Features, Page 6 Bands battle in the TSU Underground
Since 1960 Volume 86, Issue 33
Daily Titan
Thursday March 27, 2008
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
DTSHORTHAND Cesar Chavez Day
Cesar Chavez Day will be celebrated on Monday at the Becker Amphiteater with Aztec dancers, Ballet Folklorico, keynote speakers, music, food and activities for children. Organized by the Cal State Fullerton Chicano Resource Center, Mesa Coopertiva and Forth’ Right Productions, the event will be free of charge from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Volunteer and Service Center will also be working with local school children in Irvine on Monday. They will harvest produce in order to help feed the hungry from 8:30 to 11 a.m. For more information or to volunteer, contact the Volunteer and Service Center at 714-278-7623 or visit the Titan Student Union Room 2.
Celebrating their role as women
Subsidized school lunch programs may not be accepted by students By THAO LE
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Inmate Greeting Cards LOS ANGELES (AP) - Finding it hard to express just the right sentiment to your loved one in prison? Attorney Terrye L. Cheathem noticed a market Hallmark wasn't serving and founded Three Squares Greetings, which provides cards for inmates. "With more than 2.5 million people incarcerated in the Unites States today, I saw that there was a tremendous need," she said. Some express simple good wishes: "We are all praying for you while you do your time." A Christmas greeting partly reads: "You had the choice to be 'naughty or nice.' And you chose ... Oh well, now you have to do your time." Cheathem said she came up with the cards when her brotherin-law served 11 months in prison. She said she went searching for the appropriate greeting card, but couldn't find what she was looking for. "There weren't any cards on the shelf that said anything like, 'Hey, you must make better choices,'" she said. Cheathem designs and writes the cards and sells them online and at a handful of stores across the nation. “This is one product no one wants to receive and no one wants to buy, but if you need it, it’s there,” she said.
Ask the candidates
Tune in to the Daily Titan Multimedia page to watch students ask ASI presidential candidates questions of concern and see how they are answered. Among the questions students asked are: What does ASI do? What would the candidates do with tuition money? How would they lower the price of books? Why do their positions matter?
WEATHER Thursday Sunny/ High: 71, Low: 50
friday Partly Cloudy/ High: 71, Low: 52
saturday Sunny/ High: 70, Low: 51
sunday Partly Cloudy/ High: 69, Low: 49
monday Sunny/ High: 70, Low: 50
CONTACT US
Main line: (714) 278-3373 News desk: (714) 278-4415 Advertising: (714) 278-4411 E-mail: news@dailytitan.com
Saving face, but staying hungry
PHOTO By SEAN BELK/Daily Titan Staff Writer CSUF alumni Nuha Sweidan, far left, laughs with a group of friends, playing musical instruments during a presentation about traditions and beliefs of Muslim women.
Muslim women speak at CSUF about preserving tradition By SEAN BELK
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
With many women joining today’s job market, Muslim public speaker and educator Maria Khani said there is one position that shouldn’t be replaced: being a mother. She said the Muslim culture encourages women to stay home, cook, clean and care for their children, rather than find a job, so the fabric of family stays intact. “I have one role in life, he [her husband] has one role in life, and we come together,” Khani said. “If every family breaks down, we will not have a community.” Khani, who has spoken to students about social issues for more than 11 years, gave a presentation, “Muslim Women in the 21st Century,” at Cal State Fullerton’s Pavilion C auditorium Tuesday. The event, titled “Through Her Eyes,” was sponsored by the Muslim Student Association in celebration of women’s month. Colorful displays offered a chance to taste food, hear music and see the fashions of Arabian countries and cultures. Groups of Muslim women wore authentic Moroccan wardrobes, known as kaftans. A kaftan is a long garment with a hood. In addition, the event exposed some of the traditions and some
PHOTO By SEAN BELK/Daily Titan Staff Writer A copy of a traditional Koran with Moroccan tablature was on display Tuesday in Pavilion C at CSUF.
misconceptions about Islam. Although the speaker tackled such hard-hitting issues as women’s rights and values, MSA President Kevin Santos Flores said he was disappointed to see such a low turnout for a subject that needs to be discussed. “I thought more people would be interested,” Santos Flores said. “One of the things for me is that in the Muslim community, and just in general, the women are viewed as oppressed, or weak, but people don’t know. Women play an important role. They have a huge influence on
how their kids turnout to be.” Khani came to California 20 years ago and then began teaching about social sciences as a public speaker. Modern women living in America, she said, are edging out men in the job market, which is not conducive to a healthy family environment. “We are living in a society where women compete with the husband,” Khani said. “If women are going to work then men cannot find a job.” Relationships between men and women are also different than other cultures, said Muslim woman and
CSUF alumni Nuha Sweidan. A woman can’t marry a man outside of the Muslim faith, but a man can, she said, because women have a higher chance of converting than men. The belief is to respect women’s freedoms. “It’s in order to protect the rights of the woman,” said Sweidan, an Irvine resident. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States, Khani joined a program that provides information about Islam, offering a venue for young students to ask questions. One of the most common questions asked, she said, is whether Muslim women are mistreated. Khani said she “personally, doesn’t see that,” and women should read the Koran or the Bible to gain knowledge about their rights. “I always say you have to know about your religion to stand up for your rights, or you get abused,” Khani said. “...It’s happening.” Today, Khani said it is religious beliefs and values that will help future generations. “I feel we are so blessed to be Muslim and to practice,” Khani said. “I strongly believe that Islam gave me the reason for my life. I feel that I can make a difference. And I always say behind a great woman is a great man.”
Debate teams prepare for competition CSUF hosts the national tournament for the first time in school’s history By MARISSA WILLMAN
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
The National Debate Tournament, the final showdown of the 2007-2008 debate season and considered the most prestigious tournament, will be held at Cal State Fullerton March 28 - 31 with two CSUF finalists debat- MAGALLON ing in the competition. Luis Magallon, a senior philosophy major, and Caitlin Gray, a
sophomore double majoring in philosophy and business, qualified for the NDT and will represent CSUF’s Debate Team in the tournament. “This is our equivalent to March Madness,” Jon Bruschke, a professor who coaches the Debate Team, said. “The main thing about this tournament is there will be winners and losers this time; it is not just a discussion.” CSUF was selected to host the 2008 NDT as a part of the campus’ 50th anniversary celebration. The tournament was held yearly at the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1947 to 1966 before moving to a different campus each year. “Sixty tournaments throughout the season have led up to this weekend,” Bruschke said. “It will crown the national champion.” Though CSUF has made a name for itself in the debate community with its unorthodox adoption of performance-based debate, which
the team has often been criticized for, Bruschke said the debate community was supportive of holding the debate season’s final tournament at CSUF. “They were very positive,” Bruschke said. “They were sure we would do a great job and they appreciate the history of debate that CSUF has.” The top 78 teams in the nation will compete in this weekend’s tournament, including the two-person team from CSUF. “It’s really tough [to get to the NDT] since only so many students can qualify,” Brenda Montes, a debate coach majoring in Latino studies and women’s studies, said. “Our district is also tough because we’re grouped with USC and Berkeley.” Magallon is a President’s Scholar and has debated for his entire college career. He began debating in high school through CSUF’s debate outreach program, the Southern California
Urban Debate League, which brings debate to underprivileged high schools in Orange County. “When Luis was in high school, he had no expectation of going to college,” Bruschke said. Magallon credited his success in college to his continued involvement with SCUDL and debate. “If it wasn’t for debate, I wouldn’t be in college,” Magallon said. Magallon came to the United States from Guadalajara, Mexico, when he was four years old and did not take classes in English until he was in sixth grade. “I was in ESL [English as a Second Language] classes from third to fifth grade,” Magallon said. “I grew up speaking only Spanish... but because of the ability to speak I learned through debate, I was able to impress the President’s Scholars committee.” He was one of the top 20 speakers in the nation his sophomore and See DEBATES, Page 2
During their adolescent years, most students go through a phase of trying to fit in and impress fellow peers. For those entering junior high or high school, however this is a norm that affects their eating habits and health. In a school year, about 30 million students participate in the National School Lunch Program in 101,000 schools. About 17.5 million students receive free or reduced-priced school lunches, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Since 2001, more than 2 million children have been added to the program. Accepting subsidized meals from the government has presented a negative social image for many students who cannot afford to pay. These federally funded meals are based on the number of people in a household and family income. Even if they qualify for free or reduced food, many prefer to go hungry than to be identified with the inability to pay. “I think that is sort of a long term problem and a social problem,” Eric Peterson, director of public awareness of the School Nutrition Association said. “It extends beyond the meals, [into] their social settings, things that make them look different - that’s the issue.” Lynelle Grumbles, the president of California Nutrition Association said that schools are to blame for this issue. They are not educating students about supporting one another. “They should teach social acceptance,” Grumbles said. “[About] accepting people’s difference[s] and social tolerance - making fun of someone who gets free meals is like making fun of your color.” As students progress to a new grade level each year, they are more opinionated, Gary Cardinale, assistant superintendant of business services of the Fullerton School District for K-8 said. “You will find the higher the age, [it is] a chain you go up [in school], the more stigma kids have against accepting [the subsidized] meals,” he said. The Fullerton School District tries to protect a student’s anonymity by issuing them a unique PIN number, which ensures that no one gets identified with subsidized lunches, he said. The PIN number system has been used in the Fullerton District for eight years and there are no segregated lines for reduced meals, said Lisa Saldivar, director of food services. At Nicolas Junior High School in Fullerton, 75 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced meals participate daily, Saldivar said. “I believe if you offer good food, students will eat,” she said. Grumbles, who is also Director of Nutrition Services in the Visalia school district located in central California, said her school does not have separate lines for paying and non-paying students. She said students in her district use a PIN number as well to get their lunches, that way, no one knows who receives free lunches. Around 60 percent of schools nationwide have automated PIN number systems, Peterson said. “Schools are moving towards a popular, more effective system,” he said. The systems use either a PIN number or a type of debit card. For those who do not qualify for free See LUNCHES, Page 2