PCC Courier, January 15, 1982

VOL. 52. NO. 18 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE. PASADENA. CALIFORNIA JANUARY 15. 1982 Registration officially began at 1 p.m. on Jan. 4, but students with priority numbers for the 1 p.m.-l:30 p.m. slot weren’t allowed to register until 1:20 p.m. As the day progressed, the system fell farther and farther behind. By 5:30 p.m., the system was backed up between one-and-one-half to three hours. Despite this backup, 961 students registered that first day. College of¬ ficials had expected to process 1,000 students so they didn’t fall too far behind their expectations. One of the problems with the process was that students had to pick up their permit to register and have it signed by a counselor before they could register. To handle this process, special counsel¬ ors were set up in Sexson Audotorium to sign schedules. In order to control student crowding, security blocked all but one door to D Building. They also totally closed D Building at 6 p.m. Students who were supposed to register that first day after that time had to come back the next day. Too Many Students Counselor Harry Kawahara noted that this new system of registration was not well prepared. “The commit¬ tee and I should have realized that 100 students were too high a number to get through in an hour. That would be about a minute to every student, leaving no time for any of the problems that could arise. In the one minute, students were to have a counselor sign an approval of classes, make sure classes were not closed, compute their classes, and pay any fees, such as health, labs and parking permits.” One thing that was supposed to help registration flow smoother was the newly purchased terminal system com¬ prised of 10 computers, 60 terminals, printers, and dragging cables. There are seven different types of computers. The whole system cost approximately $360,000. Robert Burns, head of the Purchas¬ ing department commented, “The ter¬ minal system is too new to be eval¬ uated, but its reliability has been good in the past few days.” The new system was not intended to be used for spring registration, but was accelerated be¬ cause of malfunctions in the older computers. Some Progress As the days progressed, the registra¬ tion times moved quicker. On the sec¬ ond day, 1,471 students registered. The third day total was 1,690. At the end of the fourth day, 5,301 students had com¬ pleted registration. Because students were assigned reg¬ istration numbers haphazardly, many students had classes that conflicted with their priority times. Thus some students missed classes in order to register. When Ernest F. Neumann, dean of Admissions and Records, was asked how he felt about students miss¬ ing classes in order to obtain a priority ticket and schedule classes, he replied that students who wanted to learn would not get in line. But many students who needed classes to graduate or just wanted to get into certain time slots did miss classes. Even with missing classes, some students didn’t get in the classes they wanted. Many classes closed early that first week of registration. Many transfer courses such as certain Eng¬ lish 1A courses and all of the afternoon Biology 11 labs had already closed before Friday of the first week of registration. This meant that many students had to change their schedules which took up more time. Students who lost their priority cards could not register until Jan. 14. Also if the priority card was altered or de¬ faced in any way students had to wait until Jan. 14 to register. Some Suggestions After a student has registered, courses cannot be added or dropped until Feb. 1. If you haven’t registered yet you have until Feb. 12. For those of you who haven’t regis¬ tered yet you should remember that you have to pick up your permit to register from your counseling office and have it signed by a counselor ШШШШ before getting in line in the D Building to register. Also if there are any fees that you have to pay when registering, the money will be collected by the computer programmers who do your final registration so bring money or a check and proper identification. As mentioned before, many classes have closed already so if you haven't registered you better take a look at the list of closed classed in the D Building before you make out your schedule. Some form of priority registration system may be used next semester. The Registration Committee is cur¬ rently trying to formulate a new sys¬ tem for next fall. Before the priority system was actually carried out, Dean Neumann stated, “The priority system is necessary, mandatory and will be successful." REGISTRATION'S MANY FACES — Standing in lines and facing the frustration of closed classes was just part of the agony of that first week of registration. Most students were thrilled to finally see those computer terminals. — Courier photos by Tina Andris and courtesy The Lancer Look V -- By Kelly Nakano Contributing Writer The video games and pinball ma¬ chines in our cafeteria, were not put there simply to amuse bored scholars or even to annoy the indoor lunch crowd. Rather, these games mean more to PCC students than meets the eye. As each quarter is plunked into the animated “Crazy Kong” game or a pinball machine, something worthwhile has taken place. What’s so worthwhile about it? Half of the money that is made by the games goes to the PCC Student Book Loan Fund. Interested students can receive a book loan of up to $50 each semester. The nice thing about this loan is that any student is eligible. (Part-time and full-time students alike, and it doesn’t matter what the student’s financial condition is.) In fact, students that don’t qualify for other school loans usually turn to the interest-free book loan. Up until the new year, the Office of Student Activities was in charge of these loans. No Simple Fund-raiser This fall they loaned out $5,000 or the equivalent of 100 students getting loans of up to $50 each. In the spring of 1981, they gave loans to 126 students and in the fall of 1980, 70 students received loans. When PCC Student Trustee Joe Krovoza was asked what he thought about the book loans, he said, “It’s very helpful to the students who need such a loan. I support it all the way.” PINBALL MADNESS— Not only wit sharpeners. PCC video machines are money-makers for the student book loan program. The student book loan fund has been so successful, that it has been dele¬ gated to the Financial Aid office to control. With an average worth of $1,000 a month, it’s no simple fund-raiser. For example, from mid-summer in 1981 until January 1982, these games col¬ lected $5,390.50. All profits go toward the book loan fund. Not only are the games great money¬ makers, they challenge students’ minds. A commissioner on ASB, Carol Con¬ over, said, “They’re good because they sharpen your eye-hand coordination.” And when asked how they contribute to the school atmosphere she replied, “I see them as a sort of I.Q. test. They sharpen your wits.” Even the adults on campus had good things to say about the video and pinball games. Addicting Effect To add to their support, A1 Kauti, dean of Student Activities, says that even though he hasn’t played any of the games himself, “The students need programs to raise money, and the student book loan money is available and only for that reason.” Of course, all things have their set¬ backs. Aside from being entertaining and a good way to pass time between classes, these games (video in particu¬ lar) can have an addicting effect. Don Appleby, a PCC student, very candidly admitted that there have been times when, “I was so caught up in a game that I missed my bus. So, I continued playing until the next bus arrived.” He then decided that he needed to “cut back” on his playing. Although there have been a few complaints about the games, according to Dean Kauti, “there have been more complaints about the noise of the TV in the cafeteria,” than about the games. Rarely are there any complaints about the condition of the machines, said Student Activities Adviser Jen¬ nifer McKinney. To add to that, the games are owned by J & A Enterprises, whose owners split the profits with PCC 50-50. McKin¬ ney, who was in charge of these profits until 1982 said, “As far as being a money raiser, I’m glad to see that it’s directly benefiting the students.” Also, “Provided the funds are available, no student is denied a book loan.” Board Protests Local Restaurant's Request for Beer & Wine License By Julien Orow Editor-in-Chief The PCC Board of Trustees is protesting an application for a beer and wine license by a nearby restaurant. Jack’s, located at 661 E. Colorado Blvd., officially notified the college of its intentions at the Jan. 7 Board meeting. After discussing the issue the Board decided to enter a protest with the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) officials. In March 1977 the Board protested, and lost, a similar case with the Pizza Factory, located directly across from PCC. Anyone applying for a beer and wine license must notify all neighbors within 600 feet of their business. If any of the neighbors object they must file a protest with the ABC. However, prox¬ imity alone isn’t reason to deny the request. According to Vickie Welch, the ABC investigator handling the case, the Pasadena Police Department (PPD) had also protested the license, but with the understanding that the protest would be withdrawn if Jack’s were to agree to its requests. Some Stipulations The five stipulations were that Jack’s would have no off-sale privi¬ leges, meaning that all beer and wine must be consumed on the premises, that there be no permanent bar fixture, that beer and wine only be served in conjunction with food service, that there be no entertainment, and lastly, that they only be allowed to serve between the hours of 3 p.m. and 2 a.m. Jack’s has agreed to all of these and the PPD protest was dropped. Dr. Richard S. Meyers, PCC super¬ intendent-president, said that PCC is protesting for several reasons. The Board feels that the foot traffic on Sierra Bonita, a narrow street to begin with, would become even heavier. The Board also feels that automobile traffic would increase, interferring with the college parking lot in that immediate area. Meyers feels this is different than when the Pizza Factory applied for the same license. The Board considers Jack’s a part of the campus since it is both close and on the same side of the street. According to Mrs. Welch the ABC particularly looks for past alcohol prob¬ lems in evaluating a request for a license. The Pizza Factory request was approved because the ABC was “un¬ able to relate any alcoholic beverage control problems” to the area. In a letter sent to the ABC at that time by past superintendent-president Dr. E. Howard Floyd, he protested that having alcoholic beverages so close wouldn’t enhance learning. He also expressed fears that students would spend money on beer and wine instead of school related items. No Problems Adrian Joseph Tress, manager of the Pizza Factory, insists there have never been any problems in his establish¬ ment. “To me, if you run the place right and it’s across from the college, it makes the college look good and it makes us look good,” he said. Tress estimated that in an average week they sell six kegs of beer and eight gallons of wine. According to him, most people don’t start buying alcohol until around 6 p.m. Meyers believes that Jack’s will probably get the license, despite the Board’s protests. “I would hope they wouldn’t do it, but I think they will do it,” he said. But Mrs. Welch, who will personally examine all evidence, doesn’t want to make any guesses yet about the out¬ come, since the decision may be as far as six months away. “It’s impossible to say whether the license will be ap¬ proved or denied at this point.” FINALS ALREADY?!?!? — See schedule on page 6. Income From PCC Pinball Machines • Helps Eligible Students Buy Books Registration System Works Despite Bugs