2008 10 14 by Daily Titan

SPORTS: Page 6

Women’s volleyball wins their fourth straight

Since 1960 Volume 87, Issue 24

OPINION: SNL’s satirical interpretation of the election influences voters, page 4 FEATURES: U.S. ambassador talks to students about foreign relations, page 3

Daily Titan

Tuesday October 14, 2008

The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

DTSHORTHAND Campus Life The Women’s Center is hosting a workshop that will help young women learn how to examine for breast cancer at noon in UH 205. This presentation by the O.C. Chapter of The Susan G. Komen Foundation will educate women about breast cancer statistics. It will provide information on how to practice good breast health behaviors. Resources for free mammograms will be offered. For more information contact Sue Passalacqua at (714) 2783651. Only 40 seats are available for this event.

A worsening economy turns cheap into chic KANSAS CITY (MCT) – The economy hasn’t had an effect on Jennifer Sommers’ salary. Nor is she spending less. She is, however, more selective about her purchases. Sommers now shops the sale racks at Urban Outfitters instead of the latest arrivals, eats at a local cafe instead of more expensive restaurants, and waits for movies to come out on DVD instead of going to the theaters. She also rides her bike nearly everywhere she goes. “I still pretty much spend on the same stuff. But I think I’m spending a little wiser,” said Sommers of Kansas City. Welcome to the new frugality. An uncertain economy, marked by higher food and energy costs, unpredictable politics, volatile financial markets and tightening credit, is having a chilling effect on many consumers. In good times, consumers drive about 70 percent of all economic activity through their spending decisions. Now, shifting shopping patterns will help determine whether a wobbly economy officially dips into recession. Almost every retail spending category was down or flat in August, according to TNS Retail Forward, a market research firm based in Columbus, Ohio.

Only if every terminal was a: ‘Terminal Trip’

Pell Grants are nearly cut in half Federal funds do not compensate for a spike in financial aid applications By Damon Lowney

For The Daily Titan news@dailytitan.com

The Federal Pell Grant Program may need an increase of up to $6 billion due to an influx of college students enrolling and turning to financial aid during the current eco-

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In the future, loans will get him by, he said. “I don’t mind because my education is an investment,” Moreno said of the acquired debt. As the economy worsens and tuition increases, more students are still attending college and relying on financial aid programs, such as Pell Grants. About 800,000 more students had applied for grants by July 31 than at the same time last year, See PELL GRANT Page 2

‘Miracle workers’ take 1st By chrystal henderson For the Daily Titan

news@dailytitan.com

By Brian Lichterman/For The Daily Titan Staff The history of Newport Beach can be seen through artistic interpretation and is preserved in a cleverly designed medium at the base of the city’s pier. There are empty spaces that are intentionally left on the display that are meant for future documentation. See related story on page 3

Housing plans complicate parking Lot E will be partially closed during construction, students told to deal with it For the Daily Titan

TODAY

semester, an option she has tried to avoid throughout her college career. David Moreno, a junior, receives the maximum Pell Grant award of $4,731. He held a job in previous years during college, but he felt overwhelmed and suffered from lack of sleep. Although Moreno doesn’t hold a job now, he would consider one if he did not receive a Pell Grant. For the first time in his college career, Moreno took out a $5,500 loan to help with school.

Although an underdog, the debate team left their season opener victorious

news@dailytitan.com

WEATHER

eral years,” McCracken said in an email interview. Of these recipients, 54 percent receive the Pell Grant, which is 23 percent of the roughly 36,000 students attending CSUF. Senior Rebecca Loera relies on federal aid to get her through the year. She doesn’t work, so her $1,200 Pell Grant pays a big chunk of her tuition. If she didn’t receive a Pell Grant, she said, “I would have to find some other way to pay for my books and my car.” Loera had to take out her first student loan this

History preserved through art

By Derin Richardson

One traveler posted this video of a psychedelic airport terminal. He wrote that he “sat in the middle of the aisle ... and was drawn in to the strange, hypnotic, visual display, with trance music that coincided.” If every terminal featured these visually stimulating effects, maybe travelers would be less concerned about layovers. It was not mentioned what airport this was recorded at.

nomic crisis, according to the New York Times. As of Oct. 3, $11.1 million in Federal Pell Grants had been split between 7,419 students at Cal State Fullerton, Deborah McCracken, director of CSUF’s Financial Aid Department, said. This would amount to about $1,500 per student, nearly half of last year’s average. “Forty two percent of the campus population receives some type of financial aid assistance, which has been the case for the past sev-

Parking may become more of an issue for students because of the Cal State Fullerton Housing Authority’s plans to demolish some of Lot E for a new student housing project. The Student Housing Phase III, which is expected to begin during December and be completed in fall of 2011, is going to be constructed over a portion of Lot E, the second largest parking lot in comparison to Lot A on State College and Yorba Linda Boulevard. “I can see how there’s some logic to it, but I really don’t see how

the ratio of how many commuter students to residential students we have, would give you a reason to tear down a parking lot, especially when parking is so bad,” Lauren Scott, a CSUF senior, said. Scott, a 21-year old English major gets to school at 7:30 a.m. during the week to avoid the competitive hunt for parking spaces and feels that it is an unnecessary thing for a commuter, like herself, to have to go through. According to design plans, the outlook of the project is aimed to rehash the classic feel of student housing life, proposing a central kitchen/dining area as well as double-occupancy rooms that share a bathroom. The five-story complex will also have a conference room and mail room for students and faculty. The design of the complex was

conceptualized by Steinberg Architects, with the construction being overseen by PCL Contractors and with an estimated budget of $120 million, according to Cal State Fullerton’s online magazine, Inside. Both Steinburg Architects and PCL Contractors won the competition that the Trustees of CSUF conducted in January of this year in search of a designer/builder team to carry out the production of the housing project. The original project manager of the first phase in the student housing, Steven Chamberlain, is in charge of overseeing this project. Aaron Case, 18, moved into the residence halls just two weeks ago and feels that even though he was forced to commute to school from the start of the semester until now, that students will still need the parking lot.

“It’s a (commuter) school, so there’s no point in it,” Case said. To replace the parking spaces lost due to the construction, plans for a new 1,500-space parking structure will be placed north of the Fullerton Marriot and is slated for a spring 2010 completion. “Student Housing has always been planned to go into parking lot E,” said Darlene Stevenson, director of housing and residence life. Stevenson said in an e-mail interview that the master plan for the third phase of the housing project entails future student parking structures, however during the time of construction, students will have to park in student lots in spaces that are available. “For more input on parking mitigation please contact the parking and transportation office,” she said.

Krugman surprises with Nobel win for economics LOS ANGELES (MCT) – Against the backdrop of global financial turmoil and the highly charged U.S. presidential election, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences tapped into both issues with its surprise decision Monday to award a Nobel prize in economics to Paul Krugman, a Princeton University scholar and vocal critic of conservative policies. Krugman, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times since 1999, was cited for his theories on how urbanization can affect trade patterns. It was the last of the six Nobels awarded this year. Combining economies of scale with lower transportation costs, ac-

cording to Krugman’s research, helps to explain why larger shares of the world’s population live in cities and why economic activity is concentrated in metropolitan areas. He also has proved that migration to cities is increasing as large-scale production expands, wages rise and a wider array of goods become available. Krugman has been developing his theory since 1979, when he first tried to explain how post-World War II trade patterns contradicted the economic theory of the day. He revisited his ideas in 1991, when he determined that trade is possible but can be obstructed due to transit costs. Meanwhile, he held that labor often

is more likely to be attracted to the centers of activity. News of the award came as a surprise, even to Krugman. “To be absolutely, totally honest I thought this day might come some day, but I was absolutely convinced it wasn’t going to be this day,” Krugman told the New York Times. “I know people who live their lives waiting for this call, and it’s not good for the soul. So I put it out of my mind and stopped thinking about it.” Krugman’s prize, for which he’ll collect $1.4 million in cash, comes just weeks before the U.S. elects a new president. The selection is unusual in that the Nobel committee picked not

only an economist who is visible but one who’s also highly critical of political policies. As the campaign has heated up, so has Krugman’s Times column, for which he is best known by the American public. Krugman has become more vociferous of his criticism of President Bush, as well as that of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s $700 billion bailout plan. In Monday’s column, Krugman lambasted Paulson for rejecting a public equity stake in the financial system. “It’s hard to avoid the sense that Mr. Paulson’s initial response was See NOBEL WINNER, Page 2

Cal State Fullerton juniors Caitlin Gray and Bryce Bridge went undefeated to win first place in their season-opening debate tournament in San Francisco on Sept. 28, after upsetting UC Berkeley, Arizona State University and USC. This was Bridge and Gray’s first victory in a tournament. According to John Bruschke, the forensic debate director, CSUF has been one of the top 16 best debate schools since 2001. “The baseball team and debate team are the miracle workers on our campus,” Bruschke said. “Every single year we always do better than we should. There really is no reason why we should be able to beat these schools, but often we do.” Assistant director of forensics, Toni Nielson had high hopes for her two proteges. “I expected them to be in the final, but the fact that they got there without losing surprised and pleased me,” Nielson said. They exceeded my expectations.” Gray and Bridge have been involved in debate for many years, going back from when they were both in high school. While in high school, they discovered their love for debate, which eventually became one of the reasons why they both chose to come to CSUF. “I try to view debate as an educational activity. I honesty don’t know where I would be without debate,” Bridge said. “It’s a forum that really pushes you to dig deeper into your thoughts and arguments,” Gray said. “It has a lot of progressive potential and is great for real activism.” The team has to debate the same topic all season, and examine the many different sides of the topic. The topic that the debate team has this season is reducing agricultural subsidies. The season begins in September and ends in March. According to Nielson, the CSUF debate team usually takes part in 20 weekend tournaments throughout the season. During their season, the debate team takes part in local, regional and national tournaments. To be a part of the debate team requires a lot of hard work and research. In order to be competitive like Gray and Bridge, participants have to put in between 20 and 30 hours of work a week. Gray and Bridge would argue that most of the time you need to put in more. The work they do to prepare for a tournament includes summarizing hundreds of papers on their research topic, being able to cite 30 sources, and read and comprehend 10 books, See FORENSIC TEAM, Page 2