CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON INSIDE 3 n NEWS: CSUF actors in the comedy “Scapin” show their improvization skills ‘K-Pax’ proves its success with 6 n SPORTS: Contraction may be necessary, but leave the Twins alone performances by Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey —see Detour, page 4 VOLUME 73, I SSUE 37 THURSDAY N OVEM B ER 8, 2001 Reporting in times of A team of mechanical engineer- ing stu- crisis, war dents sit at a table nDISCUSSION: The media battles next to last year’s with the government’s selective Baja Dune disclosure of information Buggy. The team BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL Daily Titan Staff Writer discusses the design “The government lies,” said Will Swaim, the editor from of their OC Weekly. own dune Speaking to a crowd composed of mainly political science buggy students, Swaim said that everybody lies and the public can’t which they afford to be a casual reader. will soon “I don’t believe 50 percent of what they (government offi- cials) say, and I’m thoroughly suspicious of the other half,” build and said Mike Dravo, a senior political science major. test before Senior Anthony Shaghoia, also a political science major, they enter said as students studying government, they “thoroughly ana- it into the lyze everything” pertaining to it. Mini Baja But Dravo said it’s potentially dangerous to tell the public Collegiate that at this time, and it was a tough state- Contest in “I don’t ment to end the discussion presented by the Political Science and Criminal Justice April. believe 50 Department. DAnnY SerpA/ Swaim, Orange County Register Daily Titan percent reporter Joe Ames, and Los Angeles Times reporter Jean Pasco, spent an hour TO of what yesterday discussing the media’s cover- built buggy age since Sept. 11 as a part of Political [the gov- Administration and Justice Days. n manufacturer of engines and power tools, ernment] The panel touched on the tragedy’s PROJECT: The event effect on news, anthrax scares and govern- donates a 10-horsepower engine to all teams entered so that it is fair. The rest of say...” ment censorship. will take place between However, Swaim said the government the material costs are donated from com- isn’t telling the press enough. different universities in panies who sponsor the team or research Mike Following public criticism of Gov. Utah in April 2002 grants awarded to them. Gray Davis’ warning to Californians of The students learn the design process in Dravo, their first semester, which entails project possible attacks aimed at bridges, three Y ANNY ERPA senior political B D S planning, design alternatives, design anal- members of the Orange County press ral- Daily Titan Staff Writer science major lied behind his decision. ysis and math modeling. From there, they begin to virtually build the buggy on the “Disclosure is better than nondisclo- A group of mechanical engineer stu- sure,” Ames said. computer while making sure the design is dents are grinding their gears in the class- safe for the competition and that it follows “The news abhors a vacuum,” Ames said, the same cycle room in order to prepare themselves for of news (i.e. another bombing, another anthrax case etc). the guidelines set by the SAE. the Annual Mini Baja Collegiate Design Beginning in their second semester, “We hate that, and the people that manipulate us know Contest, which will be held in April in that,” he said. the team is responsible for designing and Logan, Utah. building the buggy’s chassis, suspension, But Ames said times like these bring out the best in the The Society of Automotive Engineers journalism profession. steering, driveline, braking system and (SAE) hosts the event that features more transmission. After they have finished “When things matter, the press gets better.” than one hundred universities. Gary Condit and the energy crisis fought for front-page sta- building it, they test it and present it in Cal State Fullerton is represented by a the contest. tus before Sept. 11. Since then, the front page, back page and team of senior engineers who are part of every page in between belongs to the war on terrorism. “This emulates very closely what would DAnnY SerpA/Daily Titan a two-semester design course held in the be expected of an engineer practicing in “This story has dominated everything,” Pasco said. Engineering Department. The team, comprised of seniors, discusses the dimensions of the body’s frame- The L.A. Times/Orange County newsroom is gutted, now the field,” said Tim Lancey, a mechanical The team is required to design, build engineer professor who teaches the course Last year, the university placed third in “Our goal is to ensure the creation of that one third of reporters have been sent away to cover the and test a single seat dune buggy that events, she said. and advises the team. the engineering sales presentation part of the lightest possible dune buggy,” he said. is comparable with what engineers are Lancey said that the students are to the event, a 47th overall. Team member “Using aluminum to save the weight helps Ames predicted a partnership between media powerhouses designing in the real world. Then, con- like CNN, the New York Times and Chicago Tribune to save design a dune buggy like it’s a prototype Reza Elahi said he likes his team’s chances improve the frame drastically. That’s what testants are responsible for presenting a of a new product and that it should be this year. we want to focus on.” money and create combined foreign bureaus. physical and oral presentation explaining All news networks including CNN have refused to broad- marketable, safe and competitive to the “Hopefully, we will fit in the top five,” Gracie Millard is the first female to be details of efficiency and cost analysis. other schools. Elahi said. named project manager leader. She said cast bin Laden’s speech, and Swain said it was detrimental. “This is the real deal,” said Colleen Since a majority of Americans ferociously hate Bin Laden, “Their working as a team in order to Members of the team are excited about that before this semester her knowledge of Keller, a mechanical engineer major who design an off-road vehicle and make cer- the idea of using aluminum for the frame- cars was meek, but the baja project drew they won’t give much credence to what he says in his speech- is part of the six-person team. “This is es, Swaim said. tain, rather ridged specifications the SAE work of the buggy, but are unsure until her attention the most. actually a test of our knowledge and hands requires, is met,” said Lancey. “It includes analysis testing proves it can be done. “It’s one of the hardest senior design He added, “for us to close our ears to it is very danger- on experience.” ous.” roll cage design, driveline, steering, brake “It’s power to weight ratio,” said Omid Briggs and Stratton, a well-known and safety features.” Mohseni, a senior who is on the team. BUGGY/ 3 MEDIA/ 3 Political advertising course exam- Societies influ- ines enced by choices nCAMPUS: importance that advertisements have in nCOURSE: ‘Food for thought’ takes a new influencing votes. - Communications 415T “Political advertising has been evolv- context when studying the history of cuisine ing in the last 50 years,” said Cooper, a is temporary, and has BY JAMIE AYALA courses in the subject. former U.S. Senate staff member. “The Special to the Titan first presidential campaign [that] they Daryaee will be instructing an yet to prove if it will used television was Dwight Eisenhower upper division elective course on stay in the curriculum and they used very simple kinds of adver- What does food have to do with the topic next semester. He first tising messages. - They have become magic, crime, nationalism, tradi- taught history 490 or 491 a couple very sophisticated since that period of tions and religious beliefs? of years ago after proposing it to his BY MICHELLE LARA The basic necessity is the recent- peers, because he was interested in Daily Titan Staff Writer time. -While they were playing a small role then, they play a major role now.” ly discovered tool for studying not just looking at what historical The course is a temporary class that those aspects. cultures ate, but why that cuisine A new course, Communications 415T, will only be offered next spring. -One “Food is a factor that can be was important for that society. Political Advertising, will give students a reason for this is that Cooper wanted to studied across time and provides a Roshanna Sylvester is a history new way to look at how advertising teach the class while an election cycle new perspective in trying to make professor and the current curricu- works in the political arena. was taking place. -The university must sense of societies from past to mod- lum chair of the history depart- This class is designed to examine deem it successful enough to become a ern times,” said Touraj Daryaee, a ment. advertising that takes place in political permanent course. professor of history. “The department wants to go campaigns and have students follow the Because the class is being offered for The once historical curiosity has beyond the idea that history is just advertisements that candidates use in the the first time ever, not many students or become a hot topic for academic about battles and politics and there primary elections of spring 2002. faculty know about it. historians within the last four years.