1996_03 Insight March 1966

              MARCH 13,1996
In Focus
Insight photo by Ryan McKee
Crowds of students jam the Free Speech area at mid-day, often making it impossible to walk
through without getting slowed down.
Booths, from page 1
have a booth in the Free Speech
The organization must register
its booih with Siudent Activities.
created by the students who had
booths oui there to develop an equitable and lair process it) have
their own booths oui there." Nelson
said. "They basically have their
own guidelines."
Only registered campus groups
>le for a booth. They must
have
lon.luv
of 15 members and an adviser.
One week before instruction begins. Student Activities opens its
doors at S a in. lo register booths.
"We have had some students that
have camped out overnight, beginning 3:30 |p.m. | in ihe afternoon
ihe Sunday before, until X a.m. the
t morning," Nelson said.
"It was worth camping out because
we got a good location where it's going to be exposed to a lot of people."
Nu Alpha Kappa member Eriberto
Manzano said.
Nelson said he and the students are
looking for a way so students would
not have to camp out.
"Whatever system can be devised
that they're happy with is fine with
us." he said.
There are currently 15 groups on
the waiting list for a booih.
"There are size limitations due to
the amount of space." Nelson said.
The booth may not exceed ft feel
by 8 feet in length and 8 feet in height.
Plant Operations checks the booths to
make sure each one Structurally safe.
Vehicles and bicycles are prohib-
iled in Ihe Free Speech area where the
booths are located.
"It's essentially a sidewalk, it's not
a roadway." Rick Finden. campus
parking administrator, said. This is
because of the density of thc number of pedestrians involved in that
area.
Joyce Webber, chair of the
Health and Safety Committee, said
that lhc area was not designed for
vehicle access.
"Il was designed to keep vehicles
out." she said.
The University Safety Committee has met numerous times to discuss the issue of public safety in
the area.
"The procedures that the Student
Services has set up were appropriate." Webber said. "Thc safely
committee didn't have any recommendations io make any changes."
The space from Ihe booths to the
eating tables measures approximately 14 feet. Webber says that
trucks are able lo gel through.
ASI, from page 1
ating expcn.es.
Thc ASI 1995-96 budgei is
$620,000. Of thai total. ASI has allocated $13,200 lo officer salaries. Another $126,000 is spent on operating
COM that incorporate ASI. thc campus daycare and The Daily Collegian.
Elected by and representative of the
Fresno State population, thc faces of
ASI officers are not easily reci ignized
by all students on campus.
Few students turn out to vote in the
annual elections. Out of 17.000 students, only an average of 2.000 find
their way to ihe polls
Thc realm of campus politics bears
a resemblance to those on the national
The Reality Party adheres to repub
lican conservatism, while the Student
Empowerment Alliance (SEA) follows a more progressive agenda The
Reality Party holds all executive offices of ASI.
Serving as the 1995-96 ASI president is senior Kymberly Daniels She
campaigned with Martinez, who serves
as legislative vice president and Eric
Benson.administrative vice president
Daniels' responsibilities include
serving as the public relations liaison
for ASI. She fields questions from students and campus administration.
"It's easier to deal w ith one person
than the whole board of directors."
Daniels said of her position.
Daniels also sits on all active committees as a non-voting member.
As legislative vice president.
Martinez has the responsibility to serv e
I thought someone
involved in campus
government should have
motivation, perseverance
and good train of
thought."
— Eric Benson,
A SI A dm in istrative
Vice President
as chairman for the board ol directors.
She presides over ASI meetings with
gavel in hand Issue afler issue is
brought to the lloor while Martinez
calls for objections or approvals
Benson became involved with ASI
two years ago when he could no longer
tolerate what he termed Inefficiency.
political bickering and legislation being passed" by the SEA in office
"I thought someone involved in
campus government should have motivation, perseverance and good train
of thought," Bensen said.
Martinez ran for a senator seat last
year bul didn't win. Maintaining her
interest in ASI. Martinez won her of
fice
I this;
elec
"I knew how the system worked. I
paid into il. and I wanted to have a
say in where |student money] was
going." Martinez said "It's a mandatory fee so I wanted to make sure I
could gel my opinions in and show sup
port for them. I knew there were students on campus who felt ihe same way
I did. So. I thought I'd represent them."
The'Reality Party made ihe bid for
office in 1995 with a full-ticket and
focused its agenda.
The party's platform stood solidly
behind academics according to
Martinez.
Since the ASI fee is mandatory, the
Reality Partv wanted to benefit the
largest number of students. Academics served this purpose.
The Realny Party feels academics arc
the one area of campus that accurately
represents the student population. The
party's agenda focused on helping students obtain their degrees, whether it be
support for professional organizatioas or
campus computer labs.
ASI tries to fund clubs and organizations on campus equitably, according to Martinez Their goal is to allot
more money to clubs w ith more members and less to those with fewer
members The officers are trying to
distribute funds proportionally.
Just like politics on the national
scale, politics al Fresno Stale are in a
constant state of change. The Reality
Party holds the executive scats in office this year, but lhal has no bearing
over what will happen next year.
Progressive students on campus
lend to vote in higher numbers than
conservative students, according to
If thai holds true, the 1996-97 election could see a different party in of-
Zoo, from page 1
Chaffee Zoo is a place where more
than 200 species — from the prairie
dog io the blue-tongucd skink (a type
of lizard) — call home.
"Unless you're wealthy enough to
go to the deserts of Africa or the forests of South America or Asia, you'll
never sec the kinds of animals you can
see here in Fresno." said Ron
Primavcra, acting director of Parks.
Recreation and Community Services
for the city of Fresno.
Primavera said wilhoul conservation efforts by zoos, many of thc animals will eventually become extinct.
"Ideally, we'd like to see them native in lhc wild and not threatened by
man, but that's not really thc case."
he said.
Primavera said he strives to offer
the public the best possible entertain
ment for its money but realizes there
are also many recreation alternatives.
"I can't tell people where to go and
what to do — not with Yosemite. Sequoia [national park] and the Pacific
Ocean nearby. All I can do is hope
that you'll return and bring other
friends with you," he said.
According to Primavera, spring is the
heaviest visitation season for the zoo,
mostly from area school children.
"For many of the children, this will
be the only, or first, opportunity to see
these animals up close," he said.
Susan Karby. curator of education
at Chaffee Zoo since 1984, said annual attendance stays around 400,000.
"When we open a new exhibit [attendance] goes up for about a year and
then drops back down," Karby said.
One of the most populai
Karby said, is the Winged Wonder
Bird show, whicrjjesumes this year
on April I. Karby said the zoo's latest attraction is the camel rides,
which began spring of '94.
Andrew Forester, marketing director for the Fresno Zoological Society, said a family of four can visit
the zoo for $13, not including food.
He also said the zoo relies heavily
on membership support, which is
handled by the society. Local businesses, including Lyon's Restaurants
and KNAX radio staion. are doing
their part to inform the public about
the zoo.
The zoo is located inside Roeding
Park, between Olive and Belmont avenues. General admission is $4.50.
Special prices are available for children under 12 and seniors 62 and over.
Voting, from page 1
inactive student population. "A large
population [of students] is not involved in clubs and organizations."
Boyle agreed that students not involved with the campus are less likely
to participate in the election process
"If you're interested in the election,
you're going to vote." Boyle said. "If
the main focus of your life experience
while you're here is being a student,
being involved with the campus,
you're going to vote."
Boyle also said that Fresno Slate is
largely a commuter campus. Many
students are part-timers w ho work and
don't socialize on campus in their
spare time.
"For students here, many of them,
finishing theirdegree is probably third
or fourth on the list," he said.
Martinez said press coverage has
taken its toll on students' opinions of
ASI. She said that campus publications have given negative portrayals
of student government in the past
"Students figure 'why vote? I don't
even vote in national general elections. I don't want to vote for campus
stuff when all I hear are how negative
it is and how they can't get anything
done'," said Martinez, a political science major.
Attempts to boost student participation in the elections in ihe past have
gone almost unnoticed.
If the main focus of
your life experience
while you 're here is
being a student, being
involved with the
campus, you 're going to
vote."
— Tom Boyle, Fresno
State director of Student
Life and Development
"We
l.ilK
Mter and a
sample ballot toeverv single student
that was enrolled." Boyle said, recalling an effort made in ihe 1970s.
"Turnout was exactly the same.
"There w as a time when Associated
Students set up a process where student groups could register with the
ASI ahead of time." he said. "Each
student vv ho got one of those and put
a check mark next to their organization got a dollar for every vote."
Boyle said that the most money granted
to one organization was only S135.
Senior Eric Benson, administrate e
v ice president, said the ASI is working on a mailing lisi of those students
eligible to run for office.
"[We] want to mail flyers lo build
up ASI and gel people involved in student government." said Benson, a finance major.
Fresno State's election results are
comparable to those of other univer-
"Ifs very consistent, campus-to-
campus." Boyle said "You start to sec
dramatic differences when you get to
private schools. The smaller ihe
school, the larger the turnout."
He also related the higher turnouts
to closely-knit campus communities
and the family-oriented feeling students have about their campus.
From 1993 to 1995. Fresno State
averaged 13 percent voter turnout
from a population hovering around
15.000. A fellow CSU institution has
experienced similar woes.
California Stale University. Bakers-
field, with a population of 5.100. averaged a 14 percent turnout from the
'93 and '94 elections, said Taren
Mulhase. ASI office manager at Cal
State Bakersfield.
Adina Israel, recently elected vice
president of the University of South-
em California's student Senate, said
that 2.396 students voted for the presidential race this year, approximately
16 percent of USC's undergraduate
population of 15.000.
Teachers, from page 1
"Even though leaching is a job lhat has
more challenges ihan before, lhal doesn'l
stop people from entering Ihe profession."
said Jody Daughtry. California State University. Fresno coordinator for the single
subject program, which prepares future
The majority of the state's teachers are
CSU graduales. Al Fresno Slate, lhc number of students receiving single subject
credentials has remained consist for the
past 10 years.
While the numbers have remained consistent, a recent national demand for high
school teachers might increase interest.
Daughtry said.
The demand is tied lo an increase in
high school enrollment. Because of the
increase, many school districts are looking for more teachers in basic subjects.
Fresno Unified School District officials
said the problems in many high schools
arc not scaring away potential teachers. '
In fact, the number of teacher-applicants far exceeds the number of district
openings, said Mike Pratt. FUSD assistant administrator. In one year. FUSD will
usually fill 100 to 250 teacher openings.
Local K-12 principals meet at Fresno
Slale each year to recruit these applicants.
Thc week-long process in spring forms
the school district's applicant pool, with
125 to 160 student applicants interviewed.
Although thc percentage of students
interested in leaching has fallen in recent
years, it remains strong. The number of
CSU students receiving a master's in education has increased each year, according
to a state education commission report.
In 1991-92. CSU schools awarded
3.229 master's degrees in education.
"I think in general, high school kids are
kind of fun." said Holly Fowler. Fresno
Stale single credential leaching student.
She began substitute teaching at
Yosemite High School in Oakhurst two
years ago.
"If you didn't really care about the kids
— honestly, truly like them — you
wouldn't last as a high school teacher."
Fowler said. "It has nothing lo do w ith salary. It's that feeling thai I've touched some
lives here. And they have touched mine."
There are many challenges facing future high school teachers.
California ranks highest in class si/e.
with 24.1 students per teacher compared
lo 17.3 nationally. Il is 39th in student
expenditures, according to a 1994 California Senate Office of Research report.
The days w hen teachers handed out tests
and corrected homework are gone, school
officials said. Students now come with
questions about pregnancy. AIDS, abuse,
and gangs. Every social problem is manifested in thc high school classroom.
Some Fresno High students struggle to
find a quiet place to do homework.
Marinovich said.. Some are homeless, he
added, while others have parens who are
hardlv home
Teachers play many roles — cop. counselor, mediator, psychologist .
A 1992 Gallup poll asked what Americans ihoughl of public schools. Sixty-
eight percent said Ihey failed in educating children.
Violence in high schools is another
problem today \ teachers must face.
A 199? siudy estimated about one in
20 teen-age students carry weapons into
American schools every year. The National Association of School Security estimates 70.000 serious physical assaults
"Its
schools." Daughtry sjiJ. "Bui I don't see
ii scaring people away. It's something that
most teachers that arc going to teach high
school give some thought to."
Before Fowler decided lo teach high
school, she was warned of the dangers of
the job.
"I think schools are really doing the
best ihey can with what they've got." she
Marinovich agrees.
"I believe thai education is the second-
most noble profession in our community."
he said, adding lhal the first is the clergy.
"There are many outstanding people
w ho. given all that negativity, the lack of
community prestige, the difficulty of the
job. truly in_their heart want to be a
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