1992_05 Insight May 1992

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A brand new start for the Phi Mu sorority
By Stephanie
StaffWriter
Bojorquez
StaJ
During the 60s and early 70s
American college students
were concerned with the struggle of
the dvil rights movement, Vietnam
and "power to the women." This
was a difficult time for sororities
and many dosed down. Phi Mu at
Fresno State College was among
them.
Phi Mu recolonized at CSUF
around 1980, followed by years of
struggle before the inevitable close
before the fall 1991 semester.
While the Phi Mu house on
Millbrook Avenue stood vacant. Phi
Mu alumni refused to give up hope
and thought of the absence as temporary. These alumni planned to
resurrect the CSUF Phi Mu chapter
as soon as possible, and looked toward Phi Mu National for hdp.
The answer to their prayers was
the recent arrival of past national
officer Becky Peterson and chapter consultants Kim Young and
Sherri Swingle. Chapter consultants are recent alumni of the sorority who travel to chapters across
the nation providing support and
guidance.
Announcements of the impending return were sent to young
campus women in the dorms and
those whose names were provided
by fraternity men. More than 20
women quickly responded to the
announcement and were inter
viewed for membership by Young,
Swingle and Peterson.
Tina Vanderwege of Ponderosa
Hall and Graves Hall resident
Mindy Stackpoole were among
those who responded to these invitations and are now looking forward to the future of the rejuvenated Phi Mu.
Young, a recent graduate of
Virginia Tech, said that a
recolonization effort can only be
successful with the support of the
entireGreek system. The support
of the fraternities and sororities
has been outstanding," Young
said.
Before and during the
recolonization effort. Phi Mu was
spurred on by posters put up by
other sororities offering messages
of congratulations and encouragement.
Phi Mu hosted an open house
April 19 that wasattended by more
than 60 fraternity and sorority
members as well as potential
pledges.
Thirst drove Minnie Santillan
and Marrie Maciel toward the free
speech area to get something to
drink. Here they encountered
Young and Swingle in a Phi Mu
booth and learned of an opportunity to be part of a new beginning.
Santillan, a freshman sodal sri-
ence and psychology major said
that it intrigued her to be a part of
a sorority that would be new and
free of a label. "I felt like 1 could
help create a good image," she said.
Freshman Marketing
major Madd also has the
ambition to make a positive image of the new Phi
Mu on campus. "Everyone has a different idea
of what a sorority should
be," Madel said.
Peterson said that as
of May 2,38 women have
accepted bids and have
become "Phi's" (Phi Mu
pledges) and more will
be added to those numbers as interviews continue into the first few
weeks of May.
The new pledges will
be supervised and
guided in the building of
a new chapter by
Swingle, an alumnus of
the Phi Mu chapter at the
University of Tennessee,
and chapter consultant
Nicole Stine.
Instead of having officers the young chapter
will run on a committee
system. There will be
committees substituting
the various offices, each headed
by a chairman.
Peterson, national Phi Mu
president from 1966 to 1970, said
this system will help distinguish
who the leaders are and who may
be the next chapter president after
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The new Phi Mu members In front of the sorority house which they now occupy.
the new pledges are initiated in
August. "We're already seeing
who the leaders are," Peterson said
about the newest members.
Peterson, aware of image problems thelocal Phi Mu chapter faced
in the past, is hoping for a "com-,
patible, active group" that will
work well with each other, the
campus and the greek system.
The support that Phi Mu is re-
cdving from other CSUF sororities was best exemplified Friday,
May 1, when the Phi's gathered
for their first get together. While
more than two dozen of the new
members satinadrcleonthe grass
in "sorority mall," Delta Gamma
sisters crowded in upstairs windows of the DC. house and applauded.
Legality of surrogate motherhood challenged
By Christopher Heredia
Staff Writer
Technology has given motherhood
in the '90s a new dimension:
surrogacy. Some call it the unethical
"commerrialization of human life" or
"baby buying." Others say surrogate
parenting provides infertile couples with
the dream of a lifetime: a child.
The question of whether surrogacy is
to be a couple's dream or birth mother's
nigh tmare ha s yet to be answered by cou rts
in California.
Nationally, 11 of the 12 states that have
laws on commercial surrogacy forbid the
practice which involves the implanting of
sperm or a fertilized ovum in a woman
who will carry the child to term and then
relinquish it to the infertile parents.
The California Supreme Court will
enter tain its first surrogacy case sometime
this year. The Anna M. Johnson case, involving a woman who agreed to have a
baby for an infertile California couple,
made the courfsagenda in January. There
is no prediction about the date the case
may come up for review.
Controversy has erupted from the is
sue of surrogacy as mothers have c
does not accept surrogate candidates who    Surrogacy, Huddle said, aims "to get laws
traded to relinquish thdr babies, then are on welfare. This, she said, prevents the
changed thdr minds during pregnancy use of surrogacy as a primary source of
or shortly after, saying they don't want to    income. Nor would the center allow a first-
give up their babies.
The number of these cases is
when compared to conflicts over
tions, according to one pro-,
surrogacy lobbying group. The
area of la w that is applied in these
cases has been contract law. A
contract begins typically when
one party agrees to render services
in exchange for money.
The Center for Surrogate
Parenting in Beverly Hills, which
is sponsoring Senate Bill 937 to
regulate surrogate parenting and
small
adop-
time mother to enter a contract.
Strict guidelinesdo not preventexploita-
tion of women and children, said a Sacra-
"We support the right of a woman to
make this choice and for her to be
compensated monetarily for this,"
—Kate Sproul
enacted to prohibit contracting for children." Huddle said the Coalition opposes Senate Bill 937 because the bill
doesn't address the legality of a birth
mother accepting money for services
rendered in the gestation of the baby.
w§mmmm The National Coalition
Against Surrogacy is on record
as having 20 members, including former contract surrogate
mothers, la wyersand legislators,
against surrogate parenting.
"With SB 937, the woman
gives up her parental rights. She
does this before she has even
conceived the child. In essence,
omb can be any womb,"
ovum donor contracts, estimates that out mento spokeswoman for a national anti- Huddle said.
of 5,000 surrogate births nationwide, only surrogatytobbyinggroup.AttomeySharon         "That is what you call baby buying."
16 have resulted in litigation. Huddle, of the Washington, D.C.-based         The center advertises its need for sur-
"Ifs very legal and clear cut," said National Coalition Against Surrogacy, said rogatemothersintheclassifiedadvertise-
Edith Montelibano, an adoption coordi- she thinks poor women and women of ments of several California newspapers
nator and legal assistant for the center, color can be exploited during the process, and magazines, including the Los Ange-
"We've done it for 11 years with very few "Ifs not rich women who are going to les Times, Bay Area Parent, the Desert
problems." suffer.[TheCentcrforSurrogateParenting| Mailer, Nurse Week and Asian Week.
Montelibano said the reason for the can spout what they want," Huddle said. However, another spokeswoman with the
center'ssuccessisitsstrictguidelinesand "Noonehasseenanyofthdrrecords.They Center for Surrogate Parenting said the
review process that each surrogate can- won't allow it." group's client screening prevents any
didateand couple issubject to. Thecenter The   National   Coalition   Against exploitation from occurring.
"We believe the thorough screening
process is the most crucial part," said
Karen Chaves, a program administrator
for the center. Referring to the center's
rules against accepting first-time mothers
as surrogates, Chaves said, "No woman
should be put through that stress" of giving up her first baby.
"Once you have gone through thatex-
perience, we believe you are prepaied.
There's a great deal of psychological assessment that goes on," Chaves said. "Everyone has the opi nion that su rrogacy is a
volatile situation, yet there is actually less
risk than with adoption."
An infertile couple who comes to the
center can incur up to $40,000 in fees for
the process. The birth mother usually earns
about $10,000 to $12,000, Chaves said.
But the practice of surrogacy is becoming more popular, said Montelibano. "We
ha vea lot of couples inour waiting room,"
she said. "They wouldn't go forward with
it if they had great doubts.
"Of course there isal ways that fear that
the surrogate mother will change her
mind. But we have had no inddents of
that here.
Sm Surrogates, pago 0
Joanna and Lisa,
You're the greatest
get excited for
Initiation!!
Love Y.BS. and twin
Denise
Kristi-
Congratulations!:
Let's Play! We \
love you!      :
Amy & Claire j
Casey, You're the best big
sis! I'll miss you!
Theta love Josette
Joanna, SheMe,Chrissy
and Lisa,
Congrats Theta Sisters
Lovejbsette
*?Zs0O PettotwU
Tracey,.'
I love you and
I'll miss you lots
LgveYL.S.
 Chrissy
*-?   [Chrissy, Joanna &
[Shelie,
iQjngTatulations! I am so i
I excited you are Theta
I Sisters, I love you,
I Stephanie & Congratula- i
j tions Anna, I'll miss you! i'
_ §.*£PJ]i^I}!s _
Fall 1991
Congratulations
You did it we
love you!
Paige and
Heather H.
C    Kristi     "^
j Congratulations j
little one!
I love you
!     LoveYRS.     \
*.To my pledge sisters,*
• Congratulations! It •
j  was worth all the   •
• hard work!        I
• Noelle, I'll miss you! •
• 4
• Love Marissa       I
Chrissy
Congratulations!'
i We Love You! !
I  JodiandAmyi
l I
*i\myM.& Paige D.\
You are the best*
friends EVER! |
•You've made this*
semester so fun.:
. .Lpve^Darcy /
Congratulations to
my little sis Sue &
Debbie I'll miss
you!
You both mean a lot
tome,
Love Heather
f*
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