legacy:Collector getshis motor running...

talking point:Incorrectly Political -what's left of being right?

special advertising section:The State of the City

FullertonStoriesApril/May 2014

fullertonstories.com

fullerton's hottestschool programs:Math, Music and Food

International Culture Day at Arborland Montessori Children's Academy

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what’s inside...

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cover story:Fullerton’s Hottest School Programs.

3 FullertonStories | TABLE OF CONTENTS

bite me: fullerton union high school

Culinary Academy feeds a hunger for food education.

legacy: collector get his motor

running…Buzz Pitzen and his roadster are ready for the Concours

d’Elegance.

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special advertising section: The State of the City.

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talking point: incorrectly

politicalHow linguists mold voters' minds.

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4 FullertonStories | TABLE OF CONTENTS

fullerton stories magazine305 N. Harbor Blvd., Suite 300CFullerton, CA 92832714-525-2671 | info@fullertonstories.com

publisher and editorDavis Barberdavis@fullertonstories.com

editorial staffCarrie Barber | carrie@fullertonstories.comKendall Tice | kendall@fullertonstories.com

contributorsGerald J. Brown, Bryan Crowe, Fullerton Video, Elizabeth Hansburg, Natasha Lagano, Damion Lloyd Photography, Elaine Murphy, Alanna Powers, David Styffe and Erin Underwood

advertisingDavis Barber, Kendall Tice

designDSYL Advertising and Design108 E. Amerige Ave.Fullerton, CA 92832714-446-1968 | info@dsyl.net

online resourcesFullertonStories.comFullertonVideo.comDamionLloyd.comRoadkillranch.com

/ FuLLErTONSTOry

@FuLLErTONSTOry

editor’s noteGlobal education must be applied locally. Technology has connected distant cultures that demand greater participation in Fullerton by our schools, students, citizens and government leaders.

Education is our theme this month, and we highlight just a few of the many special school programs offered in Fullerton. Our list is not complete by any stretch, but it does focus on four programs aimed specifically at best preparing students for success in the global employment marketplace, or right here in Fullerton.

This reality is reflected in this year’s State of the City program, held April 4 at the Cal State Fullerton Student Union. This edition of Fullerton Stories includes data and information presented to the business leaders who attended the Chamber of Commerce event. Full disclosure: I helped prepare many of the materials shown at the event, as our video and multimedia capabilities provide a dynamic synthesis of data and live performance.

Davis BarberPublisher

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201 East Chapman Ave., Fullerton, CA 92832

Pitzen’s Buicks Lead the Waystory by carley dryden / fullerton stories photos by davis barber / fullerton stories

Buzz Pitzen glides his fingers along the curve of his one-of-a-kind silver 1930 Buick Speedster, lifts up the hood and smiles.

“This was a wonderful car for racing,” he says, proudly listing the specs — 8-cylinder motor, aluminum body less than 400 pounds, 5-inch stroke. “It would power out of the turns and average over 100 miles per hour.”

His grandson, Jordan Umlauf, 21, hops in the leather cab and turns the ignition as the engine roars to life, reverberating off the garage walls. As the car inches out of the garage, sunlight glistening off the pearlescent paint, Pitzen motions to the passenger side, “You’re going for a ride.”

This is the car all the grandkids want.

“There’s only one. There will never be another one,” says Pitzen, 80.

The 36-year Fullerton resident ambles through his garage, the walls covered with framed photos of his many car restorations and his grandchildren posing next to the vintage automobiles. A sign read-ing “Grandpa’s Toy Shop” hangs prominently next to faded black and

white photos of racing Speedsters.

The love of Pitzen’s life is clearly his wife of 60 years, Martha — “I still feel like I’m 21 years old. We’re still a great partnership,” he says.

But cars are a close second.

A tour of his garage is like a trip back to the Great Depression era. Next to the Buick Speedster is a khaki-and-crimson 1931 Buick Pha-eton, a seven-passenger convertible-style vehicle, one of only 12 in the world.

There’s a bright blue-and-black 1928 Ford Model A, a burgundy 1915 Oldsmobile – “This belongs in a museum,” he says – and cream-and-black 1926 and 1928 Buick Roadsters.

Car collector might not be the most apt title, since all of Pitzen’s cars are “drivers,” meaning he drives them around town, they don’t collect dust in his garage. His Speedster has been to Arizona twice. The Pha-eton can be spotted cruising in Fullerton parades. He drives his candy apple-red 1952 Chevy truck to lunch.

Every car in his garage was built and restored by Pitzen and his grand-sons, but there have been many more. His first restoration was of a 1929 Dodge, parked in the driveway of an empty house next door to his childhood home in Hawthorne.

Collector Gets His Motor Running…

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“I managed to get it running without my dad knowing it,” he says, with a slight chuckle. “I repaired it, fixed some things, painted the outside. It came to a quick end when my dad caught me driving it.”

Pitzen’s father was a mechanic, but he never wanted to restore a car.

“He had his hands in cars all the time,” Pitzen says. “I saw that early on. I told myself, ‘I want to keep my hands out of it as a profession and just keep it a hobby.’ ”

And that he did. He moved up the ranks at Rockwell, first sweeping the floors at the welding shop at 18 years old, and retiring 41 years later in 1992 as an executive in the financial department.

In 1978, Pitzen, then 45, and his wife bought a 1-acre lot in Sunny Hills, and Pitzen fulfilled his dream of building his own house and stables, where the couple still live today.

The land also allowed Pitzen a seven-car garage.

Over the years he has restored more than two-dozen cars. Two have made the cover of Hot Rod magazine — the 1929 Model A he restored in 1959 and the Ford Model T or T-bucket in 1962.

Pitzen does all of the work himself, beginning with the thorough re-search of designs and models on the Internet, the location of parts, the bodywork, everything but the exterior paint.

“Mechanics fix cars, and I build them. You have to know the differ-ence,” he says. “My emphasis is having fun designing and building

the parts.”

He’s currently in the midst of constructing a 1934 Model 40 Speed-ster, fabricating new parts when original parts can’t be found.

While recovering for a year from heart surgery, Pitzen found himself watching TV a lot.

“I told Martha, ‘I’m not going to die watching TV. I need a project,’ ” he said.

A small model of the Model 40 sits on top of a shelf in his garage. Pitzen works from every document he can find when restoring a car. He holds out a binder of photos and other print-outs of the Model 40. “I’ve wrung out the Internet by now,” he says.

Pitzen estimates that he spends about $50,000 on a car plus the labor and the cost of the car. The Phaeton was $30,000 just for the car alone. “By that time, you just don’t show the receipts to your wife,” he says, smiling.

Pitzen is meticulous in his work. He notes that his shop is clean, even though it’s busy.

“He’s hardworking and persistent in most aspects of his life,” says Umlauf, sitting next to his grandfather. “For example, before I came over here today, he probably called me five times over the last five days to see when I was coming over.

“Everything has to be done right. He always says, ‘If you’re going to do something, it might as well be done right.’ ”

Buzz Pitzen will be showing his Buick Speedster during the Muckenthaler Motor Car Festival May 17 and 18.

Pitzen says his dad used to ask him, “Why are you rushing? Do it right the first time.”

Once, Pitzen built a car frame but had to dump it and start all over again.

“After you do that a few times you listen to your dad,” he says. “When I finish a car, the first time I turn the ignition switch, I want every-thing to work perfectly – the brakes, the lights, the engine, everything. That’s the goal.”

It takes time and it’s hard work, he says, but to him, that’s the challenge.

Pitzen admits that he has the same apprehension with each car. After months of hard work, when he goes to turn the key that first time, will it start? Will everything work OK?

It usually does, Umlauf says.

“A lot of guys are out there working on cars, restoring cars and show-ing them, but not a lot of them do everything themselves,” he says. “They get a lot of help from other people. Not a lot of people do all the work themselves like my grandpa does. The finished result is much different because of that.

Every part of the car was welded together by him, the headlight mounts, everything.”

Pitzen’s home office is filled with trophies from the Muckenthaler Concours d’Elegance. He and his grandsons have won dozens of ac-colades from the various shows across Southern California they at-tend each year.

Often, Pitzen gets offers for his cars, or requests to go into business.

“When I was a young man raising a family, when I built a car, I had

to sell it,” he says. “Now that I’m retired, when I build a car, I get to keep it. So I’m keeping all my cars, even though I don’t have room.”

Although Pitzen says he still can’t wait to get up in the morning and head out to his garage, he is gladly letting his grandsons take the wheel also.

Right now, life, to him, is perfect. “It’s like driving a new Corvette. Picture that,” he says.

“What’s not to like? It makes all the hard work, and there’s some hard work – broken fingers, trips to the hospital, I don’t think I have a straight finger – but when you get done, you pull this beautiful car into a place like Concours d’Elegance, they put you right up front and the grandkids are telling spectators about the car. And I sit back and have a beer. I don’t know how you put a number on it. That’s fantastic. It’s what it’s all about.”

The Muckenthaler Motor Car Festival joins Railroad Days and Fullerton Airport Day in the first ever Fullerton celebration “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”

Railroad Days May 3 & 4 at the Fullerton Train Depot120 E. Santa Fe Ave.Fullerton, CA 92832http://www.scrpa.net/scrrdays.htm

Airport DayMay 10 at the Fullerton Municipal Airport4011 W. Commonwealth Ave.Fullerton, CA 92833714-738-6323

Muckenthaler Motor Car Festival May 17 & 18 at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center1201 West Malvern Ave.Fullerton, California 92833 714-738-6595

Pitzen’s grandson, Jordan Umlauf, prepares to take Fullerton Stories staffer Kendall Tice for a ride through town.

Friends don’t let friends take family issues to court.

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9 FullertonStories | SpECiAL AdvErTiSiNg SECTiON

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Fullerton is a fabulous place to work, live and enjoy. That is my theme for 2014, and in this year’s April 4th State of the City presentation, I present to you the information, data, ideals and goals that make and support the current, historic and cultural successes that keep Fullerton fabulous.

The duties of our City Council and city staff are to ensure business and residential constituents are enabled for success with the fewest roadblocks and speediest assistance possible. Throughout Orange County, each individual municipality defines for itself what “success” means. Here in Fullerton, our diverse business environment and commercial endeavors contribute broadly to the finances of the city, as well as the public face of the city.

Our job is to help them grow and provide them a workforce and infrastructure to accelerate their success. Workforce housing is a key example of this process. Homebuilders bring new jobs and tax revenue to the city, as well as housing for a broad economic range of buyers.

During the seven years following the recession that began in 2008, Fullerton has endured financial struggles better than most Orange County cities. The steady increase in construction activities and permits over the years indicates that Fullerton is well on its way towards recovery. No wonder the website Livability.com recently named Fullerton to its list of the “100 Best Places to Live in America.”

The following pages provide statistics, data and general interest items about the financial health of our city. It may sound boring, but this information gives valuable insight to our past, our present and our future.

Doug ChaffeeMayor

“Livability.com named Fullerton to its list of

the ‘100 Best Places to Live in America.’ ”

The State of the City

10 FullertonStories | SpECiAL AdvErTiSiNg SECTiON

finances

Property tax provides 44.5 percent of Fullerton's general fund revenue. Sales tax provides 34 percent of the city’s general revenue. Other taxes and fees, including licenses and permits, fines and penalties, use of property and charges for service make up the balance.

•The median sales price for homes sold during 2013 increased by 23.12 percent above the median sales price for 2012.

•The largest increase in assessed value for a single parcel was for University House Fullerton, LLC, that posted an increase of $47.5 million (182 percent).

Construction permits for commercial and residential combined are up over 40 percent in the past year (3/1/12-2/28/13 to 3/1/13 to 2/28/14).

The commercial property vacancy rate has reached historical lows at 2.9 percent in 2013 in North Orange County.

Transportation sales tax revenue is the highest it’s been since 2008. In fact:

•Fullerton’s better than doubled in auto sales at 36.7 percent compared to statewide at 12.5 percent.

•Renick Cadillac, McCoy & Mills Ford, Fullerton Auto Square and Golden West Towing are all top 25 Sale Tax generators in Fullerton.

planned traffic improvements

Two major railroad underpass projects will begin in 2014, one on Raymond Avenue and the other on State College Boulevard. North-south traffic on both streets will be redirected to Acacia Avenue, Lemon Street and Placentia Street.

The projects represent the City Council’s commitment to improving the city’s quality of life by eliminating traffic delays caused by train crossings. Vehicular traffic flow will improve, which in turn will reduce air pollution.

Studies have shown that without these railroad underpasses, traffic would be stopped about 20-30 minutes every hour by 2020. These new projects will, in turn, reduce air pollution, eliminate lost productivity, and improve quality of life by reducing traffic delays.

These two projects are estimated to cost over $190 million, with the majority of funding coming from regional and federal agencies.

The State College work is estimated to cost $86 million, and Raymond Avenue is estimated to cost $112 million.

Street repair will be coordinated with sewer projects to minimize traffic disruption.

11 FullertonStories | SpECiAL AdvErTiSiNg SECTiON

infrastructure

In December 2013, the City Council approved a water rate structure that will provide funding for a long-term repair and replacement program for water mains and related assets, including our streets.

The current five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) includes $1.75 million in water system repairs for fiscal year 2013-2014, and $3.6 million in 2014-2015 with steady increases in years following through the 2017-18 budget year.

•$1.5millionforwatermainreplacementsin2013-2014,increasing to $4.1 million in 2014-15.

•$80,000forupgradestotheSCADAwatercontrolsystem.

•$250,000overthreeyearsforreplacingvalves,vaultsandother water system components.

thankful fact

In 2006, the year before the Program for Sewer System went into effect, Fullerton experienced 26 sewer overflows. In 2012-13, overflows dropped to two.

shop locally

One percent of the sales tax you pay in Fullerton returns to the city in the form of general revenue. By shopping locally, your purchases help support the health and well being of your streets, parks and environment.

employment

The Orange County unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent in November, down from October’s rate of 5.8 percent. The OC’s unemployment rate is nearing pre-recession lows and was one of the lowest rates in California at 8.5 percent.

Job seekers

The Fullerton Orange County One-Stop Center specializes in helping companies fill vacant positions by connecting them with thousands of job seekers. Using local and national resources, it provides free business support services to companies and job seekers.

Fullerton Orange County One-Stop Centerwww.oconestop.com

6281 Beach Blvd., Suite 302Buena Park, CA 90621714-562-9200Open Mondays through Fridays8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

street repairs

The operating budget includes an additional $100,000 in funding for recycled asphalt in each year of the 2013- 2015 budgets.

The current five-year CIP includes $4.95 million for arterial street repairs and $3.57 million for residential street repairs.

Mayor Doug Chaffee, center left, and Mayor Pro-tem Greg Sebourn, join Korean community leaders in celebrating Memorandum of

Understanding signed during the March 18 City Council Meeting. The MOU sets in motion a process to create a Korean Veterans

Memorial in Fullerton.

To see videos that were shown at the State of the City event, please visit www.fullertonstories.com and follow the State of the City links.

Fullertonians out and about in Downtown Fullerton.

12 FullertonStories | SpECiAL SECTiON: AdvErTOriAL

The strength of Fullerton is its connection between the people who live here and the businesses that operate here. Their combined participation in city events and volunteer projects that aid others epitomize the character and culture of the values we share.

The growth of our City as illustrated in this report will continue as we strive toward a future that includes many diverse goals. Continued synergy between the city and legacy employers in Fullerton such as St. Jude Medical Center, which is opening its new Northwest Tower later this year, and Cal State Fullerton, enhances the positive experience of working, living and enjoying Fullerton.

Fullerton’s education community is expanding. This year marks the launch of Marshall B. Ketchum University’s Physician Assistant program, bridging the education gap between advancing medical procedures and state-of-the-art workforce training. With award-winning schools for our kids and some of the best colleges and graduate programs in the county, no wonder Fullerton is often called the “Education City.”

At City Hall, the Economic Development Action Team (EDAT) exists to better enable new and existing businesses towards success. Last year, CJ Foods, a major Korean-based food manufacturer, built a new factory in Fullerton and plans to add additional facilities in the future. EDAT played a key role in attracting CJ Foods, but it also works with small and locally owned businesses to ensure their success once they move into Fullerton. Very soon, Wings restaurant will be opening at the Fullerton Municipal Airport, with expansion on the horizon.

Our goals do not stop there, and there is much more to achieve. Among our highest priorities is the resolution on the future of Coyote Hills and progress towards meeting the needs of Fullerton's homeless population and enabling Fullerton’s business community to prosper and grow. Much has already been accomplished and yet, there’s still much to do. However, one thing I do know about the businesses and citizens of this city is that they care about Fullerton. They care not just in words but oftentimes by their generous gifts of their time and energy to the betterment of this city. It is these businesses and individuals that make Fullerton a fabulous place to Live, to Work and to Enjoy.

Doug ChaffeeMayor

“Continued synergy between the city and employers enhances the positive experience of working, living and enjoying Fullerton.”

In February, the city honored Baseball Hall of Fame member and Fullerton native Gary Carter with a field in his name at the Fullerton Sports Complex.

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Math and Music in Concertstory by alanna powers & carrie barber

Math is taught to a different beat here. Students use ST Math, a computer program that uses spacial-temporal reasoning – visualizing patterns – to teach math concepts. For the students, that translates into games with pictures, symbols and an animated penguin named JiJi who leads them through the exercises. For teachers and Principal Susan Mercado, the visual method means challenging lessons for both high- and low-achieving students. Additionally, it bypasses language problems for the high percentage of English learners at the school.

Music lessons are a bonus for second- through sixth-graders. With initial funding by jewelry maker Brighton and the Maple Alumni Committee, the school purchased a music curriculum that works with the math software. Twice a week, each student sits at an electric piano keyboard with headphones and follows Matthew Murray's instruction on fundamentals such as rhythm and pitch. “As we go through the year, we apply it to the keyboard,” said Murray, who has a music degree from Chapman University and runs M3 Creative Academy.

Murray said the students need to build coordination in their fingers for two-handed playing, a challenge that involves both sides of the brain. “Music is one of the only disciplines that does that.”

When Murray asks for a volunteer to play for visitors, several hands shoot up. One belongs to 7-year-old Jonathan Pina, a second-grader. With a graceful touch and confidence that belies his age, Jonathan proudly plays an exercise on opposite intervals as if it’s a Beethoven masterpiece. The piece ties in spacial-temporal reasoning by using the symmetry of the hands instead of relying solely on reading notes on a page and memorizing them.

“I can be a musician if I want,” said Jonathan, who also wants to play the guitar or flute. He said he's learned piano by following the notes and figuring out the right time to play them.

Lisa Pena, 8, is enchanted by the range of sounds that come from the keyboard. “I like that there are different notes, and it’s so beautiful when you play them. It’s so beautiful.” The third-grader practices finger numbering and counting long and short notes at school and on the piano at home, and she’s noticed her improvement.

She also has a goal. “My mom plays really good, so I want to grow up to be just like her.”

Murray said his students are asking for keyboards at home and that families are making an investment in them.

The average price for private piano lessons in the area is between $35 and $75, Mercado said. Few families at the economically disadvantaged school can afford that, but at Maple they get 30 minutes of instruction twice a week.

“Arts balance a child,” she said. “It’s not only about academics but visual and performing arts.” Children learn best when they interact with the curriculum and feel responsible for learning a discipline, she said. She said Maple's Academic Performance Index has risen 96 points since the math program began in 2008. After adding the piano lessons, she's seen better behavior that carries over into other classrooms.

Maple Elementary

Maple Elementary School244 E. Valencia Drive, Fullerton, CA 92832714-447-7590 | fsd.k12.ca.us/maple

Maple second-grade student Brandon Becerra, practices during music class.

Hughes Campus2121 Hughes Drive, Fullerton, CA 92833714-871-3111 | arborland.com

Valencia Campus1700 W. Valencia Drive, Fullerton, CA 92833714-871-2311 | arborland.com

14 FullertonStories | COvEr STOry

International Culture Drives Curriculumstory by alanna powers

It’s a day when each child showcases dances and songs from around the world, incorporating traditional costumes, colors and food. At Arborland, International Culture Day is a huge production and unique event for the school and the community. Even the principal, Dr. Sueling Chen, gets in on it, dressing up in full costume as a historical figure as she challenges each group to represent a continent and country.

A major part of Arborland curriculum leads up to International Culture Day, when students, faculty and parents come to the school to celebrate different cultures of the world. Each grade level tackles a different continent to learn about in the weeks leading up to the showcase. For example, sixth-graders might learn a traditional Indian dance while kindergarteners could learn what types of animals live in Africa. Parents participate by bringing in ethnic treats relevant to their child’s continent, and some faculty members even dress up in ethnic or historic attire for the occasion.

Chen said that Arborland understands the importance of the early years of schooling because they are the most critical, and the school strives to enforce positive qualities and work ethic for each student. “We give the word ‘work’ a positive connotation, and kids enjoy working and fulfilling responsibility,” Chen said. She also stressed the necessity for children to understand that every child is unique, and it is Arborland’s mission to embrace individuality.

The classroom work leading up to Culture Day falls under the social science curriculum and is a unique and important part of Arborland’s teachings. “It is important to understand who we are and to understand others,” said Chen, “and Culture Day is a day to embrace everybody else.”

Arborland Montessori Children’s Academy

A mix of world cultures dominate the curriculum during International Culture Day at Arborland Montessori's Hughes Campus.

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School has AVID Approach to Learningstory by alanna powers & carrie barber

AVID is an acronym that carries a lot of responsibility with it: Advancement Via Individual Determination. But it hasn’t scared off the 133 seventh- and eighth-graders enrolled in the class here. The college-readiness program has a prize awaiting Nicolas students who follow through the program in high school while maintaining a 3.4 GPA: a full scholarship to Hope International University (students with lower GPAs are eligible for a partial scholarship).

This guarantee instills determination in students and teaches them that college is attainable, even those who had not planned on higher education. Nancy Waggoner, Nicolas’ program’s coordinator, sees considerable personal growth in students during their two years in AVID, as well as growth in the program, which went from obscurity when it began in 2007 to a highly desirable feature for incoming sixth-graders. Nicolas is the only Fullerton middle school to offer AVID.

During a visit to the AVID class, students are noticeably respectful and engaged. On this particular day, they’re clustered into small groups led by local college students who help them with homework. The junior high schoolers identify why they struggle with certain problems and how to resolve them, a group exercise that teaches critical thinking and self-awareness while fostering teamwork. They also learn practical college skills, such as taking good notes, managing stress and time, and balancing academics and extracurricular activities. Funds for the program come from a variety of grants, including the Fullerton-based Wilson W. Phelps Foundation.

The school’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics)

program, launched just last August, allows students to demonstrate real-world applications of technological concepts through elective Project Lead the Way classes and school-wide curriculum. In PLTW, students use AutoDesk Inventor software to manipulate 3-D images such as a pegboard toy and a model playground slide, then watch their creations take shape on a 3-D printer. According to seventh-grader Julian Sanchez-Reyes, the hardest part about the class was manipulating the lines, curves, and holes for pegs; other students said that engineering the twists and turns of a 3-D spiral slide for the playground was the most difficult. Nevertheless, Sanchez-Reyes and his classmates said the class sparked their interest in STEM subjects.

For robotics, students must collaborate to find the best way to build a robot with gears, motors and other parts for science teacher Shital Desai. Group members collaborate to find the most practical way to build the robot. Every group’s product is different, allowing for varied solutions. Desai emphasizes strategy over success, telling her students to test ideas before dismissing them. All teachers collaborate during designated planning days to incorporate STEM subjects into every classroom. Desai’s science class is planning a paper airplane project in which students must use their iPads for calculations. Simultaneously, English teachers hand out articles on flight, history teachers give lessons on aviation, and art teachers oversee embellishment of the paper airplanes.

Nicolas Jr. High

Nicolas Jr. High School1100 W. Olive Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92833714-447-7775fsd.haikulearning.com/nicolas_knights/nicolasjuniorhigh

Seventh-grader Julian Sanchez-Reyes works on a three-dimensional object using CAD software.

Private School Ages: 18 months—6th grade 1 to 12 Teacher Student Ratio Rigorous Academic Standards Curriculum

1700 W. Valencia Dr. Fullerton, CA 92833 (714) 871-2311

2121 Hughes Dr. Fullerton, CA 92833 (714) 871-3111

Language Arts Science Art Spanish Technology Public Speaking

Math Social Science Music PE Performing Arts Character Development

Contact Shawna Galvan, Director of Special Eventsshawna@thevilladelsol.com 714-454-7723

www.thevilladelsol.com

Fullerton’s Historic Venue Weddings and Special Events

Fullerton UnionHigh School

Culinary Academy Feeds aHunger for Food Educationstory by alanna powers

The sound of shuffling pans and boiling water is overwhelming, and the kitchen is busy, as cuisine artists are hard at work sautéing, seasoning, measuring and blanching. No, it’s not a restaurant kitchen, but it is as close as you can get to one on a high school campus.

The Culinary Academy at Fullerton Union High School has been thriving since 2007, teaching students the science of food and how to prepare it in a professional kitchen.

Taught by faculty Mary Poole and Islah Shinault, students are broken into “kitchens” and run on a brigade system. Poole has experience in cooking and teaching the program from her master’s in home economics degree. Although she’s never been a restaurant chef, she knows how to run the kitchens efficiently and in a way for kids to learn and have fun.

Poole says the program doesn’t necessarily lead to students going to culinary school. In fact, most kids go on to four-year colleges and only a small percentage go to culinary school, but that percentage does have a promising career path ahead, with options from line cook

to restaurant manager to pastry chef. But she stresses that going on to work in restaurants isn't what the program is there for. “This is a career-tech education class, so it just shows students some alternative options,” she explains. “But most take it as an elective; there’s only a handful of kids that go through the whole four-year program.”

One of the students who does plan on going on to culinary school is Adam Goode, a junior. “My mom got me into cooking. The first thing I cooked was scrambled eggs, and then I realized that it was easy and it's fun,” Goode said in between commanding his teammates and vigorously shuffling pans back and forth. Upon graduation, he hopes to attend BYU and look into the Culinary Arts program or attend Le Cordon Bleu.

Poole said this program pulls a lot of students in from other high schools in the Fullerton Joint Unified School District.

Fullerton Union High School201 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton, CA 92832714-626-3803 | fullertonhigh.org

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Junior Adam Goode wants to work in the food industry when his education is complete.

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What’s in a Word? Maybe an Election Outcomestory by mellissa martinez / fullerton stories

Some of us were taught to avoid discussions of politics and religion, but as we all know, political conversations are occasionally unavoidable. If you turn on the TV, listen to the radio or participate in social media, expect to be bombarded with daily news of political catch phrases, sound bites, slogans and blunders.

Although politicians try hard to appear relaxed, spontaneous, funny, quick-witted and fast on their feet, they are actually delivering practiced, well-thought-out phrases that were conceptualized, perhaps, with help from a linguist. Elections are about words—the right words, the wrong words, catchy phrases, off-the-cuff answers, cutting comments, clear explanations and no-nonsense declarations. It is no surprise that both parties pay big bucks to get their words right!

When politicians get words wrong, it doesn’t only cost an election. It can affect an entire generation of thinkers. Consider tax relief, proposed by Bush in the ‘90s. The well-known UC Berkeley linguist,

George Lakoff, has used this example on many occasions to describe how the Democrats are losing the political battle of words. Pairing the word tax with relief implied that taxes were an infliction—something that people suffered from, like a cold or flu. Everyone bought it. Now, Joe Biden can be heard discussing tax relief. Lakoff asks, “Why couldn’t the Democrats have framed taxes as patriotic?” After all, nobody expects to be permitted into an exclusive club boasting fabulous amenities without a participation fee.

Another left-leaning linguist is Geoffrey Nunberg. The lengthy title of his most recent book sums up his take on the power of words in politics: Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show. Both Lakoff and Nunberg shudder at their own party’s failure to effectively use words in their favor. In fact, Nunberg seems downright disgusted. In his book he degrades one Democratic slogan “Together, Americans can do better” as vapid and ungrammatical.

There is an apparent silver lining for the Democrats—room for improvement. In his Huffington Post blog, Lakoff says that President Obama is starting to get words right when he uses the imperative “pass

Incorrectly Political

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the jobs bill” or when he says “right away,” which in Lakoff’s opinion connotes an urgent request to join in and work toward a common goal.

The Democrats are certainly not alone in their careful consideration of words. On the right is the tenacious wordsmith, Frank Luntz, who, by all accounts, is a lexical force to be reckoned with. Many of us have used his coined phrases without even realizing it. In the early days, Luntz gave name to Bush’s Healthy Forests Initiative and Clear Skies Act, both of which loosened pollution restrictions.

Luntz studies language by testing emotional responses of focus groups. His philosophy: “I’m much more interested in how you feel than how you think.” If a word promotes a bad emotion, change it (unless, of course, you’re trying to promote the bad emotion). One of his recent proposals to the GOP is to replace the term oil drilling with energy exploration. Listen up. Very soon, I suspect we’ll hear leading Republican candidates touting energy exploration.

Luntz is highly regarded as a wordsmith. He has suggested that the party frontrunners say climate change over global warming, and death tax over inheritance tax. He is currently pushing his party to replace the word capitalism with economic freedom or free market. His take on taxes? Don’t use the word. Especially when combined with rich. Luntz has specifically instructed to avoid the slogan tax the

rich because people don’t mind doing that. Rather, he advises saying fairness and taking money from hardworking Americans.

Democrats, of course, feel angry when they hear Luntz’s linguistic pirouettes. Responding in his blog, Lakoff says: “Referring to the rich as ‘hardworking taxpayers’ ignores the fact that a great percentage of the rich do not get their wealth from making things, but rather from investments in other people's labor, and that most of the 1 percent are managers, not people who make things or directly provide services. The hardworking taxpayers are the 99 percent. That is not the frame that Luntz wants activated.” Lakoff, however, is the first to admit that anger is not the answer. The Democrats need to get their linguistic act together if they care about image, which they do. Lakoff’s answer: “reframe, reframe, reframe.”

Regardless of your political preference, there is no denying that for a language lover, this stuff is fascinating. Word manipulation that was previously a mystery to the average person is now debated in a public forum, the Internet. We know exactly what is being said and who is saying it. So, the next time you hear a buzz words (old or new) like: patient-provider gap, job creators, remote monitoring or illegal alien, listen thoughtfully. Do you have a firm opinion on these hot topics or is your political ideology being tweaked (ever so slightly) by a linguist behind the scenes?

L-R, clockwise:

JAY HAN, M.D. Cardiology

SEAN NIKRAVAN, M.D. Endocrinology

ANDREW KARICH, M.D. Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

MICHAEL SUGARMAN, M.D. Rheumatology

TOBEY WU-KUO, M.D. Dermatology

ALEXANDRA DUKE, D.O. Family Medicine

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