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Since 1960 Volume 83, Issue 45
Baseball Pro
Dirty Money
Article explores the muck you can find on your buck MONEY, p. 3
Lauren Gagnier begins his first full professional season next year SPORTS, p. 6
Daily Titan
Monday November 27, 2006
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Student Pleads Not Guilty Getting in Front of the Camera to Win ‘Audition’ CSUF student Gideon Omondi is accused of killing 4-year-old son By Adam Levy
Daily Titan News Editor alevy@dailytitan.com
A Cal State Fullerton engineering student pleaded not guilty Friday Nov. 17 to charges of firstdegree murder. Gideon Walter Omondi, 35, is accused of killing his 4-year-old son. Judge Roger B. Robbins of the Orange County Superior Court in Fullerton scheduled a review of documents subpoenaed from CSUF for Dec. 14. The court did not indicate what was in the documents. “At this point I can’t tell you,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy said. “But there are some documents from Cal State Fullerton.” Defense Attorney Scott Van Camp said he did not know what the documents contained. “We’re not privy,” he said. In his first court appearance in six weeks, a stubbly Omondi was ushered into the North Justice Center Fullerton courtroom holding pen by a sheriff’s deputy. He smiled as he conferred with Deputy Public Defender Arlene Speiser before waiving his rights to an immediate hearing date. The judge scheduled the pre-trial
By Adam Levy
Daily Titan News Editor alevy@dailytitan.com
By Kevin Rogers/Daily Titan Photo Editor
Court Date - CSUF engineering student Gideon Walter Omondi pleas not guilty to murder charges on Nov. 17. hearing for Feb. 14 and the hearing for March 23. Speiser declined to be interviewed by the Daily Titan. McGreevy has indicated that Omondi will be charged under “lying-in-wait” circumstances, which could bring a harsher sentence. The district attorney is unsure whether he will seek the death penalty. “That decision isn’t made until a [different] stage,” McGreevy said.
The native Kenyan turned himself into Fullerton Police Department on at 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 10, allegedly telling authorities he had drowned his son, Richard, earlier in the evening. Officers dispatched to Omondi’s Fullerton apartment found the youngster’s lifeless body tucked into his bed. The boy’s mother, Helen Omondi, attended the hearing. Clad in a
white coat, she looked solemn as her ex-husband was ushered into the holding cell, occasionally leaning over to chat with a confidante. She declined to comment to the Daily Titan. Omondi, held in the medical ward while in custody at the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana, has not responded to the Daily Titan’s request for an interview.
Cal State Fullerton broadcast journalism major Camaron Abundes is set to report live on TV from campus Tuesday morning in the final stage in KTLA’s “The Audition” contest. Abundes will file her report from the walkway in front of the Performing Arts Center between the Nutwood Parking Structure and the Titan Student Union from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. The 24-year-old has overcome the odds in “The Audition” competition, and is one of the two final competitors in the running for the $25,000 grand prize. The contest, which started with 16 finalists, has been a series of broadcast majors. With the end of each round, judges eliminate half of the competitors. In the first round, Abundes broadcast both sports and weather segments. Despite a few mistakes, the judges agreed on Abundes’ potential. The second phase had Abundes, clad in a black business outfit, working against a blue screen through a fast-paced morning weather update.
The judges lauded her personality, confidence and poise to handle the broadcast, while admonAbundes ishing her to not rush through the segment. Making it down to the final four, the communications major broadcast a first-quarter update from the courtside of the Los Angeles Clippers-New Orleans Hornets game. Providing viewers with relevant information and statistics. Again, the adjudicators were impressed with Abundes’ delivery. Competition judge Barbara Lopez proclaimed her as “the one to beat.” In the final round, judged by Sam Rubin and Gail Anderson, Abundes delivered a pair of entertainment reports amidst the backdrop of auxiliary footage. Titan Communications has encouraged students and faculty to all to show up in school colors Tuesday morning and support Abundes in her quest to win “The Audition.”
Parking May Be Bad, but the College Multicultural in the TSU is Working to Improve the Situation By Salman Sheikh
For the Daily Titan
news@dailytitan.com
Parking may be bad, but the crunch is only in the beginning of the semester and then people settle in, said Will Nighswonger, contract project manager at the Design and Construction office. Kristin Beehler, a senior at Cal State Fullerton, said it takes her about five minutes of hunting before she can find a spot. “The structures have helped because it takes me half the time to find a place now, but it’s still bad – it seems that there are more students now,” she said. Although CSUF is known to many as a commuter school, not everyone is a commuter, as there are those who live on or near the campus. “I don’t have to worry about parking or the permit. I live close enough to ride my bike,” said Sebastian Kruegel, a graduate student at CSUF. Kali Woodland, a junior at CSUF, said it’s a relief to her to live on campus. “I can walk to my classes,” she said. The two new parking structures have added 4,000 parking spaces to
CSUF. Providing 2,500 parking spaces on five levels, the Nutwood parking structure opened in the fall of 2004 at a cost of approximately $23.7 million. An additional 1,500 spaces were added when the State College parking structure opened this past spring. The cost of the new structure was about $20.3 million, according to the CSUF Design and Construction Web site. The Nutwood structure was more
“
The structures have helped because it takes me half the time to find a place now, but it is still bad – it seems that there are more students now.
– Kristin Beehler
“
New structures, with a third one being planned, helped CSUF’s cramped parking problems
CSUF Senior
expensive than the State College structure because it has more parking capacity and special architectural features such as the north-facing glass panels, which were added to complement the Performing Arts Center said Michael Smith, director of CSUF’s Design and Construction office. The combined $44 million proj-
Tomorrow News
Parallel Wars
Author Quang X. Pham discusses the similarities between the Vietnam and Iraq wars.
ects were financed by two 30-year CSU Bonds based on low-interest loans given to the university by the state, he said. “A part of the student parking fees are reserved to pay for that,” said Nighswonger. Currently, a one-semester automobile-parking permit for students costs $144. “Parking used to be $70 when I was a freshman,” said Celia Castanon, a senior at CSUF. CSUF has invested millions of dollars; however, students still have trouble with parking. Finding a place to park in the daytime is the worst, Castanon said. “Faculty parking should be reduced because their lots always have open spots,” he said. With the growing number of students, plans of expansion are underway. However, when dealing with heavy traffic flow, security must be kept in mind. The school is currently lacking camera surveillance in both of the new parking structures. “Safety is always in mind. Both of our structures were designed to have lots of cameras and the university police are working on that,” Nighswonger said. The two projects have been very successful and the latest one was completed six months ahead of schedule, Smith said. Plans are underway to erect another parking structure, located in lot E.
From dance to film, Greek organizations brought culture to CSUF By Aaron Holtsclaw
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
The second annual Culture Show was presented to a packed crowd Thursday, Nov. 18, in the Titan Student Union. The fraternities and sororities from the Multi-Cultural Greek Council performed a variety of acts showcasing many of the world’s cultures. Lambda Sigma Gamma Sorority Inc. began the night by performing an Indian dance led by council President Araseli Cuevas. “We decided to do something dif-
Clarification CSUF President Milton Gordon did not identify the university’s former chief financial officer by name when he was interviewed for a story in the Nov. 16 edition of the Daily Titan about a recent university audit conducted by the CSU Chancellor’s office.
ferent,” Cuevas said about her sorority’s choice of an Indian dance. “We embrace all cultures. We are here to show respect and pride in the differences we have.” The night’s second act was a short silent film about the Mayan and Aztec cultures presented by Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity Inc. that was viewed in silence by the audience. “It’s the best feeling that people learned something about the Aztec culture,” Lambda Theta Phi President Brian Valdez said. Valdez’s table was awarded $200 for being the best-pdecorated table, which was adorned with Aztec art pieces and flyers about the culture. The crowd featured an assortment of members and family from the different clubs, most of who were wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing
the Greek letters of their respective clubs. There were long gaps between performances when groups were not prepared and a few technical difficulties slowed the show, but definite highlights made the show exciting. The crowd showed its appreciation by cheering after a great performance. Next up was Delta Sigma Chi with a presentation on El Salvadorian history, followed by Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc.’s presentation on tap dance. A member of the sorority tapped to “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson in an outfit that resembled the infamous performer’s, but with two gloves instead of one. SEE CULTURE- PAGE 2
Cultural dance-
By Aaron Hotsclaw/Daily Titan
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(From left to right) Chi Sigma Phi members Jamie Young, Ashley Wakayama, Julie Tran, Joan Baek, Lial Nam and Doreen Ogata dress as Polynesian dancers at the second annual culture show.
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