1997_09 Insight September 1997

              Sept. 24, 1997
Viewpoint & News
Insight
editorial
International students need
help, but faculty not receptive
by Ahmed Hussain
International students travel
hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles to attend this
university. Hard work, money and
effort are invested day and night
to earn a degree. This dream can
be made difficult by some faculty
members on this campus.
I have often experienced mistreatment from some professors or
even department chairs, and I believe this treatment has happened
solely because I am an international student.
I returned to Fresno State last semester after a two-year absence to
complete my studies and found
that while the International Student Services office was very helpful, a certain department on this
campus showed me the very worst
welcome that anyone can get. I
don't feel it is necessary to name
the department I had a problem
with. The point is. it could be. and
may be. any of them.
1 had an incomplete in a class I
took before leaving campus, and I
wanted to make up the class in the
spring. I went to the department
office and asked to see the department chair to learn what was
needed to finish the course.
The secretary told me she didn't
have any record that the class was
ever taught here, though it was of
fered in the spring schedule, and that
the teacher who "might have taught"
the courseliad left without leaving
any records.
My next step was asking if I could
make up the class by taking another
course. Suddenly, the department
chair walked in — he had heard the
conversation in his office next door.
Before he even introduced himself, he
tapped me on the shoulder "and said,
"We are not here to bargain."
He had a smile on his face
that I will never forget. It
was the most sneaky, disgusting smile I have ever experienced.
Then he gave me two choices: take
an exam in place of the class (with no
book to study from), or receive an "F'
for the class. I immediately thanked
him and asked if I could have some
time to explore my limited options.
I felt 1 had no choice but to get an
"F" in the course, which affected my
GPA. I could have never taken the
exam he offered, when there were no
notes or books to study from. Since
the class hadn't been taught for two
years, there were no materials.
I reported this incident to International Student Services, and about a
month later I got a call from the department. The caller told me they had
made a mistake; they had tracked
down the professor who taught the
course, and I was given a number to
contact about the grade I received.
So the teacher and the course
did exist after all. I had the impression that if I was an American student, the chairman's hand would
not have been on my shoulder. I
also think I could have received a
better grade in the course..
The reason that I settled
for the "F" is because,
like many international
students, I fear crossing any professor in any department. In England, if you question a teacher,
you could get kicked out of school.
In this way, America is much more
flexible, but I think it also adds to
international students' being taken
advantage of.
I am in a foreign country and
have no one to support me or help
me stand strong. Most of us are
new to this country. It toqft me
three years to really understand the
system here and that 1 can "fight"
something. It seems like a lot of
teachers say "Oh. it's a foreign student, he doesn't know what's going on." We don't always know
what our options arc.
International students arc here
on this campus to cam a degree,
not to cause trouble and lose out
on building for the future and
reaching our dreams.
Ahmed Hussain is an Insight staff
writer. He is a native of England.
letter
Professor fears statements not clear
Dear Editor,
I am quite concerned about the potential misinterpretation of comments
I made during an interview I recently
conducted with your reporter, Ms.
Clora Ash. These comments were
excerpted and appeared in the article
"Hate Criminals 'social cripples,'"
from the Sept. 10 issue of Insight.
I would like to address the context
in which several of my quotes were
placed. This context, which is critical for a proper explication of my
views, did not appear in the article.
First, I did indeed state "white
people are afraid of black people." In
a scries of studies (both empirical and
conducted by the popular press), it
was found that white people will commonly cross a street or otherwise actively avoid a person of color.
This behavior is typically construed
as "fear" by the researchers. In my
opinion there arc good reasons to fear
a particular individual. These may include body language and the context
of the situation, among other factors.
It is irrational to fear anyone based
on criteria such as skin color. Unfortunately, humans do have many irrational fears.
The best cure for an irrational fear
is education and there are many techniques psychologists have for reliev
ing individuals of their fears.
Second, I was quoted as stating
"just because you have a Ph.D., it
doesn't mean you are intelligent."
This is again a quite accurate quote.
However, I would like to qualify this
statement before I am accosted by my
colleagues on this campus.
Ms. Ash had presented me with a
scenario where a professor at this institution had treated her, and other
African American students in a particular course, in a condescending and
demeaning manner.
This is just plain stupid in my opinion. A professor who belittles students
in class will not be successful in educating students or enlightening them
to the intellectual enterprise. Classroom hostility is not conducive to
learning, especially from the authority figure in the classroom.
This statement was not made to impugn the status of the doctorate, especially at this campus. I feel fortunate to work in the community of fine
scholars at California State University, Fresno, whose intelligence and
academic credentials are beyond reproach.
Individuals who have little self
worth will attempt to elevate their
own status by denigrating others.
Thby will also attempt to raise their
status by making others subservient
to them. l
This is the common root for such
societal problems as child abuse,
spousal abuse, and racism.
People who commit hate crimes
should not be tolerated in a civilized
nation.
In the colleges and universities of
a civilized nation, these crimes are
more egregious as institutions of
higher learning are charged with representing the highest standards of our
culture.
The heinous crimes committed
against Mr. Boyd should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I
hope that he has a speedy recovery
and will return to campus soon.
I spoke with Ms. Ash for about 45
minutes during our interview. I understand it is impossible to print the entire conservation, however I feel it is
important that my comments be properly heard.
My intent in writing to Insight is to
place my remarks within the context
that they were made. Taken out of
context, they may perpetuate attitudes
and beliefs I do not hold, or feel belong in an academic institution.
Michael Botwin is a professor of
psychology.
SECURITY: Code keys, guards, wristbands used
own security guards, Cohen said.
RECPLEX: Facility vote today and Thursday
Continued from page 1
that lacking one has a measurable
impact on Fresno State's recruiting
and enrollment.
Some student leaders and faculty
members expressed surprise about the
sessions occurring on students' class
time.
"Oh my God. can you believe
this?" asked ASI administrative vice-
president Sophie Vuong-Vang after
learning about the sessions. "This,
while (RecPlex opponents] have
been spending our own time and
money to get our message out."
Using class time for RecPlex presentations is not a good idea, said En-
glish professor Chris Henson at
Monday's Academic Senate meeting.
•Informing students about upcoming votes is one thing, but putting out
this partisan information is something
else." Henson said.
ASI's requests to read a counter-
Campaign Expenses
T-shirts & pencils: $1,680
Brochures & flyers: $750
Promotional video: $1,710
Food at info forum: $1,000
Ads placed in Insight &
Daily Collegian: $300
- RecPlex Onte. Budget
Polling places:
Free Speech
Residence Halls
Peters Building
North Gym
j Polls open Wed. 8 a.m.
Thur. 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
7P.n
RecPlex announcements during class
time did not impress Henson. either.
She said she would not speak for or
against the proposal in her classes.
The USU board authorized spending student fee money for an ongoing RecPlex promotional campaign,
project adviser Gary Nelson confirmed Monday.
The campaign was budgeted for
S13.840; actual expense figures were
unavailable but reasonably close to
budget. Nelson said.
The budget included $4,110 for
transportation and meals for Fresno
Stale students seeking information
about recreation complexes at other
universities. The USU board approved the promotions late last semester. The board includes several students, two administration appointees
and one faculty member.
Continued from page 1
keys with-magnetic strips resembling At fraternity houses, security is pro-
those of credit cards. Zmucki says vided mainly during parties. Cur-
these keys make sense two way;
safety and cost effectiveness. around the fraternity mall, adjacent to
Residents who lose room keys are its sorority counterpart,
given new ones with different codes. During a party, Sigma Chi frater-
and the old codes are erased from the nity wdl usually deploy five security
system, Zmucki said. officers, sometimes more. The guards
Fraternities and sororities have also monitor the fences around the house
improved their safety measures. for uninvited guests, and they also
A private security guard partrols the check people consuming alcohol for
six-house sorority mall west of cam- ID wristbands,
pus, along with all six house parking Fraternities use the wristbands to
Iols. The Delta Gamma house took the designate the wearers as being of le-
next step by hiring its own guard-. gal drinking age.
For about $25 per member, the For extra safety, two fraternity
Delta Gamma house guard patrols the members remain sober and monitor
house and parking lot, and escorts the parties for underage drinkers and
members to and from the house. suspicious guest traffic.
Delta Gamma president Kim The temporary security officers
He added that in the past three
years, drug and alcohol abuse offenses at fraternity parties have de-
viucu   llldllllY   uuiiiik  Limncs.  \-ui- ........ r -^
rently. 24-hour security is not in place    c^due ,0 the Prescncc of «""»
Cohen said automobile theft i
mon crime around sorority mall.
"There are a lot of cars being stolen or broken into around the | soror-
generally patrol fraternity parties for
about eight hours. At roughly $ 10 per
guard per hour, security costs can add
- but the guards are worth every
ity] mall," Cohen said. "But the main cent, said Sigma Chi past president
issue was safety. We haven't had Nathan Labiak.
many break-ins. Our house has been "When we have a problem with
very lucky." drugs or alcohol abuse at a party, the
The Delta Gamma security guard security guards are made aware of
is on duly every nigh!. In the near fu- those problems and the offenders are
ture, other sororities may get their thrown out immediately," Labiak said.
STORYTELLER: Love of children's books will live on
Continued from page 1
Nixon had a number of ways in which he
would toll children's stories. -«a
Sometimes he used hand puppets, and olher
times he would recite the story word for word
from memory using the book only as a prop so
that the children could see the pictures.
Either method was equally effective in captivating his audience and taking them to a new
place and time.
Nixon's physical attributes, including his
little goalee and mop of hair which would get
disheveled every time that he would reach into
the sack containing his hand puppets, also
helped him keep the audience engrossed in each
storj that he told.
His enthusiasm towards the-story that he
was telling, the manner that he would characterize the people in the story or the animals
brought it all to life," said Donald Coleman,
professor of education. "He would use voice
intonations to describe someone that was feeling very sad. If they were very happy, then he
would be all excited. He used all of those things
to enhance his storytelling."
Sharing his gift
The magical way in which-Nixon told chil- .
dren stories not only captured the attention of
youngsters. Adults also found themselves completely captivated by his unique ability.
"It was the most extraordinary thing to see
grownups who were just enraptured," Smith
said. "He could tell a children's story to an
audience of grownups, and they would be enthralled. He just had that talent"
Richard Osterberg. professor of education at
Fresno State, was also able to watch Nixon
work his magic and was moved by the experience.
"Listening to Ame tell a story just took you
worlds away," Osterberg said. "You were right
there with him. He had a real gift for it."
Ami Bodas said she felt joy watching Nixon
teach. Her favortie stories were the Runaway
Bunny and Fat Cat.
"He would never read us a story, he would
tell us a story," Bodas said. "He would become
the character. There were 20 of us in the class
and we were all in awe."
Bodas said Nixon was a "loving grandfather-
type" who always wore colorful sweaters and
"danced around the room."
Courtesy of the Henry Madden Library
Grandpa Kalle (pronounced collie) was a favorite of Nixon's because it symbolized
the collector's Finnish heritage. The doll, which sat on a stool in Nixon's home, was
made in central Finland and given to him by friends.
Nixon became so popular among adults that,
aside from teaching Children's Literature and
Storytelling, he began teaching workshops on
storytelling to other teachers throughout the
Central Valley.
"Several hundred, if not 1.000 or more little,
gray-haired ladies would go to his storytelling
workshops and be mesmerized," said lone
, a longtime friend from the days Nixon
spent in Tulare.
Every year Nixon returned to Tulare for the
elementary schools' annual reading day celebration to tell stories.
One year each grade level picked a favorite
story and illustrated it on a quilt piece that was
sewn together by Rose's wife and presented to
Nixon.
"Oh, he loved it." Rose said. "Each square
had a different scene. The quilt had all different themes. He got a lot of gifts."
Rose said that in the late years, Nixon added
magic tricks to his performance.
"He picked up some magician things and did
that along with his rcading,"Rose said. "The
kids loved and it and the teachers, of course,
were impressed.
"He just had an easy going demeanor. He
was really caring and showed an interest in
what he was doing. He tried to convey that. I
really learned a lot from him."
Bodas, who is working on her teaching credential, said Nixon's class also left an impression on her.
"He just had the whole class involved," she
said. "He got us excited."
Legacy will continue
Nixon touched the lives of many people, both
young and old.
Waite said he helped many students get
through college. But, except for travel, he spent
relatively little on himself.
In 1995, Nixon donated his personal collection of children's literature to the Henry Madden Library and when he died the library received the $1 million.
"He made specific requests to family members, and the residual [of his estate] came to
the library," Smith said.
This money will be used to further support
the collection as well as fund the Endowment
for the Ame Nixon Center for the Study of
Children's Literature.
Leaving such a large gift to the university
directly reflects the trust and warmth that Nixon
felt towards the administration.
"The fact that he was willing to give the library this endowment says a lot about how
much trust he had in the university and its willingness to support his vision," Smith said.
Because of his generosity, many students will
have the opportunity to further their own interests in an area that he loved so much.
Two weeks before he died, Waite said, she
talked with Nixon on the phone.
"He said Wilson School, where he had been
a teacher and principal for so many years, had
invited him to tell stories to their third graders.
"He told me: 'lone, it breaks my heart that
I can't do that."'
Insight
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Waller. Mick Winfert. Kathy Yager.
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