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Mayoral nominees, head to head

While most Fresno State voters focus on the choice of their next president, a smaller but just as significant Nov. 4 race is going on, right in their backyard: the election of Fresno’s next mayor.

Henry T. Perea and Ashley Swearengin, who are both in their 30s, each would bring dynamic ideas to the job of leading the state’s sixth largest city.

Perea grew up in Fresno. He went to Fresno State and has been a Fresno City Council member for six years. Swearengin moved to Fresno while in high school. She, too, went to Fresno State and has been working on campus for 10 years.

In separate interviews with The Collegian, Perea and Swearengin explained their positions on some of the most important citywide issues that face student voters.

What issues are students and young adults showing concern for in this election, and how do you plan on addressing them locally?

PEREA: I have heard many students show concern for the economy. I’m going to [address] that in a couple of ways. Number one: I’m going to invest more in renewable energy; it creates green-collared jobs. The second thing I’m going to do is invest more in entrepreneurship, making sure that we are providing the resources that our future entrepreneurs need while they graduate. They may have a good idea but don’t have the money to take it out to the marketplace.

The other issue that I have heard young people show interest in, in terms of quality of life, is downtown revitalization. That means more mixed-use urban housing. Today, for example, if you wanted to live in the suburbs, you could do that in Fresno, but if you want to live in a more urban, higher-density area, where, say, you want to live in a loft or something, it’s a lot harder to do. I really want to attract and build that kind of housing and create more entertainment districts so that there are more places for people to go.

SWEARENGIN: The issues that I have heard students show concern on are jobs and things relating to their economic security. I’ve also heard a lot about mass transit and downtown revitalization. I would add air quality to college students’ concern. I think the intensity that college students have for these issues is greater than that of other folks.

How does your stand on these issues differ from your opponent?

PEREA: I am different … from my opponent in my experience. I’ve been doing this for the last six years as a councilman. Should I be elected mayor, I would have authority to do more.

SWEARENGIN: I think the difference between Henry and me is our experience… These are the kinds of issues that I have been addressing, hands on, for the last 10 years in my field of economic development.

Where do you stand on Proposition 8, the marriage initiative? Do you think it has a big impact on students?

PEREA: I am opposed to Prop. 8 because I believe that when we look at history and what the Constitution is for, we see that it was meant to guarantee our rights as individuals, not take them away. Anytime you start messing with the basic philosophical function of the Constitution, I think it’s the wrong way to go. The government attaches certain rights to married couples, and if you’re not technically a married couple then there are a lot of things that you will not be able to share in. When I look at this issue, I see discrimination. Coming from a background where my grandparents were discriminated against when they first came to this country, I could never do that to somebody else.

SWEARENGIN: I think student views are much like that of the voting population. There are many people in my support base that agree with Prop. 8 and there are many people that don’t. It’s not a campaign issue for me, although I will let my personal views be known and say that I will be voting for Prop. 8.

The position of Fresno mayor is a non-partisan position. Do you think your stances on issues follow party lines and how might that affect how you guide Fresno?

PEREA: No, I don’t think it will have any effect at all. I’ve been on the City Council for six years and one of the things I’ve learned is that good ideas come from Democrats, Republicans and Independents. I think that at City Hall, the most important thing is to embrace good ideas no matter where they come from.

SWEARENGIN: It absolutely is a non-partisan position. If you look at the work that I’ve done over the last 15 years and if you look at the coalitions that I have pulled together and the teams of people that I have brought together to address the serious issues of Fresno and the Valley, [my work] is completely bi-partisan.

How do you think your time in Fresno and at Fresno State would influence how you run the city?

PEREA: Growing up in Fresno gives me a deeper understanding of the needs of our community. Having grown up here, I’ve seen Fresno change over the course of the last 30 years, some for the good and some not. I think having my roots and … going to Fresno State really gives me a unique perspective that I think my opponent doesn’t get.

SWEARENGIN: Fresno State really was the thing that anchored me in this community. I came here as a freshman in high school and I think that if I hadn’t had gone to Fresno State as a freshman in college, I probably wouldn’t have decided to put roots down in this area.
I just love this city. I think that Fresno has so many wonderful things to offer. We have gotten the short end of the stick time and time again from our leadership in Sacramento and Washington D.C. I think that Fresnans ourselves have had a negative view of our own city. I think all that that is changing is that Fresno has always had a little bit of an underdog kind of an image. But I think that our future is going to be one of vibrancy and of a high quality of life for the people who live here.

How important do you think Fresno State is to the community?

PEREA: I think Fresno State is extremely important. Anytime you have a university in a town you’ll find that those cities that thrive have a strong relationship with their universities. I think maintaining a strong relationship with Fresno State is critical to Fresno’s success.

SWEARENGIN: We can’t get to where we want to be without the university. Fresno State really is a cornerstone of this community. It is the major vehicle to provide college education for people in Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley. … There is not a thing in this community that isn’t positively influenced by Fresno State. Frankly, that is why I decided to go to work at Fresno State eight years ago; I am the director of economic development, and I realized that if we really wanted to move the needle on economic prosperity in Fresno and in the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno State would really have to be front and center on that.

How important do you think it is for students to vote? Do you think this election is different from past elections in that more students are showing a need and a want to vote?

PEREA: I think it’s vitally important. But what I have found is that most of our youth are pretty engaged and pretty active in what’s going on. We have even had a lot of students especially from Fresno State, that have volunteered for our campaign. I’ll tell you, there’s a real excitement in the air right now. Not only for what is happening locally, but also [for] what is happening nationally. I think that kind of excitement has really generated a lot of buzz on college campuses. Our campaign has certainly seen the benefit of that.

SWEARENGIN: I think it’s critically important for students to get out there and vote; people need to take ownership of their communities. That’s one thing that I learned from a very young age, something that my parents instilled in me — the sense of responsibility that we all have for our own community. I think it’s terrific that college students seem to be inspired in this election. There has been such a layer of cynicism over our country and I think the only way to break that is for the young people of our country to say it’s not so and make a conscious choice to reverse that cynicism with their civic actions. I think it’s time.

Candidate info

For more information on the candidates, visit their campaign Web sites:

• Henry T. Perea

• Ashley Swearengin

Written by Melissa Knopp · Filed Under News | 9 Comments 

Jazz-O-Ween

The Fresno State Jazz Band began its season on Oct. 13 under its new director Alan Durst, Ph.D. Both Jazz Band “A” and “B” performed last night at the Jazz-O-Ween concert. Members dressed in Halloween costumes for the performance.

Directed by Professor Craig VonBerg, Jazz Band “B,” above, performed pieces including “Counter Block” and “Mandala.”

Candidates take on student issues

College is not affordable for many families. Many college students are in debt or lack health care. And some students are worried about what jobs will be available when they graduate in the next couple years.

With issues such as unemployment, health care, civil rights and education on the minds of voters, young people are seeing that this presidential election involves them too.

“This is big,” said Kelley Barnett, a child development major at Fresno State.

Barnett is a registered Republican, but because she disagrees with the party’s policies, she is voting Democrat this election.

This includes the presidential race; she is actually voting for Obama, not McCain.

During the last presidential debate viewing at The Bucket on campus, students and staff almost filled the room.

There were lots of rolled eyes and forehead slaps.

Organizers gave iClickers to each person and an overhead projector displayed the statement, “Barack Obama answered the question well,” with a rating scale of “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”

The same scale was presented for McCain.

“These issues, like health care and the future of our jobs are important to college students because of the changing economy,” Barnett said. “I am very passionate.”

Barnett said she wears her “Obama ’08” pin every day to show her support.

“I wear it so that people come up and talk to me,” she said. “My neighbors have a McCain/Palin sign outside their house and I really want to talk to them and see their views.”

The discussion on education grabbed the attention of the audience.

“That’s really cool,” one woman said after Obama explained his hopes for education.

Obama explained that at the college level, he wants to make schooling more affordable to all Americans. He said he would ensure that the first $4,000 of college tuition would be free. He said that his plan would cover two-thirds of the cost of tuition for most Americans if they conduct 100 hours of community service.

Obama also hopes to cut the financial aid application process and have families simply check a box on their taxes.

“Obama is giving students resources,” Barnett said.

Education differences emerge

In contrast, McCain’s platform on higher education is to provide more information to families so that students can be more informed about their educational decisions.

McCain wants to offer lower taxes to families to help them send their children to college.

To help with student loans and debt, McCain wants to reform and leverage the private sectors of the student loan system — consolidate programs, such as financial aid, to simplify the process.

Carly Hammond, a senior psychology major at Fresno State, spends 30-40 hours a week at the Republican headquarters. One of her reasons for volunteering is that McCain plans to lower interest rates for student loans.

“Although [McCain’s] demographic is the middle-class American, he is still giving resources to people who may not be able to pay for school and need loans,” Hammond said.

Hammond said that although issues such as jobs, health care, civil rights and education are important to young adults, McCain’s stance on national security is what drew her to his side.

“I just feel that that McCain is more qualified to be our commander-in-chief,” she said. “I think Obama should be commended for his accomplishments, but he is not as qualified.”

Health care costs examined

On the issue of health care policy, Obama and McCain disagree.

McCain wants to achieve savings in Medicare without reducing benefits or eligibility.

In his plan, he wants to promote payment reform, eliminate Medicare fraud and abuse and also ensure that the middle class is not subsidizing drug premiums for the wealthiest Americans.

With these plans, McCain hopes to put families in charge of their health care and where their money is going.

Another volunteer for the McCain campaign, Allison Morris, a freshman political science major at Fresno State, agrees with McCain’s ideas of a “small government” in terms of health care.

“It’s about taking responsibility for themselves and not relying on the government,” Morris said. “It’s about keeping the choices in the people’s hand.”

Robert Herrara, a Fresno State political science major, supports Obama’s health care and small-business plans.

“My dad has a small business and is suffering because he cannot afford health care for his employees,” Herrara said.

Obama’s health care platform is such that that he wants to make health care more affordable and accessible to all by building on existing health care systems.

He also wants to lower health care costs and promote public health by providing coverage of preventive services, including cancer screenings. Obama would increase state and local preparedness for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

Civil rights also important

Herrara’s friend, Levon Minassian, a political science student, is also voting for Obama because of Obama’s vision on equality and human rights.

Obama’s platform states that he wants to expand hate-crime statutes by passing the Matthew Shepard Act, which would expand federal hate-crime laws.

Obama also wants to ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and wants to provide incentives to state and local departments to prohibit the practice.

“Obama makes it easier for people who are being denied rights,” Minassian said.

Both Minassian and Herrara believe that McCain is more focused on the war than helping Americans as a whole.

“I have no words for him,” Herrara said.

Clarke Plunkett, a Fresno City College student who volunteers 30 hours a week at the McCain headquarters, said McCain’s beliefs agree with his.

“Yes, he is making grants more accessible,” he said. “But his stance on national defense and abortion is more important to me.”

A ‘historic’ election

After the last presidential debate, in an informal poll, 76 percent of the audience at The Bucket on campus said they would vote for Obama.

Matthew Jendian, a sociology professor and director of the American Humanics Program, hosted the debate and is passionate about getting students involved in this election.

“I fundamentally believe we are more of a democracy if everyone is involved and participate,” Jendian said.

“We have to hold the President — whoever it is — accountable,” Jendian said. “Citizenship begins on Nov. 4, not ends.”

Sophomore Caitlin Sawatsky agrees. She sees the election as exciting and historic.

Since September, the political science major has been spending five to six hours a week at the Obama campaign headquarters.

“In the fourth grade, I would ask my classmates who their parents were voting for,” she said. “It’s really exciting to be a part of this. It’s history.”

Prop 8 proponents true threat to marriage

AN INSTITUTION KNOWN AS THE BEDROCK OF civilization is under attack. Marriage is threatened.
No. Not by gays.

By heterosexuals like myself who, unlike me, chose more and more often to shack up in cohabitation without the rings, solemn promises, cool gift registries and protection of California’s community property laws.

Studies show that fewer and fewer hetero couples are taking advantage of their straight privilege to be bridezillas or grooms missing in action while planning that joyous event that marks starting a life together.

Who needs all that, when you can simply sign a lease together?

Meanwhile, lots of gay friends and family members are praying (that’s right, many gays go to church!) and hoping against hope that California’s Proposition 8 will be rejected by voters, and they can keep their wedding china, or at least keep dreaming about the co-bride or groom of their dreams.

Here we have a whole group of people jumping for joy at the idea of ‘til death do us part’ at a time when marriage rates are declining, and some people want to turn them away from the courthouse, forever barring them from obtaining a marriage license.

Could we get any more silly?

I know, I know. Somehow, the idea that I might someday see my best friend Jo wear a cute white suit while she marries another woman makes my straight marriage less special. At least according to those so-called Christians.

Let me say this: I am a straight woman who has been happily married for four years. I am also a Christian. I feel absolutely no threat from gay marriage.

In fact, I feel relief, because I know when my cousin Sean marries his boyfriend Clint, they will not make me wear an ugly lavender bridesmaid dress with a butt bow that looks like it was made from the drapes from the Ramada Inn. (What the hell is wrong with us straight brides?) They will pick something cute, probably by Dolce and Gabbana or Versace.

Kidding aside, I am really happy that Sean and Clint can currently marry, if they want, as can Jo when she someday finds the woman of her dreams. I love them all dearly, and it rips me up to see them subjected to such statements as “God Hates Fags,” and “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.”

Let me tell you something about my cousin, who I grew up with. Sean and I were raised Roman Catholic, in a tight-knit, Irish-American family. Sean was an altar boy who went to Catholic school, all the way through 12th grade. Family is very important to him. He’s actually a kind of traditional dude, and when we were younger, he was a Republican.

Sean struggled so hard to fit into what our church and society defined as “normal.” In college, he dated girl after girl (he is extremely handsome). But the relationships never lasted. I started to worry about him, when he began drinking heavily, getting into bar fights and having money problems. He spent money wildly, and eventually went bankrupt.

It was clear something was very wrong Finally, shortly after my own marriage, when Sean’s other grandmother died, my mother and others were puzzled by the presence of a really nice young guy who never left Sean’s side during the service.

My uncle asked what the deal was, and my aunt told them that recently Sean had come out as gay.

Since then, my cousin’s life has improved drastically. He has made peace with who God meant for him to be all along. Sean tried to be straight, to find a girl to marry.

But that wasn’t the way God made him. God made him gay, and that’s great, as far as I am concerned.
He now has a great career in culinary science, and shares a condo with Clint and their two dogs, who are spoiled rotten. Clint calls my mom “Aunt Patty” and my dad “Uncle Allan.”

If you were to tell me being gay is a choice, I would want to punch you in the face, because I have seen a gay man struggle and try to choose to be straight. It does not work.

So-called ex-gay programs and ministries have been widely discounted as ineffectual and downright dangerous, according to the American Medical Association, and the American Psychological Association.
They do more damage than good.

What’s the danger in espousing anti-gay rhetoric? You might want to ask Mary Lou Wallner, of Little Rock, Arkansas. She went to a fundamentalist church, and regularly listened to conservative psychologist, Dr. James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family” radio programs, which claim parents can make children who think they are gay straight.

When Wallner’s daughter, Anna, came out, Wallner wrote her a letter saying she could never accept her daughter’s sexual orientation, which she “would always hate.” The two became estranged, and a few short years later, Anna, depressed, committed suicide, by poignantly hanging herself in a closed closet. Wallner has founded TEACH Ministries, which is dedicated to speaking out against homophobic religious rhetoric, “and helping the thousands if surrogate Annas I have met,” she says.

Studies show gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered teens are much more likely to commit suicide.
I am not surprised, when you see people carrying homophobic “Yes on 8” signs at the corner of Blackstone and Shaw.

These people claim they are worried their precious, Sunday school perfect children will be exposed to gay marriage in public schools.

This is a lie.

Parents can always opt to have children not attend school during a lesson they find controversial, and schools are under local control by school districts, so parents can make their concerns about curriculum known.

Let’s be honest: these parents really worry their child might be like another kid who had perfect attendance at Sunday school, and went on to become a minister.

His name was V. Gene Robinson, and he became the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church. Robinson, like my cousin, tried to be straight, even married a woman and had kids. According to the great documentary “For the Bible Tells Me So,” “God made Gene gay for this reason — to give people hope.”

Here’s hoping we can all remember the Bible tells us in First Corinthians, which I used at my wedding: “Love is patient. Love is kind… It is not rude or boastful. Love never ends.” Nowhere does it, or did Christ say, “Love is straight.”

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Students should ‘get up, get out, go vote’ in this year’s presidential, mayoral election

The most important presidential election of our lifetime is about to take place in a few days. This election is important for a myriad of reasons, but the most important reason is — you.

Yes, you are important. Yes, you do count. Yes, you can make a difference.

Therefore it is imperative, that on Tuesday November 4, 2008 of this most tumultuous year — to do something. Get up. Get out. Go vote.

However, before you cast your ballot — get informed. Learn about both candidates. Learn about the propositions. Learn about the local issues.

Why?

Because all of it matters, from National to State to Local issues. If you have not read your sample ballot or voter information guide — then please read it.

Or better yet, Google whatever questions you may have. It sounds so easy, but most American citizens take their right to vote and participate in the political process for granted.

Participate in what is your Constitutional right. People have died so every American — whether they are man or woman, black or white, Christian or Muslim — can safely vote.

Suffrage did not take place to let your vote go uncast. Here is your chance to do something. Polling stations will be open all day from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

If you have to work during those hours, you have the right to leave work and cast your vote — by law you have this right.

So please: Get up. Get out. Go vote.

Christina Guzman
English and Public Administration
California State University, Fresno

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If passed, Proposition 2 will prove ‘biggest victory for animals in American history’

Thank you for your coverage of the debate over Proposition 2 (“Should chickens get more space?” by Jakob Smith, Oct. 27).

Proposition 2 is a modest measure that would ban some of the factory farming industry’s cruelest confinement practices.

It will be the biggest victory for animals in American history, and its passage will underscore our society’s belief in humane treatment for even the most vulnerable among us.

The same unsafe practices that Prop 2 opponents are using to try to scare voters actually occur every day in factory farms across California.

In the egg industry’s battery cages, chickens are crammed into cages so small they can’t turn around or stretch their limbs. Some live chickens are even forced to live on top of dead chickens.

That can’t possibly be safe for consumers.

There’s no excuse for the abuses of the factory farming industry, and that’s why I’m encouraging all my friends and family in California to vote Yes on Prop 2.

Max Fischlowitz-Roberts
Sociology
American University

WHY BE SCARED?

IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN TO ANY STORE IN THE PAST couple of months, you may have not noticed that Halloween is vastly approaching.

It’s time again to spend your time and money on an outfit you have been planning for weeks or maybe even longer and will only wear once a year.

Wait, so I’ve concluded that Halloween is prom.

Besides loads of candy eating, people begin attending corn mazes and haunted houses to get their adrenaline pumping.

For those who would rather stay in and be afraid of zombies, psychos and possessed children from the comfort (or danger) of their own home, scary movies are the perfect solution.

Why watch scary movies that seem to confirm our fears that scary clowns exist and vengeful ghosts walk really slow and then somehow so fast that they are standing behind you right now?

Professors of all degrees and geographical locations have done studies to figure this out.

Leon Rappoport, a psychology professor at Kansas State University said that it links to a Freudian or analytical process that believes as civilization tries to make the world safer it represses any outside worries, so we have an subconscious need to locate those danger pressure points.

Another factor is that as the world becomes more extreme, so does our need to still be surprised by fear.

It’s like the equivalent of bungee jumping off the Eiffel Tower for the thrill, but with less effort.

Dr. Deborah Serani, who is a technical advisor on “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” said that other reasons include watching to figure out ways to escape terror, to revisit an old trauma, or to release the viewers’ own violent wishes and aggression by seeing someone else do the work.

She claims to be a doctor of psychology, but her Internet Movie Database picture looks like she took it from MySpace.

She also wrote that she hasn’t been in the ocean since 1975 thanks to “Jaws.”

According to communication professor Glenn Sparks of Purdue University, our body goes through changes when we watch horror movies. Our heartbeat increases as much as 15 beats per minute, while our temperature drops several degrees. Other symptoms of fear include tense muscles, blood pressure spikes and sweaty palms.

I stumbled upon a quiz at Quizilla that matches you with the horror movie killer you most resemble. I decided to take it, just to warn friends in case I snap one day.

Evidently I’ve been classed with 26 percent of other people who all got Jack Torrance from “Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining.’”

The description said I would be best suited as a writer, critic or columnist. I believe it’s time to worry.

Curious, I decided to get a second opinion and take a different Quizilla quiz. This time I was lumped with 20 percent of others who got Annie Wilkes from “Misery.”

Seems it is easy to get on my bad side and that I’m caring but domineering.

Everyone is afraid of something, even if it isn’t supernatural. I have fear of tapeworms based on nothing except for how gross and destructive they are.

I also have some kind of worry that one day I will wake up and have barnacles or mollusks growing out of my arm and won’t be able to remove them. I assume that comes from watching too much “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Of course not everyone’s fears can be dealt with through film. I know someone who has an irrational fear of Popsicle sticks.

I don’t see that coming to a theater near you anytime soon.

Jessica Dugan is a student at Fresno State majoring in mass communication and journalism with an emphasis in print journalism.

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