La Voz de Aztlan, March 25 1992
Item
Title
La Voz de Aztlan, March 25 1992
Creator
Associated Students of Fresno State
Relation
La Voz de Aztlan (Daily Collegian, California State University, Fresno)
Coverage
Fresno, California
Date
3/25/1992
Format
PDF
Identifier
SCUA_lvda_00202
extracted text
California State Universitv, Fresno
.I
VolumeXXIV
Issue No. 2
LaVoz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
Wednesday
Recall procedures
misleading; racism
the motivation
Lawrence Tovar
Staff writer
In order to understand modern
racism, examples such as the recall of
Andres Montoya must be illustrated. It
was cancelled two weeks ago for two
reasons: (1) his rights were violated; and
(2) the ASI Elections Committee was
misled by Legislative Vice President
(LVP) Nicole Kasabian and the Student
Affairs Office.
The Elections Committee this year .
was organized by people of color; those
who misled the committee were white.
Under ASI bylaws, the Elections Committee has full authority in recall elections,
but they were not informed of this
power; instead, the Committee was
informed that their job was to take
orders.
The first person to take control was
LVP Kasabian. She assumed authority by
setting the recall date and then rescheduling it for a later time. Under the
law, she has only the power to declare
that a recall will take place; the Elections
Committee determines that date.
Kasabian, who would have replaced
Montoya if he were recalled, was
determined to have an election as soon as
possible.
Kasabian's assumed authority was
backed up by administrators in the
Student Affairs Office who informed the
Elections Committee Chair, Kathy Nieto,
that Kasabian· was in charge. Student
Affairs is supposed to facilitate all important student concerns such as recall
elections. Its administrators receive large
salaries to understand ASI laws and
assure fairness.
Student Affairs, knowing that the
Elections
Committee members were new to
the process, continued to misrepresent
the laws and attempted to take control of
the recall process in a number of ways. '
First, Student Affairs did not give the
Committee a copy of the recall petition.
The Committee was just to hold a recall
without being informed about the
wording of the petition. That is, the
petition might have asked: "should Mon-
Chicano Commencement ap-
toya be recalled?" (which would mean
that he may not be recalled); whereas a
petition stating "we the students recall
Andres Montoya" would definitely
result in a recall if it passed.
Second ly, Student Affairs, after
holding the petition for two months,
finally informed and gave the Committee
permission to verify the recall signatures
two weeks before the recall was to take
place--Montoya has never received a
copy. The Committee was expected to
verify one-thousand signatures and then
set up a complicated recall process with
only four members in two weeks.
Third, the petition was signed last
semester and was to be voted on this
semester. This would have violated
precedence which requires petitions to be
turned in and candidates to be voted on
in the same semester. This process
insures that only those who sign the
petition are students. Montoya would
have been under the authority of a
petition that had no-longer-existing
students as signers, such as, Brooks Reed
(one of last semester's signers and petition drivers who is not a student this
semester).
It is evident that laws were violated,
people misled, and avenues opened to
assure a timely recall of Montoya. You
will not find these facts in The Daily
Collegian or other mainstream media. The
Daz1y Collegian won't reveal how Student
Affairs Office egregiously violated the
laws, because the Student Affairs Office
allowed the The Daily Collegian to engage .
in unethical (and unpublicized) behavior
last semester.
What you will read in newspapers
like the The Daily Collegian is how bad
your leaders are and the people that
support them. The recall issue illustrates
this most clearly. The Elections Committee, which is made up of people of color,
was blamed by the The Daily Collegian for
delaying the elections and violating
democratic principles, even though it is
clear that the white power structure
caused the delays and violated the laws.
We are portrayed as helpless sheep.
Student elections a~ coming up and this
University does not want another
plication deadline is April 3.
minority president who is as productive
Available in the University_
as Montoya. The University and its
Outreach Services Office
media friends want you to feel bad about
(Joyal
~~om_,?~O)..
your leaders so you will vote against
,--.. . . . . .iiii.iiii.ii...iiii.iiiii.ii-.ii..-iiiiiiiiii.iiiiiii..--,~ · them or choose a coconµt {or.pr~igent". ·•
F
A~~!~--
Students: voice your protest
to fee hike in Sacramento
Juan R. Avita
Staff writer
In recent months we've heard a lot about the proposed 40 percent fee increase in tuition. The CSU trustees have already voted to increase our fees and many
students believe that the whole issue is settled and that they'll be paying $700-plus
dollars come this fall. It is because of this false pretense that I am writing to inform
you that there's still hope.
In May the legislators in Sacramento will vote on the 40 percent fee increase.
If they don't approve the increase we as students will be safe (temporarily). Senator
Art Torres from the LA area is challenging the legislators not to raise fees, and if an
increase is decided on, then for it to be a 10 percent increase instead because that is the
legal amount the fees can be raised. Thus, there is still hope. Yet, the legislators and
Senator Torres will not really be able to make a change if the public (in this case
students) don't show their support in defeating the fee increase. Therefore it is up to
students to make their voices heard prior to the vote in May so that Gov. Pete Wilson
gets the message.
Now here's the important information. On Friday, March 27, students from
all CSU schools will be assembling in front of the State Capitol to pro_test the proposed
40 percent fee increase. Student leaders, politicians, and others who oppose the ·
increase will all be present and will speak in regards to this issue. If you are interested
in going, a carpool has been established to take students and will leave Friday
morning and return that afternoon. Please try to attend and show your support. For
mo~. info~atioira:, ~ ~ha~ tiJl)e,~la~;~wit}l_whom to get a ride from,. pl~~~ll
· the ASJ Office at 7S-2656.
•' ,._. r ,. : • •
.
"
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La Voz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
page 2
<,Que onda?
Jorge L Benitez
Staff VlTlter
- ~
.
.
Distributed by Tribune Media Services
L-------------------------------
They just don't want to hear it
not to be racist, want him removed. At
the Columbus Day rally a young Chicano
There are a lot of racists at CSUF
held up a sign that said "Go Home,
who would deny, perhaps even in their
Whitey!" Montoya stood up for her right
hearts, that they are racists. They believe
to do so. Now white, or I should say,
that they are not because they do not hate racist, people want him out. They think
someone just because they are Chicano,
it's because they are against racism of any
for example. They think all people
form~ that we should look at each other
should be treated equally and should
as individuals, not as members of a
have the opportunity to be just like
certain ethnicity, but the truth is that they
everyone else.
do not want to hear the Chicano voice:
But what makes a racist? Is the term
they don't mind hearing a voice just like
confined to only those people that hate
theirs spoken with a Chicano accent, but
others because of the color of their skin or they just don't want to hear a voice that
their inferior cultural heritage? Are the
expresses the Chicano experiences. They
only racists the KKK who display
would rather not hear it. They are afraid.
banners on their four wheel drive
For centuries the Chicano people
pickups, who call us niggers and spies
have been overtly and subtly oppressed.
and get sickened every time they see one
In the 1950s "Mexicans" weren't allowed
of us, whether it is in the professional
in certain public'places or to use certain
arena or on the streets in ragged clothes.
public facilities; in the 60s they were the
Are all racists like Archie Bunker, that is,
victims of overt police brutality; in the
clearly, undoubtedly racist?
·
70s they died in Vietnam; in the 80s they
Of course not. Many racists are
died of cancer in the farming fields that
subtle racists, you might even say latent
feed America; and today, in the 90s, they
racists, who do not know they are racists
are denied the education that they have
but who get angry when Chicanos begin
fought for so long. They are deprived of
to express themselves politically. They
the only opportunity they achieved
are the white people who run the school
through EOP and CSUF is threatened
system in Dinuba and are indignant that
with cutbacks and fee increases supChicanos would come to their meetings
ported by whites like President Welty.
and ignore parliamentary procedure in
Whites do not want to hear what
demanding that they have representation Chicanos, as a people, have to say. They
on the board. These racists may think
may not consider themselves racist, but
Chicanos may have a legitimate comwhen they want to have Montoya
plaint (after all, how many gente send
recalled for defending the right of a
their children to Dinuba schools), but
Chicano to speak her experience, it is
they get angry at Chicanos who shouldn't clear to us what they mean: "C,o home,
be complaining but should be doing
Spic! Co back to the fields where you
· something about it through "proper
belong."
.
channels," proper channels that q.ave traWe have made some progress, Raza.
ditionally kept the voices of the opDon't let the racists take away the only
pressed suppressed, channels that are
Chicano ASI president in CSUF history, a
' unrespo~sive to us.
president elected through 11proper
There are the racists who, even
channels."
though we sometimes do go through
pro~r channels to have our voices
Jesus Bazan
heard, want to silence us. Andres
Montoya was elected on the Raza ticket,
Letters to the Editor can be
an organization·made up of mostly
dropped
off in the La Voz box at
Chicano students. He was elected not by
rich whites but by Chicanos. Now that
The Daily Collegian office in
he is protecting the ri~hts of Chicanos to
Keats Ca")Pl}S .Buidling._
speak out, the white people, ~~?_claim '
Dear Editor,
1
Ya era tiempo de romper con la monotonfa de un peri6dico escolar que segun
deber representar toda la bola de estudiantes chicanos y mexicanos. Se ha llegado el
tiempo para que el gigante dormido se levante de su largo suefio. Para que nuestros
cuates, camaradas y colegas de todas las facultades realisen que la unica fonna de ser
escuchado en un mundo como este, es no solo levantar la mano sino levantar la pluma y
escribir nuestras ideas, opiniones o locuras.
Todos tenemos un gran o_rgullo de ser mexicanos. Todos tenemos algo que contar
ya sea de nuestro pasado, nuestro sufrimiento, o simplemente un chisme. Si quiz.is eso sea,
y de ahf hubiera empezado. ,No haz t.enido alguna vez las ganas de relajarte y contar un
chiste, dar alguna queja o dar tu opini6n sobre algo? ,Sabfas que existe un peri6dico que te
da la oportunidad de hacerlo?
,Pu.es, que onda compa? yo estoy convencido de que hay muchos poetas y
Quijotes esperando ser descubiertos; peros que lastimamente no tienen el valor para salir
de la.s bibliotecas ode las aburridas rutinas. Yo me rasco el coco, preguntandome, si en mi
pequefio mundo existen otros literarios o bohemios que sigan enriquesiendo nuestro
idioma asi como Borges, Neruda, y Garcfa Marquez.
Meda coraje al saber que tenemos un idioma tan rico como el Chocolate Abuelita,
pero que no lo utiliz.amos como debe de ser, sino para insultamos cara a cara. El idioma es
parte de nuestra cultura y si no lo ejercemos, como todos los animales del mundo, morira.
Es un deber cultural e hist6rico para todo estudiante con raices que vienen desde
los Olmecas, Mayas, o Aztecas didique un poco de su tiempo y haga sus jeroglificos que en
otra era seran historia. No s6lo hay que vivir en el rol de estudiante. Hay que salir de
nuestros hoyos y tomar parte en programas que se dedican a revivir nuestro idioma y
nuestra cultura en ambos lugares c~mo en nuestra comunidad y nuestra universidad;
empezando en La Voz.
Pero recuerda;
La voz se mantiene en el aire un s6lo momento.
La tinta dura afios y se hace historia.
Arriesgate y escribe
Chicano Commencement
moves to Convention Center
Manuel Olgin
Contributing writer
The CSUF Chicano Alumni Association will host the 16th Annual CSUF Chicano
Commencement Celebration off-campus for the first time in 13 years. The last time it was
held off-campus was at the Fresno Fairgrounds' old Paul Theater. Since then, the CSUF
amphitheater has been the annual sight for the event. This year, it joins the University's
Master's Hooding and BA/BS Commencement at the Fresno Convention Center's Exhibit
Hall
The May 23 celebration will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a reception at Adrians
Restaurant located on P Street at Inyo, directly east of the Exhibit Hall. Mariachi closes the
ceremony with uDe Colores" and continues to entertain at the reception.
Applications to participate are available in the University Outreach Services Office
and EOP. The deadline to apply without a late fee is April 3.
What makes the CSUF Chicano Commencement Celebration so special? We cite
numerous reasons, the most obvious being the individual recognition each patticipant
receives. The graduate is recognized at center stage and has their "special thanks" read to
the family by the Masters of Ceremony. If two related participants are graduating, they
recognized side by side on stage. The messages of the participants are spoken in bilingual
languages. Caps and gowns are adorned by the traditional sash that each graduate wears.
Also, individual portraits are featured in Destinos magazine's excellent graduation edition
which is a product of CSUF Chicano Journ~lism Students Association.
Another reason the CCC is special is the makeup of its committee which is comprised
of alumni, staff, students, community members and faculty. This broad and diverse blend
of components works to honor the graduate and their family and friends on this special
occasion.
Students on the committee are represented by mostly graduating seniors and grad
see GRADUATION on page 4
La Voz de Aztlan staff...
Editor:
Assistant Editor: .
Photo Editor:
Staff writers:
Teresa Navarro
Maria Machuce .
·Angel de Jesus
Juan R. Avita, Jorge Benitez,
Lawrence Tovar
La Voz de Aztlan is published by the Associated Students, Inc. of California State
University, Fresno. The newspaper office is located in the Keats Campus Building,
Fresno, CA 93740-0042. The opinions published in this paper are not necessarily of the
· • • · · Associated Students, Inc., The Daily Coijegi~ or La Voz de Aztl,an .
.... ~,,__
.
La Voz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
page 3
Poetry Aztliln
Return to the Salinas River
-Julio Leal
April clouds cast passing shadows below,
the wind brings me the remote
fragrance of the poppy already in bloom.
It was on a day like this one, cold,
as though the rain rould come.
"The current running strong, but safe
along the rocky river banks. Our bikes
chained to the barbed wire fence.
The Chevy and the rusty dishwasher in the sand,
the willows and the elms, the cooing doves
perched on the boughs of the oak, entwined
in the blackbeny vines and crabgrass.
Everything growing dense near the gullies
throwing up irrigation water;
the heron and the egret, their songs lament
in the brushland beyond.
Smoking aack with a plastic pipe
and pedlaps something more
-Raftiel
-Marti Dobesh
Don't ever try it
with the tube of a huge plastic pen
cuz if you want a really big hit
it'll start to melt and make you cough away the ring in your stomach
the tingling inside your knees and chest
it'll give you a headache instead
and you won't look forward to the next hit
but you'll take one anyway
just like you are now
between peeks out the window and peaks of pleasure
and walks to the fridge where you hid a hil
.
.
Once some MexiCl11Ul who looked like your till gave you a blow job for a hit
you blew out the sensuous smoke and came at the same
time, you like the sound of her sucking you dry,
you were glad to be alive.
But now you have no glass pipe
.
you threw it away promising "God" that you would quit, .
But you can't, even though smoking plastic makes you vom1l
Aye Dios mio, what are these feelings
amidst this hot steamy kitchen and
left over food. Feelings here inside the
swirling motion of swinging doors
and sounds of crashing dishes.
It happened over there, near the mudhen's
nesting ground. With the BB gun strapped
across your chest and your brown hair
at the shoulders blowing in the morning mist,
you led the pack hopping from rock to rock
until you reached the bank's edge.
You wanted to be the first to impale
a blue belly on a stick. You said
that by three o'clock we'd have enough
to make an allegator vesl Everybody laughed.
Then you took a step to your left and the quicksand
gave way and the current pulled you under the m~dy water
and carried you out to the mudflats, on the north dikes.
The gulls and the river mouth still cream, Larry,
and you won't return.
reflections on marbles
I don't understand, and no one else would either,
and maybe that is why I'm afraid too
of the feelings.
Everything is wrong here
His youth, my age,
where we call home,
Our culture
Our language.
-Daniel Chllcon
White trash Gary wanted to be Mexican
He said cuz a white boy ain't been cooked enough.
He played with us at the edge of the field,
the old work camps where he lived with his mother
in sagging shacks separated by a patch of old fig ~
from th~ working-class neighborhood where we lived.
He sat down on the ground, near the edge of the circle
my brother drew in the dirt with a broken broomstick.
Gary pulled an old handkerchief from his dusty sock
and held it in the palms of his hands, carefully,
he untied the rubber band, and peeled it open.
And he placed them before us, a line of new diamonds,
on display under the sun. We would play till it got dark.
His head now twelve years later deep inside
the hood of my Honda, he mumbled what part I needed.
I was thinking of that evening twelve years ago,
When the sky became filled with ashes,
and the sunset glowed beyond purple clouds,
when his mother finally yelled for him to come inside,
and we watched him walk away slowly, sad,
ragged handkerchief dangling from his back pocket.
And yet these feelings will not leave
just because I bid them to.
They are persistent demanding obsessions.
It feels like love, amor,
like yearning, dts«J,
But maybe it is really a crazy woman's
corazon feliz, happy heart.
"Donde aris?" !stumble along. "Mexico."
he says caressing each letter with soft breath.
"En qut pud,lo?" "Nuer,o " too small for a
map he signs and laughs at his attempt
Near Mexico Cty we figure out.
"Yo hable poco tSpuiol en muy tltsptu:iio."
He speaks English even less. •to siento," he says.
No, Efrafn, I'm sorry for my pidgin Spanish.
"Timas mucho arnislad?" I ask lighting his
face with pleasure. "Amigo aul amiga?"
Yes, to all of these. What I really want to
know is "tierw 1ftlfM?" "'No, ~ui."
.,Mexico?" a hesitation and no answer.
Now what? I've run out of all the
phrases I've studied and put together to
reach through the language veil as hard ~ stone.
He pidcs up the llicciouirio and contemplates.
erit15:~ ~-, ~;~l(1.~~r.~:·: · . :·
_: ·. ~b~·deili~o~~~~ba~H~~l~,J~~ an~
J1111rez night
Selects. Points. "I am this," he says
-AngtLa T. Sykes
in English with questions in his eyes
leaving me to figure out the meaning,
translate and understand.
but I can't
·.•:•:•
·· •.·.·.:-:-.•>>:·>:·:·
·.•
I'm on the prowl
Baby, you know it
Amamurdiklol
Party all night
ANlar Electriad
•,
.. :-
Sister, sister
No ..s 'PfltillAI
Hey you trying to gig
Nona:itmls
This is my show
And when I push you out of the way
No~ aota, Punk!
YOU look stupid
Foolish
No MIS Mlidol
Oh I forgot you can't help it
I get confused when you wear all that makeup
Hey, hey brother
DMePasitm!
···
: ·· ·.~ ·~··
I look at his back, a stop frame in time,
Slightly bent, broad shoulders, smooth brown
arms disappearing into greasy water. He scrubs
the mountain of dirty pots. Wavy raven hair shines
and touches his collar. I speak to him, "Como estlls, Efrain?"
so he will tum and give to me his liquid chocolate eyes.
A heart flutter. A shy smile. A mllriposa in the
harsh florescent lights.
· ·· ·· ··at • :· · ··· · .... M:4!~ av~et 4fnel'O~~&.
Ya I'm feeling a little buzzed myself
Tum your system up
My heart isn't jumping yet
My head's spinning
This music has the funk love
Dang look at that Freak Mama
With that hair to the sky
No~ 111 jalts, Woody Wood Pecker
Twist.twist
D9n't fight this feeling Too short
Mt1Ar•0nttffitisl
I don't
I'm angry
at how unfair this seems to be.
Wait - I think I know
dark
Is he asking me if being darker than me
matters?
Or haw I missed it completely?
So, I watch his back • he washes a life time oi dishes
and wonder
Abouthim
His life
What he thinks and how he feels
What he hopes and about his dreams
And I have to be satisfied, for now, with
shy glances, a whispered•~• lm4M"
as he moves me
to put dean cups into neat rows on the shelf behind me.
I have to be satisfied with heart ftutlels and UStD
because of this damn language thing
. and perhaps something more
T
La Voz de Aztlan
Chicano's still .seeking
voice in ASI, campus
March 25, 1992
page 4
Maria V
La Voz correspondent
The upcoming election features a variety of ethnicities among the candidates. One of them, Mary Helen Ortega,
a Chicana, is also cuurently a Senator in the ASL
"The main reason I'm running for President is because the majority of students elected aren't accountable to
the students, but only to themselves," says Mary Helen
Ortega, who is running for ASI President in April. Ortega
feels the Senators have lost sight of their responsibility to the
students. As ASI President, she feels she can change the
"me" attitude to "us" - like there used to be.
"There used to be more unification in the Senate, so
we could be more accountable to students," she says.
''We are so many parties," says Ortega and she thinks
they are out for themselves. Ortega is running with a new
party, Kaleidoscope, which seems like a contradiction in
terms, but Ortega disagrees.
''We're different because we are a diversified
. group ... coming together on common ground," she says of her
party platform.
What are you
doing about the
proposed fee increase?
Rich Sandoval
Histoiy, senior
Anissa Rozadiila
Social Work , senior
''It's hard to get by as it is, but I
can't go to Sac to protest. I don't
think there's enough people to
change it. Right now I'm trying to
save money."
''What can I do? It's hard. I'm a
single parent. The last time there
was an increase I went to Sacramento. It's happening again. This
time the pre!>ident of our school is
supporting it."
Norma Castillo
Interior Design, junior
Diana Trejo
Lingustics (Spanish/English
bilingualism), senior
Jose Antonio Ramirez
Construction Management
with emphasis in Architecture, junior
GRADUATION from page 1
students, however all students are is that Chicano Commencement i.;
welcome to be part of the commit- for all Latinos, Hispanics, Mexitee, even if you are not graduatcan-Americans, Chicanos, etc. It is
. ing. The committee meets every
bilingual Spanish and truly a
heartwarming moment in the lifu
week on Thursdays, 5:00 P.M to
6:30 is in Joyal 203. The meetings
of the graduate and their family.
are relaxed and informal but run
Danzantes dance, Mariachi plays,
at full speed with lots of work and familia is proud, faculty, staff ar.d
decisions to be done weekly. It is
students are in full academic regaa good opportunity to meet others lia, and the moment is frozen in
who are interested in having a say · time.
about their Chicano CommenceCome celebrate witn La Raza
ment.
and supp,ort your brothers and
sisters.
Another point of infonnation
•
. .
. ·.·.·.. · -.-:-.:!
v;e
_·-:-·- ..• ._.:.:-.-.·-::;::::::::::
:-·:::::::::-::- :-·::.:
·'.·
.·--~·-:
/j{(@\\f> .· .- ./: ;: :.·•_::
"I'm dep~ndent on financial aid
money. If they don't increase
financial aid, there's going to be
a shortage of my rent money. I
realize not everybody can afford
to take the day off from school
or work, but we need Union De
Los Estudiantes! There are
other ways to work together.
My friends and I have already
gotten together and called
Wilson, and went to Maripqsa
Mall to our local elected
officials. Do something!"
"I'm a single parent, and I'm
concern about the cost of daycare
rising as well. I can't afford to go
to Sacramento. I'm signing
petitions, and I support the
organizations that are doing
something about it. The very
thing we are fighting to have
(money) is the very thing that we
don't have and that keeps us from
succeeding."
"Last year I was disenrolled from
the University because I didn't
have the funds, and I worked two
jobs. I can bearly afford part-time
now, how can I afford what they
will be asking for!? I'll have to
work in the fields this summer
and hope I can earn enough
money."
Calendario
C.W.A.A. (Chicano Writers Artists Association)
.(Zhfc~n(ls ·Qn thls campus has b~ ~ealt :·tttj~ijy . ·_:
.--~Y·t~~-~ia. . - :. ·-._ : : :_-· :·: ·_·_·-: . -._ · .. ·.
· · _..
->. . . . ·.
Meetings will be held on the following dates and places:
t April 2 6:30 p.m. in CU #311
t April 9 7:00 p.m. in CU #312-314 *
t April 30 6:30 p.m. in CU #309
t May 7 6:~0 p,m. in CU #311 .
* Poetry and improv. night, so bring something to read to the audience
and enjoy the evening.
Chicano Commencement Committee
Meeting is on every Thursday at 5:Q0 p.m. in Joyal Admin. #203
Do You.H~ve ~.An~~urcement?,
~-u ~· • .
Let Uil<irow;.;.We'llTelliu.eeyhruty. '
I
'
;_,
.I
VolumeXXIV
Issue No. 2
LaVoz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
Wednesday
Recall procedures
misleading; racism
the motivation
Lawrence Tovar
Staff writer
In order to understand modern
racism, examples such as the recall of
Andres Montoya must be illustrated. It
was cancelled two weeks ago for two
reasons: (1) his rights were violated; and
(2) the ASI Elections Committee was
misled by Legislative Vice President
(LVP) Nicole Kasabian and the Student
Affairs Office.
The Elections Committee this year .
was organized by people of color; those
who misled the committee were white.
Under ASI bylaws, the Elections Committee has full authority in recall elections,
but they were not informed of this
power; instead, the Committee was
informed that their job was to take
orders.
The first person to take control was
LVP Kasabian. She assumed authority by
setting the recall date and then rescheduling it for a later time. Under the
law, she has only the power to declare
that a recall will take place; the Elections
Committee determines that date.
Kasabian, who would have replaced
Montoya if he were recalled, was
determined to have an election as soon as
possible.
Kasabian's assumed authority was
backed up by administrators in the
Student Affairs Office who informed the
Elections Committee Chair, Kathy Nieto,
that Kasabian· was in charge. Student
Affairs is supposed to facilitate all important student concerns such as recall
elections. Its administrators receive large
salaries to understand ASI laws and
assure fairness.
Student Affairs, knowing that the
Elections
Committee members were new to
the process, continued to misrepresent
the laws and attempted to take control of
the recall process in a number of ways. '
First, Student Affairs did not give the
Committee a copy of the recall petition.
The Committee was just to hold a recall
without being informed about the
wording of the petition. That is, the
petition might have asked: "should Mon-
Chicano Commencement ap-
toya be recalled?" (which would mean
that he may not be recalled); whereas a
petition stating "we the students recall
Andres Montoya" would definitely
result in a recall if it passed.
Second ly, Student Affairs, after
holding the petition for two months,
finally informed and gave the Committee
permission to verify the recall signatures
two weeks before the recall was to take
place--Montoya has never received a
copy. The Committee was expected to
verify one-thousand signatures and then
set up a complicated recall process with
only four members in two weeks.
Third, the petition was signed last
semester and was to be voted on this
semester. This would have violated
precedence which requires petitions to be
turned in and candidates to be voted on
in the same semester. This process
insures that only those who sign the
petition are students. Montoya would
have been under the authority of a
petition that had no-longer-existing
students as signers, such as, Brooks Reed
(one of last semester's signers and petition drivers who is not a student this
semester).
It is evident that laws were violated,
people misled, and avenues opened to
assure a timely recall of Montoya. You
will not find these facts in The Daily
Collegian or other mainstream media. The
Daz1y Collegian won't reveal how Student
Affairs Office egregiously violated the
laws, because the Student Affairs Office
allowed the The Daily Collegian to engage .
in unethical (and unpublicized) behavior
last semester.
What you will read in newspapers
like the The Daily Collegian is how bad
your leaders are and the people that
support them. The recall issue illustrates
this most clearly. The Elections Committee, which is made up of people of color,
was blamed by the The Daily Collegian for
delaying the elections and violating
democratic principles, even though it is
clear that the white power structure
caused the delays and violated the laws.
We are portrayed as helpless sheep.
Student elections a~ coming up and this
University does not want another
plication deadline is April 3.
minority president who is as productive
Available in the University_
as Montoya. The University and its
Outreach Services Office
media friends want you to feel bad about
(Joyal
~~om_,?~O)..
your leaders so you will vote against
,--.. . . . . .iiii.iiii.ii...iiii.iiiii.ii-.ii..-iiiiiiiiii.iiiiiii..--,~ · them or choose a coconµt {or.pr~igent". ·•
F
A~~!~--
Students: voice your protest
to fee hike in Sacramento
Juan R. Avita
Staff writer
In recent months we've heard a lot about the proposed 40 percent fee increase in tuition. The CSU trustees have already voted to increase our fees and many
students believe that the whole issue is settled and that they'll be paying $700-plus
dollars come this fall. It is because of this false pretense that I am writing to inform
you that there's still hope.
In May the legislators in Sacramento will vote on the 40 percent fee increase.
If they don't approve the increase we as students will be safe (temporarily). Senator
Art Torres from the LA area is challenging the legislators not to raise fees, and if an
increase is decided on, then for it to be a 10 percent increase instead because that is the
legal amount the fees can be raised. Thus, there is still hope. Yet, the legislators and
Senator Torres will not really be able to make a change if the public (in this case
students) don't show their support in defeating the fee increase. Therefore it is up to
students to make their voices heard prior to the vote in May so that Gov. Pete Wilson
gets the message.
Now here's the important information. On Friday, March 27, students from
all CSU schools will be assembling in front of the State Capitol to pro_test the proposed
40 percent fee increase. Student leaders, politicians, and others who oppose the ·
increase will all be present and will speak in regards to this issue. If you are interested
in going, a carpool has been established to take students and will leave Friday
morning and return that afternoon. Please try to attend and show your support. For
mo~. info~atioira:, ~ ~ha~ tiJl)e,~la~;~wit}l_whom to get a ride from,. pl~~~ll
· the ASJ Office at 7S-2656.
•' ,._. r ,. : • •
.
"
r .J
La Voz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
page 2
<,Que onda?
Jorge L Benitez
Staff VlTlter
- ~
.
.
Distributed by Tribune Media Services
L-------------------------------
They just don't want to hear it
not to be racist, want him removed. At
the Columbus Day rally a young Chicano
There are a lot of racists at CSUF
held up a sign that said "Go Home,
who would deny, perhaps even in their
Whitey!" Montoya stood up for her right
hearts, that they are racists. They believe
to do so. Now white, or I should say,
that they are not because they do not hate racist, people want him out. They think
someone just because they are Chicano,
it's because they are against racism of any
for example. They think all people
form~ that we should look at each other
should be treated equally and should
as individuals, not as members of a
have the opportunity to be just like
certain ethnicity, but the truth is that they
everyone else.
do not want to hear the Chicano voice:
But what makes a racist? Is the term
they don't mind hearing a voice just like
confined to only those people that hate
theirs spoken with a Chicano accent, but
others because of the color of their skin or they just don't want to hear a voice that
their inferior cultural heritage? Are the
expresses the Chicano experiences. They
only racists the KKK who display
would rather not hear it. They are afraid.
banners on their four wheel drive
For centuries the Chicano people
pickups, who call us niggers and spies
have been overtly and subtly oppressed.
and get sickened every time they see one
In the 1950s "Mexicans" weren't allowed
of us, whether it is in the professional
in certain public'places or to use certain
arena or on the streets in ragged clothes.
public facilities; in the 60s they were the
Are all racists like Archie Bunker, that is,
victims of overt police brutality; in the
clearly, undoubtedly racist?
·
70s they died in Vietnam; in the 80s they
Of course not. Many racists are
died of cancer in the farming fields that
subtle racists, you might even say latent
feed America; and today, in the 90s, they
racists, who do not know they are racists
are denied the education that they have
but who get angry when Chicanos begin
fought for so long. They are deprived of
to express themselves politically. They
the only opportunity they achieved
are the white people who run the school
through EOP and CSUF is threatened
system in Dinuba and are indignant that
with cutbacks and fee increases supChicanos would come to their meetings
ported by whites like President Welty.
and ignore parliamentary procedure in
Whites do not want to hear what
demanding that they have representation Chicanos, as a people, have to say. They
on the board. These racists may think
may not consider themselves racist, but
Chicanos may have a legitimate comwhen they want to have Montoya
plaint (after all, how many gente send
recalled for defending the right of a
their children to Dinuba schools), but
Chicano to speak her experience, it is
they get angry at Chicanos who shouldn't clear to us what they mean: "C,o home,
be complaining but should be doing
Spic! Co back to the fields where you
· something about it through "proper
belong."
.
channels," proper channels that q.ave traWe have made some progress, Raza.
ditionally kept the voices of the opDon't let the racists take away the only
pressed suppressed, channels that are
Chicano ASI president in CSUF history, a
' unrespo~sive to us.
president elected through 11proper
There are the racists who, even
channels."
though we sometimes do go through
pro~r channels to have our voices
Jesus Bazan
heard, want to silence us. Andres
Montoya was elected on the Raza ticket,
Letters to the Editor can be
an organization·made up of mostly
dropped
off in the La Voz box at
Chicano students. He was elected not by
rich whites but by Chicanos. Now that
The Daily Collegian office in
he is protecting the ri~hts of Chicanos to
Keats Ca")Pl}S .Buidling._
speak out, the white people, ~~?_claim '
Dear Editor,
1
Ya era tiempo de romper con la monotonfa de un peri6dico escolar que segun
deber representar toda la bola de estudiantes chicanos y mexicanos. Se ha llegado el
tiempo para que el gigante dormido se levante de su largo suefio. Para que nuestros
cuates, camaradas y colegas de todas las facultades realisen que la unica fonna de ser
escuchado en un mundo como este, es no solo levantar la mano sino levantar la pluma y
escribir nuestras ideas, opiniones o locuras.
Todos tenemos un gran o_rgullo de ser mexicanos. Todos tenemos algo que contar
ya sea de nuestro pasado, nuestro sufrimiento, o simplemente un chisme. Si quiz.is eso sea,
y de ahf hubiera empezado. ,No haz t.enido alguna vez las ganas de relajarte y contar un
chiste, dar alguna queja o dar tu opini6n sobre algo? ,Sabfas que existe un peri6dico que te
da la oportunidad de hacerlo?
,Pu.es, que onda compa? yo estoy convencido de que hay muchos poetas y
Quijotes esperando ser descubiertos; peros que lastimamente no tienen el valor para salir
de la.s bibliotecas ode las aburridas rutinas. Yo me rasco el coco, preguntandome, si en mi
pequefio mundo existen otros literarios o bohemios que sigan enriquesiendo nuestro
idioma asi como Borges, Neruda, y Garcfa Marquez.
Meda coraje al saber que tenemos un idioma tan rico como el Chocolate Abuelita,
pero que no lo utiliz.amos como debe de ser, sino para insultamos cara a cara. El idioma es
parte de nuestra cultura y si no lo ejercemos, como todos los animales del mundo, morira.
Es un deber cultural e hist6rico para todo estudiante con raices que vienen desde
los Olmecas, Mayas, o Aztecas didique un poco de su tiempo y haga sus jeroglificos que en
otra era seran historia. No s6lo hay que vivir en el rol de estudiante. Hay que salir de
nuestros hoyos y tomar parte en programas que se dedican a revivir nuestro idioma y
nuestra cultura en ambos lugares c~mo en nuestra comunidad y nuestra universidad;
empezando en La Voz.
Pero recuerda;
La voz se mantiene en el aire un s6lo momento.
La tinta dura afios y se hace historia.
Arriesgate y escribe
Chicano Commencement
moves to Convention Center
Manuel Olgin
Contributing writer
The CSUF Chicano Alumni Association will host the 16th Annual CSUF Chicano
Commencement Celebration off-campus for the first time in 13 years. The last time it was
held off-campus was at the Fresno Fairgrounds' old Paul Theater. Since then, the CSUF
amphitheater has been the annual sight for the event. This year, it joins the University's
Master's Hooding and BA/BS Commencement at the Fresno Convention Center's Exhibit
Hall
The May 23 celebration will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a reception at Adrians
Restaurant located on P Street at Inyo, directly east of the Exhibit Hall. Mariachi closes the
ceremony with uDe Colores" and continues to entertain at the reception.
Applications to participate are available in the University Outreach Services Office
and EOP. The deadline to apply without a late fee is April 3.
What makes the CSUF Chicano Commencement Celebration so special? We cite
numerous reasons, the most obvious being the individual recognition each patticipant
receives. The graduate is recognized at center stage and has their "special thanks" read to
the family by the Masters of Ceremony. If two related participants are graduating, they
recognized side by side on stage. The messages of the participants are spoken in bilingual
languages. Caps and gowns are adorned by the traditional sash that each graduate wears.
Also, individual portraits are featured in Destinos magazine's excellent graduation edition
which is a product of CSUF Chicano Journ~lism Students Association.
Another reason the CCC is special is the makeup of its committee which is comprised
of alumni, staff, students, community members and faculty. This broad and diverse blend
of components works to honor the graduate and their family and friends on this special
occasion.
Students on the committee are represented by mostly graduating seniors and grad
see GRADUATION on page 4
La Voz de Aztlan staff...
Editor:
Assistant Editor: .
Photo Editor:
Staff writers:
Teresa Navarro
Maria Machuce .
·Angel de Jesus
Juan R. Avita, Jorge Benitez,
Lawrence Tovar
La Voz de Aztlan is published by the Associated Students, Inc. of California State
University, Fresno. The newspaper office is located in the Keats Campus Building,
Fresno, CA 93740-0042. The opinions published in this paper are not necessarily of the
· • • · · Associated Students, Inc., The Daily Coijegi~ or La Voz de Aztl,an .
.... ~,,__
.
La Voz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
page 3
Poetry Aztliln
Return to the Salinas River
-Julio Leal
April clouds cast passing shadows below,
the wind brings me the remote
fragrance of the poppy already in bloom.
It was on a day like this one, cold,
as though the rain rould come.
"The current running strong, but safe
along the rocky river banks. Our bikes
chained to the barbed wire fence.
The Chevy and the rusty dishwasher in the sand,
the willows and the elms, the cooing doves
perched on the boughs of the oak, entwined
in the blackbeny vines and crabgrass.
Everything growing dense near the gullies
throwing up irrigation water;
the heron and the egret, their songs lament
in the brushland beyond.
Smoking aack with a plastic pipe
and pedlaps something more
-Raftiel
-Marti Dobesh
Don't ever try it
with the tube of a huge plastic pen
cuz if you want a really big hit
it'll start to melt and make you cough away the ring in your stomach
the tingling inside your knees and chest
it'll give you a headache instead
and you won't look forward to the next hit
but you'll take one anyway
just like you are now
between peeks out the window and peaks of pleasure
and walks to the fridge where you hid a hil
.
.
Once some MexiCl11Ul who looked like your till gave you a blow job for a hit
you blew out the sensuous smoke and came at the same
time, you like the sound of her sucking you dry,
you were glad to be alive.
But now you have no glass pipe
.
you threw it away promising "God" that you would quit, .
But you can't, even though smoking plastic makes you vom1l
Aye Dios mio, what are these feelings
amidst this hot steamy kitchen and
left over food. Feelings here inside the
swirling motion of swinging doors
and sounds of crashing dishes.
It happened over there, near the mudhen's
nesting ground. With the BB gun strapped
across your chest and your brown hair
at the shoulders blowing in the morning mist,
you led the pack hopping from rock to rock
until you reached the bank's edge.
You wanted to be the first to impale
a blue belly on a stick. You said
that by three o'clock we'd have enough
to make an allegator vesl Everybody laughed.
Then you took a step to your left and the quicksand
gave way and the current pulled you under the m~dy water
and carried you out to the mudflats, on the north dikes.
The gulls and the river mouth still cream, Larry,
and you won't return.
reflections on marbles
I don't understand, and no one else would either,
and maybe that is why I'm afraid too
of the feelings.
Everything is wrong here
His youth, my age,
where we call home,
Our culture
Our language.
-Daniel Chllcon
White trash Gary wanted to be Mexican
He said cuz a white boy ain't been cooked enough.
He played with us at the edge of the field,
the old work camps where he lived with his mother
in sagging shacks separated by a patch of old fig ~
from th~ working-class neighborhood where we lived.
He sat down on the ground, near the edge of the circle
my brother drew in the dirt with a broken broomstick.
Gary pulled an old handkerchief from his dusty sock
and held it in the palms of his hands, carefully,
he untied the rubber band, and peeled it open.
And he placed them before us, a line of new diamonds,
on display under the sun. We would play till it got dark.
His head now twelve years later deep inside
the hood of my Honda, he mumbled what part I needed.
I was thinking of that evening twelve years ago,
When the sky became filled with ashes,
and the sunset glowed beyond purple clouds,
when his mother finally yelled for him to come inside,
and we watched him walk away slowly, sad,
ragged handkerchief dangling from his back pocket.
And yet these feelings will not leave
just because I bid them to.
They are persistent demanding obsessions.
It feels like love, amor,
like yearning, dts«J,
But maybe it is really a crazy woman's
corazon feliz, happy heart.
"Donde aris?" !stumble along. "Mexico."
he says caressing each letter with soft breath.
"En qut pud,lo?" "Nuer,o " too small for a
map he signs and laughs at his attempt
Near Mexico Cty we figure out.
"Yo hable poco tSpuiol en muy tltsptu:iio."
He speaks English even less. •to siento," he says.
No, Efrafn, I'm sorry for my pidgin Spanish.
"Timas mucho arnislad?" I ask lighting his
face with pleasure. "Amigo aul amiga?"
Yes, to all of these. What I really want to
know is "tierw 1ftlfM?" "'No, ~ui."
.,Mexico?" a hesitation and no answer.
Now what? I've run out of all the
phrases I've studied and put together to
reach through the language veil as hard ~ stone.
He pidcs up the llicciouirio and contemplates.
erit15:~ ~-, ~;~l(1.~~r.~:·: · . :·
_: ·. ~b~·deili~o~~~~ba~H~~l~,J~~ an~
J1111rez night
Selects. Points. "I am this," he says
-AngtLa T. Sykes
in English with questions in his eyes
leaving me to figure out the meaning,
translate and understand.
but I can't
·.•:•:•
·· •.·.·.:-:-.•>>:·>:·:·
·.•
I'm on the prowl
Baby, you know it
Amamurdiklol
Party all night
ANlar Electriad
•,
.. :-
Sister, sister
No ..s 'PfltillAI
Hey you trying to gig
Nona:itmls
This is my show
And when I push you out of the way
No~ aota, Punk!
YOU look stupid
Foolish
No MIS Mlidol
Oh I forgot you can't help it
I get confused when you wear all that makeup
Hey, hey brother
DMePasitm!
···
: ·· ·.~ ·~··
I look at his back, a stop frame in time,
Slightly bent, broad shoulders, smooth brown
arms disappearing into greasy water. He scrubs
the mountain of dirty pots. Wavy raven hair shines
and touches his collar. I speak to him, "Como estlls, Efrain?"
so he will tum and give to me his liquid chocolate eyes.
A heart flutter. A shy smile. A mllriposa in the
harsh florescent lights.
· ·· ·· ··at • :· · ··· · .... M:4!~ av~et 4fnel'O~~&.
Ya I'm feeling a little buzzed myself
Tum your system up
My heart isn't jumping yet
My head's spinning
This music has the funk love
Dang look at that Freak Mama
With that hair to the sky
No~ 111 jalts, Woody Wood Pecker
Twist.twist
D9n't fight this feeling Too short
Mt1Ar•0nttffitisl
I don't
I'm angry
at how unfair this seems to be.
Wait - I think I know
dark
Is he asking me if being darker than me
matters?
Or haw I missed it completely?
So, I watch his back • he washes a life time oi dishes
and wonder
Abouthim
His life
What he thinks and how he feels
What he hopes and about his dreams
And I have to be satisfied, for now, with
shy glances, a whispered•~• lm4M"
as he moves me
to put dean cups into neat rows on the shelf behind me.
I have to be satisfied with heart ftutlels and UStD
because of this damn language thing
. and perhaps something more
T
La Voz de Aztlan
Chicano's still .seeking
voice in ASI, campus
March 25, 1992
page 4
Maria V
La Voz correspondent
The upcoming election features a variety of ethnicities among the candidates. One of them, Mary Helen Ortega,
a Chicana, is also cuurently a Senator in the ASL
"The main reason I'm running for President is because the majority of students elected aren't accountable to
the students, but only to themselves," says Mary Helen
Ortega, who is running for ASI President in April. Ortega
feels the Senators have lost sight of their responsibility to the
students. As ASI President, she feels she can change the
"me" attitude to "us" - like there used to be.
"There used to be more unification in the Senate, so
we could be more accountable to students," she says.
''We are so many parties," says Ortega and she thinks
they are out for themselves. Ortega is running with a new
party, Kaleidoscope, which seems like a contradiction in
terms, but Ortega disagrees.
''We're different because we are a diversified
. group ... coming together on common ground," she says of her
party platform.
What are you
doing about the
proposed fee increase?
Rich Sandoval
Histoiy, senior
Anissa Rozadiila
Social Work , senior
''It's hard to get by as it is, but I
can't go to Sac to protest. I don't
think there's enough people to
change it. Right now I'm trying to
save money."
''What can I do? It's hard. I'm a
single parent. The last time there
was an increase I went to Sacramento. It's happening again. This
time the pre!>ident of our school is
supporting it."
Norma Castillo
Interior Design, junior
Diana Trejo
Lingustics (Spanish/English
bilingualism), senior
Jose Antonio Ramirez
Construction Management
with emphasis in Architecture, junior
GRADUATION from page 1
students, however all students are is that Chicano Commencement i.;
welcome to be part of the commit- for all Latinos, Hispanics, Mexitee, even if you are not graduatcan-Americans, Chicanos, etc. It is
. ing. The committee meets every
bilingual Spanish and truly a
heartwarming moment in the lifu
week on Thursdays, 5:00 P.M to
6:30 is in Joyal 203. The meetings
of the graduate and their family.
are relaxed and informal but run
Danzantes dance, Mariachi plays,
at full speed with lots of work and familia is proud, faculty, staff ar.d
decisions to be done weekly. It is
students are in full academic regaa good opportunity to meet others lia, and the moment is frozen in
who are interested in having a say · time.
about their Chicano CommenceCome celebrate witn La Raza
ment.
and supp,ort your brothers and
sisters.
Another point of infonnation
•
. .
. ·.·.·.. · -.-:-.:!
v;e
_·-:-·- ..• ._.:.:-.-.·-::;::::::::::
:-·:::::::::-::- :-·::.:
·'.·
.·--~·-:
/j{(@\\f> .· .- ./: ;: :.·•_::
"I'm dep~ndent on financial aid
money. If they don't increase
financial aid, there's going to be
a shortage of my rent money. I
realize not everybody can afford
to take the day off from school
or work, but we need Union De
Los Estudiantes! There are
other ways to work together.
My friends and I have already
gotten together and called
Wilson, and went to Maripqsa
Mall to our local elected
officials. Do something!"
"I'm a single parent, and I'm
concern about the cost of daycare
rising as well. I can't afford to go
to Sacramento. I'm signing
petitions, and I support the
organizations that are doing
something about it. The very
thing we are fighting to have
(money) is the very thing that we
don't have and that keeps us from
succeeding."
"Last year I was disenrolled from
the University because I didn't
have the funds, and I worked two
jobs. I can bearly afford part-time
now, how can I afford what they
will be asking for!? I'll have to
work in the fields this summer
and hope I can earn enough
money."
Calendario
C.W.A.A. (Chicano Writers Artists Association)
.(Zhfc~n(ls ·Qn thls campus has b~ ~ealt :·tttj~ijy . ·_:
.--~Y·t~~-~ia. . - :. ·-._ : : :_-· :·: ·_·_·-: . -._ · .. ·.
· · _..
->. . . . ·.
Meetings will be held on the following dates and places:
t April 2 6:30 p.m. in CU #311
t April 9 7:00 p.m. in CU #312-314 *
t April 30 6:30 p.m. in CU #309
t May 7 6:~0 p,m. in CU #311 .
* Poetry and improv. night, so bring something to read to the audience
and enjoy the evening.
Chicano Commencement Committee
Meeting is on every Thursday at 5:Q0 p.m. in Joyal Admin. #203
Do You.H~ve ~.An~~urcement?,
~-u ~· • .
Let Uil<irow;.;.We'llTelliu.eeyhruty. '
I
'
;_,
California State Universitv, Fresno
.I
VolumeXXIV
Issue No. 2
LaVoz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
Wednesday
Recall procedures
misleading; racism
the motivation
Lawrence Tovar
Staff writer
In order to understand modern
racism, examples such as the recall of
Andres Montoya must be illustrated. It
was cancelled two weeks ago for two
reasons: (1) his rights were violated; and
(2) the ASI Elections Committee was
misled by Legislative Vice President
(LVP) Nicole Kasabian and the Student
Affairs Office.
The Elections Committee this year .
was organized by people of color; those
who misled the committee were white.
Under ASI bylaws, the Elections Committee has full authority in recall elections,
but they were not informed of this
power; instead, the Committee was
informed that their job was to take
orders.
The first person to take control was
LVP Kasabian. She assumed authority by
setting the recall date and then rescheduling it for a later time. Under the
law, she has only the power to declare
that a recall will take place; the Elections
Committee determines that date.
Kasabian, who would have replaced
Montoya if he were recalled, was
determined to have an election as soon as
possible.
Kasabian's assumed authority was
backed up by administrators in the
Student Affairs Office who informed the
Elections Committee Chair, Kathy Nieto,
that Kasabian· was in charge. Student
Affairs is supposed to facilitate all important student concerns such as recall
elections. Its administrators receive large
salaries to understand ASI laws and
assure fairness.
Student Affairs, knowing that the
Elections
Committee members were new to
the process, continued to misrepresent
the laws and attempted to take control of
the recall process in a number of ways. '
First, Student Affairs did not give the
Committee a copy of the recall petition.
The Committee was just to hold a recall
without being informed about the
wording of the petition. That is, the
petition might have asked: "should Mon-
Chicano Commencement ap-
toya be recalled?" (which would mean
that he may not be recalled); whereas a
petition stating "we the students recall
Andres Montoya" would definitely
result in a recall if it passed.
Second ly, Student Affairs, after
holding the petition for two months,
finally informed and gave the Committee
permission to verify the recall signatures
two weeks before the recall was to take
place--Montoya has never received a
copy. The Committee was expected to
verify one-thousand signatures and then
set up a complicated recall process with
only four members in two weeks.
Third, the petition was signed last
semester and was to be voted on this
semester. This would have violated
precedence which requires petitions to be
turned in and candidates to be voted on
in the same semester. This process
insures that only those who sign the
petition are students. Montoya would
have been under the authority of a
petition that had no-longer-existing
students as signers, such as, Brooks Reed
(one of last semester's signers and petition drivers who is not a student this
semester).
It is evident that laws were violated,
people misled, and avenues opened to
assure a timely recall of Montoya. You
will not find these facts in The Daily
Collegian or other mainstream media. The
Daz1y Collegian won't reveal how Student
Affairs Office egregiously violated the
laws, because the Student Affairs Office
allowed the The Daily Collegian to engage .
in unethical (and unpublicized) behavior
last semester.
What you will read in newspapers
like the The Daily Collegian is how bad
your leaders are and the people that
support them. The recall issue illustrates
this most clearly. The Elections Committee, which is made up of people of color,
was blamed by the The Daily Collegian for
delaying the elections and violating
democratic principles, even though it is
clear that the white power structure
caused the delays and violated the laws.
We are portrayed as helpless sheep.
Student elections a~ coming up and this
University does not want another
plication deadline is April 3.
minority president who is as productive
Available in the University_
as Montoya. The University and its
Outreach Services Office
media friends want you to feel bad about
(Joyal
~~om_,?~O)..
your leaders so you will vote against
,--.. . . . . .iiii.iiii.ii...iiii.iiiii.ii-.ii..-iiiiiiiiii.iiiiiii..--,~ · them or choose a coconµt {or.pr~igent". ·•
F
A~~!~--
Students: voice your protest
to fee hike in Sacramento
Juan R. Avita
Staff writer
In recent months we've heard a lot about the proposed 40 percent fee increase in tuition. The CSU trustees have already voted to increase our fees and many
students believe that the whole issue is settled and that they'll be paying $700-plus
dollars come this fall. It is because of this false pretense that I am writing to inform
you that there's still hope.
In May the legislators in Sacramento will vote on the 40 percent fee increase.
If they don't approve the increase we as students will be safe (temporarily). Senator
Art Torres from the LA area is challenging the legislators not to raise fees, and if an
increase is decided on, then for it to be a 10 percent increase instead because that is the
legal amount the fees can be raised. Thus, there is still hope. Yet, the legislators and
Senator Torres will not really be able to make a change if the public (in this case
students) don't show their support in defeating the fee increase. Therefore it is up to
students to make their voices heard prior to the vote in May so that Gov. Pete Wilson
gets the message.
Now here's the important information. On Friday, March 27, students from
all CSU schools will be assembling in front of the State Capitol to pro_test the proposed
40 percent fee increase. Student leaders, politicians, and others who oppose the ·
increase will all be present and will speak in regards to this issue. If you are interested
in going, a carpool has been established to take students and will leave Friday
morning and return that afternoon. Please try to attend and show your support. For
mo~. info~atioira:, ~ ~ha~ tiJl)e,~la~;~wit}l_whom to get a ride from,. pl~~~ll
· the ASJ Office at 7S-2656.
•' ,._. r ,. : • •
.
"
r .J
La Voz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
page 2
<,Que onda?
Jorge L Benitez
Staff VlTlter
- ~
.
.
Distributed by Tribune Media Services
L-------------------------------
They just don't want to hear it
not to be racist, want him removed. At
the Columbus Day rally a young Chicano
There are a lot of racists at CSUF
held up a sign that said "Go Home,
who would deny, perhaps even in their
Whitey!" Montoya stood up for her right
hearts, that they are racists. They believe
to do so. Now white, or I should say,
that they are not because they do not hate racist, people want him out. They think
someone just because they are Chicano,
it's because they are against racism of any
for example. They think all people
form~ that we should look at each other
should be treated equally and should
as individuals, not as members of a
have the opportunity to be just like
certain ethnicity, but the truth is that they
everyone else.
do not want to hear the Chicano voice:
But what makes a racist? Is the term
they don't mind hearing a voice just like
confined to only those people that hate
theirs spoken with a Chicano accent, but
others because of the color of their skin or they just don't want to hear a voice that
their inferior cultural heritage? Are the
expresses the Chicano experiences. They
only racists the KKK who display
would rather not hear it. They are afraid.
banners on their four wheel drive
For centuries the Chicano people
pickups, who call us niggers and spies
have been overtly and subtly oppressed.
and get sickened every time they see one
In the 1950s "Mexicans" weren't allowed
of us, whether it is in the professional
in certain public'places or to use certain
arena or on the streets in ragged clothes.
public facilities; in the 60s they were the
Are all racists like Archie Bunker, that is,
victims of overt police brutality; in the
clearly, undoubtedly racist?
·
70s they died in Vietnam; in the 80s they
Of course not. Many racists are
died of cancer in the farming fields that
subtle racists, you might even say latent
feed America; and today, in the 90s, they
racists, who do not know they are racists
are denied the education that they have
but who get angry when Chicanos begin
fought for so long. They are deprived of
to express themselves politically. They
the only opportunity they achieved
are the white people who run the school
through EOP and CSUF is threatened
system in Dinuba and are indignant that
with cutbacks and fee increases supChicanos would come to their meetings
ported by whites like President Welty.
and ignore parliamentary procedure in
Whites do not want to hear what
demanding that they have representation Chicanos, as a people, have to say. They
on the board. These racists may think
may not consider themselves racist, but
Chicanos may have a legitimate comwhen they want to have Montoya
plaint (after all, how many gente send
recalled for defending the right of a
their children to Dinuba schools), but
Chicano to speak her experience, it is
they get angry at Chicanos who shouldn't clear to us what they mean: "C,o home,
be complaining but should be doing
Spic! Co back to the fields where you
· something about it through "proper
belong."
.
channels," proper channels that q.ave traWe have made some progress, Raza.
ditionally kept the voices of the opDon't let the racists take away the only
pressed suppressed, channels that are
Chicano ASI president in CSUF history, a
' unrespo~sive to us.
president elected through 11proper
There are the racists who, even
channels."
though we sometimes do go through
pro~r channels to have our voices
Jesus Bazan
heard, want to silence us. Andres
Montoya was elected on the Raza ticket,
Letters to the Editor can be
an organization·made up of mostly
dropped
off in the La Voz box at
Chicano students. He was elected not by
rich whites but by Chicanos. Now that
The Daily Collegian office in
he is protecting the ri~hts of Chicanos to
Keats Ca")Pl}S .Buidling._
speak out, the white people, ~~?_claim '
Dear Editor,
1
Ya era tiempo de romper con la monotonfa de un peri6dico escolar que segun
deber representar toda la bola de estudiantes chicanos y mexicanos. Se ha llegado el
tiempo para que el gigante dormido se levante de su largo suefio. Para que nuestros
cuates, camaradas y colegas de todas las facultades realisen que la unica fonna de ser
escuchado en un mundo como este, es no solo levantar la mano sino levantar la pluma y
escribir nuestras ideas, opiniones o locuras.
Todos tenemos un gran o_rgullo de ser mexicanos. Todos tenemos algo que contar
ya sea de nuestro pasado, nuestro sufrimiento, o simplemente un chisme. Si quiz.is eso sea,
y de ahf hubiera empezado. ,No haz t.enido alguna vez las ganas de relajarte y contar un
chiste, dar alguna queja o dar tu opini6n sobre algo? ,Sabfas que existe un peri6dico que te
da la oportunidad de hacerlo?
,Pu.es, que onda compa? yo estoy convencido de que hay muchos poetas y
Quijotes esperando ser descubiertos; peros que lastimamente no tienen el valor para salir
de la.s bibliotecas ode las aburridas rutinas. Yo me rasco el coco, preguntandome, si en mi
pequefio mundo existen otros literarios o bohemios que sigan enriquesiendo nuestro
idioma asi como Borges, Neruda, y Garcfa Marquez.
Meda coraje al saber que tenemos un idioma tan rico como el Chocolate Abuelita,
pero que no lo utiliz.amos como debe de ser, sino para insultamos cara a cara. El idioma es
parte de nuestra cultura y si no lo ejercemos, como todos los animales del mundo, morira.
Es un deber cultural e hist6rico para todo estudiante con raices que vienen desde
los Olmecas, Mayas, o Aztecas didique un poco de su tiempo y haga sus jeroglificos que en
otra era seran historia. No s6lo hay que vivir en el rol de estudiante. Hay que salir de
nuestros hoyos y tomar parte en programas que se dedican a revivir nuestro idioma y
nuestra cultura en ambos lugares c~mo en nuestra comunidad y nuestra universidad;
empezando en La Voz.
Pero recuerda;
La voz se mantiene en el aire un s6lo momento.
La tinta dura afios y se hace historia.
Arriesgate y escribe
Chicano Commencement
moves to Convention Center
Manuel Olgin
Contributing writer
The CSUF Chicano Alumni Association will host the 16th Annual CSUF Chicano
Commencement Celebration off-campus for the first time in 13 years. The last time it was
held off-campus was at the Fresno Fairgrounds' old Paul Theater. Since then, the CSUF
amphitheater has been the annual sight for the event. This year, it joins the University's
Master's Hooding and BA/BS Commencement at the Fresno Convention Center's Exhibit
Hall
The May 23 celebration will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a reception at Adrians
Restaurant located on P Street at Inyo, directly east of the Exhibit Hall. Mariachi closes the
ceremony with uDe Colores" and continues to entertain at the reception.
Applications to participate are available in the University Outreach Services Office
and EOP. The deadline to apply without a late fee is April 3.
What makes the CSUF Chicano Commencement Celebration so special? We cite
numerous reasons, the most obvious being the individual recognition each patticipant
receives. The graduate is recognized at center stage and has their "special thanks" read to
the family by the Masters of Ceremony. If two related participants are graduating, they
recognized side by side on stage. The messages of the participants are spoken in bilingual
languages. Caps and gowns are adorned by the traditional sash that each graduate wears.
Also, individual portraits are featured in Destinos magazine's excellent graduation edition
which is a product of CSUF Chicano Journ~lism Students Association.
Another reason the CCC is special is the makeup of its committee which is comprised
of alumni, staff, students, community members and faculty. This broad and diverse blend
of components works to honor the graduate and their family and friends on this special
occasion.
Students on the committee are represented by mostly graduating seniors and grad
see GRADUATION on page 4
La Voz de Aztlan staff...
Editor:
Assistant Editor: .
Photo Editor:
Staff writers:
Teresa Navarro
Maria Machuce .
·Angel de Jesus
Juan R. Avita, Jorge Benitez,
Lawrence Tovar
La Voz de Aztlan is published by the Associated Students, Inc. of California State
University, Fresno. The newspaper office is located in the Keats Campus Building,
Fresno, CA 93740-0042. The opinions published in this paper are not necessarily of the
· • • · · Associated Students, Inc., The Daily Coijegi~ or La Voz de Aztl,an .
.... ~,,__
.
La Voz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
page 3
Poetry Aztliln
Return to the Salinas River
-Julio Leal
April clouds cast passing shadows below,
the wind brings me the remote
fragrance of the poppy already in bloom.
It was on a day like this one, cold,
as though the rain rould come.
"The current running strong, but safe
along the rocky river banks. Our bikes
chained to the barbed wire fence.
The Chevy and the rusty dishwasher in the sand,
the willows and the elms, the cooing doves
perched on the boughs of the oak, entwined
in the blackbeny vines and crabgrass.
Everything growing dense near the gullies
throwing up irrigation water;
the heron and the egret, their songs lament
in the brushland beyond.
Smoking aack with a plastic pipe
and pedlaps something more
-Raftiel
-Marti Dobesh
Don't ever try it
with the tube of a huge plastic pen
cuz if you want a really big hit
it'll start to melt and make you cough away the ring in your stomach
the tingling inside your knees and chest
it'll give you a headache instead
and you won't look forward to the next hit
but you'll take one anyway
just like you are now
between peeks out the window and peaks of pleasure
and walks to the fridge where you hid a hil
.
.
Once some MexiCl11Ul who looked like your till gave you a blow job for a hit
you blew out the sensuous smoke and came at the same
time, you like the sound of her sucking you dry,
you were glad to be alive.
But now you have no glass pipe
.
you threw it away promising "God" that you would quit, .
But you can't, even though smoking plastic makes you vom1l
Aye Dios mio, what are these feelings
amidst this hot steamy kitchen and
left over food. Feelings here inside the
swirling motion of swinging doors
and sounds of crashing dishes.
It happened over there, near the mudhen's
nesting ground. With the BB gun strapped
across your chest and your brown hair
at the shoulders blowing in the morning mist,
you led the pack hopping from rock to rock
until you reached the bank's edge.
You wanted to be the first to impale
a blue belly on a stick. You said
that by three o'clock we'd have enough
to make an allegator vesl Everybody laughed.
Then you took a step to your left and the quicksand
gave way and the current pulled you under the m~dy water
and carried you out to the mudflats, on the north dikes.
The gulls and the river mouth still cream, Larry,
and you won't return.
reflections on marbles
I don't understand, and no one else would either,
and maybe that is why I'm afraid too
of the feelings.
Everything is wrong here
His youth, my age,
where we call home,
Our culture
Our language.
-Daniel Chllcon
White trash Gary wanted to be Mexican
He said cuz a white boy ain't been cooked enough.
He played with us at the edge of the field,
the old work camps where he lived with his mother
in sagging shacks separated by a patch of old fig ~
from th~ working-class neighborhood where we lived.
He sat down on the ground, near the edge of the circle
my brother drew in the dirt with a broken broomstick.
Gary pulled an old handkerchief from his dusty sock
and held it in the palms of his hands, carefully,
he untied the rubber band, and peeled it open.
And he placed them before us, a line of new diamonds,
on display under the sun. We would play till it got dark.
His head now twelve years later deep inside
the hood of my Honda, he mumbled what part I needed.
I was thinking of that evening twelve years ago,
When the sky became filled with ashes,
and the sunset glowed beyond purple clouds,
when his mother finally yelled for him to come inside,
and we watched him walk away slowly, sad,
ragged handkerchief dangling from his back pocket.
And yet these feelings will not leave
just because I bid them to.
They are persistent demanding obsessions.
It feels like love, amor,
like yearning, dts«J,
But maybe it is really a crazy woman's
corazon feliz, happy heart.
"Donde aris?" !stumble along. "Mexico."
he says caressing each letter with soft breath.
"En qut pud,lo?" "Nuer,o " too small for a
map he signs and laughs at his attempt
Near Mexico Cty we figure out.
"Yo hable poco tSpuiol en muy tltsptu:iio."
He speaks English even less. •to siento," he says.
No, Efrafn, I'm sorry for my pidgin Spanish.
"Timas mucho arnislad?" I ask lighting his
face with pleasure. "Amigo aul amiga?"
Yes, to all of these. What I really want to
know is "tierw 1ftlfM?" "'No, ~ui."
.,Mexico?" a hesitation and no answer.
Now what? I've run out of all the
phrases I've studied and put together to
reach through the language veil as hard ~ stone.
He pidcs up the llicciouirio and contemplates.
erit15:~ ~-, ~;~l(1.~~r.~:·: · . :·
_: ·. ~b~·deili~o~~~~ba~H~~l~,J~~ an~
J1111rez night
Selects. Points. "I am this," he says
-AngtLa T. Sykes
in English with questions in his eyes
leaving me to figure out the meaning,
translate and understand.
but I can't
·.•:•:•
·· •.·.·.:-:-.•>>:·>:·:·
·.•
I'm on the prowl
Baby, you know it
Amamurdiklol
Party all night
ANlar Electriad
•,
.. :-
Sister, sister
No ..s 'PfltillAI
Hey you trying to gig
Nona:itmls
This is my show
And when I push you out of the way
No~ aota, Punk!
YOU look stupid
Foolish
No MIS Mlidol
Oh I forgot you can't help it
I get confused when you wear all that makeup
Hey, hey brother
DMePasitm!
···
: ·· ·.~ ·~··
I look at his back, a stop frame in time,
Slightly bent, broad shoulders, smooth brown
arms disappearing into greasy water. He scrubs
the mountain of dirty pots. Wavy raven hair shines
and touches his collar. I speak to him, "Como estlls, Efrain?"
so he will tum and give to me his liquid chocolate eyes.
A heart flutter. A shy smile. A mllriposa in the
harsh florescent lights.
· ·· ·· ··at • :· · ··· · .... M:4!~ av~et 4fnel'O~~&.
Ya I'm feeling a little buzzed myself
Tum your system up
My heart isn't jumping yet
My head's spinning
This music has the funk love
Dang look at that Freak Mama
With that hair to the sky
No~ 111 jalts, Woody Wood Pecker
Twist.twist
D9n't fight this feeling Too short
Mt1Ar•0nttffitisl
I don't
I'm angry
at how unfair this seems to be.
Wait - I think I know
dark
Is he asking me if being darker than me
matters?
Or haw I missed it completely?
So, I watch his back • he washes a life time oi dishes
and wonder
Abouthim
His life
What he thinks and how he feels
What he hopes and about his dreams
And I have to be satisfied, for now, with
shy glances, a whispered•~• lm4M"
as he moves me
to put dean cups into neat rows on the shelf behind me.
I have to be satisfied with heart ftutlels and UStD
because of this damn language thing
. and perhaps something more
T
La Voz de Aztlan
Chicano's still .seeking
voice in ASI, campus
March 25, 1992
page 4
Maria V
La Voz correspondent
The upcoming election features a variety of ethnicities among the candidates. One of them, Mary Helen Ortega,
a Chicana, is also cuurently a Senator in the ASL
"The main reason I'm running for President is because the majority of students elected aren't accountable to
the students, but only to themselves," says Mary Helen
Ortega, who is running for ASI President in April. Ortega
feels the Senators have lost sight of their responsibility to the
students. As ASI President, she feels she can change the
"me" attitude to "us" - like there used to be.
"There used to be more unification in the Senate, so
we could be more accountable to students," she says.
''We are so many parties," says Ortega and she thinks
they are out for themselves. Ortega is running with a new
party, Kaleidoscope, which seems like a contradiction in
terms, but Ortega disagrees.
''We're different because we are a diversified
. group ... coming together on common ground," she says of her
party platform.
What are you
doing about the
proposed fee increase?
Rich Sandoval
Histoiy, senior
Anissa Rozadiila
Social Work , senior
''It's hard to get by as it is, but I
can't go to Sac to protest. I don't
think there's enough people to
change it. Right now I'm trying to
save money."
''What can I do? It's hard. I'm a
single parent. The last time there
was an increase I went to Sacramento. It's happening again. This
time the pre!>ident of our school is
supporting it."
Norma Castillo
Interior Design, junior
Diana Trejo
Lingustics (Spanish/English
bilingualism), senior
Jose Antonio Ramirez
Construction Management
with emphasis in Architecture, junior
GRADUATION from page 1
students, however all students are is that Chicano Commencement i.;
welcome to be part of the commit- for all Latinos, Hispanics, Mexitee, even if you are not graduatcan-Americans, Chicanos, etc. It is
. ing. The committee meets every
bilingual Spanish and truly a
heartwarming moment in the lifu
week on Thursdays, 5:00 P.M to
6:30 is in Joyal 203. The meetings
of the graduate and their family.
are relaxed and informal but run
Danzantes dance, Mariachi plays,
at full speed with lots of work and familia is proud, faculty, staff ar.d
decisions to be done weekly. It is
students are in full academic regaa good opportunity to meet others lia, and the moment is frozen in
who are interested in having a say · time.
about their Chicano CommenceCome celebrate witn La Raza
ment.
and supp,ort your brothers and
sisters.
Another point of infonnation
•
. .
. ·.·.·.. · -.-:-.:!
v;e
_·-:-·- ..• ._.:.:-.-.·-::;::::::::::
:-·:::::::::-::- :-·::.:
·'.·
.·--~·-:
/j{(@\\f> .· .- ./: ;: :.·•_::
"I'm dep~ndent on financial aid
money. If they don't increase
financial aid, there's going to be
a shortage of my rent money. I
realize not everybody can afford
to take the day off from school
or work, but we need Union De
Los Estudiantes! There are
other ways to work together.
My friends and I have already
gotten together and called
Wilson, and went to Maripqsa
Mall to our local elected
officials. Do something!"
"I'm a single parent, and I'm
concern about the cost of daycare
rising as well. I can't afford to go
to Sacramento. I'm signing
petitions, and I support the
organizations that are doing
something about it. The very
thing we are fighting to have
(money) is the very thing that we
don't have and that keeps us from
succeeding."
"Last year I was disenrolled from
the University because I didn't
have the funds, and I worked two
jobs. I can bearly afford part-time
now, how can I afford what they
will be asking for!? I'll have to
work in the fields this summer
and hope I can earn enough
money."
Calendario
C.W.A.A. (Chicano Writers Artists Association)
.(Zhfc~n(ls ·Qn thls campus has b~ ~ealt :·tttj~ijy . ·_:
.--~Y·t~~-~ia. . - :. ·-._ : : :_-· :·: ·_·_·-: . -._ · .. ·.
· · _..
->. . . . ·.
Meetings will be held on the following dates and places:
t April 2 6:30 p.m. in CU #311
t April 9 7:00 p.m. in CU #312-314 *
t April 30 6:30 p.m. in CU #309
t May 7 6:~0 p,m. in CU #311 .
* Poetry and improv. night, so bring something to read to the audience
and enjoy the evening.
Chicano Commencement Committee
Meeting is on every Thursday at 5:Q0 p.m. in Joyal Admin. #203
Do You.H~ve ~.An~~urcement?,
~-u ~· • .
Let Uil<irow;.;.We'llTelliu.eeyhruty. '
I
'
;_,
.I
VolumeXXIV
Issue No. 2
LaVoz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
Wednesday
Recall procedures
misleading; racism
the motivation
Lawrence Tovar
Staff writer
In order to understand modern
racism, examples such as the recall of
Andres Montoya must be illustrated. It
was cancelled two weeks ago for two
reasons: (1) his rights were violated; and
(2) the ASI Elections Committee was
misled by Legislative Vice President
(LVP) Nicole Kasabian and the Student
Affairs Office.
The Elections Committee this year .
was organized by people of color; those
who misled the committee were white.
Under ASI bylaws, the Elections Committee has full authority in recall elections,
but they were not informed of this
power; instead, the Committee was
informed that their job was to take
orders.
The first person to take control was
LVP Kasabian. She assumed authority by
setting the recall date and then rescheduling it for a later time. Under the
law, she has only the power to declare
that a recall will take place; the Elections
Committee determines that date.
Kasabian, who would have replaced
Montoya if he were recalled, was
determined to have an election as soon as
possible.
Kasabian's assumed authority was
backed up by administrators in the
Student Affairs Office who informed the
Elections Committee Chair, Kathy Nieto,
that Kasabian· was in charge. Student
Affairs is supposed to facilitate all important student concerns such as recall
elections. Its administrators receive large
salaries to understand ASI laws and
assure fairness.
Student Affairs, knowing that the
Elections
Committee members were new to
the process, continued to misrepresent
the laws and attempted to take control of
the recall process in a number of ways. '
First, Student Affairs did not give the
Committee a copy of the recall petition.
The Committee was just to hold a recall
without being informed about the
wording of the petition. That is, the
petition might have asked: "should Mon-
Chicano Commencement ap-
toya be recalled?" (which would mean
that he may not be recalled); whereas a
petition stating "we the students recall
Andres Montoya" would definitely
result in a recall if it passed.
Second ly, Student Affairs, after
holding the petition for two months,
finally informed and gave the Committee
permission to verify the recall signatures
two weeks before the recall was to take
place--Montoya has never received a
copy. The Committee was expected to
verify one-thousand signatures and then
set up a complicated recall process with
only four members in two weeks.
Third, the petition was signed last
semester and was to be voted on this
semester. This would have violated
precedence which requires petitions to be
turned in and candidates to be voted on
in the same semester. This process
insures that only those who sign the
petition are students. Montoya would
have been under the authority of a
petition that had no-longer-existing
students as signers, such as, Brooks Reed
(one of last semester's signers and petition drivers who is not a student this
semester).
It is evident that laws were violated,
people misled, and avenues opened to
assure a timely recall of Montoya. You
will not find these facts in The Daily
Collegian or other mainstream media. The
Daz1y Collegian won't reveal how Student
Affairs Office egregiously violated the
laws, because the Student Affairs Office
allowed the The Daily Collegian to engage .
in unethical (and unpublicized) behavior
last semester.
What you will read in newspapers
like the The Daily Collegian is how bad
your leaders are and the people that
support them. The recall issue illustrates
this most clearly. The Elections Committee, which is made up of people of color,
was blamed by the The Daily Collegian for
delaying the elections and violating
democratic principles, even though it is
clear that the white power structure
caused the delays and violated the laws.
We are portrayed as helpless sheep.
Student elections a~ coming up and this
University does not want another
plication deadline is April 3.
minority president who is as productive
Available in the University_
as Montoya. The University and its
Outreach Services Office
media friends want you to feel bad about
(Joyal
~~om_,?~O)..
your leaders so you will vote against
,--.. . . . . .iiii.iiii.ii...iiii.iiiii.ii-.ii..-iiiiiiiiii.iiiiiii..--,~ · them or choose a coconµt {or.pr~igent". ·•
F
A~~!~--
Students: voice your protest
to fee hike in Sacramento
Juan R. Avita
Staff writer
In recent months we've heard a lot about the proposed 40 percent fee increase in tuition. The CSU trustees have already voted to increase our fees and many
students believe that the whole issue is settled and that they'll be paying $700-plus
dollars come this fall. It is because of this false pretense that I am writing to inform
you that there's still hope.
In May the legislators in Sacramento will vote on the 40 percent fee increase.
If they don't approve the increase we as students will be safe (temporarily). Senator
Art Torres from the LA area is challenging the legislators not to raise fees, and if an
increase is decided on, then for it to be a 10 percent increase instead because that is the
legal amount the fees can be raised. Thus, there is still hope. Yet, the legislators and
Senator Torres will not really be able to make a change if the public (in this case
students) don't show their support in defeating the fee increase. Therefore it is up to
students to make their voices heard prior to the vote in May so that Gov. Pete Wilson
gets the message.
Now here's the important information. On Friday, March 27, students from
all CSU schools will be assembling in front of the State Capitol to pro_test the proposed
40 percent fee increase. Student leaders, politicians, and others who oppose the ·
increase will all be present and will speak in regards to this issue. If you are interested
in going, a carpool has been established to take students and will leave Friday
morning and return that afternoon. Please try to attend and show your support. For
mo~. info~atioira:, ~ ~ha~ tiJl)e,~la~;~wit}l_whom to get a ride from,. pl~~~ll
· the ASJ Office at 7S-2656.
•' ,._. r ,. : • •
.
"
r .J
La Voz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
page 2
<,Que onda?
Jorge L Benitez
Staff VlTlter
- ~
.
.
Distributed by Tribune Media Services
L-------------------------------
They just don't want to hear it
not to be racist, want him removed. At
the Columbus Day rally a young Chicano
There are a lot of racists at CSUF
held up a sign that said "Go Home,
who would deny, perhaps even in their
Whitey!" Montoya stood up for her right
hearts, that they are racists. They believe
to do so. Now white, or I should say,
that they are not because they do not hate racist, people want him out. They think
someone just because they are Chicano,
it's because they are against racism of any
for example. They think all people
form~ that we should look at each other
should be treated equally and should
as individuals, not as members of a
have the opportunity to be just like
certain ethnicity, but the truth is that they
everyone else.
do not want to hear the Chicano voice:
But what makes a racist? Is the term
they don't mind hearing a voice just like
confined to only those people that hate
theirs spoken with a Chicano accent, but
others because of the color of their skin or they just don't want to hear a voice that
their inferior cultural heritage? Are the
expresses the Chicano experiences. They
only racists the KKK who display
would rather not hear it. They are afraid.
banners on their four wheel drive
For centuries the Chicano people
pickups, who call us niggers and spies
have been overtly and subtly oppressed.
and get sickened every time they see one
In the 1950s "Mexicans" weren't allowed
of us, whether it is in the professional
in certain public'places or to use certain
arena or on the streets in ragged clothes.
public facilities; in the 60s they were the
Are all racists like Archie Bunker, that is,
victims of overt police brutality; in the
clearly, undoubtedly racist?
·
70s they died in Vietnam; in the 80s they
Of course not. Many racists are
died of cancer in the farming fields that
subtle racists, you might even say latent
feed America; and today, in the 90s, they
racists, who do not know they are racists
are denied the education that they have
but who get angry when Chicanos begin
fought for so long. They are deprived of
to express themselves politically. They
the only opportunity they achieved
are the white people who run the school
through EOP and CSUF is threatened
system in Dinuba and are indignant that
with cutbacks and fee increases supChicanos would come to their meetings
ported by whites like President Welty.
and ignore parliamentary procedure in
Whites do not want to hear what
demanding that they have representation Chicanos, as a people, have to say. They
on the board. These racists may think
may not consider themselves racist, but
Chicanos may have a legitimate comwhen they want to have Montoya
plaint (after all, how many gente send
recalled for defending the right of a
their children to Dinuba schools), but
Chicano to speak her experience, it is
they get angry at Chicanos who shouldn't clear to us what they mean: "C,o home,
be complaining but should be doing
Spic! Co back to the fields where you
· something about it through "proper
belong."
.
channels," proper channels that q.ave traWe have made some progress, Raza.
ditionally kept the voices of the opDon't let the racists take away the only
pressed suppressed, channels that are
Chicano ASI president in CSUF history, a
' unrespo~sive to us.
president elected through 11proper
There are the racists who, even
channels."
though we sometimes do go through
pro~r channels to have our voices
Jesus Bazan
heard, want to silence us. Andres
Montoya was elected on the Raza ticket,
Letters to the Editor can be
an organization·made up of mostly
dropped
off in the La Voz box at
Chicano students. He was elected not by
rich whites but by Chicanos. Now that
The Daily Collegian office in
he is protecting the ri~hts of Chicanos to
Keats Ca")Pl}S .Buidling._
speak out, the white people, ~~?_claim '
Dear Editor,
1
Ya era tiempo de romper con la monotonfa de un peri6dico escolar que segun
deber representar toda la bola de estudiantes chicanos y mexicanos. Se ha llegado el
tiempo para que el gigante dormido se levante de su largo suefio. Para que nuestros
cuates, camaradas y colegas de todas las facultades realisen que la unica fonna de ser
escuchado en un mundo como este, es no solo levantar la mano sino levantar la pluma y
escribir nuestras ideas, opiniones o locuras.
Todos tenemos un gran o_rgullo de ser mexicanos. Todos tenemos algo que contar
ya sea de nuestro pasado, nuestro sufrimiento, o simplemente un chisme. Si quiz.is eso sea,
y de ahf hubiera empezado. ,No haz t.enido alguna vez las ganas de relajarte y contar un
chiste, dar alguna queja o dar tu opini6n sobre algo? ,Sabfas que existe un peri6dico que te
da la oportunidad de hacerlo?
,Pu.es, que onda compa? yo estoy convencido de que hay muchos poetas y
Quijotes esperando ser descubiertos; peros que lastimamente no tienen el valor para salir
de la.s bibliotecas ode las aburridas rutinas. Yo me rasco el coco, preguntandome, si en mi
pequefio mundo existen otros literarios o bohemios que sigan enriquesiendo nuestro
idioma asi como Borges, Neruda, y Garcfa Marquez.
Meda coraje al saber que tenemos un idioma tan rico como el Chocolate Abuelita,
pero que no lo utiliz.amos como debe de ser, sino para insultamos cara a cara. El idioma es
parte de nuestra cultura y si no lo ejercemos, como todos los animales del mundo, morira.
Es un deber cultural e hist6rico para todo estudiante con raices que vienen desde
los Olmecas, Mayas, o Aztecas didique un poco de su tiempo y haga sus jeroglificos que en
otra era seran historia. No s6lo hay que vivir en el rol de estudiante. Hay que salir de
nuestros hoyos y tomar parte en programas que se dedican a revivir nuestro idioma y
nuestra cultura en ambos lugares c~mo en nuestra comunidad y nuestra universidad;
empezando en La Voz.
Pero recuerda;
La voz se mantiene en el aire un s6lo momento.
La tinta dura afios y se hace historia.
Arriesgate y escribe
Chicano Commencement
moves to Convention Center
Manuel Olgin
Contributing writer
The CSUF Chicano Alumni Association will host the 16th Annual CSUF Chicano
Commencement Celebration off-campus for the first time in 13 years. The last time it was
held off-campus was at the Fresno Fairgrounds' old Paul Theater. Since then, the CSUF
amphitheater has been the annual sight for the event. This year, it joins the University's
Master's Hooding and BA/BS Commencement at the Fresno Convention Center's Exhibit
Hall
The May 23 celebration will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a reception at Adrians
Restaurant located on P Street at Inyo, directly east of the Exhibit Hall. Mariachi closes the
ceremony with uDe Colores" and continues to entertain at the reception.
Applications to participate are available in the University Outreach Services Office
and EOP. The deadline to apply without a late fee is April 3.
What makes the CSUF Chicano Commencement Celebration so special? We cite
numerous reasons, the most obvious being the individual recognition each patticipant
receives. The graduate is recognized at center stage and has their "special thanks" read to
the family by the Masters of Ceremony. If two related participants are graduating, they
recognized side by side on stage. The messages of the participants are spoken in bilingual
languages. Caps and gowns are adorned by the traditional sash that each graduate wears.
Also, individual portraits are featured in Destinos magazine's excellent graduation edition
which is a product of CSUF Chicano Journ~lism Students Association.
Another reason the CCC is special is the makeup of its committee which is comprised
of alumni, staff, students, community members and faculty. This broad and diverse blend
of components works to honor the graduate and their family and friends on this special
occasion.
Students on the committee are represented by mostly graduating seniors and grad
see GRADUATION on page 4
La Voz de Aztlan staff...
Editor:
Assistant Editor: .
Photo Editor:
Staff writers:
Teresa Navarro
Maria Machuce .
·Angel de Jesus
Juan R. Avita, Jorge Benitez,
Lawrence Tovar
La Voz de Aztlan is published by the Associated Students, Inc. of California State
University, Fresno. The newspaper office is located in the Keats Campus Building,
Fresno, CA 93740-0042. The opinions published in this paper are not necessarily of the
· • • · · Associated Students, Inc., The Daily Coijegi~ or La Voz de Aztl,an .
.... ~,,__
.
La Voz de Aztlan
March 25, 1992
page 3
Poetry Aztliln
Return to the Salinas River
-Julio Leal
April clouds cast passing shadows below,
the wind brings me the remote
fragrance of the poppy already in bloom.
It was on a day like this one, cold,
as though the rain rould come.
"The current running strong, but safe
along the rocky river banks. Our bikes
chained to the barbed wire fence.
The Chevy and the rusty dishwasher in the sand,
the willows and the elms, the cooing doves
perched on the boughs of the oak, entwined
in the blackbeny vines and crabgrass.
Everything growing dense near the gullies
throwing up irrigation water;
the heron and the egret, their songs lament
in the brushland beyond.
Smoking aack with a plastic pipe
and pedlaps something more
-Raftiel
-Marti Dobesh
Don't ever try it
with the tube of a huge plastic pen
cuz if you want a really big hit
it'll start to melt and make you cough away the ring in your stomach
the tingling inside your knees and chest
it'll give you a headache instead
and you won't look forward to the next hit
but you'll take one anyway
just like you are now
between peeks out the window and peaks of pleasure
and walks to the fridge where you hid a hil
.
.
Once some MexiCl11Ul who looked like your till gave you a blow job for a hit
you blew out the sensuous smoke and came at the same
time, you like the sound of her sucking you dry,
you were glad to be alive.
But now you have no glass pipe
.
you threw it away promising "God" that you would quit, .
But you can't, even though smoking plastic makes you vom1l
Aye Dios mio, what are these feelings
amidst this hot steamy kitchen and
left over food. Feelings here inside the
swirling motion of swinging doors
and sounds of crashing dishes.
It happened over there, near the mudhen's
nesting ground. With the BB gun strapped
across your chest and your brown hair
at the shoulders blowing in the morning mist,
you led the pack hopping from rock to rock
until you reached the bank's edge.
You wanted to be the first to impale
a blue belly on a stick. You said
that by three o'clock we'd have enough
to make an allegator vesl Everybody laughed.
Then you took a step to your left and the quicksand
gave way and the current pulled you under the m~dy water
and carried you out to the mudflats, on the north dikes.
The gulls and the river mouth still cream, Larry,
and you won't return.
reflections on marbles
I don't understand, and no one else would either,
and maybe that is why I'm afraid too
of the feelings.
Everything is wrong here
His youth, my age,
where we call home,
Our culture
Our language.
-Daniel Chllcon
White trash Gary wanted to be Mexican
He said cuz a white boy ain't been cooked enough.
He played with us at the edge of the field,
the old work camps where he lived with his mother
in sagging shacks separated by a patch of old fig ~
from th~ working-class neighborhood where we lived.
He sat down on the ground, near the edge of the circle
my brother drew in the dirt with a broken broomstick.
Gary pulled an old handkerchief from his dusty sock
and held it in the palms of his hands, carefully,
he untied the rubber band, and peeled it open.
And he placed them before us, a line of new diamonds,
on display under the sun. We would play till it got dark.
His head now twelve years later deep inside
the hood of my Honda, he mumbled what part I needed.
I was thinking of that evening twelve years ago,
When the sky became filled with ashes,
and the sunset glowed beyond purple clouds,
when his mother finally yelled for him to come inside,
and we watched him walk away slowly, sad,
ragged handkerchief dangling from his back pocket.
And yet these feelings will not leave
just because I bid them to.
They are persistent demanding obsessions.
It feels like love, amor,
like yearning, dts«J,
But maybe it is really a crazy woman's
corazon feliz, happy heart.
"Donde aris?" !stumble along. "Mexico."
he says caressing each letter with soft breath.
"En qut pud,lo?" "Nuer,o " too small for a
map he signs and laughs at his attempt
Near Mexico Cty we figure out.
"Yo hable poco tSpuiol en muy tltsptu:iio."
He speaks English even less. •to siento," he says.
No, Efrafn, I'm sorry for my pidgin Spanish.
"Timas mucho arnislad?" I ask lighting his
face with pleasure. "Amigo aul amiga?"
Yes, to all of these. What I really want to
know is "tierw 1ftlfM?" "'No, ~ui."
.,Mexico?" a hesitation and no answer.
Now what? I've run out of all the
phrases I've studied and put together to
reach through the language veil as hard ~ stone.
He pidcs up the llicciouirio and contemplates.
erit15:~ ~-, ~;~l(1.~~r.~:·: · . :·
_: ·. ~b~·deili~o~~~~ba~H~~l~,J~~ an~
J1111rez night
Selects. Points. "I am this," he says
-AngtLa T. Sykes
in English with questions in his eyes
leaving me to figure out the meaning,
translate and understand.
but I can't
·.•:•:•
·· •.·.·.:-:-.•>>:·>:·:·
·.•
I'm on the prowl
Baby, you know it
Amamurdiklol
Party all night
ANlar Electriad
•,
.. :-
Sister, sister
No ..s 'PfltillAI
Hey you trying to gig
Nona:itmls
This is my show
And when I push you out of the way
No~ aota, Punk!
YOU look stupid
Foolish
No MIS Mlidol
Oh I forgot you can't help it
I get confused when you wear all that makeup
Hey, hey brother
DMePasitm!
···
: ·· ·.~ ·~··
I look at his back, a stop frame in time,
Slightly bent, broad shoulders, smooth brown
arms disappearing into greasy water. He scrubs
the mountain of dirty pots. Wavy raven hair shines
and touches his collar. I speak to him, "Como estlls, Efrain?"
so he will tum and give to me his liquid chocolate eyes.
A heart flutter. A shy smile. A mllriposa in the
harsh florescent lights.
· ·· ·· ··at • :· · ··· · .... M:4!~ av~et 4fnel'O~~&.
Ya I'm feeling a little buzzed myself
Tum your system up
My heart isn't jumping yet
My head's spinning
This music has the funk love
Dang look at that Freak Mama
With that hair to the sky
No~ 111 jalts, Woody Wood Pecker
Twist.twist
D9n't fight this feeling Too short
Mt1Ar•0nttffitisl
I don't
I'm angry
at how unfair this seems to be.
Wait - I think I know
dark
Is he asking me if being darker than me
matters?
Or haw I missed it completely?
So, I watch his back • he washes a life time oi dishes
and wonder
Abouthim
His life
What he thinks and how he feels
What he hopes and about his dreams
And I have to be satisfied, for now, with
shy glances, a whispered•~• lm4M"
as he moves me
to put dean cups into neat rows on the shelf behind me.
I have to be satisfied with heart ftutlels and UStD
because of this damn language thing
. and perhaps something more
T
La Voz de Aztlan
Chicano's still .seeking
voice in ASI, campus
March 25, 1992
page 4
Maria V
La Voz correspondent
The upcoming election features a variety of ethnicities among the candidates. One of them, Mary Helen Ortega,
a Chicana, is also cuurently a Senator in the ASL
"The main reason I'm running for President is because the majority of students elected aren't accountable to
the students, but only to themselves," says Mary Helen
Ortega, who is running for ASI President in April. Ortega
feels the Senators have lost sight of their responsibility to the
students. As ASI President, she feels she can change the
"me" attitude to "us" - like there used to be.
"There used to be more unification in the Senate, so
we could be more accountable to students," she says.
''We are so many parties," says Ortega and she thinks
they are out for themselves. Ortega is running with a new
party, Kaleidoscope, which seems like a contradiction in
terms, but Ortega disagrees.
''We're different because we are a diversified
. group ... coming together on common ground," she says of her
party platform.
What are you
doing about the
proposed fee increase?
Rich Sandoval
Histoiy, senior
Anissa Rozadiila
Social Work , senior
''It's hard to get by as it is, but I
can't go to Sac to protest. I don't
think there's enough people to
change it. Right now I'm trying to
save money."
''What can I do? It's hard. I'm a
single parent. The last time there
was an increase I went to Sacramento. It's happening again. This
time the pre!>ident of our school is
supporting it."
Norma Castillo
Interior Design, junior
Diana Trejo
Lingustics (Spanish/English
bilingualism), senior
Jose Antonio Ramirez
Construction Management
with emphasis in Architecture, junior
GRADUATION from page 1
students, however all students are is that Chicano Commencement i.;
welcome to be part of the commit- for all Latinos, Hispanics, Mexitee, even if you are not graduatcan-Americans, Chicanos, etc. It is
. ing. The committee meets every
bilingual Spanish and truly a
heartwarming moment in the lifu
week on Thursdays, 5:00 P.M to
6:30 is in Joyal 203. The meetings
of the graduate and their family.
are relaxed and informal but run
Danzantes dance, Mariachi plays,
at full speed with lots of work and familia is proud, faculty, staff ar.d
decisions to be done weekly. It is
students are in full academic regaa good opportunity to meet others lia, and the moment is frozen in
who are interested in having a say · time.
about their Chicano CommenceCome celebrate witn La Raza
ment.
and supp,ort your brothers and
sisters.
Another point of infonnation
•
. .
. ·.·.·.. · -.-:-.:!
v;e
_·-:-·- ..• ._.:.:-.-.·-::;::::::::::
:-·:::::::::-::- :-·::.:
·'.·
.·--~·-:
/j{(@\\f> .· .- ./: ;: :.·•_::
"I'm dep~ndent on financial aid
money. If they don't increase
financial aid, there's going to be
a shortage of my rent money. I
realize not everybody can afford
to take the day off from school
or work, but we need Union De
Los Estudiantes! There are
other ways to work together.
My friends and I have already
gotten together and called
Wilson, and went to Maripqsa
Mall to our local elected
officials. Do something!"
"I'm a single parent, and I'm
concern about the cost of daycare
rising as well. I can't afford to go
to Sacramento. I'm signing
petitions, and I support the
organizations that are doing
something about it. The very
thing we are fighting to have
(money) is the very thing that we
don't have and that keeps us from
succeeding."
"Last year I was disenrolled from
the University because I didn't
have the funds, and I worked two
jobs. I can bearly afford part-time
now, how can I afford what they
will be asking for!? I'll have to
work in the fields this summer
and hope I can earn enough
money."
Calendario
C.W.A.A. (Chicano Writers Artists Association)
.(Zhfc~n(ls ·Qn thls campus has b~ ~ealt :·tttj~ijy . ·_:
.--~Y·t~~-~ia. . - :. ·-._ : : :_-· :·: ·_·_·-: . -._ · .. ·.
· · _..
->. . . . ·.
Meetings will be held on the following dates and places:
t April 2 6:30 p.m. in CU #311
t April 9 7:00 p.m. in CU #312-314 *
t April 30 6:30 p.m. in CU #309
t May 7 6:~0 p,m. in CU #311 .
* Poetry and improv. night, so bring something to read to the audience
and enjoy the evening.
Chicano Commencement Committee
Meeting is on every Thursday at 5:Q0 p.m. in Joyal Admin. #203
Do You.H~ve ~.An~~urcement?,
~-u ~· • .
Let Uil<irow;.;.We'llTelliu.eeyhruty. '
I
'
;_,