11-08-2017

Wednesday, Nov. 8 - Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2017 Weekly Print Edition

Vol. 104, Issue 13 www.thedailyaztec.com

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

SDSU Senate votes to retire human mascot Resolution calls to end mascot character seen at sporting events and to form a task force on the appropriateness and use of the Aztec moniker.

by Bella Ross STAFF WRITER

The University Senate passed a resolution to retire the Aztec Warrior mascot and to form a task force to investigate the appropriateness of the continued usage of the Aztec moniker at a meeting on campus Tuesday evening.

It passed 5215, with two abstentions.

The final version of the resolution was a combination of two resolutions the University Senate discussed during the meeting, the first of which included a call to retire the current human representation of an Aztec — a figure commonly seen in

Illustrations by Mirella Lopez

the stands at sporting events.

It also recommended the university retire use of spears or “weapons that connote barbaric representations of the Aztec culture.”

The second resolution called for creating a task force that will investigate and make recommendations regarding the appropriateness of the continued usage of the Aztec moniker.

The task force will also make recommendations regarding an education component in relation to the Aztec identity.

This was an advisory vote, meaning that university president Sally Roush will be advised of the vote. She may approve or reject the resolution as a whole, or choose to adopt only parts of it.

Senate Chair Marcie BoberMichel said she is confident the resolution will not be approved

by Roush, although this is no reason to believe that the senate’s

message is not being heard.

“It sends a signal that this is not the end of the discussion — it’s the beginning,” Bober-Michel said.

Beth Chung, a management professor and member of the Diversity, Equity and Outreach Committee, said the Aztec mascot in its current state is very oppressive for some students.

“The Education Code of California states that singling out the Native Americans through the use of mascots, team names or nicknames creates a barrier to equality,” Chung said.

She said that senate members must also consider the objective negative effects of SEE MASCOT, PAGE 3

Aztecs Rock Hunger breaks record, again The Aztecs Rock Hunger Committee hosted an event on Nov. 3 to announce that the 2017 campaign exceeded its goal of collecting 500,000 pounds of food.

It was revealed at the event that a total of 588,915 pounds of food was raised during Aztecs Rock Hunger, which lasted from Sept.

30 through Oct. 22, beating the 2016 record of 448,240 pounds.

“I’m blown away that we were able to exceed the goal by quite a bit,” said Hayden Willis, Associated Students vice president of financial affairs and chair of the Aztecs Rock Hunger committee. “We would not have been able to do that without (the students’) support.”

The majority of the donations from the ARH campaign go to fighting food insecurity on

campus and throughout the San Diego region, while 20 percent of the monetary donations go to SDSU’s Economic Crisis Response Team, according to SDSU President Sally Roush.

“Those donations allow our Economic Crisis Response Team to connect students who face housing insecurity or other unforeseen financial crises with short term and long term aid,” she said.

Roush helped start Aztecs Rock Hunger at SDSU in 2008, in coordination with The Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank’s Colleges Rock Hunger campaign and Executive Director of Associated Students Dan Cornthwaite.

Jim Floros, CEO of the Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank, said Colleges Rock Hunger was initially a competition between several San Diego County colleges, but because SDSU’s donations were

so much larger than the other colleges, the campaign became known as Aztecs Rock Hunger.

“Aztecs Rock Hunger is one of my favorite university activities,” Roush said. “It’s an event that showcases our student leaders’ organization and marketing skills, as well as their compassion.”

Floros said approximately one in six people in San Diego struggle with food insecurity, including about 40 percent of San Diego college students. Floros and the San Diego Food Bank partnered with SDSU last year to open a food pantry on campus for students suffering from food insecurity.

“Our goal was either to support or start a food pantry on every college campus in the region,” Floros said.

“We want

people (to) not have to choose between buying books and paying for food.”

Several awards and recognitions were given out at the event to different SDSU organizations for their contributions to the campaign. Aztec Proud was recognized for raising 27,673 pounds of food and Aztecs Shops was recognized for raising 225,132 pounds.

To promote student involvement in the ARH Campaign, a competition was held to see which student organizations

organizations could contribute the most.

The awards for student o rg a n i z a t i o n s were divided SEE AZTECS ROCK HUNGER, PAGE 3

Illustration by Noah Callahan

by Amber Nelson STAFF WRITER

FOLLOW US /dailyaztec @TheDailyAztec

BOMB DOGS

A STAND-UP GUY

FLYING DUTCHMEN

The Milo Yiannopoulos speaking event never happened. The reasons remain unclear.

Comedian Brian Regan is set to bring his unique humor to San Diego.

SDSU senior soccer stars describe their journey together from The Netherlands to SDSU.

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@thedailyaztec /DailyAztecVideo

News............................... 2-3 Opinion............................. 4 Mundo Azteca................. 5-6 Arts & Culture................ 7-8 Sports............................ 9-11

News College Republicans say university officials’ bomb-sniffing dog claims don’t pass smell test 2

Nov. 8-14, 2017 EDITOR: Will Fritz, news@thedailyaztec.com

The Daily Aztec

by Will Fritz NEWS EDITOR

Controversial conservative figure Milo Yiannopoulos did not visit San Diego State last month, and one student group says the university is not being forthright in its explanation for not approving the event.

University representatives said they did not have the resources to address safety concerns relating to violence at other universities and that up to 20 bombsniffing dogs would be necessary to secure Montezuma Hall.

There’s just one problem.

The number of bomb dogs university police say would be necessary to secure the student union exceeds the number of bomb dogs used by at least three major local agencies combined.

SDSUPD Cpl. Mark Peterson said in an email that the potential for conflict at the proposed Yiannopoulos event was considerable.

“Given past incidents at other Milo Yiannopoulos events across the nation, bomb-like devices were identified,” Peterson said. “Thus, (police) had determined that bomb dogs would be a necessary component in securing the venue space.”

Peterson did not say how many bombsniffing dogs university police have access to, but a San Diego Police Department spokesman said city police have just five.

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department officials said they have none in the entire

county.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has four. Chris Willison of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said his agency does have access to dogs from allied agencies in extreme circumstances.

Willison said it’s difficult to come up with an estimate for how much area one bomb dog can cover, as it can vary widely depending on terrain.

College Republicans President Brandon Jones said requiring 20 bomb dogs to inspect Yiannopoulos’ speaking event seems ridiculous, especially since the College Republicans were only requesting Montezuma Hall as the venue for the event, not the entire student union.

“They were bluffing,” Jones said. “They needed an excuse, I think, to not have Milo come.”

After some back-and-forth about whether an official event had been scheduled, the College Republicans said officials informed them in an Oct. 3 meeting that the event, scheduled for Oct. 29, had been cancelled.

“I think the club feels, as a whole, that we kind of got screwed over, to be completely honest,” Jones said Nov. 2. “Now that the date has come and passed, we’ll be able to file legal action against the university and the people who were involved in making that decision.”

SDSU spokesperson Christine Hutchins said the university did not “cancel” the event, as there was never any confirmed event to cancel in the first place.

She said the event had never been

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A university police cruiser parked near the Malcolm A. Love Library

finalized, and that the club had merely requested a hold on the venue space that was subject to a number of conditions including a security assessment.

“The Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union venue’s footprint is over 200,000 square feet,” Hutchins said in an email. “Based on collective input from the law enforcement planning team, a six-hour lead time is necessary … estimates of approximately 1520 bomb dogs were noted.”

Jones pointed to Cal State Fullerton, where Yiannopoulos’ Oct. 31 speaking event — two days after the scheduled date of SDSU’s — went on without a hitch, save for eight arrests.

“It’s clear that Cal State Fullerton was

able to pull off a fairly safe event with Milo coming,” Jones said, “and the fact that San Diego State is in the same Cal State system as Cal State Fullerton…it’s kind of shady that the event couldn’t happen here at SDSU. All of the arrestees were protesting Yiannopoulos’ appearance, and only one was detained and taken to jail, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“That’s why the police are there,” Jones said. “That’s why we have security at events like this. And so that’s not a Milo issue. That’s a resistance issue. That’s students who are coming out to disrupt the event, and they got arrested for breaking the law. That has nothing to do with the conservative students on campus trying to have a speaker come.”

News

Nov. 8-14, 2017 EDITOR: Will Fritz, news@thedailyaztec.com

The Daily Aztec

3

Panel criticizes China on organ trafficking

by Lauren J. STAFF WRITER

Mapp

In China, practitioners of a spiritual practice called Falun Gong are arrested without cause, held without trial, tortured, killed and harvested for organs, according to several members of an anti-trafficking panel held on campus last week.

Falun Gong is a Chinese spiritual practice that dates back to the early 1990s.

The Chinese government describes it as a terrorist organization, though critics say followers have never been implicated in any violence.

“What’s going on in China in regards to transplantations is mass killing of innocent people and a cover up,” former Canadian Secretary of State David Kilgour said.

Kilgour, and human rights lawyer David Matas — both of whom co-authored two reports and a book on organ trafficking — were among the panelists at the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center on Nov. 1.

According to their research, there were 41,500 transplants performed with organs from Falun Gong practitioners between 2000 and 2005.

When a census study in 1999 found that there were close to 100 million Falun Gong followers in China, the government, under former president Jiang Zemin, began to imprison practitioners.

Grace Huiying Li, a former Falun Gong prisoner, spoke to the panel through a translator.

Describing the torture that she saw and

heard of while imprisoned in China, Li said her father died after a year as a result of the abuse. She said she was held in the labor camp for three years, working 16 to 17 hours per day.

Women in the prison camp were forcibly penetrated with inanimate objects such as broken mop handles and jagged glass, Li said. When she asked prison guards about the torture that other women had suffered, she was locked in a cage as punishment.

“I was so outraged, so when I saw the head of the prison guards I questioned her,” Li said. “They said I was spreading rumors, so they locked me in the iron cage.

They handcuffed my arms to the back and I stood there for seven days and seven nights with sleep deprivation. The images of those days are hard to forget — to this day, it still haunts me.”

She said everyone in the prison camp would have their blood tested even though they did not receive medical treatment after being tortured. Blood testing is suspected to be used to make antemortem matches of prisoners to those in need of organ transplants.

Dr. Shizong Chen, an anti-trafficking activist who works in the biotechnology, talked about the differences between ethical and unethical organ transplantations.

“In parts of the world with ethical organ transplantation, they maintain databases of waiting lists that help patients match to available organs that often come from unpredictable tragedies,” Chen said.

“Instead of that, in China, there is no

Photo by Lauren J. Mapp

David Kilgour and David Matas during a panel on human organ trafficking at the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center.

waiting list. On the contrary, China’s regime systematically screens in a database for those healthy people who do not need organ transplantation and could not possibly benefit from such databases.”

California State Sen. Joel Anderson, R-El Cajon, said that the imprisonment, torture, execution and subsequent use of Falun Gong organs for transplants is a modern Holocaust.

“I don’t want to be one of those people who says ‘I wish I had, I could have,’” Anderson said. “I want to be one that stood in the breach when it came time to stand up for my fellow man to stand against genocide.”

Anderson, who’s an anti-trafficking advocate, is currently working to bring California State Senate Joint Resolution 10 to the floor for a vote. If passed, the resolution would call for China to

cease “forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong prisoners,” according to a petition Anderson was asking attendees to sign.

A paper from the World Health Organization on international organ trading released in December 2007 discussed a study of transplant tourism and organimporting countries. Through researching medical articles from Medline/PubMed, the organization sought to determine the scope of the organ trade.

Researchers found that illegal transplants led to a “heightened frequency of medical complications, including the transmission of HIV and the hepatitis B and C viruses,” according to the paper.

China maintains that organ transplants are not part of a system of persecution against practitioners of Falun Gong, nor are they occurring at the rate described by Matas and Kilgour.

Mascot:

continued from page 1 such mascots.

“The social science literature talks about the harmful effects of this kind of stereotyping,” Chung said.

Mara Cappello, an associate professor of teacher education, said she is strongly in support of resolution.

“I am in support of the resolution because it asks for a gathering of information and we’re a group of academics,” Cappello said. “If we’re not going to be in favor of gathering information then I don’t understand what we represent.”

Carin Crawford, head coach of the women’s water polo team and member of the University Senate, said she believes we need to consider our identities as members of the university community, and that she opposed the resolution.

“I certainly think this is an issue of the identity of the university and what it means to be a San Diego State Aztec, not an Aztec 500 years ago,” Crawford said.

“Those are different things.”

A number of protesters from the Native American Student Alliance were also present outside of the meeting prior to its start.

“Today we came with other members in solidarity to show the University Senate that we’re aware of this issue and that our voices will not continue to be silenced,” said American Indian studies junior Lane Yazzie, “and to show them that they’re voting on our behalf and they’re representing students and to hold them accountable.”

American Indian studies lecturer Ozzie Monge, who was also protesting, said the Aztec mascot discussion should not be a question as to whether the Aztec mascot is racist.

“The question is not ‘is this racist?’ or ‘is this problematic?’” Monge said. “It is. The question is ‘do we want this to continue to represent us?’”

Photo by Petey Dyer

A.S. Vice President of Financial Affairs Hayden Willis celebrates a successful Aztecs Rock Hunger campaign.

Aztecs Rock Hunger:

continued from page 1 into the following categories: Most hours volunteered: Theta Chi Fraternity Most hours volunteered proportional to membership: MEDLIFE SDSU Most donations by a community business partner: Woodstock’s Pizza, 1094 pounds of food Most donations by a residence hall:

Cuicacalli Residence Hall, 251 pounds of food Most donations by a sports club: SDSU Dance Team, 2,523 pounds of food Most donations by an A.S. board or committee: A.S. Judicial Affairs Council, 2,280 pounds of food.

Most donations by a college council: SDSU College of Health and Human Services, 13,338 pounds of food Most donations by a student organization: Rotaract of SDSU, 5,445 pounds of food Most donations by a sorority: Alpha Chi Omega sorority, 15,954 pounds of food Most donations by a fraternity: Phi

Kappa Psi fraternity, 30,281 pounds of food Willis said while the donations made by the ARH campaign were considerable, a lot more are needed to combat food insecurity year-round. Willis said he encourages members of the SDSU community to contribute to fighting hunger by donating to or volunteering for the A.S. Food Pantry and the Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank.

“I’m so happy to say that we can raise the bar again this year,” he said. “Hopefully we can hoist a bigger number up there next year.”

4

Opinion

The Daily Aztec

Nov. 8-14, 2017 EDITOR: Dana Tsuri-Etzioni, opinion@thedailyaztec.com

Interdisciplinary major eases stress of students at a crossroads

by Cassidy McCombs SENIOR STAFF WRITER

What is the point of getting an undergraduate degree? San Diego State prides itself on being a diverse campus – and it is. All students are welcomed. If someone is present, attending school and attempting academic success, they have an expectation as to why they’re here.

Many transfer students come to SDSU with the expectation to be on a two-year track plan. However, these students soon learn that between nontransferable general education courses and major requirements, their time at SDSU will be longer than the two-year plan. Another set of students experiencing a change in expectation are students who are struggling to meet major and impact requirements to further their degree progress. These students have obstacles that force them to re-evaluate and modify their purpose and goals as a student.

This is where the interdisciplinary major comes as an alternative and successful route for students. The interdisciplinary major emphasizes course work — six lower division units and nine to 18 upper division units — in three disciplines across campus.

This major allows students to select every class and the

distribution of units between the three disciplines with approval from each department’s major advisor.

The major is a different way of approaching a degree track plan, but that doesn’t make it less rigorous. It is a structured way to give space for student success despite limitations that may exist in a case-by-case level.

Some students come into their major freshman year, with plans of how each discipline will relate to others, while other students enter this major with 90 credits because they were unable to pursue their original major.

“The [latter] group make up most the students in this major, it was primarily designed for them but that does not mean I do not welcome the smaller group of students who approach me their freshman year,” said the interdisciplinary studies and undeclared advisor Paul Justice.

It is ideal to have a track plan for graduation, without pitfalls and major complications. The sad reality is that some students hit walls on their journey to earning a degree. Self-identity and self-worth are defined on a college campus through academic success.

“We are not an exclusory major. We have students from across campus, in different points of their degree track, who have

hit obstacles or are unable to continue with their degree,” said Justice.

“What we do is not just reactive.

Every semester I gather data from across campus of students that have 40 or more units and are not meeting impaction requirements and I approach the departments that have several of these students to form a structured plan to provide an alternative route for them.”

Students should have the ability to succeed and achieve a degree.

It doesn’t matter if that degree is not what they transferred for.

Some students arrive at SDSU and end up transferring or dropping out. But, some students are capable and want to continue their learning at SDSU despite complications. The interdisciplinary studies major offers an efficient and purposeful alternative to students who are ready to graduate with a degree.

There is a stigma surrounding this degree. For students, it is the expectation for the degree they wanted versus the result of having to pursue an alternative route. For faculty and other departments, this major compromises the integrity of an individual degree.

“Some major advisers and faculty ask, ‘why should we reward students who do not perform into their majors’ but I ask, ‘why should students be

penalized for not succeeding in another major?’” said Justice.

Many departments work with Justice to support individual students who are not succeeding in their current major. The Health and Human Services department has an unadvertised track plan designed with Justice to help their students who do not meet the impact GPA. Other departments, such as rhetoric and writing studies, welcome interdisciplinary students and support them in achieving their degrees.

“When I think of advocating for students, I think about being out there, and on behalf of students, lobbying other folks to support them. We promote and support student success, but if we advocate it is through developing relationships with departments all around campus. We want all students to ultimately succeed.

So, I guess in full circle, we do advocate,” said Justice.

Whether advocating is something you want, sometimes it is something you need. Students may not come to SDSU wanting to be an interdisciplinary studies major, but it gives a space for students to succeed.

Cassidy McCombs is a senior studying interdisciplinary studies.

Connect with her on Twitter @Cassidy_McCombs and Instagram @cassidyemily.

SPECIAL COMMENTARY

How SDSU west campus would benefit all Dave Smith

impact to the community can happen when private enterprise For the past several months, the and public investment get San Diego State Alumni With a involved.

UCSD and Stanford University Vision have been trying to get are examples of what a vibrant the SDSU leadership to consider campus and research complex reusing the existing SDCCU can contribute to its community. stadium as an alternative to a new Current students should care stadium. because most will have at least The time delay, demo difficulties 40 years of affiliation with the and cost make new stadium university after they graduate. construction a less realistic and unnecessary approach on the The value of that relationship will either grow or diminish as SDSU SDSU West site.

But, all the talk about the either grows or diminishes.

All the top tier California stadium misses the more universities in the state have important question that trumps had room to grow — or were all other SDSU West discussions. obligated to buy space. The Do SDSU and the City of San expansion of USC came at a high Diego understand the magnitude price, but it elevated the facilities, of the opportunity that the stature and academic relevance of Mission Valley site presents? the campus.

The opportunity is for a worldThe Mission Valley site provides class university campus on the such an opportunity. But bold entire site. thinking is required, and so far SDSU has limited alternatives the thinking isn’t bold enough. for expansion other than Mission SDSU West should not be a Valley. It’s close and already mixed use, mostly commercial connected to campus by the light development with short-term rail system. Now, a place to grow profit requirements that take is available. priority over campus expansion SDSU is making a run at elements.

It’ s also not about it. However, The SDSU West plan sports venues.

suggests a commercial project We call upon the student with some campus elements and body to communicate with the a boutique stadium. administration that a campus Envision a world class on all of the Mission Valley site university campus and research be the stated objective for SDSU center, set within a large park West. system. It can become the We call upon the alumni to intellectual, cultural and athletic communicate the same.We call center of California’s second upon the City of San Diego to largest city. Significant economic

by

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 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 VOLUNTEER EDITORS COPY EDITOR Brian del Carmen EDITOR-AT-LARGE Jacob Sisneros ART DIRECTOR Aiden Prehatny GRAPHICS ASSISTANT Noah Callahan SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Emely Navarro Julianna Ress Talia Raoufpur Cassidy McCombs STAFF WRITERS Kyle Saunders Amber Nelson Bella Ross Lauren J. Mapp Madeleine Schwarz Paula Niederland Marcela Camargo Christina Corona CONTRIBUTORS Carolina López STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Petey Dyer Weicheng Han Angelica Wallingford Mikayla LoBasso ________________________________ ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Connor Brooke SALES MANAGER Peter Saridakis

The SDCCU stadium in Mission Valley.

recognize the magnitude of the SDSU West opportunity. This is not just about accommodating a growing university.

It’s about the creation of a campus that has economic, social, cultural and recreational ramifications for generations to come.

Sports teams and companies come and go but top tier educational institutions are rooted into communities.

The city can help make this vision a reality. A good start would be to grant ownership of the site and stadium to SDSU. This represents a small piece of the overall investments that will be made over the years to plan and develop such a campus.

This is an easier sell than either

Photo by Angelica Wallingford

the SDSU West or Soccer City ballot initiatives because the objectives are clearer and the overall plan is more beneficial to the community.

An easy choice, but you have to want it. You have to insist on it. You need to be heard.

Who is more important to an educational institution than its students now and in the future?

You have the power, but only if you use it.

Make SDSU one of the great universities of this country by championing the concept of SDSU West — a world class university campus.

Dave Smith is an alumnus of SDSU from the graduating class of 1969.

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 SPECIALIST Christopher Blakemore ________________________________ 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.

Nov. 8-14, 2017 EDITOR: Jocelyn Moran, mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

Mundo Azteca

The Daily Aztec

5

San Diego State dedica su altar del Día de los Muertos al fin de DACA Fotos e Historia por Marcela Camargo ESCRITORA

El departamento de estudios chicana y chicano y el Centro para los Estudios Latinoamericanos llevaron a cabo el evento formal del Día de los Muertos el primero de noviembre en el edificio de Artes y Letras en San Diego State.

“Es una manera de pensar en esas personas (quines fallecieron), honrarlas, recordarlas y también, aprender de ellas”, dijo Dra. Norma Iglesias-Prieto, profesora del departamento de estudios chicana y chicano.

La temática de este año fue dedicada a los soñadores y el fin de la Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia. Sin embargo, el motivo del altar fue recalcar que aunque los beneficios de DACA se hayan

eliminado, los sueños de los soñadores permanecen más vivos que nunca.

“Me parece muy conmovedor”, dijo Rachel Fine, coordinadora administrativa del departamento de sociología. “Me gusta el simbolismo, y me gusta que hayan utilizado un grande problema político”.

María Ibarra, jefa del departamento de estudios chicana y chicano, comenzó por agradecer a todos los presentes, especialmente a todas las personas quienes contribuyeron a crear el altar de muertos.

Además, mencionó que este es el quinceavo año que el departamento de estudios chicana y chicano y el Centro para

los Estudios Latinoamericanos organizan este evento.

Durante el evento, los asistentes tuvieron la oportunidad de deleitarse con la música de Eduardo Parra, un músico originario de Veracruz, quien hizo aplaudir a todos al ritmo de sus canciones.

Parra también improvisó cantando una calavera, la cual es un tipo de poema tradicional en México que se compone durante la temporada del Día de los Muertos. Las calaveras son una parodia hacia la muerte, e incluso, a figuras políticas o alguna otra autoridad.

Parra dedicó su calavera a los estudiantes de SDSU y a DACA. En ella, recalcó que aunque

Los altares fueron dedicados a DACA para demostrar que aunque DACA fue revocado, los sueños de los dreamers siguen vivos.

el Presidente Donald Trump haya eliminado a DACA, los estudiantes de SDSU seguirán luchando. Después de esta calaca, los asistentes siguieron pidiendo canciones.

Profesor del departamento de estudios chicana y chicano Isidro Ortiz compartió un poco sobre la historia de DACA y repartió hojas con datos útiles acerca de esta política migratoria.

También habló de algunas ideas falsas que se tienen acerca de los inmigrantes.

“La inmigración es un fenómeno global, no sólo es mexicano”, dijo Ortiz.

Al finalizar el evento formal, Ibarra invitó a los presentes a degustar un café con pan dulce y

a acercarse a observar el altar de muertos.

El altar de muertos se destacó no sólo por sus colores vivos, sino por los objetos que se podían apreciar en él. Incluso, muchos de estos objetos fueron elaborados por estudiantes y soñadores de SDSU. Uno de estos objetos era un mapa que indicaba el número de soñaadores por estado y decía “¿y ahora qué? Puede que DACA esté muerto, pero nosotros seguimos aquí, todos los 800.000 soñadores”.

“Tal vez DACA se encuentre comprometido actualmente, pero no la vida y los sueños de nuestros dreamers”, dijo Dra. Iglesias-Prieto.

6

The Daily Aztec

Mundo Azteca

Nov. 8-14, 2017 EDITOR: Jocelyn Moran, mundoazteca@thedailyaztec.com

Columna: Cómo la procrastinación ha afectado a mis estudios diarios por Carolina CONTRIBUIDORA

López

La procrastinación se ha convertido en un estilo de vida entre los universitarios, y en ocasiones, es un tema para reírse con amistades cuando las consecuencias no son graves.

El día en que viajé cinco horas para mi orientación en San Diego State, me dieron la noticia que mi admisión había sido revocada.

No fue motivo de risa para mí.

Teniendo mi hospedaje en San Diego, haber publicado en mis redes sociales de mi translado y haberme despedido de mis amistades, sentí que el mundo se me venía encima.

No llegaron a tiempo mis expedientes académicos, los cuales envíe a última hora. Lo único que me daba esperanza era que tal vez, me podrían volver a admitir cuando les llegaran los expedientes.

Días después, me avisaron que había sido admitida nuevamente.

El día que aplique a SDSU no fue excepción. Recuerdo mi corazón palpitando rápidamente y mi dedo temblando mientras presionaba el botón de “enviar” a las 11:59 p.m., faltando un

minuto para que terminara la fecha límite.

A pesar de haber llegado a este punto, siempre he sido una estudiante que hace las cosas a la última hora, aunque tenga que dormirme hasta las siete de la mañana del dia siguiente.

Por un tiempo largo, quise llamarlo ansiedad o falta de concentración.

Es como si un diablo y un ángel, como en las peliculas, estan a mis dos costados, donde uno me dice que inicie inmediatamente y el otro dice que me relaje conforme se acerca la fecha de entrega.

Encontré todo tipo de explicaciones y métodos para combatirlo, pero nadie parecía tener una receta mágica.

No quería esperar a que me sucediera otra cosa parecida, y con consecuencias irremediables, para poder cambiar. Ya estaba cansada de noches de desvelo y de mis calificaciones, las cuales comenzaron a bajar a nivel universitario.

Supongo que puedo aceptar que es una tendencia natural del ser humano, pero, así, como todas las tendencias malas, puedo tratar de controlarlas y que no se salgan de control.

Un estudiante de San Diego State escoge ver una serie en Netflix en vez de completar su tarea.

Trato de mimarme antes de comenzar una tarea, pero me prometo un castigo si no lo cumplo. Cedo a mis impulsos y tendencias a procrastinar pero me atengo a las consecuencias,

siempre y cuando no lleguen a ser graves.

Es por esto que he comenzado a vivir conforme a la frase en inglés “game the system”, en referencia a mi ser. Me duele el no

Foto por Jocelyn Moran

salir un fin de semana por causa de la tarea.

Quisiera llegar a tener una vida ordenada, sin preocupaciones, sin falta de sueño, con metas cumplidas y con relaciones sanas.

Arts & Culture

Nov. 8-14, 2017 EDITOR: Cami Buckman, arts@thedailyaztec.com

Scene at State: Meet Yuuki

by Madeleine STAFF WRITER

Schwarz

Whether it be the temperature dropping below 70 degrees or the return of Starbucks’ holiday cups, sweater weather has arrived, letting fall fashion finally thrive.

This changing of weather sprinkles autumn magic throughout campus—in the air, the leaves and, most importantly, the clothes.

Interdisciplinary studies senior Yuuki Rosby bopped his head to the music in his headphones, kicking up leaves with his scuffed

red converse as he strolled coolly through the farmer’s market.

Rosby’s thick, patterned vintage sweater oozed fall coziness, paired perfectly with cuffed black skinny jeans.

His vibrant personality shined through his customized backpack, adorned with colorful paint, patches and pins.

To top off his vintage look, Rosby added a pair of cardinalcolored frames and a gold septum piercing.

Journalism junior Nick Drammissi admired Rosby’s fall get-up.

How do you define your style?

I like vintage, really quirky kinds of clothes. Eclectic, with different colors all mismatched. In middle school I used to just wear black and white, which is really easy, but then I tried wearing a lot of different colors and it worked. I really like customized clothes.

What are you excited to wear for fall?

Turtlenecks! I’ve been meaning to buy bell bottoms, but I don’t know if I can pull that off. I have this fur jacket that I lowkey want to wear to class, it’s this awesome white fur coat, but everywhere I go it leaves fur all over the place. So, turtlenecks, sweaters, bell bottoms and fur are what I’m really looking forward to. Also since it’s almost winter I can finally start wearing my hair down.

I really like watching old ‘80s movies. I love how ridiculous their style is, with the shoulder pads

Photos by Madeleine Schwarz

Yuuki Rosby’s vintage thrifted sweater, paired with his specks from Zenni Optical, are perfect for fall.

and big hair and all that. I want to emulate that ridiculousness, how absurd it is. I’ve been really digging The Romantics—their hair is so big, so I’ve been growing my hair out. My mom is Japanese, so I watch a lot of ‘70s Japanese TV shows and try to pick up on that style.

Where are your favorite places to shop?

My favorite thrift store is the Veterans Thrift Store, they have this great dollar rack that I usually go for. I like the Buffalo Exchange.

I just recently went to Topman and

I like it, but it’s pretty expensive.

I love Burlington Coat Factory, I always find shoes there. Actually, I get most of my shoes from Ross or Burlington, because it’s really hard to find shoes in my size. Either that or from my friends — friends’ closets are my favorite stores.

What is your go-to outfit for going to class?

I like wearing jeans, a white t-shirt and some crazy jacket.

Jeans and a t-shirt always work together, with headphones and my dirty Converse that my mom hates so much.

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“I like Yuuki’s style because everything he’s wearing is either thrifted or not too expensive. It shows his creativity because he didn’t just go out and buy the most expensive, coolest new sweater,” Drammissi said. “He puts his own little twist on everything he wears.”

Where do you find your style inspiration?

Rosby’s customized Herschel backpack shows off his unique and vibrant personality.

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Arts & Culture

Nov 8-14, 2017 EDITOR: Cami Buckman, arts@thedailyaztec.com

Brian Regan set to visit San Diego The observational comedian brings his unique brand of humor to delight audiences with his stand-up and charm

by Cami Buckman ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Joining the ranks of comedy greats like Jerry Seinfeld and Dave Chappelle, Brian Regan is like a rotisserie chicken in the world of seasoned stand-up comedians.

From Pop-Tarts to glasses of water, Regan’s observational humor has proven him to become

“It was a very generic, normal upbringing,” he said. “In a way that has been a part of my comedy because my comedy comes from an every man’s perspective who has lived a pretty basic kind of life.”

Athletic training senior Hannah Galsterer has been a fan of Regan’s since high school.

“He has a simplistic form of

“I went to college thinking I was going to be an accountant, and now I stand on stage telling jokes.”

– Brian Regan, Comedian

one of the top stand-up comics in the industry.

“I’ve been doing comedy for 97 years,” Regan said. “I have an AARP card, so that’ll give you an idea of how long I’ve been doing comedy.”

He said he started officially doing comedy around 1981.

His time in the industry has led him to appear numerous times on shows like “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and on the “Late Show with David Letterman.”

Regan grew up near Miami, Florida. He said some of his comedic style can be attributed to his “Leave It to Beaver” early life.

comedy,” Galsterer said. “His content isn’t vulgar, and he doesn’t need to use profanity to attract his audience and make them laugh.”

Regan has a reputation as a “family-friendly” comic, but he said these kinds of labels can be limiting.

“If somebody has never seen my comedy and they hear ‘Oh he’s clean,’ they’re going to picture something that is probably quite different that what I do,” he said.

He likes to use The Beatles as an example of this.

“If you say to someone ‘Wow you should listen to The Beatles they’re very clean, they’re

amazingly clean, all of their songs are clean,’ you wouldn’t picture The Beatles,” Regan said. “I feel the same way about comedy, it’s a small part of the overall picture.”

Unlike many other comedians, Brian didn’t make a name for himself from landing a hit sitcom or dramatic role.

Performing at least 100 standup shows annually, Regan doesn’t shy away from bringing his unique brand of humor to a variety of people. He said traveling this extensively takes a special kind of balance.

“I’m insane, unsane, nonsane,” Regan said. “We’re all jugglers in life, so I’m jugging my career, I have kids, I have goals, I have dreams, I travel, I like to golf, I like to sleep—I try to juggle everything and have time for a different part of my life.”

Regan will be visiting San Diego on his stand-up tour Nov. 17 at the Balboa Theater. On top of his touring, the first of his two new Netflix specials, “Nunchucks and Flamethrowers,” will premiere Nov. 21.

Linguistics senior Katrin Tharp recently started watching Regan’s stand-up and has become a fan.

“I have been trying to find new stand-up to watch, so I’m excited for his new Netflix special,” she said.

Before his days selling out arenas and traveling the world with his humor, Regan attended Heidelberg College in Ohio.

Courtesy of Friedman Bergman

Comedian Brian Regan will bring his stand up to San Diego Nov. 17 at the Balboa Theater.

“(I studied) astrophysical kinesiology, oh no I’m sorry, communication and theater arts,” he said.

He dropped out of school to pursue stand-up comedy, but eventually finished his degree in 1997.

“The cool thing about standup is I have yet to go to a venue where they say ‘Can’t come in here unless you have a college degree,’” Regan said.

He said he thinks too much pressure is put on young people to figure out their life plan.

“I went to college thinking I

was going to be an accountant, and now I stand on stage telling jokes,” Regan said. “It’s normal and natural to change, so be open and willing to go where the wind blows you.”

He’s not much for overselling himself, but Regan hopes the students of San Diego State can take a little something from his special.

“I’ve already contacted the powers be, and everyone will be awarded three credit hours by watching my special,” he said.

“So for that reason alone, people should watch.”

Black Xpression empowers and unites community

by Paula Niederland STAFF WRITER

La Bodega Gallery undergoes a transformation every Friday: art gallery by day, Black Xpression by night.

Black Xpression is a space where individuals of all backgrounds perform a piece of any kind in an open mic setting.

Each performer has five minutes per piece and if someone with the microphone

says “if you feel it,” the audience responds, “express it.”

While the audience is welcome to participate in performances by clapping, snapping and responding, no negative commentary is tolerated within the space.

San Diego State multimedia junior Ronald Williams used four words to describe the organization.

“Black. Empowerment. Unity.

Community,” he said.

Photo by Mikayla LoBasso

Raqui Carson performs “Self Reflection” during the Black Xpression event held Nov. 3.

Williams is the founder of Black Xpression.

“When people hear ‘black,’ they think African-American off the bat, but ‘black’ I really (think) is anybody who has ever felt like their voice wasn’t heard, or their vision wasn’t accepted or their lifestyle wasn’t seen as the norm,” Williams said. “We try to fill that need of what do people want to talk about, what do people want to discuss and what groups of people aren’t being heard?”

Psychology freshman Raqui Carson spoke at Black Xpression’s open mic session on Nov. 3. “(Black Xpression) is like our voice of empowerment because we as the black community have been shushed for so long and we’re trying to find opportunities to speak out and to make our issues known to people,” Carson said.

Black Xpression was created about a year and a half ago when Williams and a group of performing students put together an event at the restaurant Caribbean Pleasures.

From Caribbean Pleasures, Black Xpression moved its creative space to a church on Logan Ave. The group then moved across the street to its present day location when the church relocated elsewhere.

“I saw that there wasn’t really a space for open dialogue anymore,” Williams said. “There wasn’t really a space to come and kind of just shed that vulnerable layer of yourself into the world and also be accepted for that.”

Black Xpression creates this space for people while advocating self-empowerment, social consciousness and leadership.

“Here you see a very diverse group of people and I feel like that’s because we’re just accepting of so many different cultures and experiences that people have, (so) people feel open to come here and share that with everybody,” Williams said.

The organization often features guest appearances.

Rudy Francisco, a native San Diegan and poet, performed at Black Xpression Oct. 27.

Carson performed “Self Reflection,” a blend of spoken word poetry and song, at the event.

“Self Reflection is just me breaking down everything that I’ve gone through and just opening up my heart and being open-minded to situations and not being so self-conscious,” Carson said. “There’s a lot of people out there who have that same feeling.”

The types of performances featured at Black Xpression

are not restricted to any single category. This includes singing, spoken word poetry, dancing, playing beats and freestyle rapping.

Black Xpression presented some skits during their Nov. 3 performance to educate the audience on proper ways to handle situations regarding mental health in honor of mental awareness month.

“The fact that we talk about literally everything in Black Xpression is healing, (and so is) listening to people and knowing that someone else is going through the same thing that you are going through,” Carson said.

Black Xpression does not fear discussion of real life issues and uncomfortable topics.

The organization’s drive stems from its willingness to be open and raw.

The performances cover topics such as unrequited love, environmental awareness, experiences faced by AfricanAmericans in classrooms, rape culture and how it feels to be asked, “what are you?”

Black Xpression meets at 8 p.m. every Friday at La Bodega Gallery to address and normalize the discussion of important issues.

People can follow Black Xpression through its Facebook page and Instagram, xpress_it.

Nov. 8-14, 2017 EDITOR: Zach Engberg, sports@thedailyaztec.com

Sports

The Daily Aztec

9

Aztecs return to NCAA Tournament

by Christina STAFF WRITER

Corona

After two years of heartbreak, the six San Diego State women’s soccer seniors are going out on top of the Mountain West Conference.

“I couldn’t stop smiling the entire night,” senior forward Aaliyah Utush said. “My intention was to score and to not come into the game wanting to perform a hat trick, it just happened. I’m really proud of our team.”

The Aztecs, led by Utush’s hat trick, defeated the University of New Mexico, 3-0, in Las Vegas, to win their first Mountain West title since 2014.

The victory gave the Aztecs (12-7-2) a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014, and the team will open the tournament against No. 2 seed UCLA on Friday.

SDSU had lost in penalty kicks in each of the last two MW championship games, both in front of its home fans at the SDSU Sports Deck.

SDSU head coach Mike Friesen said he believed this team deserved the title.

“Each championship is different,” Friesen said. “I believe we were the best team at the tournament. It was a big step in our progress to win the game and to get the stress off of us.”

The Aztecs and Lobos both struggled to score in a windy first period, going goalless into halftime after a combined 14 shots.

Friesen said the heavy wind played a part in the opening half struggles.

“We chose to go in the wind, and New Mexico’s foot throws and long passes were definitely against us,” Friesen said. “We

Photo by Kelly Smiley

Senior forward Aaliyah Utush darts past a Spartan defender during SDSU’s 0-0 draw with San Jose State on Oct. 6.

didn’t play the way we wanted to play, we created many chances and couldn’t execute.”

Friesen said his halftime talk was a reminder for his players to stick to the gameplan.

“The halftime talk was about making plays and getting the ball on the ground,” Friesen said. “We need to play the way we want to play and to do what we’ve been doing all year, win.”

The first goal of the game came when Utush rushed down the field and shot from the left post past New Mexico sophomore goalkeeper Emily Johnson in the 57th minute.

“Coming out of the the first half, we now

have the wind against us,” Utush said. “The wind died down and after scoring the first goal, it took the pressure off us and put more pressure on New Mexico.”

Nearly 20 minutes after the first goal, Utush scored her second goal off a through ball from senior defender Hailey Balma.

Utush went one-on-one with New Mexico redshirt senior defender Emily Chavez, gaining control and sending a laser into the net to give the Aztecs a 2-0 lead.

“At that point, I felt that the game was entirely ours,” Utush said. “I was more in awe than any other feeling.”

Utush added one more goal, slipping between several UNM defenders and

sending a shot past Johnson’s hands to make the score 3-0.

It was Utush’s ninth goal of the season.

This will be Utush’s second time competing in the NCAA tournament, the first since her freshman year.

“What will be different this time than the last NCAA tournament will be who we are playing against,” Utush said. “We need to find out who we are playing and learning the style of plays for another win.”

Friesen said the Aztecs are going into the competition strong and confident.

“This week we will see where we’re going and who we’re playing,” Friesen said. “We won’t just show up, but we’re going to win.”

O-line making up for midseason missteps in big way

by Kyle Saunders STAFF COLUMNIST

The San Diego State running back corps stole the show Saturday night against San Jose State, rushing for a school-record 554 yards.

The Aztecs, with their backs against the wall after consecutive losses to Boise State and Fresno State, have since shattered the perceived image of how good this team is after back-to-back blowout victories over University of Hawaii and San Jose State.

As the season enters its final stretch, SDSU is catching fire at the right time.

Better late than never, right?

There haven’t been any major changes to the starting lineup, but the team appears to have refound its early season form.

The million dollar question after these last two dominating victories for SDSU is what has possessed this team to play this well?

“After those two big weeks I felt our confidence level for running the ball was kind of low, so we met as a team sunday and said we have to get our confidence back and find our mojo,” senior running back Rashaad Penny said.

Penny is the feature piece of the Aztecs offense, but as the old saying goes, a running back is only as good as his offensive line.

We’ve seen what this team looks like when the big guys up front seemingly sleep through games, and there was a lot of doubt in the inexperience and health of this line.

These last two games, however, have proved that the offensive line isn’t defined by their mistakes.

If you watch game film from the last two contests, you’ll see a healthy and explosive line that is dominating the line of scrimmage and creating huge running

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Photo courtesy of Kavin Mistry, The Spear

Senior running back Rashaad Penny cuts into the open field on his way to a touchdown in the third quarter of SDSU’s 52-7 win over San Jose State on Nov. 4.

lanes for the endless stream of rushers.

SDSU has left no room for doubt that they can run the rock, and Penny, who leads the nation in rushing yards with 1602, has taken his game to another level.

Penny is in his best form of the season, rushing for 487 yards and five touchdowns in the past two games.

He has not only dominated his opponents on the field, he’s also dominated the majority of headlines regarding SDSU football.

“We talk about our running backs a lot and that’s OK… Rashaad’s as good as anyone in the country,” head coach Rocky Long said following Saturday night’s blowout win.

The Aztecs’ rushing attack is currently 15th in the nation, averaging 247.3 yards per game, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Senior cornerback Kameron Kelly said that the team continues to build their momentum up week by week “Every week we’re getting more and more confidence.. (we) play more together.”

With two games left to play, the Aztecs find themselves a half game behind Fresno for a chance to play in the Mountain West championship game.

It’s anything but guaranteed — Fresno needs to lose two of their three last games, and the Aztecs need to win their last two.

10

Sports

The Daily Aztec

Nov. 8-14, 2017 EDITOR: Zach Engberg, sports@thedailyaztec.com

Dutch duo completing SDSU journey Seniors Jeroen Meefout and Thom Van den Berg have come a long way since their days playing FIFA in the Netherlands

by Jacob Sisneros EDITOR-AT-LARGE

It’s no coincidence that two Dutch soccer players who grew up 50 minutes apart ended up playing for a university roughly 5,600 miles from their hometowns.

Senior midfielder Thom Van den Berg and senior forward Jeroen Meefout hatched the plan as 18-years-old playing FIFA. “This was the perfect solution,” Van den Berg said. “There was no other place, no other country that could offer such a good combination of both (school and soccer) on a high level.”

The pair created their own player profiles and started selling themselves to any coach who would listen.

“I think what was really great about this is that we did it ourselves,” Van den Berg said.

“We sent out so many emails, we had so many Skype calls with coaches.”

After receiving a joint recruitment tape from Meefout and Van den Berg, San Diego State men’s soccer head coach Lev Kirshner was interested in bringing both of them to San Diego.

He succeeded in recruiting Van den Berg, but Meefout chose to go to Maryland, after the school made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“Maryland is one of the top programs in the country, even as a European you recognize that,” Meefout said.

Meefout started two games and played in 18 as a freshman, ending the season with two goals and one assist.

“I had a good time there,” Meefout said. “I played in almost every game as a freshman, but I didn’t start and you’re young so I decided it was best for me to transfer and I’m happy I did.”

Losing out on Meefout wasn’t initially a total loss for Kirshner, as Meefout convinced fellow Maryland forward Michael Sauers to transfer with him a year later.

Sauers’ family became Meefout’s surrogate family during his freshman year and the pair developed a bond quickly, in part

Jeroen Meefot

Senior forward Jeroen Meefout jumps for a header during SDSU’s 0-1 loss to Washington on Oct. 26.

because they were born on the same day, May 19, 1995.

Sauers started 15 of 17 games for the Aztecs in 2016 and finished with three goals and one assist. He also earned an AllPac-12 honorable mention in his lone season at SDSU. Meefout found success in 2015, starting 13 games and finishing with four goals and three assists.

He also earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2016, finishing with four goals and an assist on Sauers’ game-winning goal against University of California, Berkeley. “(Meefout) is a versatile striker who’s got size and power, he runs well,” Kirshner said. “He has

educated himself in the manner of college soccer and how to find these chances and situations where in the international game he was doing it a different way.”

Meefout has started all 16 games this season and recorded seven goals and three assists.

Van den Berg has been a consistent role player off the bench in his four seasons with the Aztecs and is in the midst of his most successful season.

He recorded one goal and started one game in his first three seasons, but has recorded a goal and two assists with nine starts for the Aztecs this year.

Kirshner said Van den Berg has a knack for continuing passing

2017 - 17 points, 7 goals, 3 assists 2016 - 9 points, 4 goals, 1 assist 2015 - 11 points, 4 goals, 3 assists 2016 - All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention 2017 - Co-captain

Thom Van den Berg

2017 - 4 points, 2 assists, 1 goal 2016 - 12 games, 1 shot 2015 - 12 games 2014 - 11 games, 1 goal 2016 - Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention

sequences and possesses a strong long-range shot, although he contributes to the team in ways that don’t show on paper.

“Thom may be one of the funniest players I have had,” Kirshner said. “To have the ability to do that in a second language with the way he does it and it’s so quick and witty. He’s a pleasure to have around the team.

Despite their proximity to each other, Van den Berg and Meefout had different experiences playing soccer growing up.

Van den Berg spent six years in the Vitesse Arnhem youth academy in Arnhem, Netherlands before coming to SDSU and had a pretty normal schedule.

He said he walked to school and got home around 6 p.m. everyday after practice.

Meefout, on the other hand, played for four youth teams and didn’t stay with one team for longer than four years.

Meefout went to the same high school despite transferring to different teams around the Netherlands and said during his longest commute he would wake up at 5:30 a.m. everyday and return home around 7 p.m.

He took the train everywhere he went and traveled by himself as early as 12 years old.

He said the public transportation is a lot safer in the Netherlands and he would do homework or play FIFA on his PlayStation Portable to keep occupied during the commute.

Meefout played for the PSV youth academy in 2009-10, but suffered an injury and fell out of rotation with the team.

“Playing for a competitive

Photo by Mary York

youth team in the Netherlands is really competitive so if you get injured or they see you as not good enough anymore you have to leave,” he said. “That’s how it goes because every little kid in the Netherlands wants to do this.”

He met Van den Berg at age 14 when they both played in the Vitesse Arnhem youth academy.

Meefout only played there a year, but the pair stayed in touch and would visit each other on holidays.

“Sometimes you just meet someone you have a connection with,” Meefout said. “He’s been one of my best friends since that year.”

Both Van den Berg and Meefout are economics majors.

Van den Berg said this helps when they are traveling for games because they can help each other out with homework.

“It’s been amazing to come here with such a good friend,” he said.

“You’re far away from home, but it’s always good to have a friend here. People probably see us on campus a lot together and we have a lot of the same classes.”

Van den Berg said he plans on returning to the Netherlands to get his master’s in economics after he graduates.

Meefout said he would like to play soccer professionally, but if that doesn’t work out he will also return to the Netherlands and get a master’s in economics.

“They both are excellent players and human beings so if they make it in the pros it wouldn’t surprise me,” Kirshner said. “But what I also know is they are going to make it in life.”

Sports

Nov. 8-14, 2017 EDITOR: Zach Engberg, sports@thedailyaztec.com

COLUMN

The Daily Aztec

SDSU roster better than ever

by Zach Engberg SPORTS EDITOR

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Shrouded in uncertainty, San Diego State men’s basketball opens its 2017-18 season this Friday against San Diego Christian College.

After a 19-14 finish in 201617, this season opener is rife with questions.

In his first season at the helm, head coach Brian Dutcher will be captaining a crew that is deeper and more athletic than any team in SDSU history.

In years past, the team was filled with scrappy defensive do-it-alls, tasmanian devils who personified the Steve Fisher era with their full court press, quick hands and leave-it-all-on-thefloor defensive attitude.

But Dutcher’s men – at least this first group – are some of the most touted recruits that SDSU has won over.

Senior forward Malik Pope was rated a five-star recruit by Rivals.com.

Redshirt freshman forward Jalen McDaniels was a four-star recruit and rated the top player in Washington by Scout.

Freshman forward Jordan Schakel, a known sharpshooter was a four-star recruit.

And two of those players have never touched the court in a regular season game.

Dutcher said the team’s depth makes his job much easier.

“It’s nice to have the depth at every position and it’s comforting as a coach to know I can go with different combinations,” Dutcher

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Junior guard Jeremy Hemsley bursts past a defender during SDSU’s 81-58 win over San Diego Christian in the 2016-17 season.

said. “If I want to go with three guards, I can do it. I can play two and Jeremy (Hemsley) is not the starter and comes off the bench, I know he’ll be ready to go.”

This team has more talent and more potential than any SDSU team, even at the height of the Fisher era.

But the key word is potential.

SDSU had potential last year too - and then got complacent.

The Aztecs banked on the fact that they were talented and lost sight of the main tenant of Steve Fisher basketball - effort.

SDSU was consistently outrebounded, outworked and outhustled, leading to 12 losses by single digits.

Fisher said after several games during his final season that the Aztecs were not apporpriately representing the powerhouse program he had built.

Overcoming a sluggish start marred by less-than-moderatelystellar defensive effort, the Aztecs breezed by UCSD, 98-78, in their first exhibition game on Nov. 2.

Junior guard Jeremy Hemsley, who was at many times last season the spark plug of the team and one of the lone bright spots of a disappointing season, came off of the bench.

In the three-guard starting unit, junior transfer Devin Watson started at point guard,

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and junior Max Montana jumped in the opening unit alongside senior Trey Kell.

At the University of San Francisco in 2015-16, Watson averaged 20.3 points per game, more than any current SDSU player has averaged in their career.

He joins an already crowded backcourt, and adds yet another offensive weapon.

Kell – who led the team last season with 13.4 points per game – Hemsley, Pope and company have the potential to raise the bar for basketball on the Mesa.

But names, stats and potential only go so far.

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RESTAURANTS & BARS GUIDE C O MI N G 1 1 /1 5 /1 7 !

SUDOKU 67 Exercise break 68 Casino conveniences

Tribune News Service

ACROSS 1 “That cracks me up!”

5 “__ and the Swan”: Rubens painting 9 Paper Mate product 12 1936 Olympics standout 14 Goes it alone 15 “Te __”: Rihanna song 16 *Golfer’s guide for measuring distances 18 Playful bite 19 House vote 20 Like much store-brand merchandise 21 Contact lens solution

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brand 22 Soft boot material 24 Winner’s wreath 26 Church seating 28 *Philatelist’s find 31 On __ of: for 34 Family guys 35 Overhead expanse 36 Superhero in an armored suit 38 Place for a hot stone massage 41 “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” novelist 42 Became clear to, with “on”

44 *Hybrid retriever 48 Tough to learn 49 “Finally!”

50 One of his stories is the source of the “sour grapes” idiom 53 Relax in the tub 54 Sonny and Cher, e.g.

57 Sulu portrayer John 60 Kin of net 61 *Winter warming spell 63 Fla. neighbor 64 Athlete’s rep 65 Facebook option 66 Mario Bros. console letters

DOWN 1 Georgetown hoopster 2 On the road 3 “These are the reasons” 4 “Go on ... “ 5 Place for a hoop 6 Musk of Tesla Motors 7 Kid’s drawing tablet 8 Pose a question 9 Bakery-café chain 10 “8 Mile” rapper 11 Orange juice specification 13 Customer-drawing sign word 14 Waste conduit 17 Supreme being 21 Road grooves 23 “Miracle on Ice” team, for short 25 Yoga position 26 “Masterpiece” network 27 “There’s a mouse in our house!”

29 Sleep study subject 30 Ewe guy 32 Low-calorie brews 33 Place for big headlines 37 Hooting bird 38 Popular mobile app ... and, as shown by circles, what the inner parts of the answers to starred clues do 39 __ capita 40 Mix in 41 Badlands Natl. Park site 43 Detective’s question 44 Garage container 45 1962 Lawrence portrayer 46 Peruvian pack animals 47 Not skilled in 51 Lux. setting 52 Tofu beans 55 Change for a five 56 Fourth-down play 58 Inflict pain on 59 Is in arrears 61 Cookie container 62 Article in some hip-hop titles

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

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The Daily Aztec

Nov. 8 - 14, 2017

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Theta Chi Celebrates 70th Year at SDSU 1st National Fraternity On Campus Chartered November 8, 1947 Theta Chi, the first national fraternity at San Diego State, celebrates its 70th anniversary on campus this week as its membership tops 100+ collegiate members.

When the Gamma Theta Chapter was founded at San Diego State College on November 8, 1947, the vision of Theta Chi’s founders for a fraternity of a nationwide scope was again realized.

The Fraternity founded on April 10, 1856, by Frederick Norton Freeman and Arthur Chase, two young cadets at Norwich University in Norwich, Vermont, now has 152 active chapters on college campuses throughout North America.

In the spring of 1947, San Diego State had reached an enrollment of about 3,500 students when an aggressive young student, John Matthews, saw the opportunity for expansion in fraternity life. The need for such an organization was evident because the influx of war veterans entering San Diego State had caused student enrollment to swell beyond the saturation point of the existing eight local fraternities on campus. At the time, there were about 12 sororities, all local.

Matthews finally got a small group together and they started carefully selecting other men for a local organization, Omega Omicron, which soon grew to 30 members. It was in this formation period when Matthews talked with Dr.

Lewis B. Lesley, chairman of the History Department and himself a Theta Chi from the University of California. Dr. Lesley informed Matthews that Theta Chi Fraternity might be willing to form a colony at San Diego State campus if suitable candidates could be found.

Thirty men, led by three outstanding members of the college faculty, banded together to receive recognition as a colony. Omega Omicron was approved to become a colony of Theta Chi Fraternity July 26, 1947, during an afternoon ceremony.

On November 8, 1947, an installation banquet was held in the Continental Room of the Hotel San Diego. Collegiate and alumnus members of the Fraternity who participated in the installation activities came from northern California, Washington, Arizona, North Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Albert C. George, counselor for Region XI, inducted the chapter officers: John F Matthews, President; Quince McClard, Vice President; Robert Wolper, Secretary; William Newton; Corresponding Secretary; James Speed Hill, Treasurer.

Dr. Walter Hepner, President of San Diego State College, warmly greeted Theta Chi as the first national fraternity on campus. Also attending the ceremonies were Dr. C. E. Peterson, Dean of Men; John Orcutt, Student Body President; and Grant Nielsen, editor of the campus newspaper, “The Aztec.”

The Founding members of Theta Chi Fraternity in 1947.

5702 Hardy Avenue was Theta Chi’s home from 1962 to 2004.

Courtesy of Theta Chi

Courtesy of Theta Chi

Theta Chi’s Aztec Legacy Now with over 1,300 initiated members of the Theta Chi chapter at San Diego State, there is a remarkable legacy of service to the campus and community.

THETA CHI FRATERNITY AT SAN DIEGO STATE • Honors two brothers whose names are on the SDSU War Memorial; Peter Warren Gilmore (1969) and Charles “Chuck” Scharf (1954)

Courtesy of Theta Chi

In 2015, Theta Chi opened the doors to its new home at 5505 Lindo Paseo.

• Boasts an United States Air Force General Edward J. Philbin (1957) and two decorated World War II

veterans; Major General Maurice G. Holmes and Admiral Frederick Sherman • Produced two International Presidents of Theta Chi International Fraternity; David E. DeVol (1959) and Richard “Dick” Elder (1971) • Holds the largest chapter scholarship endowment in the International Fraternity, and of all fraternities at San Diego State, with $250,000+ in its principal.

Thanks to the leadership of three alumnus members;

Dean Strasser (1957), Dennis Dilworth (1956) and Walt Gutjahr (1956), this endowment provides scholarships each year to the best Theta Chi students Theta Chi’s are authors, lawyers, soldiers, doctors, police officers, entrepreneurs, firefighters, scientists, CEOs, teachers, generals, community and civic leaders.

In 2015, the men rallied together once again to build their new home at 5505 Lindo Paseo, thus securing the future of our brotherhood for another 70 years and beyond.