1995_10 Insight October 1995

              OCTOBER 25, 1995
INSIGHT
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
VOL. 27, NO. 7
Last-minute effort brings up enrollment
■f Summer-long campaign
to increase enrollment
appears to have paid off
bv Jennifer I.. Davis
Staff Writei
While i
i student
'•">••'"
the beach or traveling lasi >
niaSmic University, Fresno, faculty and stall
members were promoiing-the universii) to
reach potential students who probably thoughi
it was too hue n> enroll fur ihe Tail semester.
" Ihis was 11th hour marketing." said Jim May andJune —■ almost lasi inuVlii.il in terms
Miller, director ol public information. of CSC campuses." Marshall said.
The lingering image ol budget problems and Thc campaign consisted ol print ads lhat ran
class shortages had hurl enrollmeni and the in The Fresno Bee tor iwo weeks in July, ra-
repuiaiion of the university. dio commercials, public service announce-
According lo Ihe just-released statistics, the menls and interviews m local media outlets
marketing effort paid off. by Staff members.
I all 1995 enrollmeni is 17.515 studenls. up The advertising emphasized lhai "It's NOT
Irom 16.668 in spring 1995. and 17.277 in loo late" lo apply for the fall 1995 semester
tall 1994.   . Six admission workshops were offered in
Joe Marshall, the associate vice-president for July, with pre-admission counseling and "on-
Enrollmeni Services, spearheaded the sum- ihe-spot" admissions being done,
mer-long campaign to increase enrollmeni. Marshall estimated the cosl ol the campaign
"What we did was very successful, especially considering how far behind we were in See ENROLLMENT, page 5
Studen
Fall 91
Spring '92
Fall '92
Spring 93
Fall '93
'Data provide*
ts en rolled at Fresno State *
tehimmv   Spring'94 J****/*
tehmm)        Fa,r94 k%%mu
%%%nmm     Spring'95 JJJ****
M J*H«                 Fal?*95. &&&****<
* ££ ******                J "^Tre^^O <udenu
b\ Fresno State Office of Institutional Research. Planning and Assessment
Drivers roll through campus stops
♦ Recent observation
reveals most drivers
overlook stop signs
in Matt Croce
Stall Writer
Slop'
TlK-WOHllssimi
length) or hard to
Net it seems ih
State University.
ihc
ordis
Out of 10(1 cars observed on a
Monday afternoon at the corner ol
Barstow and Maple avenues, onlv 15
of ihem came to a complete legal
stop.
A resounding 69 of them slowed
down hut never fully slopped.
s commonly referred lo as a
. slop."
This i
"C'alilo
What is even more frightening. 16
automobiles sped through the stop
sign on Barstow, heading eilher
eastbound or westbound, and didn't
slow down at all.
One of lhe perpetralors' vehicles
"California stops" are typical at the intersection at Barstow and Maple avenues.
Besides
theie
vvhn
I 99 1
Chevrolet full-size pickup. The
driver. 21-year-old Mike Buessing,
breezed through the stop sign head-
He was traveling about M) miles
per hour
"Mv brakes are bail." Buessing ottered as an excuse on his failure lo
slop signs |on campus] anyway." On
that note, he dashed off to class.
"We are fully aware of the problem." said Iresno Slate Police Patrol
Sergeant Lupe Shruin.
"Our police monitor the campus
with traffic enforcement. We give
citations for moving violations jusl
like any other road." Shram said.
Inev itably. with blaianl disregard of
the law. disaster will sirike.
According lo Shnim. about a month
ago. a woman thai does noi attend
Fresno Slate w as heading eastbound
on Barstow Avenue w iih three children in her pickup.
Another car occupied by only the
driver was heading westbound on
Barstow. about to turn south on
Maple.
The single occupant car made a
complete stop and proceeded
through the intersection. It was then
hit by the driver of the pickup, who
barely slowed down at all.    .
Two of the children in lhe pickup
were injured and taken to Valley
The driver ol the car turning onto
Maple suffered bums on his anji
vv hen his airbag poppedout as a result of the high impact of the crash
"Barsiow is"a big problem because
of the numerous slop signs." Shrum
s.nd. "Students thmk thai because
its school, thev don't have lo stop.
But they do."
Shrum feels that during her eight
vears on the police force the prob-
tnsighl photo by Apolinar Fonseca
n has been continuous.
I don't think there are more vio-
ms now than before." she said,
ive at least three mov -
per day — sometimes
We
Not everyone breaks the law.
Some students actually do stop.
"The law says to stop, so I always
do." Fresno Slate student Tim Cali
said.
"It would be a really siupid way
to get a ticket that would make my
insurance go up. so 1 stop."
Mouse visits
RDH during
lunch hour
♦ Food services
attributes rodent
sighting to construction
by Vasmin Alawive
Staff Writer
Students eating al the Residence
Dining Hall were in for a shock when
a mouse decided to drop in to join
ihem for lunch recently.
The rodent, described as aboul three
and a half inches long and "very cute."
decided to make ils entrance during
ihe lunch-time rush.
"AH of a sudden a group of people
jumped up from their table." said
Rory Pantorn. a business major.
"Then 1 saw a little thing zig-zagging
around the dining area. Two or three
people started chasing it; they tried
to stamp il out but then it disappeared
underneath the blinds."
Just when the commotion seemed
over, a scream erupted from the lobby.
The critter had been spoiled again,
this time by a staff member.
Immediately after calm was restored, two mouse traps were set and
pest control was called in.
Leon Valley, senior manager for
food services, said that the Residence
Dining Hall is more vulnerable to
mice because of the landscape improvements being carried oul by the
university nearby.
The installation of new sprinklers
See Mouse, page 5
Suicide prevention begins with signs
by Nancy Davis
Staff Writer
Suicide is one act that is irreversible, but nearly
5.000young aduhs in the United Stales, ages 15 lo
24. find thai il is the only answer lo iheir problems.
"We all have breaking points and nobody knows
what their breaking poini is until vou reach il." said
Willie Shell Jr.. California Slate University. Iresno.
director of public saltey.
"A suicide is dillereni because the people thai arc-
close lo that person people thai loved thai person — have lots ol questions for themselves and
. so it takes a great deal of sensitivity and a great
deal of support lor those people." said W. Ronald
•"'erry. coordinator of the psychological services on
campus.
Perry said friends and relatives want to put blame
on themselves and thai is natural.
Sometimes there are signals, and sometimes there
. aren'i. People at greatest risk are those who have
attempted suicide before. Perry said.
Some people lake iheir lives because of depression. Others do il on impulse.
According to information provided by Cedar
Vista Hospital, some of the early warning signs of
suicidal behavior are depression, chemical depression, change in eating and sleeping patiems, apa-
"Talking about suicide isn't
going to make someone want
to commit suicide."
—W. Ronald Perry
coordinator of campus
psychological services
thy, hostility, indecisiveness, alcohol or drug abuse
and uncontrollable crying.
Fresno Slate's Student Health Cenlcr is offering
free counseling to all studenls, faculty or friends
who need someone to talk lo.
"There is the emotional shock of what has tran
spired. There's the funeral and then aboul ten days
after the incident occurs, people have flashbacks."
Shell said. "They should not feel reluctant lo contact counselors simply because time has passed."
"Take suicide gestures as seriously as suicide attempts." Perry said.
Perry said that if anyone feels they have difficulty dealing with school, relationships or just
life'in general, ihev should contact a counselor
for help.
"Researchers have found thai more women attempt suicide ihan men." Perry said, "bul more
men complete suicide ihan women."
Many people show their thoughts ol commiting
suicide by exhibiting suicidal gestures. Drawing lines on lhe wrists or taking a couple more
pills ihan prescribed are examples of this.
Suicide attempts occur when medical attention is
needed and lhe patient would die without il. It is
only a suicide gesture if no medical interaction is
needed. Perry said.
Students should not be afraid to talk aboul suicide. "Talking about suicide isn'i going io make
it lo commit suicide." Perry said.
Congress proposes
cuts in loan program
Resource center focuses on counseling, acceptance
Insight photo by David Johnson
Dave Jensen, an investigator for
the campus police, speaks at a
Women's Center rally.
bv Melyssa Springmeyer
Staff Writer
Stressed oul? Feeling depressed?
Have financial problems? Need career counseling? Been a victim of a
violent crime? Been a victim of racism, sexism or heterosexism? Have
low self-esteem? Want lo help others? Wanl lo jusl sil back and relax in
a nice, safe environment?
If you said yes to any of the above
questions, you should walk to the
Women's Resource Center and talk
wilh one of the staff members. They
will try io help you solve your problem or just point in you in lhe right
direction.
"The main goal of Ihc Women's
Resource Center is lo promote diversity and acceptance, no matter what
r
race, gender, or sexual orientation."
said Tabitha Madan, social work intern for WRC. The center offers support groups, crisis counseling and
volunteer opportunities to all studenls.
The center has established discussion groups and seminars for w omen,
including those dealing with lesbian
and gay issues, professional women's
careers and self-esteem.
The center is looking for volunteers
lo give support and information to those
seeking assistance. "Volunteers are
needed, and if anyone has any questions, come in or call." Madan said.
The center is also looking for people
to participate in its upcoming fundraiser.
Staff members are making a testimonial quilt that will carry the names of
some of the most influential people in
terage person's life. The
vv ill be placed on each strip of cloth to
«hat women have done
•i the'
s:ui.v
S little
s $5 or as much as
ive the names of the
women or girls you want to honor
placed on our quilt." said a source at
the Women's Resource Center.
The center opened four years ago
and was originally located off campus. I vv o years ago. the center moved
on campus to Cafeteria-West. Room
127. across from ihe main entrance
to ihe library.
So. if you need someone lo talk to.
help w iih a problem, vv ant to help others in need or even slop by for a social visit, jusl look for the Women's
Resource Center, where Madan said,
"men arc as welcome as women."
by Valerie Gibbons
Staff Witer
Some 52 percent of California Slate
University, Fresno, students are in
college thanks lo student loans.
Under a proposed revision of the
program, the pay back terms are about
lo become harsher.
It's all part of lhe Republican Revolution to lower ihe federal deficit.
The proposed cuts in the program
total SI I billion nationally.
Two bills. House Bill 1501 and Senate Bill 1198. would revise the
Stafford Loan program, changing the
wav some students borrow money
and the wav all loans are paid back.
In ihe Staffor'd Loan program, the
federal government pays the interest
itfi some bank loans while the student
i* enrolled in school. The loans are
referred to as subsidized loans.
After graduation, a studenl who re-
ceives subsidized loans has a six-
ntontfl grace period before repay -
The proposed bill in the House of
Representatives would end the six-
month grace period, saving the fed
eral government the money it spends
on interest (which can be more than
$100 a month I during the six months.
Students who are unable lo begin
payments after graduation may still
delay repayment under thc proposed
bill, but they must request a formal
deferment.
Another federal program on the
chopping block is the Direct Loan
program. Under the Senate proposal,
also known as the Student Loan
Evaluation and Stabilization Act of
1995. Direct Loans will be phased out
over thc next iwo years.
The two-year-old program is designed to give sludents an alternative
to the Federal Family Education Loan
program, w hich is trie system used by
most students al Fresno Stale.
Trie Direct Loan differs from the
Federal Family Education Loan system because it bypasses banks and
allows students to borrow money directly from the federal government
With the two programs in place, the
federal government is in direct competition with the banks for the student
See LOANS, pog* 5
Someone do something nice?
They say it's a jungle out there. Crime rates are
up, rudeness is rampant and no one seems to care.
We do. Insight is looking for the "nice guys" whose
acts and attitudes add grace and goodness to life.
Someone do you a good turn?
Report him or her to Insight at 278-2892.
Leave a message and expect a call.
\