Transgender activist to speak on campus News Tuesday May 5, 2015
City council to make decision on shelter
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News
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Volume 97 Issue 50
Dressing the deceased
Jury sides with CSU Students claimed fee hikes were breach of contract SPENCER CUSTODIO Daily Titan
JACKIE TAMBARA / DAILY TITAN
Lauren Marquez (above) is a funeral director at The Gardens Crematory in Anaheim, a family owned business where Marquez takes pride in helping others throughout the process of planning, processing and relieving them of a death. Marquez is standing in front of the warehouse freezers keeping the bodies.
It takes a certain someone to work in a mortuary JACKIE TAMBARA Daily Titan It’s rare that someone randomly decides to join the funeral industry. In most cases, potential directors and embalmers are inspired and encouraged to enter the industry through family businesses, antecedents or merely curiosity. “My first viewing of a dead body was probably when I was about six or seven. It didn’t affect me too much. It was more of a curiosity,” said Carla Chavez, licensed funeral director and embalmer of Brown’s Mortuary in Santa Ana. Chavez has been fascinated with the funeral industry since she was young. Right after high school, she enrolled in the Cypress College Mortuary Science program and completed it in three semesters, obtaining a job through one of the job
listings posted on campus. After two previous mortuary jobs, Chavez finally landed at Brown’s Mortuary where she has been for 18 years. Chavez’s main concern is presenting the body exactly the way the family wants it. “I want family approval,” Chavez said. Lauren Marquez, Chief Officer of Operations at The Gardens Crematory in Anaheim, operates and directs the business that her grandfather, father and his five brothers built from the ground up. “It’s definitely not a job for everybody. If you care about what you’re doing, it goes a long way. I really thrive on helping people,” Marquez said. “So if I’m helping somebody, I’m going to make sure that every step, they are taken care of.” She takes pride helping the family of the deceased cope with their loss. She does that by helping the family move forward and finalizes plans like location of the service and burial and any emotional distress
she can relieve. Making connections with the family is the best way she can help during times of such great loss and Marquez makes sure she is consistent in assisting each family she encounters. She puts herself in their shoes to really empathize with them, she said. Embalmers take care of the aspect of the process that consists of flushing out the bodily fluids, embalming the body with preservative chemicals, as well as making up, dressing and casketing the body. On call 24 hours a day, funeral directors and embalmers must be ready to respond to the “first call,” which refers to the removal or pick up of the body from the place of death—whether it’s a home, hospital or anything in between, said Jon Snyder, of Snyder’s Embalming in Riverside. Snyder has been in the industry for more than 40 years. Snyder’s motive for joining the industry was to serve and protect his beloved grandmother’s body when she passed away. His grandmother was
JACKIE TAMBARA / DAILY TITAN
The crematory ovens located in The Gardens Crematory. The sterile machines left an earthy scent in the warehouse.
always very skeptical of how dead bodies were treated and did not want anyone strange to handle hers when the time came, he said.
Snyder made his grandmother’s very last wish come true. SEE MORTUARY
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A San Francisco jury sided with the CSU Board of Trustees Thursday when it handed down a verdict that absolved the board of having to reimburse 172,000 students from the Fall 2009 semester. The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit, who argued they were given insufficient notification and time when the board voted to increase the 2009 fall term fees, were seeking at least $336 in damages for each student involved. If they had sided with the students, the CSU board could have had to pay nearly $57.8 million in damages, without factoring in other variables such as non-resident tuition and graduate student increases. The verdict comes after nearly a month of court proceedings, and almost six years after the class action was filed in July 2009. The plaintiffs’ attorneys maintained that there was a breach of good faith that had been established between the board and the students. Attorneys for the board argued that the CSU directors did not act unreasonably when they voted to increase the Fall 2009 fees a little over a month before the semester started, and therefore did not breach any contract. The jury was persuaded by CSU attorneys who denied that the CSU board engaged in an unreasonable exercise of its discretion, thereby breaching a contract with the students. SEE LAWSUIT
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CSUF men’s lacrosse builds strong tradition The team has made the SLC finals six consecutive years ANGIE PEREZ Daily Titan For the first time since 2011, the Cal State Fullerton lacrosse team has entered the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association National tournament, ranked No. 10 after losing in the championship of the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference playoffs. Established in 2005, the lacrosse club has evolved into a more competitive team throughout the years. Marking their 10th anniversary this year, the team is loaded with incredibly talented and dedicated players who love the sport. Senior Ryan Carroll is president and one of four captains of the lacrosse team
on campus. Last season, the team lost eight graduating seniors and gained a handful of freshmen. There are only three graduating seniors this semester, leaving opportunity for the freshmen to integrate and form a “real sense of connection,” since the majority of the team is staying for years to come, Carroll said. Second year Head Coach Mike Ansel spent three years as a Titan, playing from 2009 until he graduated. Now he’s back at his alma mater and determined to bring home a national championship. “It’s close to home; I went there, I played there, half the team I played with are still really involved and come watch games,” Ansel said. Ansel admits that, in the beginning of the season, he was worried about the freshmen and the upperclassmen getting along. However, everyone adapted easily, forming a close
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COURTESY OF CSUF LACROSSE
The Cal State Fullerton men’s lacrosse team has become a force since its inception back in 2005. The Titans have made the SLC finals six straight years, winning three straight from 2009-2011. The team went 15-2 this season, and are ranked No. 10 in the nation.
bond, Ansel said. Defenseman Walter Wakeman said a lot of the older players, like Carroll, did a good job of bringing in the younger players. This year
has been a growing experience for the team, but eventually everyone got on the same page. At the end of the day they’re “all good kids,”
Wakeman said. Carroll remembers the team being more distant in past seasons than it is this year, where the team is more “family oriented,” he said.
The brotherly love between the teammates contributes to how well they work together on the field. SEE LAX
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