Daily Titan: Monday, August 24, 2009

DETOUR: Depeche Mode

SPORTS: Women’s soccer season opener ends in loss to Utah, page 19

The new wave group rocked FEATURES: Jury duty: the verdict is in, Santa Barbara Bowl, page 12 guilty, page 6

Since 1960 Volume 85, Issue X

Monday August, 24, 2009

The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

Financial ‘mega meltdown’ hits CSU

“Nothing short of a mega meltdown financially,” is how California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed described the events that occurred over the summer. The CSU lost a fifth of its general fund support from the state. The student fee rose by nearly $1,000 for each full-time California resident. Each faculty member lost nearly 10 percent of their salary to furlough days. The CSU has closed spring enrollment, is planning potential impaction plans for the 2010-11 year, and will decrease its total enrollment by 40,000 students.

Among these encroaching times, the Daily Titan attempts to do its part by supplying you, the reader, with insight from intellect fostered by Cal State Fullerton instructors, and with information aggregated from sources across the state. This is our continuing goal as CSUF perseveres through the work that begins today.

DTSHORTHAND Excess Units

“Please do not respond to this email”. That was the closing remark in an e-mail sent out to students by CSUF’s Admissions and Records, notifying students that no requests for excess credits will be allowed. The limits placed on students for credit hours are: 16 units for undergraduate students, 12 units for graduate students and 19 units for credential students.

The only allowance will be for students who are candidates for graduation for the fall 2009 term.

Financial Aid Most financial aid will be dispersed in a lump sum a few days before classes begin, according to the financial aid Web site. The first disbursement for fall 2009 aid was scheduled on August 20, and there will be additional disbursements each week throughout the semester.

The web site added that if students are enrolled part-time they may only receive partial payments of certain aid such as the Cal Grant, the Federal Pell Grant or the EOP Grant. However, in the case that a student increases their enrollment they may receive additional aid.

“

I would like to say to the students that if they continue the collaboration that I’ve seen in the past with the entire campus, faculty, staff and administrators working together that Cal State Fullerton is going to be as successful as possible.

– Milton A. Gordon, Ph.D. CSUF President

“

See Gordon, page 3

“Winkers”

General fund loses $1.3 billion

Faculty & staff paydays

furloughed

By Sergio Cabaruvias

Daily Titan News Director News@dailytitan.com

Faculty and staff furloughs, a 32 percent student fee increase, enrollment cuts and class reductions are all in place as the California State University tries to grapple with its most significant budget woes in its history.

“It’s the state!” Cal State Fullerton President Milton Gordon said before explaining that the massive cut is derived from the state’s efforts to eliminate the $26.3 billion budget gap.

Over the summer, state general fund support to the CSU decreased from $2.9 billion to $1.6 billion, an amount lower than that supplied a decade ago when the university had about a fifth fewer students, states the CSU Web site. With aid from the federal government and other sources, however, the CSU is facing a revenue shortfall of $564 million.

To fill the “unprecedented” budget shortfall it faced as a result of the state budget cuts, CSU has taken measures that include furlough days for nearly all of its 47,000 employees, a 32 percent increase to the student fee, planned enrollment cuts that include the closure of spring enrollment, and system-wide budget reductions, Vice President for Academic Affairs Ephraim Smith said.

Because employee salaries and benefits account for 85 percent of CSU’s budget expenditures, employee furloughs are expected to generate $275 million, Gordon stated in a letter to the CSUF community.

The California Faculty Association, a union that represents 23,000 CSU employees, stated on July 24 that 54 percent of its voting members approved the furlough plan proposed by CSU. The plan calls for faculty to take 18 normally paid work days as unpaid days off, which decreases their salaries by 9.23 percent for the 2009-10 year.

Every other employee at CSUF will also be taking an equivalent of two furlough days per month except campus police, graduate assistants and teaching assistants, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs James Dietz said.

Students can expect offices and services to be

By Sergio Cabaruvias

Daily Titan News Director news@dailytitan.com

By Isa ghani/Daily Titan Multimedia Editor

closed several Fridays throughout the semester as part of the furlough plan for CSU. (See related story on Page One and the furlough calendar on page 3.)

Over the summer, the undergraduate fee for a full-time California resident student was increased from $3,048 last year to $4,026 for this academic year. In 1999, the same fee was $1,428.

The total fee increase is an accumulation of multiple increases that have been passed by the CSU Board of Trustees since May – the last of which was announced after many students had registered, causing expressions of frustration from the student body.

“I’m kind of S.O.L. because my financial aid only gave me enough for books, but now that they increased (student fees) I don’t have enough for books. So I have to come up with that on my own,” Chris Brabant, a history major said before stating he would buy his books with credit.

A group of CSU students filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the CSU’s Board of Trustees for raising fees after students had already been billed. The lawsuit claims that the act was a breach of contract and cites a ruling by the California Court of Appeals which found against the University of California in a similar case last year, the CFA reported.

The next hearing for the suit is scheduled on Aug. 31.

A third of the increase to student fees will be funneled to financial aid. “This set aside, as well as increases in financial aid included in the federal stimulus package, is expected to fully cover the fee increase for 187,000 of CSU’s 450,000 total students,” Gordon said.

The plan to fill the CSU shortfall includes cuts to enrollment.

Last year, prior to the state’s proposed cut to funding, CSU had already stated that it would cut See BUDGET, Page 2

CSUF president addresses state-wide cuts Milton A. Gordon, Ph.D. tells the Daily Titan what effects the cuts will have

Patent pending for the hippest new clothing accessory. It’s the pants that wink as you walk. The best part, the fatter the wearer, the more effective it is.

WEATHER

TODAY

TOMorrow

High: 83° Low: 62°

High: 84° Low: 64°

SUNNY

SUNNY

CONTACT US

Main line: (657) 278-3373 News desk: (657) 278-4415 Advertising: (657) 278-4411 E-mail: news@dailytitan.com

Daily Titan: What was your reaction when you heard how large the deficit would be for the CSU? President Gordon: Well, you know, I’m a mathematician, so I was stunned, personally, at the size of it. I’ve been through several state budget reductions in the state before, but never one of this size or of this magnitude.

I don’t think you can compare the previous state reductions to the current $584 million. For instance, it is the first time in the history of the state that the Cal State system will be furloughing. They’ve never had to do that before.

DT: How will the fee increases affect the population of Cal State Fullerton?

Gordon: The students currently work around 25 hours a week. I think some of our students are going to work longer hours. I think there are some students who will not be able to afford the tuition and not be able to come here. It will impact the entire university.

DT: How else is CSUF planning to cut back besides fee increases and furloughs?

Gordon: We must cut back students. To me, the greatest impact is going to be the number of college-eligible students we won’t be able to take over the next two years.

We’re trying to balance it between first-time freshman and transfer students. Because if you’re not aware of it, for the past ten years, Cal State Fullerton has had the largest number of transfer students in the state of California. So what we’re trying to do is keep a balance between the increase in our first time-freshman and the decrease in our transfer students. We’ve found this very, very difficult. You know, it’s painful for all of us to reject eligible college students. But what we’re trying to do is to bring the university and the entire system in match with the number of students the state is paying for. That is what we are trying to do.

DT: What was your reaction to the news that only four percent of the voting members of the California Faculty Association had confidence in CSU Chancellor Reed’s leadership?

Gordon: Surprise. I have full confidence in Chancellor Reed. He is in a very difficult situation right now.

DT: Why do you think the faculty voted that way?

Gordon: I think misunderstandings explain it. I work closer with him. I know he’s going through a tough time.

Personally, I have full confidence in him.

DT: I suppose that the faculty might be looking for someone to blame.

Gordon: Well, yes. I don’t know how to say this. It’s the state! Can it be more obvious than that? The chancellor didn’t create the $584 million deficit, the state of California did.

DT: When furloughs were being proposed, did you support them?

Gordon: Absolutely. Let me tell you why. It will not affect long term benefits or pensions. If you only went with salary reductions, they would impact benefits and pensions. It is absolutely the best way to go. I’m in full support of them.

DT: The CFA has stated that the faculty was frustrated with Chancellor Reed because he would not guarantee that, if the furlough plan was passed, layoffs would not occur. (Correction: The CFA has stated that faculty were frustrated with the chancellor for not guaranteeing that furloughs would reduce layoffs.)

Gordon: Well you can’t! I don’t know if anyone has thought about the magnitude of this deficit, but $584 million. How can anyone guarantee that there wouldn’t eventually be layoffs? It’s impossible.

See GORDON, Page 3

Canceled classes and office hours, along with campus-wide “reduced service” days, will become the norm during the 2009-10 academic year, as employees of the California State University are required to take furlough days to help fill the CSU’s $564 million budget deficit.

“I absolutely support furloughs,” said Cal State Fullerton President Milton Gordon. The furloughs are expected to save about $275 million in labor costs this school year, reducing the need for layoffs of hundreds of employees.

A furlough day is a day on which an employee would normally be paid to work but has instead agreed not to work and not be paid. The plan for faculty mandates nine furlough days in the fall semester and nine furlough days in the spring semester. The 18 days total translates into a 9.23 percent pay decrease for faculty.

“They will not affect long term benefits or pensions. If you only went with salary reductions, they would impact benefits and pensions.

It is absolutely the best way to go. I am in full support of them,” Gordon said.

The California Faculty Association, which represents 23,000 CSU employees, agreed to the furlough plan after 54 percent of its members voted this summer in favor of the plan, while 46 percent of the 8,800 voting faculty members voted against the plan, the CFA stated in a See FURLOUGH, Page 2

Students react to budget shortfall “Since we pay our university fees in our home universities, basically we’re not affected.”

-Yovadee Chetty,

forgeign exchange student

“We haven’t received any checks ... we’re having some problems. We’re checking our student portal, and the money’s not the money we expected.”

-Rosario Torrez,

health science major

“Pretty much just the books (are affected), and I have to figure out how I am going to buy them. I have to put them all on credit.”

-Chris Brabant, history major

2

PageChanging Two Perceptions: CSUF’s New Visual Identity

August, 24, 2009

IN OTHER NEWS INTERNATIONAL

Despite low turnout, Afghan vote successful AFGHANISTAN (MCT) – The Afghan government and the principal opposition candidate declared the country’s second presidential election a success Thursday, despite strong indications that Taliban threats and attacks had kept voters at home.

The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, which deployed some 7,500 observers around the country, said it would withhold judgment while it assessed reports of irregularities, violence and low turnout. The reports “raise concerns about the quality of today’s elections, and about the impact of the reported incidents of violence — some gruesome,” the organization said.

At least 26 people died in Election Day violence: eight Afghan soldiers, nine police officers and nine civilians, according to Defense Minister Rahim Wardak and Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar. Afghans defied “rockets, bombs and intimidation and came out to vote. We’ll see what the turnout was, but they came out to vote. That’s great. That’s great,” President Hamid Karzai declared at a news conference after the polls closed.

NATIONAL Obama’s position is ‘unchanged’ WASHINGTON (MCT) – The White House administration is unhappy about recent news coverage suggesting President Barack Obama and his administration have changed positions on an important piece of the health care proposal: creating a government-run medical insurance plan that would compete with private insurers.

The issue flared over the weekend, when senior administration officials and the president himself gave what were widely seen as signals that they were now prepared to jettison the so-called “public option” if that’s what it took to pass a health care overhaul.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, said Obama’s position on a public option is the same: “Well, as I’ve said, now, yesterday and earlier today, the president — his position, the administration’s position is unchanged.”

By Rachel David

Daily Titan Copy Editor news@dailytitan.com

The days of the iconic Cal State Fullerton stomping elephant image are over, and in its place now resides the new orange tree graphic on the logo, seal and emblem.

“California State University, Fullerton’s position as a major regional institution of higher education in the state and as an institution of increasing national and international visibility must be reflected in a strong and consistent identity that our various constituencies will clearly recognize,” President Milton Gordon stated in a letter posted on the Strategic Communications’ Web site.

Strategic Communications, a department within the division of University Advancement and the official designers of the new visual identity, insist that no major expenses occurred as a result of designing and producing the new image.

“We developed the new visual identity without incurring external consulting or design costs. Operational funds spent by Strategic Communications have been negligible,” Strategic Communications stated in a frequently asked questions sheet issued in May regarding the new cam-

pus identity.

Due to the campus’ new 657 area code change, Gordon elected to make the visual identity shift at a time that coincided with the ordering of updated letterheads, envelopes and business cards.

Further taking the current unstable economic times into consideration, the transition to the n e w ident i t y will be gradual in order to minimize costs, Gordon stated in a letter addressed to faculty.

Although the elephant is no longer the official school icon, the “Tuffy the Titan” image will “remain as the university mascot and visual representations will continue primarily in the athletics program. Strategic Communications and Athletics will soon develop a refreshed elephant icon for this

purpose, which will join other athletics-related images such as the Fullerton ‘F’ and ‘Titans’ word mark,” Gordon wrote in a letter to faculty and staff.

“Early September is the goal (for the new Athletics’ logo). There are some final design refinements going on right now, and then there are some reviews/ approvals that need to occ u r,” Jeffrey Cook, the associate vice p re s i d e n t of University Advancement for Strategic Communications, said.

Across the campus, both staff and students can be found who are for or against the visual identity shift. Some are confused by the new image.

“I like the tree much better. It looks more into the future, more insightful, much better, more contem-

STATE CSU students sue over 2nd fee hike SACRAMENTO (MCT) – California State University students have sued the system’s board of trustees for raising fees a second time this year, alleging that the fee hikes amount to a breach of contract. Students had already been billed for the fall semester – and many had paid the fees – when trustees voted last month to raise the price an additional 20 percent, the suit says, adding $672 to the annual cost for undergraduates.

“These fees were not included in the price the University previously communicated to these students in its bills for the Fall 2009 term, and students were not warned in those bills that the price stated was not the final price for that term,” says the complaint filed in San Francisco Superior Court.

The suit names Samantha Adame, an undergraduate at San Francisco State, and Travis Donselman, an MBA student at Cal State San Bernardino, as plaintiffs but seeks to represent all 450,000 CSU students. In a hearing on Aug. 31, attorneys for the students will ask the court to stop the university from charging the additional fee.

Photos Courtesy of Strategic Communications, CSUF CSUF’s new emblem and stacked logo was created to showcase the university’s academic and personal growth. The logo is a less formal and more versatile option, which can be utilized for electronic media, printed publications and advertising. The emblem is used for more casual applications and merchandise.

porary, not so silly,” sociology major Roberta Lee, 53, said. “We are all grown-ups here.”

Eric Dumas, 28, a coordinator for the Child and Adolescent Studies Dept., agrees with the implementation of the university’s colors in the new design, but feels the new image “represents the city that the college is in and not the college itself. It doesn’t necessarily show the history of the college like Tuffy does.”

Several individuals on campus do not even realize the new icon as an orange tree until it is pointed out to them.

“Is it supposed to be an orange tree?” visual communications major Crisjan Amisola, 22, asked. “I didn’t know that Cal Sate Fullerton was in Orange County until five years ago.”

Amisola has grown attached to the elephant logo. “In graphic design terms, it is well done,” he added.

“The elephant is kind of distinct.

I didn’t recognize that it was an orange tree. (The new logo) seems kind of bland; I’d keep the elephant,” 58-year-old Brian Woods, an extended education student pursuing a teaching credential, said.

Business administration major Anaid Gonzalez, 22, said the new design is “kind of interesting, but they could have incorporated Tuffy in some way and it would have looked just as nice.”

In a letter sent out to faculty and staff, Gordon described the university’s new identity change as “an effort to develop an understanding of the university’s current and aspirational position in the higher education marketplace.”

CSUF’s new visual identity consists of an orange tree icon with mountains and sun rays in the background. According to Gordon, the orange tree not only “recalls our past, our presence in Orange County and the campus orange grove origins,” but it also stands “as a symbol of academic and personal growth, knowledge and transformation.”

The mountain range defines the university’s “geographical location in the world,” as well as strength and permanence, Gordon wrote, while the sun rays “convey vision, optimism and confidence in the future.”

NEWS

3

Budget: students feel the sting From Page 1

enrollment by 10,000 students this fall.

That number has risen to 40,000 over the next two years, Chancellor Charles B. Reed said.

To meet that goal, spring enrollment has been closed across the entire system, Smith said.

“Last year we took in 3,184 students in the spring. This year we might take in about 125 (for the teacher credential program). That is a net decrease of about 3,000 students in the spring. So we’ll be closing a number of sections that would normally open for these students,” Smith said.

After stating that a goal of the

CSU is to not be committed to funding more students than the state will be paying for, Smith explained why impaction plans are currently being designed.

“We open for fall 2010 admission this October 1. How many should we accept? We don’t really know that much about next year’s budget except it could be bad. So we’re putting impaction plans in place in case we have to use them to control enrollment,” he said.

The Board of Trustees took an additional step to decrease enrollment when it “Approved changes to state regulations that will preclude students from enrolling in courses once they have met all the necessary degree requirements by allowing

campus presidents to confer their degree,” Gordon stated.

Furlough days, student fee increases and enrollment cuts are expected to fill all but about $180 million of the $564 million shortfall. The remainder falls to the 23 campuses to eliminate from their budgets, Reed said.

CSUF is responsible for cutting $36.5 million from its budget, Gordon said. To do that, he added, “We are reducing all activities across the campus.

There will be a reduction in travel.

Only necessary travel will take place.

There will be other kinds of reductions in cost to try and fill up the holes that are left. It will create priorities for the future that will come

as a result of the situation we are in now.”

Academic Affairs at CSUF will be cutting their budget by $12.5 million, which is in addition to last year’s $17 million cut, Smith said.

“When (students) come on Monday, they’ll find fewer seats available in classes. These cuts are very deep.

They have been for a while. Everything we do is being affected. Next year might even be a more difficult year than this coming year,” he added. “We have no equipment money.

This year we’ll probably order fewer books for the library. We have to ride out the financial storm in California and do the best we can. Our number one priority is to deliver a quality education to students.”

Furlough: staff and faculty affected From Page 1 press release issued on July 24.

The agreement breaks the 18 days down in several ways.

October 20, 21 and 22 are mandatory furlough days for faculty, meaning that all classes will be canceled on that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The Academic Senate recommended for President Gordon to select three furlough days consecutively, said Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs James Dietz.

“They thought it was a way to make it clear to the community, to students (that) there are furloughs going on. And one of the effects is no instruction going on for these three days. That is one of the impacts of a budget cut. They were thinking ... it might be a time to make a statement,” Dietz said.

The remaining furlough days are left for each instructor to schedule for him/herself. No more than one day a week and no more than

two days a month may be furlough days. The only exception is that faculty may choose one day in October to furlough, which will bring the month’s total amount to four days, Dietz added.

The nature of faculty salaries allows instructors to schedule furlough days on days they do not teach a class. Faculty may, however, schedule furlough days on days in which they hold class, Dietz said.

The Academic Senate has suggested to faculty that since their pay has been decreased by about 10 percent, they should not miss more than 10 percent of their total class hours, he added.

Faculty members will turn in their furlough schedule by the end of the first week of class to be reviewed and approved.

Faculty may not schedule an excess amount of furlough days on teaching days, Dietz said.

Faculty may not schedule fur-

lough days on Saturdays even if they teach a course then because faculty pay schedules run from Monday through Friday.

Dietz commented on how furloughs will affect students.

“By faculty taking a 9.23 percent pay cut, it creates some money to provide more classes,” Deitz said.

“The alternative would have been to have layoffs of faculty. That would have resulted in a lot more cut classes. So there is one positive affect.

There would have been far fewer classes without the furloughs.”

Furloughs are not supposed to result in a decreased workload for students. “What is being recommended is on days when faculty are not holding classes because of the furlough, that they have alternative work assignments that students are doing,” Dietz added. “The hope is that we disrupt students’ learning as little as possible.”

Also as part of their vote to ap-

prove the furlough plan, faculty at CSU sent a clear message of “no confidence” in CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. In the vote, 79 percent voted “no confidence,” while 17 percent said “don’t know.” Only four percent of faculty system-wide said they had confidence in the chancellor, the CFA’s July 24 press release stated.

Nearly every one of the 47,000 CSU’s employees is under a furlough agreement.

Some unions representing small percentages of the employees have requested layoffs according to their contracts with the university, said Gordon.

Police, graduate assistants and teaching assistants have been exempted from furloughs to protect their incomes, Dietz said.

The head of the CFA’s Fullerton chapter, Mougo Nyaggah, did not return several messages seeking comment.

Murder suspect found dead in Canadian hotel room (MCT) Ryan Jenkins, the reality TV star suspected of killing his swimsuit model wife, is dead, Canadian police said Sunday evening.

Jenkins, 32, was found dead inside a motel room in Hope, British Columbia on Sunday afternoon, said Sgt. Duncan Pound of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

“The preliminary indicators are that he took his own life,” Pound said. “And we’re not commenting on any of the particulars.”

Jenkins, 32, was accused of killing his wife and swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore, 28, of Los Angeles.

Fiore’s body was found mutilated and stuffed in a suitcase near a Buena Park, Calif., apartment complex on Aug. 15.

Pound declined to provide many details about Jenkins’ death on Sunday night, but apparently once the body was found, identifying him as the suspect in Fiore’s murder came quickly.

“The hotel staff had gone in to check on him,” Pound said, adding that local RCMP officers responded as they would to any such call.

“They then became aware of some of the indicators in the room, including that he matched the general description that has been spread worldwide,” Pound said. “So we were able to get members of our team and some of our forensics (investigators) there.”

About 5 p.m. Sunday, the RCMP determined the dead man in the motel room was Jenkins, Pound said.

Pound declined to say how Jenkins might have killed himself nor share any details on his stay in Hope, a small town of less than 10,000 about two hours east of Vancouver,

Two fee increases, fewer classes and limited parking have students speaking out.

By Roberta mcmillan

Daily Titan News Editor news@dailytitan.com

Due to the California State University’s increase of the student fee by nearly 32 percent, Cal State Fullerton students are feeling the pinch.

“It’s hard, especially now. Going to work full-time, and then going to school part-time, paying it off, and paying your bills is not easy,” said Elaine Berber, an account ing graduate student.

A n other student, Josh W i l b u r, 24, who received his B.A. in Hawaii, and is now at CSUF to get his MBA in finance, spoke of the tuition increase on top of California’s state sales tax being increased.

“With state sales tax, it’s almost double in cost (than what I paid in Hawaii). I was expecting to pay 20 percent less, so it’s a financial strain I gotta figure out,” he said.

Foreign exchange students, however, dodged the increases.

“Since we pay our university fees in our home universities, basically we’re not affected.

But I guess it has affected a lot of students around here. I have been meeting people today and I realize it has not been easy for them,” said Yovadee Chetty, a senior exchange student from France, majoring in communications.

Ephraim Smith, Vice-Presi-

“

dent of Academic Affairs, was asked if CSUF Administrators, in order to help offset the increase in tuition, could instruct professors to reduce the number of books they require per course to only those that are absolutely essential, so courses would only have one to two books, instead of the four to five in some courses now.

Smith replied, “No discussions have taken place. This might be a good idea for me to bring up with the Academic Senate and the Council of Deans.”

Other students were caught off guard when they had already paid their tuition fees prior to the increase, only to learn they needed to pay more.

“I had already paid, and now I have to come back and pay more.

And if you have to pay with a credit card online, there’s a fee. There’s also a fee online with a debit card, so you have to come here. It’s difficult as it is and then with the increase and I got my hours reduced at work, makes it more difficult”, said Brenda Garcia, 21, a senior majoring in Spanish.

Reacting to classes cut by CSUF, after the classes were posted as being available on the CSUF Web site, Darcy Reed, 21, a senior majoring in sociology stated, “I would rather pay more to get more classes. Our education is getting watered down with online courses. The dropped classes left me in a bind. I wouldn’t have been able to get financial aid had I not been able to get a class right away.”

A student who works in the Student Help Center and assists students with their questions, Adrian Diaz, 20, a senior majoring in communications, echoed the same thought, “You may end up paying more and getting less.”

It’s hard, especially now.

Going to work full-time, and then going to school parttime, paying it off, and paying your bills is not easy.

For the Record It is the policy of the Daily Titan to correct any inaccurate information printed in the publication as soon as the error is discovered. Any incorrect information printed on the front page will result in a correction printed on the front page. Any incorrect information printed on any other page will be corrected on page 2. Errors on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also will be noted on the online version of the Daily Titan.

Please contact Executive Editor Skyler Blair at 657-278-5815 or at execeditor@dailytitan.com with issues about this policy or to report any errors.

Daily Titan Editorial

Photos Courtesy of Jebb Harris/Orange County Register/MCT Police mugshots of Ryan Jenkins released at beginning of the investigation surrounding the murder of his wife, Jasmine Fiore. He has since been found dead, hanging in his hotel room.

known by most as a stopover on the Trans-Canada Highway.

“We’re not saying at this point how long he was staying there,” Pound said. “And we’re not going to release any information on how long he may have been deceased.”

The story _ reality TV star allegedly kills model wife _ was a sensation from the start and became only more so as more details of what appeared to have happen came out.

Fiore’s body, found in a suitcase in a Buena Park dumpster, was missing her fingers and teeth. Jenkins may have fled by boat and on foot into

Canada, his native country. Fiore’s body was identified by the serial numbers on her breast implants.

With each detail, news coverage spread beyond that which most any other murder receives. And so too with the discovery of Jenkins’ body on Sunday, which made instant headlines on the Web sites of both traditional news sources like the Register and gossip sites such as TMZ.com.

Earlier today, CTV, a Canadian television network, also reported Jenkins’ father, Dan Jenkins, would not say whether he has had contact

with his son. Dan Jenkins added his lawyers encouraged him not to comment on his fugitive son, CTV reported. The Orange County District Attorney’s office had filed felony murder charges against Jenkins and issued a $10 million warrant for his arrest. The Canadian police had also issued a warrant for Jenkins.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Buena Park Police Department Detective Greg Pelton at 714-562-3992 or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Ed Berakovich at 714-3478492.

Swine flu shots on track to be delivered in October (MCT) Everything so far is on schedule to begin delivering swine flu shots to the public by October.

Government officials already are working with manufacturers to package the vaccine in vials – the “fill and finish” stage – for distribution to doctors and clinics and hospitals.

About 50 million vaccine doses should be ready by mid-October, officials are saying.

Swine flu vaccine tests started on adults about two weeks ago at medical centers across the country.

Tests on children began last week at various locations.

Scientists are still monitoring safety data. And they don’t yet

Students react to budget cuts, fee increases

“

August 24, 2009

know if we’ll need one shot or two to gain enough protection against this H1N1 virus.

“It’s possible we’ll see two peaks,” one of swine flu and one of seasonal flu, said Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association.

Swine flu recently subsided in the U.S. When the new flu season starts, there could be an upsurge in cases.

Or maybe not.

And while most cases so far have been relatively mild, swine flu has put almost 8,000 people in the hospital and caused more than 500 deaths in the United States.

Here’s what we do know:

Who has top priority for the first available doses of swine flu vaccine?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has adopted a list of people who should get the vaccine first when supplies are limited: regnant women.

– People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age.

– Health care and emergency services personnel.

– Young people 6 months to 24 years old.

Anyone 25 to 64 who has a medical condition, such as heart disease or diabetes, that puts them at higher risk from flu.

Why are older people not includ-

ed among the priority groups?

Older people usually are among the most vulnerable to flu. But this time, the young top the list.

There’s been a high swine flu infection rate among children, and children and young adults have accounted for more than half the swine flu deaths, said Jay Butler, director of the CDC’s H1N1 vaccine task force.

Older people may have some swine flu immunity from their experience with previous flu seasons.

“There’s no level of immunity among children,” Butler said.

Is the swine flu vaccine safe?

The preliminary evidence looks promising.

Executive Editor Managing Editor News Director News Editor Opinion Editor Features Editor Asst. Features Editor Arts & Entertainment Editor Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editor Copy Editor Copy Editor Photo Editor Photo Editor Multimedia Editor Multimedia Editor Asst. Multimedia Editor Adviser Main Line (657) 278-3373 News Line (657) 278-4415

Skyler Blair Monzerrath Gonzalez Sergio Cabaruvias Roberta McMillan Jeremiah Magan Christine Amarantus Chauntel Riser Brittny Ulate Adan Vasquez Simon Liang Rachel David Ashleigh Johnson Todd Barnes Shruti Patel Isa Ghani Anne Beck Derek Opina Jason Shepard

Editorial Fax (657) 278-2702 E-mail: news@dailytitan.com

Advertising Director of Advertising Production Assistant Production Assistant National Sales & Promotion Classified Manager Account Executive Account Executive Account Executive Account Executive Account Executive Account Executive Distribution Business Manager/Adviser Main Line (657) 278-3373 Advertising (657) 278-4411

Adrian Gaitan Mandi Braga Sidney Cumbie Katie Hennessey Emily Miramontes Elizabeth Hernandez Emily Miramontes Megan Gates Elizabeth Lopez Amber VanOrman Hayley Toler Santana Ramos Robert Sage Advertising Fax (657) 278-2702 E-mail: ads@dailytitan.com

The Daily Titan is a student publication, printed every Monday through Thursday. The Daily Titan operates independently of Associated Students, College of Communications, CSUF administration and the CSUF System. The Daily Titan has functioned as a public forum since inception. Unless implied by the advertising party or otherwise stated, advertising in the Daily Titan is inserted by commercial activities or ventures identified in the advertisements themselves and not by the university. Such printing is not to be construed as written or implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such commercial enterprises. The Daily Titan allocates one issue to each student for free.

Copyright ©2006 Daily Titan

4

NEWS

August 24, 2009

New parking garage not coming soon enough

By Shruti Patel/Daily Titan Photo Editor Above: Signs along Folino Drive direct drivers around the Parking Structure #4’s construction site, north of the Fullerton Marriott. Below: Less than half done, Parking Structure #4 will be six levels with a pedestrian walkway ending near the Humanities Building.

By Christine Amarantus

Daily Titan Features Editor news@dailytitan.com

As students search for parking Monday morning, Bomel construction workers will continue building a $24 million parking structure off Folino Drive, north of the Fullerton Marriott.

Construction began on Parking Structure #4 in May, and on its expected completion in fall 2010 the six-level concrete edifice will add 1,500 spaces to the university’s parking pool.

“As of June 30, 2009, there were approximately 9,752 parking spaces,” Mary Ellen Frazier, Assistant to the Director of Parking & Transportation Services, said to the Daily Titan. “And approximately 22,000 students have parking permits.”

Of those available spaces, 7,188 are general student parking, the California State University Inventory of Parking Facilities in Operation states for CSUF. The remaining 2,564 spaces are set aside for faculty and staff, dis-

abled, visitors, state vehicles, loading and unloading and maintenance and service vehicles.

Michael Smith, the director of CSUF’s Design and Construction, said the new structure will make up for parking spaces that have been lost under the structure.

“Things like student housing, the rec center. Those are on what used to be parking spaces,” Smith said. “We are planning, in November, to put in a child center which will take up space in Lot A. We have to compensate for the ground space and go up vertically.”

The cost of the new structure has been estimated at $24,213,800, with $18 million going into the construction, $1.5 in the designing and the rest into soft costs, which includes inspections and consultations.

The structure is being financed using bonds, which will be paid for with parking fees, Stephen Halcum, the structure’s project manager from CSUF’s office of Design and Construction said.

Halcum said the project will also include a pedestrian walkway leading from the parking structure and end-

ing near the Humanities Building.

“Folino will be rerouted around the south and eastside of the structure,” Halcum said. “Existing Folino will be closed on the west, where the pedestrian plaza will be. Only emergency vehicles will be allowed there.”

In selecting the architect and construction company, the university held a design-build competition.

Eight general contractors were invited to submit their qualifications, with the four deemed the most qualified competing.

“Things such as footprint limitations, number of levels, desired car count, type of elevators and other specific instructions are all included in the Request for roposal,” Derral McGinnis, Bomel Construction’s vice president of Business Development & Pre-Construction said. “A not to exceed budget of $26.5 mil was also included.”

Bomel won the competition partnered with International Parking Design.

“It’s a best value approach which has served the university well,” McGinnis said. “We not only had

the highest design score but we also had the lowest price. A win-win for CSUF.” International Parking Design architect Don Marks designed Parking Structure #4. The team of Bomel and IPD had previously designed and constructed Parking Structure #2, north of the Titan Student Union, on which much of the new structure on Folino is based, Marks said.

“When we competed in the design-build, we provided a turn key package,” Marks said. “Basically the team is providing the design and building. All the university has to do is hire us and park in the structure when it’s done.”

In addition to the 1,500 parking stalls, Marks said his designs for Parking Structure #4 included a circular stairway facing into the campus and a double helix ramping system.

“The facility will also contain a parking info center where you can ask for directions and purchase parking passes,” Marks said. “There will also be a pedestrian plaza which will be a landscaped staging area with seating where people can get ready for class.”

Concerning environmental interests, Halcum said, “The LED lighting will significantly reduce the amount of electrical power consumption. We’ll eventually have solar panels installed on the roof. They are not part of the current plan, but the structure has been designed to accept them.”

The power generated by the panels would go into the university’s power grid, supplementing the power supply. McGinnis also assured that the structure will be sound and earthquake-resilient.

“The structure is a cast-in place, post-tensioned concrete moment frame design. The concrete columns, beams and decks are poured monolithically which increases structural redundancy,” McGinnis said. “This structure utilizes the most seismically resistant frame type and construction methodology available today.”

Though the 1,500 spaces will not be available for another year, the demand for more parking is stifling as construction on new student housing began in March, while Parking Structure #4’s build process kicked off May 26.

“The new housing project reduced available parking in Lot E,” Halcum said.

“Students arriving after 9 a.m.

Monday through Thursday will be

hard pressed to find parking, except in Lots A and G where assisted parking (or stack parking) will likely be the only option available,” a letter from Parking and Transportation to students states.

“Off-campus parking and shuttle service to the campus will be available 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Monday through Thursday, beginning Monday, Aug. 24,” the letter continued.

The Meridian Sports Club, located at 1535 Deerpark Dr. in Fullerton, is providing the off-campus parking. Students must display their $162 semester permit should they park there.

Students commuting in groups of two or more may register as a carpool to receive a free supplemental carpool parking permit, which must also be displayed along with a semester parking permit, Parking and Transportation Services stated.

Reserved student carpool parking can be found in Lot S, behind College Park.

Incoming computer engineering major David Tu, 17, drives, but has found it easier to be dropped off at school. “(The parking structure) is a good investment, but I’m worried about traffic congestion,” he said. “If it’s too congested, I’m just going to get a ride here instead.”

NEWS

August 24, 2009

University of Illinois students react to school’s admissions scandal

5

(MCT) As an admissions scandal continues to make news, thousands of students converged on the University of Illinois campus over the weekend for the start of undergraduate classes Monday.

The mood among students was back-to-school euphoric and most – but not all – said they’re willing to forgive and forget about the summer scandal.

“I love this school so much and didn’t want the controversy to affect me,” said Nicolette Theotikos, an 18-year-old freshman. “I wasn’t involved and I don’t approve of what happened, but I still think this is a great school.”

Others weren’t as charitable.

“I feel there hasn’t been enough

heat put on the president and the chancellor,” said Julien Ball, 33, a graduate student in library science from Chicago.

Ball is part of “No to Clout Admissions,” a student group that handed out fliers on campus Sunday and hopes to organize a larger movement to pressure the administration more aggressively for the scandal.

The group faults administration policies that, it said, have made the state’s most prestigious university too expensive and out-of-reach for poor and minority students.

“It’s not just about clout in admissions,” Ball said. “While clout was going on, access for the rest of us was being limited, as well.”

The campus buzzed with the usual

back-to-school energy on Friday.

Friends tossed frisbees on the campus Quad. Mothers gave tearstained goodbye hugs to sons and daughters. Newly minted freshmen walked out of the bookstore dressed in Illini orange.

Many students said it was especially good to be on campus this year after having to answer questions from skeptical friends and family this summer.

“I’d say, ‘I’m going to U of I’ and people would be like, ‘Oh, who do you know? How’d you get in?’” said freshman Rachel Zwilling, 18.

The questions came in response to a state investigation of a shadow admissions system that gave preferential treatment to students with

ties to trustees, politicians and deeppocketed donors.

About 800 undergraduate applicants had their names placed on clout lists, known internally as Category I, at the Urbana-Champaign campus during the last five years, a Tribune investigation found.

Dozens more received special consideration from the law school and other graduate programs.

Zwilling apparently wasn’t on the list. She graduated atop her class of 75 in the small town near the Indiana border and said the massive U of I campus and thousands of strangers left her feeling overwhelmed at times.

She’s the only one in her class enrolled there, following in the steps of

her father and uncles.

She never doubted her choice.

“I know I got in for all the right reasons,” she said, “and I’ve always felt comfortable on this campus.”

Meanwhile, the scandal cast the university in a new light _ a more positive light _ for at least one student.

“I was surprised to hear people were willing to go through histrionics at that level just to get people in here,” said Karl Goetze, 45, a doctoral student in classics. He didn’t realize how coveted and hotly contested an admissions spot was. In that way, the scandal boosted the school’s reputation, he said.

There was no need to tell Jacob Lim about the school’s reputation.

The 27-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, arrived on campus last week to start an undergraduate degree in economics.

He said the university enjoys a reputation in Korea as one of the top public universities in the U.S., a reputation that “always made me want to come here.”

But he admitted the admissions scandal, which he read about online throughout the summer at home, cast the school in a darker light.

“I didn’t think major American universities did stuff like that,” he said. “It’s unfair. Everybody should get the same chance.”

While most students said the revelations disturbed them, many said they weren’t too surprised.

(MCT) California schools are on their way to finally determining their four-year dropout.

While dropout rates are not numbers most district like to talk about, they provide data that is necessary to producing a more accurate student graduation and dropout rate at the school level.

In the past, district have not had sufficiently accurate statistics on stu-

dents who have left their schools to correctly determine just how many dropouts they had.

“There has been a push in the way of having better student data and in making decisions on how good our schools are, how good our teachers are, principal and where are the gaps are in terms of achievement -- and you can clearly see it in dropout rates,” said Keric Ashley, director of

the data management division at the state Department of Education.

“The data doesn’t necessarily solve the problem but it does highlight what needs to be addressed.”

By the end of this school year, a full four-year rate will be derived using student level data as tracked by the use of Statewide Student Identifiers, which increases accountability for districts to find students who

stop coming to school.

The student identifier number also helps districts identify students who were considered a dropout at a school they left but in fact were enrolled in a different district.

“We’ve been tracking this data for two years, and this fall we’ll get our third year of data,” Ashley said. “By the graduating class of 2010 we’ll have four full years,

but we won’t get the data until fall 2010.”

SSIDs eventually will be tracked through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, which will maintain longitudinal, individual student-level data including student demographics, program participation, grade level, enrollment, course enrollment and completion, discipline, state assessment, teacher

assignment, and other data required to meet state and federal reporting requirements.

The data also allows the Department of Education to identify students reported by a school district as transferring to another district but cannot be found subsequently enrolled. These students are now properly counted as dropouts rather than transfers.

From Page 1

you, President Gordon, but being focused on the present seems rather short-sighted. Could these severe circumstances have been prevented if more precautions had been taken?

Gordon: By the state! But not by the CSU. People keep wanting to come back to the Cal State system.

The reason why we’re in this situation is not the system, it’s the state of California.

DT: So there is absolutely no blame to be placed on the CSU? Gordon: Well, no. I wouldn’t say that. We could have always educated only the students that the state paid for. But the state had a history of eventually catching up for those students.

In other words, if they weren’t paid for this year, they would pay for them next year. And that’s the reason why I am

going to lose 10 percent of your salary.

So certainly, it is understandable.

DT: Would you say the faculty have been supportive?

Gordon: Absolutely. Absolutely.

And that is the reason I am positive on Cal State Fullerton. Because we have, in the past, worked together: faculty, staff, students, administration. And we have bodies that have all of these ingredients. For example, our budget committee has students, faculty and staff on them. And that has always been the case and that doesn’t necessarily have to happen.

DT: Students coming in the fall semester will hear about furloughs, salary decreases, and already have felt fee increases, and yet, they will also see several large, expensive construction projects under way.

Gordon: Right. I’m always happy to answer that question. Because of the way the funds were generated by bonds, they could not be used for classes, or they couldn’t be used for anything else.

If you look at some of the construction that will be going on, our new dormitory, you could not use those funds for any other purpose. The new parking garage, you could not use those funds for any other purpose. It is the way that the funds are generated.

While it may look odd, those funds could not be used for any other purpose.

DT: Looking into the future again, will there be a reshuffling of priorities because of a lack of funds from the state? Will the state ever fund the CSU as much as it has in the past?

Gordon: I can’t answer that question. But if you’re asking the question, ‘will there be a reshuffling of priorities?’ Yeah, there will be.

For instance, every campus will be handling the students that the state is paying for in the future. That will be a priority.

DT: Although the furloughs and student fee increases fill a large portion of the deficit, about 180 million dollars still remains to be filled.

How is that being handled?

Gordon: We are reducing all activities across the campus. There will be a reduction in travel. Only necessary travel will take place. There will be other kinds of reductions in cost to try and fill up the holes that are left. It will be creating priorities for the future that have been as a result of the situation we are in now.

DT: What would you like to say to the students, on a personal note?

Gordon: I would like to say to the students that if they continue the collaboration that I’ve seen in the past with the entire campus, faculty, staff and administrators working together that Cal State Fullerton is going to be as successful as possible. And I intend to be more visible

Districts soon to have statistical tools to deal with dropout problem

Gordon addresses student and faculty concerns

DT: Could the furlough plan have been expanded to prevent layoffs?

Gordon: No. There is no way you could do that. I’ve looked at this in every way possible, and you could not guarantee that.

DT: So, when will layoffs occur?

Gordon: Well, we’re not looking at any potential (layoffs), but you can’t tell what the future will hold. And that’s what I’m trying to say and get to.

Each collective bargaining unit has a hierarchy of who goes first in terms of layoffs. We have flexibility in terms of our part-timers. You can’t guarantee anything like that.

DT: How will furloughs affect students and their classes?

Gordon: On instructional days, faculty are requested to assign alternative work for the students. In other words, go to the library, read certain articles. In that way, I don’t see an impact on the student experience.

I want you to know that I intend to talk to the students and ASI because I know there are a lot of questions about these. It will be alternative work on the instruction days, and on non-instructional days it would only affect faculty.

DT: Do you see the solutions to fill the deficit (i.e. the furlough plan, fee increases, and other cuts) affecting the quality of education provided by the CSU? Gordon: I don’t. And the reason I say that is because I am firmly convinced that in terms of Cal State Fullerton, and you know this is my home, in terms of the collaborative relationships we have with faculty, with staff and with students, we are going to come out of this in a much better and stronger position.

I don’t think the long-term quality is going to be impacted.

DT: It is surprising to hear you say that CSUF will come out stronger in the face of a 32 percent student fee increase, a virtual 9.23 percent faculty salary decrease, and enrollment cuts through the next year and more. And Vice President Ephraim Smith said that next year could be worse.

Gordon: Well, we haven’t talked about next year. And I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next year.

DT: Will you comment at all about next year?

Gordon: Well, the furloughs are designed for one year. If they create the amount of funds that they are supposed to create, and if the balance of the other measures that we are going to take come into play, its only designed to go one year. I t’s just like I said about layoffs, you can’t predict the future. And so I don’t know what’s going to happen on 2010-2011. I’m primarily focused on 09-10.

DT: No offense intended toward

CSUF President Milton A. Gordon saying that. But if we had maintained a total, only educating the number of students that the state paid for, then we could be in a better situation. But as long as the state continued to catch up and pay for them, we saw no reason to do that.

DT: I’m assuming the CSU won’t be doing that anymore?

Gordon: (laughs) I don’t think they will.

DT: As president of the university, you have to be in touch with the sentiments, the feelings of the students and faculty. Where have you gauged the level of frustration?

Gordon: There is absolutely an understandable level of frustration. Now, I have friends in other states that have been going through this in the previous years, but certainly it’s understandable.

DT: You wouldn’t say there is an excess amount of frustration?

Gordon: (Pause) It is understandable, I would say that. You know, you’re

FEATURES

August 24, 2009

Serving up justice, no excuses Writer gets a behind the scenes look at the court system and a name tag

By Rachel David

Daily Titan Copy Editor features@dailytitan.com

The mail comes and there it is … the summons for jury duty. Immediately your mind sets to work on various excuses to get out of it.

Sorry, being a student is no longer a valid excuse. Though, it will get you a postponement. So you check the “student” box and fingers crossed, throw salt behind your back and knock on wood that the postponement will not come.

Weeks later, that postponement rears its ugly head. No excuses this time. Own it my friend, you officially have jury duty. Any of this sound familiar? No? Well it does to me. It is the exact thing that happened to me over the summer.

I never really understood why I felt dread at the sight of a jury summons or why I immediately tried to get out of it. Why do people dread it? Don’t believe me that the majority of people do? Google “jury duty” and you will notice that “jury duty excuses” is the first entry that pops up.

It was my second time being summoned, yet it was the first time that I received a postponement and had to go. Under the unjustified dread was an even greater feeling of curiosity, so I reported with 90 other individuals at 8 a.m. at the County of Orange North Justice Center here in Fullerton. Ah yes, this is why I dreaded it, having to report at the ungodly hour of 8 a.m.

I walked in, dropped my summons into the tray on the table, detached my “juror badge” that came in the mail, slid it into a plastic badge and clipped it to my shirt.

From that moment on everything would change. I was now “on the inside,” that little badge gave me an all-access behind the scenes look at the justice system. It is all about the minutiae in life for me.

I was sold on this jury duty business the second I put that plastic badge on. I was ready to serve up some sweet justice!

I took a seat among the other blurry-eyed, half-asleep people and prepared to sit through the half hour orientation. After the court employee delivered a bored, much-rehearsed introduction, I sat back among the click-clack of laptops and text messaging (people complaining to their friends, no doubt), and watched the hearse carrying Michael Jackson’s body travel slowly on the freeway toward the Staples Center in L.A. on the news. If nothing else, I would always remember where I was the day of the muchtelevised memorial for the King of Pop. An hour into the morning and several cups of free courtprovided coffee later, all 90 of us were requested by a judge on the third floor to interview as prospective jurors.

I entered the judge’s courtroom feeling nervous (who am I to say if someone is guilty or not?) and feeling younger than I have in my entire life.

Twenty prospective jurors are called up at once to be interviewed by the judge, defense attorney and prosecutor in order to detect any major bias or lack of common sense.

I sat in the courtroom listening to the bailiff read the names of the first batch of jurors, conflicted on whether I wanted to be called or not. The

“

decision was quickly made for me since I was called up as prospective juror number 14.

After Judge Gregg L. Prickett welcomed and thanked each of us for reporting to our civic duty, the eight question interview began. One by one each of us first-round prospective jurors were asked to answer questions regarding our marital status, number of children, educational background, our job, our spouse’s job, if we ever had a negative experience in the courts or with the police, if we have any family members in the police force and if we have ever served on a jury before.

OK, easy enough since I’m not married and don’t have children and was able to answer “no” to most of the other questions. I did, however, state that I just received my B.A., was going for my M.A. and was an editor at the Daily Titan, which I added was Cal State Fullerton’s newspaper. With a warm smile, Judge Prickett responded to my nervous expansion of the Titan being CSUF’s paper with, “No need to explain that here; we are North Orange County.”

That’s all it took, apparently. I was in.

Once all 12 members of the jury were selected, the judge got underway with the criminal case–first-degree burglary. We were on immediately that day.

After hearing from two cops and the victim, downing several more cups of coffee, and what felt like hours of watching one of the cops and the prosecutor going through the many manila envelopes that housed the stolen items retrieved by the police, we were ready for deliberations.

Led by the bailiff, we made our way through the backdoor of the courtroom, past the judge’s chamber and into a small room, where we were told to pick a foreperson—one who would make sure everyone got their chance to voice their opinion and the official signer of the verdict papers—and to remain locked in the room until we came to an unanimous decision.

He proceeded to point out the call button on the wall for us to press when we were ready for him to deliver the “guilty” and “not guilty” verdict papers, the decision being ours of which would be signed.

Once the bailiff left and locked us in, the question of who was going to be the foreperson inevitably came about. Instantly everyone looked at one another or their shoes, no one wanting the job. Don’t everyone volunteer at once!

Throughout my time serving, I often questioned why it was something people avoided, and sitting there then witnessing another display of the avoiding game I wondered it again.

Since I was fully committed to the jury duty experience, I volunteered for the position with additional encouragement from the sweet, highly sarcastic, juror number 5.

Instantly, before anyone voiced their opinion, each juror wrote either “guilty” or “not guilty” on a scrap of paper and passed it to me.

With the assistance of two other kind jurors, we discovered 10 of us felt the defendant was guilty while two had reservations. After openly

“

discussing all concerns surrounding the verdict, we were able to come to the unanimous decision of guilty.

Now came my other job as foreperson, signing the verdict papers.

Using the intercom by the door, we buzzed for the bailiff to bring us the papers. Once he left the room, I extracted the papers pertaining to the defendant being guilty and quickly and diligently signed them. I let out a deep breath. My job as foreperson was done, or so I thought.

We exited the room, walked down past the judge’s chamber and into the courtroom for the final time. I took my usual seat and sat with the guilty papers in my hands, drastically trying to avoid looking over at the d e f e n d a n t ’s table.

The charismatic Judge Prickett entered, took his seat and said, “Welcome back jurors. Juror number 4, am I correct in saying that you are the foreperson?”

What I felt was going to be a strong response ended up coming out as a shaky and choked, “Yes, Sir.” He gave one of his big, characteristic smiles that put me at ease throughout the entire trial and said, “Very good. Would you please check over the papers and your signature and make sure you signed the papers you meant to? Are they the correct papers?”

With a steadier voice, I replied, “Yes, Sir.” “Very good. Will you please hand them over to the bailiff?” responded Judge Prickett.

Oh, thank God, I thought! I don’t have to read them aloud myself!

With my heart rate back under control at that announcement, the courtroom took on a deafening silence as Judge Prickett read the guilty verdict.

That was it.

After hours on end of sitting in the courtroom listening and taking notes, the trial came to an abrupt end.

Judge Prickett fixed his warm smile on the 12 of us and genuinely thanked us for our time and commitment to the jury duty process, letting us know that it is individuals such as ourselves who make the justice system possible.

We each shuffled out of the room, never hearing what the punishment for the defendant would be, and walked down the long hall chatting about the surreal events that transpired between the 12 of us during the past few days.

Once we walked out into the bright sun and onto the front steps, we each said our good-byes and headed to our cars. Thus ended my first and memorable experience with jury duty.

Since I served on a case, I cannot be summoned again for at least one year. As sick as it may sound to some readers, I now look forward to that summons.

Trust me, until you’ve been “on the inside” of the whole experience, don’t knock it or dread that slip of paper that will inevitably come in the mail for you one day.

When that day comes, I encourage you to keep an open mind and allow yourself to learn from the amazing educational experience. If that doesn’t work for you and you are still dreading the whole thing, then let me be the one to remind you that when all is said and done you get to walk away the proud owner of a juror badge!

You’re eager to serve now, aren’t you?

We each shuffled out of the room, never hearing what the punishment for the defendant would be.

I would always remember where I was the day of the much-televised memorial for the King of Pop.

“

“

6

Theater sparkles decades after heyday

7

FEATURES

August 24, 2009

By SHRUTI PATEL/Daily Titan Photo Editor Left: Seats in the Fox Theatre lay empty beneath the glow of the chandeliers above. Right: Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation member Pat Shepard looks up at paintings on the ceiling of an upstairs lobby. The paintings are original to the building,

untouched since the 1930s. Below: Shepard points out previous fire damage done to the stage before the theater closed in 1987. The foundation plans to eventually extend the stage and orchestra pit outward.

Take a tour of the Fox Theatre with a preservation group that saved the Fullerton landmark from destruction

By Maureen Fox

For the Daily Titan

features@dailytitan.com

Pat Shepard grabs a dusty rope backstage and hoists the ratty gray curtain. For an instant, the Fox Theatre is transformed to its original glory as hundreds of red plush seats stretch out under the chandeliers’ blue and red haze. Then the damage hits you.

Many of the seats are faded and covered in plastic. The stage’s right hand side is charred black from a fire set in the early ’90s. Firefighters punched holes in the roof, which gape like open sores in the decorated brown and blue ceiling. Everything is covered with a thin layer of dust. There are cobwebs, chipped paint, exposed wooden beams, mounds of scrap metal, piles of extension cords and even a graying tapestry peeling off the corner of the left wall.

The Fox Theatre in Fullerton, which opened in 1925, was once a glamorous setting for Hollywood’s golden days.

Robert M. Kennedy designed the theater, along with its sisters, the Chinese and Egyptian theaters in Hollywood.

Clark Gable performed there, as did Buster Keaton. It was the first theater in Orange County to have sound and its first and only surviving movie palace.

But the Fox was no match for modern technology.

Despite an upgrade in the ’60s, it failed to compete with modern day multiplexes and closed in 1987. It languished on the corner of Chapman Avenue and Harbor Boulevard for years, suffering from neglect until the owner decided to demolish it to make room for new apartments.

But several Fullerton citizens were determined to save their local landmark. In 2001, they formed The Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation, a community-based nonprofit organization created to save the Fox and restore it to the cultural center it once was. Having saved the theater, they plan to restore the entire Fox complex, which consists of the theater, a twostory “Tea Room” restaurant and the 1929 Firestone Building “motor court”. Their dreams are great, but so is the damage, and high costs coupled with a lack of awareness have hindered the restoration process.

Shepard, 61, has been a member of the foundation for the past five years. Born and raised in Fullerton, he does not have strong memories of the Fox himself, but imagines his grandparents, who moved to Fullerton in 1926, and parents enjoyed shows there. He left Fullerton in the ’70s but moved back six years ago to find “Save the Fox!” flyers posted all over town. Glad to see people caring for local history, he attended an informational meeting and has been heavily involved with the Fox ever since.

Shepard begins his tour in the main theater. One blessing has been the survival of the original proscenium, or archway, over the stage. In the ’60s, the owners attempted to upgrade the Fox into a modern cinema by adding a widescreen. The builders chose to put the screen in front, saving the proscenium from destruction.

They were less kind to the rest of the theater. The ornate moldings around the side organ lofts were torn down, taking chunks of plaster with them. Six enormous murals depicting scenes of California history were also painted over.

The foundation plans to build new loft decorations modeled after photographs and clean the murals.

Next to the main theater is a two-story high open area with wide archways that was once the original “Tea Room” restaurant. More scrap piles, buckets, hanging wires, ex-

posed beams and cobwebs fill the space.

Back in the theater, Shepard steps carefully over the creaky floorboards and takes a narrow staircase to the basement, where peeling peach-painted bricks form eight dressing rooms. Several tattered posters of Italian cities cling to the walls and exposed copper pipes snake across the ceiling.

A 3-foot-high water line along the walls show the basement was flooded once, and caution tape is tied into a bow in front of a rotting staircase leading to the stage.

Shepard points out several trap doors in the ceiling, which were built to accommodate vaudeville acts. He doesn’t know if they still work.

Another staircase ends in the orchestra pit in front of the stage. Shepard takes the side door through the lobby and courtyard and up a set of creaking stairs in the balcony to the projector booth. Only two projector pedestals remain in the cramped and dirty room.

A toilet and sink stand in the back corner, looking out of place. Shepard explains the bathroom was built for the projector’s convenience, as they had only minutes between switching reels and could not waste time walking to the restroom.

Shepard views the complex with great optimism and potential. The foundation wants to bring the complex into the 21st century by rebuilding the “Tea Room,” adding new sound technology and putting in a new box office and marquee. They also want to build a hydraulic orchestra pit in front of the stage, which would sink into the ground to form the pit and rise to extend the original stage.

The foundation also wants to restore the theater to its ’30s glory by cleaning up the artwork and repairing the original architecture. “When I walk through the courtyard, through the theater, I want to get the feeling of walking back in time,” said Shepard.

To make this dream a reality, the foundation must first overcome many obstacles.

One challenge the foundation faces is the lack of citizen awareness. Most people simply don’t know about the project.

Shepard is frustrated by the lack of awareness, but acknowledges that the foundation is partially to blame, as they can do more to advertise their organization.

One thing the foundation has done is have an information booth at the Fullerton Farmer’s Market every Thursday night for the past five years. Most people walk right by, but some nod and smile, and a few accept flyers.

The farmer’s market booth slowly reaches people one by one.

The other challenge is raising enough money to fund the restorations. The project is estimated at over $25 million and only $7 million is committed. A lack of funds has crippled the foundation from the very beginning – they barely scraped together the money to save the theater from the wrecking ball. Only an anonymous donation of $1 million in the eleventh hour saved the Fox and turned it into a City-designated Local Landmark. This vital success has inspired a variety of other fundraising efforts.

In 2005, the theater created Movies on the Fox, an ongoing fundraiser that turns the parking lot behind the Fox into an outdoor cinema by projecting movies onto the back wall. Guests bring their own blankets and lawn chairs and enjoy the movie for free, while the foundation raises money by selling refreshments. Since the first successful showing of the original “War of the Worlds,” the foundation shows roughly one movie a month to an average of 800 people.

Their next movie is “Indiana Jones & the Temple of

Doom” to be shown on Thursday, Sept. 10. Ric Opalka, 62, a member of the Fox Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation, who remembers seeing movies at the Fox as a kid, is positive it will be a hit.

“Rule of thumb – if it’s summer and it’s Spielberg, we fill the place,” Opalka said.

The foundation’s best fundraiser is their annual “Hollywood in Fullerton” night, which features performances by local theaters, including Cal State Fullerton and Fullerton College’s theater departments, as well as a cocktail reception and a silent and live auction.

Last June, the event was held inside the theater and raised over $44,000.

The foundation also asks for volunteer clean-up, cash donations and government aid. The theater recently received a $2 million grant from the state, as well as a $6 million loan from the city of Fullerton’s Redevelopment Agency.

Despite these successes, fundraising has proved slow and demanding, especially now with the failing economy.

Shepard has no idea how long it will take to complete the project; “It’s a matter of where that money is and when it comes.”

It is this matter that keeps the project in limbo, but The Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation is determined to see their project through until they complete the restorations.

Shepard stands in the main lobby and surveys the work around him. When the theater was upgraded, someone covered the original ceiling murals with plaster. Some plaster has since been scraped away and chunks of the paintings are visible.

Like the Fox, they are faded and damaged, but with time and hard work, Shepard hopes audiences will be able to glance up and appreciate the artwork before walking into the red and blue haze of a refurbished theater.

8

FEATURES

August 24, 2009

One on one with ASI president Juli Santos The Daily Titan sits down and has a conversation with the Associated Students Inc.’s new commander in chief features@dailytitan.com

Daily Titan: Where did you grow up?

Juli Santos: I grew up in Irvine. I lived there when I was in the third grade until last year because I was a commuter from Irvine, but now I live in Fullerton.

Before then I moved around a little bit. I was born in Chino Hills and then moved to San Diego.

DT: Where did you go to high school?

Santos: I went to University High School in Irvine, home of the Trojans.

DT: And did you go to any other colleges or universities before CSUF? Santos: Nope, after I graduated high school I was accepted to CSUF and arrived my first year as a freshmen.

DT: How many years have you been at CSUF? Santos: This will be my fourth year, but I’m on a five year plan it looks like.

DT: Yeah, me too.

Santos: All right, high five!

DT: Do you have any hobbies or play any sports outside of school?

Santos: I am very busy, but if I ever do get a chance, I really enjoy dancing.

I grew up as a dancer and used to do that a lot in my free time.

I also am a big fan of performing arts – plays and things of that nature. I also like just hanging out with friends.

But I would say that sleeping has become another popular hobby for me because I don’t get to very often.

DT: Yes, sleeping, one of my favorite things to do as well.

Santos: I also really like the outdoors – hiking, camping and stuff like that. I’d much rather be outside than inside.

DT: What is your major?

Santos: My major is child and adolescent development.

DT: Has that major provided you with any special skills to help you as ASI president?

Santos: As a child and adolescent major, I think you have to have a lot of patience. It’s one of those qualities I am naturally in tune with, and that definitely helps with my duties and working with other people because

you have to be patient, because if you aren’t you will just become too stressed out.

DT: What things drew you to CSUF when you were choosing where you would go after high school?

Santos: Well, for one, the campus is beautiful.

It’s also not too big.

The thing about Cal State Fullerton is that it has that big campus feel on a small campus and I like that, especially since you don’t have to walk miles and miles from one class to another.

DT: I think that walking from the parking lots, or lack thereof, usually takes longer than from class to class.

Santos: Yeah, that G lot can be a ways out there.

I actually ended up choosing Cal State Fullerton over Chapman because I would have had to take out student loans and pay for everything myself after I got out of college, and since Chapman is a private school it would have cost about $32,000 a year. Cal State Fullerton just turned out to be much more affordable.

DT: So now with the new tuition fee increase, have you found yourself in need of taking out student loans to compensate?

Santos: No, I’m paying for it all on my own and trying to get through it. It’s tough, especially with the 32 percent increase that we have all experienced, but we got to keep rolling with the punches.

DT: Do you work another job outside of school?

Santos: No, I worked in high school and saved up a lot of money so I could move out later on, so I have a nice little nest egg to survive off for a while and ASI helps pay for the little things, like the rent, books and school supplies.

DT: Why did you choose to get involved in student government when you came to CSUF? Santos: I really joined ASI because I really needed a group to be involved with.

I’ve done it before in high school. And to be honest, I hated my first year at Cal State Fullerton.

I was taking a bunch of classes and commuting to school, and I really just didn’t feel attached to the school.

So I decided to be proactive.

I was going to be going here for a few years, so I decided to join a group and ASI seemed like the best

Fullerton ... “has...thatCalbigStatecampus feel on a small campus and I like that.

choice and from there it has been history.

DT: I think that situation is common among a lot of freshmen. They come to Cal State Fullerton and don’t really know how to get acclimated.

So is there anything you do to encourage students to get involved as an example of your experience?

Santos: At Student Life Orientation I always encourage them to join groups on campus saying something like, “Hey, if you’re looking for ways to get involved on campus, you can always join ASI. If you are a journalism major obviously they should get involved with the Daily Titan.”

DT: Yes, come to the Daily Titan!

Santos: Right, or if you’re into math or engineering there are clubs for that.

You can also be a part of Greek life, there are tons of people who get involved with that. All of these are great ways to feel welcomed to the school and start to help you feel like a Titan.

DT: What do you think will be one of the greatest challenges for you this year?

Santos: Parking is going to be a big challenge and dealing with what students have to say about that and also the budget cuts and how a lot of our classes are being cancelled.

A lot of students are very upset about what’s going on with the student fee increases.

I think those things are going to be the biggest struggles because students will be facing many new and challenging issues this semester and I am going to have to deal with that and hear them out.

DT: Do you have any hand in what goes on with the budget cuts? Is there anything you can actively do or can you only just sympathize with students?

Santos: I really wish I had that ability because it would be able to help all of us, including myself. The only thing I can do is pass on the voice of the students and represent them to the administration.

My job is to empower the student voice and make sure we are heard by those who make decisions regarding budget cuts.

DT: How do you go about empowering the student voice?

Santos: So far, I have had meetings with President Gordon and Dr. Palmer and told them what’s going on with students and what issues they are facing to keep in mind.

We also have a very active advocacy plan going out to political offices and letting them know they need to make higher education a priority, and we have a couple trips planned to Sacramento to lobby at the capital and tell them that students are the future of California and we’re taking a stand.

DT: Can you tell me a little more about this advocacy plan?

Santos: It is being headed up by our chief governmental officer, Greg Washington, and we are making visits to local political offices.

We go with our lobby core which is a committee of ASI and then we get all dressed up and prepare talking points so when we meet with them we can let them know that higher education is a priority.

DT: Besides the budget cuts, how do you plan on dealing with the parking issue and communicating with students so they feel something is being done?

Santos: In the first few weeks of school we will be holding what we have called “State of the Students” where we can address these problems to students.

Then I will be making a speech to tell everyone what is going on and how they can get involved if they feel like doing something about it.

I hope that we can break it down so everyone can understand what’s going on and remain visible so it doesn’t seem like we want to keep it as one big secret.

We are also going to continue our ASI cookouts so students can come and see us in person and grab some lunch and feel comfortable asking questions about what we are doing for them.

We hope they will be encouraged to join a committee to get involved themselves and make a difference.

It’s always great to hear from students viewing from the outside with fresh eyes because they can suggest ideas we may not have thought about, and we are always willing to make a change or make an addition.

DT: Would you say that it’s an effort to get more students involved as a way of invoking change?

Santos: I definitely think so.

I’m only one person, so when people come to me and tell me their issues it brings more diversity to the decisions we make and then we can clearly see and understand and be like, “OK, this is an important issue.

This year’s ASI vice president Joseph Lopez with Santos at the election results, April 10 People have brought this to my attention.”

So the more feedback I hear, whether it’s negative or positive, I’m willing to hear it and bring it to the attention of our administration.

I don’t really think of myself as a politician. I’m a child and adolescent development major and a student just like you, so don’t feel afraid to approach me or anyone else in ASI with an issue you may have.

I’m here to serve you and that’s my role.

I don’t think it’s been that way in the past, and I definitely want to bring that new perspective.

DT: How do you feel about the other individuals on your ASI team?

Santos: I feel very fortunate.

Everybody is on top of their roles, and we all have really big goals for this year.

We are all trying to be visible and accessible.

We don’t look like an elitist group of people. It’s been an issue in the past where people don’t feel like they can talk to us, and I really want to make students know that we are just like them and they can come see us whenever they like.

DT: Is this a similar approach as the Obama administration has tried to make by trying to be more transparent and do away with the closed door administration?

Santos: I think it was all just the common philosophy that me and the rest of the executive staff had.

As ASI, we are supposed to be representative of the student voice, and if we can’t hear the voice, then we are there for nothing.

DT: What are some of your short term goals for this year?

Santos: I hope to get more people involved with the school itself as soon as possible, and not just ASI. Get involved and get your voice heard. Also I want to get ASI out there and make sure students know who we are and understand that we are students just like them.

We are in the classrooms with them, and we are your peers.

We made a lot of progress last year, and I want to keep us going on that track.

DT: What are your longer term goals?

Santos: I want to get a recycling program started over the entire campus.

It’s still in its beginning stages, but we will be trying to launch it within the TSU and then expanding it to the entire campus.

Also, outreach to different clubs and organizations to make sure they have funding available.

DT: How has ASI been affected by budget cuts?

Santos: There hasn’t been that big of an effect yet because ASI runs as an auxiliary to the campus, so we make our own money and currently our own budget is pretty healthy.

We have also built up a rainy day fund over the years, which is something our state government should have done so they wouldn’t be in the situation they are in now.

However, because the CSU system is planning on cutting enrollment significantly over the next few years, ASI’s budget will probably suffer as a result in the shortage of student fees, but we are being very frugal with our spending and make sure it is being spent wisely so that we don’t have to worry about dissolving.

The TSU and Recreation Center are also funded by student fees, and we are making sure our resources go to those so they remain strong, because if your classes are being cut and then you don’t have services like having a place to study or workout or eat, then why go to Cal State Fullerton. So we will make sure to enrich students’ college experience even in the face of budget cuts.

“ I’m only one person, so

when people come to me and tell me their issues it brings more diversity to the decisions we make and then we can clearly see and understand and be like, ‘OK, this is an important issue. People have brought this to my attention.’

“

By Skyler Blair

Daily Titan Executive Editor

“

9

FEATURES

August 24, 2009

Artwork in hospitals helps healing process

(MCT) – For most people, a word-association game has been really putting a strong influence on the healing starting with “hospital” would yield few positive adjec- effects of health-care facilities,” says Jerry Joyner, who is tives. chief executive officer of the company, which his wife, Bland. Drab. Depressing. Institutional.

Sara Beth Joyner, founded last year.

And studies have found that these aesthetic unpleasIn April, their company helped refurbish the joint unit antries can affect patients’ health. of Baylor Medical Center at Irving, Texas. The hallways, A growing body of research shows that decorating which were previously dull and outdated, are now lined hospitals with specific types of artwork can speed up with paintings of trees, flowers and fields. Patients trying a patient’s healing process, while gloomy walls or the to regain mobility after hip and knee surgeries are met wrong kind of art can cause physical distress. with motivational pictures every 25 feet to keep them “It’s the whole emotional and perceptual context you energized. These distance markers, adorned with inspiraare in,” says Upali Nanda, vice president and director of tional quotes and pictures of plants, replaced plain pieces research for American Art Resources, a health-care art- of tape that were used before the art was installed. consulting firm in Houston. “When you’re in a hospital, “Before it just looked like an old hospital,” says Bayit’s high stress. When we are high stress, we go back to lor’s chief nursing officer, Brenda Blain. “Now it’s calmour primal need to be soothed.” ing, and it’s not a regular hospital environment.”

Nanda, who has a doctorate in architecture with a speGrant Farrimond, Baylor’s director of marketing and cialization in health-care systems and public relations says, “We don’t want design, says scientific studies show to be an art museum, but we do want that art can aid in the recovery of pathe art to inspire and soothe.” tients, shorten hospital stays and help Art can also be used to help pamanage pain. tients on a more practical level.

But she says it has to be the right Autumn Leaves in Flower Mound, art — vivid paintings of landscapes, Texas, an Alzheimer’s and dementia friendly faces and familiar objects can facility that was a client of Healthlower blood pressure and heart rate, care Art Consulting, uses artwork to – Upali Nanda, keep patients oriented to their surwhile abstract pictures can have the opposite effect.

American Art Resources roundings.

Nanda and two university proEach of the four hallways has a vice president fessors did a study at Houston’s St. different theme, which helps paLuke’s Episcopal Hospital using two tients remember where their rooms types of art. are. Among them is a landscape hallIn the first group were images that had been proven to way covered in outdoor settings and a Western hallway calm patients, including green landscapes, water scenes, depicting images from the Old West. cultural artifacts and emotionally expressive pictures of “We wanted to make sure the images were not viopeople. The second group contained abstract pieces by lent” in the Western wing, Ms. Joyner says. “So there artists such as Vincent van Gogh. When asked which are a lot of hill and country scenes. Back in the patients’ they preferred, most patients chose images from the first days there was more farmland, so the pictures can help group. remind them of their childhood.”

Nanda says one theory is that abstract art allows paJennifer Plunkett, director of design at Autumn Leaves, tients to project their own anxieties onto the image. stressed the importance of tactile art in Alzheimer’s and Thus, pictures that clearly portray pleasant images are dementia clinics. Among the art in Autumn Leaves is a more soothing. picture of a horse made of furlike material.

“If you are under stress and anxiety, if you see an im“It’s important for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients age that is ambiguous, you interpret it negatively.” to have their senses stimulated,” she says.

Nanda says environmental psychologists began study“It’s soothing, and it helps them remember what ing health care in the 1960s. In 1984, scientists found things feel like.” that postoperative patients healed more quickly and sucNanda said although there is a wealth of scientific cessfully if they had park-view windows. Through the knowledge about art and health care, there is much more 1980s, scientists became more interested in the role of to learn. art in hospitals. The concept of therapeutic design has American Art Resources is studying the role of art in become more popular in the last decade, she says. pediatric units, and how artwork affects the perception Healthcare Art Consulting, a firm in Dallas that of patient wait time in urgent care. advises medical companies on how to use art in their “Ultimately, it is a design field. There is no comprobuildings, refers to these scientific findings while work- mise on creativity and originality,” Nanda said. ing with their clients.

“But you want it to be strongly based in research and “Clinical and academic research in the past 10 years evidence, because the stakes are so high.”

“

It’s the whole emotional and perceptual context you are in.

“

T:11.5”

Photo courtesy of MCT Cast members of the Emmy Award winning TV drama “Mad Men.” From left, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, Michael Gladis, Christina Hendricks, Bryan Batt and Vincent Kartheiser.

Insane for ‘Mad Men’ AMC’s addictive skirtchasing ‘60s ad men show has strong season premiere

By Katie Labovitz

For the Ohio U Post Courtesy of Uwire

It just seems wrong that when I think of the cable channel AMC, I don’t think of American movie classics, which is what AMC stands for.

Instead, I think of the channel’s original television series “Mad Men,” the 1960s-themed drama which started its third season Sunday night.

Critically acclaimed, “Mad Men” is nominated for 16 Emmy Awards, with winners to be announced Sunday, Sept. 20.

“Mad Men” is set in New York City and follows the lives of advertising executives at Sterling Cooper.

The title is a play on the fictional agency’s address on Madison Avenue, though after watching two seasons of the series, could also refer to the varying degrees of inner turmoil of all of the ad men (and woman - yay Peggy!) and their families.

The show mostly revolves around Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the suave-

T:21”

Pfl [feËk _Xm\ kf Y\ g\i]\Zk kf Y\ X g\i]\Zk gXi\ek% K_\i\ Xi\ k_fljXe[j f] k\\ej `e ]fjk\i ZXi\ n_f nflc[ cfm\ kf Y\ leZfe[`k`feXccp jlggfik\[ Yp pfl% ($///$)''$+'', X[fgkljb`[j%fi^

looking creative director of Sterling Cooper, who smokes and drinks behind his desk - because that was the norm during the early ‘60s.

Draper manages to come up with solid ad campaigns and is mostly successful at work compared to his less-than-perfect home life, which features infidelity to his wife Betty (January Jones) and super-sketchy past.

Born Richard “Dick” Whitman, Don Draper is the identity he assumed during the Korean War before his marriage and work at Sterling Cooper).

Draper’s coworkers lead equally sordid lives. Co-founder of the agency Roger Sterling (John Slatterly) is married, though he decided to leave his wife at the end of last season for his much younger secretary.

He’s also had an affair with the fabulously voluptuous office manager/head secretary Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks).

Former secretary Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) became a copywriter with her own office after personally going through a huge ordeal of getting pregnant following an encounter with account executive Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) and

subsequently giving up her baby for adoption.

Last season ended with cliffhangers galore, which the third season has already begun to address thanks to a powerful season premiere.

Not only have we found out more about the circumstances under which Don Draper was born, but that he still is cheating on his very pregnant wife.

Also, a large regime change at Sterling Cooper has already caused friction among the new heads of accounting.

This season looks to be intense both in and out of the office.

Fun fact: Sterling Cooper’s other co-founder, Bertram Cooper, is played by Robert Morse. Morse starred in the original Broadway musical and subsequent film adaptation of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (1967) - a story about J. Pierpont Finch (Morse), who finagles his way from being a mailroom worker to executive at the World Wide Wicket Company, a New York City advertising agency.

Though the tone is more comical than that of “Mad Men,” the wardrobe and inter-office politics are spot on.

OPINION

10

Titan Editorial Providing insight, analysis and perspective since 1960

No money, mo’ problems The budget cut woes have struck with a vengeance and California State University students are helpless against the effects. Or are we?

Cal State Fullerton has already begun to abruptly cancel classes, some of which students were already enrolled in, as required to make the tens of millions of dollars in cuts in order to balance the teetering state budget.

Classes that are being cut tend to be those with a lower enrollment rate and the majority of which are coming from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

We have all felt the sting from the fee increase and if you haven’t been watching the news or paid attention to your campus e-mail this may have come as a surprise when you took a look at your class schedule to find that classes that you thought you were enrolled in vanished from the list.

If you were trying to prepare ahead of time by buying books online, it may have come as an even harsher reality to find that the class you bought the books for no longer exists.

It’s unfortunate what is happening – CSUs offer quality education at an (arguably) low cost, but our state government’s past spending spree and bad budgeting will have deep-seeded, lingering effects on all of us.

We should not blame our school or its officials for having to cut classes, they are just as out of the loop as we are.

Letters to the Editor:

We can, however, find fault with the school’s administration for the breakdown of communication that occurred, causing this semester to be by far the most inconvenient in decades; and we’ve only just started.

The school did not contact students about the cancellations until well after the classes had been removed from the schedule, causing many to miss out on the chance to enroll in other offerings of the cut courses or other courses they wished to take.

Students who did not happen to check their class schedule on Titan Online likely missed the short window of opportunity that existed to reregister for new classes and had to wait for Titan II to start.

The reduction of upper division courses will likely cause many senior and junior level students to extend their graduation dates.

Our representatives at Associated Students Inc. plan to lobby for the students to make it clear that California’s future rests in higher education, but whether our cries are heard is uncertain.

This shortfall will have a long term effect and result in future generations being less educated and less prepared for a demanding job market.

It’s a never-ending cycle. But it can be argued that this will make higher education available to those that really deserve it and have worked hard to earn it.

The affordability and accessibil-

ity of community colleges is that much more enticing and those enrolled in a CSU should be appreciative and not take their education for granted.

This should come as a rude awakening to anyone who thinks “college is just what you do after high school.”

It’s not.

It is a privilege that is afforded to fewer of us than before; which is a fact that should be looked upon with a measure of humility.

Education is a privilege that should be made available to all who are willing to work for it.

It is an opportunity that not everyone can afford to take advantage of.

Those of us who can, should be grateful and diligent in preserving the accessibility of an education.

So what can you do?

Keep yourself informed about what is happening within the school and the CSU system.

Contact Representative Edward R. Royce of the 40th District of California at (714) 744-4130 and ask what he plans to do to solve the fiscal problem and ensure that students are not being left to fend for themselves.

You can also join in ASI’s lobbying effort to go to other state and local political offices to represent the students CSUF. Actions speak louder than words and the more you do to act, the greater chance we have of protecting our educational privileges.

Any feedback, positive or negative, is encouraged, as we strive to keep an open dialogue with our readership. The Daily Titan reserves the right to edit letters for length, grammar and spelling. Direct all comments, questions or concerns along with your full name and major to the Daily Titan Opinion Desk at opinion@dailytitan.com.

August 24, 2009

Five Across the Eyes “A slap in the face to those most deserving”

Student trustee forgot who he represents

By Jeremiah Magan

Daily Titan Opinion Editor opinion@dailytitan.com

Welcome to “Five Across the Eyes,” a weekly column about people who I feel deserve a slap in the face but, because of assault laws, am not allowed to physically hit them.

Every week I will single out one person or group of people whose actions I feel have wronged me, the student body or society as a whole.

This week’s lucky victim should logistically be all of the California State University Board of Trustees, but since that is a lot of people to name and single out in one article, I will direct my hand toward the face of Student Trustee Russell Statham.

That name probably doesn’t mean anything to you now, but you should know that Statham is the person charged with representing the students of the CSU system in all Board of Trustee meetings.

You all surely know by now that student fees were raised twice over the summer.

If this is news to you, then you should check your school e-mail, as you are probably overdue for the additional 20 percent that was tacked on to the original 10 percent increase.

The fee increase was announced through the use of school e-mail at the end of July, after registration for the fall semester had already begun

and many students had already paid for classes.

On July 21, the Board of Trustees met in Long Beach and collectively bent over the CSU student population for a good old fashioned, unlubed reaming.

This may sound a little harsh, until you realize that you owe the school an additional $336 for the semester if you are a full-time student.

It’s hard enough being a college student during a recession, and the last thing we needed was another excuse to drop out of school.

Reports from the board meeting indicate that not only did Statham vote in favor of the fee increase, but that when he addressed the board he did nothing to dissuade the increase.

Being a member of the board, Statham has surely studied the budget crisis thoroughly, and he may have come to the conclusion that fees needed to be raised to help fit the cost of the academic year. But he is the student trustee; he was appointed to represent the students.

I do not envy Statham’s position on the board. Even if he had come to our defense and lobbied for an alternative, the fact that the increase was voted in 17-1 means it probably would have happened either way.

Regardless, if you happen to meet Statham or see him at another Board of Trustees meeting, I would like to make it clear that I am not suggest-

ing that anyone throw rotting fruits or vegetables at him. That would be wrong.

Coincidentally, you can buy expired produce from grocery stores for a fraction of the normal cost.

Despite all the bad news coming out of the meeting, there is a silver lining to be found in the aftermath.

CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed was “Delegated authority to further adopt, amend, or repeal the State University Fee rate increase if such action is required by changes to the 2009-10 Budget Act” as is noted in CSU Budget Office Web site’s report of the meeting’s resolutions.

The Chancellor has the power to decrease our fees if he deems it financially sound to do so.

You have better odds of finding the cure for cancer floating in your toilet tomorrow, but at least it’s a possibility.

The painful truth is that the state of California is in a lot of trouble.

We have no money, and we need money to pay for things like education. While I certainly believe that education should be a priority when it comes to the state budget, there are other programs that are more important.

If paying more for an education is what we as students must do to keep California from going bankrupt, then our only other option is to drop out and practice saying, “Would you like fries with that?”

quite sure what to expect.

I grew up watching TV shows like One Tree Hill and The O.C., but I didn’t know if real life would measure up to what I saw on TV. And more importantly, would I like it?

But I figured if all the women looked like Rachel Bilson and Sophia Bush, it really wouldn’t be so bad.

So far, I’ve been here for a year, and I have to say, nothing was what I thought it would be. First and foremost, I still haven’t slept with a celebrity, and not all American guys have rock-hard abs, nor do all American girls have blonde hair and big boobs.

Not all Americans are friendly, nor are they all mean. What I am saying is that no stereotype is a stereotype.

America is too vast and varied to be generalized.

However, much like how Americans are a bit of everything, my feelings about America are a little bit of everything at the same time.

First, there is the Californian accent. Before arriving here, I never knew that the word “like” could be used up to six times in a 12-word sentence. Or that everyone calls each other “dude”.

It was annoying, yet strangely reassuring to see that some of the

stereotypes I’ve seen in Hollywood movies do exist. Yet, for every person you meet who seems like they stepped right off the set of Beverly Hills 90210, you will meet two more who will surprise you unexpectedly; the ex-policeman who bought me coffee and a sandwich just because I wasn’t from here, for example. And I quite like that.

However sometimes it is frustrating, trying to explain to people where you’re from and why you have a funny accent, or explaining to a girl why you don’t want to sleep with her (because one in four Americans have an STD), or trying to understand why overweight people buy a Big Mac and large fries with a Diet Coke at McDonalds. But these are all stories for another day.

All in all, America, or more specifically, Orange County is an amazing place, full of large pleasures (like amazing sunsets, and wonderful weather) and little surprises (like friendly waitresses and drinkable tap water). At least people have stopped asking me about my accent, or where I’m from (I’m from Malaysia, not Mongolia).

So now, I have a love/hate relationship with America, for all its public faces and private parts.

him. The problem with this is that he was convicted.

That means a legal system, which the people put in place to protect them, concluded that this man was involved in a terrorist act and because of his involvement he was given the punishment of life in prison.

The sentence was not “life, or until he contracts some deadly disease.”

Some have argued that his cancer is a punishment from a higher power and this somehow absolves him from his lesser punishment bestowed upon him by the mere mortals that make up the justicial system. “Higher powers” should be left out of this case.

Megrahi took innocent lives. He willingly chose to break laws which were put forth upon all human beings to maintain order and safety. He did not repent and he did not ask for forgiveness from the families of his victims.

To add insult to injury, his early release is reopening a painful memory for the victims’ families. He was given something they’ll never have – more time with their loved ones.

The terminally-ill convicted terrorist is not totally incapacitated either. The theory of imprisonment becomes moot when the prisoner is no longer detained and he can no longer be monitored for further

criminal activity. Essentially, he has been pardoned.

The Obama administration has already offered its opinion on the matter. “As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

What it comes down to is a matter of principle. People should be held accountable for their actions, especially those resulting in death.

As in the case of John Demjanjuk, an 88-year-old former-Nazi camp guard who was charged with 29,000 counts of accessory to murder even though his health was in question, and there was controversy about whether he was even well enough to be extradited for his trial.

He was found to be in well enough health, and despite the protests of family and friends, he was sent to Germany to be put on trial.

Age and sickness should not pardon someone from their crimes.

These were considerations that weren’t taken into account by Megrahi and Demjanjuk when they decided to take the lives of their victims, so why should they be taken into account for them?

First impressions of life in America

By Isa ghani

Daily Titan Multimedia Editor opinion@dailytitan.com

Have you ever moved 19,000 miles away from home? I have, and let me tell you, it’s not easy. A year ago, I left my home country of Malaysia to attend Cal State Fullerton.

In doing so, I left behind everything and everyone I had ever known for the past 19 years of my life.

Many people have asked me “Why did you choose to go to California?” and I would reply with two words: Jessica Alba.

Actually, what I really wanted was to go to a place where you could walk around with movie stars, drive a convertible any time of year and hang out on sunny beaches. So what better place to go then California?

When I left, I was scared shitless.

Maybe it’s because I’m Muslim, and I really didn’t want to hear the words “anal cavity search” during the airport security check.

Or maybe it’s because I was stepping onto a plane in a world that was safe, comfortable and familiar, and stepping off (20 long hours later) in a completely different world, a world I had only seen on TV. Much like traveling to an alien planet, I wasn’t

Cancer sets terrorist free from prison By brittny ulate

Daily Titan Detour Editor opinion@dailytitan.com

A man is convicted and sentenced for his participation in a terrorist attack which killed 270 people and was considered to be Britain’s deadliest terrorist attack, and then let go early and sent home to be welcomed by well-wishers and a cheering crowd.

What’s wrong with this picture?

A person who is tried and convicted for a major crime such as murder or terrorist attacks should carry out their full sentence. Mercy should not be an option to someone who didn’t offer the same consideration to their victims.

Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi was convicted and given life in prison for the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing that killed 259 passengers on board a London to New York flight, a lot of them Americans, and 11 people on the ground.

He was released last week after serving only eight years of his sentence because he is suffering from prostate cancer and only has a few months to live.

The Libyan terrorist will be home in time to spend the Muslim holy month of Ramadan with his friends and family. Megrahi maintains his innocence, and some actually believe

11

OPINION

August 24, 2009

Nerdgasm “Exploring the highs and lows of nerd culture”

Attack of the blockbusters by ashleigh johnson

Daily Titan Copy Editor opinion@dailytitan.com

So it’s official, the summer movie season sucked harder than Billy Mays standing in front of a swimming pool full of freshly-cut Colombian nose candy (a.k.a. OxyClean) with vacuum tubes affixed to each nostril.

Inappropriate jokes aside, it’s hard not to notice that Hollywood — having long since run out of ideas that don’t involve Adam Sandler/ Leonardo DiCaprio getting into some wacky shenanigans/dramatic tragedy that only zany antics/staring broodingly into nothingness can get them out of — has dipped into the world of nerd culture for their newest cash cows.

And why not? Even if the movie is terrible (and it will be), people are still going to pay good money to see it — especially if the source material already has a huge following.

Sure, the purists may swear that they will never, ever, not in a million years see the film that bastardizes the fictional worlds that they have grown to love to the point where it’s almost fetishistic (I really, really like Harry Potter) but eventually all the hype will plant the seeds of curiosity.

Before they know it, they’re sitting in a packed theater full of shrieking preteens, where they’ll spend the next few hours of their miserable existence trying to justify paying $10 for the theatrical equivalent of

“

watching two dogs hump each other for 80 minutes.

But even the most powerful forces of logic can’t turn a giant, heaping pile of fecal matter into a shining gem of brilliance.

The very moment the poor fan gets home, it’s straight onto the film’s www.imdb.com page with a half-finished bottle of Jagermeister in hand, determined to drop a little nerd rage on the message boards.

I’m still bitter about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Aliens don’t belong in an Indiana Jones movie.

Why did the aliens look like E.T. if he was addicted to laxatives and crystal meth? Refrigerators won’t

probably hack off their legs for the slightest chance to have Steven Spielberg wipe himself with their script; if only because then there would be a chance that he would examine the paper afterward and discover— surprise!—there’s writing underneath the smears.

Most undiscovered screenplays undoubtedly suck, but at this point I’ll watch anything that’s not a remake, a half-baked sequel or based on some cartoon from the ‘80s.

I’m serious.

I would rather watch a movie about a midget prostitute pretending to be an 8-year-old girl than anything made by Michael “Explosions!” Bay ever again.

New ideas, while they may fail, should still be explored.

The film industry, as a whole, should be more interested in encouraging creativity than lining its collective pockets.

It’s an idealistic thought to be sure, but with the film industry’s steady decline, maybe it’s time for the highpowered executives to listen to the consumers and churn out something new.

It’s time for nerds to rise up and demand that filmmakers stop raping our beloved fandoms in favor of some new material. It can’t be that hard to come up with new ideas, can it?

Here: a down-on-his-luck farmer buys a horse who is possessed by the ghost of a dead rapper. Hijinks ensue. We can call it “Bitches and Mares.” You’re welcome.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go preorder my tickets for Disney’s Prince of Persia movie.

I would rather watch a movie about a midget prostitute pretending to be an 8-yearold girl than anything made by Michael ‘Explosions!’ Bay.

“

save anyone from an atomic blast. I hate you George Lucas.

Sorry about that.

Anyway, while it’s true that no one was holding out hope that G.I. Joe would become the next Lord of the Rings (and if you were, I don’t think that we can be friends), maybe it’s time to take a stand before the next waste of time makes it into theaters.

There has to be hundreds of screenwriters out there who would

For the record Articles written for the Daily Titan by columnists, other Cal State Fullerton students or guests do not necessarily reflect the view of the Daily Titan or Daily Titan Editorial Board. Only the editorials are representative of the views of the Daily Titan Editorial Board.

THE DAILY TITAN CARES Does your life lack direction?

Are your friends and family tired of listening to you complain?

Do you need the answers to your burning questions in a somewhattimely fashion?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, the Daily Titan wants to help you.

Be the first to ask the editors of the Daily Titan about all of your problems.

Send your questions to opinion@dailytitan.com with “Advice” in the subject line.

Warning: Advice may not be sound or logical. You may experience mild discomfort, swelling, itchiness, dryness and in extreme cases, explosive diharrea . If symptoms persist, consult a physician immediately.

Social networking hinders social skills

By Derek Opina

Daily Titan Multimedia Asst. Editor opinion@dailytitan.com

You’re sitting on your bed. You got her number earlier in the day.

Your phone is set to call her number. All you have to do is push that green dial button, and the phone will start ringing.

You did it! You pressed that button, and the ringing begins. But for every ring that passes and she doesn’t answer, your heart beats faster. Your voice sounds weaker.

Ring, ring, ring. No answer. You can’t take it anymore, you’re too nervous. You hang up. Failure.

What do you do instead? You send her a text message. Or maybe you post a comment on her MySpace/Facebook.

It’s so much easier than actually speaking with her. So now when she reads your words, instead of hearing them, she imagines you as a smooth talker. Like James Bond smooth, right?

Wrong.

You fail.

It amazes me that most people don’t realize that by choosing not to talk directly to someone, they are hindering their interpersonal communication skills.

They hide behind that wall of text because they don’t want to go too deep. They are scared of rejection and would rather run like a pooch than face rejection head-on.

Technological luxuries such as

text messaging and the Internet hinder the development of interpersonal communication.

Men hide behind texting and social networking sites when trying to communicate with women so much that when they try to talk to women in person they screw up.

Their ability to speak confidently has withered away. Their body language shifts and they don’t know what to do with their hands when they don’t have the luxury of “time to think of what to say” that technology provides.

Women, don’t think you get off so easily. Women’s magazines like Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire have hindered their communication skills just as much.

These magazines give them “advice” like: “don’t answer his first couple phone calls,” which only contributes to the decline of their social skills.

That’s why they are just as nervous to answer the phone as men are to call them. Thus, the reason why they ultimately prefer texting.

“Texting is a lot less pressure for me,” says Fullerton College student Krystal Kohlberg. “I don’t like the pressure of a phone call. I want to take my time and think about responding to what he says.”

The “pressure” is caused by the reading of articles about male manipulation in Cosmopolitan.

By looking to media for solutions on “playing” men, women create anxiety for themselves. Looking to

ease their anxiety through media actually makes people more aware of it, causing women to feel “pressure” when talking to men on the phone.

They hide behind text messaging to relieve themselves of this pressure.

I’m not giving men any slack either. In fact, I’m trying to help my brothers.

Take this Cal State Fullerton sophomore psychology major for example: “I got my first girlfriend over MySpace,” says the sophomore who wished to remain anonymous.

“I sent her a message asking her out.

She replied and said ‘yes.’”

“It allows me to be more comfortable before I meet them in person.”

Seems cool, right? But no, it’s not cool.

“I have trouble making small talk.

If I had something to talk about it would be easy. I’m better at talking online,” Mr. Anonymous admits his social skills are not strong because he relies on Facebook and MySpace too much.

When he talks to a woman, he chokes; but on MySpace and Facebook, he sounds just like James Bond. Or at least he thinks he does.

Texting and social networking sites cannot be avoided for communication in dating. People just need to realize the strain it puts on their social skills.

Are your skills weaker because you rely on technology too much?

Think about it.

Go to www.dailytitan.com and tell us what you think of the new CSUF logo.

yo u r w e e k ly d o s e o f e n t e rta i n m e n t

August 24, 2009

detour@dailytitan.com

12

Depeche Mode tours the universe After cancelling many of their tour dates the veteran new wave rockers made good on their local performances

By Monzerrath Gonzalez Daily Titan Managing Editor detour@dailytitan.com Legendary new wave band Depeche Mode performed songs from their twelfth studio album to a sold out crowd last Thursday in Santa Barbara.

The band, who are currently on their “Tour of the Universe,” played their last California show after canceling performances in both San Francisco and San Diego due to lead singer David Gahan’s doctor’s orders to have complete vocal rest.

The set began with Gahan’s sexsmothered vocals and dancing as the band performed the first track from Sounds of the Universe, “In Chains”

followed by the single “Wrong,” and the percussion-charged “Hole to Feed.”

The band created a rich environment by displaying intricate images onto a large screen that added a visual element to their songs. However, as the band performed “Walking In My Shoes,” a hit from their 1993 album Songs of Faith and Devotion, the stage fell completely dark and all sound stopped. The surprised band members looked around at each other and slowly walked off the stage as the audience chanted out the song See Depeche Mode, Page 14

Photos By Ani kellogg/For the Daily Titan

Top: Depeche Mode lead singer David Gahan sings in front of a sold out crowd in the Santa Barbara Bowl, Thursday. The band performed songs from their new album, Sounds of the Universe as well as a variety of other songs from their catalog.

Left: Chief song writer Martin Gore (left) plays one of the 14 guitairs he used during the show while Gahan (right) dances.

13

DETOUR

MUSIC

By SHRUTI PATEL

Daily Titan Photo Editor detour@dailytitan.com

Bronze Radio Return is a band that has brought rock ‘n’ roll up to a new platform, one where music lovers of all ages can enjoy it.

Their smooth mix of subtle vocals and harmonies with well placed repetitive melodic phrasing makes their debut album, Old Time Speaker, the perfect introduction to the world of what they have to offer.

Their slight resemblance in sound to Maroon 5 and The Fray gives them a smooth, easy listening vibe that has been a new trend in their genre today.

Because all of the band members offer a different love and passion for music, Bronze Radio Return not only fit in with today’s styles, but they do so while standing out with their own unique vibe.

The songs “Lo-Fi” and “Digital Love” are two of my favorites on the album. “Lo-Fi” sounds like a mix of a bluesy singer with a resemblance to the sounds of Maroon 5; it makes you think of something that no one really thinks about. The track “Digi-

tal Love” is all about a relationship told in completely neutral messages about music and sounds: “I love you through the wire if the wire is strong ... it’s a digital love.”

Their lyrics of love and romance are written in a way that make it seem as though they are speaking of musical objects. Introducing a new way to spread the word on different views of listening and sharing music.

The band’s passion for what they are doing comes out in their lyrics and harmonies.

Bronze Radio Return was a known hit from the start when Myspace Records first brought it out and showed the band’s popularity with people on the site.

Bronze Radio Return’s CD is one that can be picked up at any time throughout the day because the vibe of classic rock mixed with a dash of mellow tones and old-school bluesy harmonies beautifully brings together the old and the new in an almost utopian balance. Download: “Lo-Fi” and “Digital Love”

MOVIE

By Jeremiah Magan

Daily Titan Opinion Editor detour@dailytitan.com

If half of the video games produced over the last 15 years are any indication, people love seeing Nazis die. This is the main theme of Inglourious Basterds, writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s latest film.

Tarantino broke away from his signature storytelling style for his first war film. Instead of beginning the film in the middle or end and jumping to different points in the timeline throughout the film, Tarantino told the story from beginning to end with a few quick flashbacks for background information.

The film, set during WWII in German-occupied France, stars Brad Pitt as the clever but simple Lt. Aldo Raine, the commanding officer of a covert task force known as the “Basterds.”

The film also stars Christoph Watlz. Playing the main antagonist German S.S. Officer Col. Hans Landa, “The Jew Hunter,” Waltz steals every scene. His interrogation scene with the film’s other main protagonist, Shoshanna Dreyfus, played by

Mélanie Laurent, is one of the best in the film.

The Basterds, comprised mostly of Jewish-American soldiers, are main characters as a group, but only a few get any chance to shine as individuals.

The most memorable member of the Basterds is Eli Roth playing Sgt. Donnie Donowitz, “The Bear Jew.” He is given this nickname because of his special form of brutality.

Tarantino maintains his trademark of gory and exceedingly bloody death scenes.

In one of the film’s most brutal scenes, Donowitz beats a Nazi officer to death with a baseball bat as his comrades scalp other dead Nazi soldiers in the background.

The flow of the film is disrupted as the most intense and dramatic scenes are drawn out, making them feel longer than they are.

But with plenty of Nazi killing and two storylines that converge in a beautiful display of brutality, Inglourious Basterds is worth seeing.

August 24, 2009

MUSIC

By Adan Vasquez

Daily Titan Sports Editor detour@dailytitan.com

Can David Hodges not make me think about my last relationship more than I already do?

Singer-songwriter and Grammy Award-winning artist David Hodges, who made up one-third of Evanescence, released a new solo EP titled The Rising on Aug. 11 just after hitting the road with Chris Daughtry for a national tour.

The two have been touring and performing in major cities all across the states, giving fans an intimate live show, which I am sure will leave many singing along with Hodges and pouring their hearts out.

For all you men and women who love songs that remind them about the good, the bad, and those moments we all severely want to forget, this album is sure to hit the spot.

With songs like “When it All Goes Away” and “Hard to Believe,” Hodges has me sarcastically thanking him for allowing me to remember all those moments I painfully locked away months ago.

Anyone who just got out of a re-

lationship and is looking for something to help pour your emotions out, these are definitely the songs for you.

Hodges himself is telling us in “Another Red Light” to just cry when you are supposed to hold it back.

Now, I may be completely wrong about how this album will make everyone feel, but I feel nothing great inside of me other than pain and sorrow when listening to Hodges’ amazing piece of work.

But afterward I feel great. It is like therapy.

The guy is brilliant. It won’t be one bit surprising to see him blow up real soon and have fans crying at his concerts while they sing along to his heart-breaking lyrics.

If and when Hodges comes to a city near Cal State Fullerton, I will surely be headed to his show. I mean why wouldn’t I want to think back and be reminded about all the great times I spent with the one that got away?

Thank you, David Hodges.

14

DETOUR

Arce brings color to Graves Gallery August 24, 2009

Artist brings exhibit,“Ecos del Ser,” to downtown Fullerton

By RAchel David Daily Titan Copy Editor detour@dailytitan.com As you walk into Graves Gallery, unassuming on the outside, you instantly enter into a room with a mellow art vibe, where your eyes scan the small room, attempting to take in all of the bold colors. One wall is painted lime green while the opposite wall is all brick, creating a nice, but odd, visual balance. However, the boldest colors in Graves Gallery can be found on Arces’ canvases. You can’t help but be drawn to the crisp, vibrant colors used so expertly by Arce. Many of the pieces, done on either canvas or wood, are composed of angles and shapes and have a textured look to them.

A great deal of the art itself is distorted and abstract but, with the use of beautiful and creative color combinations like turquoise and purple, Arce’s work creates an aesthetically pleasing and calming effect on observers. As I walked through the exhibit on opening night, Aug. 20, taking in all of Arce’s hard work, the liberal use of such rich colors immediately made me want to pick up a paintbrush or pen and create.

What is equally as intriguing as the bold use of striking colors is Arce’s ability to create works of art that observers cannot take in all at once. Each time you look at one of the colorful pieces your eye catches something new.

For instance, in “Como Aves en Agua” (Like Birds in Water), there is

a face in the upper right hand cloud that is blowing wind on the water’s surface, which is not necessarily visible upon first glance.

Similarly, when you first look at “Cuando la Muerte Asecha” (When Death Stalks), it is easy to focus exclusively on the bold yellows and reds and completely bypass the leering eyes or realistic heart painted among the brilliant colors. This I Spy or Where’s Waldo quality to Arce’s art is what makes his pieces so charming and mesmerizing.

Jesse Arce, the artist’s brother, cited “Cuando la Muerta Asecha” as his favorite piece and said, “(Alex) has grown so much as an artist; where he’s gotten to is such a great accomplishment.”

An hour into the successful opening of “Ecos del Ser,” the man of the hour arrives, instantly engulfed in hugs, kisses and handshakes from proud family members and friends.

Arce, 29, a Fullerton College design student, is charismatic and could easily be related to James Franco.

Though several of Arce’s paintings reflect a cubist or Picasso type influence, he does not ascribe to one particular art genre. He admires Picasso and other renowned artists’ work but says his goal is to “mimic, not copy” their style.

When I asked what inspires his work, Arce replied, “Inspiration comes from experience itself, life,

By Todd barnes/Daily Titan Photo Editor Above: Featured artist Alex Arce elaborates on his work to an attendee at Graves Gallery. It was the grand opening of the month long exhibit this weekend, Aug. 20, with dozens of guests attending the opening night. Below Left: Jesse Arce and Teresa Sanchez examine the detail on a painting by Alex Arce, Jesse’s brother. Below Right: Family friend, Clark Hafen, takes a closer look at a piece.

just from being.”

The majority of Arce’s paintings revolve around nature or male and female figures.

“It is about honoring nature, raising it to it’s place, in high regard.”

Arce said some of his paintings are basically portraits, “representing the feminine presence and masculine

presence in life.”

Arce has been painting for about 10 to 11 years and drawing for even longer; however, he said it wasn’t until the sixth grade that he truly enjoyed the pleasure of drawing. It was a close friend of his that got him hooked on oil painting.

“A friend encouraged me to try oil. I didn’t have any oil; I just used his. From there, I liked it; it was fun, more challenging, which hooked me.”

Like most artistic and creative types, Arce said his paintings are a form of therapy for him.

“Hopefully, it will slow them down and make them contemplate,” responded Arce when asked what he wants viewers to take away with them after observing his art. “Hopefully, in the end, they take away something positive.”

For this observer, Arce has definitely accomplished his goals. Each of his paintings, especially my favorite, “Sonambulo Despierto” (Woken Sleepwalker), drew me into the painting, making me pause and absorb every detail on the brilliantly bright colored canvas. The vibrant colors leave you feeling happy and creative, which is no small feat.

Arce’s artwork is currently featured at an exhibition tiled “Ecos del Ser” (Echoes of Being) at Graves Gallery in Downtown Fullerton (114 E. Amerige Ave.). The exhibit runs through Sept. 24.

Depeche mode: delivers despite obstacles From Page 12 in hopes of their return.

After a few minutes and various crew members adjusting equipment on set, the band reappeared. Their background screen was no longer functional, but the performance veterans picked up where they left off and continued to play.

The crowd’s cheers only grew louder as chief songwriter Martin Gore, pulled out one of the 14 colorful guitars he used throughout the show and began playing while Gahan picked up his mic stand, spun

around and sang “A Question of Time.”

Gore later took the stage alone, donning a shiny silver suit to sing the ballads he is most known for.

Gore’s voice sounded crisp and clean as he performed “Jezebel” and as he directed the audience to help him sing their 1995 hit, “Home”.

The band later reunited on stage and sang one of their greatest hits from the 1990 album Violator, “Policy of Truth.” The crowd sang along and followed Gahan’s commands to clap and sway as he lifted and pointed his microphone stand at them.

During their final encore song, the popular, “Personal Jesus,” the background screens turned on and the image of a woman slowly shaking her hips intermixed with images of Gahan, Gore and Andrew Fletcher (bass and synthesizer) with arms spread open as if they were crucified emerged.

After the song, the band gathered on stage and thanked their loyal fans.

Depeche Mode proved that although they have had an obstacle filled tour, they are still on top of their game.

The Flaming Lips Invade Pomona’s Fox Theater

By ani kellogg/For the Daily Titan

Photos By Ani kellogg/For the Daily Titan

15

DETOUR

August 24, 2009

Logan Hicks combines art and sports at this year’s X-Games Stencil artist brings urban inspired flare to extreme sports By brittny Ulate

Daily Titan Detour Editor detour@dailytitan.com

Dirty and disarming, crowded and beautiful, a city’s glistening grime captured against an unusual deep shade of red that makes one think this might just be the view when the end of the world is here.

This is the world Logan Hicks creates.

Hicks, who is known for his cityscape murals which he plasters on walls around the world, was in Los

Angeles earlier this month for this year’s X-Games, which was held at the Home Depot Center, where he painted a mural to help celebrate the event’s 15th anniversary.

“The X-Games was by far the most organized event I’ve ever been to,” said Hicks during a phone interview after he returned home to New York after the games.

The stencil artist knows what he’s talking about when it comes to organization.

Most of his work is done before he actually arrives to the work site.

The planning out of one of his art pieces usually takes more time than the actual execution of it.

Hicks works mainly with stencils and a majority of his work is done

By daniel suzuki/For the Daily Titan Globe-trotting Hicks works on the mural he completed for the 2009 X-Games, which were held in Carson at the Home Depot Center. He did the mural in front of a live audience. He also provided art for some of the street courses used in events.

with the aid of computers. Hicks has the stencils done beforehand, then using spray paint, he does his murals on site. Many times it is in front of a live audience.

“It took me two days to do the 20 ft. by 8 ft. mural [at the X-Games] and two weeks doing the actual stencils, which I do on the computer. The composition is figured out before I get on the plane,” Hicks explained.

Although the artist does portraits and other types of art, Hicks is largely known for his depictions of urban living.

Everything from the simplicity of an underground subway stairwell to the multi-layered complexity of a crowded city street is translated through Hicks’ unique brand of art.

“I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with the city. I try and find a balance,” Hicks explains about his favorite subject matter, “the diversity is what I love about the city- that dichotomy fuels a lot of my work.”

It’s a balance he captured well on his X-Games mural. He had his signature red background along with his stenciled cityscape hovering above some X-Games hereos,such as Shaun White, Ryan Sheckler, Jake Brown, Daniel Dhers, and Chad Kagy.

Along with the mural, Hicks also lent his touch to some of the courses, adding an urban edge to the sloping walls that make up much of the event’s obstacle courses.

Hicks and his artwork were just one of the ways the X-Games commemorated this milestone year for the event. The popular sports event has been the major platform for alternative sports to showcase its superstars.

Photo courtesy of logan hicks Hicks (above), has always known he wanted to be an artist. With the sutport of family, he was able to attend art school and then start a screenprinting business after that. After the success of his business he moved from San Diego to Los Angeles and really began exploring the world of stencils. He started getting into urban landscapes around 2001.

With the incorporation of Hicks at this year’s X-Games it seems the line between art and sports is slightly dimming. Jumping from genre to genre seems to be gaining in popularity.

Sports and art, music and sports, it is all becoming a fusion of ideas and shared interest of ideas for each area.

Along with his work involving extreme sports, Hicks has also worked on projects with musicians to help interpret their love of music through art.

His most notable collaboration has been with veteran punk rockers,

Green Day. In his signature style, Hicks did portraits of the band’s members, which will travel with the band as they tour.

“Art has taken a front seat to expression,” Hicks explains about his work with the musicians. “I tried to make that line between art and music a little more literal.”

Hicks believes his art helps interpret the emotions songs try to convey in a shorter, more impactful way.

A song takes time to listen to and analyze, whereas an image will deliver a message in the seconds it takes to view it all.

It is his passion for art and expres-

sion that keeps this Midwestern native employed and on the move.

Hicks travels the world, exploring different cities and finding a common theme no matter where he goes.

“I find commonality between certain types of people; people that embrace the city,” Hicks said. “I’m always looking at the flow of cities, the way it’s laid out. A city has a personality. New Orleans is more alive than the people in it. Tokyo is insanely dense. The people and the buildings fuse into one conglomerate, and I take in the whole experience.”

Tennessee boys bring their brand of southern comfort rock to Los Angeles By brittny ulate

Daily Titan Detour Editor detour@dailytitan.com

Southern-bred Kings of Leon brought their brand of rock ‘n’ roll swagger to the Los Angeles Forum last Saturday night, before heading out to play a couple of United Kingdom festivals in support of their latest album, Only by the Night.

“You don’t realize how proud you make this boy from Tennessee feel,” lead singer Caleb Followill told the cheering crowd.

The band, which attained success in Europe before they were popular in their own country, opened the show with “Be Somebody,” a track off Only by the Night, the album that

brought them into mainstream consciousness.

KOL hit a perfect balance throughout the night, playing enough tracks from their three previous albums to satisfy their die-hard fans, and keeping their newer fans in the loop by playing their popular, radio-friendly songs from Only by the Night.

The boys kept the momentum up by going into “Taper Jean Girl” off their album Aha Shake Heartbreak, getting the whole crowd involved with the opening verse. “Aha shake..,” could be heard throughout the Forum as the crowd tried to keep up with Followill’s often garbled lyrics.

The Followill’s, brothers Nathan, on drums; Caleb, on lead vocals

and rhythm guitar; Jared on bass; and cousin, Matthew on lead guitar, went through a sort of makeover on their new album. Only by the Night is a smooth collection of rock ‘n’ roll craftsmanship that is easily digestible for mainstream radio, whereas their three previous albums, Because of the Times, Aha Shake Heartbreak and Youth and Young Manhood are raw, yet contemporary, southern rock at its best. The albums are messy and loud and undeniably good.

The tight-knit group, who are known for the raucous activity, including physical fights with each other, were on their best behavior throughout the night as they delivered a tight set with small interludes between songs to adjust some of

their equipment. Caleb would use this time to make light banter with the sold-out crowd.

“The best part [about tonight] is we have the next couple of nights off. So, tonight we party,” he said, to which the crowd immediately responded to with yelling and clapping.

The middle of the show was reserved for the majority of the tracks off of Only by the Night. The contemplative track “Revelry,” started the block.

A slow beat, kept up by Nathan on drums, was accompanied by the reverb of a sorrowful guitar played

by Caleb on “Closer,” the next song, while Matthew sent his guitar wailing in the background.

This was followed by “Crawl,” which ironically is the track after “Closer” on the album.

“They play this one way too much around here. I want to apologize. I was on pills when I wrote it,” Caleb said before breaking into KOL’s most popular song to date, “Sex on Fire.”

It was indeed, a crowd favorite.

A highlight of the night was the inclusion of “On Call,” the track off of Because of the Times, the album which was supposed to break the boys in the United States but didn’t.

With sincerity in his eyes, Caleb sings, “I’m on call/ to be there … when I fall/ I’ll be there waiting.”

KOL ended the night with an extended encore that stretched into the night, including “Slow Night,

So Long,” which transitioned into “Knocked Up,” much to the delight of the fans who probably would have stayed to hear the group’s whole catalog.

“It keeps getting better and better here,” Forum usher Abel Zarate, an 18-year-old El Camino college student commented, “Kings of Leon are awesome; they have crazy fans.”

The Tennessee rockers seemed truly grateful for all their success and thanked the fans profusely throughout the show.

“When we first started this band we never thought we’d get out of Tennessee,” Caleb told the crowd at the end of the night. “Now, every day we get to walk on a stage that’s much bigger than us.”

Event Calendar 25 Tuesday • Green Day The Forum • Marilyn Manson The Fox Theater Pomona • Built To Spill Galaxy Theatre • The Dead Weather The Wiltern • The Shys Troubadour • Chris Isaak Greek Theatre

27 thursday 28 friday • CAKE • Conor Oberst • Casualties The Music Box at Echoplex Glass House the Fonda • Devendra • As Tall As Lions • The Dead Banhart Detroit Bar Weather HOB Anahem • Pet Yorn The Mayan • Deerhunter The Music Box at Theater Detroit Bar the Fonda • Lila Downs • Franz •Gang Gang Grove of Ferdinand Dance Anaheim Hollywood Troubadour palladium • Great White • Kinky HOB Hollywood The Canyon • TSOL • Ryan Bingham Galaxy Theatre Troubadour • Ted Leo & the • The Dirt Bombs Pharmacists The Canyon The Echo • The Warlocks Spaceland 26 Wednesday

29 saturday 30 sunday • Band Of Horses • The Faint Fox Theater Club Nokia Pomona • The Mars Volta • Akron/Family Hollywood El Rey Theatre Palladium • Modest Mouse • The Duke Spirit The Grove of Detroit Bar Anaheim •Demetri •The National Martin The Wiltern Grove of • George Clinton Anaheim Club Nokia • Ryan Bingham Troubadour

Photo By Ani Kellogg/For the Daily Titan

16

SPORTS

August 24, 2009

Titan shortshop Christian Colon suffers injury Head Coach Dave Serrano is optimistic that Colon will return to full-strength and contribute to the team before the upcoming season begins. sports@dailytitan.com

Cal State Fullerton baseball junior shortstop Christian Colon feels optimistic about returning to the diamond in top shape next spring despite suffering a broken leg while playing for Team USA this summer.

The Team USA captain was injured on July 24 while playing against Canada at the 2009 Enbridge Northern Pipeline World Baseball Challenge in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.

Canadian Nic Lendvoy slid hard into second base in an attempt to disrupt a routine double play on a bunt in the top of the eighth inning.

Although Colon successfully converted the double play, he was carried off the field with a broken tibia and fibula.

Team USA won the game, but Colon was unable to play in the championship game against Germany two days after the collision occured.

“I didn’t think about it because it’s just something that’s so routine,” Colon said. “I was trying to turn a double play on a bunt. I didn’t think he was going to try to block it.”

Colon said he has never experienced an injury like this in his career, but that the injury also came at the right time.

“It’s the perfect time to have an

injury because you have all this time Colon has been rehabbing his into get ready for the season,” he said. jury on campus at the baseball club“I’m happy that I have six, seven house. months to get ready, and it takes “I feel good. It’s not even as big three months for the bones to heal.” as people think,” Colon said. “I just Fellow Titan junior Gray Brown, broke my bones, and there weren’t who played beside Colon last season any torn ligaments.” at third base, knows what Colon is Colon plans to help the healing going through due to rehabbing process by icing the injury every day from a torn anterior cruciate liga- and dipping his leg in a pool. ment in high school.

“Once the bones heal, I can start “After having working on getsurgery, the most ting movement,” important thing Colon said. is to get strength Coaches and in your leg,” trainers will make Brown said. “But sure that Colon even more imdoesn’t make any portant is trying movements that to get your concould worsen the fidence back.” injury.

It took a while “We won’t let for Brown to rethe leash off of gain confidence him until we hear – Gary Brown, from the doctors in his knee after the injury. that he’s ready,” Cal State Fullerton Trainers and head coach Dave baseball player. coaches can help Serrano said. a player regain The coaches health, but they will be keepcan’t help them get their confidence ing a close eye on Colon’s progress back, Brown said. throughout the fall because he’s an But Colon shouldn’t have a prob- essential part of the squad, Serrano lem. said.

“Any injury is terrible news, but I Serrano often tells his players that wasn’t worried because I heard it was nobody is more important than the a clean break and he’s a hard work- team, but if and when the Titans do ing kid with a hard work ethic,” said get Colon back next season the team Brown. would definitely benefit.

“

Any injury is terrible news, but I wasn’t worried because I heard it was a clean break and he’s a hard working kid with a hard work ethic.

“

By Juan Saucedo

Daily Titan Staff Writer

By John Wayne maioriello/Daily Titan Staff Photographer Titan shortstop Christian Colon is working hard to get back to playing baseball after undergoing surgery on his broken leg.

However, Serrano said that he expects his team will be fine regardless.

“I’m very optimistic,” said Serrano in a telephone interview. “I know Christian will do everything to get back one-hundred percent.”

Serrano said that when Colon gets

his strength back that they’ll start him off with physical therapy under the close watch of a physician.

Colon turned 36 double plays last season for the Titans while batting .357 with eight home runs and 40 RBI’s.

Colon was also a member of the

2008 Team USA squad that finished a perfect 24-0 and went on to win a gold medal at the FISU World Championship in the Czech Republic.

“I’ll be back in November, and I’ll be good,” Colon said. “I’ll be onehundred percent.”

Titan Hockey team will face tougher opponents with the transition to Division 2 By adan Vasquez

Daily Titan Sports Editor sports@dailytitan.com

The Cal State Fullerton hockey club is headed to Division 2 after completing its inaugural 2008-09 season.

Although the Titans finished last season with a 1-5 record, they managed to close out the season on a very strong note when they exploded on the UCLA Bruins for a 9-3 victory.

The club plans on carrying that momentum into their first full season, which will include a 29-game schedule against much tougher opponents.

Faculty Adviser and assistant coach Steve Jobbit said the club is excited about every opponent, but one stands out against the rest.

“Long Beach should be interesting,” Jobbit said. “We play them four times this year, and I look for a really good rivalry.”

Jobbit said last year was a very promising start in laying down the foundation for the future.

“The team gelled over the six games that we had,” Jobbit said. “This year we’re building with the momentum we got after beating UCLA.” The move up in division is almost always a tough transition for any club, in any sport. But Jobbit is confident that the team is capable of rising to the occasion and proving that it can hang with anyone.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Jobbit said. “But we have a really solid base to work with. They aren’t shying away from it.”

Junior, Brian Evans, a forward and the team president last season, who will be sitting out the year but still helping out the club, acknowledged that the transition will not be an easy one, but pointed out that although they played only exhibitions in 2008-09, they did manage to go up against a couple teams from Division 2, so it’s not as if the team is going in not knowing what to expect.

“The biggest thing is we’re going to be playing teams from other states

and other parts of California,” Evans said. “A lot of those teams have bigger kids, and we don’t have the size that we did last season.”

Evans said the challenge of traveling out of state will be the level of competition, as skill level and competitiveness generally increases the further out of California.

But Evans feels that where this team can strive against bigger opposition is speed and puck control. He said that these are the two areas the club must be good at.

The club is showing hard work and dedication, Jobbit said.

“We have really hit the ground

running this fall,” Jobbit said. “We’ve had a couple practices already, and we look faster and generally better.”

One thing helping this team move forward in its transition up in division, according to Jobbit, is a young influx of talent, which he said comes to the club with experience.

“We have guys who played travel hockey before, so I’m confident that they will be able to step up their game,” Jobbit said.

The Titans open the season at UNLV on Sept. 18. They make their home debut the following week on Sept. 25 against USC at the KHS Arena in Anaheim.

17

SPORTS

August 24, 2009

Think Different. Think Simon.

Could a quarterback controversy be close behind now that Michael Vick has landed in Philly?

sports@dailytitan.com

Just when you forgot Michael Vick existed, he storms back into the public eye because of the media’s obsession with him.

He might be “so last year,” but his emergence as a free agent this past off-season was as intriguing as Brett Favre’s never-ending drama with the Minnesota Vikings.

Reaction to the Philadelphia Eagles signing Vick has been mixed.

When you mess up the DNA of

So far, McNabb has said all the cause of his role in the organizing right things. He even said he’d let dog fights. He spent 18 months in jail. Opposing fans will be riding Vick take some snaps.

Who is going to be the alpha dog him, the media will be critical, and in Philly? McNabb is clearly pass- the public perception of him will still be negative ing along some until he proves of his duties. himself.

What happens The Eagles already I believe in next? Quartersecond chances, back contro- have a franchise and I am confiversy? A divided quarterback who has dent that he will locker room? I taken them to five show why he was smell drama in once the highthe Eagles’ fu- National Football Conference games, est paid player ture. in the NFL. But Just when including a Super Bowl. not only does you thought it he need to excel was impossible on the field, he for entertainer needs to show Chris Brown to repair his tarnished image, Vick that he is a model citizen off the actually has a good chance here to field as well.

What is puzzling to me, howlearn from his mistakes and gain ever, is that Vick gets a year and a the approval of the general public.

However, skepticism is high be- half in jail, but fellow NFL player

“

“

By Simon Liang

Daily Titan Assistant Sports Editor

the beloved Eagles, the passionate fans of the City of Brotherly Love do not show you anything but tough love.

The addition of Vick is a head scratcher to say the least.

The Eagles already have a franchise quarterback in Donovan McNabb, who has taken them to five National Football Conference Championship games, including a Super Bowl. And they already have a quality backup in Kevin Kolb.

What are they thinking? Yes, we know Vick is a human highlight reel and can explode for a 70-yard run at any second.

He can also line up at wide receiver or take handoffs. That is pretty appealing, but is the reward worth the risk?

Once McNabb screws up again, he’ll be on the bench like last season, and Vick will take over and be making All-Pro plays.

Dante Stallworth only received a 30-day sentence for second-degree manslaughter.

Stallworth killed someone while he was under the influence. DUI manslaughter is considered one of the most irresponsible crimes to commit because it’s preventable.

I am appalled by the decision.

This just proves that our justice system needs some tweaking because it is still extremely flawed.

The outrage by fans and activists alike may have caused Vick to gain a harsher sentence, and also because he was one of the most popular athletes in the NFL. Stallworth isn’t a known commodity like Vick.

Stallworth settled with the family of the victim for an undisclosed amount, but money should never replace anyone’s life.

The victim was the breadwinner of the victim’s family, and they

settled for a large amount of money so they would not have to take the case to court? I hope Stallworth is remorseful; being suspended for the entire 2009-10 season is one thing, but living with the guilt for the rest of his life is another.

All in all, this has been an offseason of damage control for the NFL. With Vick being the headliner, every step he takes will be viewed under a microscope.

I believe he will be successful with the Eagles. The game plan for opposing teams will be to contain Vick, not to stop him, because you simply can’t.

I will be looking forward to seeing him slice through opposing defenses and break ankles in the open field.

He has a troubled past, but we are in the present; let’s just see what he does with his new found freedom.

The Walk-Off.

Tiger’s bid as all-time greatest golfer should not be hindered by collapse at 2009 PGA Championship.

By Brian Whitehead

Daily Titan Sports Columnist sports@dailytitan.com

In the first round of the 2009 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, after mashing a boring 300-plus drive that split the fairway, Tiger Woods left himself just over 214 yards to the center of the green.

Now if I’m this far out, I’m pulling out my 3-hybrid and accepting the fact that I’m probably going to either hit it 50 yards short of the green or 50 yards right of it.

Woods on the other hand calmly whipped out his 6-iron, choked up and hit a Mona Lisa of a shot to the dead center of the green. Wait, what?

Just a week earlier, Woods hit the same club from the same distance, only that time he was in shin-high rough. The result? A 4-footer left for birdie. (He made it by the way.)

Not sure what all this golf lingo means? Allow me to sum it up in five simple words: Tiger. Woods. Is. The. Man. But of course you already knew that. Next to Michael Jordan, Woods is the most recognizable man in the solar system. He has Gillette, Nike, Gatorade, EA Sports and Tampax commercials (OK, I made that last one up.)

According to Forbes, Woods’ efforts on and off the course earned him a whopping $110 million in 2008 alone, putting him fifth on the most recent Forbes’ Celebrity 100 list. The next athlete? Kobe Bryant at No. 10 with a measly $45 million.

So, yeah. I guess you could say the man’s got it all. Or does he?

After a historically disappointing finish this season where Woods’ went 0-4 in majors for the first time since 2004, I’ve come to realize that

the man with the recognizable pearly whites, mountains of money and larger-than-life aura is human after all.

Sure, he still won five tournaments in 2009, but Woods’ career is and always has been defined by his quest for 19 career majors. His collapse at the PGA Championship proved that winning 19 major championships isn’t going to come without adversity.

With all this said, can the world’s most recognizable and wealthiest athlete be called the greatest golfer of all time?

Sure he’s the best golfer currently swinging a club, but I’m not comparing him to the crop of current golfers on the PGA Tour. No, I’m comparing him to the all-time greats: Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead - the Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird of golf, if you will.

Woods’ continued excellence has propelled golf the same way Magic and Bird’s rivalry propelled the NBA in the ‘80s and the same way Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s chase

for Roger Maris’ home run record propelled Major League Baseball in the late ‘90s.

If you’ve watched any golf in the last decade, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Mr. Eldrick Woods hoisting a big, shiny trophy in victory.

As a matter of fact, Woods has more PGA tournament wins (70) than Ben Hogan (64), Arnold Palmer (62) and Phil Mickelson (36). He has more Major championships (14) than Michael Jackson (13), Madonna (12) and Whitney Houston (11) have number one Top 100 singles.

Sure, I’ll come right out and say it: Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of all time.

I know being the greatest golfer of all time isn’t as prestigious as being the greatest basketball, baseball or football player of all time, but considering no one is changing their opinion of who’s the greatest to play those sports any time soon, Woods is the closest to overtaking his sport’s Greatest of All Time title. And I’ll tell you why.

First of all, Woods is the measur-

ing stick by which all current and prospective golfers are compared.

Period.

Furthermore, with the utilization of strenuous weightlifting programs - John Daly excluded - golfers, now more than ever, are much bigger and stronger than they were in the ‘70s and ‘80s. With the manufacturing of new age, state-of-the-art golf clubs and crisper golf balls, any competitive advantage has been taken away from the game. Everyone is on an even playing field, so to speak. Well, except for Woods.

As for his accomplishments, he’s won all four Majors at least three times. He won the 2008 U.S. Open without a functioning anterior cruciate ligament, and in doing so, he gave me my first real golf memory.

I could literally go on for days talking about his storied career, but I’d probably lull you to sleep, so I’ll finish like this: when Woods is on the putting green before a round, it’s as packed as a presidential inauguration.

When he’s on the driving range,

people crowd around him as if he’s found the cure for cancer. Moreover, whenever Woods is on the course, you’ll see more people in the grandstands than at a Washington Nationals game.

Tiger Woods is, and has always been, his own competition.

With a revolving door of competitors and the lack of a capable rival to consistently push him to new heights, he’s been the Cal Ripken of his sport, a man who for the majority of his career has appeared superhuman to the point his shortcomings make national headlines (see: 2009 British Open & PGA Championship).

Woods will pass Jack’s mark, there’s no doubt about that. And when he does, only one question will remain: will anyone catch him?

Well, with Y.E. Yang’s historic upset of the world’s number one, the answer may not be as clear-cut as it once was. Still, I wouldn’t bet against a man who uses a 6-iron from 214 yards.

Would you?

18

SPORTS

August 24, 2009

Brett Favre admits he has some catching up to do

IN OTHER NEWS

(MCT) - This summer, Brett Favre was so confident about running the Vikings’ offense that he said he could teach it.

After Friday night’s exhibition game against Kansas City, he said he feels “pretty much up to speed” regarding the terminology.

So what’s the biggest obstacle for Favre after his first week on the job?

Learning the tendencies and habits of his teammates on offense ranks high on his to-do list.

Here’s an example of something Favre didn’t know: On his last snap Friday night, Favre was blitzed. Receiver Percy Harvin went over the top of a safety instead of underneath him, as Favre was anticipating.

Favre acknowledged after the game that Harvin had been coached

Six Former Titan Stars to Enter Hall of Fame

to go over the top.

“I didn’t know that,” Favre said.

“So that is where I need to catch up.”

It’s those types of nuances that Favre couldn’t possibly learn during his first week on the job. It will take time.

At this point, every repetition in practice and exhibition games counts. Favre has a shortened time frame to get ready for the regularseason opener at Cleveland on Sept.

13.

“There’s going to be a process of getting that down,” receiver Bobby Wade said. “The timing is going to be really crucial. Understanding your individual players is going to be really crucial. Once he gets that down, then that’s when he really ex-

cels; you see him make players a lot better based off of him understanding them. Once that happens, it’s going to be really fun to play.”

Favre said getting to know his receivers will be an adjustment all year.

“But I think any time you have a guy like Percy, as he is adjusting to the pro game and kind of finding his place, I am doing the same thing with him and other guys,” Favre said.

“We just got to get reps.”

Favre said, for example, that he’s not sure whether a receiver will break inside or outside when adjusting on a route.

“It’s plays that I’ve run in the past, but every guy runs the play different,” Favre said. “The snap count here is the same snap count, for the

most part, I’ve had for most of my career. ... Just little things like that will come with time, but I don’t think it will take that long.”

Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said Favre’s poise and presence in the huddle stood out Friday night.

“We have to get on each other’s pages a little more,” Shiancoe said.

“But he’s a legend out there. It’s contagious, just his vibe. He gets other people relaxed, comfortable, knowing that we can rely on somebody that can take control of the offense.”

Watching his work: Vikings coach Brad Childress said Sunday that the team is closely tracking the number of passes Favre throws each practice, mindful of overworking him.

“You have to keep an eye on it,” he said.

Former Titan Romero takes out visiting Angels (MCT) - Angels manager Mike Scioscia often talks about young players trying to make “footprints” in the major leagues to establish they belong.

The Angels’ pair of rookie starters really stepped in it this weekend.

Trevor Bell became the second in three days to fail to make it out of the second inning, allowing six runs in an 8-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

Toronto’s Ricky Romero allowed two runs on eight hits against the Angels to earn his 11th victory of the season.

Bell didn’t fare nearly as well. He gave up six hits and walked four while retiring just five batters.

On Friday night, fellow rookie Sean O’Sullivan allowed four runs in the first inning and was pulled as soon as he walked the leadoff hitter

in the second.

Between them, Bell and O’Sullivan retired just eight of the 26 batters they faced, throwing 117 pitches barely half for strikes (60).

“There’s a challenge when you’re trying to put two young guys in your rotation,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “The one thing we know these guys have going for them is their makeup. They don’t get flustered out there. We have confidence in their ability. But they have to match that with production.

“It’s part of any young pitcher’s development _ that they have to show that consistency. Hopefully, whoever ends up being in that fifth spot will give us that.”

O’Sullivan’s demotion to Triple-A Salt Lake was an easy decision with Joe Saunders about to return from the DL.

With only two off days left in the final six weeks of the regular season, though, the Angels will need a fifth starter at least seven more times.

They have little choice but to continue to send Bell (and his 9.49 ERA after three big-league starts) out there or pull Matt Palmer out of the bullpen (where he has been effective – a 3.30 ERA). O’Sullivan could be recalled but not until 10 days after his demotion unless there is an injury involved.

“We’re looking at that,” Scioscia said of the fifth starter’s spot. “Right now, you’re right _ we need that fifth spot and we need somebody who’s going to give us a chance to win like we need from the other four guys.”

The Angels will “absolutely” have to take into account the workload for Bell, Scioscia said. Bell, 22, has already thrown 1521/3 innings this

season after never having thrown more than 117 in a previous season.

O’Sullivan, 21, has thrown 1231/3 after throwing more than 150 each of the past two seasons.

“My arm feels good. My legs feel strong. That side (his workload), I haven’t even thought of at all,” Bell said. “Today was just an off day. ... I’m not going to look too far into it.”

While the Angels’ rookie starters struggled, three of their contemporaries fared much better against Angels’ hitters.

While losing three of their last four games on this trip, the Angels managed just four runs on 14 hits in 182/3 innings against opposing starters Justin Masterson (in Cleveland), Marc Rzepczynski and Romero (in Toronto).

Cubs take out Dodgers to avoid series sweep (MCT) - Is this why Boston viewed our Manny Ramirez mancrush as just another corrosive aftereffect of hot tubs and tofu?

Is this why we were a bunch of naive mango-heads when we not only celebrated Ramirez’s Summer of Love in 2008 but luxuriated in his $45 million, two-year deal he signed in March?

Probably not. It’s probably just a bad month. Or six weeks. There is a fairly lengthy track record at work here, and Ramirez did not build it with 0 for 4’s, like the one he suffered in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Cubs that cut the Dodgers’ NL West lead to 31/2 games.

“I hit the ball better this series,” Ramirez said, maintaining his don’tworry-be-happy stance. “If I hit in front of people I can’t control that.”

Regardless, Ramirez just finished a 5 for 24 homestand with no homers, and the Dodgers have averaged 3.9 runs since a 9-1 victory at San Francisco on Aug. 11.

They are 13-17 since Ramirez’s Bobblehead slam against Cincinnati on July 22, a time frame in which he has lost 32 points off his batting average and 112 points off his slugging percentage.

And they have slipped to third in runs per game in the National

League.

Rafael Furcal’s downturn is certainly more pronounced and probably more important than Manny’s.

He was 5 for 30 this week and scored only two runs. James Loney was .235, and has not hit a home run at Dodger Stadium since last Aug. 22.

“I don’t think we’re tired,” Manager Joe Torre said. “I gave (Orlando) Hudson and James days off today, and I rested Andre (Ethier) the other day. We are putting a lot of pressure on our starting pitchers because we aren’t scoring runs. I just think we’re probably pressing a little bit.”

Right, Manny?

“You’d have to ask them,” he said.

The Dodgers proved they could function without Ramirez when he missed 50 games for his positive test.

It isn’t clear they can win with a non-functioning Ramirez, particularly when you realize his Hall of Fame bat pulls down the shade on the darker areas of his game.

Ramirez seemed particularly disinterested in the basic requirements of left field Sunday. His throwing error put Cubs on second and third out with one out in the fourth, but Chad Billingsley left them there.

In the sixth, Ramirez loped after Aramis Ramirez’s drive down

the left-field line, and then the ball bounced off near the bullpen door, an inside-the-park homer for a real runner. A. Ramirez wound up at third and scored on Kosuke Fukudome’s double, and Jake Fox drove in the crucial third run. Manny couldn’t prevent the follow-up hits, but it wasn’t pretty.

Emboldened in the eighth, Aramis Ramirez tried for third on Fox’s single to left. Manny took the bait and threw him out, allowing Fox to take second with two out. He was stranded. Again, no harm done, but Ramirez might need a GPS in roomy Coors Field this week.

The Dodgers visit Jim Tracy and the rolling Rockies Tuesday through Thursday. On May 27 the Dodgers finished sweeping Colorado here and dropped the Rockies 14 games behind.

Someone mentioned to Ramirez that Coors Field could revive his power stroke, which he should know, since his Red Sox clinched the 2007 World Series there.

“So if I hit a ground ball to the pitcher it’s going to go a long way?” he asked, and laughed.

“Hey, we’re playing good ball.

We’re not going to kill ourselves.

We’re in the lead. We’re going to play as hard as we can this year and if

it isn’t good enough we’ll try it again next year.”

Well, at least he’s got plans.

After the Dodgers were muffled

by Ryan Dempster, he of the twisting glove in order to keep the identity of his pitches secret, they got the chance everybody gets against the Cubs’ bullpen.

They thought they had a basesloaded, no-out situation in the eighth, but second base ump Chad Fairchild said Tony Abreu was indeed forced at second, as the replay confirmed. Then Hudson dribbled into a double play.

Carlos Marmol zipped through the Dodgers in the ninth and ended the game by striking out Ramirez, looking, on a breaking ball.

Sharks circle quickly. The pitchers have noticed Manny is slower inside these days, and that’s where they’re going. He is hitting .244 against lefthand pitching, as opposed to .337 lifetime with a .623 slugging percentage. He has walked three times in his past nine games.

At midseason, the most delicious October fantasy was the vision of Ramirez stepping into a World Series batter’s box in Boston. That would be a historic and exhausting night for both Manny and the Red Sox. Maybe they’re just resting up.

Professional football’s career passing leader, a national softball player of the year, one of the NBA’s top defensive players of the decade, a ninetime All-American gymnast, the diminutive lefthanded pitcher who helped change the complexion of West Coast college baseball and the father figure for Titan football for its final 13 seasons will be inducted into Cal State Fullerton’s Athletics Hall of Fame at a Titan Tribute on Oct. 10 in the Titan Student Union.

Damon Allen, Connie Clark, Bruce Bowen, Barbie Myslak-Roetert, Dan Boone and Coach Gene

Murphy, respectively, comprise the Hall’s third class of inductees and all are scheduled to attend the biennial function.

“The collective accomplishments of this class, both at Cal State Fullerton and in their post-collegiate careers, is remarkable,” said Director of Athletics Brian Quinn. “Any university in the country would be justifiably proud of the caliber of people in this group.”

Tickets are on sale via the campus website at https://www.fullerton. edu/titantribute/signup/form.asp

Titans to Host 44th NWCA All-Star Classic The National Wrestling Coaches Association has awarded its 44th Annual All-Star Classic to Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Wrestling Club.

The event comes to California for the first time and will be held on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 2 p.m.

The event will serve as a major fundraiser for the Titan wrestling program, which must fund itself due to reduced state support of the CSU system.

“Bringing the NWCA All-Star Classic to the state of California is great for the state in many ways,” said CSF Head Coach Dan Hicks.

“It is an honor to hold this event at Cal State Fullerton. We already had a great start on our fundraising, but this event is going to help us gain even better momentum.”

The All-Star Classic pits the top

collegiate wrestlers from around the nation in a showcase of the 10 collegiate weight brackets and often the event is a preview of the ensuing season’s NCAA finals. Several additional bouts involving local wrestlers will be included.

Titan Gym has a seating capacity of about 4,000. Last year’s event in Eugene, Oregon, drew about 6,000 fans. The event comes one day after the Fullerton Open Wrestling Tournament which annually draws several hundred competitors.

California has more than 26,000 wrestlers at the high school level including men and women. The lineup of wrestlers will include returning national champions and All-Americans and be announced in October.

Fullerton heavyweight Wade Sauer competed a few years ago.

Former Titan Gibbens Shines for Finnish Club Former Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer standout Jenae Gibbens has signed on to play for PK-35 Vantaa in the Finnish First Division, continuing her stellar soccer career overseas.

Founded in the eastern part of the country in 1935, PK-35 competes in the second-highest league in Finland and features an international flair as Gibbens joins three Nigerians and two other Americans on the roster.

The team played in Helsinki following World War II, but the club’s men’s and women’s first teams were moved to neighboring Vantaa beginning this season.

PK-35 is currently in second place with seven matches remaining, just three points behind the leaders, FC Sport. Gibbens has already appeared in two matches, entering the match in the second half and scoring a goal

off a corner kick in her debut while playing all 90 minutes and earning a card in her second appearance.

Gibbens played three seasons for the Titans from 2006-08, starting all but two of her 59 career matches and earning All-Big West Conference First-Team honors as a junior and senior as well as second-team laurels as a sophomore.

She was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and twice earned CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors - including a spot on the first team as a senior.

She finished her collegiate career with seven goals and 10 assists - including a career-best 13 points as a senior on three game-winning goals and seven assists, the latter ranking in a tie for second all-time in school history for a single-season.

Brown Earns Summer Postseason Accolades Cal State Fullerton infielder/outfielder Gary Brown earned a spot on the 2009 Cape Cod Postseason All-League Team team Monday afternoon and was also named the comost valuable player of his team, the Orleans Firebirds, this afternoon.

Brown posted solid summer numbers for Orleans, hitting a squad best .310 while also leading the team with 39 hits, 25 runs scored and 50 total bases in 33 games.

He also belted a pair of home runs, drove in 14 and stole 10 bases for the Birds in 2009.

He joins Duke’s Alex Hassan (.289, 33 H, 1 HR, 20 RBI) as the co-recipient of the 2009 Charles F. Moore, Sr. Most Valuable Player Award, announced Tuesday afternoon by the Cheshire, Connecticutbased club.

The soon-to-be Titan junior was also the starting center fielder for the Eastern Division in the Under Armour Cape League All-Star Game held at Fenway Park in Boston back in late July. Brown went 0-for-2 in the game that was shortened by rain. stories courtesy of titan media relations.

SPORTS

August 24, 2009

19

Women’s soccer loses season opener 3-1

story by Simon Liang/Assistant Sports Editor Despite a goal late in the game, the Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer team lost 3-1 in their season opener against the University of Utah.

The Titans were aggressive in the first 20

minutes, but the tide turned when Utah senior forward Kelly Isleib broke down the Titan defense and scored without much duress.

“We were playing very well, gave up a goal and we fell back on our heels,” Titans Head Coach Demian Brown said.

The inexperience showed throughout the

game.

The starting lineup featured a total of five freshmen.

The Utes defense was suffocating because they only allowed two shots on goal in the first half. They were much more physical and seemed just a step faster than the Titans.

“Utah’s a great team, and they capitalized on a couple of our mistakes,” Brown said.

After intermission, CSUF was determined to attack the Utah defense, but the Utes again took advantage of a miscue by the Titans.

In the 56th-minute, freshman forward Chelsea Forbes made an array of moves to make a goal right past CSUF goalkeeper Shannon Simpson.

At this point in the game, CSUF looked more and more sluggish. This set the stage for the third and final goal by the Utes’ freshman forward Hanna Terry who had a great open look to put Utah up 3-0.

Despite being down three goals, the Titans

still fought hard and gained a penalty kick when freshman midfielder Brisa Gonzalez was knocked down. In the 67th-minute, junior defender Tamara Dewey knocked in the only CSUF score of the game.

“When we took the penalty kick, the momentum of the game changed. We just needed one more good thing to happen really fast,” said Brown. “We made a couple changes to provoke that but it didn’t happen.”

After cutting down the lead to two, the Titans seemed rejuvenated and were the aggressor down the stretch. CSUF had a couple chances to make the game interesting but they fell short.

Even though the team consists of mostly underclassmen, Brown said, “For us there is nothing but positives for us going forward. The game ended 3-1, but at the end of it we are really happy with some of the things we saw.”

Photos By Shruti Patel/Daily Titan Photo Editor

Women’s Volleyball looks to start the season off right Overlooked Titans plan to exceeed preseason expectations in 2009. sports@dailytitan.com

The Cal State Fullerton women’s volleyball team kicks off its 2009 campaign looking to jump in the win column when it hosts the Crowne Plaza Titan Classic this weekend at Titan Gym. After setting a school record with nine Big West Conference wins in 2008, the Titans will host the Lamar University Cardinals in its season opener Friday at 7 p.m.

Eighth-year Titan Head Coach Carolyn Zimmerman will turn to senior middle blocker Alex Wolnisty to help anchor the team, who must replace conference player of the year Brittany Moore.

“Anytime you lose the player of the year it is going to take time to recover from,” Zimmerman said.

Despite the loss, Zimmerman is confident that Wolnisty and returning juniors, middle blocker Erin Saddler and libero Cami Croteau, can guide the team to another solid season, but it’s all going to come with hard work, both in practice and matches.

Zimmerman said she expects there to be learning experiences as the season progresses, but the main thing is for the team to make improvements every time they take the court.

She might not have much to worry about, as she indicated seeing a lot of progress with the current squad.

“The really exciting news is where

the team is right now,” Zimmerman said she doesn’t expect to be oversaid. “Where the team is with ball looked by anyone this season. control and offensive execution, we “I hope they might overlook us,” are about two or three weeks ahead Zimmerman said. “But (teams) of where we were last year.” know we are dangerous. I don’t think Although they return with a big teams tend to disrespect.” chunk of their team from last seaHaving upperclassmen is always a son, the Titans plus when lookare predicted to ing to continue finish sixth in success, but Zimthe nine team merman expects Big West, which some new faces has some players to emerge and feeling like they play a big role for are being overthis team, even looked. if they don’t get “I definitely noticed. think we are be“We have a ing underesti17-person roster Ashley Collier going into this mated,” Wolnisty Senior Volleyball defensive said. “We want season,” Zimspecialist to prove the premerman said. season rankings “We feel that wrong.” everyone on the Wolnisty said she expects another roster has a key role in our success.” big season and that the team is aimCollier said she can’t wait for the ing at over 20 wins. season to start and finally play against “Our expectations are high,” Wol- someone other than her teammates. nisty said. “We only lost one player Whoever is on the court for the from last year’s team.”

Titans, Zimmerman expects a dog Senior defensive specialist Ashley fight Friday with the Cardinals.

Collier has warmed up to the fact “We will fight until the end. Until that the Titans will enter many of we get the outcome we are looking their matches as the underdogs. for,” Zimmerman said.

“It’s great to be put down there After its match against the Cardibecause it gives us a chance to prove nals on Friday, the Titans host two (the preseason rankings) wrong,” matches Saturday. The first match Collier said. “It’s going to be fun is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. to play this season and finish better against Appalachian State University, than they predicted.” while the second starts at 7:30 p.m.

Zimmerman, on the other hand, against the University of Idaho.

“

It’s great to be put down there because it gives us a chance to prove (the preseason rankings) wrong.

“

By Adan Vasquez

Daily Titan Sports Editor

By Adan vasquez/Daily Titan Sports Editor Bottom: Senior middle blocker Alex Wolnisty spikes the ball during the Orange & Blue Scrimmage. Top: The women’s volleyball team huddles up after women’s volleyball Head Coach Carolyn Zimmerman called a time out.