Country boys BASEBALL rock out Men’s team slugs past Southern at Event Center Illinois with 18 runs SEE PAGE 8 SEE PAGE 5 Serving San José State University since 1934 Thursday, March 11, 2010 www.TheSpartanDaily.com Volume 134, Issue 23 A.S. presidential candidates strive Students break away for change Eric Van Susteren Staff Writer from driving alone Presidential candidates for the 2010 Associated Students elec- tion in April are preparing to face Justin Albert He said the garages may be he said. issues such as budget cuts, low Staff Writer having diffi culty reaching capacity The lack of parking permit sales student involvement and a lack of because of cuts in enrollment and hasn’t hurt parking services in a student awareness, said the A.S. Parking permit revenue sales other budget-related issues. signifi cant way, but there could chief elections offi cer. are down this semester as students “The garages tend to fi ll up come a time when parking services "We've always had a low turn- may be looking to use alternative mostly between 8 a.m. and noon,” has to reduce staff in order to meet out for the elections voter-wise, forms of transportation to get to Laws said. “And so far we’ve only the budget requirements of losing and we're really just trying to get SJSU, said a public information had the Seventh Street garage fi ll signifi cant amounts of revenue, more awareness of A.S. govern- offi cer for the University Police up completely once.” Laws said. ment," said Cree Daniels, a senior Department. Laws said he didn’t know exact- “Parking is one of those auxilia- hospitality management major. “People are not parking ille- ly why students aren’t frequenting ries on campus that is self-funded, Daniels said voter turnout is gally any more than they normally the garages and buying permits. so no general fund money comes the major priority for the 2010 are,” said Sgt. John Laws. “We’re “I don’t know if they’re fi nding to run parking,” he said. election. just not getting as many cars as we other alternatives, but we are see- "We have 32,000 students and use to.” ing a defi nite drop in parking use,” See PARKING, Page 2 only 2,000 showed up to vote last year," she said. "That's an ex- tremely low percentage. It's less than the people who live on cam- pus." Daniels said this year the A.S. elections board will be increasing the money spent on raising aware- ness and student involvement. "I think especially with the budget cuts people are going to want to know what their money is going to," she said. "This is techni- cally their organization. They need to know what kinds of things A.S. can do for them." Budget concerns are one of the most pressing issues for students, *Photo illustration by Stefan Armijo said senior kinesiology major Do- mingo Castellanos, who is running for A.S. president. Students, faculty weigh in on Proposition 8 "If this costs any more, I'm not going to be able to go to school here either," he said. Donovan Farnham San Francisco Chronicle. system to work," he said. "I do believe jor, said he voted in favor of Proposition Castellanos said his position Staff Writer If the decisions regarding marriage we should vote on something over and 8, but takes a centrist point of view and as president of the Sigma Alpha were left up to SJSU students, then over again and it shouldn't be up to one thinks that same-sex couples should Epsilon fraternity has helped him The federal court case regarding the Judge Vaughn Walker, the federal judge person, one judge or a group of people still be allowed to legally be together. prepare for the A.S. presidency. validity of Proposition 8 is a question of hearing the case, would hear different to decide for the majority." "I didn't really have a reason," he "I learned to set deadlines whether the 14th Amendment applies to opinions. Asghar said that minority groups, said. "It may have been an ignorant for myself, be effi cient and make same-sex couples and the LGBT com- Billal Asghar, a global studies and be they religious or ethnic or otherwise, choice on my part, but I see marriage as tough decisions," he said. "The munity, according to James Brent, a health science double major, said if a should stick together to protect one an- between a man and a woman." correct decisions." SJSU political science professor. person's actions aren't hurting some- others' rights because if the rights of one The ruling on the Proposition 8 case Ivan Ng, a member of the Del- In November 2008, Californians one, then they should be given free rein group are taken away then there isn't a depends on whether same-sex couples ta Sigma Phi fraternity, said he passed Proposition 8 establishing that on how they live their lives, but that ma- guarantee for the rest. are considered a suspect class said thinks being in a fraternity would marriage is defi ned as a union between jority decisions should still stand. Billy Ray Haynes, a senior political give a candidate an edge in the a man and a woman, according to the "I'm for a democracy if we want our science and justice studies double ma- See PROP 8, Page 2 elections. "The Greek community is really active about voting from what I've HISTORY OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN CALIFORNIA seen," said Ng, a junior graphic *Courtesy of UC Berkeley's Same Sex Overview and issues Web site, The Christian Science Monitor, The Los Angeles Times design major. "It defi nitely helps if you have that many more friends May 2008: California Supreme May 2009: California Supreme and brothers and sisters as sup- Court upholds Proposition 8 and the port." 1977: California defi nes 2000: Proposition 22 passes. California Court overturns Proposition 22. Same ban on same-sex marriages. marriage as legal union now only recognizes marriages between a sex marriage allowed. Ng said he would want a quali- between a man and a woman. man and a woman. fi ed candidate elected to offi ce. "It shouldn't just come down to who has the biggest group of friends," he said. 1999: California allows 2003: the Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibili- Nov. 2008: Proposition 8 passes, Jan. 2010: Proposition domestic partnerships ties Act passes, giving same-sex couples the same rights as defi ning marriage as between a man 8 goes to the U.S. District for same-sex couples heterosexual couples, except for the title of marriage. and a woman in the Court. See ELECTION, Page 4 California Constitution. Weather THESPARTANDAILY.COM TWITTER Online: CANDIDATE PROFILE Video: Meet the candidates: A.S. presidential election at thespartandaily.com Follow us at @spartandaily Stefan Armijo for headlines straight to your Hi: 64° phone. Lo: 45° SPARTAN DAILY BLOGS Learn more about honorary degrees for Japanese-Americans interned in World War II. Also, check out a VTA phone app / made by an SJSU student at FACEBOOK Spartan Daily spartandailynews.wordpress.com FS Become a fan Check out the coverage on the fi rst-round matchups at today’s and get the latest Western Athletic Conference Tournament at headlines straight Hi: 59° Hi: 60° spartandailysports.wordpress.com to you. facebook.com/ Lo: 42° Lo: 42° spartandaily See www.thespartandaily.com 2 NEWS Thursday, March 11, 2010 she said. “It would be so much PARKING more convenient if I could just CAMPUSVOICES BY ASHLEY FINDEN park on campus, but it’s just not From Page 1 possible.” Driving alone to campus A Fall 2009 survey conduct- amounted to less than half of ed by Transportation Solutions all forms of transportation to How do you get to school and why suggests that 46.8 percent of SJSU in Fall 2009, according to students are using alternative the survey. forms of transportation to get to VTA is a viable option in that form of transportation? school, which include the Valley terms of convenience, said Transportation Authority bus Brent Baer, a junior radio, tele- and light rail, regional transit, vision and fi lm major. carpooling and bicycling. “It’s almost easier and “We do surveys every year quicker to take VTA than driv- and they have been showing ing,” he said. “Light rail is never Eric Rizo Fahrim Kabir an increasing trend in alterna- really too crowded, and I have Freshman, Psychology Senior, Aerospace Engineering tive forms of transportation,” to walk a couple of blocks to get said Eyedin Zonobi, manager to campus, but it’s not that bad of Transportation Solutions at at all.” SJSU. Alternative forms of trans- According to the survey, portation have many benefi ts, since Fall 2001 the number Zonobi said, including being of students taking alternative more environmentally friendly forms of transportation has ris- and helping reduce parking is- en 22.4 percent while VTA use sues on campus. has risen 21.3 percent. “We don’t have enough Amanda Dougherty, a soph- parking, so alternative forms omore molecular biology ma- of transportation reduce the jor, said she takes VTA because impact on SJSU’s parking fa- of fi nancial reasons. cilities,” he said. “It also re- “I can’t afford a parking per- duces traffi c to campus and mit with all of the fee hikes,” downtown at the same time.” HOW STUDENTS GET TO SCHOOL (FALL 2009) I take my car.