Issuu

April 5, 2012

Vol. 91 Issue 33

Major Super Markets Ditch the Pink Slime The controversy over pink slime continues with many grocery chains refusing to sell meat with the filler. Reporter Jeff Laabs investigates how that may affect your summer barbecues.

Watch the Daily Titan News in 3

ONLINE

Scan to view Get upEXCLUSIVES to-date coverage on dailytitan.com/?p=53704 top campus news stories.

dailytitan. com/?p=53706

Scan to view

dailytitan.com The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

STATE | Tech Task Force

EVACUATION DRILLS INTERRUPT CLASSES

Assuring ‘No child left offline’ State’s K-12 schools embrace technology as a teaching tool TIM WORDEN Daily Titan

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson created the Education Technology Task Force to update the technology standards in California’s K-12 schools. The task force brings 48 volunteers — teachers, technology directors, school board members and superintendents — from throughout the state together to write a new technology plan. It has four subcommittees: Teaching, learning, assessment and infrastructure. “We were very careful to get a balance so that ... we had everyone’s voice represented,” said Barbara Ross, a special project consultant for the California Department of Education (CDE). The comprehensive, 14 to 15-month-long process will “revise the technology plan for K-12 schools” in the state, Ross said. Torlakson appointed the task force members March 17 and the members had their first meeting March 20 at the CDE. Only four of the volunteers were unable to attend the meeting, Ross said. See TECH, page 3

SHEILA DEL CID Daily Titan

Sirens wailed as hundreds of students filled the Quad, participating in evacuation drills Wednesday afternoon. Humanities Building Marshall Dave McKenzie said it was just a drill, reminding

ANIBAL ORTIZ / Daily Titan

that everyone must leave their classrooms without using the elevators; no matter what floor people are on, everyone must use the stairs, he said. For safety, students were asked to stand at least 150 feet away from all buildings, which McKenzie said is the most difficult

task while drills are being conducted. The Campus Emergency Preparedness website suggests that before a real evacuation, students and employees should look at the evacuation diagrams in the building and room they are in. The site also advises that students and faculty be familiar with the

location of at least two exits. After the drill, which lasted about 30 minutes, students returned to their classrooms. McKenzie said the evacuation drill was a success, except for students who didn’t keep the proper distance away from buildings as they were instructed.

FEATURES | Barks of Love

NATIONAL | Oil harvesting technique

Saving loved ones from a precarious fate

Keeping the ‘frack’ out of California

An organization based in Southern California offers a small beacon of hope for dogs

Hydraulic fracturing criticized nationwide on questionable effects

SHEILA DEL CID

RICARDO GONZALEZ

When Ashley Cunningham, Barks of Love (BOL) founder, president and CEO, moved to California for law school, she had no family or friends in the area. She was forced to leave her two dogs behind with her family back home in Arizona. “I’ve had dogs since I was born ... so being without any animals in California got really lonely,” said Cunningham. Cunningham’s search on Craigslist for a family that needed a dog sitter lead her to discover “foster homes” for dogs and, subsequently, the founding of Barks of Love in 2008. BOL is a Fullerton-based nonprofit organization that saves dogs from being euthanized. “I had never heard of an animal rescue before,” Cunningham said. “Thinking this sounded like a great idea, I signed up to be a foster home for a small rescue in San Clemente. For almost a year, fostering dogs came in and out of my home as they were adopted and then another was rescued. It was such a fulfilling experience, not only for myself, but, at the same time, I was responsible for saving these dogs’ lives.” Eventually, the animal rescue Cunningham volunteered for ran out of money and was forced to close down. It was at that time, Cunningham realized that she could probably start her own rescue center. The organization started out small — just Cunningham and three dogs. Over time, more people wanted to volunteer and further opportunities arose.

The use of hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking” by oil and gas company workers, has quickly become a hot-button issue. Between a highly publicized case in Dimock, Pa. and public opposition from celebrity activists, the once virtuallyunknown practice has now garnered attention among environmental activists across California. In plain terms, the practice of hydraulic fracturing is used to stimulate the flow of oil and/ or natural gas from existing wells or veins by injecting pressurized water from natural reservoirs and the undisclosed “fracking fluid” back into the ground. Little information about the chemicals in the fluid is available. “Until recently, there hasn’t been much information about the practice (of fracking) in the state because there is no requirements for permitting, monitoring or reporting the activity,” said Jennifer Robinson, conservation program coordinator for the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, in an email. Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club, which is a nationwide activism organization of more than 1.4 million, has, only recently

Daily Titan

Courtesy of Elle Photography The goal of the Barks of Love team members is to save dogs from being euthanized. According to the organization, BOL has saved more than 600 dogs’ lives. They plan on funding a facility that can facilitate more than 200 adoptions a year.

Sylvaine Capron, owner of Dogma Pet Portraits, had a great experience with BOL and became a pet owner within days of taking in an adopted pet. “They made it very easy for us,” she said. BOL supplied Capron with a leash, collar, food, crate and toys. “We never want it to be a financial obligation,” said BOL Marketing Board of Directors member Kristina R. Senft. “If someone has time and the desire, we don’t want them to be put out financially. The vet expenses are covered, the food, bedding, food bowls, leashes, collars. We provide it all.” Capron was also pleased with BOL because the organization made sure the dog was a good fit for her family. Since Capron has a business that does pet photography, she is in position to work with the dog community as well as give back to the nonprofit organization. Dogma Pet Portraits has raised thousands of dollars in support Barks of Love.

“People want to help if you give them the opportunity,” Capron said. BOL’s greatest accomplishment is saving more than 600 animal lives. “We can only save so many with the amazing team we have,” Cunningham said. BOL does not limit who can volunteer. Little Barkies is a new program that teaches children between the ages of 5 and 12 the importance of dog adoption. “Educating and including our children in our rescue organization is the key to meeting our long term goal of zero kill shelters,” Senft said. “Teaching our little ones is the best shot our community has at reducing the amount of dogs being euthanized due to overpopulation. Our Little Barkies have so much passion for what they believe in … Even though their voices are small — they will resonate long after we are gone and will be the change we all dreamed of.” See BARKS, page 6

supported efforts to regulate the increasing use of fracking in California, according to Robinson. This is due mainly to strong environmental concerns associated with the practice in other states. “Part of the concern is that the exact chemicals used in fracking are currently proprietary information,” Robinson said. However, spurred by the case in Dimock where unregulated methane gas release has caused contamination of the local water supply, fracking is facing an increased level of scrutiny. This has been compounded by vocal opposition from celebrities like Rosario Dawson and, more recently, Mark Ruffalo on the March 28 episode of The Colbert Report. As it stands, the Safe Drinking Water Act regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not include hydraulic fracturing policies. While more traditional excavation practices for both oil and natural gas face intense scrutiny, fracking is conspicuously absent from the act’s literature. This oversight is referred to as the “Halliburton Loophole.” “That allows fracking to not comply with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act,” said David Hobstetter of the Center for Biological Diversity. See FRACKING, page 2