02-21-2018

Editorial: University has clear transparency problem

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Wednesday, Feb. 21 - Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018 Weekly Print Edition

Vol. 104, Issue 24 www.thedailyaztec.com

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

WHAT’S INSIDE

Another tuition hike?

DO YOU FEEL THE LOVE?

Faced with governor’s newest budget proposal, CSU mulls another increase

Two student organizations cohost Reconstructing Black Love panel event.

by Bella Ross STAFF WRITER

PAGE 2

The California State University Board of Trustees is considering a tuition increase for the second year in a row, citing a lower-thanexpected budget proposal from

Gov. Jerry Brown’s office last month.

In January, the governor released a budget proposal allocating $92 million to the CSU system for fiscal year 2019.

That may not be the final number, as the state budget won’t be voted on until June.

But it’s not a good starting point, administrators say.

“We expected $102 million,” said San Diego State Director of Budget and Finance Crystal Little.

And even that number was far lower than the $282 million the CSU initially requested.

Little said the amount the state

is offering to the CSU system will not even be enough to cover fixed costs, like negotiated salary increases, or Graduation Initiative 2025, which is the CSU’s goal to increase four- and SEE TUITION HIKE, PAGE 2

BUDGET BREAKDOWN Where is the nearly $400 million in the university’s 2016-17 budget spent on?

‘A big weight off my shoulders’

PAGE 3

GRADUADA DE SDSU Marisabel Coronado, graduada de SDSU, usa su experiencia para ayudar a otros con cáncer.

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Junior outfielder Chad Bible embraces third base coach Joe Oliveira during his first game back from a battle with cancer on Feb. 16.

Read more about Bible’s opening night return and the team receiving their Mountain West Championship rings from last season on page 14.

GREENFEST The countdownt to GreenFest’s popular concert begins with a week of events.

PAGE 10

Photo by Kelly Smiley

University backtracks, now says it won’t name mascot task force members TRACK STARS Senior Ashley Henderson and redshirt junior Bonnie Draxler on track for championships.

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FOLLOW US /dailyaztec @TheDailyAztec @thedailyaztec /DailyAztecVideo

by Will Fritz NEWS EDITOR

San Diego State will not release the identities of the members of the Aztec mascot and moniker task force after all, officials said this week.

In November, the University Senate recommended the creation of a task force to investigate the appropriateness of the Aztec moniker, called for the retirement the human Aztec Warrior mascot and the use of spears or “weapons that connote barbaric representations of the Aztec culture.”

In January, the university began taking applications for

the 17-member task force, and said names of the task force members would be announced on Feb. 2.

That day came and went, and at the Feb. 14 Associated Students Campus Life Council meeting, A.S. President Chimezie Ebiriekwe said no names would be released after all.

“This is so that they will have the ability to deliberate without disruption and work effectively,” he said.

A university statement from Jan. 17 was changed online to remove the reference to the Feb. 2 announcement date.

Reports in both The Daily

Aztec and the San Diego UnionTribune reported on the Feb. 2 date at the time.

The task force is set to include four students nominated by the Associated Students Board of Directors, three faculty members and one staff member nominated by faculty and staff, and four alumni nominated by the SDSU Alumni Board of Advisors.

President Sally Roush will then select an additional person for each category at her discretion, and appoint two additional atlarge members.

SDSU College Republicans President Brandon Jones said he SEE TASK FORCE, PAGE 3

Police searching for campus groper

by Will Fritz NEWS EDITOR

A man is suspected of groping a woman on campus the night of Feb. 15, university police said.

At about 8:45 p.m., a woman walking toward Campanile Walk from the Music building was approached by an unknown man who stopped, told her “how pretty she was,” and tried to hug her, according to a report from San Diego State police.

The woman stepped away twice, and the suspect tried to hug her both times before SEE GROPER, PAGE 3

2

The Daily Aztec

News

Feb. 21, 2018 - Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Will Fritz, news@thedailyaztec.com

Well-being and Health Promotion puts on ‘Every Kiss Begins With Consent’ event

by Jessica Clemons CONTRIBUTOR

The San Diego State Well-being and Health Promotion Department organized an “Every Kiss Begins with Consent” event at the North Library Walkway this Valentine’s Day in hopes of educating students about safe sex practices and the need for consent by welcoming students to participate in games and activities.

The event was co-hosted by peer health education programs FratMANers (Fraternity Men Against Negative Environments and Rape Situations), a program for fraternity men to educate peers about sexual violence, and SISSTER (Sororities Invested in Survivor Support, Training, and Ending Rape culture) in efforts to open the conversation about safe sex to the school’s public.

Students played games like “Do I have your permission,” which allowed students to practice talking about consent. Prizes such as popsicles, free condoms and lubricant were given to students stopping by.

Kashmone Hamilton, health educator and coordinator of the event said though some students may not be sexually active, it is important to be educated.

“We want to be able to provide (students) the education and tools for prevention purposes just so that they can make informed, well-educated decisions about their sexual health and also get them to think about communication,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said the dangers students face in regarding safe sex and consent can also happen off campus.

“It’s something that you can experience whether you’re in college or not,” Hamilton said. “Just the fact that sometimes when we’re not communicating with our partners and not talking about what our wants and needs and our boundaries are, sometimes we can end up in a situation where we have regretted sex or sometimes that’s where sexual assault can occur.”

Hamilton said the purpose of the WellBeing and Health Promotion Department is to let students know they are supported. “(The department’s purpose is) to make sure that we’re doing what we need to do for college students,” Hamilton said.

The event occurs annually, generally on or close to Valentine’s Day. Though it only happens once a year, students are encouraged to seek reproductive help and advice if needed through resources offered on campus.

During the event, students in the public health major conducted research on the program and gathered information about why people were coming out.

Public health senior Sandra Johnson said she thought it was great to have the event for students.

“They’re letting everybody know that it’s okay to be you — don’t be ashamed of the questions you have or what information you might need because there’s always resources that you can get them from,” Johnson said.

Jamie Harguess, public health and behavioral science senior and graduate intern for the Well-Being and Health Promotion Department, repeated the need for consent in sexual encounters.

Photo by Joe Kendall

Marriage and family therapy trainee Dwayne Shavers, along with youth advocate Donald Barksdale, address students inside Scripps Cottage for the Reconstructing Black Love forum on Feb. 15.

Student organizations host Reconstructing Black Love panel

by Camille Dejoras STAFF WRITER

On Feb. 15, the Student African American Sisterhood and Brotherhood co-hosted its first ever Reconstructing Black Love event at Scripps Cottage to discuss love and healthy relationships within the black community.

The event featured intimate discussions and activities led by married couple Donald and Merendi Barksdale, and Dwayne Shavers, the husband of San Diego State Africana studies professor Antwanisha Alameen-Shavers.

Students were asked to engage in a series of exercises including icebreaker activities and discussions about how black men and women should treat and respect each other in their relationships.

Volunteers also went on stage to publicly compliment members of their community and show support for one another.

Women’s studies graduate student Victoria Blackwell-Rivas said it was helpful to hear how others feel about black love and participate in the exercises.

“I don’t get a lot of opportunities to do things like this, so it’s really helpful to sit here and go out and affirm people and have people affirm me while having honest conversations,” Blackwell-Rivas said.

She said she also appreciated the Barksdales for being honest about the work it takes to maintain a strong marriage, and she felt they could easily relate to college students because they’re still young.

Merendi Barksdale, who is a recent SDSU graduate, said she wanted students to understand that romantic and platonic relationships are equally important, and

Tuition hike:

continued from page 1 six-year graduation rates across all campuses.

“It seems like every few years we get into a similar situation,” said Agnes Wong Nickerson, SDSU associate vice president of financial operations. “It’s not sustainable. We don’t like it if we have to balance the budget by increasing tuition.”

Nickerson said, since 2007, the budget for the CSU system has stayed roughly the same and actually decreased slightly despite significant increases in enrollment.

According to the CSU Institutional Research and Analyses website, enrollment increased to 484,297 students in fall 2017 from 433,017 students in 2007.

Little said because of the budgeting issues, the CSU Board of Trustees may ultimately vote for a tuition increase of an undetermined amount in May. However, the increase would likely not meet the CSU system’s entire need, which

everyone should always receive the same love.

“It’s okay to walk down the street and love that black man you see just like you would love your brother, to love that black woman you see like you love your best friend and to love that older woman you see like you love your mom,” she said.

Merendi Barksdale said she hopes SDSU will continue to hold events like Black Love so African-American students can openly talk about their feelings and learn to understand each other in a comfortable space.

Neicey Renty, who is also pursuing her masters in women’s studies, said the discussions gave her the opportunity to learn more about black men and masculinity because she personally doesn’t have many black male friends.

“Everything I know about what it means to be a black man I basically learned from my grandfather and uncles,” Renty said. “It was good to learn how black men around my age perceive themselves and hear what they have to say.”

Donald Barksdale, a youth advocate, said the energy of the crowd was perfect, and he was happy everyone was so willing to connect and dive right into deep conversations.

“I didn’t want people to just come and have a nice discussion here, but I wanted them to feel inspired and bring these exercises home to do with the people that they love,” he said.

He said he hopes to make Black Love a regular event, and he wants everyone in the young black community to continue to share their own knowledge about love and spread positivity.

“Remember to love people they way they want to be loved, not how you want to love them,” Donald Barksdale said.

will likely result in a prioritization of resources.

SDSU’s 2017-18 budget totaled $894.2 million. This number is largely made up by the operating budget, which is 46.6 percent of the budget at $415.8 million made up from the state appropriation, tuition and fees, the student success fee and cost recovery.

“Being a service-oriented organization, personnel costs is our biggest expense,” Little said. “It’s upwards of 70 percent of our operational budget that is the salary and benefit costs for our employees.”

The CSU system is unionized, meaning yearly salary increases have been agreed upon ahead of time between bargaining unions and the CSU system to ensure fair pay and an ideal working environment.

However, these salary increases could be in trouble as the current proposed state appropriation does not provide enough funding to cover these mandatory costs.

“In fiscal year 2018-19 and in 2019-20, the average salary increase will be about three percent each year because we know based on these agreements that that’s what they’ve agreed upon,” Nickerson said.

Feb. 21, 2018 - Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Will Fritz, news@thedailyaztec.com

Mascot task force:

continued from page 1 doesn’t like the idea of the task force conducting its business behind closed doors.

“I mean, obviously I would like to see the names of who’s going to be on the task force,” Jones said. “I think it will be very important in deciding the legitimacy of the task force regarding the mascot.”

Victoria Gonzalez-Rivera, an associate professor in the Chicana and Chicano Studies Department and an advocate for changing the mascot, also said the task force needs transparency if they want to appear legitimate.

“I don’t think that’s fair,” she said. “I think it’s very strange.

There must be some logic, but I don’t know what the logic is behind this.”

University spokesperson Jill Esterbrooks defended the decision to keep the members’ identities private.

The university president made the decision, she said, “in order for the task force to be effective and make findings without any undue attention and pressure.”

None of the task force’s recommendations will be binding, and at the end of the process, everything will become public, Esterbrooks said.

But by that time, it won’t matter, Jones said.

“If they keep it a secret and then we find out after the fact, after the decision’s been made about what the dynamic, the diversity of who’s on the group, it’s going to be too late,” he said.

SDSU Native American Student Alliance, which has led the fight against the Aztec mascot in recent years, declined to comment on the matter.

Ebiriekwe said it’s ultimately up to the university president and the members of the task force.

“I think it’s a decision of the people who are on the task force if they don’t feel comfortable releasing their names,” he said.

“That’s their decision and I feel like we should all respect their wishes.”

Staff Writer Bella Ross also contributed to this story.

News

3 Breaking down the budgets of SDSU’s 7 colleges

by Bella Ross STAFF WRITER

San Diego State had a budget of nearly $400 million during the 2016-17 school year.

Where did all of that money go?

Out of the university’s budget of $387,002,408 during the last school year, the most costly subsection is academic affairs, calling for $133,203,902 in funding according to SDSU’s budget book.

Academic affairs is responsible for all instructional activity, the library, enrollment services, instructional technology, graduate/research programs and extended studies programs at SDSU in both San Diego and the Imperial Valley. The most significant piece of this is instructional activity, which includes all the individual colleges within the university and their separate funding budgets.

The College of Arts and Letters has the highest funding, at more than $41 million, as well as the most academic programs with 37. However, its enrollment falls short of many other colleges — it had just 4,206 students in fall 2017, compared to 6,032 in the College of Business Administration.

Groper:

Enrollment and number of programs, although significant, aren’t the only determinants in which college gets the most funding.

More important than the number of students enrolled in the college itself is the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled in a college’s courses overall, Radmila Prislin, associate vice president of Academic Affairs, said. This number could be larger than the college’s enrollment in its major programs due to general education or explorations requirements.

While the College of Business Administration has the highest enrollment, its budget approaches $18 million. Most of the colleges’ annual budgets sit between $15 million and $23 million, with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Sciences being major exceptions.

The College of Sciences had a funding budget of more than $38 million for the 2016-2017 school year, servicing 5,824 students as well as 24 major programs, according to the budget book and SDSU analytic studies and institutional research. Their high budget is primarily due to costs in their operating budget, which is the part of the budget that looks at supplies, services and equipment.

“The College of Science has lots of labs that require lots of equipment,” Prislin said.

“Therefore, they have substantial

The Daily Aztec

funding in the operating department of the budget.”

On the lower end, the College of Engineering operates on the smallest budget of the group at $12,159,007. This college has 12 major programs and an enrollment of 4,270 students.

The College of Health and Human Services has a funding budget of $20,552,349. This college contains 17 academic programs while enrolling 4,933 students, according to SDSU’s Office of Analytic Studies and Institutional Research website.

This is followed by the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts, with a budget of $22,320,029 as well as 29 different programs and an enrollment of 4,754.

Lastly is the College of Education, with the second smallest budget sitting at $14,933,194. This college has the lowest enrollment at 1,839 students split between 13 programs.

The budget is decided on incrementally, meaning it is adjusted upward or downward on a yearly basis dependent on each college’s needs, Prislin said. For example, if a college needs to hire more professors, their budget may be increased to account for new staff salaries.

“We start with what we have at the end of one fiscal year and we either augment it or sometimes reduce it by whatever variable factor we have to address,” Prislin said.

The specifics of the budget are discussed both at the system and local levels in different capacities, dependent on what aspect of the budget is at hand.

Since SDSU is unionized, salaries and salary raises within colleges are negotiated by union representatives at the system level through a system of collective bargaining, Prislin said.

Collective bargaining describes the negotiation of wages by an organized body of employees, in this case the union representatives.

Decisions made regarding the budget at the local level occur through a process of shared governance. When decisions have to be made about investing in certain critical needs, requests for the funding are taken to the Presidential Budget Advising Committee (PBAC), which consists of faculty representatives, a student representative and a senate representative.

“These (requests) are discussed in the context of our strategic plan and the critical needs,” Prislin said. “Of course, they are responded to within the constraints of the available money.”

While the university receives funding from a variety of sources, the primary source is the university’s general fund.

This consists of an allocation for funding from the state, student tuition and revenue generated from the student success fee.

continued from page 1 groping her buttocks, police said.

The victim walked away, and the suspect followed her to the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union.

The suspect left in an unknown direction after the victim arrived at the union, police said. He was described as an approximately 40-yearold black man, 5-feet-7-inches, average build, wearing a yellow, red and green beanie and a brown flannel shirt.

Officers asked anyone with information on the suspect to call university police at (619) 594-1991 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. illustration by Noah Callahan

4

Opinion

The Daily Aztec

Feb. 21 - Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Dana Tsuri-Etzioni, opinion@thedailyaztec.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF Andrew Dyer MANAGING EDITOR Lilly Glenister NEWS EDITOR Will Fritz ASST. NEWS EDITOR Jasmine Bermudez OPINION EDITOR Dana Tsuri-Etzioni MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Jocelyn Moran ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Cami Buckman SPORTS EDITOR Zach Engberg

Illustration by Maritza Garcia

SDSU’s clear transparency problem The issue:

SDSU’s administration has become resistant to transparency and accountability under President Sally Roush. When it said it would not name the members of the Aztec mascot and moniker task force, the university inexplicably edited a weeks-old news release.

Our take:

By stifling the public and the free press, this university risks losing the confidence of its students, faculty and alumni. It is imperative those in administration remember they are public servants and owe it to the community they serve to be open and transparent.

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Abraham Jewett DIGITAL SPORTS EDITOR Mary York ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Alex Piscatelli PHOTO EDITOR Kelly Smiley MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Mirella Lopez SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR David Santillan ART DIRECTOR Noah Callahan

The Editorial Board Since San Diego State President Sally Roush began her year as a placeholder president, this university has consistently attempted to stifle, spin and outright ignore attempts by The Daily Aztec to report on the issues affecting this community.

Some instances were mundane, or easily written off as miscommunication. However, a pattern of behavior has emerged that suggests this administration thinks it is above examination and accountability.

In a mid-January email to students soliciting nominations for the Aztec mascot and moniker task force, the university said it would announce the members by Feb. 2. A Jan. 18 news release published on the university’s public relations website, SDSU NewsCenter, said the same.

However, by the third week of February, the university reversed itself and said it would not publicly name who was on the task force. Sometime before Feb. 19, the NewsCenter article was edited to remove mention of the university’s assurance to name the task force.

How anyone thought this was a good idea, or would not be noticed, is beyond this board’s knowledge. NewsCenter is not a news site — it’s pure P.R. However, this blatant attempt to rewrite the past and cover its tracks is indicative of a level of hubris that should concern the entire university and CSU community at large.

The reversal of its commitment to be transparent in its execution of the University Senate’s resolution is only the latest in a series of instances when this university, given the choice of transparency or obfuscation, chose the latter. This latest bungle by President Roush’s administration serves as the cherry on top of a year of public relations missteps — such as failing to notify The Daily Aztec of a news conference — and questionable responses to student media inquiries.

•During the Fall 2017 semester, The Daily Aztec could not get answers from the Undocumented Resource Area to basic questions, such as when it would open to students.

•When a fraternity was kicked off campus, the university coordinated with the frat’s national office to ignore numerous inquiries into nature of the chapter’s infractions. A California Public Records Act request revealed the university had been protecting the frat for years, and continued to do so even after it was booted from campus.

•Students told The Daily Aztec about several instances when the housing office gave conflicting information to them about mold found in Maya Residence Hall, including some cases in which they said they had to involve their parents.

•The university’s search for its next president also took place behind closed doors, away from the prying eyes and questions from those poised to be most affected by the selection — faculty, staff and students.

SDSU’s attempts to keep The Daily Aztec in the dark follows a national trend of universities using inflated public relations and advertising budgets to control narratives and neuter the reporting of student newspapers.

An article published Feb. 16 by the Southern Poverty Law Center detailed several incidents across the country of universities deploying an array of tactics to subvert student media, from public relation sites masquerading as news — such as SDSU NewsCenter, which claims to be the “official” site for university news — to implied threats against student media funding.

The fact that a story published in SDSU NewsCenter can be edited well afterwards, with no notice of a change, should serve as a signal to anyone watching that ethics are not high on its list of priorities.

These tactics serve only to erode trust in an institution, as evidenced by the backlash — from all sides — to this university’s newfound allergy to transparency.

The selection of Adela de la Torre as president has sent many on the political right reeling. One widely-shared article in City Journal — a New York magazine published by the conservative think tank Manhattan Institute for Policy Research — called de la Torre’s hiring an example of the “diversity bureaucracy (swallowing) an entire university,” and “a peerless example of identity politics and the ballooning student-service industry.”

The accuracy of that assertion notwithstanding, the university — and CSU — could have avoided such critiques with an open and transparent hiring process.

De la Torre brings her own transparency baggage with her. A report prepared for the University of California Board of Regents found de la Torre withheld emails from an investigation into whether her rapidly increasing UC Davis salary was due to improper influence. The investigation cleared de la Torre of wrongdoing. However, her reluctance to comply with investigators does not inspire confidence in her willingness to be transparent.

We are living through a volatile moment in higher education. Ideologues see American universities as the front lines of a culture war. According to the Anti-Defamation League, white nationalist postings on campuses nationwide is up 300 percent — from 41 incidents in 2016 to 147 in 2017.

The lack of leadership from Manchester Hall in the wake of such flyers being posted at SDSU last month does not inspire confidence in the president’s ability or willingness to confront difficult issues head-on.

It is not too late for President Roush to right the wrongs of the previous seven months. Release the names of those on the mascot task force. Encourage administrators to respond to Daily Aztec reporters —the only independent voices of 35,000 students — without the need to compel documents via CPRA. And, President Roush, on your way out, advise incoming President de la Torre to do the same. This culture of avoidance, distrust and deflection must end.

VOLUNTEER COPY EDITORS Brian del Carmen Katherine Cooke SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Julianna Ress Cassidy McCombs Sydney Sweeney Emely Navarro Nicole Badgley Sofia Bert Kayleigh Venne Alex Noble STAFF WRITERS Kyle Betz Julie Cappiello Bella Ross Stacy Marquez Lauren J. Mapp Camille Dejoras Elizabeth Barboza Pabel López CONTRIBUTORS Jessica Clemons Marissa Bell Maya Parella STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Sam Mayo Alby Sanchez Joe Kendall ________________________________ ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Connor Brooke SALES MANAGER Peter Saridakis ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES George Saridakis John Weil Josh Diaz Rauda Valerie Barrientos Miguel Souza Kaden Cowles Garrett Munt ACCOUNTING & CONTRACTS Tyler Burnett Meah Mapp ________________________________ GENERAL MANAGER/ADVISER Jay Harn GRAPHICS COORDINATOR Quentin Skaggs ________________________________ EDITORIAL 619.594.4190 editor@thedailyaztec.com ADVERTISING 619.594.6977 advertising@thedailyaztec.com PRINT The Daily Aztec publishes 5,000 copies of its weekly print edition every Wednesday throughout the semester WEB Daily content is available at www.thedailyaztec.com QUESTIONS/COMMENTS letters@thedailyaztec.com ________________________________ The views and opinions expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of The Daily Aztec.

Feb. 21- Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Dana Tsuri-Etzioni, opinion@thedailyaztec.com

Opinion

The Daily Aztec

5

Let people mourn Glee star, Mark Salling’s, death in peace and stop judging their grief

by Maya Parella CONTRIBUTOR

Controversy erupted across social media about whether Mark Salling deserves sympathy following his suicide.

Salling, who is famous for his role as Noah “Puck” Puckerman on the Fox TV show Glee, hanged himself at a river near his home in Sunland, California, about five weeks after officially pleading guilty to charges of child pornography.

In his plea bargain, he admitted to downloading more than 50,000 images of child pornography.

Salling faced between four to seven years of jail time, mandatory registration as a sex offender and a requirement to pay $50,000 in restitution to each of his victims that requested it.

Salling’s sentencing was

scheduled for March 7, but the case was dismissed following the 35-year-old’s death. His victims will not receive any restitution as a result.

While suicide is undoubtedly tragic and should be treated as such, Salling’s suicide is a unique case.

There is the question of whether or not his death should be mourned following his sex offender charges. The severity of his crimes and the circumstances leading up to his suicide shroud his death in indignity.

Does he deserve to be mourned after he spent years abusing children? Is his death a tragedy or a coward’s way out?

Should the bad he brought into the world outweigh the good?

These are the heavy questions Salling’s family members, friends and fans have to ask themselves now.

The answer, however, is more complex than a simple yes or no.

The Mark Salling that he chose to show the world was not the same Mark Salling that lived behind closed doors.

He showed only one side of himself, the side that was lighthearted and admirable. This was the charming, singer, dancer and Hollywood actor who lit up the screen with his presence. Thanks to the popularity of Glee, he became an idol to many.

The public fell in love with the side of Salling that he let them see, and as far as they were concerned, he was a good man.

When people mourn Salling’s death, they shed tears over the man they thought they knew.

Their pain stems from not only the loss of someone they loved, but also the stinging bite of betrayal when they discovered he withheld his dark side.

Some may argue that Salling

was the same person regardless of what he did behind closed doors, however, the grotesque pedophilia that consumed him takes precedence over everything else.

Grief, however, causes people to think illogically. It is a deeply personal experience, and to shame those who mourn him — particularly his close friends and family — is disrespectful.

The dark side of Salling was a dramatic shift from what people thought they knew about him.

Adjusting opinions and viewpoints that have been ingrained into people’s minds for years — or in the case of loved ones, decades — cannot be accomplished overnight.

Death is traumatizing for all those involved, and having to untangle the mess of ethical problems that follow is a journey of its own.

Salling didn’t leave a note and

so his true motives may never be known to anyone but himself.

Popular speculation points to the idea that he felt trapped by having his crimes broadcast to the world.

It’s possible Salling committed suicide because of irrevocable guilt and remorse.

Neither reason serves as an excuse for his despicable actions.

Salling escaped punishment for his crimes, much to the dismay of victims and their families.

However, the conclusion remains the same — a life is gone. Whether or not one chooses to mourn his death is a matter of personal opinion.

But shaming others over their choice in a time of grief is repugnant.

Maya Parella is a freshman studying psychology. Connect with her on Instagram @mfparella.

Letter: Decision to make Tuition price hike negatively identity task force impacts out-of-state students most Aztec anonymous is unsettling

by Julie Cappiello STAFF WRITER

The California State University Board of Trustees postponed its vote on the fall 2018 tuition increase to May due to lack of funding for Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget. Brown’s budget includes millions of dollars less than what was requested.

The possible tuition increase comes with gritted teeth from the Board of Trustees — but it seems it is their only option to supply the funds California State Universities need.

Lack of state funding for higher education is outrageous, especially considering how many students are enrolled at CSUs. College education is only getting more expensive for both in-state and out-of-state students.

The burden falls on the shoulders, of the out-of-state students, more than the in-state students. Out-of-state students pay more to San Diego State on the individual level, and another tuition increase is disgraceful.

Nonresidents pay basic tuition and fees plus an additional $11,880 for non-resident tuition. A tuition increase a second consecutive year would increase the non-resident tuition by $900 to $12,780.

In 2012, the Huffington Post reported SDSU recruited more out-of-state students when state funding was reduced. This problem is not just prevalent at SDSU, but also nationwide.

The Huffington Post notes universities in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia recruit more out-of-state and international students as well.

In 2012, there was a surge of nonresidential students at SDSU

How can the Aztec community embrace the Aztec when we do not know who the individuals influencing the mascot’s fate are?

Illustration by Maritza Garcia

due to lack of state funding. This prompted backlash from instate students and former Sen. Michael Rubio.

The problem at hand is that the cost of attendance is increasing on an almost yearly basis.

Higher education is becoming harder to afford for all students. There are grants and scholarships, but there are not enough to support all students.

Some don’t qualify for financial aid, so students take out loans.

According to the Federal Reserve, as of 2015, 17 million people under the age of 30 took out student loans in the U.S. The amount of money these 17 million people owe is $376.3 billion in debt.

When it comes to funding, the issue is how much the state will

allocate to its state universities.

Since, Brown’s proposed funding is less than what was expected, the cost of tuition will increase.

It might be hard to liberate the U.S. of the weighted price tag on higher education, but it is the lack of state funding that pushes students further into debt.

The increasing price of college is a burden imposed on students and most can only afford it if they take out loans.

So here we are, the future leaders, waist deep in debt before we can even get our diplomas.

Julie Cappiello is a sophomore studying journalism and media studies. Connect with her on Twitter @juliecappiello.

“The single most important ingredient in the recipe for success is transparency because transparency builds trust,” said Denise Morris, President & CEO of Campbell Soup Company If only San Diego State President Sally Roush felt the same way.

Roush has decided that the 17-member task force assembled to “explore the future of the Aztec mascot and moniker” will remain anonymous.

Well, that’s it. Game over.

Nothing to see here. With one single decision, Roush doomed the outcome of the task force before it even began.

To be clear, I unequivocally want to keep the Aztec moniker/ mascot. Perhaps Roush’s decision helps in that regard, and then again, maybe it does not. This is irrelevant. Regardless of one’s opinion towards the Aztec moniker/mascot, we should all be outraged with her decision.

While assembled, the ghost task force, which represents the interests of more than 330,000 Aztecs, will work in anonymity, cloaked in secrecy — absolved of any transparency or accountability.

Initially, Roush understood the importance of transparency, setting Feb. 2 as the date members would be announced.

She continued by stating,

“This task force will provide an opportunity for dialogue to continue among stakeholders in the SDSU community and will provide information on how to represent university traditions, build communal spirit and honor specific facets of our campus culture.”

What happened to the continued dialogue? What about the community approach?

That appears to no longer matter. Instead, Roush is asking more than 330,000 Aztecs to trust 17 anonymous individuals, five of whom she selected, with a recommendation that could affect us for years to come.

I ask, when has a lack of transparency been beneficial for shared governance?

SDSU Director of Media Relations Jill Esterbrooks said that Roush made the decision “in order for the task force to be effective and make findings without any undue attention or pressure.”

How can the task force be effective when there is no transparency? Regardless of what they recommend, it will lack public trust.

Additionally, by making the task force anonymous, Roush herself created “undue attention.”

Lastly, if anyone on the task force is concerned about “pressure,” that person is free to remove themselves from a voluntary task force.

Roush, do the right thing and release the names of the individuals that are shaping the future of the Aztec moniker/ mascot for years to come.

Zach Pellonari is a class of 2003 San Diego State alumnus.

News Students question company’s business practices 6

Feb. 21-Feb.27, 2018 EDITOR: Will Fritz, news@thedailyaztec.com

The Daily Aztec

By Bella Ross STAFF WRITER

Website SDStudentJobs.com can be seen on poster boards across San Diego State advertising $18 an hour pay, no need for experience and flexible scheduling.

This website is connected to Vector Marketing, a national company whose goal is to sell Cutco knives.

Accounts from past employees show mixed opinions on the legitimacy of the business, many claiming Vector Marketing is a pyramid scheme.

“I would say it probably is a pyramid scheme, that’s what it looks like,” kinesiology junior Haig Yeghiayan said. “You have to be smart enough to siphon through the information they’re telling you.”

However, SDSU Real Estate lecturer Mark Goldman said he does not believe this is the case.

“A pyramid scheme is when there’s no actual product or wealth created,” Goldman said.

“You build a pyramid where the people at the bottom pay-in and that money goes to someone higher up in the pyramid than you are so they can make money.”

Cutco sales professional and 2012 SDSU alumnus Eric Gillman disagrees with critics.

Crime report: Car is egged, man refuses to leave restroom

By Amal Younis STAFF WRITER

VANDALISM Police were told a vehicle in Parking 2 was egged at some point between 8:20 and 10:40 a.m. on Feb. 3.

PUBLIC INTOXICATION An SDSU student was arrested and taken to county jail for public intoxication at the Associated Students Recreational Field just after 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 3.

TRESPASSING A man was cited for illegal lodging on school grounds after he was seen sleeping near the North Art building at about 4 a.m. Feb. 8.

SUSPICIOUS PERSON Just before 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 2, a man was ordered to stay off campus for seven days after he refused to leave a bathroom in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. His belongings were found shattered on the bathroom floor.

A non-SDSU student was arrested for violating a campus stay-away order after attempting to hug female customers at The Habit Burger just before 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 3. He was taken to county jail.

“It’s not a pyramid scheme,” Gillman said. “It’s a direct sales company with a spectacular product.

The negative stigma comes from a lack of understanding because it’s not a typical job.”

Gillman said the company chose to work with college students due to their ability to learn from the position.

“The reason we work with college students and young people is because the flexibility of the scheduling and because the training is really top-notch for an 18-year-old to get the type of sales and professional training that we offer,” Gillman said.

He said Vector Marketing must recruit a large number of students because the demographic can be unreliable.

Many students drop the job quickly after they are hired, Gillman said.

Recruiting members is something previous Vector Marketing employee and doctoral student Charles Marks said seems to be key to the Vector Marketing business model.

“You make more money recruiting new people than you do selling the knives,” Marks said. “They’re incentivized to hire more people because, the more people who join, the more people who buy knives.”

Marks said he purchased a $180 knife demo kit in order to

work for the company.

“You have to pay to start working, then there’s not actually a guarantee that you’re going to make money,” Marks said.

Marks said oftentimes he would not get paid even when he made a sale.

“You can give things away for free (in order to help you make a sale), but it cuts out of your commission,” Marks said. “The company makes money because I sold it, but I didn’t make any money because, in order to sell it, I gave away a bunch of stuff for free. (The company) always makes the same amount of profit while the employee loses the amount of money they make.”

Yeghiayan said he did not have any start-up costs, but was not paid for three mandatory training sessions.

Marks said he was called for a group interview 20 minutes after applying. He said the employers hired him with minimal information.

“You get there and there are 20 other people in the room also thinking it’s an interview,” Marks said. “Genuinely, I think everybody (at the interview) really wanted a job. But, there’s no point where they ask, ‘Do you want to work here?’.”

Yeghiayan said, although he was confident Vector Marketing had questionable business

practices while he was employed by the company, he made the job work for himself.

“I could get $20 per an appointment, no matter whether I made a sale,” Yeghiayan said. “So, I just made as many appointments as possible.”

The ability to profit off of making appointments is one of the main reasons Goldman said Vector Marketing is not a pyramid scheme.

“They’re recruiting sales people and it seems to me that somebody is going to get paid per appointment that they set,” Goldman said. “If they’re good at setting appointments, then they’re going to make money.”

Goldman said he does not think sales is a job for everybody, and this may be the reason so many students have questioned the Vector Marketing business model.

“Not everybody is a sales person, and it’s a sales job,” Goldman said. “The job isn’t for most people. Most people don’t like to do sales.”

Yeghiayan said, despite his relative success working for the company, Vector Marketing does not make it easy for employees to succeed.

“You need to be very smart with it because they’re only going to tell you what you want to hear,” Yeghiayan said. “They leave a lot of important details

out.”

Marks said the pay system was more difficult than the company made it sound.

“It’s a combination (of commission and hourly pay), but it requires you to log your hours in a way that’s really difficult,” Marks said. “I don’t think it’s fair for them to state an amount you’ll make, because there’s no real guarantee you’ll make money.”

Gillman said people should try to avoid letting accounts from their friends or others on the internet keep them from considering Vector Marketing as a future employer.

“Before you make any decision, take some time to actually look into it instead of looking at what your friend might have said, what one person might have had a poor experience with, or something you might have read on the internet,” Gillman said.

Gillman said he stands by Vector Marketing and their ability to provide unique opportunities for young people.

“There aren’t even two sides to it,” Gillman said. “If you just look at opportunity as it is, you’ll come around to see a 70-yearold company that gives millions of dollars out in commissions and hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships and has done some really incredible things.”

SDSU A.S. Update: Mascot task force, registration timeline, new media studio West initiative signatures certified

By Amber Nelson STAFF WRITER

The Associated Students Campus Life Council met for its biweekly meeting on Feb. 14 to discuss the Aztec mascot task force, the new registration timeline, a new media studio in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union and campus updates.

MASCOT TASK FORCE A.S. President Chimezie Ebiriekwe said four students have been selected to be on the Aztec mascot task force, which will discuss the human representation of the Aztec mascot. He said the task force will be composed of around 12-16 members of the SDSU community.

Ebiriekwe said the identities of the students on the task force will not be revealed until after the committee has finished its discussions and given its report to SDSU President Sally Roush.

“This is so that they will have the ability to deliberate without disruption and work effectively,” he said.

REGISTRATION Christine Molina, director of the Office of Advising and Evaluation, and Donna Conaty, associate dean of the San Diego State College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts, presented at the council meeting to answer students’ questions about the new

registration timeline for fall 2018.

Molina said registration for the fall 2018 semester will begin in April for all current SDSU students.

The fall semester class schedule will be available on WebPortal and the university website the week of Feb. 19, and individual registration information for students will be available on WebPortal in the last week of February, she said.

Conaty said the registration timeline for the summer 2018 semester will remain the same, with registration beginning in March. For students taking prerequisite courses in the summer for courses they have registered for in the fall, Conaty said students can fill out a waiver so they are not removed from the fall course for not completing the requirements.

Tuition and fees will still be due before registration. Students who receive financial aid can utilize the fee postponement program. Those who do not qualify for financial aid can sign up for an installment plan, which requires an initial payment of $800 and divides the remaining charges into four installments.

Incoming freshmen will still register during orientation, Conaty said, meaning they will register last, rather than first as they had before.

Freshmen will again have the earliest registration dates for the spring 2019 semester.

MEDIA STUDIO Aztec Student Union Board Representative Kyla Blaylock said there will be a media studio opening in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union this semester for all SDSU students to use. She said the tentative opening for the studio is set for mid-April.

A.S. Executive Director Christina Brown said nine SDSU students have been hired to operate the new media studio.

“It’s going to be our student staff running the media studio for other students to use,” she said.

Brown said it has not yet been decided whether students will be charged to use the studio. It may be free, or students may be asked to pay a fee after the first few sessions, she said.

COMMUNITY SERVICE FAIR Community Service Commissioner Nick Wohlman said said there will be a community service fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

March 13 on Centennial Walkway.

He said various SDSU service organizations will be attending to promote their organizations and find service opportunities.

ARC REFERENDUM Mary Staka, commissioner of the Recreation and Wellness Commission, said the commission will be tabling outside of the Aztec Recreation Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays to educate students about the upcoming ARC expansion referendum.

By Will Fritz NEWS EDITOR

The San Diego City Clerk verified signatures in support of the SDSU West initiative Thursday, clearing a hurdle for the project to go to a public vote.

Friends of SDSU, the organization behind the initiative, said they had submitted more than 106,000 signatures to the city clerk’s office.

“This important milestone moves us one step closer to making SDSU West a reality for San Diego State University and our city as a whole,” said Friends of SDSU steering committee member Fred Pierce.

The initiative calls for turning the current SDCCU Stadium site into a west campus for SDSU. It will now go before the San Diego City Council, which is expected to allow it to appear as a citywide ballot initiative in November.

“This initiative unlocks the University’s potential for continued growth,” said San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry. If that happens, SDSU West will go head-to-head against SoccerCity — a plan to turn the same site into a Major League Soccer stadium combined with commercial and residential development — on the ballot.

Feb. 21-Feb. 27, 2018

The Daily Aztec/ 7

VOTING IS NOW OPEN! DESIGN BY MIRELLA LOPEZ

8

The Daily Aztec

Mundo Azteca

Feb.21- Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Jocelyn Moran, mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

Graduada de SDSU usa su batalla contra el cáncer para ayudar a otros

by Pabel ESCRITOR

López

Marisabel Coronado se graduó de la Universidad Estatal de San Diego en el 2017. Al ser estudiante en la universidad, la alumna de psicología ganó un premio por su trabajo en un proyecto de los tratamientos del cáncer disponibles para los residentes del Valle Imperial en California.

El tema es algo importante para Coronado quien es sobreviviente del cáncer. Ella fue diagnosticada con Linfoma de Hodgkin en el 2015, y duró un año y medio bajo tratamiento debido a la enfermedad.

Linfoma de Hodgkin es un cáncer de la sangre que empieza en el sistema linfático.

Siguiendo su diagnosis, Coronado decidió ir a San Felipe en Baja California donde tomó tratamientos alternativos con un chamán.

“Me fui a San Felipe a hacer tratamientos por tres meses”, dijo Coronado. “El tratamiento me funcionó poquito, pero no me quitó el cáncer, y me regresé a los Estados Unidos para la quimioterapia”.

“Yo le tenía mucho miedo a la quimioterapia por mucho de lo que había escuchado”, ella dijo. “Por ejemplo, que el sistema médico nada más quería quitarle dinero a la gente. Estaba mal informada, y en los grupos, me di cuenta que mucha gente estaba mal informada también”.

Coronado dijo que al volver, también sintió que sus doctores no le aclararon los

problemas de su enfermedad, y la dejaban con preguntas y miedo conforme su situación. Ella dijo que cuando comenzó a asistir grupos de apoyo de pacientes con cáncer, miró que también otros tenían la misma preocupación.

“Los doctores eran muy secos, y eso deja a los pacientes con dudas sobre lo que dicen los doctores”, dijo Coronado. “Miré un hueco entre cómo se entienden los doctores y los pacientes. Me di cuenta que tenía que darle atención a cómo los pacientes de cáncer se sienten de sus opciones de tratamientos”.

Junto a su mentor, la profesora Linda Abarbanell de SDSU, y a varios estudiantes, Coronado lanzó un proyecto en el año 2016, y el trabajo sigue hoy con otros estudiantes de la universidad.

El trabajo se enfocó en las ideas diferentes y actitudes de pacientes sobre la enfermedad y cómo perciben el tratamiento. Los estudiantes también observaron la parte que la cultura tiene en estas acciones e ideas.

“El proyecto observa a las creencias y costumbres de mexicanos viviendo con cáncer en el Valle Imperial”, dijo Abarbanell.

“Estamos interesadas en cómo la cultura de la frontera afecta lo que la gente cree sobre las causas y opciones de tratamientos de cáncer”.

En el 2017, Coronado y su grupo ganó el Premio del Decano en el simposio en SDSU. El simposio es una oportunidad para que los estudiantes presenten su trabajo.

Coronado dijo que fue una sorpresa

Cortesía de Marisabel Coronado

Marisabel Coronado fue diagnosticada con cáncer en el 2015 y usa su experiencia para ayudar a otros con cáncer.

para ella y una buena experiencia que su trabajo fuera reconocido. Ella también dijo que estuvo sorprendida con el nivel de interés que otros grupos en las conferencias científicas enseñaron en el trabajo del grupo.

“Me sentí muy feliz que gente pudiera entender nuestra lucha”, dijo Coronado.

Varias organizaciones ofrecieron apoyo y

quisieron participar en la investigación”.

Coronado dijo que quiere que su trabajo traiga cambios para los residentes del Valle Imperial, que la gente sepa que los doctores están para ayudar y que la gente no pierda tiempo en sus tratamientos. Pero, también dijo que quiere que los doctores sepan las dificultades que tienen los pacientes que no hablen inglés o sean de bajos recursos.

Columna: Mi futuro femenino empezó ayer por Elizabeth ESCRITORA

Barboza

He crecido rodeada de mujeres fuertes.

Mi abuela, mis tías, mi madre. Mujeres llenas de valor y coraje, emprendedoras y “luchonas”, con temor al porvenir, pero pocas veces demostrándolo.

Esas mujeres sacaron adelante a sus hijos, como mi abuela que después de enviudar crio a nueve hijos, entre ellos, siete mujeres.

En ellas me veo, y aunque de sus errores me quiero abstener, sé que no me queda de otra más que seguir sus consejos. No las puedo culpar por embarazarse a los diecisiete, por dejar la universidad, o por enamorarse de aquel chico rockero sin un futuro prometedor.

Aun viviendo en México, un país donde la desigualdad y el machismo sigue muy presente, ellas aprendieron a sobrellevar y emprender un negocio, estudiar una carrera y criar a sus hijos. Ellas me han enseñado con su ejemplo que siempre habrá obstáculos en la vida, pero que el de ser mujer no es uno.

Mi tía la primera ingeniera, yo la primera universitaria, y mi madre la primera ciudadana americana de su familia.

No recuerdo la primera vez que escuché sobre el feminismo. Posiblemente en aquella clase de historia, o de aquella maestra de inglés con creencias izquierdistas. Sin duda, la idea me visitó otra vez en aquella clase de comunicaciones en mi primer año de la universidad. Donde sea que haya sido, nunca la acepté. No me pareció una gran novedad.

No quiero entrar en malos entendidos, reconozco a las mujeres que han luchado contra la corriente patriarcal, las que han hecho posible que yo esté gozando de una

educación universitaria y use jeans, pero la ideología feminista no me satisface.

No me satisface porque no la necesito.

Me doy cuenta de que el futuro femenino del que todas hablan, es mi presente.

Siempre lo ha sido. Lo ha sido gracias al ejemplo de las mujeres en mi vida, desde mi abuela hasta mis primas, cada una con una historia diferente ha sabido hacer de su situación algo mejor a costo de lágrimas, rechazos, fracasos y más.

Ellas no necesitaron de un movimiento para sentirse valoradas. Su motivación más grande fue sus hijos y su madre a quien anhelaban ver feliz.

El empoderamiento de la mujer y la supuesta liberación femenina no tienen nombre en mi familia más que el de “salir adelante” y “echarle ganas” y uno que otro “mejor sola que mal acompañada”.

En vez de un futuro femenino anhelo ver a mujeres y a niñas con futuro y propósito hoy.

No creo que el progreso femenino dependa de un movimiento o de una marcha. Esos son actos de solidaridad. El cambio que esta sociedad anhela ver tiene que empezar en cada hogar, cada salón de clases, en las relaciones laborales y amorosas.

Creo que el respeto y la empatía, ante todo, se necesita entre las mujeres, entre las que no creen en lo mismo y hasta para las más radicales que algún buen argumento o mala experiencia tendrán para creer lo que creen. Respeto también entre mujeres y hombres, porque juntos nos complementamos.

Por mi parte, seguiré llevando acabo los principios que las mujeres de mi vida me han enseñado: valores, respeto y que el ser mujer no es una maldición, sino que es y somos algo bello y especial. Mi futuro femenino es hoy porque comenzó ayer.

Feb. 21 - 27, 2018

The Daily Aztec / Section / 9

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The Daily Aztec

Arts & Culture

Feb. 21 - Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Cami Buckman, arts@thedailyaztec.com

Annual GreenFest sustains campus community with a week of events

Illustration by Maritza Garcia

The popular yearly concert event proves to be more than just a show, but a week full of impactful demonstrations

By Stacy Marquez STAFF WRITER

GreenFest, presented by San Diego State’s Associated Students and SDSU’s EnviroBusiness Society, kicks off another year of its GreenFest Week, Feb. 25-Mar. 4.

Often recognized for the GreenFest concert, having brought performers like YG, Chance the Rapper and Jeremih in previous years, it also hosts a variety of events during GreenFest Week pertinent to the organization’s values.

GreenFest chair and international business sophomore Caitlin Szikszai wants students to know they work to create a more sustainable campus and educated student body.

“The purpose of GreenFest is to raise awareness about sustainability on college campuses. If I could have students learn anything from the events that we put on, it’s to be more conscious of what they use in their day-to-day life, how they dispose of things in their day to day life and the consumption of materials and resources,” she said.

Szikszai has been an advocate for sustainability and was delighted to see an organization working toward that.

“If you see a girl digging around trash cans on campus, that’s definitely me. If I ever walk by an open trash can and see something that should be in the recycling bin, I’ll just pick it up and put it in there,” she said.

Szikszai joined GreenFest her freshman year and now, as chair, wants to include some of her ideas on improving the organization and its efforts. She is excited to reintroduce the EnviroFashion Show back in the lineup of events after a brief hiatus.

In previous years, the fashion show featured outfits teams made from trash or recycled items like soda cans and plastic bottles.

This year’s fashion show encourages other creative forms of sustainability.

“They’re going to be doing outfits that you thrifted. Tons of students have signed

just giving out reusable items.

A project she hopes to get off the ground is a recycling education program targeted at students.

Szikszai feels a program dedicated to educating students about sustainability will help the university reach its goals toward a sustainable campus, similar to the sexual assault and consent session new students experience during New Student Orientation.

“Its very easy to put out facilities as zero waste but in reality the students are the ones using the facilities. If SDSU truly wants to

“It’s so easy to live your life without thinking where you should throw away a plastic cup or how long you should leave your lights on, but as soon as you become more conscious of it, you reduce your footprint by a lot.’”

– Caitlin Szikszai, International business sophomore

up and they’re going to show off clothing that they made or that they’ve thrifted to encourage secondhand buying or using sustainable resources to make your own clothing,” Szikszai said.

Szikszai said she wants to improve GreenFest, challenging it to go further than

go zero waste it has to look at educating its students on how to have a zero waste lifestyle,” she said.

Media studies senior Czarina Greaney said she did not hear about GreenFest or its events until recently, but the organization’s mission piqued her interest.

“I would like to learn more about this organization and see how I could be a part of it and help,” she said.

Media studies senior Sabras Gorgees was on the same boat as Greaney.

He, too, was interested in the work GreenFest does and shared similar opinions with Szikszai about SDSU’s sustainability.

He said he thinks SDSU and the community can work on improving their sustainability efforts. “(SDSU does its) part, it’s our job to do our part as well. They can’t do everything for us,” he said.

So how can one get involved?

Szikszai said becoming part of the action team is a great start because students can help with events and get to know the people in the organization.

The action team meetings are from 1-2 p.m. every Friday in the Presidential Suite at the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union.

GreenFest strives toward a more environmentally conscious campus and Szikszai believes their goals are attainable through education.

“It’s so easy to live your life without thinking where you should throw away a plastic cup or how long you should leave your lights on, but as soon as you become more conscious of it, you reduce your footprint by a lot.

“If we’re able to have the whole campus a little bit more aware of the impact they have on the earth, we can make a very big change,” Szikszai said.

Feb. 21- Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Cami Buckman, arts@thedailyaztec.com

Arts & Culture

11

The Daily Aztec

Coffee shops in San Diego brew popularity businesses throughout the city.

To learn to pour latte art or how to properly brew coffee in a variety of techniques, check out the class schedule that has events throughout the month.

Try the honey cinnamon, horchata or chai lattes, or experience coffee beans in an unadulterated state with a cup of its single origin pour over coffee or a shot of espresso.

By Lauren J. Mapp STAFF WRITER

With several coffee shops on campus at San Diego State, it can be tempting not to venture too far away to explore the San Diego coffee scene.

Sticking to the campus’ shops means missing an abundance of uniquely flavored, hand-crafted lattes, finding the most comfortable study spot or taking the perfect picture to post on social media.

Whether spots are best for studying, brunch or Instagramming, here’s a list of coffee (and tea) shops to try this spring semester: S3 Coffee Bar A bustling strip mall is an unlikely location for a high-quality cafe, but S3 Coffee Bar on Mission Gorge Road is a spot that shouldn’t be skipped.

Owned and operated by sisters Claudia, Jenny and Veronica Kwong with their mother May since June 2016, the name “S3” symbolizes the three sisters who corun the space, and their tagline to sip, smell and savor the drinks they brew up.

The sisters originally opened the cafe so that their mom would have a job when she moved to San Diego from Texas, but they enjoyed working in the shop so much that they started working more hours there, Claudia Kwong said.

Without compromising flavor for aesthetics, their lattes are as tasty as they are gorgeous.

The rainbow, or birthday latte, weekend special originally began when the sisters were trying to practice latte art by using food coloring instead of wasting espresso.

After debuting it for their first anniversary last year, the drink gained popularity amongst customers and continues to be the most ordered beverage.

“We introduced it during our one year anniversary, we kind of introduced it for two weeks just to celebrate, and people kept asking for it,” Claudia Kwong said.

S3 is best suited for an afternoon coffee break or weekend brunch — complete with an Instagram photoshoot — but it is not ideal for studying.

Try the 24k Cappuccino, a cookie butter latte topped with 23.75k gold leaf, or the avocado toast with prosciutto and

Photos by Lauren J. Mapp

S3 provides a little gold bling floating on top of the 24k Cappuccino, made with cookie butter.

the rose gold latte made with herbal tea, honey-rose syrup, rose petals and edible gold glitter.

Meráki A craftsman-style house on Adams Avenue in University Heights has changed hands several times over the last few years, but the space has consistently been used as a coffee shop in its recent history.

It’s current incarnation — Meráki — has the friendliest service and the most inventive drinks compared to its predecessors, and the combination of those two aspects will hopefully give it long-term staying power.

Owner April Brandenstein, who graduated from the New York Restaurant School (now the Art Institute of New York City), was in the restaurant industry for 18 years before opening Meráki in 2016.

“I have always wanted to open my own cafe, mainly because I have always felt the

Pictured here with the prosciutto avocado toast, S3’s Rainbow latte - made with French vanilla - brightens up even the gloomiest of days.

most comfortable in the kitchen. Cooking for people is what enlightens my heart and makes me happy,” Brandenstein said.

“Every place where I have worked, has led me to where I am now.”

She said she has been surprised by “the love and support we received” from local customers in University Heights, calling the support “unprecedented.”

Sip on the lavender, horchata or ginger honey lattes while you enjoy the peaceful garden area out back, or sit and study in the main dining room.

James Coffee Co. As the coffee brewing scene in San Diego continues to grow and improve, so does the number and quality of coffee roasters in the city.

The downtown James Coffee Co. roasting shop fills cups in the cafe locations in Little Italy and Bankers Hill, and their beans can be found in other

Holsem Coffee Banana. Bread. Cold. Brew.

Those are the first four words to remember during a visit to Holsem Coffee in North Park.

When owner Salpi Sleiman first moved to San Diego from San Francisco, she quickly realized that there were no third wave coffee shops, and she said that North Park’s hip, urban food scene was the perfect location for the concept.

“I saw a niche that needed to be filled with third wave coffee,” Sleiman said.

“Third wave coffee is the next generation of coffee shops. They roast their own beans, they source their own beans and source them ethically.”

Marrying bartender skills to the boutique coffee scene, Sleiman said she strives for Holsem to be the Apple of coffee shops with great customer service, a high quality product and an efficient production line.

Sleiman said all of the menu items are “wholesome,” meaning she uses high quality, ethically-sourced and natural ingredients in all of her pastries and beverages.

She said she does not use refined sugar, referring to it as “poison,” so the syrups are made with unrefined, evaporated cane juice.

All syrups are made in-house and most of the drinks at Holsem are made using sweetener as a separate ingredient, so it can be reduced or omitted upon request, she said.

The strawberry malt latte — made with strawberries, malt and housemade vanilla syrup — and the lemon meringue cold brew are two of the most unique items on the current menu at Holsem.

Aside from those and the banana bread cold brew, other notable drinks and snacks include the Nutella cold brew, and the gluten-free brownie topped with sea salt.

Sip on the tastey lavender thyme latte at Meráki for a taste of spring, located at 1735 Adams Ave. in the University Heights area of San Diego.

12

Sports

The Daily Aztec

Feb. 21 - Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett, sports@thedailyaztec.com

Week in review

Illustration by Mirella Lopez

Feb. 14 SOFTBALL SDSU - 1 at UC Riverside - 4 Aztecs break through with a run in the fifth inning but leave four on base during fourth straight loss.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SDSU - 50 at Wyoming - 70 Senior guard McKynzie Fort scores 17 points to move into third place on SDSU’s all-time scoring list during road loss.

Redshirt freshman forward Jalen McDaniels eyes the basket during the Aztecs 94-56 victory over UNLV on Feb. 17 at Viejas Arena.

Photo by Kelly Smiley

MEN’S BASKETBALL SDSU - 87 vs. Wyoming - 77 Aztecs bench outscores the Cowboys 40-to-1 to help even season series.

Three-match losing streak comes to an end as Aztecs earn sixth straight doubles point and win four of six singles matches.

MEN’S TENNIS SDSU - 1 vs. Oregon - 6 Aztecs drop to 1-7 on the season with neutral site loss at Oregon, earn upset in No. 2 doubles with senior Santiago Cevallos and sophomore Rafael Gonzalez Almazan.

SOFTBALL SDSU - 4 vs. NDSU - 1 Junior catcher Molly Sturdivant hits a three-run home run during a four-run third inning to help end Aztecs six game losing streak.

McDaniels is MW Player of the Week

WOMEN’S SWIMMING Aztecs tied with Nevada for first place after day one of Mountain West Championships, finish second in 200m medley relay.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE SDSU - 14 vs. ASU - 13 Junior midfielder Natalie Peel scores game winner with 2:22 to play to complete late comeback in Aztecs season opening victory.

Feb. 15 SOFTBALL SDSU - 0 vs. No. 25 Kentucky - 5 Aztecs fail to score on Wildcats freshman starting pitcher Grace Baalman, lose fifth straight game to fall to 1-7 on the season.

MEN’S BASKETBALL SDSU - 94 vs. UNLV - 56 Aztecs win second straight game at home with a 38 point beatdown of their Mountain West rivals.

The margin of victory is largest ever between the two teams.

by Abraham Jewett SPORTS EDITOR

WOMEN’S SWIMMING Aztecs drop to second place in Mountain West Championships, 39.5 points behind first place Boise State. Senior Frida Berggren wins 200m individual medley with career best 1:59.28.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SDSU - 67 at UNLV - 73 Aztecs rally from seven-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation but fall in overtime despite 24 points from senior guard McKynzie Fort.

San Diego State men’s basketball forward Jalen McDaniels was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 19.

This is the first time in his young career that the 6-foot-10 redshirt freshman has received the accolade. “(It) is a heck of an honor for not only any Aztec, but a freshman,” head coach Brian Dutcher said. “(McDaniels) just plays with high energy, high motor, so he fills the stat sheet up. It’s points, it’s rebounds, it’s effort plays, and you like to see guys rewarded for hard work.”

McDaniels had 16 points and four rebounds during the Aztecs 87-77 victory over the University of Wyoming on Feb. 14, and followed up that performance with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the team’s 94-56 win over UNLV three days

later.

“It feels pretty good,” McDaniels said. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for our team, they put me in the right position to score when I get the ball.”

McDaniels has started 14 of 25 games this season while averaging 10 points and 7.2 rebounds in his first year out of Federal Way High School, where he was rated the No. 4 player in the state of Washington during the 2015-16 season.

McDaniels said that while he may not have expected to have this much success in his inaugural season, his ability to produce on the collegiate level comes from playing with confidence.

“I can’t say that I expected to have this year, but I mean I’ve always been confident in myself,” he said. “I know what I can do on the floor, so I’m just out here playing hard for my team.”

The last SDSU player to win the award was senior guard Trey Kell, back in January of 2016.

Women’s tennis defeated by USC, victorious against Cal Poly

by Marissa Bell CONTRIBUTOR

San Diego State women’s tennis lost its third match in a row on Feb. 16, falling by a score of 5-2 to the visiting University of Southern California.

SDSU started off the match earning a point after seniors Jana Buth and Paolo Diaz defeated senior Gabby Smith and sophomore Becca Weissmann in the final doubles match.

“It was good, it feels good to start with one point,” Buth said.

Head coach Peter Mattera said he was happy with receiving “the doubles point again,” which was the seventh time they have earned the point in nine matches this season.

SDSU won two of the three doubles matches played, with freshman Nnena Nadozie and junior Magda Aubets also coming away victorious over senior

Madison Westby and sophomore Constance Branstine by a score of 6-4.

The Aztecs began to struggle once singles play began, achieving only one win in six matches during the losing effort.

There was controversy during the game between SDSU junior Jenny Moinard and her opponent Westby, with arguments arising over whether the ball landed inside the lines.

A second official was called in during the match to help with any line discrepancy.

“I mean you know in every match the balls are close to the line,” Moinard said.

“The ref was bad.”

Both players became emotional during the game as tensions ran high, but Moinard ultimately came away with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win.

“It was just a good first competitive match and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that,” Mattera said.

Buth played her singles match against

Feb. 16 WOMEN’S WATER POLO T-No. 14 SDSU - 12 at Concordia - 5 Aztecs open up Gold Coast Conference schedule with victory, move to 5-4 on the season and improve to 27-0 all time since joining GCC. WOMEN’S TENNIS SDSU - 2 vs. USC - 5 Aztecs earn the doubles point but lose five of six singles matches for third straight home loss.

MEN’S TENNIS SDSU - 4 at UNLV - 3 Aztecs drop doubles point but win four singles matches to start Mountain West play with first victory of the season.

BASEBALL SDSU - 9 vs. UCSB - 1 Five extra base hits and 3.2 shutout innings from sophomore starting pitcher Logan Boyer fuel Aztecs season opening victory.

SOFTBALL SDSU - 1 vs. NDSU - 2 Thundar storm back with a run in the sixth and the seventh to deliver Aztecs sixth straight loss.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING Aztecs fall to third place in Mountain West Championships behind Boise State and Nevada.

Sophomore Courtney Vincent places first in 100m fly individual title with time of 52.89.

Feb. 17 WOMEN’S TENNIS SDSU - 5 vs. Cal Poly - 2

Smith, falling in three sets by a score of 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.

“I always do really well the first half,” Buth said. “My third set wasn’t actually that bad, but five out of six points I lost in a deuce.”

In other matches, Weissmann defeated Aubets 6-2, 6-3, No. 102 ranked junior Rianna Valdes defeated Diaz 6-3, 6-4, sophomore Angela Kulikov defeated Nadozie 6-4, 7-6 (5-5), and Branstine defeated freshman Abbie Mulbarger 6-2, 6-2.

Mattera said that the team played well,

Baseball SDSU - 8 vs. UCSB - 4 Aztecs score three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to rally back from 4-2 deficit in teams second straight win.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING Aztecs finish in second place in the Mountain West Championships, behind Boise State. The finish marks the ninth consecutive year that the team finished in the top three at the event.

Feb. 18 SOFTBALL SDSU - 2 vs. UCF - 1 Both teams strike fast with first inning runs before fifth inning score gives Aztecs second straight win.

BASEBALL SDSU - 7 vs. UCSB - 5 Senior outfielder Chase Calabuig hits his second home run in as many days as Aztecs sweep season opening series.

Feb. 20 BASEBALL SDSU - 2 vs. USD - 3 Aztecs lose first game of the season, to crosstown rival, after sending game to extra innings with two-out rally in the bottom of the ninth. Toreros score unearned run in the top of the tenth to win.

MEN’S GOLF Aztecs in 13th place after the first round of The Prestige at PGA West. Freshman Christian Banke is tied for 13th place in the individual standings after shooting an even-par 71.

even though they came away with the loss.

“Those singles were very very hard fought and we were right there in the doorstep,” Mattera said. “It was a very good match I thought.”

SDSU broke its losing streak with a 5-2 victory over Cal Poly on Feb. 17.

The Aztecs received the doubles point for the sixth match in a row, and came away wih wins in all three matches.

Moinard, Aubets, Nadozie and Buth all were victorious in their singles matches against the Mustangs.

Feb. 21 - Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett, sports@thedailyaztec.com

Sports

The Daily Aztec

13

Softball defeats CSUF 2-1 to end classic

by Abraham Jewett SPORTS EDITOR

San Diego State softball finished up the Campbell/Cartier Classic with a 2-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Sunday afternoon at SDSU Softball Stadium.

The event ran from Thursday to Sunday, and SDSU now sits at 3-8 on the year after splitting two of the four games in its annual welcome home tournament.

“I think this weekend was big for us because we struggled so much last weekend,” associate head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz said. “We really felt like we needed to get some confidence back.”

SDSU fell to Kentucky by a score of 5-0 in the first game of the classic, before splitting a back-to-back set with North Dakota University on Friday and Saturday.

The Aztecs found the right opponent on Sunday to help the team right the ship, with the usually formidable Titans (3-6) losers of all four games they’d played in the classic coming in.

“We just really need to get back to feeling good again, and we absolutely accomplished that,” Nuveman Deniz said. “It was obviously a great win today and a good weekend for us to get some confidence.”

Freshman pitcher Taylor Dockins (2-1) got the start for CSUF, and gave up 10 hits and two earned runs in a complete game loss.

Sophomore pitcher Marissa Moreno got the start for SDSU, and pitched four innings, giving up four hits and one earned run before she was pulled after giving up a leadoff walk to begin the fifth.

Senior pitcher Alex Formby (1-4) came on in relief and pitched the final three innings, giving up two hits and allowing no runs while being credited with the win.

Formby gave up 11 runs and eight hits in the first inning of the team’s 23-2 loss against the University of Georgia on opening day, but has since worked her

Sophomore outfielder Kiera Wright prepares to swing at a pitch during the Aztecs 5-0 loss to Kentucky on Feb. 15 at SDSU Softball Stadium.

earned run average down to 3.23.

“The Georgia game just felt like a really big letdown, I felt like I let down my team,” Formby said. “I just felt a sense of pride that I need to step up and get it together for my team so we can start getting some dubs.”

Nuveman Deniz said that Formby’s performance against Georgia was not a correct representation of the type of pitcher she is, and that her senior will be a valuable arm out of the bullpen this season.

“The Georgia game was really an outlier for her performance this year,” Nuveman Deniz said. “She’s been solid in that relief roll really shutting down teams no matter who it is, she’s really gotten comfortable, it seems like she’s found a niche for herself.”

The Titans took an early lead in the first inning, after senior outfielder Brooke

Clemetson (0-3, one run) walked to start the game, advanced to second base on a sacrifice, and came around to score on an infield bunt single by junior outfielder Ari Williams (2-3, one RBI).

SDSU answered right back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the first after back-to-back doubles from redshirt junior second basemen Katie Byrd (13, one RBI, one run) and junior catcher Molly Sturdivant (2-3, one RBI) tied the game at one apiece.

Neither time would score again until the bottom of the fifth inning, which started with a pinch hit single from senior outfielder Zaria Meshack (2-2, one run).

Meshack would advance to second on a sacrifice bunt before stealing third and scored the game winning run on a close play at the plate after Byrd hit into a fielder’s choice.

Junior midfielder Natalie Peel drives the ball up field during the Aztecs 14-13 victory over Arizona State on Feb. 17 at the Aztec Lacrosse Field.

Photo by Sam Mayo

Lacrosse wins home opener 14-13 over ASU

by Kyle Betz STAFF WRITER

San Diego State lacrosse led Arizona State University by a score of 12-9 with under 10 minutes left in the second half of Saturday’s home opener.

Cue four unanswered goals by ASU, and the Aztecs facing a 13-12 deficit with just over three minutes to play.

SDSU would need to make a comeback of their own, and did just that after an unassisted goal from junior midfielder Harlowe Steele and a game-winning freeposition shot goal by junior midfielder Natalie Peel gave the Aztecs a 14-13

victory.

SDSU’s record improved to 2-0, while ASU fell to 2-1 in their first year as an NCAA program.

Steele said that the Aztecs were not underestimating their first-year opponent.

“Since ASU is a first-year program, we didn’t want to treat them like they were bad,” Steele said. “We wanted to come out and give them our all and respect them as a team. I think we did that. They came out and played really hard, but we’re just really glad to pull out the win.”

Steele netted five goals, while Peel, junior midfielder Jill Haight, and sophomore midfielder Ryli Quinn scored

two goals each.

Steele was coming off a four goal performance in the Aztecs’ season opening victory over Cal on Feb. 11, and now has nine goals in two games this season.

Aztecs junior goalkeeper Katy Sharretts recorded nine saves against an ASU attack led by Kerri Clayton, who scored four goals.

Steele believes the Aztecs still have room for improvement, despite winning both games they have played this season.

“I think we can learn from this. It definitely was a close game, but I think we’re working well at the end of games and keeping our lead,” Steele said. “We

Photo by Abraham Jewett

“It was a close game and I was just like well this is an opportunity, all I have to do is hit something on the ground and make something happen,” Meshack said.

“Honestly it felt good because I knew my coach had a lot of faith in me, she put me in this position for a reason.”

Meshack acknowledged that it has been a less than ideal start to the season, but she said that she expects the team to keep getting stronger.

“We started off a little rough, but hey, brighter days are coming,” she said.

“Honestly I think from here were finally actually coming together and figuring out what we all can do as a team.”

SDSU will get three days off before heading to Cathedral City, Calif. for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, which the team opens against Liberty University on Feb. 22.

just need to keep focusing and keep working hard on the stuff we can control.”

Junior attacker Kirstie Greenlaw, sophomore midfielder Morgan Taylor, and junior midfielder Grace McGinty all scored first period goals for the Aztecs.

Head coach Kylee White, who has been at the helm of the program since its inception in 2010, said her team can still improve their offensive play.

“I think we played well. ASU played an outstanding game, and we played a little safer than I would’ve liked,” White said.

“We took care of the ball but we needed to attack more.”

White singled out Steele and Haight as players who made a big difference in the game. “(Steele), right now she’s just all over the field, marking up on one of their top players and scoring crucial goals for us when we need it,” White said. “(Haight) had an amazing game on the draw control. Basically, if you get the draw, you’re winning the game.”

Haight finished with a school record 12 draw controls, and said she expected ASU to play hard.

“We didn’t know how they were going to be, because they’re a new program and we know they are gritty and going to come out hard,” Haight said. “We just knew we had to come out hard, defend our field, and show them what Aztec Lacrosse is about.”

SDSU will look to continue its perfect start when they travel to Colorado take on the University of Denver on Feb. 23 and the University of Colorado on Feb. 25.

14

Sports

The Daily Aztec

Members of the baseball team receive their rings in a pregame ceremony on Feb. 16.

Photo by Kelly Smiley

SDSU rings in the new year with a win

by Abraham Jewett SPORTS EDITOR

San Diego State baseball got its season underway, defeating the University of California, Santa Barbara by a score of 9-1 on a cool evening at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

“Opening day, it is what it is, you

couldn’t script it any better,” head coach Mark Martinez said. “We pitched really well, we played great defense, we got some really timely hitting.”

SDSU began the night with a pregame ring ceremony to honor its fourth Mountain West Conference championship in the past five seasons, and members of last year’s team –

including current and former players – gathered in front of home plate to receive their new hardware.

“It was really great to see (former players) and celebrate our championship last year,” Martinez said. “It was very moving for everybody.”

Following the festivities, the Aztecs entrusted the starting ball to sophomore pitcher Logan Boyer, making only his second career start.

Boyer struck out eight batters and gave up only two hits, but the hard throwing right-hander was pulled after finding himself in a bases loaded jam with two outs in the top of the fourth inning.

Even with the short outing, Boyer said that getting the start on opening day was very meaningful.

“I think I worked really hard this fall and I thought I earned it, so it meant a lot,” he said.

Senior Jacob Erickson (1-0) came on in relief of Boyer and struck out junior outfielder Michael McAdoo to end the threat.

Erickson wore the No. 19 in honor of legendary Aztec head coach Tony Gwynn, and Martinez said that his senior coming in and getting a strikeout to end the inning was no coincidence. “(Erickson) came in with the bases loaded and got us out of some big jams, so I think Tony was here tonight for sure,” Martinez said.

Erickson went on to receive credit for the win after striking out three batters and giving up only one hit in 2.1 innings pitched.

SDSU used a nearly 25-minute second inning to pull away from the Gauchos, loading the bases twice and batting around while scoring five runs in the frame.

Junior pitcher Noah Davis (0-1) failed to get out of the inning for UCSB,

Feb. 21 - Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett, sports@thedailyaztec.com

finishing the night giving up three runs on four walks and five hits in 1.2 innings pitched.

Redshirt junior outfielder Chad Bible got the big inning started with a single to center on the first pitch he saw, in his first game back since a cancer diagnosis ended his 2017 season after only seven games.

“There is no better feeling than squaring up a baseball, but considering how long its taken for me to get back to where I am today, that hit just means a lot,” Bible said.

Bible, declared cancer free in August, finished the game 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.

“It was awesome man, just a big weight off my shoulders,” he said. “Everyone expected me to perform really well tonight after all I’ve been through and it just felt good to just prove some people right.”

The Aztecs added three runs in the bottom of the fifth, after junior infielder Jordan Verdon (2-for-4 with a double, triple, two RBI) started the inning off with a triple, before coming in to score on a Bible single.

Bible would score on a single by freshman infielder Casey Schmitt, and freshman outfielder Matt Rudick crossed the plate on a fielder’s choice with the bases load to complete the scoring.

SDSU added its final run after a double play by senior outfielder Chase Calabuig (2-for-4 with one run scored) brought in sophomore outfielder Julian Escobedo from third base.

The Gauchos lone run came in the top of the third inning, after a single by redshirt junior Clay Fisher brought in freshman infielder Jason Willow.

The Aztecs went on to sweep UCSB and are currently 4-0 on the season after defeating USD 2-1 at home on Feb. 20.

Aztecs defend home court during 94-56 shellacking of UNLV

by Abraham Jewett SPORTS EDITOR

San Diego State men’s basketball freshman forward Matt Mitchell calmly intercepted a pass by senior guard Jordan Johnson and drove it back down the court for a layup.

The steal and score gave the Aztecs a quick 6-0 lead, and opened up the floodgates for an 18-turnover night for the visiting Runnin’ Rebels.

“I was just trying to come out and set the tone for the game,” Mitchell said. “Set the tone that were here and we’re here to play hard.”

UNLV had 14 turnovers in the first half alone, and SDSU turned a resulting 20 point halftime lead into a 94-56 victory on Saturday afternoon at Viejas Arena.

The 38-point margin of victory was the largest for the Aztecs (15-10, 7-7 MW) over a Mountain West Conference opponent this season, and put an end to a three-game winning streak for UNLV (19-8, 8-6 MW).

“We played forty minutes of good basketball,” head coach Brian Dutcher said. “It’s a good time of year to be playing your best basketball.”

Senior guard Trey Kell (two points, six assists) said that the team takes pride in its ability to play hard defense and force turnovers.

“It is something we take pride in because to get where we want to get to we have to step our game up on that end,” Kell said. “It was a good start for us tonight.”

SDSU had four players score in double figures, led by 21 points from Mitchell, 18 points and 14 rebounds from freshman forward Jalen McDaniels, and 17 points each from senior forward Malik Pope (nine rebounds) and junior guard Max Montana (five three-pointers).

Matt Mitchell drives around UNLV’s Jovan Mooring during the Aztecs 94-56 victory on Feb. 17 at Viejas Arena.

The Aztecs improved at home to a record of 11-2, which is a far cry from their 4-8 record away from Steve Fisher Court.

“Now the challenge is to see if we leave the confines of Viejas and go do this on the road,” Dutcher said. “It’ll never be as easy away from home, but we can play to a high standard and see if we can get a road win and keep this momentum going into the conference tournament.”

The victory avenged a Jan. 27 road loss to UNLV, which saw 7-foot freshman forward and first round NBA prospect Brandon McCoy torch the Aztecs for 21 points and seven rebounds.

The Aztecs were able to hold McCoy in check in this game, using a variety of defensive matchups to limit him to nine points on only three of 11 shooting.

“We didn’t let him play us one-onone,” Dutcher said. “It’s hard to stop anybody one-on-one, so we changed who we helped in this game.”

Senior guard Jovan Mooring paced the Runnin’ Rebels in scoring with 16 points to go with five rebounds and three assists.

SDSU got out to a fast start with a 10-2 run to open the game, and went into the halftime break with a 48-28 lead thanks to additional runs of 9-0 and 12-0.

UNLV shot 44 percent in the opening

Photo by Kelly Smiley

period, and had a stretch where it turned the ball over on seven consecutive possessions, which coincided with a 20-3 Aztecs run.

McDaniels had eight points and five rebounds within the first eight minutes of the first half, and would secure his sixth double-double of the season with over 10 minutes left in the game.

The Aztecs led by as many as 23 points in the half, after a jumper by junior guard Devin Watson finished off a 12-0 run that gave the Aztecs a 44-21 lead with 2:08 to play.

Next up for SDSU is a road meeting with Air Force on Feb. 21.

Feb. 21 - Feb. 27, 2018 EDITOR: Abraham Jewett, sports@thedailyaztec.com

Sports

The Daily Aztec

15

Track athletes prepare for championship

by Kyle Betz STAFF WRITER

San Diego State senior sprinter Ashley Henderson and redshirt junior pole vaulter Bonnie Draxler’s 2017-18 women’s indoor track & field season has been filled with honors.

Henderson was named the Mountain West Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 16 and Jan. 30, while Draxler was selected as the Mountain West Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week on Jan. 16.

Henderson wants to leave a legacy in her last season, and nearly tied her school record of 7.17 in the 60 meter dash with a 7.19 performance at the Don Kirby Collegiate Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Feb. 10.

“Being this is my last year, just collecting titles and a lot more accomplishments while I’m finishing up my last collegiate season means a lot to me,” Henderson said. “It’s pretty awesome I was able to do that.”

That same day, Draxler tied a school record at the Don Kirby by clearing 4.30 meters in the pole vault, and the gifted vaulter remains undefeated against all indoor competition.

“It means so much to me, just knowing the rich tradition that we have of pole vaulting here at SDSU,” Draxler said.

Head coach Shelia Burrell is in her ninth season at SDSU, and praised both Henderson and Draxler for their development as leaders.

“I think where (Draxler) is a great leader is that her discipline and her focus in what she wants to be and how passionate she is about vaulting is a good example for the other vaulters,” Burrell said. “(Henderson) has kind of grown into being a leader. I think this year is the year that she’s… come out and led by example.”

Both Henderson and Draxler have been part of the women’s track & field program since their freshman season in 2014-15.

It was during that time that Henderson qualified for the MW Indoor Track & Field Championships 200 meter race, finishing in second place with a time of 24.09, which placed her in eighth place in the SDSU record books.

Henderson and Draxler teamed up to race together in the 4x400 meter relay, finishing in sixth place, according to their GoAztecs profiles.

Draxler, meanwhile, won the pole vault at the event after clearing the 4.18 meter mark, and then later in the year finished second in the outdoor conference championships after she cleared 4.06 meters.

Henderson and Draxler are now preparing to compete in the Mountain West Indoor Track & Field 2018 Championships on Feb. 22-24 in Albuquerque.

Henderson finished first in the 60 meter and the 200 meter sprint last season, defending her first place finish in the 200 meter from the year before.

Draxler will be competing in the championships for the third time, having finished first in 2015 and 2016 in the pole vault, before not participating last season.

Burrell said that she has high expectations for both Henderson and Draxler heading into this year’s championship postseason.

“This indoor season, they’ve both obviously done really well and excelled,” Burrell said. “I’m expecting, from both of them as they’re getting ready for NCAAs, that we move through conference, we do our team performances, and that then catapults them and motivates them for the next competition, which is the

Photo by Abraham Jewett

Senior Ashley Henderson (left) and redshirt junior Bonnie Draxler pose after practice on Feb. 16 at the Aztecs Sports Deck.

National Championships.”

Henderson’s goal entering the postseason is simple: win.

“I definitely want to go and defend my titles,” Henderson said. “Going into NCAAs, I just want to go in with a really good set time...to set me up to be at least top three in the country.”

Henderson said that she is making sure to keep her emotions in check with the conference championships looming.

“I got so much anxiety that’s going on, so I’m trying to not be too nervous and not trying to be too excited at the same time,” Henderson said. “This is my last collegiate season and I really want to go out with a bang.”

Draxler said she is expecting tough competition in the MW Championships from fellow pole vaulter Kathryn Tomczak of the Air Force Academy, who is still in search of her first title.

Tomczak is the Air Force Academy’s first 14-foot pole vaulter in program history and has been named Mountain West Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week twice this season.

“I’m really excited to jump against (Tomczak),” Draxler said. “We jumped against each other last outdoors. I beat her then, so I know she’s got a lot of

vengeance.”

Last season, Draxler finished 21st in pole vault at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

One of the goals Draxler said she set before this season was to make indoor nationals, a feat she hasn’t been able to accomplish in recent years.

“I never made it to indoor nationals the past two years, so that was the biggest thing for me,” Draxler said.

Henderson said she will miss having Draxler as a teammate as she moves forward. “(Draxler’s) been great,” Henderson said. “(Draxler), she’s a sweetheart, and I’m definitely gonna miss being a teammate with her.”

Henderson appreciates the support and encouragement she’s received from Draxler throughout her collegiate career. “(Draxler) encourages me with what she’s doing with the field events and I’m encouraging her. We kind of keep the momentum bouncing off each other,” Henderson said.

Draxler, in return, has enjoyed Henderson’s competitive spirit and motivation during her time at SDSU. “We’ve been here since freshmen together and I always knew she was really

good,” Draxler said. “She was always blowing everyone away in practice... just seeing her compete on that level, and just knowing that it’s here, and there’s someone training with me every single day is super motivating.”

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Discovering mi familia and me in Guatemala

Feb. 21-Feb. 27 2018 Editor: Cami Buckman • arts@thedailyaztec.com

SUDOKU HOW TO PLAY Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

LEVEL

by Jocelyn Moran MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR

As the sun set, we looked out to the lake, engulfed on the horizon by three volcanoes. We had arrived at a restaurant, anxious to finally eat after a three-hour car ride. It hadn’t been one minute since we sat down at a table when two little girls approached us, showing us bracelets, pens, keychains and clothing they were selling while carrying baskets on their heads.

Their faces lit up when we asked what they were selling and for how much, hoping they would get their first sale of the day. I looked at them, amazed by how young they appeared. I asked them how old they were. They said 12 and seven.

Cecilia and Rosario.

Those are the two names I remember most from my trip to Guatemala two weeks ago.

I decided to go to Guatemala with my family for my cousin Rodrigo’s wedding. I had just met him less than a year ago, after my dad found out a year prior he had a younger sister. My dad’s sister, Rodrigo’s mother, had become family to us in a short amount of time, and we would take any opportunity to go to Guatemala and spend time with them.

However, as the week went by, I became nervous because of all the work I was missing at school. At 2 p.m. on the Monday I was there, I thought “I should be in JMS 430 right now,” since I had the class at 12 p.m. and there was a two hour time difference. The next day, I thought “I am going to fail all of my classes for missing one week of the semester.”

But that one week gave me a

different perspective. It exposed me to an experience I wouldn’t forget and one I would appreciate so much.

Cecilia and Rosario were sisters and had arrived at Panajachel, Lake Atitlán, Guatemala earlier that day after getting out of school at noon in a nearby town called Santa Catarina Palopó. Their job now was to sell as much as they could to tourists in order to bring as many quetzales back to their family. The quetzal is Guatemala’s currency.

As they were scrambling through their baskets to show us what they were selling, Cecilia and Rosario kept talking back and forth in a language I couldn’t understand. I asked Cecilia what she was speaking, and she said Kaqchikel. Kaqchikel is their native language. They learned to speak Spanish growing up and were now also learning English in school.

After they told us the languages they knew how to speak, my tía Liily, my dad’s sister, said “Wow, oh my gosh.”

Cecilia replied in Spanish with “I know what that means.”

“It means Ay, Dios mío,” she said.

I smiled at her. I just wanted to hug her. I told her I liked her dress, and she thanked me with the biggest smile I had seen in a long time. She said it was brand new and her mom had just made it for her.

Rosario followed Cecilia’s lead in selling her items, and Cecilia made sure we were buying from her little sister as well.

After we bought several items from both of them, they thanked us and ran to their mother.

Two minutes later, Cecilia came

running back to our table and wrapped a scarf around my uncle’s neck.

She told him not to tell her mother she was giving it to him because she would get mad. She then said it didn’t matter to her because we were so kind with her and the scarf was hers to sell.

Cecilia and Rosario’s smiles put a smile on my face for the rest of the night. Their resilience amazed me. But most of all, their kindness left me speechless.

I think about what I was doing when I was seven, and I was playing with my cousins outside while my aunt prepared us lunch after school. When I was 12, I was completing my homework, worried about the test I would have the next day.

And Cecilia and Rosario were worried about selling enough items in order to bring as many quetzales back to their family.

Despite struggling to support her family, Cecilia gave us a scarf to thank us for our kindness.

I now think about them all the time. I think about them as I am writing this. I think about them when I wake up, remembering they are probably in school right now. At 4 p.m., I think “they are probably at a restaurant, trying to sell as much as they can to another family.”

The next morning, I saw them again when we took a trip to the town they are from.

Rosario ran up to me and gave me a hug, remembering who I was.

She took a photo with me, and then the bell rang. She ran back to school and looked back to wave goodbye, with the biggest smile on her face. My smile reflecting hers, I waved back.

1|2|3|4 SOLUTIONS Available online at www.thedailyaztec.com Tribune News Service / Sponsored by Aztec Recreation

CROSSWORDS

SNAPSHOTS Tribune News Service

Courtesy of Jocelyn Moran

WHAT A SIGHT Journalism junior Jocelyn Moran smiles while exploring the town of Santa Catarina Palopó.

ACROSS 1 Your business is her business 6 Tiny cut 10 Jeans line 14 Spreadsheet program 15 Comes to the rescue of 16 “The Time Machine” race 17 Like a cowboy in denial?

20 Emotional wound 21 “At __, soldier!”

22 Quartet in “Whose woods these are I think I know” 23 Fodder for Forbes, initially 25 Play a part 26 Like an eager cowboy?

35 Riveting icon 36 Overplay a part 37 Mission lead-in 38 Potentially offensive, for short 39 Tends to the sauce 40 Nerve 41 Early 16th-century date 42 Earthquake 43 “Impression, Sunrise” painter 44 Like a cowboy out of retirement?

47 Ky. neighbor 48 Show stoppers

49 Limoges product 52 Entertainment show VIP 55 Builder’s map 59 Like a cowboy in charge?

62 Area behind an altar 63 Wonder Woman’s friend __ Candy 64 Temporary tattoo dye 65 Get weepy, with “up” 66 State openly 67 More curious DOWN 1 Trees that sound like sheep 2 Corporate VIP 3 Final Four letters 4 Marvelous 5 “Hidden Figures” actor Mahershala __ 6 Epic tale 7 They may be fine points 8 Sit in traffic 9 Tire gauge no.

10 Tranquil 11 Periodic table listing: Abbr.

12 Limited choice 13 Fail to see 18 Vegas illuminator 19 Nook or cranny 24 Peach dessert 25 Many “Suits” characters: Abbr.

26 Busser’s target 27 Maker of Clarity alternative fuel cars 28 Jelly made from meat stock 29 “Capisce?”

30 Anabaptist descendants 31 Velvet-voiced Mel 32 Like most books 33 Recon goal 34 Palate 39 FedEx, say 40 “Safe travels!”

42 Egyptian peninsula 43 Satiric magazine since 1952 45 Less harsh 46 Fill and then some 49 Converse 50 Partner of pray 51 Ingrid’s “Casablanca” role 52 “Tiny House Hunters” cable channel 53 Bart and Lisa’s bus driver 54 Professor Higgins’ creator 56 Swedish soprano Jenny 57 Hathaway of “The Intern” (2015) 58 Winter Palace resident 60 Org. for teachers 61 17th Greek letter