Holly Hunter packs heat while solving a series of ·copycat· murders
Should America be the self-appointed global police force~ ;,
Comet football falls to the Vikings in a close one: 46-45 SPORTS PAGE 12
OPINION PAGE 6
THE
LESC Palomar College
Friday, October 27, 1995 P A R T
T W 0
I N
A
San Marcos, CA
Volume 49, Number 8
Phone voting may come to Palomar
SERIES
• System similar to PAR allows ballots to be cast from home Jenni Kendall Sw[{Wrirer
Ralph W. Lincoln I Tilt Telescope
This bike locker near the front of the P-Building is believed to house a homeless person.
Administration: homeless habitat to be demolished Steve Zivanic Fearure Ediror
Jeff Vize New~
Edi,or
Several transients camping at Palomar College may soon be getting the boot from school officials. Responding to reports ofhomeless people living in the Arboretum, administrators recently announced that they will demolish at least one abandoned shack on campus and investigate the destruction of others. Campus Patrol believes transients inhabit the shack, among others.
The structure to be torn down is located behind Lot 3D at the east end of campus. Several students have indicated that one or more homeless people inhabit the shack. A Telescope investigation last week found the structure to contain food wrappers, clothes and other personal belongings. Campus Patrol said the shack has illegally housed local transients in the past. 'That shack will be demolished, definitely," said Facilities Director Mike Ellis. "As for the other two shacks [behind Lot 5], we'll look into
who is using them and then decide if we need to remove them," he said. Campus Patrol Supervisor Boyd Mahan said any measures ne<.:essary to remove transients from campus will be taken. ··we have used force in the past to eliminate homeless people from Palomar. If necessary, we will use force again,'" Mahan said. According to Ellis, no efforts have been made to clean or destroy the shacks as of yet. This week, however, The Telescope found the shack to contain far less
See HOMELESS, Page 4
Voting for future Associated Student Government elections may soon be done over the telephone. If a resolution is passed by the ASG next Wednesday, a program similar to the PAR (Phone and Registration) system will allow Palomar students to dial into a computer bank and <.:ast their vote by touch-tone phone. It would also allow students at Palomar's seven satellite center to participate in elections to which they currently have no access. The proposal is designed to get more people to vote in Palomar's ASG elections. In the fall elections, 203 students voted. This number represents less than one percent of Palomar's 23,000 students. The development of this computer/telephone system would cost up to $3,000. All ASG members are not convinced the proposal is a good idea, however. "Do you know how many clowns we can get for $3.000"7" asked ASG Senator Cody Lutsch. referring to $250 the ASG spent to hire a clown to promote this semester· selections. ··I think people don't vote because they don't know about the student government or they don't care," Lutsch said. Despite Lutsch's view, some ASG members are vehement about seeing the new system implemented. Supporters of the system argue that by implementing this program, more students will have access to the elections.
Some ASG members even claim the current method of holding elections does not follow guidelines in the ASG constitution. '"According to the ASG constitution, we have to accord everyone in the school the right to vote," said Kathy Kremer, vice president I chair of InterClub CommitLutsch tee. "Telephone way of voting will allow every one of the 25,000 plus students the chance to vote, and ASG will get higher visibility." Advisor Jim Bowen, however, believes everyone can vote with the current system. There is no conflict with the constitution, he said. "'Absolutely every student registered at Palomar can vote. You have to come to Palomar to vote, but you can vote," he said. "In the outside world you have to go to the gas station or fire station to vote. It's not always convenient. but you have the option." ·"'Three thousand dollars is a small price to pay. Some people aren'tableto walk out of their way to vote. Myself. I have arthritis when I have to walk across campus. It· sa pain,'' said Victoria Maddock. ASG Senator. Maddocksaidhavingphone-in-voting people will bring easier access to elections and higher voter turnout. The proposition will be voted on Nov. I during the ASG meeting at I p.m. in SU-18.
More students opting for community colleges Marco Buscaglia College Press Sen·ice
Chris Peterson's first year in college wasn't exactly what he imagined it would be. Balancing classes and swim team practices at the University of Northern Iowa had left him exhausted and unhappy. So when he saw that his older sister Stephanie had a goodpaying job after graduating from a one-year respiratory therapy program, Chris enrolled in a community college. At many community colleges and trade schools, seats are being filled by students who-just I 0 years earlier-may have opted for a more traditional path to a four-year college degree. But these students, faced with the rising
cost of college and an uncertain job market, are looking for alternatives. "I want to graduate with a business degree and get a job dealing in foreign acquisitions," said Ron Elandro, a sophomore at Joliet Junior College in Illinois. "I want to go to a regular university, but first I want to get my regular classes out of the way before I enroll. Ernest Pascarella, an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, studied traditional students as well as those who earned their associate's degree before going on to a four-year school. He found that 13 years after the students began school, there were no differences in job status and income levels between the two groups. "Students who begin at a community college are essentially receiving the same intel-
lectual content as those at a four-year institution," Pascarella says. Students are beginning to realize that community colleges can offer a strong academic background in a wide array of disciplines, says Gene McDonald, chairman of the Association of Community College Trustees. ''These aren't schools that offer easy courses for students who couldn't get into other places. If anything, community college instructors give their students more attention because there are far fewer distractions," says McDonald. While students like Elandro are using community colleges tor a jump-start on their bachelor's degree, others have made the decision to forgo a tour-year college degree altogether. Peterson's sister. Stephanie Chesmore.
says her plans to earn a four-year business degree tlew out the window when she found couldn't stay focused on her classes. So Chesmore, now 25, investigated programs at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa, and enrolled in a respiratory therapy program. "I liked the program because it was one year, and the income was very good,'' she says. "The community college had smaller classes, and that kept me more focused." Faced with finding a job in a world where corporate downsizing has eliminated many white-collar jobs, more students believe that community t:olleges offer an attractive combination: specific technical skills at a rela-
See COLLEGES, Page 3