PCC Courier, March 04, 1977

May Shorten Sessions Semester System Studied By Susan Andrews News Editor Departmental representatives of the Student Curriculum Committee are investigating the possibility of changing the current two semester system to the early semester system by fall 1978. The proposed change would end the “lame duck” session between Christmas and first semester finals, with the first semester terminating before Christmas. The first early semester would begin approximately August 22 and end December 23, on the 175 day semester calendar currently used by the college, according to Dr. Irvin G. Lewis, vice president for Student Personnel Services. “The calendar is a great concern for a lot of people,” said Dr. Lewis. “Many colleges want to schedule short courses or courses that start mid¬ semester. The limiting factor is the average daily attendence (ADA) which is the basis of financial support for the college.” Currently, colleges are required by law to instruct students for 175 days, a requirement which makes the early semester plan impossible if the college provides two summer sessions. Shorter Semester The 175-day figure is based on ADA. In the 1960’s, ADA was determined on the basis of positive student ac¬ counting, the school getting paid for each hour a student was in class. The state now has a modification of this early plan. Colleges can go less than a full semester by definition 16 weeks, by law 175 days on positive student accounting, using the ADA to fulfill the 175 day requirement. A law was passed two years ago which allowed five colleges to teach 160 days, although its faculty was required to be on duty 175 days, ac¬ cording to Dr. Lewis. The law, a three-year experiment, extends from 1976 to 1979. At the end of the trial period, students and faculty will be asked to evaluate the ADA costs in instruction. So far, “people seem pleased with it,” said Dr. Lewis. El Camino and Saddleback colleges are on the experimental early semester system . Both, however, were on the early system before becoming a test college. Saddleback had been on the quarter system even earlier, but made the change to the semester plan shortly after it was built. No Quarter System PCC studied the quarter system during the 1960’s, but the plan was rejected by the Board of Trustees. The study by the Calendar Committee, a sub-committee of the Student Per¬ sonnel Committee, made the recommendation against the switch to the quarter system. “Since the present calendar permits year-round course scheduling and since experience of other colleges is not yet definitive, Pasadena City College should not at this time plan to convert to a quarter system,” the Continued on Page Six VOL. 43, NO. 3 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA MARCH 4, 1977 HERE YESTERDAY, GONE TODAY— The 23rd model home found a resting place in east Pasadena after more than two years at PCC. Work has started on the 24th home. —Courier Photos by Blake Sell AS В Election Stirs Controversy Publicity Funding Discrepancies; Balloting Procedures Questioned By Cathy Muhlstein and Dana Pedersen Staff Writers Former ASB President Michael Schultz has made charges of irregularities in student government and its procedures following the January 18 and 19 student election. Two weeks ago, the Courier published a letter from fall Student Body President Schultz and co-author Anthony Sibert. The letter’s purpose was to draw attention to certain ques¬ tionable moves during the recent elec¬ tion. ' At the January 13 ASB Board meeting, Brad Baldwin, then finance commissioner and candidate for ASB president, proposed that $500 be allotted for publicizing the upcoming election. The proposal came three school days before an election in which only one office was contested. Baldwin said, “We were in a hopeless situation. It (the publicity) should' have been started four weeks earlier, rather than three days before the election.” The ASB Board unanimously ap¬ proved the allotment. Schultz called the $500 allotment “illegal, in the sense that Baldwin failed to give the ASB Board at least 48 hours notice of his plan to spend ASB funds, as required by the ASB bylaws. Because of all the questions and discrepancies, the election should have been called off,” Schultz added. President Lacked Power Schultz explained that he chose to speak out after the election rather than while still in office because his job was to “control the meetings. I had no vote on the Board except in the case of a tie. In order to voice an opinion on anything I thought was wrong, I would have had to hand the gavel down the table. I didn’t feel there was anyone else present who could handle running the meeting. “When I did attempt to speak out, Dean Jackson blew up at me,” Schultz continued. Phyllis Jackson, dean of student activities, found it strange that Schultz would criticize his own government. “In a sense, his claim of lack of power is true. The Board follows parliamentary procedures. If the majority of the Board voted for an approval of the $500, there was nothing Schultz could do,” she said. The Board did not question Bald¬ win’s moVe, Schultz explained, because “it was a group effort and no one knew what was going on. There was a lack of communication.” Schultz Saw No Need “I saw no need for the $500 that Baldwin said was for publicity. In fact, the day before the $500 was given to Baldwin, he approached me and told me that he planned to ask for $200. I told him that was silly and that I saw no reason for it as he was running unopposed. It blew my mind,” said Schultz. According to ASB bylaws, any ex¬ penditure over $200 must be approved by the Senate. Schultz said, “Since the Senate was inactive at that time, Baldwin went to Dean Jackson, who gave the go ahead to allot the $500.” Dean Jackson said she did not wish to clarify the situation as it was student business. “Nothing illegal went on this elec¬ tion,” she said. “Since the Senate was not functioning at that time, the Board had no choice but go to ahead with the expenditure.” According to Schultz, Rosemarie Dockstader, Senate president, was present at the January 13 ASB Board meeting. “It was her fault that she didn’t call an emergency session of the Senate. The Senate at that time was virtually inactive as it lacked a quorum. Rosemarie had the power and responsibility to reject the $500 ex¬ penditure,” he added. Sibert called the $500 amount “ridiculous.” He felt there were alternatives available on campus at little or no cost. “He (Baldwin) could have ad¬ vertised through campus television, radio or newspaper. Paper and paints are always available in the Campus Center. Publicity did not need to cost Baldwin a dime,” Sibert said. David Benzing, elections com¬ missioner last semester, said, “Brad felt it was important to the ad¬ ministration to show that the school was involved in student politics and activities. Actually people at school were not involved in anything.” Conflict of Interest Schultz accused Baldwin of creating Continued on Page Six Committee Discusses KPCS-FM ** * Budgeting, Programming Options ASB Budget Error Causes Sharp Cutback in Board's Spring Fund By Joseph Riser Editor-in-Chief College administration officials will no longer support the program of radio station KPCS-FM as it has existed since 1974. The station has been par¬ tially supported by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (СРВ). This was the essence of a memo, dated February 14, from William Shanks, chairman of the Communica¬ tion Department, to Dr. John Gregory, general manager of the station. In the memo, Shanks said that the radio station’s purpose and plans for its reorganization would be examined. A committee composed of Shanks, Dr. Gregory and several members of the telecommunications division, has been meeting to evaluate the station since February 15. According to Shanks, the committee has been asking two questions: Is the money now allotted to the Dr. David Stonecypher, author of a book about aging and senility, will speak about “Getting Older and Staying Young” Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Sexson Auditorium as part of the Tuesday Evening Forum series. Dr. Stonecypher became interested in the problems of aging when he was DR. DAVID STONECYPHER . . . Forum speaker program contributing to instruction, and Are responsibility, authority and accountability for the occupational curriculum clearly identified and assigned? The committee is one of many that evaluate the effectiveness of all programs at PCC during budgeting time. After the committee has considered various options for the station, it will present them to an administrative committee, the next step in the budgeting process, Shanks said. Dr. Gregory has said, in committee meetings, that the station should not be changed. He feels that the educational level of the station has earned it the right to exist as is. “We’re trying to approximate a station just like the ones in the outside world.” This way, according to Dr. Gregory, students will be prepared for work on commercial stations and will training to be a psychiatrist and had firsthand experiences with senile adults. These cases prompted him to research and write a magazine article about senility, its causes and how to avoid it. Response to the article was so positive that he did more research and eventually wrote the book “Getting Older and Staying Young.” In his book, Dr. Stonecypher said he believes senility is not caused by hardening of the arteries, as is often thought, but “by the stresses of aging.” He defines these stresses as loss of income, hope and purpose; forced retirement; social ostracism; an awareness that the person might die soon and prejudice against the elderly. Dr. Stonecypher contends that “the true mental and physical capacities of old people are underrated, by them¬ selves and by younger people. “Senility does not result from physical decline— it is a psychological condition, a feeling of boredom and uselessness that may be brought on by retirement from work by withdrawal from an active life,” asserted Dr. Stonecypher. Dr. Stonecypher is a Fellow of the American Geriatric Society, of the Gerontological Society and of the Royal Society of Health. not have to take as much time ad¬ justing to professional standards. Dr. Gregory said most of the options now being considered by the com¬ mittee center around broadcasting only eight hours a day, five days a week. KPCS currently has an 18-hour, 365-day yearly broadcast schedule. Shanks contends that the motion for the suggestion of an eight-hour schedule was never formally made at any of the committee meetings. However, Dr. Gregory said that the minutes of the first committee meetings show that the suggestion was made. The two parties also disagree about the cost of running the station. Shanks said the station would cost several thousand dollars more if it were to run under the 18-hour broadcast day next year. Dr. Gregory said he submitted a budget that was at least $1000 lower than last year’s budget for next year. Program Director Larry Shirk, one of three radio station employees who stands to lose his job if the change is made, according to Dr. Gregory, feels that the action could have been par¬ tially prompted by allegations that students do not actually work at the station and that a majority of the hours on the air are filled with programs from outside sources. He pointed out that 60 per cent of the programs are student-produced and that students work as engineers on all programming. Shirk feels that the educational value of the station extends beyond the campus. “Part of what we broadcast is educating the community,” he said. “In today’s society, you can no longer limit education to the classroom.” Shanks declined to say what options the committee would pass on, but said that it probably would suggest an additional $30,000 allotment to improve facilities in the station. In Shanks’ opinion, the results of the committee’s findings will be of “enormous instructional benefit to students in radio curriculum at PCC.” In related actions, student Walt Danheiser made a presentation to the Student Senate Tuesday asking students to voice their views about the proposed change. Danheiser also called for students to use their “voice” in the matter at a student rally held yesterday at noon. HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW Hairstyling services are being of¬ fered on campus in the cosmetology department, R409. Students in the department provide the service at low prices. Appointments can be made by calling 792-8361. Plans to redecorate the Student Lounge were suspended by the Associated Student Body (ASB) Board last week after it learned an error had been made in itemizing the ASB bank account. Brad Baldwin, ASB president, said a clerical mistake at the College Bank was responsible for misappropriating approximately $5000 to the spring semester account. The money was supposed to be placed in an account for use in the fall of 1977 instead. The unexpected finding forced the ASB to subtract $5000 from the current budget for inclusion in the fall. This shift gave the ASB an $8539.11 budget this semester instead of the expected sum of more than $13,000. The ASB Board released the budget last week and it was approved by the Student Senate Tuesday. Baldwin allotted $4000 in his preliminary budget for redecoration of the lounge on the second floor of the Campus Center. The money would have paid for carpeting, furniture an'd other redecoration in an attempt to attract students to the seldom used facility. Because of the lesser amount available to the ASB this semester, the final budget, which was approved by the Board last week, did not allow any money for the project. Other Sources The Board has not dismissed the venture entirely and will try tapping other sources, such as the Board of Trustees and the Student Service Fund, for the money. Baldwin said the ASB Board would look into obtaining assistance from local businessmen. In return, the Student Lounge would be opened to the community. Top priority in the budget is the assembly appropriation of $2000, which will pay for Tuesday’s noon concerts in the Free Speech Area. The assembly appropriation will also be used for special Sexson Auditorium concerts, which will feature celebrities. In the past, such concerts have failed financially because of poor attendance. A publicity fund of $1000 was also appropriated in the budget. Baldwin feels that lack of proper publicity has been the key reason for failure of past ASB activities. Another $1000 was set aside for use by the Pep Commission in tackling student apathy, the Board’s biggest concern this semester. School Spirit Baldwin hopes to build school spirit and pride in PCC through events and opening of student government to the student body. Baldwin encourages students to voice their views and complaints at the Boards weekly meetings. The ASB Board will resume its discussion on Student Lounge redecoration Thursday at 11 a.m. in the Campus Center. Also on the agenda is card playing in the Campus Center, Cafeteria food and no smoking areas. I. Unfinished Business: A. Campus Center B. A.S.B. Party — Huntington Sheraton C. No smoking areas. П. New Business: A. Murals B. Bulletin Boards C. Food in the Campus Center D. Talent Show E. Card Playing F. Cabinet Meeting IH.Audience Participation. Tuesday Forum Speaker To Discuss Age, Senility