Thursday, February 17, 2011

Vol. 45 Issue No. 17

Crime & Capital

Punishment
p.16

SANTA CRUZ’S LIBRARIES UNDER THREAT P.9 AN EROTIC SHOWING P.19 BLAIR STENVICK ON NICKI MINAJ & BLACK SWAN P.21
2 | Thursday, February 17, 2011
 Public Discourse
STAFF
Editors-in-Chief
Public Discourse
Jenny Cain
Arianna Puopolo
Do you support the death penalty? If not, what do you think is
Managing Editors an alternative? Compiled by Alejandro Trejo & Kyan Mahzouf
Julia Reis
Alejandro Trejo

Copy
Melinda Széll, chief
Nicole Hardin
Molly Kossoff
Rachel Singer

Production
Tess Goodwin, design director
Emily Chisholm
Hilli Ciavarello
Samved Sangameswara

Campus News
Julie Eng, editor
Arianna Puopolo, editor
Rosela Arce
Rosa Castañeda “I do support the death penalty. I find that the
Elaine Ejigu
“I don’t support the death penalty, because
Kara Foran other solutions to the death penalty are fiscally it just requires way more money than we are
Laurel Fujii irresponsible.” actually needing, and there is no point if there
are going to be prisoners in there for life
City News
Blair Stenvick, editor
sentences anyway.”
Mikaela Todd, editor JAMES RAMSEY JASON SINGH
Chelsea Hawkins SECOND-YEAR, MERRILL FIRST-YEAR, OAKES
Stephanie Meade POLITICS BIOLOGY
Michael Mott
Nikki Pritchard

Sports
Joey Bien-Kahn, editor
Elizabeth Arakelian
Sasha Yovanovich

Arts and Entertainment

Asa Hess-Matsumoto, editor
Gareth Rees-White
Rosanna van Straten

Politics and Culture

Jenny Cain, editor

Opinions and Editorials

Joey Bien-Kahn, editor
“I don’t support the death penalty. I think that if “It depends on the case, and what the person
Web they go on death row, they should live out their did, but it should be used sparingly, since it is
Timothy Lindvall II, developer
whole term and suffer.” a really harsh penalty.”
Photo/Illustration
Morgan Grana, editor KATHERINE NICOLAU ANISHA GUPTA
Isaac Miller, editor SECOND-YEAR, COWELL FOURTH-YEAR, COLLEGE EIGHT
Matt Boblet
Rachel Edelstein ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES & BIOLOGY BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ECONOMICS
Sal Ingram
Muriel Gordon
Louise Leong
Kyan Mahzouf About Us Contact
Bela Messex
Nick Paris City on a Hill Press is produced by and for UCSC students. General editorial Send letters to
Molly Solomon Our primary goal is to report and analyze issues affecting the (831) 459-2430 City on a Hill Press
Kristian Talley
Ryan Tuttle student population and the Santa Cruz community. editors@cityonahillpress.com UCSC Press Center
Prescott Watson We also serve to watchdog the politics of the UC administra- 1156 High St.
Patrick Yeung tion. While we endeavor to present multiple sides of a story, we Advertising Santa Cruz, CA 95064
realize our own outlooks influence the presentation of the news. (831) 459-2444
Advertising The CHP collective is dedicated to covering underreported events, advertising@cityonahillpress.com E-mail letters to
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Business challenge, and ultimately, change. twitter.com/cityonahill
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first week of June, except during Thanksgiving, winter and spring (831) 459-4350
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The opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of the staff at large, or the University of California.
cityonahillpress.com | 3
Table of Contents

P. 5 THIS WEEK IN NEWS

by Rosa Castañeda
& Samved Sangameswara

P. 6 AWDU GAINS FOOTHOLD

by Rosela Arce

P. 7 HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA

by Laurel Fujii

P. 8 EVENTS CALENDAR
by Copy Desk

P. 9 COMMUNITY VOICES
CONCERNS OVER LIBRARY CUTS
by Michael Mott

P. 10 MURDER IN THE NAME OF…

by Joey Bien-Kahn

P. 12 THROUGH OUR LENS

by Prescott Watson

P. 19 ‘WHAT IS EROTIC?’ PLAYS

Rachel Edelstein
WITH SEXUALITY
P. 14 RUNNING ON EMPTY: DISORDERED EATING IN ATHLETES by Rosanna van Straten
by Chelsea Hawkins

Table of Contents
P. 21 ALTER EGOS OF NICKI MINAJ
AND THE BLACK SWAN
by Blair Stenvick

P. 22 EDITORIAL: STUDENTS MUST

CONTINUE TO DEFEND THEIR
EDUCATION

P. 23 EDITORIAL: LOOKING AT A
REELING PRISON SYSTEM

P. 24 WHO THE HELL ASKED YOU?!

by Sasha Yovanovich
& Isaac Miller

SLUG COMICS
by Kristian Talley

COVER BY PRESCOTT WATSON

Corrections

In the original version of this story published

on January 27, an error was made in the photo
caption. The caption should read “Patricia
Zavella, professor and chair of Latin American
and Latino studies, said that the designation of
Molly Solomon UCSC as a Hispanic-serving institution could
P. 18 SLUG SWIM TEAM HOLDS BREATH IN LAST LAP OF SEASON be a helpful source of revenue for the univer-
by Sasha Yovanovich sity.”

City on a Hill Press regrets this error.

4 | Thursday, February 17, 2011

This Week in News
Illustration by Rachel Edelstein
Deadline for
CLASS Survey
Extended
Organizers of the University
of California Class and Lecture
Availability Student Survey
(CLASS) are recruiting UC
students to take a survey that
assesses the availability of classes
in the UC system by Feb. 20.
The need for the survey
comes in wake of recent budget
cuts. 
The current
goal for CLASS
is to have a
response rate
of 20 percent
across the UC
so they can
present it to
the University of
California Education
Policy committee and the
UC Office of the President.  They
hope to have the results impact
UC administrative decisions in
the coming years.  Greenstreet also hopes that
 CLASS was developed by the
office of the Commissioner of
Academic Affairs based on a sur-
vey conducted last year at UCSC.  “It’s not something that’s
It has been available since Feb.
1, and students have until this
Sunday to complete it.
Lizzie Bernard, a Stevenson
College second-year, has actively
participated in the promotion of
the survey on her Facebook. Ber-
nard said the survey is important
because her own personal expe-
rience with enrollment has been
difficult. After being unable to
get classes for her major multiple
times, Bernard decided to take
the quarter off and is unsure if
she will ever return to the UC.
“I don’t think that the money
that I’m spending on this educa-
tion is worth it,” Bernard said.
“They don’t really deserve my
money if I can’t get my class.”
Problems like those of Ber-
nard are what second-year Ste-
venson College SUA representa-
tive Jessica Greenstreet, one of
the organizers of CLASS, hopes
the survey will work to solve.  of records. After an original
the survey will become insti-
tutionalized and distributed in
future years as well.
going to make change in a year,”
she said. “But as we get data
from years and years, [the] ad-
ministration can’t ignore it.”
UC system fails
public records
request audit
UC Santa Cruz received
an “F” for its compliance with
By Rosa Castañeda
Campus Reporter
& Samved Sangameswara
public records request in a report
released by the nonprofit group
Californians Aware (CalAware).
The report ranked both UC
and CSU schools. The average
score for the CSU schools was
an 86 out of 100, while the UC
average was a 46, with UC Santa
Cruz getting a 40.
To compile the report,
CalAware asked each school
for five documents and written
guidelines for the accessibility
request made Nov. 29, CalAware
was redirected to the UC Office
of the President for some of the
documents. They were also told
that one of the requests wouldn’t
be available until Feb. 28.
UCSC graduate Dana Burd
has been waiting on several
document requests since Oct.
2009.
“I find it hard to believe that
they are so backlogged that
requests from 2009 would still be
[pending],” Burd said. “They see
this more as an inconvenience
than an obligation.”
According to the report
cityonahillpress.com | 5
Campus
Campus Reporter
posted on the CalAware website,
“UC ... [requires] requesters to
chase down documents from
different offices within their
institution.”
Jim Burns, UCSC’s director
of public information, told the
Santa Cruz Sentinel that backlog
was a source of the delay, noting
that there is one person who
deals with over 300 requests in
the Chancellor’s office each year.
The group is offering free
training for public information
officers to the audited agencies,
including UCSC. The report
concludes that overall, the CSU
system’s information accessibility
is superior to that of the UC.
“The fact that almost half
the CSU campuses achieved
an A-plus perfect score is
convincing evidence that full
compliance with public records
access law is not an unreasonable
burden but a readily and
frequently satisfied expectation,”
according to the report. “The fact
that most UC campuses scored
an F is, accordingly, a sorry
outcome indeed.”
Campus

UAW
Reformers
Gain Power
Members of splinter group fill
UC union representative seats

Illustration by Patrick Yeung

By Rosela Arce
Campus Reporter

Academic Workers for a
Democratic Union (AWDU), a
splinter group of the academic
student employee union, inaugu-
rated the UC Santa Cruz chapter
of AWDU on Feb. 9. The group’s
formation and growing mem-
bership marks significant dissent
within the union’s ranks.
Members of the United Auto
Workers Local 2865 (UAW)
union formed the group fol-
lowing the “No Vote” campaign
that took place in late November
2010. The campaign protested
the UAW-negotiated contract
for academic student employ-
ees. The UAW represents nearly
12,000 UC academic student
employees.
Opponents of the contract
said they were disappointed with
the contract’s 2 percent wage
increase, which falls short of the
annual 3 percent inflation rate
reported in 2009.
After the withdrawal of 13
candidates for UAW leadership
positions, AWDU members
filled the majority of the 80 spots
without opposition during the
January UAW elections. Union
members who withdrew said in
an open letter that they did so to
avoid disunity.
“We hope that our decision
encourages all elected leaders,
as well as all members, to work
together on the many things we
agree on,” according to the letter,
“so that we will become an even
stronger force in pushing back
against attacks on higher educa-
tion and continuing to advance
the cause of social justice at UC
and beyond.”
AWDU members hope to be
more influential in the decision-
making process. Daraka
Larimore-Hall, a graduate
student at UC Santa Barbara, is
UAW northern vice president.
Although he is not an AWDU
member, Larimore-Hall said
that the increased participation
is good.
“What I’m hoping is that
people are getting engaged
because they want to build the
strength of the union and focus
on the employer and state leg-
islature, fighting the right wing
in California and their attacks
on higher education,” Larimore-
Hall said. “Instead of looking
inward and fighting each other,
we can fight the real enemy.”
UC Santa Cruz and UC
Berkeley have the largest AWDU
following of all the UCs. Brian
Malone, literature graduate
student and campus unit chair
at UCSC for the UAW Local
2865, said that he has noticed
increased union member interest
in AWDU.
“We had a really good repre-
sentation from across divisions
[at the inauguration],” Malone
said. “We had a lot of science
people there. In the past, our
organizing has tended to be hu-
manities and social sciences.”
Cheryl Deutsch, UC Irvine
graduate student and one of the
two AWDU members recently
elected to the UAW executive
board, said the goal of AWDU
is to increase academic student
employee participation in UAW
matters. AWDU members filled
seats that often remained vacant
in the past, rising from 28 to 75
joint council members after the
election.
“It was really scary to hear
that our contract was about
to expire,” Deutsch said. “The
union was not doing any kind
of mobilization to prepare the
membership … or mobilizing
to push for what we deserve and
what we should have gotten.”
Malone said that tension
between reformers and paid staff
is more visible in the Southern
California campuses.
“[Deutsch] has been at the
forefront of that uneasy rela-
tionship between the executive
board and the reformers,” he
said.
Deutsch said she is displeased
with the lack of communication
between paid staff, who are also
union members, and elected
members. In the past, paid staff
often took the place of elected
joint council members in the
absence of contenders.
“The relationship between
paid staff and campus unit of-
ficers should be made explicit,
either informally or through a
change in our Local’s bylaws,”
Deutsch said in an open letter to
the Joint Council of UAW Local
2865. “Paid staff should be ac-
countable to campus unit officers
in the same way that statewide
officers should be.”
As a sub-caucus of UAW,
AWDU is continuing communi-
cation with the union. Elections
across the board will be held
again in May.
“I think that it was unfortu-
nate that there was quite a bit of
… ad hominem attacks on union
leaders, including myself,” Lari-
more-Hall said. “I’d be lying if I
didn’t say that bothered me. I’m
hopeful that with the vote and
the very strong ratification of the
contract we can move on.”

6 | Thursday, February 17, 2011

 Campus

Student Organization to ‘Stand’ Up

for Human Rights in Burma
Anti-genocide STAND to hold event about violence against civilians
By Laurel Fujii
Campus Reporter

Myra Dahgaypaw was born

into a conflict area in Karen State,
Eastern Burma. As a result of the
conflict, she lost many friends
and family. Dahgaypaw lived in a
jungle as a displaced person until
she was 12, when she moved to
the Mae Ra Moe refugee camp
on the Burma/Thailand border.
At age 27, Dahgaypaw left for the
United States, where she is now a
human rights activist.
“I am now a free person,”
Dahgaypaw said in an e-mail.
“Instead of getting upset or
distressed by my own personal
experience, I am motivated to do
more so that others, especially
the younger generation, don’t
have to go through what I had to
go through.”
Next Thursday, the UC Santa
Cruz student organization
STAND: A Student Anti-
Genocide Coalition is hosting
Dahgaypaw, who will be sharing Sal Ingram
her experiences as a part of FOURTH-YEARS CHIARA CABIGLIO and Naomi Fisher are members of the student organization STAND. STAND is
STAND Up for Burma: An hosting an event featuring Burmese human rights activist Myra Dahgaypaw and the documentary “Crossing Midnight.”
Eyewitness Account of Genocide.
The group will also screen in Burma, Congo and Sudan, said will host two more speakers next group receives no funding from “We said ‘never again’ after the
“Crossing Midnight,” a film about UCSC STAND’s co-president quarter and arrange events with the university. Holocaust, yet it’s been happen-
refugees from Burma. fourth-year Chiara Cabiglio. other student organizations. “Now that we have that money ing again and again,” she said.
At least 530,000 people are “Right now this is what we’re STAND Up for Burma will from Ante Up for Africa, we’re “After the Holocaust, there was
currently displaced in Burma, ac- doing for the people of Burma,” be funded by a $5,000 dona- able to do a lot more things,” Cambodia, then Bosnia, then
cording to Genocide Intervention Cabiglio said. “The first step is tion from Ante Up for Africa, a Cabiglio said. Rwanda and now Darfur. We’re
Network’s website. raising awareness, and connect- non-profit organization created Cabiglio stresses the organiza- looking at ... how the situation
“The Burmese government ing with [Dahgaypaw] is going to by actor Don Cheadle. Before tion’s goal of educating students in Burma resembles a pre-Holo-
has been the primary driver provide the next step of action.” that check came in, STAND was on genocide and promoting caust or a pre-Cambodia.”
of violence against civilians in Dahgaypaw is the campaign funded by Cabiglio’s parents. The awareness.
Burma,” according to the website. coordinator for U.S. Campaign
STAND has chapters at other for Burma, and she said the
universities and is affiliated with
the Genocide Intervention Net-
people of Burma need the com-
munity’s help.
Take a Stand By the Numbers
work. “People are still suffering Who: Human rights activist Myra 530,000 Lowest estimate of currently
Fourth-year Naomi Fisher, in the hands of the Burmese Dahgaypaw, who was a displaced person displaced people within
a member of STAND’s UCSC military regime,” she said. “They and refugee in Burma; STAND: Burma
chapter, is enthusiastic for Dah- still get killed, homes were burnt A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition
gaypaw’s presentation. down, women got raped, there 3,200 Villages destroyed in Eastern
“It’s a great opportunity to is still forced labor and forced What: STAND Up for Burma: An Burma between 1996 and
hear a personal account from relocation, looting, killing ... They Eyewitness Account of Genocide, 2007
someone who has actually expe- can’t speak out for themselves, including a screening of “Crossing
rienced these things,” Fisher said. because they’ll get killed.” Midnight,” a short documentary about 47 Number of years since the
“I think a lot of people would be Cabiglio met Dahgaypaw after refugees from Burma military coup in Burma
interested, so it’s just a matter of asking U.S. Campaign for Burma
making sure they know about it.” if it had a speaker who could Where: Merrill Cultural Center 9 Age of the youngest Burmese
The organization is focused come to UCSC. This is the sec- army recruits
on fundraising and informing ond event of the school year the When: Feb. 24 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Source: genocideintervention.net/educate/crisis/burma
students of the current genocides UCSC chapter is hosting. STAND
cityonahillpress.com | 7
Events
Event Calendar
Campus
THURSDAY, FEB. 17
• Drop-in bicycle maintenance.
Next to the outdoor basketball
courts at the East Field House.
Free. 2 to 5 p.m.
• Living Writers series.
Readings by Dion Farquhar and
Gary Young. Humanities Lecture
Hall. 6 to 7:45 p.m. Free.
• “An Evening in Diaspora:
Oklahoma Indian Storytellers
Speak.” Q&A with Robert J.
Conley, Arigon Starr and Gayle
Ross. Hosted by the American
Indian Resource Center.
Stevenson Fireside Lounge. 7 to
9 p.m.
• “The American Menu”: UCSC
African American Theater Arts
Troupe performance. Theater
Arts Experimental Theater.
7 to 9 p.m. Event repeats
through Sunday, with Sunday’s
performance at 3 p.m. $15 for
general admission, $12 for
students, free for UCSC students
with valid ID.
• Random with a Purpose XIX:
8 | Thursday, February 17, 2011
19th annual presentation of
student dance and choreography.
Theater Arts Second Stage.
7 to 9 p.m. Event repeats
through Sunday, with Sunday’s
performance at 3 p.m. $11 for
general admission, $10 for
students, free for UCSC students
with valid ID.
• Familia X. A space for queer/
two-spirit, Chican@ and Latin@
students to come together to
build a community, organize and
empower. New location. Kresge
Lounge. For more informaiton,
contact ucsc.lafamilia@gmail.
com. 8 p.m.
• Java with Jesus. Cantú Queer
Center. 8:30 to 10 p.m.
FRIDAY, FEB. 18
• Queer People of Color
Mixer. Cervantes and Vasquez
Conference Room, above the
bookstore. 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• “Reconstructing Utopia: The
Transformation of a Worker’s
Paradise into a Russian Riviera.”
Gary Licker Memorial Lecture.
Sponsored by Cowell College and
the literature department. Cowell
Conference Room 132. 4 to 6
p.m. Free.
• Blender. A safer space for
gender deviants, transgender
people, transsexual, genderqueer,
androgynous, trannyfag, sof-
fas, third gendered, two-spirit,
gender non-conforming, non-
identified, intersex individuals
and allies. Cantú Queer Center. 6
to 8 p.m.
• Tango Milonga: Tango dance
party. OPERS Dance Studio. 8
p.m. to 1 a.m. $3.
SATURDAY, FEB. 19
• Women’s rugby: UCSC vs.
Chico State. Lower East Field. 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. Free.
• Men’s rugby: UCSC vs.
California Maritime Academy.
Lower East Field. 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Free.
• Women’s tennis: UCSC vs.
Mills College. East Field Tennis
Courts. 12 to 2 p.m.
• Men’s tennis: UCSC vs. De
Anza CC. East Field Tennis
Courts. 2 to 4 p.m.
• Harry Cowell’s 150th Birthday
Party 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Free.
SUNDAY, FEB. 20
• Queer Catch. Bring any sports
equipment to the Oakes lower
lawn. 1 p.m..
MONDAY, FEB. 21
• Women’s self-defense. East
Field Center, Martial Arts Room.
3 to 5 p.m. Free. Event repeats
Mondays through March 7.
TUESDAY, FEB. 22
• Red Cross Blood Drive. Ste-
venson Event Center. 8 a.m. to 4
p.m. Free.
• Film screening: “Sick Around
the World.” Cervantes and Velas-
quez Conference Center above
Bay Tree Bookstore. 7:30 p.m. to
10 p.m. Free.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23
• Spoken word performance
by John Trudell, Amah Mutsun
tribal representatives and chair
Val Lopez. Colleges Nine & Ten
Multi-Purpose Room. 7 p.m.
• Lela Lee. Presentation, Q&A
and signing. Creator of “Angry
Little Girls.” Stevenson Event
Center. 7 to 9 p.m.
City
THURSDAY, FEB. 17
• Johan Galtung: “Popular
Uprising in the Middle East &
the Decline of Empire.” Zachary’s
Restaurant. 819 Pacific Ave. 7:30
to 9:30 p.m.
• Benny Green Trio w/ Donald
Harrison. Kuumbwa Jazz Center.
7 p.m. $22 in advance, $25 at
door.
• Movie Night: “The Big
Lebowski.” Regal 9 Cinema. 8
p.m. $5.
FRIDAY, FEB. 18
• Todd Snider with Elizabeth
Cook. Rio Theatre. 7:30 p.m. $25.
Visit snazzyproductions.com for
tickets.
• Chuck Prophet & The Mission
Express, Dan Kocher. The Crêpe
Place. 9 p.m. $12 advance, $15
door.
• Midnight Movie: “The Room.”
Del Mar Theater. 11:59 p.m.
$6.50. Event repeats Saturday.
• Play: “The Ibsen Follies!” West
End Studio Theater. 8 p.m.
• Folk Punk Show: Main
St. Mouse, Homeless People,
Shagbark Hickory. Subrosa,
703 Pacific Ave. 7 p.m. $5
Compiled by Copy Desk
SATURDAY, FEB. 19
• Bellydancing with Helene. The
Crêpe Place. 1:30 p.m. Free.
• Kitka & Trio Kavkasia in
Concert. KITKA Women’s Vocal
Ensemble. Holy Cross Church. 8
to 10 p.m. $18 to $20. For more
information, visit kitka.org.
• Y&T. The Catalyst. Doors
open at 8:30 p.m., music at 9 p.m.
Ages 21 and up. $19 in advance,
$23 at door.
• Sista Monica. The Catalyst,
live in the Atrium. Doors open at
8:30 p.m., music at 9 p.m. Ages
21 and up. $15 in advance, $18
at door.
• Justin Townes Earle. Rio
Theatre. 8 p.m. $18 in advance,
$22 at door. Visit Streetlight
Records or ticketweb.com for
tickets.
• The Groggs, Slang Chickens.
The Crêpe Place. 9 p.m. $6.
SUNDAY, FEB. 20
• Feasting with Feast. First
Congregational Church. 5 to 7
p.m.
• Mark Growden Band with
Ukelele Dick, Rhan Wilson.
Kuumbwa Jazz Center. 7:30 p.m.
$12 in advance, $15 at door.
Visit brownpapertickets.com for
tickets.
MONDAY, FEB. 21
• Bob James and Howard Paul.
Kuumbwa Jazz Center. 7 p.m.
$22 in advance, $25 at door.
• Movie Night: “Saturday Night
Fever.” The Crêpe Place. 8 p.m.
Free.
TUESDAY, FEB. 22
• Less Than Jake, The Supervil-
lains and Off with Their Heads.
The Catalyst. Doors open at 7
p.m., music at 8 p.m. Ages 16 and
up. $16.50 advance, $18.50 door.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23
• Power Strip, The Recognition
and Circle. The Catalyst, live in
the Atrium. Doors open at 8:30
p.m., music at 9 p.m. Ages 21 and
up. $5.
• B. B. King with Sista Monica.
The Catalyst. Doors open at 6:30
p.m., music at 7:30 p.m. Ages 21
and up. $64 in advance, $69 at
door.
• Jackson Browne. Santa Cruz
Civic Auditorium. 8 p.m. Tickets
between $53.50 and $64.50.
Contact us at
events@cityonahillpress.com.

4 Library Branches
Face Possible Closure
City council postpones vote after public hearing
SANTA CRUZ RESIDENT Ron Pomerantz stands to speak against the library closures.
Citizens unhappy with the decision packed the room during the comment session
Monday night.
By Michael Mott
City Reporter
Despite community opposi-
tion, four libraries in the Santa
Cruz area are at risk of being
closed.
Last week, the Library Joint
Powers Board (LJPB) held a
public hearing at the Louden
Nelson Community Center to
discuss four options to combat
present budget cuts. Community
members voiced their opinions
and concerns about the possible
closures.
During the board’s meeting
this Monday, a controversial vote
was postponed on whether or not
to close any of the 10 branches
in the Santa Cruz area. Over 100
community members attended,
and people unable to find a seat
stood around the chamber’s
doors to listen in.
The town hall-style meeting
at the City Council Chambers
with the public lasted well over
three hours. With an overwhelm-
ing amount of support from the
public for the branches at risk,
the LJPB voted unanimously on
a motion to reconvene in three
weeks with a new subcommit-
tee. This subcommittee will work
towards a compromise with the
options presented.
Board member and supervisor
Mark Stone spoke of the impor-
tance of reexamining the reports
with new financial data in mind.
“We need to step very care-
fully,” Stone said. “We need to do
it with information that we have
confidence in and info we know
is the best that we can have.”
A community task force with
board members, citizens and
library staff published a final
report two weeks ago, detailing
four models that could handle
the necessary cuts.
In 2008, Measure R passed,
extending a quarter-cent tax to
provide for Santa Cruz County
libraries. This is due to expire in
2013.
The extended tax has become
insufficient, and the library is
now in financial danger.
“In 2007, library financial pro-
jections indicated that because
expenses were rising faster than
revenues, significant library bud-
get deficits would occur within a
few years,” according to the final
report.
Members of the board have
been trying for months to find
a way to cut spending. If poli-
cies remain unchanged, it was
projected that the city would lose
$6 million over a course of five
years.
Felton, Garfield Park, Branci-
forte and La Selva Beach are all
smaller library branches. Two of
the four proposed service mod-
els, A and D, would close these
branches.
City
Prescott Watson
Models B and C would keep
all branches open, but they would
all be open for fewer hours.
Models A and B propose using
branches for different specialties,
such as technology or genealogy
and local history.
Diane Cowen, local branch
manager of the Garfield Park
library, said she reluctantly sup-
ports closing her branch.
“Personnel [salaries] are our
biggest cost,” Cowen said. “The
longer we try it [to keep this
branch open], the longer it will
erode.”
City council and LJPB mem-
ber Katherine Beiers was upset at
the discord between library staff
and the public.
“What I heard basically was
two people speaking in favor of
model D — a library employee,
and a person on the task force
who wrote that model,” she said.
“And I think that everybody else
that I could classify was here for
model C.”
Robley Levy, a former second-
district supervisor of 12 years,
explained during public com-
ment how important the branch
libraries are.
Levy said: “The importance of
this community connection, the
reality that is a system that serves
a variety of needs, really should
promote the keeping of the
branch system to serve the public
of this community.”
cityonahillpress.com | 9

Feature
By Joey Bien-Kahn
Sports Editor
Photos by
Prescott Watson
A
t the end of Penny Terrace,
up the hill from the state
prison, there is a fence. If
you stand on tiptoe, your eyes
can just about scale the chain
links. After scanning the sprawl-
ing prison compound, tracking
the path of the Richmond Bridge
as it slowly climbs out of the wa-
ter, your gaze will rest upon some
distant mountains, far from the
prison’s walls.
But inside the facility, the
bridge, the mountains and the
bay disappear. Only the manic
cries of seagulls that circle above
the prison yard remind you that
San Quentin Correctional Facil-
ity, home to California’s death
chamber and its 699 condemned
inmates, sits in an affluent subur-
ban neighborhood perched upon
this majestic peninsula.
The prison, a half-hour drive
from downtown San Francisco, is
excluded from San Franciscans’
everyday psyche. This distance
mirrors California’s legislatively
bound, yet mentally distant rela-
tionship with capital punishment.
In the midst of a five-year de
facto moratorium, brought on by
the February 2006 ruling by U.S.
10 | Thursday, February 17, 2011
KILLING
THEM
SOFTLY
After a five-year de facto moratorium, the death penalty has reentered the public gaze
District Court Judge Jeremy D.
Fogel, the death penalty escaped
from view. But with the recent
release of e-mails documenting
the state’s attempts to procure
a drug for lethal injection and
Fogel’s impending decision
whether to lift the moratorium
on executions, the debate over
capital punishment has reentered
the public gaze.
The night of Dec. 12, 2006
was frigid, but body heat pro-
tected the mass of protesters
from the chilly breeze off the bay.
At 12:01 the next morning, the
state planned to inject Stanley
“Tookie” Williams, a convicted
murderer and co-founder of the
Crips street gang, with the lethal
cocktail.
At first glance, Williams, a
gang member and convicted
killer, was a perfect candidate for
capital punishment. However,
his proposed execution aroused
large public opposition.
Behind bars, Williams pub-
lished eight anti-gang children’s
books, received the president’s
Call to Service Award for his
community service and authored
a memoir that was nominated for
the James Madison Book Award,
a recognition of excellence for
children’s books about U.S. his-
tory.
The crowd of monks, Rich-
mond teens, middle-aged
women and many others who
had gathered right outside the
prison’s front gate believed that
Williams’ rehabilitation would
be enough to save his life. But at
12:35 on Dec. 13, while strapped
to the death chamber’s pea green
gurney, Williams’ heart stopped.
Elisabeth Semel, the director
of the Death Penalty Clinic at the
UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of
Law, said the visibility of Wil-
liams’ rehabilitation caught the
public’s attention. But she said
that in reality, because of their
extended time on death row,
all condemned
inmates have in some ways
changed by the time of their
execution.
It takes an average of 18 years
between the conviction and ex-
ecution of an inmate in Califor-
nia, said Judge Arthur L. Alarcón
in his May 2007 article in the
Southern California Law Review.
“Do we kill someone who may
be a totally different person than
the one we sentenced to die?”
Semel said. “In my experience,
these guys are all different. Most
of them were in their 20s when
they committed their crimes and
we are executing them when they
are in their 40s, 50s, 60s.”
A little over a month after
Williams’ execution, 76-year-old
Clarence Ray Allen, the second
oldest recorded inmate executed
in United States history, died by
lethal injection.
Then in March of 2006, Fogel
made his ruling, staying the ex-
ecution of convicted murderer
Michael Morales. So began
California’s current death penalty
moratorium, during which no
California inmates have been
executed.
Semel said that during mora-
toriums like the current one,
the needless nature of capital
punishment is most evident. She
said that during the period from
1977 to 1992, California “piled”
prisoners on death row but did
not execute a single prisoner.
“If we can go that long with-
out executing anyone, why do
we need it?” she said. “It doesn’t
make us safer. It doesn’t make us
a more just society.”
After the 1992 execution
of convicted murderer Robert
Alton Harris, defense attor-
neys rarely were successful in
receiving legal or gubernato-

rial commutation of their own
clients’ death sentences. Appeals
based on unfair trials, inadequate
counsel or that the inmate had
rehabilitated while behind bars
were infrequently validated.
But in 2006, hours before his
execution, Morales’ lawyers saved
their client from lethal injection
with a different course of appeal.
They argued that the process,
training methods and facilities
used to carry out lethal injection
were unconstitutional under the
cruel and unusual punishment
clause of the Eighth Amendment.
Execution by lethal injec-
tion includes three separate
injections: sodium thiopental to
render the inmate unconscious,
pancuronium to paralyze the
inmate and potassium chloride
to stop the inmate’s heart.
Semel said that for quite some
time, correctional departments
had expounded the myth that
the medicalized death brought
on by lethal injection was a more
humane method of execution.
But as lawyers continued to
investigate the procedure, they
found evidence that due to the
lack of expertise of those car-
rying out the executions, there
was a substantial risk that the
inmate could be conscious at the
time the potassium chloride was
administered.
“If you are not unconscious
when the second and third drugs
are delivered, everyone on both
sides agree that the pain is ex-
cruciating,” she said. “First your
body is paralyzed, which you feel,
but you can’t move, because you
are paralyzed. And then, when
the third chemical is delivered,
it’s like having your veins set on
fire.”
Last September, Judge
Fogel ruled that the state could
proceed with executions if they
and the condemned inmate
agreed to death by a heavy dose
of only sodium thiopental, the
anesthetic. The state prepared
for a Sept. 29 lethal injection of
Albert Greenwood Brown, but
Fogel then issued a stay of the
execution, on the grounds that
the courts needed more time to
investigate the new procedure.
It later came to light that
California’s supply of sodium
thiopental expired at the end of
September and that Hospira, the
only U.S. company that produced
the anesthetic, would not have a
new supply ready until 2011.
Hospira spokesman Dan
Rosenberg said that the com-
pany has since decided to cease
the sale of sodium thiopental.
Therefore, there are no U.S. com-
panies that currently produce the
drug. He said the company never
intended the drug, most com-
monly used in surgery, to be part
of the lethal injection cocktail.
“The drug is used for im-
proving life,” he said. “We never
condoned its use for capital
punishment.”
In October, the state of Cali-
fornia managed to purchase a
large supply of sodium thiopen-
tal, initially refusing to identify
their source of the drug.
Anna Zamora, policy pro-
gram assistant at the Ameri-
can Civil Liberties Union of
Northern California, said that
the ACLU was troubled by the
secrecy under which the state
was operating.
“That raised a red flag and
that led us to invoke our con-
stitutional right of the public
records act request, which we
filed,” she said. “And they contin-
ued to deny the documents that
we are legally entitled to as mem-
bers of the public, as California
residents.”
Because of the ACLU’s legal
action, heavily redacted e-mail
correspondences have surfaced,
detailing California’s attempts
to procure the drug. The state
attempted to purchase the
anesthetic from Texas, Arizona
and even Pakistan before
successfully obtaining sodium
thiopental from Dream Pharma,
a manufacturer in Britain.
Zamora said that the haphaz-
ard covert mission highlights
the dysfunctional nature of the
capital punishment system in
California. Semel has graver
concerns about the purchase of
the non-FDA-approved, British
form of the drug.
“If you are getting drugs
from another country, you have
no way of knowing whether
the thiopental is constituted
the same way as the Hospira
thiopental was,” Semel said. “So
it is not a specious argument.
It’s a real argument, that the risk
that something will go wrong is
increased.”
“If you are not unconscious when the second and third drugs are delivered,
everyone on both sides agree that the pain is excruciating. First your body
is paralyzed, which you feel, but you can’t move, because you are paralyzed.
And then, when the third chemical is delivered, it’s like having your veins
set on fire.”
— Elisabeth Semel, director of the Death Penalty Clinic,
Stephanie Faucher, associate
director of Death Penalty Focus,
a non-profit anti-death penalty
advocacy organization, said that
doctors have not been willing
to participate in the execution
because of the Hippocratic
Oath. There have been ques-
tions about the staff ’s ability to
correctly inject the drugs even
with the FDA approved form
of sodium thiopental. She said
that the execution of 76-year-old
Allen exposed the staff ’s lack of
qualification.
“He required a second dose
of potassium chloride to stop his
heart, which indicates to me that
there is a lack of understanding
on how to use these chemicals to
accomplish what they are trying
to accomplish,” Faucher said.
Faulty training was one of a
handful of factors that led Fogel
to rule that the lethal injection
Feature
protocol created “an undue and
unnecessary risk that an inmate
will suffer pain so extreme that it
offends the Eighth Amendment.”
Another concern the judge
expressed in his ruling was the
cramped quarters and low-light-
ing in the death chamber.
But over the past four years,
the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation
have taken steps to remedy the
judge’s issues with the program.
Along with publishing a new set
of regulations meant to improve
staff training on death penalty
procedure, the CDCR has also
recently completed construction
of a new $853,000 death chamber
UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law
at San Quentin.
San Quentin’s information
officer, Lt. Samuel Robinson,
whose pink shirt and tie clashed
with the dull greens, blues and
oranges of San Quentin’s staff and
inmates, joked with guards and
prisoners throughout our early
February tour. As we walked
toward the lower yard, Robinson
grinned and said that though he
would not say that he was sur-
prised by Fogel’s 2006 decision,
he also would not say that deci-
sion was valid. However, he said
that the CDCR has done enough
to quell all of Fogel’s apprehen-
sions.
“We do believe that we have
addressed all the concerns of Mr.
Fogel and the courts,” he said.
“And we are ready, willing and
able to implement the law as it
dictates.”
Continued on p. 20 (LEFT) Situated on a
peninsula, the San Quentin
facility has a clear view of the
Bay Bridge and the shores
of the East Bay and Angel
Island.
(OPPOSITE PAGE) One of
the 699 prisoners sentenced
to death walks out from his
quarters in the East Block
condemned row. Everyone
sentenced to death must be
handcuffed and escorted by a
guard at all times.
cityonahillpress.com | 11
Photography
I Left My Heart in San Francisco

THROUGH Friday night, I hitched a ride with a friend to San Francisco. I was looking forward to starting early and traveling
light to see as much of the city as possible. I brought just one shoulder bag carrying my camera, two lenses and a
notebook. I wanted to capture the city through the experiences of individuals. Coffee joints were full of well oiled,

OUR LENS
tightly wound but totally relaxed people. The chef at Fresca was a modest man whose skill was to fade into the
background as his skillets took prominence. Later I passed men thumbing for work on the side of the road and
talked with Egyptians celebrating former president Hosni Mubarak’s abdication only hours after the news broke.
Twelve hours later I was on a train back to UCSC. Travel in the Bay Area is surprisingly easy, can be cheap and is a
Words & Photographs by Prescott Watson
good stress combatant. If you ever need someone to go with, you can find me on the staff list.

ST. FRANCIS’ on 24th and York is full of awkward breakfast dates.

THE LEAD CHEF at Fresca’s on Fillmore isn’t too talkative but can put on quite a fire show.
RITUAL COFFEE’S piercing logo sets apart its otherwise bland location from neighboring
businesses.
PATRONS OF Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth at Union Square loved this funky kid. He clearly
knew where the money was.

12 | Thursday, February 17, 2011

 Photography

THE CASTRO is full of characters, who seemed to collectively

decide to wear aviators and Gold’s Gym shirts on Saturday.
YOU’LL FEEL distinctly out of place at Ritual Coffee on
Valencia Street if you aren’t dressed appropriately. And
remember to study up on obscure coffee vocabulary too.
EGYPTIANS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS gathered at City Hall
as soon as word of Hosni Mubarak’s abdication hit the press.
NICK IS A TORONTO-BORN writer for Pixar. He frequents
Ritual Coffee on Valencia Street and likes thick-rimmed
glasses.

cityonahillpress.com | 13
Feature

Wrestling with
Weight
By Chelsea Hawkins
City Reporter
Illustrations by
Rachel Edelstein

Athletes offer a warning call to those seeking success in excessive dieting practices

The muffled sounds of the mid-morning shuffle play out behind Erin
Flannery, a third-year history major, as she sits cross-legged on a pillowed
bench outside a campus cafe. She passes her drink between her hands,
occasionally balancing it upon her knee. Flannery said that her sister, who
struggled with anorexia nervosa, would go periods of time eating nothing,
only chewing on gum and drinking excessive amounts of water.
*Names have been changed.
14 | Thursday, February 17, 2011

A major factor in Flannery’s
sister’s eating disorder was her
experience in dance, and the
expectations placed on many
dancers to adhere to specific
body type and aesthetic.
“In the dance world, especial-
ly in competitive dance, teachers
are really interested in making
you all look the same … and I
think a lot of that correlates to
weight,” Flannery said. “When
you go on stage you wear the
same makeup, the same hair-
style, the same hair clip … the
same, the same, the same.”
Approximately 10 million
women and 1 million men in
the United States struggle with
eating disorders like anorexia
nervosa and bulimia nervosa,
according to the National Eat-
ing Disorders Association. This
does not include the number
of individuals who suffer from
binge-purging disorders, which
can include things such as laxa-
tive abuse, as well as other forms
of disordered eating.
A 2004 study published in
the Clinical Journal of Sport
Medicine concluded that eating
disorders are more prevalent in
elite athletes compared to the
general population. It found that
20 percent of female elite athletes
had an eating disorder, com-
pared to 9 percent of the general
female population. The numbers
for male athletes were 8 percent
versus 0.5 percent for the male
population as a whole.
It is difficult to gauge the
number of people who have eat-
ing disorders, however, not only
because of the wide spectrum
of disordered eating, but also
because of the stigma attached
to such illnesses. Many indi-
viduals do not seek out help,
nor do many people recognize
the development of an eating
disorder or distorted body im-
age. For some athletes, dieting,
excessive exercise, and the desire
to further push the physical self
past its limits is not seen as a dis-
order, but as an undeniable part
of the experience and lifestyle.
“We see a huge number of
people ... who have lost weight
in such extreme ways through
“People who are athletes are oftentimes are just expecting really high
things for themselves and they’re expecting perfection even in their eating.
They just lose track of when that becomes something that’s not healthy for
them anymore.”
— Dr. Cynthia Kapphahn, from Lucile Packard Hospital at Stanford
Feature
being more extreme in their
exercise patterns and have re-
ally become medically unstable
with super low heart rates, with
bone loss, and a lot of medical
complications,” Dr. Cynthia Kap-
phahn, medical director of the
Comprehensive Eating Disorders
Program at Lucile Packard Hos-
pital said. “If anything, I think it’s
worse [than in the past].”
PRESSURE FOR
PERFECTION
For Joelle Maletis — a profes-
sional ballerina turned marriage
and family therapist — the aes-
thetic of dance, and the pressure
to surpass her own expectations
of herself played heavily into
her own struggle with eating
disorders. Maletis struggled with
anorexia nervosa and bulimia
nervosa, as well as laxative abuse.
“[Perfectionism] became
a huge force in everything
I did,” Maletis said. “My
strive for everything was to
be the best — and it’s not
that I wanted to be the best
— but that was my role. In-
ternally, I was numb. There
was no feeling. This was a job
and my job was to play a role
… The standard was extreme-
ly high, and I didn’t know there
was an option to not have those
standards.”
Maletis, who retired from the
professional world of ballet in
2007, said that her relationship
with her body and with dance
has been continually tumultuous.
Maletis, a dancer since child- well as the way
hood, has not completely rid she addresses the
herself of body image issues. standards she lays
“I would never want to go out for herself. disputed, but Maletis enters the disorders, said that the
back to that place,” Maletis said. “Because I understood [eating debate from the perspective of way many individuals fall into
“I have no thoughts of it any- disorders], I could not just em- someone who has dealt first hand an eating disorder is the allure of
more. I have no desire to starve pathize but I could sympathize,” with the issue. control.
anymore. But is it still an issue? Maletis said. “It became a kind of “It is an addiction,” Maletis “It’s sort of a high to lose
Yeah. Do I still have body dys- rehab for me … I was really do- said. “You get addicted to weight,” Marcus said. “[It] makes
morphia … ? Yeah. Of course.” ing a lot of growth, looking at my starving yourself to death. The you feel like you’re in control
Now that Maletis works as own issues with perfectionism addictive piece came in for me and that you’re doing something
a therapist, she has become and control.” with laxative abuse. Eventually good or positive for yourself. You
involved with working with In her work as a therapist, you have to take more and more stop looking at things with a level
people who struggle with eat- Maletis subcribes to a newer [laxatives], eventually you have mind.”
ing disorders, including other school of thought, which ad- to throw up more and more,
athletes. Such work has allowed dresses eating disorders as an eventually you have to not eat THE DANCER
Maletis to better organize and addiction. Whether disordered more and more to get the same AESTHETIC
make sense of her own history as eating is related to addiction is results.”
Marsea Marcus, co-owner and Among some athletes, there
therapist at Inner Solutions in is disconnect between excellence
Santa Cruz, which offers counsel- and health. In order to improve
ing services specializing in eating the physical self and excel, the
disorders said that “a lot of eating body has to be pushed to its
disorders start with someone limits. However, when perfor-
innocently going on a diet” and mance is placed over health and
that dieting “can be just like a disordered eating becomes an
gateway drug.” issue, the body cannot achieve
Marcus, who like Maletis
grappled with her own eating Continued on p. 16
cityonahillpress.com | 15
Feature
Wrestling with Weight: Athletes struggle with eating disorders
Continued from p. 15
athletes pushing themselves too
far, exceeding their limitations,
and sometimes leading to dire
consequences.
Kapphahn said that eating
disorders can inflict serious
damage on the heart. As with
excessive weight loss, heart rate
will slow down as a protective
measure in order to conserve
energy. In addition, eating dis-
orders can cause health prob-
lems such as internal bleeding
from purging, tearing of the
esophagus from forced vomiting
and dehydration from laxative
abuse. For young female athletes
in particular, over-exercise com-
bined with disordered eating
can cause loss of menstruation
and bone mass.
“The more weight you lose
in a shorter period of time, the
more problems,” Kapphahn said.
20%
of female
elite athletes
have an
eating
disorder
vs.
9%
of the general
female
population
16 | Thursday, February 17, 2011
“[Dieting] is a fine line people
walk. It’s easy to lose perspective
and easy to fall into more disor-
dered eating.”
Christine Hassel, who leads
a support group for people with
eating disorders, explains that
with eating disorders comes a
level of “adaptation.” As people
with eating disorders give them-
selves less and less, they learn to
survive on less and less, perpetu-
ating a cycle.
“It’s an unsustainable mind-
set,” Hassel said, “You can’t keep
depriving yourself and then
pushing yourself to increase
demands and [the] challenges of
your sport.”
Erin Flannery and her sister
were both dancers. Flannery
gravitated towards tap and jazz
dance styles, while her sister fo-
cused heavily on ballet. Flannery
attributes her sister’s struggle
with anorexia to the pressure
for dancers to uphold a specific
physical ideal. Ballet has become
synonymous with a particular
aesthetic, as lean, petite, leggy
young women grace the stages
of many classical ballet dance
companies.
The prevalence of this aes-
thetic can be seen in contempo-
rary visual art as well, such as in
the photography of the Ballerina
Project. The project, which start-
ed as a blog and now sells prints,
captures the physical body of the
ballerina — elegant and waif-
like — contrasted with images of
the urban cityscape. The photo-
graphs are visually pleasing, but
the bodies presented characterize
the “uniformity” that Flannery
vehemently expresses distaste for
the same “uniformity” that many
dancers struggle to meet.
Flannery said that the pres-
sure many dancers feel to meet
and maintain a certain body type
or a specific aesthetic and uni-
formity is a result of the physical
expectations placed on the young
women. The studio Flannery
danced at in her hometown re-
quired that at a certain level, the
girls only dance in a sports bra
and shorts.
Although this is not some-
thing particular to Flannery’s
studio, it’s a standard style of
dress that allows both instructors
and audience members to see the
ways in which the dancer’s body
is moving. Still, it results in pres-
sure on the dancers to adhere to a
certain body type.
“[The instructors] are all
about making you really tiny,”
Flannery said. “And ballet in gen-
8%
eral is about making you as toned
as possible.”
UC Santa Cruz modern dance
instructor Rena Cochlin said
aesthetic adds pressure on young
dancers to adhere to a certain
body type.
of male elite
“In dance, it’s very clear,”
Cochlin said over the hum of
athletes have
classical music slipping in under
the door from the ballet class
an eating
outside. “It’s basically a perform-
ing art, and what you see are disorder
vs.
bodies which are sculpted, and
in my opinion look undernour-
ished, especially in ballet, and
that became a style in ballet. It
bothers me, because unfortu-
nately, that is still the style. I don’t
0.5%
particularly feel you have to be
skinny in order to look good.”
Joelle Maletis, a professional
ballerina turned therapist, said it
is important to stress that healthy
and skinny are not interchange-
able, and that it is possible to be of the
a dancer or an athlete without
over-stepping what is natural.
“You can be a dancer, and
general male
you can be thin, and you can be
healthy and you have something
population
that precludes being an athlete,”
Maletis said.
Cochlin, who said that
although in the style of modern
dance, disordered eating is not
as prevalent as in such areas as
ballet, she is nonetheless aware of
the pressure that many dancers
feel when it comes to their rela-
tionship to their bodies and their
ideas of consumption.
“Some of [the pressure] may
be due to the fact they’re being
demanded to keep… an unnatu-
ral weight,” Cochlin said. “So
their bodies rebel… they’re
toying with something that’s
natural and making it
much more difficult than
it should be.”
What needs to
change in dance is
the aesthetic, Co-
chlin said. With
that comes
change in the
perception
Illustrations by Rachel Edelstein

of what equates a good or ac- “We’re really… doing a
complished dancer. disadvantage to the athlete by
A key factor in changing demanding [that they] lose
the perception of the body for excessive weight,” Corona said.
competitive dancers — as well “We are not a win-at-all-costs
as performers in other more program... All these trophies and
subjective forms of performance medals go into a shoebox in the
and athleticism such as figure end, and it’s what you do that you
skating — is changing the way take with you.”
in which the sport is evaluated, Although she is apprehensive
Cochlin said. to say that the prevalence of
“What I care about is the disordered eating in athletes has
overall feeling, if they’ve been lessened, Dr. Cynthia Kapphahn,
able to present something that from Lucile Packard Hospital at
is artistic,” Cochlin said. “I don’t Stanford, said she recognizes that
care if the [athlete’s] so-and- there are some moves to make
so turn is perfect. That way of changes in the ways weight and
looking at movement is invalid body image are addressed.
for me.” “I do think there’s more and
more coaches who realize that it’s
important for athletes to eat nor-
TRICKING THE mally,” Kapphahn said. “I think
SCALES there’s at least a lot more discus-
sion and awareness of the issues
and coaches that are striving to
It is not just dancers who are be encouraging of their athletes
affected by a desire to maintain a to be at a normal weight.”
certain body type. Athletes from Nonetheless, not all coaches
many other areas are plagued share Corona’s philosophy and
with issues to maintain certain instead turn a blind eye to the
weight goals, or even gain weight extreme lengths some athletes go
to add bulk. to lose weight.
One sport often linked to Anthony Salazar*, a sopho-
issues with body weight, binge- more in high school is a member
purging, and other disordered of his school’s varsity wrestling
eating is Greco-Roman wres- team. He said that he and many
tling. of his peers will skip meals, take
Coach John Corona, who laxatives, run excessively, and
works at Santa Cruz High School even frequent saunas in order
and the West Santa Cruz Wres- to shed a few extra pounds and
tling Club, has been coaching make a desired weight class.
since the early ’80s and has seen Although Salazar said he
how eating disorders manifest does not think it is normal to
in the sport. Corona said that skip meals, it is something he
over the past few years, the sport feels like he has to do to make
has taken proactive steps to weight and that he does not have
help eliminate the prevalence of a choice in the matter. Salazar
disordered eating among young estimates he skips meals about
wrestlers who have — in the past three times a week.
— turned to extreme forms of “I don’t eat the day before [a
dieting in order to make desired match],” Salazar said. “I’ll eat
weight classes. breakfast, and that’s pretty much
“Decades ago you’d see a stu- it. You’re hungry, but not to the
dent make weight and that was point you can’t walk, but after the
the goal,” Corona said. “That’s match you just want food.”
why in the last 10 years we’ve Salazar said that some wres-
worked hard to get rid of that.” tlers will “chew gum and spit to
Corona called eating disor- lose weight, [because] spitting
ders among athletes an “epi- gets rid of saliva and moisture.”
demic” and explained his own He admitted with hesitation
philosophy of addressing weight that the coaches were not aware
in a sport that categorizes itself of the lengths some of the wres-
by weight. tlers were taking, including not
“Some of [the pressure] may be due to the fact they’re being demanded to
keep … an unnatural weight. So their bodies rebel … they’re toying with
something that’s natural and making it much more difficult than it
should be.”
— Rena Cochlin, UCSC modern dance instructor
drinking water before weigh-ins.
Salazar has taken laxatives,
but he said he “would not take
them again if he had to.” He said
that he does not think of the
consequences of his actions, or
whether “it’s good for him or
not.”
Kapphahn, who has worked
with athletes coping with eating
disorders, explained that eating
disorders can manifest without
the conscious recognition of the
athlete.
“People who are athletes are
oftentimes are just expecting
really high things for themselves,
and they’re expecting perfection
even in their eating,” Kapphahn
said. “They just lose track of
when that becomes something
that’s not healthy for them any-
more.”
WEIGHTY
CONSEQUENCES
Inside the Campbell office of
the Eating Disorder Resource
Center (EDRC), afternoon
sunlight floods through large
windows, the smell of coffee
filtering through the air. Ken-
neth McCraney’s hands shake
slightly as he talks. His speech
warbles and is barely a whisper.
His movements are lethargic and
compact. His story of relapses
into anorexia, and his daily
struggle to overcome what has
become a behavioral pattern for
him unravels.
“Once I got like this, I couldn’t
break the pattern. I was stuck,”
McCraney said. “When I go to
eat something, I have panic at-
tacks.”
Age is imprinted on the face of
McCraney, who at 61 continues
to deal with the effects of his
battle with disordered eating.
McCraney has grappled with his
personal demons throughout
the years — from drug abuse
to alcoholism. And as his body
continues to deteriorate, he has
become completely blind in one
eye. Anorexia has been present
throughout his life, and has
led to the demise of personal
relationships.
Feature
It is a black stain, a dark
cloud that looms over
his day to day.
With Mc-
Craney sits
EDRC
founder
Janice
Bre-
mis,
and
Lisa*,
who has
anorexia
and vol-
unteers at
the EDRC,
both of whom
have battled
with anorexia.
Bremis, tall and
sinewy, leans
forward as she dis-
cusses how she hopes
to bring awareness, reach
sufferers, and offer aid.
In contrast to Bremis’ open-
ness sits Lisa, who speaks
directly, her slightly raspy voice is
sharp and her language clear and
realistic. She explains the ways
in which control has affected her
relationship with her body and
with consumption.
“You get down on yourself
[when you eat], you get angry at
yourself, and you feel out of con-
trol,” Lisa said. “It’s very perpetu-
ating. Once the ball starts rolling,
you can’t just stop. It’s really easy
to get back into it. I struggle with
it every day.”
It is this perpetuating factor
that drives people like Bremis to
offer help and services to others
struggling with disordered eat-
ing.
“We’re all older, we’re all
matured, but when I was young,
I would have been scared [to get
help],” Bremis said.
But it is important that those
struggling with any form of dis-
ordered eating or body dysmor-
phia seek out help. As Bremis
explains, “this isn’t just a phase
or a fad,” and it is not an issue
someone should address alone.
Lisa, whose life continues to
be marked by anorexia, reflects
on the long-term effects her
disordered eating has had.
“You’d rather die. If you had Students interested in seeking
to choose between dying and help on campus for eating disor-
being thin, you’d die,” Lisa said. ders should contact the Student
“You know when you’re younger, Health Center, Student Health
you have dreams and aspirations, Psychiatry Services or the Coun-
[but] you’re not going to meet seling and Psychiatry Services.
any of them. All you’re going to For information on the Eating
do is survive. You’re not going to Disorder Treatment Program, stu-
thrive at all [when you live] with dents should contact Sheri Sobin
an eating disorder.” at (831) 459-3952.
*Names have been changed.
cityonahillpress.com | 17
Sports
Swim Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a... Slug?
Swim team heads to Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference in Long Beach
THE UCSC SWIM TEAM trains for an upcoming competition. The Pacific Collegiate Swimming and Diving Conference will end the season for
swimmers, unless they move on to the NCAA DIII swimming championships. The team has been training for the meet for the last six months.
By Sasha Yovanovich
Sports Reporter
“You’re swimming for four days,” swim team head
coach Kim Musch said to his team on Saturday. “A lot of
you will swim 12 or 13 races. As soon as you finish one
race, you have to put it behind you. You don’t think about
how tired you are, you focus on the next one. You don’t
need to explain it to everyone if you raced badly. Just one
race can make your meet.”
Members of the swim team have been waking in the
wee hours of the morning and training for three to five
hours a day over the last six months in preparation for
the Pacific Collegiate Swimming and Diving Conference.
This weekend’s competition will be the last meet of
the season for most of the swim team, unless any of the
athletes qualify for the NCAA DIII Swimming Champi-
onships, which take place during the last week of March.
Freshman swimmer Jeanette Dove hopes to not only
go on to nationals but to also break the school record in
the 100 yard backstroke race.
“I’m trying not to let it get to me,” she said. “I’m doing
better than ever this season because I’m more relaxed.”
As a senior swimming at the conference for the fourth
18 | Thursday, February 17, 2011
time, Evan Moore has a different perspective.
“I’ve been there so many times, this time I’m just
focusing on myself,” he said.
The practices leading up to this final meet are focused
on breathing and becoming comfortable with faster
swimming. Assistant coach Isaac Kim is working with a
rope device to pull individual swimmers through the wa-
“Each person puts a lot on themselves.
This is the season’s climax.”
— Joe Wilson, swim team coach
ter to simulate what it feels like to go that fast, hoping to
have the swimmers mimic the speed during their races.
“Physically, they are ready,” Kim said. “Everything is
mental from here on out.”
Coach Joe Wilson said pressure will be the team’s big-
gest foe at the event.
“It is a stressful meet,” he said. “Each person puts a lot
Molly Solomon
on themselves. This is the season’s climax.”
However, at their practice last Saturday, the nerves
didn’t show. The swimmers were mostly laughing and
joking about when they will finally shave their legs and
arms.
“Right now everyone might be feeling like they are a
bit nervous, but I think once we get to the meet and the
excitement kicks in, I think everyone will swim really
well,” said sophomore swimmer Dana Macabales. “Last
year, as the meet went on it got easier to swim faster.”
The Slugs are the only DIII public school team at the
meet. The rest of the teams at the event are DI and DII
schools, as well as private DIII schools.
The UCSC swim team struggles to make ends meet.
All participants are required to fundraise. Despite this
financial disadvantage, the men finished fifth in the
2010 conference and the women finished sixth, besting
many DI and DII teams who have more funding.
Moore said he is proud of the Slugs’ DIII status and
that it will be an advantage for the team at the coming
meet.
“It’s nice being underdogs — there are not as many
expectations,” Moore said. “We’re usually a much happier
bunch, and that works out in our benefit.”

Expressing
Eroticism
A review of the sexy fundraiser show ‘What Is Erotic?’
By Rosanna van Straten
Arts & Entertainment
Reporter
A myriad of playful and juicy
performance pieces answer the
complicated, even loaded ques-
tion of what eroticism means in
exciting and entertaining ways.
This made this year’s “What Is
Erotic?” show — in which a vari-
ety of dancers, poets, and actors
performed — a success of great
proportions.
Performed every February,
“What Is Erotic?” promises
the promiscuous, the sensuous
and the downright scandalous.
The performance will end this
Sunday.
Directed and produced
by Blaze Enfante, Misha Bo-
naventura, Lara Foy and Shelly
Adams, this year’s performance
is a conglomeration of eccentric
pieces. Glow-in-the-dark body
painting, dance pieces, spoken
word poems, stripteases and skits
are performed and in turn, create
what could definitely be called an
erotic atmosphere. The show is a
mixed-entertainment spectacle.
A woman covered in gold paint
performs an Indonesian dance
one minute and skits about love
triangles follow.
Performed by local artists,
“What is Erotic?” is celebrating
its sixth annual performance. It is
the 418 Project’s largest fund-
raiser show, and each year the
theme is changed. This year’s is
“Wet Dreams.”
Funds raised go to the 418
Project: a local, non-profit
organization that provides a
safe space for a variety of dance
classes, capoeira and yoga,
among other performing arts.
Their mission statement: “to
move community and inspire
transformation through perfor-
mance and dance.”
The performers, comfortable
with themselves, each other, and
the space, lull the audience —
made up of couples and friends
alike — into feeling the same. As
the show continues on, a strong
vibe of kinship is felt in the room
between the cast and the crowd.
During the intermission, the
Arts & Entertainment
lines between the two
start slowly blurring.
Being hand-fed choco-
late and blueberries on
the mattresses and
pillows on which they
recline, most audi-
ence members start
showing a whole
new level of
comfort. Lovers
sometimes mas-
sage each other,
cat calls resonate
through the room,
and giggles erupt
from the crowd.
All pieces were
met with a roaring
applause during
Sunday’s perfor-
mance.
Poet Shimmy
Boyle performed his
original word piece “Living
the Sexy Librarian Dream.”
Describing his dream woman as Illustration by Muriel Gordon
a sexy librarian, Boyle performed
one innuendo-laden line after the
next about how he wants to give the heat going by thanking the reconsider their definition of the
her his love through books. The audience for, of all things, “com- word eroticism by showing that
audience lauded his performance ing.” Less than subtle? Perhaps. anything, even the unexpected,
with sighs of “oohs” and “aahs”. Humorously erotic? Definitely. can be erotic. If you want to drift
“Let me be the author of your Something spicy for all to into the dreams of intimacy, this
orgasm,” Boyle recites. “Let me enjoy — almost all, leave the show will guide you there. You
scribble in your margins!” kids behind — “What is Erotic?” will surely awaken with some-
Senior director Enfante kept makes its audience members thing positive left behind.
cityonahillpress.com | 19
Killing Them Softly
Feature
Continued from p. 11
Nina Salarno-Ashford,
executive board member of
Crime Victims United of
California, has been an active
proponent of victims’ rights in
the criminal justice system since
the age of 12, when her oldest
sister, Catina, was stalked and
murdered before her first day
of classes at the University of
the Pacific in Stockton. Salarno-
Ashford said the death penalty
is very much a victims’ issue,
because it helps victims regain
faith in the legal system, which
failed them at the time of the
crime. She said that in many
cases, an execution is the only
way for a victim to truly gain
closure.
Salarno-Ashford recounted
an experience she had after
working for and witnessing the
execution of Darrell Keith Rich,
who sexually assaulted nine
women in 1978, resulting in four
deaths, including the death of an
11-year-old girl. As she was leav-
ing the death chamber, one of
the surviving rape victims gave
her a hug and said, “Thank you.”
When Salarno-Ashford asked,
“For what?” the victim explained
that this would be the first time
since the rape that she could go
to sleep without worrying Rich
would be released on parole and
track her down to murder her.
“For these victims, it is the
ultimate relief,” Salarno-Ashford
said. “Everything has ended,
and there is no chance of the
person coming back out. From a
pure victim’s standpoint, it is the
greatest relief that you can give
them.”
But Zamora of the ACLU
argued that life without the pos-
sibility of parole granted finality
without the excessive cost —
both emotional and monetary
— to the victim’s family and the
state, respectively.
“Every victim’s family de-
serves a swift and certain justice,
and we believe that the death
penalty doesn’t do either one of
those,” she said. “The cases drag
on for years, thus prolonging
the pain and suffering of victim’s
families.”
Still, Salarno-Ashford ex-
pressed concerns about a justice
system that did not include a
final punishment. She said that
a life without the possibility of
parole sentence can always be
20 | Thursday, February 17, 2011
changed to a more lenient sen- ment in the country since the
tence, allowing the chance for an 1970s. He said that politicians
eventual parole. have used the capital punishment
“Once the death penalty issue as a political tool — a way
actually has been carried out, to appear tough on crime.
[crime victims] tend to move on In 1989, Haney took a state-
with their lives,” she said. “It’s wide poll that collected informa-
almost like they’re frozen in time, tion on Californians’ perspective
otherwise.” about the death penalty. He
compiled the same data in a 2009
survey.
“In 1989, 50 percent of the
population considered them-
Political argument for the selves strong supporters of the
death penalty has mainly fo- death penalty, and that is down
cused upon the effectiveness of to a quarter of the population in
capital punishment as a deterrent 2009,” he said.
against violent crime. Yet, there Haney said that, if for no
Prescott Watson
ONE OF THE REHABILITATION PROGRAMS California runs
is a series of standardized tests for prisoners. Inmates study for
a test that will allow them to bypass schooling and go directly
into the workforce upon their departure.
has been little evidence proving a other reason, Californians have
correlation between the two. begun to question the death pen-
UC Santa Cruz psychology alty because of its excessive cost.
professor Craig Haney, has spent Because of the extra guards
many years interviewing inmates needed, the extended appeals
for his research on the social his- process and the cost to indi-
tories of violent convicts. Haney vidually house each condemned
said that criminals rarely think of inmate, the state annually pays
consequences while partaking in $100 million more than it would
a capital crime. if it eliminated the death penalty,
“Most people who end up in according to the California Com-
capital cases either suffer from mission on the Fair Administra-
some sort of mental illness, and tion of Justice, a group created by
there is a fairly large number a California State Senate resolu-
of those,” he said, “or they have tion.
been so damaged by the circum- Semel said that at a time
stances under which they have when California continually cuts
been raised and the circumstanc- funds to the UC and other public
es under which they live, that programs, this expenditure is
they are responding and reacting infuriating.
to a set of pressures in their life, “To a state that is suffering,
which undermine their ability to an extra $100 million or more a
reflect clearly on the consequenc- year is a significant amount of
es of what they are doing.” money,” she said. “And that is
Haney said that legislators’ just in a year. This goes on every
push for the death penalty was year. It is an industry, and it is an
part of the same political move industry that is just simply not
that led to the mass imprison- serving the people of this state.”
The recent abolition of capital
punishment in New Jersey and
New Mexico and the expected
abolition in Illinois, pending
Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature,
displays a trend throughout the
country.
Gov. Bill Richardson of New
Mexico said in a statement after
signing the bill that the inability
to guarantee guilt swayed his
decision.
“The sad truth is the wrong
person can still be convicted in
this day and age,” he said in a
March 2009 news conference.
“And in cases where that convic-
tion carries with it the ultimate
sanction, we must have ultimate
confidence, I would say certitude,
that the system is without flaw or
prejudice.”
But because California’s death
penalty was passed by referen-
dum — a 1972 vote for Proposi-
tion 17 — discontinuing capital
punishment is out of the legisla-
ture’s hands. Instead, the courts
would have to rule executions
unconstitutional or abolition
would have to be passed by
popular vote.
But even Semel, an ardent
critic of capital punishment,
has doubts about the success of
abolition by referendum.
“It’s one thing to talk
to people about what they
think, whether they favor the
alternative punishment of life
without parole,” Semel said. “But
it is another thing to put that in
the cauldron of political fire that
happens in an initiative battle,
when you are talking about
people spending tens of millions
of dollars to sway the public.”
San Quentin Lt. Robinson
walked my photographer and me
to a towering barbed wire fence,
through which we could see
black double doors marked “East
Block Condemned Row II.” He
said that he could not take us in.
The press had not been allowed
on death row for seven years.
Instead, we stood next to the
gate, trying to position ourselves
to sneak a glance in if the doors
opened.
“Escort coming through, one
time!” a guard shouted, as the
metal door swung. “On the wall,
gentlemen.”
On our tour, we walked
through the Receiving and
Release unit, where new arrivals
looked past us with empty gazes.
We stood by the bird-littered
baseball field and watched
Robinson make small talk with a
passing inmate. We crossed the
crowded upper yard where tat-
tooed behemoths cut holes in us
with razor-sharp stares.
Now we would finally see the
worst of the worst: a man the
state had sentenced to die.
But when the handcuffed
prisoner emerged from between
the black doors, his smallish
frame and casual stroll surprised
me. The condemned inmate
wore glasses over concentrated,
detached eyes. His black hair and
beard were speckled gray.
I was taken aback as I stared
at an inmate who’d been marked
a monster. I had not expected
him to look like a middle-aged
man.
Judge Fogel toured San
Quentin’s new death chamber on
Feb. 8 and is set to hold eviden-
tiary hearings in his San José
courthouse in the coming weeks.
He will soon decide whether the
CDCR has done enough to make
the process of lethal injection
constitutional.
If he rules that they have, the
state has everything prepared
to restart its capital punishment
program. With the judge’s ap-
proval, the five-year moratorium
will end. 56-year-old Albert
Greenwood Brown, a rapist
and murderer, will be the first
condemned inmate to receive a
lethal injection in the new death
chamber.
Driving down Penny Ter-
race, back toward the Richmond
Bridge, you quickly lose sight of
the state prison. The high walls
that act as endpoints for those
inside give way to a much wider
horizon. While driving across the
bay, it becomes easier to forget
that 699 inmates, sentenced to
death by our state, live on this
majestic peninsula — easier to
forget that San Quentin sits a
world and 11 miles away from
San Francisco..
 Column

Self-Realization in a
Minaj à Swan
The female rapper and the main
character in ‘Black Swan’ round
themselves out using alter egos

By Blair Stenvick
City Co-Editor

R
apper Nicki Minaj knows who she is.
According to her lyrics, she’s Nicki
Minaj, Nicki Lewinsky, Nicki the ninja,
Nicki the boss, Nicki the Harajuku Barbie. She’s
not Jasmine — she’s Aladdin. She’s the best, and
she can single-handedly annihilate every rap
bitch in the building.

Nina Sayers, the ballerina Natalie Portman skillfully

portrays in “Black Swan,” isn’t as sure of herself. The main
character in Darren Aronofsky’s much buzzed-about
psychological thriller secures the lead in “Swan Lake,”
though her director doubts whether the innocent dancer
can convincingly play the role of the mysterious and
sensual black swan. She’s timid and reserved, a grown
woman who still lives with her mother and sleeps among
her stuffed animals. She’s one of the best dancers in the
troupe, but she never stops punishing herself long enough
to enjoy that fact.
These two cultural figures seem to be opposites. The
outlandish firecracker Nicki Minaj and the staid perfec-
tionist Nina Sayers are clean, net stereotypes who prob-
ably don’t have much in common.
But they do.
Both women achieve their own form of greatness by
embracing every part of themselves, which are personi-
fied in the form of different alter egos. Because of this,
they manage to show the depth that every human has
but that few people — especially famous women — are
allowed to reveal.
Feminism is an overwhelmingly broad topic. I took
a feminist studies course last year, and the only thing
I learned for sure is that it’s hard to know anything in
a world with such mixed messages. But if there is one uni-
fying problem women in the modern United States face,
it’s the issue of “having it all.” To succeed in anything,
women have to fragment themselves. They choose to be
the business bitch, or just a sweet, good-natured friend.
They can’t have it both ways. And nowhere is that more
apparent than in pop culture.
But Minaj is known for her multiple personalities. In
her songs, she is all confidence and bravado, switching
her voices back and forth with ease and theatricality.
She goes from being “Barbie,” a soft-spoken it-girl to
“Roman,” a gay man with an attitude, to Nicki Minaj, her
purest self, whom she describes as “more street.”
At first, Nina doesn’t embrace her alter ego and resists
her dark side, personified by Lily, a fellow ballerina who
emerges as Nina’s main competition. But as the film
progresses, we see Nina commit small acts of evil, such as
stealing jewelry, in her quest to become the perfect lead
in “Swan Lake.” In one scene, Nina has sex with Lily. That
scene is recalled later when Nina stabs Lily while trying to
stop her from performing. In both instances, it is revealed
that Lily was never present at all — Nina was making love
to and killing herself. Lily was a hallucination symboliz-
ing Nina’s own desires and ambitions.
And it is not until she embraces her dark side that
Nina can give the performance of her life. She is both pro-
tagonist and antagonist in the film, and that helps her to
achieve brilliance before dying.
Minaj’s music sends the same message: Her genius is
in her multiplicity. Using alter egos allows Minaj to have
conversations with herself, making for some of the most
entertaining and frightening verses in the music industry
today.
Both Nicki and Nina are at their best when they seam-
lessly weave all parts of themselves into their performanc-
es. Although their alter egos are presented as separate
entities, it’s no question that they come from and repre-
sent the two women.
Plenty of other people in the music industry have tried
the multiple personality thing, but most stars present
their doppelgängers as completely separate entities. Sasha
Illustration by Louise Leong
Fierce was specifically designated to perform Beyoncé’s
more energetic club hits, and she and Beyoncé never col-
laborate. Nicki and Nina get it right by using all parts of
themselves at once to achieve greatness.
“Black Swan” and Nicki Minaj are two of the most
talked about things in pop culture right now. Is this sim-
ply a coincidence, or does embracing the full self demon-
strate a step forward for women in the media?
Such one-dimensional female superstars as Ke$ha and
Taylor Swift dominate the charts. Movies like “Sex and
the City 2” and “Twilight” portray devastatingly shallow
and simple female leads. Conversely, Kanye West gets
respect for both showing his feelings and being a cocky
douchebag. The vulgar Eminem gets love every time he
raps about wanting to be a role model for his daughters.
So beyond providing entertainment, maybe Nicki
Minaj and Nina Sayers can serve as inspiration, at least
on some level, for the women who just had kids but want
to return to work, or the teenage girls who want to get
straight A’s and give hand jobs in the bathroom during
homeroom, to embrace both sides of their selves. Maybe
these pop icons can show that nobody is simple, and be-
ing one-sided is boring and nothing to celebrate.
Today’s media culture tends to skirt away from any-
thing meaningful, so maybe that’s expecting too much.
Or maybe not. I’m generally cynical about these
things, but my optimistic alter ego is telling me to have a
little hope.

cityonahillpress.com | 21
Editorial
Take a
Moment to
Speak Up
UCSC students must take the CLASS survey
to make their opinions known
L
ast year, students gathered on campuses, at the Cap-
itol and in the streets to make their voices heard.
They screamed that they were fired up, and cheered
when senators said their cries echoed in the halls of the
capitol building. They walked out of classes, were pepper
sprayed and arrested, all to make regents and members
of the legislature listen. Thousands of UC students spoke
up then. But now students are ignoring an opportunity to
speak to the quality of their education.
The 2011 UC Class and Lecture Availability Student
Survey (CLASS) is a student-initiated, student-organized
and student-run university-wide survey. The survey gives
UC students the opportunity to rate the quality of their
education in light of budget cuts and raised tuition. It
takes about two minutes to complete, and participants are
even given the incentives of possible prizes and cookies if
they complete the survey. And apparently, students can’t
be bothered to fill it out.
The survey’s creators are striving for responses from 20
percent of each campus’ student body.
As of Wednesday, UC Santa Cruz is in the lead for
campus response rates. With 18.1 percent. At a university
that prides itself for its activism, these numbers are down-
right embarrassing. Students’ apathy toward the survey
gives critics further reason to claim student activism is
CLASS Rank Survey results as of Feb. 16
Campus Santa Santa Riverside
Cruz Barbara
Response 2708 2200
Rate (18.1%) (11.5%)
22 | Thursday, February 17, 2011
Illustration by Louise Leong
more about getting drunk or breaking stuff than effecting it took to get it.
change. In the fight for affordable public education, students
The goal of the library sit-in, the Kerr Hall occupa- didn’t necessarily receive all they wanted. Tuition was
tion and the dance parties at UCSC last year was to bring raised repeatedly, majors were suspended and class sizes
attention to the plight of UC students, and they did just are smaller. But students succeeded in making it known
that. People are paying attention, and want to know how that they would not take threats to their education lying
At a university that prides itself for its activism, these numbers are downright
embarrassing. Students’ apathy toward the survey gives critics further reason to
claim student activism is more about getting drunk or breaking stuff than
effecting change.
students have been affected by the budget cuts. UCSC ex- down, that they had opinions and power, and if nothing
ecutive vice chancellor Allison Galloway has even said the else, administrators would listen to what they had to say.
results of the survey will be taken into consideration in Students fought to make their voices heard, and now
future budgetary decisions. Those in power want to know that someone’s listening, they seem to have nothing to
about the impact of suspended majors, pink-slipped say. They must take this opportunity to speak up, or UC
professors and fired teaching assistants. The survey may students will have no one to blame for the state of their
not get the students’ collective adrenaline pumping the education than themselves.
way barricading campus entrances did, but it’s what they
were fighting for, and it’s just as important as the protests CLASS Survey available at uc-class-survey.ucsc.edu.
Merced Berkeley Irvine Los San Diego Davis
Angeles
771 40 270 232 270 135 48
(4.7%) (1.3%) (1.1%) (1.1%) (1.1%) (0.6%) (0.2%)
 Editorial

Fixing a
Broken System
It’s time to reform the California prison system

I
t’s no real secret that the
California prison system
is broken. The issues
that our system faces
come from two major
areas: overcrowd-
ing and the lack of
viable rehabilitation
programs.
We’ve all heard
about the overcrowding of
prisons — inmates bunk-
ing and sleeping wherever
they can, from the gym to the
cafeteria. Space is a hot commod-
ity within the facilities. Yet most of
this stems from one other fact: recidi-
vism, or returning to prison after release.
California’s recidivism rate as of last March
was a staggering 66 percent, according to the
New York Times. It has also been put as high as
70 percent.
That’s two out of three inmates returning to
incarceration within a usually small timeframe of
one to two years. What that tells is that the system is
We need to take a good, hard look in the
mirror and realize that what’s happening
now is costing the state excessive
amounts of cash that it doesn’t have, and
it is not helping a majority of inmates
find a way out of crime.
currently not working as a means of rehabilitation or
deterrent to crime.
But it has been a difficult process to get any new
Illustration by Matt Boblet
legislation passed. The most recent changes have come
in underwhelming forms: the early releases of low-level
offenders with no parole supervision, a reduction of
sentences due to participation in rehab programs, and
lastly, the University of California handling inmate
healthcare.
Yet these “solutions” don’t really solve anything.
There has been criticism and conflict about the early re-
lease of inmates, and the incentivizing of rehabilitation
takes the focus away from wanting to become a better
person and instead prioritizes the act of getting released
early.
The longer California can keep people out of prison,
the more money it will end up saving in the long run.
What the California prison system needs is a commit-
ment to rehabilitation of inmates, putting the focus upon
getting them to work on their faults, their trials, tribula-
tions and overall lives — and not on simply getting out
of jail.
This is not an easy feat, especially considering that
San Quentin is the only prison to offer any serious
rehabilitation programs, such as being able to attain an
California’s recidivism rate as of last
March was a staggering 66 percent,
according to the New York Times. It has
also been put as high as 70 percent.
associate’s degree. It also doesn’t help that a year ago $250
million was cut from the Department of Rehabilitations
and Corrections, putting many of those rehab programs
in jeopardy.
We need to evaluate what we want the prison system
to do. Do we want it to just house an ever-increasing
number of incoming prisoners who will fall into the
pitfalls and continuous cycling in and out of the prison
system? Or do we want prison to serve as a place for
prisoners to work on their problems and move towards
returning to society?
We need to take a good, hard look in the mirror and
realize that what’s happening now is costing the state ex-
cessive amounts of cash that it doesn’t have, and it is not
helping a majority of inmates find a way out of crime.
There is no money in California — not for higher
education, and not for the prison system. Rehabilitation
programs just faced a $250 million cut.
We need to use what the system has right now and
create major reform from within, instead of complaining
about the status quo.

cityonahillpress.com | 23
Who the Hell?!

Who
the Hell
“Save the tatas! I have a shirt that says that “Boobs, because they’re — I don’t know
Asked
too. I wish I were wearing it right now.”

You?!
how to put this — they make me ... just
speechless.”

JOCELYN ROBINSON CHRIS HARRISON

SECOND-YEAR, STEVENSON SECOND-YEAR, MERRILL
LEGAL STUDIES & PHILOSOPHY EARTH SCIENCE

Butt or boobs? Discuss.

Compiled by Sasha Yovanovich & Isaac Miller

“Depends on the person. If they’ve got nice “I like whichever they can shake better.”
boobs, then I’m all for boobs. If they’ve got a
nice butt, then butt.”

JEREMY LYON ASHLEY MCCONNELL

SECOND-YEAR, COLLEGE NINE FIFTH-YEAR, STEVENSON
LITERATURE SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY

Slug
Comics
By Kristian Talley

Next week in
City on a Hill
Press...

24 | Thursday, February 17, 2011