the daily aztec - vol. 95, issue 79
DESCRIPTION
Students band for book driveTRANSCRIPT
TRAVEL & ADVENTURE
IINNSSIIDDEE TTOODDAAYYOPINION
SPORTS
TODAY @ SDSU
CONTACT
INDEX
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Vol. 95, Issue 79
The fine line between satireand blatant racism has beencrossed.
page 2
Oklahoma completed its four-game sweep of the Aztecs onSunday afternoon.
page 5
OPINION.........................................................................2TRAVEL & ADVENTURE...............................................3SPORTS.............................................................................5CLASSIFIEDS....................................................................7THE BACK PAGE............................................................8
RACISM AT UCSD
HAITI TOURISM
SOONER SWEEP
Lecture
7 p.m., Nasatir Hall 100
Ignacio Sanchez-Cuenca, a professorand research director at Juan MarchInstitute, will speak about the causesof terrorist violence.
See how tourism after theearthquake could benefit thecountry.
page 3
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Students band for book drive
The 18-foot shipping containerand its contents – 5,000 booksand supplies – at the end of theCampanile Walkway will be start-ing a 62-day voyage to Kongwa,Tanzania next week to fulfillefforts of the Mnyakongo SchoolLibrary Project.
This year’s homecoming kingand queen, Rex Brown Jr. andTeresa Banko, as well as Phi KappaPhi, Scholars Without Borders, theRotaract, the Student VeteranOrganization and Golden Key areholding a two-week book and sup-ply drive for a new library beingbuilt at Mnyakongo School, a pri-mary school with more than 800students, which currently has alibrary catalog of 10 books. Brownand Banko will be tabling in AztecCenter for the drive startingtomorrow until Friday.
San Diego State theater profes-sor Peter Larlham created the proj-ect last year.
“I’ve got people all over theuniversity giving these books andthat’s really made me see that thisis a viable project, it wasn’t justgoing to be me wandering around,flailing about and then sending offone box,” Larlham said. “It’s reallybeen the support of the campus.”
He attended the school as achild from 1953 to 1958 whileTanzania was under British rule.Larlham visited the school in2008 with six former students fora 50-year reunion of the colonialschool’s closure. Larlham said hesaw the small, simple classroomsand few books and wanted to takeit upon himself to gather books forthe school.
This cause has become thisspring’s homecoming service project.
“With the money we were allot-ted by CASE on campus that wecould provide a huge asset to themthrough the shipping container,and also we could use homecomingas a platform to collect even morebooks,” Brown said. “But the con-tainer itself was a huge victory.”
“There are students in othercountries such as Tanzania that
have substantially less opportuni-ties than we do, so we decided todevote the prize we were given to(the Mynakongo Library Project),”Banko said. “It’s helping studentsin another country; it helps to makeus realize that we are students of aninternational community.”
The hardest part of this projecthas been coordinating the logis-tics of the container, Brown said.The transporting process includesthe cargo lifting by crane onto atruck, then driving to Long Beachwhere it will be put on a container
ship, shipped through the PanamaCanal, across the Atlantic ocean,around Cape Town, South Africaand finally end its journey at thePort of Dar Es Salaam, where itwill then be unloaded and trans-ported by truck to the school.
In May, a group of 26 studentsand faculty members will meet thecontainer in Tanzania and engagein SDSU’s first study program inTanzania, organized by Dr. ChrisFrost, the associate dean ofUndergraduate Studies. Brownand Banko said the book drive will
hopefully facilitate a future studyabroad program with the country.
“The hope is that in a littlemore than a decade, two studentsat SDSU, one from San Diego, onean exchange student fromTanzania, will be sitting in a classtogether and realize that they wereconnected, half a world away, by aprogram that was created and exe-cuted by their future alma mater,”Mark Daemon, of the StudentVeteran Organization, who helpedcoordinate the logistics of ship-ping the container, said.
AASSHHLLEEYY MMOO RRGGAANNS TA F F W R I T E R
CAMPUS CRIME
RobberyFeb.17 – San Diego State Policeissued a crime alert after a studentwas robbed. The victim wasreportedly battered and sustainedmoderate injuries. A red and blueJanSport backpack and $13 wasstolen. SDSU Police Sgt. StevenHarshaw said the victim reportedthat three suspects jumped out ofa late 1990s silver ChevroletCamaro and “beat him up for noreason.” The incident occurred onthe second level of ParkingStructure 6 at 4:20 p.m. The sus-pects were last seen driving south-bound on 5100 East CampusDrive. Police have not yet locatedthe suspects, but the incident isstill being investigated. Anyonewith information is asked to con-tact the SDSU Police Department.
Sexual assaultFeb. 14 – SDSU Police issuedanother crime alert regarding asexual assault that possiblyoccurred in one of the resi-dence hall communities.According to the crime alert, afemale victim reported she wasraped. Harshaw said a medicalfacility reported the incident.Harshaw could not say whetheror not the victim is a student.There is no suspect informationat this time. Police are conduct-ing an investigation. Anyonewith information should con-tact the SDSU PoliceDepartment at 619-594-1991.
—Compiled by Assistant CityEditor Kristina Blake
A.S. BRIEF
A.S. disapproves TheKoala articleAssociated Students hasread through a resolutioncondemning an article print-ed in last year’s The Koalatitled, “How to rape a girl.”The resolution was original-ly written by Rebecca Kingon behalf of the PanhellenicAssociation and A.S. is beingencouraged to adopt the res-olution as well. The resolu-tion refers to the article as“cruel and hateful” andrequests for an apology and“educational efforts” regard-ing rape, sexual assault andstereotypes to be funded byThe Koala.
Aztec for Life video contest A.S. is encouraging studentsto participate in the “Aztecfor Life” video contest. Thevideo is a part of the SDSUMonth celebration andprizes include a two-persontrip to Cabo San Lucas,Mexico. The contest stipu-lates that participants detailhow San Diego State has pos-itively impacted their life.Students interested in learn-ing more about the contestcan visit the Web site atwww.sdsumonth.com.
—Compiled by Senior StaffWriter Sarah Kovash
Campus groups arecollecting books for a
Tanzanian school
Various San Diego State student groups are holding a two-week book and supply drive for a new library being constructed at aprimary school in Tanzania. Mnyakongo School currently has more than 800 students and only 10 books in its library catalog.
MCT Campus
The Daily AztecTuesday,
February 23, 20102 OPINIONEVEN ARTICHOKES HAVE HEARTS
Unemployment
POINTS TO PONDER
Ratio of teens who admit to talking on mobile phones whiledriving:
2.7 million
Texting while driving
Number ofcurrent active-duty servicemembers:
Don’t ask, don’t tell
Number of people who will losetheir unemployment checkbefore the end of April:
100,000
Number of servicemen andwomen discharged because oftheir sexual orientation since1993:
approximately12,500
6.3 million
1/2
more than1/3
48%
1.4 million
3/4—Compiled by Renee Villasenor
Ratio of Iraq and Afghanistanveterans who are comfortablearound gay service members:
Number of Americans who havebeen unemployed for sixmonths or longer:
Number of new jobs needed permonth to absorb entrants to thelabor force:
Ratio of teens who text andadmit to texting while driving:
Percentage of teens who say theyhave been in a car when the driver was texting:
utraged students with listsof demands often aren’tpaid much genuine atten-tion by campus officials.However, this is not the
case at UC San Diego. After recent inci-dents at UCSD concerning racial issues, agroup of students presented a list ofdemands to administrators. On Fridaymorning, a group of about 200 UCSDstudents, mostly black, met with adminis-trators to discuss the demands, mostlyaimed at improving the campus’ racial cli-mate. Some demands included: morefunding for minority recruitment andretention programs, creation of a safespace on campus for black students,funding and space to create three African-American-inspired art projects on campusand free tutors for black students struc-tured similarly to what’s offered for ath-letes according towww.signonsandiego.com.
They were prompted by two incidentsat UCSD. The first involved a party calleda “Compton Cookout,” organized bymembers of the Pi Kappa Alpha. The sec-ond incident involved a campus mediaorganization called The Koala, much likeSDSU’s publication. UCSD’s Koala aired alive segment on closed-circuit televisionThursday night supporting the party.Also, a piece of cardboard was found inthe television studio used to record thesegment with the words “Compton lynch-ing” written on it, apparently in referenceto the party.
Students, particularly the small blackpopulation, were outraged and felt thattheir safety was threatened after the inci-dents. While the demands are under-standable, and at best will be swiftlyimplemented by campus officials, itseems unlikely that they will make a sig-
nificant difference in the general attitudetoward these and other students whoface ridicule from these types of organi-zations or the questionable humor ofthe student body.
San Diego State faces the same chal-lenges of balancing the rights of studentsto freely express themselves through vari-ous organizations and the publication ofthose organizations while trying to pre-vent issues such as the one that is takingplace at UCSD.
The issue comes down to those selectorganizations that publish distasteful,offensive content and often inspires feel-ings of fear, alienation and degradation tothose individuals or groups discussed.The really difficult part about all of this isdistinguishing the fine line between light-hearted, well-intentioned humor andracist, sexist or vulgar content thatoffends readers or viewers. I understandthat the goal of these organizations is notto please the university community or actas a traditional journalism platform, but Ialso hope their intentions are not toinspire fear and despair in the groupsthey choose to ridicule.
These organizations must start consid-ering their impact on the various groupsof people or individuals who are oftenvictimized in their publications beforethey run into more trouble from eithertheir school or the legal system.
When issues such as these occur, Iwonder what kind of world we live inwhere this level of racism and degrada-tion is accepted and committed by col-lege-educated adults in exchange forlaughs from those with an equally dis-
tasteful sense of humor. While publications such as The Koala
at SDSU claim to not write the highlyprovocative personals in the back pagesof their publication, they still have thefinal hand in publishing what is foundwithin the publication and therefore arestill responsible for its content.
Publications such as The Koala atSDSU and UCSD must practice more dili-gence in moderating the content of theirnewspapers or television shows. It is easyto simply spew racist, sexist and vulgarlanguage across a few tabloid-sized pages,but it takes a bit more talent to remainhumorous and edgy while poking fun atstereotypes and keeping in good taste.
I hope that at some point these alter-native student media organizations canmove toward challenging the studentbody through more original satire ratherthan simply pushing buttons and pickingon easy targets. Of course, this columnprobably won’t make much of an impacton the state of mind of UCSD’s The Koalaeditor Kris Gregorian, who declined tocomment for the San Diego Union Tribuneunless offered beer. But, I hope some willbegin to look at these vulgar, unoriginalcampus alternative media outlets a littledifferently after this incident. After all,seeing as the official purpose of The Koalais “to crush all your hopes and dreamswith comedy,” I hope you do not considercomedy to include inspiring legitimatefear in the hearts of minority students.
—Reneé Villaseñor is a journalism senior.
—This column does not necessarily reflect theopinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail [email protected]. Anonymousletters will not be printed. Include your fullname, major and year in school.
Racism has no place in mediaRREENNEEEE VVIILLLLAASSEENNOORR
A S S I S TA N T O P I N I O N E D I T O RO
e are the MillennialGeneration. Our overpro-tective parents and sched-uled playdates with friendswere the norm while grow-
ing up. We received trophies even whenour team took last place. Our family andfriends praised each one of us for beinggifted. We were put on a college-careertrack in first grade and received goodgrades throughout school just for trying.Now that we are in college, we are expect-ed to continue this pressured pursuit ofsuccess. The only problem is societyexpects us to succeed sans stimulants.
There has always been a negative con-notation in society regarding college stu-dents and drug use. Whether the drugsare prescribed by a doctor or sold at a fra-ternity party, it is students whom societyregularly condemns.
Society needs to remove its stigmatoward college students and drug abuse,
especially because society sets the stan-dard itself.
Students today are faced with skyrock-eting tuition, an unstable economy,increased unemployment rates, a weak jobmarket upon graduation and the expecta-tion to get decent grades through it all.Today’s employers also expect a laundry-list of extracurricular activities, such ascommunity service and internships. It’snot enough to simply go to class and getgood grades. The pressures of moderncollege life inspire ways to cope.
In a San Diego Union Tribune articlepublished last week, the use of stimulantson college campuses was highlighted as athreatening problem even though useremains relatively low. Students takedrugs such as Adderall and Ritalin toboost energy and improve focus, oftenwhile completing an assignment or study-ing for an exam. When properly pre-scribed, stimulant drugs are meant to treatAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorderand narcolepsy. The article also cited asurvey conducted last spring of San DiegoState undergraduates. It found that 8 per-cent illicitly use stimulants such asAdderall or Ritalin, which is a decrease of4 percent from two years ago.
Abuse of any substance, whether bystudents or others, is never justified.However, an understanding of the com-mon motivations behind the abuse shouldbe considered. A little empathy is in order.
For some, it’s Adderall and Ritalin,while for others it’s caffeine and yoga. Itshouldn’t be an issue students find waysto stimulate their exhausted brains. Afterall, we face the same kind of real-worldpressures that the faculty and staff ofSDSU face. Balancing school, work and apersonal life is no easy task for anyone.
Society needs to hold itself to the samelevel of scrutiny it places on college stu-dents in regards to drug use.
According to the National Institute onDrug Abuse, 15.2 million Americans aged12 and older had taken a prescriptionpain reliever, tranquilizer, stimulant orsedative for non-medical purposes a yearprior. While this figure also includes col-lege-aged people, it gives greater contextinto the overarching issue of drug abusein society. It’s not just students; it’s alsoour teachers, family and friends.
In addition, 10 percent of Americans,or about 27 million people, were takingantidepressants in 2005, according toUSA Today. The same people who beratestudents for popping the occasional pillto aid their studying are the ones pop-ping pills to fight the demons of modernlife. We all have reasons for taking pre-scriptions drugs, some more legitimatethan others. We just shouldn’t pretendone demographics’ use is more justifiedthan another’s.
The issue is not the prevalence ofmisuse by college students but societychooses to single out this demographic.The public chastises college students foressentially trying to cope with the samestruggles and pressures of life thateveryone faces.
Maybe society places too much faith inour generation, hoping we will overcomethe same temptations it gave into longago. And maybe we try too hard to fulfilltheir wishes, turning to stimulants as away to cope. What’s certain is our micro-managed youth brought this upon us.
—Andy Lewandowski is a media studies senior.
—This column does not necessarily reflect theopinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail [email protected]. Anonymous let-ters will not be printed. Include your fullname, major and year in school.
AANNDDYY LLEEWWAANNDDOOWWSSKKIIS TA F F C O L U M N I S T
MASS MEDIUM
Current generation under stress
MCT Campus
W
Tuesday,February 23, 2010 The Daily Aztec 3TRAVEL & ADVENTURE
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The Royal Caribbean International Cruise Line has continued touring near the Haiti coast despite controversy..MCT Campus
Haiti tourism ethics questioned after quake
Testing new water sports, shopping atlocal craft vendors and sipping margaritasin a hammock are all typical activities ona pristine and private beach in Labadee,Haiti. Although this country may never bethe same after the Jan. 12 earthquake,which flattened Port-au-Prince, RoyalCaribbean International Cruise Line hasbeen continuing with business as usual.Currently, this nautical company is siftingthrough a sea of controversy as it contin-ues to dock its ships at Labadee, which isa private resort about 90 miles away fromthe devastated Port-au-Prince.
Passengers who purchased tickets priorto the earthquake are all facing an ethicalquestion of whether or not it’s wrong toenjoy themselves. Critics are outraged anddisgusted by the thought of tourists playingin beaches while bodies continue to pile upin Port-au-Prince. However, Royal Caribbeaninsists on its positive influence by generatingtourism for Haiti in the present and future.
According to www.cnn.com, RoyalCaribbean has been one of Haiti’s largest for-eign investors for almost 30 years and hasspent $50 million developing Labadee.
“The idea to relax so close to the deathand destruction was definitely awkward,”passenger Daniel Melleby said in aNewsweek article. “But it became clear pret-ty quickly that the people there were veryhappy and relieved to see us.”
Cruise line officials have been trying toreassure customers who are reconsideringgoing on a trip that includes a stop in Haiti.
“My view is it isn’t better to replace a visitto Labadee — or for that matter, to stay on theship while it’s docked in Labadee — with avisit to another destination for a vacation,”Adam Goldstein, president and CEO ofRoyal Caribbean International, said on hisblog. “Why? Because being on the island andgenerating economic activity for the strawmarket vendors, the hair-braiders and our230 employees helps with relief while beingsomewhere else does not help.”
Nonetheless, according to Newsweek,
passengers still support Royal Caribbean’schoice, as 85 percent of guests who dockedat Labadee ultimately went ashore.
According to its Web site, RoyalCaribbean has made humanitarian effortsby donating $1 million to Haiti and usedits ships to bring supplies such as rice,dried beans, powdered milk, water andcanned goods. Royal Caribbean also stat-ed that 100 percent of the company’s netrevenue from the destination will be con-tributed to the relief effort.
In spite of this, opponents argue RoyalCaribbean is making an unethical choiceby continuing to visit Haiti and it could bedoing more to help the country. Dr. JessPonting, a hospitality and tourism man-agement assistant professor at San DiegoState, believes now is not the time for suchrecreation and the company could offermore of its resources.
“There are assets Royal Caribbean hasand could bring to the country to restoreorder such as use the ships to house people,provide hospital service or even house reliefworkers,” Ponting said. “As they come in,they take away valuable resources needed.Cruise ships have even been used to house(Hurricane) Katrina victims.” He also saidthe company’s contribution to the Haitianeconomy is very minimal.
“The nation receives 800 percent moretaxes from a regular visitor compared tocruise visitors who come for a day,” Pontingsaid. “The regular tourist pays more taxes fordrinks and different things they purchase,whereas cruise ships are profitable because(the passenger’s money) doesn’t go into theeconomy, the money goes back to cruise.”
Most of Ponting’s research comes fromthe Center for Responsible Travel and hefound that the Labadee beaches need exten-sive security to protect tourists. He said thisis diverting much needed guards who canhelp restore order in Port-au-Prince.
“I don’t want to kick Royal Caribbean,but they don’t contribute to the economy,”he said. “They have been helping, but theycontinue with business as usual and it’sclearly not (enough).”
KKAARRII LLUUUUS TA F F W R I T E R
WebSavvy?The Daily Aztec is lookingfor a volunteer Web Editorthat will transition into a paidposition for the 2010-2011school year.
Students with Web experience are encouragedto apply.
Apply now at The DailyAztec offices, located in the basement of the Education& Business Administrationbuilding.
For more information, call619-594-3315.
TRAVEL & ADVENTURE Tuesday,February 23, 2010The Daily Aztec4
hether you celebrated MardiGras in your own neighbor-hood, downtown, at a houseparty or just at home studyingfor school, it was hard to
avoid the Mardi Gras hype. What many don’trealize is Mardi Gras is not just a one-day cel-ebration in New Orleans, which is the epi-center of the celebration.
Being in the Big Easy for the past week, Iwas inundated in a different world that cameto life every day of the week with southernmusic, dancing and drinks. New Orleans hasits own culture and laws that you quicklybecome accustomed to.
The week began on Monday with the pre-Mardi Gras day party, which was locally calledLundi Gras — or Fat Monday in English(Mardi Gras literally means Fat Tuesday inFrench). The Tuesday main event includedparades and plenty of beads, but the partydidn’t stop there.
Wednesday night I found myself beingoffered a drink on a side bar in the FrenchQuarter and realized that in New Orleans,you can walk around with alcohol in thestreets all the time — not just during MardiGras. Hurricanes were a popular drink andmany places boasted the authentic home-made kind, though it tasted like vodka andred Kool-Aid to me.
All through the week roads were blockedoff from cars and pedestrians took to thestreets. People were dancing and singingeverywhere. It was like a week of New Year’sEve parties but with no definite end in sight.
On Thursday night, I made my way to alocal gay bar called Oz. Don’t let the campyname fool you, the bar’s two-story redbrickwalls and gothic-themed ceilings provided amodern and energetic atmosphere where youcould dance all day long — literally. Bars such
as Oz serve liquor all day and night long sincethey are open 24 hours a day.
Even on Sunday night there was plenty todo before the locals headed to work. I foundmyself at Bourbon Pub and Parade onBourbon Street. It offered $2 can beers andprovided six large screen TVs playing classicand older music, from Little Orphan Annie toBackstreet Boys and all the good music mostof us probably listened to in middle school. Itwas enough to make this 21-year-old feel old.
Most nights I’d find myself with a group offriends heading to the local Krystal near CanalStreet. Krystal is basically a White Castle, butthe fries aren’t as good. We don’t have eitherof these chains in Southern California, but itwas definitely good comfort food on my earlymorning walk back to the hotel, not unlikeour own Jack in the Box restaurants.
As we walked home from our night ofdancing, we were greeted by an array of streetperformers on Bourbon Street and around theFrench Quarter playing great high-beat musicand asking for tips.
Southern hospitality was definitely servedup in generous helping before, during andafter Mardi Gras. For New Orleans, it’s morethan just a one-day event; it’s weeks of livinglife and having fun with both friends andstrangers. Even when Mardi Gras has comeand gone, New Orleans offers an open invita-tion for anyone looking for a good time.
—Allan Acevedo is a political science major andcomparative literature junior.
—This column does not necessarily reflect the opin-ion on The Daily Aztec.
AALLLLAANN AACCEEVVEEDDOOO P I N I O N E D I T O RW
Courtesy of Allan Acevedo / Opinion Editor
Courtesy of Allan Acevedo / Opinion EditorCourtesy of Allan Acevedo / Opinion Editor
FLAMING LIBERAL
Post-hurricane Mardi Gras extravaganza
Tuesday,February 23, 2010 The Daily Aztec 5SPORTS
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Wins on the road in MWC play last year
Losses on the road in MWC play last year
Losses for the Aztecs in MWC play this season
Wins for SDSU in MWC play last season
Wins for SDSU in Mountain West Conference play this season
Losses for the Aztecs in MWC play this season
2 Wins on the road in MWC play this year
5 Losses on the road in MWC play this year
FOR SDSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BASEBALL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Despite loss, Gwynnsees improvement
The San Diego State baseball team ended along weekend of losing on Sunday with adifferent kind of loss.
“A loss is a loss, butthis was a better loss ifyou could say that,”head coach TonyGwynn said. “Theyreally competed today;
we just came up short.”SDSU left Tony Gwynn Stadium with a
5-2 loss to No. 22 Oklahoma, but showedimprovement from the three challenginggames earlier in the weekend.
The rain seemed to clean up the Aztecs’defense against the Sooners, but it left theiroffense stranded. Sunday afternoon was theonly time in the four-game series when SDSUcame out errorless, but it only managed sixhits, the lowest total of the weekend.
“We made some good plays defensive-ly,” Gwynn said. “Offensively we just did-n’t get it done.”
Facing Oklahoma right-handed pitcherBobby Shore, the Aztecs got on base in thefirst inning after a dropped ball by theshortstop, but closed the inning withoutplating the runner. SDSU could not get arun until the fifth inning when junior catch-er Matt Parker doubled down the left fieldline and scored four pitches later, whenfreshman designated hitter Blair Moore gota base hit, his third of the weekend.
The Aztecs were unable to bring anyoneelse back to home plate until the bottom ofthe eighth. Senior second baseman MitchBlackburn had a leadoff walk, moved to sec-ond on a balk and was able to take third ona passed ball. With two outs on the board,
junior outfielder Cory Vaughn was able todrive a single up the middle, bringingBlackburn home.
SDSU’s pitching staff struggled at first.Junior pitcher Craig Rasmussen made hisfirst start of the season and gave up threehome runs in the first four innings. At thetop of the fifth, sophomore John Pecorarowas given a chance to relieve Rasmussen.
“I wanted to keep everything low and getsome ground balls after they lifted three outof the park,” Pecoraro said. “I felt reallygood. I could have gone longer.”
Pecoraro delivered four strikeouts andonly allowed one run to score in his 3.2-inning appearance.
“Pecoraro came in there and he threwstrikes and changed speeds,” Gwynn said.“That’s what you’re going to have to do towin games.”
The Aztecs switched players in and outof the lineup all weekend and never startedthe same batting order in any of the fourgames. Gwynn said he could read theteam’s excitement and finally saw themcalm down to a normal pace on Sunday.
“I think this group matured these lastcouple of days and now they’re going tokind of settle in,” Gwynn said. “You’realways going to be tested until you eventu-ally win a game. We’re figuring out who weare and how we were supposed to play.”
“Especially after winning so much lastyear, this weekend was a learning experi-ence for the whole team. It was good for usbecause we have 50-something more gamesto go. We’re not even close to done,” AddedPecoraro said.
SDSU’s next game will be played at 6p.m. tonight at Tony Gwynn Stadiumagainst UC Riverside.
FFEELLIINNAA TTAAMMBBAAKKOOSSS TA F F W R I T E R
SOONERS 5 AZTECS 2
VS.
AT A GLANCE
WHEN: 6 p.m.
WHERE: Tony Gwynn Stadium
WHY TO WATCH: After four straight losses to open the season,the San Diego State baseball team will try to get back on trackagainst the Highlanders at home.
Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor
With last week’s convincing victory againstconference-leading and then-No. 23 TCU, itappeared the San Diego State women’s basket-ball team was playing up to its potential andhad its season back on track as the MountainWest Conference tournament approaches.
That notion took a hit on Sunday whenSDSU fell 73-55 at Utah.The loss marks theAztecs’ fourth loss infive games and thirdconsecutive road defeat.
The frustration and disappointment theteam has dealt with the past few weeks wasevident after the game.
“We could have practiced better, we couldhave had better attention to detail,” headcoach Beth Burns said to Chris Ello ofwww.goaztecs.com. “When you play a well-coached team and a disciplined team, theymake you pay.
“Even when we made our runs and triedto get it going, we’re just our own worst ene-mies sometimes.”
The match was closely contestedthroughout most of the action, featuringnine ties and an equal amount of leadchanges. But with the Utes (16-9, 7-5 inMWC play) holding a one-point advantagewith 12 minutes remaining, a Kalee
Whipple 3-pointer sparked an 11-4 run forthe home team, which SDSU (15-10, 7-6MWC) never recovered from.
The Aztecs committed 22 turnovers,with five players giving up the ball multipletimes, and SDSU once again came up on theshort end of the rebounding margin, 37-29.Sophomore center Kalena Tutt came off thebench to lead the Aztecs on the glass withsix rebounds, but Utah dominated theboards with center Taryn Wicijowski andWhipple pulling down 10 and ninerebounds, respectively.
“You practice it, you work on it, butthat’s what I mean,” Burns said. “In yester-day morning’s practice, we gave up (whatseemed like) hundreds of O-boards. (Tutt)gave us a little spark of the bench; Ithought she did well. Allison (Duffy) hasbeen struggling a little bit lately; we needher to help a little bit.
“It’s too much of a load for Jené (Morris)to carry: guarding their best player and scor-ing all those points.”
Burns was referencing the game-high 27points the senior guard scored in the loss.Morris shot 12-18 from the field while dishingout three assists and recording three steals.
SDSU now finds itself in a three-way tiefor fourth place in the MWC with threegames remaining on the regular seasonschedule. The Aztecs’ next game is at 7 p.m.tomorrow at Viejas Arena, when they take onsecond place BYU.
DDAAVVIIDD PPOOPPEEA S S I S TA N T S P O R T S E D I T O R
UTAH 73 SDSU 55
Poor second half leadsto sixth MWC defeat
San Diego State sophomore center Kalena Tutt recorded a team-high six rebounds in Sunday’s loss to Utah.Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor
SPORTS Tuesday,February 23, 2010The Daily Aztec6
SOFTBALL
MEN’S TENNIS
Opening the season at home energizes play-ers and seems to give them an extra step ontheir opponents. For the first two games ofthe Campbell / Cartier Classic, the San DiegoState softball team was a prime example ofthat beneficial mind set.
SDSU (7-3) dominated in victories againstUC Santa Barbara and Western Kentucky. Yetwhen the Aztecs reached the weekend, thehome-field magic was nowhere to be found.
“We started real welland then fell off,” headcoach Kathy Van Wyksaid. “We were verygood at times and at oth-ers we were bad. It’s the
first part of the season and that is when it’sOK for problems to arise because we canwork on them.”
Last Thursday, SDSU played its firsthome game of the season against theGauchos and controlled the entire game, rid-ing the outstanding arm of junior pitcherSamantha Beasley.
Beasley went the complete seven inningsonly giving up one hit, allowing the Aztecsto tally six runs and safely come away withthe victory.
“Sam (Beasley) threw a terrific game and itwas exactly what we wanted to kick off thetournament,” Van Wyk said. “Our bats camealive and it’s pretty easy to get a win when theother team only gets the bat on the ball once.”
In the second game of the tournamentagainst WKU, SDSU used the bat of redshirtjunior second baseman Lindsey Marquez toget a victory. Marquez had a career day, col-lecting four hits, and was at the forefront of
the Aztecs’ 7-2 offensive charge.“It felt really good to get back out there,”
Marquez said. “I started to feel like my oldself. It’s hard taking a year off and missingout because of injury. But the more I playthough the more I feel super comfortableon the field.”
But in Saturday’s doubleheader, SDSUstruggled and could never find its rhythm. TheAztecs dropped the first game to No. 1
Washington 5-0 and fell later to Penn State, 3-1.“(That) we left so many runners on base
was what really kills me,” junior catcherTraci Wolf said. “We just need to probablyput more effort in it and not swing for themeeting, but we didn’t need girls swingingfor the fences. We need small ball and wecan execute.”
SDSU finished the weekend 2-2 and leftthe Classic with an overall record of 7-3.
“We had lots of ups and downs,” Van Wyksaid. “But it’s better to get them out now. Wehave time to work, time to improve and moretime to simply get better.”
In Sunday’s match against UC SantaBarbara, the San Diego State men’s tennisteam’s toughest opponent was almost therainy weather.
“We had to work hard to get this match intoday,” head coach Gene Carswell said. “Our
guys even had to pushwater off the court withsqueegees before thematch. It was literally ateam effort today.”
On Sunday after-noon, when SDSU battled a delay lastingmore than two hours, the Aztecs (1-5) defeat-ed UCSB 4-2 at the Aztec Tennis Center andpicked up their first win of the season.
Juan Gomez, a senior from Ecuador,stayed perfect in singles matches this season,winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.
The other three SDSU points came instraight-set victories from senior AchimCeban (6-3, 6-2) and juniors GiovanniVaglietti (6-0, 6-3) and Tim Schulz van Endert(7-6 (4), 7-5).
Because of the long delay, the doublesmatches weren’t played and the dismal con-ditions posed new challenges for the players.
For Schulz van Endert, the mental aspectwas the biggest hurdle.
“We were ready to go home, but then all ofa sudden the sun started shining and thecoaches decided we would play,” Schulz vanEndert said. “It was tough on the mind, buteveryone dealt with it very well. We could
have used (the weather) as an excuse, but wereally went out there and fought today.”
For Gomez, the physical condition of thecourt was more of a problem.
“It’s so different; it’s not like a regularmatch,” Gomez said. “When (the court) is wetit’s a little bit slower and I like to play when it’shot and sunny; the game is just faster.”
Although Sunday marked the Aztecs’ firstvictory of the season, the foundation for thewin was laid just a day earlier when SDSUtook on No. 6 UCLA (4-2) in Los Angeles.
The Aztecs won two out of three doublesmatches to take the point against one of thebest teams in the country. The match wasmuch more competitive than the final scoreof 5-2 indicated.
“(The turning point) started (Saturday)when we played UCLA,” Schulz van Endertsaid. “We all had to step our game up and wedid. We’re definitely playing better as a team,and everyone was a lot more confident afterwe came close to beating the No. 6 team inthe country.”
SDSU’s schedule has been tough, as it hasalready faced four nationally ranked teamsthis season and it’s only getting tougher. TheAztecs travel to USC today to take on thedefending NCAA champion Trojans (9-1).
Although SDSU faces a daunting oppo-nent, Carswell isn’t fazed.
“When we go into a match like this onethere will be no lack of respect (for USC),”Carswell said. “But still we’re not afraid ofanyone. We’re going to go after them. Thisteam can do great things and this match willbe another opportunity to show that.”
DDAANN PPEERREEZZS E N I O R S TA F F W R I T E R
HUSKIES 5AZTECS 0
AAGGUUSSTTIINN GGOONNZZAALLEEZZS TA F F W R I T E R
SDSU 4UCSB 2
David J. Olender / Assistant Photo Editor
SDSU battles rain and UCSB to pick up first victory
WHEN: 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Los Angeles
WHY TO WATCH: The San Diego State men’s tennis team will trav-el to USC today to take on the defending NCAA champion Trojans.
AT A GLANCE
The No. 1 Washington Huskies beat the Aztecs on Saturday, 5-0, in the Campbell / Cartier Classic.Maura Ochoa / Staff Photographer
““We had lots of ups anddowns. But it’s betterto get them out now.We have time to work,time to improve andmore time to simplyget better.”
—Kathy Van Wyk, head coach
VS.
Home-field magic wears off on Saturday in Classic
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February 23, 20108 THE BACK PAGETODAY’S BIRTHDAY (2/23/10) Whatever
ails you in the coming year, dreams pro-vide surprising cures. Pay attention to themessages that come to you when you'resleeping or simply daydreaming.This pow-erful source of feelings and symbols helpsyou deal with family issues.You may shiftold ways of thinking, letting go of worn-out attitudes.
ARIES (March 21 - April 19) - Today is a 5 -Share a musical experience with friends. Itcould be a concert or an e-mail link to anew tune. Relax in the comfort of a famil-iar venue with people you know.
TAURUS (April 20 - May 20) - Today is a 7- As the Moon enters the sign of Cancer,you find yourself freed up to pursue morethan one great opportunity. Power is yoursto wield.
GEMINI (May 21 - June 21) - Today is a 7 -If you bring all your powers of persuasionto the table, you'll find that others deferwithout objection. Argue angrily and you'lllose your audience.
CANCER (June 22 - July 22) - Today is a 6 -Every ache and pain you wake up withcan be relieved with a hot shower. Singyour way to relaxation.Then take chargeof the day and do as you wish.
LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22) - Today is a 6 - Putpen to paper or fingers to keyboard andlet the ideas flow.Take extra care withmedicines and monitor dosages diligently.
VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22) - Today is a 6 -It's time to bring your ideas to the table.
Words flow smoothly as you expressyourself to team members or family.Waitfor the final result. It's worth it.
LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) - Today is a 7 -You need imagination to penetrate a tan-gled web of concepts and feelings. Freeyour words, but don't etch them in stone.There's room for different points of view.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) - Today is 6 -Rein in early-morning enthusiasm. Othersaren't quite ready.You'll convince themlater. Celebrate with ethnic food.Trysomething new.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) - Today isa 6 - Uncork all of your persuasive pow-ers.You can use them at home, in socialsettings or in a confrontation over money.Dial down your opinion.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) - Today isa 7 - Your partner really needs a vacation.If you can't plan it instantly, at least sched-ule it. Choose a destination not too farfrom home.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) - Today is a 7- Focus on written work.You make head-way on a paper or report. Include unusualtidbits of information to make the materialmore interesting.
PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20) - Today is a 6 -Expect a lot of conversation today. Afuture goal doesn't require immediatecompletion. Exercise patience in theseearly stages.The magic happens in theaging process.
© 2010,TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES INC.
Level: 1 2 3 4
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BBYY LLIINNDDAA CC.. BBLLAACCKK,, TTRRIIBBUUNNEE MMEEDDIIAA SSEERRVVIICCEESSDAILY HOROSCOPE
© 2010 The Mepham Group. Distributed byTribune Media Services.All rights reserved.
Instructions: Complete the grid soeach row, column and 3-by-3 box (inbold borders) contains every digit 1to 9. For strategies on how to solveSudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk.
SSoolluuttiioonn aavvaaiillaabbllee oonnlliinnee aattwwwwww..TThheeDDaaiillyyAAzztteecc..ccoomm
EEDDIITTEEDD BBYY RRIICCHH NNOORRRRIISS AANNDD JJOOYYCCEE LLEEWWIISS
AACCRROOSSSS1 Have status5 Less adorned, as
walls10 Wordless singing
style14 Land parcel unit15 Big gig venue16 Heading for a
chore list17 Devotee of a
Sistine Chapelfeature?
19 Charles Lamb’snom de plume
20 Sixth sense,briefly
21 Carnival city22 Portage vessels24 Devotee of
green ice cream?27 Final furniture
coat30 Round at the tav-
ern31 Pennsylvania
Dutch group32 Buddy of Tom
and Dick?33 Important time36 Pop choice37 Numbers after
the decimal point38 Top of the glass39 __ out: barely
make40 Tadpoles’ milieus41 Like fresh celery42 Capital where
“Aida” premiered43 Trained animal’s
repertoire44 Devotee of thun-
derstorms?48 Idolizes49 Fish eggs50 In the style of53 Hand, in Juárez54 Devotee of a
classical language?
58 “Beg pardon”59 Express a view60 Uncooperative
contraction61 Annoyed62 Looks after63 Stopping points
DDOOWWNN1 Meet event2 Suit toppers3 Vacation option4 Sushi choice5 Send into exile6 Special lingo7 Arbiter with a
whistle8 “Bambi” doe9 Oater landown-
ers10 Workers with
pads11 Punctuation in
play dialogue12 French farewell13 Best man’s offer18 Joyce’s country-
men23 Like a screened
porch24 Tower city25 Leave high and
dry26 “Two mints in
one” sloganeer27 Confront28 “No harm done”29 River where baby
Moses was found32 Artist Matisse33 Rock star Clapton34 Insurer’s exposure35 Metal band’s
equipment37 Vending machine
feature
38 Place to holdmutineers
40 Cracker spread41 Inhumane42 Auto trim43 Rare orders, per-
haps44 Eastern priests45 Potato source46 Casualty47 Nine-to-five rou-
tine, to many50 Ringer of many
bells51 Allow to use for
a while52 Creative fields55 Class clown,
often56 Anchovy holder57 Be in the hole for
CROSSWORD
SSoolluuttiioonn aavvaaiillaabbllee oonnlliinnee aatt wwwwww..TThheeDDaaiillyyAAzztteecc..ccoomm
LOOKING THROUGH OUR LENS
Staff Photographer Jeff Lewis captured this black and white photo of dark, foreboding clouds rolling in over the New
Zealand landscape.
EPIC CLOUDS
HUMOR: TOADSTOOL CHRONICLES
Curious case of ‘Avatar’ bluessaw “Avatar” for the firsttime the other day. Here’swhat happened when Iwalked out of the theater:I took a look around,
sighed and realized how utterlymundane life was. But that onlylasted for about an hour; then mylife got exciting again. Becausemy middle name’s Adventure.
James Cameron’s visuallystunning almost three-hour sen-sually enticing colorful splurge ofa movie is actually causing someto feel what is being called “post-Avatar depression.” My depres-sion was a short-lived existentialtiff. The only thing that hascaused prolonged psychologicaldiscomfort is the fact that I gotaroused watching aliens kiss.
I’m considering therapy. Idon’t know if that’s chill. Then Iimagined their little tentacles intheir tails intertwining, and Islumped back in my seat and putmy head down. Then I put mypopcorn over my groin because Iwas wearing basketball shorts.
Watching “Avatar” makes youwant to go to the rainforest, dyeyour skin blue, whittle a spearand bomb a Mayan village. Thenyou’d apologize to the Mayansand tell them that you were aMarine sent on a reconnaissancemission, then your little Mayanlove interest gets mad at you for
deceiving her and then the wholevillage ostracizes you. Then youjust flat out bomb the village, sothat not even a dung beetle sur-vives. Because you don’t want tototally copy the movie.
We live in a dying world. Thisseems to be the justification for“Avatar” depression. Although,it’s entirely too true that peoplewho are negatively affected by“Avatar” suffer from a whole slewof other issues as well. If thesepeople magically transformedinto Na’vis and were living onPandora, they’d just find otherreasons to complain. They’dwhine about their disobedientMountain Banshee or their tailgetting in the way when theyhave to sit down; they’d bitchabout the rent at Hometree orcomplain when some Hexapedecraps on their lawn.
These people just soundawful. I’d rather hang out with apiece of bark than someonewhose soul was compromised bya movie about 10-foot-tall catSmurfs with hops. There’s actual-ly a whole support communityonline for these people — ways inwhich you can cure your post-“Avatar” depression. I’ve actually
have a few ideas too. Here I willshare with you “Noah’s 12-StepProgram for How to Cure YourPost-‘Avatar’ Depression.”
One: Wash the blue paint offyour body. Two: Bury your dogbecause you just had to reenactthe scene when Jake Sully fightsoff the Viperwolves in the forest.Three: Put away that framed pic-ture of Neytiri beside your bed.Four: Wash it off. Five: Go toyour local pub. Six: Buy a fewpitchers of beer. Seven: Wink atthe cute girl across the bar. Eight:Tell her you own a BMW. Nine:Take her back to your apartment.Ten: Make some drinks and puton Al Green. Eleven: Lay her onthe bed. Twelve: Boom, baby.
If you have a weak constitu-tion I suggest you don’t see“Avatar.” If you have a weak heartI suggest you don’t see “Avatar.”If you’re nursing or pregnant Isuggest you don’t see “Avatar.” Ifyou bawled for weeks after wit-nessing Jack Dawson’s pale, littleface sink into the icy waters ofthe North Atlantic, I suggest youwatch “Tooth Fairy.”
—Noah “Adventure” Henry is anEnglish senior.
—This column does not necessarilyreflect the opinions of The DailyAztec.
I NNOOAAHH HHEENNRRYYC O N T R I B U T O R