The Daily Aztec 3/16/22

Weds., March 16 - Tues., March 22, 2022 Weekly Print Edition

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

Vol. 108, Issue 21 www.thedailyaztec.com

2

The Daily Aztec

News

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Katelynn Robinson • news@thedailyaztec.com

Corlett removed from two courses after using racial slurs in class

by Katelynn NEWS EDITOR

Robinson

Professor J. Angelo Corlett was reassigned from two courses after using racial slurs and racist labels/nicknames in his lectures. Corlett is still teaching a philosophy course at San Diego State and is tenured.

His removal from two select courses comes after a student confronted his controversial teaching tactics on March 1. However, this was not the first occurrence of student complaints.

Criminal justice junior Amanda Malawski was enrolled in Corlett’s Morality and Law course in the fall 2020 semester. The course was lectured using Google Spaces, a mobile app for group discussions and messaging developed by Google.

“I reported him last fall for the language and stuff, and nothing was done,” Malawski said.

The aspiring lawyer thought the class would touch on topics relevant to her career goals. However, the “offensiphobia” lecture was given after the add/drop deadline, and from that point forward she said she hated attending the class.

“He always said because he experiences racism he understands…I get that he experiences racism but it doesn’t justify using the n-word,” Malawski said.

Corlett repeatedly justified his language with a variety of arguments.

Courtesy of SDSU Philosophy

Professor J. Angelo Corlett is still currently teaching and tenured.

“He would justify that if a white person is offended by him saying the n-word like why are you offended, you’re not a Black person, and he would be like ‘the only peo-

ple that should be offended are Black people,’” Corlett said. “But when people said he shouldn’t say that, he would go back to his ‘offensiphobia’ bullshit lecture.”

When students participated in the class but refused to vocalize the racial slurs, students said he would guilt trip them, claiming to censor the slurs was in direct contradiction with what he taught, according to Malawski.

The Afrikan Student Union released a statement on Instagram on March 6, which voiced support for the university’s decision to remove Corlett from the two courses.

“On behalf of the Afrikan Student Union, we 100% support the University’s decision to remove Professor Corlett from the classroom. We stand with ALL Black students on this matter. This situation is just one of many incidents of anti-Blackness and racism, not only within his classroom but on campus as a whole.”

Associated Students released a similar statement on March 8 and said they are “appalled” by his behavior.

“Students in the classroom reported that the n-word with a ‘hard r’ at the end was said over 60 times, the words ‘r*pe’ and ‘gang r*pe’ were used repeatedly when referencing sexual violence, and he noted that he would only be fired if he r*aped or killed a student,” the AS statement said.

FIRE came out with a vulgar article

that came to Corlett’s defense claiming he has a right to use this kind of speech under his First Amendment rights.

“We have the utmost respect for academic freedom and free speech on this campus, yet it is impossible to comprehend how repeated abuse of racial epithets, derogatory terms, and disturbing, harmful language that causes trauma and creates a hostile learning environment is beneficial to the student academic experience,” the AS statement said.

Upon request to define the parameters of Corlett’s “reassignment,” the university said they could not discuss the details any further since this is a personnel issue.

The university did, however, release this statement: “Importantly, the information shared in the media coverage is not a complete reflection of what has occurred. The university holds in highest regards all protections for academic freedom. The university, however, is limited in what it can share about the matter, as this involves a personnel issue.

After reviewing multiple complaints from students, the university considered the severity of the situation and the support needed for our students, and reassigned the professor. Again, as this involves a personnel matter, the university cannot provide further information at this time.”

Corlett could not be reached for comment.

Sustainability/Tech Fee opposed after forum confusion

by Eugénie Budnik STAFF WRITER

The action to recommend the “Accelerating Technology and Sustainability” fee to President de la Torre did not pass last Friday after student opposition and confusing forums.

“From an ethical standpoint, the presentations that were presented to the students are not what was approved in CFAC. The fact that the presentations were changed from forum to forum is not fair for us to look at the data and make a conclusion,” A.S. student at large Alexia Orduro said.

CFAC proposed the fee to compensate for the loss of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III) which provided higher education institutions with over $36 billion to ensure that learning continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The university was using a portion of the HEERF III funds received in order to provide 24/7 support for platforms such as Canvas and Zoom.

The proposed fee had three different price levels of $249, $199, or $174 per semester. The fee, if approved, would begin in the fall of 2022 and would be adjusted annually according to the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI).

650 students attended the forums. Of the students who provided feedback, 62% voted in opposition of the proposed fee.

The “Accelerating Technology and Sustainability” fee was considered through an alternative consultation process from Feb. 15 to March 11, in which the CFAC held 39 open forums outlining the services the fee would provide.

Students who were unable to attend any of the 39 forums could visit SDSU Testing Services during business hours to view the presentation and provide feedback.

The fee would also apply to SDSU Imperial Valley (IV) students. CFAC held only two open forums at the Imperial

Courtesy of Freepik

Some students thought the fee’s main focus was to bring Virtual Reality sets to courses.

Valley Campus, but students unable to attend the forums could visit the IV campus library to view the presentation and provide feedback.

Shawki Moore, AS Vice President of External Relations, mentioned misinformation that was presented to students at an open forum held for the Afrikana Student Union.

“In the African Student Union, there was a comment made by a presenter that if this fee does not pass through, Canvas will go away. That is the type of, I would say, malpractice or misinformation that was given to a lot of our students,” Moore said.

The CFAC affirmed the integrity of the open forums in response.

Associated Students President Ashley Tejada emphasized the lack of representative student voice.

“It is a privilege to attend an open forum. It is a privilege to miss class. It is a privilege to miss a job to make it to scheduled open forums. Historically, underrepresented and marginalized communities do not have that same privilege of going and spending 40 minutes to an hour of their day making their voice heard,” Tejada said.

CFAC’s website states that the fee would result in the “sustaining of robust digital infrastructure and services for students, including 24/7/365 support for Canvas, more staff for the campus computing hub, better wireless connectivity across campus and modernized classrooms.” A feature of the fee was an esports and virtual reality program.

The sustainability aspect of the fee would result in subsidies to incentivize mass transit use, additional staffing for

sustainability projects, and sustainable energy and infrastructure.

The CFAC meeting on March 11 was open to the SDSU community as a final chance to offer feedback on the “Accelerating Technology and Sustainability” fee before the committee voted on its recommendation to the university president.

“Over the course of the last eight years, I’ve seen technology advance and grow.

It’s turned from something that is nice to have into an essential need. Hopefully we can get this fee passed and make sure that SDSU students are successful eight years from now,” graduate student Ethan Garcia said.

Some students commented on the fee and how it may impact marginalized students in negative ways.

“I am here to uplift the voices of underrepresented students. We are not in favor of this fee, as this is an uncapped fee. This will cause undue burden on the students and this should not be on the backs of students who are already paying an immense amount of money for their education,” psychology fourth year Elisa Mendez said.

Mendez is co-president of SDSU’s Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA), a student organization advocating for Chicanx students. MEChA published a letter addressed to President de la Torre encouraging CFAC to vote no on implementing the proposed fee as they “fear it will disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous and other students of color.”

The current climate between the university and students of color was brought up in Friday’s meeting multiple times, as various incidents such as the rescinding of a Black music archive, changes to the University’s land acknowledgement policy, and the reassignment of a professor who repeatedly used racial slurs in his classroom have been ongoing.

News

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Katelynn Robinson . news@thedailyaztec.com

The Daily Aztec

3

Environmental Health Coalition pushes for new purple line, more

by Christian STAFF WRITER

Houser

The Environmental Health Coalition, in partnership with the San Diego Transportation Equity Working Group (SDTEWG), is proposing a ballot called “Elevate SD 2020” that would include youth opportunity passes, a new purple line, 24-hour service of public transportation, and increased frequency of bus and trolley services to the City of San Diego to aid SDSU students and the environment.

The Environmental Health Coalition’s Transportation Justice department focuses on improving the San Diego Transit system in Barrio Logan, National City, City Heights and Tijuana. The purpose of this division is to “address policy issues that have historically exposed lowincome communities of color to toxic air pollution and the impacts of climate change,” says Carolina Martinez, the Director of Transportation Justice at the Environmental Health Coalition.

Improving the San Diego Transit System would also help improve the environment in San Diego as “transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Carolina Martinez. “Forty-one percent of emissions in our region come from transportation.”

These emissions affect climate change and, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the most severe harms of climate change fall upon underserved communities and racial and ethnic minority communities.

Elevate SD 2020 also asks for a purple line that, according to Carolina Martinez, would better connect South Bay to SDSU. “The concept is that it would go from the border, through Chula Vista and National City, through City Heights,

Photo by Jason Freund

If the “Elevate SD 2020” ballot is passed, a new purple trolley line would be introduced in addition to public transportation running 24/7.

and at that point, it would connect with a line that services SDSU,” Carolina Martinez said. “It would operate much faster as the technology would be better than the blue line.”

The purple line would allow SDSU students commuting from Tijuana and South Bay to save time on their way to the university.

The Environmental Health Coalition hopes to provide more accessibility to transit systems that are better for the environment in the coming years.

Elevate SD 2020 calls for electrifying the bus system at a faster rate to help stop the effects of climate change. SDTEWG proposes that zero-emission buses be deployed in the next two years.

Carolina Martinez said she believes

lowering the emissions of transportation in the San Diego region could aid in the fight against environmental racism and the overall health of underserved communities.

The proposal also includes youth opportunity passes which are no-cost transit passes that would be available to all persons 24 years old and under in the San Diego region.

SDTEWG hopes these passes will encourage young people to use public transportation in order to ensure generations of lifelong transit riders and encourage a significant mode shift.

Management information systems (MIS) senior Marcos Valdez said he believes transportation should be more accessible for commuter students.

“Transportation shouldn’t be what holds students back from higher education,” said Valdez. “A more costefficient transportation would help thousands of students.”

The improvement of accessibility to reliable transportation is a goal of the Environmental Health Coalition as “12% of low-income residents don’t have access to transportation transit systems,” said Carolina Martinez.

Psychology freshman Lauren Magliocco believes transportation should be available to all students who are in need.

“It’s really important, especially for commuter students and for students who can’t afford a car to have reliable transportation,” Magliocco said.

SDSU turns 125 years old and celebrates accordingly

Photo by Joseph Barr

The anniversary came with San Diego State getting a new logo and new slogan.

By Adriana Horne STAFF WRITER

San Diego State will celebrate its 125th anniversary on March 14 and will continue throughout March 16.

The events take place in Montezuma Hall in the Conrad Prebys Student Union where students, staff, faculty and the general public can attend.

“It’s amazing just the energy here and the passion. Everybody here is looking at the future with such starry eyes because there’s so much we could do right now” President Adela de la Torre said.

In addition to this, SDSU announced

a logo and color change. The new logo will be shifting away from the building of Hepnar Hall to SDSU. The color teal will be added to our colors of red and black.

The university states that this is part of a strategic plan to be inclusive towards Imperial valley and Mission valley.

Associated Students President, Ashley Tejada said, “At this point and time we’ve just progressed so much, I also feel this with our new tagline, transform your tomorrow.”

SDSU was founded in 1897 as a San Diego normal school, a teaching institution for teachers. In 1971 the university officially became known as San Diego State

University, which currently serves over 36,000 students.

Professor of anthropology and SDSU’s history curator, Seth Mallios said, “So many things were canceled and postponed, so to have this come together in a way where we can be public and celebrate is special.”

According to U.S. News and World Report, SDSU is ranked as one of the best California State Universities in federal research support, and as one of the top public research universities in California.

“The Community Open House will highlight SDSU Over the Decades and will feature immersive vignettes showcasing rare SDSU artifacts and multimedia organized by decade.” Some of these include notable speakers President John

F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr, the university said in a statement.

Actors performing on campus are SDSU students who will be wearing personalized costumes by the SDSU graduate class of costume and design.

“Guests will also have an opportunity to interact with a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory space exploration and virtual reality experience featuring SDSU engineering alumni,” the university said in a statement.

Seth Mallios states that it’s the ultimate satisfaction to see people of every generation and bridge that gap in a time where there’s so much misunderstanding.

For more information about the event visit SDSU’s website.

Photo by Joseph Barr

Many notable SDSU figures such as A.S. President Ashley Tejada, President Adela de la Torre and more attended.

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Opinion

The Daily Aztec

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Aaliyah Alexander • opinion@thedailyaztec.com

Yik Yak app creates more problems than community

MANAGING EDITOR Trinity Bland

By Lonnie Hayes-McKelley

NEWS EDITOR Katelynn Robinson

CONTRIBUTOR

As the fall semester wrapped up for college students in Dec. 2021, we unfortunately witnessed the return of an infamous social media app – Yik Yak. Yik Yak is a social media app that was extremely popular in the early 2010s until it was removed from the app store in 2014 due to connection to bomb threats, sexual harrassment cases, and discrimination. As of Aug. 16, 2021, it officially returned to the app store and to the San Diego State campus.

For students who are seniors now, this app is hauntingly familiar. This is because most of us grew up with a social media website called Ask.fm, which was a pretty toxic forum for cyberbullying.

An aspect that Ask.fm and Yik Yak share in common is the element of anonymity. This feature of both sites is easily the reason why they have been so toxic to their users and reputations.

More specifically, Yik Yak differentiates from others for two main factors: Anonymity and a five-mile radius of networking.

The app only requires a phone

number or email upon signing up, and the rest is anonymous.

Essentially, it seems it was designed for college campuses while appealing to high school campuses because of local event announcements by users or from getting to share opinions about certain topics related to college-aged individuals. It works because, generally at larger universities, a large amount of the population lives on or near campus, with SDSU being an example where nearly 15% of the population lives directly on campus and many within the college area.

Early into fall semester, it became clear that Yik Yak was going to be extremely popular on our campus. On a day-to-day basis, I usually see Yik Yak posts pop up within five to 10 minutes of each other. Anyone who has used this app probably has an inkling of what the majority of these posts are, and I can conclude that the majority are extremely negative and problematic, to put it lightly.

Scrolling through the feed on a Monday night of finals week, the app is flooded with posts about substance abuse, vulgar and degrading comments and some occasional cyber bullying. One

of them even attempts to make a “joke” about a certain campus community harming other students.

Growing up as digital natives, it can be easier to say things behind a phone or computer screen instead of engaging in face-toface interactions. It’s made even easier, when you don’t even have to provide any identification, and you don’t have to worry about being “exposed” at all since the app itself doesn’t even know who you are.

That all being said, I think Yik Yak is a toxic place that isn’t really beneficial to our campus.

While I can see how it might be entertaining for mindless scrolling, there are some clear issues with it that will escalate later on. There are so many questionable posts on the app that go beyond the targeted bullying of specific students or communities. Posts including allegations or concerning mental health issues frequently pop up and they are not taken seriously unfortunately.

Overall, the app has too many red flags.

After posing questions about the app to staff in the Student Affairs Division at our school, they generally had yet to hear about its

EDITOR IN CHIEF Catlan Nguyen

OPINION EDITOR Aaliyah Alexander MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Noé Sandoval ASST. MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Karina Bazarte ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Ryan Hardison Screenshot of YikYak app

Yik Yak can be found in Apple app store.

existence, let alone any troubles with it. Honestly, this surprised me given the severity of some of the activity on the app. However, that implies that students are not taking any of these matters to anyone higher up, even when posts are concerning.

Only time will tell if Yik Yak will retain its popularity as we head into spring semester. It feels like an app that will die out like other microtrends, or it will lose traction.

Either way, it would serve everyone if the activity on the app returned to a place for entertaining posts. Until then, I hope the app doesn’t produce bigger problems on our campus.

Lonnie Hayes-McKelley is a senior studying journalism.

Natural disasters aren’t so rare, be prepared

ASST. ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Cristina Lombardo SPORTS EDITOR Jason Freund ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Andrew Finley SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Sara Rott PHOTO EDITOR Noelani Sapla MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Mackenzie Stafford ASST. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Jayne Yutig GRAPHICS EDITOR Emily Forschen

STAFF WRITERS Eugènie Budnik Christian Houser Adriana Horne Owen Pratt Gwenyth Hoebing Maritza Camacho Isabella Dallas Justin Cox SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Flower Smith CONTRIBUTORS Huy Huynh ________________________________

Graphic by Emily Forchen

With just a few essentials, confronting a natural disaster can be less cumbersome for you.

By Maritza Camacho CONTRIBUTOR

I woke up to the air feeling thicker and drier than usual making it slightly difficult to breathe outside. This is a familiar, yet unpleasant feeling that I didn’t believe I could sense this early in the year, especially in San Diego. I can’t seem to escape the reminder of the wildfires in Northern California.

I wasn’t surprised when, later that day, I saw the plume of smoke in North County from a distance while sitting down on the sunny beaches of Del Mar. Last month, a wildfire of over 500 acres broke out in the Cleveland National Forest, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia, Australia is bracing for Cyclone Anika, and over 100 avalanches hit Austria. In January, a 700-acre wildfire burned in Big Sur and a massive volcano erupted in Tonga, which led to multiple tsunami warnings

on the Pacific coast including San Diego.

The world is changing. Climate change is not stopping anytime soon, and natural disasters have become inevitable wherever you might be living. It’s how you handle yourself in these situations that determines your chances of surviving or saving your prized possessions.

So, how do you become prepared for a natural disaster?

First off, make a strategic plan for packing and evacuation with the people in your household or the people in your emergency contact list.

There are important questions you need to ask yourself when developing this plan. What is my evacuation plan? What is my shelter plan? Who is the closest family or friends that are willing to use their home as a shelter for me?

If your area is prone to a certain natural disaster, such as wildfires, have your evacuation

zone memorized.

When it comes to packing, having a “go-bag” prepared at all times is key to escaping quickly and efficiently.

This “go-bag” can contain anything from a weeks’ worth of clothing to important documents and medication to a first-aid kit to personal memorabilia such as pictures. Carefully think through what is essential for you to live your day-to-day life, but also your possessions that you have a personal connection to.

Living through natural disasters you realize what your wants and needs are. You need food and water. You don’t need your entire closet. You are the judge of your own survival essentials.

When your community is prone to a specific natural disaster during a certain season, have this “go-bag” packed and ready in your car during that time so you’re ready at any moment.

In your car carry batteries, flashlights, portable chargers, and car battery cables.

After having this packing list and evacuation plan finalized, create an emergency contact list.

This includes the people whose home you plan to evacuate to, but also the people in your neighborhood. This list can also include family or friends who live out of town that can become a second possible evacuation spot for you.

Notify the people on this emergency contact list about your evacuation plan and how they play into it.

With the people on this list and

in your household, determine emergency meeting spots when your original evacuation spots become compromised. This can be store parking lots or community centers. Discuss with everyone what their designated job is when it comes to evacuate in order to avoid the extra chaos.

Lastly, sign up for your local community emergency alerts to always be alert of what is happening and if you are in danger. A great resource is the AlertSanDiego emergency response system, which notifies residents and businesses within San Diego County if they will be impacted by an emergency or disaster. Register here to be alert for the latest local disaster news.

I’ve been affected by a natural disaster. I’ve seen people lose everything to natural disasters.

You can never be too ready for a natural disaster because you never know when a disaster can strike next.

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Brian Arnold ________________________________

GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST Luis Valenzuela EDITORIAL 619.594.4190 editor@thedailyaztec.com ADVERTISING 619.594.7807 advertising@thedailyaztec.com PRINT The Daily Aztec publishes 3,000 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.

Maritza Camacho is a junior studying journalism.

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March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Aaliyah Alexander • opinion@thedailyaztec.com

Opinion

The Daily Aztec

5

Perspective: Being an ‘Love is Blind’ is a joke: You may now cancel this show ambassador at SDSU

By Aaliyah Alexander OPINION EDITOR

By Trinity Bland MANAGING EDITOR

I’ve been a San Diego State Ambassador for nearly four years now.

My official job description says I am the official student representative, tour guide and orientation leader at SDSU. However, within each of those titles, my duties are subject to change on a daily basis, and I love it.

Unsolicitedly, of course, some of my peers make comments about the hard work I do to represent the university in this role and most of them aren’t exactly the nicest.

A popular one I hear all the time is, “You really walk backwards and give the tours to random people? Couldn’t be me.”

And they’re right — it couldn’t be them.

Many students can’t handle the expectations and responsibilities of being an SDSU Ambassador. That’s why a good chunk of qualified candidates who get accepted into the program don’t even make it through the full year of training, let alone a single semester.

During an SDSU Ambassador’s first year in the program, both semesters are divided into vigorous on-the-job training with the fall dedicated to working toward becoming tour certified and the spring focusing on how to thoroughly advise any student at SDSU. It can be difficult to stay motivated in the first year because taking in so much information and then being expected to engage with new families on behalf of the university (even when you feel like doing the opposite or feel like you’re not ready) is no small feat.

When you assume your role as an Ambassador, they tell you the good, the bad and the ugly could happen. However, they don’t tell you it will happen.

Even with the maximum amount of intense training and unfortunate anecdotes from experienced SDSU Ambassadors, you’re still human and your fight-orflight response will immediately activate before what you’re trained to do in these situations kicks in.

Don’t get me wrong: I love what I do and I can recognize my personal growth after years of holding this position, but everyday isn’t a backwards stroll down Campanile Walkway.

I’ve had days where I’ve cried myself to sleep and drafted resignation emails because I thought I couldn’t handle my responsibilities or had an unpleasant tour experience that made me want to hang up my red polo for good.

Screenshot from SDSU ambassadors’ Instagram

San Diego State ambassadors posing for a group photo.

What has helped me press through those tough moments is to remember I’m never alone in feeling any of these things.

Fellow SDSU Ambassadors have shared my feelings and I’ve met some of my closest friends this way simply by struggling to memorize the tour script or working long summer days of new student orientation.

This is a special type of bonding you won’t find just anywhere.

Being surrounded by SDSU Ambassadors who are passionate about this work is the best remedy when stepping away from this honorable position sounds like a good idea.

Ultimately, I wanted to become an SDSU Ambassador to give tours and when I focus on my why, it forces me to flip my perspective.

It feels good to brighten someone’s day with my regularly-scheduled corny tour jokes and it feels even better to provide reassurance to frantic parents because while students deserve endless support during this exciting and nerve-wracking chapter as they acclimate to college, moms and dads do too.

As an SDSU Ambassador, I found my burning passion to serve as a bridge between a large academic institution and new Aztec families who don’t really know what’s going on nor what to expect. I understand my special role in a family’s journey to pursuing higher education.

When I think of those things, I don’t hesitate to proudly wear my red polo and name tag, mic up and prepare to walk backwards — ready to meet families from all over the world who are ready to meet me and more importantly, my presentation of SDSU. In this job, and I guess with any job, really, it’s all about your perspective. When you discover your why and the passion behind it, the bad and the ugly fade away, leaving only the good.

Trinity Bland is a senior studying television, film, media and Spanish.

Follow her on Twitter @trinityaliciaa.

Two years after their debut season on Feb. 13, 2020, “Love is Blind” returns to Netflix for another round of bringing soulmates together to live happily ever afters.

Hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, “Love is Blind” is a social experiment that attempts to answer the age-old question: Is love really blind?

Unlike the hit television series, “Married at First Sight,” couples actually get to date potential partners over a span of a few weeks before saying “I do.” Each single is put in a cozy private pod separated from the others by a wall where they can have conversations with other singles on the show. Eventually, if a couple finds they have a connection, a marriage proposal is the next course of action (which also takes place before seeing the other person).

After the proposal, the couples finally get to see each other and prepare for a honeymoon with the other singles who made connections. The couples later move in together to assess what “normal” life is going to look like with the other person leading up to their wedding day where they decide whether they would like to legally get married or call it quits.

Season one of “Love is Blind” was chaotic but authentic. Fans got to witness genuine love connections between couples like Lauren and Cameron Hamilton, who are still married four years after the show, alongside sympathizing and rooting for singles such as Mark Cuevas who endured the annoying mixed signals from the season’s villain Jessica Batten.

Not once during season one did I feel like the cast was there for the wrong reasons, but I can’t say the same for season two.

After watching the first five episodes that were released on Feb. 11, I immediately felt uneasy about the cast. There’s only

a handful of singles I can list that I feel should’ve been a part of season one, but the rest should’ve just stayed home.

The chemistry between some couples is lacking, and it gives us fans second-hand embarrassment while watching the couples trying to ignore the obvious absence.

Instead of watching a reality television show, I feel like I’m watching a poorly scripted drama series because many scenes feel forced, especially with certain cast members seeming a little too similar to season one villains. Specifically, the similarities between season one Jessica and season two Shaina are not uncanny; it’s obvious the show was trying to replicate a reaction fans had in season one.

Despite my initial reaction to the show, I was curious to see how the couples would get along after leaving the honeymoon, so I tuned back in on Feb. 18 when they released four more episodes before the finale.

Seeing how the couples adjusted to each other after the honeymoon, I can honestly say I only have faith in one couple who will probably last after decision day. For the others, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

As of Feb. 21, “Love is Blind” is trending at number two on Netflix’s top 10 list, speaking to the fact that it has a chokehold on viewers who want to know whether the experiment worked for more than two successful couples. I wasn’t as eager to see what would happen on decision day like I was in season one, but for some reason my curiousity led me to tune in on Feb. 25 for the finale.

If the show decides to do a season three in the future, I hope they take the criticism fans are generously giving and produce something better than whatever this is they had the audacity to publicize.

Aaliyah Alexander is a junior studying journalism and international studies.

Follow her on Twitter @aaliyahdanyell.

Screenshot from @loveisblindnetflix official Instagram

Photo of Nick and Vanessa Lachey, hosts of “Love is Blind’ and new Netflix series ‘The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On.’

6

The Daily Aztec

Mundo Azteca

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Noé Sandoval • mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

Oportunidad Educacional ofrece recursos para los estudantes de primera generación por Adriana Horne CONTRIBUYENTE

Aplicar para universidades puede ser un proceso largo y laborioso. Dado eso, el sistema universitario de CSU, incluye en todas las aplicaciones el Centro Educacional de Oportunidad Programas y Asuntos Étnicos, o EOP por sus siglas en inglés. que puede facilitar la transición a la universidad.

EOP se inició dado a un asunto civil al cual estudiantes de la Universidad Estatal de Los Angeles, se unieron para luchar por supporte.

Dado que este programa es de más de 50 años, no está limitado a ningún estudiante. Su propósito es asistir estudiantes de bajos recursos, primera generación, estudiantes que vienen de antecedentes subrepresentados y bajo nivel socioeconómico. Estudiantes que completen AB-540 aplicación y son de california pueden ser elegibles.

De acuerdo con el Asistente de Dirección Interino, Danny Oliveira, este centro ha ayudado a miles de estudiantes, este año 2700 estudiantes en el sistema de CSU. Yesenia Lozada, una estudiante de la universidad dice que su experiencia a través de EOP ha sido maravillosa. “Antes de iniciar mi primer año en la universidad asistí al programa transicional donde conocí a todas mis amigos, adelante en mi academia y conocí a una comunidad de personas que me entienden y soportan… si lo pudiera revivir otra vez lo hiciera ” dice Yesenia Lozado.

Hay tres cosas que el centro de EOP se enfoca en para estudiantes: Primer contacto orientación Orientación a través de EOP antes de SDSU orientación que toma lugar. En esta orientación informan a los estudiantes del programa y de lo que consiste.

Adicionalmente ayudan con la planeación de clases.

Transicional programa Hay un programa que toma lugar en verano para estudiantes entrantes del primer año y otro para estudiantes que se transfieran de colegio.

EOP Consejeros Ocho consejeros se reparten 350 estudiantes para asuntos académicos y personales.

“La mayoría de los consejeros, son de primera generación y podemos relacionarnos con los estudiantes. Los consejeros de EOP son la base del programa”, dijo Danny Oliveira.

Adicionalmente ofrecen el programa SOAR, al cual estudiantes de tercer o cuarto año pueden aplicar para hacer mentores.

Los mentores se reúnen una vez a la semana con estudiantes para aprender más sobre la universidad, los recursos disponibles y apoyo emocional y psicológico.

“Una vez parte de EOP siempre EOP”, Danny Oliveira dice que las relaciones que son formadas a través de este programa son para siempre. Muchos estudiantes regresan después de graduarse para hablar con los consejeros ya que mantienen una buena relación.

Cortesía por EOP EOP es un programa para ayudar estudiantes de primera generación con recursos academicos y financieros.

Universidad propone tarifa de technología y sustentabilidad en matricula de los estudiantes por Eugenie ESCRITORA

Budnik

La acción para recomendar la tarifa “Acelerando la Tecnología y la Sustentabilidad” al presidente de la Torre no pasó el viernes pasado luego de la oposición estudiantil y foros confusos.

“Desde el punto de vista ético, las presentaciones que se presentaron a los estudiantes no son las aprobadas en CFAC. El hecho de que las presentaciones cambiaron de un foro a otro no es justo para que miremos los datos y lleguemos a una conclusión”, dijo Alexia Orduro, estudiante general de AS. CFAC propuso la tarifa para compensar la pérdida del Fondo de Ayuda de Emergencia para la Educación Superior III (HEERF III) , que proporcionó a las instituciones de educación superior más de $36 mil millones para garantizar que el aprendizaje continuara durante la pandemia de COVID-19.

La universidad estaba utilizando una parte de los fondos HEERF III recibidos para brindar soporte las 24 horas, los 7 días de la semana para plataformas como Canvas y Zoom.

La tarifa propuesta tenía tres niveles de precios diferentes de $249, $199 o $174 por semestre. La tarifa, si se aprueba, comenzaría en el otoñode 2022 y se ajustaría anualmente de acuerdo con el Índice de Precios de Educación Superior (HEPI).

650 estudiantes asistieron a los foros. De los estudiantes que dieron su opinión, el 62 % votó en contra de la tarifa propuesta.

La tarifa de “Aceleración de la tecnología y la sostenibilidad” se consideró a través de un proceso de consulta alternativo del 15 de febrero al 11 de marzo, en el que la CFAC realizó 39 foros abiertos en los que se describieron los servicios que brindaría

la tarifa.

Los estudiantes que no pudieron asistir a ninguno de los 39 foros pudieron visitar SDSU Testing Services durante el horario comercial para ver la presentación y brindar comentarios.

La tarifa también se aplicaría a los estudiantes de SDSU Imperial Valley (IV).

CFAC realizó solo dos foros abiertos en el campus de Imperial Valley, pero los estudiantes que no pudieron asistir a los foros pudieron visitar la biblioteca del campus IV para ver la presentación y brindar comentarios.

Shawki Moore, vicepresidente de Relaciones Externas de AS, mencionó la información errónea que se presentó a los estudiantes en un foro abierto realizado para la Afrikana Estudiantes “En la Unión de Estudiantes Africanos, un presentador hizo un comentario de que si esta tarifa no pasa, Canvas desaparecerá.

Ese es el tipo de, yo diría, mala práctica o mala informaciónque se le dio a muchos de

nuestros estudiantes”, dijo Moore.

La CFAC afirmó la integridad de los foros abiertos en respuesta.

La presidenta de Associated Students, Ashley Tejada, enfatizó la falta de una voz representativa de los estudiantes.

“Es un privilegio asistir a un foro abierto. Es un privilegio faltar a clase.

Es un privilegio perder un trabajo para llegar a los foros abiertos programados.

Históricamente, las comunidades subrepresentadas y marginadas no tienen el mismo privilegio de ir y pasar de 40 minutos a una hora del día para hacer oír su voz”, dijo Tejada.

El sitio web de CFAC establece que la tarifa daría como resultado el “mantenimiento de una infraestructura y servicios digitales sólidos para los estudiantes, incluido el soporte 24/7/365 para Canvas, más personal para el centro informático del campus, mejor conectividad inalámbrica en todo el campus y aulas modernizadas”.

Una característica de la tarifa era un

Cortesía por Freepik Realidad virtual fue la posibilidad para los estudiantes si la tarifa hubiera sido aplicada.

programa de deportes electrónicos y realidad virtual.

El aspecto de sostenibilidad de la tarifa daría lugar a subsidios para incentivar el uso del transporte público, personal adicional para proyectos de sostenibilidad y energía e infraestructura sostenibles.

La reunión de CFAC del 11 de marzo estuvo abierta a la comunidad de SDSU como una oportunidad final para ofrecer comentarios sobre la tarifa de “Aceleración de la tecnología y la sostenibilidad” antes de que el comité votara sobre su recomendación al presidente de la universidad.

“En el transcurso de los últimos ocho años, he visto avanzar y crecer la tecnología.

Ha pasado de ser algo agradable de tener a una necesidad esencial. Esperemos que podamos aprobar esta tarifa y asegurarnos de que los estudiantes de SDSU tengan éxito dentro de ocho años”, dijo el estudiante de posgrado Ethan García.

Algunos estudiantes comentaron sobre la tarifa y cómo puede afectar negativamente a los estudiantes marginados.

“Estoy aquí para elevar las voces de los estudiantes subrepresentados. No estamos a favor de esta tarifa, ya que es una tarifa sin límite. Esto causará una carga indebida en los estudiantes y esto no debería recaer sobre las espaldas de los estudiantes que ya están pagando una inmensa cantidad de dinero por su educación”, dijo Elisa Méndez, de cuarto año de psicología.

Méndez es copresidente del Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA) de SDSU, una organización estudiantil que defiende a los estudiantes chicanx. MEChA publicó una carta dirigida al presidente de la Torre alentando a CFAC a votar no sobre la implementación de la tarifa propuesta, ya que “temen que impactará desproporcionadamente a los estudiantes negros, indígenas y otros estudiantes”.

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Noé Sandoval • mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

Mundo Azteca

The Daily Aztec

7

Centro de estudios brasileños destaca el activismo de vidas negras en Brasil “MARIELLE, PRESENTE HOJE E SEMPRE” por Noé Sandoval EDITOR DE MUNDO AZTECA

La Universidad Estatal de San Diego crea espacios para la comunidad se reunir y hablar sobre asuntos globales que importan.

El Centro de Estudios Brasileños en SDSU organizó un evento de dos días para hablar sobre el movimiento de Vidas Negras Importan y la vida de la diputada de Rio de Janeiro asesinada Marielle Franco.

El 14 de marzo, profesores, estudiantes y facultad se reunieron para reconocer el trabajo y la vida de Marielle Franco a través de dos documentarios. Los documentarios fueron “Quien mandó matar Marielle Franco” y “Semillas: Negras en el poder.” Estos documentario fue creados por Ethel Oliveira y Leonard Cortana, cinematógrafos que trabajan en destacar En los dos documentarios, fue montado escenas del movimiento político que abordó con Marielle Franco. Marielle Franco fue una diputada de Rio de Janeiro y ella defendió los derechos humanos

Foto por Noé Sandoval Este mural de Mariellle Franco se encuentra en el edificio de artes en la universidad y fue creada por el baiano Eder Muniz tomando dos dia para hacerlo.

Foto por Noé Sandoval La mujeres de “Madres de Mayo” hablan sobre las injusticias que se encuentran cotidianamente en Brasil.

de la gente en comunidades sufriendo de brutalidad policial y discrimanición racial. Ella fue asesinada el dia 13 de marzo por un policial que aun está bajo investigación.

Debido a su muerte en 2018, esto motivó un movimiento en Brasil para destacar las injusticias pasando en el país. Efectivamente, muchas mujeres afro brasileñas asumieron la motivación para postular candidatura.

En el documental, se pude ver mucho sobre este movimiento de mujeres brasileñas. Durante el metraje, se ve la vida y trabajo de Talíria Petrone, Rose Cipriano y Jacqueline Gomes, todas fueron candidatas para las elecciones de 2018 en Brasil.

El documentario sirve como un anuncio de las situaciones raciales que pasa en la vida cotidiana para los brasileños discriminadas de origen negra o indigena. También sirve para dar voz a las comunidades tradicionalmente marginalizados.

“Porque no tenemos esa representación

en la media y en el cine, no podemos visualizar un mundo que no sea dominado por el hombre blanco” dijo Éthel Oliveira Aparte de la presentación del documental, el siguiente dia tuvieron una plática con tres mujeres activistas brasileñas vinieron a discutir sobre su trabajo y las injusticias que han pasado en su país.

Estas mujeres son Debora Maria Silva, Rute Fiúza y Mônica Cunha.

Estas mujeres forman parte de un grupo activista llamado “Mães de maio” o “madres de mayo” que fue fundida por Debora Maria Silva para luchar contra las encarcelaciones y asesinos que hay de jóvenes en Brasil.

“Paren de nos matar” dijo Silva. “La bala que mata allá tambien mata aqui.”

Las tres mujeres abordaron el asunto sobre como estas injusticia no solo pasan en Brasil pero también donde hay comunidades de gente marginalizada.

“Estamos aqui para compartir lo que es importante y aunque tenemos ese dolor todavía nos guiamos con el amor”

Mercado de artisanes estudiantiles promueven sus productos por Gabriel ESCRITOR

Schneider

El Centro de Recursos desiamericanos de las islas del Pacífico Asiático (APIDA) organizó un Maker’s Market, donde los estudiantes vendedores vendieron sus creaciones y los estudiantes músicos mostraron sus habilidades el 10 de marzo en el sindicato de estudiantes.

“Quería una oportunidad para que nuestros creadores y nuestros creadores de música originales celebraran las cosas que hacen con sus manos, corazones y mentes”, dijo Virginia Loh-Hagan, directora de programa del Centro de Recursos APIDA. El evento fue de 2 a 8 pm, con gente yendo y viniendo a comprar artículos y escuchando a los artistas actuar durante todo el día. Algunos de los artículos vendidos incluyeron ropa, artículos de ganchillo, cristales, jarrones reciclados, botellas de agua con diseños, retratos profesionales y mucho más.

“Estaba caminando y vi un arte súper genial y vi a algunas personas inspiradas

y quería ver qué estaba pasando”, dijo Starleen Martinez, estudiante de psicología de SDSU. Martínez dijo que le encantaba el ambiente y pensó que era increíble que SDSU organizara un evento como este para los estudiantes.

Anoodnya Sangan, estudiante de informática en SDSU, fue una de las artistas del evento. Ella ha estado tocando música desde que era niña y estaba feliz de subir al escenario.

“Me encantó cómo APIDA combinó a los compositores con los creadores”, dijo Sangan.

Gabriela García, estudiante de SDSU y vendedora en el evento, vendió una variedad de artículos, desde llaveros, collares, coleteros, anillos y creaciones y2k.

La pasión de García por hacer artículos comenzó a la edad de 13 años.

“Es un gran honor poder ir a una escuela que apoya a las personas que realmente hacen cosas”, dijo García. “Es realmente difícil encontrar lugares en diferentes mercados de agricultores y mercados de

Foto por Gabriel Schneider El mercado de fabricdores en el plaza estudantil de la universidad ayuda los estudiantes con sus creaciones.

pulgas”.

Loh-Hagan dijo que estaba impresionada con todos los estudiantes y el personal que participaron en el evento y espera con ansias el próximo Maker’s Market.

Algunas de las organizaciones y proveedores que participaron en el evento

fueron la Asociación de Periodismo Asiático-Americano, Bunnie Box, Happy Hearts Handmade Gifts, Moshi, Steam Botanics y muchos más.

Para obtener más información sobre los proveedores o sobre los eventos realizados por APIDA, siga su Instagram.

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The Daily Aztec

Sports

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Jason Freund • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Aztecs lose heartbreaker in Mountain West tournament

By Jason Freund and Marco Perez SPORTS EDITOR, SENIOR STAFF WRITER

“We’re gonna let it hurt. But we’re not gonna have a hangover about it… we’re gonna need some positive vibes. We don’t wanna feel like this ever again.”

This was the perspective senior Aguek Arop took after San Diego State’s (238, 13-4 Mountain West Conference) demoralizing 53-52 loss to Boise State (27-7, 15-3 MWC) in the Mountain West Tournament.

It was the third time SDSU has faced BSU this season. In the first matchup, the Aztecs scored just 37 points after a twoweek COVID-19 pause forced them out of action. In the second, the Aztecs fell by just a single point as fifth year Abu Kigab hit a walk-off free throw.

This time, it was the Aztecs who had an opportunity to walk off as winners.

With eight seconds remaining in the game, senior Matt Bradley — who was surrounded by Broncos — missed a layup inside the paint.

But hope was renewed for the Aztecs as senior Nathan Mensah somehow snagged the offensive rebound and kicked the ball out for a shot.

Ultimately, it was senior Trey Pulliam who made the last second shot with his signature floating jump shot… and watched it bounce off the rim and onto the floor.

Game. Set. Match.

Pulliam collapsed onto his back, his hands on his forehead. Arop, a senior in his final season, covered his face and screamed into his jersey.

“It was a heck of a game. Obviously, we were vastly disappointed we didn’t win,” head coach Brian Dutcher said after the game. “To get back to the hotel past midnight last night, come here and play at three o’clock, play as hard as we can for 40 minutes. [We] gave ourselves two shots to win the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to convert those.”

It seemed like a reversal of the past two games, but it also followed a similar structure.

Bradley led all scorers with 17 points

Photo by Noelni Sapla

Chad Baker-Mazara and the Aztecs were in disbelief for many of the officials calls during the Mountain West Conference championship tournament.

to go along with seven rebounds and two assists after producing 12 points in the previous two games. The Aztecs as a team shot 35.1% from the field and 50% from behind the arc.

Mensah only had four points, but played a big role for the Aztecs on the defensive end. He had four blocks to go along with 10 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Senior Lamont Butler had a near perfect game shooting and contributed with 16 points. He finished 5 of 6 from the field and 3 for 3 from deep. He also took advantage of his trips to the free-throw line, going a perfect 3 for 3.

But still, the Aztecs found themselves trailing by three going into halftime, having gone scoreless in the last five minutes of the first half.

Butler broke the drought with a hardfought layup and tied the game at 28 apiece with the ensuing free throw.

Neither team was able to hold onto a lead as both sides played a metaphorical hot potato with said lead.

One team held a lead, then the other team would. The score would tie back up, then change hands again. Overall, there were 13 lead changes and 12 instances where the game was tied.

Another big number for the Aztecs: 23.

That’s how many personal fouls were whistled against SDSU, giving BSU a whopping 21 free throw attempts, making 12.

SDSU only got 11. They made six.

However, this isn’t the final stop for the Scarlet and Black.

Both teams should be locks for the

NCAA tournament and await to find out their seed and first venue during the Sunday’s selection show.

SDSU is projected to be either an eight or a nine seed. Games will be played at Viejas Arena, but NCAA law mandates that no team play at their home venue during the big dance, SDSU will have to hit the road again.

“I told the team after the game that the reason we play the season, the reason we try to win the Mountain West is to go to the NCAA Tournament,” Dutcher said.

“That is the crown jewel. … So, we’re disappointed we didn’t get a title. But our program plays to play in the NCAA Tournament. We have an opportunity to do that and we will be ready to play no matter who we get in the first round.”

Aztecs get invited to ‘the big dance’ as eighth seed

By Justin Cox STAFF WRITER

Following the one-point loss in the Mountain West Conference championship to Boise State on Saturday, head coach Brian Dutcher made clear what “the ultimate goal” still was.

“We came here all these years ago and we still preach the message, we’re here to play for a national championship, ” Dutcher said.

The first step to playing for that NCAA championship comes Thursday as the 8-seed Aztecs (23-8, 13-4 MWC) have a date with the 9-seed Creighton Bluejays (22-11, 12-7 Big East).

Creighton finished fourth in the Big East this season with impressive wins over Villanova, UConn (twice) and Providence.

Like the Aztecs, the Bluejays hang their hat on the defensive side of the ball behind 7-foot-1-inch sophomore center Ryan Kalkbrenner and senior power forward Ryan Hawkins. Kalkbrenner and Hawkins also lead Creighton in scoring with marks of 13.0 PPG and 13.9 PPG respectively.

Photo by Noelani Sapla

Senior Matt Bradley will be participating in the March Madness tournament for the first time in his career.

For the Aztecs to find success in their first-round matchup, they will have to do what they’ve done all season — defend.

The Bluejays are a relatively inexperienced team as four of their top 6 scorers are freshmen. This has led to inconsistent

offense play and 14.1 turnovers per game.

Senior Nathan Mensah will have his hands full down low with Kalkbrenner, but if Mensah — the Mountain West’s Defensive Player of the Year — can hold his own and stay out of foul trouble, the

Aztecs should be in good position to leave the first round with a win.

If the Aztecs can protect the paint against Creighton’s frontline and force turnovers in the half-court, a sometimes inconsistent SDSU offense can find some easy baskets in transition, something they failed to find in last year’s tournament in their 78-62 loss to Syracuse.

SDSU is 3-4 all-time against the Bluejays. However, their most recent matchup came in 2019 in the semifinal of Las Vegas Invitational where the Aztecs throttled Creighton winning 83-52. Five current Aztec players played in the last matchup including Mensah, seniors Trey Pulliam, Aguek Arop, Adam Seiko and junior Keshad Johnson.

If the Aztecs can get by the Bluejays, it likely sets up a matchup with the Midwest Region 1 seed Kansas, barring a dramatic upset by the winner of the First Four matchup between Texas Southern and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi.

The tournament is always unpredictable but with the second-best defense in the nation, the Aztecs have a good chance of making a deep run. Regardless, this year’s tournament is sure to be madness.

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Jason Freund • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Sports

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9

Three observations: SDSU gets set to dance with Creighton Bluejays

By Jason Freund SPORTS EDITOR

Despite failing to win the Mountain West Tournament, San Diego State (23-8, 13-4 Mountain West Conference) will still be putting on their dancing shoes en route to the NCAA Tournament.

Their first partner in this ballroom blitz? Coming out of the Big East, it’s the Creighton Blue Jays (22-11, 12-7 Big East).

The difference in terms of seeding isn’t that much as SDSU earned an 8 seed while Creighton netted the 9 seed.

However, Creighton is no pushover.

This season, the Bluejays have taken down ranked opponents in Villanova, UConn (twice) and Providence in the Big East Tournament.

How the Aztecs will handle their Eastern opponents will only be revealed come Thursday.

Here are three things to watch out for when the Aztecs and Blue Jays tip-off.

Defense, defense, defense One thing these two teams can agree upon: trench warfare.

According to KenPom, SDSU currently ranks No. 2 in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Bluejays, meanwhile, currently sit at No. 18.

The Bluejays are good, but the numbers favor the Scarlet and Black.

Leading the defense will be 7-foot-1inch sophomore Ryan Kalkbrenner, who has helped the Bluejays allow just 65.9 points per game.

He is just one of many bigs that head coach Greg McDermott will play on the court, which doesn’t bode well for SDSU as they have struggled throughout the season when at a height disadvantage.

The Bluejays are also very disciplined and have committed only 13.4 fouls per game.

Creighton needs to post strong numbers on defense in order to make up for their inconsistent offense. While they do shoot 45% from field goal range, that number plummets to 30.7% when shooting from 3-point range.

While SDSU isn’t shooting as well from field goal range (43.1%), they have had somewhat better luck from downtown than Crieghton, hitting 35% of their 3-pointers.

Dynamic Duo This would’ve been titled “Threeheaded monster” if it hadn’t been for a late injury to Ryan Nembhard.

A freshman, Nembhard averaged 11.3 PPG and was one of the top scorers for Creighton before being selected as the Big East Freshman of the Year.

Unfortunately for the Bluejays, a wrist injury suffered in late February cost Nembhard the remainder of the season, including the NCAA Tournament.

Good for the Aztecs, but Nembhard isn’t the only source of offense for the Bluejays.

The aforementioned Kalkbrenner is averaging 13 PPG while shooting 64.6% from field goal range and has posted double-digit points in 11 straight games.

Senior power forward Ryan Hawkins averages 13.9 PPG and is their top scorer from beyond the arc, shooting 35% on his 3-pointers.

These two shooters are easily the more well known sources of offense for the Bluejays. But they aren’t the only ones who can put the ball in the basket.

Freshman Arthur Kaluma — the brother of senior Adam Seiko — was named to the Big East All-Tournament team after averaging 13.3 PPG on 46.3% shooting over three games, including 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting against No. 11 Villanova in the Big East Semifinal.

There are ways to shut them down,

Photo by Noelani Sapla

Nathan Mensah was the Mountain West Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, and will look to live up to that accolade against Creighton.

however, and it will all depend on SDSU’s interior defense. When he is hot, Hawkins can light up the scoreboard from deep as evidenced by his eight 3-pointers against Georgetown on Feb. 12 and other four 3-point performances against teams like BYU, UConn and Marquette.

Kalkbrenner, on the other hand, is a menace when close to the basket but won’t shoot outside the arc, making only three of his 12 3-point attempts.

Look for senior Nathan Mensah and junior Keshad Johnson to challenge Kalkbrenner inside while hounding Hawkins outside the arc, forcing the Bluejays to rely on their inconsistent 3-point shooting from other shooters.

Youth vs Experience SDSU has one of the more experienced teams in the NCAA Tournament, regularly

trotting out three seniors and a junior in their starting five.

Creighton, meanwhile, chooses to go young, starting two freshmen and a sophomore.

Nine Creighton players have never been to the NCAA Tournament while all but three Aztecs went to the big dance last year.

Youth is always a good thing to have on one’s side but not when it leads to turnovers.

And oh boy, do the Bluejays love cooking up some fresh turnovers, ranking in the bottom 200 with an average of 14.1 turnovers per game.

Coincidentally, the Aztecs have made a habit of feasting on turnovers and have averaged 14.7 PPG off of turnovers.

11

Photo by Noelani Sapla

Aguek Arop hasn’t played in many games in the 2021-22 season, but he made his presence known in the MWC Tournament, and will look to make an impact in the March Madness tournament.

10

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Arts & Culture

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Ryan Hardison • arts@thedailyaztec.com

Delta Beta Tau teaches Buddhist principles with a focus on outreach

By Gwenyth Hoebing STAFF WRITER

It goes without saying that Greek life is a prominent and popular aspect of socialization at San Diego State. However, many might not know about SDSU’s Delta Beta Tau, the first fraternity founded on Buddhist principles in the nation.

Founded in 2015 with only 10 initial members, the fraternity has now initiated over 341 active members and has implemented a solid basis of weekly meetings, meditations, and community service.

The fraternity doesn’t consider themselves to be Greek, having only a small basis on Greek Life. DBT’s main goal focuses on promoting community service and getting students to volunteer within the community in any way. Members often participate in trash clean-ups, toy making for pets, food and clothing drives, and homeless outreach within the San Diego area.

There is a pledge program at the beginning of both the fall and spring semester for anyone who is interested in becoming an active member.

Active members get the chance to go on monthly retreats and learn from a handful of guest speakers. The fraternity has had recent retreats to places including a Buddhist monastery and their founding temple, the Dharma Bum temple.

Every Wednesday DBT holds a meditation at the Hillel center, focusing on a different Buddhist principle every week, recently finishing a series on the four Brahma Viharas. These Wednesday meditations are open for all SDSU students to attend, and attendees are encouraged

Photo courtesy of Delta Beta Tau

Delta Beta Tau holds meditation sessions every Wednesday at the Hillel center, centered around learning and encompassing Buddhist principles.

Photo courtesy of Delta Beta Tau

Since starting at SDSU in 2015 as the first Buddhist fraternity in the nation, Delta Beta Tau has expanded greatly.

to bring a friend along!

Mira Zizic, a third year interior design major, and DBT pledge educator, shared how she found out about the fraternity and what she likes about the community.

“I found out about DBT when a friend invited me to Wednesday meditation,” Zizic said. “I enjoy that it is a safe community, free from judgment and everyone involved has a goal of becoming better people.”

Thriving through the pandemic, DBT has previously adapted to changing norms in the wake of COVID-19 by continuing their normal schedule via virtual

platforms– keeping their community strong. Throughout quarantine, members learned how to make an impact within their communities individually, by writing letters and partaking in food distributions on their own.

Marie Bast, a senior studying elementary education and theatre, and president of DBT, shared more insight on the organization and their values.

“In DBT we call our community our Sangha. It’s basically our spiritual community, a group of people that can trust and rely on, and that we’re growing with,” Bast said, “This really is just a

group of open minded college students looking to become better people. If you meet our sangha you’ll be really amazed by the beautiful minds we have and how open people are to sharing and exploring themselves– which is really unique about DBT.” Bast explained that anyone and everyone is welcome to the fraternity.

“The people in our organization aren’t necessarily Buddhist. You can be of another religion or no religion at all. We discuss Buddhist philosophy, but don’t expect people to become Buddhist.”

You can find more information on how to get involved with DBT by visiting their website or Instagram.

Students endure the vulnerable, chaotic mess of ‘Euphoria’

By Huy Huynh CONTRIBUTOR

As the second most-watched HBO show of all time, right behind “Game of Thrones,” “Euphoria” is easily at the top of today’s cultural phenomenons. San Diego State’s campus aligns with the teen drama’s target demographics, and mixed with the fact that HBO Max is provided free for students living on campus, “Euphoria” has become an immediate talking point at SDSU. Unlike HBO’s most awarded pieces of work, and some of TV’s greatest shows such as “Game of Thrones,” “The Sopranos,” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” some may say HBO completely directs “Euphoria” towards the Generation Z demographic. Filled with cautionary tales of characters that can be defined as part of Gen Z, the show’s major plot points are fueled by the usual suspects of drugs and sex, but combined with modern day dilemmas involving the opioid crisis and the chaotic world of social media.

Andrea Beltran, a fifth year Spanish major and public informations assistant at the EOP offices on campus, displays the show’s unique effects.

“Its vulnerability hits close to reality, and while it may be problematic, I find it extremely important,” Beltran said.

The show revolves around the character Rue, played by Zendaya, a teen unable to prioritize importance between reality’s presence and the grievance for her father, which becomes extremely amplified and intensified due to her drug problem. Rue,

whose addiction began when her dying father needed to be fed opioids to ease his cancer-ridden pain, illuminates the complications of opioid addiction and the intense effects of the powerful drug.

With extremely intense scenes of fullon physical and emotional abuse caused by not only the drug itself but the business behind it, “Euphoria” is as unfiltered and crude as a teen drama has ever been.

Freshman psychology major Ellie Kerr touches upon the show’s vulnerabilities, stating that she does enjoy the show, but “sometimes it can be hard mentally to watch it.” This may have been a factor in HBO’s decision to release season two’s episodes weekly, rather than releasing all of the episodes at once like they did in season one.

Due to the graphic subject matter of “Euphoria,” it is not a show one can typically binge, especially if watching alone. While it is technically labeled as a teen drama, it would be fair to add “psychological thriller” to its description as well. *SPOILERS AHEAD* One of the show’s most shocking moments is seen in the episode “A Thousand Little Trees of Blood” when the troubled and confused antagonist Nate shows up unannounced in his ex-girlfriend’s (Maddy) room, with a revolver. As Nate alternates the gun’s direction between him and Maddy, he plays “Russian roulette,” a lethal game of chance involving the use of only one bullet, spinning the gun’s cylinder, and pulling the trigger as he tests their luck.

The show’s nail-biting suspense is always

Graphic by Ryan Hardison

Students at San Diego State say “Euphoria” can be a lot to handle, yet it’s a show that’s hard to look away from.

purposeful and not just for shock factor, and only adds to the genius of “Euphoria.”

In a survey conducted by The Daily Aztec asking for students’ opinions on the show, one of the questions asked students to name their favorite characters on the show. Fez, a sweetheart drug dealer looking for a way to pay his grandmother’s hospital bills, was the most voted with 82% of survey participants choosing him.

Fourth year psychology major Lauren Gerken’s reasoning for choosing Fez as one of her favorite characters had to do with his personality and actions.

“He is so authentically himself and

would move mountains for the people that he cares about, despite how many mistakes those people might make,” Gerken said.

HBO’s “Euphoria” is undoubtedly one of the most important shows out right now, not only for its thoughtful plot points and reflective characters, but for its ability to reel in a generation as complicated as ours. We are an extremely unique and complex group of individuals, so to see us at our worst, head first on the big screen, may actually help this demographic cope with life’s chaos and iron out the nonsense.

11 Arts & Culture ‘Women of Color Student crowd is in on the joke at ‘Comedy Night’ in the Workplace’ March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Ryan Hardison • arts@thedailyaztec.com

The Daily Aztec /

fights stereotypes and discrimination

Screenshot courtesy of Associated Students

Comedian John Jacobs and improv troupe The Academy involved the primarily student audience heavily in their performances, even inviting students on stage to spontaneously take part in gags.

Screenshot courtesy of the Women’s Resource Center and the Undocumented Resource Center

By Owen Pratt

The presentation given by Magaly Corro Flores and Celine Jusuf offers tips to combat discrimination on the job.

STAFF WRITER

By Flower Smith

On March 9, ‘Comedy Night’ returned to the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union with performances from comedian John Jacobs and “The Academy” improv troupe.

At 6 p.m., students gathered into the Union Courtyard for a night of laughs, hosted by Associated Students.

The night started off with professional comedian John Jacobs. Performing since 2007, Jacobs has starred in the MTV reality shows “Are You the One” and “The Challenge.” He has also garnered a following on social media, garnering over 347,000 followers on TikTok, 25,000 followers on Instagram, and 11,000 on Twitter.

The comedian told a variety of jokes with many about San Diego. For instance, he said San Diego is like Los Angeles, but without the famous people, while mentioning the city’s many strip malls.

He also poked fun at his social media and reality TV fame.

Jacobs talked about smoking weed by joking about his stoner physique, referring to his long and messy hair as the “elephant in the room.” The joke was met with applause. He made jokes towards students walking by the courtyard, comparing one passing group to the “Saved By the Bell” cast. There were also some edgier jokes thrown around, with jokes surrounding his Jewish heritage. Additionally, he made some political jokes, poking fun at Floridians who refused to accept COVID-19 guidelines, and a few lines about Donald Trump.

The jokes seemed to have a mixed response, with some receiving slight

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Navigating the workforce as a woman can present its challenges. However, being a woman of color in the workforce can be even more intimidating.

The Women’s Resource Center and the Undocumented Resource Center held a virtual presentation on March 9, discussing the importance of having women of color in the workforce.

The event was presented as a safe space for all participants to share and discuss their experiences, plus tips and tricks, along with other tools when it comes to navigating the workplace as a woman of color.

Magaly Corro Flores, program coordinator at the Undocumented Resource Center, and Celine Jusuf, a coordinator at the Women’s Resource Center, reminded everyone all stories and experiences shared were encouraged and appreciated.

“We want you to take care of yourself first,” Flores said.

The conversation began with the introduction of gender stereotypes and how they can negatively affect women of color.

Gender stereotypes are generalizations about the attributes of men and women.

“As women of color, we not only have to battle stereotypes associated with our culture or country of origin or income status … but we also need to battle gender stereotypes,” Flores said during the conversation.

One question asked to be reflected on was, “what are some stereotypes associated with women of color in the workplace and how do stereotypes affect the way women of color behave in the workplace?”

Some stereotypes mentioned involve the stigma of women being too emotional, or that women of color are seen as not competent enough because they have an accent or because of where they come from.

Having negative assumptions about women of color in the workplace can diminish the ability for women of color to perform to their full potential because of the many looming threats.

Unfortunately, many generalizations have been consistent across cultures, time and context. The presentation emphasized ways to respond to negative stigmas of women in the workforce.

“Making assumptions and that is an underlying basis of stereotypes and microaggressions too,” Jusuf added. “It does not need to be recognized to have harmful effects.”

Microaggressions are subtle and often

unintentional representations of forms of prejudice and more than just insensitive comments or insults. Many participants shared this can reflect anxiety, show biases and demonstrates a power structure between men and women.

Throughout the presentation, there were some tips, tricks and tools given in order to respond to microaggressions: checking in with a social support network, recognizing what you can and cannot control, along with being gentle to yourself.

Sociology third year Marissa Lopez shared she is more aware of the imbalance of power in the workforce and it should not go unnoticed.

“If it comes to a topic that you feel that there is injustice and no one is speaking up about it, don’t be afraid to speak up,” Lopez said. “You’re probably the one who is speaking up.”

The last important topic discussed was imposter syndrome in the workforce and how to overcome this obstacle.

There are many ways for women of color in the workplace to respond to imposter syndrome. One method emphasized involves reframing the task. This means taking ownership of your accomplishments and seeking out tasks that you are good at as a means to remind yourself that you are multidimensional.

“We need to stand together and demand jobs who are held traditionally by women need to be respected, valued, and compensated accordingly,” Flores added to the topic.

When it comes to being a woman of color in the workforce, there are many resources that serve help and guidance for making sure the work environment is a welcoming atmosphere. For more information, visit Career Services at SDSU, WOC Career Center and SDSU Just in Time Career Fair.

Screenshot courtesy of The Women’s Resource Center Instagram

The event poster for ‘Women of Color in the Workplace’ emphasizes the various challenges that women of color face by just existing, and that this discrimination can affect relationships, mental health and job stability..

9

chuckles, and some getting loud, universal laughs. Jacobs made lots of jokes about the lack of energy, which worked out in the long run.

After Jacobs closed his stand-up, the audience gave a loud applause, with some students getting pictures with him after.

Around ten minutes later, improv group “The Academy” took the stage. Based in Brooklyn, the group is made up of comedians Rachel Javorsky, Gabe Zharov, Jaesa Rogers, and Jack Greenberg.

During their set, the group created storylines based on words the audience gave them. The word “school bus” prompted a storyline involving a bus driver, a school dance, a cheese producer, and student crushes. Like the first performance, this one got a mixture of slight chuckles to hysterical laughs from students.

Another bit the group performed involved them bringing a student named Maya on stage. They explained that a bit would be performed based on information she gave them. The story involved a student whose mom is a professor. Like the previous bit, it went in numerous directions with a similar audience response.

Throughout the night, the four actors maintained a funny and watchable chemistry, with everyone building off each other very well.

The audience’s response to the night appeared consistent with previous comedy nights, with the energy fluctuating from high to low. Since everybody’s humor is unique, comedy will always have a mixed bag of responses.

The event lasted around two hours and laughs were definitely had. For more information on upcoming campus events, check out the Associated Students website.

12

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022

The Daily Aztec

MARCH

21-24 LEARN ABOUT YOUR 2022 A.S. CANDIDATES EXECUTIVE OFFICERS PRESIDENT Choose one

SHAWKI MOORE

Hello SDSU! My name is Shawki Moore and I am running to be OUR next A.S. President. As Chief Executive officer, I will create sustainable relationships to understand student communities, advocate for greater allocation of funds towards mental health and basic need resources, and ensure inclusive programming in the successful completion of the ARC. I have served as A.S. Vice President of External Relations, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity Inc. Lt. Strategus, Black Resource Center Academic Coach, Afrikan Student Union Cultural Chair, SDSU NAACP Membership Chair, and SAAB PR. My dedication and passion to continue being a dynamic leader have empowered me to advocate for the betterment of all student experiences and restore the vibrancy of OUR student body. #OURsdsu Students for Students.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Choose one

MEENA ALEXANDER

Hi SDSU! My name is Meena Alexander and I am running to be OUR next Executive Vice President. As Chief Operating Officer, I plan to restore OUR vibrant campus life by actively creating a safer environment across marginalized communities through inclusive efforts, implement proactive initiatives to support student well-being by destigmatizing mental health, and promoting a greater sense of community by restoring campus pride through athletics.

I have served as A.S. College of Science Representative, Student Assistant for Student Life and Leadership, Chairwoman of Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Henrietta Goodwin Scholar, Residential Advisor, and member of the Mission Valley Committee. Through my experiences, I have gained the necessary skills to cultivate and reignite OUR vibrant SDSU community. #OURsdsu Students for Students.

ALEXIA CARDOSO

As a woman in leadership and first-generation college student I can understand the needs of students on this campus. Through my time as the Vice President of Communications for SDSU Panhellenic association and treasurer for the EOP student advisory board I have been able to meet and talk to students from all walks of life and made meaningful connections. Through that time, I have grown a passion for leadership and want to serve as the Executive Vice President of Associated Students to make a better SDSU community for you and me.

VICE PRESIDENT OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS Choose one

ROBSON WINTER

Hey SDSU! My name is Robson Winter and I am running to be OUR next Vice President of External Relations. As Chief Communications Officer, I will implement strategies to address campus safety concerns, advocate to expand support resources to confront the student mental health crisis, and destigmatize the conversation surrounding social outlets.

As a member of Delta Upsilon and while serving as Vice President of Judicial Affairs of Rotaract, External Relations Board Vice-Chair, Lobby Corps Chair, and College of Arts and Letters Representative, I have gained the necessary skills to understand OUR student perspectives and ignite tangible change not only at SDSU but across the CSU system. #OURsdsu Students for Students.

VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCIAL AFFAIRS Choose one

SOPHIA KOCH

Hello SDSU! My name is Sophia Koch and I am running to be OUR next Vice President of Financial Affairs. As Chief Financial Officer my goals are to increase educational opportunities and access to available funding for students, collaborate with the Economic Crisis Response Team to increase visibility to basic needs programs, and restore campus connection through service and philanthropy.

While serving as Vice President of Philanthropy for Alpha Gamma Delta, ASUB Representative, President of the Women’s Club Lacrosse team, Vice President of Service for Rotaract of SDSU and President of Food Recovery Network, I have gained the knowledge to enhance OUR university’s resources, to positively ensure that every student has access essential basic needs. #OURsdsu Students for Students.

About the Candidate Statements

Associated Students invited all candidates to submit a written statement not to exceed 125 words for today’s election special publication. Statements appear as they were submitted by each candidate. No corrections were made by the A.S. or The Daily Aztec. However, some changes to formats for the purpose of uniformity were necessary. The views, opinions, statements or other content in these statements belong to the respective candidates and are not endorsed or fact-checked by the Associated Students, The Daily Aztec, San Diego State University or any of their officers or employees.

VICE PRESIDENT OF UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS Choose one

SANDY MEKANY

Hi SDSU! My name is Sandy Mekany and I am running to be OUR next Vice President of University Affairs. As your Chief Academic Officer, I will increase accessibility to academic advising and shorten course waitlists, collaborate with university administration to recognize the correlation between mental health and academic performance, and enhance individual academic success by providing intentional platforms to amplify the student voice.

Through my experiences as Academics Chairwoman for Gamma Phi Beta, A.S. SDC Representative, CIR Academic Success Peer, Director of Internal Relations for TJHB, and member of Rotaract of SDSU, I have gained the necessary knowledge to advocate for underserved communities and ensure that every student is provided with academic resources to reach their full potential. #OURsdsu Students for Students.

ALICIA MORALES

Hi. My name is Alicia. Something about me is I’m interested in law and want to be an attorney sometime after my time at SDSU. I decided to run because I was scrolling through Instagram, saw an application ad, and figured ‘why not?’

I have a history of running for and losing elections, so what’s one more.

Honestly, it would be awesome to win, and would be a job I’ll take seriously.

Mostly, I’m here to introduce myself, because how could I lead you properly if I don’t know you? If you see me around, say hi and introduce yourself. That is what motivated me to run: all of you. Meeting people like you and having a whole lot of fun! Peace :)

CAMPUS LIFE COUNCIL CAMPUS COMMUNITY COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE Choose one

LEANNE LOCANO

Hey SDSU! My name is Leanne Locano and I’m running to be OUR next Campus Community Commission Representative. As a commuter student, I recognize the importance of getting involved and feeling connected to OUR campus. In this role, I will expand positive interactions between SDSU and OUR local community, encourage open discussions about campus safety and resources, and ensure that students of all identities feel a sense of belonging at SDSU. Through my experiences as the AS College of Health and Human Services Representative, member of Delta Gamma sorority, member of the Dance Marathon leadership team, Aztec Shops Board of Director, FLEX program leader, and KORE Secretary, I have gained the necessary knowledge to enact tangible change for specific student needs. #OURsdsu Students for Students.

CONRAD PREBYS AZTEC STUDENT UNION PROGRAM BOARD COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE Choose one

TRENTON LANE

Hello SDSU! My name is Trenton Lane and I am running to be OUR next Aztec Student Union Board Representative. In this role, I plan to create inclusive events centered around the diversity of OUR student body, facilitate conversations that encourage community building, and promote campus pride through intentional programming.

I am currently a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, the Jr. IFC program, and a delegate for the IFC Expansion Committee. Through the Interfraternity Council, I have had the opportunity to experience a variety of programming put on by various campus partners. As a first year student, I have a fresh outlook that will allow me to best serve OUR current and future students. #OURsdsu Students for Students

VOTE!

Monday, March. 21 thru Thursday, March 24 on SDSU WebPortal

Other Election Information

Please note: All regularly enrolled SDSU students paying the A.S. student body organization fee, may vote for the A.S. Executive Officers and Campus Life Council Representatives. Students may only vote for the A.S. Council College candidates from their respective colleges. Write-In Candidates are eligible for all elected positions after submitting required candidate forms in the A.S. Office, 3rd floor of the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union, by March 18, 2022 at 12pm.

Call 619.594.6555 for more info or visit as.sdsu.edu

as.sdsu.edu/elections | Contact aselections@sdsu.edu for any questions.

The Daily Aztec /

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022

13

ASSOCIATED STUDENTS GENERAL ELECTIONS CAMPUS LIFE COUNCIL, continued COMMUNITY SERVICE COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE Choose one

BRIANNA GRAHAM

Hello SDSU! My name is Brianna Graham and I am running to be your next Community Service Commission Representative. I am currently involved in Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Sigma Pi, and the A.S. First Year Leadership Experience (FLEX).

Through these experiences, I have had the opportunity to recognize the significance of service and support and the need to further work towards best serving students of all identities. As one SDSU Community, there is a large array of needs throughout our student body. As your Community Service Representative, I strive to bring more emphasis to service opportunities and collaborations with campus organizations to better unite our campus community.

SATHYA SARAVANAN

In the past three years of being a student, I have learned the importance of our diverse and unified SDSU community. As a student leader in Aztecs Rock Hunger and Associated Students’ Community Service Commission within the past two years, there has be an expansion in our unified impact on the SDSU and San Diego community from fighting food insecurity to raising basic needs for students who are unsheltered. This and my experience in outreach committees for a variety of student organizations, I have seen the success of service events when input of students is considered. In this way, I want to cultivate a service-based community among our students where students feel welcome to provide their input and participate in service events across campus.

RECREATION & WELLNESS COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE Choose one

PHILIP BURY

Hey SDSU! My name is Philip Bury and I am running to be OUR next Recreation and Wellness representative. In this role, I will amplify the student voice surrounding the ARC project, ensure that mental health is viewed as an important aspect of wellness, and utilize recreational services as an opportunity for students to engage with OUR campus community.

I have served as Vice President of Health and Wellness for the Interfraternity Council, President of the Noah Hytken Memorial Fund, Project Manager for TAMID Group, and am an active member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. All of these experiences have given me both the skills and passion to continue supporting students throughout OUR campus. #OURsdsu Students for Students.

STUDENT DIVERSITY COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE Choose one

NOAH HAKIM

Hi SDSU! My name is Noah Hakim, and I am running to be your next Campus Life Council Student Diversity Commission Representative. My experiences include being a member of The SWANA/Islamophobia Task Force, Student Diversity Commission, Middle Eastern North African Student Organization, and the Co-Founder/ Secretary of The National Arab American Medical Association Next-Gen. These positions have been pivotal to my understanding and appreciation for diversity, equity, and inclusion. I am devoted to creating a campus environment that gives every SDSU student the opportunity to quality education, ability to express themselves, and opportunity to be heard. I will work to ensure that various basic needs and cultural resources are visible and accessible to students of all backgrounds. Vote for Noah Hakim!!

STUDENT SUPPORT COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE Choose one

SEAN STOUFFER No statement submitted.

STUDENT-AT-LARGE CAMPUS REPRESENTATIVE Choose two

NICK ABLES

Hi, my name is Nick Ables and I am excited to be running as your Student-at-Large Representative! It will be my utmost concern to not only make your voice heard, but to instill change on our campus. My goals for this position are to unite our student body, advance student wellness, and expand opportunities for us to serve the greater community. Over the course of the last semester, I have served as a College of Business Council Representative promoting resources available to Fowler students. Additionally, I have other leadership experience as the Academic Director and LinkedIn Director of Alpha Kappa Psi, as well as the Membership Director for Real Estate Society. I would be honored to represent you over the course of the next year!

UNIVERSITY COUNCIL COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS REPRESENTATIVE Choose three

ILIAS BENBATOUL

It is time for fresh ideas at Associated Students. I, Ilias Benbatoul, a second year Political Science and Weber Honors student, am running to be your representative. I have never been part of the Associated Students and I think that now is a great time for me to step in from the perspective of a regular student. With that said, if you give me the honor in receiving your vote you will be voting for yourself as well. I will always be there to take any advice from my fellow students. Our College of Arts and Letters has so much potential to be one of the top in the nation. Together, under my representation, we could make that happen. Let’s make a name for ourselves!

FOWLER COLLEGE OF BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE Choose five

OLIVIA PEACHEY

My name is Olivia Peachey and I want to be your next College of Business representative.

My wide range of involvement with Business societies, community service, and leadership has helped give me a well-rounded perspective on how the College of Business can further help our diverse student body. If elected I would work to promote engagement, facilitate student development, and inspire leadership to help unify the College of Business. I have held many leadership positions and accomplishing tasks in an efficient manner is something I am passionate about. Through integrity and giving a voice to all business students, I look forward to the opportunity to represent you in the College of Business and to leave a positive impact on this campus.

Go Aztecs!

GEORGE KAPLAN

Hello! My name is George Kaplan and I’m running to be your next Associated Students – Fowler College of Business Representative. Personal goals for the year would be bridging the gap between Associated Students and the Fowler College of Business. Incorporating my leadership roles within Alpha Kappa Psi and high school years, I want to expand the resources using the student body’s voice. What gravitated me toward this position was the opportunity to grow. Prior to the applying, two thirds of my college experience was online. I saw this as my chance to put myself outside of my comfort zone, a position where I can use the voice of students to make an impact with my time at San Diego State University.

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION REPRESENTATIVE Choose two

KAILEY QUEZADA

Hey SDSU! My name is Kailey Quezada, and I’m running to be your next College of Education Representative! I’m currently a second year Interdisciplinary Studies major, with disciplines in Child and Family Development, Sociology, and Public Administration, along with a minor in Spanish. This year I hope to shape every academic environment within the College of Education into an equitable and resourceful community, providing tools for success to all students. By serving as your previous COE Representative, along with sitting on executive boards for TJHB and NAACP, I believe I am equipped with the leadership skills to serve for you once again! I am optimistic that together, we can bounce back from the virtual world, rebuilding our SDSU community into the strongest it’s ever been!

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING REPRESENTATIVE Choose three

HALEY BAIZE

As a San Diego State University Student Ambassador, I would use my previous experiences to provide support to my peers. In the past through sports and extracurriculars, I have learned the value of listening to others and applying my own knowledge to help others in need. My experiences throughout high school taught me how to lead a soccer team and be involved in school projects. My goal in a government leadership position is to bring my skills and abilities to help others to the forefront of the student support commission. My experiences and abilities would allow me to serve the community in a way that benefits each individual.

SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE Choose one

RAUL LEON

To create sustainable change in a campus as diverse as SDSU is my personal goal. Before SDSU, I was involved in community projects in LA such as Exide Led community Cleaning, LA River Master Plan, 710-Freeway Expansion plan, and I also led a successful campaign to ban the sale of single-use plastics at my former Community College. There are positive, sustainable changes previously implemented at SDSU, like LEED buildings and solar panels. However, I am motivated to represent our students in advocating for more sustainable infrastructure and campaigns that could positively impact our University. Providing input and ideas towards upcoming projects would be my main focus as the Sustainability Commission Representative while assuring that students' voices are heard.

COLIN RO

As an Associated Students leader, I have many goals for myself and my school. Personally, I want the responsibility of contributing my thoughts and opinions to a governing body, and to be able to influence the decisions made by the group. In my opinion, interpersonal communication is fundamental in a successful governing body. In the past, I’ve collaborated with people through volunteering, work, and school projects, subsequently developing a sense of work ethic and discipline with others. I want a leading role in Associated Students, not only to learn more about my college and be involved with my school, but to also continue improving myself through collaboration with other students who simply want to make an impact.

VICTOR PLUNKETT

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. My name is Victor Plunkett and I am running to be a Representative for the College of Engineering in the University Council. In running for this position, I strive to ensure that communications between San Diego State and the SDSU student body are smooth. With this, I hope to keep the issues expressed by the students from the College of Engineering in the middle of my actions on the council.

Previously, I have served as the president and treasurer of my high school California Scholarship Federation team, as well as being a representative and treasurer for various other organizations around my high school, and I look forward to bringing this experience with me to the University Council. In conclusion, I wished to pursue this role to not only gain the ability to personally outreach, but also to help the entire SDSU student body!

14

The Daily Aztec

Arts & Culture

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Ryan Hardison • arts@thedailyaztec.com

With Puppy Picnic Co.’s big success, alumni proves anything is ‘paw-sible’

By Maritza Camacho

gateway to the success of Puppy Picnic Co. Puppy Picnic Co. was created post peak pandemic at the end of 2020 towards the As we begin to come out of our pandemic beginning of 2021. shells, a number of small businesses have For Chang, it all began when she risen up from the ashes of COVID-19. decided to foster then adopt her terrier, Those random hobbies we learned on Kenzie. Throughout the months of TikTok fueled many creative minds to isolation, Kenzie became Chang’s best share their impressive projects with the friend and Chang decided to throw her an rest of their extravagant first c o m m u n i t y. birthday party.

San Diego State After months alumnus Ciera of planning, the Chang is a puppy party perfect example was a success, of converting and she came to pandemic realize how much passions to fun she had with small business the planning and ventures. setting up.

On March 10, “And then Chang talked once I did to students Kenzie’s birthday, virtually on I was like, ‘Oh, Zoom about her I should start time at SDSU doing them and how her for dogs and small business dogs’ birthdays Puppy Picnic where we can Co. came to bring your dogs be, with the because Kenzie help from her comes with me own furry best everywhere friend, Kenzie. anyways,’” Photo courtesy of Puppy Picnic Co. As part of Chang said. “I Puppy Picnic Co. provides unique celebrations for each puppy. the SDSU Asian had seen very few Pacific Islander select businesses Desi American (APIDA) Center’s Small that had some dog friendly packages that Business Week, a handful of local APIDA you could add on, kind of like an extra. business owners engaged with students in And I was like, I should just do one, conversations about their entrepreneurial completely based on dogs.” journeys as a member of the APIDA And with that idea was how Puppy community. These presentations were Picnic Co. came to life, with the help of all in preparation for the APIDA Makers her already strong base of social media Market, where SDSU students gathered followers and small business connections. around the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student For Chang, each picnic is special and a Union last Thursday to sell and promote delight to create, but it was the engagement their own small businesses. during one of her puppy picnics that had Chang graduated from SDSU in 2018 a special place in her heart. Chang now with a major in journalism and emphasis has a retail store at Liberty Station to book in public relations. During her time on appointments for the puppy picnics and campus, she was involved in multiple to sell products from other vendors. She student organizations, such as the Public started off with 10 vendors at her store Relations Student Society (PRSSA), but and now has over 20 vendors. also was a rising lifestyle influencer on the Despite contrary belief, when it comes side. to developing a business, the genuine Chang has been a content creator on support between one another is key to social media since high school, starting growing in your industry. She sees that off as just a hobby and later becoming a in not only her small business, but also

STAFF WRITER

Photo courtesy of Puppy Picnic Co.

SDSU alumnus Ciera Chang finds happiness in throwing parties for dogs in the community and decided to make a business out of the idea after enjoying the process of planning a party for her terrier Kenzie.

her regular job as a senior copywriter for Raindrop Agency.

“In my nine to five life of working in an agency, I’m always working in teams and collaborating with other people. I love the community aspect of it. I always feel like community over competition is just very important,” Chang said. “I think it’s important to lift other people up and even with my picnic business, I’m only one part of it. Rather than me trying to just be it all for everybody, we bring in these different voices, these different perspectives. My main goal as a planner, and as a business owner, is to bring all these things together and make something really beautiful.”

Today, Chang’s puppy picnics have gained social media momentum, with already over five thousand followers on Instagram. People from all over the country are contacting Chang to collaborate, even vendors in New York.

Chang also makes it clear that her puppy picnics are not exclusive to dogs only. All furry and non furry friends are welcome to be a part of the fun and create their own special days.

For more information on Chang’s Puppy Picnic Co. or to book your next puppy party, visit their Liberty Station location, browse their packages online, or direct message Chang on her Instagram.

Crafty students sell products at debut Makers’ Market

By Gabriel Schneider STAFF WRITER

The Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Resource Center hosted a Makers’ Market, where student vendors sold their creations and student musicians showed off their skills on March 10 in the student union.

“I wanted an opportunity for our makers and our original music makers to celebrate the things they do with their hands, hearts and minds,” Virginia LohHagan, program director of the APIDA Resource Center, said.

The event was from 2 to 8 p.m., with people coming and going to buy items and listening to the artists perform throughout the day. Some of the items sold included crochet items, crystals, recycled vases, water bottles with designs, professional headshots and much more.

“I was walking by and saw some super

Photo by Gabriel Schneider

The APIDA Center’s Makers’ Market encourages student entrepenuers to sell their creations and student artists to perform in front of a live audience, with this year’s inaugral market on March 9 featuring lots of homemade items.

cool art and saw some people inspired and I wanted to check out what was going on,” Starleen Martinez, an SDSU psychology major said.

Martinez said she loved the atmosphere

and thought it was incredible that SDSU hosted an event like this for students.

Anoodnya Sangan, a computer science major at SDSU, was one of the performers at the event. She has been playing music

since a was child and was happy to take the stage.

“I loved how APIDA combined the songwriters with the makers,” Sangan said.

Gabriela Garcia, an SDSU student and vendor at the event sold a range of items from key chains, necklaces, scrunchies, rings and y2k creations. Garcia’s passion for making items began at the age of 13.

“It is a huge honor to be able to go to a school that supports people that actually make things,” Garcia said. “It’s really hard to find spots at different farmer markets and flea markets.”

Loh-Hagan said she was impressed with all the students and staff who participated in the event and looks forward to the next Makers’ Market.

Some of the organizations and vendors who participated in the event were Asian American Journalism Association, Bunnie Box, Happy Hearts Handmade Gifts, Moshi, Steam Botanics and many more.

March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 EDITOR: Katelynn Robinson . news@thedailyaztec.com

News

Former Chancellor Joseph Castro Has A Guaranteed Faculty Position — At Cal Poly SLO

The Daily Aztec /

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ASSOCIATED STUDENTS GENERAL ELECTIONS UNIVERSITY COUNCIL, continued COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE Choose three

NINA GO

Hello! My name is Nina Go and I am running to be a 2022-2023 College of Health and Human Services Representative! In the past, I struggled to advocate for myself in academic settings. But thanks to my current leadership experiences in SDSU’s Student Nurses Association and Associated Students’ Community Service Commission, I have grown in my confidence and gained the knowledge I need to advocate for students. I aim to be accessible to all CHHS students to ensure engagement in productive conversations where they can voice their concerns. Listening to and amplifying the student voice will allow me to work towards ensuring CHHS becomes equipped with the resources needed to foster students’ growth and success. So, GO out and vote Nina GO for CHHS Representative!

COLLEGE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES AND FINE ARTS REPRESENTATIVE Choose three

NOEMI PORTILLO

Will Joseph Castro leave the CSU system or will he stay?

by Gabrielle Downey CAL POLY SLO’S MUSTANG NEWS

Several Cal State University employee contracts include a policy that guarantees them a backup job somewhere in the CSU system.

For resigned CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro, that position is a tenured faculty role in Cal Poly’s very own Orfalea College of Business.

Castro resigned as Chancellor in February after USA Today published an investigation into his mishandling of sexual misconduct complaints while president at Fresno State.

In a settlement and release agreement obtained by Mustang News, the CSU explained Castro has entered the Executive Transition Program where he has been granted “retreat rights.” He can choose to move his retreat rights to a position at another CSU campus, or to be appointed as a tenured professor of leadership and public policy in Cal Poly’s College of Business.

According to the CSU website, Castro has not yet accepted the position at Cal Poly.

“Should Dr. Castro choose to retreat to a faculty position at Cal Poly, we are obligated to honor the rights provided by the CSU,” Cal Poly Provost Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore said at an Academic Senate meeting.

According to the agreement, Castro is now an adviser to the CSU Board of Trustees and will have an annual salary of $401,364 during the transition.

The Executive Transition Program will end Feb. 17, 2023, one year after his resignation.

Castro will also be paid for all unused vacation time, sick leave and other benefits. If Castro chooses to move from his home in Long Beach to San Luis Obispo, he will be reimbursed for moving expenses.

Castro resigned on Feb. 17 following allegations that he mishandled sexual misconduct while president of Fresno State. Fresno State received several sexual misconduct complaints about former Vice President of Student Affairs Frank Lamas.

A USA Today report revealed that Castro did not act on these complaints until a formal Title IX complaint was filed. Castro handled this complaint by settling with Lamas, who received a

Courtesy of CSU

letter of recommendation and $260,000 in the settlement.

Since then, Fresno State’s Academic Senate, a faculty governing body, drafted a resolution declaring a “lack of confidence in the Chancellor to lead, direct, administer his duties in the California State University system.”

CSU Board of Trustees responds by revising policies On March 1, the CSU Board of Trustees launched an independent investigation into the handling of the sexual misconduct allegations at Fresno State. There will also be a systemwide assessment of the CSU Title IX practices.

Along with the Title IX assessment, revisions to the retreat rights policy of the CSU is being prepared. The revisions will bring consistency within this policy for all 23 campuses in the system, according to a CSU press release.

“The new systemwide policy will prohibit an administrator’s return to the faculty under certain circumstances, such as when the administrator has been found to have engaged in sexual harassment or other significant misconduct,” the press release stated.

Retreat rights had previously been used at Cal Poly when its former vice president for strategic planning, Erling Smith, ended that role and joined the architectural engineering department in 2010.

“Retreat rights are very important and valuable to our community,” Relyea said in the press release. “That opportunity to retreat should be extended to individuals in good standing with the CSU, not to individuals who have engaged in significant misconduct. The policy needs systemwide clarity, consistency, and modernization, thus we are reforming it.”

The CSU Board of Trustees is currently developing a plan to find a replacement for Castro. Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer Steve Relyea is temporarily serving as chancellor.

Mckenna Rodriguez contributed reporting to this article.

Reports, concerns or questions about sexual harassment and other sexual discrimination should be directed to a campus Title IX Coordinator or the Office of Systemwide TIX Compliance.​Reports, concerns or questions about Frank Lamas’s conduct while he was employed at Fresno State should be directed to Jamie PontiusHogan, Director of Title IX and Clery Compliance at jphogan@csufresno.edu or (559) 278-5357.

Hello! I am Noemi Portillo and I am running to be your next College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts representative. I am a second-year majoring in Journalism and English with minors in Philosophy and Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. I am pursuing this position because I want to be a resource to minority groups on our campus and advocate for the academic issues SDSU students face. Using my previous experience as College of Arts and Letters representative, along with my experience as Director of Impact Program in Dance Marathon at SDSU and Director of Internal Affairs for IGNITE, I am confident in my abilities to uphold the student voice and advocate for the students of the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts.

COLLEGE OF SCIENCES REPRESENTATIVE Choose four

KATE ALLARD

My name is Kate Allard and as your representative, it would be my goal to act as a voice for students in decision-making within the College of Sciences, advocate for my peers, and create an inclusive environment for all students. I have gained leadership experience by participating in the Aztec Student Union Board at SDSU and volunteering for 6 years with the National Charity League. In high school, I mentored incoming students through LinkCru and coordinated on-campus activities through Class Council. As a psychology major, I enjoy building connections with people and find value in serving my community in a way that promotes diversity and inclusivity, which is why I would appreciate the opportunity to serve in a government leadership role on campus.

UNIVERSITY COUNCIL CHARLOTTE GIACOBETTI

Hello SDSU! My name is Charlotte Giacobetti and I am running for the College of Sciences Representative. My goal as an AS leader is to be an accessible advocate for students in the College of Sciences. I want to be able to assist students in voicing any concerns they may have, as well as help them achieve the goals they want to see executed in the college. A big aspect of my motivation to run for this position was my experience as the VP of Public Relations for the College of Sciences Student Council. I was able to find a community in CSSC, and if elected for this position, I would want to continue to provide a community for students in the College of Sciences.

SYDNEY SIMPSON

As an A.S. leader, I plan to advocate for all our students and help to support positive changes within the College of Sciences. I plan to bring a fresh perspective to the University Council. As a woman of color as well as a transfer student, I am well equipped to support our minority communities within the College of Sciences. I am motivated to seek a position in A.S. to become more involved in our SDSU community as a whole as well as our College of Sciences community. I’m eager to learn and begin to improve the experience for all our science students. I’m most excited to advocate for my classmates and make a positive impact.

JUSTICE HERRERA

Hi SDSU! I’m Justice Herrera and I’m running to be your College of Science A.S. Representative. At SDSU I have gained diverse experiences and held leadership roles that have equipped me to succeed in this position. I’ve been involved with community and professional spaces such as the CSSC Executive Board, BISH Lab, and the AS Office.

I will utilize this position and my experiences to advocate for students within the CoS on a university level and unify the diverse needs and desires of students and faculty. I see myself as an advocate, who intends to implement ways to expand student opportunities and promote and increase resources. This position is an opportunity to do my diligence as a member of this community and facilitate change.

UNDECLARED / UNCLASSIFIED STUDIES REPRESENTATIVE Choose one

NO CANDIDATES

GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT Choose one

ASHLEY TEJADA

What’s Up SDSU! My name is Ashley Tejada, and I am running to be your next Graduate Student Association President. After being the first graduate student ever to serve in the role of Associated Student President, I have recognized the need for a sustainable, transformative graduate student voice throughout our University. I strive to utilize my knowledge of academic policy, graduate student needs, and the most efficient University processes needed to achieve greater community and resources throughout our graduate student population. As we move towards a greater return back to campus each and every day, it is crucial to know not just the context of what we stand for as a University but to also advocate for a student-centered direction in the future.

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March 16, 2022 - March 22, 2022 Editor: Jason Freund • sports@thedailyaztec.com