October 2009
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Editorials

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49ers could strike gold: Keep tradition with renovation
While new stadiums are flashy and attractive, they are not a necessity for every sports organization, nor should they be. There are alternatives to hemorrhaging hundreds of millions of dollars into a brand new stadium, while preserving tradition. The Packers...

As seasons pass, retire old stadiums
In a sign of the tough economic times, even billionaire NFL team owners are looking for ways to save a few bucks. So naturally, renovating an existing stadium instead of building a brand new one would be a great way...

Parking meter extension a buzzkill
Times are tough, the recession is forcing students to change their lifestyles to save money and the city of San Francisco is scrambling to make up for this year's $438 million budget deficit. Now the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency...

Staff Editorial: SF is Hooked on taxes
Whoever said the best things in life are free was lying. At least most San Franciscans are finding or are about to find that some of their guiltiest pleasures are about to get even pricier. San Francisco has its own...

Call of duty: Vote!
On Nov. 3, San Francisco voters will go out to the polling booths to choose their city attorney and treasurer, as well as vote on five local ballot measures in the municipal election. Or at least, that's the hope. Turnouts...

Wikipedia's spell over us wanes
Wikipedia, the fifth-most-visited Web site on earth, held a conference in August to discuss their plans to rule the world -- but they won't succeed. The conference, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina and appropriately named Wikimania, pitted the just over...

Letter to the Editor: Illuminating Compost
Re: City compost fines: A trashy proposal (10/8/09) To the Editor, As a former editor at my college paper, I was saddened to read the [X]press' pundit-like language in its editorial regarding San Francisco's move to require its residents, myself...

Letter to the Editor: Class cuts
Re: Group submits class complaints (9/24/09) Having read every budget bill making about $60 billion in cuts to education, health, mental health, social services, developmental disabilities, corrections, transportation, agriculture and local government over four budget sessions during this past 2009...

Banning of flavored cigarettes: A sweet idea
I was only 15 when I started smoking. My best friend and I went to a gas station and bought "special" cigarettes -- vanilla flavored. Growing up in Germany, nothing was easier than buying a pack of smokes. All anyone...

Columbus Day: no celebratory achievement
I would like to applaud SF State and the rest of the California State University schools for not observing Columbus Day again this year. CSU made a definite statement by continuing business as usual on Oct. 12, while the rest...

For goodness sake, he's got four years
On Oct. 11, tens of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons and supporters marched in Washington, D.C. with one unified message: "Full and equal protection in all matters governed by law in all 50 states." Some, including entertainer...

The prize unrightfully goes to . . .
So President Barack Obama hasn't done much yet, and still, he won one of the most prestigious prizes possible. The economy is still shaky. The LGBT community is still waiting for his attention. U.S. troops are still in Iraq. Criticizing...

Put the compost fines in the dump
In June, Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors passed a law allowing the city to fine property managers and business owners who are caught not recycling or composting their waste. This law goes into effect Oct. 21, and...

Staff Ed: Bike theft not a new problem
At SF State, bike theft has been a chronic problem and it doesn't look like anyone is out there to save these two-wheel riders anytime soon -- least of all the Department of Public Safety. The Golden Gater Online reported...

49ers: O-line transformation is their last hope
Some say it was a bad call, others call it playing "conservative," but regardless of what everyone believes -- it shouldn't have happened. The San Francisco 49ers picked up their first loss of the season Sept. 27 after a hapless...

Dodgers on track to be best in the NL
Not only will the San Francisco Giants have to box up their Halloween-colored uniforms for the month of October, they will have to sit back and watch the boys in blue, the hated Los Angeles Dodgers, win the National League...

Not the time for pricey rec center at State
Health and fitness is an important aspect of life to the students at SF State. The location of the campus allows for five-mile runs around Lake Merced, hikes up Fort Funston and complete access to the two gyms and the...

SF: Protect minors
The United States and its inhabitants pride themselves on many mantras, one of them being that all are innocent until proven guilty. Now, it's time for San Francisco to live up to it. San Francisco District 9 Supervisor David Campos...

New news is good news
Because of the acute employee cutbacks by the largest newspapers in the Bay Area, this is a good time for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal to put their feet in the door. The San Francisco Chronicle...

Twitter thwarts progress in Congress
Nancy Pelosi. Barbara Boxer. Joe Wilson. Besides frequenting top news searches, at least as of late, what do these congresspersons have in common? Twitter accounts -- and there's good reason why they and their fellow Congress-mates probably shouldn't be using...

Social networking takes over job market
Instead of doing homework or research papers, you will find in most computer labs across campus, students are checking Facebook, Twitter or are using some other online site to socialize. Gone are the days when people got to know each...

Times and Journal to kill Chronicle


Unimpressed by Giants lineup
For the first time since the post-Bonds era, the San Francisco Giants are in reach of the post-season. To anyone who follows the team, this season has come as a bit of a surprise compared to where they finished last...

Gamer nerds are hardly rock stars
At this rate, rock and roll could be doomed. If people truly wish to get in touch with their artistic sides or merely amuse themselves to "rock out," it's about time they invest in an actual instrument. Forget about the...

Faculty furloughs detrimental to all
The puzzling notion of which days the campus will be closed along with the additional faculty furlough days have been leaving everyone frazzled. Adding this undue confusion to the already stressful 32 percent fee increase and 428 classes cut from...

911 drinking calls are often unnecessary
Trevor Hendron, a college freshman, lies on the floor of a dormitory bathroom stall, vomiting uncontrollably and holding on to the toilet for dear life. "You should call the paramedics," Hendron cries in agony. Luckily, his friends are aware that...

Tattoos gain ground but stigma remains
Emerging from a dark past tainted by a bitter reputation, tattoos are finally seeing the light of day, literally. The San Francisco Tattoo Expo at the Cow Palace on Aug. 29, for example, showed that the people who get tattoos...

Janitors under appreciated amidst budget cuts
Among the prose and poetry scrawled across the insides of bathroom stalls, one stanza reads: "If you sprinkle when you tinkle/be a sweetie, wipe the seatie." Distasteful or not, this clean-up-after-yourself attitude is a good one to carry, especially in...

Evangelists try to get a reaction from students (again)
Walking through the quad late in the afternoon on Sept. 4, you may have witnessed a verbal battle between SF State students and members of the Cry to God Ministry, an ultraconservative, anti-gay Christian group. While the visitors claimed the...

Editorial: Furloughs not a blessing
The word "furlough" is being mentioned everywhere on campus, whether it be by your teachers, President Corrigan or friends around you. The California State University board of trustees designed these days to cut costs from the budget. This cost-cutting action...

Health Insurance Battle Cripples Students
Many students at SF State might not understand the intricacies of the multiple health care bills in Congress, but the final legislation will affect everyone, including young adults age 18 to 24. That group made up 18 percent of the...

Give us a fare break
People often view their 18th birthdays as one of their first rites of passage: buying a lottery ticket, registering to vote -- paying $2 to ride a bus? If you didn't spend the summer bumming around on the couch or...

No apologies for late notice
The budget crisis has become the excuse for the poor service students are receiving. But where are the apologies for the lack of communication and late notice that screwed up many students' schedules and delayed others' graduation? Maybe it is...

PRO- Government helps auto industry
In an effort to encourage American drivers to green their lives and roadways, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood instituted the Cash for Clunkers program. Critics have said it only includes those who can afford to buy a new car,...

CON- Waste leaves pothole in economy
Congress created Cash for Clunkers as a financial initiative to trade in gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient cars. This system, however, has only provided aid to those who have already attained financial stability and may have had an adverse...

[X]Press Staff Editorial: Photojournalist deserves silence
Journalists have to decide every day which stories to report on -- we at the [X]Press staff included. As word spread of an SF State student being in the wrong place at the wrong time, we had to make our...

Signing off in style: Graduation advice to carry through life
The white walls glow softly in the early morning light, spilling over a small army of hands that blur as they move across keyboards, furiously banging out compositions on everything from the Faustian elements in literature to ethical business practices...

Heed the 4-year model: get out of school as soon as you can
Under normal circumstances, any student should be able to graduate in four years. Yes, some students also need to work full-time. Some have a mid-college career crisis and declare a new major. And some just want to party and enjoy...

[X]press Editorial: U.S. foreign policy opens new doors
Journalist Roxana Saberi may be beautiful, but she is also a sign of hope. Hope that U.S. foreign policy has begun a transition into tangible progress, in contrast to a mess of tangled rants and ego wars. Saberi's release last...

Dolores Park more for community than kids
There is something poetic about the co-existence of hosting "Children's Day" and the hipster debauchery that is Dolores Park on a Sunday afternoon. 
 SFPD's recent attempt to end this mingling of worlds, by cracking down on "illicit adult activities"...

Saying goodbye after three long semesters
During the last three semesters, it has been my pleasure to provide you with the news of this wonderful campus. This week, my Golden Gate [X]press career comes to an end. For one semester, I provided you with photographs of...

[X]press Editorial: Media should know not to roll in muck with pigs
"Swine Flu" hit the US like a gunshot in the face. But like Bird Flu and SARS that came before it, the gunshot was a blank. But you couldn't tell that from the way the media swarmed around the news,...

Don't let senioritis trip you up on road to graduation
It's 8 a.m. on a Thursday, six weeks before the end of the spring semester, and my Raza studies paper is due in about seven hours. I sit in front of my laptop, trying to crank out the required eight...

No rigor mortis for news
I am sick of hearing journalism is dying. I honestly believe it's not, and not just as a journalist. Without written news reporting, we would not have the market place of ideas so essential for democracy to function. People take...

[X]press Editorial; Critical mass needs a little constructive criticism of its own
Critical Mass, the San Francisco monthly bicycle ride celebrating bikes, freedom and flamboyancy, turned 16 last year. If the ride were a person, like any teen it could get its license, hop behind the wheel and thoughtlessly run down...


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