1995_04 Insight April 1995

              •
Editorial
APRIL 26,1995
EDITORIAL
How healthy is the
air in your home?
By Mary Ellenm Fise
NATIONAL FORUM
Every day as we eat, sleep and take part
in a variety of activities inside our
homes, we rely on air to keep us going.
Yet according to studies, our health
could be seriously affected by pollutants
in our homes' indoor environments.
Carbon monoxide, for example, is associated with more
than 400 deaths annually. Radon, a colorless, odorless gas
that regularly seeps into the home, is the second leading
cause of lung cancer. At low levels lead impairs mental and
physical development in children; at high levels it can cause
convulsions, coma and death. Other pollutants, such as gases
released from chemicals emitted from a variety of household products, cause eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination, nausea and damage to the liver,
kidney and central nervous system.
If you're wondering, "Is this just another environmental fad?," think again. Indoor air pollution could be one
of the greatest consumer challenges of the new century.
In fact, indoor air pollution may end up being to the 21 st
century what outdoor air pollution is to the 20th century.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates indoor air
can be more seriously polluted than outdoor air, even in the
largest and most industrialized cities.
"Indoor air pollution presents a serious health risk to the
public," said Robert Axelrad. director of the EPA's Indoor
Air Division. "Repeated comparative risk studies have demonstrated that the health risks presented by indoor air pollutants are among the top five environmental risks to public
health."
The EPA estimates the cost of indoor air pollution, in terms
of direct medical costs and lost productivity, is in the tens
of billions of dollars per year.
And as consumers increasingly take advantage of the "information superhighway," they'll be spending more time
indoors. More and more people are "telecommuting" or
working from their homes. The concept of "cocooning,"
making the home a comfortable center of family life, a trend
predicted by futurists of the 1990s, seems likely to continue into the next century.
The good news is there are many simple steps consumers can take to begin cleaning up the air in their homes.
While you have probably heard of child-proofing and
the need to have a smoke detector and take fire-preventive measures, air-proofing the home is a new concept
for consumers.
Increasingly, we need to concentrate on making the air in
our homes healthy for all family members no matter what
their age or health status.
E-MAIL IT
FAX IT        VOICE IT
On Campus: Managing Editor, Insight     Call 278-2892
Type 'Insight' Maw Comm. a Journalism       any time
BE. San Ramon Avt., (no quota marki) FAX (209) 278-4995
Frtano.CA                    ilth« Leave a message on
93740-0010           Mondrian prompt Insight Voice Mail
Insight
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
Executive Editor Samantha K. Pease
Managing Editor Jacqueline Tucker
Deputy Managing Editor Jefferson Beavers
Chief Copy Editor Sheryl Logue
News Editor Rachel Rosemire
Photo Editor Kori Rianda
Graphics Editor Kimberly Darling
Lifestyle Editor Marianne Chrisman
Sports Editor Robbie Miner
Circulation Manager Yi Ping Ho
Design Coordinator Marga Kellogg
Advertising Account Mgr.    Deborah Smith
Advertising Production Mgr.    Lorena Campbell
Advertising Line: 278-3934
Staff Photographers:
Dan Helmbold, Lilian Meza and Christine Mirigian
M Production Assistants:
Adrienne Boman, Stacey Dipple, Laurie Gibson,
Dawn Henley, Ju Chen Hsieh, Janet Soules, Abel Torres,
Kimberly Williams and Robert Williamson.
Adviser Adverting Staff
Paul Adams S^"^of
Prediction: Baseball will reign again
By Matt Lloyd
StaffWriler
On Sunday April 2. I995.
I waslhrilledlo leam the
Major League Baseball
strike had ended after
234 days.
consecutive seasons will be tainted.
Without a question, ihe owners'
flirtation with replacement baseball
was a farce. Major League Baseball
is for the professionals, the superstars. It's not for wannabes and has
lixcd reacti
s I've run
n toward
o the American
e Bud Selig. the
No n
MLB, no more Donald
Fehr, the player's union
chief, no more liny details
lhat equaled lo a few dollars in a multi-billion dol
lar bus.
time to chalk up the field
and play ball.
As excited as I am lor
the return of baseball. I
can't get over the losses
that UK>k place. The '94
season Iom/>69 games, including ihe post-season
and   a   World   Series
Championship. The '95
season lost a total of 252
games. Records set in '94 and
'95 will always have an asterisk next to them, denoting
"strike-shortened season."
Thc Giants'Matt Williams'
and Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr.'s
shot al Roger Maris' single
season home run record will
never be known. for me. these are the
greatest atrocities of a strike I never
fully understood.
The records, all of ihe chances
that 1994 and I995 had to produce
new highs and lows in the record
books, will never materialize. The
history and prestige of ihe game has
always been in being able to compare its wonderful stats. Now. two
Am I happy for the return of my
heroes? Yes. most definitely. Their
skills and athletic prowess never
fail to astonish and excite me. Their
egos have always been secondary,
a kind of catch-22 to thc sport I'm
willing to put up with off the field
so i can be thrilled when they are
baseball's reti
culture.
Die-hard fans such as Jason Mellow and Patrick Tacheny
I       can't wait to jump in thc
\^ car and drive up to the
yl Oakland Coliseum to
..'    | take in a Saturday aflcr-
'    Il       noon game.
"Baseball's a part of
me, it's the national pastime. The strike bothered
me. but why should I suffer for the owners' and
players' disagreements?'"
Mellow asked.
Others viewed the
strike as the last straw for
a sport which has been
losing its popularity for
Steve Mason, an avid basketball fan. said, "There's no
way I'd go support those guys
after all that whining.
"There is still no new contract or guarantee that it won't
happen again. There's just too
much money being made by
those guys anyway."
Students are divided on this
issue bul the strike seems to have had
nothing to do with it.
Thc fans of the game are eventually going to be drawn back by
the magic of baseball, and those
who weren't fans to begin with
arc even more disenchanted with
the game.
As for mc, I've swallowed the lure
of baseball, hook, line and sinker.
SPEAK YOUR MIND
If you were president of the United States
for one day, what would you do?
Khetphet Phagnasay Julie Harp Henry George
"I would take a lot of people "I would knock us down to a 4- "I would change the welfare
out to have fun ... a partx day day work week." system."
for everyone."
Sheri Bingaman
"I wouldn't want to be president of the United States."
Yolanda Dean Sarkis Nersesian
"It would be like kid's day.  I "I would probably nominate
think kids should be put on a Rush Limbaugh to take my
pedestal. The kids would be my place."
top priority that day."
fOPINION   I
Cobain lives on
for many fans
The rock music world will
remember April 8, 1994,
for many years to come.
It was the day Kurt
Cobain, lead singer, guitarist and
songwriter for thc band Nirvana, was
found dead in his Seattle home.
Cbbain killed himself with a 20-
gauge shotgun. His suicide marked
the end of his turbulent 27-year life,
a life scarred by chronic drug use and
clinical depression.
He left behind a wife, Courtney
Love, and a daughter. Frances Bean
Cobain.
In thc aftermath of Cobain's suicide,
fans and critics everywhere struggled
to find meaning
n his life.
There was endless analysis of
Cobain's childhood, his adult
life and. most of
all, his lyrics. Thc
discussions have
produced a deluge of explanations as to why I
Cobain decided |	
to end his life.     Jefferson
Fans and critics BEAVERS
ZwCobain" gj^g:
image completely out of proportion. Many in the
rock music press were quick to proclaim Cobain as the martyred spokesman of Generation X who died too
soon.
Cobain was hailed by publications as
a symbol of independence for a generation of "slackers."Cobain, they said,
gave kids hope that they could be themselves and say what they wanted without being rejected for doing so.
Music reporters began to delve deep
into Cobain's seemingly random and
meaningless lyrics, searching for something to attribute his influence to.
Rolling Stone writer David Fricke
said. "| the | Nirvana songbook rings
long and loud with the clamor of dark
prophecy ... [Cobain) was a master of
grim metaphor and droll sarcasm who
delighted in shock treatment and false
trails and then obliterated his tracks
with industrial-strength guitar distortion ... that rubbed even his best hook
lines raw."
Fricke went on in his article lo proclaim Nirvana's break-out single
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" as "a sing-
along anthem of Flannel Nation."
Fricke said the song "broadcast the
dark side of the "80s — dysfunction,
disenfranchiscment, diminished expectations — with an almost contradictory vitality."
However, in some writers' eyes, the
specter of drugs and depression that
brought Cobain down overshadow his
many musical accomplishments.
Cobain's two platinum albums, half
dozen hit singles and devoted following of fans meant nothing, according
to critics, because of Cobain's suicide
and drug use.
The critics cited Cobain as a poor
excuse for a human being because of
his flaws. Cobain's drug use and suicide were considered by many as cop-
outs used to avoid facing his problems:
a troubled childhood, a troubled marriage and rock music super-stardom.
More than a year later, the debate
between Cobain's critics and devotees
continues.
The importance of Cobain as a rock
star, by sheer music sales, is clearly
established. The importance of
Cobain as an icon of popular culture,
by modem idealistic terms, is undeniably shaky.
Unfortunately, there will always be those
who insist on putting Cobain on a pedestal as the spokesman for a generation.
Equally as unfortunate, there will
always be people who deny Cobain
any credit at all because of his vices.
Through all the views, perhaps the
best way to look at the music of Kurt
Cobain is to do just that: Listen to the
music and accept it for what it is —
just music.
Music is not just composed of lyrics and it's not just composed of image. Music is the comprehensive
whole of melodies, harmonies and
lyrics, all interacting with the personalities of those playing it.
To reduce the work of Cobain to its
barest components, the lyrics, and
interpret it tames his art. By making
the parts more manageable through
interpretation the art is ruined.
The zeal wilh which critics attack
Cobain's life should be put aside in
favor of accepting his contributions.
The mystery of his music — the sheer
abrasive nature of his work as a whole
— should not be denied.
The fact that Cobain coped by abusing drugs and committing suicide
should not overshadow the power of
his music, his art