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
THE DAILY TITAN T U E S D AY, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 0 6
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SPORTS
OPINION
Alumni root for menʼs basketball from Section K Page 6
Klima: Take it from a pro, drugs are bad, usually Page 4
Model Teachers Protest Contracts, Cuts U.N. Takes 3 Awards Faculty, students, staffers rally for salary boosts, end to state budget cuts By Cristina Rodriguez
Daily Titan Staff Writer
At conference, students win 3 honorable mentions, CSUF program’s best showing By Nohemy Martinez
Daily Titan Staff Writer
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hree Cal State Fullerton students were recognized at a recent Harvard Model United Nations conference, an event with approximately 4,000 student participants. This is the groupʼs third year attending the Harvard Model U.N. conference. Students have brought home awards on all occasions, but in 2006, students brought back the most awards. Jeffrey Gonzales, Michael Warner and Nishad Marathe received individual honorable mentions. At the Harvard conference, an honorable mention is equivalent to a thirdplace award. About 25 students are enrolled in the CSUF Model U.N. course led by Choudhury Shamim, associate professor of political science and a former U.N. delegate for Bangladesh. “I am really pleased to say that my students can negotiate and win the best of the best,” Shamim said. Shamim started CSUFʼs Model U.N. program about 15 years ago. The conference at Harvard is an international event, with about 400 schools attending. The event requires students to participate in mock U.N. conferences. While representing a country, students must form a peace treaty by coming to a consensus with all other countries. At the Harvard event the CSUF students were assigned Pakistan, and the designated year was 1971. All of the students agreed that keeping in character was the most difficult aspect. “If Pakistan is advocating womenʼs rights, you can lose points,” said Mike Schreiber, a senior and a Model U.N. member. During the conference, students work in larger committees composed of students from participating schools, such as Yale and Stanford. Each student is a member of a committee of up to 300 members, and only four to five students from a committee receive awards. Awards are determined by how well students conduct speeches, write research papers and discuss proposals with other countries. “It teaches you how to work in stressful and time-consuming situations,” Warner said. “The hardest thing is putting ourselves in another countryʼs place.” Gonzalez, a member of the human rights committee, gave an example of one project. “We focused on worldwide human trafficking and worked to combat SEE MODEL U.N. = PAGE 3
Several students and a few staffers joined numerous faculty members Monday in an on-campus rally against university budget cuts and to support raises for faculty. The rally was scheduled to be held in the Quad but was moved to the Academic Senate Chambers inside Titan Shops because of rain in the forecast. Nevertheless faculty members were out in full force and were motivated in showing their support for the California Faculty Association “We, as faculty, staff and students can no longer balance the budget on our backs,” said Lynda Randall, a professor of secondary education, in her speech given at
SEE RALLY = PAGE 3
Songha Lee/Daily Titan
PICKETS: Sophomores Diana Lira, left, and Marteni Gonzalez join a rally with faculty members in the Academic Senate Chambers on Monday. Teachers and others were protesting salaries in the CSU system.
When Love Is in Bloom, Special Ceremonies Arboretum Has Room Highlight Culture 75 to 80 couples wed in Fullerton’s leafy enclave each year By Lisa Maiorana
Daily Titan Staff Writer
Spring is approaching, and the wedding season is in bloom. Students and faculty planning a wedding this season can save money by exchanging vows at Cal State Fullertonʼs Arboretum. Twenty-six acres of flowers, plants, lakes and wildlife create the right amount of landscape to show off a private garden wedding. Arboretum facility manager Elizabeth Gilson organizes between 75 and 80 weddings a year. This year sheʼs already lined up 55 weddings. Gilsonʼs staff helps to create weddings and receptions big and small. The
Arboretum can accommodate more than 200 guests, and with prices in the low thousands, newlyweds can save money for a honeymoon. “My wife and daughter went to about six different sites in the country and they decided upon the Arboretum,” Ephraim Smith, vice president of academic affairs, said. After having heard friends rave about their own weddings, Smith, his wife and his daughter, Leah, said this was the best place to book the wedding. The large space and accommodating staff has enticed many to the Arboretum. Smith is one of many faculty and CSUF alumni to share a piece of Arboretum wedding history. With the rise in trendy weddings, a few saved pennies could not hurt. Take CSUFʼs Milly Heaton, vice president of university
advancement, for example. One call to a caterer made her 215-guest wedding simple by transforming an expensive formal meal into a comfortable, elegant buffet dinner. Heaton, a longtime Arboretum supporter, tied the knot under a tree July 31, 2005, in a ceremony reminiscent of a Great Gatsby garden party. “It was hotter than Hades,” Heaton said. But that wasnʼt going to stop her from enjoying a day of clinking champagne glasses with close friends and relatives. Though the Arboretum offers rentals from February through December, Gilson recommended that couples book their wedding dates as soon as possible. Booking is done on a first-come, firstserved basis, and couples SEE WEDDING = PAGE 3
Photo provided by Milly Heaton
SETTING ROOTS: Vice President of University Advancement Milly Heaton, right, was married in the Arboretum in July. Weddings among the trees are relatively inexpensive.
NEWS
OPINION
SUPREME COURT
EDITORIAL
Unanimous decision upholds military recruiting law
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the rally. “Faculty cares deeply for students. We want them to have a quality education. We need the resources to give them a quality education and maintain vitality and vigor in teaching,” she said after her speech. “We need to raise awareness so people realize that we have gone too long without salary increases.” California State University faculty members received a 3.5 percent salary increase in the fall, retroactive to July 2005, but salaries still remain 13.1 percent lower those at comparison institutions such as the University of Nevada at Reno, North Carolina State University and the University of Colorado at Denver, among others. Despite CSU efforts to increase the salaries of its faculty, some say itʼs not enough. George Diehr, a professor from Cal State San Marcos, spoke to the crowd about fee
INSIDE
South Dakota anti-abortion law crosses the line
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Cultural groups host events before main commencement to honor students’ successes
izes the connection between the student and the mentor, and is also used to acknowledge the belief that the student is of royalty. Following the ceremony, the gradBy Jessica Horn uates and their family members are Daily Titan Staff Writer invited to a dinner reception hosted by the African American faculty and staff ach year, before the official association at CSUF. commencement ceremony “All of the ceremonies are conducted for all graduates, Cal State by the Multicultural Leadership Center,” Fullerton invites cultural Hymes said. organizations to celebrate the Many students may wonder why they success of their graduating donʼt see their own cultural organistudents and the individuality of their zations participating in conducting a graduation ceremony. cultural group. According to Norene Protacio – an The graduation celebrations this year include the 18th annual Pan-African assistant at the Multicultural Leadership Center – anyone student recognition who goes through ceremony, the 18th “This is a great catalyst the steps of creating annual Chicanoan organization on Latino celebration, for education growth campus is allowed to the seventh annual within a culture.” set up a graduation Pilipino American celebration. celebration, the Andreas Serna “Anyone of any fourth annual Asian Fullerton Student ethnicity can say, Pacific Islander celebration and the secʻHey, we want to ond annual lavender pride celebration. make a committee and a graduation cerEach organization celebrates gradu- emony,ʼ ” Protacio said. “An example ates in a unique way. is the lavender pride recognition cerThe Pan African celebration “is emony, which just started last year and for any African-American or person was a success. They said, ʻWe would of African descent who is graduating like to have a ceremony, so letʼs make it from Cal State Fullerton,” said Patricia happen, and they did.ʼ ” Out of the many cultural clubs on Hymes, Pan African ceremony co-chairwoman. campus, few take advantage of holding The theme for the Pan African cere- a graduation celebration. Many people mony is Ujamaa, “cooperative econom- arenʼt aware of the opportunity. ics,” which is the first of the seven prin“Iʼm for any way people can find ciples of Kwanzaa. Ujamaa signifies the commonality,” said Andreas Serna, a importance of building and maintaining marketing major. “I feel proud of my oneʼs own store, shop or other business Filipino heritage and feel itʼs a great and as a community, profiting from motivator for people within a specific them together. The other six principles cultural background to bond together will be the themes over the next gradu- and celebrate. This is a great catalyst for ation celebrations through 2012. education growth within a culture.” The Pan African graduates each Each graduation ceremony is takreceive a kente sash, a gift, a commem- ing place between May 11 and 21. orative booklet of short biographies of For information, visit the multicultural graduation candidates and a certificate leadership center in the Titan Student of participation. The kente sash symbol- Union, Room 234.
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WEATHER
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY P.M. Showers High: 63 Low: 43
Mostly Sunny High: 68 Low: 46
Partly Cloudy High: 65 Low: 45
FRIDAY Few Showers High: 56 Low: 43
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T U E S D A Y, M A R C H 7 , 2 0 0 6
NEWS
N E W S @ D A I LY T I T A N . C O M
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ON CAMPUS TONIGHT: Titan baseball takes on San Diego State at 6 p.m. on Goodwin Field. Free for students with ID.
Call to Form Parliament Fails
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraqʼs president failed in a bid Monday to order parliament into session by March 12, further delaying formation of a government and raising questions whether the political process can withstand the unrelenting violence or disintegrate into civil war. Snipers on Monday assassinated Maj. Gen. Mibder Hatim al-Dulaimi, the Sunni Arab in charge of Iraqi forces protecting the capital. Bombings and shootings killed 25 more Iraqis on Monday, ending a relative lull in violence.
WEDNESDAY: Check out Mad Mad Moon in the Titan Amphitheatre from noon to 1 p.m. THURSDAY: The Division of Administration and Finance will be hosting a seminar on identity theft from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the TSU in Bradford AB.
U.N., Iran Near Nuclear Deal VIENNA, Austria – The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency said Monday a deal on Iranʼs suspect nuclear program could be only a few days away, making U.N. Security Council action unneeded. International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei did not elaborate. But his optimism was believed to be linked to a confidential Russian proposal to allow Iran to enrich some uranium domestically, diplomats said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge details of the plan.
FRIDAY: ASI hosts a table tennis tournament at 1:30 p.m. in the TSU. SATURDAY: Titan baseball takes on East Carolina University at 6 p.m. on Goodwin field. Free for students with ID.
NATION
S.D. Gov. OKs Abortion Ban PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation Monday banning nearly all abortions in South Dakota, setting up a court fight aimed at challenging the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirmed a constitutional right to an abortion. The law makes it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless the procedure is necessary to save a womanʼs life. It makes no exception for cases of rape or incest.
OFF CAMPUS TONIGHT: Compete in Cafe Tu Tu Tangoʼs karaoke contest at 9 p.m., with 80s music all night. Itʼs free! Happy hour starts at 10 p.m., with half-off appetizers and $1-off draft beers.
AT&T Deal May Mean Cuts NEW YORK – AT&T Inc. plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs, mostly through normal turnover, if its $67 billion purchase of BellSouth Corp. is approved by shareholders and regulators, AT&Tʼs chief financial officer said Monday. The workforce reduction would take place over three years, AT&Tʼs Rick Lindner said. Before the cuts, the combined company would have around 317,000 employees, including Cingular Wireless LLC, which is now an AT&T-BellSouth joint venture.
LOCAL
RANKED THIRD IN THE NATION
UC to Allow More Transfers BERKELEY – UC Berkeley agreed to accept 120 more transfer students a year from community colleges as part of a program among elite colleges and universities to recruit more low- and moderate-income students, university officials said. The university is among eight public and private schools that have pledged to add 1,100 new community college students over four years starting in fall 2007, aided by $7 million in grants from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation of Virginia. The national education foundation announced the recruitment program Monday. The foundation said many of the 6.5 million students enrolled in community colleges in the U.S. are unfairly overlooked when applying to transfer to elite schools. Reports 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 ©2006 Daily Titan
The Feb. 23 issue of The Daily Titan placed third in the newspaper of the year contest for daily papers at the American Collegiate Press national conference March 2 through 5.
FACULTY FOCUS By Sara Havlena
Daily Titan Staff Writer
Teaching communications classes at the sunny campus of Cal State Fullerton is a long way from hanging out with guerillas in Central America. Professor Ricardo Chavira has done both and is alive to tell the story. Chavira was working for Time magazine and was stationed in different countries in Central America during a CIA led effort against leftist governments. “I got caught up with the guerillas and saw how they operated. It has been useful in my understanding of Iraq,” Chavira said. In his 30 years of journalism experience, Chavira has held many positions: newspaper reporter, editor, bureau chief, management executive, magazine correspondent, magazine editor. In addition to Time, he worked for the Dallas Morning News and the San Diego Union Tribune. Chavira entered journalism by chance after an English professor pointed out his writing abilities and
Ricardo Chavira Communications Professor encouraged him to take a communications class. “For the first couple of weeks I wasnʼt sure, but I stuck with it and ended up on the school paper,” Chavira said. Teaching had always been part of his long-term plan. He received his masterʼs degree in mass communications at Cal State Northridge. But after 30 years, he needed a change and felt he had done all he wanted to do in journalism. Chavira started by teaching part time for a mass media course in the spring 2004 semester. That eventually led to teaching news writing and feature writing at CSUF. “We [CSUF] have the best communications department, bar none,” Chavira said. “We build the fundamentals in everyone who goes through the program. We donʼt send them away without the necessary skills.”
In addition to his teaching career, Chavira collects music and folk art, enjoys traveling, and is writing a book on Cuba. He travels there every three or fourth months, and it has become one of his favorite places to visit. “It is fascinating because itʼs one of those countries where anything can happen,” Chavira said. The extensive research for his book has also led to teaching a new political science class at CSUF; the class deals with Cuba and Venezuelaʼs political shift away from the United States. Chavira said the most rewarding part of his job is making at least one student journalist a better writer. The hardest part is coming to terms with the fact that some of his students do not have their hearts set on a career in the journalism field. “I want everyone to have a fire in their belly and be good at what they are doing,” he said. Chavira believes that any student with good writing skills and good contacts in the business has a chance at getting a job. “Right now journalism is in a crisis – there is a shortage of wellrounded individuals. If you are interested in the world and future of the country, and have an insatiable curiosity, then this definitely is the field for you,” Chavira said. “If you are damn good, you will have a job.”
THIS WEEK: Santa Ana Seven presents “Anne Handberry in Terminal Island: The End of the World,” an exercise in watercolor depicting Handberryʼs work as art department head for Todd Pacific Shipyards in San Pedro. Her work can be found in the back room of the award winning restaurant Memphis at the Santora, and is open for viewing starting at 11 a.m. Admission is free. Visit www. memphiscafe.com/santora.htm for more details. WEDNESDAY: Titans menʼs basketball will face off against Cal State Northridge at 8:30 p.m. at the Anaheim Convention Center to commence the Big West Tournament First Round. Tickets are $20. For information, go to www.bigwest.org. WEDNESDAY: Have a pint and appetizers while meeting other Orange County singles at this weekʼs 8 Minute Date at Aliso Viejoʼs Stadium Brewing Co. Enjoy eight one-on-one dates. Visit www.8minutedating.com for more information. SATURDAY: Next weekʼs Flogging Molly show at the House of Blues in Anaheim is sold out. But have no fear, $21 tickets are available for the 8 p.m. show at House of Blues in Hollywood. If you would like to submit an event to Out nʼ About please email news@dailytitan.com
N E W S @ D A I LY T I TA N . C O M
Supreme Court Upholds Law on Recruiting
NEWS
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By Jaime Cárdenas
Daily Titan Staff Writer
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday to uphold a law that requires colleges that accept federal funding to let military recruiters on campus. Some law schools had been protesting the militaryʼs “donʼt ask, donʼt tell” policy about soldiersʼ sexual orientation, saying the policy is a form of discrimination. Cal State Fullerton, which does not have a law school, does not allow recruiters from public agencies or private companies that have discriminatory policies. Military representatives are allowed on campus. The federal law, known as the Solomon Amendment, requires that universities give military recruiters the same access as other recruiters or forfeit federal funding. Schools receive about $35 billion a year in federal funding, according to the Associated Press. Though the administration said it doesnʻt have a position on Mondayʼs ruling, CSUF spokeswoman Paula Selleck said CSUFʼs relationship with the ROTC is “vital” to the campus. “In contrast, to other campuses, we have a very healthy relationship,” Selleck said. Having military recruiters has “not been an issue on our campus.” The U.S. Army recently recognized CSUFʼs ROTC battalion as the top ROTC program in the West, with the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Award. On campus recruiter Capt. Robert Medina declined to comment for this story.
Songha Lee/Daily Titan
MOMENT OF PRAYER
Thomas Alameddine, a sophomore history major, prays behind the bookstore instead of in his usual spot inside the TSU on Monday afternoon.
RALLY FROM PAGE 1 increases, unfair contracts, budget cuts and the possible ramifications if Chancellor Charles Reed and the board of trustees ignore the situation. He discussed the increase of fees and raises for administration in comparison with faculty. Diehr said that though there has been talk of raising salaries up to 16.5 percent, the board of trustees wants to deduct 1 percent annually. After all deductions, the increase would end up as an 8 percent boost. “Currently faculty need a 20 percent increase to make them equal to their peers,” Diehr said. “CSU salaries are lower than community college salaries.” CSU administrators, such as President Milton A. Gordon, are
paid roughly 36 percent less than administrators at comparison institutions, according to the chancellorʼs office. Before an increase last year, CSU administrators were paid nearly 50 percent less than their peers. Political science and Chicano studies major Dianne Hurtado is fearing this could affect her graduation date. “It affects me because itʼs delaying my graduation. My classes I need for Chicano studies arenʼt being offered this semester, and itʼs making me want to drop that major,” she said. Political science and womenʼs studies major Anjali Nath spoke especially to students at the event, appealing to them to get involved. She agreed that students need to get involved and support this cause. “Students should get involved to improve faculty work issues and promote solidarity,” Nath said. Another way students can get
involved is by simply showing up and making their presence known. “Students can attend events like these and join in with faculty and staff. Showing your presence will show your support, and it will send a message that you support our objective for an equitable salary, reasonable workloads, which will lead to a quality education for students,” Diehr said in an interview. “The notion is to build support, which may culminate in success,” he said. However, if these rallies and other efforts do not work, faculty may turn to other ways of getting their point across. “It could be that it would be teach-ins one day on every campus, or it might escalate to rolling teacher strikes moving throughout these campuses,” Diehr said. “We lose a certain amount of bargaining power if there isnʼt a threat of job action.” Bernice Dimas, California
Songha Lee/Daily Titan
RALLY POINTS: Cal State San Marcos Professor George Diehr speaks at a rally on Monday held in the Academic Senate Chambers. Faculty Associationʼs student intern at CSUF, also spoke to rally participants, specifically students. “A lot of students donʼt know, and faculty is not helping by not allowing us into their classrooms to speak,” she said. The rally culminated in a plea to unite to make this a successful process. The California Faculty Associationʼs Fullerton chapter president, G. Nanjundappa, stressed the importance in uniting
MODEL U.N. FROM PAGE 1
smuggling, kidnapping and forced prostitution by finding a resolution,” he said. To prepare for Model U.N. conferences, students intensively research their assigned country and conduct mock U.N. conferences in their classroom. Students said all speeches must be improvised and relative to the issues discussed at that specific
to for changes. “We must resist; we must unite. This will be an ongoing fight, so we must come together now,” he said. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a $215 million budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year, which if approved by the state Legislature would allow for the CSU system to initiate a five-year plan to increase pay for 43,000 CSU employees, according to the chancellorʼs office. moment. At the conference, students spend up to 16 hours a day researching and working with other members. “All of the credit goes to the students who really put their heart and soul into it and worked really hard,” Shamim said. CSUF studentsʼ next event is April 11 through April 16 in New York and will be the largest Model U.N. conference in the world. Last year the students won second place representing Australia; this year the groupʼs focus is Brazil.
WEDDING FROM PAGE 1 are advised to make an appointment with the staff to answer any questions they may have about the facility. Once a date has been finalized, event planning begins. In this
case, the Arboretum will provide a wedding host, who will escort the couple through rehearsal and coordinate the ceremony. The host will also attend the ceremony to ensure the event runs smoothly.
Event Rates Social event or wedding only (3 hours) .................... $1,250 Social event or reception only (4 hrs) ...................... $1,500 Social event or wedding and reception (6 hrs) ....... $2,000
Additional Fees Additional charge per hour .......................................... $250 Damage deposit for up to 400 guests .......................... $500 Damage deposit for over 400 guests ........................ $1000 More than 200 guests ...................... additional $2 per person
Alcohol On-site police per hour per 100 guests .......................... $60
Rehearsal One-hour rehearsal ................................. included in basic fee Rehearsal after business hours ........................................ $50
Equipment Rental All equipment, such as chairs, tables, aisle runners, etc., must be rented from a company approved by the Fullerton Arboretum
For assistance, call Liz Gilson at (714) 278-4791
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TITAN EDITORIAL
Providing insight, analysis and perspective since 1960
OPINION
Black History is Everyone’s History By Abraham Appel
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SOUTH DAKOTA’S SNEAKY MOVE
here are two separate factions in the antiabortion movement today: There are those who think the best approach to solving Americaʼs abortion issue is to allow restrictions on abortion and, over time, foster a society in which abortion is considered a last resort to solving the “pregnancy problem.” Eventually, they would see a society in which abortion doesnʼt exist at all. In order to follow this line of logic, those chippers-away would have to tolerate the “murder” of hundreds of thousands of unborn human beings every year, at least until society was ready to move away from abortion as a reproductive right. The only other intellectual option is to oppose and ban abortion all together. Realizing the logical fallacy of the gradual erosion of Roe v. Wade, South Dakota has enacted a ban on all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest. In these instances, women will be offered emergency contraception at local hospitals, assuming that they arenʼt so emotionally or mentally traumatized to report the crime within the 72-hour window that the contraceptive is effective.The only exception that South Dakota is willing to make is for the health of the mother, and only if physicians have made every reasonable attempt to save the life of
the mother and of the unborn child. The South Dakota legislature is aware that its actions are unconstitutional. That is exactly why they passed the law. Noting that President Bushʼs recent appointment of justices has shifted the right-to-life, right-to-choice scale, leaving the excessivly conservative Supreme Court dangerously imbalanced, they are hoping to take a case to the Supreme Court. South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds and the South Dakota legislature have reduced women to human incubators, capable of carrying out all the necessary functions of modern life. They are allowed to work, consume goods or pay taxes, but not make their own decision over what to do with their own bodies. But Rounds wouldnʼt understand this. He couldnʼt possibly empathize with the women his law affects for one reason: Rounds isnʼt a woman. He canʼt understand what women go through when they are forced to choose whether abortion is their answer. He does understand what itʼs like to have a moral ideology. And like most lawmakers with a moral ideology, he has no problem understanding what itʼs like to compulsively tell others what to do – especially those who are stuck in situations he canʼt possibly grasp.
Editorial Board Philip Fuller, Opinion Editor Nicole M. Smith, Executive Editor Kim Orr, Managing Editor In deference to the paradigm established by venerable Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, unsigned Titan Editorials strive to represent the general will of the Daily Titan editorial board and do not necessarily reflect the view of the university.
O P I N I O N @ D A I LY T I T A N . C O M
For The Daily Titan
It is disappointing to watch another Black History Month end while itʼs still being ignored and downplayed in the greater EuroAmerican culture. It is troubling to watch another Black History Month end with most colleges, newspapers, government figures and civilians ignoring it, or relegating it to something that is ethnically isolated. Again we choose the isolation of histories instead of making Black History Month a time to truly look at history. Again we refused to take this time to look at who America was in order to find out who America is and who America will be. By ignoring black history we ignore American history itself. Black history is as much the history of Euro-America as it is the history of African-Americaʼs struggle to free, structure, define and create itself in the American diaspora.
Black History Month is a mirror that we refuse to look into. We donʼt want to see the slave triangle; we donʼt want to see slave masters; we donʼt want to see Jim Crow and lynchings running through our veins; we donʼt want to see Malcolm X as a hero, the Black Panthers as American revolutionaries or Cornel West as one of our leading intellectuals. We donʼt even want to see people like John Brown and the abolitionist doing everything necessary to end slavery as something absolutely positive. So we have decided instead to hide our heads in the sand, believing that if we donʼt see it, itʼs not there. But itʼs there, whether we decide to look or not. By ignoring black history we continue to ignore the AfricanAmerican present. In doing so, we continue to either approve of, or perpetuate through our ignorance, the divisions, pains, and Historic racism that is still creating apartheid in American schools, prisons, roads, housing, education, eco-
nomics, entertainment, national, international and personal relationships. Black history and black reality rests heavily on our collective and individual souls. We never healed. The wounds are still open. Companies and the federal government became rich through slave labor and today sit in plush towers and leather chairs with corporate accounts while black people, in Harlem for example, fight to stay out of jail so they can somehow get past perceptions of them and get into college, and after graduation fight again to work at, let alone own, the companies in Manhattan. And still just like in the days of slavery we applaud black people who sing or dance or compete for us, but we refuse to let them lead, teach and spiritually guide us. We never paid back the debt; and so the debt is still accumulating. For instance, Stanly “Tookie” Williamsʼ execution (and the governorʼs disgustingly racist critique of such beautiful people as Angela
Davis and Nelson Mandela in his decision to kill Williams) is in direct relation to societyʼs ignorance of black history, which is American history unrecognized and forced to the flipside. Diversity isnʼt all of us learning different histories. True diversity is all of our perspectives through history coming together equally to create “the history of us.” As each event this month that recognized and taught black history went unattended, uncovered and untaught, it formed a magnification within our smaller school culture of the national culture. And until history itself can be healed into one scar, the wound will remain open. Any talk of diversity will represent the watering down of respect to create an annoyance that weʼll hide within the word “tolerance.” American history can not be known as long as we have black history relegated into separate but equal times and places as something “for them” but not us.
Launching the ‘Just Say Maybe’ Campaign Jeff Cares In my younger and more formative years, I destroyed my brain with acid. I mean I really freaking rocked it and ended up in the hospital, apparently Jeff Klima p e r m a n e n t l y Humor searing an Columnist important link with reality. It interrupted the love affair I had with marijuana and cut short my ability to indulge in cocaine and ecstasy – two drugs I really wanted to try despite what my D.A.R.E. officer taught me. It got me diagnosed with
“marijuana-induced acid psychosis” and anxiety, two conditions which have drastically altered my private and public life. Itʼs true that the screaming-at-buildingsand eating-my-own-feces-type of stark, raving insanity never seems more than a hairʼs width from the synaptic whatnots of my frontal lobes. And yet I constantly ask myself, “Do I regret it?” The answer to that question changes almost daily. As a person, I regret what I have done to my brain and my body (mostly my brain; I blame Frito-Lay and its fine products for my body), but at the same time, it was valuable and changed the world I have experienced as a result of it. I was remarking to a young man, who had recently experienced the earthy highs of ʼshrooms, how much more credence I paid to
sensory aspects of my life and nature as a result of my psychotropic-drug-induced adventures. As a writer, acid indulgence is one of the most potent tools in my experience bag. Do I recommend it to others, though? The answer to that also changes — but that is more on a personal level. In print, I would never recommend any illegal experience to another human being because, well, it is illegal, and Iʼll be damned if I will be instrumental in the formulation of your defense. But as with most things in oneʼs life, drugs can be wonderful things for a person. Like killing hobos and cow-tipping, drugs have their niche in society — for better or for worse. And if you are a person of reasonable sensibility, there is really
— other than that whole legality issue — no reason that you shouldnʼt taste all of the spices life has to offer. Acid has damn near ruined me, yet I have carved out at least a somewhat interesting little slice of existence in its aftermath. Of course, I honestly believe that I was a little nutty and unstable to begin with and drugs just compounded my anxious tendencies. So, to sum up the whole of this article and distil it down to a trim little sentence that could have saved you the last five minutes of your life, I do not condone the use or experimentation of and/or with any drugs unless you have an inkling to know what they would do to you. In that case, by all means, people, go nuts.
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S P O R T S @ D A I LY T I T A N . C O M
Songha Lee/Daily Titan
ORANGE CRUSH: Titan fans known as “Section K” cheer on the CSUF basketball team in a win against South Dakota State on Sunday. The devoted fans follow the team on away games just as much as they attend home games. Section K has seen the numerous generations of Titan basketball as it evolved into what it is today.
Titan Pride on Display in Section K Cal State Fullerton alumni return to alma mater every year to cheer on Titan basketball team. They are known only as Section K. By Jason Eichelberger
Daily Titan Staff Writer
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pon witnessing a Cal State Fullerton menʼs basketball game at Titan Gym, there are many things that become commonplace. From the enthusiastic and talented gyrations of the Titan Dance Team and cheerleaders, to the energetic and spirited performances by the Titan band and Tuffy the Titan, CSUF basketball is steeped in tradition.
However there is another tradition of Titan basketball that stands alone in its staunch support and devotion. Through their passionate and sometimes colorful banter, endless encouragement, and impressive overall knowledge about players, statistics and historic performances, dedicated fans display the true qualities of diehards hoping to inspire others to
share in their unbridled support. In the stands, Section K is near the entrance of Titan Gym. In its seats are a unique mix of CSUF alumni and genuine college basketball fanatics who look to provide the team with a vocal fan base similar to that of collegiate basketball powers such as Duke and North Carolina. Whit Haydon, who grew up
in Fullerton and graduated from CSUF, has come to Titan Gym for 25 years and explains the experience of being a member of Section K. “Itʼs almost like a cult,” Haydon said. “We go everywhere the team goes. Our goal is to give them as much of a home-court advantage as possible.” He also states that there are many unsubstantiated ideas about the fans in Section K. “Many people have misconceptions about us,” said Haydon, who reveals that despite loud and sometimes controversial behavior of the group, the majority of the fans of Section K are successful professionals with families. “We donʼt really care what the outside perception of Section K is.” Section K members are such ardent supporters of Titan basketball that they have been known to travel out of state with the team and even cheer for players during summer league games. Even major life events have been planned around Titan basketball for this dedicated group. Jennifer Rank, Section Kʼs only female member, admits that even the ultimate expression of love had to wait for the right time of the year. “My husband and I planned our wedding in November so that we wouldnʼt miss any games,” Rank said. “We get so intense that I usually donʼt even sit with my hus-
band during the games.” Rank acknowledges that even though males surround her, she definitely makes her voice heard. “Even though Iʼm the only girl, there are times when I scare the guys,” Rank said. In addition to their unmistakable passion and vocal support, Section K members are also easily recognized due to their orange shirts, something that long-time Section K member Jesper Widen hopes will inspire more CSUF students to be more involved. “We [Section K] were the first to wear the orange shirts at games,” Widen said. “It would be great if the students could enjoy the games as much as we do.” Unfortunately, the passion of Section K is something that has not been recently reciprocated by the students. Despite an impressive run in last yearʼs NIT tournament, attendance for menʼs basketball games this season has been much lower than expected, something that disappoints the loyal fans of Section K. Johan Karlstrom, who has attended games for 12 years, put his feelings about low attendance numbers into perspective. “There have been times where this place [Titan Gym] has been like a morgue, which is really sad,” Karlstrom said. The Titans, who were predicted by many basketball experts to be
among the top teams in the Big West Conference, finished conference play in sixth place. Karlstrom knows that unfulfilled team potential is a reason for sagging attendance and lack of student support. “I think expectations might have been too high for this yearʼs team,” Karlstrom said. “We were hoping to build support off the NIT success.” Haydon reveals that he and many of the members of Section K would love to pass the torch of team support to the students, but until others step forward, he will continue to support the team. “There are times when I get tired of yelling,” Haydon said. “Every year, I say that this is the last year that Iʼm going to do this. But I always get drawn back.” Rank believes that the start time for some afternoon games has hurt student attendance. “Most college kids are still sleeping at 2 p.m. on a weekend afternoon,” she said. Despite the lack of student support, members of Section K vow to continue their support for the Titans, as they look forward to backing the team during the upcoming Big West Tournament. It is this camaraderie among Section K members that provides Rank with a sense of kinship. “We are such a good group of people,” Rank said. “We are like a big family.”