SDSU hits spike in faculty hires
WEDNESDAY September 14, 2011 Volume 97, Issue 11 W W W.T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M
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OPINION
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Despite increase in professors, math department suffers Hutton Marshall senior staff writer For the first time in several years, San Diego State is not expected to have a significant decline in faculty members from the previous fall to this semester. This year, 42 new faculty members are expected to balance out the number of lecturers and tenured professors lost in the past year: However, SDSU Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs Edith Benkov said, “we are nowhere near out of the woods.” Benkov said while this hiring period was relatively larger than others in the past few years, it is possible the next hiring period will be significantly smaller next fall. “We’re not really hiring for next year at this point,” she said. “We don’t plan on this recent spike as being a trend that will continue next year.” The exact number of faculty gained and lost during the past year will not be available until October when all of the facts will be released, so commentary at this point is an estimate.
Benkov, however, has confidence in SDSU’s budgeting ability during the currently challenging economic times. “SDSU has always done well in managing its money. We’ve always found ways to get around budget cuts, but with the recent increase in cuts, everyone is stretched as thin as
ing faculty, and the department was forced to reduce its five full-time lecturer staff to one part-time lecturer. In October of last year, the department wrote a letter signed by the division of mathematics and applications’ 13 faculty members to Provost Nancy A. Marlin. It outlined the crippled state
CSU MATH FACULTY PER 1,000 STUDENTS NORTHRIDGE
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SAN FRANCISCO
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they can be,” Benkov said. Several faculty members in SDSU’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics share Benkov’s skepticism. The entire SDSU College of Sciences received only three of the 42 incom-
2010
of SDSU’s mathematics department in comparison to those of other California State Universities. SDSU has a ratio of .48 math professors for every 1,000 students that the letter states, “puts us at the level
of universities of the lowest academic standards.” This proportion is significantly lower than other schools in the CSU system, such as Cal State Northridge and San Jose State. Both have more than twice as many math professors proportional to their student bodies. “At our current critical levels of staffing, the education of our students and our research are both being jeopardized,” the department wrote. “We are offering fewer and larger undergraduate classes, and (have) canceled many upper division and graduatelevel classes.” These cutbacks have been occurring steadily across the entire CSU system for the past decade. Since the late ‘90s, student enrollment has increased by 18 percent. Instructional faculty has only increased by 7 percent during that period and tenureline instructional faculty has not increased at all. According to the California Faculty Association, executive salaries, such as those of the campus presidents and the CSU chancellor, have increased by 71 percent while student fees have increased 263 percent. “In short, we are over-stretched beyond our limits,” finished the letter. “We are asked to do more and more with less and less.”
First A.S. meeting has special guest Student council and SDSU president discuss sustainability Arturo Garcia staff writer Last Wednesday afternoon, Associated Students’ first meeting of the fall semester took place in the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center. One special attendee, San Diego State President Elliot Hirshman attended the meeting, fielded questions from the students and congratulated the student government for being representatives of SDSU. According to Hirshman, both attending the university and representing it should be considered an
honor as SDSU’s graduation rate had the largest nationwide increase this past year. After acknowledgements, students had the chance to interview the university’s eighth president, with questions ranging from club invitations to job-related inquiries. Hirshman said he chose to become the new president because he had a “gut feeling,” explaining he had not visited the campus nor had he met any students before making the decision. While addressing his primary goals, Hirshman headed his list with budget issues. He highlighted the future $100 million cut awaiting the California State University system and said he hoped it would be temporary.
“The environment is an important part, but not the only part. There are more different threats to our sustainability.” Elliot Hirshman, SDSU President Green Love, the A.S. enviro-conscious chapter, also made an appearance at the meeting with A.S. sustainability commissioner Morgan Chan. Chan asked Hirshman for his personal definition of sustainability. Hirshman answered that such a term is a clear reflection of modern times. He also said if a club or student were
to present him with an idea or project, the environmental aspect would not be his only concern. “The environment is an important part, but not the only part,” Hirshman said. “There are more different threats to our sustainability.” The different threats, he said, are financial issues.
DOD wastes millions of dollars in storage late fees.
E N T E R TA I N M E N T ‘Warrior’ delivers action-packed fighting and intense drama.
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Looking for love? Meet your match through a dating website geared to spark romance between local college singles. F E AT U R E S
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OPINION
Storage fees are absurd waste of tax dollars Poor planning from Pentagon leads to millions in late fees
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magine you’re standing in front of a Redbox kiosk. In hand is Kate Hudson’s latest romantic comedy, appropriately titled “This Crap is No Different from the Last One.” Her costar is obviously Matthew McConaughey, who plays the role of the vain advertising executive who secretly lives with his grandmother and cares for abandoned puppies. Hudson is the fierce corporate lawyer whose career is second to none. The two meet in Central Park, his dog playfully attacks her and the seeds are planted. Spruce in some ridiculous scene involving his ex, played by Anne Hathaway and through the course of 120 minutes the two unintentionally fall in love. Your current quandary is the fact that the DVD has been wedged under your driver’s seat for two weeks. Do you ride it out, keep the DVD and pay the full rent-to-ownership fee in order to take complete possession of this cinematic masterpiece, or do you return it and face the prospect of a late fee in the neighborhood of $15? Well, this is the exact complicated dilemma facing the Department of Defense, which since 2001 has paid $720 million in late fees for storage containers. Does the DOD ride it out, waste more money from its bloated budget and buy the intermodal containers? Or does it simply continue renting and pay 3/4
Brody Burns staff columnist of a billion dollars in late fees? The intermodal containers are generally 20 feet in length, made of steel and are heavily used in rail and sea shipping. The Pentagon uses them for a variety of purposes, including shelter, transport and storage. Each of these containers is worth roughly $3,200. According to USA Today, which broke the report, the late fees for each container can total more than $2,200, in addition to rental fees. If the Pentagon decides to keep the containers, a rent-to-own price of approximately $7,400 is charged. It doesn’t take a major in accounting to realize the ineptitude occurring: Paying nearly three times the economic value of a product is bad business. The late fees are a result of miscalculations on the length of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet this is not a valid excuse for the complete waste of $720 million in taxpayers’ money. One of the main profiteers on the late fees is Maersk Line, Limited, a Danish shipping conglomerate. What this means is the business and late fees our country is giving this company are directly exiting the American economy as the DOD has willingly outsourced the business. So much for patriotism. As it stands, $720 million is only a small fraction of the swollen $553 billion defense budget. However, wasting such substantial money is an abhorrent act in such a critical
economic time. To quantify $720 million further, let’s compare the recent budget cuts to the California State University system. Roughly $650 million was cut this summer, which was heralded as one of the most significant cuts in the history of higher education in California. For the Pentagon, this figure is merely a late fee. The waste of taxpayer money is disgusting. Furthermore, it is considerably difficult to believe that within our military industrial complex the DOD has to go to all the way to Europe to find these containers. The truly sad fact concerning the $720 million late fees is that they are all part of a larger pattern occurring. The Commission on Wartime Contracting, “an independent, bipartisan legislative commission established to study wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan,” released a report on Aug. 31 detailing the atrocious spending patterns of the DOD. The Commission concluded that $30 billion has been lost in the past decade caused by, “… poor planning, vague and shifting requirements, inadequate competition ... and subpar performance or outright misconduct by some contractors and federal employees.” This is a crippling economic pattern, which could bring about the death of nearly every business in this country. For the DOD, which annually receives hundreds of billions in taxpayer money, there is no such deterrent. The taxpayer money will keep coming in, and the horrendously wasteful spending will continue. The DOD needs to be held accountable for such egre-
gious errors and those who are in charge should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. According to the DOD’s website, it “constantly build(s) and reinforce(s) core values that everyone wearing a uniform must live by: duty, integrity, ethics, honor, courage and loyalty.” Duty, honor, integrity and loyalty are notably absent in these economic actions. The damage may actually be counterproductive to the core mission of the DOD, which is to protect the country.
The final conclusions of the Commission on Wartime Contracting latest report show, “…that the costs of contracting waste and fraud extend beyond the disservice to taxpayers. The costs include diminishing for U.S. military, diplomatic and development efforts; fostering corruption in host countries; and undermining U.S. standing and influence overseas.” In the end it looks like the DOD is merely guaranteeing itself future business.
—Brody Burns is seeking a master’s in business administration.
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Plot reveals more than fighting in ‘Warrior’
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Director explores characters’ lives and battles outside the ring David Dixon staff writer The new drama “Warrior” will not change a person’s opinion about mixed martial arts. It is an intense and violent sport that plays a big part in this particular modern parable, but writer and director Gavin O’Connor is far more interested in the two men fighting than the actual action itself. It may sound corny, but the fact is the people at the center of the movie, Tommy (Tom Hardy) and Brendan (Joel Edgerton), are so three-dimensional their stories are what the audience remembers the most. Despite the fact that “Warrior” is plot-driven, the mixed martial arts sequences are visually striking. Every battle is wonderfully stylized and almost beautiful to watch. The fighting events are perfectly paced and central to the plot, which makes each clash gripping. But enough about the brawls. Those
moments will not convince all moviegoers “Warrior” is worth the price of admission. What will resonate with a larger crowd is the emotional depth of the main characters. American audiences know Hardy best for playing the loquacious and comedic sidekick in “Inception.” However, despite his witty demeanor in the mind-bending thriller, his character in “Warrior” is of a man of few words. His dialogue mostly consists of him insulting his formerly alcoholic father, Paddy (Nick Nolte). He has every right to be angry with his old man: Their history becomes clear as the film unfolds and will not be discussed here for fear of giving away too much information. Hardy is unsentimental in his acting choices, and this choice shows the metaphorical scars of a miserable soul. Brendan, within minutes of his introduction, is unbelievably likeable. A high school teacher and family man, almost everyone he knows seems to look up to or respect him. He is the kind of guy whose biggest flaw in life is that he is perhaps too nice, which is evident in his biggest confrontations outside the ring. Edgerton makes his character endearing through a master-class breakout performance. Watch some of the facial techniques he utilizes
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throughout the film. During the biggest conflict unrelated to mixed martial arts, pay close attention to his face just before the scene ends. He delivers a haunting expression that lingers in the audience’s memory days after watching “Warrior.” Edgerton is
derfully. From the song that plays in the background to what actually takes place on screen, everything about the closing moment makes complete sense, and it leads to a simple and effective verbal exchange that will leave moviegoers mistyeyed. “Warrior” gets so much right that the biggest complaint about it is the trailer. It gives away three major plot twists, ruining a lot of the surprises. That is not to say the trailer minimizes the experience. Folks in the audience who have watched the spoiler-heavy previews will still have to admit the picture is glorious. Information about “Warrior” can be found at warriorfilm.com.
Edgerton is another example of how playing a good guy can be just as meaty, performance-wise, as transforming into a scenestealing villain. another example of how playing a good guy can be just as meaty, performance-wise, as transforming into a scene-stealing villain. As the inevitable climax arrives, one begins to wonder if the ending can possibly live up to everything preceding it. “Warrior” could have been the biggest cop-out in recent years. Readers who have seen the advertisements will know exactly what the comment beforehand is referring to. As it turns out, the conclusion is handled won-
Movie: WARRIOR Directed by: GAVIN O’CONNOR Release Date: SEPTEMBER 9 Grade: A-
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F E AT U R E S
Site links college daters dmit it, it’s not easy fitting a successful dating life between the constant responsibilities of a college education and those late-weekend shifts busing tables at the local Olive Garden. Many students have given up on finding that special person who makes them fall head over heels, delaying romance until after college. Luckily, for those experiencing a dry spell, dating someone within school boundaries, or even from another university, is now a simple click away. Date My School, a new online matchmaking service tailored exclusively to college students, has eased the gap between busy college life and dating. This website sets itself apart from other matchmaking sites because of the various perks it offers users. Firstly, there is no cost. Secondly, privacy settings ensure no creepy 80year-old posing as “Sam, the 22-yearold lifeguard,” will be able to access unsuspecting users’ accounts. Exclusivity is ensured because a school email address is required for anyone to sign up (this includes any email ending in .edu). San Diego State students simply need to enter a ROHAN email address or, for students who have not yet set one up, a free account can be created through WebPortal before joining the site.
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Sofia Casillas staff writer The website also inquires about students’ sexual preferences to accurately match users with their desired sex. Once on the website, students can compose a personal description, including interests, hobbies, dislikes and a photo. Along with those personalized preferences, Date My School utilizes a feature that provides students with a set of questions that, when answered, are used to match them with compatible students. The questions are given out in multiple-choice form and are based on anything from
their searches. For example, if an SDSU male engineering student wanted to meet a female from the same department, he would be able to select only matches from the College of Engineering at SDSU. Searches, however, do not need to be that restricted. Students are able to look for matches from other campuses and departments. Another perk? Date My School profiles do not show up on search engines, such as Google, meaning private dating lives can remain private. Whether looking for a casual hookup or a long-term commitment, Date My School can match individuals with similar intentions, interests
Date My School, a new online matchmaking service tailored exclusively to college students, has eased the gap between busy college life and dating.
ethics to sex to favorite colors. With this feature, students can weed out candidates who do not match. Along with these personalized preferences, students are able to filter
BY NANCY BLACK, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
HOROSCOPE TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (9/14/11) This year is marked by both financial growth and change. Though it could be unsettling, the trend is positive. Look for new opportunities. Beauty and art especially call to you now, with an appreciation for the finer things in life. Share them with the ones you love. 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 Take it slow today to get things done quickly. Go ahead and hide out, if you want. Take time to manage finances, and reward yourself with relaxation. TAURUS (April 20 - May 20) - Today is a 7 Wait until later to discuss an upcoming purchase. If you can't get what you need close to home, look further away. A loved one understands you without words. GEMINI (May 21 - June 21) - Today is a 7 Lean on your friends, and offer an arm when needed. There may be less cash flowing around, but you've got your posse. You're not in it for the money, anyway. Remember your intention. CANCER (June 22 - July 22) - Today is a 6 Do it yourself to save money ... every penny counts. The expensive way's not the best. Conserve resources and energy, and relax with a good book later. LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22) - Today is a 6 - In today's obstacle course, make sure to follow the rules and avoid dangerous shortcuts (especially where money's concerned). Thank a nag for the reminder. You might have missed the turn. VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22) - Today is a 6 You don't have to try to understand
everything. Let your emotions take you where you want to go. Contradictions make the world interesting. Abandon figuring it out. LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) - Today is a 7 There may be a tendency to be too harsh on yourself now. Don't go down that tunnel. Listen to a friend's good advice, and get plenty of rest. Things will look different tomorrow. SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) - Today is a 9 Your career could take a leap forward now, but don't race at the expense of your health. Consider all the options, and be responsible. Delegate for a sustainable partnership. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) - Today is a 6 - Finances may be tight now, but don't worry. Money can't buy you love. The more love you give, the more you receive. Keep in action to pay the bills, but take time for hugs. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) - Today is a 7 - Home is where the heart is (especially now), so stay close by to keep the blood pumping. Encourage criticism to discover a project's weaknesses. Put in the correction. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) - Today is an 8 - All of a sudden, everything starts making sense. Don't you wish you could capture special moments in a bottle to savor later? Just drink them in. Take photos, maybe. PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20) - Today is a 9 Work on what you love and the money will follow. If you make a mess, just clean it up and move forward. No time for complaining. No romance yet, either. Stay focused. ©2011, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES INC.
and goals. Instead of slaving away at work or studying next Friday night, create a profile on Date My School and see what happens. The possibilities are endless.
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