C a l i f o r n i a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y, F u l l e r t o n
THE DAILY TITAN F E B R U A RY 1 4 , 2 0 0 6
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SPORTS
OPINION
Love, not just athleticism blooms on the playing field Page 6
Valentineʼs Day: A time for movies, solitude or tradition? Page 4
Comm. Students Test Program for Grad Checks
Roused to Lead Single Life
Use of Titan Degree Audit for prospective graduates may become new standard
Book about dealing with lost love is an inspiration to those with similar souls
By Daniela Medina
Daily Titan Staff Writer
By Irvina Kanarek
Daily Titan Photographer
I almost got married. He was smart, handsome, successful, funny, and he treated me like a queen, but I dumped him after I read “Honeymoon with My Brother” by Franz Wisner. I did not want to cause the pain Wisner writes about in this true story of his own life. Forty-eight hours before his wedding to his girlfriend of over 10 years, she dumped him. A week later, back in Newport Beach, he is demoted from his high-profile job as a powerful lobbyist for the Irvine Co. Given the situation most men would find a hot girl and a bottle of scotch, pronto, but Wisner opted for the road less traveled. He contacted his emotionally distant and recently divorced brother, Kurt, and took him along for the planned honeymoon. If thatʼs not bizarre enough, the two men quit their jobs, sold their cars and homes, and turned a two-week honeymoon into two years of traveling and soul searching, visiting more than 50 countries along the way. I traveled to their Temecula book signing for the opportunity to meet the brothers who dramatically changed the course of my life. After sharing my own story, Franz and Kurt told me I wasnʼt the first person to take great leaps in the name of “Honeymoon with My Brother.” After reading the book, a couple of graduates of the University of Oklahoma quit their own jobs and planned their own “honeymoon” abroad. At the signing, I met Lisa England, Franzʼs secretary at the Irvine Co. Lisa dropped the secretarial career and the Orange County crowd and moved to Temecula to open her own interior design business and boutique. Prior to the honeymoon, Wisnerʼs story reflects many of our own stories about to take place. We accomplish things in order: college, good job, get rich, fast car, marriage, nice house, kids…. While walking through the procession to collect on our goods, we lose sight of our surroundings. We donʼt know our own siblings, have little understanding of our world and look at love as a possession. We sacrifice so much in order to accomplish a checklist. Franz and Kurt have paved their own path off the narrow road with great success. “Honeymoon with My Brother” was bought by Sony and will be made into a movie, due out in 2007. The duo recently sold
SEE BOOK = PAGE 3
path of resistance Community environmental group leads effort to save Coyote Hills area from becoming housing development By Jickie Torres
Daily Titan Staff Writer
T
he struggle to save Coyote Hills has been around since the late ʼ70s, when the city of Fullerton first approved the proposal to turn 361 acres of open land into a housing development. Helen Higgins, a member of the Friends of Coyote Hills, an organization of volunteers fighting the battle against builder Pacific Coast Homes and Chevron, their parent company, said that no part of the struggle has been easy. “We always need more people,” Higgins said. “We need more bodies to help us in the effort.” Higgins, like many members the organization, volunteers her time after, before or in between working. And the struggle is fraught with long procedures and local government red tape. The main goal is finding funding for acquisition. However, buying the property from Pacific Coast Homes, as Higgins explains, is difficult
because the price is a hard to calculate. “The problem is that the developers arenʼt allowing us to see the value of the property,” Higgins said. “Chevron wants to value the property at market use, but right now the land is still under gas and oil zoning.” This can thwart attempts to put a definitive price tag on the land. All other fundraising goes toward maintenance plans, which, Higgins said, shouldnʼt be much. The friends have been successful in spreading the word. One Saturday a month, they lead hikes through the North Cutter trail of Coyote Hills and educate locals and hikers about the native vegetation, wildlife and history of the 580 acres. They also do outreach events at venues such as Green Scene at the Fullerton Arboretum and Faces of Fullerton events hosted downtown. Eugene Hung, a pastor for the Chinese Baptist Church of Orange County, moved to La Habra from Texas and first came to a hike because of signs posted about the effort to save the hills. When he learned the area was a nesting ground for the California gnatcatcher, an endangered bird species, Hungʼs passion for saving the hills really SEE COYOTE HILLS = PAGE 3 Songha Lee/Daily Titan
The Titan Degree Audit Pilot Program began in the fall 2005 semester for a group of communications students that may bring campus-wide changes to the grad check process. The College of Communications in conjunction with Admissions and Records are testing the use of a Titan Degree Audit (TDA), an electronic checklist, rather than the traditional paper checklist to complete grad checks on 325 students. The goal is to simplify the current process and make final requirements for soon-to-be graduating students more readily available. “Iʼm definitely optimistic that it will be an efficient process,” said Tammy Rogers, Cal State Fullerton academic advisor. Students must currently apply for their grad check upon completion of 90 units or two semesters before their graduation date. Courses taken are evaluated in the grad unit of Admissions and Records to see if major requirements have been met. This process is done on paper, and in triplicate. Once the checklist is ready, it is mailed to the students. The prospective graduate must then get signatures from the necessary faculty and advisers for his or her department. At this point the signed forms are turned back into the grad unit. “Normally the TDA is not an official document,” Rogers said. “Itʼs used as an advising tool.” The TDA, which has been under development for the last five or six years, will provide the same informa-
tion as the traditional checklist does. It is a computerized evaluation of completed courses. Rather than being mailed to students for them to get signatures, the TDA will be e-mailed directly to the people who need to sign it. “Thereʼs a lot of running around involved,” Rogers said of the traditional method. Communications major Forrest Sherman is completing his last course before graduating. He started the grad check process at the beginning of the spring 2005 semester. It took until August to complete and turn in his forms. While his grad check was completed in the current, paper format, he referred frequently to his TDA online. “There werenʼt too many surprises,” Sherman said. The 325 students chosen for the pilot program are students who started at CSUF in their freshman year or transfer students whose final evaluation is available on TDA. Students selected for the pilot program still needed to apply for a grad check and pay the $115 fee. Participating students are scheduled to graduate in June and August of 2006. They were notified via mail and e-mail in November of their involvement in the pilot. There are a few possible problems with course accuracy the students may face with their TDA. Training advisers who are not familiar with using computers may be a challenge as well, said Peggy Bockman, assistant dean of the College of Communications. Even so, those who have called or come into see an advisor with questions think the new process will be easier for them, Rogers said. “When [students] register for their last semester, they have a clear understanding of the requirements they have left to meet,” Bockman said.
Kung Fu, Kickboxing, Cardio Funk: Take Your Pick Drop-in fitness classes offered between classes for health-conscious students By Jessica Horn
Daily Titan Staff Writer
A
s Jennifer Lopezʼs “Iʼm Real” blasts down the hallways of the Kinesiology building, a voice shouts over the music, “On three … one, two, three.” The voice is that of Cal State Fullerton fitness instructor CJ Edwards, who teaches hip-hop dance lessons as one of the many free drop-in fitness classes offered to CSUF students. “The program is funded by the Titan Student Union. Itʼs very important that students understand these things are free,” said Alison Wittwer, assistant director of programs for Rec Sports. Drop-in fitness classes offer a wide variety of exercise choices, including 40-40-20 [40 minutes
of spin, 40 minutes of core, and 20 minutes of stretching and flexibility movements]; cardio funk/hip-hop; freestyle aerobics; guts, butts and thighs; kickboxing; kung fu; Pilates; total body conditioning; and yoga. All that is needed to attend a drop-in fitness class is a Titan Card and a towel. “The main goal for them here and for me is to have fun. Iʼm not auditioning them for Janet Jackson or anything,” Edwards said. “Itʼs OK if theyʼre not on the same level as everyone.” Wittwer said that in the last four years, drop-in fitness classes had a limited capacity, but now 24 hours of classes a week are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The number of student attendees has steadily increased each semester. Wittwer said that the school tries to keep up with student feedback every semester to offer classes to students that are high in demand. The appeal is that students donʼt have to attend on a regular basis, hence the name, drop-in
fitness. “Maybe a class gets cancelled and you want to kill an hour,” Wittwer said. “We make it so easy. You can come if you want, and if you donʼt want to, thatʼs cool.” Popular classes are strategically placed either around lunch hours or between the hours of 5 and 7 p.m. on weekdays, which seem to be the most convenient times for students to drop in. Each class is offered twice a week to be more accessible to students. For Candice Sainz, 23, a health science major, the best thing about drop-in fitness is “you can come whenever you want. You have to be fairly physically fit, but for the most part, the instructors make it kind of easy. CJʼs got so much character.” CSUF students are also welcome to sign up for personal training sessions, which last one hour and cost $20. The session offers one-on-one training with certified strength and conditioning specialists. Students can buy
INSIDE
NEWS
SPORTS
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Black, African-American history month, whatʼs in a name?
CSUF first baseman Brett Pill chosen Player of the Week
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TODAY Mostly Sunny High: 73 Low: 49
Irvina Kanarek/Daily Titan
DANCE FEVER: Instructor CJ Edwards teaches hip-hop to students in a drop-in fitness class Thursday. a package of personal training sessions, or book semi-private lessons, where they can work out alongside a friend and their instructor. “I feel like weʼre offering quality training at a friendly cost. For $20, you can get an hour of personal training, while at a health club like 24 Hour Fitness, you canʼt buy a single session. It costs $62 to $72 per session
of personal training,” Wittwer said. “We try to stay current and mimic what health clubs offer. I donʼt get why students will pay to go to expensive health clubs when they can get the same type of classes and offers at school free of charge.” To find out more information about Drop-in Fitness classes or personal training, visit asi.fullerton.edu/asrc/dropinfitness.asp.
WEATHER WEDNESDAY THURSDAY Mostly Cloudy High: 64 Low: 41
Partly Cloudy High: 65 Low: 44
FRIDAY Mostly Sunny High: 65 Low: 45