Photo by Dexter Bercero

Political heavywieght does his best to allieviate CSU student anxieties

In a roundtable discussion with Lt. Gov. Gray Davis Wednesday, Cal State Long Beach students let their voices be heard on issues ranging from the cost of education to community service.

The majority of the 23 students who attended the roundtable discussion were presidential scholars and ambassadors to CSULB President Robert Maxson.

In his opening comments, Davis talked about his proposal to freeze student fees until the year 2000.

"[After the freeze] fees would not rise faster than the increase in growth and personal income," said Davis who is also a Cal State University trustee.

"Education is price sensitive like everything else," Davis said. "Every time you raise the fees you shut the doors on someone, that could be the next Madeleine Albright, it could be the next Henry Cisneros, the next Martin Luther King; we donŐt know who that might be, but we know we could have just snuffed out a dream."

The proposal would take effect Jan. 1, 1998, if passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Pete Wilson, Davis said.

Celine Cordero, a political science major, expressed concern about the availability of classes.

"I have friends who are juniors and seniors who are waiting until the end because they just cannot get into a class where there are 80 students trying to get into 20 spots," Cordero said.

Richard Chambers, a criminal justice major, said he was concerned about the quality of the education he is receiving.

"I have had more than one literature class where, instead of working on the classics or doing what we should be doing in a college-level class, we were talking about high school-level grammar, how to write, Chambers said. "I felt robbed because we were focusing on the remedial."

Davis responded to these points by saying that the CSU Board of Trustees adopted a policy in January 1996 to reduce the number of incoming students, who need remedial education.

"Our hope is that very few [incoming students] will fail the English and math placement tests that we will give them immediately after they are admitted [to CSU]; and therefore there will not be a lot of competition for these remedial education courses because they will have achieved those skills prior to graduation [from high school]."

The CSU remedial education policy includes provisions for using CSU students to tutor and mentor Kindergarten through 12th grade students.

"We are trying to get 20,000 students from the Cal State system to mentor to third graders to help them improve their reading skills," said Davis, who believes this type of community service will help both the grammar school students as well as CSU students.

Students said they felt encouraged by the visit with Davis. "You feel like someone in authority is speaking directly to students and that you are reaching out, your voice is being heard," said Rick Desai, a microbiology major. "You are not going through a middleman but to someone who has the power to influence and affect issues that are brought up at the meeting."

Davis said hearing the studentsŐ perspective helps him to gain a better understanding of student needs.

"I am trying to develop ideas [for education] for the 21st century for my sake, and for legislation I might propose, and for ideas I might bring to the trustees and the regents," Davis said. "It is helpful for me to find out first hand what is happening in your life experience at Cal State Long Beach."

President Maxson did not attend the roundtable discussion because he wanted students to be able to talk freely with Davis. "I very much appreciate the Lt. Governor coming to our campus and I really appreciate the interest he is showing in students," Maxson said.