California State University At Fullerton

After a long day of film classes, working at the Apple Store, rock climbing at the gym and finishing homework in the student union, Cal State Fullerton senior Andy Bussell heads home -- to a white Toyota Tacoma with a twin-size mattress in the truck bed, a camper shell for protection and black curtains for privacy. The 26-year-old has been living in his truck for nearly 19 months, skirting rules against sleeping in vehicles while otherwise living the life of a mainstream student.

They haunt the parking garages here. Eager students lurk on the outer edges of lots, hoping to sneak into an overlooked space and then race to class. Others linger near the elevators, picking out likely candidates and inching behind them as they head to their cars, waiting to swoop when the space is vacated. A few try a more advanced plan of attack: striking deals with friends, trading detailed schedules and swapping spots at just the right moment. Cal State Fullerton is the quintessential Southern California commuter campus.

Walking down the third-floor hallway of the high-rise Newport Beach hotel Monday afternoon, Elsa Ramon was so nervous she began to sweat. "Why am I doing this?" she wondered as she scanned the doors, looking for Room 309. The 18-year-old UC Irvine drama major said she had spent a month debating what to do. In fact, she said that at the last minute she had all but decided to back out, until some guys in her campus dorm encouraged her to go ahead.

Catcher Dustin Garneau made his mark this season by helping an inexperienced Cal State Fullerton pitching staff become one of the best in college baseball. So Garneau's .269 batting average, lowest among Titans starters during the regular season, was not a concern. "They take my offense pretty much as a bonus," the senior from San Pedro said. Fullerton got everything and more from Garneau during a sweep of an NCAA Division I regional at Fullerton last week.

The scuffle on Cal State Fullerton's "Fraternity Row" started over a woman. Before long, gunshots were fired, windows smashed, and a fraternity some liken to "Animal House" had once again infuriated the neighborhood. That incident in April and others--including allegations of an attempted rape in August and 25 complaints to police about loud parties since mid-1995--have landed Tau Kappa Epsilon in the deepest trouble of any fraternity in campus history.

Mel Sims, an assistant at Cal State Fullerton under former basketball coach Bobby Dye, has applied for the basketball coach's job, several sources said. Sims, who also has coached women's teams, unsuccessfully sought the Fullerton women's coaching job when it was given to Chris Gobrecht before the 1979-80 season.

After her attorney threatened a lawsuit, a Cal State Fullerton student who was kicked off the cross-country and track teams for working as a stripper can rejoin the squad if she meets the usual eligibility requirements. And that could be a more difficult hurdle than the ones she hops over during the steeplechase. Coach John Elders told Leilani Rios in January 2000 that she had a choice: quit stripping or stop running.

As her son, Matt, Cal State Fullerton's starting pitcher, walked off the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning in an elimination game at the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium, having given his team a 4-2 lead over Texas A&M, as the crowd of 22,824 stood and cheered and as Matt blushed, put his head down and pounded his fist into his glove, Marianne Sorensen wept. The tears ran down her face, smearing the blue-painted Nos.

After the arrival of the final trust-fund check, in the amount of 87 cents, Lenore O'Hara laughed with a kind of joy. Twenty years ago today--Nov. 13, 1971--her husband, Joe O'Hara, was one of three Cal State Fullerton assistant football coaches who died when their small chartered plane crashed in mountainous country near Santa Barbara. They had left San Diego in jubilation that day, after Fullerton had rallied from 24 points down to take a 40-30 victory over U.S.

Wally Kincaid lives more than 1,500 miles away from here, but his presence can be felt. He retired almost 30 years ago, but college baseball still oozes with his influence. He doesn't get to games much anymore, but he still affects the outcomes of many.

They finally got to step onto the field of their stadium, and they got the joke. All these years later, Cal State Fullerton's former football players could almost laugh. Just don't leave out the almost. The greats and the not-so-greats of a Fullerton football program that has been defunct for 16 seasons gathered for their first reunion Saturday afternoon.

Cal State Fullerton will advance to a super regional for the sixth consecutive season after holding off feisty UCLA, 5-4, in a regional-deciding game Monday night at Goodwin Field in Fullerton. The Titans (40-20) will face Stanford in a three-game series beginning Friday with a berth in the College World Series on the line.

A Cal State Fullerton lecturer who lost her job because she objected to signing a loyalty oath was reappointed Monday to teach next fall in an agreement worked out between the university and a national civil rights group. Wendy Gonaver, a Quaker and pacifist who said that California's required loyalty oath violated her religious beliefs and her right of free speech, will be allowed to attach a personal statement of her views when she signs the pledge. "It feels great," Gonaver said Monday.

UCLA used the old hidden ball trick to perfection Friday in their NCAA baseball regional opener against Virginia, but it was a different kind of hidden ball that gave the Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Cavaliers at Cal State Fullerton. UCLA pinch-hitter Cody Decker came to bat with one out and runners at first and second in the bottom of the ninth and the score tied, 2-2.

A Quaker who lost her appointment as a Cal State Fullerton lecturer after she objected to a state loyalty oath submitted a revised statement of her beliefs Thursday in a bid to win the job back. People For the American Way, a Washington-based civil rights group now representing lecturer Wendy Gonaver, called on the university to reinstate her and adopt a policy protecting the religious freedom of all California State University system employees.

Had Dave Serrano not done his job so masterfully at UC Irvine the last three seasons, this weekend would have passed without notice. The Big West Conference might not be so highly regarded. And Irvine fans never would have learned how to hold a grudge. But in 2007 Serrano guided Irvine to its first appearance at the College World Series, where the Anteaters became the darlings of Omaha.

The streets around Long Beach Poly High are tough, but they are also home. Derek Jones grew up in the neighborhood, learned to play basketball there and was shot there. He suffered critical injuries in a 1987 drive-by shooting. The neighborhood is still home, four years after Jones worked his way back to play a final basketball season at Cal State Fullerton.

Cal State Fullerton has dubbed its May 5 intra-squad football scrimmage the May Bowl, but a more appropriate name might be the Maybe Bowl--as in maybe they'll have it if there's enough players. The Titans began spring practice Monday with 44 players, 20-25 fewer than Coach Gene Murphy usually has in the spring. Twenty-three seniors, including 16 starters, from last season's 6-4-1 team are gone, leaving Murphy with a major rebuilding job. And hardly the tools to start.

OMAHA -- Alas, the 30-year old glass slipper had cracked. Either that, or it just didn't fit anymore after sitting in Cal State Fullerton's closet since 1978. The Titans did their best to squeeze in, hanging much closer than anyone outside their locker room might have expected but were eventually worn down by big-bodied Wisconsin and lost, 71-56, in a first-round game of the Midwest Regional at the Qwest Center.

OMAHA -- One of the untold stories of Cal State Fullerton's 71-56 loss to Wisconsin on Thursday night at the Qwest Center was a discrepancy in fouls, and Fullerton Coach Bob Burton wanted to keep it untold. Fullerton was whistled for 25, Wisconsin for only 11 and Burton had to bite his lip not to say anything. "I'm new to this big time stuff here so I don't think I'm supposed to comment on it, which I would absolutely love to," Burton said. "It was very discouraging."