weekly PRINT EDITION
Wednesday, April 5, 2017 – Tuesday, April 11, 2017 volume 103, Issue 29
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
SDSU graduate released on bail Will Fritz senior staff writer ____________________________
Sophomore starting pitcher Harrison Pyatt delivers a pitch against University of the Pacific. The Aztecs have a 3.25 team ERA of this season. kirby crow, staff photographer
The difference a year can make atop the Mesa mayer pohlod staff writer ____________________________ It’s pretty incredible what can change in just one year. It’s not the majority of San Diego State baseball’s starting lineup, after they returned eight of their starting nine from last year, nor their coaching staff, headlined by head coach Mark Martinez and pitching coach Sam Peraza. The only major difference to notice is their record in 2017: 21-9. That’s a long way off from the
their tumultuous 2016 season in which they finished with 21 total wins and 38 losses. At roughly the same point last season, the Aztecs were 6-21. So what could be the difference to propel a sub-.500 team that would have had no chance of making the NCAA Regionals if they were in this year’s format to a possible Mountain West champion for the fourth time in the last five years? The simple answer is experience. Last year, the team was still transitioning into the new
leadership of Peraza, who had just returned to the Mesa after pitching for the Aztecs in 2002. One of the bigger impacts though is the change in culture, according to pitcher Brett Seeburger earlier in the season. Another important factor could also be how much of a good start SDSU got off to this season compared to last. Whereas before they lost 10 out of their first 11 games to open up the season, it was a bit of a different story this time
BASEBALL cont., P13
San Diego State ISCOR graduate Gholamrez “Robin” Shahini, who was sentenced to 19 years in an Iranian prison last July, was released on bail March 19, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran. Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi said the center confirmed Shahini was released through multiple firsthand sources. Ghaemi said Shahini is currently with his family in Iran, and is unable to leave the country. “Technically right now he has a travel ban because he was a prisoner,” he said. Ghaemi said the center is calling for Shahini’s immediate return to San Diego. SDSU student Sevil Suleymani, a friend of Shahini’s, said Shahini is awaiting a decision on his conviction from an appeals court. Suleymani said Shahini was released after about 30 days on a hunger strike. “His situation was very bad,” she said. “They obviously don’t want an American dying on their hands. So it’s nothing to do with the appeal court. To be honest, it was because (of) his health situation.” Suleymani said while she is relieved Shahini was let go on bail, she is still concerned for
file photo
his safety because the Iranian government can revoke his bail at will. “It still is not done,” she said. “There’s no guarantee he’s going to be free forever. They can ask him to go back to jail.” Shahini was arrested July 11, 2016, while visiting family in his hometown of Gorgan, Iran. In October 2016, Shahini was convicted of charges relating to espionage, collaboration with a hostile government and blasphemy. Shahini graduated from SDSU in May 2016, and was accepted into SDSU’s Homeland Security graduate program at the time of his arrest. A U.S. Department of State official said the agency is aware of Shahini’s release on bail and has no further comment at this time. The Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment.
SDSU students ‘Take Back the Week’
Returning university program works to raise awareness of sexual violence on college campuses julianna ress SENIOR STAFF WRITER ____________________________ Take Back the Week is returning to San Diego State to continue raising sexual violence awareness on April 10 to 15. Women’s Resource Center coordinator and women’s studies faculty member Jessica Nare said Take Back the Week is a collaborative effort on behalf of the Sexual Violence Taskforce, the Women’s Resource Center and student organizations and is SDSU’s extension of Take Back the Night, a nationwide college campus event. “The idea behind Take Back the Night is to reclaim
space on college campuses for survivors of sexual violence, to be loud and outspoken about the fact that sexual violence does occur and give a place for survivors to tell their stories,” she said. “It’s an activist event to move towards making campuses and universities safer for folks who have experienced sexual violence and to prevent it from happening.” Journalism sophomore Alexis Henry said she feels Take Back the Week helps people feel more comfortable discussing their experiences with sexual violence, a topic too often swept under the rug in everyday life. “Sexual assault is a very real thing that happens but
because it’s so taboo it’s not talked about enough,” Henry said. “Take Back the Week gives those who were victims of sexual assault the reassurance that they aren’t alone, the feelings they have are valid and we as a community are here to help them.” April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, so apart from Take Back the Night, campuses across the country are hosting programs and events centered around such issues. Take Back the Week presents fresh, new events each year, and this year’s coordinators have booked an especially diverse lineup of workshops, speakers and activities.
Nare said one of the big ticket events is “Grab ‘Em by the What?,” a discussion on sex, consent and American values hosted by sexologist Dr. Jenn Gunsaullus on Monday, April 10. “(Dr. Jenn) does a lot of work with couples and individuals around sexuality,” Nare said. “She’s also experienced a consent violation in the pretty recent past, so she’s going to talk about that and how we can improve our communication with our partners to have more positive sexual experiences.” Another Take Back the Week event anticipating a large draw is the screening of Aishah Simmons’s “No! The Rape
Documentary” followed by a discussion led by Simmons herself held on Wednesday, April 12. Students should also be on the lookout for the smaller workshops held during the week, such as Berenice Dimas’s workshop on connecting with ancestral strength to heal from violence taking place on Tuesday, April 11. Dimas is known in the San Diego and San Fernando Valley communities for her Hood Herbalism classes, also focusing on spirituality and healing.
AWARE continued, P15