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Renovations and expansion set for science center BRIAN DAY Daily Titan
As scientific achievements such as the space shuttle and the Mars Rover Curiosity make headlines and spark renewed public fascination in science, the nonprofit Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana has announced a $62 million expansion and renovation plan. The project, to be carried out in several phases, will nearly double the size of the center, located at 2500 N. Main Street, Discovery Science Center spokesman Dan Nasitka said. Construction is expected to break ground this winter with the first phase being the 40,000-square-foot Discovery Pavillion to complement the existing 59,000-square-foot center, which will undergo major remodeling and become the expanded center’s Grand Hall of Science. “We are basically at capacity,” said Nasitka. “There’s a need to expand. The goal with this project is to be the number one science center in the nation.” The facility hosts about 525,000 visitors every year, including tens of thousands of school children on field trips, Discovery Center officials said. “Our expansion will double the number of visitors to one million and expand our field trips to reach
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LOCAL | Discovery Science Center
The popular educational facility will double in size over the next eight years
FITNESS 8
210,000 students annually,” Joe Adams, president of the Discovery Science Center, said in a written statement. The Discovery Science Center’s focus is teaching kids about science, technology, engineering and mathematical fields in a way that captures their imaginations and fosters further interest, according to officials. “We like that we’re a community resource for science education and hands-on learning,” Nasitka said. Following the completion of the first and largest phase of construction, subsequent phases will include the addition of an IMAX theater, a hall dedicated to life science and an environmental pavillion, according to Nasitka. Fundraisers are nearing the $18.5-million goal required for the first phase of the project, which was tentatively scheduled for completion in spring 2014, Nasitka said. About $7 million has been provided by state grants and $3 million given by private donors. The center plans to take out a short-term $5 million loan for the project’s first phase, leaving $3 million still to raise from private donors. Kellee Preston, vice president of operations for the science center, who is in charge of designing exhibits, said she and her staff were excited with the possibilities presented by the massive expansion. SEE DISCOVERY, 2
DISCOVERY SCIENCE CENTER Visitors annually:
Expansion cost:
525,000
$62 million
Size when done:
Will be finished by:
More than 100,000 square feet
2020
VOLLEYBALL MAKES HISTORY
ALEX CALISH / For the Daily Titan
Gabrielle Dewberry (12) jumps for joy with some of her fellow teammates. The Titans defeated Long Beach State for the first time in 30 years. Senior outside hitter Kayla Neto (4) recorded her eighth consecutive double-double of the season and had 17 kills and 22 digs.
The Beach is closed Titans finally snap 30-year, 59-match losing streak against the 49ers
LINDSAY HENKEL For the Daily Titan
The Cal State Fullerton women’s volleyball team (10-10, 4-3 in conference) defeated Long Beach State on Saturday for the first time in 30 years. In addition to making history over the weekend, The Titans were able to add two wins to their record, bringing them to a .500 record for the season. The Titans hosted their bitter rival, Long Beach State. There was more at stake this game beside beating their arch enemy; the Titans had not tasted victory against the 49ers in three decades. The last victory CSUF had over CSULB was on Oct. 19, 1982. Even though this was such a big game for the Titans, Head Coach Zimmerman was able to keep calm throughout the game
and approach it just like any other match. “It was important all night to have the underdog mentality,” said Zimmerman. After this enormous accomplishment of a win, the Titans would no longer feel like underdogs. The women of the volleyball team had a lot to be celebrating about after their 3-1 (28-26, 16-25, 25-11, 25-16) historic victory over the 49ers. The first match of the game had the fans on the edge of their seat. The Titans would score three points, while 49ers would come right back scoring three points. It was a close until the Titans pulled away at the end of the set to take the win by two points. However, in the second match, the 49ers were able to take an early lead over the Titans. The 49ers held on and ultimately won the second match, tying the game 1-1.
PLACENTIA CELEBRATES HERITAGE A local high school band marched down Kraemer Boulevard as the City of Placentia held its 48th-Annual Heritage Festival and Parade Saturday, which featured several marching bands, a classic car show and other exhibitions of community involvement. The parade route ended at Tri-City Park, where vendors sold food and crafts in a festive atmosphere. The “Game Area showcased jugglers, mimes, clowns and face painting for the kids. The parade is held annually to honor the day Placentia officially became a city.
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After the half was over, it looked like a whole new Titan team came out to finish the rest of the game. Junior outside hitter Bre Moreland had an excellent game with 12 kills and 16 digs. She knew the team had to turn it around after the second set. “I think it was just us realizing we were so much better than the way we were playing in the second set and we kind of just looked at each other in the locker room and said lets go, we can do this,” said Moreland. They came back into the game with more fire and ferocity. The Titans completely dominated in the third and fourth sets, taking home the win. It appeared that whatever was said during the half was crucial in their win. SEE VOLLEYBALL, 3
CAMPUS | Student tutoring
Mentor group guides psychology students Tutoring and general counceling are offered to lower-level classmates LAUREN TORRES Daily Titan
Cal State Fullerton’s Psychology Peer Mentors offer help with lower division tutoring, graduation options and requirements, APA style writing and more. They also provide outreach to high schools and other colleges whose students are interested in psychology, and give extended guidance of what a degree in the field will entail. Kristin Beals, Ph.D., an associate psychology professor, has been part of the CSUF faculty since 2005 and is also a peer mentor adviser for the program. “We provide basic help... tutoring, homework help for the introductory level classes, introduction to psychology, intro to stats class, research methods class, computer applications class, (and) we’re also willing to help with other classes,” said Beals. She was responsible for getting the program reinstated after it was suspended during the furlough years. Beals said there is a simple application process and that as long as
students express their interest and have a good grade-point average, they are great candidates for the position. She also mentioned that the group of students are comprised of mostly juniors and seniors. “Very rarely do we turn someone away who wants to help, because it’s great that people want to help,” said Beals. “They also have to be available for weekly meetings… we meet almost every week”. As a peer mentor, one’s responsibilities include holding office hours for students who seek help or information. Everyone is required to write a minimum of one article and a final report as well as keep an attendance journal and meet with student advisers. Not only do the students benefit from the help, but the tutors do as well, since they earn units being a mentor. “It’s considered a class. There’s 496 units which are the student tutorial units. But students can actually only use three units total towards graduation, towards university electives,” said Beals. “Many of our students will be a peer mentor two, three semesters, or many more units than that. So for many it ends up being truly volunteer.” SEE MENTOR, 4
NEWS
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OCTOBER 16, 2012 TUESDAY
DISCOVERY: Millions furnished for center CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Courtesy of Discovery Science Center
Concept art for the expansion of the Discovery Science Center.
Along with new permanent, yet dynamic and scalable exhibits that can be altered depending on what age group is viewing them, the renovated science center will also include a Teachers’ Resource Center, where schoolteachers can meet with experts for advice on scientific lesson plans, as well as to check out teaching props or experiments, Preston said. The science center currently has 20 on-staff teachers and partners in scientific powerhouses such as Boeing and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. And with 40,000 square feet of fresh exhibit space to be filled when the first phase is completed in spring 2014, and more to follow soon after, “I love my job,” she said. “All the exhibits are designed inhouse with a focus on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics),” Preston said. “That is our goal,” she added. “To give children in the community more exposure to those opportunities and those careers.”
The exact timing of the completion of the other stages of the project is dependent on the outcome of future fundraising campaigns, Nasitka added, however the entire project is expected to be finished in the next few years, well before 2020.
“There’s a need to expand. The goal with this project is to be the number one science center in the nation.” DAN NASITKA Discovery Science Center Spokesman The Discovery Science Center is expected to grow well beyond
100,000 square feet by the time all phases of work are completed, Preston said. Cal State Fullerton student Anthony Nguyen, a math major, said he was glad to hear of the project. “If it will help get kids interested in science and math, I’m all for it,” Nguyen said. “I think science and math are probably the most practical majors to get into.” He recalled having his interest in science sparked by a museum exhibit on electricity when he was young. In addition to the recent announcement of the massive expansion project, Nasitka said, the science center staff are also excited to be hosting the U.S. premiere of the “Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archeology” exhibit, which opened Friday. The exhibit, presented in conjunction with National Geographic and Lucasfilm, places props from the movies alongside genuine artifacts. More information on the Discovery Science Center is available at DiscoveryCube.org.
FOR THE RECORD It is Daily Titan policy to correct factual errors printed in the publication. Corrections will be published on the subsequent issue after an error is discovered and will appear on page 2. Errors on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections will also be made to the online version of the article. Please contact Editor-in-Chief Anders Howmann at 657-2785815 or at dteditorinchief@gmail.com with issues about this policy or to report any errors.
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Harsher penalties for skateboarders City officials in Laguna Beach have proposed an ordinance to confiscate skateboards from minors under the age of 18 who are caught riding without a helmet. According to the Orange County Register, problems have continued in the community even after a series of regulations went into effect last year. This has caused city officials to consider a new penalty. State law already requires minors to wear a helmet, but with the new penalty the city is aiming to encourage safer skating within its limits. In 2011, regulations were passed in Laguna Beach that banned skateboarders from riding down the steepest neighborhoods in the area—but that did not stop violators. Earlier this year, the city council discussed these persisting issues at a meeting attended by both parents and teens who promised to respect the new rules. At that time, Councilwoman Toni Iseman proposed the ordinance to inspire more compliance from skaters. If the regulation is passed, first-time offenders will have their skateboard held at the Laguna Beach police station for a week, and the violator will have to bring his or her parents to the station to allow the skateboard to be released. Brief by LAUREN TORRES
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Supporters of Proposition 34 rally to end capital punishment in California. The hot-button issue is controlled by state governments and is one of many that will steer the California’s future.
Death penalty on trial in Nov. Proposition 34 to abolish the death penalty in Calif. coming November 6 CALE KAVANAUGH For the Daily Titan
Among the various pieces of legislation that anxiously await California voter’s influence lies Proposition 34, which will eliminate the death penalty in California and replace it with a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole. Proposition 34 would provide $100 million of funding and grants to California law enforcement over the course of the next four years, money that would otherwise be used to pay for the inmates’ habeas corpus cases. It is also projected that the legislation would save $130 million by cutting the spending that provides for inmates on death row. Opponents of Proposition 34 assert that California has already made its voice heard enough in favor of the death penalty while those in favor of the legislation claim that it will save a great deal of taxpayer money by doing away with the death sentence. Cal State Fullerton held a panel in September to cover both sides of the issue. Attending was Gil Garcetti, former Los Angeles district attorney and principal author of the proposition. Garcetti opposed the death penalty not from a standpoint of moral opposition against the practice itself but by the way in which the death penalty has been managed in California, according to Stacy Mallicoat, Ph.D., associate professor and acting chair of the Division of Politics, Administration and Justice at CSUF. Garcetti also pointed out that trials surrounding the death penalty generate a heavy load of costs as well as a great deal of risk in the possibility of executing the innocent. Representing the other side of the issue was Michele Hainsee, another Los Angeles district attorney who ar-
Proposition 34 Fast Facts Savings to the state: High tens of millions of dollars annually
Cost to taxpayers: $100 million total
Creates: $100 million fund to aid in homicide and rape cases gued against the proposition, advocating that California should continue to adopt capital punishment and utilize it more in practice than on paper. Hainsee said the often overlooked option in regards to the death penalty is to start executing inmates on death-row. Mallicoat, who is personally in favor of the proposition, described the debate as “spirited” and said, “A question of cost… is it worth spending this much more money, because it is in fact more expensive to carry out the death penalty than it is to keep somebody in prison for the rest of their natural lives at the highest level of security,” she said. “Is it worth the extra cost to cut off some of (their) life expectancy? (The death penalty) is one of those things that is too expensive to do right, but it’s something you just don’t want to do wrong,” Mallicoat said. “Someone convicted of crimes of such a level of a heinous crime will die in prison,” she added. Mallicoat said life in prison, as the substitute and alternative to the death sentence, would only allow a person to leave prison “in a coffin.” Mallicoat noted that if California were to begin executions today and carried out once a week, it would be over ten years before the state executed all the inmates currently on death row.
Luis Robles, a mechanical engineering major, said he opposes the proposition on the basis that the death penalty is necessary in preserving the stability of society. “As a civil society, we have the authority to protect the community, so as a society we are allowed to have a death penalty,” said Robles. Political science major Rachele Willis disagreed. “I believe the death penalty should stay because the voters have voted for it (in the past),” she said. Some oppose the death penalty on the basis of moral grounds like Alex Fletcher, a history major, who called capital punishment “cruel and unusual.” Others object because of the expensive, and seemingly empty threat the death penalty has become. The death penalty had 300 convicted inmates when originally passed in 1978, a number that has grown to 729 today. Over the course of those 34 years, only 13 convicts have been executed. More prisoners on death row have died from natural causes and suicide. Habeas corpus mandates that anyone convicted of a crime by the state courts has the right to have their case re-examined by federal courts, and it is not unusual for inmates on death row to have five or six appeals for their case.
Surrogates of the Iranian government are suspected of cyber attacking U.S. banks and various international oil companies in the Middle East. According to CNN, U.S. officials strongly suspect a strong relationship between those behind the attacks and the Iranian government. The assertion, however, has not been made publicly. Defense secretary Leon Panetta told the U.S. government as a whole to strengthen its cyber systems in case of a potential strike. Iran’s director of the Iranian Cyberspace Center told CNN that the accusation was just “one of the main aims of the United States is to make itself look like the victim,” and referred to past U.S. cyber attacks against Iran. The attacks hit U.S banks with unexpected speed, disrupting customer service. No financial losses were discovered. While Panetta said that Iran was behind the attacks, he stated that this was what U.S. officials believed, but has still to be proven. Brief by ARJUN MALHOTRA
Flexible phones hit market The idea of pinching and swiping the screens on phones has been accomplished by a Japanese company, NTT Docomo, which has invented phones capable of being squished and pinched to perform functions. The phone is not only sensitive to screen touches but also to pressure applied to the sides. This has all been done to make controlling the phone easier with one hand. The phone is capable of external functions due to 270 sensors embedded in its body. For example, gripping the sides of the phone with all five fingers will unlock the screen. The Nokia phone will use Samsung-developed flexible organic light-emitting display (OLED). NTT Docomo combines the technology of OLED with haptics (the study of touch) to create a phone fitting the best of both worlds. Brief by ARJUN MALHOTRA
NEWS
OCTOBER 16, 2012 TUESDAY
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THE DAILY TITAN
ROTC STUDENTS STRIVE FOR SUCCESS ON THE FIELD Photos by ROBERT HUSKEY / Daily Titan
RIGHT: (From left to right) Donald Kidwell, Michael Haubdnschild, and Trent Frum from Cal State Fullerton’s ROTC carry a 165 pound dummy while competing in the Special Forces Association Shooter’s Cup, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012, in Corona, California.
BOTTOM LEFT: Trent Frum explodes a target after firing a shotgun during the Special Forces Association Shooter’s Cup, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012, in Corona, California.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Robert Santa Ines from Cal State Fullerton’s ROTC fires his weapon during the Special Forces Association Shooter’s Cup, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012, in Corona, California.
VOLLEYBALL: Titans end 30-year Beach burn CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
“We were witnessing some mediocre volleyball going on and we were capable of taking it up a few notches,” Zimmerman said. Like a scene out of D2: The Mighty Ducks, Zimmerman asked her team to switch jerseys during a break. “The other thing I found unappealing to my eye is the fact that all the teams were in white, so I also asked them to change their jerseys, and if that led to momentum shift I am all for it,” Zimmerman added. Senior outside hitter Kayla Neto led the Titans to the monumental win with match highs in kills (17) and digs (22). “I think we decided we had a really great opportunity to beat them, this is the year and we just came out and played our game,” said Neto. This win will be forever remembered by everyone at CSUF. The team was able to put an end to the multiple decade losing streak
Titans vs ‘49ers Wins
Wins
Season: 10 All-Time: 348
Season: 10 All-Time: 726
Losses
Losses
Season: 9 All-Time: 178
Season: 10 All-Time: 704 against Long Beach State. Zimmerman has been the head coach for 11 years, and along with many great victories this is a huge accomplishment she can add as a notch on her belt. “It’s obviously awesome to make history, and what I have learned about making history is some nights it happens when you least expect it. We knew we had an opportunity here tonight,” Zimmerman said. Members of the team reflected
on the win. “As a team it’s great, it hasn’t been done in 30 years. I think it’s a huge motivator for our team,” Moreland said. The Titans can finally put all the previous losses against the 49ers behind them and focus on the rest of the season and Big West Conference play. “Any night we can beat ‘the beach’ is a big deal, and we will take it and run with it,” Zimmerman said.
PSYCH: Mentors available for tutoring CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Edwin Ocampo, 22, a psychology major and vice president of the Lambda Theta Phi Latin Franternity Inc., has been a peer mentor for two semesters. He explained that his desire to be a peer mentor came from his willingness to help people and the satisfaction he gets from providing others with information and questions he once had as an incoming student at the university. “When I first started here at CSUF, I had a lot of questions that people couldn’t answer and I wasn’t as inclined to go to a counselor because I didn’t feel as comfortable going in there every other day,” said Ocampo. “The difference between us (peer mentors) and a counselor is that we’re usually around the age of the student as well, so they have an easier time feeling more comfortable around us to ask different questions that they might not typically ask counselors.” Brian Dizon, 22, also a psychology major, has been a peer mentor since spring 2012 after he found out about
the program from a flier. Like Ocampo, Dizon expressed a passion for helping people. “I want to teach a research methods course in the future,” said Dizon. “I also like teaching statistics and the importance of it.” Dizon’s office hours for students with questions are Tuesdays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursdays 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., but most of the time he is in there unofficially and waits for students to approach him whenever they want. He also created the Psychology Peer Mentor website, Psych.Fullerton.edu/pm12/index.html. Allina Babur, 26, a psychology major and first-time mentor, said sometimes the program can conflict with personal study time, but that the benefits of helping others outweighs that conflict. “It’s nice to be able to help people because you’ve been in that situation before where you’ve got papers and you don’t know if you’re formatting it right... you’ve got questions and you don’t know where to go,” said Babur.
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OPINION
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OCTOBER 16, 2012 TUESDAY
Couresty of MCT
There have been many cases of people from outside California travelling to take advantage of the recycling program here, which has cost the state $100 million more than it took in.
Only Californians should be allowed to use the state recyling program and recieve state cash BEVI EDLUND Daily Titan
California has a great recycling redemption program; it is one of the few states where you can be reimbursed for drinking a bottle of soda while helping the environment at the same time. However, there are many conniving people coming from different states that have caught onto this. These frauds are costing California $40 million dollars a year and could exceed $200 million, the Los Angeles Times reported. California’s bottle and can redemption value is 5 cents, and there are people from Arizona and Nevada coming into California to claim redemption deposits that were never paid into. Nevada and Arizona don’t have deposit laws, so some people bring semi-trailers
Reuse, reduce, recycle, rip off full of cans and bottles into California, according to the LA Times. In addition, recyclers inside the state are claiming redemptions for the same containers several times over, or for containers that never even existed. This has added up to a literally unreal return percentage of nearly 100 pecent across the state. Some will say that people bringing in bottles and cans from other states is a good thing, because if people have incentive to recycle, it will eliminate the amount of waste in landfills and in the oceans. Although the act of bringing cans over from other states helps the environment, it negatively affects the people of California. When these people are redeeming deposits they are claiming bigger reimbursements than they deserve; when they do this it’s draining the state’s $1.1 billion recycling fund. To put things in perspective, the fund paid out $100 million more in expenses
last year than it took in from deposits and other sources, according to the LA Times. This impacts the taxpayers of California because that money has to come from somewhere; the money that these people are taking hurts our wallets.
“The problem with our... system is that anyone from anywhere can recycle and receive money from it.” The only other nearby state with a deposit program is Oregon, which isn’t as large, populated, or in as close proximity to as many states. In fact, California is the only other state outside of
Hawaii to directly run a recycling program through private centers, according to the LA Times. These reasons are why California is such a high target for recycling fraud. Other states have beverage distributors or sellers collect the deposits and pay the redemption costs, so they—and not the state—are responsible for the money. The act of recycling is simple: Throw your bottles and cans into separate containers, once they’re weighed out a reimbursement is dispersed, and you’re on your way to buying a pack of cigarettes or something of the like. The problem with our California recycling redemption system is that anyone from anywhere can recycle and receive money from it. Law requires the state to make it easy to recycle, which makes sense, otherwise people would be less likely to do it. But with reports showing how much fraud is draining the recycling fund, the California government should change these
regulations. Anyone recycling for money should show California identification. This way, those who are not from California and are serious about recycling can still help clean up the environment and be reimbursed for it. Obtaining reimbursements from the government is an incentive to recycle plastic bottles and cans. What if the system becomes so drained that redemptions are one day eliminated? It seems that most people won’t go out of their way to recycle if they’re not getting anything back. This could have serious impact on the environment in the future. Keeping the environment clean is just as important as keeping people from other states claiming funds that they never paid into, because both go hand in hand to keep a healthy environment. It is simple logic that if someone didn’t pay his or her deposit for a bottle or can in California, he or she should not be able to claim the benefits that come from recycling.
University diversity is essential The University of Texas shouldn’t be sued for factoring racial diversity into applications; it will improve education DANIEL HERNANDEZ Daily Titan
Back in 2008, the University of Texas denied Abigail Fisher admission for enrollment. Fisher, a white woman, later sued the university alleging it discriminated against her because of race. But the university maintains that its enrollment procedures, aimed at cultural diversity, are fair. On Wednesday, Oct. 10, the Supreme Court of the United States deliberated over the issue, with conservative justices drilling the university for considering race in its enrollment process. The judges are not expected to come to a final verdict until June, and one can only hope it’s enough time to let the crowd settle down and for the courts to reach a sensible decision. The University of Texas’ enrollment process is a blend of conservative individualistic values and liberal social-progression ideals. The college automatically enrolls the top 10 percent of students from each high school in the state, while the rest of the incoming students are chosen with the consideration of race, ethnicity, work ethic and other hardships. Since the change, the university says the culture of the college has begun to diversify. A college environment should match that of its community, and for the sake of democratic pluralism, the school should be able to do what it can to make the university a melting pot. For instance, diversity in the state—37 percent Hispanic and 11.8 percent African American according to the 2010 U.S. census—does not match the makeup of the university. The student population is 17.56 percent Hispanic and 4.2 percent African-American, according to 2011-2012 numbers from the university’s website. The college has much work to do beCONTACT US AT DTOPINION@GMAIL.COM
fore it can claim a diverse learning environment that reflects the state. The bulk of the university’s enrollment comes from the initial top 10 percent of high school graduates, an assessment that doesn’t emphasize other factors like ethnicity, extracurricular activity, community service and work activity. With the rest of its enrollment process, the college should be allowed to consider these other aspects to promote culture and to give students with hardships a fighting chance. Teens in high school who grew up with no strong economic purse drove the path of education in a beat-up automobile, barely chugging along to allow them to reach their destination. But with much pushing and shoving the ones who reached their goal and aimed to pursue higher education should be viewed under a different microscope than the other students. The University of Texas should feel good for giving such kids a chance at extended academia. Now Fisher, a Louisiana State University graduate, wants the Supreme Court to rule the school’s enrollment procedures unconstitutional, which consequently will overturn a 2003 Supreme Court ruling lead by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. O’Connor has since retired from the Supreme Court, but was in attendance for the hearing—watching over the proceedings as if to remind the current justices the importance of precedence. Meanwhile, Fisher’s life seems to be moving along just fine; she already has a job in an attorney’s office with a college degree; the denial hasn’t seemed to create any difficulties for her. The justices should be looking at why she is suing in the first place. The whole case has the odor of a political agenda. But all conspiracies aside, the state of Texas should look at other aspects of education that might be building a brick wall for some student’s ability to reach higher education.
While much is taken into consideration with the enrollment procedures, the state of Texas should also look at K-12 schools to figure out why minority enrollment lacks with college institutions. This is the learning area where government should be paying the most attention to when building a path to success for kids with hardships and minority students. Ideally a college should not have to look into any other aspects of a student except for grades and test scores, but given the country’s history of enslaving people because of the color of their skin, a great deal of effort should be made to right that wrong. Having to come up with a point at which to stop the enrollment procedure, as Justice Antonin Scalia asked about during the hearing, according to an article by the Associated Press, shouldn’t be important. “How do they figure out that particular classes don’t have enough? What, somebody walks in the room and looks them over to see who looks Asian, who looks black, who looks Hispanic? Is that how it’s done?” he said. No your honor. They fill out a form before enrolling, letting the college know what they believe their ethnicity or race is. We do it on mortgages, why can’t it be done for higher education? There are plenty of colleges in the state and in the country to enroll every student with good enough grades, as evidenced by Fisher. The enrollment process at the University of Texas is fair because it utilizes two fundamental qualities found in both political ideologies in the United States: individualism and social equality. It’s what this nation was founded on, after all. The Supreme Court has a duty to affirm the court of appeals ruling for the University of Texas and let the school enroll the student body it wants in order to better represent the campus life. And that means creating a campus life that includes everyone.
OPINION
OCTOBER 16, 2012 TUESDAY
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THE DAILY TITAN
PoliTalks
BRANDON TABBACK Courtesy of MCT
Last week Vice President Joe Biden debated Representative Paul Ryan in the only Vice Presidential debate.
Neither VP is my candidate While Biden bullied, Ryan failed to give specifics, and neither one deserves a vote ALEX GROVES For the Daily Titan
Last Thursday’s Vice Presidential debate once again failed to provide Americans with anything more than fluff and factual inaccuracies. Vice President Joe Biden’s brash lack of decorum paired with Congressman Paul Ryan’s continual equivocations made for great entertainment, but failed to give the American people what they needed most: a clear picture of what a Mitt Romney or Barack Obama administration would look like over the next four years. For a variety of reasons, the debate left Americans with no definite picture on who would make the most progress or innovation over the next four years and many people feel sour about voting for either of the two candidates. The first of many problems with the debate was Biden’s continual and needless interruptions. Biden appeared to be using a trick out of Romney’s playbook by being aggressive, but the vice president’s crack at taking the reins of the debate failed miserably. Throughout the first half of the debate especially, Biden appeared domineering and cold. His laughter and continual interruptions didn’t make Ryan look less credible. On the contrary, they just reflected poorly on the gaffe-master himself. The reports by some media outlets that Ryan had won the debate reflected a common notion among people: nobody likes a bully. This is not to say that Ryan won on the basis of the information he provided. Ryan barely elaborated on Romney’s five-point plan for restoring the economy, something that needs to be supplemented with great detail. The problem in the 2008 debates (as is the case now), is that trigger words like “hope,” and “change” were thrown out as if they really meant something in particular. As much as the Romney campaign tries to act as though they’re being clear, they’re really not.
Americans know the five-point plan is based on energy independence and less taxation for small businesses, and they understand that it means getting people to work again. But without specifics, the five-point plan is about as good as “hope” or “change.” They can’t sell themselves as being the opposite of Obama when they’re doing the same thing. Then there was the issue that Ryan couldn’t answer Biden’s questions on Syria or provide math for the Romney tax plan. There might have very well been a mathematical logic to the $5 trillion in loopholes the Romney administration wants to cut and, if that’s the case, Ryan needed to rise up to Biden’s challenge by showing the American people the numbers. It’s not enough to simply say that it’s been done before. But perhaps with how much each side was trying to make the other look bad, that became impossible. After all, a good chunk of the debate was spent between Biden’s unnecessary mocking and Ryan’s continual commentary on how bad things are under Obama. All throughout the debate, back and forth finger-pointing was a regular occurrence. It was the ultimate cop-out: The other side is really bad, so that excuses me from not talking about myself. Americans are looking for cold hard facts in this election, and that’s not unreasonable seeing that almost everything up until this point has been drivel. The past few years have been unpleasant for Americans. The economy continues to stagnate, and we’re massively in debt. Medicare and Social Security are huge issues as well. A lot of citizens are worried not only for themselves, but for the future of their children in these unsure economic times. That’s why it’s not going to work for politicians to dress up the usual equivocations and evasions in passionate speech and theatricality. Ultimately, whether Obama or Romney wins will depend upon which of the two men can give Americans a clear picture of what they’re going to do. Finger-pointing and evading questions will not work with the American people this time around. And as we saw from Biden during this debate, being badly-behaved isn’t going to work either.
PETA’s blasting off again
The animal-right’s activists are simply looking for easy publicity from game fans PETER PHAM Daily Titan
The concept of the Pokémon game series was meant to be simple: catch them, train them and fight them. But does the popular Japanese brand intend to teach children the values of friendship and responsibility, or promote animal cruelty? With the release of Pokémon: Black 2 and Pokémon: White 2 on Oct. 7, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), created a campaign to protest the violence promoted in the hit Japanese role playing game. PETA has created their own version of the famous series in which players can experience suffering through a turn based flash game, as the famous Pokémon named Pikachu is tired of being mistreated by humans and decides to fight back. The Pikachu character battles it out with crazed human captors, picks up Pokémon friends along the way, and throughout the campaign delivers PETA’s condemnation of animal mistreatment via poorly-written dialogue. But the idea that this fight for “justice” is really about the idea of animals being mistreated in a game which was created almost two decades ago seems a bit suspect. The animal rights group released a statement Oct. 8 saying that the way Pokémon were stuffed in their Poké Balls was akin to elephants and other circus animals being jammed in cages until ready for use. For those unfamiliar, Pokémon (or “pocket monsters”) are caught by trainers and carried in little round devices called Poké Balls. The portability and convenience of the Poké Ball is a staple in the Pokémon world, as it allows the trainer (and in the case of the
The Rundown: Prop 34 kills the death penalty with a catch There are competing schools of thought when it comes to capital punishment. Often thickly-worded, the arguments of both camps tend to boil down to the same issue: the sanctity of life. Those opposing the death penalty see even one executed prisoner who was not guilty as too many. Those supporting it see the loss of the victim’s life as tragic enough to justify the reaction; the potential loss of life is enough reason to end the threat for good. Those opposed to execution argue that the criminals would still be sealed away for life, removing them from potentially hurting anyone else. Supporters fire back that a killers’ survival hurts the family and friends of the victims. There is no end to the back and forth, and there never will be, but this doesn’t stop supporters of Proposition 34 from trying to amend the California Constitution. While Proposition 34 might have some noble intentions, it comes with the caveat of adding extra complications to the funding and legal proceedings of current and future criminals. For some perspective on California’s death penalty; in 1972 capital punishment was ruled in violation to the California State Constitution. Six years later the voting public amended the constitution to allow the death penalty to continue. Since then 13 prisoners have been executed and another 725 are awaiting execution. Since 2006, there’s been a moratorium on the death penalty for two reasons; the method of execution could result in great pain, and the process of getting someone executed is needlessly expensive and overly lengthy. Since 1978, California taxpayers
have spent $4 billion to see 13 people face the judgment that was given to them, according to the study “Executing the Will of the Voters.” While this is hardly a drop in the bucket, it’s not as damning as you might expect; the $140 million spent annually on death row inmates is less than one percent of the state budget, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. This is largely relative, though, and should be considered on a more focused scale. The average inmate costs the state around $65,000 a year, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Inexpensive, considering the cost of each of those 725 death row inmates equates to over $190,000 a year. Their incarceration isn’t what drives up these massive bills, but rather the process of getting them to execution. Death row inmates cost almost three times more than other prisoners. A vast majority of those costs are put into trial, automatic appeals and state and federal habeas corpus petitions. The cost of their incarceration itself was little over $40,000 a year, no more expensive than the average inmate. Proposition 34 also attempts to make sure that the truly guilty are prosecuted more efficiently, putting over half of the money it says it would annually save into a “SAFE California Fund.” This money is to be distributed to precincts when dealing with cases of murder or rape to help assuage costs of processing DNA evidence and getting the hours needed to work the cases. The problem is how Proposition 34 allocates the spending of this extra money. The money could go towards expanding the law enforcement bud-
get altogether, to help find those truly guilty, but this bill doesn’t propose that. Instead it nitpicks causes to be defined by the attorney general. This fund has a cap of $100 million, but gets refilled every fiscal year, leading to no real oversight in how it’s spent. The rest of the savings promised in this bill will go to putting all the inmates on death row back into the appellate process to receive life in prison without the possibility of parole, forcing another trip through the system they’ve been involved in since they were found guilty. There are problems with the death penalty, such as vaguely worded laws. California’s definition of crimes that can receive the sentencing include “lying in wait” for the victim—which pretty much describes all first-degree murders—and “especially heinous” acts even though rape, torture, cruelty to children and many other criteria are already covered. These hazy descriptions leave broad room for interpretation, and should be addressed, but so should the entire system. Even in the sentencing of an individual whose guilt is without question, 20 years would have to pass before their judgment can be acted on, costing an average of just under $4 million for a single inmate! Throwing an expensive wrench into the system and repeating a process that already exists is not how to deal with the question of capital punishment’s morality. Even if I were to support abolishing the death penalty, I would rather vote on it alone, rather than two or three other budgetary pet projects of the proposition’s three highest donors.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR The Daily Titan welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must include the sender’s first and last name. Students must include their majors and other writers must include their affiliation to the university, if applicable. Letters must refer to an article published within the last week. Once a letter is submitted it becomes property of the Daily Titan. Publication of letters is based on the validity of content and may be edited for length, grammar and spelling. Letters may be sent to dteditorinchief@gmail.com. Illustration by PETER PHAM / Daily Titan
Though they claim to be trying to protect the world from devastation, PETA has little-to-no interest in uniting all peoples within our nation.
game series, the player) to carry up to six creatures with him or her at a time. When the animators created the Poké Ball, animal cruelty was probably the last thing on their minds. They most likely created this device as a way to minimize animation costs while having something fun and marketable for the Pokémon brand. What PETA failed to mention in their statement is that Pokémon are converted into an energy state once they enter the Poké Ball through fictional Japanese technology, making PETA’s comfort argument questionable. PETA is just hitching a ride on a recent video game release to gain some extra publicity. The organization’s biggest concern is that the game promotes treating animals as “unfeeling objects.” But since the ‘90s, Pokémon (both the game and animated series) has promoted nothing but friendship, brotherhood and equality among the human characters and their creatures. The relationship between various Pokémon and their trainers is akin to an MMA fighter and his coach in the real world. The two parties train, sweat, and battle together as a team.
This certainly isn’t the first instance that PETA has spoken out about animal cruelty in video games. Last year, the activist group attacked the Mario franchise for the famous “Tanooki Suit,” according to NBC News. The suit resembles a Japanese raccoon dog, or tanuki, and with it Mario is able to fly, shortly after garnering a running start. To protest this, PETA also created a flash game where a tanuki is the protagonist, chasing Mario for his skin back. Is all the time and effort that PETA puts into campaigning towards the treatment of fictional creations really necessary? Let us not forget that these games were created last millennium. Would not their time, money and attention be served best on something that actually has to do with real animals? Perhaps PETA should use its time and energy to achieve something that spans further than a game played on portable devices by middle school children—and maybe the occasional adult. The only thing PETA needs to catch is a clue as to what they’re attacking and why it’s an irrelevant waste of time. VISIT US AT DAILYTITAN.COM/OPINION
FEATURES
PAGE 6
THE DAILY TITAN
OCTOBER 16, 2012 TUESDAY
University Learning Center adviser achieves online fame Alumna chronicles her past experiences with anorexia through YouTube ‘vlogs’ LAUREN TORRES Daily Titan
As she sits at her desk on the second floor of the north Pollak Library, across the room from the receptionist’s desk, Dannaca Lynn Daniel, 29, goes through her email as students walk in and out of her office. Officially, Daniel is the administrative support coordinator at the University Learning Center, where she advises tutors and receptionists. “She pretty much runs this place, she is really dedicated,” said Bryan Moore, 25, a computer engineering major and an academic tutor. “It would shut down without her.” Daniel graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She transferred from Fullerton College in spring 2008 where she received her associate degree in sociology. Daniel also works as a teaching assistant in sociology. She has been working at the learning center for more than five years. “I like to provide guidance, but I don’t like being called their boss,” said Daniel. Daniel said she obtained the job at the center through an agency. “Someone from a temp agency saw my resume on Monster.com and called me,” Daniel said. “Funny thing is, I hadn’t updated that thing in years.” Daniel said she finds enjoyment in a hobby many would be surprised to know about. She makes YouTube videos chronicling her experience recovering from anorexia. Students can subscribe to her channel to view videos ranging from serious issues to plain outrageous humor. She began watching YouTube videos in October 2006, but not for entertainment or learning purposes.
“I am a recovered anorexic,” Daniel said. “I found that the stress that I was going through during that time was difficult, so I found that videos that featured girls with eating disorders comforting.” Daniel got an idea in February 2007. Not only was she interested in finding a way to cope with her anorexia by watching the experiences of others, but now she wanted to start making her own videos by documenting her experiences with eating disorders. Daniel said her inspiration to make the videos came from a girl named Courtney, who she discovered on YouTube. “In my first video, I introduce myself and I introduced my disorder that I was suffering from,” Daniel said. “I continued to make videos about anorexia for about six or seven months.” Instead of receiving support for her videos and her story, Daniel became the target of harsh online criticism. “I began receiving hate mail––comments about how I was fake and a fatass,” Daniel said. Soon after the hate comments popped up she stopped making videos about her eating disorder, which drove her to stop vlogging, a term for video blogging. “I had about 80 videos but removed about 65 because of their controversial nature,” Daniel said. Nowadays, Daniel has about 1.8 million video views and around 4,500 subscribers on her channel, DannacaLynn. However, the numbers are constantly changing. “When I am an active uploader, which hasn’t been recently due to other things that occupy my time, I try to upload a video a week, but I’ve been on hiatus for the last four months,” Daniel said. “Prior, I would add three to four (videos) a week,” she added. Daniel said since she is not actively making vlogs at the moment, most of the videos on her channel are on a private setting. Daniel tries to incorporate her spunky tenacious character into her videos by making jokes.
“I try to do things that are informational and funny. I like to do the challenges that go viral,” Daniel said. “But mostly, I like to be funny.” The feedback she receives for her most recent videos is mostly positive and if they are ever negative, Daniel said it is not from her subscribers. The hate, she said, is usually from a “troll.” Trolls are users who are not her followers on YouTube. Although only a select few of her peers know about her vlogs, her YouTube channel is not a secret. “It’s not a secret, if they want to know they can ask,” Daniel said. Daniel said the most popular videos on her channel are her “reaction videos,” in particular her reaction to “2 girls 1 cup.” Daniel said the concept of a reaction video is that it begins with a person sending you a link to a popular video, and then the vlogger watches and the records their reaction. Her reaction video has been featured on various websites and has gotten over 100,000 views. “I keep it real 100 percent of the time,” Daniel said. “I spare no one’s feelings when it comes to saying how I feel.” Erica Hernandez, 25, Daniel’s friend, said that Daniel’s videos showcase her vibrant personality. “She’s someone you can relate to, because she’s open and real and that can be seen through her personality and through her videos,” said Erica Hernandez, 25, Daniel’s friend. Kailey Cramer, 21, a radiology student at Cypress College, met Daniel, who was her sociology tutor, in fall 2008. “Watching her videos is what got me to start conversation with her because I thought they were funny,” said Cramer. “She has a great personality, and I’m glad I got to know her on a personal level.” Video blogging, Daniel said, is therapeutic and helps her deal with the stress of work, relationships and kids. Daniel has two children, Shawn, 6, and Marayah, 11.
RAE ROMERO / Daily Titan
Dannaca Lynn Daniel focuses on providing comic relief to her YouTube suscribers in her video blogs. Altogether, she has more than 1.8 million views on her channel.
“You don’t expect teenage girls to get pregnant and be in college,” Daniel said. “I started Fullerton College in Spring 2001 and I was pregnant with my first child at 17.” Despite being faced with motherhood at a young age, Daniel pulled through and finished community college. Daniel said life was not always easy for a single mother of two and it still
is not, as she works hard to maintain a positive household. With help from her grandmother, who is plays an active role in her children’s life, Daniel manages to stay motivated to continue. As a young single mother, she said she struggles because there is a lack of support from a male figure in her children’s life, but she makes it work.
Game night tournament hosted by local arcade Amateur and professional gamers meet Wednesday nights to play together RAYMOND MENDOZA Daily Titan
During the day, Super Arcade on Grand Avenue in Walnut, Calif. is home to about 20 video games and one pool table. Neon lights and loud music cause it to glow and pulsate, making even a modest turnout seem substantial. However, the real party starts every Wednesday and Thursday night at 8 p.m. when Super Arcade is packed with some of the best professional fighting gamers in the state—and occasionally from around the world. The inception of Wednesday Night Fights can be traced back to two gamers and the idea of having an arcade to host public tournaments in the area. In 2010, Alex Valle, a professional gamer, then created Level Up Productions to arrange tournaments and produce live streaming broadcasts of them. Mike Watson, also a professional gamer, became the owner of Super Arcade in 2011. He and Valle then began hosting Wednesday Night Fights. Since that time, the weekly event has become a major draw in Southern California’s fighting game community. Along with the cash prizes awarded to the top three contestants, Wednesday Night Fights ranks patrons using a point system. This point system gives each participant in the tournament even more chances to win items at the end of each seven-week season. “Aside from the prize payout, we have sponsored prizes too for overall winners of each season,” said Valle. CONTACT US AT DTFEATURESDESK@GMAIL.COM
RAYMOND MENDOZA / Daily Titan
Gamers who participate in Wednesday Night Fights often go on to participate in nationally and internationally recognized tournaments.
“Top five overall point earners get special perks from MadCatz. They’ll give them (arcade) sticks, bags, headsets or other really cool stuff... sometimes we do giveaways for people that join in.” Many entrants agree that the competition is heavy and cannot expect other participants to simply roll over. Another such tournament is the Evolution Championship Series, which offers major top prizes in seven games, most notably a $25,000 prize for Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition 2012. Jonathan Guevara, a Mt. San Antonio College student, sometimes takes part in Wednesday Night Fights but he is not considered a professional gamer since he typically only takes part in local tournaments. Super Street Fighter IV is his game of choice. “I love it, the atmosphere is great and the competition is fierce, strong people,” said Guevara. “I’ve played a lot of top players over the years,”Guevara added. Participants must pay a $10 entry fee to compete in the fights ($5 is a venue fee, and the other $5 is for the tournament buy-in). The top three players from each game get a share of the profits from the night. First place wins 60 percent of
the pot, second place wins 30 percent, and the gamer in third place wins 10 percent. Abbas Hasan, a pre-med student from UCLA, regularly participates in the Super Street Fighter IV tournament at Wednesday Night Fights and has a decent track record when it comes to weekly rankings. “A couple times I got top eight and this past week I got second (place),” said Hasan. According to a post at Shoryuken.com on Oct. 11, Hasan placed fourth in the Street Fighter IV Wednesday Night Fights tournament. Super Arcade and Level Up productions are meant to cater to gamers since the atmosphere is both friendly and inexpensive. Playing certain arcade games at Super Arcade can cost as little as a quarter, while major arcades such as Round 1 Bowling and Dave and Busters charge $1 per play for games such as Street Fighter IV, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 4 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2. “We love to give back to the community,” Valle said. “Usually arcades are known for ‘just put your token in and have a nice day,’ right? But here we want you to come back and feel at any given day you’ll be rewarded for leveling up in your competition,” he added.
7
October 16, 2012
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ACROSS 1 It’s mounted at the X Games 11 Escutcheon depiction 15 One studying lines 16 Election prize 17 Hard-hit line drive, in baseball lingo 18 Creature-feature prefix 19 Pigeon 20 These, to Thierry 21 From what source 23 Giant star in three decades 24 Bake in milk, as potatoes 26 River phenomenon 29 Egregious 30 Prosaic, as prose 31 Legree-like looks 32 Title for Doyle 33 Pallet units: Abbr. 34 Mr. Rochester’s ward 35 Handle for a razor 36 Terrestrial wiggler 37 With some suspicions 38 Eagles coach Andy 39 Disney’s Maleficent, e.g. 41 Get stuck (in) 42 Bar 43 “Stella by Starlight” lyricist Washington 44 Red Cloud, notably 45 They’re “easy to get but hard to keep”: Mae West 46 NYSE watchdog 49 Dick Van Patten’s “Mama” role 50 Extinct cat 54 Tests for prospective Ph.D. students 55 Excessive 56 Instructor of 34Across 57 Four-time LPGA Tour Player of the Year DOWN 1 Protection nos. 2 Former “Idol” panelist DioGuardi
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis brought to you by mctcampus.com
3 Cockeyed 4 Tabloid TV debut of 2007 5 Puts up 6 Either of two brothers with a Pulitzer Prize in poetry 7 Dory movers 8 Kerfuffle 9 Exercise unit 10 “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” moderator 11 To boot 12 Said yes to another tour 13 Sailboat configuration named for its resemblance to a radio antenna 14 Road sign often including a percent symbol 22 Dutch Golden Age painter 23 Silhouette maker 24 Olympian with a mask 25 Breaks down, in a way 26 Makeup kit item 27 Bad pictures?
Horoscope
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Aries (Mar. 21-April 19) Work with a powerful team, and listen with intent. Don’t act like you already know the answer or you’ll miss a great opportunity. Creative work has a bittersweet flavor. Every little bit counts. Taurus (April 20-May 20) tery. Share the load today to the responsibility. And ule for romance. A bit
Gain experience and masand tomorrow, but hold on leave time in your schedof glamour won’t hurt.
Sudoku
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Gemini (May 21-June 20) Today and tomorrow, delve into the details. Hot soaks relax stressed muscles. Don’t squander your resources, even if you think you have plenty. Learn from an expert. Cancer (June 21-July 22) Reserve the next two days for fun that’s balanced with creative productivity. Extend your psychic antennae. Don’t believe everything you’ve learned. Put in the work to reap rewards. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Stick close to home for the next two days. Clean up and discover a treasure. Make room for love. Friends can help you find the perfect expert. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Practicing something you love goes very well now. Make sure you get all you earned. People know they can trust you to get down to the truth. Waste not, want not. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) The air is filled with romance. Postpone travel for a few days. Start computing expenses. It’ll be easier to make household changes soon, but don’t obsess about it. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Your power is intense over the next few days. Handle it as well as you can. It’s best to have a plan in place, even if you don’t follow it. Everyone benefits at the end. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You’re under pressure to complete a project that you’ve been avoiding. Roll up your sleeves and procrastinate no more (at least until later). Find out what rules apply. You win again. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You can find the right balance between work and friends. Listen to those who support you, and let your self-esteem rise. Don’t forget to support others. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Help comes from far away, possibly financial. Time to refinance? Do the homework and provide necessary information. Bring your quest for truth and social justice to work. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Adopt rules you can keep and let go of the ones you know you won’t. New opportunities arise. A private conversation soothes. Acceptance is key (and humor).
How To Play: Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9: and each set of boxes must contain the numbers 1 to 9.
10/13/12
By Brad Wilber and Doug Peterson
Friday’s Puzzle Solved
(c)2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
28 Valuable aid for a cat owner 29 “War and Peace” prince 31 Coal-rich area at stake in the Treaty of Versailles 35 Yanks’ #13 37 “The Need for Roots” author Simone 40 Gliding dance step
10/13/12
41 Soup bean 43 Uncool 45 Soldier of fortune, briefly 46 __ dish 47 Lay back? 48 Stylish eatery word 51 2008 French Open winner Ivanovic 52 Nice approval 53 Tokyo-born artist
PAGE 8
THE DAILY TITAN
Obesity in America, a continuing epidemic RAYMOND MENDOZA Daily Titan
Stout. Big boned. Junk in the trunk. There are a lot of words and phrases associated with the stigma of being overweight in America. While some phrases are meant to be hurtful, others are intended to soften the truth of being fat. The harsh reality is that obesity is not a laughing matter, and is a terrible condition that could lead to disease and a lower quality of life. In a Sept. 18 article for Reuters, Sharon Begley outlined a report that gives the U.S. a bleak outlook on the future of its people and their waistlines. The report by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, projects that half of the adults in this country will be overweight by 2030. In a May 2012 Weight of the Nation press briefing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that 34 percent of adults are currently obese. It was also reported that 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 are obese. With the rising obesity epidemic, some people are wondering about problems that may stem from being overweight. While the condition can lead to many disorders, there are other facets of life that it can affect as well. Darany Hoang, a health educator at Cal State Fullerton, said obesity can lead to an overall poor lifestyle, not to mention the possibility of numerous diseases. “Off the top of the list are certain health conditions from heart disease to diabetes,” said Hoang. “The quality of life is diminished when one is not able to be self sufficient or even mobile because of being obese.” Hoang also mentioned that the stigma of being obese could lead to body image issues and even culminate in mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, which can lead back to overeating. Vuena Loyola, a registered nurse at the Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center, said most overweight Americans need healthy eating habits as
well as an exercise routine. “We have to get everyone on a good nutritional plan which involves the basic nutrients of more vegetables and fruits, more water than soda, a healthy portion of proteins and a healthy portion of carbs,” said Loyola. “Along with that you’d have to have your regular physical activity.” Loyola said that the amount of physical activity would depend on a person’s age, with 30 minutes per day of cardiovascular exercise being the recommendation for adults and 60-90 minutes per day for children and adolescents. During her 22 years of experience, Loyola said she has noticed not only weight gain in adults, but also an increase in harmful diseases in children, including diabetes, kidney failure, gallstones and high blood pressure. Loyola also described that portion control is a major factor that could mean the difference between a person being healthy and overweight. However, portion control and healthy eating is only a part of the solution. Americans are being urged by healthcare professionals to exercise on a daily basis to maintain a fit body. Alain Bourgault, group exercise and rock wall coordinator at the Student Recreation Center, said that overweight CSUF students can find ways to be active during the day by doing simple activities. “What I would suggest is any activity, one would be walking.” said Bourgault. “Instead of waiting for the elevator, take the stairs. Instead of driving your car around and trying to get that spot close to your classroom: park further away. Park at the top of the parking structure and walk all the way down.” Bourgault also said CSUF students should take advantage of the SRC since it is a free service to students. “I think to quote one of my mentors and an old school guy, Jack LaLanne. He always said ‘Exercise is king and nutrition is queen. Put them together and you’ve got a healthy kingdom.’ I thought that was kind of cool,” Bourgault said.
CONTACT US AT DTSPORTSDESK@GMAIL.COM
SPORTS
OCTOBER 16, 2012 TUESDAY
As Seen on DT IRMA WONG
No jumping for joy in this cardio regimen It is often said that the more exercise you get, the more energy you will have to get through the day. You will become thinner, happier and more confident, all while diminishing your chances of developing diseases. This statement is similar to many that I have read while browsing through fitness pages online or in magazines. College life can make it easy to let good habits slip due to stress caused by classes and the need to keep up with other priorities. However, in the past month I have been committed to attaining the positive benefits of exercise. I have come to realize in this time that although I have been attaining results, I have not yet experienced the result of having more energy. I am still trying to adjust to the P90X regimen. The plyometrics DVD in particular has been extremely challenging to keep up with. In a few words, the plyometrics DVD is an intensive hour long high-impact cardio workout that features jumps, lunges and leaps. These types of exercise focus primarily on the lower body, which is particularly weak. I joke with friends and family that if I could eliminate half of my thighs, the number on my scale would drop significantly. I carry a lot of weight on this part of my body and have always been self-conscious about it, especially because I have never been the greatest runner. I’ve added the plyometrics workout to my regimen. Even though it has been extremely difficult, I’m determined to conquer it.
Describing my experience on the difficult excercise gives the reader a better idea on why I feel extremely sore after doing the drills. Like many workouts, the plyometrics DVD starts with a 10 minute warm-up to get the body ready and decrease the chance of injury. In just those first few minutes, I am already seeing mists of sweat on my forehead, which eventually turn into non stop drips running down my face and chest as I continue the workout. An exercise named “squat reach jumps” is a more intense version of the jump squats that begins the first exercise segment. The drill involves squatting as low as possible and doing a quick jump with your hands up continuously for 30 seconds. Do not let the short amount of time fool you, for it feels more like five minutes when your legs and feet are feeling the burn. It was so intense for me that after 15 seconds I found myself doing a modified version. Then there are “swing kicks,” where I swing both legs over a chair or stool for a minute. Apart from being confusing, this exercise is even more exhausting and always leaves me with a feeling of soreness since I’m adamant on choosing a chair too tall for me to kick over. I thought Tony Horton was kidding when he demonstrated how to do “jump knee tucks,” an exercise involving jumping and touching my hands with my knees. “This is the mother of all moves,” Horton said in the DVD and he is definitely right. The aforementioned “jump knee tucks”
were nothing compared to “the rock star hops.” Jumping up in an air guitar stance for 30 seconds was not fun and to be honest I still cannot do it for more than 10 seconds. It makes me feel a little better that I am not the only one struggling because Horton’s three students on the DVD are too. These four exercises in the DVD make it difficult for someone like me who is barely starting the rigorous P90X regimen. It is especially difficult since Horton keeps saying to “land like a cat,” which means to land softly on the ground when jumping. In no way is it easy for a person with extra weight to be catlike when landing. All I feel is the pressure on the palm of my foot.
After I attempted the DVD for the first time, I was sore for two entire days. My workout took place on a Saturday, yet I was limping across campus to get to class on the following Monday. This happened from doing merely 40 minutes of plyometrics, because I could not last the full hour. Plyometrics is nothing less than extreme and I do not believe that much thought went into the way that overweight people were going to be able to do it. Being the most difficult of the 12 DVDs, I am hoping that the rest of my P90X journey will be easier. I aspire to share in the upcoming weeks that I have more energy so that my days do not feel so long, especially with midterms in full-swing. I also look forward to saying goodbye to more of the extra pounds that have overstayed their welcome on my body.