A drunken Cassie, played by Ruby Hanger, flirts with Lenny, Collin Hurst, in an attempt to infuriate her husband in Neil Simon’s “Rumors.” Performances of the play will begin Oct. 2 in the Young Theatre on campus. Photo by James Bean.

By James Bean
For the Daily Titan

Who among those reading this article would like to see what would happen if Snoopy from Charles Schultz’s comic strip “Peanuts” were to die of rabies, leaving the rest of the Peanuts gang to deal with their sexual frustration, eating disorders and budding drug and alcohol abuse?

I see I only have some of you. What about if four incredibly prestigious and wealthy couples were to have a dinner party, only to find that the host has accidentally shot himself in the earlobe, causing deafness, hilarity and the deep desire of the politically-affiliated guests to keep their name out of the paper? How about if a schoolteacher from Mississippi runs from her sexually deviant past by her sister and her sister’s verbally and physically abusive husband? All of this, and much more has been happening only footsteps away from your biology classroom.

The award-winning Cal State Fullerton Department of Theater and Dance has begun its fall season, headlining with Tony Award-winning musicals and plays such as Neil Simon’s “Rumors,” a rip-roaring comedy about what would happen if the host of a very posh dinner party were to go missing, with only the gunshot from his bedroom to tell the story.
“Everyone in the cast is a comedian in their own right,” said junior Bachelor of the Fine Arts acting student Collin Hurst. “We all are just using our own comedic skill to bring out the comedy in the script, and the script is hilarious to begin with.”

“Rumors” begins its run on Oct. 2 in the Young Theatre on campus, and will be the first of the fall season to open.
Opening next in CSUF’s nearby Grand Central Theatre in Santa Ana are two one-act plays. Woody Allen’s critically acclaimed “God” will have a back-to-back run with Andrea Green’s “For Tiger Lilies Out of Season.” Woody Allen’s “God” spoofs the business of acting, writing, directing, and even being a human being. The non-sequitur show often steps outside its realm of reality to talk to the audience, and the improvisational skills of this cast will make this a show no one should want to miss. “For Tiger Lilies Out of Season” follows a woman recently diagnosed with a malignant breast tumor. The show follows her courage as she experiences the reality of cancer. These two incredibly contrasting shows will make for a very entertaining and eye-opening night at the theater. The night of one-act plays begins Oct. 8.

Next on the roster is Anton Chekhov’s “Ivanov,” a stunning Russian classic about the brilliant Nikolai Ivanov whose dying wife has caused him to question his friends around him, and the world he lives in.

“For me, the show is about insecurity,” said senior BFA acting student Andrew Campbell. “It’s a play about characters that put on a front, and many of them have a jaded view of reality.”

The show also features veteran actress Svetlana Efremova-Reed, an acting professional who regularly teaches acting classes in Los Angeles and heads the acting classes of the more advanced students. The show is the only one of the season to take place in the Hallberg Theatre, the most intimate of CSUF’s four theaters. “Ivanov” opens on Oct. 9.

A brand-new guest director, Jon Lawrence Rivera, has been brought in to direct this year’s main stage musical, the Tony Award-winning “Miss Saigon.” The show follows the tale of a Vietnamese bar girl who falls in love with an American GI in the heat of a war-torn 1970s Saigon.

“I really want this musical to be seen as much more than singing and dancing. It affects me really personally, and I would love for the audience, for one night, to see the journey of these characters and to really experience what it was like in the ‘70s during the war,” said senior musical theater BFA student Jacqueline Nguyen. “I’m really excited, though, because I get to play my dream role.”

Acclaimed and emotionally staggering, this musical is not one to miss. “Miss Saigon,” will be in the Little Theatre on campus and begins on Oct. 23.

The next show to hit our Grand Central Theatre in Santa Ana is the hilarious “Musical of Musicals (The Musical!),” which spoofs the tradition of musical theater with five very stylized acts, which imitate every major musical composer from Rodgers and Hammerstein, to Stephen Sondheim.

Each act has one very relatable theme in common: not being able to pay rent. Any fan of musical theater, or even those who enjoyed the film adaptations of “Chicago” and “Sweeney Todd” will be in stitches by the end. “Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)” will begin its run on Oct. 30.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning “A Streetcar Named Desire” will follow “Rumors” in the Young Theatre in mid-November. A show that has been called “one of the greatest stories in American theater” by critics around the world, “A Streetcar Named Desire” follows the tale of disgraced southern bell English teacher, Blanche Du Bois, to her sister’s apartment in New Orleans.

“Blanche has just been thrown into this world,” said grad student Brian Rickel, referring to the gritty world of post-war New Orleans.

Nikolai Ivanov, portrayed by Ben Lambert, left, is in deep thought about his dying wife while Sasha, played by Hannah Parsons, professes her love to him in Anton Checkov’s “Ivanov,” opening Oct. 9 in Cal State Fullerton’ intimate Hallberg Theatre. Photo by James Bean.

Blanche’s presence, although welcomed by her sister, Stella, creates a serious rift in Stella and husband Stanley’s animalistic and sexual relationship. The conflict between husband and wife, and eventually between Blanche and Stanley, reachs a fever pitch leading to a gripping climax. “A Streetcar Named Desire” will begin its run on Nov. 13.

The closing show for this fall’s Grand Central Theatre season is the quaintly titled, “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead,” directed by the award-winning Patrick Pearson. Fans of Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” may recognize the characters as very similar to those in the comic strip, but the clever renaming of the characters has helped this play survive a possible copyright infringement.

“Dog Sees God” begins with the funeral of CB (Charlie Brown)’s beloved dog. Themes of budding homosexuality, marijuana use, and paternal abuse run rampant in this sometimes serious, sometimes hilarious play. “Dog Sees God” begins its run on Nov. 19.

Finally, the fall season ends with a bang, as the Fall Dance Theatre begins to wrap up the semester of drama and comedy. With a theme of the most precious and frail moments of life, the Fall Dance Theatre promises to be the best date-night in southern California. The Fall Dance Theatre will begin on Nov. 19.

This fall’s season of theater and dance holds two distinct advantages over other forms of entertainment: the first being that it is much cheaper than a movie. The average movie ticket costs between $11.50 to $13.50, depending on the movie and theater. The second advantage is a very simple one: performances at the theater are truly more memorable.

I can remember distinctly every show I have seen live, and most movies I have seen form into a giant blur in my head. There is something about watching the living, breathing people making the story unfold before my eyes that tops cinema in every way possible. Tickets can be purchased at the box-office near the Nutwood Parking Structure or on www.tickets.com.

Andrew Rivlin has made his couch (here converted into a bed) available to couch surfers and has done some couch surfing around the world himself, including China and India. Photo courtesy MCT.

CouchSurfing.org is an enormous database of people from all over the globe who are willing to lend their couches, or even rooms, to travelers for free.

Founder Casey Fenton, with the help of friends, Daniel Hoffer, Leonardo Silveira and Sebastien Letuan, started the Web site in 2004.

Fenton, a proclaimed child of hippies with a love for traveling, came up with the idea after deciding to travel to Iceland on a whim.

With nowhere to stay, Fenton decided to access the University of Iceland’s student directory to ask people if he could crash with them. To his surprise, his inbox was soon filled with many “yeses” to count.

After a long plane ride, an amazing adventure and plenty of new friends, Fenton decided there was no other way he would rather travel, and couchSurfing.org was born.

CouchSurfing.org just may be the solution to traveling on a college student’s budget; and many Cal State Fullerton students have jumped on board or, at least, would like too.

Edgar Escobedo, a criminal justice major, can’t wait to use the sit after hearing about it. “I’ve been wanting to travel since airfare is low, but couldn’t because hotels are really expensive. Now I’m deciding where I want to go first.”

Fellow CSUF student James McKenney has used CouchSurfing.org and had great experiences.

“As a new traveler, I thought inviting people in, or staying with people I didn’t know was either unsafe or just unappealing, and just a way for dudes to get traveling ladies into their living rooms,” he said. “But money got tight, and I decided it wouldn’t hurt to sign up. I decided to host a French-Canadian duo. It was an awesome experience, and we stayed up all night talking about whatever … You can learn something from everyone.”

For those who also may be hesitant about letting a stranger sleep on the couch, CouchSurfing.org has created a way to ensure the site is safe through a verification process.

The site has a way for members to post references, as well as a vouching system in which only members who have met in person can vouch for each other.

For those who are still afraid to camp out with someone they just met, there are other options.

CSUF student Andy Surman enjoys the many options the site has to offer.

“I don’t have a big enough place to let people stay the night, but I like meeting up with people and showing them around. It ’s a great way to make new friends.”

Being a member also means getting invites to the monthly events as well as other events happening in the area.

This month’s event is “One-Dollar Taco Tuesday.” Some past events include a Pajama Barhop, art walks and club night.

Couch surfing is a great way to make new friends. According to the Web site 1,613,972 friendships have already been created.

McKinney perfectly sums it up by saying, “The best part about couch surfing is the people involved. It’s a network of professionals, students, travelers, gypsies, hippies, and anything else you can think of, all with a shared passion for meeting people and living life to the fullest.”

Photo courtesy MCT

I’m a go go for the CoCo show show!

Friday was my third time making the long traffic-filled journey into the heart of Hollywood to see “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” but admittedly was my first time actually making it in to see the show.

In a series of heart-breaking mishaps and miscalculations for this Conan fan, my tickets were given away on both of my previous attempts.

But not this time!

This time I was determined. This time I was driven. This time I was three hours early.

Conan is a fairly recent import to California and the reason for my obsession of vying for a spot in the audience.

I was lucky enough to land three tickets to the Friday show when the guests were Courteney Cox Arquette, Ted Danson and Nelly Furtado.

With my older sister and her boyfriend at my side, I triumphantly waited in the line of the first 90 people to arrive.

We were each given a golden ticket to show of seniority. I began humming, “I Got a Golden Ticket” from “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” in giddy anticipation.

In my excitement, I could not help but accost the people sitting nearest to me.

“We always watch ‘The Tonight Show,’” said Sally Wilson, 53, who turned out to be an Australian in the U.S. for her wedding anniversary. “We saw online where you can get tickets, and we thought, ‘Cool, let’s see them taping an American TV show.’”

Her husband was equally enthused.

“The show is quite familiar to us even though it screens on the other side of the world,” said David Wilson. “It’s interesting to see all the behind-the-scenes activity.”

Indeed, the behind-the-scenes activity was one of the most interesting parts of the taping.

Before the show even started, the studio was buzzing.

The crowd “warmer-upper,” as my sister called him, poked fun at the audience in an effort to amp us up for what was to come.

Meanwhile, the production crew set up cameras, and the security looked forebodingly at the crowd, daring any audience member to take out their phone and begin texting.

The commercial breaks proved to be very revealing into the actual character of Conan and his celebrity guests.

One might think that during the commercial breaks the make-up artists come out for a touch up and the gloves come off, but that was not the case.

The band played enthusiastically throughout the breaks while the cameras adjusted and Conan chit-chatted with Andy and the guests.

He also took a second or two to make a few off-camera jokes to the delight of the crowd.

The show itself was surreal.

Cox Arquette admitted to a run-in with lice.

Unlikely as it may seem, she was then able to transition into promoting her new show “Cougar Town” to which my sister’s Chili’s bartender boyfriend, Scott Austin, whispered, “‘Cougar Town’ is what I see every night at work.”

And in my head I thought, where else can you see Cox Arquette talk about her new show in conjunction with de-lousing — only on a show show with CoCo!

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts’ display “CANnecting to Environmentality” topped the other groups with the most cans donated and used. A model of Earth donning a pair of the famous Mickey ears was made up of 10,000 cans. Photo by Jonathan Montgomery.

“One CAN make a difference.”

This is the slogan of “Canstruction” – a national competition and charity aiming to combat world hunger.
Supported by the talents of the design and construction industry, Canstruction gives teams around the world a chance to compete by designing different structures made entirely out of cans.

This year’s second annual Orange County Canstruction competition was held at the South Coast Plaza, and ended Sept. 27.

Each team around the world had months to plan, but only 12 hours to build their structures.

The displays were judged, awarded and will soon be sent off to local food banks and other organizations aiming to provide for the growing rate of requests for food assistance.

Teams had to raise their own cans, either by sponsorship or hosting their own food drives.

This year’s event brought 10 colorful displays and a total of 50,000 cans to the South Coast Plaza, all of which will be donated to the Orange County Food Bank.

Each team presented their creative ingenuity while simultaneously displaying a positive message.

Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising won honorable mention for their display titled “We can heel hunger one step at a time,” which used 3,000 cans. The large red heeled shoe was made of Bumble Bee Tuna cans, black olives, corn peas and chicken broth.

“Health is always in style, thus, all of these ingredients will make several ‘fashionable’ meals,” read their mission statement.

The other nine designs were spread across the mall into different areas and floors.

Although they may have had their own unique designs and focuses, they were all there for the same purpose: to give support to the hunger issues in Orange County.

Louie Garcia, 33, chair of Canstruction in Orange County, said the economy had a definite impact of this year’s competition.

Not only was it harder to get teams to participate, but also the number of people who need assistance is steadily growing, Garcia said.

This year they had to branch out to different companies, still only bringing in 10 teams compared with the 12 teams last year.

“The economy is taking its toll on Orange County,” said Garcia.

According to the Canstruction Web site, the request for food assistance from the Orange County Food Bank has doubled in the past year alone.

“You wouldn’t think Orange County is food insecure, but it is,” said Natalie Newman, judging chair of Canstruction Orange County and last year’s chair.

In fact, “500,000 Orange County residents are currently food insecure,” states the Web site.

This surprising number is not strictly limited to the homeless, but also the elderly, disabled persons, the working poor and the unemployed.

The 50,000 cans collected this year will only provide food for about a week, and the Orange County Food Bank has been limited on supplies recently, said Garcia.

Garcia said some people in Orange County are oblivious to the growing rate of food dependency.

“Some have no idea what is going on with their neighbors next door,” Garcia said. “Hopefully, we are sending a little bit of education out there.”

And with the brightly colored cans and structures placed throughout the mall, the issue is hard to ignore.

Eric Quintana, 28, an architectural intern for Dougherty + Dougherty Architects LLP, said Canstruction is a “fun, creative way to give something back.”

Their piece entitled “Wake Up and Smell the Flowers” features a sleeping Snoopy lying in a bed of green grass and flowers. On the outside, Snoopy is an adored familiar character, but under the surface Quintana said they are aiming to provide a sense of awareness to Orange County residents.

Quintana said there is an invisible threat looming in Orange County when it comes to food assistance. Their design hopes to “wake” people up and realize residents of Orange County hold the power to fight hunger.

One can at a time.

“If we only read things that don’t offend us, how are we going to understand our world and the society we live in?” said Dr. Irena Praitis, a Cal State Fullerton English professor, regarding the subject of banned books.

Sept. 26 – Oct. 3 is Banned Books Week, which brings awareness to the public about books that have been banned.

The American Library Association established the Library Bill of Rights, which states, “Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”

Librarian William Breitbach of CSUF reflected on the librarians’ code of ethics and said, “If we allow these books to be banned, then we don’t have a free market of ideas. If we ignore these banned books, how can we learn?”

Any book that challenges conventional ways of thought has been banned somewhere at some point in time.

Books that have been banned are on a list for documentation. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “1984,” “The Catcher in the Rye,” “The Lord of the Rings,” and “Harry Potter,” are only a handful of the many books listed.

“The real question is what are we afraid of? It’s not that words are dangerous; it’s that they are powerful,” said Dr. Ellen Caldwell, professor of Shakespearean literature.

While discussing the power of books, Caldwell used the example of Shakespeare’s play, “Richard the II,” a work she teaches in one of her courses.

“Act 4, scene 1: Richard II is usurped. When it was performed in 1596 and in Shakespeare’s lifetime, that scene was never printed or performed. The scene was not printed ’til 1608,” Caldwell said.

Seeing a monarch being overthrown is powerful imagery and is capable of creating ideas among the people. Caldwell said, “We must consider why it might offend and discuss it. I trust my students to have the ability to analyze controversial texts for themselves.”

Despite the importance of accepting all literature, the ALA has received notification that over 3,000 books have been banned in libraries from 2000-05. Many big-brand bookstores and publishing companies are guilty of banning books.

Books are banned due to people being uncomfortable with the text and with the issues it raises. Their fear of facing the issues and comprehending them may also contribute. “We seem to be a culture that doesn’t know how to disagree,” Praitis said. “We all have different understandings and views of the truth. It’s important to stay aware of the reality that things are banned and why they are banned.”

The ALA encourages all booksellers and libraries to put up displays during Banned Books Week.

The posters are designed to bring awareness about banned books and to show which ones they carry. Although many people have been exposed to banned books like “The Grapes of Wrath,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” there are those that are discussed less often due to their sensitive topics. Some examples include “The Communist Manifesto,” “Mein Kampf,” the Quran and the Bible. Yet without discussing these, how would it be possible to understand the very things that make us human?

“In an academic library, it is very uncommon for a book to be challenged. We ensure that books from a variety of viewpoints are available to students,” Breitbach said.

College students do have a plethora of books to choose from in their academic libraries.

These books discuss varying issues, but how many students take advantage of learning from them?

It may make people feel uncomfortable, but true understanding can be achieved through reading works from different cultures and contrasting ways of thought.

In order to reach this understanding, however, these books must be available in the first place, which is why recognizing banned books week is significant to our society.

As Praitis said, “Freedom is a responsibility as much as a right.”

In an intimate room filled with women and a lone man, Susan Leavy, coordinator for the Prevention of Crimes Against Women at Cal State Fullerton’s Women’s Center, presented the twisted truth about the fetishes and fantasies of sexual perpetrators from all ends of the spectrum.

From the common shoe fetish, humorously displayed in the ’90s sitcom “Married with Children” with the character Al Bundy to extreme rape fantasies, Leavy said, “It all started with a rubber duck in a bathtub.”

With influences from music, advertising, movies, television and magazines, fantasies originate from everyday life. However, there are those who take these forms of media to the extreme and use them in wrong doing.

A “fetish” is defined as being “an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion to an inanimate object,” read Leavy during her presentation.

Perpetrators are more narcissistic and psychopathic than mentally ill, Leavy said. With most perpetrators wanting to fulfill their sexual needs, control and power are of the utmost importance.

In older lectures, Leavy said she and her colleagues would stress that, in the event of a rape, women should not resist an attack because the victim could be seriously injured. But times have changed, and Leavy believes that women should not only fight off their attacker, but keep on fighting with all their might.

A reference to the recent case of Phillip Garrido and his abduction of Jaycee Lee Dugard – whom he raped, kept in a tent in his backyard for 18 years and sired two children with – gave better understanding to the topic. Referencing his previous kidnapping of Katie Callaway in 1976 painted a picture on how sexual fantasies are played out in a perpetrator’s mind. Keeping her in a storage unit at the back of his house, set to his sexual likings, he was in control of the young Callaway, whom he kept as a “sex slave.”

With facial expressions and bodies cringing, different sexual fetishes and fantasies were defined as follows:

• Fetishism – Sexual gratification with the use of objects, most commonly women’s under garments, socks, shoes and stockings.
• Transvestic Fetishism – Sexual gratification from dressing in clothing appropriate for a member of the opposite sex (mostly men).
• Voyeurism – Sexual gratification from observing the naked bodies or sexual acts of others.
• Frotteurism – Sexual gratification from rubbing against and touching a person without the person’s consent, usually in a public place.

Amber Johnson, a senior broadcast major, recalls having her butt spanked in a crowd while she was in high school. “I know he did it intentionally,” she said, recalling a time when she experienced a form of frotteurism.

All the stories were horrible, but no one stands out like Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed, mutilated and cannibalized 17 men and boys from 1978-91. Different studies show that his narcissism began at a young age, starting when he would look for dead things and dissect them, later on trying to create “zombie lovers” with his unthinkable antics.

The origins of abnormal behavior are said to stem from a lack of parental role-modeling in Dahmer’s case, to everyday environmental stressors.

For more information regarding the prevention of crimes against women, go to the Women’s Center located in University Hall; events and meetings are held weekly.
They have a movie event called “Real Women, Real Men, Reel World,” on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. with free popcorn and snacks. The next film will be “Juno.”

Belly dancer Christina O’nan, “Perizad,” entertain diners at Sophia’s Greek Cuisine in Placentia. Photo by Jonathan Montgomery.

Sophia’s Greek Cuisine gives customers a side of rhythm and dance along with their gyros and baklava.

Located on Kraemer Boulevard in Placentia, Sophia’s provides belly dancing entertainment every Thursday and Friday night, while customers dine on authentic Greek food.

The entrance to Sophia’s seemed nearly hidden in the back, partially covered by green bushes.

When customers walk inside, they will see a warm and cozy restaurant, thoroughly decorated in different statues and art, some of which were brought straight from Greece by family and other relatives. At first, the music was soft and acoustic; the workers were warm and inviting.

By 7:30 p.m., the music drastically changed to fast rhythmic guitar and drums. The click and clanks of finger cymbals were heard before the dancer, Christine O’nan “Perizad,” was even seen.

Then, she appeared in a flash, wearing sequins that reflected light as she moved.

She sported a black dress which exposed her stomach and a vibrant red scarf danced gracefully in the air around her. Even her polished red toenails seemed to add to her exuberant appearance.

Her movements were beautifully sexual, consisting of vibrating and pulsating jerks of her hips and body. Her fingers maneuvered delicately, inching slightly but producing quick sounds from the tiny cymbals wrapped around them.

And this wasn’t just a one-woman-show. Diners were also asked to participate and learn the art of the dance; Edith Castro, 43, was the first.

Castro stood next to Perizad following her instructions, looking as if she’d belly danced before.

“It was fun,” said Castro, despite being “a little nervous.” Castro said this was her second time visiting Sophia’s.

A disco ball attached to the ceiling added to the feel of the music, spinning swiftly while Perizad danced underneath it.

She moved to another table to teach a man how to do the dance before returning center stage, with all eyes on her.

At 7:44 p.m., she was finished. The lighting had changed, and the room went back to the soft, romantic ambience.

Perizad, has been belly dancing for eight years, but has a background in both modern and jazz dance. She said it took about a year to learn how to belly dance, but that it is always an ongoing process.

“(I’m) always striving to improve,” said Perizad.

A cook flambées cheese tableside as part of the Greek dish, saganaki. The cheese is doused with a spirit, lit on fire and extinguished with lemon juice.

She said a lot of the dance she performed that night was improvisational and interactive. She works off the mood of the crowd each night she dances, making each performance unique.

Additionally, she works as a dance instructor, teaching three classes a week in Laguna Niguel. She graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a BA in art, with an emphasis on commercial illustration, but she lives for the beauty of creativity, love of people and self-expression which dance brings.

When asked when she will stop dancing, Perizad responded, “Until I can’t walk.”

According to owner Marwan Dababneh, 35, Sophia’s has often been regarded as “the hidden jewel of Placentia.”

The front room is decorated not only in statues, but also past reviews and recently attributed awards.

One picture shows Dababneh standing with former professional basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

“He’s pretty tall. He likes his lamb chops,” said Dababneh.

He said the implementation of belly dancing in Greek restaurants started in the United States but has extended over to Greece. For those looking for something different, Sophia’s also hosts folk dancing once a month.

Dababneh has no managers under him, but that doesn’t mean he is doing all the work by himself. Instead, Dababneh said they work like a family, which keeps things running smoothly and helps to avoid the feeling of a chain restaurant.
Sophia’s has gone through different owners and changes over the years; the original restaurant was located across the street.

Dababneh gained ownership of the restaurant four years ago and only added about 50 percent to the menu, most of which were his mother’s recipes passed down through generations.

Diners looking for a night of live entertainment, authentic cuisine and a full bar in a family-style environment, may want to check out Sophia’s Greek Cuisine for a “fun, comfortable, enjoyable evening,” Dababneh said.

Sunday nights to most mean the end of a weekend, or a day meant for rest and relaxation. However, that is all going to change starting next month with the grand opening of Sutra Lounge’s new gay club nights.

Sutra Lounge has hired the most-established gay promoters in Orange County – Club Lucky Presents, consisting of Dave Leon and his partner Zach Moos, who also acts as DJ and VJ – to come in and give a new twist on Sutra’s Sunday nights. On Oct. 11, not only will Sutra be opening its doors on a normally off night to guests, but will also include an 18 and over crowd – Sutra is normally a 21 and over venue.

“These nights will be geared towards anyone who likes to have a good time, but primarily gay men,” Leon said.
The opening night will consist of a dinner and drag queen show from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., followed by a performance from Kaya Jones, who is a member of the well-known pop group, Pussycat Dolls.

Jones, Lady GaGa and many Disneyland performers, are among the artists that the duo were able to pull as entertainment in the past. Having been promoting gay clubs in Orange County for six years, Leon and Moos’ saga started with Quan’s Rockin’ Sushi in Orange and their gay night, “Thrust.”

“We went out and looked at different possible promotional nights and opportunities for the venue’s off nights, and then we found Dave with his successful gay nights at the House of Blues in Anaheim,” said Rob Arellano, the director of entertainment at Sutra Lounge, of how the relationship between Club Lucky Presents and Sutra was born.

These two powerhouse companies have the same intentions of being the best in their field, which means keeping on the lookout for new ways to up the ante.

Edwin Shin, 21, a geography major and the events coordinator of Cal State Fullerton’s Queer Straight Alliance, thinks it is a good thing that clubs branch out like Sutra.

“It’s always a nice thing to see predominantly straight clubs branch out to the LGB community,” Shin said. “In Orange County, I’d definitely like to see more gay nights open up. From personal experience, me and people from the group usually go out to West Hollywood or Long Beach to find a gay club.”

Long Beach is another part of Leon and Moos’ territory, as they throw their lesbian Thursday nights at Hamburger Mary’s.
The new Sunday nights at Sutra are going to uphold the upscale standard the club holds on its weekend nights, with bottle service, VIP tables, big-name performances, theme nights and go-go dancers. These guys will be adorned in sassy sailor outfits or sexy schoolboy numbers, depending on the theme of the night.

“Sutra has committed itself to diversifying its entertainment format across different nights in order to attract different clientele,” Arellano explained.

In addition to the gay night, Sutra is getting creative with their talent and promotions in order to appease their following.
Sutra Lounge is located at 1870 Harbor Blvd. in Costa Mesa.

For more infomation, visit www.sutrabar.com.

Radio-TV-film major Brett Parmenter, 21, adjusts the audio balance for Titan Radio located in the basement of the CSUF Pollak Library. Titan Radio can be heard online at www.titanradio.org. Photo by John Wayne Maiorello.

Defeated, you settle on something you can stand to listen to one more time and promise yourself you’ll look for some new, fresh music when you get home, but where? Pandora’s recommended every artist in her box and the radio is little more than a glorified stream of commercials.

Well, look no further than your friendly Titan Internet radio station.

Since its establishment in 2001, Titan Radio (www.titanradio.org) has been broadcasting an eclectic mix of music, talk, sports, news and comedy to audiences worldwide.

The student-run, non-profit operation is a torrent of divergent, alternative programming you won’t find on your FM dial.
Aside from the occasional shout out to their supporters, they’re virtually commercial-free.

“Since we’re currently working under Titan Communications, our programming changes every semester,” General Manager Grant Mueller said. “We play a lot of new and alternative music.”

“We have a wide selection of stuff but there’s an order to it,” Chadwick Vargas, Titan Radio’s promotions director, said. “Where else would you find a disco-cooking or exercise show but college radio? We are open to pretty much anything.”
Vargas, who has been with the station since January 2008, has his own show called “Asian Persuasion.” It highlights Asian and Pacific Islander artists both locally and nationwide.

“I was trying to think of something that was totally fresh and new,” said Vargas. “I realized there was a healthy demographic of Asian and Pacific Islanders in Fullerton but there wasn’t really a medium for Asian artists to get out there.”

The show airs Wednesday nights from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. and has featured notable artists such as local music sensation Far*East Movement.

Another veteran program worth catching is Technical Director Brett Parmenter’s weekly geek fest, “Harbinger.”

Parmenter, better known to listeners as The Dude Von Doom, and his co-host Erik Ventura, a.k.a. Captain Man, meet Tuesdays from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. to discuss comics, movies, music, games, and more.

“It started out as a metal show but I wanted to do something different,” explained Parmenter. “I started to geek out a bit more, I talked about comic books and sci-fi and fantasy shows, the geekier side of pop culture. Then I brought my Erik on board and I guess we have a good dynamic.”

If you are looking for a weekly digest of oddball news and playful banter.

Program Director Danny Hauger hosts “Titan Talk” on Tuesdays from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m., a show highlighting the local, national, and pop culture news of the week.

He’s interviewed a variety of guests from Stu Cook, bass player for Creedence Clearwater Revival, to Ingrid Croce, wife of the late famed folk singer-songwriter Jim Croce, and plans on inviting more to the studio this semester.

With four years of broadcasting under his belt, Hauger has now branched out into a new field of topics.

“I’ve been doubling as sports director,” said Hauger. “We started with basketball broadcasts last semester, we’re continuing with live commentary of every game this semester too.”

“We’ll have live commentary on Titan baseball games next semester,” said Mueller. “We’ll also be interviewing players from Titan hockey soon.”

In the past, you may have seen Titan Radio around campus supplying tunes for events such as Discovervest and the ASI Singles Mixer last spring, but this semester, they’re looking to branch out and establish themselves more around campus.

“We want to take a very heavy and focused marketing approach this semester. We want people to know the station exists and what we’re about,” said Mueller. “We’re also trying hard to find our target audience. ‘College student’ is such a broad group.”

“We’re looking to declare flagship programming,” added Hauger. “So much of the campus is diversity and outreach based. We’re trying to exchange materials with clubs like ASI, Titan Tusk Force, and of course, The Daily Titan.”
And to pique your interest, Titan Radio has no shortage of new ventures and events to speak of.

The station often boasts giveaways including concert tickets, movie passes, premier passes, CDs, posters, and other great swag.

Plans for exciting events are in varying stages of development.

“We’re looking into more events off campus, setting up a Web cam in the station. A lot of gradual changes that will be big changes in the overall scheme of things,” Vargas said.

Titan Radio is now accepting applications for DJs and volunteers until September 25, and you might be more qualified to apply than you think.

“When considering DJs, I pay attention to people who are extroverted, outgoing, not afraid of talking and are knowledgeable in an area—whatever you have a passion for,” said Vargas. “Come by PLS-051, grab an application, and you’ll have an audience to talk to.”

Mueller continues: “We’re usually receptive to anyone who applies. We do have a screening process to make sure the show is up to FCC regulations to uphold professionalism in the studio.”

One look around the station will have you sold on the positive learning environment Titan Radio provides.

“It’s a good experience for people to come in no matter what their major is,” said Mueller, a business major himself. “It has a lot of personal growth potential.”

Kaz Liput entertains an audience for the Skipper Stand-Up Comedy Show in Fullerton. The show features people who have been or are currently skippers on the Disneyland Jungle Cruise attraction. Photo courtesy David Marley.

The Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland features skippers who guide a boat full of visitors through the dangers awaiting them in the Adventureland section of Disneyland. The job demands that skippers be performers in front of a new batch of strangers every time they set out on the river.

A high degree of confidence, energy and comedy are demanded of each skipper.

These also happen to be the requirements of anyone pursuing success in stand-up comedy.

The Maverick Theater show is the brainchild of producer, host and Vanguard history professor David Marley, 42, who graduated from Cal State Fullerton with his master’s degree in history in 1998.

“I had been doing stand-up for maybe about a year,” Marley said. “We were looking for new ideas, and I told my friends, ‘Hey, I used to work at Jungle Cruise for years, and those are the funniest people you’re going to meet. We should do a night of Jungle Cruise skippers.’”

The show was an immediate success, Marley said. “We did the show as a one-time-only lark, and we sold out. And now we’ve been doing it for three years. And every show we’ve ever had has sold out, so it’s just become this huge thing.”

The show involves five to seven skippers performing each night. While Marley acts as the host for the evening and introduces the comedians, each skipper performs their own original material in practiced routines, improvisations and video clips.

“About half the performers had never done stand-up comedy before, and (Brian Newell, owner of the Maverick Theater) didn’t believe they were brand new to it,” Marley said. “The Jungle Cruise gives them such great experience in all the tools of the trade of doing stand-up.”

Trevor Kelly has performed at all but one of the performances in the show’s three-year history.

“It’s just like the Jungle Cruise, except you can say whatever you want,” Kelly said.

“I’d done sketch comedy, and had a comedy Web site with a lot of the other skippers from Jungle Cruise (who have) never done stand-up,” Kelly, 26, said. “I figured, why not? It’s been fun.”

Kevin Lively, 24, has one year of experience performing at the Skipper Stand-Up show. “David’s really good at bringing comfort to the people who are kind of nervous,” Lively said.

Lively is currently an active skipper at Disneyland and also a human communications senior at Cal State Fullerton.

“It’s doing eight minutes on stage, just like you’re in a boat, except this is your material,” said Lively. “Everyone at the theater and the other performers are very encouraging. I don’t think anyone walks away having a negative experience.”
While the show has received offers from other venues, Marley said that the Maverick provides a perfect environment for the act.

With a free pass to say and do whatever they want, the theater gives the performers exactly what they need to perform at their best.

The show is also made affordable to everyone, with low ticket prices and no drink requirements.

“We just kind of keep it fun and bright and crazy,” Marley said. “It’s been a blast. I’ve been doing this for three years, and I never thought it would last this long. It just keeps getting better and more fun all the time.”

The next performance is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Maverick Theater. For more information visit http://www.skipperstandup.com/.

Art, science and history are all preserved and displayed in museums. Museums allow individuals an up-close view of

Fullerton Museum Center is among the hundreds of museums offering free admission with a Museum Day card Saturday, Sept. 26. Cards are available by downloading them from Smithsonian Magazine’s Web site at http://smithsonianmag.com/museumday/. Photo by Shruti Patel.

On Saturday, Sept. 26, Smithsonian Magazine will be hosting their fifth-annual Museum Day, in which participating museums will open their doors to the public for free.

According to the magazine, “Museum Day is a celebration of culture, learning and dissemination of knowledge.”
Museum Day started in 2004, and the idea behind it is to emulate the free admission policy of the Smithsonian museum in Washington, D.C., said Elizabeth Stoll, promotions coordinator of Smithsonian Media.

“Museum Day represents Smithsonian Media’s commitment to making knowledge and culture accessible to everyone, whether they are able to travel to the nation’s capital or not,” she said.

To be able to attend, patrons must visit the event’s Web site, and print out an admission card. Each card allows admittance for two guests, and one card is permitted per household.

Last year, approximately 200,000 people partook in events held by 900 museums located across all 50 states.
“We have some extraordinary museums across the country participating that typically charge upwards of $15 a person. Attending Museum Day can save someone attending a lot of money,” Stoll said.

She added that the Smithsonian expects to attract 300,000 people to more than 1,000 museums this year.
Roger Paz, a 21-year-old senior and computer science major at Cal State Fullerton, was unaware of Museum Day, but upon hearing about it, said that he would be interested in attending. “I think it’s a great way for people to get to a museum who otherwise wouldn’t because they are put off by having to pay,” he said.

“I would love to go now that I know what it is,” said Allie Harris, 21, a theater major at CSUF. “I don’t feel like I get to see enough art.”

Various museums throughout Los Angeles and Orange County are participating in the event, including: the Huntington Surf Museum in Huntington Beach, the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, and the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach.

The Fullerton Museum Center is an option for those who would like to participate in Museum Day at a local venue.
The museum, which is located at 301 N. Pomona Ave., is currently promoting an exhibit called “100 Worst Album Covers,” a collection of album art gone sour.

“This exhibit is just a fun exhibit that will make you laugh at all the crazy album art,” said Stephanie Tash of the Fullerton Museum Center.

Also on display is “Solid Design: Leo Fender’s Telecaster,” displaying a variety of Telecaster guitars – which was the first commercially successful solid-body electric guitar and an instrument that changed music history. The exhibit includes Telecasters once owned by celebrities such as: George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Roy Buchanan, James Burton, Don Rich and Mike Bloomfield.

The Fullerton Museum Center can be contacted at (714) 738-6545 for more information regarding “Museum Day” or any exhibits on display.

For a complete list of museums involved in “Museum Day,” visit www.smithsonian.com/museumday.

They have plans and hopes. Their dreams brought them to America and they pay over $7,000 a semester to pursue a full-time education. They are international students.

“We think we know them pretty well and see them around campus every day; but indeed, we cannot even imagine international students’ daily struggles and huge challenges (they face) living far away from home,” said Dr. Ya-Shu Liang, a counselor and licensed psychologist from Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

Not being allowed to work, being alone and having high tuition fees and economic pressures make international students’ lives at Cal State Fullerton difficult.

“My mother wants me to finish as soon as possible because the tuition here is very expensive with the exchange rate,” said Sarah Chin, a junior graphic design major from Taiwan.

If you are an international student and want emotional support and coping strategies to deal with stress, help is here.
A free and confidential discussion group for international students will be held every Monday this semester starting Sept. 28.

“I think help like this is necessary,” said Zhao Liu, a CSUF student from China who is pursuing his accounting degree. “Besides the usual stress from school, work and relationships with others, we, as international students, always have more pressures like culture shock as well as communication boundaries.”

Liang said there are generally four stages to adaptation.

“(The) first is called the ‘honeymoon stage,’ in which everything seems exciting and new; then comes to the ‘culture shock stage,’ where all the confusion, anxiety or even anger occurs; the third stage will be a mixture of those felt in the former two stages, called the ‘recovery stage;’ and the last one is the ‘adaptation stage,’ in which people come to accept and appreciate the similarities as well as the difference between cultures.”

Student diversity at CSUF allows students to be exposed to people from different countries, but ethnic separation may still exist in college.

“Host country receptivity plays an important role in the process of adapting to a new culture. The way in which international students are treated can deeply affect the adaptation process,” said Liang. “If one encounters people who express discrimination and prejudice, or who expect everyone to conform to the U.S. way of life, adaptation can be more difficult.”

Many international students feel as if they can never fit in because they have parted with a familiar world.

“Adapting to a new culture takes time and doesn’t mean simply ‘becoming Americanized.’ It’s about developing a realistic view of both cultures,” said Liang. “It’s important for international students to be patient with themselves as they continue to learn how to embrace both cultures.”

Solving the problems of international students is not an easy task since they may have different values from typical American college students and may have to cope with language barriers.

“I understand how hard it is for an international student to open up to others. If you don’t feel like the group is for you, you can talk to me one-on-one,” Liang said. “The point of this group is not only to show how much we care about international students’ well-being, but also help them develop coping strategies for managing stress.”

Liang is working side-by-side with the International Education & Exchange office; she also attended the international students’ orientation at the beginning of fall to inform them that help and support are available.

“I would like to make myself available to international students who need help,” Liang said. “You might see me in different functions on campus, reaching out to as many international students as I (can).”

For more information, email yliang@fullerton.edu.

Or call (657) 278-3040 to sign up for the Stress Management Group for International Students.

Disney veteran animator Eric Goldberg leads discussion in the TSU Theater Friday evening, Sept. 18. Photo courtesy Pencil Mileage Club

He came to talk to animation students about bringing their character to life on screen.

Goldberg is responsible for the Genie from “Aladdin.” He also directed, wrote, and was lead animator for “Rhapsody in Blue” from “Fantasia 2000,” and is the supervising animator for the trumpet-playing crocodile, Louis, in the new Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog.”

The seminar, originally scheduled to take place in the Visual Arts Lecture Hall, was so popular it had to be moved to the Titan Theater to hold all the excited animation and illustration majors.

Armando Torres, 19, a sophomore animation major, was one of the many students to arrive early. “I’m hoping for a little insight on the professional world,” said Torres. “And who isn’t a fan of Disney?”

Goldberg received room-shaking applause upon his introduction and then jumped right into the lecture.
The lecture consisted of stories from the Disney animation studios.

His stories and examples from past works taught students about using lines of action, frame timing sheets called “X sheets,” understanding archetypes, and the benfits of believing your character exists.

It even involved audience interaction where the theater as a group created a character.

The result was “a fat, short, anthropomorphic, female tapir drawing conceitedly.”

Goldberg originally began his career in filmmaking and animation by making short films at USC.

He eventually won a scholarship to attend Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York where he majored in illustration while taking animation and film courses on the side.

After moving to London with his wife, he started up his own successful animation studio called Pizazz Pictures that did animation for television.

Shortly after some success in commercial animation and his work on “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” Disney eventually came knocking on his door and recruited him to lend a hand in making Disney history.

Ever since, he has played a key role in the creation of some of Disney’s most memorable characters and movie moments.
Outside of Disney he has worked on a short film called “A Monkey’s Tale,” made for a Buddhist cultural center in Hong Kong.

The short film received many laughs from the audience in the Titan Theater.

As a supervising animator on “The Princess and the Frog,” Goldberg is more than happy to see Disney finally returning to a 2-D animated fairy tale.

“It’s about time,” Goldberg said. “I think it’s very important for all of us at Disney to continue in the tradition and the legacy that all the greats started for us.”

A key element to “The Princess and the Frog” is that it introduces a new African American princess into the Disney universe.

“By and large, we are doing what most people think Disney does best and I think it’s time for Disney to do that again,” Goldberg said, regarding the introduction of the new princess, Tiana.

Throughout the lecture, Goldberg made it clear that the best way to bring characters to life is to believe in them, and to follow the traditional structures set forth by the founders of the industry.

Even with many advances in technology the process has not changed much for him.

“You know what, it’s structured the same way but the tools are far more sophisticated,” Goldberg said. “We’ve been doing digital coloring since ‘The Rescuers Down Under.’ So to a certain extent I don’t think it’s the technology that’s improved; it’s all down to the people who are doing it and the choices they make. Tools are tools.”

After the recent acquisition of Marvel by Disney, people have been wondering about the future of Marvel projects within the Disney company.

To whether or not Goldberg would like to animate, direct or even lend voice talent to a Marvel project, he said: “Nobody’s asked be, but if they do it’s certainly interesting.”

The Pencil Mileage Club and the Visual Arts department have many more events like this planned throughout the semester.

Dana Lamb, art professor and the coordinator for the entertainment art and animation program, said, “We’ve been working directly with the studios for years … 12 years now.”

Society for Advancement of Management President Roland Bassily retrieves a baseball from the lake at Craig Park in Brea on Saturday, Sept. 19, while participating in the California Coastal Cleanup. Bassily, along with seven other club members, found three baseballs on top of the 20 pounds of trash they picked up at the park. Photo by Shruti Patel.

Volunteers turned out on beaches, lakes, watersheds, and rivers to help preserve the natural beauty of California’s coastline.

Director of Education for the California Coastal Commission, Chris Parry, said the Coastal Cleanup in 2009 would focus more on inland bodies of water as they suffer from pollution just as much as the beaches.

“We’ve really been striving to move the cleanup inland to the inland waterways and watersheds,” Parry said. “So more and more counties every year are participating on creeks and lakes and rivers. So it’s become truly a statewide event these past few years, and this year we’ve extended it yet in several more counties inland.”

Angeline Santiago, volunteer services coordinator for Orange County parks and co-coordinator for Coastal Cleanup Day in Orange County, said that in 2009, “We wanted to break 11,000 volunteers in Orange County. Last year we had (from) 10,400 (to) 10,600.”

The event does not come without difficulties. “It’s always difficult with volunteer recruitment,” said Santiago. “It’s easier if it’s a one-day, especially if it’s a half-day event, and it’s easier because everybody … in the community is really pushing environmental awareness nowadays.”

Santiago had high hopes for the good that would come from all the organization and planning that went into the cleanup. “It really is going to be an amazing experience,” she said, “personally, as well as for Orange County as a whole. I’m just really excited to see it all come together.”

In Fullerton, the event came to Craig Park where 75 people gathered to help clean.

Around 9 a.m., people started showing up at the park near the dam, congregating on benches underneath a blue tent. A box of doughnuts, water and waivers were consumed and filled out, respectively.

Cal State Fullerton club SAM brought in 20 pounds of trash during the California Coastal Cleanup, a day in which cleanups are held on beaches, wetlands and parks all over the state. Photo by Shruti Patel.

“Even though we’re inland, we’re close enough,” said Lorenzi.

Lorenzi said that at the end of the day the trash collected would end up being part of a countrywide “competition.” Whoever gets the most trash wins.

“We’ve won every year,” said Lorenzi. “I don’t know if that’s good; I don’t know if that’s bad. I’ll let you guys be the judge of that.”

Along with local residents and students from different high schools, a number of Cal State Fullerton students also attended.

The majority of CSUF students came from the campus’ business club, Society for Advancement of Management, or SAM.

“All right guys, everybody ready to go?” asked Lorenzi around 9:20 a.m. Each person suited up, grabbed a few trash bags and gloves, and prepared to start their few hours of environmental service.

The groups were split up into three smaller parties: those who wanted to go short, medium, and longer distances.

Roland Bassily, an operations management major and president of SAM, said the club tries to do as much community service as possible.

SAM is designed to enable the success of students in the future, said Bassily. Through working with their community, Bassily said each member is able to develop key personal and team building skills, giving them the edge over other students in the business field.

Cleaning up Craig Park is, Bassily said, “another thing to show we’re not just limited to business.”

Rockey Bustamante, a sophomore majoring in business management and event planner for SAM, said he told his club about Coastal Cleanup Day as a way to help out and give back to the community.

“(There is) more to life than just doing business,” said Bustamante. For the current year, he said he aims to “create events that will benefit the students and the campus as a whole.”

The cleanup groups could be seen from all over the park. Each group acted as a collective unit, contributing to overall environment beautification.
Lorenzi said a local event such as the Craig Park cleanup was just as important as the cleanups at the beach.

“(It) gets a lot of stuff people don’t quite pay attention to,” said Lorenzi. He added that there is, “always volunteer work to be done.”

While the Coastal Cleanup is held once a year, a large part of the event is targeted at informing people on how they can change the way they live to create a better environment year-round, according to Parry and Santiago.

“The biggest challenge is not so much the organization of the event,” said Parry. “It’s the problem in itself, the marine debris problem. We clean the beach on this one day every year, which was fantastic. We get great response from the media; we have great turnout from volunteers. Everyone’s so excited, and the beaches are pristine on Coastal Cleanup Day. And then the next day they’re dirty again. That’s a little bit discouraging.

“It’s the educational message that we’re trying to get out,” Parry said, “that people need to not litter and be stewards for our coasts and to really take care of them. The challenge is getting them at the job and getting people to change behaviors.”

Education on changing current habits is a crucial part of the Cleanup. “It’s the 25th anniversary so we really did want to push for environmental awareness in Orange County,” Santiago said. “(We want to educate people) on how they can, on an everyday basis, clean up not just their homes but their parks and their neighborhoods. We’re just trying to let everybody know that Orange County parks and their state parks and the beaches are out there and they are really hidden treasures, so that’s what we wanted to push.”

The fundraiser, which was sponsored by KIIS FM, had several of the station’s DJs broadcasting live and brought with them a slew of celebrity guests.

The radio station was there to pledge support to Radio Lollipop, a program that serves as the hospital’s own radio station. They broadcast live throughout the week and serve to distract the patients from their daily hospital routine of painstaking shots and boring doctor visits.

American Idol’s Kellie Pickler was one of the guests of honor. She stayed past her scheduled time to bond with one particular patient who caught her attention. Five-year-old Zoe Hunter is a celebrity in her own right. All of the volunteers and nurses at the hospital know her by name.

When asked what her favorite part of the day was, her face illuminated and she replied, “Kellie! I love her. She’s really nice, and I want her heels.” Pickler’s shoes were not the only thing she wanted. Hunter jumped for joy when Pickler handed her an autographed copy of her latest CD.

Pickler really enjoyed the time she got to spend with Zoe.

“This is all about the kids,” Pickler said. “I can really relate; I have a 9-year-old little brother, so all of the children have really touched my heart. It’s nice to be able to contribute to their happiness in any way.”

CHOC’s “No child is ever turned away” mission makes it a true rarity, especially now, at a time when health care stands as one of the most debated issues. It is for this reason that fundraisers, such as this one, are imperative in order to keep the program afloat.

“Every penny raised on Tuesday will go to the program, and last year it raised close to $75,000,” Emily Grankowski, the special events coordinator for CHOC, said. This along with the hospital’s annual CHOC Walk are the two primary sources of funding for Radio Lollipop.

This event definitely would not be as successful if it wasn’t backed up by such tremendous star power. Along with Pickler, David Beckham, Shakira, and a slew of Disney stars were also present, signing autographs and playing with the children. Ryan Seacrest has lent a helping hand since the program’s start and hopes to one day incorporate it to children’s hospitals nationwide.

The entire program is also made possible by the help of so many of its volunteers.

Marissa Lopez, 23, has been with Radio Lollipop for over a year and has enjoyed every minute of it.

“It is one of the most rewarding jobs. I love seeing the faces of the kids light up every time they come down to the studio,” she said.

Many of the program’s volunteers are college students, and they are currently accepting applications. For more information on CHOC, visit www.choc.org.