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VOLUME 66, ISSUE 7
plexes at other CSUs have cost students a fraction of CSUF’s proposal. By NATHAN ORME
Daily Titan Executive Editor New fitness complexes like the one proposed by Cal State Fullerton’s own Associated Students have received mixed reactions at other Cal State campuses. CSU campuses at Long Beach, Fresno and San Diego have each
“Students didn’t want to pay for it and leave and not have it before they left.” Gary Nelson program advisor, Fresno State
had recent experiences with new recreation facilities that have certain parallels to the referendum now facing CSUF students. Students here will vote March 24 on a $150 fee increase—far more than any amount paid by students at the other CSU campuses that were contacted. CSULB students attend basketball, volleyball and other events at the Pyramid, which was completed in 1994. The building, which contains workout facilities and offices as well as the arena, was paid for by the state through a referendum passed by California voters in 1989. The building has cost about $17 million so far, and Bill Schumard, the athletic director at CSULB, estimates that when the inside is completed it will cost $22 million. The state paid $11 million and Schumard said the university is raising the rest of the money. When students at Fresno State and San Diego State were asked to pay for new recreation facilities, the reactions were mixed. Students in San Diego clamored for new recreational facilities while the students in Fresno rejected it for reasons reflective of the Fullerton referen-
F U L L E R T O N INSIDE
TENNIS: Titans fall to Loyola Marymount. —See Sports, page 7
WEDNESDAY
Proposed fee higher than at other CSUs n FITNESS CENTER: Com-
Daily
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AS scraps judiciary
dum. Last semester, fall 1997, a referendum to raise student fees by $75 to build a fitness complex was voted down. Gary Nelson, program advisor for the Office of Student Life and Development at Fresno State, cited several reasons for the students’ negative vote. “Students didn’t want to pay for it and leave and not have it before they left,” Nelson said. “Even though we offered them a free year for every semester paid in.” Heith Rothman, CSUF’s AS president, said that if the referendum here passes, students who pay the fee for the complex will get to use it for free for as many semesters as they pay into it as a student. The logic behind this, according to Rothman, is that a large percentage of CSUF graduates stay in Orange County after graduation. Nelson also said Fresno students were concerned with the location of the proposed center. One possible site would have required taking out land used by students in the agricultural department. Another site would have taken out student parking, though Nelson said that a parking structure would have been built if the referendum had passed. The referendum was also challenged by children, Nelson said. “There was some opposition to it
n AS: Board members vote
to eliminate the Judicial Commission, claiming it unnecessary. By STEPHEN RUBIN Daily Titan News Editor
“This campus at the time of the referendum was sadly lacking in recreation facilities,” John Kolek, associate director, San Diego State AS
from child care because they wanted to pass their own referendum,” Nelson said. The referendum put forth by Rothman is not being opposed by toddlers, but there are still questions about location. The only site that has been discussed, according to both Rothman
RON SOLIMAN/Daily Titan
Bikers with a mission Bryan Wierzchucki, left, and Matthew Kafka will ride cross country this summer.
By JOE FLORKOWSKI Daily Titan Staff Writer
Bryan Wierzchucki and Matt Kafka can expect to acquire sore butts and sunburns this summer. Cal State Fullerton students Wierzchucki and Kafka are going to see the United States, but unlike most traditional road trips, they will not
be taking a car. They are traveling by bicycle. The two members of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity will be cycling across the nation to help people with disabilities. They will be joined by 59 other members of the fraternity from chapters across the country. The members are cycling across the nation for PUSH America, a private non-profit organi-
see FEE/
see BIKERS/
What purpose does the Associated Students Judicial Commission serve? That is exactly what AS wants to know. The commission has not acted on any serious election complaints since the spring 1995 contest. Committee members rarely meet. As of yesterday, the chief justice position remained vacant.` Citing the committee’s apparent lack of relevance, the AS Board quietly eliminated the commission at Tuesday’s meeting. “Until an election starts, there’s nothing for them to do,” said William Archer, AS director of administration. AS envisioned the commission as an independent body that could ensure election policies and procedures were in sync with the bylaws. The commission never came close to embodying a neutral “third branch” of government said AS President Heith Rothman. “We’re getting rid of a committee that didn’t work,” Rothman said. “It hasn’t worked for four or five years. They’re all political appointments anyway. It creates this fake sense of balance.” Rothman said the AS election commissioner will pick up the slack left by the commission. The duties evidently were not substantial enough to warrant keeping the committee. Cutting out the commission merely cuts out the middle man, according to Archer and Rothman. But axing the commission begs the question “is there not a conflict of interest if the AS Board hears complaints made against it?” “They were never an independent body,” said Rothman, referring to the commission.
see AS/
Car crime at CSUF declined in 1997
n CRIME: Auto thefts drop
below recent records. By NICK BRENNAN Daily Titan Staff Writer
Car Crime Statistics
The number of stolen cars and thefts from motor vehicles at Cal State Fullerton decreased during 1997, according to Public Safety figures. Thefts from cars dropped from 157 in 1996 to 98 thefts last year. In addition, 30 fewer cars were stolen in 1997 than the previous year. Even if a car has an alarm, it is 160
not completely safe from becoming a statistic, Public Safety Chief Bill Huffman said. “Half of the cars stolen have alarms on them,” Huffman said. “They are taken for their stereo systems and then dumped.” Being close to the freeway is an advantage to thieves who steal cars from CSUF, Huffman said. Those who typically prowl the campus lots are the same people who stake out malls, Fullerton College and other local schools, he said. Several years ago, two cars with “The Club” were stolen from cam-
Thefts from cars
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pus, he said. The anti-theft devices in those cases were not locked to the steering wheel. Now, he said, it doesn’t matter what protects the car. “If someone wants your car bad enough, they are going to take it,” Lt. Jess Lopez said. As an example, Lopez referred to a radio commercial that mentions a car with five different anti-theft devices installed being stolen. So far this month, three cars have been stolen while parked at school, and there have been 16 reported burglaries. Huffman attributes the decrease to the officers who patrol the lots and the blue emergency lights located throughout campus. “Students are very helpful with stopping thefts and calling when they see something suspicious,” 98 Huffman said. On one occasion, a student called Public Safety to report four men standing around a truck with its hood up looking at the engine, Huff23 man said. When asked why the stu1997
Graphic by Maryanne Wardlaw
JEFF CHONG/Daily Titan
Clockwise from left, Ronald Rietveld, TKE CEO Tim Murphy, TKE president Edgar Khalatian, and TKE alumnus George Woolery gather during the fraternity open house on Monday evening.
TKEs open house doors, few enter
n FRATERNITIES: Fullerton
City Council members were no-shows at an open house. By DENISE CARSON
Daily Titan Assistant News Editor
Neighbors have been complaining for months. They took their grievances to the City Council and the mayor. They even got Tau Kappa Epsilon kicked out of the neighborhood, only to have them readmitted. But when given the opportunity to face the object of their frustrasee CARS/ tions, no one showed up. Copyright ©1998, Daily Titan
University officials, fraternity alumni and parents of fraternity members were the only ones to accept the fraternity’s open house invitation on Monday. Those who have been complaining about loud parties and drunken college students roaming the streets chose to be a part of the fraternity’s attempt to improve community relations. The TKEs held the open house to begin improving their community image after the city of Fullerton granted them a second chance with its conditional-use permit. The fraternity invited members of the community to witness the
changes made to their home environment. University and community members congregated at the house to express their support towards the TKEs about issues surrounding the reinstatement of the CUP. Not many members of the community were present to oppose or support the TKE house. City council members responded to the invitation and were expected to attend but failed to show. A handful of parents were present but only one spoke regarding what the TKE’s lifestyle promoted towards the young. Doug Hansen,
see TKE/