1997_11 The Daily Collegian November 1997

              DThe
AILY
Af        1 California State University, Fresno
Collegian
Weather
Overcast
high 78/low 53
1 Volume 188, No. 50
http://www.csufresno.edu/6ollegian
Monday, November 3,1997
Rodman scholar hopefuls attend info day
By Stephanie Williams
The Daily Collegian
Several hundred high school stu¬
dents heard how they can be Rod¬
man Scholars during an informa¬
tional session held Saturday.
University President John Welty,
along with several faculty and staff,
urged the students to take part in
the program.
The Rodman Scholarship, or the
"President's Scholarship," is the
largest single scholarship award
offered by Fresno State. The schol¬
arship is awarded for academic ex¬
cellence, with 25 scholarships
awarded each year. High school stu¬
dents need a GPA of 3.7 and above
and a history of community service
to be eligible. Fifty-two High
schools within the San Joaquin Val¬
ley field candiadates.
The prestigious award was first
offered in 1987-1988 and founded
by Fresno business leader Jesse
Rodman.
Rodman was a teacher and a
school principal who grew up in
Fresno and was heavily involved in
community affairs and a strong sup¬
porter of Fresno State.
A discussion given by Assistant
Provost Kehoe emphasized the im¬
portance of enhancing the student's
academic experience as a major part
of this award. Kehoe went on to talk
about the expectations ofthe award
recipients of 20 hours of commu¬
nity service work while in college
and that undergraduate recipients
receive $2,200 per year for four
years. Graduate students are also
eligible for a Rodman Scholarship.
Two students are selected each year
to receive an award of $3,500 for
two years.
Following the welcoming cer¬
emonies by Fresno State student
and Rodman Scholarship President
Scott Garza, Welty spoke on the im¬
portance of this prestigious award.
Students were then given a campus
tour and allowed to meet with and
view various departments. Parents
were given information on campus
housing, athletics, the library and
financial aid.
Parents said the day's events
were an excellent information ses¬
sion, since most are exploring all
possibilities for their children. Their
impression of the Rodman Schol¬
arship Award was that it is a very
prestigious award, and welcomed
the financial assistance it would
provide to their child during col¬
lege.
Some students said the confu¬
sion washilleviated by the informa¬
tion day. Buchanan High School
senior Mel an le Trujillo said she felt
unsure about the process.
"I felt confused at first about col¬
lege," Trujillo said. "But after to¬
day I know who to contact and ask
for help." Trujillo said she mdy at¬
tend Fresno State next year but was
not sure what to major in. She said
the information provided was very
helpful and good information.
Gardener, accused of
Jitta Paun, a representative with
the Rodman Scholarship, was
pleased with Saturday's turn-out.
"It was larger than normal." She
contributed this to the stronger re¬
cruiting effort by the scholarship
program each year. Paun said that
Saturday's information day is the
scholarship program's, "major re¬
cruiting effort and 'main event' for
the year."
Applications for the scholarship
are due by early January. A selec¬
tion committee makes its decision
by March and then students are no¬
tified. Additional information on
the scholarship will be available at
the open house on Nov. 11 or
through the university's scholarship
office (Joyal 219) and the Rodman
advising office ffhomas 130). '
poisoning
UPI
KALAMAZOO. Mich. - A
former gardener at Western Michi¬
gan University is free-on bond af¬
ter being charged with poisoning
one-third"of the'campus' flower
beds.
It's unclear why 52-year-old Ri¬
chard DeRoo allegedly killed about
7.000 square feet of flowers with
herbicide.
Officials say at the time of the
poisoning last August DeRoo was
a supervisor for unionized WMU
groundskeepers involved in labor
negotiations. But they won't- say
whether labor trouble had anything
flowers
to do with the dead plants.
A/grounds department report
says herbicide was dumped into
tanks in which soluble fertilizer for
the flowers was mixed with water.
The deadly mix was then applied
to flower beds around the campus
at the WMU field house, the main
administration building and the off-
campus home of university Presi¬
dent Diether HaenTcke. Damages
are estimated at $14,000.
DeRoo has pleaded not guilty to
malicious destruction of property.
He faces up to four years in prison
and a $2,000 fine. He'll be tried in
Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.
Study looks at black
students' expectations
College Press Service
FAIRFAX, Va.-The number of
black students who said they ex¬
pected to eventually graduate from
college has more than doubled.
But the proportion of black stu¬
dents enrolling in college has not
kept pace, according to a new re¬
port released by the United Negro
College Fund.
During the 1980s, the proportion
of African-American high school
sophomores expecting eventually
to graduate from college doubled
from 35 to 70 percent. Yet two years
after their expected time of high
school graduation, only one fourth
of students were actually enrolled
in college and working toward a
bachelor's degree.
"High aspirations arodesirable,
of course," said Michael T. Nettles,
executive director of the Frederick
D. Patterson Research Institute,
which compiled the report. "But
aspirations alone are not enough.
There has to be academic achieve¬
ment."
The report, entitled "The Status
of Education in Black America,"
also found black.women were
graduating from high school more
than black men, and more continue
their education beyond high school.
By two years after their expected
graduation, 87 percent of black
women, compared to 79 percent of
black men, have received high
school diplomas. Among whites, 91
percent of women graduated high
school, compared to 89 percent of
men.
Overall, more black women than
men enroll in an academic program
after high school-66 percent versus
53 percent. These are according to
1992 figures, the latest available,
said researchers.
When educational levels and test
scores are similar among blacks and
whites, so is the level of achieve¬
ment, said the report's authors, and
Please see COLLEGE, page 3.
Future scholars
Ryan Weber — The Daily Collegian
Students talk to Fresno State representatives at Saturday afternoon's Rodman Scholarship
Information Day seminar at the Satellite Student Union. The full-ride scholarship is offered to
qualifying incoming freshman.
Special seating arrangement helps
give life to famous author's 'Spunk'
By David Yeh
The Daily Collegian
"Spunk," George C. Wolfe's ad¬
aptation for the stage of author Zora
Neale Hurston's short stories from
the anthology of the same name, is
a delightful theater production well
worth viewing.
The play adapts three stories
from Hurston's anthology that de¬
picts African-American life in the
} 930> The first tale is set in a rural
setting, and tells the story of an
emotionally and physically abusive
husband who is served his just des¬
serts by a device of his own cre¬
ation.
The second tale is set in a city
environment and depicts the day of
two male gigolos.
The third tale depicts the disin¬
tegration of a once powerful love
between a husband and wife, a love
destroyed by the pursuit of wealth.
In all three tales, it is the woman
who ultimately, whether for better
or for worse, ends up with the
power.
"Spunk" was performed "in the
round," meaning that the audience
surrounded the stage. This allowed
the audience to participate in the
action. This was especially evident
in the second tale, as the two zoot
suited gigolos made their ways
through the audience searching out
and making conversation with
women. This audience participation
made the theater-going experience
a treat and made the characters
seem more genuine and real.
The scenes were set by the richly
visual language and lighting of the
production.
The words and dialogue were���realistic and emotional, conveying
in themselves the true feelings of
the characters expressing them.
Again, this was especially evident
in the second story, as the two gigo¬
los engaged both each other and a
woman they were trying to win over
Please see SPUNK, page 3.