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Grads required to watch ‘Pride’ video Seniors behavior must improve on graduation day, Mary Medyn says By Nadine Hernandez Daily Titan Staff
Lauren Hargrove/Daily Titan
The roof of a red-tagged home in Anaheim Hills, Calif., separates due to slides in the area.
Forecast: more rain Big storms threaten Southern California homes, businesses By Lauren Hargrove Daily Titan Staff
Weather forecasts indicate Southern Californians should be prepared for rain until Thursday, according to The Weather Channel. With storms dumping nearly nickelsized raindrops and hail in Southern California since Feb. 19, homes in
the troubled slide areas are fighting to hold ground and structures are pushed to the limits. Haunting creaks and groans could be heard from 357 Ramsgate Drive in Anaheim Hills. The residence appeared to be in the framing stage of construction and is facing an uncertain future. The front windows were broken and parts of the roof are separated and pulled away from each other. The upscale neighborhood looks like a set from an earthquake movie. Three multi-million dollar homes have been red-tagged, said
John Nicoletti, spokesman for the city of Anaheim. Nicoletti said public safety is a major concern for the city of Anaheim and the conditions will continue to be monitored. He said a home located at 365 Ramsgate Drive was demolished in order to preserve public safety and to hopefully help save the other properties in the slide area. According to a preliminary report by the city geologist, fill dirt may be to blame for the slides. storm 4
Students attending commencement might have to leave their bad manners at home. Starting this semester, Cal State Fullerton’s commencement committee will be requiring that all CSUF graduating seniors watch a fiveminute video about Titan pride and behavior before they are allowed to walk. “After the past few years, we have seen some behavioral problems,” said Mary Jo Medyn, commencement coordinator of Academic Affairs. “During the ceremonies, there have been some dishonorable discrepancies.” According to Medyn, commencement begins in the CSUF soccer field where students participate in the ceremony. Due to the typically hot summer weather during graduation, people have been known to leave before the ceremonies have ended. In addition to this, there have been profane words written on graduation caps, Chair of Academic Senate Jack Bedell said. “Locker room stuff has been seen written on caps, tacky stuff,” Bedell said, stating that there have been complaints about commencement
ceremonies from graduates’ relatives. He added that in the past people could be seen talking on their cell phones as they walked up to give their speeches. Friends and relatives are not the only ones attending the ceremonies, he said. “Blow-up dolls are brought by the graduate students,” Bedell said. “It’s just so high school.” Bedell said he and the Academic Senate are encouraging students to graduate with pride and follow the proper decorum. What administrators deem as “decent” behavior is encouraged, while what they perceive as “indecent” behavior will be penalized. “We are hoping to let graduates know what our expectations are,” Medyn said. If students do not watch the required video for graduation, they will not be able to pick up their guest tickets. The video can be seen online and requires that students fill out a questionnaire afterwards. Medyn said that graduation is celebrated with a dignified ceremony and students should reflect that, since they do represent CSUF. Students are not the only ones who work hard to attend the graduation ceremonies. “It is just that so much effort is put into 10 months of planning, it’s a shame to see it all go down the drain,” said Edna Turnbow,
commencement coordinator at the College of Business and Economics. Medyn said the rowdiest grads usually come from the Business Department. Turnbow attributes the disarray to the number of graduating business students. “There is a susceptibility of chaos due to the 1,500 business graduates who are tougher to manage,” Turnbow said. “It is a challenge to manage that large a group when it comes to crowd control.” In order to encourage decent commencement behavior, CSUF President Milton A. Gordon and Medyn promote “dignity” in the video. Online, the phrase “Graduate with Titan Pride” clings to the splash page. Despite certain concerns and criticisms related to student behavior, Turnbow said the commencement committee understands that graduation day is the students’ day. Students have a right to behave the way they do because they put their best into their studies at CSUF, Turnbow said. She also said that students deserve to celebrate but they should wait to party until after the ceremonies are over because the committee aims for students to show respect to other students and to CSUF on the important day. Graduation ceremonies are for the students and their families, Turnbow said. “This is their day,” she said.
Officers Bush proposes budget cuts to financial aid promote safety on railroads CSUF students exhibit mixed responses to next year’s reductions By David Barry Daily Titan Staff
O.C. police witness crossing violations, ride along on trains By Kim Orr Daily Titan Staff
Dozens of Orange County police officers clad in navy suits adorned with shining metal badges were hushed Wednesday as a roaring train pulled into the unusually crowded Fullerton Santa Fe Depot. Parked just beyond the boarding platform sat motorcycles decorated in police department regalia, symbols of the message that Operation Lifesaver, an organization dedicated to educating the public about railroad safety, hoped to convey. Officers from Fullerton, Anaheim and Placentia and three railways including MetroLink, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific gathered to support Operation Lifesaver in its daylong “Officers on the Train” program. “This program provides officers with a chance to see what railroad engineers see every day… railroad crossing violations,” said Operation Lifesaver spokesperson Larry Lloyd during a press conference held to launch the event. According to Operation Lifesaver’s Web site, railroad violations, unlike typical pedestrian and vehicle violations, have the capacity to injure or kill dozens if not hundreds of people. railroad 3
Students from around the country have called legislators to protest President Bush’s 2006 budget that proposes to cut millions from financial aid. If approved by Congress, the cuts would eliminate between 45 and 48 Department of Education programs, according to a press release from the United States Student Association and an article in the Los Angeles Times. Jenn Brown, an organizer with the USSA, said that approximately 1,000 students called their congressional representatives to lobby support for federal educational funding. Last week’s call-in was just one event during the “Week of Action,” in which an estimated 5,000 students
nationwide participated, USSA VicePresident Eddy Morales said. The press release includes a statement from USSA President Ajita Talwalker that criticizes Bush’s 2006 budget as “misleading” because it proposes to boost funding for the Pell Grant, while eliminating over 40 financial aid programs such as Perkins Loans, GEAR UP, and TRIO. Despite these efforts, not all student groups expressed the same level of alarm over the president’s 2006 budget. The California State Student Association, which is not a member of the USSA, did not participate in the call-in last week, said Manolo Platin, chair of the CSSA. Platin said CSSA supports USSA’s lobbying efforts to maintain federal financial aid for college students, but is opting for a different strategy. “The California State University has a federal office in [Washington, D.C.] and I’ve been working with those people,” Platin said. “They’re giving me sort of a different story on
the actual cuts. They’re much more convinced that it’s political posturing, and that these programs will not get cut because they’ve decided that there’s strong bipartisan support for both of them; and [that] it’s just a political move on the president’s part to be able to show a balanced budget and then blame Congress for spending more than he said to.” Platin said that while the financial aid programs in question would probably not be eliminated, or “zeroed out,” there is the possibility that they might be reduced. George H. Conant, legislative director at the CSU Chancellor’s Office of Federal Relations in Washington, D.C., said that keeping and expanding financial aid programs such as TRIO, GEAR UP and Perkins Loans remain an “extremely high priority” for his office. “I don’t think those cuts are very likely to be enacted, and in fact it’s possible that the president put them in his budget knowing full well that Congress would fund them, because
Knight Ridder Tribune
President George W. Bush speaks in New York on March 11, 2004. Proposed cuts would eliminate between 45 to 48 educational programs. they’re very popular programs with both Democrats and Republicans,” Conant said. “I think basically the president wanted to present a budget that was closer to balanced, and so he proposed all these cuts to offset some of his new spending.”
Some of this new spending includes an additional $82 billion requested for the war in Iraq, according to the Los Angeles Times. No matter what cuts the president’s budget cuts 4
Berkley artist comes to TSU Art exhibit brings new and unconventional style to campus gallery By Nicole M. Smith Daily Titan Staff
Nicole M. Smith/Daily Titan
Carissa Zeleski’s “Come Again,” part of “Eight Ways to Be Happy”, is on display in the TSU’s Chapman Atrium gallery through Feb. 26.
The Titan Student Union is currently showcasing the drawings and paintings of Bay Area artist Carissa Zeleski in the Atrium Gallery until Feb. 26. “Eight Ways to Be Happy” is an eight-frame series that employs the use of oil and acrylic paints, Sharpie markers and crayon to create images that Zeleski described as, “kind of like a children’s book for adults.” “The exhibit focuses on the use of simple drawing and painting
mediums to render the figure while examining interpersonal relationships,” TSU Marketing Manager Sara Danner said in a press release. Each frame depicts an aspect of Zeleski’s life that brings her happiness and also chronicles a brief, personal relationship involving her and another female. Included with each frame is a written explanation of Zeleski’s creative inspiration. Some of the images were created from photographs while others came directly from imagination, Zeleski said. “There was this high energy I had never experienced,” Zeleski said, referring to the relationship. “We had so much fun. I got to rediscover things that made me happy.” Zeleski, 26, a graduate of the University of California, Berkley has never received formal training
aside from a few high school art classes and said she believes it is a good thing to not be too trained. “I think my talent in art relies on my ability to be raw,” Zeleski said. “Half of it’s instinctual.” Kallie Clark, a CSUF graduate and the TSU gallery coordinator who is responsible for booking all the art shows, said she is looking forward to a diverse display of art exhibits that will run throughout the spring semester. “We’re going to push the envelope as far a we can possibly push it,” Clark said. Zeleski’s exhibit is one of three displays currently being showcased throughout the TSU art galleries. “[Zeleski’s] style seemed to be different,” Clark said. art 4