CRITIC AND BUFF
NUNEZ SENTENCE
WIKILEAKS
David Elliot and Andy Friedenberg share their wisdom with the Aztec. page 10
Former California governor strips justice from Santos family. page 6
Learn about the technology that threatens to topple governments. page 9
dailyaztec the
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Vol. 96, Issue 59
San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1913
w w w. T h e D a i l y A z t e c . c o m
INDEX:
features ... 3
sports ... 4
Tw i t t e r : T h e D a i l y A z t e c
opinion ... 6
entertainment ... 9
TODAY @ STATE Student Involvement Expo Campanile Walkway, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kung-Fu Session I Aztec Recreation Center, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
classifieds... 11
AZTECS
FALCONS
68
55
backpage... 12
Aztecs move to 20-0
Antonio Zaragoza / Photo Editor
Led by senior guard D.J. Gay’s 20 points, the San Diego State men’s basketball team beat Air Force by 13 and extended its nation-leading winning streak to 20. Read about the Aztecs’ big victory on page 4.
Instructor murdered in his apartment Henry Acejo was stabbed in his Tijuana apartment before Christmas ARTURO GARCIA CONTRIBUTOR
Henry Acejo, who taught at San Diego State and other San Diego colleges, was murdered last month. On the night of Dec. 18 at approximately 11 p.m., Acejo, 45, was stabbed to death in his apartment. Police officials said they have not found a motive for his assassination nor a single suspect. His death came as a shock to the community that loved him. A teacher who cared significantly for his students, Acejo’s sudden death left behind many concerned colleagues, students and friends. Still, his life is being celebrated by those who knew him. Acejo came to the U.S. in the mid ‘90s and by 2001 he was teaching math at a local middle school called St. Rita’s. It was not until 2004 that Acejo came to SDSU, starting the Filipino Program and later becoming the coadviser. Acejo also taught Filipino at UC San Diego and English as a second language at Southwestern College and Mid-City Community College.
“Henry was a well-loved and very popular instructor, and people are shocked that he’s gone, and especially that he died in this particular way,” a colleague of Acejo’s, Ghada Osman, said. “The Facebook page in his memory, ‘Celebrating the Life of Professor Henry Acejo,’ provides a slight glimpse into how people viewed him.”
“Henry was a well-loved and very popular instructor, and people are shocked that he’s gone, and especially that he died in this particular way.”
A friend of Acejo and an SDSU professor, Atilio Alicio, said he was living south of the border because of the inexpensive rent, which allowed him to send at least $1,000 per month to his family back in the Philippines. He also said Acejo was planning on visiting his family for the holidays. Instead, a few days after the incident, three of Acejo’s 11 siblings arrived at Tijuana. In between many papers in his now unoccupied apartment, one of Acejo’s siblings found an envelope. Inside, there was a note declaring authority to process on behalf of his
family in the Philippines any type of insurance in case of an accident that might have resulted in Acejo’s incapacitation or death. The note was addressed to Alicio. It was written on Dec. 18, 2006, exactly four years before Acejo’s murder, a coincidence that has left Alicio in shock. “(He) was the youngest of many siblings. I considered him my kid brother,” Alicio said. At one point the two were colleagues at both SDSU and UCSD. Alicio remembered him as “wonderful, enthusiastic and overwhelmingly generous.”
— Ghada Osman, colleague of Acejo On the Facebook page, people can post messages or memories of Acejo. The testimonials range from shocked students in disbelief, to frustrated voices alleging against injustices, to peaceful messages of empathizing thoughts and feelings.
Courtesy of Atilio Alicio
Some who knew Acejo (second from right) think he lived in Tijuana in order to save money to send to family.