The prosecution be-gan its closing statements Wednesday in its attempt

to convince a jury to con-vict Samuel Lopez of first degree murder. Lopez is ac-cused of killing CSUF stu-dent Cathy Torrez in Febru-ary 1994.

Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy told the jury that he would paint them a picture so complete that they would be able to look back in 10 years and be con-vinced that Lopez killed

Torrez.The defense maintains

that Xavier Lopez, Samuel’s cousin, was responsible for Torrez’s murder.

Murphy acknowledged that only Xavier’s DNA and fingerprint were found on the scene and on Cathy’s blouse, but reiterated that Xavier did not have a re-lationship with Torrez and had no real reason to kill her

outside of helping Lopez.Murphy acknowledged

that Xavier’s DNA was not found on Torrez or in her car, but reminded the jury that blood can be cleaned off surfaces. He stressed that jurors shouldn’t be focusing on what is there, but rather what is not.

Murphy told the jury that Samuel Lopez was seen by the prosecution’s witnesses

doing nothing to aid the search for Torrez.

Murphy also showed the jurors some video clips of Samuel stretching, reading his soda can and playing with his hat in a police inter-rogation room. Something, Murphy said, that normal people don’t do when they learn a loved one has died.

VISIT US AT: DAILYTITAN.COMFOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @THEDAILYTITAN

Thursday February 26, 2015 Volume 97 Issue 17The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

Student kicks off career at Nickelodeon

Magic Johnson to speak on campus Wednesday

News Features3 4

Closing arguments begin in Torrez murder trial

Cadets take to the skies

Man arrested on sexual battery charges

A 21-year-old man was ar-rested Tuesday suspected of at least seven accounts of sexual battery over the past few months, according to a release from the Fullerton Police Department.

Jose Alfredo

Gradilla-Cuevas, of La Hab-ra, was arrested by Fullerton Police Department officers in conjunction with Univer-sity Police. On Tuesday, of-ficers saw Gradilla Cuevas watch a woman walking on Nutwood Avenue, park and exit his car, run up behind the woman and slap her but-tocks, according to the re-port. He then ran from the scene and was detained by officers.

The arrest comes after two Cal State Fullerton stu-dents were victims of the same type of assault Jan. 26.

During that incident, both women were walking be-tween Commonwealth and San Carlos Avenue, and both reported a man coming up behind them and grabbing their buttocks.

Officers had been search-ing for a male suspect in-volved in at least seven inci-dents of sexual battery, and identified Gradilla-Cuevas’ car as similar to one cap-tured on surveillance vid-eo from an earlier assault, according to the report. During the several weeks of surveillance, officers

observed Gradilla-Cuevas stalking dozens of possible victims in Fullerton, Placen-tia and La Habra.

None of the victims were injured in the reported incidents.

Gradilla-Cuevas is sus-pected of approaching wom-en from behind, grabbing their bodies and running away on multiple occasions between August 2014 and February 2015. All of the incidents occurred between 5-9 p.m., according to the re-port. The incidents occurred in northeastern Fullerton

near the CSUF campus. Fullerton Police believe

there may be additional vic-tims in the cities of Fuller-ton, Placentia and La Hab-ra. Anyone with information should contact Detective C. Wright from the Fullerton Police Department Fam-ily Crimes Unit at (714) 738-6754.

Anyone who would like to provide informa-tion anonymously can call the Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1(855) TIP-OC-CS or go to their website at CrimeStoppers.org.

CSUF center is off the grid

Titans gets walked off by USD

The Cal State Fullerton softball team lost in heart-breaking fashion at the USD Softball Complex, falling to the University of San Diego Toreros, 3-2.

The Titans and the Tore-ros headed into the game in complete opposite form. The Titans went down to San Di-ego having won their two previous games against the University of Nevada and Oklahoma State, respective-ly. Meanwhile, the Toreros were coming off a pair of losses to UC Riverside.

Head Coach Kelly Ford

opted for redshirt junior De-siree Ybarra in the circle, the only Fullerton pitcher with a sub-three earned run average. Her opposite num-ber in the San Diego circle was Paige Von Sprecken.

Both pitchers did a fine job nullifying the other team’s attack. Ybarra pitched six innings of shutout ball, al-lowing only three hits over that span. Von Sprecken, however, was equal to her Fullerton foe’s efforts; she was able to shutout the Titan offense for five innings while

also allowing only three hits in the process.

The bats stayed quiet for much of the contest. Court-ney Rodriguez entered the game with a .472 batting average through 53 at-bats, while Taukeiaho held a .409 batting average after 44 at-bats on the season.

Rodriguez managed two hits off four at-bats, but failed to record a single run batted in. As for Taukeiaho, the junior managed one run off two at-bats, while also being left on base twice.

After the prolonged lack of action, the bats finally lit up in the sixth inning.

The action started with a Delynn Rippy single to right-center field. Taukeiaho then stepped up to the plate, but was walked to first, mov-ing Rippy to second in the process. Eliza Crawford then took command of things.

A three-run seventh inning propelled Toreros

RUDY CHINCHILLADaily Titan

The “crack, crack, crack” sound of stone hitting stone echoes into the into the dis-tance, as a group of flint-knapping students sit in a circle hard at work. It is Amy Marymors first try at flintknapping, which is the shaping of stones into ar-rowheads or other tools by striking them with an-other stone in a systematic manner.

Marymors, a bay area resident and teacher for the West Contra Costa School Unified School District, sits under the shade of the patio built behind the main build-ing at the California State Desert Studies Center in the Mojave National Preserve.

Marymor is taking an ex-tended education class in flintknapping offered by the Desert Studies Center through the University of California, Riverside.

“It’s a really good op-portunity for people who wouldn’t come out to the desert otherwise, to come out with their course work and get credit and learn about what it’s like out here,” Marymor said. “If they don’t come back again, at least they have this expe-rience and have a little bet-ter understanding of what the desert is like.”

The center runs like a mini campus in itself, said Jason Wallace, the Desert Studies Center’s Site Stew-ard. Multiple buildings hold dorms, a bathhouse, labora-tory space and small class-rooms. By providing a space for living, in an otherwise harsh climate, the center fa-cilitates groups traveling to the desert to study every-thing from photography, art in science, geology and even hosts NASA scientists.

The main building holds a dining hall, kitchen and class space. It faces a man-made pond called Lake Tu-endae, a habitat for the en-dangered Mojave tui chub fish. Palm trees line the dirt path encircling the pond with various benches, al-lowing visitors to view the waterfowl attracted to the pond and the sce-nic view of Soda Lake.

Self-sustainable facility provides hands-on learning

STEPHANIE GOMEZDaily Titan

SEE CENTER 4

Arguments set to continue Thursday

SPENCER CUSTODIODaily Titan

Jose Alfredo Gradilla-CuevasCOURTESY OF FULLERTON PD

SEE SOFTBALL 8

ROTC cadets from CSUF and other universities took part in a helicopter training exercise Wednesday. The cadets flew in Black Hawk helicopters to gain experience of what it’s like to fly in one of the choppers.

AMANDA SHARP / DAILY TITAN

SEE ROTC 2

5

SOFTBALL

2@

3

The Cal State Fullerton softball team suffered a 3-2 heartbreaking loss Wednesday to the Toreros of the University of San Diego after taking a 2-0 lead into the seventh.

AMANDA SHARP / DAILY TITAN FILE PHOTO

At least seven incidents took place near CSUF

CYNTHIA WASHICKODaily Titan

SEE TRIAL 2

PAGE 2FEBRUARY 26, 2015 THURSDAY NEWS

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FOR THE RECORDIt is Daily Titan policy to correct factual errors

printed in the publication. Corrections will be pub-lished on the subsequent issue after an error is discovered and will appear on page 2. Errors on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page.

Corrections will also be made to the online version of the article.

Please contact Editor-in-Chief Samuel Mountjoy at (657) 278-5815 or at

editorinchief@dailytitan.com to report any errors.

The Daily Titan is a student publication, printed every Monday through Thursday. The Daily Titan operates independently of Associated Students, Inc. College of Communications, CSUF administration and the CSU. The Daily Titan has functioned as a public forum since inception. Unless implied by the advertising party or otherwise stated, advertising in the Daily Titan is inserted by commercial activities or ventures identified in the advertisements themselves and not by the university. Such printing is not to be construed as written or implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such commercial enter-prises. The Daily Titan allocates one issue to each student for free.

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Cadets wait for the chance to fly aboard one of two Black Hawk helicopters flown by the 11th Aviation Command in Los Alamitos. AMANDA SHARP / DAILY TITAN

Under clear, sunny skies and in front of doz-ens of curious onlookers, the Cal State Fullerton Army ROTC Titan Battal-ion took a ride through the skies on two Black Hawk helicopters.

These flights, which had cadets traveling ten minutes to Tonner Canyon, were part of a training exercise, giving cadets an opportu-nity to experience flying the helicopters, formally known as UH-60s.

“Although it doesn’t seem like much, getting familiar-ization with the Black Hawk and actually flying one for the first time gives these guys a little experience,”

said Maj. Bradley Isler, ex-ecutive officer and assis-tant professor of military science.

Plans for the flight—the second to take place for the 2014-2015 year—had been in place for months, said Samuel Lee, who is in charge of civil-military op-erations at ROTC.

Last semester the ca-dets flew on a helicopter provided by the Nation-al Guard, but this semes-ter they boarded helicop-ters loaned from the 11th Aviation Command in Los Alamitos.

Before being taken into the skies, the cadets were asked whether they wanted to fly with the doors opened or closed. They unanimous-ly decided to fly with open doors and after a quick safety demonstration, they were off.

“We are very proud to be a part of this and defi-nitely very appreciative of

Fullerton ROTC and CSUF to allow us this opportunity to come in here and do this type of training,” said Capt. Stephen Kramer, compa-ny commander for Alpha Company 2-238.

Kramer was one of eight people recognized for his support of the Titan Bat-talion cadets. He hoped ca-dets had the same level of joy that he had when he was first able to fly in a Black Hawk, he said.

The ROTC program is based at CSUF, but works with cadets from multiple universities. Cadet Tawni Myers, a history and po-litical science major from Chapman University, had her second chance to fly a Black Hawk during the flight exercise.

Myers, who was previ-ously stationed in a ROTC unit in Texas, never had the opportunity to ride in the helicopter until she moved to California. Although

afraid of heights, she said she was excited to take ad-vantage of the opportunity to fly in a Black Hawk.

Others, however, were a bit more weary.

“I know I’ll have fun, but I’m a little nervous since I’ve never been in (a helicopter) before,” said Rob Nelsen, political sci-ence major from Chapman University.

Back on terra firma, Nelsen reflected on the flight.

“We were all screaming, having fun up there and ev-eryone seemed to have a great time and I sure did,” Nelsen said.

The event went off with-out a hitch, Isler said.

“Our mission here is to teach these kids how to be lieutenants in the United States Army. It’s really a great responsibility, so any-thing we can do to prepare them for real-life military will benefit them,” he said.

Cadets rode aboard two helicopters in a learning exercise

RUDY CHINCHILLADaily Titan

ROTC cadets rode aboard two Black Hawk helicopters, on a 10-mile trip from campus to Tonner Canyon. The exercise was designed to help them learn procedure while aboard one of the helicopters.

AMANDA SHARP / DAILY TITAN

Defense attorney Lewis Rosenblum used the remain-ing 45 minutes of the court’s time to begin his closing statement.

He acknowledged Murphy’s

argument about Lopez’s DNA not being anywhere in Torrez’s car and said he would go into that Thursday.

“I didn’t know he’s an ex-pert on how people should act,” Rosenblum said, in

reference to the video clips and Murphy’s claim that Samuel did nothing to aid the search.

Rosenblum said that 50 percent of the prosecu-tion’s case is about Samu-el not doing enough to help,

something, he said, that comes entirely from friends and family of Torrez.

Rosenblum is expected to finish his closing argu-ment 9 a.m. Thursday at the Santa Ana Central Jus-tice Center.

Trial: Closing argumentscommence in Torrez case

CONTINUED FROM 1

The cadets get ready for flight, observing all necessary procedures prior to takeoff.

AMANDA SHARP / DAILY TITAN

ROTC: Cadets go on flight

PAGE 3THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2015NEWS

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The population of Afri-can-American students at Cal State Fullerton has been on a decline since the 2007-2008 academic year, enroll-ment data shows.

That decline may be due to a lack of knowledge about enrollment process-es, CSUF’s geographic area and an increasing financial strain of attending college, university administrators said.

During the 2007-2008 year, the population of Af-rican-American students on campus was 3.48 percent. Since then, the population of black students has gone down steadily, to reach a low 2.13 percent of the cam-pus population during the 2014-2015 school year.

The total number of stu-dents has fallen from 1,331 black students in 2007-2008 to 813 in the 2014-2015 aca-demic year.

The most recent enroll-ment numbers place CSUF as the campus with the fourth lowest percentage of African-Americans of the 23-campus CSU system, ac-cording to CSU data from 2013.

Of the 446,530 students in the CSU system, 20,499 students—4.6 percent—are African-American, ac-cording to CSU enrollment statistics.

Cal State Dominguez Hills has the highest percentage of African American students, with 16.3 percent—2,385

students—of African-Amer-icans enrolled.

The demographics of the cities surrounding CSU campuses may play a role in the corresponding popula-tion of black students, said Berenecea Johnson Eanes, vice president for student affairs.

“Some of it’s just a normal population shift because of the area we’re in and the va-riety of factors that impact enrollment,” Eanes said.

The percentage of Af-rican-Americans current-ly attending CSUF mir-rors the percentage of African-Americans liv-

ing in Fullerton and nearby cities.

The population of Fullerton is 2.1 percent African-Amer-ican, and similar numbers are reported in surrounding cities. Brea has a 1.3 percent population of African-Amer-icans, and 2.4 percent of the population of Anaheim is African-American.

This may be the cause of the surrounding cities as well.

Carson, Compton and Gar-dena—three cities surround-ing CSU Dominguez Hills—have higher percentages of African Americans than the cities surrounding CSUF.

Carson’s population was 23 percent black, Compton’s

population was 32 percent black and Gardena’s popula-tion was 24 percent black, ac-cording to 2010 census data

As an effort to overcome the institutionalized hur-dles preventing some stu-dents from attending CSUF, the university has attempt-ed to reach out and engage students.

“There are CSU outreach efforts and there are also Cal State Fullerton outreach ef-forts, so we are out in high schools, we are out in the community colleges, we par-ticipate in Super Sunday,” Eanes said.

During the annual Super Sunday, CSU leaders visit African-American churches

statewide to encourage young people to attend col-lege and provide informa-tion on the opportunities available at CSU campus-es. System leaders visit-ed more than 110 churches during the most recent Su-per Sunday.

Those programs may not be doing enough, though, said Stan Breck-enridge, Ph.D., CSUF Af-rican-American studies professor. During his own experience at a college day at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, he said, he found that students were un-informed about the process of attending college.

The true effect of the

outreach programs will take some time to be realized, Eanes said.

“We won’t know if it’s working for two or three years. Any real retention work takes time,” Eanes said.

CSUF isn’t the only cam-pus attempting to bring in more minority students. The CSU system began address-ing the number of underrep-resented populations about a year and half ago, according to a CSU External Relations report.

Gov. Jerry Brown pro-posed a fiscal plan for a $119.5 million increase in funds to The CSU and Uni-versity of California system

that will allow more stu-dents to enroll this upcoming year.

That proposition is still $97 million less than what CSU trustees asked for, but the funds will allow cam-puses to accept an extra 3,500 students. That num-ber still falls short of the 12,000 students the CSU hoped to enroll during the 2015-2016 year, said Pat Gantt, president of the CSU Employees Union, in a re-lease this year.

A elevation in funds for CSU’s may allow campus-es to hire more faculty, creating more classes that can accommodate a higher number of students.

BICC to bring some ‘Magic’ to Titan Gym

Black student population fallsPercentage of black students on campus has fallen since 2008

DEVIN ULMERANDREW MCLEAN

Daily Titan

The population of black students on campus has fallen steadily since the 2007-2008 academic year, from 3.59 percent of the student population at CSUF to 2.13 percent of the population during the 2014-2015 academic year.

MATT CORKILL / DAILY TITANBERENECEA JOHNSON EANESVP for Student Affairs

Some of it’s just a normal population shift becuase of the area we’re in and the variety of factors that impact enrollment.

“

“

Two-time NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson may be known for his tenure on the Los An-geles Lakers, but the retired basketball player boasts a few other accomplishments, and he’ll be discussing those when he comes to campus next week.

Johnson’s acquired busi-ness acumen will be the topic of discussion Wednes-day when he arrives on campus as a guest speaker for the Business Inter-Club Council’s Business Madness Week. The event, “An Eve-ning with Magic Johnson,” will take place in the Titan Gym.

Officials from the coun-cil selected Johnson after consulting with students

through an e-mail sent out to business majors and a table-voting campaign, said Emeline Yong, assis-tant dean for Student Af-fairs for Steven G. Mihay-lo College of Business and Economics.

A majority of students selected Johnson over Shark Tank’s Daymond John and Barbara Corcoran during the two week voting process.

Johnson is expected to de-liver an inspirational speech before opening the floor to the students for a question and answer session.

The council chose the Ti-tan Gym as the location for the speaking engagement because it was large enough for students, but intimate enough for Magic Johnson to engage with attendees, Yong said.

Johnson will be able to roam around the Titan Gym with a wireless microphone, giving students the oppor-tunity to see and hear him from wherever they are

sitting.The event will happen

with the involvement of var-ious student groups and in-dividuals. The business council worked closely with other councils, Johnson sup-porters and Associated Stu-dents, Inc., which pursued the businessman following Lydia Wang’s initial request, Yong said.

Safa Moinuddin, a fresh-man accounting major, ex-pressed her excitement about having Magic Johnson coming to campus.

“He’s a legend,” Moinud-din said. “You hear about him all the time.”

Moinuddin is also eager to know how he became a successful business man, she said.

Yong received a report that more than 1,200 tickets had been sold, she said.

The speech will take place on March 4 at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available at the Titan Student Union and are free for current students with a Titan Card.

Former Lakers player, businessman to speak to students

CECILY MEZADaily Titan

Magic Johnson will give a speech at ‘An Evening with Magic Johnson,” an event that is part of the Business Madness week put on by the Business Inter-Club Council.

COURTESY OF FLICKR

PAGE 4FEBRUARY 26, 2015 THURSDAY FEATURES

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Making industry con-nections with talented and prominent people, attending movie screenings and get-ting invited to endless exclu-sive events: this is the life of James Mosley II.

“I’m like fresh off the Su-per Bowl win,” Mosley, an entertainment art and ani-mation major, said about be-ing a newly hired, produc-tion assistant for the cable network, Nickelodeon, this past January. At the studio, Mosley works on animatics storyboards and rough ani-mation episodes overlapped with movement, dialogue and music.

His internship with Nick-elodeon was from Septem-ber to December 2014 at the Dora and Friends produc-tion. When the internship was over, Mosley admitted he was too afraid to “over-step his boundaries” and ask for a position, when the pro-ducer called him “basically handing” him a spot with the company.

CSUF alumnus and Dora and Friends Production Co-ordinator, Max Breaudry, de-scribed Mosley as a prepared,

responsible individual with great communication skills, who is always on top of things.

At the age of four, Mosley showed an interest in illus-tration because of his habit of drawing on his mother’s walls. James’ father, James Mosley Sr., recalls coming home to little scenes drawn on the living room walls of children playing. Mosley’s parents then realized their son had a talent.

Then at 16 years old, Mos-ley went on an unforgetta-ble family trip to Walt Dis-

ney World Resort in Florida. There he discovered a desire to be like Walt Disney, ignit-ing his drive for animation.

Aaron McGruder, an Afri-can-American cartoonist and creator of The Boondocks, was another pull to Mosley’s passion.

“When you’re an inner city kid, a lot of what you see is basketball and rap, and we don’t have a lot of heroes

in animation,” Mosley said about McGgruder. “What he does is really cool.”

In high school, Mosley took a chance and wrote a comic strip for the school newspaper. He received pos-itive feedback from his peers giving him the confidence to decide his next step.

Mosley then created his own YouTube channel. He taught himself how to an-imate on Windows Mov-ie Maker and write comedic scripts.

“Script writing and mak-ing a show … I was doing it all, writing the script, mak-ing sure my friends could do voices; mastering the form of making a show,” Mosley said.

Mosley Sr. remembers his son always being creative; he built a sound room in a clos-et and had friends come do voice overs for his first ac-complished short animation, he said.

After high school, Mos-ley decided to venture off to the west coast from Detroit, Michigan to join his father, who was living in Santa Bar-bara. Mosley received his as-sociate degree in animation and gaming at Santa Barbara City College, and is current-ly a senior at CSUF looking to receive his B.A. in general studio next fall.

Now two months into his production assistant job, Mosley acknowledged how

lucky he is to work with prominent talent in the enter-tainment industry.

“There are no egos on our crew. It’s weird because I feel like they should have egos, they are all so talented and they treat you like you’re one of them,” Mosley said.

Mosley Sr. described his son as a modest individu-al who genuinely wants to make people feel comfortable around him. “He is always striving for that next level,” Mosley Sr. said.

The animation industry is a small pool of talented peo-ple who are easy to work with and know how to take direc-tion, Breaudry said.

“James is a really good ex-ample of someone who could be the future of this company because of his positivity and hard work, and the fact he does always strives to learn more,” Breaudry said.

Mosley II is currently working on a side project—a short cartoon with Breaudry. The protagonist is a mush-room princess who has a chocolate dog in a land made of candy and chocolate. The young princess must over-come the doubt of her towns-people, Mosley said. The short is significant because it tests his art to see if it fits with a children’s audience.

This project is the most

effort Mosley has put into a film, because he chose tra-ditional drawing animation. The process is “agonizing” but he’s expecting better results because of it, Mosley said. Mosely and his team plan to have it posted on YouTube by August.

Mosley plans to remain with Nickelodeon and hopes to one day become a producer or director with multiple run-ning shows.

“I didn’t know how I was going to get to any level, all I knew was that—it’s blind faith at this point, it’s my religion. I can’t see it, I can’t touch it but I feel like I can be great someday in this industry,” Mosley said.

Internship brings success for animation major

ANGIE PEREZDaily Titan

Student starts career at Nickelodeon

Center: Desolate not deserted Soda Lake is a dry lake,

from evaporated water and left behind minerals; col-oring it white and leaving the ground a silty crusty powder.

The pond and buildings making up the center were originally built as a health resort by Curtis Springer, an evangelical broadcaster. Once know as “Zzyzx Min-eral Springs,” Springer was evicted in 1974 for making false mining claims in order to get the land.

The Desert Studies Cen-ter started in 1976 through a cooperative management agreement with the Bureau of Land Management and seven CSUs making up the Desert Studies Consortium. With the eviction of Springer, the loca-tion name changed back to its original—Soda Springs. The name Zzyzx has stuck since the name of the road was never changed.

“For some of our students, especially the freshmen who come out, this is great tran-sition for them to have the opportunity to experience the desert and the wild, but still they have a bed and roof over their head,” said Wil-liam Presch Ph.D., professor of biology and director of the

Desert Studies Consortium.The Desert Studies Center

is funded by the CSU system with seven universities within the consortium.

CSUF has been the lead university since 1978. They charge a user fee to the stu-dents and researchers who stay, Presch said.

The center is not open to the general public for an overnight stay, only to those associated with an academic institution.

“You are able as a member of the public to drive down Zzyzx Road and park in the visitors parking lot and wan-der around the lake … be-cause we are in the Mojave National Preserve and there-fore, since it’s in a nation-al park, you do have public access to view the facility,” Presch said.

The center is off the grid, meaning it provides its own water and electricity. Sitting in the basin of the Mojave River, and on an aquifer, the center has access to plenty of water, Wallace said.

There is a production well on site that keeps three 2,500 gallon tanks automatically filled. Most of that water be-ing used in the bathhouse. They pull 500 gallon batches to purify for drinking water using a reverse osmosis water

purification system Wallace said.

For electricity, the cen-ter uses a photovoltaic sys-tem, converting the ample solar energy available into electricity.

“It’s able to produce 60 kilowatts during the day so we’re actually running off of

the panels directly during the day,” Wallace said.

A set of inverters takes that energy directly from the pan-els and feeds it directly to the facility.

It also feeds it to a bank of batteries that runs the center at night, Wallace said. For cloudy days, or if the demand

gets too high the center will use generator backup.

“We’re at a comfortable number of people, we can (house) 70 or so at a time, and that seems to work nice-ly in terms of maintaining all the habitats that we have there, the lakes and the des-erts, and the sand dunes, and

not do a lot of damage to it,” Presch said.

Having 2,500 to 3,000 us-ers per year, the center has hit a steady stride and is not wor-ried its desert location will leave it deserted.

For more information visit http://nsm.fullerton.edu/dsc/.

CONTINUED FROM 1

The man-made pond (above), Lake Tuendae, is a habitat for the endangerd Mojave tui chub fish located nearby the Desert Studies Center’s site. The center provides dorms, a dining hall, kitchen and classrooms for those looking to research in the desert.

RUDY CHINCHILLA / DAILY TITAN

MAX BREAUDRYProduction Coordinator

James is a really good example of someone who could be the future of this company because of his positivity and hard work ...

“

“James Mosley II has been drawing since he was four years old. He was inspired to get into animation after visiting Walt Disney World and wishes to become someone like Walt Disney.

COURTESY OF JAMES MOSLEY II

ollow uson

PAGE 6FEBRUARY 26, 2015 THURSDAY OPINION

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Bag ban a progressive step

IUD prevents pregnancy

Fifty-one percent of pregnancies are unplanned and 95 percent of those pregnancies result from not using or misusing birth control, like forgetting to take the pill every day at the same time, according to The Guttmacher Institute.

For those who don’t know how this all works, every method of birth con-trol comes with special in-structions, unless other-wise stated by a medical physician.

It’s very important to use birth control correctly or it could result in injury or worse, pregnancy.

Perhaps it’s time for

women to reconsider the method of birth con-trol they are using or will choose to use.

As many women hurried-ly jump to use the pill, there are other options available, other methods just as, if not more, effective and with less maintenance.

A birth control method that works more than 99 percent of the time is mak-ing a comeback after dis-appearing from America in the 1980s and 1990s.

The intrauterine de-vice, better known as the IUD, was the contracep-tive of choice for 6.4 per-cent of American women aged 15-44 from 2011 to 2013, according to a report published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The IUD is a small, T-shaped device implant-ed in the uterus. It’s not as popular as the other

contraceptives offered for women such as the pill or condom, but it’s definitely returning as one of wom-en’s top choices, increasing 83 percent, according to the aforementioned report.

IUD use is just easier. There’s no certain time

of day that it needs to be taken and it’s pain-free. With this contraceptive there’s virtually no mainte-nance, allowing women to forget about it and carry on with their daily routines.

The IUD gives women the protection they need during the time they prob-ably need it most.

Those who are on the pill have to commit to tak-ing it each day at the same time or they’ll compromise the protective agent in the pill.

It sucks having to re-member to do this one lit-tle but extremely important thing each and every day. Women are bound to forget at least once and that’s not safe.

The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that health insurance cover all types of birth control at no cost is expected to acceler-ate adoption of IUDs.

The price for an IUD implantation is more than $1,000, which is a possible reason why many women opt out of using this meth-od of birth control. But it’s worth every penny if it means preventing an un-wanted pregnancy.

The IUD is almost as ef-fective as sterilization, but

it’s not permanent. After having the device

implanted while in a phy-sician’s office, a woman doesn’t have to take any further actions to prevent pregnancy throughout the 3-to-10-year lifespan of the IUD.

This is ideal because now the woman doesn’t have to worry about any compli-cations and there is always the option of having it re-moved, if one chooses to do so.

The device fails less than one percent of the time, compared to nine percent for the pill, 18 percent for male condoms and 24 per-cent for the rhythm meth-od, CDC data shows.

It’s time for ladies to think about their other op-tions when it comes to birth control.

There is a better way to prevent pregnancy without committing to the pill.

This contraceptive is a better alternative than the pill

SABRINA PARADA Daily Titan

As the leader of all things green, California became the first state to officially ban plastic bags.

Late last year, Gov. Jerry Brown approved the land-mark law, slated to takefull effect in July.

This marks the first state-wide ban of plastic bags in history, as well as a strong message of environmental-ism. The law was hailed by environmental groups and came as a big win for cit-izens who wanted to rid communities of those pesky plastic bags.

The new ban will require stores to charge customers 10 cents for a plastic or pa-per bag and requires bags to be made of recycled or com-postable material.

A progressive change like this has been needed in Cal-ifornia and those oppos-ing it aren’t seeing the big picture.

“This bill is a step in the right direction—it reduces the torrent of plastic pollut-ing our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself,” Brown said, according to CNN. “We’re the first to ban these bags, and we won’t be the last.”

All was great and rosy un-til the American Progressive Bag Alliance came along and gained enough signa-tures to qualify a measure that threatens to overturn the bag ban. Citizens will now vote on this measure during the November 2016 elec-tions. The Alliance believes the ban was a ploy by the California Grocers Associ-ation to get rich off the 10 cent charge to customers.

Plastic bag manufacturers are obviously going to op-pose this ban, but don’t let their misguided efforts de-rail a landmark moment in

California’s history. Plastic bags contribute to

environmental pollution as well as threatening marine life every day.

Thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, seals and other marine mammals are killed each year after ingesting plastic or getting entangled in it, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

Around eight million metric tons of plastic waste makes its way into the world’s oceans each year, ac-cording to a report by Sci-ence Magazine. By 2025, the amount of plastic projected to the oceans would equal 10 bags per foot of coastline.

Not only is it devastating to marine life, it eventually makes its way to us as well.

After littered plastic is ex-posed to sun and saltwater, the bag will become brittle and shred into small pieces, becoming covered in toxins like polychlorinated biphe-nyls and others pollutants.

Fish will consume these particles and absorb the

toxins. If those fish are con-sumed by humans, they too will absorb the harmful by-products as well. It’s an end-less cycle and it’s a deadly one.

Forcing stores to stop handing out free plastic bags is a small inconvenience that eventually benefits us all.

Customers will start bringing their own reusable bags when shopping and in turn, the need for plastic bags will soon be extinct.

Many cities in California have already adopted the ban charging customers for plastic bags, including Los Angeles County.

Most importantly, they’ve altered the behaviors of their citizens, decreasing the amount of plastic pollution every day.

It’s time we do what’s right and take care of our home and all the creatures and communities that reside within it. Vote to ban the plastic and be an important part in creating a brighter future for all generations.

California landmark law is vital in the green movement

VIVIAN CHOWDaily Titan

I would just like to say that I am SO impressed with the article regarding feminine needs. I am so glad to see real and important issues like that being addressed so publicly and openly. I’m glad such issues are getting the attention and recognition they need.

Thank you, Csuf student, Tiffany Bunk

Letter to the editor

The IUD gives women the protection they need during the time they probably need it most.

“

“

Re: CSUF needs to provide for female

students

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CLASSIFIEDS

ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 19):

Taking a setback in stride today casts you in a favorable light. However, you have a better chance of succeeding if you stop long enough to listen to the messages you’re receiving from your peers.

TAURUS(APRIL 20 - MAY 20):

You could feel complacent with your current trajectory in life, making it more difficult to shift into gear, even if you have a lot to accom-plish today.

GEMINI(MAY 21 - JUNE 20):

Conserving your energy is a good idea today; practicing moderation prevents you from wast-ing valuable resources.

CANCER (JUNE 21 - JULY 22):

You want to keep your feelings private today, but someone’s erratic behavior is likely to push your buttons and prompt you to respond.

LEO(JULY 23 - AUG. 22):

A close friend or partner might seem emotional-ly distant today if he or she acts without taking your feelings into consideration.

VIRGO(AUG. 23 - SEPT. 22):

You’re not as isolated from others as you think, even if you are singing the blues today. Thank-fully, your truest friends come through with the support you need.

LIBRA(SEPT. 23 - OCT. 22):

You may think that someone isn’t being very responsible today and it falls on your shoulders to pick up the slack. You could quickly grow to resent a friend or co-worker who pressures you to make a decision.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23 - NOV. 21):

You have significant goals that grow more re-fined day by day, but you’re not willing to dis-cuss them with anyone else.

SAGITTARIUS(NOV. 22 - DEC. 21):

Don’t dismiss someone’s concerns too quickly, because it’s less critical to you than it is to the person who confides in you.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22 - JAN. 19):

There’s more going on than meets the eye today, judging from a difficult interaction with a friend or coworker. Even if you can tell that a power issue is lurking just around the corner,

AQUARIUS(JA. 20 - FEB. 18):

Whatever feelings you might try to hide today, the current situation is actually your own doing. Harboring resentment about someone at work could provoke you to lose your temper if you don’t say what’s on your mind.

PISCES(FEB. 19 - MARCH 20):

You are learning to find your emotional foot-ing on ground that isn’t as stable as it once was. Nevertheless, your spiritual foundation is stron-ger than ever.

For the second time this season, the Cal State Ful-lerton softball team will co-host a tournament that will feature a variety of squads from all over the nation.

Fullerton is joining ri-val Long Beach State in

welcoming 10 schools to the 2015 Long Beach Lou-isville Slugger Invitation-al, which begins Thursday morning and ends Sunday afternoon.

Contests will be played at the 49ers Softball Com-plex in Long Beach, Ful-lerton’s Anderson Family Field and at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

Fullerton (9-7) will play five teams over a four-day stretch, beginning with Wichita State Thursday at 4 p.m. at Mayfair Park.

Wichita State comes into invitational play in a funk, as the Shockers lost 4-of-5 in the Eastern Michigan Uni-versity Tournament in Ma-deira Beach, Florida, which wrapped up Sunday. One of those defeats included a 0-8, five-inning setback to Harvard.

Fullerton will face two squads Friday.

The Titans will chal-lenge yet another team from Utah when they host Southern Utah at Ander-son Family Field at noon.

The Thunderbirds (2-7) are the fourth squad from Utah that Fullerton will face this year.

After Southern Utah, the Titans have about a 30-min-ute break before hosting Northwestern.

While the Wildcats (4-9) have participated in the Wil-son/DeMarini Classic and Mary Nutter tournaments along with the Titans, Fri-day marks the first action between the schools this season.

The Titans only have one

game Saturday and will face a familiar foe in Boise State at 2:30 p.m. The Titans had their way with the Bron-cos in the Wilson/DeMarini Classic on Feb. 13 in Hen-derson, Nevada, rolling to a 15-4 win in six innings.

In that contest, Fullerton catcher Kylie Padilla fin-ished 1-for-2 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Fullerton will then close out with Portland State (4-6) on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. back at Mayfair Park.

Coming into the third week of the season, the Ti-tans look to bounce back after a rough start to the young season. Invading Fullerton this weekend are the Bears of Baylor Univer-sity for a three-game week-end series.

The Titans come into this matchup with a re-cord of 2-5, including a 1-3 home record. The team only took one of the three games against the Stanford Car-dinal last weekend. Baylor comes into this weekend ranked No. 28 in the nation by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Associ-ation, while Fullerton has since dropped out of the top 30.

Both teams have faced ranked opponents so far this

season, with Baylor kick-ing off their season with a three-game sweep of Colle-giate Baseball Newspaper’s preseason No. 13 team, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Ful-lerton notched a win against Baseball America’s then-No. 12 ranked Louisville in its opening weekend.

This weekend will be the first taste of the road for Baylor. The Bears offense is surging, as six players with at least 10 at-bats are hit-ting over .300. The Bears offense is currently led by senior outfielder Logan Brown, who has 12 hits in 27 at-bats so far. The Titan offense has been struggling at the plate, with a team batting average of .187. Pitching has been average for their standards with an ERA of 4.06.

Driving in runners in scoring position will be key for the Titans, who have only scored 28 runs in their last seven games. The only spark in the Titans’ offense is junior third baseman Dustin Vaught, who has had

nine hits on 18 at-bats with a .500 batting average, two RBIs and four runs scored.

The Titans expect to send to the mound their junior

pitching aces Thomas Esh-elman and Justin Garza in this series. Garza is coming off a three-hit, four inning outing against Stanford.

Garza had six strikeouts as well. Eshelman still looks to get his first win of the season, after starting off 0-2 with 2.03 ERA.

PAGE 8FEBRUARY 26, 2015 THURSDAY SPORTS

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Softball: Ybarra can’tclose

Her two-RBI double down the left field line drove in Taukeiaho and Rippy to put the Titans ahead, 2-0.

The Titan defense picked up two grounders and a pop-up fly to close out the second half of the inning and main-tain the Fullerton lead.

With only one inning left to play, the Titans looked poised to win the game, but things took a turn for the worst in the bottom of the seventh inning. After ending the top of the seventh with-out scoring any more runs, Fullerton still looked in pole position to emerge victori-ous, but Ybarra’s night un-ravelled with the finish line in sight.

San Diego loaded the bases after Ybarra allowed a walk and two singles. Olivia San-dusky’s single to right-center field drove in Kylie McNutt to half the deficit.

The bases were still load-ed when Mary Grabowski stepped up to the plate. Her two-RBI double down the left-field line drove in Tatum Schultz and Hannah Gillil-and, securing the 3-2 come-from-behind victory for the Toreros and putting a stamp of Fullerton’s disappointing night.

Fullerton will look to re-bound Thursday when they take on Wichita State in the Long Beach Louisville Slug-ger Invitational starting at 4 p.m. in Lakewood.

CONTINUED FROM 1

Titan baseball looks to maul Bears

CSUF softball to co-host tournament

The Fullerton pitchers need to tame the surging Baylor bats

RYAN WHITEHEADFor The Daily Titan

The Titans will play their first game at home since Feb. 8

DREW CAMPADaily Titan

Sophomore infielder Josh Estill hustles to first base. The Titans welcome Baylor to Goodwin Field for a weekend series. The Bears come in white-hot on offense with six players batting over .300.

AMANDA SHARP / DAILY TITAN