We can’t stop believin’ in Journey ARTS, pg. 3
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Volume LXXVII, Number 4
www.mustangdaily.net
Throwing in the towel BRITTANY WOODARD
brittanywoodard.md@gmail.com
After Sidney (who declined to use her last name) finishes her workout at the Cal Poly Recreation Center, she heads to the locker room to
gather her belongings. With the Recreation Center’s signature green towel in one hand and her water bottle in the other, she passes by the locker room’s laundry basket and forgets to drop the towel off. She places it in her backpack without even realizing it and leaves, underlining the very issue Cal Poly’s Recreation Center has had since open-
Cal Poly’s Rec Center is considering dropping its towel service amid losses
ing on campus in January. It’s a transgression that many members such as Sidney don’t realize they contribute to. However, out of 2,000 towels, only approximately 150 towels were remaining in the beginning of April. To try and solve the problem, Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) decided to buy lime green towels that month. These lime green towels would hopefully remind students to drop them off before leaving the center, according to ASI Coordinator of Membership and Staff Services Lindsey Lee. Lee said the solution hasn’t remedied the problem yet though. “If people are still taking them, then we are still losing inventory at the Recreation Center,” said Lee, who has worked for ASI for six years now. On the other hand, Lee said the new green towels and various signs around the center have slowed the rate of loss. “We have started with the same
amount of white towels when we opened the building,” Lee said. “Those went really fast. The green towels lasted a lot longer. So we have been able to hang on to them from July, which would be four months. Whereas the white towels were disappearing within two-and-a-half months.” Even with several signs around the Center reminding students to return them, the towels continue to disappear. Many members, such as kinesiology sophomore Ariana Elegado, said they read the signs, but simply forget once the time comes to leave. “I noticed the different signs in the Center to remind me to leave my towel, but I totally forgot about it when I saw a lime green one in my backpack when I got home,” Elegado said. Currently, the front desk of the Recreation Center cannot reveal the exact number of towels that have been taken from the center. However, according to Recreation Center staff such as Lee, there is a noticeable amount missing. Consequently, losing towel after towel throughout the past few months has also see TOWELS, pg. 2
GRAPHIC BY KAYTLYN LESLIE
Alumna awarded for achievements ANDREA KANG
andreakang.md@gmail.com
Every year, one Cal Poly graduate from each of the university’s six colleges is recognized for exceptional success in his or her career and experiences. Last month, the College of Liberal Arts awarded Michela O’Connor Abrams — president of awardwinning media company, Dwell Media — the Honored Alumni Award. Abrams will be honored at the Honored Alumni Banquet this October during homecoming on behalf of the university’s Alumni Association, said Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Debra Valencia-Laver. Abrams, a journalism graduate who has visited Cal Poly as a speaker in the past, was nominated for the award by the journalism faculty and then selected by the interim department chair. “She has had some continued relationships and influence in the journalism department,” ValenciaLaver said. “I think she’s trying to bring her experience back to Cal Poly students so they can see the career opportunities that are available to them.” Graphic communication department chair and interim journalism chair Harvey Levenson said he admires Abrams for her success at Dwell Media, which is “one of the most prestigious publications of its kind in the nation.”
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Michela O’Connor Abrams, winner of the Honored Alumni Award. “(Abrams) represents the type of graduate that Cal Poly has become increasingly known for — intellectual, critical thinker, highly intelligent and entrepreneurial,” Levenson wrote in an email. “I can think of no one more deserving of the coveted Cal Poly Honored Alum(na) Award than Michela.” Abrams, a transfer from UCLA, graduated from Cal Poly with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1980 with a concentration in advertising and public relations. She said she immersed herself in working for Mustang Daily — which was not student-run at the time — as the general manager. Besides work, she said her journalism education was invaluable to her success right after graduating. “The diversity of the curriculum I was allowed to have was significant not only in my breadth of knowledge and exposure see ALUMNA, pg. 2
Architecture, engineering students erect telescope HILLARY KAISER
hillarykaiser.md@gmail.com
“Big Woody,” one of the world’s largest portable telescopes, weighs 500 pounds and stands at 14 feet tall. It has a mirror that extends 60 inches in diameter. It can be broken down and transported by a team within a few minutes. And it was designed and created by Cal Poly’s own. Astronomy research scholar
in residence, Russ Genet, who has a bachelor’s in electrical engineering and a doctorate in astronomy spent the past school year designing and building “Big Woody” with three architectural engineering students, Mounir El-Koussa, Laura Rice and Mike Vickery. It will allow them to conduct research never done before, Genet said. They will use “Woody” and his counterpart, “Shiny Sam,” a much smaller telescope made of aluminum, to determine diameters
of nearby stars or double stars and see how far away they are from each other. “I was interested in working on telescopes again,” Genet, who has built several smaller telescopes over the years, said. “I began thinking about what niche wasn’t filled and something that could be developed that would be useful.” Before “Big Woody,” telescopes larger than the ones
HILLARY KAISER/MUSTANG DAILY
see TELESCOPE, pg. 2
SPORTS, pg. 6 Footbal makes new home in Big Sky.
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to different subject matter that all journalists need to have,” Abrams said, “but it just enhanced my desire to appreciate great journalism, be a good writer and use my skills immediately upon graduating. There weren’t a lot of people doing that at the time.” After completing her education, she went straight into working for an advertising agency and later began working for Dwell Media, where she has been a leader for 10 years. Abrams credits Cal Poly with preparing her for a career in business. “Being able to transfer my writing skills to any medium was really important, and I would not have gotten that any place else,” she said. In 2005, Abrams implemented Dwell on Design, a U.S. design show that by 2011 was hosting more than 25,000 design professionals and enthusiasts. According to her Dwell on Design profile, she now continues to oversee the development and growth Dwell Media’s digital platforms including web, mobile and tablet products, and serves as a board member
TOWELS continued from page 2
cost the Recreation Center money. Lee, along with the rest of the summer staff, plans on making future changes to the towel service once school starts in the fall. One of the suggested changes is to create a fee that could be added on to each person’s membership. This fee would make up for the towels that go missing throughout the year. But an extra fee is not something members at the Recreation Center would want to pay on top of the membership fee, according
Thursday, July 26, 2012
1980 Year Abrams graduated from Cal Poly of the Magazine Publishers Association’s Independent Magazine Advisory Group and Linguastat, as well as the Board of Trustees for the Marin Horizon School. She also serves on Cal Poly’s journalism advisory board, which provides students with a link to journalism professions outside the classroom. Abrams looks forward to accepting her award at the Honored Alumni Banquet in the fall, she said. “It’s not only an honor to receive this (award) because of the recognition of my work, but because what Cal Poly has become is something even greater than it was when I was there,” she said. “I’m definitely honored that the university I credit to being the foundation of my success is now one of the most prestigious educational institutions not only in California, but in the U.S.” to psychology sophomore Molly Schlemer. “Towels at a Recreation Center should be free,” said Schlemer, who has been a member since the Center’s opening. “I mean not to take, but to use. It would be annoying to have to pay an extra fee for towels during my workouts.” Another option is to completely stop all towel service at the Recreation Center. But members such as psychology senior Andrew Lee think otherwise. “It would be a hassle to have to bring my own towel to the center,” Andrew Lee said. “Most gyms have a towel service available so why can’t we?”
mustangdaily.net
TELESCOPE continued from page 1
sold in stores, but smaller than those found in observatories, cost millions of dollars and required an 18-wheeler to transport. Genet said he wanted to focus on reducing the size and structure, so he looked to the architectural engineering department to make this undertaking possible. Though architectural engineering seems drastically different from building a telescope, the structural ideals are alike, he said. “It seems a little strange, but structures — whether they are skyscrapers or large telescopes — the engineering involved is the same,” Genet said. El-Koussa, who graduated from Cal Poly in June and now works as a project engineer at a local engineering firm, helped build the telescope. “The same concepts (as engineering) apply, and after building the telescope, I better understand what I am doing now,” El-Koussa said. The design aspect of the project aside, El-Koussa said the group members also learned better communication skills, which will help in his field. “You meet with clients and contractors constantly, and it pays off to be a good commu-
nicator,” El-Koussa said. Timothy Scott, who is working towards a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, helped design the control systems that will gather data and images on stars. Scott said he heard about the telescope project in his mechatronics class, and because he had previous experience working with software and control systems, he decided to help out. Though astronomy isn’t his particular field of study, it will be helpful in his future career, Scott said. “Saying you worked on the largest portable telescope always helps on your résumé,” Scott said. “It shows that I have familiarity with working on different kinds of projects, and that I can speak intelligently about different sensors and control methods.” Despite only working on this project for a month, he has hooked up the motor and encoders that enable the group to track the position of the telescope and tell what position it is pointing. Technological capabilities aside, the high-grade ApplePly plywood used to build the telescope also made the team eligible to enter the ApplePly design contest. The $3,000 first prize award is usually given to unique furniture designs, but this year the three teammates won and split the prize money.
HILLARY KAISER/MUSTANG DAILY
Astronomy research scholar in residence, Russ Genet (above), went to architectural engineering students to help him design and build the framing for the telescope. “It seems a little strange, but structures — whether they are skyscrapers or large telescopes — the engineering involved is the same,” Genet said. “I guess a lot of telescope makers have used their wood in the past,” El-Koussa said. “I was excited; it was a good chunk of money and good publicity for them.” Despite not yet applying to
the Guinness Book of World Records for the official title of “Biggest Telescope in the World,” Genet is already working on the initial design for an even larger portable telescope.
MDarts 3
July 26, 2012
Fairgoers take a Journey through rock history, Mustang Daily reporter reviews rock ‘n’ roll show VICTORIA BILLINGS victoriabillings.md@gmail.com
Few generations have rocked as hard as people rocked in the ‘80s. It was a decade of smoke machines, guitar solos that never ended and voices that seemed bigger than the very bodies they came out of, or so I’ve gathered from VH1 specials. And Tuesday night at the Mid-State Fair, those same rockstars came back to prove that they hadn’t stopped jamming just because they hit 50, as Loverboy, Pat Benatar and Journey took the Chumash Grandstand Arena. Loverboy was a solid opening act. They sounded just the way a typical band from the ‘80s should sound like, but the lead singer kept saying, “I know you know this one. Sing along!” before each song and I didn’t know that one, because I wasn’t born in 1975. Pat Benatar came on next, and she was far and away the standout of the night. She may be 59, but the only way the audience knew was because she jokingly referred to how long she and her husband/guitarist/co-conspirator Neil “Spyder” Giraldo had been writing and performing together (34 years, for the interested). Benatar jumped about stage in a long, black jacket with a dragon design on the back, with her haunting, largerthan-life and immediately recognizable voice filling the
VICTORIA BILLINGS / MUSTANG DAILY
Loverboy, Pat Benatar and Journey all shared the Grandstand stage at the Mid-state fair on Tuesday evening. While Journey was the headliner, audience members seemed more impressed with Benatar. arena at the fair. More than once, I found myself exclaiming, “This chick can still rock!” which must have sounded pretty funny to the old couple seated next to me, but I was so into it, I didn’t care. And you know I sang along to “Love is a Battlefield” like it was written just for me. When Benatar finally left the stage, people screamed and stomped until she returned for an encore of “Heartbreaker” merged with Johnny Cash’s
“Ring of Fire.” This doesn’t sound like it should work, but trust me, it did, partly because it absolutely shouldn’t, and partly because Benatar and Spyder sang “Ring of Fire” as a duet. When Journey finally took the stage, I was bouncing in my seat with excitement. After all, I like Pat Benatar, but I love Journey, and I had been waiting for this moment for weeks. Guitarist Neal Schon was
commanding in all leather, and immediately grabbed the crowd’s attention with his incredible guitar skills. Drum and bass, as well, all sounded exactly as they did on my old Journey records. The real test now was whether their relatively new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, could live up to the legendary Journey sound. And as soon as he came on stage, mic in hand, I knew why he had been chosen as
lead singer. Pineda may be a good foot shorter than the other band members (which brings to mind the cliché “giants of rock ‘n’ roll”) but his voice is huge, matching that same big hair, big rock sound that Journey is known for. Singing with such a big voice can be trying, however, and it soon became obvious that Pineda seemed to be struggling with his. Though he sang well, he often left the stage in between songs, leaving other
members to perform drum, guitar or piano solos while he rested his vocal cords. The entire band also seemed to be determined to get all of their more obscure songs out of the way first. I mean, I love you, Journey, but don’t make me sit in the cold for an hour and a half just to hear “Separate Ways,” and don’t wait until half of the arena has left to play “Don’t Stop Believin’.” I get what you’re trying to do here, but at some point, the original fans of your music are going to realize it’s way past their bedtime and just pack it in, whether or not they’ve heard their favorite song. One couple summed it up more concisely than I ever could. As I got back onto the shuttle to head home that night, I overheard them talking about the concert: “Pat Benatar was the best part,” one woman said. “Journey was good,” a man replied. “I just wish they had played more of the songs we wanted to hear.” Even with the disappointment, though, I’m so glad I went to the Midstate Fair for the concert. It was a night dedicated to the type of rock ‘n’ roll that doesn’t really exist anymore, and, for just a few hours, I could pretend that I wore big hair, went to high school with The Breakfast Club, watched music videos on MTV and thought John Cusack was totally dreamy.
‘Whimsical’ musician visits Kreuzberg tonight SAMANTHA SULLIVAN
samanthasullivan.md@gmail.com
Kreuzberg, CA hosts Kevin Mason Hull this evening, a Sunnyvale musician who said he cannot classify his sound. Hull played classical music most of his life. He started
playing piano when he was 4 years old. In middle school, he began to listen to more pop and rock ‘n’ roll music and took up the guitar, he said. In high school, Hull said he got more serious about his music and began a bluegrass band. As a solo musician today,
he said, describing his style is something he’s been struggling with. The singer/songwriter label gives a “homesy” impression, he said. He’s been called “circus folk,” and “surreal singer/songwriter,” he said. He’s also been called “alternative acoustic,” which
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Kevin Hull has been classified under a variety of genres, however none seem to accurately describe his music, he said.
he said is the most accurate. “It means nothing and leaves it pretty open,” Hull said. Lyrically, Hull’s inspiration comes from surreal dream imagery. He has a dream notebook he keeps by his bed to record his nightly visions. He said the origin of his lyrics is unique: sometimes it’s stuff from his life or images from movies. He puts them through the lens of surrealness, he said. “I give them more of an image-based angle than realistically,” Hull said. Hull has never been to San Luis Obispo before, but said he hears good things about Kreuzberg, CA., such as that the audience at the café pays attention to the artist, rather than treating him like background noise. Kreuzberg, CA general manager Grace Miller, who
deals with booking shows for the café, said she doesn’t actively look for bands, but her email is all over the Web. Miller said bands have to meet certain requirements before they are allowed to play at Kreuzberg, CA. One example is whether the band or singer is compatible with the café. Miller said she tries not to get anyone “too heavy” or loud in order to accommodate those who want to study. Seeming to have the perfect sound for a venue like Kreuzberg, Hull said his background with classical music allows him to be more flexible with tempo and dynamics than most pop and rock music. He lets the volume change with the tempo, he said. Even though Hull may change his live music depending on the venue, fans can still listen to his music at
other times as well. Two of his EPs, “Rubia” and “Red Roses Trilogy,” are available for streaming and downloading on Hull’s website. Hull’s website also features interesting, pseudo and true insights into the artist. Long-time friend Sarah Lyn Rogers hand-painted all the artwork (flyers, CD covers and business cards) for Hull. Rogers also drew all the images on the website, including the top banner and the buttons for links. Rogers drew inspiration for her artwork from the imagery in Hull’s songs. Hull’s only instruction, according to Rogers, was for the look to be “whimsical.” Rogers described the art as resembling a children’s book illustration. see MUSIC, pg. 4
MDarts 4
July 26, 2012
New, sweet treats come to downtown
Sisters open ice cream sandwich restaurant Batch SAMANTHA SULLIVAN
samanthasullivan.md@gmail.com
In the likes of the recent sweet shop openings such as Rocket Fizz and Sugar Daddy’s Bake Shop, it still seems San Luis Obispo has yet to satisfy its sweet tooth. Maybe Batch, an ice cream sandwich restaurant that opened last month, will do the trick. Specializing in homemade ice cream sandwiches, Batch was opened by two sisters: Cal Poly alumna Tami Becker and San Luis Obispo resident Wendle Schoniger. Batch makes its own cookies and uses Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab — another local business — for its icecream patties. While scooping might seem like an easier option, Becker said scooping ice cream doesn’t work because pushing down on a scoop of ice cream can break the cookie. Batch also has deep Cal Poly roots — Becker and her husband graduated from Cal
Poly in 1989. Their daughter Marci is currently an architecture senior at Cal Poly, and their son Max becomes a WOWie this fall. Batch began because the sisters wanted to do something fun that their kids could get involved with when they were older, Becker said. The ice cream concept was fun and simple, she said. A space opened up and Schoniger called Becker and said, “It’s time,” according to Becker. “We’re a big baking family,” Schoniger said. “People tell us they’ve always loved our cookies and encouraged us to sell them. So we went for it.” According to Becker, business is better than what the sisters were expecting. On more than one occasion, Batch ran out of cookies and had to shut down early, Becker said. Schoniger said she thought the store would mostly see college students; however, the customers have been across the board. She said she sees
NHA HA/MUSTANG DAILY
Schoniger said the combination of chocolate fudge cookie and merlot ice cream was the biggest “single batch” request.
lots of families, but the late night hours are set up for Cal Poly students. Batch’s hours have been sporadic so far. The website says Batch opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and stays open until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. However, Becker said Batch stays open until 2 a.m. over the weekend. Becker said they are still trying to figure out what hours work best for them. Schoniger said when school begins for Cal Poly, Batch will definitely remain open until 1 a.m. Schoniger said the late night hours are when Cal Poly students need a study break or sweet snack. Batch plans to hold more events at night, like a homemade macaroni and cheese night for the students who miss a home-cooked meal, or a brownie night, Becker said. What’s fun about being a local business and not part of a chain, she said, is that they don’t have to answer to anybody — they can “play it by ear.” She said having her sister as a partner benefits the store as well. “It’s great working with your sister because we’re on the same page anyway,” Becker said. “I don’t have to double and triple check with anyone. If one of us gets a good idea we just go with it.” Batch plans on having a grand opening when Cal Poly starts its fall quarter, Becker said. The sisters said Batch will also have a spot at Farmer’s Market, and already have a cart in renovation. Marci Becker decorated the
NHA HA/MUSTANG DAILY
The ice cream sandwich store opened last month. Owners and sisters Tami Becker and Wendle Schoniger said they’ve always been a baking family. inside of the store, chose all the furniture and decided on the general layout of the space. She said Batch is supposed to have a “kitchenyhomey” feel. Marci Becker said the cookies don’t necessarily look like they are sold in a store (because some are different sizes and thickness) but look more fit for a kitchen. She said the pastel colors and chalkboard menus give Batch a vintage vibe. “It’s not just a cool product, but a cool place to visit,” Tami Becker said. According to Marci Becker, the flavors of the ice cream change all the time, keeping the store seasonal. She said Batch gets overwhelmed with lots of different options for flavors of cookies and ice cream. She said they like to keep the number to five options for ice cream and five
for cookies. According to Schoniger, Batch’s most popular item is the “single batch.” It consists of two warm cookies (which don’t have to be the same) and Doc Burnstein’s ice cream in the middle. In the first few weeks, their most popular “single batch” combination was chocolate fudge cookies and merlot ice cream. The most unusual item on the menu is Affogatto, espresso over ice cream with whipped cream, she said. Batch is located on 1108 Broad Street. Sugar Daddy’s Bakery is also located on Broad Street, however, Marci Becker said Batch wasn’t concerned about their proximity. “We like being near other sugar places,” she said. “If customers can’t get what they want at our place, they can go support other local businesses.”
Batch also isn’t concerned about competition with Cowboy Cookie N’ Grub, both sisters said. Tami Becker said Batch’s cookies are really different. Schoniger said their treats are warm and customers want to eat them right away. Schoniger said Cowboy Cookie N’ Grub is amazing and has a bigger, more serious, sit down bowl. Schoniger said Batch provides a “walk-away yummy treat.” “We just don’t serve the same thing,” Schoniger said. Becker also said Cowboy Cookie N’ Grub was awesome and has been around since she went to Cal Poly; however, if customers are looking for something different (like ice cream sandwiches or ice cream on a stick), or something glutenfree, it’s at Batch.
MUSIC
the glockenspiel and singing back-up vocals. “All my limbs are busy,” Rogers said. Singing is something Rogers has always done, but the instruments are all new, she said. Hull actually gave her a drum set for her birthday, she said. Currently, Hull’s focusing on his tour, trying to meet people and spread the word about his music. As for the future, Hull
said he has a lot of songs he wants to record, but doesn’t have plans for a full-length album yet. Musically, he’s ready for an album and has an idea of how his songs should sound, he said. Support is what he needs most. “When I have enough support for it to be financially feasible, I will do it,” Hull said. The free show takes place July 27 at 8 p.m.
continued from page 3
Rogers not only assists Hull with art, but with percussion on his tour. Hull recorded all the music on the EPs but can’t play all the instruments during performances. So he enlisted Rogers to help, she said. Rogers said Hull has her playing most drum sets,
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While Kevin Hull is known as a one man band, friend and artist Sara Rogers assists on background percussion, glockenspiel and backup vocals.
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Thursday, July 26, 2012
Romney same political animal as Kerry DICK POLMAN
Philadelphia Inquirer
The president is a polarizing figure whose re-election is imperiled by his handling of the nation’s No. 1 issue. However, he’s blessed with an opponent who is easy to attack — a rich Massachusetts patrician with seemingly flexible convictions and a personality that impedes any visceral connection with voters. But enough about George W. Bush and John Kerry. You see where I’m going with this. The 2012 contest has taken on the broad contours of 2004, when Bush eked out a narrow win by framing the race not as a referendum on his stewardship of the war in Iraq, but as a choice between the devil people knew and the devil they didn’t. Bush succeeded — ultimately, by a margin of about 118,000 votes in Ohio in the wee hours of the Wednesday morning after the election — by painting Kerry, early and often, as a flip-flopping, out-of-touch elitist. He went after Kerry’s supposed strength, his tenure in Vietnam, and reframed it as a weakness. He defined Kerry because Kerry was too slow to defend himself. The Obama strategists should be sending royalties to Karl Rove, because they’re clearly working his playbook. They don’t want this race to be a referendum on President Barack Obama’s stewardship of the economy; they can ill afford that, given the numbers. They want it to be a choice between two candidates, and they want to frame that choice to their advantage. Which is why they’ve been in overdrive lately, seeking to paint Romney as a flip-
flopping, out-of-touch elitist. They’re going after his supposed strength, his tenure in the private sector, and spinning it as a weakness. They want to define Romney in the harshest terms — and it may work, because, like Kerry, Romney has been lead-footed on defense. No two elections are identical, of course. And I don’t mean to imply that it’s a foregone conclusion Obama will replicate Bush’s squeaker in November. But for now, the parallels are almost eerie. Indeed, as former Bush speechwriter Troy Senik smartly warned in January, the similarities between Romney and Kerry “are ominous for Republicans who think that the abject failure of the Obama administration makes retaking the White House a fait accompli.” Romney won the GOP nomination for the same reasons Kerry got the Democratic nod eight years ago. Though he didn’t excite the party base — his record as Massachusetts governor was too moderate, just as the Democratic base viewed Kerry’s Senate record as too moderate — Romney was, like Kerry, deemed the most “electable” candidate. And both guys were confident that their biographies would be prime assets. Kerry never imagined the Republicans could assail his war-hero record and make him appear to be just another stereotypical Democratic antiwar wimp. When he was readying his bid in 2002, I asked him whether he was prepared for the inevitable GOP attacks. I still have my notes from that conversation, and he replied: “I’m not concerned about it.” And when the attacks came, in the summer of ‘04, he was so unconcerned he dithered for weeks before responding. By then, it
was too late: The poll numbers were moving Bush’s way. The same dynamic may be happening with Romney. For weeks, the Obama campaign has been hammering at his supposed strength — his economic prowess as a longtime businessman — and crafted a counter-narrative that paints him as a rapacious vulture capitalist who shipped jobs abroad, hides his tax returns, and secretes his wealth offshore. Obama’s aim is obvious: To thwart his opponent’s economic message, he has to discredit the messenger. And for weeks, Romney has been slow to respond. Polls in swing states show that the relentless Obama attack ads are beginning to move voters. Romney supporters are complaining about their candidate, much the way Democrats complained about Kerry eight summers ago. Conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg spoke for many the other day when he wrote, “What bothers me — both on the tax-return issue and the Bain/outsourcing issues — is that he’s been running for president for years and yet he seems unprepared to deal with these attacks.” How could Romney fail to anticipate that he would be seriously attacked in this fashion? He even had a foretaste during the GOP primaries, when Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry assailed him on Bain Capital, the private-equity firm he ran. Clearly, the Obama campaign was readying more of the same with a much bigger megaphone. Per-
haps the best explanation is that rich people (especially those who have spent as little as four years in elective office) can be a tad insular and tone-deaf. It’s like what happened in the summer of ‘04, when, in the midst of the Republicans’ efforts to portray Kerry as a rich elitist, he decided to go windsurfing. By then, Kerry had also been successfully labeled a flip-flopper, especially based on his earlier assertion — relentlessly marketed by the GOP — that he had voted for Iraq war funding before he had voted against it. Kerry was trying to explain a fine point of parliamentary procedure, but he chose his words poorly. Nor was he a particularly deft communicator on the campaign trail — another trait Romney shares. The war-funding remark helped fuel the perception that Kerry had no core, which is precisely what the Obama campaign is saying about Romney, making fulsome use of his
past support for health-care reform with an individual insurance requirement. It’s all part of the broader effort to tear Romney down before the autumn sprint. Bush made it work, topping Kerry by the narrowest margin of any incumbent since 1916. Obama might pull it off as well, aided by another important Bush ‘04 factor: an assiduous, under-the-radar ground game aimed at maximizing turnout of his base. But there is one caveat (sorry, Democrats): The economy might be a bigger drag on Obama than Iraq was on Bush. The war was fought far away by volunteers; the economy is right here in everybody’s kitchen. So Obama will try to win ugly, just as Bush did. Goodbye to the thematics of hope and change. Alas, 2008 now seems a lot f a r t her away than 2004.
JOHN OVERMYER/ NEWSART
Community essential after violent events like Aurora MARK RAGINS
Los Angeles Times
Murders — especially random mass murders — are frightening. And when we’re frightened, we look for explanations that will restore some sense of safety to the world. That’s one reason so many people are speculating about whether James Holmes, the suspect in Friday’s horrific Colorado shootings, is mentally ill. In some ways it would be reassuring to find out that he is. Then we could begin figuring out new ways to keep ourselves safe. Some people would argue for better outreach to the mentally ill, for providing more and better mental health services or strengthening in-
voluntary commitment laws. We would have something to blame and something to do to prevent this kind of thing from happening again. But those things wouldn’t necessarily help. I’m a psychiatrist who has spent my life working with people who have severe mental illnesses, and murder is no more sensible in my world than in yours, and it’s just as frightening. Murder is unpredictable, extraordinarily rare and shocking. That’s as true in those with mental illness as it is in those without it. I know about this firsthand. Twenty-three years ago my closest friend at work, a social worker named Robbyn Panitch, was murdered by a
homeless man with schizophrenia whom she was trying to help. In the 50 years the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health has been around, it has employed thousands of people and served hundreds of thousands of clients. As far as I know, Robbyn is the only staff member murdered by a client. But that doesn’t make her killing any less horrible or any less frightening. My friend is still dead. It doesn’t help to know that statistically, those with mental illness are no more likely than anyone else to commit violent crimes, and that they’re more likely to be victims than perpetrators. Or that, although it sometimes seems like we’re in
“You can’t get mad at an ethnic kid at Cal Poly. That’s racism.”
MARK BOSTER, MCCLATCHY -TRIBUNE
Well-wishers and community members gather beside a roadside memorial in Aurora, Colo. after a shooting killed 12 and wounded 58 others last weekend at a midnight premier for “The Dark Night Rises.” The memorial continues to grow hourly.
the midst of a murder epidemic, in fact murder — and all violent crime — has dropped dramatically across the nation in the last 20 years. Those things may be true, but as we just saw in Colorado, horrible things still happen. And the media are more effective than ever at linking the billions of humans in the world, so we all have frontrow seats at these stunningly rare events. Whether or not the overwhelming violence in Colorado had anything to do with mental illness, the healthiest approach to dealing with the fear is the one we teach to rape victims. We have to acknowledge that there is violence in the world and that we can never be truly safe. We shouldn’t be reckless, and we can take precautions, but the chance of encountering violence can’t be completely removed. But if we hide away and don’t go on with life, then we let fear win. That’s the message that should be sent now by public officials and mental health professionals alike. This isn’t the time to lobby for more money. It’s the time to promote resilience. We all need healing and acceptance, forgiveness and community. When we’re a little calmer, it might be reasonable to ask whether our current funding levels for mental health or our current gun laws or our current mental health services on college campuses are effective or not. But we have to examine these issues knowing two things: that nothing can make us truly safe, and that such large-scale violence is extremely rare. Policies that
grow out of fear aren’t always rational, and they can have unintended consequences. After my friend Robbyn died, walls of bulletproof glass were erected at mental health clinics. Metal detectors were installed and security guards hired. I doubt these things really made anyone safer, but they did put barriers between mental health workers and their clients, between us and the work we love. When we’re frightened, our natural response is to hunker down, hide away and erect walls to keep the world out. We feel the need to reassure ourselves that we can separate ourselves from danger. But we know that we really can’t, so no matter how much more we do, we’re still frightened. The way to actually be safer and less frightened is not to separate and hide; it’s to reach out to one another and take care of one another. Remember the spirit of community right after Sept. 11 or after Hurricane Katrina? People came together and offered prayers, practical help and sympathy. Those things made us feel better. If we don’t go see “The Dark Knight Rises” or the next blockbuster movie premiere, or if we don’t let the next “loner” into college or avoid him, we’ll be giving in to our fears instead of facing them and learning to live with them. I would have been doing the same thing after Robbyn’s death if I hadn’t returned to working with homeless, mentally ill people. In the end, there’s one way to make it through this. Together.