Monday, August 28 - Tuesday, September 5, 2017 Weekly Print Edition
Vol. 104, Issue 1 www.thedailyaztec.com
San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
College hostile to conservatives, students say by Andrew Dyer EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
It was just a short, simple gripe on social media. “As a Republican in college, I am genuinely afraid to speak about my conservative views in fear of being stereotyped or labeled negatively.”
Michelle Shampton, a sophomore at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, said that in a tweet on March 17. It took a few days, but after a handful of retweets and replies, the tweet began to snowball. Within a week, it had been retweeted more than 1,000 times and garnered almost 4,000 replies
— most of which are negative. Shampton described the scrutiny as “harrowing.” “It was kind of like a life-changing experience for me,” she said. “The amount of criticism I was receiving really got to me and started making me upset. There were a couple days when I would just sit there and cry
reading the responses. I started getting a lot of death threats.” Many of the responses to her tweet talk about the fear of violence many people in minority communities experience on a day-to-day basis. Overall, it SEE CONSERVATIVE STUDENTS PAGE 3
Border crossings increase amid political uncertainty by Jocelyn Moran MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR
After U.S. Customs and Border Protection said construction of prototypes would be completed by September in a June press conference in Washington D.C., funding for President Donald Trump’s wall is yet to be approved by Congress. On Tuesday, Aug. 22, Trump threatened to shut down the government if Congress did not approve funding on the southern border in a rally in Phoenix. “Let me be very clear to Democrats in Congress who oppose the border wall and stand in the way of border security,” Trump said. “You are putting all of America’s safety at risk.” Days after entering office, Trump signed an executive order to hire 5,000 more border patrol agents to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but the hiring of those agents has proved to be a challenge. San Diego controls one of 20 sectors at the border with 2,400
Photo by Jocelyn Moran
A little boy from a family in Mexico looks through the fence at Friendship Park. Un niño de una familia mexicana ve a través de la frontera en Friendship Park. Ve historia completa en pagina 7
border patrol agents guarding it. In that sector, agents are responsible for 60 miles, with only 46 miles having some type of fence. Of those 46 miles, 13 miles have a second fence, taller than the first one. In a border tour given to members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists on Aug. 19 and led by border patrol agents Eduardo Olmos and Saul Rocha, Rocha said he believed the San Diego sector was understaffed. Rocha said a typical day at work involves going into the office, where the supervisor gives a safety brief and assignments. Agents then get their keys to their vehicle and have one hour to get to the location assigned.
The day consists of watching the fence for eight hours. He said when assigned to the mountains, agents are prepared to hike and work alone. According to a nationwide border patrol apprehensions list provided by U.S. Border Patrol San Diego’s apprehensions was over 65,500 in fiscal 2010, and in fiscal 2016, the number was close to 32,000. San Diego State economics professor James Gerber said more people have left the U.S. in comparison to those who have come to the U.S. “A lot of people think it is due to the efforts of the border agencies, but that is only one part of it,” he said. “A lot of it is the demographics of Mexi-
co. While Mexico’s economy isn’t in crisis, it is unlikely that there will be another wave of immigrants like in other times.” Through all sectors and in only the San Diego sector, the total number of apprehensions has increased between 2015 and 2016. Nationwide, there was a 23.3 percent increase between fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2016, and in San Diego, there was a 17.6 percent increase. Rocha said on average, 70 people are apprehended daily in the San Diego sector. Through July 31, in San Diego, the total number of apprehensions in 2017 is over 21,500.
SDSU to change policies for incoming students by Chris Bremer SENIOR STAFF WRITER
San Diego State is invoking a new housing policy for incoming freshmen, requiring first year students to live on campus for two years. This new housing policy, taking effect in fall 2019, is coupled with SDSU’s decision to make remedial mathematics and English courses credit bearing. Both new policies are being implemented to help increase four year graduation rates. The Housing Administration & Residential Education Office is supporting the policy based on “success data for freshmen and sophomores living on campus,” SDSU marketing coordinator Hannah Bowen said in an email. Despite the data, SDSU’s new housing policy has been met with mixed reviews from current students. “Two years is too much,” said Bryan Copeland, a sophomore and former on-campus resident. “Living on campus was a wonderful experience, but I couldn’t imagine doing it for two years in a row.” For others, two years on campus is livable, but restricting. “If I could choose who I wanted to live with and didn’t have to check people in and out – or really have RAs ¬¬¬– I wouldn’t mind it,” said Mary Sullivan, a junior and former on-campus resident. “Plus I wish I had a meal plan for two years.” In preparation for the additional students required to live on campus, SDSU will begin constructing more student housing. The latest addition to SDSU’s student housing, South Campus Plaza, was debuted in the spring 2017 semester and is capable of housing approximately 900 students, according to Bowen.
SEE NEW POLICIES, PAGE 8
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