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ASI parties around block
By NIYAZ PIRANI Daily Titan Staff
By ERIC GOMEZ Daily Titan Staff
Above: Senior marketing major Mohammad Waren struggles to keep down the apples during the pie-eating contest that ASI held last Thursday. Waren put up a good fight and received prizes for runner-up. Right: ASI board member Mina Moradian receives a free snow cone during the ASI Block Party event outside the TSU. ASI sponsored the event, handing out free food, games and prizes from noon to 8 p.m. campus activities. Each table that was lined up in front of the TSU represented a different section of the center and the services they have to offer to students, Plascencia said. ASI PARTY 3
Photos by JACQUELINE LOVATO/Daily Titan
Panelists discuss inequalities in U.S. CSULB professor says American democracy becoming plutocracy By SHANNON ANCHALEECHAMAIKORN Daily Titan Staff
The “Perspectives on Democracy” conference, held at the Titan Student Union at Cal State Fullerton on Friday, invited political experts and media representatives to speak on various topics involving the role of democracy in the world. One of the panels, titled “Inequality and Democracy,” explored and attempted to shed light on how to resolve some of the difficulties the United States is encountering with
democracy. According to the panel, these problems stem from the lack of government spending on social services and differences among the nationʼs increasingly diverse socioeconomic and ethnic citizenship. Professor Charles Noble, from the Political Science Department at Long Beach State, said that because of the increased campaigning against re-distributional tax programs, the nation cannot fund desperately needed social programs. “In comparative perspective, this is a very harsh and unforgiving brand of capitalism,” Noble said. “There is a bigger gap between the rich and the poor in the United States than in any other western democracies.” Noble added that when analyzing the data of inequality across rich
democracies, the single most important factor is the extent to which the government takes action against it. “Because we spend less on social programs, the United States really makes sure its markets have a final say of who gets what, and markets donʼt care about equality,” he said. In studying political participation records, Noble said he found that not only do records map a personʼs level of education, but they also map levels of income. As a result, wealthier households who donate to campaigns have better access to the shaping of public policies and are the people who run the major institutions of our society. According to Noble, there is a growing trend among the Democratic and Republican parties to gain the support of wealthier households,
therefore evolving into what Noble calls a “plutocracy-plus.” “Plutocracy-plus is when you have competing elites running campaigns in which they appeal to the top 20 percent of the electorate for money and support, and the rest of the electorate wanders around confused,” said Noble. Noble said the direction American politics is going is dangerous to a society that prides itself on full participation and equal opportunity. Professor Ronald Schmidt, also from Long Beach Stateʼs Political Science Department, carried the discussion on to exploring the idea of whether or not democracy can be diverse in the United States. “In order to realize democracy in DEMOCRACY 3
Fullerton charity sells clothes, raises funds Proceeds go toward curing blindness and helping the sick By KYLE MCCORY Daily Titan Staff
The Fullerton Breakfast Lions Club held a fundraiser selling designer clothes at discount prices at the Anaheim Park Hotel last Saturday for charity. The event featured new, quality women and menʼs designer apparel that was overstock from leading
CSUF poll scrutinized Survey accused of perpetuating political bias against candidate
Event introduces students to campus fun, involvement
With 30 seconds left in the contest, freshman Christian Navarro struggled to devour the remaining pieces of his apple pie. “You just won the pie-eating contest…what are you going to do next?” a bystander shouted from the crowd shortly after his win. “Disneyland,” Navarro said victoriously. His prize was two tickets to the park, compliments of the Titan Student Union. Navarro, along with three other contestants, which included ASI President Philip Vasquez and Executive Vice President Mona Mohammadi, took part in a pie-eating contest Thursday during the 6th annual ASI Block Party. The event, with this yearʼs theme “On the Boardwalk,” served as a way to expose the facilities that the Associated Students Inc. and the TSU have to offer, said Deanna Plascencia, ASI director of public relations. “A lot of students donʼt know about ASI and they donʼt know about the TSU,” Plascencia said. “Thatʼs why we are out here.” Navarro said the pie-eating contest was the first time he had participated in a campus event, but said he would like to be more involved in
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national department stores at discounts up to 93 percent off original retail prices. Members of the community gathered at the hotel to buy the clothes, along with jewelry, candles and holiday decorations. Fashions by Ralph Lauren, Jones New York, Calvin Klein and DKNY were some of the brands available. “We are a non-political organization,” said David Crawford, secretary of the organization. “Helping people is our only goal.” The club is a large charity with over 46 organizations in Orange County that helps people around the
world who have illnesses and do not have means to health care. One of the charityʼs main goals is to cure blindness, having helped over 100 million people, Crawford said. “All we do is help people,” he said. “We train doctors and have clinics around the world.” The funds raised by the non-profit charity, that has members as young as 15 and as old as 85, go directly to people in need. One of the main attractions at the sale was a jewelry stand set up by Cookie Lee, which sold everything
from holiday broaches to pearl necklaces. “Women love this stuff,” said Trish Luckett, one of the companyʼs sales representatives. “Iʼll be working for this company for the rest of my life.” Shoppers ranged from the elderly to mothers and some also shopped for their children. Janice Crawford, 34, picked up a shirt by Baby Phat for her 2-year-old daughter. “My husband helped put on this fundraiser,” Crawford said. “There are really good prices here.”
The Cal State Fullerton Social Science Research Center isnʼt rating high on public opinion lately. The center is in hot water for a poll conducted in Irvine to determine public opinion of candidates running in the upcoming Nov. 2 elections. The poll, which was bid at $16,308, is under the microscope regarding questions that Councilman Mike Ward said are false accusations. According to the Los Angeles Times, “the Irvine survey was paid by HTP and Associates, which is run by Ed Dornan, a political backer of Mayor Larry Agran. Agran, whose term ends in November, is backing Wardʼs opponent, Councilwoman Beth Krom, to succeed the mayor while he runs for a council seat.” As a result, the Social Science Research Center is being accused of conducting a push-poll, an underhanded political tactic that is designed to ruin the reputation of a political candidate. “The poll was a political poll to determine strengths and weaknesses of the candidates in the city of Irvine,” Dornan said. “The poll was 90 questions, but only five were questionable because they were losing issues for Ward.” Dornan said that questions about Wardʼs vote to scrap the Great Park, his vote to allow a jail into Irvine, endorsements to build the Hollywood Park racetrack in Irvine, the time a mayor should spend in city hall and workforce housing were interpreted as leading questions. These issues generated negative backlash when Ward claimed that he was misrepresented by the poll. “The SSRC does not take a position with regard to any candidate for political office,” said Greg Robinson,
director of the center. “Our primary goal is to assist non-profit and taxsupported agencies and organizations to answer research questions that will lead to improved delivery and public policy. We are fundamentally concerned with providing high-quality research services.” As accusations from Ward about the center conducting a “push-poll” echoed through the community, Greg Robinson and university officials, including President Milton A. Gordon, needed to figure out their next step. The major issue was that the Social Science Research Center is part of two entities: the Cal State Fullerton Foundation and the university. Because the poll shed a negative light on CSUF, there was a debate on whether to uphold the contractual obligation of confidentiality or to divulge the source of the poll as a way of restoring faith in the university. “The SSRC is housed in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, but the contracts are executed by the Cal State Fullerton Foundation,” said Paula Selleck of public affairs. “Money from grants does not go to the university, it goes to the foundation, because the university cannot accept cash.” Selleck said the laws about public record take precedence over contractual agreements and that the poll and its related information were released to the public because it was the appropriate thing to do. “Because of Dr. Gordonʼs quick response, I think the accusations are taken care of,” Ward said. “This has indirectly helped my campaign because people know that what is thrown out at me is dirty politics rearing its ugly head in Irvine.” Dornan said a breech of contract occurred when his information became public knowledge because the poll was his intellectual property and belonged to him. “I think that Gordon acted outside of his authority because of his POLL 3
Titan among 3 dead in car crash Police investigating if crash was related to late night street racing By ANNA LOUSTAUNAU For the Daily Titan
Three people, including a Cal State Fullerton student, died in a West Los Angeles car crash earlier this month. According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the speeding car was sheared in half at 3:15 a.m. when it smashed into the corner of a building, killing a 51-year-old pedestrian and the two occupants of the car on impact. The driver of the car, Jeff Domond, a 22-year-old CSUF senior communications major, and 21-year-old passenger Marvin Washington, were thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. A 2004 Nissan 350-Z, traveling much faster than the 35 mph speed limit, struck a third, unidentified man, the police report stated.
The Nissan hit the corner of a building and sliced in half, its front and back ends found hundreds of yards apart from each other. The identity of the pedestrian was withheld from the press on account of waiting to notify the relatives, the coronerʼs office told the Tribune. The cause of the Sept. 6 collision is still under investigation as authorities try to determine whether street racing was the culprit. Witnesses told television news crews that they recalled the Nissan racing another vehicle, which sped away after the crash, apparently unharmed. “Any time our campus community loses a student, it is a very sad and unfortunate situation for us,” said Kandy Mink, dean of students. “We want to try to keep all our students safe and hope they have good experiences with us. It is so unfortunate that Jeff Domond was involved in this tragic accident.” Those close to Domond said they ACCIDENT 3