1992_03 Insight March 1992

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Volume 24, Issue 16
Wednesday, March 4,1992
CSUF: It's even cheaper than truck driving school
By Rick W. Berry
StaffWriter	
So, you want to leam to drive a
truck?  Beware. It may cost you
more than getting a bachelor's degree
at CSUF.
Vocational schools as an alternative education may be a route some
CSUF students are thinking about
taking with the recent fee hike proposals. But Western Truck School
charges $4,295 for its eight-week program arid Federico Beauty College
charges $5,123 for their 10-month
Cosmetology program.
At current tuition rates, a CSUF
student could obtain a bachelor's
degree for$4,232. CSUFstill seems to
be one of the cheapest educations
around.
California State University, Fresno
comes in at nearly $750 below the
national average of resident yearly
tuition fees from 200 state-supported
colleges-randomly surveyed from
"Peterson's Guide to Four-Year Colleges 1992." With respect to the other
199 colleges, CSUF is one of the most
affordable prospects for higher education. If and when the 40 percent fee
increase hits, CSUF still remains
around $320below the national average cost of higher education.
From the survey, the most expensive state to attend is Pennsylvania
with an average fee of around $2,000.
The least expensive is Texas, with an
average tuition of around $1,000.
Some private colleges charge up to
400 percent more man the most expensive state college. To attend
Harvard, Princeton or the University
of the Pacific in Stockton would cost
a student an average of around
$15,500 per year in tuition alone.
Locally, some education alternatives are private colleges, junior col
leges and business or vocational!
schools. In Fresno, tuition for private
colleges range from $8,200 per yearat
Fresno Pacific College to 53,170 per
yea r at the West Coast Christian College. National University charges
students $640 per month for undergraduates in an accelerated program
that enables students to get a four-
year bachelor's degree in three.
Junior colleges range from $120 per
year at Fresno City College to $6,600 per
year at 4Cs,the Central Gdifccnia Commercial College, even though the West-
em Association of Schools and Colleges
accredits both programs. O
Comparison of Fees
"J $4,232
Federico Beauty College
I I   $5,123
Fresno City College
[]  $240 (based on a two year degree)
University ol the Pacific   ($57,920)
Western Truck School
"2 $4,295
Negotiating
Section 809
tough task
By Robert Todd	
Staff Writer
Although negotiations have not
begun, local police and fire
unions say they are willing to discuss
modifications of salary-setting
Charter Section 809 with the city of
Fresno.
The Charter Section sets salaries
for Fresno police and firefighters
based on theaverage salaries weight
other cities; Alameda, Glendale,
Berkeley, Pasad ena, Richmond, San
Jose, Stockton and Sacramento.
"We are willing to discuss the
alternatives," said Police Sergeant
Andy Hall, a board member of the
Fresno Police Officers Associauoa
"We are not going to sell the farm,
but we are open to discussions."
City Manager Michael Bierman
is expected to report to the city
council within three weeks on the
results of his dialogue after talking
to police and fire unions. But Al
Rush, president of the Fresno
Firefighters Association, Local 753,
said the Association hasn't been
contacted by Bierman in the past
week about compromises.
"We are open to discuss (809) at
any time," Rush said.
A key area in discussions on
modifications of Section 809 is the
issue of binding arbitration.
"Issue by issue, binding arbitration is not bad," Hall said. He said
he is not afraid of binding arbitration because he knows the arbitrator will be fair to both police and
firefighters and the city when it
comes to salary and benefit offers.
Healsosaid he is not opposed to the
city setting wages. But it all comes
down to a question of trust, and he
doesn't trust the current city coun-   p
Bind ing arbitration is when both
sides make an offer and an arbitrator makes a judgement which is
final.
Some opponents of the Charter
Section say it's not the salaries they
oppose, but the hand-tying of dry
government which prevents the
city from setting or amending police and firefighter salaries. One
opponent of 809, the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, went on record
back in 1988 because higher salaries
for police and firefighters was inflationary and continuallydroveup
thecostof policeand fireprotection,
a chamber spokesperson said.
Gina Hill.presidentof the League
of Women Voters, said her organization is not opposed to police and
firefighter sal an es but believes that
SO^s provisions add up to bad government
"It is bad government to hamstring the city government," she
said.
The League of Women Voters
has taken a stance where the city
council should be free to set wages
and salaries for persons employed
by the city without charter-set restrictions. The League also believes
Section 809 should ei ther be entirely
deleted or amended to contain only
general policy regarding fair treatment of all city employees.
Jeff Harris, executive director of
the Building Industry Association
of the San Joaquin Valley, said they
have no formal policy on Section
809 now, but past concerns had
beenfromagovernmentstand point
"We are not against 809 for
Sm Section 809, page 3
Dole tells business:
mentor students
By Susan Goad
The Cold War weapons
race has been replaced by a
new international quest: to
provide the most productive and
innovative work force, said
Elizabeth Dole, former U.S.
Secretary of Labor.
'Members of me global marketplace are not standing still
while the US. puts its work force
together," she said.
Dole was keynote speaker nt
the Valley Busmesa Conference
held Feb. 26 at the William
Saroyan Theater.
Citing a high illiteracy rate
among American workers, Dole
errphasized theneed forbusineas
tobecomeInvolved ineducatioa
"One of five of our workers is
fuiKttonanyiffiterate/Doiesaki
"Employers have a vested in
terest in making sure schools
teach students needed skills."
Dole said the technology explosion in the United States has
resulted ina complex job market that requires workers to
master a variety of skills.
"Soon, over half the Jobs in the
country wul require a post-high
school education," she said.
The nature of the worker is
changing along with the nature
of jobs, according to Dole.
"In the next decade, the majority of the US. work force will
be comprised of the historically
disadvantaged and discriminated: five of six workers will be
females, minorities or recent
immigrants."
Dole said a cornmttrnent
from teachers,students, parents,
employers and government is
In spite of his personal struggles, UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian leads his team to victory.
Fresno baits the Shark
By Dan Evans
Staff Writer
Drugs, hookers, secret videotapes, FBI investigations,
fast cars, million-dollar contracts
— Jerry Tarkanian has seen it all
along the way.
Finally,Tarkanian has waved the
white flagon his 19-year basketball
coaching career at the University of
Nevada-Las Vegas and will resign
at the end of this season.
Just a short drive down High
way 41 from the site of his humble
coaching beginnings a t San Joaquin
Memorial High School, Tarkanian
made the final stop on his season-
long farewell tour at Selland Arena
last Thursday night when his seventh-ranked Runnin' Rebels took
on Fresno State.
"Fresno isalwaysa specialplace,
seriously," Tarkanian said. "Fresno
is a special city for me. Every time
we come to play here, every time,
I've had a great time."
The balding, ivory-haired man
^cpuld not help but reminisce.
Before the NCAA Championship, before the 500th career victory, before the NCAA investigations, there wasJFresno.
Tarkanian graduated in 1955
from Fresno State, where he was, by
his own admission, an average ball
player^^
He averaged 1.8 points per game
for the-Bulldogs.
At FSU, Tarkanian was intro —
Sm Tarkanian, paga 10
Students turn anger into action
By Melissa Knight-Barfield
Staff Writer
T1 he fee hike proposed by
Governor Wilson and supported by legislators representing
both parties spurred anger among
students across the state.
Registering to vote, filing to run
for office or encouraging someone
else to run for officeare examples of
anger replaced with positive action.
A number of Fresno area seats
are open for election this year, including: three Fresno County
supervisorial seats, three state as
sembly seats, one state senate seat,
three congressional seats and both
federal senate seats.
March 6 is the filing deadline to
run for any of Ihe above offices.
Information on the process of filing to run foroffice may be obtained
through the elections division of the
Fresno County Oerk'soffice located
at 2221 Kem St in Fresno.
The primary and general elections will be held on Tuesday, June
2 and Tuesday, No v. 3, respecti vely.
Voter registration forms are
available in the Government Publ i -
cations section of the Henry Madden
Library or by contacting Kathy
Cisneros, voter outreach coordina
tor for the elections division of the
Fresno County Clerk's office.
The last day to register to vote is
29daysprior to theelection in which
you plan to participate. The registration deadline for the June 2 primary is May 4.
Information about the impending presidential election may be
obtained by contacting Richard
Ramacher, chairperson for the
Democratic Central Committee at
486-8435 or Ron Markarian. chairperson for the Republican Central
Committee at 431-0954.
Local efforts for the presidential
candidates aa- coordina ted through
the central committees. O
Medical
personnel
shortage
spells jobs
By Linda Bdtrart	
Staff Writer
Despite financial bad times, the
health care field is facing a
"terrifying" shortage of qualified
employees.
Trying to inject interest in the
medical field, the CSUF biology
department along with Valley
Children's Hospital are going to
great lengths to keep the present
shortage under control.
William K. Collin, a CSUF biol
ogy professor who works closely
with VCH, stressed that the present
shortage will escalate drastically in
the future.
"By the year 2000 therewflT be a
20 percent vacancy rate in fields like
RNs," Collin said. "Ifs frightening
to think about it."
To fill spots, employees are actually being sought from all over.
"Hospitals are having to go outside of the United States to foreign
countries because there is no one
available here in the U5.,"said
Kathryn Wagoner, director of human resources at the hospital.
BUI Phillips, a recruiter for VCH,
said that unless we target the
younger children, ten years from
now the shortage wifl be felt in the
allied medical fields.
Allied fields are those that either
require a two or four-year degree
and consist of all the staff that keeps
a hospital functioning, with the exception of the doctors and administration.
Specifically, the fields that are
suffering the most arexegistered
nurses, medical technologists, tran-
scriptionists, pharmacists, registered neurotechs, cytogenetic and
radiology technologists, and coun-
sdorswhospecializein the genetics
field. Also in need are therapists
who can specialize in occupational,
physical and respiratory therapy.
Phillips speculated that the
shortageofemptoyeesinthese fields
can be attributed to lack of prestige
when compared to that of a doctor,
bu t he said other reasons were more
at fault.
"Triehealmiridustryhasnwdone
a good job promo ring its industry or
recruiting children at a young
enough age," Phillips said. However, -over and above the lack of
promotion, he added one more
cause for the decline.
"Health scares suchas AIDS and
hepatitis did nothing to boost the
medical field at all...obviously,"
Phillips said.
"People must realize that hospital employees are not a high-risk
group. You are definitely safer in a
hospital than anywhere else," Wagoner said.
The main focus that VCH is
concentratingon is making elementary and junior high students more
aware of the medical job opportu-
nities that are in desperate need for
employees.
"We need to impress upon these
students that subjects like science,
math and chemistry can really
pro vkte the background for a challenging career," Phillips said.
Sm Madlcal, pagai2
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