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S T A T E
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VOLUME 66, ISSUE 44
The
Daily
U N I V E R S I T Y ,
F U L L E R T O N INSIDE
SOFTBALL: Titans split doubleheader with No.15 Long Beach State.
—See Sports page 8.
T H U R S D AY
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Proposition 227 sparks more dissent n EDUCATION : The initiative
to eliminate bilingual education lacks supports in a panel discussion Tuesday. By KEITH MASON
Daily Titan Opinion Editor Dozens of Cal State Fullerton students and professors turned out Tuesday evening to hear three panelists question Proposition 227, a.ka. the “English for
Starving students now less in debt
the Children” initiative. If passed by popular vote on the June 2 ballot, the initiative would limit elementary school teachers to conduct lessons in mainly English with few waivers of exception. The panel consisted of an elementary school teacher, a university professor and an education consultant, all of whom reject the premise of Proposition 227. There were no speakers who supported the controversial proposition. Stephen Crashen, professor of education at USC and author of the book
“Under Attack,” urged the community to quash the initiative. “Bilingual education is one of the best things we can do for education,” he said. The most popular argument for killing bilingual education, Crashen said, is that the sooner children learn English, the sooner they can begin to learn other core subjects like math and science. “This is America. We speak English,” Crashen said, relaying the message of bilingual education foes. But he said research proves that chil-
dren learn quicker if they learn in their own language. “First make the child literate in his own language,” he said. Students who develop an understanding of their primary language learn their second language faster and better than students who are immersed in Englishonly classes, Crashen said. He also said research indicates bilingual education results in fewer dropouts, but learning a second langauage takes longer than the six months—three to four years on average—of bilingual edu-
cation the Unz initiative would permit. “Education is not a race. We help each student as best we can,” Crashen said. Although most of California’s 27 school districts do not provide instruction or even tutoring in more than a few secondary languages—Santa Ana offers three languages, Anaheim offers only Spanish as a secondary language, and Fullerton has no program at all—Crashen argued that schools should remain free to teach in two languages wherever possible.
“Whether you like bilingual education or not, Proposition 227 is a disaster,” Crashen said. “Once the public finds out what is in 227 I think they will be against it.” Jacqueline Rojas has taught elementary education, from kindergarten through eighth grade, for 29 years. “Many times common sense is not what will work best,” she said. “Institutional programs should never be judged by common sense.” Rojas compared the proposition to a
see PROP 227/
DIRECT FROM AQAUBANIA, IT’S THE AQUABATS!
n FINANCE : Recent gradu-
ates are paying off their school loans in a timely manner; default rates decrease by half. By Amy Baldwin
Knight-Ridder Newspapers Good news, Uncle Sam. Fewer college graduates are defaulting on their student loans these days. In the early 1990s the default rate peaked at about 22 percent. By 1996, it had been sliced in half. That should make the federal government, which has issued 8.6 million loans, very happy. The value of those outstanding federal loans is $32.4 billion, according to USA Group, the nation’s largest administrator of student loans. Nonfederal student loans total $1.5 billion, a figure that pales in comparison to what the government loaned. Default occurs when loan payments are more than 180 days in arrears. Here are some actions that can be taken against students who do not pay up: -Income tax returns can be intercepted by the government. -10 percent of your wages can be garnished. -The lender can sue. The decline in the default rate may be due to mandatory interviews that students go through before they take out loans and again before they graduate and have to start paying them, according to one university official. “Schools have just done a better job of keeping their students informed,” said Lynda George, director of student financial aid at the University of Kentucky. Congress passed a law in 1993 requiring universities and colleges to counsel students accepting loans. Before students get their diploma in one hand, they receive a student loan repayment schedule in the other. They are told which lender they have to pay and when. The writers of the book Take Control of Your Student Loans (Nolo Press, 1997) credit fewer defaults to Congress, giving defaulting graduates “a way out.” Until 1992, there was no law that would allow student borrowers to get out of default. “Congress faced a crisis. While members did not want the guarantee and collection agencies to get soft on borrowers in default, they knew they had to enact legislation that would provide an incentive for student borrowers to repay their loans. Since 1992, student borrowers have been able to get out of default by simply making 12 consecutive payments. And clearly, it’s working.” (Knight Ridder Newspapers researcher Linda Niemi contributed to this report.)
Attention all true believers, the Aquabats strike again! In an attempt to gain total world dominance through music, The Aquabats took over the Becker Amphitheater Wednesday. The ‘Bats destroyed all who stood in their path. The lime green invaders pelted the crowd with marshmellows, chicken tostadas, water and plastic baseballs. Needless to say, concert-goers bowed before the fury of the ‘Bats. Clockwise from left: The Bat Commader leads the crowd in cheer; Prince Adam casts an evil glare to all who try to discover his true identity; and a teenage superhero sacrifices himself to the crowd to appease the invaders. PHOTOS AND CAPTION BY MYLES ROBINSON
Giving ‘shadows’ the spotlight n OUTREACH : Event
introduces local high school students to engineering and opportunities at CSUF. The aim is to motivate kids to attend college. By MELISSA MORRIS Daily Titan Staff Writer
Eager Anaheim High School students followed college mentors around the Cal State Fullerton campus yesterday as part of “Shadow Day,” an event through the Promotion and Awareness of Careers in Engineering and Science Program. “I want to learn more about my career and what it is going to be like,” 16-year-old student Kai Kanu said. Sponsored by the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (M.A.E.S), “Shadow
Day” focuses on recruiting Latino high school students to CSUF. Throughout the year, CSUF students interact with Anaheim High School students by tutoring them in various subjects, providing guest lectures and mentoring a program. “Engineering is fine if we can get them to do that, but the main goal is to get them interested in college,” said engineering major and program director Tom Perez. The day began at 8 a.m. as students were ushered into the Titan Student Union Titan Theater for a welcoming speech by Dean Richard Rocke. Rocke said the day’s activities gave kids a chance to check out the campus. “This is their opportunity,” Rocke said. Approximately 70 high school students paired with college students from different fields of study and accompanied them to classes throughout the morning. Later, high school students were introduced to the Engineering and Computer Science department where they participated in an Internet workCopyright ©1998, Daily Titan
shop and a penny float contest. M.A.E.S. officers Gilbert Castillo, Jaime Bermudez and Armando Solis said they owed a lot to the program. Castillo said through the program, he learned, “OK, I can handle this. They really pushed me.” Aside from the “Shadow Day” event, the program also organizes a benefit soccer game that raises money for scholarships that assist students in paying for their college education. “Kids think ‘I can’t afford it.’ A lot of times that’s what holds a kid back and that’s kinda sad,” Perez said. M.A.E.S began planning for the event in January. The group was able to acquire sponsors from campus organizations and the community, but the event still cost the group $1,500, Perez said. What did high school students think of the campus and the day’s events? “It motivated us and we saw how college life is,” Hazel Peraza said.
JEFF CHONG/Daily Titan
Antonio Garcia’s foil boat won the Shadow Day competition by holding 138 pennies.