Marching against cuts

College of San Mateo • www.sanmatean.com

San MateanTHE

Volume 176, Number 4 March 19, 2011

Bulldogspitch intothe springseason

See Verdict on page 6

Students participating in the march showed off their opinions through posters, instruments and props. Students marched to the Capitol carrying a pencil to express the issue of education budget cuts.

Photo byJeffrey Gonzalez of The San Matean

See page 5

Occupyprotestorsdemonstratein the Capitol

See page 7

Killerguilty for ‘99murder

Former CSM student, Moham-med Haroon Ali, has been convicted of First Degree Murder, at the retrial for the Feb. 15, 1999 strangling death of Tracey Biletnikoff, whose body was dumped and found at the

Cañada College campus.

T h e v e r d i c t ended the ordeal that began in 2009, when the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco over-turned Ali’s 2001 first-degree murder

conviction – 64 years to life -- for reasons of racial prejudice: at least one African-American had been left off the jury. Free the defendant or retry him, the court said. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court’s decision and the second trial began on Jan. 25.

Ali and Biletnikoff were CSM students who attended separate drug and alcohol treatment pro-grams. They become lovers in the late 1990s. Ali had successfully completed the Project 90 program and was a part-time counselor and house manager for the program. Biletnikoff had assumed similar status in the Women’s Recovery Association.

Ali was on probation for the kid-napping at knife-point of a former fiancé in the mid-90s, and faced nine years in prison if he relapsed

John ServatiusThe San Matean

Hundreds of activist groups organized on March 1 all across California for a national day of protest in preparation for the March 5 march to Sacramento.

Student activists Brandon Snyder and Nick Vasquez at CSM sched-uled a walk-out in attempt to rally students to march to the district office for a demonstration.

The group’s efforts were thwarted by unfavorable weather and low foot traffic, according to Snyder.

“It never rains in California until you want to raise money for educa-tion,” said Deborah Garfinkle, CSM professor and protest sympathizer.

The group planned to meet

Jeffrey GonzalezThe San Matean

with demonstrators from Skyline College at the district office and present a list of demands to the administration.

Included in the list of demands were the repeal of the “plan-ahead, pay-ahead” policy, funding for the Child Development Center at CSM, the lowering of campus food prices, and the demand to save the CSM garden. All the demands related to issues created by budget shortfalls.

The date March 1 was chosen by the CSM protest group in order to demonstrate in solidarity with a conglomerate of educational advocacy groups.

“It started off as a ‘local day of action,’” said Diana Macasa, an unofficial representative of the Occupy San Francisco move- See March on page 5

ment. “After word spread and kept spreading through Twitter, emails and other networks, it turned into a ‘national day of action.’”

Occupy Education, a sub group of the Occupy San Francisco move-ment, organized a demonstration in front of San Francisco’s city hall, where about 600 people, including CSM and Skyline students, attend-ed. Present at the demonstration were teachers, parents, K through 12 and college students from vari-ous educational institutions.

The demonstration hosted a stage and microphone that partici-pants were allowed to freely use. Speakers ranged from high school students giving their testimonies

About 10,000 demonstrators marched to the State Capitol on March 5 protesting against statewide economic cuts.

Honors programreturns to CSM

CSM is promoting a new honors program that will be launched fall 2012, with applications becom-ing available for students starting mid-March.

The professors responsible for reviving the pro-gram are James Carranza, Timo-thy Maxwell and David Laderman. The program was originally cut due to lack of funding.

CSM does not currently have an honors program, causing a large amount of effort from the college faculty to develop a strong alliance within its students. Students are encouraged to approach Laderman or Maxwell if they have any ques-tion regarding their enrollment in the program.

“The program is unique cross disciplinary and collaborative” says Laderman. The two-unit weekly seminar will provide students with a choice of two clusters. The program will consist of humanities and language arts, math, science and engineering.

Enrollment requires college students to have a minimum 3.3 GPA and a 3.5 GPA for high school students. The application will have a personal statement section where students can give their insight on why they want to be part of the

Carlos MesquitaThe San Matean

San Bruno fire settlementPG&E has reached a settlement

of $70 million for damages due to the pipeline explosion in San Bruno on September 9, 2010.

Since the explosion, the city of San Bruno and PG&E have been in negotiations. On Monday, March 12 the mayor of San Bruno held a press conference to discuss the cities plans to collect and distribute these funds.

“I am pleased to announce that San Bruno has reached a settlement with PG&E for restitution for the community of San Bruno,” said Mayor Jim Ruane at the press con-ference on Monday. “This money will be used for the benefit of all

the citizens of our city.”The city of San Bruno has

planned to establish a non-profit foundation to manage, disseminate and determine how the restitution should be spent for the benefit of the community as a whole.

“The not-for-profit public entity was structured to take custody of the funds with the intent of ben-efiting the entire San Bruno Com-munity.” said Connie Jackson, San Bruno city manager. “This money is separate from any other efforts that PG&E has made.”

Besides the $70 million dollar settlement, the city has developed a trust to repair public infrastructure, provide additional services and assist with neighborhood need.

Individuals can take advantage of services created by the trust, seek money through insurance claims, through PG&E, or if they feel it necessary, through litigation.

The city of San Bruno is not a party to any lawsuit, said Jackson.

“PG&E developed several pro-grams and we are aware that these programs exist to obtain funds for exterior improvements to in-dividuals property, yet the city is not involved in those programs.” said Jackson.

Since the explosion, PG&E is said to be a strong supporter of the rebuilding efforts and continues to standby and be there for the com-munity through negotiations and

Monica AiroThe San Matean

See San Bruno on page 6

See page 3

Student bandpushes itsway into the local scene

Tracey Biletnikoff

DavidLaderman

See Honors on page 6

Congresswoman Jackie Speier spoke to professor Frank Damon’s Political Science 210 class March 16 to discuss her work on job creation, national debt, the war in Afghanistan and other issues.

Jackie Speier visits collegePhoto by David Sharpe of The San Matean

NewsPage 2 • The SAN MATEAN March 19, 2012

Campus Blotter

CorreCtion An article in the March 5 issue of The San Matean, titled “Bookstore thefts a lingering concern,” carried a missquote, “There are more cameras in the bookstore than any other location on campus due to the value of the inventory in the store, “ said John Wells, Chief of CSM Public Safety, due to reporting errors. The San Matean regrets the errors.

Thursday, March 1 3:15 p.m. — Campus security received four separate reports of a car performing donuts in the parking lot. One from a district employee and the other three were from three residents living adjacent to Lot 1. The 18 year old male student was stopped and referred to the Vice President of Student Services.

Sunday, March 4, 5:40 p.m. — A security officer carried out a routine check of Building 10 and heard running water. The officer found that a hose had come loose from a coffee machine from the Terrace Grill and water was leak-ing from the hose. The officer then reconnected the hose to stop the leak. He checked the building and found water damage in the grill, the store, the bookstore and the EOPS office. The district is in the process repairing the damage.This information was provided by John Wells, Chief of CSM Public Safety.

This information was provided by John Wells, Chief of CSM Public Safety.

— Ariana AnderbergThe San Matean

Budget Planning Committee MeetingMonday, March 19, 1. to 3 p.m.Bldg. 10, Room 401

State Budget UpdateMonday, March 19, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.Bldg. 10, Room 195

Reinstatement WorkshopMonday, March 19, 4 to 6 p.m.Bldg. 10, Room 191

Palo Alto University Campus VisitTuesday, March 20, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.Bldg. 10, Dining Room

New & Returning Student Orientation & Advising WorkshopTuesday, March 20, 4:00 to 6:30 p.m.Bldg. 10, Room 191

Notre Dame de Namur University Campus VisitTuesday, March 20, 4 to 6 p.m.Bldg. 10, Dining Room

Spring Health FairWednesday, March 28, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Building 10, Dining Room

Spring RecessMonday April 2 to Sunday April 8CSM

SPORTS

CSM Baseball vs. Hartnell CollegeTuesday, March 20, 2:30 p.m.CSM Baseball Field

CSM Baseball vs. Cabrillo CollegeThursday, March 22, 2:30 p.m.CSM Baseball Field

CSM Softball vs. CabrilloThursday, March 22, 3 p.m.Cabrillo College

CSM Swimming vs. Cabrillo/OhloneFriday, March 23, 2 p.m.Building 5, Swimming Pool

CSM Baseball vs. Mission CollegeFriday, March 23, 2:30 p.m.CSM Baseball Field

CSM Swimming - CSM InvitationalSaturday, March 24, 10 a.m.Building 05, Swimming Pool

CSM Baseball vs. West Valley CollegeTuesday, March 27, 2:30 p.m.West Valley College

CSM Softball vs. West ValleyTuesday, March 27, 3 p.m.CSM Softball Field

— Compiled by Kasia PierogCorrespondent for The San Matean

Campus BriefsIf there is an event that readers would like listed in Campus Briefs, please submit it to The San Matean at Bldg. 10, Room 180, or sanmatean@smccd.edu, or call 574-6330. Submissions should be typed neatly.

by Kenneth La

New trustee electedASCSM student senator Bailey

Girard won the election on March 15 to be CSM’s nominee for the district student trustee position.

The student trustee is elected every year. The current trustee is Patiane Gladstone of Skyline College.

The process of electing a student trustee entails every col-lege in the district putting forth a nominee to be selected by the student district council that is made up of the president and vice president of each college, as well as the current student trustee, said Aaron Schafer, coordinator of student activities.

Last year, only Skyline College and CSM presented candidates. Barry Jointer of CSM won the race.

When Jointer resigned due to complications stemming from his UC Davis enrollment, the district council was forced to make a selection from the other nominees. Since there was only one other candidate, Gladstone was appointed student trustee by default.

This year, every college had a student trustee nominee, said Schafer. CSM students Bailey Gi-rard, 19, and Douglas Robinson, 42, campaigned to win the CSM nomination.

“I decided to run because our past trustees have not lived up to expectations,” said Girard, 19. “Our current (student trustee) doesn’t know what’s going on at two of three schools.”

Girard is currently a student senator with ASCSM and has been working with the board of trustees since last semester on various projects. Girard is one of the lead student coordinators for statewide projects such as the oil tax initiative and providing input

Jeffrey GonzalezThe San Matean

tions. To get appointed, a student can be voted into the senate by its members and not the general public.

Associate senators have the abil-ity to participate in campus events as part of the ASCSM, but they do not have the voting power afforded to the full senators.

Respectively, associate senators do not have the same responsi-bilities senators have, such as the requirement to show up to every scheduled meeting or the duty of serving as a representative in campus committees.

If an associate senator demon-strates enthusiasm and consistency in helping with ASCSM projects and student representation matters, the existing senate can vote that as-sociate senator into the position of full senator, whereupon he or she would inherit the responsibilities that come with the position.

“If the number of appointed sena-tors exceeds the number of elected senators, by the constitution, there has to be a special election,” said Schafer.

The student government is down to 12 senators and a lot of them were appointed, said Schafer.

The elections were held between March 13 and March 15. The pro-cess was overseen by the ASCSM election commission.

The commission consisted of adviser Fauzi Hamadeh and sena-tors Kat Alvarado, Quintin Leong, and Kat Alvarado. It was headed by ASCSM Vice-President Daniella Medeiro.

According to an official release by the ASCSM, 69 people par-ticipated in the student trustee and special election.

Girard garnered 37 votes, beating out Robinson by only 7 votes.

In the special election, four as-sociate senators were elected to the position of full senators. Those candidates were Ashley Manand-har, Therese Salazar, Bill Callahan, and Matt Shmeeckle.

for the Student Success Task Force in the district.

“I believe my ideas are better off at a district or state level,” added Girard.

Girard’s competition was Rob-inson, a current Bulldog Bookstore employee and associated senator of ASCSM.

Robinson has attended CSM since 2007 and has taken active roles in stu-dent government and clubs. He was president of Alpha Gamma Sigma, one of CSM’s honor societies, and the student trustee for the AGS of Northern California for a time.

Being older than the average com-

munity college student, Robinson considers himself a non-traditional student who really appreciates the benefits college brings, he said.

“I want to make sure the student voice is properly represented to the board of the trustees and the administration of this college,” said Robinson. “I discovered I have great leadership and communication skills while here at CSM that were not previously known.”

Coinciding with the student trustee race was a special election for ASCSM to correct an imbalance in its government.

Since ASCSM is only a couple of appointees away from requiring a special election, they decided to hold those elections in conjunction with the student trustee nomination to avoid having three elections in one semester, said Schafer.

Individuals can be elected or ap-pointed into the student senate. If elected, they have to campaign to win votes during the annual general elec-

Bill Callahan Therese Salazar Matt Shmeeckle Ashley Manandhar

Newly elected senators

http://www.facebook.com/TheSanMatean

Bailey Girard Doug Robinson

NewsMarch 19, 2012 The SAN MATEAN • Page 3

Phi Theta Kappa students honoredPhi Theta Kappa students at CSM

were ranked first and second in All-California Academic Teams.

Caleb Kenney, 26, and Emmeline Wong, 21, form part of the list of 67 nominees from several community colleges in California. Community college state associations, Phi Theta Kappa, and community college presidents sponsored the Academic Team Awards.

Kenney and Wong were nomi-nated after submitting an applica-tion where their grades, academic rigor and growth were evaluated. An essay portion of the application gave them the chance to explain how their education contributes to CSM and their community.

The All-State Academic Team Awards had 32 states participate. To qualify as a nominee, a student must have a cumulative college-level GPA between 3.5 and 4.0, must not have been nominated previously,

and be on track to earn a bachelor’s degree of associates degree, among other requirements.

Students did not need to be part of PTK to apply for nomination. The nominator chosen at CSM was President Michael Claire. Only two students are nominated from each campus that offers the application.

“A lot of kids would give up an arm or a leg to get an education. In the United States, people need to be reminded how blessed (they are) to be in a country where education is available for anyone,” said Wong.

Wong is the current president of CSM’s honor society, PTK. He plans to transfer to UC Berkley and major in Business.Wong also interned as a trade assistant at the Northern California World Trade Center in Sacramento.

“My advisers and friends told me to be myself and that the experi-ence is what matters,” said Wong. “I wouldn’t be there without the support of my friends and team”.

Wong, who has a GPA of 3.91, is

working to enter the international business field.

“I lived in China until (the age of) eight and then moved to South America and came here after sec-ondary education and I feel like I should contribute to the countries that raised me,” she said.

Kenney, a business major, holds a GPA of 3.93. He is the financial director of PTK and plans on trans-ferring to UC Berkley.

“I wasn’t motivated to go to classes at the 4-year school I at-tended, so I dropped and eventually went back”

Kenney helps students that are struggling with school by inviting them to study groups and creating an environment where everyone can work together. “I like being a facilitator,” he said.

Wong and Kenney have previ-ously worked together in projects at school such as the PTK Commit to Completion project that worked to inspire students to complete their education and lower drop rates in

Photo courtesy of FacebookFrom left: Emmeline Wong, 21 CSM President Michael Claire, and Caleb Kenney, 26. Wong and Kenney received awards.enrollment. Last semester, a wide blank panel was displayed outside of Building 10 and students were given the chance to write down their educational goals and dreams.

A recognition ceremony was held

in Sacramento on March 7. Both students received medallions and certificates.

“We are very happy about the experiences we have got. They are priceless,” said Wong.

Amps and chords hide the garage floor in a Burlingame home. Four young musicians sit in the middle of the mess next to a Pearl painted drum set.

The four of them laugh as one recalls hearing a spot on the radio saying sad people listen to Radio-head.

All in good fun, they tease one of them for liking the band. CSM student Jonny Zywiciel holds a guitar in hand while he smiles and jokingly admits you need to be sad to listen to their music.

Zywiciel, 19, “slit” his way into being a guitar player of the new rock band Leviathan.

Leviathan had it’s start with original members Gaitan Gonzales, 18, playing guitar and William Grossman, 18, playing bass during it’s days of being a acoustic band playing small shows.

The band decided on going electrical and got Josh Vikoren, 18, to play guitar for them. Gon-zales switched over to playing the drums and leading in vocals after this inclusion.

Band members take charge of their career

The four found themselves taking the acoustic songs and building the new sound from there.

They obtained studio time, a while after forming, with Castle Ultimate Studios and well know producer and friend Aaron Hell-man.

“(We) got hella excited when we recorded in the studio,” said Vikoren.

The band used the studio time to record a four track EP demo called TO THE FACE. Since its December 20th release, the band has been playing at venues in order to get

awareness and build a fan base.Their EP combines sounds of

alternative rock and pop punk. Energy heavy riffs create power

pop melodies with high noted vocals. Constant moving sounds are created with no long periods of down time. Some of the bands influences include Blink-182, Third Eye Blind, and John Mayer.

Several shows have progressed the band into the limelight of the local band scene.

They have been playing in venues like the 330 Ritch and the Blue

MacCaw in San Francisco.“Earlier on, we were focused on

shows,” said Vikoren. “Now we’re getting merch set up and focusing to get our look online so people can stay connected.”

Previously the band created enough attention for a management company to offer them a contract for studio time and the production of a music video. Due to lack of creative control, they denied the offer.

“They wrote up a whole con-tract,” Vikoren said. “Decided we didn’t want someone to tell us when to be in the studio. It can’t be forced.”

The writing process for Levia-than is very spontaneous and from the heart, said Zywiciel.

“If we’re working on song ideas, we work on what’s not sounding good,” said Gonzales.

For their first song, Recovery, the band explained that the song was well practiced before they obtained studio time to record it.

They then picked what they think sounds good and roll with it in the final product.

“If there’s something we like, we pick it,” said Vikoren.

They all recall that the break-down for Recovery had actually been a result of just jamming. They just played it and it felt right, said Gonzales.

During performances there main focus is getting the crowd involved and into the music.

“Performing is the few times you can forget everything and do what you want,” said Vikoren.

Their focus in the band continues with social media websites, includ-ing Facebook and Twitter, in order to get them noticed.

“People run a lot of feedback after the show and find us online,” said Gonzales. “We’ve also just been handing out our CDs.”

The radio station 107.7 The Bone had even played their song the night of Jan. 21.

Now the band is entered in an online Battle of the Bands through Warped Tour.

The voting process is still in progress and they currently hold the seventh spot.

If they receive the most votes, they will be able to play at Warpped

Erasmo MartinezThe San Matean

In the Mix By Ian Mitchell and Greg Marshall

What does St. Patrick’s Day mean to you?

Michael Kwong, 23Bio. Psych., San Francisco

“Honestly, just wearing green and drinking.”

Eleanor Freed, 53Visiting Parent, Berkeley

“Green.”

Niko Larot, 20Engineering, Milbrae

“It’s a reason to make out with chicks at the bar, but I’m not Irish.”

Ashley Jones, 19A./D. Studies, San Bruno

“It reminds me of my Irish private school, St. Dunston.”

Therese Ramos, 18Communications, San Bruno

“...The pot of gold at the end.”

Manuel OrbegozoThe San Matean

From left to right: Josh Vikoren, Jonny Zywiciel and William GrossmanPhoto courtesy of Facebook

See Band on page 6

NewsPage 4 • The SAN MATEAN March 19, 2012

California state legislators and Governor Jerry Brown have cut education and social services as far as they can be cut, according to Macasa.

The rally in front of City Hall, along with all the other demonstrations such as CSM’s and Skyline’s, were “kick off” rallies for a much bigger protest scheduled on March 5 in Sacramento.

“We expect thousands of people to at-tend the March 5 march to the capitol,” said Macasa.

Some San Francisco protesters began marching from the city hall rally all the way to Sacramento the afternoon of the rally. They are walking approximately 90 miles

and plan to be there by March 5.While no CSM students have reported

they would join the 90 mile walk, ASCSM

Continued from Page 1March

agreed to provide transportation, from San Mateo to Sacramento, to any students who choose to attend, said Daniella Medeiro, ASCSM vice-president.

Though most protest groups claim to represent an entire student body or school, not everyone supports the demonstrations. “I don’t see the point (in protesting),” said CSM student Rachel Dittman. “It’s not going to solve anything.”

The solution is to stop cutting faculty po-sitions and start cutting back the salary and overwhelming authority of the administration, said Dittman.

Similar to Dittman’s solution were the rants and picket signs of many San Francisco protesters conveying the message that the rich should be taxed more to save California schools.

Check out the video coverage of this story

The San Matean Online http://www.sanmatean.

com/video

From top counter clockwise:CSM president Michael Claire walking towards the Capitol. Charlie Eaton, leader of the UC Student Worker Union and followers. UC Irvine student, Alex (did not provide last name), throws up the “peace” sign at the riot squad. A March in March demonstrator reps the California State Student Association “Made in the CSU campaign that promotes the collective interest of CSU students. Sharon Clegg, California State Student Senator gives a speech outside of the Capitol in the presence of thousands of students. A riot squad lines up in front of the Capitol.

NewsMarch 19, 2012 The SAN MATEAN • Page 5

In the rotunda of the California state capitol is a statue depicting three people holding out their hands. Hundreds of “Occupy” demonstrators dressed the statue with signs asking for less cuts to public education. The demonstra-tors, including former and current SMCCCD students, mobbed this area for hours in Sacramento on March. 5. Out of 250 demonstra-tors, around 70 who stayed were arrested that night.

Capitol oCCupation

The rally inside the Capitol was meant to coincide with the larger and more broad March in March on the same day, in which thousands of students and faculty protested budget cuts. The demonstration inside the capitol building was organized by a group known as #OccupytheCapitol.

Members of the #Occupythe-Capitol group assembled in the middle of the capitol building during normal business hours. They chanted phrases of protest as they huddled towards the center of the building and made a scene for California legislators at work. “No cuts, no fees. Education must be free,” they screamed in unison as they danced around the rotunda.

list of DemanDs

The protest group congregated to

Photo by Erasmo Martinez of The San Matean

‘No cuts! No fees!’

create a list of demands to present to California legislators. In order to communicate the voting process, one speaker would yell out demands and instructions, then it would be repeated by another speaker standing near hallways, and finally repeated by someone down the hallway. Sug-gestions were as broad as the call for the end of capitalism and ranged to specific requests regarding the lives of college students, calling for the abolition of all student debt.

One San Francisco State Univer-sity student, Arturo Lopez, had many complaints about the CSU system. Through forced graduation, CSU students are being pushed through school and into the wage labor sys-tem instead of being educated, he said. He advocated the flexibility and freedom that community col-leges offer students.

“In CSUs you can’t double major anymore because that would take longer for you to graduate,” he said.

After several rounds of voting and elimination, the list of demands was whittled to five items: passing the Millionaires Tax, canceling all student debt, democratizing the CSU board of trustees and the UC board of regents, free education for kinder-garten through college and amend Proposition 13 to a split roll tax.RepResentatives ResponD

The group did get a chance to talk to a couple members of legis-lation, such as Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom and Senator Leland Yee. Newsom visited the congregation

of protestersto interact with them. Assemblyman Jerry Hill offered

the #OccupytheCapital members advice as he stood watching stu-dents trying to enter the building from his office window.

A major obstacle facing the

funding of California’s education system is the lack of support from his Republican peers, said Hill.

“What has to occur is demonstra-tors have to go to the hometowns of these republicans and get their constituents as outraged, that’s the only way to do it,” said Hill. “As important as it is having 10,000 students here today, if they are not coming from these (republican districts), there will be little effect.”

tensions gRow

California Highway Patrol of-ficers stood silently on guard at the entrances of the building and of the rotunda holding back groups of demonstrators. Many stood at the entrances of the rotunda complaining to the officers for not letting more people into the rotunda, although it was stated those who wished to leave were allowed to do so.

Tensions between the protesters and the CHP fluctuated throughout the day. At one point, a demonstra-

Protesters storm the capitol to demandfree education

tor observing from the balcony attempted to throw an object down into the rotunda. CHP pulled her away before doing so. Demonstra-tors below yelled, “Let her go, let her go.”

The occupying group also rallied with anger because the CHP did not let them use the restrooms of the building. After this problem was brought to Newsom’s attention, he instructed CHP to allow restroom access.

68 pRotesteRs aRResteD

Before the building closed at 6:00 p.m., American Civil Liberties Union, congregated the protesters and demonstrated a mock arrest to explain how to prepare for the trespassing arrest. Earlier in the day, this had been mentioned. Speakers, at that time, told those willing to be arrested should write their bail contact’s number across their arms. The ACLU began taking demonstrator’s cell phones at 6:47 p.m. in preparation for the arrests.

After hours of having demonstra-

tors occupying the capitol building, CHP issued five orders of dispersal to the demonstrators, beginning at about 6:20 p.m., and the final an-nouncement at 7:30 p.m. The order required everyone in the building to evacuate.

Throughout the warnings, the demonstrators got together in front of the rotunda statue. They sat in a circle and laid out their protest signs. Jokes and stories were ex-changed between them as they awaited arrest.

The group even went around the circle for everyone to explain why they decided to stay upon know-ing they would be arrested while a chocolate bar was shared.

Police carried out the arrests at 7:34 p.m. One by one, officers carrying zip ties approached the protesters. Cheers and applause from the demonstrators echoed the rotunda as each one was taken to county jail.

68 protesters were arrested and four outside for a total of 72 arrests.

Jeffery Gonzales andErasmo MartinezThe San Matean

Photo by Erasmo Martinez of The San Matean

Photo by Erasmo Martinez of The San Matean

(Left) Demonstratorsrally in the rotunda of the Capitol building.

(Right)A protester is arrested for refusing to leave the Capitol after CHP ordered protesters to.

“...There will be little effect.”-Jerry Hill

News/Campus LifeMarch 19, 2011

Continued from Page 1

Pages 6 • The SAN MATEAN

Continued from Page 1Honors

once more. His probation officer had interceded with the judge on the second occasion

But, Ali was disappointed with his program after a year-and-a-half of sobriety. Something was missing. As he testified, “it was the same stories, the same people, all the time.”

He and a fellow P-90 client decided to go to San Francisco’s Double Rock area of Hunter’s Point to purchase crack cocaine during the weekend of Feb. 12 – 14, 1999.

On Monday evening, Feb. 15, 1999, talk around Friendship Hall, the P-90 facility in downtown San Mateo, claimed Ali had relapsed. He was in a back office playing computer games, having spent the early part of the day with Biletnikoff and confessing his relapse. Ali would have to start the recovery process over again, and had an appointment with his probation officer the next day, Feb 16. He would undoubtedly be tested for drugs, and faced nine years in prison for the kidnapping of his fiancé five years earlier. Biletnikoff had

come to the office, at one point sit-ting on Ali’s lap, consoling him. He wanted her car keys. She refused as she blocked his exit while she called him a loser and said he was violent like her ex-boyfriend.Between 8 and 8:50 p.m. Feb. 15 in that back office of Friendship Hall, several steps from a in progress Narcotics Anonymous meeting, Ali manually strangled Biletnikoff, dragging her body into the front passenger seat of a P-90 van, buckling her in, concealing her face with her hair, and headed for his San Mateo relatives. He ran into his nephew there who agreed to meet

him later with cash from an ATM.From there, Ali drove to Canada

College Parking Lot 3 in the van, where he dragged Biletnikoff’s body down a ravine below the lot, and removed her jeans to stage it as a sex crime. Ali said during his testimony that he then tied the ligature – a black T-shirt – around the victim’s neck. He also said, and Det. Sgt. James Tanner of the Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Biletnikoff’s car keys were in her right sock.

Ali then met his nephew as arranged, returned the P-90 van,

and got into Biletnikoff’s car, which was parked in a lot near Friendship Hall. He and his nephew then drove in separate vehicles to their San Le-andro in-laws, where he confessed in a telephone conversation with his uncle, Mohammed Khan, the family elder, in San Mateo, that he had an accident and that Biletnikoff was dead. Khan urged him to turn himself in. Before Ali’s in-laws could include him in their plans, he had disappeared.

Ali was apprehended at the San Ysidro border, returning from Mexico on Feb. 16, 1999.

program.James Carranza, also the CSM

Academic Senator President, shared how students and faculties will be able to interact with each other as the Honors Program will be re-opened in CSM and provide services regarding transferring.

“It will provide students to start thinking on creative methods,” said Carranza. “It provides a important service to CSM transfer students service”.

Tim Maxwell, adviser for Alpha Gamma Sigma believes the entire CSM community will benefit from The Honors Program next semester. “It’s an opportunity to excise their

minds and go place an intellectually and academically that they would never had the chance to, otherwise,” said Maxwell.For future reference, honor students will have the opportu-nity to become a part of the Transfer Alliance Program, a program that will help students transfer automatically in to any University of California.

Emmeline Wong, president of Phi

Theta Kappa International Honor Society, thinks that programs like this where students from different majors and fields get together are extremely valuable. “Students have the opportunity to share and analyze issues with perspec-tives from different majors,” said Wong.

Gabriel Denham, President

of Alpha Gamma Sigma, said the program is something CSM has been missing. “

The program, as it was explained to me, sounds nothing like any-thing found at other colleges in the district, and the research and group work is exactly what students prepare to transfer to a 4-year uni-versity,” said Denham.

Continued from Page1San Bruno

settlements.“From the beginning we have

stood by the community to help the city of San Bruno,” said Brian Swanson, PG&E representative for media relations.

Originally, PG&E established a $100 million rebuild San Bruno fund, separate from the $70 million settlement.

Days after the initial explosion, PG&E created the fund to give aid and relief through checks, immedi-ate expenses, lodging, meals, car rentals, covering gas and bridging the gap made by insurance agen-cies.

Reimbursement funds were also given to government agencies involved in the fire for reimburse-ment.

Several neighborhood rebuild or purchase programs were funded by PG&E as well, said Swanson.

“We have stood by and are still present. PG&E employees continue to devote their time to help support the community.” said Swanson.

There has been legislation drafted to aid in pipeline safety such as the Gas Safety Act.

“We are in full support of any piece of legislation that enhances pipeline safety,” said Swanson

Congresswoman Jackie Speier is an advocate of pipeline safety and spoke out against the lack of over site by the Californa Public Utility Commission and other commissions.

“I have been the most outspoken

about what went wrong and carried legislation to try to take the les-sons we learned from San Bruno and make it natural in nature,” said Speier, at a political science presentation at CSM.

Some individuals think differ-ently about PG&E’s efforts to help the community.

Leslie Carney, whose mother was affected by the pipeline explosion, says issues are still surfacing with PG&E.

Carney’s mother had a hearing aid that cost $3,000 and was burned in the fire. Stress has been caused due to the high price of replacing the hearing aid.

“PG&E turned around and said she could go on the Internet and find a hearing aid for $1,500 and would not reimburse her,” Carney said.

She noted that it was unrealistic to expect her 81 year old mother navigate the Internet and find a comparable hearing aid for $1,500, which has to be tuned specifically to her ear.

Others organizations and indi-viduals have been great with their family.

“The City of San Bruno, the Red Cross and others have been great with us.” said Carney. “(PG&E) refused to pay her for this while she was living in a hotel.”

PG&E had made funds available to the family. They wrote a check to help out but was not willing to help them out further.

“There was a 70 foot crater in the front of the house that they tried to call a hole,” said Carney.

PG&E asked the family if they wanted to rebuild or sell because she lived in the epicenter of the direct damage.

The family then asked how long it would take to rebuild and PG&E did not know.

They were forced to sell the house early, which was not ideal for the family, Carney said.

CSM students have their own opinions about the PG&E settlement.

Student Zack Wang said the cost of a settlement cannot give back some of the possessions that are gone forever.

“(The settlement) doesn’t include their belongings, and cars, and the time it takes to rebuild, including

medical bills and irreplaceable that you just can’t put a price on,” he said

Nichole Ramos is a student who lived in San Bruno about one min-ute away from the affected area.

“That is not enough if one house is almost a million and there were 38 houses not including furniture and other things,” she said.

Although they have finally settled the cost with the city of San Bruno, PG&E is looking at more problems in monetary pen-alties for pending governmental investigations.

The CPUC is conducting three different investigations that in-

volve PG&E’s operations, record keeping and the root cause of the San Bruno pipeline explosion. The CPUC will be issuing penalty fines which are separate from the city of San Bruno settlement.

The city of San Bruno will be allocating these restitution funds for public benefit.

The CPUC will be assessing penalty funds.

Other investigations are also being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board and Cal E.M.A.

It is not known at this time when these investigations will be concluded.

Tour in the summer during the San Francisco visit.

The band will be preparing new songs, as well as other challenges ahead.

Each member holds a job or at-tends school. Bass player Grossman is in his senior year of high school.

Optimistically, Gonzales has full faith in the band and wants to give it his best shot.

“When we give a show, we want to make a good impression,” said Grossman.

The young musicians continue to work hard to keep their good impressions. Still, the band plans on evolving further down the road.

“We’re not trying to close our-selves to a specific genre,” said Vikoren. “We’re working so we can start expanding.”

Band

Ragland, and cornerback Ronald fields as Bulldogs to sign with Divi-sion 1-A schools this year.

Sagote, Ragland, and Fields signed with Washington State,

Continued from Page 7LSU

Colorado State, and Hawaii re-spectively.

Fanaika plans to “redshirt” for the 2012 season, meaning he will finish his two years of eligibility in 2013 and 2014.

Verdict

Continued from Page 3

The SAN MATEAN • Page 7sports

CSM All-American visits LSUStraight-A students have the Ivy

League. Harvard, Yale and Princ-eton are viewed as the elite

institutions of higher education in America. Vaunted football re-cruits, like CSM’s Fehoko Fanaika, have the Southeastern Conference. Schools like Louisiana State, Florida, Auburn and Georgia are seen as the elites of college football.

Faniaka was recruited by all four of them, and chose to sign with LSU Thursday.

“It’s crazy,” Fanaika said, “Foot-ball is like a religion down there.”

An offensive guard, Fanaika made two official visits to SEC schools this winter, one to Florida in February and one to LSU in March. One of the highlights of Fanaika’s trip to LSU was his tour of their home field, 93,000 seat capacity Tiger Stadium, colloquially known by college football fans as “Death Valley.”

“I can’t describe it in words,”

said Fanai-ka, “You’d have to be there.”

Fanaika also met legendary LSU head coach Les M i l e s , w h o h e describes as a “really

talkative guy.”“He can take one subject and turn

it into five,” said Fanaika.The decision did not come easy

to the 1st team Junior College All American, who weighed offers from multiple Division 1-A schools around the country.

“He was really torn,” said defen-sive coordinator Tim Tulloch, “He really loved Hawaii, Florida, and LSU. Ultimately, he hit it off with the o-line coach (Greg Strudawa of LSU) and it felt like the right fit.”

In addition to his visits at LSU and Florida, Fanaika has also vis-

ited Hawaii and Utah State of the Western Athletic Conference and Kansas of the Big 12. He was also offered scholarships by Fresno State and Georgia, but chose not to visit those schools.

The 6’6, 360 pound lineman out of Florin High School in Sacra-mento didn’t have any Division 1-A

Shaun CarmodyThe San Matean

March 19, 2011

offers coming out of high school. In fact, the only scholarship he was offered was Division 1-AA Sacramento State.

It was because of that Fanaika looked to Junior College.

One of his uncles played football at CSM so Fanaika decided to become a Bulldog.

A solid spring for College of San Mateo athletics has already seen success and honors for its many student-athletes.

The football team has seen multiple division one transfers this semester. Defensive back Ronald Fields has signed with Hawaii, linebacker Justin Sagote has signed with Washington State, and offen-sive lineman Charles Ragland has signed with Colorado State.

Bulldog softball has seen a multitude of early success as well, leading the state with a 24-3 record. The only blemish is a 3-2 loss in their Coast North conference opener against DeAnza.

“We’re allowed one loss and we wasted it on the first try,” said head coach Nicole Borg on her team’s chances for a conference title.

Despite the defeat, playing as well they have with a team of mostly freshman is an accomplishment, said Borg.

Of the freshmen, is pitcher Mi-chele Pilister who leads the state with 15 wins and 101 strikeouts as of press time. Among the of-fensive leaders are catcher Jamie Navarro and first baseman Vika Kafoa. Navarro leads the starters, hitting .398 with 4 homers and 20

RBIs. Kafoa, a sophomore, has hit .365 with 5 home runs and 24 RBI.

“This is the most coachable team I’ve had here,” said Borg.

On the baseball diamond the Bulldogs (10-7) have a solid record and are tied for 1st in the Golden Gate conference, despite some early bumps in the road.

“I’m pretty satisfied with where are,” said head coach Doug Wil-liams citing the tough state wide play.

Pitching and defense have been the Bulldog’s strong points, with of-fense notably lacking in most major categories. Pitching ace Clay Bauer has a 1-3 record, but has main-tained a solid 3.45 ERA through six starts. Bauer also averages over ten strikeouts a game. Freshmen Joe Armstrong and Brandon Defazzio lead the team with batting averages of .375 and .328 respectively.

CSM track and field has been another success story with siblings Josh and Nikki Uikilifi finishing #2nd in Northern California’s men’s hammer throw and #1 in Northern California’s women’s javelin, respectively. Josh Uikilifi had dra-matically increased his best in the hammer throw to a school-record of 174.2 feet.

“You never quite know with those technical events,” said head coach Joe Magnan.

Fanaika (right) talks with LSU head coach Les Miles during his visit.Photo courtesy of Facebook

Photo by Alexis Madayag of The San MateanThe CSM softball team has a California-best record of 24-3 in 2012.

Two years after making that com-mitment, he is one of the most sought-after junior college lineman.

“(The coaching staff at CSM) helped me as far as education and going to the next level,” said Fanaika.

“There’s 14,000 high schools in America so recruiters can’t make it to all of them,” said Tulloch, “We sign 20 guys a year just like Hoko who were overlooked and didn’t get any offers. Here, they develop and get those offers. We take a lot of pride in that.”

A three-star recruit, Fanaika’s decision to sign with LSU is notable in multiple ways. He is just the sec-ond Bulldog in recent years to sign with an SEC school (Punter Bryan Powers signed with Mississippi in 2006) and is also believed to be the first member of the LSU football team to be of Tongan descent.

Fanaika joins linebacker Justin Sagote, offensive tackle Charles

Fehoko Fanaika

Spring sportsenjoying success CSM Baseball vs. West Valley College

Tuesday, Mar. 27, 2:30 p.m.West Valley College

CSM Softball vs. West ValleyTuesday, Mar. 27, 3 p.m.CSM Softball Field

CSM Swimming - Solano InvitationalSaturday, Mar. 31, 10 a.m.Solano Community College Kids TriathlonSunday, Apr. 1, 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.Building 05, Swimming Pool

Sports Briefs

By Shaun CarmodyThe San Matean

See LSU on page 6

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opiNioN & pubLiC forum The SAN MATEAN • Page 8March 19, 2011

Back Talkby Ian Mitchell and Vicky Gomez

Vincenzo Hagiperos, 19Math, Half Moon Bay“Not very well. I spend 90 bucks on a ¾ tank, and it’s only a 4 cylinder car, so I only use the car for school, I walk and take the bus a lot.”

Andrew Buckley, 19Mechanical Engineering, Bribane

“Get a job and spend gas wisely.”

William Caho, 18Music, San Mateo“It has gotten so bad that I don’t even drive, but it could be good for the environment and economics.”

Mike Darrow, 20Creative Writing, Millbrae

“I still just pay it and deal with it, but Iran really needs to cut it out.”

Naomi Clayto, 20Business, Half Moon Bay

“Well, carpooling, to save money on gas!”

Arman Talwar, 19Business, Foster City“You can drive less and just walk, hang out at the park or something, or try and find someone to car pool.”

How do you cope with gas prices?

the san matean is a First Amendment newspaper published bi-weekly during the academic year by the DGME 260, 261, 265 and 270 students at College of San Mateo as a medium for campus communication and laboratory for classes. Opinions, letters and commentary reflect only the opinion of the writer, and not necessarily the opinion of the san matean. Letters to the Editor and opinion articles are welcome, although they may be edited for style, space, content and libel. Mail or deliver letters to Building 10, Room 180, 1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402. Telephone: 650-574-6330. E-mail: sanmatean@smccd.edu. All letters must be signed and accompanied by phone numbers or addresses to verify authorship. Names may be withheld upon request. Advertising that conforms to San Mateo County Community College District regulations is welcome. the san matean reserves the right to refuse advertising. Single copies are free —additional copies 25 cents each.

the saN mateaN is printed thanks to a generous donation of printing services by the San Francisco Newspaper Company

and Todd A. Vogt, President and Publisher.

CollegeMember ofCalifornia

NewspaperPublishers

Association

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Founded in 1928

San MateanTHE

California College

Media As-sociation

• ExcEllEncE in Journalism, sociEty of ProfEssional Journalists, norcal, 2011

• GEnEral ExcEllEncE, nEwsPaPEr, Jacc norcal, 2011• GEnEral ExcEllEncE, wEbsitE, Jacc norcal, 2011

aDviseR: Ed Remitz

aDveRtising: Melissa Berger(415) 359-2721

mberger@sfexaminer.com

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VisuaLs editor

shaun CaRmoDy

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staff:Monica Airo, Larisse Borelli, Vicky Diaz, Dom Ellis,

Tamara Gomez, Amanda Lennon, Erin Mahlstedt, Barbara Martin, Greg Marshall, Alexis Mayadag, Carlos Mesquita, Ian Mitchell, Manuel Orbegozo, Ryan Patron, Angela Peterson, Alex Pulisci

It is as if someone went into your wallet without your permission and took out 2 twenties and 3 ones. Right here on the campus we are experiencing a financial invasion. In San Francisco, parking attendants are referred to as vultures. More of a game to dodge the outright blatant theft of cash from residents and tourists alike.

The game starts out innocent enough, the locality sells parking permits with the marketing angle that it gives those who live or work in the permitted area the first right of parking spaces. Within a few years, the low-price parking permit skyrockets to outrageous fees. Individuals learn that it is not a guaranteed space but rather a right to hunt license. Then, in no time everyone dodges the parking citations.

I often wonder how this improves society. Does my neighbor, who circled for 45 minutes to find a spot, really deserve a ticket for having the front bumper align with the down slope of the driveway curb? Does the citation make the zone a safer place?

The electronic meters give the parking department an even greater advantage, they no longer have to circle the zone in search of expired meters. The new meters alert a station attendant to the exact expired space and by then time they arrive the ticket is printed out and placed on the car within seconds. Really, you just spent $3.25 in quarters to pay for your right to park in the spot for just under an hour. Since you did not make it back by the strike of the clock, do you deserve a $63 ticket?

In order to cover the costs involved in purchasing the metering vehicles, accountants to monitor the cash flow, payroll, office space, judges to hear contested citations, the fees continue to rise. So this must be adding more of a service to the community.

The manner in which cities have handled parking zones is definitely not viewed so much as a service for community safety but rather another money making model for the jurisdiction. In essence it is a voluntary tax, until you receive a citation. The tax then becomes not so voluntary.

A parking permit for the entire semester at CSM is $40. Yet if just once, you leave your car unattended, the safety police can leave a love note on your windshield in the form of a $43 citation. When I returned to my car, I was shocked by the blatant action to reach into my wallet. I contested the citation and it was ruled invalid. I did not have to pay, but it still wasted nearly 3 hours on my time in researching the parking rules and drafting the challenge to the citation. So I wonder to myself, how many other students are getting random tickets on campus? How much of a money maker is this for the campus? How much does the contractor who processes the tickets make off your wallet?

— Barbara MartinThe San Matean

spin CyCle

Empty wallets for empty spaces

A flier posted by ASCSM was hung from the stairs outside Building 16 in support of the March in March protests a couple of weeks ago. The words “Call of Duty” were written across the flier in order to garner attention from students. The phrase covered the majority of the poster, making it appear to only have those words and no other information. A letter to the editor of The San Matean, printed March 5, called the use of the phrase “immature.”

The sign can be viewed as “immature” because it is a reference to “the call of duty,” to serve in a war. To veterans, the words invoke a dif-ferent type of emotion. When used by someone trying to make a sign to gather people together, it can be viewed as an insult.

“Call of Duty” becomes just another cliche in political activism, like “we’re the 99 percent” or “blood for oil.” Similarly, there is a game called “Call of Duty” that abuses the term, which is now a popular trademarked video game series.

No strong point about the cause is made by using this statement. Just a phrase hangs on the wall as it suggest a different meaning for some-thing else not clearly written on the poster. It is big, it is there, and it says “Call of Duty.”

Fliers with information could have been passed out or talk of the event. Instead, one sign with an uncreative slogan forces one to just read a term that means you must stand up to die for your country, not to stand up and die for political activism.

editorialWhose “Call of Duty”?

First Amendment updAte

Contrived classes? The San Matean is continuing with First Amendment updates, report-ing on an ongoing dispute with the administration regarding the future of its newspaper and website. The San Matean plans to meet with James Carranza, Academic Senate President, to discuss the restructuring of the Digital Media Program and the creation of DGME 101: Writing Across the Media and DGME 102: Mass Media Law and Ethics. The San Matean is concerned with the creation of these classes and the enforcement of them into journalism adviser Ed Remitz’s Faculty Service Areas. The newspaper is also interested to discover what these classes mean for the future of the journalism program. The San Matean is investigating why these courses were created because if DGME 101 is redundant with newswriting, as it says in the Program Improvement and Viability report, enforcing these classes in these FSAs could potentially pave the way for the elimination of the journalism program. The paper is questioning why DGME 102 was created when it does not transfer for journalism to four-year colleges and universities. The San Matean will continue to investigate this issue.The San Matean will continue to publish its newspaper and website under the current Digital Media Program. The lat-est updates can be found on our website, www.sanmatean.com.