1997_10 Insight October 1997

              ViewPoint
From Mir
to eternity
■ Risky space ventures threaten
civilians and astronauts alike.
NASA should think safety first.
Insight
California State University, Fresno M Oct. 1,1997
Volun»29Numb«T4 ^^^      ^^m
SPORTS
Full house
I Attendance
records
being set at
women's
soccer
matches.
i
With debt do us part
by Matt Kreamer
StaffWriter
$he doesn't know the exact moment
when her debt overran her. But for
Liz Vogt. it was sometime between
age 17, when she got her first credit
card, and age 21. when she filed for
bankruptcy with 14 of them.
, "At first, I was really good about keeping
the balances low and paying them off," said
Vogt. a graduate student in English. "But after I moved out of my parents' house, it started
getting worse. I went on a rampage for almost a year. I think with credit cards it's a
feeling of power — you can go and buy anything."
That feeling of power often turns to helplessness for college students like Vogt, who
can eventually drown in debt. In fact, she owed
creditors about $31,000 when she filed for
bankruptcy, enough for a full ride at Fresno
State for three years.
Leo Vail knows about the euphoria students
like Vogt feel from having credit cards. He
relies on it for his living.
Vail comes to campus every few weeks to
secure student credit card applications for
companies such as CitiBank and Discover.
Working as an independent contractor, he
erects a makeshift office under a blue tent,
then accosts passing students like a carnival
game worker on the midway of a county fair.
"Come over here and fill out an application. If I get one more, I can go home but it's
got to be a pretty young lady." he yelled to a
passing young woman on campus last month.
The woman continued on, and the smooth-
talking Vail moved on to a group of students
Graduation a struggle, not fresh
start as students drown in debt
nearby. He gets paid for each completed application he returns to the company, but he
would not say how much.
In fact, he said CitiBank officials told him
to provide fictional answers to questions from
reporters. Several calls to Citibank's South-
em California offices were not returned.
Vail said his concern for students ends right
after hCgcts completed applications. How
they use, or abuse, the credit cards makes no
difference to him.
"If they bury themselves, they bury themselves," he said.
Student loans add to debt
The fact is, students are buried in debt.
Credit card debt is rampant among college
students. According to the Chronicle of
Higher Education, the problem is so bad that
some schools - Northwestern, Tufts and Wid-
ener Universities and Boston and Rollins
Colleges - have banned credit card representatives from soliciting students on their cam-
Credit cards are not the only culprit.
More than half of Fresno State students
have federal student loans they must begin
repaying no later than six months after gradu-
That's a 210 percent increase in Fresno
State borrowers since 1992. though the estimated cost of attendance rose less than 18 percent during the same time.
"I have seen a dramatic increase, an escalation, an explosion in the number of people
who have elected to borrow," said Joseph
Heuston, director of financial aid at Fresno
State.
See DEBT, page 3
"Team GTE" seeks
proposed CSU deal
I Trustees negotiate with
technology corporations
to rebuild infrastructure.
by Martin Reed
StaffWriter
The California Slate University Trustees
have agreed to negotiate a contract that
would pay more than $122 million a year
to a handful of technology corporations.
In exchange, these businesses would upgrade the technology infrastructure within
the CSU system, according to a memo
"■=) University Budget Committee Chair Bill
I   Fasse sent to the Academic Senate.
Fasse's nine-page memo, which called
the corporate proposal "fast-tracked," was
the result of a budget committee analysis
of the California Education Technology Initiative (CETI).
In the memo, he requested a six-month
extension, to July 1,1998, before the t
give final approval on the plan.
The CSU delegates arc negotiating with a
group of companies known as Team GTE. The
team includes GTE, Fujitsu Business Communications Systems, Hughes Global Services and Microsoft Corporation, according
to the memo.
The stated mission of Team GTE is to "provide a reasonable return to the shareholders,"
according to a Sept. 16, 1997 CETI Business
Plan Summary, developed with the CSU
Systemwide Internal Partnership.
In the University Budget Committee memo,
Fasse said the committee has several serious
concerns about the plan, and he urged the faculty to examine the proposal immediately.
The committee's worries include the relegation of the CSU to a minor stakeholder,
the sale of CETI-controlled courses and the
sale of CETI educational content acquired
from private industry and sold under CSU
auspices.
See DEAL, page 2
Academic Senate considers
code of ethics for athletes
By Derek Walter
Staff Writer
Professor John Shields said he had enough.
He had enough of what he saw as a "overly
tolerant" attitude By the university towards the
conduct of its athletes.
So the Academic Senate member decided
it was time to take action. He introduced a
proposal that has quickly caught nationwide
attention.
His resolution entitled "Have We No
Shame?" calls for a code of conduct for players and consideration of "good character"
when Fresno State athletes are recruited.
He said the last straw was the recruitment
of men's basketball player Courtney
Alexander. While at the University of Virginia,
Alexander was convicted of beating his fiancee.
Shields made his disgust clear with a note
stuck to a Fresno Bee article about the university accepting Alexander.
The note reads, "I don't think so!"
The agriculture economics professor then
began writing his proposal, which he introduced to the Senate on Sept. IS.
The resolution was originally scheduled to
be voted on during the most recent meeting
on Monday, but there was so much discussion the meeting was halted after it ran nearly
an hour over schedule.
The Senate will take up the matter again
on Monday, Oct. 8 by considering a revised
version of Shields' original motion. The revised motion "exhorts" the athletics department to develop a "code of conduct and discipline" to be signed by all athletes.
It also calls for the development of a "code
of recruitment and scholarships."
Shields also alos proposed "policy enforcement mechanisms" in place to ensure the new
rules are followed. The idea came out of a
long period of Shields' involvement with athletic and university issues.
"I had the idea even before (the Alexander
case) because it's been a big problem on this
campus and nationwide," he said. "Even back
in the '80s, it was a problem."
Shields has been long familiar with the
problem. From l992-'96, he has sat on the
Academic Senate's Academic Policy and
Planning Committee, and he has dealt with
academic eligibility and other policies relating to athletics.
Shields says the university has treated athletes in trouble tooJpniently, and it's hurting
the school's reputation.
"fknow of faculty who have attended academic conferences and have been scorched
and ripped for the institution they belong to"
and the athletes connected to it, he said.
And he says that reputation has got to
change.
Shields said he got ideas from an article in
See SHIELDS, page 3
Student Fee Comparison
Resident
student
registration
fee
$1,000 $2,000 $3,000
■ Nonresident students
find financial trouble
with quadrupled fees.
by Yukie Kimura
Staff Writer
Many immigrants believe America is
the place to make their fortunes and to
change their social standing dramatically.
Yoshiuki Yamaguchi believed it too. He
wanted to achieve the American Dream.
But now he realizes that pursuing his
dream comes at a great cost.
About four years ago, Yamaguchi left
Japan for Fresno to become a computer
programmer. Now, eight months from his
graduation from Fresno State, he finds
himself more than $50,000 in debt.
"I am the debt king," said Yamaguchi,
22. It will take him years to pay it all back.
Yamaguchi is one of about 600 international students who attend Fresno State,
and his case is not isolated. Ten percent
of the university's international students
face financial difficulties, said Manuel
Nunez. Fresno State's international student counselor.
He said the problems start when international students pay tuition fees of
$3,690 and registration fees of $903 for a
15 unit-semester.
Tuition for international students is high
because they don't pay federal or state
income taxes, Nunez explained. Through
tuition, international students can pay
their share of education costs at a California state university.
Unforeseen situations, such as family
illnesses or business setbacks, sometimes
See FEES, page 3
Culture and kicks
Insight photo by Diane Sorondo
Performances from more than half a dozen cultures highlighted the International Student Services and Programs'
annual Culture Night on Friday. A Japanese martial arts display delighted spectators.
Celebration brings foreign students together
by Ahmed Hussain
Staff Writer
Culture, diversity and music all came together last Friday
night, as the International Student Services and Programs
(ISSP) office held its annual Culture Night event.
The event, which began over 15 years ago. brings international
students together to share their culture and music on campus. Performances included poetry, songs and instrumental music from
Greece, Peru, Taiwan, Japan. Kuwait, England and Africa.
ISSP director Carol Munshower said she has been part of the
event since 1982.
"It's a chance for international students to work together and
get together. It is a great way to start off the year." Munshower
said.
Along with Culture Night. ISSP also sponsors other events such
as Graduation Night for international students.
"We allow the students to decide what they want to do for this
event," Munshower said.
Emil Milevoj, who has organized theevent the last three years.
said that Culture Night is more e
come together.
The event provides opportunities for international students to
show off something from their home countries, and the) are usually eager to do so. Milevoj said.
The event started at 7 p.m. Friday with an introductory speech
by Munshower, followed by the opening act. Greek guitarist loannis
Anastassakis.
Dancing and more music followed, and the crow d u .itched martial arts demonstrations and shared long-cherished stories.
The Malaysian student organization set up a "pantomime." combining aspects ol art. music, dance and the martial art called silat,
all in one.
The performers told a story of a king who once ruled over Malaysia. The king murdered a pregnant woman for eating his fruit,
betraying the woman's husband who had sacrificed everything for
his king.
The pantomime ended with the husband killing the king.
A mambo dance organized and performed by a Latin American
student group concluded Culture Night.
Repairs come slowly for crumbling classrooms
■ University faces a
renovations backlog of
$50 million.
by Mick Wingert
StaffWriter
Years of penciled love notes and obscenities mar the discolored beige walls by the
doorway of the room.
In the corner, high above in a square untouched by paint, several half-foot-long
sealed pipes jut out.
-   .
A new PVC pipe runs from that comer into
the ceiling above, its bareness an eyesore
among the already drab surroundings.
The ancient moulding on the base of the
walls continues to split, revealing its glue.
Welcome to room 213 of the Family Food
Sciences building, a Fresno State classroom
professors depend on for teaching and in
which students expect to learn.
Over the years, maintenance crews have
tackled health hazards but now the university
is due for a $50 million face-lift. Maintenance
crews have only scratched the surface of the
university's renovation needs.
Director of Facilities Robert Boyd indicated
that the $50 million would meet only the basic infrastructure needs of the University.
"This would just cover the infrastructure of
roads, roofs^and utilities like heating and ventilation." Boyd said. "I can't even estimate
what it would cost to completely renovate and
reconstruct this campus."
Deborah Adishian-Astone. director of facilities planning, said that any building built
before 1988 needs major renovation.
With many buildings dating back to the
1960s, the age of Fresno State is beginning to
show. Walls are peeling, tiles are coming off.
See RENOVATIONS, page 2