Issuu

Men’s Basketball

JIMI HENDRIX New album from deceased guitar king released

After up-and-down season, SJSU prepares for WAC Tournament

SEE PAGE 5

SEE PAGE 4

Serving San José State University since 1934 Wednesday, March 10, 2010

www.TheSpartanDaily.com

Volume 134, Issue 22

Health center offers services for students Amaris Dominguez, Melissa Sabile Staff Writers

The Student Health Center offers a wide variety of services to students, most of which are available for no additional charge. But there can be extra fees for specialty services, said Paula Hernandez, senior operations officer for the health center. Many of the charges are paid for by the mandatory health fee, Hernandez said, but students pay on their own for prescriptions and labs. “We get athletes in here,” she said. “They get hurt while playing. We get students that you see across campus on their skateboards and they flip and they hurt. If they’ve been in auto accidents, we get them in here for that too.” The health center’s regular services include a pharmacy, a lab, physical therapy, X-rays, physicals and immunizations. Additional specialty care services are dermatology, sports medicine, podiatry, psychiatry and travel care, according to the Health Center Web site. “About 8,500 students make about 25,000 combined Student Health Center visits each year,” said Roger Elrod, director of the Student Health Center. “Each and every regularly enrolled SJSU student can come to the Student

Health Center for as many basic medical appointments as they’d like at no cost.” Elrod said a general office visit off campus can have a $20 co-pay or a $200 charge, and that seeing a health center provider for free is a significant benefit of being an SJSU student. “This is especially true in difficult financial times, when even more students are making difficult choices between health visits and other basic needs,” Elrod said. “Right on the campus with a relatively short wait, students can be seen for aches, pains, injuries and illnesses at no cost by a doctor or nurse practitioner.” Elrod emphasizes that 50 to 60 percent of the SJSU student body is served in one way or another by health center staff and programming, even though many of those students haven’t had a medical visit with one of the clinicians. The health center cares for students who need stitches or bones put in casts and also sees students who don’t have a specific concern other than just not feeling quite OK, he said. Elrod also said the health center sees lots of students regarding reproductive health concerns, which include sexually transmitted infections, annual exams, information regarding contra-

See HEALTH, Page 3

Jeff Lee, a designer and tester at Halo Guitars, works on a guitar in his shop in Cupertino. Salman Haqqi / Spartan Daily

Student helps string together guitar company Salman Haqqi Staff Writer

At the heart of what drove Jeff Lee into the guitar making was a passion for making music, he said. Established in 2004, Halo Guitars was his and his mother’s idea, said Lee, a senior finance major. Having already been involved in manufacturing professional studio microphones, Lee, a guitar player himself,

Alum to address graduates Donovan Farnham Staff Writer

An SJSU alumnus has been chosen to give the commencement address at the Spring 2010 graduation. This announcement came as a surprising honor to Jon Iwata, and he said that he never would have imagined that he would be giving the commencement address 26 years later. “He (SJSU President Jon Whitmore) invited me to give the commencement address, and I couldn’t have been more surprised or happy about it,” Iwata said. “It’s an honor that very few people have the privi-

Weather

Jon Iwata

lege of accepting and I was very happy to do so.” Iwata is the vice president of marketing and communications for IBM, and he said he

was part of the 1984 graduating class. He said he has started thinking about the speech that he’ll be giving at the commencement ceremony ever since he was informed by Whitmore that he’ll be speaking, but Iwata admits not remembering what was said or who exactly gave the address at his graduation. Iwata said not remembering his commencement address along with other speeches has influenced what he plans to say on May 29. “You think about what would be helpful if you were

See IWATA, Page 3

THESPARTANDAILY.COM Writer laments lack of respect for diverse accents.

Hi: 63° Lo: 45°

Read about what a group of Campus Village Building B residents are cooking.

the market to find the direction he wanted to take his designs. “I tried to really think about the designs and the physics behind the instrument,” Lee said. “I wanted to take an independent approach from what the larger manufacturers were doing.” Lee said that, because his musical leanings were on the heavy metal side of the musical spectrum, the designs he came up with were initially metal oriented.

“Our designs are really radical,” Lee said. “There are a lot of Flying V shape, and just pointy objects. But over the years, we’ve started to create our own versions of more traditional shapes.” What was most important to Lee when building the guitars was playability, he said. “A lot of the heavy metal guys want to play drop tunings, basically low-pitched

See GUITARS, Page 2

San Jose to offer taste of Italy Kristen Pearson Staff Writer

Placing Little Italy between the HP Pavilion and San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose may preserve the culture of Italians in San Jose, said Joshua DeVincenzi Melander, the chairman of Little Italy. When thinking of Italians, Jose Calderon, a junior radio, television and film major, said he envisions pizza, spaghetti, “The Godfather” and the troubles Italian immigrants had when they came to America. The stereotypes of Italians can be good or bad, said Melander, an SJSU alumnus.

TWITTER

“The younger people don’t get involved as much with Italian activities as the older Italians,” Melander said. “They think of the Italian mafia movies when they think of Italian culture.” Building Little Italy is an ongoing process, Melander said. “The area we are building Little Italy goes back to 1880 through the 1900’s,” Melander said. “Near the Guadalupe River is where immigrants from Italy originally settled in San Jose.” Christina Cornell, a graduate student in nutrition, said she does not live here and she’s

not Italian, but said she thinks it would be awesome to see a new culture in San Jose. “I only go to school here, but it’d be cool to see what Italy has to offer,” Cornell said. “There are places like Japantown, Chinatown and Little Mexico, but it’d be nice to see some differences.” Melander said there will be some new places to eat in Little Italy. “There will be great Italian restaurants, some delis and a few bakeries,” Melander said. “I think it’ll be good to have the delis and bakeries, especially

See ITALY, Page 3

OPPOSING VIEWS

Stefan Armijo / Spartan Daily

Hi: 57° Lo: 41°

said he broached the idea of creating an electric guitar tailored to his own personal preferences. “As a guitar player, I was always interested in designing cool shapes, initially,” Lee said. “I was interested in shapes that weren’t really available in the market.” Before diving into the process of designing guitars, Lee said he looked into the most popular and most successful guitars that were available in

Transgender Week: a documentary about the impact of Gender Identity Disorder.

SPARTAN DAILY BLOGS What’s your favorite student discount in San Jose? Leave your feedback at spartandailynews.wordpress.com

FACEBOOK Become a fan and get the latest headlines straight to you facebook.com/ spartandaily

SEE PAGE 7

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

NEWS

From Page 1 stuff,” he said. “My main role in the company is to test the guitars and make sure the balance and setup of the guitar is right.” Halo Guitars is based in the Bay Area, with the majority of the manufacturing done in a factory in China, and its custom guitar work done in a shop in Cupertino. Lee said Halo currently has six employees working in the shop in Cupertino and 55 employed in China. Alvin Gatewood, a West Coast sales manager who is in charge of artist relations for Halo, said he has worked at Halo since the summer of 2008, and Halo currently has 75 artists on its roster endorsing their guitars. “My job, in terms of artist relations, is to make sure our artists get their guitars set up to their specifications,” Gatewood said. “It’s a low-stress job and I get to do what I love.” Lee said that in an average year, the company sells between 600 to 1,000 guitars, with most of its revenue coming from its custom shop. Halo’s custom guitar shop lets customers design their own guitars, and Lee said there is really no limit to what customers can request, as far as specifications go. Sonny Lombardozzi, a music teacher in Eri, Pennsylvania, who was a recent customer of Halo Guitars, said he thought they were the best guitar for the price at which they’re sold. “They’re just as good as the big companies that have been around for years,” Lombardozzi said. “I play 7-string and 8-string guitars and they just build a better quality 8-string.” The complex design process of any guitar starts off with a simple pencil sketch, Lee said. But what dictates the specifications of a guitar depends wholly on how that particular guitar will be priced. Using computer-aided design technology, the sketches are converted into 2-D renderings. From that point, photo-realistic 3-D images are created before the guitar goes into production phase, Lee said. “Before we even touch a piece of wood, we go trough an intense designed process,” Lee said. “Then, we’ll build a single prototype model, which is tested by all the workers, before we send it for mass production.” Lee said Halo guitars are available in three price ranges. There’s the entry level, which range between $200 to $300, the mid-range guitars, between $400 to $800, and the high end guitars, starting at $1200. In the future, Lee would like to see Halo become a wellk n o w n b r a n d among custom g u i t a r manufacturers. “I really want to be to the world’s premier source for heavily customized guitars and basses,” he said.

Library porn distracts patrons Shiva Zahirfar Staff Writer

One student said she is sickened when she notices someone watching pornography in the King Library. “They think it’s OK, but it’s totally disgusting,” said sophomore psychology major Adriana Jimenez. She said seeing a library patron viewing porn in a public area occurs more often than one would think. “The first time I thought it was a rare thing,” Jimenez said. “I told my co-workers, and they said they have seen people watching porn in the library too.” Sgt. John Laws of University Police Department said a threestep policy is used to deal with a person who is viewing porn. The security at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library will ask a person to stop watching porn as the first warning, Laws said.

As a second warning, Laws private place,” she said. said security will then ask the The King Library is a place person to stop and warn the pa- many students go to study, Mah tron that he or she will be asked said. to leave if he or she doesn’t fol“It’s really disturbing to low the rules. people trying to If the patron concentrate and continues to view focus on their porn, he or she work,” he said. will be asked to Yaser said leave, Laws said. the policy about If the patron people viewing refuses, Laws porn in the King said a police offiLibrary sounds cer can be called reasonable. Adriana Jimenez to make sure the “They should patron leaves the Sophomore psychology be warned three King Library. times before beJonathan Mah, a freshman ing asked to leave,” Yaser said. behavioral science and sociol“It’s not a big problem … it ofogy double major, said the policy ten leads to negative behavior,” should be changed. Laws said. “That was a big prob“They should make it more lem.” strict,” he said. “It’s not what you According to a May 2009 Unishould be doing at a library.” versity Library Self-Study, the Freshman business major city council voted against the use Noura Yaser said viewing porn of filters in King library. should be something a person Being in a public area, Jidoes in private. menez said, doesn’t seem “I thought they’d want a more to discourage people from

“

They think it’s OK, but it’s totally disgusting.

”

viewing porn. Sophomore engineering major Daryn Portis and junior management major Eric Tan said they have not seen anyone in the King Library viewing porn, but said people shouldn’t watch porn in the King Library. “There are little kids walking around there,” Tan said. Jimenez said the reason people should not view porn in the King Library is obvious. “It’s a public area,” she said. “There are a lot of people with young kids.” Junior business major Zheng Cheung said he doesn’t think people on the upper levels of the King Library watch porn. “All those are students, so they are not going to watch porn,” Cheung said. Cheung said he was taken off guard when he saw a middleaged man viewing porn on the lower level of the King Library. “I was pretty surprised,” he said. “He was watching it out in the open on the ground floor.”

Evaluations allow students to be heard Lidia Gonzalez Staff Writer

Faculty evaluations are part of a professor’s personal file. In these evaluations, students’ feedback is taken seriously by committees that take in account a lecturer’s retention, tenure and promotion review process, said an SJSU professor. “Faculty evaluations provide feedback to faculty members, the chair of a department and review committees on the effectiveness of faculty in the classroom,” said Michael Kaufman, professor of physics and astronomy. Every professor is required to conduct a minimum of two evaluations per semester, Kaufman said. Individual departments or colleges may have stricter rules, which may ask faculty to have more assessments. He said the evaluations, also known as Student Opinion of Teaching, are only one portion by which committees

review lecturers. That one criterion, Kaufman said, has the potential to make or break a professor’s application for retention. Junior business major Adam Dolce said he doesn’t always take the evaluations seriously. “I just want to be in and out,” Dolce said. “Plus, RateMyProfessors.com is more effective. “ RateMyProfessor holds the largest amount of up to date information that rates collegiate professors from more than 6,000 schools across the United States, Canada, England, Scotland and Wales, according to the Web site. Randall Stross, professor of organization and management, and Kaufman said they worry about the accuracy of Web sites such as RateMyProfessors, because of the bias sampling effect. Kaufman said that mostly passionate people from both extremes of the spectrum are the ones rating professors on this Web site.

TODAY First Generation Students: Balancing Your Time and Priorities 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Clark Hall in fishbowl room 100h, contact Veronica Mendoza at veronica.mendoza@sjsu.edu for more information.

SPARTAGUIDE

GUITARS

Photo illustration by Stefan Armijo / Spartan Daily

How to Fight Fairly: Resolving Conflicts in a Healthy and Effective Way 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Clark Hall Rm 118, contact Veronica Mendoza at veronica.mendoza@sjsu.edu for more information. Richard Barnes: Animal Logic Gallery Art Building Rm 133.

An example of the skewed sample size, Stross said, is when really angry students rate a professor as many times as they like. Midway through the semester, Kaufman said he conducts his own classroom evaluations. This gives him informal feedback that allows him to improve the class. The evaluations can sometimes make a difference in the classroom, Vincent Balmori, a senior animation/illustration major, said. It depends on whether the professor is willing to listen, he said. “Faculty evaluations put a professor’s reputation on the line,” Balmori said. Balmori and junior kinesology major Lisa Worsham both said they take the comment section seriously. Worsham said she hopes teachers take the time to read the comments in an effort to improve their quality of teaching. Stross said he does take the scores seriously and thinks stu-

TOMORROW Blendz Fundraiser 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 132 East San Fernando Street, San Jose. Contact Brittany Romby at (408) 463-8365 for more information. The Cool Factor 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Clark Hall Rm 122, contact Veronica Mendoza at veronica.mendoza@sjsu.edu for more information. EOP Academic Advising Workshop 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the King Library Rm 229, contact Maria Romo at (408) 924-2521 or eopsjsu@yahoo.com for more information. African Americans Reclaiming Heritage — Film: Race, The Power of an Illusion- Part 1 of 3 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the King Library in Rm 525, contact Mary Lewis at (408) 924-6322 for more information.

dents should have access to the evaluations. “It would be great to get feedback right away,” Stross said. At times, feedback doesn’t come back until the first few weeks into the semester, he said, and sometimes not until the end of the semester. Stross said that most of the time, it seems like students are being sincere in the comment section and that he would like students from his online classes to have the opportunity to evaluate his course as well. Kaufman said the comments made by students are usually detailed and useful, because they follow a general trend on a specific issue. “I can use that (information) to improve the class in the future,” he said. Kaufman said it serves him as a reminder that being a professional in a field is different from being a student who is just learning about that subject.

17 WEDNESDAY Laleh Khadivi speaks about her book, The Age of Orphans 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the King Library in the Steinbeck Center, contact Eleanor Lovinfosse at (408) 215-8117 for more information.

Sparta Guide is provided free of charge to students, faculty and staff members. The deadline for entries is noon, three working days before the desired publication date. Space restrictions may require editing of submission. Entries are printed in the order in which they are received. Submit entries online at thespartandaily. com or in writing at DBH 209.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

NEWS

CAMPUSIMAGE

HEALTH From Page 1

Robert Hitzeman, a senior spacial arts major, smashes through a false wall he built as part of his gallery opening in the Industrial Studies building Tuesday. Kevin Hume / Spartan Daily

IWATA From Page 1 sitting out there and getting your degree,” Iwata said. “You want to hear something that’s going to be helpful, whether it’s based on what one learns in business or life.” Senior finance major Nick Wright said he hopes that Iwata is an inspiration to graduates, since the recession has made the employment outlook for graduating seniors dismal. “I sure hope he has some good advice for us, because we’re in a time when a lot of people aren’t expected to get jobs,” Wright said. “I hope he address something that makes us feel better about our college experience, like give us hope and motivation and how he got to where he is.” Senior Spanish major Vanessa Del La Torre said

ITALY From Page 1 because there aren’t many of them in San Jose.” Robert Lopez, a junior graphic design major, said he is not Italian, but that he thinks it would be cool to add a little more diversity to the area. “It could create job opportunities, or just be a good place to hang out and experience different culture and foods,” Lopez said. San Jose has a large Italian influence, but it’s not in one central place, Melander said. “This will be an opportunity for us to keep the next Italian generation going,” Melander said. “It will be a central hub where Italy will be on display.” Undeclared freshman Caleb Holden said he’s not Italian and he’s not sure what the benefits of a Little Italy would be for him. “I’ve just always wanted to visit Italy, but never been able to,” he said.

that she hasn’t thought much about the graduation ceremony because of midterms and classes, and she hasn’t heard of Iwata until now. Del La Torre said that if she could pick the commencement speaker, then she would rather have one of her professors, Samih Obaid, give the commencement address. “It would probably be a professor here,” she said. “It’s kind of a personal experience, he helped me out a lot.” Pat Lopes Harris, director for media relations for SJSU, said that is decision about who is chosen for the commencement address are decided upon by a committee headed by the office of the president, and a specific individual usually stands out from the rest for a specific reason, either for something that happened that year or something that is going to happen in the future.

An Italian school is already in place in the area that will become Little Italy, Melander said. “The school is called Sabatino Memorial Resource Center,” Melander said. “It’s a place for kids and adults to take classes to learn Italian, and they also offer day care services. The school opened in January of this year.” Calderon said he is excited to see Italians bring more of their culture into San Jose. “There is a lot of Latino stuff here, but this could be something new and exciting,” Calderon said. “I’ve been to Italy and I want to go back. It’s a beautiful place. It would be cool to go to a place where I could see everything again.” A small, family-owned Italian restaurant, ran by Guiseppe Spatola, is being built in April, Melander said. “The restaurant is called Paesano’s Ristorante,” Melander said. “We’re trying to get as many family-oriented shops as we can because those are better than chains usually.” Senior philosophy ma-

Iwata’s roots in the Bay Area and the surrounding tech industry contributed to him being picked for the commencement address, Harris said. “We believe he is an excellent role model,” Harris said. “He is of the Bay Area, and he came through the CSU system and made the most of his academic experience and gone a long way.” Whitmore stated in a March 1 news release that Iwata serves as an example for the SJSU community and what can be accomplished after students leave the university. “Mr. Iwata’s career exemplifies the contributions our graduates make to our community, the tech industry and the economy,” Whitmore said. “He is also an excellent role model for our students, who come from all walks of life seeking opportunities and pursuing dreams to reach their full potential.”

jor Marika Minehart said she thinks if there’s a significant Italian population, they should create Little Italy. “When I think of Italians, the people are the first thing to come to mind,” Minehart said. “The culture seems very familycentered. Little Italy would be a good chance to educate and expand our knowledge of Italians.” The Italian Family Festa will be moving from the Willow Glen

ceptives and urinary tract infections. The health center gets around 150 students every day, and will see a lot of students for stress and anxiety concerns and students with injuries and various aches and pains, he said. “I went into the health center because I had an eye infection,” said Joe Siwa, a senior accounting and marketing major. “They told me that there are two kinds of infections. Mine was bacterial, so they were able to treat it.” He said the health center sent his prescription to an outside pharmacy because it would be cheaper than filling it at the on-campus pharmacy. “Well, I got well and I’m not blind, so I will definitely go back to there again,” Siwa said. Student Mandatory Health Fees According to the MySJSU Web site, students enrolled at SJSU must pay mandatory service fees that are part of tuition, on top of the charges per units enrolled. The MySJSU Web site also states that each student must pay two service fees toward the health center and the services it provides. MySJSU breaks down the health fees into subcategories and students are charged a mandatory fee of $33 that goes toward the Health Center’s operations, lease, construction and maintenance, as well as an additional $77.50 that supports the delivery of services to students at the campus. Hernandez said there are about 20 exam rooms and that the health center typically sees students for appointments every 15 minutes daily. “The first time you come to see us, you need to physically come in to fill out paperwork and then after that you can come in to schedule appointments and you don’t have to wait in line,” she said. Scheduling appointments is easy and can be done over the phone and soon, students will be able to use the online services to make appointments as well, Hernandez said. “Students use laboratory, X-ray and physical therapy, and a lot of it is paid for by mandatory health fees,” she said. “Prescriptions and labs you pay on your own and you get reimbursed through your supplemental insurance.” Although a supplemental health plan is not required, Hernandez said it is recommended in the case of hospitalization and transportation. Junior business major Kevin Smith said his brother was able to be X-rayed after having a

area to Little Italy in August, Melander said. “We are moving the Festa so that people come to the area of Little Italy and it becomes a central meeting place for Italians,” Melander said. This Italian-American Festa is a family-oriented festival for Italians to experience the foods, sights and sounds of Italy, according to the Italian-American Heritage Foundation Web site.

SPECIALTY CLINICS The fee per visit is $10 for all specialty clinics Dermatology: Appointments are available only by referral from health center clinicians. The dermatologist provides examination, treatment and minor surgery for skin problems. Sports Medicine: Care for sports-related and orthopedic problems is provided. Referral by a health center clinician is not required. Podiatry: Examination and treatment of problems related to the feet are provided by a podiatrist. A referral is not required to see this specialist. Psychiatry: 30-minute and one-hour sessions are available with a psychiatrist for students who have been referred by health center clinicians or Counseling Services. Travel Care: Comprehensive travel health consultation is available to reduce risks of illness and accidents when traveling abroad. The fee for a comprehensive travel consultation is $25. skateboarding incident. “He was riding his skateboard and hit a rock and broke his elbow,” Smith said. “He couldn’t get in somewhere else, so he ended up at the campus health center, and even though they couldn’t treat him, they were able to give him an X-ray and confirm his elbow was broken.” Not all students utilize the health center services at SJSU such as Smith and his brother. “I’ve never visited the health center and don’t think it’s fair that we have to pay fees for things we never use,” said junior business major Huy Tran. “I have health insurance from my parents, so I don’t have to use the health center. I think there should be ways for students to choose what services to pay for each semester.” According to the Health Center Web site, the center is working on a secure and confidential online services system that allows students to access health center appointment information. The new service will allow students to schedule and cancel appointments and fill out the health history forms. Specialized Care SJSU students who visit the center are not charged any fees for primary care, Elrod said. Podiatry, psychiatry, massage using a mechanical chair, after-hours advice nurse, nutrition counseling and reproductive health counseling are all available at no cost and other additional services are provided at very low costs, he said. “There is currently no charge for many of our specialty visits,” Elrod said. “If there is a visit charge, it currently is $10 per visit.”

He said students can have laboratory tests done on-site, or have them sent out to a local lab at little-to-no cost. Prescriptions and overthe-counter medications can be filled and purchased in the health center as well, Elrod said. “Suturing, casting of broken bones, physical therapy and dermatology are available at very low cost,” he said. Elrod said that about 25 percent of the health center’s visits are for specialty care. “When we can, we try to add those services which students want and can be afforded,” he said. “So we have women’s health, sports medicine, physical therapy, massage and psychiatry because students have indicated these are important to them.” Elrod also said that on top of those 8,500 students that visit the health center every year, another 4,000 students receive direct services from the center’s Wellness and Health Promotion team. The Wellness and Health Promotion team consists of a staff with various specialties to meet the health and wellness needs of SJSU students. Their goal is to prepare students to be knowledgeable, responsible and accountable in developing healthy lifestyles and in taking responsibility for their own health, according to the health center Web site. “Another approximately 7,500 students receive information and education from our various outreach programs and campus collaborations such as stress reduction, reproductive health, alcohol and drug and nutritional counseling,” Elrod said.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

SPORTS

Oliver’s accolades, home success, highlight season COMMENTARY Kyle Szymanski Sports Editor It didn’t take long for New Mexico State head coach Marvin Menzies to realize something was different about the Event Center when his team first visited SJSU this season. “I have never heard the Event Center be so loud,” Menzies said in a postgame news conference after his team was defeated 93-84 on Jan. 23. The win over the Aggies capped off arguably one of the most exciting times in the history of SJSU basketball. SJSU finished the season with a record of 14-16 and 6-10 in the Western Athletic Conference. Beginning Jan. 21, SJSU defeated Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State, the top two teams in the WAC at the time in a span of three nights. “Some of our highlights have just been getting people in the stadium, getting the butts in the seats,” said junior guard Adrian Oliver. “People had high expectations for us. I don’t know if we exceeded them, but I know throughout the year we exceeded them.” A day after the win over the Aggies, Oliver was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week, becoming the second player in the history of the program to be named WAC Player of the Week twice in one season, according to SJSU Athletics. Oliver went on to become the United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 24. Oliver, who was named First-

The seniors of the SJSU men’s basketball team have generated excitment on campus this season by leading the team to its best record since 2001. Photo illustration by Clifford Grodin Team All-WAC, led the WAC in scoring, with 22.5 points per game, and is currently seventh in the nation in scoring. Oliver scored 30 or more points in eight games this season. He is just the second player since SJSU joined the WAC in 1996 to be named First-Team AllWAC. “That is saying something, and he is only a junior, so we have more to expect from him,” said SJSU head coach George Nessman. Nessman said that Oliver would play out his senior year for the Spartans to help further de-

velop the SJSU program. “We would have liked to have done better,” Nessman said. “We are not satisfied, but we also know we are a growing program. We can’t be discouraged by that. It is hard to grow a program.” The Spartans finished 13-17 and 6-10 in the WAC in 2009. The Spartans’ enter the WAC Tournament on Thursday seeded sixth out of eight teams. The 14 wins this season is SJSU’s highest win total since 2001. SJSU’s win over New Mexico State was its first over the Aggies since 1996. The Spartans 76-74 win over Boise State on Jan. 14

was its first win against the Broncos since 2002. “It’s been a little more exciting,” said senior guard Justin Graham. “We have been getting some good crowds out here at the Event Center. It’s just been really fun.” The peak of the Spartans’ season came after its 83-60 win over Hawaii on Jan. 28. The victory improved SJSU’s record to 12-8 and 5-3 in the WAC, putting SJSU four games above .500 for the first time since 1994. Since then, SJSU has struggled, finishing the season 2-8, including a 29-point loss to Boise State to end the regular season on March 6. “I don’t think we have grown defensively as much as we needed to,” Nessman said. “To be a topthree, which is our goal, we have to be a better defensive team than we were.” The Spartans’ offensive philosophy changed after they chose to go to a four-guard lineup after center CJ Webster injured his eye in a Jan. 11 game against Fresno State.

Western Athletic Conference leading scorer Adrian Oliver Thomas Webb / Spartan Daily “We were kind of lacking in the bigs for a little while, but we figured it out and it kind of turned into one of our strengths for us,” Graham said. The up-tempo style of offense, which freed up the transition game for SJSU, put in place after Webster’s injury contributed to SJSU finishing the season as the highest scoring team since 1976. The Spartans averaged 75.8 points per game. “If we are knocking down our jump shots —Robert, Mac and myself — then it is hard for teams

to guard us end to end,” Oliver said. Owens became the singleseason record holder this season after finishing the regular season with 77 three-point baskets. The Spartans will face third seeded New Mexico State (1911, 11-5 in the WAC) in the first round of the WAC Tournament Thursday. SJSU went 1-1 against New Mexico State this season. The Spartans defeated the Aggies 9384 on Jan. 23 before losing 94-82 on Feb. 6.

WAC TOURNAMENT Who: No. 6 SJSU 14-16, 6-10 vs. No. 3 New Mexico State 19-11, 11-5 Where: Reno, Nevada When: Thursday, 8:30 Other first round matchups: No. 1 Utah State vs. No. 8 Boise State, No. 2 Nevada vs. No. 7 Idaho, No. 4 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 5 Fresno State

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A&E

Posthumous album blasts Jimi Hendrix back to life Salman Haqqi Staff Writer

REVIEW Comedian Bill Hicks once quipped that Jimi Hendrix was an alien sent to Earth to show us the power of music. On March 9, the alien returns, and he’s from Neptune. As with most posthumous music releases, I was skeptical this might be another cynical, cash-driven project with longforgotten archival material, not worthy of releasing during his lifetime, slapped together for a quick buck. I’ve never been so glad to be wrong. “Valleys of Neptune” features 12 fresh tracks, meticulously remastered by Hendrix’s longtime engineer, Eddie Kramer, offering a snapshot into the career of a legendary artist at the cusp of a crossroads. It is the product of a four-month stretch in 1969 at New York City’s Record Plant and London’s Olympic Studios following the release of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s landmark album, “Electric Ladyland,” which ended up being their last together. Shortly after these sessions, bassist Noel Redding left the Experience, having grown tired of Hendrix’s perfectionist nature. The album is a mix of new versions of classics, such as “Fire,” “Red House,” an instrumental rendition of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love,” and five unreleased tracks, including the long sought-after title track, “Valleys of Neptune,” which had attained mythical status among Hendrix fans over the years. From the opening notes, it’s like walking into a room with a living, breathing Hendrix with his arms flailing, and crunching out his signature fuzz-laden guitar licks. The title track, “Valleys of Neptune,” shimmers in with drummer Mitch Mitchell’s delicate cymbal work washing over Hendrix’s clean guitar, musings about his alien origins, “Mercury liquid and emeralds

shining / Showing me where I came from.” It’s a deceptively complex arrangement with subtle jazz influences throughout the song. With “Hear My Train A Comin’,” Hendrix dives head first into his blues roots. He wails away with a creamy guitar tone, peppered with overdriven licks, bending strings and squealing notes. Behind that, the rhythm section marches along with a primal groove, making for a rock-solid blues number. Mitch Mitchell was the real driving force behind the Hendrix songwriting genius. His jazz sensibilities and lyrical drum work accentuated Hendrix’s slick guitar licks and energetic solos throughout their time together. With “Bleeding Heart,” Hendrix pays tribute to blues great Elmore James. Recorded with old army buddy Billy Cox on bass and drummer Rocky Isaac, the arrangement is an orgy of fuzzed-out, wah-wah rich soloing.

creativity. But more importantly, it translates Hendrix’s joy of playing music. The vibe of the album is of three musicians in a room, simply playing for the love of the music. Far from the plastic, focus-group tested, clinically crafted music of today, “Valleys of Neptune” encapsulates the passion, energy and heart of truly paradigm changing musicians. Other than perhaps, Miles Davis, no artist of his generation changed the way future artists approached an instrument as Hendrix. He had the rare ability to caress his guitar strings, yet at the same time attack the instrument with an animal intensity making every note seem like inspired improvisation. In his hands, a guitar was a shapeshifting instrument of change, and “Valleys of Neptune” proves this from start to finish.

LOOK

OF THE WEEK

*Jimi Hendrix Courtesy of Britannica Web site

Photo and interview by Kathryn McCormick

H i s playing is fraught with emotion, and I wonder how the song contains it all. “Valleys of Neptune” provides an intimate portrait of Hendrix at the height of his

Name: Nathan Harris Year, Major: Kinesiology senior What inspired your look today? Being laid back, I guess. What do you hate most about fashion? Nothing, really. It’s just a free statement of what you want to look like, as far as expression. Where are your favorite places to shop? Ecko Unlimited, Macy’s. In what clothing are you the happiest? Jeans, pretty much. Loose, baggy jeans. What is your most treasured item of clothing or accessory and why? The Cooji outfits I have, because they have long sleeves and they have a lot of designs.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A&E

‘Rabbit’ album carries an ocean of emotions Daniel Herberholz Staff Writer

REVIEW As the adage goes, there are always more fish in the sea. On “The Winter of Mixed Drinks,” Frightened Rabbit intends to journey out into that sea, bearing hearts laden with the loss of past lovers in search of a new island on which to stand. The Scottish rock band, formed in 2003, complements its mellow but temperamental alternative sound with blunt words about booze and sex. While not as innovative as their innuendo-filled

2008 album, “The Midnight Organ Fight,” their latest, released on Tuesday, stays in the heart and mind of the listener with phenomenal poetics by lyricist Scott Hutchison. The group started as just Hutchison, now lead singer and rhythm guitarist, and his brother Grant on drums and backing vocals. Lead guitarist/ bassist Billy Kennedy and guitarists/keyboardists Andy Monaghan and Gordon Skene later joined the band, which will play at this year’s Coachella in Southern California as well as San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium on May 19. Each harrowed note and howled word on “Winter of Mixed Drinks” is like a snapshot of a man struggling against the tide and the memory of an ex-girlfriend as he re-enters the waters of single life. Repeatedly, the band makes reference to the sea, from “crumpled ocean” to a “cry for a fistful of sand.” The album opens with a drawn-out chord, interspersed soon after with echoed strums — a sequence that washes the listener with a

distorted, post-breakup feeling. “I shed my clothes, shed my flesh / down to the bone and burn the rest,” bellows lead singer and lyricist Scott Hutchison on the album’s first track. Hutchison strips seemingly in preparation for the next song, the self-explanatory “Swim Until You Can’t See Land.” This second track is the first single released off the album, a fitting choice because of its catchy hook and lyrics that place you right in the water, from “Up to my knees now / Do I wait? Do I dive?” to “She’s there on the shoreline throwing stones at my back.” The song explicitly places the swimming image in the listener’s mind, down to the shimmering guitar and wave-like drumming. The chorus, “Swim until you can’t see land / Are you a man or a bag of sand?” is repeated on the later track, “Man-Bag of Sand.” “The Loneliness and the Scream” sounds akin to an open-ocean storm, as Hutchison struggles against himself and a

raging chorus of voices — “Fall down, find God, just to lose him again.” “The Wrestle” is almost a follow-up to “The Twist,” from the band’s previous album, with its lethal combination of sex and booze — “First pint marks the beginning of the clotheless wrestle.” The tide starts to roll in on “Skip The Youth,” which opens with two minutes of tapping guitar and churning keyboard play. The track displays Hutchison’s determination to live an adult life filled with the action of love and loss. “If you don’t stare at the dark / You can never feel bleak / Life starts to lose its taste / So I will, but I am so tired,” he sings, the last part with the truly hopeless sound of an exhausted man. With its tsunami-like power and seemingly healed lyrics, “Nothing Like You” finally dresses Hutchison’s wounds. The best track on the album, the song is an anthem for new chances — “There is nothing like someone new / And this girl, she was nothing nothin like you.” The album’s slowest songs, “FootShooter” and alb “Not Miserable,” harken back to classic FrightMise ened Rabbit, with their extreme self-deprecation Rab and almost-whispered verses. On “Not Miseralmo able,” Hutchison decides he has swum through Hu the worst of the storm – “I’m free from disease, no grays, no liver spots / Most of the misery’s gone / Gone, gone to the bone.” Go Now that he is out of troubled waters, Hutchith son is ready for “Living In Colour.” The song is rea the source for the album’s title and also uses sour upbeat guitar swings and an oceanic theme. upbea “I am fl oating, I, I am floating / With my a eyes closed, with no sails / I am soaking, ey I am weathered by the winter of mixed drinks.” The track’s chorus is an arena anthem if Frightened Rabbit ever had one, using strings and violin to complement the pounding. The album ends on a regretful drift at sea on “Yes, I Would.” “I can’t see land, the world just blinks,” Hutchison laments. “What if this tear in my side just pours, and pours, and pours?” he asks besides sorrowful trumpet blows. In the last leg of this last song, I truly felt the weight of the album as a whole. Song after song, Frightened Rabbit b took the listener along for a swim out o into the sea. Both the lyrics and the th sounds echoed sentiments for listeners who have experienced loss list of love and the oceanic journey that l follows. follow

*Alternative rock band Frightened Rabbit released new album yesterday. Courtesy of Picasa Web site

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

OPINION

Opposing views: Are smartphones required? Smart phones, dumb people: Take my iPhone when you can Technology taken for granted pry it from my cold, dead hands I used to be like you. I was addicted to a smartphone once. I used to own a BlackBerry and I would go through my day checking it every five or 10 minutes to see whether I had gotten any new e-mails or texts, or whether any of my friends had anything new to say on any number of social media Web sites. My BlackBerry and I were inseparable. I was a junkie. When it wasn’t in its usual place on my hip, I would panic and think that someone important must be trying to reach me at that very moment. Of course, the odds of that happening on any given day were one in a million, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that I was out of reach. I was unplugged from the world if I didn’t have my smartphone with me, or so I thought. Almost a year ago, I was up in Tahoe with my friends when disaster struck. My BlackBerry, which I had decided was important enough to carry with me while snowboarding, flew out of my pocket during a nasty spill and was submerged in snow. It didn’t make it. I was forced to go without it for the next few days, a frightening prospect at the time. I realized then how much of an addict I was. I remembered what life was like before I was plugged in all the time. I remembered that life does exist outside of cyberspace, that I could talk to real people around me in person if I chose. I could just walk up to them and talk to them. No need to look them up on one Facebook and post comments. Smartphones, and social

Eric Austin Staff Writer networking sites in general, are making us socially inept. These networking sites label themselves as services to bring us together, but they are actually doing the opposite. We may feel more connected to a larger number of people, but it distances ourselves from real human interaction. In fact, social distancing is said to be an evolution that has occurred with each technological innovation. The cell phone allowed us to call each other, from anywhere, and not have to see anyone in person. Texting and Instant Messaging allow us to send messages without even having to hear anyone’s voice. Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz and the like allow us to send messages without even having to direct it at anyone in particular. No personal interaction needed. Smartphones are facilitating this evolution of this social distancing. Now we can ignore real people any time we choose and dive into our little smartphone screens. Soon it will become commonplace to see a group of friends standing in a circle, heads down,

enveloped in their own little worlds, occasionally sending an instant message to a friend standing three feet away. This may very well become the image of modern day socializing. I understand that smartphones make some things more convenient for many users, such the ability to Google anything when needed, or use GPS to find their way to the nearest Starbucks, but it is a fine line between convenience and reliance. In an ABC news report from June of last year, experts weighed in on this topic, stating that GPS systems in our phones can lead to dependency to the point that if the technology were to fail, we would be unable to find our way on our own. I believe the same can be said for our reliance on the Internet in general. If the technology were to fail, will we be unable to find information? For now, as a reformed smartphone junkie, I will stick with my not-so-smart little Nokia phone, with no Internet capabilities whatsoever, and while I still rely on the Internet more than I should, at least know that I can disconnect when I am not on my laptop and know that there is still a world beyond cyberspace. Sure I might have to wait for hours before I see what e-mails I may have received while I have been gone, or what new and exciting things my friends have posted to their Facebook or Twitter accounts, or to Google that thing someone told me about, but that’s fine by me. Patience is supposed to be a virtue, after all.

Before I owned a smartI had a dream the other phone, I would be constantly night that my phone deleted late for appointments. all my phone numbers and I tried to keep an old-school appointments, people started paper planner, or my hands calling me from numbers I would be covered in ink with didn’t recognize, and my asreminders such as, “Work: Frisignments ended up being late, day @ noon don’t be late, studropping my grade-point averpid.” age faster than the Titanic . Now I’m organized, happy This dream was so vivid Donovan Farnham and, for the most part, ink free. that I woke up in a cold-sweatSure, I’m irritable and a nerinducing panic, to realize my Staff Writer vous wreck who is about to jump iPhone was neatly tucked away out of a library any time my on its charger. The dream highlighted the idea that once you phone decides to crash on me, and I would much go iPhone you never go back — something I’m rather take a bullet in the kneecap than have any sure BlackBerry users feel about their device as harm come to my iPhone. well. Believe it or not, I was one of those people who thought smartphones were for stuffy old businessmen who spend their afternoons planning meetings while sipping vodka martinis at lunch and brainstorming how to exploit Third World countries to boost quarterly profits. What turned my way of thinking is how unbelievably useful they are. With one device, I can check my e-mail, keep my day organized, listen to my entire music library, access the Internet, take a note about something, keep track of the weather, read the New York Times and even make the occasional phone call. One argument I’ve heard about why smartphones should go the way of the dodo is they’re constantly bothering you to stay on task, and if you buy one, then you’ll never get a break from But those are the risks I’m willing to take to your already overly hectic day. have a tool that’s essential to my life as fire was to Wrong. A smartphone, like all other pieces of tech- a caveman during the ice age. The trend of smartphones is catching on. nology, simply makes your day easier and more productive, so you don’t need to remember ev- According to a Nielsen Company survey of the ery minuscule detail about the upcoming day — top 10 cell phones in the United States, four of the phone will take care of remembering what the phones were smartphones, ranging from needs to be done for you. an iPhone 3G to various versions of BlackBerIf it wasn’t for my phone beeping at me, I rys. probably wouldn’t have written this article. After all, smartphones are just tools that make If you are like I was, then you are constantly life easier, and not to mention they are pretty cool worrying about what needs to be done and have to own. a flurry of small pieces of paper tucked into your So stop fearing the future and embrace the mawallet, and notes about what to do later tonight chine overlord — I mean smartphone — in your written on the back of gum wrappers. pocket.

The dream highlighted the idea that once you go iPhone you never go back — something I’m sure BlackBerry users feel about their devices as well.

Water: Quit the bottled water and drink from tap instead America, we’ve been duped. Last week, my biology class learned the truth about bottled water. It is common knowledge that marketing is not always truthful, especially when it comes to bottled water. Most commercials paint bottled water brands with an image of pristine lakes nestled between snow-tipped peaks in Fiji, implying the consumer is paying for fresh spring water. Most “spring water,” however, can be found in the parking lots of industrial facilities adjacent to waste centers, and some are actually contaminated by the neighboring facility. Most of these facilities do not meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s chemical contamination standards. For instance, the source of Poland Spring bottled water is nowhere near Poland — it’s in Hollis, Maine.

greenhouse gases The U.S. is the were spewed into greatest consumer the atmosphere to of bottled water by dispose of the wastfar. Americans pured plastics, accordchased almost 31 biling to the New York lion bottles of water State Department of in 2006 and an averEnvironmental Conage of $11 billion on servation Web site. bottles of water per On top of waste, year, according to Jill Abell bottled water is the New York State more detrimental to Department of EnviAbell and Willing health than city tap ronmental Conservawater. tion Web site. The FDA regulates bottled water, While bottled water costs $10 per gallon, tap water costs less than one whereas the Environmental Protecpenny per gallon, according to the tion Agency regulates city tap water. The FDA’s rules for water conWeb site. Even worse, roughly 10 percent of tamination do not apply to packaged plastic water bottles are recycled, and water sold within the same state and the remaining 90 percent end up as one out of five states do not regulate bottled water. Carbonated water and garbage or litter. Eighty-thousand metric tons of seltzer water are completely exempt

STAFF WRITERS San Jose State University San Jose, CA 95192-0149 Phone: (408) 924-3281

SPARTAN DAILY STAFF Joey Akeley, Executive Editor Husain Sumra, Managing Editor Kirsten Aguilar, Multimedia Editor Michelle Gachet, Multimedia Editor Suzanne Yada, Online/Copy Editor Leonard Lai, Opinion Editor Jill Abell, Features Editor Kyle Szymanski, Sports Editor Minh Pham, A & E Editor Jennifer Hadley, A & E Editor Ryan Fernandez, Copy Editor Angelo Lanham, Copy Editor Stefan Armijo, Photo Editor My Nguyen, Production Editor Rachel Peterson, Production Editor Jenny Ngo, Advertising Director Shirlene Kwan, Creative Director Amy Donecho, Assistant Advertising Director Tanya Flores, Assistant Creative Director

Justin Albert Regina Aquino Eric Austin Eric Bennett Ben Cadena Amaris Dominguez Jasmine Duarte Jenn Elias Donovan Farnham Ashley Finden Lidia Gonzalez Salman Haqqi Daniel Herberholz Kevin Hume Alicia Johnson

Melissa Johnson Hannah Keirns Anna-Maria Kostovska Jhenene Louis Marlon Maloney Andrew Martinez Kathryn McCormick Kristen Pearson Melissa Sabile Matt Santolla Angelo Scrofani Amber Simons Eric Van Susteren Shiva Zahirfar

ADVERTISING STAFF Nicholette Bankmann Brooke Carpenter Sarah Clark Melissa Funtanilla Amanda Geannacopulos Kristopher Lepiten Jon Nemeth

Alan Nguyen Karl Nguyen Darren Pinto Alan Potter Tyler Swasey Daniel Tesfay Phong Tran

from FDA bottled water standards. Even when they are regulated by FDA standards, those rules are not as stringent as the EPA’s rules for city tap water. The EPA tests for E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria, which are microscopic poop pieces in your water. The FDA does not. The EPA makes sure cities disinfect and filter their tap water. The FDA does not. The EPA requires that city tap water must meet standards for toxic or cancer-causing particles — chemicals that can leach out of plastic, which includes plastic bottles. The FDA does not. Scared yet? If city tap water is found in violation of any of these strict standards, it is grounds for enforcement. Meanwhile, bottled water com-

panies get off scot-free, except they must include fine print on the label that reads “containing excessive chemicals” or “excessive bacteria.” You could be sucking down tiny poop pieces from your pristine bottled “spring water” if you’re not careful to read the tiny print. The reason poop, chemicals and toxins end up in our water bottles is because the enforcement of regulations regarding bottled water in the U.S. is grossly underfunded. One staff member upholds the water contamination regulations in the entire United States for the FDA, according to the National Resource Defense Council Web site. The next time you’re in need for some sparkling, pure H2O, consider satisfying your thirst by seeking out the closest garden hose instead of dropping cash on fecal water.

SENIOR STAFF WRITERS

OPINION PAGE POLICY

Hank Drew Scott Reyburn Tommy Wright Jon Xavier

Letters to the editor may be placed in the letters to the editor box in the Spartan Daily office in Dwight Bentel Hall, Room 209, sent by fax to (408) 924-3282, e-mailed to spartandaily@casa.sjsu.edu or mailed to the Spartan Daily Opinon Editor, San Jose, CA 95192-0149.

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Nelson Aburto Briana Calderon Andrew Villa Kibiwot Limo

DISTRIBUTION Piyush Bansal Gurdip Chera

ADVISERS Richard Craig, News Mack Lundstrom, News Jan Shaw, News Kim Komenich, Photojournalism Tim Hendrick, Advertising Tim Burke, Production Chief Tim Mitchell, Design Pat Wallraven, Business Manager

Letters to the editor must contain the author’s name, address, phone number, signature and major. Letters become property of the Spartan Daily and may be edited for clarity, grammar, libel and length. Only letters of 300 words or less will be considered for publication. Published opinions and advertisements do not necessarily reflect the views of the Spartan Daily, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication or SJSU. The Spartan Daily is a public forum.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

NEWS

Author discusses unfinished book Event named for late author and SJSU alum

Amber Simons Staff Writer

More than 70 people were present at the James D. Houston Memorial Lecture Tuesday night in the King Library to listen to a reading by Daniel Alarcón, author of “War by Candlelight” and “Lost City Radio.” Alarcón said it took him seven years to write “Lost City Radio” and that he’s been working on his current book, “At Night We Walk in Circles,” for three and a half years. He said he hopes to finish soon. Marissa Gomez, a junior English/creative writing major, said she is taking the visiting authors class, English 139, which plans for various authors to visit campus. “And so I have been reading his novel, ‘Lost City Radio’ for that class, and I’m really enjoying it,” she said. Gomez said she was glad to receive insight from authors who write for a living. She said she has gone to Center for Literary Arts events in the past. She also said she likes to hear authors read their books aloud, because it’s different than reading something yourself. Gomez said Alarcón came to her class Tuesday, prior to the event, to tell his history with his relationship to Lima, Peru and about his family’s connection to radio. She said her class focused on Alarcón’s background, and that she was excited to hear him read. “This was an hour of him reading, and something that hasn’t been published, too, which is really exciting — to get some insight into something that he’s still working

on,” Gomez said. “So when the book actually comes out, who knows if it will be anything like that. You never know. He’s a really eloquent guy, a good speaker. So it was good. I really liked it.” As Alarcón read an excerpt from his work-in-progress, some audience members laughed at his character’s descriptions, such as “Nelson’s” describing his and his past girlfriend’s faking wedding proposals at restaurants to obtain free meals. “I liked the fact that we got to hear some of his new work, as opposed to just reading from things we’ve already read,” said senior English major Danielle Roberts. Junior English major Areeba Abid also said she enjoyed Alarcón’s reading of new work. “I thought it was interesting,” she said. “It’s a lot different from his other work, because it’s not so heavily based on the political stuff that goes on in Peru. It’s more about the internal conflicts of the characters, so I think it’s a new change. In a question-and-answer period at the end of the reading, Alarcón said he doesn’t want to be a spokesman for Latin America and said he wants people to realize that it’s a complicated place, because there is no single Latin America. “I felt that he answered the questions very gracefully and with a sense of humor,” Roberts said, “which was appreciated, because sometimes, artists tend to take themselves too seriously, and he was able to play with it a bit.” Alarcón said that storytell-

covered many of Houston’s writings on California and the Pacific Rim. In the book, Raskin wrote “We all know that one of Jim’s that Houston’s “Farewell to Mangreatest qualities was his com- zanar” is his most popular and passion for everybody. He was a most influential book. really kind and generous person “Farewell to Manzanar” sold and that’s why he was such a good more than half a million copteacher …When he recognized tal- ies, has been used in California ent, he really encouraged it,” said schools and served as the basis wife, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. for an award-winning television James Houston, who was an movie, Raskin wrote. accomplished Californian writer, Houston was born on Nov. 10, died of cancer in April of last year, 1933, in San Francisco, according according to Geofto Raskin’s book. frey Dunn’s article Houston studied on the San Jose drama at SJSU when Web site. it was still called “There are quite San Jose State Cola few people, young lege, according to the writers now, who James D. Houston wrote and said how Web site. he was the one who After Houston helped them and served in the U.S. Air encouraged them in Force in England, he their writing, and I and his wife returned think most people to northern CaliforCourtesy of SJSU English know that about nia, where Houston department Jim,” she said. received a Master of James Houston Wakatsuki Arts in American LitHouston, who deerature at Stanford scribes her late husband as mu- University, according to Dunn’s sical and as having a wonderful article. sense of humor, attributes her From 1962 until his death last writing to Houston. year, he lived in Santa Cruz, acShe said they were the first to cording to his Web site. He taught write about the Japanese Intern- part-time at the University of Caliment. They were married for 15 fornia’s Santa Cruz campus for 20 years before she told him about years, according to his Web site. her experience and the camps, and In Spring 2006, he returned to when she did tell him, he was un- SJSU to hold the Lurie Chair, as believably moved by it, she said. Distinguished Visiting Professor “I said, ‘Well, I’ll write it for in Creative Writing, according to my family, a memoir,’ and he said, his Web site. ‘No, this is something everybody Houston left a legacy of writing in America should know about,’” that is the envy and inspiration for she said. many other writers, said English That began the book, “Farewell Professor Paul Douglass. to Manzanar.” He wrote eight novels, among Jonah Raskin wrote a book many other published writings, titled, “James D. Houston,” which according to Houston’s Web site. Amber Simons Staff Writer

Daniel Alarcón reads from his book “At Night We Walk in Circles” at King Library on Tuesday. Clifford Grodin / Contributing Photographer

ing was an important part in his family growing up, so it didn’t seem like a crazy option to become an author. “Like a lot of writers, I think, I draw my inspiration for stories from multiple sources,” Alarcón said. “Certainly, I go out in the world and listen to people talk and really enjoy and thrive on hearing these, people’s personal anecdotes and personal histories.” “I also try to re-interpret family stories, but I make a lot of stuff up,” Alarcón said. “And based on inspiration one gets from art, from all art forms … I’m just like anyone else, just that what I do is write things down and make up stories, but in response

Be counted, Santa Clara County! It’s easy. It’s safe. It’s important for our schools, roads, hospitals … Mail back the Census form by April 1st !

to and in conversation with things around me.” Alarcón said that no matter what happens he’s going to keep writing. The English department hopes to hold annual readings dedicated to Houston, who passed away last year in April, said English Professor Paul Douglass. “In terms of the work itself, I know my husband would really have loved it,” said Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, the late author’s wife. “My husband was always interested in cross-cultural literature and writing, and he was always very encouraging to students or anybody, want to be writers from different backgrounds.”