Spring 2014 Issue 15

press GOLDEN GATE

MAY 13, 2015 ISSUE 15 VOLUME C GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

Serving the San Francisco State community since 1927

Soda deal could pour funds into athletics JENNAH FEELEY jfeeley@mail.sfsu.edu

The campus community may soon experience a homogenizing of beverages available at SF State if University Corporation strikes a deal with an official beverage vendor in the coming months.

The partnership for pouring rights, as articulated in a Request For Proposals issued by UCorp, would grant one beverage company exclusive selling, advertising and promotional efforts on SF State campus for eight to 10 years.

The selected official beverage provider will also have the opportunity to name the athletic complex for 10 years and establish a corporate-endowed chair in the college of its choice, according to the RFP. In exchange, the partner will provide a one-time contribution anticipated at a minimum of $2 million and a yearly contribution of at least $125,000.

Contract negotiations will be made once proposals are submitted, according to UCorp Executive Director Jason Porth, who said the campus will be consulted during the process.

“Ultimately it will be UCorp that executes the contract, but we would only do

FEAture PHOto:

KATE FRASER / XPRESS

CONTINENTAL: Biology major Natalie Miraglia grapples for balance on top of a giant earth shaped

ball during SF State’s 2015 Stress Relief Day at Malcolm X Plaza Wednesday, May 6. The event focused on keeping students stress free and relaxed with various activities such as yoga, massages and giant bubbles.

Former student challenges incumbent for mayoral seat PETER SNARR psnarr@mail.sfsu.edu

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s Amy Farah Weiss walked her candy apple red bicycle in front of the steps of City Hall, the Bay Area native handed out voter registration sheets from the basket of her cruiser on a windy day in May. She paused to chat with local activists Andy Blue of San Francisco coalition Plaza 16 and Pirate Mike about the upcoming mayoral race and how she plans on taking the position in the upcoming November election as May Day protests played out behind them.

Weiss announced her candidacy for San Francisco mayor in December. The Divisadero community organizer said she is excited to try her hand against incumbent Ed Lee.

Ucorps Continued ON PAGE 3

alumna Continued ON PAGE 2

HELEN TINNA / XPRESS

ECO-ADVOCATE: Mayoral candidate Amy Weiss takes a mo-

ment from her day of campaigning in front of City Hall during a May Day workers’ rights rally Friday, May 1. She gathers signatures for the upcoming election.

ILLUSTRATION BY KATRINA ANDAYA / XPRESS

Students compete for spot on Ellen DeGeneres show MARLENE SANCHEZ marlene3@mail.sfsu.edu

ANGELICA WILLIAMS / XPRESS

ANTICIPATION: SF State students wield hand-designed Emoji balls while participating in a Twitter challenge during a recording of The Ellen DeGeneres Show at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Daly City Monday, May 11.

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Students gathered anxiously at the Serramonte Center May 11 to await the results of a string of tweets released from talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

The first of several tweets appeared May 8, saying “Hey, Daly City, CA! I hope you get a lot of rest this weekend because on Monday you’re gonna have a chance to be on my show @SFSU.” “I first saw it on my Facebook feed for Twitter and I subscribed and got all the details,” said Devika Botejue, a Biology major.

DeGeneres’ tweets prompted students to go to Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Ser-

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ramonte Center by 2 p.m. with a ball and a drawing of their favorite emoji on it.

Although she was not there in the flesh, DeGeneres’ assistants who are also featured in the show ran the event,, including Jeannie Klisiewicz.

Students rushed to draw faces and pizza emojis on balls of all different sizes.

Klisiewicz told students to get creative and walked around to choose finalists with the best projects.

Kinesiology major Brianna Magrath used a pink ball to make a princess emoji.

She topped it off with a wig and crown.

Magrath was chosen to be one of the finalists for the most creative emoji idea.

“I’m so excited,’ Magrath said as she waited with other finalists. “I’m shaking.”

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May 13, 2015

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My presence is doing something radical. People are hungry for something unique.

The course of San Francisco politics will be unimaginative if Ed Lee stays in office and I want to heal this.

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-Amy weiss, Mayoral Candidate

HELEN TINNA / XPRESS

SPROUTING VOTES: SF State alumna and San Francisco mayoral candidate Amy Weiss smiles for a portrait Saturday, May 9, in the community garden she started.

Alumna gears up for mayoral race ALUMNA Continued from the front Weiss, who received her master’s degree in organizational development and training at SF State in 2010, is running on a platform called Yes In My Backyard. The slogan promotes positive solutions to problems instead of rejecting that a solution can be found, according to Weiss.

“It’s about finding your strategic yes,” Weiss said.

“How can we connect the neighborhood to a national level? I believe (issues) start small and build outward from there.”

The YIMBY slogan is founded on inclusive development and providing a local government that takes into consideration the needs of specific neighborhoods, Weiss said. YIMBY even appears before her own name on her website as a testament to her commitment to the phrase, she said.

Weiss has founded her platform on three main issues, the first being to foster the development of San Francisco as a city for innovative eco-development. She considers this her main project if elected mayor.

The plan involves using green technology to fund classes at City College of San Francisco, as well as using a contested building site at the college to develop urban agriculture. Weiss also wants to utilize hemp technology by legalizing it and using it as insulation material in new buildings.

“My legacy is eco development,” Weiss said. “I want to push San Francisco further with a plan that integrates

the community at Balboa Park.”

Second, Weiss said she wants to reform the San Francisco Police Department to work with psychiatric hospitals and instill a non-confrontational culture. This includes working with the police union to redefine values and performance measures. Weiss said that the plan will be a challenge and that she has already encountered resistance from within the department.

“I expected that,” Weiss said. “But it’s going to be my job to convince people that just because we’ve been doing something one way doesn’t make it the right way.”

For her third initiative, Weiss said she wants campaign finance reform and to “disrupt pay-to-play” politics, which she plans to start doing with her own campaign. Weiss plans on using her campaign funds on local artists and organizations to produce her marketing and promotional material instead of advertising firms.

Her hyper-local sensibility stems from her rejection of what she sees as a consumerist culture in San Jose, according to Weiss, who grew up there.

“People identified their neighborhood by the closest mall,” Weiss said. “When I came to San Francisco each neighborhood felt like a mini-vacation.”

Weiss is set to face incumbent Mayor Ed Lee, a political juggernaut in San Francisco who will not be easily unseated, according to political analysts. David Lee, a political science instructor at SF State who has been involved in San Francisco politics for the past two decades, said Weiss will have to get a big turnout if she wants a shot at winning the mayoral race.

“Ed Lee is a formidable incumbent,” Lee said. “He

has a generally high approval rating and any challenger is really going to have to prove that they can do the job better. It’s always good to have choices, however.”

Mayor Lee has a 70 percent approval rating among Chinese voters, who make up 20 percent of the electorate, in addition to support from tech workers, union workers and homeowners, according to David Lee in a December SF Gate article.

One of the issues that students are concerned about this election is financial support for public transportation.

Allison Soukhamthath, a hospitality management student, would like to to see the next mayor work with the University to provide Muni passes for students.

“It’s expensive to ride the bus every day,” Soukhamthath said. “When you’re a full time student it’s a struggle to get that last quarter.”

Weiss said she is open to coming up with a solution for students as long as it fits into her plans for eco-sustainability.

“If we can find a way to ensure that students will use the passes and give up their cars to create a more eco-friendly environment, I’d work to make that happen,” Weiss said.

With the election in November, Weiss said she thinks her brand of politics is something for which San Francisco is ready.

“My presence is doing something radical,” Weiss said. “People are hungry for something unique. The course of San Francisco politics will be unimaginative if Ed Lee stays in office and I want to heal this.”

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NEWS 3

MAY 13, 2015

UCorp seeks official campus drink vendor UCorp Continued from the front so if there is campus support for doing so,” Porth said. “We would certainly consult with various parties on campus including Associated Students, Inc. and other groups on campus to make sure that everyone felt comfortable with this.”

Real Food Challenge President Rosie Linares sits on the Vender Service Advisory Assembly and said she does not think the campus community has been made aware of the deal or has had the chance to weigh in thus far.

“No one knows about this and it is a big decision that is going to affect the whole campus,” Linares said.

UCorp’s RFP emphasizes the University’s athletic program, calling for a corporate partner that will “participate in and share the University’s focus and be willing to support the development and advancement of the SF State Athletic spirit.”

Linares said initial discussions about the pouring rights contract suggested that funding gained

HELEN TINNA / XPRESS

MONOPOLIZING: A student fills up his soda at the SF State campus Subway, located in the Village at Centennial

Square Tuesday, May 12. University Corporation is seeking a beverage company partnership to retain pouring rights on campus.

from the partnership would largely benefit student groups and that only recently did the priority shift to university sports programs.

The RFP invites the selected partner to support the athletic program with scholarships and provide branded equipment. In

return the company will have the opportunity for game day promotions, including product giveaways as well as advertising

on venue scoreboards, posters and season ticket brochures.

“The current SF State administration has targeted athletics with renewed interest as an important catalyst for enhancing school spirt and pride in our university,” Director of Procurement Steven Smith said in an email.

“Successful athletic programs also generate excitement amongst alumni, one of our more important sources of philanthropic support for all areas.”

Responses to the proposals are due May 22 and will be reviewed during the summer months, according to Smith, who said the goal is to make a decision in early fall.

An Bui of Real Food Challenge said the organization will continue to reach out to the campus community for input and issued a petition to protest the execution of a pouring rights deal all together.

“I feel like the majority of students wouldn’t want it to go to athletics; I think they would want it to go somewhere else,” Bui said. “But we won’t know that until there is a public discussion.”

4 LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

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Rainbow-themed floor creates community for LGBT students EVA BARRAGAN

evbarrag@mail.sfsu.edu

Hallways decorated in brightly colored murals and LGBT artwork is what University Park North Area Coordinator Paul Renolis said he envisions for the future of the Rainbow Floor he helped implement for SF State residents in Spring 2014.

The Rainbow Floor is located in building A on the second floor of the Village at Centennial Square, and is one of 15 community-themed residential floors at SF State. Themed communities provide residents with a social and lifestyle experience, according to SF State’s residential life website.

“Right now the Rainbow Floor looks just like any other floor,” Renolis said. “I would love for that floor to make its mark in the university. I want artwork in hallways to evoke a sense of pride in the residents, but at the same time I understand that’s something students don’t want because when parents visit, it could possibly out them.”

Renolis said he started the Rainbow Floor last year at SF State for LGBT-identified students and allies. He oversaw the Rainbow Floor when he worked at University of Southern California and said he thought it was important for SF State to have one as well.

“I’m the advisor for EGAY (Everything Great About You) and just hearing student’s experiences regarding roommate conflicts, I felt there was a time and need for the Rainbow Floor to exist at State so students don’t feel ostracized simply because of who they are,” Renolis said.

SF State’s Rainbow Floor Area Coordinator Jamila Cambridge said she feels themed communities in campus housing can help create a space where students feel safe and have a sense of community away from home.

“Being young and identifying as queer can be really hard for some people,” Cambridge said. “With the Rainbow Floor, we want to create a space where students can have a discussion about gender, sexuality and the intersectionality of identities within the LGBT community.”

Within its first year of being established, The Rainbow Floor has already expanded to different areas of residential housing including Village B and the Towers Jr. Suites.

“Right now we have over 115 applications of students interested in living in the new additions of the Rainbow Floor,” Cambridge said.

In order to live on the Rainbow Floor, students must fill out a separate application when applying for housing, according to Cambridge. On the application, students have the option to choose if they want to room with someone of a specific sexuality or gender.

SF State freshman Ariana Fletcher identifies as pansexual and is a resident on the Rainbow Floor.

“The Rainbow Floor definitely fosters a safe environment,” Fletcher said. “Even on my hardest days I never felt like I was not some place I could call home and relax. I always knew that if I had a problem my roommates, floor mates and definitely my RA were there to help.”

Inside the Rainbow Floor, the residential advisors plan two mandatory retreats that are centered around LGBT-identified discussions such as the coming out experience, forming new identities and other issues that pertain to the LGBT community.

“This year was our trial run and we’ve gotten open feedback from residents and now we have a stronger curriculum for that community,” Renolis said.

He said he received feedback that students on the Rainbow Floor want to feel more connected the different

MARLENE SANCHEZ / XPRESS

UNITY FLOOR: Ariana Fletcher poses for a portrait in the hallway of the J. Paul Leonard Library Tuesday, May 12. She lives on the Rainbow Floor of the Village at Centennial Square, where the goal is to provide students with a comfortable and safe environment.

LGBT organizations on campus and to the greater LGBT community in San Francisco.

“I think one thing that I’m excited to see is that even though we have some set programs in place, it’s really where the residents want to take it,” Renolis said. “The future of the Rainbow Floor really lies in the hands of the people who live on it. Maybe in five years the community they will create will turn the Rainbow Floor into something entirely different.”

PHOTOS BY MELISSA MINTON

students bounce through the end of the semester: (RIGHT) International relations major Nina Bazan-Sakamoto smiles while getting into her gear for a game of bubble soccer in the Quad during the Cinco de Mayo celebration sponsored by La Raza Student Organization and the Alumni Association Tuesday, May 5. The bubble ball outfit is a plastic transparent suit with a harness and handles for the person to play in.

The event gave students a chance to get exercise, eat free tacos and listen to a mariachi band.

FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE BUBBLE SOCCER EVENT DURING THE CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION VISIT GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

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MAY 13, 2015

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE 5

Center serves as a home for recovery HANNAH MULLINS

hmullins@mail.sfsu.edu

Every thing was going well for Annette Rivera until she experienced a bipolar onset in her early twenties that led her to self-medicate and lose sight of her future, she said.

Rivera was born in the Bronx, but spent most of her young life in Omaha, Nebraska. Eventually, she made her way to San Francisco at just 18 years old, where she attended University of San Francisco to obtain her degree in philosophy. After getting involved in drugs and alcohol, she recalled feeling angry and hurt.

“I was really angry and I had a lot of trauma and abuse as a child,” Rivera said.

“It’s not like I gave up my power to a higher being, I gave up myself. I realized that myself is just so small,” In September 2014 Rivera joined a program at the Gracenter, a residential alcoholism and drug abuse recovery facility for women in San Francisco’s Portola District. Following a unique 12-step approach, the sisters at Gracenter promote long-term recovery from addiction, according to their pamphlet. “(The Gracenter) really changed my life,” said Rivera, who has now been sober for eight months. She said she hopes to complete her degree in philosophy after completing an extended learning program at SF State and her time at Gracenter.

Inside Gracenter’s beige, one-story flat that overlooks the bay, Executive Director

Sister Marguerite Bartling houses up to 13 women at a time. Along with a gratitude room and media lab, the women can continue to recover in a practical environment that has similar amenities to home life, according to Bartling.

After spending her early years in Southern California, Bartling found her calling in religion after attending California State University, Fullerton, where she got to know the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. In the 1970s, she committed herself to Catholicism and became a sister.

She attended SF State and received her master’s degree in social work in 1994.

“I love seeing the women grow more confident, become happier in their lives and achieve success,” Bartling said.

In the Gracenter kitchen, a large round table sits in front of sliding glass doors that reflect the 12 steps posted on the parallel wall. In the living room down the hall, women bonded over board games and television.

“For a long time I thought I had it under control,” said Shatoya Scarbrough, a new resident at Gracenter. “I thought I could still do what I was doing and function and this and that. I’ve learned how to surrender and say ‘look, I need help.’”

Scarbrough said she has been living at Gracenter for three months and has participated in a volunteer outreach program to feed the homeless. Her voice shook as she recalled having no place to sleep.

“It’s something dear to my heart and my dream had came true,” Scarbrough

SARA GOBETS / XPRESS

GUIDANCE: Executive director of Good Shepherd Gracenter Marguerite Bartling stands for a portrait where 13 women live and recover from addiction Monday, May 11.

said. “It was important to me because I had been there, I had been homeless at a point in time and I know how it is. It’s just giving back.”

The women of Gracenter can stay for up to two years, but the center encourages them to agree to a room for six months after a trial period in the shared room.

The ideal candidate for the Gracenter is a woman between 18 and 35 who is ready to reclaim her life, according to the program’s guidelines. Each woman must also be sober for at least 30 days prior to entering the program, according to a Gracenter pamphlet.

Bartling said she and Program Director Sandra Munoz assist the women at Gracenter whenever they need it, being on call almost 24 hours a day.

Through the program, women are encouraged to recover, obtain higher education through community resources and seek employment opportunities, according to Bartling.

“It offers a chance for women to restore their lives and how they’re going to live positively in the future,” Rivera said. “How they’re going to affect change within themselves and their community. I’m really grateful to be here.”

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Spotlight 7

MAY 13, 2015

REFLECTION: Eva

Rodriguez shows Issi Sherren what her new tattoo will look like in a Mary Ward Hall dorm room Friday, March 6.

DANIEL E. PORTER / XPRESS

Dorm-style tattoos create student buzz

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lue latex gloves, sterilized needles and rubbing alcohol lay sprawled out on a wooden desk, reminiscent of a surgeon’s table. The Mary Ward Hall dorm room filled with the mechanical buzz of a tattoo machine as 18-year-old studio art student Eva Rodriguez traced the outline of a forest.

Rodriguez said she has been tattooing and piercing SF State students and Bay Area residents since she moved to SF State in Fall 2014. She charges as little as $15 for piercings and a has a minimum of $30 for tattoos.

“It’s definitely like a business,” she said. “I’ve pierced over 100 people. Tattoos, I’ve done about 20 or 30. I’m pretty much just starting but so far I haven’t gotten any complaints.”

Tattooing combines her passion for art and meeting new people, Rodriguez said. She said she learned the basics of tattooing when she worked as an apprentice for a tattoo shop in

DANIEL E. PORTER / XPRESS

EXCITEMENT: Eva Rodriguez waits in her dorm room for a customer after preparing tattoo supplies Friday, March 6.

NASHELLY CHAVEZ nashelly@mail.sfsu.edu

San Diego.

“I’d watch them, how they prepared (tattoos),” Rodriguez said. “Every now and then I’d get to do a hands-on kind of thing.

They’d let me fill in something, but I never got to do full-on sleeves over there.”

When Rodriguez moved to SF State, she said she gained a lot of customers after she promoted her services on Facebook and Instagram. Her tattoos tend to be small and simple, she said, since she still considers herself a beginner. Rodriguez does most types of piercings, including everything from conventional nose and ear piercings to more uncommon nipple and clitoral piercings.

“I just want my customers to feel safe and I don’t want to pierce someone and then ruin their life,” Rodriguez said.

“That’s really important to me. I don’t do any piercings that I’m unsure about.”

Rodriguez said she uses sterilized needles, wears gloves and takes other safety precautions to keep her customers safe in the informal dorm environment.

Tattoo artists and body piercers, regardless of whether they work at an established business or as practitioners like Rodriguez, are required to obtain a permit from the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

These artists must pay an initial application fee of $100 in addition to an annual $100 fee to the San Francisco Tax Collector, are required to have proof of training in piercing and tattooing and must complete training in sanitation and bloodborne pathogens.

Hannah Wednesday is a tattoo artist at Tuesday Tattoo in the Outer Sunset who has gone through the licensing process.

DANIEL E. PORTER / XPRESS

PAIN TOLERANCE: Issi Sherren lies back on the bed to get comfortable as Eva Rodriguez puts the final touches on the foot tattoo in Rodriguez’s dorm room Friday, March 6.

She said she began apprenticing at the shop seven years ago.

Tuesday Tattoo undergoes inspection by the city every year to ensure sanitation standards are being met, Wednesday said. She said she pays the city’s tax collector every year and completes an online bloodborne pathogen seminar.

Wednesday said she knows many professional tattoo artists who work out of their homes and have clean and sanitary tattooing.

She advised anyone interested in getting a new tattoo to educate themselves on the safety and sanitation procedures of the artist being considered.

“Do your research,” Wednesday said. “Before anybody gets a tattoo they should be doing research about the people who are doing the tattoo.”

Rodriguez said that although she has completed the sanitation and bloodborne pathogen

training, there are still the high application costs, the annual fee and her incomplete training that have prevented her from pursuing a license. Additionally, the University Housing 2014-2015 Student Housing License Agreement prohibits students from conducting business while living in on-campus housing. Nevertheless, she continues to tattoo out of her dorm room.

Rodriguez isn’t the only student who is tattooing in the dorms. English major Chandler Vannasdall said his friend gave him his first tattoo in the dorm rooms one month after moving to SF State: a Pabst Blue Ribbon design stick and poke located on his right forearm. The amateur stick and poke method of tattooing uses a needle covered in ink to scrape a design into the skin.

“I’ve always wanted to get (a tattoo) done from people I know and not have it cost hundreds of

dollars,” Vannasdall said.

Since then, Vannasdall said he and his friends have had stick and poke parties in the dorms where they tattoo each other.

“There are people that can do really dope (stick and pokes) but for the most part I try to stick to simple words or outlines,” he said. “They’re not perfect lines.

You wouldn’t complain about your stick and poke like you would about a tattoo.”

Both Vannasdall and Rodriguez said they enjoyed the personal relationships that they build while tattooing in the dorms.

“A lot of times people get tattoos or piercings when they’re in a new change in their life,” Rodriguez said. “Like something just happened, they want to start new. A lot of people get a piercing or dye their hair, or get a tattoo. It’s nice to be a part of that.”

8 OPINION

x FRANK LADRA

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF fladra@mail.sfsu.edu

NASHELLY CHAVEZ

MANAGING EDITOR nashelly@mail.sfsu.edu

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NEWS EDITOR jfeeley@mail.sfsu.edu

TIMOTHY SMITH

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CALLA CAMERO

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE EDITOR ccamero@mail.sfsu.edu

NICOLE PARADISE

OPINION EDITOR nparadis@mail.sfsu.edu

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SPORTS EDITOR ecarranz@mail.sfsu.edu

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SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR hmullins@mail.sfsu.edu

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WRITE US A LETTER The Golden Gate Xpress accepts letters no longer than 200 words.

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ABOUT XPRESS

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For more information or comments, please contact Frank Ladra at: fladra@mail.sfsu.edu

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STAFF EDITORIAL

Cameras keep cops in limelight With a plethora of reports flooding the media regarding recent police shootings and incidents of brutality captured on video, it should come as no surprise when everyday citizens want to band together and march on the streets in protest. But with a recent addition of portable cameras to many police uniforms, the question of who was at fault may no longer be disputable.

In a recent L.A. Times article, James S. Muller contends that videotaping police activity has simultaneously become a watchdog for excessive force and a testimony to how frequently officers have falsely reported incidents without having to face the consequences.

Roughly 25 percent of the nation’s police departments are now using cameras attached to officer uniforms to document all activity, according to an OJP Diagnostic Center report, and the preliminary results are already showing benefits for both sides of the argument.

Police in Oakland started wearing the portable video cameras in 2010 and in five years have seen a 72 percent reduction in useof-force occurrences, according to a recent article. Oakland uses 700 body cameras, the largest inventory in the country.

A 12-month study of the police department in Rialto in the East Bay reported a more than 50 percent reduction in use-of-force incidents and nearly one-tenth of citizen complaints were received in that time frame. The report concluded that these reductions were associated with officers wearing cameras.

So why is the use of body cameras not mandatory in all police departments nationwide?

Some human interest organizations who

In a world of instant video sharing, police brutality has recently taken center stage, but camera additions to uniforms reinforce accountability for misconduct. agree with the need for increased monitoring of and accountability for unnecessary police brutality have warned of possible issues that could come out of constant recording of officer interactions.

The American Civil Liberties Union recently warned that body cameras have more of a potential to invade privacy when officers enter private residences, often encountering crime victims in a wide variety of sometimes stressful and extreme situations.

And then there is the potential issue of how the recorded content will be processed and reviewed. With technology advancing so rapidly and no official policy in place with how to handle all of this footage, there is too much room for misuse, leaving people’s privacy in question.

“We have to be very careful about how we use this footage,” Barry Donelan, president of the Oakland Police Officers’ Association, said in a recent interview. “Society has to decide — do we want all of that on YouTube?”

With countless videos of excessive use of force going viral in recent months, it seems

that society is more than tolerant of having such activity go so public in the interest of making more people aware of the misconduct and therefore changing the way accountability is handled.

The Washington Post recently reported on the Department of Justice’s newly proposed pilot program that will increase body camera usage in police departments across the nation.

In the plan, federal officials intend to fund nearly $20 million to several governmental departments, much of which will include small law enforcement agencies. In addition, the report says, “another $1 million will be set aside so that the Bureau of Justice Statistics can figure out how to study the actual impact of these cameras.”

It is reassuring to see that the top officials of the government are finally taking necessary action to utilize the available technology as a means to accurately document the activity of those who have sworn to protect and to serve citizens.

In a time in history when social media has become a primary source of information gathering for so many people, it makes sense that many employers and members of management would seek to monitor the activity of their employees, especially in situations where other individuals are claiming injury.

The question of whether or not some trusted law enforcement officials are abusing their power has long been answered. Now it is time for departments nationwide to implement a system of accountability, providing real documentation of what really happened.

Trophy hunting not worth the photo opp

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n the past couple of months, I have noticed a trend of hunting stories and photos come across my Facebook news feed. The photos did not only include small game hunting like ducks and rabbits, but also trophy hunting where people kill rare animals like giraffes, lions and elephants.

Most recently I saw a photo of a woman proudly lying next to a dead giraffe. When I saw the photo, I honestly wanted to cry. I thought to myself, “Who could ever do such a thing and be happy about it?” I immediately found myself researching the Internet for anything I could find about trophy hunting and why people would actively kill animals facing extinction.

Many trophy hunters kill African wildlife because they believe it helps conserve species or provides for poor communities in surrounding areas, according to what I discovered online.

The woman in the photo, Rebecca Francis, told Hunting Life magazine that she was asked to kill the giraffe because it was very close to death and could therefore provide food for a local village.

She also stated that the people waited to take the animal's meat after she killed it and then made jewelry out of the bones.

These reasons do not justify killing beautiful animals. In reality, only 3 percent of revenue from trophy hunting ever makes it to communities in need, according to the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation.

It was unnecessary for Francis to kill the giraffe for this village. If the giraffe was already so close to death, the villagers could have waited for him to die naturally and then taken its remains as a means of

NICOLE PARADISE nparadis@mail.sfsu.edu

survival.

It would have been better for the giraffe to die peacefully instead of being hunted down and staged for a photo.

Trophy hunters should be willing to donate money directly to struggling communities instead of paying thousands of dollars to hunt. A trophy fee is what a hunter pays to the government or land owner when he or she kills a certain animal on that property.

The trophy fee of hunting an elephant is more than $40,000, according to African Sky Hunting, a popular hunting company in South Africa.

Villages in hunting areas should not have to rely on hunters to come in and kill animals to provide their people with food and goods.

Even though

Francis said she was asked to kill the giraffe, the professional female trophy hunter received death threats and thousands of hate letters on Twitter after posting her photo.

It is frustrating that someone can so proudly shoot a giraffe or lion and call it a hobby. If that same person were to cause harm to a neighborhood cat or dog, it would be considered illegal in most states, according to Stray Pet Advocacy.

Hunting and animal cruelty should both be illegal and highly regulated.

In the future, I hope to visit Africa and see some of the exotic wildlife that lives on the land.

If trophy hunting continues, not only will these animals most likely become extinct, poor villages in hunting areas will be left with fewer options for survival.

ILLUSTRATION BY EVELYN CAICEDO / SPECIAL TO XPRESS

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OPINION 9

MAY 13, 2015

Sexuality is more than just straight or gay EVA BARRAGAN

evbarrag@mail.sfsu.edu

During a recent discussion on sexuality with one of my classmates, she asked me to define my own sexual orientation. Like many of my friends in the past, I did not have an answer for her. My reason for not answering her question was not because I don’t know how to define my sexual orientation, but instead because I do not see the point in labeling it.

Sexuality is only one facet of an entire human being. Unfortunately, we live in a society that thrives on an obsessive need to label everything and everyone.

The latest example of society’s need to brand everything is the media’s interpretation of Miley Cyrus’ interview with OUT magazine. Cyrus shared with a reporter that not all of her romantic relationships have been heterosexual and that she is learning to understand that being a girl is not what she hates–it’s the box that she gets put into.

While Cyrus did not explicitly define her sexual identity in her interview, it did not stop numerous online lifestyle and culture publications from labeling Cyrus’ non-heterosexual relationships as nonstraight or gender queer.

For me, putting a label on my sexuality is like allowing myself to be placed into a box. It’s Pronounced Metrosexual, a website that helps individuals be accurate and respectful when using identifying lan-

guage, provides a handful of terms I could use to label my sexual identity including asexual, bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, pansexual, polysexual and gay. Yet, using one of those terms to define myself feels neither right nor necessary. Even if I did align with one of these identities today, who’s to say I won’t change it tomorrow?

Alfred Kinsey’s “Kinsey Scale” is the most accurate way I can explain how I feel about the concept of sexuality. American biologist Kinsey and his colleagues developed the Kinsey Scale in 1948 to account for the research showing that people did not fit into neat and exclusive heterosexual or homosexual categories, according to the Kinsey Institute.

Kinsey and his team interviewed men and women about their sexual history and found that for many people, sexual behavior, thoughts and feelings towards the same or opposite sex were not always consistent over time.

Although I know there are a lot of individuals who feel 100 percent comfortable and confident in declaring their heterosexuality or homosexuality, I feel the majority of society falls somewhere on Kinsey’s spectrum. It is the pressure from peers, parents or society that forces people to lean toward one end or the other.

I’ve personally witnessed one of my very close friends “come out” as bisexual and she was hassled from both her gay and straight friends for not “picking a side,” she said. She told me her straight friends

AL U X E S Y L L HETERO PO A U X SEXUAL E S O OM H B I S EXUAL L A U X ASE

PANSEXUAL

think she is just experimenting while her gay friends say that she is “confused.”

Actress Blanche DuBois said it best in Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.” “A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it’s curved like a road through mountains,” she said.

The only way to overcome this obsessive need to label everyone’s sexuality is through education and acceptance.

If we as a society make a conscious effort to educate ourselves and each other about sexuality, we will be less critical of others’ sexual identities or lack thereof.

ILLUSTRATION BY KATRINA ANDAYA / XPRESS

10 SPORTs

MAY 13, 2015

CHad

NOLAN

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GOLDENGATEXPRESS.ORG

NICK CORY

MARK

GARRETT

MELISSA MINTON / XPRESS DAVID HENRY / XPRESS

MELISSA MINTON / XPRESS

DAVID HENRY / XPRESS

JESSICA CHRISTIAN / XPRESS EMMA CHIANG / XPRESS

Player achievements cap baseball season ation standings with a playoff opportunity until the final two weeks of the season. A 5-9 finish in their final 14 games was the breaking point of the season, ultimately removing them from playoff contention. The highlights of the season came from some individual performances, including senior catcher Mark Lindsay, who broke the SF State hits record with 213 hits. Closing pitcher Cory

JOHN MONTOYA jmontoy1@mail.sfsu.edu

SF State’s men’s baseball team wrapped up the 2015 season with a 19-20 overall record. The Gators were able to stay afloat in the California Collegiate Athletic Associ-

GARRETT HEISINGER

NOLAN SHERIDAN

FIRST BASE

STARTING PITCHER

.278 batting average 14 extra base hits

84 innings pitched (led team) .968 fileding percentage

Garrett Heisinger finished his senior year with 14 extra base hits and a .278 batting average. The first baseman was the only Gator to hit a home run this season.

Nolan Sheridan led the team with his 84 innings pitched and a .968 fielding percentage. The junior finished with a 3-6 record, including three complete games and 27 strikeouts.

In his 84 innings pitched, Sheridan only walked 15 batters, keeping the opposing hitters off the base paths while on the mound.

NICK JACKSON

CHAD THURSTON

Davis broke the saves record with 21 saves in only two years as a Gator. The Gators finished with a 10-16 home record and a 9-13 away record. The team said goodbye to nine seniors, but will retain players including Jacob Lopez and Peter Reyes, who will carry their gained experience into the 2016 season. Here are some of the standout players of the 2015 season.

CORY DAVIS

MARK LINDSAY

Catcher/infielder

OUTFIELD

CLOSING PITCHER

CATCHER

.322 batting average 37 hits 20 RBIs and 20 runs

.302 batting average 33 runs (led team) 48 games played (tied for first)

2.85 ERA 41 innings pitched 8 saves 42 strikeouts led team)

.329 batting average (led team) 57 hits (led team) 24 RBIs (tied for first)

Cory Davis was named to the All-CCAA Second Team in his last year as a Gator. Davis added to his accolades by breaking the career saves record with 21 in only two years as a Gator. He had 41 innings pitched, a 2.85 ERA, eight saves and 42 strikeouts which led the team.

Mark Lindsay finished his senior year by breaking the 20-year-old SF State hit record with 213 career hits, surpassing Phil Kernan. He finished his final year with a .329 batting average and 57 hits, both of which led the team. His 24 RBIs were tied for first on the Gators.

Lindsay’s historic career was wrapped up with an All-CCAA Honorable Mention selection.

Chad Thurston was named to the All-CCAA Honorable Mention team in his first year as a Gator.

The redshirt freshman finished his year with 37 hits, 20 RBIs and 20 runs.

Thurston finished with a .322 batting average and only struck out six times.

His fielding was top notch at first base, with a .989 fielding percentage.

Nick Jackson’s sophomore year was highlighted by a memorable play that landed him the No. 2 spot on SportsCenter’s “Top 10 Plays” segment. The outfielder finished the season with 33 runs, 48 games played, while hitting a .302 average from the plate.

Jackson was named to the All-CCAA Second Team.

Event promotes accessible recreation VINCE FAUSONE IV vfausone@mail.sfsu.edu

SF State student Rosie Blanckenburg reared her wheelchair onto the thick treads of its haunches, elevating its smaller set of neon-lit front tires into the air. She whirled the chair around on its axis as trails of

pulsating color scurried to keep up. After a few revolutions, she halted to converse with some classmates in the center of Don Nasser Family Plaza while casually maintaining her effortless wheelie.

“It just takes some practice and confidence,” Blanckenburg said. “Once I got into the right mindset, doing wheelies was

KATE FRASER / XPRESS

ACTION: Recreation, parks and tourism major Russell Meglio bowls from a wheelchair at Accessible Adventures Day in front of the gym in Don Nasser Family Plaza Thursday, May 7.

easy.”

Blanckenburg joined SF State students and faculty for wheelchair bowling, seated volleyball and upper-body cycling during the University’s second Accessible Adventures Day May 7. The collection of informational booths and modified competitions aimed to make students with or without disabilities aware of the activities available for people living with a variety of disabilities.

“It’s our goal to get this information out there to as many people as possible,” said Patrick Tierney, an SF State professor in the recreation, parks and tourism department. “You never know who somebody might know that can benefit from these programs.”

Tierney’s department, along with SF State’s Campus Recreation Department and Disability Programs Resource Center, teamed up for the event with outside organizations that provide athletic opportunities for students like Blanckenburg, who said she has participated in wheelchair basketball and kayaking. The featured programs offer innovative equipment for adapted recreation, like Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired’s sound-assisted archery targets and a soft-tired

wheelchair that allows for mobility on sand.

“The confidence that people get out of these activities is amazing to see,” Tierney said. “When they can say ‘Hey I did that,’ it’s a great thing.”

The gathering converged around a stage in the small quad to hear keynote speaker Cristina Rubke speak on behalf of the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors. Rubke is a former Access Class European Sailing Champion and competes using a joystick-like steering mechanism that she operates with her chin.

“There’s been a ton of times where I was like ‘This is it, I’m going in the water,’ and it was terrifying at first,” Rubke said as she addressed the crowd. “I got over it eventually though. Having experiences like these are so important for this community and events like this make it all happen.”

Recreation, parks and tourism major Taylor Dempsey worked at one of the event’s booths and said she was impressed by what the organizations offer to participants.

“It’s amazing what people are capable of,” Dempsey said. “Everyone should have equal opportunity to experience these activities, no matter what their abilities are.”