The Daily Aztec 2/17/2021

Wednesday, Feb. 17 - Tuesday, Feb. 23 Weekly Digital Edition

Vol. 107, Issue 15 www.thedailyaztec.com

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

Student loans on pause, what it means for SDSU students by

Catlan Nguyen

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

One of the first actions President Joe Biden enacted was extending the pause on student loan payments without interest until Sept. 30.

This extension came to help provide relief for Americans who are still dealing with financial hardships caused by the pandemic.

What does this mean for San Diego State students?

In 2021, roughly 20.4% of SDSU’s overall student body borrowed student loans, according to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

“The total number of

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students borrowing loans and the amount borrowed has consistently decreased over the past five years at SDSU, which seems to be part of an entirely different trend of

students overall relying less on loans,” the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships said in an email.

During the 2016 to 2017 academic year, 11,333 students borrowed loans. For

this school year, 7,460 students borrowed loans.

The amount of grants and scholarships SDSU students receive has also increased steadily in the past five years.

“Try not to take out student loans: apply to every scholarship, go to career counseling, see if you qualify for student loans or work study,” biochemistry third year Jeannette Espinoza said. “There’s ways around it so you can minimize loan payment so definitely look into it.”

Espinoza is a transfer student from Santa Barbara City College and has taken out a total of about $9,000 in loans between there and SDSU. While it may be inevita-

ble for some students to take out some loans eventually, be sure to know the difference between federal and private student loans, Espinoza adds.

Most student loans must be paid off post graduation after a six-month grace period so this pause may impact college graduates the most.

For some recent SDSU graduates, this extended pause with zero percent interest gave them more incentive to pay their loans.

The lack of interest on student loans made SDSU alumnus Kayla Wade increase her monthly payments so she can pay them off sooner, accordsee

LOANS page 2

Associated Students prepares for fully virtual elections by

Patrick Doyle

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Voter turnout has been dwindling for the yearly Associated Students elections at San Diego State.

Last year, only 9.5% of the student body voted in the elections, which was down significantly from the 20% turnout in 2017, according to The Daily Aztec.

For perspective, the voter turnout in last year’s A.S. elections at UC San Diego, which was also upended by the pandemic partway through, was 21%.

While the second half of the 2020 election season was completely virtual, this year marks the first time A.S. at SDSU has had to run a completely virtual election, with campaigns unable to advertise their candidacy or their slate in-person. Given this new dynamic, A.S. has had to rethink the way it gets out the vote and ensures fair-

ness in its elections. Naturally, social media will be their biggest tool in this, but these platforms still present their own unique problems.

“Just making sure that candidates stay motivated is going to be a big challenge for them,” said SDSU A.S. Vice President of External Relations Armando Sepulveda II. “I think maybe because candidates already have their set base and they’re just reminding them to go out and vote for them, they’re not going to try to reach out to new voters and try to get new perspectives.”

Sepulveda is part of the effort to reform SDSU’s election code to incorporate more modern methods of communication. Until recently, he said, social media was not accounted for in the university’s bylaws.

“It can’t be understated how valuable social media is going to be for all

Photo courtesy of Associated Students Changes have been made to the university’s bylaws to better reflect the use of social media

candidates,” Sepulveda said. “And we’ve already implemented a couple of new bylaw changes to ensure that there is equitability and fairness in the creation of social media accounts and the implementation of social media strategy.”

Part of these changes include ensuring all candidates are treated fairly by official A.S. social media

accounts. In fact, due to concerns with tagging, it is not likely there will be any candidate profiles on A.S. instagram pages to make sure one candidate is not favored over another.

Additionally, the election code had been amended to ban the use of recycled accounts for campaigns, which was a loophole that allowed someone with a large social media

following to start with an advantage when making campaign posts. This was an issue in last year’s A.S. elections.

“We want to make sure that it’s a fair experience for someone running for CAL (College of Arts & Letters) Rep who lives in Minnesota to have the same opportunity to win see

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News

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LOANS:

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ing to Wade.

“I graduated in spring of 2019, so I’m working now and making money which is why I am able to pay more than I would,” Wade said. “If I was still in college doing odd jobs that would have been affected by the pandemic, I would probably pay less than the normal each month.”

Some currently-enrolled students had to take out more in student loans because of the pandemic.

“I know that I pulled

out more student loans this year than I ever had because of the pandemic, because I can’t find that part-time job,” Espinoza said. “It’s going to have a domino-effect on students once they graduate because it’ll be more interest to pay off.”

Biden also proposed a plan to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt for each individual but it’s uncertain if it will pass in the Senate or House.

The payment pause extension came only due to the pandemic and high unemployment numbers.

Some students are optimistic about it passing.

Others believe student loan forgiveness can’t be the only step towards education reform.

“In order to recover from the pandemic and to move towards a better American future, we do need education reform, specifically higher education reform,” political science third year Taylor Reed said. “While $10,000 is great and it’s unprecedented, I think more needs to be done to make tuition more accessible and equitable.”

Feb. 17 - Feb. 23, 2020 Editor: Jadyn Brandt

Similarly, Espinoza said she doesn’t think all student loans will ever be forgiven.

However, the government can offer better payment plans such as extending loans, being more lenient on loan consolidation and reducing the overall interest even after the pause.

“Getting into crippling debt shouldn’t be the only way to better your future,” Reed said. “Hopefully this pause on interest will make wanting to get an education less daunting for students.”

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as someone living in San Diego,” Sepulveda said.

This sentiment of maintaining fairness was also expressed by UCSD Elections Manager David Hickman, who is overseeing his school’s upcoming A.S. elections. Hickman said one of his focuses throughout his role has been making sure international students can just as easily run for an elected position as local students.

“I think that making sure that you’re accommodating those that live in different time zones, especially with remote learning, that’s definitely key to making sure that your elections are really open to the whole student body,” Hickman said.

UCSD has made many amendments to its election code since the advent of mandatory virtual instruction last year, including getting rid of signature packets needed to run, changing the method of uploading ballot photos, and establishing two time slots for the mandatory candidate meetings to better accommodate international students.

Hickman says it’s all in an effort to make sure as many people can run as possible, despite potentially being dissuaded by having to campaign virtually.

“Accessibility is definitely

one of the big things that I’ve always pushed for in A.S.,” Hickman said. “And being elections manager this year, making those changes just seemed like the right choice to make to make it more of an accessible organization.”

Hickman said he also believes aggressive advertising of their elections through multiple mediums will be the best way to get out the vote.

UCSD plans on running advertisements on shuttle buses, bike docking stations, Canvas, the UCSD app, and the university is even planning several promotional giveaways, which Hickman says has worked well in the past.

“I think with all the incentives that we have planned, as well as just the general outreach and all of that that we will get a good turnout. I’m very optimistic there,” Hickman said.

The virtual environment is not all good news when it comes to the elections, however. UCSD A.S. President Kimberly Giangtran said she understands the difficulties this new medium will bring for both SDSU and UCSD. “As a candidate, the hardest part is connecting with people,” Giangtran said. “That face-to-face interaction is so valuable and I think as much as we want Zoom and the virtual world to feel connecting, it’s obviously not the

same.”

Giangtran also said she has her reservations when it comes to promoting the elections mainly through social media.

“As much as social media is a great tool for campaigning, it’s also very limiting in the way that you are able to reach certain demographics that maybe don’t have social media,” Giangtran said. “What if someone doesn’t have Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, all that stuff?

Are they not going to get to know about your campaign and the candidates who are on the ballot? I think that’s a challenge we’re going to face for as long as we are remote.”

Some of these challenges are already beginning to present themselves at SDSU, leaving A.S. with plenty of advertising work to do as the elections draw closer. Even as the Feb. 19 deadline to run for an A.S. positions nears, some students are unaware that A.S. holds elections in the first place.

“I wasn’t really planning on voting because I don’t know where or who’s running or who anyone is,” said undeclared freshman Zora Lehmer-Mearns.

“Maybe if they could get an announcement on the Canvas dashboard? I know that personally I do look at those and I’m on the dashboard quite a bit.”

Lehmer-Mearns said she wants to know more

about the elections, but isn’t sure where to go to find more information.

And while information is available on the A.S. election website, many students are still unaware of its existence.

Given candidates have not yet been officially announced, there is still much time for A.S. to ramp up its advertising efforts. But it is never too early for them to begin reminding students that elections are coming up.

When asked for advice that A.S. at SDSU could take away from the elections at UCSD, both representatives said how important it is to get out the vote.

“As small as this election is,” said Giangtran. “It’s still making your voice heard and it’s still voting for people who will eventually have influence on decisions that affect you.”

“Every vote counts,” said Hickman. “So ultimately the more votes you can get, the more representative the student body government is of the student body.”

A.S. elections for SDSU take place between March 22-25 on the SDSU webportal. More information on the elections, including how to apply, is available on the official A.S. elections page, which will be updated with candidate information once the application window has closed.

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Morning in America? We’re the kids of America and by

Trinity Bland

OPINION EDITOR EDITOR IN CHIEF Brenden Tuccinardi NEWS EDITOR Jadyn Brandt ASST. NEWS EDITOR Katelynn Robinson OPINION EDITOR Trinity Bland MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Noé Sandoval ASST. MUNDO AZTECA Karina Bazarte ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Devin Whatley SPORTS EDITOR Kyle Betz ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Luis Lopez

ELECTIONS:

Opinion

Feb. 17 - Feb. 23, 2020 Editor: Trinity Bland

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Catlan Nguyen PHOTO EDITOR Alexa Oslowski ASST. PHOTO EDITOR Amanda Orozco VIDEO EDITOR Angela Kurysh ASST. VIDEO EDITOR Mackenzie Stafford GRAPHIC DESIGN EDITOR Emily Burgess

SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Breven Honda Amber Salas Jeanette Giovanniello STAFF WRITERS Brandon Balayan Patrick Doyle Dustin Magallanes Sebastian Mendoza Maya Rodriguez CONTRIBUTORS Jacob Sullivan Alexandra Will ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Bryan Diamond EDITORIAL editor@thedailyaztec.com ADVERTISING advertising@thedailyaztec.com PRINT The Daily Aztec publishes 5,000 copies of its weekly print edition every Wednesday thoughout the semester when we are not in a global pandemic.

WEB Daily content is available at www.thedailyaztec.com SOCIAL MEDIA @thedailyaztec

“It’s morning again in America” was the opening line to President Reagan’s 1984 “Prouder, Stronger, Better” campaign television commercial. The message is simple, patriotic and inspirational. By watching the video alone, it is moving and it engages thoroughly with the American people on a personal level – which is probably why it is deemed one of the most regarded campaign advertisements over the course of history.

In efforts to strengthen his reelection crusade, Reagan figured a popular and seemingly patriotic song like Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 single, “Born in the U.S.A”, would serve as a ‘theme song’ for his campaign. President Reagan himself referenced Springsteen during a New Jersey stop on the campaign trail in August 1984 saying, “America’s future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts.

It rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen.”

During this era, people all over the world were bound to hear “Born In The U.S.A.” as an ode to patriotism and would vouch for it to be the perfect soundtrack for President Reagan’s “Morning In America” campaign. The song starts off with some ferocious snare strikes, prompting cannon blasts, fireworks and all the national pride associated with those sounds. Before

Springsteen even comes in with his iconic raspy vocals that many know and love, the song is an explosion, casting red, white, and blue filters on a set of lyrics overwhelming with many more colors and layers.

However, Springsteen opposed Reagan’s plans to use “Born In The U.S.A.” as the soundtrack to his reelection run because he felt the song didn’t align with the message the President was trying to put out for his campaign. According to a Mental Floss article about the song’s mistranslated message, Kenneth Partridge writes, “‘Born In The U.S.A.’ ultimately is a patriotic song – just not the kind President Reagan was looking for. Springsteen’s traumatized, unemployed protagonist wants to believe that being American means something.”

This brief song analysis is incredibly striking because nearly 40 years after the song’s release, Springsteen’s intention behind writing “Born In The U.S.A.” is a familiar feeling many Americans are experiencing in the present time.

Americans want to feel proud to be an American and of their country, but a lot of us are traumatized from the political climate in the country. The embarrassingly familiar systemic racism is something we have seen in America for generations and the raging COVID-19 pandemic has affected families in the worst ways possible in adsee

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/thedailyaztec The views and opinions expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of The Daily Aztec.

Graphics by Shalika Oza

we’re taking politics by storm by

Sebastian Mendoza

STAFF WRITER

Complicated is undoubtedly one way to describe whatever the year 2020 was.

Hosting a historical health crisis, lack of political stability and the civil uproar in response to a broken system, by no means was last year one to be remembered gracefully.

Current times have given way to historically unparalleled civilian political activism with more than enough motivation, but it is inevitable to take a step back and wonder where the passionate ever-energized youth will lead our beloved nation.

All throughout what was one of the most divisive presidential campaign seasons and a series of systemic injustices, younger generations have taken the country by storm, leading the way by organizing protests, providing online resources and even advocating for key issues such as climate change, police brutality as well as overall policy reform in the United States.

In his article, “Why All Those Criticisms About Millennials Aren’t Necessarily Fair”, Cardiff Garcia writes, “earlier generations have sometimes labeled millennials as lazy, coddled, afraid of traditional adult milestones.”

Such critiques by baby boomers and Generation X have influenced the younger generations, leading them to become “the other.” Born from 1980 to 1994 and from 1995 to 2010 respectively, millennials and members of Gen Z are fundamentally different from their parents and others before them. The generational divide in beliefs proves just this.

Some of the most tragic events the U.S. has seen recently are due to fundamental flaws in how

Graphics by Shalika Oza

our country is managed.

Whether it’s police brutality in the U.S, deforestation in Australia or femicides in Mexico, the activism and acts of humanitarianism done by the American youth is worthy of applause.

Gen Z and Millenials have and continue to use social media to denounce human rights violations, challenge corruption and even create campaigns for causes they believe in. In an article by the Borgen Project, “Most Zoomers use various kinds of social media platforms, but one of the best platforms to reach millions is TikTok. Posting a graphic on an Instagram story with a small platform frequently reaches hundreds. However, on TikTok, 100 followers could easily make a video go viral.”

Although young people are at the forefront of sociopolitical & humanitarian activism, many would agree that these tech-savvy and trailblazing individuals should have the appropriate informational resources, knowledge, and organization needed to make the changes they wish to see realized in society. There is no doubt that the efforts put forth are commendable, the activism of the younger generation falls victim to logistical flaws such as

mixed-messaging, manipulation by mainstream media and even unpolished communication.

Writer Per Axbom highlights this example of the shortcomings of this form of activism. “Instead of these black squares we might have seen important breaking news exposing police brutality and attacks on the press, alongside voices of reason, anguish, and witness reports from black people guiding us through this turmoil,” Axbom says.

Another troubling issue is the popularity of online performative politics and how individuals under this philosophy sabotage well-intentioned initiatives.

As commonly defined, performative politics involves acting in such a way as to falsely represent the agenda.

Today, many participate in performative politics by sharing content of sociopolitical nature without truly supporting the cause and sadly, often without even caring about the cause. It is not too late to realize that society has turned politics into a game, stored on your phone and ready to play when we feel like it.

But when our country’s most vulnerable communities suffer and the sons see

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Opinion

The Daily Aztec

Feb. 17 - Feb. 23, 2020 Editor: Trinity Bland

Different police response to Capitol Riot and Black Lives Matter protests evidence of two Americas Katelynn Robinson & Jadyn Brandt by

History was made on Jan. 6 as Trump supporters stormed the nation’s Capitol with ease.

As America watched the news unfold that fateful morning the question in the forefront of many people’s minds was this: how would the response be different if this were a protest for Black Lives Matter?

Unfortunately, we’ve already seen what that might look like.

Footage of unmarked police officers and vehicles making arrests, police SUVs running over crowds, police officers pepper-spraying and beating unarmed protesters are just some of the examples of the police response to the Black Lives Matter protests over the past year.

On the day of the insur-

rection police used tear gas, flashbangs and minimal force against the rioters, some of them even carrying spears. Even videos and live-streams showed police taking selfies with the insurrectionists. While other videos showed rioters assaulting Capitol police officers, crushing them between doors and leaving one officer dead.

On Jan. 6, just 1,100 National Guard members were sent to the Capitol in the evening, hours after the pro-Trump rioters breached the building.

Almost eight months earlier, on June 2, the steps of the Lincoln Memorial were covered with national guardsmen in preparation for a Black Lives Matter protest. According to Boise State public radio, throughout the summer of 2020 approximately 4,000 national guard members

by

Graphic by Emily Burgess

were deployed to Washington D.C. Photos and videos that circulated around social media sites were a cause for outrage among many.

Comparisons were drawn between the police presence at many of the Black Lives Matter rallies over the summer and the supposed lack of it at the Capitol.

The riot on Jan. 6 was foreshadowed by Donald Trump and his supporters in December which should

Maya Rodriguez

STAFF WRITER

President Joe Biden’s Inauguration commenced with words about unity, tolerance and the preservation of democratic values. In his speech, Biden called for the nation’s reconciliation in the midst of political turmoil. The speech received positive reviews from both sides of the aisle. For many commentators, Biden’s inauguration signaled a change in tone for the direction of the country; one that would differ from the Trump administration’s.

Several Republican Senators complimented Biden’s speech. Among those Republicans was Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who is a long-time colleague and friend of Biden’s. “I stand ready to work with him to advance common goals,” Collins said.

Graphic by Emily Burgess

Collins even pointed out how she, along with others in the Senate, already worked with Biden in some capacity.

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also approved of Biden’s speech. Murkowski said it was well done and needed. When asked about Republicans and Democrats working together, Murkowski said it was a possibility.

Senator Mitt Romney, the former Republican

Noé Sandoval

EDITOR DE MUNDO AZTECA

have provided Capitol Police and law enforcement to plan a similar response to that seen during the summer Black Lives Matter protests.

The simplest conclusion anyone can draw from analyzing the circumstances surrounding the near-coup that took place on Capitol Hill is that they should have been prepared. The government, the Trump administration – everyone should have been prepared for this.

Peacefully protesting in the streets does not compare to attacking the U.S. Capitol, just as losing an election does not compare to the countless injustices and murders of innocent Black people.

The insurrectionists justify their actions by stating the election was unfair. It is safe to say it is a part of human nature to hate to lose. The Black Lives Matter movement is powered see

ONLINE

Is a post-Trump era of bipartisanship upon us? We’ll see. by

Mundo Azteca Decisión de la poliza credito/no credito es extendida para aliviar desafíos académicos de la pandemia

Feb. 17 - Feb. 23, 2020 Editor: Noé Sandoval

Presidential candidate, also said Biden’s words were not only needed but strong. Romney is a Republican that could be willing to work with the current administration.

After all, Romney has experience going against his own party if need be, this was made evident when he voted to convict in President Trump’s first impeachment trial.

There have been other Republican leaders that

have expressed similar sentiments. However, the biggest challenge for bipartisanship is that the Republican party is divided.

There are those who are more moderate and willing to work together.

Then there are Trump loyalists.

Even if they aren’t loyalists, few are willing to go against their party. This is when Biden will apply that experience in the Senate he bragged so much about on the campaign trail.

Just because this transition seems to be off to a good start, doesn’t guarantee it will stay that way.

Inevitably, there are Republicans who have their reservations about Biden’s executive orders and policies. This indicates that their cooperative spirit could very much change depending on these new executive orders.

Republicans are probably trying to be more amicable and show unity with the newly elected president mostly because of the insurrection on Capitol Hill. There is a clear ideological disturbance between Trump’s fanbase and it would be wise for Republicans not to feed into it.

In spite of these challenges, with this new presidential administration, we will definitely see more bipartisanship than in the previous one.The contrast between this administration expressing the need for tolerance and collaboration and the previous one carrying contentious politics with arrogant combative personality is drastic.

However, time will only tell whether bipartisanship will return to Capitol Hill.

El 6 de febrero de 2021, el Senado Académico de la Universidad Estatal de San Diego aprobó en su junta la extensión de su póliza de calificación, crédito/no crédito, por un tiempo indefinido para el tiempo de la pandemia La decisión fue aprobada con una mayoría de 60-3 con la abstención de seis senadores.

El Senado originalmente planeó discutir la medida de alivio académico otorgada previamente a los estudiantes para los semestres de primavera y otoño de 2021 en su reunión de marzo.

Sin embargo, eso no fue lo suficientemente pronto para los miembros de la Junta Ejecutiva de Estudi-

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antes Asociados, Christian Holt, Armando Sepúlveda y Crystal Sanchez.

Los estudiantes necesitaban este alivio garantizado ahora, dijeron los miembros, porque los desafíos planteados por la pandemia no han desaparecido, a pesar de que la distribución de vacunas ofrece alguna esperanza.

“Venimos aquí porque los estudiantes están pas-

ando por todos estos factores de estrés mental durante la pandemia”, dijo Holt. “Podrían ser cosas familiares, cargas financieras y simplemente equilibrar este entorno virtual con COVID-19. Volveremos (a esta póliza) porque estos problemas no se han detenido “.

Los estudiantes tienen hasta el último día del semestre para cambiar su

File photo

opción de calificación.

Bajo esta póliza, los estudiantes podrán pedir una calificación de crédito (CR) por un trabajo equivalente a una calificación de letra C o superior para las clases de pregrado y B o superior para los cursos de posgrado.

Las calificaciones de crédito/no crédito no se tienen en cuenta en el promedio general del estudiante, o GPA por sus siglas en inglés, el período de prueba académico o los procedimientos de descalificación de un estudiante.

Esta póliza se utiliza mejor para los requisitos de educación general, como cursos de comunicación oral, comunicación escrita, pensamiento crítico y matemáticas, según el sitio web de la Oficina de Registro de SDSU.

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Sin embargo, se puede aplicar a clases relacionadas en especializaciones y concentraciones, pero esto varía según el departamento y escuela dentro la universidad, lo cual se recomienda que los estudiantes consulten a su consejero académico principal antes de hacer el cambio a CR / NC. Según la Oficina de Registro, elegir la opción de crédito/no crédito podría afectar la elegibilidad de ayuda financiera de un estudiante. Para obtener ayuda e información específicas, Office Financial Aid mantiene una página web de preguntas frecuentes y ofrece asesoramiento.

También hay información sobre la opción crédito / no crédito en el sitio web see

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Música de artista brasileña abre caminos para el aprendizaje del mundo lusófono by

Noé Sandoval

EDITOR DE MUNDO AZTECA

Con sólo tres años de ser lanzado, el álbum “Cançoes Para Abreviar Distancias” de Isabella Bretz fue el enfoque de estudio en una clase de portugués aquí en La Universidad Estatal de San Diego.

La profesora Cássia De Abreu, del Departamento de Lenguajes y Literaturas del Español y Portugués, usó el álbum de Isabella Bretz como un proyecto en su clase de portugues al nivel intermediario.

Estudiantes en clases analizaron temas dentro la música para aprender más sobre el mundo lusófono y sus diversas culturas.

De Abreu había encontrado el trabajo de Isabela Bretz desde el año 2018, pero no fue hasta el semestre del otoño 2020, en el cual la pandemia le

permitió más tiempo, en que entro en contacto con Bretz y organizar el proyecto para su clase.

“Dependemos en artistas como Isabela para poder dar las mejores ejemplos de arte y cultura en nuestras lecciones” dijo De Abreu “ Fue una forma para exponer a los estudiantes al mundo lusófono” Isabella Bretz, es una cantora y compositora brasileña que actualmente está viviendo en Portugal.

Ella tiene su propio sitio web, una página de Facebook, y un canal de Youtube donde propaga sus obras musicales.

Bretz asistió y participó en algunas clases de De Abreu virtualmente, en lo cual vió sus propia música ser analizada por alumnos.

“Estaba muy impresionada de ver cuánto los alumnos estaban interesados en aprender de la lengua

portuguesa” dijo Isabella.

“Fue una honra de ver que mi trabajo está siendo usada como una referencia académica” Su álbum, “Canções Para Abreviar Distâncias”, o Canciones para Abreviar Distancias en español. se enfoca en ocho poemas escritos por ocho autores diferentes.

Cada poema viene de un autor que representa un país lusófono, cuyo lenguaje oficial es el portugués (Brasil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Cabo Verde, São Tomé e Príncipe, y Timor Oriental) Los poetas en la obra son Adélia Prado (Brasil), José Luís Peixoto (Portugal), Mia Couto, (Moçambique), Conceição Lima (São Tomé e Príncipe), Vera Duarte Pina (Cabo Verde), Odete Semedo (Guiné-Bissau) Ana Paula

Photo courtesy of Isabella Bretz

Tavares (Angola) e Crisódio T. Araújo (Timor-Leste) Bretz tuvo la prospectiva de crear este álbum a través del poeta português José Luis Peixoto y su poema, “Na Hora De Pôr a Mesa” que también es la primera obra presentada en el álbum. Gustando mucho del poema, el poeta sugirió a Bretz que criara la música para el poema.

“Estaba ansiosa al ver que pensaría Peixoto de

la música al crearla” dijo Bretz “Al fin, vi como él se emocionó al escuchar la música; la música lo emocionó no sólo como el propio orador pero también como oyente” Bretz escogió autores contemporáneos y poemas publicados poco años atrás para su álbum.

“Yo quería solo poetas vivos” dijo Bretz.

Bretz enfatizó que aunque hay muchas obras

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Sports

The Daily Aztec

Feb. 17 - Feb. 23, 2020 Editor: Kyle Betz

Ramos returns to the floor, gets 1000th-career point by

Kyle Betz

SPORTS EDITOR

San Diego State women’s basketball junior guard Sophia Ramos was only 11 points away from scoring 1,000 points in her collegiate career entering the Aztecs’ second Mountain West Conference game on Dec. 10, 2020.

However, just two minutes into the second conference game, she suffered a hand injury and would be out for an extended period of time.

Photo by Kyle Betz Prior to the injury in San Diego State women’s basketball junior guard Sophia Ramos looks to drive inside during the Aztecs’ 80-65 SDSU’s first five games, loss to UNLV on Feb. 15, 2021 at Viejas Arena. the 5-foot-9 guard was “Actually, this is the she would play alongside The preseason all-conaveraging 20.2 points and ference pick had 12 first time I’ve had to sit Adams again.

8.0 rebounds in 37.8 minout ever since I’ve start“Oh, I loved it,” Ramos points, a team-high five utes. ed playing,” Ramos said. said. “This was one of rebounds, an assist and A member of the “Overall, it’s been really those when we found was a perfect 6-for-6 at all-Mountain West team difficult. Luckily, there’s out that I was going the free throw line. last year and on the been little victories every to be able to play this Associate athletic all-conference freshman day so it’s been making it week, that was one of trainer Queenie Soriateam two seasons ago, easier but overall it has the highlights for us was no helped Ramos fit her Ramos has started in all been tough not being just getting back togeth- hand brace. Ramos said but one game and played able to go out there and er… That’s my best friend, the brace did not affect in every single game that’s my sister — that’s her play and credited Soplay.” during her collegiate caUp until Monday, Ra- who I came in with and riano and assistant coach reer before the injury. mos had not seen the it felt better than words Nick Grant for helping That’s 69 consecutive floor in over two months could put together to be her return to the court. games played and 67 conbut achieved her biggest back out there with her.”

“I couldn’t even tell I hasecutive starts. (The only victory yet.

Ramos, who had a black ven’t had (the brace) on,” game she did not start That victory came when brace on her hand, played Ramos said. “Coach Nick was the second game of the Aztecs faced UNLV 34 minutes. With 3:12 has been doing great with her freshman season.) on Monday, coming off a left in the game, another me, even before practice Since her rookie season 10-day layoff. victory came when she and before games now. in 2018-19, the 5-foot-9 Less than two minutes scored a fastbreak layup Just getting me more guard had averaged 35.1 into the game, Ramos — the 1000th and 1001st comfortable going left so minutes a game prior to was at the scorer’s table points of her collegiate now the right’s not even the injury. really a factor. Although ready to check in and career.

But with all the honplay with 2018-19 MWC ors and statistics Ramos all-freshman teammate earned, never had she Mallory Adams for the faced an injury in her first time in 446 days. basketball career, even Ramos said one of her before she stepped foot favorite moments of the onto Montezuma Mesa. past week was learning

it’s my shooting hand, it’s just one of those (scenarios where) you can’t tell.”

Head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson said it took some time for Ramos, who hadn’t played in about two months, to shake off rust.

“She was a little tentative in the first half,” Terry-Hutson said.“And then the second half, it looked like the old Sophia. She’s our best guard pushing on the break, she’s our best finisher at the rim.”

The junior guard became the 22nd player in program history to reach quadruple digits and the 13th to do it in three seasons or less.

Ramos is the first player to reach 1,000 career points since McKynzie Fort, also a 5-foot-9 guard who achieved the mark during her junior year in 2016-17.

Despite spending most of the season on the sideline, Ramos has found other ways to help her team.

The San Antonio, Texas native is part of a leadership council within the program to encourage others to stay under control and lead by example.

Ramos said she stays involved through holding her teammates accountsee

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Photo by Kyle Betz San Diego State junior guard Sophia Ramos looks onto the floor during halftime of the Aztecs’ 73-63 loss to the Mustangs on Dec. 21, 2020 at Viejas Arena. Ramos is seen with a hand cast, which she wore for about two months due to injury.

Photo by Kyle Betz San Diego State junior guard Sophia Ramos smiles before shooting a pair of free throws during the Aztecs’ 8065 loss to UNLV on Feb. 15, 2021 at Viejas Arena. Ramos is seen wearing a small brace on her right hand in her first game back from injury.

Sports Swim and dive prepares to compete in Mountain West Conference championships

Feb. 17 - Feb. 23, 2020 Editor: Kyle Betz

by

The Daily Aztec

Dustin Magallanes

STAFF WRITER

The San Diego State women’s swim and dive team continue its quest for an undefeated season on Wednesday when they compete in the 2021 Mountain West Conference Championships. The swimming meet will be hosted by Air Force in Colorado Springs while the dive team travels up Route 66 to compete at UNLV. The Aztecs have had a stellar start to the season, having compiled multiple impressive displays en route to a 4-0 record.

With wins over San Diego, Cal Poly and Pepperdine, head coach Mike Shrader said he’s looking to continue the momentum heading into what is shaping up to be a pivotal championship season.

Courtesy of Colleen Humel, SDSU Athletics San Diego State sophomore swimmer Evonne Stehr races during the 2020-21 season.

“If there are two things that this team embodies, it is having the right attitude and effort,” Shrader said.

“We focus on being a process-driven team rather than results-oriented. We can only control the con-

trollable.

“I am blessed to be able to coach a team that is full of energetic and highly-spirited athletes. A critical component to our success has been the strong leadership from our seniors.”

Senior Elliyana Ferrin, captain of the swim team, said the strong team culture could lead to the team hitting the jackpot in Vegas.

“Radiating positivity and having consistent commu-

7

nication throughout the team are by far the most important things to me as a captain,” Ferrin said. “I didn’t care how different this season was gonna be, I wanted the team to still feel like a team.”

This fervor has allowed for the team to maintain positive energy throughout the campaign despite having to endure an unorthodox version of a normal season. Leading up to the MWC meet, Shrader said the value of being well-rested is a means of optimizing the teams performance and energy level.

“We took the opportunity to taper down the intensity and duration of workouts in favor of explosive training,” Shrader said. “We understand that if we take the time to finetune our technique, we see

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Managing pitching to be key for softball and baseball in 2021

BY Breven Honda SENIOR STAFF WRITER The San Diego State baseball and softball teams take the field this week to open their 2021 seasons.

Both teams begin by taking on cross-town rival University of San Diego.

Softball heads south on Interstate 8 on Wednesday, while the baseball team takes on the Toreros over the weekend at Tony Gwynn Stadium for two and plays Sunday at Cunningham Stadium.

One thing that is different for both squads in 2021 is scheduling.

Every Mountain West Conference series contains a doubleheader and some non-conference series also implemented doubleheaders to limit travel and COVID-19 exposure. It will be a two-day series with the doubleheader coming on the first day of the series.

Softball will first experience playing a doubleheader on Wednesday, while the baseball team will not play its first doubleheader until March 6, when they start the MWC portion of its schedule against Fresno State.

That means pitching will be crucial, especially going into the depths of a bullpen by using more pitchers due to the time it takes to rest arms.

Both teams are highlighted by standout starting pitchers. From baseball redshirt sophomore Troy Melton to fifth-year senior Marissa Moreno and junior Maggie Balint for softball, those pitchers are expected to be trusted when they are on the mound.

As softball head coach Kathy Van Wyk said in a Q&A interview last month, pitching will be relied on beyond Balint and Moreno this season with senior pitcher Hannah Johnson

and second-year freshman Karina Faasisila.

“It’s huge and right now this year, we’re going to have a lot more doubleheaders, so it’s going to be very important to us,” Van Wyk said. “Hannah is just consistent. The beauty of what she does is she’s always around the plate, she throws strikes, she brings a lot of confidence to the team and she ended up last year with as many innings and a better earned run average than all of our pitchers.

“With having doubleheaders, we’re really going to need to have a third (starter) and we’re going to need a fourth. Karina is going to have to take more of a role.”

The baseball team has played doubleheaders in the past, but not as frequently as the 2021 season will require.

Baseball head coach Mark Martinez said playing

twice in one day will be something the team will have to adjust to.

“Our group has never dealt with playing doubleheaders and those kinds

of things,” Martinez said.

“Managing doubleheaders, that’s going to be interesting. You look at just a see

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Courtesy of Derrick Tuskan, SDSU Athletics San Diego State softball junior pitcher Maggie Balint fires a pitch during the Aztecs’ 3-0 loss to Brigham Young on Feb. 13, 2020 at the SDSU Softball Stadium.

8

The Daily Aztec

Arts & Culture

Feb. 17 - Feb. 23, 2020 Editor: Devin Whatley

The Women’s Network creates Students ring in space for authentic networking Lunar New Year in a “I attended an event in and an organization that’s different way amid J B the business school and supporting one another, an executive was invited and giving opportunity and COVID-19 pandemic As a freshman at Syr- to speak about her ca- resources and so many by adyn

randt

NEWS EDITOR

acuse University, Jamie Vinick found herself seated in a lecture hall afraid to raise her hand and ask questions of her lecturers that related directly to gender in the workplace.

As a woman in a historically male-dominated field, like finance, Vinick said she felt she and other women would benefit from a space where they could discuss their experiences without judgement.

During her sophomore year she began The Women’s Network (TWN), a nationwide, multi-campus organization that allows women to network with one another, and hosts professional events for its members.

reer, and I couldn’t believe that not a single question was asked related to gender,” Vinick said. “I realized the topic of gender in the workplace is incredibly taboo and uncomfortable for a lot of people to discuss.”

TWN now has chapters on 42 college campuses, including San Diego State.

Nicole Baaba, President of the SDSU chapter, said alongside workshops and guest speakers, TWN also provides opportunities to form connections with other students on campus.

“There’s really no boundaries,” Baaba said. “There’s no cost, it doesn’t matter what major you are, and I think that’s so important. Having a community

things in professional life, personal life, new friendships. There’s newfound opportunities to form connections with people that are like minded with you, and at the core ambitious, which is what our organization sort of comes together on.”

Vinick said TWN focuses mainly on what she calls authentic networking.

“I think for so many people networking is misconstrued and has a very negative connotation associated with the word,” she said. “People conflate networking with ‘how can I get something out of someone?’ ‘How can I use see

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Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album is a fitting sonic addition to Fred Hampton’s legacy

by Jacob

Sullivan

CONTRIBUTOR

Albums inspired by movies can oftentimes be a hit or miss.

A lot goes into the planning of the album. Who should be on it? Who should produce it? Will the substance of the separate forms of media mesh?

RCA Records had to take on these challenges with the creation of “Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album.” It’s based

on the young successes of Illinois Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton and his eventual assassination due to infiltration.

Hampton is most known for his leadership – organizing free-breakfast programs and creating a multiracial coalition with the surrounding white and brown communities – all while being under the legal drinking age. One of Hampton’s main beliefs is that there is “Power anywhere where there are

Photo courtesy of RCA Records

people.” This sentiment is echoed by the collection of artists assembled throughout the album.

Each of the 22 tracks showcases a variety of voices: east coast legends like Jay-Z and Nas; a handful of contemporary midwest rappers like Polo G, BJ the Chicago Kid and Saba who grew up walking the same streets as Hampton; blossoming young flows from Southern talent hubs like Memphis (Pooh Sheisty) and Atlanta (JID); and seasoned west coast artists like H.E.R., Dom Kennedy and the late Nipsey Hussle.

This collective of talent combines to create a sonic journey that matches the fire and vigor of Hampton’s legacy.

The opening track “Cointelpro/Dec 4” has see

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by

Catlan Nguyen

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Lunar New Year or “Tet” recently passed this Feb. 12, bringing the world into the Year of the Ox. Due to the pandemic, the regular three-day festivals celebrating “Tet” were replaced with socially distanced and smaller celebrations.

For San Diego State’s Vietnamese Student Association, Lunar New Year became more of a fusion of new traditions and reminders of old ones.

The student organization hosted a movie screening of “Crazy Rich Asians” on Discord on Feb. 13. Before streaming the movie, the members played Kahoot! about Lunar New Year traditions and origins.

The Chinese zodiac calendar is on a 12-year cycle with each year marked by 12 different animals.

The year also doesn’t have 365 days like an American year and is instead based on moon cycles or a lunar calendar.

Each animal brings with it characteristics that symbolize various personality traits, according to Chinese New Year’s website.

The animals include: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

“Lunar New Year’s for

Vietnamese people, especially in my family, the main highlight is good food,” SDSU VSA president and third year Sarah Hoang said. “My family is so big that the idea of cooking for each other and doing it together is what makes it special.”

Different Asian countries celebrate their own variations of Lunar New Year including China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan.

Common traditions include sharing certain greetings/sayings, sharing lucky money or “Li Xi” in red envelopes, cooking certain foods, card games, lighting incense to honor family members who have passed and decorating the house with orchids or chrysanthemums.

“I like coming together with my family to celebrate ‘Tet’ to enjoy food and each other’s company,” mechanical engineering second year Alvin Pham said.

However, the pandemic has changed how these traditions are carried on this year.

“What’s nice is some of my relatives actually mailed me my ‘Li Xi’ so it’s kind of funny that they still sent me money instead of doing like Venmo,” Hoang said. “They sent me the acsee

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Photo courtesy of the SDSU VSA

9 Arts & Culture San Diego State Socialists call for working class revolution Feb. 17 - Feb. 23, 2020 Editor: Devin Whatley

by

Brandon Balayan

STAFF WRITER

For Emanuele Saccarelli, the unfulfilled promises of peace following the collapse of the USSR and current situation of the world can be attributed to the contradictions of capitalism, which ultimately drew him to Marxism and the Socialists Equality Party (SEP).

Today, the San Diego State political science professor is an advisor for the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at SDSU, the youth movement for the SEP. The SEP has been actively opposed to President Joe Biden and even the Democratic Socialists of America.

The 2020 Presidential Election brought many Democrats and Democratic Socialists to “settle” for Biden, a traditional-

The Daily Aztec

ly moderate Democrat.

However, the socialists of the SEP believe no real change can occur under the current capitalist system, and compromising is not an option. To the SEP, this differentiates them from other individuals, and parties, on the left. The organization believes the only way to accomplish this change is through a revolution.

“These moments in history [where] there was a real quantum leap, none of this happens by asking politely,” Saccarelli said. “It was a product of a revolutionary struggle.”

The SEP believes that this revolution for socialism must be fought by the working class, and cannot be accomplished by a single country. Rather, they believe capitalism must be overthrown on a global scale in order for it to function properly, like how feu-

Photo courtesy of Melody, an SDSU ISYEE alumni

dalism transitioned to capitalism. The result of this revolution would make the nation-state obsolete and grant people the access to housing, work, education and healthcare.

This complete restructuring of the capitalist society calls for drastic changes, and members of the SEP believe the first step is spreading awareness and detaching what they call is

the pseudo-left.

“The first step at revolution is raising political consciousness,” SDSU alumni Melody said. “This is not some kind of act of God that is creating all these crises, but these are symptoms of a dying system.”

Melody, who asked to be referred by her first name only, is referring to financial collapses, minimum wage jobs being insufficient to

live off of, climate change, imperialism and inequality.

Melody looks at the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution as an example of the working class, and even the peasantry, raising political consciousness up to overthrow the ruling class. The forced expulsion of private land owners by peasants, violent abolition of relisee

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“Framing Britney Spears” showcases how pop icon was ruined by the media and fame by

Alexandra Will

CONTRIBUTOR

The New York Times documentary “Framing Britney Spears” explores her rise to fame and her career, along with the #FreeBritney movement and her conservatorship.

Britney Spears is one of the most popular solo acts of the late 90s and early 2000s. Though like many stars that are vaulted into fame at such a young age, her experience was far from perfect and continues to be marred by scandal, controversy and conspiracy. A new documentary by the New York Times explores Spears’ rise to pop-stardom and the questions surrounding the star’s conservatorship.

Spears got her start on talk shows and the Mickey Mouse Club in 1993. She later moved to New York to advance her career, and

would promote her debut album by performing in malls. Her single, “...Baby One More Time,” went multi-platinum and topped the pop charts which was astonishing considering it was her debut single and she was only 16 when it was released.

“Framing Britney Spears” goes more into detail about her youth and how amazing it was that she made her way into the industry from a small town in Louisiana. Though it also doesn’t shy away from painting a clear picture of the intense scrutiny Spears faced.

Spears was constantly criticized for being too sexy, but that’s what was selling in the music industry. Britney described her disgust as Diane Sawyer talked with her in an interview about how Kendall Ehrlich, wife of the gover-

Photo courtesy of Lucas Brigido, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

nor of Maryland, said she would shoot Britney if she had the chance, because she saw her as a bad influence to children.

Spears emphasized how it wasn’t her job to babysit peoples’ children and the documentary describes the misogyny taking place in the music industry during that period.

Several clips were played from interviews where men were sexualizing Brit-

ney and talking about her breasts and asking if she was a virgin while she was still a minor and young adult.

It’s crazy how different men were treated from women in this industry, and that’s where the story with her relationship with Justin Timberlake comes into play.

After their public breakup, Timberlake took control of the narrative

through the release of his songs, and in using a woman who looked like Britney in his music videos portraying how she left him heartbroken. In interviews, Timberlake made jokes about having sex with Britney and was cheered on by the media, while the media acted like Brtiney was a slut for her personal life.

This revealed the misogyny within the music industry; women and men were not asked the same questions in interviews and were treated differently for their personal lives and public image.

After getting married and having children, the media became more obsessed with Britney. The paparazzi could make up to $1 million for candid photos of her and she was followed everywhere. This ultimatesee

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