2008 12 10

FEATURES: Page 3

Laguna Beach Sawdust Festival features art, gifts

Since 1960 Volume 87, Issue 52

SPORTS: Women’s volleyball team celebrates record season, page 6 OPINION: ‘Health in a handbasket:’ Studying tips for finals, page 4

Daily Titan

Wednesday December 10, 2008

The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

DTSHORTHAND Campus Life At the end of each semester, the Titan Student Union keeps its doors open 24 hours a day for the week before finals and during finals week for the All Night Study program.

Throughout these two weeks, students can use the study lounges, check out meeting rooms for group projects, or utilize many other services and events designed to help studying and alleviate stress.

Homes for humanity

Fullerton combines its efforts with Habitat for Humanity to revitalize underserved neighborhoods

Jimmy Fallon lays down his roots (MCT) – Given the hoopla surrounding Jay Leno over the last 24 hours or so, it’s easy to forget that the rest of NBC’s late-night lineup is getting a makeover too.

Jimmy Fallon hopes you won’t forget about him. The former “Saturday Night Live” regular is taking over “Late Night” in March, and he launched a daily video blog this week to keep viewers informed about what to expect from his version of the show. The first installment revealed the identity of his house band: hip-hop group The Roots.

The band, led by drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and MC Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, will provide the soundtrack for Fallon’s show when it debuts March 2. Fallon also informed viewers that his show will originate from Studio 6B at Rockefeller Center, across the hall from where Conan O’Brien currently tapes “Late Night.”

The studio carries a good deal of history with it. It housed “The Tonight Show” with hosts Jack Paar and Johnny Carson before Carson moved the show to California in 1972 and dates back to the network’s radio days. It most recently was home to the local newscast for the network’s New York affiliate, WNBC. “We are really excited to be working with Jimmy on the new ‘Late Night,’” Thompson says in a statement. “It’s also an honor to be working with an icon like (‘Late Night’ executive producer) Lorne Michaels. We are looking forward to becoming part of the history of ‘30 Rock.’”

The title says it all in: ‘One lucky penguin!!’

By Christee Lemons

Daily Titan Assistant Web Editor news@dailytitan.com

Habitat for Humanity volunteers are putting their finishing touches on two homes while gearing up to build two more in the Richmond Park neighborhood of Fullerton. The nonprofit organization is joining with Fullerton in an effort to provide affordable homes for qualified low-income families.

This is the first time Habitat and the city have combined their efforts to revitalize neighborhoods such as Richmond Park.

A total of 11 houses will be constructed in addition to a small recreation area, said Linda Morad, Fullerton’s housing programs supervisor. Two families have already moved into their homes, another two are nearly complete and the remaining seven have not been built yet.

“Two more of them will be starting in May of next year and the others will follow,” Morad said.

See HUMANITY, Page 2

James Edward Bates/Biloxi Sun-Herald/MCT George Tyree of Charleston, S.C., left, and Trabian Shorters, of The Knight Foundation, secure vinyl siding to Tiffany Miller’s new house in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on Wednesday, May 14. The work is part of Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project on the Gulf Coast.

James Edward Bates/Biloxi Sun-Herald/MCT Habitat for Humanity volunteer Ben Niemitz hangs shutters on a home in Diamondhead, Miss. on Thursday, May 15. The Habitat for Humanity’s Carter Project on the Coast initiative is rebuilding homes for residents of Mississippi affected by Hurricane Katrina.

John Rottet/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT Jack Holstein (left) of Bahama, and Phill Trainor of Chapel Hill, put shingles on a home during construction of a Habitat For Humanity home construction project in Durham, N.C. May 8. High efficiency designs and appliances are built into the homes.

John Rottet/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT A flurry of activity takes places during work on a Habitat For Humanity house in the Hope Crossing Subdivision of Durham, N.C. May 8. The Habitat workers are following high efficiency designs.

Amanda McCoy/Biloxi Sun-Herald/MCT Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, tour one of the many houses being built in Diamondhead, Miss. on Thursday, May 15.

The Habitat for Humanity’s Carter Project on the Coast initiative is rebuilding homes for residents of Mississippi affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Budget cuts cause dropouts Titans off to D.C. Lack of financial aid forcing some college students to quit school The people in the video watch as this penguin literally swims for its life.

The penguin is swimming circles around and beneath the small boat drawing the pursuing orcas closer.

Finally the penguin jumps on board the boat and enjoys the safety of floating above the killer whales.

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(MCT) MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Rheannon Gustafson could be a harbinger of things to come.

Even after receiving federal loans, the 19-year-old freshman from Salem, Wis., still owes about $3,200 for tuition and expenses at Winona State University in Minnesota this semester. Her parents can’t afford to fill the gap – they filed for bankruptcy this year.

Neither Gustafson nor her parents can get private loans, because lenders have tightened standards during the credit crunch. Gustafson couldn’t find a job near school that could cover the bill.

This perfect storm of economic circumstances has caused Gustafson and her parents to decide she’s dropping out after her first semester.

She’ll come home, work two jobs and attend a local technical college when she can afford it.

While enrollment at many colleges appears to be holding steady, some administrators are preparing for a coming wave of students like Gustafson.

“Colleges are in fact bracing for the certainty that the worst of the economy will manifest itself in a huge increase in need,” said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admis-

sions Officers. “This is not a possibility. This is a near-certainty. The issue is when it is going to register a significant enough scale where you can point at it and say it is a reality.”

Several colleges report increases in students requesting adjustments to their financial aid offers this semester because their family’s financial health has changed. Parents or students have lost jobs, watched their savings drop, had their homes foreclosed on or filed for bankruptcy.

When some of these students look to private loans, they are hardpressed to get approved without a creditworthy co-signer because of the credit market.

“We’ll probably see some students coming by who might have to talk about sitting out a semester,” said Dawn Scott, Carroll University director of financial aid. “It will be hard to know who we’ve lost until mid-December.

“We’ve started reaching out to those students already. Unfortunately, we know we can’t save all of those students.”

Nassirian said: “We are very concerned about the coming semester.

I think the next big test is whether enrollment numbers in the ... spring will take a huge dip.”

Gustafson had a 3.7 GPA in high school and dreamed of being the first

in her family to attend college, with the goal of becoming a counselor.

“Ever since grade school I have always dreamed of going to college and becoming successful,” Gustafson said. “I have seen my parents struggle financially throughout my whole life, and I always told myself that I didn’t want to end up having the same problems that they had with money.”

After she applied for financial aid See DROP OUTS, Page 2

Tom Lynn/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MCT Rheannon Gustafson, 19, of Salem, Wis. pictured Nov. 25, is dropping out of Winona State University after she finishes her first semester at college because she can’t get private loans to pay the extra $3,000 she still owes after all her federal loans and grants.

for FBI campaign Five students, professor are one of six teams chosen nationally to present their project

By Ashley Landsman

Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com

Professor Robert Sage and five students from the advertising capstone class he teaches, Comm. 451B, have been invited to the FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, to present a campaign they designed to boost the FBI’s recruitment program.

The advertising majors going to Washington with Professor Sage include seniors Emily Ransom, 22, Nicole Martin,24, Dalya Taman, 22, Corey Cafaro, 24 and Bridget Perez, 22.

EdVenture Partners, a company from northern California that links clients with university students and educators to solve sales, recruiting and brand-building challenges for companies, tasked Professor Robert Sage’s class with creating a collegiate marketing and recruitment program for the FBI. Seven other schools, including New York University, were also asked to develop marketing campaigns for the FBI, according to Sage.

Sage said the FBI is looking to

recruit people with critical language skills or those who have backgrounds in math and science, to become agents or part of the professional staff.

“What they really wanted us to do was appeal to people of college age so they will consider the FBI as an employer,” Sage said.

The Cal State Fullerton class of 20 students split up into four groups: research, media, creations and PRproductions.

The groups were lead by students Emily Ransom, the group’s president, and Nicole Martin, the group’s vice president.

With a budget of $2,500, the class created ad campaigns that ran in the Daily Titan, public service announcements that ran on Titan Radio and hosted a Q and A with two FBI agents in Titan Theater, among many other things.

“Having the FBI on your resume is pretty good,” Martin said. “I don’t think any of us will forget this.”

See FBI CAMPAIGN, Page 2

Page Two

2

December 10, 2008

IN OTHER NEWS drop out: financial aid is lacking INTERNATIONAL

With less violence, Iraqis celebrate holidays

BAGHDAD (MCT) – For the past few years, Nawal Abdulla Hadi of Baghdad couldn’t travel to see her family for the Eid al-Adha, giving up the traditional reunion during the annual Muslim holiday because the roads weren’t safe.

The explosions that regularly shook her neighborhood in 2006 and 2007 have ceased, however, so she’ll pack the kids Wednesday and take them to see their grandparents in Hillah, a city about 60 miles south of Baghdad.

“This is the first time we’ve left our house in the Eid,” she said, smiling, in a public park along the Tigris River on Tuesday with her six children and husband.

Hadi is one of many Iraqis who are enjoying a noticeable decrease in violence over the past year, a trend that’s allowing them to celebrate the holidays as they once did. Iraqis began preparing for the Eid last week. The holiday marks Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to God, and it follows an annual pilgrimage for Muslims to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. In Baghdad, people crowded street markets at night last week, buying new clothes, another tradition for families who can afford it. Many bought sheep this week as a religious sacrifice that also honors deceased relatives.

NATIONAL

Let bankruptcy judges alter mortgages

WASHINGTON (MCT) – As the U.S. recession deepens, two members of Congress pledged Tuesday to make the rising rate of foreclosures their top priority in January. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., said they’ll renew their push to allow bankruptcy judges to alter the financial terms of unsavory mortgages.

“Millions of middle-class families are now underwater,” Miller said at a Capitol news conference. “When they lose their homes to foreclosure, they lose their place in the middle class, probably forever.”

A year ago, some 2 million homeowners faced foreclosure. A new report this week from Credit Suisse said that 8 million U.S. homeowners could face foreclosure in the next four years, representing 16 percent of all mortgages.

“The foreclosure problem continues to get worse,” Miller said.

The lawmakers introduced legislation a year ago that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgage terms for families facing the loss of their homes.

STATE

White holds spot as top North America car color

SAN FRANCISCO (MCT) – Consumers navigating through the current U.S. economic crisis are keeping it simple when it comes their new car, choosing a plain white paint job over any other color, according to a DuPont study released Tuesday.

White is the top vehicle color of choice in North America for the second straight year and, with “white effects” that give an iridescent look to help differentiate cars, is among the most popular across the globe, the 2008 DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Report showed.

DuPont says white serves as a “palette cleansing” pause signaling the end of a long running trend and the onset of a new one. Silver had held the top spot for seven years before white ended its reign in the 2007 study.

Now, white and white pearl combined to score 20 percent of the North America market, with black and “black effect” at 17 percent and silver just a fraction behind.

While silver was unseated as North America’s top choice in 2007, it’s still the leading color in Asia by a large margin.

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 David Carrillo at 714-278-5815 or at execeditor@dailytitan.com with issues about this policy or to report any errors.

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Sarah Oak Chris Ullyott Mandi Braga Kassia Azimioara Kiran Kazalbash Liz Hernandez Helen Sim Dante Galan Jackie Kamel Andrew St. Pierre Katie Hennessey David Ahn Santana Ramos Robert Sage Advertising Fax (714) 278-2702 E-mail: ads@dailytitan.com

The Daily Titan is a student publication, printed every Monday through Thursday. The Daily Titan operates independently of Associated Students, College of Communications, CSUF administration and the CSUF System. The Daily Titan has functioned as a public forum since inception. Unless implied by the advertising party or otherwise stated, advertising in the Daily Titan is inserted by commercial activities or ventures identified in the advertisements themselves and not by the university. Such printing is not to be construed as written or implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such commercial enterprises. The Daily Titan allocates one issue to each student for free.

Copyright ©2006 Daily Titan

From Page 1

at Winona State earlier this year, she received an award letter that explained how much she was eligible for in federal loans and grants: $2,925 per semester.

Gustafson thought she was set.

She signed up for a residence hall and a meal plan.

When she got to campus, she registered for 17 credits of math, sociology, English and science. She made new friends. She soaked up college life.

But a couple of months into the semester, Gustafson found out she still owed $5,200. She and her parents hadn’t realized the federal aid wasn’t enough to cover expenses, even with a discount under Wisconsin’s tuition reciprocity agreement with Minnesota.

The award letter had provided a Web site to use to compare private lenders, but the semester’s expenses weren’t listed on the letter.

Gustafson had to either come up with thousands in cash or get private loans.

She applied with about a dozen lenders but was denied all around.

Financial aid counselors advised her mom to apply for a federal parent PLUS loan, which was denied because of the bankruptcy. That made Gustafson eligible for an extra $2,000 per semester in federal aid, but she still owed $3,200.

There was nothing more the fi-

nancial aid office could do.

“It’s difficult if you don’t ... understand all the terms, and you don’t know how to ask the right kinds of questions,” said Connie Gores, vice president for student life and development at Winona State. “I think we need to be vigilant to make sure they do understand this complex area. I think also, though, in some cases, it might not be possible” to meet students’ full financial need.

Gustafson realizes now she misinterpreted things, but that didn’t stop her from feeling crushed.

“I was just thinking, OK, well, college is done with. I kind of thought schooling was just, like, a dream,” she said. “It was not going to be reality.”

It also kills her mom, Terri, to see Rheannon leaving school.

“She’s so smart, and I don’t want her to get home and then not go back,” she said. “It’s so depressing as a parent. Hindsight’s 20/20. If I had known then what I know now, I would have started a college fund.

She’s got a really good GPA. It breaks my heart.”

Rheannon has an 18-year-old brother – a senior in high school who’s taking his ACTs this month in hopes of attending college.

“How are we going to do that?”

Terri Gustafson said. “We can’t even send Rheannon. ... I’m trying to tell him maybe the military.”

Students such as Gustafson, whose parents earn about $60,000 a year

combined, are at the most risk right now, said Beatriz Contreras, director of financial aid at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

“The students that we believe are hurting the most are those that have only loans as a resource,” Contreras said. “These are the students with both parents working in lowto mid-income jobs with adjusted gross income between $50,000 to $60,000. These parents are unable to help their student with college costs.”

UW-Oshkosh formed a Student Financial Emergency Response Team to help students find alternative sources of funding or jobs so they don’t have to drop out.

The school has seen a 30 percent increase this year in inquiries and requests for revisions to financial aid packages.

It’s one of several colleges and universities taking steps to alert financially struggling students that options may be available.

After Mount Mary College sent a letter last month urging struggling students to call the financial aid office, several students came in to talk about their circumstances.

One, a senior fashion major who works full time, said her employer had frozen its tuition reimbursement benefit in the middle of the semester.

Mount Mary gave her a short-term loan, financial aid director Amy Dobson said.

Some families may not realize they

may be able to increase their eligibility for federal loans if the parents can document a loss of income. Parents also can apply for the federal PLUS loan program. If a parent is denied a PLUS loan, the student becomes eligible for up to $4,000 more a year in federal loans.

Concordia University faculty have been instructed to look out for students in the hallways bemoaning their financial straits, said Steve Taylor, director of financial aid.

“If you hear students talking like that, make sure you interject to say, ‘Make sure you talk to financial aid,’“ Taylor said.

The school had one student whose parents had lost $60,000 of their 401(k) and didn’t think they could support their son.

“I think he’s going to be OK. We talked about options,” Taylor said.

“Our fear is that students are sitting out there dealing with this by themselves.”

Some schools, such as technical colleges and lower-priced public institutions, can see increases in enrollment during a recession. Still, higher education experts were concerned they would see big drop-offs in enrollment at some institutions this fall because of the economy.

Although Winona State’s enrollment is holding steady, administrators are expecting a coming wave of students like Gustafson.

“I think we’ll probably see more of these,” Gores said.

humanity: housing those in need From Page 1

Recipients of the Fullerton houses must meet Habitat’s strict qualifications. According to their Web site, all recipients must be low-income families with good credit and be capable of making a down payment of around 1 percent (about $3,500) and can maintain monthly zero percent interest mortgage payments.

They also must be legal residents who either work or live in Orange County.

In addition to these requirements, potential home owners will need to complete 500 hours of “sweat equity” in order to receive their keys, said Gladys Hernandez, Orange County Habitat for Humanity manager of

public relations. A family can gain this equity by helping build Habitat homes. To fulfill that requirement Habitat homeowners will often choose to work on their own homes, she said.

Eligible families must attend an orientation where Habitat representatives teach attendees about the organization and the necessary requirements. The next meeting will be at the Fullerton Senior Multi-Service Center on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. They are currently looking for families for the next phase in Fullerton and San Juan Capistrano, Hernandez said.

Families wanting to proceed will then fill out forms and a volunteer comprised selection committee assesses their situation. The committee

will do home visits and check their credit and resident status, Hernandez said. The entire process takes about a year and once everything checks out, the receiving families are told what sites are available for their move-in.

“It’s one of the older neighborhoods in the city,” said Sylvia Palmer Mudrick, Fullerton’s public information coordinator. “The city has been doing a lot of revitalization there to improve the lives of the residents.”

The homes built by Habitat are a part of a revitalization project and according to Morad, the city received a $7.5 million loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development solely for that purpose.

“This Habitat thing is not kicking off the program,” Palmer Mudrick said. “This program has been going on for a while. This is just an important component of it.”

Some of the changes being made include improving the lighting, landscaping and streets, adding more parks and recreation services and making sure rental housing is up to code, Palmer Mudrick said.

The city is still processing nearly 30 applications of developers wanting to take part in the revitalization.

Habitat predicts the completion of the project will be in 2010, Morad said.

“We hope with the Habitat project that we can help turn that neighborhood around,” she said.

fbi campaign: students going to d.c.

From Page 1

The campaign that they created stood out so much, that the word got back to Washington.

“We’ve done a lot of work for them and, in turn, they gave us something

for our resume we can use for life,” Nicole Martin said.

Sage said the College of Communications will also be awarded a $500 honorarium for their part in the process.

He also said he chose the five stu-

dents who will go along with him because of the appreciable amount of time and effort they put into the cause.

“I picked the people who made the major contributions,” Sage said.

“I wish I could take them all.”

Ransom said managing the groups and making sure everything was being communicated effectively among the four groups was, at times, a daunting task, but well worth it.

“It was such a unique project,” she said. “It’s been such a fun journey.”

Illinois governor arrested due to scandal CHICAGO (MCT) – Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested Tuesday for what U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called a “political corruption crime spree” that allegedly included attempts to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Presidentelect Barack Obama.

Blagojevich and Harris were named in a federal criminal complaint that alleged a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy aimed at providing financial benefits to the governor, his political fund and to his wife, first lady Patricia Blagojevich.

Blagojevich was taken into federal custody by FBI agents at his North Side home Tuesday morning one day shy of his 52nd birthday.

The arrests dealt a tumultuous blow to Illinois government, at once raising questions about the leadership of the state and the fate of the open Senate seat which the governor alone has the power to fill under the state constitution.

The allegations against Blagojevich provide a sharp contrast to a Democratic governor who campaigned for office promising reforms in the wake of disgraced, scandal-tainted Republican chief executive George Ryan.

The complaint against Blagojevich comes little more than two years after Ryan was sentenced to 6½ years in prison on federal corruption charges.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn called on Blagojevich to step aside, at least temporarily, or resign because the governor is “seriously impeded from carrying out his oath of office.”

“I think he knows what he needs to do for the people,” said Quinn, a Democrat.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who had been viewed as a likely 2010 challenger if Blagojevich sought a third term, said the governor should immediately step down.

Madigan, the daughter of longtime Blagojevich nemesis House Speaker Michael Madigan, also said she was moving forward on legal issues if the governor did not resign.

Despite facing myriad federal investigations throughout his fiveyear tenure, Blagojevich has maintained he committed no wrongdoing. On Monday, Blagojevich said any discussions he has had were “always lawful.”

The stunning, early morning arrests followed a series of Chicago Tribune stories revealing federal investigators had compiled secret recordings of the governor with the cooperation of a longtime confidant. In recent days, the focus of federal investigators expanded beyond a probe of allegations of wrongdoing involving state jobs, contracts and appointments in exchange for campaign dollars to the possibility that the Senate succession process had become tainted by pay-to-play politics.

Blagojevich and Harris were arrested simultaneously at their homes at about 6:15 a.m., according to the FBI. They were transported to FBI headquarters in Chicago. Blagojevich appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan early in the afternoon and heard the charges read against him before

By john lee/MCT Democratic candidate Rod Blagojevich appears in a file photo reaching out to a crowd pf supporters during Blagojevich’s campaign headquarters in Chicago Nov. 5, 2002. U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald announced corruption charges against Blagojevich, Dec. 9, 2008.

being released on his own recognizance.

Spurring federal investigators to act was Blagojevich’s pending appointment of a Senate successor to Obama, whose resignation took effect Nov. 16. Blagojevich had said he expected to name a new senator around the end of the year.

Prosecutors said they had numerous recorded conversations of Blagojevich discussing the merits of potential candidates, including their abilities to benefit the people of Illinois as well as the financial and political benefits he and his wife could receive.

Prosecutors said their recordings revealed Blagojevich expressed feeling “stuck” as a sitting governor and he spent a large amount of time weighing whether he should appoint himself to the vacancy –

possibly to avoid impeachment and help remake his image for a potential 2016 run for the presidency.

A recent Tribune poll found Blagojevich with a record low 13 percent job approval rating.

Under state law, the governor has the sole, unfettered discretion to name Obama’s successor.

Despite his arrest, he continues to have the naming authority and some lawmakers discussed looking for ways to wrest it from him.

Prosecutors alleged Blagojevich sought appointment as secretary of health and human services or wanted an ambassadorship in the new Obama administration, or to be placed in a lucrative union-affiliated job in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett, a close friend and adviser to the president-elect to the Senate seat.

December 10, 2008

features

3

The Winter Fantasy 2008 enters last weekend

By Noella Hebert

Daily Titan Staff Writer features@dailytitan.com

Orange County is filled with places to gather to find that Christmas joy and get in the spirit. Holiday entertainment can range from ice skating at the Irvine Spectrum in 70-degree weather, to beautifully decorated boats lit up in Newport Harbor.

Yet, only a short car ride away from Cal State Fullerton, one can find the small artist enclave, Laguna Beach, where every year the Winter Fantasy is held at the Sawdust Festival.

The festival will be held for one more weekend, Dec. 13-14 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with $6 admission for adults.

“There are 170 (artists’) exhibits that create artwork from all different types of media with demonstrations,” said Cynthia Fung, public relations manager of the festival.

The artwork at the festival includes paintings and sculptures, but there is much more than what one would consider art.

The artists sell handmade jewelry, pottery, blown glass, clothing, dishes, vases, fairies, mirrors and

other arts and crafts.

Situated in Laguna Canyon, Fung Finding a gift with meaning rath- described the festival environment er than price can be special, even as “outdoor in a eucalyptus grove during these times of conspicuous decorated with thousands of lights. consumption.

It’s a great place to expose yourself At the festival, shoppers can to creativity, it’s very interactive and watch artists make jewelry and then it’s a great place for kids. They get purchase it, an to be exposed to experience with a all the different personal touch. activities. There’s David Nelthe Children’s Art son, a silver and Spot and three goldsmith at the project booths. festival, has had Also the ceramic a booth at the booth is great, it’s winter festival for just really fun to thirteen years and be able to throw – Cynthia Fung, (make) a pot.” for 39 years at the Festival PR Manager summer festival.

Lynee Kniss, “The winter of Laguna Beach, show is open to took her two anyone who wants to apply. The young daughters to the festival. summer show is only open to La- Her husband Marty, took her to the guna Beach residents. It’s a volun- Summer Festival 13 years ago when teer committee that puts on the they were dating. show. It’s a non-juried show. It’s “We took the Laguna transit also a non-juried show during the down, or we call it the ‘shuttle bus,’ summer festival. For both shows, to the festival. It was our first time you have to make what you sell and going to the winter festival. First we each artist is required to build their saw Santa, then we took a group own booths. We have an educa- picture in the sleigh and played tional display located somewhere in in the snow. We watched the glass our booth, to educate and demon- blower and we saw the fairies in strate. We’re catered to the public, the tree. We also saw a marionette to educate the public. The artist is show, the girls were mesmerized the here doing their work. The exciting whole time,” Kniss said. thing is that we can teach the audiAubrey, Kniss’ youngest daughence. You can come meet the art- ter, attends a Presbyterian preschool ist and they can show you how it’s in Laguna where, “the kids made made,” Nelson said. tree ornaments and some of the

“

There are 170 exhibits that create artwork froom all different types of media with demonstrations.

“

The arts and crafts festival held at Laguna Beach’s Sawdust Festival features handcrafted gifts

By Todd Barnes/Daily Titan Staff Photographer Children admire the “snow” at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach Saturday night. Small bubbles kept kids captivated and added to the aesthetic of the night.

By Todd Barnes/Daily Titan Staff Photographer Joshua Serafin displays his “55 Surf Gestures” at the Sawdust Art Festival. Sesafin has spent the last decade creating dozens of impressionist paintings of surfing postures.

teachers took them over to the festival to decorate the Christmas trees,” Kniss said.

Festival-goers can also make their own art for themselves or for a great gift.

“There are art classes all day, we have clowns, musicians, food, that sort of thing. There’s always entertainment roaming around. You can walk in, throw a pot or paint a picture,” Nelson said.

“The festival is also a great place to get outside on the winter weekends, where “it’s good for family, children or it even makes for a great date environment, it has it all,” Fung said.

Just to walk and look around at the Sawdust Festival can be enjoyable.

“I like them all, there’s so much to choose from. I like the interactive ones. The glass blowing is my

favorite to watch,” Fung said.

The Winter Fantasy is the last festival of the year held at the Sawdust Festival.

There are festivals all year, including January Jewelry at the beginning of the year, Spring into Art in Spring, Art Studio Tour, which is also held in Spring, the Summer Art Festival and Autumn Art, which is held in the fall.

Ordinary Americans have their say through StoryCorps project (MCT) Walnut Creek – Eleanor Levine and Mary Hurley have been friends for 40 years. In that time they’ve raised their children together, coped with divorce and mourned the death of parents. But it wasn’t until a recent trip to the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco that the 60-somethings told each other how much this friendship has meant to them.

There, in a soundproof, 64-squarefoot recording booth, the women listened, laughed and recollected their lives. When they emerged 40 minutes later, their friendship was even stronger, they said.

“Telling my story was exhilarating,” Berkeley resident Hurley told Levine, who lives in Oakland.

“Having you there to listen was an absolute gift.”

Listening is at the heart of the StoryCorps Project. It began five years ago on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” and has become the largest oral history project in the United States.

Some 40,000 participants have shared 23,000 stories with a loved one about the profound themes of existence, from love and family to poverty, race and religion. Inspired by the WPA’s Depression-era “Federal Writer’s Project” recordings, the idea is to collect the wisdom of humanity: one copy goes home with participants, and, with their permission, another is stored at the Library of Congress so future generations can hear the extraordinary stories of ordinary Americans.

Founder Dave Isay’s hope is to focus the spotlight back on America’s real heroes.

“If you were an alien dropped down on earth and watched popular or tabloid media, you might think we are a country of Internet sex predators and spoiled children of billionaires and wannabe reality contestants,” says Isay, a MacArthur fellow who has won five Peabody awards for his radio documentaries.

“That is not who we are as Americans. The real Americans are the vast majority of people who care about their families and communities and live lives defined by quiet acts of courage and kindness.”

StoryCorps functions on two levels, Isay explains. First, it encourages loved ones to face each other and spend 40 uninterrupted minutes asking each other life’s big questions, the stuff you never find the guts or time for, like “What are you most proud of?” and “How do you want to be remembered?”

“When you experience a story truly told you’re walking on holy ground,” Isay says. “We want to flood the country with these moments of truth and remind people how much we have to be proud of as a country and how lucky we are to be alive.”

Secondly, by listening to others’ stories, you can walk in the footsteps of someone who may be very different from you.

“These stories have a tremendous ability to build bridges,” Isay says.

“They show how much we have in common rather than what separates us. It’s as much about listening as telling stories. And people don’t know how to listen anymore. It’s important to turn off the iPhone and computer, look a loved one in

the eye and tell them how much they mean to you by listening to them.”

In order to portray an accurate slice of American life, StoryCorps sends mobile booths to all corners of the country, from cities and rural communities to homeless shelters and Indian reservations. There is a story about an off-shift bus driver turning his wheels into a virtual carriage for a woman dying of cancer, and another about a woman surviving brutal odds in segregation-era Alabama. There are many stories about Sept. 11 and Katrina. In fact, those tragedies have their own chapter, “Fire and Water,” in Isay’s book, “Listening Is an Act of Love” (Penguin Press), a compilation of the most compelling stories he’s heard in the past five years.

“This is a powerful way to tell history,” Isay says. “Of course you need it told through politicians and statesmen, but getting it through our own voices makes it so much more alive and powerful. And no matter how well you think you know your loved one’s story, you will always learn something new.”

In 2003 oral historian Studs Terkel cut the ribbon on the first booth in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal (it recently was relocated to lower Manhattan). The one at the Contemporary Jewish Museum will be available to the public until Oct. 11, 2009. A donation of $25 is suggested (each recording costs $250 to produce and archive), but no one is turned away for inability to pay.

Appointments book up fast. When the mobile booth traveled to Sacramento, the StoryCorps staff received

Courtesy of MCT CAMPUS Facilitator Alex Lyon of San Francisco, left, goes over paperwork with storytellers D J Whaley, 53, of Dixon, center, and her mom Frances Johnson, 84, of Hayward, at the StoryCorps Project at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, Octt. 30, 2008.

Behind them is the StoryBooth, where they recorded their conversation on a CD to share and preserve at the Library of Congress.

5,000 calls to fill 100 time slots.

StoryCorps’ mass appeal has much to do with the gravity of our current economic climate, Isay says.

“People are hungry for this,” he explains. “The economic situation we’re heading into is similar to when the WPA did their work in the Great Depression. So we’re hoping StoryCorps has the same benefit to people.”

opinion

4

Titan Editorial Providing insight, analysis and perspective since 1960

Illinois reform, R.I.P. Another Illinois governor bites the dust and brings Illinois politics to an all-time low.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taken into custody early Tuesday morning and is facing a tangled web of corruption charges just one day after he publicly welcomed wiretappers by saying, “whatever I say is always lawful.” His chief of staff, John Harris, was simultaneously arrested on the same charges without incident.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said at a press conference yesterday that the feds have been investigating Blagojevich since about 2003.

Some of the charges in the affidavit state the governor allegedly planned to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder and threatened to rescind an $8 million state grant for a children’s hospital after he did not get $50,000 in campaign donations from the chief executive officer of the hospital.

Fitzgerald also said the governor tried to coerce the Tribune Company into firing members of its editorial staff, which has written critical articles about the governor, in exchange for the state purchasing Wrigley Field from the company.

The state of Illinois is “one hell of a competitor,” for the most corrupt state in the U.S., Robert

Letters to the Editor:

Grant, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Chicago office, said at yesterday’s press conference.

The sad thing about the entire incident is that people elected Blagojevich primarily to clean up their state’s politics after former Illinois Gov. George Ryan was indicted and later convicted in 2006 on conspiracy charges. Blagojevich not only embarrassed himself but he is crushing the hope of his state electing a clean governor.

It is completely ridiculous that someone who was entrusted with cleaning up Illinois politics would then turn around and plunge the state politics into a darker light. He took advantage of his state’s weak political structure and profited.

After years of corruption from the previous governor, why would Blagojevich believe that he could not be caught? Talking about corrupt deals over the phone, really? If he were smart in the beginning, he would have had no paper or electronic trail.

In the end, Blagojevich still has the sole power to fill the presidentelect’s U.S. Senate seat. Until he resigns or is impeached, he can carry out his shameful ways. If the government of Illinois doesn’t act swiftly, the state’s corruption can infiltrate the U.S. Senate and become a national mess.

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 Daily Titan Opinion Editor Austen Montero at opinion@dailytitan.com.

December 10, 2008

Health in a Handbasket

By Brittany Kunza Daily Titan Columnist

Late nights and cramming sessions not effective Finals are almost here.

When I was younger … or yesterday … I was thinking about finals and superpowers. No, nothing to do with national security but superpowers that superheroes have.

If you could have a superpower that would help you study for finals what would it be?

I would choose to be able to stop time, which now I realize is not that great considering I would still need to spend a ridiculous amount of time re-learning EVERYTHING we have learned this semester in approximately one week, with the comforting thought that one test will determine nearly 50 percent of my grade in some classes.

Okay, so a superpower is wishful thinking but there are definitely strategies to help … what were we talking about?

Kidding, strategies that will help with memory.

Know what you don’t know: Understanding is not the same as learning.

It may have made sense in class but do you remember what was said six weeks ago?

According to the Center for Development and Learning, we need to enable ourselves to remember what we understand. What? In other words, just reading and listening are sometimes not enough and we need to be quizzed, in a sense, and given the opportunity to really assess what we remember from the semester.

After realizing what needs to be learned strategies can come into play.

According to Carolyn Hopper, author of “Practicing College

Learning Strategies,” the brain prioritizes information based on value, meaning, and usefulness.

If history of the French Revolution makes you want to hit your head against a wall, Hopper suggests making the information more interesting by getting a study partner, teaching someone else, making the information personal, and doing some extra practice or research. According to Hopper if emotions are involved then the memory will be deeper as the amygdala (part of the

brain) will be triggered as well as the production of adrenaline.

If reading about the French Revolution is not working, grab one of the non-sleeping students studying in the TSU and have them act it out with you … no that is not strange at all!

Where to start studying?

It is not likely that you will know EVERYTHING, so be selec-

tive when choosing where to dig deeper. Dr. Hopper suggests using a survey method to find what the professor emphasized, what the text (book or assignments) emphasizes and focus first on these areas.

According to Dr. Hopper we can only remember about five to seven items at a time so when organizing study material it will be most beneficial if you can break up the information into large but related

chunks and use mnemonic devices, make the information personally meaningful, and/or make an alphabetized list to help with recall.

Recitation – sure, we did it in kindergarten, but it is still an extremely powerful study tool.

According to Dr. Hopper, reciting information out loud triggers a different part of the brain and

because you know after reading through the material you will be saying it out loud, you will be more likely to pay closer attention when reading it the first time. It will also let you know right away how well you understand the material.

Visualization – nearly 90 percent of the brain’s sensory input is visual, according to Dr. Hopper.

Based on this, if you are able to visualize images or make a chart, symbol, or icon for a set of information you will have a better chance at recalling the information more clearly.

Principal of association - is this information similar to something you already know?

According to Dr. Hopper, instead of making a “new memory file,” it will be easier to recall information if you can link it to previous knowledge and build on what you already know.

How effective will that all-night study session be? Not very effective.

According to Dr. Hopper our brain tends to remember the first and last thing studied the best. If studying goes on for several hours, the material jammed in the middle will not be recalled very well.

She suggests breaking the time up into chunks and studying pieces at a time and reviewing what was just learned before starting the new chunk of information.

The bottom line is that everyone has their preferred way to learn but certain methods may help improve an already in-use study technique.

And if all else fails you can always just use your superpower to stop time.

Families can’t keep up with rising tuition With expensive rates for schooling, students need other ways to afford education

By Iowa state daily Editorial Board

Courtesy of UWire.com

Another semester is reaching its end, which means grade reports will be sent out to students soon. That’s when we find out if we’ve been getting our money’s worth in our classes — Cs may, in fact, get degrees, but they don’t pay on your resume.

Last week, each state in the country was given a grade report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Based on the report, Iowa has things to be proud of and things to work on.

The good news is Iowa was ranked first in participation, with 44 percent of young adults ages 18 to 24 enrolled in higher education. Iowa also has the highest percentage – 9.4

percent – of working age adults enrolled in post-secondary education.

Iowa performed admirably in two other categories: preparation and completion. In preparation, the state is near the top of the list in high school students enrolled in upperlevel science and math courses. In completion, a respectable 63 percent of college students achieve a bachelor’s degree within six years.

We applaud the state of Iowa’s efforts in these categories, even though there remains a lot of work to be done. For example, there is a 12 percent gap in the number of minority young adults enrolled in college. Iowa also has one of the largest gaps in the United States between the graduation rates of whites and minorities: 19 percent. This has been on the Board of Regents’ radar for some time now, and while some progress is being made, it’s not coming fast enough.

The bad news is that Iowa, and 48 other states, received an F in affordability of higher education. California escaped with a C- because of its dirt-cheap two-year colleges.

The results were startling not just

for Iowa, but the entire country. In Iowa, it was found that poor and working class families must pay 40 percent of their income to pay for costs at two-year colleges, and 47 percent at four-year institutions, even after financial aid. Iowa undergrads are borrowing an average of $4,856 per year in loans.

In broader context, the study found that college tuition and fees across the country have increased 439 percent since 1982, but the average family income only rose 147 percent.

If trends continue, the center has estimated that most Americans won’t be able to afford higher education before long.

Iowa’s universities have done a lot of good things this past year, but when the regents review a tuition increase Tuesday in Cedar Falls, we hope these statistics force them to take pause.

Iowa needs real solutions – needsbased financial aid, smarter budget cuts and reduced student fees – to keep college affordable for those the state has worked hard to get into higher education.

Brittany Lietz didn’t think that indoor tanning could hurt her.

She didn’t know UV light from indoor tanning can actually increase your risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Brittany, a frequent indoor tanner since she was 17, was diagnosed with melanoma when she was 20.

She is a melanoma survivor, but current estimates show that one person dies from melanoma about every hour.

Don’t be one of them.

Indoor tanning is out.

To read Brittany’s skin cancer story go to www.aad.org/media/psa

December 10, 2008

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Aries March 21 - April 19 You will soon make a comfortable living exploiting other people’s deep-seated anxieties and crippling social fears.

Taurus April 20 - May 20 When all is said and done, only you can make yourself feel bad. But that won’t keep everyone else from trying.

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6

sports

Bittersweet ending to volleyball’s historic season

By Mike Thiele/Daily Titan Photo Editor Top: Big West Player of the Year Brittney Moore hangs on the net during one of her final practices of the season. Right: The Titans have plenty to be happy about this season. They finished with a team high in conference wins and had five players collect season-end awards.

December 10, 2008

Titans rack up year-end awards and celebrate most conference wins in school history, but say ‘goodbye’ to graduating Big West Player of the Year Brittney Moore

By Crysania Salcido

Daily Titan Staff Writer sports@dailytitan.com

The Cal State Fullerton women’s volleyball team ended the year with one of its best seasons to date.

“I’m very proud,” Head Coach Carolyn Zimmerman said. “In some ways we met expectations and in some ways we exceeded them.”

Not only did the Titans have the second best record in CSUF history, Zimmerman also stated that they set a new record for most CSUF wins in the Big West Conference with nine.

But the record wasn’t the only accomplishment for the Titans.

“The last thing that comes to mind is the record … 17 wins says a lot but it’s not the whole story,” Zimmerman said.

Senior Brittany Moore ended her career with the Titans in record setting fashion. Moore became the first Titan to win the Big West Player of the Year, tied the 19-year record for most Titan kills with 1,534, and just missed breaking the Titan record for blocks, coming up just three short.

“I was really surprised when I got Player of the Year because I thought they would give it to someone whose

team was at the top of the conference,” Moore said. “It feels really good.”

Zimmerman said that the honor granted to Moore showed the amount of respect she earned from other coaches throughout her career.

She also said that the coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players so she was also surprised.

Moore’s dominance was a victory, but it wasn’t the only one.

Five Titans gained Big West recognition. Moore and sophomore Cami Croteau were named to the First Team All-Big West, sophomore Erin Saddler was an Honorable Mention to the All-Big West Team, and freshmen Andrea Ragan and Jennifer Edmond were named to the All-Freshmen Team.

Having so many players honored showed how the team rose above the challenges they faced in the season.

Due to an injury, sophomore Genie Francisco was sidelined and Ragan had to step in mid-season.

Edmond stepped into a starting position and Saddler switched from a middle blocker to an outside hitter.

Zimmerman said that the team raised its level of play and capitalized on the changes that were made.

“We really worked well together as a team throughout the season,” Ragan said. “We were really able to come together.”

Moore and Ragan also said some of their favorite moments were against UC Davis and Pacific.

“When we played Davis at Davis and were down two games to none and came back to win … that really stands out in my mind,” Moore said.

Even though the Titans are losing their leader and most dominant offensive player they are looking forward to next season.

With many returning veterans and new players on the way the Titans are hoping to follow up this season with another strong performance.

“I think we’ll do really well next year because we’re a young team and just adding a few new people,” Ragan said.

Moore agreed and said she hopes the Titans can learn from this season and knows that they are lucky to be losing only one player.

“I’m really excited to see what they’ll do next year,” Moore said. “I hope they’ll use this as a goal to be better. They can only get better from here.

By Rafael A. Delgado/Daily Titan file photo