Wednesday, Oct. 3 - Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 Weekly Print Edition
Vol. 105, Issue 8 www.thedailyaztec.com
San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
County health officials declare meningitis outbreak at SDSU
SAFETY FIRST String of unauthorized guests in residence halls leads to new security approaches. PAGE 2
OPINION: DORM DRAMA For residents of SDSU’s Olmeca hall, this past semester has been far from luxurious. PAGE 5
by David Santillan and Sofia Bert
San Diego County health officials declared an outbreak of meningococcal meningitis Friday after another student was hospitalized with the illness this week.
University officials confirmed the case in an email to students and staff early Friday, making it the second one since the beginning of September. A student participating in sorority rush events contracted the illness during the weekend of Sept. 1. County health officials also
disclosed that a third student, who lived off campus and was not attending classes at the time, had contracted meningitis in June. The case wasn’t announced because health officials didn’t initially believe the case to pose a public health threat. San Diego County Deputy
Public Health Officer Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan said none of the three cases are linked and the three students had no prior known contact with each other. Thihalolipavan urged students MENINGITIS, PAGE 2
Ofo bikes hit with vandalism by Shauny Silas STAFF WRITER
VOLLEYBALL ENDS SKID Volleyball ends a 13-game losing streak with a five-set victory over Wyoming on Sept. 29. PAGE 8
VAMONOS DE VIAJE! Estudiantes latinos hablan sobre sus experiencias y los costos de ser estudiante de intercambio. PAGE 9
Some Ofo bikes on campus found a new home up in the trees on Sept. 26 as part of a recent string of vandalizations. The dockless bike share company launched its partnership with San Diego State in a pilot program in April 2018 during the university’s first annual Bike to Campus Day. Associated Students Green Love Commissioner Cassie Weinberg said she began hearing reports of students vandalizing bikes on campus as early as when the program was first introduced in April. “I’ve seen a video of people throwing an Ofo bike off the parking structure, and now I’ve been seeing a lot of pictures of the Ofo bikes in trees,” Weinberg said. “People are not thinking of the repercussions this has on the campus and students trying to use this as a form of transportation.”
Photo by Sara Harmatz
Campus Ofo bikes get stuck in trees as part of a recent string of dockless bike vandalizations.
Weinberg said she worries the vandalism that has occurred with so many bikes makes the university look bad, especially since Ofo is still in a pilot program at SDSU.
University police spokesperson Raquel Herriott said the task of identifying these cases is not something SDSUPD handles. “The third party company
relies on information from community members to identify vandalized or damaged bikes,” VANDALISM, PAGE 2
SDSUPD changes policy on suspect racial descriptions by Bella Ross NEWS EDITOR
‘THE GLASPELL PROJECT’ 100-year-old play connects audience back to the issues of modern women. PAGE 10
INDEX News............................... 2-3 Opinion.......................... 4-5 Sports.............................. 6-8 Mundo Azteca.................... 9 Arts & Culture............ 10-11 The Back Page.................. 12
Photo by David Pradel
SDSUPD’s new policy for suspect descriptions is meant to be more racially sensitive.
Mounting criticism regarding the way university police report suspect descriptions has led to some changes in the way students get notified about incidents of crime on campus. In an Oct. 1 campus-wide email from SDSU Chief of Police Josh Mays and AVP for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Luke Wood, university police said they are implementing policy changes that will affect the way these notifications describe
suspects. When it comes to issuing suspect descriptions, one of the first characteristics that will often come up is race. Criticisms regarding the way this practice endangers people of color have led university police to take action. For events that occur off campus that call for Campus Safety notifications, the email said the new policy ensures suspect descriptions will refrain POLICY CHANGE, PAGE 2