SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934 SPARTANSPARTAN DAILYDAILY WWW.THESPARTANDAILY.COM VOLUME 122, NUMBER 08 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2004 Tai chi for two ... Touch-screen security confirmed for March 2 enough about the potential dangers of results, according to the registrar of By Dan King of electronic voting that in 2002 he voters. Daily Staff Writer formed an organization called Verifi ed But recent news reports have Voting. shown touch-screen machines have Next month’s California primary “Verifi ed Voting is not opposed to their own set of reliability issues. election will be the fi rst time in almost using technology,” Dill said. “We are The Associated Press reported on four decades that Santa Clara County against relying exclusively on high- Feb. 5 that a consulting fi rm hired by unveils a brand-new voting technique, tech answers.” the Maryland legislature, Raba Tech- according to state and county of- According to his organization’s nology, successfully hacked the state’s fi cials. Web site, it “champions transparent, Diebold Election Systems software. The county’s registrar of voters reliable, and publicly verifi able elec- According to Raba Technology’s Web site states the March 2 primary tions in the United States.” report to the legislature, the fi rm was will be the fi rst time the county will Dill said his group has helped able to “change vote tallies and seize rely exclusively on touch-screen to turn concerns about unverifi able control of the central vote-counting voting. electronic ballots into a national issue. computer.” Previously the secretary of state The move toward replacing low- “The team was able to demonstrate listed Santa Clara as being one of nine tech punch cards came about when the ability to switch two candidates,” counties still using the punch card the U.S. Congress passed the “Help the report said. “Consequently, ballot method made infamous by the America Vote Act” in 2002 to supply the voter appeared to vote for the 2000 presidential election. funds for new voting machines. candidate of his choice but he actually Elma Rosas, election division In addition, California voters voted for another candidate.” coordinator for the county’s registrar approved a proposition for a $200 mil- Diebold President Bob Urosevich of voters, said in a phone interview the lion bond in 2003 to further fund the responded in a press release, “While county had used punch card voting replacement of punch card systems. election technology and procedures since the mid-1960s. Both measures aimed to replace will continue to improve, touch-screen David Dill, a Stanford University punch card ballots by this year. election systems have been proven to computer science professor, said in a Many California counties decided revolutionize the accessibility and phone interview, “we need to move on touch-screen machines as a high- accuracy of the voting process. We more cautiously” toward touch-screen tech alternative to punch card ballots. are enormously proud to be at the — or electronic — voting because of Touch-screen machines have the forefront of election technology and potential fraud and hacking issues. advantage of easy programming for Dill said he was concerned multiple languages and easy tabulation see VOTING, page 5 SJSU election board hosts first candidate orientation By Mari Sapina-Kerkhove For Sarah Stillman, a junior philosophy major, the desire for change was one of the driving forces behind her decision Daily Staff Writer to become involved in campus politics. “I want to make a change on campus running for (direc- The student government election board held its fi rst tor of ) faculty affairs,” she said. “I want to make faculty candidate orientation Tuesday with nine potential candi- members more accessible to students.” dates attending. Stillman, who used to be a resident adviser in her dorms, Alberto Gutierrez, chief election offi cer, walked students said she has recently heard a lot of complaints about the through the candidate application packet, covering issues inaccessibility of faculty members. such as application procedures and eligibility for the March Stillman also said she wanted students to know more 23-24 student government elections. about Associated Students, which seems to be a distant part Gutierrez, a business administration major, said running of campus life for many. for student government gives students a great opportunity Alice Lee, current vice president said, Associated to become involved in campus life at San Jose State Uni- Photo by Carien Veldpape / Daily Staff Students plays a crucial role. versity. “The fi rst and foremost is that they bring positive Hamsa Rasheed Karrien, background, and Madrasi Karrien practice tai chi on Friday afternoon on “I think involvement is a very important aspect of a change for students,” she said. “They are a positive voice college career,” said the junior. “If you have the opportunity top of the Event Center. Rasheed is a martial arts instructor at San Jose State University. to make a difference, why not take it.” see Associated Students, page 5 Herbal remedy benefits, dangers The neigh-borhood cop ... addressed in campus seminar Providing students and professionals with a minds” between health professionals and By Elizabeth Nguyen seminar on herbal remedies was something that consumers, Telavera said. Daily Staff Writer resulted from a lack of classes on the subject, Many consumers of herbal remedies don’t Fee said. always use the products correctly, Barrett said. Medical professionals need to know how to “I teach a class in comparative alternative “It’s a jungle out there,” she said, and many use herbal remedies, said an herbal specialist in health services,” Fee said, but no classes are people don’t get diagnosed before they take the a seminar for herbal remedies on Tuesday. available to give students information about remedies. Marilyn Barrett, who specializes in herbs herbal remedies. “People are taking their health into their and pharmaceuticals, gave advice to student and “We really need to have this kind of infor- own hands,” Barrett said. medical professionals at the Dr. Martin Luther mation taught to students,” Fee said. Using herbal remedies “was a trend a couple King Jr. Joint Library. A seminar such as the herbal remedies semi- of years ago,” Barrett said. “The lack of quality Topics in the seminar included how safety nar “gives a start to this incredibly important assurance has made it go away.” and effi cacy of herbs are determined, and how area,” Fee said. More and more doctors and professionals are the products are regulated. Laura Telavera, program manager for the willing to study herbal remedies and alternative Caroline Fee, associate director in the divi- municipal health service program, said the city medicines, Barrett said. sion of health professions, said Barrett was the of San Jose helps provide seniors with health “Don’t do it ignorantly,” she said. best person to speak at the seminar. clinics and advisory groups. Barrett warns professionals of reactions that Daniel A. Miranda/Daily Staff The city has many diverse cultures that have can occur when taking herbal remedies and “I met Marilyn last year and we hit it off Outside the Student Union, Brian Helmuth and Katherine Tan pet Rocky, right away,” Fee said. different exposures to herbal remedies, Telavera other drugs. said. “Not all botanicals are safe,” Barrett said. a horse with the San Jose Police department, while his rider Offi cer Barrett is the founder of Pharmacognosy Campbell watches. Helmuth is a senior in aviations operation and Tan Consulting Services and is a member of the “Herbal remedies was an interest (among “When you start standardizing your product, is a sophomore theatre major. Behind the horse is Bina Mistry, a junior American Botanical Council Advisory Board, citizens in San Jose),” Telavera said. Fee said. The seminar helps “give a meeting of the see REMEDIES, page 5 nursing major. I N S I D E A&E | page 4 SPORTSSPORTS | page 6 OPINION | page 2 Opposing Views Should death Hookah Nites AgassiAgassi faces penalty be made vs. LabadzeLabadze in SiebelSiebel illegal in Giza Lounge Open action California? PAGE 2 THE SPARTAN DAILY WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2004 • OPINION • Opposing Should the death penalty be Views: illegal in California? YES Death penalty advocates are more NO Protecting the innocent should be a top interested in vengeance than protection. priority, not the other way around. Why does the state of California kill people and call it execution? Before you grab your stick and poster to picket for the demise of the death Execution does not deter criminals and costs the state more money than penalty, there are some important issues to consider. life in prison. It is arguably applied along racial lines and often only when Statistically, a majority of Americans are still in favor of the death penalty an African-American kills a Caucasian victim. Yet death’s head is being for those convicted of murder. According to a 1999 Gallup Poll provided by the revisited. Department of Justice, 66 percent of Americans support the idea. The same Last Monday, Kevin Cooper had his execution stayed pending an eleven- poll showed that for the last 25 years, public support for the death penalty has judge panel review of the case. Although the ramifi cations of the news is not always been greater than 50 percent. clear, KCBS radio is reporting that the delay could be for several days if the To disregard public opinion and eliminate the death penalty in California attorney general’s offi ce decides not to appeal. But the bigger issue concerns would be premature. There are reasons why people support it. what victims and advocates for justice really want. Deterrence is one factor in keeping the public’s support for the death Complicating matters is that many argue he never committed the murders.