PCC Courier, June 08, 1979

4 Funding , Free Flow Unresolved Meyers Reviews the Year DR. RICHARD MEYERS By Steve McManus Staff Writer It’s been a year of turmoil. Enrollment was low, local revenues and state aid were even lower. Hearing impaired students were without in¬ terpreters. The newspaper was without policy. The anti-gay initiative was on the ballot. Student government was on the fritz. Burroughs Corporation was given the contract for a new computer system. It will cost almost SI million over the next seven years. Sabbaticals are in limbo. So is the position of student trustee. The faculty and administration were not com¬ municating. The sun was eclipsed by the moon. Derek Coleman was re-elected twice. The wage freeze was finally lifted. Some students feel it’s time for odd-even registration. I haven't heard anyone mention Guyana in several months. The campus was visited by the Saudi Arabian Royal Commission, Taiwanese college educators, Danish businessmen, the head of BBC radio and president of National Public Radio. PCC enrolled its first mainland Chinese student. One of our vice persidents retired; another was talked out of it. The football coach resigned. The men’s basketball coach resigned. The director of computer services resigned. The women's basketball coach is leaving. The Faculty Senate President resigned. The Student Senate President resigned. Numerous people took advantage of the Retirement Incentive Program including Idi Amin, Ian Smith, the Shah of Iran and John Vorster, all from the Political Science Department. Fewer people are flying in DC-lO’s. Fewer people are going down to San Onofre for the weekend. The Rose Queen was not from PCC. Into all this stepped Dr. Richard Meyers, the first superintendent-president ever to be chosen from outside the college. His schedule during these first seven months has been grueling. Much of his time has been spent meeting with legislators, commumity leaders, visiting dignitaries, and trustees. I interviewed Dr. Meyers on May 29 in his office. Outside, the walkway was being ripped up. He had just spent his Memorial Day weekend at a convention in San Diego. He looked very weary. Dr. Meyers discussed some of the problems facing the community colleges and PCC in particular. You were saying there appears to be a shift in the control of the community colleges from the local level to the state level. What effect will that have on the programs that PCC offers? I’d say it does not jeopardize any of the credit programs. They have been shown to be necessary by community ad¬ visory groups and surveys. I doubt the state will get into them. The non-credit classes are in trouble, however. Some of the legislators and the Governor feel that non-credit courses are not a major function of education, that we should be educating most of the students for entry into a job or tran¬ sfer to a four-year college. I think the legislature and the Governor look at higher education as taking high school graduates, educating them, filling their brains up, moving them out into society, and then our job is done. That is not my view. My own belief is that the community colleges are specifically an American invention. The idea has been ex- I think the legislature and the Governor look at most of higher education as taking high school graduates, educating them, filling their brains up, and moving them out into society, and then our job is done. That’s not my view. I ported to foreign countries. We are raising the literacy rate through the use of the community college model in remote, third-world nations like India, Pakistan, and others in Africa. I believe it's a very good model. I don’t believe we should be controlled centrally because the whole idea of flexibility to community needs is lost. We are facing a dilemma in the state. It’s a matter of state government not showing they trust local government enough to just give them the money and let them do what they want. Local government must remain flexible. ASB Constitution Amendments AMENDMENTS TO THE ASSOCIATED STUDENT BODY CONSTITUTION (1) To amend Article VIII to read: SECTION 1. Impeachment Clause l. Impeachment proceedings may be initiated against any Associated Student Body officer by the Student Senate. Impeachment shall require a three-fourths majority vote in the presence of a quorum. Said officers shall be tried by the Supreme Council within a period of ten school days upon impeachment. Clause 2. In the absence of the Supreme Council to try an im¬ peachment, the Executive Board shall formulate a committee of students not holding offices in A.S.B. Government, and who meet the .requirements of Article III, section 3, clause 3, of the A.S.B. Constitution. They shall then be vested with the sole power to try the said officers. The number of com¬ mittee members shall be determined in the bylaws for impeachment proceedings. Clause 3. No person shall be con¬ victed by the Supreme Council without the concurrence of three-fourths of the members present. SECTION 2. The bylaws for im¬ peachment proceedings shall be ap¬ proved by a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate in the presence of a quorum and a majority vote of the Executive Board in the presence of a quorum. SECTION 3. Recall Clause 1. All officers holding an elected position shall be subject to recall. Clause 2. Said officers shall be recalled by the Associated Student Body, such a recall shall be made by a written petition signed by 5 percent of the total number of enrolled daytime students. Said petition shall state charges of misconduct or neglect of duty and be submitted to the elections commissioner. A recall election shall then be called within ten school days upon presentation to the elections commissioner. (2) Amendment to Article II, Section 6, Clause 2, to read: Clause 2. No student shall hold more than one (1) elective or appointive office in the A.S.B. Government except by special order of the Executive Board, upon ratification by the Senate. (3) SECTION 1. Clause l. Any measure of the Executive Board requiring approval of the Senate or any measure of the Senate requiring approval of the Executive Board shall be voted upon within fifteen school days following presentation of such measure to the appropriate body. If such measure shall not be voted upon within fifteen school days after it shall have been presented, it shall be regarded as having full approval of both bodies. Clause 2. Any extension of the fifteen school day period shall require a two- thirds majority vote in the presence of a quorum of the Senate and a majority vote of the Executive Board in the presence of a quorum. SECTION 2. In the case where either body cannot establish a quorum when it is necessary for that body to vote, the time limit shall be extended until a quorum of members are present. (4) Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3, to be added subclause (e): < e ) If after the third week of the semester the Supreme Council has not been fully appointed, the Student Senate shall appoint members to fill the remaining positions to complete the membership of the Supreme Council. The Senate nominations for the Supreme Council shall be ratified by a majority vote of the Executive Board. The whole concept of America-— democracy, home rule, self-rule— is based on the government being close to the people. We probably would still be part of England if people believed centralized control was a good thing. It seems funny that we’re tending to get into that and I think it’s unhealthy for society. It’s only a matter of time It’s a matter of state government not showing they trust local government enough to just give them the money and let them do what they want. before the people rebel in some form, whether at the polls or worse, against centralized government. Do you think people were unaware of the impact Proposition 13 would have on education before the election? Absolutely. I don’t think people truly believed there would be the kind of hurt that will occur— I say "will occur” because we’ve had bailout funds, so the real effect of Prop. 13 is yet to be known. I can't say I didn't feel some elation upon receiving my tax bill at home that was cut in half as a result of Prop. 13. That was nice. But when you talk to people about the reduction of social services that has occurred as a result of Prop. 13, people didn’t think that would happen. Maybe the consequences have not been as dire as people said they were going to be, but nevertheless they’ve been very, very bad. Community colleges have been hard hit. Morale is down, enrollment is down. The plight of the community colleges has a lot to do with the plight of society. I think we’re at a very low ebb in society right now and I think the key word is uncertainty. We’re uncertain about our future, funding, taxes, the balance of trade, the strength of the dollar abroad, inflation, gas supplies, low and middle income housing. Where I live they have a dramatic decrease in school enrollment because middle income people, generally younger, can’t afford the homes, so they are not moving into the area. Eventually that is going to catch up with PCC as far as transfer students. Our enrollment has not gone down at the rate of the component unified districts around us because we have a shift in our make-up to an older, part time student body. Our average age is 28. Eventually we’re going to be losing more and more of the traditional 18- to 20-year-old high school transfer students The plight of community colleges has a lot to do with the plight of society. I think we’re at a very low ebb in society right now . . . because the high schools around us are dropping off radically because people can’t afford housing. (continued on Page 6) Mountjoy Makes Plea For Less Government Bv Tom Pfeiffer Staff Writer Richard Mountjoy, assemblyman from the 61st District in California, blasted Gov. Brown and over-zealous government regulations for in¬ terrupting progress in this state. The barrage of criticism came during a press conference held by Mountjoy while visiting the campus last Friday. “We need less government in California," said Mountjoy. His district includes Sierra Madre, Temple City, Arcadia, Monrovia. Bradbury, Duarte, Azuas, Charter Oaks and Irwindale. A self-proclaimed "anti- bureaucratic type,” Mountjoy said he felt excessive government has played a heavy role in many events over the past few years that have gotten California into price and power problems. "Programs in government are never failures, they just run out of money," said Mountjoy. "We need some con¬ trol. but not appointed committees with arbitrary powers. The people of California should be governed by those they elect, not appointed commissions. And local governments should have ultimate control over their own areas." Mountjoy blamed Brown for much of California's gasoline problems, and feels the policies endorsed by the governor will continue to penalize residents of California. "There is really no reason the people of this state should have to wait in long gas lines," said Mountjoy. He is currently supporting legislation to relax air quality standards to the same levels as the federal government. “It is insane for the U.S. to be dependent on oil from foreign governments, which are unstable at best. By bringing California standards in line with federal standards, we can increase our fuel supply by 375 million gallons each year," he said. The legislation backed by Mountjoy recently passed in the House, but failed to get the required number of votes to effect its urgency clause. It is expected the House will take another vote on the issue in the near future. The legislation will relax standards for vapor pressure in refined fuel and allow an increase in lead content. A similar bill was recently endorsed by Lt. Gov. Mike Curb during a recent absence of the governor, but was vetoed upon Brown’s return. "They can expand fuel supplies by adding butane and natural gas (which increases the vapor pressure of the fuel)," said Mountjoy. “The only time this adds to the pollution is when gasoline is being put into auto tanks, or being transferred from trucks." He said he felt that new vapor control methods being employed in California (that suction sleeve on gas nozzles) would keep the problem at a minimum. Mountjoy ridiculed Brown's "zero- growth" policies, He said, "Brown likes to call it 'controlled growth,’ but when it's controlled to zero, then that's zero-growth.” He accused the present ad¬ ministration of passing up op- porutnities to relieve the present oil crunch. "Tom Quinn (Brown's adviser on environmental matters), who I consider to be the oil czar of California, was solely responsible for the collapse of the SOHIO pipeline . . . They will eventually destroy California.” The SOHIO pipeline was a project undertaken by Standard Oil of Ohio to pump Alaskan crude oil from Long Beach Harbor, where refining capacity is inadequate to handle the oil, to Midland, Texas. After several years of obtaining permits and fighting environmental restrictions, Standard Oil pulled out of the project. Mountjoy further accused the state of unnecessarily stifling the development of nuclear . power and criticized Brown for hanging around with “un-American types” like Tom Haden and Jane Fonda. “We're going to be very short of power,” said Mountjoy. “In 1985 we’re going to lose a lot of power from Hoover Dam to other states. He explained the current lease held by Southern California utility com¬ panies will expire in 1985. The power produced by that dam, which has provided a major percentage of the power used by Southern California, will be shared among surrounding states. Because of this, Mountjoy feels that non-development of nuclear power is shortsighted. He felt especially strong about the loss of the Sun Desert nuclear power plant to en¬ vironmentalists. "That was a beautiful place for a plant," said Mountjoy. "It was cen¬ trally located but removed from populated areas. Now power com¬ panies are buying big into Arizona nuclear plants. This is going to raise the price of that power. It’s expensive to bring all that power such a long way.” "People cannot survive without progress. Once you stop growing, you die,” said Mountjoy. Music Teacher Cuts 'Search for the Floor'* George Feinstein Retires After Teaching 45 Years By Joan Perkins Staff Writer Dr. George Feinstein, English professor, will be retiring this June after a teaching career of 45 years. Dr. Feinstein admits to having mixed feelings about his retirement, but he says it will give him more time to work on his books. He is currently writing two books— "one academic and the other sexy.” He won't discuss the sexy one. His writings include “Programed College Vocabulary 3600” with in¬ structors manual, “Programed Writing Skills,” with instructors manual. These text books are currently used by 200 colleges across the nation. Dr. Feinstein recalls the “jittle prairie school” where he started his career in Oberon, North Dakota in 1934. “I was the high school principal there,” he said, “and there were only three teachers.” He received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of North Dakota and received his Ph.D. from the State University of Iowa. He did his dissertation on Mark Twain and belongs to the Mark Twain Association. Dr. Feinstein became instructor of humanities in 1948 at John Muir College. When John Muir College and PCC amalgamated, he began teaching at PCC. He was also contributing articles and reviews to magazines and newspapers during this time. He says he would like to do more camping now, but is doubtful because of the gasoline situation. Other in¬ terests include jogging three miles every morning, and playing the oboe. Dr. Feinstein writes why his text¬ books deal with vocabulary and spelling for Contemporary Authors. “Students write that Greek epics were sung by a liar; that two straight lines form an angel ; that the three wise men brought gifts of myrrh and frank¬ furters; that American Indians were put in reservoirs; that in the Mexican War our soldiers hollered, ‘Remember the alimony!' that Hester Prynne broke the seventh amendment; that to cure a cold you should take a catholic and go to bed. And that is why my textbooks deal with vocabulary and spelling.” For this young 65-year-old professor of English to retire will indeed be the College's loss. Carlson Takes Guitar, Makes an Album By Stephen Share Staff Writer PCC guitar teacher Lenny Carlson produced an album of mainly original guitar music, along with Ry Cooder, Joe Diorio. and PCC guitar instructor GUITAR TEACHERS — PCC guitar Dave Koonse. "Search for the Floor: the Guitars and Music of Lenny Carlson," was released in 1978, and has been praised for its “varied and intelligently played music.” Carlson has been teaching at PCC since last September as a long-term substitute. He formerly taught private lessons for 12 years, but was forced to stop last March, due to other com¬ mitments. Perhaps the most im¬ portant demand on his time is his frequent performance schedule in the Bona venture Hotel. Monday through Saturday, from 4 to 8:30 p.m., Carlson plays in the Bonaventure’s Lobby Court with a trio called “The Moscow Knights." This trio consists of Carlson, with Stu Brotman, bass balalaika, and featuring Emanuil Sheynkman from the Soviet Union as balalaika and mandolin virtuoso. "The group plays a variety of European and Russian music, as well as some older popular tunes— swing, and some jazz,” says Carlson. "Search for the Floor” is Carlson’s first recording. It is, according to the composer, “an honest album. Ar¬ tistically, it came out the way I wanted it." Carlson financed the album himself, with the exception of pressing and distribution. "The album was recorded with others accompanying me on separate tracks," he said. "Dave Koonse is one of my favorite guitarists— I was very glad to have him.” Carlson has no definite plans for releasing another record at this point. He has, however, talked with a recording company, Concord Jazz, about the possibility. "They seemed interested, and came to me,” he said. "That's a very good sign.” Anyone interested in further in¬ formation about Carlson's album should contact him in the Music department. instructors of guitar music. They both have produced an Lenny Carlson and Dave Koonse made an album album before. —Courier photo by S.K.