1979_09 The Daily Collegian September 1979

              Moving Mountains
for the next decade
This school year heralds in dw new decade of dw BO'S With predictions of
dw next 10 years ranging from severs fuel shortage te sn unavoidable nationwide recession, it to any to me why s pessimistic attitude invades the minds of
college students across dw nation.
The 1960 s are not going to be good to us
But despite dw III feelings and pessimism, students seem to accept ttw future with apathy, which to not a solution but die avoidance of one.
And apathy wm in top form last week when ttw Associated Students offered
Student Awareness Week, s week dedicated to setting more people involved
wrth what goes on et CSUF
AS President Dove Drtora said dw week had "kind of fizzled ' But Ditora is
known as a victim of dw undarttetement, and what actually happened to that
the week was an abortive effort that lacked even dw sparkle of a good fizzle
But the blame cannot bs laid solely on ttw slwuldsrs oi ttw AS Indeed, it
But it is truly just another sign of apathy, 'a sign of the
The world will probably never again see the gross-root protests of ttw Vwtnem ers snd the civil rights marches The issues today oo not seem to ctrsctry
involve us, nor do dwy seem immediate
But both dw administration and ttw student government at CSUF are dying
to change that Ditora has initiated a fight against thecortverston of aswrtments
into condominiums, an issue dwt effects each student from out of town, as well
as those who rent now.
Dr. Robert Bess, ttw vim rjrmident In charge, hm adopted an 'open-door*
policy to help facilitate communications between the school snd the students
However, sil ttw edmtoisb stive planning and change in the world cannot
bring about social change.
It is up to us as students to not only become aware of what is going on around
us, but to atoo be willing to take steps to save what we like, to change that
which needs change, and to better what we hem. College should be an experience beyond dw parties, the sports and ttw academia It should be on important part of our personal growth where we tell dw world we am s concerned
force, capable of moving mountains
If we start now, maybe the 1980 s won tbe so bed after all
General ed: The process of non-democracy
The principles of democracy ar* introduced to a grade-school child long
before ttw child is able to experience the meaning of the concepts directfy
The child to taught dwt freedom and responsibility are bask correlates of a
democrstic society, but in school and at home the child lives by choices made
by parents or the school system, the two sides to dw coin of educational
growth 'We know what's best for you,' is thesr shared philosophy
When high school graduation comes around, ttw decision to choose college
over the work forte is often not s free choice, rt rs dictated by parents, teachers
and the economic realities of society at large Those whodo make a free choice,
choose college because they want to team and took forward to the freedom to
explore new idem and disciplines relevant to their interests
But if they choose CSUF, they ar* again faced wrth a rigid system of Ceneral
Education reojuirements which will keep them occupied for at least three
semesters This CE program is a continuation of dwir spoon-fed curriculum
which many choose to steep through, applying ttw bore minimum of time and
thought to "copping" a grade
Coaage students in the 1960s rebelled against this spoon-feeding system,
demanding relevance and free choice in creating a curriculum
We are now entering dw 1980 s and recently I ve heard university administrators and facutty committee i echo the desire for program rolevanm and
responsive communication wrth students. Enrollment to down and dwy are
locked into a scramble for customers, wanting to keep the ones they have and
wanting to attract new ones  I think the CE reouiroment is contrary to their
L
Relevance should be defined by dw students, they know dwir needs and
intsmtU better than anyone. I think dudsnti should heve dw freedom to be
curious, to discover what is relevant and discard what to not. They should be
ti .trusted with tht personal responsibility oi learning by internal motivation
and not by rote.
Consmunicetion between an instructor who hm taught ttw tame required
course for 12 years and a student who has taken rwd*ng bU required (
for 12
I a student who both choose freely to work together
would probably reflect their mutual interest, snd how much more constructive
dm would be for both
Besides running counter to relevance and communication, CE requirements
are out of tune wdh the times  We live in an age of specialization and tight
A graduating sensor wrth two maters always hm an ace in the hole
I probably a bad cam of ulcers te boot)   Without CE requirements, a
student would be able to pursue a second motor or even change majors in midstream if necessary for dwy would have an additional 40 units to*plan wrth.
Atoo I think CE requirements would tend to discourage older people, who
have been in dw labor force for most of dwir years, from attending CSUF
I think dwt many would not want to feel as though dwy are beginning their
education from scratch.
Most prospective students from the labor force have some arm of expertise
that they perhaps went to broaden wrth a college degree Their age and exper-
Use should somehow be considered in lieu of ttw 40-unrt retirement Them
ore the students the university has to attract bee sum tha supply of 18 year-olds
in the population to dwrndlrng
Some high school students enter college wrth a career goal firmly in mind
Others have no sons what they 'want to be" when they 'grow up," but ttwy
know what they're interested in.
I wm one of dw latter group And I wm lucky. At Queens Coaage of dw
Crty University of New York, dw administration had cancelled Ceneral Education requirements I wm free to chooee from a plethora of classes and had a
more difficult time deciding which classes to pass up Own which to sign up for
Many fellow freahnien had the same feeling By some coincidence, when I
transferred to CSUF I had only three CE requirements yet te satisfy It seemed
that free choice did not lead me too far 'astray '
When motivation and Interest steer a course of study, the student to sn
Integral part of the looming experience, not a passive spectator who doesn t
have dw desire to save any souvenirs of the experience Students wal learn
only what they went to and what ttwy are ready to learn You have to be
neither reedy nor willing to 'cop' a grade
If university administrators and faculty are true to dwir proposed commit
ment of making ttw university more responsive to ttw student, I think they
should reexamine dw philosophy behind the rigid 40-unrt requirement, to sm
tt it to indeed s negstiii vestige to reel learning
The Instrumentalist school on the philosophy of education says bus democracy requires intelligent thought ond action on a collective level and schools
should be the micro-otnter of demouatk Irving and learning.
I agree and think the institution of learning would be well served if ttw
demoorative principles of freedom and responsibility were not left to yellow
on the pages of old history books