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May 1, 2000

Happy campers	Beyond recreation
RTC saves the Bay	War of words
Alumnus makes history	Professor not included

Happy campers

For a March 10 story on the rigors of being a camp counselor, the San Francisco Examiner turned to SF State recreation and leisure studies professor Bill Michaelis , who emphasized the complexities of the job. "Generally the camp counseling position is incredibly underrated," he said. "The key is really caring about kids, but also realizing that it is going to be a very demanding and intense kind of experience, as well as a very rewarding a nd joyous one."

In a March 16 story, the San Francisco Chronicle profiled the Chinatown Badminton Club, which, as its members grew older, became a ballroom dance association. SF State assistant professor of kinesiology Susan Zieff, who studies the connection between cultural identity and physical activity, produced a video on the club. "One thing I found very interesting is that the club, from its inception, was open to everybody," said Zieff. "They had a mixed membership even from the '30s, even though there were rules on the books in the state of California that prevented all kinds of different interaction between members of different races."

In an April 17 article, the Marin Independent Journal reported on RTC's involvement in the proposal to designate the San Francisco Bay as a federal research reserve. Alissa Arp, director of SF State's Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, communicated the importance of the designation: "The research and education components of the program will enhance our ability to communicate scientific findings and insights about the region to policy makers and the general public, all of whom ultimately determine the bay's future."

The March 18 edition of the Sacramento Bee quoted John Burks, acting chair of the Journalism Department at SF State, in an article on the challenges Ted Fang, current publisher of the San Francisco Independent, will face if his deal to buy the San Francisco Examiner goes through. "Imagine how difficult it will be to go to war with the Chronicle," Burks said. "We're not talking about just hiring an editor and a report er and photographer. We're talking about the whole dang thing."

The San Francisco Chronicle reported March 23 on the largest donation ever given to SF State. Robert P. Pasker and his wife Laurie Pitman, founders of the technology firm WebLogic Inc., gave the University's History Department $2.4 million. Pasker received his bachelor's degree in history from San Francisco State in 1993. One million dollars of the gift is earmarked for an endowed chair in constitutional and legal history that will be named in honor of Pasker's parents, Jamie and Phyllis Pasker.

"Chemistry sets have gotten kind of boring lately," lamented Peter Palmer, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at SF State, in a March 27 story in the San Francisco Chronicle. The Chronicle reported on how chemistry sets have changed since the '50s and tested the latest offerings with the help of local middle school kids. On board to help with the testing process was Eugene Fujinari, K-12 liaison for the College of Science and Engineering at SF State, who--armed with some Alka-Seltzer, a pair of rubber gloves and a glass bottle--out-shined the packaged chemistry sets, much to the delight of the seventh and eighth graders who participated in the showdown.

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