Volunteer shortages force SES to cut back

By Tim Baxter
State Press
	ASU's Safety Escort Service's shortage 
of volunteers 
and unusually high level of calls has forced 
a cut in weekend 
hours.
	SES currently has about 35 to 40 
volunteers, said 
Jennifer White, SES assistant director of 
administration. The 
service needs about 60 volunteers.
	Because of the shortage, SES will stop 
service at 10 
p.m. Friday and at 9 p.m. Saturday. Sunday 
through 
Thursday hours will remain the same, with 
service from 6:30 
p.m. to 12:15 a.m.
	White, a justice studies sophomore, said 
the reduced 
hours are temporary, and full service will be 
resumed as soon 
as more volunteers are found.
	"Hopefully it won't be longer than a 
couple of weeks," 
she said. "We're working with frats and the 
Senate (to recruit 
volunteers) and we're recruiting in classes. 
We're trying to get 
our numbers up."
	SES has escorted 2,221 students as of 
Oct. 10. White 
said it has been a demanding start.
	"I think that's very high," she said. "I 
think we're on a 
pace to break last year's record."
	Holly Eck, a base manager and psychology 
junior, said 
there has been a "huge volume of escortees."
	"We're having between 60 and 100 calls a 
night and we 
don't have the escort power to cover all 
that," she said.
	SES Director Lisa Mertz said the number 
of calls were 
up from last year's.
	"We don't have enough escorts to handle 
that," she 
said. "Some are coming in when it's not even 
their turn. It's a 
real drain on everyone." 
	The hours were cut because the number of 
calls on the 
weekends dropped.
	"We thought we should cut then so we 
could use our 
escorts during the week," Mertz said. "It 
wasn't fair to keep 
them late on the weekdays and then keep them 
on the 
weekends, too."
	White said although SES is understaffed, 
the service is 
trying to maintain a complete service.
	"We've made a schedule and we're trying 
to get 
everyone to come in," she said, adding that 
more people are 
desperately needed.
	"We're really low right now. We need a 
lot of people," 
White said.
	Mertz said the shortage of volunteers 
have made 
response times longer.
	"Our response times have been slow," she 
said. "That's 
what happens when you're doing so many calls 
a night and 
you don't have the teams."

Sad but true ...

	In our on-going mission to keep the ASU 
community 
informed (or at least to fill space), the 
State Press is 
introducing "Sad but true ..." - a look at 
strange, weird, funny, 
and downright stupid stuff from just about 
everywhere.
	If you know of some bizarre item that 
might be of 
interest, feel free to contact us. You can 
drop us a note at the 
State Press front desk in the basement of 
Matthews Center, or 
mail us at: State Press, Box 871502, Arizona 
State University, 
Tempe, AZ 85287-1502.
	Or, if you'd prefer, e-mail us at: 
stpress@asu.edu.

	For those who aren't satisfied with the 
traditional 
method of getting messages to the Almighty, a 
Vermont 
company has provided a high-tech alternative.
	Lindsay Scientific, based in South 
Burlington, Vt., will 
take whatever message you want delivered to 
the man 
upstairs. They will then scan it, digitize 
it, and beam it 
straight up to heaven using "a powerful 
microwave radio 
beam ...  to be intercepted by God." (How 
they know where to 
aim the antenna, they never explain.)
	Of course, this service isn't free - it 
will cost you $9.95 
per page. But you do get a "Broadcast 
Certificate, suitable for 
framing," plus a guarantee that your prayer 
will be kept 
strictly confidential. Better hope that some 
little green men 
don't pick it off before God gets to it, 
though.
	"Prayers Heavenbound" can be found on 
the World 
Wide Web at 
http://www.primenet.com/~prayers/.

Proposed Tempe transit plan ups sales tax, upgrades transportation

By Cody V. Aycock
State Press 
	Tempe's sales tax will become the 
highest in the East 
Valley if a transit funding plan is approved 
by the city 
council and area residents. However, city 
officials said the 
funds will significantly improve access to 
public transit. 
	With the proposed sales tax, a family of 
four will pay 
an additional $101 a year. The plan must pass 
the Tempe City 
Council and earn a majority vote in next 
year's bond election, 
tentatively scheduled for October, to take 
effect. 
	Council members said they hope the plan 
will allow 
Tempe to become the Valley leader in transit 
planning.
	"The ultimate hope is that Tempe is 
going to be the 
leader in moving transportation issues 
forward," said Vick 
Linoff, vice president of the Tempe Chamber 
of Commerce.
	The $.005 increase would pay for seven 
days a week, 
20 hour bus service. Currently, Tempe buses 
run six days a 
week. The plan would also reduce the wait for 
buses, said 
Mary O'Connor, Tempe transportation planner.
	Future transit schedules and routes will 
allow 
residents to do "things that people have not 
been able to do in 
the past," she said.
	Under the plan, buses would run from 4 
a.m. to 
midnight on all major arterial streets.
	O'Connor said ASU night-school students 
will benefit 
from the extended hours.
	"If you go to night school at ASU, you 
could get to 
class but not get home," O'Connor said. The 
new hours will 
allow students to ride the bus home after 
their classes, she 
said.
	Linoff said the majority of local 
businesses are not 
concerned that a new tax will affect them.
	"From the standpoint of most businesses, 
large and 
small, they will not be affected negatively 
by the tax," he said.
	Councilman Joe Spracale said he was 
anxious to 
proceed with the plan, but wanted to ensure 
that residents 
were aware of the benefits before they go to 
vote. 
	"I believe that the people will support 
this strongly," 
he said.

Rally held in preparation for Monday's Million Man March

By Michelle Carson
Special to the State Press
	The Nation of Islam sponsored a rally 
Thursday night 
at the University to inform students how they 
can participate 
in the Million Man March planned in 
Washington D.C.
	The march will be held Monday and is 
expected to 
include more than one million "men of color." 
The event has 
been hailed as an opportunity for the 
reunification of black 
men and to protest of the current political 
trends in 
Washington. 
	Ashahed X, a representative of the 
Nation of Islam, 
spoke during the rally.
	"This is our opportunity to put before 
the world the 
new black man," he said. "We aren't running 
away from our 
problems anymore."
	Students who support the march's goals, 
but can't go 
to Washington, are invited to show their 
support in other 
ways. African-American men and women are 
being asked to 
participate in a "day of absence" by staying 
home from work 
and school all day Monday.
	Students will also be gathering on the 
lower level of 
the Memorial Union at noon on Monday to watch 
the march 
on television and show their support on 
campus. 
	An audience member asked Ashahed X why 
women 
were not asked to participate in the march.
	"This march is for our women," he said. 
"We (African-
American men) want to reclaim our rightful 
places in our 
families."
	"Even though the black women aren't 
marching, I 
think it's really important that we show our 
support," said 
Eldra Peterson, a freshman studying 
journalism. 
	Ashahed X said the importance of the 
march is what 
comes afterward.
	"The day of atonement is not as 
important as what 
takes place in our communities after the 
march," he said.
	Organizers in more than 318 cities have 
been working 
since June to draw attention, support and 
participation to the 
demonstration. With no national 
advertisement, the main 
publicity for the march has been word of 
mouth. Civic 
groups, churches and business organizations 
have been 
mostly responsible for drawing participants.
	Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan 
conceived the 
idea in 1993,  shortly after the 30th 
anniversary of the Civil 
Rights March in Washington. The Nation of 
Islam began 
planning the event to provide African 
Americans with a "day 
of atonement."
	Farrakhan is calling for African-
American men to take 
responsibility for their families and 
communities. The event 
is also considered a day of resistance to the 
conservative 
trend of American politics. More than 200 
national 
organizations are endorsing the effort. 
	"We (African-American men) have to take 
responsibility now," Ashahed X said. "We 
can't look to the 
outside to do what we can do for ourselves."

ASU DPS wants student input about campus police effectiveness

By Kelly Wendel
State Press
	ASU's Department of Public safety is 
conducting a 
survey of students and faculty to gauge 
opinions on the 
effectiveness of law enforcement at the 
University.
	Volunteers handed out 1,300 copies of 
the survey 
Wednesday and Thursday on Hayden Lawn.
	The survey is designed to give 
University police a 
picture of what faculty and students want in 
a campus police 
force, said DPS Chief of Police Lanny 
Standridge.
	It follows four reports of on-campus 
acquaintance 
rapes this semester and two students' 
complaints improper 
police conduct.
	"After I took over as chief, I wanted to 
benchmark the 
community in terms of their impressions and 
expectations of 
ASU police," Standridge said.
	William Bess, director of DPS said the 
surveys should 
be compiled by the end of the semester. The 
results will be 
released as soon as it is finished.
	"We don't want to hold this one in 
secret," Bess said.
	Standridge said the study will help 
implement 
"community-based policing."
	"I need to know where we are, and what 
the real 
expectations are, what the real needs are," 
he said. "We want 
to have an active working relationship with 
the community."
	Community based-policing is a new term 
for an old 
notion. Traditional law-enforcement 
procedures have police 
officers spending a lot of time in their 
police cruisers, isolated 
from the neighborhood. Community-based 
policing, 
however, puts law enforcement officers on 
foot and on 
bicycles for a one-on-one relationship with 
people in the 
community.
	"In one respect we (DPS) are a resource 
of information 
and knowledge, but on the other hand, the 
community itself, 
outside of the police, are also a reservoir 
of information and 
knowledge," Standridge said. "We don't have a 
monopoly on 
good ideas."
	"I would say a lot of people care, but 
some don't have 
time to fill the survey out right now," said 
survey volunteer 
T.J. Webber, a public relations junior. "I 
think the police 
pretty much know what needs to be done, but 
it's always 
good to get the student input and find out 
what we think is 
important."

Alcohol week to teach alternatives, raise awareness

By Kelly Wendel
State Press
	Alcohol Awareness Week kicks off today 
with a 
variety of activities aimed at increasing 
college students' 
alcohol awareness, including demonstrations 
of a drunk 
driving simulator today in Lot 17, near 
Apache Boulevard 
and College Avenue.
	Activities will run today to Oct. 20 and 
will include 
resource tables on Hayden Lawn, like the 
wrecked truck of a 
drunk driving victim and a field sobriety 
testing exercise on 
Thursday and Friday of next week.
	The goal of the week is to raise 
awareness of alcohol 
related issues such as moderation and peer 
pressure, said Jim 
Rubin, a prevention specialist at the Student 
Health Center, 
which is organizing the event.
	"We are trying to increase the awareness 
of college 
students and generate some discussion," he 
said. "We want to 
get people involved and let them know there 
are alternatives 
to alcohol."
	Activities during the week are designed 
to show 
students the effects of alcohol, said Karen 
Moses, assistant 
director of Health Education at Student 
Health Services.
	"The activities we planned are to help 
students 
recognize the effects of alcohol on their 
bodies and what the 
consequences might be," she said. 
	Rubin said one problem facing college 
students are the 
mixed messages they get from the media and 
advertising.
	"I think it's very confusing (with) 
advertisements like 
the Budweiser commercial with the frog 
looking attractive 
because it is associated with drinking. In 
actuality that is a 
myth - being more attractive because you are 
using (alcohol)."
	Rubin also said peer pressure is also a 
large factor 
when drinking. 
	"There is a misperception (by college 
students) that 
(drinking) is what we do. That's how we 
bond," he said. "If 
you are not bonding with me, maybe that is a 
reflection on 
how you feel about me."
	There are many other inaccurate 
perceptions involving 
students and alcohol, including ASU's 
reputation as a party 
school, Rubin said. 
	"The perception might be, 'well I came 
to ASU because 
it was a party school,' " he said, "but that 
reputation is 10 
years old. ASU is not different than any 
other school."

ASU community, state leaders discuss affirmative action

By Ray Stern
and David Kovacs
State Press
	About 150 students and faculty attended 
an open 
forum to debate the future of affirmative 
action policies at 
Arizona's universities.
	The forum, held at the College of Law's 
Great Hall, 
included Arizona Regent John Munger, Rep. 
Scott Bundgaard 
(R-Phoenix), Sen. Sandra Kennedy (D-Phoenix) 
and political 
consultant Alfredo Gutierrez.
	"Affirmative action in its current form 
fails to achieve 
justice," said Rep. Bundgaard, who is 
considering legislation 
to eliminate race-based financial aid.
	He said $1.6 million in aid is currently 
being 
distributed solely on race.
	"Upper-class white Americans can never, 
and will 
never accept affirmative action because of 
their way of 
thinking," Kennedy said. "Why should their 
tax dollars go to 
a system to implement quotas?
	"I think we ought to repair it in some 
way and make it 
better," she said, adding that she believed 
affirmative action 
hasn't been effective.
	Gutierrez said affirmative action has 
become nothing 
more than a slogan.
	"Let's set our rhetoric aside," he said. 
"Our actions will 
speak for themselves.
	"We need to confront people like 
Bundgaard and 
Munger and say 'What the hell are you talking 
about?' Tell 
him (Munger) to double the damn budget and 
tell him 
(Bundgaard), to vote for it."
	Munger said race should not be involved 
with 
financial aid disbursement.
	"If you spend money on one person 
because of that 
person's race, someone else doesn't get the 
money because of 
race," he said.
	A color-blind society based on the 
system of merit is 
what Americans need, Munger said.
	Some members of the audience were 
skeptical that a 
color-blind society was achievable or 
desirable.
	"I don't believe we should be a 
colorless society," said 
Geneva M. Duarte, director of ASU Downtown 
Center. 
"There are differences, but we should 
appreciate each other's 
differences."
	Graduate student Michael Willis said 
merit is 
something that cannot be overlooked. 
	"But at the same time, we have to 
respond to 
conditions that have always been around," he 
said. "We have 
to balance it back out."

Editorial: Boos & Bravos

BRAVO - To the ASASU senators who plan to 
introduce 
Articles of Impeachment against President 
Chris "Just call me 
Nixon" Weber at Tuesday's meeting.
	This farce has gone on long enough. 
ASASU will likely 
be paralyzed by this scandal for as long as 
Weber remains in 
office. 
	The sooner this ends, the better.

BOO - To Weber, for not resigning yet.
	A small shred of respect could have been 
maintained, 
had Weber turned in a letter on Tuesday that 
went something 
like this:
	"While I believe that my innocence will 
be eventually 
proven by the courts, I realize that my 
remaining in office can 
only damage the credibility and operations of 
this 
organization. Therefore, with great regret, I 
must resign the 
presidency.
	"I apologize to my colleagues at ASASU 
for my 
conduct, and to the student body whom I have 
represented. 
Despite the ending of my administration, I 
will continue to 
work within ASASU in another role, to help 
this organization 
serve the students of this University."
	Instead, he holed up in his office and 
fraternity, 
refusing to either resign or explain his 
behavior to the student 
body.
	Things will only get worse the longer 
Weber hangs on 
for a miracle that isn't going to come.

BRAVO - To the cease-fire in Bosnia, which 
took effect this 
week.
	We don't hold any overwhelming optimism 
that this is 
the end of the war. Optimism was but one of 
the many 
casualties of this bloody conflict.
	Yet after three years of fighting, peace 
is a welcome 
change. Let us hope that it lasts.

BOO - To the rise of Arizona as the nest of 
"domestic 
terrorism."
	First, it was connections between the 
Oklahoma City 
bombing in April and Kingman. Then, an Amtrak 
train 
derails in the Arizona desert - and shadowy 
group, "The Sons 
of Gestapo," claims responsibility.
	And we thought that the heat was the 
only reason 
anyone wouldn't want to live here.

BRAVO - To the scheduling of a Republican 
presidential 
issues debate at ASU on Feb. 22.
	Considering the almost complete snubbing 
Arizona 
and ASU received during the '92 campaign, it 
will be a nice 
change of pace to see the candidates taking 
Arizona voters 
seriously.
	But candidate Pat Buchanan certainly has 
earned a big 
BOO for his reluctance to attend the event, 
due to the fear 
that students might boo him on national 
television.
	"ASU isn't noted for their conservative 
ideology," said 
Karen Johnson, Buchanan's state director.
	Say what? Are we talking about the same 
university?
	You might get booed, Pat - but only by 
students who 
think that you're too liberal.

Column: What started long ago ...

Black men: 		criminals, lazy, 
athletes, sexual
Black women:	loud, bitchy, aggressive
White men: 		arrogant, powerful, can't 
dance, ignorant
White women: 	fragile, helpless, passive
Hispanic:		illegal, breeders, welfare 
recipients, 	
			drunk
Asians: 		math whizzes, own everything, 
bad 	
			drivers,
Italians: 		Mafia, greasy
Gays: 		flamers, reckless, feminine
Lesbians:		athletic, short hair, boyish
Tall people: 		athletes, independent
Sorority girls: 	ditzy, love sex, partiers
Fraternity boys: 	drunks, rich, big egos, 
violent
Blondes: 		dumb, see sorority girls
Journalists: 		unethical, jaded, 
insensitive
Lawyers: 		money hungry, shady
Jewish people: 	stingy, big nose, hoard 
money
Catholics: 		prude or nymphomaniacs
Polish: 		dumb, Catholic, butt of jokes
Germans: 		Nazis, stinky, unshaved 
armpits, anal
English: 		Snobs, pompous, no dental 
hygiene
French: 		stuck up, winos
Irish: 			drinkers, potato eaters, 
war mongers
Canadians: 		weak, rich, invading U.S.
Middle Eastern: 	smelly, terrorists
Red necks:		inbreeders, White trash, 
bigots
Hippies:		homeless, stuck on '60s, acid 
heads
New Yorkers:	obnoxious, talk funny
Californians:	blonde, shallow, self-centered

... doesn't have to be.

Tina Holder
Columnist
	Hate. 
	Racism.  
	Discrimination.
	I wish these words did not exist, but 
they do. They 
effect some of us more than others but make 
no mistake 
about it - they affect all  of us.
	I look around me and see a country with 
so much 
hatred that it will eventually destroy 
itself. Something must 
be done to stop it and the first step is to 
admit that there is a 
problem. Many, many people are still trying 
to deny that 
racism is still running rampant in this 
country. They want to 
think that it has gotten better. I, for one, 
can't believe that.
	I am only one of millions who have to 
deal with that 
hatred everyday. We hear the anger and the 
fear in the voices 
as they call us names. We watch our children 
as they try to 
learn to deal with the hatred. We try to 
teach them to ignore 
the taunts but it is not easy when they must 
fight their way 
home from school. It isn't easy when they are 
taught 
something in school that they know is not the 
truth and can 
do nothing about it.
	We are told that we should forget about 
the past, yet 
we are not allowed to forget it. We are 
reminded of it 
everyday. We are reminded by the names given 
to 
mountains, sports teams and beer. We are 
reminded every 
time we see a copy of the Constitution. We 
are reminded 
every time some one refers to us with a 
racial slur. How are 
we supposed to forget?
	Vernon Foster said it better than anyone 
else I have 
heard: "The past shapes our future." This 
country was 
founded on racism, it grew out of that racism 
and continues 
to grow from it. All minorities in this 
country have had to 
fight for every so-called break that was 
given to us ... the 
right to work, to not be referred to by 
racial slurs, to practice 
our religion, to speak our languages, to be 
counted as 
citizens. Are we expected to believe that if 
affirmative action 
is stopped we will have the same chance as 
anyone else to get 
hired? I don't think so. It would be the same 
as before and we 
know it. So do others, they just don't want 
to admit it.
	Racism is not dead, not by a long shot. 
Until it is, we 
must continue to fight for our rights. We 
must continue to 
educate people about the different cultures 
in this country, 
the different religions, the different races 
and nationalities. 
We must teach our children about these 
differences and let 
them know that it is alright to be different. 
To do this, we 
must teach them about the past, from all 
sides, both good and 
bad. If we forget what was done to us in the 
past, then we are 
only allowing it to happen again.

Tina Holder is a senior justice studies 
major.


A.Marjory Kaminski
Columnist
	When I began writing this column, I 
started off on a 
tangent about Louis Farrakhan and how I 
believed he wasn't 
going about the race issue in a positive way. 
After I re-read it, 
I disliked what I wrote. It was too general 
and didn't really 
describe how I feel. It's very hard to tackle 
an issue like this 
and even think about making a dent in 
anyone's mind about 
something like racism. It was when I went out 
for a breath of 
fresh air and spoke about the issue with a 
couple others when 
I realized what I really wanted to say. 
	In the light of this conversation, one 
of them asked me 
if I were to change anything about my 
heritage, not for 
physical needs, would I? In a heartbeat, I 
said no. I'm too 
proud of my background. It's what makes me 
who I am and 
what I stand for. It hit me then.
	That is what I admire about the Million 
Man March. 
All who are demonstrating are extremely proud 
of what and 
who they believe in and who they are to the 
world, their 
peers, their family and themselves, as am I. 
	But that is not what this march is 
about. If it was, I'd be 
walking along with them. 
	It's about racism.
	White and Black are opposite colors. 
They are not 
opposite people. They are very much the same. 
They have 
two feet, two arms and a beating heart. They, 
we, are 
humans, plain and simple. But, as I noted 
before, when it 
comes to our heritage, we are very proud. 
	I am not proud of the way races are 
treated by some 
narrow-minded people. I'm not happy with the 
way some 
look down at me because I'm female. I'm 
unhappy when I 
hear some use a derogatory world toward other 
races. It 
disgusts me now, yet I cannot deny that at a 
time, I used one 
of those words just to fit in.
	As children, we were taught by our 
parents what they 
knew and what they were taught. If they grew 
up in a small 
society that discriminated against Native 
Americans, then it 
is very hard to educate them. If they grew up 
hating Whites, 
it's tough to sway them any other way. No 
matter what any 
young kid is taught in school, the ones they 
look up to, 
usually their parents, are going to do most 
of the influencing. 
	There's always going to be some kind of 
stereotyping 
in this world. It dips back to when we were 
children and 
made fun of classmates because they were 
different. No one 
can tell me that they didn't pick on the 
weird kids because 
they had "cooties." 
	An action that seems so innocent is the 
basis of what 
sometimes can be met with violence. 
	Racism is such a wide issue. It is 
impossible for one 
person to solve. Marches certainly won't  do 
it. Nothing can 
do it. I know it's not something people want 
to hear, but it's a 
fact. If I could, I would wish prejudice 
away. After all we've 
been through with civil rights, it is still 
one of the heaviest 
issues around. But if racism is erased, then 
would that mean 
we wouldn't have any race? No identity? No 
culture? 
	This is not the negativity that I want 
to convey. This is 
not the way things should be. But it is the 
way they are and 
with such a diverse world we live in and with 
certain narrow 
minds and minds that don't know where they 
stand, it is an 
unavoidable issue.
	But no matter what, I still have hope. 
If I can reach a 
small amount of people, or if someone can 
reach me, then, in 
my view, I and a few others are better for 
it.
	I guess that is what it takes: one step 
at a time.

A. MarJory Kaminski is a senior studying 
journalism.

Column: Race never just Black/White issue

Liz Montalbano
Columnist
	If you look at my picture and someone 
asked you what 
race I belonged to, you would probably 
categorize me as a 
Caucasian female.
	I wish it was as easy as that.
	My heritage is Italian on my mother's 
side and Sicilian 
on my father's. Most people would simply say 
my heritage 
was "all-Italian."
	That's what I thought, too, until a 
couple of years ago.
	I never questioned whether I was Black 
or White. I was 
White. Period. 
	And since "nigger" was frequently used 
to refer to 
Blacks by my Sicilian grandmother (God rest 
her soul) and 
my father while I was growing up, I also was 
instilled 
(incorrectly) with the value that somehow, I 
was better than 
people who had Black skin.
	I can remember being in a department 
store with my 
mother when I was about 10. My mother was off 
shopping in 
another part of the store, and I was 
entertaining myself by 
swinging around a pole in the middle of the 
sales floor. 
	A Black girl about my age was standing 
near me, 
looking at me curiously. I can remember being 
scared that her 
skin might come in contact with mine, 
thinking that if it did, I 
would be Black, too. 
	And for some reason, it was implanted in 
my mind 
that being Black would be a horrendous 
stigma.
	It was not until I reached young 
adulthood and began 
forming my own opinions that I questioned the 
racism in my 
family. My upbringing insisted that I respect 
my elders and 
never challenge them, but I just couldn't let 
my grandmother 
continuously curse the "niggers" who had, 
according to her, 
overrun the once predominantly-Italian 
neighborhood she 
had lived in for 65 years.
	When I would try to explain to her (and 
if you think 
it's easy to rationalize with an 80-year-old 
Sicilian woman 
who's had her mind up for years, you'd better 
think again) 
that Black Americans have had a rough go of 
it and should 
not be referred to negatively, she responded 
the only way she 
could.
	"When my mother first came over from 
Italy, she had a 
hard time, too. She had nothing, and people 
treated her 
unfairly, and she had to make her own life 
without help from 
anyone."
	How could I argue with that?
	It was certainly true. Many Sicilian and 
Italian 
immigrants, including my ancestors, were 
treated with 
intolerance when they came to the United 
States. Perhaps it 
was not with the same oppression that Blacks 
faced, but to 
my grandmother, it was good enough to justify 
her own 
prejudice.
	I couldn't argue with her any further 
without being 
disrespectful, so I dropped the argument. 
Nothing was going 
to change her mind, and although I berated my 
father every 
time he said the N-word, there was not much I 
could do to 
change his opinion, either.
	But I could see his point, too. My 
father was a town 
council member in the Norristown, Pa. (the 
Philadelphia 
suburb I grew up in) for 10 years, four of 
which he was 
council president. The "bad" sections of 
Norristown, the 
sections with crack houses, high crime, 
condemned buildings, 
etc. were the sections much of the Black 
population lived in.
	Of course, there are valid reasons for 
this 
demographic, and my father should not have 
blamed it on 
Black inferiority, but he was frustrated with 
his town, was 
brought up with his mother's prejudiced 
mentality and was 
set in his ways, too.
	Despite all of this, or maybe because of 
it, I am not a 
racist.
	There are, however, certain things I 
know I could 
never do because I respect my family. Even 
though I don't 
agree with their tradition of prejudice, I 
would never 
purposely do something that would cause them 
grief.
	I could never marry a Black man. That is 
not to say I'm 
not attracted to Black men. I simply have 
never seriously 
entertained the notion of becoming involved 
with one 
because of how my family would feel about the 
situation. 
When I was young, my father was angry because 
I had a 
Black male friend-I don't want to think about 
how he might 
react if I married someone who was Black
	It's really sad that my father has this 
opinion, and that 
due to my heritage's traditional blind 
respect for family 
members, I must alter my actions accordingly. 
	Especially after I learned two years ago 
that mainland 
Italians consider Sicilians "moolians."
	I don't know how to spell it. It doesn't 
really matter.
	In Italian, "mooli" is slang for 
"nigger."
	This was a pretty intense discovery for 
me. After years 
of being taught I was White and somehow 
superior to Blacks, 
I learned that half of my heritage, the half 
whose members 
were fervently prejudiced against Blacks, 
were actually 
considered Black by their own people.
	It seems the Sicilians in my family are 
from 
predominantly North-African and Norman-French 
ancestry. I 
know this because one of my cousins on the 
Morello side of 
my family, my grandmother's side, researched 
our family 
tree back to its origins. 
	Although having a fraction of North 
African blood 
does not automatically make me Black (and I 
would never 
insist that I've ever or will ever experience 
prejudice due to 
my race) it gave me a new twist on the whole 
issue. 
	I realized what I and my family 
should've realized a 
long time ago, and what we should all realize 
now, in a 
world where racism is still a catalyst for 
violence and hatred.
	Black and White issues are never all 
Black or all White.
	I can no longer look at my olive 
complexion or check 
off the Caucasian box on forms without 
thinking twice. 
	It shouldn't matter, anyway. When it 
comes right 
down to it, I'm not a member of either the 
White race or the 
Black race.
	I'm a member of the human race.

Liz Montalbano is an M.F.A. student in 
creative writing.

Column: How stereotypes and prejudice came to be

Steve Forsberg
Columnist
	Is there any solution to the race 
relations problem that 
we seem to be facing here in the United 
States? There 
probably is. All we have to do is take a cue 
from Cedar 
County, Neb., the place where I grew up. In 
eight years I 
rarely heard any racial comments or jokes. 
There were no 
"hate" crimes against minority groups. No 
Black man ever 
had a choke hold put on him. No Hispanic 
woman ever 
received intentionally bad service at the 
store. No one lost a 
job to someone else due to quotas and nary a 
judge or 
politician ever tried to play any "race 
card."
	How was this miracle in good racial 
relations carried 
out? Quite simply, it turns out. No one but 
White people 
lived there. If there is only one race 
present it is hard to have 
serious racial divides. 
	The obvious problem with this, as most 
readers will be 
quick to note, is that there are relatively 
few places in this 
nation where, either by hook or by crook, 
there is racial 
"purity." Barring mass expulsions (aka 
Palestine) or, worse 
yet, mass murders (aka "The final solution") 
it looks like we 
are going to have to find some other way to 
get along.
	How bad are race relations today? Some 
would be 
surprised to hear me say pretty good. While 
there is no doubt 
room for improvement, the United States is, 
by world 
standards, pretty well off in this regard.
	In India the caste system, in which skin 
color is 
generally darker as one moves down the 
ladder, is the de 
facto law of the land. Turks in Germany are 
more likely to be 
the victims of racial violence than 
minorities in the United 
States. In Mexico it is not at all uncommon 
for "good" 
restaurants to refuse service to dark skinned 
and "Indian 
looking" individuals. The British fought a 
war in the 
Falklands to protect the White settlers, the 
Ilois of Diego 
Garcia made the mistake of being dark-skinned 
and were 
unceremoniously deported to make way for a 
U.S. military 
base. When the Moscow evening news does man-
in-the street 
interviews, it is not uncommon for people to 
refer to what is 
translated as "darkies." I assure you that 
the translator is 
being generous, a more literal translation 
would be "shit 
people."
	This litany of foreign transgressions is 
not meant to 
excuse the intolerance that can still be 
found in the United 
States today, but it does serve to illustrate 
an important point: 
This nation has come an awful long way in a 
relatively short 
period of time, so we must be doing something 
right. In race 
relations, as in so many other facets of 
American life, we tend 
to fixate on the negative aspects, often at 
the expense of 
overlooking far more important good trends. 
This fixation on 
the negative appears on the part of many 
parties. There are 
minority "leaders" who feed off of the anger 
generated by 
relatively isolated acts of racial 
intolerance, blowing them out 
of proportion. There are just as many non-
minority people 
who will trumpet the few negative impacts of 
such programs 
as affirmative action while ignoring the vast 
good they have 
done. I dare say that for every gunshot 
exchanged between 
the various races found in this country there 
are probably 
millions of handshakes exchanged, and more 
children are 
being born to interracial couples than are 
being buried due to 
interracial conflict.
	I don't believe that civil rights in 
this nation are in for 
any major setbacks. There may be some 
cosmetic adjustments 
to appease a backlash on the part of those 
who never wanted 
integration anyway. The kids who stood along 
the sidewalks 
screaming "Niggers go home!" as schools were 
first being 
integrated are now in their 50s to 70s. They 
are senior 
politicians and CEOs, factory foremen and 
police chiefs. 
	Many may have truly repented their 
earlier views on 
race, but many more are still caught up in 
the racial attitudes 
that were ingrained in them at such an early 
age. They are 
now in a position to fight the changes that 
have been made in 
society, but their war is lost. They will all 
be retiring or dying 
in the next couple of decades and their 
children, raised in a 
radically different climate, one less 
tolerant of intolerance, 
will no doubt only strengthen the positive 
aspects of race 
relations. 
	Old attitudes are rarely swept away by 
pen stroke or 
legislation. They usually have to die out. 
Comparing the 
racial views held by older Americans to those 
held by school-
aged children today, I can only be optimistic 
about the future 
of race relations in our nation.

Steve Forsberg is a senior studying history.

ASU to face UCLA, USC

By Dawn Wagner
State Press
	In order to snatch two wins this weekend 
on the road, 
the 14th-ranked ASU volleyball team will have 
to cut down 
on errors, said senior outside hitter 
Christine Garner.
	The Sun Devils will meet the two Pac-10 
rivals, No. 6 
UCLA and USC, tonight and Saturday.
	"What we need to do is keep it together 
consistently 
and mentally," Garner said. "With our skill 
we're good 
enough to beat any team."
	ASU, which is coming off of two wins at 
home last 
weekend, will try to carry that momentum to 
tonight's match, 
said senior middle blocker Holly Sones.
	"I think whenever you go out and 
dominate a team 
regardless of who you play, it's a big boost 
and it does 
wonders," Sones said. "But our focus is 
definitely on this 
weekend. Last weekend was nice, but it's 
over."
	The main focus to tackle both teams will 
be spreading 
their defense, said ASU Coach Patti Snyder-
Park. 
	"I think with both teams we'll have to 
be at the top of 
our blocking scheme," she said. "We need to 
commit two 
blockers to every hitter. Our offense and 
defense will take 
care of themselves."
	But when it comes down to it, Snyder-
Park said ASU 
will have a good shot no matter how it 
attacks both teams. 
	"Between the three schools, we have the 
best team 
chemistry wise and skill wise," Snyder-Park 
said. "We just 
have to play to our own level."

ASU women open season with Fall Tennis Classic

By Dan Miller
State Press
	With the loss of three of last year's 
top six players to 
graduation and the addition of a trio of 
multi-talented 
freshmen, no one quite knows what to expect 
when the Sun 
Devils crank it up for the first time today.
	Even Coach Sheila McInerney.
	"I think it's going to be a little 
unpredictable," said 
McInerney, whose 12th-ranked squad hosts the 
Miss Karen's 
Frozen Yogurt ASU Fall Tennis Classic 
beginning at 9 a.m. at 
Whiteman Tennis Center. "I think our freshmen 
are going to 
be good, but yet they need a lot of work. I 
certainly don't 
expect them to come in and replace what we 
lost, but I think 
they're going to be pretty good players."
	Freshmen Katy Propstra, Torey Pratt and 
Alison Nash 
and the rest of the Sun Devils will get their 
first crack at live 
action this year against a plethora of 
players from defending 
national champion Texas, UofA, Kentucky, 
Kansas, 
Wisconsin, California, Grand Canyon and 
Loyola 
Marymount.
	ASU's returning All-American sophomore 
Reka 
Cseresnyes is the No. 1 seed in the 
tournament-style 
invitational, with Texas' Cristina Moros 
slated at the No. 2 
spot.
	Cseresnyes, who finished a standout 
freshman 
campaign, ranked 19th in the country, has 
drawn LMU's 
Anna Zaricki in the first round. Billed as 
ASU's new No. 1 
player, Cseresnyes said she is feeling the 
heat.
	"I think there's a little more pressure 
on me," she 
admitted. "Last year as a freshman, no one 
expected me to do 
anything." 
	Other than Cseresnyes, however, the rest 
of the Sun 
Devils' lineup is anyone's guess, McInerney 
said.
	"I think from a position standpoint it's 
very wide open, 
which I think is good in that it keeps 
everybody working real 
hard," she said. "I think the bottom line is 
the freshmen are 
going to have to contribute right away, and 
sometimes that 
doesn't happen. So in a lot of ways that's 
good for them, 
because they're not going to have to sit on 
the bench and wait 
their turn."
	McInerney, who is entering her 12th year 
in the pilot's 
seat, added that senior Julie Coppinger, 
junior Anna Moll and 
sophomore Stephanie Lansdorp will be looked 
upon to step 
up their play if ASU is going to succeed.
	Coppinger, the lone senior of the group, 
has been 
plagued with injuries throughout her career, 
but for the first 
time in a while, she is playing virtually 
pain-free and has 
eased into the role of the seasoned veteran.
	"It's really weird, because when I was a 
freshman I 
really looked up to the seniors," Coppinger 
explained. "But I 
don't think that when you're a senior you 
really notice it. 
	"I feel like I need to accomplish a lot 
in one year."
	Junior Aimee Haas, who saw spot action 
in the top six 
last year, will also be looking to make an 
impact this year. 
Haas said she wouldn't mind claiming a 
starting spot this 
year after a few years of paying her dues.
	"I'd like to," Haas confessed. "I've 
been in training a lot 
over the last few years. I guess it's just 
been my mental game. 
I think the tournament this weekend will be 
good to see how 
much I've progressed."
	Drop shots:
	* The Fall Classic is a three-day event 
which will 
conclude Sunday. Matches begin daily at 9 
a.m. and 
admission to the event is free.
	* There will also be a doubles 
tournament.
	* Nash is the No. 7 seed in the singles 
draw, and she 
and Moll will team to form the fourth-seeded 
doubles team.

Swim teams set to collide

By Lisa Eskey
State Press
	The men's and women's swimming and 
diving teams 
will compete in thier first meet this season, 
an intrasquad 
event to be held at the Mona Plummer Aquatic 
Center 
Saturday at 11 a.m.
	An alumni meet will be held prior to the 
meet at 9:30 
a.m.
	Men's swimming coach Ernie Maglischo 
said he let 
senior captains Felipe Delgado and Jason 
Harris pick the 
teams.
	"How competitive this meet will be 
depends on how 
well they chose their teams," he said. "Both 
teams are out to 
win and are excited to be competing."
	"This will be the only time when we 
won't cheer for 
our own team," Delgado said. "I don't want to 
lose."
	Due to a large team this season, 
Maglischo said there is 
more pressure on the players who are fighting 
for starting 
spots on the roster.
	"We're having fun with it, but we have 
to keep it 
serious," Delgado said. "The swimmers that 
don't take this  
seriously are the ones that won't be swimming 
with us after 
the Pac-10s. It's going to be pretty 
competitive."
	Head diving coach Ward O'Connell said: 
"It's very 
early in the season and I'm not really 
expecting anything. I've 
found out that if I'm not expecting anything, 
I won't be 
disappointed."

Soccer teams ready to rumble

From Staff Reports
	The ASU men's and women's soccer club 
teams both 
have home games this weekend. The women (1-2) 
will square 
off with archrival UofA tonight at 6 at the 
band field before 
heading north to take on NAU at 10 a.m. 
Saturday.
	The men (3-2) will scrap with Embry 
Riddle Saturday 
at 1 p.m. at the band field. Then Sunday at 
noon the team will  
battle the Lumberjacks at the SRC field. 
	NOTE: Saturday's contest was originally 
scheduled for 
8 p.m.

Men's golf heads to Dallas

By Lisa Eskey
State Press
	The men's golf team begins tournament 
play at the 
Red River Classic in Dallas this weekend. The 
team, which 
will be playing in its third tournament of 
the season, hopes to 
improve on a fourth-place finish at the 
Missouri Bluffs 
Invitational earlier this month.
	The Sun Devils expect tough competition 
from schools 
such as defending NCAA champions Oklahoma 
State, Texas, 
Texas Christian, North Carolina and Wake 
Forest, among 
others.

Sun Devils brace for 'pivotal' confrontation

By Dan Miller
State Press
	For the first time in what so far has 
been a harrowing 
season, the Sun Devils are in unfamiliar 
territory.
	The unfamiliarity stems from finally 
heading into a 
game against a team the Sun Devils thoroughly 
dismantled 
last year. That team could only be the BYU 
Cougars, whom 
ASU embarrassed 36-15 in Provo, Utah in 1994. 
It was one of 
only three Sun Devil victories.
	"This game is really pivotal," said ASU 
Head Coach 
Bruce Snyder, whose team (2-4, 1-3 in the 
Pac-10) hosts the 
Cougars Saturday at 7 p.m. in Sun Devil 
Stadium. "We're 
facing another team that's well-rested. And 
they will 
remember last year."
	The game marks the second straight week 
ASU will 
tangle with a team fresh from a bye-week. 
Last Saturday, 
ASU digested a bitter 30-28 defeat by Pac-10 
foe Stanford.
	ASU, which still has a chance at a post-
season bowl 
bid, will be up against arguably the most 
dangerous 
quarterback it has collided with thus far in 
junior Steve 
Sarkisian.
	Sarkisian, a junior college transfer, 
boasts 1,310 yards 
in four games this season, a 327.5 yards-per-
game average. 
But ASU sophomore cornerback Jason Simmons 
warned not 
to be misled.
	"They run the ball more than a lot of 
people think," he 
revealed. "Everybody thinks all BYU does is 
pass. But right 
now, what BYU is trying to do is stick it 
down your throat."
	The Sun Devils pack a quick-strike 
passing game of 
their own behind the arm of junior sniper 
Jake Plummer, who 
would like to climb out of recent rut at the 
Cougars' expense.
	"I'd to throw a TD pass," Plummer 
admitted. "I haven't 
thrown one in three games and the way we 
started, I kind of 
got greedy and wanted to start throwing them 
a lot. You just 
have to take what the defense is giving you 
and this week we 
should have some big plays."
	The Sun Devils hold an 11-2 series edge 
over BYU (2-2, 
2-1 in the Western Athletic Conference) at 
Sun Devil Stadium 
and have taken three straight from the WAC 
power. 
	"They're a good team and they're going 
to come to 
play because of what we did to them last 
year," Plummer 
added.
	ASU sophomore tailback Michael Martin 
will get his 
first career start after a 98-yard, two-
touchdown explosion 
last week. The Sun Devils are currently 
ranked fourth in the 
Pac-10 in rushing offense, averaging 180 
yards per game.

Sun Devils to host annual cross country invitational

By Dustin Krugel
State Press
	ASU's Karsten Golf Course will be the 
site of the 10th 
annual ASU Cross Country Invitational today. 
The Sun 
Devils will make their only home appearance 
of the year, 
with the women kicking it off at 4:30 p.m. 
	The field includes 15 men's and women's 
teams. The 
Sun Devils' top competition includes three 
teams ranked in 
this week's Division I cross country top 25. 
Wyoming (11th) 
and UofA (15th) are ranked on the men's side 
along with 
UofA's women team (11th). 
	"The competition's going to be really 
good for us 
because other than the San Diego 
(Invitational) this year, we 
haven't run against any serious competition," 
senior Kirsten 
Stocker said.
	Cross country coach Ken Lehman said this 
event will 
be his team's biggest test thus far.
	"It's our biggest meet to date and it's 
a tune-up for the 
Pac-10 meet (in two weeks)," he said.
	Stocker said one advantage the Sun 
Devils have in 
their favor is the blistering heat.
	"It is a lot warmer this time of year 
than it normally is 
when we have this home meet," Stocker said. 
"Everyone else 
(in the meet) is used to the cooler weather. 
If that is an 
advantage, it kind of stinks because it's 
going to be hot, but 
we are used to that."

ASU police reported the following incidents 
Thursday:
* A man not affiliated with ASU was contacted 
on the north 
side of the Mouer Building while 
skateboarding. He was 
warned of ASU policy and told to leave the 
area.
* Five bicycles were reported stolen.
Tempe police reported the following incidents 
Thursday:
* A 44-year-old man was arrested for 
misdemeanor assault 
and criminal damage after attacking his live-
in girlfriend. He 
choked her and spit in her face. He then 
punched and kicked 
two holes in one of the bedroom doors. When 
his girlfriend 
called 911, the man ripped the phone cord in 
half.
Compiled by State Press reporter Greg Zemeida

	The Today Section is a daily calendar of 
events printed 
as a service to the ASU community. Requests 
are accepted on 
a first-come, first-served basis and are 
printed as space 
permits.
	Campus clubs and organizations may 
submit written 
entries to the State Press in the basement of 
Matthews Center. 
Requests will not be taken over the phone or 
via fax. 
	Entries must contain the full name of 
the club or 
organization, a description of the event, 
date, time and the 
full address of the location. All requests 
are subject to editing 
for content, space and clarity. Incomplete or 
illegible entries 
will be discarded.
	Deadline for requests is noon the day 
before 
publication and entries will not be accepted 
more than three 
working days before publication. Only one 
entry per 
organization per day is permitted.

* AIESEC - General meeting. Everybody welcome 
to attend 
and learn about the world's largest student 
organization. 
Happy Hour at Minder Binder's after. 4 p.m.; 
BA 59 
(basement).
* Alcoholics Anonymous - Daily campus 
meeting. Noon to 
1:15 p.m.; Newman Center, Aquinas Hall in the 
basement.
* Arizona Horizon Project - Weekly meting for 
solar and 
electric car teams. New members welcome. 2:40 
p.m.; MU 
Mohave Room.
* Asian Bible Fellowship - Join us for 
sharing, singing, Bible 
study and fellowship. Weekly meeting. 7 p.m.; 
MU Coconino 
Room.
* BACCHUS/Student Health - Drunk driving 
simulator. 9 
a.m.; Parking Lot 17 at Apache Boulevard and 
College 
Avenue.
* Devil's Juggling Club - How to juggle or 
improve your 
skills. 5 p.m.; West Lawn on top of Hayden 
Library.
* Hispanic Graduate Student Alliance - "The 
Artist Within,." 
Opening works by ASU graduate students 
featuring Carmen 
Tafolla. Sponsored by HGSA. 6:30 p.m.; MU 
Programming 
Lounge.
* Hispanic Graduate Student Alliance - 
General meeting. 5 
p.m.; Social Sciences, Room 101.
* Student Environmental Action Coalition - 
Meeting to 
discuss upcoming events. New members welcome. 
11:45 
a.m.; MU third floor, Conference Room 2.
* Student Life Learning Resource Center- Free 
computer skills 
workshops: Advanced Word Perfect, 10 a.m. 
Open to all 
students and staff. SSV 361A.
* Tireless Journeys - Celestial celebration, 
"The Moon." Free 
astrology reading. 7 p.m.; MU Turquoise Room.