Tennis Wins Matches Against Tough Opponents Page 11
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Good Trade With Asia, Mexico HolcLs Future For U.S. Page 8
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FOR SEU'
THE Friday, March 4 1994
. . . .LESC
Palomar Community College San Marcos, CA
Volume 47, Number 15
Owner Puts Palomar Landmark on Market Mireille Samson Staff Writer
Palomar College may be losing its "P" one of these days. The 40-year-old college landmarkis located on a mountain north of Borden Road behind the school that's for sale - and bas been, actually, for years. Gerrie Ryan, an Escondido resident, owns the 30-acre plot with
•Owner Looks For Buyer For "P" Mountain the 181-foot-high, 82-foot wide letter, and she wants to sell the property for $900,000. The only problem is, there are no takers. Former Palomar student activists and San Marcos conservancy groups have pressured Ryan torefrain from selling the property. They have urged her to donate it to
the college or the city in a spirit of conservation, but the land, she says, is ultimately hers to develop or sell as she pleases. "Private property is still one of our basic Constitutional rights," Ryan said. The "P," which was backed out of brush by Palomar students in
1952, has since periodically been maintained by student volunteers who have braved the steep slope of the hill to whitewash the letter. While Ryan says she doesn't mind students biking there, she said continuing to retain the property over the years is getting expensive. "Somebody bas to pay the
bills," she said. Ryan, who bought the land 15 years ago for $300,000, has tried selling it to developers, but has come across several obstacles. The property is subject to a ridge ordinance imposed by the city of San Marcos intended to preserve the natural ridge line of the hills, according to officials. See SALE, page 4
Comet Center Up in Anns Over Nightclub Sponsor
School is Such a Grind ...
•Groups Charged Event Would Promote Alcohol Daniel Kwan Staff Writer
•ASG Takes Trip to Washington D.C. to Lobby Government Officials. See page 5.
Protests by the Comet Center for Drug and Alcohol Prevention, SISTERS (Sisters Informing Sisters Together Exploring Resources Services) and Woman Now were canceled yesterday when the San Marcos-based Nightown club postponed their appearance on campus. Sharon Hubbard, ASG vice-president of social affairs, had arranged for the club to provide free disc jockey service to the campus yesterday afternoon, but the Nigbtown
promoter canceled due to illness. The groups bad protested "because they promote alcohol, and this an alcohol-free environment It's a conflict of interest and we just did a program at University of San Diego and we joined a 'Dangerous Promises' campaign, which preaches responsible drinking," See ALCOHOL, page 5
Thief Nabs $400 Purse From Theater Student's Desk •Purse Among 4 Stolen in Rash of Thefts Kelley Brewer Staff Writer
Brian Wallace/Campus Beat Editor
Palomar students sold their soul to rock & roll durina: an audition for MTV's •.,-he Grind" Friday in the Student Union. Palomar was amona: two community colleges to hold try-outs for the cable music channels' Sprina: Break special to be held in San Diego March 8-14. See pages 3 and 7.
Four purses were reported stolen Feb. 22, two from the library, one from the theater and one from the ESL building according to Campus Patrol reports. One purse was reported stolen from beneath a desk in the theater's costume lab according to the Campus Patrol report The victim, a student, estimated the value of her purse at over $600, causing the crime to be
classified as a grand theft. The purse was a Dooney-Burke brand name and contained a matching wallet together they were valued at $400, the report stated. The wallet contained $200 in cash, a variety of credit cards, a checkbook and an appointment book. The purse was taken between 9:30a.m and 9:40a.m. and at approximately 10 a.m. a bank card bearing the victims name was turned into Campus Patrol officials as a lost See THEFT, page4
Learning Forums Aid in Teacher/Student Communication Daniel Kwan Staff Writer
Eliminating barriers in the classroom and improving communication between instructors and students will be the focus of today's Improving Student Learning Forum at 2 p.m. in the staff lounge, which is located in the Student Union. The forum consists of four segments: engaging students from day
one, foreign accents as they affect classroom communication, positive and negative experiences of students who are non-native speakers, and audience discussion of communication problems, according to forum coordinator Colleen Weldele. 'This is an opportunity for the staff, students, administration and community to come together and talk about innovative ways to enhance student learning -and create
positive student outcome," said Margie Ruzich, Faculty Senate president, who co-created the forums last year with Dr. Merrilee Lewis, vice-president for Instruction.
In the first part of the forum, the ESL department will offer suggestions on how instructors can measure student comprehension on the first day of class. Some of the techniques call for instructors to hold a non-graded quiz based on the frrst day's lecture and to collect students' first day lecture notes. '"Il s tmportant to get students to talk on the first day of class, and instructors should try to know their students .veil, including their back-
ground, bow long they've been at Palomar, and what other classes they're taking," said Weldele. ESL instructor Janet Hafner will discuss bow students or instructors with foreign accents impact learning in the forum's second segment. "I'm most in terseted in this pan of the forum," said studen tMrranda Carlson. "I've had teachers with See FORUM, page 3