1983_09 Insight September 1983

              Viewpoints,
pilver-tongued
VPatt does it again
September 28, 1983
'■:■':■ Three cheers for the man with a.
silver tongue.
";. Who else but Interior Secretary
..flames Watt could repeatedly utter
things so patently absurd.
•:•: And that he speaks so clearly with
his foot lodged so deeply in his mouth
is surely a technique only Watt, and
maybe Earl Butz, have refined.
Indeed, Watt's humor even
resembles the offensive slurs that
eventually cost Butz his career.
Watt's latest — that an advisory
commission has "every kind of mix
you can have... a black, a woman, two
Jews and a cripple" — has provoked,
as usual, public outrage.
And Watt's attempt to pass the
comment off as a joke (though he
later apologized to the commision
member whose arm is paralyzed) is
insensitive as well as indicative of the
depth of his character.
If Watt is as shallow as he sounds,
then no wonder critics question his
With off-the-cuff
remarks such as those
on record, Watt's
latest slur should have
come as no surprise.
ability to care for 700 million acres of
this nation's public lands.
Past Watt remarks include:
On environmentalists: "... a left-
wing cult which seeks to bring down
the type of government I believe in"
On Indians:.^'Ifryou want an example of the failures of socialism,
don't go to Russia — come to America
and go to the Indian reservations."
On music: Rock music (in
reference to the Beach Boys' music)
encourages "drug abuse and
alcoholism" and attracts the "wrong
element."
On politics: There are "only" two
parties in this nation, "liberals and
Americans."
On his critics: "I have never had
Cyndi Guerra
any criticism from anybody I really
respect."
With off-the-cuff remarks such as
these on record, Watt's latest slur •
should have come as no surprise.
But must such remarks, be condoned? Or continued?
Gerald Ford quickly fired his
agriculture secretary, Butz, after he
told a racial joke on a private plane;
President Reagan forgave Watt for
slurring blacks, women, Jews and
people with handicaps at a breakfast
meeting with 200 lobbyists.
If Reagan won't rid his Administration of Watt because of
political and financial reasons (Watt
has the backing of the Moral Majority
and extreme rightist, as well as is a
big fundraiser for Reagan), then the
least he can do is to demand that Watt
thinks before he speaks.
to^cs^rf,,
CSUF football a pain in the seat
A month of classes have passed, and to
many of us students, that means the first wave
of examinations.
But more importantly, it means the third
home football game is only 10 day^away. Yes
professors, the grid conflict against!>an Jose
State takes priority.
However, the 100-yard by 40-yard piece of
turf will not host the only conflict that night.
Watch carefully fans as you near the
stadium entrance — the ticket windows to be
specific. Fee — weary, text"— bitten students
may put on a physical performance of their
'num.
The cause is a $7 price tag for a seat on a
metal bench. Moreover, it is the same price
anyone in town pays.
Tbe university set aside three sections, or
5,654 seats, for the students. I might add that
three are quality seats that provide a great view
of the game. The cost is a very reasonable $3
per game.
In addition, tbe university also provides 842
more seats at $5 a piece.
The problem is in the fact that there are
16,500 students on campus. That means approximately 10,000 students are not only denied
reserved student seating, but must also pay non
— student ticket prices.
This really is a crime. University athletics
should be presented with the students first in
mind, tbe community second. And yes, I realise
the community paid for the $7.5 million
stadium. fsi>^\
Still, there should be a standard price for
students. If not the $3.00 offered to those willing
to buy season tickets, then at least the $5 price
no matter where the student sits.
Some students do not want to sit among
screaming, highly — spirited fans. And it seems
somewhat illogical that the further one gels
from the best seats, tbe more one has to pay.
Tbe final argument is simple. No matter
what the money collectors say, as soon as a student sits down on one of those silver metal benches, it becomes a student seat.
Let's stop making tbe night at a footbaU
game a pain in the financial seat.
*«ffrpts
Wa. Haines
'Taint the meat, it's the humanity!
From lemons to luggage,
swdpmeet still a bargain
By Cecelia Horn
Insight Reporter
For those students who can't afford
to do their shopping at a store like
Macy's, Fresno area swapmeets can
provide an inexpensive shopping alternative.
Of the several large meets held
weekly in the county, the Sunnyside
Drive-in, located at the comer of Clovis
. and Olive avenues, is the most conveniently located for CSUF Students and
faculty.
It is in business Friday through
Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday evenings from 5 to 11. Admission is
50 cents for buyers.
The Lack of air conditioning may
discourage those who are used to tbe
comforts of Fashion Fair and Manchester Center, but serious bargain
hunters should not be put off by this.
A Fresno swap meet is a cross between a junk yard, a garage sale, and a
parking lot. sale. It has just about
everything one might need to outfit and
decorate the typical college student's
apartment: all kinds of kitchen
gadgets, new and used, tools, tacky
wall hangings, unusual and often ugly
furniture (it may have character),
stereo equipment (often suspiciously
devoid of brand names), beat-up paperbacks and even some back issues of
magazines like Penthouse and Playboy.
If you are looking for new clothes,
you can find Levi's for f 15, Nike tennis
shoes for $23 and T-shirts ranging in
price from $2 to $5. Used shoes and all
types of clothing can be bought for considerably less than at department
"""stores.
Other popular items include watches and sunglasses. (Sorry, no
Vaurnets.)
Even food is sold at swap meets.
Almost every kind of produce can be
found from lemons to chiles to 10-pound
bags of onions. And if you don't mind
seeing i nes crawung all over something
you're going to eat, there are stalls that
sell fresh fish for $1 to $2 a pound.
Although many items are sold at
bargain prices, that is not always the
case. As one seller put It, "People think
that just because they're buying it at a
swap meet, they're getting a great deal.
But not all these people are here to get
rid of junk. A lot of tbem are trying to
make a living."
Many of the people seen selling car
stereos and tapestries in empty lots
around town can be found selling their
wares at swap meets on weekends.
Haggling over prices is per-
missable, even desirable, at these swap
meats. Although some sellers won't
budge on their prices, others are willing to negotiate, especially if you catch
tbem as they're getting ready to leave.
Much of the haggling is carried on
in Spanish, a language this writer was
glad sbe didn't understand after bearing two men argue over tbe price of a
piece of luggage. As people walked by
nonchalantly, th* men seemed
prepared to fight over tbe suitcase.
Finally, one man handed tbe other
bills and walked off. suitcase in band.
Both parties looked a Utile smug.
Although the term "swap" means
to trade or to barter, most of the people
at swap meets will only trade their
goods for cash. (I tried trading my
cheap watch for a pair of plastic Devo
sunglasses but the lady wouldn't have
anything to do with me.)
Judging from the number of
strollers, swap meets are a great place
for family outings. How often can you
get into a zoo for only 50 cents?
Those who wish to observe tbe Sunnyside swap meet in all its glory should
go on a Sunday afternoon. Those wbo
want to avoid the crowds and the heat
should pick another time. However,
fewer people mean fewer bargains to
choose from.
One of the problems with swap
meets is their lack of consistency.
Buyers never know what they're going
to find. "People who coma looking lor
anything specific art often disappointed," says one regular buyer.
"But," she adds, "half the fun in just
coming out to see what's here."