CSU CAMPUS MAY BE NAMED FOR CHANNEL ISLANDS.

Byline: Associated Press 

Supporters of a new California State University campus in Ventura County aren't letting the map stop them from naming it after a place where it isn't.

It's set to be built on unincorporated land near Camarillo, but naming it after that city would result in a second ``CSUC'' campus. There's already a Cal State campus in Chico.

And naming the new campus for the nearby city of Ventura might have set off an intercity quarrel.

``Camarillo would have gotten its nose out of joint, and so would have Oxnard,'' said Carolyn Leavens, who leads a group of university advisers.

Naming it Cal State Oxnard didn't get many votes, anyway. After all, Oxnard had once been the butt of Johnny Carson jokes.

The panel suggested that the chancellor use a variation of either Channel Islands or Ventura County in the name.

Cal State Chancellor Barry Munitz recommended Thursday ``California State University, Channel Islands,'' after the string of islands off the coast.

``It seems to be the name of choice,'' said J. Handel Evans, acting president of the future campus. ``It represents the region and reflects the pride that people have in the Channel Islands.''

Trustees of the Cal State University system, based in Long Beach, will make the final determination next week.

Leavens favored Channel Islands State University, making an acronym ``CISU,'' rhyming with ``Kiss you.''

``I think Handel felt it was a little bit much,'' Leavens said.

Instead, the most-favored name ended up as California State University, Channel Islands, or ``CSU-CI.''

The idea for the name came from David Andersen, an English professor at Cal State Northridge, which is actually in Northridge.

Richard Henry Dana wrote about sailing in the Channel Islands area in his famous book ``Two Years Before the Mast.'' Andersen is a sailing enthusiast who has mentioned that book in his own writings.

``The islands have the greatest appeal - not naming it for some particular city,'' Andersen said.

The group took a cue from Seaside, where the most recently opened Cal State campus was named for a geographical wonder rather than a city. California State University, Monterey Bay, opened last fall on the old Fort Ord Army base at Seaside.

In Ventura County, Evans is keeping a close eye on the fate of Camarillo State Hospital, which Gov. Pete Wilson wants to close because of high operating costs. If it closed, its 750 acres and campus-like cluster of 85 buildings south of Camarillo would be up for grabs and might be a lower-cost alternative for a new university campus.

Officials estimate it would cost $700 million to develop a campus on a 260-acre parcel of farmland recently bought by CSU at Camarillo.

Both the farmland and the hospital, about 65 miles northwest of Los Angeles, have partial views of Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands in the Channel Islands chain.