The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Volume 106 Issue 36
Tuesday November 12, 2019
CSUF investigates racist messages Two notes with racial slurs were posted on the door of a student dorm room. JESSICA BENDA HOSAM ELATTAR Editors
Less than a month after Phi Sigma Kappa went under investigation for posting a racial slur watermarked on social media, Cal State Fullerton is investigating a hate incident that occurred in student housing lastT hursday afternoon. Two sticky notes, with language racial in nature, were posted on the outside of a door of a student dorm, said Ellen Treanor, associate vice president of strategic communications. University Police does not yet know who committed the hate incident, Treanor said. Users on the CSUF subreddit reported that the incident involved the use of the N-word.
Jenni Brundage, director of housing and residential engagement, did not confirm nor deny these reports. This marks the second investigation this semester into the use of hate language. “All I can tell you is that safety is the most important priority that we have, and we want our students to feel like they are welcomed and that they have a home here,” Brundage said. Brundage could not share where in housing the incident took place, and does not know when information will become available. “Out of respect for those impacted, we cannot disclose more details at this time, however, the incident was reported to housing staff and University Police,” Brundage wrote in an email. An email was sent out to students in housing regarding the incident. SEE HOUSING 3
JORDAN MENDOZA/ DAILY TITAN Alba Barrios holding the Big West Championship trophy with her teammates after defeating Northridge 4-0 on Sunday.
Titans cap Big West run as champions
CSUF women’s soccer scores four first half goals to defeat Northridge. MARIAH ROSS Asst. Editor
ELIZA GREEN / DAILY TITAN
The hate incident occured in student housing.
The Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer team is headed to the NCAA tournament after winning the Big West Tournament for the third time in two seasons. The Titans defeated the Cal State Northridge Matadors 4-0 in the final Sunday night at Titan Stadium. The game-winning goal came after a corner kick from by midfielder Sarah Davidson in the ninth minute led to a header from Big Wests Freshman of the Year Megan Day. Senior forward Atlanta Primus
was named the tournament’s most valuable player after a record-breaking season left her the Titan leader in career assists with 24. While Primus was honored, she commended her team with the award. “Yeah, I received it, but credit to the girls. I don’t think I would’ve been able to achieve what I have this year without them,” Primus said. “It was a team thing, I’m delighted.” The Titans earned their spot in the final after a 3-0 shutout win over the University of Hawaii on Thursday night. Junior Haley Brown and senior Maddie Bennett each recorded an assist and a goal in the matchup, while senior Savannah Sloniger scored the game-winner and her first goal of the season in the ninth minute. The Titans entered Sunday’s
game with an average of two goals a game and a shot on goal percentage of 0.429. Their new record of 14-2-4 stemmed from a 16-game unbeaten streak that started in early September against Houston. CSUN advanced to the final following a 1-0 overtime win against UC Santa Barbara. The game-winning goal came from sophomore Alexis White in the ninth minute of overtime. The Matadors surpassed last year’s record with twice as many wins and a 12-7-3 record, 5-3-0 in the conference. Keith West, 14th year CSUN head coach, credited the coaching staff and a strong group of women with their ability to turn it around in such a short period of time. SEE CROWNED
4
ASI grants $6,000 for a $22,000 request Students
use art as a platform
Black Student Union still needs funds for the Afrikan Black Coalition Conference. WENDY CHAVEZ Staff Writer
RevArt showcase featured student performers and Filipino history.
HOSAM ELATTAR Editor
The Associated Student Finance Committee unanimously approved an amended contingency request for $6,000 to the Black Student Union on Nov. 7. The BSU’s initial request was for $22,000 to help fund the first Afrikan Black Coalition Conference at Cal State Fullerton. When the BSU’s request was brought up for discussion at last week’s finance committee meeting, Associated Students had $21,011 in contingency funds for the rest of the academic year — members of the committee reduced the request by $16,000. “I think it would be financially irresponsible to go over more than half of our CSU funding before the end of the semester, because we don’t know what’s going to happen next semester,” said Jakob Wright, Associated Studentsrepresentative for the College of Communications and member of the committee. Amber Lambert, Afrikan Black Coalition co-chair and former BSU president, said she believes the decision is a fiscally responsible one, but wishes more could have been done. “It’s important to have this conference because it is important to black students for us to understand that we don’t have to put this mask on,” Lambert said. Lambert said black students feel as though they have to act and talk a certain way at CSUF, otherwise they will be looked at negatively. “For once, we just want to be able to be ourselves. At CSUF, that’s not possible. We always have to go somewhere else to be ourselves,” Lambert said. “This is the first time we can be on CSUF campus and be ourselves and I think that is important.” Afrikan Black Coalition Conference brings together black students from across California to discuss issues such as campus climate, recruitment and retention strategies, academic policy, political education, as well as promote unity and an opportunity for students to network. Porsha Jones, the BSU finance chair, attended the meeting alongside Lambert to advocate FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @THEDAILYTITAN
NATHAN NGUYEN JESSICA BENDA Editors
WENDY CHAVEZ / DAILY TITAN
Porsha Jones, the Black Student Union finance chair, and Amber Lambert, the Afrikan Black Coalition Conference co-chair, advocate for funding for a statewide conference to be held at CSUF.
for the importance of the request. “It’s one of the largest gatherings of black students in California, and it’s to build community within the black community,” Jones said. “To provide workshops and resources, such as the career fair and other opportunities for networking.” Lambert said the Afrikan Black Coalition is comprised of 16 universities across California, which generate approximately 800 black student attendees, with numbers continuing to grow each year. “The goal is to increase accessibility and improve the college experience of black and underrepresented students,” Lambert said. The first conference was held in 2004 at UC Santa Cruz and has since taken place at every UC campus. In 2017, CSU Long Beach became the first Cal State to host the event. Each conference includes a welcome ceremony, keynote speakers, workshops and a resource fair where students can get connected to internships. For next year’s conference, CSUF will be hosting a culture show that features dancers as well as a motivational speaker. The requested sum of $22,000 was intended to help pay for the 130 CSUF student volunteers’ registration fees of $175 each, adding up to $22,750 total. The $6,000 approved would fully fund about 34 CSUF students to attend the conference as opposed to 130. Associated Students has a contingency fund of $15,011 for the rest of the school year. In the month of October, students from the Black Student Union hosted a town hall meeting for students to share their
experiences being black at CSUF. The meeting was called after Phi Sigma Kappa posted a flyer on their social media with the N-word watermarked in the corner. “We’ve always had problems here. This just brought it to light. This gave us something to talk about the problem that we’ve been having for years on this campus,” Lambert said. At the town hall meeting, the BSU listed a series of structural changes they wish to see implemented at CSUF. One of the requests included the allocation of $150,000 that would fund the first Afrikan Black Coalition Conference at CSUF. In response to the Black Student Union list of demands, the university pledged to fund up to $75,000 toward hosting the event, as well as any additional costs if necessary. Lambert said Virjee has yet to follow up on the money, with the conference to be held in January. In an effort to help raise funds for the conference, BSU has issued partnership packets and contacted several organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Black Business Bureau. Since August, they have raised about $15,000. “We wouldn’t have got this opportunity to have (Afrikan Black Coalition) here if it wasn’t for BSU and our connections with different people at that who agreed to help us out with this,” Lambert said. The 17th annual Afrikan Black Coalition Conference, “The Marathon: Journey to Black Liberation,” is set to take place on Jan. 17 to 20, 2020.
With rhymes, raps, snaps and claps, the Titan Student Pavilions came alive with the sound of song, dance and spoken word poetry as student performers unleashed their talents at the Pilipinx American Student Association’s annual RevArt showcase on Nov. 8. “Art in itself is very political, it’s very potential, so the question is how are we as youth and as Filipino Americans going to use art to better the environment around us?” said host RJ Abesamis. Though the event was free of charge, donations were encouraged as proceeds went to the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, an alliance of Filipino organizations and individuals that strives to unite people through culture, education and advocacy. Abasemis, the community advocate culture chair for the Pilipino American Student Association, began the night trying to hype up the audience. Echoes of “Let’s go poet!” could be heard from the audience as Abasemis shared a poetry piece called, “Be Thankful.” “Two words, one moral passed down throughout my family’s lineage. Be thankful to the struggles that your elders faced so that you could be privileged,” Abasemis said. SEE RESISTANCE 7 VISIT US AT: DAILYTITAN.COM