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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
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Tour the haunted side of Fullerton
New standards for fraternities
Falling in line
Greeks on the Row must adhere to stringent policies during parties
Ghost hostess leads trips to paranormal places and believers share experiences By April Miller Daily Titan Staff
With the light of the full moon paving the way, the ghost tour began at the Fullerton Museum, where it’s rumored a man in a striped shirt, possibly a farm worker, has been seen on occasion in the basement. “It’s kind of creepy in here,” staff member, Damaris Vasques, said. “You just get this feeling.” But she hasn’t seen anything, yet. Educational Coordinator of the Fullerton Museum and Ghost Hostess Aimee Aul reveals there are two special guests on the tour tonight, Victoria Gross and Deann Burch, who are psychic investigators that have confirmed that both the Fullerton Museum and Plummer Auditorium have lots of psychic energy. “We do it for fun and volunteer to check things out,” Burch said. But they only investigate historical places where they can verify facts. Tony Gonzalez, a manager at Plummer Auditorium, has come across a few ghostly episodes. “The second reaction [when you see something spooky] is stare like a deer in the headlights and you can’t move,” he said. “The first reaction is you scream like a girl and run.” He ran one time when he saw one of the large chandeliers moving. He knew all the chandeliers were connected and one can’t move if the others aren’t moving. He screamed and ran to get another manager, but when they got back, it had stopped moving. Another story Gonzales tells is when the mirrored disco ball on stage started spinning wildly, but no one was near it. This event didn’t even phase the stagehands setting up for a dance recital below the ball. One of them just looked up and yelled, “Knock it off Louie.” The ball stopped. Then it reversed direction. “Louie refers to Louis Plummer, the superintendent of schools from 1917 to 1941,”Aul said. The auditorium is named after Plummer, who has been dead for some time and is rumored to watch the performances from the catwalk, she said. “Most old theaters have the tradition of being haunted,” Aul said. “And this is a very busy place with psychic energy.” The tour also went to Le Potager on Brookdale Avenue, where owners John and Tracy Reed have noticed a few unexplainable events: a light upstairs that refuses to stay off, footsteps on the upstairs landing when no customers were in the shop and a yellowed label with the word “Lillian” printed on it mysteriously propped against a miniature Eiffel tower lamp in a display case. haunting
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A Greek Task Force comprised of Greek leaders and school administrators was formed following the shooting to propose new standards for fraternity parties and also to focus on strengthening current policies. By Jennifer Bellendir “In order for fraternities to have parFor the Daily Titan ties, they need to have two security guards at all parties, and they must The sounds of music and rowdy col- be hired from a school-approved comlege students returned to Teri Place, pany,” said Razo, who served on the Cal State Fullerton’s Fraternity Row, Greek Task Force. “The Greek system last week. The volume, however, was can have three system-wide parties, plus turned down a few notches and the each chapter can have one individual street seemed desolate compared to past party a semester. There is also a safety semesters when hundreds of students meeting required for every fraternity could often be seen jumping from house party.” to house during system-wide fraternity Additionally, all fraternity party parties. guests must be on a list. “On the row, it seemed smaller,” “Guest lists have always been used said CSUF senior because university Huy Diep, a memparties are closed,” ber of the Lambda Razo said. “They The October shooting Chi Alpha fraterniare invitation only reinforced the idea ty. “It didn’t seem and have a maxithat we didn’t have an like there were that mum of 300 guests, many people there.” which the security enviornment free of The decreased companies will be violence party attendance enforcing.” may be partly due to Guest lists have Juanita Razo the fraternity party long been around, Assistant Dean of Students rules that are now but as many Greek enforced by CSUF, partygoers know, campus security and they usually are not the Inter-Fraternity Council. enforced, until now. Girls could often After the shooting of a Sigma Phi coerce their way into a fraternity party Epsilon member last October by an without being named on the proper list, unknown assailant during the chapter’s but last Friday many females said they party, the school decided it was time for were sad to see that the school rules a safety plan. were enforced. “The October shooting reinforced the “I did notice there were girls who idea that we didn’t have an environment weren’t on the list and they were really free of violence,” said Juanita Razo, disappointed,” said Erika Johnson, a assistant dean of students. “We needed CSUF junior who attended the Pi Kappa the moratorium to make sure the row Phi party. “They tried to get into the was safe for our students again. The house, but couldn’t because there was Greek community has done a great job security in the front and the back.” of respecting the moratorium and voicing their opinions and concerns.” fraternity 2
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JAMES CARROLL/Daily Titan
Students join the line extending out the front door of Landsdorf Hall’s Admissions and Records center.
New resource center opens its doors Completion of AfricanAmerican facitlity focuses on enriching student life By Jaimee Fletcher Daily Titan Staff
Students and faculty celebrated the grand opening of the African-American Resource Center in the Humanities Building Monday afternoon. Guided tours showed faculty and students the various facilities that the AARC had to offer, including African art and literature. The center, constructed in an existing room in the Humanities Building, was funded primarily by three on-campus groups; Academic Affairs, Dean Klammer’s office and the Student Affairs office. Plans for the AARC, a project that took two years to complete, were first introduced to CSUF President Milton A. Gordon by the Alliance for the Preservation of African American Consciousness.
Gordon said a group of students wanted the school to build a center where AfricanAmerican students, and other students, could go to learn about black culture and help CSUF students develop a sense of community. “After that group of students came to me, I thought it would be appropriate for us to begin the creation and development for building the center,” Gordon said. With the completion of the center, Gordon said the biggest responsibility is making sure that the center is used correctly, enriching the academic experience for CSUF students. “My wish, my hope is that it is going to be used for scholarship, research and important discussion,” he said. Robert Palmer, vice president of Student Affairs, said the AARC strives to be an important tool for all students to research and discuss African-American culture and a way for them to focus on integrating African American students into the campus and community. Ephraim Smith, vice-president of Academic Affairs, said that in addition to being an information center for students, the center might
help produce more successful students. “An involved student has a better chance to graduate,” he said. “The center will provide improved graduation rates and improved scholarship [usage].” Nnamdi Okafor, president of the African Student Association, said students view the center as not only a good academic resource, but also a good social outlet. Equipped with a comfortable-looking couch, TV and big pillows with Africaninspired material, he said the center offers a relaxing ambience for the busy student. “We hold meetings there and we can relax there,” said Okafor.” It’s a good place for community.” Julie Stokes, director of the center, said she hopes to make the AARC known campus wide. Stokes said she has organized cultural events to promote the center as well as distributing a documentary about the construction of the AARC. She added that there will be a Web site posted so students can obtain information about the center’s upcoming events, and hopefully participate.
Eric Tom/Daily Titan
Ephraim Smith, vice president for academic affairs, gives remarks during the Grand Opening of the African-American Resource Center located in room 222 of the Humanities Building.
40-day period of observance affects fast-food industry Local food chains attempt to appease customers for Lent By Courtney Salas Daily Titan Staff
Lent is the 40-day period of observance, excluding Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends the day before Easter. Lenten fasting period, however, also affects the fast-food industry.
During this time period, those over the age of 14 who belong to some Christian faiths are required to give up meat, eggs and milk products collectively as a group. Individuals choose one particular food item to give up for 40 days and 40 nights. Sweets and alcoholic beverages are often common choices. Since believers give up products that are common among food services, this makes it hard for fastfood restaurants to accommodate those who are involved in the fast-
ing process. Roy, a Taco Bell manager in Placentia, who said he is not authorized to give his full name, said Taco Bell will find ways to assist those customers who are participating in Lenten fasting. “We offer a decent number of meatless items and are willing to modify anything on our menu to meet our customers’ needs,” Roy said. “All the customers have to do is ask and we will be more than happy to help them.” Taco Bell is not the only restau-
rant willing to oblige those who are observing Lent. Anne Hallock, the public relations assistant for Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc. said Carl’s Jr now offers fish and chips for customers observing Lent. This item will stay on the menu until May. “We accommodate those who are observing Lent by offering delicious fish options, from our fish and chips to our Carl’s Catch fish sandwich to our zesty fish tacos at dual-branded Green Burrito restaurants,” Hallock said.
“We feel that our customers will continue to enjoy the Carl’s Jr menu even during this time of religious observance,” she said. Although most believers give up certain foods, there are some who take a different approach. Patrick, a senior business major who wanted his full name withheld, said he was inspired by the movie “40 Days and 40 Nights” and decided to give up sex for Lent. “I do realize that premarital sex is out of the question but I just wanted to show my commitment to
God by giving up everything that has to do with sex … and I mean everything,” Patrick said. “I figure that this will be a huge sacrifice for God and I feel that giving up meat is too easy, although I am doing that as well.” Patrick said he knows he is taking a different approach to the standard Lenten fasting. “I think it will be difficult but I hope I can do it. It has been almost a week so far,” Patrick said. “I don’t have a girlfriend, which helps, but so far I am holding on strong.”