The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Thursday September 24, 2015
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Doctor lectures on heart health
Volume 98 Issue 13 INSTAGRAM & TWITTER @THEDAILYTITAN
Professor recognized for work to end violence
Heart disease symptoms differ between sexes DARLENE CASAS Daily Titan A woman dressed in business attire went to the doctor and was treated for heart disease. That same woman — now garishly dressed — visited another doctor complaining about the same symptoms, but was told to take Xanax. This anecdote was told to 45 audience members by John Zamarra, MD, during an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) medical series lecture at the Fullerton Elks Lodge Wednesday morning. Zamarra, who has been a solo practitioner since 1976, explained that women’s heart disease is often untreated or misdiagnosed because for the past half century, most studies on heart disease have been done by men. Heart disease affects women more than it does men because women typically have smaller coronary arteries and react to stress differently; women also exhibit different symptoms, Zamarra said. The rise of women in the work force increased the number of women with heart disease, but Zamarra provided ways to ameliorate this growing issue. SEE HEART
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YUNUEN BONAPARTE / DAILY TITAN
Criminal justice professor Gregory Chris Brown works with the Southern California Cease Fire Committee in order to reduce gang-related violence in Los Angeles. Brown’s involvement in the SCCFC is helping him conduct research on original gangsters and how they become involved in gangs.
Gregory Brown helps community activism in LA WOARIA RASHID Daily Titan On the fifth floor of University Hall’s dimly-lit hallway, among the sound of printers humming and footsteps tapping on the marble floor, a
hearty and unrestrained laughter comes from an office, filling the destitute halls. This is the laughter of a man who, at 10 years old, sold candy after school for income, was shot at multiple times throughout his life and attended more funerals than the average teenager. “I was one of those youths that didn’t believe I would live to see 25,” said Gregory Chris Brown, Ph.D., associate professor of criminal justice at Cal
State Fullerton. Brown works with the Southern California Cease Fire Committee (SCCFC). The committee is comprised of individuals working to bring an end to gang-related violence in Los Angeles through community activism. Many members of the committee are ex-convicts who want to end the gang violence they were once responsible for in the late ‘60s and
‘70s, Brown said. The city of Los Angeles recently recognized Brown for his work with the SCCFC. Brown began working with the committee about three years ago in order to continue his research on gangs. However, he soon realized that he could help improve the committee. “I wanted to assist (SCCFC) to use the best practices to intercede what was
happening in the streets of LA, but also to be successful,” Brown said. With the combination of the ex-convicts’ knowledge in the intricacies of gang-related activities, and Brown’s academic background and organizational and structural skills, the team continues to work together to combat gang-related violence in the streets of LA. SEE ACTIVISM
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Defying stereotypes, one verse at a time
CSUF senior performs empowering music DARLENE CASAS Daily Titan
Her face was flushed with nervousness. One 19-year-old woman was about to perform in a hip-hop lineup of just men. But then Denise De La Cruz, a communications and radio-TV-film major at Cal State Fullerton, began to rap. “To my surprise, people were feeling me,” De La Cruz said. “It was a huge adrenaline rush.” Rapping at a bar in her hometown of Whittier was the first time De La Cruz performed in front of a crowd. De La Cruz was the only female rapper to perform that night, but she prefers not to use the term female.
“Why can’t you just say rapper?” De La Cruz said. “That just goes to show how the gap between males and females in the rap genre is.” Classifying someone as a female rapper is condescending and unprogressive, De La Cruz, 22, said. Even though De La Cruz has written hundreds of songs since she began rapping at the age of 12, she plans to refine her lyrics and record more music. De La Cruz hopes to complete an entire body of work instead of rapping freestyles and incomplete songs during her performances at local Whittier venues. De La Cruz’s passion for music was ignited by hip-hop. She remembers watching the Beastie Boys perform on television at a young age. She further explored the genre by digging into rap records from the ‘80s and ‘90s. When De La Cruz met her longtime friend Alysha Lauron in middle school, Lauron
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YUNUEN BONAPARTE / DAILY TITAN
As a full-time student, Denise De La Cruz spends most of her time at school or studying, but she writes and raps her own music during her spare time. Her passion is music, but she is also pursuing a degree in communications and radio-TV-film.
thought De La Cruz’s interest in the Beastie Boys and Left Eye from TLC was bizarre. But as their 10-year friendship began to unfold, Lauron realized that De La Cruz’s
musical taste influenced who she was. “Her path ultimately led her to what she is now, which is completely different from the norm of hip-hop rappers,”
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Lauron said. Lauron said De La Cruz always wanted to stand out. Her lyrics and unique tone are both presentable and empowering.
Kendrick Lamar’s music influences her to incorporate refreshing styles in her rapping. SEE RAP
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Volleyball can resurrect season in Big West
Sports
Losses have been stacking up this season, but the Titans can make up for it all with a fresh 0-0 con8 ference record VISIT US AT: DAILYTITAN.COM