1994_10 Insight October 1994

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EDITORIAL
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY. FRESNO
October 5,1994
INSIGHT
Letters to the Editor
Students rewrite history
Dear Editor,
I write to you in regard to the
editorial of Lisa Wackowski, in
the Sept. 28 edition of the Insight
I have grave concerns over this
editorial due to the fact that this
opinion piece was either poorly
researched or the author just did
not care about truth and facts.
The author claimed that Reality members referred to the
daycare center as the dog care
center.
This never happened.
Actually, there was an article in
The Edge that claimed that now
that our children are being taken
care of in the child care center the
school was going to provide care
services for those who had to
leave their pets borne all day. This
article was a spoof designed around
exaggeration. Humor, get a sense of
it
Secondly, petting zoos, of which
the author apparently has never heard
of, are fairly common at major zoos
such as the San Diego Zoo. Once
again, though, the article in The
Edge, with a humorous poke, spoke
about a petting zoo being located on
the second floor of the library.
This zoo was going to be run by
Professor O. MacDonald and goats
and cattle were going to be present.
Also the article discussed the construction of a water slide in the library.
Anyone, with any sense of critical
thinking abilities, would be able to
discern what these articles were
about
However, if someone wanted to
use children in an inflammatory
manner in order to be manipulative, then I guess one could come
to another conclusion.
Perhaps if the author had
checked her sources and read theses articles herself she would not
have supplied the author with a
copy of the articles.
Finally, I hope that in the future,
the aspiring journalist of the Insight will show enough concern
about the truth to check their facts.
Steve Hauser
Editors note: Steve Hauser is on
the staff of The Edge.
Dear Editor,
I am a concerned first year student here at Fresno State. To be
perfectly honest, at first, I considered Fresno State to be a place I
could like, but I am not so sure
now.
I have begun to notice many
things that are not right around the
campus. Many people see what I
see too. What is that? In my opinion, I see CSUF as a biased institute. Fresno State is biased against
some departments and students.
I myself see this first hand when
I attend my Chicano Latin Studies class. My class is held in the
San Ramon Building complex.
One of the first things I first noticed the first day when I walked
Dear Editor,
Marlene Bryant's opinion piece
of Sept. 21, "Unwed Married
Couples Deserve Equal Rights,"
offered some interesting justification for giving unmarried, cohabiting persons equal benefits
and 'rights.' Her point: not to do
so is tantamount to discrimination and is a violation of such
persons' pursuit of happiness.
What she overlooks (perhaps
the most important argument
against her case) are the consequences of such living arrange-
into class was the missing panels on
the ceilings of the small room. The
holes overhead are unpleasant to look
at and unacceptable.
Apparently, according to my sister,
who has graduated in bilingual teaching, many times the San Ramon
classrooms have been evacuated in
the past when a terrible burning smell
has filled the rooms.
This abuse to the professors and students in those buildings truly upsets
me! I have paid the inflated registration fees to get nothing in return. How
can I be expected to attend a school
that apparently neglects his professors and students?
If my tuition is not going toward my
classes, and obviously it isn't, where
is it going?
This is not the only class lhat lacks
ments when they end: the increasing victimization of children who are
the first to suffer and lose their
'rights.'
Society has always had a keen interest in protecting the rights of children who were traditionally viewed
as 'property.' The benefits given to
persons embracing a traditional marriage commitment are designed to
protect and promote the well-being
of children.
Despite the prominence of divorce
and separation among traditionally
married couples, children still have
a better chance of being protected
the attention of the administration,
but so do my Biology classes.
They lack the necessary equipment which is required to successfully and professionally complete
such classes.
This brings me to my next point.
I cannot believe that professors are
paid such non-existent rates but
are also expected to teach in substandard conditions. What a slap
in the face of both students and
teachers!
Please consider printing my concerns in your next issue. I also ask
you to survey your readers and
non-readers on this issue. Thank
you for taking the time to read my
letter.
Angelica Velazquez
Biology major
under those circumstances. The issue of abandonment and separation among unmarried, cohabiting
couples is even more pronounced
and poses a greater risk for children bom (or adopted) into these
relationships.
This not so much an argument
against unmarried, cohabiting
couples as it is in favor of persons
who make the formal commitment
through traditional marriage.
Fr. Perry Kavookjian
Pastor
Newman Center Catholic
Church
OPINION
Some facts in history are surprising. For instance, "In the Olympic
Games, Greeks ran races, jumped,
hurled the biscuits and threw the
java."
Uh, ex-squeeze me... baking powder?
In a recent column in The Fresno
Bee, CSUF professor Elvin Bell
entertained readers with excerpts
from high school final exams. Thus
illustrating that, no matter how much
teachers teach, students have selective learning abilities.
This is true in history more than
any other topic.
Some students spend years sitting
in cramped classrooms, with an unused pencil poised over a fresh seat
of paper, with one eye on the clock
and one eye on the professor.
Thoughts of "Who cares who won
the French-Singaporean War?" and
"When is lunch?" pass through their
feeble minds.
I've taken more than a few classes
in history. In fact, if I ever graduate,
I '11 graduate with a minor in history.
It makes me want to cry myself to
sleep at night knowing that students
can massacre any historical topic by
believing things like "Sir Francis
Drake circumcised the world with a
100-foot clipper."
Had he really done that, I think Ju
daism wouldn't have spread so
quickly in the "New World."
And, had that student actually
cracked open that mysterious thing
called a history book, their essay
wouldn't have found its way into a
column in The Bee.
Okay, maybe history isn't the only
topic that students ignore. English,
unfortunately, is also less than a priority for some.
Hence, "In one of Shakespeare's
famous plays, Hamlet rations out his
situation by relieving himself in a
long soliloquy. In another. Lady
Mac Beth tries to convince Hamlet to
kill the king by attacking his manhood."
My high school English teacher
graded on a curve. Where was the
author of that essay when I needed
. him?
Some students try to hide the fact
that they never study and call for a
little divine intervention by using
things they learn in Sunday School.
These students figure that if they
talk about God, their teachers will
forgive them for their ignorance.
"Afterwards, Moses went up on
Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Commandments. David was a Hebrew
king skilled at playing the liar. He
fought with the Philatelists, a race of
people who lived in Biblical times."
If I wrote that one, I wouldn't hold
my breath for a miracle.
Speaking of miracle, I consider it
absolutely mind-boggling that the
same type of students that wrote
these horrific essays ever graduate
and make it to college. But I know
they're here.
These are the students who, in their
fifth year as a freshman, walk by the
library and wonder what it looks like
on the inside. "Must have lots of
books and stuff," they think.
Rather than check it out, they cruise
down to Carl's Jr. for a burger, and
pay with their huge financial aid
checks that come out of the tax-payers pockets.
These are also the students that benefit from the signs in the computer
lab lhat point out where the power
buttons are. Po-wer... follow the arrows.
Idealistically, there's a cool thing
called academic probation that
should weed out the weaker students.
A sort of discrimination for the criminally ignorant.
I can understand having a bad semester, but for most people there is
no excuse.
Just the standard, run-of-the mill
product when two stupid people have
children. No more, no less.
If people had to score a set score
on an I.Q. test before they could have
children, that would probably prevent overpopulation and the rest of
us would have an infinite supply of
oxygen.
We'd all be better off.
TOP TEN MOST COMMON MYTHS ABOUT HISTORY
10. King Henry Vm was a heterosexual.
9. Richard Nixon really didn'tknow anything about the break-in.
8. The Knights of the Round Table delivered pizzas by carriage.
7. Lt. Col. Oliver North was only following orders.
6. Christians love lions.
5. Hitler was a philanthropist.
4. Ronald Reagan could think for himself.
3. Columbus was exploring the South Pacific for the good of mankind.
2. Custer's last stand wasn't.
1. The Devil made Saddam do it
Students strike out of funds
Terese Farmen
OPINION
Three strikes,'and students may be
out of a college education — not because students are suddenly becoming felons in mass quantities but because state funding will be allocated
to afford the prison systems rather
than to the universities, because of
the three strikes law.
How many students will be turned
away from a higher education because California can no longer afford
its crime rate with its established legislation?
In an analysis written by the California Higher Educational Policy
Center, released last Thursday, the
costs of the prison system will rise
from $2 billion to $3.5 billion within
the next eight years.
The reason: because of the implementation of the three strikes law.
Salaries and egos take over pro sports
felons will be required to serve
longer sentences, thus using a substantial amount of state funds, countering the original goal of the law
which was to keep repeat offenders
off the streets.
Unfortunately, many people did
not consider the implications of such
a goal.
At the universities, to combat the
lack of funds, enrollment will have
to be restricted, tuition and fees will
continue to escalate and taxes will
also increase.
What happens to those who are
turned away from obtaining a higher
education?
They will become homeless, jobless and uneducated.
Who's to say that crime won't triple
in due time, because people will be
forced to resort to other measures
(illegal at times) in order to provide
for their families?
Three strikes is suffering an awful
backlash.
If only the government could keep
the criminals at bay, California
would shine above the rest.
But, when half the population is
paying taxes to support the other
half of ihe population, then who's
the winner and who's left holding
the rotten potatoes?
People have basically three options.
The first option is to pay more
taxes and higher fees in order to
obtain and substantiate the three
strikes law.
Or, the voters could vote for a representative who favors the modification of the law.
Finally, they could straighten up
their acts by not parading around
toking the crank, tapping the veins,
looking for an excuse to start a Mississippi boy on fire, or shooting the
neighborhood children in a drive-
by shooting and pushing the drugs
to Jane and Johnnie Kindergarten.
And if so, than maybe, just
maybe, every one could have an
equal opportunity to achieve intellect and a chance to obtain freedom.
This b America, isn't it?
OPINION
It's October, sports fans.
Traditionally, the time of year signaling the close of one sport, baseball, and the beginning of two more,
hockey and basketball.
But this year, fans are in danger of
experiencing the bleakest October in
ninety years.
In 1904, John McGraw refused to
let his New York Giants play Boston in the World Series.
McGraw reasoned that the Giants
had won the pennant in the National
League and had no reason to play
the inferior AL champions.
In 1994, it's the players who have
declined to play. The reason given
this year is the lack of a satisfactory
collective bargaining agreement.
With the remainder of the baseball
season already lost, this October is
already tarnished. But fans have adjusted and are prepared to follow
othersports.
Now, though, lt looks as if those
same fans are in danger of losing
hockey and possibly basketball
later, if the owners decide to lock the
players out
The National Hockey League was
scheduled to begin Oct 1.
However, NHL commissioner
Gary Bettman announced the opening of the season would be post
poned for two weeks in order to work
out a new collective bargaining
agreement with the player's union.
Bettman said he refused to let the
season start without a contract, because he feared a players' strike
sometime during the year. When the
players assured the league they would
not strike this year, Bettman refused
their offer saying that it would only
delay the inevitable.
In each case, players are declining
to sign an agreement with the owners, because they include terms such
as salary caps and no arbitration.
Players say the terms limit their
earning potential and restrict their
options to play wherever they choose.
Owners say salaries have gotten out
of control and must be restricted or
else smaller markets will lose teams
to low revenue. They're right.
... athletes get paid a tremendous
amount of money to play a sport which
most people play for free.
Irronically, NHL players and owners are at odds over the same problems that ended the baseball season:
small market teams losing money,
salary caps, salary arbitration and tax
Completing the trio, NBA owners
are threatening a lockout of the players if a collective bargaining agreement cannot be reached.
The NB A's agreement ended last
June and talks have begun. But if history tells us anything, those talks will
push players and owners further apart
rather than closer to an agreement.
New agreements, which include
revenue sharing and salary caps are
an attempt at helping small market
teams survive while remaining in that
small market
The players argue they should not
be forced to take apay cut because a
team cannot survive in a given city.
Some players suggest that struggling teams should move to other cities. Great solution guys.
Apparently mete players can't remember back to the days when they
loved their home team and would
have mourned the loss forever. Re
member the Brooklyn Dodgers, the
New York Giants and the Washington Senators (twice)?
The players claim they are being
taken advantage of. They claim it is
just another case of owners forcing
labor to accept the terms offered.
But let's keep some perspective.
The average salary in baseball is
over $1 million, the minimum is
$109,000.
The average NHL salary in 1993-
94 was $560,000; the minimum was
$100,000.
Basketball salaries have followed
suit with the signings of players such
as Larry Johnson for $84 million,
AnferneeHardaway for $66 million
and, most recently, a rookie. Grant
Hill signed for $44 million.
Labor, in this case, is not a group
of coal miners or migrant farm workers attempting to reach a fair agreement and trying to earn a living.
Even at the league minimum,
atheletes get paid a tremendous
amount of money to play a sport
which most people play for free.
The owners are not without fault
Mistakes have been made, and they
have cost each sport respectively.
But at some point salaries and egos
must return to Earth.
The players must do their part
Signing a collective bargaining
agreement and returning to what they
do best is a start.
INSIGHT
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Department of. Mass Communication and Journalism
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