1998_05 Insight May 1998

              May 6. 1998
InSide
CSU seeing decline in white enrollment,
special recruiting efforts will target group
by Steve G. Echeverria
Jr.
Staff Writer
.   All Laura Medrona wanted
after graduating from high
school was to get out of Fresno.
"I had a hometown mentality and thought Fresno State was
a secondary college," said
Medrona, 25, thinking back on
her decision to attend California
Polytechnic State University,
San Luis Obispo rather than the
local university.
"San Luis had a tremendous
reputation in the major I chose,"
said the former San Joaquin
Memorial High School student,
who received degrees in speech
communication, political science
and ethnic studies last year.
Decisions made by white
students, like Medrona. have
helped account for a declining
trend of white student enrollment at Fresno State—there are
4,000 less on campus now than
seven years ago.
Exactly 11.238 white
students attended Fresno State in
1991, but by fall 1997. that
number decreased to 7,496, or
33 percent, according to the
university's Office of Institutional
Research, Planning and Assessment
The number of "minority"
students has increased from 6,045
in 1991 to 7,891 last fall, a 30
percent increase—a pattern
reflected in the 22 universities
composing the California State
University system.
"Recruiting efforts on campus
have tended to less targeted
towards Anglos," said Mark
Robinson, technician in Institutional Research, which collects
data on Fresno State students.
Because of the close relationship between state and regional
demographic trends and the CSU
system, it's probable there could
be a need for special recruitment
of white students. But the time
hasn't arrived, said Frances Pena.
director of outreach services,
which recruits prospective
students.
"What those figures show is
that the university is starting to
mirror the region it serves," Pena
said. "The number of minority
students in the CSU system
mirrors what the state looks like."
The state's white population
has declined since the 1990
census, from 57 percent to 53
percent by 1996. In Fresno, the trend
is the same. In 1970,69 percent of
the city's population was white;
twenty years later that population
declined to 20 percent, according to
the state's Department of Finance.
"Traditionally, white students
have had a higher eligibility rate
than minority students," Pena said.
"So, there is cause for concern for
the campus to find ways to attract
the 'traditional student.'"
There are two factors in the
overall drop in enrollment of white
students, said Fresno State President
John Welty.
"One is the change in demographics in the population in the
Central Valley." Welty said. "The
second factor is the ethnic make up
of high school graduates in the area."
Welty said the statistics reflect
the school's strong efforts to increase
minority enrollment at Fresno State.
Latinos continue to be the
largest minority group on campus.
Last semester, 4,704 Latinos
attended Fresno State, a 10 percent
increase between 1991 and 1997.
Luz Gonzalez, chair of the
Chicano and Latin-American studies
department, said recruitment has
been a tremendous factor in the
increase in minority students.
"We are known in the
community for serving our
minority students well," said
Gonzalez. "Because of the kind
of reputation Fresno State has
with the Latino community.
Latinos come to us." .   . „ ■
"I feel more comfortable
knowing we have a large population of minorities than if we
didn't because then I would feel
that we're not doing something
right," she said.
Robinson said although
university officials have been
concerned with demographic
changes at Fresno State, there has
been more concern for the
university's overall decline in
enrollment
In 1991. Fresno State had,
17.283 students; by 1997, 15387
students attend the school, an 11
percent decline.
Both Welty and Robinson
attribute the decline to a "severe"
budget reduction in 1992. a result
of statewide recession.
For Medrona, who returned
to Fresno after graduation, it
came down to one thing: "I
wanted to be far enough away
from home not to be home sick."
Commuter finds CSUF
worthy of long trip, cost
COMMUTERS, from page 1
Beddingfield said he is concerned that some students won't
find places to park. He hopes
more students start carpooling.
Beddingfield acknowledged that a
large portion of students already
take advantage of the university's
ridesharing services.
"I get a lot of students from
Visalia who request information
on ridesharing," Beddingfield
said. "I can't say for sure whether
any of them actually carpool, but
I have a good idea that many of
them do. It's not all that uncommon."
Beddingfield, who carpools
from Hanford, Calif, everyday,
said Fresno State, which is conveniently located near Freeway
41, is relatively easy to get to. He
said the traffic coming northbound
on Highway 99 and Freeway 41
into town isn't as bad the heavy
morning traffic he sees heading
southbound.
"It takes me about 35 to 40
minutes to get to school," he said.
"When I lived in Southern California, a 19-mile drive took almost
an hour and fifteen minutes. So
I'm used to driving."
For the students who carpool,
gas expenses really aren't an issue. In a typical carpooling situation, the prices are split among the
passengers. However, if one
chooses to commute solo, like
Cuadra, it can become costly.
"It gets expensive," said Cuadra
who spends almost $10 a day on gas.
"And I can't carpool because sometimes
I like to get to school early, or leave
early. When you carpool, you don't have
the freedom to do that."
Cuadra believes that there was really no other choice for her when it came
to selecting a four-year college.
"I transferred from College of the
Sequoias," Cuadra said. "Fresno State
is the closest university I could attend
without moving away from my family.
Besides. I can't afford to go to a private
school like Fresno Pacific."
And there is another reason why
Cuadra chooses not to move to Fresno.
"It's so violent in Fresno." she said.
"I mean, there's violence everywhere,
but in Fresno, there's just too much."
Cuadra, who previously lived in
Santa Cruz, said when she decided to
move to the Central Valley, her father
told her not to move to Fresno because
of its violence. Instead, she moved to
Visalia, which she says is a better place
to raise her two sons.
"As a single mom, I always try to
find the safest place to raise my children," she said.
Cuadra said she still doesn't want
to move to Fresno, but that she can tolerate one more semester of commuting.
Even though Cuadra often gets tired of
commuting, she believes that it is the
only way she can shelter her sons from
Fresno's violent element.
"I know there's going to be violence
everywhere, but I just feel safer in
Visalia," Cuadra said.
Knowledgeable students can petition for class exemptions
Understanding the
petition process is the
student's responsibility.
However, many CSUF
students find process
difficult.
by Eric Patrick
Staff Writer
You have been working in the
Biomed department at the local
hospital for five years when you
decide to continue your education.
To finish your general education
coursework you have to take
BioScience I A. You feel you could
teach this course. So why take it?
The answer, petition.
Whether transferring from a
state university, community college
or having work experience,
petitioning a class is a student's
right
Understanding the petitioning
process, though, is the student's
responsibility. Some Fresno State
students have found it is not easy.
The petition process is an
option for students who are
transferring from either a private
university, a California State
University, community college or
has work experience and feel
their general education
coursework from these institu-
"I have had
several cases the
past couple of
weeks that will
keep students
from graduation.
They still will be
able to walk
through
commencement,
but will have to
take a class the
first three weeks
of summer."
—Richard Arndt, director)
of Advising Services
tions meet the general education
requirements at Fresno State.
General education programs
are not identical throughout the
CSU system and other institutions.
Dr. Richard Amdt, director of
Advising Services, knows this all to
well. Amdt and the Student Academic Petitions Committee have the
authority to permit exceptions of
degree requirements.
"General education patterns of
other campuses do not always fit the
general education pattern at Fresno
State," Amdt said. "Yes, it (the class]
will transfer, but how will it transfer?
I have had several cases the past
couple of weeks that will keep
students from graduating. They still
will be able to walk through commencement, but will have to take a
class the first three weeks of
"On rare occasions we will
approve a petition, the majority of
the time it will be denied." said
Arndt.
"General
education patterns
of other campuses
do not always fit
the general
education pattern
at Fresno State."
—Richard Arndt
Rumors, misinformation from
friends and not understanding the
evaluator's advice arc other mistakes
students make in mapping out
general education requirements.
Students wanting to challenge
classes are required to submit a
petition to the Office of Admissions
and Advising Services. But submitting a petition does not always
guarantee a favorable outcome.
The General Catalog states: The
committee will take action only
upon the submission ofafonnal
petition by the student that sets forth
the facts and circumstances that
may warrant special consideration.
Revisions to conduct awaiting approval
CODE, from page 1
the core of ethical values of
respect and responsibility for
oneself and others, plus important
derivative values such as fairness,
honesty, trust, decency, and
compassion.
Among other additions in the
responsible citizenship category
were:
• Accept personal responsibility to exercise good judgment and
self-discipline on and off the
playing field/court and on and off
campus.
• Honorably represent oneself,
one's team and the university by
exhibiting pride in dress and
behavior while playing in and
traveling to and from sports events.
• Refrain from, and be
intolerant of, physical abuse,
harassment and intimidation.
The other major change took
part in the sub-title code of
conduct panel. It added that the
panel would make recommendations to the athletic director
regarding violations to the Code of
Conduct It also stated: the Athletic
Advisory Council has the authority
to recommend to the president that
the panel be convened to hear a
case.
"The general feeling among
everyone is that we want to make it
a better document" Bloom said.
"The idea was that it was a very
good cooperative, collaborative
approach. And I think the document
"I think we're
going to have the
best darn
document in the
country."
—John Shields, head of the
Academic Senate
will be better."-
Currently there have been
proposed changes to the Code of
Recruitment as well, but the
Athletic Advisory Council has yet
to vote on the changes to the
document.
Another key change within the
Code of Conduct was the disciplinary actions to be brought for
violating the Code. The original
Code of Conduct mandated
counseling as a disciplinary action.
But Shields felt that counseling was
a positive step, got a negative one.
So the code potentially now
would read: In addition, student-
athletes may be required to participate in assistance programs to
address behavioral problems.
"These are issues that were
very controversial and people could
have taken them die wrong way, but
they didn't," Shields said. "These
were very open discussions and
people listened to each other. I
thought it was a model of deliberations because people were so
receptive."
"I think that we're going to
have the best dam document in the
country," Bloom said. "I'm pretty
confident that when we're finished
hammering this thing out, we will
have as strong a policy as any
institution in the country."
According to a memo issued
out in early April by Welty, the
changes must be put into policy by
next fall.
e) USU PRODUCTIONS
TIM Hiffftry of Chicano MmIC"
DR.ToCO
Homecoming '98
Coming September 26, 1998
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.Jimm^iJIm
V IV.- TVU;Ouilm (22MUSSI.
Selena
Wednesday May 13th, 1998
8:00:p"m;
In the Satellite Student Union
Get Involved on Campus!
USU PRODUCTIONS Coordinator Positions Available-
Lite Tuesdays
Rof reation & Leisure
Coordinator applicuiom deadline extended to
Friday, May 8. 1998 at 5.-00 p.m. Applications available al
the USIJ Information Center. Call 278-2741 for more information
almut LSU Production* and a meeting schedule.
. For more information, visit our web site at
http:/ Zvvwwxsufresno.edu/USU/ productions
 or call 278-2078.	
Students may turn to their
major departments to make
changes and occasionally a
waiver or substitution with non-
general education courses. Work
experience and undergraduate
and graduate major requirements
from another university may be
challenged through the student's
department.
"The department chair has
the discretion to substitute one
course for another," said Dr.
Lilly Small, coordinator of
Ethnic Studies. Detailed
explanations for petitioning and
challenging courses can be
found in the General Catalog
and Schedule of Courses.
Insight
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