Chico State’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1975
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IT’S ALL LL IN THE MIND
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VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7, 2011
Grandmaster ter Farshad Azad teaches students udents the finer points of se. self-defense. Sports B1
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Police party policy to be implemented
CAMPUS >>
‘One and done’ meant to keep parties from getting out of control
For those wanting to check out what student organizations are available at Chico State,
an event called “Grillin’ on the Grass” will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday at the George Petersen Rose Garden. Free burgers will be offered along with games. Contact the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center for more information. Source: Student Announcements
Raquel Royers THE ORION • MICHELLE REINMUTH
PARTY ON A group of tubers celebrate Labor Day weekend by waving their hands in the air and drinking alcohol on the Sacramento River. A proposed alcohol ban had many students fearful that they wouldn’t be able to celebrate the tradition like last year. But the ban was struck down by Glenn County last week. Still, fewer people attended the event.
Float expectations sunk PHOTO ESSAY Check out A6 for more photos of Labor Day Weekend
Applications for CAVE are due Friday in the Bell Memorial Union
Room 309 or online. CAVE offers different volunteer experiences that include weekly scheduled meetings or weekend immersion trips. They offer community service opportunities with the homeless, children, seniors, animals and the environment. By joining CAVE you can earn units.
“It’s confusing to me,” Higginson said as he waved cars into the lot at Irvine Finch River Access. The weather was cooperative, not too hot, but the atmosphere was mellow and slow, he said. Drinking isn’t allowed at the traditional take-off point because it’s in state park jurisdiction, but tubers brought along racks of beer for their journey on the river and for the stop-off point at Beer Can Beach. While it was mellow at the take-off point, Higginson speculated tubers would be “hungry, cold and crocked from the drinking” once they reached the landing point
Andre Byik A SST. NE WS EDITOR
After a summer of uncertainty about whether a proposed alcohol ban would dry up this year’s Labor Day float, tubers came to the Sacramento River in deflated numbers even after Glenn County supervisors struck down the alcohol ban. At 2 p.m. Sunday, the count at Irvine Finch take-off point was about 3,700 tubers with no apparent spike in the steady flow. Last year, about 15,000 had been counted about 4 p.m. Sunday, said Tim Higginson, State Park maintenance chief II.
about five miles downstream. Though alcohol consumption isn’t allowed on park grounds, some tubers were bucking the law and drinking anyway, State Park Ranger Gary Lumbley said. “We don’t have time to cite a lot of people,” he said. Park officials issued warnings instead, asking offenders to pour their alcohol out if caught, Lumbley said. Officials expected about 15,000 to 20,000 tubers on Sunday with agencies from around the state such as Chico police, Hamilton City Fire Department, Butte and Glenn County Sheriffs all coordinating under a singular Incident >> please see LABOR DAY | A7
STAFF WRITER
The Chico Police Department is cracking down on unruly parties this semester, enforcing the “one and done” rule. In the past, students who host house parties have received warnings before they are shut down or given a citation. This year, Chico police will be employing a different strategy. The rule states that police will shut down a party if either an object is thrown at an officer or if there is an act of violence, a press release said. It also continued to say that police will make preparty contacts whenever possible in order to ensure that hosts have an understanding of the rules. “In the past we haven’t really proactively tried to get that message across,” Chico police Sgt. Rob Merrifield said. “We always just kind of dealt with it.” Merrifield hopes that this rule will help regulate open >> please see ONE AND DONE | A7
Phone scam exploits trust in authorities
Source: Student Announcements
Juniper Rose STAFF WRITER
The University Farm has a farmers market stand from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday in the Student Services Center Plaza where fresh organic fruits and vegetables are sold. Fresh eggs, herbs and flowers can also be found there. Source: Student Announcements
THE ORION • TERCIUS BUFETE
NEW OPPORTUNITIES State Assemblyman Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, introduces the California Dream Act bill January. The bill would allow undocumented students the opportunity to receive state grants and private scholarships. The bill passed in the state Assembly on Friday by a 45-27 margin.
Landmark bill passes, awaits signature Griffin Rogers A SST. NE WS EDITOR
Every Friday of this month the Peace Institute will hold a series of 9/11 lectures in Performing
Arts Center Room 134 at 7 p.m. The lecture series is titled “9/11: Ten Years Later” and is free to the public. The different topics that will be discussed on each Friday can be viewed on the campus calendar.
Source: Student Announcements
The state Assembly passed a controversial bill Friday by a 45-27 vote, which will allow undocumented college students access to state-funded financial aid if signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. The second part of the California Dream Act, Assembly Bill 131, would make Cal Grants, UC Grants and other types of public aid available to undocumented citizens. Brown signed Assembly Bill 130 on the back of Assemblyman Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, the author of the Dream Act, in July. The bill allows undocumented students meeting certain criteria to apply for and
INDEX >>
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ELIZABETH ALANIZ Finanical Aid adviser
receive private scholarships. Supporters of the Dream Act now turn their attention to the next challenge — passing AB 131 to further help immigrants pay for college. “I don’t think it’s fair that students are denied this who
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All their dreams of what they learned since kindergarten kind of goes down the toilet.
have lived here their whole life,” said Elizabeth Alaniz, an adviser in the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office. Undocumented students can be the result of expired visas or entering the country illegally, and many were brought into the U.S. at a very young age, Alaniz said. They have been raised in American schools, and many don’t understand they are in the country illegally until they reach their teens. “All their dreams of what they learned since kindergarten kind of goes down the toilet,” she said. But Cedillo said AB 131 would be a step toward changing that. “We’ve paid for their >> please see DREAM ACT | A7
A Chico police lieutenant was supposedly impersonated in a recent telephone scam. On Wednesday Chico police became aware of a scam in which it appeared that an unknown individual was placing telephone calls to people claiming to be Chico police Lt. Mike O’Brien, O’Brien said in a phone interview Monday. The scammer, claiming to be O’Brien, called senior citizens informing them that they had won a Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes and said it would cost $4,000 to facilitate the winnings, O’Brien said. “It’s a form of identity theft,” he said. “They are using my name to try to scam people.” Three people contacted the Chico Police Department regarding the scam, but it is unknown whether more were targeted and did not contact the police, O’Brien said. “I was personally disturbed — insulted, if you will — that people were using my name to steal from people; particularly me being a police officer,” he said. “The good thing is that it does not appear that anyone fell for this scam.” Anyone could have been a potential target for this scam, and students should be aware that anything involving a payment of money, especially one that is unsolicited by the victim, should always be considered some type of scam, O’Brien said. If there is any question, always contact the local police department and confirm the information, O’Brien said. In most cases, probably every case, it is a scam that someone is trying to pull. “There is no one that is out there trying to give away money,” O’Brien said. “There is really no free lunch. People are not going to be lining up to provide you with winnings and things of that nature, so you should just be suspicious anytime you have someone who is saying that they are doing so.” Students are not so fearful about the scam >> please see SCAM | A7
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Read coverage of men and women’s soccer. Stories B3
Features The Investor’s club teaches students how to invest their money in an unstable economy. Stories D1
Opinion The true value of printed books comes through in Marty Salgado’s column. Story A8