Csu

As chairman of the governing board of the California State University system, Herbert L. Carter has positioned himself as a consensus builder at a time when the system has been battered as never before by budget cuts, student protests and discord over salary and hiring policies. The former president of the United Way and chairman of the Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations has spent decades attempting to forge compromise with differing factions. But now he is struggling to bridge the gap between Republicans and Democrats in the state Legislature to win a second term on the Board of Trustees.

A hush came over the fraternity men as Jerry Prieto stood up. "You're all potential rapists," he told the 40 students, most of them in shirts and ties, gathered behind closed doors in the Student Union at Cal State Long Beach. For the next two hours Prieto, a sergeant on the campus police force, lectured the young men in forceful and graphic language on the sexual dos and don'ts of dating.

Cal State's crunch Re " CSU to freeze spring student rosters ," March 20 My daughter just graduated from Cal State Fullerton. My brother, two sisters-in-law, husband and I are all products of the Cal State system - Fullerton, Long Beach, Northridge, San Diego and Cal Poly Pomona, with a combination of five undergraduate degrees and three master's degrees. I'm sure that my family echoes that of many middle-class Californians. Education is paramount to the success of the state and the nation.

Even a large pay raise for a college president is unlikely to have a noticeable impact on daily campus life. It wouldn't require an increase in student fees or lead to a significant reduction in the number of courses being offered. But that doesn't mean presidential pay at California State University is unimportant; a commitment to shared sacrifice is necessary to help everyone power through tough times. Four months after adopting a controversial policy that allowed new campus presidents a 10% pay increase over what their predecessors had earned, Cal State's compensation committee will try again on Tuesday.

If the Navy base at Point Mugu is closed, surely that would be a preferable site for California State University, Channel Islands (CSU-CI, pronounced Susie) than Camarillo. Today's resources for education are severely strapped. Look at how often the Ventura College District has had to revise its budget downward. But Point Mugu already has buildings for classrooms, offices, gymnasia, library, etc. It has ample parking and a beautiful location that will rival that of UC Santa Barbara.

Being accountable to the public is a responsibility the California State University takes very seriously ("Measuring the Universities," editorial, Jan. 6). The state invests in the CSU to prepare well-rounded graduates who contribute to the quality of life in California, and state leaders are right to ask us how well we are doing. That is one reason the CSU developed Cornerstones--the system-wide planning framework with an accountability process created through a collaborative effort that included participation from every CSU constituency.

Re "Running the Business of Knowledge," April 4. CSU Chancellor Charles Reed and the trustees have tremendous respect for the CSU Northridge faculty and the faculty throughout the system. We fully understand the faculty are directly responsible for the success of our students and we appreciate their strong commitment to the university. It is important the faculty understand that our respect for them is not diminished by our decision to seek greater accountability through performance pay. While no system is perfect, the CSU merit plan is modeled after pay for performance systems already in use at comparable institutions such as Arizona State and Wayne State universities.