SPORTS
PAGE 6
OPINION: I.D. badges will do little, if anything, to prevent the tragedy of school shootings, page 4
Goalkeeper far FEATURES: Panelists discuss spirituality and health care at away from home 14th annual Religious Diversity Forum, page 3
Since 1960 Volume 85, Issue 40
Daily Titan
Wednesday November 7, 2007
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
DTSHORTHAND
TODAY@CSUF
Preparing for the flu season
Dining Etiquette – from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: The Student Leadership Institute will offer a workshop on dining etiquette from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in LH 201G.
Finding new ways to fight droughts within the state is becoming harder By DHAWANI PAREKH For the Daily Titan
Fall Texas Hold ‘Em Classic – The TSU hosts another round of poker at 4 p.m. in a series of qualifying tournaments before the Dec. 5 championship round. Admission is free. 9-Ball
Tournament – The TSU holds its second billiards tournament at 4 p.m. today. The tournament is limited to the first 16 participants.
news@dailytitan.com
Billiards
Hugging in Illinois shows poor judgment MASCOUTAH, Ill. (AP) – Two hugs equals two days of detention for 13-year-old Megan Coulter. The eighth-grader violated a school policy banning public displays of affection when she hugged two friends Friday. “I feel it is crazy,” said Megan, who was to serve her second detention Tuesday after classes at Mascoutah Middle School. “I was just giving them a hug goodbye for the weekend.” Megan’s mother, Melissa Coulter, said the embraces weren’t even real hugs – just an arm around the shoulder and slight squeeze. “It’s hilarious to the point of ridicule,” Coulter said. “I’m still dumbfounded that she’s having to do this.” The student handbook states: “Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved.” Megan’s parents plan to attend the next school board meeting to ask board members to consider rewording the policy or be more specific in what is considered a display of affection. “I’m just hoping the school board will open their eyes and just realize that maybe they shouldn’t be punishing us for hugs,” Megan said.
Correction
Due to a reporting error, figures in the article titled “Disney Land Wars” in the Nov. 5 issue of the Daily Titan were incorrect. Anajeim received $80 million in bed taxes. The Daily Titan regrets this error.
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Students beware of sickness Health specialists at CSUF offer advice on how to avoid the flu By KARL ZYNDA
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
College students are at a particular risk for contracting influenza during the coming flu season and should get flu vaccinations, said Mary Hermann, director of health services at Cal State Fullerton. “Our students are under great stress, making them more susceptible to viruses,” Hermann said. “Students are often in close proximity to other students, to people coughing, and students are around people for long periods of time.” Flu vaccinations are available to CSUF students in the Student Health and Counseling Center for
$15, Hermann said. An appointment is required for a vaccination. The center has 250 doses on hand for this year’s flu season. “We’d love to run out of them,” Hermann said. In the three years she has worked at the center, she never has. An influenza vaccination consists of three strains of inactive flu viruses chosen with joint decision by the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization. Antibodies develop two weeks after vaccination, and a high level of immunity lasts for three months afterward. There may be some slight side effects, such as fever and mild aches, for up to two days after vaccination. Age and health determines how effective a vaccine will be, as well as whether the virus strains in the vaccine match the virus strains that are prevalent during the flu season. Influenza is a contagious respira-
tory illness caused by the influenza virus, according to the Centers For Disease Control. The CDC is the federal government health agency that develops public health policies and guidelines that are followed by schools and other federally funded institutions. According to the CDC Web site, flu symptoms include fever, headache, feeling weak and tired, coughing, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and muscle aches. Stomach symptoms can occur also, but are more common in children than adults. Symptoms such as coughing or sneezing mainly spread the flu. Sometimes people become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their nose or mouth. Most adults are able to infect others one day before their symptoms start, and up to five days after becoming sick. Living conditions and health
habits also make students more vulnerable to influenza, Hermann said. Communal living situations, such as dormitories or apartments, increase susceptibility to airborne diseases. Often students do not get enough sleep and then attempt to compensate for sleep lost by using caffeine. Poor eating habits and stress do not help either. “We see a lot of colds and flu right at the beginning of finals through the holiday season,” Hermann said. “Every year we are inundated with flu cases. We see some really bad flu cases every year. We see students who have flu symptoms for 14 to 21 days. That’s a really long time to be sick.” Hermann said the first suspected flu case was seen at the center in September. Many more CSUF students with flu symptoms will See FLU, Page 2
Attemping to show the plight of Saudis A documentary film by a 2006 CSUF graduate is screened at the Theater By BELINDA HURTADO
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Saudi American film maker and Cal State Fullerton alumni Fahmi Farahat screened his documentary yesterday at the Titan Student Union theater. T he CSUF Middle Eastern Student Society hosted the screening. Farahat graduated in 2006, but recieved his degree this summer in Radio-TV-Film. Farahat began working on the documentary in his senior year and it wasn’t until after graduating that he dedicated his time solely to working on the film. The documentary features Farahat, his friends and family. Saudis In America is a film that delivers a variation of views that contradict from its characters, Farahat said. “Being a Saudi in America as part of the society, I have something to say. There is a misinterpretation and this film informs people of reality,” Farahat said. “I wanted to show who Saudi in America are. They have image[s] of women covered and camels, but is that reality?”
PHOTOS By DANIEL SUZUKI/For the Daily Titan Director Fahmi Farouk Farahat is talking to Roxanna Mostatabi after the screening of “Saudis in America” at the Titan Theater.
Characters in the film express their feelings post September 11. Some Saudis feel affected by how they are viewed in American society and some feel indifferent, Farahat said. “I asked them questions that Americans have about terrorism and oppressed women,” Farahat said. With over 50 hours in interviews and footage, Farahat said his biggest challenge was editing the film to an
hour running time. Being a student at the time and working on the project while still learning was also a challenge for Farahat. He said having guidance from his producer and professors facilitated the process of making his documentary. “Characters were left out,” Farahat said. “My biggest challenge was making it all flow.”
Farahat submitted his documentary in a variety of film festivals, including the Arab film festival, and has received praise as well as a few negative feedback comments. “I submitted it to a few festivals and was rejected,” Farahat said. “They asked me to cut certain characters out that gave a negative view, but I didn’t want to censor myself. Industry people and media gave me See SCREENING, Page 2
Solving the water drought is a crisis for the Metropolitan Water District (MWD); however, for scientists, water droughts have been an existing part of Southern California’s history. The drought is also prevalent in Southeastern states like Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Local cities like Long Beach have already begun implementing water restrictions. California is a desert whose nature is unpredictable, said James Miller of the geography department at Cal State Fullerton. It is hard to say if global warming affects the water level, but at the same time, it is hard to rule out global warming. California gets its water from the Colorado River and the Sierra Nevada Mountain range through the State Water Project. “One acre-foot is a size of a football field – one foot deep. California used to get 3.7 million acre-foot of water. Now it gets 3.3 million acre foot,” said Anthony Fellow, vice chair of MWD and professor at CSUF. “The problem is how to make up for the 0.4 million acre-foot of water with an increasing population.” Miller noted in his research that there has been shift in the atmosphere circulation pattern. About 25 years ago, California experienced very wet weather. There was a lot of rain and there were many storms. However, in the last five to seven years, there has been a distinct shift in weather. There are two reasons for this. One reason for the shift is the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) – a long – term ocean fluctuation of the Pacific Ocean. It has a warm and cold phase and the Pacific Ocean has entered a cold phase. It changes every decade, according to Miller. The other reason for the shift is El-Nino-Southern Oscillation (ESNO). Currently, California is experiencing La Nina – dry weather, which is heading into a mild-moderate phase. That means there is less than a 10 percent chance of having a “normal” winter. When these two factors match up, the result is dry weather. There is a 50-50 chance of having a normal winter and rainfall, Miller said. There might be rain one year, but it will not make up for the other dry years. “If you do not sleep for seven nights and then sleep only one night, hoping to make up for the seven nights, you will not recover your sleep. Similarly, one year of rain will not make up for the dry years,” Miller said. “The drought can be self-reinforcing and can be expected to last the decade.” Looking back at the oldest records, 70,000 years ago, there have been times when California has been wet and dry for long periods of time, Matthew Kirby of the Geology department said. There have also been periods of mega-droughts. It is too early to tie in global warming with the water drought, but there is a relationship between climate and how often a drought occurs, Kirby said. In order to predict the future of climate, it is essential to understand the history of climate. “It is like investing in a stock market. If you were given $1 million to invest in [the] stock market, you would do research and get knowledge about the stock you are investing,” Kirby said. “You would not randomly invest in something you do not know about.” As water becomes crucial, the future of California is desalinization –the process of removing salt from the ocean, Kirby said. It is a very exSee DROUGHTS, Page 2