1995_11 Insight November 1995

              -
Viewpoint
NOVEMBER 8,1995
Education   Today
at Fresno State
Remedial courses deserve removal
C
math and Fnelish be dropped Ire
Ihe curriculum.
If done, the cuts would lake pla
over the next live to seven yea
The proposal would raise admi
sions standards and remov e the oi
percent funding from the CSU bu
gel lhai
Impro
the
. Fn
current agei
Lnivers
higher placer
SAT scores vv
,1 California Stale
•no.   Toughening
lards bv requiring
OPINION
David
JOHNSON
Stall' Writer
I
lion, as did main students I know.
What Kessler fails to recogni/e
is that those who attend a community college may feel lhat a four-
year university is not for ihem.
■Mm
■ges .,
about campus hy improving th
quality of student body.
As harsh as it may sound, thus
who do not score well on such ev
in basic skills that should hav e picked
up before college
And as life includes competition and
I he:
equisi
c opponents
Ihev
o the n
Even tougher requin
place in the UniverSil
nia system and otl
>! C.ihtoi
,ols
hie
around the nation. If Fresno State
grads intend to compete with
graduates from other universities,
the university must start with admission requirements.
A university is often regarded as
a microcosm of life vv ith its diversity of people, culture and tradition.
An employer will not choose a candidate who needs to be re-educated
lob market. Competition and
and it all begins with admit-
•    Nt.U
There is another factor in Ihe debate:
Siudenis who have reached the (Sl I
system on ineril. or who have taken
the time to re-educate themselves in
•liege are held back by
ailed to take such rente-
iclude lhe California I acultv Association and its political acuon'chair. Warren Kessler.
As the Fresno Slate CIA spokesperson. Kessler Said thai culling such
classes will shut down opportunities
ndcrpnvileged students. He also
dth.ii
s.lllsl
.    picp.l!
dial n
I received my A A degree and
ineffectual, why aren't they the
subject of focus*
Why is such an ineffectual system still functioning? j.
Students who speak Fnglish as a
second language voiced objections
at the public hearing on lhe matter
Friday. Fresno is a culturally di-
veise campus, and to deny ihese
studenls would, of course, be unfair.
Those w ho come 10 Fresno State
10 complete their education should
be able to find classes in Knglish
proficiency to suit their needs. But
this is not the issue.
Cutting the remedial programs is
a positive move toward creating
closer coordination of the California public school system.
High schools should belter prepare students in academic performance in college and provide community college as a viable alierna-
four-year school
In a struggling school system, il
is necessary to make a bold statement aboul academic standards.
Cutting remedial programs is the
right way lo start.
Value of diploma should lie in learning
 -4-	
while striving for the culmination
of college, the seemingly elusive
degree.
The college experience has become a routine of "getting by." Go
to class, study, write a paper, take
a test and move on to the next class.
Less involvement, less pain.
And ultimately. a diploma and a
job.
A group of professors who call
themselves the Committee for
Quality Kducation claims just "gelling by" is not what college is all
aboul.
Integrated inlo all class requirements is something called learning.
"A diploma is just a piece ol paper without the knowledge." said
psychologist Beth Newell", a member of the group.
The diploma, from kindergarten
lo college, is hailed as the passport
to success in America. Without one.
doors slant shut.
Our culture equates success with
a college degree.
Have one and you're a winner.
Without one. have fun flipping     to change this pet
burgers, kid. lion. The point of going
This mindset is not the fault of    not only gelling the degi
imh. there are still basic obligations and responsibilities that students, faculty and staff must real-
Those responsibilities include attending classes, interacting with
professors and accepting responsibility for our own actions.
Attending class is not just going
elas
Attendin
\ tho>
jues
s bein
r six sludent
reads the lex
resting for ev
students, faculty. California State
University. Fresno, the school system
or anybody else
thediplo
The gro
e believes
la.Thediploi
the powci
,-olved
ate key totlie wonderful adult,
the culmina-
r. The degree
the end-all of college work.
lhe point is the knowledge gained.
"The know ledge behind the piece of
paper is vv hat will open doors and-get
the job." Newell said.
Even seemingly endless general
education requirements have clear
go;i
al education classes are an at-
lempi lo prov ide a twofold breadth of
experience for sludents. Such classes
either pique a student's interest in a
subject or cap off and tie together
other classes.
Even m general educajion courses
thai render the brightest student brain
who asks
and make
Interacting with professors, going to office hours and discussing
the lecture all narrow thc rift between professors and students as
lhe semester progresses
Accepting responsibility for our
own actions is the last reason that
we. as studenls. find for our fail-
Too often we find fault with professors, texts, fees, peers, work,
anywhere but where it belongs.
The Committee for Quality Fldu-
cation is not routing bad students.
It is improving the college learning experience for everyone.
By working with this group and
with other professors, the routine
of "getting by" can return to the
education it should be.
NOW THAT WE'VE ClOSEDTflE
CHlUREM3ACriyrrTCEKrER
VE COULDN'T DECIDE
WHERE ELSE H> PUT THEM!
Library's
N AKEP LAt>v
EXHIBIT
Library errs: Nude
photos in kids5 area
There's a naked v
oman hanging out
Has there been some kind ol mix
in the children's st
ction of ihe Henry
up here?
Madden Librarv.
How did lhe naked ladv end up with
She's the subject
.fa series ol black
the kids while the social leaders hane
and white photo
graphs taken in
in front ol the librarv administration
Fresno pfiotograpl
ei Scott Shaver.
office'
The 10 nudes lit
e the walls of the
1 assume the administrators alreadv
second floor foyer
Four of them are
know how to read.
directly outside Uu
When a student complained about
the placement of the photos,  librarv
1 can't help but
administration employees responded
think there must
be a betler place
to hang a tull-
il
flippantly, suggesting the student was
overreacting.
1 don't think it's overreaction to
from.il photo ola
totally     naked
ritt
want to have a choice.
Parents have the right lo choose
whether or not thev want their chil
dren exposed to naked women
ing to children's
The placement of the photographs
V    -n
uilriiieesonth.it right.
The hallway directly opposite
The only wav lo avoid the photos is
to take the ele'v ator or the back slaii s
the juvenile sec
^mm
lo lhe second floor, cross the walk-
tion, which leads
HL9H
vvav and thread voui wav through lhc
to     the     aduli
Candace
slacks and around lhe corner to the
stacks, is decorated vv ith posters
CLINE
juvenile section.
Then, make sure vou stand with
(hat encourage
Sta.lT Writer
vour back to the door, because the
reading.
photos are clearlv v isible vv hen stand
These posters
feature role mode
s such as Martin
ing in front of the children's book
shelves.
Luther King. Jr.. <
esai Chavez, /ora
The second ll.vor lover is a tradi
Neale Hursion. Gi
Ida Meir. Fdvvard
tional site of art display s in the librarv.
James Olmos and
\larlce Matlin.
and these photos are worihv of dis-
In contrast, ihc pi
olographs in from
plav. Thev picture Ihe model in vari
of Ihe children's
section include a
ous outdoor settings, and make cre
close-up of the mo
lei's backside and
ative use of light and shadow
two pictures of he
spread out on her
However.inthiscase.lihrarx admin
back.
isti.uors should have taken into con
Not one of the |
ictures shows the
sideration the content ol the photo
model's laee. bul,
hcr female bodily
graphs and displayed them some-
Out-of-control Internet inspires pornography legislation by Congress
by Valerie Gibbons . Pornography Act, sponsored bj Sen. Robert     females in provocative poses, made a splash    one part ol the network was damaged, mes-    controlling transfers is literally workil
by Valerie Gibbons
StaffWriler
The information superhighway is aboul lo
become as regulated as any other highway in
thc nation, if Congress has ils way.
Outrage over the amount of pornography on
the Internet has prompted a flurry of legislation in Ihe 104th Congress.
Bills such as the Communications Decency-
Act of 1995 and the Protection of Children
from Computer Pornography Act of 1995
have been proposed in an attempt to clamp
down on the freewheeling Internet.
A case in Virginia where a college sludent
was caught e-mailing hate messages to a classmate prompted the Communications Decency
Act. which would extend Ihe current laws regarding harassment to e-mail.
Thc bill would make a crime of any anonymous message with intent to harass or abuse.
Thc Protcciion of Children from Computer
nrnographv Act. sponsored bv Sen. Robert
Dole. R-Kaiisas. would make lhe transference
of "obscene, lewd, lascivious lillhv or indecent" files on the Net a crime.
While Congress is trying to catch up with
Jia.1
.•Jl.iol
icadei
s also
Pornography already on Net
A recent study by Carnegie-Mellon University found thai SO percent of the min-academic
sites on the Net contained pornographic material, according to Tune magazine.
The study has been used hy such groups as
the Family Protcciion Research Council to
back up their calls for Internet regulation.
Some of ihc studies are scientific, some are
not so scientific.
A recent attempt by Sen. Jim F.xon. R-Ne-
braska. to prove how easily pornography was
accessed on the Net by downloading nude
with ihe media hut proved little.
"If you walk into a building with "Live Nude
Females' embla/onedon the front. I'll bet you
w ill find live nude females inside." said James
Philpotl, an Internet services technician with
"In my lime here I have never had a complaint about the security, lhe people who want
to find those sites will find the sites. Everybody else ignores them." I'hilpou said.
Philpotl doesn't dispute the Carnegie-
Mellon study.
"The same 25 percenl of our subscribers are
probably responsible for 60 percent of the data
transfers. Much of il. I'm sure, is pornographic." he said.
Net hard to regulate
Policing images is entirely another matter.
The Internet's original purpose was to send
pan of the n
sages were rerouted through undamaged ar-.
cas.
Some in favor of regulation have referred to
the Internet as a highway where offensive
material can be stopped al the origin, the destination or possibly somewhere in between.
The "information highway" analogy, used
when referring lo ihe Internet, is only partially
correct.
Sending a file through ihe Internet today is
basically like driving from one place lo another, except on this trip. Ihe car is broken
inlo 40 pieces and each individual piece is
sent on a different route to the same place.
Missing pieces are sent again by the original computer until all parts have arrived intact.
"Policing millions til files is one thing, bul
policing trillions of individual bits of information is another;" Philpotl said.
"Due to the redundant nature of the Internet,
Industry forced to change
Mill   s
s lhai arc gearc
kids. In such new
is strictly controlle
Subscribers may only go into appro* cd site
and any changes must be authorized by par
cuts. The commercial Internet providers an
experimenting wiih this restricted access ii
orderlo i
Philpotl believes the uproar over questionable sites may change the industry.
"If it turns out lhai we are legally liable for
what gets said or done* on our system, it's
going to mean a lol of changes in our policy."
he said.
"The Internet grows by 20 percent a month;
that does not leave a lot of room for control.
Rtxnn for criticism, but not control."
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