Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 9, 1990)
OPINION Comments From The Top by Roseann M. Wentworth Scapegoats on the loose For the past month, under new top management, ASG has been incredibly busy bringing the campus the blood drive, Spring Fling, and Clubs Awards Ban* quet. This term’s ASG administration has been impressive in their productiv* ity toward the betterment of this cam pus. This week’s over-devoted award goes to ASG senator Barbara Wendling, who, with splints on both hands, hand-wrote every single award presented to all the clubs’ member on this campus. Incred ible. However, all is not rosy. There is a campaign in progress for next year’s ASG executive positions. Last Wednesday, a public debate was held between all four candidates: Tony Franklin, candidate for president; Ken Ingram, incumbent can didate for president; and Andreas Luehring and Jim Olsen, both opposing candidates for vice president. One candidate was asked by an au dience member during a question and answer period why the majority of the students don’t learn about ASG events. Given, it seems like a simple-enough question, but the question had teeth and it bit hard enough to promote a squeal. It was answered, in short, that it was The Print’s undenying fault for not inform ing the public about ASG events. This response is not as surprising to CCC journalists as one might expect. If the ASG is that dependant upon stu dent journalists, I ask them why don’t they put together their own ASG weekly newsletter, this way, they can be their own PR people and we won’t have to educate them about journalism. Possibly next year, the student gov ernment can work out a business deal to put The Print on retainer as their own PR people. This is a problem not so specialized; the press has always been the nemesis of the government, whether at Clackamas or in D.C., and we’d like to keep it that way. It’s kind of an unwritten law prac ticed willingly for generations. By refusing to become the doting student-PR firm that most young-gov ernmental members think they deserve, but still keeping in touch, we are able to cover ASG in a way that’s fair and hon est to thestudent body-who,by the way, in case anybody around here forgot, is who both student organizations really work for. Another item mentioned in the forum, by the same candidate is that he has “currently been talking with next year’s Editor-in-Chief of The Print, and that ASG and the paper will be working “much more closely next year.” It’s so interesting because die newspaper hasn’t even received any applications for next year’s editor, let alone appoint one. Politicians sometimes do embarrass ing things and it’s our jobs as journalists to let the public know that it’s hap pened. We don’t put their foot in their mouths, we just tell the public about it. Our staff realizes that this is an edu cational function and we’re confident of our abilities as student journalists. Therefore we don’t need scapegoats to lay our responsibilities on. THE CLACKAMAS PRINT May 9,1990 Page 2 Reoganization at CCC a step into the future Yes, major decisions are facing Presi dent Keyser with the upcoming retirement of Dean of Students Jim Roberts like should a new dean of students be hired or should the position be eliminated? Hiring a new dean of students would delay confronting some perceived internal problems in the counseling, advising, and career/placement area that some suggest need addressing. This issue is discussed in the Les Adkins Report which was com piled at the request of the Dean of Student Services during the winter term of 1988. The report makes numerous recommen dations regarding the counseling, advising, and career/placement departments and recommends combining the previously mentioned areas. Not hiring a new dean of students would free up money for other programs. For example, the nursing program currently has twice as many applicants as it has space for. The solution would be to hire addi- tional staff members but there aren’t enough funds available for that at this time. Reorganization and integration would be in line with modern trends toward stream lined, more efficient administration.For example, Tektronix is one of many compa- PRO Jim Spickelmier nies that recently restructured their ad ministrations and eliminated numerous administrators. A more streamlined ad ministration is also dictated by fiscal re straints and ever-increasing public agency demands for limited resources (tax dol lars). Since the college opened, it has grown in many areas and the administration has also grown. Upon entering the 1990s, the role of the college is still changing to meet the ever-changing needs of students, busi nesses, industries, technology, and the community as a whole. Along with these changes are dual pressures for restraining expenditures and increasing public accounta bility. These needs can be met in two ways; either cut programs or indoctrinate a stream lined more efficient administration. There are those who say that not hiring a new dean of students would limit the checks and balances at the executive man agement level, that to much decision-making power would be granted to too few people. However, executive decisions still have to be approved by the President’s Council and then by the Board of Directors. Administrative reoranization and inter- gation is the trend of the 1990’s. Do we at CCC want to go with the future, or stay in the past? Dean necessary to address student problems Assistant deans, hired for specific tasks, When students have a problem with this institution, who do they ask to help maybe not student related, may find their job descriptions including an added lunch them? The Dean of Students, maybe? With the position of dean of students appointment with a sniveling student re- vacated due to Jim Roberts’ retirement, the post is subject to deletion, like a com puterprogram. Ofcourse, with a computer program deletion, the remaining programs are not sent into a wild and anarchical frenzy. R.W. Jagodnik Jr. Lee Fawcett “working with the Presi dent’s Council to manage the change” through the switch or reorganization will questing money for a student retreat. How still cause unwarranted confusion. The does a person unfamiliar with student delegating of the dean of students’ respon government and activities respond to a sibilities among the remaining administra request like that? This is not to say that our tive departments will spread the waning Assistant deans are incompetent, just that power of the students thin, so thin that the their job description does not involve deal bureaucracy will smother the central voices ing with individual students. As archaic as the present system seems, of any transparent individual making that the new integration of progressive admin- student invisible. CON by (Clackamas $ritit The Clackamas Print aims to be a fair and im partial newspaper covering the college com munity. Opinions expressed in The Clacka mas Print do not necessarily reflect those of the college administration, faculty or Associ ated Student GovemmentThe Clackamas Print invites readers to express their opinions. Letters to the Editor should by legible, should not be libelous, and must be signed. Letters should be dropped off in Trailer B, or The Stu dent Activities office by Monday, for publica tion Wednesday. The Clackamas Print is a weekly publication distributed every Wednes day except for finals week. Clackamas Com munity College, 19600 S. Molalla Avenue, Oregon City, Oregon 97045. Office: Trailer B. Telephone: 657-6958, ext 309 (office), 577 (production) and 578 (advertising). Editor-ln-Chief:Mark A. Borrelli Managing Editor: Roseann Wentworth Copyeditors: Roseann Wentworth R.W. Jagodnik, Jr News Editors: Margy Lynch Roseann Wentworth Feature Editor: Angela Wilson Photo Editor: Jillian Porter Sports Editor.Staci Beard Business ManagerrGregg Mayes Rhaposody Editor: Me-Lissa Cartales Production Manager: Jennifer Soper Reporters: Amber I— Cordry Dan A. Fulton Richard Marx Jim Spickelmier Photographers: Scott Johnson Eva Worley Lane Scheideman Tim Zivney Staff Artist:Sue Ann Walker Adviser: Linda Vogt istrative ideas are still ideas that will cost the students while the experiments are in opening stages. Although the dean of stu dents* position will be eliminated along with the salary, the students will have to wade through bureaucracy to achieve their goals. This may take years, costing the stu dents time. With the central figure and liaison with the president eradicated, the push, no longer by that one individual, will fall short of accomplishments and require more of the President’s Council time. Again, this is nothing but time spent with unsatisfactory results. This institution needs a central posi tion occupied by a person that a student can feel comfortable addressing problems or praise to. Without the dean of students, who does a student turn to for help?
