Community college students across the state are jumping for joy. On Sept. 29, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ratified Senate Bill 1440, which guarantees all California community college graduates admission into a CSU.Though ensuring more Californians have bachelor’s degrees might be the prescription the California economy needs, we have to be careful of the hidden side effects the bill may present.

Right now, the state of our economy is on everyone’s mind — and rightfully so. With the Golden State over $43.5 billion in debt, it’s  long been time for a statewide financial makeover.

Before Schwarzenegger signed SB 1440, community college students were taking on average of 20 credits more than the associate degree requirements due to inconsistent and constantly changing transfer requirements. Cutting the number of units a student needs to transfer will save both the student and the state money. In fact, merely streamlining the arduous transfer process will lead to nearly $160 million dollars in savings.

With the new bill, as long as California community college students have junior standing, they will be awarded with an associate degree and guaranteed admission into a CSU. According to the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy, currently, 73 percent of California college students go to a community college, yet only 22.7 percent who aspire towards transferring to a four-year public university actually achieve their goal.

This measure will grant 55,000 more community college students a year a shot at a bachelor’s degree. And that’s good news, because if just 1 percent of Californians in community colleges earn a bachelor’s, our economy would grow by $20 billion, state and local tax revenue would increase by $1.2 billion a year and 174,000 new jobs would be created.

But despite the economic benefits of SB 1440, we can’t forget that the CSU system is bursting at the seams with over 450,000 students crowded into the system. Last year, for the first time in 48 years, the CSU system put a cap on its enrollment, denying 10,000 students admission.

The CSU system was forced to cap their admissions due to a lack of state funding, and if we add more students to the system without adding more funds it’ll only be a recipe for disaster. According to California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott, the bill will directly save California $150-$200 million a year. However, if the revenue from the bill doesn’t go back into the CSU system, the CSU system be faced with an additional 55,000 students they simply cannot afford to educate.

While SB 1440 was signed with good intentions, if we can’t follow through, both the students and the CSUs will be in a worse place than they started.

The CSU system will have to cut more classes and students will be short-changed with a lower quality education.

Neither the CSU system nor the students will benefit from this bill if we don’t see the dream all the way to the end.

Currently, UC officials are discussing creating a similar program for the UC system, but they’re delaying anything official  and for good reason. If the CSU system is unable to accommodate the additional students, it’s reasonable to assume that the other state-funded higher education system won’t be able to accommodate the overflow either.

Who doesn’t want this new bill to work? In an ideal world, the additional revenue from the bill will be put back into the CSU system and we’ll see a huge increase in state revenue which will allow us to slowly pull both individuals and our state government out of debt.

After all, the goal of the bill is to create a more educated state that benefits everyone.xw

Additional reporting by Margaret Yau.

As an artist I release shock videos and beat poetry over the Internet about human suffering and the ills of society and governmental brainwashing. I have become known for my eccentric taste in fashion, bubbly personality and sensual avant-garde shock videos on YouTube. I am often identified under my artistic alter ego Swedish Sapphire, but underneath it all, I remain true to my academics with a strong GPA and plans for medical school.

Last winter, I applied to be a house advisor for Muir College. I saw myself fit for the position, having  held numerous leadership positions at Muir College. I was crushed when I received a rejection letter. However, a week later, Assistant Reslife Dean Sonia Rosado asked me if I wanted to be an HA. I of course accepted.However, the first thing I was told by Pat D.A., the Res Dean, was, “We are hiring you under the notion that you will censor yourself.” I found out she was referring to my Facebook, YouTube, art, and lifestyle choices. I agreed to her requests and looking back, I can’t believe I ever agreed to censoring myself.

Spring training commenced and I was chosen to be be the HA for LGBT-Interest Housing. The waters began to get fishy after several spring trainings when I was approached by both Pat D.A. and Ebonie Rayford, the other Assistant Res Dean, questioning how my Facebook was looking or asking about my current profile picture. It seemed to me they were solely concerned with the provocative clothing in my profile pictures, as those would not be seen as representative of Muir College, whose motto, ironically enough, is “Celebrating the Independent Spirit.” The sole purpose of those photos were to make statements on femininity and question the strict binary rules on the clothing men and women wear. I changed my Facebook profile picture and made it private. I felt singled out, because the Res Deans took advantage of the fact that they were friends with me on Facebook and not friends with half of the other HAs on staff.

Finally summer came and San Diego Gay Pride was right around the corner. I met with my friend and mentor Sonia and asked what I should wear. I really wanted to wear some booty shorts and fairy wings so I could be as proud as possible of my queerness. Sonia unexpectedly mentioned that I was now a representative of Muir College and should watch my attire for Gay Pride. Censoring myself on Gay Pride sounded monotonous and I ignored her request and wore my booty shorts and fairy wings during the parade. The day after SD Pride Weekend, I received a text message from Pat D.A. asking for a meeting with her in her office the next day. The meeting consisted of Pat D.A., Sonia Rosado, and the Dean of Student Affairs Patty Mahaffery told me,“We feel your personal lifestyle and identity do not match up with the House Advising position here at Muir College…we are going to ask you to either resign from your position or we will have to be forced to terminate you.” I was shocked. I cried. She explained that a “concerned peer” emailed them about a YouTube video and a cocaine joke that was made on my Facebook which made me “inappropriate for the position.” Pat D.A. was not sympathetic and explained I had two days to decide whether I wanted to resign or be terminated. Through the tears and anger I contacted Student Legal Services, Ombud’s Office, the LGBT Resource Center and ACLU.

Two days later I had my second meeting with Pat D.A. as well as Shaun Travers, the Campus Diversity Officer and Director of the LGBT Resource Center. Pat D.A. explained her reasons for terminating me again, yet if Muir College is truly all about “Celebrating the Independent Spirit” why were they denying me mine? Pat D.A. apologized but still held firm to her beliefs that my YouTube videos were inappropriate if the parents of the residents viewed them. She saw them as “drug-promotional” videos  which was never my intent.  She had to maintain an image on her House Advising Staff and I guess a shock artist is not a part of her cookie-cutter image. I still cannot help but feel toyed with, singled out and taken advantage of throughout trainings.

I could understand where she was coming from despite my anger and tears. I do not want to burn bridges with the Res Deans and Muir College. I am against censorship and fully believe in voicing one’s opinions and “Celebrating the Independent Spirit.” I needed to tell my story because all artists should know that censorship is never acceptable. Ignore negative comments people say and do not stand for judgment. I learned that the hard way, but despite all the drama and tears I believe everything happens for a reason and the injustice I faced opened new doors for me this year. I am now a principal member of LGBTQIA and have more time to explore new opportunities. I have a plethora of interests and sometimes they clash. Despite my minor speed bump with Muir Res Life, it has only made me a stronger and more inspired artist.

I have a confession. I am a huge Hillary Clinton fan. However, I know that no one is perfect, and that includes Bill’s better half.

Honey, you need a makeover.

I usually don’t agree with People’s Best and Worst Dressed list, but when Clinton made it onto the 2010 lineup, I had to agree.

We’ve seen snapshots of her at rallies and conventions. It’s always the same pantsuit, but in a strange new color — one for every crayon in the box, and then some. Even I’m embarrassed for her.

One of my most humiliating fan moments was during her speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. While I sat in front of the TV awaiting yet another brilliant speech about unity in the Democratic Party, out steps my hero … in a mustard-orange pantsuit. I froze in horror, amid howling laughter from my Obama-crazed friends.

Despite my disapproval of Clinton’s unshapely and unflattering rainbow of pantsuits, I understand her odd affinity toward them. Although it’s tempting to believe we’re in a forward-thinking society, that’s not the case. Men still outnumber women in the highest management positions; men still dominate the government; men are still getting the fatter paycheck.

When Clinton refused a shoot with Vogue for fear of looking “too feminine”, the fashion community fought back. Editor in Chief Anna Wintour wrote, “The notion that a contemporary woman must look masculine in order to be taken seriously as a seeker of power is frankly dismaying.”

Michelle Obama pulls off a feminine flair. Her professional yet flattering outfits command respect.

However, Clinton plays a different game than Obama. Although they both fill important political positions, the image of a First Lady is a far cry from that of a president. She largely serves as a family-friendly figurehead — present at events and charities to support her husband — instead of discussing trade deals with foreign dignitaries or addressing congress.

It wasn’t that long ago that it was taboo for women to wear pantsuits. The few women who entered professional careers had no choice but to wear skirts and heels. Yet the strange polar shift from skirts and heels to pantsuits is merely fitting another set of skewed expectations from the male-dominate world. Dressing down and hiding our femininity in order to be respected and taken seriously is not huge progress.

Women in power should have the freedom to express themselves by looking fly without seeming soft or weak, but that day is not today. The glass ceiling hasn’t been broken. Look how much respect Sarah Palin gets in her skirts and heels (though she obviously has other factors working against her). Women still have to look the part to play the part.

Still — while I wouldn’t suggest Clinton show up to her next press conference in a floral frock, maybe a more fitted pantsuit would help. If nothing more, is it too much to ask that it not be mustard orange?

There may be no such thing as bad publicity, but Triton Television has finally figured out the upside of a little good PR.

With the name of Student-Run Television nothing but a distasteful memory, TTV is wholly embracing their new status on the A.S. Council bandwagon. They’re so into their image of legitimacy, in fact, that although the council worked out a hefty list of “what not to air” into TTV’s charter last night, Station Manager Tom Dadourian couldn’t care less.

This lighthearted reception of a set of rules that could set other media orgs to rioting (there is a clause that obligates TTV to “avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status” — enough to put a serious thorn in any satirical publication’s side) is probably due to the station’s unprecedented commercial success since its reincarnation.

Having reclassified themselves as an A.S. service and not a media org, they’re quite content to be working for The Man — and rightfully so. Unlike the rest of the campus orgs starving for A.S. funds, TTV is sitting pretty with more contracts and financial backing than they know what to do with.

Remember that diversity video, titled “Triton Voices,” that A.S. Council played during Welcome Week? Well, probably not. It was a 13-minute film featuring footage from last spring’s BSU protests and students and faculty from diverse backgrounds that was supposed to represent how “diverse” UCSD truly is. For that little number, TTV raked in $5,500 from Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Gary Ratcliff.

TTV is also contracting out film coverage to university departments and sponsors — and charging a pretty penny for the privilege. The station’s members don’t directly financially benefit from their productions, but they do charge clients $120 for production, $35 pre-production and $65 for post-production work. It’s nice to know there’s at least one university org that’s making bank.

While “Triton Voices” may have had an audience consisting entirely of those wide-eyed freshmen that show up eagerly to every  Welcome Week event — and it could hardly have held even their enthusiastic attention for long,  some of the other videos that emerge from the studio are pretty impressive. Their reel of the All-Campus Dance made the lackluster affair look almost EDC-worthy.

The flashing lights, cool angles and special effects should be enough to give it away, but just in case: This is not SRTV. The days of SRTV’s live talk shows and Koala TV are now only stuff of legend and PR nightmares.

It would be one thing if there was anything to censor. However, TTV members haven’t shown interest in producing shows with comedy or social commentary. Instead they’ve stuck to commissioned PR pieces — nothing groundbreaking, it’s true, and certainly nothing that will guarantee Koala levels of outraged publicity, but who says they need to be controversial, outspoken and risqué to be successful?

The latest issue of the Koala proved that just because you’re uncensored doesn’t mean you’re funny — or even remotely clever. It would be one thing if there were creative, cutting-edge comedians that wanted to push the line, but when there aren’t, insisting on controversy for the sake of being controversial is just desperate.

After last year’s Koala TV debacle — in which Koala Editor in Chief Kris Gregorian infamously called the Black Student Union “ungrateful niggers,” earning the Koala and then-SRTV alike a protest’s worth of enemies — TTV has turned over a new leaf. SRTV got its start as a television channel made for the students, by the students. However, after SRTV lost its charter and its name last spring, it became Triton Television: a channel by the students for the A.S. Council. And working as A.S. Council’s right-hand flunky might not be such a bad thing for TTV.

TTV classifies themselves as a pre-professional business with members that genuinely want to enter the film industry. They’re not interested in creating scandal or starting riots — their newfound goal is to have their work reflect that of professionals and give their members experience.

TTV is raking in the dough from A.S. Council and big name sponsors like Red Bull, Amped and Truck Covers USA, all while producing quality work. Gold star for you, TTV.

If anything, TTV is proof that choosing the path of most resistance isn’t always the best way to get ahead. While it might not be as edgy or badass — and it definitely isn’t for everyone — cooperation does work. And when you’re looking at four-figure paychecks, it’s hard to remember why you wanted to call people names .in the first place.

While the Colbert and Stewart rallies to “Restore Sanity” might attract Comedy Central groupies, their humor-based message is cheapening the effect of Glenn Beck’s rally.

Unlike Colbert and Stewart’s rallies, Beck’s rally was far more than simply a publicity stunt. Instead of acting like media-hungry puppies, Beck’s rally raised $5.8 million for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. The foundation gives educational grants and counseling to children who have lost parents in the special operations unit of the military and provides housing and transportation to families of injured military personnel so that they can fly to their side. The fact that Colbert and Stewart are being applauded for their mockery of Beck’s beliefs and generosity is nothing short of immature.

The conservative right isn’t the only side that thinks that the Comedy Central rally is doing a disservice to our country. According to Democratic consultant Kevin Wardally, it’s “very disturbing that people who say they really care about voting and making real change in D.C., will be taking thousands of people away for a comedy show, when they should be working in their respective communities.”

Instead of working against an honorable cause, these media pundits need to stick to late night humor.

— Milena Savovic
Contributing Writer

Last week, Jon Stewart announced his Rally to Restore Sanity to take place Oct. 30 in Washington D.C. And let’s be honest: When more than 20 percent of the country doesn’t believe our president was born in America, we could use a little sanity. But with the media focusing on what will make “good news” and not “real news,” that statistic isn’t surprising.

In the constant pursuit of entertainment, our conventional media sources focus on any insult-spewing group of Neanderthals that the rest of us might find amusing.  The problem is that people almost always take news outlets like MSNBC, CNN and Fox News at their word. When claims that Obama is a racist insurgent are reported alongside the weather, it’s no wonder more than a few of our more gullible brethren were drawn to political extremist groups like the Tea Party.

When crazies attract attention, the media jumps to report it, which in turn swells their ranks. Hopefully, the Rally to Restore Sanity will draw media attention to one of the major flaws in American media: over sensationalizing extremists. Just because their ideas are extreme doesn’t necessarily mean they’re news worthy. With any luck, it’ll remind the mainstream media that America is getting tired of their reliance on wacky fringe news flashes to fill their airtime, and that we are turning to other outlets, like “The Daily Show,” for news.

— Allison Gauss
Staff Writer

On Aug. 28, the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s historic march on Washington, Glenn Beck, side-kick Sarah Palin and his legion of Tea Bagging followers held a march on Washington D.C. in the name of “Restoring Honor” and “American Values.” Though he claimed that this event was going to be apolitical, Beck’s decision to rally is nothing but a scornful response to President Barack Obama’s leadership. Some choice gems uttered at the rally include “We’ll take back the government,” and the ever inane Obama–Hitler comparisons. Clearly, the Tea Party’s agenda of taking things too far has gone … well, too far.

After Glenn Beck’s ultra-conservative march on Washington, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced their decision to hold counter rallies in Washington D.C. to combat the rising wave of political hyperbole. Good for them. Marching with — or rather, against — each other, Jon Stewart will be protesting Beck’s march, while Colbert will be defending it. Their comical attempt to reveal both sides of a political issue is a refreshing change from the extreme political polarization that seems to be sweeping the country.

Seeing both sides of an issue is never a bad thing — even if it’s through a Comedy Central showdown. Even though Jon Stewart is, as his critics say, only a comedian, his might be the rallying cry that hipsters and the American middle class need to combat the likes of Glenn Beck.

— Margaret Yau
Associate opinion Editor

When Sun God Festival season rolls around, it pays to get creative — after all, you want to stand out amongst the hordes of  partiers decked out in A.S. merch. Instead, grab some technicolor paints and a plain white t-shirt and give birth to a baby Sun God of your very own.

Since drawing doesn’t come  easily to everyone (we’re looking at the kids who ate the crayons in kindergarten — you know who you are), here’s a tutorial. You have two and a half quarters to get it ready for the big day, so remember: Practice makes perfect.

BEST SOCIAL SCIENCES PROFESSOR - John Skrentney

[caption id="attachment_19012" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Illustration - Kim Cyprian / Guardian Photography - John Hanacek / Guardian"][/caption]

One of the worst thing ever invented — clocking in just after Furbies, but before fist-pumping bros — are three-hour classes. After sitting through five grueling courses, I know firsthand how tedious they can be. It takes a special kind of charm to make these gabfests into something students bother attending, but for sociology professor John Skrentny, it’s just another day at the office.
The cards seem to be stacked against him: a three-hour class that runs into the evening, lectures on the sociological nuances of law and a massive room that makes sleeping both inconspicuous and ideal. Instead, the man turned water into wine — he gestured, he chuckled, he paced, he joked. Skrentny’s teaching style is based on the Pied Piper, leading his students to their ideological destination before they even realize they’re following. Skrentny spends class time telling funny stories about his childhood, asking for students’ opinions on current sociological matters and discussing the facets of law. The man has turned teaching into a performance art.
Plenty of people will tell you his classes are easy and — true enough — it is possible to scrape by with minimal studying, which is a testament to his ability to make a complex concept seem simple. Soon, you’ll forget you’ve been watching the Piper play for the past few hours, paralyzed by his teaching finesse and ready to follow his analysis.

—NEDA SALAMAT *
FOCUS EDITOR

BEST FINE ARTS PROFESSOR - Ricardo Dominguez

Fine arts professors are the bad-asses of UCSD’s faculty. They never plan their lectures, and they refuse to let you know where to find the syllabus. After a year’s worth of classes, it’s clear to me that Ricardo Dominguez is the most impressive professor ever to put symbolic brush to metaphorical canvas.

Already infamous on campus for his controversial projects that have everyone riled up, Dominguez’s classes are nothing short of outrageous. His lectures are more like performances, where he dazzles the artistically inclined and frustrates math majors with what seem like nonsensical tirades. He’s not teaching to impart knowledge, but to inspire thought. He has a flair for the dramatic — emphasizing each word, gesturing wildly. The content is so shockingly pornographic, students walk out and drop the class. If you’re like us, you’ll be paralyzed, terrified by his brilliant psychosis.

It’s not for everyone, as those who evacuate the room early on can tell you. But, as the class hits its groove, survivors are loaded up with challenging projects that inspire artistic growth. Dominguez emphasizes that art is not contained in the world of the concrete, like in paintings and statues, but exists mostly in the ephemeral, which he defines as the actions that cease to exist after the moment has passed. Life itself becomes your art.

As he talks, you can tell that Dominguez infuses art into his everyday tasks — it’s everything to him. It’s hard not to be inspired.

—REBEKAH HWANG *
ASSOCIATE ART EDITOR

BEST MATHEMATICS PROFESSOR - Laura Stevens

Mathematics is simultaneously many students’ least favorite subject, and a general education requirement for five of the six colleges. While math is the same in every language, it can be confusing regardless where you’re from. Unless you’re a genius that learned calculus in fifth grade, learning math requires a patient teacher who can help make sense out of the numbers, variables and the df/dx statements.

At UCSD, Laura Stevens is probably the best there is. Some professors forget that many students struggle with the material and fathom how anyone in the class would be confused. Not so with Stevens, who knows exactly how to put the material — even the difficult concepts — in a way that is easy to understand. Unlike the research-before-students phenomena that plagues many UC professors, Stevens’ lectures are animated and engaging. She writes the important points on the board to facilitate note taking and uses a good mix of theory and examples. Questions are always welcome, both inside and outside of class.

And in case anyone doubts her passion for her job, you can just look down: A tattoo with the symbol of pi adorns the top of her foot.

—LIAM ROSE *
SPORTS EDITOR

BEST TIME TO HAVE CLASS - Morning

When it comes to signing up for classes, hours of WebReg deliberation and fiddling with Class Planner go into carefully crafting the perfect schedule. There’s the early morning camp, who fortify their position with the tempting argument of getting the whole painful process over with. But the prospect of waking up after a solid Thursday night — Four Loko hangover and all — to drag yourself to an 8 a.m. calculus lecture is enough to put most people off.

Then there are the night owls who value their precious sleep. While lazing out of bed at 1 p.m. is a beautiful thought, this plan is not without flaw. Not only are these people nocturnal creatures that greet lunchtime with the dismay usually reserved for breakfast, they miss out on any number of evening shenanigans.

Starting late in the morning and getting the whole thing done with before (late) lunch, then, is the way to go. Your brain is more alert earlier in the day, so these mid-morning classes avoid the pitfall of dozing off in afternoon classes that fall right after a sleep-inducing lunch. Also, with classes that finish early, there’s no race to jam a Zanzibar sandwich down your throat just to keep going.

Finishing class before lunch also leaves the rest of the day to enjoy. For those who work, it allows the flexibility to incorporate your work hours into the week. Plus, with free afternoons, there’s plenty of opportunity to take full advantage of the college dream and laze around at the beach, or take part in some afternoon debauchery — isn’t that what college is all about?

—AYELET BITTON  *
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

BEST MUSIC TO STUDY TO - Ratatat

To the head-bobbing hopefuls who keep a 24/7 plug in their iPods during finals week, there’s bad news: When it comes to studying, there is no magical song that will instantly make you more intelligent. Listening to Baby Mozart on a loop while cramming for that ethnic studies test probably won’t do anything except give you a few pretentious conversation starters. (Have you ever noticed how dissonant the final chord in Mozart’s Concerto in D Minor is? Wow, me too!)

When you’re struggling to stay awake at 3 a.m. the night before that dreaded chemistry midterm, you don’t need complex 18th-century opera. All you really need is to stay awake without getting too distracted.

Finding that perfect balance is mostly a matter of personal opinion, but hours of trial and error have clearly shown me what isn’t a successful soundtrack to long hours of quality time with a bio book.

Jazz is not the answer. One finals week I went on a jazz and blues binge, spending hours testing Miles Davis’ ability to improve upon my understanding of statistics. But I didn’t want to study, I just wanted to chill out.

Then, as per a friend’s offhand suggestion, I created an S Club 7 Pandora station, thinking that childhood nostalgia might bring me back to happier times and make my essay on existentialism less painful to write. It didn’t — I just laughed my ass off with every new *NSync and A-Teens song that appeared.

After a few more unfortunate experiments (Top 40 hip-hop and bossa nova among the genres tested and found wanting), I landed upon my ideal study band: Ratatat. There are no lyrics to distract, and the rhythmic electronica is just varied enough to keeps one’s eyes open. So give it a whirl: Turn on “Wild Cat” and let the genius flow.

—ARIELLE SALLAI *
HIATUS EDITOR

BEST (LEGAL) STUDY AID - Coffee

It’s only first week, so most of us haven’t been burned out by the gauntlet of academics just yet (though we’re counting the days until the mid-quarter  mental breakdown) and have yet to resort to a handful of coke and Adderall to get ’er done. But for those venturing early into legal study aids, there’s a deluge of FDA-approved shit to get into. Caffeine pills, energy drinks, five-hour energy, coffee, soda — there’s entire industries devoted to helping cram the basics of marine bio, but process of elimination reveals the clear winner: coffee.

For starters, you can check home remedies and homeopathic gimmicks at the library doors. Sure, you should theoretically choose the “healthy,” “all-natural” choice that won’t leave you shaking for hours, but you also should have read the first 10 chapters of that poli-sci reader before midterm’s eve. We’re a little past that point and a stick of gum won’t pull you through the night. The “no crash” 5 hour energy option tends to be unpredictable at best and ineffective at worst; stick with the tried and true.

That leaves us with the popular alternative: caffeine. Yeah, you can try to shovel cartloads of chocolate into your craw in hopes of achieving some similar sugar-induced hyper-high, but you’ll hit rock bottom faster than Evel Knieval. Save your money.

On the surface, energy drinks seem the most effective — even if they taste like a mixture of cough syrup and morning-after vomit. But when you look at the ingredients,  it turns out they have fewer milligrams of caffeine per ounce than an espresso shot. While a two-ounce espresso shot contains 70 to 150 mg of caffeine, a 16-ounce Monster only holds 160 mg of caffeine. Energy drinks top out at around 300 mg of caffeine, so even with latte prices climbing through the roof, coffee still provides you the most for your dollar.

Bonus points go to anyone who tries to study off Four Loko — a toxic mixture of caffeine, alcohol, and ingredients like taurine guarana. Timed correctly, you can end up spectacularly drunk just as the ink is drying off your MMW paper.

It’ll make the morning after almost worth it.

—NEDA SALAMAT *
FOCUS EDITOR

BEST INTERDISCIPLINARY/HUMANITIES PROFESSOR - Wayne Yang

There’s a few types of professors you don’t want to have. One of them is the guy who — despite his mane of graying hair and the fact that he uses the word “groovy” on a daily basis — is convinced he’s cool enough to relate to our hip new generation. Ethnic studies professor Wayne Yang is not that guy, but not because he doesn’t have any hair. Unlike the outdated professor trying to live vicariously through his students, Yang has had his own array of life experiences, which he uses to turn the classroom into a multifaceted look at various cultural perspectives.

From the very beginning of class, he plays songs like “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire and “Going On” by Gnarls Barkley as students filter in, to make lecture seem less like an obligation and more like a privilege.

As someone who doesn’t go to class if I don’t want to, it’s a testament to Yang’s teaching prowess that last quarter I refused to miss a single lecture. Aside from delighting the hipsters with his elite taste in indie music, Yang has an uncanny knack for lifting students’ spirits. One lecture, sensing the Monday-triggered haze of despair that usually falls over the room, Yang reminded the class of Harriet Tubman and how, compared to her, we didn’t even know what tired meant.

By incorporating his life experiences — teaching in Oakland, working against the elimination of ethnic studies classes in Arizona and founding his own high school for low-income students, among other things — into his lectures, Yang keeps his students sitting on the edge of their seats, scribbling furiously in an attempt to transcribe every word he says.

(Plus, it didn’t hurt that he offered extra credit for going to a Nas concert.)

— BY CHERYL HORI *
OPINION EDITOR

BEST COMPUTER SCIENCE/SCIENCE PROFESSOR - Rick Ord

Regardless of the gossip surrounding his educational upbringing, Ord and his legendary compilers class remain one of the staples of the comp sci department and an invaluable resource for anyone looking to go into the field.

Ord’s greatest contribution — as far as students are concerned — is his compilers class. Potential employers flock to it, aware of how invaluable it is to their company’s success and how thorough Ord’s teaching style is. Ord’s class is like a golden ticket — a student who has passed those 10 weeks of hell is immediately more likely to be hired, regardless of his or her grade in the course.

Though the class is almost unnecessarily tedious due to its difficult content, Ord is more laid-back than your typical professor, and more than willing to help anyone who may be struggling with the in’s and out’s of binary and coding. Though the content may be exhaustive, there are some study benefits to Ord’s course. The tests are almost always reflective of previous exams, so the format and questions are fairly easy to deduce. Though he refuses to hand out past answer keys, Ord will give out old tests as per his policy: Ask, and thou shalt receive.

— BY REGINA IP *
NEWS EDITOR

BEST STUDY TIME -  3-4 PM

The best time to knuckle down at Geisel Library is that ethereal time of night when the last shots have been drained, the stereo is busted and a friend is drawing penises on your face — sometime after you finish puking, but before you pass out. Let’s face it. There’s really no good time to study.

College only lasts so long, but organic chemistry will always be confusing. Get high, get low, get down, get some food and then hit the books. If you must, skim the chapter as you skateboard to class on the day of the test, or maybe read it afterwards to figure out what you missed. But better yet, just don’t study at all.

Really, studying should be approached as a measure of last resort — something to turn to only in moments of desperate boredom or inebriated confusion, like when you get lost en route to Round Table and end up in the library instead. Or when you mistake your lecture notes for directions to the kegger.

That said, if you’ve exhausted all possible methods of procrastination and have managed a successful puke and rally, visit the library around 3 or 4 p.m. for maximum productivity and minimal distraction. Early mornings in the library are hectic with students printing off last-minute essays and frantic cramming. Lunchtime is rife with the odors of Panda Express and Rubio’s and anytime after dark means dealing with a daunting walk home through a deserted campus, as the singing tree blasts death metal.

—ZOE SOPHOS *
ASSOCIATE FOCUS EDITOR

BEST PLACE TO HAVE CLASS - Center Hall

There’s always the general tips to keep in mind when mapping out the most efficient schedule. For starters, don’t sign yourself up for back-to-back classes in Warren Lecture Hall and Galbraith, unless you plan for sprinting uphill with a backpack full of textbooks to take the place of a daily workout. All lefties should steer clear of Solis for its lack of left-handed desks (apparently there’s a classroom designer somewhere with a sense of humor), and  above all, beware the dreaded 8 a.m. lectures in Price Center Theater’s plush seating and dim lighting. Napping is inevitable.

For those looking to cut down on the commute, with the added bonus of somewhere convenient to stuff your face in between discussions, Center Hall is a wise choice.

The trek to and from Center Hall is only 20 minutes tops from anywhere on campus (by foot) and, for the lazy man, the shuttle stop is fewer than a hundred yards away. The building is relatively near Gilman Parking Structure and ridiculously close to the stops for any bus (city, shuttle or otherwise) that comes by campus.

On top of that, the wide spectrum of classroom sizes fit every discussion-lecture need. Most classrooms have well spaced, built-in seating to avoid awkward, elbow-bumping encounters with your classmates. Room sizes — the second floor especially —are comfortable enough to allow for leg room, without feeling like you’re sitting in the nosebleed seats at a Lady Gaga concert.

Situated next to Price Center for easy access  lunch, caffeine and extra school supplies, Center Hall also boasts a coffee cart conveniently parked under the front staircase for those emergency pre-exam caffeine fixes.

Center Hall’s other perks include moderately-sized bathrooms (slightly bigger than Geisel’s) on every floor that are usually clean and without a line, as well as the opportunities to people watch and schmooze your TA as you stroll down Library Walk before and after class.

—ZOE SOPHOS *
ASSOCIATE FOCUS EDITOR

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For most of us, the prospect of a decent job offer continues to power four years of marathon study sessions and all-nighters, but it’s long become common knowledge that a 4.0 is no longer adequate to score that coveted Goldman Sachs banking position.

In an economy with 14 qualified applicants for every available position, there’s a rabid search for the holy grail of postgraduate job security: internships.

Last spring, the legality of these unpaid months of coffee-fetching was questioned from New York to California. Journalists and legislators alike wondered if making students photocopy memos for hours without compensating them — all for the glory of an impressive bullet point on a resume — was giving an advantage to those affluent enough to afford not to spend the time earning money.

Though unpaid internships are now de facto for any desperate job hunter, there’s a new trend called “placed” internships. Placement internships are the ultimate paradox, where students don’t just work for free, they shell out as much as five figures to work for free — and that violates any and every idea of equal opportunity.

The number of opportunities to cough up big bucks for an internship are growing. The for-profit program National Internship Program has doubled its staff over the last two years and is beginning to expand from Washington D.C. to nearly every major city on the map. Each year, this organization helps students with an extra $3,400 lying around to find housing and engage in a summer of free work.

Then there’s the Washington Center. The largest nonprofit program of its type, it has placed about 4,500 interns in the past three years. For $9,000 — the cost of a trip abroad or a year’s education at UCSD — students are given the privilege of being ordered to do the busy work everyone else won’t lower themselves to do.

And for the less wealthy but still privileged, there’s the Washington Internship Institute and the Fund for American Studies, both of which charge over $7,000 for a summer of helping other people.

And these aren’t just small-time internships with companies that have less than a half-dozen hits on Google. Placement internships boast summers working for Merrill Lynch Investing, the American Red Cross and ABC News, just to name a few.

Aside from the idea of paying to work, the placement internship is fundamentally unfair and cheapens the meaning behind those hours of work.

As it stands, internships have always been for those who are lucky enough to be able to work for free. Someone living from paycheck to paycheck doesn’t have the luxury of spending valuable time working without pay — and he or she certainly doesn’t have the time or resources to pay money to work for free.

These placement programs are casting their nets and catching a very exclusive group of people: those with money.

As unfair as the system is, it’s hard to fault those that have the advantage of money on their side. Even though we might glare enviously at the classmate that can afford to essentially pay his way to into a top graduate school, it’s impossible imagine anyone who wouldn’t, given the opportunity.

Still, these “placement” internships not only cater to the luckiest demographic, they undermine the entire experience. Internships — though once meant to provide professional experience in a field — are usually seen as evidence of above-average ability, and sometimes the mere presence of a certain internships imbibes an applicant with all sorts of attractive qualities.

But when the main reason an applicant receives an internship is a pocket full of cash, these positions are no longer indicators of talent but instead gauges of padded bank accounts. Having a paid-for internship won’t be enough to boost anyone to the top of any list.

By dangling the promise of a glowing resumé — and the simultaneous threat of a postgraduate career at McDonald’s — in front of hard working, ambitious students, these companies are taking advantage of their fear.

We know that we have to play “the game” to get into graduate school, but this game is becoming too pricey.

Readers can contact Arik Burakovsky at [email protected].

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Ever since “Avatar” came out in 3-D, the third dimension has been staging a full-scale invasion. Not only has the blockbuster achieved massive success, but shows like “Arrested Development” have recently advised viewers to grab the nearest set of 3-D glasses.

But making us flinch at the sight of a thrown tomato may not be the end of 3-D’s bag of tricks. Thanks to scientists at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, those 3-D images may soon be close enough to touch.

The Heads-Up Virtual Reality device, or HUVR (pronounced “hover”), is at the forefront of augmented reality technology, allowing users to physically interact with virtual environments.

HUVR is similar to phone applications like Layar, which allow users to point a phone camera at objects and have information about those objects displayed on the screen. These claim to be augmented reality, but HUVR’s Design Engineer Greg Dawe claims there is a key difference.

“Without touch feedback, it’s not augmented reality, it’s just regular reality with pictures overlaid on it,” Dawe said.

With HUVR, the user sits at a desk with a semi-transparent mirror in front of them, resting at an angle. The user, through special glasses, can view a 3-D image shown on the mirror. Beneath the mirror is a controller that the user grips and can move around in three dimensions.

When the controller, which is beneath the mirror where the user sees the image, crosses into  the image that the user sees, motors provide resistance on the controller, mimicking the feel of whatever the image is showing.

This allows the user to “feel” the image as though it were a real object. In one simulation, a 3-D image of a rib cage is shown and the controller moves smoothly around the 3-D ribs.

There are certain visual cues that the brain picks up on when viewing a virtual reality image, cluing the user into the fact that the image isn’t real.

But the HUVR team found that something unexpected happens when people take orders from the program: They have no problem accepting the computer’s version of reality.

“When you have an avatar issuing commands to the user, they immediately suspend disbelief,” Dawe said.

Integrating the touch interaction — also known as haptics — into the user experience creates the same effect. The controller is telling the user what is there and how it feels, which allows the user to become immersed in the activity.

In addition to the haptic interface, the 3-D system is able to track the movements of the user’s head and adjust the image for the user’s point of view.

“We don’t just look at objects, we can look around them, too,” Dawe said.

In order for an image to seem real, it needs to adjust its position for the little movements of the eyes and head and the changes in rotation and perspective.

The cheapest way to do this is using a computer-controlled infrared camera to recognize several dots placed on a visor worn by the user.

HUVR is a re-imagining of Dawe and co-creator Tom Defanti’s previous brainchild PARIS, which was created 12 years ago at University of Chicago. PARIS, or Personal Augmented Reality Interactive System, was originally created for dental hygiene students, who typically practice their technique on cadavers.

Using PARIS, the students could interact with plaque buildup on virtual teeth and train repeatedly without the cost and drawbacks of working on a dead body.

HUVR technology also has potential in other areas of medicine. Using a controller modified for a particular range of motion, it could help physical therapists rehabilitate clients, as well as handle billing and test patients’ range of motion and strength. In addition, HUVR could be used to examine objects not directly accessible to the user.

“Using the internet, we can interact with people and objects anywhere,” Dawe said. “And if we record it, we can play it back an infinite number of times.”

One main goal of the HUVR project is to make virtual reality affordable. The main drawbacks of the PARIS system included its large size, a $100,000 price tag and its low resolution, since HDTV was neither widespread nor affordable at the time.

With large 3-D HDTVs now widely available, the system can be made much more affordable for the potential user. The most expensive component is the head-tracking portion. Current tracking technology runs from about $5,000 to $20,000 — well out of range for the casual home user. However, even without the head tracking, HUVR is still a heads-up display, or a system that overlays extra information on the viewer’s field of vision. It can project information onto the user’s field of vision, which could be applied for recreational purposes like video games, whose sales accounted for $19.66 billion in 2009.

“We no sooner started showing our HUVR prototype than somebody wanted to put a gun handle on the controller,” Dawe said. “The interest from the gaming industry is huge.”

Dear Editor,

While I’m glad to be back home at UCSD, it only took a few minutes to be reminded of my least favorite part of campus: Library Walk. It is often a dicey place to walk, but never is there a time when student organizations are more vicious and frothing at the mouth than Welcome Week, shoving neon-colored fliers into your hands. No, I do not want to join your fraternity. No, I do not want to join your Asian Christian club (and you should realize that by my skin color). I have headphones on and neither of my hands free, yet you’re still yelling at me and pelting me with lollipops.

Is there really no better way to promote your club than to bully some wide-eyed freshmen into signing up for your listserv by throwing a clipboard at them? I’ve tabled for organizations. I know how the system works, and guess what? If you have a sign that stands out on your table with your club’s name, interested people will still come over, talk to you and sign up. Maybe spend a few dollars of your club funds for candy, pens or something else to give out to get attention. Just let me walk down Library Walk in peace for once without having to stop to throw away all your fliers in the trashcans in front of Geisel. Unless, of course, you have free food ... then I’m all yours.

— Steven Vanderberg

Senior, Marshall College