USD Magazine, Spring 1993

Friends in Deed

The Faces of Volunteerism at USD

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n many ways, this issue is about the future-posing questions, offering solutions and simply reflecting the signs of the times. Most of the questions come from

the state of California, where lost jobs, overcrowded schools, urban decline and depressed real estate val– ues have led Californians to question just how gold– en the future of the Golden State can be. While many are fleeing the state to sample the economic climates to the east, others remain convinced the state will recover-if some changes are made. USD experts-and some alumni who have survived and succeeded through personal setbacks themselves– discuss California's "State of Shock" on page 10 of this issue. One of the themes frequently brought up in any discussion of the economy is adaptability-both in terms of the workplace and the community. The jobs of the 1990s will not follow the pat– terns of previous years, experts predict, and workers should be flexible. There will be fewer jobs in the traditional corporate sector-the 9-to-5 jobs-and more jobs in non-corporate environments. In "Working 5-to-9" on page 16 of this issue, we talk to some USD alumni who spend their days in ways that show just how diversified the workplace can be. And, finally, there is adaptability within the community. As funding for government and state social services becomes less reliable, it increasingly falls to us to help ourselves-and our neighbors. USD's values-based education has always stressed to students the importance of altruism, and as the university has grown and diversified that focus has only become stronger. Some two-thirds of USD undergraduates now participate in some form of community volunteer work during their college years, and many continue this commitment after graduation. Our cover story for this issue, "Friends in Deed," looks at a few of USD's student volun– teers. Despite the outlook for economic recovery, their story is one of a positive future.

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Friends in Deed by Trisha J. Ratledge

USD MAGAZINE EDITOR Suzanne Johnson CDNTRIBUTINli EDITORS Kate Callen

Two-thirds of USD's undergraduates do volunteer work during their col– lege years. Some gain experience for future employment; most gain valu– able friendships that transcend the volunteering. All are working for a better world. USD Magazine looks at the stories behind the good deeds.

Jacqueline Genovese Trisha J. Ratledge ART DIRECTOR Visual Asylum PHDTDliRAPHERS Jonathan Woodward Jim Coit ILLUSTRATION Troy Viss

A State of Shack by Dianne Ludlam

Layoffs, business failures, over– crowded schools and a depressed real estate market add up to a badly tarnished Golden State. In what direction should we go next?

THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEliD

PRESIDENT Author E. Hughes VICE PRESIDENT FDR UNIVERSITY RELATIONS John G- McNamara DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Jack F. Cannon DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI USD il1agazi11e is published quarterly by the University of San Diego for its alumni, parents and friends. Editorial offices: USD 111agazine, Publications Office, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110. Third-class postage paid at San Diego, CA 92110. Pos tma s ter: Send address changes to USD fl1agazille, Publications Office, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110. RELATIONS John Trifiletti '78

Working 5-ta-9 by Jacqueline Genovese

One spends his workdays playing in the sand; two sleep during the day and play music all night; a fourth mixes Shakespeare with a hammer and nails. Four USD alums prove that a 9-to-5 workday isn't the only way to make a living.

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f;I if;I f;l ,1 L MAN AC USD BOARD ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP

tions. She has served on the boards of the Old Globe Theatre, the San Diego Sym– phony, the San Diego Opera, La Jolla Country Day School, and Children's Hos– pital and Health Center of San Diego. Her numerous honors include: Woman of Vision from the San Diego League of Women Voters (1992); Philanthropist of the Year from the San Diego chapter of the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives (1991); and Outstanding Vol– unteer Service from United Way (1985). Warren's husband, Frank Warren, is the owner of Warren Properties of Ran– cho Santa Fe, which owns and operates properties in 16 states. The Warrens also own the La Jolla Bank, of which Frank Warren is chair. Under Joanne Warren's direction, the Warren Family Foundation has benefited such causes as Children's Hospital and Health Center, Scripps Clinic, UC San Diego Medical Center, and the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation. CHONG WAN KIM, a renowned archi– tect and urban planner, began serving a three-year term on the board this spring semester. Kim is a native of Namwon, Chonbook Province, Korea. His parents, who still reside in Namwon, have believed so strongly in the importance of education that they established a scholarship foun– dation following the Korean War to assist needy students. After graduating from the University of Washington in 1956, Kim gained six years of professional experience with vari– ous Seattle architecture firms. In 1971, he won the prestigious Mellon Fellowship from the University of California, where he later received dual master's degrees in architecture and urban planning. In 1978, Kim joined San Diego's Hope Consulting Group as its director of design and planning. In 1984, he opened his own firm and delved into such projects as Daley Center and the Emerald-Shapery Center and Pan Pacific Hotel. Kim designed the Loews Coronado Bay Resort Hotel and helped plan and design light-rail trolley stations for SANDAG and the Metropolitan Transit District.

retired as president of Allied-Signal International Inc. Derbes is an active member of numerous community service organiza– tions. He is on the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America and has been a director of the National Committee, U.S.-China Trade; and the U.S./U.S.S.R. Trade and Economic Council. He also is a director of Oak Industries Inc., WD-40 Co., San Diego Gas & Electric, Wahlco Environmental Systems, and Pacific Diversified Capital. He has served on the boards of the United Way and Scripps Memorial Hos– pital Foundation and is a member of the finance committee of the hospital foun– dation. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Derbes earned a B.S. in engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an M.B.A. in management and mar– keting from Xavier University. Follow– ing his 1952 graduation from West Point, he served four years as a U .S. Army officer in Germany, France and the United States before joining AiRe– search Manufacturing Co. of Arizona, a division of the Garrett Corp., one of the Signal Cos. In a distinguished 24-year career at Garrett, Derbes was vice president and general manager of AiResearch Manu– facturing Co. of California from 1975 to 1979, when he was named Garrett's executive vice president. In 1980, he joined The Signal Cos., serving as both executive vice president and president until the merger of Signal and Allied Corp. in 1985. JOANNE WARREN, a USD trustee since 1986, has served the university as chairman of the executive committee of USD's successful "Education for a New Age" Capital Campaign. A resident of Del Mar, Warren has been a guiding force in many of San Diego's leading arts and civic organiza-

DANIEL W. DERBES

Daniel W. Derbes, president of Signal Ventures, has been elected chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of San Diego, and Joanne C. Warren, president of the Warren Family Founda– tion, has been elected vice chairman. Chong Wan Kim, AIA, president of C.W. Kim, AIA, Architects & Planners Inc., has been named a member of the board. DANIEL W. DERBES, a USD trustee since 1981 and vice chairman of the board since 1990, replaces the late Ernest W. Hahn as the head of the uni– versity's 36-member governing body. Derbes has served the university as chair of the academic affairs and annual fund committees and of USD Corporate Associates. A resident of Rancho Santa Fe, Derbes formed Signal Ventures, a pri– vate investment group, in 1989 after he

MAGAZINE

TDRERDS BRING HOME wee TITLE With 10 seconds left in the women's 1993 West Coast Conference Champi– onship basketball game, Pete Sortino saw his daughter's team start to believe the unbelievable. "One by one, their faces changed when they realized there was no way they were going to lose the game," Sorti– no says. "They were like dominos, one after another, breaking into huge grins, and some of them crying." The Torero women's basketball team had every reason to feel that elated astonishment. For starters, preseason coaches' polls had picked them to finish eighth in the conference-out of eight teams. In addition, their opponent in the championship game, Santa Clara, had soundly thrashed them just 10 days ear– lier-by a whopping 22 points-to bring their season record to 2-0 against the USD women. But none of that mattered on game day, especially for seniors Angie Straub and Chris Enger, who knew they were facing their last chance to make an NCAA playoff appearance. Both Straub and Enger had taken big risks by choosing to attend USD. Heavi– ly recruited out of high school, each could have attended any number of big– name basketball schools. But both decid– ed to put academics ahead of athletics, and accepted the responsibility of bring– ing USD's basketball program to an unprecedented level. It was hard at first for both players. "I was used to people lining up outside my high school to buy tickets an hour before our games would start," Straub remembers. "When I came to USD, there were maybe 20 people in the stands at game time." Attendance improved during Straub's four years, with a record 2,355 attend-

through the season, and hung tough against teams that we had no business being close to. That to me was a sign of great coaching." Great coaching was just one element the USD women needed to be successful against a tough University of Nebraska women's team in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. A few more players over six feet tall would have helped, too. As the team entered DeYaney Sports Center, they stared in amazement at the stands. "There were about 6,000 people in the stands, on a weeknight!" Enger says in disbelief. "And it wasn't just stu– dents-there were whole families there." In addition to the crowd, the Lady Huskers proved a formidable opponent, with four players checking in at over 6 feet tall. "If we had had one more half to play, I think we would have given them a better fight," explains junior Melisa Sortino. "I think we were all shell– shocked for the first half." Although losing 81-58 wasn't the way Straub and Enger envisioned their NCAA appearance when they arrived at Alcala Park four years ago, they are proud of what they have helped USD accomplish. "We've started something here," says Enger quietly. "Now, hopefully, Coach can keep getting better and better play– ers, and making it to the NCAA won't seem like such an impossible thing." Straub feels that USD's performance this year has earned them something more valuable than titles or trophies. "R " h espect, s e says, her eyes narrowing with determination. "Before, when we walked out onto the floor, you could tell they didn't respect us. "But toward the end of the season, you could see it in their faces. Respect."

ing last year's match against San Diego State. For the 6-foot-4 Enger, finding some– one tall and tough enough to scrimmage in practice was a problem. So Coach Kathy Marpe found help in an unlikely place-the local 7-11. "One day I was getting coffee, and the guy behind the counter was pretty big and I had seen him at several USD athletic events, so I asked him if he played. Turns out he had played two years of college ball," Marpe explains. "So I asked him if he wanted to volun– teer to coach and play against Chris." Although Marpe's strategy seems a little unorthodox, it paid off. Enger says she got the competition she needed, and her career accomplishments attest to that. She holds USD career records in scoring, rebounds and blocked shots, and has the second-highest number of blocked shots in NCAA history. She was also named to the WCC All-Confer– ence First Team and the conference All– Academic Team. Enger wasn't the only Torero to win Conference honors. Junior Jill Shaver was named MVP in the WCC Champi– onship Tournament and was selected for the conference All-Academic Team. Marpe, in her 13th season at USD, was named the WCC Co-Coach of the Year although Regina Sullivan, USD's assis-' tant athletic director, thinks Marpe deserved the award last year. "When Chris Enger got hurt in the second game of the season last year, it was a real blow to the team, and a lot of people lost hope. But we made it

-Jacqueline Genovese

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Friends in Deed

b y Tri s h a J . R a tl e d ge

Two-thirds of USD's undergrad-

This year, despite Michelle's absence, Paula keeps up the patterns the trio had established. Entering the colorfully dec– orated condominium, she greets Boo, Celeste's 17-1/2-year-old Siamese cat. Because she is allergic to Boo, Paula takes medication before each visit. To her left are Celeste's glass shelves cov– ered with crystal pieces and figurines from all over the world, each one a gift or a travel memento. Together, they reg– ularly clean and reposition these mementos while Celeste entertains Paula with stories prompted by the pieces, memories now as familiar and dear to Paula as her own. To her right are the brass lamps she and Celeste carefully polish twice each year. Originally altar urns, they already had been converted into lamps when Celeste's late husband found them in upstate New York. The walls are cov– ered with paintings - some are done by Celeste herself - and photographs, including a glamorous '40s Hollywood– esque portrait of Celeste that easily can be mistaken for Rita Hayworth and a candid photo of Celeste with a flustered Bob Hope, circa 1968. (On a cruise, she greeted Hope as if he were an old friend,

The day begins like every other when Paula comes to visit - with a long-last– ing hug, faces pressed together, eyes shut tight. There are no quick, obligato– ry hugs between Paula Matteucci and Celeste*. It's a bittersweet time because this fresh-faced USO senior and elegant grandmother - who share a deep affec– tion for each other along with brownies every other Saturday - will part ways in just a few weeks. Paula is heading back to Albuquerque after graduation, but neither she nor Celeste will talk about the inevitable separation. They've already been through this once. Last year, Michelle Nevin, Paula's partner and Celeste's other valued friend in USO's Senior Citizen Outreach pro– ject, returned to Colorado, creating the first break in their threesome. "We came over and she had to tell Celeste," Paula recalls. "We made it through that okay, but as soon as we left, Michelle was wiping her eyes." Paula, Michelle and Celeste "adopt– ed" each other three years ago through Senior Outreach, a community service program sponsored by USO and Associ– ated Students. Celeste, a widow with a zest for life despite a number of health problems, began participating in the pro– gram when it consisted only of cleaning or doing yardwork for senior citizens once a semester. Paula and Michelle signed up after the program expanded, enabling students to work with a senior citizen at least once a month for an entire semester, and they were matched with Celeste. None of the three had ever met.

uates do volunteer work some-

time during their college years. Some gain experience for future work; most gain 11aluable friend· ships that transcend the 11olun- teering. AU are working for a better world.

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Senior Paula Matteucci and Celeste "adopted" each other three years ago.

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graduate, I'm going to give you the balleri– na so you'll remember me by it."' With the subject of graduation linger– ing in the air, Paula and Celeste both look at the floor. Paula walks away with a paper towel and some Windex, begins cleaning one of Celeste's sliding glass doors and says, "We're not talking about that." Celeste silently watches Paula clean for a moment and says quietly, "I'll think about it tomorrow." This is volunteering at its best, because the experience is so fulfilling, and at its worst, because the ending is so difficult. While volunteers take on projects to accomplish specific goals - clean a senior citizen's home, serve food to the homeless, act as mentors for junior high school stu– dents - they also form relationships with the people they serve. Often, the relation– ships transcend the business at hand and become treasured friendships. When these relationships end or change, as they almost always must, "it's harsh," in the words of one USD student volunteer.

has been such a gem," Celeste says with a smile, her attention not straying far from her young friend. "I could not have stayed here and gotten along with– out her." Osteoporosis prevents Celeste from raising her arms above shoulder level, making many cleaning tasks impossible. It's more difficult for her to get around these days, too, and Paula often has taken her to the doctor or the grocery store. Heart trouble and other health complications have slowed down Celeste's body, but not her spirit. "She has an understanding and a peace in life," Paula says. "She has radi– ated that and passed it on to me. She gives me peace." But the separation looms in the back of their minds. Celeste points to a statue of a ballerina on her living room table. "Paula was a ballerina, you know, " she says, her voice filling with emotion. "She has been such a dear, precious per– son in my life. I told her, 'When you

familiar as he was to her from the movie screen. Gallantly, he tried to play along, but they had never met.) Periodically, Paula dusts these frames and cleans the mirrors, glass doors and the chandelier over the dining room table. Just as often, Paula sits with Celeste and they chat, "grandmother" to "granddaughter," friend to friend, heart to heart. It's clear that Celeste cherishes these Saturday visits. It's clear, too, that both Paula and Celeste cherish their friendship. "Paula

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Since 1986, when the Senior Outreach project was the only Associated Stu– dents-sponsored community service pro– gram, volunteer opportunities have exploded at USD. During 1991-92, stu– dents filled at least 1,396 volunteer positions totaling 16,833 volunteer hours. According to graduate exit sur– veys, approximately two-thirds of USD students volunteer during their years at the university. The majority of ongoing community service programs operate through Asso– ciated Students and are managed by two student directors and individual project coordinators. Students run every phase of project management, from inception to implementation through reflections and evaluations. AS currently has 16 ongoing programs, ranging from one– time projects such as a Special Olympics basketball tournament to yearlong pro– jects such as mentors for junior high school students. Other ongoing pro– grams operate through campus ministry, the English department and the School of Law, and independent projects are sponsored by residence halls, clubs and organizations, academic departments and more. Though the programs address differ– ent social issues, all are structured to include learning as part of the experi– ence, says Barbara Peterson, assistant director of volunteer resources. After evaluating their interests and signing up with a specific project, volunteers learn about the issue they will service, go through the actual project and, finally, reflect as a group. "To me, it's not appropriate to have service that is not linked to learning in higher education," says Judy Rauner, director of volunteer resources. "We're about education." The student volun– teers agree that it is empowering work that often changes their perspective of life and awareness of their community on many levels. Volunteering has empowered junior Jason Kelley by giving him the tools to change from an observer to a doer. "Now, if I see a problem, I can say, 'What can I do?"' he says. "If you need help or if you have a problem, come to me." This new attitude was put to the test one day as he was walking through Montgomery Junior High School and encountered a fight. Though he didn't know the students, he stepped in and broke it up. A few years ago, he admits,

Junior Jason Kelley w01-ks with local junior high students.

he probably would have walked away or, at best, tried to get someone else to break it up. The Office of Volunteer Resources was founded in 1986 for students like Jason, as well as for faculty, staff and alumni. The office supports the campus– wide volunteer effort by serving as a centralized information resource for vol– unteers, project coordinators and com– munity agencies. One of its missions is to help students, faculty, staff and alum– ni get involved in four approaches to community service: the ongoing pro– grams through AS or other academic/administrative departments; internships and field placements at one of 300 community agencies through USD faculty and the Experiential Edu– cation Committee; group projects for university clubs and organizations; and long-term placements for recent college graduates. The office also provides advice and direction in program development, sup– plies administrative help when neces– sary, coordinates or writes grant proposals and collects data. Often, the office is in the business of problem solv– ing. When students couldn't get to vol– unteer projects because they did not have transportation, for example, fund– ing was secured for a van. Volunteers now shuttle other students to projects five days a week. In short, volunteer resources exists to support success in community service. The seeds for USD's community ser– vice activities were planted almost a decade ago at a meeting in Rancho Bernardo, Calif. USD President Author E. Hughes and a handful of other uni– versity presidents and chancellors were discussing the value of altruism and the

need to give students an opportunity to volunteer. From that initial conversation sprang Campus Compact, a national organization of 360 colleges and univer– sities that fosters community service; California Compact, the statewide sub– sidiary; as well as USD's Office of Vol– unteer Resources. Though volunteering does enhance education by exposing students to the reality of social issues, Hughes says his motivations were centered around the values orientation in USD's mission statement. "I looked at it as giving an opportunity for our young people to see values that work," he says. "That to do something for somebody simply because it's a good thing to do is in itself reward– ing. It's learning about a value by prac– ticing that value." As Jason Kelley knows firsthand, that reward can be found in something as simple as playing a game of basketball. A project coordinator for after-school recreation at Montgomery Junior High,

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volunteer activities. "That's the beauti– ful part of campus-based programs," she says, comparing her USD experience to previous volunteer experiences. "I never before had the opportunity to become a coordinator or play a larger role. That gave me the resources and the tools to continue my commitment to the commu– nity at a new level of involvement." Kristin also agrees wholeheartedly with the concept that service should be linked to learning. "By integrating ser– vice and learning, you are taking every– thing you learn in the classroom and linking it to reality," she asserts. "So many courses have a natural connection. I would advocate, for example, that biol– ogy classes include a service component in the environment so the students can experience the issues in action." USD students can get academic cred– it for volunteering by developing an approved internship with a community agency or by serving as a project coordi– nator or volunteer in one of four com– munity service programs that are linked to seminars. Students also can earn cer– tification through the 20-unit American Humanics program, which prepares stu– dents for leadership careers in human service (see related story on page 9). Even without the formal classroom– to-service link, students find that volun– teering increases their interest in and awareness of the world around them. Every semester, for example, campus ministry takes a group of 30 students across the border for a weekend to build houses in Tijuana. The experience never fails to open their eyes, says MaryEllen Pitard, associate campus minister. "When they go out into these colonias and see these incredibly poor people, see maybe six children and two or three adults living in areas that are smaller than their dorm room, the floors are dirt and the walls are cardboard and plastic, it's life-changing. No one is untouched by spending the weekend down there." "The whole part of education that you spend in the classroom is great," says junior Jason Orlando, a project coordinator for the Volunteers for Youth mentoring project. "You develop these theories and ideas. But really con– necting them to what's going on in the outside world is the hump you need to get over before you have been truly edu– cated."

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Robert jokes with a quick smile as he takes the pack. The equipment room reflects the state of the neighborhood: in disrepair, but serviceable. The window itself is simply a rectangular opening in a con– crete wall, nothing more. A rusted gro– cery cart holds an eclectic collection of old basketballs, four-square balls and a football; many of the shelves are missing or askew; seemingly abandoned and mis– matched tennis shoes are stacked in a cubbyhole; a shovel, rake and ladder are piled in a corner; and, for some reason, a single bowling pin rests on a box. When it seems most of the students have checked out the equipment they need for the afternoon, the volunteers join the games in progress on the play– ground. Calling most of the students by name, the volunteers work up a sweat in the afternoon heat. "Hopefully, we're giving them another way to see things," Jason says, while explaining why he is involved in volunteering. "I can't live my life with my head in a book. This is how I get away from campus. It's total reward." For students such as Jason who take on coordinator and other management posi– tions, USD's community services pro– gram fosters leadership development. Kristin (Hale) Parrish '92, credits this leadership experience with helping her land her current job as executive direc– tor of Campus Outreach Opportunity League, a national non-profit organiza– tion that promotes and supports college . student involvement in community ser– vice. During her years at USD, Kristin served as project coordinator for the family learning center and director of the student literacy corps, among other

Jason assembles USD volunteers to serve as a recreation staff for two hours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring semesters. The junior high students often are newly arrived immigrant or refugee youths and many of the students have experienced great hardship and violence. They have unsupervised time after school and frequently are exposed to gang influence. Jason and the other vol– unteers provide a refuge of sorts through recreation while they exhibit a stable, positive influence for the young stu– dents. On another level, the volunteers hope to open the students' eyes to col– lege and career opportunities that may seem out of reach to them now. The program appears to be working, though the junior high students seemed skeptical initially. "At first," Jason says of the beginning of the year, "a group of six kids hung around the outskirts of the playground. One day they asked if they could play." Now, if there are fewer than 30 students on the playground, it's a slow day. Students come to the equipment room window in groups of two or three to check out equipment, to sign in as credit for a missed gym class, to store their backpacks for safekeeping or sim– ply to banter with the volunteers - some in fluent English, some in broken English, but all in earnest. "I want to leave my backpack in here," announces one Montgomery stu– dent to USD student Robert Grasso. "But can I trust you people?" "You can't trust anyone in life,"

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Junior Meaghan Russell and her "Bes t Buclcly" Jeffrey meet on the USO campus.

was expected to go to school, work and succeed at daily living skills such as using the bus, she now lives and works on her own. "My grandfather thought, 'If you're a Russell, you're going to do it the Russell way,'" Meaghan says. "I think he gave my aunt the best life she could have had." Meaghan continues that Russell spir– it in the Best Buddies project. She and her buddy, Jeffrey*, do the same things that all friends do - go to the movies, to a basketball game, just "hang out,'' Meaghan says. At a Best Buddies Hal– loween dance last year, Jeffrey, an out– going 20-year-old with a million-dollar smile, showed off his Moonwalk and entertained everyone as deejay. In fact, Meaghan says there is noth– ing out-of-the-ordinary about their rela– tionship. "It's a friendship,'' she says. "He's really special to me. He makes me laugh. I just enjoy being in his compa– ny." Jeffrey lives in a group home with other mentally challenged adults and two supervisors in a San Diego neigh– borhood. He goes to Kearny High School, has two jobs - at Sea World and at USD in the main dining room - and he works out at the YMCA. Out one evening for dinner, Meaghan and Jeffrey talk easily, moving quickly from one topic to another - food, roommates, work, family, movies, music, chance encounters with the rich and famous (Meaghan's with musician Sting), you name it. Meaghan peppers

That real-world education begins with the first volunteering experience, no matter how early. Junior Meaghan Rus– sell, who has volunteered as long as she can remember, learned in the eighth grade how a very simple gesture can pro– foundly affect someone else's life. "I was a buddy with this lady; I think she was in her 90s," Meaghan recalls. "She came to our grade school once and I walked around with her all day. She was in a wheelchair, but she tried to be pretty active. I wrote her a couple of letters after that, little things like a Christmas card and I think a birthday card. She passed away, and her family sent me a letter saying 'thank you' for being her friend. I guess she talked about me a lot." Pausing briefly, her eyes opened wide, "I only met her that one time." Meaghan is a volunteer for USD's Best Buddies project, in which USD students are matched with developmen– tally delayed students in the community. The buddies get together at least twice a month for an academic year. Meaghan had very personal reasons for getting involved in this program. Her aunt is mentally challenged but, because she

the conversation with questions and Jef– frey answers each carefully while he slowly but methodically empties his tray, often breaking into laughter over some– thing she has said. The two friends are looking forward to this summer when each might be going to Florida for a national Best Bud– dies conference. The conference is for the program coordinators, from both the college student side and the buddy side. Meaghan will be a project coordinator for the USD volunteers next year and Jeffrey has been selected to coordinate the buddy participants. In the meantime, however, they enjoy the time they spend just "hanging out." As USD student leaders look to the future of volunteering at USD, they embrace the concept of advocacy. "Ser– vice, a lot of the time, is a Band-Aid when you need stitches," explains Jason Orlando, a two-year USD volunteer and newly elected AS vice president of pro– gramming. "When you are serving the community, you're doing things to help out the situation by volunteering the

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The Humanics Touch

One in 13 jobs today is in a non-profit field, says Linda Linstrom, assistant to the dean, U SD School of Education. Addi– tionally, studies have shown that only one in 10 American workers actually likes his or her line of work. " If you can find a job that pays you for what you like to do, you 're fortunate," Linstrom says. With statistics such as these - and a university miss ion centered around values and respect fo r every human being - it makes sense to encourage and support students who want to pursue a career in human service. To that end, U SD is one of only 15 universities nationally that offers American Humanics, a 20-unit pro– gram that foc uses on leadership develop– ment in community service. In the three years since Linstrom began directing the program, participation has grown from four students to 22. Students fulfill the program require– ments while they study their academic major of choice. American Humanics can– didates take 12 units of academic course– work focusing on leadership, six units of volunteer internship and two units of a leadership seminar, including attending at least one fo ur-day AH Management Insti– tute conference. For senior Paula Matteucci, last year's conference in Arizona was a turning point. " I found my niche," she says. " I found that I could contribute something to humanics. That confe rence connected with me because it wasn't just the busi– ness of running a non-profit - it was the human relations side of it, and that's the area I connect with. I understand human– ics now, and if I go to work for a non– profit - I'll know what it means to contribute to that agency. I'll give it my best in the areas that I think are my strong points, probably around human relations." After earning certification, students' photos and resumes are published in a nationally distributed report each year. Recipients include the 11 national agen– cies affiliated with American Humanics, such as American Red C ross and YMCA of the USA. Linst rom says that though the program naturally attracts students who are already committed to community service as a way of life, it nevertheless enhances their development. "They have a confi– dence that they will be able to make a dif– ference," she says.

hours. The advocacy part is actually get– ting down to the bare issues so that, once they're solved, the problem is solved com– pletely." The evolution toward advocacy will begin with two basic changes designed to expand the two director of community service positions. First, the students filling these positions for the 1993-94 academic year will advise and take part in activities in all of the volunteer programs. This direct involvement will give them insight into the community's social issues and help them advise the volunteers and pro– ject coordinators. Second, the advocacy: The two student leaders will focus on the national issues that apply to these commu– nity service programs, keep the volunteers educated and work toward more pervasive change. "Together, it's quite a powerful combi– nation," Jason says. For Paula Matteucci and Celeste, the future and its impending change has come much too quickly, but they will adjust. Paula personally recruited some students who will continue to care for her friend through Senior Outreach. But that won't end Paula and Celeste's relationship. "I know we will keep in touch," Celeste says. "This wasn't just a volunteer thing. It was a bonding of special people." Paula says she is returning to Albu– querque a better person. "Maybe the greatest thing that volunteer work can do is break some little walls that are inside you, that put you in touch with who you are. It puts you with other people in whatever situation they are in. You have this contact, and you'll never be the same. I know I won't."

Community Spirit

The following are ongoing community ser– vice projects sponsored by USD and oper– ated through Associated Students or an academic/administrative area. (In addition to these regular communi– ty service acti.,ities, independent projects are sponsored periodically by individual residence halls, clubs and organizations, and academic and administrati.,e depart– ments. Students, faculty and administra– ti.,e staff .,olunteer time directly with community agencies as well.)

ASSOCIATED STUDENTS American Indian Outreach BandAIDS Best Buddies Binational Project Family Learning Center Homeless Outreach

Linda Vista Kids Project Migrant Worker Outreach Newcomers Saturday School Senior Citizen Outreach Single Mothers Tutoring Program Special Olympics Basketball Tournament Tijuana Orphanage Project Urban Plunge

Volunteers for Youth Workplace Literacy

CAMPUS MINISTRY Catholic Worker Soup Kitchen Tijuana House Building

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT Southeast San Diego Tutoring Project

SCHOOL OF LAW/ PRO BONO LEGAL ADVOCATES AIDS Project* Domestic Violence Prevention Project* Kearny High School Mentor Program Small Claims Court Mediation Program Supplemental Security Income Project*

*For privacy, the last names of community service recipients have been omitted.

*In conjunction with the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program.

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Last year, more than 350,000 Californians fled the Golden State in search of a better life. Not since the Dust Bowl days of the 1920s-when 86,000 Midwesterners headed West seeking the elusive "California Dream"-has there been such a flux of dis– satisfied Americans relocating across state lines. But for these pioneers, the cry is "Eastward, Ho." When the nation's economic downturn first hit on the East Coast and spread westward, many Californians sat back thinking the state-once an economic dynamo-was insulated. But no longer. As the rest of the nation shows slight signs of economic recovery, California remains in the midst of the harshest reces– sion since the Great Depression. More than 900,000 jobs have left the state since May 1990. The state has an 8.9 percent unemployment rate, the highest in the nation outside the eco– nomically troubled Northeast. San Diego County, which has its own unique economic problems, has a record number of bank– ruptcies and foreclosures. After 10 years of unprecedented growth, the state is looking at the worst real estate market since the Depression. Viewed as a nationwide model as recently as the mid-1980s, California's state educational system has been steadi– ly slipping for the past eight years and is now below the national average. And the state's financial future doesn't look too bright, either. The state budget finally passed by the California legisla– ture in September was nothing if not austere. It's no wonder that a large number of Southern Californi– ans-frustrated by the sour business climate, a shortage of affordable housing, government regulations and traffic snarls– are looking for greener pastures in places like the Pacific North– west and Central Texas. Some have been forced to make a move by a shrinking job market, particularly in defense-related industries, but others have decided that the Golden State is too tarnished to live up to their expectations. Traffic, smog, crime and high property taxes have driven some away. Other, younger people have left to follow jobs or to find a peaceful, more rural area to bring up their children. Some will be back when they discover that the grass isn't always greener on the other side, but California might well not have jobs for them.

Layoffs, business failures, overcrowded schools and a depressed real estate market add up to a badly tarnished Golden State. In what direction should we go next?

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primary reason for relocating. Workers' compensation costs, which have nearly tripled since 1982 in California, are driving some companies away, and some business executives say the sys– tem is the No. 1 business issue in the state. In preliminary findings of a study by five California utilities, the business climate was the overwhelming reason companies left the state. The report says California lost 668 manufactur- ing plants or planned expan– sions between 1987 and 1992. Nearly 80 per– cent cited high costs -t axes, wages and workers' compensation premi– ums-as the motiva– tion. More than 20 percent of these opera– tions moved to Mexico, a trend that labor leaders fear will be amplified by the North American Free Trade Agreement, which topples trade barriers between the U.S. and its poorer neighbor to the south. California leads the nation

Ed Aloe '86, a loan officer with Western Cities Mortgage Co., stuck it out in Southern California when the recession had its own impact on him. While still an undergraduate at USD, the Chicago native had worked with a small company that bought and sold investment apartment buildings. Six months after graduation he left to sell apartment buildings for a much larger company. In 5-1/2 years, he had sold $43 million in apartment buildings and looked like he was on his way to a phenomenal success in real estate. Then the commercial real estate market crashed for a vari– ety of reasons--overbuilding, the 1986 tax reform act that took away a lot of the incentives, and a shrinking capital market attributed partly to the savings and loan crisis. Some apartment owners were simply locking the doors and walking away. "If the owner of an apartment building pays 10 percent down and the property value suddenly goes down 20 percent, they have no equity," Aloe explains. "If an owner has a $4 million loan and suddenly the property is worth only $3 million, it's better to just walk away." So Aloe wisely swapped commercial real estate for a career in mortgage banking, financing single-family loans for single– family properties. Despite a forced career change and the economic climate, Aloe never considered leaving Southern California. "My family is here now," he says, explaining that his par– ents had relocated to San Diego during his senior year at USD. "I believe in this state, and I think it will come back." But that comeback won't be here anytime soon, economists predict. The end of the Cold War is shrinking the defense industry. High-wage, low-skilled factory jobs are migrating overseas or south of the border, and more than 65 percent of the jobs lost were in Southern California, primarily Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties: defense layoffs, a downturn in home– building, painful restructuring in the retail and high-tech sec– tors, a decline in industries that support defense. One in four California manufac- turers has indicated

in manufacturers that are moving to Mexico, and will lead the country in military-contractor and base shutdowns, analysts predict. "California as a state is to blame to some extent, because its EPA mentality has really regulated itself out of business," notes Michael Fowlkes '83 (M.B.A. '88), special project coor– dinator for the career center of the San Diego Consortium and Private Industry Council. Fowlkes is coordinating the start-up of four regional career centers throughout San Diego County, which will help provide job search assistance, training and retraining for thousands of San Diegans who have been laid off. Citing the cost of workers' compensation, bureaucratic red tape and high property taxes, Fowlkes says the cost of doing business in California outweighs the benefits-more than 50 local and state agencies regulate and issue permits to Califor– nia businesses. "People are leaving for places where property taxes are lower and that give tax incentives to business," he says. "Other states offer very attractive packages-such as two– or three-day turnaround in permits or cash incentives-to companies that move there." Alan Gin, who specializes in economic forecasting for San Diego County, says streamlining the regulatory process is a short-term way to improve a local economy that doesn't antici-

interest in relocating out of the state, says Alan Gin, assistant profes– sor of economics at USD. Chief executive officers cite the cost of doing business in California as the

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pate an upturn in the next few years. For a long-term turnaround, San Diego County needs to concentrate on at least two of its three main means of freight traffic-the airport, railway system or port. "It looks pretty difficult for the San Diego economy in the future," Gin says. "Through 1994 and beyond, I just don' t see what's going to pull the city through these economic hard times. San Diego has some unique problems. We don't have a good transportation infrastructure. The airport is a problem. The port facilities haven't been expanded like they could have been. And the rail lines here all run north. So the ships that might consider coming to San Diego go to West Central Los Angeles instead. There are not a lot of manufacturing plants around here, and there's not likely to be-manufacturers like to locate around places with good transportation." Already, San Diego's biotechnology industry, one of the county's manufacturing bright spots, is clamoring for improve– ments in the airport because the industry needs an airport large

Tokyo-and a healthy 21 percent of what is made here, is exported. But growth has brought congestion, and the city rates poorly on vocational training programs and pro-business atti– tude. Manufacturing has been growing faster than the U.S. aver– age, with biotechnology, electronics and telecommunications among competitive local industries. San Diego's Golden Trian– gle, where the major industries are biotechnology and commu– nications, has 164 companies with 11,000 jobs. The number of jobs could grow to 50,000 in the next seven years, thanks to a Nov. 30 announcement by then Mayor-elect Susan Golding, who said she will consider using the city's ability to sell bonds to help finance the construction of biotechnology manufactur– ing facilities unable to secure other financing. The companies then would repay the funds . Golding announced other financial incentives that experts agree are needed to lure business to California, such as streamlining the permit process for biotechnology manufacturers and guaranteeing them a water supply in the event of water

enough to handle the shipment of its products. There is not going to be a big turn upward in the San Diego economy until something is done about the airport, Gin predicts. Unless there are improvements in the transportation infrastructure, San Diego will not see any gains and is likely to be hurt by NAFTA.

rationing during droughts . Several biotechnology man– ufacturers have said water guarantees are essential for them to commit to Southern California as a manufacturing site. Biotechnology and other

"Companies wanting to locate to this area would want to supply their products to northern Mexi–

co, but Mexico's Rodriguez Field is expanding and they are deepening the port at Ensena– da. So why would they come here?" Gin asks.

small industries may be San Diego's answer to the scramble to find a replacement for General Dynamics, says Linda Scales, director of the Office of Career Services at USO. But San Diego is at a competitive disadvantage. High land and housing costs mean employers have to pay their workers more. The state budget crisis means the area can't compete with states like Arizona, which has put together attractive packages to lure

Once the airport is developed, San Diego could become a more attractive location for commercial development, but either a rail– way or port expansion would have to follow, Gin says, adding that even if the bicker– ing factions debating the site of a new airport or expan- sion of the old one decided tomorrow on the best option, it would take at least a decade to get the plans implemented. Another unique nature of San Diego's economy is its lack of diversity. The county is heavily defense-oriented, and military cuts have so wounded the area's economy-with more cuts rumored to come under President Bill Clinton's defense plans-that even though economic recovery appears to be beginning for the rest of the country, San Diego is likely to be left behind. "In other cities, you might have the local economy start to return as the economy starts to recover," Gin explains. "In Detroit, they might lay off workers at the automotive plants, but they rehire them as soon as the country starts to come out of the recession. But as the national economy starts its recov– ery, people aren't suddenly going to be buying more Hughes Aircraft missiles." There are some bright spots in the gray economic forecast for San Diego. The city is well situated to trade with Mexico and Asia-it has economic development offices in Tijuana and

business there. Southern California is having a problem trying to retain businesses, much less attract new ones to an area where community services are being cut. "What has happened, because of trouble at the state level, is that the state has not been able to send as much money to the local level and that has forced the cities to cut their budgets," Gin says. "That is why you are seeing reduced library hours, and why the City of San Diego is not hiring police officers." The California state school system-once a nationwide model that served as a magnet to draw business into the state-may now be a deterrent. Even before the most recent budget cuts, California, which once had the top-rated public school system in the country, had

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DeRoche lists several steps that can be taken to improve California's schools: setting specific goals on a national level; downsizing the central office bureaucracy and forcing schools to be more creative and responsive; establishing programs like San Diego's pilot project to serve as a center for coordinating social services for children; and wresting control of the educational purse strings from Sacramento and giving them back to the local districts. California's 1992-93 budget, which lowers the floor for spending on education and also contains sections discouraging school districts from suing for more money, is one that presumes the California economy will rebound before the fiscal year ends on June 30. It won't happen, economists predict. Instead, they predict that state and local governments will lose 50,000 jobs or more by the end of the year and the defense industry will lay off perhaps an additional 25,000. Most say it will be 1994 before California starts to see an upturn in its economy. "I think we'll see a spiral and real turnaround at the begin– ning of '94," says an optimistic Fowlkes. "By then, with NAFTA in place and some new technology and industry, we should start to see some development. But 1993 is not going to be a fun year." Fowlkes says growth will be slow to come without changes at the state level, in programs such as workers' compensation and regulations. The changes need to make it attractive for businesses to stay in California and at the same time attract new businesses and industries, preferably manufacturers. "California was one of the last states to get hit by the reces– sion, and it will be one of the last states out of it," predicts Aloe. "I believe the pendulum always swings back unless we go into a full-blown depression. Not since the Great Depression have so many homebuilders been so anxious to get rid of their inventory and offered homes at such low profits. On the other hand, homeowners trying to sell their homes are also nervous about getting their price." Aloe says this is the best time to buy a house because inter– ests are at a 25-year low. "But there is a problem with confi– dence," he adds. "People worry about losing their jobs and the uncertainty of the whole economic climate. There is no urgency to buy. People say, 'What if I get laid off?"' As the number of unemployed Americans rose to almost 10 million in late 1992, the possibility of layoffs became increas– ingly real to many Californians, who once felt themselves in recession-proof positions. Fowlkes' career center deals with dislocated workers every day. Many of the out-of-work clients were once middle-man-

dropped to 4 7th among the 50 states in class size and in the bottom third of per-pupil expenditures, says USD Dean of Education Ed DeRoche. DeRoche blames demographics, economics and politics for the declining state education system, adding that the state needs to build a new school every day-at an annual cost of $1 bil– lion-just to keep up with the number of new students. It's a big price tag, especially when you consider there is a $10 bil– lion backlog of school funding requests already on file. Economically, the schools have been hit hard over the past year, with a 7 percent budget cut in addition to a 5 percent inflation rate-making for a 12 percent reduction overall. DeRoche says the average teacher chips in about $200 a year just to buy supplies for the classroom. And the California State Lottery, which apportions a per– centage of its earnings to the public schools, hasn't proved to be the financial savior it was once touted to be. DeRoche says only 3.5 cents out of every dollar spent on the lottery goes to education. Politically, DeRoche lays the blame for the declining educa– tion system on Propositions 13 and 98, which shifted the fund– ing for education away from local school districts to Sacramento, and prohibited local school districts from levying taxes. Every school in the state is clamoring for its share of the 42 percent of the state budget automatically set aside for grades K-12.

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