Jeff Moses

It seems to me that many of the people criticizing the Occupy movement are all saying the same thing, that they lack a fundamental message, and they don’t have a direction.

But what I see when I look at the movement as a whole is a large group of people who know there are problems in this country, perhaps even more than can be vocalized.

Though getting money out of politics seems to be a broad statement, many occupiers would give a simple solution.

Overturn citizens united, disband the American Legislative Exchange Council, and see to it that corporate campaign finance is either recapped or done away with all together.

The Occupy Phoenix movement shows a huge amount of resilience by spending the last 48 days and counting in Cesar Chavez Plaza, without the comforts of tents, sleeping bags, pillows, or blankets.

The brave souls occupying Tucson, after having two of their three camps closed down, spend their nights facing $1,000 tickets for urban camping.

In Seattle, after spending a few weeks in the Westlake Plaza, the occupation upped and moved and took over Seattle Central Community College, which did not have any rules regarding the use of the campus as an assembly site.

The governing body of the school quickly tried to enact rules against the guerrilla assembly, but the occupiers were able to hit them with an injunction to fight the possible eviction.

Occupy LA, the biggest of the occupations I  visited, had its assembly site raided by the LAPD in the early morning hours of Nov. 30.

Occupy LA had been occupying City Hall with more than 200 tents for over a month when the “Man” decided to crack down and trample all over the First Amendment rights of the protestors. LA is finding its biggest issue to be sustainability. With more than 200 present, feeding the occupation alone is a logistical nightmare.

Phoenix sees big issues in recruiting. Try as they might, Occupy Phoenix remains a regular assembly of about 25 to 30 people, which sees minimal spikes for big events, and numbers of occupiers often drop to single digits in the wee hours of the morning.

Staying dry is obviously one of the biggest struggles of Occupy Seattle, as well as pepper spray-happy cops who recently sprayed an 84-year-old woman, a 4-year-old girl, and a priest.

Though the occupations all struggle differently, they struggle in solidarity, and maintain that regardless of what they have to say, they will be heard.     

Elliott Adams

April is National Autism Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising both awareness and money for those in the autism community.

This month, people and organizations across the nation plan events and fundraisers in recognition of those affected by autism.

Autism is a complex brain developmental disorder characterized by difficulty socializing, verbal and nonverbal interaction, repetitive behaviors, and sometimes debilitating medical issues.

These symptoms vary so sufferers may have their diagnosis on either end of the autism spectrum, depending on the severity of their characteristics.

In the United States, an estimated 1 in 88 children are identified on the autism spectrum.

The disorder is more prevalent in male children, as 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls in the United States are diagnosed on the spectrum.

In Arizona, 1 child out of every 64 girls and 1 out of every 40 boys show symptoms that put them on the autism spectrum.

Autism Speaks is a national autism science and advocacy organization that funds scientific research, provides family services to those affected by autism and raises awareness on the disorder through special events, advertisements and campaigns.

“Our goal is to promote autism awareness and make the lives of those affected by autism that much easier,” said Amy Hummell, Senior Director of the Autism Speaks Arizona Office. “The more people know about autism, the more understanding they can be, which can stop the bullying and the misconceptions that come along with this disorder.”

Hummell said that autism manifests itself differently for each person and the severity of symptoms can be as diverse as the population it’s affecting.

“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” Hummell said. “The symptoms for autism are different for each person, which is why there’s a spectrum. We want people to be aware of things like these symptoms so they can better understand the disorder and the lives of people living with it.”

The origin of autism is still a mystery and both genetic and environmental factors are still in question in terms of scientific research.

According to Autism Speaks, prevalence figures are constantly increasing and autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the United States.

However, research into the cause, treatment and prevention of autism comes at a cost, which is where celebrations like National Autism Awareness Month can help raise funds to continue this research.

Autism Speaks also provides free access to information regarding family services in order to assist the families of children living with autism.  

These online resources include a list of schools by area that are equipped with the skills needed to provide a quality education for children with autism spectrum disorders.

Pieceful Solutions is a K-12 school created specifically to cater to the needs of students with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities.

The school provides individualized instruction that includes basic education curriculum as well as special classes that teach life and social skills.

“A lot of our kids were bullied in public schools because they were different and didn’t have the social skills to defend themselves,” said Kami Cothrun, owner of Pieceful Solutions. “The kids feel safe here with peers that are like them. Pieceful Solutions gives these children an alternative solution to education in a stress-free environment.”

The school has both a Mesa and a Chandler campus and is in its fifth year of operation.

Pieceful Solutions started out in its first year with only six students, this year there are 110, and the projected amount of students for 2015 is 200 kids, between both campuses.

“We’re not trying to fix anybody,” Cothrun said. “We accept the kids for who they are.”

To find out more about Pieceful Solutions, visit: www.piecefulsolutions.com.

For additional information about Autism Speaks, visit: www.autismspeaks.org/

Kian Hagerman

For many who seek to affect change in the world, the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program at ASU offers opportunities to do so.

Originating at Purdue University, ASU is one of 20 universities involved in the national EPICS program.

The national program offers methods for any institution to develop an EPICS program; schools have to apply, including information about the class or classes that will be offered and how the standards of the EPICS program are met.

“EPICS is a great opportunity for students to get involved and have a positive impact on their community.  EPICS is designed to allow students to work on real projects positively impacting the lives of real people,” said Scott Shrake, EPICS director at ASU. “Students will actively work on refining their design skills, specifically through using a human centered design approach.  It’s a strong class for professional development, building group and team working skills, presentation skills, etc.”

According to the EPICS@ASU website, volunteers and students in the program join teams that work on different projects with varying goals for not-for-profit organizations; the team Fiji Lights designed and created prototype sustainable lighting for the populace of Fiji.

“We have almost 40 active projects with 30-plus community partners on a local, national, and international scale,” Shrake said. “Engineering Smiles – a group partnering with the International Medical Alliance is developing a mobile dental surgical clinic for use in developing countries.”

Projects are designed to be long-term and consist of multiple team members, allowing students to gain skills associated with project teamwork and management.

The projects that EPICS teams tackle require the skills of many fields of study, which also allows students insight into these fields.

“We have projects with the cities of Tempe, Phoenix, and Goodyear, and work with nonprofits such as Arizona Science Center, Keep Phoenix Beautiful, Prescott Pines, Nonquistadora, STARS (Scottsdale Training and Rehabilitation Services), TCH (The Centers for Rehabilitation) and more,” Shrake said. “These are just a few of the many projects which fall in our primary focus areas: education, accessibility, sustainability, and community development.”

Students who enroll in EPICS courses receive academic credit for their effort on projects, with credit earned by meeting milestones on the project.

One of the unifying goals of the program is sustainability in their projects; teams are tasked with finding solutions and creating technologies that impact the environment as little as possible.

Those involved in the ASU EPICS program also have access to associated programs like the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative, which provides funding and office space to teams of students within all university disciplines for their projects.

Another source of funding for such projects is ASU Pitchfunder, a crowd funding program designed for ASU students; the EPICS team 33 Buckets used this method to raise more than $10,000, according to the Pitchfunder website.

“33 Buckets is a team working on improving water quality and accessibility for an all-girls school in Bangladesh and is looking to deliver their project this summer,” Shrake said.

For those interested in engineering or providing community service, the ASU EPICS program makes available the chance to gain experience practicing both.

“There’s a lot of great ways to get involved in EPICS-the best one is to be a student at ASU and enroll in our EPICS 1 introductory course,” Shrake said. “Additionally we have EPICS high school programs at five locations in the greater Phoenix area, and are in the process of continuing the expansion our EPICS high programs to additional schools in the Valley.”

Those not enrolled at ASU can also get involved if they are so inclined.

“We are always looking for additional nonprofits to work with and serve as community partners, and happy to have engineers and designers serve as mentors for the projects,” Shrake said. 

To learn more about EPICS@ASU visit http://epics.engineering.asu.edu/.

Rene Gomez

T-Birds baseball picked up a 10-1 home victory against the Arizona Christian University Firestorm on March 20.

Sophomore outfielder Wes Byers led Mesa with two triples, two RBI, and scored a run.

Freshman outfielder James Anderson hit two singles, scored two runs, and added a stolen base.

As a team the T-Birds had 13 total hits, and drew five walks to give their lineup plenty of chances to bring runs home.

For several innings the score was tied at 1-1, but Mesa started to build a lead from a five run seventh inning, and finished with eight runs in the last three innings of the game.

T-Bird pitching was effective and Head Coach Tony Cirelli used 10 pitchers throughout the game who combined to allow only one earned run off of eight hits, six strikeouts, and walked three batters.

“I know Skip (Cirelli) was real impressed with them and he talked about it after the meeting, but all of them went out and did what they were supposed to do,” Byers said.

Freshman pitcher Sean McGuire started the game and allowed the only run in the first inning.

Sophomore pitcher Jason Euler led all pitchers with his two strikeouts in his seventh inning appearance.

Sophomore utility player Levi Larmour got on base three times with two walks and a single, plus he stole two bases to put pressure on the opposing pitchers for Arizona Christian.

“It’s more a team-based game then it is individually and yeah you’re always trying to work on your stats, but as long as you’re trying to help the team win that’s what we’re going for,” Larmour said.

On March 22 the T-Birds traveled to Arizona Western to sweep the Matadors.

Mesa won game one 2-0 with freshman infielder Jordan Zimmerman’s bat and sophomore pitcher John Havird’s arm.

Zimmerman went two for three and drove in both runs for Mesa, and Havird threw seven scoreless innings allowing only one hit and struck out four batters.

In game two, the T-Birds had to hold off a late inning surge by the Matadors to close out the sweep with a 6-5 win.

Freshman infielder Casey Moses went two for four and scored two runs for the T-Birds and freshman pitcher Evan Fresquez threw six scoreless innings, allowed five hits, and struck out five Matadors.

Byers also had a productive day at the plate going three for three, drove in one run, and scored a run as well.

On March 25, Mesa split a series at home against Central Arizona College and won the first game 3-1 and lost the second 11-1.

Freshman catcher Zack Soria went two for two and scored a run, and freshman infielder Alex Gudac drove in two runs.

Freshman pitcher Joseph Carvalho got the start and threw seven innings and gave up a home run (the only run allowed) off of three hits and seven strikeouts.

Game two was not so successful because the T-Bird’s only run in the 11-1 loss was in the seventh inning.

Sophomore utility player Dillon Fahr went two for three and freshman catcher Jordan Rose scored the only run.

Freshman pitcher Ryan Chen was unable to get his first win (0-4) and allowed nine runs (seven earned) off of 10 hits in 4.2 innings pitched.

Mesa’s next home game is scheduled for 3 p.m. on April 2 against the Arizona State University Club.

Rene Gomez

Lady T-Birds softball lost a doubleheader against the Phoenix Bears squad on March 22.

In game one, Mesa lost 8-2 and was down early as Phoenix scored six runs in the first three innings.

Freshman outfielder Bridget Kruck went two for four and scored one run and freshman shortstop Kendra Whalen went one for four with one RBI.

Freshman pitcher Samantha Christensen pitched all seven innings, but allowed eight runs (three earned) off of nine hits and walked four batters.

Mesa’s four errors factored into Phoenix’s five runs and the Lady T-Birds were not able to take advantage of the five errors the Bears committed.

“I think we all pretty much want this, we don’t give up, there’s not one day we don’t step on the field wanting it so I think we’re doing a pretty good job,” freshman catcher Mishell Quinonez said.

In game two, Mesa was shut out and could only manage six base runners total.

The pitching combination of freshman Shinya Henry and sophomore Kelley Pugh combined for 11 runs allowed (nine earned), off of 12 hits in their six innings of work.

“I think we have the talent and the skills it’s just we all have to come together,” sophomore utility player Kyleigh Hanson said.

On March 25 the Lady T-Birds were unable to get back on the winning track with a Paradise Valley team that completed a two game sweep (9-1 and 8-3).

Whalen and freshman infielder Mariah Gonzales both went two for three and Gonzales drove in the only run for Mesa.

Christensen allowed nine runs (eight earned), off of 11 hits in her 5.1 innings pitched.

In game two sophomore Jessica Jarvis was a bright spot in the lineup going two for four at lead off and scored two runs.

Sophomore pitcher/infielder Demetria Boltarez went two for three and scored a run as well.

Mesa’s record overall is 9-21 with a conference record of 7-17, but the second half of the season provides more home games and the hope from coaches and players that the wins can come their way.

“We do have a very good hitting team and a good defensive team, but that has become a challenge; how to overcome giving up so many runs and hits,” head coach Wayne Hill said.

The next home series is scheduled for noon on April 5 against Eastern Arizona.

Rene Gomez

In February 2014 the Chicago Cubs unveiled their brand new spring training facility in Mesa to introduce the public to their new economic nest egg. Arizona has been the spring training home for the Cubs for 62 years; Mesa has been their spring home since 1979.

 The Cubs are arguably Arizona’s hottest spring training ticket as many Illinois residents either make vacation plans or own property in Arizona so they can see the Cubs in action during spring.

The stadium will have the largest seating capacity of all stadiums in the Cactus League with 15,000 total; 9,200 fixed seats, 4,200 outfield capacity, and 1,600 suite level seats.

 Tickets will range from $8 for the general admission lawn ($12 marquee game price) to $34 for infield box seating ($38 marquee game price) with a $2 premium for day of purchase.

 There are also first and third base “party decks” where a ticket will cost $40 regularly and $44 for a marquee game.

Tail-gating is even permitted in the parking lots of the stadium as there has been an upward trend of pre-game partying before start time.

Jason Carr, a Cubs media representative, confirmed as of March 21 the team “has sold out eight of their 11 home games” this spring with March 22 as a projected ninth sell out.

The Cubs’ economic impact generates so much revenue and according to city officials it is approximately $52 million from Chicago-based fans alone.

According to a report from Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, spring training brings in $130 million total to Mesa. Revenue is being generated in other avenues in addition to the game revenue.

Local restaurants, hotels, car rental services and retail stores are the main beneficiaries (especially restaurants).   

Durell Moree, manager of Logan’s Roadhouse at Mesa Riverview, likes having the stadium nearby for the restaurant. “We have seen a 10 percent increase in our volume,” Moree said.

That may not sound like a big increase, but in the current economic times a business welcomes that revenue.

The Cubs have pushed for a new facility for several years and threatened to move to Florida’s Grapefruit League if they did not get one.

 In 2010 Mesa voters decided that keeping the Cubs was important and approved nearly $100 million of public money to help the Cubs build their new ballpark which cost $84 million to build.

 Hohokam Stadium was the previous home for the Cubs, but many teams had brand new state of the art spring training facilities built lately.

The Arizona Diamondbacks relocated from Tucson Electric Park to Salt River Field at Talking Stick as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers who were in Florida prior to moving to Camelback Ranch in March of 2009. 

Elliot Adams

The Maricopa County Community College District is proposing both an increase on property taxes and tuition for the 2014-15 budget.

The proposal involves a 2 percent property tax levy as well as an increase in college tuition from $81 to $86 per credit hour for resident students.

Speculation about the purpose of these increases was sparked after a data breach incident within the colleges that involved personal and secure information of students and employees being made available.

“If you’ve ever had any kind of relationship with the Maricopa colleges you would have had to provide information that was all made available during this incident,” said Tom Gariepy, director of Marketing and Communications for the district.

 Letters were sent out to inform the approximated 2.5 million people possibly affected by the incident, and according to Gariepy, this act in itself cost the district a significant amount of money.

“Sending out letters, maintaining a call center on a toll free number, and providing credit monitoring services could have cost up to a maximum of $7 million,” Gariepy said.

Edward Welsh, a business professor at MCC and also a cyber attorney-at-law, said he has his students working on a project inspired by the data breaches in the district as well as in major companies like Target that will teach them about business law and personal identity issues.

“Things like data breaches aren’t a matter of if, they’re a matter of when,” Welsh said. “Do what you can so you are not a victim.”

According to Gariepy, the money earned from the proposed tax and tuition increase, though unrelated to the data breach, would go toward improving the district’s IT department which would include server upgrades as well as employee training and cyber security programs.

MCCD is mainly funded in three ways; property tax, tuition, and legislative funds.

Though originally intended to provide a fairly equal source of funding from each method, the state’s share of that funding has dropped significantly, from 8 percent to only 1 percent.

Lucas Bodine, president of the Associated Students of Mesa Community College, said he understands the need for the increases but is concerned for its effects on the colleges.

“It seems like the way our colleges are funded is sort of a three-legged stool, however, that stool is clearly unbalanced,” Bodine said. “The revenue would go towards funding good things but is it the best answer to the problem? If tuition keeps increasing and students are expected to pay more for their education, those students who can’t afford it may be denied opportunities. Community colleges need to be accessible to everyone.”

Though the district seems to be limited in its options for funding these improvements, they are nevertheless concerned about the repercussions of a tuition increase.

“No one wants to consider the prospect of raising tuition–$1 per credit hour is enough, never mind $5,” Gariepy said. “Our governing board has expressed great concern over raising tuition and if they decide to do it, it will be very reluctantly. However we are focused on improving the IT department and moving forward as a community.”

The decision regarding the proposed tuition increase will be addressed at the governing board meeting in April and the property tax levy will be considered in May.  

Kristina Haney

In the wake of multiple celebrity deaths, I find myself quite emotional.

I didn’t cry when Paul Walker died or when Cory Monteith overdosed, but it made me think.

Why do we get so upset when people we have never met died?

Our generation has seen a lot of death in Hollywood.

Be it old age, accidents or suicide, we have all gotten upset when someone we idolize passes away.

Maybe we get upset because it is a cruel reminder that we can all die at anytime and we may not get a warning.

Celebrities that die from accidental overdoses, like Heath Ledger, probably never meant to do it at any point but they are still gone.

It is just hard to believe that someone so talented and young can be gone in an instant.

Certain celebrities did not attract as much grief and sadness when they passed, probably due to their history, but losing anyone is a sad event and should not be made fun of.

When drug addicted celebrities, or even common people die from their poison of choice, the population is quick to make comments about how they should have known what could happen.

Why is it so hard for people to just be sad and not make any judgments?

Celebrities are in the limelight for basically every step they make.

People are so interested in their daily routines, but when that person dies, they get so upset when tabloids and television stations exploit the hell out their life.

But didn’t you want to know everything about them when they were alive?

We need to understand that some people get attached to movie characters and the people that portray them not only because of the way the person looks, but because of who they portrayed and the way it made them feel.

Maybe it is a psychological thing as to why people are so upset when a celebrity dies.

The first celebrity that I was upset about dying was a guitar player, Dimebag Darrell, from Pantera.

He was shot and killed at a concert by an attendant.

I was pretty young when this happened, maybe 10 or 11, but it was a hard day for me because their music was something I enjoyed with my dad.

The moral of the story is that we get upset about celebrity deaths because we admire them.

Amy Winehouse may not have been the best role model, but she created amazing music and it was a tragedy that she passed so early in her life.

People are people and even if they are famous, death is no laughing matter. They are idolized for a reason and losing that can be hard for someone.

Ryan Scott

“God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance,” said astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

This was not said in order to criticize religion, but to make a point.

The idea is that God has historically been used to explain the things that we do not understand.

As our knowledge has expanded over the course of history, the role of God has decreased.

At one point or another, people assumed that God was responsible for the sun rising everyday, but we now have a well accepted scientific explanation for that.

However, people are very precious about their beliefs, which is fair and understandable.

If you grow up believing in something, it can be anything really, it is hard to let go of it, it just so happens that religion is a prominent example.

The point that I am trying to make, using this as an example, is that people should not be so precious about their beliefs.

It is good to believe in things. I would argue that it is an essential part of what makes us human.

But also, as humans, we have the ability to understand information that is presented to us and to learn from it.

We know so much more than we did 100 years  ago and who knows what we will know 100 years from now.

Being able to and being willing to change our beliefs based on information that we get is essential to our growth.

Be willing to waver. Don’t be pointlessly stubborn about accepting things that have been proved by math, science and logic.

Certain beliefs that people still continue to hold in modern society are astonishing.

How anyone can believe that the world is only 6,000 years old is beyond me or most people with a relative amount of education.

Again, I don’t mean this is a direct slight to religion as a whole, more of the literal interpritation of it.

As popular science educator Bill Nye recently pointed out in his debate with creationist Ken Ham, there are trees on earth that have been here for nearly 10,000 years.

“How could these trees be there if there was an enormous flood 4,000 years ago?” Nye said.

This is not just about religion and I am not trying to bash Christians.

Believe in God. Believe what you need to believe, but don’t let it get in the way of progress.

Don’t let it get in the way of logic.

Be willing to accept things that are known to be true.

I am no scientist, but I certainly trust the knowledge of those who are, not things that were written in a book thousands of years ago when we still believed the world was flat. 

Julija Kaselyte

Women have been fighting for equal rights for ages.

However, the world is still surprising me like never before.

We all know that women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive, but it’s not the only absurd restriction for females.

For instance, women in Vatican City can’t vote.

Remind me, in what day and age do we live in?

But that’s not it.

Females are not required to follow traffic regulations in some parts of India.

It shows that they don’t respect and protect women’s life.

If you are a girl, you don’t have to wear a helmet while driving a motorcycle.

Is it dangerous just for men?

Speaking of men, in Yemen a female can’t even leave a house without a husband’s permission unless she must visit her parents who are ill.

In those countries women are not being defended and can’t fight for their rights when Americans have way more freedom to speak up. However, some of them act ridiculously opposite.

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