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False alarm empties building
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Gov. against text rentals
School house rock
Schwarzenegger vetos bill that is backed with bipartisan support By NIYAZ PIRANI Daily Titan Staff
By MARTI LONGWORTH Daily Titan Executive Editor
A false alarm in Cal State Fullertonʼs College Park cleared the building of classes while the source of the alarm was investigated Wednesday afternoon. The buildingʼs alarm went off around 12:30 p.m. prompting students and faculty to exit. Quang Le, a senior radio-TV-film major, was using a fog machine to create special effects for his portrait assignment in a basement photo lab. Le expressed regret for the disturbance. “I really feel bad for the classes I disrupted,” Le said. Mike Bedford, an information technology consultant for CSUFʼs communications department, said he took immediate action in evacuating the basement Mac lab. “We werenʼt expecting a drill so we reacted as if it was a real fire,” Bedford said. “I had to lead the students to safety.” Le said he has learned from this experience and hopes others will also learn from the accident. “I guess if it was any student at this school, it would have to have been me,” Le said.
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Keyboarder Pouyan Afkary rocks Becker Amphitheater with the rest of his band, Scary Kids Scaring Kids.
Keepers of campus labor through the night Janitors work together for greater good of students and faculty By CASEY RITTENHOUSE Daily Titan Staff
Darkness shrouded the Cal State Fullerton campus and an orange glow loomed above the universityʼs tall structures. It seemed like the campus was entirely deserted. But, unknown to many, a lot of activity was occurring inside the buildings. For about 40 CSUF custodial employees, it all starts promptly at 3 a.m. five days a week. Sandra Malone is a shift leader who has been in charge of the janitorial staff for the past three weeks while the custodial manager, Terri Thompson, is out of the office. Malone walked in a hurried fashion to the Humanities Building, not missing a beat when it came time to make sure everyone knew their work assignments, and she still found time to crack a few jokes with the employees. Equipped with brooms, cleansers and portable radios, the janitors get the job done. “The buildings are split into zones and I am normally at zone one,” Malone said inside a room of the Humanities Building. She took over zone two, which includes the Humanities Building, for a lead who called in. In the Education Classroom Building, Douglas Ball greeted Malone with a wide smile. Malone was delighted to see him and began to tease him about whether or not he was doing his work. Ball, employed by CSUF since 1979, said it is a team effort when it comes to custodial work. “Itʼs a good thing here because itʼs great to know the faculty and students,” Ball said. “And I have the best lead on campus. I canʼt deny
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that.” Malone laughed as he put his arm around her. Malone jumped from one building to the next in a determined manner, looking eager to see the other employees she works with. “I have been here for 10 years, but it seems like a lifetime,” Malone said with a laugh. “No, this is really a good place and Iʼm a people person. I love people.” Malone commutes from Compton and arrives at CSUF around 2 a.m. after having to wake up around midnight. She talks to her dogs and plants at home to get her ready for the long morning. In the basement of the McCarthy Hall, George Montoya is the man in charge. This year he will be retiring after 32 years of service and plans to continue working at his parttime job at the Anaheim Convention Center. Montoya said McCarthy Hall seems to be the least clean because so many people are passing through the building. But one particular area he said is the worst of all. “The womenʼs restrooms are the dirtiest,” he said. “They break off the plastic lids that cover the toilet paper, and play with matches near the lids. I donʼt know if they get bored sitting there or what.” When property is damaged in any facility, all the custodial workers can do is place a work order or call the police. “We donʼt have a lot of replacements [to repair things] because of budget cuts,” Malone said. “But we patch up as best as we can.” Malone said the library is one of the most demanding places to clean because itʼs the building that is open seven days a week. “The floor gets really dirty because itʼs so busy,” staff member Maria Centeno said about the first floor of the library. “It is like a bridge students use to get to where they need to be.”
Gov. Schwarzenegger officially put his stamp of disapproval on a bill that would have outlined a textbook rental program on Californiaʼs college campuses. Assembly Bill 2678, authored by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood), was backed by bipartisan support before it went to Sacramento only to have Schwarzenegger veto the bill. “I support the authorʼs intention to lower textbook costs to college students, and am generally supportive of textbook rental program,” Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto message, “However, I am opposed to provisions in the bill that would allow additional fees to be assessed to all students, even those not using the program, in order to keep a textbook rental service financially self-sustaining.” The California Student Public Interest Research Group, the organization that conducted studies on textbook prices and solutions, and members of Koretzʼs office, said they are baffled by the governorʼs veto of the bill. “Itʼs an excuse,” said Bart Broom, senior assistant to Koretz. “We donʼt really know why he vetoed the bill.” One area that both the group and Koretz agree on is that there was a difference of interpretation between the creators of the bill and the governor. “If the schools would have implemented the program the way that
other schools have done it, there wouldnʼt be any such fees that [Schwarzenegger] is talking about,” said Steve Blackledge, the legislative director of California Student Public Interest Research Group. “The way the program works is that the students that participate in the program pay the fee. Itʼs not set up to where students that donʼt participate will pay the fee.” Broom said that it shouldnʼt matter if there was a small fee added to tuition because itʼs not unusual for student fees to cover things that students donʼt utilize, like the gym or health services. There were many different ways to implement textbook rental that were outlined in Koretzʼs bill. “It permitted fees per book, per course, a campus-based fee or through tuition,” Broom said. “One idea was that every student would pay a small fee and then everybody would rent.” As a result of the veto, Blackledge and Broom have a few suggestions to alleviate the prices of textbooks. Blackledge said that pressure should be kept on the publishers to lower their wholesale textbook prices because based on that price the bookstore will add their retail amount. In effect, the bookstore may have a hard time justifying a high retail price if the wholesale price of the textbook is lower than it is now. However, pressuring the publishers doesnʼt only include keeping prices low. Blackledge also said publishers should stop bundling textbooks with useless extras and that there should be a new edition of a book released only when necessary. Blackledge also said more companies should produce “economy” style TEXT 3
Cyclists avoid horrors of campus commute Students pass up the stresses of the road by riding bikes to school By ISAAC FABELA Daily Titan Staff
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Janitor, Chris Chterve, considers CSUF students as his own children. “Without them we would have no job,” he said. Upstairs in the south part of the library, Gregory Nicholson, a 22 1/2-year employee, cleans the aisles between the bookshelves. “Itʼs actually very professional here and we do the job well,” he said. “I call us the X-Men because we do the work of twice as many people.” Because of cuts in the schoolʼs budget, Nicholson said a limited number of people have to take on the task of cleaning the seven-floor library. “We pull double duty,” he said. “But we work together for the com-
mon good of the university.” If the best part of the job is the camaraderie, the hardest part is cleaning things that should have not been messy at all. “Some students act like theyʼre at their friendʼs house by pulling chairs together, making beds out of them,” Nicholson said. Nicholson said he does have some understanding for students who break the no-food-policies in the library. “Well, when [students] need to JANITORS 3
Cal State Fullerton has long been considered the epitome of a “commuter campus,” with the majority of students living over a half hour of freeway driving time away. However, there are the fortunate few that live close enough to campus to breeze by the students stuck at stop lights or waiting in parking lots, and theyʼre doing it on their bikes. Biking in Southern California is a pastime many people do for exercise or entertainment, but for a minority of students at CSUF it is not recreation, it is a necessity. Without bikes, their primary source of transportation to and from school is gone. For those students, the benefits of riding a bike to class outweigh the comfort of driving a car to school. “I never have to wait in line for a bike space,” said Lesli Anne Leslie, 18, a first-year student at CSUF. “Plus it saves gas money. For me it was a good investment.” Leslie bought her bike after walking to campus for the first two weeks of class. Since then she has become so used to it that the approaching winter weather will not be enough make her invest in a parking pass.
SEAN ANGLADO/Daily Titan
Josh Todd, a senior RTVF major, rides his bike to school daily. “Iʼll still ride when it rains,” Leslie said. “Iʼll have to cover up a little more, but Iʼll be alright.” For local students who donʼt have cars, bikes provide a better alternaBIKES 3
2 Thursday, September 30, 2004
News IN RIEF
NEWS
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Today SEPT. 30, 2004
Something’s fishy
B
World
Tom Umberg, attorney and former state assemblyman, and Scott Baugh, chair of the Orange County Republican Party, will give an overview of issues facing California and the nation. as part of the CSUF Continuing Learning Experienceʼs Political Series 2004. The event is open to the public and starts at 10 a.m. in the Ruby Gerontology Centerʼs Mackey Auditorium. (714) 278-2446.
British hostage in Iraq pleads for help BAGHDAD, Iraq – A weeping British hostage was shown pleading for help between the bars of a makeshift cage in a video that surfaced Wednesday, a sobering reminder of the grim reality for at least 18 foreign captives still held by Iraqi militants. There is wide speculation that ransoms were paid for the freedom of a dozen hostages, including two Italian aid workers.
Cal State Fullertonʼs Division of Kinesiology and the National Fibromyalgia Association will be holding a pain management seminar on campus today at 4 p.m. in the Kinesiology and Health Science Building. The event is free of charge and is open to the public.
2 sentenced to death for USS Cole attack SANʼA, Yemen – A Saudi suspected of being an associate of Osama bin Laden and a Yemeni militant were sentenced to death by firing squad Wednesday for the bombing of the USS Cole four years ago, the first convictions in the al-Qaida terror attack that killed 17 American sailors. The judge ordered four other Yemenis jailed for five to 10 years.
CSUF will be hosting a presentation by Ulrich Reichard of the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology about the white-handed gibbons in the Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. The presentation will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Humanities Building Room 123 and is sponsored by Anthropology and Primatology Students Association. Admission is free and open to the public. (714) 278-3626.
Nation Kerry says Bush broke promise on oil SPRING GREEN, Wis. – Democratic Sen. John Kerry said Wednesday the $50 per barrel price of oil reflects a broken promise of President Bush that will hurt average Americans. Bush said that Iraqi oil “would pay for the war, but we know that those oil pipes are being blown up,” Kerry said. “We know that $50 a barrel isnʼt as bad as it might get because analysts are now telling us that the price may go up to $60.”
National Guard never disciplined Bush WASHINGTON – President Bush never was disciplined while serving in the Texas Air National Guard, never failed a physical and never asked his father or family friends for help to get him into the guard during the Vietnam War, the White House said Wednesday. The White House answers came in response to a dozen questions submitted by The Associated Press in light of new records detailing Bushʼs Guard service and allegations that have surfaced this election season.
Local Cancer screening for women urged LOS ANGELES – Actress Fran Drescher urged cancer screening tests be included as part of standard womenʼs health care during an appearance at Lifetime Televisionʼs WomenRock! concert. “I know what it is to battle cancer and survive,” Drescher, who had uterine cancer in 2000, said Tuesday night. “Early detection is what equals survivors. Our lives are more valuable than the insurance companiesʼ profit margins.” Drescher introduced En Vogue during the fifth annual concert to raise awareness of breast cancer at the Wiltern Theatre. The R&B trio of Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron and Rhona Bennett performed their ʼ90s hits “My Lovinʼ (Youʼre Never Gonna Get It)” and “Free Your Mind,” with “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson joining them. Also part of this yearʼs lineup was Blondie, Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson and soul singer Angie Stone. The concert, hosted by actress Vivica A. Fox, will air Oct. 28 on Lifetime. Compiled from The Associated Press
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The Daily Titan is a student publication, printed every Monday through Thursday. The Daily Titan operates independently of Associated Students, College of Communications, CSUF administration and the CSUF System. The Daily Titan has functioned as a public forum since inception. Unless implied by the advertising party or otherwise stated, advertising in the Daily Titan is inserted by commercial activities or ventures identified in the advertisements themselves and not by the university. Such printing is not to be construed as written or implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such commercial enterprises. The Daily Titan allocates one issue to each student for free. Copyright ©2004 Daily Titan
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Junior Sean O’Neil and sophomore Amara Sao wear their shark fins to promote the DreamWorks Animation movie “Shark Tale.” Read the “Shark Tale” review in Full Effect.
Sound
BITES
“This whole campaign is not a campaign designed to win, folks, not in any America I know. If this were the middle of the Vietnam War, and it was after 10 years of relentless pounding on the war in Iraq and there was sufficient public opinion against it and if there were 55,000 U.S. deaths…I could understand this campaign, but this campaign makes no sense. It makes no sense whatsoever unless you understand the paradigm…unless you understand the karma, and the karma is that the left is losing collectively its mind – and they are lashing out like cornered rats.” –Rush Limbaugh Compiled from The New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, and www.rushlimbaugh.com
Did you
KNOW?
LOS ANGELES – Psychic dogs belonging to actor Sylvester Stalloneʼs mother have predicted President George Bush the winner in November. Yes, thatʼs right, the canines foresee the president will beat Democratic challenger John Kerry by 15 percent. It seems that Jackie Stalloneʼs dogs channel messages from the spirit world and send them to her telepathically. She said her animals also predict California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will take advantage of a future Constitutional Amendment allowing foreign-born U.S. citizens to serve as president, and take on Kerryʼs running mate, John Edwards, in the presidential
campaign of 2008. However, the dogs canʼt tell yet who will win that race. Apparently, the psychic pups also called Schwarzeneggerʼs victory – “by a major margin” – in Californiaʼs recall election last year.
Popular music figure Randy Travis will be performing his pop/ country act for audiences Thursday evening. Tickets prices range from $32–$57. The event will begin at 8 p.m. in the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. (714) 9168500. All events are free and on campus unless otherwise indicated. If you would like to have a specific entry put in the calendar section, please send an e-mail to news@dailytitan.com.
Weather
DALLAS – A teacher has taken leave from Gabe P. Allen Elementary School after sending a first-grade student home with his feces in his backpack after he had an accident in class. The teacher was so upset when the student soiled the classroom floor that she wrapped up the 6-year-oldʼs mess and sent it home with a note. Dallas school district spokesman Donald Claxton said, “It generally appears the teacher was trying to help raise awareness with the family. Itʼs just an unfortunate incident. Unfortunately, she took this course of action.” Compiled from www. bizarrenews.com
Compiled from The Weather Channel
FORECAST
Thursday, Sept. 30 Partly Cloudy Low 60°
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Friday, Oct. 1 Partly Cloudy Low 59°
76°
Saturday, Oct. 2 Mostly Sunny Low 61°
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Thursday, September 30, 2004 3
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study, they also need to eat,” he said. Chris Chterve cleans the third and fourth floors in the libraryʼs north wing. He said he appreciates the different personalities he works with and the people he works for. “The students are like our children,” Chterve said. “If they were not here, there would not be a job for us.” Chterve indicated that if one looked at the carpet, that person would know what time of the school year it was. “The carpets are in good condition before graduation, but then it looks terrible at the end of the year,” he said. As for security, Malone said she feels safe walking around the campus because she sees the police cars driving around looking for anything suspicious. Mary Montoya, a custodian who will retire in two years after working for 30 years, cleans the Engineering Center. “I canʼt wait to just be able to rest,” Montoya said. Montoya said she has been at CSUF for such a long time that she has seen many celebrations and some tragedies.
“I used to see all the festivities in the quad and I would run into many good students,” she said. “I was here when the shooting at the library happened a long time ago and when people have tried to commit suicides off the buildings.” Montoya has seen some negative moments in CSUFʼs history, but she is grateful for her work and is ready to retire. Due to the nocturnal schedule, Malone said it could be easy for some to get drowsy. “Iʼm not one to lie, there are times when you get tired,” Malone said. “We work with a short engine because this is a super hard job to do.” It is difficult to believe that Malone has ever fallen asleep because she enters each building with such gusto, yelling out, “Hello, hello, hello!” In another area of the Engineering Center, country-western music blasted from one of the custodial rooms across from the restroom where Ross Peterson had been cleaning. Peterson said some students have unfortunately vandalized the restrooms and classrooms. However, he said he appreciates those who do clean up after themselves after being here for 17 years. “If it werenʼt for them, we wouldnʼt be here,” he said. “And the best part of my work is having
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work is the people they work with who help each other make the campus look its best. “Weʼre one family,” Malone said.
“Our manager [Thompson] is the best and she lets us do our job and we do it because we love the job and this university.”
textbooks. “A couple of publishers make what I call a ʻno frills modelʼ with black and white pages and paperback covers,” Blackledge said, “The book doesnʼt look as nice, but it has the same educational material.” Broomʼs approach to resolving the issue focused more on the student body rather than book publishers. “Launching textbook rental on a particular campus must be a cooperative effort between the student association, faculty, administrators and the campus bookstore,” Broom said. “All it takes is enough people to ask for it and youʼll have a successful program if you follow the process in the bill.” To break the stigma of an apathetic campus, Broom said, students should try to lobby for textbook rental if they believe in it. “People should fight for this because so many people complain about the cost of books,” said Erika Bradley, a sophomore child and adolescent studies major. Even though the bill was vetoed, there is an optimistic outlook on the situation and the future of textbook rental hasnʼt been erased yet. “Weʼll continue to push on for a rental program,” Blackledge said. “We think we can sit down and show the governor that this makes sense.”
BIKES
stop me. Iʼve always been the type of person who gets up and is never scared.” Employees of the Parking and Transportation Department at CSUF said they enjoy seeing the wave of students riding their bikes to and from campus. “To help out air quality whenever possible, we always encourage students to leave their cars at home,” said Lupe Briseno Jara, the transportation programs manager as CSUF. “Our goal is always to reduce the number of vehicles on campus.” Unfortunately, getting people out of their vehicles is easier said than done. Because of that, parking has
been the most pressing issue for the department, Jara said, and accommodating cyclists hasnʼt been at the top of the agenda. “People donʼt want to leave their cars,” Jara said. “Because of that we have committed most of our resources to addressing the parking issue. Making life easier for those who ride their bikes is on the drawing board and we hope to make some progress soon.” Jara said that some of the projects on the departmentʼs agenda include improving bike paths around campus, installing better bike racks and providing lockers for those who donʼt have the luxury of a car trunk or back seat.
DAVID PARDO/Daily Titan
For over 22 years, Gregory Nicholson has worked as a janitor for CSUF. He calls himself and his fellow workers the X-men because they do twice the work of a normal person. [Malone] as a lead.” It appears the primary motivation for custodians to wake up early for
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tive than the bus system that travels around Fullerton. “It is over an hour bus ride to campus from my house,” said Larry Van Roekel, 26, a first-year art major. “When I ride my bike, I can get here in fifteen minutes.” Riding a bike among the fastpaced vehicle traffic around campus can be intimidating, but Roekel said he considers it part of the biking experience. “I was hit by a truck on my bike at an intersection five months ago,” Roekel said. “Thatʼs not going to