Vol. 90 Issue 13
September 22, 2011
Kelly Thomas protestors confront City Council
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Fullerton community members speak out to City Council about their grievances regarding the Kelly Thomas incident. Scan to view
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Two Fullerton police officers charged with second-degree murder SEAN VIELE & CHARLOTTE KNIGHT Daily Titan
Charges filed against officers ANIBAL ORTIZ / Daily Titan Acting police Chief Kevin Hamilton said the Fullerton Police Department is currently undergoing an FBI investigation, an internal affairs investigation and a department review at a press conference Wednesday.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas filed charges Wednesday against two of the six Fullerton police officers involved in the beating of a homeless man. The charges came after an 11-weeklong investigation that is still underway. Officer Manuel Anthony Ramos was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, and Cpl. Jay Patrick Cicinelli was charged with involuntary manslaughter. The two officers, along with four others, are accused of beating Kelly Thomas to death July 5 at a Fullerton bus depot. Thomas, who had a history of schizophrenia, died five days after the incident. A press conference was also held at the Fullerton Police Department Wednesday afternoon. Sgt. Andrew Goodrich, public information officer, introduced acting police Chief Kevin Hamilton, and informed they would not be taking questions from the press. Hamilton stated that the Police Department is undergoing an FBI civil rights investigation, an independent internal investigation and a department review being conducted by an outside firm, known as the Los Angeles Office of Independent Review. See CHARGES, page 4
Training future Army officers Hockey ready ROTC program provides scholarships and teaches leadership to those who are willing to serve
JESSICA ESCORSIA Daily Titan
It’s 6 a.m., and while many students may be pressing the snooze button on their alarm clocks, the cadets from the Cal State Fullerton ROTC program are already on
campus and ready to begin an hour of intense physical training. The Fullerton ROTC, Reserve Officer Training Course, is an elective study program that is independent of required college degree curriculum. Students can become part of ROTC program without any
JESSICA ESCORSIA / Daily Titan Cpt. Minerva Rodriguez, a recruiting officer for the Fullerton ROTC program, works in the program’s office in the Engineering Building.
commitment to the U.S. Army as long as they meet the requirements. Upon entering the third year in the program, cadets must contractually commit to either active duty with the Army or a reserves contract with the Army or National Guard. The years of commitment will depend on which type of agreement each individual makes. “The whole focus is to train (college) students to be officers in the Army. Upon completion of their bachelor’s degree from CSUF, they end up getting a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army,” said Cpt. Minerva Rodriguez, recruiting operations officer. Requirements include being a U.S. citizen, meeting medical qualifications and meeting the physical requirements. Students must also be enrolled at a four-year college or university either at CSUF or any of the other four participating schools: Biola University, Vanguard University, Whittier College or Chapman University. Eligibility also states students should have a minimum
2.5 GPA. However, Rodriguez adds that due to the economy and recent budget cuts, which have also affected the amount of scholarships they award, GPA requirements have become more competitive. The first two years in the program, known as MSI and MSII (military science), cadets learn the basics of the Army and military. This includes learning how to salute properly, studying military branches and military ranks, and how to wear the uniform properly. As cadets enter their third and fourth years, they begin an advanced training course in leadership and preparation for officer duties. This program is beneficial to those interested in joining the military because it gives students the opportunity to have the normal college experience, get their bachelor’s degree, earn a minor in military science and enter the Army as an officer. See ROTC, page 2
The club is gearing up for another season that begins against rival USC next week SEAN VIELE Daily Titan
The Cal State Fullerton hockey team is ready to hit the ice next week in what it hopes will be the start of a successful season that will eventually take the Titans to the ACHA regional tournament in February. After the first official practice Tuesday night, the Titans are feeling good about the upcoming 2011-12 campaign. “I’m very optimistic about the upcoming season,” said Brandon Heethuis, goaltender and team captain. “We’re a pretty young team this year. The experienced guys need to step up this year and try to help out the new rookies. Our goal is ultimately to make regionals.” In order to accomplish this, the Titans know they are going to have to play better in their own zone than they did last season, when they often got bottled up defensively and allowed too many shots on goal per
Health services fees may increase Cause is higher demand for mental services SHANNON McPHERSON For the Daily Titan
The Cal State Fullerton mandatory health fee may increase from $90 to $140 due to a greater demand from the Mental Services Department. The fee hike would increase the amount of counseling, staff and psychiatric care available to students. It would also make the department available for after-hour calls for anyone in crisis. “We’re really seeing a great need. We have a higher incidence of thoughts of suicide, depression and relationship issues than the national norm,” said Kathy Spofford, associate director of the Student Health and Counseling Center at CSUF. Roughly 1 percent of students on campus have tried to commit suicide in the past year. That’s 360 students, according to the Healthy Minds 2010 survey. The National College Health Assessment (NCHA) determines priority health issues among student populations. The NCHA identifies students’ risk factors, impact of health and behavior on academic performance and level of self-knowledge about health protection practices and illnesses through surveys and assessments. The most current assessment, completed Contact Us at dtnewsdesk@gmail.com
in 2010, was done by a random sample of 10,000 enrolled students through an email survey. “I think it’s a good idea that they (the health center) want to open it up for (mental services) because that is a large amount of students, even if it’s only 1 percent of everybody that goes here,” said Jewel Peeler, 21, a liberal arts major. According to a study by the NCHA, 94.7 percent of students are depressed due to school-related stresses and 92.1 percent feel exhausted. “If it helps a small portion of people, I think it’s worth it,” Peeler said of the fee increase. The fee works similar to health insurance in that the more people you have paying, the less it costs, Spofford said. CSUF has the largest amount of students among the CSUs. However, not all students believe they should even be required to pay the health fee, let alone be subject to the increase. “I think the people who need to use it should have to pay the fee, not the people who don’t use it,” said Misti Miller, 25, an undecided major. According to the 2010-11 CSU list of fee rates, CSUF along with Cal State Long Beach currently have the lowest fees for health services. See HEALTH, page 5
game. They averaged about 40 shots against per game last year. “We’ve got to lock down the defensive zone,” Heethuis said. “Me being the goalie, I need to help carry the defense and keep the puck out of the back of the net. Every other game we were getting out-shot and we can’t have that this year.” The Titans finished 13-16-0 last season, allowing 150 goals against in 31 games. But on the positive side, the Titans have faith in their current defensive core, a side of the team that should be a strong point this season, Heethuis said. After the defensive woes of seasons past, Heethuis is looking forward to potentially having solid blue liners, an aspect that is very important to the success of a goaltender. Up front, the Titans are hopeful. Despite losing their top scorer from last season, third-year Titan forward Patrick McDevitt believes the team has the potential to be as good offensively as it was last season when it collectively scored 126 goals in the 31 games played. See CLUB, page 10
Cleaning up Huntington Beach
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The Daily Titan takes a look at community members’ efforts to clean up litter in Huntington Beach. dailytitan. com/hbcleanf11
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