Perspective

Perspective. FDR said that "a society is judged by the way it treats its lowest members." I would initially have to disagree with FDR. Looking back through history at the "great" societies (America, Great Britain, Rome, Egypt, etc.) we see that these societies were built on/around slavery, or at the very least with a great divide between the very wealthy and extremely poor. But no one I know looks at these societies and judges them with a "shame on you." We marvel at the Pyramids in Egypt and at how advanced they were for their time. Rome's beauty is still evident, and its political structure and ways of life are present in today's world. English is spoken in almost every corner of the earth, because Great Britain was (and if we see London winning over New York to host this year's Olympics, is still) so "Great." People have continuously come to America to "live the dream." Are we really judging these societies on how they treat their lowest members? This is about Perspective.

I know, I know, slavery was abolished quite some time ago. So where am I going with this? The American middle-class is shrinking. The income inequality is close to record highs, rivaled only by The Great Depression. Unemployment is at its worst in 20+ years and the cost of living is rising higher than the increase in wages. If you've kept up with recent news, there are children as young as five years old working in fruit/vegetable/tobacco fields (absorbing nicotine through their skin at the equivalent of 12 cigarettes a day) across America, including here in California, in order to help their families with income. America is among the top three destinations for human trafficking both in the sex trade and for unpaid labor, along with Australia and Japan, which economically aren't exactly the worst off countries in the world. It is a $14 billion per year industry (more than Google, Nike, and Starbucks combined) where modern day "slaves" receive nothing for the work and abuse they must perform and endure. I don't know anyone looking at the "lowest" members with their judgment of this society. It's difficult to agree with the statement when we take these factors into Perspective.

On the other hand, there are also people with a choice who stay in this American society. Who choose to come to this society from another. The poor, the disenfranchised, illegal immigrants, legal immigrants with low incomes, those also among the lowest members of this society are here-- and they aren't going anywhere. Why? Because sometimes, often times, it is better to be poor, disenfranchised, an illegal immigrant, and the lowest member of this American society than to be poor, disenfranchised, a legal citizen, and the lowest member of another society. Why? Because this American society, sadly, has a tendency to treat its lowest members better than other societies may. So perhaps this American society is being judged on how it treats its lowest members. What is hard to believe is that it could be worse. It might get even worse. But it should be better. What we have to consider next, then, is our global society, from a global Perspective.

The Murder on Campus

Decked in black cloaks with velveteen sheen, they begin stalking campus at dawn. Hopping from shadow to shadow, their cries can be heard from treetops and rooftops until dusk. Ninjas? Assassins? It’s worse; crows.

Following the deathly definition of murder most people think of when they hear the word, The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language defines murder as “A flock of crows.” An alternate definition states that murder is “Something that is very uncomfortable, difficult, or hazardous.” Unfortunately, Santa Clara has both of these definitions on its hands.

According to Gary Vargas, Supervisor of Landscaping And Events on campus, these crows are damaging property and costing his workers an incredible amount of time and labor. After touring the grounds with Vargas, it became evident exactly where the crows had been, following a trail that led to stop after stop of destruction.

The campus is almost always full of bright colored flowers during the winter quarter and through the spring— the landscape workers plant these annual flowers twice per year. But the crows have discovered that the flowers are a gateway to an easy breakfast.

For the past two years during the fall/winter season, the crows have caused problems. Nelio Barcelos, a landscaper for the university for the past 22 years, has noticed a significant increase in the occurrence this year. Barcelos said that it has become a daily problem.

“I sometimes plant the same area twice in one day to find the problem again in the morning,” Barcelos said.  The roots embedded into these plots were ripped out of the ground, and pockets where they used to be planted littered the dirt. 

But it wasn’t the roots that the tar-colored birds were after—it was the worms that live underneath them. Somehow, these crows discovered that if they pulled the flowers out of the ground, it left a nice little cup they could reach their beaks into. Instead of having to dig and search for the worms, they simply had to pull a bulb up and the tasty treat would be waiting, unprotected, for them to devour. 

The areas most affected by the damage were in front of the mission church, behind it in the mission gardens, and between the McLaughlin and Walsh dorms. “We even had California Green, an independent landscaping company, come in to do a minor project planting specialty flowers for St. Claire’s garden,” Vargas said. “But as soon as they were finished and had gone, the crows swooped in and started up again as if nothing had happened.”

Vargas has devised a new strategy to defend against these plumaged pillagers. He has bought his landscapers new flowers, this time with a larger, denser soil-base attached. The hope is that these new plants will be too heavy to lift for the birds. This would force them to move on to an easier system of gathering, preferably off campus. 

The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society is a non-profit whose “Mission is to preserve, to enjoy, to restore and to foster public awareness of native birds and their ecosystems, mainly in Santa Clara County.” In their most recent bird-count, conducted Dec.18 of last year, San Jose alone recorded 1450 crows and the collective south bay tallied over 3400. 

These numbers are surprisingly high, especially considering how intelligent and potentially destructive the crows can be. One can only pray that the horror of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds stays in the fiction of early 1960s San Francisco, and doesn’t migrate to Santa Clara.

By Michael Rosa

Letter from the editor: A fictional Potter Box piece in regards to the film "Shattered Glass"

Staff and Writers,

As the editor, I've come across the resume of Stephen Glass. After the truth came out about Glass at The National Republic, it is very difficult to decide whether or not to hire him. The facts remain that he completely or partially fabricated data on almost half of his articles while working at the magazine. What is particularly troubling is that he fabricated his work under two separate editors, so would I be just another? Even worse, he lied about lying, and created new fabrications in order to try and cover his tracks. But that was years ago…

Even if nearly half of his articles were tampered with, the majority was legitimate. As an editor, I value quality writing, but above all I need trust and truth. For me, the two are interchangeable, if you tell me the truth, you've earned my trust. And if I trust you, I’ll believe that what you have to say is the truth. But like me, his previous editors believed Glass, and it tanked their magazine. Glass is full of talent, and with most writers, he can only get better with the wisdom he’s picked up through the years. So whether or not he would fabricate stories again is questionable.

I need to look at the principles if I want to get down to the bottom of this. If I use Aristotle’s Golden mean, I would place one extreme as shredding his resume, putting it in an envelope, and sending it back to him. The other would be turning a blind eye to the facts and hire him on the spot. As a middle-ground, I could maybe see myself hiring him, but with an intern or photographer on his tail at every event. If I use Kant’s Categorical Imperative, it gets trickier. If I were in his shoes, I’d want a universal law of having the opportunity to prove myself to the world that it was the mistake of a scared kid; I’d want a second shot. But fabricating a quote is different than over 20 articles… If I use Mill’s Principle of Utility, What would make the most people happy? I’d love to have an excellent writer on my staff, he’d love to have the job, but would my readers want to see a piece from a man who wrote lies, lies read and believed even on the inflight magazine of Air Force One?

It was always evident that Glass was an excellent writer, but as a journalist, his first loyalty should have been to the truth, but he chose entertainment and the advancement of his career first. As an editor, my loyalty is first and foremost to the truth, then to my staff and writers. If I can’t trust that my writers are giving me the truth in their stories, I can’t be loyal to them. And in this business, my ass is on the line even more so than the writer’s. As terrible as it was that Glass’ career was ruined, it’s been ages since I’ve even heard the phrase “The National Republic;” an entire magazine essentially reduced to rubble because of one man, the man who now wants to work under me at my magazine.

It’s a shame he wasted all of that talent. He went all in, had the winning hand, but pulled an ace from out of his sleeve anyway and got caught. The facts are too strong, his loyalties too wrong, and regretfully, I’ll have to turn down Glass as a writer for our magazine.

Santa Clara Survey Story

How Florida Could Launch Romney to Presidency

Two weeks ago, Mitt Romney was hurting. After losing the South Carolina Presidential Primary to Newt Gingrich, he held his head high and told supporters to to remain strong as he marched onward to Florida. 

For the last eight elections, the winner of the South Carolina Primary has eventually won out as the republican presidential candidate. But the 32-year history may be broken. Romney’s go-getter attitude seems to be exactly what republican voters were looking for in Florida. After convincingly taking the Florida Primary over rival Gingrich, Romney secured his place at the front of the pack again with two primary ideas: turning the economy around, and getting Obama out of the White House.

For most students on campus, whether Romney or Gingrich wins the republican race is a non-issue. Freshman Civil Engineer major Caleb Young said, “I haven’t registered (to vote) or anything, I don’t really know enough care to about this election.” 

But Romney’s second goal in this race, to get Obama out of office, seems to resonate with voters in both parties. 

Jason Watkins, a junior Philosophy-Ethnic Studies double major said he may vote independent this year. “I want my vote to actually count towards something,” said Watkins. After suggesting he probably wouldn’t vote Republican anyway, he joked that the only thing Obama really has going for him is that like Watkins, he’s black. Otherwise he’s not interested in voting for the current president again and wants to see what else is out there. 

Similarly, junior Political Science-Economics double major Warda Ali is actually considering voting independent for the first time in her life. Ali is upset with the current administration and it seems that neither party is catering to her needs as an individual citizen. Although she was seventeen during the last election, she has always considered herself a Democrat and if she had to choose, she would vote Obama over Romney. “He’s the lesser of two evils,” Ali said. 

While the win in Florida was great for Romney, the general consensus on campus seems to disagree with what he would bring to the presidential table. Regardless of whether or not he could take the GOP race, it doesn’t seem likely that he will be getting votes from too many Santa Clara students this election. But with many traditional voters shying away from Obama, Florida could be the biggest step for Romney’s campaign to the presidency.

Reporting at Santa Clara University

Putting a Dent in the Dry Spell

The academic calendar may say “Winter Quarter,” but it felt more like summer vacation last week. Northern California was suffering through a long drought, yet the dry spell had its benefits. Students soaked in the warm sunshine, people seemed cheery, and smiles were commonplace.
But last Thursday, students and faculty alike brushed the dust off of jackets, umbrellas, and rain boots to combat the wet weather. There was no denying it anymore. Winter was back, and it had taken Santa Clara by storm.

With the change of weather came a change in attitude among the students on campus. For some, the onslaught of rain dampened weekend plans. Senior Communication major Chelsi Johnston and her classmates had hoped to begin shooting an assignment in experimental film for a class. The shot required ample sunshine, but the sky had different plans. “It was too rainy to shoot outside,” Johnston said.

For senior Psychology major Taylor Conte, the current president of the Ski & Snowboard Club at Santa Clara, the rain had a different effect. As a member for the past 4 years, the drought really lowered moral and the ability to ride for the club this year. 

“It is currently the worst winter in Tahoe in over 200 years. We all have been praying for snow more then we probably have been studying,” Conte said. “We had over 20 kids up in Tahoe last weekend and will have another big group going up this weekend. We have a cabin open to Santa Clara Students for $40 a weekend if anyone wants to come play in the snow.”

Alan Takeda, who has worked in landscape maintenance at Santa Clara for the past two years, noticed the difference as well. Santa Clara has often been praised for its beautiful campus. Lush green lawns, sidewalks lined with fragrant rosebushes, and bright flowers contrasting the whitewashed adobe walls give the school that recognizable picturesque quality. 

The dry spell was detrimental to this beauty. Takeda said that winter annuals (flowers that only bloom during the winter season) have not received their normal rainfall, and with the lack of rain they become susceptible to frost damage. While the rain was beneficial to the flowers, this was not exactly the case for the lawns on campus.

Many students have to walk to and from class, regardless of the weather. When asked where students should try to avoid, Takeda quickly warned about the Accolti Way lawn. Located between the Sobrato and Sanfilippo Residence dormitories, this area tends to get muddy fast during the rainy season and can take weeks to dry up.

Similarly, Takeda offered that lawns on the north sides of buildings also tend to be soggy. The buildings block what already little sunlight peeks through the rainclouds, casting shadows on the lawns. This prevents the rain water from evaporating and keeps the grass wet.
There were a rare few who seemed oblivious to the downpour last week. The rain essentially eliminated senior English major Cameron Carbone’s distractions from the outside world as he was able to complete some heavy reading for class this past weekend. For Carbone, “it was nice seeing the rain again.”

As late as it was, the weather finally matched the winter season last week. But the storm left just as quickly as it had arrived after putting a dent in the dry spell. Forecasts for the upcoming weekend suggest a whole lot more of that summer vibe missing from last weekend.

Fictional News Reporting: Bad News Bears

Bad News Bears

On Saturday, January seventh, the North Valley Youth Baseball League Championship game was played at McFarlane Field in Santa Clara. But the underdog Bears’ near win against the heavily favored Yankees was far from the most interesting part of the story. Fights, arrests, and domestic abuse are but a few of the occurrences at the local game this weekend.

After name-calling banter among the under twelve players, back and forth verbal shots between the coaches, and unsportsmanlike conduct across the board, the game’s first real incident took place right at home-plate. A questionable call by the umpire which led to a Bears player being injured by a Yankee slide into home elicited a wave of reactions among the underdogs. When push came to shove, however, the Bears came to play.

“I could’ve taken all those guys myself,” stated one of the smallest members of the Bears whose name has not been released.

But the game took an even worse turn later on. In an act of defiance by the Yankees’ pitcher to his coach and father, the pitcher threw a deliberate easy pitch to his seemingly arch nemesis because the coach asked him to walk the player, one he had been hoping to strike out since the beginning of the game. In another act of defiance, he held onto ball until the Bear made his way all the way around to home plate.

Roy Turner, the boy’s coach and father, then struck his son and pitcher, causing him to fall to the ground. At the end of the game, Captain Gordon Young of the Santa Clara Police Department gave a press conference on the matter. It was revealed that Roy Turner was arrested, booked, and released on $5,000 bail for the felony charge of aggravated assault.

In another odd turn, it was stated that the Bears coach Morris Buttermaker was cited and released for the misdemeanor crime of drinking in public and another misdemeanor for distribution of alcohol to minors. Several of these said minors were also cited for possession of alcohol but released to their parents.

As one of the biggest games for many of these children’s athletic careers thus far, it became clear that the scoreboard did not determine who lost in this game. While it was arguably one of the most interesting games that took place on McFarlane Field this year, the events that took place during and after the game have made this one of the most questionable as well.

At the end of his press report, Captain Young offered a statement that many at the game must have agreed with, “This is a sad day for our community and baseball.”

So I guess this is blogging?

A blog is a web log. Where you log your thoughts. Onto the web. The world wide web. Rhythm. That was a thought. About rhythm.

This is probably the worst post you could ever post as your first post.

But alas, the damage has been done.