PCC Courier, April 14, 1978

FSB Opposes New Videotape Policy By Glenda Cade Assistant News Editor Debate continues between the Faculty Senate Board and the admin¬ istration over the use of videotapes taken from broadcast TV for playback in the classroom. Chrystal Watson, FSB president, said the school’s new tape policy was “initiated with apparently no legal advice” for fear of a lawsuit. The FSB reiterated at a special meeting recently its request the school resume taping of TV programs for future viewing in classrooms. The new policy states programs on commercial channels shall not be recorded while programs on PBS channels may be recorded and held for a maximum of 10 days, after which they will be erased. Exceptions may be granted if written permission is ob¬ tained from the copyright holder. Dr. David Ledbetter, dean of in¬ structional services, conceded the county counsel “didn’t say much about it,” let alone give a legal opinion. However, the county superin¬ tendent’s office, which has “resear¬ ched this extensively,” advised the school not to use the videotapes, he said. Stephen Reichert, professor of social sciences, who maintains the copyright law supporting the FSB’s position, termed that a “vague appeal to authority.” In conjunction with an FSB ad hoc committee, Reichert prepared a study No Loss of Veterans' Funds Seen Veterans’ programs will not suffer from the loss of state funds based on average daily attendance (ADA), al¬ though other programs such as student services and extended day programs may be in for belt-tightening, ac¬ cording to Dean of Registration Erdley Beauchamp. Beauchamp’s office, like others at PCC, is looking for ways to cut costs. “Our costs are fairly high for part- time help called in during periods of heavy registration,” he said. “We’re looking at methods where we may have to reduce services to the student.” Beauchamp added that he believed it is a “very real possibility” that a drastic cut in funding from the state would result in a reduction of ad¬ ministrative staff on a ratio similar to that projected for faculty cuts. This would mean a combining of jobs and departments under fewer people. of a new copyright law and its effect on the Fair Use Doctrine, which covers the educational use of videotapes taken off the air for playback in the classroom. The new law is “not one whit” dif¬ ferent from the old law, Reichert said. “If there were any cases to the con¬ trary, somebody (a producer or a film house) would have already brought it to our attention.” Dr. Harold E. Salisbury, acting chairman of academic productions, conceded the new law “does not significantly change anything at all.” But the issue should be considered from a professional and ethical stand¬ point, he said. Ledbetter agreed there had been no change in the law, but maintained the use of such videotapes was an “ethical area.” Independent producers have made “a lot of noise” over that use, he continued. Those complaints plus the advice of the county superintendent’s office “stimulated our action,” he said. Since the middle of last year, the instructional services staff erased 70 tapes and locked up the remainder. Many of the erased tapes were “classics and irreplaceable,” said Reichert. The action especially hit hard in the English and Social Science departments, which use such tapes in the instructional program. Although the school did not get legal advice before instituting the new tape policy, it does not want to “change right back” until it gets a “clearance” from the county counsel, Dr. E. Howard Floyd, superintendent-presi¬ dent, informed the FSB. That seems to be the greatest dif¬ ference of opinion between the FSB and the administration. Joseph Probst, instructor of communication, said the school had presented no “overwhelm¬ ing evidence” to indicate there had been a need for change in the first place. “I hate to see a change just on potentiality or worries of something that may come in the future (law¬ suits),” he said. Reichert maintained the “ordinary person” follows the law as it is until it is clearly against him. He does not “cease and desist a legitimate educa¬ tional activity” until somebody in authority says don’t do it. “It’s our duty to adopt that principle,” he said. Further, it is doubtful a legal opinion can be given, he pointed out. The county counsel can give “spiritual counseling,” but that is all, because there are no previous cases to go on. “Besides, the courts are completely reluctant to rule on the fair use doc¬ trine,” he said. Even so, Dr. Floyd repeated he would seek county counsel opinion before deciding whether or not to start using the tapes again. The “time element” is the problem, according to Dr. Ledbetter. The TV Guide may show a program scheduled in four days, but there is “no way” to write and receive a written answer back prior to the airing date, he said. For that reason, FSB members suggested it would be more advan¬ tageous to resume taping and using the remaining ones. Doris Paulson said the school could at least tape such programs and then hold them until permission was finally obtained. The administration wants to steer clear of an “adversary relationship” with the FSB, Dr. Salisbury said, since they both have a “common goal” of providing the best educational oppor¬ tunities for the students. Sunscreen Keeps Eaters Cool, Dry Students who frequent the trolley -shaped vendor near the southwest corner buildings will not have to stand under rain, sleet, heat or anything other than aluminum awning when patronizing. Canale Foods and the district, who helped install the covering during the spring break, are protecting students from rain-tainted coffee and heat exhaustion by putting up the structure in a “good faith” arrangement. According to A1 Kauti, dean of student activities, Canale has only a 30-day contract which is renewed each month. Putting up the awning adds some permanence to the food vendor. Courier Photo эу Joseph El-Chemaly VOL. 45, NO. 9 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA APRIL 1 4, 1978 AS В Becomes Member of Student Government Organization Paying Jobs Can Bring College Credit to Students College credit for work is possible, and quite a few jobs are available through the Cooperative Education and Placement Department on the PCC campus. Students may work as few as five hours a week up to full time and gain one to four units of credit per semester, Diana Rice, senior clerk in charge of Cooperative Education and Enrollment explained Friday. Blue collar workers and Ph.D.’s are taking advantage of the program , Mrs . Rice stated. Students enroll in the program like any other class. First, they go to their counselor, then to the Cooperative Education Office and fill out an em¬ ployer information form. Students are then assigned Co-op teachers (there are about 70 on campus, and they are in nearly all departments). PCC’s Associated Student Body has joined the California Community College Student Government Association (CCCSGA). The organization takes part in student lobbying in Sacramento, ac¬ cording to Elena Rodriguez, former ASB president. Presently, the CCC¬ SGA is exploring the possibility of pushing through legislation to give students a vote on the Board of Trustees. Most California junior colleges already belong to the CCCSGA, and various conferences are held through¬ out the year. At those meetings, student delegates discuss problems common to all— child care, affirmative action, budgeting and relationships with school administrations. Since PCC’s ASB is joining the organization late in the semester, the membership fee, usually $100, has been prorated to $50, Derek Coleman. ASB vice-president, said recently. “It’s really a worthwhile thing to join,” seems to be the concensus among PCC’s student representatives. ASB NOTES ASB Finance Commissioner Steve Skordiles reported the new budget to the board saying he hopes the ASB keeps to what they’ve budgeted due to the increases and standstills in the accounts. Pat Tinsley, Students Unlimited representative, mentioned that her group had frozen their funds, fearing that the Jarvis-Gann tax initiative will be approved. The ASB Board is trying to sponsor a political forum on campus which would give the candidates running for the 42nd District a chance to present their views to the students. The spiritual concert featuring TWS Productions was postponed since there was not enough advance publicity. Circle К was granted $100 with a stipulation of another $100 on loan for participation in its International Con¬ vention held recently. The conven¬ tion’s purpose is group improvement for activities in the school and com¬ munity. The group, a subsidiary of Kiwanis, has assisted other community groups in helping out the Trask Boy Scout Camp, which was damaged severely by the floods. At their annual blood drive they netted “93 per cent of their 200-pint quota.” Inexpensive Haircuts Available From Cosmetology Department Are you tired of the high price of haircuts? Are you fed up with having to pay $3.50, $4.50 or even $5? If you want your hair styled, do you have to shell out anywhere from $8 to $20? If you are conscious of your wallet, you should consider having your hair done by PCC’s Cosmetology Department. The services offered by cosmetology range from a simple haircut for $2 to a frosting for $10. Other services avail¬ able are rinses, shampoos, tints, manicures. It is recommended that students phone for appointments by calling 578-7300 or 792-8361, or walk in anytime to R402. Geoloqy Museum DispUys Rich DeposiT of Historical Rocks By Mark Watt Staff Writer It is a small, unremarkable room, but it contains the history of the world. It is a colorful history, built from the bright greens, reds, golds and grays of the minerals that fill the glass cases. Rocks are formed by combinations of these various minerals, and as any rdckhound knows, the cultural stereo¬ type that rocks are gray, drab and boring is completely false. The rocks and minerals that fill this room, the PCC Geology Museum, were selected from “between 20 to 30,000 possible specimens,” said Bruce Carter, the PCC geology professor re¬ sponsible for putting most of the items in the museum. “It took about a year and a half to put this museum together. It seemed like I was waist deep in boxes and specimens most of the time,” said Carter. “All in all, the museum probably represents at least a thousand dif¬ ferent mineral types. Most of these are private donations, given to us by groups like the Dana Club or by private individuals,” added Carter. “Some were bought with school funds, but if the Jarvis amendment goes wm — J » .; i 2 Шв * ^ HISTORY’S SHOWCASE— Student Lyn Roberts does some slight the result of approximately a year and a half of construction and adjusting in order to make room for more specimens in one of PCC’s organization and represents more than a thousand different mineral Geology Museum display cabinets. The recently completed facility is types. -courier photo by eiake sen through, there probably won’t be any school money to buy new samples.” The PCC Geology Museum, which opened only recently, is in E120 and is open for viewing by PCC students and the general public. “The main reason for the museum is an educational one. We can take classes down there and see really fine samples and specimens that students can’t see in a lab. In fact, there are a number of special displays designed just for educational purposes,” said Carter. Some of these special displays in¬ clude meteorites, petrified wood and unusual rock shapes. The minerals at the PCC museum, like those at other public and university museums, are all arranged in systematic chemical order. Carter also feels that the museum is good publicity for PCC. “I see the museum as being one of the biggest attractions for the public to come to PCC, outside of a few things . such as the PCC sports program. I’m hoping to have tours of the museum set up for next year, instructional ones for any interested high or grammar schools.” As for the quality of the museum, Carter said that it is high enough to attract another, more expert kind of group. “Our collection is comparatively small, but it is a very good one, and would appeal, I think, to actual amateur and professional minerologists. Some of our specimens are better than some of the same specimens at the L.A. County museums.” Among these, for example, is a Dioptase, a species of bright green crystal growing, in this particular specimen, on white calcite rock. The specimen, mined from a copper mine in Southwest Africa, is worth about a penny as ore. But as a mineral specimen it is worth several hundreds of dollars, along with being one of the finest specimens of its kind anywhere. The specimen was purchased from mineral dealers in Africa. Not all specimens in the museum are purchased or donated from outside sources, however. A species of crystal called Thenardite was collected by PCC geology students on a field trip at Soda Lake, Calif., about 50 miles west of Bakersfield. The students had to dig in the salt beds in order to get the Thenardite crystals that they wanted. This in¬ volved breaking through the six-to- eight-inch concrete-hard salt crust and groping in the wet mud underneath where the Thenardite crystals lay in wait. “You have to feel for the crystals with your bare hands. Some of them are very sharp and you’ll cut yourself. You don’t even feel it until you bring your hands back up and the air hits the salt water in your cuts. Then you really feel it!” When specimens are brought back to FCC they can be cleaned in detergent, given an acid bath to wash away ex¬ cess minerals and separated, by hand, from any other excess particles that may be clinging to it. The specimen is then identified and labeled. Then if it is a fine and original specimen, it is considered for inclusion in the geology museum. “It’s all been kind of a labor of love for me,” said Carter, regarding the museum. “Fortunately, I had the help of student assistants and volunteer assistants in actually putting the museum together.” Barring the unforseen, the museum will be open indefinitely to PCC students and the public. Rock-throwing is strictly prohibited.