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Volume 61 Issue 16
Thursday, March 7, 2024
THE USD VISTA VISTA
The Official Student Newspaper of the University of San Diego since 1968
Valley elevators let students down Expired permits around campus raise concern
EMMA PIRHALA ASST. NEWS EDITOR Frequently out-of-order elevators plague students’ journeys while trekking to and from Bosley Gym, Valley A and B, Mata’yuum Crossroads, San Antonio de Padua (SAPS) and San Buenaventura. Without reliably functioning elevators, students must walk up five flights of stairs at the Main Parking Structure to access the rest of campus. The broken elevators delay students’ commutes, causing irritation and reducing accessibility. USD first-year and SAPS resident Annie Hsu described her experiences with the Valley Elevators. “It sucks when the elevators are down, and I have to lug [mail] back to my room. And on a more general basis, the Valley trams get packed in the mornings and a lot of people end up walking. We want to take the elevators, but sometimes they don’t work. [The broken elevators] just makes the morning really crappy,” Hsu said. USD first-year and Valley A resident Julie Ibrahim
Many students who live in the Valley residential area are frustrated with the inconsistent elevators. Emma Pirhala/The USD Vista
Crisis at the border
San Diego Migrant Welcome Center runs out of funding EMMA PIRHALA ASST. NEWS EDITOR
See Elevators, Page 3
INSIDE Update on ‘the carl’
RITI DEY ASST. NEWS EDITOR The San Diego Migrant Welcome Center shut down on Thursday, Feb. 21, due to a lack of funding. When operational, the Welcome Center was operated by South Bay Community Services (SBCS) an organization that supports families in San Diego. The welcome center provided phone chargers, meals and a place to rest and served over 81,000 migrants who arrived since October 2023. However, the services came with a price tag of $6 million to San Diego County and its taxpayers. When the Welcome Center closed, hundreds of migrants were released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to a San Ysidro bus stop on Friday, Feb. 22. More than 2,000 immigrants were dropped off at transit stops across the county in a span of three days. USD senior Shayla Rodriguez shared her thoughts
revealed her feelings about Valley elevator outages. “Honestly it just ticks me off. I remember one time I was holding like 10 things in my hand, and my class started in about 10 minutes. The elevator was out of service and it was so frustrating, because my class was at 8 a.m., so already waking up that early and having that happen as a minor inconvenience really seemed major at the time. I was literally so annoyed.” USD first-year and Valley B Senator Alejandro Murillo detailed his interactions with the elevators. “I have definitely been affected by the elevator outages. When they occur, it can be very inconvenient – especially when the trams aren’t working. This inconvenience to me cannot even be compared to the inconvenience that students who are disabled face with these outages. When the trams aren’t being run, students who lack the ability to make it up the stairs face a great challenge, feeling stuck in the Valley. I have heard countless complaints
See News, page 2
‘One Day’ review See A&C, page 4
BeRate My Professor? See Feature, page 6
Over 1,500 migrants were dropped at transit centers in San Diego after a welcome center closed. Photo courtesy of @bowlersdesk/Instagram
on this situation as the cochair of the Association of Chicanx Advocates at USD. “This situation and similar situations like these is indeed deeply disheartening and infuriating, yet sadly not surprising,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez highlighted the issue of a lack of funding. “This situation highlights only one of many of the challenges immigrants face, such as the inadequate funding and policies that fail to prioritize their well-being. Addressing the
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funding gaps in organizations supporting immigrants and refugees is important and worth advocating for.” An influx of asylum-seekers at the San Diego border within recent months caused nearly
See Migrants, Page 3
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Understanding gender See Opinion, page 10
Club Softball See Sports, page 12