When Steve Fisher saw San Diego State’s first opponent in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, the men’s basketball head coach’s mind immediately flashed back to Jan. 9, 2008. More than three years before the sellout crowds, the Top 10 national ranking and the lofty postseason aspirations, SDSU played Northern Colorado at what was then Cox Arena. [...]

Let me introduce you to Nora.* At first glance, she appears to be your normal, everyday student. Her bag is full of books, her mind adrift with thoughts of midterms and weekend plans. She is articulate, ambitious and bright. She’s not that different from you — except for one thing. She’s a rape victim.

“It really doesn’t matter where you stand. What does matter is, for that split second when the radiant beam pirouetted across the blackness of the sky, you make a wish.”

Throughout U.S history, the Caucasian male has been the king of the hill. He held all the power, all the rights and all the breaks. But in the last few decades, a lot has changed. While we are still far from true equality, we are beginning to see the glimmers of a new America, where people of all backgrounds are standing together at this vantage point of social empowerment with pride and a common purpose. This new reality is nowhere more apparent than in college and financial aid programs.

Last week, San Diego State students housed in the Colleges of Business, Engineering and Science voted on whether or not to implement the Student Success Fee within their college.

Last year, the Center for Public Integrity investigated sexual assault on college campuses in the United States. The results indicate many schools resort to closed hearings to resolve cases that are not pursued by law enforcement, that such hearings are “shrouded in secrecy” and those students who are found responsible can face modest penalties.

Reports from Japan say the death toll from Thursday night’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the thousands. The 8.9 magnitude earthquake — the largest ever in the country — hit the east coast of Japan, which triggered a deadly tsunami, killing hundreds of people instantly.

While the San Diego State men’s basketball team was pummeling BYU Saturday evening, the SDSU softball team was preparing for a huge victory of its own. On Sunday, in the Aggie Invitational held at College Station in Texas, the Aztecs dominated Mississippi Valley State 11-3 in a six-inning victory.

In the finale of a four-game series with No. 15 Arkansas, the San Diego State baseball team dropped a 5-2 decision on Sunday afternoon at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
SDSU was unable to manufacture much offense against the Razorbacks, as three pitchers combined to strike out 16 Aztec batters.

Everybody likes to be in on a secret, right? Keeping them is fun, but revealing them is even better. Fast food chains in the U.S. have picked up on how excited people become when in the loop. Why else would so many have secret menus, if not to pique our curiosity and keep patrons coming back for more?