12-05-2018

Wednesday, Dec. 5 - Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018 Weekly Print Edition

Vol. 105, Issue 17 www.thedailyaztec.com

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

Port of entry closure threatens SDSU’s transborder commuters Close-to-home conflicts with Central American migrants in Tijuana force university administrators to offer solutions for border crossers.

by Daniel Gurerro STAFF WRITER

San Diego State officials said they are preparing to offer assistance and resources to students, faculty and staff members who live or work in Tijuana after a clash between caravan migrants and U.S. Border Patrol agents that closed the San Ysidro Port of Entry last month.

An already-tense situation at the border quickly turned into chaos on Sunday, Nov. 25, as some members of the migrant caravan pushed past Mexican police officers in an attempt to cross the Tijuana-San Diego international border.

U.S. Border Patrol Agents responded by temporarily closing the San Ysidro Port of Entry in both directions, leaving Tijuana and San Diego residents stranded on either side.

In response to the events, the university’s Economic Crisis Response Team is planning on providing temporary housing for transborder students and faculty who commute from Tijuana to SDSU. “In terms of resources for students who are directly impacted, we do have

by Lauren J. Mapp SENIOR STAFF WRITER

employee feedback.

“We spend way more time listening to other people’s ideas than we do telling people our ideas and asking for feedback,” Reiman said.

He said it was that kind of feedback that gave birth to items like the Breakfast To Go shake, açaí bowls and peanut butter sandwiches.

SDSU Shake Maker and political science senior Nate Lloyd said most of the employees know both Reiman and Gelfand personally, something that provides a unique sense of unity within the company.

“It feels like were a part of it too,” Lloyd said.

Gelfand said Shake Smart has also revolutionized the idea of using iPads in their service experience and customizing customers accounts to save their favorite orders and assist

San Diego State Chief Diversity Officer J. Luke Wood and Dean of Students Randy Timm publicly supported transgender and non-binary members of the campus community through a Nov. 28 campus-wide email.

Following concerns being brought to their attention regarding potential legislation that would prohibit transgender rights, Timm and Wood wanted to explicitly highlight the campus administration’s commitment to providing a safe community for transgender students.

“There have been some concerns that have been expressed to us from the members of the trans community after things that had happened nationally,” Timm said. “They were feeling a bit concerned for their perspectives on campus and wanted to make sure they’re seen. We were just reaffirming our commitment to that community.”

Timm said they also wanted to ensure transgender and nonbinary students knew who to contact if they needed to reach out for help on campus.

President Donald Trump has recently discussed rescinding protections for people who identify as transgender. Changes that he has discussed include restructuring the definition of “gender” to be explicitly based on the biological sex assigned at birth, according to The New York Times.

Wood and Timm’s email, which in part highlighted the university’s Pride Center and SafeZones program, was a response to those potential policy changes at the federal level.

“Members of San Diego State University’s community who are transgender and nonbinary have expressed fear and frustration about potential reductions in federal protections, including defining of gender and prevention of certain individuals from military service,” Timm and Wood wrote in the email.

Pride Center Interim Assistant

SEE SHAKE SMART, PAGE 2

SEE GENDER, PAGE 2

Photo by Vladimir Salazar

A migrant child stands in front of Mexican police in Tijuana on Sunday, Nov. 25 during a protest at the border.

mechanisms through ECRT, the Economic Crisis Response Team, and housing is (seeking) to provide short-term housing for any individual who might require or want it, given the ongoing situation with crossing the border,” Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Andrea Dooley said at a Nov. 28

Associated Students University Council meeting.

Journalism senior Saira Araiza is one of many students who commute from Tijuana for her classes, spending four hours a day commuting to cross the border to get to campus.

For students who choose to commute across the border to

SDSU, their residency status for tuition purposes can be dependent on whether they qualify for DACA. A university spokesperson said anybody who does not live in California SEE TRANSBORDER COMMUTERS, PAGE 2

Shake Smart owners earn spot on Forbes ‘30 Under 30’

Photo by Bella Ross

Shake Smart has two locations on campus, one in the Aztec Student Union and one outside of the Aztec Recreation Center.

by Sofia Bert SENIOR STAFF WRITER

What started as a desire for healthier food options on campus turned into a huge success for Shake Smart business owners and San Diego State alumni Kevin Gelfand and Martin Reiman, who were recently named in both

Email reinforces university’s support for trans, non-binary students

Forbes’s and Ink Magazine’s 2019 “30 under 30” lists.

Shake Smart extends far beyond just SDSU, with 12 other locations throughout the country, 10 of which are on university campuses.

The “30 under 30” list is created by Forbes Magazine for the top entrepreneurs and young

business owners under 30 years old. Reiman said the duo had submitted their information to Forbes but had not heard a follow-up.

Reiman said the moment when they found out they had made the list was surreal.

“It was crazy because we had no idea that we were being included in it,” Reiman said.

The Shake Smart team is composed of eight women who are also under thirty years old.

One member of the executive board, Hilary Thielscher, said she began working for Shake Smart six months after it opened in 2011 when she was a sophomore at SDSU. Now, seven years later, she is the San Diego regional manager.

“It’s cool to be able to grow with the company and see it from the beginning,” Thielscher said.

Reiman said the Shake Smart is highly customer focused, priding itself on listening and acting according to customer and

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The Daily Aztec

News

Dec. 5-11, 2018 EDITOR: Bella Ross • news@thedailyaztec.com

Latest campus research could lead to faster, more cost efficient census gathering in the future

by Nakia Richardson CONTRIBUTOR

Researchers may have found a new way of conducting the census that saves money, time and a headache.

James Kelly, a graduate student at San Diego State, came across the subject while he was searching for a thesis topic. After investigating the details of the history of the U.S. Census, it turned from just his master’s thesis topic to a proposal that could be revolutionary in the way the federal government counts the country’s population.

Kelly said the current method of mailing out a questionnaire to all households is inefficient and unnecessary, considering there are alternative methods for information gathering.

“It’s more of an issue of accuracy and cost,” Kelly said. “The census will cost up to $22 billion. They have to count

Transborder Commuters:

continued from page 1 would pay non-resident tuition, but those with DACA status and a visa that allows for border crossing would pay resident fees.

Araiza, who also works in San Diego, said the Nov. 25 border closure has been a topic of high concern in her community. “(If more closures happen), of course it will affect me,” she said. “Half of my lifestyle is over there. For us, it’s the fear of the border being closed and not being able to live your life.”

In a Nov. 27 campus-wide email, Dean of Students Randy Timm acknowledged the possibility of potential border closures in the future and the problems it could create for students and faculty members who cross regularly.

“It is possible that there may be additional border closures in the next few weeks,” Timm said in the email. “We recognize that this may not be the only

Gender:

continued from page 1 Coordinator Wesley Palau welcomed the administrative support of LGBTQ

(millions of) people, mainly the adults filling it out for their kids, then mail the questionnaires, which is 80-90 questions per household, and put all of that data into a database. You don’t need to do that, especially when the data is already available.”

Kelly said the problem with questionnaires is the inaccuracy of the data, as many people answer the questions without knowing the information off the top of their heads. They either have to go search for the information or they guess, which leads to the government recording incorrect data. Kelly said the best way to eliminate the issue is by utilizing existing sources.

“My proposed way is to take the data from existing sources and conduct the census,” Kelly said.

Researcher and MIS professor Murray Jennex, who also contributed to the ongoing project, said some sources are organizations we interact with on a daily basis.

“Google knows more about us, and so

time that such a closure may occur, and we understand the stress inherent in the current activities that triggered the closure.”

Araiza said she was pleased with the statement from SDSU, especially because it was something she didn’t expect.

“To know that you are not alone like you thought you were, but the fact that you know there is some people that acknowledged it, it shows what SDSU stands for which is inclusivity and equality and offers the students to reach their goals,” Araiza said.

Associated Students issued their own statement on Dec. 4 in the form of a Facebook post, affirming their “support for the rights and dignity of all people.”

“We urge SDSU students to develop awareness of what is occurring in our region and how it is impacting lives on both sides of our border community,” the post said.

On Dec. 2, the city of Tijuana moved the roughly 6,000 migrants from a sports complex to an old concert venue, further away from the border, after unsanitary living conditions were reported. The migrants, who’ve traveled from Central

communities on campus.

“I think it’s wonderful to see support from the university’s administration, especially on such important matters such as trans-erasure nationwide,” Palau said. “It’s great to have support, especially at that high level of the university,

does Walmart and Target,” Jennex said.

“All of the different companies do. The problem is they’ve never shared data on people. It’s an approach to doing the census privately, without knocking on doors.”

Jennex said this is important because we rely on the population to designate a certain number of delegates to each state. If not taken correctly, which often happens with the census, the government will send inaccurate numbers of delegates per state, giving more or less to each state respectively.

According to a university press release, one of the team’s primary concerns is getting the companies to trust them enough to partner with the team in sharing personal data. They want to create a system that shares the data necessary to conduct the census, but protects the public from disclosure of information, such as social security numbers and banking information. If they can create a system that will do so, they say many businesses might be more

Photo by Vladimir Salazar

Members of the migrant caravan on the Mexican side of the border fence.

American countries, such as Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to escape poverty and violence, are hoping to be granted asylum as political refugees in the

U.S., however their future still remains uncertain.

Assistant News Editor David Santillan contributed to this story.

for LGBTQ students — particularly those that sometimes might not feel like they are recognized or have that much visibility within the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.”

Palau said, since 2012, they have seen the campus become much more inclusive in regards to the transgender and nonbinary communities.

“SDSU has come a long way from initially not having name and gender policies, to actually being a university leading other universities in how to go about those procedures,” Palau said.

Through their time on campus, Palau said the university has implemented policy changes such as the inclusion of gender neutral bathrooms throughout the campus.

“With name process, (you can now use) your prefered name on all

unofficial documents so you don’t get outed when you’re put into groups through BlackBoard or when teachers go ahead and call role,” Palau said.

“We have seen the expansion of gender neutral restrooms on campus beginning from faculty, staff and students having conversations with administrators.”

The Pride Center supports gender nonconforming students at SDSU in a variety of ways, Palau said. A full map of the gender neutral bathrooms on campus can be found on the Center’s website and students can participate in the bimonthly peer-to-peer support group.

Students can also donate or receive clothes through the Pride Center’s Standing Boutique program, which initially began as a way to provide clothing to transgender and non-binary students.

Shake Smart:

Shake Smart originally started as a way for Gelfand and Reiman to learn how to start their own business, Gelfland said.

“Then turned into ‘Oh, this is a job we could make enough money in,’ something really special, a national business with over 200 employees,” Gelfland said.

Shake Smart has two locations on SDSU’s campus, one in front of the Aztec Recreation Center and the other in the Aztec Market located in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student union.

continued from page 1

File photo

A Nov. 28 campus-wide email reaffirmed the universty’s supportive stance on the rights of transgender and nonbinary students

willing to cooperate.

Problems also arise with the prospect of inaccurately defining poverty in the U.S. The current census does not account for money paid toward obligations, like school and raising children or other claimed dependents. Asking about the population’s racial background and gender are also sensitive areas. Jennex said these considerations should not be part of the census because the information is not necessary in counting the population, and it can lead to more harmful implications.

“Collecting census data was used horrendously in the past by other countries,” Jennex said. “Nazi Germany used it to eliminate the Jews. How can we ensure that the data is used ethically?”

The experimenters say there are still barriers to get over before it can be used as an official system of government. But, once they have overcome them, they said they would like to see the new system implemented immediately.

them with nutrition goals. The company first began utilizing iPads to their advantage on the employee end of their operations, then moved to having iPad stations for customers to make orders.

“It is very much like SDSU’s child,” Thielscher said.

Opinion

Dec. 5-11, 2018 EDITOR: Kemi Giwa • opinion@thedailyaztec.com

The Daily Aztec

3

The war on vaping needs to end EDITOR IN CHIEF Will Fritz MANAGING EDITOR Jocelyn Moran NEWS EDITOR Bella Ross ASST. NEWS EDITOR David Santillan OPINION EDITOR Kemi Giwa MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Vladimir Salazar ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Julianna Ress ASST. ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Lexington Howe SPORTS EDITOR Abraham Jewett ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Aaron Tolentino PHOTO EDITOR Michael Abshear MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Mirella Lopez ASST. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Amal Younis ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Dana Tsuri-Etzioni GRAPHIC DESIGNER Katherine Cooke ________________________________ SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Sofia Bert Lauren J. Mapp STAFF WRITERS Stephan Early Daniel Farr Nathan Godderis Daniel Guerrero Tristi Rodriguez CONTRIBUTOR Nakia Richardson STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Raymond Gorospe Justin Neeley ________________________________ ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Josh Diaz SALES MANAGER Valerie Barrientos ACCOUNTING & CONTRACTS Samir Sandhu Meah Mapp SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Kaden Cowles Miguel Souza ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Sammy Attar Alexis Alexander Courtney Barbato Evan Baumbach Alex Barrientos Blake Catherine ________________________________ GENERAL MANAGER/ADVISER Jay Harn GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST Luis Valenzuela ________________________________ 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.

by Miles Streicek STAFF WRITER

Society needs to take a long, hard look at what the responsibility of the government is in people’s lives.

Most would agree when it comes to private actions and decisions, the government has room to regulate activities that may negatively affect others.

This is why murder, theft and other crimes are banned.

It is also why drugs like heroin or meth are banned — they destroy the life of the user both physically and mentally.

Drugs like these can destroy one’s ability to function in civilized society. They lead parents to neglect their children and sometimes even steal from family members to fuel their expensive addiction.

In other words, these drugs don’t just negatively affect the user, they affect everyone close to the user.

Hard drugs aren’t banned because they are unhealthy, they’re banned because they’re destructive.

However, the government isn’t, and shouldn’t be, in the business of banning products that are simply unhealthy but only really affect the individual consumer.

It is important the regulatory bodies of the government, such

as the FDA, don’t transform into organizations that go around telling adults what they can and can’t do based on what they feel is best for people.

Yet, despite this traditional role that government plays, the FDA has become a nanny-like organization, with certain local divisions and governments being even worse.

By and large, around the country there has been a massive crackdown on vaping.

The (San Francisco Bay Area) Marin County Board of Supervisors, all Democrats, voted unanimously to ban the sale of all flavored vape products, leaving only tobacco and menthol flavors available.

The argument is that vaping has become an epidemic among middle and high school students and, therefore, should be banned.

Particularly in focus are the flavored juices which, so Democratic politicians claim, are exclusively popular with underage vapers.

In reality, they’re popular with anyone who doesn’t like their vape to taste like a cigarette.

Ultimately though, the fear is these middle school and high school kids are going to use vaping as a gateway to smoking cigarettes.

But if you want kids to actually start smoking cigarettes, the

easiest way to do that is to remove access of vaping products.

These young vapers would default to other ways of getting the nicotine they’re addicted to, and it would make the problem worse.

As everyone knows, nicotine is addictive, so taking vaporizers and vape juice off the market will not cease nicotine addiction.

Vapers will instead opt for cigarettes or chewing tobacco to get their fix.

This is already happening in Marin County.

The FDA is under the impression vaping isn’t as accessible to the youth as other tobacco products are.

But this is completely ridiculous because the same smoke shops and corner stores that obviously don’t check ID’s, don’t card for tobacco or nicotine products at all.

So, in response to this, certain local governments have called for a ban on menthol cigarettes (some even for all cigarettes).

This is negative for two reasons.

First, those governments would be stripping the rights away from adult smokers, and secondly, it would create the largest black market the world has ever seen.

Much of this would come from tobacco grown in the U.S., as

we’re the fourth largest producer of raw tobacco in the world behind China, India and Brazil.

Then, vaporizers would be sourced from China, as they are now.

But instead of smoke shops and other legitimate companies buying these wholesale vaporizers, it would be private citizens buying them up to sell on the black market.

This is so easy to do because of the Chinese manufacturers who sell their products on Chinese wholesale websites like Alibaba.

Literally anyone with a few hundred dollars to spare can order these products on Alibaba and have them shipped right to their doorstep without any scrutiny from authorities.

In our increasingly interconnected world, there is no way to stop these products from coming into the country, and that’s simply the reality of the situation.

Come 2020, think twice before you vote Democratic for the state legislature.

Consider what is at stake.

They will ban vaping, adult smokers will lose their rights and a massive black market will form.

You heard it here first.

Miles Streicek is a sophomore studying finance.

Monogamy isn’t the only option for us

by Catherine STAFF WRITER

Van Weele

From a young age, we are taught we will all find our one true love.

An individual who we can commit to emotionally, romantically and sexually.

We are taught to accept monogamy as the only way we will ever truly be happily in love.

We so readily believe in this fairytale without fully understanding the evolution of monogamy within human societies.

Monogamous relationships in nature are quite rare — just 3 to 5 percent of species will mate with only one individual.

Scientists are still debating over whether humans are completely monogamous creatures.

Biological evidence supports both arguments, maybe suggesting humans are neither fully monogamous or polyamorous.

Relatively smaller testicles and a smooth penis on males, compared to other primates, indicates humans are monogamous.

Yet, female vocalization during sex and males being physically larger than females are both characteristics of primates with multiple mates, which suggests non-monogamy in humans.

Perhaps humans gravitated toward monogamy for socioeconomic reasons.

The overwhelming majority of early human societies were polyamorous.

It was not until the Agricultural Revolution in Europe when these societies began to practice

monogamy.

Marriage became a means of acquiring more wealth and power, and a larger family meant more people to labor and contribute the family’s wellbeing.

There are other benefits that come with monogamy aside from socioeconomic gains.

We observe when in monogamous relationships, men are more likely to contribute to childcare, creating a more stable home environment for the children.

Forming strong, long-term relationships has been shown to

is often difficult.

People who are married have admitted having thoughts about other people, flirting with and even feeling aroused in the presence of someone other than their partner, all while fully expecting their partners to adhere to a completely exclusive relationship.

The gradual rise of acceptance of polyamory is perhaps a way for couples to address incompatibility with monogamy.

An interest in non-monogamous relationships is highest amongst the younger generations.

Millennials and Gen Z-ers were

actually have a greater amount of trust and less jealousy than those in monogamous relationships.

This may be because those in non-monogamous relationships have more open conversations about their feelings.

These types of relationships require open dialogue between partners in order to set boundaries and ensure emotional and physical needs are still being met.

At a time when marriage is no longer driven solely by socioeconomic gains, perhaps we as a society are beginning to rethink the idea of monogamous

“It is important the regulatory bodies of the government, such as the FDA, don’t transform into organizations that go around telling adults what they can and can’t do based on what they feel is best for people.” be better for people’s health by boosting the immune system, lowering the risk of depression and reducing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases by limiting the number of sexual partners Despite the romanticization of monogamy, infidelity within relationships still occurs.

The Institute for Family Studies found about 20 percent of men and 13 percent of women in married relationships have confessed to cheating on their spouse. Unfaithfulness is largely considered the biggest act of betrayal and is one of the leading causes of divorce.

Our commitment to monogamy

raised by a generation with a 50 percent divorce rate, which likely influenced many to question the way we perceive commitment in our relationships.

There is a shifting emphasis toward creating a commitment to a partner rather than a commitment to monogamy.

The idea of agreeing to see other people outside of a faithful relationship baffles many, but there are plenty of people who are in healthy and happy nonmonogamous relationships.

A 2017 study by the Perspectives on Psychological Science concluded people in non-monogamous relationships

relationships.

Monogamy and polyamory are slowly becoming a spectrum instead of two opposite, dichotomic choices.

There is a growing interest in non-monogamous relationships.

All types of relationships will be presented with challenges, so perhaps we should refrain from looking to societal norms to determine exclusivity in a relationship and instead, let the individual and their partner create a relationship best suited for themselves.

Catherine Van Weele is a freshman studying political science.

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Mundo Azteca

The Daily Aztec

Dec. 5-11, 2018 Editor: Vladimir Salazar • mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

Columna: Cómo sobrevivir como freelancer por Vladimir Salazar EDITOR DE MUNDO AZTECA

Ya estoy posiblemente en mis últimos días como estudiante de periodismo en SDSU, y tengo varios consejos para estudiantes que quieran dedicarse a ser un reportero freelancer.

De la noche a la mañana, comencé a trabajar como freelancer debido a que unos conocidos necesitaban a otra persona que cubriera la llegada de la caravana migrante de centroamericanos. Desde que comencé ese día, no he parado de estar en cobertura. Después de tres semanas que parecen tres meses he aprendido bastante sobre grabar, editar y más que nada, como sobrevivir ante esta línea de trabajo que no es para nada fácil y no es para gente que no está dispuesta a tomar riesgos. Desde que empecé con la caravana, he ayudado como fixer, chofer, productor, traductor y de más cosas a varios equipos de prensa internacional.En noticias de magnitud internacional como el de la caravana, mucha prensa de todo el mundo está viniendo a cubrirlo, por lo cual es un gran momento de darte a conocer. Si ven que siempre estas en momentos donde está ocurriendo algo, se darán cuenta que eres confiable y empezarán a buscarte para que les produzcas

contenido.

Es importante saber tratar a la gente, conocer la ciudad y estar al tanto de todo lo que está pasando.

Otra cosa que he aprendido como freelancer es saber medir el peligro.

Hay varios medios de prensa internacional que al llegar a Tijuana, se les hace fácil tratar de conseguir algún tipo de entrevista o entrar a una zona de peligro, debido a que no conocen las condiciones o la situación de la ciudad. Por ejemplo, trabajando con la RAI me estuvieron presionando a tratar de conseguirles una entrevista con un coyote, una persona que cruza a migrantes hacia EEUU de manera ilegal, y en muchas ocasiones, de manera peligrosa. Y aunque sí traté de hacerlo al principio, el productor con el que estoy trabajando me dijo que no arriesgara mi vida por tratar de encontrarles contenido a otras personas. Debido a que están haciendo un trabajo ilegal, la mayoría de los coyotes no se exponen a ningún medio de comunicación, y si lo hacen, es por que un vínculo ya ha sido establecido, y aun así, es muy raro que se presten a esas situaciones.

A lo que he aprendido como periodista, y más en un país como México, donde es un constante peligro ejercer esta profesión, es que sí se estará expuesto a situaciones de peligro, pero hay momentos en donde se necesita

saber cuando decir que no.

Por ejemplo, en el momento, estoy trabajando con un equipo que viene siguiendo a una familia migrante desde Guatemala. Ellos siguieron a una familia que iba a cruzar por medio de un coyote, en un área de Tijuana que si no tienes algo que estar haciendo ahí, no es recomendable que entres. A lo que me dicen, fueron detenidos por tres horas por hombres armados y les robaron el equipo de rodaje. Por más importante que sea conseguir contenido, ninguna historia es tan importante para arriesgar tu vida.

Sé que si algún equipo de afuera me pide algo así, los rechazaré sin importar la cantidad de dinero que ofrezcan por tratar de conseguir la historia. Porque si llega a pasar algo, al final de cuentas, yo seré el afectado debido a que ellos se regresarán a sus casas y yo permaneceré en la ciudad.

El otro día me mandaron a una asignación que no era por parte de la caravana. Telemundo necesitaba video sobre un asesinato que ocurrió en una colonia peligrosa de Tijuana. Al llegar, yo ya sabía que no estaba en un territorio seguro, y es por ende que siempre estuve alerta de la gente que pasaba por donde yo estaba.

Hubo un momento que traté de sacar entrevista de una mujer, y al momento de estar hablando con ella, varios residentes del complejo

Mientras cubre la caravana migrante, Vladimir ve a periodista Jorge Ramos.

de departamentos abrieron sus ventanas para escuchar qué es lo que estaba diciendo.

En ese momento, me di cuenta de que me estaban escuchando, y decidí mover mi auto y a mí mismo a otra zona para no exponerme tanto. Traté de conseguir entrevistas, pero debido al miedo que muchos residentes tenían por el hecho de que es un territorio controlado por el narco, solo grabé escenas donde ocurrió el crimen y me fui. Por lo menos en México, un periodista siempre tiene que estar cuidándose hasta su propia sombra. Cuando uno está tratando de investigar sobre temas sensibles como es el narcotráfico, migración, es mejor dejarle saber

a alguien a dónde fuiste por si te llegas a perder.

A final de cuentas, el periodismo es una línea de trabajo para gente que le gusta tomar riesgos. El reportar sobre los problemas del mundo requiere coraje debido a que muchas veces, tú solo eres la persona que reporta la información.

Estás registrando momentos de la historia, y a lo que hemos aprendido sobre historia, es que como especie, no somos buenos.

Hay muchos actos de violencia, corrupción y sufrimiento que ocurren, y uno como periodista, tiene que estar dispuestos a cubrir.

Eso sí, uno tiene que saber cómo juzgar una situación y saber si vale la pena arriesgar tu vida.

ALL SDSU STUDENT GET SPECIAL OFFER WITH RED ID

Dec. 5-11, 2018 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Sports

The Daily Aztec

5

Aztecs to play in Frisco Bowl in Texas

by Aaron Tolentino ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

After losing three straight games to end the season, San Diego State football was in danger of missing out in a bowl game.

Thankfully, for the Aztecs, head coach Rocky Long got the call on Sunday that even he wasn’t sure was going to come.

“The reaction was relief that we were in the game,” Long said.

The call informed him SDSU had been selected to play as an at-large against Ohio in the Frisco Bowl on Dec. 19 in Frisco, Tex. The Aztecs’ (7-5, 4-4) loss to Hawaii on Nov. 24 meant a sixth place finish in the Mountain West, and with more bowl eligible teams than spots available, there was a chance they would miss out on going bowling for the first time in nine years.

The losing streak to end the season prompted speculation of being left out of a bowl game.

Nonetheless, the Aztecs got an invite to the Frisco Bowl, which does not have a direct tie-in with the MW. The bowl with MW tie-ins include the Arizona Bowl, New Mexico Bowl and Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Both the Arizona Bowl and New Mexico Bowl went to MW teams that finished higher in the conference standings: Nevada (7-5, 5-3) and Utah State (10-2, 7-1).

Long said the program’s reputation made them desirable as an at-large team.

“There (are) more people in the country that recognize our brand that we have a good football program,” Long said.

“Coming from San Diego, the population and the number of TV sets makes us more attractive.”

Getting a bowl invitation helps show prospective student-athletes that the football team is a nationally-recognized program.

Long said a bowl game will pay dividends for the future of SDSU football.

“For the sake of our players in the program and for the sake of recruiting and for the sake of developing next year’s team, it’s very very important that we are in a bowl game,” Long said. “The added practices really are a positive.”

Junior linebacker Kyahva Tezino and junior tight end Parker Houston found out about the bowl game the same way many college students get their news – Twitter.

Tezino was scrolling through his feed when a tweet from Ohio’s account popped up.

“I saw Ohio posted it first. I was going to see if we were going to post it to make sure it was true, so when that happened, (SDSU) posted it so I was like ‘oh, it’s official,”’ Tezino said. “I’m happy we got another chance just to end the season right.”

Houston said he was constantly checking social media on Sunday because he wanted to be the first to find out what bowl game SDSU would play in.

“I was just chilling at home, updating (my) Twitter feed because you want to find out as soon as possible,” he said.

Houston said the Aztecs were relieved they got a bowl game considering the losing streak to end the season.

“The way we finished our season and the

Graphic courtesy of Ray Mallouk, DXL Frisco Bowl Media Coordinator

way we were looking, I think everybody was just excited to get in a bowl game,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter which one it is; we’re just going to go out there and play our best.”

This will be the second consecutive year the Aztecs will head to Texas for a bowl game. Last season, SDSU played in the Armed Forces Bowl against Army in Fort Worth.

For Tezino, he’ll be able to settle a dispute with a teammate about a certain iconic

Texas-based burger chain.

Junior running back Juwan Washington, a Texas native, said he has been trying to convince Tezino that Whataburger is better than California’s In-N-Out burger.

“Me and Juwan got a competition going on because I keep telling him that In-N-Out is better. I guess because I’m a Cali guy and he’s a Texas guy,” Tezino said. “I’m going to give it another chance to see how it is, so that’s probably the best thing about going to Texas.”

Basketball welcomes USD

by Abraham Jewett SPORTS EDITOR

San Diego State men’s basketball will face a familiar opponent on Wednesday night when the team welcomes in University of San Diego to Viejas Arena.

The meeting will be the 50th between the two schools separated by less than 10 miles of interstate highway.

The distance between the two teams has been more evident on the court, however, with SDSU (5-2) defeating USD (6-2) in 11 of the team’s previous 12 meetings.

The last time the Toreros left the Aztecs’ house with a victory was back in 2000, when previous SDSU head coach Steve Fisher was in only his second season at the helm, and the name on the arena still read ‘Cox’.

Head coach Brian Dutcher has since taken over as the man in charge of the Scarlet and Black and said his team is excited to continue improving during its non-conference schedule.

“This will be a good test for us, to see how we’re coming as a team,” Dutcher said. “We’re nowhere near what we need to be, but I think we’re making small steps, and we’ll see if we can make another step on Wednesday.”

Despite the Aztecs’ recent history of success in the matchup, the Toreros boast a team with four senior starters that has won four their last five games.

“They’re playing like an experienced team,” Dutcher said. “I think some of their young guys are trying to catch up, but they run their stuff extremely well and they will present a great challenge.”

USD, which plays in the West Coast Conference, is led on offense by Isaiah Pineiro, a senior forward averaging 21.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

In addition, senior guard Olin Carter III is averaging 17.6 points per game for the Toreros and is coming off a 21-point performance in the team’s victory against Long Beach State on Dec. 1.

Senior guard Jeremy Hemsley could be tasked with guarding Carter himself, fresh off a season-high 17-point performance in a win against Illinois State on Saturday.

“We know it’s a team we can’t take lightly,” Hemsley said. “They have a lot of vets on the team, a lot of returners and they’ve got a good coach. So we know we’ve got to be well prepared like any other game.”

The last time the Aztecs lost a game to the Toreros was during Hemsley’s freshman season in 2015, when the team’s matched up in an outdoor game played at Petco Park.

Hemsley is now one of three senior players on the team and said he is relishing the leadership role which comes with it.

“You want to be able to be that guy for the younger guys. That they can go up to you and ask you what they’re doing wrong or what they could do better,” Hemsley said.

The team’s youth has not held it back so far this season, with sophomore forwards Jalen McDaniels (14.6 points per game) and Matt Mitchell (12.7 points per game) both putting up consistent numbers for the Aztecs.

SDSU has also benefited from strong rebounding by true freshman forward Nathan Mensah, who has a 21 combined boards in the past two games.

“I think when (Mensah) and Jalen are out there together, it’s that length reboundingwise that helps,” Dutcher said.” “Hopefully his rebounding will continue to get better as the season goes on and that will make us better defensively.”

Another big contributor has been senior guard Devin Watson, who leads the Aztecs in scoring with 15.9 points per game to go with nearly five assists.

Watson, who transferred to SDSU after his sophomore season at San Francisco State, said he is glad to help lead his less experienced teammates.

“The younger guys come up to me like a big brother,” he said. “I remember being a sophomore and treating my seniors the same way, so it feels good to be in this position.”

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6

Sports

The Daily Aztec

Dec. 5-11, 2018 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Aztecs fail to hold lead against Arizona

by Tristi Rodriguez STAFF WRITER

The San Diego State women’s basketball team let a win slip away on Sunday afternoon against the University of Arizona at Viejas Arena.

After a back-and-forth game, the final score was 69-60 in favor of the Wildcats.

The Aztecs came out strong in the first half, allowing Arizona to take the lead once and for only 33 seconds.

The Aztecs led the rest of the first half, with their largest lead being 12.

Although the Wildcats were down most of the first half, they continued to battle.

After going on a 13-3 run, the Wildcats crept their way in making the score 33-31 just moments before halftime.

That essentially sparked the fire they brought out in the second half.

Arizona redshirt sophomore Aari McDonald led the Wildcats, finishing with 29 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals.

SDSU freshman guard Sophia Ramos finished with a doubledouble with 14 points and 10 rebounds and said the team’s lack of communication led to the loss.

“We just started rushing on the offensive side and not communicating enough on the defensive end to find their shooters and stop their

transitions, which ended up hurting us down the line,” she said.

Sophomore guard Najé Murray came out hot in the first quarter, shooting four of five from the field and two of three from the three-point line.

Her shot cooled off the rest of the game, and she finished the game with 16 points, shooting six of 12 from the field and four of 10 from the three-point line.

Arizona realized that Murray was on fire early in the game and began to defend her more closely.

“When you have 10 in the first, they defend you differently,” Murray said. “If they’re going to put a defender on me tight, then it’s time for someone else to go off, and they definitely showed up.”

Although Murray was unable to keep the flame alive with her shot, she finished with four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Murray said she has to contribute in other ways than just points.

“It’s never about scoring,” she said. “If I have 20 in the first and zero the rest of the game, it doesn’t matter because there’s other things that I have to do.”

Arizona has been outscoring its opponents by an average of 26.3 points.

Head coach Stacie Terry said she is proud of her team.

“I want to say how proud I am of my team for even making this

a game,” she said. “We could’ve folded, and we didn’t. That is a testament to the grit that they had and how hard they played.”

SDSU sophomore guard and the team’s leading scorer, Te’a Adams, was out due to a sprained right ankle.

Terry said Adams’ absence affected the game result.

“It’s challenging because Te’a does so many things for us,” she said. “Not only is she one of our leading scorers, she guards the best player on the floor every time. So we were down on both sides of the ball.”

Although Adams couldn’t physically help her team, she managed to help mentally and emotionally.

Ramos said Adams helps out from the bench.

“Te’a is out on the court with us, but she’s not (completely) out,” she said. “She’s a big part of our team on the bench as well. She’s a big supporter.”

Murray said the team made adjustments which forced certain players to step up.

“You can’t replace anyone that you lose so it’s more like adjusting to the difference,” she said. “So you have to find a way.

It’s just making the adjustment last minute because it happened quick. People came to the role they had to be in and they had a couple days to be ready for it and they showed out for sure.”

The Aztecs take a road trip next week to UC Irvine on Dec. 7 and CS Northridge on Dec. 9.

Photo by Raymond Gorospe

Freshman guard Mallory Adams attempts to drive to the hoop during the Aztecs’ 69-60 loss to Arizona on Dec. 2 at Viejas Arena.

COLUMN

Murray’s scoring ability will be key to Aztecs’ success

by Daniel Farr STAFF WRITER

Before the season, San Diego State women’s basketball’s Najé Murray said she’ll do whatever it takes to win.

If it’s rebounding, taking charges, diving on loose balls or getting her teammates involved, the sophomore guard will do it, but Murray must score first and foremost for her team to be successful.

Murray has an incredibly beautiful shot, especially from

“It’s never about scoring. If I have 20 in the first and zero the rest of the game it doesn’t matter.”

– Naje Murray, sophomore guard Photo by Raymond Gorospe

three-point range. It’s obvious she has a natural feel for the game of basketball. She is a cerebral player who is very aware of what’s going on around her.

But sometimes Murray needs to say “screw it” and simply take over just like her favorite athlete who played 20 years in Southern California – Kobe

Sophomore guard Naje Murray drives into the lane during the Aztecs 69-60 loss to Arizona on Dec. 2 at Viejas Arena.

Bryant.

“I am obsessed with Kobe Bryant. I study him, I read his books, I watch his videos, I try to eat his diet, I try to embody him,” she said.

Murray, whose season-high is only 17 points, needs to take advantage of her God-given gift

of scoring. When she heats up, she scores effortlessly.

In the 69-60 loss to Arizona on Sunday, Murray scored 10 points in the first quarter and the Wildcats could not stop her. As the game progressed, she became less aggressive on offense, hovering around the

three-point line and ended up scoring only 16 points.

Murray said her focus is more than just scoring.

“It’s never about scoring, if I have 20 in the first and zero the rest of the game it doesn’t matter because there is other things I have to do,” Murray said.

Murray is being a humble, team-first player, but her team relies on her scoring and she must stay aggressive and demand shots in crunch time.

Not saying she needs to jack up ill-advised shots, but Murray must demand the ball more and try to create more shots for herself. That will result in the floor opening up more for her teammates.

Head coach Stacie Terry said Murray’s scoring is a vital part of the Aztecs’ offense.

“I need to give her some looks, draw up some plays where we can get her some easy looks because she is such a good shooter,” Terry said. “We do rely on her to score for us to be successful.”

Most of Murray’s shots are threes. On the year, she has made 24 out of 66 threes at 36 percent.

Shooting at that volume of threes and being able to maintain such an impressive percentage is quite rare.

Murray could use her deadly three point shot as a decoy to open up her teammates’ looks, try to get into the paint or pump fake and get the opposition in foul trouble.

If Murray can get her average up to 20 points per game and score into the paint more often, SDSU will be a tough cover for any team in the nation.

Dec. 5-11, 2018 EDITOR: Julianna Ress • arts@thedailyaztec.com

Arts & Culture

The Daily Aztec

7

‘The Daily Show’ comedian Neal Brennan to bring stand-up show to House of Blues

by Stephan STAFF WRITER

Early

Comedian and “The Daily Show� correspondent Neal Brennan plans to strictly bring the funny with him on tour for his new stand-up show “Here We Go� when it lands at the House of Blues in San Diego Dec. 14. “I’m all out of sad stories,� Brennan said, referring to the difference between his current tour and upcoming Netflix special “Here We Go� and his last Netflix special titled “Three Mics.�

The comedian, writer, producer, director and actor said in an interview with The Daily Aztec he’s ready to deliver more straightforward stand-up this time around, as opposed to some of the emotional elements found in “Three Mics.� “Stand-up is the greatest thing in the world,� Brennan said. “So, I don’t feel bad saying you’re only getting stand-up.�

This sentiment seems to be directly in line with the approach he is taking with his career and his life.

He said doing stand-up comedy is what’s making him the happiest, and that he’s reached a point in his career where he no longer measures the success of his projects by how big they are but, rather, how fun they are. “Most people think we are here — as in, alive — to make a profit,� Brennan said. “I feel like I’ve done enough stuff to where I can just see how this fun is.�

Anybody familiar with Brennan’s body of work could argue his outlook is an affordance of the great successes he has already achieved.

He’s written for several large networks and personalities, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.

He has also worked with industry names like Ellen DeGeneres and cocreated “Chappelle’s Show� alongside Dave Chappelle. Even “Half Baked,� the project co-wrote with Chappelle, now has a cult following and is one of the most quotable stoner comedies to date. “Me and my brothers grew up watching ‘Chappelle’s Show’ and we loved it,� social work graduate student Luke Cunningham said. “It was always so funny.�

Brennan has additionally made appearances on shows like “The Daily Show� and “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.� Add in his continually rising stand-up career, and it’s clear that Brennan is no stranger to having big projects or success. “I just don’t like going into an office, so the only big project you might hear coming from me is doing stand-up,� the comedian said. “I just like doing standup, and I don’t like sitting in a room trying thinking of a plot for ten hours.�

With much of the material from this tour being turned into another Netflix special, Brennan discussed some of the big differences in working with a company like Netflix as opposed to Comedy Central or HBO. “The biggest difference is that they are pretty permissive in terms of material,�

Brennan said. “In terms of launch, it’s that it’s worldwide, and that’s amazing.�

He expanded on how working with Netflix has put his shows in cities such as Santiago, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris and London. He said the opportunities for travel aren’t as available with Comedy Central or HBO. Even after the “Here We Go� tour ends in San Diego, he plans on spending the Christmas season in Hong Kong and Bangkok doing shows and spending time

Courtesy of Loshak PR

Neal Brennan co-wrote “Half Baked� and “Chappelle’s Show,� and is currently a correspondent on “The Daily Show.�

with his girlfriend.

Having been all the places he’s been to in life and in the world, he has some advice for the younger and less experienced version of himself.

“Nothing has ever been as bad as I worried it would be,� Brennan said. “In my head, what I write is going to be horror movie, but in reality, it’s more like a sh---y documentary.�

Women in Leadership panel shares advice, experience

by Nathan Godderis STAFF WRITER

On Nov. 30, a Women in Leadership panel took place on campus, which brought together six influential women to discuss their careers and personal experiences.

The meeting was focused on helping elevate women in their communities and in the workforce, and the women on the panel were there to help motivate and guide students in their transition from college to career.

The meeting was organized by environmental engineering senior Lorelay Mendoza, who worked with the Center for the Advancement of Students in Academia (CASA) to get in contact with the speakers.

Mendoza was prompted to organize this when she met with Lida Raifa, the dean of Student Success and Equity at Grossmont College, who told her about the problems with women in leadership. “She talked about her research on female presidents and the community college system and how we hold ourselves back from positions, or sometimes, we’ll wait for things like having to check every single box on the requirements for a job before we apply to it,� Mendoza said, “It made me realize that there was a lack of representation of women in leadership positions, and I wanted to bring that to SDSU and my peers.�

The six speakers all came from diverse backgrounds and occupations. Daisy Galeana, an SDSU alumna and Mexican immigrant is a technical manager for Solar

Turbines Inc., who has found a lot of success in the corporate world and spoke a lot about the challenges of being a Hispanic woman going into STEM. Rafia spoke about improving equity at SDSU and women elevating themselves in certain situations.

Sara R. Roldan, a director of intercultural communication, said she educates and trains law enforcement to improve how they deal with mental health, disabilities and minority status. She spoke about struggles in the workplace and how building connections is important.

Debra Sterling Roy has been an engineer for over 25 years and has come a long way in the workforce. She spoke about the challenges of being one of the only women in her field, and the limitations of women in STEM. Irene Tassie, an SDSU alumna, is a support specialist at a biotech company and has run her own dog-walking business.

She talked about how to deal with stress and coworkers in the workplace.

Tabitha Burke works in business management and has done a variety of jobs.

She spoke about networking, finding jobs and building self-confidence at a company.

The women at the panel are also available as mentors for college students.

Roldan came to the meeting due to the fact that she was also once an SDSU student with questions. “When I was a student, I gained a lot of mentors that came through this panel, so I know how important they are for students, therefore I always make the time,� Roldan

said.

The panel wasn’t just meant to help women — men sat in the audience, as well, to hear the speakers. One male military construction officer asked a question about helping integrate women in his program, and it sparked a conversation on what male employers could do differently in the workplace to make it more inclusive for

women. “We all want the same, we want equality, we want to see more women everywhere,�

Roldan said, “So it’s not so much the difference, it’s that we want to unite ourselves because we’re so fragmented, so we can help each other, we need to help each other to elect each other.�

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8

The Daily Aztec

The Back Page

Dec. 5-11, 2018 Editor: Julianna Ress • arts@thedailyaztec.com

Photo of the Week: J.I.D.’s spontaneous performance Audiences were treated to an impromptu concert by rapper J.I.D last Friday night, Nov. 30, in the Conrad Prebys Student Union Theater.

The Music Appreciation event, hosted by the Aztec Student Union Board and Aztec Music Group, was intended to be a Q&A followed by J.I.D performing his two most popular songs “151 Rum” and “NEVER,” flyers advertising the event stated.

However, two songs eventually turned into six as the rapper performed several songs off his most recent album “DiCaprio 2,” released Nov. 26.

After J.I.D was finished answering questions, he decided to let the audience decide which songs he would perform, and this was when the crowd went wild.

The vibe was electric, yet intimate, as J.I.D played off the crowd’s energy and the audience rapped along with him.

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Rapper J.I.D. came to campus for a Q&A and two song performance, which increased to six songs.

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