WEEKLY FEATURE
THE
Functional Illiteracy-
. . . . . .LESCOPE
Friday, October 8, 1993
Palomar Community College
San Marcos ,CA
Palomar reading instructor helps facilitate read-
Volume 47, Number 5
Renaissance Faire here soon
INSIDE
By Judy Erickson
rJ NEWS
Copy Editor
•The new Faculty Diversity Coordinator draws strength and experience from her life to help spread diversity at Palomar. see page 4
•Do you have a complaint about a campus incident? A new student grievance policy is in the works which would facilitate filing a redress. see page 5
rJ OPINION •Religion and science go head to head in a heated debate over the controversial issue of creationism being taught in public schools. see page 6
rJ A&E • Are you a vinyl fanatic? As you've probably noticed, it has become increasingly harder to find your favorite album on viny., but there ar some places that still carry them, at a price. see page 9
Heather Bass/Editor-in-Chief
Student Dennis Bolling donned classic garb on Wednesday during the Club Days festivities. Bolling was promoting the upcoming San Marcos Renaissance Faire.
Lords and ladies will enjoy a jousting good time reenacting days of yore at the lOth annual Renaissance Faire in San Marcos. The San Marcos Chamber of Commerce and VisiLOrs Information Center present the event three consecutive weekends starting this week. Renaissance costumed musicians, jugglers and pranksters will stroll the fair grounds and provide continuous entertainment on three stages. Period games include archery, fencing, jousting and mock combat. Knights will joust in "The War" which begins at 5 p.m. each day of the fair. Storytellers, puppeteers and fantasy face painters will also entertain the children. Visitors can barter at the market place with medieval artisans, including blacksmiths, pewterers, calligraphers, artists, woodcutters, jewelers and weavers . Foods prepared from ancient recipes include turkey legs, spun sugar, steak on a stick, truffles, meat pies and tarts. Amateur photographers may com pete in the photo contest by taking shots at the event. The winning photos will appear on next year's fair's pamphlet. Costumes and masks will also be judged. Gates open at 10 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 9-10, 16-17 and 23-24. To get there, take highway 78, exit Twin Oaks Valley Road, head south and follow the signs. Adult price is $8; children 7-12 get in for $3 and those under 6 are free. For information, call the chamber at 744-1270.
Student Union may be renovated
rJ SPORTS The announcement of Michael Jordan's sudden retirement shocked the world. Read about it in Kris Pope's column. see page 10
The football team's last second victory over El Camino College kept their national title hopes alive. see page 11
Project entai Is $1 fee increase By John Conzemius
Staff Writer Calling Palomar College's existing Student Union inadequate to accommodate the college's 22,550 students, members of the Associated Student Government have introduced a plan to renovate the gathering place. The plan, entitled the "Student Union Referendum" would raise student's tuition fees by $1 per unit to pay for the renovation
and remodeling of the Student Union, with a cap of $10 per student Students enrolled at Palomar's Escondido satellite location would be exempted from the fee. ASG Senator Jenni Naegele complained that the Student Union's atmosphere was too noisy and crowded, especially for students who wanted to study. "(The Student Union's) Study Hall is kind of a joke," she said. "With its hard floor and entrance and exit, it is nearly impossible to concentrate there." ASG President Denny Ngo told The Telescope that despite this semester's drop in enrollment, the growth of the student body over the past five years necessitates the reno-
vation of the Student Union. Ngo said, "We envision a student union accessible to the students. It would also serve as an ideal location for students to participate in multi-cultural events." The Student Union Referendum requires atleast20 percent of the student body (about 4,510 students) to vote and for it to pass by a two-thirds majority, a proposition which might be a long-shot, considering Palomar's history of poor election tum-outs. The prospect of students agreeing to a fee increase left at least one student doubtful of the success of the referendum.
•See RENOVATION, page 5
RTV Students stage fake disasters in class excercise By Bjarne Olsen
Staff Writer Three radio and television students put a new twist to a class exercise last week, which almost got them in serious trouble. The exercise entailed covering a series of mock disasters developed by radio and television teacher Rob Branch to teach students of his RTV 140 class how to react and report during a real life news story. Students had one hour to get the information, develop the story and get it out over Palomar's KKSM radio. Three students, Natasha Allen, Nick
Miller and Julie Kramer, were repOrting a "plane crash" on campus, when they came up with a way to distract the person who was playing the law enforcement officer in the scenario. According to Branch, one of the student reporters faked an asthma attack in order to get the story. She began to act as if she were hyperventilating and going into some sort of respiratory attack. "In the real world, reporters are going to hit brick walls when covering a story. That wall is usually law enforcement," said Branch. "I guess they just over empathized," he added.
Witnesses said that while the two female reporters were distracting the officer, the other one went around and cornered a witness for an interview. Branch, who was observing the exercise along with others, thought that the attack was real. He was understandably worried and called Student Health Services in order to try and get some oxygen for the apparent victim. "It was more of a parental concern," he said. "I really worry about my students." Mterward, when Branch found out the attack had been staged, he was not happy. "At first, I was really pissed off. If they
would have tried that in the real world, they would have been arrested." Later, Branch said he realized that he did tell his students to use their imagination, and that it would be unethical to be angry with them for just doing what they were told. "It was a fortunate-unfortunate incident," Branch remarked, "They learned. They learned the hard way, but they learned." The lesson he said the students received was not to go lO extremes while covering something newsworthy. Branch summed it up easily, "Get the story, but don't give your teacher a heart attack!"