VOLUME 51 ISSUE 7 ESTABLISHED IN 1968
THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO WWW.THEUSDVISTA.COM
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Seeing border firsthand offers new perspective COMM 338 students visit Friendship Park
By Leeza Earl STAFF WRITER The U.S.-Mexico border is often portrayed as dangerous; a place full of murderers, drug smugglers and Mexican natives trying to escape to America. However, there are many things the news does not highlight about the border, such as Friendship Park. On Saturday Oct. 19, communication studies Professor Antonieta Mercado to Friendship Park located at the U.S.Mexican Border. While there, students were able to see how this wall serves as a communication device. “I wanted my students to just experience the border physically” Mercado said. “To introduce my students to the inter-objectivity and subjectivity of the U.S.-Mexican border, so they can reach beyond the opinions and external facts.” Many families, friends, lovers and companions on either side of the border come to this park and see faces they will never be able to touch due to current immigration laws. Friendship Park was established in 1971 to serve the Mexican and American community as a meeting point for the two parties. In the early stages of Friendship Park many people were able to come, sit and talk without a large wall in between them. Yet, after the uses of the park being used as ways to smuggle drugs, babies and many more things into America, the U.S. Government had to alter how the border would be monitored regarding the park. Beginning in 2011, the U.S. Border Patrol needed to control the amount of criminal activities occurring on the border and at Friendship Park. The U.S. government created a 20foot tall steel wall on the international Photo Courtesy of Christy Howland
See FRIENDSHIP, Page 2
Students face the border fence at Friendship Park.
Donation provides tech resources for SOLES students By Brittany Carava
ASST. NEWS EDITOR Due to the fast-paced evolution of technology, education can often be overlooked. This past May, the University of San Diego’s School of Leadership & Education Sciences’ (SOLES) Mobile Technology Learning Center (MTLC) received $3,000,000 to go toward new resources focusing on mobile technology. This generous donation from Irwin and Joan Jacobs providing new technological resources for students seems appropriate, as Irwin Jacobs is a cofounder and chairman of Qualcomm, a leader in digital wireless telecommunications products and services. Jacobs has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the
Kevin Nelson/The Vista
Mother Rosalie Hill Hall School of Leadership and Education Sciences receives grant from Jacobs Family for new technology resources in the classroom.
NEWS 2-4
USD eSports organization tries to gain traction Campus organizatation centered on comptetitive videogaming tries to gain momentum. PAGE 4 OPINION 5-7
Breaking the silence on depression Although depression is a revalent problem at USD, many students are reluctant to talk about it. PAGE 6
donations and grants to several schools and organizations including SOLES at USD. SOLES held a press conference to announce the gift June 17, in the Garden by the Sea, located behind the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice. Dr. Irwin and Joan Jacobs, USD President Mary Lyons, SOLES dean Paula Cordeiro and superintendents from schools throughout the San Diego area were all in attendance. This recent donation focuses on the teaching, research and technology components of the MTLC’s vision and provides the funding needed to hire an internationally recognized director. The MLTC has developed several goals to help better foster a technological environment in the classroom.With the help of donations like the Jacob’s grant, these goals can be achieved. “The Jacobs’ share our belief that the future of education must include innovative technologies. Approximately 1.2 billion people
FEATURE 8-9
Famous Eats in San Diego
A look at popular eateries across San Diego county specializing in everything from seafood to ice cream. PAGES 8-9 ARTS AND CULTURE 10-13
Park Avenue tour captivates SOMA crowd Rock band Story of the Year stops in San Diego on its tenth anniversary tour. PAGE 10
possess mobile devices powerful enough to deliver rich web experiences, and the total number of web-enabled mobile phones eclipses the estimated one billion personal computers on earth. We must harness this technology to educate our children and our workforce,” Cordeiro said. Students believe that increased technology in the classroom will be teachers involved, “I think the donation will have a large impact on SOLES and will provide future teachers with the resources necessary to have a technologically advanced classroom,” senior Emily Jones, an education minor, said. According to educators in the SOLES department, there are two main
reasons why technology isn’t used enough in K-12 education systems. “First, there is poor access to schools for collaborative research. Second, there is limited funding for technology. of access in minority, rural and low socioeconomic student populations are taken into account.” Drastic change is needed in understanding K-12 learning due to the major detachment between the many technologies that is currently available to K-12 educators and their actual use or penetration in schools. Thanks to generous donations such as the one from the Jacobs family, students are able to learn to better educate their future students with these technological tools.
-To create, in the state of California and at the national level, a climate of policy including mobile learning. classrooms and schools-locally and nationallythat regularly use mobile learning technologies. -Establish an organization which can provide secure services and model “best practices” worldwide in the application of mobile learning technology in education. -Advance, cultivate and encourage widespread conversations by thought leaders and educators, locally, nationally and worldwide.
SPORTS 14-16
World Series Preview
A look at the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals as they face off for the ultimate title in baseball. PAGE 14