Proposition 227 Sparks More Dissent

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON INSIDE SOFTBALL: Titans INDEX split doubleheader The with No.15 Long CALENDAR & BRIEFS 2 Beach State. D ETOUR 4 —See Sports SPORTS 8 Daily page 8. VOLUME 66, ISSUE 44 TTIITTTHURSDAYANAN MAY 7, 1998 Propositionn the Children” initiative. 227“Under Attack,” urged the sparkscommunity to dren learn quicker if they learn in theirmore cation the Unz initiative would dissent permit. “Whether you like bilingual educa- EDUCATION: The initiative to eliminate bilingual edu- If passed by popular vote on the quash the initiative. own language. “Education is not a race. We help tion or not, Proposition 227 is a disaster,” cation lacks supports in a June 2 ballot, the initiative would limit “Bilingual education is one of the “First make the child literate in his each student as best we can,” Crashen Crashen said. “Once the public finds out elementary school teachers to conduct best things we can do for education,” he own language,” he said. said. what is in 227 I think they will be against panel discussion Tuesday. lessons in mainly English with few said. Students who develop an understand- Although most of California’s 27 it.” waivers of exception. The most popular argument for kill- ing of their primary language learn their school districts do not provide instruc- Jacqueline Rojas has taught elemen- By KEITH MASON The panel consisted of an elementary ing bilingual education, Crashen said, is second language faster and better than tion or even tutoring in more than a tary education, from kindergarten school teacher, a university professor and that the sooner children learn English, students who are immersed in English- few secondary languages—Santa through eighth grade, for 29 years. Daily Titan Opinion Editor an education consultant, all of whom the sooner they can begin to learn other only classes, Crashen said. Ana offers three languages, Anaheim “Many times common sense is not reject the premise of Proposition 227. core subjects like math and science. He also said research indicates bilin- offers only Spanish as a secondary lan- what will work best,” she said. “Institu- Dozens of Cal State Fullerton stu- There were no speakers who supported “This is America. We speak English,” gual education results in fewer dropouts, guage, and Fullerton has no program at tional programs should never be judged dents and professors turned out Tuesday the controversial proposition. Crashen said, relaying the message of but learning a second langauage takes all—Crashen argued that schools should by common sense.” evening to hear three panelists question Stephen Crashen, professor of edu- bilingual education foes. longer than the six months—three to remain free to teach in two languages Rojas compared the proposition to a Proposition 227, a.ka. the “English for cation at USC and author of the book But he said research proves that chil- four years on average—of bilingual edu- wherever possible. see PROP 227/ 1 Starving DIRECT FROM AQAU- students BANIA, IT’S THE AQU- now less ABATS! in debt n FINANCE: Recent graduates are paying off their school loans in a timely manner; default rates decrease by half. By AMY BalDWin Knight-Ridder Newspapers Good news, Uncle Sam. Fewer college graduates are defaulting on their student loans these days. In the early 1990s the default rate peaked at about 22 percent. By 1996, it had been sliced in half. That should make the federal government, which has issued 8.6 million loans, very happy. The value of those outstanding federal loans is $32.4 billion, according to USA Group, the nation’s largest administrator of student loans. Nonfederal student loans total $1.5 billion, a figure that pales in comparison to what the government loaned. Default occurs when loan payments are more than 180 days in arrears. Here are some actions that can be taken against students who do not pay up: -Income tax returns can be inter- cepted by the government. -10 percent of your wages can be garnished. -The lender can sue. Attention all true believers, the Aquabats strike again! In an attempt The decline in the default rate may to gain total world dominance through music, The Aquabats took be due to mandatory interviews that over the Becker Amphitheater Wednesday. The ‘Bats destroyed all students go through before they take out who stood in their path. The lime green invaders pelted the crowd loans and again before they graduate and with marshmellows, chicken tostadas, water and plastic baseballs. have to start paying them, according to Needless to say, concert-goers bowed before the fury of the ‘Bats. one university official. Clockwise from left: “Schools have just done a better job The Bat Commader leads the crowd in cheer; of keeping their students informed,” said Prince Adam casts an evil glare to all who try to discover his true Lynda George, director of student finan- identity; and a teenage superhero sacrifices himself to the crowd to cial aid at the University of Kentucky. appease the invaders. Congress passed a law in 1993 requiring universities and colleges to PHOTOS AND CAPTION BY MYLES ROBINSON counsel students accepting loans. Before students get their diploma in one hand, they receive a student loan repayment schedule in the other. They are told which lender they have to pay and when. Giving ‘shadows’ the spotlight n OUTREACH: Event Day” focuses on recruiting Latino high school stu- shop and a penny float contest. The writers of the book Take Control introduces local high school students to CSUF. Throughout the year, CSUF stu- M.A.E.S. officers Gilbert Castillo, Jaime Ber- of Your Student Loans (Nolo Press, dents to engineering and oppor- dents interact with Anaheim High School students mudez and Armando Solis said they owed a lot to 1997) credit fewer defaults to Congress, by tutoring them in various subjects, providing the program. giving defaulting graduates “a way out.” tunities at CSUF. The aim is to motivate kids to attend college. guest lectures and mentoring a program. Castillo said through the program, he learned, Until 1992, there was no law that would “Engineering is fine if we can get them to do “OK, I can handle this. They really pushed me.” allow student borrowers to get out of that, but the main goal is to get them interested Aside from the “Shadow Day” event, the pro- default. in college,” said engineering major and program gram also organizes a benefit soccer game that “Congress faced a crisis. While By MELISSA MORRIS Daily Titan Staff Writer director Tom Perez. raises money for scholarships that assist students members did not want the guarantee and The day began at 8 a.m. as students were in paying for their college education. collection agencies to get soft on bor- ushered into the Titan Student Union Titan The- “Kids think ‘I can’t afford it.’ A lot of times rowers in default, they knew they had to Eager Anaheim High School students fol- ater for a welcoming speech by Dean Richard that’s what holds a kid back and that’s kinda sad,” enact legislation that would provide an lowed college mentors around the Cal State Rocke. Rocke said the day’s activities gave kids Perez said. incentive for student borrowers to repay Fullerton campus yesterday as part of “Shadow a chance to check out the campus. “This is their M.A.E.S began planning for the event in Janu- their loans. Since 1992, student borrow- Day,” an event through the Promotion and opportunity,” Rocke said. ary. The group was able to acquire sponsors from ers have been able to get out of default Awareness of Careers in Engineering and Sci- Approximately 70 high school students paired campus organizations and the community, but the by simply making 12 consecutive pay- ence Program. with college students from different fields of event still cost the group $1,500, Perez said. ments. And clearly, it’s working.” “I want to learn more about my career and study and accompanied them to classes through- What did high school students think of the (Knight Ridder Newspapers what it is going to be like,” 16-year-old student out the morning. campus and the day’s events? researcher Linda Niemi contributed to Kai Kanu said. Later, high school students were introduced to “It motivated us and we saw how college life JEFF CHONG/Daily Titan this report.) Sponsored by the Society of Mexican Ameri- the Engineering and Computer Science depart- is,” Hazel Peraza said. Antonio Garcia’s foil boat won the Shadow Day can Engineers and Scientists (M.A.E.S), “Shadow ment where they participated in an Internet work- competition by holding 138 pennies. Copyright ©1998, Daily Titan TheDaily 2 n NEWS TITAN May 7, 1998 THURSDAY CALENDAR OF EVENTS Associated Students Pro- in Spanish, “El burlador de and bebop opens Friday at 8 ductions presents “Great Sevilla,” and a folkstyle musical p.m. For more information call Expectations” tonight in the and dance performance. Admis- the Performing Arts Box Office The Women’s Choir will Titan Student Union Titan The- sion is free. For more informa- 278-3371. Admission $25 and perform an all-Baltic music atre at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Admis- tion contact Lydia Velez in the $20 ($2 off with Titan ID). concert in the Little Theatre on sion is free. Foreign Languages Depart- Sunday. For more information page ment, 278-4192. The Society of Professional call the Performing Arts Box Associated Student Pro- Journalists has invited Jeff Office, 278-3371. Admission is ductions presents skanksters University Singers will per- Kramer, a humor columnist for $8, or $5 with Titan ID.

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