Thursday October 15, 2015

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The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

Thursday October 15, 2015

Volume 98 Issue 25

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Engineering students awarded fellowships

Religion deemed vital to society Expert discusses impact of religious institutions GRAHAM MCTAGUE Daily Titan

ERICA BUESA / DAILY TITAN

John Stapleton, a junior civil engineering major at Cal State Fullerton, researches soil, rainfall, slopes and slope stability. Stapleton’s focus is to improve slope stability on or near highways and to figure out which slopes need to be improved before roads are built. He and Daniel Do received fellowships for their research on transportation.

Scholars research how to improve transportation ERICA BUESA Daily Titan Along the freeway from Fullerton to San Diego lie tall coastal cliffs and sprawling beaches. Although they may be pleasing to the eye, the geography of Southern California also poses a landslide risk. Alleviating this risk is

one of the two ways Cal State Fullerton students Daniel Do and John Stapleton are hoping to improve transportation. Dwight David Eisenhower Hispanic-Serving Institutions Fellowship Program granted Do and Stapleton fellowships worth $17,500 for their research on transportation. The fellowships are awarded specifically to students who pursue degrees in transportation-related fields of study. Stapleton’s research deals with soil, rainfall, slopes and slope stability. His research is a continuation of an ongoing

six-year research project on campus. “This research is not only for him. This is very important research in Southern California. You see what he is looking at. He is working on the real thing,” said Binod Tiwari, Ph.D., associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at CSUF. Stapleton, a Fullerton native, said he chose to attend CSUF because of the engineering program. His father’s work as a contractor inspired his interest in engineering. “I liked what he was doing,

being able to design and construct things and just seeing it from the ground up, all the process that happens,” Stapleton said. “Once I got into engineering and once I came here, I just found what I really wanted to do through different projects that got me involved with it.” Stapleton has conducted research at CSUF since his freshman year. This is not an easy feat, said Tiwari, who has mentored at least 15 of the Eisenhower scholarship applicants, including Stapleton, during his nine years

at CSUF. Tiwari said he encouraged Stapleton to apply for the fellowship, but Stapleton also wanted to do it for himself. “He started as a freshman and I was so glad that he was interested to do research. Otherwise, freshmen, they don’t have time. And then he continued that with more and more understanding,” Tiwari said. “Now he is handling (research) independently. Until then, he was working under graduate students.” SEE RESEARCH 5

Dean search forums continue Second health dean finalist speaks at open forum DANIELLE ORTENZIO Daily Titan Laurie Roades, Ph.D., one of the three finalists in the search for a dean for the College of Health and Human Development, spoke at the open forum Wednesday where she presented her expertise and experience and outlined the challenges faced by the university. In her presentation, Roades looked at hardships faced by students and faculty at Cal State Fullerton. These issues included how to address constant societal changes in the field of health and human development and how to maintain funding and enhance the quality of academic programs within the college.

Roades is currently the associate dean for academic personnel and resources at the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences at Cal Poly Pomona. Her current job responsibilities include managing all personnel matters — including faculty and staff hiring and evaluation — faculty leaves and grants and faculty and staff development. She also oversees academic resources including classroom, research and office space. Roades acknowledged the importance of engaging in high-impact practices. “How is it that we are going to do the kinds of things that are going to help (students) be successful, want to stay here, want to graduate successfully and open that door to wherever they want to go when they leave?” Roades asked. SEE DEAN

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Study abroad available for intersession

News

Students looking for study abroad programs can now choose to go to Spain or Vietnam over the 3 winter break

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PATRICK DO / DAILY TITAN

Laurie Rhodes, Ph.D., one of the candidates for dean of the College of Health and Human Development, speaks with Provost José Luis Cruz after her open forum Wednesday.

Slice of Life: Student visits Getty Villa

Features

Despite a busy weekend, a student finally fulfilled her desire to see a vibrant museum and 5 its gardens

Titans welcomed keynote speaker Richard Flory, Ph.D., yesterday to discuss “The Spiritual and Religious Lives of Young(er) Adults” as part of Cal State Fullerton’s “Religious Talks” series. Flory, director of research at the University of Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Culture, was one of seven speakers to present during the three-day event, which was organized by the CSUF Department of Sociology and the Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) International Sociology Honor Society. AKD hosts the speaker series every year with topics such as drugs, gender, sexuality, race and other social hot topics, said Liz Sanchez, student representative of the honor society. “Religion is something that just never came up, yet it impacts us as individuals and society as a whole on such a macro level,” Sanchez said. Flory covered a range of topics throughout his speech, conveying to students the importance of understanding society and culture through the lens of religion. “Religious institutions are important to society for particular reasons, even if you’re not religious,” Flory said. The current state of flux with large-scale organizations puts the future of religious institutions into question, he said. This week’s talk series examined multiple religious perspectives and case studies on the benefits of faith and religion, but Flory’s intention as keynote speaker was not to get students personally interested in religion. “In a way it’s for (students) to understand that religion is a good lens through which to understand larger trends in society,” Flory said. The lectures are a good way for younger adults to think about what’s in the future in terms of their associations and beliefs, he said. Throughout his speech, Flory used statistical data to demonstrate the increase in rates of nonreligious youth over the years. SEE RELIGION

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Men’s soccer closes out road trip with a win

Sports

Titans deny Cal State Northridge redemption with a 1-0 win Wednesday night at the Performance 8 Soccer Field VISIT US AT: DAILYTITAN.COM


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