12-06-2011

“A man came in —dressed in a graysweatshirt andfilthy denim. Heheld a knife, Ithink, it wassomething sharpand I rememberhow the kitchenlights flashed offit ... I think Iscreamed. If not,I’m not sure howTulsa knew I wasafraid for my life.”

TUESDAYDecember 6, 2011Volume 97, Issue 54

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PARTLY CLOUDYHIGH: 63LOW: 36SUNSET: 4:42PM

Congressionalratings have no effect ongoings-on of Congress.

O P I N I O N

In an effort to assist students with dis-abilities and ensure their needs aremet, San Diego State’s StudentDisability Services and Physical Plantstress their determination to workwith students on a case-by-case basis.

Director of Student DisabilityServices Mary Shojai expressed herremorse for not being able to assistAngela Van Ostran, who experienceddifficulties with the Storm Hall eleva-tor. Shojai was unaware until recent-ly of the problems.

“Personally, I am disappointed thatStudent Disability Services has nothad the opportunity to assist this stu-dent,” Shojai said. “We are here to helpand if we had known about the situa-tion we could have advocated on thestudent’s behalf – both with PhysicalPlant and with the student’s professor.However, we know that students alsohave the right to advocate on theirown behalf and I respect the student’sright to do that as well.”

According to a representativefrom Physical Plant, all elevators oncampus are inspected by theDivision of Occupational Health andSafety every year, and also byPhysical Plant once every month. Ageneral inspection consists of dooroperability tests, lubrications, adjust-ments and riding the elevator toensure safe stops at all landings.

John Ferris, director of PhysicalPlant, stressed his concern for thesafety of all students on campus.

“SDSU Physical Plant is dedicatedto serving all students safely andprofessionally. The safety and reli-able operation of our campus ele-vators is a very high priority,” Ferrissaid. “This concern is evidenced byour service contract, state inspec-tions and weekly conversations withthe service vendor as to the currentstate of the elevators.”

If a student encounters a problemwith an elevator on campus, he or sheshould contact the Work ControlCenter, a division of Physical Plant.The call will generate a work orderthat will be acted upon immediately.

SStteepphhaanniiee SSaacccceenntteestaff writer

What began as a heated debatebetween the infamous “streetpreacher” and a crowd of more than100 students near the San DiegoState Info Dome turned a protestagainst budget cuts.

The preacher, Neal Konitshek, withhis “Go to hell or repent” sign, drewattention around noon yesterday, asighting that occurs several times persemester at SDSU and other San Diegocolleges. Konitshek, despite the obvi-

ous hateful messages he preaches,said he is doing God’s work.

While Konitshek argued with stu-dents, Sean A.., who graduated fromSDSU last semester, decided that hehad a golden opportunity to interveneand distract students. He stood in frontof Konitshek and distribute OccupyWall Street pamphlets to the crowd, towhich Konitshek replied, “Yeah, occupyyour mother.”

Sean said he has seen Konitshek oncampus numerous times before butnever felt there was an appropriatetime to stand up to him.

“I have always wanted to say some-thing to respond to him, but neverthought it was the right moment,” hesaid. “There is a mass of people sur-rounding him and right now peopleare giving him this power. We cancombat this discussion with what ishappening right now.”

Then, a chant of “Hey hey, ho ho,hate speech has got to go” started, ledin part by Sean, before part of the

crowd was again distracted by anotherstudent looking to divert attention toanother topic.

Crystal Smith, an SDSU student,arrived with a megaphone to informthe crowd of an anti-budget cuts rallythat was forming in front of HepnerHall. She stressed there were severalorganizations involved with the budg-et cuts rally yesterday.

“We‘re all very passionate about thebudget cuts,” Smith said, urging stu-dents to pay attention to issues that areaffecting students, and not the hate-mongering displayed by Konitshek.

Participants of the rally latermarched back to East Commonsholding a sign that read, “SDSU vs.Budget Cuts,” creating two crowdsbetween the Love Library and EastCommons, with two police officersfrom the SDSU Police Departmentstanding between them.

A bystander at the rally said it wasput on by Fostering Activism forCommunity Transformation, an on-

campus organization formed thissemester. Protesters passed around apetition that they plan to send to SDSUPresident Elliot Hirshman and theCalifornia State University Board ofTrustees, according to a participant.

“Would you like to see a stop to thefee increases and budget cuts?” thepetition read. “How would you feel ifyou got cut?”

One student asked Konitshek if hehad a college degree.

“Of course not,” he replied, and alsosaid he did not get out of high school,but that he spent time surfing.

“This is where the 7.8 percent thatcomes out of our paychecks for socialsecurity goes to,” someone in thecrowd said. “To this guy.”

Konitshek remained in front of thelibrary’s dome after the budget cutprotesters left.

“Will you just leave?” one bystanderasked Konitshek.

But he did not respond.

San Diego’s college campus preacher stirs students into heated arguments on a regular basis, but yesterday’s demonstration made an unexpected turn. | ANTONIO ZARAGOZA, PHOTO EDITOR

Students shift focusfrom preacher tooccupy and budget

Budget rally steals spotlight

Student Disability Services respond

2

ANTONIO ZARAGOZA, PHOTO EDITOR

BBiillll CCrroottttyynews editor

JJeennnniiffeerr BBoowwmmaannweb reporter

&&

B AC K PAG E 4

S D S U ’ SI N D E P E N D E N T

S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R

S I N C E 1 9 1 3

D A I L Y A Z T E CTuesday,

December 6, 2011 O P I N I O N2

t took more than threedecades but it has finallyplunged into single digits andnow sits at 9 percent. No, it’snot the likelihood of HermanCain reaching another

anniversary with his wife or thenational unemployment rate (8.6percent). It’s the Congressionalapproval rating.

A tragic 9 percent of those polledin late October by CBS News andThe New York Times actuallyapproved of the job Congress wasdoing. This represents a historic lowsince the publications first startedrecording Congressional approvalratings in 1977. In addition to thewoeful 9 percent, the polling sup-plied some more interesting voterperceptions: A lowly 10 percent trustthe government’s ability to make theright decisions, members from allthree political party classificationsstrongly disapprove of Congress(Republicans 83 percent, Democrats83 percent, and Independents 85percent) and since the start of the112th Congress on Jan. 3, theapproval rating has dropped anamazing 15 percentage points.

Approval rates this dismal meansone thing: It’s time to cue the part-time comedians and full time legis-lators for a response.

Rep. John Larson went with obvi-ous sarcasm for his retort“Thathigh?”Meanwhile, Rep. Trey Gowdysupplied the zinger, “We’re belowsharks and contract killers.” Sen.Lindsey Graham jested the followingabout his occupation: “It’s so badsometimes I tell people I’m a lawyer... I don’t want to be associated witha body that in the eyes of your fel-low citizens seems to be dysfunc-tional. It matters to me.”

But the top ranked of the comedi-an caucus is Sen. John McCain whodelivered his 25th joke in five years,claiming those approving were “downto paid staffers and blood relatives.”Thanks McCain, really funny. The realjoke of the situation is the fact a 9percent approval rating will likelyequate to only 80 percent beingreelected. Maybe 85. Wait, noone’s still laughing?

The voter approval rat-ing is one of the often-cited statistics offered toassess the current politi-cal climate. One canregularly see it refer-enced, generally on amonthly basis, as pun-dits throughout themedia will attempt totap into the minds ofthe American voter.Real Clear Politics, awebsite that maintains astaggering database ofvarious polling topics, hasresults from a plethora ofdistinct polls regarding theapproval of Congress this yearalone. Yet the one factor that isblatantly overlooked, which hap-pens to be the most important ofall, is the fact that it is all complete-ly useless. Voter approval ratesmean nothing.

If congressional approval ratingsmattered, they would be reflected in

the electoral results. Not even close.Take 2008 for instance, when thecongressional approval rating hov-ered around 14 percent. Reelectionin the Senate that year was 83 per-cent. In the House it was 94 per-cent. Or in 2006, when approvalrating was 16 percent, reelectionrates were 79 percent in the Senateand 94 percent in the House. Oncea congressman is elected, theyactually have to try to lose theirseat, as was the case last year whena measly three senators lost theirre-election bids. Voter apathy,incumbency advantage and a gen-eral acceptance of a corrupt politi-cal climate render approval ratingsto be meaningless.

The procedures of polling theentire voting-age population do notreflect the views of the minority thatdoes vote. The opinions of thosepersons who do not vote, yet arecapable of doing so, are irrelevant.They will freely exercise their rightnot to vote, therefore their feelingsregarding Congress do not matter ifattempting to assess the actual grad-ing of the body. This would be likeasking a 4-year-old how he or shefeels about Congress — the childcan’t vote, so his or her opinion,while highly valued, has no means tocorrect the problem. Thus, apathywins. Next, the incredible incumben-cy advantage creates a system inwhich nearly everyone who tries, isreelected. If the advan-

tage is so high, then gaugingthe political gradient is a

waste of time. If in 2006,75 percent disapprovedof Congress, then howdid nearly everyoneget reelected? In theend no one cares;not enough to findanother candidate,not enough to actu-ally vote and certain-ly not enough to cre-ate change.

The other glaringproblem with assess-

ing the approval ratingof the entire body of

Congress is the fact thatit paints our legislative

body to be faceless. Sure,nearly the entire voting-age

population disapproves ofCongress as being some

wretched body of old windbags,but what about the local congress-men? The ones who bring in mil-lions in earmarks to build bridges tonowhere. Not likely, disapprovalseems to be constrained to con-gressmen in other districts.

An actual system that wouldwork, assuming somehow apathycould be reversed, would be a voterapproval for each congressman andcongresswoman on a continualbasis. It would be an ongoing reportcard from only those within theirvoting districts. This would immedi-ately supply infinitely more usefulknowledge about approval andcould potentially influence theactions of those “failing” congress-men to do more than offer terribleanecdotes about approval ratings.

Mark Twain, the Jon Stewart ofthe late 1800s, once surmised thefollowing of our legislative body:

“It could probably be shown byfacts and figures that there is no dis-tinctly native American criminalclass except Congress.”

In reality, Twain was insultingcriminals, because we hold them in amuch higher regard than Congress.

BBrrooddyy BBuurrnnssstaff columnist

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Approval ratings fail to change status quo

I

Yes-9%No-84%Don’t

Know-7%*Poll courtesy of CBS and The New York Times

D A I L Y A Z T E CTuesday, December 6, 2011C L A S S I F I E D S 3

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D A I L Y A Z T E CTuesday,

December 6, 2011 B AC K PAG E4

Difficulty Level: 1 out of 4

Instructions: Complete the gridso each row, column and 3-by-3box (in bold borders) containsevery digit 1 to 9. For strategieson how to solve Sudoku, visitwww.sudokudragon.com

Solutions available online atwww.thedailyaztec.com

©2011, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES INC.

AACCRROOSSSS1 Derby drink6 Scully on “The

X-Files”10 “Wasn’t I amaz-

ing?!”14 Met offering15 Carded at a club16 “It’s __ to tell ...”17 Caribbean pre-

serves?19 “Amazing!”20 NBA tiebreakers21 Mineo of movies22 Vitality24 WWI’s Red __26 Moths-flame

connector27 South American

fellow?31 Backed-up, in a

way34 Lined up35 Not blabbing37 __-Z: classic

Camaro39 The Bee Gees’

“Gee”40 Fred’s dancing

sister42 Prefix with -

naut43 Japanese noo-

dle44 “__ durn

tootin’!”45 Arrives47 Zero, to Zapata49 North American

food container?51 Available sans

Rx53 Hogwarts motto

language54 On a rampage58 Oatmeal cooker59 Corp. leader’s

degree62 Many a Saudi63 Balkan priestly

vestment?66 Oscar winner

Minnelli67 Brio68 Harriet’s TV

hubby69 Bakery worker

70 Polite ruralagreement

71 Ceaselessly

DDOOWWNN1 One-named

singer with thedebut album“Leave (Get Out)”

2 __ the crack ofdawn

3 Moon landers,briefly

4 Internet __5 Pal6 Play exchange7 Noun modifier:

Abbr.8 Spring tide

counterpart9 Allow entry

10 East Africanbeachgoer’scolor?

11 On a liner, say

12 Cameron oncamera

13 1998 insect-world animatedfilm

18 Seed used insauerkraut

23 Cagey locale?24 West Indies

watering hole?25 C or D, to old

Romans27 A cappella

group bookings28 Confederacy foe29 Start of a

Flintstone cry30 Brynner of “The

TenCommandments”

32 Dimin.’s oppo-site

33 Andrea __: ill-fated ship

36 Nuclear test unit

38 Yale Univ. state41 Yule’s mo.46 Textbook

update specifi-cation

48 Got into a stew?50 Flamethrower

fuel52 __ eights54 Indonesian

island55 “Modern Family”

actorStonestreet

56 Demolish, as abuilding

57 Bauhaus painterPaul

59 Pencil puzzle60 Pancake with

caviar61 In the sack64 Eng. majors’

degrees65 Nitrogenous dye

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TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (12/6/11) You're full ofideas for making more money. Get themdown in writing, and develop the topthree. A golden opportunity suddenlyopens up; go ahead and say yes. Use yourcharm and your connections, and getwhat you ask for.

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CANCER (June 22 - July 22) - Today is a 7 -When your standards get challenged, findsupport with friends to stand your ground.You can also reconsider; do thosestandards still serve you?

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) - Today is an 8- A person who could assist you in gettingyour house in order is closer than youthink. A great partnership can help you seethings from a different perspective.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) - Today isa 9 - Boost the action. Pay bills before yougo shopping. Keep track of businessexpenses. Changes are happening in yourcareer field. Read to stay current.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) - Today isan 8 - Love and creativity are all aroundyou for the next two days. Complete acontract or other document. Investigatenew options. Far horizons beckon.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) - Today is an8 - Cutting corners could cost you. Clarifyinstructions before doing the work. Homeand domesticity call to you, so get intodecorating and coziness.

PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20) - Today is a 9 -Take care not to double book. Reconfirmappointments, and call if you'll be late todinner. It's easy to get lost in your researchsince it's so fascinating.

©2011, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES INC.

BY NANCY BLACK,TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICESHOROSCOPE

BY THE MEPHAM GROUP,TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICESSUDOKU

BY RICH NORRIS & JOYCE LEWIS,TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICESCROSSWORD

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FICT ION

Leaving it unlocked

PLEASE NOTE:The views expressed in the written works of this issue do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.Letters to the editor can be sent to [email protected]. Story ideas can be sent to [email protected].

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Senior Staff Photographer Peter Kluch captured this photo of devoted fans seeing the light after another Aztec

win against Cal last Sunday.

HOLY MOTHER OF HOOPS

SDS-VIEW

here were a few things Iwanted to tell him but Ididn’t have the chance.Sometimes that’s howendings work; the

words you want just aren’t there. Here’s the thing: Jake loved his

dog. Now that’s not something thatusually bothers me. In fact, mosttimes I think, “Good, a man shouldlove his dog.” Not to say a mancouldn’t love a cat, you understand,but it’s just not the same. Dogs andmen, they’re identical. And I don’tmean that in a negative way, either.I’m stating fact.

I’ll try to explain what links them.First things first: Both men anddogs love independence. Or, actu-ally, they both love the delusion ofindependence. See, because bothneed masters. That’s not the bestword. Let’s say both men and dogsneed leashes. Yes, that’s it. Theyneed tethers, boundaries, to makethem happy. Open the door and letthem patrol the yard.

Let’s be honest, more often thannot they’ll be afraid to cross thethreshold alone (and even more afraidto cross the street). Let them go.

This is not to say I let Jake datearound. We were both faithfulthroughout the relationship, as faras I know ...

No, the dog didn’t share the bedwith us, so I can be thankful forthat. But the dog always took thepassenger seat when we woulddrive to the park, or a friend’s bar-

becue or something. Imagine, me, agrown woman, in the backseat ofJake’s car with Tulsa in Tulsa’s seat,driving around like nothing was outof the ordinary. I think about all thepeople who laughed at that.

Tulsa was nice enough. Friendlyand obedient. Played with childrengently and watched for danger. Andshe liked me, even though Jakesaid Tulsa usually hated women.

Once, that dog saved me from astrong-arm robbery.

It was a night Jake stayed late atwork. I had just finished situatingthe bills and our account when Iheard the handle on the front doormove slightly.

I guess I thought it was Jake fum-bling around for his keys or some-thing. I thought maybe he droppedthem on the way from the car. Itwas dark out and they’d be hard tofind, and anyway, who else could itbe? I unlocked the door for him.

A man came in — dressed in agray sweatshirt and filthy denim. Heheld a knife, I think, it was some-thing sharp and I remember howthe kitchen lights flashed off itwhen he moved inside. I think Iscreamed. If not, I’m not sure howTulsa knew I was afraid for my life.Maybe dogs actually can smell fear.

Anyway, Tulsa jumped up fromthe floor and bit the man’s forearm.Have you ever seen a dog bite?Most dogs just hold on after they’vebitten something. Tulsa’s breedneeds to scissor their teeth in overand over again. It’s instinct, at thispoint. Bred into them. I rememberhearing the man’s blood pour hotlyagainst the ground, and then hewas gone, and Tulsa barked furi-ously after him.

I remember once, after Jake andI finished brushing our teeth and hegot into bed, Jake turned the lightsoff before I made it into the bed-room. I remember being in the hall-way when everything went dark,and suddenly this house, whichused to be ours together was hisalone. I remember the darknesschanged where things were. Mybody wanted to disappear altogeth-er, fold itself into the night. Tulsa’scollar rattled, I distinctly rememberthat. It was like she was telling methe way, calling for me: “I knowyou’re lost out there. We are here.” Iwant to hear that collar again, butwhen he left, he left her collar andher leash. They’re out there some-where. Something tells me they’llbe back. I can hear bodies movingwhen I’m alone at night, rightbefore I fall asleep. They’re on theirway home, and I’ve left the doorunlocked for them.

— Mason Schoen is a creative writ-ing graduate student.

MMaassoonn SScchhooeennfiction writerT