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Hockey hold-out wonʼt faze most sports fans 6
The time is now for John Kerry to take a stand against Iraq 4
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Hostile Colleges solicit young voters groups free 7 in Iraq Wide open spaces CSUF students can rest insured Nationʼs campuses work to register students by Oct. 18 By KYLE McCORY and VIRGINIA TERZIAN Daily Titan Staff
Thousands of young people are uniting to ensure the voices of teens and college students are heard in this Novemberʼs election. “If youʼre not registered and some-
thing happens that makes you want to vote, you lose your chance,” said Shelly Arsneault, assistant professor of political science, in response to the National Youth and Student Voter Registration Day, being held today around the United States. The event, sponsored by Childrenʼs Defense as well as 17 other national organizations, will take place at college campuses, high schools and neighborhoods. The purpose is to make sure young adults ages 18 to 24 are registered before the deadline date
this Oct. 18. “One goal is to get them registered,” Arsneault said. “The second [goal] is to serve as a reminder that the election is coming up and itʼs important.” Although there are 23.9 million eligible voters under the age of 25, which is more than ever before, voter turnout within this age group continues to decline, according to www. childrensdefense.com. The event coordinators also hope to encourage those already registered
to vote to do so in November. “We can register 10,000 students,” said Mona Mohammadi, Associated Students Inc. executive vice president, “but are they really going to get out and vote?” ASI will also be setting up a voterʼs campaign by the end of this week where they will hang posters and distribute postcards around campus with information on what to expect after students register to vote. The Volunteer and Service Center will have booths in the Quad and
on Titan Walkway Wednesday and Thursday with voter registration forms and brochures explaining ballot issues that college students should be aware of. Resources for Engaging and Advocating Civic Transformation, a campus street team, will also be encouraging students to vote throughout October, holding events and educating students on how and where to vote. VOTE 3
Kidnappers release hostages, insurgents continue violence The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Kidnappers released two female Italian aid workers and five other hostages Tuesday, raising hopes for at least 18 foreigners still in captivity. But insurgents showed no sign of easing their blood-soaked campaign against the U.S. presence in Iraq, staging a show of defiance in Samarra and striking twice with deadly force in Basra. It was unclear what prompted the two separate groups of kidnappers to release the Italians, three Egyptians and two Iraqis, and whether any ransom had been paid. It was the second day in a row that foreigners were freed. The Italian women were wearing full black veils that revealed only their eyes as they were received by the Italian Red Cross in a Baghdad neighborhood, according to video broadcast by the Arab news station Al-Jazeera. Looking dazed but smiling, Simona Torretta lifted her veil and repeated, “Thank you,” in Arabic. Simona Pari hesitated before also lifting her veil. Later Tuesday, the two women were flown home aboard a Falcon 20 plane, arriving at a military airport in Rome shortly after 11 p.m. The two, now in long, white dresses, emerged smiling and held hands as they walked on the tarmac, their relatives by their side. Asked by reporters how she felt, Pari just said, “Good.” Pari and Torretta were abducted Sept. 7 in a bold raid on the Baghdad office of their aid agency “Un Ponte Per ...” (“A Bridge To ...”). Two Iraqis, Raad Ali Aziz and Mahnaz Bassam, were also seized; they too were released Tuesday. News of the release came after a Muslim leader from Italy met with an influential Muslim association in Baghdad on Tuesday to press for their freedom, though it was not immediately known if there was a connection. The two women, both 29, had been working on school and water projects in Iraq. The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai al-Aam had reported Tuesday that they could be released by Friday in return for a $1 million ransom. But Al-Arabiya TV, citing unidentified sources involved in the negotiations, said no ransom was paid. Pope John Paul II, who recently urged that all hostages held in Iraq be freed, expressed “great joy” over the release of the Italian aid workers, the Vatican said. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi went before Parliament to announce their release. “Finally a moment of joy,” Berlusconi said, as the assembly broke into applause. “The two girls are well and will be able to return to their loved ones tonight.” Four Egyptian telecommunicaIRAQ 3
About 300 students enroll annually in the insurance program By ASHLEE ANDRIDGE Daily Titan Staff
SHANNON ANCHALEECHAMAIKORN/Daily Titan
While students struggle to find parking in Lot S, outside College Park, two rows of parking remain empty each day. These spaces were recently converted from student parking into faculty parking this semester.
Cool Wave crashes on campus North Pole explorer Vidmar comes to CSUF Thursday By SIERRA F. WEBB Daily Titan Staff
He is the first to bring more than one pair of underwear on a 52-day solo expedition to the North Pole. He composes music, owns his own company and goes extreme snowboarding. He biked through Europe after leaving the states with only a one-way ticket and $98. This spring, the same man carried a 350-pound sled through 900 feet of Arctic water while swimming backwards and breaking ice with his back and head. Does this sound like a man worth talking to? This week students will get the chance as Wave Vidmar visits the Titan Student Union Portola Pavilion on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The presentation will be Vidmarʼs story of how he trekked – by himself – from the Russian coast toward the geographic North Pole for nearly a month.
He is the first American to make the mini synthesizer in order to program a journey solo and unsupported. rhythm and write lyrics,” said Vidmar, “Among those who have done it, who is also known simply as Wave. itʼs considered the most difficult expe- “When I got home I could transfer dition in the world,” Vidmar said. those compositions into the record“From there everything else is down ing studio where I could actually use hill.” instruments.” An extensive exhibit is currently on JoAnn Carter-Wells is the coordinadisplay in the Atrium tor for the masterʼs Gallery of the Pollak degree program Library and will conin instructional Among those tinue through Oct. 8. design and techwho have done The exhibit includes nology at Cal State it, it’s considered photos from the Fullerton. After the most difficult trip as well as sevVidmarʼs sponexpedition in the world. eral examples of his sors approached equipment, including her, Carter-Wells his tent and the full offered the opporWave Vidmar explorer body outfits he wore. tunity for students Vidmar broke two in the program world records by to work with swimming the farVidmar. Two of thest – 300 yards – in the programʼs the high Arctic Ocean and by spend- graduate students, Chris de Elena and ing the longest period of time – three Krishno Linville, responded. hours – in those waters. He is also the The two graduate students were first to shoot high definition video and able to meet with Vidmar in San compose music in the high arctic on a Francisco before his trip. They then solo expedition. helped to develop and design multi“I was able to use the software on WAVE 3 my Personal Digital Assistant with a
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Gerardo Carranza took a turn too quickly on his street bike last month, resulting in a fractured foot caused by a puncture wound from his kickstand. X-rays, medication and stitches were just some of the costly services he was provided with during his trip to the emergency room. But Carranza will never see any bills. He has medical insurance. “I was pretty lucky I had insurance,” he said. “If I didnʼt, it would have been outrageously expensive.” Carranza, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, receives insurance benefits through Veterans Affairs. He said this incident helped him realize the importance of health insurance. “Itʼs really important because you never know what might happen,” he said. Uninsured Cal State Fullerton students can get health insurance through the campus, alleviating some of the worry that results from expensive hospital visits. The insurance offers a Preferred Provider Organizer plan that allows policyholders to see physicians who the insurance provider has negotiated with for services. Cathy Busby, executive assistant of Associated Students Inc. administration, said the PPO provides students with many locations close to campus. “There are 892 physicians within five miles of Cal State Fullerton who participate in the plan,” she said. Busby said that the majority of students are covered by their parentsʼ insurance, but most plans will not cover students beyond the age of 23. “Unexpected medical bills can be very expensive, running easily into thousands of dollars,” she said. “The insurance is an accident and sickness plan that covers services
not offered by the Health Center, such as hospitalization, surgery and evening or weekend medical care.” Busby said that about 300 students enroll annually in the insurance program. Undergraduate students must be taking at least six credit hours while graduates can be enrolled in any amount of credit hours at CSUF to be eligible; however, students only attending the El Toro Campus do not qualify for the insurance plan. “Because of the regular accessibility and convenience of the CSUF Health Center, El Toro students must take classes at both the El Toro and CSUF campus in order to be eligible for the insurance plan,” Busby said. Lisa Merritt, account manager for Somerton Insurance and the CSU schools, said that, according to institutional research, the top reason for undergraduate withdrawals is medical related. “Approximately 41 million Americans are currently uninsured,” she said. “Health insurance provides peace of mind from knowing that an unexpected injury or illness will not result in a financial hardship that could end your college education.” Merritt said the student plans “are geared toward meeting the needs of the average college student.” When visiting a PPO, students are responsible for 20 percent of the bill and when visiting a non-PPO doctor, students must pay 50 percent of the bill, Merritt said. The students are responsible for a $250 deductible and the policy has a $100,000 maximum lifetime benefit for each injury and sickness. Merritt said the premiums are decided on an age basis; for example, students under 24 have an annual payment of $962. She also said students must first go to the Health Center for treatment or a referral to a doctor because “the insurance will cover costs of services that are beyond the scope of what the Health Center offers.” Interested students should have their applications turned in by Oct. 7 to the TSU Information and Services Desk, Cathy Busby or go online.
American Taliban asks Bush to commute sentence Defense lawyer says Lindh was in wrong place at wrong time The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO – John Walker Lindh asked President Bush on Tuesday to commute his 20-year prison term for his 2002 conviction of aiding the Taliban. His lawyer, James Brosnahan, said Lindh was a young man in the
wrong place at the wrong time. He said Lindh was fighting alongside the Taliban in a civil war against the Northern Alliance, that heʼs not a terrorist and he never fought against U.S. troops. Brosnahan said the sentence should be reduced because Yaser Esam Hamdi also was caught aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan and is now being released after serving three years in prison. Hamdi will not be charged with any crime under an agreement
with federal officials made public Monday. Hamdi will be required to give up his American citizenship and will be sent to Saudi Arabia where he grew up. “Comparable conduct should be treated in comparable ways in terms of sentencing,” Brosnahan said during a news conference at his office. Lindhʼs mother, Marilyn Walker, said her son “has never had any sympathy or involvement in terrorist activity.” Lindh, 23, formerly of Fairfax,
pleaded guilty in civilian court to supplying services to the nowdefunct Taliban government and carrying explosives for them. He and Hamdi were both captured in late 2001. Brosnahan said he negotiated the 20-year sentence during a time when a “highest state of fear” was affecting U.S. juries, and he thought it was the best deal he could get at the time. Without the plea deal, Lindh faced life imprisonment if convicted. The request does not specify how
much of a reduction Lindh is seeking. The White House referred calls to the Justice Department. Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo, while not commenting on the merits of Lindhʼs request, pointed out that Lindh “pleaded guilty to supporting the Taliban with his lawyers standing beside him.” “The Taliban was a brutal regime that harbored and assisted al-Qaida,” TALIBAN 3