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Chico State Memes creates space to make fun of Chico culture. Story B3
VOLUME 68 ISSUE 8
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2012
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Kony 2012 call hits Chico State
FACILITIES FEES
Clubs turn to BMU to avoid fees
Natalie Eucce STAFF WRITER
The social media sensation “Kony 2012,” a YouTube video by Invisible Children, will be presented by the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center at 6:15 p.m. tonight in Holt Hall Room 170, a week after the video went viral. “Kony 2012” is a call to action directed toward the American people to locate and capture Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony, who is wanted for war crimes, by the end of 2012, said Ariel Aizenstadt, the CCLC’s screening coordinator. The video was released March 5 and was shared millions of times through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Because many have already seen the film, there will be other short videos, a discussion and a guest speaker at the screening, Aizenstadt said. Patricia Akello of northern Uganda will appear as a guest speaker, Aizenstadt said. Akello has come to America to tell her story about growing up in RELATED times of war. The screening is meant to EDITORIAL support a discussion about Invisible Children, not just show For The Orion’s take on support for the “Kony 2012” call “Kony 2012,” to action, Aizenstadt said. turn to B7. “One of the longest running wars in Africa is going on,” she said. “It started in northern Uganda, and Joseph Kony has spread to the Congo and Dominican Republic and central Africa.” Kony has led the LRA for more than 26 >> please see KONY | A3
Associated Students said it has received a spike in student interest since campus clubs have learned about the facilities-use charges that were instituted on campus in November 2011. Kjerstin Wood Dan Reidel Aubrey Crosby THE ORION
Scan the QR code to read about how Chico State students celebrated the Hindu festival Holi. THE ORION • KEVIN LEE
HIT ME Alex Kalajakis, a senior communication design major, throws colored powder during Chico State’s second annual Holi Festival in Trinity Commons on Sunday. The end-of-winter Hindu festival occurs on the day of the last full moon of the lunar month.
Busy crosswalk yields fewer accidents than expected Aubrey Crosby STAFF WRITER
There have been three reported accidents since September at the crosswalk that connects the campus bike path to Nord Avenue, including one in which a Chico State student was struck by a car Feb. 18. The busy crosswalk doesn’t pose as much of a threat as many would expect, Chico police Sgt. Rob Merrifield said. “I don’t think that the crosswalk is necessarily dangerous in design,” Merrifield said. “It is on a flat road, without curves and in a visually open space. Our main concern is that it is on a state highway. There aren’t actually as many accidents there as you think.” Highway 32 runs through Nord Avenue, placing the crosswalk in state jurisdiction. In 2010, there were 193
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THE ORION • TERCIUS BUFETE
MAP COURTESY OF• GOOGLE MAPS
CROSSWALK Since September, three accidents have been reported on the crosswalk that connects the bike path to Nord Avenue. accidents on the part of Highway 32 that runs through Chico, not just the crosswalk, with 244 injuries. The reported number of accidents from 2011 to present has not yet been released by the California Highway Patrol. Chico’s interest in the crosswalk is prevalent, assistant city
manager John Rucker said. “The area in question falls under multiple jurisdictions, but most of it is covered by the state,” Rucker said. “If safety is an issue we are certainly interested, but there isn’t much that the city itself can do.” There has been talk about adding lighting to the
crosswalk to help prevent pedestrian-related accidents, but because the area is under state authority the city would have a hard time allowing these changes. Taran Virk, a junior psychology major, thinks more can be done about the safety of pedestrians in the area, Virk said. There should be a stop sign at the crosswalk so pedestrians don’t have to walk into busy traffic. Anthony Ong, a sophomore exercise physiology major, agrees that more can be done, he said. “There is no signal,” Ong said. “We’re basing our safety off of people who can choose to slow down or not, depending on if they actually see you.” Aubrey Crosby can be reached at acrosby@theorion.com
Chico State’s facilities fees policy has student clubs seeking alternative spaces or paying up. With fees reaching $3,000 in some of the available facilities, students are using Bell Memorial Union more, said Deborah Lemmo, A.S. event manager. “We are seeing some additional reservations come over from other facilities,” Lemmo said. “We don’t charge for student groups to use our facilities, and we are open to community members for a small fee.” Student groups have complained about either not getting rooms when they want them, because the BMU is filling more reservations, or being unable to afford to hold events elsewhere, said Nicole MacDougall, Associated Students director of university affairs. The Student Activities Office has been taking longer than usual to book reservations for rooms in the BMU, MacDougall said. There’s a delay because it’s the same office and the same amount of people handling the increase in reservations. “As long as they plan ahead of time they can always use the BMU,” MacDougall said. Recreational and intramural sports are among the groups affected by the changes to campus use charges. Many groups have had to cancel or make changes to events, said Kimberly Scott, director of recreational sports. “The biggest issue that faces us at this point in time is that, aside from charges, is that they are limiting the hours,” Scott said. MacDougall has been trying to clarify when groups can use the facilities for free and when they have to pay, MacDougall said. The issue with fees came up in 2010 when the California State University Chancellor’s Office issued Executive Order 1052. The order stated that university presidents had to implement fees that were outlined in the chancellor’s 2007 Executive Order 1000. Chancellor Charles Reed advised that there needed to be a campuswide facility agreement that would clearly define how much each entity or group was charged, MacDougall said. Other campuses charge students for rooms as well. “One piece that’s a little bit different is that >> please see FEES | A4
Geography graduate student dies after long illness Don Hankins said. She was tenacious and didn’t let things stand in her way, Degmetich’s roommate Abby Rizzo said. “Michelle took advantage of all that Chico had to offer,” Rizzo said. “She was an aspiring pilot and logged over 80 hours of flight.” Degmetich was “more of a colleague than a student,” said Jacque Chase, chair of the geography department, in the release. “She was really supportive of other students and acted as a leader,” Chase said. Degmetich was great at conversing with people inside the classroom and out, she said.
Luke Minton STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF • DON HANKINS
Michelle Degmetich and her niece and nephew visit the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in 2006.
Chico State graduate student Michelle Degmetich died Feb. 29 after having cancer for about 15 years. She was 48. Degmetich enrolled in the geography and planning master’s program in 2006 and helped establish the Geography Club, according to the release. Her graduate school project pertained to mammals in the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserves. “It was truly remarkable the way she would bounce back from obstacles in her life,” geography professor
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“She was always cheerful, even through tough times in her life,” Chase said. She was a pleasure to be around, political science professor Mahalley Allen said in the release. “Despite her long illness, she had a remarkable attitude of perseverance and enthusiasm for her life and the academic community at Chico State,” Allen said. Degmetich brought a great enthusiasm for animals and was very involved in the issues surrounding sustainability and environmental policy, Allen said. “Her defining characteristic to me was her overwhelming
kindness,” Rizzo said. “I had never met anyone with more generosity than her.” Degmetich had asked that she be remembered through donations to the Barry R. Kirshner Foundation, a nonprofit that works to increase awareness about the care and preservation of wildlife and wildlife habitats in the community and globally. Degmetich is survived by her parents, her brother and sister and their children, according to the release. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Saint Thomas More Catholic Church in Paradise. The Orion can be reached at editorinchief@theorion.com
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Softball senior Sam Quadt uses her bat to asssume the role of silent leader on the team. Story A6
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Opinion Columnist reveals his no-longer-guilty pleasure. Column B7
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