COLLEGIANTHE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014

FRESNO STATE'S STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1922

@TheCollegiancollegian.csufresno.edu •/TheCollegianOnline •

Four-year graduation rates

“ ”ALL THE WAY FROM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ... WE TEACH STUDENTS DIFFERENTLY BASED ON CLASS ...

- DR. SARAH WHITLEY

BLACK

WH

ITE

ASIAN

LATINO

SOURCE: FRESNO STATE’S OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

30%

20%

10%

RACEAT FRESNO STATE

LATINO

WHITE

BLACK

ASIANOTHER

StudentPopulation

*

Kids Day aims for new record

Professors, university officials sound off on Fresno State’s substantial success gap

A morning of fundraising and competition for Fresno State organizations

Katie Eleneke • The CollegianMelissa Cancino and Diana Carrasco from Lambda Theta Nu at Fresno State sell Kids Day newspapers March 4 at Gettysburg and Cedar avenues.

==> AMERASIA WEEK: Asian cultural events on campus aim to create awareness of diversity. [PAGE 4]

A&E

==> ‘HERSTORY’ MONTH: Mary Castro and others kick off Women’s “Herstory” Month with opening ceremony in the Free Speech Area. [PAGE 3]

SPORTS==> MEN’S HOOPS: Despite losing to San Diego State in the home finale, the Bulldogs men’s basketball team ended the season on a high note. [PAGE 8]

INSIDE

COMMUNITY

NEWS

Thousands of volunteers got up before the sun to man street corners and sling newspapers around the Valley Tuesday in an attempt to raise over $500,000 for the Children’s Hospital of Central California during the 26th annual Kids Day sale.

An estimated 1,500 students from Fresno State participated in the sale, which is one of the biggest campus charity events of the year.

“This event is really like no

other,” said Renee Delport, who has coordinated Fresno State’s participation in the event for nearly a decade.

Most of those who volun-teered did so with one of the 61 clubs and organizations affiliat-ed with the university that par-ticipated.

“It’s been going really well,” said Veronica Franco, a member of the Student Pre-Occupational Therapy Association while sell-ing newspapers on the corner of Woodrow and Shaw Avenues

By Jesse Franz@JesseOfTheNews

See KIDS DAY, Page 6

FULTON MALL IN PHOTOSDOWNTOWN FRESNO:

-- PAGE 2

In a university that embraces the value of diversity, Fresno State is still working to close the student achievement gap between various races and ethnicities that embody the campus.

Dr. Angel Sanchez, director of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, said the gap between graduation rates “has been going up, but not at the leaps and bounds we want it to be.”

“It’s still a very persistent gap between non-underrepresented minorities, in which majority of that group is white, and underrepresented minorities, who are Hispanic/Latino, African-American and Native American,” Sanchez said.

The current Fresno State statistics show that while whites graduate at a 4-year rate of 27.1 percent, other races trail significantly. The rate

for Hispanics/Latinos is 11 percent, Asians 8.1 percent and African-Americans 7.4 percent.

Six-year graduation rates also show a simi-lar trend, now being the overall average time it takes a Fresno State student to graduate at 48.6 percent. Whites graduate at a rate of 57.3 per-cent, Hispanics/Latinos 46.2 percent, Asians 43.6 percent and African-Americans 30.9 per-cent.

Yet, as Sanchez emphasizes, these numbers are just the start of tackling the wider issue and understanding the distinct diversity of the San Joaquin Valley’s population.

“In this area of retention rates and gradua-tion rates, the story really begins with who we are as Fresno State and who we serve,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez explained that in serving the Valley, the influx of students coming through the K-12

By Nadia Pearl@nadia_pearl_

See RACE, Page 3

Photo by Katie Eleneke • The Collegian

Infographic by Jesse Franz • The Collegian

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014PAGE 2 THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS

FRESNO’S LONG GOODBYE TO THE FULTON MALL AS WE KNOW IT

he Fresno City Council voted 5-2 to remodel the Fulton Mall to allow traffic in a historic decision that will end it’s half-century run as one of the nation’s

oldest pedestrian malls. The remodel selected by the Council creates a straight

street and moves all art and mosaic benches to the sidewalk areas, and establishes nearly 200 parking spots in the mall. It represents the first time traffic will be allowed in the mall since 1964.

“It’s hard to overstate how important this is because a healthy downtown really makes the entire Central Valley work again,” said Craig Scharton, owner of Peeve’s Public House in the Fulton Mall.

Home to historic art pieces and a unique population, many city leaders see the Fulton Mall and it’s success are a meter of the Downtown revitalization effort’s success.

Remodel of mall to allow traffic

Photo Illustration: On the left is the mall in its current state. On the right is how the City foresees the remodel of the mall to look.

Photos by Matt Vieira • The Collegian

(Left) Matt Vieira • The Collegian

Katie Eleneke • The Collegian

Katie Eleneke • The Collegian

(Right) First Carbon Solution’s visual impact assessment

Advocates march to City Hall in support of the remodel of the Fulton Mall before Thursday’s City Council meeting.

“La Grand Laveuse” (Washer Woman), a rare sculp-ture by famous impressionist painter Renoir that is in the Fulton Mall.

National Women’s “Herstory” Month kicked off with an opening ceremony at the Free Speech Area Monday with Mary Castro as the featured speaker.

Castro spoke about the signifi-cant roles women have in their community.

“I think it’s important for us to recognize women who have an active role in the success of the campus,” Castro said. “Events like this are great for raising aware-ness about the things women have done and inspiring for students going forward.”

Marie Lerma, president of Women’s Alliance, read the poem

“Masks of Woman” by Mitsuye Yamada at the ceremony.

Lerma said she read the poem because it personally spoke to her.

“We put different masks on each other,” Lerma said. “We can look at history through that same analytical lenses like women’s his-tory. We layer different assump-tions and presumptions on top of it, so there is no such thing as the real history. It’s just different lay-ers of the thought of people at the time and what we think now.”

Volunteers from the Center for Women and Culture organized the event.

Marisol Patino, an intern at the center, hosted the event.

Patino said the event was to let people know about future events for Women’s “Herstory” Month.

There is a Women’s “Herstory” exhibit in the diversity dis-play on the second floor of the Henry Madden Library’s North Wing. The next event will be on Thursday at the library in Room 3212 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Dr. Jennifer Randles, assistant professor of sociology, will give a presentation titled “Repackaging the ‘Package Deal’: Promoting M a r r i a g e f o r L o w - I n c o m e Families by Targeting Paternal Identity.”

The Women Resource Center and Cineculture will host the Lunafest 2014 film festival at the Peters Auditorium on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Nine award-winning short films by, for and about women will be played.

public school system into Fresno State are increasingly challenged with adversity issues related to financial uncertainty, such as high poverty or unemployment.

Dr. Sarah Whitley, a professor in sociol-ogy of education, said such variables dur-ing K-12 translate “into college-level skills coming into the university.”

“If we look at how education is struc-tured in the United States, we provide dif-ferent qualities of education,” Whitley said. “Low-income populations tend to not get a high quality, or the best quality of educa-tion.”

Whitley said the education received prior to college acts as a crucial “pipeline”

for student success.“I think all the way from elementary

school,” Whitley said. “I mean, we teach students differently based on class and the type of education.

“Curriculum and skills that are being taught to low-income students are signifi-cantly different than middle-and-upper-income students. That’s going to then affect the types of skills that they have when they do go on past high school, or if they go on past high school.”

However, Sanchez said that serving this distinct population is the vision and mission of Fresno State and the other two California State University colleges in the Valley, CSU Bakersfield and CSU Stanislaus.

“The pipeline that we serve is becoming increasingly diverse, increasingly larger numbers of first-generation, increasingly larger numbers that require remediation,” Sanchez said. “That’s what we’re getting, and that’s who we serve and that’s what’s in the San Joaquin Valley.”

But, as Sanchez said, it is Fresno State’s duty to take in such challenged students.

“If they meet the eligibility require-ments, we take that population,” Sanchez said. “This raw resource that comes in here, we’re graduating 50 percent of those – that is doing something; that is doing a lot.”

The reality of the situation is that the populations requiring remediation head-ing into college are underrepresented minorities – Hispanics/Latinos, African Americans and Native Americans.

While the Asian population is not includ-ed as a minority, Sanchez said that the large Hmong population in Fresno, which is the second largest in the United States, deals with “many of the same characteristics as other underrepresented minorities.”

Once these minorities enter college-level education, what is Fresno State doing to facilitate their needs?

There are many support programs pro-moting student success on campus, both geared toward the entire student body and others more specific to ethnicities.

“We are all striving to help our students feel, believe [and] experience belonging,” Sanchez said. “That makes for success.”

One initiative is First Year Experience, a program that is aimed toward first-gen-eration students. With 71.6 percent of new undergraduates being first-generation stu-dents, Sanchez said this group faces “enor-mous implications” in its ability to navigate through a complex and bureaucratic higher education system.

He said First Year Experience gives those students support to “help them con-nect and become engaged” within the unfa-miliar structure.

A major program for the Hispanic/Latino population is Title V: Commitment to Latina/o Academic Success & Excellence (CLASE), a five-year grant distributed in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Education. Fresno State is a Hispanic-Serving Institution, meaning that, because of the school’s high Hispanic population of 40.6 percent, it qualifies for special govern-ment funding that addresses the needs of a diverse student body.

Dr. Adrian Ramirez, the director of Title V, said CLASE has “transformed the academic environment and made signifi-cant and sustainable contributions toward Hispanic student success.”

The support program has a joint part-nership between Academic Programs and Student Affairs, the two branches combin-ing to see an increase in retention rates, graduation rates and training faculty to support redesigned courses.

In Ramirez’s opinion, recent efforts by the administration have improved from past “policies that favored majority groups over the others.”

“In the past, I don’t think the university administration wanted to believe students come from diverse cultural backgrounds,” he said. “Now, they realize policies and

academic instruction need to include other perspectives in order to ensure minority student success.”

Another minority success program is the African-American Edge Initiative, pri-marily focused on African-Americans, the demographic with the lowest gradua-tion rates. Formed in 2010, it also aims to improve retention and graduation rates.

With a focus on mentoring, advising and counseling, Edge Initiative helps to build “resiliency” for African-Americans to navigate through the system, said Dr. Malik Raheem of the Kremen School’s counselor education and rehabilitation department.

Raheem was recruited for the Edge Initiative to address psychosocial develop-ment among African-American students by helping them feel a “sense of community and try to build some of their racial iden-tity.”

“That includes working on their sense of belonging and dealing with different issues that black students face,” Raheem said. “Because historically, the institutionalizing racism makes them feel like outcasts.”

He also said that African-Americans in college often deal with the “stereotype threat,” or the pressure of having to rep-resent their entire race through academic measures.

“It’s almost like a self-fulfilling prophe-cy,” Raheem said. “They start internalizing all these negative things they hear through-out their lives.”

While focusing on psychosocial devel-opment is the “best avenue” when working with minority students in college, Raheem believes long-term schematic approaches should be geared toward encouraging stu-dents in K-12.

“You’ve got to start giving them the sense that college is really in their future,” Raheem said.

Yet while there are a number of pro-grams working toward student success, another issue is whether students know about such support services. Whitley believes increasing awareness is crucial to seeing an increase in graduation rates.

“We have a lot of services on campus,” Whitley said. “But I think having further efforts of letting students know what those services are and when they’re available and why they’re available could go a long way.”

Sanchez believes graduation success is not only important to Fresno State, but also to the entire San Joaquin Valley popula-tion. Recognizing that most of the univer-sity’s graduates stay in the Valley, he said there is a wider “economic engine piece” to the academic achievement.

“We produce graduates and they go back out there to the community,” Sanchez said.

Ramirez also emphasized that the sig-nificance of creating diverse graduates will “enrich the lives of students and inherently their families and the communities in the Central Valley.”

“The future of the health and econom-ic vitality of the Central Valley depends upon ensuring educational and profes-sional development opportunities for all residents, including students from diverse backgrounds,” Ramirez said.

PAGE 3WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS

Drop off items in USU 316 or wherever you see an ASI donation box

SCHOOL SUPPLIES BOARD GAMES SPORTS GEARcolored pencils

crayons & markersscissors & glue

spiral notebooks

apples to apples jr.words with friends

guess who?mancala/ jenga

basketballssoccer balls

kick ballsfootballs

New supplies benefit youth programs in the El Dorado Park community

Questions can be directed to the ASI office559.278.7703

“UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY”

youth supply drive

Tuesday, March 4th Friday, March 21st

-

Katie Eleneke • The CollegianMary Castro and Francine Oputa, director of the Center for Women and Culture listen to speakers Monday during the opening ceremony of Women’s “Herstory” Month in the Free Speech Area.

By David Lee@D_Lee64

Women’s ‘Herstory’ Month begins

Professors speculate about causes of diversity gapRACE from Page 1

On Thursday, the Fresno State Wind Orchestra will perform in the Concert Hall in the Music Building on campus.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m.Joshua Locher, the principal alto saxophonist for the

orchestra, said the goal for the group is to spread atten-tion to a genre of music of which the Central Valley may not be too aware.

“The wind orchestra offers an experience which cannot be found anywhere else in the Central Valley,” Locher said. “We hope to expose audience members to exciting new works, as well as perform the ones they may already know.”

The wind orchestra is primarily a touring band, performing at festivals and conventions across the state. However, each semester, the orchestra likes to hold at least two concerts on campus to give family and friends a chance to attend.

“It’s refreshing to play in a more-relaxed environment before we prepare to tour and host a wind festival this spring,” said Locher. “Although I think it is wonderful to play for those that never heard our band before, it is the friends and family members who come to each of our home concerts that really inspire us.”

As principal alto saxophonist, Locher plays an impor-tant role in the orchestra.

“You’ll probably hear at least a little bit of me on all the pieces,” he said.

Locher also serves as one of the publicity managers for the band.

“It is also my job to ensure that we fill as many seats as possible,” Locher said, “because concerts are the most memorable to us when we play to a full house.”

Locher said he hopes any middle and high school students attending the Thursday night concert might be inspired to pursue music as a major.

“A big part of the wind orchestra is reaching out to high school students in the area,” he said, “to expose them to our programs as well as give them an idea of what it is like to perform at a collegiate level.”

This semester, the wind orchestra has performed at a number of venues. Among them chiefly is the William Saroyan Theatre. On Feb. 20, the orchestra was the head-line performance at California All-State Music Education Conference.

“Needless to say, it was a very stressful concert which required a lot of individual and group preparation,” Lo-

cher said. “But it was an amazing experience for the entire band.”

The audience at the conference included middle and high school students from across the state, as well as some of the best music educators from the West Coast and beyond.

Locher’s enthusiasm for music stretches beyond just the wind orchestra to the department of music as a whole.

“The music department and Fresno State features some of the most gifted and passionate educators in the coun-try,” Locher said. “It is astonishing how well the music students are guided and encouraged by their professors.”

Upcoming events for the wind orchestra include the 35th annual Lawrence R. Sutherland Wind Festival from March 21 to 23. The orchestra will also tour Northern California later this spring.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTWEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 54

By Sam DesatoffCollegian Staff

Photos by Matt Vieira• The Collegian

SJCL admitS StudentS of any raCe, CoLor, and nationaL or ethniC origin.

www.sjcl.edu • 559/323-2100

Sara SantoyoBA, Psychology

“Working in the New American Legal Clinic has been an extraordinary experience.

I see firsthand what a positive impact an attorney can have

upon a person’s life.”

application deadline iS March 31

San Joaquin College of Law is offering an event to help you reach that goal:

Law School 101 Thursday, March 20 from 7-9pmLearn more about the legal profession and what a law degree can do for you! At this forum you will be introduced to law school, from courses offered to admission requirements.

of the class of 2013 bar passers are employed full-time as attorneys.86%

think you would like to join them?

Asian Culture Awareness Begins

Buy Tickets at theUSU Info Center

Bus Leaves at 8AMSaturday, March 8th

Bus Leaves at 8AMSaturday, March 8th

$35 Fresno State Student with valid ID

USU PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

The 43rd annual Amerasia Week at Fresno State will teach and inform people about the diverse Asian cultures on campus through dances, songs and performances from March 6-10.

In 1970, Professor Izumi Taniguchi established Asian American Studies classes at Fresno State. Taniguchi was prompted to form classes in that disci-pline because of political instability and student activism at the time.

From this, two students of Tanigu-chi decided to form an organization for Asian American students to help promote cultural diversity and cultural awareness, said Aly Moua, a senior at Fresno State and the Culture Chair for the Amerasia organization.

“Amerasia Week is very important because the purpose is to educate and inform others about the diverse Asian cultures,” said Moua. “Hopefully stu-dents who are not of the Asian descent will be able to understand and differen-tiate upon the different groups of Asian cultures and embrace...them.”

Amerasia week started off Monday night with open mic night.

On Tuesday night, Magkaisa, a cultural group on campus, held Filipino Night. During Filipino Night Magkaisa performed various songs and dances. The group also handed out pamphlets that informed people about Filipino culture.

Tonight from 7 to 9 p.m., the Family Fun Project, an acting club in the Asian community, will present a skit and then Asian community boy band “Broken

Keys” will perform.On Thursday, the Japanese Student

Association will present a variety of Japanese cultural performances, which will include Kendo, a Bon Odori Dance, Kabuki, Soran Bushi and a presentation on Japanese holidays.

Friday, the Hmong Student Asso-ciation at Fresno State will present a two-hour skit called “The True Story of Ntxhais Hmoob.” The skit is a recre-ation of a folktale about a tiger and a girl named Yer.

On Saturday, Festival Night will present a variety of cultural shows—both traditional and modern. The performance will include a dance performance by “Forgotten Girls” and Hmong rapper and influential speaker Ninikiko.

Moua said that even after 43 years, Amerasia Week still strives to stay true to its roots in promoting and educating people about cultural diversity within the Asian community.

“Today, Amerasia is a vastly diverse multi-cultural organization, said Moua. “We still strongly promote cultural di-versity and cultural awareness. Amera-sia continues to educate the community of the various Asian cultures here in the Central Valley through our annual Amerasia Week.”

Moua said Amerasia also supports higher education and hopes to raise enough money to fund a scholarship for students pursuing higher education in the near future.

All events will take place at the Stu-dent Satellite Union from 7 to 9 p.m. Amerasia week events are open to the public. For more information, contact Fong Vang at (559) 213-2418.

Amerasia Week brings diverse Asian cultural events on campus

“The music department and Fresno State features some of the most gifted and passionate educators in the country. It is astonishing how well the mu-

sic students are guided and encouraged by their professors.”

—Joshua Locher Fresno State Music Student

Wind Orchestra prepares for tourStudent orchestra holds concerts on campus before touring across the state

Magkaisa’s booth on campus, located in front of the free speech area, hopes to inform others about the dif-ferent Asian cultures in the Central Valley through Amerasia Week.

By Matthew JimenezCollegian Staff

“Today, Amerasia is a vastly diverse multi-cultural organization. We still strongly promote cultural

diversity and cultural awareness.”

— Aly Moua, Amerasia Culture Chair

FUN & GAMES

Across1 “Famous Potatoes” state6 Speak drunkenly10 Addition word14 “__ what?”: “What next?”15 Adhesive strip16 Shopper’s memory aid17 Porky’s girlfriend19 Impressionist20 Very __ yours21 Utter mess22 Tire inflater24 Feigns sleep, say28 Pitt of “Troy”30 Three-note chord31 Aboveground trains32 Per __: for each person, as income

35 Got one’s uniform dirty, perhaps36 Runs away from military duty38 Israeli parliament43 “Exodus” author Leon45 Haughtily terse46 “From __ Zinc”: vitamin slogan49 Skimpy skirts51 Cut out, as coupons52 Either of two of the Inspector Clouseau films, with “The”56 Cooler cubes57 World book58 Like a lummox60 Lamb serving61 Yipping adoptee66 Pile67 Undersized 61-Across68 Sharp-crested ridge

69 Novelist Ferber70 Twistable cookie71 Leavening agent

Down1 AOL, for one2 Deer girl3 Devices to stop tiny invading armies4 Semiannual time-change amount5 Admit (to)6 Patronize, as a hotel7 Spot for a cat, or drink like a cat8 Wire service initials9 Coffee order: Abbr.10 Thinks ahead11 Enzyme that breaks down fats12 Handy

13 Plays the banjo, like someone “in the kitchen with Dinah”18 Unwell21 Wetter than wet22 “The Alphabet Song” start23 “Dies __”: Latin hymn25 Mos. and mos.26 Fancy tie fabric27 “Growing” difficulties29 Craps cube33 Spades in a four-spades bridge contract, say34 Sunlit courtyards37 Ireland’s __ Féin39 [error left as is]40 Soup legume41 Many a DeMille movie42 Use a keyboard

44 Command to Rover46 Tribe for which a helicopter is named47 Gave 10 percent to the church48 Borrowed, as a library book50 Japanese religion53 Phi Beta __54 Put a stop to55 Settle, as a debt59 Chaste61 NHL player, e.g.62 “__ Father, who art ...”63 One in Quebec64 Qt. halves65 Nonetheless

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis / McClatchy-Tribune

SUDOKU: Fill the 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that compose the grid contain all of the digits from 1 to 9.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014PAGE 6 THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS

A public service message brought to you by CalViva Health.

To learn more and see if you’re eligible contact Covered California. Visit Covered California online at www.coveredca.com or call 800-300-1506.

Fulltime and Part-Time Students

near the Save Mart Center. “We’ve had a lot of support

from the community,” she said.Although fundraising is the

goal, the competition between some groups to outdo one another is fierce but friendly, Delport said.

Some organizations’ members went so far as reportedly camping out overnight on street corners to claim the spot for their group.

“Outside of bragging rights, really there’s no tangible prize for them, but it really is just a pride thing. It’s exciting, and they love knowing, ‘Hey we’ve raised the

most,’” Delport said.From 2004 to 2012, Sigma Nu

dominated the informal competi-tion, beating out every other orga-nization for eight straight years.

However, last year Sigma Phi Epsilon pulled an upset, ending Sigma Nu’s streak by a margin nearly too close to call. The dif-ference between the two was just $10.70.

Although the sale does bring out the competitive nature of some groups, the beneficiary is always Children’s Hospital.

“Last year, the amount of money that they individually raised was more than what some

small towns raised,” Delport said. “We’ll get a small town like Kerman, and we’ll have frater-nities go out and be able to raise more than what a whole town is doing.”

With the exception of one year in the depths of the recession, Fresno State annually breaks its own record in Kids Day fundrais-ing.

Last year, the university raised $37,404, and although the final numbers of this year’s sale are not yet in, Delport feels optimis-tic that a record will be set once again.

“I guess our Fresno State stu-

dents are really good salespeo-ple,” Delport said.

In total, The Fresno Bee, in partnership with ABC 30, hopes

to raise at least $500,000 through the sale, adding to the $6.3 mil-lion that the event has raised in its history.

Rivalries pair competition with fundraisingKIDS DAY from Page 1

Bulldogs earn national rankings and weekly honors

After its sweep of the Texas A&M Aggies, the Fresno State baseball team received top-25 votes in three different national polls.

The Bulldogs were voted No. 24 in the Baseball America and Perfect Game polls and No. 25 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll.

It is the first time that Fresno State has been ranked in a poll since 2011, when it started at 10-1.

For the second straight week, Fresno State sophomore catcher Taylor Ward was named the Mountain West Baseball Player of the Week.

During the weekend sweep, Ward hit .417 with five hits, one run scored and two RBIs. Defensively, he played catcher in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader and made five putouts.

Tim Borst, the sophomore right-hander from Moreno Valley, Calif., was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Week. On Sunday, he led the Bulldogs to a 1-0 shutout of the Aggies, threw a career-high eight innings, allowed only three hits and struck out 11.

DeRuyter hires new secondary coach

Fresno State head football coach Tim DeRuyter announced Monday that he hired Charleston Southern secondary coach Marcus Woodson.

Last season, Woodson helped Charleston Southern to a 10-3 record and No. 22 ranking in the FCS Coaches Poll. His secondary only allowed 211.2 passing yards per game and tallied 11 interceptions.

In his collegiate career, Woodson was a two-year starter for Ole Miss and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science with an emphasis in criminal justice and a minor in English.

“We’re really excited about having coach Woodson as our new secondary coach,” DeRuyter said. “He has an outstanding record as both a player in the SEC and as a coach. We’re really excited to have him as part of our staff.”

Woodson has also been an effective recruiter for Charleston Southern. He coached current New York Giants cornerback Charles James, who set a school record with 12 career picks and was named to the All-Big South first-team three years in a row.

Prior to Charleston Southern, Woodson coached Millsaps College, where he was in charge of recruiting in the states of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Louisiana in addition to running the secondary. Drink Responsibly

In two consecutive games – at Wyoming and Utah State – the Bulldogs fell short one rebound to their opponents (35 to 34). The first matchup was a loss (again, foul trouble), while the second was a 3-point victory.

On Feb. 26 against Boise State, the ‘Dogs tallied fewer than 30 rebounds for the first time since Jan. 11’s 76-57 loss at Colorado

State. Fresno State ended the game with 28 boards but scored aggressively (sophomore guard Marvelle Harris was 9 for 11 in shooting) to compensate. That is an anomaly.

T h e n a g a i n s t San Diego State, Fresno State faced a team that is 23rd in the nation in r e b o u n d m a r g i n (5.6). In their first matchup last Jan.

15, the Bulldogs out-rebounded the Aztecs 38 to 37. Last Saturday, they fell short – 34 to 21.

Although the total rebound margin in the nine-game stretch for the Bulldogs is negative (-1.7), it is actually higher than it was on Jan. 25 (-3.1).

3. Turnovers

Fresno State’s national ranking in turnover ratio skyrocketed over the nine-game stretch.

On Jan. 25, the Bulldogs were 52nd in the nation in turnovers, with 10.9 committed per game. Since then, they have been able to shave a turnover off the aver-age (9.8) and now rank 11th in the nation.

Their best performance was at Utah State, when they turned over the ball three times.

The last time the Bulldogs ended the season in the top 25 in that category was after the 2011-12 season, when they finished 14th (10.7 per game).

4. Don’t forget the offense

While the Bulldogs have radi-cally changed their numbers on defense, the offensive numbers have remained the same.

On both Jan. 25 and today, the Bulldogs are averaging nearly 74 points per game. Field-goal per-centage has also remained in the same neighborhood, from 43.1 to 43.9.

That shows that the cruxes of Fresno State’s first 70 percent of the season were its defense and presence in the paint. Once it was able to get those under control, it began a win streak big enough to turn around the year.

And it’s not over yet. The sea-son’s final game is on Saturday, and the Bulldogs have a chance to finish over .500 overall for the first time in seven years.

Compare that with last year, and the Bulldogs are having a very productive season.

NUMBERS from Page 8

Bulldogs find their rhythm late in season

PAGE 7WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 THE COLLEGIAN • SPORTS

FRIDAY

AT(15-15, 8-9)

(7-21, 1-15)

The Bulldog Bulletin

Katie Eleneke • The CollegianFresno State’s Taylor Ward swings at a pitch during Game 1 of a two-game doubleheader Saturday afternoon. Ward was one of two Bulldogs who were awarded Mountain West Player of the Week honors.

Briefs and blurbs on the Fresno State Bulldogs

SPORTSWEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 20148

MEN’S HOOPS

Ending on a high noteBy the Numbers

Matt Vieira • Collegian file photoFresno State center Tanner Giddings jumps up to block a shot attempt by San Diego State’s Xavier Thames during the Bulldogs’ 82-67 loss last Saturday at the Save Mart Center.

Despite the fact that the Fresno State m e n ’ s b a s k e t b a l l team lost its home finale to San Diego State, it has a lot to be proud of.

Especially com-p a r e d w i t h h o w things were on Jan. 25.

On that date, the Bulldogs had finished

a grueling overtime contest against UNLV. They had lost their fifth-straight game and second in a row that went beyond regulation.

At 8-13 (1-7 in the Mountain West), it seemed like Fresno State’s 2013-14 season was coming to an ugly end. The first-place San Diego State Aztecs were undefeated in conference play, and the Bulldogs were second to last and about to host the fourth-place Wyoming Cowboys.

And that’s when the turning point came.

The Cowboys visited Fresno Jan. 29, and the Bulldogs found themselves with a seven-point lead after the first half. Although Wyoming outscored

Fresno State in the second stanza (by two points), the home team found itself breaking a losing streak.

From there, Fresno State’s fortunes flourished.

Eight games later, the Bulldogs have gone 7-2 and moved three spots up the Mountain West standings. They are down to their final game of the season – at San Jose – and will try to break even in conference play.

Going from 1-7 to 8-9, is a vast improvement. So what caused the 180 in Fresno State’s season?

1. Fouls were minimized

Through the UNLV contest, the Bulldogs had committed an average of 19.7 personal fouls per game. Over the nine-game stretch afterward, Fresno State improved that number to 18.8.

The important number, however, is how many points opponents scored from those fouls through free throws. That is 15.2 per game.

And those numbers have been dif-ferent in wins and losses. In the two losses Fresno State had since Jan. 25, it allowed more points off fouls than it did in the seven victories.

In Feb. 18’s loss at Wyoming, the ‘Dogs committed their highest num-ber of fouls over the nine-game stretch (31). Those were costly, as 31 points were scored from the free-throw line – and the Bulldogs only lost by six.

Last Saturday, the ‘Dogs were closer to their average foul count (17) and allowed 19 points from the line. Whether or not it was costly is a matter of debate: the ‘Dogs lost to the Aztecs by 15 points, and San Diego State shot 20 percent above its season average in the game from the lane.

Either way, the fact that Fresno State fouled the most in losses shows that keeping the number of penalties low helps it win games. It prevents opponents from getting free points and helps the ‘Dogs focus on other aspects of defense, such as:

2. Rebounds

In the first four wins after the UNLV match, the Bulldogs outrebounded their opponents 140-127. Since then, they have fallen short in boards, but the disparity is not much.

Christopher Livingston

Levatino wins Rosa Parks Award

LACROSSE

Fresno State junior attacker Marcy Levatino of the lacrosse team was awarded the Rosa Parks Athletic “Just Do It” Award at the Satellite Student Union last Friday.

The award honors student-athletes who show extraordinary leadership qualities, are active in the community and show passion for team improvement.

Levatino leads the Bulldogs with seven points scored this season after finishing second last year with 24. She also broke three single-game school records in 2013: most points and goals (seven each) and draw controls (eight).

An active member in the community, Levatino achieved more than 700 hours of com-munity service and is secretary of the Fresno State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

She is also a member of the Little Heroes Program, a project that develops relation-ships between student-athletes and patients of Children’s Hospital Central California.

“Marcy is an exceptional young woman who every day exemplifies the criteria set in place to be deserving of this award,” said Fresno State coach Jessica Pausewang.

‘Dogs to host Stanford and Colorado

The No. 19 Stanford Cardinal (2-1) will come to Fresno tonight at 5 p.m. as part of a two-game conference matchup.

The Cardinal advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season and return 11 starters in 2014. It averages 13.33 goals per game, led by sophomore Meg Lentz and senior Rachel Ozer (seven each).

On Saturday at noon, Fresno State will host Colorado. The Buffaloes are playing their inau-gural lacrosse season and are 2-2 (0-1 in the conference).

Collegian staff report

Matt Vieira • The CollegianFresno State junior attacker Marcy Levatino carries the ball past Denver defenders during the Bulldogs’ home opener Feb. 23. Levatino won the Rosa Parks Athletic “Just Do It” Award last Friday.

See NUMBERS, Page 7

ON DECK

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TONIGHTBulldog Stadium, Fresno

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