SERVE ONE UP ... MOCKTAIL PARTY WOMEN'S Celebrating Halloween is GREEKS PARTY WITHOUT ALCOHOL SOCCER not as bad as it used to be Delta Zeti-Theta Chi event seeks best virgin beverage WRAP-UP 5 OPINION 2 41. r NEWS SPORTS 3 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934 SPARTAN DAILY VOLUME 121, NUMBER 47 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2003 WWW.THESPARTANDAILY Exposition gets beyond fun and Fires hit games By David Weinstein Daily Ste. Writer home for The downstairs mini-gym in the San Jose State University Event Center was home to the fourth annual Ability Within Disability Sports Exposition Monday. students From 4 to 7 p.m. human performance majors from the university's Adaptive Physical Activity Club sponsored the So Cal students event. Students from the HUP 156 and 159 classes engaged in a variety of wheel- can recieve chair and sight-impaired sports. "Our goal here is to spread the word campus relief about disability sports," senior kinesiol- ogy major Dan Decker said. "We learn how to appreciate the activities and By Tony Burchyns become advocates." Decker is also the club's treasurer. Daily Senior Staff Writer HUP 156 is the introductory course while HUP 159 is labeled Sport Several student affairs officials met Adaptive Activity. on Friday to develop a campus plan to Nancy Megginson, professor of address the needs of San Jose State Adapted Physical Activity, teaches both University students affected by the courses severe fires in Southern California, at SJSU. said Meredith Moran, director of Megginson said she teaches HUP 159 Student Life and Leadership. students to adapt themselves with dis- "We wanted to organize a three- ability sports by showing them lead-up pronged response, where the office of games or devising an activity or game student life could serve as a liaison for around it. students with academic, counseling or The students practice the various emergency financial needs," Moran said. sports in the wheelchairs, Megginson Students who are affected by the said. fires and don't know where to turn "With wheelchair tennis, I might can now find immediate help at the have a student in a wheelchair face Office of Student Life and against a wall and practice hitting the Leadership, she said. ball back and forth, Megginson said. There are a total of 902 students The featured sports at the exposition from Ventura, San Bernardino, Los included sitting volleyball, goalball, Photos ty Janean Brongersma / Daily Stan Angeles and San Diego counties and beep baseball and wheelchair tennis, another 164 from Orange County rugby, basketball and soccer. Jones also coaches the Hollister Free Above: C.J. Arnold, a graduate attending SJSU, according to infor- The exposition began with a demon- Wheelers, a local wheelchair soccer student majoring in sports mation from Institutional Planning stration of wheelchair soccer by rehabil- WM. management, watches as Don and Academic Resources. itation technology specialist Don Jones. He has coached the Free Wheelers to A 'letter from interim President Jones picked tour students to sit in two consecutive national champi- Jones of Rehab Specialists explains how to play Power Joseph Crowley to the campus com- wheelchairs and had them do a simple onships. munity *as posted on the SJSU Web soccer drill. Wheelchair manufacturer representa- Soccer to Kellie Arnone, left, site late Monday afternoon. With four cones set apart from each tive Crystal Lee-Patchett also attended and Janelle Lessing, right. The In the letter, Crowley expresses other, Jones had the participants push the event. students were participants in sympathies and concern for all stu- an oversized soccer ball around each Lee-Patchett works as the San Jose dents, faculty, staff and alumni affect- cone. representative for Bride Mobility the Ability Within Disability Sports Expo Monday in the ed by the wildfires. Decker was one of the students who Products. He also encourages the campus to took part in this activity. She said her parents influenced her Event Center Sport Club gym- respond with care and understanding "The ball itself must weigh a good career. nasium. to the special needs of students, eight pounds," Decker said. The ball is "Both of my parents won gold medals which "may include emergency travel huge and it's hard maneuvering the ball in the Paralympics in the 1980s," Lee- front, a jun- funds, emotional support, financial with the wheelchair." Patchett said. Right: Al Asencio, assistance or special academic accom- Jones is an SJSU alumnus and works Quadriplegic rugby and wheelchair ior business management modations," the letter states. in Watsonville for Rehabilitation soccer and tennis are the most popular major catches a ball while Deanna Peck, assistant director of res- Specialists. sports, Lee-Patchett said. blindfolded in a game of Goal idential life, said she hasn't heard from 'My job is to work with the family "In quad-rugby the men use a manual Ball, while Jim Colvin attempts any rattled students yet, but she's glad and the therapist to the design the right Moran called the meeting together. wheelchair," Sc,. PROGRAM, pages to catch it as well. "We needed a coordinated effort to reach as many people as possible faculty and staff and students to let everyone know what resources are I available," she said. "There's got to be SJSU student Atkins in Gilroy mayoral race some students who don't know where By Tony Burchyns Atkins said. work in her Lommunity, Zahner said. "She's overcome a lot oh challenges,' resean.h. Atkins sAtil she entered the to go for help." "I have already accomplished a lot," "Ellyn was certainly an engaged stu- she said. "I think what she's doing is race in August to shake things up. Peck said students in the dorms Daily Senior Stall Writer she said. "I'm using the experience to dent who asked great questions." great." "At the time, only Al Pinheiro and could go to the office of student write papers and do research for my Atkins said her classmates couldn't Atkins said her platform centers on Mary Hohenbrink were running, and housing, as well as the office of stu- Today Gilroy voters have the option honors thesis." believe it when she told them she was creating decent wage jobs and protect- both supported the city councils plan dent life, for help. of selecting a full-time San Jose State Atkins, a Gilroy resident since 1986, running. ing open spaces. to build a Wal-Mart Super Center," Wiggsy Sivertsen, director of coun- University student to be their next said she has never run for public office "That s the thing about local poli- In contrast to her three opponents, she said. seling services, said she has written mayor. before. tics, you never expect someone you two of whom have political experience Atkins said the development would and sent an e-mail to faculty mem- The chance of that happening, how- She said she was inspired to do so know to run," she said. in Gilroy, Atkins said she isn't playing hurt the community by eating up land bers to let them know how to spot ever, could be quite slim. after taking a sociology course last Zahner, now an adjunct professor at the game" by soliciting funds from and creating only menial wage jobs. symptoms of emotional distress. "Probably, I don't have much of a spring called Community Santa Clara University, said Atkins special interest groups and promoting Atkins also said she is in favor of Her letter encourages instructors to chance," said Ellyn Atkins, a 44-year- Involvement and Personal Growth and her classmates were required to do herself with the typical barrage of col- Gilroy joining the Santa Clara talk about the fires in class and to old student pursuing a bachelor's (SOC 57). 24 hours of community service and orful lawn signs. County Open Space Authority, a make themselves available to students. degree in sociology. Barbara Zahner, who taught Atkins' write about their experiences. Instead, she said she is lying low and group that helps cities plan greenbelts. Sivertsen said counseling services is Not to worry, she said. section, said the course incorporated Zahner said Atkins' energetic return studying how the relationship "Gilroy is the only city in Santa well-equipped to handle emotional After all, it was pure curiosity and a community service as part of its cur- to school, after spending the early part between neighbors changes when Clara County that is not part of the crises. that spurred riculum. of her life working as a single mother political roles are assumed. creative research agenda ATKINS r,age See FIRE, page 6 her to throw her hat in the ring, "She was very willing to do hard (she's now married), was commendable. In addition to her nitty-gritty See 6 Homework takes priority in A.S. lab By Janet Pak ... We let them know, and we give them a good playing "Gun bound," an online shooting game 5-10 minutes." where everyone takes a turn. Daily Staff Writer Tran, a freshman undeclared major, said he Liu said he's had to wait as long as 30 minutes comes to the lab to relax between classes and in the middle of the day for computers, but Peter Tian likes to play computer games at the said the garners are stereotyped. because he's gaming, he doesn't mind. Associated Students Computer Services Center, "Not everyone comes here to do work," said The student assistants, Liu said, usually come among other things. Harold Lee, a sophomore computer engineering to the garners to yield their computers, some- Merssyn Krun, a senior political science major, major.