San Francisco State University - Franciscan Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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Aditya Mukerji, FRANCISCAN writer, interviewed four of the STATE students who went to Cuba. Here is his story. lBlue sky, a few bits of cloud around the bright sun, it was a beautiful Friday noon. Clouds kept changing the light and the four students, Luria Castell, Caryl Esteves, Dee jencks, and Eric johnson, just returned from communist Cuba, talked about the marvelous changes that had taken place since Castro took over the responsibility on directing Cuba's destiny. You have never been to Cuba before-- how do you know that many changes have taken place? In answering the question the four students agreed there was no way for them to compare the new with the old, but then you can't disbelieve what person after person told us about the progress they have made and are still making. We talked to hundreds of people, we don't see why they would lie to us. ln answer to another question, the four agreed that Cuba had a long way to go, and the important thing is that the journey has begun, and now they all know where they want to go, You should see the enthusiasm among the people for work. Tim C aryl Estcvcs None of the four students claimed any political motivation for the trip: We saw the advertisement in the paper and de- cided to verify the situation ourselves. None of the four belonged to any political group. Asked why they wanted to check the situation themselves instead of depending on newspaper reports , sophomore Eric johnson, English major, had a ready answer, Not a single report went uncontradicted by the next report. The newspapers' reports were so contradictory and conflicting that they could- n't help but confuse you about the whole affair. Dee Iencls During their stay, the group vis- ited such top Cuban leaders as Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, Che Guevera, Armando, Blas- rock, and Rodriguez, Most of the time they went on guided tours, which typically includ- ed visits to farms, factories and schools, most of which now are under government control. Asked about what was Castro's greatest success and greatest failure, junior Dee jencks, a Psychology major, and junior Luria Castell, History major, said that Castro had been able to raise hope, a new sense of na- tional pride and enthusiasm among the people: Now they are working harder than they have done before. They have not solved any of their material problems yet. One of their major achievements is the solution of the racial problem. There is no such thing as a racial problem in Cuba anymore. There are also many failures , no doubt about that. The Cuban leaders are aware of that. Talking about failures and reme- dies, the four students discussed the nature of Cuban communism. It is very different. The Cubans are not afraid to criticize. They are not ashamed of their failures , either. They are trying, that is the main point. There is complete freedomgas a matter of fact there is more freedom in Cuba than here. There is a magazine which is very simi- lar to the American MAD, one of the main ob- jects of the magazine, PALANTE Y PALANTE is to list governmental failures and criticize them. Cuban communism is more liberal than Tito's , they agreed. The students lived on a simple diet of beans , rice, occasional meat and lots of papayas. Cuban movie houses generally showed old American movies. In conclusion the students said The tour was very successful from every aspect. We saw what we wanted to see.

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Cuba the students' tale fb! Mel fl iv Eric johnson C aryl Esteves Luria Castell No one could accurately claim that politics at STATE are dull. The fall semester began with promises of an even more politically active year than STATE had seen for some time. Political parties, whose ideologies range from liberal to conservative were formed or revitalizedg . A.S. officers became entangled in diverse political policiesg , New political magazines and news- letters were hawked on campus. , Eleven STATE students propelled the college into the international poli- tical arena when they violated the State Department's ban on travel to Cuba. The STATE contingent drew more than the usual lunch-eating crowd to the Speaker's Platform when they told what they had seen. They agreed on one thing: Cuba has racial harmony. Cuba was never so alive--cconomi- cally and politically, they said. There is more freedom in Cuba than here. ll