'Bowfinger'
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Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy team up in the hilarious movie "Bowfinger."
With private retailers, independent sellers and the Internet, students have more choices of where to buy their books. Find out where can you· save the most money.
Arts and Entertainment, page 5
page 6
TliE ~ONDAY,AUG.
23,1999
PALOMAR COLLEGE
SAN ~ARCOS, CA
VOLUME
53,
NUMBER
1
·R egistration woes plague Palomar Tom Chambers Editor-in-Chief The new registration system at Palomar College makes it easier for student to register for, add and drop their classes - when it works. When it doesn't work registering for classes can seem impossible. "I have tried to register three times," Palomar student Kim Malorie said. "now half of my classes are closed." While trying to register many students complained that their new ID number didn't work, that the class numbers in the schedule were invalid, or that the system crashed when they got to fee payment. Some students who had to -Herman Lee call back later did, Director of Enrollment Services and were told their classes were closed. In December of 1997 Palomar College p\.lrchased ·new administra!ive software from Peoplesoft Inc. for almost $2.5 million. The college began using the new softw~u-e for summer and fall registration. "The system has been up and down a few times," Director of Enrollment Services Herman Lee said. "We're not quite satisfied at this time with the reliability of the system." Some of the problems are caused by ihe number of people using the system during the same time of day. "We have a process that takes a lot of time with tuition calculation," Director of Information Services Stan Malley said. "1 think there's I 00 rules that the program has to do and check for each ~tudent.'' Registering over the phone with the new system takes about five
"We are not quite satisfied at this time with the reliability of the system. "
Projects continue into fall Patricia S. McAvoy Opinion Editor
see REGISTRATION, page 3
Olestra snacks give students run ·f or their ntoney Erin Smith College Press MADfSON, Wis. - Many . tudents who are consuming Olestra-fi lied snacks to cut down on their fat intake are paying for it later. Only a few hours later to be precise. They say they're making m~re trips to the bathroom · hese days because of Olestra, rhe wonder-oil developed by Proctor and Gamble and distributed in many products including the awfully popular snack on many campuses,· Lay's Wow! Potato Chips. To make a dent in the ":74,000 tons of fat and salty snacks Americans consume each year, Proctor and Gamble developed the lowcalorie, fat-free chips that it says are as crispy and tasty as the regular thing. The breakthrough was attributed to Olestra, and students have been scarfing down the chips ever since their national debut last year. But not without some regrets. "I thought they were very tasty, but they gave me diarrhea," Hollie Beuning, a ··ophomore at the University
of Wisconsin said. She's not the only one. The chip~ even come with a warning on every bag: "Olestra may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools. Olestra inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients." Wow' chips are fried in Olean, the brand-name of Olestra, a fat-free cooking oil. When test marketed in Ohio and Indiana, some consumers reported a variety of gastrointestinal problems ranging from severe stomach cramps to dian·hea. News of the symptoms spread fast and has, even one year later, discouraged some people from even tasting a Wow! chip. Nicole Baragas, an employee of a convenience store at the University of Wisconsin, said she doesn't want to invite trouble. "But they're selling like mad," Baragas said. "People are eating them up because they're fat-free. That's the reason they're buying them." BeLming said that's precisely the reason she tried them - and has continued eating them despite the occasional trouble
see OLESTRA, page 6
Photos by 'li1111 Chm11hcrs I The Te/ese<JfJe
Trenches between the P and F buildings (top) and aiQng the main walkway (bottom) remain as evidence of current construction.
Palomar's construction projects are currently ahead of schedule with construction crews working weekends in an all-out attempt to have the main north/south sidewalk completed by the first day of fall classes. The infrastructure project's targeted completion set at April 2000 has been changed to February 2000 with construction currently taking place in seven of the I 0 phases. "Actually, we would like to see the contractors out of here by January," Director of Facilities Mike Ellis said. Phases ·three, eight and nine, which involve Comet Circle. were expected to be worked on this summer, but arc being delayed until the campus' interior north/south sidewalk is completed. ''The contractor is required to have the main north/south sidewalk back in service before the start of the fall semester," Ellis said. In the event a section of sidewalk is not completed, personnel will be posted along the main walkways to help students find the open routes. Additional personnel will be located in the parking lots.
The new sidewalks are to be two to three feet wider, making them 12 to IS feet wide to help reduce pedestrian congestion, especially on the major routes. "The biggest concern I have is to get vehicles off sidewalks - right now we are constantly chasing people (in vehicles) off the sidewalks," Ellis said. "Most are not the contractors, they're people using the sidewalk as driveways because it is closer to get where they are going." Besides the obvious safety concern to pedestrians, there is the damage to the sidewalks. irrigation systems, and landscaping, he said. Although the main sidewalks may be completed, the landscaping, including the planting of over 100 trees will not be in for a long time. "The project (Infrastructure Project) was over budget. so we had to do a set of deductive alternatives in order t6 bring the thing back into budget," Ellis said. One item taken out was the irrigation system, which the district staff will now need to install. Items completed include new sewer lines and storm drains up to Comet Circle on the north end of the main sidewalk, and new water and gas lines up to the B and E Buildings.
see PROJECTS, page 3
Enrollment fee drops to $11 per unit Daniel Kwan Stqf.( Writer
The cost of going to college just got more affordable with California community college enrollment fees decreasing $1 per unit, from $12 to $11 per unit, effective fall 1999. Tn July, Governor Gray Davis signed Assembly Bill 1118 by Assemblywoman Sally Havice (D-Artesia). The bill also reduces undergraduate fees for the University of California and California State University systems by 5 percent. "I believe education is the passport to a better life," Davis said in a prepared statement. "AB-1118 will provide landmark fee reduction and encourage more students to go to college and allow them to graduate with less debt." One year ago, Davis, as lieutenant governor. coauthored another assembly bi II with Assemblywoman Denise Moreno Duchcny (D-San Diego) that had reduced enrollment fees from S 13 to $12 per unit in fall 1998.
Downward slope Before spring semester 1984, there was no charge to attend California community colleges. Enrollment fees peaked at a high of $13 per unit in the mid-1990s. Governor Gray Davis recently signed an assembly bill lowering enrollment fees to $11 per unit.
Free Before '84 Source: California Community Colleges Chancellm·'s Office
Daniel Kwan I The Telescope