Serenity House
Men's soccer tourney
Unholy union?
Local program gives women a second chance at life. Feature, 8
Comets take second place in the Palomar tournament. Sports, 11
Should states have the right to legalize same-sex marriages? Opinion, 6
THE
ELESCOPE Palomar College
Friday, Sept. 'l-7, 1996
San Marcos, CA
Volume SO, Number 3
Students want more classes offered • Due to an increase in enrollment, most requirement classes fill up quickly causing many to crash classes Jessica Gleason Staff Writer
Melissa Wilhite came to Palomar five weeks ago with a modest hope: she wanted to crash a math class. Unfortunately, 20 other people had the same idea. She ended up not getting the class, but she did get some opinions. "If there arc that many people who need a class in that time slot, they should open another section," said Wilhite. She is not alonemany other students feel the same way. But faculty and administration say opening more classes isn't always the solution. ·'The problem is the students arc too fickle." said speech professor Ray Dahlin. "They don't want to come to classes that are too early or too late. We opened more classes and boosted faculty
to try and accommodate, but students only want prime-time classes ... Adding to the problem of fickle students is the fact that enrollment has increased over the last three years. Despite this growth, little or no money is allocated for new classrooms, says Robert Barr, director of research and planning. This year, due to growing population in the district and more classrooms available at the new Escondido Center, the district has allowed the college 9 percent more funds to increase enrollment. But Barr pointed out"the funding is f0r people to attend classes, not to build more facilities to accommodate them." With a 4 percent increase in student population this semester, the total enrollment at Palomar is currently almost
25,000.
Taking into account this increase, and the predicted 5 to 8 percent increase in the semesters to come, the counseling and instructional offices are working to organize new programs to accommodate students' needs for more classes. Students fighting to get into overcrowded general-education classes like math and English are now getting this advice from the counseling department - Change your schedules. According to Judy Eberhart. Counseling Department chair, students should avoid taking classes during the crowded prime-time hours, from 9 a.m. to noon, M{)nday through Thursday. One of the most promising programs to funnel students away from prime-
See CROWDED, Page 5
At a Glance
• What Happened: Many students find themselves "locked out" of popular required classes because core classes fill up quickly and too many students try to crash. • The Reasons: Boosted enrollment to 25,000 causes overcrowding, Most students want to take only late-morning classes and little hope for increased funding to build more classrooms. • Solution Suggested: School officials say students need to be willing to consider taking classes in the early morning or later in the day.
Students not interested in voting for ASG • Low voter turnout for the student government elections causes dismay Suzanne Block Staff· Writer
Carla Van Wagoner I The Telescope
Photography student Barbara Krywko receives a plaque from Father Joe Carroll and Polly's manager Jon Elis Sept. 25. Carroll was chosen to be the recipient of $500 worth of Polly's homemade pies.
Photo student wins contest, Carla Van Wagoner Slil/{ Writer
When Palomar photogt:aphy student Barbara Krywko walked into Polly's Bakery Cafe in Vista three months ago, she never imagined walking out a winner. The newly-opened restaurant was sponsoring a contest in which the winning customer would choose a charity of their choice to receive $500 worth of pies.
"There was the contest, some kind of receptacle for slips," said Krywko "so I filled out a slip." Three weeks ago, she was notified via a telephone call from Polly's marketing director, Michelle Mayer, that her slip was drawn and was asked about her choice of charity. Since Krywko was not expecting to win she quickly chose Father Joe Carroll off the top of her head. ·'When one thinks of charities in
tak~s
the pie
this county, that's who one thinks or-that's the name that popped in to my brain first," said Krywko. "I don't think one car. live in this county without knowing of him and he certainly does do good work." Carroll focused his energy for the last 14 years on easing the plight of the homeless in the San Diego area. He is known for being able to raise funds
See CONTEST, Page 5
Turnout for this fall's Associated Student Government election resulted in a five year low: a total or 142, or 0.5 percent, of enrolled students voted. The problem of low voter turnout is not new to Palomar. In the past five years. student participation in elections has not exceeded I percent. ASG members expressed dismay over this years lov. showing. "I think it's really sad and embarrassing that students have such little interest in electing their representatives v. ho usc student funds." said Berenice Arrezola. president of ASG. In the past years, the ASG has attempted to inspire student voting in a variety of ways. For the spring of 1995 election. the ASG conducted a raffle with a $50 cash prize. In order to be entered in the raftle, students were asked to vote. In the fall of 1995 election. the ASG hired a clown to walk around campus and get out the vote. Student apathy has not gone unnoticed. The ASG has made it a top priority to increase student participation in elections and other campus events. Last week the ASG cancelled Homecoming Court citing lack of student interest and participation as the reason. All eight senatorial candidates won their scats on ASG. hut they all ran unopposed. as there were I 0 seats available. Erica Olvera defeated David Espinoza by II votes in a hid for Executive Vice President. Espinoza is now seeking an appointment to fill the recently vacated Vice President of State Affairs seat until the next scJ1cduled election. Angela Alvarado ran unopposed for Vice President of Social Activities, but received more votes than all other cand idates. with a total of 114.