E Vol. I, No. 1
San Marcos, Calif.
Speaker Criticizes Education System For Suppression "Liberty of thought soon sh rivels without freedom of expression," stated Dr. Robert Clar)<: when he add ressed some 600 students on freedoms of speech and . press during the fo u rth h u manities lecture Wedn esday in the Student Union. Dr. Clark, dea n of faculty at the Umversity of Oregon , out· lined freedoms and respon s ibi lities implied by the Bill or R ights and to ld of vicious ignorance brought about by the suppression of information in American education on Communism. The lecture, entitled "Freedom is a Voice: Liberty of Communication and Con s cienc e," drew more students than any of the previous lectures of the present series on "Society and F reedom." Criticism Dr. Clark asserted that "free speec h in a democratic society means the right to criticize not our peers only, not our equals on ly, or those subordinate to us - but our superiors." He cited the famous John Peter Zenge: trial of 1733, which established the American concept of free press that if a thing is true, it cannot be libelous. The speaker told of a national poll that revealed how nearly half the people in the United States favor restriction of free speech and free press. Dr. Clark attributed this apathy to people's ignorance of just what freedom of speech and press means to a society. He said "every generation has to learn that meaning anew." Justice According to Dr. Clark, the only reason our freedoms have been preserved to date is because some people concerned with them knew their rights under the Constitution and Bill of Rights and were willing to fight for those rights until they got justice. He illustrated this with the case of a Mississippi supreme court's decision on a Negro reporter's appeal for his right to criticize the courts. The allwhite jury upheld the reporter's ple a , stating "Courts can and should in many cases be critici zed by citizens. Criticism is a right of free speech and free press." Ignorance Cl a rk complained th a t becau se our American schools were afraid to talk about communi sm, students were left ignorant of th e ba sic ten e ts of the major ene my of our tim e. He aske d s tud e nts to co nsid e r th e BUllETIN - Palomar will play Barstow College, the Desert Conference winner, at 8 p.m. here either Wednesday, Feb. 27, or Thursday, Feb. 28, in the playoff game for the right to enter the state junior college basketball tou rnament. Barstow was upset by Victor Valley Saturday night, 74-69, but won the Desert crown anyway because it held a two-game lead entering the eame. Palomar won the coin toss for the home court advantage. The state tourney will be held March 7, 8 and 9 in Sacramento with th'e playoff victor facing the Golden Gate Conference winner, either City College of San Fran cisco or Diablo Valley, in the first round.
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Dr. ROBERT CLARK loss and gap we have in our history, in the development of ignorance, because we didn't know t he facts when free speech was suppressed. Telling of states that now have laws requiring the teach ing of communism, Dr. Clark s aid , "Without tolerance for listening to others' views, we're apt to jeopardize the expression of the views we outselves hold." "Freedom is indivi sible : if we want to enjoy freedom we must be prepared to extend it to everyone," continued Clark. Overstatem ent He said that in the heat of conflict man will sometim es overstate his case, but that criticism and freedom is so important that they should be protected even in the case of overstatement. "This is a hard lesson for American s to learn," he added. Dr. Clark cited the words of Supreme Court Justice Franklin Murphy: "Freedom covers th e right to criticize. It covers the right to disparage, even though the terms be vitriolic, scurrilous, or erroneous." But the considerable freedom given by the Bill of Rights does not give an excuse to shirk responsibility. "Freedom is not a matter of rights only," Dr. Clark went on. " It is not an arrogant . disregarding of the freedom of othe rs; it is not a flexing of mu scles or a trumpeting of selfass e rtion. Freedom is a product of the social environme nt. It implies responsibility, as well as rights."
Folk-Singing Time Thursday An organized folk-singing session, better known as a hoote nanny, is scheduled at Palom a r for Thursday eve ning. Spon sored by campus servi ce club Tau Epsilon, the sessi on begins at 7:30p.m. in the Stud e nt Union , according to a club re presentative. Group s or individuals who wish to sing may sign a clipboard which will be provided at the entrance of the Stud e nt Uni on that evening. "Re gi ste red participa nts will have 15 minutes each to sing three or four songs.
Monday, Fe bruary 18 , 1963
Trustee 11 Years, Mrs. Beemer Fi les Candidacy Mrs. Eleanor Beeme r of Pauma Valley has filed declaration of candidacy for trusteeship on the Palomar Board of Governors. Mrs. Beemer IS finishing her eleventh year as a trustee June 30, 1963. She was elected to three consecutive terms and was given two additional one-year terms by actions of the California Legislature. Mrs. Beemer is a graduate of Santa Ana Junior College and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree by UCLA in 1928. She took an additional year of classes at the University of California to obtain her secondary teaching credential. She taught three years in a Santa Ana elementary school before coming to Pauma Valley. Since 1932 she has lived in Pauma Valley, with her husband, Millard J . Beemer, where they have developed a citrus and avocado ranch. Mrs. Beemer is active in San Diego County Republican Women's Club. Palomar Junior College District encompasses the high school districts of Fallbrook and Escondido and the unified district of Vista. Since the inception of Palomar College the Board of Governors has· been composed of two members from each of the larger districts, Vista and Escondido, and one from the smaller Fallbrook High School District. Pauma Valley is a part of the Fallbrook district which Mrs. Beemer represents. The terms of one director from Vi sta, Dr. Bainbridge M. Lark in, and one from Escondido, Mr. Morse Olmstead, expire June 30, 1963. Mr. Olmstead has filed for candidacy after serving two terms - seven years.
Police Wi ll Tag Illegal Parkers Campus police will tag all autos that are parked in a parallel fashion along the College's northwest driveway, it was learned today. Security officer William Vollmer reported that the parallel-parking ban, which goes into effect tomorrow, will apply only to areas north of the Music building. Violators will be summoned to traffic court and fined if convicted.
Aid or Tool?
Misuse of Procedures Poses Threat to Student
Parliamentary procedure has historically been an aid to society in facilitating the formal and proper movements of its government. It has usefully served as a safeguard against random action of governing bodies. It has helped keep erect the political ideals to which we as citizens and students subscribe. But for a governing body to use parliamentary procedure as a tool to some end is wholly irresponsible , and presents a serious challenge to the welfare of any society. Recently, such a misuse of parliamentary procedures occurred in student government at Palomar. Student council members suspended a meeting's agenda, introduced a new motion to the floor, stopped discussion on it before any could take place, and then unanimously passed that motion. This "steamroller" treatment of an issue concerning the student body's welfare cost the Council the loss of much respect. Through the efforts of one Council member and 111 students a protest petition was circulated and presented back to Council. Council members recinded the motion, and withdrew to lick their wounds. But it was a hard lesson for them to learn. Embarrassed at having begun the semester on the wrong foo( they tried to hide their misdeed by bellowing at observers. Then they flexed their political muscle and threatene d to take away from the student body its biggest check on Student Council - the campus newspaper. So now the students stand challenged against freedom of expression. A free press no longer exists here because Council threatens, and has the power, to suspend the newspaper's publication. If their whims should overpower them again, Council members might well use parliamentary procedure to "steamroll' an action that would take away the student's free voice and set student government at Palo_m ar back 17 years.
Editorial:
Student Rating Form Needs Revisal Before the semester is over each Palomar instructor will pass out to his students a form entitled · "Student Rating of Instructors." After being evaluated on ten qualities allegedly important to good teaching, the instructor will tabulate the ratings and turn in the resul1s to the Dean oflnstruction. According to the rating form this system is an effort by each junior college to find out th e quality of teaching in all junior colleges. According to the rating form the instructor turns in the rating summary without his name on it. These statements are untrue. Student rating of instructors at Palomar is not an effort by all junior colleges to find out the quality of teaching, nor do instructors turn in rating results without their names. After the instructor has tabulated the evaluation results he must turn in the tally with his name on it to the Dean of Instruction. Eventually this information reaches the College president, and is then subject to review by the Board of Governors. For each of the ten questions on the rating form are four possible answers for the student to consider. Each question is worth a certain number of points, later to make up the total weighted score. Each question is supposedly a
criteria of good teaching. One question asks the student to compare his instructor to all other instructors. Anothe r suggests that an instructor who "continually makes you think for yourself" is better than one who "stimulates considerable thinking." Even another suggests that "variety in method" in teaching is superior to consistency in method. The concept of improving instruction through student evaluation is a sound concept. But is the matching of instructors against each other germane to this concept? Is it essential to improvement that instructors hand in evaluation results with their names? An injustice IS being done to the Palomar faculty. The form is sadly in need of revisal. It should be adapted to the various departments of the College, and should provide for the student's own comments with the understanding that these comments will not be identified to particular instructors. The faculty members' hands are tied. Now only the student can protest. At the top of the form is stated: "Your honest judgment is all this questionnaire requires." Maybe the best manifestation of this honest judgment would be the student's flat refusal to fill out the present-type rating form.