Monday, April 11, 2022
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Pollak Library closes due to flood
Volume 111 Issue 14
Fullerton cuts ties with Brea fire department 2011 merger ended as Fullerton considers disbanding its own fire department. CARLOS CORDOVA Staff Writer
The north and south towers of the library both sustained water damage after flooding. (Spencer Otte / Daily Titan)
MELANIE NGUYEN Asst. Editor
A flood broke out at the Pollak Library around 3:12 p.m. on April 8. Both the north and south towers of the building sustained water damage on several floors. Emily Bonney, Dean of Pollak Library, said the library would remain closed throughout April 9-10 and reopen on April 11 as crews continue their inspections. Cal State Fullerton Police Capt. Scot Willey said the police department received a call about a fire alarm in the library. Although there was no fire or smoke, there was water running down the walls from what seemed to have been a water
leak or break, Willey said. “In fact, water took out one of our security cameras that we were using to watch it,” Willey said. Students were notified of this incident via phone call, text message or email. The message sent out by the CSUF Emergency Alert system, stated that there was a break in a waterline. However, the cause of the fire alarm and water damage is still under investigation. There is speculation that the fire alarm could have been set off by the heat outside, but this is not confirmed yet, Willey said. Firefighters, plumbers, electricians and library staff are still assessing the damage to the building. Willey said that the damage can be
Visible water damage can be seen outside the atrium. ( Spencer Otte / Daily Titan )
seen on the floors and walls, but they are uncertain of how deeply the water seeped into the building. Jeffrey Whitten, television coordinator and media analyst, said that the communication facilities located in the Pollak Library South basement were not affected by the flood. Titan TV, Titan Radio and the Communication Stockroom will remain open. The library was evacuated and everyone was cooperative, Willey said. Some students left behind their personal belongings during the evacuation. “Some people had some backpacks and laptops and wallets and things were left behind. They’re able to go in now and retrieve those so they can leave for the day. But, there were no
injuries,” Willey said. The Pollak Library was out of service during the CSUF Experience Day on Saturday, April 9. “They really wanted to be able to show everybody what services they can offer there. So they’re not going to be able to do that now. So I know that’s a big disappointment for everyone that’s involved in the library. But they’ll hopefully be able to see it soon,” Willey said. Willey said the event was a chance to show prospective students some of the services that Cal State Fullerton offers. However, attending guests were not able to see the inside of the library during the campus tour. The Pollak Library will be updating the Titan community on its website.
The Fullerton City Council has voted to end a cooperative agreement with the city of Brea that saw the consolidation of the two cities’ fire department command staff. After a letter was sent by the city of Brea asking for the partnership to be disbanded by June 30, the council agreed that ending the agreement would be less stressful to the fire departments that are experiencing short staffing with their command staff. The council voted 3-2 on the motion. Both cities combined their command staff in 2011 to capitalize on cost savings and better meet the demands of each community. In total, the joint agency oversaw 10 stations, and over 100 personnel that have responded to nearly 19,000 emergency incidents. SEE COUNCIL 2
Softball sweeps series against CSU Northridge CSUF tops the Big West after three-game series in Northridge. NAVTEJ HUNDAL Deputy Editor
Titans softball secured a series sweep against the Cal State Northridge Matadors on April 8-9 at the Matador Diamond. Despite the disparities in overall records, Northridge stayed afloat with Fullerton. However, the Titans earned the conference’s best record with their lategame execution of clutch runs and stops. After the series, Fullerton has won five-straight games. The Titans are now 25-13 overall and 10-2 in the Big West Conference. CSUF pitcher Myka Sutherlin threw an exceptional 8.1 innings in the doubleheader, allowing an unearned run on three hits and struck out 11 Matadors players. Pitcher Alexia Silvas proved to be the catalyst for Fullerton’s victory on April 8 in her 4.2 innings, only allowing one hit and one run in relief while retiring the VISIT US AT: DAILYTITAN.COM
final 13 CSUN batters. The Matadors, however, continue to struggle as they extend their losing streak to nine games. The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader was tightly contested between the conference rivals. Center fielder Megan Delgadillo started things off for the Titans by scoring an unearned run to lead, 1-0, from first baseman Daisy Munoz’s sacrifice fly. CSUF continued to pour in two runs into the second. Jessi Alcala scored an unearned run on an error at first base by Northridge’s Sami Garcia, which allowed Antuanett Dean to reach first. Alexa Neil later capped Fullerton’s scoring bout off of Alexis Martinez’s wild pitch, extending the Titans’ lead, 3-0. However, the Matadors responded and scored two runs in the bottom of the inning. Eventually, Northridge overcame their deficit to tie the contest at 3-3 in the bottom of the third after Steward hammered a home run to right-center field. After two scoreless innings, the Titans regained the lead, 4-3, in the fifth with third baseman Hannah Becerra running to home plate off Munoz’s single RBI.
In the sixth, Northridge third baseman Vinessa Nunez ran from first base to home plate off of Mia Stankiewicz’s RBI double to knot the game at 4-4. With no runs in the seventh and eighth innings, the contest would head to the ninth where the Titans ultimately prevailed. On third, Delgadillo successfully scored off Alyssa Hernandez’s sacrifice fly to right field and lead 5-4. Following Degadillo, Munoz’s RBI double to right field brought Becerra from first base to home, sealing a 6-4 victory for Fullerton. In the series opener, both teams went scoreless in the first two innings, but things started to change in the third for Northridge. After reaching third on Sutherlin’s wild pitch, Carman got the Matadors on the board with a run from Steward’s double. With Northridge’s bases loaded, Silvas walked Nunez, brought Steward home and gave the Matadors a 2-0 advantage. With two on base, CSUN pinch hitter Kylie Galindo RBI singled to end the inning, bringing in two runs from Mia Cortez and Ariel Gomez. SEE SWEEP
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Myka Sutherlin winding up a pitch against UC Riverside on April 2 at Anderson Family Field. (Marisa Palmerin-Flores / Daily Titan) FOLLOW US: @THEDAILYTITAN