WEEKLY PRINT EDITION
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017 – SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2017 VOLUME 103, ISSUE 26
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1913
W W W . T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M
A.S. candidates debate policies WILL FRITZ JOCELYN MORAN SENIOR STAFF WRITERS ____________________________
Junior guard McKynzie Fort looks to drive to the basket against Utah State. KELLY SMILEY, PHOTO EDITOR
Women’s basketball season ends abruptly ANTHONY RECLUSADO SPORTS EDITOR ____________________________ In its earliest exit in the Mountain West Championship since the 2010-11 season, the San Diego State women’s basketball team bowed out of this year’s conference tournament with a 76-58 loss to San Jose State. The No. 8 Spartans led wire-to-wire against the ninth-seeded Aztecs, who lost both games against SJSU by a combined 10 points in the regular season, including an overtime match. SDSU quickly dug a hole, as it fell behind 19-4 in the first quarter behind the Spartans senior guard Rachol West’s trio of 3-pointers. The Aztecs responded with an 11-0 run that trickled into the second quarter, which was capped off by junior guard McKynzie Fort’s first two points of the game. Fort, who was earlier named to the all-MW team, ended the
night with 19 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. However, her SJSU all-MW counterpart, senior guard Dezz Ramos, thwarted the Aztecs comeback with 12 points to end the half. Ramos tallied 34 points on 12-for-25 shooting and stuffed the rest of the stat sheet with 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Despite the double-digit run, SDSU had a poor shooting first half as it sat on an 11-for-30 night in the first 20 minutes. The Aztecs compounded the inaccuracy with shaky handles, as SDSU gave up nine turnovers, which resulted in 14 Spartan points. “I think they sped us up, but I think we missed a few bunnies that we normally make,” junior guard Geena Gomez said. “Like coach said, there was a lid on the basket tonight.” While the “lid” was closed for most of her teammates, Gomez had an open bucket. The Huntington Beach native drained eight consecutive
points to open the third quarter and pull SDSU within five points, 39-34. But the Spartans’ defense shut down the Aztecs and used a 21-9 run that leaked into the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. SDSU ended the night only shooting 34.9 percent and 17 turnovers, which resulted in 21 SJSU points. Three of the Aztecs’ top six scorers shot a combined 1-for20 from the field, including a 1-for-10 night, and 0-for-7 from range, from junior guard Lexy Thorderson. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight,” head coach Stacie Terry said. “And that was disappointing, because I know that these student-athletes worked their tails off to make those shots, and seemed like there was a lid on the basket tonight.” For a full season recap, check out the March Madness issue coming out March 13.
Candidates for Associated Students Vice President of University Affairs, VP of external relations, VP of Financial Affairs and Executive Vice President faced off in debates held on March 6 and 7 at the Lee and Frank Goldberg Courtyard. Business administration junior Michael Kumura, athletic training junior Chris Thomas and sustainability junior Brie Hornig are the candidates for VP of University Affairs. Criminal justice junior Samantha Ledesma and international security and conflict resolution junior Carmel Alon are the candidates for VP of External Relations. Among the issues discussed during the debate was a recent proposal by the Native American Student Alliance to retire the university’s Aztec mascot. Thomas, Kumura and Alon suggested creating a dialogue with students to come to a conclusion about the mascot. Thomas and Alon are on the “Transform SDSU” slate, while Hornig and Ledesma are part of the “Stride SDSU” slate, which stands for “STudents for Reform, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity.” Kumura is running independently. Twitter user @JSantos_SD submitted a question asking the candidates how they plan to support undocumented and international students who may feel unsafe or afraid. Ledesma said she wants to lobby local and state governments to support these students. “One of the things I plan
to do is lead by example, and really be an advocate for these students,” she said. Alon said she wants to work with the CSU Educational Opportunity Program, Education Without Borders and Student Affairs to promote a “DREAMer resource center.” Hospitality and tourism management junior Vanessa Girard and public relations junior Shannon Sneade are the candidates for A.S. Executive Vice President. Business finance junior Krystal Nzeadibe and finance junior Hayden Willis are the candidates for A.S. VP of Financial Affairs. Nzeadibe said the main responsibility is to oversee the budget of the organization, and she wants to make sure students are knowledgeable as to where the funds go. Willis said he is most qualified for the position because of his experience in finance. Regarding hate crimes at SDSU, Girard said she wants to be relatable and wants students who are affected by hate crimes to talk to her. “I feel like students feel like they’re in the dark and in the silence, and they need to be heard,” she said. Sneade said victims of hate crimes need to be acknowledged by the university. “We should not be afraid to take stances and statements of solidarity in order to let students know that we, as a university protect them,” she said. “Historically, this has not been done in many cases.” The A.S. presidential debates will take place Wednesday March 8 at noon in the Lee and Frank Goldberg Courtyard. Voting will take place March 1316 on Webportal.
YMCA observa la reducción de refugiados VLADIMIR SALAZAR ESCRITOR _____________________________ Normalmente en Estados Unidos los centros de YMCA son conocidos como áreas de recreación o facilidades en donde menores de edad pueden ir después de escuela a involucrarse en actividades deportivas. Mientras esta es una de sus funciones a través del mundo los centros de YMCA, por lo menos en la ciudad de Tijuana, son áreas de refugio para jóvenes migrantes. La casa YMCA para menores ubicada en Tijuana, lleva 27
años operando, en donde han atendido aproximadamente 60,000 jóvenes a lo largo de su existencia. El mayor enfoque de esta instalación es recibir a repatriados mexicanos. Un repatriado es una persona que regresa a su país de origen y en muchos casos cuando un repatriado mexicano regresa a México, es debido a que fue deportado de los EE.UU. Esta instalación da refugio a los repatriados y al mismo tiempo les proporciona ayuda a comunicarse y a regresar con su familia en su ciudad de origen dentro del país. Sin embargo, a esta instalación
no solo llegan repatriados mexicanos, sino jóvenes de Centroamérica que están tratando de cruzar hacia EE.UU. Países centroamericanos como Honduras, El Salvador y Guatemala, también conocidos como los 3 países que forman el Triángulo Norte, son países con altos niveles de violencia. Las oficinas enfocadas en crimen y drogas por parte de las Naciones Unidas, han reportado niveles altos de homicidio en esta área de Centroamérica, de “4 a 6 veces más altas” que en EE.UU.
YMCA continued, P12
La casa de YMCA en Tijuana recibe repartidos y menores migrantes. VLADIMIR SALAZAR, ESCRITOR