February 17, 2010
Vol. 87 Issue 7
Student visits New York for movie screening A Cal State Fullerton student traveled to New York City to participate in a Shutter Island press conference during which Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and Sir Ben Kingsley talk about the creative decisions behind their new movie. DETOUR, Page 5
WEDNESDAY
ALIEN IN AMERICA: Drinking in America OPINION, Page 4
Laundry lifted from local laundromats NEWS, Page 2
Alumna speaks out about struggles of migrant farm workers NEWS, Page 3
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Cheer squad Shooting rocks schools promotes school spirit Cal State Fullerton faculty and students react to the recent University of Alabama shooting that left three dead and three wounded
By camille larazon
Daily Titan Staff Writer sports@dailytitan.com
Staff writer Sophomore cheerleader Tiffany Nord cheers during a women’s basketball game.
INDEX
See SPORTS, Page 8
News ................................................. page 2,3 Detour ............................................... page 5,6 Opinion ................................................. page 6 Classifieds ............................................. page 7 Sports ................................................... page 8
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PHOTO courtesy FLICKR/Mark Holloway Amy Bishop, a professor at the Univrsity of Alabama in Huntsville, was arrested after killing three of her colleagues at a staff meeting. Sources have said that she was recently denied tenure for the second time.
Bishop, a Harvard-educated neuroscientist and professor at the University of Alabama, unleashed gunfire on her felnews@dailytitan.com low faculty members during a meeting held at the Shelby Center on campus. Motives for her actions were attributed Throughout the United States, shootings pose grave to the fact that she was denied tenure and would have to problems on college campuses. In 1976, Cal State Fuller- look for work elsewhere at the end of the spring semester. CSUF has many precautions to prevent or execute when ton was no exception, but since then hasn’t experienced any dealing with an incident of this magnitude. Lt. Don Landextreme acts of violence. “Yes, I feel safe here at Cal State Fullerton. Last summer, ers of CSUF University Police commented on the preparedness of his officers who are trained within minutes of the earthquake that ocby, “The Active Shooter program, which curred in Chino Hills, students were reMy question is how gives direction and policy guidance to ceiving texts and automated phone calls the officers on how to respond to those notifying them not to come to campus come it’s so darn easy for types of events.” Landers said. “We train or to leave,” said Associated Students Inc. people nowadays to get Vice President Joseph Lopez. guns? – Jeffrey Kottler on it regularly, and go through a rigorous background process.” Text messages and calls, like the ones counseling professor New ideas to help in preparing Lopez mentioned, are a part of the conCSUF for events like the University of nect-ed program at CSUF, which notifies students, faculty and staff if an incident were to occur, Alabama shooting or to prevent them from happening at similar to the one that took place Friday, Feb 12, at the all were discussed by assistant professor of political science University of Alabama in Huntsville. Shots rang out dur- Scott Spitzer. “What might be helpful is for some kind of evaluaing a biology faculty meeting held in the afternoon, leaving tion of stress level for students, staff and faculty across the three killed and three wounded. According to the Huntsville Times, the suspect, Amy board,” Spitzer said. By Laura Barron-Lopez
Daily Titan News Editor
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In the middle of their fifth season since being reestablished, the Cal State Fullerton cheer squad is more vivacious than ever. The 2009-10 cheer team is made up of 12 women, ranging from freshmen to seniors and rookie to veteran cheerleaders alike. “In my first two years on the team, I would wear my (cheer) stuff to school and be really proud, but people would ask, ‘We have a cheer team?’ It was a bummer at first. People assumed because we didn’t have a football team, we didn’t have a cheer team,” said senior and four-year cheerleader, Brooke Groom. Promoting the Titan cheer team and their tryouts consisted of posting fliers, attending student orientations and advertising on the team’s Web site. In its first year of re-establishment, the team members were chosen based on personality and not talent. The Titan cheer team was reconstructed to coincide with the 2005-06 basketball season. When the 2004-05 men’s basketball team made it to the Sweet 16 National Invitational Tournament, CSUF was ready to bring back a cheer team to promote a more collegiate environment and bring school spirit back to the university. Originally, Carol May – who w o r k e d in the Dean o f Student Life’s office – began coaching cheer when the squad was reconstructed in 2005. But when she was offered a new position at Chapman University, the task of cheer adviser was too much for May to take on. After that, current co-advisers Sam Shen and Jennie Volkert were brought on as coaches for the team. Over the past two years, the team has obtained a new outlook and began working on the their skills, as well as promoting school spirit. The team isn’t what it used to be, compared to what it is now. It’s a completely different program, still in its infancy. The last time CSUF had a cheer squad was in 1992, back when the university also had a football team. Both Shen and Volkert were part of the 1992 PHOTO By Camille Larazon/ Daily Titan spirit squad.
The process of tenure can be capricious but is recognized as a high achievement and when being granted tenure, that professor has attained a certain level of excellence, Spitzer explained. “The positives to tenure are the security gained. It allows scholars to think outside the box and take risks intellectually, promoting faculty to be innovative. The negative is that if a professor doesn’t get tenure then they have to leave and look for another job,” Spitzer said. “Being denied tenure at an institution such as Harvard or Berkeley is routine, but if denied at a Cal State or institution such as the University of Alabama, it is likely that they would have to change careers.” Cal State Fullerton’s process for tenure is straightforward and transparent, ensuring professors who are on the track toward tenure that they are aware of the necessary criteria. Despite the theory that Bishop’s denial of tenure was the most likely cause for her rampage, she had been well aware of her denial for tenure since April 2009 and has multiple violent incidents on her record. “This happened in Alabama which has very lax gun control laws. My question is how come it’s so darn easy for people nowadays to get guns? This is just another example of how gun violence is ripping our country,” Spitzer said.
Coyote Hills unrest ongoing By Alison Munson
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Honking horns showed appreciation for the efforts of enthusiastic protesters that came out Tuesday evening toting signs with messages like “Save Coyote Hills” and “Traffic engineering pull your head out of your manhole.” The Friends of Coyote Hills (FCH), an organization of concerned local citizens, marched down Harbor Boulevard to protest the development of North Orange County’s remaining lots of open space. The march ended at Fullerton City Hall. In 2001, the Fullerton City Council voted 5-0 in approval of the first phases of housing development on the 500 acres that constitute Coyote Hills. FCH has been working to preserve the open space ever since. “We’ve been fighting to save the hills for about nine years,” said Kent Morris, a member of FCH and anthropology professor at Long Beach City College. “We want to preserve the hills 100 percent.” Coyote Hills is an abandoned oil field owned by Chevron. Pacific Coast Homes is planning on building 760 new houses, leaving approximately half the
photo By Alison Munson/Daily Titan Staff Writer Friends of Coyote Hills brandish signs in downtown Fullerton to protect one of North Orange County’s last significant lots of open land.
property for public use. “What we’re concerned about is if those hills are developed, there will be some green belts in there, but basically the whole ecosystem will be destroyed,” Morris explained. “An ecosystem can’t survive when it’s interrupted by so many houses. Chevron Oil is trying to convince people otherwise, but from a biological point of view, it’s impossible for an ecosystem to survive.” The land is home to more than 130 species of wildlife including the Gnatcatcher, a small bird listed on
the Federal threatened and endangered species list, maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The land is part of the pacific flyway and many migratory birds use it to stop off and rest on their journey North,” Morris explained. The impact that an additional 760 homes will produce on the surrounding community is also a concern, said Morris. See HILLS, Page 3