Professor shares views on health care

By Jake Harris

A professor from the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles presented his views on streamlining health care on Thursday at the Walter Cronkite School.

Robert Kaplan said there are many aspects to health care reform and some are controversial, both in the medical and mainstream realms.

Kaplan said it is theorized that over $700 billion is wasted each year due to inefficiencies in the current health care model. These inefficiencies, he said, include unnecessary screening and treatment of what he called “pseudo diseases.”

These diseases, “never affect you in terms of your awareness of it or your life expectancy,” he said.

Through his research in the departments of Health Services and Medicine at UCLA, Kaplan also said he discovered studies that suggested that some diseases, such as prostate and breast cancer, may not be as dangerous as current findings suggest.

Kaplan said autopsy studies found the percentages of men and women who have these diseases are actually much higher than those who die from them.

About 3 percent of women die from breast cancer and 5 percent of men from prostate cancer, he said. But autopsy studies reveal a much higher rate of those who died of other natural causes or diseases and still showed signs of the cancers: 34 percent and 46 percent respectively, he said.

He said that these findings coincide with suggestions released last week by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, which said the benefits for breast cancer screening are not as substantial as previously thought.

“If you do mammogram screening more you find more cancer,” he said. “The question is whether or not women are better off. (Evidence shows) there is no benefit in improving life expectancy.”

Another major problem Kaplan discussed was the politically-motivated changing of guidelines for patients labeled “at risk” for ailments like heart disease. Major drug companies have lobbied to get the guidelines for heart disease changed so that a wider range of people can be prescribed drugs or additional tests, some of whom do not really need either, he said.

Behavioral health doctorate student Verree Laughlin drove from Yuma to attend the presentation. She said she can apply what Kaplan said to her studies because she focuses on the behavioral aspect and not just the test results that categorize patients.

She said that test results do not always indicate a specific disease, and there can be more than just what is on the surface.

Laughlin also said Kaplan’s point concerning drug companies made sense because of the extent that politics play in setting the guidelines for diseases.

“Profit is driven by both volume and price — these guidelines are driven by volume,” he said, later adding: “The real issue about health care reform is not only about reforming health care. It’s about reforming the economy.”

Contact the reporter at jake.harris@asu.edu

Light rail crushes car against pole

Downtown ASU students on light rail during accident

Story and photo by Stephanie Snyder | DevilCast by Dan Neligh

A light rail train collided with a van heading west on East Washington Street after the vehicle pulled in front of the train around 4 p.m. Wednesday, Phoenix police and fire officials said.

The van, driven by a 28-year-old woman, was pinned between the light rail and a pole after the train dragged it along the tracks, Firefighter Paramedic Michael Velasco said.

“She may have came out of the intersection behind (North) 18th Street and maybe didn’t look to her right to see if there was a train coming,” Velasco said.

The driver of the van was transported to the Good Samaritan Hospital in stable condition while the light rail driver and a light rail passenger were taken to St. Luke’s Hospital with minor injuries, firefighters said.

Phoenix Fire Department Capt. Scott Crowley said this incident was not the worst light rail accident he has seen, but the damage was extensive.

“It’s the most damage to a vehicle that I’ve seen,” Crowley said.

Lt. Patrick Hofmann, of the Phoenix Police Department, said the light rail car that got hit will have to be totally refurbished. He also said the van’s fuel tank ruptured, causing a gasoline leak.

“It’s lucky there was not anyone else in the van,” Hofmann said.

Global studies junior Rachel Dixon was riding in the light rail car that was hit by the van and was sitting next to a window on the side where the collision occurred, but said she moved once the van started scraping along the train.

“Right when (the light rail driver) started braking, the light rail was shaking really hard and rocking from side to side, so I think everyone was more worried at that point that the light rail was going to fall over,” she said.

Nonetheless, Dixon said everyone in her car was very calm during the accident.

“There wasn’t really any screaming or anything like in the movies, everyone was really quiet … and then everyone stayed really still for a couple seconds,” she said.

After the accident, Dixon said the driver and other passengers were making sure everyone was OK, although they were having trouble opening the exit doors once the smell of gasoline became apparent.

“Because it smelled so strong of gasoline, I was really, really afraid that there was going to be a fire,” Dixon said.

Journalism senior Charlsy Panzino was riding in the car behind the one that got hit and said at first she did not think there had been an accident because it felt like the driver was just slamming on the brakes.

“I didn’t think we had hit anything, but then we started smelling gasoline,” Panzino said. “Then everyone was kind of freaked out because that’s not good to smell gas coming in because something could blow up.”

Panzino said after the people in her car managed to open the doors and walk onto the road, they saw a van had crashed into the first car and the van driver was still inside.

“Someone smashed a window, but she didn’t come out through the window, she came out through the hole inside of the van,” she said, adding: “She seemed fine. No one was pulling her out, she was climbing out herself.”

Passengers started screaming for a fire extinguisher because of the gasoline leak, Panzino said. However, Panzino said she never saw a fire nor was one reported by firefighters.

“Some guy ran into the building that we were next to and got a fire extinguisher and started using it on the van,” she said.

The light rail passengers were inspected for injuries in a nearby parking lot before a police officer led them to East Jefferson Street where an eastbound train was re-routed to take the passengers to their westbound stops about 30 minutes after the crash, Panzino said.

Dixon said the structure of the light rail did not create any problems for the passengers upon the impact of the van, aside from some fiberglass windows breaking.

Another ASU student was sprinkled with little splinters since the glass was shatterproof, which caused her to feel some burning and itchiness, Dixon said.

“It was very anti-climactic,” Dixon said. “I thought a train crash would be a little more exciting.”

Panzino said she still plans on riding the light rail since she commutes from Tempe to downtown Phoenix for class.

“The next few times I ride it, I’ll probably be a little paranoid,” she said. “I probably won’t sit next to the window anymore, but I still feel relatively safe.”

Contact the reporters at slsnyder@asu.edu and daniel.neligh@asu.edu

Crow holds forum downtown

By Jessica Abercrombie | Photo by Stephanie Snyder

ASU President Michael Crow participated in an open forum telecast hosted on the Downtown campus Tuesday afternoon to answer questions from students on all four campuses.

The forum was held in the auditorium located in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation’s second building, where Crow addressed a variety of inquiries from students, including the implication of the facility fee, the current state of ASU athletic performances and raising tuition.

When asked about his opinion about the possible effects of the facility fee, Crow responded by noting the importance student government plays in helping to create a successful and well-rounded university.

“When students say to others, ‘Please, I want the university to be better; I want the quality of the university to be enhanced; I want the brand name to be approved; I want education to come forth more over time as I go out into the world,’ this is when (student government) can say, ‘This is what we are investing in with such options as the facility fee,’” Crow said.

Crow also spoke about the importance of unwavering fan support of the football teams and their efforts.

“I find our fans to be overly fickle, and what I mean by fickle is that you don’t stand by your team only when they win, you stand by your team to help them win,” Crow said. “My biggest disappointment in football is to see our team playing at the highest possible level, playing Georgia, playing Stanford, and then seeing fans booing our own players. I have never seen anything like it.”

Director of Student Engagement for the Downtown campus Cassandra Aska said the depth of Crow’s explanation regarding the efforts of the ASU football team was a reflection of all of his responses.

“Crow was genuine in answering the student questions,” she said. “He was thorough and patient, which was important in allowing the students to really see what Crow is like as a person and as a leader. Crow did an excellent job of fully explaining himself.”

Golf management sophomore Mike Bojorquez said he thought Crow’s answers were helpful to better understand questions surrounding the cost of tuition in upcoming years.

“It would be very helpful for tuition to stay where it is, keep it stable,” he said. “I doubted they could reduce (tuition,) but it’s nice to know that ASU is trying to keep the cost more constant instead of raising it more and more.”

Crow said, in terms of raising the cost of tuition, ASU’s first priority was to maintain accessibility.

Crow outlined three main criteria in the quest for maintaining accessibility at ASU.

“With or without the legislature we will make it work,” he said. “However, we believe the legislature has a constitutional, moral and civic duty to invest in high education.”

Editor’s note: Jessica Abercrombie is an ASASUD senator representing the Walter Cronkite School.

Contact the reporter at jmabercr@asu.edu

DevilCast: Arpaio protesters rally

By Dan Neligh

Demonstrators crowded outside of the Walter Cronkite School during Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s appearance Monday night. Initially, only ASU students, faculty, staff and members of the media were allowed into the building, however protesters pushed their way into the first floor lobby partially through Arpaio’s interview.

Contact the reporter at daniel.neligh@asu.edu

Arpaio interview interrupted

By Dustin Volz | Photos by Hugo Polanco and Stephanie Snyder

A round table interview with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio abruptly ended Monday night at The Walter Cronkite School when a small group of singing protesters interrupted the Sheriff as he was answering a question concerning his immigration policies.

About 10 protesters began singing an original rendition of the British rock band Queen’s 1975 hit “Bohemian Rhapsody” at approximately 7:45 p.m. with less than 15 minutes left in the hour-long interview. Arpaio walked off stage and out of the Cronkite School’s First Amendment Forum when the singers refused to stop until they finished the song.

“This isn’t the way journalists should operate,” Arpaio said in reference to the singers before getting up to leave. According to multiple protesters, however, none of them were Cronkite students.

Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan attempted to stop the singing by asking the protesters to allow the journalists to finish their questions, but was unsuccessful.

“We appreciate the verses … but if you don’t stop we’re just going to end,” Callahan said. “I just don’t understand why you want to stop reporters from doing their job.”

The protesters responded to Callahan and the hostility from the rest of the crowd by singing louder until their song was complete. By the time they had finished, Arpaio had made his way out of the forum.

“I understand your passion about this issue,” Callahan said to the protesters after they finished. “It just seems, to me, misplaced.”

The Cronkite School had prepared for such an interruption to occur and had plans to relocate the interview to a previously prepared studio on the sixth floor of the building and away from the crowd, Callahan said. The interview would then have been broadcasted to the First Amendment Forum, but because the interruption occurred so close to the end of the one-hour interview, a decision was made not to relocate.

“If it would have happened at the beginning we would have gone upstairs,” Callahan said. “It’s sad that we missed 12 minutes but we got in a great 48 minutes.”

Peter Kropotkin, one of the singing protesters, said the interruption was planned because Arpaio doesn’t allow his opposition to be heard.

“He gets a lot of airtime and has a loud voice,” said Kropotkin, who graduated from ASU last semester with a degree in anthropology. “We just wanted four minutes to get our message out, which is, basically, that Arpaio is a racist.”

All of the singing protesters were either current or former ASU students but none were Cronkite students or students who had class on the Downtown campus, Kropotkin said.

Philosophy sophomore Tyler McAneny, another protester who participated in the singing, said he was not impressed with the questions the Cronkite professors had been asking Arpaio.

“I felt like the journalists weren’t asking hard enough questions,” McAneny said. “They were focusing on minutiae.”

McAneny said he knows many passive protesters will be upset with the disruptive action he took but that he believes it was necessary to send a clear message.

“We are on the same side as all opponents of Arpaio but we feel we need to be more vocal and combative,” he said.

The interview, which was modeled after the “Meet the Press” style of panel discussion, was the latest in the Cronkite School’s series of “Must See Monday” events that are typically designed to bring prominent journalists to the school to talk to students. The Cronkite School chose Arpaio because he is controversial, in a position of power and popular, Callahan said in his opening remarks.

For 45 minutes, Arpaio had been answering questions from three Cronkite professors in front of a peaceful crowd of about 300. Arpaio was asked about his relationship with the media primarily and the issue of public records came up repeatedly.

Arpaio, whose daughter graduated from the Cronkite school, was at times very critical of the media, suggesting journalists oftentimes are biased in their reporting of his policies.

“The polls show that 68 percent of the public does not agree with the media,” Arpaio said. “(The media) has been trying to tear me down for 17 years.”

When asked if he used media access as a weapon, Arpaio deflected the question.

“You invited me—I didn’t invite you,” he said.

Arpaio also refuted questions suggesting his office doesn’t always cooperate with the media.

“The people have a right to know what I’m doing,” Arpaio said. “I’m not afraid to face the media, no matter what the subject is.”

Arpaio responded to questions about his controversial media battle with The Phoenix New Times by poking fun at the publication.

“This is a free weekly paper,” Arpaio said. “Not that that makes any difference.”

When Rick Rodriguez, the Cronkite School’s Carnegie Professor of Journalism and former executive editor of The Sacramento Bee, asked the sheriff about his history of profiling Latinos, the singing protesters interrupted Arpaio.

“Please let us finish,” Rodriguez said. “This is the First Amendment Forum.”

Before walking off stage, Arpaio, grinning, donned a University of Arizona Wilbur Wildcat hat followed by an ASU baseball hat.

Steve Elliott, one of the journalists who interviewed Arpaio, said he thought the sheriff gave a mix of honest and evasive answers.

“He was combative at times and at least feigned being candid some of the time,” said Elliott, the digital news director of Cronkite News Service and former Associated Press Phoenix bureau chief. “I think he evaded some answers but I let it go because we were getting to get back to (those questions) at the end.”

Elliott said he was frustrated that protesters cut the interview short because he and his colleagues spent a lot of time researching Arpaio.

“I feel sorry for Arpaio,” Elliott said. “People have the right to protest, but they need to be respectful. It’s not like we were lobbing softball questions.”

Students expressed frustration that the event was cut short as well.

“Sheriff Joe was just answering the question,” said R.C. Brown, a journalism freshman. “Let the guy speak. There were only 12 minutes left.”

Brown said he used to be a supporter of Arpaio but after learning more about the sheriff and his policies he is unsure if he will continue to support him. Brown said he wanted to hear more from Arpaio so he could help make up his mind about the controversial sheriff.

“The least we can do is give him our attention,” he said. “(The journalists) were doing a really great job.”

Brown said the protesters infuriated him and admitted he was one of the students in the crowd that responded to the singing by yelling obscenities.

“My friends were literally holding me back,” he said.

Journalism freshman Amy Vogelsang also said she would have liked to see the interview come to its natural end.

“I thought the questions were really good,” Vogelsang said. “They weren’t afraid to get right at him.”

Vogelsang said she thought that Arpaio did a poor job of answering questions.

“Arpaio was vague with his answers and kept going back to the same topics,” she said.

Vogelsang wasn’t surprised the protesters who interrupted met a hostile reaction from the crowd.

“It was not the time or place to do that, especially when they didn’t stop,” she said. “A lot of students, myself included, wanted to hear the interview completed. I don’t think their message came across the way they wanted to because it was a rude interruption.”

Because of the high interest in Arpaio and the event, the Cronkite School only allowed ASU students, faculty and staff, as well as personnel from several media outlets, into the building.

“First and foremost, we’re here to serve the students,” Callahan said in his opening remarks that prefaced the interview. Callahan explained that fire code restrictions limited the number of people that could be let into the forum.

Outside, hundreds more—both those affiliated with ASU and members of the community who were not—gathered to protest Arpaio and watch a live stream of the panel interview on a large screen set up on Taylor Mall.

“We’re concerned with Arpaio coming to the Cronkite School,” said Bryant Partida, a political science and Chicano studies senior who participated in the protest.

Partida joined a coalition of students and community members that had been planning to protest for over a month. According to Partida, protesters began picketing on Taylor Mall at 4:30 p.m., two and a half hours before Arpaio was scheduled to sit down for his interview at Cronkite.

Other protesters expressed similar frustration directed toward Arpaio, the Cronkite School and ASU.

“It is disrespectful that someone who dehumanizes people is here at the largest university in the country,” said Silvia Rodriguez, a spring 2009 graduate of ASU in political science and Chicano studies.

Around 6:00 p.m. the protesters began chanting “stop the injustice, stop the hate, we don’t want your police state” as well as many other short anthems. Protesters also carried signs that read “We are human” and “Why is ASU welcoming a racist with a badge?”

A much smaller group of Arpaio supporters were present on Taylor Mall.

Barbara Heller, of Phoenix, said she was showing her support because she knew that protesters would be rallying against the sheriff.

“(I will show support) anywhere protesters show up and deny that he has the right to enforce the law,” Heller said.

Heller said she was disappointed that members of the community could not go inside the Cronkite School to watch Arpaio.

“Being taxpayers, we pay for the school so it doesn’t seem fair,” she said.

Arpaio supporters carried signs saying “We support Joe” and “Stand up America! No illegals!” One Arpaio supporter had a rifle slung over his shoulder.

Protesters and supporters weren’t the only ones hoisting signs, however.

A sign taped to the front door of the Sbarro Italian Eatery located on the first floor of the Cronkite building read “Arpaio supporters not welcome.”

“I will refuse customers,” the Sbarro assistant manager, who refused to be named, said. “I don’t stand for fascism in my store.”

About 80 protesters who were not ASU students or faculty pushed their way into the first floor lobby of the Cronkite building when the interview began, Cronkite Assistant Dean Kristin Gilger said.

“They were pretty calm,” Gilger said. “We didn’t try to keep any protesters out (of the lobby).”

The protesters remained in the lobby throughout the event before dispersing peacefully, Gilger said. They sang and chanted, but did not try to force through police officers into other parts of the building, she said.

Cmdr. Rich Wilson of the Phoenix Police Department said there were eight to 10 Phoenix police officers on assignment for the event. A handful of ASU police officers were present as well.

Wilson said the police department expected anywhere from 300 to 500 protesters to show up, based on the size of a Facebook group coordinating the effort.

“We’ve got a group of officers here to keep the peace,” said Wilson, adding that he believed appropriate measures had been taken to ensure safety.

Contact the reporter at dustin.volz@asu.edu

Businesses surviving at the Arizona Center

By Stephanie Ostos

Quiet enough to hear a pin needle fall and empty enough to see a tumbleweed roll pass, it looks like a scene from an old Western movie at the Arizona Center on a day-to-day basis. Regardless, there are still businesses that have been around for a while and others have recently opened up.

A recent report from the U.S. Bureau Labor of Statistics said that since March 2009 to August 2009 spending on apparel and services rose by 0.6 percent after decreasing for the past four years.

The economy is slowly improving and people are starting to spend money. This is helping many businesses that are trying to make enough money to keep sales up and have the necessities to carry on another day.

Jayne’s Marketplace, which specializes in Southwestern items, opened in November 1990 and is one of the biggest stores at the Arizona Center.

“It has been a rough couple of years and a miracle that I have stayed open,” Owner Jayne Buckner said.

Buckner had two stores but had to close one due to the economy and decided to keep the one in the Arizona Center.

“I like downtown,” Buckner said. “I like the energy.”

However, her patience is paying off. Business is now being driven by the conventions that happen downtown, as well as ASU students and faculty, she said.

“It used to be a mom store, now I am getting a whole different generation,” Buckner said.

While Jayne’s Marketplace has been open for 19 years, Culture Fresh is a new store, but they have both been receiving good business.

Culture Fresh is a first time store that opened one year ago. All the merchandise is done by local artists who get a percentage on each item’s sale.

Owner Robert Aguilar has had his own clothing line for six years and decided to open the store in the Arizona Center.

“I opened the store downtown because I wanted to be in the middle of Phoenix,” Aguilar said. “I was raised here.”

Culture Fresh’s business is doing well and they are promoting their business by putting on events on outside of the store on Fridays and with a Web site, Manager Marci Miller said.

“Without this place, I wouldn’t know what to do,” customer Maree Grant said.

The economy is slowly making a turnaround from the recession, but many businesses might have to wait a little longer because people are holding on to their money very closely.

“Looks like everything is going to turn around,” Buckner said.

Contact the reporter at stephanie.ostos@asu.edu

Controversy surrounds Arpaio forum

By Nicole Gilbert | Photo by Stephanie Snyder

A new university coalition planning to protest Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Nov. 30 appearance at the Walter Cronkite School organized the rally on factual inaccuracies, an ASU official said.

Dean Christopher Callahan of the Cronkite School said the Facebook group for ASU Students Against Joe Arpaio misled its members by claiming that the school is paying the sheriff for showing up to its weekly “Must See Mondays” speaker series.

“There’s a gross factual inaccuracy there,” he said. “We don’t pay speakers, and we’re certainly not paying him — so, I tried to figure out where that came from.”

Callahan also said many students seemed to miss the point of what the event actually is.

“I think somehow people are perceiving this as (Arpaio) is giving some sort of speech, that he has open (microphone) to say whatever he wants,” he said, which he added couldn’t be further from the truth.

The program, which will be organized in a similar format to the popular NBC news show “Meet the Press,” will consist of three Cronkite faculty members asking Arpaio pressing questions, Callahan said.

Former editor of The Sacramento Bee Rick Rodriguez, former managing editor of ABC 15 Sue Green and former Arizona Bureau Chief of the Associated Press Steve Elliott will be questioning Arpaio, chiefly about his first amendment policies. Callahan said people have questioned why the journalism school chose to interview a figure that is against what the first amendment stands for.

“You have to have somebody who has a great deal of power, who is very popular yet very controversial,” he said. “That is exactly the type of people journalists should be covering aggressively and thoroughly.”

Students, if they feel it is the right thing to do, are well within their rights to protest outside the event, Callahan said adding that he hopes they are protesting Arpaio’s policies and not the event itself.

“I would think this is an event where (opponents) would want to hear how he responds to very pointed questions by three of the best journalists that I know of,” he said. “I give the sheriff credit for coming because a lot of politicians … wouldn’t go through that kind of scrutiny.”

However, the fact Arpaio will be on campus in the first place is the main reason students are protesting, according to the coalition’s Facebook page editor Sandra Castro, a history senior.

“We’re not going to roll out the red carpet and allow him to walk on our campus like he does in our communities,” she said.

The protesters plan to rally throughout the event but not to disrupt the conversation, Castro added.

“We are having the utmost respect as educated college students for him,” she said.

Castro said members of the coalition feel their voices are being silenced because there is no Q and A portion included in the forum.

“We’re interested to see if (the journalists) are actually going to give him hard-hitting questions,” she said. “Arpaio does have a history of intimidating journalists and even throwing them in prison.”

Others think the rally may actually add more fuel to the fire.

Psychology senior Kevin Brown said Arpaio deserves to be protested against, but the Nov. 30 event is neither the right place nor time.

“This is a learning institution, and while many of the students here do not agree with his policies … it’s important to understand why some people in the community support him,” he said.

In fact, a large percentage of Arizonans do support Arpaio. The sheriff tweeted Tuesday that he’d consider running for governor after a Rasmussen’s Report poll showed him racking in a whopping 47 percent of potential GOP votes for the 2010 election — more than double the votes secured by current Gov. Jan Brewer and State Treasurer Dean Martin.

“I think he’s a public relations genius,” Brown said. “He’s very good at taking an event that might seem deplorable and turning it into an opportunity for himself.”

The main concern with the rally, Brown said, is that Arpaio will make some witty comment about how students are protesting him at a free speech event.

“Whether or not we like his policies, he’s a public official,” he said. “We need to foster a relationship with the community rather than protest the fact that he’s even speaking.”

Coalition member and anthropology senior Justin Helepololei, however, thinks other voices are more important to hear.

“Sheriff Arpaio commands a lot of attention as it is,” he said. “As a university, we have a duty to present voices that aren’t heard as often.”

Helepololei said he thinks the forum structure is a great idea but the location is not ideal.

“We should be taking the questions to his office,” he said. “We’re kind of letting the campus be used as a platform for his ideas.”

Helepololei said he wanted to get involved to show support for students and families in the community that are being harassed.

“We should encourage students, whether they believe in his policies or not, to come out and get informed,” he said.

Contact the reporter at ndgilber@asu.ed

History comes full circle

By Tracey Corenman

When customers wander through the doors at Circles Records and Tapes, the florescent lights glare off of the sale CD cases and draw them to explore rooms full of records, cassette tapes, CDs and music videos.

However, times have changed with the wavering economy causing sales to plummet in recent years. Customers trickle in, but despite hardships, the spirit of the store is far from affected.

Located at North Central Avenue and East McKinley Street, Circles was built in 1944 as a Stuart Baker car dealership. In 1972 it was purchased by Leonard and Angela Singer who converted the dealership into a record store and still own it today.

Throughout the years, Circles has experienced a shift in atmosphere, long-time customer Faustina Mesa said.

“It used to be packed in here when I was growing up,” Mesa, of Phoenix, said. “They used to have a lot of people who used to cruise on Central Avenue. People used to cruise in their low riders and the parking lots were full. The environment has changed a lot.”

The social buzz that existed in the downtown area created regular customers like Fred Ostos, who currently lives in Gilbert.

“There was always music playing,” Ostos said. “We’d always go there and hang out and listen to some music and decide what we wanted to get … so it was always a social place for us.”

The social atmosphere is not the only thing that has changed since Ostos was in school.

“Downtown changed a lot since I was in high school,” Ostos said. “We used to go down there a lot because there wasn’t anything else there. On the weekends we’d spend more time there because they’d allow us to listen to the music.”

As a contrast to the social setting Circles used to have, most customers now go to the store, grab some music and leave after making a quick purchase.

Store Manager Derek Larremore said there are fewer customers coming in and looking around.

“We used to have regulars,” Larremore said. “There aren’t too many regulars left.”

With the establishment of the Downtown campus, a younger, music-savvy crowd is now just blocks away from the store, however Larremore said he hasn’t seen much business from students.

Sophomore journalism student Daryl Bjoraas is one in a handful of students that shop at the store.

“I like Circles because it’s nice on the inside,” Bjoraas said. “There’s a lot of room to walk around … other shops are kind of small and there’s not a lot of freedom or room.”

After being given a record player for his last birthday, Bjoraas said Circles has gained even more appeal.

“I shop at Circles because it’s one of the few stores around that sells records,” he said.

Larger stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, which typically have a lot of music, lack diversity and often fall short of the expansive selection at a smaller store, Bjoraas said.

However, business is still down for Circles.

“We’re down about 70 percent from what we were four or five years ago,” Larremore said.  “It takes us a week to sell what we would in a Saturday.”

Circles initially had a large main room with most of the music available, a smaller alcove for records, a main entry with sale items and an entire second main room full of music, Larremore said.

The second part of the store was closed in July of 2008, Larremore said, pointing at a dark doorway leading to a second, dust-filled room that had been closed off.

“We had to downsize,” he said. “There’s just not enough customers for the place to sustain itself.”

Larremore said the store’s current atmosphere after the downsize is very different than a few years ago.

“Drab would be well-fitting. Gloomy. Outdated,” he said as he rolled a 28-pound ball made from CD label stickers around the countertop.

For nearly six years, store clerks have taken CD stickers from newly purchased cases to add to their “masterpiece,” Larremore said.

After management noticed CD wrappers left in the parking lot every night, they offered to open the CDs for customers and decided to save all the stickers, Larremore said.

Larremore said the giant sticker could be used as centerpiece for the main lobby in the future with a spotlight on it for customers to see as they walk through the door.

Despite changes encountered in recent years, the employees at Circles maintain an optimistic outlook in regards to the store’s success.

Both Larremore and Marco Hernandez Sr., who manages the Latin music section, feel that their knack for customer service and extensive music catalog will keep customers coming.

“We used to sell quite a bit,” Hernandez said. “The economy in general has gone up slowly. You can’t bring a ship up from the bottom of the sea and expect it to be the same. The economy is the same way. It’s going brick by brick; very slowly.”

Hernandez said he has faith that customers will always be around. He said his motto is to be honest, to lean for customer satisfaction and to truly give people the best they can get so they will come back.

Because Hernandez believes in giving the customers what they want, Circles is the only local music store to fill orders for the local Phoenix jails, he said.

“Relatives will ask what they want and come ask for music at the store, and we’ll send it to the jail,” Hernandez said. “Other places all deny those requests.”

Circles also fills orders for customers who aren’t in the downtown area and delivers to surrounding cities such as Scottsdale, Avondale and Goodyear for a price of $7.50, he said.

Hernandez said there is little local competition, which is helpful in drawing in customers.

There aren’t many stores like Circles in the area. Although there were several smaller stores in south Phoenix, they were closed for selling pirated music, once again leaving Circles ahead of the game, Hernandez said.

Bjoraas said the music at Circles is more affordable compared to other big-name stores.

“With some of the local shops like Circles, they do sell things a little cheaper,” Bjoraas said. “I think its because they’re trying to attract more customers whereas places like Wal-Mart and Best Buy are going to get customers anyway so they don’t have to compete.”

Larremore said another draw for customers is the wide variety of music the store keeps in stock.

“We carry a little bit of everything across the board,” he said. “There’s a lot of people looking for stuff they can’t find other places. We have a deeper cataloger — a deeper selection. That’s where a lot of our sales come from.”

Contact the reporter at tracey.corenman@asu.edu

DevilCast: Porangui

Musician uses native sounds to heal and liberate

By Dan Neligh

Porangui, a teacher, therapist and musician, brings the native sounds of the Americas along with his hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil to downtown Phoenix through the musical group, Grupo Liberdade. Grupo Liberdade, which Porangui founded and musically directs, performed in the fourth annual Phoenix Parade of the Arts on Nov. 14.

Contact the reporter at daniel.neligh@asu.edu

Hands on experience

Group raises awareness of humanitarian issues

By Jessica Von Schell | Photos by Jessica Von Schell and Michael Marconi

The Downtown Tunnel of Oppression organization hosted an event Thursday to raise student awareness about various humanitarian issues within the global community.

The event, the Tunnel of Oppression, featured interactive exhibits that focused on this year’s themes of global hunger, homelessness, sex trafficking and Islamophobia, the fear of Muslims.

Eichelle Armstrong, the organization’s president, said the purpose of the event, located at the Civic Space Park’s A. E. England Building, was to create a sensory experience for students.

“The goal is to put the participants in the shoes of the oppressed for a very short time so that they can come out of (the event) with some sense of empathy – some sense of greater understanding (so) that they will be moved to do something about it,” Armstrong said.

The tunnel tour began with a privilege walk, in which students lined up together holding hands and were then asked to take one step forward or one step backward depending on whether or not a statement applied to them.

Brittany Coll, civil engineering sophomore, said she was most impacted by the privilege walk because it was a different way to illustrate the impact of oppression.

“We see a lot of ads on television or in the newspaper,” Coll said. “I think we’ve become (desensitized) – like it doesn’t affect us as much anymore – and (the walk) was something that’s actually really visual and physical.”

The visual impact of seeing students on either side of the privilege line showed the opportunities that some students had and the adversity that other students had faced.

In addition, Coll said she did not realize how prevalent oppression was in her community, especially among her peers.

“We think of oppression as being far away – not necessarily domestic – when it actually is (domestic,)” Coll said.

The tunnel also included photo collages, video clips, auditory aids and interactive exhibits.

Preparation for the Tunnel of Oppression began back in August, Armstrong said.

But while content and logistical preparations are important, Armstrong said, the event is meaningless if the message doesn’t relate to the students.

“If our content isn’t relevant, we’re not doing our job, and the tunnel doesn’t matter,” she said.

Armstrong said her goal for the Tunnel of Oppression is to create change by forcing students to challenge their perceptions of the world around them.

“I want people to come out with questions and enough nerve, enough gumption, to go get the answers,” Armstrong said.

Whether change happens on a large or small scale, Armstrong said she wanted people to think about the raw truth the Tunnel of Oppression presented.

“We don’t tie a bow around it,” she said. Adding later, “The world is not going to be saved by pretty bows.”

At the end of the tunnel, various student organizations had tables set up on behalf of different causes advocating global change. One such organization, Oxfam, speaks on behalf of indigenous people who have been displaced by oil, gas and mining companies.

Nonprofit studies graduate student Caroline Naisarian said she is grateful for organizations like Oxfam.

Originally from Kenya, Naisarian said she is at ASU on a Student Visa to study nonprofit management because it is a field that desperately needs leaders in her country.

She also said she was encouraged by people in the U.S. who stand up for other people in different countries.

“(In Africa) you cannot fight for your rights unless you are in a position of power,” Naisarian said. “And when we have such organizations fighting for us, it really makes the government start shaking and it makes the government start making changes.”

Awareness organizations like Downtown Tunnel of Oppression and advocacy groups like Oxfam bring people together, Naisarian said.

“Having such organizations coming up together for one cause really makes a change in (my) country,” she said. “And also (it) gives our people a voice.”

Contact the reporter at jvonsche@asu.edu