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	Vol.7, No 33, October 26, 1999
	CSULB stars combat racism in local schools By Patrick Fujiike Daily Forty-Niner A shinning star can be seen at Cal State Long Beach even during the day. CSULB's STAR program, also called Students Talking   About Race, trains college students to be "facilitators," who go to local middle schools and high schools to talk about race. The program was originally developed in North Carolina but has since been modified to benefit California students. After the Los Angeles riots, those who put together the original STAR program contacted CSULB associate professor James Sauceda, director of CSULB's Multicultural Center. Sauceda decided the program would be helpful in healing the racial tensions that exist in Southern California. So he and others wrote a STAR guidebook for CSULB. STAR, which first started as a small pilot program in 1993, has since grown to include USC, Loyola Marymount, UCLA and Pepperdine University. The volunteers, also called facilitators, will not lecture the students about race, but rather let them know what makes races different and how that affects their thinking, Sauceda said. Joel Sakikahara, now a CSULB graduate student in communication studies, participated in the program in 1996 as an undergraduate communication studies major. "It was a great experience," said Sakakihara, who was assigned to the ethnically diverse campus of Millikan High School in Long Beach. "It's a real eye opener." CSULB student Nicole Oviatt had a similar reaction. "Years ago, I attended a school that had no ethnic mixture," Oviatt said. "Doing STAR made me realize all the differences the students face today. I have never asked students of other races how they feel and this gave me good insight." Topics volunteers discuss include: "Opening the closed door," "Equal Human Worth" and "What's race got to do with it?" The college volunteers are trained in a one-day intensive program. Those interested in the program can show up to the University Student Union, Multipurpose Room A, on Oct. 30. The one-day training lasts for six hours. For more information, one may call the Multicultural Center at (562) 985-8150.		Loved ones say goodbye to student Flower festival celebrates culture   Students meet to repeal textbook tax   A.S.I. consolidates various commissions   Freshman application deadline set   Muslim students regain access to prayer room   CSULB stars combat racism in local schools Call box for the deaf   A.S.I. president leads reform   Help in the lab Jambalaya poetry reading offers expression   Reviewer suggests 'The Shining,' 'Nightshift'   Coroner has light mood   Debate team grabs top spot in contest LBSU hockey team wins   Soccer team can't sweep   Team triumphs despite injuries Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.