Wednesday, May 8 - Tuesday, August 13, 2019 Weekly Print Edition
Vol. 105, Issue 33 www.thedailyaztec.com
Inside: Read our special coverage of sexual assault in “El Alma”
San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
Year in review: Meningitis, Greek life suspensions, racism on campus
Cheapest meal plan to be removed next year by Aretha Matsushima STAFF WRITER
Photo illustration by Katherine Cooke
The meningitis outbreak, multiple Greek life suspensions and Adela de la Torre’s inauguration are a few of many highlights of the 2018-19 school year.
by Bella Ross NEWS EDITOR
MENINGITIS OUTBREAK One of the first big news stories of the year landed when a student attending sorority rush events on the weekend of Sept. 1 contracted meningococcal meningitis. By the end of the month, county health officials announced an outbreak of the virus with three cases hitting
students in the months prior. What followed was a push for students to get vaccinated, filling Viejas arena for multiple days. The virus would strike again in mid-April after another weekend of Greek life events. FRAT PARTY BAN ENDS, HARD ALCOHOL BAN BEGINS The self-imposed fraternity social moratorium — or party ban — was a product of the
2017-2018 school year. After months of educational events, the Interfraternity Council unanimously voted to lift the ban in a meeting on Oct. 4. The meeting also resulted in a ban on hard alcohol, a move that was made to promote the safety of people attending Greek events. GREEK LIFE SUSPENSIONS Not long after the social moratorium was lifted, the Greek
system was hit with a slew of suspensions. On the weekend of Oct. 17, Kappa Alpha was placed on an interim suspension and Sigma Nu was kicked off campus by its national chapter, both due to alcohol-related incidents. An incident on Halloween night then resulted in two additional interim suspensions for Sigma SEE YEAR IN REVIEW, PAGE 2
SDSU rallies around Jewish community by Johann Oribello STAFF WRITER
A sea of somber faces gathered around Scripps Cottage on Wednesday for a vigil just days after the Chabad of Poway Synagogue shooting. “We all stand together and recognize that we are one family,” San Diego State religious studies lecturer Rabbi Scott Meltzer said. “Nothing can hurt us.” Many members of the SDSU community gathered to show support and stand in solidarity over the tragic event. Meltzer, who spoke during the vigil, said
the shooting affects not only the Jewish community but the wider world as a whole. “Standing up means anytime somebody talks about ‘those’ people, (they need) to know that we are those people,” Meltzer said. “But on Saturday, those people were Jews. On any given day, those people are people of color. Those people are women. Those people are LGBTQ. Those people are the object of scorn, hatred, and far too often violence. We are those
SEE JEWISH COMMUNITY, PAGE 3
Photo by Johann Oribello
Mourners gathered at Scripps Cottage to commemorate the Chabad Poway Synagogue shooting.
The freshmen resident 10 Meals plan, the lowest in cost of the four freshmen meal plans, will no longer be an option for students starting next fall. San Diego State Dining Director Paul Melchior said SDSU Dining will be removing the 10 Meals plan due to the assessment of student feedback that they have received. “We get a large amount of feedback that this plan was very restrictive and we know that students like flexibility,” Melchior said. The 10 Meals plan originally allowed students to have two swipes per day at designated times – affording users $9.50 for the first part of the day and $12.60 for the second – with no weekend allowance. Similar to the Flex 5 and Flex 7 plans, money balances do not carry over to the next day, according to SDSU Dining’s webpage. Melchior said the plan was restrictive in the fact that the full allowance of one swipe had to be spent entirely in one location. “As an example, for breakfast or lunch you could go to Starbucks if you wanted, but you would have to spend your entire allotment at Starbucks in that one swipe,” Melchior said. “With our flex plans and meals plus plan, you have a lot more flexibility on how you spend it each day.” The Flex 5, Flex 7 and Meals Plus plans allow greater flexibility by offering a daily or semesterly allowance that can be spent in multiple swipes, according to SDSU Dining’s webpage. The Meals Plus plan even allots users 80 meals at The Garden or UTK, SDSU’s cafeteria-style eateries. However, these additional amenities come with a cost. The cost difference between the 10 Meals plan and the Flex 5 plan for the 2018-2019 school year was a $360 increase for the year, according to SDSU Dining. Those who opted for the most expensive Meals Plus plan this year paid $1,384 more than those on the 10 Meals plan. Melchior added the other three
SEE MEAL PLAN, PAGE 2