The
Collegian Arts & Entertainment The Henry Madden library features an exhibit for the land of Oz, Page 5
Fresno State | Serving the campus since 1922
Sports The women’s softball team faced Louisiana Tech Saturday, Page 12 May 10, 2010 | Monday
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Closing time too early for some
Matt Weir / The Collegian
The University Keycard Office, much like offices across campus, shuts down at 5 p.m. This can be a problem for students who work full-time jobs.
By Chelsea Cushing The Collegian Graduate students and those who only take classes at night often have difficulties with the common amenities that other students have access to on a daily basis. Most offices, like
the Bulldog Card Office, are accessible only during normal business hours. Students working full time, because of financial constraints and other obligations increase the amount of students in night classes. The Bulldog Card Office,
located in the Keats Building room 103, is like most offices on campus, open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Students, faculty and staff pick up their Bulldog Card from the office which offers a multitude of services including library privileges, printing and copying, discounts on and off campus as well as many others. “I commute and work during the day,” senior nursing major Jennifer James said. “It makes it difficult to get to the offices on campus before they close.” Opening later and staying open later once or twice a month might be an option, James said. “If of fices in the Joyal Administration and others like the Bulldog Card Office extended their hours every once in awhile, it would help relieve the stress of leaving work early to get paper work at school done,” James said. “At the present time we do not offer services outside of the [8 a.m. to 5 p.m.] timeframe,” the administrator
for administrative services, Clinton Moffitt said. Many services are offered online with different departments and offices to better accommodate students, but there are numerous requirements from the university that have to be completed in person. On the Bulldog Card Office website, you may report your card lost or stolen, but you still have to pick the card up in person to verify your identification with the staff members. The Bulldog Card Office manager Linda Simmons said she has not personally received a request to extend hours at the Bulldog Card Office. “We are always willing to accommodate students and to meet the student’s needs whenever possible and in accordance with University Policy,” Simmons said. Furloughs have also put a stress on students, faculty and staff. Simmons said the office may not be able to extend the Bulldog Card Office hours at the present time, because it would not be financially viable.
Professors meet with Mexican president By John Esquivel The Collegian Members of the Central Valley took part in a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon last week to discuss a number of issues including Arizona’s newly passed immigration law, Senate Bill 1070. The meeting is a biannual event that involves the president meeting with members of Institute for Mexicans Abroad. While the meeting was meant to discuss a variety of issues, Alfredo Cuellar, an associate professor at the Kremen School of Education and Human Development who attended the meeting, said Arizona’s immigration law took up a majority of the fourhour meeting. “It was an overwhelming topic,” Cuellar said. Cuellar said the members and the president came up with a plan condemning the state of Arizona. Part of this plan includes boycotting Arizona’s professional sports teams and US Airways, which is based out of Tempe, Arizona. The meeting also came up with a plan that was aimed at Arizona’s political leaders. “We are actively talking to leaders to turn their backs
against the governor in the next election,” Cuellar said. “We are encouraging Mexicans to leave the state, calling to stop tourism.” Cuellar said that while Arizona is the main point of concern, there are currently seven other states that are considering similar laws. “Arizona was just in the right place at the right time,” Cuellar said. “This is very devastating news.” Cuellar said President Calderon wants to take a very active role in working against the law. He said that while this law will trigger more support for a comprehensive immigration reform, Calderon has been waiting for President Obama to do just that since he took office. “The president of Mexico gave a very strong message condemning this notion,” Cuellar said. “He cannot cross his ar ms and just wait for that.” Jo s e A n t o n i o R a m i r e z , city manager for the city of Firebaugh, was another member who attended the meeting with the president. Ramirez said he has been following the different phases of the law. He said he was shocked when it was considered, and even more shocked when the
McClatchy Tribune
Arizona’s newly passed law was a point of interest during the biannual meeting of the President of Mexico and the Institute for Mexicans Abroad.
governor signed it into law. “I don’t care what race you are,” Ramirez said. “I don’t have to be Mexican to say ‘you can’t do that.’” Ramirez and Cuellar both expressed how participants in the meeting acknowledged that much of Arizona’s history is rich in Mexican culture. “It’s been built on immigrant labor,” Ramirez said. “They think ‘they have weak minds and strong backs.’” Carlos Perez, associate professor for the Department of Chicano and Latin American
Studies, referenced to past events that have been discriminatory to Mexicans. “Remember that Mexicans and their U.S. citizen children were also hounded by U.S. authorities during the massive deportations of the 1930s,” Perez said. “These deportations stemmed from anti-Mexican immigrant sentiment during the 1920s and the Great Depression turned these sentiments into actions.” Like Cuellar, Perez knows See MEXICO, Page 6
Police reports’ requirements ambiguous By Brian Maxey The Collegian National research suggests universities misreport crime in some cases, according to safety experts from the state attorneys general. In 2008, Fresno State reported 218 criminal offenses. But, that figure may not be representative. University statistics often draws a muddled picture of on-campus crime because of the different standards for what’s included in crime statistics. According to a 2008 report on crime statistics released by the United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 324 instances of larceny-theft took place at Fresno State. The university, however, is not required to record this in its federally mandated annual security report. Annual campus crime reports to the Department of Education are required by all universities and colleges that participate in federal financial aid under the Clery Act, a federal law named for a student murdered at Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University in 1986. Yet, the Clery Act’s exclusion of larcenies serves as a loophole for some schools to misidentify burglaries as larcenies, which may result in a distorted number of campus thefts. The burglary tally is reported to the Department of Education, while the larceny tally is reported separately to the FBI. Fresno State recorded the highest incidences of burglary and larceny-theft out of the 23 California State University campuses in 2008, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Justice. Only eight other California college campuses, including state colleges, community colleges and University of California campuses, topped Fresno State in incidences of larceny-theft. T h e U n iv e r s i t y P o l i c e De par tment crime statistics show that no instances of larceny-theft on campus have taken place. However, 76 counts of burglary were reported in 2008. Freshman Barbara Shinaver knows the feeling all too well. While returning to her locker in the new Music Building, the 18-year-old music composition major noticed that her locker door was ajar. Inside, the locker had housed her recently purchased laptop. “I looked up where I hung See CRIME, Page 6