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Gas prices soar, Titans look for alternatives As fuel costs hit record highs, riding trains and carpooling save money By Christina Schroeter For the Daily Titan
At a commuter-school like Cal State Fullerton, a sudden increase in gas prices greatly affects students, faculty and staff. Many students are on a tight budget, but must pay for gas to get to and from school. “It’s a 30-mile commute one way from Pasadena,” CSUF political science major Alex Rincon said. “If I could afford a new car, I would drive a hybrid.”
The greatest single factor in the price of gasoline is the cost of crude oil. Last week, the cost of crude oil per barrel was a record high $58.28 according to the First Energy Web site, marking the sixth consecutive week of increases. However, gas prices can also be influenced by supply, demand and competition. According to CSUF economics professor Morteza Rahmatian, one reason for the increase in gasoline prices is that gas stations are buying each other, creating more of a monopoly than ever. “Exxon is now Exxon-Mobile. Chevron is now Chevron-Texaco,” Rahmatian said. “Gas stations have more control over the prices of gasoline. These companies are having a heyday and they can do
whatever they want.” Another reason gas prices are going up is because demand is too high. “The gas prices will go up, but in the long run, the prices definitely will come down because it’s the nature of the industry,” Rahmatian said. “People will buy smaller cars and their lifestyles will have to change. It cannot stay high like this forever.” CSUF offers many alternatives to help save students and faculty a significant amount of money and will eventually lower gas prices. One option is to carpool with other students and faculty. Carpoolers can take advantage of the carpool lane, ensuring a faster commute to gasoline
By Araseli Cuevas Daily Titan Staff
In the chaotic world of cell phones, term papers, professors, jobs and love woes, some college students may ignore the social issues that exist today. And though some might think that students do in fact ignore politics, or that they don’t get involved in community issues, and that students just don’t care, two Cal State Fullerton Titans are trying to shatter that perception. With the aid of the Volunteer and Service Center, Veronica Galvez and Felipe Salazar have come together to address some of the issues that they believe have long been ignored. Galvez and Salazar have started a campus community outreach program called Resources to Engage in Active react 4
Commuter students fill up their tanks with high-priced gasoline before getting on the freeway at the Mobile Station on the corner of Yorba Linda Boulevard and Associated Road on Wednesday.
Tax month could cause rise in stolen identities
CSUF called into action REACT student group addresses important community issues
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Manuel Irigoyen/Daily Titan Production Editor
Improper disposal of important documents can lead to high risk By April Miller Daily Titan Staff
Julie Kim/Daily Titan
Quang X. Pham talks about his book on the Vietnam War at the George Golleher Alumni House at CSUF on Wednesday.
Writer offers new perspective on war Son of P.O.W. kicks off 20-city book tour at Cal State Fullerton By Julie Kim Daily Titan Staff
The Vietnam War – one of the most prolific and controversial struggles ever documented – is depicted in about 3,500 books, but hardly anything in the mainstream press is written from the Asian
point-of-view, said Quang X. Pham, a Vietnamese refugee. So he decided to write one. In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Cal State Fullerton’s Public Affairs and Government Relations hosted the first stop of a 20-city book tour by the former U.S. Marine Corps pilot on Wednesday, April 13 at the George Golleher Alumni House. “A Sense of Duty: My Father, vietnam 3
With income taxes due, throwing out unnecessary papers with personal information printed on them makes it easy for someone to steal your identity. Your identity can be stolen in a matter of minutes and you might not even know it. A pay stub is tossed carelessly in the trash along with pre-approved, unsolicited credit card applications. Mix in customer copies of credit card receipts or ATM slips and you have the perfect recipe for identity theft. “Identity theft is the number one growing crime world-wide,” Fullerton Detective Jason Schoen said. “Everyone is getting hit hard.” One out of seven people will be affected, he said. With just a few pieces of personal information, these thieves can get a credit card in your name, make minimum payments until the card is maxed-out, and then quit paying, he said. That’s when the creditors start calling you, demanding payment on a card you didn’t even know existed. Schoen said people may not even know their identity has been stolen until they go to refinance their house
or make a big purchase and see items on their credit report that they never knew existed. It used to be thieves would break into cars and 1. Do not carry your Social steal stereos, now they Security number break in to get person2. Get a free credit report al information, Schoen said. The parking lots at once a year gyms or movie theaters 3. Shred everything—junk are the best targets for mail, bank statements, credit thieves. Typically, peocard offers and unused tax ple are away from their information cars for an hour or two, 4. Remove your name from giving the thief time to mailing lists search cars, he said. 5. Get a Post Office box or “If someone wants have a mail slot that goes into your car, they will directly into your house get in,” he said. “Don’t 6. If possible, pick up checks leave anything personal in your car.” at the bank Identity theft is a 7. Don’t answer e-mails “wobbler” crime, Schoen requesting personal informasaid. It wobbles between tion, instead make a call and a misdemeanor and a confirm that the company felony. Law enforcehas really sent you an e-mail ment must prove the identification was stolen with the intent to use it. Obviously, if someone has a front small claims department. seat full of credit cards and licenses, On this site, the definition of identhere’s a good chance this person tity theft is “any instance where a has the intent to use them illegally, person uses someone else’s identifihe said. cation documents or other identifiers At the Fullerton Courthouse peo- in order to impersonate that person ple inquiring about identity theft for whatever reason.” are referred to the Orange County According to the site, people Sheriff’s Web site, www.ocsd.org, identity 3 said Sandy Smith, supervisor of the
Tips to keep your identification safe:
Linguistics Student Association hosts symposium Hold that pose Four internationally acclaimed speakers will attend 14th annual event By Nadine Hernandez Daily Titan Staff
The Linguistics Student Association has invited professionals from around the country and Cal State Fullerton students to speak at the 14th Annual Linguistics Symposium in the Titan Student Union, room 119, on April 18 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Linguistics Student Association is mainly an academic association for people who like linguistics, said Colleen Davis, vice president of the association. “If you love language, [the Linguistics Student Association] is a place where you can share your passion for languages and meet like-minded people who read the dictionary for fun,” Davis said.
For those who don’t know what linguistics is, it is the science of language, she said. Linguistics involves a lot of rules and formulas, much like those found in mathematics, but far more complex, Davis said. The main theory is that if man created computers in his image, man has to tell the computer brain what to do, she said. However, in order to do that, he or she has to understand what the human brain is doing when processing language. “If you can understand what arithmetic is, you can tell a calculator what to do. So, if we want computers to process language, we need to understand human language processing,” Davis said. On that note, the Linguistics Symposium is a unique opportunity to come and hear four internationally acclaimed linguists, said Alan Kaye, CSUF professor of linguistics and welcoming speaker of the event. The four speakers are Salikoko
S. Mufwene from the University of Chicago; Elizabeth Closs Traugott from Stanford; Joseph Pickett, editor for the American Heritage Dictionary and Brian Joseph from Ohio State University, Davis said. “Students might benefit by getting to know professors from other universities, who might offer fellowships for graduate study,” Kaye said. Also, Kaye encourages students to attend the event to support the graduate student presenters on the event’s program. “This is an active bunch of real intellectuals,” Kaye said. The association consists of over 100 CSUF students, with undergraduate and graduate students combined, Davis said. Shawn M. Johnson, president of the Linguistics Students Association, said he too has spent some time reading the dictionary for fun. “But linguistics is far more encompassing even than what is in the dictionary,” Johnson said. “As linguists,
we study the language from every angle you can imagine.” The association arranges events that are culture or language related, Johnson said. “Events we’ve had so far include a cultural movie night, language games and events with other clubs, and dinners at various ethnic restaurants,” he said. The annual event “also gives students an opportunity to present research as a speaker and to meet famous linguists from around the country,” Johnson said. “Every CSUF student is invited to attend, and everyone attending is sure to enjoy the experience.” Johnson also encourages everyone to take a course in linguistics. “Language is something we all have […] but seldom examine in great depth,” Johnson said. “Linguistics provides a unique opportunity to observe and study language in ways that are very revealing, which leads to greater understanding and appreciation for language and human nature.”
Elizabeth Zuluaga/Daily Titan
Yoga lovers enjoy a 90-minute class of a variety of poses along with relaxation in a 105-degree heated room at Bikram Yoga in Downtown Fullerton on Wednesday.