SPORTS
Comets Basketball player Jeremy Killion makes a kingly throne for himself on the court.
Page 12
FRIDAY, FEB.
OPINION
ENTERTAINMENT
Your body has waited in line. Your name has waited on lists. And the fate of your class schedule has waited in the wings. Is our registration system in need of fixing? Page 7
"Great Expectations" is now in theaters. Somewhere, Charles Dickens is screaming ..........
13, 1998
PALOMAR COLLEGE
UNDER
THE
Page 9
SAN MARCOS
VOLUME
5L
NUMBER
13
Registration rigors rattle . some students
WEATHER
• Not all students find it easy to get desired classes Michael Paisner Copy Editor
Becky Van Doorn I The Telescope
The 'P' will have to wait. {From Left) Russel Bowers, Amy Olsen, Jamie Price, Steve Dunn, Kendra Castillo, John Vingoe and Indy Ortiz were among students who turned out to help re·lime the fading Palomar 'P' on the hill behind parking Lot 9 {above). Storms, however, forced a postponement.
EL NINO
CHANGES PALOMAR'S PLANS
Dana Bellafaire Staff Writer
T he bags of lime were ready, the ablebodied students were set, but the clouds of rain that broke over North County last week said "no." Due to rain, there-liming of Palomar's trademark le tter "P" located on the hill behind Lot 9, planned for Feb. 6, has been rescheduled for Monday Feb. 16 at 9 a. m. Anyone interested in partic ipating should meet in Lot 9 and should bring
shovels, hoes , rakes, weed-eaters a nd trimmers along with stakes and stri ngs. Every few years it becomes necessary to clean up the shrubs a nd overgrowth around the 'P' as well as re-coating it with lime to help make it a more visible landmark. After the re-liming is finished, there wi ll be a barbecue and ice cream social at the Latter Day Saints Institute. For more information, contact Wayne Morgan at the red bric k Latter Day Saints Institute across Comet Circle from the theater.
Left: Palomar student Jeremy Kurth checks out the college's sandbag defense against El Nino while walking under the shelter of the F building's roof.
Snags still haunted some students registering for class this semester, though war stories seemed to be the exception, not the rule . "I used PAR [phone and register] and got all my c lasses with no problems. I got m y schedule in the mail and e very thing was set," said Louise Law, an e lectrical e ngineering student. Although the majority of students reported simi lar experiences with PAR, some got snarled in longstanding problems. "Two classes I registered for, a multicultural class and a fire chemistry class, were canceled," said Ric k Conner, a professional fireman trying to get an associate of arts degree in fire fighting. Herman Lee He found a cancellation notice posted for each class at the second. meeting of each class. "The bummer is, al l I need is that fire chemistry to get my degree. If they don't offer it next semester, I may have to go to a nother college." He also was fourth o n a waiti ng list for an English class. At the first meeting, the teacher said he wasn't taking anyone on the waiting list, so technically, Conner S EE REGISTRATION, PAGE 4
Contract -w-ar · reaches im.passe Seanna Lee Opi11io11 Editor
The Palomar Community College District and the Counsel of Classified Employees officially declared an impasse T uesday in an ongoing salary dispute. "The district has filed w ith the Public Employees Relations Board doc uments requesting mediation in this regard," said Teresa Doyle, assistant superintendent/vice president of human resources and affirmative action, a nd o ne of the three-member negotiating team representing the d istrict. The dispute centers aro und impleme ntation of a classification s tudy conducted last year. The study compared classified employees' job descriptions to what they actual ly do, and then compared those descriptions to those from 12 other California commun ity colleges. Classified employees
Right: Some local four-legged residents were not so evasive from the rainstorms brought on by the weather condition.
S EE CONTRACTS, PAGE 4
Jason Schock I The Telescope
Governor's latest budget drops registration costs • Tuition)s steady rise since 1'984 will dip next semester Michael Paisner Cope Ediwr
Palomar stude nts wi ll find a little extra money in the ir pockets. thi s Aug ust. The cost of one. unit in the California Communi ty College system will drop from $ 13 to $ 12 beginnin g in the fall 1998 semcsta. "This is the largest fee red uc ti on in Ca li fornia hi s tory," said Lieutenan t Governor Gray Davis when AB 13 18 , the College Afford ab il ity Act. was sig ned into law. "We arc finally making amends for the outrageous fcc hikes of the early '90s." said Davis, who has worked s ince 1995 to lower
public college fees in Cal ifornia. Last month, Governor Pe te Wil son announced a proposed budget that incorporates the fcc decreases that the law requires. The Col.Jege Affordability Act not on ly lowers the cost of a uni t of educatio n at all pub lic coll eges in . Cali fornia, but it a lso freezes them at the new levels th roug h the e nd of the decade. A lso in the budget is a $279 mi llion increase in. fundin g for the Californ ia Community Co llege system. That wi ll raise the total budget allocated to community coll eges to $4.8 bi II ion . So'!le of the budget increases will cover a shortfall crea ted by lower property tax coll ections in 1997- 199R . Two years ago. Davis teamed up with Assemblywoman Denise Moreno Ducheny (D- San Diego) in an effort to bring to a halt the sky rocketing costs of public college in
Cali forn ia. From 1990 to 1995, the cost o f tuitio n has increased by 290 percent at community colleges. The inc rease was cited in a s tudy as one of the causes for a drop in enrollment over that same period. The study examined w hy enro llment ilJ publi c colleges in Cali forn ia fell by a total o f aro und 58,000 students. Davis and D ucheny hope to reverse that trend. The additional moneys were budgeted in an effort to get the conlmunity college system to grow. One of the areas specifically targeted fo r expans ion was welfare recipie nts . There are cu1Te ntl y over 140,000 parents on welfare atte nding comm unity college througho ut Cali fornia. Davis and Ducheny fe lt the College Affordabili ty Act was a way to e nsure Cali forn ia's future econom ic success. They believe that the state wi ll soon rely heavily o n a well -educated work force .
Lower Tuition Fees Before the spring semester of 1984 tuition was free in the California Com munity College system. Gov. Pete Wilson recently an nounced a decrease that wou ld lower fees by 3 percent, from $ 13 to $12 per unit.
$13/unit
$13/unit $12/unit
$5/Unit
$Free Pre- '84 Spring '84
Fall '91
Fall '92
Fall '93
Fall '97
Fall '98
Infographic by Ashton Taylor