1992_12 The Daily Collegian December 1992

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CSU-Fresno
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9,19911
Simpson "bull-headed" about
success
By Adam Breen
StaffWriter
Carole Simpson received the key to
the city from Fresno Mayor Karen
Humphrey last night, but she said she
has encountered many locked doors to
opportunity in her career as a journalist
She spoke at the Satellite Student
Union as part of die University Lecture
.Series.
Simpson's father was a mail carrier
and her mother took in sewing while she
was growing up in Chicago. Neither
went to college. She became interested
in journalism in high school after being
encouraged to work for the school
newspaper by her teachers.
"I wanted to be a colored Lois Lane
or Brenda Starr," she said. "My mother
thought that was ridiculous. She said
'get that teaching degree and then try
journalism'.
- "Back then, teaching, nursing and
social work are what girls aspired to, but
I was determined, even bull-headed."
When Simpson applied at the Medill
School of Journalism at Northwestern
University, the admissions counselor
"patted my hand and said he was going
to level with me."
y'H^told me it was more sensible to
go to Chicago Teachers College and
become an English teacher," she said.
She would eventually become a part-
time faculty member at Northwestern.
"I always told my students that I
wasn't good enough to go there, but I
was good enough to teach there."
Simpson was the only black graduate
from her University of Michigan class in
1962 and the only person out of 60 not to
have a job upon graduation.
"I had three strikes against me; I was
black, I was a woman, and I was inexperi¬
enced," she said. "I couldn't change any of
these things. Tsaid 'damn it, I've prepared ^
myself, I'm going to make it'"
After teaching journalism at the Tus-
kegee Institute in Alabama, Simpson went
to graduate school at tlie University of Iowa.
In 1965, at the height of the civil rights
movement, she said news organizations
began to realize that black people would
have an easier time covering stories in the
ghetto than white people who were unfa¬
miliar with the environment
"My color and sex, which had been lia¬
bilities, suddenly helped me receive numer¬
ous job offers," said Simpson, who became
the first woman — black or white — to
broadcast news in Chicago while working
for WCFL radio.
She begged for the hard news^lories, she
said, but she only got to cover them when
die male reporters were busy.
"Guys I worked with said I was a good
lady reporter," she said. *T wanted to be
known as a good reporter who happened to
be a lady."
While covering die "Chicago 7" con¬
spiracy trial that resulted from riots at the
1968 Democratic convention, die pregnant
Simpson battled morning sickness and
Please see SIMPSON, page 4
Carole Simpson
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Quorum broken over senatorial GPA requirements
*^T
By Mike Palmer
Staff Writer
Sen. Maurice D. Castillo walked out of
the final Associated Students, Inc meeting
of the semester, forcing it to adjourn rather
than adopt a 2.5 grade point average re-
quirerrttnt for future .Senators.
Castillo defended his action by saying
that to raise the current 2.0 rcquwpnent
would "create an elite group to run for
office."
His action came about halfway through
the Senate's published agenda forcing an
early adjournment of the meeting. He .said it
was clear to him that the change would pass.
President Marci C. Demings also argued
to retain die existing grade requirement
while Sen. Michele L. Meiring said, If a
person can't get at least a 2 5 grade point
average he or she should reconsider the time
allotted to be an ASI Senator."
In other business, die Senate again de¬
clined to take action on the budget provision
requiring The Daily
Collegian to pay
S4,000 in accounting
fees. The matter was
ref erred back to the
Legal and Legisla¬
tive Committee.
Demings   pre¬
sented the Senate
with .advertising bills from The Daily Colle-
gian going back to 1990 and totalling about
$700.
Chris Volkerts, a member of the gallery,
said that The Daily Collegian had been
"stealing money from the AS I" since 1989
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by charging for advertising it was supposed
to trade-off for the accounting fees.
He said that "since The Daily Collegian
didn't do its share of the bargain by giving
-v^ JneeadstotheASI,
why should the
ASI pay die ac¬
counting fees."
Publications
mm , Commission
f h     Chairman Tom
;" Uribes said, "two
wrongp don't
make a right" He encouraged the Senate to
correct what is existing but conceded that
no great harm would occur by postponing a
decision until next semester.
In a previous report to die ASI Senate,
John H. Cagle, CSUF Academic Senate
•
Parliamentarian termed the Senate budget
action "null and void" because proper pro¬
cedures weren't followed. He suggested the
Senate restore The Daily Collegian's funds
or President John H. Welty or Dean Wil¬
liam Corcoran could. Ultimately he said
than any interested party could go to court
to restore the money.
The Senate almost voted to pay the fees
at its meeting last week, however, Demings
requested a written rather than an oral report
from the Legal and Legislative Committee.
The Senate did approve die use of $16,000
from The Daily Collegian's capital reserve
to pure hase three new Apple Macintosh II
Ci computers, three new monitors and a
laser (jet printer.    J
Pi EASE SEE
SENAtE,
PAGE 5
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