New constitution election set
THE TELESCQPEVotersasked to back up Palomar College
Volume 28
Number 32
A Publication of the Associated Students
ASGaction
Refugee pursues a new life in U.S. By Scott Woodham Kim "Annie" Cuz is a 27 year-old Vietnamese refugee woman worried about her future.She has no home, no job, only lurid memories of fleeing her native land. Cuz(Koo) has been living in "Tent City", the refugee installation on Camp Pendleton, with her parents, three sisters, and two brothers, since their evacuation from Saigon a month ago. Like most of the 6000 Vietnamese in Camp #8, and 18,000 refugees spaced out over Camp Pendleton, Annie is hoping to be sponsored soon, so she'll be able to begin a new life elsewhere. Her 33 year-old sister, who is married to an American serviceman and living in Virginia, is willing to sponsor Cuz and her family, yet red tape has slowed down the process. While awaiting the day she'll leave, Annie is sleeping on a cot, sharing an outhouse with eight people, and standing in line for her meals, sometimes up to two hours. "Yesterday I went to lunch and stood there from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. and they ran out of food," said Cuz. Temporary living conditions Despite the temporary living conditions, Annie is happy to be in the US. "I think you have treated us very well. I'm very touched," she replied. Speaking in almost fluent English she learned from a British doctor in Saigon, Cuz went on to explain wh:y she was among 26,000 refugees who fled South Vietnam and Cambodia. In Saigon, she lived with her family in a house and worked as a secretary for American Express Travel Agency and ABC News. Since she had close association with Americans during the war, her name appeared on the communists' death list. "When I found out I was in danger, there was only 30 minutes for me to grab my belongings and get my family on the plane." There was so little time, she could only manage to bring two shoulder bags full of clothes. For herself, she had only two pair of jeans, a shirt, and one pair of shoes. Since their arrival at Pendleton though, the Cuz family has purchased new clothing from the military store. Considered middle-class In Saigon her father worked with a French rubber plantation and was considered upper middle class.Annie's mother spent most of her time in their house, which was modest by American standards, but high class in Saigon. Prior to their evacuation from Vietnam, Cuz's parents had been refugees t.wice.The first time they were forced to fl§~ th~ir home was in Cambodia in 1972.From a small town in Cambodia, they fled to Saigon . Sea ttered throughout the refugee camps are attorneys, dentists, journalists, pharmicists, students, teachers, ministers, and librarians. Camp #8 is where most of the elite Vietnamese are staying, among them being former VicePremier Cao Ky. During this interveiw, it marked the first time she had been at her tent for any length of time.Most of the time she had spent at the Processing Center and lining up to buy clothes for her folks. Rice is not Cuz's main diet anymore, as it is with most of the Viet-
namese. "Ever since I left Vietnam, one month now, I have never eaten rice. "The only thing I eat here is salad. I'm very lazy to eat.I only have one meal a day." she said. In Vietnam a normal meal consists of rice, soup, meat or fish, and salad. "In my family salad was the main nutrients. Eat rice and fish sauce "The poor people in the country would inst. eat rice and fish sauce.Their main food is fish sauce. They put it over everything," Cuz said. - Living with Annie and her family is a man she helped evacuate out of Vietnam. "I can consider him my brother because he has no family here. "His mother came to me and asked me if I could get him out. They would be very happy to know at least one of their family would survive." said Cuz. · Many of her friends and relatives didn't get out though.Among those were young men in the military who had to stay behind and defend the country. "I'm not ashamed that I'm not married. I think if I was married I would be very unhappy, because my husband would still be in Saigon now, and I would have kids to support here" said Cuz. Marriage in Vietnam is still traditional in some families. "Some girls have no choice who they marry.Some of my own friends have committed suicide because of that. "One of my classmates was forced to marry a person on the family side.She ran away.Because of that she was denied by her parents." said Cuz. Engaged for four years Annie was formerly engaged for four years. Her ex-fiance, a Vietnamese, is now maJ:ried to an American girl in Alexandria, Virginia. When it comes to marriage and sex, Cuz considers herself a liberated woman, like most Vietnamese females her age. "I'm afraid of getting married. I've seen many, many broken marriages, and because of that I don't mind being single" she said. In Saigon a girl is usually married by the time she reaches 17 or 18. "If she was 20, she would be considered too old.She couldn't get married because the men pr~fer younger women," Cuz went on to say. "One time I went out to dinner and I didn't let my parents know.! went straight from work to dinner then to a nightclub and the movies.! didn't get home until a quarter to twelve and they were standing in front of our house on the street. Almost reported "They almost reported it to the police because they thought I had been attacked," said Cuz. Naturally, she has a lot of disdain for the communists. "I never believed in the communists. They say one thing and do it differently. "I didn't like the communist government, but I wouldn't talk out, only just speak to my friends. The newspapers couldn't even write what they should. "The poor people worked when they wanted to, and didn't when they had no need to.But with 'the communists, they have no choice now," emphasized Cuz. Life will go on for Kim Cuz. Hopefully she'll find a new home soon. "Sitting here, I think back about the streets of Saigon I used to walk on, but know I can no longer see them ."
NEWS AT A GLANCE Returning students wishing to be counseled in classes for the fall semester should do so now. Counselors will soon be devoting their time in helping new students.
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Representatives from Cutco and WearEver Aluminum, Inc. will be on campus May 29 from 11 a.m. until noon and 1 until ~ p.m. in room R4-B to interview students interested in full and / or parttime sales jobs in the North County and coastal areas.
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Deadline for signing up for the June 2 tour of the San Diego State library is Thursday in the library. A maximum of
By Dave Ross
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30 people will be taken on the tour, which is open to all students of the college. The San Diego State Library contains 900,000 volumes, and nearly a dozen of various interests. The bus will be leaving from Palomar at noon on June 2 and will return at 4 p.m.
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The Veterans Club will hold elections to choose officers for next year today at 11 a.m. in the club office in the Dome.
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Recreation majors are invited to attend a recreation meeting Tuesday at 9 a.m. in 0.12. New officers will be elected at this time.
(Photo by Scott Woodham)
Vietnamese refugee Kim Cuz is now living with 18,000 other Vietnamese in "Tent City" at Camp
Pendelton. She and her fellow refugees are waiting for an American family to sponsor them.
Comedy 0h Dad•• / continues; 1
run concludes next weekend After opening last night the cast and crew of "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad" continue performances tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the drama lab (P-33). Director Buddy Ashbrook describes the play thusly:"It's a farce, one of the first we've done here." Written by Arthur Kopit, the play includes several unusual effects, such as a Siamese cat-eating piranha fish, a stuffed human body and a personified cuckoo clock. "Oh Dad ... " was introduced on offBroadway, where it won the Obie Award as best play (1962). Ashbrook says, "It has been a favorite of community and educational theatres because it's not only a very funny play, but it also has a lot to say about the overdomineering mother, or, as Philip Wylie would say, "momism." Concerning Palomar's production of
Opera troupe presents Puccini's ~La Boheme'
the play, Ashbrook comments, "Not only are we trying to use the absurdist style in acting, but we are also mingling with that some commedia del arte to add to the depth of comedy. This play has given the actors the opportunity for inventing and improvising several comedic bits." The cast of the play includes Nancy Pinkerton as the domineering Madame Rosepettle, Joseph Mallard as her stammering son, Nancy Pentzien as the 'babysitter,' and Perry Skarra as the unsuspecting Commodore Roseabove. Other characters are bellboys, played by George Scott, Eric Armstrong, Dave Dunlop, Richard Hornbeck, Don Krout and Bob Saylor; two Venus fly-traps, played by Lisa McLeod and Alicia Pinkerton; a cuckoo clock, played by Phil Day; a waitress, played by Barbara Wesley; and the corpse, played by stage manager Jim Hawn. The production closes next weekend after performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $1.50 for students and $2.50 for non-students. Reservations may be made by calling 744-1150.
Puccini's opera "La Boheme" will be performed May 29 by the City of Angels Opera Company in the Dome. The performance will begin at 8 p.m. The company has toured the West Coast over the past three years. Their aim is to "prove that opera is for everyone" by providing schools with Because of the large divorce rate study guides and performances. among young couples, the Probation Their entourage is complete, including Department of San Diego County has scenery, portable stage, sets, costumes recently shown concern. and an experienced staff of technicians Due to this high rate the law has been and musicians. changed. Now, a couple contemplating Tickets may be obtained free of charge marriage may do so in premarital by sending a stamped self-addressed counseling. Counsel involves social, envelope to the Palomar College Depart- economic and personal responsibilities ment of Community Services, 1140 West incident to marriage. Mission Rd., San Marcos, CA 92069. The obvious intent is to hopefully turn Tickets may also be picked up at the box the tide of divorce among young couples. office. The majority of young marriage For further information contact the applicants are completely unaware of Palomar Department of Continuing the law, which leads to many problems Education. and pressures for the couple and their
Despite last-minute wrangles that kept the members of the constitution rewriting committee working until Wednesday, the constitution election will take place according to schedule: Polls will open in the Student Union Monday morning and continue to operate morning and afternoon until Friday. Initial objections to the constitution arose in the Assembly two weeks ago. Some members of the Assembly were unhappy to learn that, according to the original agreement that set up the committee last year, the Constitution was not subject to amendment by the Assembly. In other words it would go on the ballot despite any objections that the student representatives brought up. Several student officers specifically found fault with portions of the document. The first of these was Article IX, sections one and two in which it was written that elections of both the Executive and Legislative branches would take place in the spring. According to F.F. "Doc" Hollady, a member of the Assembly, those portions would "disenfranchise the freshman class, by depriving them of the right to vote." Holladay objected that "since twothirds of the students in the fall are freshmen, you are not allowing the great majority of the students to vote." Members of the Assembly also disagreed with the stipulation that a majority of the students voting would be sufficient to put the constitution into effect. One member argued that "According to the rules of the constitution under which we are working, amendments require a two-thirds vote." A special meeting of the Assembly was held Tuesday and members of the constitution rewriting committee, including Charles Hanlen, political science instructor who moderated the class, attended to help clarify any issues and iron out the basic objections of the Assembly members. Hanlen stated that the committee was quite willing to receive suggestions from the school officials, but that "it is interesting to note that there was little or no input during the four and a half months when we worked on it." He disagreed that the new constitution had to adopted using the rules of the old one. "The constitution is an entity within itself, owing no allegiance to the old one." He cited historical precedent such as the fact that the U.S. Constitution was adopted by three-fourths majority of the states, when the previous Articles of Confederation required a unanimous consent for any decisions. Hanlen also felt that the election procedure for officers and members of the Student Legislature was fair. "No matter what date you have elections, you will disenfranchize someone. If you have elections in the spring, then you will be ready to function on the first day you come back to school." Eventually, some compromises, acceptable to both sides, were worked out. With parts of the document altered by the committee, the Student Assembly and Executive Thursday voted to support its adoption. According to the revision, the constitution will require three fifths of the students voting to become in effect, a compromise between the simple majority favored by the committee and the two-thirds majority favored by others. Also, in addition to the election that will be held in the spring, another election will take place in the fall to replace any vacancies that may occur during the summer, thus affording the freshmen the opportunity to vote.
Premarital counseling oHered because of high divorce rate families. If a couple under 18 is thinking of marriage and interested in the program there are two requirements. 1) In California, those couples intending to marry, where one or both are under 18, will first need the court's permisswn. 2) The court is requiring these couples to participate in premarital counseling before requesting the court's permission to marry. For additional information, you should contact the San Diego County Probation Department premarital counseling program at 565-3401 or 5653257.