1977_09 The Daily Collegian September 1977

              Writer intellectually bested by family fern
it of a fad In recent years, parti-
cularly among the housewives, to grow and cultivate
plantllfe within the home. Great care and devotion are
given to these fragrant flora; sometimes more care and
devotion that Is given to the members of the family, who
sit down to a cold T.V. dinner while mother waters the
Brassala Acttnophylla, checks Its temperature, and Injects It with a new, store-bought, formulated plant food.
The houseplant Is fast becoming the center of attention
In the home. I know of nohomesthat have broken up over
a houseplant, but It Is obvious that family life, as a result,
has definitely gone to pot.
I hold no grudges against plants and I would be the first
to concede that even these green life forms need loving,
Just as you and I. However, there are those who have
lately been carrying a harmless fad. to the point of extremes. I am, of course, referring to the recent habit
of talking toone's plants; of treating It like an equal member of the family. I came to notice that this custom was
getting out of hand the other day when the dally newspaper arrived and our beloved African Jade sat back on
the window sill and read the Home and Garden section;
"Look," I said to the Jade, whose given names was
Crassula Argenata, or Crassy for short, "It Is about
time you realized who Is In charge here. You are only
a plant. Plants cannot read, think, or understand English.
People who talk to their plants are merety wasting
their time and making complete fools of themselves.
Look al me when I'm talking to you!"
Crassy neatly folded hla newspaper, set It down,
looked up at me and said, "Bull!" He, or she, I am
really not quite «ur«, was quick to disagree with my,
opinion and he continued to argue me down on several
Important, and very good points.
I. however, wa* determined to prove to htm th* superiority of mankind, so I pulled up a chair and sat down to
face him. I opened the discussion with the theological
hypothesis that mankind had been created in thelmage of
God,  and had been set down to multiply and to Inherit
"Ah! Yes," said Crassy as he raised one of his leaves,
"but we are part of the earth and mankind must care
for and cultivate us, lest he die of starvation."
I had to admit that he did have a good point Beside
that, Crassy, being an agnostic, opted for the theory of
Darwin; that (all mankind had evolved from lesser life
forms, probably plant lite.
"You  mean one  of my ancestor's was a flower?" I
asked.
"la your case," Crassy replied smugly, "more likely
Forgetting Crassy's facetiously Insulting remark, we
continued our debate, which lasted long into tbe night.
We covered a broad variety of topic* Including such
things as history (plant's as well as man's), current
events, lite, death, taxes, philosophy, and foreign cars.
Crassy had a knack for winning argue men ts. While I
had been educated ami had gained more knowledge, Crassy
had the gift of being able to apply logical thought to any
i of discussion; even to things of which he knew
nothing about.
As time passed I became mora and more detormln*!
to win an intellectual debate with Crassy. I made fre-
qunt\-lslts to the library, seeking out .magazine articles and references, and checking.out books by noted
authors, historians, philosophers, and great thinkers.
sun Crassy maintained his upper hand. After each of
our discussions, when the point had finally-been won,
and one ot us had given In, somebody would always
say, "Better luck next Ume," and I would always say,
"You Just wait until next ttroel" .
Then one day, as I browsed through a magazine, I
happened across an article written by a well-known scientist whom I had never heard of. In the article he scoffed
at the habit of talking to one's plants, citing that it was
a waste ot time and that It was not the talking that caused
a plant to grow taller or look healthier, but merer/ the
carbon dioxide from one's breath.
I looked at Crassy with a glaring stare and said, "You
knew tt all th* time, didn't you? And you Just'let me go
on making a fool of myslef by talking to you. Why man't
you tell me it was only my breath?"
"WeU," Crassy said, "let me put it this way. Would
you rather have someone walk into the room while you
were talking to a plant, or while you were having a heavy
breathing session with it?"
I went to the library later that day to check out several
books by Homer and Plato. Tomorrow Crassy and I
are going to have  a discussion on Greek philosophy.
Jlettesi to- the editor
Dear Editor:
As a perhaps less-apathetlc-
than-usual member of the masses
that reads The Collegian, I find
myself sufficiently Inspired to
share my views after reading
Staff Reporter James Freschl's
article, "Furry Creatures Invade
d I d
o r.-.ts.
It seems that, upon encountering
a starving family of cats In a parking lot, Freschl feels pity and
picks one of the kittens up. Then
he notices another guy In the same
situation.
After seeing two Instances of
near kitten mortality, the two animal lovers put their heads toge-
Letters to the editor/staf: of The Collegian art encouraged.
Letters should not exceed 300 words In length. The editor reserves the right to edit letters tor length and style. Letters
which are typed (double or triple-spaced) will save us Ume and
effort and are therefore encouraged. AU letters must be signed
for purposes of legal atrlbutlon; bat names wiU be withheld on
request. Letters nay be hand delivered to The Collegian offices
in'the Keats Carrmus Bulldine. or mailed to: Editor.'The Collesrtan.
ther and decide that the beat thing
to do Is to leave the family of
cats "... to fend for Itself In
this strange place." Freschl then
goes on to say Inane things like,
"maybe some kind person with
a home would Ond them," and
"hopefuUy, their struggle would
not end ■quickly beneath a screeching tire," and ends by walking
to his dorm room, sans cat(s).
Now, living In a dorm myself,
I fully understand that pets are
not aUowed, and he could not have
given them a permanent home.
But too often nowadays, people
wait for some "kind person" tc
come along without excuses as
good a* their own to make things
all right. If Freschl had reaUy
cared, he might have considered
taking them to the Animal Shelter, or trying to find homes tor
them himself. A* the saying goes,
'"If you don't do It, It won't get
I realize that It 1* not always
easy to accept responsibilities
that crop up, especially ones we
don't ask for. Thar* are times
when I prefer to leave thing* for
some "kind person" to do—u.
which case I do not write a newspaper article about it.
The Collegian
Publshed three days a week except holidays and examination
periods by the Associated Students of California State University, Fresno.
Mail Subscriptions $6 per semester and $12 per year. Editorial office: Keats Campus Building, telephone 487-2266.
Opinions expressed in Collegian editorials and commentaries
are not necessarily those of California State University, Fresno or the student body.
Car Pool Info
As a pubic service lo students,
faculty, administrators and- stall.
The Collcqian will publish a column
listing currently (ormim, car pools.
Those interested in publishing
their car pool notifications should
include destinations, approximate
times and phone numbers in their
requests. Such requests may be
mailed, brought in or phoned to the
follegian oflice in the Keats-Campus Building, 487-2486.
A car pool Is forming from the Portervllle -Tulare-Visalia
area, leaving Monday through Friday by 6:30 a.m., returning
Monday by 1:30 p.m.; Tuesday/Thursday by 5:15 p.m., and Wednesday/Friday by 3:30 p.m.    CaU Mrs. Tina Kurtz at 781-6558.
John Thayer, 732-5725, andSharonJones, 733-7002, are forming
a car pool from Visalia to Fresno, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Students wishing to form car pools should contact 'me omce
and fill out a long form and card form for earh vehicle In the
pool. It will then lie nucessarv to purchase only one paid parking
decal for the entire car pool. Students can" use the same decal
r provided they live In different residences.
Pools
Chris Dyra would like to form a car pool from Tulare to
s on Monday, i a.m. to 4 p.m.: Wednesday and Friday, 8
30 p.m.   Phone 656-6410.
Janet E. Capelia, 227-2001, Is seeking to form a car pool from
the Tower District, near Clinton and Van Ness. Days needed
are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
She has a truck some days as transportation.
Ann Sprtesterback ts looking for drivers from Visalia
days,  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,' leaving at 1  a
time is flexible.  CaU 732-2117.
Mrs. Nancy Bowley, e^S-*.-!*, is seeking transportation in a
car pool from Ahwahnee (near Oakhurst) on Wednesdays only
for a 4 to 1 p.m. class. She wiU be leaving the mountain area
about 3 p.m.
Trudy Davis commutes to Fresno State Mondays, Wednesdays
and Frldays-as w*U as Thursday evening*— from Lindsay. She
seeks car pool rider* or drivers from Undsay or.ttovisalia
area.  CaU 5T2-U06.
Intramural signups begin
With the beginning of a new
school year, many students seek
variety in their program*. WhUe
many are interested in furthering
their studies, a break In the tedium can be beneficial. This is
where the Intramural sports pro-
no exception. Th* program otter*
a wide range of (ports that should
coax ovary student to pick out
at least one event.
PartidpaUon pave* the way for
'Statistical Sampling
class will be offered
Photo by Sunny Frazier
no fun doing lhc cha
MEN   WANTED! ...Silvia   Rival. I<
cha alone.' Dance instructor Lola Owensbv
dancer, classes  to any. men  who would like lo sample th
before enrolling.    Classes are held Tuesdavs at 12:10, 3:
7:10 p.m.; Thursdays at 12:10 and 3p.m.;and Fridays al 10:
f What's your line?
COLLEGIAN CLASSIFIEDS WORK!
Special Student rote: 3 lines for $1
A five-session program titled
"Statistical Sampling for Auditor*" will be sponsored by the
Bureau of Business Research
and Service at CSUF. *
The sessions wiU be held on
Wednesdays, Sept. 21 and 28, and
Oct, 5,12 and 26.
Dr. T. Hlllman Willis, an associate professor of accounting
and quantitative studies at CSUF,
will conduct the seminar sessions. Each session will be bald
from 7 to 10 p.m. In Room 210*
of th* CSUF Business Rullding.
EnroUmer.t Is limited, and advance  registration 1* required.
Ndsse grant
DR. GEORGE NASSE, a professor of geography, has received
a 1977-78 Fulbright-Hays faculty
research (rant for a three-month
project in Southern Italy.
Dr. Nasse's 95,600 grant will
take Um to Rom* and five Italo-
Albanlan villages for a Study of
"political exploitation of Albanian enclaves in Southern Italy."
- The registration deadline la
Wednesday, Sept. 14.
Dr. Willis said that th* use of
statistical sampling techniques
can result in increased confidence In audit test resultstwhlle
at the same Ume reducing costs
and audit time Involved. The seminar sessions will deal with the
application of statistical methods
in the audit situation.
Topics to be covered in the
relaxed yet compatitlv* at-
, while acquiring exercise for several hours a week.
The first sport ottered this fall
Is Flag Football. Signups ar*
being taken now through Sept. 16,
when play begins'. Last year,
. 266 women and 420 men were involved. The Intramural Department also, needs football officials, with the first meeting being
held today.
Coed VolleybaU also gets underway this month. Signups start
Sept. 12 and continue to Sept 23.
Officials are also needed for volleyball, with the fifst meeting
five
dude the role of statistical sampling In auditing, basic theory of
sampling,'elementary statistical
ages and proportion*, and advanced sampling techniques.
For farther Information and
registration material, contact the
CSUF Bureau of Business Research and Service at 487-2352.
In. addition to these team sports,
the department also otter* the
CSUF Watermelon Run on Sept.
10.. Tracksters can also run in
the CSUF Jog-A-Thon, an event
in which participants acquire
sponsors, with proceeds going towards the track program. -
Finally, racketbaU closes out
the list for this month, wtth singles . play  beginning  Sept.. 26.
Sign ups are Sept 12 through Sept.  '
23.
AU signups sir* taken in the
Men's Gyro, Room 105.
Intramural Director Pete Conrad and his staff will be there
Frank Pollfka
Farmers Insurance Group
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