Volume 103 Issue 28
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Tuesday April 3, 2018
Faculty laid off, language program closed
Many international students depend on the program that will be gone after spring 2018. AMY WELLS BRANDON PHO News Editors
Fourteen faculty have been laid off from the Cal State Fullerton American Language Program, also known as the ALP, which will be dissolved at the end of the spring semester. “Our major concern right now is not our own jobs, it’s the fact they haven’t told the (ALP) students that they’re closing the program,” said Bruce Rubin, ALP faculty member. The program serves international students who do not currently have the language proficiency to pass an English language test to enroll at CSUF. What the program offers is “conditional enrollment,” which allows students to enroll through courses meant to acclimate them with American life. CSUF is now one of the few CSUs to not provide an intensive English program for international students. “By eliminating this program, the university is really devaluing that whole field,” said Mark Herbst, ALP faculty member. Even though the program is self-funded, the CSU told faculty it will dissolve the program because it is not financially sustainable. “Their reason for shutting us down or ‘sunsetting’ us because we’re not financially viable is simply not true,” said Michelle Luster, program faculty member. SEE LAYOFFS 3
DALIA QUIROZ / DAILY TITAN
The American Language Program is self-funded, but this has not stopped the CSU from dissolving the program for fear of financial instability.
Flaws showcased in Los Angeles exhibit
Originally curated by Samuel West in Sweden, the Museum of Failure will be open until March 8, 2019 and features a collection of bad ideas and corporate missteps. PRISCILLA CARCIDO Staff Writer
CAITLIN BARTUSICK / DAILY TITAN
Zombies invade Orange County Zedtown USA transformed the OC Fairgrounds into a zombie-ridden warzone on Saturday. KRISTINA GARCIA CAITLIN BARTUSICK Staffers
A post-apocalyptic showdown between zombies and Nerf gun-wielding survivors made for a thrilling, adrenaline-fueled experience for participants in the Zedtown event at the Orange County Fairgrounds on Saturday. Using actors, makeup artists, a mobile app and intricate storylines, Zedtown recreates popular forms of zombie media like “The Walking Dead” or “Zombieland” within a chosen venue. The four-hour game of zombie tag allows participants to immerse themselves in a doomsday fantasy while testing their FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @THEDAILYTITAN
ability to survive. “There were some people that I just started talking to out of nowhere and started yelling, ‘Brains!’ while running after people,” said Cal State Fullerton alumna Kristina Van Hoogmoed. “It was really weird and a good opportunity to be silly and unleashed.” Shakeera Khan, one of the creators of Zedtown, started organizing the event in 2012 with a small group of friends in Australia. Khan said what started out as an event with around 100 participants grew as people started bringing their friends along for the experience. “This is the first game we’ve done this particular event out of Australia,” Khan said. “It’s one of the only genres that has that ‘What would I do if this was me?’ And I think that’s exactly what this is. It’s a real apocalypse, not as terrifying, but it gives you a good idea.” SEE INFECTED
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If you have an idea, it’s always possible that it might actually come into fruition, and it might totally, epically fail, but at least it existed and at least you tried.
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Survivors must turn in their dog tags to the zombies who catch them.
Colgate has built a fail-safe reputation over the years with its iconic products, as its toothpaste has become an essential item in most homes. But even Colgate will be the first to say it’s had its fair share of less-than-stellar ideas. The dental hygiene brand’s frozen food line in the 1980s is evidence. Colgate’s beef lasagna is just one of the many items found in the Museum of Failure. Originally displayed in Sweden, the Museum of Failure opened in Hollywood on March 8. The popup museum has over 100 fails and flops of the world’s most reputable brands: Gerber, Levi’s, Harley-Davidson, Kellogg’s, Nike and the list goes on. Samuel West, Ph.D., is the curator of the museum. Interested in the dynamic between innovation and failure, West created the exhibit to inspire visitors to learn from failure and keep trying. Julia Finch, an employee of the museum, said West was particular with the featured failures in the museum when they met. “You can tell that it’s important
SAMMI WALLSCHLAEGER Museum guest
to him that this isn’t just a random collection of things. It’s more of a learning opportunity,” Finch said. “(We can) grow and learn from our mistakes and feel like we can try new things.” Kellogg’s OJ’s was on store shelves for only a year in the 1980s before the brand discontinued its orange-flavored cereal. The 1995 Nike Magneto is a pair of sunglasses without the temples, and only a bridge, lenses and magnets to stay on people’s face. The only problem was people had to glue a magnet to their head for the product to work. Nike nixed the product two years later in 1997. Gerber’s Singles, released in 1974, were supposed to offer a solution to the struggle of cooking. Using its tried-and-tested concept of jarred baby food, the brand offered creamed beef and mediterranean vegetables for adults. The product lasted only a year. Sammi Wallschlaeger, a Los Angeles native, heard about the museum a while ago and has been wanting to visit. Finally deciding to check it out, Wallschlaeger was particularly intrigued by My Friend Cayla – a voice-recognition doll that could carry conversations and tell stories to children. It was later discovered that the conversations with children were recorded, sent to data centers and sold to marketers, which breached privacy, security and basic ethical standards. SEE WHOOPS
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