1991_12 The Daily Collegian December 1991

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The Daily Collegian
i^eNo^o111  The Only Independent News Source for CSU* Fresno   &LJbl 10,1991
Author determined to fill void
By Tricia Geringer
DC Staff writer
Poet and short story writer Sandra
Cisneros has a particular goal to convey to
her readers that centers around her enriched
Latin American culture.
I'm trying to write the stories that
haven't been written. I feel like a cartogra¬
pher; I'm determined to fill a literary void,''
said Cisneros during an interview in the
Mar. 29 edition of Publishers Weekly.
She will perform poetry readingsat noon
today in the Satellite Student Union. Ad¬
mission is free.
Cisneros' well-cultured background is
contributed to by her Mexican father and
Chicana mother.
She studied at Loyola University of Chi¬
cago where she earned her bachelor's in
English and completed her graduate work
in creative writing at the University of Iowa
Writers Workshop.
Cisneros won eight awards for work
between 1982 and 1988. A few of those
awards include the Roberta Holoway Lec¬
tureship in 1988, the National Endowment
for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship for
Poetry in 1982, and the same award for
fiction in 1988.
Thirty-six-year-old Cisneros has done
much more than write.
Cisneros has delivered lectures and read¬
ings at institutions across the United States
including the Library of Congress, Yale
University, the University of California at
Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin,
the University of Illinois, the University of
New Mexico, Indiana University and the
University of Arizona.
In addition to participating in lectures,
See CISNEROS, page 5
Walking on sunshine
A single beam of afternoon sunlight Illuminates a section
of the entry way at the Henry Madden Library. Sights such
Steve K. Skibbie/DC Photo editor
as this will become Infrequent occurences, especially with
the increase of Fresno's infamous fog.
Artwork
to depict
cultural
diversity
By Manny Fernandez
DCstaff writer
To adequately represent the
growing diversity of cultures at
CSUF, the ASI has passed by straw
poll vote an amendment inviting
minority artists and muralists to
create and display their artwork at
designated places throughout
campus. /
The amendment, which needs
final Senate approval, was added
to the Columbus Myth-Free Zone
resolution passed at the beginning
of November. The Myth-Free
Resolution was adopted to offer
students a broader perspective of
United States history through a
variety of programs and cultural
events.
Sen. Mary Helen Ortega initi¬
ated the amendment because she
felt that "the art on campus doesn't
reflect the cultures of the people
See AMENDMENT, page 5
New program to assist underrepresented
By Joe M. Torres
DC Staff writer
Low-income students from
migrant farmworker families will
be given the opportunity to study
with a faculijf men tor in their field
of interest related to graduate study
because of a new program at CSUF.
The last day to apply for the
Historically Underrepresented
Student Enrichment program is
Dec. 10. The program is designed
to assist underrepresented stu¬
dents.
College students interested in
participating in the program have
to be a junior, senior or graduate
student. Ninety percent of the
funding will go to mainly migrant
farm working first-generation col¬
lege students, and to African
American, Native American, Chi¬
cano, the disabled and women
going into areas traditionally
underrepresented.
Division of Graduate Studies
Associate Dean David Roth said,
The major reasons students don't
continue (their education) are fi¬
nancial.
The program will include 90
percent migrant students; theother
10 percent must be minority stu¬
dents," Roth said. "We want to
help students, we can really profit
by these programs."
Students must have the follow¬
ing qualifications: a student must
have completed at least 60 units by
December 1991, and must have
grade point average of 2.75; how¬
ever, students not possessing a 2.75
G.P.A. may still be considered
based on references and letters'of
recommendation.
After students are selected for
See ENRICHMENT, page 5
Quality of Fresno life surveyed
•Social Research Lab investigates conditions
By Tricia Geringer
DC Staff writer
Last *s*pring more than 500
Fresno-Clovis residents answered
their phones and found themselves
participating in a survey about the
quality of life in their community.
The survey was conducted by
The Social Research Laboratory at
CSUF and results were gathered
in four different areas of satisfac-
< tion: community, neighborhood,
-   -
health and physical cond ition, and
life in general.
The respondents were also
asked how satisfied they were with
the economy, the public schools,
and even questions about crime
were included.
•" The survey discussed the vari¬
ations in opinions by age, educa¬
tion, race, income, and sex.
Edward Nelson, SRL director
and professor of sociology, said
the report is shared with commu¬
nity officials like City Council
members and Chamber of Com¬
merce leaders.
"Providing social indicators
that describe how people feel about
their community is very impor¬
tant," Nelson said.
The report also gave 12 students
three weeks of experience in con¬
ducting survey research.
Twenty-four percent of local
residents said they were very sat¬
isfied with their community and
See SURVEY, page 4
■X 1 -
Kenyan sculptures
in Conley Art Gallery
By Manny Fernandez
DC Staff writer
Carved wood figures col¬
lected from the Mijikenda people
of Kenya are being displayed at
the Phebe Conley Art Gallery
until February 12,1992.
The figures, which have been
donated to CSUF by Arthur Lim
son, are as rich in detail as they
are in history.
The vigango are tall, straight
planks of hardwood erected in
honor of certain deceased mem¬
bers of the Mijikenda society.
The people of that society
believe that in times of trouble
the spirits of the deceased will
come to help them. In return for
their assistance, the Mijikenda
See SCULPTURES, page 5