The Orion by The Orion

BREWERY TAPS IN ON MONKINSPIRED BREW Sierra Nevada partners with monastery to create a Belgian-style beer Story D1

Chico State’s Independent Student Newspaper since 1975

RAP OLYMPICS

Rappers battle it out for $100 prize Story C1 VOLUME 66 ISSUE 5

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

FIRST COPY FREE

news all week at theorion.com

additional copies 50¢

Student remembered by university in wake of murder

CAMPUS >>

Anthony Siino NE WS EDITOR

The Environmental and Action Resource Center, A.S. Live! and the Chico State Student Market are collaborating to host the alternative band Morsoul in Trinity Commons today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Morsoul will be performing and also exhibiting their biofuel tour bus. Information about alternative energy is being provided. For further information about the event, visit E-ARC’s oﬃce in Bell Memorial Union Room 301 or contact 530-898-5676.

The flags were flown at halfstaff in front of Kendall Hall Friday in remembrance of recently slain Chico State student Alfredo Martinez. Martinez, a senior criminal justice major, died in a shooting on Feb. 4 in Yuba City, his hometown, according to a press release from the Sutter County Sheriff ’s Office. Sutter County detectives took

CSU Audit Grades

Source: Campus Announcements

Carlos Antonio Rodriguez, 21, of Yuba City, into custody and booked him into Sutter County Jail on a charge of homicide on Feb. 8, according to a press release from the Sutter County Sheriﬀ ’s Oﬃce. It is thought by the detectives that Rodriguez was not the only person involved in the shooting. Sutter County detectives declined to comment on the case further than the press releases explained. Martinez was a student who

54.5% A+

9.1% C

The award-winning play “The Vagina Monologues” is being presented by the Women’s Center from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Friday in the Bell Memorial Union auditorium. The play is based on interviews of more than 200 women. The monologues express the liberation of women and their bodies and lives. The play has been performed at Chico State for more than 12 years.

$7,515.52 AVERAGE

4.5% B 13.6% A

$6,574.88 Cal State Dominguez Hills

UC Audit Grades 10 % C

Source: Campus Announcements

70 % F 20% D

all students, staff and faculty last Thursday. The university lowered the flags to half-staff the next day and an 8-by-4-inch card was temporarily placed in a holder in the base of the flag pole, said Joe Wills, director of public affairs and publications. The card read that Martinez lived from March 9, 1989 to Feb. 4, 2011 and that he was a criminal justice student at Chico State from fall 2007 to spring 2011.

CHICO STATE FLUNKS PUBLIC INFORMATION TEST

$28,580.62 UC Davis

9.1% F

9.1% D

didn’t speak up in class but gave the right answer when challenged, said Jon Caudill, an assistant professor of criminal justice who taught Martinez last semester in the course “Juvenile Justice Process.” The death left everybody in an unusual situation of confusion, he said. “We’re stuck trying to piece together what the meaning of all this is,” Caudill said. Chico State issued an announcement on the death to

$3,184.31 AVERAGE

UC Merced $2,049.70

MONEY Presidents charged to universities for JOB-RELATED EXPENSES

$2,902 CHICO STATE

Cal State San Bernardino

$1,183.35

President Paul Zingg took three trips to attend executive council and trustee meetings throughout the months of August, September and October

*THESE COSTS COVERED HIS TRANSPORTATION, MEALS AND LODGING INFOGRAPHIC BY LINDSAY SMITH AND LIAM TURNER

The one-year anniversary of the Gateway Science Museum will be celebrated Sunday. Visitors can attend a germ education station, explore bacteria in a demonstration lab and receive free gifts and refreshments. The 100th visitor of the day will win the Gateway Prize Package, which includes an annual family membership, Gateway apparel, a beverage container and canvas tote bag. The museum is open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Sunday. Source: Campus Announcements

Delayed response factored in poor score Ben Mullin STAFF WRITER

Joe Wills, Chico State’s director of public aﬀairs, received an e-mail on Dec. 1 from a woman identifying herself as Betsy Gregg, requesting the public ﬁ nancial information of Chico State President

Source: The Chico Enterprise-Record

Dario Gut With California facing an unprecedented $26 billion budget deﬁcit, Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed a series of budget cuts, including a $500 million — or 18 percent — reduction in state support to the California State University system. “The cuts will be painful, requiring sacriﬁce from every sector of the state,” Brown said. Brown called the CSU reductions the best-case scenario, since harsher budget cuts are likely if voters reject tax extensions in June. After reducing enrollment by 40,000 students throughout the past two years, the CSU is taking action to ramp up the enrollment, CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said. However, with this newly proposed budget, the system will likely be forced to again restrict new enrollments as admissions for fall 2011 begin.

INDEX >>

on how quickly they responded. Of of the 23 CSUs, Chico State was one of two that received an “F” grade on the audit, due to its failure to produce six of the six requested documents within a 30-day period, according to the report on CalAware.org. Wills, who handled >> please see AUDIT | A4

The CSU system graduates roughly 272,000 students each year, Reed said. Chico State President Paul Zingg expressed his thoughts on the proposed plan as “disap-

“

The magnitude of the budget reduction in one year will have serious impacts on the state’s economy.

“

CHARLES REED CSU Chancellor

pointment and concern.” This described the mood at the meeting where Reed spoke with Zingg and other California State University campus presidents.

Among the options to cope with the cuts were furlough days for staﬀ and faculty and layoﬀs, among other things, Zingg said in an e-mail interview. “Additional tuition/fee hikes are not part of the equation at the moment,” he said. “That could change, though, if the tax extensions do not occur and suffer further cuts.” Reed wanted to deliver the emphasis on continuing the education of students, especially in times when money is scarce. “While we understand the administration has limited options, higher education is the state's main economic driver, and we cannot improve our economy without an educated workforce,” Reed. “The magnitude of the budget reduction in one year will have serious impacts on the state's economy, limit access for students seeking entrance into the CSU, and restrict classes and services for

current students.” In the meeting, Zingg spoke briefly about previous reductions and how they affect the college now. Twelve years ago the amount the state paid of a student’s education was $8,000 more than what the student paid. Now, that difference is just $2,000, he said. It's clear that with students paying more and more of the bill, California is heading toward “the privatization of public higher education,” Zingg said. Reed was concerned with the plan when he said that the CSU system is a major part of the solution to the state’s economic problems, he said. “We must continue to demand and fight for the state support necessary to fulfill our mission,” Reed said. Dario Gut can be reached at dgut@theorion.com

Anthony Siino can be reached at newseditor@theorion.com

Parties, gangs may be cause for spike in violent crime Bryan Clendon STAFF WRITER

A drive-by shooting and a stabbing incident are the latest in a string of violent crimes that began with a deadly shooting Jan. 22. It’s fair to say that Chico has been experiencing a recent spike in violent crime, said Sgt. Rob Merrifield of special operations with the Chico Police Department. “It certainly feels like we have had more violent crime over this past month and a half than we have previously,” Merrifield said. There have been 32 reported assaults since Jan. 22, according to crime statistics compiled by Robert Woodward, crime analyst for the Chico Police Department. Compare this to 2010, when the entire first quarter had 34 reported assaults, according to a Chico Police Department crime report. One thing consistent with violent crime is that it usually is a result of the party scene, Merrifield said. Open parties welcome potentially dangerous people who come to cause trouble, he said. “We really discourage open parties because there is such a high likelihood that it can get out of control,” University Police Sgt. Corinne Beck said. Chico State students do not cause most incidents — those from out of town do, Beck said. This is evident during party weekends such as Labor Day weekend, when 124 arrests were made and only 25 of them involved Chico State or Butte College students, according to a post made by Chico Police Chief Mike Maloney. The drive-by shooting took place at 9:07 p.m Feb. 9 on the 800 block of East 16th Street and seemed to be a deliberate attack on a resident’s home, Merrifield said. No injuries were reported, but the case is being investigated as an attempted murder. No suspects have been identified, Merrifield said. The stabbing incident took place at 1:47 a.m. Feb. 13 at the intersection of West Fifth and Ash streets, he said. The victim, a resident of Red Bluff checking out Chico’s party scene, was stabbed 43 times and is expected to survive. The victim was walking with two friends when a full-size pickup truck pulled up with >> please see CRIME | A5

INSIDE >> A2

Directories

Police Blotter

Arts

The_Webz

Daily Dose

Opinion

Features

Sports

The Nebula

World News

Statewide Public Education Audit. Beginning on Nov. 29, CalAware examined information transparency in public universities by sending out detailed information requests to every California State Universities and Universities of California campus under an assumed name, and scored their transparency based

Proposed budget yet to answer lingering concerns STAFF WRITER

The bones discovered in a backyard on Verbena Avenue in January are thought to be the remains of a 3 to 4-yearold American Indian child who died 150 years ago. The Chico State Anthropology Department exhumed the remains. Two men were digging a ditch two feet down for an irrigation system in a medical marijuana garden when they discovered the bones, police said.

Paul Zingg. Wills acknowledged her e-mail within six days and sent Gregg the information she requested on Feb. 10 — about two months later. What he didn’t know was that Gregg didn’t exist. Gregg was actually just a name registered to an e-mail address, a cover identity for CalAware’s

No further on-campus memorials have been planned, he said. Those with information are encouraged to call at 530822-7307 or to leave a tip at suttersheriﬀ.org. “We can sit here and theorize all day long about all these things, but it’s tough, because it’s unexpected,” he said.

TODAY

56 35

high low

full week A2 >>

Sports

News

Features

Chico State men’s golf in full swing for spring semester Story B1

Blackboard Vista is going out, making way for Blackboard Learn Story A5

New on campus: meditation and yoga group helps students relieve stress Story D1

A2 |

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

NATION >>

always online >> theorion.com

WEATHER >> today | partly cloudy

all temperatures are in Fahrenheit | source: weather.com

thursday | few showers

56 35

friday | rain

saturday | rain /showers

444 31

44 31

47 37

sunday | partly cloudy

monday | showers

50 33

tuesday | showers

53 35

53 37

WORLD NEWS >> Mass protests in Wisconsin have erupted over a bill that would weaken unions’ bargaining rights. The bill caused 14 Democratic state senators to abruptly leave the state in an eﬀort to avoid voting on the bill. Now, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is asking lawmakers to return and “do the job that they’re paid to do.” Fifty-ﬁve thousand demonstrators protested inside and outside the capitol building Saturday, with more rallies scheduled this week.

Jakarta, Indonesia – The death toll

Vatican City — The Vatican announced Libya — Saif al-Islam, son of Libya’s

Friday that the coﬃn of former Pope

has reached 156 as Indonesia’s Mount

John Paul II will be exhumed on May 1

Merapi volcano continues to shoot hot

dictator Muammar al-Gaddaﬁ, made

for a beatiﬁcation ceremony, the ﬁrst

clouds of gas and ash into the air.

a 40-minute improvised speech on

step to sainthood. John Paul’s wooden

national television promising that “rivers

coﬃn, which currently resides in the

ing Oct. 26 and is estimated to have

of blood” would ﬂow with “thousands of

crypts below St. Peter’s Basilica, will be

displaced 200,000 people.

deaths” if the protests in Libya continue.

moved to St. Peter’s Square for non-stop

The protests against al-Gaddaﬁ’s author-

veneration. The former pope performed

7.7-magnitude earthquake that trig-

itarian regime began on Jan. 13, following

a miracle when a 49-year-old French

gered a tsunami that killed 449.

the protests in Egypt and Tunisia.

nun was cured of Parkinson’s disease

Source: alarabiya.net

Mount Merapi started erupt-

Last week, Indonesia was hit with

Source: CNN.com

after praying to him, according to the

Belgorod, Russia — Local authori-

Roman Catholic Church. For the former

ties in Belgorod, a major city in western

pope to be declared a saint, one more

Russia, banned Valentine’s Day on the

miracle must occur after the beatiﬁcation

grounds that it is corrosive to the fabric

ceremony. Tokyo — The Japanese whaling ﬂeet

Source: Reuters

has left the Antarctic Ocean halfway through its least successful season in recent memory in response to heavy diplomatic and conservationist pressure. The sudden turnaround has inspired hopes among environmentalist that the Japanese government may be ending its scientiﬁc research program, which has

of “spiritual security.” This is nothing new for Belogrod — authorities there banned metal concerts last year, and they instituted ﬁnes for cursing in 2004. This trend is unlikely to catch on in the rest of Russia, where a recent survey revealed that 81 percent of Russians older than 18 plan on celebrating Valentine’s Day.

resulted in the death 10,000 Antarctic

Source: The Global Post

whales. Source: The Age

Detroit artists and entrepreneurs have raised more than $50,000 through Facebook and a fundraising website for a statue honoring the film “RoboCop,” which was based in the city. The statue will feature the famous crime-fighting cyborg and may be displayed downtown if approved. But the mayor’s office is still not convinced the statue is the best message for the city of Detroit. The man leading the project said that while there is violence in the film, “RoboCop” himself tries to do the right thing throughout. Source: Reuters

CALIFORNIA >>

‘BigBelly’ bins aim to cut labor, costs Trish Roche STAFF WRITER

troche@theorion.com

Managing Editor

Almendra Carpizo News Editor

Opinion Editor

Joanna Hass Sports Editor

Thomas Lawrence Arts Editor

Earl Parsons Features Editor

Ally Dukkers Photo Editor

Samantha Youngman

Video Editor

Jeb Draper Online Editor

Gerardo Rocha Jr. Chief Copy Editor

Kenny Lindberg Lead Section Copy Editor

Rudro Roy Copy Editors

Stephanie Maynard Lauren Beaven Kelsey Eidbo Kacey Gardner Kelly Smith Advisers

Dave Waddell Lewis Brockus

College of Communication & Education | California State University, Chico | Chico, Ca 95929-0600 Business 530.898.4237 businessmanager@theorion.com Editorial 530.898.5625 editorinchief@theorion.com Fax 530.898.4799 www.theorion.com Art Director

Liam Turner News Designer

Features Designer

Sonia Kolarav Ad Design Manager

Business Manager

Jane Dempsey Asst. Business Manager

Lindsay Smith

Emily Strasburg

Opinion Designer/Illustrator

Advertising Designers

Account Executive

Ashley Viegas

Andrea Dias Gina Meredith Amanda Pike Andrea Sitton Max W. Nelson Cierra Goldstein

Katie Wakefield

Sports Designer

Eric Rossicone Arts Designer

Mark Rojas

Marshal Downey

Ad Sales Representatives

Keaton Bass Coby Walker Samantha Bailey Mitch Engelking

BUSINESS

Matt Shilts

EDITORIAL

Editor In Chief

Anthony Siino

The Orion staff strives for accuracy in all it publishes. We recognize that mistakes will sometimes occur, but we treat every error very seriously. If you feel a correction needs to be made, please e-mail the editor in chief at editorinchief@theorion.com

Trish Roche can be reached at

BUSINESS

Source: msnbc.com

doesn’t use energy but its $4,000 for a thing that just crushes cans,” said Avery Beck, anthropology major and office assistant for A.S. Sustainability and Recycling. A.S. Recycling may not be able to buy a bunch of the compactors and put them around campus because they cost too much, Beck said. Although the “BigBelly” has been in place fewer than two weeks, students are already starting to notice. “I think it’s a great idea for our campus to be going even more green than it already is,” said Jennifer Mitchell, a junior special events major. “The location is perfect because it is right across from the Marketplace Cafe so leftover trash can be thrown away as students walk to class,” she said.

C h i c o S tat e’s I n d e p e n d e n t S t u d e n t N e w s pa p e r , s i n c e 1975 EDITORIAL

UC San Diego physicists are constructing the largest antimatter trap ever in order to study the elusive particles. Every matter particle is said to have a matching antimatter particle, but studying the particles proves diﬃcult, because when matter contacts antimatter, the two are destroyed. The scientists are using magnetic and electric ﬁelds, instead of matter, to wall the trap for the antimatter, and say the trap will be able to store more than a trillion antimatter particles.

With the budget in need of some liposuction, the “BigBelly” has arrived on campus to help shed some pounds in excess labor cost while being environmentally friendly. The “BigBelly” is a solar-paneled trash compactor that was installed in the Student Services Center Plaza across from the Marketplace Cafe. The trash compactor is a demonstration model in place for a month to see if it will live up to expectations of being a “labor-saver,” said Durbin Sayers, staﬀ member of Facilities Management and Services. The need to empty all the trash cans would be reduced by 80 percent if replaced with the compactors, which would give the people emptying them more time to focus on beautifying the campus. Instead of having to empty the trash every day, it

only needs to be emptied once a week, Sayers said. It has a green light when it is running, a yellow light when it is almost full and a red light for when it needs to be changed. The “BigBelly” costs about $3,500 to $4,000 per trash compactor, Sayers said. If the “Big Belly” lives up to expectations once a cost analysis is complete, it’s likely that trash cans will be replaced by the compactors, Sayers said. A.S. Recycling is also looking into having the same type of recycle bin next to the “BigBelly” to encourage students to recycle. “We have found that if you don’t have trash and recycle containers near each other, trash either ends up in a recycle bin or recycle will end up in a trash bin,” Sayers said. Besides being a “labor-saver,” the “BigBelly” is also sustainable. “It is awesome that it is solar powered and

DESIGN

Source: The LA Times

THE ORION • SAMANTHA YOUNGMAN

TASTY TRASH Sophomore Butte College student Jacob Buck makes use of the “BigBelly” trash compactor located in the Student Services Center plaza across from Marketplace Cafe. Each can cost $3,500 to $4,000 but if found to save labor costs from daily trash collection, A.S. Recycling may plan to use them to replace trash cans.

DESIGN

The Sacramento Kings’ failure to secure a new arena deal is making the prospect of a move to Anaheim more realistic. It would be Southern California’s third NBA team alongside the Clippers and the Lakers. NBA commissioner David Stern conﬁrmed that the Kings has discussed relocating with the league, and the team has until March 1 to decide if it wants to apply for a move for next season. A vote on the relocation will be presented to the 30 NBA owners, where it would need to garner at least 16 votes to pass.

Ad Sales Representatives

Nick Jacob Kelsy Jehle Kelly Ralyea Nichole Shuba Sara Stockton

always online >> theorion.com

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011 |

A4 |

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

always online >> theorion.com

>>The Webz _

FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT Professor Antonio ArreguinBermudez told his story at the Community Legal Information Centersponsored event about his immigration to the U.S. He decided to stay in the U.S. because of the opportunities available. The event targeted MexicanAmerican immigration topics and gave information associated with the issue.

Previews to this week's Blogs

tuesday

WORST TASTE IN MUSIC By Kyle Glassey ■ This week on The Worst Taste in Music, I dive into the world of remix albums, and why I still get stoked about them, even if some people see them as just a rehashed version of the original. I’ve decided to discuss this topic because I’m anticipating the release of Pantha du Prince’s X1 verisons of Black Noise to be released on Rough Trade on April 1. Theworsttasteinmusic.wordpress.com

thursday

ALLEGED ADULT By Emily Hirschman ■ One opportunities that have nothing to do with my actual position. Until now I have only taken minimal advantage of these hours, but today marked the first day of my development service. In the past, AmeriCorps members were required to take on a development project. This is no longer a requirement, although it is encouraged. allegedadult.wordpress.com

friday

CHARMS OF CHICO By Rebecca Hucker ■ Located above Collier Hardware, the Blue Room Theater is one of the most well known places in Chico to watch sketches, musicals, concerts and variety shows. The Blue Room Theater opened in 1994 and is popular with Chico State students who want to enjoy theater productions that combine classic titles with a local twist and without expensive ticket prices. Some of the previous shows played at the Blue Room Theater include “Bloomsday 2010” and “The Original Little Shop of Horrors,” and students can watch new shows every season. charmsofchico.wordpress.com

THE ORION • GINA SPADORCIO

Panel discusses immigration issues Alexander Seymour STAFF WRITER

At a time when immigration issues are coming to a head, a group of legal and academic panelists tackled MexicanAmerican immigration in front of about 300 students at the Bell Memorial Union auditorium on Feb. 15. The event was organized by the Community Legal Information Center and the Chico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. CLIC planned the event after it received calls asking for advice on immigration law, which the legal center has no budget to properly address, CLIC Supervisor Teodora DeLorenzo said. The partnership with the ACLU presented an opportunity to address a large audience and provide immigration-related answers as well as point those interested toward professionals with expertise on the subject.

The two-hour session was divided into four sections, each devoted to debunking a myth or misconception about the U.S. immigration situation. The legal services of Northern California Paralegal Laurel Yorks addressed the perception that “undocumented immigrants are a drain on the public beneﬁt system” in a short PowerPoint demonstration. “Illegal immigrants are actually not eligible for most welfare programs,” Yorks said as she rebutted a chain e-mail claiming the cost of illegal immigration is $338 billion. Recipients of that e-mail should be directed to factcheck. org, she said. The Website suggests that the real federal cost is closer to $10 billion. The second panelist, Professor Paul Lopez, detoured from the planned topic of immigration taking jobs from U.S. citizens and instead discussed the long historical

legacy of immigration from Mexico and the U.S. Decades of immigration and cheap labor export from Mexico into the United States have created a close economic relationship, making immigration very diﬃcult to deter or control, Lopez said. He also displayed a picture of a product called a migrant boot — amid amused chuckles from the audience — which is a hiking boot with integrated compass and map for locating and avoiding U.S. Border Patrol routes and checkpoints. The next speaker, immigration attorney Bethania Maria, rebutted the perception that immigrants should come to the U.S. legally by suggesting that legal immigration is quite difﬁcult for anyone not wealthy, especially for students and entrepreneurial visas. Maria also included some legal tips for those assisting parents from Mexico in immigrating into the United States

and even for illegal immigrants themselves. People trying to illegally cross the border should never lie about citizen status to U.S. Border Patrol agents, as this will result in them being permanently barred from legally immigrating, she said. Maria closed with a famous quote from World War II era German pastor Martin Nienmoller that alluded to the U.S. The quote asserts that those in Germany that did nothing to stop persecution of social and religious groups out of apathy eventually found themselves the target of the same persecution. Myth No. 4 was “undocumented immigrants don’t belong here” but the last two speakers, including professor Antonio Arreguin-Bermudez, wrapped up the event with tales of what it was like to migrate illegally into the United States. Arreguin-Bermudez illegally

Bicycle accidents involving cars common Allison Weeks STAFF WRITER

Budd Schwab, owner of Campus Bicycles, and manager James Vandewalle have been avid bicyclists for years. Both have been hit by cars while doing what they love. “I was riding through the park,” Schwab said. “All of a sudden a car came out of control, and hit me and another bicyclist. The driver cut off my right pinky.” Vandewalle has broken his femur, hand, ankle and collarbone in bike accidents. “One of my broken bones was from structural failure of my bike,” Vandewalle said. “The others have been from cars.” Bicycle accidents involving cars do happen in Chico, said Sgt. Rob Merrifield of the Chico Police Department. “Sixty-eight bike accidents within the last year have been reported in Chico, which is low compared to the actual number,” Merrifield said. The common age of victims is between ages 18 to 25, and the drivers are usually in the 25-35 age

group, Merrifield said. Most bicycle accidents occur in the downtown area since it is the most congested part of the city, Merrifield said. Streets near Chico State, such as West Sacramento and Walnut streets, are where most accidents occur. Like car accidents, most bike accidents happen within five miles of home. “We work in specific areas to make sure bicyclists are following the rules of the road,” Merrifield said. Police warn that those who do not follow the rules will face a ticket and a fine. “When more people hear about the punishment, they are likely to use the ticket and a fine as a learning tool,” Merrifield said. “We find that fewer accidents occur when there is more enforcement in the area.” When accidents occur, the Chico Police Department investigates them on a case-by-case basis. “We find witnesses to be the most helpful,” Merrifield said. “If we just have the license plate number, we will not be able to know who was driving the car at the time. The only way to

identify a person is if someone saw them.” It is important to stay safe while riding a bike to prevent incidents from occurring. Catherine Felix, director for the Student Health Service, conducted the National College Health Assessment campuswide. Last spring, approximately 79 percent of the 850 students who took the survey said they did not wear a helmet when riding their bike. “It is important to wear a helmet when riding your bike,” Vandewalle said. “It doesn’t take much of a large collision for a head injury.” Another way to prevent being involved in a bike accident is to use your bicycle headlights at night and in the day, Vandewalle said. Wearing bright colors is also helpful. Merrifield has another important tip for bike safety. “Ride your bike like your car,” he said. “If you won’t do it when you’re in a car, don’t do it when you’re on a bike.”

continued from A1

Wills said. CalAware.org posted Zingg’s travel expense claims on its website, along with his list of reimbursement requests, which totaled $2,902.84 for the months of August through October, according to the document. The expenses were charged during six days of travel spread out between three months, when Zingg attended three meetings on university businesses. Zingg released a statement to faculty Monday, where he emphasized his disappointment in Chico State’s failure to respond to the audit rapidly. “This is a public records test case, and our failure to do well by it has been an embarrassment for our campus and our high standards of doing things,” Zingg said in the statement.

aseymour@theorion.com

Chico State gets 6 extra feet to build new hall Trish Roche STAFF WRITER

used to judge transparency were unreasonable, according to a statement by the UC, forwarded by Ricardo Vazquez, the director of Ethnic Media Communications for the UC system. “We dispute the 30 day grading standard,” the statement said. “There’s nothing in the law requiring that requested materials must be provided within 30 days. And there were two weeks during the organization’s designated 30 day period when the UC oﬃces were closed.” Francke said that the 30 day standard is a valid because it is in line with the language of the California Public Record Act, which states that public agencies “shall make the records promptly available.” Ben Mullin can be reached at

Trish Roche can be reached at

bmullin@theorion.com

troche@theorion.com

Allison Weeks can be reached at aweeks@theorion.com

Steps have been taken to increase responsiveness to public records requests in the future, which include circulating a campuswide memo instructing faculty on steps to take in the event of a public records request, Zingg said. Despite Chico State’s lackluster performance, the CSU campuses did well overall, finishing the audit with a “B” average. The UC system did far worse, with seven of its universities failing the audit entirely, said CalAware’s Executive Director Emily Francke. “The UCs sent me on a wild goose chase, referring me to different e-mails instead of stepping up and owning the request,” Francke said. Shortly after the results of the CalAware audit were released, the UC system fired back in a press release, saying that the standards CalAware

Alexander Seymour can be reached at

Chico State has acquired property on Normal Avenue shorter than a basketball team’s star player, a six-foot alley that will allow for Taylor Hall to be torn down. The land was gained “through a minute order authorizing the city manager to execute a disclaimer in a quiet title action,” as stated in the Feb. 15 City Council agenda. The future plans for the land are to build a new building in Taylor Hall’s place, which starts at Salem Street and wraps around West Second Street, City Manager Dave Burkland said. Changing the title of the land was a formality, considering that the university has used the land since the original acquisition in the 1960s, said Lori Hoffman, vice president for business and finance, in an e-mail interview. The title to the land was necessary in order for the university to break ground in 2013, she said. “So they will be able to go ahead with that unimpeded having that little parcel there was something that would be difficult for them to build over just to meet requirements, you have to have a clear title to the property to be able to build,” Burkland said. The rebuilding project will not play a part in the current budget crisis. The funds for the remodel come from capital funding through a voter-approved general obligation bond program, meaning that no state funding will be spent on the project, Hoffman said. The plans for the university to renovate are not new, as the renovation of Taylor Hall has been on the State Capitol program list for 15 years, Hoff man said. English professors have offices spread throughout campus because of the lack of office space in Taylor Hall, said senior English major Mike Giuffrida. If this is one of the reasons for the expansion, he approves, he said. “Our English professors here at Chico are excellent,” Giuffrida said. “They deserve every opportunity to increase the pool of resources available to them. Space is an important resource.”

AUDIT: CSUs graded well, UCs ﬁre back CalAware’s request for Chico State, said that he should have done more to expedite Chico State’s response. “It was a mistake on my part to not put it at the top of the work and make it a higher priority and get this information to them sooner than February 10,” Wills said. CalAware’s request stood out because it spelled out precisely what information was required and because he could tell that it had been sent to every CSU, Wills said. “We sometimes get requests like, ‘I need to know everything about every contract at Chico State,’” Wills said. “This one was very speciﬁc.” Among the items requested in the e-mail was a copy of Zingg’s contract, the three latest statements of his university credit card and an itemized list of his reimbursement requests,

migrated to the United States because of diﬃcult economic opportunities in Mexico, but he stayed because he found academia compelling, he said. He closed with an abridged short story. “A wealthy couple bought a hill and built a beautiful house on top of it,” Arreguin-Bermudez said. “The wife woke up in the morning to ﬁnd ants in the house, and the husband said, ‘these insects are invading my home.’ He never stopped to think that he was the one invading.” For those interested in watching or participating in an immigration debate, this year’s Great Debate, hosted by the Communication Studies Department, will be immigration-themed. The debate takes place in the City Council chambers throughout the day on April 21.

NEWS

always online >> theorion.com

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011 |

A.S. Recycling reduces BMU trash output Andre Byik STAFF WRITER

Trash day is becoming easier at Bell Memorial Union thanks to zero waste efforts by A.S. Recycling. Associated Students reduced the number of three-yard dumpsters it uses in the BMU from four to three since spring 2009, said A.S. Recycling Operations Coordinator Eli Goodsell. A.S. Recycling’s goal is to bring that number down to two by the end of this semester, and down to one by 2015. “We’re close to two right now,” Goodsell said. He added that the one of the three dumpsters is only used for special events. A.S. made a commitment to become a zero waste organization by 2015, which would mean having a waste diversion rate of 90 percent or higher. In April 2009 the BMU was found to have a 65 percent diversion rate, according to The Institute for Sustainable Development website. “We figured out that if we could take out everything that was compostable — either it be food or compostable service ware, plates, cups, things like that — if we could take that out of our waste stream we would already be at over 80 to 85 percent diversion rate,” Goodsell said. While A.S. is spending more on programs to reduce waste, the savings gained from fewer trash pickups outweigh the costs, Goodsell said. A.S. will see savings of about “$3,000 a year just from reducing those dumpsters,” Goodsell said. It takes a team effort from A.S. and the students to accomplish the goal of waste diversion, he said. Some students and organizations are helping, like the A.S. Bike Cart, which takes in used bikes for repair, recycles rubber, said Ryan Hauschildt, junior business informations systems major. The unsalvageable tires, tubes and pieces of rubber are transferred to A.S. Recycling’s warehouse. Khalid al-Thawab, electrical engineering freshman, purchased a “green” notebook from A.S., and tries to recycle his cans in the bins on campus, he said. A.S. Recycling offers free school supplies such as binders, notebooks and printer paper in its office in BMU Room 301, and it encourages students to use the resources, Goodsell said.

5,245 lbs of aluminum cans =

86 tons of co₂

= the annual co₂ emmissions of co₂

co₂

Making Sense of A.S. Recycling

4.5 American citizens

32 chinese citizens co₂

co₂ co₂

co₂

o₂ o₂

o₂

o₂ o₂

o₂

= 1,558 trees

=405,080 lbs of o₂ a year! Information collected by A.S. Recycling from 2010 to 2011

abyik@theorion.com

INFOGRAPHIC BY LINDSAY SMITH

Blackboard Learn to replace current system Dario Gut STAFF WRITER

Many assignments given to students revolve around the Internet, specifically Blackboard Vista. This is Chico State’s Learning Management System, which is about to adopt a new program. A committee fi lled with faculty and Academic Technologies staff inspected the new LMS during spring and fall 2010, said Laura Sederberg, manager of the technology and learning program. The fi nal decision was made to replace Blackboard Vista with the new Blackboard Learn 9.1 last month. The new system was chosen after the committee conducted interviews with other schools like Long Beach State and Cal Poly Pomona, which use the same program, according to the informational meeting. Positive reviews convinced the board to make Blackboard Learn Chico State’s new program, according to the informational meeting posted on the Chico State website. Professors and faculty will be able to begin using Learn 9.1 by spring 2012, the website said. The support cycle for Vista ends spring 2013. Reviving the original Blackboard Vista was not an option since it hasn’t had new features developed in the past six years. Blackboard Learn, on the other hand, has a variety of new teaching and learning functions said Bill Post, vice provost for Informational Resources. Navigation around the site will be easier and quicker.

Contacting professors or students through blackboard will be more effective and organized, according to the website. In addition, it will continue to support the faculty and the work they have already done building courses. “We hope to solve our older problems with Vista with this new program,” Post said. Although Vista has had a few hiccups over the years, it has been a great resource for junior business administration major Alex Buller. “It’s convenient because all materials are on one platform,” Buller said. “The professors can post assignments for the students and the students can contact the professors very easily.” Another student has seen a few problems arise with the program throughout her college career. It’s convenient, but there are a few ares that could use improvement, like the chat function, said senior psychology major Laura Deane. “I use the messaging on Vista about every two days,” Deane said. “Also the process to log into Vista can be complicated, especially if there are repairs.” Laura Sederberg will take part in ﬁ nalizing the plan so that next year Chico State can evolve to a new Blackboard system. There will be an informational meeting for anyone interested on Thursday, from 10 to 11 a.m. or Friday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Meriam Library room in the basement studio A. Dario Gut can be contacted at dgut@theorion.com

CRIME: Keep parties indoors suspects shouting gang terms, Merriﬁeld said. Between six and nine people exited the truck and began stabbing the victim and beating his friend, while the third friend ﬂed. The Jan. 22 incident took place outside a party on the 300 block of Normal Avenue, according to a Chico Police Department press release. Two people were shot in the altercation. Randy Mark Brass Jr., 23, died because of injuries he received when he was shot, according to the press release. These recent crimes are

o₂

co₂

183,243 lbs of mixed paper

Andre Byik can be reached at

continued from A1

o₂

co₂

co₂ co₂

enough oil to fuel 587 road trips from Chico to Washington, d.c.

thought to be gang related, Merriﬁeld said. Senior construction management major Clint Norman was having a small get-together with friends in the backyard of his West Sixth Street house in spring 2010 when seven unknown people entered his yard, he said. When they were asked to leave, they spit in his roommate’s face. “They were just looking for a ﬁght when we asked them to get out,” he said. Norman’s roommate was stabbed in the lower back by the group, and another of his roommates was hit in the face with a

flying bottle, he said. The police were not notified until the next day. If suspicious people intrude on a party, the best thing to do is call the police, Merrifield said. The police will be able to deal with unwanted guests before it gets out of hand. Managing the number of partygoers helps prevent confrontation, Beck said. Unadvertised indoor parties do not usually attract unwanted attention. Bryan Clendon can be reached at bclendon@theorion.com

POLICE BLOTTER All accused of violating the law are innocent until proven guilty | Information cited directly from Chico Police Department Monday, 11:12 a.m.: Suspicious circumstances reported on 2100 block of Esplanade. “Reporting party said he has employed the sign holder on the corner. The employee just called the reporting party and said a male subject has driven around him several times making sexual advances, followed the victim around, etc.” Tuesday, 4:43 a.m.: Drunk in public reported on 1000 block of Nord Avenue. “Subject on phone states he is intoxicated. Subject slurring words, very diﬃcult to understand. Low volume on pay phone. Subject now disconnected.” Wednesday, 2:25 p.m.: Family dispute reported on 600 block of West East Avenue. “Reporting party says her mother just hit her. Reporting party is 12 years old. Reporting party admits to lying to her mother three times. Then says her mother slapped her on the face.” Friday, 1:26 p.m.: Assault and battery reported on 200 block of Broadway Street. “Reporting party’s ex-boyfriend beat up her friend she was dancing with. Suspect now around the corner at Burgers and Brews.” Friday, 4:14 p.m.: Threats reported on 1500 block of Nord Avenue. “Roommate came home at 2:30 a.m. intoxicated and had been using drugs. Reporting party asked her to quiet down. Female wrote on the white board in the kitchen that reporting party should sleep with one eye open.” Saturday, 2:20 p.m.: Suspicious subject reported on 1900 block of East 20th Street. “Male subject with puppy near a van has a bowl of candy and appears to be trying to lure children to his vehicle.” Saturday, 1:32 a.m.: Drunk in public reported on 300 block of East Third Street. “Liberty Cab driver is trying to get his key from customer who took it from him.” Saturday, 5:09 a.m.: Disturbing the peace subject reported on 1100 block of Park Avenue. “Male yelling in the parking lot, staring at reporting party through window. Reporting party asked him to leave and he is now washing windows.”

Sunday, 4:29 p.m.: Suspicious subject reported on 1700 block of Park Avenue. “Male talking to himself and urinating. Now yelling profanities.”

“ “

Male subject with puppy near a van has a bowl of candy and appears to be trying to lure children to his vehicle.

“

SATURDAY 2:20 P.M.

Reporting party to report that two nights ago she was approached by a female who asked for a drink of water, then handed her an envelope and left. The envelope contained approximately $5,000 in cash.

“

TUESDAY 12:48 P.M.

Sunday, 5:16 p.m.: Suspicious subject reported on 1400 block of Neal Dow Avenue. “Reporting party just passed the school and noticed a 10-year-old child on the roof of the cafeteria.” Tuesday, 12:48 p.m.: Info to citizen reported on 1200 block of East 10th Street. “Reporting party to report that two nights ago she was approached by a female who asked for a drink of water, then handed her an envelope and left. The envelope contained approximately $5,000 in cash.” - Compiled by Andre Byik, Ben Mullin

opinion A6 |

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

always online >> theorion.com

EDITORIAL >>

Too damn something Political celebrity inspires griping Consider this a cry for help. Well, actually it’s more like a rant but for help nonetheless. For those of you who don’t know, Jimmy McMillan is the leader of the Rent is Too Damn High Party, a political party that champions localizing aid and governmental resources for problems in their own backyards before focusing on anything extraneous or outside their zone of relevance. McMillan’s somewhat nonsensical likeness has been lampooned on “Saturday Night Live” and most recently used as a ploy to support Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ potential run for presidency 2012. Well, as the rest of the world may have guessed, we all have obviously tragic and practically unstoppable truths in our lives. We thought it would be nice if McMillan took a break from selling out his celebrity persona and becoming the machine he calls broken to help us point out a few of them. Tuition is too damn high The most obvious, the most tragic and the most unstoppable is the growing rise of our tuition — excuse my language, we should be using the preferred euphemism of “fees.” With Gov. Jerry Brown watching our budget like a puma about to pounce, it’s unlikely that our withered and malnourished financial plan would be able to limp to the barn fast enough to evade its natural predator. Apparently no one in our state government remembers what being in college was like, or if they do, their memories probably involve more trust funds than Top Ramen. Either way, fees are too damn high and we students are just too damn unable to pay them. Comcast is too damn powerful The cable giant took one giant leap towards world domination by acquiring NBCUniversal in a landmark acquisition in January. It wasn’t bad enough that Comcast held most of the West Coast as cable service hostages, but now they’re one step closer to having a media monopoly in this nation. We all like to sit back and think the joke is on them when we change our stations to TBS, but no amount Conan’s floppy red hair could change the fact that we’re watching it all go down on a Comcast’s cable box. If they’re not hiking your bill with unexpected charges then they’re dangling whatever the heck Xfinity is in front of your face. Until Comcast gets taken down a peg, it’s a pirate’s life for most.

Crime is too damn high It’s always been a point of pride that Chico State’s campus is nestled in the middle of town but it’s not as fun of a walk through downtown when you think you might get jumped around the corner. With our former Associated Students president’s assault case still open after almost a year and a recent shooting about three blocks away from campus, our little corner of the world is getting too damn scary. Add the hike in robberies illustrated in the first quarter comparison by the Chico Police Department and we have something to worry about. Another worrisome trend is the apparent rise in youth-on-youth crime. Chico State’s youthful appearance makes it hard to know whether we’re just getting to the age where we make up the majority of criminal offenders or if the criminals are getting younger, but either way crime in Chico is hitting too damn close to home. Campus is too damn dark Our community has always been keen on being green and Chico State was even recognized in BioCycle magazine for composting more than 180,000 pounds of food last year. However, if we promise to scrape even more off our plates this year can we shed energy efficient light on the subject. No, seriously. We just explained that crime seems to be rising, but campus looks about as bright as the glow from our cellphones as we navigate through the parking structure. No matter how large the fleet of scooter cops is, it doesn’t put a lamp post on the corner as I wait for my ride. What damn good are bike trails when everyone avoids them out of fear that this time the worst could happen to them? We have too many damn things to do Most of us are working two jobs, involved in a club of some kind, looking for an internship, avoiding the fact there is a paper due tomorrow, denying that midterms are coming up and trying to have a good time while we’re doing it all. We are the generation with a shorter attention span thanks to Saturday morning cartoons and the ability to multitask at the speed of your Twitter feed. But somehow, we found a way to overload ourselves. Work takes up the time you’re not studying — trying to be social takes up the time you’re not doing either of those and if you have a chance to look up while speed walking through campus you’ll see you’re not the only one. We want focus in our lives but we can’t even use the traditional meaning of the word ever since the invention of a 24-hour news cycle. Odds are, if your life could update its own status, it would read: “Too damn busy.”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ASHLEY VIEGAS

Editorial Board Sports Editor

Video Editor

Managing Editor

Arts Editor

Online Editor

News Editor

Features Editor

Chief Copy Editor

Opinion Editor

Photo Editor

Art Director

Matt Shilts

Almendra Carpizo Anthony Siino Joanna Hass

Thomas Lawrence Earl Parsons Ally Dukkers Samantha Youngman

Jeb Draper Gerardo Rocha Kenny Lindberg Liam Turner

The opinion editor can be reached at

opinioneditor@theorion.com

Serena Cervantes OPINION COLUMNIST

Now that we’re in the kissing month, Valentine’s Day seems to have perforated the air with hearts. But there is one heart that women forget is more relevant than most as they fish for bras in the bins of Victoria’s Secret. It’s a heart that will swell and fall with time just like fruit from a tree. Even Pablo Neruda compared a woman’s bosom to that of a lemon in the poem below. “ ... the gold of the universe wells to your touch: a cup yellow with miracles, a breast and a nipple perfuming the earth.” A woman goes home with her Victoria’s Secret purchases, dismissing the high expense but noticing something in the mirror as she undresses. She is naked and she can’t escape this heart because even when all the decorations are taken down, when all the chocolates have been eaten, the lovemaking has been settled and dates have been dealt with, there is still a heart she knows exists even if she can’t explicitly see it all the time. It is there in the mirror. The beauty of a woman is that she carries with her two hearts — the inner pulsing heart is just a function of mortality, while the outer, gently breathing bosom is an exaltation of

Kelly Hering OPINION COLUMNIST

A couple weeks ago, I was feeling literally bent out of whatever shape I was in. My neck was aching from leaning over onetoo-many textbooks, my lower back stung from toting my bursting backpack and the space between my shoulders was throbbing from leaning over my laptop for far too long. Once school starts, I always know it is time for me to start visiting my chiropractor too. While sitting at a desk or typing on a laptop may not seem too demanding, your body responds to the strain you are putting it through. That strain can manifest itself in the form of headaches, even migraines, which aren’t exactly helpful to an already stressed college student. Some people are afraid to make the trip to a chiropractor. One time, I even had a friend tell me they wouldn’t voluntarily allow anyone to snap their neck and feared that once they made it in to the doctor’s office they would end up backing out anyway. A chiropractic adjustment is not by any means a scary or painful experience. In fact, I look forward to it. My chiropractor’s office is warm and inviting, so I pretty much feel at ease the moment I walk in. No one goes around telling you to brace yourself for imminent back cracking, but rather to take a seat, a deep breath and exhale. For example, I had an appointment with my chiropractor, Dr. Christina McDonald. After a large adjustment to correct the burden of my backpack and books, I asked her if just being a student could be stressful on the frame. As it turns out, sitting at a desk all day is rough on the body, she said.

Letters Editor

The Orion encourages letters to the editor and commentary from students, faculty, staff, administration and community members.

the female form which remains a classic case study for artists throughout time. Breasts, on the other hand, are two mounds above the torso that lead the eye down to the un-sewn button, landmines of titillation. A woman’s bosom, like her whole body, is sacred. It is the breastplate of femininity that takes the shape of a heart. It shields the pumping, vital organ encased in her, but also the emotional well that does not beckon tossed coins for wishes of sexual pleasure, but seeks a lover’s call that’s worthy of her love. The beauty of the outer heart should be taken as it naturally comes. Paradoxically, we take too lightly the enlargement of breasts such as the implants displayed by women in the media like the Dolly Partons, the Pamela Andersons and the Heidi Montags. The Barbie ideology is so inflated in our culture that it becomes the norm tormenting women. And now that the scandalous mistresses of Tiger Woods — most of whom have humongous boobs — have been let out of the cage of secrecy, women will be questioning their bosom sizes until breast reduction therapy becomes acceptable. The hyper-sized bosoms are what men want and women want to have them. Our culture, though, should be more reverent of a natural chest whether the beauty lies in the pubescence of a young girl or the full bloom of a mother.

It’s hard to say how modest a female in today’s society should be about her breasts. When she rummages through the top drawer of her dresser for underwear she feels obligated to wear the push-up bra. There is now some conflict in her face as she holds it up in the mirror in front of her bosom, her heart. And when she chooses it, why does she wear it? Because, in her life, she’s had to learn that gravity is the enemy and a push-up bra will create the illusion of youth. Now it’s more than an image. It’s the silent internal battle to defy aging. She thinks to herself, “should I get implants when I’m not satisfied with this bra anymore?” Where does it end? But when she goes about her day, inevitably she will bend down and the plunge of her neckline will reveal the great chasm culture has dug into her chest. It’s where the mounds padding kiss together her breasts and it will give the effect she sought out when she walked into Victoria’s Secret looking for the magical delicates. Women will always have to think about the beauty they see in the mirror and whether her heart beats faster with joy or continues steady with confusion, it goes on – despite age, or culture or mounds of padding. Serena Cervantes can be reached at scervanes@theorion.com

Spinal health taps into student stress concerns

to the

Editor in Chief

Fakeness hurts feminine form

• Letters and commentaries may be delivered to The Orion, Plumas Hall Room 001. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Letters are also accepted by e-mail and go directly to the opinion editor at opinioneditor@theorion.com

“Students need to focus on posture repositioning,” McDonald said. “For every inch forward of head carriage you exert, you experience the stress that 10 more pounds of head weight on your shoulders would create.” It’s not exactly a novel idea that we need to take care of our bodies, but we are busy people who constantly put our bodies and minds under a lot of stress. College students often find themselves burdened with chronic neck pain, headaches and fatigue, McDonald said. “Chiropractic care is about structure and balance,” she said. “It is a portal in which people discover where wellness comes from. If you begin doing this in your 20s you will learn to take care of your body in the present and you will be healthier and better off in the long run.” This can be hard, especially since structure and balance isn’t something you usually find on campus. My life consists of school, homework, my jobs, time with friends and family and the occasional errand or party sprinkled here and there. At this point, it is impossible to create an everyday balanced schedule that my body craves, so sometimes you have to force feed it. Chiropractic care is something I always make time for and I can personally vouch for its effectiveness. If we take better care of ourselves now, we can have a healthier body in the long run. Chiropractic care helps me both physically and mentally by taking care of that internal stress manifesting itself into physical and mental pain. So it’s not that much of a stretch to say that a trip to the chiropractor leaves me feeling well-adjusted. Kelly Hering can be reached at khering@theorion.com

Read the guidelines below for information on how to submit your own Letters to the Editor • Commentaries should be limited to 500 to 700 words and are subject to editing for length and clarity. Please include your phone number.

• Letters to the editor should be limited to fewer than 300 words, must include writer’s name and phone number (for verification) and are subject to condensation. Please include your year in school and major, or your business title.

• The Orion does not publish anonymous letters, letters that are addressed to a third party or letters that are in poor taste. The opinions expressed by The Orion’s columnists do not necessarily reflect those of The Orion or its staff.

OPINION

always online >> theorion.com

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011 |

Jumps bumped Chico tries to accommodate for BMX trails James Jelenko GUEST COLUMNIST

ILLUSTRATION BY ASHLEY VIEGAS

Ballot reserved for bullies August Walsh OPINION COLUMNIST

Voting makes me feel important, but not when I’m bullied into it. In a few weeks, the Associated Students elections will start and I will have to start avoiding people’s eyes and hiding my practice ballot in my shoe if I don’t want to get picked on. In past years, during the 48-hour timeframe when students are allowed to vote online, candidates and their supporters have stormed campus and pressured students into voting at their designated polling tables, which are equipped with a computer ready for students to vote. This is both unprofessional and unfair. It’s as if you have to be some kind of real-life Biff Tannen or Peppermint Patty to run for office and only as long as your slogan reads “O’Doyle rules!” One of my many recurring nightmares includes walking into a polling center during a November election and seeing the candidates for Congress tabling next to my voting booth and trying to get me to vote for them while I’m voting. Luckily, this would never actually happen because California bans any sort of campaigning within 100 feet of a polling place. But the real question is: Why is this common practice at Chico State when it in no way prepares students for the real world? If A.S. wants to call itself the voice of Chico State students, then it needs to start acting like one. For starters, we need to hold proper elections, which mean an actual polling booth where students can feel like they are voting

without a bully breathing over their shoulder. Don’t get me wrong, this wouldn’t mean that students couldn’t vote online anymore. It would just give us an extra chance to vote in person and in private. You might be saying, “privacy isn’t such an important issue when it comes to student elections,” or “the candidates who are working at the tables that are trying to get me to vote for them are just working harder than others to give themselves a leg up.” However, over-representation in an election is unfair to the voters. Voters must get to know who all of the candidates are, what issues are being debated and where each candidate stands on the issues without being prejudiced by outside forces — including the ones watching you as you vote on election day. Being a voter isn’t enough. We all need to be well-educated voters on our own. In order to improve our elections, there shouldn’t be any more tabling on election day, because it makes many students, including myself, feel like they’re being attacked. There was recently the first ever official info night, which explained to prospective A.S. candidates how to apply for certain positions. This was a great first step toward a proper election, but we’re still a good ways away from getting it right. As responsible college students, it’s important to remember to go out and vote, especially when it directly affects our campus. But we also must remember that it is our own personal choice of who we vote for and that we must not be bullied whether it’s for our lunch money or our vote. August Walsh can be reached at awalsh@theorion.com

Chico’s small-town feel has always rubbed me the wrong way — not that I dislike the idea, I enjoyed many hours of “Green Acres” as a child — but how can a city of nearly 100,000 citizens be so quaint and homey? It felt to me like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, luring in small-town folk then blindsiding them with the same problems big cities have – no parking, lots of traffic, garbage and noise. But recently, I discovered the genuineness of our city. It only took five years. As I’ve known it, Chico has always been a bike-friendly town. It has also recently become a hub of green living and sustainability. While these two notions may seem easily compatible, they have come to a head over a small parcel of land nestled in a ditch next to a section of Big Chico Creek by Spruce and East Lindo avenues. The small spillway was a patch of dirt and mud, rarely used overflow for the adjacent creek, which was transformed into a set of dirt jumps by local bicycly motocross enthusiasts. The bikers built the jumps out of frustration from being asked to leave city streets, as their sport is disruptive to city life. They wanted a safe, nondisruptive place to practice their sport and enjoy their hobby. Unfortunately, Chico has plans to flatten the jumps and restore the area to a more natural, rural state.

Naturally, the local bikers are upset. “They don’t want us in the city, so we come here,” local BMXer Epifanio Nunez said. “Now they say we can’t ride here — where the hell are we supposed to go? Besides, if they bulldoze them, someone else will just build them back up. It’s crazy.” He raises a good point, as the youthful nature of the sport makes it likely that if the city did follow through with their plan, it wouldn’t be long before some ambitious young rider builds a new set of jumps in the same location. While it may seem like a dilemma without a good solution, a few people have spoken out, and it seems the city is listening. Dan Efseaff, City of Chico parks and natural resource manager, cited reasonable factors in the city’s decision to destroy the jumps. Most importantly, the jumps encroached on a city Greenway creating a water quality control problem and some neighbors had been complaining of noise and other disturbances. But the city is willing to work with the displaced bikers, speaking with individuals as well as biker groups who have presented alternative proposals for building jumps elsewhere. This strikes me as unbelievably accommodating and good-natured. While the city has many more important issues, they are still willing to listen to and work with the little guy — they really want the community to be happy. Chico is like a big city with grass roots to which it strongly grasps. It’s a place where we, as citizens, can have our bikes and jump them too – as long as they don’t jump over the greenway. The Orion can be reached at editorincheif@theorion.com

New dining hall feeds freshman appetite for improvement Andrea Robertson OPINION WRITER

Whitney has a sister now and her name is Sutter. Although we love all of the kids the same, we just can’t help but compare the two siblings. For the first semester our entire freshman class waited with grumbling tummies to use the new family addition that would outshine her older sister, Whitey Hall. The doors are now open and the new features, such as the Italian-themed station and other facilities make us realize that we freshmen are the privileged ones who get to play with the new baby. Sutter Hall’s decor is so modern it’s practically retro and her social atmosphere is like no other. But even though we can call her better, can we really call her the best? Sutter Hall has turned out to be quite the noteworthy production, especially since I have only met one student, to this day, that has preferred Whitney Hall. One paramount issue that I have come to notice with the new dining arrangements is that Sutter is not vegetarian-friendly. If a vegetarian student is choosing their dinner, they

really only have the choice of pizza or a personally made salad. Sometimes there aren’t even vegetarian pizzas available and I can see how it would become quite aggravating to pick off tiny pieces of meat every day. If vegetarians have it hard, just forget about the vegans. They would only be able to eat salad throughout their entire first year if Sutter Hall was their only option. The grill station at Whitney Hall always had two or three options no matter what day it was, whereas at Sutter Hall we can only have burgers and on the rarest of occasions — the golden treasure — a grilled cheese sandwich. Soy milk isn’t even an option for the cereal bar, which is why many choose to never even have cereal no matter how bad we may be craving it. There are vast amounts of dairy deficiencies and these students are left without a proper source of calcium. Not to mention that Sutter Hall is also the type of girl who lies. While there’s a sign stating that we may leave the dining hall with an ice cream cone, there is no ice cream to be found in the building. To say the least, Sutter Hall is slacking in the dairy department. Something that still astounds me is the fact that

THUMBS >> Thumbs Up to sea monster sightings. Move over Nessie, you’re not the only water-dwelling beast of legend across the pond anymore.

Thumbs Down to more than half of the Texas House of Representatives voting to allow students and faculty to carry concealed firearms on campus. What’s wrong with this equation? Oh yeah, it’s crazy.

Thumbs Up to Facebook adding LGBTQ-supportive relationship status options. It’s nice to know there aren’t secondclass citizens in the world’s largest online community.

Thumbs Down to not getting Presidents Day off from school. Yeah, we know that was on Monday, but we’re still bitter over the whole thing.

Thumbs Up to LeVar Burton’s guest spot on “Community.” Take a look — it’s not in a book — but it is on Hulu.

Thumbs Down to procastination. Is there a rehab for that? We’ll look it up tomorrow.

Thumbs Up to “Underheard in New York.” Google it — instant heartwarming shall commence.

ILLUSTRATION BY ASHLEY VIEGAS

a whole dining area, created to hold a mass amount of college students, does not have a bathroom. It is a pain to have to leave the building for something so essential. If you choose to leave the dining area before you have finished your meal, you can either embarrassingly ask the women at the front desk to let you back in when you return or have to pay a whole

other meal on your account. Not the tastiest of choices. It also worries me to see all the compost bins are nowhere to be seen. Even though they’re no longer displayed for us to manually deposit our food scraps, I sincerely hope Sutter Hall has some green-guilt and recycles behind our backs. I think anybody would be tired of choosing burger, pizza, burger, pizza, burger, pizza,

but so far Sutter Hall is turning out to be a flavor of the week sort of girl. It could be beneficial to have a suggestion box for menu items. This way, we might be more inclined to actually eat. No matter what, Sutter Hall is definitely Whitney Hall’s kid sister — with a lot to learn.

Thumbs Down to realizing the grey winter doldrums of week five. Isn’t it time for spring fever yet?

Andrea Robertson can be reached at arobertson@theorion.com

PIECE OF MIND >> What do you think of campus dining? “It’s deﬁnitely improved from Whitney Dining. The food in general tastes better but I feel like it’s a lot heavier so you get full faster.

Laurin Larocca

freshman | liberal studies

“I think it’s much better now that Sutter’s open. A lot more options, it’s better quality food.

Jackie Baﬀ ham sophomore | agriculture

“It’s good but it needs more selection. Maybe more lunch specials or something cool that happens on Thursdays or Fridays.

Dillon Rice

junior | international relations

“I don’t usually eat here. I think it’s a little expensive for me but I like how they oﬀer the local lunch and I thought it was cool that (the marketplace) had sushi for a while. Rean Bautist senior | nutrition

A8 |

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011

2 for 1 Burritos every Tuesday!

always online >> theorion.com

Dont end up like this...

open 7am - 2pm 530.343.3444 208 Cedar Street

buy one meal

...before you go home At night come get a slice at the window...

get one free

PIZZA SAVES LIVES

With Purchase of Two Drinks

OF EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE s VALID MONDAY FRIDAY ONLY s EXPIRES s NOT VALID WITH OTHER OFFER

506 Ivy St. Chico, CA .(530) 898-9947

Quality, aďŹ&#x20AC;ordable and friendly housing Open M-F 8am - 5pm HOUSES

ROOMS FOR RENT

Location 619 Cherry Street 1317 Locust 2916 Penny Royal Dr. 1421 Locust St. 5523 Palona ave. 2129 Iroquois 1223 Peninsula 981 Madrone

Bd/Ba 1/1 1/1 1/1.5 2/1 2/1 2/1 3/2 3/2

Rent $700 $1200 $925 $850 $650 $700 $1,500 $1200

Dep. $800 $1300 $1025 $950 $750 $800 $1,600 $1300

TOWNHOUSES/DUPLEXES Location

Bd/Ba

Rent

Dep.

1339 Magnolia #A 1114 Nord Ave. #27

3/1 3/2

$875 $1,300

$975 $1,300

APARTMENTS cont.

Location 630 W. 2nd Ave. #12-B, #12-C

Rent $250

Dep. $250

Rent $400

Dep. $500

Rent $385 $475 $595 $500 $525

Dep. $485 $575 $695 $625 $650

STUDIO Location 2338 Brown St. #1, #4 1 bath cottage- Durham

APARTMENTS Location 2360 Durham St. #1-A - Durham 1175 E 8th #3 939 W. East Ave #9, #14 706 W. 6th #A 305 W. Lindo #B

Bd/Ba 1/1 1/1 1/1 1/1 1/1

1382 Longfellow Ave. Chico

Info subject to change. Please do not disturb tenants. We will schedule the appointment.

Location Bd/Ba Rent Dep. 1161 Citrus #E 1/1 $550 $650 684 E. 12th St. #8 1/1 $550 $650 1245 Esplanade #12 1/1 $550 $650 618 Racheria Drive #B (Lease Takeover) 2/1 $625 $725 925 Chestnut #3 2/1 $650 $750 745 W. 1st Ave #3 2/1 $650 $750 1245 Esplanade #7 2/1 $675 $775 1161 Citrus Ave #G, #O, #K, #C 2/1 $600 $785 Manager: Brian or Charity Rent Special 1/2 month FREE!!! (541) 415-0212 630 W. 2nd Ave, #16, #8, #3 3/1 $675 $800 Manager: Amber Ward (530) 354-8356 2270 Norte Dame #4 3/1 $695 $795 1163 Olive #2 3/2 $700 $795

895-1733 www.reliableproperty.com

AFKD

L>O ? T L K 1

,LOA %>

OABK

>D 4FII

FRJ A > Q

5LLAPE

FOB 4FI

I>DB

sports

STAT ’CAT B2 WILDCAT OF THE WEEK B2 GAMES SCHEDULE B5

Women’s basketball’s senior night action Story B2

sports all week at theorion.com

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

Thomas Lawrence SPORTS EDITOR

Let’s Play Two Blake Mehigan A SST. SPORTS EDITOR

The men’s basketball team gave its roaring fans something to cheer about this weekend, when the Wildcats took down defending champion Cal Poly Pomona, and clinched a postseason berth. The ’Cats powered past defending Division II champions Cal Poly Pomona 62-58 on Friday, thanks to sophomore guard Damario Sims and junior guard Jay Flores. The two combined for 42 points, scoring 21 apiece. “That was a huge, huge win for us tonight,” Flores said. Flores made seven of eight free throws in the game, many coming at the end to hold oﬀ the Broncos. The Wildcats practiced all week for a physical bout with Cal Poly, Sims said, drawing on all of the week’s intensity for Friday’s cathartic win.

“

You knew they were going to come in and give us a dogﬁght.

“

JAY FLORES Junior guard

“It was unbelievable in practice this week,” Sims said. “We weren’t even playing fouls.” The ’Cats guard said the team practiced with a lid on the rim, completely taking the focus away from shooting. Instead, the focus was on boxing out and physical play. People were tackling and clawing at each other, Sims said. “We did our job,” Sims said. “Last time down there they killed us on the oﬀensive boards, so that was our main focus.” Wildcats head coach Greg Clink thinks the team was grinding away in preparation for this game, getting after one another at both ends of the court, he said. “The guys really roasted the challenge,” Clink said. “We spent a lot of time working on block-outs.” Despite being out-rebounded 33 to 26, the Wildcats only allowed eight oﬀensive rebounds — two below their season average. Clink’s crew got the job done

on the offensive end as well, shooting 39.1 percent from behind the arc, with eight of the nine 3-pointers coming from Sims and Flores. “They played zone, and me and ‘J-Flo’ knew we were going to have our shot opportunities,” Sims said about Flores. Chico State’s defense was on point, limiting the Broncos to a mere 21 points in the fi rst half. “You knew they were going to come in and give us a dogfight,” Flores said. Saturday night’s game against No. 4 Cal State San Bernardino was no different. The ’Cats held the Coyotes to only 16 points and carried a four point lead into halftime. “I was proud of our effort,” Clink said. “I think we defended very well in the first half.” But Clink felt the defensive intensity lacked in the second half, as Chico State allowed 51 points on 63.6 percent shooting in their 67-60 loss to Cal State San Bernardino during senior night. Clink was disappointed his team was unable to send out seniors Roderick Hawkins, Terence Pellum, Zach Graves and Chris Sharp on a winning note, but felt his team played hard, he said. Graves, a guard from Sacramento, was given the start in his last game at Acker and played 11 minutes. “I love those guys and I appreciate everything they’ve done for me,” Graves said. Pellum, a forward and a kinesiology major, had a terrific offensive night, going five for five from the field and grabbing five rebounds to go with his 10 points, but ultimately fouled out trying to contain the physical play of the Coyote big men. “I wanted to go out with a bang, but unfortunately we didn’t,” Pellum said. “We just came out short.” Pellum thinks the team gave a sound effort for the game despite the loss and that they took a big step this weekend with their win over Cal Poly Pomona, he said. He is hoping the momentum from this weekend will carry over to their road games the following two weeks. Hawkins had 11 points on the night and three rebounds to go with two assists.

THE ORION • JOSH ZACK

RISING UP Freshman guard Sean Park goes up for a left-handed shot against Cal Poly Pomona on Friday. The Wildcats beat the defending-champion Broncos 62-58 and locked up a CCAA playoff spot. “I just wanted to come out and be as relaxed as I could and not think about it,” Hawkins said. Despite the loss on senior night, the team is confident about its upcoming games and many team members feel strongly about their chances these weeks heading into the

California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament, which begins March 1. Playing in those decisive games is what the Wildcat players look forward to most, Hawkins said. Chico State will ﬁnish up its regular season next weekend. The ’Cats take on Cal State

Monterey Bay and San Francisco State Feb. 24-25 in Seaside and San Francisco. The Wildcats still know they have a long road ahead. “If it was easy we wouldn’t play this game,” Hawkins said. Blake Mehigan can be reached at bmehigan@theorion.com

Men’s golf priming for title run Kevin Amerine STAFF WRITER

THE ORION • KEVIN LEE

BUNKER SHOT Sophomore Matt Williams hits the ball out of a sand trap in a recent men’s golf practice. Williams hails from San Jose.

Wildcat

W H E R E A R E T H E Y N O W? Molly Goodenbour, Chico State women’s basketball head coach from 2006-08, is now the head coach at Division I UC Irvine. Goodenbour was 52-11 with Chico State.

The men’s golf team is grooming new talents, who along with experienced swingers and putters, embark on the spring 2011 season with high expectations. The latest Golfstat Relative Rankings unveiled the ’Cats at No. 1 in the nation, and the team is excited to kick oﬀ tournament play at the Coyote Classic at Arrowhead Country Club in San Bernardino between Feb. 28 and March 1. Sophomore Cody Thompson is optimistic for the season ahead. “It’s a long spring ahead of us,” Thompson said. “Our team is really competitive right now.” Thompson, a geography major and Chico native, spent two years on Butte College’s golf team before joining the Wildcats. At Butte, he won two Big 8 Conference matches in 2009-10 and was a three-time All-Eastern Athletic League selection at Chico High School. In 2010, Thompson qualiﬁed to play in the

U.S. Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay Golf Course, outside Tacoma, Wash. “It was a new experience for me,” Thompson said. “It gave me a springboard to go forward.” Thompson and the rest of the Wildcats had a big ﬁnish to their fall schedule, winning the Division II Championship Preview in Florence, Ala. Thompson tied for sixth place and saw his team’s win as a reﬂection of its cohesion in the 2010-11 season. “We get along really well,” Thompson said. “I’m just trying to practice anytime it’s not raining.” Thompson, along with newcomers Rafael Gomez, Ricky Owaki, Dane Petersen and Chris Doyle combine to make the ’Cats dangerous this season. Junior Kyle Souza, one of the several veteran ’Cats, has faith in his new teammates, he said. “The new kids are pretty talented,” junior Kyle Souza said. “They’re gonna be good the next couple of years for Chico State.” Through the fall tournaments this season, >> please see GOLF | B4

TO DAY I N

sports

Feb. 23, 1993 Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton became just the fourth player to reach the 8,000-assist milestone. He had seven assists in a 105-78 loss to the Rockets.

Basketball’s time to shine Chico State basketball can either ride the immense momentum of the last couple years or fall back into relative obscurity. And there’s a bit of time left for both programs to become, and in some cases remain, university favorites, but not much. In the last few seasons, Wildcat basketball has seen the incorporation of the “The Rowdy Red” student cheering section, providing an electric atmosphere at several home games throughout the year. The arrival of men’s head coach Greg Clink and the new permanence of women’s leader Brian Fogel have also both led to rejuvenated recruiting and postseason success. But in a mid-sized, Division II school like Chico State, student and community interest can be fickle. Due to injuries and rigorous conference schedules, both teams have faltered a bit down the stretch in early 2011. While a misstep or two certainly won’t hurt Chico State off the bat — the superb recruiting and coaching of Clink and Fogel have earned them plenty of positive publicity — building toward a perennial powerhouse and a packed gym at every home game doesn’t provide much room for error. Next season, with key Clink recruits on display like Jordan Semple, an Arcata native who he stole away from Humboldt State, the true prowess of the men’s program specifically will start to be seen in full. The key to good favor in sports in general is winning come playoff time. So far, so good. A year ago, the men’s team got an upset win that Clink will be telling his kids about at Cal State Dominguez Hills in the first round of the conference tournament. The Wildcats advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament, while the women’s squad pushed all the way to the regional final. A more impressive finish for the women, undoubtedly, but less shocking due to the program’s continuous 21stcentury success. These programs shouldn’t be worrying about losing support, but this isn’t Duke. The words “Division II Regional Final” mean a lot less to the casual fan than “Sweet 16 on CBS.” It’s not fair, but it’s one of the many harsh realities of college sports. Chico State has done itself a favor in its last homestand of the season. Even though the women’s team was swept, and the men’s team lost on senior night to Cal State San Bernardino, both teams officially have a spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament. Not to mention, the men’s team had quite possibly the high moment of its season with a win over Cal Poly Pomona, the defending Division II champions, on Friday night. Wildcat basketball has to make itself a mainstay in this limited-time opportunity, and both teams can do so with continued postseason success. Thomas Lawrence can be reached at sportseditor@theorion.com

[ jock ] talk He came prepared with a car. Nothing is going to beat that, unless I bring out a plane or something.”

- JaVale McGee Wizards’ center, on slam dunk champion Blake Griﬃn’s performance

B2 |

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

SPORTS SHORTS >>

College sports in a nutshell

No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Pittsburgh and No. 8 Notre Dame all lost this past week: Ohio State on Sunday, and the other three on Saturday. Texas, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame all lost to un-ranked opponents, in the forms of Nebraska, St. John’s and West Virginia. Ohio State lost at No. 11 Purdue on Sunday by a score of 76-63 in front of a raucous crowd at Keady Court in Mackey Arena. source: Yahoo.com

Rick Pitino’s extorter has been sentenced to seven years in prison. His extorter is Karen Cunagin Sypher, who attempted to expose an aﬀair she had with Pitino if he did not comply with her threats. Sypher tried to blackmail Pitino into giving her millions of dollars. Friday, Sypher was sentenced to 87 months in prison. Source: Yahoo.com

Florida International University shortstop Garrett Wittels ﬁnally saw his massive hit streak come to an end this past week. Wittels went zero for four in a game against Southeastern Louisiana on Friday to end his 56-game hitting streak — the same number of games that Joe DiMaggio had in his stillstanding Major League Baseball hit streak record. Wittels was just four away from record-holder Damian Constantino’s 60-game streak of 2003, and two back from second-place Robin Ventura’s 58-game streak from 1987. Source: ESPN.com - Compiled by Blake Mehigan

Wildcat women swept; still in CCAA playoffs Women’s basketball are headed back to the postseason, but they’re reeling in. Brian Fogel’s Wildcats are on a fivegame losing streak, the longest of the season, and have fallen into a tie for fifth place in the CCAA. Allie Colosky STAFF WRITER

Women’s basketball had its senior night ruined Saturday as it ended its final weekend at home with a 70-60 loss to Cal State San Bernardino. This followed a 93-79 loss to Cal Poly Pomona on Friday, which means that the Wildcats will head into their final two games of the regular season on a five-game losing streak. Head coach Brian Fogel is having a hard time with the results, he said. “I’m frustrated,” Fogel said, after Saturday’s loss. “We’re much better than we’ve shown.” One of the ’Cats’ few successes of the night was their defense in the post, as they outrebounded the Coyotes 46-42. “We defend well enough to win,” Fogel said. “We held them to shooting 33 percent but we don’t take advantage of it. It’s frustrating.” He also acknowledged freshman guard Jazmine Miller, for the best game of her young career. The ’Cats were led by Miller, who had 13 points and seven rebounds. Kristin Marquardt had 10 points, and Taylor Lydon and Analise Riezebos each posted seven rebounds. Miller posted her career highs despite the loss. “We put everything out there and unfortunately we didn’t pull out the win,” Miller said. “I want to keep driving and get everyone involved. We just need to stop this streak.” Both teams stayed within five points of each other in the

Juan Guerra Baseball

The junior right-hander’s stellar work out of the Wildcat bullpen on Sunday at Cal Poly Pomona was a huge reason for their series win against the Broncos. Guerra had a three-inning save in game one of the doubleheader, and a more traditional one-inning save in game two of the day, and the fourth game of the series. The sociology major and Chino native allowed just one hit over three innings to earn his ﬁrst NCAA save. Wildcat of the Week is a regular feature meant to acknowledge the contributions made by individuals to the team. Winners are chosen by The Orion sports staﬀ, with all sports in consideration. Photo courtesy of Chico State Sports Information.

first half, trading buckets before the Coyotes shooting heated up in the second half. The same couldn’t be said for the ’Cats, who went one for 14 from beyond the arc, shooting 37 percent from the field. With the loss to Cal State San Bernardino, the ’Cats can place no higher than fifth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings and no longer have the opportunity to host a CCAA Championship Tournament game. The weekend sweep of the ’Cats began with a loss to Cal Poly Pomona Friday night. Despite the loss, it was Chico’s second highest-scoring night of the season, with 79 points. Junior forward Pauline Ferrall led the ’Cats with a career-high 23 points and was nine for 13 from the field. Junior guard Molly Collins recorded 17 points and a career high five assists, and Lydon added 16 points with four 3-pointers and eight rebounds. The Wildcats looked impressive early, as they came out firing 55.6 percent in the first 20 minutes. But their fire was iced in the second half, when the Broncos went on a 17-4 run and shut the ’Cats out. “I feel like we have a lot to work on,” Ferrall said. “We dropped a lot of big games.” Ferrall shot nine for 13 from the field in her career best game Friday night. “We are defi nitely going to improve on our rebounding, transition defense and help rotations on defense as well,” Ferrall said. “Next week is a big determinate.” The Wildcats look to end their regular season on a high note heading into the playoffs. They face Cal State Monterey Bay, the leaders of the CCAA in Seaside on Thursday and San Francisco State Friday. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. THE ORION • GINA SPADORCIO

Allie Colosky can be reached at acolosky@theorion.com

CLAWING FOR POSSESSION Wildcats Katie Girten, Jazmine Miller and Kristin Marquardt ﬁght for a loose ball in Saturday’s loss to Cal State San Bernardino. Miller, a freshman, led the team in points with 13.

Hallowed halls of Wildcat athletics ﬁlled with history Gina Pence STAFF WRITER

wildcat of the Week

always online >> theorion.com

When Wildcat fans come out to see their teams, they may not think of the history of the school they support or the stadiums they cheer in. While the athletic programs’ success has earned recognition, the athletic fields and gyms that house these great teams have an often-overlooked history of their own. Chico State’s athletics have gone through many changes. And as the athletic programs expanded to include more sports, so did the playing fields and facilities. The first gym was built on the Bidwell Mansion grounds in 1927. It had a basketball court, dressing rooms and a room for the school band, according to university archives. It was the first of many sports facilities that Chico State would build. Shurmer Gym In 1956, Shurmer Gym was built to expand and enhance the athletic capabilities of Chico State. The building contained a gymnasium, locker rooms, classrooms and offices. Until 1963, Shurmer Gym was used strictly as a men’s facility, while women athletes used the old gym. The building was dedicated to honor physical education faculty member Jane

Wells Shurmer in 1976. Shurmer, a Chico State Athletic Hall of Fame member, worked to develop women’s athletics, including women’s field hockey, basketball, swimming and softball teams. Arthur Acker, a coach and chair of the department of physical education from 192361, expanded the programs offered by Chico State and encouraged the construction of a new building to complement Shurmer Gym. Luke Reid, the sports information director at Chico State, knows exactly why Acker Gym came into existence, he said. “Shurmer Gym has been around for many years,” Reid said. “It wasn’t big enough to hold that many fans, so Acker was added on.” Acker Gym The $1.7 million facility was completed in 1962 and offered basketball courts, swimming pools, weight rooms, a dance studio, offices and classrooms. Acker Gym housed only the men until 1970, when it was declared a co-ed facility, and has been that way ever since. Arthur Acker coached every sport except for wrestling and skiing during his 38-year tenure at Chico State. His influence on Chico State athletics is considerable, as

“It’s considered one of the ﬁ nest Cal State stadiums around,” Wills said.

THE ORION • JOSH ZACK

OPEN DOORS OF SUCCESS Shurmer Gymnasium, built in 1956, housed Wildcat basketball, ﬁeld hockey, swimming and softball facilities. The gym is named after physical education faculty member Jane Wells Shurmer. It housed women’s basketball up until 1970. he created the Wildcat mascot and headed the driving force that pushed to make Shurmer Gym the premiere Wildcat athletics facility. Nettleton Stadium In 1997, Nettleton Stadium was built to replace Roy Bohler Field. Local businessman Steve Nettleton and his wife Kathy donated more than $2 million to the construction of the facility. Nettleton was the then-owner of the nowdefunct Chico Heat baseball team. “Steve Nettleton was a prominent member of the Chico community,” said Joe Wills, director of public affairs and publications at

Chico State. “He gave the university a gift, and the school repaid his kindness by naming the stadium after him and his wife.” Besides hosting the Wildcat baseball program, Nettleton Stadium has also been the home field for other independent baseball programs. “Most of its life, the stadium has been home to a baseball team other than the Wildcats,” Wills said. “The Chico Heat also played in Nettleton, and now the Chico Outlaws play their home games there.” The inaugural game was held on March 1, 1997, when the Wildcats beat Cal State Stanislaus 5-4.

University Stadium Although the football program at Chico State was cut in 1997 due to increasing insurance costs, the stadium continues to get used for track and field meets and high school football games. Every year, the field plays host to the Almond Bowl, where cross-town rivals Chico High School and Pleasant Valley High School face off for bragging rights. The lighted outdoor stadium hasn’t just hosted Chico State sporting events, said Rory Miller, the assistant sports information director for the university. “The football stadium used to be the site for the music festival at the end of Pioneer Days,” he said. Pioneer Days is a discontinued celebration of the week prior to Pioneer Day, which was the first Saturday in May. One of the last events of the week was a concert that took place on the football field. “That was kind of like the big end of the week, and there was always a huge turnout,” Miller said. Being the second-oldest California State University has its benefits in cultivating a long and rich history for the school. Chico State sports facilities evolved from just one gym in the corner of campus to several fine gyms and sophisticated stadiums. The athletes that walk the hallowed halls and grounds add to the already rich history. Gina Pence can be reached at gpence@theorion.com

STAT ’CAT >> MEN’S BASKETBALL

The amount of points that sophomore guard Damario Sims and junior guard Jay Flores each had in the Wildcats’ 62-58 win against defending Division II champion Cal Poly Pomona Friday.

BASEBALL

The amount of hits Chico State baseball had in game two of the series against Cal Poly Pomona. The Wildcats won 9-0 and won the series 3-1.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The amount of points junior forward Pauline Ferrall had in a career-best eﬀort against Cal Poly Pomona Friday. Chico State lost 93-79.

SPORTS

always online >> theorion.com

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011 |

Wildcat baseball surges to series win in Pomona Sophia Horn STAFF WRITER

THE ORION • KYLE EMERY

SHUTTING THE DOOR Junior right-hander Juan Guerra delivers to a Simpson University batter in a Feb. 5 doubleheader. Guerra got his ﬁrst two NCAA saves Sunday in the Wildcats’ series at Cal Poly Pomona.

- Over 50 Toppings - 10 Flavors of Yogurt Daily - Full Smoothie Bar

- Hawaiian Snow

^ ho

l À ^ g

<eh

` g mab

e^ e h <

l ^ e [ \mZ

61&!pgg!xjui!uijt!Be! po!pof!jufn!%31!ps!mftt/

363!F/!Ojoui!'!Pmfboefs Dijdp-!Dbmjgpsojb!:6:37

)641*!454.8321 fyqjsft!4042

Pqfo!22.5;41 Dmptfe!Tvoebz! '!Npoebz

Rain or shine, the Wildcats proved that they could pull out wins in tough conditions. Chico State baseball flew to Southern California this weekend to play the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos, who are playing their first season under new head coach, Randy Betten. The series was the 2011 California Collegiate Athletic Association opener for both teams. The Broncos took the early lead in the series with an 8-1 victory on Friday. But the Wildcats weren’t discouraged as they came out ahead with the series victory. Freshman pitcher Ryan O’Shea led the Wildcats with six innings of shutout baseball, with six strikeouts, in their second game of their doubleheader leading them to a 9-0 victory. Head coach Dave Taylor was more than happy with the way his young pitchers performed, he said. “I was really impressed with our freshmen pitchers,” Taylor said. “A lot of guys stepped up this weekend.” Junior Ian McKay homered and drove in two runs in the second game, while junior Cody Foster had two hits in the game. With the Wildcats leading 6-0 at the top of the eighth, the game was halted and delayed until Saturday because of heavy rain. The break didn’t stop the Wildcats from earning three more runs, before winning the game. The loss gave the Broncos their first defeat of the season. Senior third baseman Adrian Bringas thought the series opener combined with the disappointment the team felt, helped them rebound, he said. “The first game woke us up a little bit,” he said. “We realized what we had to do, then came out harder and more aggressive.” The Wildcat success continued on Sunday, as they swept a doubleheader from Cal Poly Pomona by the scores of 6-5 and 4-3. Junior Juan Guerra pitched four scoreless innings and earned two saves on Sunday. During the first game, juniors Shane Kroker and Justin Manci had consecutive squeeze bunts in the seventh inning, which gave the team a 6-5 lead. Then, Guerra secured the game with three innings of one-hit ball. In the fi rst game, Bringas went three for three, setting up the squeezes with a sacrifice bunt. Kroker and Jackson Evans finished with two hits apiece. Freshman Nick Baker had a fruitful win and allowed eight hits, struck out three and gave up one walk in six innings of work. Junior Zach Steele’s RBI double and Manci’s first home run assisted in the 3-1 lead in the second game. But the Broncos were able to tie it with two runs in the fifth. Senior Scott Newberry came to the mound with

a runner on and no one out in the sixth and retired three straight Broncos. Bringas then hit an RBI double down the left field for the game-winning run in the top of the seventh, and Guerra sealed the win with a 1-2-3 bottom half of the seventh inning. Cal Poly Pomona had decided to intentionally walk Evans to move on straight to Bringas, which did not turn out the way the Broncos planned. He smashed the first pitch thrown to him down the left field line to plate Foster with what was to be the winning run. The Wildcats improved to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Meanwhile Cal Poly Pomona dropped to 7-3 overall, and 1-3 in the CCAA, with all losses coming

“

The ﬁrst game woke us up a little bit. We realized what we had to do, then came out harder and more aggressive.

“

ADRIAN BRINGAS Senior third baseman

against the Wildcats. Evans, the Wildcats’ senior second baseman, thought the wins over the Broncos would prove crucial, he said. “The series definitely got our confidence rolling,” Evans said. Taylor was proud to go to Cal Poly Pomona and win the series, leaving the ’Cats with a feeling of accomplishment he wants around during the next series, he said. “We were able to have one weekend off this month,” Taylor said. “So we’re excited to be playing another weekend.” The weekend off was due to the National Collegiate Athletic Association changing the rules to shorten baseball’s regular season from 56 to 50 games this year, he said. “It’s unfortunate that they don’t get to play as many games as other players in the past,” Taylor said. “Plus, it probably isn’t going to make a difference academically.” The Wildcats play their next series against Montana State-Billings in three non-conference games Sunday and Monday at Nettleton Stadium. The first game starts at noon. “This series was a confidence-booster,” Bringas said. “We’re going to be ready and come out swinging.” Sophia Horn can be reached at shorn@theorion.com

B4 |

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

always online >> theorion.com

Runner Mejia excels in all walks of life Kevin Augustine STAFF WRITER

Run, run, run. For most, that’s easier said than done. For distance runner Manny Mejia, it’s life. This lifestyle began for Mejia in eighth grade, when he ran the Los Angeles Marathon with his mother. “The experience of running 26 miles and being able to finish — that really drove me to take the sport seriously,” Mejia said. From there, Mejia separated himself from baseball, his sports of choice in childhood, and focused on running starting in high school. He hasn’t stopped since. “I wanted to try something different after 10 years of baseball,” he said. His training now, and being a runner in general, is anything but simple. “I run about 80 to 90 miles a week for cross country,” Mejia said. “We have some guys running 100 to 110 miles a week.” The mileage averages out to running twice a day and doing long runs on the weekends, Mejia said. Timing is another thing. “If you have an 8 a.m. class, sometimes we’ll get up at six in the morning to do the run,” Mejia said. “When the weather gets warm in the summer, we have to run before it gets hot, so we get up at five.” Every year, cross-country does time trials, and since people have morning classes, runners get up at 5:30 a.m. to start warming up, Mejia said. The senior business major earns his keep in both cross country, and as a distance runner for Kirk Freitas’ track team. For former cross-country runner, Chico State alumna and wife, Ondi Mejia, getting up was the hard part. “It’s too early,” she said. “The summer runs were really early.” Manny and Ondi spent time together as teammates during the 2007 and 2008 seasons,

ILLUSTRATIVE PHOTO • FRANK REBELO

LOVE AND RUNNING Senior cross-country and track athlete Manny Mejia [right] spends time with his wife, a former Wildcat runner, Ondi Mejia. Manny, from Pico Rivera, is a business major. when Ondi was finishing her cross-country career and Manny’s was just beginning. The two got married in August 2008. “We knew each other from the team, but we didn’t get to know each other until we started going to a bible study together that Ondi facilitated on the team,” Mejia said. From then on, both Ondi and Manny hit the field running — together. “She’s definitely a calming factor for me,” Mejia said. “She talks to me and calms me down. The more relaxed you are out there, the less energy you waste.”

Like any sports-infused household, there is competition. “I wouldn’t say we’re competitive on the ﬁeld,” Mejia said. “I think the competition between us was in the classroom. She’s the one that got the good grades and that’s what motivated me. I wanted to beat her GPA.” The Pico Rivera native was recently named to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Cross Country team in Division II. The honor is awarded to student athletes who manage a grade point average of 3.25 or greater while completing at least 12

credit hours of cross-country competition and placing in the top 50 percent at the most recent NCAA National Championships or in the top 30 percent at the NCAA Regional Championships. Mejia, senior business major, earned the honor on the field and in the classroom after finishing 77th in the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships, helping the Wildcats to a fifth-place finish last fall in Louisville, Ky., while wrapping up a notable cross-country career. Wildcats head cross-country coach Gary Towne, who has topnotch runners on his nationally competitive squad, is especially appreciative of Mejia. “Manny is the pillar of our group,” Towne said. “His maturity and grounded nature helps the culture of the team.” In every one of Mejia’s three seasons with the Wildcats, Chico State has finished among the top 10 at the NCAA Championships. After wrapping up his cross-country career, Mejia is switching gears and focusing on closing out his track career. The track and field season begins this weekend with the Wildcat Relays in Chico. Looking ahead, Mejia thinks the Stanford Invitational held at the end of March is the track to shine for a Chico State runner. “A lot of Division I schools go there,” Mejia said. “I ran my personal best for the 1,500 meter at Stanford last year. It’s a good environment, perfect temperature and fast track. Everyone raises their game for that meet.” To Mejia, the competition and the area bring out the best in what Chico State has to offer runners. “Our program wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t have Bidwell Park,” Mejia said. “That’s our stomping grounds. It’s a big reason why I came to Chico. There’s not a whole lot of places with this type of atmosphere.” Kevin Augustine can be reached at kaugustine@theorion.com

THE ORION • KEVIN LEE

CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDERS Sophomore Cody Thompson hits a chip shot onto the green in a recent men’s golf practice. Thompson and the Wildcats start their season in San Bernardino Feb. 28 - March 1.

PREVIEW: Men’s golf continued from B1

Souza maintained a 70.7 stroke average, which is a combined score of 14-under in 11 rounds. Souza’s consistency earned him top-seven ﬁnishes in all four of the ’Cats’ tournaments, including two runner-up performances. “Consistency to me is keeping the ball in play,” Souza said. “No penalty strokes is key, not giving away those stupid bogeys.” Souza, a kinesiology major, earned a top-16 ﬁnish at the 2010 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Bryan Park Golf Course outside Greensboro, N.C. “I got to play against the best players in the country,” Souza said. “It was good to know I can play with them.” Both Thompson and Souza said that the team’s unity stems from Wildcat head coach

T.L. Brown. “Our coach puts in way more time working with us on and oﬀ the course,” Souza said. “He’s always there when we need him.” That’s not an accident, Brown said. “It’s important for a coach to get to know his players on a personal level,” he said. As a team, the ’Cats won two of four of the fall tournaments and placed second in the other two. “We have a really good coach,” Thompson said. “And, traveling is really fun.” After the Coyote Classic, the ’Cats travel to Vallejo as Cal State East Bay hosts the Pioneer Shootout at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club, which starts on March 7. Kevin Amerine can be reached at kamerine@theorion.com

$ 1 B e e r s Tu e s d a y / T h u r s d a y

$1 TACOS Every day

5FKD !E>IIB O B KDB FS > 5FKDP 5 +RPQ 5>FQ +FKRQBP BCLOB #>QFKD LO

n g i W

B e s t Ta c o s i n C h i c o

2 Nacho Burritos for $7

"OFKHFKD

Wednesdays .OFWBP

2 1EFOQ .F@QROB LK 5>II LC $>JB #KQOV $BB

530.894.8226 1002 W 5th St. Open 7 days a week 10 am to 10 pm

Fri, Sat & Sun

O P E N L AT E

Fri & Sat Till 3 am

Mondo’s Coffeehouse 951 Nord Ave. • 530.895.0878

50 % OFF PANINIS

Mondo’s Cafe is a program that serves individuals with developmental disabilities. Mondo’s Cafe provides an opportunity for consumers of Far Northern Regional Center (FRNC) to acquire important public socialization, independant living, and employment skills while being paid a competitive wage.

. Hair Extensions Best quality, best price

Call For Appointment Open Monday — Saturday 9am — 6pm

893-8851 1380 East Ave., #108

(Next to East Ave. Safeway)

www.SookiesPlaceChico.com

. Artiﬁcial Nails . Body Wax . Color Correction . Highlights . Lowlights . Family Haircuts

Women, men, children

. Up Do

SPORTS

always online >> theorion.com

SPRING 2011 MEN’S BASKETBALL

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011 |

WILDCAT SPORTS SCHEDULE

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

BASEBALL

SOFTBALL

Nov. 6

Red/White Scrimmage

3 p.m.

Nov. 7

@St. Mary’s

L 58-104

Feb. 5

Simpson University (DH)

Nov. 7

@University of Paciﬁc

L 44-59

Nov. 19

Academy of Art

W 73-55

Feb. 18-20

@Cal Poly Pomona

Nov. 18

@Cal State Stanislaus

W 64-59

Nov. 20

Hawaii Paciﬁc

W 64-46

Feb. 27-28

Nov. 22

Bethany University

W 63-44

Nov. 23

Cal State Stanislaus

W 74-59

Nov. 26

Northwest Christian

W 85-72

Nov. 27

@Cal State Stanislaus

W 88-80

Nov. 27

Dominican

W 71-52

Dec. 3

Humboldt State

Dec. 3

Humboldt State

L 81-84 (OT)

Dec. 4

Sonoma State

Dec. 4

Sonoma State

W 69-65

Dec. 10

@Western Washington

Dec. 8

Cal State Stanislaus

W 61-59

Dec. 11

@Seattle Paciﬁc

L 56-57

Dec. 11

Paciﬁc Union

W 69-40

Dec. 30

@Cal State L.A.

Dec. 30

@Cal State L.A.

L 62-71

Dec. 31

@Cal State Dominguez Hills

Dec. 31

@Cal State Dominguez Hills

L 65-76

Jan. 7

UC San Diego

Jan. 7

UC San Diego

W 68-55

Jan. 8

Cal State East Bay

W 65-47

Jan. 14

@Cal State San Bernardino

Jan. 15

W 21-9, 6-2

Feb. 5

Dominican

3 W, 1 L

Feb. 5

Cal State San Marcos

Montana-State Billings

Feb. 5

San Francisco State

March 4-6

@Cal State Monterey Bay

Feb. 6

Sonoma State/CSU Stan.

March 11-13

@Western Oregon

Feb. 18-19

Cal State East Bay

W 64-62

March 18-19

Cal State Stanislaus

Feb. 25-26

@Cal State Stanislaus

W 52-41

March 20

@Cal State Stanislaus (DH)

March 4-5

San Francisco State

W 65-62 (OT)

March 22

@Simpson University

March 11-12

@Cal State San Bernardino

March 25-26

@San Francisco State

March 18-19

@Sonoma State

W 68-58

March 27

San Francisco State

March 25-26

UC San Diego

W 71-59

April 1-3

@Cal State Dominguez Hills

April 1

West. Oregon/Hawaii Pac.

L 53-73

April 8-10

Cal State San Bernardino

April 2

Grand Canyon

Cal State East Bay

W 74-47

April 15-17

Cal State L.A.

April 2

Dominican

Jan. 14

@Cal State San Bernardino

L 56-61

April 21-23

@Cal State East Bay

April 2

Montana State-Billings

L 61-75

Jan. 15

@Cal Poly Pomona

L 42-62

April 29-30

UC San Diego

April 3

Tourney of Champions TBD

@Cal Poly Pomona

L 68-82

Jan. 21

San Francisco State

W 59-46

May 1

UC San Diego

April 8-9

Humboldt State

Jan. 21

San Francisco State

L 70-83

Jan. 22

Cal State Monterey Bay

May 6-7

@Sonoma State

April 15-16

@Cal State Dom. Hills

Jan. 22

Cal State Monterey Bay

W 73-68

Jan. 28

Cal State Dominguez Hills

W 55-42

May 8

Sonoma State

April 21-22

Cal State Monterey Bay

Jan. 28

Cal State Dominguez Hills

L 66-76

Jan. 29

Cal State L.A.

W 63-60

May 12-14

CCAA Tournament

April 29-May 1 CCAA Tournament

Jan. 29

Cal State L.A.

L 53-71

Feb. 3

@Sonoma State

W 64-44

May 19-22

NCAA West Regional

May 13-15

NCAA West Regional

Feb. 3

@Sonoma State

W 80-77

Feb. 5

@Humboldt State

L 66-76

May 20-21

NCAA Super Regional

Feb. 5

@Humboldt State

L 60-65

Feb. 10

@Cal State East Bay

L 69-74

May 26-30

NCAA Division II College WS

Feb. 10

@Cal State East Bay

L 66-72

Feb. 12

@UC San Diego

L 60-71

Feb. 12

@UC San Diego

W 60-56

Feb. 18

Cal Poly Pomona

L 79-93

Feb. 18

Cal Poly Pomona

W 62-58

Feb. 19

Cal State San Bernardino

L 60-70

Feb. 19

Cal State San Bernardino

L 60-67

Feb. 24

@Cal State Monterey Bay

5:30 p.m.

Feb. 24

@Cal State Monterey Bay

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 25

@San Francisco State

5:30 p.m.

Feb. 25

@San Francisco State

7:30 p.m.

March 1-5

CCAA Championship Tourney

TBA

Sept. 19-21

Sonoma State Invitational

Feb. 26

Wildcat Relays

March 1-5

CCAA Championship Tourney

TBA

March 11-14

NCAA Championship Tourney

TBA

Sept. 27-28

Grand Canyon Invitational

March 5

Kim Duyst Invitational

March 12-15

NCAA Championship Tourney

TBA

March 23-26

NCAA Championship Elite 8

TBA

Oct. 11-12

Viking Invitational

March 12

Aggie Open

March 23-26

NCAA Championship Elite 8

TBA

Oct. 18-19

Golf Mart Lady Otter Invitational

March 19

Hornet Invitational

March 5-6

Cal State East Bay Invitational

March 23-24

California Multi-event

March 21-22

InterWest Chico State Invitational

March 25-26

S.F. Distance Carnival/Stanford Invite

March 28--29

CSU Monterey Bay Otter Invite

April 2

American River College

L 38-51

MEN’S GOLF Feb. 28-Mar.1 Coyote Classic

May 28-June 2 NCAA Division II College WS

WOMEN’S GOLF

W 7-0 L 0-9 W 2-0 W 4-1, L 1-2

TRACK AND FIELD

April 18-19

CCAA Championships

April 4-5

Grand Canyon Invitational

April 8-9

Chico Distance Carnival/Twilight Invite

March 21-22

Mustang Intercollegiate

May 2-4

NCAA Super Regional

April 11-12

Tarleton State Invitational

April 15-16

Mt. Sac Relays/Woody Wilson

March 28-29

Grand Canyon Thunderbird Invite

May 17-20

NCAA National Championships

May 1-3

NCAA Super Regional

April 22-23

CA/OR Border Battle

April 30

Peyton Jordan Invitational

May 5-7

CCAA Championships

May 13-14

Stanislaus Twilight

May 26-28

NCAA Championships

Note for softball, golf and track and ﬁeld: Home meets and tournaments are in bold, while neutral sites are in italics.

SERVICE DIRECTORY >>

What’s black & white and read all over?

READ

PPD

B6 |

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011

SPORTS

always online >> theorion.com

Q./0 4 ' R 7 4 H T M-

$1 menu • Quesadilla • Wings • sliders • Select Shots • Corn Dog (Dine in ONLY) * no substitutions

1.75 $3

Ice Cold Beer flavored double lemonade

free wifi

702 W. 5th st. 343-7459

WANTED :REWARD: GET CAUGHT

reading

THE ORION

and receive a free Tumbler and Fountain Drink from the A.S. Bookstore.

arts

Armed for Apocalypse equipped for End of Days Story C2

TASTE MAKER C2 DAILY DOSE C5

arts all week at theorion.com

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

Earl Parsons ARTS EDITOR

Pop Culture Shock

Emcees to wage verbal warfare Nicole Walker STAFF WRITER

t’s the natural talent, the quick rebuttals, the rhymes, the beats — it’s hip-hop.

ILLUSTRATIVE PHOTO • KEVIN LEE

BATTLE TACTICS Local rapper Quentin “Eye-Que” Fields, a Junior communication and public aﬀ airs major, will participate in today’s Rap Olympics at 8 p.m. in Common Grounds.

Today’s Rap Olympics in Common Grounds, hosted by AS Live!, will cater to Chico’s hip-hop community with live rap battles, event coordinator Sandra Hall said. Contestants will face oﬀ in pairs with 30 seconds of introduction followed by 30 seconds of rebuttal. They begin at 8 p.m. These battles have been absent from Chico for two years, but the talented minds behind local hip-hop are determined to bring the new generation of this genre back, Chico State junior Quentin Fields said. “Rap to me is the rhyming of words rhythmically,” he said. “I see rap as a piece of the hiphop’s four pillars.” Fields, better known as Chico emcee Eye-Que, will be a participant in the Rap Olympics. At

age seven, Fields “spit his ﬁrst freestyle” after watching Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s “Crossroads” music video, he said. Chico has slowly begun to accept hip-hop as a real genre of music as it works its way out of its negative reputation, Fields said. Fields and his band Live Assist have combined hip-hop, funk, rock and jazz sounds to inspire people to look at the society they live in, Fields said. They take hip-hop to a new level with a live band and horn section. The songs by Fields and Live Assist are thought-provoking, sharing mixing up the mood with up-tempo, energetic dance music. Fields and his band have helped change the hip-hop culture in Chico by joining the

movement away from autotune, or technology that ﬁlters the artist’s voice and instruments to artiﬁcially equalize a song’s vocal tuning, he said. “The auto-tune overkill will serve as a good lesson to future artists and show them what not to ever do again,” Fields said. The absence of auto-tune will lead artists into becoming more creative instead of replicating other sounds and trends, Fields said. The Rap Olympics will bring out the competitive and creative nature of the artists by giving them a place to embrace their talents. Hip-hop has come a long way, but its next generation is full of up-and-coming artists who bring innovative techniques to the table. “Hip-hop is strong and well,” Fields said. “So don’t expect it to be going anywhere anytime soon.” Nicole Walker can be reached at nwalker@theorion.com

Storytelling trailer oﬀers shared stories Leila Rodriguez STAFF WRITER

A tin mobile trailer parked in front of City Plaza creates curious glances. It sits quietly as a few people enter and exit it. Bold red letters reading “StoryCorps” and the NPR logo painted on the outside give little indication as to why the trailer is in Chico. But inside, heartfelt tales are shared between loved ones. A small table and two large

microphones in the back of the trailer invite many patrons to talk about anything, from parenting to childhood memories. Equipped with professional recording devices, a small audio crew oﬀers participants a tangible piece of recorded history to cherish forever. Since its inception by Dave Isay in 2003, StoryCorps’ national oral history project has collected more than 30,000 stories from participants all over the country with the intention of teaching >> please see NPR | C3

Cable alphabet soup A science fiction channel shows professional wrestling. A music television network only plays music during montages for pregnant teenagers. A channel that used to show live court cases now spends 24 hours a day replaying truelife crime documentaries. As cable television has grown from its experimental beginnings and ushered in today’s fragmentary era of popular culture, networks either change their name and logo or erase everything the name’s initials used to stand for as they acquire a demographic grasp on their audiences. Syfy The Sci-Fi Channel in 1992 was exactly what it sounds like — they showed “Star Trek” and “The Twilight Zone” reruns all day. But then a bunch of executives at NBCUniversal decided that they didn’t want to be tied down to that anymore, so they changed the name to Syfy and filled most of their airtime with shows that are only tangentially science fiction, including their line of cheesy horror movies like “Boa vs. Python,” “Ice Spiders,” “Chupacabra: Dark Seas” and one called “WWE SmackDown,” which I think is about a government steroid that turns barrel-chested men into drooling, spandex-clad zombies capable of performing body slams. AMC Some cable networks manage to keep their original intent intact while rebranding for new audiences. AMC had acquired sophisticated viewers with its library of fairly modern classic films and began green-lighting shows with the kind of precise, methodical realism that its audience is looking for. The plan has worked extremely well — “Breaking Bad” is one of the most compelling programs in the history of television, “Mad Men” is a soft-spoken period piece with a talented ensemble cast, and “The Walking Dead” even manages to shine at times. Independent Film Channel IFC is cutting back slightly on independent movies and shooting for the stoned audience that they’ve had all along. IFC had original comedy since “Whitest Kids U’Know,” but now they’ve dedicated themselves to it full-time with “Portlandia” and the “Onion News Network” to accompany reruns of “Arrested Development,” “The Ben Stiller Show” and Seth Rogen’s debut show “Freaks and Geeks.” Just two or three years ago, a network that showed only ’90s sketch comedy and uncensored Kevin Smith movies wouldn’t have been able to see the light of day. But as TV’s stranglehold on the advertising marketplace continues to be undermined by DVRs and the Web, cable channels are challenging the Big Four networks for every dollar by reaching out to niche groups of viewers.

THE ORION • KYLE EMERY

PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS NPR employee Jorge Rios [left] talks to Chico resident Joan Goodreau [middle] and her daughter Monica Crowl at the StoryCorps trailer in front of City Plaza Friday.

Earl Parsons can be reached at artseditor@theorion.com

VIRAL VIDEOS >> speaking “Don’t call us when the new age gets old enough to drink.” Beck “Lord Only Knows” 1996

“WJW Fox 8 Cleveland does a ridiculous story on a bear in a lady’s backyard” YouTube “This is what the bear probably looked like, except real.”

“Wiener Poopie Ransom Note for Jesus News” YouTube A lady neglects to clean her Dachshunds’ fecal material, so her neighbors kidnap a Jesus statue in her yard and hold it hostage.

C2 |

WEDNESDAY, W WEDNESDA ESDA AY, FEB. F 23, 2011

ARTS

always online >> theorion.com

Ear-opening experience Madison Parker

the good good, the the bad & the undecided

STAFF WRITER

compiled by Earl Parsons

THE GOOD >>

>> “The King of Limbs” (ALBUM) Radiohead is probably the only band that can still make an album release a spectacle. Rather than give the record away for free like they did with “In Rainbows,” Radiohead decided to release “The King of Limbs” a day earlier than announced, leading to widespread word-of-mouth across the Web. From a guerilla marketing standpoint, it was genius. Musically, “The King of Limbs” is good but feels a bit rushed at just eight tracks. The album tends to fall more in the “Kid A”/“Amnesiac” school of electronic ambience than the “OK Computer”-esque instrumental rock that came to deﬁne “In Rainbows.” The tempo remains fairly even throughout and a few of the songs are largely forgettable, but a new Radiohead album beats a kick in the face any day.

>> “The People’s Key” (ALBUM) Conor Oberst is grown up now.

PHOTOS BY KYLE EMERY

TIP YOUR BOW Violinist Matt Raley and pianist Cara Okano perform during Chico State’s “Open Ears” music symposium Thursday at the Rowland-Taylor Recital Hall in the Performing Arts Center.

The electronic sounds blaring through the walls of the Rowland-Taylor Recital Hall were composed of the purr of cats and the clang of kitchen appliances, not the booming bass of manufactured beats. The two-day New Music Symposium, this year titled “Open Ears,” featured a night of student-composed works Thursday and a guest artist and master teacher performing his work Friday. Thursday’s pieces ranged from acoustic to electronic and consisted of compositions written by students and performed by peers and professional musicians, said David Dvorin, artistic director and music department faculty member. The stage was practically bare except for the chairs and lecterns provided for the musicians. The show opened with a piece called “Chasing the Storm,” by sophomore music composition and recording arts major Hugh Hammond, who also performed in another

composition of his own. The solo violin song set the mood with frantically beautiful tones, transporting the audience from their plastic auditorium chairs to the shore of a stormy sea. Hammond began playing piano at the age of 12 and composed his ﬁrst song a year later, he said. Hammond has no experience playing the violin, and like many students in the showcase, he didn’t play the instrument he wrote music for. “It’s a totally diﬀerent dynamic having an audience,” Hammond said. “It’s a journey you go on together.” The mood changed just as quickly as Hammond had established it. The lights dimmed and the stage was left empty. The echo of claps was still reverberating through the room as the screech of a cat boomed out of the speakers and Catherine Arthur’s electronic piece “Cat Music” began, a composition of cats for cats. The noises were indistinguishable as the cats hissed, meowed and licked their lips through the surrounding speakers.

FRONT AND CENTER Pianists Hugh Hammond, [left], and Marilyn McGee address the crowd.

He can’t be the angsty youth we’ve all begrudgingly learned to love any more, which is why it’s nice to see that Oberst’s newest Bright Eyes album addresses his common themes of love and religion in a more ambivalent context. He’s not simply rebuking the existence of God like he used to but looking at faith as a way that people ﬁll their empty lives. It’s also nice to see Oberst using more upbeat electronic songs and shedding away that “new Bob Dylan” label that’s cursed him from the beginning.

THE BAD >>

>> “Live at Stubb’s Vol. II” (ALBUM) The saying goes that you can’t catch lightning in the same bottle twice, and this is certainly the case in Matisyahu’s second live album at the venue that established his Orthodox Jewish reggae style. The real problem here is that this performance doesn’t match up with the energy of the original, and none of his new songs come close to equaling the greatness of “King Without A Crown.”

THE UNDECIDED >>

>> “Cedar Rapids” (FILM) If I lived in a big city, I would have something to say about this movie. But since the studios decided to premiere “Cedar Rapids” at Sundance and promote it through limited release, I probably won’t be able to see it until it comes out on DVD. I don’t quite understand how a screwball business convention comedy with Ed Helms and John C. Reilly doesn’t warrant mass release, but I’m not a shrewd businessman, either.

NETFLIX INSTANT >>

>> “Black Dynamite” (FILM) This 2009 parody nails every element of ’70s blaxploitation films like “Superfly” and “Dolemite,” from the shaky, out-of-focus camera angles to the awkward, poorly-edited

A similar piece, Chris Faridniya’s “Kitchen Dreams,” used sounds made in the kitchen. The show’s incorporation of instrumental and experimental electronic music made for an interesting experience. “I’m used to classical and acoustic music,” said Amanda Coronado, junior music education major. “But the electronic music was completely new and different.” The longest composition in the student showcase was Kevin Valenzuela’s “Flux: A Study on Greek Elements,” performed by a trio of piano, violin and cello. Clocking in at more than 18 minutes, the song was a fourpart composition exemplifying the powers of fire, water, earth and air. Each performance lent different qualities to the show, from futuristic electronic pieces to a seven-member march composition. Now in its seventh consecutive year, the symposium used to be a three-day show incorporating faculty compositions, but has evolved to become completely driven by the Student Composer Forum, Dvorin said. Students help create the line-up and compose, perform and run the lighting and public address systems. “It’s student driven in that the students play vital roles along the process,” Dvorin said. “I use it as a learning experience for them.” To become part of the “Open Ears” show, students had to present their fi nished pieces to Dvorin, but no auditions were conducted. “I want to give a forum for students to succeed and have the opportunity,” he said. “I don’t try to judge too much or curate it too much.” The symposium is an annual event that provides the opportunity for students’ composed pieces to be performed, and for their peers to enjoy it. Madison Parker can be reached mparker@theorion.com

Armed for Apocalypse brutalize LaSalles Tim Kerber STAFF WRITER

Armed for Apocalypse headlined at LaSalles Feb. 16, kicking oﬀ its four-day tour down the coast of California by playing with Into The Open Earth and Eightfourseven. Much beer and head banging was had by all. As soon as the band members picked up their instruments for sound check, the crowd rushed to the stage. Guitarist and singer Kirk Williams announced that they were “going to play some new shit,” leaving the audience stoked with anticipation. Armed for Apocalypse is an incredibly accomplished band, friend of the band Sesar Sanchez said. “They’re the most puttogether and driven band in town,” he said. “They have goals set in their mind beyond Chico.” Last spring, Armed for Apocalypse toured in the metal Valhalla of Europe, including a memorable concert at a festival in Finland where they performed alongside folk metal legends Finntroll. “We play the heaviest music we possibly can,” said Williams, who growled and grunted like a metal beast god during the course of the show, whipping his mane back and forth. Corey

Vaspra tore the notes from his bass as if in offering or sacrifice. Nick Harris attacked the drums like a Viking deity and Cayle Hunter raised his guitar in the air like an unholy artifact as the captivated audience responded by raising their beers in worship. After each song, the crowd was howling for more. At one point, a member of the crowd became possessed by the music and was overcome by divine drunken rage, starting a one-man mosh pit that evolved into a brief fight. And so he was banished by the bouncer. There was a short pause in the set, during which the band took shots, encouraging the crowd to do the same. By the end of the night, the band and the audience were engaged in glorious synchronized head banging. In the middle of the last song, Williams licked the chords of his guitar like a lover, drawing further cheers from the audience. At the end of the show, Williams donated two words of wisdom. “Persistence and perseverance,” he said. “But the most important thing is you’ve got to be a good band. You’ve got to really be into it and be into for the right reason.” Tim Kerber can be reached at tkerber@theorion.com

exchanges of dialogue to the soul music that narrates exactly what’s happening on the screen. With cameos from Tommy Davidson, Arsenio Hall and Brian McKnight, “Black Dynamite” lacks a single unfunny moment.

THE ORION • KEVIN LEE

LION’S ROAR Lead singer and guitarist Kirk WIlliams screams into the microphone with Armed for Apocalypse Feb. 16 at LaSalles.

ARTS

always online >> theorion.com

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011 |

REVIEW

NPR: StoryCorps ships

CHANGE OF PLANS Chris Velan performs Friday at Cafe Coda. The singersongwriter quit his job at a law ﬁrm and dedicated himself to music fulltime after vacationing in West Africa.

audio to Library of Congress

continued from C1

the powerful value of listening through the stories of American people. The most public face for the project is its weekly Friday morning spot on NPR, where one story is selected and shared over airwaves. “One percent of the conversation is eventually edited down to that one broadcast every Friday morning,” said Lilly Sullivan, one of StoryCorps’ mobile site supervisors. “It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the life that actually passes through these walls.” Every story told and recorded is then filed into The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The van will remain in Chico until March 5. Facilitators Dana Glass and Jorge Rios accompany Sullivan. They have a minute in the recording booth and encourage the conversation along through all of the technical aspects of recording. At times the microphones present the daunting expectation of sharing something monumental. “Sometimes people feel dragged down here by an enthusiastic family member,” Sullivan said. “But then people forget the mics are there and start talking about their lives.” StoryCorps’ mission to record, share and preserve oral tradition makes a large project like theirs possible with the available technology, Glass said. “People walk out of the StoryCorps’ trailer with a tangible piece of history personally narrated by them,” she said. Sullivan ﬁnds it impossible to detach herself from the stories she hears, she said. “A lot goes on in the booth,” Sullivan said. “But at the same time the 40 minutes is their time to have.”

Glass can’t deny being emotionally invested in the stories, she said. “In that moment it doesn’t so much come into play for me,” she said. “Because my job is to make sure the people have the room to have that moment.” From city to city, Sullivan sees a common theme of different generations bringing in their mother to thank her for her work and dedication. “It’s pretty incredible how you can go your whole life knowing someone and not actually say that,” she said. “Part of what’s really moving is what people have in common.” An early chilly Friday afternoon session for Chico residents Joan Goodreau and her daughter Monica Growl concluded with satisfaction. Their hour together only enhanced fond family memories, Growl said. The two spoke of Goodreau’s parents who passed NPR away, GooSTORYCORPS dreau said. She enjoyed To register for hearing her an appointment daughter with speak of her StoryCorps, call parents as 800-850-4406 her grandor visit www. parents, storycorps.org. A $25 comparing donation fee is Friday’s hour suggested for session with every recording her daughter session. as a mosaic. “This creates sort of a picture,” Goodreau said. “Kind of completes those old photos of them.” Growl and Goodreau’s story will be placed in the “chamber of echoes” alongside many others in the Library of Congress. Leila Rodriguez can be reached at lrodriguez@theorion.com

THE ORION • RYAN RICHARDS

Velan trades legal pads for songbooks Isaac Brambila STAFF WRITER

Chris Velan’s soft vocals and acoustic guitar serenaded the atmosphere Friday night at Cafe Coda. The former environmental lawyer, who decided to change his career more than ﬁve years ago to pursue his musical dream, stopped in Chico on his eight-show West Coast tour. Velan swayed bodies with a distinct blend of sounds and the soft lyrical melody of his voice. The night melted together in a combination of folk, soft rock, reggae and West African music that gave the act a fresh, happy sound. “I like the layered, trancelike guitar that you get coming out of Africa,” Velan said. The audience danced, cheered and enjoyed a few drinks while Velan ripped the stage with catchy guitar riﬀs, jam moments with his eyes closed and shoeless

New Thursday Night Specials

10 PM MOVIE NIGHT - FREE POOL - FREE BEER PONG - FREE FLIP CUP.

!** 0)/$' ($ )$"#/ 344 W. Eighth (530) 343-2790 www.thegraduatechico.com

PITCHERS

Don't Throw Your Cash in the Trash! Recycle with the only non-profit, full service buy-back center in Chico

CRV Aluminum Cans:

$1.54/lb

CRV #1 Plastic:

$.93/lb

FAIR STREET Recycling

Your money stays here and creates jobs for adults with disabilites! 2300 Fair St. Chico 530 343-8641

Work Training Center

Hours: Mon-Fri 8am - 4pm Sat 8am - 3:30pm

foot stomps. “He’s an energetic guy on stage,” said Velan’s photographer and friend Steven Rosenfield. “I love to take his pictures.” The energetic stage presence was complemented by the rhythmic, percussive beat Velan created by hitting his acoustic guitar with his hand and stomping his foot on the floor, adding layers of depth with looped guitar pedal sounds. Velan’s eclectic mix of musical influences comes from different stages in his life, including his years spent growing up with singer-songwriters, listening to ’80s alternative rock in his teenage years and embarking on a trip through West Africa, he said. Velan’s African adventure started after the law firm he worked for in his native Canada didn’t want to re-hire him, he said. An opportunity presented itself when his friends

Zach Niles and Banker White were making a documentary ﬁlm titled “Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars,” about a group of musicians in West Africa. Velan jumped on the opportunity. “I didn’t really know what was going to happen,” he said. “But I knew there was music involved.” The documentary’s success helped Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars land a record deal and schedule international tours, and it inspired Velan to leave his career as a lawyer behind to dedicate his life to music fulltime and help the environment. “I was disenchanted with the profession and always had music pulling at me,” Velan said. “I was writing songs when I could have been writing legal memos.” Velan realized he could convey his ideas about the environment and international human rights through music and through meeting people,

so he decided to take that path instead of the courtroom, he said. Velan is a peaceful person who believes in equality, and he conveys that attitude through his lyrics and through his work with the human rights organization The Love is Life Foundation, of which Rosenﬁeld is president and founder. “Ever since day one he has been willing to help out through his music or by introducing me to people,” Rosenﬁeld said. Velan is currently planning another West Coast tour, where he plans to explore other musical projects with David Brogan and Dan Lebowitz of the band Animal Liberation Orchestra. The trio will be performing their respective solo projects together, performing each other’s material for part of the show. Isaac Brambila can be reached ibrambila@theorion.com

C4 |

ARTS

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

always online >> theorion.com

REVIEW

SECURITY BLANKET Linus, played by Jeﬀ White, admits to the gang that he will never leave his beloved blanket in the Chico Theatre Company’s production of the musical “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.”

PHOTOS BY FRANK REBELO

Musical brings ‘Peanuts’ to life Paige Fuentes STAFF WRITER

Lucy offers psychiatric help for five cents at her booth. Snoopy fl ies his doghouse. Schroeder rocks out to Beethoven on the piano. Linus has his security blanket, Charlie Brown works on mustering up the courage to talk to the little red-headed girl and much more. Under the direction of Bob Maness, “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” has come alive with costumes that are especially reminiscent of Charles Schulz’s classic comic strip. This show will surely bring back some youthful memories. “It takes us through some wonderful adventures that you will not forget,” Maness said. “It takes to a day with Charlie Brown and we get to meet

“

a lot of the familiar characters from It takes us the strip.” Jacob Carr through plays the role some of Charlie wonderful Brown, and he’s had to get adventures rid of a lot to that you become his will not character — forget. mainly hair. Carr has had to shave all BOB MANESS of the hair on Director his face and head to match the clinically depressed hero. Good grief. The song “My New Philosophy,” sung by Robin White owning the song as Charlie Brown’s sister Sally, seemed to be a hit with the crowd. From the opening number onward, viewers can expect

“

Pregnant? Need Help?

TELL ME A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THAT Chantal Hazzard as Lucy oﬀers advice to Charlie Brown, played by Jake Carr.

to be impressed by the peppy musical numbers and fun dances choreographed by Kate Reeves. The cast seems to have good chemistry on stage and the audience can really feel it. When Lucy, played by Chico State psychology major Chantal Hazzard, lies atop the piano, one can’t help but laugh at her obvious yearning for a kiss from Schroeder, played by Blair Palmerlee. The show opened with a special performance Friday at the Chico Uniﬁed School District’s Performing Arts Center and will run through March 6 at the Chico Theater Company. The theater will also be accepting donations on behalf of Project Linus, which provides blankets to children in need. Paige Fuentes can be reached at pfuentes@theorion.com

We are here. We can help.

Reach your potential Find your purpose %LRORJLFDO 6FLHQFHV %XVLQHVV $GPLQLVWUDWLRQ &RPPXQLFDWLRQ (GXFDWLRQ (QJLQHHULQJ ,QWHUFXOWXUDO 5HODWLRQV 0XVLF (GXFDWLRQ 0XVLF 7KHUDS\ 3KDUPDFHXWLFDO DQG &KHPLFDO 6FLHQFHV 3K\VLFDO 7KHUDS\ 3V\FKRORJ\ 6SHHFK²/DQJXDJH 3DWKRORJ\ 6SRUW 6FLHQFHV

FREE PREGNANCY TESTS people who care

Graduate Studies

209.946.7639 www.Pacific.edu/Graduate

See our menu on: weedtracker.com weedmaps.com

Advertise in our housing guide.

Lindo Ave

Hwy 32

East Ave

North Valley Hollistic Health

530-345-9711 800-550-4900

2961 Highway 32, Suite 17

530.891.HERB www.northvalleyhh.com

530.898.4237

daily dose always online >> theorion.com

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

<< T ODAY

Rap Olympics

7:30 p.m. @Common Grounds Free Local emcees trade rhyming insults in a rap battle tournment.

T H U R S DAY

F R I DAY

Vampirates

Brass Hysteria

8 p.m. @ Monstros Pizza $5

8:30 p.m. @ 1078 Gallery $5

Hillbilly/ska hybrid band Brass Hysteria highlights a night of ska at 1078 Gallery with Sacramento’s La Noche Oskura and Redding’s One Sol.

Reno hardcore group highlights a night of beer, pizza, blood, sweat and tears with Don’t Care and Season of the Witch.

options >> TODAY

Clouds on Strings 8 p.m. @ Cafe Coda $5

T H U R SDAY

Israel Vibration

8:30 p.m. @ Senator Theatre $15

F R I DAY

Zach Zeller 8 p.m. @ Cafe Flo $3

Clouds on Strings performs with Galapoghost and Themes at Cafe Coda on 265 Humbolt Avenue.

Come enjoy an evening of rock steady with these Jamaican natives as they stop by Chico with genuine roots reggae.

Singer-songwriter performs with Orland’s Hundred Dollar Groom.

Led Zeppelin Trivia

Ugly Cosby Sweater Party

7:30 p.m. @ Laxson Auditorium $14 student admission

Contest

8 p.m. @ Woodstock’s Pizza The winner of this week’s Zeppelin-themed trivia competition at Woodstock’s will receive two free tickets to see Led Zepagain Saturday at the El Rey Theatre.

7-10 p.m. @ Sylvester’s Cafe Free

Dig through grandpa’s clothes and come dressed to embarrass as the Office of Diversity throws another theme party.

Brubeck Brothers Quartet

The two Brubreck Brothers and their partners in crime come to Chico for a night of jazz-fusion.

SAT U R DAY

Led Zepagain

8 p.m. @ El Rey Theatre $15 advance admission Led Zeppelin cover group builds stairway to classic rock.

SAT U R DAY

Aubrey Debauchery 8 p.m. @ Cafe Coda $5

Singer-songwriter Aubrey Debauchery performs with Kelly Brown and Seattle’s Curtis Zinn.

Extreme Makeover: Journalism Edition 9 a.m.-3 p.m. @ Tehama Hall Free

A panel of reporters and editors from across the North State will provide tips on keeping journalism alive in the 21st Century.

SU N DAY

JJ Grey

7:30 p.m. @ El Rey Theatre $18.50 advance admission Singer-songwriter JJ Grey performs with Sunny War.

SU N DAY

Soft Crest

8 p.m. @ Cafe Coda $5 Soft Crest debuts their new CD alongside Last Watch of Hillstomp and Fort Jams.

Dance Church

10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. @ Cafe Culture Come to Cafe Culture with a skip in your step and praise in your heart for the Mind, Body and Soul exercises with David Winglifter.t

| C5

necessities MON DAY

Ingenuity: Thinking Creatively 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. @ Turner Print Museum Free

The Turner Print Museum’s exhibit on invention premieres in the Meriam library. Curator’s talk and reception March 3.

MON DAY

Sam Bush Band

@ Sierra Nevada Big Room $25 The self-proclaimed King of Newgrass shares the stage with guitarist Stephen Mougin, banjo player Scott Vestal, bassist Todd Parks and Chris Brown on drums.

Aaron Jaqua 6-7:30 p.m. @ Cafe Flo Free

Country artist Aaron Jaqua and friends perform on the second and fourth Monday of every month.

T U E S DAY

Academic Faire 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. @ Bell Memorial Union Auditorium Free

Representatives from all of Chico State’s individual colleges of study will be on hand to provide information for students seeking a major.

T U E SDAY

‘Broken Promises, Shattered Lives’ 4-4:45 p.m @ Ayres Hall 120 Free

Chico State’s International Forum presents this discussion from history professor Kate Transchel.

Pyroklast

8 p.m. @ Monstros Pizza $5 Pyroklast performs at Monstros with a band to be announced.

STAFF FAVORITES >> MOVIE POSTERS “Eagle vs. Shark” — “Tell him that justice is waiting for him.” The awkward romance between Jemaine Clement and Loren Horsley speaks volumes in this movie poster, even though there is no battle between the eagle or shark. The two make an adorable on-screen couple as Horsley joins Clement in seeking revenge on a high school bully. >> Leila Rodriguez Staﬀ Writer

“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” – With the desert in the background and Vegas reﬂecting in Raoul Duke’s glasses, this is my favorite movie poster. My intense love for Johnny Depp may make me biased, but I think it gives you an accurate glimpse what to expect from the movie. >> Paige Fuentes Staﬀ Writer

“Kill Bill Vol. I” – If I tell you to think of the color yellow with a vertical black stripe over it, what are you thinking of? If it’s Uma Thurman wrecking shop ninja-style in a badass leather jumpsuit, then congratulations. You are a healthy, sane individual. >> Max Nelson Ad Designer

C6 |

ARTS

WEDNESDAY FEB. 23, 2011

always online >> theorion.com

3/34/22

Extreme MAKEOVER

Beerfest

Marked For DeaTH

Journalism Edition

with the winter formal

FRI 25th

Instruction t Insights t Inspiration

Saturday

MOJO CHILD (tribute to the Doors)

8:30 show

w/ McBride Brothers

exp. 3/31/11

Feb. 26, 2011 9 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3 p.m. For more information contact

Dave Waddell at dwaddell@csuchico.edu or call 530.898.4782

PROJECT MANAGER BY DAY. GRAD STUDENT BY NIGHT. *%0 " % ( %% (%% ! +,- ',+ /(*$ -%% ,#& " 0 '3, !( ,( ,* #,#(' % -'#. *+#,0 , * ' & ' '#. *+#,0 % ++ + & , #' ,"

. '#'!+ (' / $ +( +,- ',+ ' & ' !

/(*$ ' + "((% #," (-* 0 * *(-' / $

2 - ,#(' 2 *! '#1 ,#(' % *+"#)

+ ++#('+ (-* +,- ',+ *' ," #* !* + +, *

Win Cash Prizes

YUBA CITY CAMPUS

( * (. * (' &)-+ ' ('%#' )*(!* &+ +#!' (* ," -+# +, )*( ++#(' %+ -+ / 3* '(' )*(4 , / #'. +, &(* #' +,- ', +-))(*, ' &# .#+#'! +( &(*

2 +0 "(%(!0 2 ) # % - ,#('

2 -+#' ++ &#'#+,* ,#(' 2 -& ' +(-* +

( (-* +,- ',+ (&)% , ," #* !* + #' (-, "(/ * ' & ' ' " %) 0(- ( ,, *

Call 800-746-0353 Click brandman.edu Follow us

CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM Brandman University is a non-profit institution accredited by, and a member of, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

features

features all week at theorion.com

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

Spring break options for students

Ally Dukkers F E AT U R E S E D I T O R

The Ally Way ...

Stephanie Consiglio STAFF WRITER

With fewer than 20 days until spring break, many students are looking for activities to get involved with during the break. Activities such as surf trips, raftguiding school and bartending school will certainly help keep this year’s week-long party a vacation worth remembering. Here is a guide for those still pondering what to do in March. Party in Havasu For students who are interested in making their spring vacation one big party, Summer Winter Action Tours is the program to sign up for, said Bobby Bellucci, a junior business administration major. A charter bus picks up 200 or more students and drives 12 hours to Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Bellucci said. Students can take the bus or they can drive themselves, but the bus is where most people start their spring break. “The bus is one of the most fun parts of the trip,” Bellucci said. “You get to meet all the new people and you can start early with the party.” The trip includes three nights at hotels, which are beach front, he said. Students can also stay closer to the clubs and take a transit buss to the beach. Bands play nonstop throughout the day and there’s a night rave, he said. Activities such as paddleboarding, beach games and jet skis are also available to rent. The Bartending College Students who want to take a break from drinking but still be involved in a party scene can attend The Bartending College in Sacramento and be a certiﬁed bartender in a week. Katrina Rodriguez, a senior communications design major, is taking advantage of

SPRING BREAK ADVENTURES

Raft-guiding school There are trips oﬀered for everyone with a huge range of price and activities, Hingley said. The rafting-guide school is skill-focused, where students can gain new skills and experience, she said. Students can also use this to get a summer job or open doors for a full-time job around the world. “It’s something that students can do besides partying,” Hingley said. “It’s another way they can connect to other parts of campus and meet new people.”

THE ORION • DANIELLE BUIS

SPRING COUNTDOWN Sara Boer, a freshman chemistry major, uses her wipe oﬀ board to count down the days until she and her six friends leave for Lake Havasu City in Arizona during spring break. her spring break to become a bartender. “My old roommate did it in San Francisco and ever since then I have wanted to do it,” she said. “You can

make lots of tips and guys are always nice to girls. They will deﬁ nitely tip you.” Students will get to work with professional bartenders and this is a way to ﬁ nd a job in the future, director of the college Bob Martin said. The training teaches students more than 200 drinks, but they must be 21, Martin said. “I think it will be a great

way for students to make a lot of quick money, meet new people and have fun,” Rodriguez said. Surf and ski trips There are three trips planned through Associated Students Adventure Outings, which include skiing at Donner Summit, surﬁng in Santa Cruz and a raft guide school, said Ann Marie Hingley, assistant director for outdoor programs. Students are encouraged to sign up early for the pre-trip meetings, she said. Spring break is the best time to go away for a little bit and get rid of all the stress from school. “I love getting outdoors and being out in nature,” Hingley said. “It’s peaceful and beautiful and a good break from life.”

SWAT Costs: $349 to stay on the beach, $299 oﬀ the beach Charter bus fee: $95 Days: March 14- 17 March 1 is last day to pay Bartending College Costs: $399 Textbook: $25 Days: March 14-17 Three classes a day — 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 2 to 10 p.m. The college is located in Sacramento on Folsom Boulevard

Building a home Students who like to spend time giving back can sign up to help build a family’s house through the Community Action Volunteers in Education organization. Volunteers will be doing various construction projects from pouring concrete to framing houses down south in Lynwood, Calif., near Los Angeles, said Hannah Murphy, alternative spring break coordinator. Supervisors from the Habitat for Humanity Club will help the group build the house, CAVE outreach manager Elisa Trimboli said. It is a good opportunity because it is a whole week-long trip during the school year where most of the time students only get to volunteer for an hour, she said. “You’re not thinking about anything else,” Murphy said. “You don’t have an essay due the next day, it’s literally a whole week oﬀ away from school, and you get to volunteer,” Spring break inspires Trimboli to make a diﬀerence in the world, she siad. “It’s a very motivating week,” Trimboli said. “I always come back like I’m going to change the world.”

Adventure Outings Trip to Tahoe — Cost: $150 Days: March 13-16 Ten spots available for students Trip to Santa Cruz — Cost:$215 Days: March 16-19 Thirteen spots for students Raft guide school — Cost: $350 Days: March 11-19 Twenty-two spots All trips are ﬁrst come, ﬁrst serve Sign-ups last until week before trip

Stephanie Consiglio can be reached at sconsiglio@theorion.com

Monks inspire Sierra Nevada’s beer collection Melissa Hahn STAFF WRITER

Benjamin Franklin supposedly said, “beer is proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy.” Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. continues Franklin’s philosophy with the newest additions to its beer collection. Ovila Abbey Ales are limited-edition Belgian style beers that will roll into the market in three waves — Dubbel in the spring, Saison in the summer and Quad in the winter, said Bill Manley, communications coordinator at Sierra Nevada. Dubbel is a 7 percent alcohol by volume amber beer, Saison will be a seven percent ABV hazy blonde beer and Quad will be a 10 percent ABV dark brown beer, he said. The ales were inspired by monks from a monastery called the Abbey of New Clairvaux

SEX COLUMN D2 CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT D5 LOOKING BACK D5 THE NEBULA D5

Sales drop in downtown comic book stores Story D3

THE ORION • FRANK REBELO

in Vina, Manley said. The Abbey monks belong to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance community, who follow the rule of St. Benedict based on the Catholic religion, Manley said. The monks are commonly known as Trappists. Three of the Abbey monks approached Sierra Nevada with a project to recreate monastery-style beers that were traditional in Belgium, said Father Anthony of the Abbey of New Clairvaux in a phone

interview. The monks have a long history of making ales that are stronger and fuller in body than American beers, such as Coors or Budweiser. The Ovila Abbey Ales duplicate the style of monastery beers, Manley said. “It would be really cool to play around with some of the styles that are traditional in Europe,” he said. “So we’re kind of recreating some of these European styles, speciﬁcally Belgian, here in >> please see BEER | D4

OVILA ALE Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is releasing special edition beers in March. The beers are inspired by the Monks from the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina. Part of the proceeds from the new beers will go to resorting the Chapter House. The new beers are called Ovila Abbey Ale, and are a limited-edition Belgian style beers.

Spring cleaning Living in filth. This is what is presented to viewers of TLC’s TV show “Hoarding: Buried Alive.” Subjects are seen navigating their way through heaps of old food, junk mail and even the occasional dead cat. This is an exaggerated version of what my own room looked like a few weeks ago. Instead of wading through trash and decomposing felines, however, my carpet was barely visible underneath the sea of clothing. In honor of the spring season approaching, it was time for some cleaning. Even if you do not have the disease known as hoarding, and are not as much of a clothes collector as I am, everyone can use some uncluttering in their lives, and getting rid of unneeded things can relieve a lot of stress. For whatever the reason, I have a really hard time parting from my clothes, even items that I never wear anymore. I just couldn’t let go. Not only do I keep clothes for years, I continually go shopping and buy more. It got to be so bad that I ran out of hangers and room in my closet, thus the sea of clothes began. It sounds materialistic but I love clothes. Feeling good about what you’re wearing can really change how you are perceived and add to your confidence. I had to really ask myself what I needed and what I could live without. Spring can be an excuse to get out of that winter funk and start off with a fresh clean house. I decided to put on a playlist of my favorite music, and clean my room from top to bottom. I ended up throwing out two garbage bags of clothes. Some items were harder to throw away than others, and kept coming in and out of the trash bags, but finally everything fit in my closet. Some people are addicted to drugs. I’m addicted to clothes. It felt so good to finally wake up to a clean room, and the same goes for the rest of the house. For some students, it can be hard to keep clean when you have to share space with messy roommates. If you don’t like confrontation, the easiest way to get your standards of cleanliness and different tolerances for clutter on the same page, is to make a list of chores to delegate among yourselves. It can be hard to get used to picking up after yourself and learning to organize after moving out of the house, and not having your parents clean for you. But a clean living area can relieve a lot of stress. Whatever it is that you are guilty of accumulating, use this spring to weed out and scrub down your house, apartment or dorm room. Ally Dukkers can be reached at featueseditor@theorion.com

WORD OF MOUTH >> What is your favorite movie made from a comic book? Related story B3 DICTIONARY

“The ﬁrst Iron Man, the ﬁrst movie is always the best.”

Thinkerbate

[Think • er • bate] To engage in deep thought by one’s self. “I’m not sure I can do that for you — let me thinkerbate on it for a while.” source: urbandictionary.com

Brandon Davis

junior | business economics

“Batman, I love that movie.”

“Spider-Man, it has way more action and stunts than the other movies.”

Mark Rossiter freshman | undeclared

Melissa Philips

sophomore | interior architecture

“Batman.”

Marisa Moore freshman | history

D2 |

FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

always online >> theorion.com

the

MEDITATION Jennifer Christian [right], a senior psychology major, leads a meditation group on campus. Students use meditation as a way to relieve stress.

face SE X COLUMN>>

Lexi Brister S E X CO L U M N IS T

Strange turn-ons I’ve been known to have few sexual boundaries, but evidently there are just some things that even I will never understand. During a three-hour walk around campus, I talked to as many students that would answer when asked, “Are you turned on by anything weird?” These Chico State students like their fun on the freaky side. I’m all for kinky, raunchy or even downright dirty, but this list of strange turn-ons beats even the craziest of crazy seduction techniques I’ve ever heard of. Crooked toes I love those random flaws that tend to make our crushes that much more appealing, but this one threw me. I understand foot fetishes are fairly common, but this is not one I can relate to. One girl I talked to, however, finds a crook in the toes “cute.” Body hair I suppose I could understand this one, though my preference definitely leans more toward the head-to-toe clean-shaven look. The post-workout smell The look of glistening sweat can definitely get my blood flowing, but the smell will slow it right back down. This one came up only once by a guy who thinks “tough women are hot, and nothing says tough like a woman who sweats.” Armpit-licking I thought I knew all of the erogenous zones, but hearing this one caught me off guard. Sure it’s a sensitive area, but I can honestly say that a girl who likes getting her armpits licked is someone I never thought I would encounter. Extreme dirty talk I like a little confirmation of a job well done, but it’s my belief that the word “bitch” does not belong in the bedroom. Guys and girls alike dig hardcore verbal teasers, however, with “dirty bitch” being in the top three favorite phrases to use during sack sessions. Hair-Pulling Now here’s one I’m in full support of. Front, back or sideways there’s nothing like a good tug on those tangles to keep me going. Several Chico State women apparently agree with me, not only about the act itself but when and how to do it. It’s most appropriate mid-coitus and with reasonable force. No one wants their hair pulled out, but if your yank isn’t immediately followed by a loud moan or groan it isn’t hard enough. Tongue-in-ear A unisex favorite, both guys and girls claim to get off on some light tonguethrusting in the ear, but only during foreplay or as a way to initiate it. My fi rst thought after compiling these fi ndings was somewhere along the lines of “WTF.” I discovered that there is no appropriate response to that reaction. In other words, there is no science to explain why certain people are drawn to certain things. Freudian thinkers would say your sexual preferences stem from your childhood whereas modern sex researchers and psychologists believe they have more to do with your attitudes and habits and are a result of social conditioning. Ultimately, there’s no real reason for what arouses us, but my advice is to embrace it. Lexi Brister can be reached at sexcolumnist@theorion.com

THE ORION • FRANK REBELO

Meditation boosts brain health Tasha Clark STAFF WRITER

Students deal with stress in many ways. One tool is inhaling and exhaling — using meditation to cope with stress. The Mindful Campus organization is coming to Chico State to teach meditating techniques by hosting workshops, sessions and guest speakers. The organization’s mission is to promote a mindful student body and faculty, senior psychology major Jennifer Christian said. Christian defines “mindful” as learning to become consciously aware of everything in areas like sustainability, nutrition, communication, classrooms and the workplace, she said. After faculty and students rejected a proposal to add the program to its general education requirements, Christian decided to turn it into a campus organization. Christian became interested in meditation when she was interning at Enloe Medical Center for its stress reduction program, which incorporates wellness, she said. Mindful Campus will be hosting its first daily meditation and yoga sessions from 11 a.m. to noon, Monday in Bell Memorial Union 211, Christian said. Students will be learning concepts of meditation and how foundations of mindfulness can help with reducing stress, anxiety and other emotional habits. The group plans to have workshops where speakers will present on how principles of meditation can be fitting into the classrooms, she said. Christian has also started a student panel for the organization, she said. She recruited

MEDITATION IN CHICO Meditation: refers to any of a family of practices in which the practitioner trains his or her mind or self-induces a mode of consciousness in order to realize some benefit.

students from a variety of majors so that the program’s goals can be incorporated into diﬀerent areas. Junior psychology major Kristina Hernandez runs the neuroscience panel, she said. Hernandez does research on how meditation can change the brain. A book that discussed how neuroscience relates to meditation attracted her to the subject, Hernandez said. “I read the book on meditation by accident, but it changed my perspective on life,” she said. Hernandez is now working on a poster display to present at the Brain, Self and Society Symposium in April, she said. Research on the display will show how meditation strengthens neural pathways and reduces the size of the amygdala known as the “fear” center of the brain. Dr. Gayle Kimball is also an advocate of mindfulness and meditation practices, she said. Kimball taught religious and women’s studies at Chico State, she said. She took a year oﬀ to get in touch with her spiritual side and develop a spiritual life. She developed spirituality at the Chico psychic institute now called Earthhaven, Kimball said. Kimball gives free running energy balancing sessions where she picks up on the person’s negative energy by getting a feeling in her own body, then brings positive energy throughout the person using the power of thought, she said. Stress can slow students down, and meditation can energize the brain, Kimball said. “When students get stressed they get stupid,” she said. THE ORION • FRANK REBELO

Tasha Clark can be reached at tclark@theorion.com

PRACTICING MEDITATION Jennifer Christian, a senior and psychology major, uses meditation to clear her mind and relieve stress.

Dr. Gayle Kimball hosts a free running energy balancing from 5 to 7 p.m. every Friday at Cafe Culture.

She wants to get rid of that energy so she does so by visualization that releases positive energy into the person’s body.

Starting Monday, Mindful Campus is hosting daily yoga sessions from 11 a.m. to noon in BMU 211

Running Energy Balance Session: Dr. Kimball detects a feeling in the person’s body that is usually negative energy.

Today, Dr. Kimball will be hosting a stress reduction workshop on Calm Body and Mind at 4 p.m. in Selvester 104

Dr. Kimball’s meditation practice: Meditate throughout the day. Inhale for four to eight counts, then exhale for

four to eight counts. Repeat until you feel centered. She has written 11 books such as “Essential Energy Tools: How to Develop Your Clairvoyant and Healing Abilities” and “Everything You Need to Know to Succeed After College.”

Student legal services help roommate trouble Hailey Vincent STAFF WRITER

Fighting with college roommates is inevitable, but when a house meeting escalated beyond, ‘whose turn is it to unload the dishwasher,’ I found myself saying things I never thought I would, directly toward an old friend. Our roommate wanted out of the lease, and when we sat down for a house meeting last week, she made it clear that she was going to do whatever it took to get what she wanted. It was like she had been leading us blindfolded through a maze for the past five months. We were all thinking it was all fun and games, until she took the blindfolds off, leaving us in the dark with what seemeed no way out. Of course most roommates do little things here and there that violate their landlord’s rules, like having too many people over at once, parking where you’re not supposed to or causing the occasional excessive noise violation. But when the property management group started getting involved and the

threat of a possible lawsuit seemed imminent, my two other roommates and I knew we had a battle on our hands. The only thing my other two roommates and I were sure of was that we weren’t going to pay the last five months of her lease and we weren’t going to have a stranger move in with us. She could move out but the rent checks better keep coming in. Talking to other tenants in the complex gave us some hope for the situation we were in. Anna Garayalde, a sophomore nursing major, had a similar roommate problem fall 2010. “We had a roommate that tried to get out of our lease and now sends a check every month,” Garayalde said. “The lease was bulletproof.” While frantically printing off lease agreements and calling our landlord, my other roommate, who is a political science major, remembered a useful outlet, the Community Legal Information Center. CLIC provides free legal information to students and community members alike for issues ranging from housing to misdemeanors, according to its website. When my roommate called CLIC, she briefly explained

THE ORION • GINA SPADORCIO

LEGAL ADVICE The Community Legal Information Center office at 25 Main Street offers students help with legal issues. The student-run non-profit group has provided help to students for 40 years. our situation and was asked to schedule an appointment. Austin Trujillo, a CLIC employee and a senior political science major, looks at CLIC as an excellent resource for students. The housing department is relatively busy and deals with issues ranging from roommates to landlords, Trujillo said. CLIC offers legal information to set people in the right direction. With our appointment with CLIC still pending due to their

busy housing department, our phone call with them set us on the right track, giving us enough conﬁdence to take matters into our own hands. After reading the lease over and over again, we too realized that our lease was bulletproof, and all of our rights were written out plain and simple. College students encounter roommate problems on a monthly basis, but rarely understand their rights as renters before things get out of hand. Utilizing resources like

CLIC is an important thing to keep in mind. The single most important piece of paper you may get a hold of during the school year is your housing lease. Read it before you sign it, consult it with CLIC, make copies of it, hang it on your fridge, magnify the ﬁne print, just do whatever you need to do to make sure you do not get stuck in that dark maze with no way out. Hailey Vincent can be reached at hvincent@theorion.com

FEATURES

always online >> theorion.com

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011 |

Party school reputation holds true, new academic achievement noted City Council approved Feb. 8. Senior liberal studies major STAFF WRITER Sarah Stark enjoys the party The words Chico State and environment so long as she can “party school” have been happily take care of school priorities as married since 1987 when Playboy well, she said. “I don’t think it’s bad,” Stark Magazine put Chico State on the said. “We’re map, ranking it known as a party the No. 1 party school. It depends school in the CHICO STATE’S RANKING on the type of country. person you are. Playboy did U.S. news and world report The party scene another poll Sixth Best Public Master’shas been the in 2002 put- Level University in the West same since I’ve ting Chico been here, but the State second First for student satisfacamount the cops in the nation, tion and beauty among all have cracked and since then 23 CSUs by Campus Rank down has defiannual reports nitely increased.” have Chico fall- Eigth Most Sustainable College Campus from Grist Stark has ing down the Magazine in 2007 friends that never charts. drink or party, With this In 2007, awarded the Grand yet have no probtrend of sinking Prize by the National Wildlem finding other party ratings, it life Federation for efforts to things to do in looks as though reduce global warming. Chico, she said. Chico State is The party scene divorcing its 10th best business school by Eduniversal is there if students party persona. want to embrace Some stuit, but it’s not dents, like junior Natalie Adams, a health science something that’s essential when major, haven’t noticed too much attending Chico State. Eugenio Frongia, former chairchange. “I don’t think things have man of the department of foreign changed too much since I’ve languages and literature and Italbeen here, but it has calmed ian studies professor, joined Chico down a little,” she said. “I don’t State in 1988 and has certainly mind the reputation that comes seen changes, he said. with Chico State. I tell people all “Chico State has transformed the other great things you can do from what was known as a party here besides party.” school to a school noted for acaOne of Chico’s biggest holidays demic excellence,” Frongia said. that showed signs of a calming Chico State became a school party nature was last year’s Hal- that focused on academic needs loween week, she said. and progression thanks to provost Traditions like the annual Scott McNall and president Robin Labor Day float have made a Wilson when they shut down Piocomeback in the recent years neer Days, he said. according to the Chico EnterpriseThe academics combined with Record. Last year approximately the social aspect of Chico have 15,000 people floated down the given students a well-rounded Sacramento River, and in 2005 education and prepares them for there were only a few hundred the real world, Frongia said. people. Although this supports “I’ve taught at UC Berkeley and Chico’s party reputation, author- UCLA,” he said, “and the underities have led efforts to deter last graduates I taught at Chico were year’s entertainment with the just as good, if not better, than recommendation that the state students from the other schools.” legislature adopt an alcohol ban on the Sacramento River during Nick Pike can be reached at that weekend — a plan the Chico npike@theorion.com

D3 COMIC BOOKS Chris Lyons, a Butte College graduate, views a selection of comics at Collectors Ink, a comic book store off Highway 32. Sales at many local comic book stores have gone down despite the popularity the movie versions have.

Nick Pike

THE ORION • FRANK REBELO

Comic book sales suﬀer, movies thrive Griﬃn Rogers STAFF WRITER

Boots: check. Spandex suit: check. Cape: check. Super powers: check. A comic craze seems to have crashed into American culture over the last few years. Movie franchises such as “Spider-Man,” “Batman” and “Iron Man” fill theater seats while “The Walking Dead” and “The Cape” take TV viewers deeper into the world of comics. Even with the stream of media success, colorful stores and an active comic book club at Chico State, the comic book industry is suffering from the recession. The popularity of characters isn’t the issue, said Jason Reifert, sales manager at Collectors Ink, on Highway 32. “It’s the form of media the public chooses to use in order to see those characters,” he said. Reading stories of super heroes through a small, thinpaged book may not be rising in appeal, but physical copies offer readers a chance to collect and hold on to something material that can entertain

them, Reifert said. “Every10th annual Free Comic body needs Book Day May entertain7 at Collecment,” he tors Ink 2593 said. Highway 32 PeoFirst comic ple often book free with ﬁ nd comics another oner entertaining after every because they $10 spent can relate Mini Con conto the moral vention, May 7: choices and Comic books emotional sold from Chico depth, he State comic said. book club and “The local stores characters, although they lead extraordinary lives, have to deal with a lot of ordinary situations,” Reifert said. Light pockets in the midst of a recession might be one of those ordinary problems, but he said comic books are inexpensive and a good outlet. Collectors Ink will also help readers by hosting a free comic book day May 7. Cheap comics are a plus, but the major problem for the falling comic book industry is that

COMIC DAY

people just don’t read, said Trent Walsh, owner of Bat Comics & Games on Broadway Street. “Overall, comics are down because literacy is down,” he said. Walsh gets customers who are Superman fans, but have never read a Superman comic. As for online comics, sales for the nation are less than one percent, he said. “People identify with the brand, but that doesn’t help comic books,” Walsh said. Comics have always fi lled a niche, and most of the business still comes from collectors, he said. The trick is to get people who are only educated about the characters through movies and video games to pick up a comic with a willingness to read. However, movies and video games do help spark the public’s curiosity. Movies create awareness for lesser known characters, such as “Kick-Ass,” a comic that Walsh saw four to five times the normal sales after the movie hit, he said. “Spider-Man” and “Batman” comic book sales also saw a spike during the first installment of the trilogies, but sales

eventually ended up going back to normal, he said. The one thing Reifert and Walsh seem to agree upon is that the stigma of comics being only for “nerds” is coming to an end. This is because comics becoming more mainstream, Reifert said. Chico State’s Comic Book Coterie is doing its part to help lift the industry. Students in the club create, collaborate and critique each other’s personal comics, and at the end of the semester, they put them together in one giant comic book, said Kellen Dyer, a senior studio art major. The comic book is sold at Mini Con, a comic book convention at Chico State that shows oﬀ comics and art from local businesses and clubs, which will be held May 7. The club is perfect for students who want to learn more about comics, swap ideas about comics or just love comic books, Dyer said. “It has opened me up to a new world of art,” he said. Griﬃn Rogers can be reached at grogers@theorion.com

D4 |

FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

always online >> theorion.com

Beer: New ales help support monastery continued from D1

America.” The project would help fund the reconstruction of a stone room called The Chapter House on their monastery, Father Anthony said. The Chapter House is being rebuilt partially with the original stones from Ovila monastery that was built in Spain between 1190 and 1220, he said. The stones were initially disassembled and brought to San Francisco by William Randolph Hearst, who planned to use them for his real estate in 1931. Meetings will take place in The Chapter House where the monks will follow the rules of Saint Benedict, which took practice in the original Ovila monastery, Father Anthony said. Before the time of micro technology when water was unsafe to drink, low alcohol table beers were

Chat ter Q:

Which activity would you do during spring break?

Join CAVE and build houses in Los Angeles

A “ B C D

So I’d be doing two things at once — getting drunk and rebuilding the monastery.

Adam Prieto, j u n i o r Sara Biron, s o p h o m o r e Jordan Kirby, s o p h o m o r e Dre Rodriguez, s e n i o r

SWAT Trip none

“

CHRIS RUSSELL senior music industry major

drunk with every meal, Manley said. To support themselves, the monks made stronger beers to sell to people who stayed in the monasteries. The beer progressed from Enkel, a low-alcohol blonde beer, to Dubbel, a slightly stronger and sweeter brown beer, to Trippel, a stronger and sweet beer and then to Quad, the darkest and strongest beer of all, Manley said. Quad was made for religious holidays or events such as Christmas or Lent, he said. When the monks fasted, they relied on the stronger beers for sugar and calories. Saison, which is to come out in the summer, is not a monastery-style beer but is still Belgian, Manley said. The beer, also known as “farmhouse ale,” was beer that was brewed in the spring and stored until summer for farmers or monks to drink while working in the ﬁeld. The ﬁrst Ovila Abbey Ale, Dubbel, will be shipped to stores on March 14, Manley said. A portion of the ales’ proceeds will go to Abbey of New Clairvaux. Senior music industry major Chris Russell is looking forward to the new releases, he said, and helping the monastery is a bonus. “I would buy the beer anyway,” Russell said. “So I’d be doing two things at once — getting drunk and rebuilding the monastery.” THE ORION • FRANK REBELO

NEW BREW COMING DOWN THE LINE Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s new line, Ovila Abbey Ale, is inspired by Belgian and monastery-style ales. There are diﬀerent brews for spring, summer and winter.

FREE Birth Control

Women’s Health Specialists *FREE ReproducƟve Health Care for Students!

pregnancy tests, birth control, HIV tesƟng, annual exams emergency contracepƟon, STI tesƟng/treatment, breast and cervical cancer screenings and much more!

Melissa Hahn can be reached at mhahn@theorion.com

Adventure Outings ski trip Karan Gaggi,

g r a d u at e s t u d e n t

Raft guiding school

Andrew Hopkins, s e n i o r Joel Bond, s e n i o r Oliver Shabram, s e n i o r

number of students

LIVE SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26th at the EL REY THEATRE in CHICO Doors open at 7pm $15.00 advance

Presents

LED ZEPAGAIN

Most Authentic Tribute to Led Zeppelin “It's amazing how much you sound like us” Jimmy Page

530.891.1911 1469 Humboldt Road, Suite 200, Chico

Loc al He us! alth Center | Close to Camp *Call to see if you qualify

cawhs.org

Peeking Chinese Restaurant FREE

Eggrolls or Wontons With This Coupon $15 Minimum

895-3888

243 West Second St. #4 Chico, CA 95928

Best Chinese Food in town San Francisco Style Banquet Room for Dancing

Sake Bomb always open

Award Winning Chef from San Francisco New Vegetarian and Organic Cuisine

243 West Second St. #4 Chico, CA 95928

530-895-3888 also: 530-342-2518

FREE DELIVERY $15 minimum and in Chico Area

www.zepagain.com Purchase tickets online at www.elreytheatrechico.com or call 530-892-1838

FEATURES

always online >> theorion.com

LOOKING BACK >>

c. 1975

c. 1980

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011 |

Campus 1997 | A.S. recyling program Spotlight: adds employees, services THEN “A.S. funded recycling not enough,” May 14, 1997 Chico State was one of the main waste contributors in Chico. A.S. Recycling was a small program and didn’t

have much student impact. The university wasn’t recycling 25 percent of its campus waste and there was no pressure on students to recycle. A.S. Recycling had only six employees and three interns with no one on permanent hours or positions. The program was in trouble

of getting cut and brought in just $1,500 in recycled material, while having a budget of $16,874. Students showed interest in the idea of recycling, but no one showed action or interest in paying a small student fee in their per-semester dues.

c. 1981

c. 1983

c. 1986 THE ORION • FRANK REBELO

COMPOST Bins sit all over campus, making it easy for students to dispose of compost and recyling.

c. 1988

c. 1995

Professor studies historical artifacts from two shipwrecks Anthropology professor Georgia Fox is the archaeological conservator of two completed projects of artifacts from shipwrecks recovered by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel Hi’ialakaihave. Her current project deals with artifacts from the 188-year-old U.S. whaling vessel Two Brothers, the ship captained by George Pollard Jr., who, before captaining the vessel, was the captain of Essex, which was the inspiration for Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick.” Q: What is it like working on a project this big? Fox: Challenging. We don’t have any magic solutions to conserving iron recovered from the sea. It’s an ongoing conversation that conservers are having.

c. 1985

c. 1988

NOW The A.S. Recycling program has 17 employees, three paid interns, eight unpaid interns and only one permanent fulltime employee, Recycling Operations Coordinator Eli Goodsell said. There are 1,896 bins strategically placed around campus for an assortment of recycled materials.

nebula

The university gives $20,000 for services, because the A.S. recycling program is the only one that picks up all the recycling on campus, so it’s cheaper to donate money than higher staff to clean up, Goodsell said. The average budget is about $100,000 a year, and fluctuates depending on student enrollment, he said. The program has double the capacity of the amount of

recycled material in the last 10 years, Goodsell said. They are hoping to continue to expand. They have added compost bins in the Marketplace Cafe and hope to compost paper towels in bathrooms in the next few weeks, he said. The goal is to be a zero-waste campus in 2015, Goodsell said. - Compiled by Stephanie Consiglio

Q: Does Chico State get the opportunity to be involved in things like this that often? Fox: I think we are really fortunate because we’re one of the few university campuses on the west coast that actually has a conservation lab and we teach both undergraduates and graduates archaeological ethnographic conservation. Most other programs are at the graduate level. We do conservation for both land and underwater sites, but it’s part of our whole philosophy in the anthropology department – we are very hands-on. Q: What is this project

PHOTO COURTESY OF• CSUCHICO.EDU

GEORGIA FOX

like in relation to the previous two projects you worked on? Fox: The first project involved the recovery of small artifacts and the second involved the recovery of two ships’ bells. But this third project is really exciting because it’s connected to the same ship captain who sailed the Essex. Q: What do you hope to come out of this project by the end? Fox: Well, I hope that the conservation goes smoothly, that the artifacts remain intact, well preserved and stabilized, and any of the diagnostic information that the NOAA archaeologists are hoping for – that we come across that information to help positively identify this as the Two Brothers shipwreck. Q: Any other thoughts about working on projects like this? Fox: You’re holding a piece of history, and most people that see these things in museums will look at them under glass cases, but we actually work with them and we stabilize them. Maybe these things go on to museum exhibits for the public to enjoy and we feel really good about that. -Compiled by Hailey Vincent

COMICS >>

CROSSWORD CHALLENGE >>

THAT MONKEY TUNE by Michael A. Kandalaft

HEAD by Larry Pocino Interesting choice. Maybe we can cover it? With what? Wallpaper?

BEAR JAIL by Devon McMindes

Across 1- Bank deposit? 5- Martini’s partner 10- Fall short 14- Inter ___ 15- Blow one’s top 16- Basics 17- Capital of the Ukraine 18- Prophets 19- Ticked (oﬀ ) 20- Alleviates 22- Baby’s ring 24- Roster 27- “Night” author Wiesel 28- Delivered jointly 32- Existing in an untamed state 35- Spider’s creation 36- Lieu 38- Streamlined 40- Zeno’s home 42- Pelvic bones 44- Long ago 45- Gnu cousin

47- The Hindu Destroyer 49- “As if!” 50- Stylish 52- Lay eggs 54- Digits of the foot 56- Level 57- Cork 60- Slough 64- Close with force 65- Bunk 68- Rent-___ 69- Taylor of “Mystic Pizza” 70- Monetary unit of India 71- Hoar 72- Auricular 73- Attentive, warning of danger 74- WWII event

Down 1- Beneﬁt 2- Bones found in the hip 3- Falsehoods 4- Inn 5- Hi-___ monitor 6- Metal-bearing mineral 7- Hard fatty tissue 8- Carousal 9- In and of ___ 10- Paternal 11- Busy as ___ 12- Bakery worker 13- Acid 21- Weeps 23- Connections 25- Small children 26- Neighborhoods 28- Aﬀectedly dainty 29- Water holes 30- Steel girder 31- Tortilla topped with cheese 33- Ages

34- Vive ___! 37- Compel 39- Etta of old comics 41- Pertaining to bodily structure 43- Tel ___ 46- Fall 48- Gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans 51- Volcanic material 53- Ahead 55- Capital of South Korea 57- Split 58- Anklebones 59- Thick cord 61- Biting 62- Baby’s cry 63- One hunted 64- ___-mo 66- Alway 67- Are we there ___?;

POWERKIDS by Max Nelson

Okay.

W yes. Um, A L L P A P E R

Thanks. I’m gonna change it. I know.

D6 |

FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23, 2011

always online >> theorion.com

LARGEST SHOE STORE IN TOWN

581 Pomona Avenue Chico, CA 95928 (530) 879-9222 Fax: (530) 879-9008 OfďŹ ce Located at: 849 Pomona Avenue Pomonatownhomes@yahoo.com

Overstock SALE! Reg. $54.99 Now 49.99 Navy

Reg. $39.99 Now. $29.99 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Authenticsâ&#x20AC;? in red or green

Minutes Away from Everything Chico has to Offer...

Reg. $60.00 Now $49.99 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Zapatoâ&#x20AC;? Black/Brown

Reg. $39.99 Now. $29.99

Milano $29.99

Outlaw Boot $59.99

Silverado Boot $69.99

Reg $39.99

Reg $110

Reg $120

s Newly Renovated

s Microwave Oven

s 4-Bedroom Townhomes

s Ceiling Fans

s 2 Full Bathrooms

s Plush Carpeting

s Washer & Dryer Included

s Central Heating &

s Attached 1 Car Garage

.&/Â 4 80.&/Â 4 (&5 */ 4)"1& 4"-& &"4:50/&

Air Conditioning

s Generous Closet Space

s Swimming Pool

s Fully Equipped Kitchen

s Back Patio Area

s Dishwasher

s Beautiful Landscaping

s Garbage Disposal

s Professionally Managed

Â?8SFFJOTQJSFÂ&#x17E; Â?3&( Â&#x17E;

/08

'3&&

/&8

Â?.S #MLÂ&#x17E; Â?3&( Â&#x17E;

Â?5SBOTJUJPOÂ&#x17E; Â?3&( Â&#x17E;

/08

)6(& 4"-&

XJUI QVSDIBTF

(-07&4

s Sparkling Swimming Pool /&8 45:-&4

'6/ /&8 45:-&4 %&-*$*040

8*-% %*7" 40/:"

Bring this ad in and receive a free gift and tour

Reg. $99.99 Now.$59.99 $59.99 Now.

F ;JHUPOOOJOH 3V

0'' 4&-&$5 45:-&4

.*$)&--&

TUBSUJOH BU Reg. $99.99

1VSDIBTF PG 8PNFOÂ T ;JHUPOF TVQQPSUT #SFBTU $BODFS "XBSFOFTT

HEEL & SOLE SHOES

708 Mangrove Ave. (in the Safeway Shopping Center) Chico 899-0725 Prices good thru 0 t 8IJMF TVQQMJFT MBTU Open 7 Days, Mon.â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Sat. 10amâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;8pm, Sun. 11amâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;6pm

Creek View H

3b/ 2 b a To wn h omes s #OMPLETELY 2EMODELED 3PACIOUS BD BA s 7ASHER $RYER s #ERAMIC 4ILE s &ULLY %QUIPPED +ITCHENS

s #ENTRAL (EATING !IR #ONDITIONING s 3PARKLING 3WIMMING 0OOL

We carry NARROWS & WIDES

XXX IFFMBOETPMFTIPFT DPN

C E DA R PA R K A PA R TM E NT S Four-bedroom, 1400 square ft townhomes

Washers/Dryers Fully Equipped Kitchens

2 Full Baths BBQ Areas Central Heating and Air

Beautiful Landscaping

Ample Parking

Mention this ad on the tour and get a free gift exp. June 30th, 2011

1145 W. 9th Street Chico, CA 95928 (530) 879-9222 Fax: (530) 879-900 8

BRING THIS COUPON IN FOR A FREE GIFT exp. June 30th, 2011

Cedar Park I 1143 North Cedar St Chico, CA 95928 530-809-0268

Cedar Park II 1147 North Cedar St Chico, CA 95926 530-809-0268

Cedar Park III 935 West Fourth Ave Chico, CA 95926 (530) 809-0268

Cedar Park IV 1060 Columbus Ave Chico, CA 95926 (530) 809-0268