1996_10 Insight October 1996

              How long will
this coach
keep winning?
■ See SPORTS,
Insight
California State University, Fresno M V    OCTOBER 2,1996
Flowers for pe
who have allei
■ See IN FOCUS,
PAGE 3
Big Empty?
The bad news: Today's students face flooded job markets,
steep debt and an uncertain future upon graduation
A long time ago,
college students
were virtually
guaranteed a job
after graduation.
But times have
changed. More
than 30 percent of
recent college
graduates are
unemployed or
under-employed.
What happened to
the value of a
college diploma?
by Elaina Conroy
Staff Writer
Students today feel there is only one way
to stay competitive: Get a college degree. It's
the ticket to professional employment that
many feel can huy the American Dream.
According to the American Council on
Education's annual college freshmen survey,
the primary motive for going to college is to
"be able to gel a better job."
But achieving this goal is harder than it
seems.
At least 22 percent of all college graduates entering the work-force between 1994
and 2005 were or will be unemployed or in
jobs that do not require a B.A. degree, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics study
by Kristina J. Shelley, a specialist in the post-
college employment market.
According to U.S. Department of Labor
projections, from now through the year 2005.
at least one-third of four-year college graduates will not find employment commensurate with their level of education.
The outlook appears to be worse for graduate students.
In nearly all professional fields except
• hies
Intight photot by Ryan McKee
Through the year 2005, at least one-third of college graduates will not
find employment in a career they studied, according to federal projections.
medicine, the number of graduates exceed
the available employment by 50 percent.
A world-wide surplus of accountants,
chemists and engineers — not lo mention
see UNCERTAINTY, page 3
The good news: Federal statistics show higher education
means higher pay for students entering the workforce
by Jevon Swanson
Staff Writer
Recent graduates who are having trouble
finding jobs in their fields may want to reconsider complaining about the job market.
U.S. census data shows that four-year degree
holders still earn significantly more money
than workers without four-year degrees.
The U.S. Bureau ofthe Census reports that
the mean monthly income for workers with
some time in college but no degree was
SI .000 less per month than bachelor's degree
holders who earn about S2.6O0 per month.
Mean monthly income for workers with
only a high school degree is reported at about
$ 1.400, which is $ 1.200 less a month than that
of a worker with a bachelor's degree.
"If students took
the time to
Vocational degrees bring about SI,700 a
month and A.A. degrees bring about $2,000
per month.
Degrees in engineering and related fields
offer the highest starting wage potential for
graduates, w ith an average of about $35,004
annually, followed by computer science at
$31,164 per year.
Nationally, college students pay an average
of $6,809 a year to attend public "commuter"
campuses like Fresno State that have the majority of its students living off campus. This
figure includes tuition, room and board,
books, supplies and other living expenses.
Studentsat public, residential-style colleges
pay about $8,562. while students at private
colleges pay almost twice as much for their
education.
The yearly cost for private commuter colleges averages $ !£.200. while residential campuses cost $ 17.846 per year.
Even with the increase in earnings for degree holders over non-degree holders,
bachelor's degrees often are Hiking longer than
the traditional four years to achieve, making
the cost for a degree higher.
The U.S. Nationul Center for Education
Statistics reported lhat in 1993. 37 million
Americans possessed bachelor's degrees, but
only about 43 percent of those said lhat they
had earned iheir degrees in four years or less.
Only 65 percent said they earned their degree
in five years or less.
€€ You went to
Fresno State,
that's great.
Here's a job
that pays $5
an hour. JJ
— Tim Conboy,
Manager, Jobt Pkl« Temporary
Staffing Service
Campus
car theft
on the rise
■ Parking lots near Shaw
and Cedar avenues
a thief's paradise
by Heather Meeker
Staff Writer
The war on car theft begins every morning
in Fresno Stale parking lots, where students
arm their cars and prepare ihem for battle.
Clubs are securely locked in place. Pro-locks
are pulled out and squeezed into pockets.
Alarms are activated with the hope that their
grating screeches will drive a thief away.
But is all this preparation enough?
Yes, says Sgt. Sergio Silva of the campus
police department.
"Students must always stay one step ahead
ofthe thieves," said Silva, who recommends
using any type of safety device possible to
protect cars from potential theft.
Vehicle theft, which has risen steadily on
campus for the past 10 years, rose by 30 cases
from 1994 to 1995. The highest risk factor
group of cars, according lo Silva, are late
1980s model Oldsmobiles and Buicks.
There has also been a rise in the number of
pick-up trucks stolen, especially those with
fancy stereos and eye-catching wheels.
"Most cars are stolen between the hours of
10 a.m. and 2 p.m.," Silva said.
He warned that the parking lots targeted
most arc the ones near main avenues, especially Lot A near Cedar Avenue and Lot V
near Shaw Avenue. These lots have easy access and contain cars belonging mostly to
students.
Better days
Silva, a campus police officer for 23 years,
remembers 10 years ago when two cars were
the average stolen per year.
He accounts the rise in theft to gang members moving closer to the university, as well
as urbanization of the area surrounding
Fresno State. He also said thc citizen's sense
of responsibility has decreased.
"People see a car in the process of being
broken into and say. it's not my car." and
walk away. The police department relies
heavily on Good Samaritans to call us," Silva
said. "If more people called, the whole university would benefit."
Students have mixed viewpoints concerning vehicle theft and the safety of their cars
on campus.
Senior Ryan Wallace never feels unsafe
leaving her car on school grounds. "No one
would steal my car." she said.
Joel Gambrell. also a senior, had a different outlook. "My car is not safe anywhere in
Fresno, including campus," Gambrell said.
Both students agreed they rarely see a police officer patrolling campus.
"I've seen maybe two police officers in the
last three years." said Wallace. "I never think .
to rely on campus police for my safety."
Gambrell agrees. "The police do not make
you feel better." he said.
To help decrease vehicle theft, three police
officers patrol campus from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m..
and four officers patrol after 11 p.m. Whether
by car. bicycle or horse, campus police cover
an area ranging from Shaw to Sierra avenues,
and Willow lo Millbrook avenues.
Campus police also work w iih parking officers. >/
"We are the eyes and thc ears of the parking lot." said Anita Bahagun. Fresno State
parking officer. She said about six parking
officers patrol on any given shift throughout
the day. helping to ensure vehicle safety.
Legal and illegal gambling a costly addiction for many
■ A recent study discovered
23 percent of students
gambled once a week
by Brian A. Matthews
Staff Writer
L. Brown stares aimlessly at his dismantled
collection of chips, while in his mind contemplating his decision to "double^lown" on a
soft 18 on his previous hand.
"I shouldn't have hit and been content with
my 18," said B rown, an engineering major at
Fresno State who didn't want his first name
revealed. "But no, I had to get crazy and get a
four. The dealer had 17. I would have won."
A nearby patron at the black jack table at
Table Mountain, in between puffs of a cigarette, remarks on the ill-fated move and com
ments on how Brown's once plentiful empire
of earnings has now migrated over to the
dealer's collections.
Brown again gazes directly in front of him.
realizing his stacked gambling currency that
once resembled a metropolitan skyline has
now been reduced lo a 19th-century settlement
landscape with blue, one-dollar cabins.
Brown, whose immediate livelihood, gas
money, groceries, bills and rent is invested in
his remaining chips, is one of thc many college students across the country whose higher
education is influenced by gambling.
Another social ill
Legal or illegal gambling has now joined
the ranks of drug and alcohol abuse, date rape
and depression as ills that are associated with
the college experience.
In a 1991 panel study headed by the chair
intight photo by Ryan McKee
For many college students, sports
gambling is a hard habit to break.
ofthe Illinois Slate University Criminal Justice department. Henry Leiseur. a survey at
six different universities in five states found
that 23 percent of students gambled at least
one time a week.
A 1989 Gallup Poll found that 81 percent
ofthe U.S. population gambled and that 31
percent of the adults were weekly gamblers.
The forms of gambling are vastly different,
varying from social, noncommercial settings
to commercial ones like casinos, race tracks,
bingo halls and card parlors. The latter are
locally available to Fresno State students at
nearby casinos, such as Table Mountain in
Friant, The Vineyard in Fowler and Club One
in Fresno.
Student excuses
These establishments have become havens
for opportunistic students. A black jack dealer
at Table Mountain regularly finds students
occupying the stools in front of him.
"You sec them with their Bulldog, fraternity and sorority sweatshirts every day and
every night hours at a time. They come in
groups, as dates or alone, but they're always
here." the dealer said.
Initially unrecognized, area casinos now
might be perceived as an obstacle, dctouring
area students academic diligence and leapfrogging up the priority list of some.
"I always ask them. 'Don't you have a class
in thc moming or something'?' They usually
say, 'Yeah, but my friend will take notes for .
me'"or "I don't have a test till next week."
Things like that." the dealer said.
All relatively close to Fresno State, local
casinos might be too accessible to some students. Their proximity for many often results
see GAMBUNG. page 3