1993_09 Insight September 1993

              Page 8
Insight/California State University, Fresno
September 29,1993
House
friendship and support they found at
House of Hope changed their lives.
Located on the comer of Belmont
Avenue and Fast Street, the sky-blue,
brick building known as House of Hope
Even Bechara herself will probably
see her own annual salary of S25 320
shrink markedly due lo the funding
crisis the center now faces, which some
may argue is already inadequate com-
pcasation considering the kind of time
and effort she puts into the program.
members can gel off the streets, if only
for a few hours, and find refuge from
gang activity.
Although critics in the Fresno community have labeled it "a hangout for
gangs," House of Hope provides many
services—counseling, visiting kids in
juvenile hall and litigating between rival gangs—4haihave turned teenagers'
lives around.
Askany gang memrxrshooting pool
or reading in the study room and he will
lell you thebackboneof House of Hope
is director and founder Susan Bcchara.
Bechara, a native of Hong Kong,
began the project in 1987 from the
trunk of her car while volunteering ha
time at Fresno County Juvenile Hall
playing piano and counseling troubled
teenagers. She realized thenacenterfor
kids involved with gangs and gang-
related crimes was needed in Fresno.
The first votunieers at House of Hope
established a center in the basement of
SL Genevieve's Parish in west Fresno
until they relocated to Romain Playground just a block north of their
present-day location, in October 1989.
Cm Dec. 23. 1991, the center was
incorporaled as an independent nonprofit organization, enabling it to obtain meager funding from local government. Two months later, it settled at
3142 E Belmont Ave. with a rag-lag
band of die-hard volunteers. After
scrounging six years for public and
private funds to meet an austere operating budget, and changing locations
twice. House of Hope still spars with
city and county officials for legitimation and, more importantly, public financial backing.
The road hasn't been easy. From
July 1992 to September 1993, Bechara
ran Ihe entire center on $80,051. with
funding from the Fresno City Council,
Fresno County Board of Supervisors,
Chicano Youth Center and Refugee
Youth Services, among others.
However, roughly $28,200 of that
money is paid in-kind, not in real dollars, awl another S26300 has been discontinued for next year, cutting the
upcoming 1993-94 budget by more
than half in comparison to last year.
"Every child has
a dream and what
House of Hope
tries to do is
make that dream
come true."
—Susan Bechara
A typical work day for her is anything but typical. It usually stretches
into 12 hours of non-stop work, scurrying around the office, mildly scolding
children who skip school or smoke, or
shutding them off to school, in addition
*c rjnr.ir.g daily sffzrr ?™! •*»lancing
books.
She believes in touching each gang
member individually to find the child
within. She said this kind of individual
outreach is House of Hope's strength
and what separates it from other programs in town, such as Comprehensive
Youth Services, Save Our Sons and
Daughters (S.O.S.A.D.). or the Boys'
Club and Girls' Club. "We're not like
other organizations," she said. "Wc reach
out to the street children Grassroots
organizations like ours have a hands-
on, down-to-earth approach."
She said House of Hope's reputation
as a gang hangout started because its
volunteers are on the front lines.
"We are not condoning gang activity , bul the reality is wc arc dealing with
kids who are in gangs," she said The
youth we serve are the kind nobody else
wants so they'd rather not deal with
them anyway."
Jose Aguilar, a volunteer at the House
of Hope, said a lot of the negativity is
not only present in the kids' homes, but
inherent in the juvenile justice system
itself. He said police officers, juvenile
haU.probationofnccrs.Gilifornia Youth
Authority and even society at large only
focuscs on punishing kids for their crimes
without understanding why they commit them.
"People only look at the end product—the crime," said Aguilar. "But they
forget what it took for a kid to get
there—4he abuse, the beatings, the poverty. The old saying holds true 'Don't
judge a man until you've walked a mile
in his moccasins."
Bechara agreed. These kids are
raised in areas where people are illiterate, uneducated and depressed" she
said "Policing these children and in-
carccration is just a Band-Aid In order
to reach the root of the problem is to
come to that onc-on-one understanding
through outreach."
She believes gang members are just
children who never had anyone who
truly loves them or believes in them, so
she tries to provide that herself. "Every
child has a dream and what House of
Hope tries to do is make that dream
come true," she said.'"When a child is
told he's no good he believes he's no
good When all a child is fed is negative
things, that child cannot grow."
Bechara said when gang members
like those honored at the awards banquet forsake crime to pursue a dream, it
makes itall worthwhile. She said above
anything else, her love for the children
keeps her going even when the grim
reality of Ihe streets creeps in.
On the day of the awards banquet,
the jubilation was clouded by an incident fairly common around House of
Hope, one of the regulars was gunned
down in a drive-by shooting.
The night before, Bechara made a
routine house call to see some of her
"children," as she calls them. A dozen
Southeast Asian youths were crashed
out on the lawn, toking Marlboros, lamenting about how bad the San Fran-
cisco49ers were now thatloe Montana's
been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.
As she made her rounds giving maternal hugs, one aloof 19-year-old
named "Zapp" plodded down the front
steps of the house. He extended his
hand in a callous greeting. Ironically,
the artistic talent in that very hand
painted the message "United Nation-
aliiiesin Years to Come"on the house's
walls in brilliant, navy blue calligraphy
months earlier.
While walking a younger c h i Id home
later that evening, a car screeched by
and gunned Zapp down, wounding him
in the leg and abdomen. After seven
hours of surgery on his lower intestines
and an artery in his leg, he managed to
emerge in stable condition.
Les Dodson, a 42-year-old forma
gang member and volunteer at House
of Hope, stayed the entire night at Ihe
hospital with Zapp. He said Fresnans
are kidding themselves by assuming
Mayor Patterson's police task force
can crackdown on crime and "solve"
the gang problem. He hinted things
will get worse before they get better.
"Fresno needs to wake up, open its
eyes. Reality is slapping it in the face.
You're never going to get rid of gangs.
They are part of society. Gangs are
sprouting up in north Fresno and Clovis
now. People need to stop trying to get
rid of gangs and start dealing with
them."
Morris
Continued from page 3
to fly.
Morris airlines was started by Ju'te
Morris, 60, who openedatravel agency
in 1970 in ihe back of her husband's
photo processing shop.
Her air-charter company look off in
1984, and June was able lo buy used
Boeing 737s for $17 million each due
to a depressed market
In December 1992, her airline went
commercial, though shestin ofierschar-
tered flights and package savings.
Morris hopes to offer more flights in
ih* fiin«n»_ h«it i« harww on the west
doing short jumps.
"Most carriers who expand over-
expand" Chute said "We plan to stay
west of (he Mississippi."
And for now, in Fresno.
Salaries
Continued from page 1
has lost several presidents to less prestigious positions at other institutions
due to low salaries.
The former president of the 30,000-
student campus at CSU, Long Beach,
Curt McCray, transfered recenUy to an
Illinois liberal arts college with l ,500
students because of higher salary.
The substantially lower CSU salaries also affect recruitment.
CSU officials said salary increases
are necessary to stay competitive.
"We're losing presidents in our
searches," said Colleen Bendey-Adler,
manger of media relations for the CSU
chancellor. "Other institutions pay more
and obviously are more attractive."
President John D. Welty, who came
to CSUF three years ago. makes
$115,956 a year, one of Ihe lowest
presidential salaries in the CSU system. This year, the board set aside $17
million for staff and faculty salary adjustments. The $17 million is taken out
of the $50 mil
the 1993-94 budget.
The remaining $33 million,
MacCarthy said will go toward improving the quality of CSU campuses:
restoring classes and upgrade student
The exact distribution of the $17
mUlion.alongwithaprcsidential housing aliowance proposal, will be voted
on at the November Board of Trustees
meeting.
The chancellor will suggest individual salary raises for each CSU president, based on a review of the presi-
dents* performance, past experience
and complexity of the campus they're
managing.
TrwagendaforlheNovember meeting, including the chancellor's recommendations, will be publicized two
weeks before the meeting.
"There will be plenty of time for
public discussion," MacCarthy said.
CurrenUy, CSU presidential housing allowances range from $3,600 to
$26,400 annually.
Calling these numbers "destructively silly." Munitz said he seeks to
provide the presidents with $ 12,000 to
$21,600 annually.
Ofthe 20 CSUpresidents, six presidents, including Welty, live in university-owned houses and do not receive
housing allowances.
"They absolutely deserve an increase," Bentley-Adler said "Being a
CSU president is a very demanding
job."
Welty said his average work schedule is 12 to 15 hours on week days and
four to 10 hours on weekends.
"Student fee increases and salary
raises are two different issues," he
said "Fee increases directiy benefit
the students, essentially by improving
studentservices and providing enough
courses available to students." -
"Salary increases go under a different budget," he said
A presidential salary increase would
represent the first raise for CSU presidents since January 1991.
Munitz recommends the housing
allowances take effect soon after the
proposal passes the Board of Trustees,
while the salary increase should take
effect in January or April 1994.
McGowan
Continued from page 1
one ofhergoals is to become acquainted
with all of the department faculty.
Brown-McGowan, who grew up in
the North Huntington Township of
Pittsburg, began worimiginiinediaidy
after high school as a clerk in the pet
department of W.T. Grant Company.
At age 18, she became the credit
manager at one ofthe company's retail
outlets.
Brown-McGowan was first married
at the age of 19. Nine years later, she
decided to pursue a college degree.
With two children, Brown-
McGowan attended classes full-time.
"It was rough. I was one of what they
call the 'new poor'," said Brown-
McGowan, whoreceived her bachelor's
Vice President for Personnel
Sharon Brown-McGowan
degree in business administration from
IUP. "Life was a little difficult"
After receiving her bachelor's degree, Brown-McGowan strived for her
master's degree in business administration
.She then decided to pursue a doctorate in higher education administration,
field policy planning and evaluation at
the University of Pittsburg.
In addition to attending classes for
her doctorate, which she received in
April 1992, she held various positions
at IUP, such as: superintendent of pay-
roll for corrections education and assistant to the vice president for finance
CSUF President John Welty worked
with Brown-McGowan at IUP while
she was assistant to Ihe vice president
for finance and assistant to the provost
"She did an excellent job in both of
those positions," Welty said
"I believe she will be a valuable
addition to the university administration."
* 10% OFF WITH FSU ID CARD
i Family-owned and managed, Fabiano s imports gourmet
% beans from around the world. Enjoy fresh-roasted
* coffee and delicious food in a unique atmosphere. Ask
JJ about coffee classes and/coffee cupping.'
■J 771 West Sluw Avenue / 298-6445 £
5 NE Corner of SHaw & willow Ixtween dovls atWetIc dubs ■,
j"3"visffs"|
|_j$ioL()q_
""month
Unlimited tanning'
i $ 29.95
L- I v
♦ NEW HIGH INTENSITY WOLFF SYSTEM BEDS
♦ SHOW YOUR STUDENT I.D. OR HEALTH CLUB
MEMBERSHIP CARD FOR A 10% DISCOUNT ON
ALL TANNING SESSIONS.
♦MANICURISTS AND MASSAGE AVAILABLE
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE AND COMFORT.
BULLDOG PLAZA
BARSTOW & CEDAR, 431-4282
Now Accepting Applications
ENJOY THE BEST SEMESTER
OF YOUR COLLEGE CAREER!!!
For more information contact Carta Millar, London Semester Office,
CSU Fresno, Musk Bldg, to 1M, or all (209) 278-3056
NEVERTOOLATE.
CRE, you could b* Uklng Um tot lo
fliU^S<or.r«portii1r«m^VdlOU)15(UTilit«T,tripl*t.t7rfUm.r()rrn
Unn-CiUDOwfortiuUnlrfglilTilJoii.    KstisuisootA TtHlnj Serrtce
•fJt-Sylvon Technology Center**
Solid savings on hardwood furniture. Unbeatable prices
on our best selling hardwood furniture. Specially designed
for small size kitchens and breakfast nooks, our natural
finish, solid wood dining set provides stylish dining for
two for under $140! Easy assembly.
Table «+, mmr\ nn   Chair
00
29x29x30"H.   *  £Jw   32"H.
Reg. $99.00. Reg. $34.00.
$2900
tffllUB
GALLERY PLAZA Weill  MAIKIT
Northwest corner of Fresno and Shaw 226-4444
INSIGHT
ADVERTISING
613 W. Shaw
Fashion Fair
Catch the QB1 Monday night football party
every Monday Night! And take advantage of
our Happy Hour and Late Night Specials.
Fresno Village Florist
• Flowers for weddings, parties,      435^)116
funerals & special occasions
• Green & blooming plants    1085 E. Hemdon Ave.
•Silk flower arrangements at First St
•Selected gifts &irrports      Ne^£^^S
RESEARCH INFORMAUON
Largest Library of Information in U.S
19,278 TOPICS-ALL SUBJECTS
Order Catalog Today with Visa, M/C or COD
310-477-8226
Or rush $2.00 to: Research Information
1132 Idaho Ave. #206-A. Los Angeles, CA 90025
CALL 278-3934
STORAGE AS LOW AS $12.00
MQ DEPOSITS
• Access 7 days a week
• Units from garage to closet size
• Electrical security
• Resident managers
• Free use of dollies and carls
Shaw I Thrifty
Mini Storage I Mini Storage
222-7479
2633 W. Shaw Ave.
Between Marks & Van Ness
226-6655
4420 N. Blackstone Ave.
Between Ashlan & Gettysburg
HYPER HAIR
Your family Hair Care Center
OSyiF SffluMtoiroft SpieM
Hair Cut $6 Reg. 8 No appointment necessary
Perm$35Reg40 2794 Wilow, Suite #103
Spiral $50 Reg. 60 Comer of Gettysburg & Wiow
Weave $45+Reg 50+ 291-5242
(
^■^ APARTMENTS ^"^J
FURNISHED OR UNFURNISHED
Experience our
1 BEDROOM LOFT or THE ULTIMATE IN SHARED LIVING
in our Double Studio. YOU SHARE ONLY THE KITCHEN.
Your Studio ia TOTALLY PRIVATE!
■ Weight Room
■ Barbecue Areas
■ Pool and Spa
■ Bicycle Racks
1475 Bulldog Lane 22M5M
LOCATED BETWEEN BARSTOW AND SHAW WKffT OF CKPAR