A.S. BRIEF 9-23-08

Joyce Byun and Gabriel Ruiz were nominated to represent Associated Students as the candidates for Homecoming King and Queen for the jungle-themed Homecoming 2008. The winner will be revealed during the Half-time show at Qualcomm Stadium when San Diego State plays Colorado State on Saturday, Oct. 25.

Rock the Vote, will be educating students about their options in the historic election on Nov. 4. The A.S. program will be hosting a candidate forum to be held at SDSU in Aztec Center Casa Real at 2 p.m. tomorrow. The candidates will be Jeff Perwin who is running for the State Senate, Marty Block and John McCann who are running for the State Assembly. Todd Gloria and Stephen Whitburn, also candidates in the forum, are running for the San Diego City Council.

This week's council meeting aims to take student politics outside onto the Free Speech Steps in an effort to boost student interest. Every council member was challenged to bring a friend and President Stephen L. Weber is expected to be in attendance. The meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m tomorrow.

Last call for on-campus pub

Media Credit: James Norton, Staff Photographer

Louie's Suds & Sun Pub, a San Diego State icon for more than 30 years, will likely lose its place on campus this May because of the Associated Students' program known as Modern Space.

Modern Space is a plan to upgrade the Aztec Center and add 20,000 square feet of improvements to the Student Union. The projected renovations will begin in Spring 2009.

The bar, a student favorite, will have to close down because of the improvements.

Pub owner Louie Holton said that he was warned against getting involved in any "student upheaval" against closing the bar and that it would reflect badly on securing a new lease.
"They want a smooth transition and they don't want protests," Holton said. "They don't want the students' voice to be heard or they don't want me to be a part of the students' voice, which I'm not. I think the students should know what's going on their campus; this is their student center."

Speaking at the A.S. Council meeting Wednesday, psychology senior and Louie's pub employee Joseph Kowalow offered an impassioned plea to save the pub.

"This is a for-the-students, by-the-students council," Kowalow said. "You're here for us and we are here because we want your support to help save, move or relocate Louie's."
Kowalow was told that the council was not prepared to give an answer at this time, but a response came soon afterward by SDSU officials. On Friday morning, there was a meeting between Holton and R.D. Williams, Director of Communications and Campus Relations for Aztec Shops, which administers the food services under a contract with A.S.

Holton, an SDSU alumni, was told that there were neither plans for an interim pub nor was there a suitable location, according to Williams.

Holton said that over the years, Aztec Shops has cut the pub's hours, prevented him from opening on Saturdays and reduced the size of the outside patio.

Williams said A.S. has made every effort to inform students about the renovation, which will begin in the spring of 2009. He also said that Holton has been aware of the plans.

"We have been talking with Louie on and off for the last two years, saying that at the time the (Aztec) center undergoes construction, that all the businesses in there would close," Williams said. "Louie has known for quite awhile now that this was coming."

The pub is a fan favorite with students and has also maintained a good relationship with the university for many years, factors that should not be overlooked, Holton said.

Modern Space will upgrade the Aztec Center with healthier dining options as well as a wish list of student features like a 24-hour computer and study lounge, multi-purpose theater and a satellite fitness center, Aztec Center Director Lynn Cacha said.

The campus is overcrowded with narrowing class and eating space, a problem that is only going to get worse. The renovation is one strategy to give students some much-needed breathing room, Williams said.

"One of the reasons that both the A.S and Aztec Shops is excited about the new building is that it gives us a chance to upgrade and improve the quality and probably the efficiency of the whole operation," Williams said. "We're going to be having to look creatively at every inch of space available in the campus just to make sure that people have a place to have lunch. That's our biggest challenge right now."

SDSU has a reputation as a party school, something that has reflected unfairly on the pub, Holton said. He was quick to point out that the pub was not the problem but rather underage and unsupervised drinking in the residence halls, something that SDSU is currently addressing.

"This is about the students losing an icon, something that has been here for 30 years and has not been the problem on this campus," Holton said. "Change is inevitable, things happen, but why change something that is not broken?"

Child care event to help parents find sitters

Media Credit: Courtesy of Grins2Go

To the modern mother with two kids, a job and difficulty finding quality child care: Professor Victoria Muschek would like an evening of your time.

Muschek, who is an advertising professor at San Diego State and a mother of three, wants to make connecting parents and baby sitters into an event where parents can locate the right child care provider and do it with style. The concept is similar to speed dating for sitters, or "speed meet" as Sitter Socials has trademarked it. A parent spends a fun-filled evening at a local store, where games and food are provided and conducts informal whirlwind interviews of baby sitters.

Muschek, who founded the company, said that the Social is not just a place for parents to find the right sitter, but is also a valuable experience for students who are looking for employment.

"It was a way to marry my two worlds," Muschek said. "My world of being a mother is something me and my friends struggle with - trying to find baby sitters. I also know a lot of my students are looking for flexible jobs."

The idea of connecting her needs with those of her students seemed obvious once she really thought about it.

"One day, I was struggling to find a baby sitter for my 14-month-old boy, Bobby," Muschek said. "I walked into my classroom of about 100 students and thought, 'Hey, there are a lot of potential baby sitters here.' There has to be a way for students to meet parents."

Nationwide in scope, Sitter Socials gives members a "Sitter Sourcebook" containing résumés and background checks of prospective sitters. There is a one-time $49.99 price tag for membership and an additional monthly fee of $5.95 that would begin three months after joining. The costs of child care may be determined by some haggling between parent and sitter, because Sitter Socials does not get involved in setting prices at the events.

In the age of child care scandals and nanny cams, baby sitters have to work much harder to maintain a trustworthy image. Robin Judd, SDSU Children's Center director, said that the most important parts of any evaluation of child care providers are background checks - a service that Sitter Socials offers - and getting to know as much about the sitter as possible.

Maricela Araiza, owner of Sunflower's Family Child Care in San Diego said she was skeptical of Sitter Socials because paying for membership in order to hire an unknown baby sitter seems both risky and costly.

Muschek recommends that parents give Sitter Socials a try because it gives them something that modern parents often lack - choices.

"It's a job fair for baby sitters," Muschek said. "It's about parents picking and choosing who's the right fit for their family, and the baby sitters picking and choosing which family is right for them."

Muschek said going to Sitter Social meetings improves the usually daunting task of searching for a baby sitter.

"Childcare databases are a little impersonal," she said. "Even if I do see someone, I have to set up a meeting with them. Then I have to get them to meet my kids, and if I don't click with them then … it's a waste of my time."

The Sitter Socials event will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21. For more information, visit its Web site at www.sittersocials.com.

A.S. Brief 9-15-08

These are busy times for Associated Students, the student organization charged with promoting student interests, managing San Diego State clubs, maintaining many of its facilities and overseeing a $20 million budget.

This week, the council had its first three-hour-long meeting on the first floor of the Aztec Center.

Here are some highlights.

New positions filled

Sixteen councilmembers, some new and others returning, were sworn in for the fall semester. They are Veronica Vences, Jeremy Katz, Jeremy Mendelsohn, Daniel Brown, Abraham Pineda, Veronica Antonio, Raina DeGuzman, Makala-Paris Keys, Loan Nguyen, Giovanna Tabares, Tyler Boden, Jazmin Lua, Albert Gonzalez, Natalie Colli, Dr. James Kitchen and Dr. William Eadie.

Other key positions were voted on and filled on the spot. Ignacio Prado was voted the president pro-tempore and Daniel Brown, Joyce Byun and Bryan Talbot were elected as Executive Committee Members. The new A.S. logo was also unveiled.

A.S. will be making a $5,000 donation to the Harvey Goodfriend Aztec Shops Scholarship. Goodfriend is the late CEO of Aztec Shops who spent almost four decades promoting student services and student leadership, President James Poet said.

SDSU football brings the ball home

Aztec football was another rallying point for A.S. executives.

While executive members expressed sympathy for SDSU's narrow defeat by Notre Dame, they brought home some fresh ideas. According to Poet, the Aztecs' home-field advantage is in need of a few thousand roaring fans and A.S. will be looking into strategies to draw in more students to Qualcomm Stadium.

"The one thing we took away from the trip was the sense of shared spirit they had at Notre Dame," Poet said. "And that's something that we would really like to try to bring to campus here. It is a long road to initiate some traditions here on campus … but we want to get started."

Money talks

Scott Burns, the associate vice president of Business and Financial Affairs updated the council on the state of the general fund.

The SDSU general fund faces a cut of about $12.4 million, down from $18 million, because of incoming revenue such as the 10 percent student fee increases, Burns said.

"Where San Diego State is, in spring through our planning process, we had an initial planning number of $18 million cut to the general fund for the university based on the governor's January budget," Burns said. "A couple of things happened subsequently to that January budget. (The 10 percent state university fee increase) allowed us to reduce our planning number for the budget cuts $12 million."

Relief may be coming in the form of a $97 million "restoration" from Sacramento, which would be funneled into the CSU system at large. That aid could shrink the deficit by $4 million, Burns said.
Don't count on it just yet though. The legislative process is tied up by partisan nit-picking over the budget and the CSU allotment may still be gutted or slimmed down, Burns said. Other factors include the CSU Employees Union, which still needs to sit down at the Sacramento bargaining table to negotiate its take and a legislative process that some "pessimists" say may last until next year, Burns said.

-Compiled by Senior Staff Writer Justin Cooper.

Former CEO of Aztec Shops dies

Media Credit: Courtesy of Aztec Shops


Harvey Goodfriend, the long time former CEO of Aztec Shops and visionary of Students Services, died on Tuesday. He was 72.

Goodfriend died from complications related to brain cancer.

Goodfriend is considered transformational in his tenure as CEO from 1961 to 1999. Under his leadership, San Diego State gave students expanded options beyond just the traditional cafeteria line. He introduced outside vendors such as Rice King and Sbarro, on-campus convenience stores such as Aztec Market and the Student Union, the first ever student union in the California State University system. Goodfriend also served as the contract manager for CSU San Marcos, and managed the food services at Grossmont College, Donna Tusack, the current CEO of Aztec Shops, said.

Goodfriend is remembered as a man who was always on the move, so much that his office lacked the traditional sit-down desk. He toured the campus, managing the Aztec Shops and cheerleading the employees. Everyone called him Harvey, even those who worked for him. He wanted people to "embrace his concept of customer service," Tusack said.

"Way before the customer service mantras of 'put the customer first' were out there, that was his passion. He was just enthusiastic beyond belief. He was so committed and dedicated to providing service to students. That was his focus - students first."

Goodfriend is remembered as a trailblazer who pushed Students Services into the modern era. An example is the ATMs on campus. Goodfriend made the risky move of installing the cash machines when the technology was still in its infancy, making SDSU the first CSU system that utilized ATMs.

He introduced dine-outs or meal-plan dining, Tusack said. He pooled the resources of other auxiliary bookstores to buy products together, which resulted in lower prices for students.

Under his management, SDSU established the Mission Bay Aquatic Center, Aztec Center and the Open Air Theatre.

Goodfriend earned his Bachelor of Science and a master's in management from SDSU.

In retirement, he came back to SDSU to teach entrepreneurial management in the business department as a part-time professor. He also sat on various oversight committees involving the San Diego County Taxpayers Association.

Goodfriend is survived by his wife Kathleen Goodfriend. He leaves behind four grown children and four grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service for Goodfriend at 11 a.m. on Sept. 21 in Aztec Center. There is also a scholarship planned in his name.

Bioinformatics and other studies arrive

Media Credit: Glenn Connelly / Assistant Photo Editor (Daily Aztec)
From left to right Kevin Choi, Bryan Min, Dr. Paul Wong and Dr. Sunny Jung discuss their effort to bring students cultural, political, historical and linguistic backgrounds in the new Korean Studies Program.

Some intriguing new majors and master's programs are changing the academic landscape at San Diego State this fall. New cultural offerings cover Korean, Islamic and Arabic studies, while the master's programs include teaching in urban schools and bioinformatics.

The new social science major with an emphasis in Islamic and Arabic studies focuses on an important part of the world that can often be daunting to the uninitiated.

"It's an interdisciplinary program which means that they are going to learn about the peoples and countries," Farid Abdel-Nour, associate professor of Political Science, said. "Students will take classes in Arabic language, or Persian language in religious studies, in political science, in history, in women's studies."

The social science major offers many emphases from Africana studies to sociology. Abdel-Nour said that the new emphasis will give students a valuable knowledge of a region and culture that is larger than a single religion or race.

"The idea is to give students a sense of the cultural, political, historical and linguistic background that helps them understand the peoples of the larger Muslim world, as well as the Arabic speaking world," Abdel-Nour said.

One of the more exciting programs is the graduate program that offers a masters in bioinformatics.

Bioinformatics refers to data mining, which is the art of going through data to find specific information. From grocery stores to Google, everyone is data mining these days, said Dr. Faramarz Valafar, an associate professor at SDSU. In the field of medicine, data mining is used to learn more about diseases and to research better drugs. Valafar, who used data mining in the private sector to study credit card fraud, called bioinformatics the "major of the future."

"What we do is use those data mining techniques in biology, chemistry and medicine," Valafar said. "So far we have had three unofficial graduates. The students were enrolled into a different department. Of those three, one of them is now in the Ph.D program at Berkeley. The other two were hired before they finished their master's."

People usually earn a Ph.D in bioinformatics, and there are only two previously established master's programs for bioinformatics in California. SDSU would be the third university to offer such a program, providing graduates who would be much in demand by companies, Valafar said. The program has two tracks, a traditional thesis track and a professional Science Masters, which involves an internship.

A new masters of arts degree in curriculum and instruction focusing on urban teaching will also be offered to prospective educators looking for new teaching strategies in urban neighborhoods. The 30-unit program looks to produce quality teachers who know how to work effectively in the schools where they are needed the most, said Valerie Pang, a professor of teacher education.

"The program seeks teachers who are interested in investigating the most effective ways to teach in urban schools," Pang said. "The program focuses on presenting more in-depth information for teachers on (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers."

A new Korean studies program is also available. Although it is not a major, classes in Korean culture and language can be taken through the linguistics department in the class Ling 296. The upcoming classes that are being planned for the spring include Korean literature, civilization and a Korean language class tailored to doing business in Korea, Dr. Soonja Choi said. Other majors and programs include a new major in American Indian studies and a business degree with specializations in human resources and entrepreneurship.

Mission Bay Aquatic Center lease renewed

Photo owned by the Mission Bay Aquatic Center

San Diego State will get to use the Mission Bay Aquatic Center for another 15 years. The decision by the San Diego City Council may cause students who participate in water sports to sit up and take notice.

Even though the university will now pay rent on the facility, the decision is still hailed as a victory by Dan Cornthwaite, the executive director of Associated Students.

"Although it took a lot of time and effort to get the job done, we were successful in getting it done," Cornthwaite said. "We are pleased that it's done and we now have a new 15-year lease with an option of a 10-year extension."

Although the student costs will remain the same, alumni, student family members and everyone else will have to pay a 10 percent cost hike. The Mission Bay Aquatic Center is a joint venture between A.S. and the University of San Diego and is operated by both universities, said Glen Brandenburg, the director of the center.

"It's on city land so we have to have a lease with the city," Brandenburg said. "The original lease with the city was in 1975. It was a 25-year lease, (and it) went to the year 2000. We started in 1996 negotiating with the city to renew the lease with the goal of renewing it by the year 2000."

Problems abounded for San Diego, however, stalling the process. The past decade saw a multitude of financial and corruption scandals that kept pushing back a decision on the lease, Brandenburg said, who called the lease "at the bottom of the list" of the city's priorities.

"As soon as we were up on the list then another crisis would happen and then we were back down at the bottom," he said. "That went on for 12 years and then the whole thing stabilized for a little while this spring. So we were able to get their attention. We were able to get it finalized."

Until now, A.S. had to renew the lease on a year-to-year basis. Now it will be able to secure the center for possibly 25 years. A.S. is a large student organization, commanding a $20 million budget that operates other facilities, such as the SDSU Children's Center, the Open Air Theatre and Cox Arena.

The Mission Bay Aquatic Center is one of San Diego's most impressive gems.

It draws thousands of students and water sport participants every year, boasting an impressive roster of water sports and programs along with a facility and world-class instructional training. It also offers water safety courses, as well as CPR and First Aid certification courses. The center hosts a variety of other programs for the disabled as well as youth camps.

The Mission Bay Aquatic Center has an estimated 15,000 users overall and many fans, Instructional Manager Kevin Straw said.

Take, for example, psychology senior Lacey Wilson who begins her day at the center by racing through waves on a wakeboard.

"It's a good way to wake up in the morning - going wakeboarding at 8 a.m.," Wilson said. "It's the best way to start."