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BIG WEST: Mo goes nine innings to smell sweet victory—broken nose and all —See Sports, page 5.
F R I D AY
VOLUME 66, ISSUE 49
M AY 1 5 , 1 9 9 8
New chancellor lays out goals
n ADMINISTRATION: CSU
Chancellor Charles Reed supports a greater continuity between lower and higher education and the merit pay raise program for professors. By JOAN HANSEN Daily Titan Staff Writer
CSU’s new chancellor, Charles “Charlie” Reed, stopped by Cal State Fullerton’s Academic Senate meeting Thursday long enough to charm the faculty despite the lingering anxiety regarding their own unsettled salary contract.
Faculty members said they liked Reed’s directness and straight-shooter style. He said that California has serious education problems, that education is changing, and, with Reed as chancellor, business will not be as usual. “Our society has come to a point where we need to protect our assets. California is coming to a crossroads and it is time for the politicians and the people to reinvest in human capital to be successful,” Reed told the senate. “California will look a lot like a city in Peru, maybe a half dozen armed guards as you enter the campus, not a pretty picture,” Reed said “unless California’s priorities change.”
Texas U. wants preferences back n ACCESS: University of
Texas claims that the abolishment of affirmative action drove minority students away. By Christy Hoppe The Dallas Morning News
ODESSA, Texas - University of Texas regents voted Wednesday to appeal a ruling that prompted an end to affirmative action programs for students. The regents said unless they challenge the so-called Hopwood court decision, other states will continue to lure minority students from Texas. “Right now, there’s one standard for Texas and a standard for all the other 49 states. We think that’s unfair,” said Don Evans, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents. Permission to appeal the Hopwood case—using private lawyers—must still be granted by Attorney General Dan Morales. Last month, he rejected UT’s request that his office seek the appeal, citing his opposition to affirmative action. Morales met with regents in closed session for more than an hour on Wednesday. Afterwards, he said he did guarantee to allow an appeal because he wants to review the proposed legal points to assure they are “appropriate.” He said he does not want the university system to argue for using race as a factor in admissions and financial aid. “In my judgment, if minorities are to succeed in the next century, it will not be based on the continued reliance of these artificial crutches,” said Morales, a Democrat who is not seeking re-election. He said he believes all decisions should be race-neutral and made on indi-
vidual merit. The “most compelling argument” that he would approve, Morales said, would be one that shows Texas colleges are at a disadvantage because all other states are able to recruit minority students with offers of scholarships and financial aid. Two years ago, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals barred the use of race considerations in the UT law school admissions process. Morales later extended that decision to all public universities, prohibiting the use of race-based decisions in either admissions or financial aid. In March, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled that the University of Texas must pay $776,760 to the lawyers who represented Cheryl Hopwood, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, and three other white applicants to the UT Law School. The four said they had been denied admission in 1992 because of their race. The judge also issued an injunction barring UT from using “racial preferences in the selection of those individuals” who are admitted. It was the first injunction in the case, and that opened the door to an appeal of the sweeping Hopwood ruling, UT lawyers say. The Fifth Circuit decision only applies to Texas. Louisiana and Mississippi, which also are within the court’s jurisdiction, are bound under previous desegregation court orders that override Hopwood. Since the Hopwood decision, the university, especially the law and medical schools, have seen drops in minority enrollment. Educators have expressed alarm and dismay, saying top minority students are going to out-of-state universities with
Reed spelled out his priorities to a room full of faculty members and administrators. His vision includes increased funding for the CSU, fair compensation for faculty and staff, properly maintained facilities and improvement in all public schools. “We need to improve the public school system,” Reed said. “Ninety-five percent of our students come from the public school system and they reflect the cultural diversity we need but it is the entire faculty responsibility for improvement from science to the arts and every place in between.” Increased funding has come about in part with Governor Wilson’s commit-
Axels to axels, parts to parts
n ENGINEERING: Students
hope to raise money for next year’s senior design project by selling rides in this year’s project.
By MELISSA MORRIS Daily Titan Staff Writer
JEFF CHONG/Daily Titan
Scott Grandfield swings high on the bungee cords as part of Associated Students Productions’ final semester activities, which also included a moon bounce and concert with Tito & Tarantula.
see TEXAS/
Singing praises of unsung WWII hero an award to commemorate Raoul Wallenberg, a Swede who helped save Jews from the Nazis. By JASON M. TAYLOR Daily Titan Staff Writer
Photo courtesy/Anthropology Department
see REED/
JEFF CHONG/Daily Titan
CSU Chancellor Charles Reed addressed faculty, students and staff during his visit to Cal State Fullerton on Thursday.
Just hangin’ around
n AWARD: Former CSUF anthropology professor created
Retired CSUF anthropology professor Otto VonSadovszky was rescued from the Holocaust by Raoul Wallenberg and has established a peace prize in his name.
ment this week of an additional $85 million for the CSU toward construction, computers, books and teacher education. Reed said that Wilson will reinvest a total of $3 billion in all levels of education from booming tax revenues officials credit to California’s booming economy. He said he wants access to all who want to get a degree. He pointed out that CSUF admitted 10,000 more students last year than it was budgeted for. “(CSUF) took the risk (of admitting the extra students) and you did the right thing. We need to ask Sacramento to fund 10,000 more students every year
It was 1944, near the end of World War II, when Adolf Hitler and his generals knew that the fate of the Axis powers was sealed. So they did the best they could to accomplish their mission. They killed as many Jews as possible. Raoul Wallenberg came to Budapest, Hungary, a city from which 90,000 Hungarian Jews had already been deported to Auschwitz. He decided to do something about it, by rescuing thousands of the persecuted. And now, 53 years after Wallenberg’s disappearance at the hands of paranoid Russian troops, his actions are being honored at Cal State Fullerton.
Otto J. Von Sadovszky, a retired CSUF anthropology professor, recently announced his creation of the Raoul Wallenberg Peace Award in Anthropology. Sadovszky said the award will be given to CSUF students or alumni for research or activity toward peace in the spirit of Raoul Wallenberg. Sadovszky said he was a high school student in Budapest when Nazi and SS units moved into the city to begin the extermination. He said he remembers seeing Swedish flags go up in a show of support for the Swedish savior, who sheltered by some estimations as many as 35,000 Jews. Wallenberg, the son of an aristocratic family of Swedish bankers and diplomats, began his crusade as a foreign representative for a cen-
tral European trading company. The company’s president was a Hungarian Jew, and when the killings began, Wallenberg convinced the Swedish Foreign Ministry to send him to Budapest on a diplomatic passport. He immediately became a thorn in the Nazis’ side, dogging the Germans at deportation trains and on death marches. He aided the prisoners however he could, distributing food and clothing, and sometimes even claiming that certain Jews were actually Swedish citizens so they could not be arrested. Wallenberg hid thousands of other Jews in “protected houses” that flew the flags of neutral countries. His actions earned him the wrath of Adolf Eichmann, who threatened his life on more than one occasion. On Jan. 17, 1945, hoping to obtain aid for his refugees, Wallenberg reported to the Russian troops that had taken control of the city. The Soviets, however, suspicious of his
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radio, his money, and his diplomatic status, arrested him as a spy. He was never released. “He just disappears and dies forgotten,” Sadovszky said. “It’s a horrible tragedy.” He said that although the Russians claimed that the 34year-old Wallenberg died of a heart attack in 1947, he was most likely either tortured to death or kept as a permanent prisoner. “My childhood dream was, one of these days, to honor him,” Sadovszky said, adding that he eventually would like to offer a much larger, more international peace award. Sadovszky donated $5,000 for the creation of the award. Recipients receive a plaque, but Sadovszky said that a monetary prize may be added later. The first of the annual awards will be presented at the 15th annual Humanities and Social Sci-
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Each year Engineering and Computer Science students have the option of constructing a Mini-Baja car for their senior design project. Students race the cars in the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Mini-Baja competitions held yearly. The School has accumulated three Mini-Baja cars over the years. The Interclub Council and the Engineering department typically provide funds for the car’s construction. Currently, $1,500 is needed to build next year’s model. Engineering and Computer Science Professor, Peter Othmer, has suggested using the cars to raise funds for next year’s model. Othmer is pushing the idea of creating a small, carnival-type day where students pay $5 to drive the cars within a designated area. “Some of the kids might like to take a spin in the car,” he said. He added the event, “would hopefully generate some interest in engineering.” Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Sundarm Krishnamurthy, agreed with Othmer’s idea. “I think (it is) a great idea,” Krishnamurthy said, however, “You have to watch out for the insurance liability.” Campus director of Environmental Health and Safety, Tom Whitfield, also was concerned with insurance liability. Whitfield said he was concerned about campus safety issues and that students would be paying to drive the cars on campus. “What are they paying for? What level of safety are they paying for?” Before Othmer’s idea could be seriously considered, approvals would have to be obtained from the risk manager, Martin Carbone, the Environmental Health and Safety department and parking management, Whitfield said. “I’ve seen these kids out there. I’ve seen them work all night. I’ve seen them sweat,” said Sergeant Tom Jones of Campus Police, in reference to the students who built the recent car model. He continued, “But, you’re dealing with mechanical devices and mechanical devices can fail.” If Othmer pursues the idea, Whitfield said it would take about three days to obtain the necessary clearances.