Daily Titan February 8, 2011

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Vol. 89 Issue 4

February 8, 2011

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Becoming a second-time poker king John Rivera, winner of last year’s Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament on campus, competes for a second time

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The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

Putting an end to procrastination Eliminating the constant struggle between scholastic success and the countless distractions that stand in the way The Problem WILLIAM CHEN Daily Titan

Photo courtesy of Public Affairs President Gordon who has been with Cal State Fullerton since 1990 is on deck to be evaluated this school year.

The start of a new semester invites students to begin afresh. What is done is in the past and the new semester awaits further achievements. However, the old enemy “procrastination” continues to try to derail students from their diligent studies.

A research study conducted by the Psychological Bulletin in 2007 by Piers Steel revealed that roughly 80 to 95 percent of college students engage in procrastination. One of the causes, indicated by the research, is distractibility. Online videos, Web surfing, iPods and Blackberries are some venues of distractions in the tech-savvy culture today, according to an article in

USA Today. Cal State Fullerton staff and students recognize procrastination as a problem that needs to be battled. Although this is a large problem, both parties provide hope that developing new habits can prevent procrastination. The Suggestion Peggy Bockman, the assistant dean for Student Affairs, suggests

students do more than time management. “What I think is important is self-management,” Bockman said. “[Self–management] is where people need to assess themselves and their surroundings and figure out how they are going to prioritize based on their own individual experience.” Bockman oversees the advising center and through her years working with an eclectic range of stu-

CSUF Salsa Club: Dancing to a different tune

Milton Gordon to be reviewed by CSU Board of Trustees will begin their analysis of the CSUF President’s performance

dents, from careful planners to confused plotters, she has found it is more important for students to balance the different responsibilities in their lives as a whole. Although she sees the need for selfmanagement and planning for the semester, she also understands sometimes life is just hard. Therefore, she compassionately works with students on academic probation. “I approach academic advising to that special population from the vantage point that something has gotten in the way of their doing their best work,” Bockman said. She sees the need to care for the discouraged, but at the same time encourage others to plan and manage their lives. She believes self-management should be an ongoing practice for an individual’s life. Brenda Garcia, a senior Spanish major, has found that being married, having a part-time job and being a student requires her to create a detailed calendar. “The calendar is my best friend,” Garcia said. Garcia only has the nighttime to study after doing certain house chores. “I usually leave time at the end of the day to study and review for the class I had that particular day,” Garcia said. Garcia is fortunate to be able to manage those weighty tasks, but that doesn’t mean everyone has developed an effective way to balance their lives. See TIME, page 2

FRANCES LEE Daily Titan

President Milton Gordon will be reviewed by the CSU Board of Trustees this May in regards to his leadership and the current state of affairs at Cal State Fullerton. Every president within the CSUs is reviewed every year in a conference with the chancellor. Every three years a paper review is conducted and every six years a more labor-intensive review is conducted by a team of four individuals. The team, which includes one trustee and three others (who could be retired presidents from other systems or former faculty), will spend one day on the CSUF campus. They will interview some 40 individuals that are chosen by Chancellor Reed’s chief-of-staff, Sandra George. These individuals are randomly selected by George from a list of 100 people connected with the university and community. “It’s a good, fair process; we do a thorough job,” George said. “We do the same kind of review on every (CSU) campus.” See GORDON, page 2

WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS Mandatory Early Start Program ........................................3 OPINION Is law school a good idea for you? ........................................4 FEATURES Singapore-style food truck serves downtown Fullerton ........................................5 SPORTS Titan lacrosse dominates USC in homegame ........................................8

Fearing for family stuck in Egypt Sara Nasr assembles a candlelight vigil to raise awareness of the cause in Egypt MARK SAMALA / Daily Titan The Salsa Club executes a sample performance during the Homecoming event located in front of the Titan Gym. For full story see SALSA CLUB page 5.

Women’s tennis falls hard to Rainbow Wahine In a blowout non-conference game with Hawaii, the Titans fall in their fifth match of the season ARIANNE CUSTERS Daily Titan

On Feb. 5 the Cal State Fullerton women’s tennis team had three doubles and six singles matches against the University of Hawaii. “Keep up the energy. Keep up the thinking,” were the starting words of encouragement from CSUF Head Coach Bill Reynolds. Keeping an eye on all three doubles matches, Reynolds suggested approaches to cutting off the opposing teams’ serving methods. “Try not to back up on the deep balls. Move forward,” said Reynolds. “Let’s go girls! Let’s battle, come on, you got to believe.” Despite these words of direction and guidance, the Titans lost two of the three doubles matches and all six singles. One point is given for the most match wins in doubles and one point is given per singles match win. Despite this 7-0 defeat, the young team of two freshmen, four sophomores, one junior and one senior learned some lessons. When Megan Sandford came off the first doubles court and slumped on the bench after her loss with fel-

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MARK SAMALA / Daily Titan CSUF’s only victory against Hawaii came from Titan sophomores Tiffany Mai and Monica Rodriguez. Rodriguez, shown above, and Mai claimed the victory, 8-4 at Titan Courts on Feb. 5.

low freshman Morgan McIntosh, Reynolds said, “I think the emotions got the best of you.” Through frustrations of the outcome, Stanford did not want to give

the coach a high-five after the match. “The most important thing in doubles is how the two players get along. You can have the two best players in the world but if the chem-

istry is not there...” Reynolds said with a shrug. See TITANS, page 8

CYNTHIA RODRIGUEZ Daily Titan

Looking out a window from College Park, there is a scene of tranquility. Students are walking across Commonwealth Avenue with books in their hands and the sunset as a backdrop. In Egypt, sounds of gun shots are heard throughout the day while make-shift firebombs light up the night. Sara Nasr, 23, a public relations major and president of the Middle Eastern Student Society, walks into one of the Daily Titan’s newsrooms in College Park where her interviewers are waiting. According to Tamara Khoury, 21, a nursing major and a board member for Students for Justice in Palestine, Nasr is a mild-tempered person who “sugar coats” things when talking so she won’t come across confrontational. Nasr pulls on the sleeves of her black sweater, a sign of nervousness, for her tardiness. But tardiness is the least of her worries. The government’s reaction to the protesters in Egypt has made Nasr uncertain about the well-being of her family in Cairo. At the time, Egypt’s government cut every form of communication the people had, which made it impossible for Nasr to check on her family. She has family living in New Cairo, Ma’adi and Nasr City, cities within Cairo and not too far from Tahrir Square where CNN reported “11 people dead and more than 900 others injured” on Wednesday and Thursday. See SARA, page 6


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NEWS

February 8, 2011

TIME: AVOIDING GRADE-KILLING DISTRACTIONS TO SUCCEED ...Continued from page 1

DTSHORTHAND California research funds “wasted”

The Big Picture

Lucio’s role as adviser causes her to view the problem of procrastination from the vantage point of graduation. She notices business majors put Business Academic Adviser Michelle Lucio believes that incurring too many off certain classes like calculus, which classes and responsibilities at a time is an important prerequisite to other classes. could actually be detrimental. “The main reason I see students “The thing I emphasize to students is to be realistic about how much they putting things off is because they can handle not only in terms of school are afraid of the subject,” Lucio said. “They are afraid but in their perthey are going to sonal lives,” said “Most of the time when I fail.” Lucio. “Most of She exhorts stuthe time when see students struggling, dents in general I see students they have taken on too to face their fears struggling, they much.” head-on and go to have taken on too the resources availmuch.” able on campus to Lucio advises - Michelle Lucio help them, like students who Business Academic Adviser the professor, work 40 hours a the tutoring week to take no center and acamore than 2 or 3 classes a semester. This is to prevent demic advisers. “I think it is a good practice to see them from an overbearing schedule. In addition to taking fewer classes, an adviser at least once a semester,” she encourages those with a busy life to Lucio said. Lucio believes the advising staff of be diligent in organizing their schedule. Lucio remembers carefully organiz- every department is more than happy ing her schedule during her student to help students to make sure they years in order to juggle the multiple don’t put off classes or misunderstand responsibilities she had during college. the road to graduation. “We are all here to serve the stuShe also believes that a student needs to understand his or her circumstances dents and to make sure they meet in order to progress into diligent plan- their goal of being successful graduates of Cal State Fullerton.” ning. The Consensus

FOR THE RECORD It is the policy of the Daily Titan to correct any inaccurate information printed in the publication as soon as the error is discovered. Any incorrect information printed on the front page will result in a correction printed on the front page. Any incorrect information printed on any other page will be corrected on page 2. Errors on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also will be noted on the online version of the Daily Titan. Please contact Editor-in-Chief Isa Ghani at 657-278-5815 or at dteditorinchief@gmail.com with issues about this policy or to report any errors.

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The Daily Titan is a student publication, printed every Monday through Thursday. The Daily Titan operates independently of Associated Students, College of Communications, CSUF administration and the CSUF System. The Daily Titan has functioned as a public forum since inception. Unless implied by the advertising party or otherwise stated, advertising in the Daily Titan is inserted by commercial activities or ventures identified in the advertisements themselves and not by the university. Such printing is not to be construed as written or implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such commercial enterprises. The Daily Titan allocates one issue to each student for free. Copyright ©2011 Daily Titan

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MARK SAMALA / Daily Titan The Cal State Universities are in the planning stages of both the Doctor of Nursing Practice and Doctor of Physical Therapy pilot programs, intended to meet the increased demand for higher education in the medical field.

Pilot programs in medicine CSU Board of Trustees approves planning of two new doctorate degrees ANDREW KWOK Daily Titan

The CSU Board of Trustees approved the planning of both Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) pilot programs Wednesday, Jan. 26. A southern DNP program would be offered jointly by Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach and Los Angeles campuses, with Fresno and San Jose State sharing a northern division, and San Diego State offering an independent program, if approved by the chancellor after further review, according to the CSU Public Affairs Office. The DPT pilot programs are proposed to include Fresno and San Diego State, Cal State Long Beach, Northridge and Sacramento. California adopted laws AB 867, which allowed the CSUs to offer an independent DNP, and AB 2382, allowing the CSUs to offer DPT programs, last year. The proposed DNP programs are intended to fill the increasing need for nursing faculty and to prepare nursing students for the rising academic standards of accrediting bodies in the field, according to the CSU Public Affairs Office. “Our current advanced practice nurses that were preparing at the master’s level now will need to be prepared at the doctoral level,” said Cindy Greenberg, chair of the CSUF Department of Nursing. B.J. Snell, director of Women’s Health Care Concentration, said fields such as nursing, physical therapy, medicine, pharmacy and occupational therapy are all on a trend to move to the doctorate level for entry to practice.

Beginning in 2015, the National Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education will only grant accreditation to programs offering doctorate degrees, according to the CSU. Greenberg said that the increasing complexities in health care have demanded higher education, especially in practice. The relatively new DNP is a practice-based degree, in contrast to the doctorate in nursing, which is primarily focused on research, according to Greenberg. “The ultimate result is better health care and better outcomes for the population,” Greenberg said. The new DNP programs would also help contribute to the faculty pool, as teaching courses and curriculum strategies would be required, Greenberg said. Shortages in faculty have led to students being turned away from entering the nursing field, which was one of the primary reasons that the CSU made top legislative priorities of getting AB 867 and AB 2382 passed, according to Erik Fallis, CSU Media Relations specialist. “In any university that I have ever been in, there continues to be the need for doctorally prepared faculty,” said Snell. Although the pilot DNP programs must still be reviewed for budget and feasibility examination before approval at the chancellor’s level, the doctorate level degrees will be built from existing bachelor’s and master’s programs, using existing resources provided by the departments, Fallis said. If approved, the DNP and DPT programs can be offered as soon as 2012. Greenberg said the CSUF Nursing Department would work within the university’s budget to offer the DNP program.

GORDON: REVIEW OF PRESIDENT UNDERWAY ...Continued from page 1 According to past reviews, the criteria includes the “overall management of the university, relations on campus and within the system, educational leadership, community relations, major achievements of the campus and president, and personal characteristics of the president.” Students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members may also submit a confidential letter to the chancellor that will be summarized and presented to President Gordon during the review. The letters must stick to the listed criteria on the campus website and must be signed.

“I feel great about the review because I’m fairly confident that I’m going to be presented with positive comments,” said Gordon. “I know I’ll get some negative ones but the positive comments will outweigh the negative ones.” Gordon added that within the past six years, he expanded the student body and built numerous buildings throughout the campus, including Mihaylo Hall, the Rec Center, Child Care Center and a third residence hall. Although many members of the faculty and staff declined to comment on the outcome of the review, the student body was eager to share what they thought of the president.

CORRECTION For the article entitled “Committee plans courtyard redesign,” published in the Daily Titan on Feb. 7, 2011: It was reported on Page 3 that Kurt Borsting is the director of the TSC. Borsting is the director of the TSU. It was also reported that Megan Morrison is a committe chair. Morrison is the TSC board chair.

“I receive the mass emails and statements from President Gordon, but that is all the interaction I have had with him,” said Sean McReynolds, 23, a political science major. “As a political science major, I correlate the happenings at CSUF with how I view political officials. As government officials are deeply connected with constituents, I think the president of our school should be involved with the student body. I’d like to see him go around and show his face. It might bring the student body together.” Gordon’s last review was in May 2006, which concluded that he was a “highly respected president of CSUF” and “admired and respected by all constituent groups.” The review included his expansion of the student body from 25,000 students to over 35,000 students. He also opened the El Toro campus to accommodate the growth and a new parking structure to alleviate parking tension among students. Those that wish to submit a letter for President Gordon’s review may do so by addressing it to Dr. Charles B. Reed at 401 Golden Shore, Suite 641, Long Beach, CA 90802.

According to a recent report from the state legislative analyst, California taxes, normally paid as a surcharge included in residential electricity bills, may have been wasted on what they are describing as “questionable research.” Californians have been paying roughly 2 percent of their electricity bills to fund the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research program since 2001. Of that accumulated funding, about 10 percent of the total was spent through grants. The report from the state legislative analyst questions how the $700 million that went to these grants relate to energy. According to a report from KABC, supporters of the surcharge, which just expired in January, argue that the PIER program had a positive effect in helping drive development of energy-efficient commercial fryers and move California to CFL light bulbs. Hearings have been scheduled later this month where the California Energy Commission will have to justify the questionable research. The hearings will be chaired by state Sen. Alex Padilla (D-San Fernando Valley). Brief by Wesley Nease

Eleven wounded in frat shooting A shooting occurred north of Youngstown State University in Ohio on Sunday, Feb. 6, killing one and leaving 11 people wounded. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Omega Psi Phi fraternity house party had an estimated 50 or more people present early Sunday morning. Party-goers created a “stampede atmosphere” as they tried to escape gunfire. Seven of the victims, including the victim that was shot to death, are students at Youngstown State University. Two suspects are being charged with aggravated murder and 11 counts of felonious assault. Neither of the suspects are students at the university nor members of the fraternity. Brief by Amy Leadbetter

Unrest continues in the Middle East Following the political unrest in Egypt, other Arab countries reconsidered their autocratic governments. Last Tuesday, King Abdullah II of Jordan fired his Cabinet and appointed Marouf Bakhit as the new prime minister to “correct mistakes from the past.” With the dictator in Tunisia removed, it was anticipated that Syria would respond with a revolt of its own. However, the “days of rage” expected to happen on Friday and Saturday against Bashar Assad’s domineering rule were a noshow. The uprisings in the Arab region seem not to influence Syria to revolt. After Saturday afternoon, the security in Damascus decreased tremendously, according the Los Angeles Times. Brief by William Chen


February 8, 2011

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Disruptive students counseled for behavior Students of Concern Committee created to respond to the rising issue of students with poor classroom etiquette and the havoc they create

JESSICA RUBIO For the Daily Titan

A committee designed to respond to students at risk is running full force on the Cal State Fullerton campus to provide the right services and contacts for these students to get help. This group is called the Students of Concern Committee, or the SOCC. This committee was formalized in 2008 after the Virginia Tech massacre, in which a disturbed student killed 32 people in two separate attacks. The SOCC is chaired by the dean of students, with members consisting of the chief of police, one of the lieutenants in the police department, the director of Counseling of Psychological Services (CAPS), the director of Disabled Student Services, the associate dean of Judicial Affairs and the University Council who serves in an advisory capacity to the committee. All members play a major role in the team, ensuring that each student’s case is handled with respect, balancing the needs of the student with the needs of the campus community. Prior to the establishment of the committee in 2008, the committee members were already working together as an unofficial group. Other campuses such as Cal State Long Beach have similar programs and committees designed to help troubled students. According to the Counseling Services website at CSULB, “Each semester, CAPS offers a variety of groups including general counseling groups, women’s issues, grief issues, interpersonal issues and many others.” Dean of Students Lea Jarnagin said that this type of group or committee is not unusual to see on a college campus. “It’s a very normal thing that you would see on a college campus, the idea that there are times when students have a difficult time ... functioning in a way that keeps them successful in the university community,” said Jarnagin. “Students may be a harm to themselves, or they may be acting out in a classroom environment, the library environment, wherever it might be, that draws alarm from other individuals.”

Although the SOCC did not begin as a result of a huge problem on campus, this committee receives various types of referrals from the campus community, usually a faculty or staff member or a colleague in student affairs who may have been approached by a concerned student who is worried for a fellow student. Vivian Tran, a business major, claims that she has witnessed a disruptive student in her classroom environment and hopes to become educated about the resources available to her. When asked if she would approach a faculty member about a student who may be at risk, Tran responded, “Of course, anonymously of course, though.” The SOCC generally doesn’t receive referrals from students or the actual student at risk. The committee’s primary focus is to come together as a collaborative group, share information and ideas and look at all of the information that it has access to as a result of its role on campus. The SOCC members work with the campus community to respond to students in distress and involve a variety of colleagues when appropriate as a result of their professional roles in the university. Response, consultation and education are the three key roles in making sure that this system is carried out in the best interest for the campus community. “We share with one another and talk with one another, identify someone who is going to be a point person to then work with that student, and try to help that student who is in trouble in one way or another,” Jarnagin said. “Not having a formalized system that people know about and being able to coordinate and work with one another in an effective way would make it more difficult to help a student who is in trouble.” The SOCC strives to get the students of CSUF the resources they need, whether those resources are available on campus or within the surrounding community, so that they can become a successful student. Although Kristy Gallegos, 21, a business accounting major, said that she is familiar with the Student

Are you an anxious or demanding student? •

Are you easily agitated?

Do you have irrational fears?

Do you worry excessively?

Do you have an inability to empathize?

Do you have a need for control?

If you answered yes to most of these, you might be a disruptive or overly demanding student in the classroom

Call the Counseling and Psychological Services hotline at 657-278-3040 for counseling.

How do you combat disruptive students? •

Talk to the student in a safe and private place.

Stay calm and collected.

Speak concretely and concisely.

Develop an action plan that addresses the main concern.

• MARK SAMALA / Daily Titan Disruptive students cause tension in the classroom enviorment. The SOCC strives to counsel and help these types of students succeed.

Health and Counseling Center, she is unaware of the SOCC on campus and is not familiar with the resources concerning students at risk. “If I noticed a disturbed student in my classroom I would inform a faculty member through email, of course,” said Gallegos. The committee constantly tries to balance helping the individual student

without the need to have the student disrupt the educational environment. A tangible resource that is available to all students, faculty and staff is the “Helping Students in Distress Manual” created in 2008 by the Women’s Center and the Student Health and Counseling Center. This resource can be found on the front page of the CSUF Student

Health and Counseling Center website. The SOCC also encourages a student who knows of a student in distress to reach out to someone who works on campus and call the University Police by dialing 911, or students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Student Health and Counseling Center on campus by visiting Fullerton.edu/SHCC.

Respond quickly with clear limits to disruptive behavior

For more information refer to the Helping Students In Distress Manual located on the front page of the CSUF Student Health and Counseling Center website.

Extra classes for freshmen CSU to mandate remedial courses for low scoring incoming students ALLY BORDAS For the Daily Titan

In early 2010, the CSU Board of Trustees voted that all 23 CSU campuses must create and implement new programs in remedial English and math. CSU campuses were given until Nov. 19, 2010, to come up with an individual strategy in accordance to the needs of their universities. These mandatory early start plans will go into full effect by summer 2012 with complete implementation by summer 2014 after the Chancellor’s Office reviews each CSU program, according to the Access and Equity Group. Ed Trotter, Cal State Fullerton’s acting associate vice president for CSUF undergraduate programs; Javier Ramirez, M.F.A., student retention services to CSUF; Kimberly King, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Cal State University Los Angeles; and Steve Teixeira, Academic Professionals of California for the CSU, came together for a discussion on Friday, Dec. 3, to discuss the details of the Mandatory Early Start Program. The forum was called “Advocating for Educational Access, Quality and Equity Session,” and the main focus was to educate all attendees on the positives and negatives of the Mandatory Early Start Program, MESP. The office signed an Executive Order that establishes “a program for CSU admitted freshmen who have not demonstrated proficiency in mathematics and/or English as established by the CSU faculty.” The order states, “as of summer 2012, incoming freshman who have not demonstrated proficiency in English and/or mathematics will be required to begin remediation prior to the term for which they have been admitted.” According to a PowerPoint presentation put together from reports written by the California Faculty Association, UCLA Civil Rights Project and Academic Professionals of California, Cal State University Dominguez Hills needs 91 percent remediation, CSULA needs 89 percent remediation and Cal State University San Bernardino needs 75 percent remediation. CSUF falls between the highest and lowest remediation percentages. Trotter said that the CSU aims to

aid all incoming students. “There are a lot of issues here. But I know the people who started this (program) wanted to help people of color,” said Trotter. “We tend to ethnitize everything, when in fact whites are amongst the second largest group that are in dire need of remediation,” said Teixeira. To decide whether or not a student is remedial, “the CSU will take a look at test scores on the Early Assessment Program taken at the end of 11th grade in a California public high school, or the Entry Level Mathematics Exam and/or the English Placement Test taken during their senior year of high school,” Order 1078 states. “Remedial students did not fail to prepare for CSU. Remedial students are the majority. Remediation can be seen as a social justice remedy because if remedial eduction was not available in the CSU then many fewer students would have access to a college educa-

Remedial students did not fail to prepare for CSU. Remedial students are the majority.” - Kimberly King, Ph.D. Cal State Los Angeles

tion in California,” said King. Teixeira feels that the MESP just raises the level for the students that have always had an unequal everything. “It is a very cumbersome process right now. But it is the Trustees’ policy and it was passed by the Board of Trustees, so no matter what it will start in the summer 2012,” Trotter said. Dr. King stated that according to the Chancellor’s Executive Order 1048, if students do not participate in the remedial summer program prior to their expected start date, they cannot attend a CSU. “If (students) have not started to address a deficiency in either mathematics and/or English, they will not be permitted to enroll at the CSU campus of their admission unless they have applied for an exception and the requirement has been waived due to extraordinary circumstances,” Order 1078 states. In the Programmatic Requirements

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section of Order 1078, it says that the remediation requirement does not require that students demonstrate a proficiency at the end of the summer, “only that remediation has begun.” Joe Lopez, president and CEO of Associated Students Inc., asked the panel, “Are there any people within the CSU, other than those present, that are advocating for students?” Order 1078 also addresses the issues of financial aid for remedial students. “Matriculated students who are required to enroll in remediation during the summer immediately after high school and immediately preceding the fall term shall be classified as early entrants,” the Order states. Early entrant students can qualify for financial aid if they meet six specific CSU conditions and they try to qualify for a Pell Grant. Teixeira is afraid that “MESP will become too much of a dollar opportunity as far as extended education is concerned.” “A lot of us don’t have a problem with this, except for the fact that it’s mandatory and it seems like it’s just another admissions requirement that penalizes students who have already been cheated by the educational system,” King said. Trotter did not deny the fact that parents and students alike will have concerns. “I cannot believe that when this hits it will survive. But people above me have control over this mandate.” The panel, at the end of the discussion, directed its concerns toward the government: “If President Bush and President Obama bailed out the banks, insurance companies and automobile companies, why not have a real bailout for public education?” King said there are many things everyone can do in regards to MESP. “First, understand the problem and get informed. Hold campus meetings for people who care about this, collect public data, that way we can push our leaders to commit to quality public education.” Chancellor Charles B. Reed of the CSU signed Order 1078 on June 11, 2010. The CSU is currently reviewing MESP plans submitted by all 23 CSUs and is planning on beginning campus implementation in February 2011. dailytitan.com/news

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OPINION

February 8, 2011

Hippie Health How the SHCC can help you too by NICOLE FELTON

“How to Live a Greener Life”

Get offline and sleep Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all go back to preschool when we had a designated nap time? Sleep is one more thing we are robbed of while growing up and entering adulthood. The recommended amount of sleep an adult should get each night is no less than eight uninterrupted hours. According to Harvard Health Publications, the average person is sleeping less than six hours a night. This lack of sleep can result in health problems such as high blood pressure, weakened immune system and weight gain. According to Harvard Health Publications, there are six important reasons to turn off Facebook and sleep for more than two hours each night: • Learning and Memory- It’s the night before a midterm and you decide the best tactic will be to pull an all-nighter so you will be able to retain all the information you read over the course of the night. Wrong. Studies have shown that sleeping after you learn information will increase your ability to memorize and recall the information when you wake up. So instead of drinking endless amounts of coffee and energy drinks, go over the information you need to know for the exam and sleep! • Metabolism and Weight- This might be the easiest way to control your metabolism and keep off the extra pounds. Get ready for it: Sleep. When you do not get the recommended eight hours of sleep, the process in which our bodies store carbohydrates is disrupted. The change to this process will alter the hormone levels and affect our appetite when we wake up. • Safety- Cal State Fullerton is a commuter school, so as most of us get into our cars with a lack of sleep, we put ourselves and everyone else on the road in danger. Chronic sleep deprivation can also be dangerous to occupational safety. • Mood- Not getting enough sleep will result in an inability to concentrate, irritability, and impatience. Be-

ing tired brings out the worst in our personalities and leaves us feeling that we cannot complete our normal daily tasks. • Cardiovascular Disease- This is a serious condition that can be a direct result from lack of sleep. Sleep disorders increase strain that is placed on our heart, and over time this can become a serious health problem. • Disease- Lack of sleep decreases your body’s ability to fight off disease. The immune system is affected and not able to make cells to ward off infections and disease. Most of you might think that it is impossible to fall asleep before 2 a.m., but you may just need to change your nightly routine. First of all, get off the computer. Sitting on the computer for hours before you try and sleep might seem draining. In fact, it actually makes it more difficult to fall asleep. If you are tired during the day and have enough time to take a nap, do it. While you’re at school and have a long break, don’t be afraid to fall asleep on the large grass fields Fullerton has to offer. I won’t judge you; hippies do it all the time. The environment in which you sleep will make all of the difference. Create an environment that is relaxing; leave everything work (stress) related outside of the bedroom. Make sure the room you are sleeping in is completely dark. Simple, but it works. The temperature of the room will affect your sleep patterns; try to keep the room at a cooler temperature of 65 degrees. Try to finish your dinner at least two to three hours before you try to sleep. You need time to digest everything you ate. Avoid drinking alcohol or caffeine before sleeping; it can keep you awake for hours before it wears off. Exercise at least two hours before you sleep. By then the natural high will have worn off and your body will be tired. Sleep is precious and refreshes our bodies each night. So get your beauty sleep everyone. You need it. Peace, love and recycle!

The Student Health and Counseling center is a wonderful yet widely over-looked resource for students in need of anything from basic medical care to physical therapy

CARMEN VARNER Daily Titan

The beautiful, bright blue skies on Oct. 14, 2010 misled me into thinking it was going to be a good day. However, unlike every other day of my life, it hurt to breathe. The pain was coming from my back, below the “chicken wing” area also known as the scapula—on my right side. I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to move; I ached too much. Why was I in pain? I tried to hold back my tears, the tears of anguish. Every minuscule breath in and every tiny breath out felt like a dagger in my back. The pain began on this day, but re-

The employment statistics for law school graduates are misleading ARIANNE CUSTER Daily Titan

Heavy student loans are leaving some law school graduates wondering what was the point of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on getting their degree if they can’t even get a job after graduation—especially a job in the law industry, or at least one with the expected starting salary. The most recent U.S. News statistics of employed law school graduates are impressive. At 93 percent, the number is almost a 10 percent improvement from the original 1997 publishing of the U.S. News statistic called “Graduates Known to be Employed Nine Months After Graduation.” However, the number is misleading.

Crowded classrooms: A side effect of budget cuts CHRISTOPHER PARK Daily Titan

One of my professors is in the middle of implementing an insane idea for her class: she wants to divide the class into two, so that 40 of us come on one of the class days and the other 40 of us come on the other. Personally, it sounds like a really creative idea to make the class less impersonal and more engaging (Oh, right, and the whole “Class just once a week!? Hells yeah!” definitely comes into play.) But it highlights a problem that basically the entirety of Cal State Fullerton seems to be having: there are too many of us and there are not enough classes to accommodate everyone. With a number of undisclosed classes being cut last year according to the Orange County Register, the problem is only exacerbated. Overcrowding starts to look like a legitimate problem when I’m investing more attention to the adamant people standing throughout an entire lecture because of how impressed I am by the sheer determination of it all. Then again, it’s not entirely abnormal to see classes packed with eager students. That’s just how college is sometimes. There’s a reason why we have those Roman Colosseum-esque lecture halls for some of the heavily-

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off the pain, which had not lessened—for a more specialized doctor visit. He determined it would be best for me to go through physical therapy on campus and gave me a recommendation. This recommendation slowly nursed me back to health. I went to physical therapy a couple times a week for the entire semester, and it only cost me $35 out of pocket. Physical therapy consisted of receiving an ultrasound on my back, a deep tissue massage and mainly lying down on a hot-pad while something attached to my back pulsed. I was saved! I finally used the wonderful facilities we have on campus. The SHCC is a fantastic resource. I couldn’t believe I had never used it sooner. I am not specialized in the field

of physical therapy, so I don’t know what was going on, but it worked for me. Over time, the pain subsided. By the very end of the semester, it went away completely. Now I mention the SHCC to anyone. According to the SHCC school website, students may go for any basic medical care: minor surgery, first aid, Family PACT reproductive health, pap exams, pregnancy tests, HIV tests and eye exams. There are specialized services consisting of acupuncture, chiropractics, optometry, orthopedics and psychiatry. As students we are given access to an excellent staff who are here to help us. We will not always have such a resource readily available. I strongly recommend for the students of this fine establishment to use what we are already paying for in our tuition.

Think twice before applying to law school

BRIAN YAMAMOTO / Daily Titan Every seat in this communications class seen above was filled even after several students dropped the course.

requested classes, but just because that’s how it is, it doesn’t necessarily make it right. Back to my professor’s crazy, awesome idea: The reasoning behind it was that her intersession class for this course did tremendously well and only 24 students were in it. Basically, smaller classes equate to greater involvement from students and the professor. This is anecdotal evidence more than anything, but the class average was apparently so good that she’s willing to cut basically half the semester for all of us if that means there’s far less of us in any given class day. And I think that’s the principal problem with crowded classes. When there’s so much of us to teach with only one professor at the helm, the entire experience of learning and attaining new knowledge suffers as a result. We’re blasted with words, phrases and definitions and, while we do what we can to absorb it all, there’s very little opportunity to actively apply it in active discussion and class activities. See, the problem isn’t a physical one. It’s not like we’re scrunched up elbow-to-elbow struggling to even write a single note down. No, the problem is how a professor’s message gets diluted when trying to reach hundreds at a time, to get them to listen and to care.

mained with me for many months. I didn’t have any idea what to do, so I used the only resource I knew existed: the Student Health and Counseling Center. I slowly got dressed and eventually made my way to school. When I finally reached campus, I realized I had no idea where the SHCC was; I’d never been there. I found a friend who escorted me to the building. I was told to fill out some online work; there were computers in the lobby students could use to do so. When I was done, I was sent inside. I found where I was supposed to go, and I waited for my name to be called. The meeting with the doctor was brief. I suppose it was a general visit to see what my problem was. I went again a couple days later—holding

Take, for example, a quote from the Sacramento Bee from Cal State Sacramento student Stayza Albrecht: “I shouldn’t have to sit in the hallway and not hear anything.” It’s a common scenario, isn’t it? It’s also awfully impersonal. When the professor doesn’t know someone by name because of the sheer amount of students in a class, it gets me to care less. Maybe it’s just me, but if a professor knows me and even strikes up a water-cooler chat before the start of class, I suddenly start thinking, “Oh god, I hope I don’t disappoint this guy,” and then I wind up getting a good grade. Usually. I know that, for the most part, crowding will continue to be an issue. Factor in more budget cuts, which leads to cut classes, which then leads to students taking a completely avoidable semester if it weren’t for the cuts, which leads to more of us still attending college, which finally takes us to the issue we have now. It’s a bummer to know that this isn’t a problem that will be fixed anytime soon, so we’ll have to do what we can. Sit up in front, tell the person next to you to hold onto the batteries to your phone and listen as if everything depended on it, like your ability to graduate, which is probably true anyway.

David Segal’s article “Is Law School a Losing Game?” in The New York Times quotes law professor William Henderson of Indiana University as saying that “Enron-type accounting standards have become the norm.” Henderson is referring to the fact that the survey’s guidelines, established by the American Bar Association and the National Association for Law Placement, include any kind of employment law graduates have nine months after graduation. That includes jobs that don’t require a high school diploma, let alone a law degree, such as a grocery clerk or burger flipper. The reason for this deception, as Segal points out in his article, is that law schools need law students to keep their doors open. He further emphasizes that even schools that have lower yearly tuition, in the $40,000 range, make bank because they do have the same need for equipment as other majors’ departments do. Segal even suggests that universities’ law schools compensate for less lucrative majors. So of course law schools want to

put out impressive statistics on employment after graduation to encourage students to pursue a law degree. The problem is that the debt students acquire to get that far is too great for those who believed in that statistic, but weren’t able to get that law position with a promising salary within the first few months after graduation. One of those recent law graduates is Jason Bohn, who was interviewed by Segal for his article. Bohn has a staggering student loan debt of more than $200,000. Although Bohn accrued most of this debt as an undergraduate and while working on a master’s degree at Columbia University, Segal reports the debts Bohn accrued while attending Columbia Law and the University of Florida certainly didn’t help. In addition, as Segal points out, Bohn is only earning $33 an hour as a legal temp in contrast to the starting salary most colleges quote. As Segal’s article states, schools such as Harvard, Yale and even law schools that don’t make it into the U.S. News Top 40 claim that graduates ought to expect a

median starting salary of $160,000 in the private sector. That breaks down to $76 an hour. Bohn is making less than half of that. And keep in mind that even though Bohn’s current annual salary as a legal temp will average to about $68,600 a year, there are other bills to be paid besides student loans. He and other law graduates will likely need to make a house or rent payment, buy groceries, fill up the gas tank and pay other living costs in addition to paying the interest on sizable school loans - loans that can accumulate in the hundreds of thousands of dollars while acquiring the schooling needed to obtain a law degree. Granted, employment is hard to get no matter what industry you’re vying for. But when law schools are quoting statistics that mislead students into believing that not only will there be a job waiting for them when they graduate, but one with a hefty starting wage, they are creating an illusion that may not turn into reality… well, at least not at the rate that they are claiming.


FEATURES

February 8, 2011

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Poker King John Rivera tries to win the Poker Tournament on campus twice in a row WILLIAM CHEN Daily Titan

MARK SAMALA / Daily Titan With a professional instructor, members of the CSUF Salsa Club receive quality training.

Salsa Club gets makeover STEPHANIE GOMEZ Daily Titan JOHNNY LE / Daily Titan John Rivera won the Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament in the Titan Student Underground last semester and is attempting to win it again this semester.

He slightly peels his cards back while covering them with his other hand. He glances around for a couple of seconds. Finally, he discards them to the center of the table and shuffles his chips while he patiently waits for his next hand. John Rivera, 20, is a third-year business marketing major who delights in playing Texas Hold ‘em. He has found an outlet for his passion in the Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament sponsored by Titan Bowl and Billiards. The tournament first started at Cal State Fullerton in the spring of 2006. Ken Maxey, manager of Titan Bowl and Billiards, noticed a growing popularity nationwide in the game of poker. “Poker has been made popular by the World Poker Tour, and the telecast of the World Series of Poker on ESPN has helped spur the popularity of it,” Maxey said. Maxey first implemented the program after attending a workshop at the Association of College Union International (ACUI) regional conference. Ever since then, the tournament has received a popular turnout. There are eight tournaments throughout the

semester that culminate to the Tournament of Champions at the end. The Tournament of Champions is the final tournament where the tournament winners and other high-point leaders meet to contest for a trophy. Rivera, the winner of the Tournament of Champions last semester, returns this semester to contend once again to win the final tournament. Although Rivera used to play soccer in high school, he fell out of love with the sport and awakened a passion for poker in college. He was first introduced to poker two years ago while watching his friend play online. He has become a poker fanatic ever since. “I like that you have to out-think your opponent because it’s usually the one that out-thinks his opponent that usually wins the pot,” Rivera said. The pot is the chip earnings at the end of every round that goes to the winner of that round. Rivera reads books on poker in order to master what he considers his new sport. Before the tournament he was quite calm and confident. Rivera had music channeling through his headphones before the tournament and kept one headphone on through-

out the night. The various books he reads have finely tuned his strategy. He begins by playing “tight,” meaning he folds, or discards, most cards. When other players presume his conservative style, he starts playing “loose,” meaning he plays more of his hands. “When you get caught bluffing, then you get back in tight for a little bit,” Rivera said. Bluffing is where a player pretends to have a good hand in an attempt to force other players to discard their hands. Rivera repeats this cycle to be as unpredictable as possible. The game of poker also requires luck at times. Rivera remembers winning with an unexpected hand. “I had a two and a seven suited and I made a flush at the end,” Rivera said. “I wanted to bluff the guy at the end and luckily I hit the flush. He was not very happy to see my hand afterwards.” Rivera won that hand by getting a “flush,” or five cards of the same suit in conjunction with a player’s hand. Though he takes poker seriously, he also enjoys joking, interacting and meeting other players in the tournament.

Jane Ccaihuari, student manager of the poker tournament, tries to create an environment where friendships are built at these tournaments. “A lot of people don’t know that many people on campus, so it’s a good way for students to get to know each other,” Ccaihuari said. She began the evening by having all the players of the same table introduce one another and share how their winter break went. “I think it’s good to do an icebreaker because it’s fun playing, but it’s even better if you get to meet someone,” Ccaihuari said. She even witnessed romance spark to form a couple, who met each other through the tournament. As for Rivera, his goal at the moment is to turn 21 as soon as possible. “I’m like the only friend that’s not 21,” Rivera said. “It’s starting to get annoying.” For now he can aspire to win the Tournament of Champions again this semester. He might make history because a repeat has never happened in the Tournament of Champions. The next general tournament is Feb. 16.

Cal State Fullerton has a Salsa Club and it has gotten a recent makeover. “In all honesty, there was a club before, but the direction it was going in was completely the opposite direction,” said Joshua Mendoza, 27, club president, former marine and finance and ISDS double major. “We changed the name and did everything so it was almost like we reinvented the club. So, that’s why I say it’s new.” The CSUF Salsa Club’s goal is to give students the opportunity to have quality dance instruction at an affordable price. At the monthly meet-ups, members can learn a series of dance steps, practice and engage in a fun social setting with their peers. With a meeting space in the works, solid plans for the weekly and monthly meetings are TBA. However, Mendoza urges students to keep an eye out for information coming soon. “Salsa is a skill and it’s also a luxury so it’s something really hard to learn and it costs money. Because it’s a luxury, it can get expensive. That’s why our club does as much as we can to subsidize the fees,” Mendoza said. The cost for membership is $25 for the semester with the club meet-ups. For weekly workshops it is an additional $25 per month. Mendoza pointed out that at a dance studio, the cost can be around $12 an hour, whereas this

club price is about half. The Salsa Club works on subsidizing member’s dues through fundraisers of their own. “I was kinda swindled into it,” Mendoza said on how he became club president, but is glad he has had the opportunity. “With all that said and done, I have learned so much. I really appreciate my position. We have a full board this semester.” “The bottom line is helping each other learn as much and coming together as a community: unity through salsa and having fun,” Mendoza said, suggesting that the club is about bringing the salsa community to campus and building relations within the student body and surrounding areas. Kazumi Devrias has instructed the salsa club since its start in summer 2010, but has been a salsa instructor for six years. She looks forward to focusing on a salsa competition. “Long Beach took many, many years to get there so I want to shorten our time. That is my goal,” Devrias said. “As students, you can’t beat this price and quality and getting to know each other in a social setting. It’s exercise and having fun and half the price.” Griselda Romero, 20, undeclared major, is not in the salsa club but is a member of the CSUF club Circle K International. “I think they are getting a better deal here at school because they’re not just going for one time, they are going for the whole semester,” Romero said when asked if the instruction and price would attract students to the club.

JOHNNY LE / Daily Titan With a black and orange tiger-striped design, Chomp Chomp Nation serves Singapore-style street food in Downtown Fullerton.

Chomp Chomp Nation serves up something unique FLOR EDWARDS Daily Titan

When restaurant consultants Robert Zuetell and USC graduate Shaunn Ng decided to open a food truck in Orange County, they had one goal in mind: To create something unique, something that had not been served up by all the other Korean BBQ food trucks. In an industry now saturated with food trucks roaming every city in Southern California and accessible via Twitter or Facebook, Zuetell, his wife Gina, and Ng were hoping to introduce a new spin on a fresh idea. Ng created a business plan for a Singaporean restaurant as part of his MBA thesis at USC. Zuetell, a selfproclaimed “trend forecaster,” had the street smarts to start a business. After a corporate layoff, Ng decided that he didn’t want to go back to the cubicle, so he did what any smart entrepreneur would do: He gave up his Singaporean citizenship in order to obtain the license to open an OC food truck fashioned after traditional “street hawkers,” or street food a la Singapore. Then the epiphany came. “You’re like a man without a nation,” Zuetell told Ng after he abandoned his citizenship. And that’s

how they came up with the name. “A little Popeye, a little Pac-Man” and a whole lot of Singapore: Chomp Chomp Nation was born on Oct. 10, 2010, the Year of the Tiger. The menu offers dishes like Kaya (coconut-stuffed French toast with a tropical fruit medley), a Singaporestyle “Sloppy Joe,” Singapore satay skewers, and their most popular, the Singapore chili-crab slider seasoned with ginger, lemongrass and kefir lime, served with Tiger Slaw and root chips. “I think it is the right timing to launch a unique exotic brand promoting Singapore food in America,” Ng said. “American consumers as a whole are opening up to more ethnicity (sic) food and Singapore food is still not well known here.” Patrons can expect to pay $3 for an appetizer or dessert and up to $7 for a main dish, which Zuetell describes as “gourmet street hawker favorites with an American twist.” “Even though the price is a little more, people still pay the extra $2,” Zuetell said. Chomp Chomp Nation will be 90 days old this week. They line up and compete with trucks like Bacon Mania, Spudrunners Gourmet Fry Truck and Sushi on Wheels. “It’s healthy competition,” Zuetell said. There are six main OC food

trucks. “You have to start out as the little guy. Three months ago I was the little guy.” Now their truck, painted as a striped orange and black tiger (as in the Year of the Tiger) complete with a face, whiskers and a tail, parades around Orange County stopping at places like the Irvine Farmer’s Market, Bootlegger Brewery (“The food goes good with beer,” Zuetell said) and downtown Fullerton. On Tuesday nights, Chomp Chomp Nation sets up on Amerige Avenue off Harbor in Downtown Fullerton from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Kathleen Linson, 25, a public health graduate student at CSUF, spent time studying at the National University of Singapore. She said the food has “an authentic flavor with an American twist.” “It makes me nostalgic,” said Linson. “I used to eat Kaya every morning for breakfast.” Kaya is a coconut jam usually spread on bread. The only downside? “The price is a little steep, but I’ll definitely be coming back,” Linson said. Chomp Chomp Nation can be found on Twitter and Facebook at Twitter.com/ChompChompTruck and Facebook.com/ChompChompNation. dailytitan.com/features


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February 8, 2011

FEATURES

Israel: A petite, holy country

CARMEN VARNER Daily Titan

Travel has both glamour and grunge. Trekking the globe is a luxury not many folks get to experience. I am lucky to have seen the world on two separate occasions. My last visit abroad was in the summer of 2010 when I had the chance to see Israel, a petite country that I was otherwise ignorant about. I didn’t know anyone who had been there so I had nothing to base my visit on. I knew nothing about the country until I flew there for the first time. Israel is particularly intriguing in that it is the Holy Land for many religions that make pilgrimages there. Muslims visit Mecca, Christians and Jews go to Jerusalem and people of the Bahá’í Faith travel to Haifa. I spent nine days in this holy country. I got to experience its people, buildings, food, language and overall culture longer than any other country I visited. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the majority of Israel’s population is Jewish, the rest being Muslim. On Saturdays, don’t plan on doing anything because most stores are closed for Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. Seriously, everything is closed. Don’t go out. I visited Haifa, Israel, and parts were very reminiscent of lower-class America. Apartment complexes that were once painted white now looked an ashy gray, dirtied by years of layered filth. The ground was littered with trash, a headless doll lying in the gutter. Cigarette butts, ragged clothes and bottle caps were strewn in barren dirt lots. Grungy would be the ideal word to describe Israel, the parts that

CARMEN VARNER / Daily Titan One of the most noticeable aspects of Haifa, Israel is the way the apartment complexes appear dingy and dirty with litter scattered on the ground.

stuck in my brain at least. Cats roamed the streets of Haifa, which I now dub the Land of Felines. I counted dozens throughout my time in the foreign country. I recall seeing two adorable kittens on a street corner. I got closer to take a photo of the Israeli kittens when I realized their eyes were infected, goopy and gross. The wild cats weren’t so

cute anymore, but more like an infestation plaguing the city. Israelis aren’t the meanest people to roam the earth, but they definitely don’t commit to the American standard of customer service I was used to. After going to several countries, I’ll warn you right now: nobody will kiss ass more than Americans to make a buck. Israelis won’t suck up to you

to get your business. You either want their product or you don’t; if you don’t, get out of there because you’re a waste of their time. My food staple in Israel was the falafel, which is essentially a chickpea ball. Yes, that sounds disgusting, but I assure you it’s delicious. In Israel, I often ate falafel sandwiches with pita bread and hummus. As a vegetarian, I was no stranger to the hearty falafel and welcomed them with open arms. However, there were not many other veggie options, so I stuck with what I knew was kosher for my diet. By the end of my stay in Israel, I was falafel-ed out, I ate them every day for one meal or another. Roaming the city in daylight was arduous; it was deathly hot outside. The temperature was in the 100s every day. I vividly remember thinking my face would melt off (like the headless doll I saw in the gutter). Beads of sweat generously rolled off my face, when normally I rarely perspire. The Israeli sun will forever remain fried in my brain, just as it fried my skin. One thing really stuck out to me: all Israelis over the age of 18 must complete time in the Israel Defense Forces -- two years for females and three years for males. I saw so many ladies and gentlemen my age in green uniforms and boots, holding giant scary looking automatic rifles in their arms. I’ll always remember Israel. I’ll remember taking photos of every second, trying to cement each memory in my brain. I’ll remember the summer rays beating down until it turned my skin a lovely shade of tan. I’ll remember the music I was listening to and will forever associate the songs with the country. I’ll remember not going in the Mediterranean Sea because of the dead jellyfish being washed up to shore. I’ll remember everything.

Sharing java and tales from abroad The International Coffee Break brings multicultural chatter and friendship KATHLEEN ROSELL Daily Titan

In the hustle and bustle of the busy school day, there are very few places on campus where a student can take a small break in a relaxing setting. The fast-paced walkways and atriums around campus are loud and crowded and offer little distraction from the demands of schools. The bi­weekly International Coffee Break put on by the Office of International Education and Exchange is a perfect escape that offers a tranquil setting in the quiet nook between University Hall and the Humanities Building. “The goal of the Coffee Break is for the students, staff and faculty to informally meet the international, study abroad and exchange student community on campus,” said Amber Nakamura, an international student adviser. The Coffee Break will start with one or two people gathering around the bright tangerine sign that is

KATHLEEN ROSELL / Daily Titan International students and those who are interested in traveling abroad can meet biweekly at Aloha Java to discuss other countries, languages and cultures while enjoying cups of coffee.

set out on the first available table. Chairs and tables are drawn up as the group expands from two to 20 in a matter of minutes. Very little coffee is actually drunk at the Coffee Break, but every week cookies and international candies are passed around the group as it

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grows. Advisers from the Office of International Education and Exchange are scattered among the Cal State Fullerton students, so any student wishing to ask questions about going abroad or about their stay here at CSUF can ask outside of the threatening setting of formal office. “I appreciate how you can come by and just say hello. You can just meet people and make friends,” Nakamura said. Conversations are struck up with strangers and everyone is welcomed to join in. The topics vary from where the students are from, who has recently had an escapade in Las Vegas or how to swear in Korean. The atmosphere is light-hearted and completely relaxing.

“I think that Coffee Break is a good idea. You can meet people from everywhere, from each country, and you can find some friends and talk about experiences,” said Sibel Oezsoydas, a German exchange student. “I liked meeting people from everywhere and talking about different cultures and languages, and sometimes you can learn sentences in different languages. You can talk about where you have been and which cities you have visited. It’s a nice experience.” However, the Coffee Break is not merely a place where international students can come to meet up and get information. The meeting is also a place where CSUF students who have studied abroad come. They exchange the stories of their trips abroad and encourage the students who are contemplating studying abroad, no matter what country they might be considering. “I did not attend Coffee Break before I studied abroad in Heidelberg, Germany,” said Chris Furukawa, 28, a business major. “Now I have similarities with a lot of the exchange students that attend the Coffee Break. This is a great way to meet people from around the world, where we can get different perspectives of different cultures.” No matter what the reason is, be it to take a break, learn about different cultures or practice your international swear words, the biweekly Coffee Break is a much-needed hour-long rest from the endless days of books and papers. Anyone is welcomed to join the groups every week, weather permitting, Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to noon, or Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. outside Aloha Java.

SARA: Student organizes Egypt vigil

MARK SAMALA / Daily Titan Sara Nasr, a public relations major and president of the Middle Eastern Student Society, has organized a candlelight vigil in honor of the current revolution in Egypt.

she gathered he was scared. She has yet to make contact with anyone else. “My goal is to just make people On those days, David D. Kirkpatrick and Kareem Fahim for more aware that it’s not just mere The New York Times reported protests going on,” Nasr said. “It’s that Mubarak supporters fought actually a revolution against their back with “clubs, rocks, knives government and a war.” It is here that Nasr speaks with and firebombs.” “There was a period of, ‘Oh my confidence. She is no longer tuggoodness, where are they?’” Nasr ging at her sleeves but using her hands to illustrate her point. said. She is organizing a candlelight Nasr equates not being in contact with her family to having vigil to inform the students of Cal someone gone missing, not know- State Fullerton what is going on in ing what is going on and being Egypt. Professor William Haddad, the helpless. She continues to tug on her Middle Eastern Student Society’s sleeves as she talks of the escaped adviser and department chair of criminals and people “who are history, is all for bringing “pubnot in their right mind” roaming lic awareness and democracy to the streets, possibly alongside her Egypt.” “She’s been an excellent leader family. Her best friend’s mom, who to the club, and I applaud her for lives in Ma’adi, which is consid- her efforts in organizing the vigil,” ered a nice area, heard her neigh- Haddad said. Khoury is also very supportive bors being raped by the escaped of what Nasr is putting together. prisoners. “I think it’s awesome,” Khoury When the landlines opened up, Nasr had an eight-hour con- said. “Sara was raised without any versation with the mother while cultural background, so she’s kind machine guns were heard in the of finding these things out for herself.” background. Although “(My best Khoury said friend’s mom) Nasr normally said in the beorganizes culginning her retural events, action was that a Facebook (the situation) event and fliwas crazy and I thought they might ers have been everyone was made for the insane,” Nasr have been dead to be vigil Wednessaid. “Egypt honest. I still think that. I day. has never been Khoury adthrough anyhave no idea. It’s horrible mires the inithing like this. to say, but I have that tiative Nasr Now she’s like took in con‘I wanna get out fear. tacting her to of here.’” help organize Nasr fears -Sara Nasr the vigil. that her own President of the Middle Nasr chose family may be Eastern Student Society a vigil over a going through protest because similar situashe wants to tions. change the im“I thought age of Middle they might Easterners behave been ing viewed as a dead to be violent people, honest. I still think that. I have no idea,” Nasr fitting well with her “nonhostile” confessed. “It’s horrible to say, but way of communicating. Different clubs were asked to I have that fear.” On Wednesday, Feb. 2, Nasr be involved so that every student had her first contact with one empathizing with Egypt can be involved, not just Middle Eastern cousin through Facebook. She assumes the Internet was students. “When it comes to basic rights, available to them that morning. From his short sentence responses, there’s no question,” Nasr said. ...Continued from page 1

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February 8, 2011

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Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Associates all agree to a central change you’ve suggested. Move ahead before anyone changes their mind. You’re glad this is out of the way.

Southwestern Law School invites members of the CSUF student body to a special event on our campus.

CSUF DAY AT SOUTHWESTERN Friday, February 25 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Southwestern Campus 3050 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90010 For more information or to reserve your spot on the bus, contact Aissa Canchola at asboardchair@fullerton.edu by Monday, February 21. Attendees riding by bus should meet on the North Side of the Titan Student Union, by the Alumni House, at 8:45 a.m. Map and directions to Southwestern: www.swlaw.edu/directions

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8

SPORTS

February 8, 2011

Titans scrap away Trojans The Cal State Fullerton men’s lacrosse team opened against Division I opponent USC with a convincing victory

Daily Titan

Brief by Michellee Cooper

Anteaters Edge Titans by Four

WILLIAM CHEN / Daily Titan Titan senior midfielder Andrew Hauke keeps the ball away against a USC defender. Hauke scored a goal and was dominater on face-offs throughout the game against the Trojans.

seven other payers, including seniors Andrew Hauke and JR Grubert, each scored a goal of their own. Hauke was another player that Morrison acknowledged, saying his dominance on the face-offs really helped the Titans pull out the victory. A couple of late goals by USC, including one with nine seconds left in the game, made the box score look a

lot closer than the game actually was. When asked what he thought swung the momentum over to the Titans, sophomore Chris Cole said, “We had more lines than they did. I think we stayed fresher than them.” Cole, like Morrison, praised the play of Kappeler and the defense as a whole. “We were more vocal on defense,” Cole said. “Everyone stepped

TITANS: CSUF claims a solo doubles win, but loses match

up. There is just something about playing USC.” As a sentiment echoed by Cole, Kappeler said, “It’s always awesome to beat USC.” The Titans weren’t staying complacent with the one win over a name opponent like the Trojans, however. When asked what area the team needed improvement on, Morrison said

Daily Titan

ARIANNE CUSTER / Daily Titan Titan sophomores Tiffany Mai and Monica Rodriguez getting ready for their doubles match against Hawaii at Titan Courts.

He continued to tell her, “They need to learn to deal with each other through adversity, victory and when one person is down as a doubles player.” During the doubles games, the Titan teammates were their own cheering squad. They hollered words of support from court to court when they were in between plays or when sitting on the sidelines after their match ended. As the head coach and the rest of the crowd watched the last set, Reynolds urged the doubles team to stay aggressive with those strokes. Just after, the CSUF sophomores Tiffany Mai and Monica Rodriguez successfully won the following point. As the battle between the last opposing doubles teams on the court went on, the Titans chanted, “Come on Tiff, come on Mon, keep fighting.” And they did. There were a lot of exciting, intense returns between CSUF and UH, and the Ti-

tans were able to secure their only match win of the day on the courts. Playing singles on the first court for the Titans was sophomore Tiffany Mai. After an intense battle of returns, Reynolds said, “Good job running down those balls. Next time try to be the offense.” Mai said

“They need to learn to deal with each other through adversity, victory and when one person is down as a doubles player.” - Bill Reynolds Head Coach

she has to put up a good fight and is usually on the defense because she is smaller than her competition. Bridgette Thompson, the assistant coach for UH, encouraged her player Natasha Zorec on the second court.

Contact Us at dtsportsdesk@gmail.com

“Keep using your same game plan that got you here,” said Thompson. Zorec beat Sandford, who again seemed upset and disheartened. When asked what words of advice she would give her freshmen teammates, senior Karina Akmedova said, “I would tell them to just keep their heads up and fight for every match because I know it’s hard as the season goes on. You get tired and your losses get to you, but I would just tell them to keep your head up because it’s a long way to go.” On court four, Akhmedova’s game was as intense and lengthy as Mai’s. However, Head Coach Reynolds, who had been on the other side of the courts watching Mai’s match for most of Akmedova’s game time, only interjected once or twice while observing her challenging returns at the end of her second set. Akhmedova lost the match but played hard and didn’t give up. The Titans will return to action on Feb. 8 at Cal State Northridge.

ball possession. “We got UCLA next week,” Cole said, making sure to focus on what’s ahead. If the Titans hope to down two Div. I foes in a row, they will need to build upon the groundwork from this game. The No. 12 ranked Titans have their next home match-up on Sunday, Feb. 13, against UCLA.

Tennis swept by ranked 49ers in Big West opener MARGARITA CASTELLANOS

...Continued from page 1

Women’s Lose to UC Riverside With a 14-6 run for the Titans, the Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball team came within single digits to slip away from the lead as the Highlanders of UC Riverside captured the win with a score of 74-60. Capping off the night with 17 points and three rebounds was junior guard Megan Richardson, as she moves into the 11th place spot on the CSUF basketball scoring chart. Senior guard Lyndsey Grove ended with 15 points, including two three-pointers, and sophomore forward Lauren Bushong had eight points.

BRAD SALAH Cal State Fullerton men’s Division II lacrosse team opened the regular season with an impressive win against USC on the Titan track Saturday afternoon, beating the Div. I Trojans 16-10. “It was a big win beating a Div. I team,” said Titan Head Coach Kyle Morrison. The game was tied 5-5 at the end of the first period when Morrison decided to switch to a zone defense that he said “shut them down.” Junior goalie Justin Kappeler stepped into the starting role and led the defense that held USC scoreless for the entire second period and most of the third. When asked about Kappeler’s play, Morrison said, “Justin pretty much won the game for us.” Kappeler, who blocked 64.3 percent of USC’s shots, deflected the praise of his head coach much like he did the Trojans’ shots all afternoon. “The whole defense played well,” said Kappeler. He added, “Although getting the first save on the first shot did feel good.” While CSUF’s defense smothered the Trojan offense in the second period, the Titans’ offense was able to score three goals and give the Titans a 8-5 lead going into the half. At the start of the third period, Kappeler and the defense were able to keep USC off the scoreboard for nearly five minutes while the offense built on their lead. In the second half, the Titans were able to double their scoring total from the first two periods with three goals in the third and five more in the fourth. Senior Mike Ansel led the offensive outburst by scoring three times while

DTSHORTHAND

The Cal State Fullerton women’s tennis team wore their game faces and brought plenty of Titan pride, giving rival Long Beach State a run around the courts and serious racket mileage. Starting the afternoon games were doubles held on three courts with six pairs. The CSUF tennis team started out last year as a young group of individuals with only one senior, lacking intercollegiate experience, but has since then grown. The team played in the weekend-long Fall Intercollegiate Tournament and Intercollegiate Tennis Association West Regional Tournament last fall. “It’s pretty much one of our toughest matches, so we’re fighting pretty hard,” said sophomore Katie Nichols who supported and cheered for her teammates from the sidelines. Titan sophomores Tiffany Mai and Monica Rodriguez took the lead against their opponents, senior Deborah Armstrong and sophomore Sarah Cantlay of LBSU, in round one of doubles with 1-0. “I felt really good. For doubles we played really well and we were smart with our shot selections,” said Mai. Although Mai and Rodriguez demonstrated fierce defense in the first round, the duo fell behind in the second round, losing 3-6. “I was really glad that we got our doubles win this early in season. I’m looking forward to the rest of the sea-

son,” said Rodriguez, referring to her doubles match against Hawaii. The Titans made sure team effort was apparent in their strategy, encouraging each other through Titan pride shout-outs of “Let’s go Titans.” Playing doubles in the second court were freshmen Morgan McIntosh and Megan Sandford. The girls had determination, extending their rackets at full length. Both sets were played intensely as Long Beach sophomore Jaklin Alwai and junior Rachel Manasse took the first round, 2-3. The Titans quickly picked up their game, turned up the heat and secured the win in the second round with 4-3. Both Nichols and her teammates agree they have shown improvement this year. “(CSUF) is a better team this year. We’re a lot stronger,” Nichols said. Long Beach dominated the singles match, but the Titans, such as sophomore Tiffiany Mai, did not give up without a fight. Mai, with six wins, is the team’s No. 1 singles player. Mai had a strong backhand and quick agility but was overpowered in the first set by LBSU sophomore Sarah Cantlay, 1-6. Mai gained some momentum in the second set, nearing a win, but Cantlay amped up her game and gained back control with 2-6. She exerted all she had left in the last set, giving Cantlay a difficult time. The set was evenly matched and ended with a score of 0-0. CSUF returns to Big West Conference competition with a match on Tuesday at Cal State Northridge.

Women’s Tennis puts up a fight to the finish

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Despite the 21-point game for Titan junior guard Megan Richardson, the Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball team was unable to hold off the UC Irvine Anteaters on Feb. 3, with a final score 81-77. Senior guard Lyndsey Grove and redshirt junior guard Lauren Chow added 14 points each, along with another 10 points from freshman guard Yvont’e Neal, but these points were not enough to beat UCI’s junior forward Mikah Maly-Karros’ gamehigh of 29 points. Trailing into the half with the ‘Eaters up by seven, the Titans decreased the deficit to just four. Brief by Michellee Cooper

Wrestling Claims Three Titles The Cal State Fullerton wrestling team competed in the San Francisco State Open on Saturday, Feb. 5, with three wrestlers claiming first place in their weight class. Andre Gonzalez (125), Marcus Orona (133), and Kurt Klimek (heavyweight) all represented the Titans as weight class champions in the tournament. Other wrestlers that were placed include: Peter Hoang (141) and Todd Noel (184) in second place; Bobby Morales (141), Nick Jordan (149), Mark Savalle (174) and Kyle Bergstedt (197) in third place; and Gabe Brown (133) in fourth. The next competition is at Oregon State on Feb. 13, and concludes the regular season.

Brief by William Chen

CSUF Athletes Join In for Charity The student-athletes of Cal State Fullerton are participating in the fourth annual 2011 Big West Charity Coin Drive. Throughout the month of February, the athletes are collecting donations and spare change in efforts to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure. The coin drive is a competition among all nine of the Big West Conference institutions, and the school with the most money will not only donate all their money raised, but 25 percent of the earnings from other Big West schools will also go to charity. Titan student-athletes will be collecting donations in hopes of raising the most money for charity in the Big West. The drive ends Feb. 28. Brief by Michellee Cooper

Skaters’ Time to Shine for Maloof Calling all Cal State Fullerton skateboarders. Now is your chance to show off your skills and talent to Maloof Skateboarding in a newly developed contest called Maloof U Skate Madness. This contest allows college skaters to submit an online video to represent their top skate moves and school with hopes of being selected as a finalist. The top four finalists win a trip to Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City, Fla. on March 19 to compete in a one-day competition for $10,000 in cash and prizes and title of best college skateboarder in the country. The odds of winning the contest will vary depending on the number of valid entries received and quality of the contestants’ performances. Brief by Gilbert Gutierrez III


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