WWW.dailytitan.com
JUNE 26, 2007
VOLUME 4, No. 9
University Police get grant to stop terror By Robert Weaver For the Summer Titan news@dailytitan.com
That’s one fancy show By Jennifer Caddick Summer Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Some women give the word fancy a whole new meaning. For Chelsea Howard and Karen Alonzo, acting fancy is all about cramming a bunch of people into a soundproof classroom and giving an unknown band the musical liberty to whine, shriek and croon all they want. A makeshift studio at Buena Park High School is home to their public access television program “That’s Fancy.” “This is my baby,” Howard said. The fair-haired show is all about exposing the local music scene. “We basically want to spotlight local bands that wouldn’t have another place for their music to be shown on public access television,” co-producer Karen Alonzo said. “We just want to give them a forum” to play their music. The CSUF alumnae said they have a passion for real music TV that they want to share with the world … or at least a small portion of Orange County. Music plays an important role in both women’s lives. At one point they were in a band together, but found they were more connected to producing music. The show’s creator, Howard, thought of the idea for “That’s Fancy” when one of her teachers at Cal State Fullerton brought up the topic of public access one day in class. Shortly after her epiphany, the two radio-TV-film majors collaborated. Together they signed up at their local public access station and took classes on
how to produce their own TV show. They criticize trendy music-oriented shows that play bands solely based on the popular vote and hope to show quality bands on their pioneering program. The two have now been working on “That’s Fancy” for almost two years. Since its launch in November 2005, the crew has fluctuated dramatically, but Howard and Alonzo have been with it all the way. “Our first show was pretty awful. But now we have a great new host and great new cameramen, so now we are really excited,” Howard said. “We are taking [That’s Fancy] to the next level.” After being on hiatus for a couple months, “That’s Fancy” returned to the screen with a new outlook on their show. The straightforward format consists of a band playing its set with a short interview at the end. Their new season reflects how Howard and Alonzo have transformed “That’s Fancy” into a tight, well-executed production, they said. The crew could feel the different vibe the new episodes were radiating. “It was an interesting shoot. We were in such a tiny room, literally five feet away from the band, but there was so much energy coming from the crew and the musicians that we were really able to capture that on video,” cameraman Tom Madden said. The most recently featured band was a group of Orange County musicians called AM. After getting AM’s e-mail the girls strongly considered having them perform on the show, but the clincher was when AM offered them Hello Kitty toast and a puppet to host the show.
“That always is guaranteed quality cable access TV,” Alonzo said. “It’s nice when a band is excited to play and actively seeks us out,” Howard said. Howard and Alonzo said they are always on the skulk to discover new local bands to perform on their show. “Chels and I also like to go to shows where we meet different people and experience different types of music,” Alonzo said. “Checking out local bands is also a great way to find people for the show because they are close by.” The incentive of actually watching themselves on TV is a big motivator to get bands to sign up with “That’s Fancy.” “That’s Fancy” is willing to air any type of band as long as the music is “real” – something that is hard to find on regular television, Howard said. Although their music show takes up a lot of their time, both women are also working on outside projects. Howard works at KDOC TV and said she is dedicated to producing her own music show. Alonzo, an American studies graduate student, just completed a rough-cut documentary on the Los Angeles bike movement. She hopes to pursue it more this summer and enter it into film festivals. “That’s Fancy” can be seen on Time Warner Adelphia cable on Friday nights at 8:30 and Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. in Fullerton, Placentia, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Villa Park and Yorba Linda. The girls said they hope to get some money together soon to buy their show time on an independent channel. It would be a great way to get an unknown band some exposure on a grander scale, Howard said.
Sometimes, that degree isn’t much By Sanam Leidelmeijer Summer Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
it.” Shieh is not alone. Many students are unsure of how to apply their degrees to a career of their choice. While millions of students attend Cal State Fullerton graduate Abel four-year universities in hopes of earn- Muñiz, 25, received a Bachelor of Arts ing bachelor’s and in Business Adminmaster’s degrees, istration with an emmany end up workphasis in marketing. ing in a field com- I feel like like I studied He currently works pletely unrelated to as a recruiter for a the wrong thing ... I their degrees. staffing agency in UCI graduate switched to business Santa Ana. Stephanie Shieh, 24, “I feel like I studreceived a Bachelor administration because ied the wrong thing,” of Arts in Psychol- it was the go-to degree. Muñiz said. “I started ogy. She now works – Abel Muniz out as an engineering full-time as an adCal State Fullerton alumni major but switched ministrative assistant to business adminisfor an information tration because it was technology staffing the ‘go-to’ degree. I company and does felt like it was the safnot know if she will use her degree for est bet.” anything. After graduating in 2006, Muñiz “I studied psychology because it was found that finding a marketing-related interesting,” Shieh said. “I thought about getting into college counseling, but I never really followed through with SEE DEGREE - PAGE 4
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By Christina House/Daily Titan Photo Editor Big Shots - Chelsea Howard, left, and Karen Alonzo direct production of their public-access music program “That’s Fancy.”
The Cal State Fullerton University Police received grant money from Department of Homeland Security programs to fight terrorism and to prepare for large-scale disasters that might happen on campus, officials said. Police Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Quentin Frazier said he takes the threat of terrorism seriously. “Eighty percent of my time is spent dealing with terrorism-related issues,” Frazier said. Some students are skeptical about the likelihood of a terrorist attack on campus. “That’s kind of odd,” said Jimmy Martin, 32, a communications major. “That sounds like too much time. They should spend more time worrying about parking.” While some might not consider CSUF to be a likely target for a terrorist attack, Frazier said he believes it is important to be prepared for such an event because of the large population of the Los Angeles and Orange County areas. “We don’t have any specific intelligence that we are a target for terrorism,” Frazier said. “But the impact of an event
would be more catastrophic because of our population, in terms of lives lost.” The Department of Homeland Security threat advisory for Cal State Fullerton is at a perpetual yellow “elevated” threat level. “We’ve never been at green,” Frazier said. “We are not necessarily saying the campus is yellow, we are saying that the nation is yellow.” However, Police Chief Judi King downplayed the role of University Police in fighting terrorism. The money is used for equipment and training, King said, “and primarily for first responders.” Department grants are awarded from different programs for a variety of specific purposes. Purchases made with grant money must be from an approved federal list. “Homeland Security money is not just one thing, it’s about 10 things,” Frazier said. The largest program from which University Police receive funds is the Urban Area Security Initiative. They get $120,000 to 140,000, according to Frazier. University police have also
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