September 25, 2012 | www.sdcitytimes.com
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‘A country where democracy is just an illusion’ “Fraud, fraud, fraud,” is what millions of angry Mexicans all over the country yelled after the official results were released to the public: Enrique Peña Nieto is the new president of the Mexican Republic, despite all the evidence of fraud in this election. Peña Nieto represents the Institutional Revolutionary Party that ruled the country as a one-party state from 1929 to 2000. The PRI created a corrupted system. They have managed to create a country full of poverty, ignorance and social inequality. According to ObreroSocialista.org, “for millions of Mexicans who voted against neoliberal frontrunners - Peña Nieto and Josefina Vazquez Mota, candidate of the National Action Party (PAN)
Ratings Continued from Page 1 content and even how physically attractive they are. Aside from people posting their personal views and opinions on selected college instructors, they can also rate them on a scale of one to five in terms of overall quality, helpfulness, clarity, easiness and hotness. The site can be very useful for students who are looking for professors with agreeable teaching styles or are hoping to stay away
of President Felipe Calderón projection - the global elite support to Peña Nieto was an insult, and further evidence of the campaign to impose the PRI candidate.” Far from being transparent and exemplary as the television stations tried to make us believe, the election was filled with traps and vices that favored Peña. There were hundreds of complaints of irregularities and bribery. The Mexican Federal Electoral Institute spent more than 500 million dollars on election fraud. People in poverty sold their vote for less than 10 dollars. They felt that after the last election they might as well get some food out of it. And who can blame them? According to a report submitted by the National Council for Evaluation of Social
from professors with teaching styles that may not suit the students needs. The site also offers other student services like purchasing used textbooks and a way to browse to see which schools have the highest ranking teachers in a specific state or the entire country. Over 7,500 schools have been ranked on Rate My Professor. The site contains information on over 1.7 million professors across the U.S., Canada and England. It averages over 4 million visits each month.
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Films Continued from Page 5 Hunting” on Sept. 27. “Milk,” “My Own Private Idaho,” and “To Die For” will also screen and Van Sant himself will make an appearance, as well. According to the U-T, organizers hope that the renowned director’s pres-
ence at a more intimate and localized festival will help bring attention to local filmmakers. Highlights for the festival will include the opening night premiere of early Oscar favorite “The Sapphires,” “The Oranges” starring Hugh Laurie and Leighton Meester, “Seven Psychopaths” with Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson
Question by Tristen Fernane Photos by David L. Wells
Are e-textbooks the future?
missing brought about by the Army’s fight against drug cartels. Entire villages were depopulated due to crime, which also controls all states. Ignorance, the manipulation of the media and electoral fraud is how a candidate like Peña Nieto was able to win. The real winner was “Televisa,” the spanish speaking mass media company, who created an image of a candidate who serves their interests and destroyed the other participants. In 2006, as governor of Mexico, Peña Nieto ordered state police to attack a mass mobilization in support of local flower sellers in the town of San Salvador Atenco. Police killed two protesters, sexually assaulted dozens of women, and arbitrarily detained hundreds. The National Human
Rights Commission called the attack a grave violation of human rights, but Peña Nieto was not held accountable for it. German newspapers Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung agreed that Peña Nieto was elected thanks to the support of Televisa and that the true meaning of his victory is the return of the old PRI: corruption, fraud and nepotism. The return of the perfect dictatorship. According to a popular Mexican newspaper, Pro ceso, on Sept. 15, “Peña Nieto is young and handsome but his party is the embodiment of fraud and corruption. He says the party has good contacts with the drug lords. “ To many of us, the return of PRI and Peña Nieto is the worst setback in Mexican
history. The rich people in Mexico are becoming richer and the poor are becoming poorer. With a country in debt, poor people will pay more taxes. The Obrero Socialista added, “Even before the election was over, Peña Nieto already received official messages of congratulation from all over the capitalist world.” In a country with institutions full of corruption, the future of 120 millions of Mexicans looks uncertain. Mexico has one of the worst education systems in the world. Thousands of kids do not even get 6 years of schooling in their lifetimes. Once again, the PRI used their money and power to buy the dignity and the future of this country. A country where democracy is just an illusion.
Teachers union, which also sponsors the event, had to reduce its contribution to $1,000 from a previous $5,000 because of the recession and the need to share resources. In the past, the fair has drawn authors from outside California. A popular favorite, according to Escalante, was Luis Rodriguez, author of “Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.” “We had 500 people squeezed in (the Saville Theatre),” for Rodriguez’s appearance,” she said. “We had a near riot because people were saying ‘We came to see Luis Rodriguez and you won’t let us in.” This year because the fair’s organizers cannot
afford to accommodate nationally recognized authors from out of state the focus will be on authors from Southern California and San Diego. The fair, named “We read banned books,” coincides with National Banned Books Week. According to Escalante, three of the authors making an appearance have written books that were subject to Arizona’s House Bill 2281, legislation which resulted in the elimination of Mexican American Studies programs in the Tucson Unified School District and the removal of many books from classrooms. According to HB 2281, school districts in Arizona are prohibited from implementing programs of instruction that advocate the overthrow of the U.S.
government, promote racial or class resentment, or that emphasize students’ ethnicity rather than their individuality. “Precious Knowledge,” a film depicting the events will screen. Books by Chicano authors will be read aloud by faculty. Books that Escalante said fill in a chapter of history of the American Southwest. “Chicano authors are part of the literary canon in our nation,” Escalante said. “They are American authors too. And so they are significant voices that need to be heard in our curriculum.” The event will offer discounted books. Works by City student and artist Socrates Medina will also be featured. “We may be operating on gas fumes, but we’re going to have a decent program,”
Escalante said. All events are free and open to the public. Anyone who would like to donate to the fair can write a check to the City College Foundation indicating that it go to the San Diego City College International Book Fair. Faculty can donate by having a specified amount deducted from their paycheck each month. Also, if a faculty member makes a monthly donation to the AFT’s Committee on Political Action, the AFT will make a one-time donation to a charity or program of their choosing, including the fair. The single donation made by AFT will be for double the amount of the monthly donation to COPE. For a complete list of featured authors, speakers and a schedule of events visit www.sdcitybookfair.com.
and Sam Rockwell, and “Grassroots” directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal and starring Jason Biggs, Cedric the Entertainer, Tom Arnold and Lauren Ambrose. Another film getting early Oscar buzz is “The Silver Linings Playbook” starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro. It was added to the lineup after receiving the
Blackberry People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Film selection is large, including a bevy of feature films, shorts, documentaries, world cinema features and children screenings. A new “Native American Voices” category has been introduced and the festival promises to include more industry panels and interac-
tive question and answer sessions with filmmakers. Despite the dramatic changes, the festival promises to deliver on old traditions by hosting a dozen parties and red carpet events throughout the week including an “Almost Famous” block-party that will open the festival. The festival hopes to integrate major regional media
to bring more attention to the festival and the growth it’s undergone through the last year. Originally founded in 2001, the festival is an annual event that is produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. For more information and a complete schedule of films and events visit www.sdfilmfest.com.
SOCIAL MEDIUM Sandra Galindo
Development Policy, “poverty in Mexico increased by 3.2 percent in the period 20082010. The percentage of the population that is poor is 52 million people.” Under President Felipe Calderon, poverty in Mexico worsened further. In a country so poorly governed with high poverty levels, people are desperate. Under PAN, unemployment and poverty grew. Since 2006, there have been 60,000 deaths and 10,000 people
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Audrey Cayetano, 18 Sociology
Alrick Edwards, 20 Undeclared
“There’s going to be more consequences and complications. Like if kids break it how are we going to replace it? Where is that money going to come from?”
“What if we have another black out like we did last September anad we can’t get to our books? It’s very very dependent on.”
Phyllis Loughlin, 48 Alcohol and Other Drug Studies “I think it makes perfect sense for environmental reasons because there are so many textbooks it trashes the environment.”
Shevaun Faulkner, 28 Multimedia “I like having digital media at my fingertips but some of them are not so good. I wish there were more available. More options.”