8
COLLEGIAN.CSUFRESNO.EDU FRESNO STATE SERVING CAMPUS SINCE 1922 FRIDAY Issue February 8, 2013 FEATURES CULTURE SPORTS English professor gives presentation on J.R.R. Tolkien’s work Chinese New Year celebrated in the Pit with lion dance Mike Watney leaves legacy after 35 years as Bulldogs coach Tabitha Dubois signs to another attendee of the Starbucks Social put on by Fresno Deaf Events. Dubois is a deaf education major. Like many attendees of the social and students of Fresno State’s communicative disorders major, Dubois has the physical ability to hear. Roe Borunda / The Collegian Interpreting and Understanding: Fresno Deaf culture The chilly weather did not stop the flur- ry of hand-shapes and gestures at a local Starbucks, where a group of Fresno State students put its American Sign Language (ASL) skills to work Tuesday night. The event, otherwise known as a Starbucks Social, is organized by Fresno Deaf Events. The local organization is dedi- cated to bringing together members of the Deaf community in the Valley. Through this, they raise awareness and help students prac- tice their skills and build relationships. These socials are held every first Tuesday of the month from 6 to 9 p.m. at Starbucks in the Fig Garden Shopping Village, at the corners of Shaw and Palm avenues. Each month, those in attendance include Fresno State and Fresno City College students. They range in ability from ASL beginners to interpreting interns who will graduate in May and take the exam to become a certified interpreter. Deaf events such as these are not just social opportunities, but also requirements for all ASL and Deaf Culture classes at Fresno State. “Deaf events are required because the students learn important communication skills that they can’t get just from learning in the classroom,” said Annette Klein, a faculty Capital Fellows internships give inside look Choosing technology: laptops vs. tablets See SOCIAL, Page 3 Internships are often seen as the key to job placement after graduation, but for those interested in politics or gov- ernment, the Capital Fellows Program is much more than that. The Center for California Studies at Sacramento State offers four distinct fellowship opportunities. Together they are known as the Capital Fellows Programs. The programs offer graduate, post- graduate and midcareer individuals the opportunity to engage in public service and prepare for future careers while actively contributing to the devel- opment and implementation of public policy in California. The four fellowships offer 64 partici- pants a chance to participate directly in an assembly, senate, executive or judi- cial administration office. Sean Kiernan, Associated Students Inc. vice president for external affairs and California Democratic Party del- egate, explained his interest in the Capital Fellowship Programs. “I believe it is an outstanding oppor- tunity to engage in public service, not only learn about but experience the legislative process and make great rela- tionships to help mount a career,” he said. He would accept an offer from any of the four programs, he said, but over- all favors the Executive Fellowship because he is most interested in the policies and proposals of the Brown administration. For three consecutive years, Vault. com, a career management and job search site, has ranked the Capital Fellows Program as one of the top 10 The 2011-2012 Judicial Capital Fellows stand at the state capitol. The people involved in the program are postgraduate or graduate students. Some individuals are taking time from a career to learn about public policy and service. Photo courtesy Capital Fellows Program / The Collegian Since the invention of the laptop, students have had the advantage of computing on the go. This new technology took the com- puting world by storm by making com- puter use portable. But now, a new device has entered the portable computer scene: the tablet. Fresno State students are debating whether to buy the laptop or go with the convenience of a tablet. “If I had to choose, I would go with the iPad [tablet] and I will get a wireless keyboard,” said Sara Zamora, a student assistant in the computer department at the Kennel Bookstore. She said she has a 15-inch MacBook Pro laptop, but rarely brings it to school. “It’s super heavy, I don’t want to bring it. If I don’t have to bring it, I don’t bring it,” Zamora said. While portability of the tablet beck- ons to users, the price tag can also attract the attention of potential buy- ers. See TABLETS, Page 3 See FELLOWS, Page 3 By Crystal Deniz The Collegian By Samantha Gibson Special to The Collegian By Byron Harwell Special to The Collegian Program provides experience in politics, policy and public service

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Page 1: Fresno Deaf culture

COLLEGIAN.CSUFRESNO.EDUFRESNO STATE SERVING CAMPUS SINCE 1922

FRIDAY IssueFebruary 8, 2013

FEATURESCULTURESPORTS

English professor gives presentation on J.R.R. Tolkien’s workChinese New Year celebrated in the Pit with lion dance

Mike Watney leaves legacy after 35 years as Bulldogs coach

Tabitha Dubois signs to another attendee of the Starbucks Social put on by Fresno Deaf Events. Dubois is a deaf education major. Like many attendees of the social and students of Fresno State’s communicative disorders major, Dubois has the physical ability to hear.

Roe Borunda / The Collegian

Interpreting and Understanding: Fresno Deaf culture

The chilly weather did not stop the flur-ry of hand-shapes and gestures at a local Starbucks, where a group of Fresno State students put its American Sign Language (ASL) skills to work Tuesday night.

The event, otherwise known as a Starbucks Social, is organized by Fresno Deaf Events. The local organization is dedi-cated to bringing together members of the Deaf community in the Valley. Through this, they raise awareness and help students prac-tice their skills and build relationships.

These socials are held every first Tuesday of the month from 6 to 9 p.m. at Starbucks in the Fig Garden Shopping Village, at the corners of Shaw and Palm avenues. Each month, those in attendance include Fresno State and Fresno City College students. They range in ability from ASL beginners to interpreting interns who will graduate in May and take the exam to become a certified interpreter.

Deaf events such as these are not just social opportunities, but also requirements for all ASL and Deaf Culture classes at Fresno State.

“Deaf events are required because the students learn important communication skills that they can’t get just from learning in the classroom,” said Annette Klein, a faculty

Capital Fellows internships give inside look Choosing technology: laptops vs.

tablets

See SOCIAL, Page 3

Internships are often seen as the key to job placement after graduation, but for those interested in politics or gov-ernment, the Capital Fellows Program is much more than that.

The Center for California Studies at Sacramento State offers four distinct fellowship opportunities. Together they are known as the Capital Fellows Programs.

The programs offer graduate, post- graduate and midcareer individuals the opportunity to engage in public service and prepare for future careers while actively contributing to the devel-opment and implementation of public policy in California.

The four fellowships offer 64 partici-pants a chance to participate directly in an assembly, senate, executive or judi-cial administration office.

Sean Kiernan, Associated Students Inc. vice president for external affairs and California Democratic Party del-egate, explained his interest in the Capital Fellowship Programs.

“I believe it is an outstanding oppor-tunity to engage in public service, not only learn about but experience the legislative process and make great rela-tionships to help mount a career,” he said.

He would accept an offer from any of the four programs, he said, but over-all favors the Executive Fellowship because he is most interested in the

policies and proposals of the Brown administration.

For three consecutive years, Vault.com, a career management and job

search site, has ranked the Capital Fellows Program as one of the top 10

The 2011-2012 Judicial Capital Fellows stand at the state capitol. The people involved in the program are postgraduate or graduate students. Some individuals are taking time from a career to learn about public policy and service.

Photo courtesy Capital Fellows Program / The Collegian

Since the invention of the laptop, students have had the advantage of computing on the go.

This new technology took the com-puting world by storm by making com-puter use portable.

But now, a new device has entered the portable computer scene: the tablet.

Fresno State students are debating whether to buy the laptop or go with the convenience of a tablet.

“If I had to choose, I would go with the iPad [tablet] and I will get a wireless keyboard,” said Sara Zamora, a student assistant in the computer department at the Kennel Bookstore.

She said she has a 15-inch MacBook Pro laptop, but rarely brings it to school.

“It’s super heavy, I don’t want to bring it. If I don’t have to bring it, I don’t bring it,” Zamora said.

While portability of the tablet beck-ons to users, the price tag can also attract the attention of potential buy-ers.

See TABLETS, Page 3See FELLOWS, Page 3

By Crystal DenizThe Collegian

By Samantha GibsonSpecial to The Collegian

By Byron HarwellSpecial to The Collegian

Program provides experience in politics, policy and public service

Page 2: Fresno Deaf culture

CollegianThe

OpinionOPINION EDITOR, LIANA WHITEHEAD • [email protected] 2 FEBRUARY 8, 2013

The CollegianCalifornia State University, Fresno5201 N. Maple Ave., M/S SA42

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majors. Contact the Editor in Chief for details.All content Copyright © 2012 The Collegian.

GOT OPINIONS? We want to hear them. [email protected]

WEB-SPE@KCulled each week from discussions

on The Collegian’s website.

Response:'Women in combat: For better, for worse?'

William S: “Equality leads to battlefield graves. This is what equal rights for women has bestowed upon our mothers, sisters and daughters in a world that caters to the 5 per-cent. In this case it is 5 percent of women who are capable of pulling an equal load on par with a majority of men (yes, a minority of men are wimps). Take notice before raising that glass to cheer women in combat roles, for it means equality in being drafted into combat, and if my history is correct, weaker men drafted in WWII weren’t given a combat pass. This is just another dagger rammed into the heart of the (fading) nuclear family."

Response:

‘Women in combat: For better, for worse?’

Josh4234: “A counterpoint to Jacob is that there doesn’t need to be a ban on women in those roles, when it would be perfectly rea-sonable for proper authorities to change a unit that has cohesion problems. There’s no need to get rid of the units that may work instead of just fixing the ones that don’t.”

CONGRESS' LACK OF PRODUCTIVITY

Cong ress sucks ! Literal ly. Progress, governance and any faith Americans put in their federal gov-ernment has been steadily sucked out and replaced with deep cyni-cism and distrust — and for good reason.

The use of the filibuster — essentially debating a bill to death — has been used more over the past two years than in all previous Congresses (for those who don’t know, the present Congress is the 113th Congress). Even historically, noncontrover-sial bills like infrastructure fund-ing have become bitter partisan fights.

The overall number of bills that have passed recent-ly is unusual ly low, making the 112th Congress the least productive in American history.

This lack of pro-ductivity has also translated into a historically low approval rating.

T h e 1 1 2 t h Congress (2010-2012) had the lowest yearly average of all Congresses, finishing 2012 with a mere 15 per-cent, according to Gallup.

In January — at the start of the 113th Congress — congressional approval was even lower at 14 per-cent.

Most of the problem lies in the House of Representatives, where far-right, tea party Republicans have waged war on their very duties to govern since taking office.

Back in 2010, the GOP took con-trol of the House thanks to a poor economy and anti-government fervor fueled by the then-new Tea Party, a faux “grassroots” move-ment fostered by the billionaire Koch Brothers (Koch Industries Inc.) and conservative media out-lets like Fox News.

This brand of conservatism and the conservative movement at large see government as a problem to be fixed. Safety regulations? That’s repressive to the economy!

Retur ning federal income tax rates to the traditionally low Clinton tax rates for the wealthy, where taxpayers in the top bracket paid 39.6 percent? It’s a pinko-com-mie plot to destroy America, or something!

Closing tax loopholes that allow

large corporations to dodge paying taxes? That will hurt the “job cre-ators!”

This attitude has wreaked havoc on the country. In 2011, America nearly defaulted on its debt after House Republicans refused to raise the debt ceiling until the last min-ute.

This close call shook the econ-omy, which had been steadily improving, and resulted in a down-grade of the nation’s credit rating.

The reason for this refusal to budge: Planned Parenthood was receiving federal funding (none of which went toward abortions, by the way).

Congress was barely able to raise the debt ceiling and agree on new tax rates for the wealthy last month. Thanks to pressure from members of their own party, Republicans in

the House agreed to raise the debt ceiling, but only for three months.

The Clinton tax rates were restored, but only for those making over $400,000 annually.

The debt ceiling has been raised sev-

eral dozen times since the 1930s and without controversy. It’s Congress’ way of saying, “We will pay off the debt we have racked up. No prob-lem. On to the next proposed bill.”

During the presidency of George W. Bush, Congress racked up tril-lions of dollars of debt via large tax cuts and two wars — all unpaid for.

When President Barack Obama took office and the far right had a meltdown (“He’s a Kenyan, Marxist, possibly gay, foreign-look-ing dictator!”) government spend-ing itself became unfathomable and unacceptable.

It should be noted that the pri-vate sector is doing well, having added nearly five million new jobs since early 2009. However, the pub-lic sector (teachers, police, firefight-ers, post office workers, etc.) has been devastated.

More than 700,000 jobs have been drained from the public sector dur-ing the same period of time, a num-ber that could mean the difference between a recovering economy and a healthy economy.

Even the U.S. Postal Service, set in place as a public good, has suf-fered from mismanagement and neglect.

Later this year, the USPS will end a 150-year-old service and no

longer deliver first-class mail on Saturdays.

It will rely more on part-time workers rather than full-time employees and it will end over-time pay as a way to cut costs and survive thanks to an unresponsive Congress.

These cuts in public-sector jobs are mostly due to an irresponsible Congress that has demanded the cuts above all else. You raise the debt ceiling and keep the govern-ment running?

Cut government jobs and “spend-ing” (public investments). The fact that more than $200 billion has been cut from the deficit since 2009 means nothing to the House. It isn’t enough for them.

The country cannot function under this extremism and refusal to govern.

Americans of many different political persuasions are tired of the stubbornness and grow increas-ingly annoyed with members of Congress refusing to do their jobs.

How can we trust politicians whose view of reality is so warped? Why did we just re-elect many of the same extreme congresspersons back in November?

We’ve been steadily recovering from the Great Recession, and the world continues to change daily. We need a legislature that is serious about its responsibilities.

We need sensible congressmen and congresswomen who under-stand the dynamics of compro-mise and governance. We need November 2014 to be here already.

“This brand of con-servatism and the

conservative movement at large see government as a problem to be fixed."

By Micah EscobedoOutside Opinion

Visit The Collegian’s website to voice your opinion

Do women in combat make the military a stronger fighting

force?

http://collegian.csufresno.edu/

COMMENT: The Collegian is a forum for student expression.http://collegian.csufresno.edu

C

Cartoon by Callie Dunehew / The Collegian

Page 3: Fresno Deaf culture

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013 THE COLLEGIAN • NEWS PAGE 3NEWS EDITOR, HALEY LAMBERT • [email protected]

member in Fresno State’s Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies. She, herself, is also Deaf.

Klein explained that “Deaf” and “deaf” are two different things. “Deaf” refers to the community and its cul-ture, just as “Spanish” and “Armenian” refer to specific cultures. The physical state of being unable to hear is referred to as “deaf,” with the first letter of the word not capitalized. A person can be deaf, but choose not to identify with the culture, use the language or be a part of the community.

At a cultural event like the Starbucks Social, students not only build their relationships with the members of the community, they earn respect and trust that is key, Klein said. Using student interpreters as an example, she added that if a Deaf individual feels comfort-able with and trusts a particular inter-preter, that interpreter will be request-ed on a regular basis. The same would not be true of an interpreter that has not built any kind of rapport or connec-tion with the community.

“How can you attempt to commu-nicate and be successful if you cannot relate or connect with that group?” said Jenny Quaintance, a senior communi-cative disorders major at Fresno State. Without a rapport or a relationship with the community, it is going to be extremely hard to be comfortable with the language and the culture that one hopes to work within, she said.

Constant exposure to ASL and Deaf culture is a necessity, Quaintance said. She started attending Deaf social events such as these when she was a high school student in San Luis Obispo. She began attending local socials four

years ago as a Fresno State freshman.While Quaintance’s first social was

nerve-wracking, she soon became com-fortable and credits such events as the reason for where she is today, both as a person and as a signer. She believes the close-knit community’s open minded-ness is something that everyone should experience.

“People are constantly interacting and involving everyone, so you never see anyone left out,” she said.

Quaintance fell in love with the lan-guage and interpreting when a Deaf girl became her classmate in grade school. She was hooked on the inter-preter from day one and knew that she wanted to follow that same path, she said. Now, Quaintance is in her second semester as an interpreting intern and ready to graduate in May.

“It’s not only the language that directed me to interpreting, but the peo-ple, the relationships, the community and the culture,” she said.

Fresno Deaf Events often part-ners with the Fresno office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center (DHHSC), another organization com-mitted to the Deaf community and cul-ture.

Through DHHSC, community members have access to a Video-Relay System (VRS), which acts as a visual telephone, as well as interpreters and assistance with job searches. Events include socials, workshops, rummage sales and holiday gatherings, all of which celebrate the culture and its lan-guage.

Tammy Speed, a communicative disorders major emphasizing in interpreting, converses with other Starbucks Social attendees. The social takes place once a month at the Starbucks in Fig Garden Shopping Village.

Roe Borunda / The Collegian

SOCIAL: Students and community embrace culture CONTINUED from page 1

U.S. internships, making it a highly competitive program with national acknowledgement.

Fellows in each of the four programs work full-time and are typically given assignments with a significant amount of responsibility and challenges.

Jessica LaMaack, a 2012-2013 California Senate fellow, discussed the importance of her work as a fellow in Sacramento.

“Sacramento is the hub for what happens in the state and what happens in the nation, being able to be there and affect policy and try to make life better for all Californians is something I’m so glad to be a part of,” she said.

Fellows work for 10 to 11 months, receive health benefits and a monthly stipend of $1972. In addition, fellows also receive graduate units through Sacramento State’s Gover nment Department or Public Policy and Administration Program.

Thomas Holyoke, a Fresno State political science professor, says the pro-gram offers practical experience that one cannot gain in a classroom.

“I can talk forever about interest group lobbying, but no student would fully understand what lobbying is until they have met interest group lobbyists” Holyoke said, “In other words, every-thing we talk about in the classroom becomes real when working in intern-ships like Capital Fellows Program.”

Program alumni have become mem-bers of the U.S. Congress and the State Legislature, state and local govern-ment officials, corporate executives, community leaders, a deputy director of the Peace Corps and a Justice of the California Supreme Court.

The deadline to apply for the 2013-2014 Fellowships is Feb. 11. There are no preferred majors, however, applicants must be 20 years of age and obtain a bachelor’s degree by Sep. 1.

FELLOWS: Preparing for a career in public policy and serviceCONTINUED from page 1

“I did not want to spend a lot of money for a computer, so I went and I bought an iPad,” said Sarita Lopez, a Fresno State student.

Lopez said she is happy with her decision and encourages her friends to do the same if they need a computer and want to save money.

At the Kennel Bookstore, the popu-larity of the laptop shows that most students are not yet ready to touch the tablet.

“Students are still buying a laptop over a tablet,” said Humberto Yeverino, the computer department manager.

He said he thinks they are still learn-ing the various uses for a tablet and thus, are more reluctant to buy, espe-cially when they have access to laptop sales.

“Most students were raised on a Mac or a computer with a keyboard,” Yeverino said.

Some students find an alternative by using a smart phone.

Fresno State student Grant Miller has a heavy Dell laptop and does not need to buy a tablet because he uses his iPhone.

“I am not a big fan of tablets because I have my phone, I want to keep a com-puter and have my phone for mobile Internet on the go,” Miller said.

Biolo g y and nursing student Edwinisha Bynum uses the Dropbox and BlackBoard applications on her iPhone.

“I can view and listen to all of my PowerPoints and look at my paperwork on my phone,” said Bynum.

However, for some students the tab-let is the perfect tool for school.

“I bought the iPad because I want-ed to put all of my textbooks on it,” said Fresno State student Cynthia Barrantes. “I wanted e-books instead of textbooks. I have a lot of classes this year and it would have been too many books to carry.”

It might to be awhile before tablets take the place of the laptop computer with a number of students.

“Once a tablet can do everything that a computer can do, then that’s when people or students will lean toward it,” said Yeverino.

TABLETS: Cost and usage consideredCONTINUED from page 1

Women’s studies to host One Billion Rising event, Feb. 14

The nationwide One Billion Rising event will be held locally 12:15-1:30 p.m. Thursday in the Free Speech Area at Fresno State. Presented by the Department of Women’s Studies, the national movement raises aware-ness for physical and sexual abuse of women around the globe. The event is free and open to the public.

INFO: 559-278-2858.

CineCulture, Filmworks screen Oscar-nominated short films Feb.8-9

Fresno State’s CineCulture pro-gram and Fresno Filmworks partner for weekend screenings at the Tower Theatre in central Fresno Feb. 8-9. The 2013 Oscar-nominated short films for live action will be screened at 5:30 p.m. and animation at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8.

Screenings continue Saturday, with a documentary at 1 p.m., anima-tion at 5:30 p.m. and live action at 8:30 p.m.

Adrianna Castillo, a graphics art-ist, will lead a post-screening discus-

sion after each animation screening, moderated by Filmworks board mem-ber Byron Russell. Screenings are sponsored by Fresno Life Magazine and The Rogue Festival.

CSU Super Sunday at African-American churches kicks off Feb. 10

Fresno State officials will visit African American church con-gregations in Fresno Feb. 10-24 to talk about the importance of col-lege for the 7th annual CSU Super Sunday campaign. The visits, which are being done by CSU campuses statewide during African Peoples History Month, begin locally Sunday at Family Community Church (9 and 11 a.m. services), Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church (10:45 a.m.) and Saints Rest Missionary Baptist Church (10:45 a.m.). On Feb. 17, the campaign will visit Mount Olive Baptist Church (10:45 a.m.) and Westside Church (9 a.m.) before con-cluding Feb. 24 at Saints Community Church of God in Christ (9:45 a.m.).

News Briefs

COMMENT: The Collegian is a forum for student expression.http://collegian.csufresno.edu

C

Page 4: Fresno Deaf culture

The Central California Blood Center will host an on-campus blood drive next Tuesday through Thursday at differ-ent locations around Fresno State. All donors will receive free rewards.

The Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning is working with the CCBC to coordinate the blood drive. Students and faculty are encouraged to donate blood.

A kick-off will be held on Tuesday in the Resident Dining Hall from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and the donations will contin-ue on Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The donor buses will be located at the University Student Union, Kremen School of Education, Maple Mall and Engineering East.

Donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh a minimum of 110 pounds and be in good health. A photo ID and Social Security number are required at regis-tration.

“Drink a lot of water, eat a good meal and come on out,” Laura Geuvjehizian from CCBC said. “It only takes about 45 minutes to donate and it’s for a good cause.”

Geuvjehizian has seen a rise in par-ticipation over time.

“We’re thankful that there’s been an increase and a lot more support from everyone over the years,” she said.

Fresno State student Claire Shiba has donated a couple of times and thinks more people should participate. She plans on donating at the upcoming blood drive and said it is an easy way to help people who are in need.

“I knew donating blood was for a good cause and my dad had been tell-ing me to do it,” Shiba said. “Donating is painless and no one should be afraid to do it.”

She added, “If you’re able to do it, you should. Blood is so scarce these days, and the blood center can always use more especially if you’re a rare blood type and are able to do so. It’s a quick process to help others in need.”

Iris Manselian, a student at Fresno State, donates about three or four times a year. She understands the importance of it and thinks more people should donate.

“It doesn’t hurt like most people think,” Manselian said. “It’s a fast process and most importantly, it saves lives.”

Manselian has had a positive experi-

ence when donating blood, and hopes other people can make it memorable as well.

“The first time I donated was my junior year of high school, and I got to do it at school with all of my friends,” Manselian said. “It was a really fun experience, and that’s why I’ve been participating in different blood drives

ever since.”Donors at the upcoming blood drive

will receive a free vintage T-shirt and other reward coupons.

For more information, contact the CCBC at 559-224-2900.

ans of J.R.R. Tolkien know about elves and, depending on how fanatic they are, may even be able to speak some of the language,

but there was more to what influenced the creation of Middle-earth than the desire to create an interesting world.

The blockbuster trilogy of “The Lord of the Rings” captured the attention of millions of people worldwide and con-verted many to Tolkien fandom. With the recent release of the first film in the prequel series to “The Lord of the Rings,” “The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey,” the work of the English writ-er has once more returned to promi-nence in popular culture.

Craig Bernthal is an English profes-sor at Fresno State on sabbatical while he writes a book on a subject that most don’t associate with Tolkien—that the stories of Middle-earth were spiritually infused novels written by a Catholic.

“Tolkien was a novelist first,” Bernthal said in a lecture Wednesday after noon in the Henry Madden Library. “His first goal was to tell a real-ly good story. Tolkien was not writing a Catholic apologetic. He was looking through a Catholic lens.”

Tolkien wrote in personal letters that his faith subconsciously influenced the first drafts of his Middle-earth stories. Bernthal and the English majors in the audience felt that it made sense that Tolkien’s faith would help shape even a fantasy tale about hobbits.

“It’s impossible that it wouldn’t affect his work,” said Manny Jacquez, an

English major and graduating senior. Bernthal said that Tolkien didn’t

want to create any religions in Middle-earth to obstruct the underlying vision of how he saw the world. In Bernthal’s opinion, he wanted to share his devo-tion to St. John.

Bernthal said that there are con-nections to be made between Tolkien’s creation myth in the book “The Silmarillion,” which is a collection of stories Tolkien wrote to establish the history of Middle-earth, and the pro-logue of the Gospel of St. John.

Bernthal also explained that the Gospel of St. John could be the most sac-ramental gospel, and he argued there are a number of examples in Tolkien’s work, which used a lot of imagery of the sacraments.

In “The Fellowship of the Ring”

book, and unlike in the film, Frodo and the other hobbits were being engulfed and buried by the Old Man Willow tree before being saved by Tom Bombadil, who heard Frodo’s cries for help. Bernthal likened it to a rebirth as the group prepared to enter a new world on its adventure.

Later in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” Bernthal said an example of a confession is when Boromir is dying in Aragorn’s arms, and tells him that he tried to take the ring of power from Frodo.

The list of examples went on and caused some in attendance to rethink how they watched the movies and read the books.

Junior Christina Tea, an English major, has only seen the movies and is looking forward to reading the original

material with a different context.“I wanted to learn about the St. John

connection,” Tea, a junior, said. “It was enlightening and expanded the story for me. I think I’ll notice the connec-tions more, and I don’t think I would have noticed them before this lecture.”

Tolkien fans like Jacquez, who are already familiar with the books as well as the movies, may also view things dif-ferently the next time they visit Middle-earth.

“I never really thought about it too deeply,” Jacquez said. “It completely changes how I view it and read it.”

CollegianThe

FEATURESFEATURES EDITOR, CAMERON WOOLSEY • [email protected] FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013PAGE 4

One lecture to rule them allBy Jacob Rayburn

The Collegian

Khlarissa Agee/ The Collegian

Fresno State English professor Craig Bernthal lectures on how author J.R.R. Tolkien's Catholic beliefs enriched the stories "The Lord of the Rings." He explains how Tolkien's collection of Middle-earth stories in "The Silmarillion" was influenced by the Gospel of St. John.

The Fresno State blood drive begins TuesdayBy Hayley Holland

Special to The Collegian

J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" book series entered a new promenance of popular culture as a world famous film franchise.

McClatchy Tribune

Laura Geuvjehizian of the Central California Blood Center said blood donations have been on the rise at Fresno State. Donors at the drive will receive a free T-shirt and reward coupons.

Collegian File Photo

COMMENT: The Collegian is a forum for student expression.http://collegian.csufresno.edu

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Page 5: Fresno Deaf culture

It was standing room only in Room 2206 of the Henry Madden Library for John Ang’s International Coffee Hour (ICH) presentation on the Philippines on Tuesday after-noon.

The presentation, an event put together by Fresno State’s International Student Services and Programs, was the first ICH event of the semester.

W h e n i n t r o d u c e d b y I C H c o o rd i n at o r M u f f e d AlShakhori, 26-year-old Ang bounced his way to the podi-um with a smile as white as his button-down shirt. In his fourth semester at Fresno State as an accounting major, he said he has only been in the United States for about five years.

As Ang spoke of his home-land and made jokes, some-times at his own expense, he elicited laughter from the full house audience.

“We have two seasons: sunny and rainy,” he said. “When it rains, we like to sleep.”

He also used the presenta-tion to educate the audience on the culture of the Philippines.

The Philippines is described as an archipelago of 7,107 islands identifiable in three main regions: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The main lan-guage is Tagalog, which can be broken down into 175 individu-al dialects.

A few other countries left their impact on the islands, Ang said, starting with Spain

from 1565 to the late 1800s. The United States was also listed as an influence, mainly from 1898 to 1935, and Japan, from 1939 to 1945. China also had an impact.

An indication of the Spanish influence on the culture exists in the love of “telenovelas,” or Spanish soap operas. Ang said that they are popular and oftentimes the Filipino viewer

tends to flip channels during a commercial break so that they can watch two different shows.

Ang walked his audience through the different aspects of the country and its culture, such as the popular foods, tradi-tions, tourist attractions, activ-ities and sports. He showed that the Filipinos have their own versions of Superman

and Wonder Woman, known as Captain Barbell and Darna, respectively.

As Ang spoke of fried lumpia, breakfast foods and desserts, his audience was nearly drooling. That is, until he pointed out a picture of “balut,” and said, “I dare you to try it.”

Balut is a fertilized duck

embryo that is boiled and eaten in the shell. A popular street-food in the Philippines, as well as in countries of Southeast Asia and Vietnam, the egg is commonly served with beer.

The majority of the presen-tation centered around the cul-tural foods because “we like to eat!” Ang said.

The presentation became interactive when Ang asked for volunteers in the audience to try a popular Filipino chil-dren’s game, “tumbang preso.” His two volunteers each took a turn at tossing a flip flop san-dal at an aluminum can from several feet away, in attempt to knock the can over.

Audience members were also asked to participate in another game – “lusong baka” – which closely resembles leapfrog, a children’s game in which players jump over each other from various distances.

Each week, a different coun-try will be explored while audience members munch on snacks and sip cof fee. Inter national Coffee Hour takes place every Tuesday from 2 to 3 p.m. through April.

CollegianThe

SCIENCE & CULTURESCIENCE & CULTURE EDITOR, JEFF SMITH • [email protected] PAGE 5FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013

Philippines center of focus at Coffee Hour

Roe Borunda/ The Collegian

John Ang presents at the weekly International Coffee Hour about Filipino culture. Each week, a different country will be featured.

By Crystal DenizThe Collegian

The glittering yellow and red lion dancers moved to the beat of drums in celebration of the Chinese New Year during a performance.

Gary Goh, president of the Fresno State Lion Dance Club, and Wiun Han Tan, the vice president, brought their lion costume to life as music was tapped out by their fellow club members on traditional Chinese drums.

Goh and Tan began their intense training in lion danc-ing a year and a half ago. They learned from Malaysian senior citizens who passed the equip-ment down to them.

Even though Goh and Han Tan were friends before they became lion dancers, Goh said it took a lot of practice and trust to perfect the dance.

“You have to work with two different opinions and get together and work together to get the timing and music down—to perfect everything,”

Goh said.Being a part of the lion dance

club as well as the Malaysian Student Organization (MSO) has helped Goh and his club members gain an appreciation for the culture.

“I didn’t know anything about lion dancing before I came to the U.S.,” he said.

The lion dance is part of the Chinese New Year traditions. The dance is a symbolic way to welcome the Chinese New Year and remove evil spirits. This year marks the year of

the snake. Other traditions include dragon dances, which differ from lion dances, and the lantern festival. This year, the Chinese New Year begins on Sunday.

The club got its elaborate costumes from San Francisco. Goh said the costumes are rare to find, but that a few shops in San Francisco import them from Malaysia.

Nicholas Wong, adviser of the lion dance club, said the MSO began in 2006 and cur-rently has 50 members. About 25 are active members. The Fresno State Lion Dance Club operates under the MSO and performs at many events and restaurants.

Kristi Yamamoto, who is in charge of celebrations and holidays for USU Productions, recruited the club to perform for the Chinese New Year. She decided to partner the Chinese New Year celebration with Bulldog Wednesday, which is the first Wednesday of every month.

A ninja competition fol-lowed the lion dance perfor-mance and students eating lunch at the USU were able to compete and win prizes.

The Fresno State Lion Dance Club will perform every night this weekend at 6:30 p.m. at the restaurant, Shanghai, at 4011 N. Blackstone Ave.

By Brianna VaccariThe Collegian

Bringing in the Chinese new year

Photos by Michael Price/The Collegian

Gary Goh, the president of the Fresno State Lion Dance Club, and Wiun Han Tan, the vice president, dance dressed in a lion costume to traditional Chinese Drums.

Chinese laterns hang over the pit outside of the University Student Union for the Chinese New Year.

“W e have two sea-sons: sunny and

rainy. When it rains, we like to sleep.”

— John Ang, Accounting major

Page 6: Fresno Deaf culture

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively. SOLUTION: http://collegian.csufresno.eduC

The daily crossword Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce LewisLos Angeles Times

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8,2013THE COLLEGIAN • SCIENCE & CULTUREPAGE 6SCIENCE & CULTURE EDITOR, JEFF SMITH • [email protected]

Trash Jenga

When you and your roommates carefully place trash to form a

tower. The one who is unfortunate in having the tower collapse on

them is then responsible for taking out the trash.

PUZZLE SOLUTION: http://collegian.csufresno.eduCopyright 2012. Tribune Media Services, Inc.C

Word of the Day

Source: UrbanDictionary.com

Puzzle by Mike Peluso

Across1 Dragster, e.g.8 Crammed, per-haps15 Without a clue16 Having merit, as a theory17 Sherlock Holmes forte19 Steve of the Lakers20 Involuntary movement21 Find the right words, say22 1891 self-named electrical invention26 Lethargic29 Crew member30 Computer media34 Very long time35 “Nonsense!”36 Golf course free-bie37 “They’re run-ning neck and neck!”40 Show to be false41 Checkpoint demand42 Dedicatory verse43 Handy44 Old-time whal-er’s harvest45 Bit of a disagree-ment46 Product intro-duced as Brad’s Drink in 189350 TV doctor53 Market tracking aid: Abbr.54 __ mater57 Advocates for change, and a hint

to this puzzle’s circled letters62 High point of many a small town63 Like bumpers64 Bette Midler classic65 Flirt’s quality

Down1 Arm extension?2 Shortly

3 “The Lord of the Rings,” for one4 Full of surpris-es, as a plot5 Put away for later6 Constellation near Scorpius7 Sikhism, e.g.: Abbr.8 Dispassionate

9 The Bell System was one, briefly10 First Burmese prime minister11 Newsreel word12 Footnote abbr.13 Simple race of fiction14 Bad impres-sion?18 Voter’s dilem-ma, often

23 W.C. Fields per-sona24 Turner in films25 In other words, in other words26 Ancient Jordanian archae-ological city27 Expressed won-derment28 It’s sharp and flat31 Exclusive32 In a way, slang-ily33 Bad fall35 Henri: s’il vous plaît :: Heinrich : __36 Ristorante order38 One delivering the goods39 Secular45 River leaper47 Roots (for)48 Splurge49 “Curb Your Enthusiasm” role50 Attention-getter51 Frigid planet in “The Empire Strikes Back”52 Frozen treat55 Cry from one eagerly raising a hand56 Father of Phobos and Deimos58 Mil. mailroom59 Radio frequency regulating org.60 “So that’s what’s going on!”61 Tom Hayden’s ‘60s org.

SIGN: Fresno State recruits heavy at junior-college levelfirst season at Fresno State.

“A year ago, I was putting a staff together. We didn’t have relationships with a lot of the high school coaches and with the prospects,” DeRuyter said. “We were trying to sell a prod-uct, but you had a brand-new staff and brand-new systems that young men frankly hadn’t seen and didn’t know what they were going to be.

“Having a full year to evalu-ate and establish relationships with coaches and players I think just gave a much better chance to have a much bigger class because you had those relationships.”

Here are Wednesday’s sign-ees:

· Q B Z a c k G r e e n l e e (Lincoln High-Stockton). DeRuyter says: “Zack’s one of our kind of guys. He’s a Valley guy, plays with a chip on his shoulder, knows how to win. He’s a guy that on his own went and competed for a spot in the Elite 11… He’s a guy that had a late run from some schools of BCS conferences coming after him, and still, after taking trips to other plac-es, decided this is the place where he wanted to come and be our next leader of Bulldog football.”

· R B D o n t e l J a m e s (Summit High-Fontana) . DeRuyter says: “He’s a guy that’s a little under the radar. Very thick 6-foot, 210-pound guy. Transferred midseason to Summit High School and aver-aged 11 yards per carry. He’s a man.”

·WR Delvon Hardaway (Dorsey High-Los Angeles).

DeRuyter says: “He got on our radar screen a little late. But when we started watching the tape on him, we knew he was somebody we’d be very excited about.”

· W R D a ’ M a r i S c o t t (Cathedral High-Los Angeles). DeRuyter says: “Very physical receiver. He’s going to have the physical tools to come in and compete for a spot right away.”

·WR Darrell Fuery (Serra High-Gardena). DeRuyter says: “Another guy with out-standing track speed.”

·W R D evo n n B r ow n (Riverside City Colle ge). DeRuyter says: “A really top-end speed guy. He’s going to be able to vertically stretch the field for us. He’s not a very big guy, but a guy that is extreme-ly explosive. We expect him to come in and compete right away at slot receiver.”

·OL David Patterson (Woodbridge High-Irvine). DeRuyter says: “Another long prospect that could play either tackle or inside for us.”

·OL Kolby Drew (Palomar Colle ge) . DeRuyter says: “Kolby is a 6’5, 290-pound for-mer defensive end. Very long wingspan. He’s going to come in as a tackle and be able to really fight for a position in the two-deep.”

·OL Sean Rubalcava (Cerritos College). DeRuyter says: “A highly recruited guy. Very thick. His high school pedigree is very good as well … is a guy that knows how to win.”

·OL Elijah Cox (Ironwood H i g h - G l e n d a l e , A r i z . ) . DeRuyter says: “He’s an all-state wrestler out of Arizona. Great leverage player. We

think he can play either the inside or the outside position. Like his mental toughness.”

·TE Jerin McClendon (Phoenix College). DeRuyter says: “That’s not a typo – he is 6’8 and 274 pounds. Very simi-lar as to where Marcel Jensen was a year ago. Kind of a raw prospect, but can knock people off the ball. He gives us an opportunity to play some two-tight-end formations.”

·DL Ioane Sa g apolu ( F r e s n o C i t y C o l l e g e ) . DeRuyter says: “I really like Ioane as a nose guard for us. He’s a 300-pounder. Great motor. Great balance and power. What he’s going to do is this spring, we’re going to take Tyeler Davison and play defenseive end for us at times. He really gives us flexibility in the development for our guys.”

· D L R y a n S t e e l e (Kingsburg High).

· D L J a y l e n R u i z (Memorial High). DeRuyter says of Steele and Ruiz: “They’re guys that can get to 300 pounds. Extremely athet-ic and they play with good motors.”

·D E C l a u d e l l L o u i s (College of the Sequoias).

DeRuyter says: “A long, ath-letic guy … we expect him physically to be able to come in right away and play.”

·DE/TE Nahan Madsen (Eureka High).

·OLB Robert Stanley (Bishop Gorman High-Las Vegas). DeRuyter says: “Big-time upside. He’s a very long, athletic outside linebacker. He’s played against next-level talent.”

·LB Stephen Van Hook (Citrus Hill High). DeRuyter says: “Both (Van Hook and Stanley) give us a presence, a pass-rushing threat, an ath-leticism that allows them to drop in to the flat and run with receivers, which is what we need in this package.”

· L B J e f f C a m i l l i (Ponderosa High). DeRuyter says: “Highly recruited young man. Had some late inter-est from some Pac-12 schools that we had to fend off down the stretch. He’s been a guy that’s been extremely excited to come here. Because of his physical size he’ll be able to compete right away.”

·DB Treshon Broughton ( Vi s t a M u r r i e t a H i g h ) . DeRuyter says: “He’s some-

body that’s used to winning.”·DB Tray Hall (Riverside

City College).·S Justin Holmes (Edison

High). DeRuyter says: “We noticed him in our camp last year. Very physical player. Very explosive. A lot of inter-ceptions, a lot of tackles on the season.”

·S Randon Knotts (LBJ High in Austin , Texas) . DeRuyter says: “Tremendous athleticism. … You look at the productivity of guys like Phillip (Thomas) and Derron (Smith), I think he’s going to be another one because of his dimensions.”

· K C o l i n M c G u i r e ( We s t wo o d H i g h - Au s t i n , Texas). DeRuyter says: “Might be the most important guy … He’s got a big-time leg. He’s really going to give coach (Pete) Germano and myself a reason to sleep a little bit bet-ter on Friday nights before games.”

CONTINUED from page 8

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Page 7: Fresno Deaf culture

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013 THE COLLEGIAN • SPORTS PAGE 7SPORTS EDITOR, RICARDO CANO • [email protected]

in shooting the 3-ball that kept Fresno State from losing the traction it has routinely lost against Mountain West compe-tition in the first 20 minutes of play.

“Kevin came out aggres-sive,” Terry said. “We really

outlined what each guy needed to do for us from an offensive standpoint, and one of those keys for him, in particular, was to come and be very aggressive. He did that from the outset.”

Olekaibe, who came off his best game of the season in a losing effort to Air Force (18 points on six 3s off the bench),

topped it against the Rebels as a starter. Olekaibe scored a game-high and season-best 21 points and shot 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc.

Olekaibe, who’s played vary-ing minutes off the bench the past five games, was hindered by an elbow injury at the start of the season and has struggled to reach full swing.

Wednesday night was a dif-ferent story.

“Coach put me back in the starting lineup, and it just showed that he didn’t give up on me,” Olekaibe said. “I just knew what I had to do, and my teammates found me.”

The Bulldogs held UNLV (17-6, 4-4 MWC) to 35 percent field goal shooting. The Rebels also only made 4-of-21 3-pointers (19 percent). Both were season lows.

Freshman Anthony Bennett, the Rebels’ leading scorer, fin-ished the night with 15 points and nine rebounds. Anthony Marshall scored a UNLV-leading 19, making 7-of-10 field goals (one of two Rebels who shot more than 33 percent from the field).

The Rebels were within six points of tying the game after a Bennett layup made the score

54-48 with 2:43 left in the game.But Fresno State held its

high ground, forcing nine of UNLV’s 15 turnovers in the sec-ond half – with a key steal by Tyler Johnson, who snagged the ball back from Mike Moser with 1:27 to play, extending Fresno State’s possession on offense and forcing the Rebels to start fouling to stall the clock.

Four Bulldogs finished with double digits in scoring. Besides Olekaibe, Johnson f inished with 15 points, Kevin Foster added 13 and Huddleston contributed 11 for Fresno State, which begins its second half of conference play Saturday at San Diego State.

“In this league, you only have it for one night – win or lose,” Terry said. “Obviously, it’s a great feeling for us tonight. We beat a quality oppo-nent.

“Tomorrow, our preparation turns to San Diego State.”

Also…Freshman center Robert

Upshaw did not play, and will not play in the Bulldogs’ next two contests at San Diego State and at home against New Mexico for violating an athlet-ics department policy.

play and the postseason.The Bulldogs return 13 play-

ers from last year’s roster, including the team’s top three hitters – Brenna Moss, Stesha Brazil and Brooke Ortiz.

Wi t h a l i n e u p f e a t u r-ing those three players, the Bulldogs enter the season excited about their offensive prospects.

But an area of concern may begin with the team’s pitching staff. The Bulldogs lost their two top pitchers from last year – seniors Michelle Moses and Mackenzie Oakes – and will look to a trio of freshmen to log major innings in the circle.

It isn’t clear who will be the team’s No. 1 starter, but Ford said she likes the effort and development she has seen out of Jillian Compton, Hannah Harris and Taylor Langdon.

“It’ll be a work in progress throughout the season,” Ford said. “All three of them have

made huge strides in their work, perfecting their motion, their pitches and learning some new things on pitching like the importance of hitting your spots and getting ahead of batters and those types of things. It’ll be a work in prog-ress.”

The Bulldogs have some time to figure out what they want to do with their pitching rotation.

T h e y d o n ’ t b e g i n t h e Mountain West Conference season until March 28, and the postseason doesn’t start until May 16.

“The whole thing is a jour-ney,” Ford said. “Our season is very long, being 56 games and hopefully additional games after that in the postseason. It can’t be a sprint. It is a long race. I am happy with where we are at, knowing we’re going to have to improve though.”

SOFTBALL: Team looks to young pitchers in the circleCONTINUED from page 8

and co -workers, such as University President John Welty were present -- as was Watney’s family, including his son and former Fresno State golfer Josh Watney.

“It really is an honor,” Josh Watney said. “Just to hear that he’s had an impact on other people in the same way that he did with my sisters, my brother and me. It’s neat to see that he gets an award like this to show that he does care for others and impact into other people’s lives.”

Coach Watney now looks toward the rest of his final sea-son with the Bulldogs and on to his impending retirement.

“There are other things that I want to do, and while I’m young and healthy I want to spend time with them (his family),” he said. “I mean there are a lot of times as a coach, especially without an assistant coach, where something comes up that you want to go to, but you just can’t. You don’t have

total control over your time.”He cited this weekend’s

AT&T Pebble Beach Nation Pro-Am as an example where he would like to be able to go watch his nephew and for-mer Fresno State great, Nick Watney, play. But, due to the necessary travels for the upcoming Farms Collegiate Invitational next Monday and Tuesday in San Diego, he will not be able to go.

Still, Watney looks back at his time at Fresno State with fondness, particularly the years he was able to coach Josh.

“It was just awesome having my son on the team,” Watney said. “He was two times our MVP. He was a really good play-er and first-team all-confer-ence. For a coach who’s a dad, it is awesome to have your kids on the team.”

For Josh Watney, the feeling is mutual.

“It was a lot of fun. The col-lege golf years were some of the most fun of my life. I played with my cousin Nick for one

of those years, and I had a lot of good buddies that we played with. It really was fun playing for my dad. I had opportuni-ties to go to other colleges, but I really wanted to play for my dad. It was just a great experi-ence, a lot of fun memories.”

Coach Watney also mentions Nick as one of the players that makes him the most proud.

“Nick was special, too. He is such a talent, but he was all hard work. He didn’t come to Fresno State really good, but he’s maybe the hardest worker I’ve ever had. He had a goal to play with Josh actually. Josh was a senior when Nick was a freshman, and I had six seniors on that team. He had to beat out two seniors just to crack the lineup. That’s how he got work-ing so hard, but he kept doing it. Even after Fresno State, he kept doing it. Now he’s made $19 million at 31 years old.”

Josh Watney is looking for-ward to when his father will be able to teach his children the game of golf that they both love so much.

“I think he’s really looking forward to going out there and teaching them golf and teach-ing them some of those life les-sons, similar to what we talk about here today at the First Tee,” Josh Watney said. “I’m just excited to spend more time with him now that he’s retir-ing.”

However, before Coach Watney can start enjoying retirement, he still has coach-ing priorities to worry about with the Bulldogs teeing off their spring season shortly.

“Every single year I think that we can win the conference championship,” Watney said. “We’ve won a lot of them, but we’ve just missed on several. First year in the Mountain West Conference for us and I would like us to win the con-ference championship. I have a lot of good players, really solid good players. We just haven’t really put it together yet.”

Fresno State starts its spring season on Monday at the Farms Collegiate Invitational in San Diego.

ONLINE: Check out collegian.csufresno.edu for a breakdown on the Bulldogs’ com-petition in this weekend’s tournament.

Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

Sophomore Brenna Moss (at bat) swings her bat in the Bulldogs’ matchup against Louisiana Tech at Bulldog Diamond during the 2012 season.

WATSON: Golf coach to retire after ’Dogs’ spring seasonCONTINUED from page 8

The Bulldog BulletinTrack and Field heads to Seattle

The Fresno State track and field team is spending its weekend in Seattle at the Husky Indoor Classic. The event will be an all-day affair, taking place on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, the team moves over to the UW Indoor Open, also located in Seattle.

Lacrosse brushes up for season

The women’s lacrosse team heads to Palo Alto this Sunday to compete in the Stanford Play Day, an event they also took part in back in October.

Men’s Tennis begins con-ference play

The Fresno State men’s t e n n i s t e a m p l ay s t wo matches this weekend. The Friday match will be its first Mountain West Conference match of the season as the team hosts San Diego State. The match starts at 2 p.m. in the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center. On Sunday, the Auburn Tigers come to town for a match at noon.

Men’s Basketball begin second half of MWC play

The Fresno State men’s basketbal l team travels down south to San Diego this Saturday to take on the No. 25 Aztecs. The game starts at 3 p.m.

Roe Borunda / The Collegian

Kevin Foster (24) faces pressure from a UNLV defender during the Bulldogs’ 64-55 Mountain West win Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center.

UPSET: Fresno State turns tables on Rebels, explode in second halfCONTINUED from page 8

AZTECS: ’Dogs won first matchup on the roadCONTINUED from page 8

play for first-place atop the Mountain West Conference standings.

Since playing the Aztecs in their Mountain West opener, the Bulldogs have gone 7-1 (all in conference play) and have won five in a row. Their only loss since was a 78-71 loss on the road to Wyoming.

Fresno State grabbed a nar-row 72-66 victory against UNLV on the road on Wednesday.

The Aztecs (16-5, 7-1 MWC) have won seven straight since losing to the Bulldogs in their conference opener.

They’ve been dominant in doing so. San Diego State has won its last seven Mountain West matchups by an average of 17 points.

Senior guards Courtney Clements (16.8 points per game) and Chelsea Hopkins (14.4) lead the Aztecs in scor-ing.

Ki-Ki Moore is averaging s team-best 17.3 points per game for the Bulldogs.

Saturday’s game at the Save Mart Center tips off at 5 p.m. The CBS Sports Network will televise the game.

Page 8: Fresno Deaf culture

CollegianThe

SPORTSSPORTS EDITOR, RICARDO CANO • [email protected] 8 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013

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Since being hired as the fourth head softball coach in Fresno State history on June 18, Trisha Ford has been working to get her team ready for the 2013 season.

All the hard work put in by Ford, her coaching staff and her players will finally be put on display when the Bulldogs open their season in the Fresno State Kick-Off Tournament today.

“It is an exciting time right now,” Ford said before practice Wednesday. “The players have put in a lot of hard work, and they want to get out on the field and see what that hard work is going to produce.”

Fresno State opens the tourna-ment against UTEP at 4:30 p.m. The Bulldogs will play two games today with the nightcap of their double-header coming against UC Riverside at 7 p.m.

F resno State wil l a lso play Southern Mississippi (1:30 p.m.) and UC Davis (6 p.m.) on Saturday and Sacramento State (3:45 p.m.) Sunday.

“All of them will be big,” Ford said when asked what game she was look-ing forward to. “This is the first time playing in front of the Red Wave, the first time for our hitters being in uni-form and with people in the stands. I think they’re all going to be big. We have some big out-of-conference and out-of-region matchups that will help us in the postseason.”

Picked to finish third in the Mountain West Conference by the league’s coaches, Ford said she hopes the Kick-Off tournament will help get her team ready for conference

Ford, ’Dogs ready for Kick-Off

Softball

’Dogs sign 24 to class of ’13Football

T h e p reva l e n t t h e m e d u r i n g Wednesday’s press conference in which Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter intro-duced his 2013 signing class: competi-tion, competition, competition.

Entering DeRuyter’s second year at the helm, Fresno State added 28 players in total – with 24 of them faxing their National Letters of Intent to play for the Bulldogs on Wednesday.

Four players – quarterback Brian Burrell (Bakersfield College), offen-sive lineman Patrick Kim (Mount San Antonio College), defensive back Rodney Mathews (Citrus College)

and offensive lineman Josh Tremblay (American River College) signed their letters early and are enrolled in classes for the spring semester.

Fresno State will have four players — Burell, signee Zack Greenlee, Myles Carr and Marcus Mcdade — compet-ing for the backup quarterback posi-tion next season. There are currently no plans to redshirt anyone, DeRuyter said.

“We wanted Brian to come in because we didn’t feel very good about a No. 2 quarterback going into spring ball,” DeRuyter said.

“We’re always going to be about com-petition. We’re going to have four guys in here to compete for the quarterback

position,” he added. “Zack was aware of that, and I don’t think he’s going to shy away from the competition. I know Brian’s not.”

The offensive and defensive lines were among the most heavily recruited positions, with a total of 11 signees.

Fresno State also emphasized on acquiring junior college transfers — a rarity under former coach Pat Hill. The Bulldogs signed 11 junior college play-ers to next season’s team.

Fresno State’s signing class of 24 was its largest since its 25-man signing class in 2007 – and much bigger than the 15 players DeRuyter signed last year in his

By Damian MarquezThe Collegian

By Ricardo CanoThe Collegian

See SIGN, Page 6

See SOFTBALL, Page 7

The scene remained the same Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center – a hotly contested conference game in which a few possessions (that were thrown away) could’ve made all the difference in the outcome.

This time, however, Fresno State was on the other side – the winning side – making UNLV carry the burden of play-ing from behind with the clock winding down to zero.

The Bulldogs (8-13, 2-6 MWC) found their composure, kept it, made timely shots at opportune times and stalled a Rebels offense known for its zip and pop in what Fresno State coach Rodney Terry said was the biggest win of the season – a 64-55 Mountain West Conference home victory.

“They won this game two days ago,” Terry said. “Their focus the last two days has probably been the best it’s been all year.”

Tied at 24 at the half, Fresno State went on a 17-2 scoring run to take con-trol of a second half in which it never trailed. Allen Huddleston made a buzz-er-beating desperation jumper to put Fresno State up 47-33 with 9:43 to play.

But it was Kevin Olekaibe’s play in the first half — he scored half the team’s points — and his steadfastness

By Ricardo CanoThe Collegian

Roe Borunda / The CollegianKevin Olekaibe (3) drives toward the basket against defender Mike Moser (43) during Fresno State’s 64-55 win against UNLV Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center. See UPSET, Page 7

Men’s Basketball

Olekaibe fuels upset over UNLV

Men’s Golf

After 35 years, Watney leaving a legacyAfter 35 years at the helm

of the Fresno State men’s golf team, Mike Watney will soon be saying goodbye to his alma mater. This semester will be Watney’s last as head coach before his retirement in May.

N u m e ro u s aw a rd s a n d honors have followed his long career, including his 2007 induction into the Golf C o a c h e s A s s o c i a t i o n o f America Hall of Fame and his 2012 induction to the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame. On Feb. 6 at the Sunnyside Country Club, he got to add another award to that long list when The First Tee honored Watney with The First Tee Lifetime

Achievement Award. “It’s an honor because of

this organization,” Watney said. “It’s such a class orga-nization that any honor that I receive from them is greatly appreciated.”

The First Tee is an organi-zation that seeks to use golf to educate youth, with an empha-sis on those from less affluent upbringings. It has nine core values as part of its curricu-lum: honestly, integrity, sports-manship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgment -- all of which The First Tee believes Watney exemplifies through his coaching.

Many of Watney’s friends

Women’s Basketball

By Zack EdwardsThe Collegian

’Dogs face Aztecs with first place at stake

Tbe first time the two teams met, the Fresno State women’s basketball team was in the process of a turnaround.

The Aztecs and the Bulldogs met on Jan. 9. Fresno State was concluding a six-game, month-long road stretch in which it had lost three of its last five games.

Fresno State (15-6, 7-1 MWC), which at the time had lost all five of its games away from the Save Mart Center, debuted in the Mountain West with an 80-72 win over the Aztecs.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs and Aztecs will meet again, this time at home, where Fresno State has won 20 games in a row – currently the nation’s third-longest active home win-streak.

And this time, the stakes are higher. San Diego State and Fresno State will

By Ricardo CanoThe Collegian

Fresno State’s men’s golf coach Mike Watney, currently the school’s longest-tenured coach, plans to retire after this season.

Khlarissa Agee / The Collegian

See WATNEY, Page 7

Next Friday... The Collegian publishes its 2013 spring sports insert.

See AZTECS, Page 7