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Vol. 70, No. 12 • Monday, April 22, 2017
ASG 2017
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Photo illustration by Jacob Tucker/ The Telescope
Student Government candidates run for office unopposed JACOB TUCKER THE TELESCOPE
The Associated Student Government (ASG) elections took place last week, and only one student ran for each executive office. ASG holds elections for president and vice president at the end of every spring semester, and this year’s election ended on April 20. Chris Hopp was the only candidate for president and Amber Bancroft was the only candidate for vice president. The results of the election are not yet known as
of press time. Chris Hopp, ASG’s current vice president, said that in his time at Palomar, he’s seen that even though resources are available for students, many either don’t have access or they are being under-utilized. “That was what drove me into student government in the first place, and just continuing along that pathway is what’s driven me to run for president,” Hopp said. “We’ve got a pretty complex campus and it doesn’t always suit the students. There’s trouble in accessing the resources that are available,
there’s trouble with students just finding their way into the system to be successful.” Hopp is 33 years old and is finishing his sixth semester at Palomar. After high school he went to college at the University of Wisconsin for a year before dropping out and working at a heating and cooling company, where he rose to become a general manager. Hopp eventually realized that he wanted to do something else with his life, so he moved to California and started school at Palomar with the goal of transferring to University of Berkeley.
“I do have some more real world experience than a lot of the other students out there,” Hopp said. Hopp also has extensive experience in student government not just at Palomar, but at the state level. He serves as the Region 10 treasurer on the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, the officially recognized student body which represents all community college students in the State of California. As the vice president of Palomar’s ASG, he sits as the chair of the Legislative Affairs and External Action Committee. As well as chairman for
the Policies and Procedures Executive Review committee and other Shared Governance Committees. ASG’s current president, Malik Spence, said that Hopp’s experience at the state level will make him valuable as the ASG president. “It’s nice to get that inter-college experience as well because the next step in making sure ASG is surviving year to year is making sure that we have that interaction with the different colleges in our region.”
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Media professor retires, won 58 Emmys for the college KYLE FILLAT THE TELESCOPE
From Palomar College’s class of 1976, to 27 years in the professional broadcasting field, to 19 years teaching at Palomar College, Professor Pat Hahn has done it all in the Digital Broadcast Arts (DBA) field. In the beginning of April, Hahn submitted his retirement papers to the front office and recalled it as being “anti-climactic.” “I just gave the paper to someone who I don’t know, she doesn’t know me, and she just tells me to have a nice day and that’s it,” Hahn said. “I hope I made a difference in hundreds of thousands of students... One thing I will miss is not only the past students, but all the future students I won’t get a chance to teach” Hahn has grown the DBA field from five telecommunications classes when he started his career here to currently 25 DBA classes which stretch from film, radio, writing, producing and editing. The college now has a radio station, KKSM on AM 1320, as well as three television shows broadcasted live on cable television. Palomar has purchased 25 computers for the DBA program and now offers four degrees in DBA after only having one prior to Hahn’s hiring.
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The immense growth within the DBA program has led to many awards for Hahn as well as the program as a whole. The program has brought home 58 Emmys since Hahn has taken over. KKSM has been awarded the best college radio station in the nation in three of the last five years. Hahn himself has won awards such as 2000’s Palomar College Alumni of the Year and the 2003 President’s Recognition Award for outstanding teaching as well as several others. Felicia Vasquez, 22, one of Hahn’s students who has taken radio and television classes at Palomar credits Hahn with the help he brings to the program. Vasquez explains, “Pat is different because he offers real world advice from the industry and is willing to offer advice and constructive criticism.” A 2007 Palomar alumnus and current Channel 4 NBCLA reporter, Marin Austin credits Hahn with his help in guiding her towards her career. “Pat always took the time outside of class to work with me... I could ask him to meet me at any time of the day and he would always be there to help me.” Professor Hahn has worked in local and national radio, as well as local and national television. He has created several feature documenta-
ries, and with his spare time in retirement he is looking to begin work on his first feature film. Along with that Hahn figures he will find his way into helping coach and consult television news reporters and also mentioned that he is sure he will be teaching somewhere. “There’s going to be a huge hole
in the department and it’s going to be very tough to fill,” fellow professor Zeb Navarro said, “Pat has just been an encyclopedia of knowledge on many aspects of broadcasting.” During my time with Hahn, he mentioned that this interview was the first time the idea of actually being retired in a month hit him.
With retirement, Hahn is looking forward to taking a break. He is cherishing every moment he is spending in his remaining classes, reminiscing on the fact that “this is going to be the last time I give this test...the last time I show this movie.” KFILLAT@THE-TELESCOPE.COM
Department Chair Pat Hahn poses in front of a camera inside the digital broadcasting room at Palomar. Melissa Grant / The Telescope
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