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“How would they know who the rebels are? I feel like they say they’re arming rebels, but they’re really arming the government,” Farrah said. Farrah’s comments and concerns echo that of many policy makers in Washington. They have acknowledged that unruly elements have joined the cause of the Syrian rebels, further complicating efforts to resolve the civil war. With the threat of potential missile strikes from the U.S., Farrah said she fears the strikes could cause harm to Syrian civilians caught in the middle of the conf lict. The U.S., Great Britain and France have tried repeatedly to pass a resolution at the United Nations Security Council, which would allow member states to take action against the Syrian government for using violence against opposition groups. Both Russia and China, however, have vetoed any measures that would allow the use of force, citing uncertainty that the Syrian government had been behind the use of
chemical weapons. In response Russia’s proposed solution, in which the Syrian government would surrender their chemical weapons, potentially avoiding U.S. military intervention, Ronnie expressed his dismay. “For me, it’s kind of ironic because killing (Syrians) with knives is OK, killing them with weapons is OK, bombing them with mortars is OK, but chemical weapons, we draw the line,” Ronnie said. “I just feel that’s kind of ironic.” Despite the agreement reached earlier this month between the U.S. and Russia, the civil war in Syria remains ongoing. All three of the SyrianAmerican CSUF students expressed their hope that Bashar al-Assad and his government would step down. Their perspectives overall reveal an across the board repudiation of the Syrian government headed by Assad and their recent actions. “I definitely think that (Assad) and the rest of the Ba’ath party, they have to come down,” Ronnie said. “For anything to change in Syria ... there has to be a new government that the people want.”
SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
TUESDAY
MARIAH CARRILLO / Daily Titan
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Ronnie, Farrah and Bayanne Kanawati share their experiences and perspectives on the war afflicting Syria.
Local businesses host autism awareness events to raise funds The kick-off event for the autism walk was held in downtown Fullerton ALLY FITZGERALD & VALERIE SCHREPTERMAN Daily Titan
Members of the Fullerton community benefited themselves while helping two causes all by getting rid of used electronics, on Saturday. Autism Speaks, an international organization which funds research and spreads awareness about autism, teamed up with locally owned and operated service, Recycle Your City, to kick off its Orange County Walk Now for Autism Speaks event. The walk is set to take place on Nov. 16 at the Orange County Great Park. Glen Davis, owner of RecycleYourCity, said the company chose to get involved with Autism Speaks because it was looking for a group to partner with for a particular cause. Davis said the items that community members dropped off to be recycled would be dismantled and recycled to become commodities like plastic, cardboard and glass. A percentage of the money gained from the items recycled was given to Autism Speaks, Davis said. The recycling event was held in a parking lot adjacent to the building where the kick-off luncheon took place off of Bourbon Street in downtown Fullerton. Jennifer Jones, who serves as the manager of field development for the Southern California branch of the Autism Speaks program, organized the kick-off event. Advocates of the program spoke at the event on Bourbon Street on how to take current steps forward and the work that still needs to be done. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies around one in 88 American children as being placed on the autism spectrum. David Shapiro Sharif, 14, spoke Saturday after the presentation of his YouTube video, My Name is David. Sharif’s powerful words emphasized the importance of educating children and adults alike on the topic of autism. Sharif said in his speech a message all autistic people
and their families and friends wish to voice. “You can help me by understanding that I have autism and by not making fun of me. You can tell your family and friends what you have learned about autism. Being patient and understanding with those who have autism will help us greatly,” Sharif said. He also serves as a voice to the millions of individuals diagnosed with autism throughout the country. Autism Speaks U is a program that supports students, faculty and alumni in their awareness, advocacy and fundraising efforts for Autism Speaks. Jocelyn Freirson, a member of the Board for Autism Speaks U at Cal State Fullerton, became involved with the foundation when members of her family were diagnosed with autism. Freirson said there will be a free car wash on Oct. 6 at the 76 gas station in Brea, and all of the donated proceeds go back to Autism Speaks U at CSUF. Jones said the purpose of the event was to motivate and prepare those in attendance for the upcoming walk, as well as teach the public what Autism Speaks is about. “What we do every year before our walk is get everybody pumped up for the walk, but also tell them what to expect on walk day,” Jones said. She estimated that 8,000 people would be expected to participate in the upcoming November walk. Melissa Santos, a 21-yearold communicative disorders major at CSUF, attended the event with OC Autism. She has been involved with OC Autism for a year and plans to participate in the November walk. Santos said her brother is autistic and hopes to use her degree to help those who suffer from the condition. Santos and others involved with the OC Autism wore orange shirts and held bananashaped signs with change buckets attached to them in an effort to attract attention and raise money for Autism Speaks. For more information on the upcoming events, meetings and plans for Autism Speaks U, visit www.AutismSpeaksUCsuf.com.
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Spassov also won an AIGA award last year in the category of Most Liked. Edwards, thought of the idea for the event three years ago when he realized that there weren’t any specific design award ceremonies in the OC area. “Design really drives everything that we do. Everything that we touch, everything that we look at is all about design, so why not celebrate it,” Edwards said. The mixer was open to anyone and members of the AIGA didn’t have to pay for admission to get in. During the first part of the event, there was a drink service, and a buffet present while people mingled with different OC artists. While the awards were being passed out, there was a slideshow presenting the winning artwork. “This was one of my best pieces,” Khoa Nguyen, a former CSUF student, said. “I submitted three more pieces of work, but for some reason they liked this one.” Nguyen received silver for
“Everything that we touch, everything that we look at is all about design, so why not celebrate it.” Mark Edwards
OC Design Awards Coordinator DEANNA TROMBLEY / Daily Titan Petre Spassov, former CSUF student, proudly accepts his award for Best in Show at the OC Design Awards hosted by The American Institute of Graphic Arts.
Design awards held to celebrate local artists Students were honored at the third annual AIGA design award ceremony KAILEY DEMARET Daily Titan
Professional and student artists, along with designers, gathered at Tustin’s J.T. Schmid’s restaurant and brewery on Saturday to honor the cream of the crop in creativity and technique for the Orange County Design Awards.
The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) awards ceremony has been honoring people in the OC art world for the past three years. This year’s ceremony celebrated more students than the past two years. There were up to 20 awards given out to students from the Cal State Fullerton and Chapman art programs. Each award was personalized for every recipient. “All of the awards are unique and different and they’re made
by people, not by a machine,” Mark Edwards, the OC Design Awards coordinator, said. Petre Spassov, a former CSUF student, had the top honors at the event winning three awards. “Pops and Sons Identity” won the award for Identity Design and “Define Your ISM” took the awards for Print Design and Best in Show. “I was honored,” Spassov said. “Honestly, I felt appreciated and I felt proud of the work I did and I was glad that someone else saw that.”
his winning piece titled “Package Design.” The pieces of art were sent out to different AIGA locations to be judged. The awards themselves were picture frames designed by members of the AIGA community. Alysse Speiginer helped design and make the awards for the event. She said her favorite part of the OC design awards is creating the awards themselves. “When you’re a creative person you create things, you craft them and by crafting them essentially you design them,” Speiginer said. Many people cheered on award winners and family members. Eventually, the room opened up onto the patio where event attendees and the award winners sat by an outdoor fire and talked about next year’s awards and submissions.
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