Monday, April 10, 2000- Palomar College- Volume 53, Number 18
Tobacco regulation
Palomar's winningest
Whoa!
Should tobacco sales be regulated like other food and drugs?
Softball Head Coach Mark Eldridge racks up his 800th win at Palomar.
Boehm Gallery pushes the envelope with its latest show.
Opinion, page 4
9regon creationist won't be back TMS Campus
BEND, Ore. -A biology professor accused of teaching creationism in his classes at Central Oregon uommunity College isn't likely to get a chance to do so next year because school administrators have recommended against renewing his contract. Kevin Haley, an assistant professor of general biology, has taught the course for four years. School officials s.Ay they started receiving complaims about his teaching methods two years ago. His critics fault him for bringing up creationism anytime evolution is discussed - and for going out of his way to debunk evolutionist theory. School officials say that when confronted, Haley refused to deal with t.le issue to their satisfaction. Haley denies all the charges and says the real problem is that a few college administrators are uncomfortable with his devout Christian faith. 'T m a creationist, and I'm also a scientist, and I have no trouble teach\ 1g evolution," he told The Chronicle of Higher Education. "As far as teaching creation in the classroom, not on a bet. If I really taught creation in the classroom, there would be a lot more than six students complaining out of the 500 I taught." Five students have filed formal omplaints about Haley's teaching, and others have objected informally to other faculty members, school officials said. In November, Louis B. Queary, vice president for instruction at the college, sent Haley a letter listing v-arious complaints. Among them ;../as that several students felt those who attended a Christian group Haley led received favorable treatment in class, that Haley kept an open Bible on his desk, and that he bounced "freely between religious and scientific topics in his office and in the hallways." • Haley said he's not about to admit gpilt for something he hasn't done. He claims college administrators have failed to make their case even though he has provided them with his lecture notes and homework assignments. Haley does acknowledge that he J1scusses his faith with students in his office and in hallways. "Students ask, 'How do you put your faith together with your science,"' Haley told the Chronicle. "And I tell them, 'It's a free coontry.'"
Queary said Haley isn't being ~-Ied.
"This is a (matter) where someone is in the probationary period and the institution decided the fit doesn't look good, and so we're not going to make the person a rehire offer," Queary said.
Entertainment, page 6
Sports, page 10
Adjuncts protest inequalities Sean J. O'Connor Opinion Editor
Part-time instructors, or adjunct faculty members, conducted a full-court press on every community college campus in California during "Part-time Faculty Equity Week," April 3-7 to collect as many signatures as possible. The part-timers wanted to grab the attention of the governor, the community college chancellor and legislators concerning the situation of part-time instructors. The fact they are compensated at 37 percent of what full-time faculty make. At Palomar College, the part-timers set up shop in front of the Student Union. Here, they buttonholed anyone passing by who was interested in what they had to say. They then asked for signatures. These signatures will be bundled with signatures from other
community colleges and forwarded to Sacramento. Patty Cox, research director for the California Federation of Teachers, said part-time instructors in the community college system, "are truly the working poor of California's educational system ... " The Community College Association and the California Teachers Association said adjunct faculty arc considered "the underclass of higher education." Bill Bedford was a professor at Palomar for 36 years . Now he is retired but he is teaching at Palomar on a part-time basis. He said, "[t wasn't until I started teaching part time that I realized how poorly parttime teachers are treated- no benefits, no medical benefits, no office, even though part-time instructors do advise students outside of class." "When part-time teachers are asked to
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The "Freeway Flyer" paraded on campus during "Part-time Faculty Equity Week."
work with the Palomar Faculty Federation, they become concerned. They feel they may not be rehired if they are working to get a union," Bedford said. Bedford said he feels, however, administrators and full-time faculty members
appreciate the work they do. Some part-time fac ulty have full-time jobs. Some teach at Palomar for the pleasure of it and bring on-the-job expertise to their students. Other part-lime teachers, however, try to make a living by teaching in several different districts. These are the so-called "freeway flyers." They have to travel from college to college. Even though many freeway flyers have master's degrees and many have doctorates, they are lucky to earn $20,000 a year, Cox said. To illustrate some of these problems, Action 2000 sponsored a comedy performance featuring the "Freeway Flyer" dressed with cap and gown and outfitted like a bird. The bird represented the harried part-time instructor going from campus to
see Adjunct, page 3
Wellness Center director resigns Athletics director to head center Jo Appleton Staff Writer
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Construction crews finish the sidewalk between the P and F buildings.
Construction runs late Jason Sherrill Focus Editor
The "diggin' and happenin' place" is almost back to normal. With a five-week set back, crews were able to keep the finish of Palomar College's infrastructure project close to schedule. Mike Ellis director of facilities said they were expecting to end by March 15, ahead of the first deadline of April 4. "The crews are 97 percent complete," Ellis said. "April 20, 2000 is the new completion date." Paving roads and parking lots is part of what is left to do. Crews just finished paving the area of Comet Circle that leads up to parking lot 12.
"I will be very happy to see the work done and out of here," said Palomar student Brian Kelly. When all is completed crews will begin to restore the campus, Ellis said. Restoration will include repaving sidewalks between buildings P and F as well as planting trees between the same buildings. Lighting will be improved along the walkways and in other areas throughout campus. "They will be retuming the condition of everything to the way it was when they started," said Ellis. As of right now, Ellis doesn't expect any more delays. All facilities will be open, operation, and available for the use of the students. "It will be nice to be able to get around campus without taking detours," Kelly said.
Enrollment up at most area colleges Tom Chambers Editor in Chief
Ti'e current enrollment trend at Palomar College is not characteristic of all colleges in the region. Palomar's headcount is down 1.2 percent ,rom last fall, and the number of classes being taken may have dropped by as much as 7 percent. Other colleges and universities in the county are reporting increased enrollment. MiraCosta College in Oceanside is up 4 percent from last spring - a headcounl increase of 534 students. Officials at MiraCosta had expected a more modf''"ate increase of I percent.
Enrollment increased drastically at Cal State San Marcos. The 11-year-old university saw its enrollment go up 11 percent, bringing the number of students to an all-time high of 5,800. Officials at Cal State San Marcos say the increase is unusual because most colleges experience a drop during the spring semester. "Our enrollment activity continues to be quite strong," said Richard Riehl, executive director of
enrollment. "The campus is attracting more applicants and more of those applicants are choosing to attend CSU San Marcos." San Diego State also increased enrollment, but not by as much as Cal State San Marcos. The number of students rose by 3 percent from last spring. Palomar is not alone, however. The number of students in the San Diego Community College District dropped at all of its colleges. Both City College and Mesa College saw their numbers drop 3 percent. Enrollment at Miramar College went down 1 percent. Coming April 17: Solutions: What Palomar is doing to increase enrollment
When the director of the Well ness/Fitness Center at Palomar resigned parking permits, day passes and memberships were unavailable. There was controversy surrounding the March 16 resignation of Jacqueline Barnard, who now manages a cosmetic surgeon's office in downtown San Diego. Barnard said she and Jon Cnossen, coordinator of Physical Education 128, never got along. The Wellness Center is a gym that sells memberships to members of the community. Students from P.E. 128 share the center with community members. Barnard said her greatest challenge was trying to run the wellness center with very little funds and support. Staff members were concerned about Barnard' resignation. "I've seen this place go through lots of changes, " said Michelle Fifield, who has worked there for about 14 months. "When Jackie resigned, I didn't know what was going to happen ." Dan Early, recreation and health assistant, is now temporarily filling the member coordinator position to keep things running smoothly. "We're now accepting memberships, and the center is up and running. No prices have changed, our main objective is to keep customer service as it was," Early said. John Woods, director of athletics, will soon become the Wellness Center director. A little nervous at first because no one warned her of the transition, Fifield said she is now pleased to see Woods and Early, "doing a good job picking up where Barnard left off; making the wellness center one with the community." Woods, who ha been at Palomar College for 26 years, was involved in the first phase of negotiations for the Wellness Center in 1988. He said the original idea was to make health and fitness available
to students and citizens of the San Marcos community at all times. "It was designed to serve both populations with the key point being access, making it easier for students to exercise," Woods said. "Community college students have a lot of balls in the air, and when their class loads get too heavy, physical education classes are typically the first ones dropped." Student members, like Erin Rozenko, enrolled in P.E. 128, had to attend an orientation when they joined that stipulated hours and days they could use the center, which are during regular class hours and not during vacations. But Rozenko, who's been a member for three months, said she likes the center a lot. "The hours are not restricting, they work for me." On the other hand, Kimberly Buller, a member for more than six months said she likes the center because it's convenient, but said she dropped the P.E. 128 class and, "had to become a member because the hours didn't work for my schedule. There's not much difference in the hours, but I came to work out once and wasn't able to," she said . Woods said he knows staying fit and being healthy equates to higher self-esteem and thus overall better grades. He said physical exercise, therefore, should be available to students whether or not they are enrolled in a P.E. class. "We are here for the students, the healthier they are, the more productive they are as students," Woods said. "That was the philosophy behind how the Wellness/Fitness Center began." Woods said the goal is for the P.E. 128 coordinator and the member coordinator to work together. "When you have separate entities, you have a built in problem," he said. "Teamwork is the only way to get things done, anything will work if you stay at it." "The wellness center is an integral part of the community for the college," Woods said. "It promotes health for the students and promotes education for members of the community. We need to determine what the capacity of the wellness center is, how much it costs to run and how many members it will take to create the revenue needed to meet costs." Woods said they have some great ideas for the center. He plans to work with the city of San Marcos to identify groups who could benefit from its use.