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Since 1960 Volume 83, Issue 16
Men’s Soccer Loses
Dog Days
Titans fall 3-2 in overtime to UC Irvine SPORTS, p. 12
Examining the work and play of man’s best friend INTROSPECT, p. 6
Daily Titan
Thursday September 28, 2006
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Titan Online To Be Unified With Other Cal State Campuses By Maggie Hauser
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Cal State Fullerton students will be seeing a change in their familiar Titan Online system in the 2007 and 2008 academic year. In an effort to unite all of the CSU campuses, the Executive Council began a 23-campus information systems development program in June of 1998 that is being called the Common Management System project. The software is fully Web-based and runs for all 23 campuses from a Salt Lake City database. According to CSUF Chief Information Technology Officer Amir Dabirian, the Salt Lake City location was chosen because it is not a common place for earthquakes and other calamities that would interrupt service. Another precaution to avoid crashes is the use of auxiliary servers, similar to the ones that cor-
porations such as Amazon and eBay employ. The Chancellor’s Office handles all common software changes for the CSU and then individual campuses can customize the software to meet their own unique needs and requirements. Project Lead Susan Kachner describes the system as a “new and improved” version of the current Titan Online system available to students, faculty and staff. Much like Titan Online, it will still provide details like students’ degree audit and financial aid status as well as transcript and grade information. The system will also allow students to search for open classes and register online as well as pay their fees as they do now with Titan Online. According to the CSUF Admissions office, another advantage to using the system is less paperwork. Students will be able to go online through the self-service Web site to
change their mailing address, something that must currently be done in person on campus or by fax. Junior Megan Feighery said that she’s looking forward to the fact that the system will be available to registered users 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unlike Titan Online. “As we know, students like to do things at 3 a.m.,” Kachner said. “This will help to make their lives easier.” California Maritime Academy and Fresno State were the pilot campuses for this change in 2002. Cal State Channel Islands, Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge followed in 2003. Chico State, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo have all begun using the software, and implementation is currently in progress for Cal State Los Angeles. Justin Bianco, a biochemistry major, said that he doesn’t use Titan Online for anything besides registering for his classes. The system imple-
War Correspondent Speaks About Afghanistan
mentation team hopes that since students will be able to do more specific searches for classes, student usage may increase. The software will recognize if a student has taken a class at another institution that would transfer to CSUF, and will notify the student accordingly. Kachner also said that students would also be able to put themselves on a wait list for particular classes if the class they need is full. Jan Loomis of CedarCrestone, the consulting group that is helping Cal State Fullerton implement the system, said that the new self-service plan would have an “intuitive feel” to it. Loomis compared the appearance to that of airline ticket sale Web sites and Amazon.com. Students can expect to see changes gradually, Kachner said. “We’ll try to make it as painless as possible,” Kachner said. “We’ll do the work for the students when they click on a link.”
Shield Law Considered New bill before Senate would protect journalists and confidential sources By Katy French
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
By IAN HAMILTON/Daily Titan
Covering War - War correspondent Matthew Fisher spoke about everything from an embarassing wound to the future of politics in the Middle East during a discussion with communications faculty and students Wednesday.
‘The Forgotten War’
By Julianna Crisalli
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
War correspondent Matthew Fisher spoke about the “forgotten war” in Afghanistan to students and faculty Wednesday. Since Sept. 11, Fisher has been to Afghanistan 11 times and Iraq seven. “People have said that Iraq is a breeding ground for terrorists. It has become a kindergarten to terrorism,” Fisher said. “America needs to switch focus. If they don’t, Afghanistan will become the graduate school of terrorism.” Fisher thinks America rushed into Iraq too fast and left Afghanistan prematurely. “Iraq is a total lost cause, but the war in Afghanistan is still winnable,” he said. “It will take strong military and humanitarian sources. It will take money, blood and time to get Afghanistan to where it should be.” While in Afghanistan, Fisher was present for the elections. This was the
first time he was able to speak to the Afghani women because they voted separately from the men. Fisher said everyone wanted to see what it was like to have democracy. “We should not kid ourselves that they want our way of life. They don’t. But they do not want the Taliban either,” Fisher said. This was not the Canadian journalist’s first speech given at Cal State Fullerton. In the past he has been a guest at Communications Week and several classroom meetings, where he discussed the experience of war reporting. This time, however, he focused his speech on the need to win the war in Afghanistan. “He is a world class war correspondent,” said Communications Professor Jeffrey Brody. “He made an excellent point that Afghanistan is the forgotten war.” Fisher hopes that by speaking to students, faculty and society, he can spread awareness about the pending struggles in Afghanistan. “I believe there needs to be as many observers as possible because
the public should be as well informed as possible so they know what leaders to elect and which to throw out,” he said. Student Jackie Kimmel attended the speech and found his knowledge of war and the U.S. military inspirational. Kimmel, president of the CSUF chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and national sales executive for the Daily Titan, said it is her goal to become a war correspondent. “I know that is a weird goal, especially for a woman,” she said. “The Daily Titan had a student war correspondent once and if they were to let me, I’d be on a plane tomorrow.” Fisher “fueled the fire” for Kimmel’s interest in war reporting. “I think he is a terribly brilliant man who has been more places than I ever could,” Kimmel said. “He has a better outlook than those who sit here and think they know what SEE FISHER - PAGE 4
The Senate Judiciary committee is currently debating a bill that would create a federal “shield law” for journalists, protecting their ability to withhold confidential sources and unpublished material unless proved necessary. In the wake of several controversial cases involving imprisonment of journalists who refused to reveal confidential sources, the Senate is discussing the pros and cons of Senate Bill 2831, the Free Flow of Information Act of 2006. According to the act, it is intended “to guarantee the free flow of information to the public through a free and active press as the most effective check upon government abuse, while protecting the right of the public to effective law enforcement and the fair administration of justice.” Some reporters believe confidential sources are an essential component and the inability to guarantee confidentiality hurts the process. “It’s the only way the public is going to get the information that it needs to have a free society,” Jim Brewer, politics and government editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, said in a phone interview Wednesday. A similar bill has been introduced to the House of Representatives. The statute does not grant qualified privilege to journalists but mandates that requestors prove that the necessity of disclosing sources is more important than maintaining confidentiality, while journalists are expected to argue the reverse. Lawmakers are relying on the “balancing test” outlined in the landmark case Branzburg v. Hayes, in which the Supreme Court ruled that reporter privilege is not implied in the first amendment. At a time when the media is often threatened by censorship, many feel the law is needed more now than
MONDAY News
ONLINE www.dailytitan.com
Baby on Board
TITAN LIVE
Article will take a look at the university’s policy for pregnant students.
Courtesy of CAL STATE FULLERTON Information Technology
New System - The functions of Titan Online are being replaced with a new system demoed Wednesday that will allow users to log on at any hour.
Check the Daily Titan online for videos, podcasts, radio shows and more.
Important Cases For Journalists’ Rights BRANZBURG V. HAYES (1972) The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment does not cover reporter privilege. It also established a “balancing test” to gauge whether disclosure of sources was necessary or not. For officials to force a reporter to disclose a source, they must “have exhausted all other alternate sources, they have reason to believe the information is relevant, the information is critical to the case, and the public interest in disclosing the confidential source outweighs the public interest in newsgathering and maintaining the free flow of information.” JUDITH MILLER A reporter for The New York Times, Judith Miller spent 85 days in jail in 2005. Though she did not write the controversial column that revealed the identity of Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA operative, Miller and several other reporters were ordered to disclose their sources regarding the case. The federal government began an investigation to find the source whom had leaked the sensitive information. After going to jail for refusal to name her sources, Miller ultimately obtained a waiver from her source to permit her to testify. The leak was particularly controversial due to accusations of political retribution against Plame’s husband, a former ambassador who publicly denounced the country’s involveever before. Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut said, “These actions by our government against journalists are having a profound impact on newsgathering.” Dodd cited two dozen journalists who have been subpoenaed, questioned, or imprisoned in the last year. Others argue that the law is too generous and will allow individuals
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TODAY
ment in Iraq. This month U.S. former Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, admitted that he inadvertently leaked Valerie Plame’s name. FREELANCE BLOGGER San Francisco-Freelance videojournalist and blogger Jason Wolf has been imprisoned a second time for refusing to turn over footage of an anarchist protest. During the protest two police officers were injured. Wolf claims there is no footage of police being injured but the federal government is demanding his unpublished content regardless. Wolf returned to prison last week after his bail was revoked and could stay there until July. This is the first case of a blogger being held for not revealing material. BALCO CASE Last week two reporters for the San Francisco chronicle, Lance Williams and Mark FainaruWada, faced up to 18 months in jail. The reporters refuse to reveal who leaked information from the investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, a company found to be a steroid distributor. During the investigation high-profile baseball players such as Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi testified regarding steroid use. Both reporters have been vocal about their willingness to serve time and their refusal to break their confidentiality agreements. to hide behind shield laws. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty argued that the law would cause further leaks of classified information and could compromise national security by limiting the government’s ability to gather information. Others argue over the constitutionality of such a law. SEE SHIELD - PAGE 4
TOMorrow Partly Cloudy High: 83 Low: 61
Partly Cloudy High: 83 Low: 62