DAILY TITAN The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton T
Volume 93, Issue 47
NEWS 2
Senate approves online purchase tax OPINION 4
Steps toward a better body image FEATURES 6
Titans serve all around the world FITNESS 8
The health benefits of fats
TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2013
dailytitan.com FEATURES | Student challenges
Titans persevere through learning disability barriers JULIA GUTIERREZ Daily Titan
ROBERT HUSKEY / Daily Titan
Ryan Lee, 26, a junior, a member of the CSUF ROTC is motivated by Master Sgt. Anthony Coates while completing pushups for the Army Physical Fitness Test.
ROTC cadets complete final fitness test Trial determines what position the cadets will be assigned to once they join the Army ANDERS HOWMANN For the Daily Titan
Shaking out their legs and stretching their arms, ROTC cadets gathered in the lobby of the kinesiology building Monday morning, preparing to complete their final physical fitness test of the year. The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) is held once a semester in order to assess the fitness of cadets. Cadets are scored on three events: push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run. Scores that cadets earn comprise
of a major part of their placement on the order of merit list, a grading scale that the Army uses to assign cadets to a position in the Army when they commission after graduation. “All of the PT tests in total weigh 15 percent of the Order of Merit list, which is the second heaviest weighting,” said Brian McNeilly, 21, a biblical studies and theology major at Biola and a senior cadet in the Cal State Fullerton Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program. Comparatively, school comprises of 40 percent of the rating. Abe Rodas, 22, a kinesiology
major and public affairs officer with the Titan Battalion, said that PT scores can play a major role if cadets are looking to join one of the Army’s more competitive branches such as aviation, engineering and infantry. In order to prepare for what McNeilly calls the record test, cadets complete three hour and a half PT sessions per week. During training, cadets complete a variety of cardio, strength and circuit training exercises. McNeilly, who is the master of fitness for bravo company, designs workouts in order to prepare cadets and ensure that they are im-
proving past the army standards. The Titan Battalion also conducts two diagnostics tests per semester in order to ensure cadets are prepared. Cadets who do not pass these practice tests are required to go to remedial PT sessions. For grading, cadets are given a range of repetitions to complete for each exercise based on their. If cadets complete the lowest amount of reps in the range they are given a score of 60 points. If they complete or exceed the highest amount of required repetitions, they receive a perfect score of 100. SEE ROTC, 3
Sergio Valderrama, a child and adolescent studies major, juggles a full schedule as a student at Cal State Fullerton. As an intern at Westmont Elementary School in Anaheim, he hopes to one day become a special education teacher. Valderrama was born with a folded retina, which has made him unable to read small print and see over certain distances. His visual disability has also made it difficult to see the details on people’s faces, he said. For Valderrama and many other disabled students on campus, disabilities are another obstacle on the road to a successful college experience. Valderrama said because of his folded retina, it is sometimes difficult for him to determine what a person means by what they say. For example, he sometimes cannot tell whether or not someone’s tone of voice is sarcastic or serious because he cannot see the expression on the person’s face. He said time management is somewhat difficult because he has to take the time to use a software that enlarges a computer screen. Reading takes more time than it typically would, so time to work must be planned ahead of time. However, Valderrama said his biggest challenge is dealing with the idea that he has a disability. He said he does not feel comfortable with how others may view his visual impairment. “I can say I have a visual impairment and I can talk about it, but my problem is, is being seen as a visually impaired person,” said Valderrama. “Just because of the stigma behind it. … For me I think it’s important for people to
see me that I can’t see, and to prove to others that just because I have a visual impairment doesn’t mean I can’t do many things.” He said he finds this challenging because he was raised to never use his disability as an excuse to not live and accomplish his goals. Valderrama said he fights against this mentality by helping students at his old high school get the drive to be more engaged in their lives and their education. This summer he plans to work at a summer camp called Camp Bloomfield, a camp for visually impaired children. “I’m trying to use that (the camp) as a learning experience for me—how to interact with other visually impaired people—and maybe learn some things from them in being more self confident about being a visually impaired person in the community … not being scared of that stigma,” Valderrama said. Sanjog Singh, an engineering major, said being hard of hearing has caused him to have challenges that other CSUF students may not face frequently. He said because of his hearing, he sometimes finds it tough to comprehend what professors are saying during their lectures. “When I have some professors who have heavy accents—presumably (because) they’re from foreign countries … I have a hard time understanding and deciphering their penmanships as they write on the boards because I’m (a) hard-ofhearing person,” Singh said. Singh began using hearing aids when he was 4 years old. He said the devices made him self-conscious and afraid of what others would say about him. SEE DISABILITY, 6
CAMPUS | Veterans
CAMPUS | Mental health
Student vets honored at annual event
Panel dispels misconceptions of people with disabilities Topics include social and education circumstances for deaf and autistic people
Keynote speaker served on active duty as Commanding General of Marine Corps
RAYMOND MENDOZA Daily Titan
JENNIFER NGUYEN Daily Titan
The sixth-annual Veterans Appreciation Night was held Saturday to honor and recognize Cal State Fullerton veterans who are graduating, as well as students who will soon be deployed. The event was sponsored by CSUF’s Veterans Student Services (VSS) and the Student Veterans Association (SVA). The VSS provides guidance and counseling, academic tutoring and an overall unique learning environment for veterans to help them transition from military life, according to the VSS website. Peter Weimen, president of VSA, said the association is a student-led organization that assists student veterans in successfully transitioning into university life through achieving the three pillars of SVA’s mission: camaraderie, networking and advocacy. Major General Michael Lehnert, the keynote speaker for the evening, served on active duty for 37 years as Commanding General of Marine Corps Installation West before retiring in 2009. When he was still on active duty, Lehnert worked with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Cal State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed in an effort to get more veterans enrolled in California universities.
Lehnert spoke of the military drills he endured and the United States’ decision to invade Iraq. “I’m going to anticipate the question—what if the decision to invade Iraq was wrong? What if we should have pulled out of Afghanistan immediately after we defeated al-Qaida?” said Lehnert. Lehnert went on to discuss the impact of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on Americans. He said one of his fears about volunteer forces is that it makes it “too easy for this nation to go to war.” “All of you know that we have paid a terrible cost for these wars in both tangible and intangible ways,” said Lehnert. “Many of you out there who were children when this war began, have ended up knowing nothing but the nation at war for your entire adult lives.” Other speakers of the evening included Catherine Ward, coordinator for VSS, and Kandy Mink Salas, associate vice president for Student Affairs.
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MARIAH CARRILLO / Daily Titan
TOP: Members of the United States military line up at the sixth-annual Veterans Appreciation Night at the Titan Student Union Pavilions Saturday. BOTTOM: Ryan Hankes, 25, stands to honor Navy veterans. Hankes resumes his studies as a civil engineer after serving in the Navy.
Salas expressed her appreciation for the men and women’s efforts in serving their country while managing to obtain a college degree and juggle other aspects of their life.
“They’ve done that with success, and in just a few short weeks, they’re about to walk across that stage and get that diploma,” Mink-Salas said. SEE VETERANS, 3
Cal State Fullerton hosted a group of individuals on Saturday called “People with Varying Abilities” to discuss changing attitudes concerning the deaf and mental health community. Speakers for the event explored a variety of topics, including the social and education situations of people with deafness or autism and the work that each speaker has done to create better lives for individuals who would normally be seen as handicapped. Roberto Cabrera, a community educator, emceed the event with the aid of two American Sign Language translators. Cabrera, who spoke from a lifelong experience of being deaf and having deaf parents, illustrated the need of having a highly visual learning environment since dynamic visuals attract attention, while bland classrooms and speech leads to poor interaction. Denise Williams, a mental health therapist and founder of Well Play, a community, spirit and team building company, spoke about her own experiences dealing with two mentally disabled foster children she adopted. Williams said that she hoped her personal experiences and guidance would help future parents raise mentally disabled children and help parents understand what to do in terms of social functions and education. “The parent is the cheerleader.
They become the attorney, they become the motivator and the doctor,” said Williams. “Because when you have a child that needs help, you’re going to do all that you can for that child. So you may have to diagnose, you may try to have to understand the law because of what their needs are.” Williams suggested that educators should also exhibit empathy for the providers of mentally disabled children, since caring for these individuals can be stressful.
“When you have a child that needs help, you’re going to do all that you can for that child.” DENISE WILLIAMS Founder of Well Play
She said to assess the specific needs of each group of parents based on education, culture and background while remaining realistic to a child’s diagnosis. Williams said parents are ultimately looking for partnerships through active listening. They need reassurance that they are being heard. SEE PANEL, 3
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