1994_10 Insight October 1994

              EDITORIAL
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
October 12,1994
INSIGHT
Guest Columnist
In recent years, the university has taken steps to
explore gender equity and diversity in ways that have
not been part of the campus experience. Gender equity and diversity may take many forms. I would like
you to consider a number of avenues that are available to us. One of the primary examples has been the
Annual Symposium on Campus Diversity. Now in
its third year, the symposium will feature a week of
campus activities beginning Oct. 16 and continuing
until Oct. 21. The theme of this year's program is
titled, "Collegiality on Campus: A Dialogue for Gender Equity."
The conference provides a combination of workshops, guest speakers and teleconferencing to bring
the issues of gender equity to the forefront. Idelisse
Malave will speak on "Promoting Dialogue Between
Men and Women" Oct. 17. Dr. Anne Bryant will keynote "Legal, Ethical and Professional Boundaries to
Consensual Relationships on Campus" Oct. 18. Dr.
Mary Burgan will talk on "Empowering Women's
Academic Achievement/Scholarship" Oct. 20. Many
workshops and panels will be held on a daily basis
during the week.
The conference has three purposes that should be
of interest to everyone.
1. To increase the level of dialogue on campus about
issues and conditions which divide women and men
of all ages, races and cultural backgrounds.
2. To explore ways to enhance the university's short
and long-term commitments to promote a structurally
equitable and intellectually supportive environment for
all women on the Fresno State campus.
3. To initiate a long-term process which engages all
dimensions of university life in a collaboration to
strengthen the positive aspects of the university experience: personal autonomy and exploration, mutuality
and shared vision and committment to justice for all
social groups.
I hope that you will review the program and make
every effort to attend whenever possible. This is not a
conference just for women.
It is an opportunity for all students, faculty and staff
to think about gender equity and its importance to each
of us. It is a chance to move this campus forward.
Over 30 students, faculty, staff and adminstrators have
worked for many months to develop this campus-wide
forum.
The University Student Union, Diversity Awareness
Program, the University Lecture Series, The California Faculty Association Fresno Chapter, various campus departments. The Golden Valley Girl Scouts, The
American Association of University Women, Fresno
Branch and VALIC are co-sponsors and supporters. I
believe that the symposium will go far to further campus understanding.
Won't you become an active participant?
John Welty, President. CSUF
Take a stand for humanity
Lisa Dorman-Stubbs
INSIGHT
"In Germany, the Nazis first came
for the communists, and I didn't
speak up because I wasn' t a communist. Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the
trade unionists, and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
but I didn't speak up because I was
a Protestant. Then they came for me,
and, by that time, there was no one
left to speak for me."
- Rev. Martin Niemoeller
I don't think this piece was written
specifically about racism, religion or
politics. I think it applies to any injustice that we see going on around
us that we fail to respond to.
How can we stand idle and let anyone abuse another human being,
whether it be physical, verbal or
emotional abuse?
Yet I have to admit, in our increasingly violent world, il becomes more
frightening to confront any potentially dangerous situation.
Last year, a man in Fresno was
chased through the streets until he
stopped his car. He was then beaten
to the point of unconsciousness by another man.
The assault continued in broad daylight and was viewed by several onlookers. Finally, one man had the
courage to chase off the attacker by
brandishing the Club from his car.
A woman was shot and killed by another woman in a San Pablo Denny's,
because she was asked to put out her
cigarette in the non-smoking section.
Disgruntled employees frequently
go to their place of employment to
take out their anger at their employers with automatic weapons.
And, several years ago, the
Boomtown Rats did a song about the
true story of the girl who shot and
killed several people at a school.
When police asked her why she did
it, the song's refrain says simply. "I
don't like Mondays."
In another day and age, it was an
act of compassion and decency to
stop and help a stranded motorist by
the side of the road.
Nowadays, it could be an act of stupidity that could end up getting you
killed.
For someone driving by himself or
herself, the dangers are many.
It may not even be 'safe'to stop when
pulled over by a "police officer."
Chances are that person pulling you
over may not even be a real police
officer. I don't like the way our world
has become.
I don't have a simple solution. But
I resent being afraid to speak up to
defend my rights, the rights of my
friends or family or the rights of other
people wilh whom I co-exist.
CSUF flushed into future
OPINION
CSUF Plant Operations
"flushed" into the future this past
summer by installing motion detector toilets, urinals, sinks and lighting in the McLane Hall building.
The question asked by many concerned students and faculty is: "
Why are we spending money on
bathrooms, instead of on educational material, teachers, classrooms,
etc."
According to Plant Operations
manager Gary Wilson, the McLane
Hall mens' and womens' restrooms
on the first floor were in desperate
need of revamping. In addition, they
fell short of meeting the fire and
handicapped codes, which didn't
make the job any easier.
This project is an experimental at
tempt by the university to actually
save money and the environment.
The new toilets and urinals cost about
the same as the old conventional style
and use one-third less water than the
old ones.
As long as students don't throw
unflushable items in the toilets, the
toilets will require less maintenance
said Alan Crow, plant operations
chief plumber "The maintenance
factor is not yet known, but the environmental aspect is that we will save
water," said Crow.
For those people worried about the
$54,000 spent on the restrooms. be
consoled by the fact that two-thirds
came from the "American Disabilities Act," which mandates CSUF
restrooms be handicapped accessible.
The rest of the money for the project
came from Facilities Planning, according to Wilson.
The high-tech facilities arc also an
attempt by Plant Operations to upgrade our fine institution and bring
it up to the 1990s.
The operation of these urinals and
toilets is simple; you either sit down
or stand up in front of one (depending on your sex) for eight seconds
and a little red light located on a
switch plate near the fixture goes on.
After you finish and walk away, a
green lightcomes on three seconds
later. The toilet has flushed for you.
Oh, how modern technology makes
our lives so convenient.
I, for one, would gladly pay the extra buck for the convenience so I
wouldn't have to stumble on someone else's mess.
Let's be honest. Some of you people
out there just don't get the concept
of flushing.
The new restrooms stay cleaner,
Saddam does it again
Once again, American troops are
headed for the Middle East
According to Sunday's Fresno
Bee, there were 4,000 Army
troops and two anti-missile Patriot
batteries en route to Kuwait.
The mighty American forces are
going to Kuwait for the same reason as three years ago: because
Saddam Hussein, the bad boy of
the modern-day world, has built
up his troops along the Iraq-Kuwait border.
Fearing an invasion of Kuwait,
the United States has risen to the
worthy cause.
Our country has resumed the
role of Kuwait's big brother, and
our troops are being offered as
possible human sacrifices.
On Sunday, there were 14,000
Iraqi troops on the Kuwait border. In Sunday's Bee, Lt. Gen.
John Sheehan, director of operations for the Pentagon's Joint
Chiefs of Staff, said Hussein's
troops "clearly present a threat to
Kuwait."
As of Monday night, Iraqi officials announced the nations intentions of withdrawing the troops.
However, they remained at the
border.
Many diplomats in the United
Nations believe that the troop
build-up is merely a show of force
by Hussein, in an effort to get economic sanctions lifted.
Or maybe it is a retaliation for
the humiliation of Desert Storm.
        Hussein is like a bad rash. No mat-
OPINION ter how many itch creams and ointments get smeared on him, he keeps
coming back.
In 1990, Iraq assumed the role of
big bully on the block and invaded
Kuwait, knowing that there was no
way Kuwait could defend itself with
in jumped big brother, the United
States. With him, he brought all his
cousins, the United Nations.
In less than 48 hours, it was over.
The United States, in an impressive
display of air defense, had shamed
Iraq. When the leader of Iraq disappeared off the face of the desert, it
was obvious that the lesson had been
learned.
At the end of it all. the United States
had triumphed, and the morale of the
nation was at an all-time high.
The satisfaction of a job well done
put a nice, shiny gloss on the
president's term. It also gave Bush
something to refer to during his unsuccessful bid for re-election.
But the job was not finished. President Hussein was still President
Hussein.
For four years, Iraq was silent. It's
possible that during this time
Hussein was rebuilding his troops
back to a threatening size.
However, he should never have had
the chance.
If Papa Bush was really concerned
over the safety of Kuwait, he would
have let the American forces do the
job of which they were capable and
taken Hussein out of power.
Instead, Bush was too aware of the
fact that 1992 was an election year.
He wanted to get Desert Shield/
Storm over with and concentrate
on his upcoming campaign.
Bush didn't want to be a one-
termer. He saw that Desert Storm
had the glow of success and left it
as is.
Now President Clinton, who
many regard as a pot-smoking,
peace-loving, draft-dodging fascist hippie, Ts left to deal with the
same situation.
The situation in Iraq, like the
situation in Haiti, gives Clinton a
chance to shine as commander-in-
chief. If Clinton plays his cards
right, he won't follow in the footsteps of one-termer Bush.
It is now Clinton's turn to deal
with a situation that Bush left unfinished.
Either way. Desert Shield/Storm
left a funky aftertaste, much like
lhat of a hamburger that wasn't on
the grill quite long enough- one
that was poorly prepared and very
undercooked.
For the sake of the troops headed
to Kuwait, as well as those already
there, Clinton should get those
coals burning and not put out the
fire until the job is done.
Hussein should now be taken out
of power, regardless of the intentions behind the build-up at the
border.
That would resolve the situation
and squelch any intentions of
other pathetic nations trying to
make a name for themselves.
More importantly, the United
States will finally be cured of that
pesky rash.
PASTIMES OF SADDAM HUSSEIN OVER THE LAST FOUR
Playing Tiddlywinks with the neighborhood children,
his mirror who's the fairest of them all.
icting torturing devices for those who disagree with hi
gratuitous political pictures with babies pulling his
the Scud Gods for another opportunity to show the "
do.
tg to his mommy that nobody understands him,
ng to convince the Iraqi press that he's a really nice gu;
pping for a desperately needed new barber,
ating new awards and decorations for his uniform, so he'
more intimidating.
>aririg his bunker, just in case.
1% Sa4W        ^2.1)4^ Ut_l
more sanitary, and the spreading of
germs is decreased from not having
to touch handles and light switches.
I leave you with this parting
thought: It's better to allocate the
money to flushing toilets and lights
that work, than having to pay janitors overtime for fishing through
human excretion.
Simpson pretrial hype outrageous
Carl Cockerham	
INSIGHT
We have been overwhelmed by the
media coverage of OJ. Simpson for
the last few months. The judge is fed
up. I'm fed up. Everyone is fed up.
It's no wonder why the judge wants
to close this case to the media. Why
doesn't the media see why? Don't
they kjiow that their first amendment
right should take a backseat to
someone's right to a fair trial? With
the way the media has handled this
case, they should already know that
they might have ruyied Simpson's
chance for a fair trial.
Since the day of Nicole Simpson's
murder, the media have been like
scavengers.. They took leads from
any Tom, Dick or Harry, bought their
stories and brought the stories out
to the public. What do you think this
publicity does to public opinion, as
well as potential jurors? Anyone
would know that isn't helpful in
Simpson's due process.
Something's definitely wrong with
this picture.
The media came up with just about
everything. There were leaks that a
load of bloody clothing was found in
Simpson's washing machine. There
was supposed to be a bloody ski mask
among the clothing. There were reports that the murder weapon was
found. A cashier at a knife shop sold
a story that had Simpson going into
the store he works in to buy a large
knife shortly before the murder. A
lady went as far as selling a story that
Simpson was seen running from the
murder scene. *
The most recent leak is about a pair
of Simpson's bloody socks. The
blood on the socks supposedly
matched the DNA of Simpson's
slaughtered ex-wife. How much
more do we have to hear?
I'm not trying to say that he definitely didn't do it, because I put nothing past human beings. However, the
media has this man convicted and the
trial has yet to start. On top of that,
there are some funny things that
point toward the innocence of
Simpson.
I don't see these things being
pushed out as hard as the other
things. The media is not being fair
with Simpson. While the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as
some money-hungry people, have
done their part, it's still the responsibility of the media to monitor what
stories go out
Then there are facts that point to
his innocence. Geraldo Rivera, on
one of his shows, said, "If the time
of death is correct, I don't see any
way that OJ. could commit the murders, go home to get cleaned up and
still make his flight to the airport.
I've taken that drive many times and
can't see how he got there in that
time frame."
The gloves don't sit well either.
Whoever committed the murders
wanted the gloves to be found at the
scene. Then comes the counter-argument of the "heat of the moment"
and the glove was dropped. Come
on! This murder wasn't in the heat
of anything. It was planned and executed well. All anyone heard was
the dog bark. Heat of anger causes
Sae SIMPSON, PAGE 8
2 ►* "4 €T a n UT
i.^diun
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