Cal State Fullerton women snowboarders, of last year’s team, prepare for their heat to start in the boardercross, a snowboarding competition where several boarders start at the top of a mountain and race to the bottom. They decided to have a little fun before charging down the mountain. Photo courtesy Breana Hope.

As the Cal State Fullerton ski and snowboard team gears up for this winter, there’s no telling what to expect from these men and women who live for the thrill of the snowy summit.

The ski and snowboard club on campus is back for a second year and will strive to come out on top this winter in the Southern California Collegiate Snowsports Conference, a branch league from the United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association.

Competitions are held at Mammoth Mountain, Calif., from late December to early April with about six competitions per season. The events are held separately for both men and women in a number of ski and snowboard events.

The race season consists of slalom for skiers only, giant slalom, boarder/skier cross, slopestyle and half-pipe.

The CSUF team will be racing against opponents from USC, UCLA, UC Irvine, Cal State Long Beach and more.

Last season, CSUF ski and snowboard president Breana Hope ranked eighth out of 40 in the women’s snowboard combined individual scores.

Hope said that the team first came about as a simple group on Facebook and gradually grew throughtout fall 2008.

She had the inspiration to start the team from her sister Cara, whom was also a member of the UCLA ski and snowboard team.

Captain Shea Helms, 22, a public relations major from San Jose, caught on to the team early last year and has been a huge asset to the team.

Thanks to Helms’ social networking skills she was largely responsible for doubling the number of team members from 10 to 20 this year.

Each student athlete pays a one-time fee of $500 for the whole season, which pays for housing and racer fees.

Much of the team’s fundraising this year came from a car wash, garage sale and My Sports Dreams, which is the nation’s leading sports fundraiser. This is cared for by faculty adviser Nathan Longcrier and Sports Club Inter-Club Council adviser Jamaar Walker.

Longcrier is an athletic training professor on campus who watches over the team, and Walker provides a lot of the updates and necessary paperwork that keeps the team afloat, Hope said.

The team is also sponsored by Grenade, Fuel TV and Wrong Gear, each play a major role of gearing up every snowboarder on the team.

A snowboarder competes in one of the giant slalom events last year. The giant slalom is a timed event where each individual rides down the mountain and carves past each flag from left to right as fast as they can. Photo courtesy Breana Hope.

Helms said one of the goals this year was to bring the team closer together than they were last season.

“Everyone on the team is just about my best friend, and we hang out every day,” Helms said.
Helms, alongside Hope, competes in all of the snowboard events for CSUF, and she feels that her skills have really developed in the slopestyle competition.

She has been riding for 13 years and feels that her skills have definitely improved after competing for the first time last year.

Despite gaining the competitor’s edge, she said, “You feel just free when you’re out there. It’s something you do to forget all your worries.”

Former team member Casey Gonzalez met Hope in fall 2008 in a kinesiology course.

The two became good friends, and when they both shared the fact that they love to snowboard, Gonzalez was instantly made a member of the team and laced up to ride that very same winter.

“None of us had ever met before, but we all became really good friends and we gelled together as a team,” Gonzalez said.

Since only undergraduates are allowed to compete, Gonzalez said that she will root from the sidelines this year and will continue to be a mentor to the team and do whatever she can for the team to be successful.

“Each person brings their own thing to the team and helps everybody else out. It’s definitely made my Cal State Fullerton experience better,” Hope said.

The ski and snowboard season for the team begins on Dec. 28 and runs to Apr. 11 at Mammoth Mountain.

For the Daily Titan

Valentine’s Day 2009: Elise Larkin looks at a stuffed bear her boyfriend Adam gave her. The bear is holding a small box in its paw. She expects earrings, a necklace, or maybe even a bracelet. But she opens the box to find a plastic heart that says, “Now you’ll always have my heart.” He was a simple romantic and the love of her life. The 21-year old political science major at Cal State Fullerton, recalled of her last Valentine’s Day with Adam.

27-year-old Adam Ransom came from a Christian family of five. They lived in Long Beach in a two-story house. His parents were supportive and loved their children more than anything.

He had many loves. One of them was Larkin, others were his nephews, his closest four friends and anyone else he called family. His favorite architect was Frank Lloyd Wright because he was captivated by skyscrapers. He was fascinated with Jung and loved to carefully analyze his writings. He played baseball all his life and also acquired a love for football. “Wherever Brett Farve went, Adam followed,” Larkin said. He had tattoos of his favorite quotations and art pieces; one of them carried the message: “The brightest stars burn out the fastest.”

He was an introvert while Elise was an extrovert. He was skeptical about people’s intentions; Larkin was not. They loved each other nonetheless. “Me, I was happy, and I think some of that poured into him,” she explained. Their 3-year relationship consisted of a lot of outdoor activities, especially overlooking the sunset at Signal Hill in Long Beach. They would enjoy nights in by slow dancing to the music of Billie Holiday in his room. “They were like two little kids in a movie,” said Kris Casebeer, Larkin’s cousin and Ransom’s childhood friend. Larkin’s parents didn’t approve of him, but that didn’t stop her from loving him.

“I’m beginning to understand I’ll love you forever,” “What were you thinking” and “Come back” are comments that now fill Ransom’s Facebook page. Something was missing from his life – a void he was never able to fill. Larkin explained that while the first year of their relationship was smooth, his depression became all too apparent within the second year. He would tell her things like, “If I killed myself I’d want to hang myself.” She would worry and ask him to clarify, only to receive a response along the lines of, “Oh… just kidding, I’d never do that.”

6 months ago, in an attempt to fill the void within him, Ransom began heavily drinking. He would go to Blondie’s, a bar that was within walking distance from his home, because it was convenient. He knew alcohol would always be there and it quickly became his escape. Blondie’s would always be there for him even when times were bad. Here, he was never alone. Here, everyone knew his name. And while he didn’t trust the world around him, he trusted everyone within the walls of Blondie’s.

Larkin had always seen her future in his eyes but he didn’t always feel the same. May 2009 came around which meant one thing, summer. For Larkin, it meant leaving for New York to attend an internship. The internship was important experience for Larkin; it meant she would be one step closer to accomplishing her goals. “It was something I was doing for my future,” she says. Ransom saw it as her giving up on him — he urged her not go as if she was leaving forever. Blondie’s became his comfort while she was away.

While in New York, Larkin thought he had become motivated to get help of some sort but came home to the reality. She called her cousin while away to check up on things and he told her “No, no … Adam has actually gotten 100 times worse.” Elise thought this had to be an exaggeration but realized it wasn’t when she saw his bloated face greet her at the airport. “He looked just horrible. It wasn’t like he was overweight in any fashion, it was the alcohol made him bloat,” she said. His depression had obviously gotten worse and Larkin could rarely find a sober boyfriend to talk to … her partner was slipping away.

Ransom never sought professional help but began medicating himself. He got Valium from a friend. “It will make me stop drinking,” he told Larkin. She didn’t try to stop him, not only because she knew how stubborn he was, but because she knew it would only escalate into an argument. He wasn’t the same person she had fallen in love with. His temper was short and they didn’t go to Signal Hill to watch sunsets anymore. They were not the active couple they once were.

Since the drugs were not helping, Ransom started taking at least five Valium a day. He couldn’t even function at work anymore let alone walk straight. Larkin decided the best thing to do was stay at a distance for the time being. She couldn’t handle how out of control he had become. He started having manic episodes and his friends found him face down in the water on a trip to Lake Havasu. No one knew if this was a suicide attempt or an accident as a result of the high dosage of Valium he was taking.

He came back from his trip to Lake Havasu looking worse than before. He had cuts and bruises everywhere, “It was like me seeing him kill himself from the inside. I knew the moment he stopped caring about his appearance something was wrong,” Elise says. She tried telling him how much his alcohol and drugs were affecting her and how much she loved him but he was so clouded from the two to understand the effect he was having on those around him.

On Aug. 21, Ransom could no longer take the helplessness. He took Valium and Darvocet in large quantities and washed them down with alcohol. He had been doing his research and knew this was the way to kill himself. And at age 27, Ransom decided to end his life. Elise was at work when she received the call from her brother urging her to come home immediately. When her parents told her what had happened to Ransom her world collapsed and everything lost its meaning. Food tasted like paper for the next two weeks. He left a note for his family and addressed Larkin in it: “Tell Elise she was my greatest love and that I am sorry it didn’t work out,” it read. She felt she was cheated out of a response.

School started on Monday and Adam had died on Friday and Elise knew putting her life on hold would only hinder her progress. She started the semester as usual but with an obvious hole in her heart. She became angry at Adam and herself. “How could he have done this to me?” she thought. “And how could I have not seen it coming?”

Elise has learned being angry brings no catharsis. And 12 weeks later she wears a smile brighter than a rainbow because of Ransom. She got to experience love and still feels his love everyday she wakes up. She carries that plastic heart she found in the box the bear was holding on Valentine’s Day everyday and knows she and Ransom will meet again.

Today, Larkin focuses all her energy on bringing awareness to those around her. She said the biggest regret she has is not acknowledging how serious his depression was. “His job wasn’t enough, his friends weren’t enough, his family wasn’t enough, I was not enough … to save him,” she said. Elise’s advice to those who know someone with depression is to never give up, never leave their side, and more importantly never underestimate the power of depression “It’s a disease that eats people up,” she says. She urges people to seek professional help immediately and never brush it off.

On Oct. 10 Larkin and her sorority, Sigma Kappa, participated in one of the “Out of the Darkness” community walks hosted by the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. “I’ve never lost anyone to suicide but the walk really me realize how prevalent suicide really is,” said Cal State Fullerton student Gabrielle Ulrich. The sorority raised $600 for depression research and other causes of suicide. She says this is the first of many events she will take part in to generate awareness.

Larkin hopes to make suicide prevention an active philanthropy for her sorority and get involved with the AFSP and possibly start an awareness group on campus. “It (suicide) basically kills everyone around them. It doesn’t just take that person’s life; It has taken my life and his parent’s life in a sense,” Larkin said.

On Nov. 21 the AFSP is hosting simultaneous conferences throughout the world in honor of its 11th Annual National Survivors of Suicide Day. They are healing conferences that help survivors connect with others who have survived the tragedy of suicide loss, and express and understand the powerful emotions they experience. “Laughter. It’s what’s helping me cope with it. Adam’s older brother and I just like to laugh a lot,” said Casebeer after losing one of his best friends.

Leon and Rosina Watson were married in 1950, just after the California Supreme Court became the first in the nation to strike down interracial marriage bans. The Oakland couple raised three children and remain living in their same home for the past 59 years. Photo courtesy MCT.

According to the state of Virginia, which at the time prohibited interracial marriage, they were criminals – guilty of marrying the “wrong” kind of person – and were given a choice to serve one year in prison or 25 years in exile from their home state.

The Lovings saw they had only one choice: to fight for the right to love and be with each other, regardless of race, color or creed.

After much trial, tribulation and perseverance, the U.S Supreme Court in the case of Loving v. Virginia declared, “The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.”

The case of Loving v. Virginia provided light at the end of a dimly-lit tunnel and paved the way for many interracial couples to live free from persecution.

Many argue that this generation of American youths are creating a bold new frontier for America, one where individuals of all cultures are mixing and integrating to form a brilliant kaleidoscope of ethnicities. However, with change often comes resistance and hostility toward accepting a new America.

Thomas Grisby, a 27-year-old ITT Tech graduate, experienced the extent of society’s acceptance and tolerance firsthand.

“Overall, I think society has made a 180,” Grisby, who is black and previously dated a Caucasian woman, said. “America has evolved so much, and not everyone is the same race. We’re so mixed. It’s inevitable that everyone will soon blend.”

Despite society’s greater acceptance toward interracial couples, Grisby said that certain menacing looks from a handful of people are ever-present and hard to ignore.

“I was always on alert, everywhere I went, because I knew that we might cause problems,” Grisby said. “Most of the people staring would focus attention on my girlfriend, trying to tell her with their eyes that she was doing something wrong and should be ashamed.”

Ricky Young, a 22-year-old from Mississippi, is a kinesiology major visiting Cal State Fullerton. Young, who is black, shares Grisby’s thoughts and attitudes regarding society’s increase in accepting interracial relationships; however, particular instances of discrimination have been unforgettable.

“For the most part, my girlfriend and I only get slight glances and looks, mostly from older people,” Young said.

Young described an instance in which a Caucasian man tried to initiate a fight with him after giving Young and his girlfriend a disgusted look.

“Once he knew I could hold my own, he walked away,” Young said. “My girlfriend and I were both shaken up, and we knew that it was just a product of ignorance.”

Lezlee Hinesmon-Matthews, assistant professor of Afro-ethnic studies at CSUF, teaches many courses on the history of racism and the black family. After years of teaching a variety of students, she feels that many of them underestimate the reality of discrimination and prejudice occurring in today’s society.

“(Southern California) natives are used to multiculture, and are comfortable with it because they have grown up around it,” Matthews said. “Some of my students who have traveled the states and abroad have other stories to tell and are often surprised to realize that others do not share their same ideals.”

The scale and presence of racism seems to significantly vary regionally.

Many of her students who attempt to date interracially begin to realize that bigotry still exists, not only outside sources but from family as well, Matthews said. Many of those who embark on an interracial relationship feel that it is not worth the strife or complication, especially at the risk of being ostracized by certain family members.

The repercussions of interracial relationships are becoming apparent, and in many instances individuals can feel neglected or angry when someone from within their race chooses to date outside the racial spectrum. Matthews notes that these pent up feelings of hurt and animosity can often be aimed toward interracial couples and prove to perpetuate prejudice.

Another crucial problem in society that serves to impede the process of progression and acceptance in America are individuals belonging to an older generation. In society today, while the merging of races has become more widely practiced and accepted by the younger generation, older generations are usually less tolerant and often stigmatize youths for their seemingly “taboo” choices. Tension between the generations arise, creating an ever-present tug-of-war of conflicting ideas and perceptions.

An example of this would be the much-publicized case in which Louisiana Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell, a Caucasian male in his 70s, refused to give a marriage license to an interracial New Orleans couple on the basis that he disapproved of their races mixing with one another, saying he was concerned for the children they would have together. Many older individuals such as Bardwell are reluctant to abandon their deeply rooted discriminative views, and this becomes a reflection of how far America has come, and how far it needs to go.

Despite the dismaying reality that prejudice still exists, barriers are slowly but surely being broken. As older generations and their prejudices die off, it is up to America’s youth to stamp out the legacy of racism by passing on messages of cultural diversity and acceptance to future generations. President Obama, a product of an interracial marriage, serves as a testament to society moving in the right direction.

Young personally hasn’t noticed any change so far, suggesting that it’s too soon to tell whether or not Obama has caused America to be more understanding toward interracial couples. But in his eyes, the fact that Obama was elected and is the product of an interracial marriage is evidence that many people don’t have an issue with it.

Matthews feels that her students are very optimistic Obama will help to eliminate society’s racism and discrimination. America’s past has been marred by years of slavery and oppression.

Nataliya Kuryliak Pratsovyta

Nataliya Kuryliak Pratsovyta spoke in a soft tone with a voice appropriate for the Pollak Library; she spends most of her time in the library these days. Kuryliak Pratsovyta, a Fulbright Scholar, moved to Fullerton, Calif., in order to pursue a vision: a master’s in English and comparative literature.

“She’s definitely the most driven person I’ve met,” said Andrea Castle, 22, a fellow graduate student. “She studies 24 hours a day and will come to class with 10 pages of notes. She’s all kinds of intense.”

The Fulbright Graduate Students Exchange Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and grants both American and international students the opportunity to learn from the host country’s educational system and everyday cultural experiences. Funds necessary for living and learning in the U.S. are provided, according to the program’s Web site.

In an interview with “Inside,” a CSUF publication, Fulbright Scholar student adviser Volker Janssen said the program “recognizes maturity and intellectual flexibility and helps any student stand out in the academic world and in the job market. It can be a life-changing experience.”

To be accepted into the program, Kuryliak Pratsovyta endured a year-long process of interviews, essays and tests to determine her eligibility.

Her mother, father and husband all highly value education, so when the official invitation to study in the U.S. came, the whole family celebrated.

In the three months since she left home, Kuryliak Pratsovyta has been renting a room at a private residence in Fullerton and studying continuously while trying to adapt to a new culture. Every day she is reminded of her family by a few pictures stuffed into her little brown wallet. Her husband and daughter are waiting for Christmas break, when it is expected that the two will be able to visit Kuryliak Pratsovyta.

With shining eyes she described her 3-year-old and hopes her daughter will enjoy the greenery of Kuryliak Pratsovyta’s new home. The lush yard and garden of the private residence is a bit exotic when compared to their apartment in Ukraine, which is set in the middle of the city where buildings replace trees.

Born in the bustling historic city of L’viv, Ukraine, Kuryliak Pratsovyta’s world expanded at the age of 7 when she became fascinated with traveling.

“I wanted to travel,” Kuryliak Pratsovyta said. “I wanted to be able to speak and write to different people.”

Her love of language began in the first grade when she took a required intensive English course and realized early on that English would open doors to the whole world.

Education in Ukraine takes a different shape, especially at the university level, Kuryliak Pratsovyta said. The system takes a planned approach where each major is accompanied by a complete list of required courses, excluding electives.

“In Ukraine, all canonized authors are included, and you cannot skip anything,” Kuryliak Pratsovyta said, with a new confidence rising from her secure insight on the subject.

During her first study abroad experience as a junior at Ivan Franko National University of L’viv, Kuryliak Pratsovyta studied the American educational system and policies at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

In the midst of her studies, a new interest was ignited as she was exposed to American literature. Kuryliak Pratsovyta became more excited about the field as she came to understand the contemporary process and realized American literature reflects political and historical themes that appear in many countries across the globe, she said.

“I wanted to see different people in different ways,” Kuryliak Pratsovyta said. “Literature helps me understand people more.”

As for now, Kuryliak Pratsovyta must direct her energy toward her final master’s project, founded on Eastern-European-American authors and the immigration process. Ultimately, she strives to complete the two-year master’s program in hopes to pursue an even loftier goal of obtaining her doctorate in English. But the future is still unknown and as Kuryliak Pratsovyta laughingly said, “It’s too early to say. Ask me at the end of the semester.”

Illustration by Kurt Strazdins and Kurt Strazdins (MCT)

Feb. 4, 2007 started as a friend’s birthday celebration for Sobuon Leng.

It ended with Leng getting hit by a drunk driver in her car.

Leng, 21, a double major in anthropology and sociology at Cal State Fullerton, pulled up to a four-way stop sign after dropping her friend off at home at around 10 p.m.

Her car was suddenly hit on the driver’s side by a man who had been drinking and driving.

Leng’s Honda Accord was hit after going no more than a couple inches from the stop.

The crash was caused by the man’s Yukon SUV.

“The guy got out of his car yelling at me for my information because I had hit his car. He was irate,” Leng said.

When police arrived at the scene, the man was arrested for drinking and driving and driving on a suspended license for a prior DUI charge.

Although Leng’s car was totalled, she suffered no serious injuries except back pain that began a couple weeks after the accident.

Much like Leng, Penny Weifmuller, an assistant professor in nursing at CSUF, was also a victim of a drunk driving crash.

While on her way to visit her father in Oregon for his 98th birthday on Oct. 28, 2006, Weifmuller, her brother and sister-in-law were rear-ended by a drunk driver going 100 mph on the freeway at 3:30 a.m.

Their car spun and rolled several times, landing upside down on the freeway while the drunk driver drove away.

“I didn’t even know I was upside down until I tried reaching for my car handle,” Weifmuller said. “But when I couldn’t reach it, I went to undo my seat belt, and I hit the roof of the car.”

Her sister-in-law, who was the only one able to climb through her window, phoned firefighters and paramedics.

A semi-truck driver and another vehicle stopped to help and both phoned the police.

The truck driver radioed other semis that were traveling ahead, which allowed them to make a block across the freeway to stop the 21-year-old man who hit Weifmuller and her family.

“For the first year after the accident, if I was riding in the passenger seat, I would become what some people call a ‘Nervous Nellie,’” Weifmuller said. “My husband would get mad at me because I was just so nervous.”

Weifmuller and her family were not as lucky as Leng when it came to escaping injuries.

Her sister-in-law’s scalp had to be re-attached at the hospital as it came off in the crash.

Weifmuller’s brother had suffered injury to his abdomen, and Weifmuller had to endure shoulder, back, hip and knee surgery over an extended period of time.

Much like Leng’s driver, the man who had rear-ended Weifmuller’s vehicle was a multiple DUI offender driving on a suspended license.

“I really don’t like drinking, and I think people should be responsible,” Weifmuller said. “Maybe you don’t care for yourself, but you can cause such harm to others.”

Lori Phelps, who is involved with the Substance Abuse Awareness and Prevention Student Association and is a full-time lecturer in the human services department on campus, doesn’t take a stance against drinking, but enforces moderation.

“It’s a rite of passage,” Phelps said. “Instead of a zero tolerance when it comes to alcohol, I would like to see other options. We’ve made drinking taboo, so instead of kids just trying it they overdo it.”

Phelps said she doesn’t see moderation being taught.

“It’s clearly heartbreaking when an accident happens, but it seems some programs are not effective,” Phelps said.

When people are sent to alcohol programs, the standard of instructors and information that is being taught is up to par, Phelps said.

“When people get a DUI, no one is going to expect them to stop drinking,” Phelps said.

Leng said she is thankful she wasn’t seriously injured and adds that drinking and driving isn’t worth the dangers that can be caused.

“My only thing is you really need to take a step back and think about drinking and driving. You’re either going to be arrested for it or become a victim of it,” Leng said.

Photo illustration by Jeff Lambert.

“I’m trying to occupy myself; I have yoga class today,” she said.

Sober, relaxed and shyly loving another chance to tell the tale of what would lead to her most horrifying experience, Finney takes a deep breath.

On Jan. 12, 2008, Finney crashed her car into a park during park hours, just short of a children’s play structure while inebriated. She was the only one injured.

That morning, Finney and her best friend prepared an 18-pack of beer to “ease the edge.” She would meet her then-boyfriend’s family for the first time at his grandmother’s birthday party, and she was nervous.

“So I finished a ton of beers and drove drunk to this party, where everyone was already drunk, so I continued to drink … and take shots with his grandmother,” Finney recalled.

After a couple of hours, Finney realized her boyfriend was nowhere to be found.

Surrounded by friendly strangers, Finney decided to find her boyfriend.

She got into her car and sped off toward his best friend’s house; his friend was also attending the party. Maybe they had gone to do something.

Upon approaching the house, Finney noticed no cars graced the driveway or curb, so she headed back toward the party.

Blowing a stop sign and dipping hard into a right turn, Finney sped her car around a corner, clipping the curb and popping her front right tire.

The impact and eruption of air propelled the car left into the park. Her car jumped a boulder, ripping most of the car’s undercarriage, before coming to a stop just short of the play structure.

“It was horrible,” Finney said.

Her purse had shattered the window, which caused her to cover her face when the air bag exploded, knocking her unconscious.

A neighborhood resident rushed to her aid. He must have heard the loud crash, Finney said. Once she was somewhat conscious, the man took her back to his house.

He offered her a place to stay and make some phone calls. Finney called her mother immediately and explained what happened.

The cops and her parents arrived on scene at the same time.

Though honest to the authorities about drinking, she was put through a series of sobriety tests.

“My parents watched me fail my sobriety tests. They gave me a breathalyzer and I blew a 0.2, which is (more than) double over the legal limit. They arrested me on the spot,” Finney said. “I spent 26 hours in a holding cell.”

While in the holding cell, “Silence of the Lambs” played on the TV in black and white on a continuous loop. When Finney arrived, the cell was vacant; but during her stay 12 other women joined her in the cell which had a maximum occupancy of 28.

She had to remain in jail until she was sober and properly identified. Unfortunately, the computer systems went down during her stay. Since her prints had to be sent to Sacramento, the system crash delayed her release.

Finney appeared in court only for her sentencing, though her lawyer returned five times in her place.
On Feb. 7, 2008, Finney began the “Right On” program, a five-step series of classes designed to teach underage drunk drivers the effects of alcohol on the brain and judgment as well as society.

It took her nine months to complete the program, the length of which is dependent on the severity of the DUI, said Finney. She had to travel, usually by train, from Orange County to Los Angeles once a week to attend the classes.

“The program was designed to teach you about the different sides of your brain and on what makes you do the things you do,” Finney said.

The class taught students to, “make you more aware of the effects drinking can have on your body,” she added.

Finney learned to take responsibility for her actions.

“It’s your fault you got a DUI, no one else’s,” Finney said. “And it’s not about the amount you drink, any amount can impair your judgment.”

After the initial classes, Finney had to complete the Hospital and Morgue Program.

This LA-based program sends people convicted of DUI to a hospital and morgue for seminars. It was during this part of the program that Finney’s mentality changed forever.

“It was an eye opener for me just how many people get DUIs,” Finney said.

Around 30 others joined her at the hospital for the one-time, four hour class that is held year-round.

But it was at the morgue that Finney went through her most horrifying experience.

Like the hospital day, the morgue day began with a seminar, but also consisted of, “Actually going to view … dead bodies … and watch autopsies,” Finney said. “Over 250 dead bodies.”

As they walked from the classroom to the morgue, a fresh corpse came in on a gurney. “She died while we were in class,” Finney said.

“There’s just tables of people getting autopsied, you know, getting cut open,” Finney recalled. “That, I will never be able to forget.”

Following the HaM program, Finney had to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving seminar where three speakers talked about their lost loved ones while holding pictures of the deceased.

One speaker had lost their son to a drunk driver the same day Finney was arrested for her DUI. He was her age.

“I’ll never forget that image. It made it very surreal,” Finney said. “Because that freaked me out. The fact I could have killed, or someone could have killed me that same night.”

After the seminar, her fifth and final step of the program was to write a three page paper about her experiences with HaM.

In all, she lost her license for 13 months and one day – one year after her first court date – and she ended up paying about $30,000 for the whole ordeal.

She totalled her car, had to pay a $2,200 ticket for the DUI, $500 for the five classes and $1,000 every six months for car insurance. The insurance increase will last 10 years even with the cheapest coverage and vehicle level.

Finney also had to attend 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

She was left with permanent back problems, a fear of the morgue and terrible anxiety behind the wheel.

“I’ll never be the same … mentally,” Finney said.

But the best part of her DUI story involved her ex-boyfriend, his best friend and the best friend’s father.

“While I was getting booked … I saw his best friend and father being booked into jail,” said Finney.

The friend’s truck suffered a “hood malfunction” one street over at the same time Finney crashed.

Although the driver instinctively applied the breaks, another driver backing up did not see them coming and struck them.

The father got “confrontational” with the responding police officer, leading to both father and son being arrested. Her ex was spared because there was no more room in the squad car.

“So yeah, great family event,” Finney said.

Despite the harsh realities of her DUI experience, Finney loves telling her story; hoping it will influence people to think twice before drinking and driving.

“But I’m mentally going to be fucked for the rest of my life,” said Finney.

Michael Melin, 18, fires off an arrow at the Archers of CSUF practice. The archery club meets every Friday and Saturday night at Titan Stadium. The archers provide bows for beginners who don’t have their own equipment and want to participate. Photo by Ron Fu.

Archers of CSUF, Cal State Fullerton’s archery club, was started in 2005 by Brent Ferguson, the first president of the club, Laura Wakim, former secretary and barebow shooter for the club, and Veronica Purpura, a member and designer of the club’s logo and flyers.

They got people interested in the club by participating in Cal State Fullerton Day and Discoverfest.
Purpura took the initiative to start early recruitment by motivating people to join the club.

The club already had the necessary equipment; they just had to establish themselves in order to be able to practice on the soccer field.

They accomplished this by winning numerous competitions, medals and awards such as the Titan Pride Spirit Award on CSUF Day.

Purpura got involved with archery in high school and took classes at Hi-Tech Archery in Fullerton.

The club’s goals for this semester are to “recruit, join and have fun,” Purpura said.

Karl Keranen, the volunteer coach for the club, has been shooting archery since 1988 and has been shooting competitively since 1994.

He said the club shoots different types of styles including: recurve, Olympic, compound bow and barebow, which is the most popular.

Coach Karl Keranen helps Brent Cone, 18, improve his stance during an Archers of CSUF club practice. Photo by Ron Fu.

The archery club focuses on two facets: recreational and competitive. The club’s president, Lucy Neiss, decided that the group should cater to both sides, Keranen said.

Competitive archers have opportunities to compete in large events next semester like the State Indoor Tournament in Tulare, Calif., which takes place in January.

A way in which the club is trying to encourage people to join is by putting out flyers and “trying to keep a high profile,” Keranen said.

Keranen gives free private lessons to people interested in the sport at a local archery range.

Gurpreet Singh, a freshman biochemistry major, recently joined the archery club.

He originally heard about the club from his friend Mindy.

“It’s quite relaxing once you hit the target. It’s satisfying,” Singh said, adding that archery helps him gain control of his muscles and helps him focus.

The club meets Fridays and Saturdays on the soccer field from 6 – 9 p.m.

If you are interested in joining either for recreation or for competition, you can e-mail the club at Archery.CSUF@gmail.com.

By Nyree Knox and Eric Alavez
For the Daily Titan

RateMyProfessors.com turned 10 this year.

The Web site helps students search for instructors and “rate” them in order to make the student voice heard.

Students search for a professor by their last name or by the school they attend.

The results provide a scorecard that shows the professor’s number of ratings, average clarity, average easiness, how attractive they are, their helpfulness and overall quality.

Students who access the site don’t need to create an account to look up a professor.

Students from the United States, England, Canada, Scotland and Wales can access the site and rate educators.

“Ten million comments, ten million opinions and ten million reasons,” makes the Web site the most popular professor database, according to the site.

The student-run site was launched in May of 1999, and in 2007 it was purchased by Viacom’s mtvU.

Carlos DiMarco, vice president of MTV Networks’ university relations said that the site continues to do what it does best – give college students a space where they can voice their opinion.

“Rate My Professors is driven by student voice. There are no corporate comments,” DiMarco said during a phone interview.

MTV Networks’ interest in the Web site was based on its popularity among college students.

“If the site has no trust (from students), it has no value,” DiMarco said.

DiMarco added that the Web site will continue to cater to students through new tools and advances. But the site will not change dramatically.

“The site functions so well that we are inclined to say, ‘Don’t mess with it,’” DiMarco said.

Today, Rate My Professors is “expanding in other ways, making it a priority to advance,” DiMarco said.

The Web site plans to create an iPhone application that will give students the opportunity to rate professors instantly.

“What better time to rate a professor than by doing it with a cell phone,” DiMarco said.

Along with the iPhone app, Rate My Professors will let students rate school campuses, dorms and college life in general.

The 10-year-old Web site assures that the future changes will still be driven by “honest contributions,” DiMarco said.

Cal State Fullerton sophomore Javier Rodriguez, 21, was unaware of the Web site’s anniversary.

“It’s a surprise; I didn’t know about the site turning 10. But then again, I was not in college 10 years ago,” Rodriguez said.

He sees the site as a tool that many take advantage of for different reasons. “Students judge professors by what they read on the site, rather than by being open-minded students who can accept any professor,” Rodriguez said.

He also feels the site is not accurate. “The site’s accuracy is different for every student. For some, a professor can be hard, for others, they can be easy,” he said.

Senior Janet Arteaga, 23, is not a registered user but admits to using the site.

Arteaga found out about the Web site as a freshman through other students.

“Some students might think (professors) are hard, and I don’t think they are. (The site is) mostly accurate,” she said.

The site has a flagging tool, allowing users to report “ratings that (are) libelous or erroneous,” the site states, which in turn helps the Web site’s accuracy.

“There are a number of tools that help make that the case,” DiMarco said. “We make sure we check ratings. The site helps students … students need to use their own judgment, but the flagging feature has worked the best.”

This year alone 1.9 million comments have been made on RateMyProfessors.com.

The site’s goal is to continue giving present and future college students a voice and a space where they can read “current student opinions,” DiMarco said.

Public relations major Jacqueline Francisco entertains crowds at Becker Amphitheatre. Photo by Chris Price.

Plumes of smoke, scents of authentic Middle Eastern cuisine and the sounds of fast, rhythmic, Arabic music filled the Becker Amphitheatre Tuesday during an event hosted by Cal State Fullerton’s Middle Eastern Student Society.

Held annually for the past few years, the event aims to inform and offer different perspectives on Middle Eastern culture. Multiple hookahs, a belly dancer and trays of food were just a few of the exciting events to see and experience.

“We are representing for all the countries of the Middle East,” said Rema Wahid, president of MESS. “Basically we just want them to have a better perception of the Middle East because right now it’s not very good.”

Tables set up around the theater provided information and artifacts from different Middle Eastern countries. This would allow others to learn to differentiate between different Middle Eastern countries, as well as gain knowledge about areas they may not be familiar with.

CSUF alumnus and MESS founder Rashad Al-Dabbagh, 28, said he started the organization due to a lack of representation. Al-Dabbagh said there was no Middle Eastern or Arab student organization when he was a student and that he wanted to do something to change that.

“One aspect of it is to build a sense of community with the students of Arab decent or Middle Eastern decent, and bring them together, but also to raise awareness about cultural issues (and) political issues,” said Al-Dabbagh.

The line of students waiting for food grew while others ate pita bread, falafels, hummus and fresh tabouli made of parsley, lemon vinaigrette and tomatoes.

“This is probably the best hummus I’ve had in a while,” said Samir Gala, 20, a sophomore radio-TV-film major.

Gala, being Indian, said he saw many similarities between Middle Eastern culture and his own – specifically the food, the dance and even the way people look.

Students who had received henna tattoos smoke fruit-flavored tobacco from a hookah at the Middle Eastern Student Society’s event at Becker Amphitheatre Tuesday. Photo by Ron Fu.

“It’s definitely interesting, because I see a lot of things I recognize being Indian, but it’s just a different take on it,” he said.

Around 12:20 p.m., belly dancer Jacqueline Francisco, a public relations major, took center stage on the Becker Amphitheatre.

She performed a sensual dance aided by her rhythm-keeping finger cymbals. While she moved, silver sequins danced and flashed in the sun.

“The best way for me to express myself is through belly dance because of the sensual characteristics and the beauty and art of the dance,” Francisco said. She said belly dancing can inspire and build a woman’s confidence, the main reason she enjoys teaching it.

She also mentioned the cultural importance dance brings.

“You can definitely learn a lot from events like this and gain insight on different cultures and how they interact with each other and the different actives and traditions that they do,” she said.

Shortly after Francisco finished, music blasted from the speakers, and a small group linked hands and gathered on the cement stage and performed “dabka,” a dance from the Northern Middle East.

Al-Dabbagh said Tuesday’s event was held, “to get a different face of the middle east; it’s usually associated with war, violence and we want to show different perspectives.”

Joan Greenwood’s “Stirring Dawn: Selected Haiku and Poetry” was published posthumously, honoring the late poetry professor.

Professor Irena Praitis read selections from a newly-published collection of Greenwood’s haiku titled, “Stirring Dawn: Selected Haiku and Poetry” and shared her personal experience of discovering Greenwood’s poetry in spring 2008 through John Greenwood, Greenwood’s husband of over 50 years.

Greenwood taught English and comparative literature at Cal State Fullerton, where she also received the title of emerita professor.

She created a five-week haiku class at CSUF that students could repeat for one credit each, totaling three credits at the end of the semester if students took every section.

Greenwood wrote haiku almost every day and used them as a way of remembering the past.
“Writing haiku almost daily was a form of diary for Joan,” John said.

Howard Seller, a member of the Patrons of the Library who also arranged the event, said, “We have planned this event to honor the memory and poetic accomplishments of professor Greenwood.”
Seller said he had been friends with Greenwood for almost 40 years, and they taught together at CSUF.

“Since most people were not aware that she composed so much poetry, the program on Nov. 15 will provide the first opportunity for many in the audience to hear professor Greenwood’s work read by professor Praitis, who is herself an outstanding and published poet,” Seller said.

Praitis went on sabbatical in 2008 and drove up to Alaska from Southern California and then down to Arizona.

She brought the box of Greenwood’s poems with her in her car and began to read them in Arizona.
“It kind of traveled with me this entire long way,” Praitis said. “I opened the box, and I started reading these poems, and there was just something about them instantly that felt really special, and so I started typing them.”

Praitis began to organize the poems chronologically and saw exceptional strengths in Greenwood’s writing.

“I thought this is really going to amount to something,” Praitis said.

“I found them to be amazing in the sense that it was very clear to me that she had not written for anybody but herself and her family, her husband mostly … It was this incredible glimpse into somebody’s life, into their genuine thought and feeling without the idea at all of there’s supposed to be some specific academic or public audience for it, which made them all that more amazing,” Praitis said.

She continued that of all the lessons she learned through Greenwood’s poetry, love was the strongest.

Both John and Joan Greenwood, Praitis said, “Were absolutely, passionately in love with each other their entire lives.”

One poem, written after the Greenwoods had been married over 30 years, described John walking into the room, inadvertently distracting Joan from doing her work.

“I learned how cynical I really was in looking at what she wrote,” Praitis said. “We think … people fall in love passionately, but that doesn’t last, and you have to find something else that’s kind of stable and very staid. And here was somebody who wrote a lamenting poem … They were together, and they were in love with each other, and they were passionately connected because they clearly worked at it every single day and stayed connected to it every single day and never took it for granted at any given moment. I can’t think of a better thing to have learned than that.”

In the end, Praitis said that Greenwood embodied a devotion to the creative process that stood in the face of destruction.

“Joan was a dedicated teacher,” John said. “She never ‘burned out.’ She was an inspiration and mentor to her junior colleagues and a great many secondary school teachers, especially in Orange County.”

Stanley, played by Brian Rickel, and Blanche, portrayed by Bethany Mangum, have a conversation in Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” in the Young Theatre. Photo by Chad Uemura.

I never really liked reading “A Streetcar Named Desire;” I was forced to read it in high school, in college and again when I auditioned for the role of Mitch in a community theater version of the play.
This brings me to a total of three times I have read “Streetcar.” I saw the film adaptation as a freshman in college and still didn’t develop an interest in the story.

However, Cal State Fullerton’s production of “Streetcar” has made me fall in love with the play. It is possibly the best show of the season so far.

The play follows Blanche DuBois, an aging Southern belle, as she falls into poverty and moves in with her sister, Stella, in New Orleans. Although Stella welcomes her sister with open arms, her husband Stanley is not as gracious. As rifts form between the characters, the plot grows stronger and stronger before eventually reaching a fiery climax.

The story is absolutely unbelievable. Every word went toward strengthening the story, which was already quite strong. Although some may criticize its length, I found every moment to be as dramatic and fresh as the last. Time just zoomed by for me; every acidic stare and tiny flirt held my attention.
Each scene was incredibly well-crafted, and none of Tennessee Williams’ beautiful prose was wasted. The cast understood the brilliantly-painted picture that the story tells, and the director was smart enough to find the humanity within the characters.

As each scene progressed, I found that it was hard to evaluate the actors’ performances. Each character was well-defined and multi-dimensional, and I began to see the characters instead of the actors.

Instead of worrying about how the actor who played Stanley was able to produce such a great performance, I worried about Stanley’s relationship with Stella. This was a crucial part of the success of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Each character was complex and complete enough to be given their own play.

Director Kari Hayter, teamed with scenic designer Fred Kinney, produced a all-encompassing experience for the audience. My seat, AA 27 Right, was right in front of the Kowalski dinner table and comes highly recommended.

Speaking of character immersion, Bethany Mangum fully transformed herself into the aging beauty Blanche DuBois. The script requires her character to be eccentric enough to border on lunacy, and she gave a raw performance that I did not disbelieve for a moment.

Molly Stilliens offered a magnificent performance as Stella, delivering a sweet yet fiery character who could be anyone’s older sister.

Finally, Brian Rickel gave his Stanley an almost-lovable vigor despite his beastly actions.

Too many actors portray Stanley as a monster, but Rickel successfully explored the human animal in Stanley. The audience was on their feet when the actors appeared onstage for their curtain call.

This performance of “A Streetcar Named Desire” is a trim, lovely and raw story that will keep you talking for hours afterward.

The story can’t be beat; the cast is excellent and the re-imagining of the show was polished to a high shine by Hayter.

“A Streetcar Named Desire” will run for the next two weeks in the Young Theatre on campus. General admission is $10 and $9 for students. Tickets are available in the box office located by the Nutwood Parking Structure or online at Tickets.com.

A windy day in November may have not been the best to display unrestrained cardboard collages meant to draw attention to the many philanthropic causes Cal State Fullerton’s Greek Life support, but it certainly made for a busy day.

Gamma Phi Beta hosted Thursday’s Philanthropy Fair in hopes that many of CSUF’s Greek organizations would show the student population what they really do.

“I think with all of the movies and the TV shows abut Greeks that are out there people definitely have a misconception about what the Greek system is about,” said Jennie Gelffroy, a member of Gamma Phi Beta.

“(The Philanthropy Fair) was a way to show the positive things we do and raise awareness for the philanthropies among the students,” Gelffroy said.

Gamma Phi Beta supports the national organization Camp Fire USA which offers enrichment programs to young girls, including summer camps and after school programs.

Also present at the Philanthropy Fair was Megan Dame of Alpha Chi Omega.

While chasing down one of her sorority’s many cardboard signs that seemed to constantly fly away in Thursday’s playful wind, Dame shared her sentiments about the fair.

“I feel like fraternities and sororities are very stereotyped, but it’s more than you think,” Dame said. “Each house helps out the community greatly.”

Alpha Chi Omega, a Panhellenic sorority, supports Women Against Domestic Violence.

Members usually go to the Women’s Transitional Center in Fullerton to play with children, help women and donate clothes and money, Dame said.

Perhaps the most showy of the groups present at the fair was Zeta Tau Alpha.

Their members covered their table in little pink ribbons meant to draw attention to their cause: breast cancer awareness.

In addition to participating in Pink Week and Race for the Cure, Zeta Tau Alpha works in conjunction with the NFL to support their cause.

“During the month of October (the NFL players) wore pink gloves, shoes and pink ribbons on their helmets,” said Chelsea Norrup, a Zeta Tau Alpha member.

The only fraternity to attend was Sigma Delta Alpha, which supports America on Track, a mentoring program for children of prisoners.

“Children of prisoners are the most likely to follow the same path as their parents and what (we) mentors try to do is to put them on the right track,” said Brittany Contreras, the president of CSUF’s America on Track program.

In conjunction with Sigma Delta Alpha, America on Track has been successful in keeping many children out of trouble, Contreras said.

Erin Webster from Alpha Delta Pi, another sorority involved in the fair, said that for over 20 years her sorority has raised the most money for its philanthropy, Ronald McDonald House Charities, than any other Panhellenic sorority or Interfaternity Council fraternity.

Webster described the Ronald McDonald House as a “home away from home away from home for terminally ill children,” she said.

Webster said, “In addition to supporting them financially, we go there at least once a month to cook dinner for the families and bring gifts and stuff for the kids.”

Like many of her fellow Greeks, Webster made it clear that sororities are meant for more than just socializing.

“We do more than what the stereotype is,” Webster said. “I got involved in a sorority to get involved on campus and in the community.”

The Volunteer and Service Center will be hosting its fifth annual Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.

Services will be provided to the homeless, families in need and malnourished children.

This nationally-recognized event will take place Nov. 16 – 19 at Cal State Fullerton.

This year’s theme focuses on the idea that anyone can be homeless and breaking stereotypes to help educate the campus community.

The VSC started in 1995 as the Community Service Action Team, later becoming the Community-based Learning and Service Center.

The VSC’s goal is to provide for the community by coordinating a variety of service and social action projects.

Different activities were created to help educate and promote volunteer service in the community, not just for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, but throughout the year.

Adrian Diaz, a senior at CSUF, is one of the project directors of this event.

This is his third semester with the VSC.

“You can come from any walk of life and still be homeless,” Diaz said.

A live exhibit involving a group of eight people holding signs with different messages, such as “I am a scientist,” “I am a student leader” and “I am a sister” will kick off the week on Nov. 16.

The exhibit will show how homelessness can happen to anyone, and will be from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Titan Walk.

On Tuesday, a larger group of approximately 15 students in the Quad will take part in the exhibit.
Wednesday will feature a four-tent exhibit.

The first tent will showcase facts and statistics about hunger in the U.S.

The second tent will give facts and statistics about the homeless in the U.S.

The third will consist of personal stories about people who have experienced either being homeless or without food.

The fourth tent will have a resource table with more information on how to get involved, not only with CSUF, but also with outside sources such as the OC Food Bank.

Each student will be given a bracelet as a reminder to volunteer and not judge those who are homeless.

This is the fourth semester junior Ally Bordas, the project director for the event, has been involved with the VSC.

“It’s cool to work in an organization with other student revolutionaries who have a passion for social change,” Bordas said.

On Thursday, tables on Titan Walk will be set up to accept donations.

A food drive, continuing through Dec. 2, will accept non-perishable items.

The students in the VSC hope CSUF students will learn not to judge and have an open mind.

Homelessness is a human rights issue that has not had enough exposure to promote social change, Bordas and Diaz said.

For more information about how to volunteer or more information about the Volunteer and Service Center, call (657) 278-7623, e-mail Volunteer@fullerton.edu or visit them in the Titan Student Union, Room 2.

“Phantom vibration syndrome” is just another result of the technological age taking over.

This new syndrome, which can also be referred to as “vibranxiety,” is “the feeling when you answer your vibrating cell phone, only to find it never vibrated at all,” according to USAToday.com.

Luise Case, 22, a communications major, claims this syndrome “consumes” her.

“It sucks! My phone causes way too much anxiety. If I can’t find my phone in my purse, I start freaking out, and then if it’s next to me, I feel it going off when it’s not,” Case said.

Blogs have been formed online by those who “suffer” from this syndrome, USAToday.com states.

“Experts say the false alarms simply demonstrate how easily habits are formed,” further states the Web site.

Much like Case, who is constantly reaching for her phone, Daniel James, 19, an art major, reacts similarly.

“I think my case might be a little more unusual as my phone vibrates erratically when I receive a text, so I am pretty much just imagining crazy-vibration patterns,” James said.

Although he has never heard of the term made for this reaction, James found it somewhat pathetic.

“I am not really a talker, so I am constantly text-messaging. And I am sure I am not the only one. So the fact people are so dependent on their phones that they get anxiety over it is … lame,” James said, “so I guess I am super lame.”

Psychology major Farrah Heravi, 22, applies what she has learned in her psychological studies to the way the syndrome affects her.

“I think it’s just a form of wishful thinking,” Heravi said. “Most of the time this happens to me is when I am waiting on a call back or I am in some form of a time crunch for information. My phone ringing seems to be the only thing I am thinking about at the time, so I keep tripping myself out thinking I feel or hear it.”

If Case has friends in the car with her when her phone pulls a disappearing act, she will make them call her cell phone until she finds it, Case said.

Child development major Kirstin Williams, 19, finds her trigger to be when she is interested in a guy.

“If I am expecting or wanting a guy to call or text me, I always feel my phone vibrating when it’s not. And then half the time I miss the actual call because I am over being tricked by my phone,” Williams said.

Although the situation may be humorous to some like Williams, others don’t see the humor, such as Case.

“I already suffer from panic attacks, so if something as minuscule as my cell phone can set off an attack, you could only imagine otherwise,” Case said.

Neuroplasticity, which is “the brain’s ability to form new connections in response to changes in the environment,” according to USAToday.com, can be another explanation for the phantom vibration syndrome.

“When cell phone users regularly experience sensations, such as vibrating, their brains become wired to those sensations,” states USAToday.com.

James understood Williams’ case of expecting phone calls and imagining vibrations. Although it may not necessarily have to do with relationships or persons of interest, any phone call or text he is waiting on makes his syndrome appear a little stronger, James said.

“It makes one wonder how this term got coined, and who coined it? Who heard of so many people complaining of this that it became a ‘syndrome’?” Case said.