C A L I F O R N I A
S T A T E
U N I V E RS I T Y ,
F U L L E R T O N
INSIDE NEWS: New Blair Witch movie causes 3 nuproar on Internet and cable TV
Bouldering becomes latest climbing sensation
Healthy eating that is afford5 nableDetour: and close to campus
—see Sports page 7
T h u r s d ay
Vo l u m e 7 1 , I s s u e 1 7
O c t o b e r 5, 2000
CSU students push for voter registration in book of records nPOLLS: The drive started Monday and ends Oct. 10 at 5 p.m. B y M arlayna S laughterbeck Daily Titan Staff Writer
While voter apathy runs rampant on college campuses across the nation, there are those who are fighting to make a political difference. Elliot Sacks, Associated Students’ director of statewide affairs, recently kicked off an effort on campus to be placed in the Guinness Book of World Records for registering people to vote. Coordinated by the Cal State Students’ Association, for which Sacks serves as the Cal State Fullerton representative, the push is part of a combined effort that
includes all campuses in the CSU. The drive to set the record began Monday in front of the bookstore and will continue until Tuesday, Oct.10 at 5p.m. Laura Kerr, CSSA lobby corps officer at Humboldt State, said that the organization is eager to get more students involved in the political process because as the officiallyrecognized voice of all 360,000 students in the CSU, it’s difficult for CSSA to bring about positive changes for young people when they don’t exercise their votes. “I’ve gone to Sacramento to speak to legislators,” Kerr said. “And they smile and are always cordial. But they don’t really listen to what I have to say, because frankly, it isn’t in their interest.” The problem, according to Kerr, is that to have real power, interest groups must either wield big money
or yield big votes, and at this time, CSSA does neither. “I spoke to an aide to one of the state senators,” she said, “and he told me point-blank that most students don’t vote and so their opinions don’t really count.” Freshman Eric Allen from Cal State Long Beach seems to have absorbed only part of that message. Allen has just turned 18 and is not registered to vote. Wearing a Dodgers’ cap and baggy jeans, the CSULB student said he takes no interest in politics and voter apathy is not exactly something that keeps him awake at night. “I try not worry about things that don’t matter,” he said. When Sacks was told what Allen said, his reaction was a mixture of disappointment and determination. “It’s depressing sometimes because students don’t usually want
to get involved,” he said. “But as much as people think their vote doesn’t matter, there have been many instances when a single vote per district has decided the winner in a presidential election.” National statistics reflect a dismal voter turnout among young people, with some as low as 15 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24. Business major Junrong Li also expressed disappointment with the lack of involvement among students. Li, an international student from China, observed that even though he cannot legally vote in America, he is often more informed on the issues than his fellow American classmates who can.
VOTING/ 6
Trisha insheiwat/Daily Titan
Rebekah Ziegler registers to vote on Tuesday.
Views on debate outcome differ nPOLITICS: Some students feel it was unfair to exclude the third party candidates By Darleene Barrientos
Daily Titan Asst. News Editor
Lisa Billings/Daily Titan
A young girl places a flower on the waxed statue of an American soldier that fought in the Vietnam War.
Statues rekindle memories of war
nCOMMUNITY: The two wax figures will eventually be cast in bronze By Camille Jones
Daily Titan Staff Writer At the Vietnamese Broadcasting Company’s media center in Westminster, an 11-foot-3-inch
Titan
extras online n
Check out the Daily Titan online this year at http:// dailytitan.fullerton.edu. New features and sections will be available this year!
American soldier stands beside a 10-foot-5-inch South Vietnamese soldier who is his ally in war and his friend for life. Standing side by side, each man explains, through a recording, why it was necessary for him to take part in the Vietnam War. “I am fighting to protect and maintain what I believe in and what I want to live in — a democratic society,” said the voice that represented the collective spirit of the American soldier. ”If I am killed
while carrying out this mission, I want no one to cry or mourn for me. I want people to hold their heads up high and be proud of the job I did. I am an American soldier.” Prior to the American’s speech about how his fight was for democracy, the South Vietnamese soldier spoke, in Vietnamese, about how his battle was over land. Binh Le, the president of the Vietnamese Broadcasting Company, said that in addition to each soldier’s verbal explanation for his part in the
war, the statues themselves also say exactly what each man was fighting for. For example, Le said the South Vietnamese soldier stands with his helmet on, his gun on his shoulder and the index finger of his left hand pointing toward the ground. The American soldier stands holding his helmet, with his gun down by his side and his eyes looking toward the future.
MEMORIAL/ 3
Tuesday night’s first presidential debate had viewers wondering who won, who lost, and what issues were being discussed. Polls show Gore as the winner of the debate, but Cal State Fullerton students had a different opinion. “I only saw the closing statements, and those are supposed to cover what their views were,” Dave Kimura, a 24-year-old senior marketing major, said. “I did see that Gore was just rambling while Bush was clear about what topics he covered.” Senior accounting major Noriel Zuazo, caught some of the debate while he was studying with a friend. “They’ve been saying that Bush isn’t that smart and that Gore is a polished debater,” Zuazo said. “I saw the proof. The ‘fuzzy math’ comment made us laugh.” Other students didn’t get a chance to watch the debates. “I saw it on the news,” said Christine Kim, a 20-year-old junior piano performance major. “When I saw it [the news clip], I thought they were both just dodging bullets. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, what liars.’” Kris Guillory, a 21-year-old junior arts and entertainment major, didn’t watch the debate, but generally doesn’t like all the personal attacks that the Republican Party has become known for. “The ‘rats’ commercial was just stupid,” Guillory said. “I’m gonna vote for Gore.”
Brian Kim, a 19-year-old junior business major, had some strong feelings about the debate. Kim said that, from the debates, he could see that Bush’s agenda was less government and that Gore had more concern for the people and minorities. “Bush is looking out for people who look like him,” Kim said. “He was politicking, talking sh— about Gore. Gore kept saying, ‘Let’s not point fingers, let’s discuss the issues.’ Even if I didn’t have my opinions beforehand, I would still vote for Gore after seeing the debate.” Jeffrey Ansari, a graduate student in political science, thought that Gore handled himself well, even though at certain points, he interrupted both Bush and the moderator, and stumbled a few times. Ansari described Gore as looking like a car salesman. “I don’t think they addressed the issues,” Ansari said. “They were both too busy trying to sell their programs.” Political science Professor Bruce Wright said that the debate ended up being a draw. “They [the debates] were pretty boring, weren’t they?” Wright said. “I didn’t think it was much of a debate. I thought Gore was good when it came to the issues, but I think Bush came across better for the general public.” One interesting aspect of the debates was the absence of Ralph Nader, the Green Party’s presidential candidate, and Pat Buchanan, the Independent Party’s candidate. Even though he was excluded from Tuesday night’s debate, Nader secured a ticket to the debate, but was turned away at the door. “It was a disservice to everybody,” Ansari said. “It is a terrible disrespect to everyone who is independent.” Nicole Goodenough, a 24-year-old
DEBATE/ 3
Graduates create local business nCOMPUTERS: Most of the Smart Digital Technology staff are Cal State Fullerton alumni By Jamie K. Ayala
Daily Titan Staff Writer Right across the street from campus is an alumni-run business, offering education, solutions, and services in computer information systems. Smart Digital Technology was
founded in 1995 by Cal State Fullerton graduates Jim Baqual and Aftab Ali. Beginning in a small office behind Hope University with a focus in hardware sales, they expanded into a business offering a multitude of services. It is an authorized Microsoftcertified technical education center and solution provider located at 680 Langsdorf Drive. Although there are plenty of business opportunities in Irvine, the creators kept their loyalty to CSUF and remained local. Eight of their 10 full-time employees are CSUF graduates and three more will be hired. Past intern and
current senior at CSUF, Katherine Sharifi, was hired as a junior consultant. She said that working with the alumni made the experience more positive. “There’s room for growth and the experience reinforces my classes,” Sharifi said. The company’s biggest accomplishments include being a part of Gov. Gray Davis’ program to help implement school technology by digitizing high school districts around the county. Amjad Khokhar, in accounts development, started with the company a year after he graduated in 1996.
http://dailytitan.fullerton.edu
COMPANY/ 6
Mayra Beltran/Daily Titan
Katherine Sharifi, a senior at CSUF, works full time at Smart Digital Technologies as a junior consultant.