1996_05 The Daily Collegian May 1996

              THE DAILY
- COLLEGIAN
Id      Wednesday, May 1,1996
Opinion
Opinion Editor: Matthew Hart
Telephone: (209) 278-5732
Have extra change?
Put your money to
good use — vote
By Paul Martinez
Staff Writer
Here's a riddle:
What costs $ 1.50, comes in four
parts, weighs five pounds and forms
a stack about a foot high?
It's a semester's worth of the
Daily Collegian and its three
supplements, the Uhuru, La Voz de
Aztlan and the Hye Sharzhoom.
Plans are afoot right now to kill off
. all four newspapers.
Just think: your tuition will drop
from $906.00 to $904.50 next se¬
mester!
All you have to do is vote for the
student referendum today, that asks
students of Fresno State if they need
the Daily Collegian and its minor¬
ity, supplements, and if they should
be fund it.
That this can happen at a four-
year university, a place once re¬
garded as a center for the advance¬
ment and spread of knowledge, un¬
masks the loss of vision in the lead¬
ership of this campus.
This university is about to be¬
come, and deservedly so, the laugh¬
ingstock of the CSU system. The
opinion that Fresno State is a school
for losers who couldn't get into
UCLA or Cal Berkeley, is about to
be confirmed in dramatic fashion.
The action of killing off the stu¬
dent daily would be inconceivable
at those institutions, yet is about to
f* happen here with scarcely a mur¬
mur of debate. This school, whicly
previously has been given its repu¬
tation as a minor school by others,
is about to earn that reputation, by
our actions right here on campus.
The effort to squelch the Colle¬
gian and its supplements comes
from many sources. There are pro¬
fessors and instructors on this cam¬
pus who are against the dissemina¬
tion of news and knowledge.
There are journalism instructors
who are supporting the "merger" of
the Collegian and the campus labo¬
ratory paper, the Insight—the same
instructors who whine about the
demise of the two-paper town.
There are administrators who are
for an ignorant student body. An un¬
informed student body is easier to
rule, after all.
There are people in various de¬
partments who are not happy with
the way the Collegian has treated
them in the past. To them, the
Schadenfreude* is the purest form
of revenge.
It is even possible that there may
be racists on this campus who are
against permitting the African
Americans, Hispanics and Arme¬
nians to have their own voice.
To mask the real reasons why
they want to do away with the news¬
papers, the opponents of this propo¬
sition have advanced many noble-
sounding reasons:
• Terminating the papers would
save the students money on their
tuition bill. $1.50, to be exact.
• Terminating the papers would
relieve the ASI of the liability of a
possible libel lawsuit. Why wait to
get sued? Let's give up right now.
Lawyers win one without even try¬
ing.
• "Combining" the papers on
campus would bring integrity to the
journalism program. Just like "com¬
bining" newspapers in major cities
improves the product there. And
while the Collegian and its supple¬
ments do not cost the taxpayer one
cent, shifting responsibility to the
Journalism Department would!
Let's set forth some reasons you
might oppose the proposal:
• You are against the First
Amendment and the things it stands
for.
• You hold power on this cam¬
pus and have shenanigans to hide,
or have projects afoot you wish to
conduct in secrecy.
• You are against allowing the
African-American, Hispanic and
Armenian peoples to have their own
voice.
• You are $1.50 short of a Big
Mac Combo.
• You already get all you need to
know in campus news, filtered
through the weekly Insight.
• You want to hear the legend¬
ary journalist Roger Tatarian, who
was editor of the Collegian decades
ago, roll over in his grave.
Please see PAUL, Page 4.
Letters to the Editor
Current student government
ineffective in helping campus
Dear Editor,
What can you positively say
about our current student govern¬
ment? Have they dramatically re¬
duced our fees, have we had more
money for our clubs on campus?
Personally I can't think of one thing
that our current student government
has done for the entire student body.
Maybe it's-just me, but I can't re¬
call a time when I've been over¬
joyed with a decision they have
made. With the leadership they pro¬
vide, we shouldn't even have a stu¬
dent government. Not only do they
use their positions as social pedes¬
tals, but mock the entity of what stu¬
dent government is all about. The
student government at California
State University, Fresno should be
servants to our needs. Students
shouldn't have to beg to be heard
about their concerns or ideas. The
only reason we have a student gov¬
ernment is because of the students
on campus. At the same time, the
current student government is
backstabbing the students. How are
they backstabbing us? Well, the stu¬
dent government takes away funds
from clubs/organizations and de¬
cides the best way that students can
be served is by dramatically in¬
creasing the funds to the Greek fra¬
ternities. That is ridiculous.
Folks this isn't high school. De¬
cisions that the current student gov¬
ernment, (basically every senator
belongs to the Reality Party) votes
on can dramatically affect your life
on this campus. What would Fresno
State be like if there were no colle¬
giate newspapers, or how many
people would attend Fresno State if
fees went up another $200. All of
this is possible because this is the
platform of the Reality Party (which
is the majority in the student gov¬
ernment). These are real issues, and
don't think as a student that you can
simply walk away form them. If the
Reality Party wins the election this
semester, you will experience first
hand what it feels like when you
won't have a Daily Collegian news¬
paper to read, at the same time try¬
ing to figure out where the extra
money fs going to come from when
the stated government decides to
raise our fees to an astronomical
amount. Oh, I almost forgot, the
Reality Party (majority in the stu-f
dent government) decided not to •
join the CSSA (California State Stu¬
dent Association) which is a lobby¬
ing group that lobbies in Sacra¬
mento to reduce our fees. So don't
make the mistake in voting for the
Reality Party. Vote for the SEA
(Student Empowerment Alliance)
so we can join the CSSA, and revi¬
talize the organization, program and
clubs that have been obliterated by
the Reality Party. Remember to vote
April 29 from May 1.
David Splivalo
SEA LVP candidate
Speech Communication major
Daily Collegian
California State University, Fresno -
Editor in Chief
Sports Editor       Jevon C. Swanson
Brian R. Fisher      M       .    „..
Managing Edi tor
[Assistant Sports Editor Robert Bilvado
Paul Martinez News Editor
Opinions Editor      Heather Hartrnan
Matthew Hart
Web I
Jason Maggini
Copy Editors
ICari L.Scott
Heidi Potter
Ad Manager
. Paul McCauley
Business Manager
David Stanley
Senior! Staff Writers:
Matthew Hart and Jim Ward
Staff Writers:
Michelle-Lomax, Ruthie Longley,
Christopher O'Brien
Sports Writers:
Casey Angle, Matt Croce, Paige
Devers, Patrick Houlihan, Dave
Johnson, Jabari Lawrence, Matt
Lievre, Troy Wagner, Brooke
Holve
Staff Photographers:
Paul Martinez, Ryan McKee,
Tommy Monreal, Moysis Nicolaou
\     ■
Advertising reps:
Richard Nixon, Lupe Fuentes
Circulation:
Doug Maxfield
Pre-Production
Monica Stanford
Telephone Directory:
Editor. (209)278-5732
News: (209)278-2486
Sports: (209)278-5733
Advertising: (209)278-5731
FAX: (209)278-2679
The Daily Collegian is
published five times a week for
and by the students of Califor¬
nia State University, Fresno.
Opinions expressed in the
Collegian are not necessarily
those of the entire Daily
Collegian staff. The editors
reserve the right to edit letters
for length and clarity, lb be
considered for publication,
letters must be typed and should
not exceed 250 words.
WWW:
http://www.csufrcsno.edu/Collegian