DREAM ACT VIGIL Check The Collegian online for video coverage
Christmas Tree Lane celebrates 88 years A&E Women’s basketball stays put for break SPORTS Return Christmas to its roots OPINION
WEDNESday Issue DECEMBER 8, 2010 FRESNO STATE
COLLEGIAN.CSUFRESNO.EDU
SERVING CAMPUS SINCE 1922
Honors program lacks diversity By Ana Mendoza The Collegian Smittcamp Honors College students are a small percentage of the university, but their presence and access to resources for success are immense compared to those of the average Fresno State student. When comparing the honor’s students to the general student body, ethnic and economic imbalance is evident. “I’m going to be able to g raduate debt free, and I don’t need to get any loans,” Kaitlin Morgan, a second year Smittcamp student, said. “It’s a nice relief to not have to worry about financial costs.” Hector Cerda, a Fresno State graduate student, is currently working two jobs to pay for his graduate degree. He said that the lack of economic and ethnic diversity within Smittcamp proves that institutionalized racism is present. “There is no income verification [on the application],” Smittcamp Director Honora Howell Chapman said. “There is nothing about what is your ethnicity, what is your fam-
The fall 2010 selected applicants showed little variance.
Source: The Smittcamp Family Honors College
ily’s income.” Applicants are not considered for the program based upon their economic standing but strictly on academic achievements, Chapman said. E ve r y ye a r, S m i t t c a m p accepts 50 new students from dif ferent Califor nia high schools, out of state and sometimes even out the country.
Infographic By Michael Uribes / The Collegian
Because the scholarship is only given for eight semesters, 50 students leave the program and 50 students are accepted every year. In fall of 2010, 647 students applied for the 50 positions available. Of the selected applications, the average GPA is 3.92 (4.19 weighted GPA) and the average SAT score is 1918
out of a maximum possible score of 2400. In the fall of 2009, Fresno State had 21,500 students. Of these 5.3 percent were black, and 33.7 were Hispanic and 34.8 were white. That same year, 66 percent of the 50 students accepted into Smittcamp were white, and 10 percent Hispanic and one black and two students were Asian-Indian. That same year, Smittcamp h a d 5 5 2 ap p l i c a n t s, w i t h 56.7 percent being white, 19.3 Hispanic, .014 African American and 13.7 Asian Indian. According to research studies published on the Fresno State website, in 2008, 58 percent of students’ families had a household income of $72,000 or more. The years’ statistics showed that only 5.2 percent of the families of students accepted to honor programs such as Smittcamp had a household income of less than $24,000 per year. According to the Smittcamp Honors College website, the program has 200 students who,
hazy policy By Christian Walker The Collegian
See BOOKS, Page 3
See PUB, Page 3
Matt Weir / The Collegian
Although the Kennel Bookstore on campus states giving back half of what the book was bought for, it could vary if the used book’s price was determined by a private company.
get half of used price.” But some students say that the bookstore’s buy back policy isn’t all it seems to be. Liberal studies major Melisandi Raya, 23, said she bought her textbooks online and plans to sell them back online because they pay more. “They give you so little here,” Raya said. “They say [they] will give 50 percent of what you bought them for, but in reality they give you less.”
alcohol, has
If students cannot sell back their textbooks to the Kennel Bookstore, they also take donations. Bartel said they donate all the books to Dr. William Rice from the Craig School of Business and the marketing and logistics department, who then ships them to Armenia, and to the Golden Key Inter national Honour Society, which has a
See SMITTCAMP, Page 5
By Lucerito Salgado The Collegian
the book, Kennel Bookstore is buying it back.” Durham said students sometimes don’t get half because a private profit used book company bought it, and they determined the price of it. “You get half of what you paid for it,” book department manager Susan Bartel reiterated. “If you bought it new, you get half of the new price and if you bought it used, you
pub sells
Fresno State is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for students, but having a pub that sells alcohol on campus may seem to be a contradiction. According to the Policy on Campus Use of Alcoholic Beverages, The Association Caterer’s Per mit operates under licenses issued by the Alcoholic Beverage Control. This permit is what allows The Bucket Pub and Grill on campus to sell alcohol. Licenses must also be authorized by the Vice President for Administration. The policy states that only wine and beer should be allowed to be served on campus. According to these requirements The Bucket Pub and Grill which provides food services and six dif ferent draughts of beer is in full compliance with Fresno State’s policy. The student who decides to drink while at school, on the other hand, could very well be violating the campuses rules and not even know it. “Students shall not be under the influence of alcohol while on campus,” states the policy. This at first seems to be contradictory to the availability of beer. But it is unclear as to what being under the influence actually means in the policy. Dr. Lisa Herzig, a dietician and nutritionist at Fresno State says it’s not straightforward issue. “To say that everybody across the board is going to have the same type of reaction, I couldn’t necessarily say that,” Herzig said. “We can only make some assumptions.” There are many different factors to consider when diagnosing blood alcohol content, Herzig said “Men typically have the enzymes that take alcohol longer to metabolize than females. Also body composition, fat rate versus muscle rate is going to af fect the metabolism of alcohol,” Herzig said. According to the Blood Alcohol Chart chart provided by the Fresno State Health Center, there are three zones of intoxication represented by colors. The blue zone represents the ideal level of alcohol content of around .02 to
Students have options with textbooks As the end of the semester approaches and there are no more book reports or reading assignments, students will have to decide what to do with their textbooks. There are different options that students can do: sell them back for an economic incentive, donate them to support a good cause, return them if they rent them or keep them for future reference. For those students who would prefer to sell their textbooks and get some money back, there are two main options: sell them at Fresno State Kennel Bookstore or sell them online. “You can go online and see what we are paying for the price before having to stand in line and see if it’s worth it,” Ron Durham said, Kennel Bookstore director. He said the textbooks’ prices change daily because they are determined by the faculty who decide which textbooks to use during each semester. Durham also said the Kennel Bookstore, which is a non-profit owned by the Califor nia State University, Fresno Auxiliary Corporations, will be having its textbook buyback period from Dec. 7 to Dec. 17. “When you sell your books back there are really two possible people buying it: the Kennel Bookstore or a private used book company,” Durham said. “If you get 50 percent back from what you paid for
Campus