1997_09 Insight September 1997

              Lifestyle
Wanna play?
I Bill Bellamy
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Insight
California State University, Fresno M Sept.  10,1997
Vol,™ 30 Numb,, . ^^^^^
SPORTS
Top Dog
I Bulldogs soar in Pat Hill's head
coaching debut; look to
rebound after loss to Bears
Are Students Safe?
People generally don't pay much attention to crime
statistics. They're numbers tossed around and
manipulated to support countless hypotheses. They
don't show faces. They don't tell stories. They don't tell
of dreams shattered or opportunities lost.
It's not until a crime hits home — until it becomes
personal — that people pay attention.
When Krista Hambrock was stabbed to death in
1980. When Debbie Dorian was raped and killed in her
apartment in 1996. When Andrea Born was shot in the
head and burned beyond recognition in July.
And when Malcolm Boyd was beaten in the head with
a lead pipe almost three weeks ago.
These crimes hit home. Each of them Fresno State
students, each of them leaving their peers asking "why?
In 1996, more violent crimes, including homicides,
rapes, robberies and aggrivated assaults, were
committed at Fresno State than at all but one other
campus in the California State University system.
Here's an in-depth look at how crime affects the
Fresno State community:
Campus crime
rate is among
highest in the
CSU system
by Martin Reed
Staff Writer
There is not a statistic that reflects the families waiting in hospitals, the families that do not know whether
their children will live or die.
The parents of Malcolm Boyd have been quietly
waiting like that for more than two weeks. Thai is how
long it has been since the 24-year-old Fresno State student was brutally attacked with a pipe.
Prosecutors have charged 20-year-old Jerry Joseph
Hamilton of Clovis with attempted murder in the beating, and have added extra charges that characterize the
assault as causing great bodily injury and as a hate
crime.
The display of hate Malcolm Boyd suffered this past
August 23 is a reminder that crime is increasing.
Fresno police reports show assaults have increased
80 percent from 1991 to 1996 in the off-campus area
where Boyd was attacked..
In the 1996 California State University annual report of crime statistics, a collection from all 22 campuses in the CSU system, Fresno State ranked second-
highest in the total number of Part 1 offenses.
These offenses include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny/theft and motor vehicle theft.
Only California State University, San Diego ranked
worse than Fresno State.
Crime is prevalent around Fresno State. The attack
on Boyd will eventually become a statistic in the Fresno
Police Department's annual crime summary. Yet for
many, the ultimate result of this off-campus assault is
the realization that crime can affect anyone at anytime.
In overall crime totals for 1996, Fresno State ranked
third-highest, according to the CSU annual crime report.
"Across the nation, Fresno State ranks well below
universities with over 10,000 students, especially in
violent crimes and crimes against people." said Fresno
State President John Welty.
"There has been a significant decline in part I offenses and other significant crimes across the city."
added Fresno police Lt. John Fries. "On a national level,
violent crime has been going down."
Yet on campus, Fresno State reported 13 aggravated
See CRIME, page 2
Dewayne Thomas, above, was one of about six speakers at a September 4
candlelight vigil for Malcolm Boyd. Boyd, 24, was the victim of a racially motivated
attack August 23. Fresno State President John D. Welty also spoke at the vigil.
Boyd "more than a victim"
by Chyra Bonner
and Kelly Jones
Staff Writers
Jason Bechara met Malcolm Boyd less than
an hour before the two became victims of what
has been officially termed a hate crime.
"He had a smile on his face," Bechara said.
"We talked about the upcoming year, basic get-
to-know-you chit-chat."
Bechara, a Lebanese, and Boyd, an African-
American, were introduced by a mutual friend
between the Kappa Sigma fraternity house and
the apartment complex where Boyd lived on
Sierra Madre Avenue.
According to Bechara, he and Boyd were
standing side by side when someone in a group
near them uttered a racial slur. It was at this
point that Boyd addressed the group.
"He said something like, 'Why would you
say that when I'm standing right herev"'
Bechara said. "He didn't approach them. He
wasn't in their face. They were not yelling.
Hc"just begged the question."
Bechara said he put his hand on Boyd's
shoulder, and, with street lights providing
minimal visibility, led him away from a potential confrontation. When Boyd was told that
the offending group "didn't even know him,"
Boyd told them that was not the point and
that he heard what they said.
"The     shocking
thing is that it all hap-
Hpencd    so    fast,"
Bechara said. "1 said
'C'mon. let's go.' and
he didn't move. When
I  turned  my  head
again we goi popped.
It was thai fast."
Bechara isn't sure
where the lead pipe
came from. He thinks
there might have been
i scrap pile nearby
roin where a fence
was being repaired.
Bechara docs know he and Boyd were
blindsided and believes they were both hit
with the initial blow.
Bechara's physical reminder of the auack
is a scar above his left eye. The inch-and-half
cut lhal cut to his skull is still healing nearly
three weeks after the attack.
"1 got really lucky." Bechara said. "If it
See BOYD, page 2
Malcolm Boyd
Vote day nears,
but RecPlex
plans unsettled
by Draeger Martinez
StaffWriter
In two weeks, students will begin
voting whether to fund or reject a proposed recreation complex, or
"RecPlex."
Students supporting the proposal
say the on-campus facility, which
would be affiliated with the Univer-/
sity Student Union, would cost about
$25 million to build and outfit. Voters will decide whether each student's
USU fees should rise $150 per year
to fund the RecPlex.
Other aspects of the proposal — the
particular equipment and facilities
inside, and the site location — remain
undetermined.
A USU brochure about the proposal
lists possible components: a swim
center, indoor jogging track, racquet-
ball courts, 24-hour computer lab,
weight-training rooms, gyms, a
"rock-climb- '
ing" wall, food
pavilion, concert venue or
theater, study
rooms and offices, equipment rental
shop, and cardiovascular machines such as
treadmills, stationary bikes and stair-steppers.
But picking what components will
or won't go in, and how much space
each would take up, won't be decided
for months, said Gary Nelson, program adviser in the Office of Student
Life and Development.
"We're very confident that at least
80 percent of the proposed facilities
would be included," said Nelson, who
worked with a RecPlex student interest panel during the summer.
Voting on the fee-increase referendum has been scheduled for Sept. 24
and 25. with polling booths at the Free
Speech Area, North Gym, Peters
Building and residence halls.
Last spring's regular ASI election
saw less than 12 percent of students
turn out to vote. The RecPlex proposal seeks to raise the existing USU
fee, not create a new one. Hence, the
•majority vote will be considered binding, regardless of how many or how
few students vote.
If the fee increase is approved, the
RecPlex panel would meet throughout the academic year to decide what
components to include. Nelson said.
Construction could begin next fall
and the RecPlex could open as early
as the fall semester of 2000.
"The swim complex and computer
lab would definitely be in. but after
that there's no guaranteeing what
could get chosen." Nelson said. "The
concert venue aspect could well be
eliminated, or we might be looking
at a 2,000-seat venue."
The RecPlex has two possible sites.
Nelson said. One is on land next to
the softball stadium and the North
Gym. near the intersection of Barstow
and Cedar avenues.
"If the RecPlex goes there, that
would likely mean eliminating the'K'
parking lot." Nelson said.
The other site is east of the education building, off Shaw Avenue between Woodrow and Chestnut avenues. Nelson said that many student
panelists prefer the first site, but President John Welty would make the final location decision.
Separate arena proposal
Because the proposed RecPlex
would be on campus and since it
might be a concert venue, the facility
is often confused with the proposed
events center, also called the oi
pus sports arena.
"That's probably the top misconception about the RecPlex among students." said junior Tasha Dunn, a finance major on the RecPlex panel.
The events center would hold
15,000 to 18,000 with an undetermined number of luxury box seats,
said Rob Saroyan, special projects
director for the arena.
"This will be a multi-use center,
suitable for convocations, concerts
and theatrical-related programming,"
Saroyan said. The arena will be affiliated with the athletics department,
and it would be funded by corporate
sponsors, luxury box fees and donations, but not student fees.
"We are in the process of identifying the center's 'name sponsor',"
similar to 3Com Park in San Francisco, Saroyan said. "We're negotiating for the best sponsorship package, in the millions of dollars over a
10- to 20-year period, with a short list
of prospective sponsors."
Nelson said that events center sponsors could well get their messages
heard at the RecPlex as well.
"For example, if so-and-so comes
on board as the arena's official soda,"
Nelson said, "they can pay some additional money and be official soda
at the RecPlex and across the campus."
The referendum was scheduled in
early fall to help fundraising efforts
for the events center. Nelson said.
"(Events center fund-raisers]
wanted to get a jump on their campaign, so they kind of pushed for (the
RecPlex vote] to go early," Nelson
said. "If the RecPlex gets voted down,
it will slow events center fund raising but (the center] will proceed."
The arena's site and costs have not
been finalized, but Saroyan said
Welty is expected to make some details known later this fall. The events
center announcement will probably
occur in early October, he said.
RecPlex components
Some RecPlex components would
duplicate facilities already existing on
campus.
Computer facilities in Peters Building 133 and 135 are open 24 hours
most days, concerts are held at the
Satellite Union and the Amphitheater,
and many food-service options are
close by.
Athletically, the North and South
Gyms area contains workout roorjas,
r.icquctball courts and other facilities.
But student panel members call these
outdated and hard to access for open
recreation
See RECPLEX, page 3
Fresno State one of the top western universities, report
T School recognized as one of
finds
the best in the region by
U.S.News & World Report.
by Victor Hernandez
StaffWriter
Fresno Suite recently received another high ranking in the polls.
Rather than a sports ranking, though, this recognition came for Fresno State's academic reputation.
U.S. News World Report's annual college survey     measures!
named Fresno State the No. 4 public university among        Some factors that figure into rankings include aca-
western states. demic reputation, student retention, faculty resources,
"Any publicity of this type of caliber is very posi-     selectivity in accepting students, financial resources,
tive," said Daniel Bartell. interim vice-president for     ACT and SAT score averages, value added and
Enrollment Services.
"To be ranked in the top five in a national publication like (the survey] brings great visibility to our
university," Bartell said.
The survey based the ranking on overall best value.
Fresno State was compared to other colleges in the
western region, a 15-state area including California,
Washington, Colorado, Arizona and Texas.
The magazine began publishing its annual report
ranking colleges across the United States in 1988.
Magazine staffers compile the rankings from a survey of higher education leaders and on 81 statistical
alumni donation rates.
Whether the high ranking affects influences students to choose Fresno Slate is hard to determine.
"Rather than the deciding factor in selecting a
school, I believe the high rankings act as more of
a 'rcinforcer' as to having made the right decision
ffl attend Fresno State." said Elizabeth Nelson, sociology professor and department chair.
Along with the overall ranking, Fresno State was
recognized as the No. 14 western university in
campus diversity. It was also the western school
with the third-highest percentage of engineering
students.
The survey issue suggested students and parents
use the rankings to compare colleges but that the
information should only be one factor in choosing
a school.
Top Regional
Public Schools
(Western)
l.CalPoly;San Luis Obispo
.-'At '.-•".'. i '
3 llumbort State Unhen u
4. Fresno State
■ M ■■,:.."..'•.!
5. Sonoma 5tate University
7 Calif. 5tate Pory. Unrv.-fbmona
7 California State Univ..Chico
Fresno State
statistics
• Academic reputJtJcn score
(4.0ish^iest).-2.4
• Freshman retention rate: dOl
•Graduation rate: 471
•Student/faculty ratio: 20/1
• Freshmen in the top 251 of
high school classes: 60\
•Acceptance rate: 71X
• Alumni gMiy rate: 13.