- Title
- PCC Courier, March 26, 1982
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- Date of Creation
- 26 March 1982
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- Description
- Student newspaper published and edited for the Associated Student Body of Pasadena City College weekly during the college year by the journalism students.
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PCC Courier, March 26, 1982
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Program Competency Analyzed
By John Pierce
Staff Writer
The Faculty Senate received
preliminary results on a college pro¬
gram efficiency study this week from
private consultants Fred and Joan
Carvell.
Other items discussed at the meeting
were sabbatical leave policies, evalua¬
tion of the four campus vice presidents,
possible weaknesses among associate
of arts graduates, Assembly Bill 2394
(parking fee ceiling bill) and instructor
book buyback policies.
PCC, through Vice President of In¬
struction Steven A. Cerra, hired the
Carvells on a six-month contract to
review the 115 active credit programs.
In their study they held a survey of
the faculty, distributing 702 poll forms
to 340 full time instructors, 300 evening
instructors, 26 administrators, 19 de¬
partment chairpersons, and 17 counsel¬
ors.
Overall, 67 percent of the daytime
faculty returned the surveys, with only
33 percent of nighttime instructors
returning them.
The preliminary results showed
more strengths than weaknesses, ac¬
cording to Fred Carvell. Of the faculty
polled, 75 to 90 percent believed that
other employees were trustworthy,
showing an unexpected solidardity
among the faculty, said Carvell.
Another question, “Do people want
to do a good job?” received a positive
response in a range of 77 to 95 percent.
An average amount of the faculty
members, 32 to 59 percent, said we
“share a common perception in com¬
munity goals.”
Weaknesses, however, were present.
“This school seems to suffer from low
self-esteem,” said Carvell. “There is
too much discussion about the school
weaknesses and not enough concentra¬
tion on its strengths.” For example, 15
to 32 percent of the faculty polled said
that they were informed enough to
make decisions.
“This shows that decisions are not
made on data,” said Carvell. Also, the
faculty's opinion of how it serves the
community was questioned, with only
17 percent believing it to be favorable.
But two general questions asked to
all the faculty members in the survey
revealed a positive concensus. “There
is a general agreement as to what are
essential programs,” said Carvell,
“and only some philosophical dif¬
ferences as to what the school’s
strenghts and weaknesses are.”
The program review is based on the
time between Spring 1980 and Fall 1982
semesters with these six elements act¬
ing as determinants:
1. Taxonomy of Programs” (TOPS),
a cross section of courses that make up
college programs.
2. “Weekly Student Contact Hours”
(WSCH).
3. “WSCH Fulltime Equivalent,” ap¬
proximately 15 teaching hours.
4. Retention rates.
5. Passing grades, as in pass/failure.
6. Assigned instruction costs, such as
faculty salaries, supplies, travel ex¬
penses and staff costs.
The Carvells, and a task force of 21
prominent faculty members formed by
the Carvells, will study these elements
within the goals of identifying facts,
interpreting them for the review and
for a future use.
At the close of his report, Carvell
recommended that no course be of¬
fered without it being an essential
component for transfer, enriching or
broadening information needed for
transfer (a supplement to a “core”
course), or it was a “nice to offer”
course (an upper level supplement).
“Decisions being made about this
college are no longer being decided
within the Faculty Senate or Board of
Trustees,” said Carvell, “They are
being decided also by outsiders (vot¬
ers) who often know nothing of what is
going on.”
The program review will cost the
campus $30,000. It began in mid-De¬
cember and is planned to end sometime
in May.
“The findings of this review will not
be used to eliminate any courses but to
show the best places for im-
provememt,” said Carvell.
In other Faculty Senate business,
assistant professor of English Wallace
Calvert cited the present sabbatical
Psychotherapist Relates
How To Avoid Stress
leave procedures based upon merit as
being potentially “subjective.”
Some members present agreed but it
was pointed out that the sabbatical
leave procedures are part of the in¬
structor’s contract and would be dif¬
ficult to change. This item was tabled
for a future meeting.
Professor of business Allen Davis
and Dr. Joseph Muha, also a professor
of business, proposed regular evalua¬
tions of the campus vice presidents.
A committee was suggested for the
evaluations, tentatively made of three
business instructors, one English in¬
structor and one communication in¬
structor. The motion passed unani¬
mously.
Faculty Senate Treasurer Harold
White, associate professor of life scien
ces, brought to the attention of the
board that an associate of arts grad¬
uate from PCC was having difficulties
working as a golf course worker.
According to White, the graduate
was particularly in trouble in math and
English and White asked if there was
any way to test or examine AA gradu¬
ates for competency.
Faculty Senate vice president
Anthony Georgilas, communication in¬
structor, said in reply to White’s com¬
plaint, “We cannot guarantee student
performance on the outside.”
Assembly Bill 2394 was mentioned
briefly, mainly by Faculty Senate pres¬
ident Fredrick Holland, professor of
social sciences. He said that the Col¬
lege Council and the Faculty Senate
had rejected the parking fee ceiling
bill, but the Board of Trustees support
it.
Unsolicited textbook buyback poli¬
cies were reviewed by Holland. In a
department chair conference a year
ago the subject came up about how
instructors should take care of text¬
books they rejected for classes.
Dr. Bonnie James, vice president of
business services, suggested a plan in
which instructors would sell the books
back to the publishers, giving 10 per¬
cent of the sale to the bookstore and the
rest going into campus scholarships.
James brought this proposal to the
Faculty Senate, where it was rejected
because the faculty members believed
the books supplied by publishers were
private property. It was discovered
later that James approached the Col¬
lege Council with his proposal, which
they passed. 1
“The (College Council) law is im¬
possible to enforce,” said Holland.
“How are we going to stop it? Keep the
publishers off campus? Besides, I don’t
see how four students, four managers
and four classified people should have
the power on what we do with our
private property.”
Past Faculty Senate president Dr.
Gordon Brown, associate professor of
social sciences, received a “gavel”
plaque for his service to the Faculty
Senate Board for 1980-1981. Brown is
currently on sabbatical.
VOL. 53. NO. 6
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE. PASADENA. CALIFORNIA
MARCH 26. 1982
Joe Figueroa Remains in AS
В
Office
Council Reinstatement Not Binding
By Doug Brown
Staff Writer
In a recent decision of the spring
semester Supreme Council, ASB Vice
President-elect Paul Kelly and AMS
President-elect Brian Blair were re¬
instated in office as of Feb. 26, 1982.
This decision reversed last semester’s
Supreme Council decision which stated
that Kelly and Blair were not qualified
to hold office.
However the Supreme Council de¬
cision was rendered invalid because it
did not follow due process as stated in
the ASB Constitution, said Dean of
Student Activities Alvar L. Kauti.
Kauti said that neither Kelly nor
Blair followed due process as stated in
the ASB Constitution. This states that if
a student thinks his civil rights have
been violated, he can write a request
for hearing before a review committee.
The decision of the review committee
shall be advisory to the president of the
college. Kauti explained that Kelly and
Blair did not follow these procedures,
thus there was no formal declaration of
any violation of civil rights.
Kelly and Blair were deemed not
qualified for office before the ASB
election. However, three supreme
council members that made this de¬
cision were not qualified for the Coun¬
cil due to credits dropped during the
semester. When this was determined,
ASB Advisor Jennifer McKinney re¬
assigned three members of the Griev-
ence Committee to the Supreme Coun¬
cil. The Supreme Council scheduled a
meetng before the election, arid when
they met only four members were
present. The Supreme Council voted 4-0
that Kelly and Blair were not qualified
to run for office. Kelly and Blair
appealed this decision and ran in the
election with the understanding that
they might not be qualified for office.
The Supreme Council then met to
vote on Kelly and Blair’s appeal, how¬
ever the election had already taken
place. ASB President John McTeague,
Barry McGowan, and Jay Polly spoke
on behalf of Kelly and Blair stating
they should be in office because they
were qualified for their office when
they ran.
The Supreme Council discussed the
appeal, and voted 3-2 to uphold their
original ruling. The Supreme Council
also interpreted the ASB qualifications
clause to state that a candidate must
have a certain number of units in the
preceeding semester of candidacy.
Thus, Kelly was removed and runner-
up candidate Joe Figeroa became ASB
vice president. Blair was removed
from his position as AMS president,
and no one has been appointed to fill it..
When the spring semester Supreme
Council was appointed, and ratified by
the Student Senate, their first order of
business was to reverse the decision of
the old Supreme Council, and reinstate
Kelly and Blair. Kauti dismissed this
decision saying “it’s (Supreme Council
decision) not binding. It’s a decision
after the fact, something like ex post
facto.” Both Kauti and McKinney said
this decision will not affect the out¬
come of the fall semester Supreme
Council decision.
According to Kauti, the only re¬
course available for Kelly and Blair
would be to write for a hearing before a
review council. “There was no written
statement of any violated rights
presented to Dr. Henry P. Kirk, vice
president for student personnel serv¬
ices. If Kelly and Blair feel that their
rights have been violated, that is what
they should do."
By Gia Mancini
Associate News Editor
Stress isn’t just one facet of our
lifestyle today, it has become a way of
life. Students, professionals, even little
children are under stress continuously,
and instead of people using it and
controlling stress properly, it has
begun to control the lives of millions
creating frustration, a' feeling of pow¬
erlessness and eventually “burnout.”
Mrs. Jean Thompson, a psy¬
chotherapist from the Pasadena Men¬
tal Health Center gave a talk in the
Forum on Monday about how to effec¬
tively handle stress, instead of stress
handling you.
Mrs. Thompson began by saying that
the first step in keeping stress under
control is the ability to recognize the
warning signs and understand what it
is. Everyone has a substance called
adrenalin in their bodies, and this
substance stimulates the body, keeping
it in a constant state of high energy
output. Stress is caused when that
adrenalin surge is at a constant high
level. The body has no opportunity to
relax until bedtime, but this is not
enough rest to compensate for all the
energy that was released during the
day.
After a given period of all this high
level activity, the body begins to rebel.
It is being mistreated, and as Mrs.
Thompson said, “you have to take care
of yourself because no one else will.” If
you become sick from stress, then
basically only you can decide not to let
stress affect you in that way again.
Relationships with people un¬
doubtedly create stress. There has to
be some kind of equilibrium in a rela¬
tionship, and “you cannot only give
energy to people, but you have to get
energy back from various rela¬
tionships,” said Mrs. Thompson.
Some of the physical and mental
signs of stress are migraines, insom¬
nia, difficulty in concentrating and a
nervous stomach. Stress can also lead
to mental or emotional outlets such as
forgetfulness, a feeling of powerless¬
ness, frustration, and suddenly crying
for no reason.
The eventual outcome of unrelieved
stress is “burnout.” Burnout is a total
loss of interest and feeling, both emo¬
tionally and physically. Coping with
even the easy aspects of life is almost
impossible and your relationships with
other people suffer because of an emo¬
tional apathy.
Illness and depression are also com¬
mon outcomes of burnout. Burnout is
) often caused by reality versus
ectations. For example, going into a
for the first time and having high,
у
ideas, only to find that if e'xpecta-
is are built up too much, satisfaction
never be within reach. “Realize
t you can only do so much in a given
e,” Mrs. Thompson stated,
here are both positive and negative
rs of dealing with stress. The
ative ways can be tranquilizers,
jking, drinking gallons of coffee or
drinking alcohol in excessive amounts.
Any of these ways of dealing with
stress are only temporary, though.
Once the effect of the drug has worn
off, you’re right back where you
started, under pressure with no valid or
lasting way to relieve it. The continued
and increased use of drugs or alcohol
can only lead to more problems, and
then you’re caught within a vicious
cycle.
The positive methods of relieving
stress take a bit more time and effort,
but in the long run lead to lasting
results and increased satisfaction.
Yoga is a good relaxing exercise as is
meditation. A simple way of calming
down the body during the day is simply
to be aware of how tense it is and then
consciously relaxing it. “Reassess
yourself and how your body reacts to
stress,” stated Mrs. Thompson. Taking
a few moments just to be by yourself
can be quite effective when practiced
often. “Visualize a favorite place,”
suggested Mrs. Thompson, “and take it
with you.” Then when a few quiet
minutes can be found, concentrating on
something familiar and loved can be
very relaxing. In this way, the warning
signs of stress are quickly held in check
in the beginning stages.
“It is not selfish to take time for
yourself,” Mrs. Thompson said. Some¬
times people feel guilty for doing some¬
thing just for themselves. But it is not
bad to be a bit indulgent at times,
because too much of anything, be it
(Continued on Page 6)
KPCC Staff Cut To Ease
$2.4 Million Deficit
By Valerie Provines
Opinion Editor
In order to eradicate a $2.4 million deficit the
Board of Trustees initiated personnel cuts which
may affect the future existence of KPCC.
Dr. John Gregory, general manager of KPCC
was on the list of approved managerial cuts.
This would mean Gregory may be reassigned to
the position of instructor. However, the Board
has until mid-May to make the final decision,
pending a formal study of KPCC.
An analysis is being made of KPCC and how it
meets or relates to community needs. Issues
being dealt with include the instructional role of
the station, funding available and how revenue
might be generated.
“One-third of the budget (KPCC) is locked up
in the general manager’s position. We’re trying
to unlock that money so the station can have the
funds it needs,” said John S. Madden, vice
president of administrative services.
“Anyone getting cut is serious. I’ve got a third
of the resources tied up in one person and he
isn’t an on the air person.”
Madden said, he doesn’t want to cut any on the
air personnel • and was forced to look at the
managerial overhead. Approximately 88 per¬
cent of KPCC’s budget is allocated for personnel
costs, with the remaining percentage tied up in
equipment costs.
If Gregory is reassigned, Madden will assume
at least one fifth of the duties of the general
manager. However, Madden stated that he
already devotes that much time to the station
and will not present any real changes.
Gregory said, the cost effectiveness of this
change is not in the best interest of PCC. His
reasoning is that in addition to Madden, a
station manager will be brought into the system
for a salary that he feels might exceed $30,000.
Gregory said that this classified position should
be filled by someone with an extensive broad¬
casting background.
Not apprised of how Gregory arrived at the
$30,000 figure, Madden could not comment on
that amount. However, he did state that the
expenditure would depend entirely on the con¬
figuration. “There would be a minimum of
$24,000 savings. With other configurations it
could be larger without a reduction in services.”
To maintain the integrity of KPCC, Gregory
said, it is imperative that the position of station
managec be filled by the right person. He
further stated that the change would place a
non-certified person in that supervisoral posi¬
tion. “A move of this type is not in the best
interests of the students,” said Gregory.
“The bottom line on the suggested transfer of
the current general manager to the classroom
is: It is not cost effective. It would cost the
school district $30-$40,000. The instructional
aims would not be served. It would mean a loss
of the expertise of the current general manager.
The recommendation is not based on a rational
proposal.”
“When you are saving money, you are able to
cut out money. But, many times it’s not so much
cutting out money, but being able to re-allocate
money,” said Madden.
Empty Seats Exceed Student Senators at Meeting
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Once again the Student Senate meeting could not items were put off until the next regular meeting on Tuesday at
be officially held as a quorum was not present. The agendized noon. —courier photo
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LynnShepodd
The regular Student Senate meet¬
ing could not be held this week as not
enough senators were present for a
quorum. Gary Minissian chaired the
unofficial meeting as Senate Presi¬
dent Barte Masciarelli was unable to
attend due to another commitment.
Despite the fact that a quorum was
not present, Student Trustee Joe
Krovoza reported that the Board of
Trustees approved a resolution sup¬
porting Assembly Bill 2394, a bill that
will remove the ceiling on parking
fees. Krovoza expressed concern that
parking fees could go as high as $50
per semester.
Dean of Student Activities Alvar L.
Kauti discussed the student service
fund. The funds come from cafeteria
profits, the food truck profits and
bookstore profits. Guidelines for ap¬
propriation of funds are based on the
value to the students, Kauti said.
The Student Senate meets every
Tuesday at noon in R109. Topics that
will be discussed at future meetings
include the affects the management
cuts will have on student programs,
further updates on AB 2394, and dis¬
cussion of financial aid cuts being
proposed.