Ground Hog Day
—
Feb. 2
Wednesday, February 1,1978
Crisis center needed
By Joy Williams
Of The Print
Ltts the drop on Bogie in one of Allen
Ems. Nancy played by Susan McCarty
Photo by Sam Baer
and Bogart, Mark Stanic, starred in last Saturday's
performance of "Play It Again, Sam."
A recent Associated Student
Government survey revealed that
indeed students at the College are
interested in forming a crisis cen
ter.
"It could be the best thing
that ever happened to the College,"
and "I sure could have used help
two weeks ago," were just some of
the comments made by students
answering the survey.
Although most of the people
who filled out the survey were for
the center, and several counselors
and senators in ASG seem to want
to see a crisis center become a
reality, the project is having a
hard time getting past the stage of
discussion,
This will be the third time an
ASG senator has tried to form a
crisis center.
Dick Weiss and John Harlen,
ASG senators, are now working on
the project and feel confident that
they can make the center a success.
"We feel that there have been
enough serious crisis situations to
warrent a crisis center," Weiss said.
"People are sleeping in their cars
because they are unaware of the
resources that are available to them;
others are dropping out of school
because of not enough child care;
and students are not able to cope
under the pressures of school and/
or family."
"The next step is to put the idea
before the ASG board," Harlan
said, "then set up the basic mech
anics."
Some of the services that the
center would provide, according to
Weiss and Harlen, would be car
pools, emergency housing, referral
to other organizations and/or trans
portation to that organization if the
need arises. Peer support on per
sonal or financial matters and an
information center for student use
would also be offered.
Bonnie Hartley, College nurse,
gets a lot of the personal as well as
medical problems of the students.
"With every physical problem
there is usually an emotional prob
lem," Hartley said.
"Trained people are here at the
school, a lot of them trained in
psychology, such as the counselors,
but they are not visual enough to
students," Hartley said. "Also I
like the idea of peer support. Often
students Would prefer to talk with
those of their own age group."
Total enrollment shows increase,
but some departments suffer
Illy Happie Thacker
The Print
| Enrollment trends at the College are fol-
hiing those throughout the rest of the coun
ty with business classes far outranking any
¡others in enrollment rise.
I In the fall of 1976, enrollment in business
technology, which then included the graphic
pts department, was 659. In the fall of 1977
lenrollment was 694, without graphic arts/
I Dollie Ammons, business instructor at the
iCollege, attributes this increase to the fact
Rut many publications have been saying that
Itasiness administration is where the jobs are,
gticularly in accounting.
Also, according to Ammons, "The trend
ire seeing is for women to go into manage-
M areas rather than secretarial and many
rats are actively looking for women either
hem within their own companies or from out
re to fill management positions."
I Business classes also are fairly » unique in
hi, although it is considered an occupational
hriculum, most of the classes are trans-
jwble to four year institutions, said Ammons.
I Other transfer classes are not doing as well
pi»as enrollment figures.
liven though fall term enrollment is up
r® fall term last year (8,374 in 1976 to
Ife in 1977),according to Chuck Adams,
mar, certain transfer programs show a
parked decrease in number of students.
I The science department, for example, is
|ton almost 50 percent fall 1977 from fall
pn 1976. Enrollment in transfer physical
Pace courses has gone from 362 in 1976 to
Pin 1977.
. BIS
-
7
"Our total enrollment is the same because
of nursing students taking life science cour
ses," said Shirley Cressler, science instructor.
"But it's not just here,
it's at all the
colleges," Cressler said. "It may be that (our
courses are more difficult) and we get a lot of
people who have never taken science and are
scared of it,but we have to teach college
transfer science and must have the same re
quirements as all the other colleges-two and
four year schools alike."__
Enrollment in literature classes is also down,
according to Tom Richards, department chair
person, language arts.
Richards attributes this drop to the variety
of other electives, such as speech and anthro
pology, being offered in place of the standard
literature classes.
"Eight out of 10 humanities electives, such
as speech, art and anthropology are easier
than lit," he said. "Lit also has the reputation
within the school for demanding more than
other areas."
Transfer classes in general are down and
vocational education is up, according to John
Hooley, division chairperson, humanities and
social science.
"This may have something to do with the
changing economy and spirit of the times.
Everyone's out to make a buck and getting
away from things like psychology and soci
ology that were trendy in the sixties," Hooley
said.
The one exception to this general trend is in
the law enforcement department.
There, enrollment is down almost 50 per
cent, from 210 in the fall of 1976, hot counting
...
graphic arts, which was then counted with
business administration, to 174 in the fall of
1977 counting graphic arts.
This drop in law enforcement enrollment,
which reflects enrollment trends throughout
the state, has resulted in tire dismissal of one
instructor, Durwood Thomas, who has been
with the department for four years.
This drop in enrollment has been caused by
many factors according to Lyle Reese, division
chairperson, business administration and pub
lic service.
"A lot of vets went into law enforcement
and there are fewer vets now," he said. "Also
federal funds that were set up by the govern
ment to train, employed officers are drying up.
There is also the fact that collective bargaining'. '
practices are making it more and more un-;<-
nêcessary for officers to try to impress their
bosses with extra schooling."
However, if these figures point to any trend •
it's that there isn't any trend at all according
to Ron Kaiser, dean of instruction.
Enrollment figures go up and down, Kaiser
said, and trends fluctuate with the seasons.
"Other programs we've implemented, such
as the guided studies plan for remedial instruc
tion, could account for the decline in Auto
Mechanics and liberal arts," he said. "The
Alaska pipeline may have had an effect on the
Welding enrollment by increasing enrollment
(to unnatural highs) during previous years."
"One- thing I have noticed," Kaiser said, "is
that when the economy is up enrollment is
down and when the economy is down, en
rollment is up."
■
(See related story Paga 2.)