PCC Courier, March 02, 1984

Humanities Grant Accepted By Board By Karen Gury Special Correspondent The Board of Trustees voted recently to accept a $57,000 grant awarded to the college by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant will affect both students and faculty. The grant assigned time for 11 faculty members to develop a nine-unit interdisciplinary block program which will be offered to 150 students in the coming fall semester. Faculty members will meet to ensure that the integrated humanities program will satisfy three of the general education require¬ ments. They will also support continued integration of the program as well an evaluation after the first semester. “Funding (to the NEH) has been cut drastically during the Reagan Administration. This type and size grant is usually given to small liberal arts colleges. It’s a tribute to PCC as a junior college and an honor to both the college and the community that we were singled out for this award,” said Dr. Phyllis M. Mael. Mael, who holds a doctorate in comparative literature, and Robert C. Lewis, with master’s degrees in philosophy and religion, are the grant directors. The program design evolved out of three years experience with team-taught interdisciplinary courses involving ten faculty members and over 1,000 students. Through' the integration of six disciplines, philosophy, political science, history, psychology, linguistics and liter¬ ature, the fragmentation found in most general education courses will be eliminated, according to Mael. Goals defined by the faculty team in a retreat last weekend were to provide a structure to which all the relevant disciplines relate, to bridge the gap between the humanities, social sciences and other disciplines easily and naturally, to bridge the gap between the student’s daily life experiences and the academic disciplines involved, to provide an environment in which students may effectively participate in the exchange of ideas, to develop critical thinking and writing skills and to provide an environment for the intellectual and effective exploration of texts and ideas through the use of small discussion groups with peer tutor/facilitators. The nine-unit block program consists of Humanities 1 FACULTY FOR NEW HUMANITIES PRO¬ GRAM — Top row, from left: Joseph Spiro, Jane Hallinger, Patricia Savoie, Joseph Sierra, Phyllis (Introduction to the Humanities), English 1A and Sociology 2 (Contemporary Social Problems). An theme encompassing the entire program will determine the readings and ac¬ tivities of all three courses. Textbooks will be used for the humanities and sociology courses, but probably not for the English 1A course, according to Mael. “The program isn’t for everyone,” she cautioned. In addition to meeting the eligibility requirement for English 1A, the student must be willing to commit to the entire block. Mael, William Goldmann, Lisa Davis, Robert Levis and Jil Geare. Front row: Karen Holgerson and William Farmer. — Photo courtesy Phyllis Mae! It will not be available piecemeal. Chairpersons Dr. John H. Snyder and Dr. Rae G. Ballard, along with David A. Ledbetter, administrative dean of instruction, are developing a schedule whch will make registering for the course unconfusing and uncomplicated for the students. The program will be offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon and will be listed in the social sciences section of the schedule of classes in such a way that attention is drawn to it. Counselors in D216 and D217 will aid interested students in registering for the course. Although most of the 18-month, non-renewable grant will be used within the first 12 months of the program’s implementation, Dr. Mael does not equate that with the termination of the program. “We hope to generate enthusiasm within the community and to establish a greater connection with it. We hope to reach out and receive help, perhaps by having corporations provide materials, or have art museums provide slides,” she said. The team will be looking for guest lecturers from both the college and the community. “We see big things for the future. We hope to expand and be able to offer this program on Tuesday or Thursday and perhaps in the evenings if there is the interest and demand for it,” added Mael. Joining Mael and Lewis on the faculty team are Jane L. Hallinger, Literature; Jill O. Geare, English; William C. Farmer, English; Joseph Sierra, English Literature; Wil¬ liam E. Goldmann, History; Lisa F. Davis, Psychology; Patricia O. Savorie, English Literature; Joseph Spiro, History of Ideas; and Karen M. Holgerson, Linguistics. PCC Faculty Discuss Copyright Proposal Copyright policies have caused disputes on all levels of communications, from the Sony corporation to publishing professors. Recent developments have brought the problem to PCC. By Karen Gury and Lisa Lowery Staff Writers The motion to put the revised copyright policy proposal before the faculty members carried unanimously at Tuesday’s faculty senate meeting. Each department plans to meet to discuss the revised proposal. Their conclusionswill be presented at the next senate meeting March 12. Faculty members plan to make a recommenda¬ tion to the district copyright policy committee. The district committees, which in¬ clude the senate’s sub-committee, will meet to discuss further the issue and make their recommendation to Dr. Steven Cerra, vice president of instruc¬ tion. Marion Murphy, Faculty Senate president, hopes the committee meet¬ ings scheduled for the spring will produce a proposal which will meet with the Board of Trustee’s approval. Although both district and faculty groups have submitted policy proposals during the past two years, the govern¬ ing body has not approved a copyright policy governing faculty-developed ma¬ terials. According to Murphy, the ad¬ ministration has not expressed a con¬ flict of interest and says they are open to suggestions. At the senate meeting, the revised proposal was presented by Mary Jane Cordon, senate sub-committee mem¬ ber, who sought legal counsel regard¬ ing the issue and the district’s copyright proposal. The senate’s proposal includes a definition of mate¬ rial which can be copyrighted and a general policy of faculty ownership rights. Cordon refers to Caltech’s copyright policy as precedent setting. Caltech’s policy states copyrights to, and royal¬ ties from materials which are not institute-funded or outside-sponsored shall belong to the author and may be owner controlled. Murphy maintains that Caltech’s policy presents a good model for PCC. A question regarding the proper treatment of one 1983 copyright trans¬ action may set a precedent affecting future policy. Karen M. Holgerson, professor of English, through student’s extra-curricular and class activities, created a 47-page booklet published by Student Activities with student funds generated from the PCC Flea Market. Although Holgerson initiated the project, the district submitted the copyright registation and obtained ownership. Holgerson explained that she had not intended the booklet, “The American Experience: A Foreign Student Guide,” to become a saleable item. She stated her original intent was to in¬ troduce a creative project into her classroom in order to avoid “burn¬ out.” “Copyright policies are needed. If there was one (policy) , we would not be in the position we are in now,” said Alvar Kauti, director of student ac- tivites. When asked whether an ap¬ proved copyright policy would apply to saleable student works, he said that since students are not employees they would not be affected. Murphy commented that because in¬ structors have been producing saleable products other than books, which re¬ quire. college facilities, a copyright policy has become necessary. Concerning other board issues, the voter deadline for the 1984-85 senate nominations is today at noon in C228. Murphy agreed to be president for a second term. Other nominees are Ernest F. Neumann, Pat O’Day and Joseph J. Keane for vice president, Barbara B. Latham for secretary, and Donald K. Wilson for treasurer. Campus Clean Up Day Scheduled By Greg Augustyn Staff Writer The Campus Beautification Commit¬ tee has designated April 5 as Campus Clean Up Day. The organization plans to have festivities, a band, litter pick¬ up, competitions and prizes in conjunc¬ tion with the event. The Student Services Fund recently donated $2,000 to the group. The money is “good news because we can now consider proposals for the new year,” said Dr. Henry P. Kirk, committee chairman. Beautification proposals made at a February 23 meeting included re¬ furbishing food services and replacing brass artwork in the C Building with a mural. A student fund raiser for a sidewalk cafe and restoration of the mirror pools was also suggested. James Menath, director of main¬ tenance and operations, announced dur¬ ing the meeting that his department is “going to use manpower” to beautify the mall between V and T Buildings. “We are trying to restore the mall to its orginal intent,” Menath said. The area once had concession stands and a large patio. The group conceded that sufficient funds afe not currently available to carry out all thein intentions. “There is no money in this year’s budget,” for the mirror pools, Menath said. The restoration’s estimated cost is $10,000 to $15,000 to sandblast, seal and caulk cracks in the pools. The committee is seeking student participation and input. “We would like to work with other student groups to encourage funding,” Dr. Kirk stated. Ideas from students for campus beau¬ tification are welcomed he said. According to committee member Jennifer McKinney, the organization “would like to have a couple of regular students on the committee.” A beau¬ tification meeting is tentatively sched¬ uled for Thursday, March 8, at 1:30 p.m. in the Campus Center. Hanson to Attend D.C. Conference By Greg Augustyn Staff Writer The AS board unanimously approved funding Tuesday that will send Helen Hanson, AS president and Darryl Grimaldi to the United States Student Association (USSA) conference in Washington D.C. later this month. The USSA will vote on a crucial resolution that would initiate proxy voting for west coast colleges and universities. Not all west coast colleges can afford to send representatives to the conven¬ tion, Hanson said. Proxy voting would allow one person to represent the in¬ terests of a number of schools in Washington. Passage of the resolution would strengthen student lobbying efforts for legislation and would give student in¬ terests a louder voice in the U.S. Senate. “If we could get more west coast schools ivolved it (USSA) could grow into an incredibly powerful as¬ sociation,” Hanson said. In other action, AS government members formed a voter registration committee. The group will present a proposal to the AS board next week laying out plans for a campus voter registration drive during the final two weeks of March. Glen Schoenfeld, vice president of student affairs, said he wouldlike to see outside help brought in to work with student service clubs in order to insure a successful drive. He stresses that a “cohesive effort” by the entire campus is essential for a productive two week registration campaign. Schoenfeld believes “an increase in quality of education will come through voting.” The legislature does not feel “threatened by community colleges” because they know many students do not vote, he said. Voting helps to establish residency for out of state students Schoenfeld also pointed out. In another matter, the AS elected by secret ballot Raul Gerrhardt Hernandez to vice president of student academic affairs. Hernandez defeated Steve Nash in a 4-2 vote. Hernandez said he “looks forward to being an active and effective liason between the AS board and the office of instruction.” WASHINGTON BOUND — AS Board voted to appropriate funds to send Board President Helen Hanson, left, to Washington, D.C. for a Student Association conference. —Courier photo by Jo»h Weidman Benefits Student Disc Jockeys and Fund Raising Radio Station Changes Format More Mellow Jazz By Stephanie Jensen Special Correspondent The new year marked the beginning of a new sound for KPCC. It replaced its afternoon classical music program¬ ming with “jazz, the mellow side,” and will add some new programs provided by National Public Radio in April. These programs will include, among others, the comedic team of Bob and Ray. Some afternoon news updates have been added at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. that could not be included in the classi¬ cal programming schedule. Larry Shirk, KPCC Program Direc¬ tor, says that to understand the reasons for the change one must go back to the station’s beginning, when it was “trying to be all things to all people.” “We would have an hour of pop, and hour of folk, and an hour of country- western and so on,” said Shirk. “It became difficult to develop a consis¬ tent audience.” Programming was then streamlined to have jazz in the mornings, classics in the afternoons, big bands in the eve¬ nings, specialty programming in the later evenings and ethnic and classical programming on the weekends. How¬ ever, the new format did not last. “We found out that to accomodate a lot of the curriculum needs, we again needed to alter our format,” to allow more student air time, Shirk explained. But this was not the only considera¬ tion in changing the format to prima¬ rily all jazz. There were a variety of reasons: The station has expanded to 16 hours of jazz porgramming a week. The reason this was done was to provide more flexibility “in serving the needs of the curriculum which is part of” the station’s responsibility, said Shirk. This opens up more air time for student interns to host musical programs. In a classical music format, the selections are so long that they do not give the students as much airtime as they are now receiving. The jazz format also provides the station the flexibility to provide more news and public affairs programming to the community. For example, on Thursday and Fri¬ day, March 1 and 2, KPCC will broad¬ cast the confirmation hearings of Ed¬ ward Meese III live from Washington. The hearings are scheduled to air from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. “It is much easier to pre-empt or interrupt a jazz format than it is a classical format,” Shirk added. Another factor was that although people missed the classics, it was decided that the function of KPCC was not only to serve the outside com¬ munity, but the community here at the college. Part of that function is to provide students with the training and experience they will need when they go out into the world and become em¬ ployed. “Let’s face it,” said Shirk, “there are not too many classical stations around the country where these people can find employment.” The idea of a new format for KPCC was looking more probable. But turning it into another rock station did not appear to be the answer. In Los Ange¬ les there are approximately 70 radio stations, only six of which play rock, according to Shirk. The challenge was to create a format that would allow students the training they need to work for a larger number of stations. The choice was between to contem¬ porary music or jazz. There are two reasons KPCC decided to go with jazz. First, jazz fit right in with the station’s daytime program¬ ming. Second, the emphasis is on tradi¬ tional jazz. According to Shirk, most of the student interns had no idea what “traditional jazz” was. So not only are they gaining exposure on the air, but also learning about jazz, which Shirk desribes as “America’s only true musi¬ cal form.” Classics on KPCC are not completely obsolete. The station still broadcasts the evening classics from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, as well as on the weekends. Shirk feels the listeners are accept¬ ing the new format and the disc jockeys are becoming better at finding selec¬ tions to fit into the format. Shirk alone was not responsible for the change but he does admit that he “initially broached the option and sup¬ ported it.” His was not the final word as several people got together and decided the format change should take place. It is still too early to tell if this has affected the stations ratings. They will probably not know until April, when the new ratings book comes out. However, judging by phone calls and letters which have been primarily positive, the audience appears to be growing for the jazz format. For many years KPCC has been providing a “much needed service” not only to the community but to the college as well, according to Shirk. KPCC’s first “major” fund drive will be held from March 3-10. This will be the community’s opportunity to let the station know whether they enjoy, appreciate and support what the station is doing.