FREEDOM AND FAIRNESS
VOL. 105 ISSUE 14
Timber! Facilities workers trim
and cut down trees around cam-
pus to prevent damage caused
by wet limbs.
NEWS
PAGE 2
Columnist Jon Coon focuses
on another side of hip-hop
artists.
OPINION
PAGE 5
Find out about the music from
USF’s recent Erasmus bene�t,
Festival For Freedom.
SCENE
PAGE 7
Love those short shorts: Fog-
horn writer Heather Spellacy
�nds the scenery more inter-
esting than the score at USF
rugby match.
SPORTS
SPORTS
PAGE 9
Check out behind the scenes
footage from opening night of
this year’s Vagina Monologues.
FOGHORN
ONLINE
SAN FRANCISCO FOGHORN
USF Student Arrested, Facing
acing Rape
pe Charges
Senior ROTC cadet Ryan Caskey incarcerated, awaiting arraignment
LAURA PLANTHOLT
Staff Writer
Allegations of assault and rape made by
four female University of San Francisco
students prompted the arrest of 21-year-
old USF senior Ryan Caskey last �ursday.
Caskey was arrested by the San Francisco
Police Department on campus in the early
evening and is currently incarcerated at the
SF County Jail with an arraignment to be
held sometime this week.
Each of the reported rape incidents
took place in on-campus residence halls
over the last several months according to
USF Director of Public Safety Dan Law-
son. All of the alleged victims were female
students and acquaintances of Caskey.
One of the female students came to
Lawson with her testimony on Feb. 10,
and from there Public Safety was able to
investigate, conduct interviews with other
alleged victims, and make a case to pres-
ent to SFPD. SFPD was contacted Feb.
11, and after reviewing the case, they took
Caskey into custody the following eve-
ning.
Because of con�dentiality required by
the justice system, Lawson is not able to
release many speci�c details about the case
to the public. Lawson could not clarify
when or where the alleged rapes took
place, or whether date rape drugs were said
to have been used.
�e San Francisco Chronicle reported
Vagina Monologues Panel Pinpoints Controversial Scene as Cause of Debate
USF Profs. Nikki Raeburn, Peter Novak and Dean of Students Mary Wardell discussed the controversy surrounding the
performance of The Vagina Monologues in Presentation Theater. Religious colleges get lots of flack for hosting the performance.
CHELSEA STERLING
News Editor
With colorful paintings depicting vari-
ous parts of the female body displayed
on stage in the Presentation �eater,
several key members from the produc-
tion team of “�e Vagina Monologues”
hosted a panel discussion that focused on
the criticism that the provocative series of
speeches prompts. Producer and alumna
Julie Henderson introduced guest panel-
MSA Seeks to Enlighten Others About Islam
NICHOLAS MUKHAR
Staff Writer
USF junior and �nance major Laise
Popal sat at the head of the table on �urs-
day night, joined by 10 other members
of USF’s new Muslim Student Associa-
tion (MSA). Popal, the new president of
the MSA, led an icebreaker discussion at
the �rst meeting of the year during which
members told the group something about
themselves that only close friends would
know. He listened attentively and cracked
jokes between comments, and his laid-back
style permeated through the room, which
gave the meeting a calm and trusting tone
as they covered topics ranging from ideas
for club events to Palestinians being killed
in Gaza. Popal’s tranquil demeanor pro-
vided no insight to his childhood path that
was drastically altered at six months old,
when the Afghan native and his family
�ed their country as the Russian army was
invading. Popal’s grandfather was an Af-
ghan architect and a target of the Russians,
2130 FULTON STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118
TheFoghornOnline.com
that Caskey had provided alcohol to the
women, to the extent that they were un-
conscious when the supposed assaults took
place. �e Chronicle also reported that
Caskey was accused of using force, injur-
ing at least one of the females.
Lawson emphasized that the nature
of the rapes were “acquaintance rapes” as
opposed to “stranger rapes,” a distinction
that should be less fear-inducing to the
community. He said, “Many people in the
community are fearful when they hear that
a rape has occurred. �eir understand-
ing is that somebody was waiting behind
a bush or climbed in through a window
– a complete stranger.” Lawson added,
“[An acquaintance rape] is not any less se-
vere. But it is important to remember that
[Caskey] knew all of the victims, and they
knew him.” According to the Rape, Abuse
and Incest National Network (RAINN),
73 percent of rape victims know their as-
sailants.
�e four alleged victims are currently re-
ceiving counseling for their trauma. �eir
identities are being protected for their own
privacy.
Senior politics major Erin-Kate Esco-
bar, who did not think she knew any of
the four women, said she felt “so proud” of
them for coming forward to testify about
what had happened. “I feel empowered by
their strength; I don’t know if I would have
been as strong,” she said.
ists Peter Novak, associate dean for the
arts and humanities and a performing
arts professor, Mary J. Wardell, associate
vice president and dean of students and
Nikki Raeburn, a sociology professor and
breast cancer survivor. Each guest brought
a unique perspective- that of a gay person,
a single mother and a former student at a
Jesuit seminary program. Along with these
members of the USF faculty, director Meg
O’Connor and cast member Megan Pohl-
who came to the family’s house only to
�nd that the entire family had already �ed
to New York. �ey ended up in California
a year later. Now Laise Popal has brought
his Islamic roots to USF in hopes of creat-
ing a movement to spread awareness and
clear misconceptions about the culture he
was raised in and the faith he lives by.
“I want to bring all Muslims and non-
Muslims together,” said Popal, who is �u-
ent in Farsi. “It doesn’t matter if you’re
Muslim or not, it’s [MSA] all about just
learning about the faith.” Popal’s objective
is being ful�lled in the small sample of
MSA members at the meeting, with three
being non-Muslims.
MSA member Shelley Saini, an Amer-
ican-born non-Muslim whose family is
from India, is an example of the MSA’s ef-
fort to incorporate people of all faiths. “In-
dians and Muslims are not supposed to get
along,” she said. Saini said that in recent
years the MSA has had a bad image of be-
Continued on Page 3
Many cases of sexual assault and rape
go unreported because the victims don’t
know if they were really raped, or think
they might have partially been at fault.
Rape and sexual assaults are among the
most under reported crimes; RAINN re-
ports that 60 percent of sexual assaults go
unreported.
Many students at USF have reacted
with an expectable amount of outrage.
A group of about 12 concerned students
gathered Monday night, just days after the
news had broken, to develop a list of re-
quests for the administration to increase
awareness and education about sexual as-
sault and rape. �e requests focused on
educating students about what de�nes
sexual assault.
Erika Carlsen, a senior politics major,
attended the meeting and said that edu-
cation about sexual abuse should be sus-
tainable, an integral part of orientation to
college.
�ey plan to solicit feedback and con-
cerns from more students at a meeting on
�ursday in Parina Lounge at 12:15 p.m..
From there they will draft a letter to the
administration that addresses these issues.
�ey have also distributed �iers through-
out campus stating, “�ese assaults are not
isolated incidents; they are part of a larger
culture of violence and power.”
Maggie Mullens, a senior sociology
major who also attended the meeting, was
Melissa Stihl/Foghorn
man, a sophomore psychology major, tack-
led the topic of why some groups object to
the performance that Novak described as a
community ritual.
“�e Vagina Monologues” is a series of
speeches that is based on hundreds of in-
terviews of women conducted by feminist
activist and advocate Eve Ensler in 1996.
Ensler asked these women about their
sexual experiences and received spirited
answers to her odd questions, like “If your
International Students Feel
Squeezed by U.S. Recession
HUNTER PATTERSON
Staff Writer
When it comes to equality in college
�nancial aid, international students get the
short end of the stick, even at USF, with its
global social justice mission. International
students are not eligible for federal �nancial
aid or college scholarships and must docu-
ment their ability to pay all four years of
full-priced tuition before they are admitted
to U.S. colleges. At USF this amounts to
more than $180,000, before books, travel
and other expenses and means that only
the wealthiest foreign students can afford
the luxury of a USF education. However,
with the current economic downturn hit-
ting the U.S., international students are
bracing for a �nancial crisis at home and
many are being told by parents to conserve
cash or �nd an on-campus job.
Neither Gizelle Pei Gim or Erick
NEWSROOM 415.422.6122. ADVERTISING 415.422.2657
FEBRUARY 19, 2009
concerned that more students were not
discussing this matter more seriously. “I’m
furious that the average student isn’t more
furious,” she said.
She was also concerned about the Uni-
versity’s policy of being what she called “in-
tentionally vague,” only releasing the most
basic information to the student body, who
she felt had the right to know the whole
story. Mullens is not alone in her concern
over this. Lawson said a group of resident
advisers from Pedro Arrupe Hall had al-
ready come to him asking for more details
of the case to share with their concerned
residents. However, Lawson explained
that he had been speci�cally asked by the
SFPD to not release any more information
than was absolutely necessary, and he was
merely following standard procedure.
Caskey was in his fourth year at USF,
majoring in politics. In addition to his
studies, he was also serving as a cadet
in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps
(ROTC) program, where he was one of
the top ranked cadets in his class. ROTC
Program Assistant Maria Palmo said that
ROTC had no comment about Caskey or
the incident in general. He has been ex-
pelled from the ROTC program since his
arrest.
Caskey is also on interim suspension
from USF, which stipulates that he not at-
RAPE: Continued on Page 2
vagina could talk, what would it say?” and
“If your vagina could wear clothes, what
would it wear?” �e monologues surround
not only topics concerning female sexual-
ity- masturbation, orgasms, and the body-
but also social concerns such as how we
de�ne gender and historic sexual abuses
like Japanese “comfort women” during
World War II.
One critique that the panel addressed is
that “�e Vagina Monologues” is too ex-
clusive. �e title itself appears to be mar-
keted to women only. Novak, the only male
panelist, said that women’s voices need to
be heard, and that this takes priority over
men’s feelings of exclusion. He said, “�e
show becomes a worldwide phenomenon
that is vital and important.”
Wardell said, “Each woman has mul-
tiple narratives to be told.” She went on to
say that the performance allows students to
further expand the dialogue about violence
against women. Raeburn was concerned
about whether the performance could ad-
equately represent all women’s views. �e
performance attempts to display a wide
variety of women; for example, the mono-
logues include single, married, straight
and lesbian women. It also integrates the
role of women as mothers, spouses, part-
ners and providers. Raeburn pointed out
that gender is socially constructed and
that modern society determines what is
masculine and what is feminine. Pohlman
posed a question that illustrated this idea:
“What does it mean to be a strong, power-
MONOLOGUES: Continued on Page 2
Irigoyen, international student representa-
tives of ASUSF knew of any international
students who have left the university re-
cently due to �nancial difficulty at home,
however, students have contacted the uni-
versity through the USFcares email address
asking for �nancial assistance or �exible
payment plans and USF has worked with
“about two dozen international students
to help them enroll for spring 2009,” ac-
cording to Susan Murphy, senior dean of
academic and enrollment services.
USF also has an $82,900 emergency
grant fund for international students fac-
ing �nancial hardship, however all of those
funds have been allocated to students for
the year, which is typical even in good eco-
nomic times, said Murphy.
Pei Gim said she knew of many in-
ternational students who are worried
about what the deepening U.S. recession
STUDENT 2
2
FEBRUARY
EBRUARY 19,, 2009
EBRUARY NEWS San Francisco Foghorn

Poleng Hosts Fundraiser For Students UNICEF to Provide Clean Water For Impoverished Countries
Left Homeless After Apartment Fire DANIELA RICCI-TAM dollar donated at a restaurant, said Ramos, duty of a volunteer is simple.”
Staff Writer can supply a single child with enough safe Rosas agreed. “It’s easy. You can spread
drinking to last for 40 days. And if enough the word and make it a campus-wide
Professors, students and groups like people and restaurants get involved with thing.” Besides, she said, “You go out to eat
AIESEC, KUSF, ITS and University the program, these small donations can and �irt with the servers anyway, and this’d
Ministry are coming together to publicize add up, dollar upon dollar, to make a sig- be a good conversation starter.”
and contribute to UNICEF’s 2009 Tap ni�cant impact on the lives of impover- �rough work with UNICEF, other-
Project, which is calling for USF students ished children. wise uninvolved students have the oppor-
to sign up and volunteer with the organi- To aid this effort, Ramos said, student tunity step out of their bubble of inaction
zation. volunteers have three duties: to recruit res- and work towards social change.
According to a press release from UNI- taurants to the project, support them once “�ey can actively make a difference
CEF, the Tap Project is a nationwide they sign on, and promote the Tap Project somewhere all the way across the world,”
grassroots initiative currently in its third among friends and have them eat at the said Rosas.
year. �e goal of this program is to get res- restaurants involved with the cause. �e Tap Project supplies the tools of
taurants to encourage patrons to donate $1 Members of AIESEC will be join- this change: “Students are given the most
or more for tap water, which is normally ing forces with UNICEF, said Ivana Ro- current information on the world water
free, during World Water Week, which sas, USF junior and president of the local crisis, and become knowledgeable about
lasts from Mar. 22-28. �ese donations chapter of AIESEC. the global situation,” said Ramos.
will fund UNICEF programs to provide “We decided to collaborate with the As for Ramos himself, he says he is one
people in developing nations with access Tap Project because it helps raise aware- student who has found his experience at
to clean drinking water, a resource that is ness about water issues and how people, UNICEF to be de�nitely worth the ef-
taken for granted in the United States but anywhere in the U.S. and basically in the fort.
the lack of which causes severe problems global North, should learn to appreciate “I got involved with UNICEF doing
for third-world countries. our clean water systems,” said Rosas. “As what every broke college student does,
“Every day there are millions affected,” AIESEC members we like to not only dis- searching for a job,” he said. “I thought at
said Dillon Ramos, senior business admin- cuss such global issues, but if we get the the time that I could at least be volunteer-
istration major at USF and San Francisco opportunity to act in a positive manner ing a little while I searched for a real job to
regional coordinator for the Tap Project. then we won’t hesitate to do so. �at’s a pay the bills, but I’m still here today and
Over 4,200 children die each day from very important part of being a leader, and don’t regret a thing.”
Enrique Zabala/Foghorn waterborne and sanitation-related illness- that’s one of AIESEC’s goals—to develop To volunteer for the Tap Project, stu-
Students came out to Poleng Lounge to support 10 of their classmates who lost nearly all es, such as malaria and diarrheal diseases. leadership skills and one’s potential.” dents must register at www.tapproject.
their possessions in a fire at their Baker St. apartment last month. The bar donated part of the
proceeds from liquor sales as well as money collected at the door to the students.
Also, Ramos said, “It even goes as far as Aside from leadership skills, Ramos said org. Ramos encourages volunteers to at-
affecting education in countries, when a there are several other reasons for students tend the Tap Project’s training session if at
HUNTER PATTERSON child must skip out on school every day like himself to participate in this program. all possible. �is event takes place at San
together and helped out, it makes me hap- to spend half their day fetching water in For one thing, it isn’t time-consuming or Francisco State University on Feb. 21, and
Staff Writer
py to go to USF.” Other students expressed hazardous areas.” hard to do. more information on the location and time
�e USF community came together last similar gratitude for the compassion shown With the Tap Project, UNICEF at- “�is project is absolutely brilliant in its of the training will be mailed to volunteers
Friday night at Poleng Lounge for a fund- by the community. Junior Enrique Zabala tempts to reduce the number of deaths simplicity,” said Ramos. “You already go to after registration.
raiser to support 10 students left homeless said that while he did not know any of the due to water-related diseases to zero. One restaurants, you already drink water. �e

Show Proceeds Benefit Women s Charities

after a �re ravaged their apartment build-
ing at Baker St. and Golden Gate Ave. on
Jan. 23.
�e fundraiser attracted a large crowd
of students and recent alumni, includ-
ing many close friends of the �re victims
who were popular around campus in part
for the well-known parties they hosted
at their Baker St. apartment. �ere was
no cover charge for the Poleng event, but
guests were asked to donate $5-$10, and
a portion of the bar sales also went to the
victims. One of the victims, Mark Wong,
said that while the total amount of money
raised was not yet known, he was grateful
for the support shown by his classmates.
One hundred and eleven guests RSVP’d
to the event on Facebook and one student,
Neal Rafferty, commented “Wow, this is
the �rst time the USF community came
Suspected Rapist May Face up to Eight Years Per Incident
RAPE: Continued from page one
tend classes, take part in any USF-affili-
ated activities, reside in his apartment in
�re victims personally, he had been to par-
ties at their house before and was happy to
help out.
All of the Baker St. apartment residents
have relocated, and eight of them are now
living together in an apartment on the west
side of campus. Wong said the roommates
found the apartment on Craigslist and are
adjusting to their new setting. However,
he said that the �re destroyed nearly all
of their possessions and they are without
furniture or other basic conveniences. Pro-
ceeds from the Poleng fundraiser will be
used to purchase couches and a table, he
said.
“We’re trying to get back on our feet,
we have everything moved in but are try-
ing to juggle the school life with Ikea
trips,” Wong said. “We got a microwave
last week, that was a big deal.”
eight years in state prison for each count of
rape, according to California Penal Code
Section 261.
�e Department of Public Safety con-
MONOLOGUES: Continued from page one
ful woman?”
�e question of how women interpret
gender is not what many conservative
groups are concerned with. Novak, who
once attended a Jesuit seminary program,
thinks that these groups oppose the “Va-
gina Monologues” performance because
people are affronted by the idea of the
body, as it appears provocative and threat-
ening. More speci�cally, Novak points to
the monologue in which a woman who
was raped experiences “salvation” after
a sexual encounter with an older wom-
an. Some Catholics and other religious
groups vehemently oppose the use of re-
safe campus – and this is a very safe cam-
pus… What matters is how we’re prepared
to react to it and prevent it from happen-
ing in the future.”
ligious language and terms like salvation
and baptism to describe an act which some
churches would consider sinful. Novak
said of those who criticize the show on
moral grounds without having seen the
performance, “�ey’re missing the point.”
He spoke of the deeper message of human
connection and its power to heal.
USF President Fr. Stephen Privett,
S.J. said, “It is USF’s responsibility as a
Catholic university to engage culture on
issues of substance like sexuality, human
life, poverty, human solidarity, etc. To do
so we must take culture as it is and not as
we would like it to be.” He thinks that
the show could bene�t by including more
modern perspectives of women. He said,
“I think the Vagina Monologues are a tired
and worn out effort that should be replaced
by a more contemporary presentation and
discussion of women’s issues.”
According to Novak, USF receives
hundreds of e-mails each year saying that
a Catholic university should not perform
the play. Some Jesuit universities like the
University of Portland, Loyola University
of New Orleans and the Wheeling Jesuit
University, have banned the show. How-
ever, “�e Vagina Monologues” is per-
formed on the USF campus every year.
Samantha Schwartz, executive producer
of the College Players, acknowledged that
USF president Fr. Stephen Privett, S.J. re-
sponds to these critics and allows it to be
performed. Novak said the administration
is very supportive and “very open to the
presentation.”
Pro�ts from the Vagina Monologues
performance will go to Ensler’s nonpro�t
V-Day organization that supports wom-
en’s groups that tackle the issue of violence
against women. Henderson said this year’s
production raised $6,052. In recent years,
Ensler has been focusing on preventing
female genital mutilation with young girls
in Africa.
Related Article: Vagina Monologues re-
view on page 6

Trees Cut and Trimmed

Loyola Village, or enter any part of the tinues to investigate the case and is leav- Lawson recommended simple measures
campus because he is considered a poten- ing the door open for any more victims to to help prevent rape. “We don’t ever want
tial threat to other students. come forward, whether related to this case to say that a victim is at fault in these situ-

If Caskey is found not guilty or has
his charges dropped, the university may
reevaluate the situation and permit him
to re-enroll in his classes and on-cam-
pus housing. If he is found guilty on the
charges, he could face between three and
or any other.
Lawson said he hoped the university
community will look at this as a warning to
exercise more caution in the future. “Use
this as a learning moment,” he said. “Bad
things happen sometimes, even on a very
to Eliminate Accidents
ations,” Lawson said. “What we do want
to say is there are ways to avoid being put
in those circumstances… Keep an eye on
your friend and take care of each other
– that’s what we want to promote.”

USF Offers Emergency Funds to International Students

STUDENT: Continued from page one
will mean for the economies of their own
countries. She said she had also spoken to
many students whose parents were earning
less money now than in the past few years
and had warned their children at USF to
rein in spending and �nd an on-campus
job to earn spending money. International
students who, in the past, have enjoyed
downtown shopping sprees, returning to
campus laden with bags from Neiman
Marcus, Saks and Gucci, have become far
more frugal, she said.
“Be more economical,” was the advice
given to �rst-year graduate student Sarin-
da Kasemset by her parents, both of whom
work in chemical distribution in her home
country of �ailand. �e economy in �ai-
land has been slowing along with the glob-
al recession, and has been made worse by
recent political instability in the country.
�e international airport in Bangkok was
overrun by protesters and closed for nearly
two weeks last December, an example of
how rival political factions have forced the
country and its economy into gridlock.
Kasemset, who is studying �nancial analy-
sis at USF has been trying to �nd an on-
campus job to earn extra money. She said
she applied to two jobs last week, one as
an administrative assistant and the other
as an audiovisual technician, helping with
the setup of video recorders and classroom
technology, but has yet to hear back.
International students are only autho-
rized to work on-campus and do not have
the visa status to work elsewhere in the
U.S.
Other international students who have
jobs on campus have had their hours cut.
Ginny Chen, a senior from Taiwan who
works as an administrative assistant in the
School of Nursing, said that last semes-
ter her hours were reduced to 10 a week,
down from 20 the previous semester. Chen
said all of her student co-workers also had
their hours cut as part of wider university
expense trimming. However, some depart-
ments on campus prefer to reduce hours
for international students before other
students because many domestic students
have federal work-study, which kicks in
some of the cost.
Pei Gim said she had been working
eight to 10 hours per week at ITS but re-
cently was told she could work no more
than �ve. She said that student employees
with work-study had their hours reduced,
but not by as many as students without
work-study, including all international stu-
dent employees. Like many international
students, Pei Gim is looking for more work
hours on-campus. She has been warned by
her father back in Malaysia that business at
his construction company has been steadily
declining and that she needs to do more to
support herself.
Irigoyen said that while he does not
believe all international students are strug-
gling, “Most of them are making changes
in their budgets and trying to save as
much as they can to stay at USF.” Many
international students including Pei Gim
and Irigoyen expect the U.S. �nancial cri-
sis to spread further around the world in
the coming months and are concerned for
themselves and fellow international stu-
dents.
USF tries to work with international
students who are having �nancial trouble
and created an emergency fund for these
students more than 20 years ago. �e In-
ternational Student Grant Program is
available to foreign students who have
�nished at least their sophomore year
and are able to prove unforeseen �nancial
problems. �e grant has a budget of �ve
times the yearly tuition, which currently
amounts to $82,900 and typically allocates
money to students who have experienced
the death, disability or forced retirement
of a parent or sponsor, according to Mur-
phy. �e fund goes to undergraduates �rst
and graduate students are only considered
if there is money left over. �e fund has
helped as few as four and as many as 12
students per year in the past few years and
has helped 250 international students in
total thus far, according to Murphy.
Pei Gim and Irigoyen are now work-
ing with International Student and
Scholar Services to identify international
students who may be experiencing �nan-
cial hardship. ISSS is planning to host an
international student focus group on Fri-
day, Feb. 20 from 1 to 2 p.m. “I am afraid
it is too early to say if international stu-
dents are struggling right now,” Irigoyen
said. “I think we will know the real magni-
tude in the coming semesters.” He hopes
that USF will do a better job informing
international students about the support Melissa Stihl/Foghorn
channels that are available to them. “I was A Facilities Management worker holds a chain saw after cutting down a
surprised to learn about the existence of small tree that had grown tangled with another tree outside the UC. The
the [Grant] fund since it was my under- tree had begun to grow sideways making it a hazard for students and
standing from the �rst time I got to USF staff who sit on the cement tables under the trees. Facilities Management
that international students cannot apply is selectively trimming trees across campus to prevent accidents. Last
for any �nancial aid,” he said. year a tree on the edge of campus fell in a storm, crushing an SUV.
San Francisco Foghorn
Senate Selects SEXY Slogan to
Revamp Image, Bolster Participation
MORGAN BRIEF
Staff Writer
�e Associated Students of the Uni-
versity of San Francisco Senate will be
launching a marketing campaign featuring
a racy new T-shirt slogan as well as other
noticeable changes. �e slogan, “Senate is
SEXY,” written in gold on a black shirt, is
an open-ended acronym, with axioms that
will change. �is new campaign will coin-
cide with the start of Senate Week during
the �rst week of March.
�e new slogan is the brain child of
the ASUSF Public Relations committee, a
group comprised of several Senate mem-
bers and headed by Vice President of Pub-
lic Relations, Casey Atud.
“�e Senate’s old image basically left
it without a real identity on campus,” said
Kelly Tenn, ASUSF Junior class represen-
tative and member of the committee. “How
are we supposed to represent everyone if
people don’t even know who we are?”
As part of their attempt to gauge stu-
dents’ perceptions of Senate, the Public
Relations committee conducted random
polling of USF students. �ey found that
a strong majority of the random students
MSA Organizing Events to Address Global Injustices
MUSLIM: Continued from page one
ing very religious, self-oriented, and not
open-minded. Now Saini says the group is
committed to changing that reputation.
USF sophomore, East African native,
MSA member, and non-Muslim Seghel
Yohannes said being an MSA member has
been one of the best educational experi-
“
ences of her life. “I originally joined to sup-
port my friends but then I realized I was
part of something bigger,” said Yohannes,
who does not practice religion but was
raised Roman Catholic. “I want to dispel
myths about the Muslim faith,” she said.
Yohannes said she didn’t know anything
about Islam until she became friends with
USF senior Amro Shukri. Shukri’s young
life is a microcosm of recent Middle East-
ern politics.
Shukri was born in Saudi Arabia and
later earned a scholarship and studied in
Lebanon in 2006, until the Israeli Army
invaded Lebanon. With Lebanese airports
destroyed, Shukri had to escape through
Syria to get back to Saudi Arabia. When
Shukri eventually returned to Lebanon
he found himself trapped in a civil war.
“�ere were bombings every few weeks
and schools would get shut down,” he said.
Shukri had to convince his family that
Parina Lounge Welcomes New Annex
USF junior Violeta Velazquez works on her laptop in the newly renovated Parina Lounge. Construction on the lounge occurred
over winter break and involved removing the dividing wall between the lounge and the room that previously held the St. Ignatius
Institute office. The expansion of Parina Lounge provides more chairs and couches and also a fireplace.
polled had a neutral or negative view of the
Senate.
“�e school’s perception of us now is
somewhere between ‘elitist’ and ‘discon-
nected,’” said Anthony Rivera, School of
Nursing Representative and member of
the PR committee. “We want people to
see us in a different light.”
�e goal of Senate is to include as much
student participation as possible, as the
senate is meant to act as a representative
governing body. According to USF’s web-
site, “[�e ASUSF Senate] seeks to im-
prove inclusivity, engage in multicultural
learning, and explore the diversity of oth-
ers. As leaders we pledge to communicate
students’ needs to the faculty, staff, and ad-
ministration to improve the experience at
the University of San Francisco.”
�is mission cannot be accomplished if
the majority of students are uninterested
in Senate. Without active engagement be-
tween senators and the student body, the
senators are unable to advocate for their
constituents’ needs. Senate also aspires to
increase voter turnout in their semi-annual
elections to have a more democratic elec-
toral process.
�e campaign hopes to improve the
coming to the United States was the best
option for him, a tough task considering
the American government’s poor image in
the Middle East because of its support for
Israel. “I had to convince them that San
Francisco was very open-minded,” he said.
“Every Saudi is born Muslim. I was born
where everything in society is based on Is-
lam. �ere are no different opinions. Here
we have different opinions.” Now at USF
They put the
”
error in
terrorism.
and with his family still in Saudi Arabia,
Shukri is a USF senior and marketing ma-
jor who wants to get his Ph.D. in architec-
ture. He feels an obligation to spread truth
about his faith. “I want to give a clear pic-
ture of what Islam is,” he said. “People still
don’t have the full picture.” �e opinion of
the MSA is that the American media helps
portray Islam as a violent faith. “�ey put
the ‘error’ in ‘terrorism,’” said Popal when
asked about the role U.S. media plays in
linking Islam to extremism.
NEWS
Senate’s image so that students will ac-
tually care to engage with their senators.
Bobby Marquez, off-campus representa-
tive and member of the committee, said
his goal was to make Senate “appear fun
and approachable to the average student.”
�e marketing campaign will also in-
clude greater virtual exposure with You-
Tube, Twitter, and BlogSpot accounts.
“We want students to be able to check us
out while they’re online checking Black-
board or Facebook,” Rivera said.
To get a better idea of public reaction
toward the new marketing campaign, the
committee conducted surveys. Atud said
“Of the 100 surveys [the committee] gave
out to random students, [they] only got
about 45 of them back. �e non-response
just goes to show a lack of participation on
the student’s part.”
�e committee said there was a largely
positive outlook on the new SEXY slogan.
Greg Wolcott, director of Student Lead-
ership and Engagement and advisor to the
Senate was supportive of the slogan. He
said, “When you look at the Jesuit tradi-
tion of respecting a student’s right to artis-
tic free speech, I think you’ll �nd this sort
of thing isn’t really that objectionable.”
�e MSA is in the process of planning
its �rst event, Mela, on Feb. 27, in McLar-
en Hall where they will try to shed light
on a “carnival of injustices” taking place
around the world.
One of these injustices spoken of is
the Palestinian-Israeli con�ict. “�ere’s
been a holocaust going on for 60 years,”
said Shukri. “I know it’s going to continue
until there is a breakthrough and people
wake up.”
“I don’t know what’s going on at this
school,” said Popal, on the lack of student
activism on USF’s campus. “We need
people to get into extra curricular activi-
ties and �nd something they care about.”
Being at a Jesuit school has not pre-
sented a problem for Popal and Muslim
members of the MSA, who continue to
practice their faith and are trying to set up
weekly carpools to mosques in the area for
all USF Muslims, regardless of whether or
not they are in the MSA. �ey also ex-
pressed interest in putting on an event for
interfaith dialogue. “I don’t feel any con-
�ict with the school. I actually thought it
would be more conservative,” said Shukri.
�e Muslim Student Association will con-
tinue to meet �ursdays at 6 p.m. in UC
417. All students are invited to attend.
Melissa Stihl/ Foghorn
Student Event Attendance Fluctuates
CHELSEA STERLING
News Editor
Attendance at a University of San Fran-
cisco lecture or other academic event can
vary greatly depending on the topic, speak-
er, venue and advertising efforts. With
classes, exams, homework and all of the ex-
citement that the city of San Francisco has
to offer, it is difficult for event organizers
to compete for student attention and time
and get them to attend a discussion on
campus. But overwhelming student pres-
ence at certain events suggests that student
interest must be gauged to draw students
away from academic responsibilities and
the lure of San Francisco to participate in
an academic discussion.
Professor Ronald Sundstrom, philoso-
phy professor and chair of the African
American studies minor, said that most
event organizers are very concerned with
student interest, but he also said that a uni-
versity and its academic discussions “cre-
ate a forum for intellectual exchange. �e
classroom shouldn’t be the only place for
intellectual exchange.” Bringing together
members of the public and students from
USF generates interest in a topic and fos-
ters the growth of ideas. Universities are
traditionally spaces for public and commu-
nity intellectual growth as well. �us, not
all events on campus are geared speci�cally
toward students.
One organization on campus that sup-
ports intellectual exchange is the Leo T.
McCarthy Center for Public Service and
the Common Good. �ere are approxi-
mately three to four academic talks held
every week at USF. Maureen Beckman,
assistant director of the McCarthy Center,
said that most of the programs at the Mc-
Carthy Center are academics-based. In ad-
dition to facilitating student exchanges in
the state and national capitals and provid-
ing students with internships, the Center
works closely with the Politics Society, a
student club that focuses on political and
civic issues. Beckman said, “We’ve always
held election night and election watch-
es. For every presidential debate, we do
something. We also hosted a mayoral se-
ries where we had different mayors come
and speak on campus.” �e 2007 mayoral
series, the subject of which was sustain-
able development, included current San
Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom. Beck-
man said of the talks, “People loved them.
Of course, whenever our mayor shows up,
the whole place gets �lled. But some of the
other mayors, we were surprised they got
such big turnouts.” She credited student
interest in sustainable development with
the popularity of the talks. She said, “�ey
were interested in sustainable develop-
ment, basically. I think that kind of topic is
very prevalent in USF’s culture, you know,
helping others and how do you help people
sustain a lifestyle and sustain their level of
economic status.” Laura Plantholt, a ju-
nior media studies major, attended Mayor
Gavin Newsom’s talk for a journalism class.
Plantholt is the managing editor of the
Foghorn, the student newspaper on cam-
pus, works part-time at Gillson Hall and
has an internship with �rasher magazine.
Even if attendance wasn’t mandatory, Pl-
antholt said she would have gone anyway.
She said, “When things are a big enough
deal, it will make me drop my other obliga-
tions or responsibilities.”
�e Joan and Ralph Lane Center for
Catholic Studies and Social �ought is
another entity on campus that holds sev-
eral discussions a semester and hosts guest
speakers. Its purpose is to “promote the
Catholic social thought of the Catholic
intellectual tradition,” said associate di-
rector Julia Dowd. �ey were in�uential
in getting “�ree Cups of Tea” by Greg
Mortenson selected as the required reading
for �rst semester freshmen and they were
also responsible for inviting the author and
humanitarian to come to campus to speak.
Dowd said, “We were involved in the very
beginning, saying he was a high pro�le per-
son that we really wanted to get here, all the
way to the day of, making sure everything
went smoothly and coordinating all aspects
of his visit.” Mortenson received an hon-
orary doctorate degree from the School of
Nursing and spoke to a large audience com-
prised of members of the public and USF
students. �e McLaren Complex was full
to capacity as were Crossroads Café, Parina
Lounge and Cowell Room 113, other areas
on campus that broadcasted Mortenson’s
speech. �e popularity of “�ree Cups of
Tea”, which was a New York Times best-
seller, and the external advertising effort
contributed to an exodus of off-campus at-
tendees. Dowd said, “We were surprised at
how many members of the public came to
that event and they really ended up taking
most of the space before most of the stu-
dents were able to get there.”
�e Lane Center sponsored three other
events this semester. Dowd said that they
FEBRUARY 19,, 2009
3
invited a Jesuit priest from Boston to speak
about patriotism and religious identity,
a speaker from Mexico who spoke about
feminist appraisal of the solidarity move-
ment in Chiapas, Mexico, and a panel with
two USF professors on the war in Iraq.
Lane Center events typically draw a crowd
of about one hundred people, Dowd said
however, “We get a lot of members of the
public. I would say the majority are mem-
bers of the public. We get students when
they are required to come to class.”
Most events are advertised through
professors and students learn about cam-
pus events in their classes, but aside from
the incentive of extra credit or mandatory
attendance required by a professor, many
students attend events based on their ex-
isting interests, not on what they are cur-
rently learning about in class. Ivana Ro-
sas, a junior international studies major,
French minor and president of AIESEC
(Association Internationale des Étudiants
en Sciences Économiques et Commer-
ciales) prefers attending academic lectures
in the humanities. She said, “Knowledge
is power and the more I’m informed, the
more I know a little bit about everything,
the more I am going to be able to write
a better paper or make better connections
with things that are going on in class and
things that are going on in the real world.”
With the exception of students who love
to learn like Rosas, Beckman said “If it’s
not something they’re [students] interest-
ed in, it’s hard to get them to come.”
Student clubs and organizations that
put on annual or semi-annual events gen-
erally enjoy large attendances. Courtney
Ball, president of the Black Student Union
(BSU), said that she organized Gospel
Extravaganza, the Breast Cancer Tea, Ex-
pressions and a pre-Kwanzaa event each
year during her two-year presidency. Of
these events, Ball said “�e most success-
ful event is Expressions. �ere are always a
lot of people that come out. We had about
75 there [this semester], but that’s because
people know Expressions is happening. I
would say that is the most successful be-
cause people always look forward to it and
people always leave happy.”
Some student organizations, like Col-
lege Players, conduct their own survey
of how their events went. Platt, who was
also the producer for “�e Vagina Mono-
logues” last year, said that, “After every
show, they do a re�ection on how the show
went, what the turnout was, what they
could have improved on, what each person
thought about the process, which is fan-
tastic.” Non-student organizations like the
McCarthy Center and the Lane Center do
not currently have any system or process
of evaluating the success of their events.
Beckman said, “We really haven’t done a
great job of getting the feedback after the
event, that’s something we really could
possibly work on to better our center.” Of
the Lane Center, Dowd said, “We do table
at our events, where people can come and
talk to us or sign up for events. We don’t
do evaluation forms at the end of all of our
events, we do at some. But that’s probably
the extent of it.”
Another annual event that gener-
ally draws many students is the Election
Watch sponsored by the McCarthy Center
and the Politics Society. �e widespread
interest in the 2008 presidential election
may have helped pack Parina Lounge with
eager students on election night this past
Nov. 4.
While part of the college experience is
attending on campus events, a big part of
a student’s experience at USF is exploring
the city of San Francisco. Platt said that
she is constantly struggling to motivate
students about Senate and “get spirit up
and apparent throughout the USF com-
munity.” She said, “It’s like the college ex-
perience to go to student stuff on campus.
Because we’re in the middle of San Fran-
cisco, it makes it harder for us. It’s USF
competing with the city of San Francisco.”
Some student cultural clubs have a built-
in advantage. While an interest or passion
in a �eld or topic can drive a student to
join a club, the desire to meet and socialize
with members that share the same ethnic
background can cement one’s allegiance to
his or her respective cultural club. Ball said,
“When I came to campus, I knew I had to
join BSU because when you are a minority
on campus, people need that support and
you want to see other people that look like
you. Just so you can have someone to talk
to and relate to and share resources with.”
Beckman said , “We have been very for-
tunate that students do attend our events,
because we try to pick things that students
want and that students are interested in,
because why do it? It’s an embarrassment
if you don’t get anyone there, just because
you want to get someone to talk. Our main
focus when we choose a speaker is will it
be bene�cial to our students.”
4
FEBRUARY
EBR
EBRUARY 19,, 2009 San Francisco Foghorn

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San Francisco Foghorn
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Save the Scorsese: Class Time
Should Be Interactive Experience ESPN A-Rod Coverage Example of Failed Journalism
Last week, the Foghorn staff took
note of professors missing signi�cant
class time and the negative effect that has
on USF students.
We emphasized the value that we
place in the instruction that we have
come to expect from our professors. �e
3-4 hours of instruction we have per
week from each of our professors is valu-
able, and we need to make sure that time
is used as effectively as possible so that
we get the most out of our USF expe-
rience and enter the work force as well
prepared as possible.
�e Foghorn has learned of professors
that are using the majority of class time
to show videos related to subjects that
are taught in their classes.
Some videos shown in class are cen-
tral to what professors are trying to teach.
But spending the majority of class time
showing videos is an invalid use of that
time. Using class time to discuss course
material is a much more valuable way to
get the most out of our classes.
If there are longer videos that are es-
sential to the course, they should be as-
signed for students to watch outside of
class. Professors do not assign readings
for students to sit and read quietly during
class time.
Instead, we take them home and
complete the readings for the next class
so that we can spend class time discuss-
ing the material.
Videos should no be any different.
Class time should be used for discussing
the videos and not watching them.
Professors can make the video avail-
able to students by putting them on re-
serve at the Gleeson Library or providing
links to videos that students can watch
online. �ere may be limited copies, but
SUBMISSION POLICY
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�e San Francisco Foghorn
F is the official student news-
paper of the University of San Francisco and is spon-
sored by the Associated Students of the University of
San Francisco (ASUSF).
�e thoughts and opinions expressed herein are those
of the individual writers and do not necessarily re�ect
those of the Foghorn staff, the administration, the
faculty, staff or the students of the University of San
Francisco. Contents of each issue are the sole respon-
sibilities of the editors.
Advertising matter printed herein is solely for in-
formational purposes. Such printing is not to be con-
strued as written or implied sponsorship or endorse-
ment of such commercial enterprises or ventures by the
San Francisco Foghorn.
©MMIV-MMV, San Francisco Foghorn. All
rights reserved. No material printed herein may be
reproduced without prior permission of the Editor in
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10 papers are allowed per person. Additional copies
are 25 cents each.
Business Manager Erika Cariaga
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Co-Production Manager & Online Editor
Heather Spellacy
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onlinemanager@sffoghorn.info
Rich Media Editor Sky Madden
richmedia@sffoghorn.info
Chief Copy Editor Daniela Ricci-Tam
copy@sffoghorn.info
Advisor Professor Teresa Moore
students can share the copies or get to-
gether outside of class to watch them.
In some circumstances, videos may
have to be assigned an extended due
date further than the following class.
�ere are many professors at USF,
especially in the Politics Department,
who release their syllabus as early as
possible. Some professors release them
as soon as their classes �ll up.
�is is a great way to combat the
length of time it may take for students
to watch a video.
If the syllabus is released months in
advance with videos listed, then students
can be held accountable for watching
the videos in a timely manner.
It gives us the chance to buy, rent,
reserve, or �nd any other way to get and
watch videos required for the course.
It takes an extra effort from both
students and professors, but it will save
valuable class time for instruction and/
or discussion.
Class is much more valuable and
productive when it is an interactive
experience. Its time is best put to use
when students and professors are shar-
ing thoughts, perspectives, and raising
questions for everyone in the classroom
to learn from.
Another option, if it is essential that
students watch the videos in class, is to
show only parts of �lms that are central
to the course learning requirements.
Students still get to view the mate-
rial without having to �nd it on their
own, and there is still enough class time
to be used doing other things.
Conducting class in the most inter-
active way possible best promotes the
growth of the USF community that we
hear so much about.
Columns for the Opinion section and Letters to the
Editor are gladly accepted from students, faculty
faculty, staff
and alumni.
All materials must be signed and include your printed
name, address, and telephone number for veri�cation.
Please include your university status (class standing or
title).
We reserve the right to edit materials submitted. All
submissions become the property of the San Francisco
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Columns of not more than 900 words should be sub-
mitted by 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before publica-
tion.
Letters of 500 words or less should be submitted by 5
p.m. on the Friday before publication.
Shorter
rter letters which get to
to the point have a greater
chance of being published than long, rambling dia-
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Anonymous letters are not published.
Editorials are written by the Foghorn ed
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and represent a group consensus.
�e San Francisco Foghorn Opinion page is a forum
for the free, fair and civil exchange of ideas. Contribu-
tors’ opinions are not meant to re�ect the views of the
Foghorn staff or the University of San Francisco.
OPINION
Homecoming Is Opportunity
Opportu For Social Change
JON COON
Columnist
Nearly one year ago this week, Wyclef
Jean stood in front of an enthralled student
body, visiting friends and family, alumni
and others. His vibrant character and
robust musical talents left us all in awe.
�e reduced admission of $5 for students
seemed like a steal, a welcome relief for
the frugal college student. Nonetheless, it
is likely that Wyclef Jean was not chosen
because of his musical prowess or jubilant
personality but rather with close attention
to his personal endeavors for his native
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western
Hemisphere. Unbeknownst to many may
have been that Wyclef established the Yele
Haiti Foundation in 2005 to “create small-
scale, manageable and replicable projects to
contribute to Haiti’s long-term progress.”
Similarly, the choice for our homecom-
NICHOLAS MUKHAR
Opinion Editor
Unless you’ve been buried under books
at the Gleeson Library for the past two
weeks, you’ve heard the sports gossip story
of the month, if not the year.
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez
tested positive for steroids in 2003 while
a member of the Texas Rangers. While
every media outlet in the country covered
part of this story, ESPN out did them all
with a week long soap-opera of the A-Roid
Scandal that they disguised as real news.
ESPN’s short drama series was high-
lighted by an on-air “confessional” inter-
view with Rodriguez that featured an un-
comfortable amount of make-up, far too
much hair gel, and far too few answers.
Hall of Fame sports reporter Peter Gam-
mons dumbed himself down to questions
like “Will baseball ever be as fun for you as
it used to be?” and “Did you ever hear any-
one call you A-Fraud in the Yankee locker
room?” �e whole thing was a poorly-pre-
pared play, directed by the “Worldwide
Leader in Sports.”
�e real story here is that Rodriguez
tested positive for steroids in 2003 dur-
ing a drug test conducted by MLB of all
of its players that was supposed to remain
anonymous. MLB collected urine samples
of those players and said that if more than
5 percent of those tests came back posi-
tive, they would implement a drug test-
ing policy the following year, which they
Oh, Nostalgia! Life on the Trail Not How I Remember It
HUNTER PATTERSON
Columnist
Pizza day aside, there were few things
that excited me in elementary school as
much as playing �e Oregon Trail. �e
game in�ltrated schools under the guise of
being educational software, meant to rein-
force what students were already learning
in the classroom about the harrowing 2000
mile journey from Independence, Missouri
to the promised land of the Oregon coast,
where our starving, infected pioneers could
strike it rich in the Gold Rush or farm the
fertile land.
Clearly I learned something, but we
�fth and sixth graders all knew the true
ing concert this year can be attributed as
much to a majority of students desiring a
hip-hop artist as it can to Lupe Fiasco’s
“acute thoughts [often] ignored [by] his
peers.” In other words, Lupe, born Wasalu
Muhammad Jaco, is as much a popular
hip-hop �gure as he is a fun-loving stu-
dent of the world around him, a “dazzling
lyricist” whose childhood bedroom �oors
tended to be “covered in comic books and
literature of all genres.” He is not a typical
“rapper” but rather a “thinking man.”
What’s more, Lupe has an affliction for
charity and has previously raised money
for “Nationwide Children’s Hospital and
the Children’s Miracle Network.” Earlier
this winter Fiasco donated $5,000 for new
children’s coats in his native Chicago and
sponsored a design contest bene�ting the
World Hunger Year Foundation (WHY).
So at this point you may be asking what
all this has to do with the concert. Why
should it matter to me or USF what our
featured musical artist does in his or her
free time and what communities they sup-
port? It is because the university’s mission
and one of the reasons that I choose to at-
tend, as I hope many of you can relate to,
emphasizes “social responsibility”, “a com-
mon good that transcends [our own] in-
terests”, the “development of each person
with the belief that no individual or group
may rightfully prosper at the expense of
did. Furthermore, the list of the players
tested along with their urine samples were
supposed to be kept separate, in different
labs, in different states, never to be put
together, and were to be destroyed after
testing as agreed upon by MLB and the
MLB Players Association. �e tests were
never destroyed, and when the BALCO
investigation began what eventually led to
the Barry Bonds indictment, the Federal
Government executed a search warrant of
the two labs and con�scated both the urine
samples and the list of players that were
supposedly destroyed. �e list and the
samples were matched-up, and eventually
Rodriguez’s name was leaked this month
to Sports Illustrated. You would think that
with all the money MLB rakes in, they
would have invested in a paper-shredder.
If ESPN was really in the business of
sports journalism, the questions would
have been for the league. Why weren’t
the samples and the list destroyed? Who
leaked the information? What kind of
breach of contract does this constitute be-
tween MLB and its players? What was
the league planning on doing with the in-
formation they had? Is Gene Orza, one of
the heads of the Players Association, under
investigation and/or subject to any disci-
pline for allegedly tipping off players as to
when they are going to be tested? Where
is the list and the samples now?
Instead, ESPN dressed Rodriguez in
bright colors and put him under more �o-
rescent lighting than Barbara Walters on
“�e View,” while he continued to lie dur-
ing his “confessional” through his freshly-
whitened teeth by reciting rehearsed an-
swers to soft-ball questions that he was
clearly prompted on.
He said he isn’t sure what he took be-
cause he was “young,” “stupid,” and “naïve.”
He said he started using steroids in 2001
and stopped in 2003 because he suffered
an injury during spring training in Sun-
rise, Florida and had a “revelation.” Do you
really think anyone believes you? You get
purpose of the game – to give the people in
our wagon party dirty names so the game
would insert them into announcements
like “[name] was bitten by a snake, do you
want to stop?” And hilariously, “[name]
has died of dysentery,” at which point you
could type an equally mature message on
their tombstone to leave on the side of
the trail. When one tired of completing
the historic trans-American journey, there
were always other feats to accomplish, like
seeing how quickly you could kill off the
members of your party. With ills includ-
ing typhus, cholera, measles, drowning and
starvation, there was no shortage of ways
your beloved family, all named after bodily
functions, could meet their demise. Hunt-
ing for animals along the trail was another
fun activity, good for whiling away the
hours between snack and lunch.
�e game holds a special place in the
hearts of early 20-somethings who spent
many a classroom hour on the trail trail, and
now Gameloft has updated the graphics
and re-launched it for cell phones. I down-
loaded the game earlier this week and have
to say – it’s just not the same as I remember
when I was a kid. �e graphics are better
and there are more features built into the
story line. In the updated version players
FEBRUARY 19,, 2009
5
others.” And what better way to illustrate
our intentions than to have a portion of
the homecoming proceeds bene�t a char-
ity of the artist’s choice?
I did some research last spring and
learned of Wyclef ’s charitable activities
and wondered if there was a way to raise
money for his cause? To possibly present
a check to Wycelf at his concert as a show
of unity with his mission. Unfortunately,
my idea did not pan out but the possibili-
ties have continued to permeate my mind
and body.
It is easy to enjoy a great artistic dem-
onstration and nice to pay a relative small
portion out of your pocket. It should be
even easier to establish a new tradition at
the University of San Francisco. A dol-
lar surcharge or two, a contractual agree-
ment for even a 5 percent donation of the
$50,000 we generally pay our homecom-
ing artist. My hope is that this would be a
unique feature that would encourage other
artists who share our values to be more re-
ceptive to coming to the university. How-
ever, at the very least it would show that we
are not merely “educating
educating hearts and minds
to change the world”; we are actively par-
ticipating in the creation of a better world.
Jon Coon is a junior �nance major and politics
minor. He blogs at infoforlivin.blogspot.com
paid a quarter of a billion dollars to play
baseball (officially $275 million over ten
years).
You know every food and drink that
has goes into your mouth, and every sy-
ringe and needle that goes into your, well,
use your imagination. Moreover, anyone
who is familiar with MLB’s testing policy
knows that there was no policy until 2004,
which is why Rodriguez stopped shooting
up in 2003. But, I digress.
If anyone at ESPN cared to do some
real investigative reporting or cared to
present real news instead of presenting
their pointless and invaluable opinions as
journalism, they would spend more time
investigating why we know this informa-
tion about Rodriguez in the �rst place and
less time giving us a fake interview and
analysis of that fake interview.
ESPN “Baseball Expert” Steve Phillips,
in his post-interview analysis, compared
Rodriguez to Britney Spears as a star who
is falling apart before us, much like Phillips
fell apart and was canned by the New York
Mets for being a lousy General Manager,
which is the only reason he is on ESPN
now as a “Baseball Expert.”
�e truth is, ESPN is not concerned
with the real story because just as Rodri-
guez sold his soul for better statistics and
just as MLB sold the purity of its sport for
pro�t and big business, ESPN has sold its
journalistic integrity for higher ratings.
�ey knew fans wanted to hear from A-
Rod, so they agreed to ask him non-in-
criminating questions just so they could be
the station with him on the air.
Maybe George Boddenheimer, the
CEO of ESPN, and his fake journalism
cronies should come to USF and take
Journalism Ethics, where we are taught to
present a balanced and accurate news story
and investigate facts, not feed the public
fake news and irrelevant opinions and call
it journalism.
Nicholas Mukhar is a senior media studies ma-
jor and journalism and legal studies minor.
Courtesy of Gameloft
Giddy-up! The family hits the trail in this cell
phone remake of the classic game.
can �x their wagon if it breaks instead of
having to buy a new one. �ere is also �sh-
ing in addition to hunting in the re-release,
but I just couldn’t get into it. I guess child-
hood memories will have to stay that way,
or maybe you’ll have better luck than I did
at reliving elementary school days.
I downloaded the game from Verizon’s
Get It Now app. store for $6.99 unlimited
use where it was a best seller. It is available
for most phones on most networks.
Hunter Patterson is a senior economics major
major.
6
FEBRUARY 19,, 2009
College Players Encourage Vagina Pride
The ensemble cast of the Vagina Monologues welcomes the audience as the show opens in the first of three performances on Thursday night in USF s Presentation Theater.
LEIGH CUEN
Staff Writer
On �ursday, Feb. 12 the all-woman cast
of ASUSF College Players’ Vagina Mono-
logues opened to a full house. 100 percent
of the show’s proceeds went to women’s
charities, namely the San Francisco Wom-
en’s Building and the V-Day movement,
which has raised over $60 million world
wide towards antiviolence programs, shel-
ters, and safe houses for women, as well as
educating millions about violence against
women and the efforts help.
�e production’s director, USF alumna
Meghan O’Connor, made the bold deci-
sion to introduce two new �nal acts ad-
dressing rape and violent con�ict to the
show’s repertoire. “We were not sure how
the audience would react,” said O’Connor.
She hoped the pieces would make people
want to get out of their comfort zones and
There s No Place Like Home for Wicked
MARO GUEVARA
Staff Writer
�e yellow brick road may have taken
Wicked to Broadway and beyond, but the
winds of good fortune have blown the hit
musical back into San Francisco, where
it is poised to cast its spell for as long as
it can in an open engagement at the Or-
pheum theater.
Wicked, with music by Stephen
SCENE
inspire them to help, especially in response
to the second act’s �nale video addressing
“femicide” and the use of violence against
women as weaponry in the Democratic
Republic of Congo. �e hard-hitting �lm
discussed how economic and political de-
cisions impact these con�icts.
�e audience responded positively to
the ensemble’s passion and risk-taking. “I
thought it was really good,” said sopho-
more Alessandro Broido. “I thought it was
intense in the end, with the video. It was
impacting.” Broido wasn’t the only man to
enjoy the Vagina Monologues this Valen-
tine’s weekend. In fact, opening night of
the Vagina Monologues had a surprisingly
high y-chromosome ratio for a USF event.
“I saw a lot of men in the audience,” said
O’Connor. “And they’re all pretty respon-
sive. �ey should feel comfortable with a
dialogue…with empowered and strong
women.” Strong and empowered women
Courtesy of Wicked
Schwartz and a book by Winnie Hol-
zmann, is officially based on Gregory
McGuire’s novel Wicked: �e Life and
Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,
but unofficially borrows heavily from the
1939 �lm starring Judy Garland. Unlike
L. Frank Baum’s classic tale and the movie
that was based upon it, Wicked’s story
begins on the other side of the rainbow,
where Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) and
was what this production was all about.
�e production’s key focus was the wor-
ship, agonies, and triumphs of female geni-
talia. Even the concessions where women-
centric, from the “I <3 Consent” T-shirts
to the array of homemade baked goods,
including a giant breast-cake rice treat and
kissy-lip brownies.
�e show itself was saucy, enthrall-
ing, and interactive, leaving neither a dry
eye nor an unindulged laugh in the house.
From sophomore Megan Pohlman, whose
effortless and vivacious rendition of “�e
Vagina Workshop” left the audience roar-
ing with laughter, to the collective perfor-
mance of “Comfort Women,” the black-
and-pink attired ensemble delivered a
commanding performance, a truly sublime
exhibition of theater.
�e audience left feeling engaged and
empowered. “All I have to say, is ‘cunt’ is my
new favorite word,” said sophomore Grace
Glinda the Good are friends and rivals in a
pre-Dorothy Oz.
If you’re like me and had a not-so-secret
affinity for the Wicked Witch of the West
growing up, you’ll love Wicked’s simple
but subversive premise. �e show chroni-
cles the creation of a pop culture icon as
Elphaba transitions from a self-conscious
green girl (a condition that makes her a
veritable pariah even by the standards of
other eccentric citizens of Oz) into a pow-
erful force to be reckoned with. “I don’t
cause commotions,” she says, “I am one.”
As Elphaba, Teal Wicks absolutely nails
it. With a cast recording as popular as
Wicked’s it can be hard to please audiences
who have very set expectations of what the
music should sound like. Wicks manages
to infuse Elphaba’s songs with a unique
style that combines superb technique with
genuine emotion. Her performance of the
show’s de�ning musical number, “Defying
Gravity,” is spot on but I would contend
that where she is truly brilliant is in her
unbridled rendition of “No Good Deed,”
where she portrays Elphaba’s embrace of
the Wicked Witch persona with relish.
Just like a twister, her voice can bring down
a house.
Equally signi�cant is Glinda’s transfor-
mation from blonde bimbo to responsible
ruler. Kendra Kassebaum manages to make
even the early Glinda lovable. She play’s
the seemingly vacant sorceress to great
comedic effect (especially in the number
“Popular”), in Act I and yet, by the time
Act II rolls around, Kassebaum has un-
covered a wonderfully surprising sense of
longing and hurt in Glinda.
I would be remiss not to mention the
hilarious Carol Kane (who I will always
think of as the grandma from the Ad-
dams Family movies) as the devious Ma-
dame Morrible, and David Garrison as the
vaudevillian Wizard of Oz. Garrison is so
earnest in his portrayal that even when you
know the Wiz is up to no good, you just
want to say “Aaaw, shucks” and forgive him
anyway.
Melissa Stihl/Foghorn
Porter with a smile. O’Connor attributed
the sweeping success of the production to
the love and dedication of the cast. “Every-
one had such a distinct personality. �ere
was no competition,” said O’Connor. “Ev-
eryone was hard working, and everyone
was funny...everyone was there the back
each other up.”
After celebrating their opening week-
end in the USF Presentation �eater, these
feisty feminist performers will take their
performance on the road for two perfor-
mances at a Bay Area women’s jail. “I’m a
little nervous,” O’Connor said. “We know
it’s going to be a time when we are going to
be changed more than the audience.” “And
that’s a good thing!” said producer and host
Julie Henderson. “Yeah,” O’Connor agreed.
“�at’s a good thing.”
Related Article: Vagina Monologues
Panel on page one.
Overly saccharine at times, Wicked
dares you to resist its unabashed embrace
of the sentimental. A far cry from the dark
tone of McGuire’s novel, the musical em-
braces a modern, pop sensibility that is
ever present in Stephen Schwartz’s score.
�ere are so many one-liners and zingers
strewn throughout the script that audience
members may feel all punned out by the
end of Act I.
But just when things seem to be get-
ting a little too Disney-�ed, the show ven-
tures, albeit brie�y, into darker territory.
Underneath the Wizard’s convincing layer
of hick-town sincerity is a ruthless scare-
mongering politician. Even in this new era
of “Hope and Change” the parallels to the
Bush years are not lost.
When the story wanes, there is always a
moment of colossal spectacle that is ready
to dazzle: the beautiful costumes that si-
multaneously reference and reinvent the
world of Oz, the revolving door of awe-in-
spiring set pieces and an endless onslaught
of special effects that are too good to give
away here.
If the shows incredibly polished produc-
tion values are the icing on the cake, then
Elphaba and Glinda’s remarkable friend-
ship is the moist and spongy center that
keeps the whole thing together. It’s become
standard for musicals to extol romance as
the greatest expression of love, so it’s re-
freshing to see a story where friendship is
presented as an equally important force of
change and growth in people’s lives. My
guess is that what will cement Wicked’s
well-deserved place in popular mythology
won’t necessarily be the “Oh my Oz” mo-
ments created by Universal Studios, which
produced the show. I think it will have
more to do with how Elphaba and Glinda’s
friendship is a testament to the incredible
rewards we can reap when give the people
we think we loathe another chance.
Wicked is now playing at the Orpheum
�eater. For more information on purchas-
ing tickets please visit www.sfhnsf.com or
call 415-551-2000.
San Francisco Foghorn
New Music The
Foghorn Loves
ADEN JORDAN
Staff
taff W
Writer
As the underrated leader of �e New
Pornographers, A.C. Newman doesn’t al-
ways receive the critical high marks that are
often received by his bandmates, the the-
atrical Dan Bejar and the coy Neko Case.
On Newman’s sophomore solo album,
“Get Guilty,” the singer-songwriter proves
that his lyrics are just as vivid and liter-
ate as anything Bejar has written for �e
New Pornographers, Destroyer or Swan
Lake. Newman also shows that he can
create heart-swelling vocals without the
assistance of Case. After the overly sweet
Pornographers album “Twin Cinema” and
their even more disappointing follow-up
“Challengers,” “Get Guilty” is a �ne return
to form for Newman. �e best song on the
album is “Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer,” a
track that includes some of Newman’s most
poetic analogies: “Like a fourth wall, a car
chase on blue screen, all eyes roll/ Like a
snowfall that blankets the city, swallowed
whole.” Bittersweet songs such as “�un-
derbolts” and “Elemental” are also stand
outs, and on these tracks Newman paints
small canvas vignettes with skill equal to
Colin Meloy of the Decemberists. Out of
the twelve songs here, only “Submarines
of Stockholm” and “Young Atlantis” are
worth skipping on account of rushed pac-
ing on the former and a sluggish gait on
the latter. Here’s to hoping the next New
Pornographers album sounds half as good
as this strong solo record.
Despite his fast-growing popularity,
two desperate arguments are frequently
leveled at Andrew Bird’s music. One ar-
gument is that Bird sounds too much like
his contemporary, multi-instrumental-
ist and singer-songwriter Su�an Stevens.
However Bird’s voice and his music sound
warmer and more inviting than anything
by Stevens. Bird has a unique voice: gentle,
strong, reassuring and con�dent, all at the
same time. �e second claim is that Bird’s
lyrics include a vocabulary so intellectual
that the singer must obviously be trying
too hard. �is is also an invalid argument,
and the lush new Bird album, “Noble
Beast,” leaves both arguments moot. On
“Noble Beast,” Bird presents an emotional
range in his vocals that seems to �t with
every musical note as well as his so-called
“esoteric” lyrics. �e word “souverian” may
seem like a big word to some unadventur-
ous listeners, but when Bird sings the word
it sounds more like “so very young” and so
springs multiple meanings. Bird also skill-
fully makes transitions and shifts in his
songs. �e song “Master Swarm” gradually
moves into a salsa-�avored �amenco feel
only to end in rapid computer beeps and
blips. Sly distorted guitar and haunting
feedback seem to come out of nowhere on
“Not a Robot, But a Ghost.”Bird regularly
writes songs that have to do with animals,
but he also has great insight into the hu-
man condition like on the mournful song
“Effigy”: “Fake conversations on a nonex-
istent telephone/ Like the words of a man
who’s spent a little too much time alone.”
“Noble Beast” may stand as an apt title:
Bird comes across as an intelligent, sen-
sitive, maybe even chivalrous gentleman,
while his layered sound seems to take on
a life of its own, breathing in the beautiful
world Bird describes.
San Francisco Foghorn
Santa Cruz natives A Quantum Visionary play for Erasmus supporters on Feb. 6 in Phelan Hall as part of Festival For Freedom.
Erasmus Benefit Rocks Phelan
CHRIS MOORE
Staff Writer
You can usually �nd sophomore Jenny
Williams in front of Phelan Hall selling
fair trade coffee or Krispy Kreme dough-
nuts for an Erasmus fundraiser into the
wee hours of the night, desperately trying
to get drunken students to pitch in for the
cause. It was exciting to see her abandon
the traditional method of fundraising ig-
nored by students and shake everybody’s
ears, hearts, and minds by bringing a �ve-
hour rock festival to the USF campus: the
Festival For Freedom. �e lineup included
local favorites such as Ty Segall, Travis
Hayes Busse, Ghost Town Refugees and
Man/Miracle. �e real treat was to see
Santa Cruz bands on the bill. �is was
not all too surprising of Santa Cruz native
Williams, who is a devoted fan of all the
Santa Cruz bands she invited. Williams
should have dropped the doughnuts and
applied what she loves, music and culture,
to help bene�t others a long time ago.
�e Santa Cruz bands that conquered
Phelan’s McLaren Conference Room were
Quantum Visionary, Depth Charge Re-
volt, Koalacaust, Vox Jaguars and James
Rabbit. �e music from both Northern
California regions crafted an eclectic set.
Each band sounded different from the
others, bringing its own �avor, sound, at-
titude and style. Williams’ intention was to
showcase varying modes of sound, but it
was disappointing to see that most of the
USF students missed out on some mes-
merizing bands, mainly showing up for
the latter part of the festival to see popular
local acts Travis Hayes Busse and Ghost
Town Refugees. �e space was �lled with
Santa Cruz fans, friends and families for
most of the night.
Depth Charge Revolt left me in awe.
Fans of the Melvins, Butthole Surfers and
Swans would rejoice at their sense of sheer
Director Henry Selick Crafts Romantically Macabre World In Coraline
Courtesy of Focus Features
SKY MADDEN
Staff Writer
Henry Selick is known for his direction
on “�e Nightmare Before Christmas,”
“James and the Giant Peach” and his semi-
nal 1981 work “Seepage,” which showcased
his distinguished taste for developing both
classical and postmodern animation tech-
niques. Starting Feb. 6, he delivers a mani-
acal stop-motion animation adaptation of
writer Neil Gaiman’s dark novella “Cora-
line.” Selick’s “Coraline” is just as human
as it is mythical.
brutality. Duo drummers laid down rhyth-
mic chaos while the guitars built up walls
of sinister melodies only to have break-
downs destroy them with their sledgeham-
mers of relentless distortion. �e voice
of lead singer Hector Lee Heaviside was
agonizing, not only to hear but to watch as
he heavily stomped around the stage, his
face getting redder with every ferocious
bellow. Depth Charge Revolt does not
want to criticize people through fear, but
help them �nd meaning in the absurdities
of personal emotions and social problems
that one faces daily such as sex, anxiety,
and the meaning of identity.
Besides the psych-metal of Quantum
Visionary, the rest of the acts weren’t near-
ly as heavy as Depth Charge Revolt, but
they all had their own unique kick. Rowdy
punk folk boys Koalacaust �nally got peo-
ple’s knees moving and gained a following
of moshers. Instead of guitars grimed out
by distortion, Koalacaust kept it clean and
acoustic. Somehow within the swift riffs
of the acoustic guitar, the trotting drums,
the deep melodic breaths of the accordion
and the gravelly but sweet vocal harmo-
nization, Koalacaust seemed as tough as
similar acts the Dropkick Murpheys or
O’Death.
Everybody got a chance to cool off with
the crooning of Travis Hayes Busse. San
Franciscans and Santa Cruzers huddled
around the stage. No one was standing, all
sat down before Busse. �e crowd was at-
tentative, yet re�ective during the personal
songs he sang. An intimate performance
capped off with a cover of �e Smiths’
“�ere’s A Light �at Never Goes Out.”
Ghost Town Refugees engraved their
“psych-jazz-rock” infusion into every open
mind around campus with consistent per-
formances at Crossroads, Harney Plaza
and venues around the city. For this show
the band members collaborated with Kev-
In an interview given on Jan. 21 in San
Francisco, Selick talked about his stylis-
tic approach to visually representing Neil
Gaiman’s characters.
“�is is what I like to do in animated
�lms and with ‘Coraline’ in particular ...
I’m treading this �ne line between car-
toons and live action. I want you to believe
that these are �esh and blood, that Cora-
line could die if she’s trapped in the “other”
world. But I found that if your designs get
too close to live action -- if they start to re-
semble real people too much, I think they
suffer in comparison and they feel dead so
I like to exaggerate the design.”
Selick’s obsession with that which is
impossibly skeletal and gaunt is amongst
many of the visual accents presented in
“Coraline.” �e stop-motion �lm em-
powered its animators to showcase their
acute sense of detail. Everything from
Coraline’s painted blue nail polish to the
sparkles on individual threads of her sil-
very-purple knit sweatshirt appear so well
shaped, it feels as though you could reach
out and touch them. While these details
are so much a part of the magic that Selick
and his team bring to Gaiman’s characters,
Selick calls his craft, stop motion, “im-
perfect.” When asked why he chose this
mode in particular, Selick explained, “Stop
motion shakes with life. You can feel the
artist’s hand. It is inherently creepy, but it’s
also very warm.”
It’s difficult not to draw comparisons to
Selick’s 1996 �lm “�e Nightmare Before
SCENE
Melissa Stihl/Foghorn
in Kunze to make experimental videos that
put the Ghost Town Refugees’ music into
new depths. In terms of performance, this
was the Refugees’ tightest and most con-
�dent set.
When Vox Jaguars were around 17- 20
years old and have been playing music for
years. �ey had off-the wall energy mixed
with Elvis Costello coolness that ripped
away from their garage rock sound. �ey
demanded the attention of the audience
and lured them even closer to feed off
their energy. �eir youthful, vigorous en-
ergy and their re�ned skills will spark even
greater and more matured hits, like their
song “Swagger,” later in their career.
It was impossible not to dance to the
sensational group James Rabbit, one of the
two headliners. �ey had infectious melo-
dies, rhythms that would tear your sneak-
ers apart, quirkiness that slaps the brain
silly, and dance moves that compete with a
churchgoer overcome by the Holy Ghost.
�e biggest regret of my night was telling
the lead singer, Taylor, that they should
make it big while asking for a copy of their
latest album. I realized mainstream success
would ruin them and any chance of high-
energy acts like theirs to stay unique and
autonomous.
�e crowd was wincing away by the
time Ty Segall, the �nal headliner of the
night, took to a dark corner of the room
for his set. Everyone was exhausted from
the four-and-a-half-hour music marathon.
Only the committed and the true stuck
around. �e lone cowboy of furious garage
rock, Ty Segall, with his guitar clutched
in steady hands and drum shackled to his
feet, buckshot the senses right back into
primeval. �e skull-snapping kick drum,
the �lthiness of the guitar and the livid-
ness of Ty’s hollering reminded us why we
came to the festival in the �rst place: to
listen to some awesome music.
Christmas.” Jack, the anti-hero of “Night-
mare,” is determined to marry the worlds
of Christmas and Halloween. Coraline is
a pointed, brooding young girl interested
in magic and winning the love and atten-
tion of her parents. Both �lms engage in
grim parallels of the protagonists’ realities,
but where “Nightmare” is unnerving and
manic, “Coraline” is contemplative and
mature. For instance, the score in Selick’s
latest �lm takes a back seat. �e music of
“Coraline” moves more like the glue of the
narrative rather than the conductor of plot
points. Usage of all things orchestral is
quaint, but not subtle as it weaves in and
out of Coraline’s adventure. �is is com-
poser Bruno Coulais’ �rst time scoring for
a narrative �lm.
�e �lm begins as Coraline is explor-
ing her new surroundings in a foggy resi-
dential plot of land. She has moved to a
new house in a rainy town with her fond
but busy botanist parents. She meets Wy-
bie, a �lmic addition to Gaiman’s original
story, who is a strange neighborhood boy
interested in magic and adventure like
Coraline. �e two quibble competitively
about the mastery of operating a water rod
from the moment they meet. Aggravated
by her new acquaintance, she assumes that
the button-faced doll that appears on her
doorstep the next day is a gift from Wybie.
Repelled by her preoccupied parents, Cor-
aline �nds herself exploring her new house
with her doll, a partially autonomous ob-
ject that becomes lost and then found,
Warhols Thirteen Screen
Tests Delight Film Fans
COLIN GIBBONS
Staff W
Writer
�e San Francisco Film Society recently
offered a rare glance at some of iconic pop
artist Andy Warhol’s less famous work in a
performance entitled “13 Most Beautiful.”
A collection of the artist’s fabled screen
tests were presented in a unique context,
screened in the theater space at the Pal-
ace of Fine Arts and accompanied by the
shimmering melodies of Dean Wareham
and Britta Phillips. Viewed in this rather
surreal environment, the mysterious charm
of Warhol’s slow-motion portraits proved
inescapable.
�e 13 screen tests were chosen from
hundreds that Warhol shot of visitors to
�e Factory in the mid-sixties and sub-
sequently used for a variety of purposes,
most notably as video accompaniment for
acts such as the Velvet Underground in his
multimedia sensation �e Exploding Plas-
tic Inevitable.
Although the tests were all shot with
the same formula (four minutes, still
camera and faces only), Warhol’s light-
ing manipulations and his subjects’ antics
provide an intriguing variety of emotions.
�e curator’s selections demonstrated the
remarkable array of character captured in
this narrow medium, with some �gures
beaming full of gregarious glamour and
others brooding, forlorn.
Richard Reem, presented �rst, remained
still, as though frozen in a photograph,
a marked contrast to the closing screen
test of Jan Holzer, who made a show of
vigorously brushing her teeth while star-
ing intently into the camera. �e subjects
between them �lled in the spectrum, as
Paul America chewed gum and laughed,
a glowering Dennis Hopper refused eye
contact, and Nico playfully ducked in and
out of the frame. Although the manner
and behavior of the subjects varied, their
glowing images each demanded the same
lingering attention.
MELISSA BARON
Scene Editor
�e seemingly endless rain, the
days that start out sunny and always
wind up cloudy and cold and the ter-
rible weather that just won’t seem to
go away inspire this week’s mixtape. It
may not be the happiest mix, but hey,
at least it’s just as dismal as San Fran-
cisco in February.
1) “It’s Been Raining” by Kimya
Dawson off of “Hidden Vagenda”
2) “One Day’s Evening” by Wax-
wing off of “For Madmen Only”
pointing Coraline to a secret door inside
the house. It is when Coraline opens the
doors to this mystical canal that we expe-
rience the riveting experience of 3-D --
something I had previously thought of as
a failed commercial invention. Instead the
surrealism of manipulation of color and
motion left my body tight and wanting
more. Once Coraline reaches the other end
of the lateral shoot she walks into a home
much like her own where everything par-
allels the house she left. �e things in this
house have an undead quality to them, a
staple for the visual condition of all Selick’s
characters. Inside Coraline’s “other” room
the porcelain turtle she once had is now a
skeleton in motion, hopping around. Her
friends from her old town in the picture on
her nightstand are alive within the frame;
they speak out to her. Coraline wakes up
and is no longer experiencing the undead
surroundings. It is also on this morning
that we see Selick writing the rules of his
dietetic world as we meet characters like
Bobinsky -- the pot-bellied, but otherwise
inhumanly thin veteran circus performer -
- and Miss Spink and Miss Forcible -- the
lesbian couple of especially plump propor-
tions who excel in Scottie (dog) taxidermy.
Coraline’s new friends share whimsical in-
formation with her without trying to get
to know her. It’s as if they already do.
�e color palate of Coraline transcends
pluralism with its blues, pinks, violets and
oranges that combat the black and grey
all within one Selick universe. Such a
FEBRUARY 19,, 2009
7
Beneath the hypnotic gazes, Wareham
provided texture-laden guitar work and
traded haunting vocal melodies with Phil-
lips. Wareham has been making atmo-
spheric pop since the late ‘80s, originally
with Galaxie 500, then Luna, and now with
his wife (also formerly of Luna) under the
name Dean & Britta. �e pair, who have
previously worked on the score for �lms
such as Noah Baumbach’s “�e Squid and
the Whale,” proved an ideal choice for the
Warhol project. Joined by Matt Sumrow
playing keyboards and guitars and Antho-
ny LaMarca on drums, their pieces (a few
older originals, a couple of covers and the
rest composed for the event) served not
only to draw out the personalities of the
faces on the screen, but also to evoke the
spirit of the period from which they came.
�e in�uence of Lou Reed was appro-
priately quite apparent throughout the per-
formance. Reed’s own “Not a Young Man
Anymore” was played during his screen
test, while Dean & Britta’s “Singer Sing,”
which was played for Ann Buchanan’s test,
gave an emphatic nod to “Street Hassle,”
Reed’s epic anthem of underground life.
During Nico’s screen test, Britta sang
an ethereal version of “I’ll Keep it With
Mine,” a song written by Factory visitor
Bob Dylan and recorded by Nico herself.
�e images of those two artists, Reed
and Nico, perhaps best represent the es-
sence of the collection as whole. Reed,
cool and removed behind dark glasses,
suggestively sipping a bottle of Coca-Cola
and Nico, gazing wistfully at the camera,
turning away and glancing back again, em-
body a lost and impossible charm made all
the more enticing by time and distance.
�e striking images of “13 Most Beau-
tiful” illustrate Warhol’s remarkable skill in
exposing the extraordinary in those around
him. Trans�xing and beautiful, the screen
tests prove to possess an enduring appeal
– they simultaneously capture the allure of
a bygone time and evince the continued
relevance of one of that era’s great artists.
3) “Cold Cold Water” by Mirah off
of “Advisory Committee”
4) “Look Into the Air” by Explo-
sions in the Sky off of “How Strange,
Innocence”
5) “Peacocks in the Video Rain” by
John Vanderslice off of “Pixel Revolt”
6) “Funnel Cloud” by the Cairo
Gang off of “S/T”
7) “�ere is a Place” by Silver Jews
off of “Tanglewood Numbers”
8) “Our Weather” by Pants Yello!
off of “Recent Drama”
9) “Your Belgian �ings” by the
Mountain Goats off of “We Shall All
Be Healed”
10) “Only Babies Cry” by Paul
Baribeau off of “Paul Baribeau”
warmth of colors highlighting things like
the garden is often confronted by the im-
mense overcast of setting, making for a real
visual treat.
Coraline travels to her parallel universe
a second time. When we meet her “other”
mother and father, we learn that despite
their black button eyes that inspire a feel-
ing of immense unpleasant creepy polite-
ness, they are a part of Coraline’s ideal.
However, it is Wybie’s black cat that begins
to shake Coraline’s perception of comfort
and understanding of her parallel parents.
He warns her that things may not be as
they seem. His admonishment is realized
at once when terror strikes Coraline as her
“other” mother asks Coraline to sew black
buttons in place of her eyes in order to re-
main in “other” world.
“I don’t know what it is about stop mo-
tion. You can show children the original
King Kong; they’re fascinated by it,” Selick
says. “I don’t know why, it’s just as a kid
everybody goes through a phase where
they believe their dolly, their toys are living
things, and it doesn’t take much to imagine
them moving and coming to life. It’s al-
most as if stop-motion is always old-fash-
ioned. It’s not new. It’s not modern. It
feels like it’s from another time.”
“Coraline” has been a project between
Selick and author Neil Gaiman since 2000.
Now with its much-anticipated arrival, the
viewing experience of “Coraline” is not
from a tangible time or place but rather it
is of the romantically macabre mind.
8
FEBRUARY 19,, 2009 San Francisco Foghorn
San Francisco Foghorn
SPORTS FEBRUARY 19,, 2009
9

Who Likes Short Shorts? Heather Likes Short Shorts

For Foghorn editor, USF s rugby team Defenders of the Faith is love at first sight
HEATHER SPELLACY
Staff Writer
Rugby, a game with constant tackling,
no pads and an abundance of men with ac-
cents is possibly one of the most intriguing
club sports. Defenders of the Faith, USF’s
club team, are making a name for them-
selves as a true force to be reckoned with.
Feb. 12 they hosted their �rst home
match of the season against Cal Maritime’s
Keelhaulers. �e cold night welcomed the
players in their tiny shorts and short sleeve
polos, with the crowd bundled and freez-
ing.
Toughness must be the greatest prereq-
uisite of the sport, followed only then by
actual talent.
As both teams made their way to the
�eld, they began their pre-game traditions
of yelling and grunting in unison. �is set
the manly feel of the game, as did the con-
stant cursing from the sidelines.
Unlike basketball or baseball where al-
most anyone can follow the game, rugby
was like a constant blob of uncertainty.
Without knowledge of the game, it’s near-
ly impossible to follow, even harder to un-
derstand.
More often than not, all the players
would be interlocked, one team pushing Rex Walters Edition
against the other, in what is called a scrum,
one of the only terms possible to compre- NICHOLAS MUKHAR
hend for the common spectator. Columnist
USF played well defensively in the �rst More disheartening and annoying than
half, keeping the score close with Mari- USF’s inability to close the gap and upset
time ahead 14-5. �e �rst half was boring Gonzaga on Friday night was the appear-
thanks to a lack of injuries, little action and ance of head coach Rex Walters and the
infrequent scoring. �e mundane half gave USF coaching staff. Apparently, they never
spectators time to evaluate the merits of got the “Dress for Success” memo that was
each player, namely the way their shorts sent to the Gonzaga coaching staff, who
showcased their athletic builds. arrived at the Hilltop suited and booted.
While both teams showed promise, Cal Walters and the gang looked like a bunch
Maritime had a clear advantage: it was of broken streetlights in their yellow polo
shirts with thin, bright-green cross stripes.
obvious they knew what they were doing,
�e most unprofessional looking of
while USF’s team made a few amateur
mistakes that resulted in lost points. them all was Walters who sported slacks
�e �nal score of the game was 55-13 and dress shoes to go along with his un-
in favor of Cal, but USF was not at all dis- tucked shirt. Walters paced and ran back
heartened. and forth alongside his bench the entire
“We played a good game, showed a lot game, his shirt bottom messily �ailing with
of improvement, but we need to work on every hand gesture towards his players and
�tness. Next year we’re going to be amaz- the referees. His wardrobe malfunction
ing,” said junior Jeremy Shorenstein, who can surely be held accountable for a 3-5
plays the position of lock. point swing alone just based on the sloppy
�e team recently debuted a new web- vibe he was giving off.
site with videos, pictures, rosters and event What happened to the fresh-to-death
times. You can check it out at www.usfrug- Rex from Florida Atlantic, the sharply-
by.com. If you’re interested in coming out dressed Walters at his news conference
for a game, here’s a listing of the remaining when he was given the USF job, or even
home games. You don’t have to go far, and the clean-cut coach who started patrolling
afterwards there were hot dogs! the USF bench this season? Stick to the
classic look. �e black or dark blue suit
Santa Clara University and white shirt did you just �ne. You can
February 28 @ 1:00pm show school pride with a green or gold
Humboldt State University tie.
March 14 @ 1:00pm We all know it’s been a tough year. At
San Francisco State Heather Spellacy/
lacy Foghorn
lacy/ least go through the bumpy road with
The USF men s rugby team shows promise vs. Cal Maritime but the young team loses 55-13.
April 25 @ 1:00pm smooth style.

Lowhorn Would Have to Transition to the Wing to Make NBA

DIOR: Continued from page ten
to get past NBA defenders. One thing that
Lowhorn could improve on is his quick-
ness so that he can play the wing.
Wing players have to be able to handle
the basketball with skill since they do a lot
of dribbling. Players like Paul Pierce have
great ball-handling skills, which allow him
not to turn it over, and makes it easier for
him to create shots. Lowhorn doesn’t have
to handle the ball at USF since he plays
in the post, where he operates close to
the basket. It’s hard to determine whether
Lowhorn has ball-handling skills or not
because it is rare for him to have the ball
in his hands outside the post. But this is
something that he should work on if he
wants to go pro because it’s a vital skill to
have.
Shooting the three-pointer is another
important skill to have if you play on the
wing. Most small forwards can shoot the
three efficiently and this helps their of-
fenses because it allows the team to stretch
the �oor. �is is something that Lowhorn
has improved this season. Last year he was
shooting 25.7 percent on one attempt per
game from three-point range, this year he
is shooting 47.9 percent on two attempts
per game. He is shooting more threes and
making a much higher percentage. If he
can continue to improve this skill to the
point where he can make the shot con-
sistently then that will improve his draft
stock.
Finally, wing players must be athletic.
�ey have to have good leaping ability
while also being fast. Lowhorn does not
have great leaping ability and he is not the
fastest person on the court. But these are
skills that can be developed. Lowhorn has
shown his ability to throw down impres-
sive dunks but he needs to continue to
work on his leaping ability so that he can
grab rebounds against taller players. He
also should improve on his speed so that
he can keep up with faster players.
Although Lowhorn has a lot to im-
prove on, he does a lot of things well. We
all know he can score efficiently. He also
has quick feet in the post. Lowhorn has a
lot of moves in the post and he can score
in a variety of ways, such as the turnaround
jumper and the hook shot. He also has the
size and the body type to handle a long
season. But all these skills don’t translate
to the NBA.
�e fact that USF does not produce
many professional athletes also hurts Low-
horn’s case. Actually, it’s hard to determine
how good Lowhorn really is since USF
plays in a conference with average compe-
tition. He is also by far the best player on
the team but could he play at this level on a
team like the University of North Carolina
or Duke?
Being a great player at USF is one
thing but being great on UNC or Duke
is another. Frankly those teams are on a
whole other level, one that USF can only
strive to be at. Lowhorn is talented there
is no doubt about it but he is not talented
enough for the NBA. But he has the skills
to be able to play overseas. Living in Spain
or Greece would be fun, right?
 SPORTS
10

San Francisco Foghorn FEBRUARY 19,, 2009

Men s Basketball Loses Back-to-Back Games to Portland, Gonzaga

Team heads to bottom of WCC rankings yet holds powerhouse Bulldogs to within 5 after suspending 4 pla
ANDREA LENNOX
Staff Writer
�is past �ursday night, Feb. 12, the
Dons faced off the Portland Pilots in an
upsetting 72-67 loss in War Memorial
Gym. �e Pilots lived up to their reputa-
tion as the West Coast Conference’s lead-
ing 3-point scorers as the Dons were un-
able to ward off their hot streak.
�e Pilots �red off the close game
with a surge from their offense. With a �rst
quarter scoreboard reading 21-8 just eight
minutes into the game, many believed this
would be an easy win for the Pilots. How-
ever, the Dons turned to their top scorer,
and the West Coast Conference’s top scor-
er, Dior Lowhorn.
Dior scored 12 points for the Dons in
the �rst half, lifting the crowd and team
mates’ spirits. �is was only 12 of the 24
points Lowhorn scored in the entire game.
�e Dons managed a 15-0 run as Portland
only managed eight more points by half-
time. �e score was 29-27 going into half
time.
Lowhorn brought the Dons into the
lead with the �rst four points of the second
half, with the scoreboard now reading 33-
27. However, Portland quickly answered
back with �ve 3-pointers in four minutes,
including a 23-6 run that left the Dons
with an 11 point de�cit.
�e scoreboard now read 50-39 with
less than 12 minutes remaining in the
game. Within the next seven minutes
the Dons scored 10 points, and the Pi-
lots scored 15, making the de�cit now 16
points with �ve minutes to go.
players
�e Dons �red back with many more
points, but could not manage to �ll the
�ve-point de�cit that remained for the rest
of the game. Despite the Dons’ incredible
offensive playing and promising outcome,
it was not enough to overcome the Pilots’
3-point weapon.
A steal and two free throws by Port-
land freshman Angelo Caloiaro cut the
lead to 69-64 with 17 seconds, but a pair
of free throws by Nik Raivio won them the
game. �e Dons could not get back from
their �ve-point de�cit, as Portland won
their seventh of their last eight games.
Jared Stohl led the Pilots with 16
points, while T.J Campbell added 15 points,
seven assists and �ve rebounds. Campbell
was �ve for seven beyond the arc, as Stohl
�nished four for �ve in his three-point
shots. Robin Smeulders added 12 points
and seven rebounds for the Pilots.
�is was the �rst road win for the
Pilots over the Dons since 2001 and the
�rst season sweep of the Dons since 1995.
Portland now has a season record of (16-8,
7-2 WCC) as they go on to challenge St.
Mary’s this Saturday.
�e Dons, now (9-16, 1-9 WCC) go
on to challenge the Gonzaga Bulldogs this
Saturday night at p.m. in War Memo-
rial Gym. Gonzaga leads the West Coast
Conference in wins this season.
�e proud USF men’s basketball gold
jerseys worn by eager players and fans were
not enough to ward off the Gonzaga Bull-
dogs this past rainy Valentine’s Day in War
Memorial Gym. Although the �nal score Nicholas Mukhar
Mukhar/Foghorn
was close, a remarkable 78-73 �nish, the The Don s defense attempts to slow down the Gonzaga Bulldog s offense and pull off the upset, but USF fails to hold them off and
Dons could not keep the Bulldogs from go on to lose 78-73.

their 11-0 West Coast Conference win-
ning streak.
�e Dons were at a disadvantage
as they were undermanned by four key
players in this weekend’s games due to a
dispute with coach Rex Walters during a
practice. Most notably, the Dons’ second-
leading scorer, Manny Quezada, was not
able to play in both the unsuccessful game
against Portland or Saturday night’s game
against Gonzaga. Centers James Morgan
and Hyman Taylor along with Chioke
Walker were also suspended. Despite the
absence of these four valuable players, the
Dons put up an incredible �ght as they re-
mained neck and neck with the Bulldogs
throughout the entire game.
�e �rst half was one of much excite-
ment, as both teams held a promising out-
look for a West Coast Conference win. �e
Nicholas Mukhar
Mukhar/Foghorn Bulldogs powered through with an average
Saturday s game against Gonzaga was pitched as a Gold Out by USF Athletics who of 65 percent shooting. �e Dons’ offense
asked ffans to wear gold clothing to the game, which was broadcast on ESPNU. was right up there with the Bulldogs as
USF forward Dior Lowhorn scored 15
points in the �rst half of the game. �e
Bulldogs met their match when they expe-
rienced 12 turnovers, and �ve three-point-
ers before heading into overtime with the
scoreboard reading 41-37 in their favor.
Lowhorn got the crowd rumbling and
the scoreboard beaming when he scored a
three-point shot early in the second half,
bringing the game to an enticing 49-49 tie.
Although the Dons managed nine more
three-pointers in the second half, the Bull-
dogs’ Micah Downs quickly responded
to Lowhorn’s efforts with another three-
point shot. Bulldog Josh Heytvelt went on
to score 10 points for Gonzaga.
�e Dons were unable to score enough
points to beat the Bulldogs after Downs’
shot, yet the game remained a close one.
By the game’s �nish, Lowhorn had scored
a total of 23 points for the Dons. Low-
horn is the conference’s leading scorer, and
scored eight more points against Gonzaga
than the last time the Dons played them in
mid-January.
USF forward Blake Wallace earned an
impressive 19 points for the Dons, a true
testament to his growth as a player - as he
averaged 12.9 points last season. Guards
Chris O’Brien, Kwame Vaughn and Don-
tae Bryant were among other Dons who
greatly helped their total scoring of 73
points.
�e Dons’ last played game against
the Bulldogs on Jan. 17 was an unsuccess-
ful 85-51 loss. It is safe to say that with all
things being considered—four men down,
and a previous landslide loss against the
number one team in the West Coast Con-
ference—a 78-73 loss shows much prom-
ise for our Dons.
�e Dons go on to play their rivals,
the Santa Clara Broncos, next Saturday
in War Memorial Gym at 7:00 p.m. �e
Dons stand now at (9-16, 1-9 WCC), as
the Broncos stand now at (13-14, 5-5).

Scouting Report on Dior Lowhorn: Is USF
Ready to Send Another Don to the NBA?
MATT STEINBACH
Sports Editor
Every year at least 200 hopeful college
and international basketball players enter
the NBA draft. Out of those 200 plus bas-
ketball players, only 60 get drafted. Getting
drafted into the NBA is arguably harder
than going pro in any other sport. �e
NBA draft is only two rounds compared to
seven rounds, like the NFL. For most col-
lege basketball players, the dream of going
to the NBA is never realized. Considering
all of this information, could any current
basketball player from USF turn pro?
�roughout the history of USF’s bas-
ketball program, only 23 players have gone
pro. So the odds stacked up against a USF
basketball player are great. Considering
this, the only person at USF that has the
slightest possibility of going pro is Dior
Let s Face it: USF Rivalries Are Not
Exactly North Carolina vs. Duke
FRANCESCA CRUDO rivalry. Students should take advantage of
Lowhorn. Lowhorn is the star of the team, Staff Writer the fact that they can get into games for
leading the Dons in both points at 20.3 free unlike at other schools, such as Duke
per game and rebounds at 6.7 per game. and Texas A&M, where getting into games
Rivalry Week occurs near the end of the is a competitive thing. According to the
Lowhorn is also the leading scorer in the
college basketball season where two rivals Duke Athletics website, more than 1,200
West Coast Conference but does he have
play one another; the most well-known students have to wait to see if they are able
enough skills to be a NBA player? I’m go-
college basketball rivalry is that between to get a ticket to a Duke basketball game.
ing to play the role of a NBA scout and
North Carolina and Duke. USF has two At Texas A&M University there is a lot-
assess whether Lowhorn has the skills to
rivals – Santa Clara and St. Mary’s. How- tery system for the games; students get a
be a professional basketball player.
ever, these cannot be seen as rivalries. A number and if your number gets picked,
If Lowhorn does in fact decide to enter
rivalry is supposed to be an intense compe- then you get to go to the game. Students
his name into the NBA draft, he �rst must
tition between athletic teams or their ath- should take advantage of our student sec-
make the transition from a post player to
letes. Rivalry games spark a passion in the tion, Los Locos. �e Cameron Crazies
a wing player. Lowhorn does not have the
athletes, coaches and fans. By de�nition, (the Duke student section, which consists
height or wingspan to play the power for-
the rivalry between USF and Santa Clara of undergraduate and graduate students)
ward position in the NBA. Typically power
is not typical since there is no passion in are very dedicated to Duke basketball. �e
forwards in the NBA are six foot ten and
both the teams and the fans as there once Cameron Crazies help the Duke basket-
if they are shorter they usually have the
was. ball team, as should Los Locos do to help
wingspan of someone taller. �is means he
�e rivalry USF has with Santa Clara the USF basketball team. Since not a lot
would have to play small forward since he
and St. Mary’s is very lopsided. In the of students come out to support the USF
is not tall enough nor has the wingspan to
2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons, the basketball team via Los Locos, USF’s ri-
play the power forward.
basketball programs of St. Mary’s and valry with Santa Clara and St. Mary’s can-
Typically small forwards are quick,
Santa Clara have been performing well not be seen as a true rivalry.
have good ball handling skills, can shoot
(�nishing 42-22 and 36-26, respectfully), USF’s rivalries with Santa Clara and
the three and are athletic. Changing the
whereas USF’s basketball program has not St. Mary’s are not true rivalries. USF’s ri-
position you play is difficult but possible.
been doing well (23-39 in the same time valries exist due to the fact that all three
At this point in his career, Lowhorn does
period). On the other side of the spec- colleges are located in the Bay Area along
not possess the quickness to play the small
trum, Duke and North Carolina are two of with the fact that they are Catholic-af-
forward position. Could you imagine Low-
the top college basketball programs in the �liated colleges (USF and Santa Clara be-
horn guarding LeBron James or Carmelo
country. Since Duke and North Carolina ing Jesuit colleges and St. Mary’s being a
Anthony? In order to guard wing play-
are both in the top ten in the rankings, it Christian Brothers college). �e rivalries
ers, you have to be quick on your feet and
adds excitement in the rivalry especially between Santa Clara and St. Mary’s can
right now Lowhorn is not quick enough to
since the schools play each other twice be improved if their basketball programs
guard wing players. And on offense, Low-
during the season. USF’s rivalries are not get better and if there were more student
horn’s �rst step is not quick enough to get
genuine due to the lopsidedness of the fan support. �e rivalries can be revived
past faster players. Although, he does have
Nicholas Mukhar
Mukhar/Foghorn quality of the basketball programs. if USF’s basketball program gets better,
a solid �rst step, he is not explosive enough
Dior Lowhorn is a standout player and Fan support for the basketball program which will not be happening any time
DIOR: Continued on Page 9 leads the team in rebounds and scoring. also supports the idea for a lack of a true
soon.