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F U L L E R T O N Softball gets two no-hitters and a near-perfect game in a weekend sweep of UC Riverside
INSIDE n opinion: Sept. 11 not only resulted in the 4 “War on Terror,” but also the war on dissent news: An art exhibit shows comfort while 6 ngiving a feeling of uncertainty
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A p r i l 30, 2002
Festival displays rainbow of culnCELEBRATION: Diversity is portrayed through a colorful array of traditions and backgrounds Monday By Afni Adnan
Daily Titan Staff Writer A burst of color lit up the Titan Student Union’s Portola Pavilion Monday night. Music blared from
Voter apathy is high
the speakers as students came to celebrate the Multicultural Rainbow Festival. The event celebrated diversity and a gathering of cultures, a place for attendees to mingle and better educate themselves about other cultures. The diversity of Cal State Fullerton was apparent at the three-hour event, which brought out many international students and different student organizations and clubs. Attendees strolled around the booths and asked questions about
the different cultures represented on campus. Not only were the booths cluttered with poster boards filled with information, but there were also displays of traditional artifacts. Attendees also feasted their eyes on the array of colorful costumes and exhibitions presented at the event. The different booths offered information ranging from membership to more serious issues like race and religion. The Families Across CulturesIntroducing My Culture (FAC-IMC) booth passed out information about
the club’s activities to those interested in attending their meetings. The Muslim Student Association displayed information about Islam to better educate people about the religion’s true teachings. Alex Lopez, president of the Associated Students, Inc., emphasized the importance of a diverse student population. He said the conversations he’s had with different students has played an important role in helping him as the student body president. “Embracing each other and learn-
ing from one another is important,” he said. Those who took part in the festival got to see various performances such as Florea de Reata (“Rope Tricks”) and multicultural dances from India and Cambodia, among others. The festival also offered cultural foods to those who wanted to put their taste buds to the test. Mexican and Indian delicacies were just a few of the dishes students savored. Yu-Hsin Wang, an international student from Taiwan attended the
event to lend support to her friends and to also learn more about other cultures. She said it gave her the chance to mingle with other international students. “I learned about diversity,” she said about the event. “[International students] are so fortunate to be at CSUF. Walking around campus you don’t feel like you’re different.” Wang also said that she has been surprised by the support shown by her peers and professors.
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Burning rubber
nTURNOUT: Students said poor advertising and lack of knowledge were the reasons they did not cast a ballot By Theresa Salinas
Daily Titan Staff Writer Six percent of the student population voted in last week’s Associated Students Inc. election, leaving some candidates and organizers wondering what went wrong and what can be done to improve next year’s turnout. About 30,000 students could have voted in the ASI election on April 24 and 25 – but only 1,814 voters made it to the polls. Some blame the low turnout on poor advertising. Others said that Wednesday’s rain kept voters away from outdoor polling stations. Still others pointed out that voter apathy is common at commuter colleges like Cal State Fullerton and cannot be fixed. “It was partly because of the rain and partly because it was a low-key election,” said ASI Election Commissioner Suzette Escobar. “Because there were only two presidential candidates, people probably felt that their vote wouldn’t matter much.” Graduate student Darcy Clarke said she didn’t know about the election; and even if she did, she wouldn’t have voted. “I’m only here for one semester, so I have a vested interest,” she said. Presidential candidate Jeremy Harrison said that the elections were not advertised enough. Like Clarke, thousands of students didn’t know about the elections, he said. “Our campaign was all about increasing student involvement,” he said. “It’s ironic that nobody voted. We just wanted to get people involved.” But ASI President Alex Lopez said that ASI did all it could to advertise the election. Banners announcing the election were posted throughout the university. Presidential debates were held the week before the election. Polls were also placed at four prominent campus locations – the Titan Student Union, Langsdorf Hall, McCarthy Hall and the Humanities Building. ASI even tried to entice students by holding a lottery this semester in which seven voters were selected at random to upgrade their Fall 2002 student-parking permit to a staff permit. The winners are: Jesse Knowles, Arthur Jones, Adam Byrnes, Viola Chiu, Jonathon Tarnow, Frank Gonzalez and Mary Diaz. ASI spends about $20,000 per year to promote student elections. The Spring 2002 election budget includes $1,245 for student wages, $150 for supplies, $650 for printing and advertising, $200 for repairs and maintenance, $700 for personnel services, $9,580 for contracts,
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Driver Tony Stewart and the Home Depot Pontiac team make a quick pit stop during the NAPA Auto Parts 500 at the California Speedway Sunday.
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Effects of L.A. riots still felt 10 years later nANNIVERSARY: Memories are still strong a decade after the tragic events of beatings and lootings By Ricardo Sanchez, Jr. Daily Titan Staff Writer
courtesy of the daily breeze
Workers at a Hawthorne grocery store stand guard behind bales to protect themselves and their store during the Los Angeles Riots.
Smells of burnt rubber filled the air and singed storefronts greeted those who traveled through the streets of Los Angeles a week after the worst civil uprising in the city’s history. The riots, which started April 29, 1992 due to the acquittal of the four police officers involved in the Rodney King beating, lasted three days. It resulted in at least 58 deaths, 2,283 injures and more than 7,000 reported fires. A decade has passed since violence took over the city. Pastor William Johnson recalls driving through the streets of Compton when the riots broke out. He was trying to convince people to stop looting and starting fires, but
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did not experience much success. Johnson is the founder of the Harambee Economic and Community Development, a non-profit organization based in Compton, that among other things helps restore old homes for the community. Now 10 years later, most of the burned-down buildings have been replaced with booming businesses like Starbucks and Home Depot. “There are some things that have changed since then, but there are still things that have not,” Johnson said. A new Chevron, a Hollywood Video and different restaurants have popped up throughout the city, but social conditions, such as the high rate of unemployment and gang shootings, have not really progressed, Johnson said. The day of the anniversary, Cal State Fullerton students and faculty looked back at those three days of confusion and chaos. Jeremiah Moore, director of Student Academic Services, remembers how people in surrounding cities, like his hometown of Pasadena, initially didn’t realize how much this affected people’s lives. “We were under the delusion that we didn’t have the problem L.A.
had, ” Moore said. “‘Just don’t go to L.A.,’” was the attitude people shared.” Moore had to pick up his son who was arriving from school in Tennessee at Los Angeles International Airport. All the streets were blocked off, and it took hours before he finally got to the airport. “I think a lot of good came out of it,” Moore said reluctantly of the violence. “The police department is more sensitive and there is more diversity, as far as African Americans and Hispanics.” Tyeshun Brown, a senior child development major, lived in South Central Los Angeles, close to where Reginald Denny was nearly beaten to death by rioters. He said he noticed a change in the community he grew up in. “There’s tolerance now between the races,” Brown said. “Now in certain neighborhoods, blacks, Koreans, Hispanics, they’ve gotten to know each other.” King’s now infamous quote, “People…can we just get along,” called for this understanding between cultures.