1994_05 Insight May 1994

              EDITORIAL
CAUFORNIA 8TATH UWVgRSrrV, FRESNO
May 4,1994
INSIGHT
Americans neglect rights S. Africans cherish
democray^peopkafifa
Opinion
LuaDormanStubbs
Americans could learn a lot about political in-
volvementby watching the recent elections in South
Africa.
We take for granted our many freedoms, such as
At least once%vear, we have the opportunity to
take part in the election process, whether it is at the
national, state, local or campus level. Our votes
direcUyaffectwhoisputintopower, whoisremoved
from office and what legislation is passed.
These rights are priceless and valuable. People in
South Africa arc literally dying for their right to vote.
Yet, in America, voter turnout at all levels of
government is abysmal, including in the recent student elections.
Al Evans, professor of political science, said the
elections in South Africa arc "completely unprec
edented."
Especially when you consider the fact that the
party that won, the African National Congress, was
banned by the National Party as an illegal organization until just four years ago.
In addition, the man who became South Africa's
next president. Nelson Mandela, was a political
prisoncrfor27 years.This man,asymbolof freedom
_'•* J: ;:—;• t^ the country's 70 percent black
population, wasconsiccrcudLiiiiniiaiuyuicguveiii-
ment until 1990 when he was released.
In the recent months leading up to the elections,
the media has inundated us with stories of bombings,
bloodshed and turmoil, all for the right to have a
voice in the government. But wc should not turn our
back on this; wc should be paying very close attention.
"There has been violence." Evans said. "It's hard
to say how much the whites have been responsible
for this (violence). The idea has been to disrupt the
process but it seems to have had little or no effect on
the political process."
That's the important thing. We should be inspired
by these people —who have been oppressed for
centuries, who have never been allowed to vote in
their national elections, who were treated like criminals for believing in democracy — as they struggle
now to make their voices heard.
"Of course, they're having their share of problems
[with the elections], but it's a lot more hopeful than a
pcison uiigiit nave urcamcu uvc y«u» agu, wu
Evans
Although blood may be shed on the road to obtaining democracy, the hope that democracy gives people
a future without oppression makes it worth the high
price. Evans said Mandela's vision is for a "multiracial society with a non-racial democracy."
Idealistic? Perhaps. But if wc don't have something for which to struggle, for which to hope and in
which to believe, they might as well take away all of
our freedoms because without a hope for something
better, life would not be worth having.
Death finees Nixon
of ^fotergate stigma
'The comments
were
Commentary
Lynn Diddy
Those who spoke at President
Nixon's funeral last week. President
Clinton, Sen. Bob Dole, Gov. Pete
Wilson, Rev. Billy Graham and
Henry Kissinger, dwelt mostly about
his accomplishments and what a great
man he was.
The comments about Watergate
were few and vague.
"Yet, even now, 20 years later ,thc
man still remains too complex for
anything approaching a full
judgment,"an editorial in The Fresno
Bee said.
When Nixon resigned the media
thrived on Watergate, they portrayed
him as "a crook" who had deceived
the American people.
Many people do not realize his
accomplishments because of the
media's past focus on Watergate.
On the CSUF campus students
know littleof the history and only sec
that a president has died, for most of
them, the first one in their lives.
They, along with the press, seem
to be forgiving.
Remember that this was the first
president in the United States to have
articles of impeachment brought
against him and the first president
forced to resign. The only thing that
kept him from standing trial was
President Ford's pardon.
Shelley Hargcr, a liberal studies
major, said she doesn't see Nixon as
a crook but as a president who paid
for his mistakes.
mte
"The information portrayed by the
media has always been negative",
Harger said.
"President Nixon was tarnished
by the Watergate scandal"
She said now that Nixon is dead
the media has changed their views
about him and arc concentrating on
his lifeasa whole, not just Watergate.
At Nixon's funeral, President
Clinton said wc should look at
Nixon's life and remember his good
traits.
Perhaps he is concerned about his
own image over Whitewater.
"I was loo young to remember the
specifics of Watergate, but Nixon's
administration was more scrutinized
than Clionton's about Whitewater,
I'm sure," Shane Gentry, a graduate
student said.
"I think he was probably one our
best presidents when it came to foreign affairs," he said.
Some students feel that they were
taught the wrong information from
not only the media but also from the
educational system.
"I was taught in school that Nixon
had committed a gTcat crime and was
looked at as crook", Chris Lacey, a
senior said.
" I think he did a lot of positive
things for our country and was later
outcast for a relatively small government crime by today's standard."he
said, referring to Whitewater.
Lacey said he now understands
that Nixon never reached his full
potential and that he could have been
a great second term president.
Belinda Lee/INSIGHT
The CSUF Visions West advertising team accompanied by supporters
Advertising students miss first place by mere half point
Commentary
Belinda Lee
CSUF took second place in this
year's National Student's Advertising Competition (NSAC) — District 14. missing first place as defending champions by half a point
The advertising team front the
mass communication and journalism department faced three other
teams from Diablo Valley College,
San Jose State and winner, University of California, Berkeley. Both
CSUF and UC Berkeley had a lied
score for their presentation and plans
book. A fifth judge wasbrought in to
break the tie.
The competition was held in San
Frandeco'sFortMasooCoovention
Center April 30.
Each team bad a half hour to
present a full advertising campaign
for Kodak, this year's sponsor.
The target market for the competition was college students and each
team came up with creative ideas on
how to reach their focused targets.
College studentsa viable segment, bat
arc considered the most untapped mar- '
kct segment by the Kodak company.
CSUF's team of Ron Balkccr,
Camilla Ccderquist.Gunter Copeland,
Jennifer Lewis and Randy Smith, —-
came across well prepared and strong
in their presentation. The five had to
undergo try-outs and were vc4edirorDy
the rest of the advertising team.
Their slogan was "Live and Relive
— The College Moment."
UC Berkeley charmed the crowd
with their suggestion of a photo competition where first prize was a Ma/da
MSata with ayear'ssupply of gasoline
and paid parking tickets.
The brisk morning air. was charged
with tense excitement, but everyone,
appeared professional and calm,
dressed in their best business suits.
"All groups worked bard and this is
what it comes down to," said Aaron
Mullins, team member.
The general consensus was that the
presentation went well.
"It was a great presentation."
Balkcer said. "We were real nervous,
but we converted the nervousness to
positive energy."
Copeland said he was proud of the
team and satisfied they had done their
.best He thought it a great experience,
DrRoberuAsaruha,theteam*sfac-
ultyadviser.saidcven though the question and answer session was scary and
tough, she felt they had an excellent
chance. However, she admitted that
competition was tough.
"There axe a lot of variables. Other
universities worked just as hard," she
said. She called this year's team an
"absolutely wonderful team" and a
"dream team."
The question and answer came after
the presentation. This year's iO-minute
closed-door session was more gruelling than previous years'.
The presenters were prepared
for the questions and were cra-
phatic in their answers.
"There's a great deal of pressure involved," said Shanon Thomas who took part in last year's
competition.
This year's judges were first
timers for the NSAC. They came
from various major advertising
firms across the country, such as
Young and Rubicam, US. West,
and one from Kodak.
Taking second place meant
CSUF will not be in the national
ceropctition, to be held in Houston, Texas this June.
Still, anyone who knows any
member of the team will testify to
the hard work and dedication these
students put into the project
You're all winners to us. Good
job.
Chicano graduation beating the odds
Commentary
Tor 18 years, Chicano graduation has been the culmination ofmraeadmkandciMrdstrug^es.'
M. Cristina Medina
part Of.
Cultural identity is an important element in being
proud of who you are.
With so few brown faces on college campus", wc
face pressure of abandoning our identity to conform
Siuingin the SatellitcStuocnt Union among more
than 200 noisy freshmen, I was told that statistically,
not more than 20 of us would graduate from college,   with those around us.
It seemed unbelievable since we thought of ourselves lucky to have beaten the dismal SO percent
high school drop-out rate Hispanic students face.
That was four years ago.
Today I see less than 10 students who sat in that
room with me.
Trieoneswhoiralreitthroughhaveagrandfinale   tumes are common threads that unite Chicanes —
in Chicano graduation. ^ regardless of educational level.
For 18 years, Chicano graduation has been the       The cultural display at Chicano graduation is a
culmination of our academic and cultural struggles,   reassurance to ourselves and our families that educa-
Jt doesn't pornote segregation, rather it eel-   don only makes one appreciate, not turn against
ebrates accomplishing a feat in a language our   tradition.
Spanish-speaking parents and grandparents can be a       Manyofthesarneparentswhowerehesitanttolci
Conforming often means losing the ability to go
home and communicate with parents who have
elementary school educations and friends who followed the path to stagnation.
The sweet sounds of mariachis piercing the air
and folkloric dancers flicking their colorful cos-
[
i
us come lo college beam with pride to see their mijo
or mija finish something they never had an opportunity to take advantage of.
They can sign in relief and understand the reasons
behind absent weekend visits and financial worries.
They can tell their friends that mija or mija is the
first college graduate in the family.
Chicano college graduates are rare.
Programs to recruit and increase minority retention rates are making some strides.
Celebrations of academic success like Chicano
graduation only motivate our younger brothers and
sisters who sit jittering on hard chain in theaudience.
Watching a family member or friend walk away
with a college diploma in their hand is sure to leave
a lasting impression on them.
College is not easy, if it were more would attend.
But motivating other Chicanos to reap in its benefits
is what Chicano graduation is all about.
I
bi^ifljg'fc, *vr.'i^ ~f" C""* T >*—** ~w*   -»-■»■" '■'"■<
~<cy
\^_   CSU, FRESNO
Department of Mass Communication and journalism
2225 E. Stn R»mon Aw.. CSUF, Frrino, CA 93740-0010
New* 27S-2S92                                                                                          Advrrtuinp 278-3934
IngerSethov    Editor-in-Chief
Jenny Steffens    Managing Editor
Olivia Reyes    News Editor
Marlene Bryant    Copy Editor
Vincent Corona do    Graphic Design Editor
Bryan Chan ' Photo Editor
Kelley Scott    Sports Editor
Christina Fonseca    Lifestyle Editor
M. Cristina Medina    Production Manager
Nina Momjian \ Assistant News Editor
Maria Machuca    Assistant Copy Editor
Belinda Lee
Production Assistant
Denlse Schramek
Advertising Manager
Gunter Copeland
Advertising Production Mgr.
KenKoller
Photographer
Hadl YazdanPanah
Photographer
Staff Writer*: StiKtonta of MCJ102W, 103 A 108                                      Advlur:
| Advartlalng Staff: Studanta of MCJ14)                         Profaaaor Schytar Rahart,