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 ,
The
NEWS Massive budget cut protest set for Thursday at CSUF page 4
F U L L E R T O N
T ITAN
SPORTS Titan bullpen blows chance for sweep, but team still wins series page 6
w w w . d a i l y t it a n .c o m
ISSUE 38
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2004
VOLUME 78
Battle for the
‘V’ is for victory
BORDER Part Two of a Five Part Series
Victory-defeat, capture-escape B Y T OMMY P URVIS Titan Staff Writer
JACQUELINE LOVATO/ Daily Titan
New ASI President Philip Vasquez celebrates with his Vice President Mona Mohammadi at Saturday’s Bootylicious 2004, held in the Titan Student Union Pavilion. Vasquez, a Human Services major, is a senior and Mohammadi, a political science major, is a sophomore. The pair received 1,642 votes. Runningmates Matt Halleck and Devon Snedden had 1,124 votes. James Theel and Tracee Davis received 115 total. Vasquez said in a prepared statement that “The most important issue facing students in 2004 is the rising cost of textbooks and the practices used by the textbook publishers to market and solicit to students.” He has vowed to make this a priority during his presidency.
Communities commemorate ‘Black April’ B Y K HANH V U
Titan Staff Writer With the nation in the midst of an ongoing war in Iraq, it is easy to forget that April 30 marks the anniversary that ended the Vietnam War, but for the Vietnamese Student Catholic Association at Cal State Fullerton this is not so. Friday night, VSCA, along with the Vietnamese Student Association, collaborated to host a show in the Titan Student Union commemorating Vietnam’s last day of independence from a Communist regime. Coined “Black April,” the numerous events leading to the infamous day are considered the darkest moments in Vietnamese history. “I wanted to raise awareness to the campus about Black April,” said Tamara Tran, the show’s coordinator. “Not enough people know about it.” Even those with prior knowledge of the event think it is worthy of the greater population’s attention. “I know the Vietnamese community here in Southern California is very contentious,” said Kristine Dennehy, professor of Asian nationalism. “To see this on campus would be a good chance for me.” The two-hour show in Pavilion C tackled issues facing Vietnamese youths, who can now enjoy the luxuries the fallout has provided, and emphasized the
costs and hardships it took to obtain those luxuries. “The reason there is even a Vietnamese American community here at all is because of that day,” said guest speaker Tammy Tran. “That one day changed not only people in Vietnam, but people in [the] U.S. changed as well.” Southern California is home to nearly 450,000 Vietnamese people according to the 2001 U.S. Census, the largest concentration in the U.S. Since the mass exodus in 1975, Orange County’s Vietnamese population has swelled to over 130,000 people. The theme of the night was “Past, Present and Future,” and the three special guest speakers each focused on one aspect of that theme. The speakers included Tran, a field representative to a California State assemblyman, an Asian American specialist and a Vietnamese talk show host. Tran concentrated on current issues affecting women’s right in Taiwan, where an epidemic of Vietnamese slave trade and human trafficking is rampant. Sparked by NBC’s “Dateline” television show, which brought the matter to the forefront, Tran said she has aggressively fought to make the issues public. “For the price of $5,000, a person could buy a Vietnamese bride on a Taiwanese eBay Web
KHANH VU/ Daily Titan Staff
Many gathered in the TSU on Friday to light candles in recognition of the anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
The Southwest border is embroiled in war. Like most wars, the politics and economics that drive the conflict are mired in propaganda and bureaucratic red tape as Americans go on with their daily lives, unaware of the causalities discontent creates. In the almost 10 years that Operation Gatekeeper has safeguarded the border, the death toll on both sides of the issue has risen dramatically and neither side can claim a significant victory. Throughout the siege, two factors have remained consistent: The United States Border Patrol’s valiant effort to protect the sovereignty of the nation, and the illegal immigrants’ desperate desire to seek economic relief in the north. Each day these forces collide along the U.S. and Mexico border.
EAST COUNTY, San Diego –– The last few remnants of light attempt to hold off the impending darkness. In the waning moments of the transfer between night and day, the border illuminates with a chaotic sense of urgency. All at once, the Border Patrol’s communication network begins to crackle with activity. “We got a hit on a sensor,” said Steve McPartland, a senior patrol agent, referring to motion-activated sensors that strategically line the United States and Mexico border. The sensors broaden the net of defense the Border Patrol employs to catch illegal immigrants. When a sensor is triggered, the activity is registered and
sent to a central post that ly of males. A few of them do not dispatches agents to the area look old enough to shave while of concern. Agents can be others have gray hair. They summoned on horseback, in all appear dejected by their vehicles, ATVs or helicopters capture. to investigate the cause of the None of these men were preactivity. pared to brave the desert. It takes Senior Patrol Agent “No bags and no water. Their Jon Eads half the time to trans- ride is close by,” said Eads as he verse down the dirt road from assesses the scenario presented the lookout point over the valley before him. This group was as it took him to reach the hill’s headed for a lay-up, or a staging summit earlier that day. area to wait for a ride north. Border Patrol agents, who The youngest of them is the have reached the scene minutes most eager to talk. He tells before Eads and McPartland Border Patrol agents that he arrive, have already detained is from Central Mexico and had a group of eight illegal immi- arranged to pay a coyote $1,200 grants off the shoulder of the when he arrived safely in Los road. Angeles. The vehicle is still in motion The three illegal immigrants as McPartland jumps out and with backpacks were prepared races across a recently plowed to travel. Their backpacks confield. He returns minutes later tained meager supplies that with a second group––three were intended to nourish them men carrying backpacks. The throughout their journey. two groups blend together and The eleven men are loaded form a scene that illustrates into a Border Patrol van and the complex situation that con- taken to a substation in the fronts the Border Patrol on a town of Boulevard to be pronightly basis. cessed. Agents will be able to The Border Patrol agents determine if any of the men instruct both groups of men in are prior deportees by scanOfficer Eads questions a 15-year-old Spanish. The men comply, formJonning their fingerprints into a caught just north of the border. a line and sit on the ground. computer system. More imporThe darkness blindfolds the tantly, the system will aid in men as they sit facing Mexico. determining if any of the illeThey contemplate another gal immigrants have criminal attempt to reach the North; records or have arrest warrants their current effort did not get in the United States. them far. In some circumstances, finThe border wall is three hun- gerprinting them allows the dred yards to the south. Border Patrol to nab “coyotes,” In a matter of 20 minutes, the men who smuggle humans illegal immigrants were scoped across the border for profit, and set up for apprehension and prosecute them for their by Border Patrol agents. The activities. In an effort to avoid group of eight had been spotted detection, some smugglers and earlier in the day preparing to wanted felons attempt to alter sneak over the border. their fingerprints by rubbing The group is made up entire- their fingertips repeatedly with
sand paper or carving out their traceable imprints with razor blades. Eads and McPartland said they view everyone they aid in deporting as criminals, since they are breaking the law by illegally crossing over the border to enter the U.S. They said each time a person is deported it represents a potential crime that individual will not have an opportunity to commit within the country’s borders. “There is a thrill in them not getting away,” said McPartland, as he reflects on the apprehension. This reflection is short-lived. It is early, and under the cover of darkness many areas along the border are successfully being penetrated by groups of illegal immigrants. Sensors are activated. Groups are spotted by the scope. Residents call in to the Border Patrol and report signs of smuggling. The agents attempt to respond to every sign of activity as soon as possible, but at times the reality of the situaLISA HART/Daily Titan the Staff tion appears to over whelm illegal immigrant after he was agency’s resources. Five miles north of the border, agents detain a group of 13 illegal immigrants lined along the side of a dirt road. The men activated a sensor earlier in the evening and an agent tracked their trail north to this location. West of this position, another group has been apprehended and an agent needs help. Valuable time is lost while Eads and McPartland attempt to pin down the agent’s exact location. The darkness diminishes their precision to a crude science. Many times apprehenBorder ~3 sions take place along roads
Drag queens make the CSUF B Y M ISTY P REMO AND M ICHIKO T AMURA Titan Staff Writers While boys will be boys, at Bootylicious 2004 they were also girls…sexy girls. About 400 students packed into the Titan Student Union Pavilions to see the 5th annual gender-bending event hosted by returning mistress of ceremonies Cassandra Fever. Tall, leggy and lovely, Fever has been in the drag business for over 10 years. Wrapped up tight in latex, she teetered high atop 8-inch heels, dishing out crude humor with a side of social consciousness. “We all want the same thing. We want happiness. We want to be accepted,” Fever said. “Who I chose to love is nobody else’s business. Everybody should have freedom of choice.” The fundraiser, sponsored by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance, featured over 21 dancing and singing drag performers, including both male and female entertainers. Male for the evening, “Joe Anaconda” said “he” feels more comfortable disguised in male clothing. The program featured both professional and amateur gender-benders. The club received an over-
JACQUELINE LOVATO/ Daily Titan
Mistress of ceremonies Cassandra Fever speaks to a crowd of about 400 students during the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance’s 5th annual Bootylicious event at the TSU on Thursday. whelming number of people interested in participating in the spectacle, said Karen Bury, LGBA secretary. Bootylicious was slated to kick off at 7 p.m., but was delayed over a half an hour while the performers made their metamorphosis from macho men to drag lovelies. While students continued to filter into the auditorium, filling seats, isles and doorways, the queens were hurriedly tucking, plucking and pinning backstage. Fever kicked off the evening
with a sexually ambiguous performance of her own before introducing her sisters in drag. She encouraged the audience to tip the performers generously. Topped off in a full head of long golden locks, “Sadé” strutted onto the stage in a sparkling gold tube top and matching spandex pants. “She” slinked through the crowd, hips gyrating, giving a select few a closer look at her assets. Sadé said she learned the tricks of the trade from her “drag mom,” a drag queen who acted as her mentor. As her drag mom’s
protégé, she learned everything from the best place to find largesized stilettos to the joys of the MAC make-up counter. “Krystall,” a CSUF alumnus and fledgling drag queen, shocked the audience in a pair of ruffly red bloomers that pushed the boundaries of decency. The audience went wild. Fans with dollars in hand chased her through the isles eager to stuff a buck anywhere they could. A shy little boy, who came with his mother, caught up with the diva to make his contribution, giving rise to a collective “awww” from nearby ladies. For those too shy to chase down a six-foot man in heels, a bodice-shaped tip jar dressed in a leopard print bikini was passed around throughout the evening. The LGBA did not charge admission for the show, but relied on the generosity of the audience when tipping the performers. To rustle up some extra cash, the club also sold candy at the door. “Candy is better than artificial Ecstasy,” Fever said. All of the money raised during the show will go directly to fund future club-sponsored events such as National Coming-Out Day in the fall, Bury said. Just before the intermission,