The English department is mixing it up with classes such as Harry Potter, Vampire Literature (not including Twighlight), and a Graphic Novel class is in the works for the Fall 2010 semester.

Video by Derek Opina

Cal State Fullerton will host the Los Angeles Galaxy March 10 at 7:30 p.m., as they take on Puntarenas FC of Costa Rica in an international friendly.

“We think it’s an important game, it’s our first game in public this year,” Head Coach and General Manager Bruce Arena said. “We’re playing against a good team that has done well in the Costa Rican league and it’s a good time of year to give us a good game.”

This is not Arena, or the Galaxy’s first time playing at Titan Stadium.

“It’s great to go into Orange County and be around an important fan base,” Arena said. “We’ve always liked to be at Cal State Fullerton, it’s always been a good venue.”

The Galaxy’s two most popular players, forward Landon Donovan and midfielder David Beckham will not be attending the friendly against Puntarenas tomorrow.

Donovan is on loan to English Premier League’s Everton and Beckham is on loan to AC Milan’s Serie A club.

Despite the absence of Donovan and Beckham, the Galaxy are still confident in the other players that will be in action, mid fielder Chris Klein, forward Edson Buddle, mid fielder Eddie Lewis, defender Omar Gonzalez and back up goal keeper Josh Saunders.

Saunders played for the Titans for two years.

“I learn a lot from the big names, watching them and how they do things,” Saunders said.

With only two international exhibitions left before the season starts, the Galaxy has been training hard to ensure success.

“We haven’t given away many goals in preseason so were going to play well and go forward and get chances and finish those chances that we want,” Saunders said. “I really feel that this year is going to be a good year for us, we have a lot of familiar faces and we feel confident with each other.”

Saunders split his college career between CSUF and the University of California, spending his first two years at Fullerton before transferring to Cal. He was a two-year starter at Cal, earning First Team All-Pac-10 honors in each of his seasons with the Bears. As a senior in 2002, Saunders was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year award, becoming the first goalkeeper ever to win the award.

In the 2009 MLS Championship game, goal keeper Donovan Ricketts sustained a hand injury in the second half and was unable to continue, which allowed Saunders to make his appearance.

“I had to come in and be prepared. That’s something I’ve been prepared for because that’s my job,” Saunders told Oregonlive.com. “I felt like I could come in and make a contribution to the team.”

Saunders made a couple amazing saves in the second half that kept the Galaxy in the game, as they moved on to penalty kicks and gave the Galaxy a chance. Saunders continued to make two outstanding saves in penalty kicks.

“Josh did great,” Galaxy midfielder David Beckham told Oregonlive.com. “That’s all you can ask of your goalkeeper.”

In the end, Saunders guessed wrong on Real Salt Lake Robbie Russell’s game winning penalty kick.

“I was one save away from a championship,” Saunders told Oregonlive.com.

The Galaxy’s 15th season begins March 27, as they take on the New England at the Home Depot Center in Carson, unless the New England Revolution strike.

The Revolution’s bargaining agreement under Major League Soccer has expired and a new agreement has not been reached yet.

“Last year was about, can we get a core group that can complete in this league because we hadn’t done that,” 12-year MLS veteran and Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein said.

Last year, the Galaxy proved that they could compete as they made it to the championship game.

“We’ve been going all preseason with guys playing 30 minutes, guys playing 45 minutes and guys playing 60 and now its starting to build to get that game fitness for the guys can go 90 minutes and be able to do it at a high level,” Klein said. “I think these last few exhibitions that we have will be a good test for us to see if we can get in full games.”

Pancakes, sausages and orange juice for all! The women of Alpha Chi Omega served their community Sunday Feb. 28 for a good cause.

(Video by Derek Opina)

The Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team was swept by UC Davis, 92-86 in overtime on Saturday at Titan Gym, ending their hopes of obtaining a first-round bye.

On senior night, the Titans dropped their second straight Big West game and fell to the No. 5 seed in the Big West Tournament after starting the week at No. 3.

“I told our guys we have to do a way better job of getting our fire and passion back, we kind of look like a tired basketball team right now,” said Titan Head Coach Bob Burton.

Senior forward Gerard Anderson and sophomore guard Jacques Streeter led the Titans with 23 points.

Anderson was 11-of-11 from the line and Streeter knocked down crucial shots, but none was more important than his three-pointer at the end of regulation.

UC Davis senior forward Dominic Calegari was unstoppable inside and tied his career-high with 28 points.

“Calegari destroyed us in the second half and that was the difference,” Burton said. “We left him for three’s when we weren’t supposed to and he was such a load inside.”

The Aggies set the tone early by contesting shots and not letting the Titans get any easy rebounds on the offensive glass.

CSUF didn’t help their cause by starting 3-of-17 from the field.

“We didn’t show a lot of fire at the beginning of the game and we got ourselves down like we’ve done throughout the year and constantly chasing,” Burton said.

UC Davis sophomore guard Adam Malik made three shots from behind the arc to put UC Davis in control – with their largest lead of 13 with 4:03 left in the first half.

Junior guard Devon Peltier gave the Titans some life with three consecutive free throws – after being fouled on a three-point attempt – and made two treys to spark a Titan run.

However, UC Davis had other plans.

The Aggies drove into the lane aggressively and matched every CSUF point.

Streeter made a jump shot at the buzzer – CSUF made their last 4-of-5 shots to end the first half – but the Titans were still down 38-28 at intermission.

At the start of the second half, CSUF started with a 13-4 run to cut the Aggie lead to one, but Calegari responded with five straight points.

As the teams traded baskets, the Titans got back into the game with key scores inside by Anderson.

“He (Anderson) helped bring us back and defensively too,” Burton said. “The only time we stopped Calegari was when he (Anderson) was guarding him.”

After Streeter’s pass inside to redshirt junior Jer’Vaughn Johnson for a layup, the Titans tied the game for the first time at 64-64.

Peltier’s three-pointer brought CSUF back within one with less than two minutes to go.

A big blow to the Titan’s hopes was when Anderson fouled out with 43 seconds left in the game.

With 22 seconds left in the second half – the Titans were down by three – Peltier hoisted a trey that was off the mark but senior guard Aaron Thompson grabbed the rebound and dished the ball out to Streeter.

Streeter then knocked down a three-pointer with 9.6 seconds left and tied the game at 75-75, pushing the game into overtime.

“I knew that we needed a bucket to send it into overtime and I just came down, gave him a hesitation and pulled up,” Streeter said. “It happened to go in and I’m blessed that it went in.”

Streeter made two free throws with 3:49 left in overtime to give the Titans their first lead of the game.

In the extra period, Calegari hit another big shot to push the Aggies’ lead to 86-81.

After a held ball going Davis’ way, the Titans did not allow the Aggies to inbound the ball on consecutive possessions, which burned two timeouts.

However, Davis knocked down their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

“Senior nights are always very difficult, I never liked them from the standpoint of winning,” Burton said. “I really liked them for the seniors but it just adds a whole different deal to the game.”

The Titans will start from scratch as they move on to the Big West Tournament.

“Coach talked about a lack of passion on our part,” Anderson said. “I don’t know how to change it, but we know what the problems are, we just have to fix it.”

CSUF will need to figure it out fast, as they will move on to the Big West Tournament on Mar. 10 at the Anaheim Convention Center against No. 8 Cal State Northridge at 6 p.m.

Video by Derek Opina

Junior center fielder Torrie Anderson trots home after her home run against Stanford. Photo by Camille Tarazon/Daily Titan Staff Writer.

The Cal State Fullerton softball team hosted a tough game against the Stanford Cardinal in the 2010 DeMarini Invitational that ended in a 13-1 five inning affair Friday, March 5, at Anderson Family Field.

“It’s not really where you start the season but where you end,” said Titan junior center fielder Torrie Anderson.

With a rough start the Titans allowed two runs in the first inning. The Titan offense wasn’t much help.

With two outs and runners on first and second, senior right fielder Kadie Baldwin popped one out to Cardinal sophomore center fielder Sarah Hassman made a diving catch that stifled the Titans from possibly loading the bases, but instead ended the first inning.

Junior right-hander Ari Cervantes and the Titans continued to struggle in the second inning with a throwing error by freshman shortstop Gabby Aragon which enabled junior designated hitter Jenna Becerra to score for the Cardnials.

The following play, with runners on first and second Cardinal freshman shortstop Jenna Rich blasted the ball just out of the reach of Anderson in center field for a three-run home run. In the bottom of the third inning with the score at 6-0, in favor of Stanford, Anderson slammed her team-best sixth home run of the season over the left field wall for CSUF.

Anderson’s home run went on to be Fullerton’s only run in the game for the Titans.

“I wasn’t trying to hit a home run,” Anderson said. “I just wanted to make a connection and hopefully have it drop in a hole.”

Top of the fourth inning things got more difficult for the Titans as Stanford added on to their lead when Rich homered for the second time.

Cardinal senior catcher Rosey Neill drove in another run on a double.

Sophomore right fielder Maya Burns hit a two-run home run. Stanford came out of the fourth inning with four hits in and four runs, making it even tougher for CSUF to retaliate.

Sophomore pitcher Krystal Heinle came in to relieve Cervantes to try and help the Titans get back in game.

Cervantes allowed nine earned runs in a little over three innings.

“I just wanted to go in there and help my team out,” Heinle said.

Heinle hit a batter and threw an illegal pitch at the beginning of her appearance in the pitcher’s circle. The fourth inning ended with a score of 10-1.

The Titans were unable to respond to the Cardinal’s fourth inning onslaught.

Heinle continued to struggle in the circle in the top of the fifth with wild and illegal pitches which allowed three more runs to score for the visiting Cardinals, because of a home run by left fielder Haber, a sacrifice fly by Burns and a run scoring wild pitch, the game would end in the bottom of the fifth inning 13-1.

Junior pitcher Ashley Chinn earned the win for the Cardinals, only allowing Anderson’s one run and sophomore pinch hitter Morgan LeMond’s single throughout the entire game.

“I think we have to hit the ball,” senior third baseman Sheila Holguin said. “Obviously we are not hitting right now. (We) got to hit the ball and put pressure on the other team.”

Chinn struck out five Titans in her three inning start.

“Every game that we’ve lost is teaching us something,” Heinle said after the game.

With this loss, the Titans’ overall record fell to 3-14.

“I just want to figure out who cares right now really,” Titan Head Coach Michelle Gromacki said. “I’m devastated and think some of our players are devastated and I think some are not and that’s our problem right now.”

(Video by Derek Opina)

The Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team’s lost their chance of obtaining the number two seed in the Big West Tournament and were swept by University of the Pacific, 70-64 at Titan Gym on Thursday night.

“I thought our guys really played hard and competed but they (Pacific) just outplayed us, they deserved to win the game,” said Titan Head Coach Bob Burton.

CSUF battled on the interior but could never get anything easy.

“Both teams were playing pretty good defense, but obviously they did better than we did,” Burton said.

Pacific’s stifling defense gave CSUF headaches all game and their second half surge dug the Titans’ a hole they could not get out of.

“We just let it get away from us,” senior forward Gerard Anderson said.

It came down to concentration and execution on both ends of the floor, Anderson said.

Anderson filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Redshirt junior forward Jer’Vaughn Johnson led the Titans with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Pacific junior forward Sam Willard was a force inside with his fifth double-double of the season, with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

However, it was Pacific’s two reserves, junior forward Pat Eveland and freshman guard Allen Huddleston who combined for 28-of-32 bench points to catch the Titans off guard.

After a 7-7 tie early in the game, CSUF held Pacific scoreless for over five minutes, but could only muster two field goals during that stretch.

A 9-2 Titan run made the score 16-9 – their largest lead of the game – but the Tigers would climb back into the game.

Eveland’s jumper gave the Tigers their first lead at 26-25 with 3:43 left in the first half.

The Titans fired back with a layup by sophomore guard Jacques Streeter and back-to-back three-pointers by Anderson and redshirt sophomore forward Orane Chin.

Willard’s three-point play cut into the Titan lead and CSUF went into intermission up 32-31.

After two baskets by Pacific senior forward Joe Ford to start the second half, the Titans went on an 8-0 run.

“We didn’t get enough stops defensively,” Streeter said. “We went on a run, and we just got complacent with ourselves and then they went on a run.”

Pacific took the lead back with 12:25 to go and continued to play swarming defense on the Titans.

We had a nice run and we got a lot of momentum, they took a timeout and all of a sudden we hit that wall and we couldn’t score,” Burton said.

Capped by a 21-5 run, the Tigers wrapped up the game and the number two seed in next week’s Big West Tournament.

This makes it their third straight Big West home loss, with their conference home win coming on Jan. 30 against UC Irvine.

“Defense wins games, we have to go out there and play defense and the offense will take care of it,” Streeter said.

Their next game will be against UC Davis on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at Titan Gym.

Video by Ashley Wood

Students armed with posters in hand reading, “my education is not socially irrelevant,” “stop the Reed, we need to succeed,” and “we are not a big-box corporation,” gathered outside Humanities before 12 p.m. to set up for today’s protest concerning the lack of funding for higher education.

At noon, the protesters made their way around the quad chanting “You say cut back, we say fight back!” As the students marched down the Titan Walk and around campus, the crowd grew larger. Protesters encouraged students to stand up for their rights and join in as they made their way to the front of Langsdorf Hall.

Once there, the protesters lined up on the sidewalk and chanted “students united will not be divided” as cars went by and honked to show their support.

Academic Professionals of California (APC) and Cal State University Employee Union (CSEU) had tables set up with petitions for students to sign.

“We’re here to support education and let the governor know that people feel strongly about education,” said Jacqueline Otis, president of CSEU.

As the students marched back to campus and made their way into the TSU, they attempted to not interrupt those who were studying in the alumni lounge.

The protesters made their way to Humanities and started an open space for 10 minutes where students and faculty expressed their thoughts and opinions on the budget cuts. A mass of students gathered around to watch.

“They’re fighting for what they believe in, so I think it’s cool,” said Alex Galvan, 21, business administration major.

Faculty also joined in and expressed their sentiments. Steve Jobbitt, professor of modern European History said it was encouraging to see so many students.

“(Students) deserved an education and we deserve the opportunity to teach (students),” Jobbitt said.

As the protesters marched throughout campus, drummers joined in and played their drums to the beat of the students’ chants.

The protesters stopped in front of the education building where plans of a sit-in outside of President Gordon’s office were in talks.

The winter Olympics have come and gone and the 2012 London games are up next. CSUF alumnus Nick Arciniaga trains for the 2012 Olympics in London.