1996_11 Insight November 1996

              NOVEMBER 6, 1996 ■
Opinion
To have and to hold, for richer or poorer and as
long you take my last name and forget yours
I Women of today
question giving up
last name   .
by Elaina Conroy
Staff Writer
The other day something happened
to me lhat made me realize the importance of my name.
My last name that is.
I was opening a bank account and
filling out all that essential information, like I had done countless times
before.
When I came to the blank next to
mother's maiden name, without even
hesitating. I wrote it down: Ellie
Conroy.
The teller was looking over my information and she pointed her pen to
that section, with a questioning look
on her face, and said. "Oh. we need
your mom's name before she married
Insight
EDITORIAL STAFF
Valerie Gibbons
Bala Bulachandru
PrcHluclion M.cn.civr
Maiii.i Conroy
l.cah Perich
Doug Stolhand
PHOTOGRAPHERS
*nfcUCa«iglione.Sic»t
Afcol Ghan. FcnunJo CJomc/. Chad
Hokomh. Dinorah Jcnnc\*. Irene
SUPPORT STAFF
Ad\ isers:   George A. Flynn,
Greg Lewis
Consultant: Bridget Carter
ADVERTISING
Jon Kortenberry
Kimberly Darling
Ailweiiiiini Produciiea Manager
Students or MCJ 143
Business Owners: Reach
motivated college students with
a campaign of benefit-rich ads.
Start profiting NOW from this
lucrative, eager market! Call...
278-3934
HOW TO REACH US FAST...
I J V   Fresno. CA 93740-0010
E-MAIL IT
On Campus:
Type "Insight" (no quotes)
Q
FAXIT
Editor. Insight
Mass Comm/lnunulisrr
FAX (209) 278-4995
VOICE IT
Call 278-2892 any time
Leave a message on
Insight Voice Mail
yourdad.""That is my mom's maiden
name," 1 said. "It's her name."
This didn't present a problem and
the teller proceeded to do what was
necessary to open my account.
But this incident made me think
about the nature of people's names,
particularly women, and thc tradition
of a woman taking on her husband's
name after marriage.
Keeping names alive
My mom and dad were never married, so the name on my birth certificate is my mom's last name. Conroy,
which was her dad's last name.
I never really saw my name as anything out ofthe ordinary, but the fact
is. most people have their dads' last
The question that comes to mind
is: Why in our history have women
always been expected to give up their
name and take on their husbands'
names when they get married?
I think lhat throughout history, men
have had the burden of carrying on
thc family name. Fathers weie^anx-
ious to have sons in order to keep
their name alive. And this carried
over to marriage.
It was more important for a man
to keep his name than it was for a
woman.
But what if thc woman was the
only child — shouldn't she have'the
same responsibility to carry on her
family's name?
The fact is. our names are our
identities.A name doesn't just set you
apart from someone else (unless your
name is John Smith), it tells something about who you are and where
your family is from. In short, your
name is your legacy.
Giving up part of yourself
I can't help but think that when a
woman gives up her name, she gives
up her identity and takes on the identity of her husband. Like when my
cousin got married, the invitation said
Mr. and Mrs. Brian Welder, as if to
say that her name was now his.
When I was'12, my mom sued my
dad for child support .During the procedure, I was asked if I would like to
have my last name changed to my
dad's name.
I didn't have to think too long before saying "no." mainly because I
didn't like his name. Parrott, but also
because I was used to my name. I
wasn't about to just change it.
I am extremely proud of my name
and its Irish origin. My grandfather
once told me that thc name Conroy
means "with king."
Although I don't think that our
family is royalty. I'm still fascinated
by the history of our name; our heritage.
Hyphened last names
I was the first grandchild in my
family to graduate high school and go
on to college.
All of the accomplishments in my
life have been made under the name
Elaina Conroy and I'm not too interested in giving up my name and its
value by getting married.
These days it seems like more and
more women are keeping their
maiden names after marriage.
Often times, this happens when the
woman has a successful career under
that name.
There also seems to be a lot more
of that hyphenated name thing, or
incorporating both names, like the
lovely Pamela Anderson Lee.
I'm not saying that il's wrong for a
woman to give up her name when she
gets married: I'm just questioning a
tradition.
Maybe when I get married my
husband will take my last name.
Maybe I'll take his last name or do
thc hyphenated name thing.
At any rate, it's something to think
about. But I'm not ready for marriage any time soon, so I guess I can
worry about it later.
Opinion
Credit checks, personality tests an
innacurate system for hiring
■ New hiring practices
needlessly invade
applicant's privacy
by Valerie Gibbons
Staff Writer
The reasoning behind the tests is
simple.
Little Timmy climbs on lo a school
bus. Little Timmy'i bus driver is coming down off ol" a three day cocaine
binge. Little Timmy shows up on
NBC in a "Dateline Survivor Story"
a week later.
Something had to be done. Employers began to utilize drug testing
in their hiring. Urine Tests, personal
references and criminal background
checks were put in place to guard
each company against their nightmare
employee.
Good intentions gone awry
But since then, the policies that
were designed as a safety net have
grown increasingly intrusive into
most Americans' private lives.
Background checks now go beyond the initial criminality question,
they delve into credit histories, personality tests and past medical problems.
The question thai employers are
attempting lo answ er is no longer "are
you going lo be a liability?" but rather
"what kind of a person are you?"
And ihe answers Ihey are getting
Faulty systems
Credit checks are one example.
There is a large difference between
a person who refuses to pay credit
card bills and someone whose medical insurance didn't cover the cost of
an emergency room visit. But unfortunately, thc negative rating is all
many employers sec.
If a positive credit rating is an unofficial basis for hiring, then the company may be losing some of their best
potential workers to this system.
Pre-employment drug testing is
another problem. A heavy drinker
can be just as much of a detriment to
the company as an illegal drug user.
But the drug screening process does
not weed out alcohol abusers in the
testing processes.
In all fairness, pre-employment
drug screening isn't always accurate
in weeding out those who use illegal
substances either. Many applicants
have turned to herbal mixtures that
are known to "guarantee" a clean
drug test. The only people that a drug
test is positively screening out are the
people who do drugs but do not use
thc herbal mixtures.
Who are you, really?
Personality tests are becoming
more popular with employers. Most
tests begin with a simple question:
"Have you ever stolen minor office
supplies (such as pens and paper
clips) from your place of employment?" Some popular tests will ask
perspective employees if they have
ever been verbally warned by their
supervisors. On tests like this, the
question is designed to test honesty,
not to assess the employees ability
to do their job effectively.
Thc tests assume that everyone
has stolen minor office products or
received a verbal warning, and if the
Logically, personality tests cannot
be 100 percent accurate. Unfortunately, there are many companies that
use personality testing as a hiring cri-
Other methods
Pre-employment screening has
grown in the wrong direction. It
boggles thc imagination that employers spend so much time and money
fighting for thc right to invade privacy when there are other ways to
screen an applicant.
Requiring a letter of recommendation is unintrusive. Testing the
employee's skills during the interview can be very effective. Probationary periods are commonplace in
the workplace now. Why do we need
to have our personal lives examined
in order to get a job?
Companies need to change the way
they hire employees. Qualified, effective people arc being turned away
because of faulty, intrusive policies.
When that happens, everyone
loses.
Opinion
Grazing detrimental to the
environment, cattlemen disagree
■ Grazing comes
under attack by
radical groups
by Dawn Howe
Staff Writer
In the past, ihe cattle industry has
come under attack by environmental
groups for the practice of grazing.
Yet the claims made by these radical groups tend to be based on outdated examples and opinions that arc
presented as facts.
Radical groups portray cattlemen as
money-hungry businessmen that care
little about the environment. This portrayal that could not be more inaccurate*)
Conflicting ideas on land use
Cattlemen depend on the land and
the environment for their livelihood.
The United States Department of
Agriculture reports that grazing land
accounts for more than 40 percent of
the 1.9 billion acres of land in the 48
contiguous states.
Groups promoting extreme views
claim that areas now used for grazing
should be left idle and not bothered
or touched by man or industry.
This is a noble interest and to some
extent a good idea, but not at all feasible.
Unrealistic ideas
Grazing lands arc diverse in terms
of topography but all share certain
similarities. They arc typically unsuitable for producing any other crop that
could be directly consumed by humans.
Also, the condition of most of thc
grasses could not sustain wildlife and
would be potential fire hazards if not
properly managed.
Grazing lands arc open spaces and
woodlands; areas with grass, trees,
forests, plains, water sources like
ponds, lakes and streams and even
include mountains, valleys and lowlands.
Radical groups cite examples of
land misuse by cattlemen that date
back to the early 1900*s.
Most cattlemen make no argument
that a drought and over-grazing did
greatly damage western range conditions during thc early I900's.
New management practices
But management techniques, attitudes and types of production have
dramatically changed since that time.
Since the early 1900's, livestock
producers, range scientists and federal land managers have established
working relationships that pool their
educational and philosophical vantages together to provide a more holistic approach to range and grazing
land management.
The work of these groups has improved the land quality and have done
more to return grazing lands to their
natural condition.
In 1990, thc Society for Range
Management found 79 percent of
Bureau of Land Management lands,
86 percent of Forest Service lands and
private land are in better grass condi
tion than would exist if there was no
grazing.
"Grazing may be, if correctly
used, the best management tool we
have to stimulate historic conditions
and maintain biological diversity in
grassland sysiems," a spokesperson
for the National Wildflower Research
Center said.
Stewards of the land
The notion that the majority of
cattlemen are not stewards ofthe land
and dedicated to preserving its natural resources is outlandish and illogical.
Producers deal with thc environment on a daily basis and are required
to maintain naturaj.resources in order to secure any type of future production.
The cattle business is not one in
which an overnight million can be
made. In order to prosper in the cattle
business, years of time and financial
investment are required. Any cattle
producer interested in being successful is respectful ofthe environment.
Have a beer
so you can
be yourself?
■ Alcohol and
drinking a tragic
part of identity
by Manny Fernandez
Staff Writer
Jim wanted to be beautiful in
high school.
He tried really hard, tried to
make the popular kids believe he
was one of them, beautiful and
cool and blessed.
It never worked.
From elementary school to
high school, Jim was goofy. He
said goofy things and walked
goofy and even spit tobacco
goofy.
Trying to be cool
But most of all, Jim looked
goofy.
His face was oddly shaped
— the nose a claw that covered
his puffy lips; small, glazed
eyes buried beneath thick,
thick eyebrows.
Jim thought he could be cool
by playing sports.
He thought he could get a
girlfriend if he learned how to
throw a curvcball.
He was actually pretty good,
too. But no one really noticed.
During lunch-time, someone, usually Jeff, would walk
up behind Jim and hit him in
the back of the neck.
Wees define character
And someone, usually Vic.
would trash his house at night
by driving on the lawn,*by
throwing toilet paper through the
big tree in his yard, by smashing eggs against his front door.
Jim didn't have that many
vices. He was actually a nice
guy-
Only a few people noticed.
The popular kids in high
school had to have vices. It was
cooler to be a jerk with a lot of
vices than nice and viceless.
And for most high school students, drinking beer is one big.
accepted, tragic vice.
Jim didn't drink that much in
high school.
Everyone drank beer or wine
or whiskey or wine coolers.
Everyone. I never saw Jim
drunk.
He usually had two beers and
faked being drunk. All the kids
knew it.
Drinking is like breakfast to
high school students — it's an
unspoken reality.
Alcohol was the holy water
that transformed the weak to the
strong, the ugly to the beautiful,
the rejected to the accepted.
I saw Jim a couple of years
after graduation at a fraternity
party.
It was a Saturday night after
a football game. Jim was drunk.
Really drunk, he wasn't fak-       v
ing.
He was wearing a fraternity T-
shirt and dark sunglasses, although it was nighttime. Girls
hugged him.
A whole different person
But there was something
different about him.
We talked for a little while.
He talked about all the beer
he had been drinking, talked
about how wasted he has
been in college.
He seemed proud of himself.
He didn't pay much attention to me.
He was too busy talking to
the girls who whispered in
his ear and the guys who
slapped him on the back and
handed him beers.
With a cold can of beer in
his hand. Jim probably
thought he looked beautiful..
•   He didn't.