Tuesday, March 26, 2013

DAILY TITAN

NEWS 2

CSU experiments with MOOCs OPINION 5

‘Transgender’ is not a stigma FEATURES 6

Second Life used to teach classes

The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton T

Volume 93, Issue 27

FITNESS 8

The dangers of steroid use

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

dailytitan.com CAMPUS | Asian-American studies

Speakers dispel comic stereotypes JULIA GUTIERREZ & RAYMOND MENDOZA Daily Titan

Jeff Yang and Parry Shen, editors of the recently released book Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology, gave a lecture at the Titan Student Union to discuss their mission to expel Asian American archetypes in pop culture on Monday.

Shen and Yang spoke about past and present stereotypes and the changes that have occurred, for better or worse, in comics and cinema as well as the possible future for Asian characters in popular media.

The event, sponsored by the Asian-American Studies Program, featured a brief Q-and-A and book signing with the editors afterwards.

Yang, who has founded both A Magazine: Inside Asian-America and A Online and authored three books, Eastern Standard Time, I am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action and Once Upon a Time in China, is a major advocate for Asian American culture.

Yang had hoped his two comic anthologies, Secret Identities and Shattered, would help to dispel harmful Asian stereotypes in pop culture.

SEE COMICS, 2

LOCAL | Business

OC Register prepares to launch university sections IAN WHEELER MIMI HUNG / Daily Titan

The airtower in the Municipal Airport of Fullerton will be out of commission as of April 7. The operations of the airport are expected to resume as usual.

Fullerton air control tower to close The tower will close as part of a $637 million cut Federal Aviation Administration RAYMOND MENDOZA Daily Titan

Due to the federal budget cuts of the national sequester, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday the closure of Fullerton Municipal Airport tower, along with 148 other air traffic towers.

Though the airport itself will remain active through April 7, the closure of the air tower will force pilots using the Fullerton Municipal Airport to take off and land without the aid of air traffic controllers.

According to a statement from the FAA, the tower closures are part of an overall plan to cut $637 million from its annual budget. While the original projection was to close 189 airport towers throughout the nation, the FAA press release stated that 24 towers were kept open due to the possible “negative impact on national interest.”

California will be facing 11 air tower closures in 11 different cities, ranging from Sacramento to San Diego.

Meanwhile, 16 other federal contract towers are exempt from the closures due to a “cost share” program, which is funded through a congressional statute that sets

aside funds each fiscal year.

Serco Inc., the corporation which contracts air traffic controllers for work at the Fullerton air tower, was unavailable for comment concerning the loss of contracted jobs at the airport.

Dennis Quinlivan, Fullerton’s deputy director of public works and current interim overseer of the Fullerton airport, said that flying without the support of air traffic controllers is not uncommon in certain areas.

“You got to keep in mind that the tower is unmanned from about nine at night to about six in the morning, and it’s a different type of flying, but it’s very common,” said

Quinlivan. “There’s a lot of airports that do not have tower control.”

While Quinlivan stated that he does not have a background in aviation, he is aware of the safety aspects of having air traffic controllers overseeing flight paths, and that other airfields also manage without air towers monitoring flight paths.

“I do not want to overemphasize the safety background,” Quinlivan said. “I’m sure that it will be a safer scenario to have (air traffic controllers) there, but it’s not very uncommon to not have tower personnel there.”

SEE TOWER, 2

Daily Titan

As part of a general expansion in coverage and content, the Orange County Register is preparing to feature the life and culture of the county’s largest universities in new weekly sections on Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and Chapman University.

The new sections are set to publish the first week of April— UC Irvine’s will run on Mondays, Chapman’s on Tuesdays and CSUF’s on Wednesdays.

Aaron Kushner, CEO of Freedom Communications, 2100 Trust LLC and publisher of the Register, said the sections will be significant enough to stand alone and will be distributed to all areas of Orange County.

Eric Morgan, communications manager at the Register, said the sections will illustrate all aspects of campus life.

“We want to introduce readers

to the vibrant university communities that are centers of ideas and innovation, and explain how each university’s impact reaches far beyond the physical borders of each campus,” he said.

Guest columns by various leaders at each university campus can be expected in the inserts, Morgan added. These will supplement regular stories on academic research, guest speakers on campus, intercollegiate sports and other subjects.

The Register has reached out to university public relations and student newspapers at the three campuses, but Morgan noted the joint effort will not lead to lopsided coverage of the schools.

“There will be active collaboration, but like all other news sections, the Register newsroom ultimately decides which articles and content (will) publish in the university sections,” he said.

SEE REGISTER, 3

FEATURES | Music

Titans sing their way to national conference after much preparation University Singers return from a national music competition in Dallas CHRISTINA BENAVIDES Daily Titan

When Cal State Fullerton’s University Singers received a letter of invitation in July to perform in front of a national audience filled with thousands of music aficionados, bass singer James Lesu’i knew right away that it would be an intense, milestone performance for him and his peers.

This year, the University Singers earned the opportunity to travel to Dallas, Texas to perform for the American Choral Directors Association, a music-education organization with a goal to promote excellence in choral music.

University choral programs across the United States and abroad submit recordings every

year in hopes of being selected to perform at the national conference, a huge moment of arrival for those who are chosen.

The selection process is rigorous. Robert Istad, Ph.D., a music professor and the group’s conductor, said that the organization requires choirs to submit at least three years of recordings to show consistent work.

The recordings are listened to by a blind jury who chooses the six best choirs to perform at the national convention.

“The fact that we were chosen over all of the other major fouryear universities in the whole west to sing at the national convention, I think is a real testament to our students and all of the colleagues,” said Istad. “It takes a whole village to lift up an artist and I think that Fullerton is really doing it correctly.”

Istad began preparing the com-

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plex repertoire during the last fall semester.

The 33 singers performed four highlights from past performances—“Berliner Messe” (Berlin Mass) by Arvo Pärt in Latin, “Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4” by Johann Sebastian Bach in German, “Ruth” by Paul Ayres and “Triptych” by Tarik O’Regan in English.

Students began rehearsing the songs last year and polished them to perfection for a national audience during January and February.

Not only did they practice two days a week during regular rehearsal hours, but also during their spare time.

Eleven instrumentalists volunteered to accompany the University Singers, adding to the success of their performance.

“They worked just as hard as we did, and they’ve been with us every step of the way and I think if

Courtesy of Cal State Fullerton Professor Robert Istad, Ph.D., and the University Singers performed at the conference on March 13 and 14.

we weren’t with such a great group of people, it wouldn’t have come together,” said choral conducting M.A. student Stacey Kikkawa.

Lesu’i, 23, a music education and performance voice double major, said that through the rehearsals he wanted to first fall in love

with the music in order to perform it at his best in front of the audience.

He wanted them to feel and experience the same connection he does.

“We have choir twice a week, but each rehearsal we were prac-

ticing, studying the music trying to get it into our brains, into our minds, into our bodies, into our hearts so that we can just go back and when we perform, share what we experience,” he said.

SEE CHOIR, 6

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NEWS

PAGE 2

THE DAILY TITAN

MARCH 26, 2013 TUESDAY

TOWER: Optimism lingers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Jim Gandee, president of the Fullerton Airport Pilots Association, said the problem with the loss of air traffic controllers for the Fullerton airport ties into the major air traffic that Southern California sees on a daily basis.

Gandee dismissed the ease of flying without tower support due to the complex nature of flight patterns that pilots must endure in the Orange County/Los Angeles area.

Due to the amount of commercial and private flights coming into Los Angeles, Gandee said that flight paths of commercial jets in the area are narrow and dangerous.

“So as a result of the various airspace structures in and around the Fullerton airport, we have very small narrow flightway corridors for general aviation aircraft,” said Gandee. “Without the tower ability to separate the aircraft, the skies are crowded, and, I believe, will become a more dangerous atmosphere with the increased potential of a mid-air collision in and around the Fullerton area.”

Gandee mentioned that the Ful-

lerton pilot association attempted to contact many government officials in order to stop the closure of the Fullerton air tower.

When the closure was announced for the Fullerton air tower last month, Gandee and the FPA sent letters protesting the tower closure to Sen. Barbara Boxer, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Congressman Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) and Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton).

“I also forwarded a letter to the FAA and the only response that we have received was from the FAA and that was purely a simple acknowledgement of our letter,” Gandee said. “From all of our elected officials I received virtually no response.”

Even with the loss of the air tower, Quinlivan was optimistic of the continued efforts of the Fullerton Municipal Airport.

“The operations of the airport will continue; my staff and the staff that is on-site right now are not leaving,” said Quinlivan. “All the operations will continue as they were before. It’s going to be a change for the folks here because it’s been like this for so long, but I think we’re going to be OK.”

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DTBRIEFS OCTA awards new service provider

ELEONOR SEGURA / For the Daily Titan

Asian-American comic author Jeff Yang discusses his comic book anthology Secret Identities on Monday.

COMICS: Leaving stereotypes CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Shen, who is known for his role in the 2002 film Better Luck Tomorrow, said a recent harmful stereotype for Asian characters in entertainment is the emasculated man, who is either physically weak or shy in social situations.

At the discussion, Yang wanted characters to step away from past stereotypes and instead focus on character depth.

Yang said early Asian comic book and movie characters mostly centered around the mysterious crime lord, similar to Fu Manchu, and portrayed Asians as sneaky and deceitful.

“We just want them to be complicated and nuanced and interesting,” said Yang. “And not just one notes, screaming banshees that vanish as soon as you turn away from the page because they’re so uninteresting.”

Yang added that although there are distorted images of Asians in comics, the comic book industry does not deliberately exclude any group.

“The entire future of comics was created from the past of com-

ics, and that past of comics was not diverse because America at that time did not think of itself as diverse,” Yang said.

Eliza Noh, Ph.D., an associate Asian-American studies professor, said discussing stereotypes at Cal State Fullerton is important because it teaches students about where stereotypes come from and how the Asian-American community is “talking back.”

She said the anthology addresses stereotypes such as the brain, the temptress and the alien.

Noh said although it may be a “universal human practice” to place groups of people into categories, stereotypes have not always existed.

“Stereotypes can be created, reproduced, changed, or destroyed, but they are not eternal,” said Noh. However, both Yang and Shen have noticed a positive change in recent years, as Asian-American pop culture characters are moving into mainstream territory.

In the realm of entertainment, Yang specifically noted that Glenn from the popular comic book and TV show The Walking Dead has es-

chewed typical stereotypes.

“We love the character Glenn,” Yang said. “We were joking about it the other day, it basically took the zombie apocalypse before an Asian-American character could be represented as, not only a heroic lead, but a romantic lead.”

Shen has noticed that his recent choices for TV and movie roles have also opened up and are no longer based around poor, dated Asian caricatures.

“I’m available to read for characters that I normally wouldn’t have been, we have a one pilot that’s going out where my character is a pinkerton, which is a detective back in the wild west,” Shen said. “Someone with my face was kinda just the cook or building a railroad and I would have to have a ponytail as a hairstyle.”

Ultimately, both Yang and Shen noted their intention is not to make entertainment and pop culture roles better for just Asian people, but rather change storytelling to connect on better emotional level.

“We want people to feel empowered to tell richer stories,” Yang said.

CSUs revolutionize online teaching ANDY LUNDIN Daily Titan

The CSU is continuing to experiment with innovative teaching methods via the usage of massive open online courses, or MOOCs. While MOOCs have been used in the past at renowned universities such as MIT and Stanford University, San Jose State teamed up with Audacity, an educational organization that provides MOOCs, to be one of the first CSUs to provide MOOCs as a method of learning for students.

According to IEEE Spectrum, a MOOC is designed not only to support a significantly larger number of students per class but also encourages a learn-by-doing approach, in that students control how and what they learn and how they interact with the course material.

“San Jose State has taken it a step further in that they’re actually offering credit (at) San Jose state to three courses and what they’re doing is providing these four-credit classes not only to San Jose State students, but to others who might want to also participate,” said Erik Fallis, CSU media relations manager.

According to the San Jose State website, the three MOOCs the university is currently providing include developmental math, college algebra math and elementary statistics.

Each of these courses consists of 100 students. Out of the entire 300 only half of the students are from San Jose State.

The other half consists of “high school students, community col-

lege students, and members of the armed forces or veterans.”

While students could participate in the MOOCs at San Jose State for free, or most other MOOCs for that matter, the courses do not offer college credit unless the student pays tuition.

Trying to assess the effectiveness of student learning in the MOOCs at San Jose State is still a little premature, according to Fallis.

Since the MOOCS at the university began at the end of January, there currently is not enough data to decide whether or not MOOCs are generating positive results to students that participated in the courses.

Analyzing the results of the MOOCs will be essential in understanding what are efficient ways to provide the most beneficial teaching methods to students, Fallis said.

“We’re going to see a lot of innovation, we’re also going to see a lot of attempts to measure and assess the results of that innovation,” he said.

Colleen Greene, a systems librarian at Cal State Fullerton, agreed that there needs to be more work and research done before universities decide to fully utilize the MOOC system.

She said students involved in MOOCs do not have essential learning tools that other teaching methods would normally provide.

“There are absolutely no research or information literacy components to most MOOCs, which is detrimental to students that might hope to get credit for a college course,” she said.

Key report findings conducted

by the Sloan Consortium found that “Academic leaders remain unconvinced that MOOCs represent a sustainable method for offering online courses.”

Greene, who maintains an online guide that covers a variety topics and issues regarding MOOCs, said there needs to be a better understanding of how MOOCs can be incorporated into CSUF if the school ever wants to utilize the program.

“As far as academic libraries, we need to start discussing what our role might be if our institution ever offers MOOCs. In what ways could our librarians partner with and become embedded into a CSUF-taught MOOC, to provide research instruction and assistance?” she said.

While other CSU schools have yet to apply a MOOC the same way that San Jose State has, the CSU still strives at finding new approaches to teaching, said Fallis.

“It’s hard to predict exactly what campuses will be developing in the future … we’ve been fairly pioneering as a university system when it comes to technology anyway. I think you’ll see a lot of technology solutions that will be proposed,” he said.

Fallis felt that making sure CSU schools provide the utmost consideration to the education of students is the CSU’s biggest goal.

“Our number one priority is student learning, so we want to make sure that as we go along, as we develop new solutions, that student learning is taking place and that students are actually getting the maximum benefit of their college education,” he said.

The Orange County Transportation Authority has awarded a new contract Monday to MV Transportation to run their disabled-access program, according to the Orange County Register.

The service had been provided by Veolia Transportation for many years but MV Transportation managed to win the new contract by promising to save Orange County approximately $18 million over four years.

The savings come from a change in the calculation of employee pay. MV Transportation assumed employees would leave more rapidly, and lower wages.

The company will also use smaller vehicles during offpeak hours. No employees or buses will be cut.

Many disabled-access riders questioned the change at a meeting on Monday, expressing concerns that the cheaper contract would provide worse service. OCTA board members said that the savings could pay for additional bus service or other transit upgrades.

OCTA’s former service provider, Veolia, also criticized the switch, claiming the selection process was badly flawed.

Brief by LAUREN HARRITY

One hospitalized after three-car crash A three-car collision at the intersection of La Palma Avenue and Brookhurst Street in Anaheim Monday morning left one person hospitalized, according to the Orange County Register.

A Ford Explorer traveling northbound on Brookhurst Street collided with a Honda Civic traveling eastbound on La Palma Avenue at 6:44 a.m.

The Civic spun into a Nissan Sentra which was following directly behind the Civic through the intersection.

The drivers of the Sentra and the Explorer were checked by paramedics and reported to be uninjured.

Paramedics treated the driver of the Civic for his injuries before he was taken to the UCI Medical Center in Orange.

Westbound lanes of La Palma and northbound lanes of Brookhurst were closed for more than an hour while police investigated the crash and the scene was cleared. All lanes in the area are now open to traffic.

Brief by LAUREN HARRITY

Supreme Court to rule on drug industry The Supreme Court heard the federal government’s case on Monday charging brand-name drug companies of paying off generic-drug makers to keep generic versions off of the market.

Cases on the deals, known as “pay-for-delay” settlements, have been tried in federal appeals courts but were issued split decisions, according to USA Today.

In the deals, brand-name companies pay generic makers to avoid the drug market for a certain number of years.

The settlements are usually declared legal by the federal courts because they take the place of patents. The patents are used by drug companies to recover the assets they make in developing the product.

The Federal Trade Commission has been trying to stop the settlements for 10 years.

Drug makers said millions of dollars will be wasted in litigation without the settlements.

The government has support from 36 states, retail and wholesale drug stores, doctors, insurers and consumer groups, such as AARP.

Brief by KRISTEN CERVANTES

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MARCH 26, 2013

TUESDAY

NEWS

PAGE 3

THE DAILY TITAN

BALLET FOLKLÓRICO DEMONSTRATES VIBRANT CULTURE

JOHN PEKCAN / Daily Titan CSUF Folklorico dancers left to right: Vanesa Vasquez,18, Maria Lozano,18, and Rebecca McKinley,18, dance in Titan Student Pavilion on Monday March 25. The Fullerton dancers were part of César E. Chávez and the celebration of his legacy of nonviolent social change held on campus.

Study discovers younger couples are avoiding wedlock CSUF report shows 83.1 percent of students declared themselves single last year KRISTEN CERVANTES Daily Titan

A study released in March determined that younger couples, in their mid-20s, are holding off on marriage and explored and how this decision can affect couples with children.

The study reflects Cal State Fullerton students, where 83.1 percent reported themselves as single last year.

The new report, titled “Knot Yet: The Benefits and Costs of Delayed Marriage in America,” was sponsored by the National Marriage Project, Relate Institute and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

CSUF students who determined their marital status as single rose about 35 percent since spring 2010, according to the school’s health assessment performed by the American College Health Association.

The assessment also reported 13 percent of students claimed to be married or with a domestic partner during both years. The average age of CSUF students in 2010 and 2012 was 21-24.

The report determined that people with a college education who have a child and are not married will still be more successful than someone who does not have a college education in the same situation.

Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said he was surprised to find that Knot Yet reported 58 percent of births occur outside of marriage from people with a high school diploma, but not a fouryear college degree.

“If you look at sort of the most privileged among us, those with a college degree and perhaps better, they continue to follow a different script,” he said.

According to the report, only 12 percent of first births occur outside of marriage among people with a college degree.

The study added that young adults are now taking longer to finish their education and find a

stable job.

Patricia Literte, Ph.D., a CSUF sociology professor, said many young people want to be financially stable before marriage, but it is harder to complete that now.

“More young people also sometimes postpone marriage because they come from divorced families and wish to be very careful when choosing a spouse so as to avoid divorce,” Literte said.

“Childbirth outside of marriage has been steadily increasing and is moving towards becoming a social norm.”

PATRICIA LITERTE CSUF Sociology Professor

The report determined that 48 percent of first births in America are occurring outside of marriage.

Childbirth outside of marriage is occurring more often because of the acceptance of sex among unmarried couples and single parenthood, and the increase in negative feelings towards marriage and unmarried couples living together, Literte said.

Half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned but this is no longer only a problem among teenagers, Albert said.

“While the teen pregnancy rate has dropped like a stone, unplanned pregnancy among single twenty-somethings has remained stubbornly high,” Albert said.

Couples with children who are remaining unmarried for a longer period of time may now be the new norm for future generations.

“Childbirth outside of marriage has been steadily increasing and is moving towards becoming a social norm,” Literte said. “However, it is important to also note that the majority of Americans will marry at some point in their lives.”

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According to the report, there are two main reasons why people in their 20s and 30s are delaying marriage: the economy and culture.

Many couples are finding that not being married is less complicated because there is not as much paperwork involved, money to seperate, and it is easier to obtain government assistance, said Melinda Blackman, Ph.D., a CSUF psychology professor.

“Another reason might be that they would rather spend their money on raising children than having a lavish wedding … priorities in our culture might be changing as well,” Blackman said.

Edythe Krampe, Ph.D., a CSUF sociology lecturer, said it is harder for couples who are low-skilled workers to afford marriage.

She added that those couples are also less likely to get married when they have a child, she added.

“The biggest factor is social class,” Krampe said. “As class goes down, the likelihood of out-ofwedlock birth goes up.”

The report also suggests that some children born outside of marriage are more likely to experience family instability, school failure and emotional problems.

“Children born to cohabiting couples are three times more likely to see their parents break up, compared to children born to married parents,” the study reported.

JOHN PEKCAN / Daily Titan Cal State Fullerton is one of three universities collaborating with the Orange County Register for a weekly insert.

REGISTER: Student journalists may have opportunity to be published CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

According to a press release, Rob Curley, who introduced major changes to the Register’s 22 community issues, will oversee the sections.

The new sections will be headed full-time by editor Thomas Martinez, an 11-year veteran at the Register. The team covering

the universities will eventually have six full-time reporters, Morgan said.

“So far there have been three full-time reporters hired, a fulltime page designer, and we’re hiring a full-time photographer,” he said.

Student journalists at the schools may also have opportunities to be published in the sec-

tions, Kushner said.

The announcement of the new sections is yet another layer to an abundance of changes at the Register since it was purchased in July 2012 by 2100 Trust LLC, an investment group that has purchased and revitalized several newspaper companies and had previously planned to buy the Boston Globe.

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OPINION

DEVIL’S PAGE 4

THE DAILY TITAN

MARCH 26, 2013 TUESDAY

ADVOCATE NFL institutes new ‘crown rule’

Courtesy of MCT Along with getting rid of the controversial “tuck rule,” the NFL implemented a rule to forbid players from lowering their helmet’s crown outside the tackle box.

Protecting players should always be paramount

Fundamentally changing a sport is always bad

PRO: CHELSEA BOYD

CON: SERGIO GOMEZ

Football fans across America feared the imminent death of football Wednesday as the NFL passed a new rule banning the use of the crown of the helmet for hits outside the tackle box.

This strikes a nerve with fans as well as players who feel that pending lawsuits have driven the league to make some extreme changes in the name of safety.

Running backs of past and present came out of the woodwork to combat the rule fearing that it would not only be difficult to officiate, but that it would make the game more dangerous rather than enhance safety. Some even questioned whether they wanted to play in a league where this rule existed.

Fans calling into radio shows and posting online slammed the decision, some fearing that flag football would someday replace what we know the NFL to be today.

It appears we live in a society where safe equals soft and soft football is just not an option. After all of the injuries and post-career discoveries of the long term effects of head trauma—and yes, lawsuits—are we really upset about one rule change made in the name of safety?

Former St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk said the rule is “stupid” and questions the enforcement by referees as well as how offensive players will protect themselves without lowering their helmets. Current Seattle Seahawks running back Michael Robinson said he’s been taught for 25 years

to “deliver the blow, not accept the blow.”

In a press conference held after the competition committee met, committee members attempted to alleviate concerns by further explaining the rule, but if seems those explanations fell on deaf ears.

Jeff Fisher, Rams head coach and committee member, clarified that there is no rule prohibiting the use of shoulders, the side of the helmet, the hairline or facemask. It is specifically the crown of the helmet when players are outside of the tackle box.

Also, is no one hearing the words “outside of the tackle box” in the description of the rule? Crownof-helmet hits are not even being banned altogether. This rule is really a reduction in this type of hit.

Dean Blandino, the NFL’s VP of officiating, addressed concerns that refs would over-enforce the rule, slowing down play.

“We don’t feel that this is any more difficult than any of the other player safety rules that we have,” Blandino said.

I disagree with Blandino here, only in the sense that this is probably the most significant rule change the league has made in terms of safety. It directly addresses the specific issue of head trauma.

Blandino also pointed to the “educational process” that takes place for any rule change so that officials understand what does NOT need to be called. The committee said more often than not contact, even with the helmet, will be legal.

It is too soon to tell exactly what effect this will have on the game as a whole. Like the coaches, players and officials, fans need to wait for an even clearer explanation and video references to pass real judgement.

What we know right now is that football needs to be safer. This rule is meant to make the game safer. There is very little short of it that would have made an actual impact.

No one is attempting to take the physicality or even the brutality out of the game. If and when that ever happens, then we can have a conversation about the end of football. This rule seems to be more of a re-route than a total change of course.

What all this uproar sounds like is players whining about times changing and having to be creative about how they will successfully work around the rules of the game. Hitting with the crown of the helmet is a strategy, nothing more. All this means is players and coaches need to figure out a new strategy.

Isn’t that what they get paid millions of dollars to do?

Fisher said after the committee met, he received a phone call from former star NFL running back Eddie George, who was deeply concerned about the new rule. Fisher said after a 15-minute conversation, George changed his mind.

Maybe we all need to have a 15-minute conversation before we declare the death of football as we know it.

This isn’t your father’s football anymore, people; gone are the days of hard-hitting, heart-pounding action.

Say goodbye to tackle football and say hello to soon-to-be tag football­—that’s the direction the NFL is going with recent rule changes. Joining a brace of other rules instituted in recent years, the higher-ups in football have spoken once again.

The NFL recently passed a new rule change that makes it illegal for a running back or any offensive player to lower the crown of their helmet outside the tackle box.

That means no more ramming through defenders to get extra yards. That means being exposed and having to take a tackle instead of running through a tackler.

That means a cheapened product on the field.

Now, owners will tell you it is all about making the game safer, as the rule passed by a “wide margin” according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, but it has nothing to do with player’s safety.

It all has to do with owners’ bank accounts. In light of multiple lawsuits from former players on the basis that the league isn’t doing enough to protect the players from serious injuries, the NFL has now passed multiple rule changes to try and show the courts, “Hey look at what we’re doing.”

In the process of doing this, they’re taking away what makes football great; the brutal action.

First, NFL owners voted in 2011 to move kickoffs up five yards to

the 35-yard line and restricted the running start that special teams get to five yards behind the ball in an effort to limit injuries. What has resulted is an increase number of touchbacks and the loss of one of the most exciting plays in the game, the kickoff return.

Then, the NFL stepped up its efforts on limiting a defensive player’s ability to inflict pain on the offense when any hit that is even remotely close to the head— a good idea in theory—is subject to a penalty and a steep fine.

It is a good rule “in theory” because one would love to protect the head.

But even when defensive players aim low the offensive player, in an effort to protect themselves ducks down, he might get hit in the head. The defense gets penalized even when his intention was to make a legal play.

Now, tacklers have had to change the way they go in for a tackle or even let up on a tackle, allowing the ball-carrier to avoid the tackle. This has taken away another exciting play key to draw in fans to the game.

We watch for the violence. We watch for the big hits.

We have this new rule which eliminates the offensive players to lead with the crown of their helmets now, so that monster play by rookie running back Trent Richardson of the Cleveland Browns where he ran through an Eagles defensive player—making his helmet fly off his head—is no more.

Richardson himself jokingly

tweeted that he is sorry for that play, musing he believes that is why the new rule exists.

Many great running backs— such as Emmitt Smith—have voiced their displeasure over the rule, asking how running backs are supposed to protect themselves now. They are exposed; one used to be able to put one’s head down and absorb the hit.

Now, a running back’s front will be exposed to the defensive player.

This will lead to runners having to slide to get more yards or getting hurt. It has nothing to do with safety.

Imagine your team down late in the fourth quarter and facing a fourth and one. The quarterback hands off to the running back and he runs it up the middle but sees that there are no holes open. He lowers his head and rams through for the one yard gain and your team scores to win.

Now with the new rule, that will be a penalty and your team will end up losing.

Players know the risk involved in playing the game. Nobody is forced to play the game; they know the game is violent and that’s why so many people love the game. If you can’t take the pain and injuries, then don’t play the game.

That’s a sentiment many players echo as they hate all these rule changes. These are, after all, these men’s livelihoods, and they should know best when it comes to how things should be done.

So if it’s not okay with the players, it’s not okay with me.

Cloud seeding leaves skies clear, but lasting effects remain hazy AMANDA ZIVE Daily Titan

Recently Texas officials have claimed that the state now controls its own weather through a process called cloud seeding.

Weather modification has been going on for decades. In the 1940s glaciogenic cloud seeding was discovered; the process involved ice crystals being introduced into thin clouds.

Soon after, scientists began work on concocting a chemical crystalline that would have the same effect. Chemists found similar

qualities in a chemical compound traditionally used to process film.

Silver iodide is the most common form of cloud seeding used today.

When China hosted the summer Olympics, cloud seeding was used in neighboring areas of Beijing to guarantee clear skies over the games. After successfully keeping that promise, China launched a full biological assault on the skies.

Yet following the games, China officials admitted the weather became out of their control and at-

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tributed a 2009 blizzard to their own handy work.

This weather modification is sweeping the globe and though the biggest offender is China, at least 30 other countries have developed cloud seeding programs, including the U.S. With the extensive work going into constant effort to control rainfall, one might imagine an equal amount of time has been spent on testing the effects of the chemical they are spraying into the clouds.

Unfortunately, that is not the case.

While there has been direct hu-

man testing on silver iodide, it has only been on the effects for someone using it as a solvent in old fashioned film processing.

According to Medscape.com, prolonged exposure can cause discoloration of the hands. While the yellow white film-processing chemical would sometimes leave the skin a little yellow or orange, the lasting result was often a grey ashy color staining their hands.

This discoloration is a side-effect of the disorder, agyria.

Argyria is classified as a skin condition though it also can po-

tentially affect mucous membranes. Basically, the silver particles impregnate the skin and leaving residue in mucous membranes. Studies conclude that an unknown amount of silver can cause this condition because the rate at which it affects individuals varies so much.

But this is, again, testing contact with the skin, not on the inhalation of silver iodide.

Conceptually, the silver iodide will encapsulate water droplets in a cloud. The chemical would cause the droplets to form a snow-like crystal, and descend to earth. The claim by scientists is that during this process the silver iodide evaporates.

Yet this chemical is being injected into our clouds to create drops that fall to the ground. The chemically engulfed drops fall on deserts, lakes, rivers, the crops we eat and the mountain ranges we get our drinking water from.

Silver iodide has proven to be highly toxic in high doses, as part of the compound is the most toxic heavy metal; silver.

A 1970 study by the University of Michigan did extensive tests on silver build-up in various organisms and environments. Testing on fish showed that silver only materialized on specific areas of the fish, on and around its gills.

Yet the most drastic effect has been seen with microorganisms. When tested, they developed silver tracts within their vital living systems.

The tests of drinking water confirmed the presence of silver in areas which used cloud seeding.

Such “contamination” has resulted in health regulation by the EPA that allows only a certain amount of silver to be considered nonthreatening.

Though it is enough to kill a small fish, we are assured that over a 27-year period of being exposed to this water, humans are not likely to develop argyria.

Cloud seeding programs are all over the U.S. With Texas leading the way, many other states trail just behind including Utah, Colorado, Nevada and California. California officials have expressed the benefit of cloud seeding in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The silver iodide for that mountain range is released from the ground, whereas many traditionally inject the vapor via jet or rocket.

The vapor reportedly gets blown up into the clouds, and half an hour later snow begins to fall.

All of this claims to be harmless, but contemporary testing is sparse. By living in a state where they practice this system of weather modification, essentially it’s being tested on us. The only way we’ll know if these levels of silver in our snow, water, food and air have long-term effects is by living them.

And while potentially harmless, it’s still a troubling notion to be something of a test subject.

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MARCH 26, 2013

TUESDAY

OPINION

PAGE 5

THE DAILY TITAN

Recognize, do not stigmatize, a person’s chosen identity To exclude transgendered people as ‘different’ is to point out one’s ignorance ALEX GROVES For the Daily Titan

On Friday March 15, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush made a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in which he urged members of his party to move away from their “antieverything” stance.

“We’re associated with being antieverything,” Bush said. “Way too many people believe that Republicans are anti-immigrant, anti-woman, antiscience, anti-gay, anti-worker ... Many voters are simply unwilling to choose our candidates because those voters feel unloved, unwanted and unwelcome in our party.”

Bush addressed a long standing ill within the Republican party when he made this speech; it’s no secret that Republicans are frequently viewed as being the party of exclusion.

And while some wise Republicans may have heeded Bush’s words, others were putting together proposed legislation that would exemplify the dilemma the former governor was speaking of.

Rep. John Kavanagh (R-Arizona) created a measure which would have required people to use the bathroom that reflects the sex listed on their birth certificate when in public places. The penalty for using the bathroom opposite of what’s listed on one’s certificate would result in six months jail time.

Many people felt that this bill was purposefully targeting transgendered individuals, which would make sense given its content.

The bill was supposed to come to a vote last Wednesday, but was pushed to a later date. While protesters flooded the lobby of the House to voice their objection to the proposed measure, Kavanagh claimed the postponement had to do with bad paperwork.

When asked about the bill, the Arizona representative said that individu-

als shouldn’t be able to use facilities based on the idea that “you are what you think you are.” He added that he was worried that a recently passed antidiscrimination ban in the city of Phoenix would make it easier for pedophiles to expose themselves to children of the opposite sex.

First of all, parents should always be with their very young children whenever they have to go to the bathroom.

Pedophiles aren’t strictly interested in children of the opposite sex. There are pedophiles who are interested in same sex children as well. Any place that a child can be left alone can be a dangerous place.

Secondly, it’s likely that transgendered people have been using the bathroom of the sex that they identify with for far longer than there’s been legislation for or against such a thing.

It’s doubtful then that the bill recently passed in Phoenix has made the city a more dangerous place.

It’s easy for Kavanagh to take the position that he does as a straight conservative male. He would not be directly affected by this bill, which would require transgendered people to announce their birth sex to the public every time they have to go to the bathroom.

That’s where the danger truly lies.

We live in a society that’s inching closer to acceptance of LGBT people, but we’re far from being there.

According to a study conducted in October 2010 by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 41 percent of transgendered people attempted suicide out of a sample of 7,000 individuals.

Nineteen percent of those individuals had been denied medical care and 2 percent had been assaulted in doctor’s offices.

In April of 2012, a Memphis man was arrested for beating a transgendered woman in a bar. The suspect’s brother allegedly tried to use his car to run the woman down, too. One year before that, a Maryland woman

Courtesy of MCT John Kavanaugh of Arizona has presented a bill aimed at forcing transgendered people to use bathroom facilities in accordance with the sex on their birth certificate.

was sentenced to five years in prison for beating a transgendered woman in a McDonald’s.

Clearly, our society is not 100 percent ready to accept transgendered people. Why point them out?

The only way to truly be fair is to allow people to go to the bathroom of the sex they identify with.

In the grand scheme of things, is it worthwhile to spend money on a law that would be almost impossible to enforce and that would humiliate a group of people? One

It’s doubtful then that the recently passed bill in Phoenix has made the city a more dangerous place. would think that the economy and national security would be the American public’s top concerns.

How would one even determine if

a transgendered person was using the “wrong” bathroom?

Most people don’t carry around a birth certificate around from place to

place and it’s doubtful that restaurants, stores and other public settings would have someone verifying the birth certificates of everyone that goes in and out of a bathroom.

Republicans like Kavanagh need to recognize their days are numbered if they don’t move toward a more accepting stance on various issues. It’s for reasons like this that their party is facing many problems.

It’s time they make people feel included, not point them out in embarrassing displays.

Inflation represents necessary evil DANIEL BARBEAU For the Daily Titan

Once again, the Eurozone roils with tumult. Last week, residents of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus awaited the fate of their life savings as the European Union and domestic politicians wrangled over financial sector bailouts and an unprecedented “levy” extracted from private bank accounts.

At stake was whether Cypriots would accept direct expropriation of their accumulated capital to appease their banks’ erstwhile creditors, or risk a fall from the Eurozone. The terms offered to Cypriots by the EU opened a Pandora’s Box of newly taxable capital, and threaten the historic inviolability of private saving accounts.

Could a similar situation occur here in which the government arbitrarily confiscates dollars directly from Americans’ savings accounts?

The EU’s demand of arbitrary confiscation of depositors’ wealth is a dramatic example of the sort of taxation that draws the righteous anger and indignation of a huge percentage of voting constituents. For this reason, the initial measure went down in flames in the Cypriot Parliament in a unanimous vote last week.

However, there exists a more effective and benign method of taxation in which most voters will fail to realize that they are being fleeced.

Inflation is the ultimate capital confiscation tool, and requires no dramatic headlines depicting politicians raiding bank accounts or paychecks. When currencies inflate, a dollar is worth marginally less than previously. After a year of 10-percent inflation, $1,000 will be worth only $900 in the previous year’s prices effectively destroying a tenth of its value. Of course, government debt also become worth relatively less and is more easily paid off during times of high inflation.

In effect, inflation can act as a stealth tax, indiscriminately confiscating a fraction of every dollar without recourse. Countries such as Argentina and Venezuela currently have inflation rates well above 10 percent, but within those countries there exists less backlash to the invisible inflation tax than

Courtesy of MCT

Inflation is a way for a government to confiscate money without raising taxes.

the very visible direct tax in Cyprus.

Only in times of severe inflation do debtors search for creditors.

The most efficient method to introduce inflation into an economy is for a central bank to buy a government’s treasury bonds. With control over the money supply, a bank can create an infinite amount of cash to finance a profligate national government.

However, this monetary feedback loop only maintains stability as long as purchases remain modest and a nation’s money supply remains proportional to economic growth. Another guarantee for longer-term inflation is an extended, artificially low central bank interest rate that promotes fractional reserve lending by private banks.

Over the past five years, the U.S. Federal Reserve has bought $3.2 trillion in assets, including $1.77 in government bonds, and $1.02 trillion in mortgage backed securities (MBS) in three rounds of Quantitative Easing (QE). For now, general inflation has remained subdued. Proponents of QE extol out that there is little risk of inflation since the Fed is trading one asset (treasury bonds and MBSs) for another (cash), increasing market liquidity and not overall monetary supply.

In theory they are correct. However if the Fed fails to develop an adequate

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exit strategy for selling bonds and MBSs before they mature, the monetary base will greatly expand, risking ruinous inflation.

Likewise, the Fed is holding fast to its promise of a near-zero percent interest rate until 6.5 percent unemployment or 2.5 percent inflation materializes. Unfortunately, inflation is easy to ignite but hard to arrest and once future price expectations jump, only a crushing monetary crunch can stunt their rise. If the Fed is politically or economically unable to unwind its $3.2 trillion asset sheet before 2015, spiraling inflation will eventually come to the economic forefront as monetary velocity increases and stationary cash is sent into the marketplace.

A uniform stealth tax will be imposed on every dollar regardless of individual’s social or economic standing.

Taxes are politically toxic and often economically impalpable. Inflation rescues nations from crushing debt, but does so in a manner opaque to most voters (at their financial expense). If the Fed fails to unwind its massive asset purchases and raise interest rates, but instead allows assets to mature and interest rates to slump, sooner or later inflation will return the U.S. and extract a hidden, painful tax in retribution for this easy money policy.

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FEATURES

PAGE 6

THE DAILY TITAN

TUESDAY

CHOIR: University Singers recieve standing ovation

Titan DJ adds class to his mix

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ASHLEY RUIZ Daily Titan

On sorority bid day, Victor Ainza DJ’ed for Gamma Phi Beta from 4 to 6 p.m., packed up his equipment and walked two doors down to Alpha Ki Omega to perform another two-hour long mix.

For Ainza, a 21-year-old public relations major, this was a normal day—playing music that his audience could dance to and revel in.

While Ainza said he has always had a passion for Electronic Dance Music (EDM), he realized that he wanted to become a DJ during his freshman year of college after doing events, such as bid day, on the Cal State Fullerton campus.

“I like the energy that it creates,” said Ainza. “I love seeing people’s reactions to songs that they’ve never heard before and I just love seeing people having a good time and celebrating the vibes of the good music.”

Ainza said he invested money and started with basic DJing equipment and taught himself from scratch.

After developing skills and upgrading his equipment Ainza said he has everything to DJ private events and is currently financing a new mixer.

He developed his stage name, DJ V3, because he is a third generation, named after his father and grandfather.

The first event that Ainza DJ’ed for was an ‘80s-themed event for Pi Kappa Phi last year in the Titan Student Union Underground Pub. From there Ainza said that more fraternities and sororities began to notice him as a DJ and hire him.

“He is one of the best DJs that I know, he plays all sorts of music from house to just things that people can dance to and have a good time,” said Ryan Skeldon, 22, a radio-TV-film

MARCH 26, 2013

Courtesy of Victor Ainza

Victor Ainza has been DJing for three years while attending CSUF.

major and Pi Kappa Phi’s social chair.

Ainza has DJ’ed at the Palms Sky Villa Suite in Vegas and the Yost Theater in Santa Ana as well.

He plans to return to Vegas in June to DJ a back-to-back set with a friend from Vanguard University at Caesar’s Palace.

Through networking, Ainza said that he will start doing events for the Greek system at Cal State Long Beach and UC Irvine.

Ainza also interns at the White Rabbit Group, an event planning and promoting organization for the Yost Theater.

Recently Ainza was accepted to a new position for the company and now interviews DJs before their sets at the Yost.

This month Ainza filmed an interview of dubstep producers Caspa and Doctor P. “It’s cool just to be involved in that whole circle and network of DJs and hear from them behind the scenes, picking their brains and understanding what it takes to get to that level,” he said.

Ainza said that he enjoys play-

ing progressive house music above all else, but those who have seen him perform said that he’s an expert at gauging what the audience wants to hear.

“He’s really good at feeling the crowd. Some crowds like more hiphop, some like more EDM … he kind of just goes with the flow … He does what appeals to the audience, the dancers’ needs,” said Megan Lomasney, 21, a psychology major and member of Gamma Phi Beta.

Among Ainza’s supporters, he says his father has been his greatest.

“My dad has motivated me and encouraged me to always pursue my dreams, but at the same time to keep school as my top priority,” Ainza said.

Despite his recent success as a DJ, Ainza said he agrees with his father. He said he wants to focus on his school first and considers DJing a hobby.

“I think that there’s definitely opportunities for me if I continue to pursue my dreams and if I really do want to make it a career, I think I’m in the right place to make that happen,” Ainza said.

The singers were in Dallas for four days, they performed on Wednesday and Thursday evening. They performed twice, at the Winspear Opera House, and at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas.

Lesu’i said that to everyone’s surprise, the University Singers were not as nervous as they thought they would be the mornings of the performances. They knew they were going to do great. He credited this to knowing the music well, being able to count on each other and great leadership from the director.

“Not many people, regular choral people, get to stand on those two performance stages. So to look out there and get to see this huge opera house and this huge audience really is kind of spectacular,” said Kikkawa.

“It takes a whole village to lift up an artist and I think that Fullerton is really doing it correctly.”

ROBERT ISTAD, PH.D. Music Professor

Istad and the students had an emotional experience singing deeply and connecting with the music.

He said that the students found an artistic place inside of them that he knew existed, expressing themselves as professionals.

Both nights, the audience gave

the singers several standing ovations.

“In the moment the students sang this beautiful work by J.S. Bach so magnificently that the audience couldn’t contain themselves, they almost gave us a standing ovation during the middle of the performance,” Istad said.

Photo illustration by JOHN PEKCAN

Second Life, gives students a chance to interact with peers and teachers in the comfort of their own home.

Professor teaches communication classes on virtual Fullerton island Dr. Paul Martin Lester will publish a book on digital innovations in classrooms MATTHEW PIER Daily Titan

Second Life, a virtual portal, allows students and professors to take online classes to a new level by actually simulating the face-to-face class through the web.

Program developer Linden Research Inc. released Second Life in 2003. It is a free, virtual world where people from all over the world can meet and create their own online societies.

It is “a 3-D world where everyone you see is a real person and every place you visit is built by people just like you,” according to their website.

The emphasis on self-expression and communication from its members, also called residents, are what attracts people to join.

Paul Martin Lester, Ph.D., a communications professor at Cal State Fullerton, uses the virtual world in teaching some of his classes.

Second Life allows for interaction, like dissecting and rotating images for his Visual Communications class. The live communication with students during his online office hours is equally important.

“I really enjoy the real-time, synchronous discussions that take place on Second Life, with the addition of avatar representations of the students,” said Lester.

How detailed that avatar is deCONTACT US AT: FEATURES@DAILYTITAN.COM

pends on the user and how they chose to represent themselves. Avatars range from humans to vampires, animals and robots, allowing for a wide variety of customization.

Once created, students can teleport to CSUF’s own “Fullerton Island” and use their avatars to explore.

A small land mass, the school’s flag sits atop a central mountain with a mock school below—complete with buildings, outdoor classrooms and even Pepsi vending machines.

Lester has his own area on the island for his online visual communication class filled with detailed, floating pictures and active videos that automatically play when an avatar gets near.

Wijesinghe Purasinghe, 41, is a nursing student who regularly visits the virtual CSUF destination.

She said she enjoys being online with fellow classmates since online classes are primarily independent.

“It’s fun to see other students in class, so I don’t feel alone,” said Purasinghe. “The good thing is (the professor) makes the class fun and makes it exciting.”

Purasinghe also said that she prefers when teachers use professional web conferencing, but believes that the informal and interactive nature of Second Life is perfect for an online course about the visual aspects of communication.

James Reiter, 21,a junior American Studies major, is an active participant in Lester’s online course.

He said his experience with the virtual classroom has been positive.

“I’m not a fan of teaching online,

but Second Life has really impressed me with its ability to communicate easily,” said Reiter.

Both students acknowledged that Second Life can be slow and can take some time to load different things. Reiter added that its graphical presentation could be improved, as well. Outside skeptics of online classes may also question how well students perform.

Lester, along with fellow CSUF professor Cynthia King, Ph.D., conducted a study comparing a course taught online and an identical course taught in a traditional face-to-face, classroom setting.

Together they published their study, “Analog vs. Digital Instruction and Learning: Teaching Within First and Second Life Environments,” in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication during April 2009.

The classes were taught the same and came out with similar results. The average grade, out of 100 points, for those in a real classroom was an 84, while the average for those who sat in a virtual classroom online was an 80.

The positive feedback Lester has received from students and the continued support from school has allowed him to continue using Second Life as a teaching tool.

His upcoming book, Digital Innovations for Mass Communications: Engaging the User, is expected to be published early next year.

It will be used in the Augmented Reality course he hopes to teach next spring.

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7

March 26, 2013

FOR RELEASE MARCH 26, 2013

Crossword

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

To

view our online

Classifieds, visit

DailyTitan. com

Courtesy of mctcampus

Edited by Rich Norrisbrought and Joyce Lewis to you by mctcampus.com

ACROSS 1 PC screens largely replaced

by LCDs 5 Exchange goodbyes 9 Breed, as salmon 14 Ghostly glow 15 “Nothin’ doin’!”

16 “Dallas” matriarch 17 Sleight-of-hand scam 19 Cold temperatures 20 Fountain of Rome 21 Levies on smokes and booze 23 Prefix with present 26 Playfully shy 27 Houston of Texas 30 Agenda item 36 World’s largest rainforest 38 Pearl Jam singer Eddie 39 Early whirlybird, for short 40 Winding curve 42 Body wash brand 43 Dressy ties 46 Mariachi’s headwear 49 Filmed like most of today’s films 51 Hyphenated ID 52 Fair-hiring abbr.

53 Wax-wrapped cheese 55 Alphabet soup, so to speak 60 Have an inkling 64 Abrasive mineral 65 Fight fiercely to the end 68 Barely burn 69 Continental cash 70 Armory supply, and a hint to the starts of 17-, 30-, 49- and 65Across 71 Left one’s seat 72 Slight impression 73 Author Uris DOWN 1 Plaster bandage 2 Essen’s region 3 “Magic __ House”: kiddie lit series

4 Battleship barrage 5 Curly-tailed pooch 6 “So that’s what that means!”

7 Caribbean liquors 8 It might be broken at a party 9 Prepare some letterpress printing 10 Appeal 11 Author Haley 12 Bistro beverage 13 Stack’s role in “The Untouchables” 18 “How low can you go?” competition 22 Grounding rule, perhaps 24 Convent resident 25 “On second thought, that’s not true” 27 Long stories 28 Pennsylvania Mennonites 29 Call before “Polo!”

31 Dogie catcher 32 Reminder to take out the trash?

33 Fritters away time

Horoscope

brought to you by mctcampus.com

Aries (March 21-April 19) Compromise will be required soon. It’s all worth it in the end. The result could surprise you. Get farther faster with professional assistance.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Work especially hard, or at least smartly. Inject energy by finding what you love most. Settle on what you and your sweetheart find most interesting.

Sudoku

Sudoku brought to you by dailysudoku.com

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Work faster and make more money, or increase your rates. Remember to take time off for fun, too, or you’ll get burned out. There’s an abundance of projects; add creativity to have it all.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Some bold actions may be required, especially around family, but it all works out eventually. Start planning a project at home. It’s very important to stay in communication.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Things are starting to make sense, finally.

With a bit more work and dedication, you can move on to the next level. Get what you’ve been wanting. Be quick to adapt to changes.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Check instructions, and then use your good judgment on how to proceed. Better take the time to be sure the job’s done right. Make good money now, but don’t throw it around, not even for love. Keep it practical.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) There are challenges ahead, and you have the energy to take them on. Solve them one at a time. Prioritize important tasks. Don’t force things. Bend with the wind to avoid breakage.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) It’s easier to focus on small details.

Don’t get discouraged by breakdowns; they reveal what’s missing for success. Listen to encouraging friends, and stay persistent.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Friends are happy to give you a boost. Listen to their words as if you’re paying for the counsel, and then make your own choice. There’s time to party.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Go along with a partner’s suggestion, as long as it’s not too crazy. You may have to try it to find out if it works. Pay back what you owe. Travel looks adventuresome.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Optimism provides a context for growth. Now’s a great time to plan for the longrange future. Write down what you really want, and find support in like-minded friends. Your equity is growing.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) You have a lot of irons in the fire, especially in the days ahead. Go ahead and juggle, but be aware of consequences. Others are impressed. Making a commitment empowers you. Maybe you can give another away.

How To Play: Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9: and each set of boxes must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

3/26/13

By Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Monday’s Puzzle Solved

(c)2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

34 Gets within a stone’s throw of 35 Check for size 37 Type of baggy ’40s suit 41 One and only 44 Colored, hippiestyle 45 Snooty sort 47 ’60s chic 48 “The Godfather” hoodlum Luca 50 Discontinued

3/26/13

54 Lead or zinc 55 Military chow hall 56 “You’re looking at the one and only” 57 Strange: Pref.

58 Therefore 59 Scrapbook adhesive 61 Alaskan seaport 62 Osaka wrestler 63 Henry VI’s school 66 Spigoted server 67 Came down with

FITNESS

PAGE 8

THE DAILY TITAN

I prefer to jump rope as a warmup.

This exercise will raise your heart rate quickly and will activate most muscles in the body.

A rule that I always follow when beginning to lift is complete complex lifts first and simple lifts last. A complex lift is one that activates more than one muscle group. For instance, compound lifts such as the power clean and Olympic power snatch activate almost every muscle group in the body, and thus are the most complex lifts.

As fun as those lifts are, they do not fit into a running regimen. They develop fast twitch power, not endurance strength. The back squat however, is an essential compound lift for athletes of almost every discipline.

A simple lift is one that only activates one muscle group at a time.

Prime examples are bicep curl and tricep extensions.

My reasoning for going from complex lifts, namely the back squat, to simple lifts such as curls, is to conserve energy in the gym. By exhausting yourself on simple lifts, you may not be able to complete the more important complex lifts.

For runners, I there are three essential lifts: squats, push ups and pull ups.

Each of these exercise activates multiple muscle groups and can be done just about anywhere. Ab and other core exercises are also very important.

Planks, crunches and leg lifts are three great exercises to start with.

Rest, reps and sets, oh my!

These three variables can drastically change the result of a gym program. Entire classes can be taught on how to obtain specific results by manipulating them.

A basic rule of thumb for developing endurance strength, is to complete high reps (12 to 15) with rest times that are no longer than a minute between each set. You should complete four to six sets on each exercise.

Weight should be calculated based on the amount of reps that you can complete within a set, not by how “badass” you look because you can bench two plates. Lift at a weight that is chal-

TUESDAY

Dangers of performance enhancing

Do you even run, bro?

Lots of mirrors. Lots of people in a confined space. Lots of people in a confined space talking to each other and sneaking (or not sneaking) a bicep flex in the mirror.

People using the squat rack as a curling machine. I could go on for hours. I used to hate the gym.

Nowadays, I just hate it a little less.

Throughout my running career, I’ve realized that strength training can dramatically improve running form and endurance. A strong core, a lean upper body and strong quadriceps and calves allow me to run on the balls of my feet for 15 miles or so without too much fatigue.

With good form, a runner is much more efficient, allowing the athlete to maintain a faster pace over a longer distance. And at a distance of 26.2 miles, everything comes into play.

Here’s a couple tips for developing a painless Student Recreation Center regimen that will improve running form and increase your pace.

Set a goal and develop a plan.

Just like developing a successful running regimen, developing a lifting program takes thought and planning.

The first step is to set a goal. The key to setting a goal is to make it attainable yet challenging and to ensure that it compliments your running program.

In my case, my goals are to develop lean upper body muscle, strengthen my core and maintain my calves and quadriceps. This equates to three to four sessions at the gym per week, lifting with an emphasis on controlled movements and high reps and most importantly, short rest times.

Function, not figure.

As you are developing your individual workout routine, remember that you are in the gym for one reason: to get faster. Developing muscle tone just happens to be a welcome side effect of developing speed. So unless you intend on running your race on your hands, save the bicep curl for last. Think of it as your dessert.

Before you even look at a weight, make sure that you complete a five to 10 minute warmup and stretch.

MARCH 26, 2013

MATTHEW PIER Daily Titan

Road to the Marathon ANDERS HOWMANN

lenging, but still allows you to complete the set with proper form.

Special attention should be paid toward leg exercises. Due to the high mileage of my running regimen, I refrain from pushing too hard at the squat rack. On most days, I use the unweighted bar in order to complete these exercises. Squatting with proper form is an excellent way to increase flexibility in the glutes and hamstrings. If my legs are not fatigued, I will lift a maximum of 105 pounds.

This is simply to maintain quad strength and flexibility.

Single leg squats are also useful for improving quad strength. These can be completed by standing on one foot and bending at the knee while keeping your hips facing forward and chest up.

Get in and get out.

Its important to remember that lifting is not the most important part of a runner’s training. Its just icing on the cake. Therefore, do not exercise to exhaustion. If you are fatigued from the mileage that you are putting in, shorten your lifting regime or take the day off.

These are practices that I personally follow. Since I started lifting consistently, I’ve noticed that improvements in all aspects of my running, from form to endurance.

As you are developing a lifting plan, be open to new ideas and exercises.

There is no clear cut plan for making the perfect lifting program and without a qualified coach observing your progress, it will take some time to learn how your body reacts to different exercises.

As long as you don’t use the squat rack to do bicep curls, you’ll be alright.

Steroids can equal big muscles and big money in professional sports, but they can also lead to big problems for those who use them.

Performance- enhancing drugs, more commonly known as PEDs, have increasingly become an issue within professional sports.

Leagues are “protecting the integrity of the sport” and clamping down on athletes attempting to gain an advantage.

The debate on PEDs is more complicated than simply its morality. Professionally, athletes are always looking for ways to stay ahead of the competition and earn large contracts worth millions.

Some people believe that these unnatural advantages are warranted for the sport, if only at the professional level. One of these supporters is a philosophy student, and athlete in his own time, Jaymin Allen, 23.

“For professional use, I can understand it (and) I would do it myself if I were a professional,” said Allen. “I do believe to stay ahead of the curve, to guarantee a paycheck that you need to stay fit, that you need to stay fast and strong … and if you’re not taking them, I think you fall behind the people that are.”

That fear of falling behind the competition and of losing your job is a powerful motivator for athletes. Time is always against sports players and the human body does not last forever.

Making the most of that time by enhancing it with drugs can also lead to a shorter overall life. The risks in taking them do not stop at the possibility of getting caught, but also of future physical problems.

John Gleaves, Ph.D., is an assistant kinesiology professor at Cal State Fullerton with an emphasis of PEDs and doping in sports.

He explains the differences in the

Courtesy of MCT Steroids have been an issue in sports for decades now, and continue to be.

short and long-term risks.

“Acute risks are highest with stimulants as overdosing is possible, especially when combined with exercise, dehydration, and tolerance,” said Gleaves. “Chronic use for EPO or anabolic steroids can have to do with altering normal physiological processes and damaging organs which handle the substances like liver and kidneys.”

Erythopoietin helps with endurance and performing for extended periods of time. Famous cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to using it during his professional career, and believes he could not have won seven consecutive Tour de France titles without cheating.

Some athletes do not seem to mind these side effects of unnaturally pushing their bodies to the limit and possibly shortening their lives. This can become dangerous as athletes push aside their health in an effort to win, no matter the cost.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is one that looks out for both the health of athletes and the integrity of sports when it administers tests for prohibited substances. USADA media relations

manager Annie Skinner explains how substances make the list.

“A substance or method can be place on the Prohibited List if the substance or method meets at least two of the following three criteria: it has the potential to enhance or enhances sport performance, it represents an actual or potential health risk to the athlete, or it violates the spirit of the sport,” said Skinner.

While USADA currently works with Olympic athletes, it is also in collaboration with professional leagues to create cleaner sports through anti-doping research and development.

Former NBA forward Charles Barkley reminds his viewers on television that, “Father Time is the only undefeated competitor.”

Unfortunately, some athletes play against him sooner than later, and must make the most of what time they are given.

With the added pressure of not knowing when it ends, the fine line athletes must walk is getting even thinner. Morality, money, ethics, power, fame and health, all come into question, and only the athletes can decide which is valued most.

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