Thursday November 15, 2018
Volume 104 Issue 35
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Anti-Semitic language found on campus
University Police are investigating the graffiti as an act of vandalism. CAILTIN BARTUSICK Managing Editor
KORRYN SANCHEZ Layout Editor
An electrical city box at Cal State Fullerton was vandalized with the words, “For the many, not the Jew,” on Tuesday. The box is located next to the intersection of Nutwood and Commonwealth avenues at College Park. The anti-Semitic vandalism appears to be a reference to the British Labour Party manifesto “For the many, not the few.” The graffiti was taken down the same day by engineers in College Park, and University Police are investigating it as an act of vandalism, not as a hate crime, said Capt. Scot Willey. “Hate crimes are very specific. They’re intent crimes that have to show they are directed at a certain building that houses a certain group. If that was on a synagogue or where campus Hillel group meets, then we could categorize it as a hate crime,” Willey said. “If we get any more information, we will prosecute it to the fullest extent.” Willey said there are no leads on the investigation. Hate crime trends New data from the FBI shows that there was a 37 percent increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes between 2016 and 2017. In 2016 there were 684 anti-Jewish bias-motivated incidents, and in 2017 there were 938. Across the country, college campuses have also seen a rise in
CAITLIN BARTUSICK/ DAILY TITAN
Anti-Jewish graffiti was written on a Fullerton city electrical box near College Park on Tuesday. hate crimes. The Anti-Defamation League, an organization founded in 1913 dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism, released data in February showing an “alarming increase” in white supremacist propaganda on U.S. college campuses. California is one of the states that has experienced the most incidents of campus flyer propaganda, according to the Anti-Defamation League. “We have seen increased
incidents, not just in anti-Semitism, but ‘alt-right’ and white supremacists on college campuses, over the past two years. We’ve seen an incredible increase in extremist and hate and bigoted posterings, graffiti, flyers, on college campuses,” said Peter Levi, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in Orange County and Long Beach. According to the 2018 Annual Security Report that collects
CSUF crime statistics, there were two hate crimes reported in 2016 and none reported in 2017. One of the reported hate crimes in 2016 was aggravated assault and the other was reported bias on sexual orientation. Willey said the university has “little to no history” of hate crimes occurring on campus. Student impact The anti-Semitic writing hit close to home for some students on campus. Rivka Pruss, a fourth
year and double major in journalism and Spanish, said she was shocked and angry when she realized how close this vandalism was. “I guess I’m just really hurt because you want to think of college campuses as a place where students come together, learn and are accepting and respectful of all cultures,” Pruss said. SEE CRIME
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ESPN writer speaks at CSUF Student
overcomes prison
Baxter Holmes talked about his career and the stops he’s made along the way. MEGAN GARCIA Sports Editor
Students are no longer able to wear certain gym attire at the Cal State Fullerton Student Recreation Center due to recent dress code changes. The dress code was initiated and enforced two months ago, and while it applies to all genders, the students who appear to be most affected are women who use sports bras, said Ryan Lim, Student Recreation Center customer service worker. “We get a few incidents where floor attendants have to talk to students. It’s mostly with girls, but also with guys too. Guys aren’t allowed to have cut out tank tops,” Lim said. Clothing like sports bras, extreme stringer tank tops and other revealing apparel have been banned from use. A sign is placed at the entrance of the recreation center that details and visualizes what is appropriate sportswear for the center. According to the sign, it is a goal of the center to continue providing students with a “safe, clean and supportive environment” to meet their exercise goals. The change has been met by criticism from students and was one of the topics brought up during the Associated Students’ first town hall meeting earlier this month. However, CSUF student Krystal Khuat said the recent dress code changes have not affected workout routines very much. “I usually wear a shirt. I wasn’t sure about the dress code before, but I think I knew that
After a life behind bars, Joseph Cruz became a Project Rebound scholar. DIANE ORTIZ News Editor
ALEC CALVILLO Staff Writer
COURTESY OF ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN
Baxter Holmes spent four years on the Los Angeles Lakers beat, much of which involved writing about Kobe Bryant.
guys couldn’t have their shirts off so I think it’s essentially the same (idea),” Khuat said. Lim said the changes were introduced during an SRC staff meeting and are enforced to ensure the hygiene of the center’s equipment as the restrictions minimize the risk of bacteria and bodily fluids, such as sweat, getting on the workout equipment. “Wearing open clothing is a lot less hygienic,” Lim said. Some of the common infections that can occur from bacteria left on equipment are ringworm and MRSA, which are the
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result of skin-to-skin contact with pads, mats and equipment in areas like gyms, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Associated Students supervises and funds the Student Recreation Center, and support the “belief that fitness should be for all — no matter your size, shape, fitness level, or physical ability,” according to its website. The dress code update is not exclusive to CSUF. Other universities such as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal State Northridge, University
of California Los Angeles and Riverside, as well as others all employ a similar dress code. While the changes to the dress code do have their sanitation and cleanliness foundations, Lim said that one of the underlying factors that influenced it was to “promote body positivity.” “The (Student Recreation Center) is a service and is meant for every student,” Lim said. “It’s about fitness mentality and also supposed to prevent drawing eyes.” SEE EXTENDED
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After spending 23 years in prison, Joseph Cruz, psychology major, said he went straight to college at Cal State Fullerton. Cruz was one of four panelists at the Project Rebound panel called Deconstructing the Effect of Criminalization in the Latinx Community on Wednesday. The panel was a part of the “Al Tanto: Latinx Community Symposium” that took place in the Titan Student Union and focused on several issues impacting Latinx communities including incarceration, immigration and gentrification. “I guess most stereotypes, I fall under. I’ve lived the life of gangs, I’ve sold drugs, I’ve done a lot of things at this point in my community and I’ve perpetuated those stereotypes,” Cruz said. However, it wasn’t his community that led Cruz to become a gang member, but rather it was his time in prison. “The funny part of it is that I didn’t become a gang member until I went to prison. Prison created a gang member,” he said. When incarcerated, Cruz was asked which gang he was from because it would help them place him to live with either the Northerners or the Southerners in the prison. SEE PROGRESS 2 VISIT US AT: DAILYTITAN.COM