1982_04 The Daily Collegian April 1982

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B LA C K POSITIVE R O
Rosa Parks, 'Mother of the Civil
Rights Movement" spoke before a crowd
of 450 at CSUFs College Union Lounge
April I. 1982.
Mrs. Parks spoke much of her involve-
' ' the youth of the community
during the Montgomery Bus Boycott of
the mid 50's.
The first mention that I heard of not
riding the bus was from the students. The
young people took action and took the
lead'.
'I'm always pleased and very inspired
by the youth and their willingness to take
action rather than doing so much talking".
The awards presentation, brainchild of
the Pan Afrikan Union, was sponsered in
close association with the Diel Brothers,
local distributors of Budweiser Beer.
Represenitives'of the Diel Brothers
presented Mrs. Parks with the 1st Annual
Distinguished Afro American Achieve-
'lt has been our pleasure to work
closely with the Pan Afrikan Union, and
the University community, in presenting
MODELS
California State University, Fresno has
a very good program in the Industrial Arts
and Technology Department. For those
students who do not understand what this
department consists of, let me explain. In
the field of Industrial Technology, one
can receive a B.S. degree in courses such
as heavy and light construction, architectural drawing, computers, electronics and
other technical field concerning production. On the other hand,in Industrial Arts
one can receive a B.S. and/or M.S. degree
in courses such as woodwork, construe-,
tion, crafts, electronics and other technical courses. Although Industrial Arts and
Industrial Technology are virtually in the
same school, there is very little difference
between the two.
Black students on campus talk about
courses like Black studies, history, criminology, sports and different professors.
There is a Black professor who I must
make known for those Black students who
have no awareness of his being on campus: his name is Dr. Arthur L. Foston. Dr.
Foston teaches in the Industrial Arts
program; he is presently teaching several
courses in computers and production oper-
Dr. Foston has been teaching here on
the Fresno State campus since the fall
semester of 1968. Even though he has been
teaching here, he also has been furthering
his education at other universities. Dr.
Foston's education background is: a B.S.
degree in Industrial Education, minor in
Math; B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering; Master's degree in Physics, higher
education minor in Math; and also he was
a holder of a National Sight Foundation
Grant to study Physics at Colorado Slate
University. He also served on the Academic Programming Policy "Committee.
When Dr. Foston was asked about Ethnic
Studies on the Fresno State campus, he
said that he thought students should be
aware of their own culture forself-idcntitv
and they should also be aware of other
cultures besides their own. Dr. Foston
also commented on Ethnic Studies being a
required course just like American history
or any other general education course.
Dr. Foston is a professor who is really
dedicated when it comes to being a really
good teacher. He has turned down jobs
that offered him more than what he is-'
receiving here. He really loves to teach
and see students achieve their goals, especially Black students. "I find that they are
that many of the students, even from nontechnical fields, come up to his office to ,
talk about programs from one extreme to
another, and that they seem kind of
shocked to see a Black professor teaching
in the technical field. "It" would help
tremendously if the students were aware
of these professors in these certain fields;
it would give them a better sense of.
achievement, so the students would probably be more motivated to enroll in these
"Certa ni nly, t he visibility of
Black instructors here on
campus would have quite
anim pacton Blackstudents."
handicapped when they come here," he
commented. He was mainly talking about
courses like math, science or English. Dr.
Foston suggested that if there are students
who know which industry or compnay
they wish to be involved with and work
with, it would be to their advantage to
learn more about them. He also stated,
"despite their handicaps. Black students
seem to do very well at the university."
The ones that he has come in contact with
after they have left the university seem to
have advanced very well and have moved
up very high on the professional ladder.
Dr. Foston feels that he would like to see
more Black instructors placed in many of
the various programs here on this campus;
he said, 'certainly, the visibility of Black
instructors here on this campus would
have quite an impact on Black students as
far as their achievements go." He finds
certain fields that they professors are in,
and excel 1 in these fields quite well,"stated
Dr. Foston. He gave me some advise for
incoming freshmen students; he advises
them to take a good inventory of themselves, to find out what his/her desires,
capabilities, and interests are, and also to
be aware of any handicaps that he/she
might have and seek expert counseling.
He comments that students should also
get involved with the community. For
senior students, Dr. Foston Hates that
he/she should take inventory in such a
way that ehy're able to analyze the situation they arc in and prepare themselves for
the job market, so they would not go out
into the world of progress unprepared. As
I was commenting earlier, a person should
learn more about the compnay with which
he/she wishes to work.
I asked Dr. Foston about enrollment of
Black students here on campus since he
has been here. He stated that he cannot
speak on the percentage of Black students
in number, but he does see a lot more
Black student faces here on campus as
well as in the department in which he
works. When Dr. Foston was asked about
his future here on campus, he commented
that be controlled his future here on
campus. If Dr. Foston isnt here teaching
on this campus during the fall and spring
semesters and during the summer, he is
usually working down in Southern California at Hughes Aircraft Base. He recruits students in the technical field to go
down there and work for the summer to
get experience in a company that produces labor and technology. I really think
Dr. Foston is an amazing professor and
hope he stays around for a long time. He
has also been a long-time member of Phi
Beta Sigma Fraternity.
Dr. roston