Vol. 90 Issue 4
September 7, 2011
Has Mike Vick redeemed himself?.......pg. 7
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9/11 ceremony hits close to home Freedom’s Flame Foundation travels across the nation with remnants from attack BROOKE McCALL Daily Titan
A motorcade holding a damaged New York City fire truck and 17.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center came to the Nixon Library Monday morning to mark the 10year anniversary of 9/11. People from all over the county donned patriotic colors to commemorate 9/11 in Yorba Linda, where they could see and touch pieces of American history. The remnants were brought by Freedom’s Flame Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has been showing the fire truck and steel to various cities across the U.S. since 2002. The motorcade traveled across the country in 11 days and passed through 14 state capitals. The journey began in New York City and ended in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. People who attended the event said the World Trade Center steel embodies more than metal. “In that steel and on that fire truck are the remains of people who gave their life that day. That’s why it’s not just steel and not just a fire truck, it’s very important to remember that,” said Dennis Spout, founder and chair of Freedom’s Flame Foundation. WILLIAM CAMARGO / Daily Titan Many who attended the ceremony felt as though the steel represented the remains of people who died in the attack. The motorcade has traveled through 14 capitals on its way to Yorba Linda.
See 9/11, page 2
iPads given to faculty
Tablets are distributed to improve cost efficiency and sustainability
BROOKE McCALL Daily Titan
Paper consumption at Cal State Fullerton, which includes printing, copying and distribution, can add up to $1.6 to $2 million every year. Amir Dabirian, vice president for Information Technology at CSUF, and a division of IT are using tablet technology in an attempt to increase efficiency on campus. “The campus is committed to sustainability and we want to reduce printing for both cost and sustainability,” said Dabirian. After researching several tablet models, the Apple iPad was selected. Last October the IT Department deployed 200 iPads to a group of faculty and administrators to test. After the three-to-four-month trial period a survey was conducted, and according to Dabirian, the results were very positive. “Over 90 percent of the people thought it was a great productivity tool,” Dabirian said. The survey also concluded 67.4 percent of the respondents used specific applications for note-taking, which reduced their paper and printing consumption. After analyzing the costs of buying paper, copiers and printer cartridges, the IT Department found using tablets would be much more cost effective. “This technology can reduce 30 to 40 percent in our paper consumption,” Dabirian said. IT began distributing iPads across the campus in May 2011. “I’m very happy with the rollout. I’m thrilled! I wasn’t expecting it,” said Melinda Blackman, Ph.D, a psychology professor at CSUF. Blackman said the iPads have been a great addition and has noticed everybody has their iPad during faculty meetings. The iPads are an addition to the laptops that are provided to faculty members. In the past, faculty
members would receive a new laptop every three years. Now that faculty members receive iPads as well as laptops, they will only receive an updated laptop every four years. According to Dabirian, this will save thousands of dollars. Recipients were provided with the 16 GB iPad 2 with 3G, equipped with a software package, a stylus and a case. The iPads cost the university $700,000. This was funded by the university budget, Dabirian said. A cost analysis of the deployment concluded that in a year the univer-
The bottom line is we want to have more money to educate our students, and if there was no cost savings to this we would not deploy [the iPads]. Amir Dabirian Vice President for IT
sity would save $730,000 from the reduction in paper consumption as well as from savings in the faculty Laptop Refresh Program. “The savings alone would pay for (the iPads) and bring more efficiency and more productivity. That’s what my excitement was, because it actually produces hard dollars that the university could use for other things,” Dabirian said. The iPads were only distributed to those who are “iPad eligible.” This means only full-time faculty, staff and administrators were eligible. All iPad recipients were required to participate in a training session. The training consisted of prepping the device, adding the applications and training in all the applications. This was then followed by in-depth training on how to use the device effectively in the smart classrooms, in meetings and how to file share.
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Juan Ryusuke Ishikawa, Ph.D, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese, believes the iPad has been a positive addition to the campus. “Communication-wise, I’m much more accessible. Contact with students has become easier,” said Ishikawa. Although the iPad has helped Ishikawa communicate with students and work on the go, he explains that as a Spanish professor, the iPad does not support the typing of accents or other Spanish characters. Dabirian and the IT Department said they will continue to look into new technologies that can make the university more efficient for students, explaining that technology is evolving and changing our education system, and becoming a norm in our everyday lives. “The university strives to be a technology leader. The faculty have iPads in their hands in order to use the latest technology in a learning environment,” Dabirian said. Blackman added that she has seen the iPad rollout most effective when it comes to grading graduate students theses. “Each thesis can be from 50 to 200 pages,” she said. Students now email their thesis and during their presentation, professors can scroll through the document on their iPad instead of being handed a thick stack of papers, Blackman said. Currently, the IT Department is exploring an expansion to the services in the iFullerton application. Within the next year they are hoping to be able to allow students to register for classes through their mobile device using the iFullerton app. “I think it’s important to put out there that we are not adding cost to the university. The bottom line is we want to have more money to educate our students, and if there was no cost savings to this, we would not deploy it,” Dabirian said.
CAMILLE TARAZON / Daily Titan An equality sticker on the back of a parked car near Cal State Fullerton represents today’s acceptance of homosexuality.
New minor supports change CSUF educates students by adding queer studies minor STEVEN YUAN Daily Titan
Today’s societal norms are nowhere near where they were 50, let alone 10 years ago. Different ethnicities, religions and behaviors have merged and of the most taboo, sexual preferences are becoming universally accepted as negative stereotypes are removed. A transformation that once seemed like an insurmountable feat for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community, the LGBT community is now surfacing and gaining rightful equality. Magazines like Out, festivals and organizations celebrating gay communities, and television programs addressing homosexual issues, characters and love affairs are becoming prevalent, proving our culture’s adaptation to new ways of thinking. See NEW MINOR, page 5
Look for our special issue for the 10th anniversary of 9/11