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Daily Titan
Wednesday November 28, 2007
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
DTSHORTHAND Wrestling Match CSUF takes on Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at 7 p.m. in the Titan Gym. Tickets are $5. Wednesday Concert ASI Productions will hold its weekly concert series in the Becker Amphitheatre from noon to 1 p.m.
a degree with no classes : part 2 of 2
University officials defend Serrano hire By KARL ZYNDA
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
“I’m thrilled to be home,” Dave Serrano said when he returned after a three-year hiatus at UC Irvine to be Cal State Fullerton’s head baseball coach. CSUF administrators say successful coaching and attention to the education of his players qualify
him to be head coach more than his bachelor’s degree from Trinity College and University. The self-described “organization” awards degrees based on “life experience” for a fee, with no classes or tests. It says that it has “helped thousands of people achieve their desired goals; goals which without the correct certification would have been unattainable.”
But Serrano’s degree from this school is good enough to be accepted by CSUF administrators as fulfilling the degree requirement for head coaches. DEFENDING THE DECISION Members of the executive administration of CSUF hire head coaches. According to a complex set of laws and CSU policies, a search commit-
tee is not required. Patty Sexton, personnel director for the CSUF athletic department, said CSUF President Milton Gordon had final approval of Serrano’s hire. Robert Palmer, vice president of Student Affairs, confirmed this and clarified the hiring process. “[Athletic Director] Brian Quinn and I make the selection of the final candidate, and we recommend to the president. We recommend,
and he appoints, but he’s not going to appoint anyone we don’t recommend, I can guarantee you that,” Palmer said. Quinn and Palmer defended their selection of Serrano while insisting there should be a degree requirement for head coaches. “Since we are an institution of higher learning, we would like to see the people who enter positions of reSee DEGREE Page 2
Fall Texas Hold’Em Classic The TSU will host another round of poker at 4 p.m. in a series of qualifying tournaments before the Dec. 5 championship round. Dollar Bowling Bowling games and shoe rentals are offered for $1 to all students with a valid Titan Card, from 6 to 10 p.m.
Smelly spill clogs road, causes crashes ACCOMAC, Va. (AP) – A waste truck leaked poultry fat along 20 miles of roadway Tuesday, causing at least four crashes and making a stinky mess. Virginia State Police said a truck hauling a waste product of poultry grease from a Perdue Farms plant left a valve open, and the fat leaked onto U.S. Route 13 from the plant to the Maryland state line. At least four crashes and several spinouts were reported Tuesday morning on northbound Route 13, said Sgt. Joe Bunting. One injured person was taken to a hospital, he said. Bunting described the consistency of the grease on the road as a “glassy film” and said crews were sanding the road surface to help drivers get traction. However, the gunk was sticking to the tires and spreading onto secondary roads in the region. He added that the grease caused a “really funky” odor. The truck’s driver was stopped at a weigh-in station near the Virginia-Maryland state line, Bunting said. Julie DeYoung, a spokeswoman for Perdue Farms, said the company’s priority is to clean up the spill. She said Perdue hired a contractor to coordinate the effort with state transportation and environmental officials. DeYoung said company officials were investigating the incident to determine how the spill happened. They believe the leak began sometime after the truck – which was driven by an independent driver – left the Accomac rendering plant.
PHOTOS By BELINDA HURTADO/Daily Titan Staff Writer
Celebrating the day of the dead through art By BELINDA HURTADO
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
M
any witnessed how the dead came to life in Anaheim for the Day of the Dead art event. The Day of the Dead is a Mexican cultural tradition, which has been celebrated on Nov. 2 since the Mesoamerican time, said Diego Aguirre, artist and alumnus in the credential program at Cal State Fullerton. “It was celebrated for months until the Spanish conquered Mexico and they combined it with All Souls Day, which is now celebrated as ‘el Dia de los Muertos,’” Aguirre said. The CSUF alumnus displayed creative paintings and altars, in honor of the dead, for guests.
Over 50 art lovers attended the event to admire the work the young artists produced. Due to a last minute cancellation on the venue they had initially reserved for the art show, the event was held at the residence of Christina Martinez, CSUF alumna, one of the three artists. Martinez said her choices were to cancel the event or host it at her home. “You don’t see this very often,” Martinez said. “I’m a teacher so I do it for the cultural awareness and to promote our culture.” Aguirre added that the annual Day of the Dead art event has been Martinez’s idea since she was a student at CSUF. Numerous candles delineated the driveway of her home and lit the entrance to the art show on Nov. 17. The home was an empty space cleared of all furniture and appliances from room to room.
Inside, the house was filled with the sweet aroma of treats, including sweet bread and chocolate, traditionally eaten on the Day of the Dead celebrations. The walls held the pinned-up artwork the artists were showcasing. Each artist had a room displaying their own work. The backyard was also packed with observers who flowed along beside the additional paintings and altars. Both miniature and life-size papier-mache skeletons of animals and humans adorned the front lawn. Standing nearly 6-feet-tall close to the entrance, a skeleton of a horse with a cowboy skeleton sitting on top gave a look at the life and death contrast. Aguirre said the lifesize papier-mache was the reason he chose the name of the event, “Entre La Vida y La Muerte,” which means
AIDS Experience Week
Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder’s eyes were red. His voice cracked and was barely audible. Next to him sat coach Joe Gibbs, barely more composed. Safety Sean Taylor’s violent death had left his team in tears and the NFL in mourning.
Today Partly Cloudy / High: 77, Low: 50
Thursday Mostly Sunny / High: 72, Low: 51
Friday Few Showers / High: 67, Low: 53
Saturday Few Showers / High: 61, Low: 48
Sunday
Mostly Sunny / High: 63, Low: 67
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“between life and death.” “The people here today are walking around the papier-mache, so you see the contrast between the living and the dead,” Aguirre said. Aguirre’s altar amplified the contrast between the living and dead. His canvas painting was a self-portrait holding two guns. The guns represent both sides of Aguirre’s family, who fought in the Mexican Revolution on Nov. 20, 1910. The altar also had framed pictures of four great Mexican revolutionaries including Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Presidente Francisco Madero and Felipe Angeles. “Emiliano Zapata once said ‘I’d rather die fighting on my feet than living on my knees,’” Aguirre said. Altars are created to remember one’s family and it usually relates to Mexican history, See DAY OF THE DEAD, Page 2
PHOTO By KARL THUNMAN/Daily Titan Photo Editor A traveling tent exhibit to celebrate World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 is set up at the Cal State Fullerton campus quad from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. through Friday and 12:30-2 p.m. on Saturday. Free, confidential HIV testing is also available this week.
Taylor died early Tuesday of a gunshot wound from an apparent intruder, a tragic end for a 24-year-old man whose life was transformed by the birth of a daughter 18 months ago. A bullet damaged the femoral artery in Taylor’s leg, causing significant blood loss and Taylor never regained consciousness, family friend RichardSharpstein said.