I saw a simple but compelling timeline not long ago illustrating oil use and production on earth. Imagine a line with 1 A.D. at one end and 4,000 A.D. at the other. The timeline is bare except for something that looks like a tall, narrow teepee centered on the year 2000. Scientists predict that world peak oil, or the point when we've used about half of available supplies, will be around 2005-2012. After that oil will become increasingly difficult and expensive to get. (Incidently, we reached peak oil in the U.S. in 1970.)
It was eye-opening to see how brief a life petroleum will have in the larger picture of human affairs, when it is so pervasive now. Besides fueling almost all U.S. transport, petroleum is the basis of the huge petrochemical industry that produces everything from my toothbrush to your windbreaker to the sturdy molded plastic jungle gyms of today's playgrounds. It's everywhere, but it's going to be going away.
That's partly why SJSU geology chair Richard Sedlock, titled his talk "Climate Change, Peak Oil, and the End of the World (as we know it)." His recommendation: We must invest a large percentage of our wealth right now in developing alternate energy forms. He thinks wind and solar are the best choices, but they're not ready for prime time and can't as yet fuel transport. His greatest cause for hope? Human ingenuity and technology.
Sedlock was one of 23 faculty presenters at SJSU Homecoming's annual Classes without Quizzes, sponsored by the Alumni Association. It was wonderful to be a student again and I managed to get into several sessions.
Professor Steve Millner, chair of African-American Studies, gave us both current and historical demographics on California. We learned that Los Angeles is now the destination of more immigrants than anywhere else in the U.S. (37,000 annually since 2000). He reminded us too that cultural diversity is not a new thing in California, sharing with us a page from the official Spanish census of 1781, which gives the names, race, sex and age of the first 44 inhabitants of Los Angeles, listing Indians, Spanish, Negroes and Mulattoes.
If you're like me, still something of a student at heart, stay tuned to the offerings of the Alumni Association or check the university calendar. You're likely to learn something, or maybe even better, have things that you fuzzily knew come into sharper focus and broader context
Sylvia Light, Editor
I take issue with the letters in the Fall 2008 Washington Square which criticize the university's decision to suspend blood drives on campus. The writers are misinformed and demonstrate a tragic willingness to discriminate against many of our students.
Many groups of people are at risk of having tainted blood, not just gay men. And a vast number of gay men are not infected, nor have they been exposed to HIV. Why categorically exclude them from the donor pool?
Many young people who are sexually active do not use protection, sadly believing that they are immune to HIV. Young African-American women have an increasingly disproportionate rate of growth of HIV infection -- yet we do not exclude them from the donor pool. Nor should we.
In the early days of the HIV crisis, it was wise to exclude potentially highrisk donors. But today, all collected blood donations are tested prior to being distributed. And the scientific community is becoming more and more sophisticated in its ability to assure that the blood supply is safe from a myriad of contaminates.
Many professional people, including the blood banks, have worked hard to convince the FDA to change what they see as antiquated regulations with little scientific support. They argue for a more reasonable approach to collecting blood, one that could result in greater supplies, which at this time are in short supply.
President Don Kassing took a strong stand when he upheld the anti-discrimination policy of SJSU. I hope his decision helps our students to recognize the importance of their individual and collective ethical responsibilities toward others. May his leadership and guidance inspire our readers to do the same.
Wiggsy Sivertsen, '62 Sociology
Great, relevant article in Fall WSQ (Wired 24/7). I really enjoyed reading it. You have expanded my understanding of millennials.
Mary Jo Gorney-Moreno, SJSU Associate Vice President of Academic Technology
Thank you for your article, "Wired 24/7." It further reinforced my belief that today's students are so wired electronically that they are unable to appreciate the beauty of the real world. I think I will now bike down to the real ocean and tomorrow visit in person with friends.
Harvey Gotliffe, Retired Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications
I found the discussion of "Substance or Surface" in your article "Wired 24/7" very interesting. I am on the board for a group called Global MindShift that is researching how to foster "substance" on the Internet. You might have ideas about this issue and be able to steer us toward other sources that may help us.
Virginia Fitton, '49 Humanities
Your wonderful cover story on Thon Deng, one of the lost boys of Sudan, especially interested me. I work with a group that is supporting the Sudanese refugees and would be grateful if I could get extra copies of the magazine in conjunction with our efforts.
Robert Wood, Professor of Organization and Management
Your article "Thanks for the Memories" on Spartan Stadium caught my eye. I did not realize how new the stadium was when I was there. I was head yell leader for fall '47 and '48. That was when the student body (just 8,000 then) had the privilege of sitting in the 50-yard-line section of the east side and spilled over into the 40-yard-line sections.
I was able to talk the maintenance department into building a platform at the bottom of the seating area so that yell leaders could be seen better and have better contact with the "rooting section." I'm currently leading the yells for the alumni in Section 112 from Row 13, thanks to the courtesy of John Sager, '78.
You publish a great magazine with interesting articles and info.
Go Spartans!
Glenn A. Stewart, '50 Business
More Togo's ConnectionsI was an art major at SJS in 1968 and had taken commercial lettering with a teacher named Roger Condon. He was a great guy and encouraged me to try painting signs for money. He knew I needed a job. I approached the owner (Gordon Reid) of a new sandwich shop close to campus called "Togo's Subs." They had no signs. He hired me to paint a menu and a sandwich on his window. His wife had a fit that I charged him $50. He asked me, "Can I pay you in two installments?" I said sure.
The Togo's sign began my forty-year career as a commercial sign painter and artist.
Frank Howard, '70 Art
We’d like to hear from you. SJSU WSQ welcomes letters to the editor regarding stories in its pages. Letters accepted for publication may be edited for clarity or space and may not necessarily reflect the views of San José State University. Send correspondence to WSQ Editor / SJSU / One Washington Square / San José, CA 95192-0005 or via e-mail.
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