TUESDAY September 27, 2011 Volume 97, Issue 18 W W W.T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M
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SDSU’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT N E W S PA P E R SINCE 1913
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Biology research garners award THINKSTOCK
Arturo Garcia staff writer San Diego State professor Dr. Forest Rohwer was winner of the 2011 College of Sciences Monty Award, an Alumni Association award, given to outstanding faculty members from each of SDSU’s seven colleges. The Alumni Association honored Rohwer for a record of research accomplishments along with service and teaching at SDSU and the greater scientific community. According to coralandphage.com, a website created to present the
research being completed by Rohwer, his coworkers and collaborators, Rohwer has been credited with 89 research publications. In 1997, Rohwer received his doctorate from a joint program in molecular biology at the University of California San Diego and SDSU. He has three bachelor’s degrees from the college of Idaho in biology, chemistry and history. Rohwer’s professional experience began at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where he developed metagenomic approaches to study marine viruses. Since 2001, he has been a professor at SDSU.
Rohwer has won many awards including the prestigious Young Investigators Award of the International Society of Microbial Ecology. According to Dr. Stanley Maloy, dean of the College of Sciences at SDSU, Rohwer’s research has helped the scientific community understand the importance of microbes and human activities on the demise of coral reefs throughout the world. “He is an outstanding research mentor for students at all levels, and an exceptional classroom teacher,” Maloy said. “He encourages students to think critically and creatively, and seamlessly integrates current discoveries into the classroom.”
news editor Last week, the San Diego State University Research Foundation was granted $1.67 million toward a new program designed to stimulate job creation. The announcement was made by Congressman Bob Filner of California’s 51st congressional district, in which the SDSU Imperial Valley campus is located. According to official sources, the proposal “identifies the renewable energy industry as a ‘cluster’ for development, deployment and workforce training.” The money is a joint grant given by several different administrations, including the Economic Development Administration, the Small Business Administration and the Employment Training Administration. Each agency donation will help to fund different areas, but all focus on the same outcome. Of these administrations, the largest sum is $1,121,601 donated by the ETA. This chunk of funding will focus on individuals who have lost their jobs or whose jobs are threatened as a result of foreign trade. The ETA also aims to allow public and industry access to multiple certification programs through the College of Extended Studies and other campus programs. The EDA’s funding has one primary goal, which is to “establish a commer-
cial-scale proof of concept center to perform technology demonstrations, supported by multifaceted commercialization support services.” This means the EDA is helping to promote the successes of the program, including outreach and media events, while assisting in both technical and customer assistance, among other administrative support. The donation from the SBA will be assisting business development and services such as training, mentoring consulting, technology transfer and commercialization, and assist with developing and producing new systems in the Imperial Valley campus. Filner, who supported SDSU in its proposal of this grant, said the aid will help in creating jobs that pay well and train the workforce. “(The grant) is truly an investment in our students, economy and environment,” Filner said. The main goal of the program is economic development, reducing the need for H1-B visas to supply trained workforce, and small business developmental training in stressed regions. SDSU is one of 20 regions receiving aid from this program through the provided assistance from multiple federal agencies. More information about this program and other federally funded support can be found at eda.gov or by contacting any of the administrations donating to this cause.
Columnist Brody Burns breaks down Congress demographics.
Expert sources on the necessity of coral reefs also document the usefulness of Rohwer’s research in the way it impacts all people “Coral reefs provide humans with billions of dollars in economic and environmental services such as food protection for coasts, and tourism,” according to coralreefssystems.org. “Coral ecosystems face serious threats, mainly from the impacts from climate change, unsustainable fishing, and land-based pollution. Together, these and other threats are decimating corals faster than they can adapt for survival.”
Foundation granted $1.67 million Bill Crotty
OPINION
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W E AT H E R : PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH: 75 LOW: 66 SUNSET: 6:40 PM ANTONIO ZARAGOZA, PHOTO EDITOR
D A I LY A Z T E C Tuesday, September 27, 2011
OPINION
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Coaches’ drug history hurts SDSU integrity new women’s track and field season underway: check. Head coach Shelia Burrell coming back for a second season: check. New assistant coach’s past drug test: check, well, positive. Dorian Scott, an Olympic Jamaican shot putter, has been named the new women’s track and field assistant coach at San Diego State. Scott was a member of the Jamaican team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, placing 15th in the shot put event. He previously coached at his alma mater, Florida State, before coming to San Diego. In 2006, however, Scott tested positive for marijuana in a competition at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Cartagena, Colombia. Scott was given a “public warning” for his offense by the track and field governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federation, and as a result, had his gold medal taken away and national record erased. Now, I am not here to judge Scott’s coaching abilities; on the contrary, his past athletic history suggests he may be the most quali-
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Jennifer Meram contributor fied candidate for the position. Obviously, having a coach who has participated in the Olympic Games could serve as an advantage to the track and field team. Nonetheless, I must question the kind of ethical and moral example a coach can serve to student athletes, if he himself violated drug policies at a competition. SDSU has a strict alcohol and substance abuse policy for both students and student athletes. According to SDSU’s university policies, a student may be suspended or expelled from the university by violating university drug policies. SDSU athletes are subject to drug testing and must adhere to the university’s three-strike positive drug policy if they wish to continue competing. Upon Scott’s new position, SDSU could unintentionally be lessening the importance of being drug-free, especially for student athletes. Though his actions would be frowned upon by the university if he were a student, it doesn’t appear to be a problem as an SDSU employee.
Obviously, a positive test for marijuana is not as serious as using other drugs, such as steroids. But Scott is now in a position of higher authority in an environment where athletes who are guilty of using marijuana can be suspended from athletic competitions and from the university.
Hopefully, the team will strive to model his athletic abilities rather than try to mimic his personal choices. Perhaps Scott’s mishaps would be overlooked if he wasn’t the second track and field coach hired in less than three years to have committed an athletic drug violation. In 2009,
In 2004, (assistant coach for the SDSU track and field team, Larry Wade) tested positive for a banned steroid ... Would SDSU consider hiring a fraud as an academic professor (as it did an) athletic coach? Scott may, however, be able to use his past personal behavior as an example of how not to act for student athletes. His poor choices may warn students about the negative consequences that come along with abusing drugs, especially those students participating in athletic events.
SDSU hired former U.S. hurdler, Larry Wade, as an assistant coach for the track and field team. In 2004, Wade tested positive for a banned steroid, 19-Norandrosterone, and was served a two-year competition ban. At that time, Wade’s employment was met with criticism,
including harsh sentiments from Doug Logan, then CEO of USA Track and Field. He compared Wade’s new position to the university hiring a plagiarist in the English department. Logan’s statement is as truthful as it is pointed. Would SDSU consider hiring a fraud as an academic professor as it would for an athletic coach? A professor who was a wellknown plagiarist to the world would have a difficult time establishing both credibility and integrity inside the classroom. After all, how could a student take a cheating or plagiarism policy seriously after being lectured by a hypocritical professor? It would be unfair, however, to disregard Scott for the assistant coach position based on his past offense. Though it is a concern not to be taken lightly, all eyes will be on him to ensure a positive working environment. Let’s just hope Scott tests as a new “positive” — a fantastic coach and inspiring role model for the team. —Jennifer Meram is a journalism senior.
Vital diversity is unrepresented in Congress
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nearly 74 percent of Congress, almost 400 of the 540 members. Through the course of the entire American history, there has probably never been a time when seven out of 10 persons in the country were Caucasian men. Yet within Congress, they reign supreme. Finally, politically our country is not so clearly divided into the two simple categories of Republican or Democrat. As of right now, there are only two congressmen who do not belong to either party, yet 15 percent of the country do not associate with the Republican or Democratic party. This would account for an additional 79 seats outside of the two major parties. Furthermore, one of the more striking demographic figures of our legislative body is the religious beliefs of the members in power. Protestants number around 300 members, the most subscribed to religion in Congress. Catholicism is second with 160 members, Judaism is third with 37 members and Mormonism is fourth with 14 members. These four religions account for 95 percent of the entire Congress, but this does not come near the actual religious beliefs of this country. Religious affiliations are difficult & ALASKA NATIVE PERSONS to track, 0.9% | 5 MEMBERS but those
s diversity continues to Brody Burns imbue itself into the fabstaff columnist ric of American culture, the makeup of our 112th Congress tells an entirely last year’s U.S. Census Bureau data, different story. Judging from the women actually make up the majoridemographics, a very centralized ty, as they encompass 50.8 percent of group is predisposed to serve as the American population. Meaning, in Congressmen. During the ‘50s, politiorder to be more reflective of the cal scientists and sociologists coined gender breakdown of this country, the term WASP, White Anglo-Saxon there should be an additional 184 Protestants, to describe this dominant women serving in Congress. The social class that exerted control racial make up is nearly identical, as through politics, finance and other 459 members of Congress are various power structures within our Caucasian. This equates to 85 percent society. It appears the WASPs are of the entire electorate. The Census mightily attached to their nests, as data reports only 63.7 percent of they continue to exert significant conAmericans are “White persons, not trol on the legislative body of our Hispanic.” This means for Congress to country to this very day. Our most reflect the actual racial breakdown, esteemed electorate is in no way only 342 members should be reflective of the racial makeup, gender Caucasian. There should be an addibreakdown, political affiliations or relitional 24 African-Americans, 63 gious beliefs of the incredible diversity Hispanic or Latinos and 15 more of America. This startling fact demonAsian members serving in Congress. strates where power resides in the The most telling statistic of the genpolitical arena. der and racial classifications of There are currently 447 men in Congress is the prevalence of Congress, which compromises 83 Caucasian men. percent of the They constitute entire legislative body. According to & OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDER
NATIVE HAWAIIN 0.2% | 1 MEMBER
ASIAN
AMERICAN INDIAN
provided by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life paint a completely different picture. If the religious beliefs of congressmen actually represented the makeup of America there would be approximately 83 fewer Protestants, 53 fewer Catholics, 32 fewer Jewish persons and 8 fewer Mormons. The most significant increase would belong to unaffiliated persons who would gain 70 seats. According to the Pew Forum, the term “unaffiliated” includes, “atheists, agnostics and people who describe their religion as ‘nothing in particular.’” These demographic figures are indicative of two larger trends. One is that power continues to remain confined to a relatively small portion of the population. Despite numerous gains toward equality, these statistics paint a grim picture of those really in power. Not only are minorities underrepresented, including African-Americans and Hispanics, but the majority as well. Women are vastly outnumbered. The second trend is the complete voter apathy that plagues America, which allows this all to happen. Voter turnout in this country is abhorrent. Roughly 41 percent of eligible Americans voted last year. Within our representative democracy voting is the only means to rectify this situation, the only solution to shift the
demographics to a more representative position, the only means to voice an opinion on who represents you. Compulsory voting would work, and has for Australia, but implementation and policing of the system could prove to be difficult. The real solution lies in streamlining an already complicated voting system, through providing methods to facilitate the entire registration and voting process. Allowing people to vote early, absentee and in a far simpler fashion, provide incentives for those who feel it is their civic duty to register people to vote in a nonpartisan fashion. We cannot hope to change any system if we cannot first honor our right to vote. Billions in the world cannot vote freely, while Americans merely choose not to. The intent of this column is not to advocate for anyone to vote strictly based on the demographics of which you share with a candidate. I am a Caucasian male and in doing so I would only be ensuring that the power stayed entrenched. Yet these demographics of our Congress cannot hope to fully represent the total diversity of this country. Hold them accountable. Vote. —Brody Burns is seeking a master’s in business administration.
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D A I LY
AZTEC Tuesday, September 27, 2011
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B AC K PAG E
HUMOR
HOROSCOPE
Learning grammar good
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (9/27/11) HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS BLAKEMORE! Thanks for all of your continued hard work and hilarious wit. We hope your day is as awesome as you are! Best wishes!
ew newspaper rules: Remember that you’re aiming to write at a fifth-grade level. The average newspaper reader doesn’t want to read a piece of prose that goes on, and on and on, without making a point. New journalism calls for grammar good. Demonstrate complete, absolute perfection and stay away from wretched redundancies, if and when they come along. Readers. Skim. So. Don’t. Waste. Space. With. Long. Sentences. Report thoroughly. Make sure to include lots of statistics in your report. Check that two and two make five. Confuse the reader; it should all make sense. Follow good advice from others in the profession.
To get the advantage, check the day's rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
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Ty Thompson staff columnist truly believe you can do this, give hope. Something astonishing will come along to save us through innovation, according to a new report about reports. Share internal intelligence and expertise. Like, did you know that the African rhino goes to the bathroom 14 times a day? Always fact-check because that’s a big, fat lie. Include only appropriate interviews with only the best possible interviewees. “My Portuguese teacher was jumping up and down in class today,” Emily Clark, a Spanish and urban planning senior, my former
The Daily Aztec columnists should only write about booze, sex and drugs if they want to get a comment back. “It’s best not to use an anonymous source,” an anonymous source said. Be sure to give a source proper title with attribution, said one dumbass in his worthless book. Bam! Use words that convey impact. AMPLIFY the impact of the story with elements of tension, drama and conflict, because if you don’t, the world is going to end, and every human will die in its wake. Still, and I
roommate and muse said. Know your audience and cater to their wants. The Daily Aztec columnists should only write about booze, sex and drugs if they want to get a comment back. STDs are a fact of life. Abortion and religion are taboo. Everyone already knows that women who get abortions are murderers and that a belief in Christ is the only way to avoid living an eternal life in hell.
Put more advertisements in the paper than real news. Right now, the cost to run an ad is at amazingly low price. Just for you, I’ll give out a two-for-one special if you run more ads than stories about Iraq or Afghanistan in your paper. Speaking of war, Anna Nicole Smith was, is and always will be more important. So is Facebook. Make sure you share this column with your friends. And “like” it. Stay away from other sad stories such as tragedy and AIDS in Africa unless you have some really gruesome pictures. In that case, run the story on the front page and create a controversy. It will only last a few days until America forgets about the Third World travesties entirely. Or the world actually ends. Play on the fear that it will end. Never plagiarize, even though I stole this column idea from an old grammar column by William Safire of The New York Times. Cover both sides of the story by being fair and balanced. Like Fox News. Or MSNBC. Follow these rules and no others, and you will be fine. But make sure not to take anyone else’s advice, because they’re definitely wrong, and I will kill you if you don’t listen to me. Leave your readers on a positive note and never demand. Always finish your. Don’t even bother putting this to print. Just post it straight online.
ARIES (March 21 - April 19) - Today is an 8 Talk it over with your team to work out strategy and schedule. Work in private, and delegate what you can. Do the research before making long-term decisions. TAURUS (April 20 - May 20) - Today is an 8 - Communication outlets may not favor a revolution today. Postpone risk-taking (especially romantic and financial). A word from you helps a loved one. Move up a level. GEMINI (May 21 - June 21) - Today is a 7 Love is smiling down upon you, sprouting new tendrils of creativity, sprinkling you with magical magnetic attraction. Unpredictable changes could disrupt, so play it cool. CANCER (June 22 - July 22) - Today is a 7 If you feel chained or captive to an obligation, give up resistance. It only makes the imprisonment persist. Instead, relax into the confines and finish the job to be truly free. LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22) - Today is an 8 - Put it in writing, even if you have to use a paper napkin. Take an inventory of your wealth, and you'll discover the answer you were looking for. No gambling allowed. VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22) - Today is a 9 You could be tempted to take a big
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chance, but think it over well. One thing ends and another begins. Don't go against your core values, no matter what. Watch your feet. LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) - Today is a 9 You're ready to inspire and teach by example for the next couple of days. You jump over the hurdles with grace, like an Olympic athlete. You've got confidence and power. SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) - Today is a 7 Procrastinate later. You're under some pressure, and it's best to be occupied, rather than preoccupied. Take short meditation breaks to stay focused. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) - Today is an 8 - Friends could help you clean up a mess. Discover your boundaries, and let others support you in expanding them. Say "thank you," and offer to do the same. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) - Today is an 8 - There really is no way to prepare for the unexpected. Sometimes blind faith is necessary. Angels guide your actions. Take on a tough job. Get help, if you need it. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) - Today is a 6 - It's adventure time. Summon up your courage to battle a dragon and rescue a prince or princess. Challenges feed you and make you stronger. You have what it takes. PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20) - Today is a 6 There's a decision to make, and you may find all kinds of distractions. It may even get uncomfortable. In the end, trust your instincts.
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ACROSS 1 Dinner wear for the highchair set 5 Talisman 11 Spoil 14 Working without __ 15 Next to 16 Sam Adams product 17 Invasive airline inconvenience 19 Groovy relative? 20 One with an office couch, maybe 21 Untrustworthy 23 __ garden 24 A/C measure 26 Durante’s “__ Dinka Doo” 27 Wood-dressing tool 29 Uncomfortable airline inconvenience 33 President when Texas was annexed 35 With 1-Down, discoverer of cave treasure 36 Island ring 37 Salon polish target 39 Flippable card file 43 Mag. edition 44 Father’s Day mo. in Australia 45 Congenial 46 Wearying airline inconvenience 51 Lawn strip 52 Moonfish 53 Lumberjack’s tool 54 Subj. with x’s 56 Faraway 59 Paid no attention to 63 Roam (about) 64 Excruciating airline inconvenience (the last
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Solutions available online at www.thedailyaztec.com straw!) 66 Due-in hr. 67 One way to share 68 Clickable image 69 Not optional: Abbr. 70 French film festival site 71 “__ la vie” DOWN 1 See 35-Across 2 Part of, as a plot 3 Awe 4 Panache 5 Basics 6 Spaghetti gowith 7 Mil. branch 8 Connection 9 Barbara who played a genie 10 Giga- x 1,000 11 Oceanic
12 State with the Big Dipper on its flag 13 Papa Smurf’s headgear 18 Pop music’s ’N__ 22 Sight 25 “More than I need to know!” 27 Suited 28 Scooby-__ 30 Mrs. Gorbachev 31 Skip church, in a way? 32 Sci-fi’s Lester __ Rey 34 Jumping chess piece 38 Comm. for the hearingimpaired 39 Military day starter 40 Shame 41 Green prefix
42 Struck (out) of the text 44 Red or White team 46 Inn resident 47 Morphine, e.g. 48 Where YHOO stock is traded 49 China’s Sun 50 Pealed 55 Spock’s forte 57 Baldwin of “30 Rock” 58 Bright star 60 Dolls’ dates 61 They may not be quiet on the set 62 Small bodyshop job 65 Former Opry network