1996_02 Insight February 1996

              Editorial
FEBRUARY 21,1996
Bee coverage of Jorgensen suicide unsuitable
nia Siate University. Fresi
women's basketball stand.u
orgensen. shocked the on
death first hit Fresiu
finished her playing v
i Fh
> State
studen
appeared on the front pag
The storv contained rel
ground information an
comments from peopl
Jorgensen
Unfortunately, the ftrsi
was (he only piece Orosc
She atlemptevl suicide at her mother
and stepfathers home in Visalia. Jan
IS. Jorgensen lapsed into a coma, then
died Jan. 21 at Kaweah Delta Hospi
tal in Visalia
what lol low e
inappropriate
Articles lapse in judgment
Inside the same Jan. 22 issue,
page four. was Orosco
ttkh
s  Ilia
devoted to Jorgenset
as "a player to point teammates in
Oesno Bee at- right direction." and for "alw;
reaction. [knowing] the pulse ol the team."
mate and un-        But with one misdirected outpo
if the tragedy,    ing of emotion. Orosco's column
veral days of    apart.
lary and inac-        In try ing to retail
■vl lk'1
aboti
1 ' M V^      1 he best way
I    i      *\ f\     to fight crime
       *™ ^^     is not to have
it happen."
[EfLife
Reynolds strikes*
at crime again
M
ke Key
UK has
e.l.is
. It alsc
e 85 per-
L the murder of his daughter.
Kimber. in June ol 1992.
His -Three Strikes" initiative was his
first Step towards combating ihe crimes
that are running rampant in society.
His second step is currently under
Rev nolds is gathering signatures to
place another initiative before California voters.
The 10-20-Life measure has the
potential to greatly affect the sentencing of criminal offenders.
OPINION
Jennifer
FRANKLIN
1
The initiative is aimed at individuals who commit the felonies rape,
robbery, murder and kidnapping with
a 11rear
nthei
pos.
While some call Reynolds' new
proposal extreme, it is needed in a
society where violent crimes are a
common occurrence.
The initiative is an effective answer
lo a discouraging problem.
Reynolds' proposal is concise and
If a firearm is involved in a specified felony, the offender will receive
10 more years in prison, in addition
to the court-ordered sentence.
If the firearm is discharged, the offender will receive 20 additional
years.
If a person is injured when the firearm is discharged, the offender will
get an additional 25 years-to-life in
prison.
Although 10-20-Life docs not prevent the possibility of parole, it does
requires the offender;
cent of their seniem
dales lhal all sentences be served in
One point of dispute regarding 10-
20-Life is prosecuting juveniles as
adults. This has caused concern for
many, but any 14 to 17-year-old with a
firearm should not be treated as a minor. If a juvenile is able to commit adult
acts of violence, a juvenile should be
tried m an adult conn of law.
Rod Rimmer, executive director of
10-20-Life said. "The best way lo
fight crime is not to have it happen."
One way lo lessen crime is to put
offenders behind bars. Another is to
discourage potential offenders. The
10-20-Life measure has the potential
to do both.
The measure has the power to lake-
criminals ofl ihe sireels. It will cause
potential felons to think twice.
It is a step toward giving society
peace of mind.
For some people, peace of mind is
not worth the cost of the initiative.
But the price tag on 10-20-Life
equates to mere cents for every man.
woman and child in California.
In terms of dollars spent on prisons. 10-20-Life is following in the
footsteps of Three Strikes. The
prison growth rale reduced roughly
four percent in the year following (he-
passage of Three Strikes. Reynolds'
current proposal can do the same.
For the offenders who get jail time.
Rimmer said. "The cost of having
crime on the streets is far higher than
the cost of incarceration."
A loss of life to a senseless crime
can never be justified because life has
no price tag.
The future of 10-20-Life will be
decided by voters in November.
Eighty-six percent are already in favor of it.
Reynolds' proposal is a step in the
right direction. The 10-20-Life mea-
. sure is a tool to combat crime. It's
meant to reduce victimization and
help restore society's sense of secu-
OPINION
plificalion.
Secondly,     an
Jorgensen's death I.
eCll-CI
.valkev
icly.
troubled, feeling hopeless. (,
life. And vviih a scream lhal no one
heard, she did."
With   this'single   paragraph.
Orosco's unseemly use of death imager) destroyed his credibility andlell
readers witli an uglv and painful
llcction of Jorgensen's dcalh
Orosco continued his lament
ending the piece with the icciui
imagery: "...in these days alter
darkest hour, when she overstep]
the edge oflife. when her screams i
mpa
said
"Ihe spoken vvotd was Jorgensen's
ghtmare unfolded "
Orosco      incoiicctlv       fused
irgcnscn's reading disability with
iding enciuii
Ik- imp.,:
The first mistake in the Jan.
piece was the blatant atliibutioi
Jorgensen's suicide to her lifel
battle with dyslexia.
Suicide is a highly complex
IVrhai
Ml!,'I
.' thai
ivrsor
.ontiilnil
icy. Dozi
Not the right time or place
Columnist Wopiarowski attempted
to put a different face on ihe tragedy
m his comiiienlai v on the Sports page
Jan 23. But seemingly following
Orosco's lead. Wojnarowski littered
his opinion piece with slinging de-
memory, the demons, had to walk into
practice Monday and onto the court
where Kari Jorgensen used to practice every day. used to dive onto the
floor again and again, rising with hum
marks and bruises, but always rising
and sprinting even harder down
Wojnarowski successfully drove a
nail into the hearts of countless Valley readers with his detailed deserip
lion ol ihe basketball team's anguish.
He said.
"All of them together, all of them
alone with the eerie silence and laded
I  what
emlui
sprinkled    Jorgen
Inula
u then
ter Jorgensen's death
oach ami her Fresno
Time to lend a helping hand to
friends, neighbors in the Valley
■"H   man pushing a shopping cart
J J walks down Cedar Avenue.
He slops at all the large, brown trash
bins located ai nearby apartment
complexes. He searches for ihings
lhal people have discarded. Things
lhat some would never even think ol
saving.
Every nn
greets stude
morning classes
been known to
OPINION
ning he
This n
white-ha
s  lias
The homeless are people who need
help in this community. Regardless
of w nether it's a child grow ing up in
a gang-ridden neighborhood needing
guidance, a senior citizen looking for
companionship, or a woman stricken
with cancer. Ihey all need someone
to lean on.
A major problem on this campus
is apathy. Students are not getting involved with the community service
opportunities that are offered every
year. They don't have lime to help
others. Some may nol even consider
it an option.
Take Tor instance the fact thai the
community service fraternity on
campus. Alpha Phi Omega has a
membership between 20 to 30
people.
Compare this to UC Berkeley.
Alpha Phi Omega is a fraternity for
men and women who want lo become
involved in the-community,
Many famous alumnus'including
President Clinton and former Presidents Harry Truman and George
Bush have paved the way for these
students to become pari of something
that does so much good for so many
people.
Some students nut) led they have
to gel something in order to give
something.
If lhat is the case, consider the
Community Services 101 class. For
every 15 hours of serv ice performed.
students receive one unit of credit,
with a three unit maximum.
The purpose of this course is io gel
students involved in ihe community
and to introduce them to the outside
world. A student involved in ncourse
Students need to lake a look ii
inor and study the reflection they
e. Did they get here all on their owii
did someone along the wav reach
it a hand and sav' "Hold on, I'm
help yi
CllllCL
y whet-
known lor their w illingncss lo help
those less fortunate. So let's prove
to the Valley, the stale, the nation
and. yes. die world dial Fresno
State's students do care. Maybe we
could even prove it lo ourselves lhat
apathy is not running rampant in
Let's help people like thai smiling,
white-haired gentleman in ihe baseball hat that searches lor life in that
foul-smelhjng garbage.
II he*needs help, shouldn't someone be willing to reach mil a hand to
him and say "Hold on. I'm here lo
help You."
E-MAIL IT
On Campus:
Typ» "Intlghr (no quota mark*)
•t the Lennon prompt
FAXIT
Managing Editor, Insight
Has* Comm. & Journalism
FAX (209) 278-4995
VOICE IT
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Leava a meiaaga on
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Insight
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
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Staff Photographers:
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• Production Assistants and Staff Writers:
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Production Consultant: Dan Helmbold       Adviser: George A. Flynn
Circulation: Kelly Mclain Advertising Staff: Students of MCJ 143
ll.lgcs.
I No 43."
i doubt that the storv ol
Jorgensen's suicide had to be told.
However, the story should have been ,
handled more accurately and appropriate*) b> writers at the Bee.
The grief of family members and
friends of Kan Jorgensen should have
been described more cautiously. They
should have been afforded more re-
Funding
by AST
neglects
Greeks
It's amazing how uninformed students can be about how the
money thev pa) lo this university
is allocated throughout the year.
Al least if ihey do know anything
about il. ihey aren't saving anything.
Thev should be sav ing something.
Kvery year the Associated Students
Inc. (ASI) produces an annual bud-
gel which must be approved by John
Welty. president of California Stale
The last budget was produced for
Ihej995-96 school year. In the Senate last year, the Student Empowerment Alliance party had the majority
ol the members seated. Reality party
ni,-n,K..rs made up
vear the
Jennifer
right   to  decide    SOUTHERN
where the money Staff Writer
p voted on how last year's money
allocated, how was this budget a
lear representation of what the stu-
w anted '
Those who took a look at the annual budget, saw that the ASI allocated more money to the 22 ethnic
clubs and events on campus than il
did to the 75 school joint councils and
clubs.
In fact, according lo a copy of the
annual budget, cultural groups received S 1.171 more.
The figures may nol seem like such
a big deal, but when you figure that
the school joint councils represent all
the schools on campus, it becomes
upsetting.
If this isn't enough, according to
the student affairs office, there arc approximately I.OIK) students associated with the fraternity and sorority
system, and they're underrepresented
in the budget.
This particular group ol" students
paid (32,000 in mandatory student
body fees and received little in return.
The ASI threw these students, as
well as some other groups, into the
"miscellaneous" section of the budget. The ASI allocated a total of
$7,250 for the whole section. This
isn'i even one-quarter what the fraternity and sororitv members paid to
Ihe ASI.
As students of Fresno State, we
should all be aware of where our
money is going. Wc should fight to
make more decisions on how our
money is spent.
The ASI needs to realize that all
groups on this campus are equal and
since they are supposed lo be representing all students, they need lo
start representing all students
equally.
One can only hope next year's budget will show an effort to allocate all
funds equitably.