PCC Courier, December 12, 1975

ССР 1 Assists New Students The development and im¬ plementation of the College and Career Planning (CCPI) course, designed to facilitate new students’ orientation to PCC and provide vocational guidance was hailed as successful by faculty members during a special meeting last Friday. However, numerous modifica¬ tions of the course are under con¬ sideration. Attended by those instructors who participated in the course, the meeting served as a forum at which student evaluations of the CCPI classes could be discussed. The evaluations revealed that many students believe the course should be shortened in duration or dropped altogether, and that some of the video¬ tapes utilized were dull and uninter¬ esting. But students, the evaluations also showed, were very satisfied with certain aspects of the course, such as study skills evaluation and the appear¬ ance of guest speakers. Dr. Stanley E. Gunstream, vice- president for instruction and con¬ tinuing education, who presided over the session, invited the faculty DR. STANLEY GUNSTREAM members to offer their opinions as to the positive and negative aspects of the course. The nine-hour courses were offered in several arrangements, and one of those, the one-hour, one-day per week classes, came under criticism by teachers who participated in them, instructors agreed that the sessions were too far apart. The instructors concurred with the students that videotapes created hassles, particularly when the classes had to move to rooms where television receivers were available. Several instructors noted that while many students performed well on reading assessment examinations, many others failed to attend class on the day the tests were administered. The instructors theorized that many students, inaccurately fearing that if they scored low in the tests they would have been placed in remedial reading classes, avoided the exams altogether. The course was required for all full¬ time freshmen under 21 years of age, but was open to all incoming students. But instructors noted they saw few older students in their classes. Dr. Gunstream said that the class “would be good for people who had been away from school for awhile.” The committee agreed that more homogenous groups of students within each class would have facilitated the task of the instructors. This belief was re-enforced by Dr. Carol Kipps, Faculty Senate president, who noted that many of her students concen¬ trating in vocational areas, such as auto mechanics and nursing, had more defined goals and were not in need of career planning. One suggestion by Dr. Gunstream was that the courses be administered in high school or at least in the summer preceding the fall semester. “We really ought to get the class to the stu¬ dents before they even take a class here,” he said. The instructors also agreed that the course syllabus should contain a section devoted to writing a term paper. Weighing the comments from both students and instructors, the com¬ mittee determined that the CCPI course will continue next semester, possibly with some of the recom¬ mendations implemented. “I think we fulfilled a need,” said communication instructor Anthony Georgilas. Dr. Gunstream also said that, despite the thoroughness of the evalua¬ tion, no exact conclusions should be drawn from the evaluations. “We need to adjust our evaluation and have to be careful to interpret the student response,” he added. The evaluations were compiled by and interpreted during the meeting by Dr. Bruce Conklin, dean of institu¬ tional research. MIDDAY MUSIC— Students listen to the music of Jesse James Church III and the Reveren Angels during the Tuesday noon break. Unusually high December temperatures brought listeners out into —Courier photo by Chris Nyerges the sunshine dreaming of past summer glories while the thought of only 11 shopping days ’til Christmas eluded everyone under the sun. VUUllEl VOL. 40, NO. 12 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA DECEMBER 12, 1975' Handicapped Club Seeks Improved Transportation By Chris Sutton Staff Writer A questionnaire will be sent to Pasadena area members of the California Association of the Physically Handicapped to find out why only eight to 10 people attend the chapter’s meetings. At the December gathering, the third this fall, club president pro tempore Bill Fornaciari and member Chuck Havard said that members need Sale of Parking Permits New Plan Ends Early Morning Vigil Enacting his “change for the better” policy, PCC Security Chief Ralph Riddle has formulated, in conjunction with the Student Parking Committee, what he believes is a viable solution to one aspect of the PCC parking problem. “We re trying to find an easier way to give students parking permits,” says Riddle, “without subjecting them to standing in line Sometimes, people have had to wait at night, when it’s cold and dark. We’re trying to stop that.” The plan is to have students mail self-addressed, stamped envelopes to the Security and Parking office. The receipt of such an envelope will serve as indication that a parking permit request form is desired. The first 2200 students whose en¬ velopes are received will be sent the necessary forms. Once students have the forms, the students may drop them off at the Security office at their convenience. Following those 2200 students, the next 500 will be placed on a waiting list. ASB Senate Decides Shuttle Bus Increase The ASB Parking and Tran¬ sportation Committee decided to raise the shuttle bus fare to 15 cents to alleviate some of the $1500 deficit the system is operating under, announced Bob Komoto, committee head at Tuesday’s meeting. The Senate will also be circulating a CHRISTMAS DANCE The 11-member band, Red Ball Jett, provides the sounds tonight during the International Club Christmas Dance from 8 to midnight in the Campus Center. Featuring five women vocalists, the band will ring in the holiday spirit during this last campus dance before the Christmas break. Advance tickets can be pur¬ chased for $1.50 in C121 all day today. Tickets at the door are $1 for club members and $2 for all others. petition to be presented to the Board of Trustees the day before the shuttle bus cutoff day, December 19. The petition encourages new parking in areas of Santa Anita Fashion Park and Altadena. It is hoped that the petition will favorably influence the board in any decision it makes on the system. The Senate voted unofficially to support the shuttle bus system. The vote had to be taken unofficially because there were not enough senators present to have a quorum. Senate President Jerome Spears gave a report on the possibility of giving college credit to senators and having the fact that they served on the Senate noted on their transcripts. A move was also made to revise the Student Handbook. Tim Fuller, Senate historian, said that the handbook is out of date and therefore contains many errors. Requests will not be accepted before today or after next Tuesday. Over the counter requests will not be honored. Requests of more than one per student will also not be honored. The Security office is asking students not to send money. Those whose requests were not accepted will be notified. Night and physically handicapped students, those wishing to purchase a motorcycle permit or students with Tuesday-Thursday classes need not send in a request. Those students may purchase their permits over the counter. Rates are: students with Tuesday-Thursday classes only, $10; motorcycles $4; and handicapped students are to pay regular rates, but no request is necessary ; night students $5. Regular rates are $20. All fees are per semester. Summer session parking is free. Requests are processed on a first come, first served basis only. All Lecture on Alcoholism “Specialized Services in the Com¬ munity” is the topic of the fourteenth and last of the alcohol lecture series at PCC, slated for Tuesday at 7 : 30 p.m . in Harbeson Hall. Representatives from treatment centers and hospitals in Pasadena, Glendale and El Monte are scheduled to discuss their rehabilitative and pre¬ ventative services. There is no admission charge and the program is open to the entire community. requests will be date and time- stamped as received. The Security office will not be responsible for appli¬ cations that are lost or delayed in the mail. “What we’re doing next semester is a lot like the issuance of Rose Bowl tickets,” said Riddle. to attend so that the club’s goals can be fulfilled. “Last spring we had a lot of people and a lot of enthusiasm,” says Havard, “and we want to find out if enough people are still interested, and if not, what would make them interested.” The club’s goals, according to Havard, are to improve living standards for people with disabilities by making their needs known to the government, business and the public at large. Fornaciari wondered whether the lack of public transportation available to people in wheelchairs contributed to the low turnout. He also said that the programs designed by the federal Urban Mass Transportation Adminis¬ tration (UMTA) and the Rapid Transit District (RTD) to develop transpor¬ tation for people with disabilities are slow in coming. They set up un¬ necessary hurdles to involvement of people with disabilities. “In order to purchase a reduced fare pass or just be counted in the statistical data base, applicants must have a doctor's certification or other legal verification. They must then sign the application ‘under penalty of perjury’ before they send it to the RTD,” says Fornaciari. He also claims that the information requested by the RTD is not sufficient for them to determine the need for specially- constructed buses in particular areas. “The main point is that the com¬ plexity of the forms will discourage participation by people with disabilities, perhaps giving the RTD a false count.” Both Havard and For¬ naciari state that the information needed by the RTD to determine priorities for wheelchair-accessible buses is available through state and county agencies. Foundation Seeks Low-Income Students for Scholarship Loans The $1000 Iola Lovas Foundation Scholarship seeks eligible students, who by limited economic means and high ideals want to attend a four-year college. The PCC Financial Aids office will nominate students for the scholarship loan provided by the Iola Lovas Foundation. Students applying for the loan must come from a low income family. Their income must be such that without the loan they would be unable to pursue a higher education beyond junior college level. The applicant must be in the upper third of his class at the time of selection and have demonstrated leadership qualities throughout his high school and junior college years. The scholarship consists of a $1000 interest-free loan for two or three consecutive years that is needed to complete a course of study. The student must maintain good academic standing in the college or university he chooses. The student nominated from PCC will receive a questionnaire to be filled out and returned to the foundation. He may be interviewed by one of the trustees of the foundation. The Board of Trustees of the Iola Lovas Founda¬ tion will select the winner on data received from the Financial Aids of¬ fice. Students who believe they meet the qualifications and who are interested in applying for the scholarship loan should pick up an application from the Financial Aids office in C236. All appli¬ cations should be filled out and returned to the Financial Aids office no later than Monday. These scholarships in the past were awarded to high schqol seniors. The Board of Trustees of the Iola Lovas Foundation, however, thought it would be more rewarding and suitable to select from a more mature group oi* students. The award was then changed so that community college students could apply. Host of The Ashman File Plans Talk Next Friday Radio and television talk show host, Charles Ashman, will be coming to campus next Friday to talk with journalism students from noon to 1 p.m. in R122. Ashman is host of KTTV’s “The Ash¬ man File” and is heard on Sundays on KABC. He is author of “Kissinger: The Action, Agility Involved PCC Fire Suppression Course Offers Field Experience TRYING IT FOR SIZE— PCC students John Claherty (left) and Scott Brogden put on oxygen —Courier Photo by Bruce Archie masks worn by fire fighters in the tire science class. . . Introduction to Fire Sup¬ pression” is being taught first hand to PCC students by fireman Carl Marckman at the Pasadena Fire Department. Everything from fire prevention to first aid is taught on campus and at local fire stations. The course which meets on Thursdays and Fridays not only teaches the latest techniques in fire fighting, it gives an overview of the whole fire suppression field. To do this, the historical background of fire fighting techniques is covered— from Roman times through the famous Chicago fire to the San Francisco earthquake to fires at the turn of the century. As a matter of fact, National Fire Prevention Week is celebrated in the second week of October, the anniversary of the great Chicago fire caused by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicking over a kerosene lamp on October 8, 1871. That holocaust resulted in 250 deaths, $196 million in property loss and 90,000 people homeless. Marckman stated that the course is usually closed the first day of classes due to heavy enrollment. However, the dropout rate tends to be high as students begin to learn what fire suppression involves. First of all, he said, fire deaths and injuries by fire involve 12,000 firemen annually. That’s more than two to one for any other single cause. He stated that injuries and deaths of fire fighters receive very little publicity compared to law enfocement casualties. He con¬ jectured that perhaps the lack of criminal involvement is a factor in this. Once these statistics are revealed to a new class, he said, the dropouts increase. Most of the people originally enroll in the class be¬ cause they have relatives in fire fighting. Some are there because they believe that fire fighters have an easy job and still others enroll out of curiosity. This class has a lab as well as a lecture. On Fridays from 2 to 5 p.m. the class meets at the El Monte Fire Station. Battalion Chief Jack Denning, Chief Les George and Chief Vic Stevens introduce the class to the handling of fire fighting equipment. Continued on Page Six Adventures of Super-Kraut,” “Mar¬ tha: The Mouth that Roared,” “The Finest Judges That Money Can Buy” and “Connally : The Adventures of Big Bad John.” His latest book is “The CIA-Mafia Link.” Digging out a story is the topic he will be discussing. He has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his investigative coverage of the Jimmy Hoffa case. In addition to hosting “The Ashman File,” he has also served as news director at KPLR-TV in St. Louis. Ash¬ man has appeared on “The Today Show,” “Dick Cavett,” “Mike Douglas” and syndicated radio and television shows throughout the country. CHARLES ASHMAN . . visiting journalist