GROWING FROM GROUND ZERO Chico State’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1975
Chico reflects on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Story and timeline A3
PARTY PUNKS
Visit theorion.com to watch interviews with local band Final Last Word, along with a story in Arts. Story C2 VOLUME 67 ISSUE 4
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 14, 2011
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Parking protesters take to streets
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2011 A.S. GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
If the semester is getting stressful, or if you’re having relationship issues or maybe just need someone to talk to, the Psychological Counseling and Wellness Center is offering group, individual and couples sessions this fall. They are located in the Student Services Center Room 430.
Normal Avenue Parking Structure Advisory Measure YES 23.86 percent 1144 votes NO 76.14 percent 3650 votes Source: A.S. Election website
Source: Student Announcements
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Applications are available now for 2012 summer orientation peer adviser leader positions. Leaders help welcome new students to campus. More information and applications can be found in Academic Advising in Student Services Center Room 220.
Sam Kelly STAFF WRITER
Amid an array of pop-up canopies, red sashes, bicycles, bands and a pedal-powered sound system, the climate action protest took place Saturday in a parking lot across from the new Chico State parking structure site. Nearly 50 bicycle riders — including children, students, and Chico residents of all ages — made their way from Bidwell Park following Sycamore Street, then up East Seventh Street and turning right on Normal Avenue, ending at the protest site for an afternoon of protesting, music and activism. Edward Markie, Melanie Markarian and Lynsey Sammons, all former students of Mark Stemen, professor of geography, used a Facebook event and the inspiration of climate change-related protests around the country to organize and carry out Saturday’s event. Organizers had several objectives: make Chico State cancel plans for two proposed parking
THE ORION •BRETT EDWARDS
HUMAN POWERED About 50 bikers took part in a sustainability protest Saturday. Demonstrators want Chico State to cancel plans for more parking structures, limit students who live within a mile of campus from buying permits and that President Paul Zingg redefines his sustainability posture. structures in the future, limit students who live within a mile of campus from purchasing parking permits and make President Paul Zingg redefine his perception of sustainability or retract his campus climate neutrality signature, according to the event page. “I am against the new
structure,” said Amanda Foley, a junior environmental science major. “There needs to be exceptions, but you shouldn’t be able to get a parking pass within two miles of school.” The parking structure has bore the blunt of most criticism, but the protest was also focused on broader sustainability issues
Signing will streamline public records
FEATURES:
Andre Byik
Cancer found in everyday objects
Source: Student Announcements
ASST. NE WS EDITOR
Features D2
THE ORION • BRETT EDWARDS
Marijuana charge halts education
The Associated Students Bike Cart will be holding a bike auction on Thursday. Viewing starts at noon and the auction starts at 3 p.m. There will be more than 50 used bikes for sale. This event will be open to the public and will be held in Trinity Commons.
STAFF WRITER
National Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China come to Laxson Auditorium Friday for the Chico World Music Festival. The show will feature acrobatic tricks, juggling and gymnasts. The show will be at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the University Box Office. Source: Chico Performances
Freedom and education are at risk for a former Chico State student as he continues to struggle with a court case involving medical marijuana more than a year after his arrest. On May 1, 2010, Michael Visgilio was arrested at his residence at 317 Ivy St. and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and violation of probation. Following his arrest, Visgilio, then a senior at Chico State, faced prosecution from Butte County and consequences from Chico State Student Judicial Affairs. “I was kicked out — permanently banned — from CSU Chico,” Visgilio wrote in an email. “Not only am I banned from ever returning to school at Chico, I was suspended from all CSUs for a year.” There is a California code regulation that university students must adhere to, said Connie Huyck, Chico State Student Judicial Affairs interim director. Regulation number nine states that use, possession, manufacture or distribution of illegal drugs or
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Not only am I banned from ever returning to school at Chico, I was suspended from all CSUs for a year.
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MICHAEL VISGILIO Former Chico State Student
drug-related paraphernalia, or the misuse of legal pharmaceutical drugs can result in expulsion from the California State University system, Huyck said. At the time of his arrest, Visgilio was on probation after being convicted of receiving stolen property, Chico police Sgt. Rob Merrifield said. His person and residence was therefore subject to search at anytime. Chico police officers entered Visgilio’s house to complete a routine probation check, Merrifield said. During their search they found three glass jars with marijuana, two digital scales, numerous zip lock baggies on the floor, plastic wrap and evidence of multiple
conversations with several people related to the sales of marijuana, Merrifield said. Detectives found 4.4 ounces of processed marijuana at Visgilio’s residence during the probation search, according to a Chico Police Department press release. Visgilio had a doctor’s recommendation for medicinal marijuana use per Proposition 215. “According to Prop. 215, in Butte County I was allowed to possess 16 ounces of marijuana,” Visgilio said. Although Visgilio had the right to possession, that doesn’t mean he was following the law, Merrifield said. “We know that people are abusing the 215 recommendations,” he said. “People are getting them for reasons that are not consistent with how that law was intended and using their 215 recommendations to grow and obtain marijuana and then provide it to other people.” Visgilio has spent more than a year fighting his case in court, which has cost his family and the state of California thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of time, he said. The district attorney’s only solution >> please see VISGILIO | A6
A public higher education transparency bill was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown Sept. 8 that will allow the public to request public records from auxiliary organizations. These auxiliary organizations, such as Associated Students, The University Foundation and the CSU, Chico Research Foundation, will make records regarding their business fully public to a certain extent, starting Jan. 1. Because of the nonprofit status of these organizations, tax records and other information are already made available to the public. But restrictions will apply dealing with the anonymity of private donors. Senate Bill 8, named The Richard McKee Transparency Act of 2011 by its author Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, stipulates that donor identities can remain anonymous unless a “quid pro quo” agreement is made where a donor receives a gift in excess of $2,500, or if a donor receives a no-bid contract with an institution within five years of a donation. Then, the donor’s name will be disclosed. “I’d like it to be zero in an ideal world,” said Michael Coyle, assistant professor of political science, of the $2,500 amount. The law will allow the public to enter the debate of how money is being spent before a deal is over with, he said. Brown’s signing of the bill into law is “very exciting,” said Susan Green, president of the California Faculty Association. After three years, it’s great >> please see BILL | A6
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Source: A.S. Presents website
pertaining to the city as well as the university. A parking structure can not be sustainable because it promotes driving, and the increased traffic discourages biking, said Markie, a 22-yearold Chico State graduate. The infrastructure of the city >> please see PROTEST | A6
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Chico State athletics alumni go on to achieve after leaving the courts, fields for good. Story B4
Features Hookup culture and its side effects are studied in detail. Stories D1
Opinion A different perspective from memories of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Story A8
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