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The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

Volume 112 Issue 13

Midterm elections still too close to call CSUF professor leads in city council race CARLOS CORDOVA Staff Writer

ROSEMARY MONTALVO / DAILY TITAN

On Tuesday, the Titan Student Union opened its doors to voters, allowing them to cast their votes and drop off ballots amid the rainy weather outside.

MELANIE NGUYEN ROSEMARY MONTALVO NAVTEJ HUNDAL NOLLYANNE DELACRUZ Editors

The races for the 45th Congressional District and the 67th California assembly member remain narrow after the midterm elections Tuesday. Republican Michelle Steel has captured over 82,000 votes in the race for California’s 45th Congressional District, leading against Democratic Jay Chen, who gained about 69,000 votes shortly past 5 p.m. Saturday evening. Democratic candidate Quirk-Silva holds a marginal lead over opponent Soo Yoo in the race to become an assembly member of

California’s 67th District. Quirk-Silva gained 51.3% of the votes while Yoo has 48.7% of the votes. Orange County includes about 1.8 million voters; this year, about 42.5% of these voters cast their ballots for the midterm election. Steel said she supports affordable healthcare, lowering taxes, supporting law enforcement and fighting inflation. She previously represented California’s 48th District, which included Huntington Beach, Aliso Viejo and Newport Beach prior to redistricting in 2021. During her time in office, Steel voted against the legalization of abortion and co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, which would ban abortions and certain types of birth control. Andrea Mew is the communication strategist for the Lincoln Club of Orange County, the largest conservative non-profit donor organization in California. Mew said the Lincoln Club of Orange County has endorsed

Steel in her past campaigns. “Keeping her in office, keeping a seat from California red, making sure it doesn't flip blue is very important in the overall plan to, you know, take back the house,” Mew said. During these midterm elections, Steel outspent her opponent by a significant amount. According to the Federal Election Committee, Steel received about $6.8 million and spent about $5.9 million. Chen raised about $4.6 million and spent about $4.2 million. Opponent Jay Chen is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy and a small-business owner. Chen supports the protection of reproductive rights, lowering rising costs and increasing resources for small businesses among other issues. SEE VOTE

As the counting of votes continues, Cal State Fullerton professor Shana Charles holds 1,655 votes in the race for the District 3 seat in the Fullerton City Council election. Council member Ahmad Zahra nears reelection in District 5. The two continue to push ahead, leading against opponents Arnel Dino for District 3 and District 5 candidate Oscar Valadez, who were both endorsed by Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung. Charles said she plans on bringing public health expertise to the council, promoting a healthy community, restoring city services and being a female voice on an all-male council. She has served as chair of the Community Development Citizens Committee and has received endorsements from Rep. Katie Porter and Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva. District 3 was up for grabs as its current council member Jesus Silva did not run for reelection after serving since 2016. Dr. Charles faces off against businessman and politician Arnel Dino, and local businessman John Ybarra. Ybarra leads Dino, who was backed by Fullerton Mayor Jung, by 35 votes. Zahra maintains a 193 vote lead over opponent Oscar Valadez. Also endorsed by Mayor Jung, Valadez said he plans on creating affordable housing, increasing public safety and improving infrastructure. His experience includes serving as a Orange County Transportation Authority Commissioner and a career as a construction superintendent. Over the past four years, Zahra has spearheaded public safety, affordable housing and energy sustainability. Looking toward the future, Zahra said he plans on improving traffic safety, repairing public roads and revitalizing the city’s economy by investing in the city’s assets. Zahra has obtained endorsements from Rep. Lou Correa and Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva.

Underrepresented cultures highlighted by week of events ELENA HANNA Asst. Editor

NOLLYANNE DELACRUZ Editor

Several Southwest Asian and North African clubs at Cal State Fullerton held four events last week to celebrate their cultures. SWANA is an acronym for neighboring Middle Eastern countries, which includes Iran, Armenia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. SWANA co-president and inter-club council

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chair Talia Boukhalil said that due to a lack of representation and resources on campus, it was vital for SWANA members to stick together and corroborate a week-long event run by CSUF students. Boukhalil said a group of 12 SWANA students held biweekly hour-long meetings to plan the event, which was held from Nov. 7 to Nov. 10. SWANA Magic: Nader Hanna - Monday 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Titan Student Union Pub Nader Hanna, a mentalist and hypnotist, performed several magic tricks Monday night in the Pub of the TSU.

“SWANA invited me to come out and perform, and when I found out what the organization represents, I felt like it was something that represented a part of me because I’m Coptic Egyptian,” Hanna said. Coptic Egyptians are a part of an ethno-religious group who follow similar beliefs and rituals to the Greek Orthodox Church. The SWANA organization advocates for inclusivity of all religions and identities, which is why Hanna wanted to represent the Coptic minority, who make up around 10% of the Egyptian population. Of his many tricks, he revealed that he had a guest’s mother’s birthday written on a piece of

paper and helped facilitate some mind-reading between two participants. Emiliano Ordoñez, a third-year business administration major, participated during the performance by randomly picking out a word from a page in a book and visualizing it until Hanna guessed it. Hanna said he was thrilled to represent his ethnic background and perform for people with similar backgrounds. SEE CULTURE