1993_11 The Daily Collegian November 1993

              2—Oji/Ed
Wi)t ©ailp Collegian
ftiesday, Nov. 16, 1993
Editorial
Title JX ignored
In 1972, a landmark bill was
passed by Congress that was hailed
as the first step for women to receive
equal funding and have the potential
to attain the status of much higher-
profile men's athletics.
It was essentially an addendum
to tlie 1972 passage of a series of
laws aimed at increasing civil rights
for individuals and women in par¬
ticular. The law staifid that the Na¬
tional Collegiate Athletic Associa¬
tion (NCAA) would have to make
funding and facilities on par with the
standards that men's athletics en¬
joyed. Compliance for these rules
and regulations has been gradual at
best, but, for the most part, colleges
and universities across the nation
have failed to realize the severity of
gender inequality in women's ath¬
letics. Trie California State Univer¬
sity system, and CSUF in particular,
tike much of the rest of the nation,
has turned a blind eye to the impor¬
tance and necessity of women's
sports.
About two weeks before the start
ofthe fall semester. The Fresno Bee
ran a special section on the impact of
a study that was being conducted by
the regional Office of Civil Rights
on Title DC improprieties. CSUF
has.neglected much of the Title IX
regulations, the article said. They
ran a photo of creaky Bulldog Dia¬
mond, home of the powerhouse
Bulldog softball team. For years,
athletic director Gary Cunningham
lias promised that Bulldog Diamond
would either be upgraded or that a
new stadium .would be built.
Cunningham has been saying that
for years, with little progress to¬
wards a new stadium. Meanwhile,
skyboxes are built at Bulldog Sta¬
dium as the football team and the
Bulldog Foundation reaps in the
profit. That, in any sense of the
word, constitutes gender inequality.
This brings us to another curious
point. Why has this university been
so lax in addressing the issue of
gender inequality? When a few
members of The Daily Collegian
attempted to place phone calls to
Cunningham and associate athletic
director Diane Milutinovich, as well
as senior associate athletic director
John Easterbrook about their opin¬
ions of Title IX, they all said that
they knew nothing about an investi¬
gation into Title IX improprieties.
Nothing? After the major city news¬
paper brings this situation to light in
an investigative report? This is inex¬
cusable. If they were not at the
liberty to discuss this situation, then
that would be fine. To say that they
knew nothing about this is abso-.
lutely irresponsible. The adminis¬
trative team of FSU athletics owes
the university community a proper
explanation fortius injustice that has
been going on in women's athletics.
The situation finally came to a'
head on October 21, when a suit was
settled between the California chap-
Lett
er
ASI pay unjustified
DearEditor,
Kudos to the ASI senate for
finally consolidating efforts and
getting something accomplished.
Their vote to reduce the "scholar¬
ship" of the executive board last
Thursday should be commended,
especially in these times of con¬
stantly increasing fees. It's great
to see teamwork between the
American and Reality parties in
trying to clean up the ASI and put
some order back Into it, plus sav¬
ing us some money.
I recognize that the executive
board does put forth an incredible
amount of time (well, at least a
portion of tt does), but to compen¬
sate for their time is inherently
wrong. They should be reimbursed
for travel expenses and out-of-
pocket expenditures, but to salary
them is opening a door to corrup¬
tion.
I'm sure that all three of the
(executive) board members and
tbe rest of their so-called party
will fight this action tooth and
nail.and that proves that something
isn't right. If they are that depen¬
dent upon their funding then maybe
we should consider why it Is they
are actually in office. Is it to serve
and represent the students who
elected them?
Obviously not, in the case of
the vice -presidents, who ran and
won oo a Specific platform and
then embraced the absolute antith-
ter of the National Organization of
Women and the^ California State
University, to make the university
system comply with federal guide¬
lines in women's sports by the 1998-
99 academic year. The chances of
this happening are, to say the least,
very slim. What this effectively
means is that the CSU, and CSUF in
particular, has about five years be¬
fore thenextsuitwillbcfiled. Itisa
virtual guarantee that President John
D. Welty and Cunningham •will
sweep this ruling, under the cob¬
webs, right next* to the plans for a
new softball stadium, a women's
NCAA soccer squad, and increased
recruiting budgets for womea!s bas¬
ketball and softball.     .
It is quite ironic that the Fresno
Bee would be run a series of articles
on Title DC one day and then ah
article on how one football team can
have up to 105 players on scholar¬
ship and on the sidelines during a
football game without playing one
single down.
The fault does not lie with the
Fresno Bee's timing. It is a signal
that there is gross inequality that
refuses to be dealt with, despite con¬
tinued warnings that men and women
are equals. As a university, we can
not stand by and ignore the fact that
women's sports have an equal place
in university athletics. It goes be¬
yond pate.receipts, Freedom Bowl
T-stnrts.ortheTtedWave. Formany
of those fed Wavers are women's
sports fans, and it's important that
the university take a elite from them
and play by the rules.    >
Here's hoping that the university
decides to take a stand and give the
women what is rightfully theirs.
esis of this platform after the elec¬
tion. So they are not concerned
about truly representing the stu¬
dents who voted foi them (or at
least what they supposedly stood
for), then why are they there? I
would wager to say that it is to pick
up that paycheck every month.
This is morally and ethically wrong
and it's about time someone stood'
up to this corruption and ended it.
Now it's probably safe to say
that the board will claim that this is
a personal assault on them by the
adversaries in the ASI. That's
simply not true, t <t so what if it
is. Itdoesn'tmatterwho'sserv-
ing on the board, once they get
a salary their objectives become
tainted. Our present board is a
prime example, with two-thirds
of the members definitely not
representing the constituents
that Reality, not American, no
one), should receive a salary
for their service.
If they are so concerned
about rightful compensation,
then why haven't they tried to
get a Salary for the unpaid sena¬
tors? Could it-be that they are
only there to fulfill their per¬
sonal agenda, which includes -
paying for school? I think.so^
Now if only the senate's ,
comrades in Washington would
do the same.
Respectfully Submitted,
Christopher J. Guitb
It's just
school
politics
Deai Editor,
It's just school politics.
It's not neurosurgery. It's not
nuclear disarmament. It's not
Arab-Israeli peace talks. It's just
the Associated Students. Inc.
The ASI has a sort of vacuum
effect Once you get your foot
inside the door of the political
scene, you're sucked in. It's ad¬
dicting Cat and Mouse games,
hidden agendas, and covertt ac¬
tivities. "It's a thrilling wild ride
when you're on the inside.
the ASI" s sole purpose, when
everythingboils down, is to effec¬
tively allocate each student's $32
among different campus organi¬
zations who lobby for it. If there
wasn't aUof thai money involved,
tlie Fresno State political arena
would be no less than a renin of
"Mission Impossible."
People from all sides are stick¬
ing to their principles and going to
tlie waif for they believe. That in
itself is admirable.
But when personal warfare is
drawn up between party lines.
that's when people get hurt, and
gets tarnished. That's wrong.
For God's sake, it's just school
politics.
Respectfully aubniitted,
Bridget C. Johnson
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