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
DAILY TITAN
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HIV through the eyes of the positive Infected 19-year-old shares life, hardships of living with disease By ASHLEY MAJESKI Daily Titan Staff
Feb. 25, 2004, is a day Justin Fernandez will never forget. Sitting alone in the doctorʼs office, he waited for the information he already knew.
He was 19 years old and HIV positive. “It was something inside of me that told me. It was a gut feeling,” he said. “When I found out, I started crying, and then got so angry that I threw the doctor against the wall. I didnʼt know what to do. I found out when I was 19, and I felt like my whole life was gone” People between the ages of 15 and 24 account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide, according to Avert.org, the homepage
for the international AIDS charity. More than 6,000 young people are infected with HIV every day. Fernandez, now 21, said that it was hard telling his friends and family about his disease. “My friends were stupid about it. They wondered if they could get it from drinking out of the same glass as me. Itʼs one thing to tell them that you are positive, but answering a thousand questions can be rather embarrassing,” he said. Like any 21-year-old, Fernandez
deals with the pressures at work, with family and in relationships. However, unlike most people his age, he must also worry about how and when to disclose to a new partner that he is HIV positive. “I feel like itʼs my responsibility to tell them right away,” Fernandez said, who added that many HIV positive men never disclose the fact that they have the disease to their partners. “You could be putting somebodyʼs life in jeopardy.” Fernandezʼs boyfriend, Fernando
Paper’s methods questioned Tables turn for Daily Titan during Reverse Press Conference USC to play for national title at Rose Bowl, top game among four BCS matchups 8
Opinion
It’s the worst of times for behavior of holiday shoppers, one-time-a-year churchgoers 5
News Officials consider tunnel to relieve congestion on 91 Freeway, approve further study 3
Surf Report Huntington
2-3 ft. knee- to waist-high and fair conditions.
San Clemente
1-3 ft. ankle- to waist-high and fair conditions.
Compiled from www.surfline.com
By BRYAN BARNETT Daily Titan Staff
An angered Cal State Fullerton student attending Thursdayʼs Reverse Press Conference on campus, accused the Daily Titan of writing “lame” stories to fill quotas, sparking a short, heated debate questioning the point of some articles and columns in the newspaper. Professor Ed Trotter moderated the event to give communication majors a chance to question a panel of three Daily Titan editors and two members of the Daily Titan advertising staff about the workings of the stateʼs No. 2-ranked student newspaper. Trotter fueled the difficult questions by pointing out a Word on the Street column in which all of the students interviewed were communications majors. “Now is this really fair and balanced reporting?” Trotter asked the panel. Executive Editor Nikki Smith replied by blaming the mistake on a miscommunication. “Some reporters are lazy. Some arenʼt going to take the extra step,” Smith said. “There was a miscommunication and unfortunately the only people they could find were … [communications majors]. Next time we have to find a more diverse representation.” Trotter seemed satisfied with the panelʼs answers, but his short line of questioning put the editors on the defensive and opened the door for more penetrating
By LYNELLE LUND
Weather Today Sunny 70º/40º Tuesday Sunny 70º/44º Wednesday Partly Cloudy 67º/45º Thursday Partly Cloudy 67º/44º Friday Few Showers 70º/46º Compiled from The Weather Channel
For the Daily Titan
Cal State Fullertonʼs Middle Eastern Student Association, in conjunction with the Muslim Student Association and the Hip Hop Congress, presented Cultural Soundtracks: Rewriting the Linear Notes of History at the Becker Amphitheatre on Thursday evening. “This hip-hop, spoken-word event is intended to promote understanding about where the Palestinian people are coming from in the struggle against Israeli occupation,” said Rashad Aldabbagh, the 24-year-old founder of the Middle Eastern Student Association. Aldabbagh collaborated on the show with Mark Gonzales, an HBO Def Poet and a spoken-word activist, who uses poetry and hiphop to decry global oppression and political hypocrisy. Gonzales, who visited Palestine in 2003 and tells the story of the injustices he witnessed there in his
HIV 4
Charity weathers flooded facilities Veterans march on with toy drive after water heater mishap By VICTORIA LURYE For the Daily Titan
STEFANIE SHORT/For the Daily Titan
A student panel including Daily Titan Advertising Sales Director Can Sengezer and Executive Editor Nikki Smith responded to readers’ criticisms during the Daily Titan Reverse Press Conference on Thursday. questions from students in the audience. One student, sounding doubtful, asked about the accuracy of quotes published in the newspaper. “We go out and ask a person a question and write it down the best we can,” Managing Editor Kim Orr said. She also pointed out that spoken words donʼt always translate smoothly to paper and that sometimes the transition can make normal sentences look ridiculous. After these responses the interrogation intensified when a student referenced low readership figures. Another student said it seemed that many Daily Titan stories were written to meet a
Clubs preview film about Mideast rap Documentary clips paired with hip-hop, spoken-word show
Alvarez, is also HIV positive, which makes having a relationship a lot easier. “Being with an HIV positive boyfriend makes if easier because he understands when I get sick because he knows exactly what itʼs like,” Fernandez said. Getting sick is a major threat to people with HIV. “Itʼs bad on the mornings when I wake up and feel like Iʼm get-
spoken word performances, shares Aldabbaghʼs interest in spreading the Palestinian view of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Gonzales and Aldabbagh built Thursdayʼs show around a preview of Jackie Salloumʼs documentary, “Slingshot Hip Hop: The Palestinian Lyrical Front,” about the emergence of Palestinian rap groups. “Slingshot Hip Hop” is a documentary film focusing on the daily life of Palestinian rappers living in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. The film spotlights voices of resistance within the Palestinian struggle and explores the role their music plays within their social, political and personal lives,” said Salloum, a filmmaker from Michigan. The preview of her documentary was shown in a series of clips highlighting the poverty of Palestinian youth and the solace they profess to have found in the world of rap. Salloumʼs documentary tells the story of lives lived in the shadow of violence and destruction. In the film, a young man leans against a crumbling brick wall in Gaza and hints that were it not for rap, he might find other more destructive HIP-HOP 4
quota, missing the stories that are genuinely interesting or that have newsworthiness, citing a particular story about how students relieve stress during midterms. “Readership isnʼt going to affect our ranking when we take our paper to competition,” Smith said about low readership numbers. In response to the quotas, she said, “Weʼre a small community, and itʼs not like weʼre going to have bloodshed every day. We have students who are writing what we are dealing with.” “Those stories are important because we are a university and we are trying to tell people how to relieve stress,” News Editor
Courtney Bacalso said. “This is a student newspaper. We give students the opportunity to learn.” Emily Alford, classifieds manager, praised the Daily Titan for not imitating bigger papers such as UCLAʼs Daily Bruin. “I think we should get some credit for having more students write than just [using Associated Press stories],” she said. Students also directed questions toward the two advertising staffers on the panel, questioning the decency of an ad for a topless bar that features a barely clothed woman, and the target market of the advertisements for the Daily Titan. CONFERENCE 4
Higher education
AARON BONK/For the Daily Titan
Josh Bach flies through the air on his skateboard outside the Humanities Building on Sunday. Many local skateboarders take advantage of the campus on weekends to practice their tricks.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars didnʼt let a flood keep them from holding their annual Toys for Tots event. On Nov. 23, a faulty water heater burst at the groupʼs building. Water seeped into the drywall, said Colin Scot Andrews, a Senior Vice Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10694 in Santa Ana. “We were fortunate in that this being the only oldest post in Orange County, that there was no damage done to the historical portions of our post,” Andrews said. “We have had to replace the water heater, and there was significant damage done to our post. Treatment has been done to minimize the mold, but itʼs still unclear exactly how much damage has been done. Once the moisture settles it will be easier to tell.” On Dec. 2, the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10694, together with the Marine Corps Reserve, participated in Toys for Tots to bring a little cheer to their community. Andrews has participated in the Toys for Tots for four years. “We are committed in assisting fellow veterans reach out to their community,” he said. “Itʼs important we do these kinds of functions. Itʼs noble, and it really goes to kids that really need it.” Once the toys are collected, the Marine Corps Reserve stores them in a local warehouse. “The toys are distributed to organizations and families who ask for help during the holiday season via e-mail or telephone calls,” said Sgt. Alan Stern, an eight-year enlisted Marine. “Over 110 toys along with $100 were collected for kids who are in need of some Christmas cheer.” Stern has participated in three Toys for Tots events, and has nine more ahead of him, including a few at Disneyland and Knottʼs Berry Farm. He said he has volunteered for them all. “I do this to build rapport between the United States Marine Corps and the community,” Stern said. Among the toys donated, there were Edward McKeeʼs G.I. Joes. McKee is a sophomore at Tustin High School. He gave away his G.I. Joes that he has held onto for the past 10 years. “I always help out the post as much as I can,” McKee said, who also acts as a Sons of the American Legion commander for the post. “I donated a fire truck a couple years ago, and I like to give as much as I can so deserving kids can have a nice Christmas.” The veterans hold a local community dinner with turkey, ham TOYS 3