February 22, 2010
Vol. 87 Issue 9
Cartoon characters color comic convention Comic Expo brings artists, writers, creators and publishers together for fan gathering in Long Beach. Superheroes and villains come out to whet their appetites for Long Beach Comic Con in October. NEWS, Page 2
MONDAY
Editorial: Tiger should step up and return to golf OPINION, Page 4
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
No place for their ‘hate’ Stories By Christine Amarantus Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Thousands of counter-protesters flooded 10th Street in Long Beach as members of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) attempted to leave after picketing across the street from Woodrow Wilson Classical High School Friday, Feb. 19. The Topeka, Kan.-based church known for their countrywide pickets against homosexuals, Jews, military troops, liberals and Americans, were in Southern California Feb. 19-21 to picket the Jewlicious Festival in Long Beach. “That’s sort of what got us here, but once we’re here: we picket, therefore we are,” said Shirley Phelps-Roper, the daughter of the WBC’s leader, Fred Phelps. Other pickets for the weekend included Long Beach’s Ragga Muffins Festival, convention center, police department, the Golden Dragon Parade in Los Angeles and a handful of churches, temples and schools in the area. With the church’s schedule of planned protests available online, counter-protests began to organize against the WBC. The largest response revolved around the picket at Wilson. Cal State Fullerton student and Wilson alumna Allison Anderson, 22, said she found out about the counter-protest a month ago from a friend at Cal State Long Beach. “It just got me fired up ... it upset Photo By christine Amarantus/Daily Titan Staff Writer me,” the American studies major said. Shirley Phelps-Roper pickets across from Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, “It just makes me angry that a whole surrounded by counter-protesters carrying signs ridiculing the church’s protest Friday. church is coming from miles away and coming into our city and is complain- the intersection of 10th Street and Xi- counter-protester and Long Beach resiing about the way we live. I’m totally meno Avenue. As the WBC set up on dent Ethan Hackett, 29, of the massive for protesting when it’s for something the northwestern, hundreds more ar- numbers. that you feel strongly about, but for rived to support the counter-protesters. While the five WBC members’ something like When Wilson signs read, “God hates Haiti,” “Fags this ... it’s just let out at 2:50, are beasts,” “America is doomed,” “The not right.” the numbers Jews killed Jesus” and “You will eat The WBC’s See interviews with the counter- exponentially your babies,” a multitude of signs and picket for Wilson increased. banners with statements such as “Long was scheduled for protesters at DailyTitan.com/ “I’m actually Beach is for lovers,” “Dog hates flags,” 2:45-3:15 p.m. WestBoroProtest pretty happy “Sell Alaska now,” “God hates shrimp,” At around 2:20, about it. We “Frankenstein hates fire” and “Nuke when Phelps-Roper and her daughters were at the Jewish Community Center Iceland” were displayed by the counterarrived to picket, approximately 40- on the other end of town earlier, and it protesters. 50 counter-protesters stood with their was 20 or 30 people and coming here See ‘HATE,’ Page 3 own signs on the southeastern corner of ... there’s hundreds of people here,” said
MULTIMEDIA
Band to donate thousands for Controversial student aid church ideals scrutinized
Shirley Phelps-Roper, 52, makes her way to the corner. She dons a tattered and bloodied American flag as an apron and pulls out her four signs with different messages of God’s wrath from a padded carrying case, holding them up like butterfly wings on either side of her. She guides her youngest of her 11 children, Luke, who is wearing a blue shirt with anti-homosexual sentiments, to stand beside her. “We’re just here to tell you faithfully what the scripture says and to tell you also that your destruction is imminent,” said Phelps-Roper, daughter of the Westboro Baptist Church’s leader, Fred Phelps. A man with a megaphone on the other side of the street chants, “USA! USA!” Phelps-Roper answers back, “IED! IED!” (short for improvised explosive device). Such devices have been known to kill American soldiers in the Middle East, which the WBC says they rejoice in. The group has been known to picket at funerals for American troops along with picketing Jewish temples and celebrations and anything remotely tied to homosexuality. Their next scheduled picket in Southern California will be at the Academy Awards in Hollywood. “Protests, such as those organized by WBC, do not reflect a compassionate response to the human condition,” said Dr. Janet Bregar, a professor from Cal State Fullerton’s comparative religion department, “because they create harm and pain to those who are in a vulnerable state of grief, are not requested by those in grief and are forced upon those in situations where the excuse of free speech is used to coerce and force one worldview upon another in a public space.” See WBC, Page 3
Education funding cuts unite protesters 1
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Photo By Nick Marley/Daily Titan Photo Editor The Steve Miller Band performed Feb. 20 at the Honda Center for CSUF’s annual Front & Center event.
By Jennifer Karmarkar Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Classic Rock legends The Steve Miller Band rocked a crowd of an estimated 9,000 people at the Honda Center Feb. 20, with their high-energy music and a surprise announcement: Miller will donate $25,000 to Cal State Fullerton’s student scholarship program. Miller and his band were the headline performers at Front & Center 2010, CSUF’s annual community outreach and scholarship fundraising event, which also showcased musical performances by students from CSUF’s College of the Arts. CSUF theater arts graduate, actress Kirsten Vangsness, served as master of ceremonies. Miller’s announcement came after the band finished their third number. “If you can do it, so can I,” Miller told the audience, who greeted the announcement with wild applause and a standing ovation. “You guys are the happiest people on the planet. We need more of that, so keep up the good work.” Proceeds from Front & Center go toward President’s Scholars, a merit-based scholarship program that rewards four-year academic scholarships to local incoming freshmen. The program has provided scholarships to more than 400 students. CSUF President Milton Gordon said this is the first time in the event’s 15-year history that the Front & Center entertainer is going to give money back to the university. “It was certainly a surprise to me. I had no idea he was going to do that,” Gordon said after the show. “And (Miller) actually said, ‘If you need me to come back and help you out, let me know.’ So this was great.” Gordon said they received more than 600 applications for President’s Scholars this year, so they will have to wait to see how many they can bring in to CSUF in the fall. “But this is encouraging,” Gordon said, adding that he planned to sleep well that night. See STEVE MILLER, Page 2
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For the record
Signs were scattered around campus Thursday to promote a March 4 protest about budget cuts.
By Katie Rossomano
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Students and faculty from Cal State Fullerton and more than 100 different schools, unions and organizations will meet at Los Angeles’ Pershing Square March 4 to march to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office for a rally to protest budget cuts, which continue to affect California’s public education system. The march is sponsored by the Southern California Public Education Coalition and will include participants from all 23 Cal State University campuses. The march is just one of many state-
wide “Mobilization for Education” planned events that will occur on the same day at or around all 23 CSU campuses, according to the California Faculty Association (CFA). Other planned events include sit-ins, rallies and demonstrations. In addition to the events planned for California on March 4, groups from 17 other states will be holding demonstrations, including New York, Alabama and Michigan. This is the first time that members representing all areas of public education will unite to demonstrate against the state-wide budget cuts. Participants will include students and educators from
K-12 schools, community colleges, UCs and CSUs. Tatiana Pedroza, a senior sociology and women’s studies major, said that students and faculty who are not traveling to Pershing Square, but still want to discuss the budget cuts and other issues affecting CSUF, will gather for an informal meeting on campus at the central quad. Pedroza has been involved in protesting the budget cuts in the past. “I really believe in our education system and really feel like it has taken a big hit recently,” Pedroza said. According to the CFA, student fees at CSUs have tripled since 2002, and among all of the states, California is 47th
in public spending per student. The governor proposed $300 million each for the UC and CSU systems in his most recent state budget proposal but CFA feels that is still not enough, considering that the CSU has lost $1 billion in funding over the past two years. Alice Sunshine, CFA’s communications director, said that over 800 students and faculty from across California met at University of California, Berkley last fall to determine a day for all segments of public education to actively protest what they feel has been an attack on the public education system. See MARCH 4, Page 3
In the Feb. 9 issue of the Daily Titan, DISPLAX was incorrectly identified as the developer of the “transparent thinner-than-paper polymer film.” In fact, Visual Planet are the manufacturer of this thin film technology, which has been part of its ViP Interactive Foil since 2004. The Daily Titan apologizes for this inaccuracy.
INDEX
News ....................................................... page 2,3 Campus Life ................................................ page 4 Opinion ....................................................... page 5 Classifieds ................................................... page 7 Sports ...................................................... page 6,8
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