February 14, 2012 by The Daily Sundial

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Private donations to CSU increase

CSUN gets $10.7 million in gifts MELiSSa SiMon DAILY SUNDIAL

assessment.” Jennifer De Maio, CSUN professor of political science, said the new law is a stepping stone in creating further legislation to end human trafficking. “When diamonds became associated with blood diamonds in Africa, no one wanted to buy them,” De Maio said. “I think legislation like this will make the public more socially aware of the products they buy. Though it’s not the answer to all factors involved, it will certainly make a dent in

rivate donations to all 23 CSU campuses increased by 30 percent over the last year, according to Stephanie Thara, CSU spokeswoman. “Our donors — including alumni, parents, faculty, staff, friends of the university, corporations, foundations and other organizations — see the need to invest in higher education and want to support the CSU’s effort in building opportunity for the future,” Thara said. The overall increase was due in large part to a few major gifts, or large donations, to some CSU campuses. Vance Peterson, vice president for University Advancement at CSUN, said the most notable was the $42 million gift that Cal Poly Pomona received from the Kellogg Family Foundation. Unlike Cal Poly Pomona, Sonoma State and San Diego State, CSUN actually experienced a drop in their private donations last year, according to Peterson. “Last fiscal year, CSUN received $10.7 million from about 6,700 individuals,” Peterson said. “In contrast, in the 1990s, we had an annual average of only $6 million. So even though donations are down, there is still an increase from the previous decade.” At each campus, donations are acquired in different ways. At CSUN, potential donors are contacted through the CSUN Fund, which is a call center staffed by students. “At the CSUN Fund, students make calls six days a week asking for donations,” Peterson said. “These donations tend to be between $50 and $5,000. The development staff asks for the larger donations that start at $1,000 and go up.” Of the $10.7 million received last year, the CSUN Fund was responsible for

See trafficking, page 3

See donation, page 3

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY GABRIEL IVAN ORENDAIN-NECOCHEA / VISUAL EDITOR

Finding dates on

cyberspace See p. 4 to read about online dating

California battles human trafficking New law requires California-based corporations to display anti-trafficking methods online tanYa raMirEZ DAILY SUNDIAL

n the wake of human trafficking month in January, California issued a new law requiring corporations to disclose online what steps they are taking to prevent forced labor and human trafficking. Human trafficking, as defined by the U.N., is a crime against humanity. The act involves the recruiting, transporting or receiving of any person through the use of force or exploitation. IN TODAY’S

ISSUE

VOLUME 53 ISSUE 74 • A FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act will require about 3,200 companies with net worths of $100 million or more to indicate on their home pages where exactly their supplies or goods originate from. Companies that rely on outsourcing also need to post what specific actions they are implementing to promote human rights. Major consumer companies have faced human trafficking investigations in the past, including Gap Inc. and Firestone. The most recent corporation to combat scrutiny is Apple, which is cur-

rently under investigation following a mass suicide threat at their suppliers’ (Foxconn) headquarters in China. Apple is suspected to have hired Chinese slave labor to manufacture iPads under harsh conditions. Apple declined to comment on its compliance with the new law. “It’s happening in everybody’s factory,” said Julie Tanner, human rights advocate and director of Christian Brothers Investment Services, in a January interview with the Christian Science Monitor. “That’s why it’s so critical that companies do this kind of risk

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The Flowers balance married life and coaching

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February 14, 2012 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • city@sundial.csun.edu

donation Continued from page 1

bringing in about $3 million, Peterson said. The continuing pattern that has stayed true over the last few years is that 90 percent of the donations are major gifts, while the last 10 percent are smaller gifts, according to Peterson. Peterson explains there are differences when reaching out to individuals as opposed to corporations and foundations. “With foundations, you have to understand what they want and try to match it,” he said. “On the other hand, with individuals you have to build a relationship with them and understand their priorities and interests. Once you know their priorities, you can ask for donations accordingly.”

Donations are used in a variety of ways at each of the individual campuses within the CSU system, Thara said. “Gifts support scholarships, academic enrichment, applied research, faculty support, library resources, athletics, public service programs and facility improvements, among others,” Thara said. Peterson said the amount of donations changes year-to-year, but the staff at the CSUN Fund is always reaching out to alumni and corporations for help. “I feel like the alumni, their friends and family all read the newspapers and they understand that the CSUs are getting defunded,” Peterson said. “They understand that we need help meeting the educational needs of our students.” Thara agrees with

Peterson about the donations showing interest in the futures of students. “Our donors have enabled the CSU to have tremendous success in the most challenging of economic times,” Thara said. “Their commitment exemplifies the belief that their investment will help develop the future leaders of California.” Currently, CSUN has 117 prospective proposals for major gifts that total more than $15 million, Peterson said. Despite bringing in less last year, he is hopeful that this year will follow the upward trend and donations will continue to increase. “The increase is great news for the future,” he said. “We need the partnership of alumni who not only care about what the university can contribute but also about the students and their futures.”

trafficking Continued from page 1

human trafficking.” The new law will also create a certification process for suppliers. Once companies post their efforts and comply with existing human traffic laws, they will receive certification that deems their materials free of trafficking and slave labor practices. Gregory Velazco y Trianosky, CSUN professor of philosophy and business ethics, said certification will not necessarily hinder corporations from resorting to slave labor. “Corporations are quick to put blame on their contracted suppliers” Velazco y Trianosky said. “They act stunned when investigations like these come out and claim they had no prior knowledge of illegal activity.” Velazco y Trianosky said corporations set unrealistic quotas for individual supply workers. “To meet these impossible quotas, workers then start bringing their families and sometimes even their children to help with the work load,” Velazco y Trianosky said. “It only takes a few minutes for executives to see that these quotas are not only being produced, but exceeded. But since profits are so high, they turn a blind eye and don’t question how one supplier can fulfill such

extreme orders.” The act also requires corporations to provide company employees and management with courses and training in human trafficking. As mentioned in the act, the goal of these programs is to educate employees working directly with suppliers in order to prevent human violations. De Maio said K-12 schools and universities should also implement similar courses in order to inform students of global disparities and explore the cause and effects of slave labor. “There are millions of human trafficking cases not only in the U.S. but around the world,” De Maio said. “It’s a cycle. The earlier we integrate knowledge of these practices, the sooner younger generations will grasp the situation and grow up to make socially conscious decisions.” According to the Polaris Project, a non-profit which combats human trafficking, there are about 12 million people subjected to exploitation and slave labor in the United States. Overall, the Polaris Project estimates human trafficking is a $32 billion industry affecting 161 countries worldwide. Corporations that do not comply with the new law will be prosecuted by the California attorney general and may be subjected to an undisclosed amount of fines or even imprisonment for executives.

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2 News February 14, 2012 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • news@sundial.csun.edu

photos by Trisha Sprouse / Daily Sundial

Wheel of Fortune fun at CSUN Scan this QR code to watch a video from the auditions

Wheelmobile host and emcee Marty Lublin joked with students auditioning for Wheel of Fortune, often asking them to dance and sing.

Wheel of Fortune held auditions at CSUN looking for students to cast in the upcoming college edition of the game show, Monday.

Matadors who auditioned for Wheel of Fortune’s college edition were rewarded with prizes such as monogrammed bags, hats and t-shirts.

Matt Eickhoff, program coordinator of USU, said one of his life goals is to get on a game show. He auditioned for Wheel of Fortune’s college edition hoping to cross that goal off his list.

4 News February 14, 2012 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • city@sundial.csun.edu

Online dating becomes the norm among a new generation of singles JoELLE katZ SOCIAL MEDIA

nline dating sites have taken the web by storm, and more and more people are turning to the internet to find that special someone. Type the words “dating website” into the Google search engine and roughly 46,800,000 results will emerge. It may seem normal these days to hear your friend talk about this new guy she met online the other day with technology in the forefront, but is it really normal to talk about a date over the Internet through a web cam? Online dating ranked third on the Match.com and Chadwick Martin Baily 2009-2010 research study in terms of how married couples met over the past three years. One-in-six people met his or her spouse through an online dating site, falling shortly behind through work/school or through friends/family. In the last year, more than twice as many marriages occurred between people who met on an online dating site than met in bars, at clubs and other social events combined, according to the study. The study also reported that one-infive single people have dated someone they met on an online dating site.

CSULA student Danielle Bleser, of Pasadena, found relationship success through match.com, where she met her boyfriend Josh. “I honestly think online dating is a really good thing. I was very skeptical before I did,” she said. “But I actually found there’s a lot of professional people on there who maybe don’t have time to go out all the time … or are sick of meeting people in bars and just not really having any connection.” Online profiles have redefined the meaning of first impressions. “I think instead of there being one first impression, there ends up being two or three first impressions,” Bleser said. The impression of Josh that stood out the most to her was when she first talked to him on the phone and got a better glimpse at him as a person, rather than through exchanging e-mails. When finding someone online, the first thing people see is someone’s profile; they don’t get the opportunity to hear their voice, listen to what they have to say, or watch them interact with others. Match. com publicist, Jaklin Kaden, said that a first glance at a picture isn’t necessarily a make-itor-break-it decision for users. “We know that members are successful when they take the time to carefully read a

profile before they compose their initial email, when members connect on levels of common interest, activities, sense of humor, etc.,” Kaden said. “Physical attraction plays a role, but it’s only one part in the chemistry between two people.” Along with this shift in technology is a shift in the way people interact with one another. An intellectual conversation over chicken marsala and a glass of wine has now become a technology-based relationship through which good conversation may have become lost. Skyecandy, a site that uses Skype for video speed dating similar to Chatroulette.com, gives users five minutes with a stranger to decide whether or not to continue getting to know them. After five minutes, you can say “yes” or move along to the next person with a “no.” People aren’t even having full conversations with this site, but rather judging on initial impressions. Electrical engineering major Leslie Hernandez met her current boyfriend online, but she didn’t meet him on a site intended for dating. Hernandez said she started talking to Joe on Tumblr, and their friendship led to a longdistance relationship. The idea of online dating was weird before she began dating Joe, she said. But she

said there is more communication, rather than less. “You really get to know the person a lot better I think,” she said. “The relationship feels a lot stronger, because there’s like a thousand times more communication.” Hernandez said she manages the long-distance relationship with her boyfriend from Colorado with Skype and talking on the phone when they are not visiting each other in person. The popularity for online dating has grown so much over the past few years that mobile devices now carry applications for dating at the press of a touch. You can talk on the phone with your friend while scrolling through potential life partners in your hand. One major category that may be frightening with these sites is the safety behind online sites, not knowing how truthful

someone is or how trustworthy that individual may be. Take for example the case of Philip Markoff, the infamous Craigslist killer. Three different women placed ads through Cragislist, offering their erotic services, and he responded, met them and robbed all three, killing one. EHarmony gives users tips on how to remain safe through the process on its website. These tips include using your best judgment on someone’s character and what they ask of you, being cautious when giving out your personal information, being responsible about where and when you first meet someone in person on a date, taking your time and reporting any concerns you may have about someone to the site’s administrators. So, is it worth it to spend the same amount as a monthly gym membership to begin the

hopes of finding that special someone? While some sites are free, such as Plentyoffish. com or Okcupid.com, others, such as Match.com, claim to offer a chance to spend a small sum for a large amount of happiness. Through payment, Match. com members receive added benefits, such as sophisticated matching and searching algorithms, first-class customer serviced, fraud protection and 24/7 monitoring, Kaden said. Perhaps with the advancement of technology, there is a better chance of meeting someone special, a potential mate whom you wouldn’t have otherwise met, as Bleser suggested in her case with Josh. One can only hope with this change doesn’t come a decrease in people going out or socializing in person or even the loss of a good conversation.

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February 14, 2012 • Daily Sundial • CSUN

Opinions

February 14, 2012

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Sleepin’ on the job in Japanese sleep pods

Don’t Be Me Jim McLauchlin daily sundial

o, I have the greatest entrepreneurial idea ever. And I’m gonna give it to you for free. Just ’cause I really, really want someone to do it. Listen closely, I’m only gonna say this once. … We need those Japanese sleep pod things on the CSUN campus. Now would be good. Like right now. Certainly by about 1 this afternoon, or someone might get hurt. By me. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check Al Gore’s Interwebs. Or just accept my loose definition that “those Japanese sleep pod things” are microhotels, often found near train stations in, duh, Japan. Just missed the midnight bullet train to Kintetsu? Who cares? Next one’s tomorrow morning at 5:30 a.m. Just crash out in your six-by-three-by-two foot (OK, so it’s small) pod and grab your five hours of shuteye. You’re sleeping on the cheap, pod-style and not hobo-style. Rates run from $25-$50 a night, guaranteed no pigeons, and the cops won’t roust ya. Take a look around campus today. If you’re gazing on the same vectors I am,

Illustration by Nathalie Ramerez

you’ll see the need for these pods: drama majors crashed on benches, sophomore political-science dudes splayed out on lawns and the future accountants of America curled up in cubbyholes. There’s a veritable sea of sleepy scholars trying to Rip van Winkle it for those 60 precious

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minutes they have between classes. Now. Scale back the nightly rates. Prorate it down to hourly. Get realistic, and lop a bit off the top for college budgets. And what do you get? Pod hotels on campus. Let’s say $3 per hour. Like you wouldn’t choose a pod over a concrete bench? For some place quiet? Clean? Warm? With a blankie and a pillow? You know you would. Critics will tell you that they’re about the size of — and have the creepy feel of — a coffin. Some will tell you they reduce Staff Reporters jade adams Jonathan Andrade Matthew Ashman Michael Cheng Agnes Constante Laura Davis Stefanie De Leon Tzic Janette Fletcher Aja Franks Jessica Jewell Jim Mclauchlin Tenny Minassian Irene Nesbitt Tanya Ramirez Alexandra Riggle Natalie Rivera Carl Robinette Melissa Simon Raewyn Smith Trisha Sprouse Fredy Tlatenchi Joseph Tomaszewski Farah Yacoub Raquel Zeitounian Jeffrey Zide

human beings to the status of vending machine goodies. Suddenly, it’s you that’s the mini-bag of Cheez-Its, selection D-8. Guess what? I DON’T CARE! Sign me up. You can call me Grandma’s Cookies if you want. Look, I’m a 43-year-old idiot finishing a degree from about a million years ago. (Didn’t I already mention, “Don’t be me?”) So, I try and stack maximum classes in minimum days to work the rest of my life in. On Wednesdays, I start class at 5 in the blessed a.m., (the veritable buttcrack of dawn), and I don’t finish until 10 p.m. Think I’d like a nap in there somewhere? Department of “Duh,” Charlie. And not for a half-second will I entertain any argument that naps are great for the toddler set, but not for adults. Nor will I listen to the drivel that somehow, naps are un-American, and our great pioneer forefathers never would have traversed the Rockies and built the Shelby Mustang were they nodding off. That’s the problem—we’ve lost our love affair with the nap. More correctly, society at large has lost its love affair with the nap. Me? I still love ’em. Hell, I have a 3-year-old at home. I need them. So, there you go. Your path is clear. Make it happen. And do me a favor: If and when—you look smart to me, so let’s say “when”—you do this, remember the guy who slid the idea your way. When you become the sleep pod baron of Northridge and your Courvoisier-filled pool overfloweth, cut me in. Chip me off 10 percent, huh? I’ll thank you for the dough. But more than that, I’ll thank you for the place to sleep. —Jim McLauchlin has crazy ideas, but dammit, one of ’em has to work, right?

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February 14, 2012 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • city@sundial.csun.edu

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February 14, 2012

Sports

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valentine’s feature

Flowers bloom at CSUN Married Matador coaches Jason and Tairia Flowers make it work alonso tacanga sports editor

month into his headcoaching tenure with the CSUN women’s basketball program, Jason Flowers received some news that made him feel like he was in a movie. His wife, Tairia Flowers, had just been named the head coach of the CSUN softball team. “When it went down,” Jason said of the summer of 2010, when both he and Tairia became Matadors. “I used to tell people that Disney couldn’t have written a better script.” It certainly was a magical 2010 for the Flowers. The couple, who have been together since 2001, welcomed their son Jayce into the world earlier that year. The opportunity to work in the same building, and as the top directors of each of their programs – no less – was a unique situation. “It’s a situation where it makes life a lot easier,” said Jason, who prior to becoming CSUN’s head coach was an assistant at UC Riverside. While the thought of sharing the work place with a significant

other might make some people’s hair stand on end, that’s clearly not the case for the Flowers. The mom-and-dad-at-the-sameplace situation allows them to spend more time with their son. He occasionally attends their teams’ practices. Also, as head coaches of Division-I programs, the Flowers are busy people. Odds are you won’t catch them taking romantic strolls on campus in the middle of the day. “Once we’re on campus, we don’t see each other a whole lot.” said Tairia, a former NCAA champion with UCLA who was an assistant coach at Long Beach State from 2007-10. Both Jason and Tairia agreed that a key ingredient to make it all function smoothly is separating their work and home lives. Aside from their nightly coaching venting during their 10-15 minute drive home, the Flowers try to leave the coaching business at CSUN. “Once we get home, it’s dinner, it’s play with our son, it’s get ready for practice plans for the next day.” Tairia said. “We do a good job of not bringing the stress of the job home with us.”

Courtesy of CSUN Media Relations

CSUN softball head coach Tairia Flowers holds her son, Jayce, following a game against UC Riverside on May 8, 2011. Flowers, who is married to CSUN women’s basketball head coach Jason Flowers, was hired during the summer of 2010.

Jason Flowers: “She’s a saint having to deal with me.” Prior to Jason’s arrival at CSUN, the women’s basketball program was mostly an object of banter around campus due to its four-wins-per-season average. While the Matadors continued to struggle during Jason’s rookie campaign, he’s managed to have a complete turnaround during 2011-12. CSUN, which only won 13 games from 200710, is 14-10 and in first place in the Big West Conference this season. “It’s just amazing. It’s a testament to how hard he works and how much pride he takes in his coaching,” Tairia said. “He’s meant to coach. He’s shown the girls they can win.” It’s true. The Matadors are

flowers timeline 2001 - Tairia and Jason start dating while at UCLA. 2003 - Tairia and Jason get married. 2004 - Jason becomes assistant coach at LBSU. 2007 - Tiara becomes assistant coach at LBSU. 2008 - Jason becomes assistant at UC Riverside. 2010 - Tairia and Jason’s son, Jayce, is born. 2011 - The Flowers become head coaches at CSUN.

legit. But at a cost. Jason’s winning coaching style is a bit, per se, “blunt.” “I’m upfront, blunt, vocal,” Jason said. Tairia, whose softball squad recorded four wins over NCAA Tournament-participating teams last season, is different in that sense. Unlike Jason, she doesn’t “wear emotions on her sleeve.” “They say opposites attract,” Jason said. “I think if she was anything like me, uh, it’d be a lot of problems in the house. “She’s a saint having to deal with me.” People usually don’t choose the person they want to form a family with out of the goodness of their hearts, though. Tairia, whom Flowers called a “genuinely good person,” saw something in Jason that made her want to take the big step into a life together. It was Jason’s “confidence.” “He just has non-stop confidence,” Tairia said. “The way he carries himself, the way he talks. In the department he’s been known for being a little bit of a smack talker, but at the same time he backs it up.” It wasn’t confidence at first sight, though. The couple spent a year as friends while attending UCLA as student athletes before starting to date in the summer

of 2001. Two years later, Jason and Tairia got married. Their coaching careers took them all over Southern California. Tairia started at UC Riverside in 2006 while Jason was at Long Beach State. Then Tairia went to Long Beach just as Jason accepted a job offer from the Highlanders. Now they’re both at CSUN. Tairia is still trying to build a winner while Jason seems to have already gotten there. Almost everything is as perfect as can be. There’s just one small detail that bugs Tairia. “I like to watch all his games, and I want to be as supportive as possible,” Tairia said. “Our seasons are starting to overlap. The (Big West) Tournament is coming up and I’m not going to be around as much because I have my own things going on. “To me, that’s the only downfall: I can’t be there in the stands every time and watching every one of (Jason’s) successes.” It’s no wonder Jason’s made winners out of these Matadors. He’s a winner. No bigger proof than the woman watching him from the stands every time she can. “She’s a really good person. That was evident from the beginning,” Jason said.

Sundial File Photo

Jason Flowers poses during a November photo shoot. Flowers says his coaching style is “upfront and blunt” and credits his wife Tairia for having a “better poker face.”