Opinion
Sports
Tour de France icon raises funds for cancer foundation 6
Media exaggerate West Nile virus threat 5
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
We d n e s d a y, S e p t e m b e r 1 5 , 2 0 0 4
Daily Titan w w w. d a i l y t i t a n . c o m
Vo l u m e 7 9 , I s s u e 8
Tuition hike under fire If bill is approved, it will affect nearly 30,000 students By ALI DORRI AND ASHLEY HEGLAR Daily Titan Staff
JACQUELINE LOVATO/Daily Titan
The Titans baseball team celebrates its 2004 College World Series championship with students, faculty and community leaders in the Quad on Tuesday.
CSUF honors baseball champs ASI honors Coach George Horton and the team for their victory By ASHLEE ANDRIDGE Daily Titan Staff
The Quad was filled with school spirit Tuesday as students gathered to celebrate the Titans baseball teamʼs 2004 NCAA National Championship victory. Baseball players lined the Quad in orange and blue uniforms while members of Student Affairs and Associated Students Inc. provided free hot dogs and raffles for those in
attendance. The five-time National Champion Dance Team performed and Tuffy the Titan gave away free T-shirts. ASI honored Head Coach George Horton and the team with a resolution commending their championship. Dean of Students Kandy Mink said celebrating the teamʼs national championship is very important. “The Cal State Fullerton Titan baseball team reached an outstanding milestone in their national championship victory at the College World Series in June,” she said. “The campus community wants to congratulate them on their hard
work and well-deserved success.” For those Titans who havenʼt heard the news, this summer the team won their fourth national championship in Omaha, Neb. Ricky Romero, a pitcher for the team, said they are ready to go for another national championship. “The dream for all of us is to go back there again,” Romero said. But for now, Romero said, his team will continue to work hard and get better every day. “Donʼt worry about the results of the game,” Romero said. “Stick with the process and take it one pitch at a time.” Assistant Coach Rick Vanderhook
experienced the win with his team. “It was unbelievable to feel what we achieved,” Vanderhook said. “This was the best team effort from players, managers, trainers and coaches that I have ever been a part of.” However, Vanderhook said he realizes it takes more than talent to win a College World Series. It also takes “heart, focus and attitude,” he said. “The team learned all three midway through the year.” The College World Series win is the first for Horton. Horton, once a student at Cal State Fullerton, said BASEBALL 3
Anaheim could host next RNC Mayor hopes to bring political convention to Southern California By ERIC GOMEZ Daily Titan Staff
The city of Anaheim is one of the three cities competing to be the next host of the Republican National Convention for the 2008 election, along with Tampa Bay and Atlanta. The city and its mayor, Curt Pringle, are spearheading the movement to bring the National Convention to Anaheim. Pringle said the city is capable of hosting the event for the Republican
or Democratic Party. “Anaheim is a convention city,” Pringle said. The city is in its beginning stages of preparation to compete for either convention to come to Orange County, Pringle said. He also said that even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger “has told a number of folks that he would support having it in Anaheim.” The largest convention that Anaheim currently hosts takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center for the National Association of Music Merchants, with over 70,000 people participating in the event each year. NAMM will continue to come to the Anaheim Convention Center for
its annual event until 2010, Pringle said, “so, this is something we can do.” Much of the cityʼs revenues, Pringle said, come from these kinds of events. John Nicoletti, Anaheim public information officer, said he also believes that the city is the premiere place for a convention. “Weʼre used to dealing with large crowds,” Nicoletti said. “Conventions and large events are no stranger to Anaheim.” Nicoletti said that the 30 to 40 thousand people who attended this yearʼs Democratic and Republican National Conventions in Boston and New York include nearly the same amount of people that attend
The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Authorities intercepted a letter bound for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that had been rigged to ignite when opened, one of 19 such letters sent to governors around the country since last week. Three of the letters found earlier caught fire, but no one has been injured. The letter to Schwarzenegger was spotted Monday by screeners who routinely inspect letters intended for the governor and other members of the stateʼs executive branch at a
California Highway Patrol center in West Sacramento, CHP spokesman Tom Marshall said. Schwarzeneggerʼs office had no comment Tuesday. Letters to other states postmarked from Las Vegas have featured a return address from Nevadaʼs maximum-security Ely State Prison. Authorities said they were interviewing correctional officers and inmates at the prison and have narrowed their investigation to “a person of interest.” Marshall said authorities initially decided “because of the security issue” not to announce the interception. But the CHP confirmed the letter Tuesday after receiving numerous calls asking about bombs and terrorist materials allegedly intended for the governor.
CONVENTION 3
TUITION 2
Group promotes human rights Amnesty International spotlights human rights issues in Afghanistan By BRITTANY KUHN Daily Titan Staff
Members of human rights organizations banned together Tuesday to combat student apathy. Surrounding local chapters of Amnesty International held an event yesterday in University Hall that highlighted human rights issues in Afghanistan and stressed international awareness among Cal State Fullerton students. “I hold in my hand a weapon,” said Kevin Gaffney, Amnesty International trainer and opening speaker, holding a pen in hand. “I am a member of Amnesty International but I am also a human. My pen is my weapon of hope, not destruction.” Gaffney was referring to the purpose of the organizationʼs event. By exhibiting traditional food, conducting a panel discussion
RAQUEL SABOOR/For the Daily Titan
Ruth Schapen gives support to the Afghanistan Relief Organization.
and viewing a film produced in Afghanistan, speakers urged event attendees to pick up a pen and start writing. The key reason for the event was to encourage the public to write letters to politicians and influential organizations in order to make a difference in the fight for human AMNESTY 3
Hispanic culture celebrated
Governors targeted in mail bomb scare
Authorities intercept rigged letter sent to Schwarzenegger
an Angels baseball game. “We get that almost every night,” he said. Pringle said the convention would take place at the Arrowhead Pond with additional meeting places at the Anaheim Convention Center and that hotels around the area would also be utilized. He did say however that the convention would cause other unique concerns. “Security would be the biggest concern, but we would have a number of years to plan and prepare for that,” Pringle said. “We would need a lot of resources and support. We believe there would be enough.” Pringle said the city would rely
California State University trustees decided to postpone todayʼs vote on tuition increases until the Oct. 28 meeting. Mona Mohammadi, Cal State Fullerton Associated Students Inc. executive vice president, said it was postponed because of the heated debate surrounding the proposal. If approved, the policy would raise tuition by up to 10 percent every year until 33 percent of what it costs to educate each student is matched. According to an article in Tuesdayʼs Orange County Register, CSU students are currently covering
21 percent of their education costs. California Student Associate Chairman Manolo Platin, who attends Humboldt State, estimates that the 10 percent increase would take 10 years to meet quota, Mohammadi said. Yesterday the trustees said the tuition raise is necessary due to budget cuts and the increase of students at CSUs. The new costs will affect about 30,000 Fullerton students, Mohammadi said, and the gradual increase is financially more feasible for students than increasing tuition all at once like last yearʼs sudden raise. However, not everyone in ASI is in agreement. CSU fees have already gone up 48 percent since 2002 and Patty Azimi, ASI board of directors member, said she worries this is becoming too
Diversity and customs shared across U.S. during heritage month By BRITTANY KUHN Courtesy of Mike Bedford
The governor, shown at a local mall in July, was unharmed. Other governors targeted so far include those in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. In addition to the 13 Republican and six Democratic governors, Nevadaʼs corrections director received a booby-trapped letter. U.S. Postal officials said sending a letter intended to harm the recipient is a federal felony, with a possible prison sentence up to 20 years.
Daily Titan Staff
Beginning on Sept. 15, Cal State Fullertonʼs Chicano Studies Department will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with an event that will commemorate Latin American countriesʼ independence from Spain. On-campus organization MEChA, which stands for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, will be hosting “United In Our Independence” in the Titan Student Union Pavilion on Sept. 25. Carolyn Torres, MEChA chair and senior history major, said the event, which will include Peruvian and Honduran dancers, free food
and keynote speaker Professor Ray Reyes from the Chicano Studies Department, will be open to anyone interested in Hispanic culture, regardless of ethnicity. “It is all culturally significant,” Torres said. “There is a lot of pride involved.” Despite the fact that HispanicAmericans make up the countryʼs largest race or ethnic minority, they are still highly underrepresented today, Torres said. “I wish there were more cultural and community events,” Torres said. “MEChAʼs event is the only one planned on campus that I know of. I think people need to put more things on, so we can celebrate what our culture is about.” Not to be confused with Cinco de Mayo, which is a commemoration of a battle between Mexico and the French army, Hispanic heritage is a month-long celebration of freedom,
highlighting Sept. 15 as the day of Latin independence. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, nearly 40 million HispanicAmericans across the nation will commemorate their culture and traditions during the course of this celebration. “What theyʼre celebrating is their independence from Spain,” said Chicano Studies Professor Nancy Porras Hein. “Thatʼs why September is a particularly important event in the Hispanic community.” This month signifies the appreciation of an ethnic minority that is trying to overcome decades of discrimination, Porras Hein said. In the 1930s, Hispanic-Americans could not enjoy swimming in pools until the day before the pool was to be cleaned. As a result of this HERITAGE 3