PCC Courier, June 04, 1992

OPINION FEATURES SPORTS Training Do job training programs produce quality workers ? Page 2 Beauty Cosmetologists do more than cut, curl and polish in their campus salon. Page 5 Versatility Two-sport athlete Edward Hervey looks beyond sports. Page 6 Pasadena City College Pasadena, California Vol. 74 No. 30 "■ COURIER Thursday June 4, 1992 Admissions for summer session suspended early Q Admissions for the summer session were closed more than two weeks early because of an increase in the number of new students and a reduction of 200 classes from last year. By EDWIN FOLVEN Editor-in-Chief Budget constraints and a rising number of new applicants have forced the office of admissions and records to stop accepting new applications for the summer sessions. The deci¬ sion was made last week after offi¬ cials determined that approximately 7,400 new people applied for admis¬ sion to the 8,250 spaces available, in addition to the approximately 6,700 continuing students who signed up through mail-in registration. Signs announcing the decision were posted throughout the build¬ ings on Friday. “There will be a lot of people who won’t get classes,” said Dr. Stuart Wilcox, associate dean of admissions and records. He said that many new students who applied and received specific regis¬ tration times will find that the classes they wantarecompletely filled. “We are hoping people will accept it and show up in the fall.” Wilcox said diminished state funding has caused the college to offer 25 percent fewer classes this summer than during last year’s summer sessions. Approximately 1 1 ,000 people enrolled last summer, more than 3,000 less than this year’s current total. We have been offering more classes than the state will pay for and have been absorbing the cost. The decision will bring the course offer¬ ings in line with what the state will pay for,” said Wilcox. John Rodriguez, head counselor at John Muir High School in Pasad¬ ena, said the early closure will affect many high school seniors. “It will definitely affect students. Our ad¬ vanced students will be the ones penalized because some students who want to move ahead won’t be able to.” He mentioned that the summer program at Muir has also been af¬ fected by insufficient state funding. “Our program is limited because of budgetary problems.” He explained that the early closure will also affect some students who wish to supple¬ ment the program at Muir with classes atPCC. Wilcox said applications for ad¬ missions are usually accepted until the first couple of days of the ses¬ sion . He could not recall ever having to impose such restrictions on new students at PCC. “In the last 10 years we have not had a problem. We usually actively accept applica¬ tions until a couple of days into the classes,” he said. Pasadena resident Doryne Castro was surprised to hear that admis¬ sions had closed so soon. “I am very disappointed. I was looking forward to attending both summer sessions but I guess I’ll just have to wait until fall.” Wilcox likened the situation to a sold out concert. “We have actually oversold our seats,” he said. Only 418 courses were offered for the sessions, 200 fewer than last sum¬ mer. “Enrollment took a big jump upward at the same time the courses offered took a big jump downward.” He stressed the importance of taking care of admissions and registration as soon as possible. “The students who got in early will be unaffected.” Only a few people had to be turned away after signs were posted, said Wilcox. “We were pleasantly surprised because we anticipated more complaints.” He was surprised that many new applicants are students at four year universities who want to take specific classes at community colleges because of the considerably lower price. Wilcox said the admis¬ sion and registration process will be closely monitored in the fall and may be cut short again. Photo by Oscar Chavez/IRC Officials from the college and ^he community assembled on Lauro, UC Irvine professor and Pasadena resident; Rick Cole, campus last Thursday to discuss urban problems and solutions, mayorof Pasadena; Jerry Oliver, Pasadena police chief and Shirley From left, Dr. Jack Scott, PCC superintendent-president; Juan Adams, director of the Pasadena branch of the Urban League. Local officials discuss urban problems ‘It would be sad if we fail to feel a sense of responsibility for our urban centers. Now is the time for candor, truth and action.’ Dr. Jack Scott, PCC superintendent-president By ANISSA VICENTE Features Editor Faculty and staff members, to¬ gether with a panel of local com¬ munity leaders, tried to turn words into reality Thursday. They dis¬ cussed ways educators can help solve the underlying problems that led to and inflamed the Los An¬ geles riots. Although the riots were sparked by the acquittal of the four offi¬ cers from the Los Angeles Police Department in the Rodney King incident, many blame the subse¬ quent looting on long-term urban problems such as unemployment, lack of decent housing, escalat¬ ing crime rates and rising gang activities. Dr. Jack Scott, superintendent- president, served as moderator of the panel, which included Shirley Adams, director of the Pasadena Urban League, Rick Cole, mayor of Pasadena, Jerry Oli ver, Pasad¬ ena police chief and Juan Lauro, UC Irvine professor and Pasad¬ ena resident. “It would be sad if we fail to feel a sense of responsibility for our urban centers,” Scott said. “They are our brothers and sisters. Now is the time for candor, truth and ac¬ tion.” Adams opted to present the all faculty audience with a global per¬ spective of the Urban League’s goals. Racism, poverty and a lack of op¬ portunity are nationwide dilemmas, Adams said. “We can ’ t let it (the riots) happen again,” she said. “There have been ugly attempts at political manipula¬ tion of deadly serious issues, play¬ ing on racial fears and stereotypes. We have to do a lot of soul-search¬ ing.” Adams also criticized the with¬ drawal of federal funds from much- needed welfare programs even though they had succeeded in the past. Oliver echoed Rodney King’s plea and turned it into a battle cry for change. “Can’t we all get along?” he asked. The King case is a landmark trial because of the changes it will ulti¬ mately cause in the American crimi¬ nal justice system, Oliver said. Speak¬ ing as a representative of the Ameri¬ can criminal justice system, Oliver said the police want to improve rela¬ tions. “We need to review all kinds of policies, from our use of force and community relations to citizens’ complaints. A lot of good will come out of it.” It was community policing that prevented a repeat of the L.A. riots in the streets of Pasadena, Oliver said. “Citizens from all levels helped keep the situation under control.” For his part, Mayor Cole recalled hopeful moments during the riots that underline his belief in the power of the individual. Cole said a man standing in front of the Armenian Center on Washington Boulevard, Molotov cocktail in hand, was subdued by an older African American. “What if Sgt. Koon had said no [to the beating]?” Cole asked. One individual’s actions can in¬ fluence many others, he said. Lauro blamed a lack of spiri¬ tuality among most youths as the root of the problems. Human talent must be emphasized if teach¬ ers want to change perspectives and dreams, Lauro said. In a sense, the educational system holds youths and their talents hostage. A freer and more imaginative cur¬ riculum enlarging student input in the classroom would unleash their natural talents, Lauro said. “Today’s youth will save tomor¬ row’s children.” Members of the faculty em¬ phasized a greater need to mentor students on a more personal level. A program that requires gradu¬ ates to mentor younger students was also suggested. All agreed to talk about more creative ways to reach young people in the classroom and make a greater impact on the streets from there. New cars given to auto shop From left, Mike Hoffman, assistant professor of engineering and technology, explains some of the dynamics of a modern engine to students Sehn Truong and Tulee VongUhecar is one о ,w0 Q®w vehicles that were donated to the automotive department by Honda and Acura of Pasadena. The automobiles will be used in demonstrations and for hands-on experience for the students. Station awarded top honors By AL SANTANA Staff Writer The Corporation for Public Broad¬ casting (СРВ) recently honored the KPCC radio drama group with two prestigious Gold Medal awards for their production and radio adapta¬ tion of “Macbeth.” The award win¬ ning program will be rebroadcast on June 21 at 5 p.m. The California Artist Radio Thea¬ ter group (CART) received the Gold Medals for outstanding technical achievement and excellence in tech¬ nical and spoken word performance. The awards for their version of “Macbeth” are given only to radio productions aired on publicly sup¬ ported stations. CART is an ensemble of well- know actors who once spiced the airwaves during the Golden Age of Radio with their mellifluous tones and impassioned speeches. Larry Mantle, program director of KPCC, mentioned that even though the award winning program was origi¬ nally broadcast on Oct.27, the sta¬ tion plans to re-transmit the show to give its audience another opportu¬ nity to enjoy it. “We’d like to give our listeners another chance to hear a high-qual¬ ity program like this. It’s something worth listening to.” The program honors Orson Welles’ 1948 film production of the drama, and stars Jeanette Nolan as Lady Macbeth, and Dan O’Herlihy and Peggy Webber in the roles of MacDuff and Lady MacDuff. David Warner, who is considered by many to be among the finest Shakespearean actors currently performing, dramatizes the title role. Webber, CART executive direc¬ tor, produced the show. “Although we are recreating our roles, our per¬ formances are markedly different,” she said. “Our work responds not only to a different era, but also to the demands of making a radio drama.” Since the original script was writ¬ ten to be performed in a theater, the artists had to carefully consider the use of audio effects. “That presented us with many challenges. Fortunately, we were able to overcome those difficulties,” Webber said. The June 21 performance also features Ian Whitcomb, Kathleen Freeman, William Woodson, Linda K. Henning, James Lancaster, Rich¬ ard Herman and Sean McClory. “This is not old radio rewound for new ears, but original radio drama,” said Webber. She calls the radio adaptation, “the poor man’s version of ‘Masterpiece Theater.’” The artistic group began its work at KUSC, but changes in the sta¬ tion’s programming forced them to look for a new location. In 1989 the group chose KPCC as its new home. CART’s radio shows are supported by a grant from the Ahmanson Foun¬ dation, which has helped defray costs of production for the last year. Until then, Webber carried the burden of the expenses. According to KPCC officials, the cost of the version of “Macbeth” produced by the CART group has been estimated at nearly $20,000. Until recently, the group has been heard exclusively on KPCC, but CART has also developed seven radio productions this year for broadcast by National Public Radio.