1994_05 The Daily Collegian May 1994

              THECOLLEGIAN
Vol.l02,No.^^i
Fresno State's Independent Daily
Tuesday, May 10,1994
Second language requirement proposed
ByDipanMann
THECOLLEGIAN
Lyman Heine chaired his last
Academic Senate meeting Mon¬
day. Current Senate vice-chair
Melanie Bloom was elected new
chair last week. Heine' will, how¬
ever, continue to be a senator.
The meeting started with dis¬
cussion on the proposal of the Aca¬
demic Policy and Planning com-
• mittee (AP&P) on the inclusion of
a California State University,
Fresno foreign language exit re¬
quirement (FLER). A memo from
the committee to academic depart¬
ment chairs and program coordina¬
tors, requested that the "Academic
Senate debate and consider the need
for including a requirement for for¬
eign language competency in the
baccalaureate programs of students
at CSU, Fresno."
The plan for the '90s (June 1993)
identified goals for academic pro¬
grams including: "the university
shall develop a requirement which
"assures that all students are profi¬
cient in a second language and have
gained an understanding of at least
one other culture.'*
1
Dual reality
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The present foreign language
requirement conristsofonecourse
in general education. The current
breadth requirement, division 7,
allows a linguistics course, linguis¬
tics 10 or Introduction to Language,
to satisfy the requirement.
John Shields, current chair of
the AP&P, emphasized that the pro¬
posal is in its initial stages and there
is no indication as to when the
program would be implemented.
"We [AP&Phfeel fairly confi¬
dent that the proposal is fairly sound
on the basis of what can be achieved
if there is to be an FLER," said
Shields.
The committee's initial draft
proposal defines competency in
terms of skills such as speaking,
listening, reading and writing. It
asks for competency in two of these
areas.
Lester Pincu, professor of crimi¬
nology, voiced concern over the
proposal. He said,'! do personally
endorse the importance of learning
another language, but the issue of
curriculum is a faculty issue and it
has not been thoroughly discussed.'*
Shields said the proposal still has a
long way to go, being in only the
initial stage at the moment.
Another issue on the agenda was
the proposed revision of its policy
on retention and tenure of faculty.
The criteria for retention and ten¬
ure is outlined by the Academic
Senate's policy, which reads, "a
strong record of demonstrated
teaching-effectiveness is the pri¬
mary and essential, but not suffi¬
cient, criterion for tenure."
The next important criteria is
professional growth and scholarly
or creative activities . The policy
See SENATE, page 8
Asbestos removal
causes concerns
ByDipanMann
THECOLLEGIAN
With a flurry of rumors about
students falling victim to respira¬
tory disorders at an increased rate,
the question on many student's
minds is whether it's connected to
asbestos removal in the Education/
Psychology Building near the Free
Speech Area.
Cristina Gutierrez, a psychol¬
ogy major who spends most of her
time in the building, took ill a month
'ago with a respiratory problem.
Thirty days later she is still cough¬
ing and complaining of chest pains.
She wonders whether asbestos were
behind her endless trips to the Uni¬
versity Health and Counseling Cen¬
ter.
Asbestos was used in the con¬
struction of buildings as an insula¬
tor and, according to contractors,
there is really no better substance
that can be used in its place. Asbes¬
tos was used for many years, and
most ofthe older buildings on cam¬
pus contain it.
"Asbestos does and has been
known to cause respiratory prob¬
lems for a long time now," said Dr.
Rahul Grover of the Franklin D.
'Disneyland dads' divide families
By Laura Keeney
THECOLLEGIAN
There is a growing social crisis
in America and that is hitting Cali¬
fornia especially hard.
According to 1990 Census Bu¬
reau data, an estimated 700,000
men in California live apart from
their children. These men often see
their children only on weekends.
and many have limited visitation
due to long distances between fa¬
ther and child.
According to a December 1993
Fresno Bee article, "more than half
of fathers at some point find them¬
selves no longer living under the
same roof as their children," result¬
ing in "Disneyland dads."
Disneyland dads are those whose
visitation is limited usually to two
weekends a month so they try to
cram as many fun activities into
their limited hours together as pos¬
sible.
The phenomenon of families not
living together in the same house¬
hold has caused angry debate on
both sides of the issue. Many
women feel they are better off with-
out a man present in the household,
as well as some who feel strongly
the other way. Many men living
without their kids also have strong
feelings toward being with the chil¬
dren. Yet there are others still who
do not take responsibility, for their
children, leaving the mother to fend
for herself and the children.
"This is a serious matter of men
living away from their children,"
said Roben Hatmaker, professor of
social work. "Children who have
the support of two parents... these
See FATHER, page 8
Roosevelt Hospital in New York
City. Grover, a specialist in respi¬
ratory disorders, has treated pa¬
tients affected by asbestos before
and said the problem can become
serious in certain cases.
"In most cases it means perma¬
nent lung damage," said Grover.
He said problems begin when mi¬
croscopic asbestos fibers get into
the lungs and respiratory tract,
which can weaken lungs perma¬
nently.
"Since the fibers are micro- •
scopic, you never know when they
have entered your lungs," he said.
An April 14 notice issued by
CSUF officials reads, "Asbestos is
a hazardous material which may
cause adverse health effects. How¬
ever, asbestos does not pose a thi eat
unless asbestos fibers become air¬
borne."
The purpose ofthe notice was to
comply with Section 38 of the Con¬
sent Decree between the California
State University system and the
United States on behalf of the
United States Environmental Pro¬
tection Agency, because of alleged
violations of the national emission
standards for hazardous air pollut-
See ASBESTOS, page 8
Inside
Opinion: Baseball no
longer great American
pastime 2.
Entry-level Life: New
book tells about coping
with Hfe after college. .4
Sports: Fresno State
Baseball takes on Fuller-
ton tonight ...6   I
/