2008 04 07

Features, Page 3

Two students win ‘48 hours of madness’ film competition

Since 1960 Volume 86, Issue 34

Daily Titan

Monday April 7, 2008

The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

DTSHORTHAND HSS Week: Human Peace Sign event The college of Humanities and Social Sciences is organizing a human peace sign event on Tuesday, April 8 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to symbolize unity and friendship on campus.

The Middle Eastern Student Society will be providing henna peace sign tattoos for $1.00 each.

The Peace Corps will also be showing support.

All students are encouraged to take part in this event taking place at the ECS lawn near the broken statue of David.

Campus Life There are only three more chances to earn a spot in the Spring Texas Hold ‘Em Classic Tournament to be held Friday, May 9 in the Titan Student Union Underground at Cal State Fullerton.

The Hold’ Em Classic includes eight tournaments throughout the semester.

Participants will receive points based on their finish and the winners from each tournament will play in the Tournament of Champions this May. The eight winners plus eight additional players who accumulated the most points throughout the tournament will play until only one person remains.

Those interested in participating can call (714) 278-2144 beginning at 7 a.m. the day of the tournament or visit the Titan Bowl & Billiards desk.

Correction: There was a reporting error in

Thursday, March 27’s edition of the Daily Titan. The article called “Speaker touts traditional feminine roles” was incorrectly quoted.

Islam does not ask the women to stay home, cook or even clean the house. Islam says that the husband is the main provider, not the woman, and she has the right to stay home or work and can be replaced in any job except being a mom.

The Daily Titan regrets this mistake.

Wheelchair robber PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) Police are looking for a bank robber who favors a decidedly slow-speed getaway vehicle — an electric wheelchair. Police said a man in his 60’s with gray hair and a beard held up the Wachovia Bank branch at the Stanford Shopping Center late Sunday with a black handgun.

After the stickup, he left in his wheelchair and was last seen motoring down a nearby street toward El Camino Real.

Witnesses say the man's legs were wrapped in bandages and his right leg was sticking straight out while he zoomed away.

Investigators don't know whether the wheelchair was just a prop or whether the suspect was truly disabled.

WEATHER monday Partly Cloudy: High: 69, Low: 51

Tuesday Partly Cloudy / High: 66, Low: 49

Wednesday Sunny/ High: 67, Low: 51

thursday Sunny / High: 72, Low: 55

friday

Sunny/ High: 79, Low: 57

CONTACT US

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CSUF students come out to vote Curtis Schlaufman becomes the new ASI executive president

By ERIC BARTOLOME

Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com

Out of the 36,000 students who attend Cal State Fullerton, nearly 4,000 of them came out to vote for the ASI elections this year, marking a turnout unheard of since last decade.

This year’s turnout was the highest since the late 1990s and the number is more than 10 percent of the student body’s vote, said ASI Elections Commissioner Emel Shaikh.

On Thursday March 27, Shaikh announced that Curtis Schlaufman and running mate Mariam Marzara were the winners of the presidential elections with 57 percent of the vote.

Runner-ups Jay Carvin and Lindsey Kwek received 40 percent, with Ravi Parmar and Fabiola Quijano receiving the rest of the votes.

Shaikh said with 24 participants running for the positions, “every single seat will be filled on the Board of Directors.”

The teams from the two presidential campaigns set up tables, for two days for students to cast their votes electronically on laptops. Each campaign spent over $2,000 on the elections (received from personal finances and donations) to create advertisements such as T-shirts and posters.

After the announcement, Schlaufman shared his plans on working toward a better campus.

“I want to shape a future where all students can become involved and call [CSUF] home,” Schlaufman said. “I’m going to try and be a resource to as many student groups as possible and bring our campus together.”

Runner-up Carvin and Kwek came away from their perfor-

ASI President Curtis Schlaufman and ASI Vice President Maryam Marzara celebrating their victory in the 2008 ASI election.

mance proud of their efforts and determined to stay involved on the campus.

“I’ll definitely be making an impact one way or another,” Carvin said.

Although CSUF remains a commuter campus, Shaikh said she felt that the students who voted this year helped to move away from that stereotype.

Shaikh said the students who participated in the election process

showed “what it means to be an involved college student.”

ASI Board of Directors and ASI Executive President/VicePresident election winners College of the Arts * Dean Gertie 225 95% College of Business and Economics * Gary Harris 401 42% College of Communication

By DANIEL SUZUKI/Daily Titan Staff Photographer

* Chris Encell 221 37% College of Education * Beth Velasco 25 69% College of Engineering and Computer Science * Daniel Edwards 148 63% College of Health and Human Development * Gordhan Mahtani 432 95% College of Humanities and Social Science * Christine Hernandez 509 63% College of Natural Science and

Debate team compete in nationals at CSUF CSUF debaters needed just one more victory to reach the final 32

By JUSTINE LOPEZ

Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com

The smell of smoke permeated the Titan Student Union Pavilions as some of the top college debaters in the country stood outside smoking their cigarettes, eagerly waiting to learn which teams had been eliminated from the most important competition of the season.

The National Debate Tournament (NDT) was hosted by Cal State Fullerton during the last four days of March.

Seventy-eight teams qualified to compete in this year’s tournament, including one from CSUF. The eclectic crowd consisted of the most talented debaters from 49 universities across the U.S. Some students dressed in suits hoping to emulate professionalism, while others walked around with bare feet and unkempt clothes.

Despite their appearances, each team had the same goal – to win.

“The intensity is incredible. It is stressful and everybody that attends is respected,” said Brenda Montes, a student coach for the CSUF team and a double major in Chicana and Chicano studies and women’s studies.

Since the beginning of the debate season in September, each team dedicated countless hours to researching, practicing and competing, all in the hope of being the champion of the NDT. For some teams, all the intensive preparation led up to March 30, which marked the third day of the tournament and the first round of

Mathematics * Christopher Pokladnik (full year) 100 52% * Dustin Harrison (one semester) 71 38% ASI President/Executive Vice President * Curtis Schlaufman & Maryam Marzara 2213 57% Assistant News Editor Jade Lehar contributed in writing this story.

Group lobby for guns on campus The purpose for bringing weapons is debated by students and teachers

By THAO LE

Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com

By NICOLE PADILLA/For the Daily Titan Luis Magallon asks debate competitors from Michigan about the Iran nuclear program at the National Debate Tournament.

eliminations.

Despite their high hopes upon entering the tournament, sophomore Caitlin Gray and senior Luis Magallon of the CSUF team did not make the cut.

“They had a rough tournament, but Luis and Caitlin debated their best in every round,” Montes said.

“They don’t blame others for their losses and that is what makes them respectable throughout the nation.”

The pair competed in eight debates during the tournament – three on Friday, three on Saturday and two on Sunday.

In order to make it to the final 32, they had to win five debates.

They won four.

“There [are] always things that could have been done differently, but I think we did what we could,” Gray said.

Harvard, Emory, Northwestern and UC Berkeley were some of the teams that went on to compete in the finals March 31, with Wake Forest defeating Dartmouth to take home the grand prize.

While the CSUF team did not perform as they had hoped, the tournament did have its perks for Magallon, who was named one of the top speakers of the NDT. “The finish was disappointing, but Luis winning fourth speaker is

really something to be proud of,” said Jon Bruschke, the professor of human communication studies and coach of the debate team.

Out of the 1,500 college debaters who compete in the U.S. each year only the top 156 speakers qualify for the NDT. Awards for the top 20 speakers of the tournament were presented at a ceremony held March 30, where Magallon earned the No. 4 speaker award.

Magallon, a philosophy major, beat out the top debater from Harvard, who placed fifth.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had a student that has finished that high,” See DEBATES, Page 2

Headlines about violent killing sprees on college campuses have become almost common. Currently, 12 states are considering allowing people to carry weapons on campuses.

This may serve as a defense tool, but allowing guns on campus will not resolve the problem, according to some people at Cal State Fullerton.

USA Today said the Virginia Tech shootings last April sparked a dozen schools to consider allowing weapons on public universities.

State Legislatures are considering implementing a bill that would allow faculty, staff and students to carry concealed weapons.

Allowing guns on campus, however, will not help the problem, CSUF Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Jarrett Lovell said.

“It’s a false sense of security,” he said.

Students Concealed Carry on

See GUNS, Page 2

Page Two

2

April 7, 2008

IN OTHER NEWS GUNS: SAFETY IS THE MAIN CONCERN DEBATES: INTERNATIONAL Suicide attack in Sri Lanka kills 14 people

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) – A suicide bomber killed 14 people at an opening ceremony for a marathon Sunday, including a government minister who was nearing the starting line with a flag and a former Olympian. More than 90 others were wounded in the attack.

Officials blamed the bombing on the Tamil Tigers, rebels who have fought since 1983 for an independent homeland for the ethnic minority Tamils, marginalized for decades by successive governments run by majority ethnic Sinhalese.

The rebel group routinely denies attacks on civilians, and their spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

Scores of runners and onlookers had gathered at the starting line of the marathon in Weliweriya, about 12 miles from the capital, Colombo, as part of the national celebration of the upcoming Sinhalese New Year.

Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, the minister of highways and the ruling party’s chief whip, approached the starting line with a flag he planned to wave to start the race when the bomb exploded, witnesses said.

NATIONAL

Tear gas used at Michigan State party by police EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Police used tear gas early Sunday to disperse a crowd at a large party near the campus of Michigan State University after fights broke out and officers were pelted with bottles and cans.

Police said that 3,000 to 4,000 people had gathered for the Cedar Fest party late Saturday. They said 52 people were arrested and 48 others were ticketed for various offenses.

Nearly every officer at the scene reported being struck by a flying object, Police Chief Tom Wibert said.

Four small fires were reported and windows were smashed on two police vehicles.

Wibert said the injuries to some officers and party-goers were mostly cuts and bruises.

Authorities said the crowd became increasingly unruly after 1 a.m., and about 80 officers from various jurisdictions worked to contain the crowd.

Wibert said police initially used only loud, smoking munitions rather than tear gas to try to get the crowd to leave, but only about half of the people dispersed. Tear gas was fired at about 2 a.m.

Police said many of the troublemakers weren’t Michigan State students. Of the 52 people arrested, 28 had been identified as university students.

They could face charges ranging from disorderly conduct to inciting a riot.

More charges maybe reported after police review videotape.

STATE

Actor Charlton Heston dies at the age of 84

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Charlton Heston, the Oscar winner who portrayed Moses and other heroic figures on film in the ‘50s and ‘60s and later championed conservative values as head of the National Rifle Association, has died. He was 84.

The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said. He declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details.

“Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played,” Heston’s family said in a statement.

Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer’s disease.

From Page 1

Campus (SCCC), an Internetbased organization, supports the right for those who are licensed handgun holders to carry weapons on college campuses. The group is holding their second nationwide protest from April 21-25, calling for students to wear empty holsters to class. The first national “Empty Holster Protest” took place October 22-26 last year.

The organization is not only trying to increase support on colleges, but trying to voice it to others as well.

“We’re lobbying state legislators and school administrators in ‘rightto-carry’ states to vote for state laws and school policies that would allow concealed [weapons] on college campuses,” said W. Scott Lewis, the media coordinator for SCCC. Tweve states have bills pending, including Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Indiana. South Dakota’s bill was opposed by the State Senate Affairs Committee with a vote of 7-1. The other states include Arizona, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, South Carolina, Washington and Virginia, according to USA Today.

CSUF English major Laura Durica, 23, does not like the idea of allowing students to bring guns to school.

“I wouldn’t feel any safer,” Durica said. “But I wouldn’t feel scared if

I saw someone with a gun because you [would] know who has them.”

With more than 18,000 members nationwide in its Facebook group, 2,500 students have signed up to participate in the protest on over 500 campuses, Lewis said.

Legally licensed gun holders should have the right to defend themselves on campuses because they can be armed nearly everywhere else, according to SCCC. “Arbitrary ‘gun free’ zones only serve to stack the odds in favor of dangerous criminals who have no regard for state law or school policy,” Lewis said.

Among the 500 campuses joining the protest, universities in California that will be joining the demonstration in April include UCLA, USC, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego and Cal State Northridge, according the SCCC Web page on Facebook.

Since SCCC’s kickoff, Lewis said legislators in the states have considered SCCC’s argument. Serious debates have ignited among administrators and board members at a few smaller colleges.

Lovell suggests that the problem lies deeper than just allowing guns on campuses and that passing a new law would not make it any different.

“It fills the public with thinking they’ve solved the problem,” he said.

The energy would be better spent on bigger problems, those that actually take away people’s lives every day, Lovell said.

“If we want to avoid a premature death in the U.S., we have to target the real killers,” Lovell said. “Things such as lack of access to healthcare, car accidents, heart disease – Those are the stories we should be focusing on.”

Making new laws is pointless when people cannot even abide by the existing ones, Lovell said. Laws are always broken.

Opponents of SCCC believe that with more guns on campus, the level of violence may increase. Lewis, however, said otherwise.

Lewis suggested that there is no evidence to show that allowing concealed guns on college campuses would lead to more violence.

“Though we can’t say whether [carrying handguns] could prevent or mitigate any particular school shooting, sexual assault or hate crime, we can say that [carrying handguns] has the potential to even the odds,” Lewis said.

Marketing major Eugene Kwon, 22, is also against the idea of permitting guns on campus.

“It would distract me from learning,” Kwon said. “And I wouldn’t feel safe.”

The rest of this story can be found at the Daily Titan Web site at: www. dailytitan.com.

THE BESt ORATORS From Page 1

Bruschke said. “By any measure, that’s just astounding.”

The tournament marked the end of Magallon’s impressive career as a college debater.

While his team did not make it into the top 32, he still made an impression in the debating community.

“Everybody in the nation knows that Luis is one of the smartest – if not the smartest – debater in the nation,” Montes said.

Gray, a philosophy and business major, will return as the team’s top debater next year.

This year the 19-year-old was put in a “tough spot” when she was called on to replace Montes, who was named Debater of the Year last year, Bruschke said.

As the coach of the team, Bruschke has led the team to defeat some of the top competitors in the nation, including Harvard, USC and UC Berkeley.

With Gray at the head of the team, he said he expects the team to be a worthy competitor at next year’s NDT.

COP BLOTTER: A collision between two vehicles occur At 12:43 p.m. on Tuesday, a Dodge Ram collided with a sedan in parking structure two, but no injuries were reported and everything checked out OK. SUNDAY 2:11 a.m. – In the Willow dorm area, a party with alcohol was reported. The resident advisers nearby made the complaint to the police and the alleged party-goers were last seen heading for the elevators.

1:44 p.m. – On Almira Avenue

and Yorba Linda Boulevard. a police officer pulled over a car. The driver was cited.

MONDAY 12:37 p.m. − An officer initiated activity at the Denny’s restaurant located on East Nutwood Avenue The officer was assisted.

12:29 p.m. − A Blue Phone Emergency Call was placed near the Performing Arts building and the reporting party told police that he or she “was stuck.” After that, police said they gathered enough information to take care of the problem.

5:52 p.m. − At a routine traffic stop on East Nutwood Avenue near the College Park building, an arrest was made.

12:43 p.m. − A Dodge Ram collided with a sedan in parking structure two, but no injuries were reported and everything checked out OK.

TUESDAY

3:49 p.m. − Property vandalism

was reported when someone apparently tore up a periodical and threw it down to the first level in the library.

WEDNESDAY 7:06 a.m. − In McCarthy Hall on the sixth floor the men’s restroom was vandalized. A report was taken.

11:56 a.m. − A Blue Phone Emergency Call was made near the Arboretum Gift Shop. No voices were heard on the line. There was no call to service.

For the Record It is the policy of the Daily Titan to correct any inaccurate information printed in the publication as soon as the error is discovered. Any incorrect information printed on the front page will result in a correction printed on the front page. Any incorrect information printed on any other page will be corrected on page 2. Errors on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also will be noted on the online version of the Daily Titan.

Please contact executive editor Ian Hamilton at 714-278-5815 or at ihamilton@dailytitan.com with issues about this policy or to report any errors.

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April 7, 2008

Features

3

CSUF film students place first at ‘48 hours’ CSUF film students have 48 hours from start to finish to produce a short

BY Haley Barnett

Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com

After 48 hours of little sleep, constant filming and a lot of stress, two groups of Cal State Fullerton students placed in a San Diego-based film competition March 7.

The students had exactly 48 hours to write, cast, film and edit a fiveminute short film from start to finish.

The contestants had no prior information about the film they were about to make.

All 40 teams involved in the competition received an identical script.

Contestants were encouraged to adapt and rewrite the script while keeping the overall theme intact.

The producer of the TV-Film Society’s entry, Natalie Allsup, said she had an immediate reaction to the script.

“I hated the script from the beginning,” Allsup said.

The group’s director, Aaron Schlichting, saw many genre possibilities in the versatile script.

“The script was about death and reflection,” Schlichting said. “When I first saw it, I saw possibilities for a dramatic movie, maybe some interesting endings, but in the end we decided to do a comedy.”

Freshman film student Ryan Hogue and sophomore Corey Cooper entered the contest independent of the TV-Film Society.

Cooper possessed the official title of director and Hogue claimed the job of actor, but both students played multiple roles in the making of their film.

“You kind of do everything, especially when you’re film students. You don’t really have certain jobs. You just kind of run around and do as much as you can,” Cooper said.

Cooper and Hogue, who had en-

By Ryan Hogue/For the Daily Titan

tered the contest several times while attending the same San Diego high school, had an immediate vision for their movie.

“We kind of went with the theme of five minutes to live and played off of that and kind of made a more serious [movie],” Cooper said. “I felt like everyone always does comedies, so we took the more serious route, and it did turn out that most people did comedies.

Though the pair did stick to the premise of life’s final moments, they added their own dramatic ending.

“We had one guy telling two people they had five minutes to live, so time was running down,” Hogue said. “But then, finally, we had a twist at the end [...]”

After just 30 minutes of brainstorming, Cooper and Hogue had the idea for their script and headed to a thrift store to purchase their props.

“We got the script Friday. We didn’t even rush that much. We first drove down to San Diego,” Hogue said. “We just sat down at my house and spent the next five hours writing it […] probably by 11:00 at night we started filming.”

Working with approximately 20 people, the TV-Film Society took a more structured approach to tack-

ling the film-making process.

“Everyone just sat and threw ideas around all [Friday] night, and then we set up the schedule for the next day. Making an exact schedule really helped us out,” Allsup said. “Why it took so long is coming up with creative ideas to adapt what they sent, since creativity counts for 40 percent.”

With the scripts written, both teams began casting and filming their short creations.

“The head of the program told us that people are [casting] professionals and we were just like, ‘We’re just using our friends. That’s what we always do, and we’ll just see who can do it,’” Cooper said. “When we got the script we called, like, eight people to be the main guy and we finally got someone. So as far as actors, we didn’t really have that planned.”

Still missing two major characters, Hogue and his father agreed to be in the movie.

“I wasn’t going to act and then right at the last second they were like, ‘Ryan you want to be in it?’”

Hogue said.

Avoiding the lengthy process of receiving signed permission for locations, Cooper and Hogue creatively utilized what they had in a very small

amount of space.

“There’s supposed to be three different rooms, but we shot it differently and lit it slightly different. So it looks like different places, but it’s all in the same area,” Cooper said. “It looks like a big black room, but it’s really just a haggard garage.”

Using Cooper’s own camera and a $30 homemade crane, the team shot non-stop throughout the weekend.

The TV-Film Society began filming at 6 a.m. Saturday morning.

By early Sunday, Jason Chau said he felt the pressure to edit the film in time to get the project down to San Diego by 3 p.m.

“Once we have the tapes it’s a tight time frame that we have to edit the whole thing,” Chau said. “We finished shooting Saturday night at 10 and then we spent all night until we left at 12 p.m. the next day editing.”

Though the TV-Film Society entrants felt a major editing timecrunch, Cooper and Hogue pushed the time limits even further.

Facing last minute troubles burning their film onto a DVD, and with the three o’clock deadline looming, the team took drastic measures to get their piece in on time.

“We just took off and burned it on the way there on the laptop and

it worked,” Cooper said. “We didn’t even know if it worked. We went to introduce our film and we’re like, ‘Ah, hope this works because we have no idea. We haven’t watched it yet,’ and it did for some reason. Especially because, like, five other films had problems.”

With the films safely in the hands of the judges, all of the “48 Hours of Madness” participants joined together for a screening of all 40 films.

“I think that the coolest part is seeing what we made on this huge screen in front of a big audience,” Allsup said. “Everyone’s so tired for staying up for 48 hours and then we have to sit there and watch 40 films.”

As the screening was underway, Cooper and Hogue caught a glimpse of their tough competition.

After viewing a film that was shot in Las Vegas, Cooper thought, “We were done for good. After seeing that I thought we weren’t going to win.”

That thought, however, was wrong.

The CSUF duo were awarded first place by a panel of industry professionals, with the TV-Film Society team coming in third for audience choice.

With the exhausting experience complete, both teams look forward

Different scenes from the film “Betrayal” are cut into stills.

Ryan Hogue and Corey Cooper took first place at the“48 Hours of Madness” film festival in San Diego where contestants watched 40 fiveminute shorts.

to competing in the fast-paced competition once again.

“I’d definitely do it again,” Schlichting said. “Except I’d do much more pre-production. I’d have actors lined up and I’d have all the locations signed off.”

Content with their triumph in the competition, Hogue and Cooper would rather look forward to new projects then dwell on past successes.

“There are plenty of festivals out there for shorts and stuff, but it’s one of many projects we have,” Cooper said. “I’m already going to film another 10-minute short and then we’re doing a music video.”

When looking back at the film that was assembled from conception to final viewing in just 48 hours, the pair views the competition as a learning experience.

“Of course there’s small stuff you always wish you could change, but like I said – We’re using a crane that I made for, like, $30,” Cooper said. “You can’t really critique small stuff because I’m a sophomore, he’s [Hogue is] a freshman, so it gives us only room to grow from that point.”

Many of the contestants’ films can be viewed on YouTube by searching “48 Hours of Madness.”

OPINION

Titan Editorial Providing insight, analysis and perspective since 1960

Weighting for some help Cal State Fullerton has partnered with Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala in an effort to curb childhood obesity in Mexico.

In June, a mixed bag of faculty, graduate nursing students and a public health student will travel to the Tlaxcala, in part, to help promote obesity education and healthy eating habits in the region.

But offering one’s help is a tricky thing. It requires the assumption that the party offering to help actually knows what it’s doing, that it can set a good example and offer tried and true solutions.

This clearly, is not the case with America.

Now, CSUF’s students and faculty are probably well-trained and knowledgeable in their respective fields. But the idea that America should be offering up dietary advice to any other country is an absolute joke.

Only when we learn how to curb our own eating habits will we be able to help others.

In this country, around 66 percent of adults are either overweight or obese, according to a 20032004 study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Among children and adolescents, the number is approximately 16 Are you sure its only 16 percent.

That, boys and girls, is called an epidemic.

So it comes across as a bit out

Letters to the Editor:

of place, even hypocritical, when we hear that our best and brightest are shipping out to solve the weight crisis of some other population.

We simply have no right to export our strategies for weight loss when those strategies are not being implemented here at home.

It’s like parents who light up every hour telling their kids to stay away from cigarettes.

The only thing we can morally say to other countries is “don’t end up like us,” and that’s not a message we should be sending.

America has the necessary resources and strategies to fight this problem but, unfortunately, we exported all of our quality medical talent to Mexico. It’s the newest form of outsourcing.

If families stateside were getting the same dietary education as the good folks in Tlaxcala, Mexico, perhaps our obesity status will be downgraded from “epidemic” to something more manageable, like “occasional side effect of fast food.”

It is a noble thing to aspire to help people who truly need it. Tlaxcala is suffering a terrible epidemic of obesity itself and the problem needs to be addressed immediately.

But perhaps, just this once, America should turn its philanthropic efforts toward its own problems instead of acting like a volunteer for Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

Any feedback, positive or negative, is encouraged, as we strive to keep an open dialogue with our readership. The Daily Titan reserves the right to edit letters for length, grammar and spelling. Direct all comments, questions or concerns along with your full name and major to Opinion Editor Johnathan Kroncke at jkroncke@dailytitan.com

‘Small World’ is finally looking at big changes Disney’s ride needed a makover, but should still retain its classic nature

By Tanya Obermeyer

Daily Titan Staff Writer opinion@daily titan.com

"It’s a small world" at the Disneyland Resort is set to be remodled in the near future.

And I know most people, if this is breaking news, will be screaming "Thank God!" or "Who cares?"

I care, and just to clarify, it isn’t because I love the ride or that I frequent the Disneyland parks like it is going out of style – and it is.

To be honest, Disneyland is one of those places that I loved growing up in Southern California.

But now, I only visit the park when my lovely family from the Midwest comes to visit.

"Small world" is hardly my favorite ride.

I prefer "Splash Mountain" or "Space Mountain." I look for a ride with thrill and excitement.

Although, "Small world" is a traditional ride that you can’t not go on if you are visiting the park.

Sure, the outfits and decorations only change during the holidays and it seems slightly repetitive, but it is a classic, like Disneyland itself.

There is something about that sanctuary of a park that lets you revert back to childhood.

I have taken more American Studies classes and heard more horror stories about the little piece of utopia we call “the happiest place on Earth” than I ever cared to, but the fact remains that I love it.

I understand that the rides need revamping every now and then, so that the constant innovation that is Disneyland will continue.

I am hoping that the renovation brings small luxury changes like padding the plastic bench seats.

Perhaps figuring out how to keep the unnecessary water from splashing over the sides of the boats onto your lap at the most unexpected times might be nice.

I do hope, in the theme of keeping it classic, that they keep the music we all hate.

A remix of the theme song may be appropriate and appreciated.

I never understood how a large boat on a track in a small flat body of water could cause a splash, but I think we can agree that it makes for a day of soggy pants and ruins that feeling of utopia.

Disneyland has done this whole face-lift thing before and we have seen the repercussions.

Some of us may have to agree to disagree on the renovation of "Pirates of the Caribbean."

"Pirates of the Caribbean," yet another classic ride (but not a personal favorite of mine), was changed a few years ago.

My feeling is that it was done pretty much out of promotional hype for the series of movies that followed the renovation.

I can say personally that I went out of my way (without the Midwest family) to Disneyland to experience the new "Pirates" ride and also saw the movie when it came out.

Thinking about it now the hybrid of the renovation and movie promotion may have had some bearing on my decision.

The cross-promotion between the two made me feel socially obligated to become involved in all that was "Pirates."

I hope that the connection between the promotion of the re-vamp on "small world” doesn't lead to a movie deal.

Disney does have a tendency to connect the park to it's box office hits.

Case and point: "Finding Nemo."

I have yet to ride the submarines, but I do plan on it.

The only details released on the renovation plans are to incorporate the national pride and implement more Disney characters.

As for the rest of the ride’s renovation, let's hope that they do two things for the sanity of visitors and for the remaining utopia of the park: Keep it classic, and don't make a movie out of it.

April 7, 2008

America’s crisis of face The Bush adminstration’s policies have isolated us from the rest of the world

By Christin Davis

For the Daily Titan

opinion@dailytitan.com

I’d walked the Coliseum steps, across the rugged roads that once clenched the wheels of chariots and ended up fumbling my way through an order of stratciatella gelato – Italian ice cream.

The scruffy Italian man raised his eyebrow to me the entire time, scooped this improvement on ice cream and finally muttered with a not-so-sly undertone of disapproval, “You’re American, aren’t you?”

It was as if I had personally caused him anguish.

He rounded off the bodacious slab of Italian indulgence, handed it over the glass counter and asked, “What is Bush thinking?”

This man’s dissatisfaction with America didn’t surprise me, only one in three Italians have a positive view of U.S. influence in the world, according to the World Public Opinion Organization.

And it’s not just in Italy. International euphoria with the so-called benevolent superpower has steadily declined in recent years and is something that America needs to be acutely aware of.

I’ve spent time in 13 countries/ territories around the world and learned in each vastly different location – from the sophistication of London to an orphanage in Romania to the dirt-floored huts on the island of Chuuk – that one thing is for sure: Being from America is apparently a big deal.

When, on the streets of Hong Kong, I was stopped for the third time to take a photo with locals, an unavoidable fact made itself blatantly clear – People overseas pay atten-

tion to what we’re doing both here America's so-called war on terror – and abroad. and the unilateralism is represents – In the time of the Cold War, the is taking a negative toll on America’s world’s psychological climate was hegemonic image. one of fear. A sense of shared risk The Pew Research Center, a nonpersisted because everyone every- partisan organization that conducts where feared a third world war, es- public opinion polling to provide pecially with weapons capable of information on trends shaping ultimate destruction.

America and the world, coordinated In the eyes of the world, as long the Global Attitudes Project, which as the Soviet Union was the alter- surveyed 15 nations. native, there was always something It found that majorities in 10 of worse than the prospect of American 14 foreign countries said the war in domination.

Iraq has made the world a more danBecause of this, the U.S. was able gerous place. to retain a hold on power, more ofHowever, it also found the U.S. ten by invitation than imposition. continues to be extremely popular Now, the threat in today’s world throughout much of sub-Saharan is not as easily deAfrica, where posfined as the Soviet itive opinions in Union was then. countries like KeWe can’t sacrifice After Sept. 11, it our own safety, but nya (87 percent) was clear that the are higher than Cold War strat- we need to find less the U.S. itself (80 egy of containment threatening ways to percent). would not work pursue foreign policy.

Over half of the against terrorist people surveyed organizations like for a BBC News al-Qaeda.

TV program enThere is no way to contain an in- titled “What the world thinks of visible threat.

America” felt the U.S. was wrong to How can one possibly deter some- invade Iraq. one prepared to commit suicide When asked who is more dangerthrough diplomacy? ous to world peace and stability, the Feeling this danger of the un- U.S. was rated higher than al-Qaeda known led the Bush administration by respondents in both Jordan (71 to announce a new grand strategy percent) and Indonesia (66 perof preemption. The U.S. would act cent). multilaterally whenever possible, Obviously, that is not the case, but unilaterally to prevent future at- but perception plays a major role in tacks. international interactions.

It was necessary to act on our own The war in Iraq is not the only to protect American soil, but was not source of displeasure with the U.S. appreciated by other world powers.

Critics of the current administraNow, five years after America in- tion say Bush has also intensified vaded Iraq in March of 2003 with- unilateralism through tactless diout U.N. consent and with moti- plomacy in terms of shunning the vation based on faulty intelligence, Kyoto Protocol on global climate

“

It’s sad when old men still wish they were ‘new kids’ A day I never thought would ever come has, in fact, arrived.

Another favorite band of mine from my childhood has decided to reunite – New Kids on the Block.

Indeed, it seems the group has caught reunion fever, along with the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys.

The difference is that the Spice Girls, who ignited the trend, will easily be the most successful.

Though their tour was cut short, tickets sold out in minutes and the media swarmed all over the five ladies.

On the other end of the scale is the Backstreet Boys, who many probably don’t know are reunited (well, four of the five band mates anyway).

Sadly, the fact that they’re playing at the Minnesota State Fair for only $29 is sign enough of their current popularity.

New Kids on the Block, however, is a different story in my book.

There were three bands I was absolutely obsessed with leading

“

4

change, the International Criminal Court and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

The administration's singleminded determination to overthrow Saddam Hussein, despite widespread international opposition, and its reluctance to acknowledge the lack of any post-war plan in Iraq are only hurting the country, not helping as they were intended.

It seems, in the eyes of the rest of the world, the U.S. is now creeping close to the line of imposition.

If the world – especially the second-tier powers like China, Germany, France, India and Russia – begin to feel threatened by U.S. intentions, they may take steps to balance the power distribution in the world.

This concept of “soft balancing” – using economic and diplomatic institutions to limit power and establish conditions for further balancing – began with their decision not to support the Iraq War. If this continues, we could enter a world with powers more motivated to constrain the U.S. than to cooperate with us.

Whoever fills the Oval Office next has a big job ahead of them. The 44th president will need to reassure the world on behalf of the U.S. so that powers do not further align to limit the U.S. influence.

At the same time, they will also have to maintain the defense of the world’s status quo and America’s national security.

We can’t sacrifice our own safety, but we need to find less threatening ways to pursue foreign policy.

One day, the Italian man in the gelato shop may even smile when greeting Americans.

For now, we will have to wait for that day to come.

The Gossip Girl

up to my high school years – New Kids on the Block, the Spice Girls and ‘N Sync.

Of those three groups, ‘N Sync is now the only band to remain separated, but the Spice Girls were absolutely amazing in their concert last December.

And then there’s New Kids on the Block, whom I surprisingly have no desire to see.

This coming from a girl who slept on their bed sheets, played with their Barbie-style dolls and cried when she saw them perform on television.

I was infatuated and yet, I think my sentiment will reflect many others.

Though there is a good amount of media attention surrounding their reunion, I don’t foresee much frenzy over ticket or CD sales.

The fact of the matter is that they are old. They’re five old men who shouldn’t be pretending to be young teen pop sensations.

And I know what you’re going to say – the Spice Girls are just as old as they are.

But the Spice Girls are on a whole other level than any other band.

Maybe I’m just biased, but they have girl power, charisma and unique personalities that have stood the test of time, which was reflected in the popularity of their recent tour.

And instead of being as ecstatic as I was when the Spice Girls reunion was announced, I am only saddened now with the rebirth of New Kids on the Block.

I look at those five men, who are all almost 40 years old, and realize just how much they’re struggling with the downfall of their careers.

They were all out of the limelight, probably depressed with the state of their lives, and thought "What better way to stir things up in our stagnant lives than to do a reunion tour?"

Difficulty accepting one’s declining popularity has been speculated in other celebrity gossip as well.

Police were called to Heather Locklear’s home on suspicion of suicidal behavior, though her rep denied such claims about Locklear’s mental state.

Suicide attempt or not, it makes sense for some stars to get depressed over their dwindling careers.

For celebrities, I can’t imagine

By Amy Robertson opinion@dailytitan.com

it being about a lack of income when their careers go down the drain because most of them should have already made enough to last a lifetime.

Instead, it’s about self worth.

For some stars, the amount of attention given to them validates them as people.

Lindsay Lohan said it herself in an interview with Nylon magazine when she said she wouldn’t know what she would do if people stopped paying attention to her.

I have one idea of what not to do though, and that’s to not do a reunion tour with your band from 20 years ago.

The New Kids’ comeback is about as necessary as my fiveyear high school reunion. If they needed something to do, they should have just started a clothing line like everyone else.

New rec center creates no sense of pride, unity

By Paul Aranda Jr.

Daily Titan Staff Writer opinion@dailytitan.com

On March 12, Cal State Fullerton, after a long delay, opened its brandnew student recreation center.

The new center, as described in the Daily Titan as a state-of-the-art facility, was designed to provide a better campus experience for students.

It is no secret that, despite a student enrollment of 36,091 for the spring semester, CSUF is a commuter campus that lacks a vibrant campus community life.

The new rec center falls a little short of creating that campus life experience.

It must be noted that there is evidence that the efforts of current Associated Students Inc. Executive President Heather Williams to improve this problem is paying off.

Membership in the Titan Tusk Force committee was reported at record levels last fall.

This committee is responsible for cultivating school pride through various activities throughout the school year, such as tailgates before CSUF sporting events.

This semester ASI launched the Titan Rewards Program, which

was designed to increase turnout at CSUF sporting events. While there has not been a dramatic overnight transformation, clearly there are signs of progress.

This is where our brand-new rec center comes in the picture. In order to avoid repeating what has already been mentioned plenty of times, this new center is nice, and there is plenty of good to say about it.

All things considered, this center will provide the campus a social gathering spot, which should help transform this commuter campus of ours into that idea we all had of college when we were younger.

The problem is there are no signs of CSUF anywhere. The center is wrapped under layers of beige and green, instead of the school’s official colors – blue and white.

The employees dressed in their rec center uniforms look like they are working at Sportmart.

I bring this up not as an attack on ASI, the Titan Student Union or any of the construction workers who built the center.

The center looks great, it just doesn't say CSUF. If one of the goals of the center was to improve the campus environment against the plaque that is

the commuter campus label, then it should follow that the center should be about CSUF. The old fitness center in the kinesiology building may not have been as sexy as the new center, but nothing gets you more pumped up than seeing a juiced-up Tuffy with a workout towel.

Anyone who ever worked out in a high school weight room remembers how the walls were covered in school colors with menacing pictures of the mascot to promote school pride.

The old fitness center had this same appeal. The walls are covered in orange and blue. The university name is in big bold letters.

As nice as the new center is, once you are inside, there is no evidence that you are even at CSUF. If you want to connect students to their campus, then you should let them know they are on that campus.

Perhaps this neutral design of the center is due to the idea that the center is not just for students.

Membership to the new student rec center is available to the general public.

It could very well be that the planning committee figured they could generate more revenue if they creat-

ed an anonymous environment that would be inviting to non-students.

If this is the case, then was it created for me or someone who lives down the street and is looking for an alternative to their high-priced Bally's contract?

There are other issues that have cropped up with the new center that can easily be improved.

There is no water fountain in the weight room. The old fitness center had two.

There is not enough free weight equipment in the new center. Too much of the equipment is designed for casual workouts.

There are plenty of weight-assisted machines, which lighten the load during the exercise.

For students who are more advanced, these machines offer little more than a warm-up.

There are no non-assisted dip bars in the center and there is only one station to do non-assisted squats.

The old fitness center had three stations.

These are, of course, minor details that can easily be fixed and there may plans to address them.

It just seems that as nice as this new center is, it still leaves a little more to be desired.

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April 7, 2008

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SPORTS

6

Think Different. Think Simon.

Why Memphis will win it all and Rose will win tournament MVP by simon liang

Sports Columnists

sports@dailytitan.com

The Final Four is always the marquee sports event of spring and this year featured an unprecedented four No. 1 seeds. Kansas and Memphis fought their way to the final and they deserved it after knocking out two tournament juggernauts in North Carolina and UCLA, who have 15 NCAA championships between them.

The Kansas Jayhawks are without a doubt the deepest team in college basketball. They play great defense but barely made it to San Antonio with a close win over Davidson and a lackadaisical secondhalf effort against North Carolina in the national semifinal game.

They have two future NBA stars in Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush. Arthur’s athleticism and explosiveness put him above the rest, but he is wildly inconsistent and will need to have a big game in order for the Jayhawks to be successful.

Rush is a super talented guard who can knock down the three or take his man off the dribble. He tested the NBA draft waters last year, but made a good decision to come back because he has improved tremendously.

Another crucial player is Darnell Jackson. His main task will be to keep Memphis off the boards and be intimidating inside. Joining Jackson in the middle are two 6-foot-11-inch centers in Sasha Kaun and Cole Aldrich. Both are solid rebounders and capable of altering shots.

The Jayhawks have the best defensive back-court in the country in Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson. Chalmers, the second leading scorer on the team, makes good decisions with the ball and attacks the basket. Sherron Collins is their spark plug off the bench.

The key for Kansas is to knock down the three and not allow Memphis to get easy baskets in transition. Memphis is the most

athletic team in the tournament and their high-octane offense is hard to stop. They had a scare against Mississippi State, but beat Michigan State, Texas and UCLA in convincing fashion. As a result, they come into this game with all the momentum on their side.

All-American Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts is a nightmare match-up for any team.

“CDR” handles the ball extremely well and has an array of moves. He is also long and deceptively quick off the dribble.

On the inside, Joey Dorsey is aggressive and strong, much like Ben Wallace of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although he scored zero points against UCLA, he had 15 rebounds and 2 blocks while containing Kevin Love. He will need to crash the offensive boards and contain the Kansas big men.

Dorsey’s frontcourt mate Robert Dozier is an athletic shot blocker who will provide problems for Kansas inside.

The ‘x-factor’ for Memphis is guard Antonio Anderson. He will probably be given the task of guarding Rush, but will also need to knock down shots and stay aggressive on the offensive end.

The most pivotal part of this team, of course, is freshman sensation Derrick Rose. He is strong, quick and a magician with the ball.

Rose is the definition of a point guard. If I had the first pick in this year’s draft, I would pick him over Michael Beasley.

Memphis went to the Elite Eight last year and it is because of Rose that they are playing in the national championship game this year. Chalmers and Robinson are excellent defenders, but the only players who can stop Rose are in the NBA already.

My pick is Memphis over Kansas for one reason and one reason only – Rose. I’m sure all the critics are kicking themselves for saying that Memphis didn’t play anyone tough during the season, that their conference is weak and that they would be the first No. 1 seed to lose.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Memphis is taking the title and the NCAA tournament MVP will be Rose.

April 7, 2008

Titan bats fall short against UCR Softball loses Sunday but wins weekend series over UC Riverside 2-1 by jon castillo

Daily Titan Staff Writer sports@dailytitan.com

The bats of the Cal State Fullerton softball team fell short on Sunday following two monster offensive games on Saturday.

CSUF completed its three-game series against UC Riverside with a 6-4 loss Sunday at Anderson Family Field after sweeping the doubleheader on Saturday. The loss dropped the Titans’ Big West Conference record to 2-4. They are 18-19-1 overall.

“We really wanted to come out [and] just definitely try to pound on Riverside. We did yesterday and then maybe came out a little flat today, expecting to take the win easy,” senior infielder Crystal Vieyra said.

Titans freshman starting pitcher Christine Hiner (9-9) pitched her

third consecutive game in the loss after picking up two wins on Saturday. She gave up six runs on 10 hits while striking out four.

“When a team sees a pitcher three games in a row, if they are good enough, they should be making adjustments -- and they did that today,” Titans Head Coach Michelle Gromacki said.

Highlanders’ starting pitcher Christin Songer (6-5) allowed four runs on seven hits over five innings before giving way to Marissa Alvidrez, who picked up the save (2) with her two innings of work. The win for UCR was the first in conference play since 2006, a streak that ran 27 consecutive games until Sunday.

UCR took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a bloop single down the left field line by center fielder Krystal Marquez. The Highlanders put another run on the board in the fourth inning on a two-out home run over the left field fence by second baseman Taylor Thomas to make it 2-0.

UC Riverside loaded the bases in

the sixth inning, setting up a threerun frame to take a 5-2 advantage.

The Highlanders got the runs on a pair of pinch-hit singles from utility player Brooke Hebenton and infielder Amanda Klimczak.

The Titans responded by loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth with singles from senior designated player Kiki Munoz and junior catcher Lauren Lupinetti and a walk to senior center fielder Jenna Wheeler.

Vieyra was target of yet another softball as she was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat, driving in a run to make it 5-3. She broke the school record of 47 on Saturday after getting hit twice. She has now been hit 50 times in her collegiate career. She needs five more to move into second place on the NCAA’s career list.

“I’ve always had the same stance … the ball is just attracted to me,” Vieyra said.

The Highlanders were able to get its first out of the inning at the plate when the Titans tried to score on a passed ball. Doucette then came

through with a one-out pinch-hit RBI single, making it 5-4, but a runner was thrown out at the plate as the Titans went for the tie.

UC Riverside’s Alvidrez, who entered the game in the sixth inning, helped her own cause with a solo home run in the seventh for a 6-4 lead. The Titans threatened with a two-out rally in the seventh with runners at first and second before Alvidrez induced a groundout back to her, ending the game.

“We fell short, but we battled through the whole game,” Craddick said. “We both came out and hit.”

CSUF scored 18 runs in the first two games of the series in its 11-0 and 7-3 victories. The win on Saturday snapped a season-long fourgame losing streak.

“Yesterday (Saturday) was fantastic and I think our preparations this week led us to those results,” Gromacki said.

The Titans will continue play on Wednesday against Loyola Marymount at 6 p.m. at Goodwin Field.

CSUF earns come-from-behind victory Titan baseball wins 2 of 3 against Orange County rival UC Irvine by tom sheridan

Daily Titan Staff Writer sports@dailytitan.com

The one-two punch of Josh Fellhauer and Christian Colon helped Cal State Fullerton climb out of a big hole and pull off a 6-4 comefrom-behind Big West Conference win over UC Irvine on Sunday at Anteater Ballpark.

“We really showed a lot of courage,” CSUF Head Coach Dave Serrano said. “We were dead in the water 4-0 with four mini-frames left and we found a way to get the mentality back to where it needed to be.”

With Sunday’s win the No. 25 Titans took two out of three from the No. 5 Anteaters. CSUF won 12-5 on Friday and lost a heartbreaker in extra innings 3-2 on Saturday.

“Two teams, toe-to-toe all weekend long. It was great for Orange County to see a series like this,” Serrano said.

In Friday’s 12-5 win, Jeff Kaplan (4-1) held UCI to four runs on seven hits while striking out five. The Titans’ bats were the real story, though.

Fellhauer collected three hits, three runs and three RBIs. Erik Komatsu was perfect at the plate with a fourfor-four night that got him two RBIs and three runs scored.

“Coming in we knew it was going to be a big series, them being a top team in the nation and coach [Serrano] being their old coach,” Komatsu said. “We knew it was going to be a hard series to win, so we just came in here prepared and just battled.”

In game two on Saturday the Titans went up 2-1 in the top of the twelfth inning when Corey Jones singled home Colon, but the Anteaters battled back and scored two of their own in the bottom half of the inning to win it 3-2.

“We wanted to treat it like a super

regional, the best two-out-of-three goes on,” Fellhauer said.

Sunday’s 6-4 series clincher didn’t look good early for the Titans. UCI put up two runs in the second on singles by Sean Madigan and Josh Tavelli and CSUF couldn’t get anything going offensively. The Anteater’s Jeff Cusick made it 3-0 with an RBI double in the third and Tony Asaro pushed home UCI’s fourth run of the game when he was walked with the bases loaded in the fifth.

That was all the runs Cory Arbiso (5-2) would allow for the game and the Titans finally gave him some help in the top of the sixth.

“I thought for the first part of the game they were playing harder than us,” Serrano said. “Somewhere in the middle innings the momentum switched, and good for us that it switched in our favor.”

Fellhauer put CSUF on the board when Colon singled him in to make the score 4-1. The Titans were just getting started and took the lead in their next at-bat.

Chris Jones sparked a four-run seventh with a single and a stolen base. Dustin Garneau singled him home then scored on a double down the line by Gary Brown. Brown tied the game at 4-4 after a Fellhauer single, then that deadly combo at the top of the Titans’ batting order struck again. For the second time in as many innings, Colon singled in Fellhauer, and the Titans took their first lead of the game 5-4.

Corey Jones gave CSUF an insurance run when Garneau laid down a safety squeeze bunt that froze Anteater’s first baseman Cusick and allowed Jones to scamper in from third base, making it 6-4.

Travis Kelly came on in relief of Arbiso and pitched two perfect innings with one strikeout.

“We’re playing good baseball at the right time and that’s really important,” Serrano said.

The Titans next game is Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a non-conference game at the University of Southern California.