OPINION • 5
the telescope
t
VOICES OF REASON
COUNSELING
the telescope Focused On Palomar Monday, March 12, 2012 Vol. 65, No. 14 Palomar College, San Marcos, CA
MATTHEW SLAGLE editor in chief & PAGE DESIGNER
Seeing a counselor will keep you on track Don’t get stuck having to put extra time toward your college degree, meeting with a counselor is the key to ensure a successful college career
KAITY BERGQUIST MANAGING EDITOR & PAGE DESIGNER IAN HANNER NEWS EDITOR JOEL RAMOS NEWS EDITOR GIO NIETO OPINION EDITOR KELLI MILLER LIFE EDITOR COLLEEN PETERS SPORTS EDITOR & COPY EDitoR DAVID LEONARD DESIGN EDITOR & INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT NATALIE SOLDOFF PAGE DESIGNER DEB HELLMAN PHOTO EDITOR BRIAN KOREC ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR ERIN HIRO ADVISER KIIGAN SNAER BUSINESS MANAGER STAFF WRITERS April Testerman, Cyndi Lundeberg, Danielle Taylor, Emma Maliszewski, Jessica Brooks, Jacqueline Coble, Lexy Perez, Michael Astorino, Mike Peterson, Peter Behr, Shaun Kahmann & Stephen Keck
A graduating class wait to receive their diplomas at a university commencement ceremony. • Photo courtesy of U.S. News and World Report University Directory
Jessica Brooks The Telescope
If I would have spoken to a counselor early on in my college career, I wouldn’t be back at Palomar after graduating from a four-year school. Here I am, still attending classes although I have officially earned my bachelor’s degree and celebrated those achievements with family and friends. Speaking with a
PHOTOGRAPHERS Charles Lugtu, Allyson Watson, Aden Webster, Dan Chambers, Ebony Avery, Kristen Campbell,Phyllis CelmER, RUSSELL WHITE, SERGIO SOARES ADDRESS THE TELESCOPE PALOMAR COLLEGE 1140 W. MISSION ROAD, SAN MARCOS, CA 92069 PHONE / 760-891-7865 NEWSROOM / MD-228 EMAIL / EDITOR@THE-TELESCOPE.COM AD EMAIL / ADS@THE-TELESCOPE.COM THE TELESCOPE WELCOMES ALL LETTERS TO THE Editor. Letters must be typewritten, under 300 words and include the author’s first and last names, major and phone number. Phone numbers will not be published. Letters should be emailed to editor@the-telescope.com. The Telescope reserves the right to edit letters for space and grammatical errors and not to print lewd or libelous letters. Letters must be receieved one week prior to the newspaper’s publication to be considered for inclusion. The Telescope is published 11 times per semester. Opinions expressed in the newspaper are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily represent those of the entire newspaper staff, Palomar faculty and staff members or the governing board trustees. ASSOCIATED COLLEGE PRESS
CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER’S ASSOCIATION
counselor does not take much effort or time, and in turn, can make the biggest turn in your educational voyage. I graduated from Palomar and transferred to Cal State San Bernardino to work toward receiving my bachelor’s degree in mass communications. Despite my many educational achievements, I failed to seek any type of professional help prior to graduating last year.
I followed the recommended course sheet, enrolling and passing the specified classes required to achieve my degree. I qualified to walk in graduation yet did not schedule the recommended appointment with a counselor to perform a graduation check. I quickly learned that I lacked just a few units needed to receive that diploma in the mail. So here I am, back at Palomar taking that last class writing for the campus newspaper - while trying to get a job in
j o u r nalism. Don’t let this happen to you. L e a r n from me: Don’t procrastinate when seeking help in graduating or transferring to a four-year university or you will prolonging your stay at Palomar. The district requirements have set guidelines for students to follow to transfer or graduate. Competence in courses such as American history or California government, health, mathematics and multicultural course are demanded to receive an associate’s degree of any sort. Students must meet general education requirements such as; science, humanities, English, social and behavioral sciences as well as
sociology and psychology. The importance of planning an education plot at a college level is vital. Students have to follow guidelines that are necessary to achieve higher learning. Enrolling and passing classes is a responsibility that acquires much attention, every step has to be carefully addressed. Students have to consider what their educational goals are early on in their college career so they can craft an educational plan. Counselors can help by giving recommendations and tips. Students should not procrastinate when it comes to searching professional help especially when planning for the future. The counselors at Palomar are busy so book your appointment as soon as you can. The counseling advice is particularly crucial at graduating time. Schools reside in different districts that have varied recommendations for students in terms of graduating and transferring. When deadlines are not met, students do not advance to graduation nor successfully transfer at a quick rate. The most productive way to understand the specific deadlines for Palomar College is to speak with counselors and professors regularly to be aware of the necessary steps to getting a degree. Start by visiting the website at palomar.edu/counseling/ so you don’t end up back here like I am. jbrooks@the-telescope.com
BY KAITY BERGQUIST & COLLEEN PETERS
Accidents happen, take responsibility We don’t know who among us hasn’t sat in the parking lot for what seems like hours waiting for a parking spot. We all know the pain, but it is something that most of us have learned to cope with. But, the thing is, we don’t search and search for a parking spot with the expectation that while we are in class our car is going to be vandalized. Yet somehow, it still happens. We think that some Palomar students have forgotten the Golden Rule; “Do unto others as you wish to be done to you.” It’s a basic concept of reciprocity. You don’t want your car hit, so don’t hit someone else’s car. It’s a really simple concept, so why do people have a problem following it? The parking lot is an inherently frustrating place to spend half of the morning. Usually, by the time a parking spot is found, we’re frustrated and exhausted. Sometimes we’re even running late and need to head into class. But, there is no excuse for hitting someone’s car and pretending that it didn’t happen. We think that people hate taking responsibility for their own actions. Sometimes hitting a car is an accident. Things happen. If you do hit a car, it’s not just a good idea, but also the law to leave a note. In the state of California, if you hit a car an flee the scene without so much as a note, the punishment is no more than one year in prison, and a fine of no less than $1,000 and up to $10,000, according to deadlyroads.com. Is saving face worth $1,000? With cameras in nearly every parking lot, the likelihood of getting caught increases with every camera that is installed. It’s not the easiest thing to do, it’s embarrassing to admit what you have done wrong, but the owner of the car you hit will have much more respect for you than if you just hit and run. Wouldn’t you like to go to sleep at night with a clean conscience in knowing that you did the best you could do to make amends? We hope that if you ever do hit a car, that it’s an accident and not on purpose. If it is an accident, you need to understand that these things happen. They’re not fun, but taking responsibility saves you from feeling guilty and helps out the owner of the car. We’ve said it a million times in our column (okay, that’s a total exaggeration): we’re college, students, we need to start acting like it. Life is frustrating enough, why make it more difficult? kbergquist@the-telescope.com cpeters@the-telescope.com @KaityBergquist @colleen_teresa