Arizona State University - Sun Devil Spark / Sahuaro Yearbook (Tempe, AZ)

Page 30 text:

rowing again, con ' struction Is under way for another addition to the Physical Science Building. Slated to open in May 1990, the new building was only one of the several aimed at Building o aim Excellence. projects was BLOCK mil- 126,000 square Pine provides Arts the College of Fine Arts. The controversial building, often com- opened to for ii prision, o pared plans were 15 while Fine Arts Center Sff tlamoyin Complex Student Recrea- students enjoy the sun and water aerobics. r- al 156,000 a square sever- g uetball courts, weight rooms and a 320 million price tag. layout by David Bezel

Page 29 text:

CONTROVERSIES IGNITE I While continuous efforts were being made to curb stu- dent expenses, actual protests began when 200 students ral- lied outside the MU on April 12 to denounce proposed budget for he state ' s three universities. Students were still stinging from the 884 increase approved luring the previous semester. The students were now upset over he Arizona S enate Appropriations Subcommittee ' s recommen- iation for only a 1.3 percent increase to the three universities general fund. ' The plan would provide $610 million to be divided among all three state universities. Of the revenue in the fund, $478 million would come from the state while $132 million would have to be raised through student tuition. A little further away from the pocketbook, but closer to the heart were protests that erupted over racial tensions. On April 21, a mixture of approximately 600 students, faculty and staff members protested campus racism with a one mile niarch from Cady Mall to Alpha Drive. Upon arriving back at Cady Mall, approximately 250 protes- tors staged a sit-in at the North entrance to the MU. The protest, the largest civil rights demonstration in the University ' s history, was made up largely of a newly-formed group, Students Against Racism. It wasn ' t hard to get students out here, said Tanya Holmes, president of the ASU chapter of the NAACP. It doesn ' t take much when there is something so wrong. The protest was sparked by a fight between three black men and members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. The three black students, James Lindell, Rob Rucker and Darren Viner, were on Alpha Drive while returning from a party when they were mistaken for suspects in an earlier assault on a SAE member. The men were allegedly surrounded by fraternity members and called racially demeaning terms. Two of the men also claimed that the ASU police department was unfair in their treatment of the situation. Investigations were made into the ASU Department of Public Safety and the SAE house. There is still so much racism, it ' s just covered up, Viner said. When people get mad, it comes out. The sit-in ended when the presidents of ASU and the Arizona Board of Regents agreed to support a 12-point anti-racism plan proposed by Students Against Racism. The plan called for an investigation into the Alpha Drive fight, it mandates that ASU take an active role in denouncing racism, general studies courses be expanded to included cultur- al awareness and that fraternity members participate in an anti•racism program. Later, a 13th point was added which required that Associated Students sponsor events designed to fight racism. We, as students don ' t want racial violence to be a part of our social atmosphere, Holmes said. As tensions arose over events on campus, actions thousands of miles away created another emotional demonstration. On the weekend of June 4, thousands of Chinese students were massacred while staging peaceful pro-democracy demon- strations in Beijing ' s Tianamen Square. On June 5 over 250 mourners gathered to remember their brave counterparts in China. The issue was far from over. Several rallies were staged by vari- ous Chinese student groups in the fol- lowing weeks to keep the incident fresh in the minds of the campus community. The Chinese Student Network, a group formed by Americans to aid the Chinese, held a protest on Sept. 12 to mark 100 days since the killings. I think students were affected by the protests, Mark Frederick, CSN or- ganizer said. Publicizing the issue lets the public know the issue is not dead. While students united over racial and Chinese issues, they were sharply divided over abortion. Silent, yet continual protests were held on campus daily as Pro-Life and Pro•choice groups manned booths on Cady Mall to educate students on the abortion issue. Students for life displayed posters depicting dead fetuses while Pro- Choice groups erected a giant hanger with the slogan, Warning-this is not a surgical instrument. On Nov. 12, University ' s for Choice that were being heard in the U.S. Supreme held a pro-choice rally to coincide with the national march in Washington, D.C. Protestors gathered to oppose three cases ME NE ON TIIATI YOU CAI, Court. The cases involved placing restrictions on abortion clinics and a minor ' s right to an abortion. University ' s for Choice President Angie Barone said that the abortion issue brought out the armchair activist. A lot of people who never got involved with anything before are now getting involved, Barones said. Sit-ins at the MU, rallies through Tempe streets and gather- ings of protestors over moral and social issues signified more than just anguish over the issue at hand. Students and faculty, Republicans and Democrats, and students of every race and religion joined forces in a show of unparalled strength. It was a time of change. AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING WE SHOULD DI- VORCE OURSELVES FROM SOCIETY ' S VIEW ON RACISM. IT ' S 1989 AND THIS STUFF IS STILL HAP- PENING. IT ' S A THROWBACK TO THE ' 60 ' S! TIM WOODS GRADUATE STUDENT Student Protests 1

Page 31 text:

GROWTH FOR THE HIRE the explosive growth of the student population, the Arizona State University campus became synonymous with construction. In the most recent cycle of construction ASU gained seven new buildings with three more in the works. But regardless of whether or not they were complaining about the hassel of construction or praising the new build- ings, the students had something to say. The Hayden Library addition had students searching for new ways across campus in the early stages of build- ing, but once it was completed, the students had a new place to study. I like the way they put it underground and saved the grassy area, said senior finance major Mark Knatoonian. While the library was generally well received by the university, the Fine Arts Complex brought a varied response. 1 hated it when it first went up, said sophomore mechanical engineering major Val Hammer. But I think it was needed. While the Fine Arts Complex was a matter of aesthetic pleasure, the Student Recreation Complex became one of money. Students had voted in 1986 to tack on an additional $26 to student tuitions for the next 26 years to pay for the $20 million structure. Only 4,000 people voted in that election. Many students said that the fee was unfair. I think we needed one, Knatoonian said, but I don ' t like the way it was handled. I think you should have paid as it was used. arde)atz„)0 iiiiarn. 101I NOIR UN THAT! MIRIAM BEN SOPHOMORE MICROBIOLOGY N. THINK IF THEY KNEW THEY WERE NOT GOING TO HAVE THE MONEY TO RUN THE REC CENTER, THEY SHOULDN ' T HAVE BUILT IT. RID WORK aining an extra 110,000 square I . feet, the College of Architecture ' s don added space for studios, offices, rooms, a woodshop and a new library. The $22 million post-modern % building featured aerial ,-. awalkways and ? quoise grid work. Expansion 21