USD Magazine, Fall 1995
SEARCHING HIGH AND LOW USO Research From Inside the Knee to Under the Sea
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n the innocence and curiosity of youth, we all have asked a lifetime of questions about the world around us. H ow does a bird {ly? What is light–
ning made of? Why does the sun disappear at night? Inevitably, perhaps after learning some of the basics in school, most of us simply grow to accept these phenomena as fact. A precious few, however, continue to as questions about our world and, as they gain more education, begin to formulate new questions. Then they set out to find the answers. hese are the researchers of the world. N ot only does the researchers' work satisfy their own curiosity, but it makes a better life for all of us. Our cover story, "Searching High and Low," highlights some of the researchers at U SD and the questions they are striving to answer today, from understanding the inner workings of the human knee to exploring an active volcano at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. While many youngsters make the most of their youth as a time of discovery, a few view their youth impatiently as a stumbling block to adulthood. "Life Lessons: T eaching Kids N ot to H ave Kids" examines those teens who abandon the pursuits of their peers and engage in adult activities too soon. The result is that they often take on adult responsibilities, such as parenting, too soon as well. The staff at U SD 's Children's Advocacy Institute know too well that, whether a pregnancy is by choice or by acoi– dent, teens are ill-prepared to care for an infant when they haven't yet learned how to care for themselves. Though some teens believe having a baby will give meaning to their lives, instead it is merely a path to poverty. "Life Lessons" details how the child advocates at CAI are working to end the spiraling teen birth rates in California through education and prevention. A lso in this issue, we anticipate the N ov. 12 inauguration of USD President Alice Bourke H ayes. "A Renaissance Fair" offers a preview of the week-long celebration of acade– mics, arts and community service that will precede the inau– guration ceremony.
FALL 1995 Volume 11, Number 1
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A Renaissance Fair
EDITOR Trisha J. Ratledge CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Kate Callen Michael R. Haskins Jill Wagner '91 ART DIRECTOR Visual Asylum PHOTOGRAPHERS Pablo Mason Jonathan Woodward ILLUSTRATION Raphael Lopez
USD will celebrate the inauguration of President Alice Bourke Hayes in Renais– sance style, with a week of festivities that includes academic lectures, the arts and an afternoon of community service.
Lile Lessans: Teaching Kids Nol lo Have Kids By Jill Wagner '91 In a decade when teen birth rates continue to climb, child advocates are searching for ways to keep kids from having kids. USD's Children's Advocacy Institute is leading the charge in California with a parenting course for junior high schools that addresses the realities - and shatters the fantasies - of raising a child.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO
PRESIDENT Alice B. Hayes VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY RELATIONS
John G- McNamara DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Jack Cannon DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS John Trifiletti ' 78
Searching High and Law By Michael R. Haskins
Research begins with a question, and with a person who is compelled to find the answer. The questions often are deceivingly simple - How does it work? Why does it happen? How can I make it better? - but the answers, more often, are decid– edly complex. To find them, it takes a person who has the courage to explore, to learn and to want to make a better world. Researchers at USD are asking these questions, and traveling the long roads that lead to the answers.
USD Magazine is published quarterly by the University of San Diego for its alumni, parents and friends. Editorial offices: USD Magazine, Publications Office, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110-2492. Third-class postage paid at San Diego, CA 92110. USD phone number: (619) 260-4600; emergency security: (619) 260-2222; disaster: (619) 260-4534. Postmaster: Send address changes to USD Magazine, Publications Office, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110-2492.
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G11os1 STORlfS Roger, Were you here last night? Are you the one who pushed all the towels into the tub? Was it you making the candles flick– er when you walked by? Did you break the picture in the room upstairs? We talked to you but you didn't answer, even through the Ouija board. We missed hearing from you. Debbie and Don Feb. 11, 1995 Diary, Room 309 Horton Grand Hotel he isn't listed in any phone book or counted in any census. He's a ghost, a mid-1800s gambler whose last bit of luck ran out the night he was shot while hid– ing in an armoire. And though he wasn't shot at the Horton Grand Hotel, or even in the armoire that graces the infamous Room 309, he seems to have hung his otherworldly hat there just the same. Roger is just one of the spirits high– lighted in Haunted San Diego, a ghostly guidebook written and published by Gail White '88. She says simple curiosity was the inspiration for the book. After notic– ing a number of newspaper articles about local ghosts one Halloween, White, who enjoys historical research and has volun– teered at the San Diego Historical Society for years, decided to see just how many ghosts have taken up residence in San Diego. Of course, there are the well-known, high-spirited residents of the Thomas Whaley House in Old Town and the Hotel del Coronado. But White discov– ered other ghosts in her research. There's the lady who rides her horse in the moonlit neighborhood of Harmony Grove in North San Diego County. There's the Indian maiden who hums softly and strolls the grounds of the Roger Whittaker is one of the most sought-after residents in San Diego, but
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Today's technology is easing our lives in every way, from withdrawing $20 at the bank to calling home from the car. Unfortunately, that same technology also makes it easier for others to gain access to our personal information. USD's Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has produced a set of fact sheets that explain how to keep our personal infor– mation private. The clearinghouse staff updates the sheets regularly and adds sheets as new areas of interest develop. The growing collection now consists of 18 fact sheets covering such issues as cellular phones, employee monitoring and your social security number. The fact sheets are available free of charge simply by calling the clearing– house at (800) 773-7748 (for California residents only) or (619) 298-3396 (for those calling from out of state). THE FACT SHEETS ARE: 1. Privacy Survival Guide: How to Take Control of Your Personal Information. 2. Cordless and Cellular Phones: ls Everybody Listening? 3 . How to Put an End to Harassing Phone Calls. 4. Junk Mail: How Did They All Get My Address? 5 . Telemarketing: Whatever Happened to a Quiet Evening at Home? 6. How Private ls My Credit Report?
7. Employee Monitoring: ls There Privacy in the Work Place?
8 . How Private Is My Medical Information? 9. Wiretapping and Eavesdropping: ls There Cause for Concern? 10. My Social Security Number: How Secure ls It? 11. From Cradle to Grave: Government Records and Your Privacy. 12. A Checklist of Responsible Information– handling Practices (For use by employ– ers and managers who want to conduct privacy audits and train employees to safeguard the handling of personal information in the work place.) 13. What to Do When Your Wallet ls Stolen. 14. Are You Being Stalked? Tips for Protection. 15. Paying by Credit Card or Check: What Can Merchants Ask? 16. Employment Background Checks: A Job-seeker's Guide. 17. Coping With Identity Theft: What to Do When an Imposter Strikes. 18. Privacy in Cyberspace: Rules of the Road for the Information Super– highway. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse was established in 1992 and operates as part of the Center for Public Interest Law at USD's School of Law.
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3 . & 4. THE LIBRARIES OF NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY IN NOTRE DAME, IND., AND GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. "These two libraries at Catholic universities are members of the prestigious Association of Research Libraries." 5. THE LIBRARY OF THE SPERTUS INSTI– TUTE OF JEWISH STUDIES IN CHICAGO. "There are several libraries of Judaica in the United States. I have used this one many times; its collection is a model for the development of a similar library for Catholic studies." 6. THE FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY IN WASH! GTON, D.C. "This contains an enormous collection on the Renais– sance, one of the most interesting periods in Western history." NATIONALE IN PARIS. "Both of these great national libraries were begun hun– dreds of years ago and contain virtually all the books of Western civilization." 9. THE VATICAN LIBRARY. "This has the largest collection of books from ancient civilization and many of the great texts of the Bible, including the Codex Vaticanus from the fourth century." 10. COPLEY LIBRARY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN DtEGO. "This is a beautiful library, with books dating from the 14th century through September 1995. But its people are its strongest asset. I like coming here to work every day. So do 1,200 students." 11. (Bonus) THE LIBRARY IN ANYTOWN, U.S.A. "Find the public library in a small town or village. Always a fascinat– ing place, packed with books, and a high circulation rate among locals. Usually includes some books on local history and buildings. We are actually a very literate nation." 7. & 8. THE BRITISH LIBRAaY IN LONDON AND LA BIBLIOTHEQUE
Bancroft Ranch House in Spring Valley. And there's the mysterious man who walks the halls of the Wells Fargo Bank in downtown San Diego. In addition to telling the stories of these and other ghosts in San Diego, White includes in each chapter a history about the inhabited building or area. The self-published book, now in its third printing, has established White as an expert in ghostly matters and has pro– duced some interesting reactions. "I've had a couple of people call and tell me, 'I've read your book. Who can I call to get rid of the ghost in my house?"' White says. "I have to laugh because I guess I'm considered a local authority and I have no idea how to get rid of a ghost." One of her most memorable encoun– ters with readers happened one day as she was checking her book's stock level in a local store. "A lady was reading the first chapter out loud to her friends, who were all gathered around her," White says. "I just had to hang around to lis– ten. She read the opening to the Whaley House chapter and said, 'This place is just across the street. We have to go there!' I introduced myself to them and they had me sign the book. That was a big thrill for me." Though White acknowledges that many people are skeptics - she admits to being one herself at times - she has one important tip for ghost hunters. "Keep an open mind," she advises. "I'm convinced that there are things out there that we just can't explain. If you're open to it, I think you have a better chance of having an experience." Optimism like that undoubtedly is shared by the hundreds who flock to the Horton Grand's Room 309 each year. I've survived a night on my own in the infamous Room 309. Though I feLt a bit uncomfortable about the legend at first, I'm now terribly disappointed that Roger didn't make his presence known to me (though the phone did mysteriously ring once at 9:30 p.m.). Perhaps next time I'll be more fortunate. I'll definitely be back! Janet Jan. 19, 1995
THE 10 BEST LIBRARIES ON EARTH
It's fall again and time to start hitting the books, either for school or pleasure. For this edition of the USD Top 10, Ed Starkey, USD university librarian and associate professor, shares his personal list of the best libraries in the world. Starkey holds a B.A. from Stonehill College, an M.A. in English from the State University of New York at Albany, an M.S. in library science from the University of Kentucky and an M.A. in religious studies from the University of Dayton. He also pursued studies in theology at Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. Starkey was an English teacher from 1968 to 197 5, and has since worked in university libraries in a variety of capaci– ties. He has headed USD's Copley Library since 1988. 1. THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. "lt is, quite simply, the best there is. Its core collection was put together by Thomas Jefferson. When you're in Washington, D.C., visit it." 2. THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY IN CAMBRIDGE, MA . "The greatest aca– demic collection in North America and the model for research universities."
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to realize that storytelling celebrates the fact that every storyteller has his or her own style." Reed makes sure students see a num– ber of styles by selecting a wide range of storytellers to address the classes. Many a.re full-time professional storytellers like Ferlatte, who performs at schools, libraries, workshops and storytelling festivals. "In the last 20 years, there's been a real resurgence in storytelling," says Reed. "The classes are about helping people see the diversity of storytelling and helping them develop their personal experiences and their own stories." The classes began seven years ago, when Reed and the Storytellers of San Diego, a local chapter of a national story– tellers organization, approached USD with the idea of co-sponsoring story– telling concerts on campus. After the resounding success of the first concert, the university asked the organization to develop a class to go along with the con– certs. Now the 13-week class, offered in the fall and the spring, is enlivened by four concerts that are open to the public. "The guest presenters teach the class on Thursday and then offer the concerts the following Saturday," says Rennie Block, an administrator in the continu– ing education program. "With the classes and concerts, USD has become the head– quarters for storytelling in the area." Although many of the class attendees are teachers seeking to improve them– selves professionally and earn continuing education credits, the cross section of students indicates that storytelling is an art that almost everyone can use.
"Our classes include businesspeople who want to make better presentations, speech pathologists who use stories with speech therapy, nurses, nannies and even bankers," Reed says. "We also get par– ents and grandparents who want to pass on stories or just be better storytellers for their children." Reed picks a different theme for each semester, enabling students to learn something new each time. Last semester's theme was "Heroes and Heroines: Stories for a Culturally Diverse Society." Past classes have touched on stories about science, moral issues and values, and also have explored folk tales and the relationship between the spoken and written word. "All human beings are storytellers," Reed says. "Even in today's high-tech world, the power of the spoken word is still important." For more information about USD's story– telling classes and concerts, call the School of Graduate and Continuing Edu– cation at (619) 260-4585. Storytelling concerts are scheduled for the Saturdays of Oct. 21, Nov. 18, and Dec. 9, 1995, and Jan. 20, 1996.
s professional storyteller Diane Ferlatte speaks, the class just sits there, eyes unfocused, jaws
slack, totally still. Although they look almost catatonic, they're not bored. In fact, they're more involved than students in most classes. "Storytelling is a whole brain activity. That's why you see that look on people's faces," says Vicky Reed, who for seven years has coordinated storytelling classes for USD's continuing education division. "You need half the brain for the words, the other half to convert the words into pictures. You have to be totally involved or else you'll lose the thread of the story." There's not much chance of the stu– dents losing that thread while Ferlatte speaks. As one of the dozen or so story– tellers that Reed brings in to address the storytelling class each semester, she teaches by example. While the students watch Ferlatte wind her way through several tales, alternately speaking in the voices of different characters, creating sound effects and even pantomiming, they also are learning the techniques that make up successful storytelling. "We're teaching students what makes a tellable tale," says Reed, noting that the way a storyteller speaks and moves is as essential as the plot, the setting and the characters. "The students come
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Anita Good Peterson '64 goes to work each day, she clips on a personal alarm, passes through several locked gates and nods to the armed guards man– ning the yards adjacent to her office. Yet she says she feels safer here than she did in her previous jobs. Peterson is senior librarian at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, a maximum securi– ty prison with 4,600 inmates. Her previ– ous jobs included 25 years with California and Texas public libraries, which she notes draw a wide clientele that can include a few unsavory characters. These days, violence is not unheard of in public libraries, which typically have small staffs at night and little or no security. "Even though we have convicted crim– inals in here," Peterson says about her current place of employment, "we have a lot of unconvicted criminals out there." Security is just one advantage she sees in working behind prison walls. Another is that the clientele - the inmates - show their appreciation of the library and its managers more than those in the public sector do. Perhaps that is because the library represents one of the positive relationships the inmates can establish in a correctional facility, says Peterson, who notes that the inmates and librari– ans inevitably learn from each other as they work together. The satisfaction she derives from help– ing her clients is one reason Peterson continues to be drawn to library work after 32 years. She began her career in high school as a library clerk, then worked at the libraries of the College for Men and College for Women while at USD. After graduating, she began working in public libraries and, over the years, earned a master's degree in library science and completed much of the work toward a master's degree in public administration. Peterson was first introduced to the prison library system in 1991, when she was working at the public library in Brawley, Calif. A new correctional facility was opening in nearby Calipatria and the
could provide reasonable access to the courts by providing a law library. Don– ovan's central library is that library. The other libraries at the facility are recre– ational libraries that Peterson says help maintain order by providing inmates with a positive activity to pursue. Though the inmates can hold the administrators accountable for following the regulations of the state prison sys– tem, they still live very much under the control of the prison authorities. When using the libraries, for example, inmates must preschedule appointments, they are checked into and out of the library with their I.D.s and there is a maximum capacity of 20 inmates allowed in the central library, 15 in the recreational libraries. This controlled system, along with the numerous sec urity measures in place throughout the facility, eases the anxiety some feel when walking through the locked gates. In fact, Peterson says she gets a certain measure of comfort from the rules and regulations. Peterson's belief in the system, partic– ularly the security measures, was proved one day when she was pushing a cart full of books and accidentally pressed her personal alarm. Police came running immediately from every corner of the complex. A bit sheepishly, Peterson explained to the police that her alarm went off by mistake, and they all returned to their posts. Peterson laughs about the incident now, but also reflects with confidence that she truly is safe behind the prison walls.
prison manager held an open house to introduce the local residents to the facili– ty and invite job applications. Though Peterson went to the open house mostly out of curiosity, she turned in an appli– cation and was hired for the library. She admits that she was leery about her new position, but one thing definite– ly made the transition easier: There were no inmates at the facility - yet. She had a chance to get the library set up before the first busload of inmates arrived. As soon as she started interviewing inmates for the available clerk positions, Peterson says she saw their willingness to learn, which made them less frightening to her. The initial fears she had evaporated. The regulations and red tape involved in operating a prison library also quickly become part of the routine, she says. To demonstrate the complexity of the rules she must follow in managing the six libraries at Donovan, Peterson points to eight volumes of regulations on her bookshelves. Not only do the regulations mandate such procedures as how to pur– chase books, but they specify which books must be stocked in the law library, the central library for the facility. "Sometimes your success in a day is measured by being able to get the paper– work through," Peterson says with a smile. Peterson is not the only person reviewing those regulations, however. The inmates have access to the rules and can appeal if they believe a regulation is not being followed. In fact, inmates in 1977 actually established the mandate for law libraries in prisons by suing for access to the courts (Bounds vs. Smith). The judge on the case ruled that a prison
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"I'm always interested in people's reaction to animals, especially people that don't often get to see them," McCosker says. "We fool ourselves with idealized pictures of animals, so it is fascinating when country meets city."
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"The fair is hard to work because your eyes can't rest. There's so much going on that it's hard to extract a singu– lar image from all the noise," he says. "On the other hand, photography is a forgiving medium, and there is often a lot contained in the photos that wasn't my intention. That's the gift of the medi– um, it adds other layers." Although the images change from year to year, McCosker has seen patterns emerge, some positive, some not. He doesn't philosophize too much about these trends, preferring to let the pho– tographs speak for themselves. But he does note that the behaviors he sees with his camera often are reflected in the world outside the fairgrounds. "People are moving faster and faster, and their appetite is changing," he says. "The longest lines at the fair are for the hair-raising rides, while the more con– templative rides don't draw the crowds. I think that's a product of our 'remote– control' society." Although the fair has become a regu– lar stop for McCosker, he also has followed and photographed crowds in other places, including a series on beach– goers. Clearly people and their passions have become his passion. "Ultimately, photography is about life," says McCosker. "It's what's important to you, the photographer, as a person. It's a matter of connecting with the subject - using your mind, your heart, your intel– lect and your intuition."
THE CROWD As he flips through his photographs from recent expeditions to the fair, McCosker reflects on each one from a technical standpoint, but also on the story that each tells. They are not ideal– ized or romanticized visions; they are real expressions of joy, anger, curiosity, hope, sadness and euphoria. Although he tries to remain inconspicuous, McCosker notes that the reactions of people who happen to see him snapping pictures are often as interesting as the ones who don't know they're being photographed. Either way, he has a simple measure of success. "The way to judge success is to take your pictures, rub them up against life and ask yourself if they are as interesting as life," says McCosker, whose work has been displayed in USD's Founders Gallery, San Diego's Museum of Photo– graphic Arts and numerous other galleries and museums. "If not, then you have to go back and try again." Capturing those slices of life at a place like the Del Mar Fair is both frustrating and rewarding, McCosker notes. Although the fair is a boon from a technical stand– point, because the ample light allows him to obtain clear prints in a large size, he says the atmosphere is often overwhelming.
FOLLOWING
Duncan McCosker's creed is simple: Follow the crowds. Where they go, he believes, interesting things are happen– ing. And while he is neither a sociologist nor a philosopher by training, the insights about people he has gained are just as keen. His wisdom comes from years of studying people through the lens of a camera. "What attracts people says something about their lives, their wishes, their affection for things," says McCosker, who has taught photography in USD's fine arts department for the past 18 years. "It also says something about our culture." What attracts some of the biggest crowds in Southern California is the annual Del Mar Fair, attended by about a million people over 20 days in June and July. For 15 years, McCosker has fol– lowed the crowds at the fair, chronicling the seemingly limitless array of emo– tions, activities and interactions that make up the human condition. "All these people rubbing elbows with each other are from different backgrounds, but they have this one event in common," says McCosker. "It's a real cross section, a microcosm of American life."
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0 herri Stephens still remembers her team's first trip to the NCAA tournament in 1989 as one of the most frustrating experiences in her 11-year coaching career at USO. The women's tennis team paraded onto center court, exhilarated by the hoopla and thousands of fans crowding the University of Florida stadium in Gaines– ville. But the excitement was quickly checked when the Toreros were intro– duced as the University of South Dakota team. Five trips later, none of its competitors was surprised when USO entered the 1995 national championship tournament ranked 19th in the country. Among the California at Berkeley, Arizona State University - USO and Stephens have made a name for themselves, determined never again to be misidentified. "It's a real honor to walk into the national championships and represent the University of San Diego among these huge athletic schools," Stephens says. The trip this spring to the nationals was a much-deserved conclusion to a season marked by superior physical and mental toughness that carried the women through a rough start. "At the beginning elite tennis playing universities - Stanford, USC, the University of
of the season we lost five matches in a row, all to top-20-ranked schools, and our confidence was down," Stephens explains. The freshmen, who accounted for half of the eight-person team, were not used to losing and became unsure of themselves on the court. Stephens' response: "I told them to forget that part of the season and start over." She says she later wondered if that was the best advice, given the strong teams and closely scheduled matches that filled out the rest of the season. But to Stephens' delight, the team won 10 out of the next 11 matches as well as the annual spring tournament sponsored by the Toreros. A win over No. 13-ranked William and Mary clinched an invitation, the school's fifth, to the May NCAA tournament, held at Pepperdine University in Malibu. Though the Toreros were eliminated from the team tournament by the Uni– versity of Indiana in the first round, a record five players returned to Pepperdine the next week to compete in the individ– uals tournament. Among them was Dina Birch '95, Stephens' second-favorite success story of the 1994-95 season. Birch began her senior year at Alcala Park having fallen out of the Toreros lineup. When she transferred from the University of New Mexico in her sophomore year, Birch was considered one of the top players on the team. She subsequently got caught in a vicious cycle of losing matches and, thus, her confidence. Finally after two miser– able years, she asked Stephens for help. Summer was approaching and her coach said simply, "Go out and play. Play as many tournaments as possible so it feels natural again to be on the court." Birch complied and returned last fall in top shape. She took over the No. 1 position on the team and immediately started beating nationally ranked players.
Shen·i Stephens
At the national championships, Birch fought through a closely contested match but lost 6-4, 6-4 in the second round to the eventual champion. The doubles team of Kristine Smith and Yvonne Doyle pre– vailed to the round of 16, placing them among the top 16 players in the country. Steffi Hesse and Lindsay Blanckensee, also a doubles team, were eliminated in the first round. The high caliber of tennis consistently played by each of the eight Toreros contributes to the USO identity as a uni– versity with superior scholar-athletes. Stephens' players are recruited based on their academic and athletic abilities, she says, and other schools notice when USO athletes are graduating in four years and playing in national competitions. "I get the more well-rounded girls who become every bit as good as the nationally ranked players because they put every– thing they have into it," Stephens says. "These girls really work hard. They take full class loads and practice four to five hours a day, not including conditioning and weights. "They're playing the highest level of tennis there is and not sacrificing acade– mics," she adds. "That's really special."
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or more than 20 years, John Langellier has made history come alive for the thousands of people who have viewed the museum exhibits he's created, read the books he's written or seen one of the movies he's consulted on. But Langellier counts among his greatest accomplishments a recent response from an audience of one. "It was an absolute joy this year to be a guest editor for an issue of Cobblestone, a children's history magazine," says Langellier, who earned two degrees in history from USD, a bachelor's in 1972 and a master's in 1973. "When I told my 7-year-old daughter that she could take her copy to school to give to the library, she said, 'No, I want to keep it.' So I gave her another one for the school, but having her feel that way about an article her dad wrote, that was my crowning glory.'' The issue of Cobblestone to which Langellier refers was about African American soldiers in the American West of the late 19th and early 20th century, the so-called "Buffalo Soldiers.'' While his expertise encompasses much of the history of the American West as well as U.S. military history, the Buffalo Soldiers have a special place in Langellier's heart. In recognition of his work on books, films and studies of the Buffalo Soldiers, he was elected an honorary member of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Association in 1993, and is thus an official Buffalo Soldier. The certificate the 9th and 10th Cavalry gave Langellier hangs in his office at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles, where he is the director of publications and productions. Langellier joined the museum more than a year before the institution opened its doors in 1988, and helped plan the gallery concepts and exhibits. The phi– losophy he brings to the museum and his
other work is reflected by another item hanging on his office wall, a photo of Langellier and Gene Hackman taken when he worked on the movie "Geronimo: An American Legend.'' "There really are two American Wests, the real West and the West because they overlap and draw on each other. Even when we see an old Western movie and know that's not the way it was, it's still part of the history.'' Part of Langellier's work is separating fact from fiction, and helping others do the same. On the set of "Geronimo," for example, he rewrote scripts, consulted on dialogue and even coached actor Robert Duvall on how to speak. The same principles applied when Langellier helped put together a book and museum exhibit titled "The Mask of Zorro: Mexican Americans in Popular Media," which explored how Mexican Americans are stereotyped in American film and television. While he educates, Langellier also strives to maintain the attention of the audience. "A good museum has to entertain as well as inform, because there's a lot of competition," he says. "A good museum shouldn't be elitist, either. Everyone should be able to come.'' Langellier knows a good deal about putting together museums. After finish– ing at USD, he was founding director of the Presidio Army Museum in San Francisco. He followed up with stints as acting director of the U.S. Army Museum in Honolulu, as command historian for the Army in Europe, and as director of the Fort Leavenworth Museum in Kansas, among others. He's also authored almost a dozen books and more than 50 articles on the American West, the Spanish borderlands and motion picture and military history, and of the imagination," Langellier notes. "Both are important,
consulted on numerous television and film projects. One might wonder how he finds the time for so many activities, but Langellier's obvious passion for history puts those questions to rest. "Working at a museum gives me the chance to turn academics into a three– dimensional story," he says. "Although some of the things I do might not be as in-depth as I'd like, I hope they act as an hors d'oeuvre, whetting people's appetite to really sit down and delve into history. "Sometimes people come out of classes where history is taught from a book thinking that it's all dead dates," he con– tinues. "My challenge is to make it inter– esting.'' History has always been interesting for Langellier, who says he first knew he wanted to be a historian when he was 9 or 10 years old. In the time since then, historians have become much more sophisticated in research and presenta– tions, using multimedia, CD-ROM and other advances in technology to augment their work. But to Langellier, the medium is just a tool. For him, the actual history is where the action is and always has been. "More and more of our time is spent in virtual reality," he says. "History is real reality. We should spend more time there. It's more interesting.''
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Ba b ies A r e No l Te dd y Bears Founded in 1989, CAI is in the business of protecting California's children from poverty and abuse through legal advocacy. With offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland and Sacramento, CAI maintains working relationships with lawmakers throughout the state and often plays an integral role in developing legislation that protects the rights of children. In their work with parent-teacher associations and state officials, CAI advocates concluded a new form of intervention was called for in the fight against teen pregnancy. Though sex education was well established in the public school system, birth rates continued to climb. Condom distribution to high school students to protect against pregnancy and disease was a controversial effort adopted by few schools in the nation. The parenting course was a fresh idea designed to encourage junior high school students, while still young and probably not yet sexually active, not to have babies. The parenting curriculum won approval from the state Legislature in 1992 and soon after was written into the education code. The law reads, in part: "Because the state government bears much of the economic and social b11rden associated with the disintegration of the family, the state has a legitimate and vital interest in adequately preparing its residents for parenthood." Lawmakers acknowledged the public school system is the best place to reach a majority of residents, and CAI took on the challenge of writing a curriculum that defines and illustrates good parenting. The institute employed Gail Mills, a curriculum specialist and Los Angeles middle school teacher, to write course material that covers such topics as developing self-esteem, child growth and development, budgeting money, parental responsibilities and child abuse. Students may take the course as an elective or the curriculum could be incorporated into existing classes, such as social studies or health sciences. In either case, students have the option not to participate in the work. The 7th- and 8th-graders who do take the course will start by focusing on self-esteem issues. With the teacher's guidance, they will look critically at their lives and learn to articulate their goals and dreams for the future, the career they hope to pursue and what kind of life they would like to provide for their children. Kalemkiarian calls this portion of the course the life skills section. It encourages students to discover meaning in their lives and dreams, rather than hoping a child will provide that meaning. The other half of the course discusses the fundamentals of raising a child, including providing food and shelter, budgeting and understanding the different stages of a baby's growth. One
Children's Advocacy
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uring the academic year, USD law professor Sharon Kalemkiarian '89 (J.D.) and several
charge in California
with a parenling course
for Junior high schools students spend Friday mornings in juvenile court advising teen-agers, mostly girls, who want to be legally lha l addresses lh e emancipated from their par- ents' authority. Many of the realilies - and shaHers
girls, some as young as 15, are preparing to be parents themselves and are seeking independence in order to receive state aid while rais-
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ing their children. The fact that they are in court and seeking legal counsel shows they have considered some of the responsibilities that go into parenting, Kalemkiarian notes. But at the same time, virtually all of the teens remain as idealistic and bright-eyed about their future as any young person eager to experience early adulthood and the privileges associated with growing up. "I have yet to interview a teen mother there to be emancipated who doesn't say, 'I plan to finish school and go to college. I have arrangements for my baby,"' Kalemkiarian says. Unfortunately, the likelihood of a young mother accomplish– ing such lofty goals, however good her intentions, is slim. Kalemkiarian is all too aware of the grim statistics, thanks to her role as supervising attorney for USD's Children's Advocacy Institute (CAI). "The problem is, teen pregnancy is linked very closely to low educational achievement for the mother and to poverty for the child," she says. Biologically, teen-agers can have babies and in some parts of the world, girls are expected to give birth at a young age, Kalemkiarian notes. However, in the United States, teen mother– hood is too closely associated with poverty to make pregnancy acceptable. In its role as a protector of children's rights, CAI is spear– heading an effort to encourage students to look beyond the warm-fuzzy feeling of a baby wrapping its arms around mommy or daddy and consider the responsibility of providing for a child for the next 20 years. A recently passed law, written in part by CAI, calls for junior high schools throughout California to begin offering a parenting course designed, in part, to make 7th– and 8th-grade students aware just how hard it is to be a parent and a child at the same time.
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responsibility and proved to be excellent mothers, she says. However, the statistics for California and the nation as a whole reveal the more telling story of babies and their young mothers struggling to survive on food stamps and Aid to Families with Dependent Children. CAI recently reported in its annual California Children's Budget - a document that analyzes the state's spending in areas related to children - that the state's teen birth rate has climbed 20 percent since 1987. For every 1,000 girls from ages 15 to 19, 154 become pregnant and about half of those choose to give birth, the report says. More than 70,000 babies - or 12 percent of the births in California each year - are born to teen-agers. Research shows that babies born to teens are more likely to be premature, of low birth-weight and lacking prenatal care, factors that put the mother and child at a disadvantage even before birth. Half of the girls who become pregnant as teens don't finish high school as of age 30, the report states. The lack of a complete education to fall back on or a second parent to provide financial support inevitably leads young mothers into poverty, which has predictable, harmful effects on the baby's future. Problems in school and problems with health are two of the more common consequences of living on the brink of financial disaster, Kalemkiarian says. With the clear understanding that teen-age childbearing is harmful to both the mother and child, CAI teamed with state Sen. Diane Watson of Los Angeles to propose the law requiring public schools to teach the parenting course. "There has to be some place where we start saying it is not a good idea to have a baby as a teen-ager, either for yourself and what it's going to do to your life, or to the baby's life," Kalemkiarian says. "The odds are against you, it's just as clear as anything." Hanging ln The Balance In proposing the parenting curriculum and winning approval of the 1992 bill, CAI and the other sponsors met little resistance. Fellmeth, Kalemkiarian and Kathleen Quinn, CAi's director of development, followed by applying for grant monies to fund the writing of the curriculum. Soon after the bill passed, CAI secured $30,000 from the San Diego-based Jacobs Family Foundation and hired Mills to draft the course work. Early this year, a foundation headed by singer and actress Barbra Streisand granted CAI $10,000 to print additional copies of the draft curriculum and pay for an evaluator to visit school sites once the classes are up and running. The institute's work to get the curriculum in the schools by September hit a discouraging note this summer, however. The superintendent of public instruction, Delaine Eastin, who originally co-sponsored the bill with CAI and Sen. Watson, has not yet certified the program as "funded," Fellmeth explains. State education officials are now debating whether or not CAI should have gathered an additional $50,000 in order to get the curriculum to schools in time for the 1995-96 academic year.
exercise Mills suggests is having the students comparison shop for household items like food and clothing. Also in budgeting, the students could be asked to list entertainment expenses, such as movie tickets or buying music CDs, and then compare the costs of those items with the essential costs of food, rent and utilities. Mills also suggests an exercise that would have the students observe a young child, maybe a sibling or cousin, and take note of the attention and care the child requires at every moment. Children are not teddy bears that give effortless love, CAI Executive Director Bob Fellmeth likes to say. "Changing dia– pers is not the most fun thing in the world; you're going to have to do it 12 or 16 times a day," he says. "You're going to have to be up all night, very consistently. You're going to have to be dealing with ear infections and antibiotics and staying home. "You're not going to be able to do the things you took for granted, like going out to the movies. Basically, you are engaged in extremely difficult, responsible, important, hard work." Teens: Pregnancy ls A Way Oul Typical of young people, who often have no fear and feel invincible, teen-agers about to become parents have little under– standing of the odds working against them. Quite the contrary, teen-age girls often believe having a baby will give meaning to their lives. A cuddly baby represents someone who will love his or her mother unconditionally. For the boys, or men - many of the fathers are four to five years older than the teen mothers - fathering a child is often a status symbol. He who gets a girl pregnant is seen by others as a macho guy, Fellmeth says. In the 1990s, the ideal male is tough and "sexually you run around engaging in conquests, getting notches on your belt," he adds. But that ideal does not include taking responsibility and, con– sequently, there is a deplorable lack of fathers supporting the mother and baby emotionally or financially after the child is born. The unwed pregnancy rate is 30 percent in California, a figure Fellmeth calls "incredibly bad." "In today's society, if you don't have two parents working for a child, it's going to be very hard to attain adequate sustenance for that child without public subsidy," he says. Judging by the number of teen-age births each year, few young people think further than their idealized vision of parenthood when making the decision to bear children. Budgets and the other realities of caring for another person 24 hours a day are far from their consciousness. Researchers: Teen Pregnancy ls A Palh To Poverly Kalemkiarian is the first to acknowledge she has met teen mothers whose lives were changed for the better once they had a child. Those girls rose to the occasion, thrived on the added
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"It's extremely insulting, to me, that you can't get $50,000 out of a $20 billion budget," Fellmeth says. "Parenting educa– tion is hanging in the balance and the irony is, it's hanging on a decision needed from someone who co-sponsored the bill."
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Proleding The Children The word "epidemic" is often used when speaking about teen pregnancy. Although they do not like the choice of words, Kalemkiarian and Fellmeth agree the teen birth rate of the 1990s is alarming and requires a fresh approach to stop kids from having kids. According to Fellmeth, the response so far has been: Take money away from the parents we are angry at and they won't continue to have children. The resulting problem is that hun– dreds of thousands of children are undernourished and not properly taken care of. We are moving in the direction of sacri– ficing the kids, he laments. "One thing that parenting education does is it says, 'Wait a second, let's talk about the group that is coming. Let's talk about their rights and needs,"' Fellmeth says. "How do we select what we teach? One of the criteria has got to be: Because people need to know it. They need to know it to live in society and be successful, to further the values we all have and to have healthy children for future generations. "There is no more important role you play than how you raise your children. Why isn't it a part of education?"
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In their 800-square-foot family room, Sue and Ken Hoyt push the couches to the wall and scatter throw pillows on the floor. The couple are preparing for 15 high school students to spend an evening in their Rancho San Diego home discussing morali– ty and moral decision-making. Sue, a nurse practitioner clinical placement coordinator at USD's Philip Y. Hahn School of Nursing, and Ken, an attor– ney, have volunteered to teach the six-week course to their parish's teen-agers for the past five years. St. Luke's parish in El Cajon, Calif., requires freshman and sophomore students to take the course prior to being confirmed in the Catholic Church. Much like Bob Fellmeth and Sharon Kalemkiarian from the Children's Advocacy Institute, the Hoyts believe education is the key to reducing the dangerously high teen pregnancy rate and the number of unwanted births recorded each year. Teaching from the Catholic perspective means a good portion of the course is explaining the church's beliefs on issues such as premarital sex, abortion and the sanctity of life, Sue says. "What we are finding is that most teen-agers are not firmly grounded in what their church's beliefs are," she adds . "Some can't even say what their family believes on these moral issues," Ken notes. "There is just not enough dialogue." The mission for Sue and Ken, who have been involved in teaching since their 20-year-old son first enrolled in their parish's religion classes as a youngster, is to start the process of critical thinking in the minds of the 14-, 15- and 16-year-old students. Discussions about whether the students think taking an illegal drug, cheating on an exam or engaging in premarital sex is immoral are designed to help the teenagers form a moral conscience. Sue and Ken are quick to emphasize that they do not demand acceptance of the ethical positions taught in the class. They simply ask the students to listen to the beliefs of the church and respect the fact that the positions have been formed over many, many years. "The kids we are teaching are from a sound-bite generation and don't understand the formation of a principle or idea over multigenerations," Ken says. "Ideally, the kids would be the ones coming up with the decision not to have sex, for example. They would be saying, 'If I really believe in the sanctity of life, if I really believe I owe it to myself and my friends to get the most out of my youth, then I'll wait."'
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