1992_02 Insight February 1992

              VXpTNION
■
A matter
of cost?
T> adcin the olden days when mom and dad paid
■ J for everything, I was educated at a private
institution. My parents coughed out the additional
$1,000 a year for three children for about eight years
each - thaf s $24,000, more than they paid for our
house in 1963. In addition, theone-ancT-a-half-income
family pa id taxes for public schooling while receiving
none of the benefits. Maybe someone else did.
I received an excellent, advanced education. Probably because I studied. Some of my classmates didn't
do so well After returning to the public educational
sector, they failed miserably. They blamed the priva te
school. Upon entering high school I ventured into the
public system, and I was terrified. My friends had
gotten D's and even Fs for their time and efforts, but
my transition was smooth.
The differences between private and public educa-
tion have long been an issue among Americans, privileged and underprivileged. Today, public education
at all levels seems to be faltering. No money is coming
inandu^studentsaresuffering-Ithaslongbeenasore
point in the nation that families wishing to send their
children to private institutions should bear a double
burden — paying private fees and public taxes.
Why go to a private school? Well, many complain
that the public teachers are there for the money, they
don't care about the kids. Others say the atmosphere
is hostile guns, knives and fist fights are a part of
everyday campus environs. Remember when the big-
mr**
lvlstj!]serioi^ri-felOKpmemofl?ce?
Marathon Joe's:
A solution for
the starving and
studious
gest fear was getting thrown in the trash can? In
addition, schools are over crowded, and the student-
teacher ratio is beyond comprehension.
Now, President Bush proposes that citizens be issued vouchers if they want to send their children to
private schools. They would pay only once, or at least
less, for the education. Bush's America 2000 strategy
and the private American Schools Development Corporation may add a newelement to the choice/voucher
mix. Another proposal by the National Commission
on Children recommends a federal tax credit of $1,000
per child to help strengthen families.
Proponents of the voucher plan argue that private
schools do a better job than public schools, and they
hope to prove this with mass testing.
Phi Delta Kappan reported in October 1991 that
Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation
of Teachers, says there is little difference between
private and the public school on math achievement.
See Cost, back paga
Do me a favor next time — keep it!
By Stu Rosenberg 	
StaffWriter  	
We, the proud and rot-so-proud owcrs of time-
worn vehides are now caught in a game we
(hcKightweccaildavwd.CKirnisrycajsajidrrudtsMth
theirdimpled bodies, torn and frayed up*holstery, cracked
windshields and AM radios are no longer safe under the
gcriseof cltartinlhitlngtaate-
TheTCwasatimewhenw-eallfdtsafefromthecnrn^
eyes of car thieves-but I speak from personal experience
whenlsaythcsedaysaregcre-Thievesnolongerriaveany
preference toward what they steal.Thesedaystheyappear
to be devoid of taste and have lowered their standards to
such abysmally low levels that our lemons have made
their hit lists.
I used to believe nobody in their right mind would
consider stealing my moldy-blue 74 Datsun pickup and
felt secure in mat belief. I thought I was the smart one,
owning a truck that didn't cost me a dime (or at least it
didn't at die time), next to nothing to insure, and wasn't a
I mocked friends who spent thousands of dollars to
insure their beautiful cars aril equip them wi th expensive
alarm systems to make sure nobody could "indefinitely
borrow" them for parts or joyrides.
Their paranoid anxiety amused me "The only protection I felt necessary - beyond occasionally locking the
doors-were the functionirw eyes of anybody who could
see (literally) that my/truck wasn't worth the time and
Or at least I thought it wasn't
During the winter break my blue beast was stolen,
much tome amusement of friends and family. Everybody
I called and broke m news to laughed hysterically, apologized because "there was nothing funny about it," and
then laughed even/iarder.
I also found humor in the situation-not as much as my
friends and family did, but hurror nonetheless. In fact, I
was smiling as I said, Td like to report a stolen vehicle'' to
the Clovis Police Department The two weeks it was
missing were the best two weeks of my life since 1 was
conned into taking it
I went out on a limb and predicted the pathetic souls
who had my truck wouldn't get very far. The swirling gas
The author, Stu Rosenberg, and his '74 Datsun pickup.
fumes inside the cab or the fact thatone can see justabit too
muchofthe*sphaltbetowwhenshiftingg€ars,I suspected,
would make the joyridea short one-and I was correct
Two weeks later to the day, the police found my truck
unharmed. A grand total of $250 is what it cost to get it
back: $65 for the police to call someone to tow it; $48 in
overnight fees (I was told it had been found two days after
it was towed in); a $30 gate fee (paid in a vain attempt to
drive the truck off the lot as if no thing had happened to it);
$49 to take the wretched machine to an electrical expert to
redo the wiring; and another $49 to finally drive it home.
Putting this into perspective, I'd feel truly blessed if I
could get the $50 blue-book value on it.
The two weeks of begging for rides and using the old
"heel-to-toe" method didn't anger me. Being told to come
pick it up two days after the towing company had it
brought in and payinga $30 gate fee when they knew the
truck's ignition wires had been snipped angered me.
Being charged a$65 finders-fee by the police just tosay "we
found it go get ir" angered me. Ha vingtopay$250 because
sorrcbcdytookmywTrtcr«irrvK±urcforaharrrJessspin
- and left it in tact-continues to anger and perplex me.
Who are the real thieves? The down (or clowns) who
borrowed my ride for an evening? They didn't cause me
any inconvenience. Or the towingcompany and the police
department for holding me upsidedownand shaking the
change out of my now empty pockets?
I now have a $40 Oub protecting a $20 truck.
So let my experience serv-e as an exampte to thoseof you
who don't feel compelled to lock your cars and trucks:
because you feel the idea of somebody stealing your car is
preposterous; invest in a Cub, or install some sort of
security system
Trust me. It can, has, and will continue to happen.
Having our cars and trucks stolen isn't the worst thing that
could happen - having them returned is. Sojx prepared.
Staffwriter
They come in groups or sit a tone. Inconspicuously
taking a comer table in a local restaurant to eat
and study. You know, you've seen them: theirbooks
and papers scattered across the table with coffee-
stained cups and water glasses with melted ice settled
to the bottom
Ever wonder where these people come from and
who they are? Restaurant owners around campus
know who they are. Quite frankly, some consider
them a nuisance. What restaurant owners refer to as
loitering, these restaurant groupies refer to as a study
group.
They are a part of the* growing population of students who find comfort in local restaurants because
you can only feed so many people for so long on Top
Ramen. Besides, who is going tobe responsible for the
coffee refills?
These students—starvingforknowledgeandfood
— get the coffee refills without having to get up and
get it, and the food without making it. That is what
restaurants are for, they argue.
Restaurant owners agree that it is their business to
serve the public. The conflict arises over how long.
The owners argue that some of these starving
students study for hours, and it hurts business. One
restaurant has imposed time limits on dining, enforced by "armed guards," to deter marathon study
sessions.
So what has to be done to satisfy both parties?
Maybe a creation of a new style restaurant. One called,
for instance, Marathon Joe's: where you can study all
night and eat all night, too.
Marathon Joe's would cater to the student. More
importantly, to the restaurant groupie. But the question arises: how do you design it?
It can't be designed after a drive-thru wonder, like
a Wendy's or a McDonald's, where the food's fast and
tastes fast, too. The idea is not to rush the student.
Besides, fast food joints have no table service.
It can't be designed after the sandwich shopslike
Cassie's, Subway or Shaw Avenue Cafe because the
tables are too small. Groupies need space to spread
out their educations.
There are thebuffet-style restaurants. A design like
aPkcadilly cafeteria. Hometown CafeorSizzler shows
promise,but could you imagine seeing groupies serve
themselves? I don't think so.
The 24-hour coffee shops on Shaw have the right
idea. The restaurants like Carrow's, Denny's and
Lyons have a lot to offer the restaurant groupie. The
only real problem is that this is where the conflict
originated. Thereisjustsometrungaboutarmed guards
thaf s not very appealing.
Itcar.'tbedesigncdlikea casual dining and cocktail -
restaurant such as Cafe El Rey, Wiliker's or Black .
Angus. Most groupies can't afford the cocktails. !
The thought of designing Marathon Joe's after the !
fine-dining restaurants like Harland's, Rueben's and <
Black Angus (on a weekday) is too funny to consider. ;
Fine dining requires a change in character for the :
groupie, from a starving student with a coupon to a j
politically correct and fashionable tax- payer with a '■
zero balanced, $25,000 limit American Express Card, j
Besides, groupies would not trade in their backpacks ;
for a tie and/or a dinner dress.
So if ifs not going to be a coffee shop, a fast food j
joint or a fine-dining restaurant, what will Marathon '
Joe's use as a design? Jl
A large sign on an apartment door reads: "Mara- j
thonJoe's—whereyoucanstudyallnightandeatall I
night too. Tonighf s special: Top Ramen and fresh |
coffee. CorrwMrvand help yourself."
-I--1V SIGHT
ll.lmp ya. CHI. Fr-n. i frmr*, CA ti7« Nn-.:*01
Editor in Chief Sports Editor
      Kate Henry   _ Tim Haddock
Managing Editor
Eric Coyne
Arts&Enteriainment Editor
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--^Wev-
David Wellenkamp
rtainment Editor       Advertising Production
Laura Rasmussen -"Christina C
Christina Griffin
Copy Editor        ^^   Photograpky
Graphics Editor
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Jenny Hamilton
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Jesse Chenault
Opinion Editor
Staff writers
Students of Journalism
 —  100, no & 188
Inrgot welcomes all letters, comments and corrections. Insight
reserves the right to condense letters to the Editor for any reason.
Anonymous letters to the Editor will not be considered.
Moral responsibility: some can't be trusted
Dr. Martin Luther King marched through the South 30 years ago
spreading social change. In his wake were hundreds of college
students — Freedom Riders — both black and white.
King and his followers were committed to freeing this country from
racism, segregation and oppression. They tolerated beatings and imprisonment with a peaceful attitude, never taking up arms to fight back.
They used facts
Noonecan ignore that there isdisparity in our society. There are very
rich and very poor people. People of color are a minority on college
campuses and sometimes express their dissatisfaction at being treated
as invisible citizens. Inner cities in major metropolitan areas are populated by an economic underclass that isoften further stratified by ethnic
and cultural barriers. Public elementary education is plagued by overcrowding, by understaffing and by a crippling lack of learning resources and opportunities.
These are facts of the 1990s.
The ramifications of these facts are concrete and measurable: high
unemployment, birth rates, mortality rates, crime rates and illiteracy
can be charted dcmographically. Problems can be pinpointed.
Yet to speak of the high incidence of illiteracy found among African-
American, Hispanic or Asian students, even among college students, is
to risk being called a racist. Illiteracy, however, is not an issue of race. *
It is prevalent among Caucasian students as well.
Hypersensitivity squelches dialogue about solutions to growing
societal problems. /
One of the most regrettable outgrowths of hypersensitivity is the ;
escalation of the AIDS crisis. Although 24,120 people have died from :
AIDS and an estimatedl79,136 have been infected with the virus, the ;
Center for Disease Control in Atlanta has not declared a quarantine on '
patients with AIDS.
Modem understanding of disease transmission has removed the j
practice of quarantine from medical practice. Epidemics are declared 3
when the reported incidence of a disease exceeds expectations. Because I
small pox has been eradicated, for example, one case would be an -\
epidemic.
The CDC declared AIDS an epidemic when it was first reported. Yet i
hypersensitivity by homosexuals and social drug users, the initial 3
populations most infected and affected by HIV, has seriously delayed 9
rational discussion about mandatory testing of the general public.       9
The fear of discrimination is understandable. Society is still in the I
throes of change regarding the roles of minorities. But a greater danger |
to life is that people have been given license to carry AIDS undetected, B
silently murdering loved ones.
In this age of instant communication, facts are ignored when ideol- -
ogy is at stake. Emotionalism and egocentrism have shoved reason and •*
communication out of society's vocabulary.
Special-interest groups are rarely willing to listen to non-members •
who express an interest in working with them toward solutions.      ■ 5
As a result, the pursuit of liberty and happiness have been forfeited. ?
Our very life is at stake. v