01-30-2019

Wednesday, Jan. 30 - Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 Weekly Print Edition

Vol. 105, Issue 20 www.thedailyaztec.com

Editorial: A word on the BuzzFeed and Huffington Post layoffs, Pg. 4

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

WHAT’S INSIDE

NETWORK NEWNESS Eduroam improvements bring promise of a bright future for campus network users.

Sexual assault reporting jumps during fall semester Counseling and Psychologial Services credits fall semester increase to #MeToo movement and Kavanaugh hearings shifting dialogue.

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by David Santillan ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Sexual assault reports at San Diego State increased significantly during the first part of the fall 2018 semester,

according to university officials — but it’s unclear if the surge is due to more survivors coming forward, or to more assaults happening on campus.

Since the #MeToo movement blew up in fall 2017, more

sexual assault survivors have been coming forward to share their stories, shining a national spotlight on the topic. While it SEE SEXUAL ASSAULT REPORTING, PAGE 2

TRANS BAN THOUGHTS The editor in chief discusses having a trans mom and Trump’s ban on trans people in the military.

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RIGHT AT HOME Aztecs continue strong home play against UNLV

AZTECS WIN, AGAIN Women’s tennis completes third straight shut out victory to start season.

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CONSEJERO EN EOP Un consejero de ayuda financiera apoya a estudiantes universitarios.

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CORRECTION: In the Jan. 23, 2019, edition of The Daily Aztec, the story titled “California College Republicans Void Formal Recognition of SDSU Chapter” incorrectly said the charter of the organization had already been revoked.

The ruling instead stated unless the chapter gets a new president or the members restructure the club’s governing documents under new leadership, they will not be able to renew their charter after March.

However, the chapter voluntarily dechartered in a Jan. 24 meeting, according to president Madison Marks-Noble.

The Daily Aztec regrets this error.

Photo by Sam Mayo

Left to right: Senior guard Jeremy Hemsley, sophomore forward Jalen McDaniels, redshirt freshman guard Adam Seiko and freshman forward Nathan Mensah walk off the court following the Aztecs 94-77 victory over UNLV on Jan. 26 at Viejas Arena.

Campus vending machines now accepting OneCards as payment

by Aretha Matsushima STAFF WRITER

Any time students stop by a campus vending machine from now on, they will now have the option to make their purchase with their SDSUcard.

SDSUcard office manager Haunani Mees said, while vending machines accepted SDSUcards, or OneCards, in the past, the university has decided to bring this option back in an attempt to make the cards more functional around campus.

“Since it’s so useful on campus, this is just the next step,” Mees said.

Mees said while SDSUcards mainly cater to those living in

campus housing, the cards serve all students in paying for printing services and at dining facilities, as well as making payments at the SDSU Bookstore or Aztec Markets. For those living on campus, the cards can also be used for laundry and access to residence halls. They may also be used as visual validation for access to school events.

“You have to use your (SDSUcard) quite a bit here on campus, so it’s probably to everyone’s best interest even if you’re an off-campus student to have it with you, being that you don’t have to deal with a credit card,” Mees said.

Students may also use their SDSUcards to host a checking account through U.S. Bank,

allowing users to condense their student ID and checking card into one product, according to the U.S. Bank website.

As for loading money on SDSUcards, Mees said students can easily use cash or card to their balance from almost anywhere on campus with a cash register.

“They can put money in at the any of the on-campus markets, the bookstore or through the online GET website,” Mees said.

Business freshman Dahlia Wong said the option of being able to use her SDSUcard at vending machines would eliminate the struggle of not having her debit SEE VENDING MACHINES, PAGE 2

Graduation fee increases, becomes onetime payment

by Shauny Silas STAFF WRITER

San Diego State’s graduation fee and process has been updated to include a one-time $100 fee starting the December 2019 graduation filing period.

The updated graduation fee and process was addressed by Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Sandra Cook in an email to SDSU’s faculty and staff.

“With increasing costs for commencement and after reviewing the graduation fees for other universities, the decision was made to propose an increase to the graduation fee,” Cook said in the email. “The new onetime fee of $100 was approved through the normal approval process for non-mandatory fees.”

The updated process allows students to change their graduation date after filing their initial application without having to reapply.

Under the current graduation application process, students submit a nonrefundable $55 filing fee. Students who apply to graduate and must change their graduation date are required to repay the $55 filing fee every time they apply.

“The current graduation fee had not increased since 2007,” Cook said. “Due to an increase in overall commencement planning costs, including labor and venue costs, an increase was recommended.”

Director of Presidential and University Events Melissa Henss said the increased fee will allow the university to continue providing the same commencement experience to all SDSU graduates since commencement costs have increased overtime.

“The $100 one-time fee covers the costs of the graduation evaluation, diplomas and diploma covers,” Henss said. “It also contributes to the actual costs of the graduation ceremonies.”

Cook said the number of students who do not graduate the first time they apply was one factor considered when updating the process to include a one-time fee.

“We did look at the number of students who applied for graduation and either had it cancelled by the university or cancelled it themselves SEE GRADUATION FEE, PAGE 2

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News

The Daily Aztec

Sexual Assault Reporting:

continued from page 1 might seem that an increase in reporting directly correlates to an increase in sexual violence, it might instead mean more survivors are finding the strength to come forward and report their experiences as a result of a shifting public perception of these cases.

“Most people think high rates of reporting indicate people are having faith in the system,” Women’s Studies Department Chair Doreen Mattingly said.

The increase in reports on campus was first revealed during a College of Arts and Letters open forum event in October 2018 where the discussion centered around the sexual assault allegations that professor Christine Blasey Ford leveled against then-Supreme Court Justice nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

During the event, Counseling and Psychological Services representative Michelle Feinberg said the department had seen a 52 percent increase in reports during the beginning of the fall semester. The department is one of two on campus that are not mandated

to report sexual assault claims under Title IV laws.

Since not all campus services are mandated to report this information to university police, these figures may not tell the whole story. While students who disclose reports of sexual assault to the Title IV office can expect their cases to make it to the police, the same cannot be said for claims that go through Counseling and Psychological Services.

“We’re actually one of two confidential resources on campus that does not have the duty to report to Title IV,” Juan said. “We don’t actually go to Title IV and let them know about the (students) that we see unless we’re given written permission to do so.”

This means the 52 percent surge that Counseling and Psychological Services has seen might not actually make it into any official university criminal statistics reports.

“It’s important to note that an increase in reporting doesn’t correspond to an increase in prevalence,” SDSU psychology counselor Mary Joyce Juan said.

Juan added that the surge in reports could be due to the public’s reaction to Blasey Ford’s testimony and other factors.

Other universities across the nation have seen increases in sexual assault reports over the last several years.

A story by The Daily Beast broke down national statistics

in crimes on campuses, released by the U.S. Department of Education, showing a 205 percent increase in sexual assault reports from 2,200 in 2001 to 6,700 in 2014.

SDSU’s 2017 and 2018 Annual Security Reports for the years 2014 to 2017 show a slight downward trend in sexual crimes such as rape.

In 2014, there were 30 cases of rape reported to university police, decreasing to 19 reports in 2015 and 10 reports in 2016 and 2017.

Yet, sexual assault remains as one of the most underreported crimes that happens on college campuses, skewing statistics on universities’ annual crime reports.

Though movements like #MeToo and #WhyIDidn’tReport have been changing the dialogue surrounding survivors, some students think more needs to be done on college campuses to prevent sexual assault and increase student awareness.

Interdisciplinary studies senior Melat Zippi said she thinks the university should focus on teaching more sexual assault prevention courses rather than just telling students what their resources are.

“I think the cure is prevention,” Zippi said. “I think an ethics course as a mandatory (class would) be great.”

Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 EDITOR: Bella Ross • news@thedailyaztec.com

Graduation Fee:

continued from page 1 which would necessitate their reapplying and thus repaying the fee,” Cook said. “In each of the last four graduation cycles (2013 to 2017), there were over 1,000 undergraduate students and 600 to 800 graduate students who fell into those categories.”

California State University, Fullerton and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo were two universities reviewed that showed similar fees to SDSU’s new one-time $100 fee.

“We also found that, in some cases, the cost of commencement was covered by funds separately from a graduation fee,” Cook said. “In one instance, Humboldt’s physical plant does

Vending Machines:

continued from page 1 card when trying to buy a snack.

“I think it’s a good thing because sometimes I won’t have my debit card or credit card, so the SDSUcard is really useful because I already have money in it and I would be able to

all the commencement set-up but then waives their fees.”

Film senior Taylor Pierce, who is graduating in May 2019, said he does not think having to apply for graduation multiple times is all that common, however this change will not go unappreciated.

“I don’t think anyone plans on applying to graduate more than once,” Pierce said. “But, I think those who do need to apply a second time or even third time, those people would be extremely grateful.”

Pierce also said he believes making students pay each time they apply may make them give more attention to whether they have actually met the graduation requirements prior to submitting their application.

Students can begin applying for December 2019 graduation on Feb. 6.

easily purchase from vending machines,” Wong said.

Kinesiology freshman Krista Bumatay said adding the option of using SDSUcards at vending machines is an overall good idea and that it is well in line with the university’s goal to increase the card’s usefulness.

“I think it’s a good idea because people can utilize their SDSUcard more than just using it at the market, for printing, laundry and other things,” Bumatay said.

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Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 EDITOR: Bella Ross, news@thedailyaztec.com

News

The Daily Aztec

3

Engineering Fab Lab takes name of late dean Former engineering dean Morteza Mehrabadi, who passed away last march, was honored at the naming event.

by Gian Matteo STAFF WRITER

Sacchetti

On Friday, Jan. 25, multiple San Diego State students, deans and professors gathered in the day quad of the Engineering and Interdisciplinary building to honor the late Morteza “Monte” Mehrabadi.

Mehrabadi, who was the Dean of the College of Engineering, passed away last March. The university recognized the impact of his work by naming the Fab Lab after him. The naming was made possible by an anonymous donation, according to university officials.

The location of the gathering was no accident, as the quad is part of the building that is considered, by most, the “baby” of Mehrabadi, according to the Chair of the Electric Engineering department Chris Mi. “Monte has been very instrumental to this building,” Mi said. “It is like his baby. He was involved in every aspect of it.”

According to mechanical engineering professor Samuel Kinde Kassagne, the Nano Fab Lab is an advanced area designed to fabricate small devices like components inside of phones.

The efforts made by Mehrabadi, while Dean of the department, were vital in the creation of it.

“We did not have this (lab) and very few universities have this kind of facility,” Kassagne said. “In fact, very few ones also have a 24-hour access. Monte fought for this. We are happy that he made this happen.”

This event is considered a singular recognition for a unique man that put his “heart and soul” in the Engineering department, according to his friend and mechanical engineering professor Asfaw Beyene.

“He was unique in many ways,” Beyene said. “He

combined high caliber scholarship engineer, excellent leadership and very nice and down to earth presence. I know a lot of high caliber engineers without leadership. I know leaders without high caliber scholarship. I know a lot of excellent people that could lead, but these three combinations in one man is something that you don’t see a lot.”

Interim Provost and Senior Vice President Joseph Johnson said the university made the decision to name the lab after the dean as a sign of respect for the hard work that Mehrabadi put in the program.

“Dean Mehrabadi was so dedicated to the College of Engineering and to San Diego State University,” Johnson said.

“If you knew him, you could not help but appreciate his passion for the students and for this school. It is important to acknowledge and to celebrate his contributions.”

His passion was also admired by the students of the program, as some of them, such as mechanical engineering senior Nikolas Marquez, describe him as someone who truly cared about them.

“Sometimes, I would be walking on campus and see him, and he wouldn’t just say hi, but he would stop and talk to me and ask me about my classes,” Marquez said.

“He genuinely cared. He was dedicated to making this college of engineering experience at SDSU the best that it could be.

He was a soft-spoken man but very driven.”

Mehrabadi was named dean of the College of Engineering in 2014 and served in the position until his passing on March 13, 2018. Before being named Dean, he was the chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department since 2007, according to university officials.

Photo by Gian Matteo Sacchetti

Interim engineering dean Eugene Olevsky presents a letter to Morteza Mehrabadi’s wife Ashi Mehrabadi.

Photo by Gian Matteo Sacchetti

President Adela de la Torre addresses a crowd at Morteza Mehrabadi’s naming ceremony in the engineering courtyard on Friday, Jan. 25.

Eduroam changes give promise of better network performance

by Aretha Matsushima STAFF WRITER

Over the course of the fall semester, the eduroam network has undergone major technical enhancements to improve security and stability, changes San Diego State’s Information Technology said will significantly impact the network’s overall performance.

Director of Infrastructure and Operations Kent McKelvey said the eduroam network is a secure and encrypted network that provides access to faculty, staff and students with an SDSU ID. On campus, the network can host approximately 15,000 to 27,000 devices all at once.

By increasing access points and managing the back end design, McKelvey said the network has become easier to use.

He said SDSU has 3,400

access points, being specific areas on campus where users can connect their devices to the network. As part of the new upgrade, the university has replaced approximately 2,000 access points and is looking to add more to outdoor environments.

“Outdoors is where we feel we really need to increase coverage,” McKelvey said.

“We’re currently working on a project that replaces distress phones by putting access points on each one, which will provide really good outdoor coverage.”

Computer science junior Megan Chua said the increased performance of eduroam should benefit her ability to complete schoolwork.

“As a computer science major, most of my projects are done online and I would need a fast working network in order to finish my assignments,” Chua

said.

McKelvey said, as part of the new upgrade, additional devices were added that manage the network so it can still be supported while maintenance is being done.

Prior to these changes, students may have been notified of occasional network outages where eduroam service was not available while it underwent maintenance.

“We used to have to notify everyone that wireless is going to be down and have a window, but now we can do in-place upgrades where all the over devices will pick up the load and should not impact the user base,” McKelvey said.

McKelvey also said changes to private IP addressing have made it so users don’t have to continually renew their IP address.

“Private addressing allows us

to have a larger number of IP addresses that allow clients to keep the same IP address for extended periods of time,” he said.

Speech, language and hearing sciences freshman Jesseca Serrano said, as more of her classes have moved away from paper assignments in exchange for online ones, she sees an increasing need for a reliable network on campus.

“As teachers try to cut down on paper usage, we are having to interact with more in-class and online assignments which makes faster and easier access to the internet extremely helpful to accomplish this,” Serrano said.

In contrast to eduroam, McKelvey said the SDSU Guest network is less secure for devices as it does not require authentication to use the network.

“SDSU guest has no ability to

encrypt the traffic because we just don’t know who they are, so it’s much less secure than using eduroam,” McKelvey said.

McKelvey said the recent upgrades to the system should improve its functioning abilities.

“I think from a performance standpoint is where they will see the biggest change,” McKelvey said. ”When there are high loads on the network, it should perform better.”

SDSU Wireless on Twitter an other online resources such as status.sdsu.edu can provide students, faculty and staff with notifications on issues that can impact the wired network.

McKelvey said technical support for eduroam can be found at Wireless@sdsu.edu.

“If, for some reason, someone has bad coverage, we always want to know,” he said.

“Someone can always address whatever that issue may be.”

4

Opinion

The Daily Aztec

Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 EDITOR: Kemi Giwa • opinion@thedailyaztec.com

Journalism layoffs put democracy at risk The issue: About 1,000 journalists were laid off Our take: Whatever anyone may think, journalism last week at multiple media organizations. is now more important than ever.

MANAGING EDITOR Jocelyn Moran NEWS EDITOR Bella Ross ASST. NEWS EDITOR David Santillan OPINION EDITOR Kemi Giwa MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Alejandra Luna

The Editorial Board The fourth estate, once again, is at stake.

This last week was extremely disappointing and discouraging for journalists in the United States. Around 1,000 journalists were laid off by BuzzFeed and other media organizations owned by Gannett and Verizon, such as the Huffington Post, due to budget cuts.

Reporters with years of experience holding those in power accountable and journalists covering issues in minority communities were left jobless, and the president used it as an opportunity to say “I told you so.”

“Fake News and bad journalism have caused a big downturn.

Sadly, many others will follow. The people want the Truth!” president Donald Trump tweeted on Jan. 26.

Besides already ignoring the importance of journalism, he disregards that journalists are people and Americans too.

People who are in debt, need to support their families and have to pay bills have just lost their jobs.

This is not a chance for the leader of our country to say “I was right.”

These layoffs not only affect those who were let go. They don’t only affect journalists across the country. They affect communities that are voiceless, underrepresented and want and deserve the truth.

And that is something many fail to understand.

Carolina Moreno, a former Latino Voices Editor for the Huffington Post covering issues in the Latino community, was let go. She has focused on covering the effects Hurricane Maria has had on families in Puerto Rico, and most recently, she reported on studies that showed how anti-immigrant rhetoric has hurt the health of Latino families.

Through her reporting, she was representing a community that is often ignored.

Chris McDaniel, a former investigative reporter with BuzzFeed who was one of many let go, recently reported on inmates who claimed the Texas execution drugs burned before they died.

Whatever the president and others may think of investigative journalists, they are the people who keep our leaders accountable. Do we really want government officials to do whatever they want without someone around to keep an eye on their doings?

EDITOR IN CHIEF Will Fritz

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Julianna Ress

The Huffington Post obliterated its opinion section this past week. This is particularly disheartening considering the fact the opinion section of any news outlet is one of the most important sections in the paper.

Particularly for marginalized communities — who have been subjugated for centuries, but have experienced a significant increase in violence since 2016, where attacks against women, people of color, LGBTQ folk and muslims have spiked.

The unique experiences minority communities endure make opinion sections so critical to a newspaper’s value. It serves as a necessary space for vulnerability and education.

Their stories and perspectives mobilize people throughout the country to take action and make a difference.

Additionally, they shed light on stories that need to be heard.

They encourage us to hold powerful institutions and elected officials accountable. Chipping away at opinion sections mean we lose valuable perspectives, and we miss out on critical information.

Tyler Kingkade, a former reporter at BuzzFeed who was let go, wrote his last piece on Jan. 28 about a high school in Indiana that banned student journalists from covering the arrest of a classmate who had been accused of assault and harassment.

The article included an interview with Ed Clere, a Republican member in the Indiana House of Representatives, who has attempted to pass a bill to prevent censorship of student media.

“In today’s atmosphere, when journalism and journalists are under attack, we need student journalism more than ever,” he told BuzzFeed News. “They can approach stories on a unique and meaningful level and get to stories that other journalists can’t get to.”

When we at The Daily Aztec are submitting public records requests and pushing to get interviews with administrators and faculty, it is not to bother nor attack the university. It’s because our communities matter to us, and we want to ensure they are being represented.

Let’s face it, journalists definitely do not choose to pursue this career because of the money. We do it because we care to create change. These layoffs affect us all. And nobody should be using it as a chance for a juvenile clapback.

ASST. ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Lexington Howe SPORTS EDITOR Abraham Jewett ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Aaron Tolentino ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Dana Tsuri-Etzioni PHOTO EDITOR Michael Abshear MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Amal Younis ASST. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Mirella Lopez

VOLUNTEER COPY EDITOR Katherine Cooke SENIOR STAFF WRITER Lauren J. Mapp STAFF WRITERS Stephan Early Nathan Godderis Breven Honda Antonio Márquez Aretha Matsushima Brett Pickler Matteo Gian Sacchetti Shauny Silas Tayza Than CONTRIBUTOR Tyler Whitehead ________________________________ ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Josh Diaz SALES MANAGER Valerie Barrientos ACCOUNTING & CONTRACTS Samir Sandhu Meah Mapp ________________________________ GENERAL MANAGER/ADVISER Jay Harn GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST Luis Valenzuela ________________________________

Trump’s nuclear talks are a nice gesture.

But denuclearization isn’t going to happen

by Jermelle STAFF WRITER

MacLeod

President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un will meet for a nuclear summit in late February — a nuclear summit is aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism around the globe.

Trump believes that this meeting will bring the goal of denuclearization closer to realization.

I think that while his intentions are good, the goal is impossible.

International politics is a nasty, disgusting world due to the lack of authority above of the states. Not to mention that the international political scene is anarchic, both in the stereotypical sense of the word, meaning chaotic and hectic, and in the literal sense of the word,

meaning without authority.

Why is the international political scene so horrible, so crude and so cutthroat?

There are two reasons for this: human nature and a need for security in an international, anarchic system.

Humans naturally desire security and are willing to do anything to get it, and with this logic follows the idea that since there’s no authority above the states, the states have nobody to run to but themselves, unless they want to be in serious debt to another state.

We average people are lucky enough to have numerous security blankets for various reasons, but states aren’t so lucky.

So, how do states remain secure without a central authority above them?

The answer is simple:

militarization and force.

States have to fight for themselves, nobody else is going to fight for them, and because of this fact, states have to become more and more powerful so other states are less willing to mess with them.

For example, who do you think a robber is more likely to rob: the house without a security system or the house without one?

The answer is obvious, the robber is more likely to rob the house without a security system, the same logic applies to states.

That’s not to say that we shouldn’t want a peaceful world.

We should, but the best way to assure peace is to assure mutual destruction. If one state tries to start a nuclear war all the other states will retaliate and everybody losses.

Do you really win the war if you die, too?

As much as I respect Trump’s peaceful international ideals, I can’t help but feel that he’s either trying to make the public feel calm and run from the fact that the international political scene is disastrous (which is a very wise move in order to maintain control) or he seriously thinks his business training will allow him to strike denuclearization deals, which absolutely won’t happen because states, just like humans, need to be strong to survive.

It’s a dog eat dog world.

Denying human nature will lead to nothing but misplaced ideals, malfunctioning governments and ineffective foreign policies.

Jermelle MacLeod is a freshman studying philosophy.

EDITORIAL 619.594.4190 editor@thedailyaztec.com ADVERTISING 619.594.6977 advertising@thedailyaztec.com PRINT The Daily Aztec publishes 5,000 copies of its weekly print edition every Wednesday throughout the semester WEB Daily content is available at www.thedailyaztec.com QUESTIONS/COMMENTS letters@thedailyaztec.com ________________________________ The views and opinions expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of The Daily Aztec.

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Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 EDITOR: Kemi Giwa • opinion@thedailyaztec.com

Opinion

The Daily Aztec

5

Mr. President, my trans mom is fit to serve

by Will Fritz EDITOR IN CHIEF

Disgust. Anger. Exasperation.

These are some of the things I felt when my phone buzzed on Jan. 22 to notify me the Supreme Court had lifted the injunctions that were blocking the president’s decision to ban transgender people from the military.

I was disappointed, but not surprised. Many saw the 2016 election as a mandate to roll back rights and equal treatment that had only just begun to be provided to the LGBTQ community. It was less than four years ago the Supreme Court voted to uphold same-sex marriage throughout the nation.

Haven’t we already been through this? I thought.

Or at least I’ve been through it. My mom transitioned when I was 10 years old.

He was a former U.S. Air Force officer, and was serving in the California Air National Guard when he made the decision. At that time, in 2008, all trans service members had to be discharged if they underwent surgery, and my mom received an honorable discharge before going through what’s known as “top” surgery.

I don’t remember any specific conversation where it was explained to me or my brothers — 4 and 8 at the time — what was happening, though I’m sure there must have been one.

Truth be told, I don’t remember thinking very much about it. I already knew what being gay was — it’s what my mom had been since I was 6 or 7.

To me, the whole trans thing didn’t seem like a huge issue.

My mom was going to get a deeper voice and not get weird looks when walking around with my stepmother. Big deal.

And so my mom became “Daniel” — taken from his birth middle name, Danielle.

We tried calling him a couple of different versions of “dad,” but eventually decided calling him by his new first name was simpler.

And that was that. Daniel was still the same person mom had been. It’s something that was extremely evident when I watched Daniel’s YouTube videos of his transition for the first time in years. I admit it was jarring to click on his first video and hear my mother’s very female voice. But when I continued watching, I saw the same mannerisms, the same jokes, the same light profanity that was trademark of our household.

When I tell people anything about my childhood, the part where I describe having a trans mom often elicits the most shock.

But I’m not sure that it even cracks the top five things that influenced me most as a kid.

Divorce? OK, that’s pretty scarring. But watching the person you knew as mom transition into a truer and

happier version of himself?

That’s supposed to be damaging?

The only damaging thing about that is when the people who claim to care and the other people around you make you feel like as though you should be ashamed of your mother.

Becoming trans wasn’t something my mom had always considered. Trans people have always existed, of course, but it wasn’t a common subject to hear about as recently as a decade ago. Daniel stumbled across the possibility while browsing the internet, and once he did, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“I was like, ‘oh my god, this would be awesome, because I never really wanted to be a girl anyway,’” my mom, who described himself as a tomboy in his childhood, told me over the phone the other night. “I was always thinking the little girl thing was stupid.”

Sometimes, people tell me I “lost” my mom. I didn’t. My mom with male pronouns is still the exact same person he was with female pronouns.

And that’s why the president’s initial tweet in July 2017 about how much “disruption” trans people would cause in the military struck me as odd. What disruption could they cause if having a trans mom didn’t even disrupt my family dynamic?

What damage is done to “unit cohesion” by referring to the same qualified service member with their preferred pronouns instead of the ones they were born being called?

The author (right) and his mother in 2017.

“It was still considered a mental disorder that was not compatible with the military,” my mom said of his forced discharge. “I would have stayed in, though. I enjoyed serving to a certain extent — I miss it a lot. I considered going back in briefly before Trump decided that, you know, (I’m) not worthy to serve.”

Still, disappointing as the 2016 election and the Supreme Court decision may have been, we are making progress. Slow,

discontinuous progress, but progress nonetheless. Back in middle school, I stopped telling my classmates my mom was trans after I was once met with a disgusted shriek of “why do you tell people that?” from a girl who sat next to me. Now, here I am writing about it in the newspaper that I’m the editor in chief of. Beat that with a stick.

Will Fritz is a senior studying journalism.

Technology and social media are corrupting our interactions with the world

by Cristian STAFF WRITER

Alvarez

As social media grows, it is also beginning to change life as we know it. People are becoming increasingly active on media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat.

Social media is defining this era by allowing users to create their own content, which is a great thing. However, this is also creating a harmful habit that must stop.

Those who use social media frequently have an idea of what to expect on a daily basis.

As one scrolls through their feeds, they’re likely to see videos, images and tweets of individuals expressing themselves. How often do we see our friends showing off their new gifts, what they’re eating and where they are?

Sure, technology and platforms that allow us to stay up to date with one another is cool, but at what cost?

These applications on our smartphones have shaped the

way we interact.

They’ve forced us into thinking we need to let others know when we’re eating at big fancy restaurants, driving highend cars or visiting famous parts of the world.

I get it, we want to brag a bit of what’s going on in our lives.

We want to feel important and we yearn for validation. I’ve been guilty of doing this myself.

But, in all honesty, social media feels like one big competition.

One where everyone is looking to outdo one another.

This fourth dimension of social media turned us into something we are not and shouldn’t become.

All of a sudden, we’ve been pressured to prove we’re living better than others.

To make matters worse, social media is beginning to deteriorate our relationships.

I’ll be the first to admit that I sure do get jealous of watching my friends post cool adventures they’re on.

I wish I could do the things they have the opportunity to do.

Truth be told, if I’m feeling

this way, I am almost certain other people do too.

Personally, social media, seems like it does more harm than good at times. For example, studies show our mental health and depression levels increase the more we engage with the web.

I can relate to feeling drained after keeping up with the overwhelming amount of content on social media platforms each day.

I find myself desperately needing to break away from the chains of the media world.

I have also experienced feelings of shame from others.

People in my past have made me feel guilty because I didn’t “like” their latest post or see their Snapchat story. These tiny interactions on social apps seem to determine how important we are to another person.

Why should such a small action define my real-world companionship with someone?

People sometimes assume I purposely chose not to view their content, when in reality, I’m probably just not on my

Illustration by Katherine Cooke

phone.

Ultimately, we must remember we are only human and we are unique in our own special way.

There’s no need to create an altered version of ourselves on social media just to gain popularity. No matter what we do, what we own or where we travel, we are not much different from each other.

Our lives all end the same way.

Who cares if you have the

latest phone, visited the most famous bar in town or bought some expensive brand name clothes?

It doesn’t make you any better than the next person.

I encourage everyone to spend time getting to know the people around you instead of scrolling through their social media.

Cristian Alvarez is a senior studying journalism.

6

Sports

The Daily Aztec

Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett • sports@thedailyaztec.com

McDaniels’ big night leads Aztecs to win

by Abraham Jewett SPORTS EDITOR

San Diego State men’s basketball has benefited from playing at the friendly confines of Viejas Arena this season, winning eight of 10 coming into a matchup with University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The trend continued on Saturday evening as the Aztecs secured their ninth win in 11 chances with a 94-77 triumph over the Runnin’ Rebels.

Sophomore forward Jalen McDaniels led the way for SDSU (11-8, 3-3 MW) with a careerhigh 30 points, helping hold off a UNLV (11-8, 5-2 MW) side which made 13 3-pointers but could not get within single digits of the Aztecs in the second half.

“Jalen was rolling today,” head coach Brian Dutcher said.

“We ran everything through Jalen, put the ball in his hands and he produced.”

McDaniels also finished with 13 rebounds to secure his fifth straight double-double and took advantage of his time at the free-throw line with 10 makes on 12 attempts.

Senior guard Jeremy Hemsley, who finished with 13 points,

said McDaniels’ recent success is no surprise.

“I mean shoot, you don’t expect anything less from Jalen,” he said. “He has a nose for the ball. He plays with a lot of energy, and it shows.”

As a team, SDSU appeared to live at the charity stripe, converting on 24 of 30 attempts while the Runnin’ Rebels finished with only six made free throws on 14 attempts after opting to settle for 30 shots from behind the arc.

“I think the difference in the game was from the foul line,” Dutcher said. “We took the ball to the basket and we got to the foul line, and whatever we didn’t get from 3-point range, we made up for on the freethrow line.”

Senior guard Devin Watson and sophomore forward Matt Mitchell joined McDaniels and Hemsley in double figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

Mitchell, who failed to make a three on only two attempts after coming in shooting 33 percent from deep, said he was indifferent to UNLV’s style of defense, which held SDSU to only 11 3-point attempts (making six).

“I just like to play the game of basketball,” he said. “It’s always

fun to see different game plans and how they play out against us, and we can pretty much adapt to any game plan with the diversity of our team.”

The Aztecs scored first to open the game and never relinquished the lead, growing their advantage to over 20 points for the first time after a 12-2 run put them up 63-42 with just under 15 minutes to play in the game.

Senior guard Kris Clyburn hit a 3-pointer to get the Runnin’ Rebels to within 67-54 with just over 12 minutes left, but the visitors would not get any closer.

Clyburn finished with seven points for a UNLV side which was led on offense by 19 points from freshman forward Joel Ntambwe and 18 points from sophomore guard Amauri Hardy.

McDaniels scored 17 points in the first half to pace the Aztecs to a 46-35 halftime lead, overcoming nine 3-pointers made by UNLV. SDSU made only two more shots than the Runnin’ Rebels in the opening frame but benefited from 13 points from the freethrow line on 17 attempts.

The Runnin’ Rebels, conversely, attempted only

Photo by Sam Mayo

Sophomore forward Jalen McDaniels carries the ball during the Aztecs’ 94-77 victory over UNLV on Jan. 26 at Viejas Arena.

two free throws in the opening period, missing both, but were able to stay in the game thanks to their effectiveness from behind the arc.

The Aztecs’ lead was only two points with under seven minutes to play before the break, but a quick 8-0 run,

which included two 3-point plays from McDaniels, pushed their advantage back to double digits with under four minutes to play.

SDSU will look to continue its strong play at home in its upcoming game against Air Force on Jan. 30.

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Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Sports

The Daily Aztec

7

Water Polo defeated in alumni game

by Breven Honda STAFF WRITER

San Diego State water polo lost 12-9 to the alumni in the annual exhibition matchup between the two sides on Jan. 26.

The game needed extra time because sophomore utility player Emily Bennett tied the game at nine apiece in the fourth period with 1:41 left.

The alumni appeared to miss playing at the Aztec Aquaplex, as they jumped out early, scoring the first three goals and six of the first seven.

“It (was) such a great day of reminiscing about all of our teams of the past and all of the challenges, struggles, successes, and growths that I’ve seen from our alumni is phenomenal,” head coach Carin Crawford said.

“The fact that we ran out of cap numbers is just a phenomenal showing by our alumni, so I couldn’t be more happy.”

The Aztecs, who sport a record of 1-2 following their seasonopening trip to Hawaii for the Rainbow Invitational, went on a 5-0 run that coincided with a 13-minute scoring drought for the alumni and tied the score at six going into the final quarter.

Photo by Abraham Jewett

Senior goalkeeper Maura Cantoni guards the goal as a member of the SDSU alumni team attempts to score during the alumni’s 12-9 victory at the Aztec Aquaplex on Jan. 26.

“We knew it was going to be fun and people would be goofing around, but we were still trying to take it seriously,” junior utility player Shelby Kraft said.

This was the alumni’s second

consecutive win, following last year’s 8-7 victory.

“We want to welcome our alumni back, we want to make sure they have a wonderful experience,” Crawford said.

A friendly rock, paper, scissors match decided who received the throw in to start the fourth quarter with the student-athletes winning possession. That was not the only fun that went on.

The alumni argued a timeout call with 26 seconds left by Crawford and at the end of regulation, the alums wanted a shootout rather than two extra possessions of three minutes each.

“My assistant coach, Ioli Benekou, who graduated two years ago and is a member of the Greek National team, knows everything we do and knows all the strengths and tendencies of the current team,” Crawford said. “The banter back and forth had to do with ‘if you match up on me and try to steal the ball on you, I am going to kill you.’”

The alumni in attendance for the game had some awards and playoff experience under their belt.

“We have former AllAmericans, four Harper Cup MVPs and almost all of the starting lineup from the 2017 team that went to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament,” Crawford said. “To see them come back to campus and celebrate their experience and celebrate what it means to have been an Aztec Water Polo player, it’s very rewarding and gratifying for me.”

The Aztecs continue their season at UC San Diego for the Triton Invitational on Feb. 9-10.

Good from Jan 18 - Feb 28, 2019

8

Sports

The Daily Aztec

Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Women’s tennis scores shutout, again

by Brett Pickler STAFF WRITER

San Diego State women’s tennis won its third straight match to start the season, defeating UC Riverside 7-0 on a warm Sunday afternoon at the Aztec Tennis Center.

The shutout was the third straight for SDSU to open up the new year and came one day after the Aztecs handed UC San Diego a 7-0 loss on the same courts.

Head coach Peter Mattera said his team came out to make a statement against the Highlanders.

“I thought we really stuck to our business, first point to last and all the singles matches did a really good job of shutting them

down,” Mattera said.

The doubles match did not appear to be a walk in the park for the Aztecs, as UCR won a match against the team of senior Jenny Moinard and freshman Shakhnoza Khatamova, forcing the other two Aztec duos to win their games to secure the point.

The Aztecs would eventually win the doubles point and start singles competition with a 1-0 advantage.

Moinard, who was visibly upset with dropping her doubles game, seemed as if she was on a mission to redeem herself.

Throughout her singles match, Moinard was not afraid to express her emotions and went on to win her singles match 6-1, 6-2.

“Jenny, in singles, was awesome,” Mattera said. “She was the aggressor, she was in control of almost all of the points, and I think her game style was just the perfect match matchup today.”

The Aztecs won each of the remaining singles games in convincing fashion.

Sophomore Nnena Nadozie won her singles match 6-4, 6-1 and said her gameplan is to keep her opponent busy.

“Stay solid and make a lot of balls and make her play more,” she said.

The Aztecs will try and continue their undefeated streak when they take on Long Beach State at the Aztec Tennis Center on Feb. 1.

Photo by Abraham Jewett

Sophomore Nnena Nadozie competes in her doubles match during the Aztecs’ 7-0 victory over UC Riverside on Jan. 27 at the Aztec Tennis Center.

Baseball welcomes alumni back for home exhibition

by Tyler Whitehead CONTRIBUTOR

San Diego State baseball held a game against the alumni for the first time since 2009 on Saturday afternoon at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

The team has an annual golf tournament each fall, but a decision was made to bring back the alumni game after the idea was brought up at the last golf tournament.

“Our graduate assistants were walking around on the golf tournament and asking some of the other guys at the golf tournament, ‘hey, so you guys want to play?’,” head coach Mark Martinez said. “I guess it got its own steam, and now it’s going to become an annual

Photo by Abraham Jewett

Freshman infielder David Alamillo tags out a member of the SDSU alumni team while freshman pitcher Aaron Eden looks on. The Aztecs defeated the alumni by a score of 8-2 on Jan. 26 at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

activity we do every year.”

Fifth-year pitcher Harrison Pyatt started the game and said he enjoyed playing against some of his ex-teammates.

“It’s my fifth year here, so it’s good to play against them,” he said. “I got to face six guys I

already played with, and I got them all out fortunately.”

Pyatt pitched two innings and gave up no runs while the Aztecs got out to an early lead.

“At times it was competitive, it was mostly just for fun,” Pyatt said. “As it went on, it got a

little more loose for everyone.”

The alumni fought back with a home run by former player Brandon Ruddy, whose teammates referred to him as “Bubba” and nowadays is a real estate agent out of Orange County.

Ruddy said he enjoyed being out on the field with some of his old teammates.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “Just swinging the sticks there in batting practice and everything. It was a great time.”

Martinez said the game was a fun way for the players to prepare for the regular season.

“This is more for fun, but at the same time, there is development and there are also jobs to be earned,” he said. “We are evaluating that in each kid and there are some spots that are still up for grabs, so they know that and they got after it today.”

SDSU’s first official game will be held at Tony Gwynn Stadium against the San Francisco Dons on Feb. 15.

Men’s tennis defeats UC Irvine 4-3 after falling behind early

by Tayza Than STAFF WRITER

On a beaming sunny Saturday afternoon, senior Sander GjoelsAnderson picked up the first point for San Diego State men’s tennis, and from there, the rest of the team rallied and secured a 4-3 victory over UC Irvine for the first win of what could be a promising season.

Anderson and his doubles partner junior Rafael Almazan got out to a blazing start and were the lone pair to win a doubles game.

The Aztecs would ultimately lose the doubles point, after the other two Aztec pairs lost 6-3.

With the Aztecs trailing 1-0, the team had to settle down and rally to start the singles matches.

Gjoels-Anderson proceeded to win his singles match on court three in two sets, with scores of 6-4 and 7-5. The doubles and singles victories for Anderson earned praise from head coach Gene Carswell and put a smile on Anderson’s face for the rest of the day.

Carswell praised GjoelsAnderson after the match.

“I think without a doubt we got some great senior leadership out of Sandor today,” Carswell said.

“It’s great having a senior like that pull his weight.”

The praise appears to be well deserved, as last year GjoelsAnderson was honored with a place on the All Mountain West Doubles team.

After Gjoels-Anderson’s victory, junior Fabian Roensdorf came back from losing the first set 6-4 and won his match on court number one. Roensdorf was visibly angry after losing the first set, but he appeared to channel and focus his anger in order to win the next two sets 6-4 and 6-2.

Four singles victories from Gjoels-Anderson, Roensdorf, sophomore Jan Kirchhoff and junior David Hough secured the first team win of the season for the Aztecs.

Kirchhoff and Hough won their games in two sets, on courts five and six. Notably, Kirchhoff won his first set 6-0.

On court two, Ignacio Martinez lost his match in three sets while Arnaud Restifo lost his match

on court four in two sets. The score was won at 4-2, but then finalized at 4-3, and the Aztecs’ record improved to 1-1.

“It felt great,” Gjoels-Anderson said about the victory. “Our first win of the season, it was nice to get it going. We had a tough one last weekend, so I think it was really important for us to get this win and get the season going.”

The come from behind victory comes after a 5-2 loss on Jan. 20 against UCSB when the Aztecs were also behind early due to losing the doubles point.

Carswell said working on doubles is the main key moving forward for the year but praised his team’s overall performance.

“Even without winning the doubles point today, we found a way to get across the finish line. I’m proud of the group for that because it showed a lot of resilience,” he said.

SDSU will host UC San Diego next Sunday and will attempt to build off of its victory.

“For the next coming weeks, it’s just about taking it one game at a time and hopefully, get some W’s,” Gjoels-Anderson said.

Photo by Abraham Jewett

Senior Sander Gjoels-Anderson prepares to swing his racket during his singles match against Mateusz Smolicki. Gjoels-Anderson’s win helped the Aztecs defeat UC Irvine 4-3 at the Aztec Tennis Center on Jan. 26.

Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 EDITOR: Alejandra Luna • mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

Mundo Azteca

The Daily Aztec

9

Celebran 15 años del festival Enero Zapatista lleno de cultura, música por Alejandra Luna EDITORA DE MUNDO AZTECA

La comunidad de San Diego celebró los 15 años del festival anual Enero Zapatista en el Centro Cultural de la Raza con vendimias, música en vivo, bailes e historia sobre el Levantamiento Zapatista.

El 26 de enero fue el último sábado de actividades que los asistentes pudieron disfrutar.

Asimismo, la organización le recordó a la audiencia que aun cuando el movimiento por la libertad ocurrió hace 25 años, ellos siguen luchando y solidarizándose para que la comunidad hispana tenga los mismos derechos.

Durante el evento, se mencionaron los siete principios importantes de los zapatistas.

“Obedecer, no mandar, representar, no suplantar”, gritaba la audiencia con su puño cerrado y la mano arriba.

Los vendedores quienes eran locales se encontraban vendiendo y exponiendo su arte con colores típicos mexicanos donde en su mayoría era hecho a mano.

Diana Cervera, diseñadora de aretes, fue una de las vendedoras de San Diego que asistió al festival. Cervera crea su propia línea de aretes con colores mexicanos. Su trabajo es inspirado en historias de mujeres a las que ella entrevista.

“Tengo dos años haciéndolo y es como un proyecto donde hago entrevistas a las mujeres de la comunidad”, dijo Cervera.

“Ellas modelan los aretes, pero también

pueden conectar un poco del trabajo que hagan o compartir palabras de inspiración a otras mujeres”.

Además, Cervera dijo antes de vender su mercancía en Enero Zapatista, ella asistía como espectadora cuando era universitaria.

Más que un festival de diversión, el evento era para enseñar a los jóvenes y otras comunidades que el Movimiento Zapatista nunca ha sido de rebeldía, sino para luchar por la equidad y libertad de la sociedad.

Roberto Hernández, profesor de estudios chicana y chicano de SDSU, fue uno de los organizadores de este festival y quien también forma parte de la mesa directiva de la comunidad zapatista.

“Este Enero Zapatista es el décimo quinto año que se hace, yo llevo como seis años involucrado, poco después de que llegué a San Diego”, dijo Hernández. “Me empecé a involucrar con estos proyectos que viene siendo todo una serie de un mes de duración con varios eventos”.

Hernández dijo que trata que sus clases sean relevantes, incorporando la historia del Centro Cultural y que los estudiantes sean voluntarios del mismo centro.

“Tengo una clase de estudios comunitarios y otra de folklore fronterizo que también trato de integrar tanto ellos con proyectos del centro y viceversa”, dijo Hernández.

“Cuando hay eventos, los invito de participantes, pero también de voluntarios que contribuyan aquí”.

Entre la multitud, se encontraban estudiantes universitarios, quienes asistieron a la clausura para sentirse conectados a su

Foto por Alejandra Luna

La cantante Esmeralda participa en el Festival Enero Zapatista el 26 de enero.

cultura y otros para conocer más acerca de sus raíces.

“Mis amigos fueron los que me trajeron, quieren que viva más mi cultura mexicana”, dijo Mario Millán, estudiante de la Universidad Estatal de San Marcos. “Me ha gustado todo el trabajo local, se mira que se esfuerzan”.

Christana Flores, estudiante de CSU San Marcos, viajó desde San Marcos para apoyar a los zapatistas.

“El año pasado, tuvimos una exhibición de

arte zapatistas, y cuando vi en mi Facebook, quise venir”, dijo Flores. “El arte es lo que me cautiva, y vine a ver esto”.

El festival duró dos horas, al entrar se podía donar $7 o $10 y le daban un boleto para entrar a una rifa con regalos especiales a los ganadores como agradecimiento de apoyo.

Para más información de cómo formar parte del Centro Cultura de la Raza, se puede visitar la página oficial centrodelaraza.org o asistir el primer o segundo miércoles de cada mes a la junta de la mesa directiva.

Consejero de ayuda financiera brinda apoyo a estudiantes universitarios para terminar sus carreras POR ANTONIO MÁRQUEZ ESCRITOR

Desde una temprana edad, Adolfo García, el consejero de ayuda financiera en el Programa de Oportunidades Educativas en la Universidad Estatal de San Diego, se dio cuenta que el sistema escolar no le brindaba el apoyo o las fuentes necesarias para seguir adelante.

Pero nunca se dio por vencido, gracias al apoyo de sus padres que le inculcaron siempre seguir adelante.

“Tienes que creer en ti mismo”, es algo que García dice se recuerda escuchar de sus padres.

Sus padres solo estudiaron hasta la secundaria en su país natal pero aún así, asistían a juntas de padres, excursiones y casa abierta que ofrecía la escuela.

Después de graduarse, García trabajó como mecánico por cinco años antes de

decidir continuar con su educación.

Decidió ir al colegio comunitario de Mesa donde encontró EOPS, un programa similar a EOP en colegios comunitarios. Fue ahí donde le brindaron el apoyo que buscaba para seguir con sus estudios y llegar a SDSU. En la universidad, decidió estudiar administración de negocios donde pensaba tener una oficina corporativa y ser un magnate de negocios. Siendo estudiante de primera generación no fue fácil para García, ya que nadie le había enseñado de las opciones que tenía para obtener ayuda financiera, y con pocos recursos, decidió empezar el programa de estudio y trabajo.

Dijo que esa fue la oportunidad que le cambió su carrera y su vida, ya que trabaja con estudiantes de bajos recursos y que estaban en riesgo de abandonar sus estudios.

“Encontré la pasión de ayudar a los estudiantes y darles las oportunidades que no tuve”, dijo García.

Después de eso, fue muy tarde para

cambiar su vocación en la universidad, y decidió graduarse con la carrera que había empezado.

Encontró trabajo en un programa, Gear UP, donde ayudan a estudiantes de bajos recursos y les dan la oportunidad de visitar diferentes colegios. Fue así que llegó a solicitar para trabajar en SDSU donde se hizo consejero de ayuda financiera.

Sin embargo, dijo que si no fuera consejero, le gustaría ser piloto, un sueño que ha tenido toda la vida pero aún no lo cumple y no pierde la esperanza de algún día

serlo.

Por ahora, se identifica con cada estudiante que busca su ayuda porque él pasó por lo mismo.Dijo que un consejo que les sugiere a los estudiantes es siempre hacer preguntas y saber las fechas límites.

“No tengas miedo de perseguir tus sueños, sea lo que sea, y no dejes que nada te detenga”, dijo García.

Al fin del día, García dijo que le gusta ser alguien que brinda apoyo como el que él buscaba, sabiendo que hizo una diferencia en la vida de alguien.

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The Daily Aztec

Arts & Culture

Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 EDITOR: Julianna Ress • arts@thedailyaztec.com

Former SDSU football player pursues rap

by Aaron Tolentino ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Most people know him as Kalan.

Frfr., but the San Diego State community knew him initially as Kalan Montgomery, who played defensive back on the SDSU football team from 2013 to 2016.

Since setting aside the shoulder pads and helmet over two years ago, Montgomery has risen

among the ranks in a different industry – music.

He has released two albums and has since collaborated with rising stars such as Rich the Kid on their song “21” and Joe Moses on their collaboration “Back to Back.”

Montgomery has amassed over 36,000 Instagram followers and over 411,000 views on his mostviewed music video on YouTube.

Before all the attention

Courtesy of Kalan Montgomery

Former SDSU defensive back Kalan Montgomery has made strides in rap over two years.

Montgomery received for his music, he was once just a high school student making beats in a small, in-home studio.

A Compton native, Montgomery is from an area filled with hip-hop royalty, like Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre and YG. Montgomery said those artists from Compton push him to aim for new heights.

“I want to be the best. I want to be bigger than those guys one day,” Montgomery said. “It’s a lot of motivation seeing somebody can be a product of the same environment that I am and still excel and make it out.”

Compton artists are known to have a style centered around gangsta rap, but Montgomery believes his music is not confined to a specific style or genre.

“It’s really different. It’s like R&B but thuggish (rap) at the same time,” he said. “I don’t want to be boxed in (one genre). I want to veer all over.”

Montgomery’s repertoire finds him alternating between entirely singing, like on “Love Song,” or entirely rapping, like on his latest song “Fine Fine,” which was released earlier this month.

Due to his dual passions, the

transition from football to music was not easy.

A turning point in that decision process was after the 2016 Mountain West Championship game, in which Montgomery’s interception was called back and culminated in his frustration with the sport.

“Over time, I started falling out of love with (football) more and more, so I kind of started veering away from it,” Montgomery said.

Despite quitting football for music, Montgomery has garnered the support of the SDSU football team, who knew he always had the musical talent.

“We always knew because he used to be a rapper in the locker room,” junior SDSU running back Juwan Washington said.

“We used to go to his house sometimes and listen to music he was making. I’d actually help him sometimes.”

Members of the football team began the “frfr” movement, which referred to changing their Instagram handles to end with “frfr” in reference to Kalan.Frfr.

SDSU football players such as Myles Cheatum (@mac.frfr), Kyahva Tezino (@kyahva.frfr), Darren Hall (@dhall.frfr) and

Washington (@jwash.frfr) have all made the change to show support for the former Aztec football player.

Washington said the movement started several years ago.

“It’s a movement he started a long time ago when we were freshmen,” Washington said.

“One day we were just all chilling with him and he asked us to change (social media handles) to help promote him a little bit.

Ever since then, it kind of just stuck.”

Montgomery said the movement is all about being authentic.

“It’s about being yourself,” Montgomery said. “Being real with your friends, being real with yourself, being real within yourself, so that’s what the ‘frfr’ stands for.”

Montgomery said he hopes to spread the “frfr” movement as a way to support fellow musicians.

“Having a little following makes it easier for people to be influenced by the stuff I do,” he said. “With me growing in music, it’s easier for me to help one of my friends that wants to do music and put them on a bigger platform.”

Kelly Clarkson flexes legacy on ‘Meaning of Life’ tour

by Julianna Ress ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Most noticeable when entering the Staples Center on Jan. 26 in Los Angeles as the crowd was filing in for Kelly Clarkson’s “Meaning of Life” tour, was the age range of the attendees.

New, young fans entered the arena alongside 20-somethings who likely grew up singing along to “Since U Been Gone” in their bedrooms, and Gen Xers and baby boomers, who may find Clarkson’s rich voice akin to the soul singers of previous generations.

Since being crowned “American Idol’s” first winner in 2002, Clarkson has undergone many phases in her illustrious career, from her promising debut “Thankful” filled with fuzzy R&B, to flirting with pop-punk on her blockbuster 2004 record “Breakaway,” before diving into full-on Evanescence-inspired emo imagery on its polarizing follow-up “My December” three years later.

She experimented with electropop on the next few records, “All I Ever Wanted,” “Stronger” and “Piece by Piece,” spawning hits like “My Life Would Suck Without You,” “Catch My Breath” and “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).”

On her latest album, 2017’s “Meaning of Life,” Clarkson returned to her soulful roots, harkening all the way back to her breathtaking performance of Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” on “American Idol,” when Americans watched the birth of a star through their television screens. It was like Lady Gaga’s “Shallow”

performance in “A Star is Born” for the early 2000s.

On the “Meaning of Life” tour, Clarkson is well aware of her diverse repertoire — a preshow clip played on the large screens when the house lights went dark followed Clarkson’s evolution from record to record, highlighting a song per album.

She opened the show with a moment of reflection — an a capella rendition of “A Moment Like This,” her coronation single after winning “American Idol.”

Clarkson then went into the title track off her latest album, a life-affirming track about finding lasting love.

“When you kiss me, I know who I am,” she belted during the chorus. “When you let me feel it, I understand / When I’m lost I just look in your eyes / You show me the meaning of life.”

In between tracks, Clarkson’s bubbly personality took center stage, speaking candidly about technical difficulties and recognizing a fan in the front row from the tour’s previous two stops. Perhaps she was teasing the tone of her upcoming talk show “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” which is set to premiere on NBC in September, but it mostly felt like she was having a genuinely great time bantering with audience.

Her personality also permeated in the next two songs she performed: sassy standouts “Walk Away,” a hit off “Breakaway,” “Love So Soft,” the lead single from “Meaning of Life,” and “Whole Lotta Woman,” a throwback self-love jam also from the new album.

The show then hit one of its peaks with back to back

performance of two iconic “Breakaway” singles, the title track and “Behind These Hazel Eyes.” During the former she let the fans sing a few bars without her and they shouted every word just like they would 15 years prior in the album’s heyday.

Clarkson took the center of the catwalk for an acoustic rendition of “Piece by Piece,” an emotional track about reckoning with familial grievances that acts as the sequel to “Breakaway’s” “Because of You.” She took choked up pauses in between lyrics as her eyes filled with tears, reminiscent of her stunning guest performance of the song on “American Idol” in 2016.

“Piece by piece, he restored my faith that a man could be kind / And a father could stay,” she sang, comparing her experiences with her husband and children to her own childhood memories.

She surprised fans with a medley of deep cuts she doesn’t often perform, including standouts “Beautiful Disaster” and “Just Missed the Train” from her debut, and the criminally underrated ballad “Sober” from “My December.”

“Three months, and I’m still sober,” she sang on the latter.

“Picked all my weeds, but kept the flowers.”

The medley was a welcome addition to the set, but fans likely would’ve loved to hear full performances of these favorites, especially since the second half of the set was plagued by some boring inclusions.

The show dipped with an unnecessary guest appearance

by John Legend, with whom she performed their duet “Run

Run Run” off “Piece by Piece,” and “Move You,” a forgettable “Meaning of Life” cut.

Clarkson picked the energy back up with “My Life Would Suck Without You” and “Meaning of Life” highlight “Heat,” before closing with main set with “Miss Independent,” for which openers Brynn Cartelli and Kelsea Ballerini joined her onstage.

She encored with “It’s Quiet Uptown” and “Never Enough,” her contributions to “The Hamilton Mixtape” and “The Greatest Showman: Reimagined” respectively. While her vocals were impressive, as they were throughout the show, the covers seemed weak compared the catalog of her original hits she could’ve played in their place.

After “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” she ended the night with “Since U Been Gone,” a song just as explosive as it was back in 2004. Often

considered the magnum opus of both herself and prolific pop producer Max Martin, her delivery of the track hasn’t lost any luster.

“I can breathe for the first time,” the Staples Center crowd shouted along in unison. “I’m so movin’ on, yeah, yeah / Thanks to you, now I get what I want.”

While Clarkson’s legacy is long cemented, she maintains an artistic restlessness pushing her to continue reimagining her star status, whether it be in terms of music, as a judge on “The Voice” or as the host of a talk show.

Fans are clearly still along for the ride, showing just as much enthusiasm for her new material as they did for her early hits, but it would’ve been great to see her lean into her legend status even more, rather than opt for a celebrity guest and some topical covers. With a discography as impressive as Clarkson’s, there’s no need to stray.

Photo by Vincent Peters/Atlantic Records Press

Kelly Clarkson’s “Meaning of Life” tour stopped in Los Angeles on Jan. 26.

Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 EDITOR: Julianna Ress • arts@thedailyaztec.com

Arts & Culture

The Daily Aztec

11

Student musician mixes punk and hip-hop

by Nathan Godderis STAFF WRITER

In 1996, punk rock band Dishwalla released its hit song “Counting Blue Cars,” which peaked at no. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Two Dishwalla band members would eventually instruct mechanical engineering senior Morgan Koontz, who was born the year “Counting Blue Cars” came out, as he learned to play guitar.

However, these Dishwalla alumni, George Pendergast and Rodney Cravens, didn’t see Morgan as a typical student, as he mastered the guitar and developed his singing talents

before he was 13.

“They helped me get everything together, and eventually through that, pushed me to start singing,” Morgan said, “which made me really uncomfortable, and it was something I wanted to do but was scared to do. But I found that I actually have a decent voice, and from there, I was able to form the band that I made an EP with. We called ourselves Pernicious Nonsense.”

On his beloved electric guitar, Morgan and his high school band produced EPs, singles and covers to other songs. With the influence of bands like Rage Against the Machine, Deftones, and lessons from Dishwalla members, they created hardhitting, ‘90s-inspired punk rock

songs.

“He went from any other kid to being the front person of his own band writing his own songs,” Pendergast said. “Rodney (Cravens) was teaching him one day, and he came to me at a certain point and was like, ‘I don’t know what else to show Morgan, it’s time for him to just go out and shred.’”

Instead of working usual jobs, Morgan would set his guitar case down in the busy parts of Santa Barbara and play for evenings on end.

Although Morgan had the abilities of a rock band frontman, he also covered the technical aspects of the music that allowed him to control the production.

“He’s wired a little differently

Courtesy of Morgan Koontz

Mechanical engineering senior Morgan Koontz said although he produces hip-hop, he still draws upon ‘90s alternative rock for inspiration.

than a lot of musicians because a lot of musicians are just pure passion, they’re not going to focus or have as much interest in theory or getting it right, or a lot of them aren’t very strategic or are planners,” Pendergast said.

“He’s passionate about music and covered all the bases, to me that’s very different.”

Morgan continued to work and improve on his music until the end of high school, when he came to San Diego State and was forced to leave the band. In his first two years, a busy campus life primarily due to Greek life and rigorous academics put a halt on his passion for music.

“I was having a really good time, and I don’t regret anything but I didn’t focus on music at all,” Morgan said. “It was a break in music for me, and I wish that I had still been working on it because before coming to college, I would at least play for two hours a day, whereas it’s been harder to find the time recently.

Being in the dorms, I felt like I didn’t have the creative space.”

Although Morgan still had people to jam with at times, music seemed more like part of the past.

One day in his late sophomore year, however, he rediscovered his music passion through an iPhone update.

“I was looking at my phone and I found the GarageBand app had been added with some new update, and I had never worked with any production software, so I was just screwing around and making music and I started to really like doing it,” Morgan said.

“That was kind of a turning point in music to me.”

Since then, Morgan has been back to producing music, but

in a different style. In recent years, hip-hop has also caught his attention, especially through the deeper lyrical aspects. Since his discovery of Garageband, Morgan has moved on to a music production software called Ableton, which is widely used by current hip-hop artists. He and a friend from Santa Barbara are currently working on his new tracks together.

“I try to incorporate as much live instrumentation into my beats as possible,” he said. “Even though I’ve been making hiphop/rap a bit more, I really want to bring in my influences from ‘90s alternative. The fact that I play multiple instruments helps with the production, and the fact that my buddy is really on it for the lyrical stuff, I think the combination of the two would be huge.”

Although this change surprised the Dishwalla members, they still help mentor Morgan in his path to becoming a musician.

“I took off music when I was 19 to 21, because I thought I would’ve made it by then,” Pendergast said. “But that thing that makes you want to go for it, sitting in an office when you know you should be doing (music), sometimes that push is great. Sometimes years off are great because it gives you the fire to go like, ‘I’m not going back to that.’”

Morgan said he expects to finish his mechanical engineering degree next year, then hopes to live in Santa Barbara and keep working on music with friends there. His work is available on SoundCloud under the name “LOKIPRODUCTIONS,” where he will be releasing more music in the coming months.

Lomaland exhibit in library displays rich local history

by Stephen Early STAFF WRITER

An exhibit showing the history of one of the city’s most popular spots and the legacy of the revolutionary woman who first staked her claim to it is now on display in San Diego State’s Malcolm A. Love Library.

“Most people who grew up in Point Loma and most people in San Diego have no idea that this really was like San Diego’s own Acropolis,” Special Collections Librarian Robert Ray said.

Local San Diegans and tourists alike may be familiar with a section of the city known as Point Loma.

As one of the premiere areas for boaters, eateries, shopping and scenic views, the area has its own distinct vibe.

What visitors may not be familiar with is the legacy and history of the part of San Diego formerly known as “Lomaland.”

“This exhibit is based on a gift that came in during 2017 and 2018,” Ray said. “We also have some items on loan from the San Diego History Center.”

Ray went on to explain donor Kenneth Small’s connection

to the exhibit — his father Emmett Small was a teacher at Lomaland and follower of the charismatic woman who built that community.

“It empowered me as a woman to see her just work and know that this is such an important piece of San Diego culture that I didn’t know about,” film junior Kasi David said.

Katherine Augusta Westcott Tingley was the leader of the Theosophical Society of America, and she blazed a trail that impacted much of Southern California but especially San Diego.

The crest at Point Loma in 1897 was mostly sage brush and bushes, but this is where Tingley would bring her followers to plant roots of society, agriculture and scholarly research.

She was in charge of a large community of minds devoted to spreading brotherhood and continuing the search for what they called “divine knowledge.”

Lomaland became a worldrenowned and internationallyknown center for early childhood education.

It also served as a hub for lectures and meetings to explore

science and theology.

The people of Lomaland were said to believe there was truth in all religions and it was the theologists’ job to uncover those truths.

The actual exhibit explores what significance Lomaland had on impacting the culture and the surrounding area of the crest in Point Loma and San Diego.

Adorned with wall-sized layouts and antique pieces, the display showcases a very specific and integral history of Point Loma that probably doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

“I loved how enlightening it was seeing these historical artifacts of a woman establishing such a big thing, and I think more people should definitely know about it,” accounting junior Jianna Mina said.

The exhibit is on display through May 2019 on the fourth floor of the Love Library in room LA4410.

Taking the time to stop by and take in a significant aspect of San Diego’s history may be the perfect way to pass the time in between classes, and pay respect to an often overlooked aspect of local culture.

Photo by Stephan Early

The Lomaland exhibit is on display in the Love Library through May 2019.

Photo by Stephan Early

The exhibit displays antique pieces produced during Lomaland’s heyday.

12

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Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2019 Editor: Julianna Ress • arts@thedailyaztec.com

Photo by Lauren J. Mapp

Buildings line the Old Town Square in Prague, Czechia.

Savoring the memories of my trip to Prague

by Lauren J. Mapp SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Traversing across the winding, cobblestone streets from one destination to the next, we toured the beautiful baroque library and Meridian Hall of the Clementinum, and watched the wooden characters stroll by their windows of the Prague Astronomical Clock at the top of each hour.

Overcome with sniffles and shivers, I was running through the streets of Prague, trying my best to see as much as we could during our only full day in the city.

As we had traveled from Budapest to Bratislava by train earlier in the week on the third day of our vacation, time seemed to tick by much more slowly.

I was amazed at how much we were able to do and see in each city, and especially amazed at how I savored every subsequent meal even more than the last.

Dumplings stuffed with Slovak sheep cheese topped with sour cream and bacon in Bratislava were some of the most delicious foods I had ever tried, prior to snacking on the spinach spätzle in Vienna the following night.

Each meal and museum tour seemed to last for hours, and even though the excitement of traveling made it hard for me to sleep through the night in each

city, I felt as if I had an endless supply of energy.

But in Prague, it dawned on me that in less than 48 hours, I would be back home beginning my final semester at San Diego State.

Despite feeling rushed toward the end of a seven-day journey between four cities in four countries, I am glad I chose to set aside some time to travel during the break.

Traveling is one of my favorite pastimes, and I believe that the adventures I have had throughout my life are even more valuable than the more formal forms of education that I have received.

I could write for pages about everything that we missed: not riding the strange Paternoster elevator or walking through the Jewish cemetery in Prague, that we didn’t have enough time to drive out to the Sedlac Ossuary in Kutna Hora or how I couldn’t taste the second “original” Sachertorte from the Hotel Sacher’s rival in Vienna.

Something that I have always found to be important when traveling is to plan ahead for what you want to do, but to not be upset if you inevitably miss something, especially during short visits to cities.

Instead of remembering what I couldn’t do in each city, I will cherish having my first Michelin star dining experience, photographing the Bratislava Castle from

the bar in the UFO observation tower and viewing the works of Gustav Klimt at the Belvedere.

My one week trip through eastern Europe is already beginning to feel like a distant memory, and the sights and

smells are fading away as I start studying from the final set of textbooks for my undergraduate career.

At least I will always have the pictures and stories to remind myself of the crazy journey I took during my senior year.

Photo by Lauren J. Mapp

Shoppers can peruse rows of nuts and candy at the Naschmarkt in Vienna, Austria.

PLAY OR JUST COME FOR THE PRIZES! Photo by Lauren J. Mapp

The historic, cobblestone streets of Bratislava, Slovakia provide a beautiful backdrop during a walk through the city.

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