1994_03 Insight March 1994

              Wednesday, March 2,1994
Volume 25, Issue 14
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
si
Camptis
Calendar
Reception
The Friends of the Fresno
County Public Library will host
a reception honoring library
volunteers at the Cedar-Clinton
Branch Library.
The reception will honor 340
plus volunteers who have con-
of service during 1993 and will
be held on Sunday, March 6
from 24 p.m.
Coffee hour
Richard Wu, a graduate student of the linguistics department, will give a speech titled
"China's Present Situation"
from 3:10-4 pjn. on Tuesday,
March 8 at the University Restaurant
Vintage Days
The Vintage Days "94 planning committee is seeking enthusiastic people to help make
this year's Vintage Days a success. Positions arc currently
available for assisting Casino
Night, publicrelations,concerts
and more. For more information, call student activities office at 278-2741.
Amerasia Week
The Amerasia Club will
sponsorc vents in celebration of
Amerasia Week. AJ! events are
free and will be held in thc
Satellite Student Union.
The film "Thc Joy Luck
Club" plays tonight Wednesday, at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Filipino Culture Nighl will
feature dances, music and cultural performances at 7 p.m.
Friday.
Amerasia Week Festival
Night will end with performances by campus Asian organizations, Sanjoy dances, thc
Cal Poly Lion Dance team and
Fresno Tumyo Taiko groupat 7
p.m. Saturday.
Lexis/Nexis
The Henry Madden Library
has added a second day for
Lexis/Nexis workshops. Thc
computer program provides information covering current
events, law, medical and business references. The workshops
will be held weekly on Wednesdays from 8-9:30 a.m. and
Thursdays from 2-3:30 p.m. in
Room 1045 in the library.
Children's room
The Campus Children's Activity Room is now officially
open as of Tuesday's ribbon
cutting and reception program.
The room is located on the
second floor of Ihe Henry Madden Library and will include
educational toys, books. TV,
VCR, games and computers.
CSUF is said to be thc first
university in thc nation to provide students with this service.
For more information contact thcCampusChildrcn'sCen-
Exhibit
The Henry Madden Library-
will be displaying work by gay
and lesbian writers throughout
March.
Thc exhibit is organized by
Dr. Lillian Fadcrman. professor of English; the Gay. Lesbian and Bisexual Alliance.and
thc Henry Madden Library.
Animal rights
The Downed Animal Bill,
SB 692, will soon be voted on in
the Assembly Ways and Means
Commitee. The bill requires the
humane euthanization of farm
animals too sick and crippled to
walk to slaughter.
Animal rights groups urge
people to call Fresno Assemblyman Bill Jones to express
their opinions. Jones' local office number is 224-7833.
Viva Mexico, adios Sweden!
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Karen Toth/INSIGHT
The fans went wild even before the gameslarled last Thursday night as Mexico faced off against Sweden in World Cup Soccer
action. More than 30,000 tickets were sold lo a mostly hispanic audience who showed their support for Mexico with banners,
chants and drums lhat could be heard throughout the surrounding neighborhoods near Bulldog Stadium. After Mexico's 2 -1,
win, the crowd descended to the field to continue the celebration.
Students
discuss
gambling
addiction
By Rex Avakian .
Staff Writer
The story could not be written if
their real names were used. Ron.
Charlie, Chris and Ken arc real people
— each one a criminal. Thc names
have bccnchangcd to protect the guilty.
Ron, a 23-year-old CSUF marketing major, shows up at the second story
railing of the Peters Building.
He's wearing a polo shirt and a
backpack hangs from his right shoulder.
Charlie, a six-foot man in Vuamci
glasses and light bloml hair greets him.
Ron discrccUy hands him S 1.000.
Charlie won big when thc 49crs
pounded the Giants 44-3. He was collecting his bet
This was Ron's third pay-off. After
three years of running numbers, his
skill at coven exchanges was well developed.
Hc started when hc was 19-ycars-
old.
During football season, SI5.1XX)
passed through his hands weekly when
paying or collecting bets.
Ron would make his rounds between business classes. Most of his
clients were CSUF sludents.
Sludents bet $25 to Sl.(XX) on one
game. They make complex wagers
Parlays, teasers and over-under bets
stream over thc bctung line.
All of Ron's bets arc placed with ,i
local bookie, a banker of sorts, who
givesoddsonhundrcdsofgamesavail-
ablc.
College basketball (including Fresno
State), hockey, football and baseball
arc among thc top money makers.
Ken,a senior business studenl. plays
intramural sports, lifts wcightsanddoes
well in school, bul his passion is betting.
"It's addicung ." said Ken. "Winning a bet is like a high."
Ken's biggest bet was the S300 he
lost on a football game. Thc next day
he was betting again, try ing to make up
the loss.
In thc course of a week hc has wagered more than Sl,000.
"When you lose, it's like crashing
Karen Toth/INSIGHT
It was a game of speed and dogged determination as Mexico's Ramon Ramirez, (left) and
Sweden's Anders Limpar raced for the ball. Ramirez was voted most valuable player of the
game by the press after intense pressure on the Swedish defense and an impressive domination
of the second half of the game. Limpar, in a show of good sportsmanship, gave his jersey to
Mexico's goalie Jorge Campos after the game.
Fresno Council: 'dead-end jinx'?
World Cup ignites
soccer fan frenzy
in Bulldog Stadium
By M. Cristina Medina
StaffWriter
Fresno made soccer history last
Thursday.
A record-setiingcrowdconverged
ccr mania and strong support for
World Cup soccer.
"It took a few weeks to plan it, but
it's going to go down in history as
one of the premier events Bulldog
Stadium has ever seen," said Vidal
Fernandez, a spokesman of Promo
Sports, the organization behind promoting the match.
World Cup Soccer, originally
slated to be played at the Los Angeles Coliseum, created a frenzy of
excitement for the more than 27.000
who flocked to Bulldog Stadium to
watch Mexico defeat Sweden 2-1.
Millions world wide viewed the
televised match, thrusting Fresno
forward before the international soccer scene.
"This game is the only event in
Europe, Mexico andCcntral America
that will draw the attention of thc
global sporting community away
from lhe Winter Olympics in Norway." said Noel Lemon, vice president of Promo Sports.
"This city has really responded to
this opportunity... the community is
excited, the university is excited.
There is no question that this is one of
the premier match-ups heading into
the World Cup."
Former Fresno S tale Span i sh professor Jose Elgorriaga was honored
for his efforts of promoting thc sport
locally.
The sea of waving green, white
and red flags, Mexico's national colors, and the boisterous chanting indicated lhat Mexico had thc home
crowd advantage.
"Soccer is always heavily supported in Mexico," said Joel Vasquez.
who made the two-hour trip from
Bakersfield with a caravan of friends
and family.
"It's not lhat popular here in thc
Stales, but having big teams come
will only be better for thc image of
ihe sport and the recognitionof players and soccer clubs," said Vasquez.
Vendors selling World Cup paraphernalia hovered over Bulldog Stadium. Marco Ramirez, a restaurant
worker from Sclma, said he continued to sell oul of his S8 tee-shirts and
had to make numerous trips to his car
where the merchandise was stashed.
"The last time Mexico made a
world cup appearance was in 1986,"
said Ramirez, who predicts a strong
finish for Mexico in the finals.
See SOCCER, Page 5
See GAMBLING, Page 8
By Robert Williamson	
StaffWriter
There is a belief among some Iresno City
Hall watchers lhat serving a icim on ihe city
council or in the mayor's office is a 'dead-end
jinx" for aspiring, career potilicians.
A hook published in 1985 by Panorama
Book Company, Fresno County: From 1900
In 1980, reports. "Long lime observers 4>l
Fresno City Hall and its council were forever
warning ihesc young activists who dreamed ul
careers in politics to watch out lor ihc jinx thai
holding cii> office seemed |4> include."
Commenting on the upcoming state v. ide da
lions in November, observers say thai if Councilman Brian Scicncich can break lhe jinx and
win his bid lor the stale's 30th Assembly Div
tnci. he will he the lirsi Cuy Council member in
Fresno's history to gel elected io a higher polm
cal office.
A few of them, lhe experts poini out, have
been appointed lo higher political offices, but
ihcCuy Hall jinx has effectively kept one aspiring candidate for election aficr another from
achieving iheir ambition since Fresno was incorporated in 1885.
Former Councilman Al Villa, who was ap
pointed to a judge's seat, and former Mayor
Floyd Hyde, who was appointed io an assistant
secretary's posi uon i n lhc of ficc of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), arc two of the
select few who were appointed lohighcroffices.
One of the first to be affected by this 'jinx,'
even if hc was not consciously aware of it, was
even if he was not consciously aware of it. was
former Mayor Zygmuni Scigfricd Lcymcl,
elected to lhe Stale Assembly twice in the late
1920s
He resigned his assembly seat in I1-:4) 10
become Fresno's mayor, where he served four
terms before dying in lhe office in llM7 Him
ever, in 1937 he did make a bid for the California
(.ovemorship on lhe Republican ticket, but lost
in ihe primaries before really geiung vUirted
Why should this he'.' Why do some of the
more powerful, local political offices seem to
forever condemn their holder to a career ol
obscurity in some backwater federal Iv appointed
office.or worse'
Jim Borcn, the Fresno Bec'scurrcni City Hall
watcher.said,"I ihink there is something to lhai.
but I don't think it's impossible lo break the
jinx."
He said he thinks thc reason for the jinx is
because mayors and city council members are
so high profile. People tend lo remember all ol
their more controversial votes.
"Other offices, at nearly any level, don't gei
nearly as much exposure."
As for Scicncich's chances. Boren said.
"Scicncich is a very unorthodox politician and
could very well break ihc jinx. 1 would never sell
him short."
William Patterson, former Bee columnist
and one of the old circle of city government
observers, said hc didn't know if the theory held
true or not bul if there is a jinx>it's "because
lexal politics is so diny."
See COUNCIL, Page 8
Special to INSIGHT
Fresno City Councilman Brian Setencich