2007 03 14

Online DailyTitan

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Since 1960 Volume 84, Issue 22

THE A LIST

Students Should Start Saving

Columnist Alvin Anol previews the NCAA tourney SPORTS, p. 6

401(k) plans are the pensions of STUDENT BODY, p. 3 the future

Daily Titan

Wednesday March 14, 2007

The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

ASI Builds Change

Waves Wipe Out at CSUF

Students agree that two new campus centers will be useful in the future

Faculty Strike: A Look Back

By EDWARD PETERS

By misa nguyen

For the Daily Titan news@dailytitan.com

Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com

Cal State Fullerton’s Associated Students Inc. is spearheading two current campus construction projects aimed to enhance student life.

Student fees are the sole funding for building the Children’s Center and the Student Recreation Center.

According to Fred Sanchez, ASI executive director, the exploratory committee was formed in the early 1990s to perform surveys that assessed the long-term needs of daycare and child development services for student-parents and campus employees.

“The need was there and it was supported by the campus population,” Sanchez said.

A meeting with Facilities Management ended with an approval of the on-campus project plan and an estimate of probable cost was performed to see if the project was in financial reach of the students. In 1996 the students passed a referendum for a $10 registration fee, of which the accumulated interest on every $8 would fund the Children’s Center, Sanchez said.

The center was located off campus when it first opened, said Betsy Gibbs, director of the center. In 1979, the facility was moved onto the CSUF campus and is still running in the same location today, Gibbs said.

“The Children’s Center is actually in buildings considered temporary.

The definition of temporary is debatable because they have been in the current buildings, I believe, since the late 1970s and 1980s,” said Paul Rumberger, ASI’s director of administration.

As the first student project, the center will soon undergo a transformation.

The same process has taken place with the Student Recreation Center.

“In 1999, ASI hosted a half-day forum with approximately 30 student leaders to discuss how the campus’s recreation program could be improved,” said Kurt Borsting, ASI director. “It was at this meeting that the idea of building a student recreation center on campus was forwarded.”

ASI then funded the feasibility study, conducted by an outside firm, for a potential campus recreational center. Through campus surveys, polls and additional focus groups, students agreed to an increase in student fees to fund the construction of the building, Borsting said.

With a passing student referendum, plans for the new recreation center were put into motion.

“In terms of the Student Recreation Center, we’re giving everything the students want,” said Michael Smith, director of the Office of Design and Construction. “It’s got cardio workout areas, ball courts, a rock climbing wall, and an outside swimming pool.”

SEE ASI - PAGE 2

By karl thunman/Daily Titan Photo Editor

close call - Titan Jake Vasquez makes the catch just moments after Pepperdine’s Danny Worth touches first base Tuesday night at Goodwin Field.

The Titans won the game 9-4.

Former Titan on the Run By yvonne villarreal

Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com

The CBS series “48 Hours” filmed on campus Tuesday for an upcoming segment about a former Cal State Fullerton student under federal investigation for assuming other people’s identities to gain admittance to some of the nation’s most prestigious universities—including Harvard and Columbia.

Authorities said they believe Esther Elizabeth Reed, 28, attended CSUF in the fall of 2002 under the assumed name of Natalie Bowman before taking on other identities. A CSUF professor wrote her a recommendation letter that granted her admission to Harvard, said Detective Clark Brezier of South Carolina, who is working with officials to help catch Reed.

“She was duping other people by using assumed names,” Brezier said.

Reed’s family last saw her in 1999 at a courthouse in Seattle, when the then 21-year old plead guilty for possession of stolen property. The Mountlake Terrace High School drop out disappeared soon after.

While at CSUF, Reed took philosophy and public speaking courses and was on the novice division of the debate team.

“During her time here, she really was interested in becoming a college debater,” said Jon Bruschke, Reed’s former speech and debate professor who discovered the controversy surrounding his former student after a student sent him an article that ran in the New York Post.

Although Reed used the name Bowman, Bruschke said her email username was “jnattyfisher.” Natalie Fisher is an identity she would also use.

“No one doubted her interest,” Bruschke said. “She wanted to go toe-to-toe with kids from the best schools in the nation.”

King County Sheriffs in Washington became suspicious last fall that Reed was connected with a string of identity thefts to obtain money and gain admission to colleges.

In the summer of 2006, police in New York were close to apprehending Reed when she, under the identity of Brooke Henson, applied for a housekeeping job in Manhattan using Henson’s birth date and

social security number, according to Brezier.

The prospective employer did a search of Henson on the internet, where they stumbled upon a missing person’s Web site created by Henson’s family after she disappeared in 1999—the same year Reed was last seen by her family.

When questioned by authorities, Reed claimed to be Henson, Brezier said. She agreed to a request to submit DNA evidence, but fled town before it could be collected.

“She would begin moving and traveling before it caught up with her,” Brezier said. “She was living

under the radar…being careful not to run up any debt so she wouldn’t draw attention to herself.”

Investigators have determined that Reed had been using Henson’s identity since 2004. “[Identity theft] is a very common crime and it’s growing in numbers,” said University Police Sgt. John Brockie. “It’s usually done for some type of gain. People don’t usually do it to become that person, they do it to get a credit cards…or cash a check.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is searching for Reed, who faces federal identity-theft charges, Brezler said.

By YVONNE VILLARREAL/Daily Titan Staff

IDENTITY LOSS - Jon Bruschke (left) is interviewed by 48 Hours onTuesday about a former student who is wanted for identity theft.

Women on the Front Lines By jenny houser

Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com

Many may consider the Army a man’s world, but to cadets in Cal State Fullerton’s ROTC program, they know that women have earned their spot in the ranks.

With over 85 cadets in the program, more than 20 percent are women, according to Maj. Robert Medina, CSUF’s recruiting operations officer.

“I think the number [of women] is slowly increasing and that comes with the territory as the program slowly increases, which is good,” Medina said. “There is more gender equity and more diversity in the program. It demonstrates that the Army is not a guy’s club. It hasn’t been for the longest time. The Army is an equal opportunity em-

ployer.”

Cadet Rae Fenstermaker, 20, psychology major, said she has high hopes for her future career in the Army.

Even after facing hesitation from her mother when Fenstermaker joined the program, she wanted to break the stereotype of a woman’s role in the Army.

“You don’t really expect women will be good in the Army,” Fenstermaker said. “I think being a woman in the Army, especially in this battalion, it’s really welcoming. I like the community of the Army and I like the sense of fighting for something that is bigger than us.”

Fenstermaker said she plans to go into military intelligence in the Army for a minimum of eight years.

After she comes back to the civilian world, Fenstermaker said she wants to pursue a career in homeland secu-

rity or in the FBI. Cadet Alice Lee, 24, health science major, took a different approach to the ROTC. After being in the United States for only six years, Lee received her citizenship and joined the program this semester.

Medina said while Lee is still working to improve her English skills, she is determined and has a strong sense of patriotism.

“I actually thought it would be very hard for me, but it’s very doable and you gain a lot of physical strength. I love that,” Lee said.

Medina said the ROTC will send Lee to a leadership assessment course as well as an entry-level master’s program for nursing.

“If you look at the females we have, they are very strong and very educated,” said former Titan cadet, Christina Rios, who graduated from

Tomorrow Introspect

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STUDENTS JUGGLE MORE THAN CLASSES

MULTIMEDIA

TOSS UP The CSUF Juggling Club helps students get in touch with their inner circus performer.

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CSUF in Dec. 2005 and returned as a gold-bar recruiter for the ROTC program.

“They take on the role of the leader very quickly,” Rios said. “When you are put in the position of a leader on the field, you kind of forget you are a female and just go for it. You take on a lot, but it’s a role that only strong women can take.”

The ROTC requires excellence in both the program and academia and Medina said it is an achievable goal for female students who are considering to join the program.

“It just takes a little determination and persistence, just like in college,” Medina said. “We are very proud to have such a growing number of female cadets in our program. Our female cadets are physically and mentally tough, and I would proudly serve with them anywhere and anytime.”

weather

TODAY

What former Cal State Fullerton President L. Donald Shields considered “overly simplistic” thirty years ago is now a complex, unresolved issue.

“A strike is very likely”, said Scott Spitzer, a CSUF political science professor. “The board of trustees must understand faculty needs immediately, in prevention of a faculty strike.”

According to a 1977 Daily Titan article, Jack Bedell, former chair of CSUF’s Faculty Council, now the Academic Senate, said, “Some people complained last year about Brown’s proposal for a $70 raise across the board.” He said faculty members are not only upset with the proposed pay increase, but also with the state’s methodology in determining such raises.

Spitzer said the board of trustees should recognize faculty concerns and come to a consensus on the issue before the association is pressured to act further.

Between the years of 1977-78, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. of California proposed a budget increase of 2.2 percent for all teachers in the CSU System.

In the 1977 Daily Titan article, much criticism came from officials in government and education, calling the proposal everything from a “great disappointment” to a “slap in the face.”

Thirty years later, the issues still remain. Currently, the CSU is trying to reach agreements in negotiations with the association. They have been unable to come to terms on the issue of total salary compensations and incentive and equity pay programs.

The latest proposal made to the association by the CSU includes a 24.87 percent salary increase over the next four years, effective in 2006-07.

The association has refused this salary increase.

“No increase whatsoever has been given to faculty for the past five years, and now they just expect us to take this proposal because they think it’s fair,” Spitzer said.

Paul Browning, CSU spokesman, said the CSU thinks it is an excellent salary offer and they were surprised that the faculty didn’t take it.

“Faculty deserves a lot,” Browning said. “They are great and we understand that for a couple of years they have had no raises whatsoever, but now with this new opportunity, we are trying to bring faculty salaries up to par.”

Jacqueline Otis, operations analyst-specialist for Student Academic Services, said she does not agree.

“All faculty and staff are underpaid,” she said.

According to the Cal State University Employees Union, General Salary Increase for 2006-07 is 3 percent. Otis calls this increase “unreasonable.”

SEE STRIKE - PAGE 2

TOMorrow Sunny High: 80 Low: 58

Sunny High: 81 Low: 59

March 14, 2007

Student Body

3

Having Money Later Starts With Saving Today To retire comfortably, the onus of saving now rests heavily on employees

By John Sakata

Daily Titan Staff Writer maneditor@dailytitan.com

Chad Johnson is looking to an easy retirement 45 years from now, with a glass and umbrella inside his drink. He’s already got an idea of what will be in his suitcase. “I think it would be cool to see myself in some exotic place on the beach with beautiful women and a lot of luxurious things,� he said.

He’ll need a one-way ticket to the Bahamas. By American Airlines it could cost $279. He’ll need shoes when he goes on the golf course. A pair of Nike golf shoes can range from $60 to $170. And the price tag for Johnson’s retirement: Priceless.

Or something very close to that. “We have a real retirement problem,� business Professor Donald Crane said. “People used to retire when they had $100,000, $200,000 and now, often, people need millions of dollars to be able to retire.�

It’s been 10 years since business Professor John Cross heard of a major company unveiling a defined pension plan for its employees. His advice to students: buy a piggy bank and start saving some money. “The day of big corporations taking care of us, demanding our loyalty but taking care of us financially, that was a 1950, 1960 concept. It’s gone,� Cross said.

Defined pension plans, guaranteed retirement packages provided by employers, are disappearing quickly.

Their disappearance, beginning in the ’80s and continued precipitously into the ’90s, are being replaced with self-financed 401(k) accounts.

The difference between 401(k)s and pension plans is who is held responsible for saving money.

courtesy of arttoday

Defined pension plans were provided wholly from the employer and the terms were agreed on before employment, political science Professor Paul Peretz said. Defined pension plans normally required employees to first work at the same company for a certain number of years, but employees were not required to set aside any money.

The 401(k) plan works differently. It requires employees to set aside money from their paycheck each month toward a retirement fund. For every dollar deposited, the employer

will match the contribution with their own contribution. The money set aside is exempt from taxes.

But the worker needs to take the initiative of investing in the option.

If employees decide not to set aside any of their check, employers will not contribute money into the account. For those that do not plan appropriately, a murky future could loom beyond the horizon. “Students should be saving 10 percent of their income the minute they start working,� Crane said. “And if they are not saving 10 per-

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cent of their income, it is unlikely that they are going to retire when they want, where they want and how they want.�

There is no consensus behind what is spurring the movement from pension plans to 401(k)s. Whether it is because people are living longer, because competition from overseas is forcing companies to slash its payroll or a simple matter of shifting responsibilities, defined pension plans are fading into oblivion.

With advances in medicine and medical breakthroughs adding years

to the average lifespan, many people underestimate how much money they need to save. Many will run out of money by 75, Peretz said.

Computer science major Doug Ferguson, 54, is feeling the pressure of retirement lurking in his future.

He works as an independent contractor and he and his wife began thinking about retirement about 11 years ago.

Though he has steadily set aside cash for over a decade, Ferguson said he does not feel comfortable about what awaits his wife and him later

in their lives. “I’ll retire at 75, if we’re lucky,�

Ferguson said.

401(k)s do come with benefits.

Unlike defined pension plans, they come with the luxury of more mobility. This workforce that will move from one job to another more frequently than it did a decade ago, and its retirement will follow.

Crane believes the plan will be beneficial for small companies that would have been unable to offer expensive pension packages because now they can contribute into their employee’s retirement plans.

But the potential dangers are also high. Many Americans are not good about taking the initiative of setting aside money, Peretz said.

Workers also face dangers of investing their money in the stock market. The stock market is a good way to boost retirement funds, Peretz said, but failing to diversify stocks or investing in dangerous stocks can wipe an employees retirement away in an instant. “Some people will actually benefit from this,� Peretz said. “People who are very good at investing money – but most people are not good at investing money.�

In addition, safeguards are limited by problems with social security for the next generation and the limbo the current health care system is in, Peretz said.

Cross, who teaches a financial management class, believes the rise in popularity of 401(k)s requires the government to take a proactive role to educate workers about them. “These things are not rocket science,� Cross said. “It requires some financial knowledge most people could get if they took one good course in high school or college.�

Cross recommended that all students take a financial management class. Cross said he believes students need to take the initiative of preparing themselves for what is to come – or else.

6

NEWS

NEWS

August 21-28, 2006

4

March 14, 2007

opinion

Hollywood Glamorizes The Advocate Criminals in Film

BY Robert Moran

Providing insight, analysis and perspective since

By Shaelan Bowers

“Fresh Squeezed O.J.”

Daily Titan Staff Writer

Los Angeles Superior public upon initial release.

Court Judge Gerald RosenIt’s quite amazing that a berg ruled yesterday that all guy like O.J., who had virtuof the profits derived from ally disappeared into the inO.J. Simpson’s latest creative famy abyss, would reemerge endeavor, “If I Did It,” will with a brazenly disrespectful be allocated to the family of slam to the victims of the murder victim Ron Gold- double-murders he eluded man. The family is still owed punishment for. in excess of He very $38 million well should on the rehave stayed ceiving end Now the Goldman out of the of a wrong- family gets whatever limelight, ful death comes of O.J.’s guilt– but ultilawsuit. m a t e l y, what comes around We say the monjustice has goes around ... ey and been served. fame drew “If I Did him back It” was a in with no virtual confession for hire expense spared to what was by the former Buffalo Bill, left of his dignity. Now the as Simpson was to explain Goldman family gets whathow he would have com- ever comes of O.J.’s guilt mitted the double-murder if – what comes around goes he had commit the double- around and Orenthal sold murder. The project was the last piece of his soul for 86’ed last December after it the benefit of the victims’ was flamed by the media and bank account.

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opinion@dailytitan.com

We certainly do love serial killers in this country.

If we aren’t to busy researching every gruesome detail of a certain killer’s crime spree or getting bombarded with profiles that seem to run in a constant loop on MSNBC, we are piling into our local theatres to see these horrible people get immortalized on film.

With that being said I’ll be the first to admit that I, like many Americans, am completely fascinated with the criminal mind. I can’t even count the hours I have spent in front of the TV watching profiles on the Night Stalker, Jeffrey Dahmer and Son of Sam. And during the past couple weeks in anticipation of “Zodiac” I have spent an inordinate amount of time doing exactly what I described, researching every little thing about the cases so I could be the first one in the door when the film finally opened.

Although I enjoyed the film, as I do with most films that tread similar ground, I left the theatre feeling strange. As I began asking myself why I felt the way I did I realized it was because I just spent $10 to watch the murders of a group of innocent people get sensationalized.

I really can’t say that I’m surprised since Hollywood has been making movies about serial killers for as long as I can remember, but with “Zodiac” there was a new element that really hadn’t been explored before. This is the fact that in one of the infamous letters the Zodiac Killer

sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, he specifically asked that a movie be made about him.

Again, many criminals do what they do because they want to get their names in the paper, but I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the fact that the Zodiac Killer got exactly what he wanted, “a good film” made about him. By packing into the theaters to see films about known serial killers, aren’t we as a society simply validating what these people have done?

They want fame and we give it to them on a silver platter. This problem is also compounded by the fact that almost all of the major movie studios seem to have a hard-on for movies about made-up serial killers.

Films like the “Saw” franchise and Hannibal Lecter saga do what they can to kick it up a notch and can affect some truly disturbed people in their wake.

It’s one thing to chronicle the exploits of someone who is already a part of history; it’s another to give troubled people good ideas. Call me crazy but I think it’s pretty horrible to make money on the pain and suffering of innocent people and to turn their killer into a household name.

I’m sure almost everyone knows who Jeffrey Dahmer is, but I challenge anyone to name one of his victims.

I don’t mean to get on my moral high-horse here since I have seen just about every serial killer movie ever made, and no matter what I say, serial killer movies and slasher flicks will still be gold at the box office, but I really think we need to stop turning murderers into celebrities.

They belong in the electric chair, not on the silver screen.

The Daily Titan welcomes letters to the editor.

Any feedback, positive or negative, is encouraged, as we strive to keep an open dialogue with our readership. The Daily Titan reserves the right to edit letters for length, grammar and spelling. Direct all comments, questions or concerns, along with your full name and major, to executive editor Adam Levy at alevy@dailytitan.com.

Social Responsibility and the Disabled The Lincoln-Sudbury school cause of their intelligence, can board has blood on its hands. be mainstreamed. I was.

John Odgren, a 16-year-old Still, some behaviors have to with Asperger’s Syndrome from be dealt with. Unlike California, Princeton, Massachusetts, is cur- other states, such as Massachurently on trial for murdering a setts, don’t have a Regional Cen15-year-old classmate. Odgren ter system, and the burden of is autistic. treatment rests on the schools.

For years Odgren’s parents had While Odgren’s actions were pleaded with the Lincoln-Sud- extreme and not the norm, bury School district to get him schools across the country should the services he needed. In his take heed. Inappropriate behavcase, it was the behavior modi- ior is one of the trademarks of fication therapy Asperger’s. It is that needed to important for ... violent behavior schools to be avert his aggressive behavior. is very rare and we are able to serve Odgren had their students’ on several oc- not psychopaths. But needs.

Most casions stated if disturbing behavior autistics would that he wanted is being ignored, there never kill anyto kill someone, violent one and could is a problem in the sys- behavior is very commit the tem. rare and we are perfect murnot psychoder, and even paths. But if brought knives disturbing beand screwdrivers to school that havior is being ignored, there is were confiscated by teachers and a problem in the system. school officials, although memNow with Odgren’s trial apbers of the school board told the proaching, his attorney is trying Boston Globe they knew noth- to put a new spin on a classic ing about it. defense that, if successful, would People who are autistic are practically excuse Odgren from sometimes feared simply because his culpability. This is also wrong, they are not understood, but however, because it would open the things people fear are those up a Pandora’s Box of problems which must be discussed. In or- for this country’s legal system der to dispel such ignorance, it and send the wrong message to is necessary to further examine the public. cases like Odgren’s, whose story Being disabled does not exis more of a testament to the fail- cuse such behavior at all. Odgren ure of the educational system, is ultimately responsible for his and how the problems associated actions. But the school system with not getting services from also failed to act. public school systems can lead to A straight-A student was tragedy. killed and now another’s life will People with Asperger’s, be- be destroyed as well.

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Titan Editorial

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March 14, 2007

Page two

IN OTHER NEWS

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Student Organization Spotlight Biology Club & Biology Graduate Students Club

Bush Promises Mexico Overhaul on Immigration Policies MERIDA, Mexico (AP) - President Bush sought to soothe strained ties with Mexico on Tuesday by promising to prod Congress to overhaul tough U.S. immigration policies. But Mexican President Felipe Calderon criticized U.S. plans for a 700-mile border fence and said Bush must do more to curb American drug appetites.

Mexico was the last stop on Bush’s five-nation Latin American tour, and the one where the political stakes seemed the highest.

Welcoming Bush to a restored hacienda on the sun-drenched Yucatan Peninsula, Calderon said it would be hard to reduce Mexico’s drug production while demand remains high in the United States.

“We need the collaboration and the active participation of our neighbor,” Calderon said.

NATIONAL NEWS States Are Considering Pulling Investments From Businesses WASHINGTON (AP) - The latest front in the war on terror begins on Wall Street.

A growing number of states are considering pulling their investments out of companies that conduct business with Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, all of which are on the State Department’s list of terror-sponsoring nations.

During a news conference Tuesday, proponents of the campaign said they want investors to embrace the concept of combatting terror through financial pressure.

“It seems strange to me that we send young men and women to defend our freedom ... however, we have not yet used our most powerful weapon _ America’s financial markets,” said Missouri State Treasurer Sarah Steelman.

LOCAL NEWS Highway Videotape May Lead Investigators To Arsonist ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Highway security videotape could hold clues about who torched a stolen car and triggered a fierce wildfire near the hills southeast of Los Angeles.

Investigators believe the 2,036-acre brush fire in the Anaheim Hills ignited Sunday after someone set ablaze a stolen, white 2004 Honda Civic.

“It was intentionally set, so that makes it arson,” said Capt. Steve Miller of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Investigators worked leads Monday in Riverside County where the car was reported stolen and reviewed security tape from Highway 241 where it was abandoned, said city of Anaheim spokesman John Nicoletti.

“We’re looking for anybody who was traveling along the 241 toll road early Sunday that may have any information about seeing people around a vehicle such as that,” he said.

For the Record It is the policy of the Daily Titan to correct any inaccurate information printed in the publication as soon as the error is discovered. Any incorrect information printed on the front page will result in a correction printed on the front page. Any incorrect information printed on any other page will be corrected on page 2. Errors on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also will be noted on the online version of the Daily Titan.

Please contact managing editor Joe Simmons at (714) 278-5693 or at jsimmons@dailytitan.com with issues about this policy or to report any errors.

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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

Biology clubs working hard to expand their field of study

By Daralyn Schoenewald Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com

In order to serve the different needs of undergraduate and graduate biology students, the Biology Club is actually two separate entities—the Biology Club and the Biology Graduate Students Club (BGSC).

The treasurer of the undergraduate club, Robin Keber, said the undergraduate students raise funds through a large plant sale that takes place every May. “It’s our largest fundraiser.

Some of the plants we sell are donated, but we grow a lot of them ourselves in the greenhouse,” Keber said.

The Biology Club uses the funds it raises for a variety of reasons, including helping fund student research and educational field trips.

Keber said Ac c o rd the club has ing to the taken a trip Biology to the BioClub’s missphere in sion stateArizona and ment, the visited a wolf club seeks sanctuary in to “help bithe past. ology maCristina jors reach Francois is their acapresident of demic and the BGSC. professional She estimates goals.” that there are T h e anywhere BGSC seeks from 25 to to network 35 members and socialin the club. ize in the “It’s hard scientific to say excommunity, actly because Francois people come said. in and out.

“It really

By REBECCA HARTNESS/Daily Titan Staff Photographer They give POTTING PLANTS - Biology instigates time when Club members Andres Carrillo and Cathy bonding that they have it,” Mac water plants the club is growing for an helps with Francois said. upcoming Mother’s Day plant sell. the profesThe BGSC sion and has a slightly different purpose than with the person,” she said. its undergraduate counterpart.

The BGSC puts on thesis work-

shops with the help of a small group of professors and occasionally has guest speakers. The club will host an entymologist, a person who studies insects, on April 11.

The Biology Club will be observing grunions, a type of small fish, this semester said the club’s adviser, William Hoese.

“Grunions spawn on the beach during high tides—and Southern California beaches are one of the few places they reproduce.

The Bio Club students will study and help monitor the runs this semester,” he said.

The Biology Club is currently working on planting seeds for their annual plant sale, which is held in May. Both clubs are relatively new to campus. The Biology Club was only reinstated four academic years ago, Hoese said.

The Biology Club meets Mondays at 9:00 in SLC-268.

The BGSC meets every other Wednesday at 5:30 at the Off Campus Pub.

STRIKE: NOW AND THEN CAMPUS CALENDAR From Page 1

Spitzer said he sees an “abuse of power” by the board.

“With rising tuition and student parking increases, many students as well as faculty members are growing suspicious of the CSU board of trustees,” said communications major Adam Elmahrek, 22.

“The faculty union is concerned that the CSU trustees aren’t paying much attention to the needs of faculty and students. The trustees must come together with the faculty

union and resolve this issue before the inevitable happens: a complete faculty strike,” Spitzer said.

According to the CSU Web site, the CSU is hopeful that they can reach an agreement with the association on the remaining issues with the assistance of a third-party mediator.

The CSU has asked the Public Employee Relations Board to certify a declaration of impasse as the only option to move forward. No change has currently taken place on this matter.

ASI: RENOVATING CSUF From Page 1

The recreation center will also be constructed using “sustainability” measures, Borsting said.

The building will be energy efficient, Borsting said, and environmentally friendly resources will be selected for products.

He said the new recreation center will aim to promote social unity and healthy leisure fun.

“The rec center is a place where students, faculty, staff and alumni can come together on common ground to be together outside the classroom,” Borsting said.

TODAY 12 to 1 p.m.: Eating and Mindfulness: How to Enjoy and Celebrate Food without Binging on it.

Stress caused by school, work, and family can contribute to mindless eating. Speaker will be Rebekah Smart, assistant professor for the counseling deptartment in UH-205.

Baseball vs. San Diego 6 to 9 p.m. at Goodwin Field.

CSUF students with current ID receive free admission. General adult admission is $7.

Dollar Wednesday Bowling Nights 6 to 10 p.m. at the Titan Student Union Underground.

THURSDAY Free Glow Bowling Thursday 3 to 7 p.m. at the Titan Student

Union Underground.

Ronald Dynes, guitar Master Class 7 to 9 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center Redfield Room (PA-170).

The Lloyd Rogers Group and paulbaileyensemble 8 to 10 p.m.: In addition to the Lloyd Rodgers Group, this concert of contemporary sights and sounds features the paulbaileyensemble, an alternative/classical garage band.

FRIDAY Women’s Tennis vs. Georgia Southern 1:30 at the Sports Tennis court.

MARCH 24, 31 and April 7 Rape Aggression Defense Classes in KHS Fencing Room. 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Call University Police for information.

6

March 13, 2007

SPORTS

The

A List

BY ALVIN

ANOL

Breaking Down the NCAA Tourney For 64 college basketball programs, Thursday morning marks the beginning of a march to Atlanta, site of the 2007 NCAA men’s basketball championship.

But as for the rest of the world, Thursday morning is the major kickoff for anyone who decided to involve themselves in the infamous “bracket pool.”

For those who aren’t so familiar with bracket pools, the concept is simple.

There are 64 teams that are granted a bid to play for the national championship. In a singleelimination format, that means if you want to predict the winners of the bracket, you would have to make 64 correct guesses to have a perfect bracket.

It’s not that easy.

For example, let’s say that you select Florida to be in the Final Four. If Florida loses at any time before that, you lose out on all the potential points that you could have earned for selecting the right team.

The points are the values associated with the difficulty to predict a team going as far as they might.

For instance, it’s easier and more likely that a top-seeded team will beat a low-seeded team.

But it’s not so easy to predict the national champion, so making that correct choice a long three weeks before the actual game is quite difficult.

How addicting are bracket pools? I love pretending like I’m able to tell the future, so I give you my Final Four.

Out of the Midwest regional, I pick Wisconsin. Still smarting from their loss to the Ohio State

Buckeyes in the Big 10 Championship final. The Badgers have an easy road to the semifinals until they have to play the defending national champion Florida Gators. I like the momentum Alando Tucker and the Badgers should have by then, and I have them in Atlanta.

For the West regional, UCLA is my pick to make it. They’ve been able to rest after an early exit in the Pac-10 conference tournament, and now have a chip on their shoulder as their No.1 seed was taken away from them.

In the South, Ohio State is the No.1 seed and I expect them to play like it. They benefited from being the top team in the country by drawing the weakest regional.

Memphis hasn’t been tested, and Texas A&M doesn’t have enough talent to beat the freshman duo of Mike Conley Jr. and Greg Oden.

As for the East, I think Texas will emerge, despite their No. 4 seed. Assuming the Longhorns can make it to the Sweet 16, they would potentially meet North Carolina.

With freshman phenom and Wooden Award candidate Kevin Durant, an upset of the Tar Heels is quite possible, especially with Tar Heel forward Tyler Hansbrough having to play in that bothersome mask.

As for a national champion, I’m picking UCLA, mostly because they are fueled by being so close last year, and have the means to overcome and win it all this year.

Alvin Anol’s columns appear every Wednesday. sports@dailytitan.com

Big Inning Helps Titans Win

Softball

CSUF comes back to defeat Pepperdine 9-4 with a six run seventh.

The Titans begin the second annual Judi Garman classic tonight at Anderson Family Field. Their first game will be against Texas at 6 p.m.

The Titans are looking to bounce back, having lost two of their last three games after having won their previous four games in the Worth Invitational. The Titans are led on the mound by Candice Baker, who struggled in her last start.

BY STEVEN WALTERS

Daily Titan Staff Writer sports@dailytitan.com

Cal State Fullerton Titans’ Head Coach George Horton knew that something had to change Tuesday night after his team was swept by unranked East Carolina over the weekend.

Horton moved infielders Joe Scott to second and Joel Weeks to third.

Third baseman Evan McCarthur made his first start since Feb 3. – but at shortstop.

He changed the batting order and even called a team meeting to talk about playing as a team and not being selfish.

However, it was a pinch hit that made all the difference in the Titans’ 9-4 win against the Pepperdine Waves. Corey Jones’ pinch hit single in the seventh inning gave the Titans their first runner in scoring position since the third inning.

By the time the inning was finished the Titans had scored six runs to take the lead for good.

Jake Vasquez provided most of the offense for the Titans. His two RBIs single in the seventh inning gave the Titans the lead.

Four CSUF pinch hitters were used in the inning, with three of them reaching base.

“We had to do something different to complement our pitching staff,” Horton said. “It wasn’t our most productive lineup offensively, but it got the job done.”

The Titans (13-8) were in desperate need of a win.

They were in danger of losing four straight for the first time since 1997.

Upcoming Titan Schedule

By KARL THUNMAN/Daily Titan Photo Editor A PRODUCTIVE NIGHT – Titan first baseman Jake Vasquez was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored in Cal State Fullerton’s 9-4 win Tuesday.

The Waves (15-6) came into the game as one of thee hottest teams in the nation, winning 14 of their last 17 games. They have seen their ranking jump from No. 19 at the beginning of the season to No. 8.

Waves Head Coach Steve Rodriguez knew that it would be a tough game, even though the Titans came in struggling.

“They always play hard,” Rodriguez said. “Our guys were a little exhausted because of the road trip and we were beat by a better team today.”

Michael Morrison picked up the

win in relief after Adam Jorgenson kept the Titans in the game.

It was Jorgenson’s first start of the season.

The Waves were unable to hold on to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first two innings, including a solo home run by All-American shortstop Danny Worth.

The Titans came back in the bottom half of the inning to score three runs and tie the game.

The Titans will continue play today as they face the University of San Diego at Goodwin Field.

Game time will be at 6 p.m.