1980_03 The Daily Collegian March 1980

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Page 2--~ Pa%Ce—»»^--M-Tch 13,1980
education direction
.  by Peter Woc—skle
Social fot^casters have predicted that
in the not too distant future minorities
will (institute a majority of the popula¬
tion in California. Going from minority
status to majority may mean a change in
the state's governing struct—(a to reflect
the new majority. And education may be
. the hay to the adaptation.
r____e_g_i thai tmpnr—n,ee of a_M——B
in this a_tpta—«< process has been
recognized, many feel that schools st¬
are not responsive to -the needs of
mit-aritfes.
According to Rsoul Diaz, coordinator
of ReCTuitment of Students Via Parents
(RSVP), the problem mainly lies in a'
primary and sexxmdary educational
system that is insensitive to the needs
of rninorities.
'Basically, there is a lack of interest
by the teechers," Diaz said. "This is due
to a lack of teachers who come from the
same culture aa the students and who
are also sensitive to t—r—-needs.*
Teachers who come from a predomi¬
nantly white middle-class baa—ground
have a hard time ~~m"'"i~ti"g to
.——ants who come from a lower class,
minority background, Diaz aaid. Al¬
though the use of bilingual teachers is
currently being promoted, Diaz, said,
demand for them for exceeds supply.
Diaz abo aaid that student counselors
in high school tend to steer minority
etadents te trade schools.or two year
colleges rather then encouraging them
to attend four year colleges. Many
minority students, according to Diaz,
have the credentials snd capability to go
on to a four year college but feel going to
o university is unrealistic.
Dr. Hermon George Jr., assistant
professor of ethnic studies, said that
counseling in schools reflects a "track
system,* where white students who per¬
formed well in school were set in an
advanced 'track* which was generally
geared for professional jobs. However,
blacks, who are at a disadvantage in
the educational system, are tracked for
blue collar jobs.
Diaz ssid that many Chicane* don' t go
to college because they never finish high
school. He said the studenta reject the
educations1 system because it is unable
to address their needs.
'Much of the material they teach in
the schools  is  irrelevant,"  Diaz said..
They're still stuck on tearhjng about
the 13 colonies, and yet they don't
even recognize Cesar Chavez.*
Many of the students who continually .
face rejection in the school system drop
out and form subcuhures where they feel
both accepted and successful, Diaz ssid.
For many of those that do not drop out,
school becomes primarily a place o
socialize rather than learn.
Although George supports affirmative
action in schools, be said it waa not the
solution to social inequality.
'Workers who are 0———>d to low
paying jobs sre not going to be able to
provide their kids with enough opportu¬
nities to improve themselves,' George
said. 'The kid can't break out of the
lower class snd the process ends up
being a vicious circle."
George said the problem was an
institutional one. Economic structures
... .' J
make it almost impossible for minorities
to break out of the lower class, he said.
"Student affirmative action is long
overdue, but it is only a limited change,*
George said. "No one should think that
just changes in the schools will solve the
whole problem of inequality.*
Andrew Alvarado, assistant vice-
president for academic affairs and in
charge of affirmative action at CSUF,
ssid that at the university level minority
students are like most other students.
They enter college with the same
career goals ss most people, Alvarado
said.      <
The difference, however, is that
minorities face more barriers in com¬
pleting their education than white stu¬
dents do. He said these barriers can
include financial burdens snd campus
attitudes towards minorities.
The student may not be as well
prepared for university education
because of economic cor——ions. For
example, lower income families tend to
live in smaller houses which means there
is no room to study. The student may
also have to work, which gives less
time to devote to school," Alvarado said.
To help minority students overcome
these added barriers, Alvarado said
the university provides support systems
which allow them to compete on an equal
basis with middle snd upper class
students.
Those support systems include a
program m_t__ut; minority studenta
aware of services such as financial aids
and tutoring that are available on
campus. The university also places a
great emphasis on retention of minority
$20,000 for CSUF students
I
A check for 120,000 was preeaated to the university
yesterday from Ag Owe, a CSUF support group, to fund
far Agric-tture aad Home Economic.
. From left to right: George Kitahara, Ag One
secretary, Executive Director George F. Dg, Ag One
President Ed Rose. CSUF President Harold Haak and
Dr. Charles Smalhvood, who is Dean of .the School of
Agriculture and Home Economics.
--.-.<- - -A&.*,A*l.*S>4 •**.?" eW- * • *• • B ' r'fVeYi» • i ».r'*s
students who are enrolled at
Minorities sre directed to services and
are also counseled in making realistic
career choices.
In the long run, Alvarado said the uni¬
versity is interested in improving' the
primary and secondary education sys¬
tem, which will in turn better prepare
minority students for a university
education. '..-.■ .. , ;u-
Most of these services sre provided
to minority students by RSVP. RSVP
reaches into the students' family lives
to get more minorities enrolled at CSUF.
Although RSVP serves all minorities.
they concentrate much of. their effort
toward the Chicano community, since
they make up a large proportion of tha)
community. Since parents make many of
the decisions in the Chicano family,
much of RSVP's activities sre directed
toward influencing Chicano parents.
Diaz said that education traditionally
works against an extended family,
since it emphasizes breaking away from
the home and gaining independence.
"We want to work with both parents
and kids,* Diaz ssid. "Chicano parents
are unsure about university education
and since they love their kids so much
they are afraid of letting them go."
Diaz ssid RSVP tries to make univer¬
sity education seem a little less foreign
to both parents and studenta through
cultural nights st local high schools.
The cultural nights sre informal gather¬
ings which sre designed to provide infor¬
mation to parents snd students about
college education.
Entertainment, refreshments snd a
keynote speaker sre also part of the
program. Diaz said they usually attract
from 100 to 126 people.
Although the cultural nights attract
large crowds, the program empt—sis is
placed on individual counseling. Diaz
said they do individual 15 minute inter¬
views with students, answering any
questions they may have about college.
After making contact with a student,
Diaz said they usually try to stay in touch
with them. After the interviews at the
cultural nights, a follow up interview Is
usually done to see how the student is
getting along. Diaz said they avoid being
punbv, however.
With the popularity of the Jarvis
tax initiative, almost every area of the
university is afraid of drastic cutbacks
in their programs, including affirmative
action. Neither Alvarado nor Diaz could
say, however, how much Prop. 9 could
affect their budget.
"If Prop. 9 passes it will not be a
happy time for anyone,* Alvarado said.
"It will probably affect programs across
the board. We won't lose sight of our
objectives in affirmative action. It just
may be harder to carry them out."
Despite the threat of Prop. 9, hoar-'1
ever, Alvarado said he thinks the future
of minority education if good. He said
since minorities will make up a majority   .
of college age kids, schools will be forced ."'
to improve their education4^t.-he,tmi-
versity level, Alvarado said the rninority
student may replace the a*—•aftting white
male enrollment.
Diaz, however, was more cautious
about predicting the future of minority
education. He said many of the gains
that were made during the 60'a are now
slipping away. He was hopeful, though,
that increasing minority representation
in the schools would force a change.   ....