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WORLD
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NEWS
WedneSday, MARCH 27, 2013
WEATHER >> Today | mostly sunny
Thursday | mostly cloudy
70 49
68 47
Friday | mostly sunny
77 49
Saturday | partly cloudy
Sunday | showers
76 48
72 44
Monday | partly cloudy
Tuesday | partly cloudy
71 43
72 41
PARTY CULTURE
Cyprus made a $13 billion bailout deal to avoid bankruptcy Sunday, promising to cut its banking sector and inflict losses on people who store large amounts of money in the failing banks. Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Paris police battled people protesting same-sex marraige who made it onto the Champs Élysées, one of Paris’ most famous and gentrified streets on Sunday. The protesters were fighting gay marriage legislation. Source: The Los Angeles Times
NATION
Police call reinforcements for Cesar Chavez Day Isabel Charles Staff Writer
Each year, police prepare for a three-day weekend of partying for Cesar Chavez Day, a holiday observed by Chico State and held to celebrate the life of Chavez. “In the past, students have adopted that holiday as a drinking holiday,” Chico police Sgt. George Laver said. With an increase in violence, the Chico Police Department has been short-staffed for the past few weekends, a fact that has officers concerned for the Cesar Chavez Day weekend, he said. “The problem is that this happens most weekends,” Laver said. “Cesar
Chavez weekend will be no different.” The behavior downtown, south of campus and in surrounding areas generates activity that calls for a high amount of service, he said. The police department exhausts so many resources in these areas that the rest of the community goes without protection. Last year, out-oftowners seemed to be discouraged from coming to Chico to celebrate the holiday because of rain, Laver said. This year, Cesar Chavez Day falls on Easter Sunday. “Because of this, we’re hoping students will go out of town to spend their extra time off with family,”
Staff Writer
The Arizona government cut a Mexican American studies program in Tucson schools last year, but it was found that the ban only served to generate interest in Chicano literature. Source: The Los Angeles Times
PHOTO BY wikimedia.org
Police are investigating an apparent suicide of Rep. Jessica Upshaw, a Mississippi state legislator. A Mississippi sheriff told news outlets Sunday that police think Upshaw shot herself. Source: The Sacramento Bee
CALIFORNIA
Daniel Naish via Flickr
The United State Coast Guard called off a search Monday for a a 22-yearold man who disappeared from a Half Moon Bay beach. Authorities are not sure whether the man went into the water or not. Source: San Francisco Chronicle
19
Drunk in public arrests
7
Driving under the influence arrests
10
Assaults
1
Abduction SOURCE • Chico Police department
Laver said. “However, we are not counting on that.” The Chico Police Department prepares itself for the holiday by bringing in extra police enforcement from out of town, Alcohol Beverage Control agents, a glass ban and saturation control. “We typically do this on Cesar Chavez weekend, along with Halloween and Labor Day,” Laver said. Associated Students recently released a video with alternative ways to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day. The Cross-Cultural Leadership Center also put on a rally Tuesday in Trinity Commons that addressed the holiday, said Katie Peterson, program coordinator of the
CCLC. “I hope to see an increased knowledge and understanding of the life and work of Cesar Chavez amongst faculty, staff and students and an overall respectful celebration of this holiday demonstrated by individuals giving back to their community,” Peterson said. Laver questions whether or not students have a clue who Chavez was or what his mission was, he said. “I know the university has made an effort to educate the student body; however, for most students who are out, all they know is it is just another day to party,” Laver said. The Orion can be reached at editorinchief@theorion.com
Language classes expected to vanish Isabel Charles
PHOTO BY wikimedia.org
2012 Cesar Chavez Day police records
Students and faculty in the department of foreign languages, literatures and cultures are worried that a decrease in enrollment could lead to the program’s demise in the coming years. Those involved with the department are working to boost interest in foreign language courses at Chico State by bringing awareness to the opportunities within the program. In April, students of many different language clubs will compete in a soccer tournament to promote Chico State’s linguistics opportunities. Advanced language courses, such as Russian, do not have enough enrollment or sufficient student interest, while others have seen a dramatic drop in enrollment overall, such as Italian. Students and faculty fear this decrease may threaten the availability of class sections, the survival of certain programs and the careers of some professors. “With the reshaping of the general education, languages have lost a lot of visibility,” said Fulvio
Orsitto, director of the Italian and to, Chico State was the only one offering Hebrew. Italian-American programs. “It’s not often spoken like SpanAt one point, the general education flow charts made it clear to ish is, so the opportunity is hard to students how they could incorpo- find,” she said. “It makes me feel rate foreign languages into their as if Chico is more welcoming and accepting of differgeneral education, ent religions and Orsitto said. The types of people.” availability of differYael Ronen, a ent language classes Hebrew professor in was much more visiChico State currently the department of ble than it is now. offers 11 foreign lanforeign languages, The new genguages to students: has seen the effects eral education flow of lower enrollment chart has a small • Arabic in her program. portion in the back • Chinese “Only Hebrew mentioning foreign • French 101 is offered as a languages, he said. • German class,” Ronen said. “Students are not • Hebrew “If a student wishes as easily made aware • Italian to continue Hebrew, of the possibilities,” • Japanese they must go on to Orsitto said. “If you • Latin independent study.” look at nationwide • Portuguese Brunella Windnumbers, interest • Russian sor, a professor in in foreign language • Spanish the department of has not gone down.” SOURCE • department of foreign languages, literatures and cultures foreign languages, Senior humanities literatures and culmajor Becky Trigonis is minoring modern Jewish and tures, is not surprised by the decrease, she said. Israel studies. Windsor speaks fluent Italian, The wide diversity in languages was the reason she chose Chico French, English and Spanish. She wants foreign language State, she said. Of the schools Trigonis applied courses to be a requirement for all
LANGUAGES OFFERED
Chico State students. At one time, there were five full first-semester Italian sections, which could accomodate about 150 students. Because of the lack of interest, there are now only two first-semester Italian sections. “I am not afraid of losing my job,” Windsor said. “I may lose it, but I will always have opportunities.” The Russian program offers two semesters of the language, said Julia Coolidge, a professor in the department of foreign languages, literatures and cultures. “I am concerned for the department, absolutely,” Coolidge said. “We are trying to spread knowledge of the importance of language through the university community.” She hopes that this will raise awareness among students of the possibilities learning a language offers, she said. “Nelson Mandela once said, ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head,’” Coolidge said. “‘If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.’” The Orion can be reached at editorinchief@theorion.com
Police interrupt Take Back the Night walk, attendees march on Zach Coyl Staff Writer
Take Back the Night’s silent candle-lit march through the downtown area on the evening of March 14 was punctuated by shouts and honking as the procession went unescorted by Chico police. Take Back the Night is an event held every semester to spread awareness about sexual violence against women. The attendees, who walk in pairs and do not stop for traffic in the downtown streets as part of the event, are usually accompanied by Chico police officers. Officers instead told the hosts of the event, members of the Gender and Sexuality Equity Center, that they were breaking the law.
Despite the confusion, “Chico Police Depart- spoke to police officers after Take Back the Night only ment was here and almost the event. They told him the march- gets better each semester, arrested one of our interns because they refused to stop ers needed a city permit to Virdee said. Those involved our line, our march down- block traffic because of all of with the event in the future town,” said Sarah Sullivan, the people walking, he said. will ensure it continues. The event began at 6 GSEC’s women’s prop.m. in the Bell Memogram coordinator. “I “Chico Police Department was here rial Union with three talked to a police offiand almost arrested one of our different events: a cer at the end of the interns because they refused to stop women-only survivor march. He told us we speak-out, a gender did not have permits to our line, our march downtown.” inclusive speak-out be marching.” and a workshop. Sullivan thinks Sarah Sullivan The event’s 345 the confusion was Gender and Sexuality Equity Center’s attendees then caused by a miscomwomen’s program coordinator gathered at Trinity munication between Commons to light canChico police and University Police, she said. She Officers told him it was ulti- dles and begin the march assumed the university’s mately a safety issue that after the half-hour show. One attendee shared the police department files the caused the Chico Police significance of the event. necessary paperwork for the Department to intercede. “It gets the conversaCalls to the Chico Police event every semester. Associated Students Pres- Department for comment tion rolling with the whole ident Jaypinderpal Virdee were not returned by press ordeal; it’s definitely a big problem, especially here in attended the march and time Tuesday.
Chico,” said Louie Gonzalez, a junior studio art major. Chelsey Weinmann, a senior international relations major, held a sign that read “Stop the silence, end the violence” at the event. “I think it’s important the community recognizes, as well as the college students, the fact that it’s not OK to violate someone or take away their personal rights,” she said. After the march ended and all of the candles were blown out, Sullivan summarized the event. “Take Back the Night is an amazing event bringing awareness about sexual assault, and you should all participate next semester.” Zach Coyl can be reached at zcoyl@theorion.com
-compiled by Allison Weeks Correction: The article “Coffee shop gets OK’d for fall semester” in the March 13 issue falsely stated that the plans had been comprehensively approved. The renovation must be confirmed by the university before construction can be confirmed. The Orion staff strives for accuracy in all it publishes. We recognize that mistakes will sometimes occur, but we treat every error very seriously. If you feel a correction needs to be made, please email the editor-in-chief at editorinchief@theorion.com
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