The Telesco Friday, October 7, 1988
Palomar College, San Marcos, CA
Green cancels senate race
Couch potato?
By Larry Boi!ijolie Editor-in-Chief In an effort to save time and money, Associated Student Government President Ken Green called off senatorial elections slated for early this week. Green used as a basis for his decision a precedent-setting case in which Dr. Robert Daugherty was appointed to his position on Palomar's Governing Board due to the lack of an opponent. Ten senatorial seats were available; however, only eight candidates were approved to vie for the positions. According to Marilynn Lunde, senior secretary of Student Activities, 15 applications for the positions were handed out. Of those 15, 12 were filled out and returned for processing. Four of the prospective candidates were disqualified due to the inability to meet basic requirements. "I am disappointed that not more people were involved in the process," said Director of Student Activities Jim Bowen. Bowen claimed the lack of
(Photo by David Czoske)
A student relaxes in a campus lounge with basketball in hand. Student lounge areas are popular campus meeting rooms. The lounge area located in the Student Union Building offers a large-screen television (which plays daytime dramas and syndicated shows), couches and dining tables.
Car burglary spree hits; Patrol without suspects By Tamra Goulart Staff Writer "Someone's breaking into cars," warns Boyd Mahan, director of the Campus Patrol. Three automobile burglaries, two petty thefts and one grand theft, have taken place in the course of two days. ''We haven't had that kind of theft before," Mahan says. "It's a little scary." "Petty thefts are anything under $400," explains Mahan. "Grand thefts have to go to the state. Our reports stay local, so grand theft victims are told to call the Sheriff's Department." In one incident on Sept. 22, student Lori Taguma reported leaving her car at 8:30 a.m. in parking lot 5D. When she returned at 4:30 p.m she realized her car had been burglarized. Taguma explained to the Campus Patrol that she had left the sunroof partially open, which appeared to be the point of entry. Taguma reported $80 in cash and a $200 diamond watch missing from her 1981 Mazda RX-7. Also on Sept. 22, student Rich Campbell reported leaving his car in lot 12 at 9:00 a.m. When he returned at 1:00 p.m., he found his Alpine car stereo and four speakers missing. The stereo, which was stolen from Campbell's 1988 Volkswagen Jetta, is valued at $900. The grand theft was reported to the Sheriff's Department, who fl.led the report. Although the Sheriff's Department saw no signs ~f forcible entry, they believe the probable point of entry to be a door window. In another incident, at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 23, Kevin Schwab witnessed three
Volume 42 No. 4
men leaving the area of a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia while jogging through the lot. Schwab described the suspects as white males, approximately 20 years old, with dark hair, and supposedly fleeing the scene in a silver Toyota Tercel. One of the suspects was seen carrying a royal blue wetsuit that appeared to have an object wrapped inside. Schwab notified the Campus Patrol, who immediately investigated. The owner of the car was not present, so Officer Tim Phipps left a note on the car asking the registered owner to contact the Patrol office. After receiving the note, owner Glen Biltz reported to Campus Patrol that his wetsuit and skateboard were missing. However, Biltz stated that $200 in checks and cash were left untouched in the glove compartment. A broken window was believed to be the point of entry. Mahan admits there is little chance of retrieving the stolen articles, especially in the case of the car stereo, because there were no serial numbers. "I doubt that the thieves that stole it are going to use it," he comments. Mahan explains that stolen car stereos are usually resold by those wanting to obtain drugs or other illegal items. In such thefts, the thieves usually receive only 10 to 20 percent of the actual value of the stereos, he said. In such cases, Campus Patrol has only limited jurisdiction. According to Mahan, the Campus Patrol cannot chase or make any physical contact with suspects, as Palomar claims no liability. Campus Patrol officials have
(see THEFf- page 2)
participation was due to the inability of the ASG to inform students of the available senate seats. In a letter to ASG senators, dated Sept. 26, Green announced the qualification of all eight senatorial candidates, stating that, "It makes sense to just seat the senators at our October 5th meeting." In the letter, Green cited that hours campaigning and staffmg the ballot station are spent in running elections. He also pointed out that costs of as much as $50 is allocated by the ASG to each candidate to forge a campaign. ''The balloting stations would have been open four days and nights," said Bowen. "We probably would have had to pay people to run the stations. The decision will save money." The Daugherty decision, which Green used for precedence, drew upon a provision in the California Education Code which allowed him to be appointed due to a lack of candidates. Bowen, who stated earlier that
he would follow the ASG constitution, pointed out that no provisions in the document were violated by the decision. "There is nothing in the constitution that addresses this issue," said Bowen. The problem of unavailable candidates in the ASG elections is not a new one, although Green's decision to cancel the election is. In past elections, if too few candidates were running to fill available seats, 25 percent of all votes cast were required to elect a candidate. If a student vied for a senate position and did not receive one quarter of the votes, then he or she would not acquire the position. "It's a waste of time to vote when there are not enough candidates," said Bowen. In the future Bowen hopes to increase awareness by students of upcoming elections. "This time we didn't work hard enough to get the word out," he said. Bowen hopes to solicit future senatorial candidates from the ranks of the Interclub Council and Political Science classes.
Women's center ljust vanished' By Jonathan Young Production Manager
Confusion has arisen amid the recent closing of the Women's Center. Started as a student help center, the center was closed at the beginning of this year due to the lack of a coordinator, insufficient fmancial support, and a desire to better utilize room R-10. The fmal decision to close the center came from a collaboration between Jim Bowen, director of Student Activities, and ASG President Ken Green. "I noticed over the summer, it (the room) wasn't being utilized," said Bowen, who took over for Frank Hankin this year. He also noticed that the ASG was looking for a "more visible" room for the Student Information Center. Lois Galloway, who coordinated the center last year, did not return in that capacity this year, and the vocational education department will not be using the center, Bowen also discovered. After Bowen discussed the matter with Dr. David Chappie, vice-president of student affairs, and his assistant, Dr. Kent Backart, Bowen and Green mutually agreed to put the center "on hold" and move the Student Information Center to R-10. Green, the ASG vice president, and the ASG senators are using R-7, where the Student Information Center was located, as office space. The
Information Center is now located in room R-10, taking the space alloted for the Women's Center. "The Women's Center, in effect, is not terminated, just on hold," said Bowen. Bowen, along with other college officials, says that the center wasn't maintaining enough activity to keep that room. He said that the center was only open two hours a day. But he adds, "We have other rooms that could be open all the time." "Whenever it wasn't to be staffed, it can be ... if there's a need, we've got a facility." Chappie, in a seperate interview, agreed with Bowen, saying, "There were no activities outside it being a lounge. There were also some workshops, though." In contradiction, Galloway gave evidence to the center's success. ''We used the center as a referral service, helping women in crisis situations," she said. "It was a place for students to help students, women to help women." According to her, about 700 students came through last year between October and May. "The students who worked there had enough information and knowledge to make effective referrals," Galloway said, also pointing out that the students assisted in such areas as jobs and child care.
(see VANISHED- page 2)
Superintendant/President Dr. George Boggs (left) assists Duke Brantley in raising Palomar's new victory flag. The banner made its inaugural flight last week in honor of Karen Huffman (pictured right) who was recently selected by the American Psychological Association as the outstanding community college psychology teacher in the nation.