BingeDrinking
Abortion Restrictions
Comets Softball
Forty-four percent of U.S. college students partake in this destructive habit.
Should abortion be legal in all cases, or should the United States place restrictions on the practice?
Comets send the Arabs back to the desert with 6-0 loss. Comet pitcher Erika Koivula wins her 8th straight game.
Feature, page 9
Opinion, page 5
Sports, page 10
•
MONDAY,
MARCH
22,
Music, fashion, food and auction set to bring in Spring Fest '99 Michelle Yates Staff Writer
It is nearing the middle of the semester and it is time for a break. To jump start spring vacation, the ASG will host "-Spring Fest, March 23 through March 25. The ASG wanted to get students excited and ready for spring break by pres en ting alternatives to drinking while on vacation, says Elaine James, vice president of social events. James ha s organized the week's events in collaboration with the program and publicity committee. A four-band concert will launch th e fe~tivities on Tuesday, March 23. Palomar student based bands Skatomic Bomb, 26 Movement, God Rocket and The C lassified wi II perform from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Jammin' Z90 will be on campus playing music and handing out free prizes between bands. On Wednesday, March 24, the ASG will be gri llin g ham burgers and hot-dogs for all students beginning at 11 a.m. The Pepsi Challenge crew will also be there handing out Pepsi. Food will also be served for night students beginning at 5 p.m. There will also be a fashion show organized by the ASG beginning at l 1:30 a.m. It will showcase various ethnic fa~hions according to James. Members of the International Club were invit ed to display ' native costumes and sty le s. Other student volunteers will also show various costumes. In addition to the bands and fashion show, the Dance and Drum Ensemble will perform severa l numbers on the same day. Glass blowers and photographers have been invited to display their work. Spring Fest will conclude March 25 with an auction of ASG officers. They will be auctioned off to the highest bidder and proceeds will be given to the Palomar food bank. The purchased officers will act as slaves to the highest bidders and will do thin gs suc h as serve them food for the day. The auction will not only raise money but it will give st ud e nt s a chance to spe nd time with ASG officers and learn about their various duties, says James.
SPRING FEST '99 March23:Fourband
concentrom 10a.m.-2 p.m.
March 24:Food, fashion
show andmusic staningat11a.m. March25:Auction of ASG Officers.
1999
PALOMAR
COLLEGE
SAN
MARCOS,
CA
VOLUME
52,
17
NUMBER
Police Academy graduates 31 cadets Amy Bolaski Staff Writer
Completing a certificate program or earning an associate 's degree is always exciting for students, and those graduating from Palomar's Police Academy are no exception. Thirty-one students who completed the curriculum required to graduate attended the ceremony for cadets held at the Base Theater at Camp Pendleton Saturday, March 13.
Major Gen. Robert Magnus, Commander of the Marine Corps Air, Western Division, was the featured commencement speaker. Senior Officer Dennis Thornton of the Oceanside Police Department, who was shot in the line of duty last
year, also spoke to the cadets. Palomar·s Academy Coordmator, Thomas Plotts, welcomed the students and faculty, and Superintendent and President George Boggs presented the degrees. The program also awards certificates to cadets, and Director of Public Safety Larry Roberts presented the certificates. Palomar's Police Academy's primary goal i, to train and help prepare those who hope to pursue a career in Jaw enforcement. Requirements for the program arc set by the California Commission on Peace officers Standards and Training, and Palomar's program seeks to exceed those standards. Students who enter the program must com-
The 31 members of Palomar's Police Academy Class "2698" graduated on Saturday, March 13.
Photo courtes) of the Police Academy
see CADETS, Page 8
It came out of no where
Palomar juggles • adjunct issues ■
Part-time instructors face low pay, absence of benefits Michelle Yates Stqff Writer
Johnny Rabago / 11u Tele.tcopt
On Friday, March 12 at 1 p.m. a bus collided with a pickup in front of the library. Both the driver of the pickup and the bus claim the other is responsible. There were no passengers on the bus and no one sustained injuries from the accident.
College assessment begins Sean O'Connor Staff Writer
When a<;sessors come to assess the value of a piece of property, they examine it from all angles. Based on their assessment , the value of the property is dete1mined. Palomar is now und ergo ing an Assessment of Learning Proje ct (ALP). The purpose of the assessme nt is to ask questions about the quality of learn ing at Palomar and to determine the value of the learni ng experie nce at Palomar. According to a draft of the Palomar College Statement of Principles on Assessment, the college community should be involv ed in identifyin g core sk ills and to devel op benchmarks , or milestones, to eva lu ate student progress. The ALP team organized a number of focus groups involvin g students, staff, and faculty. and community members to brainstorm what learn ing outcomes would be bes t for Palomar students and what sugges tion s for benchmark assessments could be estab lished. The purpose of the focus groups was not to arrive at decisions but to "get ideas out." John Tagg, a facilitator of
a focus group , which met_ March I 0, said. The question posed by Tagg to the focus group was, "What should students be learning and how can we assess what they learned')" The focus group found that students need to acquire skills in working in teams or groups . But within the gro up they also saw the need for the students to be able to develop their own convictions. One member of the focus group said students should "agree to disagree" on some issues. Nonetheless. all members of the focus group stressed the need of ski lls for socia l interaction. They affirmed the need of working in groups and arriving at group consensus in addition to asse11ing individual dissent. Another stated that students shou ld develop habits of self -management and develop abilities in prioritizing and organizing. These skills are not directly addressed in the curriculum . Studen ts sho uld also have research skills and to be ab le to critique an argument. As for benchmarks the focus group felt there was a need
see ASSESSMENT, page 3
Part-time teachers make up the overwhelming majority of community college professors. This semester Palomar College employs 940 adjunct (part-time) instructors with only 275 contract (full -time) instructors. While the numbers change slightly from semester to semester, there is still a huge gap between full-time and part-time staff. According to an article in Perspective, comm unity colleges lead all upper education schools in the number of adjuncts emp loy ed and there has been a steady rise over the last 10 years. According to the art icl e, between 1988 and 1997 there was an 8 percent drop in fulltime instructors while there was an 8 percent increase in student enrollment at the community college level. Jamie Clo pton, a Palomar adjunct psychology t_eacher said, "This is a real sensitive issue." "Decisions made for the faculty are not made by the faculty," she added. It is a sensitive issue because the disadvantages of being an adjunct instructor go beyond the reduced salary, no medical plan and no retirement plan. They struggle for office space . "I used to meet with students in the parking lot at our cars ," said Clopton . Adjunct.faculty don't get paid for
Palomar's
office hours or prep lime. Clopton said, "I have to do all the prep work, but I don't get paid for it. My pay starts when class starts." Clopton says this affects students, "You've got to understand that the adjunct is in a curios position. We have the same responsibilities to our students as any other faculty member does," said Clopton. "But we only get paid for thchours in the scheduled class. This ultimat ely takes it toll on all parties concerned - adjunct and students." They don't know if they will have a job each semester. "I have no contract. You s~, my job starts when the semester starts and ends when the semester ends." They don't know the feeling of job security. Their average stay at a college as an adjunct is five to six years, says Clopton. "We're the· first ones to go," she added. They spend hou rs traveling from facility to facility just to maintain full-time work. "We're freeway fly ers. We do a lot of go ing to other campuses," said Clopton. Clopton has been an adjunct at Palomar College for 2 1 years. She says she is lucky because she works for a department that is goo d to the adjuncts. Mark Vernoy, president of the Faculty Senate, said the main reason for the large number of adjuncts is simply money, or lack of it. "The state only allocates a certain amount of money to all of the colleges," said Vernoy. Community colleges, thou gh hav ing so me of the highest enrollment of al l co lleges, fa ll to the bottom of the list among schoo ls to receive money, Vernoy said.
see ADJUNCT, Page 8
Adjunct
Faculty
Adjunct, or part time, instructors make up 940 of Palomar's 1,215 instructors. These are the results of a survey published in the Adjunct Faculty Newsletter of 216 adjunct faculty members. Question
Yes
No
Other
Would you prefer to teach full time?
61%
32%
7%
Are you happy with your present salary?
26%
64%
10%
Do you find an adequate voice for your concerns?
39%
33%
28%
Do adjunct working conditions have a negative impact on student performance?
68%
··-·
·-
-
13%
19%