Daily Titan | February 27, 2023

CSUF forward Ruby MacDonald also shined, scoring a season-high 12 points and shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the field. Center Ashlee Lewis recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

SEE HOOP 5

Dean promotes McCarthy makeover

MELANIE NGUYEN Asst. Editor

The dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics debuted the recent $40 million renovation on the second floor of McCarthy Hall to the Associated Students’ board meeting Tuesday.

Nicholas Furtado, the ASI board of directors member for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, said this space was necessary for students because biological sciences is a core requirement to graduate.

“The more students feel seen, the more effort they’re going to put into their own education. And when things become accessible, available and upgraded, it’s a shiny new toy so everyone wants it,” Furtado said.

According to CSUF News, $32 million was provided by the CSU and the rest was covered by Cal State Fullerton. Marie Johnson, the dean of College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, said this $40 million was also used for fire, light and safety improvements to update McCarthy Hall to 2023 building code standards.

CSUF Housing grieves victims of violence

MELISSA RENDON Sta Writer

Cal State Fullerton’s Housing and Residential Engagement held a candlelight vigil last Tuesday in honor of recent victims of gun violence.

This included victims that died in mass shootings within the last year including Memphis, Colorado Springs, Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay.

The vigil began at the CSUF Housing basketball courts and finished at

14.6 points per game.

Softball upsets No. 3 Florida at three-day tournament

EMILY WILSON

Deputy Editor

After competing against multiple ranked opponents, Cal State Fullerton softball won three out of five games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City over the weekend.

On Saturday, the Titans won both their games, upsetting No. 3 ranked University of Florida, 5-4 in extra innings after infielder Hannah Becerra hit a walk-off 2-run home run in the eighth inning to earn the victory for the Titans. Earlier in the day, CSUF had shut out Oregon State, 4-0, after the game was delayed for over an hour.

The Titans split their games on Friday, beating No. 24 Oregon, 5-0, before losing to No. 2 Oklahoma, 8-0, via a run-rule, ending in five innings.

The Titans’ loss against the Sooners came as no surprise, as the defending champs torched the competition going undefeated in the tournament.

To begin the tournament, CSUF

lost against San Diego State, 6-5, in extra innings for their only game on Thursday.

Becerra leads the team in RBIs with 13, batting in seven runs over the weekend including four against Florida.

Outfielder Megan Delgadillo continues to lead the team in total hits, recording six over the weekend including batting 3-for-3 against No. 24 Oregon on Friday.

Every team the Titans faced batted under their season batting average, which is a testament to the pitching staff and their strong performance.

Pitcher Myka Sutherlin appeared in three games, two of which were starts where she recorded the win. She pitched two full-game shutouts, one against Oregon while striking out five batters and the other against Oregon State where she striked out six.

After picking up a loss against Oklahoma due to giving up five runs in her first and only inning, pitcher Raci Miranda redeemed herself against Florida, earning the win.

Miranda pitched the final 2.1 innings of the extra-innings victory and only gave up two hits.

Pitcher Haley Rainey recorded one loss against San Diego State after giving up three runs in 5.1 innings pitched. She also struck out nine batters in her start against Florida as well as giving up eight hits.

The pitching sta ff continues to lead the Big West conference with an overall ERA of 1.51, with Rainey being second individually with a 0.98 ERA and Sutherlin being third with a 1.00 ERA.

This weekend, the Titans proved that they could compete at the highest level with their wins against ranked opponents. The Judi Garman Classic next weekend will provide another opportunity to solidify that as CSUF prepares to host No. 1 UCLA and No. 25 Central Florida.

The Titans will return Thursday to play Michigan at the Anderson Family Field. The first pitch is set for 5:30 p.m.

Community coordinator Alma Zepeda made a wall display to honor shooting victims.

MELISSA RENDON / DAILY TITAN

SEE CANDLELIT 2

SEE HALL 3

City Council postpones utility fee increase

NOLLYANNE DELACRUZ Editor

Despite the city of Fullerton running a projected $5.2 million deficit in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, The Fullerton City Council delayed a vote to have residents pay credit card fees on utility and non-utility bills on Tuesday.

In Fullerton, the utility bill covers water. Everything else is considered non-utility including elecricity and sanitation. Chang said utility payments made up about 80% of all credit card transactions in Fullerton last year. The plan to charge credit fees for utility bills is estimated to save the city about $140,000 a year, said Ellis Chang, the director of administrative services in Fullerton.

Fullerton spent $395,000 in the last fiscal year on credit card fees. The city pays between 1% to 5% for every credit card transaction, depending on the type of credit card the person used. Passing on the cost of the fees to customers would mean that the city has more money to spend on other necessities, said Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung.

“The benefit’s obvious. We are saving by not spending, so that allows us to spend that funds somewhere else where it’s needed,” Jung said.

Although the price of utilities and non-utilities will not change, customers would have to pay the fee on top of that price, said Eric Levitt, the city manager of Fullerton.

Currently, Fullerton absorbs the credit card fees for customers. Jung said this is the first time that the city is considering passing these fees onto customers. Jung said this conversation arose from seeing if the city could generate more revenue by using these fees.

Jung said Fullerton’s history of absorbing credit card fees may be because credit cards were not as common as it is now.

“The times have changed and our structure has to change with the times, right?” Jung said.

Chang presented four options to the city council, one including a blended structure selection, where the city would pay for utility credit card and eCheck fees. However, it would make customers pay the fee for non-utility payments.

Shana Charles, the city council member representing Fullerton’s District 3, acknowledged that the city council members generally supported the blended model.

“I thought the discussion went really well, in that we all agreed that we want to make sure that people paying utility bills don’t have those fees passed onto them, because utility bills being non-negotiable and non-voluntary, you absolutely have to pay them,” Charles said.

In addition, another option was to have the city of Fullerton continue to absorb both utility and non-utility credit card fees.

Ellis Chang, the city's director of administrative services, presented four options for paying credit card fees to the city council.

The city council could also institute a non-utility credit card and eCheck fee in the future when the Fees and Charges schedule is updated.

Fullerton councilmember Ahmad Zahra said he was worried about how passing the credit card fees onto customers could impact them.

“I’m a little worried about, for now, some of our residents who are low-income or fixed-income, because sometimes even $20 extra, $30 extra, could impact people,” Zahra said.

Zahra also was concerned residents may be surprised that they are

being charged a credit card fee in next month’s payments.

Chang said the city would notify residents about the fee change by mailing information and online notifications.

Charles said she was also concerned about young adults who may not use conventional banking systems and questioned if digital wallet apps would be charged a fee like a credit card.

Jung said that those without bank accounts or using Venmo would not have to pay a credit card fee because they are not part of the structure.

In response, Charles said, “Staff

said they were not sure yet, and we are going to bring that back to council at the next meeting and make sure we have that finalized.”

If the city council does vote to pass any credit card fees onto residents, there are alternative forms of payment for people to avoid this fee. People who pay for their bills via cash, check, eCheck or through a digital wallet app would not have to pay a credit card fee for their transactions.

The Fullerton City Council will continue to discuss this topic at the next meeting on March 7.

Candlelit: Students honor victims at vigil

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the Laurel multi-purpose room where attendees could reflect and remember the lives that were lost.

LaTosha Traylor, an assistant professor in the Sociology department and faculty in Residence, came up with the idea to host the vigil after hearing about the recent shootings and other acts of violence. She worked together with CSUF Housing and Residential Engagement to provide the space and resources needed.

“It really was just providing folks space to honor those that have been victimized whether it’s these cases that we hear about on the news or something that is more close to us, more intimate in our lives, just to hold space for them

MaKayla Trudeau, a third-year kinesiology major, attended the candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Michigan State University shooting. She said that event specifically hit close to home for her.

“I’ve been on that campus, I’ve toured it, I’ve seen the pictures of the memorial sites and I’ve literally stepped foot there so it was something that was really hard to sit and take in,” Trudeau said.

The vigil included guest speakers Michael Perez, a professor in the Sociology department, and Lamba Aziz, a local therapist. They covered topics such as where violence stems from, reactions to violence and the importance of self-care.

Aziz said oftentimes when people are exposed to acts of violence, they tend to experience symptoms of secondary trauma. This may include anxiety, having a hard time sleeping and showing a lack of interest in activities that were previously enjoyed.

“I kind of wanted to build a space to talk about ways that trauma could impact us and how we could recognize it,” Aziz said.

Trudeau brought up the incident that occurred just weeks ago at CSUF involving a concerning email to an art instructor, and shared her thoughts about attending a university during times of increased violence and the fear that comes with it.

“In reality, you never know how safe and secure you are, which is something that’s obviously a terrible feeling to have when you’re

supposed to come in here and supposed to be meeting all these new people, you’re supposed to be studying your passions,” Trudeau said.

Traylor also described it as being very difficult from a criminologist's point of view but said attending spaces in which she is able to talk about it with others free of judgment helps.

In terms of campus safety, Traylor said she believes the university could improve in some areas, such as communicating with students about making sure students know the resources available to them when potential threats occur.

“We've all experienced these things in different ways,” Traylor said. “I really wanted to make sure folks knew that there are people here that cared and wanted to honor what they have been through.”

In-person

Classes meet one evening a week

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Master of Science in Business Analytics

Master of Science in Organizational Leadership

NOLLYANNE DELACRUZ / DAILY TITAN

FROM 1 and let them know that they’re not alone,” Traylor said.

Campus resources target food and housing needs

LUIS VIZCAINO Sta Writer

Associated Students’ Social Justice and Equity Commission held a food and housing insecurity resource fair at the Titan Student Union in Ontiveros conference room last Thursday for students to learn more about student wellness resources available to them.

ASI chief inclusion and diversity officer, Maysem Awadalla, who also oversees the Social Justice and Equity Commission, said they wanted to showcase the various resources available to students in one event that help with problems of food and housing insecurity.

“Some people don't really know what we have, and we really just want to showcase what we can offer students, and that students don’t have to be alone in their struggles,” Awadalla said, “They can reach out for help and we have these organizations here to help them.”

Invited to the event were ASI Food Pantry, Student Wellness, the LGBT Queer Resource Center’s Gender Affirming Closet, WISEPlace and Tuffy’s Basic Needs.

WISEPlace is a nonprofit organization that provides unaccompanied women, those who have no partner or other support system, with shelter and career aid. Over a third of the women they serve are over 55 years old, due to spouse deaths and lack of support. The nonprofit was looking for students to sign up for volunteer work to help process donations.

“A lot of it was stuff that I already knew about so it was just a refresher,” said Tanya Gonzalez, a thirdyear graphic design major. “I did learn about a new one, which was the WISEPlace, I believe. So I'm going to be volunteering to that as well.”

The ASI Food Pantry provides students with free fresh groceries and canned goods. Jennifer Guardian, a pantry employee, said they were there to promote their resources and combat food insecurity at the Food and Housing Resource fair.

“I would just say that this is a resource that is on campus and I really urge students to take advantage of it,” Guardian said. “I think they

Hall: $40 million project completed

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The space was finished in the fall 2021 semester but was available to students since last spring. Johnson said it took about 30 years to plan the entire project because it took time to raise the money.

“What they say is that designing a science building is like renovating your house, but every room is a kitchen because it’s complicated. It’s sciency things,” Johnson said.

Furtado, who is a senior majoring in biological sciences with a focus in molecular biology and biotechnology, said the space includes conference spaces, lounge areas and markings on the floor of major scientific discoveries.

“It was designed with innovation in mind for the biological and geological sciences. And what it does is it highlights and enhances those disciplines’ focuses,” Furtado said.

The project updated about 13,500 square feet of classroom and lecture spaces. It also included elevator repairs and landscaping for the outdoor patio space.

Johnson said one of her favorite parts of the new space is the murals of di fferent southern California ecosystems.

One of the conference rooms has the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics slogan inscribed in its glass walls: “Exploring by inquiry, learning through discovery.”

Furtado said the space is available to students from any college,

not just science majors, and many students have used this space since its opening.

Cristal Cervantes Meza, a senior studying liberal arts, said she likes the space because there are more private studying spaces and there are outlets everywhere.

“The other floors, there is no space where you can sit down and even chill out for a little bit. So, it’s nice to have one full floor that you can have students do their work,” Cervantes Meza said.

Johnson said she saw many students sitting on the floors of hallways doing their homework. She said the goal of this project was to provide a better space for students to study.

“It’s been such a long process and I’m really proud of it. I want students to know that we did this so your lives would be better,” Johnson said.

Furtado said he hopes to see more improvements for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics student success center to make it more accessible. He said he hopes the first floor of McCarthy Hall will be renovated next.

Johnson said she hopes the whole building will look like the second floor and the other floors need some love.

“I feel like our old space just screamed mediocrity and our students deserve so much better than that. We’re exceptional. And I wanted a space that reflects how exceptional our students and faculty are and I think it feels that way now,” Johnson said.

should really take advantage of it, especially if they're paying for it out of tuition.”

Student Wellness promoted a flu shot clinic during the event and shared information about their other services. Students were given pamphlets with information about their health clinic and their pharmacy services.

The LGBT Queer Resource Center’s Gender Affirming Closet is a clothing

resource available to students on campus. They can be accessed through the center’s location in Pollak Library South 180, room 189.

community. Because there are tons of people that just need clothes.”

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“When we first started this closet, it was in the mind of supporting trans and non-binary students,” said Nat Betancourt, senior coordinator for the LGBT Queer Resource Center, “But we realized well this actually just kinda just supports the whole

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Tuffy’s Basic Needs is part of the larger CSU Basic Needs Initiative that provides students with access to temporary housing, food and resource assistance. Chloe Mitchell, a student assistant at Basic Needs, said students can come in once a month and get access to necessities by filling out a service request form. EDITORIAL

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student for free.

Nat Betancourt (right), senior coordinator of the LGBT Queer Resource Center, promoted resources at the event.

DAVID NUÑEZ / DAILY TITAN

Hoop: Women's basketball beats Roadrunners on senior night

Men's basketball wins sixth straight

ETHAN LUONG Sta Writer

Extending their winning streak to six games, Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball defeated the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners in overtime, 70-66, Saturday at the Icardo Center.

The Titans began overtime with an 8-0 scoring run, but the Roadrunners responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the game back within 2 points, making the score 68-66 with 1:21 remaining. Despite creating more scoring opportunities, the Roadrunners, missing seven 3-point opportunities in overtime.

Following a defensive rebound, Titan guard Tory San Antonio was fouled and went on to make both free throws with 11 seconds to play. The Roadrunners would miss one last 3-point opportunity as the clock ran out.

The Titans had three players score in double figures, with guard Max Jones leading the way with 17 points along with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Jones continued his hot shooting from last game, shooting 7-of-11 from the field.

The two other guards scoring in double figures were guards Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Jalen Harris. Wrightsell Jr. notched 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Harris ended the game with 15 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.

Roadrunners forward Travis Henson led all scorers in the game with 22 points. He also added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. This was a back-and-forth game that saw 8 lead changes and 10 ties throughout.

Guard Fujika Nimmo scored 6 points while also dishing a game-high ve assists. Nimmo is currently second in the Big West in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game.

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The Roadrunners were led by forward Hennie van Schaik who scored a game-high 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

The Titans started the game off on the wrong foot, shooting an inefficient 1-of-12 from the field while also making 2 free throws to fall behind the Roadrunners early, 13-4.

Following a 30-second timeout with three minutes left, the Titans crept back into the game after a 7-0 scoring run shortened the Roadrunners' lead to two entering the second quarter.

Roadrunner van Schaik was a headache for the CSUF defense in the first half scoring 10 points within the first fifteen minutes of the game.

From then on, the Titans adjusted their defense and slowed down van Schaik’s offensive performance. Van Schaik finished the game with 13 points and 7 rebounds, only scoring 3 points during the second half.

“There was an emphasis on her for sure,” Jovanovic said when asked about the Titans’ defensive adjustment for van Schaik.

The Titans came out of the break locked in, shooting 42% percent from the field in the second half.

In the third quarter, MacDonald made a 3-pointer that kicked off an 8-0 Titans’ scoring

run. From this point forward, the Titans held the lead until the end of the game.

Before the game, the Titans honored their three seniors: Nancy Panagiotopoulou-Andritsopoulou, Anniken Frey and Josie Morgan. Panagiotopoulou-Andritsopoulou and Morgan saw minutes throughout the game. Frey could not play due to injury.

“They mean a lot, especially off the court. They are all just great people. We are all really close, and they are great role models for us,” Jovanovic said of her senior teammates.

The Titans will travel to San Diego next Saturday to face the UCSD Tritons in their last regular season game. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

In the closing minute of regulation, Titans forward John Mikey Square took a charge to gain back possession, which led to a pair of free throws for Harris. Harris made it a two possession game, giving the Titans a 60-55 lead with 23 seconds remaining.

Following a quick basket by the Roadrunners to bring the score to 60-57, Titans guard Tory San Antonio was fouled but missed both free throws giving the Roadrunners an opportunity to tie with 8 seconds left.

Up by 3 points, Henson made a game-tying 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. For the Titans, this win moves them up to fourth in the Big West standings with a conference record of 12-6 and an overall record of 18-12.

For their final game of the regular season, the Titans will look to extend their winning streak to seven games against UC San Diego on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Titan Gym.

MARIO LEAL / DAILY TITAN

Rec Day sees increase in student participation

EMILIO MELENDEZ Sta Writer

The Student Recreation Center at Cal State Fullerton hosted their fourth annual Rec Day on Wednesday, which included interactive events such as sports challenges, obstacle courses and a ra ffle where students could win exciting prizes.

Diana Lopez, a SRC fitness department graduate assistant, said the sta ff had spent months working together on coordinating this event. Over 500 students participated in this year’s Rec Day, which shows progress in attendance, said Aaron Tapper, the director of the Student Recreation Center.

“Every year, we seem to see bigger programs and services that we offer for Rec Day and also more students that have participated. Each year we have seen an increase in participation,” Tapper said.

For Rec Day, the SRC had numerous activities for students to come out and enjoy. At the front of the gym, they had an inflatable obstacle course where students could race each other two at a time. At the rock climbing wall was the Crate Stack, where students would try and stack empty crates up as high as possible

Students who attended and participated in recreational sports during Rec Day were able to treat themselves to snacks at the salad bar, among other vendors.

without them falling over, safely harnessed in a bungee cord.

The basketball court offered a few di fferent activities: a 3-point contest, a pull-up/dead hang challenge where students tried to see how many pull-ups they can do or how long they can dead hang for

and bungee basketball, which is an inflatable basketball course.

The pool area featured food vendors that were available to students participating in the event. The SRC rented the services of Salt-N-Pepper food truck and set up a s’more station. The Associated Students’

Food Pantry had stations set up for the students to enjoy some snacks.

“I think it's really cool that it can bring a lot of people together,” Lorena Zapata García, a Communications student, said. “They have a lot of di fferent activities, and they give you tickets so you can enter

di fferent ra ffles and stu ff like that. It’s been really cool. A great vibe.”

Rec Day included a ra ffle for the students, offering prizes like AirPods, national park passes, backpacks and sleeping bags, Tapper said.

First World Games Expo highlights global sports

NOLLYANNE DELACRUZ Editor

Students were able to learn and play games from around the world at the first World Games Expo, hosted by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs on Tuesday at Cal State Fullerton.

Kristen McVaugh, a graduate assistant for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs, said it was important to have this event so students could highlight games from their culture and share their cultural pride

and excitement with the campus community.

The diversity initiatives on campus partnered with Student Programs & Engagement and the Association for Intercultural Awareness to share games from different cultures.

The event featured soccer, mahjong, chess, cricket, bowling, Teqball, Daruma and many other games along with two food trucks on the lower level of the Titan Student Union, Tuffy Lawn and the Student Recreation Center. Over 150 people participated in the event.

Cynthia Barajas, a graduate assistant for student programming and engagement, said “the main mission of this all was just to combine diversity, combine culture, and combine a lot of people to come and celebrate it.”

McVaugh said planning for the event started in the spring of last year. They recruited several clubs and organizations to participate in the event. Of five clubs that submitted games to the event, only two clubs were present. Marketing for the event began last semester in the fall.

“I love the idea of having people’s

cultures represented within ASI and within Fullerton overall, and I’m glad we were able to provide the food trucks to obviously get more engagement,” said Aundrea Nuñez, a graduate student for Associated Students programming and engagement. “I think people are enjoying it so I think we got a pretty good turnout.”

Patrick Anieo, a second-year mechanical engineering major and president of the Japanese Anime Club, said that participating in the event was a good way to promote the club to possible new members.

“We’re trying to focus on making sure that we get a lot of people into our club, finding a focus and finding a home, maybe for some people to hang out, especially with a very niche topic like anime or Japanese culture in general,” Anieo said.

They said the club chose to play daruma at the event because it was easy. Daruma-san ga koronda is a Japanese game similar to Red Light, Green Light, where players slowly move toward someone while they aren't looking.

“People have watched ‘Squid Game’ and probably might make that connection. In a way, they might be like, ‘Oh, I want to play Red Light, Green Light,’” Anieo said.

Ana Alves, a second-year graduate student in the master’s program for kinesiology and vice president of the Teqsports club, was promoting sports like Teqball — a sport that was invented in 2014 that combines elements of ping pong, volleyball and soccer. To play Teqball, it requires a specific curve-shaped table, similar to a ping pong table, and a ball used for soccer or volleyball.

“We have a lot of people playing, learning this sport, and we have people signing up for our future club, so I’m really happy for this event,” Alves said.

Because this is the first event of its kind, McVaugh said she would like to see more club participation to continue holding the event.

Fhil Ladores, a second-year communications sciences and disorders student, said he enjoyed the event but would have liked to see more sports that aren’t as well-known.

McVaugh wrote in an email to the Daily Titan, “We are excited to help students share the diversity within the fitness realm of sports and games, so we would love to have even more students participate next year!”

EMILIO MELENDEZ / DAILY TITAN

(From left to right): Students Miguel Lopez, Jacqueline Naito, Riccardo Amante, and Danna Cifuentes attending the World Games Expo participated in games such as Teqball, a sport that combines elements of table tennis, volleyball and soccer.

NOLLYANNE DELACRUZ / DAILY TITAN

Water polo struggles at weekend tournament

GOTTIE CHAVEZ Editor

Entering the weekend with an overall winning record, Cal State Fullerton women’s water polo struggled at the Tina Finali Memorial Tournament in Thousand Oaks, California winning just one out of their four matches over the weekend.

The Titans’ only win of the weekend was in their final match against the Ottawa University Spirit in a 12-9 win.

Upon losing three straight games, the Titans entered their fourth match against Ottawa University looking to avoid the tournament sweep. The Titans had previously beat the Spirit, 10-8, earlier in the season.

This was an even match that saw the two teams go back and forth.

Heading into the fourth period, the teams were tied at 7-7 before Titans Mikka Von Scherr scored a goal within the first minute of the fourth period. This goal set off a 5-2 scoring run which would secure the Titans’ win, 12-9.

Despite the win, the Titans were outscored 48-32 overall, including in the three losses to Azusa Pacific, the Fresno Pacific University and the California Baptist.

This weekend saw the Titans’ offense struggle as their former leading scorer Mia Solorzano failed to score in any of the matches. Making up for Solorzano’s shortcomings, the Titans were led by junior Americul Mendoza’s 10 goals and new team leading scorer Gabrielle Zaretskiy’s 7 goals.

Titan goalkeeper Haden Skye Bates struggled throughout the weekend, earning three losses and

only one win. In the four matches, Bates allowed 44 goals while only making 13 saves.

This includes being replaced by teammate Minami Creamer in the first match against the Cougars after allowing 17 goals in the first three quarters of the match.

The Titans entered Saturday's matches looking for their first tournament win after going winless on day one. The Titans had previously lost to the Lancers, 17-2, on Jan. 26.

Once again, the Lancers

quickly took the lead after senior Taylor Frandsen scored 2 early goals. From this point forward the Titans attempted to play catch up, but ultimately were unable to close the lead.

The Lancers led the entire game, eventually winning 9-6.

Friday's doubleheader saw the Titans get outscored 30-14 in two losses.

The Titans began their day against the Cougars who immediately dominated the Titans’ defense scoring 10 unanswered goals. Freshman Kylie Corwin scored the Titans’ first and

only goal of the first half with 2:24 left to play in the second period.

The Titans were unable to close the deficit as the Cougars’ offense carried their team to an easy 21-7 win.

Following this loss, the Titans were looking to repeat their performance on Jan. 26 when they beat the Sunbirds 9-8.

The Sunbirds dominated the first half outscoring the Titans 8-1. Coming out of the half, the Titans quickly scored 3 goals in their pursuit to catch up.

A ninth Sunbird goal by freshman Emma Cook would ultimately be enough to secure the win after the Titans were unable to complete the comeback and lost 9-7.

With the weekend losses, the Titans’ overall record moves to 6-9.

Next, the Titans will head to Pomona, California to participate in the Claremont Convergence tournament. On Friday, their opponents are California Lutheran at 10 a.m. and Santa Clara at 3 p.m.

Goalkeeper Haden Skye Bates allowed 44 goals while only making 13 saves at the Tina Finali Memorial Tournament over the weekend.

DARLENE SANZON / DAILY TITAN

Summer and winter classes need aid too

GABRIELA PEREZ

In the late spring of 2022, I sent in my graduation forms. I was ecstatic about spring 2023 being my last semester. Upon checking my Cal State Fullerton portal, my heart sank; I was missing credits. I rushed to enroll in a summer course to fill those credits, requiring me to reach into my emergency fund and pay $900 for registration. I was later compensated with a summer session grant once the semester had ended.

Reimbursement for eligible students is usually available at the end of summer, but many students can only pay part of the tuition upfront. And aid for winter is nonexistent, with winter classes usually being three or five weeks long and costing $366 per unit.

CSUF needs to implement better financial aid systems for winter and summer courses.

Monica Coloso, associate director of financial aid, said in an email that all winter classes are self-supporting as of now. Unlike the summer intersession, winter courses aren’t part of CSUF’s academic calendar.

Students can receive up to $6,895 per year through the Pell Grant based on tuition, financial need and parttime or full-time status. On average, full-time students' annual tuition at CSUF is over $7,000. The Pell Grant alone can not cover the total tuition for fall and spring, which can already be a hassle for some students.

According to the Education Data Initiative’s 2022 report, “College Dropout Rates,” 42% of college-dropouts indicated they dropped out due to financial hardship. Students also reported that attending school parttime could be too expensive if they

don’t receive financial aid.

If a student needs to take a class during the summer, reimbursement depends on whatever is leftover from their annual financial aid. This is an issue considering most students will not have any aid leftover. Summer undergraduate classes at CSUF are $320 per unit, with an additional $257.30 for student fees.

So if enrolling in one, three-unit summer course, a student will pay $1,217.30. Ultimately, most students will end up paying for these classes out-of-pocket.

According to CSU’s Summer Enrollment report of 2020, CSUF had 7,942 self-supported students enrolled

during the 2020 summer term. Being self-supported means paying for the courses without financial aid.

Of that same summer, only 955 students used their remaining financial aid from their spring semester.

A big issue for students is the pressure to graduate in four years, pushing students to take summer and winter courses. It’s unrealistic for students to complete their required units within four years without taking a summer or winter course, leading to unnecessary tuition fees they must pay out of pocket.

Current CSU summer aid includes the State University and Summer Session Grants. There is also

four years.

the Direct Loan option students can choose. While the grants seem like great options, they have a lot of restrictions and are limited to who can access them.

CSU currently offers two summer grants. The first one, the State University Grant, is available to students taking eligible summer courses. Students must be enrolled in a state-supported course, which can cost up to $7,900, and enroll in at least six units during the summer session.

One of these state-supported classes will cost anywhere between $1,900 to $7,900. To receive this grant, students would have to enroll in more than one course, or else they do not qualify.

The second CSU funded grant, the Summer Session Grant, is only available to senior undergraduate students with $0 of expected family contribution. The requirements for this grant are narrow and inaccessible. According to Sallie Mae’s “How America Pays for College 2021,” 85% of parents pay for a portion of their child’s tuition.

And most students would rather avoid taking out loans because they would have to pay it back later with interest.

These grants are distributed caseby-case and vary by financial needs. Most students can not afford to take out loans, do not qualify for these grants due to their exclusivity or have exhausted their annual financial aid.

These are not helpful when attempting to meet CSUF’s commonly-marketed four-year graduation schedule. Without proper financial help, students find it difficult to graduate in four years or at all. Some ways students can receive aid besides their FAFSA are scholarships promoted by CSUF’s financial aid office.

Scholarships are available on the CSUF financial aid website or through the student portal. While they are usually disbursed during the academic year, students can budget some of the award funds from their spring classes toward summer classes.

However, this doesn’t address the issue that students don’t receive enough to fund their college education.

CSU chancellors and administration must address these financial aid issues in a state like California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has already increased state funding toward education over this fiscal year. Students need education but should not be restricted to the spring and fall sessions.

Not everyone is white, Census Bureau

ELENA HANNA Asst. Editor

As a half-Iraqi and half-Syrian student, the most confusing question I have had to answer was on documents asking me to decide which race category I belonged to. With every document I fill out, erasure and confusion fill me due to the lack of a race category that represents me. People of Middle Eastern and North African descent know how invalidating it is to bubble in “White (including Middle Eastern origin).” Especially when people who identify as MENA, don’t identify as white. Adding a category for the Middle

Eastern and North African region to the 2030 Census will increase the representation of racial backgrounds; the addition of another category could lead to better allocation of funds and resources, allowing more people from this community to succeed in various fields.

According to the United States Census Bureau’s website, race data aims to promote equal employment and assess racial disparities in health and economic risks. However, there’s no way for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect or provide the data necessary to show if there are any disparities in health care, education, employment and more within the MENA population.

In a 2015 Census Bureau study, individuals were given a survey including

a MENA category. The percentage of MENA Americans who previously identified as white dropped from 85% to 20%, illustrating the notion of not identifying as white.

MENA’s lack of representation in Census data intensifies society's suppression of cultural minorities, particularly exacerbating stereotypes towards those perceived as Middle Eastern.

For example, a common misconception held by Americans is that all Middle Easterners are forced to be Muslim. However, the Middle East is diverse and encompasses Christian, Jewish and non-Abrahamic populations.

People also use Jihadism interchangeably with Islam. As a result, there was a surge in hate crimes against people perceived to be Middle

Eastern, South Asian or Muslim following the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

As a result, most MENA people don’t identify as white. Many non-MENA people do not perceive them to be white either, according to a study by Neda Maghbouleh, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto.

Maghbouleh said MENA identities are found unclear and subsequently separate from American whiteness, therefore lumped into a racialized non-white category.

In the U.S., there are over 3.7 million Arab Americans, according to the Arab American Institute. Race classifications have changed over the years to adapt to societal attitudes and to be more accurate. So, there’s no reason why the Census has yet to add a category for MENA, especially given its large, fast-growing population.

Since the Census’s racial and ethnic categories are essential, communities feel a sense of erasure from American culture when excluded from every race category or not given adequate representation. Forcing MENA communities to select “white” on the Census stifles their culture.

As of 2023, there are five race categories in the U.S. Census Bureau: Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian and white.

The U.S. Census Bureau considered adding the Middle East and North African region as a sixth race category in 2020, but decided against it. According to Karen Battle, the chief of the bureau’s population division, “more testing and research is necessary.” Therefore, the MENA community must wait until 2030 for consideration again.

However, Census data is time-sensitive. It determines how the annual

distribution of over $675 billion in federal funds should be divided among populations for health care, education, employment and more. Each year that passes is another year of funding missed for highly needed medical research, language assistance and advocacy programs for the MENA community.

Despite Battle wanting more research, the data available points towards MENA people facing a higher rate of obesity, diabetes, coronary artery disease, lung cancer, asthma and high blood pressure than the U.S. average.

Diseases such as sickle cell are prevalent in the MENA community. While incurable, it can be avoided by prenatal or pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, which is costly and subsequently inaccessible to low-income populations. This is due to there being no government programs to alleviate some of the high costs of illnesses.

Furthermore, with the high levels of internalized and cultural stigma that are associated with mental and sexual health, there’s a need for better social programs equipped to spread awareness.

By not having the necessary programs, MENA’s social mobility decreases, continuing the socio-economic cycle of inequality among cultural minorities in America. Providing the right tools to succeed will lead to an increase in MENA’s contribution to society.

Providing the community with a much-need sixth category will ensure the allocation of funds toward developing accessible research and will accommodate one of the fastest-growing populations, positively influencing American society simply through inclusion.

Summer and winter classes have little-to-no nancial aid help for students, leaving them unable to graduate in

GABRIELA PEREZ / DAILY TITAN

ARIES Aries, make certain impulses do not lead you. You like to be self-reliant and have something you want to act upon immediately. Take time to reflect before you act on those impulses.

TAURUS Taurus, take a look at your relationships. Make sure the inner circle you have for yourself is uplifting you. There are new relationships that will be coming soon. This person may feel like a kindred spirit.

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GEMINI Gemini, remember that life is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s good to have clear career goals, but the steps moving toward them do not have to be too fast. Don’t let yourself cut corners.

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VIRGO Virgo, your path has cleared for a new beginning. You have a sense of charisma behind you that attracts positive energy. Now is the time to pursue new relationships. Focus on togetherness and company from others.

CAPRICORN Be sure that you are using your creative outlet Capricorn. You have begun a new ambitious project that fills your need for creativity. Ensure you set aside time for this project to fill that creative need.

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