issue 1 - spring 2010
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Issue 1 of The State Hornet - Spring 2010TRANSCRIPT
The STaTe horneTOne COpy Free January 27, 2010 CaliFOrnia State univerSity, SaCramentO eSt. 1949
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Sports B4
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The STaTe horneTIssue 1 | Volume 62 | No. 15
Features B1
News A3
Waiting for change isn’t working, says opinion
writer Matt Rascher, so get out there and spread
the word: We will not stand for a second-rate education. Read Matt’s
column and make a change.
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Many classes are crowded on the first day.
See what students and faculty had to say.
StudentS and Faculty ProteSt on FirSt day oF School
nallelie Vega State Hornet
The California Faculty Association of Sacramento State and the Sac State Coalition picketed against fee hikes and furloughs outside the J Street entrance Monday morning. To read the full story, visit www.statehornet.com.
University Enterprise Inc., a nonprofit organization affiliated with Sacramento State, is one of four auxiliaries in the Cali-fornia State University system being audited by the state De-partment of Justice for possible mismanagement of donations.
On Nov. 5, 2009, Attorney General Jerry Brown requested financial, governance and other documents relating to loans for
Sac State President Alexander Gonzalez dating back to 2002. The request included: copies of the original bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, fiscal policies, IRS forms, investment policies, copies of all board minutes and all documents showing the source of the money loaned to Gonzalez.
The investigation began after the attorney general’s office re-ceived a letter in early July from California Faculty Association President Lillian Taiz. The letter
urged for the investigations of various nonprofit auxiliaries affiliated with Sonoma State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Sac State.
“This is no time to allow the questionable actions of these foundations to continue,” she said in the letter. “The CSU needs every penny in donations that the foundations receive.”
Universities do not benefit from loans made to high-rank-ing officials, Taiz said, adding that CFA does not support
such loans. She said there have been many controversial issues regarding the mismanagement of donations by auxiliaries in recent years. The letter cited the following examples:
· A Sonoma State academic foundation made hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans to a board member. University of-ficials are unable to explain how the unpaid loans came about.
· A Fresno State foundation improperly used more than $450,000 toward athletics and
had been doing so for various fiscal years.
UEI also came under fire for loans made to Gonzalez in 2003. The loans added up to more than $260,000 and were used for his relocation and housing as well as the remodel-ing of his kitchen in his Sacra-mento home. A $27,000 loan was used toward the purchase of a commercial stove and hood for Gonzalez’s home. Taiz said
Attorney General audits auxiliaries By Nallelie Vega
see AUDIT | page A4
Spring addressdraws protest
Despite the state’s eco-nomic crisis, Sacramento State President Alexander Gonza-lez expressed optimism for spring 2010 as he outlined the university’s financial situation at his annual spring address on Thursday.
Sac State has responded well to challenges and taken the necessary steps to ensure qual-ity education, Gonzalez said. He also discussed proposals being made in efforts to remedy the damage that has been done.
Addressing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget pro-posal, Gonzalez pointed out it is too early to form solid plans, since the proposal is still in its early stages and has yet to be revised.
“Gov. Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal is just that, it’s a proposal,” Gonzalez said. “Likewise the constitutional amendment that he proposed to guarantee higher education a percentage of the state general fund has many hurdles to clear before it can be enacted.”
The proposal, if passed, would restore $305 million in one-time cuts and provide $60.6 million for enrollment growth. However, the proposal is only a possibility.
“The budget dance with the Legislature is just begin-ning and what is proposed in January, as you all know, may not be what is translated to us and passed later in the year,” Gonzalez said.
Joining Gonzalez to discuss plans for handling academic af-fairs and enrollment at Sac State were Provost and Vice Presi-
By Leidhra [email protected]
see ADDRESS | page A3
Mia MaTSudaria State Hornet
Robert Graham of the Sac State Coalition protests while President Gonzalez gives his spring address.
Nursing receives $500,000 grant
Sacramento State’s division of nursing has received a $500,000 grant from the Frank M. and Gertrude R. Doyle Foundation to equip its new facilities in Fol-som Hall, the former CalSTRS building.
The money is being used to help furnish clinical simula-tion labs, which give nursing students the opportunity to practice real-life situations before interacting with actual patients.
The simulators are manne-quins that talk, breathe, have heartbeats and are programmed to react to medical conditions the way a real patient would.
In addition to the simula-tors, computers to program the simulators, gurneys and other equipment will also be purchased to make the clinical simulation labs as complete and up-to-date as possible.
For roughly 50 years, the
nursing program has been housed in El Dorado Hall, a location that was only meant to be temporary until a new building was built. It only has two simulation labs, which limits the space available to the program. Because labs are being used as storage space, equipment must to be moved out before students can begin a simulation.
Due to shortfalls in Sac State’s budget, the university has had to cut back on enrollment, offer fewer classes and put furlough days in place. These cutbacks restrict the number of students who can be enrolled in the nursing program, said Ann Stoltz, chair of the division of nursing.
The division admits 80 students per semester, and the larger facilities and the new equipment should help to increase the program’s capacity, Stoltz said.
“I have been in classes of over 300 and every one of them
is a pre-nursing student. I fear when I go into those classes, those students are taking my dreams away’” said Jane Stefan, a pre-nursing student.
The Frank M. and Gertrude R. Doyle Foundation is a Nevada-based private organiza-
tion started in 1977 that offers scholarships to high school students and grants to non-profit organizations, including universities.
The Doyle Foundation had
By Christine [email protected]
File phoTo
Nursing students crowd into a classroom in El Dorado Hall to work on a simulation dummy. A grant from the Doyle Foundation will provide more space for learning.
see NURSING | page A4
Young grads’ unemployment rate up
Recent college graduates have an unemployment rate that is almost double the unemploy-ment rate of older college graduates, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The national unemployment rate for college graduates 20 to 24 years old rose to 9.5 percent at the end of 2009, while the unemployment rate among college graduates 25 years and older has been at 5 percent.
“It’s not much of a surprise,” said Todd Johnson, an econo-mist for the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. “(Younger workers) tend to fall into the category of first hired, first fired.”
Johnson said in the last few years, employment among older workers has been increasing.
“There is a perception among employers that an older worker will be more stable and less prone to look for another job,” Johnson said.
Candace McGee, Sacramento State’s Career Center Internship Program Manager, said profes-sionalism is key to overcoming the perception that younger college graduates are less stable than older college graduates.
In 2008, the average worker
aged 20 to 24 stayed with the same employer for only a little over a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“There is a greater likelihood that young college graduates will take a job that is available, find they don’t really like that job, and look for something else,” Johnson said.
Some recent Sac State gradu-ates have experienced the tough job market firsthand.
Patrick Jennings, alumnus, applied for hundreds of jobs before he took a job as a staff accountant at the Northstar at Tahoe Ski Resort, in Lake Tahoe.
“You think college is the hard part and when you graduate you’re going to find a job right off the bat, but it’s not like that,” Jennings said.
After graduating, Jennings said he aimed high when he applied for jobs, but eventually had to aim lower after finding he was not getting feedback from the more lucrative em-ployers.
“In the beginning of the pro-cess I was kind of cocky,” Jen-nings said. “But as it went on, I got more humble and learned to work harder.”
By Timothy [email protected]
see GRADS | page A4
To see the video of the address, visit www.statehornet.com
WedneSday - January 27 neWS SeCtiOn StatehOrnet.COmA2
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Jones’ arraignment postponed
The suspect in the American River Courtyard homicide, Quran Jones, was arrested Jan. 12 after being released from the hospital. He is being held without bail at the Sacramento County Jail.
Jones was charged with one count of homicide and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer.
The arraignment has been postponed twice. At the second scheduled arraign-ment held Tuesday, Jones switched from a private attorney to a public defender. He did not enter a plea.
The next court date was scheduled for Feb. 26 at the Sac County Jail court.
For more information go to statehornet.com
CSU officials to launch graduation initiative
California State University officials are expected to launch a graduation initiative at the Board of Trustees meeting starting at 8 a.m. today. The graduation initiative involves all 23 CSU campuses and aims to increase the system-wide graduation rate by 8 percent by 2016.
The initiative is also expected to cut in half the graduation gap by underrepre-sented students. For more information, contact the CSU Public Affairs Office at
(562) 951-4800.
Black History Month be-gins on Monday
The Black History Month kickoff will start at 7 p.m. Monday in Orchard Suite I on the second floor of the Univer-sity Union. This free event is hosted by AFRICA, the Africans for Reeducation, Innovation, Consciousness and Achieve-ment.
AFRICA president Jeraniqua Martin said student organizations and clubs will talk about what they plan to do during the month of February in celebration of Black History Month celebration.
For more information, contact [email protected].
Sac State receives $74,000 from SMUD
The SMUD awarded a $74,000 check to Sacramento State for the energy efficiency of the American River Courtyard resi-dence hall. President Alexander Gonzalez received the check on behalf of Sac State from SMUD board member Howard Poster on Jan. 20.
This design includes windows, walls and lighting systems. Gonzalez said the money will be spent on making other residence halls on campus energy efficient.
▶◀ ▶◀ ▶◀ Contact Kristine Guerra in
the News department at (916) 278-7248.
▶◀ ▶◀ ▶◀
NEWS ROUNDUP Sac State’s weekly news briefs and campus events
WedneSday - January 27 neWS SeCtiOn StatehOrnet.COm A3
A revamped tax credit will now allow students and their parents to receive up to $2,500 this tax season for educational expenses for the first four years of post-secondary education.
The American Opportunity Tax Credit will be available for the 2009 and 2010 tax years and will cover expenses including tuition and enrollment fees, required books, supplies and equipment.
“It’s kind of a down payment, investing in the future of our workforce,” said Mara Lee, spokeswoman for Rep. Doris Matsui.
Lee said the credit is part of the stimulus and is an effort to help students stay in school.
According to the Joint Com-mittee on Tax, the opportunity tax credit will spend $13.9 Bil-lion over 10 years from federal income tax.
The credit replaced the Hope Credit, a $1,800 non-refundable credit, which was available for only the first two years of post-secondary education, said Shara McClain, general manager of Liberty Tax Service.
Expansions to the Hope Cred-it for the opportunity tax credit increased the total amount by $700 and widened the income eligibility requirements to include families with annual income up to $80,000 ($160,000 if filing jointly).
Because the opportunity tax credit is refundable, it does not simply reduce the amount of taxes owed. Rather, student taxpayers (or parents claiming a dependent student) can receive up to 40 percent ($1,000) of their credit in their tax refund check - that is, if their total credit exceeds the total amount owed in taxes.
If a student’s paycheck with-holdings exceed his or her total taxes that year, then the student will receive a refund check to make up for the overlapping amount. If that student files for the AOC then the credit applies toward reducing total taxes. If the opportunity tax credit reduces the total tax to zero dollars and has credits left over, the remaining amount will also be paid to the student or parent as long as it does not exceed 40 percent of the total credit amount.
According to the Internal Revenue Service’s website, students must be enrolled at least half-time and cannot have any felony drug convictions. It is not available to students who are still claimed as a dependent (although parents can file on the student’s behalf), students who are married and filing separately, or to those with a Modified Adjusted Gross In-come of more than $90,000.
In order to receive the credit, the student or parent must attach form 8863 to his or her regular tax return and file them
together. Forms are available for download online at www.irs.gov, or for pickup from the IRS office at 4330 Watt Ave.
Students may also receive a statement by mail from the university that lists the school’s tuition and fee amounts, but will not contain all of the eligible expenses actually paid. Students should itemize their cost to come up with a more accurate figure.
Receiving financial aid will not disqualify a student from receiving the credit, but the amount received in aid will be subtracted from the student’s total educational expenses. To be eligible, an expense must be out of pocket, or borrowed, such as a student loan.
Although most students will find that they are eligible for this credit, professionals say it is not correct to assume it is their best option.
Lizzette Easter, senior tax adviser for H&R Block, said students and parents who are considering to apply should calculate and compare their re-fund with the credit with their refund using other tuition and fee deductions.
“What is there to think about? I’m doing it,” said Maximilian Fischer, kinesiology major.
Improved tax credit offers $2,500 to students, parents
By Paul [email protected]
Address: Gonzalez optimistic
dent of Academic Affairs Joseph Sheley and Vice President of Student Affairs Lori Varlotta.
Sheley discussed the inevi-table consequences of budget cuts and the steps necessary to ensure equal opportunities and quality to everyone at Sac State.
“It’s critical that we manage enrollment such that we do not exceed target this year, it’s part of fairness to everybody involved, fairness to everybody who works here, fairness to students,” Sheley said.
Sac State has responded to the state’s financial crisis in a responsible fashion, Sheley said.
“I don’t think anything we do at this university now is unimportant or frivolous. ... We squeeze more out of a buck than any university with which I am familiar,” Sheley said. “But we none the less have to priori-tize what we do within our list of important functions.”
One step Sheley said he plans to take in response to the changes at Sac State is a revision of the current General Education requirements. He said the goal is to create more options for students so quality education can be achieved in a timely manner.
Varlotta also expressed pride in Sac State’s handling of the budget crisis, and optimism for the university’s future.
“Here at Sacramento State enrollment management has been and continues to be exceptionally well managed,” Varlotta said. “If you look at
our enrollment targets over the last several years we have done a great job coming within a 1 percent margin of error.”
Varlotta also pointed out that even during such tough times, Sac State continues to strive toward being a destination campus.
“We’ve done everything right, at the very time that we’re being asked to cut everything back.,” Varlotta said.
While the three speakers all expressed great faith in the up-coming semester and future of Sac State, some audience mem-bers were not so convinced.
Members of the Califor-nia Faculty Association and students from the Sac State Coalition, a Sacramento-based organization that advocates for quality and affordability of higher education, attended the address and made sure to express their concerns.
During the address, 10 stu-dents from the coalition stood facing the audience with black
tape over their mouths, holding signs that read “the tape on our mouths symbolized the voice-less … Gonzalez has repeatedly failed to listen … We have no confidence of Pres. Gonzalez’ ability to support and advocate for the students of CSUS.”
Cecil Canton, professor of criminal justice and associate vice president of the statewide CFA, said it was “absolute mad-ness” that the students were not acknowledged by any of the speakers during the address.
“There was not one indication that those students were there. They were treated like they were invisible,” Canton said.
Although the protestors may not have been directly mentioned by the speakers, Gonzalez, Sheley and Varlotta did emphasize that the univer-sity’s main goal is to take care of students and everyone at Sac State.
Continued | page A1
WedneSday - January 27A4
she questioned the auxiliaries’ loans and whether they were “acting in the public’s interest.”
John Kepley, special assis-tant to Gonzalez, said since Gonzalez took office, there have been record levels of private fundraising due to his hospi-tality. Kepley attributed much of the success to his ability to host donors in his home, which wouldn’t have been possible without a remodeled kitchen.
“It was really just a food safety issue,” he said, adding that many of the guests Gonzalez hosts are private donors. “This way the food could be prepared there, instead of having it pre-pared at campus catering and driven out there.”
He said as a result of pri-vate fundraising, community
members have made significant donations. He added that most of the money donated has gone toward student scholarships.
UEI Director Jim Reinhardt agreed.
Reinhardt said the remodel-ing of the kitchen was necessary due to number of university guests Gonzalez hosts at his home.
He noted that auxiliaries and foundations have various audits within a three-year span and go through a lot of scrutiny.
According to Taiz’s letter, the data collected by the CSU chancellor’s office stated that 20 percent of the system’s budget, or $1.34 billion, is managed by auxiliaries and foundations with very little public oversight.
no previous relationship to Sac State or the Sacramento region, said Molly Glen, spokeswoman for the Doyle Foundaiton.
The Doyle Foundation has worked with universities throughout the United States, including many University of California and California State University campuses.
The University Foundation has pledged to raise $500,000 to match the money from the Doyle Foundation.
The University Foundation hopes to raise the funds within the next year, said Rebecca Thompson with the develop-ment office.
With the new facilities, the division of nursing is able to expand from two clinical
simulation labs to six. With these funds, the division is able to furnish all the labs with up-to-date equipment. The nursing department has been using equipment donated by hospitals.
“Clinical simulation cre-ates the opportunity to take a student from a stable situation to an unstable situation and professors can then rate the stu-
dent’s response time rather than just their ability to memorize,” said Cinny Ryan, a professor at Sutter Center for Health Profes-sionals.
Nursing students should be using at least one of the new simulators by this spring, but it is uncertain when the program will move completely into the new facilities in Folsom Hall.
After more than 30 inter-views, Jennings said he learned how to read the person inter-viewing him. He also began to change his resume regularly.
“The resume gets you the interview and the interview gets you the job,” McGee said. “Stu-
dents need to figure out how to stand out to employers.”
McGee said her advice to students was not to give up.
“In this economy (graduates) have to work twice as hard to get a job,” McGee said. “They have to stay persistent and try to stay positive and eventually something will happen.”
Jennings recently got a raise and qualified for a 401(k) plan. He said the job was a match made in heaven.
For the time being, there is no way to predict when the unemployment rate will return normal. Although unemploy-ment has been increasing in recent months, the rate of the
increase has been less than previous months.
More students have come to the Career Center since the recession began, McGee said.
The Career Center offers ser-vices for free up to six months after the student has graduated, including mock interviews and resume help.
Continued | page A1
Continued | page A1
Continued | page A1
Audit: Loan made for home remodel
Nursing: Grant increases opportunities
Grads: Fewer jobs for recent graduates
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thestatehornetOpiniOnEDITORIAL
Another semester, an-other address by President Alexander Gonzalez and top campus administrators. We’ve heard it all before.
The university is in a tight spot due to the state’s bud-get crisis, but we’re hold-ing on and are in a better position than most of our sister schools in the Califor-nia State University system, thanks to our proactive and forward thinking adminis-tration, we were told.
We know. We’ve been listening to the same broken record for the past two years.
And we are hearing the same responses from the campus community.
The faculty and the stu-dent body complain that Sacramento State’s admin-istration, the CSU chancel-lor’s office and the Board of Trustees are not listening to their grievances and con-cerns. They feel shut out of the process.
Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that before too - it’s just another skip in that same
old record.And again The State Hor-
net feels compelled to write yet another editorial cajol-ing the campus community to actively join the fight in support of our university system.
Damn! Did that stupid record just skip again?
But wait, you say, isn’t Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneg-ger singing a new tune?
Hasn’t he offered to restore $305 million in funding to the CSU system in his Janu-ary budget proposal?
Isn’t he pushing for an amendment to the state constitution that says we can’t invest more in prisons than we do in higher educa-tion?
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Be serious! The governor’s first
budget proposal is about as grounded in reality as a 13-year-old boy’s first wet dream.
On top of that, he is one of the most ineffective gover-nors we have seen.
Even if he wasn’t a lame-
duck serving out the last year of his term, he has never been able to get his party to go along with his proposals. Republican legis-lators washed their hands of Schwarzenegger long ago.
Saying he lacks the politi-cal clout to push his agenda through is like saying the sky is blue.
And if you’re tired of hear-ing the same broken record we have here, try listening to the one legislators play in the state house.
Our legislators of both parties are so ideologically entrenched they have built an Iron Curtain through the Capitol.
Wait, did we say Iron Curtain? This is an election year, better upgrade that to titanium.
Our leaders in the state house are so disconnected from the average citizen’s needs and concerns, they might as well be living on Mars.
The reality is that until all of us with interests in the state’s higher education
system get off our asses and put real political pressure with one unified voice on our leaders, nothing will change.
This means we need to see demonstrations that num-ber in the tens of thousands and include students, fac-ulty, staff and administra-tors with the chancellor and the 23 CSU presidents at the front of the march.
This also needs to become the issue that people base their votes on - rather than party affiliation - in both the June primaries and the November general election. We must work actively to elect those candidates of ei-ther party who make higher education a top priority for the state.
Unless we begin to threaten their political futures, they will continue to threaten the future of higher education.
Until then, well - scrchk - Until then, well - scrchk - Until then, well - scrchk - Until then, well...
Man, that’s getting old!
CSU bUdget CriSiS
greateSt hitS vol. ?
You say you want a revolu-tion?
Well you better get out of that armchair and make something happen.
Change is not just some-thing we will find between seat cushions.
It is something my genera-tion, Generation Y, needs to make.
I am not saying we do not have the capacity for change, or the bringing about of change.
The problem is this: either we do not care enough, or we do but are too lazy to do anything about it.
Now I know what you are thinking - what about all the protests on campus last semes-ter?
I am not sure if you noticed or not, but there were more people waiting to get a parking spot than there were protesting.
Sacramento State has a population of roughly 29,000 students.
How could our administra-tion or the government take our protests seriously?
We cannot even muster a tenth of that to show up and fight to say no to fee hikes, ridiculously high prices for textbooks, and furloughs.
They won’t take it seriously.If we want change for every-
one, everyone has to participate. In 1968 in East Los Angeles, a group of Chicano students fought for something else; they fought for equal rights and an equal education.
When they weren’t taken seri-ously, 20,000 students took to the streets and fought for their rights.
This is not the same fight, but we are the same people.
We are students who demand
a good education and the op-portunity to actually receive it.
We will not see it though. We will not see change because we are not desperate enough to force it to happen.
We have convenient excuses like, “It’s more expensive at UCs and private schools,” or, “My parents pay my tuition so what do I care?”
Well you should care. Even if it does not affect you
right now, it will eventually.The more we let our tuition
go up without a real fight, the more our administration will raise it.
In the last nine years our tuition has more than doubled; who’s to say it won’t keep rising?
Sure your parents can pay for you now, but will you be able to pay for your kids?
Associated Students Inc., President Roberto C. Torres agrees that this is the time to take a stand.
“We need to fight, not just for ourselves but for our future,” he said. “Change is slow, just like investing in our higher educa-tion is investing in California, it is investing in us. When we are older, if we leave behind a good system it will benefit us in the long run.”
The instant gratification-ob-sessed people of my generation have a problem.
We have been spoiled. I grew up in the 1990s and 2000s.
I have lived in some of the most economically wealthy times in our country.
I have never experienced what it was like to be at war with another country, aside from all of the global policing our government practices.
I could not really ask for more.
In fact, I would say the most difficult thing my generation has been through was the World Trade Center attack, and even then I think it only really affected you if you knew some-one involved.
My generation has it good; we do not know how to fight for ourselves because we have never had to.
Well the honeymoon is over, the veil has been lifted and we are now seeing how ugly the world can be.
And we need to be ugly right back.
We are in one of the worst economic recessions in the his-tory of our country, and to fix the problem the government is taking money from our schools.
This is the time we need to fight back.
This is the time we need to rise as one and say no.
We need to make our voices be heard and let the people in charge know we’re not going to take it anymore.
Yeah I want a revolution, but I hope I am not the only one.
Waiting won’t fix anything
President Alexander Gon-zalez on Thursday said to us: “Welcome Back.” Perhaps … for those who remain.
But there is no welcom-ing back the estimated 300 faculty this campus lost over the last year, many of them fired due to budgetary reasons between fall grades being turned in and the start of classes this spring.
There is no welcoming back the 5,000 students who disappeared from classrooms - either denied admission, kicked out for frivolous bu-reaucratic reasons, or coerced into leaving due to skyrocket-ing tuition.
This was the substance that Gonzalez missed in his su-perficial convocation - most of which was dominated by comments from the Aca-demic and Student Affairs administrators.
These two spoke about declining enrollment and program elimination in percentages and numbers and dollar signs, which really is code for student ghosts and
fired faculty.The president did acknowl-
edge the public outcry over University Enterprises Inc’s purchase of the CalSTRS building, but did not answer the most important ques-tion: In these worst of budget times, why did the campus pay $5 million to UEI when that money could have saved faculty jobs, kept classrooms open and paid for classes needed by students in order to graduate?
The California attorney general has opened an audit on UEI, so the president had to say something.
But what he said amounted to little more than superfi-cialities. Faculty, staff and students deserve an explana-tion.
And most importantly, the president did not acknowl-edge - in fact did not even seem to even be aware - that 10 brave students stood up with mouths gagged holding signs protesting the increased fees, their ghosted peers and the lack of classes.
These students are the EN-TIRE reason we are all here.
To ignore them is shameful. To not listen to them simply
proves their point that this administration does not listen, does not care, and will not do what is right.
Now more than ever faculty, staff and students must stand together.
We must resist those who would make this university into an exclusive, pale, rich institution.
Make no mistake: that is what it means to raise tuition, to force out those who are less prepared or less able to navigate the bureaucracy.
We must remain true to the California State University’s mission to be The People’s University.
In his closing remarks, Gonzalez meant to reassure us.
He said “We’ll come out of this.”
I was reminded of the Francis Ford Coppola film “Apocalypse Now,” where Robert Duvall’s character,
Col. Kilgore said: “Someday this war’s gonna end.”
Not “we’ll win this war” but along the lines of “we’ll come out of this.”
But what the president should be doing right now is not being complacent, but FIGHTING to WIN.
He should be offering us leadership, championing our cause to the Legislature and the governor, fighting to keep students and faculty on cam-pus, battling to keep sections open, graduation rates up and time to graduation down.
Sadly, in the president’s convocation remarks, I heard only calm, slightly tired resig-nation to the situation we find ourselves in. Welcome back indeed.
▶◀ ▶◀ ▶◀ Kevin Wehr, President
California Faculty Associa-tion, Capitol Chapter.
Guest Column
The article “America is Funding Oppression” con-tained many unsupported allegations and factual errors.
It presents opinion as fact and thereby does a disser-vice to the Sacramento State community and the Hornet readers.
While I will not rebut every outrageous charge in the piece, this letter addresses the mistaken and unsup-ported claim that Israel is the primary source of Palestinian suffering.
Although the history of Arabs and Jews in the mod-ern Middle East is complex, the basic facts are as follows: The Balfour Declaration was written in 1917 and declared the British support for the creation of a Jewish State in Palestine, territory which was currently under the control of Great Britain.
In 1922 the declaration was formalized by the League of Nations.
In 1948, the international community, in the form of the United Nations, agreed that the area then known as the British Mandate of Pales-
tine - an area that originally encompassed all of what is now Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, and Jordan - should be divided into two states: one Jewish and one Arab.
The Arab delegation at the time rejected such a partition, refusing to meet with Jewish leaders.
Israel offered a homeland to the Palestinians in 1947, 1967, and during the Camp David Summit in 2000 (which included Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak and Bill Clinton).
The Arab states and the Pal-estinians rejected every offer.
The most recent offer, the Camp David Accords, would have created a Palestinian state on virtually all of the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem and some land from Israel to compensate the Palestinians for some areas of the West Bank now occupied by Israelis.
The Palestinians and their leaders have refused all offers for a Palestinian state.
Israel has withdrawn from 90 percent of the land they conquered in 1967 war.
When they withdrew from
Lebanon, Hezbollah crossed into Israel, kidnapped sol-diers, and bombarded north-ern Israel with rockets.
In 2000 Israel offered the Palestinians their own state on virtually all of the land Israel took possession of in 1967 during the Six Day War.
In response the Palestinians launched the Second Inti-fada by going into Israel and blowing up hotels, buses and restaurants.
Thousands of Israelis have been killed because of terror-ist attacks.
When Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip, they had a series of rockets launched at them that initiated last year’s Gaza War (Operation Cast Lead).
The current oppression of the Palestinians is largely of their own making.
This is an unpopular truth that is not commonly spoken.
Time and again the Pales-tinian people have been given the opportunity for their own state.
Time and again they have not taken this opportunity.
Israel has consistently dem-
onstrated that it wants peace and is willing to relinquish strategic parcels of land in exchange for peace.
Israel, without any peace agreement, removed every Israeli settler in Gaza and withdrew all of its soldiers and checkpoints.
Free from Israeli occupa-tion, the Palestinians in Gaza proceeded to establish a Hamas terrorist state.
Hamas kicked out the governing structure of the Palestinian Authority and began launching hundreds of rockets into Israel.
No one denies that the Pal-estinian people are currently suffering.
However, the suffering of the Palestinian people living in Gaza has been a direct result of the policies of the Hamas leadership that con-trols Gaza.
▶◀ ▶◀ ▶◀ Monica Dean, senior, environmental studies and co-president of the Jewish Student Union
Letter To The Editor
By Matt [email protected]
File phOtO
STATE HORNET OPINION ONLINERetaking a class?
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one
Opinion editor David Loret de Mola has to
retake a class, too. Sure, he could beat himself
up over it, but what’s the point? Get a do-over at
statehornet.com
Did you like something you read here? Did you not like something you read here? Let us know! The State Hornet is accepting all letters to the editor and guest columns. Let your voice be heard, and send them to
You talkin’ to me?
Students protest at the end of the fall semester.
January 27, WednesdayB1 THesTaTeHOrneTFeatures
W W W. s T a T e H O r n e T . c O m | s p r i n g i s s u e 1 | s a c r a m e n T O s T a T e
Megan Harris State Hornet
TwiTTer reinvenTs social neTworksAlthough Twitter has added
its name to the growing list of social networking sites, it has yet to become the No. 1 hit.
Twitter, was created by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone and launched in March of 2006. According to its website, users tell their friends “what’s new” in 140 characters or less. This differs from the other social networking sites like Facebook, which allows for a more lengthy interaction between friends.
Twitter’s website attributes its success to the simplicity of the site. It enables people to con-nect with one another by asking one question, “What’s happen-ing?” The “tweet” is the user’s response to that question. The tweet then is sent to whoever is following the user.
Cristina Shary, senior journalism major, said despite Twitter’s claims to be simple, it is a little complicated.
“I’ve had it for awhile and am still trying to get the hang of it,” Shary said.
According to Quantcast, a company based in San Francis-co and New York that measures the amount of users on websites and provides audience pro-files, Twitter has more than 23 million users. In comparison, Facebook has 116 million users.
According to its website, Twitter’s followers receive the messages via either their phone, instant message or from the website itself. Twitter markets itself as being a social network-ing site where people can be as involved as they want to be. In other words, the user gets out of it, what they put in. With the “tweets” coming to users phones, they have the option of reading them or not.
As Twitter’s website puts it, the tweets are “for the most part rhetorical.” It allows the users to be selective about the informa-tion they receive and how much
By Megan [email protected]
see Twitter| page B3
Sips and dips at a happy hour price
After a busy holiday season, with all the money spent, it seems only appropriate for students to treat themselves to a few drinks. Drinks that are affordable, that is. Fortu-nately, restaurants within the Sacramento area have picked up on this idea and many offer discounts on drinks and food items during their “happy hour.”
Although the term “happy hour” can be misleading, happy hour isn’t a specific hour of the day - it is when-ever a particular restaurant de-cides they would like to draw in clientele. Therefore, it is important for members of the Sacramento area to know what happy hours are offered, when they’re offered and where.
The key to a good happy hour, said senior family and consumer science major Sabri-na Gomez, is a tasty drink.
“The cocktails are what I re-ally look for, and if it is not too pricey. I look for a really good margarita,” Gomez said.
One place to find cheap margaritas is at Zocalo restau-rant located on the corner of 18th Street and Capitol Ave.
Zocalo’s happy hour takes place Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. and on Satur-day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Zocalo offers Mexican cuisine and features a happy hour menu which has $5 to $7 margaritas, which are normally priced anywhere
from $8.50 to $10.50, that come in many different flavors such as strawberry, blackberry, mango and even pomegranate.
Dominique Gonzales, bar-tender at Zocalo, said the resta-raunt’s margaritas are a favorite because of their fresh taste and high-quality ingredients.
“We offer a quality drink for a cheap price. We use agave nectar from the tequila plant to sweeten the margarita instead of sugar and that gives a fresher authentic taste,” Gonzales said.
In addition to Zocalo’s drink specials, the restaurant also offers food deals on the happy hour menu like their $2 tacos.
Another restaurant located downtown which offers a happy hour menu is Lucca Restaurant and Bar located on 1615 J St.
Lucca offers happy hour prices from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 3 to 10 p.m. on Thursday.
One of the most popular drinks on Lucca’s happy hour menu is its $3 cucumber mojito made with organic vodka.
The happy hour at Lucca not only includes unique flavors and tastes in drinks, but also in dishes as well.
Lucca offers zucchini chips priced at only $2 a plate and a half grilled artichoke with aioli that is only $1.50. Chris Aust, bartender at Lucca, said his per-sonal favorite is brie with apple chutney and walnuts for only $2.50 during happy hour.
Aust said the happy hour menu offers their guests a
By Vanessa [email protected]
see Drinks | page B3
Earn class credit while travelingStudying abroad is wishful
thinking for many students nationwide, but with the help of Sacramento State’s Office of Global Education these fantasies can be made a into reality, said Kassandra Perlongo, English graduate student.
Perlongo studied abroad through the California State University International Study Abroad Program from fall 2008 to summer 2009 at Swansea University in the United King-dom.
Perlongo said the reason many people choose not to study abroad is because of the cost or because they are afraid to live alone in a foreign place. Perlongo said she understands the anxiety of traveling alone to another country; fortunately, universities abroad are aware of this innate fear and cater to international students.
“There was a lot of determi-nation, interest and motivation within myself that lead me to study abroad, even if it was on my own,” Perlongo said.
The Office of Global Educa-tion, located in Lassen Hall, Room 2304, offers two study abroad programs which include the following: the California State University system’s inter-national program and the Sac State’s study abroad program. The international program is a yearlong trip and Sac State’s pro-gram can last for one semester or a year. The countries featured for study differ between the two programs but the benefits offered among the programs are similar.
Janis Silvers, acting coordina-tor from the Office of Global Education at Sac State, said what also occurs in the Office of Global Education is the coordination that is needed to deal with the international part of the program, which include working with students abroad, having international advisors present in the office, bringing in diversity of people from around the world such as international scholars and providing students with support to obtain scholar-ships to study abroad.
Perlongo’s fears of living alone in Wales were addressed im-mediately thanks to the Office of Global Education. She said not only did she have a coach waiting for her at the airport but the university in Wales set up many get-togethers on campus for students to get to know one another.
Even better for Perlongo was that the office gave her an opportunity before the trip to communicate with other CSU students in the international program who were also going to Swansea.
Perlongo said without the Office of Global Education at Sac State, she never would have committed to studying abroad. She said the office was great at getting back to people in a timely manner and they are sure to tell students everything they needed to know ahead of time.
At Sac State, students can choose to study abroad in several countries: Chile, France, Italy, Ghana, Australia, the United Kingdom and Turkey.
Silvers said students inter-ested in studying abroad should allow themselves a year of
preparation to organize the trip through the Office of Global Education. She said it is the administrative process that re-quires the one-year preparation. There is an application process and a necessary recommenda-tion, along with other qualifica-tions that determine whether students are accepted into the program.
A large part of the admin-istrative process, Silvers said, deals with class scheduling abroad. She said although the schools abroad are accredited and offer similar fields of study, students will still have to work with their academic department of choice to determine whether their classes abroad will count toward their major.
Silvers said the office helps to make CSU curriculum cohesive with international curriculum for each individual student; nonetheless, it is still a process. She said this is why it is good for undergraduate students to provide themselves with study abroad information early on in their studies – to give them time to plan.
Students can educate them-selves on these opportunities by attending workshops held by the Office of Global Education throughout the semester. Sched-uling for these workshops can be found in the Office of Global Education.
When studying abroad, Per-longo said, she notices a cultural exchange where people take in the cultures of others and learn to adapt to differences.
Silvers agrees and said students studying abroad are forced to accept different norms and socialization, which in
turn helps them to grow in ways they could not here in Sacramento. Additionally, she said students will capture a better perspective of how other cultures view Americans and our culture in general while studying abroad.
“It is important for students to have a global perspective,” Silvers said. “From studying abroad, students gain inter-national skills, a better global understanding and global interpersonal skills.”
Silvers also said that studying abroad is important because students can learn a lot about themselves when they get out of their comfort zone. She said most students come home with a newfound confidence and independence.
In terms of financial obliga-tions, Silvers said Sac State’s study abroad program and CSU’s international program are the best because students do not have to pay interna-tional fees. Additionally, she said financial aid can be used to cover student’s study abroad expenses.
Erin Lane, senior busi-ness administration major, completed her education in Budapest, Hungary, at Corvi-nus University of Budapest.
Lane said that she felt a whole array of different emo-tions during her study abroad but in the end she came back with an experience of a lifetime.
“My experience abroad was scary, fun, sad, exciting and challenging,” Lane said. “I say scary and sad because this was one of the scariest things I’ve
By John [email protected]
see Abroad| page B3
Resolutionswithin reason
A new decade has arrived and the annual production of New Year’s resolutions has begun. Kim Roberts, psychology pro-fessor, said the new year inspires people to put their best foot for-ward and start fresh. Unfortu-
nately, Roberts said, many of the resolutions made are unrealistic and left unfinished.
“People stop following their resolutions and are left feeling like their year was unsuccess-ful and somewhat incomplete,” Roberts said.
Nonetheless, people continue to make New Year’s resolutions and hope the up-and-coming 365 days will be better than the last.
“Like the new year, they want a new ‘me’ and the chance to rid him or herself of old habits,” Roberts said.
Unfortunately, many students, like sophomore kinesiology major Larysa Rhone, said they never adhered to their resolu-tions in the past.
“This year, I didn’t make a New Year’s resolution because I realized that it was pointless.
By Erin [email protected]
see Resolutions| page B3 Megan Harris State Hornet
VERONICA WEBBsenior, graphic design
“My New Year’s resolu-tion is to eat better and take better care of myself. Also, I want to become more flex-ible (as a dancer).”
BEN STEWARTsenior, social science
“My old roommate got a head injury that makes him afraid of trying new things. So, I want to get him enrolled in school ... before I finish college.”
MORGAN LIUjunior, dance
“I want to reconnect with old friends which I already started to do over winter break. So, I’d say, so far, I’m doing a pretty good job.”
LINDSEY ZUPANCIC junior, kinesiology
“I want to volunteer more, help out in the community. I haven’t really started yet because for the most part the winter session has been crazy.”
Student resolutions for the new yearMake your resolution poppin’
Want to see more resolutions? Check them out at
statehornet.com.
Wednesday - January 27 FeaTures secTiOn sTaTeHOrneT.cOmB2
Resolutions: How to make your 2010 goals more attainable
I know I wasn’t going to keep it, so it was like I was lying to myself,” Rhone said.
Roberts said because of unat-tainable resolutions only about 10 percent of people keep their orginal goal in tact.
“I think resolutions are ef-fective if they are realistic. For example, cleaning out the garage is a realistic activity and thus makes for a perfect resolution, ” Roberts said.
Roberts said if individuals make a resolution to get to the gym twice a day, when in reality they can barely make it twice a month, they are setting them-selves up for failure.
Instead of setting resolutions that are hard to follow, Roberts said smaller goals might be a better option.
Melanie Moat, sophomore communication studies major, said she keeps resolutions to “small feats,” which can be attained quite easily. She said this ‘”stepping block system” helps her follow and achieve her resolutions with ease.
“I usually make very attain-able resolutions. For example, one resolution this year was to beat Diddy Kong Racing on (Nintendo) DS; it’s short, sweet, simple and attainable,” Moat said.
John Kanemoto, sophomore mathematics major, is also using
the new year as an opportunity to improve his life. Kanemoto said the new decade is giving him a “sense of a new begin-ning.”
“The whole ball-dropping is very symbolic to me; there is no other time to spark a new resolution,” Kanemoto said.
Kanemoto has created resolu-tions that can improve his life emotionally, rather than physi-cally. He is planning on priori-tizing his life and making school his main objective. He has also vowed to direct his full attention to completing specific long-term goals, such as reaching his teacher preparation mathematic major requirements through the Sac State Blended Program.
Besides setting resolutions focused primarily on school im-provements, Kanemoto uses the new year to find ways in which he can simply enjoy life. For instance, he helps a nonprofit community organization, the Florin Japanese American Citi-zens League. By being a part of this group and having the reso-lution to put more time toward their youth program, Kanemoto feels he will gain fulfillment because he is helping bring together the Japanese-American youth within his community.
Kanemoto also hopes the new year will help him see what his life goals really are and what steps he needs to take to reach them.
“Resolutions should be more than just losing the usual 10 pounds, it needs to be more. To find true content within your life, you need to be satisfied with who you are.” Kanemoto said.
Lindsey Halsey, senior psy-chology major, said has tried to follow a resolution concerning her weight and health for the past three years and every year turns up unsuccessful because of a lack of structure and focus.
Since not fulfilled previously, Halsey once again added “being healthy” to her list of resolutions for 2010. Halsey said she thinks that following this year’s resolu-tion will be different. Halsey said that in order to follow her resolution she must develop an
exercise and diet regimen that she can follow at her own pace.
Roberts has also had some difficulties in the past with adhering to resolutions.
“Last year I made a resolution to pick up at least one piece of trash a day that I saw on campus or around my neighborhood. I’ve been doing pretty well but there are those days I’m in a hurry and don’t pick it up,” Roberts said.
To refrain from setting herself up for failure, Roberts didn’t set any New Year’s resolutions for this year, but did make plenty of goals.
“Try out a few small goals instead of one large resolution,” said Roberts.
Continued | page B1
Book rentals help students save cash
Every semester, Sacramento State students receive a list of “required texts” and they begin to research online vendors, bookstores and rental services to find the best deal.
The Hornet Bookstore offers more than 500 rentable titles. Any rentable book at the origi-nal price of $100 dollars would be $75 used and thus $50 dollars to rent.
Pam Parsons, Hornet Book-store director, said although the Rent-A-Text program may to cut triple-digit prices in half, renting is not always the best option.
“If you know the first day, at the register, you want to keep the book forever, you should just purchase it; but for everyone else, renting is a great option,” Parsons said.
Therefore, Parsons said the rental program only benefits those students willing to return their books. Also, Parsons said, students renting texts will get money back with their returns.
“Rent-A-Text is essentially an upfront buyback no matter
what,” Parsons said. “Normally you can get up to a 50 percent buyback, but only if a book is being reused by professors.”
With the Rent-A-Text pro-gram, it does not matter if the teacher is reusing the text. Par-sons said Rent-A-Text guaran-tees that each student who rents will receive at least 50 percent back on any rented title.
Shelly Olson, Hornet textbook manager, said there was a 2 percent disappointment rate with the program last semester. The only reason students were upset, Olson said, is because they failed to return their books on time and thus did not receive their money back.
Tracey Trenz, sophomore business major, normally searches for cheap textbooks online at sites like Chegg.com or Half.com before renting or buying from the bookstore.
“I usually have really good experiences with Chegg so I don’t have to come to the book-store. I can’t normally make the Hornet bookstore hours; I can order them online at midnight,” Trenz said. “And they mail it to me for only a few bucks and that includes shipping it back. It
saves the time and the gas and my sore feet.”
Unlike online stores, Parsons said the Hornet Bookstore offers immediacy to students as well as every required text.
“We’re the only place that can rent you a title and guarantee that whatever you are picking up is the exact edition that your professor requires,” Parsons said.
Parsons admits, though, that Rent-A-Text’s limited inventory of each rental is a drawback in the system.
Gina Woodsfield, junior humanities and religious studies major, said she felt lucky to dis-cover at least one rentable text on her booklist.
“Last semester everyone was bragging about (Rent-A-Text). I said wait a minute, I paid a fortune for my books,” Wood-field said.
Olson said many students are unaware that rental policies are lenient and the rental process only consists of a single-page application.
“We allow the normal wear and tear and for people to use highlighters or Post-It notes. That’s acceptable,” Parsons said.
“You just can’t take the cover off the entire book. You can’t destroy the object. Normal us-age is allowed - you just need to return it.”
Parsons said whether students are buying or renting books, the Hornet Bookstore is the “one-stop shop” for Sac State students.
“No one ever said textbooks were cheap. They are coming out of the gate expensive; that has not been argued,” Parsons said. “Which is why we offer some of the best ways to deal with that; we offer used books at lower prices and we offer a rental program that cuts expenses in half.”
By Hanan [email protected]
CLUB CORNER | DRAMATISTS SOCIETY
Whether they are taking the stage or electrifying class-rooms within Shasta Hall, the Dramatist Society creates a connection between students, faculty throughout Sacramen-to State’s theater department.
Michelle Felton, theater professor, said members strive to incorporate all activities and attitudes of the theatre department.
“The dramatist society serves as sort of a blanket organization overs not only the area of theater but the area of dance as well,” Felton said. “Their main focus is to create unity between all aspects of the department.”
Owen Smith, Dramatist Society secretary, said the pur-pose of the society is to mesh the entire theater student body together.
“It’s our mission statement, or mantra or whatever word
you want to insert here, to make sure that theater students are represented fairly, to bring the society together, to just be that big brother that sometimes everybody needs or to fight along with you when you have something to fight about,” Smith said.
Smith said events, like one-act plays and improv night, fill in the gaps where the theater cur-riculum may be lacking.
“So, the Dramatist Society puts on these smaller produc-tions so that those who didn’t get onto the main stage can still get acting experience,” Smith said.
Dramatist Society officials said what connects members are their flexible comfort levels and common aspirations.
“I like that everyone is very comfortable with one another,” said Trina Kruger, Dramatist Society historian. “We know each other’s strengths and weak-nesses. I personally think that’s a very positive thing.”
Unifying theater students at CSUS
By Hanan [email protected]
File PHoto State Hornet
Wednesday - January 27 FeaTures secTiOn sTaTeHOrneT.cOm B3
they receive. Facebook on the other hand
is more in-depth. According to its website, Facebook users can post their current activities in their status and perform other functions as well. Users can plan events, play games, write emails, write notes and post photo-graphs all within their social network.
Although not on the top of the list, Twitter has still grown 414 percent over the last year. Twitter’s number of users jumped from a little over 5 million to its current number of almost 23 million users, ac-cording to Compete, an online behavior analysis website. This is significant growth for Twitter when compared to Facebook’s
121 percent growth over the last year.
According to Twitter’s website, its selling point is that people can get short bits of in-formation quickly, which makes the service useful.
According to the site, when Dorsey created the Twitter, he did it to of finding out what his friends were up to. When he presented the idea to his colleagues they came up with the website. The site was funded by Obvious, a corporation that builds websites, which is located in San Francisco.
Shary said Twitter seems like a service that can get a lot of in-formation out to a large number of people all at once.
She said she uses Twitter once every few days since she doesn’t want to inundate people with
information. “If you tweet too many times
a day, then people will stop fol-lowing you,” Shary said.
She said that some people do use Twitter to tweet about regular everyday things as well, like “I just got up.” These are the kind of people who abuse Twit-ter, Shary said.
“If people tweet all the time it can clog up your phone,” Shary said.
She said one of its features is that if you want to talk about a certain subject you can type it in and see what other people are saying about the subject and join in.
For example, Shary said that if you wanted to talk about the latest Desperate Housewives episode, you can type it in and see what other people are saying
on the subject. Then you can add in your own thoughts as well.
Also, Twitter has a search bar that has a list of the most popular searched topics. Users can click on the topics and provide additional thoughts on the content.
Stephen Gillis, senior journal-ism major, said he does not use Twitter because he does not see what benefits it could offer him.
“If something significant hap-pens in my life, it won’t fit into 140 characters,” Gillis said.
Shary said not many of her friends use Twitter and she does not know very many people at Sacramento State that use it either. Shary said mostly older people use Twitter, like public officials and celebs.
Twitter has other benefits
besides keeping in touch with friends.
“Public officials use it so when things happen they can put it up instantly,” Shary said.
Shary said in addition, many politicians, celebrities and other organizations are on Twitter for similar reasons.
She said the tweets come up instantaneously, people get the news quickly and are im-mediately connected and “in the loop.” It kind of empowers people in a way because they are just as connected to events as those involved in the events.
Joshua Amador, senior busi-ness major, said he admires Twitter’s timeliness.
“When the shooting hap-pened in the dorms on campus last semester, I knew where to go and where not to go because
of my friends’ tweets,” Amador said.
He said he is glad that many organizations in the area have picked up a Twitter account.
Amador said it has made it being “connected” a lot easier for him. He said because of his busy schedule he has a hard time following current events but Twitter helps to break that.
Amador said he agrees that some aspects of Twitter are petty and irrelevant but for the most part he finds Twitter advantageous to communities everywhere.
“Sure, there are some stupid celebs gossiping about their lat-est scandal,” Amador said. “But then there are also people trying to raise funds for Haiti survivors and succeeding – I think the good outweighs the bad there.”
Twitter: A useful tool for businesses, celebrities and friendsContinued | page B1
Drinks: Affordable cocktails and beerchance to try out all their dif-ferent varieties of food without paying the full price.
“Ian Macbride is the chef and has put a lot of effort as far as giving the guests good food with a budget,” Aust said.
Jenny Medina, graduate nu-trition major, said when dining out she looks for any affordable menu, which normally ends up being during happy hour. With this economy, she said she couldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s expensive when drinks range from $5 to $10; I could be using that money on books for school. It is always nice to veg out and relax over a few drinks though,” Medina said.
Bartender Sarah Thompson of Hangar 17 Bar and Grill, located on 1630 S St., thinks having an affordable happy hour is essential for the food industry today.
“It is really competitive and everybody wants a good happy hour that is cheap, especially with this economy. We offer good food and good well li-queur that is just that,” Thomp-son said.
The happy hour at Hangar 17 takes place from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and of-fers $2 well drinks, $2 domestic beers, $2 selected wines, and dishes like the margherita and veggie pizza for only $5.
Hangar 17 offers daily spe-cials Monday through Saturday. On Saturday, for example, bottomless mimosas are offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Andrea Lee, bartender at Bis-tro 33, located on 1020 16th St., said the bistro’s happy hour is
more popular than other happy hours in the area because they market toward young college students.
“I think it’s great that it is from 4 to 7 p.m. every weekday. It draws a lot of young profes-sionals and we hope to attract more students,” Lee said.
Bistro 33 also offers a happy hour that is exceptionally cheap, up to 50 percent off selected items on the menu.
She said Bistro’s happy hour pulls students in because it offer simple foods that college students like and want to eat on a daily basis.
“I would go with beer and the yummy snacks. The sweet potato fries and empanadas that we offer on the happy hour menu are really good,” Lee said.
Bistro 33 offers not only the sweet potato fries but also pesto fries, dungeness crab and artichoke dip that are normally cost $10.95 but are 50 percent off during happy hour.
Then there is The Corner Restaurant and Bar, located on 5641 J St., which is closer to Sac State and is always broadcasting sporting events.
Dave Seva, bartender at The Corner, said that keeping a happy hour menu that ischeap is always important.
Seva said the menu must have good food that people would want to eat and an environment that people want to eat in.
“This is a more laid back place where people can enjoy their food, drinks and sport-ing events,” Seva said. “A lot of places with happy hour don’t always have sporting events to watch but The Corner Restau-rant does, it’s special.”
All appetizers at The Corner are $2 off from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Some of these appetizer dishes include fries, sliders, fried shrimp and party wings.
The corner offers all beer on draft 50 cents off during happy hour and they hold a special for Rolling Rock beer on tap which is only $2 during happy hour.
“Business is really com-petitive and everybody has a happy hour right now to survive in this economy,” Seva said.
Continued | page B1
done and it was very hard to be away from the family and the comfort of your normal lifestyle for an entire academic year.”
Although anxious in the beginning, Lane’s decision to attend school in Hungary helped her grow as a indi-vidual.
“It would make me sad at times but with so much going on it is easy to distract yourself and just enjoy being there,” Lane said. “I have learned to step outside of my comfort zone because it usually brings good things or at least it’s a good learning experience. I guess most of all, I learned to appreciate my life at home-the amenities we have, the regulations we have, the education we have, my family and friends who stuck by me; I appreciate it all so much more now and have an easier time showing it.”
Lane said it was the first time she studied abroad and that the experience was more than worthwhile.
“This was one of the best experiences of my life so far and I would encourage everyone to study abroad if they have the chance. It will change you for-ever - in a good way,” Lane said.
Abroad: Students gain independence
Continued | page B1
Megan Harris State Hornet Courtesy PHoto
Kassandra Perlongo stands in front of Swansea University, the school she attended while in Wales.
SportsUpdates
vs. NORTHERNCOLORADO
JAN. 21W 72-60
at NORTHERNCOLORADO
JAN. 22L 75-61
MEN’S BASKETBALL
vs. MONTANA STATEJAN. 17
L 58-53
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
at MONTANA STATEJAN. 16
L 95-86
at MONTANAJAN. 15
L 77-61
vs. NORTHERNARIZONA
JAN. 24W 77-66
FLIPSINVITATIONAL
JAN. 153RD PLACE
vs. MONTANAJAN. 15
L 57-56
at NORTHERNARIZONA
JAN. 24L 75-71
GYMNASTICS
vs. UC DAVIS/SEATTLE JAN. 22
2ND PLACE
MEN’S TENNIS
at NORTHERNARIZONA
JAN. 21L 6-1
at NO. 9 STANFORD JAN. 23L 7-0
ICE HOCKEY
vs. SANTA CLARAJAN. 23L 8-3
WOMEN’SVOLLEYBALL
vs. SANTA BARBARAJAN. 23W 3-0
vs. CHICO STATEJAN. 24W 3-2
MEN’SVOLLEYBALL
vs. FRESNO STATEJAN. 23L 3-2
vs. CAL POLYJAN. 24L 3-1
B4 THESTATEHORNETSportS JANuARy 27, WEdNESdAy
W W W. S T A T E H O R N E T . c O m | S p R i N g i S S u E 1 | S A c R A m E N T O S T A T E
SeniorS hope for good finiShFrom the time col-
legiate athletes begin their careers, they know their playing time is limited.
Between the Sac-ramento State men’s and women’s basket-ball teams, there are 10 seniors who are
rapidly approach-ing their final games in green and gold.
The men’s and women’s basketball
senior cap-tains look to reach the Big Sky Tournament as they start the second half, and most crucial portion of their seasons.
After a forgettable 2-27 season last year, the men have picked it up and accumu-lated a 7-14 record. How-ever, a 1-7 conference record could hurt their chances of making the tournament.
The Lady Hornets look for a shot at a Big Sky Tournament bid, despite losing their first four conference
games this sea-son.
The men have seven
seniors, including Justin Eller,
Mike Marcial, Antonio
Flaggs, Jared Stigall, Jona-than Malloy, Domineek
Daniel and Michael
Selling. Eller, Marcial and Flaggs were selected as captains this season and wanted to make their final season better than the last.
“It’s a big turnaround this year,” Flaggs said. “This year is paying off from all the
work in the offsea-
son.”
Men’s head coach Brian Katz, who joined the Hornets last season, vowed to win more games, which started with the fundamentals in practice during the offseason.
“Katz was a lot like my junior college coach. He pushed me mentally and physically,” Flaggs said.
Women’s head coach Jamie Craighead was promoted from assistant head coach after the 2008-09 season. Craighead, 29, became the youngest head coach in the country and looked to install a new system of play not seen by the cur-rent team.
Senior captains Ashley Garcia, Erika Edwards and Charday Hunt embraced the coaching change for their final year.
“She brought in a whole different system and at-titude,” Garcia said. “We went from a slow team to a fast team.” Garcia ben-efited from the change, leading the women in 3-point shooting for the season and is one of the assist leaders with 71 so far. Last year, she only had 34 assists for the year and shot 11.1 percent from 3-point range.
The women had to go through one of the hardest offseasons to be that fast team, Garcia said.
Part of Craighead’s game plan was offseason conditioning.
One week stood out more than any other week during offsea-son training to the players. The captains called it “Hell Week.”
The women had to endure getting up at 5 a.m. every day for a week and run 6,000 steps and then have a full practice afterwards.
Edwards reflected on the week.
“Just finishing it (Hell Week) was a memory,” Edwards said. “Trust me; it wasn’t our decision to do it.”
It paid off when the team stunned the Univer-sity of Washington, 74-71, earlier this season.
“It was so exciting to beat them on their own court. (It was) easily our favorite memory,” forward Hunt said.
Hunt scored 19 points and had five rebounds in the win against the Huskies.
Hunt is having a career year. She is second in the Big Sky Conference, averaging 17.9 points per contest and pulling
down 6.1 rebounds per game. She led her team in scoring
last season at 14.9 points per game.
The team also boasts some of the top rebound-
ers in the conference. Four of the top 10 rebound-ers in the conference are Hornets. The list includes Edwards (7.8), freshman Kylie
Kuhns (6.5) and Edwards (6.1).
Time is run-ning out for the seniors on both sides to reach the playoffs one last time
before their Hornet careers end.They have mixed emotions
about their final season.“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Eller
said. “It’s good right now while the season is still going on. But after it ends, it’s going to be tough.”
Eller is averaging 9.8 points per game and 5.9 rebounds
per game in his senior year. His rebound-ing average is good for seventh-best in the conference. Eller said being a captain means, “we have to instill the
culture of winning.”The men’s defense
has stepped up this season, allowing the fourth-fewest points
per game in the conference at 68.9. It
is an improvement from last season’s mark of 72.4.
However, shooting has been an issue, as the team is shoot-ing 40.7 percent.
The senior men built a solid relationship with each other and became as friends off the court as well.
“Every day is a memo-ry for me,” Marcial said. “I love the camaraderie and the friendships we’ve built.”
Marcial said he is looking to go into law enforcement with his criminal justice degree and coach basketball later on down the line. As an English major, Eller said he is working toward being a college English profes-
sor.Playing basketball over-
seas after the season is on the minds of some of the seniors. Flaggs, as well as all three
women seniors, said playing overseas basketball is an op-tion right after graduation.
Edwards is also graduat-ing with a criminal justice degree, but still would like to involved with basket-
ball in some capacity after this year.
“I think all three of us (cap-tains) are looking at playing overseas,” Edwards said.
Garcia said she wants to be a personal trainer with her degree in kinesiology.
Hunt said her goal is to be involved with the public rela-tions, preferably
in sports. She said not playing for Sac State will take some get-
ting used to. “All three of us
have been playing basketball for 18 years,” Hunt said. “It’ll be weird not
having practices and feel like we’re
being rushed some-where.”The women still have
work to do to get to the Big Sky Tournament.“We need to start finishing
games. That was our biggest problem the first half of the
season,” Edwards said.The women have
a 6-12 record overall and
won their first conference game on Thursday.
They now have two conference wins on the season. The team plays conference
op- ponents in six of their final seven games. The
By Marshall [email protected]
Tennis picked to repeat as champsWith winter in full blast, the
Sacramento State men’s and women’s tennis teams get ready to start their seasons. Both squads were both unanimously picked to repeat as Big Sky Conference champions in the coaches preseason poll.
The women’s team is looking to win its ninth consecutive conference title while the men’s team hopes to win its third con-ference title in four years.
In his 11th year as director of tennis for the Hornets, Bill Campbell said the preseason honor is nice, but Sac State has bigger goals to achieve this season.
“Both teams want to win the conference, there is no question about that,” Campbell said. “But their main goal is to get beyond the second round of the NCAA Tournament and see how far we can make it.”
In his third season at the helm of the women’s team, Dima Hrynashka said it is an honor to have both teams ranked atop the conference’s preseason polls.
“Everyone saw that over the last few years, we have been one of the strongest teams in the country,” he said.
Weber State’s women’s head coach Jonas Ehrlin said what makes the Hornets so good are the depth they have.
“They do not have a real
weakness,” Ehrlin said. “That is why they are so difficult to play against. They have so many good players.”
Ehrlin pointed out senior Katrina Zheltova as someone who gives other teams around the country fits.
Sophomore Clarisse Baca said she expects Zheltova will have a big season.
“Katrina is rated 26th in the nation in the singles category,” Baca said. “She is in shape and she’s been working really hard.”
The women’s team has won 62-consecutive conference matches. Baca said the reason for the long winning streak is because of the Hornets’ deter-
By Andrew [email protected]
tina Horton State Hornet
Maria Meliuk returns a shot during the women’s tennis practice at Rio Del Oro Racquet Club on Jan. 20.see Tennis| page B5
Indoor track hopes to improve from last year
Sacramento State’s track and field team is looking to do more than defend the women’s out-door title – it wants all four Big Sky Conference titles in 2010.
Last season, the women’s team won its second consecu-tive women’s outdoor title while Northern Arizona University won the indoor title, with the Hornets finishing in second place. It was a down year for the men’s team as it finished fifth indoors and sixth outdoors due to injuries and many redshirted athletes. Northern Arizona’s men’s teams won both the indoor and outdoor titles.
“I expect my team to put themselves in a position to win,”
said Kathleen Raske, director of track and field and cross-coun-try. “We’re looking to go after a Big Sky title.”
The preseason coaches indoor poll has the women finishing second and the men finishing fourth. The women’s are confi-dent after a strong year.
“I think that this year should be a good year,” said senior Ericka Violett, who competes in hurdles, long jump, triple jump and pole vault. “A big focus is we want to send as many people as possible (to nationals).”
With many athletes return-ing, the Hornets hope to win as many team and individual titles as possible. Three juniors, wom-en’s 800-meter runners Renisha
By Mitchell [email protected]
see Indoor Track| page B6
adalto naScimento State Hornet
Freshman shot putter Lila Yoldi practices on Friday.
Sac State athletics recruits the future
Sacramento State athletics welcomes seven new recruits for the 2010-11 year. Softball, volleyball, gymnastics and women’s golf have all made ad-ditions to their teams.
The softball team signed four players in November – Taylor Stroud, Paige Martin, Devin Caldwell and Yesenia Alcala. The athletes will take the field in February 2011.
Softball coach Kathy Strahan said she recruited players she felt were well-rounded and would fit in with her game plan.
“They fill various needs that we have for positions turning over and becoming open for next year,” Strahan said. “By go-ing out and watching them play
(it) shows that they will be the best fit for the kind of program that I run. They have to not only be good on the field, but academically and personality matters as far as fitting in with the rest of the team.”
Stroud, a native of Santa Rosa, Calif., enters her fourth season at Montgomery High School. She was awarded first team All-State and North Bay League MVP in 2009 and earned the Press Democrat’s Empire Player of the Year award.
Martin, a native of Vancouver, Wash., enters her last season as a third baseman/outfielder at Mountain View High School. Martin was a first-team all-league selection last season after batting .462 with a .791 slugging
By Ashley O’[email protected]
see Recruits| page B6
see Seniors| page B6
pHotoS courteSy of Hornet SportS
Men’s players: Jared Stigall (middle left), Jonathan Malloy (10), Domineek Daniel (23), Mike Marcial (14), Justin Eller (40), Antonio Flaggs (22) and Michael Selling (32). Women’s players: Charday Hunt (top left), Ashley Garcia (4), Erika Edwards (33).
Club SportsUpdates
WEdNESdAy - JANuARy 27 SpORTS SEcTiON STATEHORNET.cOm B5
Hornet cheer team places second in UCA championships
The Sacramento State cheer-leading squad participated in the 2010 Universal Cheer-leading Association College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship, held Jan. 15-18 in Orlando, Fla.
The team finished second overall in the small coed cat-egory and had a team place in the top 10 in the partner stunt finals.
Small coed and partner stunt member Becca Virgadamo went to nationals for the first time this year and said she was happy with the results.
“Even though first place would’ve been nice, getting second place for my first time at nationals was an incredible feeling.” Virgadamo said.
The small coed group featured 16 members, including mem-bers from both partner stunt
squads. However, the top-10 finishes didn’t come easy.
Head coach Bobby Biggs and the team had to fight through some injuries to Ryan Stock and Hillery Swanson. Stock suffered a pinched nerve in his back and Swanson had to deal with a groin injury.
“They dealt with the pain and performed at a high level to help accomplish a goal for our team,” Biggs said.
The result was a second-place finish for the small coed. The Hornets placed right behind Hofstra University but finished ahead of cheer power houses University of Oklahoma and Villanova University.
In the category of partner stunt, groups are formed of only four girls from the squad. This year was the first year Sac State ever sent a group to nationals for the category. The Hornets sent two squads.
The foursome of Izzy Collum,
Anahid Tatosian, Krista Hillen-brand and Maggie Stephens was able to take eighth place in the nation, while the group of Ash-ley Berry, Kori Thomas, Deija Joe and Virgadamo finished in 11th place.
“I’m so proud of my group and everything we have accom-plished. Eighth in the nation is a great feeling,” Hillenbrand said.
The partner stunt squads could not overcome the per-formances by Hawaii Pacific University, Hofstra University, and the University of Louisville.
Early-morning practices became more stressful when it got closer to Florida because the routine had to be top-notch to compete with the other universities.
“When we would get frustrat-ed in practice, we’d shake it off because being mad wasn’t going to help the situation,” Virgada-mo said. “If we weren’t friends,
it would have made practicing so much more difficult.”
Sac State has only placed at nationals in 2003, 2004, and 2009 before this year.
Hillenbrand, a fifth-year senior, said she wanted to finish her cheer career on top.
“I am sad to say I will not be returning to Sac State cheer next year,” Hillenbrand said. “Someday if I decide to con-tinue on to grad school, I would love the chance to join the team again. But as for now, my cheer-leading career is done.”
Biggs said he is proud of his team.
“It feels really rewarding to see the hard work that has been done pay off for our school and our cheerleading program,” Biggs said. “Their success has made this year one of most successful years in our program history.”
By Marshall [email protected]
Tennis: Both squads boast 2009 Big Sky Conference MVPs
mination.“We fight hard in every match
and every game,” Baca said. “We never give up.”
Baca said each team has a good mixture of returning play-ers and incoming freshmen.
“Maria Meliuk, and of course Katrina Zheltova, are our best players,” Baca said. “Dana Naz-arova is our new recruit. She is going to be really good, so if we can put all the parts together, we are going to be a great team.”
Sophomore Jimmy Roberts said the team’s success is owed in part to its fitness regimen.
“We do a lot of fitness drills, we have a pretty tough fitness test we take and routine that we do every day,” said sophomore Jimmy Roberts. “Our practices are really hard.”
Sophomore Jason Smith and senior Anton Stryhas are the leaders of the men’s team.
Smith said the Hornets must have a total team effort if Sac State is going to succeed.
“Everyone must play well; it’s not just one person. If one person does not perform well it is like a trickle down effect,” he said. “We need everybody to play well.”
Smith and the rest of the squad hope freshmen George Anastopoulos, Nick Gwerder and Nathan Wells can make an immediate impact.
Wells said he just wants to do what the team asks of him and not try to do too much.
“I need to work hard all season and see where that gets me,” he said.
Portland State’s men’s and women’s head coach Brian Par-rott said one the biggest keys to Sac State’s success is the Hor-nets’ ability to keep bringing in new talent.
“Excellent recruiting and great coaching has made
Sacramento State such a strong program,” he said.
Aside from Zheltova, the women’s team lacks a little bit of leadership. Baca said she is ready to become one of the leaders for the Hornets.
“I would like to win the most matches as possible for the team,” she said. “I like the spirit of this team. I am a fighter and want to give up everything for the team.”
Campbell said both teams’ non-conference schedule will determine if the season is suc-cessful for the Hornets, as the men have already played No. 9 Stanford and will play No. 25 Oklahoma State University later in the season.
Campbell said Sac State has a difficult time scheduling top-notch opponents because other universities are not willing to take on the Hornets on their home court.
“Both teams play really strong
schedules and a lot of ranked teams so the Big Sky teams are not the toughest teams by far on the schedule,” he said. “Almost all ranked teams we have to play on the road, they are not will-ing to come out and play us in Sacramento. It is a disadvantage for our team but that’s just the way it is.”
Roberts said the men’s team is going to approach every match with the same intensity.
“We start off the season with a tough schedule,” Roberts said. “We are going to approach every match like we are facing a top-10 team like Stanford so that we don’t stumble against a lesser opponent.”
Hrynashka said February will be a tough month for the women’s team, as they play two top-25 teams in No. 13 Stanford amd No. 24 University of Wash-ington. The women also take on No. 3 Cal in March.
Campbell said each team
feeds off of the others success.“Both teams have some really
talented athletes, the young people on this team are really dedicated to working hard and they have no interest in taking second,” he said. “The girls want to keep the match streak alive and see how long we can keep this going, while the men want to get to that point so there is a rivalry between the two teams.”
Even with the 62-match win-ning streak in conference play, Hrynashka said he sees areas where his team can improve.
“I would like us to improve our doubles play,” he said. “From what I saw in the pre-season, we definitely need to work on that.”
Baca said she is worried about things beyond the team’s con-trol which will hurt Sac State.
“Our weakness in the past has been bad luck,” Baca said. “A lot of players have been injured or have been ill at key points in the
season.”Baca said the women’s team
has high expectations for itself.“We like to dream big and
keep our goals high. The higher the goal is, the higher the achievement can be,” Baca said. “It is not overconfidence; we just believe in ourselves.”
Smith said the men’s team understands conference play is going to be hard no matter the other team’s record.
“We have to take it one match at a time and don’t look ahead,” he said. “We cannot look for-ward to the future, we must stay in the present.”
The Hornets may be worried about injuries, the schedule and just bad luck, but Sac State is not worried about either team being overconfident.
“We want to win the NCAA championship and when you have that goal in mind, there is not much complacency on any-body’s mind,” Campbell said.
Continued | page B4
mia matSudaira State Hornet
Members of the Sacramento State cheer team performs during the women’s basketball game on Thursday.
WEdNESdAy - JANuARy 27 SpORTS SEcTiON STATEHORNET.cOmB6
percentage and six home runs.Caldwell, an infielder/out-
fielder from Napa, Calif., will play her last season at Napa High School. Caldwell has start-ed at second baseman for three years. In the past two years, Caldwell has been selected all-county twice.
Yesenia Alcala, a middle infielder from Carson, Calif., will play for Banning High School. Alcala has been named an All-Marine League selection three times.
Strahan said she is ready to help the players adjust from high school to college.
“I hope that we can help make the transition as easy as possible for them because it is a big adjustment for them,” Strahan said. “All of their cases are high school seniors coming in and playing Division I ball on the West Coast, and that’s a big jump up no matter where you’re coming from.”
Gymnastics coach Kim Hughes recruited two gym-nasts, Eli Guerrero and Maddie Montoya - both of whom who will enroll here in the fall.
Hughes said he signed them because of their versatility.
“Maddie and Eli are both
good all around, so they (will) bring a balance to next year’s team,” Hughes said.
Golf Director David Suther-land recruited Ellese Dias, who begins her Hornet career in the fall. A senior at Caronde-let High School, she earned All-East Bay Athletic League honors two years in a row.
On Dec. 1, volleyball head coach Ruben Volta recruited outside hitter Kayla Beal.
Beal, a senior at Dixon High School, was named Capital Val-ley MVP last season. She now plays for the Northern Califor-nia Volleyball Club.
Beal joins Ashley Newcomb from Franklin High School in El Paso, Texas.
Newcomb said her desire to move away from home factored into her decision.
“I chose Sac State because I wanted to get out of El Paso,” she said. “Looking at the web-site and seeing what the school was all about, it just seemed like the perfect place to go.”
Newcomb said she is heading west in the summer and does not expect things to be easy.
“When I get to Sac State, I’m expecting that things will be a little hard at first, but it will all be worth it in the long run,” Newcomb said.
Recruits: Prep feats could spell success
Continued | page B4
Indoor Track: Healed and ready to race
Seniors: Postseason push begins now
Robinson and Lea Wallace, along with sprinter, hurdler and long jumper Ronald Brookins, made it to the 2009 Division I NCAA Outdoor Champion-ships last season.
The men’s team is healthier than last year, which should help the team perform better.
“I think we have a shot this year,” Brookins said. “Hopefully we can come back and show we’re on top.”
Senior hurdler A.J. Reed red-shirted last season because of injuries and is back and having a good preseason.
“I think he’s putting himself in a position to qualify for nationals,” Raske said. Reed is confident the men will improve upon last season.
Reed said he thinks the men can surprise this season.
“We have a big chance to win on the men’s side,” Reed said. “My personal goal is to help the men win a title.”
Violett said the women’s team is also attempting to get back to full strength in time for the season, as some members of the team are coming off injuries.
The biggest challenge to win-ning the Big Sky titles is North-ern Arizona, with the Lum-berjacks men’s and women’s teams being ranked first in the preseason poll.
Raske said both Northern Arizona and Weber State Uni-versity are teams the Hornets have to keep an eye on..
Weber State Head Coach Jim Blaisdell said he feels he has a deeper team this year and the Wildcats will be a force in the Big Sky Conference.
“We are a better team this year than last year,” Blaisdell said. “I suspect the three will be battling for the indoor champi-onship.”
The Weber State men’s team is ranked second and the women are ranked third.
Idaho State University head
coach Dave Nielsen said Raske has done a good job making the Hornet indoor track and field team what it is today.
Even with the Lumberjacks and Wildcats challenging the Hornets, Reed doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the team’s opponents.
“Honestly, the biggest chal-lenge is ourselves,” Reed said. “I’m not worried about our competition.”
Reed said he is more focused on pushing himself and sup-porting those around him.
“Trust in your abilities,” Reed said. “Your teammates are behind you.”
Continued | page B4
courteSy Hornet SportS
Eli Guerrero (left) and Maddie Montoya (right) sign their National Letters of Intenet to Sac State in November.
outcomes of the games will de-termine whether or not they get into the postseason for a second straight year.
The men’s team is in a similar situation. Sitting in eighth place in the Big Sky, the men have seven of their final eight games in conference in hopes of land-ing a tournament berth.
The team is finishing up a season-long four-game road trip. They have lost the first two games on the trip, which does not bode well for their postsea-son aspirations. The men are looking for their first appear-
ance in the tournament since 2006, when the team finished 5-9 in conference play.
The top six conference re-cords earn Big Sky Tournament playoff berths.
Weber State University sits atop the men’s conference standings at 7-1, while Eastern Washington University leads the women’s standings at 7-0.
Both sets of senior captains look forward to the remainder of their final season at Sac State.
“It’s exciting because we want to make a difference to the pro-gram this year,” Edwards said.
Continued | page B4