1980_01 The Daily Collegian January 1980

              I
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
the Daily Collegian
MONDAY
January 21, 1980
Sweeney rehiring .:'-.■
Boosters deny influence
John Stebbins, supervisor of the greenhouse on the corner of Maple and Barstow,
looks at the muddy surface where the sago palm once stood. In (he background is
the only sago palm remaining. Photo by Greg Trott
Security questioned in theft
H.
by Marl Alger
The theft of a palm tree worth at least
$1500 has spawned concern that the in¬
cident might not have occurred if it
weren't for inadequate security. How¬
ever, campus police denied that
negligence played a role in the crime.
'I think if you look at it'from the point
of surveillance on campus there is some
reason to be angry about it,", said Dr.
Jerome Mangan, chairman of the CSUF
biology department.
But Mangan conceded that a large dis¬
posal bin located in front of the green¬
house could have prevented officers
from noticing that something was amiss.
Campus police said thai the bin was
large enough to hide a forced opening in
the cyclone fence, surrounding the scene
of the crime.
But John Stebbins, who supervises the
operation of the greenhouse at the
corner of Maple and Barstow Ave.,
spoke more, harshly of the campus
police. He said that the loss of the tree,
which he valued at up to' several
thousand dollars depending on how
badly someone wanted it, could probably
be attributed to outright "negligence.'
"I don't think it was negligence,"
replied Sergio Silva, campus police in¬
vestigator, when told of the charge.
The greenhouse was broken into three
weeks before the nearly eight-foot-high
sago palm tree was stolen. Twelve small
potted palms were stolen in the first
robbery, according to Stebbins. Stebbins
then notified the campus police. "I got
really what I felt was a brush off," he
said.
The campus police said that they knew
of the previous break-in but that (hey
had no knowledge of any stolen plants.
The charge that Stebbins was given a
"brush off" was also denied.
■ Stebbins also complained, that he was
not immediately notified of the robbery.
He said that he discovered the missing
tree at about 9 a.m. December 10, The
theft was discovered by police at approx¬
imately 3:30 that morning.
Stebbins said that the police did not
arrive at the greenhouse to investigate
the crime until 1p.m. the same day.
Silva denied that, security precaution
for the greenhouse had been lax. He said
that despite the, fact that only two men
patrol  the campus  at  that  time  of
continued on page 4
>\
by Ricardo Pimentel
Throughout the furor caused by the
firing of Bob Padilla as head coach of the
CSUF football team and the subsequent
re-hiring of Jim Sweeney, the name of
the Bulldog Foundation was mentioned
often, mostly in unflattering terms.
Rumor had it that this organization
engineered the Padilla coup and re¬
turned a much beloved Sweeney to the
helm of a, by now decimated, football
team. If you believed what you read or
heard, big money men in the foundation
exerted great pressure on university
officials to sack Padilla and hire a proven
product in his place, Sweeney.
All those contacted who were involved
in the actual decisions, however, agree
that the foundation exerted no pressure
on the university and that there was not
even a consensus amoung foundation
members about whether Padilla should
be fired and Sweeney hired. Of course
there are some who disagree.
What is clear is that for an organ¬
ization which purportedly wields so
much influence, little is known about it.
The Bulldog Foundation is a non-profit
auxiliary organization to the university
which raises funds for the campus'
sports program. This year the foundation
is expected to raise $600,000 for future .
sports scholarships.        •,'-■' <
According to executive director of the
foundation and one of the finalists for the
football head coaching job, Russ Sloan,
the organization has about 3,000 mem¬
bers. Anyone who contributes $25 or
more is a member. About 60 members
are on the board of trustees which makes
all- the major decisions for the found¬
ation. Trustees are appointed by other
trustees.
Sloan palls at the suggestion that the���boosters exerted undue pressure on the
university on either the Padilla firing or
the Sweeney hiring.
"We have to stay out of hiring or firing
of head coaches,' he said. 'Nothing
would destroy our organization faster.'
The fact that he is executive director of
the foundation precluded any active
lobbying effort on his part for the head
.coaching position, Sloan said. He denied
that foundation members ever tried to
dictate to university officials that Padilla
should be fired or Sweeney hired.
Presumably the leverage the found¬
ation members are able to exert is the
threat to withhold funds. Sloan finds that
difficult to swallow. 'I don't know of
anybody who expressed the opinion to
continued on page 2
Campus police to enforce
stricter bike regulations
by Steve Schmidt
No longer will students be able to ride
their bicycles around campus relatively
free of rules and regulations. Starting
today that all will change.
The University Police Department is
putting a strict set of bike regulations
into force that could result in fines and
bike impoundments for violators, said
Lieutenant Virgil Cope.
Today the department launches a cam¬
paign to "educate" students on the new
rules during the next two or three weeks
through" pampWets, media coverage,
and warning citations. The regulations
focus on bikes which may impair or block
pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
Bike use on campus has increased due .
primarily to rising fuel costs, making
CSUF more prone to accidents between
pedestrians and bicyclists, said Cope. * '.•
The school's Traffic Safety Commis¬
sion designed Ordinance 5 with that in
mind. Along with three other major.'
rules, this regulation forms the legal-
framework for the tougher CSUF stance
on bike use.
One new law calls for a $10 fine for
cycling in'the Free Speech Area. Due to
heavy pedestrian traffic, this site in the
heart of the campus will be heavily
patrolled to maintain safety', said Cope?
The police will also strictly enforce the
use of the bike lane that cuts between
the business and science buildings.
Cyclists will be asked to ride only in the
area designated.
Mopeds are also included in the regu¬
lations. Under. threat of a fine, all
mopeds must be walked on the walk¬
ways. Cope encourages these 'cumber¬
some* vehicles to park on street sites.
Bike owners risk $5 fines and
possible impoundment, depending on
the severity of the violation/for breaking
Ordinance 5. The ordinance says that the
police may. fine, move, relocate, or
impound any bicycle which is parked in a
manner so that it:
-Blocks or otherwise impedes normal
entrance to or exit from any building on
university property.
-Blocks or impedes traffic on any
street, highway, roadway, path or side¬
walk on university property.
- -Interferes with or impedes the normal,
movement of wheelchairs on ramps pro¬
vided for them.
-Stands on any lawn or landscaped
area except in those areas designated as
a bicycle parking area by the presence of
racks or other parking devices or s jgns.
-Is chained or otherwise locked or at¬
tached to any handrail, tree, shrubbery,1
door, signpost, lamp, telephone pole, or
lamp post, or other object not. main-
. tained or designed for securing bicycles.
Another law calling for all bikes to
have licenses will not be enforced, but
any bike owner found violating one of the
new laws will be ticketed an additional
$5 if the bike Is without a license. '•'
continued on page 7