News

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.”

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

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

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.

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. 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

Interfraternity Council adds new positions

by Katelynn robinSon

NEWS EDITOR

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

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

Photo by Owen Ekstorm

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 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.

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.

RECALL RESULTS

by Katelynn robinSon

NEWS EDITOR

Steps to follow after testing positive for the coronavirus

by Katelynn Robinson

NEWS EDITOR

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 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

Photo by Amal Younis An image of common study area located in Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union.

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.

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 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.”

9/11 Ceremony

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 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”.

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.

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

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Mackenzie Stafford

ASST. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Jayne Yutig

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

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