1992_03 The Daily Collegian March 1992

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Park, yes,- but don't park in my field
Dear Editor,
This letter is in response to
Dina Heggen's letter printed on
Monday, march 16.
It is quite a shame to «ee you
waste your insight and energy on
the parking problem here at CSUF.
You have a wonderful idea—more
parking lots for the students  How¬
ever, I disagree with your proposed
solution. The University recently
completed a wonderfully large park¬
ing lot way out near the airport,
which few students deem useful.
I am a Fresno native and have
attended CSUF for five long years. I
realize that parking can be quite a
challenge, on the level of a fox hunt
in British high society, not to
mention time consuming The
notion of removing agricultural land
for more parking is quite a simple
and short term solution. It will also
provide parking which may never
be deemed useful (especially if fees
continue to skyrocket).
Think for a moment about this
valley's history. This is the fruit
basket of the world; I have watched
this fruit basket all my life. One
walk through the produce'depart¬
ment at a local grocery store will re¬
veal that other countries are   .
exportinglfruits to this valley (pri¬
marily to provide a summer
selection in the winter). A closer
•look will reveal the large difference
in locally grown crops versus the
imported fruits. Out fruit looks
bigger and tastes better.
This University got its start and
became world renowned for its
School of Agricultural Science.
Now, I suppose, it is just a cheap
place to pick up a B.A. or B5.
degree. How would it be possible to
grant that to an Ag major if his/her
laboratory was turned into an
asphalt jungle?
A better solution to the parking
problem would be to put the
parking where it is needed most-
near the main campus. To do this,
multi-level parking could be built on
existing lots. Imagine doubling or
tripling the popular parking and
preserving some mother nature for
future farmers and ranchers.
It is past time to stop wasting
good fertile earth for parking and for
single-level shopping malls.
Imagine White Flower Day at
Macy's if you could park your car on
a second level and proceed directly
into the lingerie department, or
lower level and be in front of the
bedding.
Please put your action to good
use and provide a long term solution
to the parking problem all over this
valley.
William Shaffer
Senior, Mechanical Engineering
Sexuality in the CSUF dorms
Dear Editor,
"Appreciate the Differences" was the recent theme for residents in
the CSUF dormitories. The purpose was to educate residents, through
posters and activities, about differences that exist in the student
population such as race, religion, sexual orientation, and physical
disabilities. „
: One poster dealing with sexual orientation began as follows:'/
"Hundreds of famous historical people have been identified as having a
homosexual or bisexual orientation; they include..." The list was
extensive and included influential people from all walks of life.
Though this topic has long been considered a hot potato, I would
like to approach it from a different angle. Keep in mind that doing so
would be entirely consistently with the theme of "Appreciate the Differ¬
ences."
Yes, many significant historical people have been gay or bi. Many
significant present day people are gay or bi also. They include musi¬
cians, actors, politicians, teachers, athletes, classmates, and even our
friendsi They.(perhaps I Should say 'we') are" important and valuable
people but I wonder .about our quality of life. I'm not referring to gay-
bashing and homophobia (though serious issues not to be overlooked),
I'm talking about how we feel about ourselves and how our needs for
relationships are met.
In the fourth grade, when my peers were still "spraying for
cooties," I entered my first homosexual relationship. My homosexual
behavior continued for almost 10 years—years I do not look-back on
with fondness. After high school I became a Christian. This has
enabled me to look forward with anticipation at what God has in store
for my life. God sent his son Jesus to save the lost and heaLthe hurting:
thafs us! Currently I'm involved with one of the few ex-gay support
groups that doesn't advocate the lifestyle. As a result, I'm on the road to
better spiritual and emotional health.
Ifs my understanding of God and the Gospel message that He
created us to be in relationships: healthy, wonderful relationships with
Him and others, male and female alike. One look at our society will tell
you that this is hardly the case. Jvst look at your own experiences.
Friends stab us in the back. Ifs hard to trust people. People use each
other. Our friends and parents fight. Parents abuse us, and perhaps
they are divorced now. This must be having an impact on us. My
conviction is that we, out of longing for quality relationships, settle for
ones that ultimately leave us empty and still hungry for more. We settle
for homosexuality or bisexuality.
Whether you believe in the "God stuff" or not, you must admit thaF
at the very least it sounds good. Having quality relationships with people
outside the lifestyle is possible though not easy. Personally I have
found such relationships far more fulfilling than the trivial gay relation¬
ships I've been in. Does this sound like you also?
If you are tired of the games, instability, and general lack of trust
and commitment common to the gay lifestyle, there is something better.
I know from personal experience! By the way, when I feel lonely and
afraid because of my homosexual struggles, ifs of little comfort or
relevance to know that there were hundreds of gay or bi famous people
I have to wonder what their quality of life was like.
Because it isn't cool to struggle with homosexuality and live in the
Commons (dorms), I prefer to go unnamed.
s\
A concerned student
Diversity in CSUF does not necessarily create racial tension
Dear Editor,
Over the past few months I
have seen several school newspa¬
per and local a rticles about dem¬
onstrations on campus at CSUF.
There was an article about the
blacks who were upset with the
discriminating treatment from the
whites. There was an article about
the Hispanics and their com¬
plaints of unfair representation at
the school. There was even an
article about the Nazi-affiliated
Ku Klux Klan organization on
campus. In each case, the column
seemed to sensationalize these
s ma 11 groups of activists.
With each article that I read, I
can't help wondering why these
demonstrations were getting so
much publicity. I am a firm
believer in the right to free speech.
But I do not feel that these small
groups of protesters truly
s
represent the majority of the
students at CSUF. .
Unfortunately there is some
racism in all walks of life. But here
at CSUF, I don't see it. I see a
friendly mingling of students of
different races together on every
corner and in every classroom.
When I work with other students
here on campus, I never even
notice what skin color my work
partner or members of my study
group have.
I was brought up during the
70s and 80s by a middle-class,
white mother and father who
always stressed a non-racist
lifestyle I had friends from many
different backgrounds and colors.
We were welcomed into each
other's home anytime. One of my
best male friends was black. My   ~
parents treated him like one of the
family. My very best girlfriend
was Mexican. Her mom was like
my second mom. I never felt that
they were any different from me
in anyway. My parents taught me
to judge people by the way they .
treated me and others, not by skin
color.
I believe that here at CSUF
the majority of the students and
teachers feel the same way I da I
see no prejudice in my classrooms,
either by the faculty or my
classmates. When I took my Black
Studies class, there was a mixture
of all races in the class. There was
never any indication that anyone
in the class felt that they were
better than anyone else because of
their color.   *
As a matter of bet, I feel that
the students at CSUF are very
lucky to have such a large
diversity of races on campus.
Currency, the percentage of
Hispanic students is approxi¬
mately 20 percent There are
approximately five percent
African Americans, almost nine
percent Asians and almost two
percent American Indians. This
allows all students to interact with
each other on a personal basis.
Not everyone was as lucky as I
was to grow up with different
cultures around me. The diversity
and goodwill among students of
all races here on campus can be a
po#five influence on those that
have not had the opportunity to
interact with other races.
In general, I do not feel that
there is a big racial issue here at
CSUF. There are approximately
20,000 students who attend the
college and there will always be a
few who are unhappy about
something Giving those few such
high visibility in your articles can
give the wrong impression to your
readers who are not here to see
how it really is for themselves.
Maybe you need to run a few
articles that show the camaraderie
and the interaction among
different races. Above all, it would
be great to see articles that stress
that no matter what the skin color,
we are all just human beings and
should treat each other with
kindness and understanding.
Sincerely,
Michelle Gutsch
Letters to the Editor are wel¬
come, wtB be edited for
length only, and can be
dropped off at the Collegian
office in the Keats Campus
tS        building.	
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