The director of a gang violence project at California StateUniversity Los Angeles was awarded the California Peace Prize Fridayby the California Wellness Foundation.
Gilbert Sanchez was awarded the statewide prize and along a$25,000 grant.
Sanchez was selected for having provided guidance and resourcesfor young people in their communities whose opportunities for successhave been thwarted by violence and poverty.
Sanchez, who initiated the Gang Violence Bridging Project at theEdmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs at CSULA, has beenserving as the project director for nearly six years. With individualcounseling, social support, tutoring and mentoring, the GVBPtranslates research findings about the causes of gang participationinto programs that help young people redefine themselves.
“Many of these kids have grown up seeing their friends gettinghurt or killed,” Sanchez said. “They don’t know how to cope with thefact that they were a victim or a witness to violence. When kids feelsupported instead of judged, they begin to understand the causes oftheir anger and they learn to grieve. Then we expose them todifferent options for moving on.”
Sanchez, a former gang member, said he is rewarded by seeing youthsucceed in finding new sources of identity and self-respect, and insustaining the hope needed to reach new goals. He has motivatedhundreds of gang members to get back into school. Several have madethe dean’s list.
Sanchez makes frequent presentations about the causes of gang andyouth violence to various government and law enforcement agencies.These include instructional presentations to students at highschools, colleges and universities across the United States. He oftentestifies as a gang expert in court and before legislativecommittees. He has served as an advisor to the Office of NationalDrug Control Policy.
Among his numerous awards, Sanchez is the recipient of aCertificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles, presentedby Councilmember Rita Walters, and a Certificate of Recognition fromSenator Richard Polanco.
One of the largest private foundations in the state, TheCalifornia Wellness Foundation has awarded 1,640 grants totalingnearly $260 million since 1992 in support of its mission to improvethe health of the people of California by making grants for healthpromotion, wellness education and disease prevention.
The GVBP was initiated in 1993 to create a bridge of communicationamong youth, parents and service organizations in communities withinthe Greater Los Angeles area. The project’s focus is on thedevelopment of services and policies that emphasize prevention andprovide alternatives for gang members and at-risk youth.
Located on the campus of CSULA since 1987, the Edmund G. “Pat”Brown Institute of Public Affairs is a non-partisan public policycenter focused on community development and youth and familyempowerment primarily in, and for, communities comprising the “new”California.
For more information on The California Wellness Foundation, go tohttp://www.tcwf.org/.
CSULB offers program for ‘expert witnesses’
Expert witnesses play a vital role in the nation’s courtrooms,sharing their expertise in a given area and explaining it in laymen’sterms in an effort to help a jury understand the complexities of acase.
Still, there is more to being an “expert witness” than knowingmore about medicine or psychology than jury members. The fact is manypeople do not know what it actually means to be an expert witness,including some of the so-called experts. Up until now, being anexpert witness has been notable for its “on-the-job training.”
Now there is a new series of classes offered through CaliforniaState University, Long Beach aimed at improving the situation.
The Expert Witness Certification Program was jointly establishedby CSULB’s University College and Extension Services and the ForensicConsultants Association of Orange County, a group founded five yearsago by judges and lawyers concerned about the professional level ofexpert testimony.
Developed by a group of legal, marketing and businessprofessionals, the one-of-a-kind program is designed to raise thelevel of legal awareness, professionalism, credibility and readinessamong expert witnesses.
“We are supplying a basic understanding of law and the crucialrole of the expert,” explained Penni Wells, director of the program.”Expert witnesses can make or break a case. So, it is in everyone’sbest interest that those serving as experts understand clearly theirroles and responsibilities.”
The 10-week program meets one night a week in the Orange Countyoffices of CSULB. The 15 class members in each session review ethics,the law, communication, the liability of experts, testimonypreparation, basic business practices and the marketing of expertwitness services.
The class culminates in a mock trial held in the Orange CountySuperior Courtroom of Judge David McEachen, who refers to theproceedings as “graduation.” This simulation gives participants arealistic peek at what it’s like being on the stand as an expertwitness.
“What we do at the mock trial is have attorneys who practice invarious fields give a direct and cross examination of each expertwitness completing the program,” said McEachen, who noted thatparticipants are given a video-tape of their performance on thestand, which lasts about 30 minutes.
NASA funds hovercraft
for Fresno State
NASA has awarded the College of Engineering and Computer Scienceat California State University, Fresno a two-year $185,000 grant thatwill create a unique partnership with area community colleges andhigh schools and result in the construction of a two-person1,000-pound hovercraft.
Dubbed “Project Explore,” the award was announced Oct. 1 and isamong several given nationwide to educational institutions that aredesignated Hispanic Serving Institutes, said Dr. Satya Mahanty, chairof the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering who wrotethe proposal.
The awards are part of NASA’s efforts to attract minority studentsinto the math, science, engineering, and technology areas throughPartnership Awards for Innovative and Unique Education and Research(PAIUER) grants.
Fresno State students from the Mechanical and IndustrialEngineering department and Professor Walter Mizuno will serve asintegrators for the project. NASA-Dryden Space Research Center willbe overseeing the project status.
Minority students from the university’s MESA Program (Math,Engineering, and Science Achievement) will also participate alongwith students from Fresno City College, Reedley College and ReedleyHigh School.
Mahanty said the primary focus of the grant is for Fresno State todevelop teaching modules in topics such as aerodynamics,aerostructure, power train design, thrusting systems, controls, andtelemetry.
Community college and high school teachers at the participatingsites can use the modules to enhance regular classroom instructionand in the design of the hovercraft. This information can then beshared with other institutions once the project is completed.
Mahanty said Project Explore is a creative opportunity for FresnoState to reach out to local schools with resources that can helpbetter train teachers while also establishing interaction betweenthem and the university’s engineering professors.
Although design specifications will be fine-tuned once thatportion begins in January 2000, initial plans call for the hovercraft- which will be able to negotiate land and water – totravel at 45 mph and have a 500 pound payload capacity.
Each of the participating schools will be assigned to design andbuild a portion of the hovercraft at their respective sites. FresnoState senior mechanical engineering students will serve as theintegrators, Mahanty said, verifying all calculations and ensuringthat the design will be correct.
Participa
nts will communicate in face-to-face meetings but willalso use the Internet/e-mail to provide vital communication links.
The two-year project will include development of pertinentlaboratory experiments and testing procedures including wind tunneltests, flow visualization, laser Doppler anemometry, strain gagetechniques, vehicle propulsion and lift, environment and safety, andapplication of control theory to vehicle systems management.
