Daily Titan - August 29, 2011

Vol. 90 Issue 2

August 29, 2011

OCOCA ..........................6

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Developing tech-savvy students Tutorial database Lynda.com available to all on Student Portal STEVEN YUAN Daily Titan

Bye, bye,

Blackboard

Moodle, a free classroom management program, will replace Blackboard by July 2012 Daily Titan

Cal State Fullerton is moving away from Blackboard this semester and toward Moodle, a free learning management system which the campus calls TITANium.

The new system rolled out this summer but has not been fully implemented. Teachers can currently use either Blackboard or TITANium, but

by July 2012, TITANium will be the only management software available.

“There are a lot of CSUs going in that direction,” said Amir Dabirian, vice president of Information Technology. “So we decided last year that

See LYNDA, page 4

No minor threat

TITANium takes over ALVAN UNG & NURAN ALTEIR

There’s no longer an excuse for Cal State Fullerton students to be technologically inept.

Students can now access Lynda. com through their Student Portal at no extra cost. The website is dedicated to software training, like how to use Adobe Photoshop or Final Cut Pro. Lynda usually costs $375 for an annual subscription, but CSUF purchased a two-year subscription at $4 per student, said Amir Dabirian, chief information technology officer.

“Lynda is probably one of the best technology productivity resources in the nation,” said Dabirian, who led the initiative to get Lynda for CSUF. A campus-wide email was sent Aug. 24 explaining what Lynda is and how students can access it. However, many students still don’t know about Lynda.

Tommy Trinh, a finance major, said he saw Lynda.com in the Student Portal but did not click the link. Once on the site, however, he was eager to learn more.

Hacktivists target Fullerton Police Department

IAN WHEELER

instead of going with the new version of Blackboard, to go with Moodle.”

By using TITANium instead of Blackboard, CSUF will save money.

Blackboard costs around $130,000 a year, but TITANium is free. However, the school will not be saving $130,000.

“It’s not really apple-to-apple cost savings, because even though we save the cost on licensing, we still need to do developments, so there will be a lot of overhead. So it’s not a true $130,000 saving, but it will be a saving,” Dabirian said.

Daily Titan

See MOODLE, page 5

MARK SAMALA / Daily Titan

Cal State Fullerton assures that student information is safe after Anonymous, a secretive hacker group, threatened the Fullerton Police Department website and other city-related websites.

A member of Anonymous who goes by the alias Commander X, said Cal State Fullerton would be attacked in theory, “but probably not.”

“When we widen the circle in Ops like this one we tend to next target civic groups like rotary clubs, fraternal order of police or church sites in a bid to get them to do what they should do on their own–support justice for Kelly Thomas,” said X.

Anonymous threatened to shut down the Fullerton Police Department website in response to the July police beating of Kelly Thomas, a schizophrenic homeless man, who eventually died from his injuries.

“Information security is a key element in every aspect of the information technology road map.

The campus is very proactive in deploying technologies to secure our information assets,” said Kerry Boyer, CSUF information security officer and CSU director of virtual information security. “We do our best to keep (CSUF) information secure and protect our community.”

See HACKERS, page 3

Ramos’ goal leads Titans in opening match Freshman’s first career goal in 78th minute sends Hope International to defeat RICK GOMEZ Daily Titan

Titan Tusk Force gears up for fall 2011

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For a moment, it seemed like the ball wasn’t meant to go in for the Titans until they sneaked in a through-ball to forward Jesse Escalante. The rest was history.

Freshman midfielder Ian Ramos scored his first career goal as a Titan on a game-winner in the 78th minute to lead the Cal State Fullerton men’s soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Hope International in its season opener Friday night at Titan Stadium.

“I don’t think it was our best performance, but a win is a win, a goal is a goal, so we’ll take it,” said Ramos.

Ramos found himself in the six-yard box with time to shoot and only the goalkeeper to beat. After controlling it off a bounce, Ramos drilled it

in the top right corner, giving the goalkeeper no chance to defend it.

“Once I got the through-ball, I cut back to see if I had a shot or if I (could) pass it. I chipped it to (Ramos) and he finished professionally,” said Escalante.

“I think (Ramos) has great talent. That goal will be one of many,” Escalante said.

Titan Head Coach Bob Ammann said, “It was good for (Ramos) to get his first goal and his confidence up.”

Just 30 seconds after Ramos’ goal, the Titans WILLIAM CAMARGO / Daily Titan had a chance to extend the lead to two. Senior Freshman defender Mark Vasquez takes the ball away from midfielder Kevin Venegas took a strike from long a Hope International player in his first collegiete appearance. distance that passed Hope’s goalkeeper Tyler Golden and hit the top of the crossbar. Venegas See MEN’S SOCCER, page 14 finished the game with a team-leading eight shots.

NEWS

August 29, 2011

Students protest against budget hikes Led by members of CSUF’s ASI, students across the CSU campuses fight the fee increase at the Chancellor’s Office in July ANDERS HOWMANN Daily Titan

Shouts and chants penetrated the walls of the California State University Chancellor’s Office when over 100 students protested the tuition hikes at the Board of Trustees meeting July 12.

Among them were students from CSUs Los Angeles, Pomona, San Bernardino, Dominguez Hills, Fullerton and San Diego State University. The press conference and rally was organized and led by members of Cal State Fullerton’s Associated Students Inc. Members of the executive staff spoke out against the tuition hike that was passed by the Board of Trustees and the state budget passed by the legislature in Sacramento.

While students from organizations such as Students for Quality Education, Lobby Corps and WE! were unable to sway the Board of Trustees’ decision to increase student fees, their voices were heard by members of the board.

“I think during the event as a whole we were expressing deep disappointment and frustration toward the enacted state budget,” said Jessie Frietze, ASI chief governmental officer and senior political science major. “As a consequence of the budget that the governor and the legislators proposed, the CSU chancellor and trustees (were forced to) increase fees.”

Prior to the event, ASI Lobby Corps had planned a lobbying campaign for the tax extension, which would have raised California’s sales tax by 1 percent and DMV registration fees by a half percent in order to help pay for public higher education.

“The day of our event, Gov. Brown withdrew the tax extension and pulled it off the table,” said ASI President Eric Niu. After Frietze heard about the withdrawal of the tax extension from the budget at 4 a.m., she scrambled to reorganize the event.

“We kind of went into emergency mode. We didn’t have the event because there would be no point to go and pressure (Sen. Harman) to vote for the tax extension if the extension had been taken off (the budget),” Frietze said.

Instead, ASI hosted a meeting in the Titan Student Union Legislative Chambers with organizations such as ClueOC, Cal State San Bernardino, SQE, OC Dream Team, ASI Programs and CSUF students. They set their sights on the Board of Trustees meeting July 12, where they knew members of the board would be voting on how to manage the cuts.

CSUF’s ASI spearheaded the press conference at the Board of Trustees office in July. The speakers included Greg Washington, president of the California State Student Association,

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...Continued from page 1 Although X said CSUF would probably not be attacked, the possibility of an attack on the school’s network has students like Jessica Gonzalez worried about her personal information held within the school’s servers.

“I would imagine they could do anything they wanted with (my information), and that kind of terrifies me ... It’s kind of like computer terrorism,” said Gonzalez, 26, a liberal studies major.

CSUF, according to Boyer, “sustains millions of network and email attack attempts per year.”

“All security threats, regardless of origin, should be considered valid and addressed. The Anonymous group has gained notoriety because of its technical ability and dedication to assure a successful attack. Cyber security is no different than any other area of security, where, given a dedicated, driven and resourceful person or group, there will always be a high percentage of success,” Boyer said.

He would not discuss specific methods used to keep school and student information secure.

3

Police chief retires after 12 years

University Police successor has large shoes to fill WES NEASE Daily Titan

Courtesy of Jessie Frietze Police barricade the doors of the Long Beach Chancellor’s Office as members of Students for Quality Education and WE! yell and chant in protest of tuition hikes.

HACKERS: Anonymous speaks on Fullerton Police threat

FOR THE RECORD

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor News Editor News Assistant News Assistant Features Editor Features Assistant Detour Editor Detour Assistant Opinion Editor Opinion Assistant Opinion Assistant Sports Editor Sports Editor Sports Assistant Sports Assistant Copy Editor Copy Editor Photo Editor Photo Editor Photo Assistant Photo Assistant Page Editor Page Editor Page Editor Page Editor Page Assistant Multimedia Editor Multimedia Editor Multimedia Editor Multimedia Assistant Web Editor

CSUF students, ASI President Niu and ASI Vice President Jay Jefferson.

“I was glad to see that we had such an audience that really wanted to hear what we had to say because it is an important issue and I was glad that they were (covering) it,” said Jefferson. “I felt inspired; I felt encouraged.”

As the fall semester begins, educating the student body and advocating against further cuts will be the primary project for ASI this semester, said Niu. Lobby Corps is also working on ways to make advocacy feasible for even the busiest student.

“We’re trying to find new ways to make it easy to be an advocate,” Jefferson said. “A lot of students are commuters, they live 30 miles away from campus or they have to work full time (while taking) five classes.”

According to Jefferson, student unity is the only way to affect real change.

“We really need the students to stand with us. We are here for the students and the only thing that we ask for is that the students stand with us because we can’t do it without them.

We can hold all the press conferences in the world but if the students don’t show support, then those efforts will not be successful. At the same time, it’s on our end to be a driving force in educating our student population and providing the resources that they can use to get involved,” Jefferson said.

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Anonymous publicized a list of demands directed at the Police Department on YouTube, launching what they call “Operation Fullerton.”

“We will begin to treat the web assets of the police, city government and any other targets we deem in support or a cause of this incident with as much mercy as was shown to Kelly Thomas,” the message said. “And if our demands are still not met, we will widen the circle to include many other websites and organizations in Fullerton.”

“That to me is not something that we should take very lightly and I feel like I would like to know that they’re doing something to protect us instead of just taking it as an idle threat,” Gonzalez said. “These people sound like they’re pretty serious and that they have the skills and the technology to do something like that.”

The most specific threats include initiating “rolling street protests and occupations of public space,” as well as “removing” the Police Department’s website and spamming the email addresses of city staff.

“It is a credible threat, we’re taking it seriously and we’re taking all necessary steps, of course,” said Sgt. Andrew Goodrich, police public information officer. He declined to comment fur-

ther.The Los Angeles Times reported that Goodrich said they had not yet detected any attack to the police website. X, on the other hand, said Anonymous took down the police website the day they launched Operation Fullerton.

“And we may well take it down again,” he said.

Anonymous also took responsibility for hacking the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit website Aug. 14 in response to BART shutting down cell phone service in underground stations. BART passenger information, including names, passwords, addresses and phone numbers, were posted on Anonymous’ Twitter feed. Protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks were present at a rally for Kelly Thomas Aug. 20. The masks are Anonymous’ trademark images. The Anonymous group’s demands include the prosecution of the officers involved in the incident, the immediate resignation of the chief of police, and that the city pay a settlement of at least $5 million to Thomas’ legal survivors.

The city offered Thomas’ father $900,000 to settle, but was declined.

“The chief is already gone, on indefinite medical leave. That’s pretty much demand one,” said X. “They will eventually give Kelly Thomas’ father a great deal of money, so that’s demand three.”

“That leaves demand two, that they prosecute these murderous cops. And yes, we expect that demand to be met as well. Just ask Mayor Buddy Dyer in Orlando how relentless we can be. He still needs a donut cushion to sit down on after our visit to his fair city,” X said, referring to an attack on Orlando, Fla.’s city website in June, which Anonymous claimed credit for.

For more than 12 years, Judi King has served as the chief of police for the Cal State Fullerton University Police.

She made a lot of positive changes during her time with the University Police and many say her retirement leaves something to be desired.

“She’ll be missed,” said Lt. John Brockie. “It’s going to be big shoes to fill for the next chief, and it’s an exciting time and at the same time it’s sad. We’ll see what happens.”

Her role on campus not only helped to foster a safe environment for students, faculty and staff, but it also developed the University Police into one of the most readily recognized campus police departments of the CSU campuses.

“CSUF was just very, very lucky to have a chief of police of her caliber,” said Aissa Canchola, chair of the ASI Board of Directors.

In the time King has been working on campus, she has increased the police force from 14 officers to 24, instituted a two-officer minimum for all patrols and set new standards for police policy and administration.

“She instituted a two-officer minimum on duty. That may seem like not a big deal, but it provides a level of safety for the officers and the community that we serve,” Brockie said. “That was huge for us, huge for the officers and for the community. If there’s two of you, you can handle things differently and it’s actually safer for the person we’re contacting,” he said.

“Another significant thing (she did) with patrol operations was instituting active shooter training,” Brockie said.

Active shooter training is meant to train officers for the possibility of an armed individual attacking students and faculty on campus.

This drill is conducted in the Pollak library. Officers who participate practice close-quarter-combat and hostage rescue scenarios.

“We train very seriously with Active Shooter Drill. It’s something that, in our estimation, is worst-case scenario for what could happen on the campus,” King told the Daily Titan in an interview in January.

“We always have to train for what is worst-case scenario and then hopefully we never have that situation. But should we have it, we want to be as prepared as possible to respond,” she said.

King’s proactive stance on campus safety wasn’t limited to patrol operations, though.

She also worked diligently to implement the kind of policies and procedures that have earned the University Police a position as a flagship agency for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, or CALEA. “I would venture that none of us, when she got here, knew what CALEA was, because I know I didn’t,” Brockie said. “It is a process where you are exploring your own policies and making them better. It just brings a level of professionalism to the department.”

CALEA establishes a management model for public safety services that allows CEOs like King a regular means of streamlining the use of resources and procedural output. “(That’s) 100 percent. It’s a perfect score, and that has put things in place like … different reports where we continually examine what we’re doing, how we’re doing things,” Brockie said.

In the time since King’s official retirement June 20, the university has continued the national search for her replacement.

A search committee has been formed, made up of administrators, faculty, students and police officers.

“I know that the committee is doing the most it can to make sure that we have a chief that’s going to come in and make our campus as safe as it’s been and just make sure that students at CSUF are in a good environment,” Canchola, a student on the search committee, said.

Once the search committee makes its selection, CSUF President Milton Gordon will swear in the new chief of police just like he did for King in 1999. dailytitan.com/news

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August 29, 2011

NE WS

A taste of the island life

Students enjoy Polynesian dance, Hawaiian music, free drinks and free food at SRC event

NURAN ALTEIR & IAN WHEELER

Daily Titan

WILLIAM CAMARGO / Daily Titan The luau ended with a fire dance by Polenesian dancer Lawrence Cagatin, a CSUF electrical engineering major. Cagatin astounds audience members with his flaming dance moves.

LYNDA: New tutorial website gives CSUF students the tools for digital success ...Continued from page 1 “I saw it but didn’t know what it was about,” said Trinh while in the Steven G. Mihaylo Hall computer lab.

While browsing on Lynda for the first time, he said he wasn’t sure which programs he’d like to learn more about.

Lynda has thousands of videos on hundreds of topics related to computer software. These videos, Dabirian said, will be vital to students in this technology-driven world. The tutorials, which are taught by industry experts, are short, effective and available any time. They touch on a wide spec-

New dean is appointed to the College of Health and Human Development this year CANDACE RIVERA

Daily Titan

The sound of drums and a fire show attracted about 100 Cal State Fullerton students to a luau Thursday night that was sponsored by the Student Recreation Center.

They were invited to enjoy free food, drinks, Hawaiian music and Polynesian Fire Dance.

“I thought I’d check it out, try to enjoy as much of the college experience as I can,” said Hillary Chase, 35.

The Polynesian dances were performed by a group called Tago le Pasefika, which consists of five drummers, three female dancers, two male dancers and one fire dancer. All wore custom Polynesian outfits. The fire dance, one of the highlights of the night, was performed by CSUF student Lawrence Cagatin, 25, a lifeguard at the SRC. “I think it turned out really well,” said Cagatin, an electrical engineering major. Cagatin learned to fire dance from his family.

While some students were attracted to the luau after hearing the Polynesian-style drums, some said they came for the free Hawaiian-style pizza and drinks.

“I heard there might have been free food and I saw a crowd of people here,” said Romeo Ancheta, 26, an economics major.

Encouraging growth

trum of subjects including business, developing, photography, video and editing. The site organizes the training videos by subject, software title and author.

“Students will now have greater information literacy and greater knowledge of tools to use for their education,” Dabirian said.

Cody Paningsoro, a finance major, said he was surprised by the vast amount of software resources available to him.

All students do to access Lynda is log into their Student Portal and click the link that reads Lynda.com.

CSUF professors see Lynda as a great resource.

Contact Us at news@dailytitan.com

Ellen Kim, an entertainment and tourism management professor, said she will be utilizing tutorials on SPSS, a statistical analysis software program.

The program will help her with data analysis in regards to services management.

One entertainment and tourism management professor said he uses Lynda to learn Adobe Soundbooth Pro, an audio editing software, and Adobe Premiere Pro, a video editing software.

Professor Harold Fraser has been taking advantage of Lynda to learn how to develop online courses for one of his classes using Adobe Soundbooth Pro. He uses Adobe Premiere Pro to make clips from YouTube videos and

make his own customized version for lectures.

“Many of these software programs are fairly complex and not always intuitive,” said Fraser.

Awareness of the resourceful nature of Lynda hasn’t gained the attention of many students, but the success of this new resource will be measured by usage. Statistics will be recorded and reported to CSUF by Lynda. If usage is high, CSUF has the option of renewing the contract for another two years.

Lynda has done business with schools on the East Coast, but CSUF is the first university on the West Coast to have a campus-wide agreement with the company.

Energetic, compassionate and dynamic would describe Shari McMahan, the newly appointed dean of the College of Health and Human Development.

Former Dean Emerita E. Rikli retired last year. McMahan has been the acting dean since January of this year and was officially appointed in July.

McMahan obtained her B.A. in social ecology from UC Irvine in 1984, M.S. in health science from Cal State Northridge in 1987, then returned to UC Irvine for her Ph.D in social ecology in 1992.

After earning her doctorate, she held various jobs in the health industry. These include an industrial hygiene technician for Allergan Pharmaceuticals and an occupational health consultant for Health Science Associates in Los Alamitos.

But McMahan knew she wanted to teach.

“I’ve always had a passion for teaching, as well as research,” said McMahan.

In 1999 she became an assistant professor at Arizona State University Department of Exercise Science and Physical Education. When the department was undergoing changes, she also felt it was time for a change. In 2000 she became an associate professor here at Cal State Fullerton.

Her original goal when she came to CSUF was to become a full-time professor. Since 2000, she has been a professor, the chair of the Department of Health Science and now dean of the College of Health and Human Development.

In her new role as dean she does not necessarily want to change the college, just help it grow.

“To be successful in the community, you want to approach things as a team, an inter-disciplinary approach,” McMahan said.

Her colleagues speak highly of her character and talent.

“She’s a go-getter, dynamic, kind, compassionate person and has high integrity,” said Jessie Jones, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Health Science.

Jones has known McMahan since she became an associate professor back in 2000. She has watched her climb the teaching and department ladder throughout the years. Jones would consider McMahan her mentee.

“She started off as a very dynamic professor, and her leadership as chair was outstanding ... She is one of the most exceptional people I’ve ever met,” Jones said. She believes McMahan will help the College of Health and Human Development continue to grow.

Alma Gonzalez, assistant to McMahan, met McMahan six years ago when she was the college’s event coordinator.

“She is always smiling, infectious, high-energy … a pleasant person to

“She’s a go-getter, dynamic, kind, compassionate person, and has high integrity.”

Jessie Jones Chair of the Department of Health Science

work with, supportive even if she doesn’t agree with something,” said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez also believes McMahan has what it takes to grow and improve the college. She said she has great ideas for improving the programs offered to students.

“She provides services to students as well as the community,” Gonzalez said.

McMahan also has many specialized qualifications that keep her active and give her the ability to teach off campus. Just a few are personal trainer, group fitness instructor and first-aid instructor.

It is evident the new dean is not afraid of a challenge. As McMahan’s responsibilities settle in with the fall semester, the College of Health and Human Development should feel at ease knowing someone so ambitious and admired is in charge.

August 29, 2011

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5

Moodle: Information Technology begins TITANium rollout ...Continued from page 1

Students weigh coverage options Survey shows that students get information from Internet and television CHARLOTTE KNIGHT Daily Titan

Election time is right around the corner, and when it comes to getting news, Cal State Fullerton students like convenience.

Several students said they prefer using the Internet, television and the viewpoints of their acquaintances because these sources are cheap, accessible and offer a wide variety of information and perspectives.

Out of 72 CSUF students surveyed—36 male and 36 female—29.6 percent use the Internet as their primary source of information.

“I find that (television, the Internet and newspapers) give a good representation of issues nationally, locally and at the state level,” said Maxwell Skipworth, 18, a political science major. “(They) allow me to make better decisions and feel more confident about who represents and works for me.”

While some students rely on blogs and social networking sites such as Tumblr and Facebook, the most popular news sites are Yahoo News and the Los Angeles Times.

“On my browser, the Yahoo homepage is the main source to any ‘latest news,’” said Alan Garcia, 18. “Even if I don’t pay attention to it all the time, the election would catch my eye.”

Television trails closely behind the Internet as a news medium, accounting for 28.5 percent. The most popular stations include ABC7, Fox 11 and CNN.

From the survey, 9 of 49 students who watch TV for election coverage said they watched The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central. The show is meant to be a comedic take on current events and politics, “unburdened by… journalistic integrity.”

Myles Cupp, 21, a CSUF student, said he uses several media, including satirical shows, to get information on the election. “(A) variety of sources (provide) a balanced perspective to many complicated stories,” said Cupp, an electrical engineering major. “Satire also puts some otherwise hard issues back into proportion.”

However, not all students said they pay attention to news outlets.

In fact, getting election information via word-of-mouth accounts for 18.4 percent of surveyed students, most of whom talk it over with family, friends, coworkers and professors.

“I … listen to friends and objectively think about what they say and come to my own conclusions,” said RJ McKeehan, 22, a computer science major.

While newspapers are relatively accessible, they come at a higher cost than other media. As a result, students read newspapers even less than listening to word-of-mouth.

Newspapers are read by 10.1 percent of the students surveyed. While CSUF students read a wide variety of newspapers, including the OC Register, OC Weekly and the Wall Street Journal, students prefer the LA Times above all else.

Although CSUF is a commuter campus and students drive to school daily, only 8.9 percent of students surveyed get their information from radio stations such as KROQ, KSPC and KFI-AM 640.

One student, who didn’t want to be named, said he listened to the radio because, “It’s convenient and feels more grass-rooted than popular stations and sources.”

However, not all students care about the upcoming election.

Of students surveyed, 4.5 percent selected the choice “other” on the survey, feeling as though they are uninformed on the coming election. This is mainly due to a lack of information available to them or general apathy.

The pool of students surveyed stated their political affiliation, or lack thereof.

For those willing to state their party or views, 43.1 percent of students labeled themselves as Democratic by registration or by personal belief. Independents polled at 19.4 percent, Republicans at 16.7 percent, and the Green Party, Libertarians and Tea Partiers all stood in at 1.4 percent.

As a result, some students who fell under the “other” party affiliation either did not want to officially declare themselves as affiliated with any particular party, were undecided or declined to state.

This accounted for 18.1 percent, including those who labeled themselves under a different party or personal belief.

Moodle is a virtual community where professionals in higher education can share information with their students.

Student reactions to TITANium vary; some like it, while others have never even heard of it.

While the two systems have different layouts, some students who have used TITANium this semester said they don’t notice the difference between the two sites.

“I think they’re basically the same thing,” said Janessa Nishida, a business accounting major. “The teacher gives you a link, you click on it and it’s all there for you.”

On the other hand, Dabirian said TITANium is a lot easier to use for students.

“I think (Blackboard) was clunky,” Dabirian said. “I don’t think it was easy to use. It was old technology, and it wasn’t student friendly ... It was too many clicks to get anything done.”

William Casilla, 22, a business major, said he uses Blackboard regularly to access homework, slideshows and documents from his classes, but he has never used TITANium before.

“I’ve seen it. I’ve never clicked the button,” said Casilla. “If (TITANium) can improve on Blackboard, I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”

Many students are unaware that TITANium exists because few teachers appear to be adopting TITANium.

“Honestly, (TITANium) hasn’t even been brought to my attention,” said Alexis DiGerolamo, 18, a biology major. “No one’s ever even mentioned TITANium to me.”

Cyndi Gonzalez, 22, a human services major, said only two out of her six classes actually use TITANium.

It is unclear how many teachers are using TITANium this semester.

Gonzalez said she still prefers Blackboard over TITANium.

“I notice glitches in TITANium, while Blackboard is a lot faster and reliable,” said Gonzalez.

While she likes the more colorful design and layout of TITANium, she found that it was not as accessible as Blackboard.

Jobs recently resigns as CEO of Apple

Students wonder if the company will continue its trend of innovation

RACHEL MASOCOL Daily Titan

Following Steve Jobs’ resignation as CEO of Apple Wednesday, many are wondering what will be the future of the company.

It began in 1976 when Jobs cofounded Apple with Steve Wozniak.

Then in 1984, Apple announced the Macintosh, the first personal computer with a graphical interface.

Jobs left Apple from 1985 to 1996 due to company reorganization.

Throughout this period, the company struggled to stay in business.

While Jobs wasn’t at Apple, he founded a new company in 1985, NeXT Computer.

The company developed products specifically for research and academic purposes.

While NeXT was not as successful as Apple, Jobs was relentless and innovative.

Shortly after Jobs returned to Apple in the late ‘90s, a colorful array of iMacs were released.

He then changed the way we interact with music with the first iPod in 2001 and revolutionized the mobile device market in 2007 with the iPhone.

Jobs continued a campaign of technological innovation, unimpeded by dwindling health.

In 2004, Jobs was diagnosed with an uncommon form of pancreatic cancer.

During Apple conferences, many commented about his personal appearance.

It became visible to the public that Jobs was thinner than usual.

He has taken periodic leaves of absences in order to take care of his well-being.

Timothy Cook, who was chief operating officer and now CEO, ran the company’s daily operations when Jobs was gone.

Speculators wonder if Cook can handle his new responsibilities as CEO. Since Jobs stepped down, Apple’s stock dropped 5.5 percent.

Hank Huang, an Apple specialist in the Brea Mall, is hoping for the best with the newly appointed CEO. “I just hope that Cook will be just as good as Jobs was. It’s going to be weird seeing Cook give the keynote address rather than Jobs,” said Huang.

Alise Salcido, a Spanish major and Apple enthusiast, was not surprised by the news.

“It was only a matter of time when Jobs would resign. His health wasn’t great,” said Salcido.

Not everybody is intrigued by the work of Jobs and Apple. Alex Penaloza was unimpressed with her iPhone.

“I had an iPhone for the past four years and I just replaced it with an Android. I like it so much better,” said Penaloza.

While not everyone may be saddened by Jobs’ resignation, the work of Apple under his command has drastically changed the technological world.

MARK SAMALA / Daily Titan Students can’t imagine Apple’s keynote speech without Jobs as the lead speaker.

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August 29, 2011

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Debt ceiling raised After Congress agrees on extending the debt ceiling, S&P downgrades U.S. credit rating IAN WHEELER Daily Titan

Cal State Fullerton economics professors are weighing in on what they think of Standard and Poor’s downgrade of the country’s credit rating from AAA to AA+, showing that S&P has little confidence in the ability, and willingness, of the U.S. to pay off its debts.

S&P’s decision came shortly after Congress reached an agreement in late July on legislation that would extend the federal debt ceiling and cut spending to guarantee future deficit reduction.

So what does this all mean? Larry Howard, Ph.D, an assistant professor in the Department of Economics explains: “You want to separate a deficit from the debt. A deficit is the current-year measurement of how much we’re spending relative to how much revenue is coming in, and if we run a deficit for the given year, then that following year, that’s going to be included in our previous debt,” said Howard. “So really when we talk about the debt, we’re talking about past spending beyond what we were bringing in in terms of revenues, and that’s a fundamentally different debate than ‘What are we spending right now?’ compared to revenues.”

Howard doubts that S&P’s downgrade will have any real impact, because it is only one credit rating agency. “(The downgrade) is a subjective review from an independent private sector company, so of course that would be taken into account,” Howard said. “(S&P) was looking for a kind of multi-year plan of attack, if you will, for how we’re go-

ing to pay this debt down, because it’s going to take at least a generation. We’re looking at decades to pay it down completely.”

According to Money Watch, the ability of the U.S. to pay off the debt is not in question. The downgrade is about the willingness to pay.

Howard Naish, Ph.D, an economics professor, said the U.S. is still one of the safest places to keep money, compared to other countries in the same boat, including several in Europe.

“What other places would you prefer to put your money than the U.S.? It still has this relative safety,” said Naish.

Though CSUF professors roll their eyes at S&P’s decision, the federal government isn’t getting much confidence from students.

“I think the government is doing a bad job with our economy,” said Danica David, 21, a human services major.

She said it’s a “definite possibility” that the nation could slip into another recession.

“I think it was more of a political point they were trying to make rather than any practical effect. I mean, Japan was downgraded recently as well,” Howard said. “The issue here is not so much about our current revenues, which are below average compared to our recent 10year history. It’s more about how quickly are we going to pay off this past debt.”

“What we will see–what’s important is: Does the government respond to this downgrade in any meaningful way? Any sort of change is good if it stimulates any sort of debate and is constructive,” Howard said.

ALVIN KIM / Daily Titan Protesters stand outside of the Fullerton police station for the fifth week straight.

Authorities still have not released the names of the officers involved in Thomas’ death.

Protests continue Citizens ask for justice in death of Thomas JARYD LUCERO Daily Titan

Protesters can still be seen every Saturday morning in front of the Fullerton Police Department in support of Kelly Thomas, who was beaten by Fullerton police July 5.

While their numbers were noticeably smaller this week, the protesters’ message was still loud and clear.

“Justice for Kelly! Stop Killer Cops!” they shouted.

“The support of the community is overwhelming,” said Ron Thomas, Kelly’s father. Rallies will be happening every week. “I believe this is our fifth week straight,” he said.

Thomas hopes to see major changes within the Police Department.

“The officers need training. They need to rewrite policies, procedures, they have officers that need to go to prison,” Thomas said.

“We’re not advocating violence, but I’m the dad of a son who was brutally beaten to death,” Thomas said. “At least one of them needs the death sentence, and I’d like to pull the switch.”

While others believe police policies

Ribbons of hope

need to change, they feel as though more focus and attention should be given to the homeless.

“I’m hoping, because of what happened to Kelly, that we (the homeless) can get 30-day bus passes and 30-day motel vouchers for the homeless people,” said Curtis Gamble, 51.

“That would get them off the street,” he said.

“Many of us, we don’t have any way of getting around,” Gamble said.

Where is a homeless person supposed to go when an officer tells them to leave? he said. “If you can’t go anywhere, how are you supposed to move when they say ‘move’?”

It’s hard for homeless people to get jobs, because they lack the necessities, Gamble said. He was very fortunate to have a new set of teeth donated to him. “A lot of homeless people need (teeth) in order to get a job,” he said.

“Everyone is saying to get a job before you’re absolutely prepared to get it,” Gamble said. “We should start preparing the homeless people, get their teeth fixed, get them a place to sleep and get them a 30-day bus pass.”

After that, “the homeless people

ALVIN KIM / Daily Titan ANSWER LA, the main organizer of last week’s protest, was not present Saturday.

The group was comprised of Fullerton residents and homeless citizens.

will finally be on their way to finding and securing a job,” he said.

The organization ANSWER LA was not present at this week’s rally.

In turn, there was no march down Commonwealth Avenue. They had a different agenda, said one protester, who didn’t want to give out her name.

Last week’s march was planned only

by ANSWER LA. “It was against the

wishes of the (Thomas) family,” she said.

One Fullerton police officer said they are not allowed to comment on the rallies or anything Kelly Thomas related.

dailytitan.com/rallyforthomas

Graphic design students create display for ovarian cancer awareness NURAN ALTEIR Daily Titan

In honor of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Fleur de Lys, a home decor store in Costa Mesa, is donning teal starting today. Cal State Fullerton students helped make it happen.

Five CSUF graphic design students are using what they learned in the classroom to help Ovarian Cancer Orange County Alliance, a nonprofit organization, put together a window exhibit display for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. At 5 feet high and 3 feet wide, a teal ribbon, which is made up of a compilation of smaller ribbons of different shades of teal, is perched in the window of the shop. The design was created by Greg Bellows, a graphic design major at CSUF, who said he wanted to create something that felt lighthearted.

“The subject matter is very serious, but I wanted to make sure that I designed something that had a positive feeling ... In my design I wanted to convey a fluid, happy life ... Hope rather than the alternative,” said Bellows.

Leslie Randall, a member on the OCOCA medical advisory board, said she got “goose bumps” when she first saw it. Bellows said he wanted a piece that immediately attracted the viewer’s attention.

And it does.

“I was very struck by its simplicity, yet it made a very strong statement,” said Randall, director of medical student and resident education at UCI Medical Center.It’s up to the viewer to decide what the statement is, said Randall. She interprets the branching as a symbol for all the people who are affected by someone who has ovarian cancer.

“The subject matter is very seriou but I wanted to make that I designed something that had a positive feeling...”

Greg Bellows Graphic Design Major

“Many people are touched by this,” Randall said. “It’s not just one person.”

The five students are working with Carlota Haider, a former CSUF graduate student in the History and Art Departments. The students who are working on the exhibit display are from an art internship course taught

by Professor Theron Moore.

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“It comes naturally,” said Amanda Sun, a CSUF graphic design student, about working on the exhibit display. “I feel like my classes have really prepared me for it. It’s also exciting because my work is going to be displayed and people outside of my classmates are going to see it.”

Haider, an ovarian cancer survivor, said she has worked with Moore’s students for many years.

“I can’t say enough nice things about them,” said Haider. “They’re just so talented.”

The students worked on a variety of projects to put the exhibit together, from making fliers to creating art displays.

“What we want to do is draw people’s attention and have them ask questions about (ovarian cancer),” Haider said.

Most women who get ovarian cancer die because they do not detect the symptoms soon enough.

Of 20,000 women who are diagnosed with this cancer, 15,000 die.

“Early detection is key to survival,” Haider said.

The window exhibit display will be held until the end of September at Fleur de Lys in Costa Mesa on 369 E. 17th St. The shop will hold three events Sept. 16, 17 and 18.

NURAN ALTEIR / Daily Titan Greg Bellows, a graphic design major at CSUF, pins the ribbons together to create the ribbon sculpture that will be displayed in the window of the Fleur de Lys decor shop until the end of September in recognition of the Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

August 29, 2011

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IFC rules change

By emulating the Pan-Hellenic recruitment system and implementing stricter dress codes, fraternities at CSUF try to gain professionalism CAMYRON LEE Daily Titan

ALVIN KIM / Daily Titan Kelly Kim, a Cal State Fullerton student and survivor of brain cancer, gave a speech during the opening ceremony. She was diagnosed in 2001 and has been cancer-free since 2007.

Cancer survivors walk for lives

14 teams compete at La Habra Relay for Life Saturday in support of the American Cancer Society HAYLEY TOLER For the Daily Titan

Relay for Life was hosted at Imperial Middle School in La Habra Saturday. About 65 participants raised a total of $4,361 for the American Cancer Society.

The opening ceremony was given

by Kelly Kim, a Cal State Fullerton student studying public administration, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2001.

After having the tumor surgically removed, Kim, 21, experienced seizures for over five years. After a violent seizure and a trip to the hospital, doctors found a final tumor that had not been detected.

“Since December 2007, when the second tumor was removed, I have been cancer and seizure-free,” said Kim at the end of her opening ceremony speech.

Applause came from audience members who were ready to walk the track to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

“Cancer affects everyone somehow ... We hold these events to make sure our neighbors, businesses, friends and family know about our

program,” said Angela Garcia, a skin cancer survivor.

The event attracted a wide variety of participants, including cancer survivors and Girl Scouts from Troop 4824. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) was also there to show support for the American Cancer Society.

“One of the most important things to those who have cancer is the support network that their friends and family bring them. So much of cancer is prevention. The support network created by friends and family allows them to experience positivity because of the camaraderie,” said Royce.

While crafting survivor necklaces for the participants out of purple construction paper strips with Troop 4824, Kim talked about her involvement in community events to spread awareness about cancer.

Kim was awarded a scholarship from the American Cancer Society’s young cancer survivor scholarship program, which paid for her first year of college. Because of the scholarship, Kim said she was compelled to volunteer for the American Cancer Society.

“There was a Colleges Against

Courtesy of Hayley Toler Survivors hold up a banner at Relay for Life in La Habra. Girl Scouts and Rep. Ed Royce were present at the event Saturday.

Cancer club at Cal State Fullerton and they had never had a relay before. I thought this was a great way for me to get involved,” Kim said.

Colleges Against Cancer is part of the American Cancer Society and has more than 300 chapters nationwide. The organization provides students with the opportunity to fight against cancer.

Kim now serves as survivorship chair for CSUF Relay for Life and will speak at the next meeting Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 5 p.m. The relay will take place around the second week of April in the spring semester. Regardless of personal experience with the illness, anyone can get involved in the fight against cancer to inspire hope and support the campus community.

Spotify compared to iTunes BROOKE McCALL Daily Titan

Spotify, a Swedish digital-music service that swept across Europe, has now come to the United States. Many have even compared Spotify to iTunes.

While Spotify’s feature list is not as extensive as iTunes, it has the potential to change the way that we consume music, assuming consumers know the service is available.

Unlike iTunes, Spotify allows you to listen to an entire song, or 15 million songs, for free or for a small monthly premium. The catch is you are not allowed to download the music, but you can stream it. You have to download the software to your phone or computer in order to use the service. With iTunes, you have to pay per song and files are saved and played directly from a storage device.

“Spotify is easier to navigate than iTunes and provides a wider variety of music,” said Quang Tien, 24, a me-

chanical engineering student.

For now, Spotify is only available in a few countries. The streaming service said its program “will change how you enjoy music.” iTunes was created 10 years ago by Apple Inc. and is currently available in 123 countries.

Like iTunes, Spotify is free. Advertisements accompany the free service.

With a paid premium subscription there are no advertisements and exclusive features include offline access to music with saved playlists.

“Spotify is nice to have, but I don’t think it is worth the $5 subscription,” said Dennis Minana, 27, a computer science student.

Spotify uses social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter, to help make sharing music easier. By importing your Facebook friends into Spotify, you can instantly see what your friends are listening to and they can see what you are listening to in a live stream.

While logged in to Facebook, you can share your stream of music with friends

The Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) at Cal State Fullerton has undergone a significant makeover this year in both personnel and practice.

In addition to stricter dress codes during meetings and recruitment, the IFC has adopted a recruitment system that is similar to the Pan-Hellenic Council. At the head of these changes is Boris Alvarado, chair of IFC recruitment.

CSUF has had a strong Greek-life presence since the 1960s, and the recruitment process for fraternities has basically followed a pattern of a relaxed three-week period of halfmanned booths and fraternity mixers.

Potential pledges meandered between the info booths and chapter houses until they eventually chose the house which they felt was best for them.

While these strings of social gatherings and informal information meetings have worked for Greek organizations in the past, Alvarado feels as though more organizations will add credibility to the brotherhoods.

“No one took us seriously,” said Alvarado.

Seeing the success of the Pan-Hellenic recruitment system, Alvarado decided to emulate it with the IFC. With the help of Sean Valle, 21, a kinesiology major, the IFC was able to implement the system for the 2011 rush season.

“We both had similar ideas … We were pretty much on the same page,” said Valle, when asked about how he and Alvarado worked together.

Valle was also unhappy with the way rush was conducted when he first joined the IFC during his freshman

year. “It was boring; people were just handing out fliers at a booth,” Valle said.

Alvarado’s first order of business was to choose four liaisons from each of the six chapters to be the faces of their specific fraternity and head up the recruiting process. These 24 individuals are called “Bro Chi.” Admiring the formality of the Pan-Hellenic model, Alvarado also decided to tighten the reins on dress code. Each “Bro Chi” was given an official IFC polo shirt, which they are required to wear around campus and on any official recruiting events. The recruiters are also required to wear a dress shirt, slacks and a tie for all IFC meetings. Alvarado hopes this will add a level of professionalism to CSUF’s fraternal community.

Alvarado also eliminated the floater mentality of the booths; now each information booth on campus must be manned by at least six Bro Chi at a time. If members do not follow the schedule or are improperly dressed, there are penalties for non-compliance. Alvarado said initially many fraternities objected to this new structure, but with his goals in clear view, Alvarado remained determined to change the way the IFC is perceived on campus.

Jessica Aguirre, 21, a senior communications major, is the assistant Pan-Hellenic recruitment officer.

When asked about the changes in the IFC recruiting process this year, she seemed just as optimistic as Alvarado.

“I think it’s really great. The recruiting system normally … and for decades has been very relaxed. I think now they will be recognized more professionally and for lack of a better word, be taken more seriously,” said Aguirre.

Banner raises awareness

Students voice unhappiness over fee increase and statewide cuts near Financial Services

LUKE CHERNEY Daily Titan

A homemade banner hung above University Hall’s Financial Services window Thursday with the words, “Why do we pay more 4 less?” The spray-painted, white sign flailed in the wind above students waiting in line to pay their fees.

It is unknown who put up the banner or why they put it up there, but students speculated that it was probably in reference to tuition hikes and budget cuts.

The new state budget reduces the CSU’s allocation by $650 million to $2.2 billion, with the threat of another $100 million cut next winter. As a result of this deficit, fees have increased.

The banner got students talking about financial burdens.

Some students feel as though the increased financial burden outweighs the benefit of attending Cal State Fullerton.

“I pay my own way for college so

it’s a burden,” said Scott Averette, 22, a film major. He said Thursday was his second day on campus after transferring from Santiago Canyon College.

He added, “Even after you transfer and fulfill your GE requirements, you still have to take nine more GE units, so that’s even more money than I want to spend.”

Some students blamed the state government for the tuition increase.

Stacy McArthur, 22, who wants to study communicative disorders in order to become a speech pathologist, feels as though using the instruments of democracy is the only way to solve the issue.

“All I can do is vote and use my rights as a citizen to do what you can to make changes. We have to exercise our rights,” said McArthur.

James Womack, 18, an undeclared major with aspirations of becoming a teacher, said, “Even though I receive financial aid, I can see how it can be irritating, because it’s less money in your pocket.”

Courtesy of Spotify by sending them a link. iTunes has a similar feature.

“I currently use iTunes to sync my iPad and iPod; I have never heard of

Spotify, but I am willing to try it,” said Joseph Costantine, Ph.D., an assistant professor of the Electrical Engineering Department.

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OPINION

August 29, 2011

Should assisted suicide be legalized in the U.S.?

Sean Viele & Joey Szilagyi

DAILY TITAN STAFF SURVEY: CON: Sean Viele There is no place in this country’s medical field for the unethical practice of Dr. Death.

Although the U.S. government has left it up to the states to decide whether or not to allow assisted suicide—also known as physician aid-in-dying—this practice is a complete destruction of medical and bioethics as we know it and therefore should be banned in the United States.

This is not to say that people should be stripped of their rights to autonomy or to choose if they want to go on living or not, but physician aid-in-dying is not only unethical medicine, but it also leaves far too much room for abuse.

Human beings have proven time and time again just what sort of evil deeds they are capable of.

Just think about the exploitation that could be made possible to the sick and elderly if the government openly legalized assisted suicide for all the states.

It’s simply savage.

Poverty-stricken Americans who have limited or no access to family support or quality health care could be pushed into thinking that assisted suicide is the only way out.

Furthermore, families that are burdened up to their necks in loved ones’ medical bills might be

prompted to convince those ailing loved ones that assisted suicide is a viable solution.

There too is the problem of patients who are not terminally ill but are depressed and want to die, but lack the nerve to tie the noose or pull the trigger themselves.

Advocates of this practice would have you believe that assisted suicide is an act of compassion and that competent people should have the right to choose the manner and time of their death if they are terminally ill and physically suffering.

The problem is that the assured regulation of assisted suicide is far too difficult, allowing room for the aforementioned abuse.

In both Oregon and Washington, physician aid-in-dying is a legal practice.

The Death and Dignity Act, which allows the practice in these two states, requires that eligible patients be legal residents of the state, at least 18 years of age, competent and suffering from a terminal illness with a life expectancy of six months or less.

The regulations are not always flawless and the drugs used to assist in death are not always 100 percent effective.

In an article written last February and published on OregonLive.com, an Oregon-based news website, Dr. Kenneth R. Stevens reported on two unsuccessful assisted suicide attempts that were

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found in the Oregon doctor-assisted suicide annual report for 2010.

In one case, a patient regained consciousness 24 hours after taking the drugs and died of the underlying illness five days later.

The other regained consciousness three days after taking the drugs and died three months later, Stevens wrote.

Stevens pointed out several other questions that arose from Oregon’s annual report.

According to the state’s report, doctors were present for only six of the more than 65 assisted suicides when the drugs were ingested and when death occurred.

“When such a substantial proportion of important information is unknown and with much incomplete information, how are we to know what is really happening with doctor-assisted suicide in Oregon?” Stevens wrote.

It’s clear that the negative issues that arise in assisted suicide obviously outweigh the positive.

Human suffering is a God-awful burden, but assisted suicide is not the answer to this tragic part of life.

In absolutely no way is killing a safe, ethical and effective treatment.

Patients should not have the right to choose death as part of their medical treatment.

Thus, the government should never allow doctor-assisted suicide in this country.

90.9%PRO 9.1%AGAINST PRO: Joey Szilagyi People make decisions every day that affect their lives. From menial to significant tasks, whatever an individual decides to do is ultimately up to him or her.

Furthermore, the choice on whether or not to live should also be left up to an individual, and assisted suicide should be an available option.

Stories can be heard about individuals with debilitating illnesses asking for help in ending their lives.

A person with a type of muscular dystrophy, for instance, may feel the suffering is too much to bear and would advocate assisted suicide.

The argument like the one above is commonly heard with similar cases stating that it is wrong to force an individual to suffer with an illness, especially if the illness is highly likely to take the life of the individual eventually.

With assistance in suicide, the individual could end the suffering quickly without going through the side effects of the illness.

Of course, only licensed doctors should be able to administer assis-

tance.

The point of assisted suicide is to end the life of an individual as quickly and peacefully as possible, and doctors have the necessary knowledge to achieve this.

Doctors also have access to tools that could end a life quickly and peacefully, and so allowing them to assist in suicide would not be as strange a concept to accept as allowing anybody to give assistance.

Some may argue there is no need for the admittance of assisted suicide because the ability for an individual to decide whether or not to live is already in existence; people can simply commit suicide themselves without any help.

Although attempting and committing suicide are no longer considered crimes in California, the action may not appeal to those who prefer to end their lives with the help of a doctor or with loved ones close by.

Of all suicides in the United States in 2007, the National Institute of Mental Health reported that 56 percent were by firearms and 24 percent by suffocation. But what if there was an easier, less gruesome way?

This could make it easier on the family and, being administered by a doctor in a designated place, less of a

burden to society.

Moreover, an individual may also lack the ability to commit suicide by himself, possibly being unable to stomach the thought of which way to commit the act, and so relying on help from a doctor.

Even worse, an individual may have to try several times if he or she were unsuccessful in the first attempt at suicide.

But all this could be avoided.

In addition to those with debilitating illnesses, individuals who simply decide to end their lives should be given an alternative means to do so. Who are we to tell an individual to continue living?

It is unfair to believe that because you may not choose to commit suicide that others should not as well.

Living is a choice we all make, and if people who are unhappy with their lives decide they want to end it, then they should be allowed to do so without others preaching about their own personal set of morals.

There is no universally accepted set of morals—only those that are left to the individual to follow. And just because people want assistance in suicide does not mean their morals are skewed.

It is just personal preference.

August 29, 2011

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OPINION

Introducing Google+ ALVAN UNG Daily Titan

Google+ is amazing. I seriously can’t get over how great it is. It’s a smarter, stronger Facebook.

Yeah, Google has tried social networking before, but they were failures. Buzz pissed all over the idea of privacy and Wave was incomprehensible and terrible. Google+, however, is awesome.

Let’s get this out of the way: Google+ is a Facebook clone. Everything I like doing on Facebook, I can do on Google+.

I can post status updates, share photos and videos, and “like” stuff (or “+1,” as Google calls it).

There’s no need to learn how to use Google+, which makes it all the more easier to switch over.

So why do I love Google+ so much if it’s just a Facebook clone? The answer: control.

Google+ gives you control over your information, ranging from its visibility to who it’s shared with.

Through Circles, you decide who you interact with. You can exercise greater control over

who sees your posts than you can in Facebook.

Posts can be “tagged” for whom you want them to be visible to, whether it’s the public, your Circles, certain Circles or individuals. You can choose which Circle’s status updates you want to read.

Google+ also has some powerful privacy options. Want to be warned whenever you’re tagged at a place or in a photo? Sure.

Afraid of somebody seeing your profile picture of you wasted? Set it so it’s not public.

Want to be a buzzkill and make sure your profile can’t be found on the big bad Internet? Of course!

I relish privacy and control. Google knows it; Facebook doesn’t.

Let me see... I still remember that creepy facial recognition thing. Or the automatic check-ins. They also wanted to use our information in third-party advertisements, too. Oh, and just recently, they decided to collate all of my contact’s phone numbers in one page, without the permission of anybody.

Facebook? For real now, I like you a lot, but you’ve got to stop assuming that I want these creepy, invasive things.

Google? Keep doing what you’re doing. You have yourself a nice Facebook clone. Now,

Materialism JOEY SZILAGYI Daily Titan

Cal State Fullerton is a swamp filled with the stench of corporate America.

Everywhere you look there are examples of how deep students are stuck in a materialistic pit.

Nowadays, incoming freshmen fill their back-to-school lists with Macs, iPhones and whatever other items they are brainwashed with, convincing themselves that these items are necessities while denying their vulnerability to the capitalist world.

As a result, our student body is a blob lacking individuality.

A CNBC article titled “Students trim budgets, but won’t give up their iPhones” embodies the mindset of many of today’s college students who twist their priorities with materialistic garbage.

The article states, “College students are putting the bulk of their dollars toward must-have electronics items, even if that means scrimping in other areas.”

However, there are always exceptions to an argument.

Not all students succumb to illusionary pressures of society; some have the self-respect to refuse to be spoon-fed a way of life they believe to be unfitting.

These individuals understand that there lies an alternative route in life and make decisions themselves.

Though these decisions may not always be entirely uninfluenced by materialism, there is still moderation and not full-fledged allegiance to big business.

Some items created by large corporations are simply convenient, and so people purchase them.

However, this is different than buying something because of its brand or through peer pressure.

To make a decision this way is childish.

Of course, the students who choose to live materialistically have the right to do so.

They are not living “wrongly” and are not hurting anyone with the decisions they make.

Moreover, it is also inaccurate to say these individuals are any less in-

telligent academically; they too may be on the Dean’s List and graduate with honors.

However, their ability to do well in school does not correlate with their ability to think with reason.

This skill is still deficient.

Yet there is something else that makes it hard to respect these individuals.

Possibly it is the inability of these students to choose lives for themselves.

Instead, they are like children being dressed by their parents.

These individuals are incapable of making critical decisions and instead live by influence.

They see what they want on television, the Internet or from their friends and get it, unable to realize what they are buying is a perceived necessity.

It is unfortunate that there are college students who live this way.

One would think that, in being a young adult, they would have matured and developed the mental capability to be uninfluenced by materialism.

After all, we already graduated from high school where MTV and pop culture ruled our lives and are now supposed to be on the track to a career.

College is where an individual matures intellectually as well as academically, and it would be unacceptable to have an individual enter adulthood ignorant to the fact that the decisions he or she makes are based on propaganda from corporatism.

But what should we do with these individuals?

It is unrealistic to believe an intellectual standard would be established for all college students to fulfill.

Even if this were a possibility, there is no guarantee these students would realize their flaws.

Instead, we are forced to deal with these corporate clones.

We must continue to take classes with them, having these walking advertisements sit by us and be a constant reminder of how one could fall victim to materialism.

All we could do is wish them well as they enter the real world and hope one day they will create their own individual image.

normally I don’t believe imitators as blatant as yourself are capable of success, but you’re Google; you’re ready.

You’re already better at being Facebook than Facebook is. Facebook lacks powerful technologies like Google Docs, Google Calendar and Gmail. Even if they tried to copy you, what are the chances that Facebook will succeed?

Remember, Google, you are a titan that’s been around since ‘96, developing a suite of time-tested products.

Facebook is an infant pushing its sole product, which you’ve already managed to replicate perfectly.

All that’s left for you to do is integrate your other products with Google+ in big, bold ways.

That little red notification bar when I’m using Google products is a good start.

Admittedly, people have been slow to move to Google+. The place is empty. It makes sense—why would anybody want to move from Facebook? It’s a party and all your friends are already there.

Then there’s the sad truth that Circles have actually made my news feed gaunt. The few friends I have are probably excluding me from seeing their cat videos. Meanwhile, Facebook’s so lively, since I’m able to read posts from every random schmuck I decided was my “friend.”

Still, Google+ is the better social networking site and easily the best competition Facebook has. I believe they will eventually take over Facebook. After all, Google has all the time and money in the world.

9

PATRICK SCHWARZ / Daily Titan

Courtesy of ABC

America’s Idol BRANDON COLLINS For the Daily Titan

The haunting sound of mediocrity wafts from the living room.

With a groan, you try to drown the sound with a pillow, but you know it’s too late. The latest season of American Idol has started.

American Idol was one of the shows at the head of the reality TV wave that hit the early 2000s, and has been one of the most successful running shows to date. After 10 seasons of this brutal nightmare, you would hope that your torment would soon end.

Unfortunately for you (and me), American Idol posted 26.2 million viewers for the opening episode of the 2011 season. I wonder how many of those 26.2 million viewers voted in the 2008 presidential election?

Even though not everyone likes American Idol, most people have accidentally caught a few tortur-

ous minutes of the show, and most likely, they’ve regretted it.

In the first few episodes of the show, the producers tend to focus on severely talent-impaired participants to elicit laughs from the audience. In order to hook them into watching future episodes, they briefly highlight marginally talented individuals.

Unless the contestant has a particularly engaging sob story, the show tends to focus on the hilarity of their failure, rather than the vivacity of their talent. This Jackasslike spectacle also occurs in shows like America’s Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, and every other panel-judged reality show on the air.

With a few notable exceptions, Americans seem to find it more entertaining when the contestants’ dreams are crushed mercilessly, rather than when they actually reach their goals.

The important question is this:

how can anyone engage in frivolous entertainment like American Idol with the unprecedented fiscal chaos devastating the U.S.? Unlike reality television, real life problems such as an out of control national debt, layoffs and a massive recession are problems that don’t go away at the end of the season.

It’s easy to find an emotional connection to the contestants on American Idol, and it costs nothing to vote for your favorite singer, but of course, there is a downside.

As an opportunity cost for enjoying our favorite shows, the economy, political atmosphere and credit rating of the nation are all taking a backseat to our incessant desire for entertainment.

These problems run through our minds at least once a day, but when American Idol is on, it becomes easy to relax and forget all of the drama; the rest of the world seems to disappear for at least an hour.

According to the American Idol website, 122.4 million votes were cast during the finale of the 10th season.

That’s only a few million votes short of the number cast for the presidential election of 2008.

So many jokes have been made about the show being renamed to American Idle, but the sad truth is, the punch-line is hitting too close for comfort.

It’s time to remember what’s important. Here’s a hint: it isn’t on TV. We’ve got a lot of problems as a nation, and fixing them is going to take more than just the belligerent boneheads in Washington (obviously).

If you want to be part of the solution, why not try taking 15 minutes out of your day to write a letter to a local politician instead of watching an episode of your favorite show?

They got rid of Paula anyway, so you’d just be wasting your time.

dailytitan.com/opinion

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10

FEATURES

August 29, 2011

Must-have items JESSICA DRUCK Daily Titan

This quilt is one step ahead of the blanket your mom handed down to you from grandma. Accompanied by a line of matching accessories to spice up your living space, this blanket

by Missoni, a special line from Target, will hit stores Sep. 13.

PETER CORNETT / Daily Titan Skyscrapers of the Bund overlooking the Huangpu River. The Huangpu River divides Shanghai into the Puxi and Pudong regions, and is essential to Shanghai’s enormous shipping industry. Across the river are historic buildings that are relics from China’s colonial era.

PETER CORNETT / Daily Titan Sweeping curvature on building roofs signifies traditional Chinese architecture.

China: Rising superpower A journey to the modernizing People’s Republic of China reveals the downside to development

PETER CORNETT Daily Titan

The dazzling lights and cacophony confuse the senses. Clawing my way through a sweating mass of humanity, I am at once assaulted with the sour stench of unwashed bodies, oddly mixed with the distinctive scent of Chanel’s No. 5 perfume.

The battle is won; I have found my destination. Walking through the market riddled with cheap imitations, my foreign features mark me as a target.

The first one approaches. “You like cheap?” he asks, as he shakes a watch in my face. “Rolex, Prada, what you want?” I wave him away as my companion unwraps the iPod he bought from the fake market. The box is empty.

Shanghai, China, a city of skyscrapers extending as far as the eye can see. A city of smog, of wonder, of crowds. The city has a population more than three times larger than that of New York City, and you can feel it.

Scientifically crafted and meticulously managed, Shanghai appears at first glance to be a typical Western mega-city complete with flashing advertisements, enormous structures and the faint but lingering odor of petroleum. The birthplace of the Communist Party of China, a red flag billows triumphantly over the city.

Walking down a street near People’s Park in the center of the downtown area, a red and yellow floral monument to the hammer and sickle

is oddly contrasted by a distant Nike advertisement. Underneath the canopy of steel and glass, I sit down for a conversation over a cup of traditional tea from Hangzhou.

“I wanted to be an artist once,” said a citizen of the People’s Republic. “I didn’t score high enough on my aptitude test, and there are too many artists, so I was told that now I must study international business.” My eyes bulge with surprise, but such stories are common when the needs of the many are the paramount concern. Following a recommendation, I slip on my boots and set out to explore and learn more about the modernizing mega-city.

Visitors taking a casual stroll through the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum will encounter a suspiciously propagandizing section of portraits titled “Leaders Care,” which displays photographs of China’s Communist officials posing happily with Chinese laborers at major building projects. The catchy slogan of “Better City, Better Life” is engraved over a golden model of downtown Shanghai.

Towering over the graceful curves of the museum are the titanic, wondrous skyscrapers overlooking the Huangpu River. Nearby, the evident prosperity and diversity of the shuffling crowds are a testament to the late Deng Xiaoping, the former chairman of the Communist Party who is credited with moving China toward a controlled, market economy. Though the positive effects of rapid modernization are easily observed in an area often showcased to

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foreigners, a few winding curves and a taxi ride later, the story is much different.

Huddled children grasp the arms of malnourished parents, sprawled wearily in the gutter. An impoverished woman, ravenously scarfing down the contents of a plastic cup, devours what appears to be an oil-covered fish soaked in filthy water from a polluted source nearby. Tucked away behind the glitz and glamour of the Westernized downtown area, Shanghai’s slums are invisible to the wealthy foreigners slurping mai tais on a sky bar 87 floors above the ground.

Much of the carefully crafted imagery of Chinese glory and beneficent development are as blatantly counterfeit as the Prada bags that can be purchased at a fake market, but there is no denying that China is making some very impressive strides forward. Drained from the journey into the slums, I head back by taxi toward the downtown area after a necessary detour.

Desiring a comforting ritual that survives even while more than 6,400 miles away from home, I reach into my wallet for a few bills of the People’s Currency and find Mao Zedong’s stony face staring ominously back at me; five minutes later, I am enjoying a steaming hot cup of joe from the local Starbucks Coffee. The familiar flavor was wonderfully authentic. After draining the glass, I light a cigarette and walk away.

dailytitan.com/chinatravel

Admit it, you love your MacBook. But you will love it more with these awesome decals that can transform your expensive gadget into an edgy art piece that will be the fairest of them all. Choose from an array of popular characters like Clint Eastwood, Banksy, Transformers and more. Find them online at Etsy shops or on eBay.

Finally, an alarm clock that’s not only compact and sleek in design, but voice activated. It comes in basic black or white, and when you tell it to shut up, it will. The alarm also repeats itself up to 40 times in five-minute intervals. You can order it online through the MoMa Store.

August 29, 2011

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FE ATURES

GCAC: New director

11

CA native returns to his roots in Santa Ana to work for Grand Central

JESSICA DRUCK Daily Titan

Courtesy of John D. Spiak John D. Spiak, Grand Central Art Center’s new art director.

Cal State Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana named John D. Spiak, a California native and 16-year veteran at Arizona State University’s Art Museum, its new director and chief curator. Spiak, who will take over in September, took time away from packing up his office in Arizona to speak with me about his venture back to California and what he has in store for CSUF and the Grand Central.

Q: How did you get started with art?

A: I stumbled across an art gallery that had an opening for a position, and I was valet parking at the time, you know, one of those great college careers, and I saw this “help wanted” sign and I walked into the gallery and said I was interested in applying and from that point on, I was addicted to contemporary art.

Q: What made you decide to come over to CSUF?

A: I have known about the Grand Central Art Center even prior to its opening. Mike McGee and Don Cribb knew people that knew them and when they were starting to talk about opening the Grand Central, Mike had me over and toured me through the space and talked about his vision he had for Grand Central and it blew me away. It was everything I always wanted to be involved with. With the MFA students above, the interaction with students - that engagement - contemporary art focus, Black Box Theatre Space, it has everything that interests me, but also its location ... in the heart of Santa Ana. My grandparents lived about a minute from that space when I grew up, so we spent a lot of time in downtown with the shops, going to the bank, doing daily activities in that area. It’s that diversity of culture that really excites me.

With the actions that are going on on Fourth Street, the new businesses, the young people moving in closer to the Grand Central Art

The space is going to be named in Orange County Weekly as the best museum of 2011 by critics’ choice; that excites me.

John D. Spiak Art Director

Center, how do you merge those two audiences and how do you engage those audiences in a respectful and mutually beneficial way?

Q: How long ago was it when you got a tour of Grand Central?

A: That was back in ‘98, and actually the second exhibition that took place in Grand Central was an exhibition I originated and it was called “Sig Alert.” It was looking at immerging artists of the Los Angeles community of the ‘90s

who found alternative arts of the art world. It premiered here at ASU and toured to Grand Central in 1999 and was literally the second exhibition there.

Q: What excites you about Grand Central Art Station?

A: I love the fact that students live there. I feel like the possibilities for engagement are so rich.

They have an amazing staff that has really pushed that space and continually pushed that space.

The space is going to be named in Orange County Weekly as the best museum of 2011 by critics’ choice; that excites me. Black Box Theatre Space excites me. Really, being in that downtown neighborhood really excites me. All the positive occurrences that continue happen in downtown.

Q: How do you decide what you put inside the galleries?

A: I know the history of the space really well. I want to do a lot of listening to staff, to students, to faculty and community, and develop the program in a way that is going to make the most sense and the most benefit to all involved.

Q: What do you anticipate for your future working with this gallery?

A: I see it continuing to move forward in positive directions; I see more international recognition and actually more national and local recognition of the space.

That’s one of my goals. My other goal, like all institutions at this time, would be fundraising, and I want to see a lot more collaboration with the main campus. I really want to see us engage with the main campus; that distance is a little bit of a barrier, but I think there are positive ways of doing that. I also want to take the museum space or the exhibition space outside of the physical walls and into the surrounding communities of downtown Santa Ana.

Courtesy of Hayley Toler Students pose after an archaeological adventure at the Desert Studies Center, an abandoned spa, now a research center run by CSUF.

New students denied major CSUF student raises awareness for incoming anthropology majors HAYLEY TOLER For the Daily Titan

If you have ever road-tripped on the I-15 to Las Vegas, between gas stops in sleepy towns and blasting music, you may notice a humble green sign that reads “Zzyzyx Road,” seemingly on the outskirts of civilization.

However, if you venture down the dusty mountainside path you will find the Desert Studies Center, an abandoned spa-turned-research center run by Cal State Fullerton.

Here did I discover that not only was the 10,000-yearold lake bed teeming with life, but I weathered the elements with a rag-tag group of undergrads and graduate students to expose the rich past of Soda Lake’s ancient bed.

When I signed up to do fieldwork for Professor Edward Knell, I had little idea what I would actually be doing, archaeologically speaking, and after a small meeting with my fellow adventure-seekers in the underground archaeology lab in McCarthy Hall, I had more questions than answers.

But after what seemed like a few hours and a coordinated carpool with a female undergrad I had briefly met once, I was soaking up the heat and collecting mental samples of insight not available to those sitting in desks staring blankly at a PowerPoint slide.

We were looking for flakes, small pieces of discarded rock smoothed by an ancient hunter’s will for weaponry, which laid strewn across rocky desert pavement anywhere from one centimeter to five square inches small.

“Flake eyes” was the term of the week as the seasoned grad students and Knell kept telling us archaeological newbies that we would eventually pick up on which multi-colored black specks were cultural remains pertinent to his study.

Archaeology is about reconstructing past environments, but waking up at 5 a.m. to survey vast portions of the Mojave National Preserve amid extreme heat and a vast expanse of desert nothingness can hardly be deemed

“reconstruction.” It was more a form of torture at first.

However, true to their words, we started picking up on which shiny pieces of rhyolite and obsidian were flint tool remains. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together.

One morning, Knell took us to examine the ancient shoreline. Another morning was spent flagging the boundaries of a site while learning how to navigate a GPS. Another was spent trudging uphill to collect samples of raw materials, each “learning experience” done with blazing heat melting our skin and causing our clothes to be soaked through.

Although this may not sound appetizing next to sitting in an air-conditioned classroom, sleepily half-paying attention to a professor drone on, the weeklong experience was a learning tool unavailable in any classroom.

Scanning the actual 10,000-year-old lake bed for the remains of past civilizations brought archaeology to life by allowing us to collect the research that students study throughout the year, students blissfully unaware of the elements weathered to collect the most miniscule amount of evidence.

This journey was only available to us because of the Anthropology Department, which is currently not allowing incoming students to declare anthropology as a major. Not allowing students to pursue the field of study they chose is not only appalling, but against the core tenet of higher education, especially as CSUF runs the Desert Research Center and houses a stellar Archaeological Information Center.

My journey through the Mojave inspired me to declare anthropology as one of my majors, which I was able to declare simply because I am not just starting my college expedition. But shouldn’t the little ones who show up to campus wide-eyed and anxious to absorb information be the ones to benefit from the expansively awesome Anthropology Department?

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12

DETOUR

Reviews

Detour showcases the latest in entertainment, including video games, concerts and upcoming events cameras or computers, you play this fun little mini-game. And let me just say, the hacking mini-game is actually quite gripping. Your goal is to take over all the nodes on the field before the server pinpoints your location; it’s slick, fast and fun. It really makes the player feel like a cool hacker-type guy

Game

Deus Ex: Human Revolution ALVAN UNG Daily Titan

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a game about choices.

You play as Adam Jensen, an exSWAT agent who becomes an unwitting recipient of mechanical augmentations after suffering fatal injuries in a terrorist attack on his employer, Sarif Industries. You awaken six months after your operation, thrown into a world of socioeconomic turmoil, tense political debate, huge corporate interests and conspiracy surrounding the human revolution that is augmentation.

Do you feel like shooting? Maybe you’re not looking for trouble and just want to sneak around? Or perhaps you just want to snoop in somebody’s inbox for emails about missing staplers.

Deus Ex lets you choose what to do.

Strictly speaking, the game isn’t linear. Rather than point A to point B, you’re dropped in a hub with a few objectives to handle at once and multiple ways to handle them.

The amount of options you get in this game is great. Each path is equally rewarding in its own right.

If you just want to shoot, Deus Ex delivers. The guns look ridiculously cool-–the pistol’s metallic finish is sweet and the iron sights on the machine pistol are intimidating. Firing a gun feels delightful, thanks to appro-

August 29, 2011

priate kickback, loud noise and muzzle flash.

The combat is quite frantic, due to nimble, tactically minded enemy AI. The high damage-per-bullet damage model results in a harrowing kill-nowor-drop-dead feel. If you’re not an ace with the gun, there’s also a nice cover system, which lets you sit back, regenerate some health and reassess the situation. All-in-all, the shooting feels just right and can compete with other AAA shooters.

Deus Ex also has incredible stealth gameplay. It’s always tense and exciting, and the feeling of success you get by completing objectives without killing someone is like none other.

Stealth moments require patience and thought–always crouch or walk, never walk out in the open and always utilize the environment. But if you start messing up by running down hallways or getting spotted by cameras, the guards will change state to “alerted.”

The enemies start taking a look-see, occasionally spouting a faux tough-guy line. Now, if a guard straight-up walks into a room and you’re standing in the open, he will open fire, and all guards will change state to “hostile.” Basically, run for your life.

Deus Ex also features some RPG elements. Whenever you level-up or find the appropriate item, you can drop a point into an “augmentation,” or a mechanical upgrade to your body that, for example, increases your jump height.

When you hack electronics like

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Concert Monte Negro: adventurous and raucous

Deus Ex also has incredible stealth gameplay. It’s always tense and exciting, and the feeling of success you get by completing objectives without killing someone is like none other.

who wears his shades at night.

The writing is also top-notch. Set in the year 2027, the hot topic is augmentation, or replacing your body parts with mechanical parts. While the plot itself is a decent action-and-conspiracybigger-than-all-of-us thing, it’s the universe itself that’s stunning.

Debates rage on about socioeconomic and political issues concerning augmentation. Terrorists concerned about “body pollution” make headlines. Corporations have their hands in everything. The universe is rigid and air-tight, with no thematical element left unexplored.

The game is close to flawless. However, the biggest thing that detracts from this game are the boss fights, which force you to use your gun. Gone are the myriad options for dealing with problems. The boss fights themselves consist of you pumping an impossibly high amount of lead into somebody until they keel over in an unnecessary cut scene.

The facial animations also didn’t do the stellar voice acting any justice.

Those boss designs were ugly. Loading times were pretty bad.

As minimal as the flaws are, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a smartly written and smartly designed open experience, where you are encouraged to make your own choices, explore every option and use every tool at your disposal.

WILLIAM CAMARGO / Daily Titan Monte Negro’s lead singer, Kinski Gallo, enthralls audience members at a local show. The rock en espanol band draws its influence from many historical acts such as Caifaines, The Cure and Jane’s Addiction. The band’s Longest Day Tour ended August 14.

KRYSTLE UY Daily Titan

Spirited bilingual alternative rock band Monte Negro played an intimate, free show at the Commonwealth Lounge & Grill in downtown Fullerton Monday.

Monte Negro, comprised of lead vocalist Kinski Gallo, bassist Rodax Rodriguez and guitarist Jason LiShing, have been together for more than 10 years. Their eclectic rock sound also draws worldly influence from salsa, cumbia, reggae, ska, bachata and electronica.

The band has shared the stage with influential rock en Espanol bands Café Tacuba, Zoe and Enanitos Verdes.

While the band has been in good company, they have enjoyed success in the past, signing to Epic Records and have now found a home in their own Feed the Hungry Records.

Their seemingly nonstop touring has garnered many dedicated fans, a testament to the band’s work ethic and love of being on the road. Monte Negro just finished the last leg of their Longest Day Tour in support of their latest release, the sonically evolved

Cosmic Twins.

While Monte Negro had just embarked on a 47-stop tour, they were nothing short of dynamic.

Ever content on performing their own special blend of English and Spanish lyrics, the magnetic Gallo commanded attention from fans, as Li-Shing bolstered their sound with precise guitar riffs, and Rodriguez and temporary drummer Francesco Ferrini supplied raucous drum and bass lines.

Among the sparse audience consisting of dedicated fans clad in Monte Negro shirts with cameras in tow, many were close enough to touch the LA-native band who played in front of a red, yellow and green tapestry emblazoned with their Fugitives of Pleasure artwork.

Gallo’s vocals were soft and harmonic, but seeped into rapturous and bellowing on the tune “Pasajeros (Immigrant’s Lament).”

Li-Shing’s meandering guitar work on “Mundo (Planet on Edge)” seemed effortless as many were transfixed, even passers-by who could hear Monte Negro’s booming live sound outside.

Rodriguez’s tempered bass lines drove the shifty moods of the song “Lost (Orphan Planet)” as Gallo emotively sang, “I want to set the world on fire, watch it burn, reconstruct it with

my love.”

Gallo dedicated the reggae-infused “Give Me Love” to “all the mamacitas,” a staple in Monte Negro’s live shows. Many fans swayed along to the familiar grooves as Gallo clutched the glowing mic stand and crooned, “I made up my mind, I want you to stay with me.”

Monte Negro also did a rousing cover of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” as Gallo ad-libbed lyrics from Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” The deeply driving guitar line, made famous by Jack White, was only intensified by LiShing’s intrepid guitar riffs.

The quartet ended the night with “Me Duele No Estar Junto A Ti,” was a slow burn, effervescing into a powerfully long outro. Gallo lay sprawled along a nearby couch, as photographers flocked to shoot Gallo, who was clearly enveloped in his own musical reverie as sweat dripped down his face.

Monte Negro proved their music could transcend language, that music can speak to you beyond comprehension. The trio demonstrated that they can perform an adventurous live show complete with infectious energy and heartfelt execution, however small or big of a venue, as rock ‘n’ roll stalwarts.

August 29, 2011

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13

DETOUR

Novels trump Concerts Calendar film version Fictional books continue to prevail as motion pictures’ larger budgets and short storylines fail to engage and entertain loyal fans CHARLOTTE KNIGHT Daily Titan

WILLIAM CAMARGO / Daily Titan Local band The Alternates presented their unique blend of classic rock tunes and energetic drumming to an eager crowd Wednesday.

The band formed in 2005 and just finished a recent tour of Northern California. This performance marks the band’s first in Fullerton.

Becker Concerts: The Alternates Los Angeles-based indie band, The Alternates, energized students with guitar riffs and catchy lyrics Wednesday. ASI’s Concerts at the Becker takes place Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m

Would you rather be shown a story, or told a story?

There has been a lot of gripe over the rocky relationship between books and the movies they are adapted into in the past, and the relationship is only going to get more strenuous in the future.

With The Hunger Games, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Hobbit already underway as the newest additions to the list of books adapted into feature films, many fans are likely to draw critical comparisons when the movies hit the big screen.

Several people always found with their noses in books would agree that when they vigorously read Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, the last person they expected to play protagonist Robert Langdon was Tom Hanks. Several people who left the theater in tears after seeing Return of the King may have gone to Barnes & Noble to buy J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and were overwhelmed by the small print, chunky paragraphs and extremely vivid detail.

The truth of the matter is, a movie adapted from a book can make you laugh, make you cry or make you want to punch a hole in the wall, but it would be rather difficult to draw a single emotion from someone without having written direction from the book to inspire the directors.

The fun that comes along with reading any book is that there are very few limits to your imagination.

As you read the story in your head, you’re imagining the characters to have distinct characteristics; I imagine any charming male protagonist to look like Gerard Butler and his love interest to look exactly like me, because, hey, a girl can dream.

Forests are as dark and green as you want, oceans as deep and blue as you see fit, and the twilight sky can be dark blue, red or orange, littered with clouds with purple and pink linings or with stars shining brightly or rather dimly.

Unfortunately, in movies, what you see is what you get.

Another perk a book has is that it can go on for however long the author sees fit. The author has no budget—just a limitless imagination.

Writers and directors in the movie industry get screwed over when

they have to make a movie in a specific amount of time with only a specific amount of money they need to spend wisely. The consequence is highly severe—important scenes, moments and even characters found in books get cut from the movies, and what may be even worse is that directors and writers may have no choice but to change material to compensate for the loss.

If director David Yates included every single detail from all seven of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, he would be up to his neck in debt, and God only knows how long The Sorcerer’s Stone to Deathly Hallows Part II would run for. Seriously, thinking about it hurts.

And don’t think for a second that emotion can only be invoked from a slow musical score or amazing special effects.

For those of you who have yet to flip through it, Daniel Keyes’ short novel Flowers for Algernon is about a man named Charlie Gordon with an IQ of 68 and is the human subject of a surgical experiment to drastically boost his intelligence.

Throughout the book, Gordon keeps track of his progress through journal entries, and the readers can see his intelligence on paper. He originally spells poorly, has bad grammar and awkwardly words his sentences, but then practically writes like an English major as the experiment triples his IQ. Readers can also see that when the experiment fails and his IQ deteriorates, his writing, once again, declines.

Even through the use of short story-telling, the reader is immersed enough in the book to get a better idea of the triumph and ruin of this character, quite possibly a feat no film could illustrate.

Visually, there is so much more movies can do that books cannot. No one can deny that. But if you’re looking for something more in depth, more complex, more detailed and with more significance, the book is sitting right in front of you. It’s in print, in your hand and ready for you to crack it open so that it may give any explanation you’re looking for.

Of course, maybe I would actually be willing to give the Twilight movies a chance if I wasn’t already aware that the saga was published with a rather large font type and written at a second-grade reading level.

Wednesday 8/31 Where: Becker Amphitheater Time: Noon Band: TBD

Thursday 9/01 Where: Greek Theatre Time: 8:30 p.m.

Artist: Janet Jackson

Where: Detroit Bar Time: 9 p.m.

Artist: Bilal

Friday 9/02 Where: Hollywood Bowl Time: 7:30 p.m.

Band: The Human League with the B-52’s

Where: The Roxy Time: 8 p.m.

Band: A Static Lullaby

Saturday 9/03 Where: LA State Historic Park Time: Noon Bands: FYF Fest

Sunday 9/04 Where: Del Mar Racetrack Time: After the races Band: Ben Harper

Music festival promises rousing revelry JEANETTE CASTANEDA

for will call ticket holders, this issue has been remedied as well, according to management. Visitors can expect shorter lines as Spring Street will instead be closed off the The end of summer will be capped with a heavy dose day of the festival, leaving more entrances into the park of independent music, food trucks, alcoholic beverages and allowing lines to move much more quickly.

Even though FYF Fest was initially moved to the and comedy as an annual music festival promotes an imstreets surrounding City Hall, the festival was moved proved setting for foolery and frolicking this Labor Day back to LA State Historic Park as this location will prove weekend. to better accommodate FYF. The eighth annual FYF Fest (formerly known as F*** Aside from the park’s geographic setbacks, many fans Yeah Fest) will take place at the Los Angeles Historic had qualms with the shortage of water supply last year State Park Saturday with punk legends The Descendants, as well.

With water bottles priced near $4 and the supinstrumental post rock band Explosions in the Sky and ply having sold out before evening performances began, Canadian bands Death From Above 1979 and Broken concert-goers were left with dry mouths for the rest of Social Scene headlining this year’s prodigious lineup. the night. FYF promoters promise to have tackled this issue as well.

Location and 2010 Festival “Water will be cheaper than last year and we are providing more This year’s FYF Fest has hired hydration stations and water founpowerhouse promoter Goldenvoice I remember it betains that are accessible in all areas to set in place organizational efforts ing hot as hell, no of the park,” the event’s website for the big festival. Goldenvoice, shade and two-hour lines stated. who organizes heavy-hitting festifor water, so that kind of vals such as Coachella and Stagesucked.

Comedians coach, is no stranger to coordinating large music festivals, so FYF will While many issues were addressed be in good hands.

Kyle Delacruz regarding FYF’s organizational probLast year’s FYF Fest found isAmerican Studies Major lems, one thing that will remain the elf overwhelmed with many issues same is hilarity provided by big and stemming from its location. Unfortunately, the historical state park centered in downtown small-name comedians. All comedy performances are Los Angeles left many fans with a memory of dust clouds presented by Meltdown Comics in Hollywood.

A standout aspect for the festival is its eclectic taste in as the area’s terrain become overpowering during perforbands as well as comedians. This year’s comedians will mances.

“I remember it being hot as hell, no shade and two- feature Jim Hamilton, Emo Philips and one-time-localhour lines for water, so that kind of sucked,” said Kyle DJ-turned-television-personality Chris Hardwick.

All comedians are scheduled to perform at Splinter’s Delacruz, 25, an American studies major.

According to the festival’s management, the issue was Den stage. Yes, as in the almighty sensei and guardian addressed and this year wood chips will be set in place to to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This year’s theme for the tents is comprised of character names from the prevent the same problem from occurring.

“We invested in a ton of wood chips that will keep the popular ‘80s comic-turned-animated series.

“I would see the comedians too, but the Teenage Muwatered down and compacted dirt from coming up into tant Ninja Turtle tents sound kiddish to me,” said Chris the air,” according to the festival’s website.

The lines for entrance into the park were impossible Castillo, 24, a business administration major. to maneuver at last year’s event. With a devastating line Daily Titan

Reunions The true gem of this year’s FYF Fest are the notable reunions of two long-lost bands. Noise rock duo Death from Above 1979 performed earlier at this year’s Coachella Music and Arts Festival, enticing many fans to purchase tickets early on in order to see the shortlived band perform again. When FYF announced its lineup, Southern California fans were granted a second opportunity to see the electrifying twosome shred the stage once again.

The second reunion this year brings together punk legends The Descendants. The local group, hailing from Hermosa Beach, is considered an influential force behind acts such as Bad Religion and Rise Against.

Both bands are set to perform on the Leonardo Stage as main acts for the festival.

“I’m really excited to see The Descendants and Broken Social Scene on the main stage,” said Hector Waluyo, 22,

a business marketing major. “I’ll check out the smaller stages too, since it’s sometimes harder to hear the band’s from a larger stage.”

Another band who has recently came out of the woodwork is lo-fi indie rock band Guided by Voices. The “classic lineup” of Guided By Voices reunited last fall at Matador Records’ 21st Anniversary in Las Vegas alongside other Matador acts Pavement, Belle and Sebastian and Sonic Youth. Guided By Voices will play the Leonardo Stage after Broken Social Scene.

“The whole lineup is worth the $40 for a ticket,” Delacruz said. “The best part is definitely The Descendants performing.”

Equipped with stellar reunions and a top billing for bands and comedians, the booming FYF Fest appears to have set the right plans in motion to correct the follies of its past; the festival will likely leave its mark as an event not to be missed. For a complete list of set times and ticket information go to FYFFest.com.

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SPORTS

August 29, 2011

MEN’S SOCCER: Beats Hope ...Continued from page 1

CSUF also featured several new players onto the pitch in the opener.

Ramos was one of four players making his debut for the Titans. The others were defender Fermin Villalba, defender Gerzon Blanco and defender Mark Vasquez.

The Titans controlled most of the possession throughout the game but could not capitalize their scoring opportunities.

Golden remained busy all throughout the night as the Titans outshot Hope 22-3 in the game.

He finished with five saves, including a strong header from Oscar Aguero that would have given the Titans the lead in the first half.

CSUF held Hope to only three shots in the night, including one late in the game that could have given it the lead.

“I give props to Hope. Last year, they sat 10 guys back on defense, but not this time,” Ammann said.

The Titans know they will have to show up with a better performance in their next game when they face national defending champion Akron Thursday

in the Cal State Northridge tournament.

“It looked like the first game of the season for us. I told the team it was a good game to have a bad game,” Ammann said.

Escalante agreed the performance

Once I got the through-ball, I cut back to see if I had a shot or if I (could) pass it. I chipped it to (Ramos) and he finished professionally.

Jesse Escalante Men’s Soccer Team

should have been better, but he’ll take the winning result.

“We definitely did not play our best.

If we played like that against Akron, we’d be down by halftime by maybe one or two goals. We’re going to have to step up our game. We know we can beat Akron,” Escalante said.

CSUF will also play University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the CSUN tournament Saturday.

Women’s soccer kicks off season JENNA STOKES For the Daily Titan

The new school year at Cal State Fullerton has a lot in store for everyone, but for the women’s soccer team it offers the chance for greatness. Besides looking to earn titles in the Big West and a high ranking in the NCAA tournament, the Titans are also anxious for the opportunity to crush their two biggest rivals: Long Beach State and UC Irvine. With grueling practices six days a week, scrimmages every weekend and only one day off a week, the team has been working hard all summer, losing no momentum in its preparation for the 2011 season despite the loss of five starters.

Senior midfielder Caitlin Mellano has confidence that the team will go far this fall and isn’t intimidated by her rivals.

“They have had a few good seasons,” said Mellano of UCI. “But so have we, and our success in preseason this year shows that we can definitely compete with them.”

UCI has been somewhat successful in its more recent years, becoming the first team ever in Big West history to go undefeated and untied in league games, giving them a 2010 record of 8-0-0.

The Anteaters may have set a few minor records here and there, but that isn’t to say that our own Titans haven’t been just as, if not more, victorious. The program has acquired a trio of Big West regular season titles, three conference tournament crowns and repeat appearances in the NCAA tournament. Not to mention, the two CSUF alums (Marlene Sandoval and Karen Bardsley) who have gone as far as competing in the

2011 Women’s Soccer World Cup in Wolfsburg, Germany. Needless to say, games played against UCI and Long Beach State are never boring, and CSUF always comes prepared.

“We have a dance party in the locker room before games to get us pumped up and loose,” Mellano said. “Then, after the music, coach joins us for a team talk on what we expect to happen in the game and a team prayer.”

But what is a winning team without its head coach? Fifth-year Head Coach Demian Brown has been piling on the success since returning to his alma mater in 2004 as an assistant coach. His debut head-coaching season, back in 2007, earned him the title of Big West Conference Coach of the Year for his hard work and dedication to the organization.

Something must be working for Brown, only the third head coach in the history of the program, as he has made noticeable improvements to the team’s defense and inspired the players more than ever.

Sophomore goal keeper Lindsey Maricic admitted, “I’d love to continue playing soccer after college and go pro. My goal for the next two years is to step it up and prove myself to (Brown) and all of the professional teams out there. I want to be the best that I can be.”

With this passion and work ethic, the Titans are sure to make this season one to remember.

The Titans lost Friday night in a heart breaker. Brown said, “We got a great group, we’re excited about it and I think games like this prove to ourselves, to the people, how good we can be if not already.”

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WILLIAM CAMARGO / Daily Titan Ann Marie Tangorra (number 23), Nikki McCants (number 8), Caitlin Melano (number 4, pictured left) and the rest of the Titans fell short against Pepperdine Friday.

Women’s soccer loses late BLAKE FOGG Daily Titan

Pepperdine freshman hero Lynn Williams scored two late goals, leaving the Titan women’s soccer team stunned in a 2-1 loss in extra time.

The forward’s match winner in the 97th minute came after her stunning 20-yard volley off her own free kick one minute from regulation.

The Titans were up 1-0 after a goal from junior midfielder Stacy Fox when Pepperdine had a lastminute opportunity on a free kick. Williams’ free kick struck the CSUF wall before the bouncing rebound came back to Williams. The forward put her foot through the ball and sent it through a maze of bodies and into the net.

Williams’ next goal came from her own doing as well. She picked up the ball at the halfway line and dribbled through the midfield before unleashing a 25-yard cracker in the top left corner that left Titan goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic watching.

“We let it slip away. They have a quality soccer player in Lynn Williams and she did what quality soccer players have a tendency to do,” said Titan Head Coach Demian Brown.

“They got lucky. One girl on their team just made it happen for them,” said Titan sophomore defender Summer Chavez.

It was a cagey affair in the first half as both teams couldn’t get a hold of the game. Each team had a chance to take the lead before halftime.

A Titan opportunity came when freshman midfield substitute Jessica Smetherman found junior forward Ann Marie Tangorra out on the right side of penalty area. Tangorra took a touch and promptly blazed it over the post from eight yards out.

In the 45th minute, a Pepperdine counterattack was almost cashed. A trailing leg from Titan senior defender Caitlin Mellano stopped a ground-cross across the face of goal as Pepperdine players came crashing in.

The second half saw the Titans with more creativity and better possessions through midfielder Fox and the substitution of freshman midfielder Lauren Stupin.

For most of the game, the defensive duo of junior JeAnne Mazeau and sophomore Lauren Kelly played well, but they were almost sent running for cover as Kelly was caught in possession by the Waves’ freshman substitute Amanda LeCave. The forward was clear on goal, but Titan goalkeeper Maricic came out of her area, pressuring LeCave into a shot that missed right.

The deadlock was broken in the 84th minute with good play by the Titans in the final third.

Stupin cleverly split two Waves players on the dribble before leaving it off for Chavez to whip it into the box from the right sideline. Junior midfielder Jennifer Smith flicked it on to Fox at the left edge of the penalty area. Fox then very coolly placed it in the top right corner over the diving Waves keeper.

“It was a great ball from Summer. I happened to be on the back post and just put it in upper corner. It felt good,” said Fox. The goal was her first in over a year, as she missed last season with an injury. “It feels good to find it again and remember what it felt like to score and get that back.”

“Yeah, she’s awesome. She did really good. She really held it down for us in the midfield and especially putting that ball away,” Chavez said.

With Fox’s goal, CSUF was sure of securing the big victory for the program if it wasn’t for the Waves’ Williams.

“We had a really good game plan coming in and I thought we executed that game plan really well,” Brown said. “It’s part of the game we’re going to have to learn from because we’re going to be in high quality matches like this again and we want to come out on the other side of it.”

The Titans’ next pair of games will be in Utah as they play Brigham Young University and Utah State Sep. 2 and 4, respectively.

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August 29, 2011

SPORTS

Champs return Women’s volleyball looks to build on last season’s Big West title, the first in school history BLAKE FOGG Daily Titan

Beach season is over. It’s time for our ladies in orange and blue to come back to the hardwood for a little indoor volleyball action. Cal State Fullerton women’s volleyball is hoping to surprise again and defend the school’s first Big West title.

The Titans will bring a talented group of players onto the court this season. The team is led by returning starter, senior setter and Co-Captain Andrea Ragan, 6-foot-5-inch junior opposite or right-side hitter Leah Maurer, who led the team in blocks last year with 82, and 6-foot-2-inch All-Big West junior outside hitter and Co-Captain Kayla Neto. Western Carolina sophomore transfer Leah Best is the tallest Titan at 6 feet 6 inches and is likely a starter at middle blocker. Junior Gabrielle Dewberry will play libero at the start of the tournament season.

The Titans lost three key players from last season in Big West Player of the Year Erin Saddler and three-time All-Big West libero Cami Croteau through graduation.

Senior outside hitter Torrie Brown—second on team in kills with 348 last season—will redshirt while recovering from a torn ACL. With the loss of the three quality starters, this year’s team will be called upon to mesh quickly in the pre-

We work really hard, but it’s not about working hard, it’s about working right and that’s what we did last season.

Kayla Neto Junior, Co-Captain

season if they have any chance of retaining the conference title. The Titans are picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches’ poll. This year’s poll has No. 22 Long Beach State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Santa Barbara ahead of the Titans respectively. Last season’s team—which was also picked to finish fourth—went 26-6 overall and 14-2 in conference play and made it into the postseason for the first time in school history.

“We work really hard,” said Neto, who last year had 340 kills and 81 blocks. “But it’s not about working hard, it’s about working right and that’s what we did last season.”

“We all have to play as a team and have to do our jobs, and I think that will make us successful,” said Ragan, who is CSUF’s fourth all-time assist leader with 3,223.

“We work well together. We all get along and that’s good.

We’re all friends.”

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“It’s a work in progress, and we’re trying to find the right combinations. We definitely have the talent, but with any group of talent, you’re working on how they are going to blend. They have to play as a team and they have to compete,” said Head Coach and 2010 Big West Coach of the Year Carolyn Zimmerman. “The challenge will be whether or not our new players will recognize that bit of intangible that gets into the opponents mouth and they are feeding off of it. Hopefully our team feels the rivalry because if we don’t, it won’t be pretty.”

Getting the team together will rely mainly on how Neto will deal with the pressures of being a main player and moving to a new position. This offseason she was converted from middle blocker to outside hitter, in which Neto said she “has embraced.”

“Neto will have a lot of pressure. She will be delivered more balls than she’s ever been delivered in her career.

What we know is she is used to the pressure,” Zimmerman said of her star player. “She applies her own pressure. She knows she has to do certain things. That’s a calming feeling for me, knowing that we return someone like her who’s used to that kind of pressure.”

What else is reassuring is that the Titans certainly have gotten taller this season by adding three players over six feet to the roster in freshman Elle Moffatt, senior transfer Kim Russell and Best.

“If we can be good, it’s definitely going to make us more competitive. It’s a good correlation. The taller we’ve gotten, the more successful we have been,” Zimmerman said of her tall frontline.

The Titans opened tournament play at the Four Points Sheraton LA Westside Invitational at the campus of Loyola Marymount University where they lost 3-1 to host LMU and 3-0 to No. 11 UCLA. The team did manage to sweep lowly Quinnipiac 3-0 to start the season with a 1-2 record.

“It won’t be easy, but we hope we will get some rhythm in our game and see if we can become effective.

Continue moving forward – That is one of the big goals this preseason. You hope every time you take the floor you move forward,” Zimmerman said.

The Titans travel to the desert of Tuscon, Ariz. to play in the Wildcat Classic against host Arizona in the twoday tournament Sept. 2. Fullerton will also face Eastern Washington and Presbyterian.

The home opener is Sept. 16 against Brigham Young University. Last year the Titans dropped only six sets the whole year at home and lost only one match against Long Beach State.

CSUF begins its title defense against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Sept. 23 at Titan Gym. They travel to Long Beach to face rival Long Beach State Oct. 8. The Titans host the 49ers in a Nov. 5 rematch at Titan Gym.

MARK SAMALA / Daily Titan Rubby de la Rosa (pictured left) and Andre Ethier (pictured right) have been some of the few bright spots for the Dodgers this season.

The most resented man in LA

Frank McCourt has ran the Dodgers into bankruptcy and disappointment on the field, to the chagrin of their fans CLARK PAGADUAN For the Daily Titan

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt upsets and fascinates me.

It’s not the good kind of fascination.

The man is probably the most resented person in LA. Due to his mismanagement, one of the most storied franchises in all of professional sports now lies in a pool of embarrassment. A vast reconstruction process along with large quantities of humiliation-eliminating chlorine would be necessary to clean the mess he’s created.

Thousands of Dodger faithfuls have openly expressed their disdain for McCourt. Some of them wear their “Frankrupt” T-shirts loud and proud. It’s clear that Angelenos want their beloved Dodgers back. But why does Frank McCourt insist on holding on to a franchise that no longer wants a part of him?

I often wonder what it would be like to step into his shoes. I wonder what life throws at him each passing day. A small part of me empathizes for him as he deals with a messy and highly publicized divorce proceeding, a very private and emotional affair for any human being.

A bigger part of me wants to

know why he continues to stay after what he’s done to harm not only the Dodgers, but the game of baseball. I want to dissect his mind so I can attempt to find these difficult answers.

Until then, I can only theorize.

In a recent GrantLand.com article written by Malcolm Gladwell, author of four New York Times bestsellers, the concept of “psychic benefits” among professional sports owners is presented.

Gladwell writes that most owners don’t have to behave like a businessman where the role is to maximize profit, that for some owners, owning a sports team is purely for one’s own psychic benefit. A psychic benefit being a reward for all the years “spent being disciplined and rational,” writes Gladwell.

How does Frank McCourt fit into this concept?

Prior to owning the Dodgers, McCourt had achieved great financial success as a real estate developer in the Boston area. He raised a family and was living the American Dream.

Before buying the Dodgers, he unsuccessfully tried buying the Boston Red Sox, Anaheim Angels and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Red Sox, Angels and Bucs fans rejoice!).

Was the purchase of the Dodg-

ers simply to fulfill his own psychic benefit? Were the Dodgers simply a self-reward for his success?

Based on McCourt’s track record of using the Dodgers money to fund his lavish lifestyle and pay for several of his multi-million dollar homes, I say this idea strongly applies to him.

Only two seasons ago, the Dodgers were a team with reasonable World Series aspirations.

Despite losing in the NLCS two years in a row, a young and hungry core group of players remained.

Spending the money to add a few big-time players to that core could have made them a top-tier team for the next several years and maybe even won them a championship.

Currently, the Dodgers dwell in the bottom cellar of the National League West. The window that seemed so wide a few years ago has been shut and boarded. The Dodgers are bankrupt. Frank McCourt’s quest to satisfy his psychic benefits ruined the iconic Dodgers.

The uncertain future of the Dodgers now lies in the hands of the courts. For the sake of humanity, I pray that McCourt isn’t part of that future.