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April 1, 2001

Locked in controversy	Life beneath the ice	Astronomical discoveries	Urban Institute gives kids Head Start	Ex-spy invades campus
Will Census affect race relations?

Locked in controversy

On Feb. 27, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the trend of Afrocentric hairstyles, the designing of which was a bonding act for black women during slavery and is still popular today. Afrocentric hairstyles such as cornrows and dreadlocks are often viewed as militant political statements against American white society, the Chronicle reported. "One of the assumptions white people have about black people is: If you have any appearance equating to black pride, it must mean you're anti-w hite," said Laura Head, professor of black studies.

The March 4 edition of the Los Angeles Times included a report on exploration beneath the two-mile-thick ice of Antarctica's Lake Vostok. For millions of years, the ancient lake under the ice has been untouched. Now, a team of scientists, including SFSU biology Assistant Professor Ed Carpenter of the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, is using radar and other sensors in search of ancient microbial life still surviving in the lake. "The more we look, the more we see that li fe can adapt to more extreme conditions than we ever imagined," Carpenter said. "It makes microbial life on other planets seem a little more plausible."

An article in the March 1 issue of the San Francisco Examiner featured former SFSU physics and astronomy Professor Geoff Marcy. He and his team, including 3-time SFSU alumnus and 1996 alumnus of the year Paul Butler, were the first to discover extra-solar planets while teaching physics and astronomy at SFSU. "San Francisco State supported my work. They helped me personally. As a professor, I got a lot of funds to help my research there," said Marcy, who is now at UC Berkel ey. "Speaking frankly, sometimes the way science is reported gives too much credit to the Harvards and the Princetons. This is a case where I think San Francisco State deserves all the credit."

L.A. Chung's City Stories Column in The Mercury News on Feb. 27 featured San Francisco's expanded Head Start Program, now under the leadership of the San Francisco Urban Institute. Under the new administration, the program has become more stable, cooperative and inclusive with planning. It has also added a number of sites through partnerships with six other child-care programs. Credit for Head Start's vast improvement goes to SFSU special education professor and Head Start Executive Director Jean Van Keulen and Head Start Program Director Greta Yin. "It was always my desire before I leave San Francisco or this field to make changes like this," Yin said.

On March 2, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article about ex-Soviet spy Boris Yuzhin. He was one of three double agents, working for the KGB and CIA, whose cover was blown to the Soviets by Robert Philip Hanssen, an FBI agent recently charged with being a longtime Soviet Spy. David Fischer, SFSU diplomat in residence, occasionally invites his old friend Yuzhin to speak in his intelligence course. Fischer shared an anecdote: "Boris told me that he used to go to Sproul Plaza on t he campus of UC Berkeley, a place where all the students thought (outsiders) were CIA or FBI agents, but never really looked for KGB agents," Fischer said. "At the same time, Boris had access to the Berkeley (library), and he read all sorts of things that were banned in the Soviet Union. He told me, 'I read this stuff, and I realized the system I was working for was corrupt.'"

On March 8, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the dramatic increases of those who identified themselves as Hispanic in the 2000 U.S. Census. The Hispanic population now equals that of African Americans, according to the Census Bureau. Robert C. Smith, SFSU political science professor, expressed his opinions on how these numbers will affect race relations in America. "Even in California, this black-white dynamic still dominates discussions of race, and I don't think these numbers wi ll alter that," he said. "I teach black politics in a class where most students are not black or white, and we argue this issue all the time. I try to reinforce that the race issue is and has always been-and my guess is always will be-a black-white issue."

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