The Daily Aztec 9/15/21

Weds., Sept. 15 - Tues., Sept. 21, 2021 Weekly Print Edition

Vol. 108, Issue 5 www.thedailyaztec.com

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

NEWS SAE is on temporary suspension until December of this year, probation until May 2022.

PAGE 3

OPINION College may not be the best four years of your life.

PAGE 5

MUNDO El club de tenis de la Universidad Esatal de San Diego.

PAGE 9

SPORTS Aztecs dominate against the Wildcats, earning a big victory.

PAGE 10

FOLLOW US /dailyaztec @TheDailyAztec @thedailyaztec /TheDailyAztec

INDEX News............................... 2-4 Opinion.............................5 Arts & Culture ............... 6-7 Mundo............................ 8-9 Sports.......................... 10-11 The Back Page.................. 12

2

The Daily Aztec

News

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 EDITOR: Katelynn Robinson • news@thedailyaztec.com

Students, parents strongly oppose faculty request for online switch

by Jadyn Brandt SENIOR STAFF WRITER

San Diego State’s University Senate proposed giving faculty the choice to change their courses to fully virtual instruction without dean approval for the fall 2021 semester last Thursday.

The meeting was held over Zoom and was open to all students, although students who weren’t Associated Students executives were not allowed to speak during the meeting unless time was yielded to them.

The proposal, authored by Cezar Ornatowski, a professor in the College of Arts and Letters, was intended to give faculty autonomy over the format of their fall classes, without the need of the dean or assistant dean’s approval.

The proposal cited a rise of COVID-19 cases across the country, the Delta variant, the decreasing efficacy of the vaccine and the potential of “long COVID” [long term COVID-19 symptoms] as some of the reasoning for the proposal.

A.S. posted a public invite on their Instagram to the meeting detailing the proposal, which was met with hundreds of negative comments calling for a drop in tuition and claiming students would no longer attend SDSU should the proposal pass.

One parent of an SDSU student commented on the Instagram post.

“Then the expectation is that out-ofstate tuition will be refunded back,” her comment read. “To pay over 20k a year for online instruction is absurd. To also have this after the drop deadline is suspect at best. These kids already have a vaccination rate of 95 percent and they have to wear masks inside. The mental well-being of these kids have to be taken into consideration.”

Photo by Noelani Sapla

Screen shot of University Senate meeting shows President Adela de la Torre and other senate members.

The proposal comes just one week after the official add/drop deadline for classes, meaning if students wished to no longer take a class once moved online, they must file a petition with the Registrar’s Office and will receive a W (withdrawal) in the class which would not affect their GPA. Some students were more

understanding of the proposal and voiced this understanding in the comments as well.

One student commented, “I hope to be in person but I feel bad for my elderly professors who are too scared to even take a sip of water in class due to COVID.” A.S. also made a second post stating they were opposed to the proposal. The

posted memorandum cited equity gaps for low-income students forced online, mental health strain on students, a greater health and safety risk for students due to “a lack of structured, social academic spaces” as well as the high vaccination rate on campus as reasons for their opposition.

“Allowing this resolution to pass would insinuate a disregard for not just process and genuine justification, but for consideration and respect of student commitment to their promised in-person education while health guidelines allow,” the memorandum read.

Additionally, the memorandum also stated faculty were given the chance to apply for accommodations to teach virtually before the school year began and the university granted exceptions to all 150 individuals who applied.

A.S. President Ashley Tejada began the discussion by reading aloud the aforementioned memorandum.

Dr. Pamela Lach, the Digital Humanities Librarian and DH Center Director, read aloud the library staff’s letter of dissent which focused on the lack of support for other non-teaching faculty and staff.

“Had the University developed a contingency plan for unexpected surges, such as delaying the start of inperson classes due to the Delta variant, classroom safety and course modalities could have been addressed in a uniform way that would minimize confusion and center the well-being of all members of our community,” the letter stated.

The Inclusion Council also presented a letter of dissent at the meeting which SEE UNIVERSITY SENATE PAGE 4

9/11 Remembrance Ceremony honors fallen heroes and commemorates 20 years since tragic attack

by Noé Sandoval MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR

On Monday, Sept. 13, San Diego State held a remembrance ceremony for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks by the flagpole in Campanile Walkway in front of Hepner Hall. This ceremony marked 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City.

The SDSU Army, Navy and Air Force Reserves Office Training Corps hosted the memorial, and those who attended showed their respect to the fallen heroes and victims of the 9/11 attacks. The San Diego Police Department, SD Fire Department and the U.S. Armed Forces attended the event saluting to the lives taken away during the attacks 20 years ago.

This event included a salute to the nation with the national anthem and a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. to commemorate the time when the North Tower of the World Trade Center Complex was attacked. A bell also rang 20 times to acknowledge each year that has passed.

SDSU students, faculty and staff attended the event, listening to the words of San Diego first responders and university President Adela de la Torre

about the significance of remembering such an important event in modern U.S. history.

“Most of our first-year students, the sophomores and the juniors passing through Hepner Hall have never known a time without this war,” de la Torre said. “They have never known a time without 9/11 and without the terror and anxiety it created in our lives and in the lives of their families. But this is also a day to remember our great strength as a diverse nation. To remember how much good we have done and how much we have grown.”

Keynote speaker SDPD Captain Christopher Knighten recounted his experiences back to the day of the 9/11 attacks, and how it seemed impossible that this was an act of terror happening upon our country at that time.

The event brought together the San Diego military community to reflect upon the events that made an impact on the nation.

Military and Veterans Administrator at SDSU’s ROTC program Elisa East attended the event to pay her respects to first responders and volunteers that risked their lives during the attacks.

SEE 9/11 CEREMONY PAGE 4

Photo by Mariadelcarmen Zuniga

Service members and staff honor and remember the innocent lives taken on Sept. 11, 20 years ago.

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 EDITOR: Katelynn Robinson news@thedailyaztec.com,

News

The Daily Aztec

3

SAE temporarily suspended due to policy violations including alcohol and hazing

Photo by Noelani Sapla

SAE Fraternity house located at College Place. The fraternity will be temporarily suspended until Dec. 31. The fraternity will then be under probation for the following semester.

by Catlan Nguyen EDITOR IN CHIEF

Last month, San Diego State released a report where they found the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) Fraternity violated seven student organization codes of conduct during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Assistant Dean for Student Life Caryl Montero-Adams said in the report that she found SAE in violation of Aiding and Abetting, Alcohol, Failure to Comply,

Hazing or Conspiracy to Haze, Health and Safety and more, according to the report released by the university.

SAE being in violation of hazing comes nearly a year after the SDSU Police Department (in collaboration with San Diego County District Attorney’s office) released their findings on the investigation of the death of freshman Dylan Hernandez, who rushed Phi Gamma Delta in 2019.

They found Hernandez’s death was not

connected to hazing by PGD or any of its members and the cause of his death was blunt force trauma to the head after he fell off of a bunk bed. Hernandez’s family publicly disagreed with these findings, filing a lawsuit against President Adela de la Torre, SDSU, Aztec Shops and more in Nov. 2020.

The in-person 14-day trial for the lawsuit is set to begin Aug. 5, 2022.

However, SDSU Interfraternity Council President RJ Hullum said he along with other fraternity leaders are trying to implement more anti-hazing practices this year.

“As far as what we are doing actively to prevent hazing and make conversation about it, there are actually anti-hazing prevention task force meetings that are held bi-weekly,” Hullum said. “I’ve been a part of that task force. I started as a university chair where I was able to shadow the past president just to understand the conversation more.”

SAE was already on probation through Oct. 2, 2020 for prior violations.

According to the university report, if they violated more codes, they would then be placed on interim suspension.

The established fraternity also made headlines in May earlier this year when famous TikToker Bryce Hall said he was harassed by some of its members, prompting Hall to claim he’ll press charges against SAE via Twitter.

As a result of the seven additional violations of the Student Organization Code of Conduct, SAE has been given a temporary suspension through Dec.

Interfraternity Council adds new positions

by Katelynn NEWS EDITOR

Robinson

Fraternities and sororities have started recruitment for the year, starting with tabling, house events and tours. After a year of being completely virtual, Greek Life at San Diego State has resumed inperson socializing along with the rest of campus.

One year after the Interfraternity Council self-imposed social moratorium, fraternities and sororities have lifted the party ban and are back to hosting their social events in person.

“IFC wants to be a driving force for bringing fraternities together and uplifting the overall student life or vibe,” IFC President RJ Hullum said.

Hullum added IFC has added two new Vice President positions to its board. Jacob Guy has been named the Vice President of Social Activities and Gabe Collins has been named the Vice President of Brotherhood.

Guy and Collins were unable to comment as Hullum said he is currently the only IFC point of contact for the media.

These new positions were created with the intent to create strong bonds between the chapter members at SDSU. “VP of Social I would say is more getting guys to meet each other, getting to know other guys in other chapters and figuring out ways we can bond like that,” Hullum said. “VP of Brotherhood is more so helping cement those strong relationships that people have with one another.”

Hullum specified that the VP of Social Activities takes more of a philanthropic

31 of this year, followed by probation through May 31, 2022.

Despite this, the fraternity was still allowed to table on campus last week and are currently recruiting members to rush or getting to know prospective members.

Second year SAE member Caeden King said he was unsure of how the probation affected regular SAE events and operations.

“We’re allowed to do this (tabling on campus) so I don’t think it’s affected us in that regard,” King said.

According to the university report, the fraternity is also allowed to hold educational and social events given the members get approval either three weeks in advance for educational, community service events or regular meetings. For social events, they must get approval eight weeks in advance.

“Last year was all virtual, so that wasn’t as fun,” King said. “Everything was over Zoom, so it wasn’t as fun as getting to meet kids face to face and we got a whole set of rush events next week including the dodgeball tournament.”

Social gatherings for SAE and all Greek life organizations are also required to be “dry” events or events where alcohol consumption is prohibited.

Hullum explained IFC’s role in dealing with fraternity suspensions.

“That’s more of the university’s job [to deal with suspensions] but also there SEE SAE SUSPENDED PAGE 4

being vulnerable in order to open the door for tough discussions surrounding Greek Life.

“We are really trying to push the message that we are leading from the front and we are leading authentically.

The way we are going to do that is by being trustworthy and sharing stories and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable in some ways about the things people don’t like to talk about in Greek Life, especially because of the whole just toxic ideas that get floated around,” Hullum said.

RECALL RESULTS Photo by Owen Ekstorm

Students walk past the corner of Fraternity Row located on 55th Street.

stance with events, while the VP of Brotherhood can put together events for chapters like camping or paintball tournaments.

“So the VP of Brotherhood, their goal is more to help other people make those life-long friendships with those outside of their own fraternity, while VP of Social is more of introducing people, getting them to hang out and collaborate in ways that they haven’t before,” Hullum said.

In regards to the University Senate meeting, IFC released a statement siding with the students’ preference to keep classes in person.

“We wanted to make sure that we aren’t just looking out for us, we are looking out for everybody at the end of the day,” Hullum said. “The best way we

can do that is by taking those stances.”

Hullum also said IFC has continued to host bi-weekly COVID-19 meetings.

Since IFC is the umbrella organization for Greek Life, individual chapters have the power to make their own COVID-19 safety protocols within their houses.

According to Hullum, IFC strongly recommends the chapters be mindful and take steps towards healthy living including keeping clean living space and supplying hand sanitizer.

“With COVID and everything, just having school ripped away from us, we really wanted to make it a point this year to be grateful...and to try to make the most of what we have left [time on campus],” Hullum said.

Hullum said IFC has a goal of leading authentically, being trustworthy and

by Katelynn NEWS EDITOR

Robinson

The polls for the California recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom closed at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 14.

According to the New York Times, the recall is projected to fail. Approximately 67% of the counted ballots were cast against the recall, while approximately 33% of the ballots were cast in favor. As of 9 p.m. on Tuesday night, approximately 8.1 million votes were counted.

The results are not final since the counties have 30 days to complete the canvass after election day. On the 38th day, if the recall is successful the candidate with the most votes will be sworn in.

In order for Newsom to be recalled, a majority must vote yes, in favor of his removal.

4

News

The Daily Aztec

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 EDITOR: Katelynn Robinson • news@thedailyaztec.com

Steps to follow after testing positive for the coronavirus

by Katelynn NEWS EDITOR

Robinson

As students return to campus, classes and to their social events COVID-19 cases have been on the rise. This news was expected because, although 95.2% of the San Diego State student population is vaccinated, contracting COVID-19 remains a possibility.

Students who test positive for COVID-19 are required to report their test to the university within three hours of receiving the results. From there, students will be contacted by a personal case manager who will evaluate their level of illness.

For students living in SDSU residence halls, isolation spaces will be available on campus this year. The Office of Housing Administration was unable to disclose specific isolation information due to HIPAA and FERPA privacy laws, however, the university shared that the isolation site does not house any residents who are not actively in isolation.

“Isolation housing is often one per room, or may have no more than two residential students per room,” a statement from the university said. “For those with two, they are matched based on similar isolation timelines (e.g if they are being moved into

University Senate:

continued from page 2 cited inequity between students should classes be moved online as their reason for disagreement.

“Although we appreciate that many faculty question whether it is fully safe to return to faceto-face instruction, allowing faculty to change their course modality without oversight (or even input) from any other institutional party is likely to cause great disruption for students,” the letter read. “The negative impact is likely to be disproportionately greater for students from less privileged backgrounds.”

Voting members on the University Affairs committee were then given a chance to speak either for or against the resolution.

A majority of the opinions expressed both through the live video and chat functions of the Zoom room were against the resolution.

Senate members expressed concerns about students’ mental health, the loss of earned benefits for students of military families and the unhealthy lack of structure the resolution could create.

Libby Skiles, SDSU’s Director of Student Health Services, also spoke against the resolution.

“We have a robust set of preventive practices in place,” Skiles said. “These techniques

isolation on approximately the same day).”

All students who test positive regardless of symptomatic status will need to move into isolation. Even students who are vaccinated and asymptomatic must isolate in accordance with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to others, according to the university.

While students are in isolation, a university housing staff member will be assigned to each student. The case manager will check in with the isolated student daily to ensure proper support and resources are available to the student. The students may communicate any dietary or allergy-related food restrictions to this staff member.

“A food delivery program provides lunch, dinner and breakfast (for next day) around noon, Monday through Friday for each day in isolation,” the university statement said.

“Meals and snacks for the weekend are included on Friday’s delivery.”

The duration of the isolation period is determined by the symptom onset date or the test date, consistent with CDC guidance.

If a student who has been attending in-person classes tests positive, the faculty and

are working and our students are collectively endeavoring to uphold what we have asked of them.”

Skiles also cited “low and stable” cases on campus and a lack of transmission in research and instructional settings.

“We have not seen transmission from students to employees and the majority of our employee cases have been subsequent to exposure within their personal lives, not subsequent to their work at the university,” she said.

University President Adela de la Torre also spoke in opposition of the resolution.

After voting members were given a chance to express their opinions publicly, a roll-call vote was taken.

The resolution failed with a vote of two for and 77 against.

Nearly 500 other non-voting members were also present.

After the meeting, Tejada told The Daily Aztec she was satisfied with the outcome of the vote.

“I think that seeing (the resolution) on the senate floor was incredibly disheartening due to the privilege that it gave faculty specifically with no regard for students,” Tejada said. “So I was very satisfied with the outcome.

The student voice was taken into consideration and I was also very appreciative of all the speakers coming from different identities and organizations on campus that were able to fully represent the student voice and student needs in that situation.”

EDITOR IN CHIEF Catlan Nguyen MANAGING EDITOR Trinity Bland NEWS EDITOR Katelynn Robinson 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 Amanda Orozco PHOTO EDITOR Noelani Sapla

Photo by Amal Younis

An image of common study area located in Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union.

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Mackenzie Stafford ASST. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Jayne Yutig

students also attending that class will be notified. Close contacts are directly notified, while the rest of the class is advised to be tested.

“The university has not seen any transmission connected to instructional or research settings throughout the pandemic,” the university statement said.

The statement also clarifies that direct exposure to the virus requires that someone was within six feet of a person who tested positive, during

their infectious period, for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, according to the CDC. “The campus community’s low case rates and low positivity rate, wastewater testing (from which a positive signal prompts testing for all identified residents, regardless of vaccination status), and other outcomes support that the community continues to have low rates of COVID-19,” the university statement said.

9/11 Ceremony

appreciate that our mission is still being honored by those we love.”

U.S. Navy Commanding Officer Capt. Gerald Olin attended the memorial service along with other military personnel as he said this event signifies the importance of his work. Many young military men and women attended the event standing in their ranks and held flags to salute the nation.

“It is important to never forget so we don’t see similar things happen in the future,” Olin said. “It’s a dangerous world, sometimes a hateful world, and we have to remember past events to prevent any recurrence in the future.”

The event ended with a memorable flag lowering to half mast honoring the lives taken due to the attacks, with a military bugler playing the memorable military funeral bugle call, “Taps”.

continued from page 2

Photo by Mariadelcarmen Zuniga

Flag bearer stands in front of Hepner Hall during 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony.

“The promise of never forgetting still stands strong in our military community,” East said. “As a veteran myself, I

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Hemen Mesfin

STAFF WRITERS Nick Coppo Flower Smith Xiomara Villareal-Gerardo SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Juan Daniel Avila Jadyn Brandt Sara Rott Lucelis Martinez CONTRIBUTORS Lindsey Anderson Justin Cox Jayden Hanzy Morgan Prickett Daniela Ramirez Aaron Velasquez Adriana Villa ________________________________

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 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.

SAE Suspended continued from page

is an IFC judicial board and what not,” Hullum said. “So when a chapter does run into issues or we see far too many reports regarding an event or gatherings there we kind of go through our own investigation because we have the active bystander submission form.”

SAE must meet regularly with an advisory team throughout their suspension and probation.

FOLLOW US /dailyaztec @TheDailyAztec @thedailyaztec

Photo by Catlan Nguyen

Members gather in Campanile Walkway to recruit new brothers for their chapter.

/DailyAztecVideo

Opinion

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 EDITOR: Aaliyah Alexander • opinion@thedailyaztec.com

The Daily Aztec

5

They lied: college is not the best four years of your life, here’s why Lindsey Anderson CONTRIBUTOR

If you were anything like me as a high school student, college was a daunting

chapter that you attempted to dodge numerous times.

The idea of “higher education” was a step you never felt you needed, but you were never successful in attempts to avoid the “norm” because you would always be met

Graphic by Shalika Oza

Having the mentality that college is the “best four years” of your life doesn’t serve you.

with the same response: “You have to go to college! It will be the best four years of your life.”

Suddenly, freshman year of college rolls around and you’re crawling out of your skin with excitement. It’s finally here — the best four years of your life have now begun.

For many American college students, this is the expectation — and rightfully so.

We’re fed a glorified vision of youth and independence — filled with travel, lifelong friends and the idea that every day is the new best day of your life. This vision is deeply rooted in American society that many college students struggle with confusion and depression when their college experience doesn’t meet their initial expectation.

I had my own experience with this during the second semester of my freshman year when one of my roommates told me she was considering transferring to another school.

The conversation went something like this: “All of my friends from back home are having the time of their life in college. I’m not. My college experience is nothing like I thought it would be and I think that if I went somewhere else, maybe it could be.”

The thing is, the vast majority of college students don’t have the once-in-a-lifetime college experience they were envisioning.

For some, finding a new school is the solution. For most, it’s coming to the realization that college isn’t going to be “the best four years of their life.”

And you know what? That’s okay.

It’s okay if you spend the majority of your four years alone. Not all of us find our lifelong sisters and brothers at school and the reality is, you may be spending way more time by yourself than you ever thought you would. But that’s okay, because

you’ll learn to get creative with your “you” time, and you’ll grow increasingly comfortable in your solitude, a skill that will serve you well in adulthood.

You’ll come to find these four years weren’t meant for discovering your lifelong besties but instead, were meant for you to grow without the confines of others. That’s more than okay — it’s beautiful.

It’s also okay if you spend the majority of your four years at home. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights hold an immense amount of pressure to go out and do something “cool,” and it’s totally okay if you never do. Sure, you won’t have those late-night college photos to show for the big weekend, but that time you spend alone at home will grow you.

At the end of the day, that’s what college is all about: learning, growing and educating yourself in ways that go far beyond your college degree.

It will be confusing and depressing at times to find that you’ve strayed so far from the initial expectation, but you’ll learn to be thankful that the original college definition did not apply to your own experience.

So as your time in college evolves and it’s still not what you imagined it to be, don’t let it disappoint you. Accept that these years won’t be the best years of your life but rather the most important years in shaping who you’ll be when those “best years” do come around. It’s not always comfortable, but it’s worth it.

You’re only in your twenties, anyway.

The last place “the best years of your life” should be is behind you.

So celebrate this awkward time! The best eighty years of your life are still yet to come.

Lindsey Anderson is a senior studying rhetoric and writing.

‘Doing it all’ isn’t viable, prioritize yourself instead Adriana Villa CONTRIBUTOR

College can seem to be a never-ending series of tasks.

We must attend all our classes and go to work while being told that if we want to succeed in our future profession, we need to have internship experience, join student organizations, network, participate in community service and we must maintain a higher than average GPA. Oh, and don’t forget the constant reminder that we should eat healthy, work out and maintain a healthy social life.

We always want to do it all.

Some college students have the pressure of being first-generation college students, others just want to make a steady income in the future and make their parents proud.

Somehow, we are supposed to complete all of these tasks and be successful at all of them.

Sometimes all of the aforementioned tasks get so out of hand that something as simple as eating our next meal becomes too time-consuming.

It is important to find a way to balance everything. If you find yourself suffocating in daily tasks like every other college student, here is some advice to help you: Stop comparing yourself It is easy to look at an acquaintance, friend or a family member and compare what they are doing to what you are doing.

There is nothing wrong with looking at others to motivate yourself, but you shouldn’t drag yourself down because everyone is different.

Create to-do lists Creating to-do lists and having a planner may seem like a little much, but this can be the perfect way to manage your time wisely and remember all your tasks for the day.

We are all humans, and we need reminders.

Say no It can be scary to tell someone no.

Many people were raised to be people pleasers, feeling the need to prioritize the wishes of others before their own and saying no feels like they’re letting someone down.

When someone asks you to do them a favor, to hang out or to take on extra tasks when you already have too much on your plate, find the courage to decline. There is nothing wrong with prioritizing yourself and setting the right boundaries to make your life easier.

At the end of the day, you can never make everyone happy, so might as well make yourself happy.

Put yourself first In the midst of all the college commotion, you may tend to forget about yourself.

You want to “do it all,” but you can’t get much done if you aren’t at your best.

Practicing self-care helps with keeping you at your healthiest — both mentally and physically.

Self-care is the one task that should always come first. Give yourself at least 30 minutes a day to do something you enjoy.

Don’t try to do it all Finally, as much as we all want to be the perfect student, we can’t do it all.

It is important to know your limits. You cannot always involve yourself in every club or internship that will look good on

Graphic by Aaliyah Alexander

Students are expected to do so much. It’s time to priortize ourselves for a change.

your resume. If you find yourself burnt out every day, it may be time to drop out of a club or extra-curricular.

As much as we all wish we had the time and energy to do everything, it’s just not possible. It’s ok to say no, to take a step back and realize our well-being should be

our priority.

There’s no such thing as a perfect student, so the key is to try your best and enjoy your life while you’re young.

Adriana Villa is a senior studying public relations.

6

The Daily Aztec

Arts & Culture

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 EDITOR: Ryan Hardison • arts@thedailyaztec.com

Best Buddies welcomes inclusive and lifelong friendships for all students

By Ryan Hardison ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

College can be an isolating experience at times, and with so many tasks and obligations, it’s hard to find the time to make new friends. SDSU Best Buddies hopes to solve that problem for students.

SDSU Best Buddies is a club that pairs college students into one-to-one friendships with students who have developmental and intellectual disabilities to create a fun community that hangs out every week.

They are a chapter of Best Buddies International, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization founded in 1989 and they’re intent on creating one-on-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The SDSU chapter has only been around since 2013 but has been considerably successful.

One member of the club is first year city planning graduate student Wesley Cooksy, who has been part of Best Buddies since 2018. Cooksy recently passed his certification and completed training with Best Buddies International to become a State Ambassador. This means he’ll serve a two-year term where he gets to represent the organization.

Cooksy said Best Buddies presents a peaceful space for any student who might be weary of other areas of social life.

“If you’re intimidated by the sports life culture or Greek life culture, this is an opportunity for you to still feel connected with campus,” Cooksy said.

Though being assigned duties as part of the club may sound stressful, Cooksy says that the amount of “work” for the club is pretty simple and extremely beneficial,

SDSU Best Buddies welcomed prospective members with ice cream and cookies during their first meeting of the fall semester on Wednesday Sept. 8.

and has helped him learn a lot about other club members.

“There’s a requirement that every week you try to find time to meet with that buddy and just talk, there’s no special questionnaires or anything, it’s just meet up and talk,” Cooksy said.

Morgan Hughes, a junior studying business management and minoring in statistics, has been a part of Best Buddies since the second semester of her freshman year. She now serves as the club’s Vice President of Internal Affairs.

Hughes describes Best Buddies as a friendship club that’s open to anybody.

She says the buddies’ smiling faces always help to lift her up on bad days and provide a welcoming environment built on friendship and acceptance.

One of the ways these friendships are forged is through the club’s yearly match party where members are paired up to become close pals.

“One of the best parts of being in the club is that when you join you get a one-on-one friendship with one of the buddies,” Hughes said. “We look through your interests and we have this surprise match party where you get paired with a buddy so we’re thinking of some fun things to do to make it exciting for everybody.”

Last year, like all clubs on campus, Best Buddies had to meet using Zoom. Still, they managed to make it work. They sent out weekly newsletters and kept members engaged through social media, and organized activities like karaoke and kahoot planned as well as a theme for each Zoom meeting. Through their persistence, Best Buddies maintained an average of 60 to 80 members who attended weekly.

Paige Oberg is a fourth year nursing student who joined Best Buddies her freshman year because she was inspired by the club’s inclusion aspect. Now as club president, Oberg hopes to keep

(Left) The SDSU chapter of Best Buddies emphasizes inclusivity and developing lifelong freindships, (Right) Best Buddies club members posing for a picture outside of Scripps Cottage.

Photo by Zoe Damon

Best Buddies just as approachable. Oberg says one of the reasons Zoom effectively worked is because they gave buddies who may have social anxiety or are more on the quiet side the opportunity to tune in and out when needed.

“When somebody struggles with sensory issues it can be hard to be in person, whereas being online gives them the option to find their safe space or the safe stimulation that they need in their home,” Oberg said. In her leadership, Oberg stresses the importance of having friends with different abilities than yourself, something which she says is not discussed nearly enough. She also believes that the friendships made as part of the club have the strength to last a lifetime.

“In college I think that most of us come in looking for friendships that are going to last a lifetime and I don’t think that Best Buddies is an exception,” Oberg said. “A lot of the buddies that I’ve met all of them are going to be lifelong friends of mine and lifelong friends with each other.”

Best Buddies have a lot planned for the 2021-22 school year. Sept. 29 is their annual match party event where students and peer buddies are connected with regular attending members. Follow their instagram @sdsu_bestbuddies for more updates.

Photos by Zoe Damon

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 EDITOR: Ryan Hardison • arts@thedailyaztec.com

Arts & Culture

The Daily Aztec

7

Court is in session for Mock Trial club

By Cristina Lombardo ASST. ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

After a year of gathering virtually, student organizations finally have the chance to reunite in person. The Mock Trial Club is experiencing this firsthand as members meet every Monday over Zoom and Wednesday in person to prepare for the semester.

Competing in mock trials requires a lot of work and can seem like a hassle, but the mock trial club at SDSU is different. It’s a diverse group of individuals making those who join feel welcomed and supported with a common goal in mind.

The first couple of meetings can be a little intense. Being in person again allows students to experience Mock Trial at its fullest.

The vice president of recruitment, Cate Oveson, a third year sociology major, said she knew this year will be better.

“It was definitely a little strange meeting everyone virtually rather than in person. I can’t say how the experience for a newbie will be this year while we’re in person,” Oveson said. “I will say that in-person meetings so far, I do think it’s a lot more fun to meet people in person. I think with clubs like mock trial it is generally a better experience to do stuff like that in person.”

Imagine sitting in a courtroom as a witness or an attorney, all dressed up, waiting to hear the verdict of a case. Seems unlikely for college students to experience so early, right? With the Mock Trial Club, students get the experience of being in a courtroom and gaining practical trial experience.

The teams for this year have been slightly tweaked than in previous years. In the past if you auditioned, the club would split people up into two teams: witnesses and attorneys. Mock Trial Club President Sophie Jeltema, a senior studying in

political science and philosophy, noted that there is an additional team this year but anyone can have their time to shine.

“We have three teams this year, the third team will not be competing and will just be alternates. So they’ll fill in when someone can’t make it or if people drop the club. That’s how you get involved,” Jeltema said.

Joining this club is a process, but it’s not impossible. There’s an audition, where students prepare an opening statement, a theory of a case and few other things to present to the executive board. Students are notified if they are accepted and during the first meeting, roles will be assigned.

After all that’s established, it’s time to actually get to work. Mock trial is all about teamwork while getting courtroom experience. These competitions enable people to discover their strengths, and explore new avenues for themselves. Many find themselves learning skills like how to write opening and closing statements, courtroom etiquette, competition scoring and public speaking.

Each meeting, members prepare and study the court case that’s assigned for the year so when competition comes around in November the teams are prepared to face other schools. Their first competition will be hosted virtually by UC San Diego.

It may seem intimidating at first but the experience and the people make it all worth it. Caili Anderson, a political science junior minoring in sociology and marketing, joined as a freshman and made her way to become the vice president of communications this year.

When Anderson came to SDSU, she looked up the club’s website, saw them tabling and decided to get involved. She said she doesn’t regret it one bit.

“Mock trial is just really fun, I made so many friends because of it,” Anderson said. “You would think you wouldn’t,

Photo by Cristina Lombardo

The president of Mock Trial, Sophie Jeltema (in white), talking to new members during the first meeting.

while coming into it. I was like everyone thinks mock trial is this nerdy club and all these nerds but everyone is really cool.”

For these members, mock trials are an opportunity to learn new things, to better oneself and to meet all different kinds of people interested in one common goal: to win a competition.

“The team aspect of it. I love working with everyone in mock trials. We’ve always been a really strong team,” Jeltema

said. “Both in court and as a group in general, it’s always been really easy to get along with everyone, we’re all likeminded individuals.”

Even though auditions have already passed, they are always welcoming new members. Every Wednesday at 7 p.m. they hold in-person meetings in the Metztli suite in the Aztec Student Union. Check out their Instagram @sdsumocktrial for more information.

The Look Magazine showcases different artists The Look Magazine offers opportunities for students to develop their artistic projects and gain inspiration.

by Flower Smith STAFF WRITER

Are you a student at San Diego State who is interested in art, fashion and culture? If so, then The Look Magazine will definitely be the place for you.

The Look Magazine is SDSU’s brand new student-run art, culture and fashion magazine. It’s where student writers, designers and photographers collaborate on creating a full-scale magazine each semester. The magazine will heavily revolve around students’ talents and provide a creative outlet to those who want to showcase their skills.

Journalism and media studies junior and president Sophia Pinto got the idea of starting a student-run magazine her freshman year. After a long awaited time of processing and planning the logistics of the magazine, Pinto finally has the chance to enact her idea.

“I didn’t see any type of art, fashion, culture magazine at SDSU,” Pinto said. “I saw some at Stanford and USC and that’s where I got my inspiration from.”

Alexandra Dunlop is a junior studying graphic design and the creative director for The Look Magazine.

“Our idea is to just encompass anything creative that’s coming from SDSU students and give them a place to showcase it in collaboration with other creative students working on the magazine,” Dunlop said.

The staff said one primary goal of

Graphic by The Look Magazine

The Look Magazine will be putting out their first full-scale magazine during the fall 2021 semester.

The Look Magazine is allowing creative freedom and collaboration between their team and other SDSU students. There is an emphasis on creative expression and allowing students to share their perspectives and voices on campus through artistry.

Marketing junior and vice president of public relations Katherine Peng describes

The Look’s content about focusing on students’ talents and skills.

“The magazine will be centered around SDSU students and the creativity that is all around campus,” Peng said. “It is not limited to just fashion. It will be fashion, art, music, film, and people who play instruments.”

The new staff said there is a place for

everyone at The Look Magazine, from those who want to contribute to the blogs to those who want to learn more about producing online and print magazine content.

“People are constantly welcome to submit their own work,” Dunlop said.

The Look Magazine’s website will highlight weekly blogs from their diverse team of writers who will write student art spotlights and cover campus activities revolving around the arts, culture and fashion.

The Look Magazine also encourages SDSU students to submit their own art and to have it submitted as a blog post.

“We are going to do a lot of outreach at first to try to get people to submit their art, their creativity and their projects because that is what is going to keep our magazine running,“ Peng said.

This upcoming school year, The Look is planning to host fundraisers, events and meetings that are open to the general student population to drive more traction to the magazine and the talented individuals highlighted in it.

With this project being so new, there is a lot of excitement for what’s to come from the magazine.

“We’re just excited to create this creative community where everybody can have their input and just have this space for students,” Dunlop said.

To keep updated on The Look Magazine and its content, check out their Instagram @thelooksdsu.

8

The Daily Aztec

Mundo Azteca

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 EDITOR: Noé Sandoval • mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

Propuesta de instrucción virtual opcional falla tras una desaprobación estudiantil

por Jaydn Brandt ESCRITORA SENIOR DE NOTICIAS

Esta historia fue traducida por Noé Sandoval, editor de Mundo Azteca El senado de la Universidad Estatal de San Diego propuso dar la facultad la opción de cambiar toda su instrucción virtualmente sin la aprobación del decano para el semestre de otoño 2021, el pasado jueves, el 9 de septiembre.

La reunión se llevó a cabo virtualmente, y estuvo abierta para todos los estudiantes, aunque los estudiantes que no son ejecutivos de Estudiantes Asociados, AS por sus siglas en inglés, no se les permitió hablar durante la reunión a menos que se les concediera tiempo.

La propuesta, escrita por Cezar Ornatowski, profesor de la Escuela de Artes y Letras, tenía la intención de dar autonomía a la facultad sobre el formato de sus clases de otoño, sin la necesidad de la aprobación del decano o vicedecano.

La propuesta citó un aumento de casos de COVID-19 en todo el país, la variante Delta, la eficacia decreciente de la vacuna y el potencial de “COVID prolongado” [síntomas de COVID-19 a largo plazo] como algunos de los motivos de la propuesta.

AS publicó una invitación pública en su Instagram de la reunión detallando la propuesta, que fue recibida con cientos de comentarios negativos pidiendo una reducción en la matrícula y afirmando que los estudiantes ya no asistirían a SDSU si la propuesta se aprobaba.

Uno de los padres de un estudiante de SDSU comentó en la publicación de Instagram.

“Entonces, la expectativa es que la matrícula fuera del estado sea reembolsada”,si decía comentario. “Pagar más de

20 mil al año por instrucción en línea es absurdo. Tener esto también después de la fecha límite de entrega es, en el mejor de los casos, sospechoso. Estos niños ya tienen una tasa de vacunación del 95% y deben usar máscaras en el interior. Debe de tener en cuenta el bienestar mental de estos niños “.

La propuesta llega solo una semana después de la fecha límite oficial para agregar / quitar clases, lo que significa que si los estudiantes desean dejar de tomar una clase una vez que se mudan en línea, deben presentar una petición en la Oficina de Registro y recibirán una W (withdrawal, en inglés) en la clase. lo que no afectaría su promedio general de calificaciones, o GPA por sus siglas en inglés.

Algunos estudiantes comprendieron mejor la propuesta y también expresaron su comprensión en los comentarios.

Un estudiante comentó: “Espero estar en persona, pero me siento mal por mis profesores ancianos que están demasiado asustados para siquiera tomar un sorbo de agua en clase debido al COVID”.

AS también hizo una segunda publicación indicando que se oponían a la propuesta. El publicado memorando citó brechas de equidad para los estudiantes de bajos ingresos forzados en línea, tensión de salud mental en los estudiantes, un mayor riesgo de salud y seguridad para los estudiantes debido a “la falta de espacios académicos sociales estructurados”, así como la alta tasa de vacunación en el campus como razones de su oposición.

“Permitir que esta resolución se apruebe insinuaría un desprecio no solo por el proceso y la justificación genuina, sino por la consideración y el respeto del compromiso de los estudiantes con la educación en persona prometida mientras las pautas de salud lo permitan,” decía el memorando.

Foto de los archivos

La propuesta de tener la opcion de instrución virtual fue rechazada de dos a favor y 77 en contra.

Además, el memorándum también declaró que las fallas tuvieron la oportunidad de solicitar adaptaciones para enseñar virtualmente antes de que comenzará el año escolar y la universidad otorgó excepciones a las 150 personas que solicitaron.

La presidenta de AS Ashley Tejada inició la discusión leyendo en voz alta el memorando mencionado.

La Dra. Pamela Lach, Bibliotecaria de Humanidades Digitales y Directora del Centro DH, leyó en voz alta la carta de desacuerdo del personal de la biblioteca que se enfocaba en la falta de apoyo para otros profesores y personal no docente.

“Si la universidad hubiera desarrollado un plan de contingencia para sobrecargas inesperadas, como retrasar el inicio

de clases presenciales debido a la variante Delta, la seguridad en el aula y las modalidades del curso podrían haberse abordado de manera uniforme que minimizaría la confusión y centraría el bienestar. siendo de todos los miembros de nuestra comunidad ”, decía la carta.

La presidente de la universidad, Adela de la Torre, también se pronunció en contra de la resolución.

Después de que los miembros votantes tuvieron la oportunidad de expresar sus opiniones públicamente, se llevó a cabo una votación nominal.

La resolución fracasó con una votación de dos a favor y 77 en contra. También estuvieron presentes casi otros 500 miembros sin derecho a voto.

Los Aztecas del fútbol masculino vencen a los Aggies de UC Davis con 1-0 en la última jugada del partido por Juan ESCRITOR

Daniel Avila

El equipo de fútbol masculino de la Universidad Estatal de San Diego blanqueó a UC Davis 1-0 en una dramática jugada de último segundo del partido el viernes 10 de septiembre frente a una multitud emocionada en el SDSU Sports Deck.

Los Aztecas (2-0-2) ahora han registrado blanqueadas en tres de sus primeros cuatro partidos y continúan invictos. Esta es la primera vez que los aztecas están invictos desde sus primeros cuatro partidos en 2016, que es la última vez que llegaron al torneo de la NCAA. El momento dramático del partido llegó cuando los Aggies (0-5-0) fueron sancionados con una falta y emitieron una tarjeta amarilla con segundos para el final del tiempo reglamentario. El mediocampista de segundo año Iñigo Villaldea sería el encargado de preparar y ejecutar el tiro libre de 30 yardas en el que su tiro fue detenido y desviado por un jugador de UC Davis.

Afortunadamente, el delantero senior azteca Tevenn Roux estuvo presente para empujar el balón más allá pasando la portería Aggies y con los brazos extendidos hacia el delant=ero junior Blake Bowen, en el

Foto por Juan Daniel Avila

Los aztecas de SDSU ganaron al último minuto contra los Aggies de UC Davis.

que aprovechó la oportunidad para correr y lanzar el balón al fondo de la red en el último segundo del tiempo reglamentario, para ganar la victoria azteca.

Bowen expresó sus emociones después del partido sobre su gol de último segundo.

“Se siente bien. Tampoco quería volver a la prórroga, así que sí, me siento bien “, dijo Bowen. “Este gol representa un nuevo comienzo para este programa y quiero decir, necesitamos más de ustedes (fanáticos)

aquí para irritar a la multitud. Me encantaría verlo” Los aztecas superaron en juego a los Aggies en la primera mitad, superándose 6-1 mientras también dominaban la posesión y controlaban el ritmo del juego. Al final de la segunda mitad, los Aggies habían cambiado las cosas y tenían una ventaja de tiros de 5-2 justo antes de los últimos dos tiros de SDSU del juego en los últimos cinco minutos.

El entrenador Ryan Hopkins estaba un poco frustrado al entrar en los minutos finales del tiempo reglamentario, pero se relajó una vez que finalmente llegó el gol de los aztecas “Ellos probaron mi corazón esta noche.

Aprovechamos cada segundo de ese partido, pero les decimos a nuestros muchachos todo el tiempo que es un partido de 90 minutos “, dijo Hopkins después del partido. “Solo tienes que seguir adelante y seguir trabajando y no puedes frustrarte y ceñirte a nuestros principios, lo que pensé que hicimos muy bien esta noche. Gracias a UC Davis, son un buen equipo, pero nuestros muchachos tienen mucha fe y estamos encontrando formas de ganar partidos. No puedo decir lo suficiente sobre la defensa de todo nuestro equipo, hicieron otra portería a cero, lo que nos coloco en una buena posición para ganar “.

Hopkins también enfatizó el significado de estar invicto en esta primera etapa de la temporada.

“Es increíble que sepas que estos muchachos tienen mucha fe y compasión”, Hopkins dijo. “Pero sabes que tienes que pasar por momentos difíciles como estos, y estamos emocionados y listos para volver el domingo”

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 EDITOR: Noé Sandoval • mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

Mundo Azteca

The Daily Aztec

Club de tenis espera dar la bienvenida a nuevos miembros este nuevo año escolar por Xiomara ESCRITORA

9

Villarreal-Gerardo

El club de tenis de la Universidad Estatal de San Diego es un equipo competitivo de estudiantes apasionados por el deporte.

Están anticipando participar en torneos este nuevo año escolar.

An Nguyen, la presidenta del club , dice que este es su primer año liderando el club de Tennis. Sin embargo, anteriormente fue secretaria del club por un año y medio.

Nguyen expresó que el Aztec Recreation Center está haciendo un buen trabajo siguiendo los protocolos del COVID-19 y debido a eso, el club está manteniéndose seguro aunque tengan que tomar esas precauciones extras. A causa de los truenos y relámpagos que acontecieron la noche del jueves pasado, el club se vio forzado a posponer la audiciones.

“Tuvimos que asegurar que todos los estudiantes que querían participar en las audiciones tuvieran el papeleo adecuado,” dijo ella. “Incluso antes de que pudiéramos empezar a jugar, empezaron truenos y relámpagos así que tuvimos que posponer las audiciones para la siguiente semana.”

Las audiciones van a empezar la semana del 13 de septiembre, confiando que nada inesperado vuelva a pasar. Nguyen dijo que están esperando mínimo 60 estudiantes en las audiciones y que el proceso será largo.

“El plan que tenemos para las audiciones consta primero en separar a los estudiantes en tres canchas diferentes, y después ejecutar ejercicios de tenis para agarrar una breve idea de en qué nivel de juego está cada uno,” dijo ella. “Y después de eso, volvemos a separar a los estudiantes tomando en cuenta sus niveles de juego. Algunos seguirán haciendo ejercicios y otros empezarán a jugar partidos entre ellos.”

Nguyen dijo que tener habilidad y actitud en la cancha son los dos factores prin-

Cortesia del club de tenis de SDSU

El club de tenis está recrutrando este nuevo año escolar más estudiantes en la universidad para quienes le interesa el deporte de tenis.

cipales que buscan en futuros miembros del club de Tennis. Una vez que pasen las audiciones, el club de espera tener entre 35 y 45 miembros este año.

Debido a la pandemia, la mayoría de los miembros que llevaban años siendo parte del club de perdieron la oportunidad de estar practicando constantemente. Entonces, la meta principal de Nguyen es que todo el equipo desarrolle una rutina de regresar a jugar y pegarle a la pelota más seguido.

Normalmente antes de la pandemia, el club de tenis jugaba tres o cuatro torneos por año. Sin embargo, debido a la incertidumbre de la pandemia, el número de torneos que jugarán este año sigue en duda.

Así que otra meta que menciono Nguyen fue que quiere que el equipo si tenga la oportunidad de poder entrar a algunos torneos este año, incluyendo uno en casa.

“Nos encantaría ser los anfitriones de nuestro propio torneo, ya que es el evento más grande del año,” dijo ella.

Este año, al igual que en años pasados, el club de tenis le va a echar muchas ganas ya que tienen planeada su agenda de prácticas. El cual es practicar por dos horas diarias de Lunes a Jueves.

Nguyen dijo que la mejor parte de ser miembro del club de tenis puede estar en una comunidad en campus con gente que no nomas juegue tenis seguido pero que

también esten ahí para apoyarse uno a otro.

“Si, es un club de pero sin embargo seguimos siendo un equipo de tenis competitivo y debido a que pasamos tanto tiempo juntos, el equipo es un grupo muy unido,” dijo ella. “Estoy emocionada de tener nuevos miembros en el club de para que nuestra comunidad pueda crecer de nuevo.”

Xiomara Villarreal-Gerardo es una estudiandte de tercer año especializando en periodismo.

Centro de recursos para los estudiantes apoya a la comunidad latinx e hispana en la universidad por Lucelis ESCRITOR

Martinez

La Universidad Estatal de San Diego tiene un Centro de Recursos Latinx, LRC por sus siglas .

El LRC se puede encontrar en el primer piso de la biblioteca de Malcolm E. Love , al lado de las colecciones Chicana/o.

El centro se dedica a proveer oportunidades educativas y sociales para sus miembros.

“El Centro de Recursos Latinx cultiva un espacio donde estudiantes pueden llegar auténticamente, son validados y vistos por su humanidad plena,” según su página oficial.

Marlene Chavez es una estudiante de tercer año, especializada en las ciencias del discurso, lenguaje y el oído. También está estudiando consejería y el cambio social.

Hace dos años que Chavez se formó al grupo.

“Durante mi primer año en SDSU, tuve dificultades ajustándome a un ambiente muy diferente al que tenía en casa,” dijo Chavez.

Para Chavez,unirse al LRC, fue la mejor decisión que tomó durante sus primeros

años en SDSU. “Ellos se convirtieron en mi casa lejos de casa, una conexión a mi cultura, Y soy muy apreciativa de poder ser parte de esta organización,’ dijo Chavez.

El LRC coordina varios eventos durante el año.

Uno puede encontrar el calendario en su página oficial, pero también en su página oficial de Instagram (@sdsulrc).

Miércoles, 15 de septiembre se marca como un día en donde tendrán a una visitante especial para celebrar el mes celebratorio para el patrimonio latinx/ hispano.

“Nosotros estamos honrados de darle una bienvenida a la Dra. Norma Elia Cantú, como la presentadora inaugural de la conferencia,” dice un volante posteado el Instagram oficial del LRC. Cantù es reconocida en un nivel nacional como autora, erudita Chicana, poeta y profesora, dice el volante.

“Eventos como el Mes de la Herencia Latinx, Alegria Queer, Queerceñera, y eventos colaborativos con organizaciones estudiantiles, centros de identidad, y otros compañeros en el campus aseguran que nunca estamos muy callados en el LRC!” Para Chavez, es esencial que SDSU no

Cortesia del Centro de Recursos Latinx Instagram:@sdsulrc

El Centro de Recursos Latinx ofrece ayuda a la communidad latinx en la Universidad Estatal de San Diego.

ignore la presencia de la gente Latinx/ hispana en el campus y tampoco ignoren cuando necesitan apoyo. De esta manera, para Chavez, el LRC tiene que existir en este campus, porque SDSU se llama una Institución que sirve a la comunidad hispana.

Un artículo publicado por KPBS en ll de noviembre, 2010 detalla el proceso al que SDSU se unió para convertirse en una escuela que sirve a estudiantes hispanos.

SDSU tenía un porcentaje de 28% de estudiantes latinos y ese número ha incrementando, según búsquedas en internet sobre el número de estudiantes hispanos atendiendo SDSU hoy en dia.

“El LRC es un centro cultural creado para apoyar estudiantes académicamente, socialmente y emocionalmente,” dice Chavez. “El propósito del LRC is cultivar un espacio seguro para que los estudiantes latinx y que sean escuchados”.

10

The Daily Aztec

Sports

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 EDITOR: Jason Freund • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Aztecs maul Arizona Wildcats 38-14

by Jayden Hanzy CONTRIBUTOR

After an explosive start, San Diego State football were able to crush the Pac-12’s Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium.

With a heavy dose of run game, the Aztecs (2-0) were dominant over the Wildcats (0-2) all game in a 38-14 victory.

Following a game where he recorded his career high in rushing yards, senior running back Greg Bell exploded for another big running game. Bell had 125 yards on only 17 carries and set the tone with a 55-yard rushing touchdown on the second play of the game.

Other rushers such as senior running backs Chance Bell and Kaegun Williams also provided valuable yards which gave the Aztecs 271 total rushing yards on the night.

After the game, Bell credited a lot of his success to his offensive line.

“My O-line looked great tonight,” Bell said. “They looked great last week. They opened up a lot of holes tonight and we got the victory.”

Led by the team’s commanding rushing attack, the Aztecs were able to put up 35 points in the first half. Just like the running game, the team was also able to be explosive through the air as well.

Quarterback Jordan Brookshire — who seemed much more confident than last game — went 10 for 15 for 183 yards and two touchdowns, while spreading the field for the Aztecs. Brookshire connected with his tight end Daniel Bellinger three times for 113 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown.

When asked about how he was able to improve his game from last week with

SDSU’s heads into their week three matchup versus Utah with a 2-0 record.

New Mexico State, Brookshire explained further.

“I think it’s more getting comfortable and being prepared for the game,” Brookside said. “Not that I wasn’t prepared for last week’s game, but I just felt more confident in this week’s game. I got a lot of supporters behind me saying pick it up. Having a lot of people with you backing you up makes it a lot easier.”

Not only did the Aztecs excel on offense, but they also did great work on the defensive side of the ball. The Aztecs defense only allowed seven points to a talented Wildcat offense.

SDSU shut down the run by allowing only 49 rushing yards the whole day while the front seven got to the quarterback with ease. They put constant pressure on

Photo by Noelani Sapla

redshirt freshman quarterback Gunner Cruz, making him uncomfortable in the pocket. This resulted in the Aztecs secondary playing with confidence.

Junior safety Patrick McMorris snagged his first career interception in the third quarter and was able to return it 16-yards While the Aztecs improved how they started the game from last week, they were unable to do much offensively in the second half. The team’s defense did a great job of maintaining control of the Wildcat’s offense, but the Aztecs must do a better job of keeping their foot on the throttle. Head coach Brady Hoke says he was pleased with what he saw in the first half, but would have liked to have seen more in the last half of the game.

“We played well for the first half, and

didn’t quite match where we needed to be in the second half,” Hoke said. “A week ago, we played well in the second half and this week we played well in the first.

We have to put a game together.”

While the Aztecs improved how they started the game from last week, they were unable to do much offensively in the second half. The team’s defense did a great job of maintaining control of the Wildcat’s offense, but the Aztecs must do a better job of keeping their foot on the throttle.

Alongside the team’s strong game on both sides of the ball, the Aztecs special teams also were outstanding. Junior Tyrell Shavers returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in the first quarter, which helped set the tone for the rest of the game.

After defeating a Pac-12 team, the Aztecs will hope to do the same thing next week against the Utah Utes (1-1), The Utes are coming off of a tough loss to BYU and the Atztecs will look to go 2-0 in their temporary home stadium in Carson, California and 3-0 on the season.

The team finished the game with eight penalties, giving up 84 free yards because of it. This is unacceptable if the Aztecs want to uphold their success and remain one of the best teams in the Mountain West Conference.

“Speaking of discipline, I really need to have a good talk with our football team because we had too many penalties,” Hoke said. “We have to respond better at times, but from that standpoint we will take care of that and move forward.”

Through a good week of practice, the Aztecs will hope to clean up their mistakes and record their second straight win against a Pac-12 team.

Volleyball battles, falls to two Top-25 teams

By Daniela Ramirez CONTRIBUTOR

San Diego State women’s volleyball is hopeful their early-season struggles won’t define the rest of their season. The Aztecs had two losses against UCLA 3-0 (17-25, 18-25. 13-25) and USD 1-3 (25-20, 2025, 20-25, 18-25).

The Scarlet and Black competed with ranked universities in the top 25 during 9/11 weekend.

In honor of those who lost their lives on Sep. 11, 2001 a moment of silence was held before the first serve.

For the past month, the Aztecs (17) have been competing against heavy competition with teams in the top rankings in college volleyball.

UCLA (5-1, No. 19 AP poll) and USD (5-2, No. 21 AP poll) are non-conference opponents. Head coach Brent Hilliard said he felt good about how his athletes performed the past weekend against two of the top 25 teams in the country.

Despite back-to-back losses over the weekend, the players still have a growth mindset and are prepared mentally for their first conference match on Sept. 23

Photos by Andrew Finley

(Top left) Senior Noa Miller sets up to serve against USD. (Right) Senior leader Victoria O’Sullivan spikes the ball against USD. The Aztecs would lose that match 3-1.

against Nevada.

Senior Victoria O’Sullivan is one of few players who has been on the team since her freshman year. The team consists of new players and they’ve only been practicing together for two months.

A new group of athletes comes with its benefits. O’Sullivan says this team has a lot of potential.

“This year’s team has the most talent I’ve seen,” O’Sullivan said.

O’Sullivan also said she’s starting to

get acclimated with her new teammates resulting in better communication on the court.

Coach Hilliard is confident going into the conference. He said his athletes have great attitudes and they use this as a learning experience to get better, despite not seeing much success on game night.

Aztec volleyball can keep up with the NCAA ranking teams. On Sept. 4, the Aztecs fell just short in a game against Pepperdine University, currently ranked

No. 24 in the AP Poll.

With a score of 25-18 in the fourth set, Aztecs were still competing well against Pepperdine. The team was just points away from beating most of the teams they competed against in the pre-season.

Having the experience to go head to head with ranked teams should give the Aztecs an edge when it comes to the schools in the Mountain West Conference.

The next home game will be held on Sept. 30 against New Mexico.

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 EDITOR: Jason Freund • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Sports

The Daily Aztec /

11

Back on track: women’s soccer snaps losing streak with a win over Toreros

By Morgan Prickett CONTRIBUTOR

The San Diego State Aztecs (2-5-0) defeated the University of San Diego Toreros (4-2-0) 3-0 Friday night on the back of freshman Denise Castro’s hat trick.

After suffering defeat in their last five games, the Aztecs came into Torero Stadium looking to bounce back with a strong performance, and bounce back they did.

SDSU’s previous matchup against USD took place in September 2019 when a 78th minute goal gave the Toreros a 1-0 victory.

The Toreros started the game on the front foot and looked to be the more dangerous side.

The first shot of the game came in just the second minute when junior Aztec defender Kiera Utush fouled USD junior defender Malia Walencewicz 25-yards out from goal. USD senior midfielder Micheala Foster stepped up to take the freekick but placed it just wide of the left post.

About 15 minutes into the first half, the Aztecs started to come out of their shell.

“We settled in and started to play,” said head coach Mike Friesen. “Early we were playing a lot of longer balls, not trusting that we could connect passes underneath.

Once we realized we could connect and play, it tilted the game the other way.”

Sophomore Emma Gaines-Ramos and senior Anna Toohey looked by far the most

Photo courtasy of San Diego State Athletics

Freshman Denise Castro dribbling the ball down field versus Army.

influential players for the Aztecs in the first half with multiple darting runs in the opponent’s half. The Aztecs first shot of the game came through Gaines-Ramos as she watched her shot deflect off the defender and hit the crossbar in the 24th minute.

Thirty minutes into the first half, the first goal was scored as Toohey played the ball to Castro who took a couple touches to get the ball out of her feet, then ruthlessly smashed the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.

The second goal of the game didn’t come too long after.

In the 35th minute, senior Lauren Dicus ran down the right wing and whipped a ball into the feet of Castro. Castro did a

brilliant job controlling and turning with the ball as she then squeezed her shot through both the narrowest of angles and the keeper’s legs to give the Aztecs a 2-0 lead.

The second half would start the same way the first half ended, with the Aztecs on the front foot pushing for more goals.

Castro would complete her hat trick in the 55th minute with a half volley off her left foot, onto the left post, and into the back of the net. Toohey claimed her second assist of the game as well, as her beautiful one time cross allowed Castro to complete her hat trick.

Toohey says she’s seeing a lot of improvement from Castro every week.

“She’s been getting better every single game, her touch was so good today,” Toohey said. “She’s one of those super dynamic forwards that isn’t just looking to take it herself.”

Although the Aztecs only took seven shots in comparison to the 14 shots by the Toreros. The Aztecs’ front three would cause problems for the Terero’s back line throughout the night.

Not only was the Aztecs’ offense clicking on all corners tonight but so was their defense. Center backs Utush and junior Claire Watkins had a solid game on defense, making solid tackles and forcing bad shots from the Toreros all night.

“Our defence was much improved, we’re starting to do the little things better. Over the last 3 or 4 weeks we’ve had to learn through trial by fire not to make small mistakes in big moments,” Friesen said.

“This game we had a lot of grit and determination, we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could win a game and keep a shutout,” Utush said.

The Aztecs were also reassured knowing they have a keeper such as Alexa Madueno in goal. Madueno added 5 more saves tonight to bring her season tally to 49 saves.

“I love Alexa; she keeps me in the game, always has my back, and I know she’s a player I can trust,” Utush said.

The Aztecs are back in action against UCLA at the SDSU Sports Deck on Sunday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m.

Men’s golf has historic final day at Maui Jim Intercollegiate

By Nick Coppo CONTRIBUTOR

The Aztecs kicked off their 2021 season at the Mirabel Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate Tournament.

It was a competitive field that involved six Top 30 teams, according to the Golfweek rankings.

These teams include Clemson (11), Georgia Tech (12), Washington (21), San Diego State (23), New Mexico (29) and Auburn (30).

It was a very impressive start to the season for the Aztecs with a final round score on Sunday of 16-under 264 — the lowest round in program history. This performance vaulted the Aztecs from sixth place to fourth place. That score of 264 was tied with Auburn for the best round of the day and tied for the second best round of the entire tournament. The team was able to take advantage of the Par-5 holes all weekend, shooting -19 on those holes in particular — third-best only behind Georgia Tech and Clemson — the first and second place teams at the tournament overall.

The most notable performance and story comes from Senior Youssef Guezzale who finished the weekend in a tie for 12th place in a field of 90 golfers at -10 after a sensational round on Sunday, including seven birdies and an eagle on the second hole. His 6-under 64 on Sunday was tied for the second best round of the day and the seventh-best round in SDSU program history.

“Hear that, seventh best round in history guys!” Guezzale said as he let his teammates know of the history he just made.

“I came out guns blazing,” Guezzale said when asked about his mindset going into the final day. “I knew I had to go low and that’s exactly what I did.”

Of the seven birdies Guezzale had on the day, six of them came on Par 4s, meaning strong drives into an advantageous part of the fairway was key to a low score.

“In these desert courses there is not much room to hit off line, but I was able to stay out of the desert. Keep it in the fairway and you can go low.” Guezzale said.

Head Coach Ryan Donovan had each golfer ready to compete in Scottsdale and assessed the first weekend of play.

“I’m pleased with the first weekend, obviously we have a lot of returning talent so it’s good to back that up,” Donovan said.

“The bar is set high. We are playing against some good competition, we need to clean up a few things and we can’t make those little mistakes.”

Rounds of 274 and 272 on Friday and Saturday had the Aztecs sitting in sixth place going into the final day.

“I was disappointed with a few mistakes,” Donovan said reflecting on the first two rounds of play. “Let’s go out and put up the best round we could have.”

The Aztecs clearly took Coach Donovan’s words to heart as four out of the five players shot their lowest score of the tournament on Sunday.

Another promising performance from the weekend came from freshman Shea Lague shooting a six-under 204 in his first ever collegiate tournament. Lague saved his best golf for last as four consecutive birdies on holes 15-18 shot him up the leaderboard into a tie for 19th and a final round score of 65.

Donovan says that Lague stood out this weekend.

“I was really impressed with Shea,” Donovan said. “In his first college tournament, I’m really proud of what he has done and there is lots of room for him to be a great player down the road.”

Shea Lague (T19th) and University of Arizona’s Sam Sommerhauser (T6th) were

Image:Freepik.com

SDSU men’s golf competed with five other top 30 teams in the Mirable Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ.

the only two freshmen in the Top 20.

Finishing third on the team and in a tie for 24th overall at 5-under was Senior Zihao Jin. Jin was a pillar of consistency with three day scores of 68-69-68 which included fifteen consecutive pars in the final round on Sunday. His 40 total pars this weekend is tied for the third most out of any golfer in the field. Jin was also the only Aztec without a bogey or doublebogey on the final day of the tournament.

Senior, Puwit Anupansuebsai — a Golfweek Preseason All-American ThirdTeam selection — came in 31st overall at 4-under and was another one that used a strong final round to improve his and the team’s score on Sunday. Similar to Lague, Anupansuebsai caught fire in the back nine recording birdies on holes 12, 15, 16 and 18 en route to a 3-under 67 for the day.

Senior Steve Sugimoto finished his weekend tied for 47th at 1-under.

Sugimoto played his best golf on Saturday shooting a 4-under 66 that included seven birdies. Unfortunately, trouble was afoot at the start of round three for Sugimoto as he took a triple bogey on the first hole which he had birdied a day prior. He was able to improve his day with an impressive back nine however with three birdies and six pars.

Freshman Jack Townsend competed in this tournament but as an individual so his strokes did not factor into the overall team score. Townsend took 89th at 16-over for a total of 226. After a rocky first day at 12over, Townsend was able to right the ship on Saturday with an even-par 70 and a 4-over 74 on Sunday.

After a promising first tournament, SDSU looks to build off this performance as they head to Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington for the Husky Invitational from Sept. 20 to Sept. 21.

This is also the site of the Mountain West Championship in the spring of 2022. A strong showing here could bode well for future success come tournament time.

12

The Daily Aztec

The Back Page

Sept. 15 - 21, 2021 Editor: Ryan Hardison • arts@thedailyaztec.com

The feud between Drake & Kanye has made a huge impact on hip-hop

by Aaron Velasquez CONTRIBUTOR

Kanye West and Aubrey “Drake” Graham are two rappers whose careers have dominated the airwaves over the last 15 years. From the iconic songs they’ve collaborated on to the bitter sneak disses aimed at each other, the rappers have seemed to reach another boiling point in their relationship.

The release of their new albums, “Donda” by Kanye West and “Certified Lover Boy” by Drake, showcases that tensions between the two rappers and their fan bases haven’t been this high since Drake’s 2018 spat with G.O.O.D. Music’s Pusha T. Criminal justice junior Javier Flores and a massive Kanye fan was relieved to hear the new album sound like Kanye’s past music.

“For ‘Donda,’ I really liked it, I felt like it was very different… it really grew on Kanye’s sound from what he’s done with ‘The Life of Pablo’ and ‘808s and Heartbreak,’” Flores said.

West’s album “Donda” was released to the world in the most extravagant way possible, extremely on brand for the rapper. He lived in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta enjoying soccer games and live streaming the final productions of the album. He would end his stay in Atlanta by performing two album listening parties in late July and early August, finishing with a final listening party in his hometown of Chicago at Soldier Field on Aug. 26.

Following West’s dramatic rollout for “Donda,” fans felt like the pressure was on for Drake to release his long-awaited “Certified Lover Boy.” Teasers were

broadcasted during an ESPN segment, finally confirming a release date for the album, Sep. 3 — a date that would turn out to be only five days after West surprisingly released Donda on Aug. 29.

It seemed like the two rappers were using their album releases as a way to battle one another, something not

contained a verse from legendary Atlanta rapper Andre 3000.

While a collaboration between Andre 3000 and Kanye West is something fans have anticipated with excitement, the manner in which it was released disheartened Andre 3000. He said in a statement through a representative, “It’s

Graphic by Hemen Mesfin

Drake and Kanye’s beef for the last decade prompts many fans to compare the two.

uncommon in hip-hop.

After Drake rapped lyrics aimed at West in his guest feature for Trippie Redd’s “Betrayal,” West infamously tweeted a screenshot of a conversation on a group chat on iMessage which fans speculated included Drake.

“I live for this. I’ve been f***** with by nerd a** jock n****s like you my whole life. You will never recover. I promise you.” West said in the text.

Adding to the drama, Drake, on a recent Sirius XM guest DJ set, directly leaked an unreleased song of West’s which

unfortunate that it was released in this way and two artists that I love are going back and forth.”

SDSU students who have been following the story and albums online shared their opinion about seeing two of the top rappers in the world beefing.

Psychology senior Cassandra Greene feels that Kanye West has slowly been falling off the wagon.

“I would say both are legendary. Yet, I think Kanye had done some things in his career that is very bizarre and crazy,” Greene said “Drake keeps to himself and

just drops bangers.”

The different paths the rappers have been on in recent years are reflected in each of their albums.

“Donda” also sounds like West’s most personal album to date, with many songs focusing on Christianity, mental health and his publicized marriage with Kim Kardashian.

Songs such as “Off the Grid”, “Jail”, and “Hurricane” are instant hits as they display the best of West’s production skills and his ability for getting the best features on his songs with Fivio Foreign, Playboi Carti, The Weeknd, Lil Baby and Jay-Z all providing verses.

“Certified Lover Boy” on the other hand continues Drake’s run of commercially successful albums. “Way 2 Sexy” with Future and “Girls Want Girls” with Lil Baby are clear frontrunners for hits from the album.

Kanye West’s “Donda” ended its first week run with 309,000 sales, according to Chart Data on Twitter. These numbers earned West his tenth number one album on the Billboard Top 200 in his career.

Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” would also go on to be the number one album the week it was released becoming his tenth number one album on the Billboard top 200, garnering over 613,000 sales, according to Chart Data on Twitter.

General business major Junior Mathew Siegfried sums up Kanye and Drake’s career over the last 5 years.

“Kanye’s had a longer career but I think over the last five years Drake has been far more successful,” Siegfried said.

Whether you stand with Kanye West, Drake or have no interest in their beef at all, one can’t deny that their relationship has played an important role in hip-hop in the last decade.

Saint Luna is a local band with a unique sound

by Sara Rott SENIOR STAFF WRITER

When it comes to major-based courses at San Diego State, individuals are surrounded by peers who share similar interests.

That’s the story for a group of five

students who met in class and all had something in common: a love for music.

Saint Luna Band is an alternative, indie, psychedelic modern-classic rock band based out of SDSU, featuring Bradyn Jace (singer/guitarist), Max Katz (bass/singer), Charlie Black (guitarist), Paarsa Heidari (drums) and Wick Hauser (guitarist).

Heidari, Katz, Jace and Black all

Photo by Ethan Ronk

Saint Luna performing at Soda Bar at El Cajon on July 22.

met in class in fall of 2019, well before COVID-19 had changed the world.

Katz, wanting a performing aspect on campus, started “Sunset House,” where he and other musicians would play small “backyard gigs.” Katz’s idea inspired the other members to get involved.

Stuck in quarantine due to COVID-19, the friends started a group chat, sending videos of them playing music to one another. This is when they began to think of forming a band.

“Max, Paarsa and I just played one day when we had all of our gear in the studio and something clicked,” Jace said.

Having all been in bands before, they soon realized they needed another guitarist, so they invited Black to join.

It didn’t take long for the newcomer to integrate into the band world.

“Our fifth member, Wick, we found him on Tik-Tok, so we posted one of our songs and he covered it, ” Jace said. “Then we DM’d him a month or two later, like ‘you wanna come jam?’ and he said yes.”

The members said initially, it was just something to do, just to jam together and have fun. The musical capabilities of each member brought something new to the practice sessions.

After the lockdown was lifted, SDSU helped the band secure a gig at a bar in El Cajon in May, where they played in a corner of the room and students came out to support them. Since then, the band is grateful that they have the opportunity to have that “real band experience.”

“We just love live music and were

happy for that to be back,” Heidari said.

Saint Luna’s unique sound has them eager to showcase their talent as well as experimenting and changing the new songs they produce. with each new song they produce.

“When we do play live, we wanna make sure that we’re playing things live,” Katz said. “We don’t play with backing tracks or anything fake, everything we do, we make it.”

The band has gotten opportunities to produce music in actual studios through school connections and record singles with professional equipment.

“Now that we’ve been to all these studios and we’ve gotten to work with a lot of really cool people and interesting equipment, we’ve been able to learn what we want and how to do things,” Katz said.

Saint Luna hopes to grow with the San Diego scene, however, they say don’t get too excited about an album just yet. The band said they have many singles in the queue, waiting to be released.

The band’s goal is to go on tour and to open for a more well-known band as a starter. Saint Luna already has a pretty massive following with 43.3K followers on TikTok and over 4K on Instagram.

“Not only were we making music but we were proud of what we were doing,” Jace said.

Their new single is coming out on Sept.

17 and a live show coming up on Oct. 2 at Soma San Diego for all ages to attend, tickets can be found on Saint Luna’s website or on Soma’s website.