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ENTERTAINMENT
OPINION
SPORTS
Rod Stewart keeps on ticking with his latest CD "When We Were the New Boys." Some say this is Stewart's best yet.
Is the security problem big enough that the campus patrol needs to carry guns with them when they are on duty? Just how safe will you feel when guards are packing heat in our hallways? Page 4
Are you ready for some football? The Comets will kick off ' their '98 season against Cerritos College Sept. 12.
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THE FRIDAY,
SEPT.
11,
1998
PALOMAR
COLLEGE
Campus security to carry guns 1n '99
SAN
MARCOS
VOLUME
52,
NUMBER
1
PALOMAR SERVES UP A LITTLE PIZZA! PIZZA!
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Jessica Long Co-Eairorin Chief
A federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice has provided the means by which an armed police force will be in place at Palomar College by spring '99. Director of Campus Security, Mike Alleman said he feels this is a positive move for Palomar's security department. "As we've grown bigger and gotten larger with over 27,000 students within a 2600mile district," Alleman explained, "we arc encountering more and more need for a better law enforcement response to the various types of crimes that are occuring in our district. Such as car theft, burgulary, personal theft, etc. For the past IO years Palomar security has been com'priscd of two full-time, ..·.t1ne.rmed patrol officers and a half dozen or so part-time unarmed student patrol officers, Alleman said. Under the guidelines of the Cops Universal Hiring Grant, which was accepted by the Palomar College Governing Board in August , IO armed police officers will be hired by Palomar. This unit will form the Palomar College Community Police Department. The grant will provide for salaries, benefits and other budgeted items such as equipment. Conditions of the grant include that each officer hired must be certified through the California Peace Officer Standards and Training otherwise known as POST The training is the mandatory standard for
all police departments within California and includes background checks, physicals and psycological evaluations on all potential employees. An additional requirement would be between 800 to 1,200 hours of study for new officers. Police departments on college campuses are not at all unusual. In fact, says Alleman, they are "more common now than not." A total of 44 of the colleges and universities in California have police departments on campus including all the California State Universities, the Universities of California and various private institutions. On a national level, more than nine in 10 public insti tutions use "It is becoming the sworn police officers. growing standard Overall, for large community about two colleges to maintain thirds of those offitheir own police cers are force." armed with firearms. Alleman -Mike Alleman Dir"lctor of Campus :idded, "It is Security becoming the growing standard for large community colleges to maintain their own police forces." Of the 106 Californian community colleges, 43 have on campus police depart ments and 34 of those have armed officers . However, Alleman wanted to stress to students that the reason for the change in Palomar's security department is not the result of an increase of danger on campus. "Fortunately, it has not been any major incident that's causing a knee jerk reaction," said Alleman . He went on to say "(A police force on campus) is a proactive stance towards providing better security and improving that security so we can provide a safer envionment for education."
Warren Allen / The Telescope
Stus)ents wait in line for the fall semester's newest edition to the Student Union, Little Caesar's Pizza.
Cancelation of classes irks students Jessica Gleason Managing Editor
Most students breathe a sigh of relief after the first week of classes. However, for those students who have had classes canceled frustration is more common. "Now I'm a semester behind in a two year program," said American Sign Language student Erin Lewis after her afternoon ASL class was cance led during the first week due to low enrollment. "I had finally figured out a class schedule that would work for me and now I have to start from scratch," she said. Low enrollment is the most common reason for class cancellation, according to Diane Michael, assistant superintendent and vice president of instruction. A minimum class size of 18 students is required to keep
Palomar considers repairs for the Dome
a fall or spnng class open unless circumstances warrant an exception. Some of these exceptions include classes required to fulfill a transfer requirement , completion of a certificate or degree, or if classes are only offered once a year. ''The bottom line comes down to, losing money," said Michael. ''We can't justify keeping a low enrollment class open if it will take money away from a program that may need it." However, according to Michael, the deci sion to cancel a class is not made without considering the affect on students. "We try to make it as easy on students as possible," said Michael. When a class is canceled before school starts, attempts are made to contact the enrolled students.When a class has not met the enrollment requirement during the first
week of classes and ts m danger of cancellation faculty members will attempt to consult with the students to find new time slots or other sections that may still be open and can still fill their academic needs. "The one class I could have moved to was a night class and that doesn't work for me," Lewis said. "It's a bummer because I could have taken the class over the summer but I wanted to ·wait for this specific teacher. " That speci fie teacher is ASL- teacher Melissa Smith, who finds 1t disappointing that classes have to be canceled, but feels Palomar is good about dealing with the problem. "For my students that were moved to another class, the school didn't make them drop and re-add, they took care of the administration end of it which I thought went above and beyond," said Smith.
New pass is 'environmentally
friendlier'
Jessica Long Shigehiro Kondo
Co-Editor in Chief
Srajf Writer
Palomar's gymnasium, the Dome is showing severe signs of wear and tear . Prior to a Governing Board meeting on Aug . 25, Director of Athletics John Woods escor ted board members through a tour of the Dome's condition. Woods said that the three main reasons calling for alarm are all related to safety. Nails protruding from the floor ing are temporally covered by masking tape . Physical education professors take turns monitoring the floors to make certain the taped nails are secure. A lack of ventilation results in LOOplus degree heat making class in the Dome uncomfortable for both students and staff. And, in addition to the protruding nails and sweltering heat , the floor structure itself is rotted allowing for the floor to cave in from the constant use by basketball and volley ball players. "The Dome is an icon for Palomar," said Woods . "We certainly mak e the max of it." About 600 students attend cla ss in the Dome each year. The physical education depa rtment offers a variety of sections that require the use of the Dome from baske tball to volleyball to physical education for
Steve Marcotte/ The Telescope
Ernie Carson, the Counsel of Classified Employees union president (left) and Governing Board member, Harold Scofield examine the nails in the Dome's hardwood.
elementary schools. The Dome is also a landmark for th e community surrounding Palomar's campus. Palomar Airport uses the uniqu e structure as an aeronautical marker for incoming air traffic. Woods jokin gly said, "We certainly have no intent on movin g an aeronautical landmark. " However, Woods also said that th e curren t condition is very seri-
ous considering all the diving students often do in the course of play ing sport activities. "Whether we fix all the probl ems today or down the road, we need to at least begin lookin g at the prob lem s," Wood s sa id when addressing board memb ers. Repairs for the Dome are not yet scheduled due to the fact that the b oard must first beg in to budget for imp edin g costs.
Since Palomar has revamped its parking permit system to be more conducive to recy cling, endless leftovers of plastic hangers won't end up in the trash. "I just hated throwing them away," said Patty Ward, senior office specialist for campus security , of the used parking passes. Starting this semester, the new system provides motorists with blank white plastic hangers and stickers for their parking permits. The blank hangers should be kept while attending Palomar so they can be reused to affix new stickers purchased at the beginnin g of each semester. According to Ward, who is responsible for the reformed parkin g permits , recycling bins for the hangers will be set up toward the end of each semester for th ose who are leaving Palomar. The o ld sys tem provided motori sts with plastic hangers with pre-printed relevant infor mation, exce pt for motorcyclists and jeep driver s who were pro vided with sticker s to prevent theft s. Those han gers were not recyclable and were thrown away at the end of eac h semes ter.
While noting the change, Facilities Director Mike Ellis appreciated this "environment friendlier" system. "This was a good move. We have always been very concerned about recycling and we actually have recycled as much as we could," Ellis said. Robert L. Fox, supervisor of district cashiering services, also commended this changeover. "It is very good environmentally because we don't have lo just throw the whole thing away," Fox said of the change. However, protecting the environment costs some extra money, at least in the short run. Ward admitted that the new system will cost the college more . "When I started researching the changeover. ..I thought it would save money, Ward said. "But it is actually a little bit cheaper to print that process onto the hanger , instead of having two separates (hangers and stickers)," Ward added. Assumin g parking permit hold ers will keep their hangers as long as they attend Palomar, pro viding stickers will be sufficient for renewal. Ward hop es the cos t will even tually come out even. "In the long run , we are hoping that it will come out about the same," she said.