OLEKAIBE TO TRANSFER SCHOOLS
A new look at the dialogue of the abortion debate OPINION Campus sidewalks cause woes for boarders and others FEATURE Fraternity chapter receives national honors CULTURE
Fresno State star guard Kevin Olekaibe will play his senior season at another school
WEDNESDAY Issue APRIL 17, 2013 FRESNO STATE
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SERVING CAMPUS SINCE 1922
Kickin’ it old school The wild history of Fresno State Vintage Days By Liana Whitehead The Collegian It was spring of 1975. The Beach Boys began their Beachago Tour on one side of the world, as the Vietnam War continued on the other. California college students were anticipating the arrival of summer. It was then that Fresno State became home to an age-old spring tradition: Vintage Days. The event was originally designed to bring students together and create an image for Fresno State. Vintage Days founder Gary Bongiovanni, a Chico State graduate-turned-Fresno State employee, came to the Valley in the mid-1970s. Upon arriving at Fresno State, his vision for a springtime celebration began to take shape. “Fresno State kind of had a dead atmosphere,” he said. “We wanted people to feel good about it, and thought it would ultimately bring more to the university.” Bongiovanni, who, at the time, was the assistant program director of Fresno State’s College Union, drew inspiration from his alma mater. Chico State’s “Pioneer Week” was a springtime celebration promoting the university to potential students. “I thought we should do something to liven up the social image of the school,”
Bongiovanni said. “I managed to talk the university into holding an open house. The combination of open house and a variety of activities ended up being called Vintage Days.” That year, Bongiovanni hired soundman and Southern California native Reggie Rush to work with lighting, sound and staging. “I applied for the job along with seven to 10 other guys. They goofed up and made me the boss,” Rush joked. “At the time, there was nothing. You couldn’t rent a light, a stage, a table – there was nothing to be had. Gary had big dreams of what he wanted to do.” Not long after Rush’s hiring, the growing team met student and musician Mike King, whose band, Union Pacific, played at the Student Union that year. Together, Rush and King formed the College Union Sound System (CUSS), the university’s lighting and sound crew in charge of the staging, lighting and sound for Vintage Days. “I was just somebody that stumbled in playing in a band,” King said. “The next thing you know, I’m doing audio and putting it all together.” On this foundation, a tradition was born, celebrated and drastically altered more than 39 years into what we know today as Vintage Days. See VINTAGE, Page 3
The Daily Collegian / May 1976.
Earth Ball was an original Vintage Days activity that was eventually banned after several injuries.
TEDx brings ‘ideas to inspire’ Fresno State By Jacob Rayburn The Collegian After months of preparation, those involved in bringing a TEDx event to Fresno State can breathe a sigh of relief and feel a bit of pride after successfully bringing the first of its kind to campus. The Satellite Student Union was transformed Monday into a theater environment with a cleared space in front of the stage to host performances.
The theme of the event was “Exposing Ideas to Inspire”. There were two sessions in the event with a one-hour break. Each session had four speakers and one performer. There was also a video from the official Ted Talks held in Long Beach every year shown during each session. The first session was bookended by gymnastics group “Break the Barriers,” with the founder, Deby Hergenrader, giving a speech about her troupe of dis-
Khlarissa Agee/ The Collegian
Students who volunteered with TEDxFresno State are recognized and thanked for their contribution to the event.
abled students to kick off the day at 2:30 p.m. Fresno State student Ian Morris, who was the stage designer and video manager, said the audience was in awe and emotional during the speech and the performance that ended the first session. “It was really emotional,” Morris said. “Everything she said would touch me and I was fighting back tears. The end, when you see the culmination of her work and what she’s done with “disabled” students, was amazing. We had people in wheel chairs, with guys next to them, throwing other guys in the air and throwing girls with one leg to their fathers. It was freaking unbelievable. It was exciting and scary at the same time.” It was the first time for the project’s organizer and Fresno State communication professor, Dr. Marnel Niles Goins, watching the Fresno group perform. “I had to cover my mouth and close my eyes at moments because I was scared because they didn’t use mats,” Goins said. The first session was attended by about 100 people, the capacity for the event, while the second session that started at 5:30 p.m. had a lighter crowd. It was encouraging to the students who organized the event that their peers See TEDX, Page 3
mourns the loss of a colleague Via University Communications The Fresno State community suffered a tragic loss Monday when Russell “Russ” Perry of Technology Services collapsed in a campus parking lot and died. Russ had been employed at Fresno State since May 1987, working for the Computer Science Department and the Lyles College of Engineering before joining the Technology Services department as a Systems Team Leader. Russ’ wife, Margarita Perry, has worked for Fresno State since July 2000 and is the Administrative Assistant in the Evaluations office. They have two daughters. Russ was a highly-skilled IT professional who played a key role in bringing the Internet to our campus. He was well liked and deeply respected by his colleagues. Russ was an avid supporter of Bulldog sports, past member of the Bulldog Foundation and regular at many Fresno State sporting events. He was a kind, gentle man who lisSee RUSS, Page 3