Wednesday September 11, 2019
Volume 106 Issue 5
The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
Campus rape suspect remains at large
A sexual assault was reported in the Nutwood parking structure. NOAH BIESIADA Asst. Editor
HOSAM ELATTAR Editor
A Cal State Fullerton student was raped on campus Monday, the third sexual assault reported at CSUF in 2019. The assault happened around midnight in the elevator of the Nutwood Parking Structure. University Police sent out a campus-wide alert yesterday morning at 6:30 a.m., after local hospital nurses reported the incident at 1a.m. University Police Capt. Scot Willey said the update took several hours to post because police were gathering information. “We tried to put it out as quickly as humanly possible, but with good information,” Willey said. “We had to get investigators out there. We’re waking up people in the middle of the night.” Police say the suspect is a white male in his mid-20s, with “shoulder-length long, brown hair,” weighing around 160 pounds and standing at 5 feet10 inches tall. Police also say the suspect has a mole under the right eye. The suspect also has blue or green eyes, according to police, and wore a navy T-shirt with
The assault took place in one of the elevators in the Nutwood parking structure.
black shorts at the time. Police urge people not to approach the suspect if seen, and instead to immediately call 911. Willey said a sketch of the perpetrator will be released Wednesday. It is unclear if the suspect is a student or not, and no weapon was used, according to University Police. The victim was walking back to her car after exercising at the
Student Recreation Center. After the assault, police say she went to a local hospital who reported it to the campus. “He followed her into the elevator and when she turned around, he grabbed her, and they went to the ground. He proceeded to rape her as they went from the first floor to the fourth floor. When the doors opened, she was able to get out and escape the
ELIZA GREEN / DAILY TITAN
area,” Willey said. The victim was not sure if the suspect went back down in the elevator or left the area, and did not know her attacker, Willey said. Officers searched the area but did not find anyone matching the victim’s description. “It makes sense that it was reported as quickly as it was, considering it was in a public place. It doesn’t appear that this was
somebody that this person knew, and assaults by strangers are typically reported much quicker than assaults by people that we know,” said Alissa Ackerman, an assistant professor of criminal justice. Ackerman added that reporting rape earlier benefits the investigation by allowing police to collect the necessary evidence. Willey said police collected DNA from the crime scene, and officers are looking through security footage to identify the suspect. He noted that there are no cameras inside or outside the elevator in question. “We don’t have any footage that we found that we can release. We would put that out immediately if we have it, but we do not have that. There was some DNA that we got at the crime scene that has been submitted to the (District Attorney’s) office, and we’ll see if we get something back but that could be weeks,” Willey said. In 2017, there were three rapes reported on campus, according to the Clery Report, the campus’ police tracking of all crime. Police will release the 2018 report this semester. “Those stats show a very skewed picture of the kinds or amounts of sexual assault that happen. I think there are far more than three sexual assaults that happen on this campus in a given year,” Ackerman said. SEE CRIME
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How horror mazes come to life Fullerton wants $14M
Creative director brings imaginations to “Hollywood Horror Nights.” SARITA ESPINOSA Asst. Editor
Days before the public immerses themselves into a world of complete terror, chords covered the floor like mountainous piles of snakes as the ceiling of the “Ghostbusters” maze was being attached in preparation for Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. “Watch your step guys, there’s a lot of chords. Come on through,” said John Murdy, creative director and executive producer of Halloween Horror Nights, as he led a tour of his creation. Murdy has been in the
business of scaring people since he was 10 years old. In 1977, he created a “Star Wars” haunted house and made progression every year until he was 14. “There were 300 people lined up waiting to go in our house. I was playing Norman Bates and I was coming out of the bathroom with a real butcher knife. (Murdy’s father) was just like, ‘You can’t do this anymore, we’re going to get sued,’” said Murdy, recalling the final haunted house he created in Hacienda Heights. As Murdy grew up, his passion for entertainment continued in the form of acting, leading to his attendance at Whittier College on a scholarship for theater. Murdy’s relationship with Universal Studios began when he started as a tour guide. From
there, he took a position as a production assistant, which launched his career in Universal’s creative team. As a creative director, Murdy designs attractions worldwide, such as the concept for “Sesame Street 3D” at Universal Studios Japan. Soon after, Murdy began his career as the creative director for Halloween Horror Nights. “I got a call from our general manager — they had tried to do Horror Nights in the old days — and he wanted to bring it back and he asked me if I’d leave what I was doing and come back to this park and bring back Horror Nights. And so 14 years ago, I said yes,” Murdy said. Part of what makes Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights truly terrifying are the unique themes of the mazes. Deviating from exclusively slasher
OMAR SANCHEZ / DAILY TITAN
The entrance to the ‘Creepshow’ maze adopts these comic book covers to decorate its exterior. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @THEDAILYTITAN
films, this year’s mazes include “Ghostbusters,” Jordan Peele’s “Us,” and “Creepshow” (based on the comic book). One of the challenges Murdy faced at this year’s event was creating a scary experience from the comedy “Ghostbusters.” Murdy was able to combat this issue creatively through research. Using story elements from several films in the “Ghostbusters” franchise and material from the original screenplay, Murdy created storylines that are familiar with audiences, yet chilling. “We use the spirit realm for two reasons: to get you in and out of scenes to jump locations, but also to take you into an environment where we can truly scare you and we can mess with you,” Murdy said. The range of themes allows audiences to enjoy a fresh take on horror. “What I like about (the range of themes) is that it’s all these different types of horror films loosely grouped under the genre of horror. It just keeps pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable as something you can do in a haunted house,” Murdy said. Attention to detail is another aspect that makes Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights so intense. Murdy worked closely with Peele’s company, Monkeypaw Productions to design the “Us” maze in a way that tells the plot of the film. Stepping into the “Us” maze was like stepping into the realm of Peele’s imagination. Audience members will immediately recognize props identical to those used in the film. “I went through 40,000 pictures on “Us” to find the pictures of the set and the costumes and the characters and all that. And this is pretty darn spot-on to the movie,” Murdy said.
SEE FRIGHT
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City using 70-year agreement to request money from CSUF. LETICIA PEREZ Freelancer
A recent audit reveals that California State Universities have accrued a surplus of more than $1.5 billion, pushing the city of Fullerton to request $14 million from the school. The university has no intention of paying with the CSU reserve money, according to Ellen Treanor, the vice president of strategic communications at CSUF. The agreement document — dating back to 1986 — shows that CSUF would lease over three acres of land to the city, which would be subleased to the Marriott Corporation. According to the initial report, members of the Academic Senate at the university and the city of Fullerton had intentions for the 224 room hotel to pay rent with its revenues over time in a 70year agreement. “From my reading of the documents, the Marriott was to be built, and the Marriott revenues, room fees, room taxes and occupancy taxes, all those would essentially pay the city back for the cost of the land,” Treanor said. The city sold bonds to help finance 46% of the Sports Complex at the university. The Marriott’s revenue was estimated to pay off those bonds almost 40 years later if they had paid at least $750,000 annually, stated in the report between Sal D. Rinella, then-vice president for administration, and the members of the Academic Senate. SEE MARRIOTT
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