PCC Courier, July 17, 1986

Review Commission Offers Proposal By Paul Viktor Grosz Opinion Editor The Commission for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Educa¬ tion has created a draft proposal which will subject the entire Com¬ munity College system to a major facelift. The draft contains over 60 sepa¬ rate recommendations calling for reforms in the existing academic, financial and faculty structures. These alterations represent an at¬ tempt to redefine the role of com¬ munity colleges in the state. At present they are using a model more closely akin to high schools, whereas under the new program they will operate on the college model. The original purpose for com¬ munity colleges in California (and elsewhere) was to serve as an extension for secondary schools. As the state’s population grew more and more ethnically diverse, the original purpose began to un¬ dergo a shifting emphasis, accord¬ ing to the Review Commission. It began to veer away from its main function as a stepping stone for later studies in a four year institu¬ tion and towards the wider and less clearly defined goal of ‘‘ad¬ dressing the needs of its highly diversified student population." The end result of this shift in emphasis was towards vocational, remedial adult basic education and community service and away from the intended priority, transfer ac¬ cess to the University of California (UC) and the California State Uni¬ versity (CSU) systems. The Commission's recommen¬ dation was a re-emphasizing of the transfer function in the 106 various community colleges by strength¬ ening the academic programs to ensure higher levels of success in acheiving a bachelor's degree. Community colleges would maintain their "open door" policy, but students will be counseled and Current probation and dismissal standards will be upgraded. steered toward courses geared to their individual needs and levels of comprehension. In addition, cur¬ rent probation and dismissal stan¬ dards would be upgraded. Further improvements planned for the CC system include: The development of a general core curriculum which will ensure transferability to either the UC and the CSU system, a new “quali¬ fication” system to replace the old “credentialing” system presently in use for hiring teachers. This would include a provision to sub¬ ject both full and part-time in¬ structors to peer reviews. As far as funding the system goes, CC’s get state aid based on the “Average Daily Attendance" system. If the head count begins to fluctuate, so does the funding that the college receives. By switching to full-time enrollment figures, funding will be based on student need and services required. The cost of implementing the proposals, which are expected to take eight to ten years to phase in, has not yet been estimated, athough some of the $21 million budget increase recently approved for community colleges in Califor¬ nia by the legislature and Gov¬ ernor Deukmejian are expected to be tunneled in that direction. “Already, there are individual bills in the legislative process re¬ lated to some aspects of the draft,” said Olga Lara, associate consultant for the Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education. A meeting for final public input on the draft will be held in Sacra¬ mento next week. After dis¬ cussion, the draft will be finalized and sent to legislators for use as a background guide on forming leg¬ islation for improving the com¬ munity college system. The Courier VOL. 63. NO. 2 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA. CALIFOF Drinking and Driving Kills! 1NIA JULY 17. 1986 Renovation Underway By Eric P. Scott Staff Writer A number of PCC maintenance projects will be taking place this summer. The U building, Library and Campus Center are being wa terproofed, the К Building is get¬ ting a new roof, new water lines are being installed in the S Build¬ ing and the campus center is get¬ ting a new dishwasher. Clock and alarm systems are also being re¬ placed throughout the campus. The maintenance projects got under way in late June beginning with the R building’s new “facelift." This summer, two de¬ ferred maintenance projects are being performed to protect PCC’s investment in its five-story center- piece. One involves waterproofing the building’s exteriors and paint¬ ing it with a water sealant. The other project involves replacing the roof. According to Jim Menath, direc¬ tor of facilities for the college. every effort is being made to minimize any inconvenience to the campus community. “We try to work around the educational pro¬ gram,” said Menath. For this reason, most main¬ tenance of this type is done during intersession. This concern applies on a daily basis too — the noisy task of removing the old roof was performed between midnight and 7 a.m. The work has not gone without problems however. Some people felt the initial barricades and bright yellow plastic ribbons proclaiming POLICE BARRIER DO NOT CROSS were too restric¬ tive, particularly when their ac¬ customed parking spaces and ac¬ cess routes disappeared. The ac¬ cess routes and parking spaces were available again in a few days, but enough people failed to respect the remaining boundaries that cadets had to be posted to enforce them. Rumors began circulating about a mysterious vandal who cut rib¬ bons when no one was looking. These barriers are not just to protect students from falling ob¬ jects. Keeping the area free of pedestrian traffic reduces the amount of loose material tracked indoors. This means less work for the custodial staff. Next month the U Building’s steam system will be replaced and a new roof will be put on the west wing of C Building. Several plans on the long-term calendar address energy effi¬ ciency concerns. Many would re¬ ceive DoE funds through the Cali¬ fornia Energy Commission. For example, five buildings will re¬ ceive motion detectors that would turn the lights off if no activity occurs for five minutes. Other projects include a computerized energy management system that would allow centralized control of campus heating and cooling sys¬ tems. The Reflection May Change THOSE WERE THE DAYS — No your eyes are not deceiving you, The Mirror Pools actually had water in them. Repair discussions are expected to be heard by the Board of Trustees in the near future. The Mirror Pools have been a campus landmark for nearly 50 years, and they have faced prob¬ lems nearly their entire existence, including severe leakage which flooded the basement of the E building. Although several at¬ tempts have been made at repair¬ ing the pools, none have been successful and the pools haven’t been filled since the early eighties. At recent meetings, The Board of Trustees has listened to several possible ways of repairing the pools. The most reasonable one suggests a complete facelift in¬ cluding rooting and pruning 16 carob trees, removing 9 existing carob trees, planting 24-30 boxed trees, installation of a deep water¬ ing system and construction of root control walls adjacent to the concrete walls. A recent interim BCD (Beau¬ tification and Campus Develop¬ ment) Committee meeting led to a meeting between architects. The purpose of the architect’s meeting was to discuss and resolve the approach to be taken for repair work on the Mirror Pools. A mutual understanding was reached between the architects. FLYING HIGH — This amazingly life like model is on display at the Cabrillo Marine Museum, located adjacent to the L. A. Harbor in San Pedro. Admission is free and the museum is open from noon to 5 p.m. INSIDE • The decriminalization of drugs? Paul Grosz says yes! Read why in Paul’s provocative piece on the decriminalization of drugs on page 2. • Tired of the beach, bored with amusement parks? John Willis provides a tour of ten different weekend spots in California on page 3. • Walking can keep you in shape! Don’t miss Keith Foster’s interesting story on page 4 about a sport whose time has come. • The Centennial captured on film! Photographer Vern McGuire celebrates Pasadena’s 100th birthday with a beautiful centennial photo essay on page 5. • The tragedy of the homeless affects everyone. Read Catherine Reynolds’ touching story about the plight of Pasadena’s homeless citizens on page 7. • Interested in a trip to Greece, and a chance to earn up to 19 units as well? Jennifer Landis explains how you can visit a land of beauty and culture, and earn units at the same time on page 8.