1993_05 Insight May 1993

              May 5,1993
PageS
Precautions, common sense
best defense against car theft
♦ Fresno 'S rise in Car parking lot attendants.
thefts leaves victims. iSSSSS?.*—
provokes preventative right when p3^"8 1°™kcil harder
* * for a thief to tow your car.
measures.
By Felicia K. Chayt
Staff Writer
All cars are susceptible to crime
although some makes and models are
more commonly stolen. The reason
being that some cars are easier to
break into or their parts arc very desir-
Car thefts in Fresno have risen by
23 percent over the past year. Although no car is immune to crime,
there are ways to deter thieves.
The Fresno Police Department recommends some precautions and com-
mon-sense will decrease your risk of
becoming a victim. The more time-
consuming the car-theft is, the more
likely the thief will become discouraged or get caught.
Anti-lhcftdcvices such as an alarm-
system, steering whcelclub, fuel shut-
off, time-delay ignition, hood lock,
and time-delay fuse all are strong
deterrents.
Precautions to take are:
• Shut windows completely, small
gapsallowtheinscrtionofwirc used
to pry open locks.
• Never leave your car running unattended, not even for a minute.
• Don't conceal a spare key inside
or outside the car. Thieves know all
the hiding places.
• Avoid leaving keys widi garage or
• Keep a record of your car's identification information on you orathome.
• When parked in a lot specifically
designated for an event, don't leave
information wiih your address in the
glove compartment (check your
registration). If a thief breaks in. he
knows you arc not home and where
you live.
able among chop shops (illegal auto
stripping operations).
Car makes and models that have
been stolen more frequently arc
Oldsmobile Cudess. Buick Skylark,
Toyota (all models). Chevrolet
Camaro, and all pick-ups and vans.
Two car-theft victims who attend
CSUF had two things in
which made them more vulnerable.
Neither had anti-theft devices beyond
locked car doors. Both have cars ihat
arc commonly desired by thieves.
Cynthia M ance bo, an Agricultural
Business major, had her Chevrolet
broken into in parking lot G on a
Thursday night in September 1992.
The thief broke her door lock but still
could not gain entry so he shattered
the front passenger window. The
thief broke the cover on ihe steering
column to start the car. For some
reason, the thief abandoned ihc car at
this point instead of driving away.
Jennifer Swanson, Liberal Studies
Major, had her Oldsmobile Cudass
Supreme stolen while il was parked
outside an elementary school on
McKinley and First early in the afternoon. Her abandoned car was recovered by police 24 hours later in downtown Fresno. The car was vandalized
but it looked more like the work of
mischievous juveniles than professionals because it was not stripped for
parts.
Both women have since installed
anu-theft devices. Insurance polices
helped cover the cost of damage.
Although many people might consider themselves lucky because they
haven't been affected by car-ihcft, the
fact is that every car owner is victimized because it raises the rates of auto-
insurance policies.
Jeopardy player's dream come
true in Madden special collections
♦ Unique educational
materials, from
exhibits to artifacts,
offered by library.
By Robert Phipps
Staff Writer
Wandering through the S pecial Col -
lections Department at the Henry
Madden Library is like a Jeopardy
player's dream come true.
The department boasts thousands of
informational bylcs not available anywhere else, including materials in all
languages on international exhibits
and fairs from 1851 to 1940 and actual 20th Century rationing cards from
all over the world.
There arc books and papers on a
myriad of topics ranging from Chinese architcc is to failed treasure hunters, from William Blake to William
Saroyan.
Perhaps most significant is the Roy
J. Woodward Memorial Library of
California which emphasizes the
Fresno area and the entire San Joaquin
Valley but details the history of the
entire stale through books, newspapers, maps, artifacts and pamphlets.
Then there's the enology collection
which provides international information on grapes, wines, raisin and
wincmaking, again in all languages.
While several of the unique collections arc esoteric and not designed for
the average undergraiuaie student,
researchers from all over the globe
have called, written, faxed, wired,
phoned and visited the special collections department for their own pet
projects, according to Librarian Ron
Mahoncy.
Surprisingly, few of the collections
have been purchased in their entirety,
wiih most of ihc materials coming
from information junkies who had no
use of it anymore.
"Wc concentrate on research material for people to use here," Mahoney
said. "This collection is used by people
throughout the world, not just the
students."
Like oiher library departments, special collections is open to anyone with
an intcrcsL Materials can be requested
and examined, even photocopied, but
not checked out.
One of the most popular col lections
is on the history of worlds' fairs and
exhibitions which the librarian said
dozens of international students have
used as thesis projects.
The first third of the collection was
dedicated io ihe department by former
librarian Don Larson. It was then
tripled through other purchases.
JgpS^
"Once we got ihc demand for the
fairs collection, I wasn't just going to
let it die. I had to leam the subject. I
had to scrounge," Mahoney said.
"We're trying to bill this as a university library, so we Tried to buy certain
materials that should be in a university library," he added. "People are
not going to come here to research a
cup or a spoon. We're noiamuscum."
Courtesy of Henry Madden Library
Even today, however, Mahoncy still
has no idea cxacdy how many pieces
comprise each special collection.
"The late 1960s and early 70s is
when the state had some money."
Mahoncy said. "They were just throwing money at us. That's when many of
these purchases were made."
Former Fresno Bee reporter Gene
Rose is a constant user of the special
Students prepare for
anti-climatic ceremony
By Tracy TUllis
Staff Writer
Karen and Denise are graduating
from high school in June.
Their parents are preparing for
graduation parties full of entertainment with friends and family—a celebration of the end of an
era—high school.
The college graduation is not
nearly as festive.
Instead, the special day among
friends a waiting a name to be called
out to receive a diploma is gone,
only io be replaced by an impersonal and solo exit from a higher
institution where students are
merely numbers.
Jennifer Keeblc, 22, graduates
from CSUF in December. To her
the hype of graduation is highly
overrated.
Soon she will have to stand in an
endless line to process her graduation application and pay the fee
required even if she is not granted
graduate status.
If she is cleared she will then take
her trip to the Kennel Bookstore
where she will find caps and gowns
packaged and slacked in the back
of the room along with tassels and
pamphlets on graduation day procedures.
Ryan Pahlcr. 20, abookstore employee, says the School of Business students find the colorof their
tassels very unappealing. They are
unfortunate enough to havebrown,
while others have blue or white.
For the college student preparing to graduate, the hard work and
money spent io accommodate a
well-earned degree in higher education just do noi seem to have the
payoffs they did in high school.
"When you're in high school, it's
a big deal," Keeble said. "Some
kids will not go to college, for
others it's a stepping stone."
For these reasons, Keeble believes students are much more
emphatic about high school graduation.
After the greater accomplishment
of surviving university life for four,
five, and even six years, there is no
money left for celebration.
Keeble says students arc worried
about finding jobs. Parents would
rather provide money for the future than for a social
acknowledgement of academic
success, no matter how prestigious
it may seem to many students.
Despite the road blocks, Shaunna
Wulff, 21, is determined to make
her graduation a memorable one
and feels CSUF could put more of
an effort into helping her make
that happen.
"I think they should make it a
hype," Wulff said. "Yearbooks and
senior pictures should be provided
for students if they want to buy
them."
There was a time when CSUF
disuibuted yearbooks. Wulffs
mother received hers in 1963.
According to the Public Information Office the yearbook ended
its publication in 1970.
The CSUF Alumni Association
developed a senior book in the
early '80's as a replacement, but
that too was short-lived.
Although the mental and financial strains of college and future
decisions may have led to a graduation lackluster. Wulff feels that
students and faculty should give
graduating seniors the recognition
they deserve.
collections department, and author of
six books on subjects such as Shaver
Lake and Tioga Pass. As with those
books, as well as his newest work, a
history of the Sierra National Forest,
Rose gathered most of the necessary
information from one spot.
"I got into this because often in my
newspaper work I would have questions for which there was no answer,"
he said. "They've all been labors of
love. I think I may have recouped my
costs on one of them."
CurrcnUy, Rose is using an extensive special collection on the forest
donated by a California Department
of Forestry worker.
"The book looks at the forces and
factors that made the forest what it is
today," he said.
"My goal is to make this a human
history rather lhan a bureaucratic history. The library is a fantastic facility.
So few realize what a tremendous
asset it is. Thai's the kind of thing that
makes a book.
However, nol every subject is fodder for the department's interesL
Despite the fact that such litde researched topics as Torontoy Estate -
an attempt to develop a vast land tract
in Peru which was claimed to have
been source of Inca wealth - are available, many collections often go nowhere.
"This stuff has to tell a story,"
Mahoney said. "I don't want Joe
Blow's business records from 1900
on. What the hell am I going to do
with that?"
In the future, Mahoncy said he hopes
to acquire a collection of Cal Trans'
research papers as well as expanding
on other existing subjects.
"You go lo the big schools (libraries) and it's like going to the Kremlin.
You know, it seems like nuns run the
place," Mahoncy said. "Anyone who
comes in here for research is going to
get the red carpet."
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♦ CONGRADULATIONS PHIS! ♦
LAURA CAUDROS, SANDRA ESPINOZA|
CAROLYN FORTINO,ERYN KARIKKA
HAVE A TERRIFIC INSPIRATION WEEK
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