote No Doubt’s new album “Push and Shove.” The album is highly anticipated, as the band hasn’t put out a new album in more than 11 years.

Right now, Tinseltown’s finest are abroad in Italy for the Venice Film Festival, which started Aug. 29. Some celebrities walking the festival’s red carpet include Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber, Naomi Watts, Zac Efron, Winona Ryder, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Joaquin Phoenix and Ray Liotta.

Former Playboy bunny Holly Madison ran errands around Sin City, where she performs the burlesque “Peepshow” for Planet Hollywood, on Aug. 31 sporting a baby bump. Madison is expecting the baby with boyfriend and chief executive of Insomniac, a party promotion company, Pasquale Rotella.

Congrats to Madison, who has been talking about wanting kids since her days on E!’s TV show “The Girls Next Door.”

P!nk, the ever-popular singer whose legal name is Alecia Beth Moore, was born Sept. 8, 1979 in Doylestown, PA. Adam Sandler, born Sept. 9, 1966 in Brooklyn, NY, becomes even funnier with age.

Colin Firth, whose name can be found on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was born Sept. 10, 1960 in Hampshire, England.

Emmy Rossum made a name for herself as both an accomplished singer and actress. Born Sept. 12, 1986 in New York, the soon-tobe 26-year-old still has so much of her career ahead of her. upcoming work

Jessica Alba is already training at the shooting range for her role in the upcoming “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.” The actionpacked thriller isn’t expected to hit theaters until Oct. 4, 2013, so you still have plenty of time to watch the original “Sin City” if you haven’t already.

Though Josh Hutcherson has plenty going on in the near future with “The Hunger Games” trilogy, the young actor is eager to stay busy with upcoming projects. Be sure to catch him in the suspenseful “Red Dawn,” opening in theaters Nov. 21.

6

FEATURES

Wednesday September 5, 2012 The Daily Aztec

Host family values: How to fit in Racquetball offers & fun fitness alternative

travel

adventure

It’s important to take the time to get to know your host family while studying abroad.

Ashley Williams Staff Writer

The plane landed in San Diego, Anita was located and our entourage made it through the zoo that is an airport under construction. Even with 6,000 miles behind her, the real trek was just getting started.

We Americans in our welcome party were starving, so we stopped at Pokéz to pick up some vegetarian burritos. This is the thing about Spaniards: They aren’t Mexican, they don’t do spicy food and they definitely don’t eat California-sized burritos.

Part of being an exchange student is being open to trying things you aren’t used to and teaching your host family about your culture while they teach you about theirs. Anita, being the model exchange student she is, graciously ate the burrito and set the tone for her trip.

She taught me about the dissimilarities between the way Spaniards and Mexicans speak Spanish, the deep-rooted rivalry

thinkstock

between Barcelona and Madrid and the regional differences in her country. I taught her the phrase “kick back,” how to make s’mores and quesadillas and what lies between San Diego and New York.

While navigating through the early stages of such a relationship, you will find that you may have misconceptions about others and be ignorant to certain aspects of their lives. For example, Anita told me quesadillas and avocados aren’t eaten in Spain.

Who knew?

This provides an interesting opportunity to be the student and teacher. However, it may bring up challenges for the exchange student. While the host family will be enthused about serving their regional specialties, it is also important to incorporate foods the student will enjoy.

From my experiences as an exchange host, I have found the best thing for students traveling abroad is to find a balance between being open to new experiences and being honest

with your host family.

Don’t tell them you love going to museums if you can’t stand them. Don’t tell them you will eat anything if you actually hate seafood and tomatoes. Your family wants to make sure you are having the best time possible, so give them a road map.

The hardest thing for a host family is when you say, “I will do whatever you want to do.” While it may feel like you are being accommodating, it is extremely difficult to make decisions without feedback. If they give you a few options to choose from when picking the day’s activities, give them some input. Everyone will have a better time if you are at least a little bit opinionated.

Though it can be difficult to integrate yourself into a new family, it won’t be long before you pick up on their habits and start to feel comfortable. Careful observation is key to adjusting to a new environment. They will likely eat different foods, eat at different times and work around a different schedule than what you are accustomed to.

Take a few days to get a feel for how things work and do your best to be another member of the family. Tidy up around the house where you can and help yourself to food, as long as that’s appropriate in your host family’s house.

One day I came home from work and Anita had been home alone. She had been here for about three weeks, so she was comfortable roaming the house and I found her out in the pool.

It was nearly dinnertime and when I asked her if she had eaten anything all day, she replied,“I ate some cookies that I had leftover from yesterday.”

As a host, it made me feel like there should be some sort of exchange student protective services and I should have certainly been hauled away for negligence.

More often than not, your host family wants you to help yourself to food and avoid starvation. It is surprisingly difficult to make sure a grown adult has eaten enough for the day, so do your best as an exchange student to take care of yourself when you can and when it’s appropriate.

Living in in a different country with a new family can be daunting, but if you genuinely try to fit in and help your family, you will likely succeed.

A host family is only half of the package; you have to make the effort to make it the best possible experience.

health

& fitness

SDSU students continue a volley during a friendly game of racquetball in Peterson Gym.

Peterson Gym plays host to a great work-out sport

peter kluch, assistant photo editor

are tournaments for beginning, intermediate and advanced levels.

Each player has the ability to move throughout the three skill levels and can challenge another player three spots ahead to replace his or Bridget Chapman her ranking.

Staff Writer The ladder tournament is realistic for students because it With the extensive amount of fitness is a self-run program, meaning options provided by San Diego the players contact one another State’s Aztec Recreation Center, to schedule matches around their racquetball may be overlooked as availability. At the end of the one of the prime amenities. It is a semester, winners receive prizes sport that requires quick feet and a consisting of racquetball gear. knack for avoiding wall collisions. According to Slaught, the first place Enclosed by four walls, each winner of the previous tournament player uses a short-handled racket was awarded a high-end sport bag to hit a small rubber ball. Unlike and a $200 racket. other racket sports, this one does After learning about the not involve a net and the walls, accessibility of these courts, I floor and ceiling are fair playing decided to take a friend and play surfaces. a game for myself. The fast-paced Located in Peterson Gym, the nature of the game was quite six courts are a short walk across enjoyable and a great way to the street from the ARC. An ARC accelerate my heart rate. Before membership covers the cost for 15 minutes had passed we were rackets, balls and goggles. breaking a sweat.

ARC Racquetball Lead and The entire game felt like Ladder Supervisor Hayden Slaught a combination of tennis and believes the sport is a legitimate dodgeball with never-ending workout. “It’s intensity. Once one of the we adapted, we best cardio went through a w o r k o u t s The entire game felt slow transition you can get,” from laughing at Slaught said. like a combination of our coordination “Be prepared tennis and dodgeball flaws to focusing to sweat a lot with never-ending on the correct because it’s execution of our intensity. hard.” hits. We were Racquetball quick to decide consists of we need to play quick lateral more often. movements and back-and-forward When we stepped into the movements, which are ideal for hallway to take a much needed anyone looking to increase overall water break, I couldn’t help but speed. notice a young man in the room Because of its differences from next to us demonstrating great other sports, Slaught advises expertise playing a game of his participants to review the rules own. prior to play. Rules can be found I found out this skilled racquetball online and are posted throughout player was SDSU freshman Daniel the facility for the players’ Fregoso. He discussed his love for convenience. the sport during his high school If there is any confusion years in Calexico and relishes the reguarding the regulations of the game because “it’s fun, fast, and sport, Slaught is happy to explain good exercise.” the game.

For anyone interested in Reservations for a court are becoming a racquetball enthusiast, not required, but are accepted Fregoso recommends to “practice for same-day play.

Slaught and not get hit by the ball.” I can recommends reserving a court personally adhere to these pieces because throughout the past of advice after my first experience few weeks, the courts have been with the game. booked.

Registration for the ladder Ladder tournaments run tournament is available on the throughout the semester and ARC’s website. are open to everyone. There

FEATURES

Wednesday September 5, 2012 the daily aztec

7

Lefty’s Pizza delivers Chi-town flavor to San Diego a corner shop stop

Laurel Vozely Staff Writer

In a world full of $5 pizzas and three-topping options, it is fair to ask: Have we forgotten how pizza is supposed to taste?

Lefty’s Chicago Pizzeria, nestled on 30th Street in the ever-trendy community of North Park, might refresh your memory. The economic downturn forced many mom-andpop shops to bid farewell to San Diego. Fortunately, Lefty’s stands strong, just blocks away from Morley Field and popular local bars such as Bar Pink, True North Tavern and Ritual Tavern.

Retro baseball caps and vintage photos adorn the walls, providing a glimpse into Chicago culture. Stool seating and counter ordering is reminiscent of typical big city pizza shops common to the windy city.

It is evident the owners of Lefty’s are devoted to taste and tradition.

This shop is warm, inviting and indicative of the hard work that went into its establishment. As a San Diegan who rarely frequents the East Coast, it is a great experience to taste Chicagoan cuisine without hopping on a plane.

Lefty’s menu is extensive enough to please the starved college student as well as the light lunch eater. Options include standard Italian items such as pizza and pasta, in addition to salads, sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers and tempting appetizers.

According to Lefty’s staff, the most popular items on the menu are the deep-dish pizzas and the classic

Lefty’s signiture deep dish Chicago style pizzas are a big hit in North Park. SDSU pizza lovers have reason to salivate as well.

Italian beef. Although Lefty’s is famous for its deep dish, its thin crust is not far behind. Can’t wait the five minutes it takes to get that slice?

Check out the aptly named loaded fries that include blue cheese, sour cream and scallions.

Think authentic ball game cuisine. Any Chicago Cubs fans?

WARNING: While the 15 or so toppings listed on the chalkboard inside will instantly impress, they are only available for whole pies.

It was disappointing to find single slice selections were limited to the few combinations displayed.

The casual nature of Lefty’s is re-

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flected in its prices. A pizza slice will run you about $2 or $3, hot dogs and Polish dogs average $5, burgers cost about $9 and the remaining items fall within this range. As usual, beverages always seem to launch total meal cost. However, thorough selection of convenience beverages include canned sodas, bottled teas and the more luxurious pinot grigio, which allows customers to decide what kind of visit they want to make it.

Where to sit?

dustin michelson, senior staff photographer

Unfortunately, seating is limited inside, but there are a few tables right outside the door, which are ideal if you have the time and interest to sit down, enjoy a meal and the neighborhood.

The deep dish pizza toppings available on this particular Tuesday evening were spinach and onions.

Yet, the secret (delicious) weapon is the melted mozzarella cheese. The layering of toppings was very creative with mozzarella being the first and marina sauce and tomatoes on

the very top, enclosing the spinach and onion.

The thin crust toppings included bell peppers, onion, chicken and jalapeño. Finally! Vegetable alternatives to the traditional olive and bell pepper! Load a few on a pie to get your recommended daily serving.

One patron remarked, “This pizza’s got everything. You’ve got the spice, you’ve got the crunch, you’ve got the veggies.” Agreed, sir.

Mom-and-pop shops are the heart of any city. They contribute depth, tradition and make us feel at home.

If the walls of Lefty’s could speak, they would describe the regulars who keep coming back, the families who’re able to have an inexpensive night out, the couples who share a laugh and the delicious aromas they can’t get enough of.

Lefty’s is a diamond in the rough of commercialized, San Diego pizza joints. Of course, it’s hard to beat $5, but maybe it’s time to keep quality in mind and frequent local, family-operated businesses instead.

See you at Lefty’s!

www.leftyspizza.com

(619)-295-1720 3448 30th Street San Diego, CA

8

Backpage

Wednesday September 5, 2012 The Daily Aztec

On the midnight train to China humor

Mason Schoen

T

Staff Writer

welve hours into the 40hour train ride, I promised myself one small justice: the little girl who sat facing me, crowding the foldaway table with her fat head and gelatinized chicken-feet packages, would pay for her very existence.

First I’d have to hatch a plan.

Convincing everyone in the overpacked car to be complicit in her murder was easy enough—after all, this was China. How she’d survived this long was anyone’s guess. The real joy came in figuring out how we’d dispose of her.

That would take some hard consideration.

My best friend Justin convinced me to travel China during the summer with him, and it seemed like a great bargain. All I had to do was pay for my flight and living expenses. He spoke Mandarin fluently, so getting around should’ve been easy. In my mind, I saw our trip as an experience to grow. I looked forward to the future me, coming home with a worldly sophistication women would undoubtedly find intoxicating. “So tell me again about those, what’d you call them, ‘Third-world toilets.’”

Surely this trip would be worth the money, buying me the perks of a Peace Corps stint without heady pretentiousness. “You need the authentic Chinese experience,” Justin said before we bought our train tickets from Xiamen, a southeastern island, to Kunming, a southwestern city-hub. I fantasized about what an authentic Chinese experience would be like,

and although a train ride never factored into my daydreams of tiger-wrestling and cart-wheeling down the Great Wall, sitting on a train watching farmland whip past sounded whimsical.

But when we went to buy tickets, the tired woman behind the window told us all the sleeper cars were sold-out.

“No problem,” Justin assured me. “We’ll buy a seated ticket. At least we won’t have to stand. It’ll be an adventure.”

Now, as I looked at our reflections in the darkening windowpane, I saw us for what we really were: a couple of foreign idiots.

I tried to drift off to sleep, but the little girl across from me kept stretching her legs and clumsily smashed her pointed shoes directly into my already crowded shins.

These were not graceful movements and her choice of footwear didn’t help with my annoyance, which quickly manifested itself into a healthy anger. Who allowed a 9-year-old to wear highheels in public anyway? Her ugly father, that’s who. The man who sat next to her and concentrated on keeping his daughter entertained. He was a good and patient man, which disgusted me further. She didn’t deserve him. He should’ve been playing cards with me, laughing together in friendly competition.

As the night wore on, I struggled with strange half-dreams, in which I was the lone spectator at this little girl’s tap dancing spectacular. I made the mistake

of sitting in the front row and now had to suffer as she flailed her legs, as though she’d been sitting wrong for too long and was attempting to shake the numbness from her boneless limbs.

By the 30th hour, I kicked back. I wanted to go home, I wanted to be off this train, away from its aisles so packed with people it took five minutes to walk the 20 rows to the bathroom. For the first time since fifth-grade summer camp, I wanted to go home. That’s when I realized “home” wasn’t some metaphorically centeredstate-of-being. No. Home was very much a physical place.

But maybe home was where this little girl was headed, along with her her loving father. A place filled with adorably small stilettos she’d outgrown throughout the years and a corkboard lined with old train tickets and photographs.

The realization flooded me with a sense of relief and understanding. These people were heading toward the same place I was, or heading away from it, but either way, we were all stuck in transit together, not knowing where we’d end up or exactly when.

I began to fall asleep to that thought, smiling at my epiphany. When she kicked me again, my newfound acceptance flew out the window. Instead, I simply dreamed of throwing her out after it and sleeping to the endless applause of a slightly less-crowded train car.

HOROSCOPE

by Nancy Black, Tribune Media Services

Today’s Birthday (9/5/12) - This year is perfect to clear out clutter and focus on fundamentals. Your creativity and influence grow at work, and so does your bank account with careful planning. A research quest arises around October and could involve siblings or cousins.

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 a 5 - Your actions speak louder than words, especially now. It may require more concentration and effort, but it’s worth it.

You’ll get more for your money. Stash away savings.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20) - Today is a 7 - Patience helps getting things done. It’s easier to motivate and inspire. Love finds a way.

Failures can accelerate growth faster than successes; they illustrate the road to avoid.

Gemini (May 21 - June 21) - Today is a 5 - Knowing what you want and expressing it clearly is a plus. If at first you don’t succeed, try again later. Apply what you have learned.

It will be easier the second time.

Cancer (June 22 - July 22) - Today is a 6 - When in trouble, use the pen, not the sword, to be mightier. Calculate risks. You have more abundance than you realize. Put your subconscious to work on it.

Leo (July 23 - Aug. 22) - Today is a 6 - Get into the competition to win, but don’t be attached to results. In the end you’ll have a great story and hopefully have a blast. Write it down.

Virgo (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22) - Today is a 6 - Find the perfect thing in your own closets or by networking. Then step out of your comfort zone and go for it. Show others what you’re capable of.

Libra (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) - Today is a 5 - Other people may melt down emotionally.

Don’t put up a fight. Listening is most important now. Take it easy and don’t touch your savings. You see the light.

Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) - Today is a 6 - Quick thinking solves a household problem.

Friends make the connection. Your holdings are gaining value. Revise plans, and get your finances in line. Gather info to reap rewards.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) - Today is a 5 - Solve a puzzle at home. Improve household communications with a new tool to get the word out. Think fast, and work faster. Postpone a decision to savor a moment.

Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) - Today is a 7 - Everything seems possible. Talk it over.

Some things may have to be left behind.

Success is your reward. Increase your family’s comfort. Discuss; don’t argue. You’re gaining wisdom.

Aquarius (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) - Today is a 7 - More work is required. Learn from your competition and a trusted partner. Decide what to spend and what to save. Give your word and follow through.

Pisces (Feb. 19 - March 20) - Today is a 6 - Discuss a work project with an expert for a solution to an annoying problem. Invest in educational material you’ll use at home.

Expand your influence. You are triumphant. ©2012, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES INC.

SUDOKU

by The Mepham Group, Tribune Media Services

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.

looking through our lens

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

Senior Staff Photographer Dustin Michelson captured a surfer walking in the distance as the sun set at Black’s Beach.

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ACROSS 1 Home to the Ibsen Museum 5 Online auction payment, say 10 Animation 14 Part of a Clue guess 15 Salsa holder 16 Political pal 17 *Saw 19 1997 Peter Fonda role 20 Like some stadiums 21 Drove (on) 22 *Head 26 Like prison windows 30 Doesn’t mention 31 Toe the line 32 Peach pit 33 Close, as a windbreaker 36 *Come 40 Glamour VIPs 41 Denmark’s __ Islands 42 Suffix with tip or trick 43 Erin of “Happy Days” 44 Mathematician Pascal 46 *Board 49 Decree 50 Tummy soother 55 One in a four-part harmony 56 *Do 59 Gubernatorial turndown 60 Cassette half 61 Prefix missing from the starred clues 62 Composer Satie 63 __ once in a while 64 Like Broadway’s Yankees DOWN 1 Inexact words 2 Gazpacho, e.g.

3 Easy run 4 Hint of things to come 5 Begrudged 6 Meaningful pile of stones 7 Bldg. coolers 8 “Steady as __ goes” 9 Mason’s tray

by Rich Norris & Joyce Lewis, Tribune Media Services

Solutions available online at www.thedailyaztec.com 10 Comic’s rewards 11 “Any volunteers?” reply 12 Sails force?

13 Scrutinized 18 Award two stars to, say 21 Glyceride, for one 23 Improper 24 Start of a parliamentary proposal 25 Math ratio 26 Hint of things to come 27 Not yet stirring 28 Game callers 29 Caraway-seeded bread, often 32 Comic Silverman 33 Tubular pasta 34 Urban addition 35 Ceremonial pile

37 In progress, to Sherlock 38 Causing puckers 39 Fed. benefits agency 43 N. Zealand’s highest peak 44 “Deep penetrating pain relief” brand 45 Subject to a penalty fee, maybe 46 Thumb twiddler 47 Capone henchman 48 More wise 49 Roof overhang 51 2007 A.L. MVP 52 Vena __ 53 Gossip column couple 54 “Coming Home” actor 56 Language suffix 57 Letters for Louis Quatorze 58 Lemony quencher