Thursday May 12, 2016

The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

Thursday May 12, 2016

Volume 99 Issue 53

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Further examining graduation rates A look into the difficulties of successfully graduating in four years

Four-year graduation a rarity for biology Rigorous program requirements lead to degree delays BRENT CABATAN GABE ESPIRITU Daily Titan One thousand two hundred and seventy-five out of the 33,042 undergraduate students, approximately 3.86 percent, enrolled in CSUF for the fall 2015 semester are biology majors, according to Cal State Fullerton Institutional Research and Analytical Studies.

Successfully graduating in four years with a degree in biology is extremely unlikely given the exhaustive courses, mandatory prerequisites and overflow of students within the major.

While the major does not require more units to complete in order to graduate, the prerequisites needed and the nature of each of the classes involved in biological sciences make it a hard major to tackle, said Sean Walker, Ph.D., biology department chair.

SEE BIO

3

NATALIE GOLDSTEIN / DAILY TITAN

Students from the College of Engineering and Computer Science have been encountering roadblocks to graduating in four years. Impacted classes and the number of units needed to graduate have made a six-year plan the norm.

Engineering faces low graduation rates ECS students say full classes lead to fewer graduates DAISY ORTIZ VERONICA MARQUEZESHELBY Daily Titan According to a report by the U.S. Department of Education and the National

Center for Education Statistics, 59 percent of first-time, full-time undergraduate students who started attending a four-year university in 2007 completed their degree within six years, a far cry from the four-year graduation rate.

Many majors have become impacted at several California State Universities. With the rise of enrollment in programs such as computer science, specify is a problem

that students of Cal State Fullerton’s College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) have become far too familiar with.

Census trend data from CSUF Institutional Research and Analytical Studies shows that enrollment in the school’s engineering and computer science programs has greatly increased over the last five years. Rates have gone up 110 percent from fall 2011, which enrolled 1,641

ECS undergraduate students, to fall 2015, where the head count surpassed 3,455 undergraduate students.

As of fall 2015, ECS students make up 10 percent of the university’s undergraduate population. ECS majors have also been in the top five declared majors for firsttime freshmen since 2010.

However, ECS degrees are among those that are awarded the least each year.

During the 2013 to 2014

school year, only 212 bachelor’s degrees were awarded to ECS students — 2.8 percent of the total 7,725. This was the lowest amount of degrees of all the colleges at CSUF. Eric May, a CSUF alumnus with a bachelor’s in computer science, attended the college from fall 2010 and graduated last spring in 2015.

SEE ECS

2

CSUF project to shine digital light on faculty Online blog features collages of professors BRENT CABATAN Daily Titan Portraits of professors can be seen from the top to the bottom of the page.

Within the portraits are layered images of their passions outside of the classroom.

Professor Mira Farka, Ph.D., has an image of percentages ingrained into her blue coat, symbolizing her career in economics. John Gleaves, Ph.D., associate professor of kinesiology, is bicycling, while the Olympic symbol can be seen on his arms.

These portraits are a part of Cal State Fullerton’s recently launched web campaign, “21st Century Titans.” The initiative features customized illustrations of university faculty members with quotes that show a side of professors

students may not have seen before.

Jenny Williams, a communications specialist for the provost’s office, created the campaign using a similar structure to “Humans of New York,” a blog that features photographs of New Yorkers along with quotes telling their stories.

“I had been working here for about a year when this idea came up, and in that year, every time a news story was coming out about our faculty I was like, ‘That’s us? We did that?

That’s amazing,’” Williams said. “That was really the inspiration … it was like, ‘how do we communicate the amazing things that are already happening on our campus?’”

The project is run through the social media website Tumblr and began with 10 faculty members to represent “a broad range of disciplines,” Williams said.

Looking to the future, Williams, who is working on the project alone, hopes to feature a new faculty

Student steps into peril on Mount Baldy

Features

A winter hike turns into a danger-filled journey as harsh winds, rocky terrain and exhaustion strike 4 outdoorsmen

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member once a week.

Williams creates “digital collages” using images sent to her that each featured faculty member wants to use, or images that the school already has on file, along with public domain images to create different layers in the collage.

Beena Ajmera, Ph.D., a CSUF alumna and an assistant professor for the department of civil and environmental engineering, was one of the first faculty members featured for the project. Ajmera’s portrait includes layers of engineering images incorporated into her picture. The quote accompanying the image describes the way she was first exposed to her future field at a young age.

“I liked the way she had incorporated things that are related to my discipline into the image. It was just a new perspective,” Ajmera said. “And the use of the personal anecdote made it seem like more than just a professional image.”

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4

COURTESY OF JENNY WILLIAMS

“21st Century Titans” is a project lauched by Cal State Fullerton that aims to highlight faculty and to show students a side of their professors they otherwise wouldn’t know about.

Justice system should forgo death penalty

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Whether for financial or ethical reasons, the nation would be better off without capital punishment 6 as an option

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NEWS ECS: Students face graduation delays DTBRIEFS PAGE 2 MAY 12, 2016 THURSDAY

1

However, he said the journey to complete his degree wasn’t easy. Despite being a full-time student during the entirety of his college education, it still took May five years to graduate.

“When I was taking my first few classes, waiting lists would go on the front and back of the paper, sometimes even on two pieces of paper,” May said. “There was way more demand for classes than there was supply, so that made getting into those bottleneck courses more difficult.”

In addition to the college’s impact problem, the challenge ECS students

face includes the number of requirements they must complete in order to qualify for graduation.

Louie Velasquez, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student who began his career at CSUF as a freshman, said he expects to be at the university for six years until he graduates.

Mechanical engineering students like Velasquez must complete 120 units to receive their degrees.

The track is comprised of a minimum of 32 units in mathematics and physical sciences, 24 units of general education, 11 units of technical electives and 53 units of engineering classes to qualify for graduation with a bachelor’s of

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science degree.

The CSUF catalog lists the courses required to complete a degree in any major offered, but Velasquez said that the curriculum for his major has changed since he started at CSUF.

“

student is not adversely affected by the curriculum change in units as well as courses. A student will not be asked to repeat a class if they have done the equivalent before.”

A key element to graduating on time for ECS stu-

It’s very important for us that students graduate in a timely manner and we provide the support that is needed to help them to graduate.

“

CONTINUED FROM

SUSAMMA BARUA, PH.D. Associate Dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science “There are a bunch of units we had to take before, but they got removed from the program,” Velasquez said. “I want to say they took about 19 units out of the requirements, but I’m not 100 percent sure about the exact number … so that was a waste of time.”

However, Susamma Barua, Ph.D., associate dean for the college of engineering and computer science, said once a student has been accepted to the university, his or her curriculum is tied to the catalog from the year he or she was accepted.

Barua said that changes to the student’s catalog year can only be made with the student’s consent.

“If you were admitted, let’s say fall of 2011, your curriculum requirements are tied to what the requirements were in fall 2011. We are obligated to give you the requirements that you were expecting at the time that you came here,” Barua said. “We always make sure that the

dents, especially for firsttime freshmen, is not only arriving prepared, but also passing a class on the first try.

For mechanical engineering majors, a firsttime freshman must come ready to take Calculus 1, chemistry and engineering graphics. Not completing one of these classes in the fall of their first year would almost guarantee a delay in their graduation due to the sequential nature of the major’s classes.

In other words, because of the way classes are designed in a chain of prerequisites, any delay in passing one of the lower-level classes would push each successive course back.

“We have designed our curriculum with the understanding that students are coming to us ready to take Calculus 1,” Barua said.

However, a small number of students do enter ECS programs without having the requirements for that course, she said.

And while impaction may affect the duration of a student’s stay at CSUF, Barua emphasized how important it is for students to speak to the department if they are unable to get into critical classes.

“If a student reaches out to us and says, ‘I really need this class; this class is full,’ then the first thing we do is pull their TDA,” Barua said. “If we know for sure that this student absolutely needs this class to stay on track, we will give a seat to that student.

By not having the ability to take a class, we do know that a student is going to delay their graduation.”

But despite the rigidity of the ECS program, the numbers are looking up. In 2014 to 2015, the number of undergraduate degrees awarded was 292, an over30 percent increase from the previous school year.

Barua also said that the department remains committed to helping its students not only graduate but do so in a timely manner, no matter what the obstacle.

“We have been very generous in telling the department that if you really need the class, please go ahead and add the class … As long as you can give me enough students to fill the class, go ahead,” Barua said. “I have told them, ‘Don’t worry about the money. We’ll deal with that later,’ because I want to make sure that the students get the class.

It’s very important for us that students graduate in a timely manner and we provide the support that is needed to help them to graduate.”

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Waco blast ruled intentional The deadly explosion of a West Texas fertilizer plant that killed 15 people in 2013 was found to be intentionally set, according to federal officials on Wednesday.

The fire is considered to be one of the worst industrial disasters in Texas history.

Investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives released the announcement three years after the West Fertilizer Company plant explosion on April 17, 2013.

Law enforcement officials previously considered potential causes of the explosion as faulty electrical wiring, a short circuit in an electric golf cart or arson, according to the New York Times.

Tesla shows off Hyperloop

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Robert L. Dear Jr., the man found guilty in the Nov. 27 shooting spree of a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, has been deemed unfit to stand trial Wednesday, according to The New York Times.

Judge Gilbert A. Martinez found Dear to be mentally incompetent and suffers from “wide-ranging delusions” that the federal government has been spying on him for years.

The district attorney said that the ruling brought the criminal case to a “standstill.”

Dear is to be sent to a state-run mental hospital in hopes of restoring him to a coherent mental state so that he may be able to stand trial.

Dear is charged with 179 counts, including first-degree murder and attempted murder.

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The high-speed transport system called Hyperloop had its first-ever public demonstration Wednesday in a Nevada desert, according to BBC. At its first public viewing, the Hyperloop accelerated a sled to 116 mph in 1.1 seconds.

The system is said to be able to move people from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes time.

Tesla co-founder Elon Musk first conceptualized the system in 2013.

The system utilizes magnets and electricity to catapult a pod at prospective speeds over 700 mph. The goal is to have the system up and running by 2019 to move cargo, and 2021 to transport people.

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NEWS

PAGE 3 THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016

Bio: Prerequisites stall degree progress 1

On top of core biology courses, students must take a number of calculus courses, several general and organic chemistry courses and even some physics classes. This adds up to 16 units of core requirements and 34 units of supporting course requirements before being able to complete all the upper-division courses pertaining to the major.

Some biology courses students must take also have relatively high “repeatable grade” rates, meaning those students who have earned a C- to an F. For example, in the major’s first core requirement, cellular and molecular biology (BIOL 151), nearly 33 percent of students earned a grade lower than C in fall 2015.

A number of the supporting course requirements, some of which are also prerequisites for the last two core courses, have high repeat grades as well. Calculus I (MATH 150A) and Calculus II (MATH 150B) have 31 percent and 40 percent repeatable grade percentages, respectively. General chemistry (CHEM 120A) is at 20 percent.

While a D or higher can fulfill a student’s life science general education requirement for the course, getting lower than a C in a class would not fulfill the major prerequisite requirement to move on to the next course, Walker said.

The core biology courses also consist of a three-hour lab portion — and sometimes weekend field work — to go along with the lecture.

“You have your lecture period and then you have to go

to your lab period which is a completely different class,” said Andrew Revel, sixthyear biology major. “So essentially you have two classes in one and the lab is three hours so it takes up a lot of time, definitely.”

CSUF student Kevin Castillo enrolled in 2010 as a biology major, ended up changing his major to criminal justice his sophomore year and picked biology back up his junior year. He said majoring in biology is difficult and got in the way of other things like finding a job that could work with his hours, or having a social life.

Analytical Studies has shown that for first-time freshmen coming in from fall 2002 to 2008, the percentage of those graduating in four years or less falls between 13.4 to 16.5 percent for all majors. For biology majors, this number is significantly lower, falling between 1.4 and 6.0 percent, according to data provided

by Walker.

Despite the seemingly lower numbers, Walker said that a biology major’s time to to complete a degree “is actually comparable” other majors.

Walker said that the median time for a biology major is five years across the board.

“

One thing I wish they would tell us when we’re freshmen is all of the resources that you have that makes all of this easier.

“

CONTINUED FROM

KEVIN CASTILLO Biology Major “There are people who (graduate) in four years, but the only problem and why most people end up going five, sometimes even six, is just the way that the classes are set up,” Castillo said.

“Every class has a prerequisite, so you’re only limited to one class per semester instead of taking three, so it takes a little while to get to the upper-division (classes).”

However, the average GPA of all undergraduate biology department courses falls at 2.58 in the fall 2015 semester, well below the school’s average of 2.88. The only departments that had significantly lower average GPAs were accounting (2.33), economics (2.46) and math (2.16).

Data from CSUF Institutional Research and

He said that much like a typical science, technology, engineering and math major, a biology major averages 150 units in that time, a great juxtaposition when compared to the six years a standard CSUF student takes to complete the required 120 units to graduate.

In an effort to improve graduation rates, CSUF implemented Supplemental Instruction (SI) for the biology department for introductory courses in 2007, later expanding to include other majors. SI focuses on student success in “traditionally difficult, key gateway and bottleneck courses” through regularly scheduled, peer-facilitated study group sessions, according to the Cal State Fullerton SI website.

“One thing I wish they would tell us when we’re

freshmen is all of the resources that you have that makes all of this easier,” Castillo said. “I didn’t even find that out until my junior or senior year.”

As the SI program continues to expand, Walker said that he has seen the program’s boost in student success, stating that it increases biology

students’ performance in cellular and molecular biology, and evolution and organismal biology (BIOL 151 and 152).

Walker said that in the end, employers see the rigorous coursework CSUF biology graduates take as an advantage.

“When people look at our

graduates and the things that they do, they’re like, ‘Wow, people from Cal State Fullerton or from CSUs in general take lots of lab classes.’ That’s different from the UCs. The skills that they gain in those lab classes help them get jobs,” Walker said.

Biology at CSUF by the numbers 1223

Biology majors enrolled, spring 2016

3.18%

of the total student population

183

Biological science degrees awarded in academic year 2014 - 2015

2.58

GPA of all undergraduate biology department courses, fall 2015

32.8%

of students in Cellular and Molecular Biology (BIOL105) earned a grade of C- or lower, fall 2015

21.9%

of students in Elements of Biology (BIOL101) earned a grade of Cor lower, fall 2015

*Data from CSUF Institutional Research and Analytical Studies

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FEATURES

PAGE 4 MAY 12, 2016 THURSDAY

Student faces fear at summit Hike up ‘Devil’s Backbone’ proves treacherous RYAN PORTER Daily Titan Disclaimer: Ryan Porter is a sports editor at the Daily Titan.

I’m huddled on the ground, holding on for my life as the winds pick up.

My friends are yelling expletives, all the while balancing on the shear rock formation we are attempting to climb.

As the winds blow harder, I start to think we might not make the last 500 feet to the summit. *** It was 6:15 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2015 and I was in a car with three of my best friends on our way to the San Gabriel Mountains. The 10,064foot Mount San Antonio, better known as Mount Baldy, awaited us. We had no idea that within the next few hours we would be fearing for our lives.

The conditions at the base of the mountain were perfect. Sunny, clear weather with no chance of rain. We arrived there a bit late, but, assuming the trail was about 14 miles, 8:30 a.m. was not a bad time to start.

The first few hours of walking were dominated by simple switchbacks, much of which were shaded by towering trees. We took breaks to consume some protein and catch our breath every 20 minutes.

About two miles up, the weather was cool enough for patches of snow to keep their shape on the ground without melting. We kept on, sticking together and watching our footing.

A chairlift came into view and my friend, Mikey, slipped on a patch of ice and toppled over. We heard the thud and turned around to see if he was alright. He was fine, but when he got up he peered over the ledge to see two dogs running up the side of the mountain, following their owners who were riding the chairlift overhead.

One of the dogs was younger and more agile,

traversing the hillside with ease, while the other took a slower pace. The younger dog came over to us, curious as to what the humans were doing out on such a chilly day. He was obviously tired, so he walked up the switchbacks with our group for half a mile until we reached a ski resort. He then ran off to find his owner.

We took a break at the rustic ski resort for about 20 minutes. After that, our uphill hike started to go downhill.

The climb became dangerous at about 3.7 miles up as the path became filled with icy, small, ankle-twisting rocks. The steepness of the hill was also more extreme. We labored our way up for three quarters of a mile. All the while, we were thousands of feet in the atmosphere, breathing heavily and taking breaks every 10 minutes.

Finally, we made it to the infamous “Devil’s Backbone,” a stretch of land that has recently claimed a few hikers’ lives.

The path before us looked like the spine of an infinitely long dragon. The walkway was narrow with dips on either side. Regardless of its treacherous name, it was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. We made our way above the clouds, and the trail looked as if it were floating above a blanket of cotton ― the sun shining, creating a golden river of mist below us.

After a few more miles, the backbone morphed into a skyward hill and I found myself in the fetal position some 9,500 feet in the air, debating why I was even there. I had never been knocked over onto the ground by wind before, and I was seriously worrying for my life.

We were frantically laughing together as we crawled our way up the final, shearest part to the summit, staying low to hide from the wind.

I must have been delusional because without thinking, we made it to the top. The ground was flat, but the wind still echoed in my ears. I took a selfie in front of the metal sign at the

RYAN PORTER / DAILY TITAN

Daily Titan Sports Editor Ryan Porter and two of his friends ventured on an all-day winter hike up Mount San Antonio, better known as Mount Baldy. The 10,064-foot trek was littered with obstacles, testing the group’s internal strength.

summit, that read “San Antonio ‘Mount Baldy’ Elev 10,064,” and we quickly ate lunch.

There was only one other hiker at the top, a 63-yearold Asian man, who, to me, represented a wise old sage solely existing to give me advice at the height of my fears.

We talked to the man and learned that he was completely alone. He said he came up a different path because he heard warnings advising not to hike the path we did. He also offered us corn, of all things, which we tried it out of respect, but it tasted awful.

Believing the way down is always easier, I placed the expectation in my head that we would be back to the car in no time. Unbeknownst to us all, we took the wrong way back, and what was supposed to be a 7-mile downhill trek turned into 13 miles.

The rest of our journey was a mind-numbing, ankle-twisting blur. What I remember is digging deep into myself to find the motivation to walk through the

RYAN PORTER / DAILY TITAN

The “Devil’s Backbone” is an infamous stretch of land on Mount Baldy known for its narrow path with sharp dips on both sides. The path has recently claimed the lives of numerous hikers.

agonizing pain I felt in every joint of my body.

We added six unnecessary miles to our hike and also came out of the trail another three miles away from the car. Somehow, my

friend Branden ran ahead to retrieve it.

During the car ride home, I realized how lucky we were to be safe. Considering the wind and our misdirection, I thought about

what would’ve happened if we didn’t make it to the car.

Regardless, I was on my way home, exhausted and dehydrated, but thankful for the experience.

Blog: Professors share inspirational quotes CONTINUED FROM

1

Coupling these experiences with the image of a faculty member helps to remind students that their professors are human and not purely defined by their time in the classroom, Ajmera said.

Cliff Cramp, professor of illustration and program coordinator, is scheduled to be featured in the project next

month. He considers the campaign to be an opportunity to learn more about other faculty members.

“It gets you out of your own department to see and hear some of the exciting things that are going on outside of your own discipline,” Cramp said.

Williams said the provost’s office hopes to display CSUF faculty’s uniqueness.

She said when she initially approached faculty about being featured on “21st Century Titans,” many of them felt like they didn’t deserve the honor. Faculty members are very humble when they speak about their accomplishments in their respective fields, Williams said.

Alfonso Agnew, Ph.D., professor of applied mathematics and a member of the

Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Center, was also one of the first featured professors who shared his story with Williams. Agnew was heavily involved in the punk rock scene in the ‘80s and expressed how proud he was for being “different” during a time when certain things were just not accepted. “(‘21st Century Titans’) does show that we actually do

have human beings here doing stuff that they’re passionate about,” Agnew said. “It’s sort of reminding us a little bit what we’re here for, and that we’re not just some big machine.”

Williams said that the most rewarding part of the project is learning about people’s interests.

“I get to sit down and talk with people about the things

that they’re most passionate about in the world. It doesn’t get much better than that,” she said.

Williams’ ultimate goal for the “21st Century Titans” campaign is to feature a personalized portrait and quote for each faculty member at CSUF. “It’s not really matter of ‘if,’ it’s really a matter of ‘when,’” Williams said.

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FEATURES

PAGE 5 THURSDAY MAY 12, 2016

Technology diminishes quality connections Fear of missing out distracts from meaningful discourse EMILY DIECKMAN Daily Titan As much as I’ve praised technology for its ability to bring people together in new and exciting ways, sometimes a focus on technology itself, rather than the connectivity it can provide, is a poisonous mindset when it comes to relationships.

I’m sure all of you have gotten this lecture from your moms at one point or another: “Put the phone down! Stop texting while I’m talking to you!”

Just the other day, my grandma shared a passive-aggressive post on Facebook about how she wasn’t going to invite her children over anymore until they decided to focus on and enjoy the present company rather than constantly checking their phones.

But my forthright mother and my passive-aggressive grandmother make solid points. I know that sometimes I obsessively check my phone for notifications.

The knowledge that I can be communicating at any given moment makes me feel like I should be. There might be an email that I need to respond to, a friend whom I could really help out by answering a question or a Facebook notification that, for whatever reason, I need

to see right away. It is a totally gross thing to do.

Technology is an awesome medium for connecting with people who we can’t otherwise connect with, for staying in touch with someone far away and even for being able to correspond about business or school promptly.

So why, when we’re already with the people that we care about the most, do so many of us still compulsively check to see who else might be trying to get in touch with us?

People have talked about the rise of the addiction to technology in a number of ways. These discussions range from the dangers of walking while texting to the phenomenon of “phantom vibrations,” where people think their phones are vibrating in their pockets, only to realize it was in their heads.

There’s a sense of artificiality that seems to cloak interactions today. Technology allows us to come together in a new way, but these new mediums have created a pervasive mindset that there is always a more important conversation to be had, or a more important person to talk to than the person you’re already talking to.

I find myself doing it with all sorts of people. When my roommate is filling me in on her day, I am frantically checking my email.

When my dad and I are at dinner, I’ll check my phone

NOLAN MOTIS / DAILY TITAN

While technology provides many avenues of communication, the urge to constantly be in touch with anyone and everyone weakens tangible, quality relationships.

periodically, as if some incredibly urgent text message is going to come my way in the time it takes us to finish our spaghetti.

This is dangerous in romantic relationships because it’s a manifestation of the idea that there’s always something better out there.

Of course, sometimes the

hot guy who sits next to you in biology is going to seem pretty appealing compared to your boyfriend because you haven’t had to tell this guy a million times to stop leaving the toilet seat up.

But you also haven’t confided in him your deepest fears, nor have you both watched YouTube videos

until you cried from laughter or experienced important moments together. Idealizing biology boy shouldn’t make you reconsider your own relationship.

As one of my friends, who is going on eight happy years with his girlfriend, told me, “At that point, you’re just putting ideas into

your own head.”

The truth is, everyone has flaws. And if you’re with someone who makes you happy, the best thing you can do is show appreciation for him or her and put your phone away and focus on what matters the most when you’re together: being together.

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KNES

202

Intro to Kinesiology

CHEM

G11O

Introduction to Chemistry

CHEM

100

Survey of Chemistry

MATH

G115

College Algebra

MATH

115

College Algebra

CHEM

G180

General Chemistry A

CHEM

120A

General Chemistry

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G140

Business Calculus

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130

Business Calculus

CHEM

G185

General Chemistry B

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120B

General Chemistry

MATH

G160

Introduction to Statistics

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120

Intro Probability and Statistics

COMM G100

Interpersonal Communication

HCOM

100

Intro to Human Communication

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G170

Precalculus

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125

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COMM G110

Public Speaking

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102

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150A

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100

Crime, Law, and Justice

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G185

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150B

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CS

G130

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103

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G101

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100

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G153

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223J

Java Progarmming

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100

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G175

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121

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PHIL

G115

Logic and Critical Thinking

PHIL

105

Critical Thinking

ECON

G170

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ECON

201

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G180

American Government

POSC

100

American Government

ECON

G175

Principals of Macro Economics

ECON

202

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PSYC

G100

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101

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ENGL

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Freshman Composition

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101

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G118

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CAS

101

Intro to Child and Adol Devel

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200

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361

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100

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110

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OPINION

PAGE 6 MAY 12, 2016 THURSDAY

Final thoughts on a journey through linguistics Student reflects on lingustic’s impact in past semester GERARD AVELINO Daily Titan It’s been two months since I started writing this column on the ways people use language, and while it started out as just an exercise in getting linguistic concepts across to a nontechnical audience, it ended up becoming a rollercoaster of a learning experience.

Simply keeping up a weekly column on top of my homework was, by far, the most taxing part. I’ve got 17 units of coursework on my schedule this semester, and it was frustrating — yet extremely interesting — that my command of languages was the first to go when my brain got tired.

There were numerous times when, while writing one of my previous columns, my brain just shifted into Tagalog or French or some other language, and random words kept spilling out of my head.

I will look back fondly on my columns and on my problems with Associated Press style. I’ve been a bit harsh on them, complaining about their arbitrary rules and unnecessary prudishness, but they’re trying their best over at AP to keep up with the times bless their journalistic hearts, but I probably had the most fun this semester criticizing AP style.

I take that back; the day I wrote about emojis was the best. You know it’s a good time when you get the eggplant emoji involved.

I’ve received all sorts of feedback on the way I’ve written, positive and

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NOLAN MOTIS / DAILY TITAN

Reflections are often seen through rose-colored glasses. They sometimes romaticize a stressful time, but this reflection understands the trials and tribulations that come with writing a column twice a week. Along with some worldly realizations the journalistic process reveals much about one’s character.

negative, which is awesome, but one of the most important things I’ve learned is that language carries power. It conveys emotion, ideas and meaning, and I need to do my absolute best in being sensitive to the needs and emotions of my readers.

Throughout this semester, I’ve bared my emotions and identity while writing about linguistic topics close to my heart. I discovered things about myself, about my sexual orientation

and about my ethnicity that I may not have reflected on otherwise. Language encompasses all aspects of humanity, and I’m glad to have explored those intersections.

If anything, the ups and downs of writing this column have left me with more fervor for studying language and the ways humans communicate. I’ve barely scratched the surface of my exploration, and I look forward to what the future holds.

Before I go, I’d like to take this opportunity to meet my word count by thanking my editors, who helped make this column possible each week.

Alan, I remember how, in the beginning, you kept thinking that my column was going to be about technology. You’re right, though. Humans harness language as a tool for all sorts of things, which is essentially what technology is. Thanks for your understanding and moral support.

You’re super cool, yo.

Rishu, you are the most fabulous of models. The Thursday opinion page wouldn’t be as colorful if you weren’t the face of Modern Tongue. Also, thanks for bearing with all those linguistics journal articles you had to read through while fact-checking my work. You’re a great sport.

Photo desk, Nolan and Patrick, you’ve done a great job finding ways to illustrate these really abstract

concepts I write about.

Thanks for your patience.

Rudy, thanks for your leadership and for letting me have a bit of space each week to ramble on about languages.

You were an amazing editor-in-chief. Congratulations for a great year at the Daily Titan.

And thank you, dear reader, for sticking around for the ride. So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu. Hopefully, I’ve given you all a good taste of the Modern Tongue.

Death penalty needs to be abolished

Capital punishment should not be an option for justice CODY GION Daily Titan

The U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday to the federal trial court in Washington that it will not submit Ahmed Abu Khattala to the death penalty.

Prosecutors labeled Khattala a terrorist who spearheaded the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the loss of four American lives.

The Justice Department’s decision is a great step toward abolishing capital punishment. The death penalty is an unjustified and

unconstitutional act that has cast a dark shadow on U.S. history. Killing is no way of gaining justice for acts committed in the past.

The Justice Department made the right decision in making sure that the men that are convicted are brought to justice. In the case of the 4 American lives taken and 2 injured, instead of sentencing him to death, Khattala could possibly see life in prison for his actions.

In prison, the convicted works for the rest of his or her life to repay the debt of his or her immoral actions.

This is more in tune with the ideologies of justice.

The death penalty should be classified as cruel and unusual punishment, since there is no justice to be

gained from execution.

According to a study published by the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, “there is overwhelming consensus among America’s top criminologists that the empirical research conducted on the deterrence question fails to support the threat or use of the death penalty.”

Also, “91.6 percent said that increasing the frequency of executions would not add a deterrent effect,” according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Criminals are not scared of the capital punishments when committing a crime.

When someone is killed, the public seeks revenge.

But another factor that the public is unaware of is the harmful effect that

executing someone has on the executioner.

“You can’t tell me I can take the life of people and go home and be normal. If I had known what I’d have to go through as an executioner, I wouldn’t have done it. It took a lot out of me to do it,” said former state executioner for the Virginia Department of Corrections Jerry Givens, in an interview with ThinkProgress.

There is an emotional toll that weighs on those carrying out these death penalties for the so-called justice the public calls for.

It goes against all humane behavior to take lives away and not be affected by it. Asking someone to execute someone else is immoral in this sense.

Killing a criminal is also

Religious Directory

a very expensive process.

Over the past 30 years, each of the 13 convicts put to death in California cost the state approximately $300 million each, according to a 2011 study by Arthur Alarcon, a senior judge, and Paula Mitchell, a professor at Loyola Law School. This exorbitant price comes from the judicial process’ exhaustive length.

Instead of killing inmates, the funding for the executions should be used for other resourceful programs. If the process is long and expensive, yet only brings 13 convicts to justice, then maybe the most effective decision would be to stop altogether.

“The millions of dollars

in savings could be spent on education, roads, police officers and public safety programs, after-school programs, drug and alcohol treatment, child abuse prevention programs, mental health services and services for crime victims and their families,” according to the Death Penalty Focus Organization, a nonprofit organization.

Thus, it’s a good decision that the department decided not to take part in this wasteful process.

Ahmed Abu Khattala will live a life indebted to the families affected. This will bring about a greater sense of justice, instead of choosing to place the burden of the criminal’s death on someone else’s hands while costing the state millions.

For more information please contact Religious Director: Ayesha Doshi adoshi@dailytitan.com

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CLASSIFIEDS

MAY 12, 2016

PAGE 7

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Your feelings are intrinsically connected with the central purpose in your life and you can impact others deeply now as long as you stay true to yourself. However, people won’t necessarily agree with your position even if you’re willing to discuss your differences.

LEO

(Jul. 23 - Aug. 22)

You’re still trying to find a comfortable middle ground before you make a difficult decision, but it’s tough if there are important emotional issues at stake. Sometimes your head knows what your heart has yet to learn.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22 - Dec. 21)

It’s back to the daily grind for you today. You may prefer daydreaming about an upcoming trip, escaping into an adventure novel or getting lost in a good movie, but there are important things that you must do, instead. Get some fresh air to clear your head.

TAURUS

(Apr. 20 - May 20)

You’re quite animated today, but people may not fully understand your intensity. In your eagerness to make your point you could oversimplify your presentation, which can create problems if others take your words at face value.

VIRGO

(Aug. 23 - Sep. 22)

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Pulling out all the stops in your imagination enables you to dream about your future without holding back.

CAPRICORN

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GEMINI

(May 21 - Jul. 20)

In theory, you should be unbeatable today when your words align with your intentions. It’s admirable to have faith in your convictions but don’t try to use logic to convince anyone else of the validity of your point of view. Focus on your creative pursuits and let others draw their own conclusions when they’re ready.

LIBRA

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Previous uncertainty transforms into a practical vision of how you want your future to play out, and you are ready to make a serious effort to manifest it according to your plan. But the signs of change could pass unnoticed if you’re not paying close attention.

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SPORTS

PAGE 8 MAY 12, 2016 THURSDAY

Titans suit up for UCSB series Softball looks to finish strong in last regular season matchup HAYLEY M. SLYE AARON VALDEZ Daily Titan Having already secured the Big West Conference title, Cal State Fullerton softball will face the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in its final series of the regular season.

The Titans clinched the conference with its 2-1 series victory over a tough Cal State Northridge squad that was nipping at their heels in the Big West standings going into the series. The series win helped improve CSUF’s overall record to a formidable 41-13 and 15-3 in conference play.

Fullerton ranks 28 in the NCAA RPI and is just outside of the the USA Today/ NFCA Coaches and ESPN. com/USA Softball top 25 polls. Its success is due to its strong team leadership and prowess on both sides of the ball.

Freshman right-hander Sydney Golden enters the series having thrown two solid outings against a CSUN team that leads the conference in home runs. Golden, who has been the team’s ace in tandem with senior lefty Desiree Ybarra, leads the team in a 1.66 ERA and 17 wins.

Ybarra also pitched a

PATRICK DO / DAILY TITAN STOCK PHOTO

Outfielders Samantha Vandiver (left) and Ariana Williams (right) share a moment in between innings. The two have been instrumental to the Titans’ success this season as they have combined for a total of 18 RBIs and 28 stolen bases.

solid game against CSUN, going all seven innings while striking out six and only allowing three hits.

She leads the team in strikeouts with 127 on the season and is just behind Golden in wins with 14.

Both Golden and Ybarra appear in the top five in Big West ERA.

The Gauchos’ offense has a slight edge over the Titans’, as they post a team .307 batting average compared to Fullerton’s .303.

Kristen Clark has been a standout for the Gauchos, hitting .414 on the season.

Despite the disparity, the Titans are better at hitting the long ball

and driving in runs, posing more RBIs and home runs. Junior Alexis Gonzalez has been the premier power hitter for Fullerton, knocking nine home runs and bringing 42 runs in to score, tying for second in the Big West in RBIs. She and third baseman Missy Taukeiaho represent the

Titans’ most formidable offensive threats.

In the circle for the Gauchos, senior Ashley Ludlow has had a steady season with 38 total appearances. She owns a 2.93 ERA with a respectable 153 strikeouts, but has a losing record of 1013. On the season, Gaucho

pitching has posted a 3.48 team ERA, which pales in comparison to the 2.19 Titan team ERA. With playoffs on the horizon, the Titans aim to build momentum as they return to Anderson Family Field to host the Gauchos this weekend, beginning with a game on Friday at 6 p.m.

Baseball battens down for final stretch CSUF to head to UC Santa Barbara for three-game series ADAM CASTRO Daily Titan The Cal State Fullerton baseball team looks to build on its sweep of UC Riverside in its matchup against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos this weekend.

CSUF currently holds an overall record of 30-16 and sits at the top of the Big West Conference with an impressive 12-3 conference record.

Both Fullerton and Santa Barbara enter the series ranked on Baseball America’s latest Top 25 poll, ranked at No. 22 and No. 24, respectively.

UC Santa Barbara goes into the series having lost its last matchups against UC Davis and CSU Bakersfield. The Gauchos boast an overall record of 31-13-1, with a conference record of 9-6 that puts

them at third place in the Big West Conference.

The Titans are coming off a sweep of UC Riverside last weekend, including a 9-2 blowout win on Sunday. In that game, the Titans had 12 hits, including three home runs. Two of those home runs came off the bat of senior outfielder Dalton Blaser.

Blaser was a standout in that series, earning the Big West Baseball Field Player of the Week. Timmy Richards also had a solid day Sunday, going 2-5 with three RBIs to back freshman right-hander Colton Eastman’s solid outing.

Eastman earned the win, tossing six strong innings while only giving up two runs and fanning nine.

Through 46 games played, the Titans boast a team batting average of .261, team on-base percentage of .343 and a .373 team slugging percentage.

CSUF finds itself in the upper echelon of pitching stats within the Big West Conference. CSUF holds a conference-leading 2.33

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ERA, a conference-best 8.69 strikeout rate per nine innings, and 406 strikeouts to lead the conference.

Individually, the Titans also rank among the best in the Big West. Blaser has a .372 batting average for third-best in conference, while Richards’ seven home runs put him tied for second best in conference.

In terms of ERA, Eastman and Connor Seabold hold the top two spots in Big West with 2.09 and 2.08, respectively. The duo is part of a staff that is ranked No. 1 in the nation in ERA with 2.33.

Seabold also earned Big West Baseball Pitcher of the Week honors after striking out 12 over seven scoreless innings last Friday against UC Riverside.

The Gauchos share similar offensive team numbers with the Titans. As a team, UC Santa Barbara has a .266 batting average, .367 on-base percentage and a .377 slugging percentage, along with 21 home runs and 226 RBIs.

PATRICK DO / DAILY TITAN STOCK PHOTO

Cal State Fullerton junior left-handed pitcher Maxwell Gibbs closed out the Titans’ 9-2 victory over UC Riverside on Sunday.

Some players to keep an eye on for the Gauchos are sophomore infielder Austin Bush, who is fifth in conference with 35 RBIs and tied for third with six home runs, and speedsters Andrew Calica and JJ Muno,

who have stolen a combined 28 bases.

On the mound, left-handed pitcher Kyle Nelson is third in conference with an ERA of 2.14 and right-handed pitcher Shane Bieber has eight wins to

lead the Big West.

The Titans will travel to Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos in the only series between the two teams this year. The series opener starts Friday at 3 p.m. at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.

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