Tuesday April 28, 2015

Forums begin in search for new Arts dean News Tuesday April 28, 2015

Haze clouds smoking ban

Titans seek revenge against USC Trojans

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Sports

The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

Volume 97 Issue 46

A murderous love for carnivorous plants

Comm faculty support editorial

Questions remain two years after smoking ban

Resolution shows support for more transparency

ALEX GROVES Daily Titan

STEPHANIE GOMEZ Daily Titan

Nearly every day classes are in session at Cal State Fullerton, puffs of smoke fill the air from multiple students gathered outside the Humanities Building to smoke cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

It’s been a common scene for multiple semesters despite the fact that a smoking ban was implemented on campus nearly two years ago, in August 2013.

Smokers on campus haven’t been given tickets, they haven’t been fined and they haven’t been put on probation for smoking violations.

Rather, Cal State Fullerton has relied on a system of outreach efforts by using organized groups of students to spread information about the ban and about various smoking cessation programs, said university spokesman Christopher Bugbee in an email.

Programs such as the Fresh Air Advocate program have been in place since the ban began.

The peer enforcement program uses a dedicated group of students who walk the campus, take notes about smoking violations and distribute materials such as gum packets and brochures, Bugbee said.

Faculty of the Department of Communications unanimously voted Friday to adopt a resolution supporting the Daily Titan editorial “Transparency? Not at CSUF,” published April 23.

The resolution created by the Department of Communications was to thank the Academic Senate for its support of the Daily Titan and to voice their own support, said Jason Shepard, Ph.D., chair of the department.

The April 23 editorial called for a better exchange between CSUF’s Strategic Communications department and student journalists. The Academic Senate passed its own resolution April 23 supporting the Daily Titan and its call for increased transparency throughout the university.

“I think our faculty believe the office of Strategic Communications has demeaned, belittled and attacked our students for many years and we stand behind the Daily Titan in letting the public know about the lack of transparency they face on a regular basis,” Shepard said.

Originally the idea of the resolution was proposed by Mel Opotowsky, a communications lecturer and long-time journalist who, along with Shepard, brought it to the faculty meeting last Friday.

SEE SMOKING 3

FIONA PITT / DAILY TITAN

The American pitcher plant (above) is just one of the campuses genus of carnivorous plants within the Biology Greenhouse Complex.

The plant is a passive trap but when insects enter it, they’re sucked dry by digestive enzymes and exoskeleton.

Carnivorous plants feast on more than just sunlight FIONA PITT Daily Titan A rusted, covert side gate leads to the Biology Greenhouse Complex. The mission—to fulfill a murderous love affair with the dozens of carnivorous plants nested within Cal State Fullerton’s campus.

Quietly, hundreds of varieties of flowers, shrubs and trees sit, unruffled, void of human life. Most don’t move without the help of wind, but

some don’t even need that.

Found tending one of CSUF’s few grown corpse flowers, Edward Read, the Biology Greenhouse Complex’s instructional support technician and manager of the complex prepares for another reeking bloom, the stench of a stinky cat, he described.

Read claimed he doesn’t talk to plants, but as he skillfully guided the way through rows and rooms of the greenhouse, through plants he’s grown, traded or bred himself, it’s easy to think otherwise. The first stop was the American pitcher plant, scientifically known as the Sarraceniaceae, native to southeast U.S. all the way up to

Canada. Long tubular stalks shoot up from their pots.

Some have burgundy blossoms, some with different patterns of white and purple, vein-like openings where its handsome colors and patterns curl into a deadly, pendulous trap.

Passive is hardly the word to describe the pitcher’s trap.

It produces a sweet nectar, from its glands to attract insects, luring them to the lid where downward pointing hairs nudge the bug closer to the opening and down into a waxy walled pitfall. The insects feet glob up with wax as they struggle to escape, plunging deeper into the stalk with the help of inward hairs, jamming them further

down into their demise.

“For demonstrations, I like to do a Sarracenia autopsy,” Read said. Sometimes, the plants green tube becomes almost black with all the insects it’s caught.

They get most of their energy through sunlight, “which is the coolest thing about plants,” but they use insects to supplement what they don’t get from their roots, Read said. Read has seen up to 100 or 200 insects caught in a pitcher.

“Some of them get full of ants, you lose count, because all you see is body parts ... ‘body part soup,’” he said.

SEE PLANTS

SEE COMMUNICATIONS 2

4

The journey from India toward Intel Two cousins take on new culture and new cuisine RYAN TILLMAN For the Daily Titan Two cousins, Elango Dhanasekaran, 23, and Navina Rajendran, 21, are from a southern state near the tip of India called, Tamil Nadu. They left their hometown to pursue master’s degrees in computer engineering at Cal State Fullerton. Dhanasekaran makes computer chips and Rajendran wants to get into the business of cellphone signals.

The journey from Tamil Nadu to Fullerton has the cousins missing certain hometown remedies, however, the new Southern California residents have been able to find a shimmer of familiarity in the air.

“I feel like I am in my hometown because we enjoy the same climate as here,” Rajendran said.

Mainly known for its climate, the cousins said Tamil Nadu has many tourists. Typically 40 percent of tourists from Australia go for the weather,

COURTESY OF FLICKR USER MARMONTEL

COURTESY OF NAVINA RAJENDRAN

Rajendran and her cousin, Elango Dhanasekaran’s hometown of Tamil Nadu, India. The cousins said the state is rich with history, languages, heritage and temples.

Navina Rajendran (center) is currently working on her master’s degree in computer engineering with her cousin.

Rajendran said “You’ll find more floral. Its a greenish land and we have less pollution,” Dhanasekaran said about their hometown.

Climate wasn’t the only compliment the cousins had for their hometown.

The variety of culture is even greater than the “melting pot” California so often claims. One of the biggest differences Rajendran has

said. Dhanasekaran’s father is a professor and mother a homemaker. He would practice cricket on his spare time back home but said that in India, studies are the most important thing.

“In India (sports) is not a career it’s just a hobby. Here it’s a career,” Dhanasekaran said.

Rajendran was also a volleyball player but

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noticed since coming to Fullerton was the surprising lack of diversity compared to her hometown, she said.

“We have more heritage and culture. We have a lot of temples, which have a history that goes back around 2,000 years 5,000 years back,” Dhanasekaran said.

In Tamil Nadu, there are approximately 100 different

cultures and more languages, Rajendran said.

“There, there’s more linguistics around me. Here I think English and Spanish are the major languages, but back in my country there are a number of local languages,” Rajendran said.

Back in India, everybody is associated with family, here they are independent, Dhanasekaran

stopped to concentrate on her education. Sports are something to do only in spare time, she said. “In India (sports) is not our ambition,” Dhanasekaran said.

“Here the people can do anything. Anything means you can sing in the road at 12 p.m., but India it is not possible,” Dhanasekaran said.

SEE INTERNATIONAL

4

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NEWS

PAGE 2 APRIL 28, 2015 TUESDAY

DTBRIEFS State of emergency declared

SVETLANA GUKINA / DAILY TITAN

Dale Merrill, currently dean of the College of Performing Arts at Chapman University, spoke Monday during an open forum as a candidate for the new dean for the College of the Arts. Merrill is the first of four candidates being considered for the position. Each candidate will present this week.

FOR THE RECORD It is Daily Titan policy to correct factual errors printed in the publication. Corrections will be published on the subsequent issue after an error is discovered and will appear on page 2. Errors on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page.

Corrections will also be made to the online version of the article.

Please contact Editor-in-Chief Samuel Mountjoy at (657) 278-5815 or at editorinchief@dailytitan.com to report any errors.

Forums begin in search for Arts dean First candidate is current faculty member at Chapman SVETLANA GUKINA Daily Titan

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The first open forum for the new dean of the College of the Arts was held Monday, and featured Dale Merrill, the current dean of the College of Performing Arts at Chapman University.

Merrill is the first of four candidates for the position, all of whom will be visiting throughout the week.

Merrill said he was referred for the position by dean of the College of the Arts at Cal State Long Beach, Cyrus Parker-Jeannette.

Merrill is interested in working at Cal State Fullerton because it has a larger and more diverse student body than Chapman University, he said.

It is important that CSUF continues the legacy of leadership as one of the top higher education institution for the visual and performing arts, Merrill said.

“There is legacy here, and people know about it,” he said. “Promoting that legacy would be really important to me.”

He said CSUF should

engage in not only developing innovative practices, but also sharing them with others to expand its community involvement through developing new partnerships and relationships.

He also mentioned that, as dean, he would look into upgrading facilities and technology at CSUF and would like to work to bring attention to the achievements of the university’s College of the Arts.

During the Q&A session, Merrill was asked to describe his management style.

Merrill said he believes in collaboration and transparency among employees, and strives to use data to drive decision making, he said.

During his presentation, Merrill spoke about the issues art students and faculty face.

In particular, he discussed the problem of validation and assessment.

He said art students often don’t get enough recognition for the work they do, because it is assumed to be fun and easy.

“The thing about validation and assessment is this mistaken assumption that studying arts in college is fun and easy and anybody can do it,” he said. “It is fun, but it takes an incredible amount of work and incredible amount of passion.”

He also emphasized that

education should not be perceived as simply a way to get a job, but should be viewed as a life-long endeavor.

“You’re learning how to learn, you’re learning how to research, you’re learning how to critically think, and that’s going to last you your whole life,” he said.

Merrill said, right now, students’ success is measured by their effective employment.

Instead, he said, it should be measured by important things like knowledge, comprehension, application and analysis.

Jim Taulli, Interim Dean of the College of the Arts, said the College of the Arts has been on the same road for many years, and it has been a very successful practice. It is time for the next step, he said, and bringing in a dean from outside CSUF could allow the college to reap the benefits of a fresh perspective.

“I just believe, from my perspective, it is time for someone who has a brand new energy, a brand new innovative (way of) thinking who might be able to take the college to a brand new place,” he said.

The search committee will continue holding open forums Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2-3 p.m. in Steven G. Mihaylo Hall room 3230 for the remaining three finalists.

Communications: Department passes support for editorial CONTINUED FROM

1

Both say this is the first time they recall a resolution like this being created.

The document titled “ Resolution in Support of the Daily Titan” listed several statements including: • Whereas the faculty of the Department of Communications believes that more cooperative engagement by university administrators with student journalists will result in better public relations for the university.

• Whereas the faculty of the Department of Communications has provided the university administration with many pages of documentation of rude, dismissive, hostile and evasive treatment of its students by the office of Strategic Communications dating back to at least 2010.

The previous department chair, Diane Witmer, Ph.D.,

spent significant amounts of time trying to resolve the issues between students, faculty and Strategic Communications Shepard said, and the faculty were provided documents of the attempts to resolve these issues.

Documents including multiple emails from Christopher Bugbee, Director of Media Relations, were considered when faculty were creating the resolution. One email sent from Bugbee to a student reporter said, “It’s not your tone, or your angle or your edge that I find problematic. It’s your incompetence as a reporter.”

Concern for the poor treatment of student journalists and poor quality of public relations from the Department of Strategic Communications were among the reasons the resolution was created, Shepard said.

During the meeting a suggestion was raised to name a committee to monitor President Mildred García’s

response to these issues and follow up if necessary, Opotowsky said.

“I hope the resolution sends a clear message that the department of communication values strong independent student journalism and proactive strategic communications from the university,” Shepard said.

The faculty was overwhelmingly supportive of the Daily Titan bringing these issues to the public’s attention, Shepard said.

“I think this not just a problem for the Daily Titan but it’s a problem for our image at the university. We should be open and the public has a right to that information,” Opotowsky said.

Opotowsky’s hope is that García will make significant changes in direction and personnel, and that university officials will be given direction to provide requested documents and answers from the media.

The Governor of Maryland has declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in Baltimore after protesters violently clashed with police Monday, CNN reported.

Gov. Larry Hogan activated the National Guard after the protests sparked by the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died in police custody last week of a spinal injury, turned violent, with protesters throwing rocks at police.

The riots erupted on the same day as Gray’s funeral.

Video shows rioters looting stores and, in one case, setting fire to a CVS Pharmacy.

The riots came after Baltimore Police received threats that gangs in the area had planned to work together to attack officers.

- CYNTHIA WASHICKO

Long Beach family calls for inquiry A Long Beach family is calling for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the death of their family member, an unarmed man shot and killed by Long Beach police, the LA Times reported.

Hector Morejon was killed Thursday in Long Beach, after an officer thought he was pointing a gun at police during a trespassing and vandalism incident. Morejon’s family is calling for an investigation to determine why he was shot.

Long Beach police reported that they received calls that multiple people were trespassing and vandalizing a vacant apartment, and responded to find a man inside the apartment. Police say the man turned toward them and the officer thought he had a gun.

There were no weapons found at the scene.

- CYNTHIA WASHICKO

Arrest made in firebombing A 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a firebombing of a South El Monte tire shop killed three and injured a firefighter, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Roberto Fuentes was taken into custody by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies Sunday.

The fire started at Cheque Tires Saturday after someone reportedly threw a Molotov cocktail into the business and then drove away.

There had been a party at the shop the Friday before the firebombing, and detectives are attempting to determine whether there is any connection between the party and the fire.

Fuentes was arrested after detectives viewed footage from a security camera near the shop.

- CYNTHIA WASHICKO

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NEWS

PAGE 3 TUESDAY APRIL 28, 2015

Smoking: Enforcement questioned 1

CONTINUED FROM

The university spent roughly $30,000 during the first year of the ban, a number that then fell to $15,000 during the current academic year.

The initial expenditures included startup costs for the program to put up campus signage and provide a web link for students to report instances of smoking violations, John Beisner, director of risk management for the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, said in an e-mail.

From the start of the 2015 until April 8, 11 smoking violations have been reported on the website. More than 70 violations have been made over the near-two year period the website has been available to students.

Beisner said such methods have proven effective, but declined to elaborate about how.

Daniel Contreras, 20, a music major, is one of many students who smoke outside the Humanities Building.

He said he has never been approached by a Fresh Air Advocate.

Contreras isn’t alone.

All student smokers interviewed on a single day in the area behind Humanities said they had never been told they couldn’t smoke behind Humanities.

Contreras comes to the back of the Humanities building on a daily basis to enjoy a cigarette and the area can get busy when he’s there; on a regular basis he’ll see anywhere between five and 20 people lighting up, he said.

Kevin Tran, 23, an English major said he finds the smoking ban regulations unclear and thinks the area behind Humanities is an appropriate location to smoke, since it doesn’t appear that anyone enforces the ban there.

“At first I was kind of iffy because I thought it was banned and that they would regulate it or something,” Tran said. “But after a while, smoking by myself, I thought, ‘I don’t think they

really care.’”

Tran said he asked other smokers behind Humanities if it was OK to smoke and was assured by students and teachers alike that it was OK and that the ban was not enforced.

Reyes Fidalgo, Ph.D., a Spanish professor and chair of the department of Modern Languages and Literature, said she is not against a ban but opposes the ambivalence of officials when it comes to enforcement.

When the ban was first being proposed by the Academic Senate, Fidalgo stood against it when others said it would be beneficial to students and staff.

She said she worried about the funding of the ban and its effectiveness. The ban was ultimately approved unanimously by the Senate.

“My main concern then was I did not see how we could reinforce the ban,” Fidalgo said. “To do that, first of all, you cannot just punish the people; you have to give them programs that make them aware of the dangers of smoking.”

Fidalgo, who said she would like to see a clearer enforcement body in place for the ban, has stood against proposed enforcement alternatives, such as probation for students who are caught smoking, she said.

Fidalgo believes that for the ban to be effective, there needs to be a conversation about what could make it better and follow through to make it happen.

“If we went so far as to put this together, what are

AMANDA SHARP / DAILY TITAN

Students smoke behind the Humanities Building. Some student smokers said they thought the area was an appropriate space to smoke, or that they were unaware of the ban.

we going to do next?” Fidalgo said. “Because to have it only in title, makes no sense.”

Beisner, who took more than a month and a half to

answer questions directly after first sending the Daily Titan to Media Relations Director Christopher Bugbee, declined to answer Daily

Titan questions about whether there is a need for expansion of programs as well as questions specific to the situation behind Humanities.

Timeline of smoking ban information requests The Daily Titan spent nearly two months attempting to acquire information for this story March 4, 2015 • Daily Titan news editor Alex Groves requests an interview with John Beisner, executive director of risk management for the office of Environmental Health and Safety on the smoking ban that went into effect in August 2013.

March 4, 2015 • Christopher Bugbee, Cal State Fullerton’s director of Media Relations, asks Groves to send him questions and begins to faciliate Groves’ inquiry.

March 9, 2015 • Groves submits questions to Christopher Bugbee.

March 9, 2015 • Bugbee tells Groves to not expect answers until March 13 or following week.

March 24, 2015 • Answers to questions have still not arrived. Groves asks about status of answers, as almost three weeks had passed since initial interview request.

March 24, 2015 • Bugbee tells Groves answers likely will come that week.

April 6, 2015 • Answers have still not arrived. Groves requests status update regarding answers to his questions.

April 6, 2015 • Bugbee tells Groves answers will arrive by April 7 or 8.

April 8, 2015 • Still no answers by end of business day.

Groves emails Beisner directly and copies administrators.

April 8, 2015 • Groves receives answers to questions from Bugbee one hour and 44 minutes after email to Beisner and administrators. Answers are short, lack context and are provided with disclaimer, which states that answers, “may neither be quoted nor attributed to specific individuals without negotiation case by case.”

April 8, 2015 • Groves requests attribution from Bugbee.

April 8, 2015 • Bugbee tells Groves he must identify the material he wishes to quote and attribute.

April 9, 2015 • Groves requests attribution to a specific individual and Bugbee denies him that.

April 9, 2015 • Groves requests in-person interview with Beisner for “reaction quotes,” in accordance with Strategic Communications’ policy.

April 9, 2015 • Bugbee states Groves must submit questions by email.

April 10, 2015 • Groves submits questions.

April 13, 2015 • Bugbee states it will be Tuesday or Wednesday before Beisner can review questions.

April 24, 2015 • Beisner returns responses via email “in interest of time.” He tells Groves he will not be available for interview until April 29, 2015. Beisner declines to answer questions about: Student perceptions that area behind the Humanities Building is an appropriate location to smoke, professors telling students it is OK to smoke and whether there is a need for expansion of Fresh Air Advocate Program.

April 27, 2015 • The story is published.

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FEATURES

PAGE 4 APRIL 28, 2015 TUESDAY

Plants: Chemistry’s ‘body part soup’ CONTINUED FROM

1

Another passive trap, the tropical pitcher plant, or Nepenthes, native to Southeast Asia, has a slippery opening and “a pitfall,” as a consequence to its tempting nectar.

Bees, wasps, moths, lizards, mice, rats, birds, have all fallen victim to this passive, but mortal plant as it can grow to the size of a rugby football.

“Its full of liquid. So it’s like a mug,” Read said about the tropical pitcher. “They call it a monkey cup because monkeys will drink out of them, supposedly.”

The active traps in the greenhouse are the Venus fly traps, or Dionaea muscipula, the “underappreciated,” aquatic butterwort, as well, the sundew, part of the Droseraceae family.

The pink, worm-like stems of the sundew curls around to catch its prey when its tentacles sense movement. A sundew in the complex recently took down a moth which was, aptly besieged in the sundews “pretty” flowers, Read described.

“It almost makes them like an animal,” Read said.

The Venus flytrap has a pseudo-memory. It has trigger hairs that, if touched twice within two seconds, will close. “It’s all chemistry,” Read said.

“I would have to say the Venus flytrap is still one of my favorite plants because it’s so bizarre,” Read said.

Read has trekked through jungles in Brazil, places where only scientists are allowed to venture. He went hunting for carnivorous plants on the tabletop mountains of Brazil, called the Tepuis and saw a new type of sun pitcher, endemic to the tabletops.

He’s also been to Mexico where they found a new species of butterwort.

“When you’re a biologist you dream of going to all these different ecosystems and the jungle was one that always attracted me,” Read said.

Read’s fascination with the carnivorous plants goes back to when his mom bought him his first Venus flytrap from a department store when he was

about five.

Read’s father had a greenhouse and propagation room.

When told to clean the overgrowth, while in high school, Read thought to himself, ‘What am I going to do with all of this?’ And right at that moment, he looked down to an empty pot. He picked it up and the label on it read, “Venus flytrap.”

“It was that pot from that first plant that I got when I was a little kid. And that was a curse because after that, I went to the nursery and I bought one,” Read said. “I went to the library, bought some books, saw how many species there are, and found out, I had the collector’s bug.”

Read soon accumulated a collection of carnivorous plants by buying them, propagating them and trading them in the urban area of Hawthorn. After being told about CSUF’s collection of carnivorous plants, Read met Leo Song, the past manager of the greenhouse who got him involved in tissue culture, cloning plants in test tubes, while he was still in junior college.

“When I heard Leo was going to retire, I loved this place as a student, I applied,” Read said.

Now, Read grows edibles.

“I like plants that pay the rent,” Read said. Things that are expensive in the store, or things that will taste better, like tomatoes.

Into the self-sustained movement, Read hopes to one day have his own orchard or plants with a purpose, like medicinal plants.

CSUF has a program called Urban Agriculture Community-based Research Experience which studies sustainability and grow nutrient-dense foods like blueberries, for those who otherwise can’t afford more expensive fruits and vegetables.

Co-director of the U-ACRE program, Joel Abraham, called it a way to “support self-efficacy.”

Though it depends on how one grew up, there’s been a disconnection to the natural world, Abraham said.

“And there’s evidence that

FIONA PITT / DAILY TITAN

The Venus flytrap, or scientifically known as Dionaea muscipula is one of the more commonly known carnivorous plant. Its pseudomemory allows it to sense when an insect lands upon its leaves then clamp down to begin the digestive process.

it’s important,” Abraham said. Something he teaches in urban ecology is, “there’s a number of papers that show people’s recovery times from illness if they have a window facing a forest versus a window facing inside or no window.”

Having exposure to nature changes how we heal ourselves and how we interact with the world, Abraham said.

“It’s never meaningless to engage in life,” Abraham said.

Carnivorous plants move, their colors and sculptural design is a confident touch to interior design and they’re useful for a multitude of reasons.

Set a sundew next to a bowl of fruit, make sure to keep it quenched and see why.

Read will be having an introduction to carnivorous plants on Wednesday, at 11 a.m. in the Fullerton Arboretum. Visit www.fullertonarboretum.com/Carnivorous-Plants/ to apply.

FIONA PITT / DAILY TITAN

The sundew part of the Droseraceae family (above) has a sticky substance, as if wet from dew, that it uses to catch its prey. The sticky tentacles wrap around the insect and restrain it.

International: Students sparing the spice 1

The surprises they’ve encountered have no effect however, on what they came here to do. Rajendran dream’s job is to work for Intel. The cousins both plan to apply to internships next year for a position at Intel or another well-regarded company like, Boeing.

The pair chose CSUF because of the respected faculty research in their field of computer engineering, Dhanasekaran said. Both bubble with energy as they describe the nuances of their field. Designing computer processors and signal receivers that will power smartphones of the future is

a project that Dhanasekaran works on.

Rajendran’s studies concern signal design for cellphones. She said that internships are mainly hiring signal designers.

“Its a part of communication,” Rajendran said.

“For communication wavelength, signal is the base.”

They both find classes here easier than the structured exam patterns back in India.

There, they explained, is a standard pattern, and the grades are mostly based on one final exam.

“Here patterns are lenient—it depends upon the professor,” Dhanasekaran said.

The leniency and

friendliness at CSUF has made Dhanasekaran and Rajendran fans of Fullerton.

“Everyone is quite friend-

“

comfort of home.

“I miss my parents, my family,” Dhanasekaran and Rajendran both said in unison.

(In India) there’s more lingustics around me ... but back in my country there are a number of local languages.

“

CONTINUED FROM

NAVINA RAJENDRAN Computer Engineering ly and also the professors are more dynamic,” which Rajendran jokes was the same answer to her visa question. “The main reason (to come) was for the research. When I compared to other universities, the research was quite different.”

Only, nothing is like the

A close second the cousins miss from India was the food.

“We give more importance to spices. Here we are not using that much spice,” Rajendran said.

Normally they cook food with a lot of spices and not

just one food, lots of variety, they said. For dinner they consume more than 10 varieties of food in small quantities.

“Our food is like our medicine. Turmeric in every product of the food and turmeric helps ... it’s like a medicine,” Dhanasekaran said.

Dhanasekaran and Rajendran commend CSUF’s good standard of education as they sat down to engage in a game with fellow international students during a weekly hourlong coffee break outside Aloha Java. With them, Jean Hotta, the international student advisor, brings different international board games for all to play.

The meet-up also serves as a place for students wanting to travel abroad get a feel for other countries, Hotta said.

Tamil Nadu may sound far to those who have never been to India. But the similarities these two international students found between a far away state in Southern India and Fullerton, California are small things—the weather or a friend. Being able to dance in the streets and engage in projects, not just tests, have the two cousins smiling and happy to be carrying out their graduate studies at CSUF. Now we just need to help them get their hands on some turmeric.

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FEATURES

PAGE 5 TUESDAY APRIL 28, 2015

Veterans share their stories ALEX FAIRBANKS Daily Titan Soon-to-be Cal State Fullerton graduate Esmeralda Isordia is not your typical college senior. She’s a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and is now one step closer to earning her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Isordia, who graduates in May, was one of many student veteran speakers who had the opportunity to address friends, family and fellow veterans on Saturday, at the 8th Annual Veteran’s Appreciation Night.

The Titan Student Union Pavilion was packed on Saturday night to acknowledge student veterans, like Isordia, who spoke on overcoming adversity, and credited the support of her family.

Isordia was just one of the many graduating CSUF student veterans honored during Veteran’s Appreciation Night, which was organized by the Student Veteran Association and the Veteran Resource Center.

Veterans have gained an enormous amount of experience through their military service, said Jessica Harvey business major and Student Veteran Association president.

“We’re strong, we’re responsible and we have goals and dreams, and we came back to school and we are … not going to stop,” Harvey said.

Isordia is one of those veteran students who has

not stopped as she continues to progress towards her own dreams.

She was born in Colima, Mexico. Her father, who was living in the United States at the time, passed away when she was 5 years old. A few years later her mother decided to take her back to the United States, Isordia said.

She lived in the United States and went through high school as an undocumented citizen. She later applied to become a U.S. citizen., a process that took about five years. While the petition was in process she

“

We’re strong, responsible and we have goals and dreams ... we came back to school and we are ... not going to stop.

“

Veterans share trials abroad and are proud to be back at CSUF

JESSICA HARVEY Student Veteran Association decided to join the U.S. Navy.

After 10 years of service in the military, she came back to school and attended Mount San Antonio College to get her associate’s degree. After that she transferred to CSUF to get her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

“I want to be a victim advocate,” Isordia said. Victim advocates work with and help children or adults that are victims of sexual assault or domestic violence. “That is something that I would really love to do.”

All along the journey her family was there to support

ALEX FAIRBANKS / DAILY TITAN

Esmeralda Isordia gives a speech at the 8th Annual Veteran’s Appreciation Night Saturday, thanking her family and telling her story about her journey and transition from being enlisted in the military back into academic and civilian life.

her, Isordia said during her speech. The transition from the military to academic life was not an easy one.

Her family, she said, were her only friends.

It wasn’t until she met Catherine Ward, the Veteran Resource Center coordinator, that she felt like she belonged, Isordia said.

Later, she decided to join the Student Veteran Association where she made many friends and also met her fiance, Kien Do, a CSUF business major alumnus and veteran.

Isordia wasn’t the only Titan that gave a speech that night telling a story of her journey and experiences.

Robert V. Bobby McDonald, is a U.S. Navy Vietnam war veteran who graduated from CSUF in 1975 with a degree in kinesiology and a minor in business. McDonald played basketball for CSUF. He also gave a message about perseverance, hard work and abilities of student veterans.

McDonald has been helping the veteran community for years. Recently, McDonald has been discussing with others about the Federal VACA Act, which waives additional out-ofstate tuition fees for veterans, Director of the Veteran Resource Center Lui

Amador said.

He has engaged with many people, including Assemblywoman Young Kim of the 65th district, in order to help expedite California legislation AB 13 for community colleges and AB 27 for California State Universities, which needs to pass in order for the VACA act to work, Amador said.

They sang the national anthem, had a moment of silence for prisoners of war, gave out scholarships and recognized the entire community as a whole.

The message of the night was to show the hard work of student veterans and to showcase their place in the

community.

At the end of Isordia’s speech, she talked about how the Veteran Resource Center became her second home.

She urged the veterans that night to educate people who don’t understand veterans and see them as a stigma.

“It is up to us to show them who we are. We owe it to ourselves and to our fallen brothers and sisters,” Isordia said. “Only then will people know that we are resilient, hard working and will face any challenge that comes our way, but ultimately no different than them.”

DEVIN ULMER / DAILY TITAN

Dan Baird demonstrates how to twist and braid a rope in way that ensures its security. Dan and his younger brother, Michael Baird, believe, “The more you know the less you need to carry.”

Baird brothers train for outdoor survival skills Learning what it takes to survive by doing just that DEVIN ULMER Daily Titan A caravan of roughly 30 people followed a dusty trail that led to a desolate side of the mountain, away from the hustle and bustle of the 57 freeway. Dan Baird, 31, California Survival School instructor, led the adventurers through the rough terrain in the Fire Scout Reservation in Brea, California to instruct them on how to survive in the wild.

Dan Baird and his younger brother Michael Baird, 28, take adventurers to another level by teaching others how living off the land can be useful, educational and enjoyable. They have advised survival trips in numerous parts of the world like Mexico, jumped out of helicopters without a parachute and even sunk a ship.

The survival school, is family-run and the largest in California, according to their website.

The caravan split up into two classes, Core Survival Skills and Ancient Artisan Tools.

The Core Survival Skills class covers what they call the “sacred order,” which are the body’s basic needs to survive in the wild or emergency situations. The class teaches how to assess those needs, along with how to prioritize needs between shelter, water, fire and food—and properly satisfy them in a scare environment.

“About 80 percent of people who die in the wilderness don’t plan on being out overnight … you might be driving somewhere far away and your car breaks down, you never know. For that reason, I think it’s pretty important”, Brett Lockhart, instructor of the Core Survival Skills class said.

The second class, Ancient Artisan Tools, instructed students on surviving in nature with minimal supplies. They crafted ropes from thin pieces of fiber resembling twain.

Dan easily demonstrated how to twist and braid the rope that ensures it security. Ancient Artisan Tools

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focused on advanced projects, like making animals traps.

“You go from the beginning of the class where you have no idea what to do without modern tools, to the end of class where you can produce a high dead ball trap completely with materials gathered from your area,” Dan said.

The school started three years ago after Dan and younger brother Michael weren’t happy with their office desk jobs. Dan was a fulltime accountant for about a year and Michael worked at a brokerage.

From a young age, the brothers were involved in numerous outdoor activities which was something their father and grandfather had instilled in them, Michael said.

As an expression of their love for the outdoors, the Baird brothers want to get young people excited about being outdoors, which Michael said is a beautiful thing.

All the resources available if one knows what to do.

“If they’re not going to panic, all of a sudden life becomes a lot less scary and a lot more more room for opportunity,” Michael said.

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OPINION

PAGE 6 APRIL 28, 2015 TUESDAY

Letter to the Editor In Response to “Transparency? Not at CSUF”

BY WALTER BARANGER - SENIOR EDITOR, NEWS OPERATIONS, NEW YORK TIMES To the editor: Your editorial on Thursday is a terrific example of giving a governmental body plenty of time to ponder a misguided policy before resorting to a front-page response.

The Daily Titan has a long history of defending the principles of open government and a vigorous student press.

In the late 1980s, there was a brouhaha over a series of articles about the accreditation of one of CSUF’s larger schools. Daily Titan funding was threatened.

In the early 1980s I was the Daily Titan’s managing editor and was nearly arrested when I refused to leave a student government meeting that was being closed in violation of the state’s Ralph M. Brown Act. The meeting stayed open.

More than a decade earlier, bundles of The Daily Titan were illegally seized by state officers because Governor Reagan’s administration objected to the coverage of student protests on campus.

Because the student body is virtually replaced every five or six years and the university relies on adjunct faculty who may not have lengthy service at CSUF, even recent lessons in campus openness quickly dissipate. This is a reminder that the CSU system is a government body, and an important one to every Californian. Open government has to be more than a slogan.

I congratulate The Daily Titan’s editors on a thoughtful and measured response to this threat

Letter to the Editor In Response to “Transparency? Not at CSUF“

BY GREG SEBOURN MAYOR OF FULLERTON Sam, It takes courage to publish an editorial that is critical of those (and their staff) responsible for facilitating your education. I hope this editorial brings about some positive change that promotes an open dialog between the Daily Titan and the CSUF administration. So much can be learned and gained from an exchange of information if both sides are willing. It’s unfortunate that an administrator would employ delay tactics to that exchange. As you aptly point out, it begs the question, what are they hiding?

You will likely face pressure to do something contrary to your ethics from a variety of sources. Stay the course.

Sincerely, Greg Sebourn, PLS Mayor City of Fullerton

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to the public’s right to know. Congratulations also to The Daily Titan’s adviser, Bonnie Stewart; the Communications Department chair, Dr. Jason M. Shepard; and the dean of the College of Communications, Dr. S. Irene Matz, for fostering an atmosphere in which these student journalists felt that they could air this important matter.

No doubt they’ll hear from President Mildred García. If President García is the smart person I think she is, that inevitable meeting will give her an opportunity to announce that henceforth journalists seeking interviews with campus officials will be accommodated on the record by either the requested official or a direct manager.

Make no mistake—corporate communications departments play an important part in both private and public organizations. College sports, for example, have long embraced sports information directors as a valuable way to disseminate information to the reporters. However, even in the tightly controlled world of NCAA athletics, sports information directors rarely prevent reporters from talking directly with students or coaches. Locker room and post-game interviews are bedrocks of sports reporting, and those chats often run at tangents to the actual game.

No journalist or reader wants filtered or varnished information with no independent way to directly attribute or verify it, or to follow up with additional questions. Journalists deal directly with sources so that the public can be sure that important questions are answered candidly and expertly in a

timely fashion. Cal State Fullerton is crammed with experts in their fields who should be able to speak for themselves or, if they freely choose, decline to do so—administration, faculty, staff and students alike.

Likewise, no graduate student would attempt to publish a thesis using information filtered through corporate communications, with no access to original sources; no faculty member would permit such a venture. Why are the Daily Titan’s student journalists any different?

To the students who invest much of the their future income in pursuit of a Cal State Fullerton degree: Support The Daily Titan in print and electronically. You chose to attend a public university—an outstanding one, at that—and so you have a right to know where your money and your fortunes are going, and that your personal safety is secure during your time on campus. That’s the Daily Titan’s job.

To President García: The good news is that you’ve got some fearless and talented Daily Titan editors who are ready for the job market. I can’t think of a downside to that; can you?

And to the alumni, the trustees of the California State University and the public: Why is there no system-wide CSU goal to reflect the spirit of open government? Must faculty senates and the state legislature prod the trustees? Or are 458,897 students and $17 billion not enough for the public to care about?

Walter R. Baranger, CSUF ‘86

Taking selfies promotes self-love Personal portraits help increase selfesteem for all MARICELA GOMEZ Daily Titan Peace signs, smiles and silly faces are among the many facial expressions that accessorize the camera lens in cell phones.

The selfie craze has become a national pastime in the age of smartphone technology.

Despite the craze, there are many who aren’t too fond of the activity. Some believe taking selfies is vain and attention-seeking, but that’s overgeneralizing. Although selfies are fun, they can be a very personal form of self expression.

Fifty-five percent of millennials have uploaded selfies onto social media websites, more than any other generation, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey.

A total of 26 percent of the American population have taken selfies for virtual sharing on photo or social media sites. These statistics should increase in the future. Despite some criticism, people should take more selfies because it’s a freedom of choice and positive

self expression.

Taking selfies facilitates self and identity exploration, according to Psychology Today.

These photographs allow you to see how others see you.

It offers a different perspective of your image. The person who takes a selfie is conducting their own photoshoot, knowing every angle, emotion, flaw and message to display. It may look like a simple act, but it’s an effective way of expressing yourself.

People upload their selfies online or share them with friends and family because he or she feels a sense of confidence. Why should anyone look down upon the positive emotions someone felt at the time of the photo?

People who take selfies have a pride in their quirky, serious and beautiful facets of their personality. It allows great insight into the things we’re interested in and the emotions we feel.

Because taking a selfie is so easy and intimate, they mean more than having someone else take the photo. There is no need to shy away from selfies due to a fear of criticism.

Taking selfies is an enjoyable activity that captures your self worth. And if we do not

AUSTIN WALLACE / DAILY TITAN

Taking selfies promote positive self expression and fosters an awareness of one’s identity. Let the selfie trend continue.

love ourselves, who will? Although selfies are taken for fun, it’s an easy way of increasing one’s self esteem by learning to be comfortable in one’s skin.

People have the liberty of taking selfies in any form they want. If others don’t like it, they can avoid them.

Cell phones and computers come with built-in cameras to allow users the freedom to

capture whatever they desire.

If snapping selfies encourages self acceptance, then there shouldn’t be a reason to stop taking them.

People should continue to embrace themselves and respect others’ identities.

This will allow us to advance toward a more tolerant and peaceful society. And for that reason, the selfie craze must continue to thrive.

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PAGE 7 TUESDAY APRIL 28, 2015

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That’s okay!

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HOROSCOPES PROVIDED BY: celebrity.yahoo.com/horoscope

ARIES

CANCER

(MARCH 21 - APRIL 19):

Compute expenses before promising the moon.

Imagination paints a picture, and sometimes that’s enough. Today and tomorrow present tempting offers to blow money.

TAURUS

LIBRA

(JUNE 21 - JULY 22):

Set meetings and group events on your calendar today and tomorrow. Friends open doors you weren’t even looking for. They have the info and ideas to make positive change.

LEO

(APRIL 20 - MAY 20):

With both Sun and Moon in your sign, you’re the star today and tomorrow. You’re in your element, and can shine in public glare. Take charge and increase stability. Your confidence is contagious.

GEMINI

(JULY 23 - AUG. 22):

Assume more responsibility over the next few days. Your natural leadership shines (and leads to profit). Provide stability, reliability and a sense of humor. Learn what’s missing from any failures, and make corrections.

VIRGO

(MAY 21 - JUNE 20):

What’s your real wealth? Get philosophical over the next two days. Think about life and death and transitions. If you don’t feel enough love coming in, give more. Your creative abilities can win fame and fortune.

(AUG. 23 - SEPT. 22):

Each new step forward presents new challenges.

Plan for the future today and tomorrow. Don’t travel quite yet. Think, speculate and map out different options. Travel conditions improve.

Find new expenses, though.

(SEPT. 23 - OCT. 22):

Deal with financial obligations today and tomorrow, and keep it solid. Deal with paperwork and institutions. You can substitute ingredients to create luxurious experiences at home for less.

Prioritize health and good food.

SCORPIO

(OCT. 23 - NOV. 21):

You’re not alone. Support your team, and it comes back to you. Compromise and work out details respectfully. Your greatest wealth lies in the network of partners, friends and family who love you.

SAGITTARIUS

(NOV. 22 - DEC. 21):

Chores need attention today and tomorrow.

Provide great service, while balancing your health and well being. Put the oxygen mask on yourself first, so you can help others.

CAPRICORN

(DEC. 22 - JAN. 19):

Simple gourmet cooking sounds good... pamper yourself and your loved ones. Finish work early today and tomorrow, and share your love with special people. Enjoy art, music and talented performers.

AQUARIUS

(JA. 20 - FEB. 18):

Family comes first today and tomorrow. Play in the garden or park, take on a project at home or share some games. Spend time finding out more about what the others like.

PISCES

(FEB. 19 - MARCH 20):

You’re sharp as a tack today and tomorrow.

Study, write and speak. With keen concentration, you get to the heart of the matter. Explain the situation in a way that’s understandable to the masses, and get the message out.

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SPORTS

PAGE 8 APRIL 28, 2015 TUESDAY

Titans seek revenge over USC

Baseball looking to avenge early season loss to the Trojans RYAN WHITEHEAD For The Daily Titan

The Fullerton baseball team is in the middle of a three-way battle for first place in the Big West Conference, but will have to take a quick detour as it heads back to Los Angeles for the second time this season.

While Tuesday’s non-conference game may seem somewhat meaningless, it will serve as an opportunity for revenge, as the Titans head up the I-5 to battle the Trojans of USC. This will be the second matchup between these two teams this season.

In the first matchup, the Trojans spoiled the Titans’ home opener in a 6-4 win.

USC has been tearing this season up with a 30-12 overall record, including an 18-6 record

at home. The Trojans also went undefeated in their first 12 games of the season.

USC currently stands at No. 13 in the Baseball America rankings, having dropped from the No. 10 spot after two losses to Oregon State. CSUF has fared well against ranked opposition this season, but the last match against a ranked opponent didn’t go the Titans’ way as they fell to UCLA in a 7-2 loss in Westwood.

Fullerton comes into the game riding a 22-20 overall record after taking two out of three in their weekend series win over UC Irvine. The Titans are now tied for second place in the Big West along with UC Santa Barbara, with both teams posting an 8-4 conference record, albeit having played three fewer games than the Big West-leading Anteaters.

Junior Josh Vargas currently leads the Titan offense with a .356 batting average to go along with 10 runs batted in and 25 runs scored, while

AMANDA SHARP / DAILY TITAN FILE PHOTO

Cal State Fullerton baseball will head to LA Tuesday for a rematch against USC. The Trojans bested the Titans 6-4 back on Feb. 17, but CSUF will want to split the season series. The Titans will look to juniors Josh Vargas and David Olmedo-Barrera to lead them to victory over USC.

fellow junior David Olmedo-Barrera leads the team in RBIs with 29. The offense was stellar in the Irvine series as the Titans scored seven runs in both of their victories.

The Trojan offense is lead

by junior outfielder Bobby Stahel, who comes in with a .404 batting average to go with three home runs, 25 RBIs and 43 runs scored. Senior catcher Garret Stubbs is also having a spectacular season with a .365

average with 20 RBIs and 39 runs scored.

The Titans are in the heat of the Big West race as the season heads into the final months.

After Tuesday’s game, the last 12 out of 13 games remaining

for Fullerton are against Big West opponents.

First pitch against the Trojans is set for 6 p.m. at Dedeaux Field with the game being broadcasted on the Pac-12 Network.

Vandiver works way into starting lineup The freshman set a school record with a 24-game hit streak STEVE GRANADO For The Daily Titan If you ask freshman softball outfielder Samantha Vandiver about her first season in the Titan blue and orange, she’d giggle and call it “nothing like I ever imagined.” Vandiver was recruited to play at Cal State Fullerton after graduating from Huntington Beach High School, where she was a four-year varsity letterwinner. “I had no idea it was going to be like this at all,” Vandiver said.

But just because Vandiver had a successful high school career does not necessarily mean earning a starting role with a Division I softball program as a freshman would be a breeze. At the end of the fall season, the coaching staff pinpointed some little things that kept her from earning a starting spot.

“Sometimes I would notice

that she would hold back a little bit and she wouldn’t dive for some balls or run some things out,” Assistant Coach Jorge Araujo said.

Araujo attributed Vandiver’s conservative play to possible intimidation of playing on a bigger stage. After fall ball concluded, Araujo was straightforward with Vandiver, telling her to put it all out on the line and go for it. He encouraged her to push herself and work toward earning playing time.

Winning a starting role as a freshman is by no means an easy task. “It was tough in the beginning, I’m not going to lie,” Vandiver said.

But nothing worth attaining comes without determination, and such is true when it comes to No. 3 for the Titans. Vandiver played without hesitation and worked harder, which eventually led to her becoming a starting freshman among seasoned upper classmen.

She currently sits in the national top 20 of offensive performers in all of NCAA Softball, not to mention she’s

only struck out four times all season.

Despite high praise, such as winning Big West Softball Field Player of the Week honors or breaking the CSUF hitting streak record at 24 games, Vandiver refuses to let success in the 2015 campaign faze her and remains humble, Araujo said.

For a person with so much success so early on in their collegiate career, she epitomizes humility. When asked about her success, she only speaks about working harder to earn a starting spot, which she has already done this season.

Much of this determination to always be better can be attributed to another Titan outfielder, Courtney Rodriguez, whom Vandiver sees as a role model. Rodriguez has a reputation of being a hard worker, someone who is not afraid to work “overtime.”

Vandiver looks to Rodriguez as someone with whom she can talk to about past experiences and about what it takes to work her way up through the rankings.

AMANDA SHARP / DAILY TITAN FILE PHOTO

CSUF freshman outfielder Samantha Vandiver has remained humble despite finding success early in her collegiate career. Vandiver set a new school record with a 24-game hitting streak.

Vandiver’s calm nature on the diamond and professionalism off the field has been something she’s carried over ever since Araujo first recruited her in her senior year of high school.

“She doesn’t get caught up

in the hype. She’s a professional,” Araujo said of his young outfielder.

There’s been plenty of hype when it comes to the left fielder and her success is obvious; just take a look at her numbers. Even so, Vandiver

doesn’t take her freshman season for granted.

“For me, just have that mentality of ‘you have not earned that starting position yet’ because you never know what can happen,” Vandiver said.

CSUF men’s golf stays put at seventh after day two The Titans improve on first round, but fail to move up leaderboard JUSTIN PATUANO Daily Titan In terms of strokes, day two of the Big West Golf Championships was an

improvement for the Titans.

The team shot a collective 296 on Monday, four strokes better than their first round.

However, Fullerton still could not move up in the scoreboard, stagnating in seventh place after two rounds with a plus-36 (596).

Freshman Mark Cobey and junior Nico Mendoza were the first two Titans to finish

on Monday. Cobey shot a plus-three (73) and Mendoza shot a plus-eight (78).

Cobey is tied for 30th in the individual leaderboard with a 151 and Mendoza is tied for 38th with a 155 after two rounds.

Senior Ryan Tetrault shot a plus-two (72) and sophomore Kyle De Silva shot a plus-four (74) for the day.

Tetrault leads the team with a score of 148 and is currently tied for 17th on the individual leaderboard, up 10 spots from Sunday.

De Silva and senior Josh Park, who shot a plus-seven (77) Monday, are both tied after two rounds with a plusnine (149).

Leading the pack is David Gazzolo from UC Riverside

and Pete Fernandez from UC Irvine, who jumped up 10 spots, both shooting plus-one (141).

It’s a three-way tie for third, with UC Davis’ Luke Vivolo and Mike Brockington, along with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Justin De Los Santos, all posting a plusthree (143).

UC Davis is on top of the

team leaderboard, up one spot from Sunday. UC Irvine and UC Riverside, the leader after day one, are not too far behind. They are both trailing by two strokes.

Tee time for the third and final round is 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. The 2014 Big West champion Titans will need to gain a lot of ground if they want to regain the title.

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