1979_04 The Daily Collegian April 1979

              _^g_V?~ I April 34,1
The Daily Collegian
m Page 1
Well you should be. That's the first
issue I had when I was appointed
Ever regret that decision f
^course not I 'm a believer in a free
society. And I have to believe that in a
free society that eventually that which is
good will be heard. Now it may take a
long time. It may take a lot longer than I
wish that it would. But if you're trying
to get me to say that I'm a hater of the
press then you're going down the wrong
Baxter on the press, student governme
presslMsicaJlydoesn'tJikea no com¬
ment" response. But I feel there are
just times when I have to say it. Like this
morning.
Understandably so. A Fresno Bee re¬
porter recently portrayed a devastating
image of you regarding an incident in
Long Beach. (The March, 29 Fresno Bee
ran a front page story by reporter Joe
Rosato in which Baxter was reported to
have responded to Rosato's questions
with -his face flushed with anger' and
the statement, *l won't talk to you
Don't ever talk to me again." Was your
perception of that incident different f
community. Do you think you 've played
any part in creating that feelingr
Well I ve never been less than cancSd
with the press. When the press has
asked me I've given them an honest
answer So I don't have to search my
conscience and say, well, gee I've
done that, and I wish that I hadn't done
't, because I just don't operate that
way I just don't live that way So I
don't have any point of conscience
where I say, well, I wish that I hadn't
JWJ,hat/' in ,erms * ** rightness
of the subject I've responded openly
and honestly. ^^  '
Now they've entered areas where I
was not ready to comment. Lake the
Western Kentucky things. I 'm not ready
to comment on that. The T.V. cameras
stopped me over there this morning at
the arboretum dedication. And I said
"what would you like to talk about the
aboretum?* and they said *Oh no' we
want to talk about the Chancellor's
office (from which the review of Bax¬
ter's presidency is being conducted)'l
said, 'I don't have any <	
that."
You see, some things I 'm not ready to
talk about. And I think that the difficul¬
ties, whatever things you're saying are
there, or are there, I think arise from
that, rather than from not being honest
I don't have to look back and say. 'well
that statement is inoperative' as the
Watergate people did. There's nothms
of that at all.
But the question might be, look I
didn't answer that because I didn't
want to answer that. Or I wasn't able or
wasn't prepared or just didn't fed that
I could answer that question. And the
I saw that (artiWand I called Bill
Lahey (William W. Lahey, who works in
Chancellor's office as Principal Person¬
nel Analyst), who was involved, and I
said. Bill was that the way it was? And
he said, not at all. What can I do? I was
going out of the main room and I motion¬
ed to Bill Lahey, whom I know, and I
said Bill come on, and we went out.
Joe Rosato came running over and he
said - I remember the words 'Western
Kentucky*-and I said Joe I'm not
going to talk about that, I'm not ever
going to talk about that.
And we went out into another room
"here Joe couldn't go. And that of
course makes him ang.v, and that's
wtien he wrote the news story. That was
ail it was. The story doesn't relfect what
went on.
Recently there have been some spec¬
ulative articles published regarding your
interest in positions with other univer-
Srt£?-..C?tfo.SW the record straight!
Well, I think you all know that I 'm one
of the final five at Western Kentucky I
can say that. That's public. I don't
know what you mean by 'set the record
straight. -
The speculation has centered around
what s motivating your interest In these
other positions. Crass look greener in
old Kentucky I
Well, it's just a fact of academic life
that presidents who are established
presidents, let's put it that way, I don't
want to use the word successful, estab¬
lished president are always in demand.
And you get just lots and lots of inquir-
lt happened in the Arkansas case, I
woke up one morning and there was my
name in the paper that I was one of the
final five there. It just happens And
when it comes out in the press I just
say yes, that's true or no, that's not
true. I've been speculated about so
much it's really kind of hard to comment
on it. I 've been going so many places
There's an interesting story, I think,
about all this speculation Don Winkler
(former Director of Public Affairs a!
CSUF) came down here on day and said,
"I just got a call from one of the local
stations saying that you're going to be
named president of Brown University
tomorrow. And if you don't deny it by
12 o'clock ~ this was 10 o'clock in the
morning ~ we're going to run it on the
And Don said, "Do you want to deny
it?" And I said, "Of course I want to
deny it. I don't have any contacts at
Brown, I don't know anybody at Brown
I didn't know Brown was looking for a
president, I don't know anything about
So he called the guy back and he (the
media man) said, well, we're going to
run it anyway. And Don said, well, if you
do you 're making a terrible mistake
So apparently Don persuaded him to
call Brown. So he called Brown, the radio
man, whoever he was, and he said,
Is it true that you're going to name
Baxter president of Brown University
tomorrow?" And the guy (at Brown)
said, 'Well, I don't know, we're going
to name a president tomorrow, let me
get you the list.*
So he went through the list and of
course my name wasn't on It And he
got back to the radio guy and he says,
'Well, we're going to name a president
tomorrow, but Baxter's name's not on
the list.'
So then the radio guy said, 'Is it
possible that you could name' Baxter
to a high administrative post at Brown
University tomorrow?"
And the dummy on the other end
said, "Yeah, that's possible.*
That's a true story. Anything s
possible! It's possible that the sun
won't come up tomorrow but it's not
likely.
But what I'm saying is that that
speculaton just takes that kind of form
which to me is so ridiculous. So if I'm
impatient, maybe that's the right word
with the press when they stick an 'are
you going to Brown tomorrow?' you
know, that's the last thing-l hadn't
even heard about that!  So I probably
?v.' £ ,5^- drop dead or »« ■**»•
Get ahold of something that's got some
substance to it.
Can you imagine, if the radio station
had put that rumor out over the air
the effect that that would have had or!
the stadium funding drive and on the
community? Why people do that I
don't understand that. But when you're
talking about, 'treated fairly by the
press,' I don't know if the word fair is
accurate there, but is seems to me that
that's bizzarre I
What is your perception of student
government s role in a university!
Student government is here to render
services to the student body that the
university can't-either by law or by
budget or just by practicality. There
are Interests that students have that
students want to pursue Those vary.
You see them swing from here to there
and all over the place. Therefore,
my position has always been that we
wanted the "instructionally related*
functions of the university like forensics
athletics, the rodeo out from under the
student government That's why | was
one of the advocates of the IRA (Instruc¬
tionally Related Activities) fee. Until
that time (when the IRA fee was insti¬
tuted) I was very active in insisting that
the IRA activities be funded from the
ASB But now that the IRA fee fs out
the Associated Students ought to be
free, within the law and trustee policy,
to spend that money for their interests.
So student government to me is what
they're interested in doing that will
make their life while they're here
better as students.
Now, following that one step more,
when you' re a student, and you pay your
$10 a semester, what do you get for
that? What benefit do you have when
you pay that money? There's an ac¬
countability to the student. When the
student government collects that money,
what's their responsibility to spend it
in relation to student needs?
I've taken the position that when
surpluses accumulate as they have
$■250,000 worth, that the only way that
the next student body can benefit is to
say we will improve the campus. I call it
"' improvements or physical
its     So   that   all    students
 „   ...   would   benefit   from   what
the previous students had spent. And
that s the rationale for that.
But basically I believe that that stu¬
dent money should be spent for that
student body which payed the money in.
I think that there ought to be some
coordination (between AS programming
and CU programming). And I've long
said that there ought to be the kinds of
programming on this campus that would
be very stimulating.
We do not have outstanding lecturers
come to this campus. We do not have
outstanding artists series come to this
campus I get publications from other
campuses and I drool, I say Oh, I wish I
were on that campus, I'd go hear-
whoeverit maybe.
Wouldn't it be great if our students
could have great minds come to the
campus and they could have the evening
with them, maybe dinner before so that
ind the review of his presidency!
they could say that that evening made a
difference In my life?
We have the resources to bring out-
IL standing people to the campus.   But
Tjf we're not doing it. That'sasad thing.
*-jJ-    If they looked at their money together
and they say, ok.,  AS  has  planned
La Raza week for the first part of May
And the College Union is going to have a
movie that night. And we've got a rock
band   coming   that   week.   And   they
just began to say, look, this is costing
us so much, and this is costing us so
fl  much, just stand back and say, look,
(V   how much money do we have if we got
I   this thing together? How much money
would it cost to put on an artists series or
a lecture series that would be a stimulus,
that would be a lasting thing?
tWhat I'm really concerned about is
that the student government, in the Un¬
ion, or whether it is in the AS, would look
at their responsibility and say, we have
some funds to do some things that the
university can't do, so let's make the
university a better place because we
JL have that money.
% Vou requested the review of your pres¬
idency because you thought it was in the
best interests of the university. Do you
feel any extraneous issues have been
injected into this review!
, You'd have to ask the Trustees what
criteria they're using. What I had in
' mind when I requested It was that it
was a very open request to the Trustees
* in a sense I 've been here this long and
we've been through a certain period of
violence and upheaval. We have now
faded out of that into one of down en-
*' rollments and therefore, my question to
• the Trustees was, what kind of leader do
you want now that we're entering into a
new area, probably one of collective bar-
I     gaining?
fW' I wanted them to look at the way those
other areas have been managed and
have them say, now what do we want to
have happen at Fresno in the next per
"tod?
■     And then if they would tell me that
then I would make a judgement myself,
Iv ' well, O.K. I either meet the standards or
"     I don't meet the standards
I
Obviously the faculty at the time of the
survey felt that they didn't want me as
leader. But the Trustees are the ones
that have to set the criteria for the lead¬
er. And that, in effect, was what I was
asking them to do. And then I would de¬
cide whether I met (hose criteria or not.
Do you think that the result would be
different if the poll were taken again
today!
I have no idea. Didn't they (faculty
leaders) say at the press coference the
other day that they thought that the poll
today would be worse?
That was suggested.
I have no idea whether that would be
true or not But...my feeling is that pop¬
ularity doesn't necessarily measure con¬
fidence. Non-popularity doesn't indicate
incompetence.
A president has to make decisions
and there's bound to be a cumulative
effect of negative decisions. You have to
say no so many times...and you wonder
if you have any friends left.
How does it make you feel about your
calling!
Well, I've been so busy until just
lately, with the stadium thing winding
down, with doing one thing and another,
that right up until now-this is a good
time for me to think about that. And the
Western Kentucky thing makes me have
to look at that. But up until now I have
You know- you're busy with accom¬
plishing They say that there are two
kinds of people in the world: people
that like to do things and people that
want to be somebody. I'm clearly in the
category, I think, that I would like to do
something. I think an administrator has
to be in that category otherwise he
doesn't get anything done. And if you
do things you're going to tread on some
people's toes
Has this facet soured you on your
choice of career as an administrator I
Well, careers evolve. You see, you
can't'say, *yout choice of careers as
an administrator* because administrator
today is different than it was then. And
it will be different tomorrow than It Is
today. You're in a career pattern that
And all you have to ask yourself is,
can I change with it?
You know when I first came to Fresno
I'd never heard of a riot on campus Pol¬
ice on campus? That was like talking, in
those days, of a man on the moon
O.K. So you learn to live with riots on
campus, or you learn how to handle
them You learn the penal code. You
learn to talk about the Chief of Police
about what you can do and what you
can't do and what's the law, and you
get a lawyer around you. Well, that
was all foreign to me. But you learn that
Then you learn how to manage de¬
cline. Well, what do you do? How do you
shrink a budget? Well, you learn that
So an administrative career has that
challenge to it. Who ever thought that
Fresno State could have raised t* mJMon
dollars for a football stadium? You learn
that. And that's exciting. Then you ask
me some questions; what are you going
to do next?
I don't know, but there's something
to be done out there, so you take a look
at that Well, what can be done? I don't
know, I haven't set that yet. But it can
be done There's something out there to
be done. And it 	
know yet what it is.
Maybe it's at Fresno State and maybe
Review
Rock'n'roll is still alive
tenth/ urgent vocals and extraordinary
sense of pacing, lets thr ' *"
JOE JACKSON
•LOOK SHARP!*
AAM Records
Although "they" might have you
believe that rock musk has been buried
by the disco 'phenomenon' as of late, it
just ain't so. Rock 'n' roll is alive and
well, one stellar example being the
debut album by Joe Jackson, a young
Englishman.
'Look Sharp!" boasts the confidence
and smoothness of a third or fourth
effort, yet has the intimacy that is often
present only on the first take. The pro¬
duction is surprisingly consistent and
unabashed coming from David Kershen-
baum, and supports Jackson's strong
songs throughout the record. Indeed, the
tunes themselves seem to be at the core
of the total success of the record's
sound, coupled with some very punchy
playing from Jackson' s band (especially
guitarist Gary Sanford).
Joe's songwriting mentors are often
worn on his sleeve, and seem to range
from Elvis the C to Elvis the P.
Like   the   best   rock   music,   "Look
Sharp!"  is alternately  menacing  and
humorous. The alburn's obvious choice
for a single, "Is She Really Going Out
With Him?', is the latter and could have
been lifted from the latest Steve Miller
record, yet It contains a hook so natural
that the Gangster of Love would turn
green with envy.
Then, just when you think you' ve got
him pegged, Jackson rips into "Happy
Lovin  Couples*  or  'Fools   in  Love,*
which could easily be out-takes from
'This Year's Model.* These two songs,
especially, could make some folks claim
that Joe is a Costello rip-off, but (unlike
E) Jackson includes in his rage, his own
predicament. This lets him seem some-   	
how closer to the situation and, well.,    nesday,May 1S-16
excitement. Tunes like *One More
Time" and 'Look Sharp!" are standouts
from a strong field, and if that isn't
enough, the cover artwork atone is
almost worth the price of the record.
Jackson's 'New Wave* label may
prove to be a misnomer, for what we
have here is simply strong new rock 'n'
roll music And just maybe, that's what
the New Wave is realfy all about
Special lecture
'The Final Solution to the Wetback
Menace' is the title of a special lecture
to be presented Tuesday, April 24, by
Dr Loy Bilderback, a professor of his
tory   at   California   State   University,
Dr Bilderback will present his lecture
at 8 p m. In Room 312-14 of the CSUF
College Union. The program is open to
the public without charge.
r> BiloVrbsck Is a coauthor, with Paul
and Ann Ehrttch, of the forthcoming
book, The GeMen Deer: International
Mexico,
Dr   Bilderback will offer a one-unit
course next fall titled 'Ilk-gal Aliens "
Minicomputers
offered by the California State Univer¬
sity. Fresno School of fhistness and Ad-