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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 1996)
Opinion/News Students petition to get new poli-sci honors class Damon Fouts Staff Writer Twenty students took mat ters into their own hands and, with the stroke of a penned sig nature, got a new Political Sci ence honors class added to the spring schedule. The students gave their Po litical Science instructor Dean Darris and Honors Program Di rector Don Hartsock a petition asking that the new class be added to the honors class sched ule. Hartsock tinkered with the schedule and added the class which Darris will teach spring term. According to Darris, the spring schedule synopsis of newly added PS 225 will read, “Study political ideas in a new way. Work with other students in this seminar to explore poli tics in fiction. See how litera ture promotes and reflects politi cal ideas.” As an honors class, a 3.25 grade point average is re quired to enroll in the class. “It helps me with every thing, the way it’s taught,” said Aubrey Sipowicz, referring to the honors sequence she is cur rently taking from Darris. The subject matter and Darris’ teach ing methods are two reasons why Sipowicz and fellow student Lewis Lyman gathered petitions for the spring seminar class— a capstone class for some that are going on to a four-year college next fall. According to Sipowicz, one of Darris’ teaching techniques is Socratic method, named for the classical Greek philosopher of 2400 years ago. The method is described by author T.Z. Lavine as, “...a form of seeking (boxing in) knowledge by question and answer.” According to Lavine, knowl edge is “boxed in” by trying to refute an answer to a dilemma through questions. Typically, this is the process used in a seminar class to strip away the fallacies within an argument. Most survey classes consist of instructors lecturing while stu dentstake notes they later review for tests. Many instructors en courage student input during lec tures. Seminar classes usually in volve a smaller number of stu dents, sometimes seated around a table, and typically discussing knowledge they’ve acquired in previous survey classes. They learn to develop and strengthen their views, reasoning skills and confidence through informed questioning and scrutiny from other students and the instructor. “I want this to be education, not indoctrination. It’s not a memorization game. You need to reason,” said Darris, referring to the active participation he antici pates from students in his classes. Seminar classes are rare at two-year colleges. Students usu ally take survey classes for the background knowledge needed for the seminar class. Commu nity colleges to an extent struc ture their curriculum to satisfy the degree requirements of the first two years of four-year col leges. The four-year schools typically don’t offer seminar classes the first two years. This new seminar class is especially rare because it’s also an honors class. According to Hartsock, CCC is the only com munity college with an Honors Program in the state. He said the honors program, “... raises the level of (the student’s) education. The intel lectual demand is greater, even if the time demand isn’t. You’re really asking people to think for themselves.” Hartsock said one of the honors program’s goals is to cre ate, “... a learning community where people of similar skills and similar interests can get to gether.” CCC currently offers honors sequences in the Hu manities, Social Science, Speech and English. Honors classes enhance the transcripts of students applying to institutions with high aca demic standards, according to Hartsock. The more challeng ing curriculum is good prepara tion for upper division classes at four-year institutions. Darris said one of his goals as an instructor is to teach stu dents to “... speak to power as if (the students) matter.” Some of his students did just that. Problems with Information Highway Eric Eatherton Columnist I don’t want to come across as a cultural Oscar, but there are some things that the Internet can’t provide. And when these things are lacking in our society, we end up having a problem. In case you’re wondering what I’m talk ing about, I’m commenting on the creation of what some are calling “cyberculture.” So what’s the problem? The more we go on-line, the less we communicate with each other. No, seriously--that’s a problem. The less we communicate with each other, the less we trust each other, and the less we know what’s re ally going on. Also, while online, we don’t know who else we’re chatting with. Sure, we know their handles, but not their real names or the faces that go with those names. The problem there is, any one can develop a reckless line of thinking without having to be re sponsible for their views. Say maybe someone on some computer in Florida spoke out on a controversial issue by develop ing a whimsical approach that once seen all the way through, may only exacerbate the problem. Online, he wouldn’t have to worry about it, as nobody would know what he looked like or who he really was. If he tried to do that amongst a few people at a café, he’d look very stupid. That face-to-face interaction is why I don’t go “cyber-dating.” How am I to know whether or not the someone who uses the handle, say for example “Cybervixen,” is even a woman, let alone married or even of consenting age? If I talk to someone to his/her face, I ei ther know the person or can make a logical surmise as 4 4------------------------- Without this human to human interaction, are we really a brave new society? -------- „ to that person is, what that per son does, etc. Moreover, some of the things that are sent over the ‘“Net,” as it is popularly called, have no pur pose even existing, let alone be ing transmitted over fiber-optic cables and long-distance lines. And I.won’t go into detail on that. And then, there’s the ever present problem of cyber-stalkers, cyber predators, etc. There are good things about the Internet. Some of my col leagues find stuff on it they find most interesting. It’s just—and maybe it’s only me—that I tend to find the older ways of doing things—the post office, the library, a few good books, and eventually City Hall, amongst other things— a little more personable. I want people to know me, not my handle. Why would I need E-mail? The post office delivers right on schedule, sometimes even ahead of schedule. Why go on-line for my information? That’s why we have books, news papers and magazines, and as a result, libraries. Why chat on-line? We have social clubs, bowling leagues, etc. for the purpose of socializing (and since it’s person-to-person and not computer-to-computer, more effective communication). And there’s City Council meetings where, if you have problems with how the city does business, you can redress those grievances. What’s the ‘Net’s equivalent? The Internet is a big com puter network. My idea of net working is getting together with a few of my friends and watching the Penguins kick the Bruins’ butts (or the Magic and the Rock ets, or the Mariners and the Indi ans, etc.) or knocking down about 1000 pins. Or talking to poten tial employers. Or a family re union. And so on. Without this human-to-hu- man interaction, are we really a brave new society? Or will this be the fall of a cyber-Roman Empire waiting to happen? Only time will tell, but please ponder my thoughts. The Clackamas Print Wednesday, February 14,1996 3 Advisor responds to underground paper I’m sure that by now many of you have read the first edition of “The Underground,” a two-page blue news letter that was circulated on campus Tuesday. As faculty advisor of The Clackamas Print, the college’s offi cial newspaper, I would like to clarify some inaccuracies in this publication. I applaud the efforts of those whose goal it is to present “The voice of the student at Clackamas Commu nity College,” as this writer says he is doing. I must hold him responsible, though, for accuracy in reporting, just as I ask of my journalism students. I refer specifically to this state ment: “Recently a student’s name and home phone number were ‘acciden tally’ published without his permis sion. I called the ‘advisor’ to the Print who informed me that she felt this was appropriate behavior despite the stu dents (sic) protestations.” When the person who would identify himself only as “Lyman” called me recently, he repeatedly asked “Do you think this is appropriate be havior, that students would print the letter-writer’s address and phone number?” What I told him is that it wasn't behavior at all; what hap pened is that a student sent The Print an email letter, and the student editors imported and printed it as is. He had signed it with his name, address, and phone number, and gave no indication that he didn’t want that information printed. Secondly, “Lucky,” as he signed his newsletter, makes this claim: “What is uncommon about the Print is that the staff of the Print feel some how compelled to add to submissions without noting the changes.” This is simply not true. What I believe he is referring to is an error’ that students made in typing in another letter; it is definitely not our policy to add to let ters to the editor. As “Lucky” continues publica tion of his newspaper, perhaps he can present another view that will be val ued by students. I encourage him, however, to strive for accuracy. Linda Vogt Advisor, The Clackamas Print What real small towns are like TOWN from Page 2 claiming that the church wasn’t healing as they had hoped. This blatant manipulation of my father’s known religious con viction—that if his deacon board ever unanimously agreed on something, he would accept it as God’s will—effectively sealed the doom of the most significant ep och of my childhood. It was later discovered that the head deacon had been meeting for regular lunches with the estranged church member who had started the en tire crisis. Oddly, it was after my dad announced his resignation that things started to get ugly. Ru mors, gossip and accusations be gan to fly as we prepared to move out of the parsonage. It was very bizarre. Why at tack that which you have already defeated? Why do a group of people professing a doctrine of love continue to twist the knife even after the killing blow has been struck? These are questions that still linger in my mind. It could be argued that this was merely an isolated, unchar acteristic incident, but I would beg to differ. This gossiping behav ior has been going on for decades. Actually, my parents knew that Logan had a history of railroad ing pastors in this fashion. My dad had, in fact, lasted three times as long as the average. This may be an extreme case, but I have seen faint signs of the same phenomenon in other, healthier churches and small community groups. It is easy for the uninformed to generalize and thus add the small town to the bulging list of American stereo types, but caution is advisable. I would urge Mr. Etherton and others to be careful about pro jecting idealized conceptions onto an often unworthy reality. For those of us who know better, it comes as an old blow struck anew. YOU ARE NOT HERE X ROT Y00 COULD RE YOUR AD COULD BE PLACED IN THE CCC PRINT Contact Cori Kargel at 657-6958 ext.2578 \7irvlatge Clofkiivg^ From Perry MLason to tike Brady Bunclk!! Open Fri., Sat., and Sun. 16703 SE McLoughlin Milwaukie, Or. 97267 (in the old Tax Service office) Corner of Naef Rd. and McLoughlin
