C A L I F O R N I A
S T A T E
U N I V E R S I T Y ,
F U L L E R T O N
INSIDE OPINION: Excessive court cases may 5 nquestion the next president’s power
Is the end of the world coming?
SPORTS: Men’s basketball will play 7 nWyoming Saturday night
—see Doomsday Issue
WEEKEND
V o l u m e 7 1 , I ss u e 5 0
D e c e m b e r 8, 2000
Dreams of a light Christmas nSTATE: The summer electrical power crunch has returned for the holidays By Samantha Gonzaga Daily Titan Staff Writer
Mayra Beltran/Daily Titan
Student computer use at Titan Lab, like by economics major Ben Godfrey, contributes to the power shortage throughout California.
Christmas won’t be late, but the lights may be a little delayed. “We’ve been turning on the Christmas lights later than usual,” said Anaheim resident John Jones. “Ever since my wife and I got notice that
we’re at a Stage 2, we’ve been diligent about that. “It’s kind of a bummer because we want to show our lights off, but since it’s really important that we save energy, there’s no problem,” he added. As the holiday season depends and the consumption of electric power increases, California is facing the challenge of conserving energy. The state has had a similar brush this summer when the energy consumption required for air conditioning soared. In Walnut’s Mt. San Antonio College, for example, some classes were conducted outside during part of the summer and fall semester as an
Center cares for stuttering chil-
POWER/ 3
‑of
Over the years, professional wrestling’s popularity has wax and waned as athletes enter and leave the ring By James Moya
Daily Titan Staff Writer‑
By Sabrina Sakaguchi Special to the Titan
SPEECH/ 8
meetings with President Milton Gordon to devise conserving measures. Its importance appears to be paramount. “We came close to reaching a Stage 3 [Wednesday],” Gill said. “And CSUF can’t shut down, as its operation is long. At the moment, copious amounts of money are being paid to keep the power on.” A Stage 2 is when some sections of company buildings energy shuts down; those who do not rack up extra charges. CSUF, which has an agreement with Edison, is an example.
power wrestling
the
nHEALTH: About 10 clinics in the United States focus on speech impediments
A bouncy four-year-old with lively golden locks of short curly hair waddles down the hallway of the sixth floor of Cal State Fullerton’s Education Building. She had just finished saying hello to Dr. Sherri when she disappeared around a corner to give her ritual hug to a professor down the hall before starting her treatment. A few seconds later, she reappears and all that is left of her shining eyes and dimpled smile is the soft top of a small head, slumped shoulders and an obvious frown on her dropped face. Her professor friend wasn’t there. But the smile and dimples reappear when she is asked, “Are you ready to start your treatment for today?” Without a word or a look around, she stands up from the toys she was preoccupied with, quickly takes her folder and follows Dr. Sherri into a small treatment room. Nicole Daurio of Tustin looks forward to her weekly treatments and daily speech exercises because she knows they make talking easier for her. Nicole has been coming to Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Children Who Stutter (CCWS), for two months to treat a problem some parents conclude is just a bad habit — stuttering. “The couple weeks when it got really bad, Nicole seemed sadder and less outgoing,” said Nicole’s mother Karen. “I tried to get her to sing ‘Jingle Bells,’ and she wouldn’t even try.” Many times, according to her mother, a distraught Nicole could be heard saying, “I talk funny.” According to Sherri Wolff, clinical director for the center, doctors and child psychologists, who tell parents their children will simply outgrow the problem, commonly misdiagnose stuttering. “Stuttering is now believed to be a neurological disorder that is interacting with environmental and developmental influences,” Wolff said. In 1995, the Center for Children Who Stutter sprouted from a fouryear study housed on campus to provide assessment and treatment for children, preschool to elementary school age, who stutter. Although relationships between neurological activity and stuttering have been under many watchful, educated eyes since the 1930s, concrete certainty has yet to be established
effort to save electricity, This winter, Christmas lighting is placing a strain in California’s power grid. “One of the things affecting usage right now are Christmas lights,” said Bob Gill, from Cal State Fullerton’s environmental health and industrial safety. The peak time of that usage, according to Gill’s estimate, is between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. A Stage 2 status has been issued for the past few days by the California Independent System Operator (CalISO), indicating the need for saving energy. CSUF has been conducting
Brian Wade/Daily Titan
WWF superstar “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is one of the main reasons to pro wrestling’s popularity.
Wrestling has always been around but has never had a mainstay in the mainstream until now. In the eighties and nineties the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which is owned by Vince McMahon, had wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior that kept viewers happy. World Championship Wrestling (WCW), owned by Ted Turner, was the other major federation in the wrestling ranks. But it hasn’t been until recently; that wrestling has really taken off, especially in the WWF, which has taken over. “Watching the WWF is entertaining. The Rock is what makes me watch,” said freshman business major Josh Stillman. In the past, wrestlers used to try and pretend that their craft was real. It hasn’t been until now that creative teams are selling the fact the WWF and WCW is sports entertainment with a soap opera twist in which you could suffer injuries. According to Salon.com, WCW’S ratings are down 40 percent from a year ago, live show attendance has fallen 76 percent and its take at the gates is down 74 percent. Some WCW arena shows today barely draw a thousand people. The WWF has reached its recent success mainly due to two wrestling stars; one of them is a beer-guzzling, foul-mouthed man who calls himself “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Despite being out for nearly a year due to a spinal injury, the WWF continued without “Stone Cold” and garnered high ratings. The infamous McMahon versus Austin feud propelled the WWF to climb over the WCW in the ratings. The other superstar who is a cocky, electrifying man who calls himself the people’s champion goes by the name of “The Rock” and he has given the WWF an extra spark. Biography books by “The Rock” and fellow wrestler Mick Foley also known as “Mankind” have shipped over one million copies to bookstores and have been No. 1 bestseller’s, for a time according to Salon.com. The WWF's Monday night extravaganza called “Raw is War” routinely doubles WCW’S show called “Monday Night Nitro.” WCW’S ratings on TNT as well as on TBS are down 40 percent from last year. WCW is losing money and the WWF's Vince McMahon has pocketed $56 million and could earn $90 million this year, with revenues approaching $400 million. “’Raw is War’ is a great show and keeps me tuned in,” said junior Mike Hernandez. Despite their jobs in the squared circle, WWF wrestlers have begun to venture out to do appearances in TV shows and even adult magazine. Ratings for NBC's “Saturday
WRESTLING/ 8
Welfare reform still controversial issue with peonECONOMY: New welfare law shows that caseloads have decreased nationally by 56 percent since 1993 By Jamie K. Ayala
Daily Titan Staff Writer Behind the presidential battle, serious topics wait to be addressed by the next president of the United States. What will be included in the next leader’s public agenda? Will it be perhaps welfare reform? This controversial issue entails many perspectives, including those who believe welfare programs should be eliminated altogether. Many also believe the system should be revised again or have alternative strategies in handling the issue. The last welfare reform was in 1996, spearheaded by President Bill Clinton.
The welfare law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, contains four goals. They are to help needy families so they are able to care for their children at home; to replace dependence on government benefits with job preparation, work and marriage; to prevent and reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and to promote and show support for two-parent families. With the new law in effect, caseloads are reported to have decreased nationally by 56 percent since 1993. Nicole Bay is a caseworker who determines the eligibility for public assistance and budgets cases in one of the San Bernardino County offices. She handles approximately 130 cases a month with a monthly caseload increase of 20 to 30. “Caseloads haven’t dropped enough to make my job any easier,” Bay said. “Our goal is to make welfare a temporary assistance, not a way of life.” On the other hand, Chair of political science and criminal justice Alan
Saltzstein said that the 1996 reform is working well. “There was little mention of welfare in the presidential campaigns because both parties agree that reform has worked better than expected. The number of recipients have declined in most places,” Saltzstein said. “There are reasonable jobs for unskilled people, we just need to watch carefully when the economy turns down.” Under federal welfare law, recipients are required to work in return for benefits. States are allowed flexibility in spending and expanded authority in the design of their own welfare programs, as well as food stamps, Medicaid, job training and childcare. All states are required to have 50 percent of their recipients in work or workrelated activities by the year 2002. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children & Families, California had the most welfare recipi-
http://dailytitan.fullerton.edu
WELFARE/ 3
Mayra Beltran/Daily Titan
A La Habra woman waits to receive Medicare benefits.