Tuesday

March 31, 1998

$8 student fee hike proposed

By JEFF HARRELSON
HORNET NEWS EDITOR

The University Union Board of Directors is asking students to chip in and help cover the cost of inflation. A proposed $8 increase in student fees has been added to the spring student body election ballot by the Union Board.

"Inflation and operating costs have caught up with us," said Richard Schiffers, associate director for the Union. "The best example I can dig up is that minimum wage has gone up 35 percent in the last year."

The board voted unanimously Tuesday to place the requested increase on the spring ballot.

The last Union fee increase was a $2 upgrade, passed in the spring of 1996. The 1996 increase raised Union fees to $71 per semester.

According to figures compiled by the California State Student Association, CSUS is now tied at sixth with San Diego State University in student union fees among CSU schools.

Schiffers said if the increase is not passed, the alternative will be a general decrease in services provided by the Union.

"I think the most obvious would be to cut back on our hours," Schiffers said. "We would have to cut back on our building hours, our functions and operations."

Schiffers also said increased prices would be a possibility.

Last spring students approved a stepped Associated Students Inc. fee increase that will cumulate to $16 per semester over a four year period.

The $8 proposal must be approved by a majority vote in the April 21 and 22 student body elections.

PLAYING FAIR:

By ERIC MARKS
HORNET STAFF WRITER

Sports aren't just for the boys anymore -- and neither are the millions of dollars devoted to athletics.

At CSUS, in fact, women athletes are gaining ground in scholarship funding and in the percentage of the athletics budget devoted to women's sports, according to figures provided by Judith Davidson, the university's athletics director.

More than $700,000 --51 percent of the university's 1998-99 scholarship funding -- is slated to go to women, budget figures show. The increased funding is mandated by Title IX, the federal civil rights statute prohibiting sex discrimination in academic and sports programs.

Jill Haas of the CSUS softball team is a direct beneficiary of Title IX.

"We are pretty much equal when it comes to equipment, fields and management," said Haas, who plays third base. "The baseball team's field may look better with a bigger scoreboard, but we are both going to get new stadiums next year -- actually upgrades to both fields -- by spring 1999."

Title IX also calls for equal locker room accommodations, practice and competitive facilities.

"What differs is the fact that (the men's baseball team) has a locker room/clubhouse at its field, and we have to use the main lockers at the gym," Haas said.

Davidson said CSUS expects to be in full compliance with both Title IX and a subsequent court decree known as CAL NOW. In that 1993 consent decree, the California State University system agreed to require all its campuses to "immediately and continuously make progress toward achieving equity in campus intercollegiate athletic programs."

The CAL NOW agreement ensures that "the proportion of women intercollegiate athletic participants among all such participants will reflect within five percentage points the proportion of women among all National College Athletic Association-eligible undergraduates at each campus," before the 1998-1999 academic year.

CSUS has achieved its goal of 51 percent total female participants in NCAA sports, Davidson said. In 1998-99, she said, that figure is projected to rise to 52 percent.

"I'm proud of CSUS' sports teams. Title IX is working well," Davidson said. "We need look no further than the recent gold medal performance of the United States women's hockey team in the Olympics. To me, that speaks volumes."

In 1996-97, 54 percent of CSUS' scholarship money went to male athletes, with 46 percent going to women. Current scholarship figures show men receive 49 percent and women receive 51 percent.

Next academic year, about $1.6 million -- 36 percent of the total budget -- is slated to go to women's sports. Total expenditures for all CSUS sports are projected to be $4.6 million, according to figures provided by Davidson.

Men's sports will receive $1.8 million, 39 percent of the budget. About $1.2 million -- 25 percent -- will go toward administrative costs.

The $1.4 million to be spent on scholarships in 1998-99 breaks down to 51 percent for women and 48.2 percent for men -- similar to this year's ratio.

Increasing squad sizes for existing women's sports is another goal of CAL NOW. It calls for university sports budgets to be divided according to the percentages of men and women on each campus.

Davidson said increased funding for women's sports allows for more publicity, such as television advertisements for the Capital Classic. It also allows for better uniforms and recruiting.

CSUS plans to build a varsity locker room for women's basketball by spring 1999, and renovate the existing track and build a new warm-up track for use by both men's and women's teams by fall 1999, Davidson said.

The men's basketball locker room will also be renovated.

CSUS must also provide gender equity with respect to the number of coaches and their compensation. The simple compliance approach is to provide the same number of coaches for men's and women's teams in the same sport, such as basketball, and equivalent numbers in dissimilar sports, Davidson said.

For example, if basketball has two assistant coaches and one head coach, then the women's team should have the same setup. Davidson said CSUS meets this standard.

Equity in coaches' compensation is achieved when the total dollars spent for salaries of men's and women's coaches are proportional to the participation of men and women in the athletics program, Davidson said. The salaries for all head coaches, assistant coaches and graduate assistants are to be included in these calculations.

For example, if men are 75 percent of the participants in a particular sport, and women are 25 percent, then 75 percent of the coaching dollars will be allotted to the men's program and 25 percent to the women's program.

Most of those interviewed expressed support for Title IX.

"It is great for the campus, good for the university system and good for sports in general," said John Smith, the Hornets' baseball coach.

ASI elections draw record candidates

A record 16 students are running for nine ASI Board of Directors positions so far, according to Executive Director Carol Ackerson.

Though the final list of candidates will not be released until today, only four of the 12 total positions have no candidates. Last year, five positions remained vacant, while three candidates ran uncontested.

"There are certainly more people running this time than ever before for this many positions," Ackerson said.

The two most contested seats are for president and director of business, each of which has four students running.

"I've asked around to people who have been here much longer than me and no one remembers four people ever running (for president)," said Ackerson, who has worked for ASI for four years.

Last year, three students ran for president.

"What's surprising is that we have someone running for director of undeclared students. Usually that position is difficult to fill," Ackerson said.

Approved candidates are:

• President -- Gary Davis, Dan Freschi, Victor Som, Sean South
• Executive vice president -- Jennifer Helms
• Vice president for finance -- Devin Cook, Geoff Sakala
• Vice president for university affairs -- Kim Shaw
• Director of business -- Enrique Acosta, Stephanie Parrish, Todd Stellmacher, Gary Waller
• Director of social science and interdisciplinary studies -- Stephanie Johnson
• Director of natural sciences and mathematics -- Maral Hagopian
• Director of undeclared students -- Adele Gray

Vacant director candidacies include: education, engineering and computer science, health and human services, and postbaccalaureate students.

Social work students seek evaluation reform

Social work students are asking for an evaluation tool to let instructors know that a class has problems well before the semester ends.

"There are simple things that could be done to improve education, like a midterm faculty evaluation," said graduate student Andy Horita.

University policy only requires one evaluation by students per semester, typically done during the last two weeks of class. Horita says that is too late, since students become apathetic and are less likely to evaluate a poorly performing instructor honestly.

At a meeting Thursday between faculty and students, faculty member Robin Carter said some instructors have informal evaluations in their classes, but the department could not require that all faculty do so.

Graduate student Scott Decker said, "I'm not worried about them. They have the corrective mechanism in place. It's the ones that don't that I'm worried about." Carter said faculty need a supportive environment to get feedback, something that is outside of the university's formal evaluation process. After Thursday's meeting, Carter met with part-time faculty members for just that purpose, said division chair Juan Hernandez.

Students also said evaluation forms are poorly structured.

"The thing about the evaluation form is that it is a lot harder to fill out when an instructor isn't doing well," said graduate student Nancy Bester.

Carter said the evaluation system is working. She said that some of the 44 part-time faculty members hired by the division this semester would not be recommended to teach in the fall based on student evaluation results.

Hernandez said the division is working at addressing student concerns, such as the evaluation process, and will continue to do so.

"We knew last semester that students were concerned about a lot of things, so I asked for two organized meetings. They responded honestly," Hernandez said. "We are in the middle of the process of being responsive."

Sharon Garrett, chair of the Undergraduate Association of Social Work, said the division faculty are responding actively to student concerns.

"They have pretty much done what we have wanted them to do," Garrett said. "My idea is for all of us to roll up our sleeves and solve the problem," she said.

Spring break travelers are prime prey for phony companies, scammers

Students looking for spring break fun are prime prey for phony companies offering travel scams, according to a consumer alert released in January by the Federal Trade Commission and the American Society of Travel Agents.

"Many of these companies tend to prey on college students going to sunny locations like Cancun or Fort Lauderdale," said James Ashurst, ASTA communications manager. "Often they will spend $10,000 to put out pamphlets, advertising low-priced travel packages, and by the time people realize they've just been jilted, the companies will have disappeared."

Travelers should be especially wary of mailings advertising bargain fares and phone solicitors offering one time travel opportunities, according to Ashurst.

These companies often overbook flights or stick travelers in worse hotels than advertised. Travelers must read the fine print on contracts to assure rights to protest changes like these, according to the Consumer Alert Report.

Many travel packages can be canceled only if there is a change of departure or return date or city, or a price increase of more than 10 percent, according to the Department of Transportation Public Charter Licensing Division rules.

FTC and ASTA offer students the following tips for avoiding spring break scams:

• Verify the travel company has filed with and been approved by the Department of Transportation Public Charter Licensing Division, (203) 366-2396.
• Obtain a copy of the operator/participator contract to see what flight and accommodation changes can legally be made, without notifying the traveler, and what the penalties are for canceling the trip.
• Pay by credit card because credit card companies offer protection not available with cash or check payments.

News briefs

Missing student located

Antoinette Quinn Amador, a criminal justice major, left home at 6 p.m. on Fri., March 27, having told her parents she was going to the Library; she did not return that evening.

The 19-year-old's father called Public Safety Saturday at about 4:25 a.m. to file a missing persons report. Public Safety searched for Antoinette in the Library and surrounding area; she could not be located.

Early Monday morning, the Amador family informed the Sheriff's Department of their daughter's return.

"Her family called at 3 this morning and said she was back," said Sharon Telles, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Department.

According to Telles, the family did not provide any additional information on where their daughter spent the last two days. There will be no follow-up on the case.

"In most cases when this happens, they come home," said Telles.

Biology group raises funds for needy animals

The fundraiser will include a bake sale, door prizes and professional photo opportunities with various furry and scaly critters, about which biology students will provide information.

"All animal lovers are invited to come and support this event," a department press release states.

Attendees will have a chance to name CSUS' two newly adopted baby box turtles. The event is being held to help pay the veterinary bills for the various injured animals often left at the doorstep of the biology department. While department representatives ask that persons not leave injured animals on their doorstep, they have continually made the effort to take care of the abandoned animals -- often paying bills out of their own pockets.

For more information, contact Marda West, professor of biology, at 278-6244.