“Halo 4” review: Entertainment, Pg. 4
THE NEWSPAPER OF SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1913 VOLUME 99, ISSUE 45
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2012
$2.8 mil supports future scientists
campus
Unique highway signs: Opinion, Pg. 7
Andrea Ciardiello Staff Writer
The Initiative for Maximizing Student Development, which prepares San Diego State graduate students for careers in the sciences, recently received a $2.8 million federal grant from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Since 1992, the SDSU program has provided financial support to biomedical and behavioral science students from diverse backgrounds. With the funding from the NIH grant, it will continue to assist students through 2017. Program director and SDSU chemistry professor William Tong explains the importance of the IMSD program, “This intensive program prepares junior and senior-level students for competitive doctoral, research and leadership careers in the biomedical and behavioral science fields.” Tong, a distinguished professional in the scientific community, has been awarded several research grants for a variety of projects and programs that have led to critical developments in the
I expected to see neon signage Las Vegas’ gaudiest casino could be proud of. I was somewhat dissapointed...
antonio zaragoza , editor in chief
Keynote speakers sit on a Q&A panel to discuss new possibilities. The $2.8 million federal grant from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences will aid SDSU biomedical and behavioral science students.
scientific community. Program codirector and SDSU biology professor Sanford Bernstein also received praise from his colleagues for his collaborative efforts in national research.
Through the year-round guidance of acknowledged researchers Tong and Bernstein, the 30 SDSU students that the program currently supports are able to improve and continue their
On-campus preaching gets loud
studies. Part of the support these students receive is being mentored by SDSU’s finest scientific experts. Students in the program also participate in internships, scientific seminars and conferences.
Bilingual brain activity researched
BILINGUAL continued on page 2
PANDORA continued on page 6
Utilizing head-mounting, eyetracking technology, the School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at San Diego State is conducting high-end research on English and Spanish-speaking bilinguals. By measuring pupil dilation, researchers are able to decipher when a person is concentrating more than usual on a cognitive task. When participants struggle with one of the many audio-visual tasks provided by researchers, their brain tends to work harder. The extra concentration forces them to fixate their eye focus, which causes pupil dilation that is then observed by repaige nelson , photo editor
Religious protestors on campus express and preach their beliefs to San Diego State students in front of Love Library. Most of the religious preachers on campus came from off-campus Christian groups and the SDSU InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
We’re not yelling because we’re upset or angry ... We’re lifting up our voice because we don’t have amplification. Anthony English New Life Presbyterian Church of La Mesa member place, but this semester, off-campus Christian groups continue to
in busy areas between buildings, shouting the gospel at anyone
T
PREACHERS continued on page 2
Staff Writer
A bustling campus of approximately 30,000 students, San Diego State is far from being a quiet
Staff Columnist
Henrike Blumenfeld SDSU Bilingual and Cognition Laboratory Director searchers. According to SDSU’s Bilingualism and Cognition Laboratory Director Henrike Blumenfeld, the pupil dilation may suggest low proficiency in the language being tested. Other variables that may affect results are also considered. For instance, participants are asked if they
Arturo Garcia
add to the commotion with fervent and often confrontational demonstrations. Some come armed with signs, crosses and pamphlets, which warn of damnation. Others stand
Madison Hopkins
willing to listen. Their argumentative style draws strong reactions from students. Anthony English, a member of New Life Presbyterian Church of La Mesa, preached last Tuesday on campus and said there is a good reason groups like his are perceived by students to be shouting rather than presenting their message. “We’re not yelling because we’re upset or angry,” English said. “We’re lifting up our voice because we don’t have amplification.” “For the most part, I’d say it’s
campus
Contributor
opinion
he modern music experience centers around the customer. Gone are the days when the household radio provided the main source of entertainment and listeners could only hope and wait for their favorite song to finally come on the air. Now, not only do people have the ability to instantly stream any song online, websites can also create specialized playlists based off personal preferences. Progress in the industry moved traditional radio closer to irrelevance, replacing it with technological innovations appealing to a younger, larger demographic. Unfortunately because of excessive fees, the current status of online radio as the vanguard of the modern-day music experience may cease to exist as we know it. Pandora Internet Radio, an online company that creates userspecific music stations, sued the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for more reasonable licensing fees. Currently, Pandora pays music publishers and songwriters more than twice as much as traditional and satellite radio stations do for the same rights to the same music. Earlier this year, ASCAP negotiated a more practical deal with the Radio Music License Committee, which oversees most traditional radio stations, as well as one of Pandora’s top competitors: Clear Channel Communications Inc. online system, iHeartRadio. ASCAP argues against granting Pandora the same deal it has made with similar online radios, placing it at a financial disadvantage.
campus
Declan Desmond
Pandora owed for fair license fees
Eye movement is very subconscious, we read the direction the eye goes.