April 2019

csusignal.com

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Table of Contents

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Volume: 95 Issue: 03

Staff

Contact us at: 209.677.3410 editor@csusignal.com

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25237

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9 16 27Inside CUAA and the Chicanx

Commencement

The Evolution of Warrior Day

From Trash Bags to Dream Duffels

The Lenten Season

Local Latina Business WomenInspire Others

Mujeres Latinas de Negocios Locales Inspiran a Otros

Dentro CUAA y la Graduación Chicanx

From the South and the Bay to Stan

Warriors on the Way

Gabby Rosas-Richardson

Rebuilding the Car Community

The Steps to End Hazing

The Reality of “Finish in Four”

Behind the Plate at Stan State

Student Athletes Speak Out About Priority Registration

Fun & Games

Graphic DesignersEthan HuntSimarjit KaurMaggie LuntJace OrtegaGabby Rosas-Richardson

EditorsAndrew CabreraKristen DiasNicole DunlapEmily HakeKayla SantanaHaley Steele

ReportersAustin BathkeDanielle CastilloAdam GrabarekJuan GuitronHarry HarrisAbri MunozBriannah OwenAlyssa PattersonJuan Ruiz-OlguinPaula SanchezLaura Tadeo

Administrative Support CoordinatorStephanie Silva

Want to advertise with us? Email us at : signal_ads@csustan.edu

PhotographerAndrew Cabrera

Signal news strives with its reporting to empower fellow Stan State students and

our community by advocating for truth and equality while celebrating our diversity.

Our Mission

@csusignal csu_signal CSU Signal

Faculty AdvisorDr. Shannon Stevens

WebmasterSam Kara

Cover by:

La Letra ÑChristina OchoaPaula SanchezContributing WriterChelsey Berry

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The Lenten Season

byAndrew Cabrera

The season of Lent is coming to an end lat-er this month, this Sunday to be exact. Easter Sunday is the big conclusion for Catholics and some Christian denominations that have taken part in this yearly tradition.

It started with Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Jesus’ journey through the desert for forty days and forty nights. Throughout this time, Jesus was con-stantly tempted by Satan to break His fast-ing and to stop everything before He started spreading the word.

Throughout Ash Wednesday mass, which was held on campus on March 6, Father Bill McDonald, from All Saints University Par-ish behind campus, told the audience a story about a golf buddy that cusses all the time.

“I asked him what he was going to give up for Lent and he replied, ‘I’m going to give up potatoes,’” Father Bill said. As the crowd of students and faculty laughed, Father Bill went on with his story. “Are you kidding me, potatoes? Why not give up the real problem, your cussing?” Now directing his talk to the audience, “And this is what I say to all of you [the crowd]. Try to make some kind of

effort, not a superficial effort but instead a REAL effort.”

During Lent, participants give up some-thing (like sweets, coffee or social media) for the full forty days as a way to emulate Jesus’ temptations through his journey. By doing this, participants are able to reflect on their year and what they have been doing.

Omar Azcue (senior, Political Science) defined Lent as a time where people can re-flect on their lives and pray for change where change is needed.

Azcue said, “It’s a time to look at what you’ve done last year and what you can im-prove on for the next year. Lent is the bridge where you are able to gap the two together and you’re able to really see what you want and can improve on.”

Later on, Father Bill clarified what he meant by “a real effort” and said we should “try to give up what’s important, nothing superficial but instead on a deeper level.” During his homily, he said, “If you’re a judg-mental person, don’t give up coffee. Give up judgmentalism. If lust is your issue, don’t give up bread. Try to turn away from lust and make a special effort to turn towards the Love with His love and mercy.”

He went on to give advice on how to keep a Lenten penance. “It’s connected to prayer. It’s connected to their relationship with Je-sus, so people need to stay in touch with Je-sus in prayer to be able to have that desire to devote whatever their penance is.”

Yuehesi Cuellar (junior, Psychology) is

currently a Catholic Student Association (CSA) member and was at the Ash Wednes-day mass distributing ashes alongside Father Bill and two other members of CSA. Cuel-lar talked about how on top of this forty-day penance, Catholics are told to fast and to re-strain from eating meat on Fridays.

Cuellar said instead of meat, she usually eats pasta. “Because we only have two small snacks and dinner, I usually go to Raleys and get a pasta salad and for my full meal I would get a quesadilla or a meatless soup or I just go to Taco Bell and get a bean and cheese burrito.”

Also on Fridays, there are usually either fish frys or soup dinners at local churches, the closest being the campus church of All Saints. On the week leading up to Good Fri-day, these dinners tend to grow in both num-bers and parish participation.

Leading up to Easter Sunday there is Holy Week which consists of Palm Sunday, the Sunday prior to Easter, and Good Friday, which is this Friday.

First, Palm Sunday is the day when Jesus finally reached the town of Jerusalem and was greeted by the Jewish people with praise and parties. On Palm Sunday, palm leaves are distributed to everyone in the church and will then be used for next year’s ashes.

During Palm Sunday mass, the reading of the Passion is told to prepare followers for His coming. The Passion is the process that Jesus went through prior to being crucified on the cross. This reading explains the set of

This year’s Ash Wednesday mass was on campus and took place earlier last month (Signal Photo/ Andrew Cabrera)

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images that show Jesus’ journey up Mount Calvary and His struggles along the way.

This Friday is Good Friday, also known as the day that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. Josue Montoya (junior, Kinesiology) is an-other CSA member and is prepared for this Friday saying that “it’s not a celebration, but instead the opposite. It is more of a remem-brance of when Jesus gave His life away for everybody.”

This sacrifice and passion are displayed throughout Lent on every Friday with the Stations of the Cross prayers, but on Good Friday many Catholic churches hold Live Stations of the Cross to show how everything happened on that day.

Montoya described this event as more of

a performance. “It’s a time when our God gives Himself up for us and goes through so much pain for us. So we remember that pain and go through that with Him and realize, if our God could go through that then, we must also go through a fraction of that pain. So on that Resurrection Sunday, we may also res-urrect with the Lord into Heaven.”

Montoya mentioned “Resurrection Sun-day,” also known as Easter Sunday, because it is said in the Bible that on the third day Jesus rose from the dead.

He described Easter in one word, “Halle-lujah!” Montoya added that “Easter Sunday resembles everything that Christianity stands on. If Jesus went and gave his life away to the people and didn’t resurrect then Christi-

anity would be nothing, absolutely nothing.”As Montoya was describing the meaning

of Easter Sunday, a smile was forming on his face and his energy became contagious. He exclaimed that “Resurrection Sunday is the basis of our Christian faith and without the resurrection there is nothing and for anyone that isn’t Christian or Catholic, this is the place to start believing.”

The coming of Easter marks the coming of Jesus and the end of the Lenten season. The Catholic church will be in “Ordinary Time” until the coming of Jesus once again, but as a baby during Advent.

To learn more about All Saints or CSA, check out their Instagram at @csawarriors.

Palm Sunday mass at All Saints Catholic church in Turlock, started outside with the blessing of the palms (Signal Photo/Andrew Cabrera)

The parish members are outside with their palms to reenact when Jesus arrived to Jerusalem (Signal Photo/ Andrew Cabrera)

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Local Latina Business Women

Inspire Othersby Danielle Castillo

Women at Stan State have an abundance of opportunities to get empowered in their careers and futures.

Kelsey Biggs (junior, Communication Studies) is the President of the Phi Mu Sorority and believes sororities empower collegiate women.

“My experience being a part of a sorority has given me confi-dence, academic success, and has taught me a lot about being a leader in my community...Being surrounded by women who sup-port each other and have the same goals has been a great part of my college experience,” said Biggs.

Biggs added that Phi Mu’s mission is “to provide personal and ac-ademic development, service to others, commitment to excellence and lifelong friendships through a shared tradition.”

Shifting to the future of women, Biggs added, ”Women’s success is very important to me because I have been surrounded by wom-en who inspire, understand, and motivate me to become a better version of myself. It is important to have strong women leaders be-cause women can bring something new to the table and change the way society functions.”

Michell Mercado (sophomore, Communication Studies) is also enthusiastic about the future of women and Stan State students.

“As a young female student at Stanislaus State my goal is to not only graduate and get my degree but to also to help other students achieve their academic goals,” said Mercado, explaining that her goal is to become a mentor to students who are applying to college or who don’t know what to expect.

“This is so important to me because I am a first generation college student and I had to figure things out on my own, and it was pretty challenging. If I can help others figure things out for when they come to college, then I would feel very proud about being able to help them.”

Mercado mentioned the pressures she has seen put on women in our society. She said, “I think women are strong. We put up with a lot and go through a lot and there’s so much more pressure on us to be perfect all the time.”

“I most definitely think it’s important for women to be successful, but success means something different to everyone,” Mercado said. “Whatever it is that other women want to achieve, I’m all for it. It’s all about being dedicated and passionate in achieving your dreams. That, in the end, is what will really inspire others to achieve their own goals.”

Women Empowerment at

Stan State

Stanislaus State had their ninth annual College of Business Ad-ministration Women’s Leadership Forum on March 29 with guest speakers Norma Andrade Casanova, Virginia Madueno and Michelle Baldeon.

These three Latina women discussed many topics such as their per-sonal background, seizing opportunities, and balancing personal and business life.

Norma Andrade Casanova is originally from Mexico and was raised in Stockton, California. Casanova was raised in a farm work-ing family where she and her siblings would go pick crops around the Stanislaus County. Her mother instilled in her the importance of an education, so she could break free from this cycle of picking crops.

Casanova said, “She [Casanova’s mother] made an effort every single time she could, emphasizing the importance of obtaining an education, so that’s what we did Monday to Friday, put our head down in our books, and Saturday and Sunday since she did not have anyone to care for us we would go with them. It was fun at the time but fast forward years later we now realize how difficult that journey was, to be raised picking crops around the entire Stanislaus County”

Casanova attended UC Davis thinking she wanted to become an at-torney and worked as a teller at Wells Fargo while attending school. Both parents became disabled and she tried to find a way to help them by reading the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad.

“I don’t like the word ‘rich’ but it caught my attention,” Casanova said. She read the book and told her mom and dad, “You know what, you guys can start a business, just because you’re disabled physically doesn’t mean mentally you can’t have a job still.”

This led into her parents buying stock as their journey of investing began. Casanova’s branch manager at the time from Wells Fargo ad-vised her that she should become a financial advisor.

“Throughout my entire journey, I went from an immigrant from Mexico, to a farm and labor worker, to ‘I’m going to be an attorney,’ to now wealth management,” Casanova said.

Virginia Madueno had a similar upbringing to Casanova. When she was older, she started working with the Stanislaus County as a public information officer, leading her to work 12 years of her career in public service.

by Laura Tadeo

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Madueno’s brother-in-law was shot and killed in Modesto, and after that she knew her life would change. Soon after, she got preg-nant with twins. “God took one and gave us two, so we were forever blessed,” Madueno, who already had a three year old, said.

Madueno went back to work and couldn’t keep working the shifts she used to, so she told her husband she had to do something dif-ferent. She jokingly told the forum that she did not know anything about business. “I never knew about business except in kindergarten when I was the best salesperson for ladybugs. I would sell them for 5 cents,” she said.

Madueno had developed a portfolio and business plan, and drove to Sacramento to meet with the largest communications firms in Northern California. She told them, “I am not looking for a job. I am looking for an opportunity, and I can ensure you if you partner with me we will do great things together.”

This led her to pitch her first account to the State of California for Higher Education. She presented a plan to reach out to the hispanic population, and it was successful. This is how Madueno started her own company, IMAGEN LLC., which she has owned for 18 years since.

Michelle Baldeon was a first generation Ecuadorian American whose parents came to America for a dream of a better life for their family. Her father started off as an ice cream man and found a way to help her mother get a better education.

Baldeon said, “My mom told us she was going to school to get a better education and to better our lives. I didn’t really understand why, I just got mad because she wasn’t going to be home anymore. Now I think about it and it was big thing my mother did, because not only did she get a higher education to better her life but also she became a role model because I saw where education took her.”

An opportunity came for Baledon to present clothes at a pop up show and she took it, which started her company Luxe & Found as well as her love for fashion. It provided vintage fashion that was affordable to everyone.

Baldeon, however, did not see other Latino-owned businesses in Stockton. She met with councilman, Jesus Andrade, for Stockton in District 6. Together they helped create more spaces for Latinos and more market opportunities. 9 months later, they became co-founders of a new organization under the San Joaquin County Hispanic Cham-ber of Commerce.

Baldeon says the new organization “cultivates a culture of excel-lence among Latino emergent leaders, entrepreneurs and business owners and the whole community.”

The three women then began to discuss the opportunities that Lati-nas in business will face and the importance of seizing any oppor-tunity to get a foot in the door. Baldeon emphasized that if she had never gone to the pop up shop, she never would have had the same experiences and accomplishments.

“Opportunity speaks to your natural talents and gifts. When you see an opportunity that can speak to your skills, talents and resources that you have for the transformation of the greater good for other people, seize it because that’s how you developed this passion, and passion will continue to drive toward that success,” said Casanova.

Another topic discussed at the Women’s Leadership Forum was the balance between personal and business life. All three women men-tioned the importance of maintaining physical and emotional health by working out and finding your own personal time with yourself and your family.

Madueno sets aside Sundays for family time and Wednesdays for date night with her husband. “I want to give and help, but at the end of the day my husband says, ‘It’s not just about you, and what you want to do. You have a family,’” she said.

Michelle Baldeon agreed on the importance of family time and also emphasized staying physically healthy. “Running helps refresh. When I think of balance, I think, ‘How is Michelle going to be okay?’ You have to be happy to make others happy,” she said.

Casanova said that two main factors prevent people from achiev-ing their full potential. “Time and money. Those are the reasons why people don’t get to live the lifestyle they want, because they run a life based on, ‘Oh my god I hope I have more time.’ Think about it, if time and money were not a factor for you what will you be doing?,” she said.

Lastly, Casanova touched on health as well as her own concept of HR$ what does this mean?, great health, excellent relationships, and a solid checkbook in that specific order because if you start with money you are chasing richness.

The three women gave inspiring and powerful speeches for the women in the audience by reminding them that if you set your mind and have that passion and drive you can do anything.

“Opportunity speaks to your natural talents and gifts. When you see an opportunity that can speak to your skills, talents and resources that you have for the transformation of the greater good for other people, seize it because that’s how you developed this passion, and passion will continue to drive to-ward that success,” said Casanova.

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Mujeres Latinas de Negocios Locales Inspiran a Otros

by Danielle Castillo

Stanislaus State tuvo el noveno Foro Anual de Liderazgo de Mu-jeres del Colegio de Administración de Empresas el 29 de Marzo con oradoras invitadas Norma Andrade Casanova, Virginia Madueno y Michelle Baldeon.

Estas tres mujeres latinas discutieron varios temas como sus vidas personales, aprovechando oportunidades, y balanceando sus vidas personales e profesionales.

Norma Andrade Casanova originalmente es de Mexico y fue cria-da en Stockton, California. Casanova fue criada en una familia que trabajó en el campo, en cual ella y sus hermanos iban a recoger cul-tivos alrededor del condado de Stanislaus. Su madre le dijo sobre la importancia de la educación, para que se pueda liberar del ciclo de trabajo de campo.

Casanova dijo, “Ella [madre] hizo un esfuerzo cada vez que podía, enfatizando la importancia de obteniendo una educación, entonces eso es lo que hicimos, de lunes a viernes metimos nuestras cabezas en los libros y el sábado y domingo, como no tenía nadie quien nos cuide, nos íbamos con ellos. Fue divertido en ese tiempo, pero ad-elantando unos años, ahora nos damos cuenta que difícil fue el viaje, hacer criada trabajando en la cosecha alrededor de todo el condado de Stanislaus.

Casanova asistió UC Davis pensando que quería ser abogada, pero trabajo como cajera en Wells Fargo mientras asistía la escuela. Am-bos de sus padres quedaron discapacitados y ella trato de encontrar maneras en cómo ayudarlos leyendo el libro, Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Casanova dijo, “No me gusta la palabra rico pero me llamó la atención y leí el libro y le dije a mi mamá y papá ‘sabe que, ustedes pueden empezar un negocio, nadamas porque están discapacitados físicamente no significa mentalmente no pueden seguir trabajando.”

Esto motivó a sus padres a comprar acciones y así empezó su viaje con inversiones. Su gerente de Wells Fargo le consejo a que se con-virtiera en un asesor financiera.

“A lo largo de mi viaje fui de una inmigrante de México, a una trabajadora del campo, ahora voy hacer una abogada, y también ad-ministradora de riqueza,” dijo Casanova.

Virginia Madeno tuvo una crianza similar a la de Norma. Cuando era mayor empezó a trabajar en el condado de Stanislaus como una oficial de información pública, llevándola a trabajar 12 años de su carrera en servicio público.

Su cuando fue disparado y falleció en Modesto y ella supo que su

vida cambiará. Ella se embarazó y tuvo gemelos, ella dijo, “Dios nos quitó uno y nos dio dos, así que siempre seremos bendecidos.” Esto fue la forma en cual ella y su esposo procesaron teniendo gemelos en adición a teniendo un niño de tres años.

Madueno regreso a su trabajo pero no podía seguir trabajando los turnos que antes trabajaba, así que le dijo a su esposo que ella tenía que hacer algo diferente. Élla chistosamente le dice al foro que no sabía nada sobre negocios, “Nunca sabía nada sobre negocio excepto en el kinder cuando fui la mejor vendedora de mariquitas, los vendía por cinco centavos.”

Madueno había desarrollado un portafolio y un plan de negocios y manejo hacia Sacramento, California para juntarse con la empresa de comunicaciones más grande del norte de California y les dijo, “Yo no estoy buscando un trabajo, estoy buscando una oportunidad y les puedo asegurar que si asocian conmigo, haremos cosas grandes juntos.”

Ilustración por Jace Ortega

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Esto la llevó a lanzar su primera cuenta al Estado de California para Educación más Alta y había presentado que ella iba a llegar a la población hispana y fue exitoso. Esto es como ella empezó su propia empresa, IMAGEN LLC., y ha sido dueña por 18 años y trabaja para educación más alta.

Michelle Baldeon es primera generacion Ecuatoriana America como sus papás vinieron por el sueño de una mejor vida para su fa-milia. Su padre empezó como un paletero y encontró una forma para ayudar a su madre agarrar una educación más alta.

Balderon dijo, “Mi mamá nos dijo que ella iba a la escuela para agarrar una mejor educacion y para mejorar nuestras vidas. Yo no entendí porqué, nadamas me enoje porque ella ya no iba estar en la casa. Ahora pienso sobre eso y era una cosa grande que hizo mi mamá porque no nadamas agarro un educación más alta para mejorar su vida pero también se hizo un ejemplo a seguir porque mire donde la educación la llevó.”

Una oportunidad le llegó para presentar su ropa en un pop-up show y lo tomo, esto empezó su empresa Luxe & Found y también su amor por la moda. Fue para disponer moda vintage que es asequible para todos.

Baldeon no vio empresas para la comunidad latino en Stockton. Ella se juntó con el concejal, Jesus Andrade, del distrito seis de Stockton. Los dos ayudaron crear más espacios para latinos y más oportunidades en el mercado, nueve meses después se convirtieron en co-fundadores de la nueva organización abajo de la Cámara de Comercio Hispana del Condado de San Joaquín.

Baldeon dijo que la nueva organización “Cultiva cultura de ex-celencia entre líderes emergentes latinos, empresarios y dueños de negocios y toda la comunidad.”

Las tres mujeres empezaron a discutir sobre las oportunidades que uno tendrá y aprovechando las. Michelle Baldeon dijo que si ella nunca hubiera ido al pop-up show, ella nunca hubiera sido introduci-da a todas las oportunidades.

Norma luego empezó a platicar sobre los talentos naturales que tiene uno y ser capaz de hablar con esos talentos o habilidades, “Oportunidad habla a tus talentos o habilidades naturales, cuando ves una oportunidad que habla a tus talentos y recursos que tienes para la transformación del bien para otras personas, aprovéchalo porque eso es como desarrollas esa pasión, y pasión va a continuar a dirigirte hacia el éxito.”

Otro tema de discurso fue la balanza entre la vida personal y pro-fesional. Las tres mujeres mencionaron la importancia de su salud siendo ejercicio y encontrando tiempo para uno mismo y su familia.

Virginia Madueno tiene sus días los domingos con su familia y los miércoles son su noche de citas con su esposo, ella dijo, “Yo quiero dar y ayudar pero al final del día mi esposo dice, no es solamente sobre tu y lo que tu quieres hacer, tienes una familia.”

Baldeon está de acuerdo en que uno tiene que tomarse tiempo para su familia, pero también en el ejercicio, ella dijo, “Corriendo ayuda refrescarte, cuando pienso de balanza pienso como va estar Michelle bien. Tienes que ser feliz para ser otros feliz.”

Casanova agrega, “Tiempo y dinero. Esas son las razones por cual personas no tienen la vida que quieren porque tienen una vida basada en o dios mio espero que tenga más tiempo. Piensalo, si tiempo y dinero no fueron los únicos factores para ti que estarías haciendo.”

Últimamente, Casanova plática de salud también con su propio concepto de HR, buen salud, excelente relaciones, y un talonario de cheques sólidos en ese orden porque si empiezas con dinero, estás persiguiendo riquezas.

Las tres mujeres dieron discursos inspiradores y poderosas para las mujeres en la audiencia por recordándoles que si te comprometes y tienes la pasión puedes hacer cualquier cosa.

“Oportunidad habla a tus talentos o habilidades naturales, cuando ves una oportunidad que habla a tus talentos y re-cursos que tienes para la transformación del bien para otras personas, aprovéchalo porque eso es como desarrollas esa pasión y pasión va a continuar a dirigirte hacia el éxito,” dijo Casanova.

Michelle Baldeon (izquierda), Virginia Madueno (en medio), y Norma Andrade Casanova (derecho) esperando a comenzar el foro (Foto pro-porcionado por el Signal)

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This spring the Chicanx Unidos for Academic Achieve-ments (CUAA) will be celebrating their 34th annual Chi-canx Commencement.

This club helps fundraise and support for Chicanx stu-dents to be able to enjoy a commencement that is based in a cultural and intimate space.

“The Chicanx commencement is a more intimate ex-perience than the actual graduation ceremony because, for Latinos, especially for first generation students, it’s a very important moment in that person’s life because they’re the very first ones to graduate from college,” said Nydia De La Cruz (sophomore, Sociology), president of CUAA.

For some students, the Chicanx Commencement gives them an opportunity to embrace their cultural roots.

“I think it’s important to be in a community that sup-

by Juan Ruiz-Olguinby Paula Sanchez Luna

CUAA graduates from 2018. (Photo Courtesy of CUAA)

ports your visions and your dreams but also shares them and I think if you have a cultural event like this one you’re able to embrace that culture by bringing family that is able to acknowledge the accomplishments that the students have made.” said Lesley Miranda (senior, Psy-chology).

Manuel Gomez Rios (senior, Sociology) a transfer student from Delta College experienced the Chicanx Commencement at the community college and wants to experience that once again.

“My family was able to understand what was going so that’s why i want to learn about this commencement… I just want my family to experience that because the gen-eral one is in English and they don’t understand anything and the Chicanx commencement is more intimate,” said Gomez Rios.

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During the commencement, students and their fami-lies celebrate with traditional dancing and music, such as mariachi and folklorico.

“Before the commencement actually starts we’ll have a grupo and mariachi playing,” de la Cruz said. She add-ed that the grupo and mariachi will play outdoors while the DJ will be playing inside.

Gomez Rios said that his favorite part of the Chicanx commencement at the community college was being able to see the mariachi, folklorico dance, and being in a “comfortable space with my [his] family.”

While many enjoy the experience, many students are unable to participate due to the $200 fee that a student has to pay.

Vanessa Mota, Stan State Alumna, wanted to partici-pate, but in the end she “did not have the funds at that point in time and was not able to attend meetings for it. The scheduling was conflicting for [her], as well.”

Anallely Andrade Calderon, Administrative Support Assistant for the Department of History and co-advisor for CUAA helped in the decision on keeping the price at $200.

“Now that I became an advisor, I really didn’t know if I should change the price or leave it the same but I left it the same so $200,” Andrade Calderon explained.

Because of the hefty fee, CUAA offers the opportuni-ty for students to get sponsored by local businesses and restaurants.

“We have now created a sponsorship form, we ask stu-dents to go ask a local business, I’ve had a sorority sister who went to Las Casuelas, and she got $1000,” said An-drade Calderon.

“They can also fundraise for their own sponsorship packet they can also go to staff members on campus. We actually encourage they go to their favorite professor be-cause [the professors] want to see these guys graduate; and if they want to, they can be in a special section of the gym and we’ll recognize them as professors,” said de la Cruz.

Andrade Calderon then added that President Junn was invited to the Chicanx Commencement and even gave CUAA a grant.

“She [President Junn] was the first President to be in-vited to Chicano Commencement in 2017… and she also gave us a grant,” said Andrade Calderon.

Even though the Chicanx Commencement can be ex-pensive for some, many students still look forward to participating.

“The Chicanx Commencement for me means being able to appreciate and feel appreciated by my campus. It’s also important to me because I want to have my par-ents feel included because they have been a major sup-port system to me and by having a graduation that bears the same culture that they were raised on would help them feel appreciated as well,” said Miranda.

Since Andrade Calderon and Lisette de la Cruz be-came co-advisors for CUAA, they have been pushing for student participation in the club and the Chicanx com-mencement.

Since Andrade Calderon’s graduation in 2016, the par-ticipants in the Chicanx commencement has grown from 35 students to over 100.

The Chicanx Commencement this year will be taking place on Saturday, May 18th at 2:00 pm in the Fitzpat-rick arena.

The Aztec Dancers at the Chicanx commencement. (Photo Courtesy of CUAA)

Folklorico Dance at the Chicanx commencement.(Photo Courtesy of CUAA)

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Esta primavera, los Chicanx Unidos para Logros Académicos (CUAA) estará celebrando el 34o comienzo anual Chicanx.

El club ayuda recaudar fondos y apoyo para los estudi-antes Chicanx para que puedan disfrutar una ceremonia de graduación basado en un lugar íntimo y con cultura.

“La ceremonia de graduación Chicanx es una experi-encia más íntima comparada a la ceremonia de gradu-ación porque para los Latinos, especialmente los estudi-antes de primera generación, es un momento importante en sus vidas porque son los primeros a graduarse del co-legio,” dijo Nydia De La Cruz (sophomore, Sociologia), presidente de CUAA.

Para unos estudiantes, la ceremonia de graduación Chi-canx les da la oportunidad a celebrar su cultura y raíces.

“Creo que es importante estar en una comunidad que

by Juan Ruiz-Olguinby Paula Sanchez Luna

apoya tus visiones y tus sueños, pero que también los comparte, y creo que si tienes un evento cultural como este, puedes celebrar la cultura por trayendo tu familia que pueden reconocer los logros que los estudiantes han hecho.” dijo Lesley Miranda (senior, Psicología).

Manuel Gómez Ríos (senior, Sociología), un estudi-ante de transferencia de Delta College, participó en la ceremonia de graduación Chicanx de su colegio comuni-tario y quiso tener la experiencia otra vez.

“Mi familia pudo entender lo que estaba pasando, por eso quise aprender sobre esta ceremonia...quiero que mi familia pueda tener esa experiencia porque la ceremo-nia general es en ingles y ellos no entienden nada y la ceremonia de graduación Chicanx es mas íntima,” dijo Gómez Ríos.

Dentro CUAA y la

Graduación Chicanx

Graduados de CUAA en 2016. (Foto Cortesía de CUAA)

La Letra Ñ

12

Durante la ceremonia, los estudiantes y sus familias celebran con música y bailes tradicionales, como el ma-riachi y folclórico.

“Antes de que la celebración comience, tendremos un grupo y mariachi tocando,” dijo De La Cruz. Agregó que el grupo y el mariachi tocaran afuera y el DJ estará ad-entro.

Gómez Ríos dijo que su parte favorita de la ceremo-nia de graduación Chicanx en el colegio comunitario fue poder ver el mariachi, folclórico, danza y estar en un “lu-gar cómodo” con su familia.

Mientras muchos disfrutan de la celebración, varios estudiantes no pueden participar a causa del pago que los estudiantes tienen que hacer de $200.

Vanessa Mota, ex-alumno de Stan State, quiso partic-ipar pero al final ella “no tuvo los fondos en ese tiempo y no pudo asistir a las juntas. Los horarios eran conflicti-vos [para ella] tambien.”

Anallely Andrade Calderon, asistente de apoyo ad-ministrativo para el departamento de historia y co-asesor para CUAA, ayudó la decisión de mantener el pago en $200.

“Ahora que soy asesora, no sabía si debería cambiar el precio o dejarlo igual, pero lo deje igual, entonces $200,” explicó Andrade Calderon.

A causa del pago que se tiene que hacer, CUAA ofrece la oportunidad de que los estudiantes sean patrocinados por negocios o restaurantes locales.

“Hemos creado una forma para los patrocinados, le pedimos a los estudiantes que vayan a preguntarles a ne-gocios locales. Tengo una hermana de sorority que fue a Las Casuelas y le dieron $1000,” dijo Andrade Calderon.

“Ellos [los estudiantes] pueden recaudar fondos para su propio patrocinador también pueden ir a empleados en el campus. Empujamos a que vayan a sus profesores porque [los profesores] quieren verlos graduar y si qui-eren pueden estar en una sección especial del gimnasio y los reconocemos como profesores,” dijo De La Cruz.

Andrade Calderon agrego que Presidente Junn fue in-vitada a la celebración de graduación Chicanx el 2017 y le dio CUAA un subvencion.

“Ella [Presidente Junn] fue la primera Presidente a ser invitada a la celebración en 2017...y también nos dio un a subvención,” dijo Andrade Calderon

Aunque la celebración de graduación Chicanx esté un poco caro para unos, muchos estudiantes están emocio-nados a participar.

“La celebración de graduación Chicanx para mi signifi-ca poder apreciar y sentirme apreciado por mi campus. También es importante para mí porque quiero que mis padres se sientan incluidos porque han sido un impor-tante sistema de apoyo para mí y al tener una graduación que tenga la misma cultura en la que crecieron también los ayudaría a sentirse apreciados,” dijo Miranda.

Desde que Andrade Calderón y Lisette De La Cruz se convirtieron en co-asesores de CUAA, han trabaja-do para que los estudiantes participen en el club y en la graduación de Chicanx.

Desde la graduación de Andrade Calderon en 2016, los participantes en la graduación de Chicanx han crecido de 35 estudiantes a más de 100.

La celebracion de graduación Chicanx este año se lle-vará a cabo el sábado 18 de mayo a las 2:00 p.m. en la arena de fitzpatrick.

Presidente Ellen Junn en la graduación Chicanx. (Foto Cortesía de CUAA)

Los estudiantes decoraron sus gorras de graduación en honor a su familia y cultura. (Foto Cortesía de CUAA)

13

Campus Culture

According to statistics done by the Uni-versity’s Office of Institutional Research, 48.6 of students enrolled in 2018 were from the Stanislaus county, 18.29 were from Mer-ced county, and 15.84 were from San Joa-quin county.

Even with a high number of students from local areas enrolling at Stan State, there are still students who come from all around Cal-ifornia to attend Stan State, including from places that are culturally different, like the Bay Area and Southern California.

Rachel Horvath (senior, Communication Studies), who originally was raised in San Jose, Stan State offered her an opportunity to embark on her own path. “I chose to leave home and attend Stan State because I longed to be out on my own, develop more indepen-dence than I already had.”

Students that come from the Bay Area have noticed the differences between the two areas like Alejandra Luna (sophomore, Liberal Studies), who came from East Palo Alto. Luna said, “East Palo Alto’s flow of people is insane, you rarely run into the same people! Unlike Turlock where you’ll get accustomed with the same people daily. You’ll also usually bump into a tourist visit-ing from the other side of the world visiting San Francisco.”

Luna went on to express the difficulty and eventual adjustment that came with going to school away from home. She said, “At the beginning it was definitely difficult to not miss home because of my lack of friends in Turlock. Yet, a few weeks into the semester I was able to pledge for Alpha Phi Omega and got to meet new people that quickly became close friends of mine, which made the pro-cess of adjusting quicker.”

Kara Dorsey (junior, Child development, Theatre), who came to Stanislaus from Santa Cruz, also expressed that there was a rela-tively easy adjustment process. Dorsey said, “I was a little homesick but since Stan is small it wasn’t as nerve wracking as going to a larger school would have been.”

Robert Veloira, who graduated from Stan State in Spring 2015 after coming from San Leandro, became fond of the area. Veloira said, “The atmosphere of the campus and interactions between people was general-ly pleasant and I found that people at Stan didn’t have the same kind of ‘rushed’ vibe that was incessantly felt in the Bay Area. It just seemed slower and more lax.”

The Bay Area is still in Northern Califor-nia, whereas Southern California can have a greater difference and further distance away from Turlock.

Roberto Herrera (freshman, Criminal Jus-tice, Journalism), who came from Los Ange-les in Southern California, he left home for educational purposes. Herrera said, “I major in Criminal Justice and Stan is one of the top school that offer Forensics. So Stanislaus was the way I wanted to go.”

Herrera also added the desire for a change of scenery. He said, “When I moved over to Stanislaus, it was a great experience. I really wanted to escape from LA so adapting was easy.”

This reason is shared by Isaiah Dawson (junior, Criminal Justice), who came from Alpine in Southern California with his twin brother, Elijah Dawson (junior, Criminal Justice). Isaiah said, “I always wanted to leave San Diego and experience other parts of California. I had applied to Humboldt State Sonoma State, Fresno State, San Mar-cos, and Stanislaus. I visited each one and chose Stan. Also I’m not a loyal San Diegan, I would rather live somewhere a little less expensive and quieter.”

He went on to describe his first week in his college experience as “amazing” and added, “Housing provided events everyday and welcomed their freshman very gener-ously. I had no idea I left home, Alpine is a lot like Turlock. There is a lot of outdoor at-mosphere you get from both places. It wasn’t until stress of school and other events in my life made me miss home and the people that I had lost.”

From the South and the Bay to Stan State

by Adam Grabarek

Rachel Horvath moved from her home-town in the Bay Area as a transfer student in order to grow as an indi-vidual. Because of her experience in Turlock, she is ready to grow even more wherever her journey takes her. (Photo Courtesy of Rachel Horvath)

Kara Dorsey came from her hometown in the Bay Area and she has become well adjusted toliving in Turlock. (Photo Courtesy of Kara Dorsey)

Elijah expressed a similar experience with his twin brother in terms of quickly adjust-ing, citing his experience in housing, but still acknowledged the homesickness that came later on. He said, “I wasn’t quite homesick until about sophomore year when a lot was going on back home with my family and my community. I was able to accept that leaving for four years and returning back home was going to be just fine and the right move to make.”

However, both of the Dawson brothers have expressed that moving to Turlock in or-der to attend Stan State was a massively pos-itive experience. Isaiah has called Turlock “a place I call home for the past three years.” Elijah said he has “no regrets when coming to live and attend Stanislaus State.”

Students from both the Bay and Southern California also tend to have a general posi-tive experience with moving from home to attend Stan State.

Mei Curry (senior, Criminal Justice), who came from Capitola in the Bay Area, has be-come well adjusted to life in Turlock. Cur-ry said, “I have grown accustomed to living in Turlock and feel more comfortable being here in the Central Valley than at home. I feel like a visitor going back to home to Capitola and my overall experience has been positive. I have learned, evolved, and grown as a per-son.”

Even with farther distance away from Southern California, Jesse Lyles (senior, En-glish), who came from Ontario in Southern California, also became well adjusted and is grateful to life away from home. Lyles said, “I’ve come to know so many great people that I would not have met had I not come here. There’s even people I met that live only a few minutes away from me back home, so I’m thankful to Stan State for that. The over-all experience has been great. The smaller campus lends itself well to a community type aesthetic.”

While the enrollment at Stan State may mostly consist of students from surrounding counties, it has also created an environment for students who have left their homes to have a positive experience while attending college.

14

Campus Culture

Isaiah and Elijah Dawson came to Stanislaus from their hometown in Southern California. Since coming here, both of them have had plenty of experiences in Turlock and have grown to love living here. (Photo Courtesy of Isaiah Dawson)

Robert Veloi-ra came from the Bay Area to Turlock. Though Turlock was different from where he used to live, his time at Stan has of-

fered him much experience through the campus organization that he joined and the friendship that he created. (Photo Courtesy of Robert Veloira)

Jesse left his hometown in Southern California in order to develop his own indepen-dence and adjusted quickly to Turlock. (Photo Courtesy of Jesse Lyles)

Stan State News

Pirates and Mustangs Become Warriors on the Way

Some students start their collegiate career by attending a four year university, while others begin at a community college and then transfer over to a four year university for their last two years. The process of trans-ferring can be mind-boggling and stressful, but Stan State has created a program to help ease this process for incoming Warriors. This newly designed program is called “Warriors on the Way” (WOW).

Stan State already works with San Joaquin Delta College to help students transfer with-in two years to the Stockton Stan State cam-pus and is now also working with Modesto Junior College (MJC).

Recently, the WOW program integrated more majors for MJC so students can have an easier, quicker route for transferring to Stan State. According to Leticia Cavazos,

counselor/ Transfer Center Coordinator, “The purpose of the WOW program is to create a seamless transition.”

Students can earn their Associate’s Degree for Transfer (ADT), or better known as the “degree with a guarantee” at MJC within two years and transfer to Stan State and earn their bachelors degree. The available ADTs are the Associate in Art for Transfer (AA-T) and the Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T).

The ADT earned by the students is trans-ferable to any California State University (CSU). Through this program, students are able to stay on track to finish in two years at a community college, while saving them a spot at a CSU. Students that have earned an ADT are given junior standing at their ac-cepted CSU.

Noelia Gonzalez, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, also said “The goal is to graduate faster, that is the ultimate goal.” Gonzalez added that this could lead to a po-tential increase in degree attainment in the Central Valley.

The bachelors degree programs available through WOW include business administra-tion, liberal studies and psychology. Cavazos said any student that has minimum eligibility will be able to transfer, “I know that, Stan State knows that but our students don’t know that.”

The WOW program will have admissions counselors from Stan Stan present at the MJC Transfer Center. Students will be guid-ed by counselors in each semester in order to ensure they are on track to finish within two years and earn their ADT.

Gonzalez said, “The admission counselors have very good breadth of knowledge in the terms of all the requirements it takes for the majors… we want to make sure when the students get here, they’ve done all their pre-reqs and lower division.”

Students are invited to events and activi-ties that are exclusive to the WOW program.

The WOW program was previously limited to MJC STEM majors. The STEM program focused strictly on science majors. Iqbal At-wal, director of the WOW2STEM program, said “With the WOW 2 STEM we work with 10 community colleges in the region.”

When asked what the goal of the WOW STEM program was, Atwal said, “Our idea is to help Hispanic, low income, underserved students to get into STEM degrees.”

Although WOW and WOW2STEM are separately funded programs and offer differ-ent degree programs, Gonzalez mentioned she is going to team up with Atwal. Gonzalez said, “I’m going to look to him to also give us some of his really great ideas he’s had and that worked for STEM.”

Transferring to a new college can be stress-ful and lonely. Through the WOW program, students can find a sense of community and begin building relationships with their future peers. Alvin Yassuiae (sophomore, Physics) said, “One problem I had with Modesto was it was very individual and there wasn’t a sense of belonging.”

After he got involved with the WOW STEM program, Yasssuiae said, “I have more meaningful ties to this school than I did at MJC.”

Stan State continues to work with neigh-boring colleges to increase the access to edu-cation for the local community.

Leticia Cavazos, Transfer Center Coordinator, talking about her role as a MJC counselor. (Signal Photo/ Briannah Owen)

MJC transfer student, Alvin Yassuiae, talking about his experience with the WOW STEM program and the opportunities it provided for his research. (Signal Photo/ Juan Guitron)

by Juan Guitron by Briannah Owen

15

Campus Culture

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by Harry Harris by Abri Munoz

As the final few weeks of the Spring semester wind

down, students at Stan State are in need of a way to blow

off steam. Whether they’re looking forward to graduating,

or just getting through the exams of another semester, students are

hoping for a day to forget about their school-related stress, and that’s where

Warrior Day steps in.Every year, ASI (Associated Students,

Inc.) throws an end of semester party, which is headlined with local bands and a

lead performer, to give students a day to relax, have fun and finish the semester in style. Pre-

vious performers have included Kid Ink, Iam-Su, E-40 and Sage the Gemini, drawing in large

crowds of students to have fun in the sun.Moonisah Ali, Stan State Alumni, was a part of

planning Warrior Day in the past. Ali was the Mul-ticultural Events Coordinator for ASI from 2012-2014

and had the opportunity to attend Warrior Day as a stu-dent and later overlook Warrior Day for her career.Ali shared her Warrior Day experience as an undergradu-

ate student in 2011. She said, “In 2011, that was the last year they sold alcohol at Warrior Day.” Ali said, “They used to have ‘sip gardens’ which consisted of

one little pop up tent with a few tables that served beer. Students use to come in bathing suits because there were a lot of inflatable

water games, students would come expecting to get wet.” “Warrior Day used to not be confined in one area, it used to be

17

Campus Culture

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all over Stan State and people could bring their bbq pits and have tailgates. They even had a zipline going across the side of the library which was super fun. All the Greeks could even bring their booths to the amphitheater and would set up their own little place to hangout,” Ali said.

Ali explained how the event shifted from the past, to now: “The atmosphere has definitely decreased from my last year until now and I believe it is because of the student union being down. There is not much activism on campus anymore.”

While Warrior Day has transformed over the years for a variety of reasons, the university has strived to make improvements and at-tempt to create a fun, safe atmosphere for those attending.

Melannie Castellanos, one of the Program Assistants with ASI, said, “We have tried to incorporate more activities for students in order to give it more of a festival feel as opposed to just a concert.”

She went on to ensure that this year, ASI has teamed up with clubs on campus to broaden the range of foods available at Warrior Day. In addition, they are planning on having henna and caricature artists, volleyball, a rock wall, soccer darts and a zip line.

This year is once again expected to be full of excitement and fun, but the University Police Department (UPD) will continue to be on high alert and work diligently. After all, they’ve seen first hand how the event has changed year to year and what they must do to allow students to enjoy themselves in a secure environment.

Danielle Martinez (senior, Criminal Justice), a student officer at UPD, spoke about what Warrior Day means to her and why she en-joys it so much. She said, “Having had the opportunity to work War-rior Day these past two years, I cannot wait to work it again for my senior year. It is a collective effort within UPD, making sure every-thing runs smooth and the students have a good time!”

Sgt. Steve Olson has been with the university since 1999 and

shared how Warrior Day has evolved throughout the years. He men-tioned that the University sold beer to students in the early 2000s, but over the years had to take this privilege away to ensure their number one purpose for serving the university. Olson said that the safety of students is the priority of Stan State and its police department, which eventually spelled the end for alcohol being served at Warrior Day.

Since the university has taken away selling alcohol to students there was a decrease within the first couple of years in regards to student arrests. However, that shift has increased recently within the last couple of years because students now show up intoxicated to Warrior Day.

Olson highlighted UPD’s services to present students the harm in being overly intoxicated. For instance, UPD presents safety day to students showcasing “drunk goggles” and the actual repercussions of what can happen if students are not safe. Also, emails are sent out throughout the campus to ensure that students take the proper pre-cautions ahead of Warrior Day and on the day itself.

As it is one of the busiest days of the year for the department, Olson advised students to think about their safety and of others at-tending Warrior Day. Additionally, Castellanos asked “all to make a conscious effort to respect their own person as well as that of others.”

Warrior Day is a day for students to enjoy themselves as the semes-ter winds down. It’s an opportunity for the community at Stan State to let off some steam ahead of finals week in a fun, safe environment.

As we’ve seen, Warrior Day continues to grow and expand every year, so when students were asked for their thoughts regarding per-formers, food and atmosphere, the answers varied.

Devin Black (senior, Business) said he would like to see Trippie Redd perform here. He said, “ Trippie Redd is known, but not huge just yet.”

18

Campus Culture

(Photos Courtesy of Signal archive)

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2018Illustrations by Gabby Rosas-Richardson (Photos Courtesy of Signal archive)

Sami Avant (junior, Lib-eral Studies) continued the trend of hoping to see hip-hop artists. She said she would en-joy someone like Nef the Pha-raoh to perform.

Devin Black went on to suggest more local food vendors attend War-rior Day. He said, “It would add to the festival/carnival theme experience. Over the past 4 years this is one of the most prominent days for students to come to-gether and create memories with each other.”

Vanessa Navarro, an alumni of Stan State, explained that, “Warrior Day was a great way to meet a lot of great people you don’t often get to see around campus. I enjoyed having a day where we all come together to have fun.”

Warrior Day has had its ups and downs throughout the years and continues to change with every passing year, but it remains consistent with its ability to bring the school together for a fun day out.

With finals fast approaching and stress piling, Warrior Day is the perfect opportunity to escape the rigorous school work that students have been subject to all semester. Warrior Day will be on May 10th, in the outdoor Amphitheater.

REBUILDINGREBUILDINGTHE CAR COMMUNITY

(Photos Courtesy of Signal archive)

REBUILDINGREBUILDINGTHE CAR COMMUNITY

Neighborhood

19

Earlier last month, there was an arrest of a Hughson resident, Johnathon Wessman, who had a big influence in the not-so-legal parts of the car community. Through the use of social media, pri-marily Instagram, Wessman was able to conduct his loyal following to voluntarily put themselves and their cars in danger.

Prior to Wessman’s take on takeovers, there was a group known as “The Valley Takeover” that organized a big portion of the illegal sideshows that happened mainly in the Modesto area. A takeover usually consists of a crowd surrounding an unprofessional driver who is recklessly driving within that circle.

The group emerged into the car scene around 2014 and during that time multiple videos, of kids getting knocked off their feet by a swinging car, went viral until police intervened. As a result, PD stepped up their presence and the group dispersed in late 2016.

After Instagram groups stopped promoting these “events,” the car community seemed to be able to get back on their feet and the Modesto police weren’t as concerned with the car scene as years passed.

Car shows like EuroSunday, NVUS Trunk-or-Treat, Team Low-West shows, MTP Meets and, of course, Cars&Coffee Modesto popped up and shined a positive light on how the car community could and should be. Things looked good for the community, and for a while there was nothing to worry about until Wessman came along.

At first, Wessman’s following was small but through Instagram and multiple live streams, his “takeovers” grew here in the 209. These takeovers consisted of sideshow activity such as burnouts,

by Andrew Cabrera

Notorious VQ’s lined up at March’s HardPark car show. (Signal Photo/ Andrew Cabrera)

street racing and kids attempting to perform “drifting” while sur-rounded by large crowds.

Henry Garcia (sophomore, History) said that these takeovers are “childish and mostly the younger generation is pushing these activ-ities.” He added that “these kids are young and when they take over intersections they don’t put it in perspective of how it could affect other people on the road. Just because they might not have anything to worry about doesn’t mean their actions won’t delay me or other people from getting home after a long day at work.”

Garcia believes that these kids take part in sideshows to find their identity. He said, “Kids are trying to have something to identify with. They see it on social media and what to identify with some-thing, they want to be someone that their not and they use social media as a platform for them to put that out there. ‘I can swing my car on social media, people know who I am, I have friends now.’”

Like Garcia, Margarita Lopez (junior, Criminal Justice) is a car enthusiast but is not a fan of takeovers and believes that, “they are dumb and that they’re putting people’s lives at risk.”

The good thing is that they do it at night, which is a little safer, but you still get those kids that get too close to a car that’s swinging and they get hit,” Lopez said

Lopez currently drives a 2002 Honda Civic Si and noticed that the news often uses Civics and other JDM (Japanese Domestic Motors) cars as the “type of cars” that partake in these sideshows. She said, “They’re wrong, and for the majority of the cars I see on Instagram are the Camaros, Mustangs and the trucks. So why put a Honda?”

Neighborhood

20

MG 1600 attracting some attention at the last EuroSunday. (Signal Photo/ Andrew Cabrera)

A Honda Civic leaves the 2018 NVUS Trunk-or-Treat car show. (Signal Photo/ Andrew Cabrera)

EuroSunday at the McHenry Village in Modesto. (Signal Photo/ Andrew Cabrera)

A Skyline R32 entering the two-step competition. (Signal Photo/ Andrew Cabrera)

Drifting RX7 shows what it’s like when a professional is behind the wheel. (Signal Photo/ Andrew Cabrera)

Andrés Torres (junior, Business) agrees with Lopez and that these allegations are false. He said, “Cars are being targeted for no reason and, like Civics, those aren’t part of sideshows. Let’s be honest you can’t slide one unless you threw it in reverse.”

He went on to say that as a direct result of the police affiliating these JDM cars with illegal activity, a lot of cars will be put away. Torres said that “a lot of people will be going into hiding because they are scared of getting ticketed or state reffed and because of the new exhaust law (Vehicle Code 27151) more people will store their cars in the garage then attend shows. But who knows, during the summer there are more organized events that could prove to the community that we aren’t bad and hopefully that cops could respect us more.”

Unlike many of his peers, Torres is at ease during this time because his show car is a 1965 GMC Pickup. He said, “Having a classic car is like having privilege over other cars because when cops see it, they can appreciate it. I think when it’s an old car, mod-ifications are more acceptable in a community because everyone loves old cars.”

Torres acknowledged the difference in treatment that he had compared to his friends and said that “it’s a sad thing. I think if the police were to talk to us and learn why we do what we do for our cars, then maybe we could find common ground. Instead of just pulling us over and handing a ticket, talk to us and learn about all the love and passion that we pour into these cars.”

Now that summer is approaching and the weather is heating up, car shows will be popping up almost every weekend. Could this mean that a new wave of sideshow supporters could form once again?

For Garcia, “it really depends on the younger generation and if they’ll grow out of it.” He has hope that it’ll go in the right direc-tion but says “it falls onto the kids and for them to see this kind of activity and say ‘hey that led to that guy getting arrested, let’s not be apart of it’ then maybe the car community can get better and pos-sibly better than before.”

Lopez responded to Garcia’s comment and said, “It all depends on what happens to Wessman. A lot of people get out easy so it [the car community] could get better or worse. I know that sideshows will never stop. I don’t like it and won’t participate with them but as long as people like it, it will never stop.”

She also said, “The car community is something good with the exception of those few people but it shouldn’t be defined by them. At the end of the day, it should be something fun and should be something that helps kids get and stay out of trouble.”

For now, the car community will be in the healing stage but no matter what, the car community will be present and with the help of the PD along with the local community, it could be something great once again.

Illustration by Jace Ortega21

Campus Culture

Steps are currently implemented at Stan State in order to prevent and discipline hazing in fraternities and sororities.

Hazing, according to Merriam Webster, is an “initiation process involving harassment.” Hazing often turns dangerous and sometimes even results in death; recently, three fraterni-ty brothers from Penn State were sentenced to jail time for the hazing death of pledge Timothy Piazza. The association between hazing and fraternities and sororities has been well documented by national news me-dia. Even Stan State has had its own history with the subject, with one hazing incident re-ported in 2014 with campus fraternity Ome-ga Delta Phi.

In light of the constant coverage, steps are currently in place at Stan State to both disci-pline and prevent hazing from occurring in these organizations by the college.

Stephanie Hubbard, the Director of Stu-dent Leadership and Development at CSU Stanislaus, believes that the first step to pre-vention is education.

Hubbard said, “We assume that not all stu-dents understand the full scope of hazing, so we provide the definition of hazing to all of our club and organization officers at the time of chartering, and ask for verification that they have read and understand what it means and agree not to participate in hazing.”

Hubbard added that there is also in-person hazing training for the presidents of these or-ganizations with professional speakers pro-vided by the school, as well as independent programs about hazing that the national or regional offices of these organizations pro-vide to their members.

Hubbard also provides information the steps taken if actual incidents of hazing oc-cur in on-campus organizations.“We provide oversight of all organizations and investigate any suspicion or reports of hazing. If the investigation finds the organi-zation and/or its members responsible, the university will hold them accountable for their actions and sanction accordingly,” said Hubbard.

by Adam Grabarek

The

Steps

to EndHAZING

Illustration by Jace Ortega

even more unsure. “it seems like it’s still part of the way things are organized in fraternities and sororities, at least most of them. So they must feel like it has important symbolic value,” Berkow said.

However, members of fraternities and sohrorities, like Emylee Creech (senior, Nursing and Psychology), who is a part of on-campus sorority Alpha Xi Delta, want students to see Greek life as something com-pletely different from hazing.

Creech said, “We focus on our philanthro-pies and brotherhood and sisterhood much more than we are concerned about partying it up. Granted, there are bound to be outliers in organizations of 50 plus people, but at the end of the day, we all are working towards the same, positive goal.”

Creech added, “Speaking from experi-ence, being in Greek life has given me the best friends I could’ve ever asked for. It has given me a million opportunities to improve myself and has even helped me to fulfill my dreams of getting into the nursing program at Stanislaus. I have gained leadership skills, time management techniques, professional ethics, and a lifetime of memories through being a part of my sorority.”

While steps are currently implemented to prevent hazing incidents from occurring, only time will tell if the culture of hazing that has often been associated with fraternities and sororities will completely be eliminat-ed by these steps. To avoid another Omega Delta Phi hazing incident from occurring, Stan State officials will continue to watch over fraternities and sororities as these orga-nizations look to shed their association with hazing.

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Campus Culture

“For the Watch, Bro.”

Not only the university, but the fraternities and sororities themselves have implement-ed steps in order to prevent and discipline hazing from occurring within their organiza-tions.

Eric Perez (sophomore, Communication Studies) is the president of one of the frater-nities on campus, Theta Chi.

Perez said, “With the great amounts of coverage on hazing our fraternity has na-tionally input bylaws that prevent such acts happening. To be a brother of ΘΧ fraternity, you just always abide by the bylaws set by our headquarters and this bylaw is one we have no problem following.”

Other fraternities and sororities claim to have a “zero tolerance policy” when it comes to hazing.

“If any brother is suspected of hazing a pledge or another brother they will be imme-diately expelled from chapter without a trial and possible legal action will be taken. If a chapter as a whole is suspected of hazing, then headquarters will remove them from their university’s Greek life,” said Nevin Shokar (senior, Communication Studies and Psychology), a member of another fraternity on campus, Kappa Sigma.

Even with growing awareness and addi-tional steps added, there are generally mixed opinions on fraternities and sororities with hazing being a factor many consider to be a negative against the organizations.

The results from a survey about fraternities and sororities are as followed:

65.3% of participants have been a part of a fraternity or sorority. 57.1% have a gen-eral positive view on them, while 42.9% have a general negative view. 51% feel that these organizations have a culture of hazing, while 26.5% don’t and 22.4% are undecided. 59.2% think the reports on hazing in these groups in the media have affected their view-points on them.

This survey collected data from 49 partic-ipants between February 23, 2018 to Febru-ary 25, 2018.

Students who are not and have not been af-filiated with any fraternity or sorority have a variety of answers as to if a culture of hazing exists in these organizations.

Some students think that media coverage and awareness campaigns on hazing have led to a change in hazing culture at fraternities and sororities.

“They seem to just fully embrace their new members into their families. However, I suppose you couldn’t truly know unless you were a part of one. I think maybe in earlier times yes, but schools are so strict on hazing now it’s not really a part of their culture any-more,” said Brianna Lozano (junior, Com-puter Science).

Some students have a more neutral stance on the topic. “Do I believe they all do it? No. But there are some that do,” said Yvonne Maria Downs

(senior, Business and Art).For yet other students, the culture of haz-

ing is still present. “I think it’s all a part of becoming a group with that ‘special title.’ The hazing may have lessened due to the growing amount of different fraternities and sororities, though,” said Brittanny Allen (se-nior, Business Administration).

Dr. Dan Berkow, the Director of Psycho-logical Counseling at CSU Stanislaus, while acknowledging the increased awareness of the negative effects caused by hazing, also remains skeptical on if hazing will ever go away in these groups.

““It doesn’t seem to me like it’s going away, There’s that tendency to want to have some kind of passage, some kind of ritual that shows like your change of status and there’s the tendency of the member, who’s joining to allow that because they feel like there’s going to be benefits for them,” said Berkow.

Berkow added that seeing hazing still be-ing reported on in the news has made him

“It doesn’t seem to me like it’s going away”

Dr. Dan Berkow

Stan State News

A Piece of Advice: The Reality of “Finish in Four”

“It’s not realistic for Bio majors to really get done in four years, it happens, but all the stars have to line up perfectly for that to happen,” Grobner said.

Finishing a bachelor’s degree in four years at Stan State is desired but not always achievable for students. After four years and no degree, a common term applied to these students is “super seniors.”

This has been a topic of discussion among students and made its way to the agenda at the Academic Senate meeting held on Jan. 29. A research study presented to the Sena-tors that day revealed that there are 734 stu-dents with 120 or more units as undergrads at Stan State. 134 of those students had applied for graduation.

Dr. Betsy Eudey, Professor of Gender Studies and Faculty Director of Advising, said, “If you cut out the people who had be-tween 120 and 129 [units], that number went down to just 54...26 of them in the 130 to 139 range and 13 in the 140 to 149 range, but it very quickly drops off.”

The CSU has started an initiative called “Graduation Initiative 2025” to ensure that students finish in four years and do not be-come super seniors. “Through this initiative the CSU will ensure that all students have the opportunity to graduate in a timely man-ner according to their personal goals, posi-tively impacting their future and producing the graduates needed to power California and the nation,” according to the CSU.

61 percent of Stan State students are eligi-ble for Pell grant and many of these students rely on financial aid to cover their tuition. After attempting 150 units, students become in danger of losing their financial aid. With-out financial aid, many students drop out.

Improved advising was one remedy thought to help students get the classes they need and not max out on units.

The super senior designation gets applied to students with more than 120 units.

“A lot of students don’t figure out what major they want until their sophomore or ju-nior year. Some students also want to have a minor, some students just want to explore some things or can’t get into some classes they initially wanted but they needed some

full time enrollment so they took some extra courses,” Eudey said.

Intensive Advising

The On-the-Cusp student information da-tabase helps to identify students who are eligible for intensive advising. Students ap-pearing close to graduation might need one more class and want to graduate sooner for fear of losing financial aid, which may make them good candidates for intensive advising.

Dr. Keith Nainby, Department Chair of Communication Studies, said, “Intensive advising is something we designed to iden-tify students who may be close to graduating and who might be able to benefit from really close one-to-one intervention, so that a fac-ulty member might be able to do a little more than say, ‘Hey, let’s fill out your graduation approval form and pick out some classes for the semester.’”

Intensive advising allows for faculty to

across departments to lend some helpful ad-vice to students.

“There are four majors, technically, that don’t list themselves in having mandatory advising and that’s business, psychology, child development and liberal studies, but liberal studies has designed their program so that their core courses include advising within those classes…so while liberal stud-ies doesn’t appear to have mandatory advis-ing it really does because it’s infused within the curriculum that every student gets that,” said Eudey.

Although not every major requires advis-ing, faculty members try to do their best to make sure they can not only provide advis-ing, but mentoring as well.

Dr. Jim Youngblom, Department Chair of Biology, said that they take advising seri-ously in the Biology Department by making advising mandatory and by providing one-on-one 15 to 20 minute sessions.

Youngblom said, “The first thing I do

by Kristen Dias by Nicole Dunlap

23

help students even more, including the po-tential for fee waivers during Winter and Spring terms. This extra push can help stu-dents graduate sooner.

“Graduation rates are tied to where some-body started and that they finish in four or six years, and we’re not sure that’s a great marker for student success, so we want to take seriously helping students get out in the timeline that they want to do it that will sup-port their best learning success,” said Eudey.

Professors Take the Initiative

Some departments on campus do not have mandatory advising. However, this has had no effect on the willingness of professors

is [say] ‘Let’s talk about last semester,’” a progress check on grades, “What can we do to get better?”

Many students who major in Biology are trying to get into medical programs. Advis-ing for Biology students is crucial to help get them into these programs.

Dr. Mark Grobner, professor in the Biolo-gy Department, said, “We think it’s crucial for our students to get advising.”

He added that he is more able to write a letter of recommendation for students he ad-vises because of the connections he makes with students during advising. “I have at least half a dozen students that want to get into the nursing program and they come to me because their other option is to go over to

Stan State News

the Advising Center. And because I had them in class, they show up to my office be-fore every term and ask what they should be taking,” Grobner said.

Biology is a tough major and requires the full attention of students in many ways. Fin-ishing in four years with a degree in Biology can be difficult.

“Biology is one of the tougher majors on campus,” Grobner said. Students might have to repeat a class or fight to get into a class, which takes them longer to overcome before graduation. “It’s not realistic for Bio majors to really get done in four years, it happens, but all the stars have to line up perfectly for that to happen,” Grobner said. “They might have a four year plan and then they can’t get into chemistry and it throws their whole four year plan off.”

When the time comes to choose classes, many students have a hold placed on their account that must be released before they can register for classes. This is true for the Art Department.

Dr. Roxanne Robbin, Department Chair of Art, said, “Most of the common questions are ‘what should I take, what’s coming up, what can I do with my art degree?’ ‘What should I be doing over summer, both sched-ule building but also professionally?’”

The nature of an art major is quite differ-ent from any other major on campus. While graduating in four years is desirable, as art-ists, their approach is different.

“We encourage them, if they’re ready with their coursework to graduate, to graduate, but we also feel pretty strongly that if they need to be there, they need to be there. We don’t push anybody too hard to get out the door unless we feel it’s in their best interest.” Robbin said.

Student’s Advising Experience

Brianna Lozano (junior, Computer Sci-ence) has been declared a Computer Science major all three years at Stan State. She said that the department puts up a sign up sheet for advising when it is time to register for classes.

“It’s kind of hard to get your name on the list. Everyone has their favorite professors so the more popular professors get filled up faster. You choose any professor you want,”

she said.Finishing in four years can be difficult at

times for Computer Science majors, espe-cially because so many of them opt to double major.

“There’s a lot of double majors in Com-puter Science, especially in Mathematics and Biology. Our advising is mandatory, but if you’re a double major you can go to either department to get the hold off,” she said.

Julissa Ruiz Ramirez is currently double majoring in Political Science and Ethnic Studies. She has been a student at Stan State for three years and this year has received a hold on her account for advising for the first time.

She said, “I never knew who to go to ad-vising for Political Science. Initially, I was just a Political Science major and the com-munication to students was not made clear. It was only after I started becoming involved with organizations that I realized that I had to be the one to reach out to a Political Science professor.”

After receiving a hold, she received ad-vising and chose an advisor. They gave her three faculty options to get advising from at the Political Science Department. She also received a hold from the Ethnic Studies De-partment.

Getting classes in Ethnic Studies requires extra planning due to there only being three full-time faculty advisors. In addition to the low amount of Ethnic Studies faculty, the classes are not always available when the students need them.

“Obviously, if you need a certain class that is only offered in the Spring, you have to wait and plan things out...I can only assume that at least half of the students have had simi-lar experiences as I do because of the lack of communication,” Ruiz Ramirez said.

ASI Taco ‘Bout It Takes Action

Last October Associated Students Inc. (ASI) held a Taco ‘Bout It session to get feedback from students about advising.

ASI President Maria Marquez (senior, Communication Studies), who also falls into the “super senior” category, said, “Regarding advising, it has been a discussion we have been having within Student Government and with Academic Senate as well. Some of the

concerns that were raised within the Taco ‘Bout it event were that some students want a consistent advisor who knows them and en-sures that they do not enroll them in wrong class so they can graduate on time.”

ASI changed ways advisors are attached to the colleges for students to see the same advisor each time. Faculty can share advis-ing notes with each other regarding students now. ASI’s work is starting to pay off for stu-dents and their experience with advising.

“Continued representation by represen-tatives from ASI on the educational policy committees and some of the other commit-tees where they continued to advocate for re-ally good advising and some of the other pol-icies that can support students,” has spurred change that has been made thus far in the area of advising on campus, Eudey said.

“ASI has been doing a fantastic job...They deserve a lot of credit for the work they’re doing,” she added.

Going Forward

While advising is not perfect, faculty are trying to make it better for students. The graduation initiative will also help students complete their degrees at a better pace.

“A good component of the graduation ini-tiative is that it’s forcing all the CSUs to think more carefully about how many sections of courses are being offered, making sure that freshmen at student orientation are getting courses that matter to their degree progress, that we’re focusing on improved advising, that we’re focusing on communication with students so they know exactly what courses they need to take,” said Eudey.

Nainby believed the “intensive advising” and “advising resources on our campus” are helping Stan State achieve the goal of finish-ing faster. “We, ideally, would like to do a better job using our schedule planning with this, and I think we’re just getting started on that,” Nainby said. “We’re getting better and better on getting data to do that work, but we’re still in the initial stages of that.”

No matter how students receive advising, they can still keep track of their progress by utilizing the Stan Planner through the student portal. It is also a good idea to check in with advisors to stay on the right track.

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Behind the Plate at Stan State

25

Campus Culture

The employees at Chartwells, Stan State’s on-campus food provider, all share the passion of being able to pro-vide to the campus community to the best of their ability as well as provid-ing internships to students on campus.

A few of the employees we see ev-ery day all have some type of experi-

ence in the food and dining industry. Director of Dining Bradley Robertson started out in the food and beverage industry in 2000. Even though his degree was in political science, he found out that this industry allows for mak-ing connections with others that share a passion for food.

“Because food is personal, there are so many varia-tions to something that could be as simple as meatloaf or a turkey sandwich,” said Robertson. “The passion that people have for the food they consume is so inspiration-al. It makes you want to create something new, some-thing fun, something that can captivate the customer. That experience really sparked a desire and passion for the industry.”

Robertson expressed how honored he feels to serve this campus community. “[Stan State is] such an amaz-ing and devoted student body, that is led by one of the most inspirational university presidents that I have had the pleasure to work with,” Robertson said.

Executive Chef Caleb Sisco shares Robertson’s love for Stan State and for food. He grew up in a family that was always cooking, and at a young age was taught how by his grandmother. He never thought he would grow up and become a cook, but later learned that food was his passion.

Sisco said he “found it as my passion and thought,

by Danielle Castillo

Chef Sisco, Charles Pereira and Rebekah Martinez. (Signal Photo/ Danielle Castillo)

Chef Sisco preparing food for students. (Signal Photo/ Danielle Castillo)

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Campus Culture

‘Why not do something you love doing every day? If you have a passion for something you will excel no matter what.’”

Six years ago, Chef Sisco joined culinary school at the Institute of Technology (IOT) in Modesto at the same time he was enrolled in a two year degree program. “I absolutely loved it. I excelled in that [cooking], I had the highest grades in class and that never happened to me before,” Sisco said jokingly.

Sisco has worked with Chartwells for five years, starting off as the Warrior Grill Cook before working his way to Sous Chef, then Executive Sous Chef.

“My favorite thing about being a chef is I have the passion for it. Food is really personable to each and every one of us,” Sisco said.

Assistant Director of Dining, Charles Pereira, has worked with Chartwells for 3 months and shares the love for food. Pereira ex-plained he gained a new appreciation for good food after attending boarding school with terrible food. Previously, he worked with health care services as well as airlines.

Rebekah Martinez is an alumni from Stan State who joined the Chartwells team a few weeks ago as Marketing Coordinator. Marti-nez said she loves the creativity that comes with her new job. “I am drowning in it, and I love it,” she said.

One of Martinez’s main goals in her position is to kick the stigma of Chartwells’ food being considered cafeteria food. She wants to be able to create the best meal plans for students for however long they are at Stan State.

Not only does Chartwells provide to the campus community their food and service, but it also gives students the opportunity to grow within the company.

Chartwells offers Student Success Internships in marketing, cu-linary, catering, and accounting that last for about a semester. Rob-ertson said, “Our Student Success Internships come with a variety of resources, problem solving opportunities, skill-building webinars and the opportunity to be placed with our company or one of our sister companies post-graduation.”

If Chartwells sees students excel, they offer a Manager in Train-ing program where they prepare them for a career in food services management while still supporting their professional growth. They provide benefit packages and ongoing skills training, as well as the environment to be able to balance personal life and work.

Martinez said that Chartwells currently has a Manager in Training working at Stan State from Chicago who is learning how the com-pany functions within the university and will be moving to her own position soon.

“Especially with all the accounts Chartwells has throughout the nation, the sky’s the limit where you can go and how far you can go,” Martinez said.

Chef Sisco added, “Chartwells is huge on opportunities, they give people a lot of chances and a lot of development. This com-pany likes to develop individuals. It’s a great company.”

Chartwells is also excited to offer new services in the renovated Student Union building. According to Chef Sisco, Chartwells will offer a handful of brand new food places in the new building.

Additionally, a new program called Stan Eats will be launched by DBH around Fall 2019. Sisco explained that the students will be able to vote on what they would like to see there each semester.

The team at Chartwells is dedicated to providing the best ser-vice they can. “Our onsite team is dedicated to partnering with the university on multiple levels to promote a healthy and successful campus. And though we work for Chartwells, we are integrated into the Stan State community and are all Warriors at heart,” Robertson said.

Students getting food at Main Dining. (Signal Photo/ Danielle Castillo)

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ACHIEVEMENT

F A C U L T Y I N N O V A T I O N& L E A D E R S H I P A W A R D S

In this season of institutional transformation, faculty are at the center of innovative thinking and practice required to improving student success. The California State University Faculty Innovation & Leadership Award recognizes faculty who demonstrate leadership or advance student success programs to improve degree completion or eliminate equity gaps. Twenty-three faculty members from across the CSU will be recognized with a $5,000 cash award and $10,000 to be allocated to the academic department to support awardee activities.

Nominations due May 3, 2019. For more information visit calstate.edu/FILA

Neighborhood

27

Compton described her gratitude to her adopted parents, who showed her another life that was completely different from one she was used to.

“When I was growing up I actually didn’t know college existed at all. I didn’t think that was a life for me because ‘that’s for rich people’ and I’m not rich at all. I was raised where there were gangs, so I was always surrounded by that environment and life, but they [Compton’s adopted parents] showed me a different way of living,” Compton said.

Marina Melero (senior, Sociology), Secretary of the Sociology Club, expressed the dedication she has for this project. “I feel that it’s important that each of us put our part into the Sociology Club, to ac-tually take part in these events on campus, especially for this event. There’s not a lot of these events around here so it’s something we can provide for the kids, essentially. We want this awareness to start in the community then spread to other agencies about these types of situations.”

Sign ups to donate were in the quad on campus and through email from March 25 through April 12. The project received more dona-tions than expected, which the Sociology club accomplished with the help of Angie Potts, M.S., the Creative Alternatives Program Di-rector.

Potts said, “I see each of us as community partners, so it is less about Creative Alternatives helping CSU Stanislaus Sociology Club, and more about the community giving to children and youth who are going through a difficult time. Although the goal of foster care is to provide a safe and supportive home to children and youth, so many of the children and youth are experiencing grief and loss issues at the same time, that a ‘Dream Duffel’ is one small, but great thing that will support youth when they come into care.”

Dream Duffels will be given to about seventy foster children. The Sociology Club plans to continue making a difference for the com-munity’s foster youth each semester going forward.

Dream Duffels

Foster youth frequently are given trash bags to transport their belongings from home to home. Stan State’s Sociology Club organized a project collecting “Dream Duffels,” which are an alternative to the trash bags, in hopes that they will help foster kids adjust and feel more comfortable.

“Sometimes what goes in the trash bags isn’t even theirs,” said Rachel Gonzalez (senior, Psychology), President of the Sociology Club, who described how some foster kids are treat-ed. “What we are trying to do is provide them with necessities that can help them make it through the first couple of days [adjusting to new homes], which are pretty rough.”

These “Dream Duffels” will provide the children with stuffed an-imals, clothes, coloring books and more possessions that they can call their own.

Jacqueline Compton’s (junior, Sociology) story inspired the proj-ect. Compton said, “Well, I am a former foster child so if I had this program in my community I would have loved it, because I actually had the trash bag full of stuff that wasn’t mine. So I saw it, through my eyes, that no one cared about me or took the chance to give me something. It’s really important to me.”

From Trash Bags toby Alyssa Patterson

The organizers of the “Dream Duffels” project, Rachel Gonzalez, President of the Sociology Club, left, Jacqueline Compton, Student Event Coordinator, and Marina Melero Secretary of Sociology, right. (Signal Photo/ Alyssa Patterson)

Illustration by Simarjit Kaur

Sports

Stan State is in the process of campaigning for priority registration for student athletes. While it has been a long standing issue and topic of discussion for the student athletes and coaches of the Athletic Department, it has finally come closer to a resolution. Those affected by the issue have began voicing their opinions.

According to The California State Uni-versity website, “Twenty-two of the CSU’s 23 campuses offer athletic programs, each of which includes resources especially for student-athletes.” Stan State is the only CSU that currently does not have priority reg-istration for their student athletes. Hannah Rogers (senior, Nursing), an athlete on the Women’s Soccer team, said, “If athletes find out that we are the only school out of all the UC’s and CSU’s without priority registra-tion, they’re going to start choosing to at-tend other schools over Stanislaus.” This has made many student athletes feel as though they are not fully supported academically and athletically.

The Office of Admissions was contacted in an attempt to find out why Stan State does not offer this resource to its student athletes. Unfortunately, no one was available to give a comment, and those who were present did not have any information on the subject.

Student athletes are struggling to balance their life dual of being an athlete and student. Cali Miller (junior, Liberal Studies) is one of those living the grueling dual life of a stu-dent athlete. She said, “When I have had to miss practices and weights, I have to find ex-tra time in my already full schedule to make up what I missed. Academically, I have not been able to take certain classes that I need, and now I have to wait until I am done with volleyball in order to do so, which sets me back.”

Andy Cleaves (senior, Business Adminis-tration) is another athlete at Stan State. He is a member of the Men’s Basketball team. Cleaves thinks that adding priority regis-tration would be helpful, not only for him-self but also for his fellow student athletes. He said, “I believe that priority registration would benefit athletes because then they will be able work around practice schedules and

28

Voices of Student Athletes Speak Out About Priority Registrationby contributing writer Chelsey Berry

game times. Giving us this privilege makes our lives a little bit less stressful than it al-ready is.”

Alissa Arogan, Stan State’s Student Ath-lete Academic Advisor, is around student athletes on a day-to-day basis and is con-stantly having meetings with them regarding their standing for graduation. Arogan said, “Choosing classes in general is stressful, though it is magnified when you also have to manage schedules that you can’t control as a student athlete.” The NCAA also has spe-cific requirements in play to aid student ath-letes in their strides toward a degree, Arogan added.

Angelica Baylon (junior, Communication Studies) is a member of the Women’s Bas-ketball team who faces challenges in finding courses that fit into her schedule. She said, “There are certain classes that I need in order to graduate but the available times for those courses conflict with practice times. This scheduling conflict has forced me to have to pay for summer/winter courses since there were not more time slots that were more fit-ting to my schedule.”

Jack Large (senior, Communication Stud-ies) is a Stan State Student Athlete on the Baseball team. He too has faced struggles of getting into courses that are required for him to graduate. Large said, “[I] have had to take classes that are irrelevant to my major just to stay eligible.”

Mallori Gibson-Rossi is in her fourth year as a Head Coach of Stan State’s Vol-leyball team. During her time in this posi-tion she has encountered the struggles that her athletes face because they don’t have priority registration. She said, “Girls have transferred or quit the team because it is too stressful to balance both.” She is a first hand witness to the struggles her athletes experi-ence when classes interfere with team prac-tices. Coach Gibson-Rossi has also encoun-tered the complications of the life of being a student athlete on a personal level. She said, “The lifestyle of waking up everyday at 4:30 a.m. and practicing from 5:30-7:30 a.m. is a demanding lifestyle for student athletes.”

Being a student athlete has high standards for grades and work ethic that must be met.

“If athletes find out that we are

the only school out of all the UC’s and CSU’s without priority registration, they’re going to start choosing to attend other schools over Stanislaus,” said Hannah Rogers

The Stan State Women’s Soccer team playing a game of Futsal during an early morning practice on Friday, March 8, 2019. (Signal Photo/ Haley Steele)

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Sports

These standards are to be upheld both within the student athlete’s sport and in his/her academics. This all has to be done while also balancing the other commitments that accompany day-to-day life.

Ryan Kane (junior, Business Adminis-tration) is an athlete on the Men’s Soccer team at Stan State. He said, “We have large chunks out of our day from practice, games, and travel and the last thing we should be worrying about is if we will get into our classes or not.” As a student athlete, not only are you competing but you are also repre-senting the image of a university.

Practice times for each team are assigned and not flexible. Coach Gibson-Rossi said, “I don’t have a say when we get to practice which messes with class schedules as well as the chemistry between the players during practices.”

Stan State has been in the process of re-ceiving priority registration for years, yet the improvements have not made much progress until this year. MiShaye Venerable (senior, Social Sciences) is the Secretary on the Associated Student Inc. (ASI) Board of Representatives and is also a student athlete on the the track team. Her strong opinions on priority registration stem from her own experience with not having it. She said, “Student-athletes spend a significant amount of time in athletic-related activities, up to 20 hours per week in practice, weight training,

conditioning and competitions, in addition to treatment, study hall, academic meetings and travel.”

Venerable shared her weekly schedule as an example of the commotion that student athletes face. She said, “Personally, a regular schedule for me is to have practice at 6 a.m., class or work from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. , another practice from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m., class or work from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. I often struggle with getting sleep because the only time I have for homework is 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. and I wake up at 5 a.m. to do it all over again.”

Venerable explained that there is a manda-tory process that it must go through in or-der to have the chance at being accepted and passed. After a conversation with President Junn, Venerable learned that President Junn will have the final say, but first wants the policy to go through the full process before making the final decision.

After many years of building their argu-ment and it gaining traction, priority regis-tration for student athletes is finally within reach. ASI has been standing with student athletes and even aided in the creation of a proposal. Venerable said, “[The] Proposal was sent earlier this year and is actually in the process now going committee to com-mittee.” Venerable predicts that this proposal will make it to the Academic Senate Floor near the end of April.

“ I believe that priority registration

would benefit athletes because then they will be able work around practice schedules and game times. Giving us this privilege makes our lives a little bit less stressful than it already is,” said Andy Cleaves

Andy Cleaves awaiting the call on a play from the referees. (Signal Photo/ Haley Steele)

Student athletes hard at work in the Athletic Building in-between their classes and practices. (Signal Photo/ Haley Steele)

Stan State’s student athletes posing for a group picture before their Annual Athletes’ Barbeque. (Photo Courtesy of Marty Bicek)

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Across3. The egg or the _____, you decide4. Creature of this7. How dogs and trees say “Hi”10. Abstract’s opposite13. Soy, Lima, String14. Constitutional introduction15. Hot air or helium filled16. Hopeless romantic17. Gradual change in time frames18. Crazy train22. Wyoming’s National Park of note24. Pizza bottom25. It’s a word puzzle26. Semi-aquatic Australian mammal28. Unaware of surroundings29. Player helps player score30. “April _____ bring May flowers”31. Individual with an impulse to steal32. Nickname, a real smooth dude33. Washington D.C., building34. Office holder

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Warrior lake bridge