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F U L L E R T O N Shoreline closures affect the activities of beachgoers and surfers
INSIDE n DETOUR: Local guitarist starts off Titan 8 Student Union Pub concert series
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Student shows her artis12 nticPERSPECTIVES: flair through arts and body painting
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Woman threatens to jump off buildFullerton, campus police find themselves negotiating with distraught woman pondering taking her life after visiting her psychiatrist across the street By Kathleen Gutierrez
Daily Titan Detour Editor It is mid-day, mid-week of the fall semester at Cal State Fullerton, and student traffic lines Nutwood Avenue. In that moment, a cell phone call frantically informs that there is a jumper on the roof. Campus life slowed, almost as if inconvenienced, as a woman pondered taking her own life while classes were still in session last Tuesday. At approximately 3:15 p.m., a contractor for College Park, who asked not to be named, passed the woman as she exited through the tenth floor emergency door. She scurried toward the balcony edge when he spoke to her, and he called for assistance.
For nearly two and a half hours, Fullerton and CSUF police watched her, talked to her, and monitored her emotional state during what they considered a routine suicide call. Police say the woman had a history of mental problems. “She was at her psychologist’s office, which is right across the street, and left about 2 p.m.,” Fullerton Police Sergeant Steve Matson said. “She came immediately to College Park and walked up to the roof.” The 59-year-old woman from Anaheim taunted onlookers with one leg, then two, swinging from the ledge. Her purse hung from an exposed beam, and she kept her cell phone to her ear as CSUF Detective Tom Gehrls negotiated with her. Gehrls coerced her into giving
him her cell phone number, and the two talked as she ambivalently threatened to throw herself over the edge. From her viewpoint, Orange County bustled along with no pretensions toward her grief. The lanes of the 57 freeway stacked with cars and students poured out of the main campus, all headed for somewhere other than CSUF. She pointed out various sights before her, no doubt a distraction from Gehrls, and she appeared to be crying at times. Each time she dangled, officers on the tenth floor gasped. Although a routine procedure, it was apparent that her life was still in potential danger. Gehrls communicated with her
and officers Dan Solario and Tom Olivares army crawled into position just underneath her. She became suspicious at times, but was unaware that two officers were less than six feet from her on the floor. She eventually stepped down from the ledge for the last time when she dropped her water bottled onto the landing. The officers tackled her to keep her away from the edge, thus saving her life. The woman is not affiliated with CSUF or any other business in College Park. She was taken to the hospital where she received a psychological evaluation as well as treatment for the bump she received when officers grabbed her.
SAMANTHA GONZAGA/Daily Titan
Potential suicide victim dangles her legs off the roof.
Rios reinstated but cannot com-
Don’t cry over spilt milk…
nSPORTS: After three semesters off the team because of a controversial dismissal, athlete lost eligibilty to represent CSUF in official meets By Magda Liszewska
Daily Titan Managing Editor
KATIE CUMPER/Special to theDaily Titan
BY MELANIE BYSOUTH At approximately 9 a.m. yesterday, a commercial truck, owned by Alta Dena, skidded down the embankment of the Nutwood Avenue exit off the northbound 57 freeway. The truck then toppled over onto the off-ramp. The driver, Jimmy, a 22-year-old who chose not to disclose
Crackdown on plagiarism begins nETHICS: Students can get a term paper online, but instructors can be just as savvy when it comes to discerning what is original material or borrowed work. By Heather Blair
Daily Titan Asst. News Editor It’s been passed down, passed on and passed up by college students everywhere. It’s been worn, beaten, added to and taken away from by so many people its origin is not known. But one thing remains the same — the used research paper is in circulation for the masses to obtain. Many would never admit to having "borrowed" a research paper and many would never admit to thinking about it either, but most know how easy they are to obtain. As the semester gets underway,
many people are starting to think about topics or how to find information for their research papers. For most students the research paper takes a lot of time, a lot of editing and a lot of carefully chosen words. But there are a few exceptions to the rule. A former Cal State Fullerton student, who wishes to remain anonymous, decided to purchase a paper from one of many Web sites that sell them. The student decided to use the paper last fall for his business writ-
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his last name, was uninjured and no other vehicles were involved. “It’s really frustrating,” Jimmy said. “I got cut off by another truck. I don’t even think he noticed.” According to Officer G. Torres of the California Highway Patrol, the accident is still under investigation and the cause has yet to be determined.
Leilani Rios is back on the crosscountry team but she did not compete in Cal State Fullerton’s season opening, Jammin’ Invitational, cross country meet Saturday at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea. Rios was officially reinstated to the CSUF cross country team on June 28 when, facing a threatened lawsuit, the university officials decided that her suspension was a violation of her First Amendment rights and her employment is constitutionally protected as an expression of free speech. However, she is still not eligible to represent the university during competition because the matter of her NCAA eligibility has not yet been resolved. “We need to discuss the NCAA eligibility matters with Cal State Fullerton,” Rios said. According to NCAA rules, after three years, a student athlete is supposed to have completed 50 percent of his or her credit requirements. Since Rios has not been allowed to run with the team, her eligibility slipped. “In order for her to be eligible, Cal State Fullerton would have to petition NCAA to overlook the fact that she missed her three semesters,” said Wayne Hurtado, Rios’ husband. Under NCAA rules, Rios cannot petition for herself. The petition
has to come from CSUF athletics department. CSUF track coach, John Elders and athletics director, John Easterbrook refused to comment on Rios’ situation. If the case does not get resolved within a few days, Rios will be looking at missing another semester but she is determined not to give up. “I hope that won’t happen. I hope I’ll be able to run. I don’t want to miss out anymore,” Rios said. Rios had a meeting at the athletics department on Thursday to try to resolve her remaining problems. After the meeting, Rios said that if it is not possible to clear everything out this semester, she is already eligible to compete in track in spring. Satisfied with CSUF cooperation, she gave up the idea of suing the university for violating her rights. “So far they’re helping me out so I don’t see any need to sue,” she said. The 21-year-old Fullerton resident, who has been running since she was 12, loves the competitiveness of the sport and being on the team. “It’s a part of my life,” she said. While she was suspended, she kept running two to three times a week. In July, Rios received a packet, which was mailed to all the team
Search for forgery suspects contin-
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Police look for two men who withdrew more than $7,000 from bank accounts under false identities By Amy Rottier
Daily Titan News Editor Two males suspected of forgery in July have not yet been caught, and may be continuing to steal people’s identities. At least three males and one female have fallen victim to a forgery-committing duo. On July 5, Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Card Desk issued an Asian male a student identification card under a false identity, according to a Public Safety detective. Later that day, the suspect went to the Huntington Beach branch of the Orange County Teachers Federal Credit Union and opened an account as an undergraduate student. The suspect deposited a check for $105, withdrew $60 from an ATM and made other transactions, the report said. By opening an account, a person can go to a mall, a restaurant or
Suspect 1 anywhere and use the debit card, regardless of how much money is in the account, explains Detective Tom Gerhls. Most stores don’t post transactions until later. The following day, the suspect was issued another Titan Card under a different alias and opened another
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Suspect 2 account at the Cypress branch of the OCTFCU. This time the teller questioned the suspect when she noticed the age discrepancy between the I.D. card and the suspect, according to the report. The suspect demanded the teller
open the account for him and she did. The teller then notified the director of the security department, the report said. When the situation was investigated, it was realized that the university issued two different cards with the suspect’s same picture. A white male was caught on surveillance videos standing by the first suspect. After reviewing the video, police came to the conclusion that the two were together and working as a team. When they checked with the Titan Card Desk, police found that the second male had also been issued two student identification cards under two different false identifications, police said. The second suspect withdrew $7,000 by using the ATM and pointof-sale purchases on July 6. The OCTFCU was left with the loss. The Titan Card Desk claims that
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