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Since 1960 Volume 84, Issue 14
Home vs. On Your Own
Titans Take on the Aztecs
A preview of tonight’s baseball game against SDSU SPORTS, p. 6
A debate about which is better: living at home or alone OPINION. p. 4
Daily Titan
Tuesday February 27, 2007
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Math Needs Girls
New Bill Calls For Disclosure By JENNIFER CHURCH
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Cal State Fullerton students and taxpayers may soon have a say in CSU’s top executives’ pay process if Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) has his way. The state senator has introduced Senate Bill 190 on Feb. 7 requiring all executive compensation discussions open to the public. The proposal covers both UC Board of Regents meetings and CSU Board of Trustees meetings. “Our main objective is to give the taxpayers and students a voice,” said Adam Keigwin, Yee’s communications director. CSU trustees recently gave their top 27 executives a four percent pay raise in January. The increase was made retroactive to July 2006. The proposed legislation comes at a time when CSU students are facing a 10 percent tuition increase proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger and a possible strike by CSU faculty
throughout its 23 campuses. The California Progress Report cites that SB 190 precedes a series of audits and lawsuit findings that UC and CSU failed to get public approval from the Regents or Trustees for compensation packages. According to the report some top executives were paid more than what was relayed to the public. Yee introduced a similar bill last year, AB 775, which covered only the UC Regents. The bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate Education Committee until Senate President pro Tem Don Perata opposed it. Yee is confident that SB 190 will pass, Keigwin said, for three reasons: Sen. Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) is the new chair for the Senate Appropriations Committee and is a strong supporter of the bill. Yee is a member of the committee, as well. Lastly, SB 190 now has double the number of its supporters. It encompasses support from teachers, faculty, staff and students from both UC and CSU.
A lack of women in engineering & computer science plagues CSUF By MICHELLE ASCENCIO
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Emmy Winner Speaks Volumes Pamela Mason-Wagner spoke at Pollak Library about her life journey By SARAH GAMMILL
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Emmy award winning documentary filmmaker and Fullerton native Pamela Mason-Wagner was on the campus of Cal Sate Fullerton at the Pollak Library recently where she lectured on her films, seminars and her life journey to what made her who she is today. In a three-part lecture series put on by the Patrons of the Library, which spans throughout three months, Mason-Wagner was the second to lecture. “Mason-Wagner was a perfect fit for the Fred Friendly Seminars which concentrate on ethics within the media, a subject of great importance, particularly now,” said Suzanne Serbin of the Patrons of the Library. In a packed room of about 60 people, lecture started with an introduction from the president of the Patrons of the Library, Dorothy Heide. Mason-Wagner then began the lecture in which she said felt like an episode of “This Is Your Life.” “My third grade teacher is here, my pediatrician is here, my former next door neighbor is here, along with the person who bought my childhood house, and last but not least, … the man who interviewed me for my college interview and is responsible for me going to Dartmouth,” Mason-Wagner said. Usually writing, directing and producing most of her films, MasonWagner said it is a good experience to see audience feedback from the films since people usually view them at home.
“My Brother’s Keeper: Personal Ethics,” which is a follow up to the Ethics in America series of seminars put on by the Fred Friendly Seminars and Annenberg Media, was the next topic Mason-Wagner discussed. The seminar videos cover the issue of ethics in America today and the dilemma that many face with them. “My Brother’s Keeper,” depicts hypothetical scenarios in which families are faced with the ethical dilemma of using another person’s address in order to get better schooling for their children. She also said children, not just adults, face ethical dilemmas themselves, such as deciding whether or not to download music without paying. The video series can be a great learning tool for students and teachers alike, and does not try to change or make up anyone minds. It just forces people to think, Mason-Wagner said. “There’s always two sides of the story and you always wonder the consequence of what your decision is going to be,” said Marlita Bellot an attendee of the lecture. Mason-Wagner’s Emmy for outstanding primetime non-fiction series was won for her film “Finding Lucy,” about the life of Lucille Ball in 2001. Her recent docudrama “Joan of Arc,” was also shown briefly with a short discussion. When asked which of her docudramas was her favorite, she said it was too difficult [to choose] like trying to choose between her children, but said filmmaking is her passion. “I was more the directing type. I like telling people what to do rather than being told what to do,” MasonWagner said. Her newest endeavor involves a documentary of the life of a man incarcerated in prison for rape, only to be set free 22 years later with the help of DNA evidence. It is due to air on TV after the spring.
Tomorrow NEWS
a girl’s best friend?
DIAMONDS Catch the first part of the two-part series on the dirty secrets of the diamond industry.
By Cindy cafferty Daily Titan Staff Photgrapher
JIFFY POP - Fullerton firefighters were called to Langsdorf Hall early Monday afternoon after a professor on the third floor overheated microwave popcorn. The burnt popcorn caused the fire alarm to go off and the building needed to be evacuated as a precaution. Nobody was injured due to smoke inhalation. The mishap revealed the effectiveness of the newly designed alarm system. Students, faculty and staff were allowed re-entry into the building at 1:10 p.m..
CSUF to Offer a New Degree By COLLEEN BARRETT
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
In fall 2007, the College of Health and Human Development will begin offering Cal State Fullerton’s first-ever master’s degree program in social work for those students who want to practice directly with underserved children, families and the mentally ill. The program is currently in precandidacy for accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education. It will take a few years to gain full accreditation, but department heads tell prospective students not to worry. “I started the Master of Social Work program at Cal State Bakersfield in 2002, so I know the whole process, and we’ll make it,” said Program Director David Cherin. According to Christine Ford, director of field education for the program, students who are concerned about graduating from a master’s program not yet accredited should not be worried either. “It will take about three years from their graduation before a student will collect enough service hours to qualify to sit for licensure,” said Ford. “And we will have long
been accredited.” Cherin exudes the same confidence in the new program. “Competing with a USC or a Long Beach State is not going to be a problem for us. Having taught at USC, which is the [eighth-ranked] school in the country for social work, I will match our curriculum,” Cherin said. The master of social work is a two-year, full-time program with fall admission only. The first year is the foundation year, when students learn general social work practices. The second year will be the concentration year, when students focus on one of two concentrations: child welfare or community mental health. “We will focus on these two areas initially and then expand as we grow,” Ford said. She said students should consider pursuing a degree in social work because it offers versatility in a rapidly growing field. “Social work education uniquely prepares individuals to fit in to any kind of position. There are currently over 170 social workers in national, state and local elected office,“ Ford said. “The need for social workers is expected to grow twice as fast as other professions, so there is also some
For the record FEB. 26: The Daily Titan erroneously reported Tom Gehrls as a Sargeant. He is actually the Operations Lieutenant. In the same issue, the photo caption of Jennifer Hudson was erroneously credited to the Associated Press; the photo was actually courtesy of DreamWorks, LLC and was not taken at the Oscars.
job security.” Examples of typical social work job settings include: social services, health care, mental health and adoption agencies, child protective services and rehabilitation facilities. “You are a ‘professional change agent,’ and that’s what the degree is about. There is really only one question we as social workers ask ourselves at the end of the day,” Cherin said. “Is what we’re doing making a difference for the people we serve?” Students with a bachelor’s degree in any major may apply, but they must have a 3.0 GPA for their last 60 units, meet four pre-requisite courses, submit a personal statement along with three letters of recommendation, have an interview with the admissions committee, and have a minimum one year of paid or volunteer experience in the human services field. “We are now the largest CSU in the system and we are growing in all the right places. We have long overdue a social work program,” Cherin said. The deadline for fall 2007 admission applications is March 1. The program will accept 30 students for the first year and the cost will be the same as any other two-year program at CSUF.
weather
TODAY
Cal State Fullerton’s Women and Philanthropy network hosted their monthly luncheon and lecture Wednesday in which the featured topic was “The Obstacle Course Leading to a Career in Engineering and Technology: Gender Inequity in Engineering and Computer Science.” The lecture featured Dorota Huizinga, professor of Computer Science and associate dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and Eileen Walsh, assistant professor of sociology. Huizinga introduced the topic of the lack of female representation in math-related fields such as engineering and computer science. “By the fourth grade, girls are stereotyped into traditional female roles and begin to lose interest [in math],” Huizinga said. But according to Huizinga, this is only part of the problem. She said some additional reasons for the under representation of women in engineering and computer science include negative images of professional women in math-related careers and connotations that careers in this field aren’t geared for women. “The last time I checked, girls aren’t sent to summer camps for computer science,” Huizinga said. Walsh said should girls make it past the barriers of K-12 education, young women seeking a degree in engineering or computer science find that college and university faculty can prove to be one of the toughest obstacles to overcome. “Engineering faculty can discourage women because the predominantly male faculty is not used to dealing with female students and sometimes doesn’t know how to communicate with them,” Walsh said. “We need to teach educators how to create an environment that promotes learning for women.” Walsh said she hopes to address the issues discussed by Huizinga with PACE, Promoting Access to Careers in Engineering. Through PACE, female students throughout the Fullerton School District can enroll in a three hour per day summer school program that introduces them to careers in engineering. Once the summer session is complete, they will continue to participate during the regular school year in after-school activities and field trips to engage them in real world problems and how to solve them with engineering. This program will also offer undergraduate, graduate and professional mentoring of the students. “We need to bring awareness of this problem to the community,” Huizinga said. Sandra Sutphen, Ph.D. professor of political science emeritus said although women have come far in SEE WOMEN - PAGE 2
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