CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
D49er
JPR students mingled with potential employers in the USU to celebrate Journalism and Public Relations Day. See page 3.
VOL. LXVIX, ISSUE 74 | APRIL 26, 2018
PROFILE
So long, Sanfilippo David Sanfilippo spent his 40 years at Cal State Long Beach working with differently-abled students at Disabled Student Services. By Medina Kabir
Contributing Writer
gym, and I was looking forward to this event,” Chang said. “It’s so fun to come every year, because you’re coming with your friends and you’ve helped each other workout and get fit, so we might as well get a shot at making money and winning prizes.” Owen’s Condition for Tuition was founded in 2011 by Joshua
David Sanfilippo started working with disabled students when he was 16 years old. In his job as a teacher’s aide at his high school, he helped his differently-abled peers tie their shoes and feed themselves. This was when he realized his calling to help those with different needs “I can’t help but enjoy what I’ve done,” Sanfilippo said. After working at Cal State Long Beach for 40 years, he will retire from his role as the director of Disabled Student Services in June to finish working on his book “Where I Sit.” He has helped students who struggle with both physical and mental disabilities. “You may think, ‘I’m not on a wheelchair, nor blind, nor deaf, I don’t have a real disability,’” Sanfilippo said. “That’s not true. It can be [just] as debilitating if you have a learning disability.” One of the students Sanfilippo helped during his career was the university’s former football player, Mark Seay in 1989. After suffering from major injuries in a drive-by shooting where a bullet pierced through his pelvis, the university declared that Seay would not be be able to play football anymore. This seemingly put an end to his college career. According to Sanfilippo, no one could believe it when Seay moved on to play for the NFL years later, except him. “After having gone through the trauma of being shot, he realized the mental games they try to play in the NFL didn’t break him down,” Sanfilippo said. “What people perceived as difficult or tragic can be used to determine who we are, depending on how we go about it.” Seay is one of many students Sanfilippo has helped rehabilitate in his lengthy career at the university. One of Disabled Student Services’ first efforts under Sanfilippo was to make the campus accessible
see TUITION, page 3
see RETIRE, page 2
Photos by Hunter Lee | Daily 49er
Third year undeclared student Josh Arizmendi beams with excitement after winning the Owen’s Condition for Tuition scholarship. Founded in 2011, the Owen Family started the event to inspire students to live healthy and active lives.
O-WINNING CONTEST
Nearly 1,000 students competed in Owen’s Condition for Tuition, which revealed its tuition winner Wednesday. By Sarah Amaral and Sarah Vehrs Staff Writers
Josh Arizmendi was stunned to learn Wednesday that his fall semester tuition would be covered, thanks to the annual Owen’s Condition for Tuition hosted by the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. “I feel awesome, I feel like crying,” said Arizmendi, a third year undeclared student. “I just showed up today expecting to have some fun and maybe win one small prize. I can’t believe it.” Hundreds of fitness junkies gathered in front of the student rec center, awash with anticipation and lactic acid, hoping to win the coveted raffle prize that would pay their tuition for next semester. The center awarded several
Arizmendi poses with the Owen family after winning a tuition scholarship thanks to the Owen’s Condition for Tuition. Arizmendi was one of 998 students to attend the Student Recreation and Wellness Center over 50 times throughout the 2017-2018 school year.
prizes to students who have partaken in Owen’s Condition for Tuition in the 2017-2018 academic year. The challenge encouraged students to “attain new fitness goals and achieve a healthy lifestyle,” and required students to go to the rec center 50 times during the academic year, Associated Students Inc. said in a statement Tuesday. The event had Raffle prizes,
such as free summer rec membership, bikes, $50 Amazon, gas and Trader Joe gift cards and more were awarded as students enjoyed free tacos and games. With nearly 6,500 student participants, 998 completed the program, which makes this year the largest finale yet. Justine Chang, a senior kinesiology major, has taken part in the event for the past four years. “I finished my 50 days in the