March 25, 2010
Vol. 87 Issue 27
Gerard Anderson participating in 2010 Slam Dunk Contest SPORTS, Page 10
THURSDAY
This week’s concert at the Becker Amphitheatre: I Am Ghost Long Beach natives the most recent band to play ASI’s Wednesday Concerts. SOUND-OFF, Page 8
Multimedia
Some of the best places to go on a Spring Break Roadtrip: www.dailytitan.com/springroadtrip
Find out what Gabby Marco is doing now that she’s the 2010 Miss Fullerton:
www.dailytitan.com/pageantfollowup
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
4 vie for ASI presidency By Andrew Kwok
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Dancers chosen to grace D.C. The dance department has been awarded the honor of performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington
By Brianne Kinder
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
Cal State Fullerton’s dance department has, for the second time, been chosen to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Last week, six dance majors were selected to perform at the American College Dance Festival (ACDF) at Arizona State University. The six dance majors included: Kindra Chenier, Cassandra Cole, Melanie Hansel, Kathryn Lawson, Bobby Neal and Sara Vincent. The dancers performed a piece titled “Corvidae,” choreographed by Colin Conner and directed by Debra Noble.
The dance department only chose a small number of excellent dance majors from the school to pull off this piece. “Corvidae” is based on the enormous knowledge and animal power vested in human bodies. It is inspired by the ferocity and mystery of crows and ravens – seen as messengers throughout the ages. The American College Dance Festival Association exists to affirm the role of dance in higher education through college universities and dance festivals. While attending the week at the festival, all dancers involved were given the chance to experience a blend of performances, master classes, and an opportunity to network with other dancers from colleges all around the
world. Forty-two different colleges presented one to two pieces and out of the 52 works shown, CSUF’s dance department was one of the chosen 12 to perform at the Gala concert this past Saturday. They were then picked out of the 12 and are now chosen as one of the four to go on and perform at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. this May. “It is exciting that, since 2003, we have had numerous pieces from our program chosen to perform on the Regional Gala Concert. However, this is only the second time for us to be selected to perform at the Kennedy Center, and it speaks to the dedication and intensity of our students and the hard work of the entire faculty,” said
Debra Noble, dance professor and rehearsal director of “Corvidae.” Proud and excited for Washington’s shining moment, Kathryn Lawson, dance major and “Corvidae” performer, said, “I still can’t believe that we have been chosen for this incredible honor! We are now one of 31 pieces selected from the entire United States to perform in D.C.” Another performer, Cassie Cole, took the time out to discuss her experience. “I had an amazing time at ACDF in Arizona. I learned even more about performing, choreographing and critiquing dance. I’m so excited for D.C.!” Cole, along with the other chosen five, now wait for May to arrive.
New parking structure to feature green elements By Kiran Kazalbash
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
photo By nick marley/Daily Titan Photo Editor The spiral staircase to the new parking structure, being built off of Folino Drive, will see students ascending and descending this coming fall.
Providing an additional 1,500 parking spaces for students and staff, Cal-State Fullerton’s new parking structure will not only reduce parking frustration but will reduce the university’s carbon footprint, officials say. The new parking structure will be completed July 15 and will be ready for use in fall 2010. Located on Folino Drive, just north of the Fullerton Marriott Hotel, the six-story structure will contain a visitor’s information center on the first level to assist those visiting the campus with general parking and university information. The re-routed Folino Drive has been made to go around a large pedestrian walkway, which will pass through Lot F, giving
students a more hassle-free walk to class. “Before, students would have to cut across Lot E and Folino Drive,” said Jack Bage Associate Director of Design and Construction. “But this (walkway) will be a safer and more direct way for students to access the campus core.” According to the office of Design and Construction, the new environmentally friendly structure is almost a duplication of the Nutwood Structure, but will include several sustainable and state-of-the-art features. Photovoltaics, a solar paneling system, will be added to the roof of the structure. The electricity generated from the solar panels will feed into the campus’ power grid. The landscaping around the structure will consist of low water, drought resistant, local plants. See PARKING, Page 4
Texas legislation may affect textbooks By Allie Mosier
Daily Titan Staff Writer news@dailytitan.com
U.S. history textbooks may soon be getting a dose of Texas conservatism. In a 10-to-5 split vote, the Texas Board of Education approved some controversial right-leaning changes to the social studies, economics and history curriculum that would call for changes in history textbooks. The board will make its final vote in May
and, if these changes are made, it will affect classrooms across the nation since Texas is a market leader in the school-textbook industry. Every decade, curriculum standards are reviewed and serve as a template for textbook publishers. Don McElroy, chairman of the State Board of Education, explained that the change in the curriculum would add balance in the classroom because “academia is skewed too far to the left.” Professor of American studies Craig
Loftin said history is always very interpretable and subjective. “People see different things as important or relevant depending on who they are and their own life history,” Loftin said. “Every ideological movement - be it conservative or liberal, has its own conceptualization of history.” This isn’t the first time the board has debated over what should be included in textbooks. In recent years, conservatives questioned Darwin’s theory of evolution while Demo-
crats and moderate Republicans fought to keep the teaching of Darwinism and the separation of church and state. See TEXTBOOKS, Page 4
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They’re getting very creative with their campaigning.
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photo By nick marley/Daily Titan Photo Editor Fullerton dance students from left to right: Bobby Neal, Cassie Cole, and Kathy Lawson practice “Corvidae,” the dance piece scheduled to be performed at the Kennedy Center in D.C.
Students will have plenty of candidates to choose from at the Associated Students Inc. general elections on April 7 and 8 in the president and vice president categories. Similar to the national presidential elections, those running for president and vice president share a ticket. Four running teams are competing for the executive position, a sharp contrast from last year’s election in which Juliana Santos and Joseph Lopez ran unopposed for the majority of the spring semester. Candidates running for the executive position, with those listed first in a pairing being presidential candidates and those listed second being vice presidential candidates, are: Joel Thayer and Beth Velasco, Khang Pham and Mark Gonzalez, Raymond Nation and Krystal Santiago, and current vice president Joseph Lopez and current chief communications officer Andrew Lopez. To win the executive spot, candidates must win 50 percent of the votes plus one individual vote, which leads ASI Elections Commissioner Genevieve Eldred to think that there is a high possibility of having a runoff vote. “They’re all really motivated and they’re all going to work really hard,” Eldred said. “They’re getting very creative with their campaigning.” Those candidates that have been in office al– Genevieve Eldred, ASI Elections ready may have an advantage because of name recognition, prior interactions with other organizations and higher visibility on campus, Associate Dean of Students Dr. Esiquio Uballe said. A runoff vote would have the two candidates with the most votes run against each other during elections on April 14 and 15. The high number of candidates in the executive category may be due to more students paying attention to how ASI has allocated their funds in the past, and a possible difference in opinion as to how the funds should be expended, Uballe said. Recent protests concerning campus budget issues are a sign that there is more concern and involvement among students. Campaigning for ASI President/Vice President gives students an opportunity to point ASI in a different direction, Uballe added. “This is going to be an interesting election because of the particular economic situation that Cal State Universities finds itself in,” Uballe said. A decline in enrollment means less funds for ASI, since a fixed percentage of student fees is allocated for the company. “Right now, ASI is at a point where they stand to lose money in their budget because of the fact that there will be a reduction in the student fees collected,” Uballe said. See ASI, Page 4