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VIDEO: October 1, 2007: Volleyball Two-Minute Drill

The Collegian Online’s Two-Minute Drill with Fresno State Volleyball.

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Polish Tamales

Polish Tamales opinion comic.

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Greek values: why not try dry?

Greek-letter organizations have purposes. It’s no admission to note their mission.

Delta Zeta exists, in part, “to promote the moral and social culture of its members, and to develop plans for guidance and unity in action.”

Sigma Chi would “cultivate and maintain the high ideals of friendship, justice, and learning.”

Kappa Kappa Gamma wants to involve “its members in a close bond of friendship, seeking to instill in them a spirit of mutual love and helpfulness.”

I don’t say these organizations are represented in the comments of a recent article. I don’t say that these specific purposes are violated. I say they seem to imply a common ground — righteousness; meaningful self-reflection; a healthy, social atmosphere — that seems to be largely ignored.
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Bulldog Stadium remains ‘dry’ after one year

For Bulldog football season ticket holder Bob Labrucherie, banning alcohol at Fresno State sporting events equals calmer crowds.
“I think it’s good,” the 50-year-old Labrucherie said. “It’s good for keeping the crowd under control. I’ve noticed the crowd is quieter.”

Labrucherie, a Madera resident and a season ticket holder for 10 years, recalled watching the actions of intoxicated football fans before the ban.

“There was one person who was spilling beer on a lot of people around him,” Labrucherie said. “I noticed sometimes, walking out of the stadium, people who were obviously drunk.”

As Fresno State starts the second year of alcohol-free sporting events on university-owned property, school officials and University Police report fewer alcohol-related security problems at football games.

Amy Armstrong, public information officer for the University Police Department, said most alcohol incidents decreased by half during the first year of the ban.

“There were less incidents of people just being drunk in public, which is illegal,” Armstrong said. “When people are drunk, they tend to act out, so that has decreased at the football games.”

Paul Ladwig, associate athletic director for external relations, said the ban hasn’t dampened the tremendous fan support. He said that more families returned to Bulldog Stadium after the ban last year.

“We want families and kids to come and enjoy and have a great time at Bulldog football games,” Ladwig said. “Overall, we do have a better atmosphere in the stadium.”

Charles B. Reed, chancellor of the California State University system, issued an executive order on Dec. 23, 2005 prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages at athletic events held in university-owned and operated facilities in the 23-campus system. For Fresno State, the order bans alcohol sales at football, baseball and softball games, but not for events at the Save Mart Center.

President John D. Welty said in an e-mail that Reed imposed the ban “to improve the intercollegiate athletic experience for spectators at athletic events.”

Although Fresno State could have waited to implement the ban until their alcohol concession contracts expired at the end of the 2007-2008 school year, school officials decided to end alcohol sales two years early, in September 2006.

“We had received several complaints from fans about irresponsible consumption of alcoholic beverages in the stadium,” Welty said. “We had been discussing the need to make this change even before the policy was adopted at the system level. It was our belief that an immediate change would improve the fan experience.”

The executive order also restricted the advertising of beer and wine on CSU campuses, including sporting events. According to the directive, advertising messages must promote the responsible use of alcohol, eliminating any reference to the number of drinks.

“There can still be alcohol signage [at football games],” Ladwig said. “That signage has to be in a ratio of 50-50 with responsible drinking signage.”

Welty, chairman of the CSU Alcohol Policies and Prevention Programs Committee, led the effort to re-examine CSU alcohol guidelines with a committee made up of students, faculty and administrators.

“In the aftermath of a few tragic events, including the death of a student at Chico State, it was decided to conduct a complete review of our alcohol policies and programs,” Welty said in the e-mail. “Our conclusions were that a comprehensive system policy would lead to dramatic improvements and a reduction of irresponsible consumption of alcoholic beverages.”

Each of the 23 campuses in the CSU system designed an individual alcohol education and prevention program. The committee presents progress reports every two years to the Board of Trustees. Welty said the results indicate there has been a significant decrease in irresponsible drinking behavior since 2001.

In the third progress report presented on July 10, 2007, Fresno State was highlighted for creating an improved atmosphere at football games with the early enactment of the ban on alcohol sales and the creation of Bulldog Boulevard, an alcohol-free family fun zone.

Bulldog Boulevard, located on the east side of Bulldog Stadium in the Red Lot, attracts families to football games, Ladwig said. The area, open three hours before kickoff, provides families with musical entertainment, food vendors, inflatable games in the fun zone and video games in the Dog Pound.

“I think it’s been very successful,” Ladwig said. “I think it’s always a work in progress to figure out other vendors and items that we can bring to Bulldog Boulevard. Having areas where it’s a family fun zone that’s alcohol-free is a great addition to what we do on game day.”

Justin Bedwell, a Fresno native and a football season ticket holder, brought his 2-year-old son Ethan to Bulldog Boulevard before the Sept. 1 game against Sacramento State.

“I like it, I think it’s pretty cool,” the 30-year-old Bedwell said. “You can get some nice meals, some entertainment for the kids before the game. It’s well done.”

Bedwell, a Red Seat season ticket holder for four years, remains undecided on the effectiveness of the alcohol ban.

“It definitely promotes more of a family-friendly atmosphere, so yes I would say it’s good for people with kids,” Bedwell said. “My only drawback is my section seemed to be responsible anyway, so it seems like they’re punishing the good people as well as the bad. All in all, it’s probably a good thing.”

Some students also question the usefulness of the ban.

Tristan Bufete, 21, said the ban possibly leads to more “pre-partying” before the game, with students “loading up” on alcohol before they arrive at the stadium.

“You don’t need to drink to enjoy a game,” Bufete said, “but it’s so intrinsic in the experience that people will do it anyway.”

Donate a cell phone — and clear a land mine

Who would have thought recycling a cell phone could save lives? One Fresno State club is taking a unique approach to eliminating electronic waste and helping in the crusade to safely remove land mines from foreign countries.

The American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) is collaborating with several organizations in order to collect used cell phones, recycle them and use the proceeds for a direct donation to the United Nations Mine Action Team.

David Biswanger, president of ACSM, initiated the idea. He wanted his club to do more than just meet and plan conferences. He wanted the ACSM to do something truly beneficial and positive for the community.

“I wanted ACSM to have a purpose,” Biswanger said, “a truly altruistic mission to accomplish that would tie in with our club and our department.”

The ACSM is part of the Fresno State Geomatics Engineering department, which specializes in projects concerning land surveying, mapping and monitoring equipment underground.

Biswanger said he knew the best charitable cause his club could contribute to was land mine removal since it directly relates to what his club is already doing.

“I just needed to find a way to raise funds to make a sizeable donation to the cause,” Biswanger said.

He said he got in touch with Re-Cellular, a company that collects and recycles used cell phones, and together they came up with a plan.

According to Re-Cellular’s Web site, the company takes used phones and uses the material to build brand new phones to distribute to Third World countries. Re-Cellular looks for new ways to collect phones and continue its charitable effort to make global communication a reality.

“Basically ACSM could help collect used cell phones for Re-Cellular and they would pay us for the phones,” Biswanger said,“ but all the proceeds would be given towards our cause of land mine removal.”

Biswanger then contacted Schonstedt, a company that builds and creates land mine detectors, and told them what he was doing.

“I basically worked it out so that the money from Re-Cellular would be donated to Schonstedt to make land mine detectors, for them in turn to donate directly to the United Nations Mine Action Team,” Biswanger said.

The United Nations Mine Action Team is a worldwide organization dedicated to the removal of land mines. They participate in actions ranging from teaching people how to protect themselves from danger in a mine-affected environment to advocating for a mine-free world.

Many don’t realize land mines are still a major safety concern in several parts of the world, and funding for them is constantly being cut back, Biswanger said. The Mine Action Team needs all the donations and help they can get.

According to The Mine Action Team’s Web site, www.mineaction.org, land mines and explosive remnants of war affect at least 78 countries and injure or kill between 15,000 and 20,000 people annually. Most victims are children who play in or around areas where land mines are unknowingly located.

The ACSM does not receive any profit from collecting and giving the phones to Re-Cellular — everything raised goes toward donations.

A little over 50 old cell phones have been collected so far, Biswanger said. But the donations have been limited to Geomatic students.

The ACSM plans to send out flyers next week detailing the cell phone campaign.

Biswanger said he was happy about how everything fell into place. He now just needs cell phones to collect.

“The average proceed collected per cell phone is about three dollars,” Biswanger said, “If all of the student body just dropped off one phone, that would raise $60,000 to donate toward the Mine Action Team.”

But Biswanger said that’s only if the ratio is one phone per student, a conservative number. He said that with technology quickly advancing, students are buying new phones right and left, and in fact may have several old phones lying around somewhere.

“One girl dropped off about 12 cell phones,” Biswanger said. “Students change cell phones faster than they change their underwear these days.”

Biswanger hopes word will spread and more people will start dropping off phones.

“Its all a win-win situation for everyone involved,” Biswanger said. “We are relieving students of unwanted junk, we are then having that junk recycled, preventing pollution and the money from doing it is being used to save lives.”

What to do with your old cell phone

Help save lives plus get rid of your old cell phone

• Where: drop off old cell phones at Engineering East rooms 106 and 107.

• Who to contact: ACSM at acsm@csufresno.edu.

• To find out more about the campaign for land mine removal, visit www.mineaction.org. For information on cell phone recycling and other e-waste, visit www.recellular.com.

Fun and Games - 9/28/07

Fun and games for Friday, September 28th, 2007.

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Fall Fitness Festival

People of different fitness levels, ages and academic pursuits attended the Fall Fitness Festival on Tuesday.

Held at the Satellite Student Union to promote good health through exercise, the event focused on the variety of fitness classes offered at the Student Recreation Center on campus.

The festival featured demonstrations and unveilings of new classes on a grander scale than the classes’ usual launch format. It also provided the opportunity to introduce both new and returning instructors.

Fitness Director and Festival Coordinator Maia Jost stressed the importance of introducing students to available fitness classes as part of emphasizing fitness on campus.

“Because we are a learning environment, it is our job to educate our campus community about fitness and why it’s important,” Jost said.

Fitness instructor Stephanie White agreed that more students need to know what is available to them.

“Most people aren’t aware of the fact that they have this array of amazing fitness classes. The classes are a great way to interact with other students,” White said.

All of the group fitness classes are taught by certified professional instructors and are scheduled in a manner that accommodates the busy lives of college students.

For students who wanted other options, vendors including Livestrong, Race for the Cure and Wellness Ambassadors were present at the event. This gave students the opportunity to find out how to get involved with each of these groups, which all promote fitness. Some even offer a chance to be a part of a cause.

The Race for the Cure vendor is even bringing an event to campus, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, on Oct. 27. It benefits the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation by raising money to guarantee excellent care and help find cures.

One of the students who took advantage of the opportunity to meet with the vendors was Fresno State Spirit Squad member Melanie Davis, who said that the vendors were set up well.

“[They] were very interesting, informative, and eager to share their knowledge,” Davis said.

The members of the Fresno State Spirit Squad, which consists of co-ed cheerleaders and Fresno State’s mascot, also participated in numerous classes at the festival.

Squad member Andrea Schilling enjoyed the classes and said that it was more challenging than she had expected.

“They got my heart rate up more than I thought they would. I did not realize how intense they were,” Schilling said. “[But] the instructors are very active and involved. They talked us through everything, and made us feel that we weren’t the only ones working hard.”

Davis agreed that the instructors helped to make the classes enjoyable.

“They were very friendly and got everyone engaged with their enthusiasm,” Davis said.

The event got the attention of KMPH Fox 26 News, and the event was dubbed a success by the students who were attending.

“I loved it! It was professionally set up. It was over the top excellent,” interior design major Cory Strasser said.

Due to the popularity of this festival, the Rec Center plans to have similar events in the future.

Student Recreation Center classes and info

Open to all Fresno State students, the rec. center offers seven different classes: Body Pump, Body Combat, Body Flow, Hip Hop, Spinning, B.A.T. and Boot Camp.

• Descriptions of these classes can be found online. Hours as well as instructor information are available for all classes.

• To find out more about upcoming Rec Center events and who is involved, keep updated by getting on the Rec Center’s web site.

’Dogs at home

For the first time since the fall semester began, the Fresno State football, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams are all at home this weekend.

Both football and soccer play at Bulldog Stadium and volleyball plays at the Save Mart Center.

Admission for the women’s sports is free with Fresno State I.D.

The football team looks to even out its record in the match against Louisiana Tech.

Since 2001, the Bulldogs have won four of the last six meetings.

Women’s soccer (3-4) hosts UTEP and Cal State Fullerton.

UTEP and Fresno State last met in 2004 when the ’Dogs fell to the Miners, who lead the overall series, 3-2.

The series with Cal State Fullerton is tied 3-3.

Women’s volleyball hosts second place Utah State in conference play.

The series between the ’Dogs and the Aggies is tied 5-5.

The ’Dogs are 2-2 in WAC standings, 4-10 overall.

Weekend Schedule

The competitions at home this weekend.

• Soccer vs. UTEP
Friday, Sept. 28, 7:00 p.m.

• Volleyball vs. Utah State
Saturday, Sept. 29, 1:00 p.m.

• Football vs. Louisiana Tech
Saturday, Sept. 29, 7:00 p.m.

• Soccer vs. Cal State Fullerton
Sunday, Sept. 30, 2:00 p.m.

Sober students less rowdy, still want alcohol

It’s been one year since the powers that be removed alcohol from Bulldog Stadium, and student reaction remains mixed.

Jason Trevino, a senior history major, said the no-alcohol policy was notable in the home football opener against Sacramento State.

The ban also means less money for the athletic department and ultimately the university, he said.

“I don’t think they should have banned it,” he said. “I think they should bring it back, maybe control it for just a section.”

Dietetics senior Clint Lara didn’t go to the game, but said the fans would probably be less boisterous.

“It kind of kills the home team momentum,” he said. “It’s good and bad.”

There are other ways for unscrupulous students.

“Now we have to sneak it in instead of buying it,” he said.

Others aren’t sure why the policy went into effect.

Lara said it’s to promote a family atmosphere, but Carly Cahoon, a health science senior, said it had to do with curtailing underage drinking.

“I think it’s worse off because people just get belligerently drunk before a game,” she said.

Freshman Grace DeMarco, a liberal studies major, called the ban pointless.

“People just get drunk before the games,” she said. “People are still drunk during the games.

“I don’t think it makes any sense. Either way, people are going to drink.”

Steve Rendon, a junior history major, said he likes to drink.

“I’m a drinker,” he said. “[The ban is] bad.”

Rendon was more practical about it.

“If we’re not going to do so well this season, we need something to keep our minds busy.”

Fresno State Football: Week 5 Preview

Fresno State Bulldogs (1-2) vs. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-2)

Gameday: Saturday, 7 p.m., at Bulldog Stadium

Radio: KMJ-AM 580 and KGST-AM 1600 (ESPN Deportes)

Pre-game Show: KFIG-AM 1430 ESPN Gameday Live at 4 p.m.

Bulldogs’ Three Keys to Victory:

1)Give Tommy time to throw. If the line can give Brandstater proper protection, then he can exploit a weak Louisiana Tech secondary.

2)Shut down Jackson. If the Fresno State defense can stifle Patrick Jackson and the running game, then they will shut down the Tech offense.

3)Play mistake-free football. Lately Fresno State has been shooting themselves in the foot. This week the Bulldogs need to cut down on penalties and turnovers. If they can play fundamental, Bulldog football they shoud roll to victory.

Born on the bayou…

Last Week: Bye - Lost 12-42 to California two weeks ago

2006 Record: 3-10, 1-7 WAC (T-8TH)

Head Coach: Derek Dooley (First Season)

Offense: Multiple Single-Back

Defense: 4-3

Key Players: FS Antonio Baker, P Chris Keagle, LB Quin Harris
Series Record: Fresno State leads 6-2

Last Meeting: 2006 - Fresno State won 34-27 in Ruston

Position Matchups

Quarterbacks: Fresno State
Brandstater has really come into his own in 2007.

Running Backs: Louisiana Tech
Jackson is one of the top tailbacks in the WAC.

Offensive Line: Fresno State
Fresno’s line is depleted, but expect them to step up.

Wide Receivers: Fresno State
Moore, Crawley and Pascoe should have a field day.

Defensive Line: Fresno State
Loss of Roberts hurts, but Tyler Clutts can pick up the slack.

Linebackers: Fresno State
Tech’s Quin Harris is solid, but Fresno trio is scary.

Defensive Backs: Fresno State
Tech has the worst pass defense in the WAC - enough said.

Special Teams: Fresno State
Blocking kicks seems to be Fresno’s niche. Look for another one on Saturday.

Football and alcohol still mix in Mackay Stadium

Scott Sonner, AP Writer. RENO, Nev. (AP) — Concerned some intoxicated fans are making Nevada’s Mackay Stadium something less than family friendly, school officials appealed Thursday for good sportsmanship at Saturday’s game against rival UNLV.

“This is the big game,” school president Milton Glick told reporters.

“We really want to win this game. We believe we will win the game,” he said. “At the same time, we want to welcome the fans from Las Vegas.”

“We want people who come up from UNLV to say, ‘Wow, when we come to Reno, they really treat us well except on the football field,’” Glick said.

“We think you can be a true advocate for the team and great fans, loud fans and show class.”

Glick said he, athletic director Cary Growth and coach Chris Ault called the news conference as part of “a big all-out effort this year to create that fan-friendly atmosphere.”

“We want families to be comfortable coming to the game,” he said.

School officials said earlier that security guards will deny entrance to visibly intoxicated fans. Starting Saturday and continuing through the season, alcohol sales will be limited to one drink per person, per purchase and that sales — which typically stop at the end of halftime — can be discontinued at any point.

“Sometimes we’ve got some folks who come in and — whether it’s the home team or the visiting team — who drank a little too much,” Groth said. “We try to control that and game by game, I think we are getting better.”

“Our fans and community leaders expect our student athletes to operate in a first-class manner and that’s what we expect of our fans. It goes both ways,” Groth said.

A sellout or near-capacity crowd is expected for Saturday’s 1:05 p.m. game at Mackay Stadium, the scene of some past hostilities between the two rivals.

In 2003, then UNLV coach John Robinson was struck in the head by a plastic bottle thrown by a fan from the stands as his team left the field after a 16-12 victory. The fan was arrested and Robinson was unharmed.

In 1995, there were two on-field brawls, 25 ejections and six arrests. Glick said security will not refuse entry to fans wearing T-shirts being sold in Reno with “F UNLV” on the front.

But “we are going to discourage people from wearing T-shirts that might embarrass families,” he said.

He said 5,000 blue T-shirts that say “Stay True” will be provided to the first fans through the student gate.

“We hope they’ll agree to put those on over the T-shirt they bought some place that I think is in bad taste,” he said.

Ault said Mackay Stadium has a tradition of being fan friendly and he’s counting on strong support on Saturday.

“I’ve always told everybody half the team is on the field, the other half is in the stands,” the coach said. “When the environment is right and all the energy is centered toward the football team itself, toward the game itself, this is an electric stadium. That is what we need. We need people to be behind the Pack.”

‘Who’s in charge?’ explained

The Sept. 26 edition of The Collegian featured on its front page an article by news reporter Katrina Garcia under the headline, “Who’s in charge?”

The article, referring to an alcohol-related incident involving members of the sorority Delta Zeta, posed the central question: When fraternities and sororities find themselves embroiled in issues with potential legal recourse, to whom do they turn, and to whom are they accountable?

On Sept. 12, The Collegian was forwarded an unsolicited e-mail illustrating an alcohol-related incident involving underage drinking. The author of the e-mail, affiliated with Delta Zeta, expressed “serious concerns” about the occurrence. The content of the e-mail — which included information about executive members, potentials and the severity of the alcohol use — prompted The Collegian’s inquiry into the situation.

During the course of the inquiry, The Collegian discovered through Delta Zeta’s faculty adviser, Dan Carrion, that the events described in the e-mail did not match with findings of an internal investigation, conducted by the Regional Collegiate Coordinator of Delta Zeta, Sandy Hall, as well as Recruitment Adviser Melissa Littlewood. Neither Hall nor Littlewood are affiliated with the university.

This discovery shifted the focus of our inquiry to the issue of accountability.

A detail of the events that occurred — as Carrion recounted to Garcia on the evening of Monday, Sept. 24 — describes a situation in which two girls, a Delta Zeta potential and her friend, attended an event hosted by the sorority. According to Carrion, the girls left the event for a fraternity party, where the friend of the potential was later discovered intoxicated and feeling ill.

Carrion told The Collegian that the friend was discovered by other Delta Zeta sisters, who took the girl back the their sorority house and notified the president of the sorority, who in turn notified Littlewood, an alumna of Delta Zeta.

Despite multiple attempts to contact current members of the sorority, including President Joann Mercado, Delta Zeta has failed to agree to any interviews with The Collegian. None of these events have been officially confirmed to The Collegian by Delta Zeta sisters.

On Friday, Sept. 21, when Garcia conducted her first interview with Carrion, he reacted with surprise to the news of the occurrence, as he had not been informed.

According to Littlewood, with whom Garcia spoke the previous day, an internal investigation was already under way. “If it’s internal, I should’ve known about it,” Carrion said on Friday, upon being informed by The Collegian of the Delta Zeta investigation. Their investigation consisted of interviews conducted with members present at the incident.

Only after being approached by The Collegian did the sorority schedule an appointment informing their faculty adviser of the occurrence, where representatives gave their summary of events to Carrion.

Garcia’s second interview with Carrion, in conjunction with his initial surprise, catalyzed the focus of the story.

A later interview with Laura Williams, Greek adviser for the university, added another layer to the inquiry. Williams said there is no general protocol requiring Greek organizations to alert their faculty advisers of internal investigations, though certain chapters do mandate the notification of certain advisers in their particular constitutions. Furthermore, they are not required to disclose any of these investigations to Williams.

This raised our concerns. While Greeks are ultimately under the jurisdiction of the Division of Student Affairs, they are not necessarily required to inform anybody affiliated with the university of occurrences that chapters believe warrant internal investigations.

The accountability factor was ultimately the focus of the article, one which a number of our critics seem to have missed.

In essence, Garcia’s article is about the accountability within the Greek system, not members of the Greek community.

The article was never intended as a means of reinforcing stereotypes about Greeks. Rather, the intent was to inform our readers of how the process of reporting incidents in the Greek system works, and to illuminate the murky rules of accountability between fraternities and sororities and their university advisers.

While we are not in the position to legislate for Greek organizations, we believe it is our duty to question why university-affiliated organizations are not required to report to the university.

The current system allows Greeks to report incidents to whomever they choose, and unless a police report is forwarded to the university, Fresno State can be kept in the dark about problems within Greek organizations.

We believe if a problem merits an internal investigation on behalf of a chapter, the university should, at the very least, know about it, if not conduct its own investigation. How qualified is any organization to investigate itself?

This is a conflict of interest — a position with which we believe hardly anybody would disagree.

For the good of the university, no organization — Greek or otherwise — should be able to use the school simply for legal cover, should an incident escalate to a level necessitating university involvement, by their current standards.

The current system demands a heavy dose of personal responsibility and the current system demands little in the way of specific accountability.

The current system demands review and change.

Lot V parking to reopen October 1, 2007

On Monday, October 1st, Lot V which is located just west of the Save Mart Center will reopen for general/student parking.

The solar photovoltaic single level parking structure project is now complete after much anticipation. 717 stalls on Lot V are designated as general/student parking and, once functioning, 43 stalls are designated as 10-hour metered parking. As always, faculty/staff with current parking tags are permitted to park on Lot V. Read more

VIDEO: September 28, 2007: Dianne Ballon, Sound Artist

Dianne Ballon is a nationally recognized sound artist and independent radio producer; whose work is regularly featured on National Public Radio.

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VIDEO: September 28, 2007: Fall Fitness Festival

The Fall Fitness Festival encourages students to try new ways of improving their health, including exercising in its many forms.

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