1984_10 The Daily Collegian October 1984

              Page 2 '
October 3,1984
The Daily Collegian
Humor
Technical
Difficulties
By Joey Townsel
The Metric Marauders
Isnt life in this here America com¬
plicated enough?
Apparently it isn't, judging by the
standards set by the sadists who have been
threatening to force the American public
to convert to the metric system for the past
15 years.
For the benefit of those ol you wno
have been living in a cave during this time.
Ill enlighten
irncind the elobc (with the United Stat
afternoon of television and enduring the
Indianapolis 800! I mean, 500 sounds
quite long enough, thank you, but an 800
race would be an unbearable video strain-
on the eyeballs.
Imagine how our favorite commericals
would be altered. I can see it now. A
tough, weather-beaten cowboy swaggers
into his favorite drugstore and claims that
he just walked 1.6 kilometers for a Camel.
Imagine the changes in ihe body-build¬
ing ads where the poor runt gets sand
kicked in his face. Wouldn't it be ludicrous
Well, this is all well and good, but I ha\e
my doubis whether or not it has ever been
considered exactly what effect the con-
u.r.ion would have on our Uvea. How will
Imagine a nation drastically changed
after the metric system has taken effect.
Imagine sitting down to a lazy Sundaj
Of course, the pnnl media wouldn't
safe cither.
Imagine picking up
literature "God's Little Acre" would be
transformed into "God's Little .404687
Hectares." On the other end of the stick,
current motion pictures are in for changes
as well. Instead of "Footloose," we could
end up with ".32 Meterloose."
There are many other small, but im¬
portant changes that will eventually occur
in our mannerisms and speech habits.
Imagine telling your girlfriend that you
fell for her like 908 kilograms of bricks.
Imagine silting down to a big piece of Sara
Lee 45 100 kilogram cake, instead of
pound cake. Even worse, imagine such
,dioms as "give him 2.54 centimeters and
"Z ..... ,La Taeiers." Worse of all, will
: the 1.6 kilometer high
Playbov magazine and finding that this
month's centerfold girl has indicated on
her data sheet that her measurements are
91-59-93. Better yet. imagine what those
numbers would be if Playboy cajoled
Dolly Parton into posing!
Imagine the changes in our classical
Still.I
a plea
:mwilln<
inoptin
iry. i vaguely remember a 10-year limit 10
convert from the standard system to met¬
ric imposed nearly two decades ago.
Obviously, this ultimatum hasn't been
enforced very well. You can still walk into
/
the supermarket and buy a pound of
hamburger or impress the girls with your
six-foot-four build. It's a good thing, too,
since the metric system is sure not to stop
at conversion of weights and measures. It
would only be a matter of time, if you'll
pardon the pun, before our entire time¬
keeping system is altered as well. Imagine
the "Decaday" or the "Kilo-week," which
might be able to measure, but would no
doubt result in sunrise at midnight and
Winter arriving in July. Even more
disquieting is the concept of the "Deca-
bet," replacing our old, familiar friend,
the alphabet. Under the metric guidelines,
it would consist of only 10 letters, with
nearly useless ones like "x" and "z" tossed
out for good.
On this cheerful note, I'd better take
leave of the subject. After all, I wouldnl
want to get too much mileage out of this.
Or should I say "too much kilometerage?-
whcn.o
Opinion
Letters
Voter Reacts
In reference to the Sept. 28'h opinion
where Joey Townsel poses four questions
respond to each question in turn.
First question. Why should American
non-voters be denied the right to knock
I ownsel is confusing a "right"and a privi¬
lege. In order for a person to have a "right,
make public policy. In order to make pal*
others. Without influence, policy can't be
enacted. Influence is gained through sup¬
port, and in case of elected officials sup¬
port of the people, regardless of the peo¬
ple's motives.
Maybe it would be wiser, Mr. Townsel,
lo spend the time trying to convince non-
voters to vote, rather than trying to con¬
vince voters they don't have to.
Terry Thun
ledutyu
srper-
oThers to crilicia our nation.1 Obviously
not. if they did not participate in the elec¬
toral process to begin with They do have
"Amos" deleted
r.dii.
scleR=
,e duty to have to listen
Second question. Isn't complaining "a
sure sign that they are now becoming
informed, starting to care, and. in fact.
actually adopting a more optimistic view
of our political system''" Complaining
does not mean becoming more informed.
We all gripe about the weather, but how-
many of us actually attempt to find out the
specific causes of it1 Most complaints are
about things that affect us personally. By
its very nature, complaints are negative
reactions to situations How this leads to a
more optimistic view of our political sys¬
tem, as stated by Mr. Townsel. is beyond
vote will be more substantial?" Mr. Town-
the prcceeding claim is true. Granting the
fact that, through some miraculous occu¬
rence, the prcceeding claim is true, what
makes him think that their vote will be
miaieAiihsXantial? Perhaps the information
Hon that these non-voters suddenly be¬
come endowed with is biased, or simply
This is in response to your
m of Sept. 26, regarding th* ...cue.,,..
an "Amos & Andy" cartoon in one of
: College Union video programs. That
•toon was part of a video tape package
receive weekly from Campus Network.
work
uppl
programs to universities throughout the
country. Frequently, there is a section of
old and seldom seen cartoons. Last week
that section included the "Amos & Andy"
cartoon. We do not routinely preview
every television tape or motion picture to
be shown by the College Union.
The "Amos A Andy" cartoon was
shown one time, on Monday, Sept. 24.
Our Program Coordinator.
Thorn Gaxiola. saw it and decided it was
offensive. After the first showing he pulled
it and it was not shown during the rest of
the week. No comment was made by-
anyone to the College Union until after
the cartoon had already been deleted.
The College Union did not deliberately
book "Amos & Andy." It was included as
pan of a pre-packaged weekly program.
Mr. Gaxiola is writing to the distributor
to express our disappointment that they
chose to include that cartoon in their
weekly program.
The article that appeared in the Daily
Collegian on Sept. 20 under the title
"P.A.U. Rally denounces Reagan" was a
bit off. The title took away from the posi¬
tive points which were the foundation for
True, the speakers on the program. Let
Kimber an»Bill Riddlcsprigger. did bring
out a few points against Mr. Reagan
However, the organization has not come
either candidate. Although many of the
members, as well as many other people,
know that four more years of Mr. Reagan
could be devastating.
The second point is the attendance
number of 70. The number should be
approximately 350 people, estimated by
the P.A.U. rally organizers. They also feel that
between 500 and 600 people were touched
by the presence of the event.
Lastly, the Collegian omitted the three
negative points the organization has
worked on over the past summer to turn
them into positive ones. The points are: 1)
Lack of active recruitment of black stu¬
dents to CSUF 2) Black student apathy
and lack of involvement in campus club
organizations.   3)  The  administrations
attitude toward black student needs and
Today, all three points are positive
•■,,ilm
tings to
Now that ihe record is straight,
would like to commend the Daily Colle¬
gian on trying to become educated on l
feelings and attitudes of black studenls
News
 Pmtn *
October 3,1964
The Daily CoUegUa
Computer lab aids
AG market classes
ripii- .
hopet
Waver speaks
Editor:
As a student here at Fresno State,
pleased to learn of the additional seatia||
available to the Student Red Wave. Inlht)
past the studenls were only allowed
small percent of the available seating i
Selland Arena, the majority being avail*;]
ble to the Alumni. Now due to th
seating, more of us students can help 'keep]
the red waving.'
Robert Juskalisi
e of tl
juldn't it be for t!
oned, [I'm assuming this refers to para¬
graph eight of the article] if they didnt
vole? On the surface, these do seem like
silly reasons for voting. Voting because
you like a candidate's sense of humor
seems of little significance, or does it?
Elected officials represent all people, not
just the ones that vote. Their job is to
P.A.U. Rally
Editor:
On"behalf of the Pan Afrikan Student
Union 1 would like to get a few points
straight concerning the Student
Awareness Rally entitled "A celebration
of unity, moving to the forefront m 84.
The Daily Collegian
Managing EAorBoWrt Kodriji* j
Sport! Edtor-Stapbn Provwt
Photo !>.,..■ Job. >.!«■
Copy Editor Aaaaaay Martr»«»
Buicnew Manager D«cv« M*d<U«
Advertising Manager W
Creates* HfclLIM Dial
in Manager Kobbi. DiMtaio
Sh«ryl  B««a-. Marl* Carter, .
D«vi-, k«»  D«-d..w, Jaaa
Account   Ex-cu»v»-Vlcky   CMtiHc
Berry T..O, P..I M«™oi*K I
Dulled- Prodc* for, Mick.il. Hri—
Th.D#lyCo3*»*nc*«
I he computer is becoming as integral a
pari of farming in the 1980s as the tractor.
In keeping with the trend, the School of
Agriculture and Home Economics has
introduced microcomputers to their
classo io give students a competitive edge
"The computer is a tool just like a trac¬
tor," Childs said. "When it becomes
widely adopted by farming and those
companies that have agricultural inter¬
ests, it will become pan of an ongoing
evolution in [farm] management. The bet-
information a person has, the better
manager they v,
gives them the at
1 be and the
computer
-,css -agnculli
urc building. It
computer labora-
' i he computer is a tool,
just like a tractor.'
 —Childs
.ok lo complement the high-tech
merits it surrounds,
laboratory includes 12 mainframe,
iimputer terminals that are hooked
ic University's Computer Assisted
turn Program. 12 microcomputers
c each independently operated, as
an overhead projector and chalk-
tor instruction,
irding to Dr. Carl Pherson. chair-
e  Agri.
Jltur
and
it ion Department, and Dr. Robin
K assistant professor in agricultural
■ lines, computers are here to stay in
ing and agribusiness companies. He
\ts that 50 to 90 percent of these
panics will own or use computers by
ic microcomputer, and the enhanced
,ncal capabilities that it provides, is
tied to have as profound an effect
i agriculture in the next few years as
lanizatloii has had over the last 70
liability of better infor-
Bankers, accounting firms and tax peo¬
ple who work with farmers are demanding
better managerial techniques and belter
records from the farmer, Childs said.
Many farmers, he said, have multi-million
dollar businesses and the computer is
enabling them to have up-to-date records
that will make them look better in the eyes
of the people thai finance them. He
believes that, more than ever,, prices are
forcing farmers to be competitive by be¬
coming good managers.
"Where production has been the em¬
phasis in the past — get out as much as
you can as cheaply as you can — now it's
going lo be a matter of who can manage
the best." Childs said.
Agriculture studenls who use the labor¬
atory will be learning the skills they will
need to work in the changing agricultural
business.
According lo Pherson, students will be
able (o perform better in their professions
because they will be "computer litcrate"as
well as being able to function effectively
on the machine.
"They will not only be able to talk about
a computer, they will be able to see it, do
it and use it as a problem solver in their
•See Agriculture, Page 8
■ Daily Colli
Students us* the new Agriculture Computer Laboratory in a farm management
class conducted by Dr. David Smith, instructor in the department of Agricultural
Economics.
f ProfessionoJ 8ort<.    .   ;,   .     .«aovicte TroWng
Volley School of Bartending
e^-\ ■   .>} Sponsored by
fi.'sJ^Gn    wnottm umjngc
10, tlijaSJ       4231 €. Shields five.
S—■|3fe^ fresno. Collf. 93726
Train in two weeks.  Evening and Day classes. Job place¬
ment assistance. Fulltime, part time. 226-3131
CLASSIFIED
Dungeon Master's Guide   J
Monster Manual $10
Detdes & Demigods      S3
Call 292-4691, after 7pm, ask
for Kathleen
For Sate
ile AXC beagle puppies. Sll
275-1439
454-8865 Day/Night
For Sate
•mington 870 Shotgun. 12 Guage.
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For Sate
kara 10 spd. men's 25' frame
5 252-9365 Ask for Tom
For Sate
Twin mattress and box spring.
Good condrrJon. S50
222-3462
Elect
Mike Eagles and God
God Bess America
Fresno State Gamers Club
The Fresno State Gamers dub Is now
accepting new members. Anyone interested
In playing fantasy and/or science fiction
role-playing games should call:
Karl 268-5849    Gil 294-3746
Mlrton 291-1478
Typing
Professional typing, finest quality.
Pnon'      222-3226
Need Babysitter
home. Six miles from CSUF. Must have
Monday or Tuesday free plus other
3 year old. References required Fee negotiable.
435-7666
Sierra Summit
Sierra Summit win be at the College Union
Oct 5. <Mpm. taking applications for
seasonal winter emplovrnent We have
openings for everything from ski Instructors
Reward
Lost 1984 CSUF Oass Ring
Last seen In men's bathroom i
weight Theatre, Initials JFKAB with
whrtetapeonltrVase--
Important) Ca»
294-2486   Jemiltei
CONTEST
literature
Art
Photography
SAGE is now accepting submissions
from students and former students
for the fall issue.
The editors will award $25 for the
best student work accepted for pub¬
lication in each of four categories:
*Poetry
*Art & Photography
Address submissions
to
SAGE,   1
English Dept. CSUF
Submission Deadline:
October 31, 1984