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‘Building frenzy’ envelops campus CSUF plans for three construction projects, more are on the way By Kim Orr Daily Titan Staff
Mike Smith, director of design and construction for Cal State Fullerton, sits at his desk surrounded by colorful graphics depicting what he considers to be the future of CSUF. Some grandiose in scale and others simple restorations, construction projects ranging from landscape improvements to the development of an 95,000-squarefoot Student Recreation Center will keep Smith occupied for more than
Teacher merit pay to change?
half a decade. With the completion of the Nutwood Parking Structure and the near completion of the Performing Arts Center, the campus has become home to over five new developments in the past five years. But the building frenzy is not expected to end there. Campus groups continue to demand state-of-the-art structures that both architecturally and technologically meet the needs of the campus community. “Basically what we do is take our client’s dreams and ideas and turn them into a new building,” Smith said. And these days, dreams and ideas are appearing all over campus. The first of dozens of projects
Smith predicts to elevate the campus to the height of modernism and accessibility is the completion of a second parking structure in May 2006. According to Smith, the 1,513 space structure will not only alleviate current congestion problems, but it will also prompt the development of future buildings. “Once we complete the Parking Structure two, we can begin construction on the new Student Recreation Center that will be connected to the structure by walkway,” Smith said. The Student Recreation Center is one of the most anticipated and expensive projects yet. Kurt Borsting, director of the Building 4
CSUF students march for dimes, awareness Phi Beta Lambda collects donations for prematurity campaign
awareness. “They have an important cause that they’re fighting for,” Joanne Protacio, FBLA-PBL executive vice-president said. “We don’t profit at all from this event. Everything goes to the March of Dimes.” This year’s mini-walk was the first to take place at CSUF, but it is also the first walk of its kind to take place on any college campus. It attracted volunteers from various organizations such as the Human Services Student Association, the track team, and different business associations; all devoted time to help manage the mini-walk. “We’re making history here,” said Emeline Yong, FBLA-PBL advisor and industry specialist of business in the Career Planning and Placement Center. In addition to the numerous volunteer groups, the Dean of Students, Candy Mink, promoted CSUF’s “Get involved” campaign by donat-
But the company hired to implement the new system, Virginiabased CGI-AMS, I won’t deny that had never before it’s gone quite a handled a procurebit slower than we ment contract like anticipated, but California’s and has a recent hiswe were given an tory of troubled agressive target. software contracts Ron Joseph in other states. Director of Department CGI-AMS has General Services also hired two of the Capitol’s most influential consultants to help market the program to
state officials and to lobby General Services: the Flanigan Law firm, well-known GOP lobbyists with close ties to Schwarzenegger’s senior staff; and a public relations firm partly owned by the governor’s chief fund-raiser, Marty Wilson, who is also helping the governor raise $50 million for his special election campaign. Ron Joseph, director of the Department of General Services, said the Jan. 26 press release was not intended to be misleading but he acknowledged that only a small
Daily Titan Staff
By Joseph Gavica Daily Titan Staff
merit 4
tion. “Since the March of Dimes is our national partner we wanted to bring their cause to a local level and make students aware of the FBLA-PBL at the same time,” said Dianne Ramos, CSUF chapter president. Student participants began the mini-walk in the Quad, continued around campus and made their way through the dorms attempting to pick up participants and donations throughout the walk. During their campus trek, FBLAPBL members encouraged students to drop spare change or dollar bills into their buckets to benefit the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign. According to a promotional flyer, the March of Dimes is investing $75 million for research to discover what causes premature birth and how it can be prevented. The organization hopes that by 2007, it can decrease the amount of premature births and raise national
By Jaimee Fletcher
Gov. Schwarzenegger criticizes current single-salary schedule For over 50 years, a single-salary schedule for teachers has been in effect. Included in the application packet for prospective teachers is the pay scale. There are four classes: A, B, C and D, broken into columns. Listed in numerical order on the left are numbers one through 30. These represent the number of years a teacher has taught in the district. Each year, their pay increases, and if a teacher continues to further their education and obtain a master’s or doctorate degree, they move up on the scale to a higher salary bracket. If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has his way, pay rates will no longer be based on time served. According to Carolyn Kelley, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin, the upside to a single-salary schedule is that it’s predictable, fair and objective pay for administrators and faculty. “There is comfort in knowing beforehand the pay and criteria needed for advancement,” she said. Kelley said that the downside to the single-salary schedule is that teachers can get too comfortable, assuming that their effectiveness, or lack thereof, will not affect their pay. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his State of the State speech on Jan. 5, proposed linking teachers’ pay to “merit and performance.” “I propose that teacher pay be tied to merit, not tenure,” Schwarzenegger said. “And I propose that teacher employment be tied to performance, not to just showing up.” Schwarzenegger then explained his belief that merit-based teaching would eliminate human, institutional and educational disasters. “Nearly half the state’s budget, roughly $50 billion dollars is going into education,” Jonathan Vander Veen, a senior economics major and supporter of the proposal said.
Kyriakos toyias/For the Daily Titan
The construction of the new Performing Arts building is one of the current developments in progress on campus. This building marks the first of many restoration and construction projects to come.
megan Dangermond/Daily Titan
Cal State Fullerton students walk past the Arboretum during the March of Dimes fundraiser Tuesday.
Hip-hop music boomed through the Cal State Fullerton Quad as members of the Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda sported pink baby bracelets and danced around with change buckets to promote the first March of Dimes mini-walk on Tuesday afternoon. The two organizations joined together and invited students to participate in a mini-walk aimed at raising money for a five-year program that began in 2003 to help raise awareness and prevent premature births in America. Members of Phi Beta Lambda said they hoped that this event would support the cause and also get students to join their organiza-
March 4
New state procurement plan saves little money Savings on car deal overstated, contractor safeguards questioned The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO – Under pressure to show results from one of the governor’s key budget initiatives, the state’s Department of General Services announced last month that a new procurement program saved state and local taxpayers $1.1 million on an order for 1,600 police cars.
But the state will actually save less than $75,000, according to purchasing records and interviews, a result that may prove to be the latest in a trail of disappointments for the “strategic sourcing” program. The strategic sourcing program faces a Senate hearing in the coming weeks and growing criticism among lawmakers. Launched by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in June as a critical first step in reshaping the bureaucracy, the program has delivered only a fraction of the $96 million the administration expected so far this fiscal year.
The procurement has been a highly anticipated part of the California Performance Review; the governor’s landmark plan to modernize the state, and was forecast to save taxpayers $1 billion over five years, using aggressive negotiations and the state’s enormous buying power to drive down vendor prices.
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and being released Wednesday, also says no link between mercury from coal-burning power plants and levels of mercury in fish has been scientifically established. “After an exhaustive review of all the science surrounding the mercury debate, it is clear that some specialinterest groups are crying wolf,” said the panel’s chairman, Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif. The report said mercury levels in fish have remained constant or declined slightly since the 1970s. “Scaring people away from consuming fish is creating a public health crisis in its own right,” it said.
The Food and Drug Administration has warned that high levels of mercury in some fish, including albacore tuna, can pose a hazard for children and for women pregnant or nursing. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 8 percent of American women of childbearing age have enough mercury in their blood to put a fetus at risk. The Bush administration disputes the Clinton administration determination that mercury should be regulated as a hazardous substance and that about 450 power plants should be forced to reduce it. Instead, EPA now favors an indus-
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Pollution overstated says House Resources Committee Current report disputes the dangers of toxic mercury levels in fish The Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Dangers of toxic mercury pollution in the environment have been overstated, the House Resources Committee says in a report issued in anticipation of new regulatory proposals from the Bush administration. The report, written by aides to the committee’s majority Republicans
try-backed alternative that would permit individual plants to buy pollution rights in order to legally increase their levels of toxic materials released into the environment. “With a more restrictive regulation, we could see a large portion of this country’s coal supplies become useless,” said Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., chairman of the resource panel’s energy and resources subcommittee. “A cap-and-trade approach will reduce mercury emissions while maintaining coal as a viable source of energy.” However, with a “Cap and Trade,” system, pollution levels will not be decreased, because if one plant low-
ers its emissions, it can sell those “pollution credits” to other, dirtier plants. Environmentalists said the committee’s conclusions are contradicted by health advisories from FDA, EPA and state agencies across the country. “The House report represents outrageous misinformation that reads like the utility industry’s talking points,” said John Walke, the NRDC’s director for clean air. The EPA said its proposal would cut mercury emissions from coalburning power plants by 70 percent, from the current 48 tons a year to 15 tons a year, by 2018.