Last Wednesday?s Associated Students, Inc. meeting had a rather unusual sight that set it apart from the ASI board?s past dull meetings. Students actually showed up to watch. Over 100 to be exact, all crammed in the smallish Foothill Suite. All it took was an ill-advised decision by President Donald Gerth to end Monday-Wednesday classes held between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. by next fall.

Considering myself some sort of voice on campus, I chimed in with my own ideas to the crowd during an open forum session. At first, I brought up the usual points that I had been saying all along, that students should put pressure on the president to consider the report that ASI has just recently submitted him. Phone or write his office, I said.

Later, I said an even larger sit-in and constant pressure would force the ear of a president that is far removed from students. This was an opportune time to end my speech.

“Gerth wants us to die,” I continued.

I?m afraid my words were slightly misconstrued. I was not issuing a death threat to students on behalf of our elderly president. What I meant was, Gerth wants student pressure to die. That idea I still hold. Student apathy is what Gerth needs to let his half-baked plan pass by un-noticed. Let?s hope that doesn?t happen. Although Gerth?s so called “deadline” for an ASI fact-finding report is Friday, students should keep pressuring him to listen. ASI Chief of Staff Kevin Greene should be commended for heading the fact-finding task force in the face of tremendous pressure from Gerth. I?ll work on the Freudian slips?

?Supporters of Monday-Wednesday classes shouldn?t throw in the towel just yet. Pressure from faculty and students may be having some effect on Gerth, however unintended. Before leaving last Thursday?s Faculty Senate meeting, Gerth was overheard saying he was going home for a glass of scotch. Cheers?

?With all the attention given to the Monday-Wednesday debacle, who?s thinking about solar cooking in the Third World? Answer: John Collentine, a beneficiary of the “60-Plus” program which allows the elderly to sit in on lectures. A retired lawyer and insurance agent, Collentine has dedicated his life to learning and making a difference.

“The quality of faculty we have here is outstanding,” he said. “Many people really don?t appreciate what we have here at Sac State.” Collentine sees our campus as it really is; a flexible, student-friendly environment designed to provide the community with new ideas.

He is part of Solar Cookers International, a Sacramento-based organization that promotes solar powered cooking as an alternative for energy deprived countries.

“The people of the developing world are using up fuel faster than they are producing it,” Collentine said.

He pointed out that much of the grains the Third World survives on need to be cooked. Solar Cooking International also endorses solar water purification. These are admirable causes to take on. Feeding poor countries would not be such an uphill battle with more citizens as alert as Collentine. The moral of his story is that students should not stop educating themselves or lose their consciousness of world issues. This is entirely possible if students in the 60-Plus program are any indication?

?Students and faculty who tried to park in Lot 6 behind the University Union last Tuesday likely found themselves in the overflow lot. One hundred spaces were blocked off for a California Faculty Association teach-in from 6 a.m. to about 1 p.m. that day. The move was ill-timed, considering the 250 spots that were blocked off near the Union just two days earlier for the construction of a new parking garage. There is a chance these debacles can be avoided in the future, according to Parking and Transportation Manager Nancy Fox. Said Fox, “I have made a recommendation to the director of support services [Ronald Grant] that Lot 6 not be used for special event parking during this construction period. He has expressed agreement and is moving recommendation forward.” Let?s hope.

Don?t get me wrong. The concerns expressed in the teach-in are important. In fact, they?re worth the long walk from the overflow lot. Keep the spaces for students and faculty. They need it.

Joshua K. Leon is opinion editor of The State Hornet and a journalism major. He can be reached for any questions, comments or suggestions at [email protected].