Evan FitzGerald, Staff Reporter

evan_fitzgerald@csumb.edu

Despite a nearly sellout crowd the Otters were not able to finish their last home game of the season with a win, falling to CSU Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) 56-53 at the Kelp Bed on March 4.   It was a playoff atmosphere at the Kelp Bed, and the crowd was able to get into the game early. From the get go it was a close game, with many lead changes throughout the first half. Neither team was able to achieve a huge advantage, though the Otters were able to hang in the game despite not hitting their three point shots in the beginning minutes. Juston Willis, a senior and Business major had 10 of his game leading 16 points in the first half and the score was tied 29-29 at the break.  The second half started much like the first, neither team able to obtain an advantage, the crowd backing the Otters all the way. The Otters played their hardest against a larger team with several players taller then the five on the floor from the Otters. Due to several missed calls and turnovers in the final minutes, CSUDH was able to pull away and win the game 56-53.  “I feel like they gave it all they had,” said Lewis Hall, a Sophomore Psychology major. “They should have given me the striped shirt and let me ref because I could have done way better.”  This ends a chapter in the history of the men’s basketball program in its first year of California Collegiate Athletic Association eligibility. After going on a winning streak they were able to make it to the playoffs in the first year it was possible. With the season finished this was the last game that will be played in the gym this season, as the floor and bleachers are going to be replaced.   For more information about Otter basketball visit: www.otterathletics.com.

Jessica Diers, Staff Reporter

jessica_diers@csumb.edu

March 3, 2008

History hides in plain sight of CSU Monterey Bay (CSUMB) students. In the center of downtown Monterey off of Alvarado Street stands the legendary Golden State Theater. Built in 1925, it is genuinely significant to various locals who have watched it evolve over the decades.
Plush red carpets line the entrance of the theater and lead into an auditorium, which is capable of holding 1,600 people. The Golden State was once the largest theatre between San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 1926, 25 percent of Monterey’s population could be entertained by performers on its stage. It was said to be the Titanic of the theatre world. While once a symbol of beauty and elegance in the bay, the Golden State Theatre has seen a decline in attendance in recent years. In an effort to rekindle the romance hidden in its wings, the theatre management has begun to distinguish the theatre as a historical building, and hopes to catch the eyes of the Monterey youth.  The theater started playing double feature films on weekends for $8 a ticket and the shows start around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. Recently, the theater has played movies including “Moulin Rouge,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever.” For the same price as a single movie, audiences can have double the fun with double features weekend evenings. During Feb. 16 through 29 the Golden State Theatre will be hosting Monterey Sci-Fi Film Week.  Over a span of two weeks the theatre will be playing various science fiction movies, including “Independence Day” and “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.” Students are offered a two-week film pass for $25.   After Sci-Fi Film week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays are reserved for concerts, occasionally including an orchestra. This month, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggar, Rufus Wainwright and Garrison Keillor played concerts in the theater.  Another aspect of the Golden State theatre is that it houses a young nondenominational church called “Monterey Church.” The Monterey Church awakens sleepy-eyed churchgoers on Sunday mornings by performing Christian rock. The music is a staple of the early morning activities beginning at 10:45 am. This is the first church to make the theatre their home.  Freshman Liberal Studies major, Caitie Wells works the front desk at the cinema. “It’s time to get students involved in the Golden State Theatre because it is a vital part of Monterey, and getting students involved will keep it thriving,” said Wells.   Wells said she began working for the theatre because of her passion for its history and movies in general.  She continued that the theatre is an inexpensive date idea, and its historical walls could create a romantic getaway for students.  The Golden State Theatre has enabled concerts, orchestras and various films to be exclusively available to the residents of Monterey. This historic building stands firm, and after years of renovation and reconstruction, has remained loyal to Alvarado Street. It continues, waiting, craving and anticipating a vast influx of CSUMB’s students and the general public.
Tickets for concerts and information on upcoming events are available online at www.goldenstatetheatre.com.

Mary Freeman, Managing Editor

Mary_Freeman@csumb.edu

Feb.28, 2008

Any doubts that the Internet has completely changed our society have been put to rest on Feb. 10, when an Internet “group” known as Anonymous held a worldwide protest against Scientology. What makes this event so momentous is the so-called “group,” regardless of what major media outlets report, is not really a group at all. According to one member of Anonymous, the phenomenon of Anonymous is more accurately described as a culture than a group, and the culture exists entirely on the Internet. Anonymous is the name adopted by many people who post on various image boards and forums on the Internet, and talk through Internet Relay Chat, IRC. There is little to no communication between Anonymous outside of the Internet, no hierarchy system, and no infrastructure.
Many members of Anonymous often cite the Church of Scientology’s special copyrights on materials, which are privileges other churches do not receive, as well as various alleged human rights violations, including Scientology’s “fair game policy,” stating members of the church are sanctioned to take any action they feel necessary against people they feel are a threat to the church. A deeper look into the recent activities on the related image boards shows the feud between Anonymous and Scientology began when a Scientology orientation video featuring Tom Cruise was leaked to Youtube. com. Scientology put pressure on Youtube. com to ban the video, which they eventually did, and Anonymous members felt this was a misuse of copyright law. According to encylopediadramatica.com, a wiki-style website devoted to cataloguing everything associated with Anonymous culture, on Jan. 16, 2008, Project Chanology, the self-given name for Anonymous’ attack on Scientology, began with various videos being uploaded and circulated on the Internet warning Scientologists that Anonymous would be aiming for the Church’s demise. Soon after, members of Anonymous began initiating “denial of service” attacks, a method of crashing a website by overburdening its server with information requests, on some of Scientology’s websites. The project shifted gears and became more centered around dissemination of information about the Church when many confidential, instructional documents, that Scientologists must pay for to see, were leaked onto the Internet. The first attacks, in real life, were protests held in Orlando, FL on Jan. 26 and Feb. 2, as well as the world wide protest Feb. 10, in front of various Churches of Scientology. On Mar. 15 another worldwide protest is being planned. This is not the first time members of Anonymous have attacked others. They have been associated with the downfall of Hal Turner, an Internet radio host popular among racist and fascist groups, and Chris Forcand, a Canadian pedophile. However, someone visiting websites frequented by members of Anonymous will not find discussion of social justice, but rather threads regarding “memes,” images and sayings popular within the Anonymous community. The images and topics of discussion are often obscene, yet still diverse, ranging from child pornography, murders and suicide to kittens and cartoons. Most of the threads found on Anonymousrelated websites regarding Scientology, Turner and Forcand, comment more on the hilarity of the situations rather than any social ills they feel the three stand for. It is hard to ascertain whether Anonymous does what it does for humor or justice. Photos by Greg Tomaschesk i Worldwide protest against Scientology held Feb. 10 The multiplicity of the culture may contribute to the sometimes contradictory and often false depictions of the group in the media. In an attempt at humor or in an effort to keep the culture virtually unknown, many of Anonymous have given out false information to media outlets. The information often has something to do with a “meme.” For instance, the LA Times reported in an article titled “Scientology feud with its critics takes to the Internet” the, “group is a loose confederation of about 9,000 people.” This figure is more than likely taken from a Dragon Ball Z “meme,” in which a main character yells, “It’s over 9,000!” In the past, Fox News has referred to the group as “hackers on steroids,” in a very intense, investigative series, which became a “meme” of its own. The series painted the community as a group of hackers terrorizing innocents on the Internet for fun. What the series failed to realize, is that there is no organization to Anonymous, and there is no singular motivation for the group. To some Anonymous members the serious media coverage is comical. One who considers himself a part of Anonymous, and thus chose to remain anonymous stated, “I don’t think it should be represented in any way in the media. All their efforts to stereotype us as ‘cyber bullies’ or vigilantes for justice are really funny, it makes me laugh.”

Ricky Welshiemer, Assistant News Editor

Richard_Welshiemer@csumb.edu

Feb. 28, 2008

CSU Monterey Bay (CSUMB) students might be surprised to receive lawsuit letters from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for illegally downloading music. According to RIAA, 18 universities nationwide were sent pre-litigation settlement letters. Among those universities was CSUMB, which received 25 letters. The letters were sent by Holme Roberts & Owen Attorneys at Law (HRO) to CSUMB and were to be distributed to the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that were downloading the music illegally. All of the letters are addressed to IP addresses and as of right now HRO does not know any of the names that are connected to them. According to the settlement letter, recipients of the letter will have 20 days to settle before the case is taken to a Federal Court. The letters offer the option to settle the claims for a significantly reduced amount compared to what they will ask for if the suit is filed. If the students choose not to do anything or decide to go to court, HRO will subpoena for their names and information. The letter then states two things that the recipients of the letter should take into consideration before deciding what action to take. The first consideration is to inform them that if the case is taken to court for each illegal song that had been downloaded the minimum fine they will be charged is $750. The second is to obtain and preserve the evidence that is being charged against them. A CSUMB student who would like to remain anonymous due to the fact that his case is still pending, has been accused of illegally downloading and sharing 1,348 songs. According to the first consideration in the letter, if he were to go to court and lose, he would be fined roughly $1 million. However, he has declared that he has never illegally downloaded music and is being wrongfully accused. Students living in the East Campus housing are required to register with CSUMB ResNet (OtterNet), which is CSUMB’s Internet network. The accused student installed a wireless network in his residence so he and his roommates could use their laptops freely throughout the apartment. After installing the wireless network in his apartment, he allowed anybody in a certain range to have access to his Internet. The student claims that a resident nearby had been connecting to his wireless network and that he or she had been downloading the music illegally. The anonymous CSUMB student contacted HRO to see what the reduced settlement would be and was told he would owe $3,000 before the 20 days were up. He wrote a letter to them and has contacted Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Subpoena Defense, lawyers who claim to defend Internet users, to help him fight his case. The student said he is being wrongfully accused of something he has not done and feels that no matter what he chooses to do he will be losing money over something that he was not a part of. The main goal of RIAA is to protect the ability of the recording industry and allow legal online services to prosper. “If you violate the law and steal from record companies, musicians, songwriters and everyone else involved in making music, you can be held accountable. With so many great legal music options available, there is really no excuse for music theft. Fans have a choice: pay a little now or a lot more later,” said RIAA. For more information on the lawsuits and/or on Recording Industry Association of America’s fight against piracy visit their website at www.riaa.com.

Patrick Makenen, Staff Reporter

Patrick_Makensen@csumb.edu

Feb.28, 2008

In the past months a number of Associated Student (AS) members have resigned from their duties as part of the student government. These members include Matt Flores the Multicultural Senator, Xana Hermosillo, Otter Student Union Chair, Simona Deprindini, the ICC secretary, and Emily Oberhiem the personnel chair. Like most students, Hermosillo has many duties including work, classes and being a member of other clubs on campus such as the environmental club. Hermosillo stated “There are a lot of expectations attached to this job and I knew this semester would be much more stressful for me.” This has not allowed for her to do the job as an AS member efficiently. “There were not a lot of people helping us and it seemed opposition was always in our way,” she continued. “It will be hard to completely detach from AS since I have been doing it for three years now, so I am still working with [AS Advisor] Greg Lehr.” Flores and other members have not commented on their resignation as AS members. Replacements for these four slots this semester is still unknown. Robert Graham AS president and junior said, “Until we figure out someone who can fill in, other members of AS will be covering the positions that are now empty. It is not efficient to train a new student to take over one of these AS titles this far into the fiscal year, especially with elections right around the corner.” Although Oberhiem has stepped down from her position she is still working on the AS elections that will be taking place after Spring break. “Election packets will be available by the beginning of March,” she said. “Students can email me on first class if they want more information.”

Patrick Makenen, Staff Reporter

Patrick_Makenen@csumb.edu
On Jan. 10 in acknowledgment of a $14 billion deficit facing California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called for an acrossthe- board 10 percent budget reduction for all state agencies. For the California State University (CSU), this translates to a $312.9 million reduction in the 2008-09 budget, which was approved by the Board of Trustees last November.
For CSU Monterey Bay it is too soon to know exactly how much the budget for next year will be reduced, as the legislative process will continue for the next six to eight months before a final decision will be made. If the 2008-09 state budget and the anticipated reductions follow, CSUMB will no longer be in a position to increase enrollment as it has done in previous years and may need to increase student fees for all attendees. “The reduction in enrollment due to the Mar. 1 freezing of new applications will result in less money for CSUMB next semester,” stated Jack Jewitt, the vice president of University Advancement. “You must realize that one third of the budget money is set aside for student aid which will now be reduced, helping less people with university tuition and student fees.” This funding reduction comes three years after the CSU budget was reduced by over $500 million creating serious implications on providing an educated workforce that drives the California economy. CSU graduates nearly 90,000 students into the state’s workforce each year and supplies the majority of workers in key industries such as nursing, teaching, agriculture, business, public administrations and technology. For every dollar the state invests in the CSU, $4.41 is generated in economic activity. The CSU system has asked for revenue to increase enrollment by 2.5 percent or 10,000 students for 2008/09 which was not included in the newly proposed budget. This means 10,000 qualified students will not have the opportunity to attend a CSU because schools will not be able to offer them a slot at any campus. “Students are among the best advocates for university education. Students can become civically engaged in public policy. I believe advocacy is the best choice for change,” said Jewitt. Students at CSUMB are starting to get involved with this issue. Robert Graham, Associated Student president and junior said, “Members of AS have passed a resolution against it and will be voicing our opinion to stop this.” Emerald Mayo, the AS Representative for State Wide Affairs, is heading a group of students planned to leave on April 21 to Sacramento to protest with students from many other CSU’s in front of the capital against this budget reduction. Students wanting to get involved with this issue are asked to join Mayo or write a letter or email to the governor, state representative and local governments stating their opinion.

Johanna Estrella, Staff Reporter

Johanna_Estrella@csumb.edu

Feb. 28, 2008

An invitation was sent to the CSU Monterey Bay (CSUMB) community to review and attend the third presentation of the Fiscal Year 2007-2008 General Fund Budget (GFB) on Thurs., Feb. 14. The presentation took place at the University Center, and was held by James E. Main, vice president for Administration and Finance, along with John Fitzgibbon, associate vice president for Finance. Presenters broadly went over how the base operating fund for the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year ($69,545,267) has been affected by the state budget cuts, and how CSUMB has been coping with the numbers given. Although there has been an increase in revenue of about $7 million from last year’s GFB, CSUMB’s reserve is significantly lower than other institutions. A reserve is a significant amount of money that is put aside for any unforeseen expenses. While ideally the institution’s reserve is about 10 percent of the GFB, CSUMB’s reserve is less than 5 percent. Most of the money from the operating fund comes mainly from taxes, fees, and trust funds, and the original numbers are divided among different CSUMB divisions. A Budget Advisory Group (BAG) for 2007-2008 Fiscal Year met from March to August last year with 10 meetings total, at which time they reviewed the GFB of last year to see where the money would be likely to move this year. A final budget review was presented to the president on Aug. 30 after the state budget had been signed. The largest increase found was in student affairs ($1,106,718), and the lowest in University advancement ($4,321). The expenditure is also used to pay off onetime expenses, such as the new library. The presentation showed 57 percent of GFB goes to paying personnel salaries, 21 percent goes to benefits and 22 percent goes to operating expenses such as electricity, facilities, contractual services and etcetera. Main explained in recent years a college education has undergone some changes. The state once paid about 90 percent of college expenses to students needing to pay about one third of their educational fees. While tuition increases each year, one third of the funds from those increases go to a state grant for financial aid. Still, it depends on how things are seen since the same money goes back into the school. Main described how “limited revenues make it impossible for academic planning,” and went on to explain his frustrations with the state after government agencies were asked to take a 10 percent cut, while the state has better prisons than educational facilities. Rudy Medina, a third year Humanities and Communication (HCOM) major said although the budget cuts have not affected him directly, he easily sees how they have affected CSUMB as a whole. As a student leader, Medina explained he does not understand the lack of funding when making an event, since tuition and enrollment has increased since he first arrived in 2005. “There are several complaints about CSUMB, how it lacks events and student participation and the budget cuts have not help solve the problem,” said Medina. He also explained how some students are suffering from the budget cuts, stating that some students who miss grants “are hit the hardest because they make enough money not to get financial aid, but not enough money to pay for college” said Medina. They have to take several loans, investments, and these investments sometimes scare students into not attending four year universities or transferring into a four year college. During the presentation, Main stated his two goals are to find a way to increase the university reserve and work better with the budget deficit since we are “living on this band aid.” The current budget allows no room for any expense to come up during the year, whether a guest speaker or any other unforeseen expense. Still, CSUMB sets money aside for these issues which help the financial situation.

Elaine Schumacher, Staff Reporter

Elaine_Schumacher@csumb.edu

Feb.28, 2008

The CSU Monterey Bay (CSUMB) Student Leadership in Service Learning program will host College Access Weekend, an event inviting middle school students from the Tri County area to spend the weekend on campus Mar. 8 and 9. Young students will take part in activities covering the college admission process, financial aid and leadership skills that will help them be successful in college. Gilbert Salazar, an Integrated Studies senior and student leader of the event, said they are expecting 50 students from Harden and Youth Alive, Salinas, Chular, South County; and King Middle Schools. “The weekend is designed to ensure that local students, who may not have the means to attend college, will receive encouragement and support. It also gives the student leaders a chance to mentor and share their experiences about college with the middle school students,” Salazar said. The weekend will begin with a group lunch along with some icebreaking activities, followed with a tour of the campus and a financial aid workshop. The leadership staff has developed some self-awareness exercises such as a parody of the game show, “Jeopardy.” The day will conclude with pizza, a movie and board games at the gym. Zach Walker, a Mathematics sophomore added, “I am helping with the event as an action project to show the students that college life is not just drinking and partying.” On Sunday, the students will participate in the service leaning aspect of the weekend. Education outreach group Return of the Natives, will teach the students about invasive plant species like ice plant, and their negative effects on the environment. Afterward, the Ice Plant Olympics will begin and students, working in teams, will see which team can pull out the most ice plant. “This event is important to me because I feel that students need to be outreached for college prep before high school. I plan on becoming a teacher in this area and I can see the benefit of this project for students,” said Kristen Costello, a College Access leader and Liberal Arts Major 2007 graduate. “The weekend will conclude with an ethnically diverse panel of CSUMB students answering questions from the students. The panel will be moderated and the students can submit questions about college or anything else they may be curious about,” said Salazar. Certificates will then be presented from the CSUMB Leadership staff, and information packets will be given to parents. “Over the course of the weekend some of the middle school students may decide that college is not for them and decide to look into trade schools instead,” said Salazar. The purpose of College Access Weekend is to give middle school students as much information as possible in order for them to make decisions about their future. This year’s event is being funded entirely by donations. Local businesses including Whole Foods Market will be sponsoring the event’s breakfast; Target, Safeway and Wal- Mart have also contributed food and supplies for the students.

Patrick Makenen, Staff Reporter

Patrick_Makensen@csumb.edu

Feb. 28, 2008

CSU Monterey Bay (CSUMB) president Dianne Harrison has announced the appointment of Scott Faust to the newly created position of executive director of strategic communications. He will join the university on March 3. “Strategic communications for our campus will have oversight of our external [how we communicate with local communities, and local, state, and national media] and internal [how, what and when we communicate to our campus] communication systems. This includes our publications, website, general university public relations and crisis communications,” Harrison stated. “Scott’s experience is an excellent fit with CSUMB’s needs,” said Harrison. “I’m  excited that he’s agreed to lead our strategic communications efforts. In Scott, we have a talented and experienced administrator who shares our commitment to student success.” Faust comes to the university after a career in journalism. He was general manager and executive editor of “The Salinas Californian” and Salinas Newspapers, Inc., which also publishes a website, TheCalifornian.com, the Spanish-language newspaper “El Sol” and a variety of other publications. He assumed his previous position in January 2006. Prior to the position of general manager, Faust joined “The Salinas Californian” as executive editor in 2000, continuing a career in newspaper journalism that began in 1982 following his graduation from the University of Kansas. He spent 21 years working at various newspapers owned by Gannett Co. Inc., including stints at “The Detroit News,” “The Rockford (Ill.) Register Star,” the “Visalia Times-Delta,” the “Reno Gazette-Journal,” and at the “Wichita (Kan.) Eagle.” “My background in journalism, editing and managing has helped me prepare for this job by connecting me with the community,” Faust stated. “This is my first job in higher education and I plan to start by gathering information, talking with students and faculty and learning how people see this University. From there I will be able to better understand what needs to be done to enhance the schools image and communication internally and externally. The website will have a part in this.” At CSUMB, Faust will develop and implement a comprehensive strategic communications program. He will be responsible for all aspects of marketing, publications which included the website, and public relations. “I hope to cultivate understanding on what’s going on at this great school, build on pride, and do my part to continue what this school strives for, making an influence in a multicultural community,” said Faust.

 Johanna Estrella, Staff Reporter

Johanna_Estrella@csumb.edu

Feb.28, 2008

At CSU Monterey Bay (CSUMB) the attendance policy is a questionable issue amongst students and faculty. At a university level, grading upon attendance is optional for professors to do in their classrooms. After questioning 15 CSUMB professors to confirm the attendance policy, the majority answered with a simple, “I don’t know,” or no response at all. Kathryn Cruz-Uribe, provost and vice president of Student Affairs was one CSUMB staff member to respond. “There is no system-wide nor university-wide policy that states whether or not a faculty member can factor attendance into a course grade,” said Cruz-Uribe. CSUMB faculty members usually state their attendance policy in the individual class syllabus at the beginning of their course for students to abide by. Faculties who decide not to count attendance when grading usually do so because they think that it is the students responsibility to come to class and participate in their financial investment of their education. Professors do count attendance, however, see the situation differently. An anonymous staff member responded, experience prove, “those who do not attend also do not turn in the assignments and cannot receive participation points… Students have a responsibility to attend and participate. Significant absences hurt the individual student and the class as a whole.” Dr. Maria Villasenor, a professor of Chicano Studies in the department of Humanities and Communication, stated that it is legitimate to count participation. Villasenor explained that attendance is important because students contribute to lectures and their opinion is vital for everyone else to hear in class. Notes and assignments are not the only thing that Villasenor considers important. She also said giving participation points rewards students for coming to class and showing their commitment. She stated that she constantly makes class interesting so students want to come and attend, because of these efforts class attendance is high for her. Overall, CSUMB professors agreed when counting attendance it is hard if there are small numbers of students participating in classroom activities and lectures.