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Daily Titan
Wednesday December 5, 2007
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Campus Dining Services Food Drive Give any non-perishable food item to campus cashiers until Saturday and receive 10 percent off your purchase. The food will be donated to Orange County Food Bank. Wednesday Concert ASI Productions will hold its weekly concert series in the Becker Amphitheatre from noon to 1 p.m. Fall Texas Hold’Em Classic The TSU will host another round of poker at 4 p.m. in a series of qualifying tournaments before the championship round today. Dollar Bowling Bowling games and shoe rentals are offered for $1 to all students with a valid Titan Card, from 6 to 10 p.m.
Italian legal clerks going a little looney ROME (AP) – Tweety may get a chance to take the witness stand and sing like a canary. An Italian court ordered the animated bird, along with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and his girlfriend Daisy, to testify in a counterfeiting case. In what lawyers believe was a clerical error worthy of a Looney Tunes cartoon, a court in Naples sent a summons to the characters ordering them to appear Friday in a trial in the southern Italian city. The court summons cites Titti, Paperino, Paperina, Topolino – the Italian names for the characters – as damaged parties in the criminal trial of a Chinese man accused of counterfeiting products of Disney and Warner Bros. Instead of naming only the companies and their legal representatives, clerks also wrote in the witness list of the names of the cartoons that decorated the toys and gadgets the man had reproduced, said Fiorenza Sorotto, vice president of Disney Company Italia. “Unfortunately they cannot show up, as they are residents of Disneyland,” Sorotto joked in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “Let’s hope the characters will not be prosecuted for failing to appear.” Phones at the Naples court were not answered Tuesday.
WEATHER Today Partly Cloudy / High: 73, Low: 52
Thursday Cloudy / High: 64, Low: 53
friday Showers/ High: 56, Low: 48
saturday Showers / High: 57, Low: 44
sunday Mostly sunny / High: 60, Low: 43
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Making a comeback
O.C. Fairgrounds plays host to an old-fashioned drive-in movie theater By Justine lopez
For the Daily Titan
news@dailytitan.com
A line of cars snakes into the entrance of the Star-Vu Drive-In on Sunday evening. As the cars pull into the parking spaces, their headlights shine on the monstrous inflatable screen in front of them. During the day this area serves as a parking lot for the Orange County Fairgrounds, but at night it is transformed into a scene from the 1950’s. While other drive-ins across the country are shutting down, the StarVu Drive-In opened its parking lot in May. “It is the first drive-in in Orange County in 10 years,” said Mary Jean Duran, president of the Star-Vu Drive-In. Since its opening, the drive-in has become a popular place for families and friends to gather in their cars and watch movies the way their parents and grandparents did decades ago, Duran said. Duran said she enjoys bringing a piece of history to a generation that may have never had the chance to experience drive-ins. “We see a lot of college students that have never been to a drive-in and have no idea what to expect,” See DRIVE-IN Page 3
By Cameron Pemstein/Daily Titan Photo Editor
Customers watch movies from their cars at the Orange County Fairgrounds Drive-In Movie Theater.
Afro-Ethnic chairwoman inspires change and ideas Exploring Wiki as a legit source Julie Stokes hopes for a more deliberate way to deal with racial tension By GAIL NAVARRO
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
A vision swirls around in the head of Julie Stokes, first-semester Cal State Fullerton Afro-Ethnic Studies Department chair. She said supplying students with a little bit more knowledge promotes tolerance and understanding of different cultures. “As people become more educated and less ignorant about our history, our past and how it affects others, I believe we could make a difference,” Stokes said. After replacing long-time chair Wacira STOKES Gethaiga, Stokes said when people question authority figures and live proactive lives, then as a society, people can move closer to eliminating racism and stop it from spreading. She said this change could start as early as childhood when parents begin to teach their young ones. “They can educate their own
children,” Stokes said. “As the generations continue to mature, just as we’ve reached a point now where it’s not part of the social mainstream, as others continue to educate their kids, it will become more and more further removed from the public consciousness of this country.” However, the American public is well aware of racial tension due to recent events, such as the Jena 6 case in Louisiana and the noose hanging incidents at CSUF and in other college campuses in New York and Maryland. Stokes said it is just not enough for people to simply react by conducting peace protests and rallies because so much more needs to be done in the long haul. “There’s not a consistent effort to remedy this [racism] on a large, national scale,” Stokes said. “We’ll continue to see ourselves revisiting the same issues over and over again.” The newly-elected Afro-Ethnic Studies chair specializes in historical issues related to racism as a professor teaching classes on the subject. Stokes welcomed the opportunity of balancing between two leadership positions: chair and professor. “I like the versatility,” Stokes said. “My passion is teaching and the administrative role that I’m
now in allows me a greater oppor- and values that African-Americans tunity to organize course offerings hold here in the United States,” and invite other faculty to come to Stokes said. teach for us.” While only about 20 students Two faculty members started registered as Afro-Ethnic studies this fall semester: educator Jamel majors, Stokes said she hopes to Donner and historian Kendahl increase that number after students Radcliffe. realize the various jobs one can acDonner said she has the ability quire with an Afro-Ethnic studies to keep an open mind, which is degree, including an attorney, an important educator and a for the social worker. developIn addition, ment of students receive the Afrodiversity trainEthnic ing while in colStudies lege, which will Departbenefit graduates ment. in the work force – Julie Stokes, who need to un“I beCSUF Afro-Ethnic Studies dergo the same lieve her Chair h a r d type of training. working “It kind of disposigives them tion and [graduates] a willingness to hear multiple per- little extra edge compared to the spectives on a topic make her a person who only has a degree in a strong leader,” Donner said in an particular discipline,” Stokes said. e-mail interview. “I believe that the Stokes is not only a professor, Afro-Ethnic Studies Department but a role model to the students. is poised to be a major player in Her influence and presence in the CSUF’s academic scene.” department contributed to black Next semester, Stokes plans to leaders at CSUF, which includes introduce a minor that focuses on Tim Singleton, president of the Africa, mainly in the western re- Afro-Ethnic Student Association. gion. “She is vital to the African“[The minor will] show the re- American students and to their lationship between pre-colonial academic success on this campus,” Africa and some of the attitudes Singleton said.
“
I believe that the AfroEthnic studies department is poised to be a major player in CSUF’s academic scene.
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DTSHORTHAND
Former Cal State Fullerton professor dies at 77 CSUF Public Affairs Andrew F. Montana, emeritus professor of chemistry at California State University, Fullerton, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 77. He died Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, in Edmonds, Wash., his home state. Montana was one of the university’s early faculty members and played
a major role in shaping how science, in general, and chemistry, in particular, are taught on campus. “Andy loved the outdoors so much,” said his wife, Kay Montana. “He loved hiking and fishing and just being outdoors. Only his love of Cal State Fullerton and his students kept him there all those years.” Montana taught at Cal State Fullerton for 29 years, then returned to Washington when he retired from
the university in 1992. He won a number of awards and distinctions during his career, but he is best known on campus for three major achievements. He was instrumental in setting the standards for teaching and research that are still followed today, said Maria Linder, chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry. In addition, she noted how Montana was instrumental in the design and oversight of Dan
Black Hall and the development, along with university computer technician Jeffrey Buell, of the computer program Organic Reaction Mechanisms. The program, inspired by Montana’s drive to improve the educational experience of his students, animated dozens of chemical reaction mechanisms and was a teaching aid that could be used in computer See MONTANA Page 2
University of Washington professor has students write a Wikipedia article By CHRISTIN DAVIS
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Since its creation in 2001, Wikipedia has quickly become one of the most widely known and used reference Web sites, but it has yet to establish full reliability in the academic world. While many professors do not allow the site to be used as a credible reference in college–level courses, one professor at the University of Washington is having students write a Wikipedia article in lieu of a traditional term paper. The Web-based, free content encyclopedia project is known for its volunteer collaboration from writers around the world with over 8.7 million articles written in more than 250 languages. “Wikipedia stands or falls on the merit of a particular piece,” said Martha Groom, UW professor of interdisciplinary arts and sciences. “Being able to think about knowledge creation as a cooperative venture and participate in it makes the writing seem less like practice.” On Wikipedia, the same people who visit to find information also contribute information. Articles can be added and edited by anyone as long as they fit the editing policies and standards. Unreferenced facts are subject to removal as one thousand administrators constantly monitor the validity of writing and a judicial committee can take corrective measures if necessary. Because such a wide variety of See WIKIPEDIA Page 3