The Daily Aztec 4/6/22

Weds. April 6 - Tues. April 12, 2022 Weekly Print Edition

Vol. 108, Issue 23 www.thedailyaztec.com

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

To mask or not to mask, students share opinions on COVID-19 policy WATCH OUR LIVE BROADCAST ON WEDS. @ 12:30 PM INSIDE THIS ISSUE

OPINION

Photo by Jessica Parga

Overseas adoptees share their experiences with being adopted and feeling disconnected from their culture.

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ARTS & CULTURE Alumni band’s nationwide tour is heading to San Diego on April 16.

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With mask mandates changing at SDSU, students have mixed opinions about the policies.

by John Paul CONTRIBUTOR

Cavada

San Diego State has started to pull back facial mask policies in light of declining COVID-19 cases. As of April 4, new policy updates were released and as of March 7, masks are required in fewer spaces on campus.

Students have voiced their concerns on the facial mask policies on campus.

“I do think ultimately, people reserve the right to wear a face

CSUN organiza para conectar estudiantes de Centroamerica.

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SPORTS Softball moves up to number 25 in the country after winning 11 straight games.

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INDEX News............................... 1-2 Opinion..............................3 Art..................................4-5 Mundo .............................. 6 The Back Page, Sports..... 7-8

“It’s not ideal because everything else has kind of been lifted. But, if the school feels that’s going to keep everyone safe, then I’ll continue to wear my mask and keep following protocol,” Integrated Marketing Communication freshman Eleanor Fonseca said.

Since the COVID pandemic has brought upon a hybrid setting, there have been various perspectives about how interaction between students or faculty have been affected.

Liberal studies elementary education sophomore Cassandra Ugarte shared her difficulties in conversations as a result of the facial masks.

“You’re not really seeing someone’s full face and expressions and it’s really hard to keep up conversations sometimes…It’s hard to speak up when your mask is on,” she said.

SEE ONLINE

Shawki Moore elected as new A.S. President

by Sumaia Wegner STAFF WRITER

MUNDO AZTECA

mask or not, but I do think that there are consequences to having the freedom to make choices like that,” Rhetoric and Writing Studies senior Summer Ycasas said.

Speech Language and Hearing Sciences senior Andrea Castillo shared her expertise on how the COVID-19 pandemic has created barriers in communication.

“We do go into a lot of how difficult it is for the deaf community to lip-read and they

lose a lot of facial expressions through not being able to see your mouth…people who have a hearing aid do mention that it is really difficult and it does kind of create a barrier,” she said.

Students have expressed their perspectives on how the latest facial mask mandate has impacted their daily routine.

“I would say it’s quite uncomfortable, but I know the reason why I’m doing it,” Mechanical Engineering sophomore Hayden Schmehl said.

Interdisciplinary Studies junior Hana Fernandez said the mask policies don’t bother her.

“I don’t want to catch COVID and if I carried it, I wouldn’t wanna give it to anyone else.

So if that’s what it would take, then I’m not too bothered by it,” Fernandez said.

SDSU has had 546 COVID-19 cases among students on the main campus since the start of the spring semester.

The results are in and Shawki Moore will be San Diego State’s 2022-2023 student president.

The former Associated Students Vice President of External Relations Shawki Moore won the A.S. presidential election with a total of 1,379 votes on Thursday, March 24.

While Moore was the only official candidate on the ballot, he was challenged by three write-in candidates for this position at the last minute: College of Engineering President Tito Hernandez, Interfraternity Council President RJ Hullum, and A.S. Recreation and Wellness Commissioner Orlando Ochoa.

Out of all the write-ins, Hernandez had the most votes with 867. Some students said the numbers may have been closer to Moore’s if Hernandez ran officially, had more time to campaign and had his name on the ballot.

“Having this much support as a write-in feels amazing,” Hernandez said. “My experience with this election was fantastic.

I was able to meet so many people, hear so many voices, and be able to make at least a small difference in people’s

lives.

Hullum who had 216 votes and Ochoa who had 41 votes came in as runners up.

“I went into this election with neither a win nor loss, but to become better after it which I definitely did experience,” Hullum said.

“Having the support of my peers meant so much to me.

To feel believed in and trusted, it was awesome.”

Ochoa, who had been involved in student government since middle school, said being a writein candidate can make a difference.

“As you all got to see, all three write-in candidates had a different approach to their campaigning,” Ochoa said.

“However, I feel like we were all trying to show the student body to not be afraid to be a write-in candidate.”

All three candidates are graduating this coming year but have plans to develop their ambitions into their future endeavors.

A word of advice from Hernandez for future students if they consider running for A.S.: “Be genuine, be different, be you. I got the highest percentage because people saw the genuine me and I

Courtesy of Shawki Moore

Shawki Moore ran against three write candidates and won with 1,379 votes.

announced it two days before elections started. I ran the campaign myself, after only a day and a half of branding. As long as you have a vision and a plan, you can be successful.”

Moore is preparing to swear in on May 4 beginning his first term for official presidential duties.

Here is what Moore had to say when asked about his election: How does it feel to win?

“I’m absolutely ecstatic about winning this election.

It has been a dream since my first year so to be able to

accomplish it alongside my team is truly an honor. To have the student body elect me into this role is huge because it means they have the confidence that I can represent them at the highest level, and I fully intend to make sure that I do so.”

What do you want your fellow students to know about your role as their new A.S. president?

SEE ONLINE

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The Daily Aztec

News

April 6 - 12, 2022 EDITOR: Katelynn Robinson • news@thedailyaztec.com

SAT, ACT scores no longer required for admission

University alleviates COVID polices

by Trinity Bland MANAGING EDITOR

Students applying to CSUs will no longer be required to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of the admissions process.

by Eugénie Budnik SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The CSU Board of Trustees voted to remove standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT from undergraduate admissions during their March session.

The Cal State system had previously suspended the standardized testing requirements for undergraduate admissions for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As the CSU continues to adapt and innovate to the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains committed to providing equitable access to a quality university degree,” CSU Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management April Grommo said.

The CSU Board of Trustees is reformulating how they judge student applications for admissions, with a more holistic view of the student’s college readiness.

“There are a lot of ways that we can view a student’s readiness for college and for SDSU,” Vice President of Enrollment Management Stefan Hyman said. “We look at the high school record as the primary understanding of their preparedness. That includes cumulative GPA, which at a national level is the

best indicator of a student’s success in college.”

Hyman also noted admissions officers would look closely at the courses a student has taken in high school and how that might prepare them for the major they have applied for at SDSU. “If you apply as a STEM major, then we’re going to look more closely at a student’s preparation in STEM classes and math classes especially. If they’re looking to go into the humanities, we’ll look more closely at their humanities and social sciences classes,” Hyman said.

Students will still be able to submit standardized test scores with their application if they choose to. However, scores will be used only to determine placement in language arts and math courses and will not affect their admission to the university that they apply to.

This decision comes as criticism of the influence of factors such as family income and wealth on standardized test scores. Research has shown that race and income impact a students performance on standardized tests.

“I am grateful for the change because it allowed me to be admitted to SDSU,” fourth year business major Elena W. said. “I am a low income student and there is a major gap between students

Courtesy of Freepik

who can afford the money and time to study for the SAT and students who can’t.”

Nonprofit organizations, such as Student Voice, have been campaigning for college admissions to go test free for several years due to the stressors that these tests place on students and their families. In April 2020, Student Voice held a virtual conference with thousands of students and representatives from universities calling for test free admission policies.

More than 1,800 colleges and universities across the country have amended their admission policies to eliminate standardized test scores as a factor for considering a student for admission. Websites such as FairTest, founded by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, keep an updated list of schools which have test optional admissions.

“Standardized tests are not inherently biased, but the way their scores are used do not show a full picture of a student’s background or individual capability,” Elena W. said. “If you are reading this and your parents paid for a tutor, helped you study, cared about your SAT success, or even knew what the SAT was, you had a privilege that not everyone had.”

San Diego State President Adela de la Torre sent a campus-wide email regarding updates to the university’s mask update on April 4.

Separate vaccination and testing clearance is no longer required at the door of SDSU-affiliated events, including “mega events” of more than 1,000 people and large events of 250999 people, as of April 1.

Beginning April 4, students who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and who require routine COVID-19 testing per the CSU systemwide policy will transition back to having negative test results on file every seven days, different from the previously required testing results on file at least every five days since the start of the spring semester.

Students, faculty and staff will no longer be required to show their green clearance medallion via HealtheConnect to access both the Dome and Love libraries after April 9.

Student Health Services will continue to monitor clearance status for all SDSU community members.

Additionally, the library will provide full access to the general public in line with other libraries CSU systemwide.

Courtesy of Freepik

SDSU has updated vaccine requirements in certain spaces.

New species of spider uncovered by SDSU biologists

by Christian STAFF WRITER

Houser

San Diego State biologists have identified a new spider species whose ancestors walked the earth at the same time as the dinosaurs.

The Hypochilus xomote can be found in shady and moist areas of the rocky canyons of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The xomote is a paleoendemic spider meaning it has a naturally small geographic distribution and has inhabited the area for a long period of time.

The Hypochilus xomote belongs to the Hypochilus genus which has not seen a new species added since 1994 when the xomote’s relative the Hypochilus bernardino was identified.

“We knew it was likely there were cryptic species within the defined genus,” biology professor Marshal Hedin said.

This cryptic species has a body the size of a pencil eraser and can be very hard to locate. Arachnologists and biologists utilize active webs and web scars to spot these tiny creatures.

Hedin and other biologists identified the spider using phylogenomics in their

Photo by Marshal Hedin

The new spider species which is the size of a pencil eraser, belongs to the genus of spider sometimes called the lampshade spider.

lab at SDSU. Through this process, Hedin can compare the differences between genomes of known spiders and the Hypochilus xomote and reconstruct spider history.

“For this genus it’s spectacular, this genus is a classic spider genus. All arachnologists know about the genus hypochilus because it has very special features and sits in a unique place on the spider tree of life. So it has this combination of primitive and derived features and is very distinctive,” Hedin

said.

The genus hypochilus is often referred to as a lampshade spider due to the look of its web.

“They sit on a rock wall and the web comes out from the wall. The web if you look at it from the side looks like a lampshade, narrow at the base and flares out,” Hedin said.

Xomote, the Yowlumni word for south, is used to describe the species due to the spider being the southernmost known group of hypochilus in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The spider was found about 80 miles northeast of Bakersfield, on lands historically occupied by the Tule River Yokuts people, according to the SDSU News Center.

Astronomy senior Madeline Overton said recognizing native groups of people is important in the field of science.

“I think it goes back to the land and if you’re finding these species on historic land it’s a good way to honor them,” Overton said.

Business Administration freshman Michael Long said the naming of the spider pays homage to the Tule River Yokuts people.

“It’s important since they were here

before we were,” Long said.

The Hypochilus xomote is a species of conservation concern as it was a species historically that had a larger and broader distribution, but due to extinction and fragmentation is now restricted to a single place.

“You want to conserve them because you’re conserving this legacy of evolutionary history. They are kinda like living fossils,” Hedin said. “Spiders are remarkably important on their own, but they are remarkably important to humans for lots of reasons. They eat lots of insects, they are incredibly important predators, they have amazing silk which we are starting to use in various ways, and they have venoms that are sometimes medically important.”

Hedin said conservation efforts for spiders like the Hypochilus xomote are important as these spiders can not balloon and leave their habitat.

“They live where they live,” Hedin said. “If they went extinct in those little canyons it would be sad because it’s a unique part of California biodiversity.

In the end, we are gonna look back and there isn’t gonna be anything left, it needs to stop at some point in time.”

April 6 - 12, 2022 EDITOR: Aaliyah Alexander • opinion@thedailyaztec.com

Opinion

The Daily Aztec

3

Educators deserve Oversea adoptees face unique pay equal to service

By Maitland Klingberg CONTRIBUTOR

By Brenna Martinez STAFF WRITER

Our society would not be able to operate without teachers.

Educators prepare kids with the tools they will need to navigate the world around them, and education is often a tool disadvantaged kids can use to ensure they have a brighter future.

What happens when qualified and successful educators abandon these roles?

Or more importantly, what happens when we, as a country, abandon these educators?

It does not take an expert to recognize teachers are required to assume many roles.

Whether it is providing a student with emotional support, protecting a child’s physical safety or mediating conflicts or situations of harassment, teachers are expected to do much more than just teach a child academic material.

These responsibilities coupled with a poor work-life balance and relatively low pay compared to other professions and teachers in different countries have been a source of frustration for many educators across the United States.

The issues overworked teachers have been facing have only been exacerbated in the past few years. Now, teachers must also navigate through a politicized pandemic and face additional pressures from parents, conflicting information from health officials and school officials and be at constant risk of getting sick or being exposed to COVID-19.

challenges worth discussing

Graphic by Emily Forschen

Educators are overworked and underpaid, this needs to change.

A 2022 survey conducted by the National Education Association reveals that a shocking 55% of teachers are thinking of leaving their profession earlier than they planned when first entering the profession. This change in thinking can largely be attributed to the pandemic.

Because there are so many teachers leaving the profession, schools are left understaffed nationwide. In New Mexico, one of the most extreme examples, schools are left so barren that the National Guard had to be sent in earlier this year to fill in the 1,000 vacant education positions statewide.

Widespread vacancies indicate the crippling issues teachers face. What can be done to fill these vacancies and ensure teachers stay in their positions long term?

Many think educators have a great worklife balance due to summers off.

SEE ONLINE

China’s one-child policy formally ended in 2016, yet the impact it has on international adoptees is timeless. A program that lasted nearly 40 years took away something many people hold invaluable: their basic identity.

The Chinese adoptees that I have come to know, including myself, do not know their natural parents or true birthday.

Information that the majority can recall in a split second doesn’t hold true for adoptees. The one-child policy stripped us of our initial identity, and what came next was determined by an endless amount of possibilities.

There were children fortunate enough to have been taken straight to an orphanage.

Others were abandoned in disturbing places, such as the gutter or a landfill.

Some never made it at all.

I feel compelled to share my story and others’ because we are miracles that should not be forgotten.

Adoption has been and will always be a big part of my life. My parents adopted me on Nov. 3, 2003 in Chongqing, which once belonged to the Sichuan province.

Every now and then, my family and I watch footage, capturing the exact moment we met. Their smiles beaming as they are handed a baby girl dressed in the traditional color red. My parents claim it was the happiest day of their lives.

After two weeks of being in China, we flew home to California and adjusted to our new life together. Like all families, we

Courtesy of Maitland Klingberg

Klingberg as a baby, sitting with teddy bear for a photo.

have our good and bad days, but in the end, love conquers all.

My family is very open when it comes to the conversation surrounding adoption.

They made sure I was comfortable with my adoptive identity from a young age. My parents prioritized cultural exposure, enrolling me in language school, and making trips to Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles.

They also stressed the importance of keeping in contact with fellow adoptees.

One individual my family kept me close to is my childhood best friend, Liana. We came from the same orphanage in the Wanzhou district. Our past has given us a unique and long-lasting friendship.

Even with a friend and supportive family by my side, adoption has not always been easy to navigate.

SEE ONLINE

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The Daily Aztec

Arts & Culture

April 6 - 12, 2022 EDITOR: Ryan Hardison • arts@thedailyaztec.com

Alumni band Sitting on Stacy co-headlines nationwide tour

By Sara Rott

MANAGING EDITOR Trinity Bland NEWS EDITOR Katelynn Robinson

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Sitting on Stacy, a local band composed of San Diego State alumni, are currently taking the United States by storm.

The three-piece band made up of Hoyt Yeatman (vocals and guitar), Kyle Hart (bassist and vocals) and ​​Trevor Smith (drums) are on their first co-headlining tour with The Aquadolls while traveling via van.

Meaningful and relatable, the California-based rock/alternative band with a ska/surf vibe doesn’t label themselves in one category.

“We don’t want to stick to one genre all the time, whatever sounds good, whatever feels good in the moment,” Yeatman said.

“We’ve really gotten into mixing and mastering, writing lyrics and we’re all really good friends.”

Originally from Ventura, the band members said coming to San Diego was something of a dream for them all, along with playing at venues such as the Irenic, Che Café and SOMA. “We went from playing smaller club shows, college shows and house shows to like playing an amphitheater,” Yeatman said.

Last year the band toured six or seven venues with the Jonas Brothers and had a lot of fun on stage.

“The North Island Credit Union Amphitheater, that was the first show we played with the Jonas Brothers on and it was terrifying,” Yeatman said.

While San Diego music fans may have heard of this band before, they may not have known about their SDSU roots.

Yeatman graduated in 2020 with a degree in business marketing (IMC) with a minor in music global composition. Hart followed a year later graduating in 2021 with a communications degree. There they earned their degrees and learned life lessons that help them today.

“I’m the one who didn’t go to SDSU, but I did go to a different Cal State, California State University Channel Islands, which kinda looks like a smaller version of SDSU,” Smith said.

Graduating with a degree in political science and a minor in international relations in 2021.

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 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 GRAPHIC DESIGNER Emily Forschen

Photo courtesy of Ellen Ward

Sitting on Stacy members Hoyt Yeatman (guitar and vocals) and Kyle Hart (bass and vocals) perform at Beat Kitchen Bar on Sunday, April 3 in Chicago, Illinois. The band’s roughly month-long tour finishes in San Diego at SOMA on April 16, returning the band to their college town.

Deadlines, professors, other students and working on the spot all contributed to what they carried on into their lives after school. Their classes and extracurriculars at SDSU helped them learn how to mix and master a track, which they use when in the studio creating a new song.

“Honestly, that’s come into my life so much, we mixed and produced our whole record that’s coming out soon,” Yeatman said.

“If I didn’t learn that at SDSU, I definitely wouldn’t have mixed it.”

They earned notoriety over time by playing at countless college house parties while attending SDSU. The band found themselves meeting other musicians and playing at more gigs which helped grow their fanbase.

“The whole music scene in San Diego is really awesome,” Hart said.

Before going on tour, the band released new singles such as “This Summer’s Day” and “Ellen.”

The members explained how the process of writing a song in the studio differs and it doesn’t always work. While some songs work right away, others can take months to perfect.

“When you go to sit down and write a song it never works, you have to work with some inspiration you’ve had,’’ Hart said.

The band works together, jamming and throwing out ideas working off of any bit of inspiration such as a melody or riff.

As the band recalled their best stage moments, they reflected on their memories. Wearing inner ears and listening to fans sing their songs back has an impact on them.

The band recalled a show as the Jonas Brothers’ opening act;

in Sacramento where there was a technical malfunction and they had to act on their feet.

“We’re about to play and we’re in front of thousands of people and they started playing ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA and it starts blasting over the speakers,” Yeatman said.

After a few minutes, the issues got resolved and the song was cut off and Hart opened the show with a drum solo.

“I was so scared, it was the scariest moment,” Yeatman said.

Sitting on Stacy returns to San Diego on April 16 where they will be playing the main stage at SOMA, a popular venue for rising bands in the area.

“We’ve been playing at it for so long and it’s just a cool place, everyone goes so crazy there,” Hart said.

STAFF WRITERS Christian Houser Sumaia Wegner Nick Coppo Brenna Martinez SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Jenna Meyer Eugènie Budnik CONTRIBUTORS Maitland Klingberg John Paul Cavada ________________________________ ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Brian Arnold GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST Luis Valenzuela EDITORIAL 619.594.4190 editor@thedailyaztec.com ADVERTISING 619.594.6977 advertising@thedailyaztec.com PRINT The Daily Aztec publishes 5,000 copies of its weekly print edition every Wednesday throughout the semester WEB Daily content is available at www.thedailyaztec.com QUESTIONS/COMMENTS letters@thedailyaztec.com The views and opinions expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of The Daily Aztec.

WATCH OUR LIVE BROADCAST ON WEDS. @ 12:30 PM

FOLLOW US /dailyaztec @TheDailyAztec @thedailyaztec Photos courtesy of Sitting on Stacy’s Instagram

(Left) Sitting on Stacy perform for a standing room crowd of fans at the Big Room Bar on Friday April 1, 2022 in Colombus, Ohio. (Right) Sitting on Stacy has released two new singles this year: “This Summer’s Day” and “Ellen.”

/DailyAztecVideo

April 6 - 12, 2022 EDITOR: Ryan Hardison • arts@thedailyaztec.com

Arts & Culture

The Daily Aztec

5

Miles McPherson offers a ‘Third Option’

By Andrew Finley & Trinity Bland ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR & MANAGING EDITOR

Miles McPherson is the senior pastor of The Rock Church in San Diego, which he founded in March 2000 right here on The Mesa in Montezuma Hall.

“Starting out, we wanted a central place.

I love the campus, I love being with kids,” McPherson said. “It was exciting because our church at the time was made up of a lot of young people and it still is. It just fit hand-in-glove that services would be on campus where students could just walk.”

The Rock Church has since expanded to five physical locations across San Diego County, as well as an online campus and micro-sites. McPherson said he never imagined the church would have as big of an outreach as it had today when he was preaching at Montezuma Hall.

“The things we’re doing now, and the people we’re reaching now were not even conceivable,” McPherson said. “All of the people online we’re reaching weren’t even conceivable, so we’ve gone far beyond what we thought we could ever do.”

The mission of The Rock Church is “Save, Equip, Send,” and while The Rock Church is a Christian church, that mission applies to everyone. McPherson said he acknowledges how God is viewed in today’s society but wants to remind people God has never changed.

“Culture has changed so much but God has not,” McPherson said. “I wouldn’t let people spoil the opportunity to experience God’s love and transformation.”

For San Diego State students in

particular, McPherson said he hopes they too can discover their purpose in life and walk in it.

“No matter what is happening in culture, to know what our purpose on earth is and to walk in it is the most powerful thing a person can do,” McPherson said. “I like to see young people experience that and find that quickly so they don’t waste years and relationships and pain looking in the wrong place.”

As the leader of one of the largest churches in San Diego, and a church that’s as diverse as, what Miles said in his book, “a pack of Skittles,” McPherson has a responsibility to serve the community around him. In 2018, he wrote “The Third Option,” a book exploring cultural diversity.

In “The Third Option,” McPherson breaks his theory down into three options: the first two options are that people are either for you or they’re against you. The third option: honoring what we have in common, placing value in our shared humanity.

“In our culture, it is very ‘us versus them.’

Everyone feels like they have to choose one side or the other, and that you can never agree with the other side,” McPherson said. “If we can focus on things we have in common first versus looking at the ways that we are different, we realize the ways that we’re different are variations of things we have in common.”

The topic of cultural diversity is one that hits close to home to McPherson, who grew up in a diverse family. Being multiracial, he said the pain and frustatrations of discrimination motivated him to write the book for anyone who wants to bring unity to the world.

Photo courtesy of Miles McPherson’s Instagram

Pastor Miles McPherson teaches “The Third Option” which places value in the importance of cultural diversity.

“I felt that God would give me a word that would help people go ‘Oh, that’s what that means,’ or ‘Oh, I didn’t realize that was offensive,’” McPherson said. “I started realizing how much that I had that I could help people bridge the gap, whether between them and other people, or the internal racism against themselves.”

“The Third Option” has taken McPherson all over the world and said he recognizes the power of being able to speak about the topic of racism through what he has written and preached.

“It has enabled me and other people to articulate how to address issues of

division better,” McPherson said. “A lot of times when people come to the issue of racism, there’s a lot of anger and angst and attacking people and shaming people, where this has given people language on how to understand bias, privilege, labels, what racism is and what our blind spots are all about.”

McPherson and The Rock Church are working to develop programs inspired by “The Third Option” for people of all ages.

To get involved with “The Third Option,” visit their website thethirdoptiontraining. com or follow McPherson on social media at @milesmcpherson for more information.

Column: There is still no love for hip-hop at the Grammys

By Ryan Hardison ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

On Sunday, April 3, Las Vegas played host to the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which had the usual flair, festivities, and questionable fashion choices that can be expected from music’s biggest night.

But like most years, one crucial missing ingredient: a rightful amount of love for hip-hop music.

To anyone who’s watched the Grammys on a yearly basis, it’s likely no surprise the genre of hip-hop continues to be disrespected, but each year it becomes more perplexing. Despite being the mostlistened-to genre of music in the U.S., hip-hop artists and hip-hop categories are usually slighted in favor of other genres, and it sometimes happens in very subtle ways.

One instance is when it comes to live performances at the Grammys. Out of 17 performances at this year’s show, there was a single solo performance from a rap artist: Queensbridge rapper Nas’s medley of his early 2000s hits along with one of his more recent songs “Rare.” The only other rapper who performed on the night was Jack Harlow, who performed his feature on Lil Nas X’s smash hit “Industry Baby.”

As seen by Meg Thee Stallion and Cardi B’s mashup of “Up” and “WAP” at last year’s Grammy Awards and both of Kenrick Lamar’s legendary Grammy performances over the past several years, any time a rapper graces the Grammys stage there is potential for a historic performance – but only if they’re given the opportunity in the first place.

Another example is the categories that are chosen to be a part of the Grammys telecast. The Grammys can play favorites by deciding which award presentations are shown on television, and one big omission

Graphic by Ryan Hardison

The Grammy Awards are meant to reward music’s best, but hip-hop artists are rarely given proper appreciation.

from Sunday’s show was best rap album.

For his vividly adventurous jet-setting album “Call Me If You Get Lost,” Tyler, the Creator took home his second best rap album Grammy of the past three years. Since he is currently on tour, Tyler did not attend the ceremony and instead recorded his acceptance speech through Instagram Live. This victory was huge, as it also marked a Grammy victory for the legendary DJ Drama, who narrated the album.

Even though Tyler and DJ Drama were not in attendance, having their victory announced on TV would have given the success of the album as well as the significance of their win the proper spotlight it deserved. (It also deserved an album of the year nomination but that’s a whole other discussion.)

However, the most controversial moments of the night came from the “In Memoriam” segment.

L.A. rapper Drakeo the Ruler, who was fatally stabbed last December at the Once Upon in L.A. Festival, was not included in the segment, which sparked a lot of vocal opinions from rap fans and writers alike who criticized his omission. This included a tweet from music journalist Jeff Weiss,

who extensively documented Drakeo’s career, as well as the lengthy time he spent incarcerated while awaiting trial for gang enhancement crimes.

An even greater controversy from the segment was former Louis Vuitton artistic director and Off-White CEO Virgil Abloh being credited as a “hip-hop fashion designer.” Though labeling Virgil Abloh as someone with a direct correlation to hiphop is not necessarily wrong, there is a valid argument that it diminishes the impact he had on the entire world of fashion.

Summing up a person’s lifelong artistic contribution in five words or less can be challenging, but this characterization fits with the way shows like the Grammys often lump Black artists into “urban”

categories as an “other” that exists outside of mainstream music recognition.

All that being said, it seems viewers have slowly begun to realize how the Grammys is an inaccurate portrayal of the best that music has to offer. It can be simultaneously acknowledged when deserving people win at the Grammys while still recognizing the show’s shortcomings and dwindling relevancy. Because even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Though it’s good that the amount of cultural relevance placed in the Grammys has diminished, it would still be worthwhile for hip-hop to be given its rightful due.

After all, if the biggest music awards show in the country can’t celebrate the biggest genre in music then what’s the point?

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The Daily Aztec

Mundo Azteca

April 6 - 12, 2022 EDITOR: Noé Sandoval • mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

La universidad alivia medidas de COVID-19 por Noé Sandoval EDITOR DE MUNDO AZTECA

La Universidad Estatal de San Diego está aliviando algunas medidas de COVID-19 debido al menor casos del virus reportado.

El 4 de abril la presidente Adela de La Torre anunció en correo electrónico sobre las medidas que serán aliviadas. Muchas de estas medidas se refieren a la frecuencia de pruebas, acesso a la biblioteca y el uso de mascara.

Desde el 4 de abril, aquellos pocos quienes no estén completamente vacunados contra el COVID-19 y que requieran pruebas de rutina de COVID-19 según la política de vacunación de todo el sistema de CSU volverán a tener resultados negativos en el archivo cada siete días. Este es un cambio de los resultados de las pruebas requeridas anteriormente en el archivo al menos cada cinco días desde el comienzo del semestre de primavera.

El 9 de abril, ya no será necesario que los estudiantes, facultad y personal muestren su medallón de autorización verde a través de HealtheConnect para acceder a la biblioteca de la universidad. Los

servicios de salud para estudiantes siguen monitoreando diariamente el estado de autorización para todos los miembros de la comunidad SDSU. Además, a partir del 9 de abril, la biblioteca reabrirá el acceso al público en general en línea con otras bibliotecas del sistema CSU. Todavía se recomienda el uso de máscaras, pero no es obligatorio cuando se está en otros espacios del campus.

Como recordatorio, aquellos que vienen al campus específicamente para hacerse la prueba deben usar una cubierta facial, independientemente de si están adentro o afuera. Para aquellos que no están completamente al día con sus vacunas, aún se requiere el uso de máscaras cuando están en el interior del campus.

Estas políticas actualizadas son parte de la respuesta continua de múltiples niveles de SDSU a la pandemia de COVID-19. La universidad permanece atenta a las últimas pautas de salud pública locales, regionales y nacionales y continuará manteniendo informada a la comunidad a medida que avanzan en el resto del semestre de primavera de 2022.

Foto de los Arquivos

Desde el mes de abril, las medidas han sido aliviadas con menos restriciones para los estuidantes y facultad.

Una organización universitária en Northridge busca conectar estudiantes de la comunidad centroamericana Cultural Techantit.

“Lo increíble es que nos está dando la oportunidad como jóvenes voluntarios de comenzar a establecer relaciones con estas organizaciones y con la gente para que podamos comenzar a retribuir de esa manera transnacional y transfronteriza”, dijo Carlos Somoza, Tesorero de TECUS. De Leon-Lazo dijo que TECUS quiere eventualmente ir más allá de ser solo un club en el campus de CSUN dentro del departamento de estudios transfronterizos y centroamericanos.

“No solo nos enfocamos en los estudios centroamericanos [majors] en el campus, para nosotros se trata de construir conexiones”, dijo Lazo.

En términos de este semestre y más allá, TECUS está planeando eventos futuros donde los estudiantes puedan participar y aprender más sobre el alcance comunitario a través de una lente transnacional. Estos planes incluyen la recaudación de fondos para las comunidades de América Central para ayudar a satisfacer las necesidades de alimentación y vivienda, la organización Foto por Kaitilyn Lavo

Retrato de Jessica Flores Rodríguez y Yoselin Deleon frente al mural en la Casita detrás del edificio Chicana Studies en CSUN. por Kristen Cintigo CSU NEWSWIRE

Estudiantes de La Universidad Estatal de Northridge en Experiencias transfronterizas de estudiantes universitarios centroamericanos están trabajando para conectar a los estudiantes con organizaciones centroamericanas en su regreso al campus por primera vez en dos años.

El club se creó inicialmente durante el curso académico 2020-2021. Sin embargo, el semestre pasado, durante una reunión especial del Tribunal Judicial de Estudiantes Asociados el 6 de diciembre de 2021, fueron aprobados formalmente como club en el campus.

El asesor de la facultad del club, Douglas Carranza, fundó originalmente TECUS como una forma para que los estudiantes se involucraran con las organizaciones comunitarias centroamericanas tanto dentro de Los Ángeles como en el extranjero. Carranza es presidente del Departamento de Estudios Centroamericanos y Transfronterizos de CSUN.

La presidenta de TECUS, Yoselin De Leon-Lazo, estudiante de tercer año de pregrado, ayudó a establecer el club debido a la oportunidad que presentaba de construir una comunidad con estudiantes en el campus y organizaciones fuera del campus.

“Nuestro objetivo es transfronterizar”, dijo De Leon-Lazo. “Más adelante, seremos algo más grande. Quiero que la gente pueda utilizarnos como un recurso”.

TECUS ha podido alcanzar algunos de sus objetivos gracias a las conexiones y el apoyo de los profesores del departamento.

Parte de esto se deriva de la participación del departamento con el Fondo Educativo y de Liderazgo Salvadoreño Americano, así como con la Clínica Romero.

SALEF tiene como objetivo empoderar a los salvadoreños a través de la implementación de programas educativos, clases de ciudadanía, divulgación electoral y delegaciones a Tijuana y El Salvador, según su sitio web. Han organizado colectas de juguetes, eventos de distribución de alimentos y han brindado pruebas de COVID-19 y clínicas de vacunación.

Clínica Romero brinda servicios de

atención médica a comunidades étnicas dentro de Pico-Union, Westlake y Boyle Heights. De Leon-Lazo y la secretaria de TECUS, Jessica Flores, trabajan en la Clínica Romero como supervisores de salud comunitaria.

“A través de TECUS pude ir a la Clínica y ahora tengo toda esta experiencia laboral en diferentes áreas”, dijo Flores.

“Son cosas que nunca hubiera pensado, como registrar pacientes, saber el alcance del COVID y tener que estar siempre al día. No pensé que tendría un trabajo así”.

El club también ayudó a organizar el Día de la Resistencia Indígena virtual el semestre pasado, que fue patrocinado por el departamento de Carranza, SALEF y el Instituto Centroamericano de Investigación y Política. El propósito de este evento fue crear conciencia y elevar las voces indígenas centroamericanas.

Tres panelistas indígenas hablaron en el evento virtual sobre sus experiencias y cómo las comunidades indígenas han sido históricamente oprimidas. Los tres panelistas que participaron fueron Ixmukané Choy del Colectivo Kaqjay, Pedro Rodríguez del Consejo de Pueblos Originarios y Haydee Sanchez del Centro

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April 6 - 12, 2022 EDITOR: Jason Freund • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Sports

The Daily Aztec

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No. 25 softball secures third straight sweep

By Nick Coppo STAFF WRITER

The Aztecs came into this series undefeated through their first six conference games against Colorado State and Fresno State, This set up a weekend series against the Nevada Wolf Pack, where the Aztecs looked to further cement themselves as the class of the Mountain West.

Game one featured senior Maggie Balint on the mound for SDSU, and she did continued to prove why she is one of the most dominant pitchers in the nation.

Balint struck out 12 and only allowed three hits in seven shutout innings.

The Aztecs used some late-game heroics from senior Nicole Seiss to give the Scarlet and Black a 1-0 walk-off win to kickoff the series. This is the second time Seiss has sealed a win for the Aztecs this year, as she also made a miraculous leaping catch at the wall to clinch a win against USD earlier in the season.

The second game of the series saw a bit more offensive firepower from both teams as Nevada got to sophomore pitcher Allie Light with a first inning run. The Aztecs followed that up by loading the bases with no outs in the bottom half of the inning only for Nevada freshman Ellie Garcia to

Photo by Derrick Tuskin, courtesy of SDSU Athletics

Nicole Siess sliding into home plate against Fresno State, as they go on to sweep the Bulldogs to remain undefeated in Mountain West Conference play.

work out of the jam by way of strikeouts and weak contact from the Aztec hitters.

SDSU did not dwell on what could have been in the first however. The second inning saw three runs come to the plate by way of some sloppy play by the pitcher and catcher of the Wolf Pack. After a single and a walk put two runners on with two outs, a passed ball moved those runners to second and third. Another passed ball allowed freshman Audrey Kull to score the

first Aztec run of the ballgame.

After a walk to freshman Bella Espinoza and yet another wild pitch, Seiss scored from third and the Aztecs took the lead.

Sophomore Mac Barbara stepped in and did some more damage, as a double to the wall was enough to score the fleet-offoot Espinoza all the way from first base to make it 3-1. Each team would plate one more runner each, and the Aztecs came away with a 4-2 victory, their 10th straight.

Balint (12-4, 1.31 ERA) was on the mound for the Sunday matinee matchup as the Aztecs looked for their 11th consecutive win. Balint fanned 13 Wolf Pack batters across seven innings allowing only five hits and one earned run that came in the first inning.

Runs for SDSU came by way of an RBI groundout by senior Alexa Schultz in the third inning, and it took until the sixth inning for the Aztecs to break the 1-1 tie on an RBI single by senior Danielle Romanello. The final run came on another RBI single by freshman AJ Murphy, extending the lead to 3-1. Balint closed the game out by striking out the side in the final inning which clinched a series sweep over the Wolf Pack, their third consecutive Mountain West sweep.

Across 112.1 innings pitched, Balint has totaled 179 strikeouts which ranks sixth in all of Division-1 softball. Balint’s combination of power and stamina has been a big reason for the Aztec dominance in the first half of the season.

The Aztecs are a perfect 9-0 in conference play and the media is starting to take notice as the most recent D-1 softball rankings have SDSU at No. 25 in the nation. The Aztecs will now prepare for a roadtrip to Sin City, where a weekend series against the UNLV Rebels awaits.

Baseball earns first Mountain West win, but

is still in the valley of the MWC standings

By Jenna Meyer SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Aztec Baseball took a weekend road trip to Reno, NV to take on the preseason conference favorites in the Nevada Wolf Pack with hopes of securing their first conference win.

While they were successful in securing their first conference win on Friday, they were unable to secure the series after losing both Saturday and Sunday’s contests.

Game 1 Junior right-handed pitcher Troy Melton took the mound as Friday’s starter with the full intention of shutting the Wolf Pack down and he did just that with a 13-1 victory.

The scoring frenzy began in the top of the second with a double from junior Brian Leonhardt to bring redshirtsophomore Xavier Carter home. Followed

by Leonhardt’s double, sophomore Caden Miller sent a single to left for another run, giving the Aztecs an early 2-0 lead.

Sophomore Poncho Ruiz sent a double down the line to left field in the third and scored on a sac fly from freshman starter Tyler Glowacki.

The fifth inning is when the magic happened for the Aztecs with five runs on three hits. Sophomores Poncho Ruiz and Cole Carrigg came up with a pair of doubles, redshirt-sophomores Trevor Hazelhurst and Carter both walked, leaving it up to Brian Leonhardt to bring them home, which he had no issue doing.

Leonhardt sent a ball barreling out to right field, bringing a bit of Slam Diego to Nevada and securing an 8-0 lead.

Nevada scored one in the bottom of the fifth but could not manage to get within reach of the Aztecs.

The Scarlet and Black tacked on two more in the sixth and seventh innings after redshirt-freshman Shaun Montoya reached home and Hazelhurst sent a solo homer off the scoreboard and increased the lead to 10-1.

The Aztecs’ scoring did not stop there as they secured three more runs in the

ninth inning. Glowacki and Hazelhurst both singled, while Carter followed up with a double down the line in right, and sophomore Max Foxcroft hit another single to secure the victory and a final score of 13-1.

All of the nine SDSU batters contributed offensively with at least one hit and a season-high of 18 hits.

Senior left-handed pitcher Jacob Flores took the mound in place of Melton in the eighth inning and maintained the dominant lead, just giving up one hit in his two innings pitched.

Game 2 Following an exciting Friday night win, the Aztecs looked to secure the series win against the Wolf Pack but were unable to after a 12-6 loss.

Sophomore RHP Kelena Sauer took the mound for the Aztecs for the Saturday start.

The Scarlet and Black led early in the first after Hazelhurst walked with bases loaded to plate Ruiz.

The Wolf Pack quickly found redemption for their Friday loss by sending 10 to the plate in the bottom of the first inning where they scored six runs with only three earned.

The Aztecs loaded the bases in response to Nevada’s rampant scoring with a walk for Leonhardt, a single from Foxcroft and Miller being hit by a pitch. Leonhardt made it home on a wild pitch and Foxcroft was brought in on a groundout from Ruiz.

Moving into the third, Glowacki led off with a single, raced to second on a wild pitch and scored after a double from Leonhardt, bringing the Aztecs within two of the Wolfpack.

Nevada responded once again with an additional two runs in the third, increasing their lead to 8-4.

The Aztecs worked to bring themselves within reach of the Wolf Pack in the seventh inning with a double from Glowacki and scoring on redshirt-freshman Johnny Giannola’s single.

Nevada silenced the Aztecs in the seventh with an additional three runs and set it in stone with a final run in the eighth.

Giannola recorded his first home run for the Aztecs in the ninth but it wasn’t enough to rally the Scarlet and Black.

Four Aztec pitchers — Sauer, redshirtsophomore Hunter Cranton, redshirtsenior Avery Jones, and redshirtsophomore Jonny Guzman — combined for 11 strikeouts and worked to save the game but their efforts were not enough after four errors, four batters hit, and three wild pitches.

Game 3 The Aztecs were ready to take on the Wolf Pack for the series finale and fight for the series win but fell short to Nevada 8-6.

Nevada struck first in the bottom of the second with a single, advanced to second on a groundout, and scored on a throwing error to third.

The Wolf Pack continued their scoring in the third with four runs, three unearned, to increase their lead to 5-0 over the Scarlet and Black.

The Aztecs started a rally of their own in the fourth with a walk from Carter and

5

a single from Hazelhurst. With runners on first and third, Giannola and Leonhardt made it on base from a pair of errors from the Wolf Pack, sending Carter home.

Foxcroft sent a double to right, plating Hazelhurst before Leonhardt made it home on a wild pitch, bringing SDSU just within Nevada, 5-4.

Nevada tacked on two more in the bottom of the fourth following a double that brought in two runners who walked.

SDSU charged back once again in the seventh with hopes of securing the series after a home run from Ruiz brought in Miller as well.

The Aztecs’ efforts were not enough after Nevada scored one additional run in the eighth, taking the victory and final score of 8-6.

On deck…

The Aztecs will host Long Beach State in a midweek matchup on Tuesday at Tony Gwynn Stadium with first pitch at 6p.m..

8

The Daily Aztec

The Back Page

April 6 - 12, 2022 Editor: Jason Freund • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Megan Hooks’ wild journey shows that cheerleaders deserve ‘cheerleaders’ too

By Alex Lai CONTRIBUTOR

Waking up at 2 a.m. to do hair and makeup, senior Megan Hooks needed to leave by 3:30 a.m. to make her 6 a.m. call-time to cheer on the San Diego State football team in Carson, California. After cheering for four hours in the blazing sun, Hooks had a quick break before driving to Anaheim to cheer on the SDSU basketball team against the University of Southern California on November 26. By 1:30 a.m., she was heading back to San Diego after almost 24 hours of travel and cheer.

Hooks is a fourth-year cheerleader and business marketing student at SDSU. She is part of the Weber Honors College and is also minoring in interdisciplinary studies.

Hooks has been a cheerleader at SDSU for the four years she has been attending, in addition to cheering for a decade prior.

After graduating high school, Hooks already knew she wanted to pursue cheerleading in college. Considering that SDSU has a well-known cheer program nationally, it was “an obvious choice” when she made the team. Since she had already been balancing her schoolwork and being on two cheer teams in high school, she said felt prepared to take on the collegiate student athlete lifestyle.

How does one manage work, school, a social life, and being an athlete? Hooks explained how she balances her life by managing her time and staying organized.

“It’s definitely a time thing,” Hooks said. “I try to make time for things I care about but there’s only a certain number of hours in the day.”

First, school is always a priority to her. Then, comes cheer, work, friends, and anything else. Hooks said she has even ran down the street to her house from campus to quickly change and go to work. She said staying organized is the key to managing her time. By having spreadsheets and calendars, she can keep track of her school, work, social, and cheer schedule.

Hooks’ roommate and friend, senior Lizzie Kridle, gave an inside look on living with a student athlete.

“From living with Megan, I think I have learned a lot about time management and prioritizing things and relationships that are important to you,” Kridle said. “I am always impressed with the amount of tasks, meetings, classes, and practices that Meg is able to get through in a day.”

Cheer practices are three times a week with weightlifting on the same days.

Hooks said making time for practice isn’t too bad, but games and events are far more demanding. Games are mandatory for SDSU cheerleaders and events are voluntary on a point-based system.

The more events you attend, the more points you get toward getting to travel with the team. Football games are once a week while basketball has one or two a week. Events occur the most, being up to three times per week. Events include on-campus activities, sports games, and even community related gatherings.

Homecoming events, new students’ convocation, volleyball and soccer games, blood drives, and news station promotions are just a few examples of events.

Being a cheerleader and a student means that Hooks has had to make some compromises.

“Socially, I’m not as involved in things because I’m so involved in cheer,” Hooks said.

During her freshman and sophomore year, she often couldn’t hang out with her roommates because of her cheer schedule.

Eventually, they became close while she was busy with school and cheer. These

Photo Courtesy of Megan Hooks’

Senior cheerleader Megan Hooks said she made a lot of sacrifices in her four years of cheerleading at SDSU, but also said she’ll miss being a part of it.

past two years, however, she became more adapted to her busy schedule and was able to balance her social time.

Even as a senior, she said she’s constantly “on the go” while her friends can enjoy living in San Diego more.

“She always has her door open for any of the housemates to come into her room and chat,” Kridle said. “I think this just embodies how open and friendly she is, which can probably be attributed to always being a reliable teammate from being involved in cheer for so many years.”

Hooks was quick to mention her dependence on her teammates whenever her schedule becomes overbearing.

Collectively as a team, they all face similar struggles. Many of her teammates have had to leave the team or ended up not trying out again the next season.

“We’re all going through it together,” Hooks said. “If I’m stressed, I can always

lean on them.”

Although being a student athlete can be challenging at times, Hooks has learned a lot from balancing school and cheer.

Not only have her time management skills helped her in college, but they will also be beneficial for the rest of her life.

In addition, Hooks has become more motivated and goal oriented.

“I’m more motivated,” Hooks said. “I have goals in school and cheer and am trying to accomplish all of them.”

Hooks said she struggles with not getting the same respect for being a cheerleader that other athletes get. University Press elaborates on this in their article “The Everyday Life of a Cheerleader.” The National Collegiate Athletic Association does not consider cheerleading to be a sport, so college cheerleaders do not get as many benefits as other collegiate athletes. These benefits include tutors, scholarships, specialized doctors and

priority registration. By not having priority registration to work around practice times, the SDSU cheerleading team has to practice as late as 11 p.m. on weekdays.

Hooks shared how, although they sideline cheer for other sports, the cheer team has their own events and competitions as well. Their competitions aren’t publicized as much as other sports, and many other athletes don’t see the extent of what they do.

After graduating this May, Hooks will end her SDSU cheerleading career.

There are not many opportunities for her to pursue cheer after college because professional cheerleading is mainly dance oriented. After over a decade of cheer, Hooks said she feels it might be the right time to say goodbye to her sport.

“It’s bittersweet. I think I’m ready to be done, physically, my body is done,” Hooks said. “But just because I’ve been doing it for so long, it’ll be sad.”