1993_10 Insight October 1993

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Cultural diversity
Dr. Carlos Cortes, a noted University of California* Riverside
professor, will speak on Thursday, Oct 21 at the CSUF University Business Center's Alice Peters Auditorum at 7:30 p.m.
He will explore the issue of
cultural diversity and unity in the
United States, and discuss what
thcnaiion'schangingdemograph-
ics mean to the future of the United
States. Cortes is well-known for
his research into Hispanic culture.
In addition to teaching, Cones has
served as an Associated Press reporter and magazine editor.
Peace in Israel
Ya'acov Ahimcir.aparliamen-
tary correspondent and chief editor and anchorman of Israeli TV
News, will speak at the Satellite
Student Union at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct 26on the subjectof "The
Israel: AJournalisi'sPcrspcctive."
Admission is free. For more information, contact Professor Diane
Harris, 278-6237.
Ag open house
Open house in the university's
newly renovated agricultural laboratories and facilities will be part
of a special cclebrauon on Saturday, Ocl 16.
The public is invited to attend
the dedication of the facilites at
3:30 p.m. Included with the new
facilities arc a Graduate Research
Laboratory, the new Pavilion, adjacent animal science meat laboratories and the Victiculture and
Enology Research Center.
The teaching and research facilities along Barstow Avenue will
be open for self-paced tours beginning at noon. For further informauon, contact the School of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at 278-2061.
Business party
Making contacts in Fresno's
business community will be the
focus of an upcoming party for
CSUF business students.
The event is sponsored by the
Fresno organizau'on Business Associates.
The organization comprises
prominent community business
leaders interested in keeping an
informal relationship with the Sid
Craig Business School and its students.
The mixer is on Oct. 27 and is
expected to draw more than 150
people.
Alcohol awareness
The campus group Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning
the Health of University StudcnLs
(B ACCUS) will meet at 8 p.m. on
Mondays in thcGraves residential
hall lobby.
More information is available
at the meetings or by calling
BACCUS president Mary Sicrcn
at 278-3877.
Muslim club
CSUFs Free Speech Area is
home to the new Muslim Student
Organization booth, where information about the Islamic religion
may be obtained.
Students may inquire about the
Muslim Student Organization at
Masjid Fresno, 2111 Shaw Ave.
or call 225-4725.
Support groups
The Re-entry Program offers
support group meetings weekly in
the Special Services S tudent Center, located in the west wing of the
Cafeteria building. They include
Parent-Child Communication
from 3 p.m. to 4 r/tm. on Monday;
Career Decision-Making Seminars from 5:15 p.m. to 6.15 p.m.
on Monday;andaSinglcsSupport
Group from noon to 1 p.m. on
Tuesday.
Gathering of women
The Valley Women's Books
and Gifts shop celebrated National Coming Out Day on Ocl
11. As part of the celebration, the
shop will be hosting "A Gathering
of Women 11" on Sunday, Ocl 17.
from 10 ajn. until 4 pjn. The
event will feature booths, speakers and entertainers. For more informauon, call 233-3600.
Tatarian speaks
Roger Taiarian, CSUF professor emeritus of journalism, speaks
on "Heroes, Liars and Scoundrels
I Have Known" in the Henry Madden Library at 6:30 p.m. on Fri-"
day, Nov. 19. Advance registra-
tion is required and may be made
by calling 278-2587.
October 13,1993
Volume 25, Issue 5
K*r«ToUi/INSIGHT
Monotrlbal leader Ron Goodo reflects on the land In quest lonatthe controversial proposed University
of California site, where there Is evidence of ancient Native American settlements.
Ancient artifacts
spur controversy
Native Americans, environmentalists don't dig
proposed UC campus site
in the San Joaquin Valley
By Michele D'Ambrosio
Staff Writer
The selection process for the 10th
University of California campus proposed for the San Joaquin Valley is
caught in a tangled web of conflicting
interests.
Fresno County officials hold high
hopes for development of Fresno's
Academy site at the base of the Sierra
Nevada foothills, bul environmentalists fear the loss of biological diversity
and species'habitats if the area is devel
oped. Recently, archaeological sites
were identified that are considered
sacred to local Indians, and some say
they should remain undisturbed.
While the ailing California budget
suspended plans for the proposed UC
campus in May, die process was rejuvenated by regents in July.
Last month. Governor Wilson
signed a bill to spend S1.5 million for
environmental studies of proposed
campus sites in Fresno, Madera and
Merced counties.
The two sites closest to Fresno,
Tabletop Mountain and Academy,
hold special significance to Native
Americans.
Christopher Adams, director of
long-range planning for the UC system, said various question will be
addressed by the environmental impact rcpon.
KirtnTolh/lNSIGHT
Unearthed artifacts, such as this
bowl ha nded down from two previous generations, could be In
jeopardy if a site Is developed.
"I know the Academy site has cultural significance toNauvc Americans,
but the area also holds local historical
significance to the general public,"
Adams said." Wc arc concerned about
any number of issues that would affect
the site, whether it be an endangered
plantor animal species, geology or soil
samples, or storm drainage."
Fresno County has already conducted its own invesugauon of 11,000
acres surrounding die Academy pro-
See ARTIFACTS, page 2
Access for
disabled
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Library's new automatic doors make life
easier for disabled
By May Xaykaothao
Staff Writer
Next time you open a door, try
this: put down your books and bags,
heave the door open and while you
pick your stuff up again, hope mat
the door won't slam shut before you
make it through.
People in wheelchairs face this
challenge at each one of a thousand
campus doors.
That's why the new $38300 installation of automatic sliding
doors at the Henry Madden Library
and the Joyal A dm inistration Building are not a luxury, but a necessity
for the disabled.
Wcldon Percy, coordinator of
CSUF's Disabled Student Services
program at CSUF, said ramps and
automatic doors arc in all campus
buildings andclcvators arc stationed
in all instructional areas.
Starting as a student assistant in
1974, Percy now holds a management position, bul said he does miss
the frequent student contacL
Although physical access is the
responsibility of the campus, the
office does act as a consultant to
those involved in providing access
for the disabled.
Disabled Student Services is a
program that provides academic
support for die disabled to overcome challenges ihey may face in
die academic field.
"Wc sec only those who wish to
receive the services wc provide, "
Percy said. "They voluntarily disclose their disability and request die
service ihey feel is the most appropriate for diem. ,
"Wc just wish wc had more services
to provide, bul die budgetcuishave left
us widi more than a generous amount
to work with," he said.
For Thai Yang, a freshman majoring in graphic design, campus accessibility is pretty good.
"I once had trouble going through
the doors of the Institute of Technol-.
ogy, but my teacher called some workers in and the doors were widened the
next day."
At the age of two, polio robbed the
asc of Yang's legs.
"I can't walk again, but I have feeling in my legs," Yang said.
"The wheelchair ismy lifeand walking is a different course I just didn't
take.
"I didn't stan to use a wheelchair
until about 10 years ago because it was
heavy and people looked at you funny,
so instead I used a skateboard," he said.
As a bonus for his participation in
track, road racing and basketball, he is
awarded each year widi a slighdy used
wheelchair from his coach.
"I'd like to set up an organization to
hclpfund for wheelchairs because they
costanywherc from S1300IOS2300."
he said.
Yang would like to sec lower office
windows on campus, such as those in
the Admissions and Cashiers' offices*.
as be has hurt his neck in the past from
having to look up or reach for docu-
mcnLs.
Like Yang, photography student
Tommy Monrcal is also concerned
about campus accessibility.
Monrcal remembers not being able
to enroll in a class he wanted because
his wheelchair crowded space.
Montreal believes his talents arc lim-:
itcd without the course and wishes he
See DISABLED, page 6
Campus mail thieves push the envelope
By Erik Loyd
Staff Writer
The portable mail kiosk on campus,
which sits near the automatic bank
teller machines just east of the McKce-
Fisk Building, is an oasis of convenience for students.
Itoffcrs do-it-yourself postal availability, including stamp vending, parcel shipment, foreign air mail and letter
deposits year-round.
Not suprisingly, die peak mail season is around Christmas, while mail
volume slows during the summer
months.
Letter volume is measured by the
fooL Postal Service technician Stephen
Pullman said a typical day's haul of
outgoing letters is between 10 and 12
feeL
Because many foreign students live
on campus, the mail facility is their
main outlet to the world, but the majority of letters are domestic.
Student Susan Aihenon says she
uses die facility about two timesa week
and occasionally buys stamps.
"I live in an apartment, and it's
sometimes difficult to mail from there,"
Aihenon said.  -
"I even know when the pick-up times
Mail is collected at 10 a.m. and 4
p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The nearest collection point after
5 p.m. is at Fashion Fair Mall, west of
CSUF on Shaw Avenue.
Student Karen Menjiuar also uses
the kiosk about twice a week.
"It'sconvcnicnL" Menjiuarsai A "I 'd
probably have to walk to one of those
boxes on the streeL If I ever run out of
stamps, I'd buy them here"
Although mail boxes can alsoaitraci
thieves or vandals, the campus facility
is quite secure.
Gil Franco, campus police dispatcher, said there have been no recent
incidents of tampering.
"Occasionally, there will be a malfunction with the alarm," Franco said.
"Then we'll have to reset iL"
Student Paul Lassman said he perfcrs
the facility's security to mailing from
his apartment complex.
"I use it quite a bit," said Lassman,
who frequents the kiosk up to three
times a week. "It's also a good place lo
get change for doing laundry, etc. It's
safer than my complex, and on postage, it saves me a 15-to 20-minutc
drive one way."
Ed Ayala, a postal inspection service operations technician, also said he
wasn't aware of any recent thefts or
acts of vandalism.
Patricia Ford-Smith,apostal inspector, soul die most recent break-in of the
facility was about two years ago. The
man, who was not a student, was arrested and con victed after a joint investigation by the Postal Service and campus police.
"He was breaking into classrooms
and things like thau" said Ford-Smith.
"He was seen by a janitor."
Ford-Smith said the convincing evidence was ihc identical marks left by
die tools the thief used elsewhere.
Tampering with any mail facility is
a federal offense, which can warrant a
See MAIL, page 6
Students blow fuse
over computer fees
This is the first of a two-part series
about the $15 charges for computer,
primer use in lab classes. The second
half will focus on allocation of funds.
By David Donnelly	
Staff Writer
The S15 bill students are finding in
their mailboxes for computer-related
courses has got some of them ready to
blow a microchip.
"I'm extremely upscL" said CSUF
graphic design major Ofir Levy. "We
already pay enough. I thought our
lutition covered that, but I guess I was
wrong."
And Matt Soby, a mass communication and journalism major, said he
wasn't too pleased to get charged for
two classes, cartography and photography. "I'm hot aboul this," he said
"They're threatening to put financial
holds on my records."
Soby said he's upset that people are
being charged to use equipment that
isn't operable. The computers have
eaten two of m y disks," he said. "I don' t
think I should have to pay for computers and printers that don't work."
According to Helen Gigliotti, associate provost of Academic Resources,
the $15 lab fee was imposed during the
1992-93 school year in an attempt to
help compensate for budget cuts.
"Wc were in the planning stages for
a couple of years," Gigliotti said. "It
was getting to the point where wc
couldn't maintain the labs property."
Gigliotti said die computer charges
didn't just come out of the blue. "We
knew about how much money wc would
have to raise because we knew what
our bills were," she said. "Wcaskcd the
schools lo submit to us a list of courses
in which they felt computer use was
moderate to heavy and the charge would
be justified. Then wc looked at student
enrollment in those courses and we
divided one into the other."
During the 1993 fall semester, stu-
See COMPUTERS, page 6