1996_05 The Daily Collegian May 1996

              News
THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN
Monday, May 13,1996
Falk
Continued from page 1.
The problems referred to in the
title look to be genuine examina¬
tions and not criticism of such top¬
ics as libel or advertising pressure
on editorial decisions.
The "Republican" article also
has several glaring errors. It states
that Joyal asked Falk, who was a
dear friend, to replace him as presi¬
dent.
Falk, however, was named act¬
ing president by the chancellor's
office and did not even follow
Joyal, but instead took over after
Frederick Ness left office.
The article also states that Falk
was summarily removed by the
State Chancellor in 1970, which is
true, but only because Falk was just
an acting president and a new one
had been named to the post.
Whatever the "Republican" ar¬
ticle insinuates through its title and
text, all that can be proved through
documentation is that Falk was
employed by the Reichsministry for
Propaganda and Re-Education in a
relatively low-level position.
Mixed reactions
The mixed questions surround¬
ing Falk's past are compounded by
the mixed feelings about his actions
while president.
One of Falk's first moves while
president was to reassign Dale
Burtner, dean of the school of arts
and sciences to a much lower posi¬
tion in the chemistry department.
Burtrier was known as a "liberal,"
and had helped Fresno State de¬
velop such programs as Ethpic
Studies and had supported African-
American and Chicano supple¬
ments to The Daily Collegian.
In Burtner's place, Falk put
Phillip Walker, who was openly
supportive of Falk.
Falk made the changes without
the usual consultative measures
with the faculty senate.
Eugene Zumwalt, current En¬
glish professor and then chair of the
English department, feels that while
Falk did many other controversial
acts, his firing of Burtner as dean
was really the most damaging.
"They [Falk and his supporters]
set out to destroy everything
Burtner and the liberal faculty had
created," Zumwalt said.
Other current Fresno State fac¬
ulty are more sympathetic to Falk.
such as history department chair
Loyd Bilderback.
"Falk was one of the handful of
people who really created the archi¬
tecture of this place," Bilderback
said.
Bilderback said he liked Falk as
a boss, and always knew where he
stood with him.
Student protect
Other Falk actions that came
under fire were withholding funds
from The Daily Collegian and
changing a large portion of the fac¬
ulty handbook without mentioning
it to the faculty senate until it was
done.
Zumwalt said Falk brought a
militaristic feel to the campus.
Falk never went around campus
without armed bodyguards, and af¬
ter student demonstrations started.
Falk had a visible number of po¬
liceman patrol the grounds.
Student reaction to Falk was also
mixed.
Generally, he received support
from the physical education and
agriculture departments, while eth¬
nic minority students and people
like student body president Doug
Broten were openly critical of
Falk's actions.
At one point, a two-day boycott
of classes staged. Later, a large pro¬
test that had hundreds of students
marching on Shaw Avenue saw 47
students arrested.
Once the windows in the library
were broken and smashed, and one
teacher reported having a couch
thrown in the window during class.
Zumwalt said Falk's actions po¬
larized the campus. Once demon¬
strations started. Zumwalt said
Falk's militaristic methods of keep¬
ing order also caused problems.
"It was extremely threatening,
intimidating and. dangerous I
think." Zumwalt said.
Bilderback said Falk was not
really have a typical president per¬
sonality, but that he reacted to situ¬
ations relatively well.
"He responded as well as any¬
body else would have," Bilderback
said.
Referance to past
While it is debatable whether
Falk was overly authoritative or not,
his actions cannot be seen as proof
of what the "Republican" said he
was involved in over 30 years be¬
fore his stormy term as acting presi¬
dent.
In fact, Falk often used his ex¬
perience in Berlin at the time of ris¬
ing Nazi popularity compare the
turbulent '70s to the '30s, and the
Nazi rise, which he referred to un¬
favorably.
"This is exactly the way it was
in Berlin in 1932," Falk was quoted
as saying in Kenneth Seib's "The
Slow Death of Fresno State."
"Somebody has to blow the whistle
on some of these monkeyshines."
On another occasion described
in Seib's book, Falk said the com¬
munistic attitudes he saw as evident
in many student demonstrators and
liberal faculty would cause people
to swing violently the other, direc¬
tion, as was the case in 1932 when
the communists and Nazis vied for
power over Germany.
Debate still on
Twenty-six years after Falk's
turbulent spring term, people are
still debating whether Falk was too
authoritative or simply a victim of
the times.
The "Republican" article, while
tenuous in itself, shows the division
of opinion about a man who had to
deal with an era where vast change
was sweeping every part of the
country, all the way to Fresno State.
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