TheUSDVISTA
Volume 55 Issue 18
Thursday, March 22, 2018
On Newsstands Weekly
◆ The Official Student Newspaper of the University of San Diego since 1968 ◆
Professor Op-Ed
Michael R. Kelly Op-Ed Contributor
The USD community participated in the National Student Walkout displaying to the government a desire for more gun violence protection.
Cameron Fruehe/The USD Vista
National Student Walkout
Toreros participate in the National Student Walkout to rally for gun control change John McNicholas Contributor Lilyana Espinoza News Editor “When our communities are hurting, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” yelled students and faculty throughout Colachis Plaza last week during the National School Walkout. “Show me what democracy looks like — this is what democracy looks like!” was one of the main chants roaring among the group of protesters, while Toreros walked to their next class. USD students rallied in Colachis Plaza in support of victims of
the Florida Parkland shooting, as well as the mass shootings from the past few years. In a powerful demonstration of solidarity with students nationally affected by school shootings, Toreros participated in the national walkout on Wednesday March 14 at 10 a.m. The event lasted for 17 minutes, one minute for every victim killed in the Parkland shooting. USD students and faculty rallied along with schools across the nation to protest Congress’ inaction toward the gun violence from the past few years. Sophomore Elie Nyembo shared why he felt it was important he participated in the walkout and what he hoped would come out of the walkout. “The walkout was important for
me to participate in because change needs to happen regarding the second amendment,” Nyembo said. “Innocent lives were lost, and I can’t fathom how individuals put guns before the lives of others. Every time a mass shooting happens, a cycle of prayer, debates on the right to bear guns, and a lack of action of gun reform occur. Eventually the lives lost in a shooting will be forgotten after a while. Those lives mattered. They were human beings. They didn’t get a say on whether or not they got the chance to live to see another day. Their lives were stolen from them by a lead-filled metal contraption. It doesn’t make sense how schools, places of worships, and homes are places that people can no longer feel safe. Change
needs to happen.” Junior Natasha Salgado organized the walkout at USD with a small group of her close friends and spoke about why she got the sense students on campus wanted to participate in the walkout. “A lot of students that were talking to me and that I talked to about this mentioned how there is a desire to voice ourselves a little bit more visibly onto USD’s campus,” Salgado said. “So, the reason behind the walkout was to participate and partake in the remembering of the 17 lives that were lost, but also it was meant to showcase how students at USD are active and want to be involved in the visible shaping of demonstrations and visible shaping
See Walkout, Page 2
About three years have passed since our students lost their university bookstore. Faculty complained at the time and sometimes impassionedly. Some still do. But, affect wanes, and our “bookstore” without books is the new normal. At least the forwardthinking folks responsible for its flaccid intellectual replacement cleverly enough named it “Torero Store.” I say cleverly and not wisely because I think that (that) naming stemmed not from an orientation to truth and goodness — which obliges us to give to things names that befit their nature — but a desire to divert attention from the embarrassing irony that is our “bookstore” with no books (which, by the way, it still technically seems to be according to your credit card receipt from that outfit). Spaces and places are imbued with meaning, their style or lack thereof “says” something. Our new “bookstore” sure says something. I “hear” this place say something to students about what students want from their college experience. And I don’t like what I “hear.” I imagine a scene — a real spectacle — a team of consultants. They’re speculating about (among other economic ends) some consumer statistics believed to speak the interests and desires of — to speak for and not on behalf of — 18 to 23-year-old university students. These statistics (facts) and their ventriloquists put on a show for our “fill-in-your-favoriteblank-university-decision-maker,” and the show moves the audience, the audience now persuaded about what the performers contend attracts and retains that demographic. In saying what attracts and retains students, consultants tell us and the students
See Op-Ed, Page 4
33rd Annual International Expo and Fashion show Kristen Jensen Contributor The University of San Diego is home to over 1,000 international students. Last Friday, this large student diversity was showcased in the 33rd Annual International Expo and Cultural Fashion Show. In a manner that was both educational and entertaining, the highly anticipated event introduced the cultures and fashions of over 30 countries. This production wasn’t limited to only clothing: the event also featured a multitude of foods, music, and dances from around the
President Trump visits San Diego See News, page 3
world. Before the show even began, the audience members’ plates were piled high with a taste of what the night would soon have to offer. The production was kicked off by a five-minute crowd-interactive African drumming performance. First-year transfer student Noelle Twum-Ampofo shared her thoughts on the drumming performance. “It was amazing to see such a beautiful display of African culture presented on the USD stage,” TwumAmpofo said. Another first-year transfer student Leslie Martinez shared her thoughts on the performance.
See Fashion, Page 9
Clothes from various cultures were put on display at the 33rd Annual International Expo and Cultural Fashion show. Photo courtesy of Kristen Jensen
Michael R. Kelly Op-Ed
Homelessness in San Diego
“Women Who Impress” exhibit
Williams wins it for the Toreros
See Opinion, page 4
See Feature, page 8
See A&C, page 10
See Sports, page 12
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