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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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