daily aztec - SDSU Library Digital Collections

OPINION
TEMPO
SPORTS
Is Cold War II about to
begin?
Can you stump Mr. Pop
History?
SDSU baseball team gets
rained on at NC State.
PAGE 3
THE
PAGE 5
DAILY AZTEC
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
PAGE 7
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2005
Tomorrow’s weather:
Showers; High: 63º F Low: 51º F
VOLUME 90 ISSUE 78
WWW.THEDAILYAZTEC.COM
Students lend a hand in the
community and build résumés
CSU volunteers contribute more than 30 million hours every year
BY MEGAN WILLIS
S TA F F W R I T E R
When thinking of the typical
college student, one doesn’t
often think of someone working
in a soup kitchen, helping autistic children build their learning
skills or raising money for the
terminally ill.
Many people aren’t aware
California State University student volunteers contribute
more than 30 million hours each
year to community service,
according to a CSU news
release.
Volunteering is a big part of
many college students’ lives.
According to the “CSU Student
Volunteers” article, the Student
Leadership and Development
Office at Cal State San
Bernardino launched a donation campaign “Noodles in
November” to collect ramen
noodles and donate them to the
homeless. The students exceeded their goal by more than 7,496
packets.
CSU Fullerton students from
the Volunteer and Service
Center conducted a week-long
fundraiser during National
Hunger
and
Homeless
Awareness Week in November,
according to CSU’s Web site,
www.calstate.edu. The fundraiser
educated the community on
hunger and homelessness
issues and raised $600, as well
as dozens of boxes food and
used clothing to donate to the
Orange County Food Bank.
English
junior
Justin
Tippling volunteers at San
Diego Youth and Community
Services, where he tutors children from inner-city areas, such
as City Heights and North Park.
“These kids get out of school
and their parents are still at
work until 5 or 6, so they have
nothing to do but hang out on
the streets,” Tippling said.
SDYCS, with the help of the
National Football League,
developed Youth Education
Centers in low-income areas to
provide a place for youth to go
to stay out of trouble, he said.
He goes every Tuesday and
Thursday after classes to volunteer at the YET Center in City
Heights.
“It’s amazing what a different world it is just 10 minutes
away from the SDSU campus,”
Tippling said. “So many people
don’t realize this because
they’ve never been exposed to
this type of situation, but there
are a lot of kids just around the
corner who need positive role
models to look up to.”
Tippling said he tries to be
that positive role model by
going to the center and helping
youth with their homework,
playing games with them or
just talking to them about their
lives.
SDSU kinesiology freshman
Janae Mayer volunteered last
year at Martha’s Kitchen, wash-
ing dishes and serving food to
the homeless. She said she does
not volunteer right now
because she just moved here to
go to school and doesn’t really
know where to go to get
involved in volunteer work.
“I think it’s very important
to volunteer, especially for students going to graduate school,
because for a lot of them it’s a
requirement,” she said.
Tippling also said one of the
reasons he volunteers is
because of graduate school.
“Volunteer work is something
that looks good on a college
application, but also makes you
feel good about yourself,” he
said.
Some students agree volunteer work is important, but just
can’t find the time to squeeze it
into their hectic schedules.
“I would love to volunteer,
but I have absolutely no extra
time to do it,” English senior
Jessica Fields said.
She said when it comes
down to getting paid for work
or not getting paid, the money
always wins. Fields also said
volunteer work seems to be
more important in high school.
“Not all students are going
to graduate school, and even if
they are, not all graduate
schools require it,” Fields said.
She believes it is an important thing to do for the community, but said it is hard for
someone like herself who does
not need to volunteer as a
Kelly Calligan / Senior Staff Photographer
Political science junior Emily Molfino shuffles a deck of cards during
a game of poker for Circle K International’s “Hold 'em” charity event.
requirement for her future
career.
“I want to be a teacher, so I
have to put my time into stuff
that will help me get there,”
Fields said. “Unfortunately, that
doesn’t leave much time for
anything else.”
The Center for Community
Based Service-Learning at
SDSU is dedicated to helping
students get involved in volunteer work and community service. Although a representative
was not available for comment,
the Web site states information
on the program. The center has
recently moved from Career
Services to the Center for
Student Involvement.
Online professor ratings challenge traditional assessment
Faculty Affairs associate vice president says SDSU administration does not pay attention to Web-based evaluations
BY DUSTIN VISSERING
CITY EDITOR
Students are increasingly
relying upon professor-rating
Web sites in order to figure out
which teachers to take and
which to avoid.
These sites, such as www.ratemyprofessors.com, offer students
an alternative to the traditional
pencil-and-paper evaluation
process used by San Diego State
at the end of each semester.
Unlike the student evaluation system used on campus,
RateMyProfessors allows users
to view comments left by fellow
students about specific teachers.
Marketing junior Jessica Harris said online professor ratings
are much more useful than traditional evaluations because
they allow students to see what
they are in for before signing up
for a class.
"When you sit in class and do
the teacher reviews at the end of
the year, you never know what
the people around you are saying in their evaluations," she
said. "I think they’d be a lot
more useful if students were
able to see what was written,
like you can with the online
reviews."
Associate Vice President for
Faculty Affairs Bonnie Zimmerman said SDSU faculty and
administration do not pay attention at all to online professorrating sites when determining
faculty performances.
"Individual faculty may
check themselves out on the
Web sites, but I think they are
primarily geared toward students," she said. "We have our
own official evaluation process,
and that’s what we use for official university business."
Zimmerman said everybody
has a different opinion of how
effective the official university
student evaluations are.
"From my vantage point, I
think the evaluations are a really strong source of information
for faculty and very important
to the tenure and promotion
process," she said. "It’s one of
the key things we use to evaluate teaching performance."
Kinesiology senior Michael
Schmitt said online ratings may
give students an unfair bias
toward a professor.
"If only one teacher is teaching a class you need and you
look on RateMyProfessors and
see that they have nothing but
bad reviews, you’re going to go
into that class with a really negative attitude," he said. "In your
mind, the teacher is going to
suck because 10 other people on
the site said so."
John Swapceinski, founder of
RateMyProfessors, said he has
heard reports from some schools
that sections are being canceled
for professors who have bad ratings on his site.
"Many professors write in
and demand we remove their
names from the site," he said.
"We do not comply, since the
First Amendment is on our side.
"However, there are some
professors who like the site and
even encourage their students to
use the site."
Zimmerman said she has no
idea how much the size of
enrollment for a specific instructor is driven by professor-ratings sites, but students will
choose classes based on what
they need in order to graduate
and not so much by the online
ratings.
"I think students occasionally
may choose one section over
another section because they
like what those Web sites said,
but for the most part, you have
to take the classes you need at
the times that are available —
that’s more important," she said.
Zimmerman said the university is considering replacing the
existing paper-and-pencil evaluation system with an electronic version. Students would be
able to go online and do the
evaluations confidentially and
anonymously. However, as with
the current evaluation system,
no one would get to see what
has been written other than the
person being evaluated.
Swapceinski said he thinks
the confidential evaluation system used by SDSU and many
other universities isn’t fair to
students.
"I would go so far as to say
that system is idiotic, and it is
the primary reason I started
RateMyProfessors," he said.
Zimmerman said students
underestimate how important
the university evaluations are.
"It’s true that there are some
professors that, once they get
tenure, never look at their evaluations again, but I think they’re
probably in the minority," she
said. "Most professors read evaluations and think about the
comments students make and
try to use the information to
improve their teaching.
"The more helpful and concrete information students put
on evaluations is the kind of
information professors really
want to get back."
www.thedailyaztec.com • www.thedailyaztec.com
OPINION
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2005
THE
DAILY AZTEC
NORMAL NEWS
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THE DAILY AZTEC EDITORIAL BOARD
JOE ZARRO • EDITOR IN CHIEF
YARA SOUZA • SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR MICHAEL KUHLMANN • MANAGING EDITOR
DUSTIN VISSERING • CITY EDITOR
CONSUELA HEADRICK • OPINION EDITOR
EDITORIAL • 619.594.6975
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Coming of a second
Cold War is inevitable
N
Appreciate the mundane
moments others don’t have
BY BEN TAMBASCHI
S TA F F W R I T E R
S
aturday, Feb. 12: Having
just returned home from
my part-time job at a local
bookstore, I’m sitting on my
patio having a beer. It’s a crappy, gray, rainy day, and I’m
feeling pretty down about the
weather and how boring my
weekend is. At about the same
time, according to The San
Diego Union-Tribune, a naked
man who overdosed on drugs
is trashing his hotel room
downtown. Police officers are
called to quell the disturbance,
and the man attacks them with
a cable he ripped out of the
wall. The officers use tazers on
him and he collapses, requiring CPR. The man dies at a
hospital two days later.
Tuesday, Feb. 15: I’m in a
microbiology class, which I
usually enjoy, but today I’m
not in the mood to try and
wrap my mind around the
minute intricacies of the
human immune system and
the quest of microbial
pathogens to overcome it. My
professor begins the lecture
with a brief announcement
about the emergence of a
novel HIV strain, which
apparently can cause “fullblown” AIDS in only a few
weeks, compared with the
normal strain, which takes 10
or more years to cause AIDS.
There are only two known
cases of persons infected with
this strain so far, but it is probably just the tip of the iceberg
— suddenly, my interest in
pathogens rises exponentially.
On the same day, I bike
home through the rush-hour
traffic, annoyed at how heavy
and smelly it is, and by how
disrespectful drivers on El
Cajon Boulevard can be to
each other, bikers and pedestrians. I get home around 6
p.m., turn on the TV and begin
to flip through the local news
channels. One of the top stories is about a couple and their
grandson who slammed fullspeed into the back of a stalled
tractor-trailer on Interstate 5
that morning. The front twothirds of their minivan — from
the grill to the rear wheels —
were disintegrated. You can
imagine what happened to the
passengers. A friend told me
several of her co-workers
spent most of the morning
complaining about how this
incident made them all two
hours late for work — when
I’m on my bike I should probably pay more attention to
traffic and less time critiquing
it.
Friday, Feb. 18: I’m clacking
away at my computer, writing
this column. I’m late for my
deadline — again — and I’m
wondering how I’m going to
get all my homework and
studying done this weekend. I
cannot believe I’m starting to
fall behind this semester, and
the first round of midterms
begins next week. I take a
moment to hop online and
check my e-mail, pausing to
read the headlines on Yahoo. I
learn that a little more than an
hour before I wrote this sentence, 35 people were killed in
Iraq — vaporized by a series
of bombings.
I guess I’m writing this to
try to illustrate how strange
life can be, and how often we
take it for granted by becoming so self-absorbed in our
own little realities. Boredom,
sameness and the minutia of
day-to-day life can drive a person to drink, but even monotony is better than certain alternatives — such as being torn
apart in a car wreck. It is simply amazing to me at times
when I’m sleepwalking
through the mundane
moments of my life, other people are living the most traumatic moments of theirs. Some
people are living out their
final moments on the planet.
I think we should all pause
to reflect on this, especially
when we find ourselves
engrossed in our little routines. Take a moment to appreciate a sunset, a drop of rain
on a leaf, the song of a bird or
a minute of conversation with
a good friend. Consider how
the lives of others have been
snatched away from them
when they least expected it.
Life in this world holds a tenuous position at best.
—Ben Tambaschi is a biology and
religious studies senior.
—This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The
Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com.
Anonymous letters will not be
printed — include your full
name, major and year in school.
orth Korea — a member of
the Bush administration’s
“Axis of Evil”— announced Feb.
10 it has built nuclear weapons
“for self-defense.” Pyongyang
simultaneously declared it
would abandon the six-party
talks the United States, China,
South Korea, Japan and Russia
have sought as a means to
ensure the nonexistence of
nuclear weapons in the Korean
peninsula. If the former declaration is not a ploy or attempted
international power-grab and is
truly real, the United States and
the world have just entered the
second Cold War.
The Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea — one of the
most blatant euphemisms on the
planet — lacks the realpolitik
logic the former USSR possessed, by which full-fledged
nuclear war was mercifully
avoided. While the possibility of
a nuclear holocaust was only
slightly averted in October 1962,
I doubt a Korean Vasili Arkhipov
(who blocked orders to fire
USSR nuclear torpedoes during
the Cold War) would refuse to
fire torpedoes equipped with
nuclear warheads if so ordered.
And therein lies the rub, as Kim
Jong Il has ruled his country
since 1994 according to his
despotic whims. Writer David
Wallechinsky has unfailingly
placed Kim in the top two of the
world’s 10 worst dictators since
he began compiling the list for
Parade magazine three years
ago.
Additionally, for the past 33
years, North Korea has consistently earned the worst possible
score — a seven — for political
rights and civil liberties from
Freedom House, a human rights
group. Since last year, estimates
of “political dissidents” held in
prison camps increased by
100,000 to 250,000, while “individual commercial activities”
have been explicitly prohibited.
A nuclear North Korea — an
oppressive, hereditary Stalinist
regime — presents one of the
scariest possible scenarios facing
the nations of the globe, easily
eclipsing any future Iranian
threat. Military strikes would be
insufficient to decimate Kim’s
entire nuclear and non-nuclear
arsenal to avert possible retaliatory action against Seoul, Beijing,
Tokyo or conceivably
Anchorage, Ala. Diplomacy is
the only course of action.
According to Time magazine,
former ambassador James Lilley
believes North Korea would
eventually acquiesce if Japan
were to “cut off all shipping,”
South Korea halts “its many
industrial and tourism projects
with the North,” the United
States presses “for economic
sanctions at the United Nations.”
and China threatens to decrease
oil exports.
Recently, the only available
route offered by Kim’s regime
has been bilateral negotiations
with Washington. But as the
glaring failure of the 1994
Clinton administration’s direct
PAUL A.
ESCAJADILLO
engagement has shown, the
Bush administration is right in
rejecting this offer without further consideration. Whereas
bilateralism failed in the past,
multilateralism presents the only
possibility for success, as all six
nations possess vested security
and economic interests in each
other. The six-party talks must
resume immediately to avert disaster, and each government must
engage Kim through whatever
means available to ensure so.
Even if this international crisis was averted, the threat of
emerging nuclear powers will
remain. Of the 191 member
states in the United Nations, 187
have signed the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty, which
allowed the “official” five
nuclear powers — USA, Russia,
Britain, France and China — to
retain their weapons; they additionally went so far as to sign the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Of the four countries yet to
agree to the NPT, India and
Pakistan are proven nuclear
powers, Israel is believed to
have nuclear weapons and Cuba
most likely has none.
Interestingly, of these four nonsignatories, two are parliamentary democracies, and two are
repressive dictatorships.
Fortunately, the eight nuclear
powers have nothing to gain by
deploying their weapons.
However, concerns over
emerging nuclear threats are not
limited to these nations. In
September 2004 at a Vienna conference, Mohammad el-Baradei
of the International Atomic
Energy Agency singled out
countries that have nuclear programs: “Argentina, Brazil,
Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi
Arabia and South African
Republic,” according to
www.english.pravda.ru. It appears
the coming of a second Cold
War is inevitable and not limited
to North Korean actions.
Thomas Jefferson is believed
to have said: “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” One day,
North Korea will crumble from
within, just as the Soviet Union
did more than a decade ago. But
to ensure our continued peaceful
global survival, and to mitigate
the international problem of
anarchy and the security dilemma, we must remain forever
watchful.
—Paul A. Escajadillo is a political
science senior and a senior staff
writer for The Daily Aztec.
—This column does not necessarily
reflect the opinion of The Daily
Aztec. Send e-mail to
letters@thedailyaztec.com.
Anonymous letters will not be printed — include your full name, major
and year in school.
4T
HE DAILY A ZTEC
CLASSIFIEDS
For Sale
Help Wanted
Help Wanted
Help Wanted
2000 Jetta GLX6.Totally Loaded, New Tires,
6 CD Stacker. Need to Sell, Bought another.
$9995. 858-775-2400.
CHILDCARE
Counselor Positions Avail
Staff for school aged children program
PT/FT Mon-Fri. 12 units ECE, CD or REC.
Must have experience.
For Scripps Ranch area:
Call Angela at 858-549-3569.
Females Wanted. Freelance photographer
needs 18-24yr.-olds. No nudity or experience required. Excellent pay. 888-4109415.
PART TIME EMPLOYMENT
Looking for outgoing/friendly people
Must have excellent people skills
Work in a fun, fast paced, retail environment
Must be comfortable approaching people
and closing a sale
Part-time/Temporary, Saturdays & Sundays
$15/per hour
Must have transportation
Positions available in Oceanside, Encinitas,
Poway Escondido, Chula Vista
Call Doug 619-889-7501
Lincoln Continental for $1,450. Available
now. 805-441-5550 or 310-920-9546.
Help Wanted
$$Bartend$$
Make f/t money for p/t work. am/pm/weekend classes. Job placement asst. Call Bartending Academy 619-296-0600
For S. Mira Mesa area:
Call Laurie @ 858-578-6958.
For E. Mira Mesa area:
Call David @ 858-695-8170
$9-$11/hr.+commission. PT MRTG CO.
seeks six fun, energetic, dependable students to call home owners and take credit
applications from home owners. Easy evening hours. Centrally located by Sea World.
Call 619-220-8081. CALL TODAY!
Internet Models Wanted. Great pay, flexible
hours. Call Jennifer @ (888)409-5393.
www.covergirlsworldwide.com
Internet Models Wanted. Short Day, Great
Pay. Contact Laura toll-free 877-950-9254.
Activity Leaders needed for before and after
school programs. A fun and rewarding job
working with children and teens, ages 5-14.
15-25 hrs./wk. AM or PM hours avail. Min 6
units in ED, REC, or related field + 6 months
exp w/children. $8.69-$9.77/hr. Call @
858-565-4148x231 SAY San Diego, Inc.
Call us now! We Want You!
The Daily Aztec advertising department
is looking for motivated individuals who
want to reach the top. Don’t wait to call
our offices, we’re hiring now! Call Vicki
at 619-594-3579 or stop by our offices
located in the basement of the BAM
building to fill out an application.
CHILDCARE
Aide Positions Avail.
Staff for school aged childcare program
PT/FT Mon-Fri. Childcare experience a plus.
For Scripps Ranch area:
Call Angela @ 858-549-3569
For S. Mira Mesa area:
Call Laurie @ 858-578-6958
For E. Mira Mesa area:
Call David @ 858-695-8170
PEACE CORPS! LEARN ABOUT EDUCATIONAL AND CAREER BENEFITS. STOP
BY OPEN OFFICE HOURS at the Career
Services Center
EVERY THURSDAY 12-4pm.
CONTACT: Rudy Sovinee
rsovinee@peacecorps.gov.
(v)619-594-2188. or (c)310-356-1114
Get involved on campus and
bring in the money!!!
That’s right, it’s all here. The Daily Aztec
wants you to be a part of it. We are looking for students who have a lot of personality, a lot of drive and want to make
good money! Stop by our offices in BAM
building or call Vicki at 619-594-3579 for
more info
GET PAID FOR YOUR OPINIONS!
Earn $15-$125 and more per survey!
www.moneyforsurveys.com
A+ SUBS-Preschool Substitutes, aides,
& teachers. All areas, full time, flexible
part time hours $7.50-$10.50 hourly
call Jacki
858-565-2144
Amateur models 18-25 no experience needed for adult web/video. Up to $700 CASH
paid. 619-461-0942.
FUN SUMMER JOBS L.A.
Beaches, horses, sports, archery, ropes
courses, swimming and much more.
www.daycampjobs.com/sdsu
L.A. SUMMER CAMPS
Swimming, horses, sports, beaches, arts &
crafts, ropes courses and more. www.daycampjobs.com/sdsu
Coors Amphitheatre VIP Ushers to work
20-30 concerts from March to October.
Responsibilities include: working in premium seating areas, assisting clients
with box suite locations, crowd control,
and general service. Please fax resume
to Ben at 619-671-3651
Data Entry Retail Sales, PB, El Cajon, Chula Vista. 2 positions each location. Please email resume akerpen@mojosounds.com or
apply in person 1084 Garnet Ave., PB, 236
Broadway, Chula Vista.
Latino/a and Caucasian SDSU undergrads
ONLY. Make $10 in 45 minutes. Participate
in psych study. For more information and
appointment, visit:
www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~tdevos/study.html
MALE MODELS FOR WEB SITE 18-27
YRS. NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED $100
PER HOUR 858-831-1672.
Mobile Disc Jockey for weddings, dances,
parties, $25+/hr. Great personality and
van/truck a must. Bilingual helpful. 619223-5732.
Models Wanted! Ages 18-29. Work in a relaxed and creative environment from bikini
to adult content. Danielle 858-272-2557.
DAY CAMPS summer camp couselors & instructors in San Fernando/Conejo Valleys
$2850-$3500+. 888-784-CAMP
www.workatcamp.com/sdsu
MODELS. Amateur male and female models needed for video/web work. Ages 21+,
no experience necessary. Call 858-5663317.
EGG DONORS NEEDED!
Healthy Females ages 18-30 donate to
infertile couples some of the many eggs
your body disposes monthly. COMPENSATION $5,000.00 starting Call Reproductive Solutions 818-832-1494
Moose Mcgillycuddy’s & Fred’s Mexican
Cafe are hiring, for all front of house positions. Open interviews this Tuesday 2/22
between 2-6pm @ 535 5th Ave.
Egg Donors Needed. $6,000-$15,000+ for
qualified, healthy, nicotine-free, responsible
applicants. Special need for Jewish, Asian,
East Indian Donors. Flexible schedule appreciated. Close personal support by experienced donor. Fertility Alternatives, Inc. 951696-7466. www.FertilityAlternatives.com.
RESTAURANT: The Eggery in Pacific
Beach is looking for fast and friendly
Food Servers, Hostesses and an Espresso Bartender. P/T weekends and
holidays. Will train for foodserver. Must
be here for Spring Break and Summer.
Apply 4150 Mission Blvd. Monday-Friday 7:00a.m.-2:00p.m.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2005
Services
Part time help. Light household duties, assist with healthy wheelchair user. $10/hour.
858-759-5819.
Part-time golf course counter positions
available, weekends. Golf, retail, and food
& beverage experience preferred. Contact
Chip Boldin 619-582-4704, fax 619-5829377 or cboldin@prokidsonline.org
Photographers and photo sales needed to
work in a local theme park. Above average
pay plus bonuses. FT and PT positions
available. Health and 401k for FT employees. Pre-employment drug tests and criminal background checks will be performed.
Call 619-226-3900 Ext. 2248 EOE/DFWP
San Diego Running Institute looking for
Sales Rep., no experience needed, you will
be trained in all the latest technology, must
be reliable, kinesiology major or sports enthusiast preferred, flexible schedule. Call
for information 619-265-SDRI(7374) or
email info@SDRI.net.
Seeking motivated e-mail and dial-up help
desk assistant. 20 hours/week, on-campus.
Call 619-594-5261.
Swim instructors $11-$17 an hour.
Call S.D. 858-273-7946, North County
760-744-7946
Telemarketers wanted. Evening hours,
Mondays-Thursdays. $10/hr.+plus INCREDIBLE COMMISSION. Call Robert at
858 436-1261.
TELEMARKETING $$Great Opportunity$$ Make easy money using social and interactive skills in officeplace. PT, flexible
hours. Contact Adam 800-708-3630x301.
T R AV E L A S S I S TA N T / C O M PA N I O N .
Part-Time. Gentleman seeks person for 2-3
day excursions. Bay-area, Avalon, etc.
$50/day+all expenses. Call Ray 619-5163623.
Wanted Drink Servers/Dancers. High Income. Paid Daily. Apply after 3pm 2818129
We need a doorman at O’Hungry’s Restaurant. Call Stan at O’Hungry’s. 619-2980133, 2487 San Diego Ave.
WEB DESIGNER NEEDED. PT Flexible
hours. Call Oran 619-264-4555.
Wings and Things cashier position, fun
atmosphere, will train contact Stacy at
619-462-9464
Services
Criminal Attorney-MIP, DUI, drugs,
misdemeanors/felonies. Marcee Chipman
619-702-3848. marcelaw@pacbell.net
222 Ash Street #12, San Diego, CA 92101
DUI? Arrested? Bankrupt? Injured? I can
help you. Brent Jex 619-325-0480.
Brent_Jex@yahoo.com. Free consultation.
MC/VISA.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2005
TEMPO
THE DAILY AZTEC
5
16 minutes
of fame
calls for an
ultimatum
IN FOCUS
BY JESSICA SIEGFRIED
S TA F F W R I T E R
W
Turning history on its head
The ultimate pop-culture fanatic puts his vast store of trivia knowledge to the test
BY CHALEY ZACHMEIER
S E N I O R S TA F F W R I T E R
Memory loss and a crawling mental-response time are products of
aging. They both happen to everyone
and are pretty much inevitable. As
Gary West got older, he became frustrated with how people just accept
these things and do nothing about
them. It was this frustration and his
love of pop culture that inspired his
alter ego — Mr. Pop History.
West grew up in Terrytown, N.Y.,
finding interest in music charts such as
Billboard from a young age. He said
the media influenced him quite a bit as
he was growing up, and he soon
became intrigued by all things pop culture. So many facets of pop culture fascinated him that he began gathering a
wealth of information on them.
“I wanted to know (the answers to)
the questions people ask,” West said.
He got a chance to respond to these
questions when he got his first job in
radio. The name Mr. Pop History was
given to him by co-worker Bruce
Chandler, and after that, his popularity
grew.
“I was getting so many questions
from students and people just wanting
to know things,” West said. “To keep
up with everything, I decided to start a
Web site.”
The first Web site,
www.pophistorynow.com,
and it quickly
transformed
i n t o
Courtesy photo
The e-mailing component on the
Web site is West’s favorite part of the
project. He tries to answer the
inquiries as promptly as they come in,
devoting an average of three to four
hours nightly to his passion.
“I don’t wait to put the information up on the site to answer each person’s question,” he said. “I e-mail the
person back as quickly as possible,
then worry about posting it later.”
Well, you might ask, what is so
special about West’s work? The
answers to these quandaries could be
answered just as easily by Googling
them, right? West thinks otherwise.
“There is no way you can find
everything on Google,” West replied.
“Even though the Internet is a wonderful source of knowledge, it can be
wrong at times. Also, not everything
can be found on the Internet.”
West does not claim to know all,
Courtesy photo but he said he answers about 95 perDid Sam ever make it home on “Quantum cent of the questions he receives. He
Leap?” Mr. Pop History is sure to know. said some are so obscure, it is impossible to find the answers.
www.mrpophistory.com.
This
site
“You can’t know everything, but
answers everything from who the first you sure can take your best shot at it,”
artist was to release an album on CD to West said.
who the Ken doll was named after.
Right now, West is content with
West’s knowledge of media events being Mr. Pop History out of his home
spans from the ‘50s to present day, in Temecula. While his mom has sugalthough he specializes in events that gested “Jeopardy,” he’s happy just
occurred from the ‘60s to the end of the sticking with this.
‘90s.
The site is organized into two main
To ask Mr. Pop History a question, visit
components. The part titled “Ask Mr. www.mrpophistory.com.
Pop History?” is composed of answers
to the e-mails West has received over
the years. The other section is called
“The Best Look at the 1960s Preview.”
This part describes the popular culture
events of the ‘60s, organized week-byweek.
It took six years for West to pour
through newspapers, library databases, charts and more to uncover all the
information he has, and he still has to
finish chronicling each week for the
remaining decades to be added to
the Web site. So far, he has only finished the ‘60s, which he feels is a
uniquely important one.
“Everything in modern pop
culture started then,” he said.
“This is when rock music
groups, fashions, telecommunications and satellite began to get
popular.”
West added this is
when teens started to
Courtesy photo
have influence on the Were Elvis’ hips pure rock ‘n’ roll, or psymedia.
chological warfare for the Eastern Bloc?
hen your 15 minutes of fame are up,
they’re up for good. Apparently, the
celebrities of the new reality shows haven’t
received the memo yet. While channel surfing, I find myself getting hooked on shows
such as “The Surreal Life,” “Strange Love,”
“Celebrity Fit Club” — pretty much any
show that features expired celebrities who
will do anything to get some extra publicity.
VH1 has a name for its lineup of these
shows: “Celebreality.” The commercial
states these shows are a special breed of
reality shows. Most of them feature celebrities who have long been out of the limelight and include musicians, actors, comedians and former reality-show stars.
On the current season of “The Surreal
Life,” Christopher Knight and Verne
Troyer, also known as Peter Brady and
Mini-Me, take place in a twisted version of
MTV’s “The Real World.” Knight and
Troyer are two of seven celebrities who live
together in a camera-infested house. These
two guys are the most fun to watch of the
bunch. On the last season, Flavor Flav, a
member of the rap group Public Enemy,
and Brigitte Nielsen, best known for her
role as the title character in Red Sonja, fell
in love with each other while living together on “The Surreal Life.” And to be honest,
I spent many a time laughing at Flavor
Flav’s antics and how much he annoyed
the other celebrities.
The relationship between Flavor Flav
and Brigitte eventually sparked its own
reality show called “Strange Love.” After
“The Surreal Life” ended, Brigitte went
back home to Milan, Italy, and left Flavor
Flav behind. The series, “Strange Love,” is
based around Flavor Flav trying to rekindle
the love they shared on the show and convince Brigitte to move to New York with
him. This premise leads to some very interesting storylines, considering what “The
Surreal Life” was like.
The viewing public is apparently no
longer satisfied with watching strangers do
ordinary stunts — now it needs to see
celebrities do them, too. It’s much more
interesting to watch when former rapper
Vanilla Ice lives in a house with six random
strangers than it is to watch some guy off
the street.
The Simpson sisters seem to have the
corner on the reality-show market on MTV.
Wednesday nights are filled to the brim
with Jessica and Ashlee coping with life as
it happens. “The Newlyweds” is in its third
season and is still going strong, even if
Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson are no
longer newlyweds. Jessica and her ditzy
quirks are reason enough to watch the
show to get a good laugh. Ashlee’s show is
in its second season and is more about
Ashlee’s coming-of-age.
The mystery still remains as to why
celebrities want to share their personal
lives with the world when they are constantly trying to get away from the
paparazzi. Maybe deep down, the celebrities on these shows want us to see them as
normal people who actually have lives outside their field of work. But it appears no
matter how hard they try to seem normal,
they just can’t achieve it. Once Peter Brady,
always be Peter Brady.
—Jessica Siegfried is a journalism junior and a
staff writer for The Daily Aztec.
—This column does not necessarily reflect the
views of The Daily Aztec.
6T
HE DAILY A ZTEC
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2005
TEMPO
FLASHBACK
Wu-Tang Clan
Enter The Wu-Tang:
36 Chambers
Combining classic raw beats,
complex yet understandable
lyrics and a cast of talented
characters who would influence
hip-hop for more than 10 years,
1994’s Enter The Wu-Tang: 36
Chambers re-introduced rap to
the gritty melodies that
inspired
such
icons
as
Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z.
Mixing in a flurry of pop-culture references and several
Kung-Fu movie sound bites, the
nine rappers from Staten Island
created one of the most influential albums of the early ‘90s.
The music world lost one of
its craziest artists last December
when Russell “Ol’ Dirty
Bastard” Jones died in a
Manhattan recording studio.
The touch of ODB and the other
eight members who comprise
the Wu-Tang Clan can be felt
from many aspects of the entertainment industry. The original
music from Quentin Tarantino’s
Kill Bill series was created by 36
Chambers
producer
RZA.
Method Man, along with Def
Squad alum Redman, starred in
the hilarious 2001 comedy How
High (as well as their shortlived TV series “Method and
Red,” which wasn’t as funny).
And Clan members have made
cameos in various movies and
TV shows, from their outrageous skits on Comedy
Central’s “Chappelle’s Show”
to their numerous specials on
MTV.
36 Chambers opens with a
clip from an old Kung-Fu
movie, one of the Clan’s many
childhood obsessions. The clip
introduces the combination of
the two sections of the album:
the Shaolin Sword and the Wu-
Tang Sword. The sound of two
swords clanging together introduces the first track, “Bring Da
Ruckus.” Ghostface Killah’s
first verse displays the brilliant
rhyming, flowing lyrics found
within the album’s 12 tracks.
Raw drumbeats, combined with
minor brass chords, serve as the
perfect backdrop for Raekwon,
Inspectah Deck and the GZA to
introduce the intense, urban
vibe resonating throughout the
album.
The over-the-top punching
and kicking sounds from a classic Kung-Fu flick fight precede
the jumpy brass riff and broken
piano sequence accenting the
second track, “Shame On A.”
The song allows Method Man
to unleash his complex lyrics
and gives ODB the tones to
showcase his wacky, often disturbing verses (reminding the
listener that he was once
burned by an STD).
What enhanced the album
the most was the Clan’s ability
to create uniformity despite the
different personalities and
sounds of each member. The
Motown vibe of “Can It Be All
So Simple,” sampled from a
classic Gladys Knight track resonates with slow, eerie tones,
which Raekwon and Ghostface
use to paint a vivid, yet dark,
flashback of the Clan’s early
beginnings. In contrast, “Da
Mystery of Chessboxin’” contains more upbeat, yet obscure
tones that elaborate more on the
philosophy the Clan encompasses. Likewise, “Wu-Tang
Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit.”
The more recognizable songs
from the album, “C.R.E.A.M
(Cash Rules Everything Around
Me),” “METHOD Man” and
“Protect Ya Neck,” contained
much of the same rough, yet
detailed verses and raw, catchy
beats that were a stark contrast
to their peers on the West Coast
at the time.
The group also added several spoken-word skits and interviews from the group, which
further explain the method to
the Wu-Tang Clan’s madness.
Bringing all aspects of this
album together, Enter The WuTang: 36 Chambers stands out as
a timeless piece of sheer musical genius that helped launch
the lives of nine childhood
friends into the entertainment
mainstream. For those tired of
the simple, cookie-cutter club
hits on the radio today, this
album will satisfy their needs
for true hip-hop.
—Contributor Stan Mangindini
SPORTS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2005
THE DAILY AZTEC
7
BASEBALL
Seven-run sixth inning dooms SDSU
Aztecs victims of three-game sweep at the hands of North Carolina State, but no loss hurts more than the series finale
BY TIM MIGUEL
S E N I O R S TA F F W R I T E R
A change of scenery and a different
location was not what the doctor
ordered for the San Diego State baseball
team.
SDSU traveled across the country to
North Carolina last weekend to square
off against NC State. The Wolfpack
swept the Aztecs, winning 8-6, 8-5 and 94 at Doak Field.
The toughest loss of the three was the
series finale Sunday. SDSU (2-8) jumped
out to an early 4-0 lead. Freshman starting pitcher Andres Esquibel was in total
control through the first five innings, but
a barrage of hits (seven in all) in the sixth
inning turned into seven runs for NC
State, ending the Aztec lead.
“We made a couple mistakes, but really they just banged the ball around,”
head coach Tony Gwynn said. “We had
opportunities to add to the lead, and we
didn’t do it. We just can’t get over the
hump. We’re swinging the bats better,
but we just can’t close it out.
“Esquibel was in command, they just
hit them where we weren’t, but he wasn’t hit hard. Things will turn around,
and we might win some this way later.”
SDSU’s early lead was jumpstarted by
a pair of hits off the bats of sophomore
Lance Zawadzki and senior Jake
McLintock, which got the rally started.
Following an RBI fielder’s choice from
senior Garrick Evans, junior Clayton
Carson then brought McLintock home
with an RBI single.
Evans homered later in the contest,
and Zawadzki earned an RBI on a
groundout.
“We had 11 strikeouts on Friday and
only one today,” Gwynn said. “We got
better as the series went on. This is the
best our offense has been at any point in
the season. You have to play good baseball on the road; we had the opportunities to win and we didn’t do it.”
In the first two games of the series,
NC State jumped out to early leads and
held on to earn the wins.
A walk and a couple of hits in the first
inning Saturday gave the Wolfpack an
early 3-0 lead. SDSU climbed back in the
game behind junior Jordan Swaydan’s
first home run of the season and an RBI
single from sophomore Brock Ungricht.
“Jordan’s been swinging the bat much
better,” Gwynn said. “Some of the guys
were getting sick toward the end of the
weekend, and he was one of them.
Benching him last Tuesday got the fire
going for him.”
Swaydan went 2-for-4 with two runs
scored and two RBIs. Ungricht and
Carson also had two hits on the day.
The Aztecs would rally again in the
seventh inning, but the game was
already out of reach by that point.
Although Friday night’s loss was
similar to Saturday’s, SDSU had its
chances in the series opener. Every
starter in the lineup got at least one hit,
but it left 11 runners on base.
Friday night’s starting pitcher, sophomore Bruce Billings, struggled through
three-and-one-third innings of work.
Billings allowed six runs on six hits,
walked four batters and beaned a guy.
Swaydan had another big game
Friday, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Zawadzki was 2-for-4 with two runs
scored, and Carson finished 2-for-3 with
three RBIs and a run scored.
SDSU returns to California but will
not be heading home to San Diego just
yet. The Aztecs play at Cal State
Northridge in a rematch from a week
ago, then head out to Long Beach for a
weekend series against the Dirtbags.
Derrick Tuskan / File photo
Freshman pitcher Andres Esquibel was in command until the sixth inning of Sunday’s
game against the Wolfpack, when he gave up seven runs, seven hits and the lead.
WATER POLO
Aztecs start strong, but end up weak
SDSU holds its own against second-ranked Trojans before falling 12-7, then comes out ‘incredibly flat’ vs. UCSB
BY DEVIN KUNYSZ
S TA F F W R I T E R
The San Diego State water
polo team knew it would be
tough to open its Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation season on the road, especially
against the nation’s secondranked team in USC.
And it may have overlooked
the rest of the weekend because
of it.
In the first action of the
young MPSF season, the Aztecs
held their own against the highly touted Trojans.
SDSU jumped out to a 3-2
lead in familiar fashion, with
junior driver Rachel Serna leading the way with her 10th goal
of the season.
“We jumped on them in the
first period,” head coach Carin
Crawford said. “We peppered
the goal, we attacked the gaps
in their zone and we played
very well.”
However, USC responded
with a very strong second period, taking a 7-4 lead with five
goals in the quarter. Although
the Aztecs were able to control
the Trojans’ best player, Moriah
Van Norman, USC managed to
hold on for a 12-7 win.
“We were able to keep her
under control by avoiding her
strength,” Crawford said of Van
Norman. “We didn’t try to push
her around. We just doubled her
and made it tough for her to do
anything once she got the ball,
and Savannah Kelly was great
against her.”
The pressure on Van Norman
backfired slightly, as it opened
holes in the defense for the outside shots that contributed to
the final score.
“It was kind of a pick your
poison,” Crawford said. “We
were a little late on our rotation
a couple of times, and they
made us pay for that.”
The second game of the
weekend was supposed to be
Romeo Lorenzo / Staff Photographer
Sophomore Elana Cervantes scored a goal in the final period of Sunday’s game vs. UC Santa Barbara.
the easy one. It was supposed to
be the one in which SDSU held
the advantage, and the opponent would be hard-pressed just
to avoid getting run out of the
pool. Instead, the Aztecs ran
into a buzz-saw in the form of
UC Santa Barbara and lost 7-2.
Although Serna again put
SDSU on the board first, the
Gauchos would hold the team
scoreless until the fourth quarter.
“We came out incredibly
flat,” Crawford said. “We didn’t
do anything very well — our
passing was bad, our shot selection was terrible. We didn’t
deserve to win.”
The Aztecs were unable to
capitalize on the momentum
they had gained from keeping it
so close against the Trojans.
UCSB outshot SDSU, leading
the Aztecs to seven scoreless
power-play opportunities.
“We couldn’t execute the
nuts and bolts of the game, and
it showed,” said Crawford. “I
hate to say this kind of game is
inevitable, but it happens to a
lot of teams, and we are a very
young team.”
The Aztecs will get another
shot at the Gauchos this weekend
during
the
UCSB
Invitational beginning Friday.
8T
HE DAILY A ZTEC
EXTRAS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2005
For solutions, visit:
www.thedailyaztec.com.
CLASSIFIEDS
continued from page 4
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