The SOUTH ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT —
"[The] blog he developed was something that made the district better." - Tim Jemal, SOCCCD BoT President, 7/24/23
Two Capistrano Unified trustees, including the school board president, were found in the superintendent's office looking through papers on a day when all district offices were closed, a district official confirmed Thursday.
The Reg has the juicy details. The trustees in question are “Board President Ellen Addonizio and trustee Sue Palazzo.” They were “found” last Friday (the 25th), in Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter's office.
According to the Reg,
Addonizio and Palazzo are part of the five-trustee bloc on the Capistrano Unified school board whose campaigns were endorsed by – and largely funded by – the CUSD Recall Committee parents group. Addonizio was elected in 2006; Palazzo was elected in June's recall election that ousted longtime trustees Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper. ¶ The five so-called "reform" trustees on the seven-member school board have been outspoken critics of the district's administration, calling for increased scrutiny over district affairs and aggressive investigations to get to the bottom of a number of controversies that have dogged the district in recent years.
Now, who do you suppose got these people elected?
Well, that would be Education Alliance, on whose board SOCCCD board president Don Wagner sits.
Naturally, this incident has not gone down well:
“I’ve been in this business for over 50 years, and I’ve never, ever in my entire career seen this behavior by a trustee,” said trustee Duane Stiff, who found out about the incident Monday. “It’s horribly unprofessional. They knew he was out of town and the building was closed. If they needed to talk to the superintendent, they have his cell number.”
Stiff needs to get out more. Some of our trustees in the SOCCCD are at least as unprofessional as these two women. Remember Dot Fortune glowering and fuming at the state investigator through a window? Remember the board's "persistent and defiant" misconduct re secrecy? Remember the time Frogue mooned Milchiker?
PERKS FOR JERKS. At Monday’s meeting of the SOCCCD Board of Trustees, Trustee Nancy Padberg requested a report on trustee travel expenses (2007-08). For years now, she has been trying to cast a spotlight on some questionable expenses, such as trustees—and the Chancellor—attending conferences in Orlando when the same enlightenment is dispensed at conferences nearby.
Republican John Williams seems to be her chief target. As I recall, at one point, Williams defended these junkets by appealing to the trustee code of ethics, according to which trustees ought to attend conferences—you know, to keep informed about "student learning objectives" and new and improved "hypervacuous educationist palaverities." [OK. I'm officially claiming "palaverities."]
His reasoning seemed to be thus:
1. Trustees have a duty to attend conferences. 2. By junketing to Orlando, John attends a conference. 3. Thus, by junketing to Orlando, John (merely) does his duty as a trustee.
This reasoning is valid only if the first premise means or implies something like: "trustees have a duty to attend conferences irrespective of considerations of waste or usefulness." Naturally, if that is what premise 1 is saying, then premise 1 is false and his reasoning is unsound. (Arguably, Williams was arguing for a stronger point: that he would be failing in his duty (aka doing wrong) by not sunning his ass in Orlando. The reasoning to that conclusion, of course, would be more fallacious still.)
John, who is also the County of Orange Public Administrator/Guardian, is not the brightest bulb on the tree. ("Stop living in an Ivory Castle!" he once roared.) It's a good thing his county job only concerns corpses, cuz he can't do much harm to them, I suppose.
In today’s “OC Watchdog” (Jet Set Club: Your Congressmembers hit the road), we learn that our local Congresspeople, too, can be big travel spenders. In their case, however, the dubious travel is often international.
The writer consulted a “nifty function” on the Center for Responsive Politics website and determined that Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and his staff “have racked up more than $33,684 in trips since 2005.” They’ve been to “Albania, Bangkok, China…my favorite is watching a satellite launch in Miami.”
Florida again. Cheesy politicians seem drawn to Florida. I don't get it.
Next comes Republican Ed Royce, who represents Fullerton: $18,501. He likes it down in Cuba, South Africa, and Holland.
POSH POL GABFEST. As you know, John McCain and Barack Obama will appear at the Saddleback mega-church on Saturday, August 16 (part of its “Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion”). The event will be televised live.
According to the Reg (McCain, Obama event ticket info available Aug. 1), tickets will be available on the 1st of August. Check it out. And check out the digs. I always tell students, "The really big money is in religion."
Maybe the all-time best movie scene about career advice:
REMEDIATION DOESN’T WORK? A new and seemingly-impressive study on the efficacy of remedial education (e.g., in Math, Reading) has cast assumptions of efficacy into doubt. According to Inside Higher Ed (Questioning the Value of Remedial Education), a pair of scholars—Juan Carlos Calcagno of the Community College Research Center, at Teachers College of Columbia University, and Bridget Long of the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University—have analyzed 100,000 community college students in Florida and they’ve found only “some positive impact.”
In looking at the impact of remedial education, the study found that — among those on the edge of needing remediation — being assigned to remedial math and reading courses has the effect on average of increasing the number of credits completed and the odds that students will return for a second year. But while those are important factors, the report finds no evidence that remedial education increases the completion of college-level credits or of degree completion.
In light of the cost of remediation, the authors think we should reconsider it.
THE MEREST OF RUMORS. I hear that Raghu Mathur is doing everything in his power to be invited onto "Dancing with the Stars." Just a rumor. Reminds me of another illiterate hoofer wannabe:
SPIES AMONG US? According to this morning’s Inside Higher Ed (Big Argus Is Watching You), “The National Association of Scholars announced on Tuesday the launch of the Argus Project…to recruit volunteers to monitor college campuses nationwide. The volunteers, a mix of faculty members and private citizens, ‘have begun to look into whether that college conducts politicized teaching, requires ideological adherence, or sustains slights to conservative students,’ said the association’s announcement.”
Actually, I've been spied upon already. A certain well-known operative of the local "Republican Mafia" (The Schroeder-Fuentes crew) took my summer philosophy course a couple of summers ago just so he could see my indoctrination methods in the flesh. Unfortunately for him, I do not indoctrinate, I teach, and so he disappeared after a few weeks.
NAKED PERSON ROCKED AT IVC. Meanwhile, over at our pal Marla Jo Fisher’s “College Life” blog, we read about how things went in a live drawing class at Irvine Valley College during yesterday's earthquake: You don’t want to be doing this during an earthquake. Evidently, the model will be getting a seatbelt soon.
• Meanwhile, over at the OC Reg, R. Scott Moxley informs us that, a little more than an hour after this morning’s earthquake, Buena Park’s “Reverend Wiley Drake named the seismic event, ‘the California Queer Quake,’ and announced via email to his nationwide followers that ‘another queer quake [is] trying to get California's attention.’”
(Above: there was an earthquake. Naturally, everyone phoned someone. And they kept doing it.)
WE’RE STUPID PEOPLE. If you’ve been following the science news, then you know that there’s been a mysterious lull in seismic activity around here lately. It's portentous.
The Reg’s Science Dude now reports that “Scientists have found a way to detect changes in rocks that precede small earthquakes on the San Andreas fault, a possible step toward creating an early warning system for Southern California.”
That’s great. But the Science Dude goes on to say, “The southern branch is of particular concern because it could cause massive death and destruction in Orange County, about 60 miles away.”
Yeah, massive death. We knew that. But we don’t like to talk about it much, do we? The Reg buries its seismic stories in blogs like “Science Dude.” Nobody but me reads "Science Dude." And I forget everything I read there. I'm going to the beach.
UPDATE (11:45 a.m.): about five minutes ago, we felt a pretty strong earthquake. Lasted at least five seconds.
CELL PHONES ARE STUPID, BUT THEY’RE NOT KILLERS. In this morning’s New York Times, John Tierney lists 10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry List, including “killer hot dogs,” “killer sharks,” and “carcinogenic cellphones.” Turns out, the “nitrite” weenie worry was a bust, as was the grilling-killing freakout. According to new research, weenies aren’t even a big threat re saturated fat. (But I bet tofu dogs are much better for you.)
Guess how many people died from shark attacks in the world last year? One.
Do you watch Mythbusters? Then you know that, as far as fuel economy goes, you’re better off using you’re A/C rather than driving with your windows open. According to Tierney, “After doing tests at 65 miles per hour, the mileage experts at edmunds.com report that the aerodynamic drag from opening the windows cancels out any fuel savings from turning off the air-conditioner.”
Thanks to the reliably unreliable Larry King, who seems to select guest experts with a randomizer, lots of people are afraid of their own cell phones, but, in truth, nobody can identify a way that those stupid things could hurt you, and “epidemiological studies have failed to find consistent links between cancer and cell phones”—i.e., there is no reason to suppose that there is a correlation between cell phone use and cancer.
I’m pretty sure that the Reb and I are the only Orange Counties who do not own one of these gadgets. We hate ‘em. At least I do. That’s got nothing to do with cancer, though.
WAIT. CELL PHONES ARE KILLERS. This morning’s Inside Higher Ed reports a curious element in the U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s new student orientation program: they are “adding warnings for new students about the dangers of “ped-texting” — sending cell phone text messages while walking.” Apparently, some of these kids just walk out into the street like zombies.
Of course, we all know what happens when you talk on your cell phone while driving. People are bad enough drivers as it is. Teenagers should not be allowed to talk and drive. Well, they should not be allowed to drive. Or talk.
SHOT IN ASS. DON'T KNOW WHY. According to the OC Reg (Man found shot in the butt in Stanton), well, a man was found shot in the butt in the city of Stanton.
Authorities don’t know how this happened to the guy. They’ve interviewed him, and “He’s doing his best to cooperate,” or so says a cop. But he’s so goofed up, he’s no help.
I bet the guy has a cell phone. They should check it for nitrate residue.
COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL. Yesterday, the Reg reported that two Tesoro High School seniors would be appearing in court (See). Recently, these kids were charged with “altering public records, computer access and fraud, burglary, identity theft and conspiracy in what prosecutors described as an elaborate plot to better their odds of getting into college.”
They’ve retained a celebrity lawyer—Larry King regular, Mark Geragos.
Looks like these kids were way out of control. One of them “altered his Advanced Placement exam scores, stole an English test he was caught cheating on, and pilfered master copies of tests, some of which were e-mailed to dozens of Advanced Placement students.”
No word on whether these kids have cell phones.
Why I hate cell phones
I recall one night maybe a year ago in a parking lot. Seemed like nobody was around. Maybe there was one guy about forty yards away, where it was dark. But somebody was madly talking to somebody. It was creepy. How could this be?
It be all right. It was this solitary guy, walking across the parking lot, unapologetically yammering at full volume on his goddam cell phone. I hated that guy. I hated how he weirded me out and he never even knew or cared.
You’ll be talking to somebody and then, wham, something starts buzzing on the table; or maybe some goofy calliope music plays; or maybe there’s the sound of nuts cracking coming from somebody’s pants.
Your companion suddenly looks at a spot on the wall and then reaches for their goddam cell phone. They look away from you. You’re gone. You’ve been forgotten. You shuffle away like Puff the freakin’ Magic Dragon—only to run into somebody else walkin’ and yackin’ on the phone. You step out of their way. You’ve always gotta step out of their way, ‘cause, when they’re talking, they’re morons, and they think they own the fuckin’ universe.
Hate ‘em. Cell phones I mean.
Why do people—especially kids, but adults too—always embrace popular new gadgets? It’s the kind of thing little kids should do, not adults. New modes of life—IMing, going through your day listening to music and utterly ignoring everything and everybody around you, suddenly startin’ up a phone conversation while you're in the bathroom—you’ve gotta take a beat, man. Don’t just jump in there! How do you know this isn’t just ridiculous? I mean, it’s new, so how would you know?
It’s this endless enthusiasm for jumping right in there and feeling really good about being part of the mindless horde who doesn’t think about anything but just does stuff—that’s what pisses me off. If that’s the way people are, there’s no hope. None at all.
I swear, soon somebody will find a way for two people to drink the same Coke—serially, I mean—probably with weird-assed straws shaped like Ronald McDonald and comin' out of your neck—or maybe they'll figure out a way to surgically exchange ears, and everybody will be all over it with their "new" ears and punctured necks. They’ll smile and laugh (through their neck hole) and think you’re obviously an asshole if you’re not into it too.
See, this has to do with how conservatism does not exist in this country. If you’re conservative, you’ve got this idea that things barely work as it is. And that means, mostly, you don’t wanna just shuffle the deck just for the sake of shuffling. Things could get worse. We could lose what we've got.
But, in this country, everybody’s into shuffling. Everybody's moving around and doing new things. And it’s all about commerce and somebody with something new to sell. The money people: they’ll change everything around without a thought, except the thought of how to make money and more money. And everybody goes along with it, ‘cause they’re morons, and they don’t think about how the most valuable things might just be imbedded in away of life. So you don't want to mess with it too much. You gotta be careful. Take it slow, if you can.
Note: Tracy's "board meeting highlights" are available here.
Tonight’s meeting of the SOCCCD board of trustees was supposed to start at 6:30, but it didn’t start until nearly an hour and a half later.
The first order of business was to read out decisions made by the board in closed session:
On a 5-1 vote, with trustee Bill Jay dissenting (Marcia Milchiker was absent), it was decided that David Bugay would be offered employment as Vice Chancellor of Human Resources (replacing Bob King).
On a 6-0 vote, it was decided that Robert Bramucci would be offered the job as Vice Chancellor of Technology and Learning Services (replacing Andreea Serban).
On a 5-1 vote, with Trustee Nancy Padberg dissenting, it was decided that Tracy Daly would be appointed Associate Provost of ATEP for one semester (she’ll be replacing IVC President Glenn Roquemore, I believe. He filled in after Bob Kopecky stepped down).
There was a resolution of some sort about the glory and wonder of ATEP. They even let Bob Kopecky get in the picture (Don Wagner seemed to be behind that), though he wasn't named in the Resolution. That's Mathur for you.
Chancellor Raghu Mathur introduced us to Saddleback College’s new President (starting in a few days), Todd Burnett. Burnett said he was very impressed by the trustees. Maybe Fuentes showed him his scar, dunno.
Next, Mathur trotted out David Bugay. Next came Bramucci, who we’ve seen before (at a Chancellor’s “opening session” not long ago).
Tracy Daly came up too, but she seemed to keep her distance from Mathur. She was all smiles, though.
Nancy Padberg’s invocation was interesting. She referred to how we have different varieties of “spirituality.” In the end, she led us through a moment of silence. I kid you not.
Board reports were unremarkable, aside from Trustee Fuentes’ announcement that he has filed (or will file) for reelection in November. (At one point tonight, someone whispered in my ear, “We give him a reason to live.”) As you know, recently, the fellow underwent liver transplant surgery.
Later, we learned that Fuentes has been reappointed to the US Election Assistance Commission. That’s just great. I think I’m giving up on voting, unless I get a receipt.
Wagner once again praised the people he worked with on the Irvine Valley College Accreditation “task force,” a group that by all accounts has done excellent work in the last seven months.
Several on the dais referred to meeting spankin’ new OC Sheriff Sandra Hutchins. Mathur even noted that the good sheriff would be visiting tomorrow, meeting with our two police chiefs. “I’ll be there,” said Mathur—a remark that couldn’t be more unnecessary.
Naturally, all this talk about Hutchins was a tad ironic, for, thanks to Tom Fuentes, this district has (or had) many ties to now disgraced former Sheriff Mike Carona, who awaits trial on corruption and excessive sexual braggadocio.
During his report, Mathur noted that the district has broken the 25,000 barrier for FTES (essentially, hours of teaching of students).
Trustee Nancy Padberg asked for a report on trustee travel and related expenses for 2007-8. You know what that’s about. She smirked. Trustee John Williams flinched.
Tonight’s “discussion item” was a real barn burner: the state of maintenance at the two colleges. This amounted to reports from the two maintenance chiefs, both of whom carped about the unfortunate consequences of the “low bid” policy for projects. We pay and pay to correct shabby work, they said. Apparently, the State Chancellor’s Office realizes that the "low bid" policy isn’t working.
Eventually, the board got to item 7.4, a report on employees earning over $90k. That was Fuentes’ baby. He said the predictable things about the “generous support” of “the taxpayer.” (I had a brief look at the list. Do you know that there are faculty who make over $200K [including benefits, which are about $30K] per year?! I noticed that counseling was well-represented in that top bracket. How is it possible? Naturally, most 90+ salaries were far smaller.)
Earlier, Bill Jay made an excellent suggestion: that we should be comparing the salaries of our employees with the salaries of equivalent employees in contiguous community college districts. He’s right. For once, Bill bested Tom.
During group reports, IVC Prez Glenn Roquemore thanked the various participants of the IVC Accred Focus Group. Of the report they have drafted, he said, “I think it hits the mark.” Glenn also reported that ATEP enrollments have been very high (about 600 this summer). He indicated that Chapman U, CSU Fullerton, and even UCI are “excited” about working with us at ATEP. (I got confirmation tonight that “Camelot” is out of the picture. One source told me that other groups [with big money, I assume], though, “have been standing in line” to get involved.)
IVC’s Academic Senate Prez, Wendy G, once again thanked trustee Don Wagner, VC Gary Poertner, IVC Prez Glenn Roquemore, and others for their fine work on the Accred Focus Group. (Did I mention that Gary was wearing a stunning pair of white shoes?)
Saddleback’s Academic Senate Prez, Bob C, noted the hard work that is being done now on SLOs at the college. He referred, too, to other belated efforts to get his college on track with regard to Accreditation. He thanked in particular board Prez Wagner and Trustee Dave Lang for their assistance. Turns out about $31K will be expended to support faculty in efforts to take care of SLOs (a key recommendation from the Accreds) and to complete the work in writing a decent report to ACCJC/WASC by the Oct. 15 deadline.
Bob said that he was “sorry” that things fell behind. “Things got screwed up,” he said. "Not sure what happened."
Yep, things got screwed up, and lots of people dropped the ball, but Bob has done more than anyone to try to turn things around. So far, so good.
The smoke from the Yosemite fire fills Squaw Valley late at night then the daily winds blow it somewhere else and by late afternoon the sky is clear again. The fire is burning parts of Yosemite that have no recorded fire history.
This morning Rebel Girl baked two loaves of bread, as she has done daily for the last week—she likes a challenge; she likes the magic of yeast; she likes to feed people; she likes knowing that no matter what tragedies fall in a day, her bread will rise and people will eat it. Today she ate one of the loaves with the fine poet who wrote the poem below.
(This one is for Vicki Forman. All love.)
Perseid Shower
Meteors break through late summer night,
white blossoms scattering, furiously. They don’t make a noise,
at least none that we can hear.
They disappear in all directions signifying desire
and its difficulty. There. The half-moon floats
thin, translucent as an insect’s wing. We say the moon is
half-full, even as it wanes.
So much longing. . . to witness the unfolding
across distance. How we must look to anyone watching.
Here, the star cage: Still life with black clock.
- Gary Short from 10 Moons and 13 Horses
(On Tuesday August 12, the Perseid meteor shower will occur. Rebel Girl and family will look up that night, wherever they are. They hope you will too.)
You think I exaggerate about the politics around here? Nope. Read this article.
As the Post article implies, it was the OC Weekly—not the Times, not the Reg—who was on to Carona early on.
…[T]he alternative O.C. Weekly…was leery of Carona early on. Reporter R. Scott Moxley recalled being put off by the sheriff's phalanx of bodyguards (who called him "Braveheart") and Carona's choice of diversionary tactic during an interview on campaign contributors.
"In the middle of these discussions, he's saying to me: 'Hey, I got these great helicopters. You want to go up in a helicopter?' "....
DISRESPECTFUL FELLOW. . Biologist P.Z. Myers of the University of Minnesota seems to love getting in the face of creationists—and of theists generally. (See Crusade Against a Crusader in this morning's Inside Higher Ed.) . Recently, on his blog, Pharyngula, he’s defended a U of Central Florida student who “protested the presence of religious groups on his campus by taking a Eucharist — the small wafer blessed in Roman Catholic services and then seen as the body of Christ — and removing it from the service rather than consuming it. Myers, in an entry entitled ‘It’s a Frackin’ Cracker’ — questioned why this was such a big deal.” . Naturally, the usual suspects have begun attacking him and calling for disciplinary action. . Myers, being Myers, responded by staging a “great desecration,” which entailed taking a genuine communion wafer (sent to him by a supporter) and driving a rusty nail through it. He threw it in the trash, along with a banana peel, coffee grounds, some pages from the Koran, and—in a display of self-desecration—some pages from The God Delusion. I guess he photographed this mess and put that on his blog. . Now, people are really pissed. He’s even received threats, references to his children, etc. So far, the U of M, while distancing itself from his views, stands behind him. That’s great, but I do wish Myers would lay off of the “bring it on” routine.
CHIMP TRUSTEES. . Inside Higher Ed also reports on a community College board in Michigan. According to the local accreditor, “The board of Oakland Community College…‘dabbles in micromanagement,’ and doesn’t know how to have constructive discussions.” . Gosh, that sounds awfully familiar. . IHE says that, according to a Detroit paper, the accreditor “linked poor governance to controversies over management, saying that the board must ‘learn how to argue, debate and disagree intellectually.’ The board chairwoman told the newspaper that when the accrediting team was visiting, some board members were ‘very disgraceful’ and ‘didn’t act professionally.’” . Gosh, maybe some of those trustees are chimps. . Well, there’s your problem. . We live in such a special country. Over much of this great land, judges are elected by the people. (This means, of course, that they’re elected by a horde of legal ignoramuses. That’s the way it is around here.) Only stupid people would come up with a system like that. . We really love “local control” of things such as education, and so school boards and college boards are elected, too. Yeah, I get it, but one problem with that system is that you can have fools running school districts and colleges. Consider the state of Kansas. . And consider the South Orange County Community College District. Ten years ago, the board president was a Holocaust denier. . Nowadays, the dominant trustees on the SOCCCD board are right-wingers with open contempt for educators—this is especially true of Mr. Tom Fuentes, who embraces a conspiracy theory re accreditation according to which faculty pretty much orchestrate things. . This group (a descendent of the board of a decade ago) has brought our two colleges to the brink of non-accreditation, owing to their endless micromanagement (and the micromanagement of their agent and puppet, Chancellor Raghu Mathur) and their arrogant and disrespectful meddling with accreditation reports. . Pace chimps.
SERIOUS ACCOUNTABILITY—IN THE OLD WORLD. . Also in this morning’s Inside higher Ed, there’s a fascinating story about the system of “accountability” for institutions of higher learning that exists in Europe (On Accountability, Consider Bologna):
Impressed by American higher education’s embrace of accountability? You shouldn’t be, according to a new policy brief on the Bologna Process from the Institute for Higher Education Policy. Written by Clifford Adelman, a senior associate at the institute, the document “contends that none of the major pronouncements on accountability in U.S. higher education that we have heard in the recent past – from Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings’ Commission on the Future of Higher Education to platitude pronouncements and wish lists for student learning from the higher education community — even begin to understand what accountability means.”
OK, so who does understand?
Adelman contends that across the Atlantic, the nearly decade-old, 46-country higher education reform initiative known as the Bologna Process offers lessons for what real accountability – not “accountability light” – looks like. And out of Europe’s efforts to make colleges, continent-wide, “more compatible and comparable,” Adelman identifies a series of “reconstructive recommendations” for American higher education.
.....The college textbook industry, while not abandoning traditional books, seems to be moving toward e-books, i.e., online subscriptions that give students access to a book for a semester or two. So says an article in this morning’s New York Times (First It Was Song Downloads. Now It’s Organic Chemistry.). .....According to the article, the “digital transition” is tough for all book publishers, but it is especially tough for the college textbook crowd because students have zero sympathy for publishers and they’re often more than willing to rip ‘em off. “College students may be the angriest group of captive customers to be found anywhere,” says the author. .....Websites that specialize in providing digital versions of textbooks for free keep popping up. Publishers keep stamping ‘em out, but it isn’t easy. .....The Times article focuses on a particular textbook—“Organic Chemistry” by John E. McMurry—which lists for $209.95 and is usually sold at the discount price of $150. That’s expensive, and students certainly see it that way. And so, increasingly, students opt for used books. In this case, a used copy goes for $110. .....But the popularity of used textbooks reduces profits, and so prices go up and students are more inclined than ever to buy used. .....E-books potentially could change all that. The e-book version of “Organic Chemistry” sells (rents?) for $109.99. Selling an e-book cuts out the middleman (the bookstore), since the sale is directly to students, and it reduces the number of used books at the end of the semester.
• • • • •
.....The issue of the high cost of textbooks has been simmering for years in the SOCCCD. Students grumble endlessly, though they seem to do nothing beyond grumbling and buying used texts. Student government sometimes speaks for students, but student government, in our district, has a stake in bookstore profits, since that is a major source of revenue for them. Trustees (e.g., Wagner, Fuentes) sometimes zero in on this student government gravy train, but that usually just pisses everybody off. .....It’s too soon to tell whether this e-book innovation will amount to anything. After all, students might well regard the scheme as another publisher rip-off. .....I kinda hope it works.
• • • • •
.....Lately, DtB has been discussing the sorry state of our democracy. In my opinion, there is nothing sorrier than that democratic institution known as student government, at least what I've seen of it at our colleges. Undoubtedly, some good kids pop up there, but mostly it’s just a very expensive joke run (typically) by manifestly self-serving jokers. Most students seem not even aware that student government exists. Knowing how painful the textbook cost problem is for students, and knowing that one reason for the problem is the status quo re student government, it is very hard to watch typically hapless student officers give budget reports at board meetings and not wonder: maybe we oughta just pull the goddam plug. .....You know how much I hate to agree with the likes of Wagner and Fuentes. But, at the very least, student government ought to get out of the book selling business.
Readers of Dissent may recognize the moniker of occasional commenter, Special Needs Mama, aka the professor, aka Vicki Forman, dear friend of Red and Reb’s, writer, teacher of creative writing at USC, powerful advocate of children with special needs, student, mother, and most recently, winner of the Bakeless Prize for her book “This Lovely Life,” a memoir. She serves on the board of Lanterman Regional Center. She is a person whose life and works have already made a difference. Her blog, speak softly, is on our blogroll.
Rebel Girl learned earlier this week that Vicki's young son Evan, the focus of her prize-winning memoir, passed away suddenly.
Vicki pens a monthly column at Literary Mama, whose site today offered this reflection:
Evan David Kamida, July 30, 2000 - July 24, 2008
All of us at Literary Mama are so stunned and saddened to learn of the death of columnist Vicki Forman's son, Evan. Most of us never met Evan, but we loved learning about his strength and spirit through Vicki's gorgeous writing. We will never forget the image of him playing music:
Although he cannot talk, Evan can sing at least four songs, on key and straight through to the end. If I begin one of those songs, "Jingle Bells," for instance, he will pick up where I left off, then finish it up for me. His riffs on the harmonica have made him into a favorite among his kindergarten friends at school. And the piano playing is beyond compare. He’ll stand at the keyboard for half an hour at a time; every session includes a clearly recognizable composition of his own making, one that becomes more involved with each passing day. He practices distinct sections of the composition, one at a time, and then goes on to play the piece whole. If a friend overhears him while I am on the phone, the friend will nearly always say, "Wow, that kid knows what he’s doing."
Rebel Girl wishes she could be there for her friend but she is here instead, high in the high Sierra where news like this from home seems unreal against the sky and rock but at the same time seems inevitable too somehow, in this season of loss, as California burns and the valley fills and empties of smoke with the winds.
Vicki was once here with Reb, years ago, at this same time of year. One night they lay stretched out on their backs, along a driveway, waiting for the Perseid meteor shower while others partied in the nearby house. Rebel Girl imagined she could feel the curve of the earth under their spines. Rebel Girl remembers that they talked a bit about what they wanted in life, both of them up there with pages that they hoped would grow into books, both of them moving out of graduate school toward what came next. They waited that night for the stars to fall, to streak across that broad cold sky.
UPDATE: Here's a link to a past post by Vicki, a lovely meditation on Evan's hands. Click here.
• IRVINE HISTORIAN & ARAB HEADBANGERS. .....I finally got around to reading that interview in yesterday’s OC Reg with UCI historian Mark Levine (UCI historian plunges into Middle Eastern underground), and it’s actually damned interesting. The hairy Professor LeVine (the Reg reporter calls him “hirsute-headed”) has spent some time hanging out with headbangers (aka “heavy metal” fans) in the Middle East—even in Baghdad—and he’s got lots to say about it. Check it out. (See also an interview with UCI anthropology professor Leo Chavez : Are Latinos a threat to the U.S.?)
• CANCER GOOFBALL. .....Perhaps you’ve heard that the head of a major cancer research center (University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute) has sent a warning to staff to limit their use of mobile phones, owing to the risk of cancer. (Limit mobile phone use, cancer expert tells staff.) Meanwhile, many health authorities say there is no reason to suppose that there is a risk. .....Yesterday, our pal (well, he did email me once) Bob Park (What’s New) wrote that (Pittsburg director) Ronald Herberman’s concerns are “nonsense.”
All cancer agents act by disrupting chemical bonds. In a classic 2001 op-ed, LBL physicist Robert Cahn explained that Einstein won the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physics for showing that cell phones can't cause cancer. The threshold energy of the photoelectric effect, for which Einstein won the prize, lies at the extreme blue end of the visible spectrum in the near ultraviolet. The same near-ultraviolet rays can also cause skin cancer. Red light is too weak to cause cancer. Cell-phone radiation is 10,000 times weaker.
• GUARDIAN ON HOMEOPATHY. .....Lemme make a pitch for the Guardian’s Science page, which seems to do a good job covering science news. For instance, on Monday, they offered a fine article about UK pharmacists, who persist in handing over homeopathic “remedies” to customers without comment, despite their own ethical guidelines, which compel them to inform customers of relevant info. .....What’s the relevant info? That these homeopathic remedies have nothing in them (“no biologically active agents”) and, in study after study, they have been shown to be no more effective than sugar pills. .....How come they have nothing in them? Well, according to homeopathic theory, you start off with the active ingredient (say, arsenic), but you don’t want to actually give that to people, cuz it’s toxic. So what do you do? You dilute it. As you dilute it, say the homeopaths, it becomes stronger as a medicine. .....But they don’t just dilute it. They dilute it to the point that likely not one molecule of the ingredient is left (they acknowledge this). That’s when it’s really powerful. .....What’s the matter with people?
• MINDLESS GASOHOL SKEPTICISM GROWING. .....Meanwhile, as a New York Times article (In Gas-Powered World, Ethanol Stirs Complaints) explains, lots of people in those parts of this country where “gasohol” is available, have come to believe that the stuff seriously cuts fuel economy and causes poor performance, so they pay extra for “pure” gasoline. .....Now, I’m not a big fan of ethanol (not at least the kind that comes from corn), but this looks like another classic case of people believing exactly what they want to believe, despite any evidence to the contrary. Things happen; exaggerated stories are told; paranoia sets it—it’s a kind of Americana, like lovable coots sittin’ around the local hangout, telling Bigfoot or UFO stories, and blaming the government for the whole dang thing.
• HOW WE KNOW THAT HOMEOPATHY DOESN'T WORK. .....Which reminds me. Why should we pay attention to clinical trials and similar tests? .....Well, it’s like this. Scientists believe (roughly speaking) that nature is very regular. It’s not the kind of place where X causes Y irregularly or on certain days. No, if X causes Y under conditions C, then that’s the pattern, period. .....Now, if nature weren’t regular in this way, NASA could never send off one of its rockets and hit the right spot in space every time. Science and technology depend on nature's regularity. .....Here’s the good news: the fact of regularity means, among other things, that you can find out if an alleged cure works. Whether something works isn’t really a matter of opinion. It’s a matter of demonstrable fact. You’ve just got to do the right tests. .....Let’s say that someone asserts that eating goofballs cures cancer. Here’s what you do (and it’s expensive): you set up a study in which lots of people with cancer are eating goofballs over here and lots of (very similar) people with cancer are eating fake goofballs over there. .....It’s important that none of these people knows whether they’re in the real or the fake goofball group because of the phenomenon that the very thought that one is receiving a cure will cause improvement (this is the placebo effect, which is somewhat controversial). That’s why you’ve got to have two groups and compare ‘em. If you just give people goofballs and see what happens, some might get better, but how do you know that isn’t the placebo effect? You don’t. So you compare these two groups. If both groups improve, you know it isn’t the goofballs doing it. It’s the placebo effect. .....Now, remember, nature is regular. You don’t get to say that, “Yeah, goofballs work, but maybe not for you, cuz you’re a skeptic and a Democrat.” Either goofballs cause improvement or they don’t. You don’t get to be an asshole about this. .....So now, if you’ve done everything right, and if it turns out that there’s no difference in improvement between the two groups, then you’ve got prima facie evidence that goofballs don’t work on cancer. If others repeat the experiment and get the same results (that’s called “replication”), then you’ve pretty much sealed the deal. .....And that’s why we know that homeopathic remedies don’t work.
Back in November, we held a caption contest, but I don't believe we ever announced a winner! (Age of Stupidity) So here it is. Imagine a drum roll:
Got a call from the Reb today. She seems to be doing well, though she’s been terribly busy and has endured the continuation of her odd run of tragedies close to home.
But she and Limber Lou and Red Emma are well and are enjoying the mountains. Especially Lou. In these mountains, says Reb, Lou experiences the kind of idyllic childhood "that all of us should." (Reb co-directs the "writers' workshop" of The Community of Writers. It is held in the mountains west of Lake Tahoe.)
She says that smoke from the many Northern California fires still comes and goes, but it’s OK. The poets just write about it.
For a seriously cool (er, appalling) video of the carbon monoxide produced over the last month or so, click on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory link below:
According to the JPL site, “In this animation created with data retrieved by NASA's spaceborne instrument called the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, or AIRS, on NASA's Aqua spacecraft, we visualize the rapid increases in carbon monoxide (CO) emitted by fires burning in California in June and July 2008.”
.....A brief update on yesterday’s “toxic plume” story: the reason for the toxic plume beneath Irvine is, largely or in part, the use of solvents by the military to clean aircraft and aircraft parts. .....Naturally, if that is a problem in Irvine, it should be a problem in Tustin as well, the location of the former Tustin helicopter station. .....ATEP, the SOCCCD’s technologically-oriented “campus,” sits on that property in a section northwest of one of the old hangers. .....Is ATEP sitting atop a plume of toxic water? I've done some poking around. The short answer: yes. That doesn't necessarily mean there's a health risk.
.....The Navy says it will proceed with a $4.3 million cleanup of a sector of the old Tustin helicopter base contaminated by solvents. .....Plans call for groundwater containing the solvents to be pumped out and cleaned, and 2,450 cubic yards of polluted soil to be cleansed by cooking the contaminants out. … .....Plans for the redevelopment of the base along Harvard Avenue at Irvine’s western border call for a road to be built over what is now the contaminated area, but that project won’t begin until the cleaned soil is returned. … .....The water to be filtered lies under an area of the former Marine Corps base where solvents were dumped for years. The solvents, used to clean helicopters, contaminate an area about 40 feet deep stretching in an arc of several hundred yards. .....Although the contaminated groundwater is not part of a drinking water aquifer, the solvents eventually will migrate there if not removed or contained. .....The remediation plan continues and expands a process of pumping out contaminated groundwater, filtering the solvents and allowing the cleaned water to flow down Peters Canyon, where it soaks back into the ground. The Navy said the expanded pumping operation will get under way in 2005. .....It’s expected to take at least 30 years to clean all the contaminated water. .....The dirty soil will be hauled away and heated, causing the contaminants to evaporate. Air scrubbers then would capture the contaminants. .....The freshly baked earth then will be returned to the site, which is northeast of the northernmost blimp hangar. In all, between 125-150 truckloads of soil will be hauled away to be cleaned, enough to cover a football field a foot and a half deep. .....Tustin officials say the water and soil plan will allow them to proceed with development of a community park and college at the site. Work on those projects could begin in about a year….
.....This morning’s Inside Higher Ed (Defining Political Correctness and Its Non-Impact) reports on a new study on “political correctness” in academia that, like other recent studies, should be an eye-opener for conservative critics who seem to view the higher education professorate as monolithic and intolerant:
.....For those who deny that there is an identifiable group of PC professors, the study says that there is in fact a group with consistently common perspectives…. .....But for those who say that these tenured radicals have all the power in academe, the study finds that politically correct professors’ views on the role of politics in hiring decisions aren’t very different from the views of other professors. Further, the study finds that a critical mass of politically incorrect professors is doing quite well in securing jobs at the most prestigious universities in the United States, despite claims that such scholars are an endangered species there.
.....I recommend that you read the entire article. Here (according to IHE) are a few of the study’s findings.
• Yes, faculty members are more liberal than the average person, but they are less so then previous generations. • Political correctness, understood as embrace of a cluster of beliefs (especially re discrimination) commonly associated with PC, is relatively common in the Humanities and the social sciences. • Psychology is the only field in which a majority of professors are politically correct. A majority of Economics professors are politically incorrect. (No surprise there.) A high degree of political incorrectness can also be found among professors of accounting, business, computer science, and mechanical engineering. (“Management information” professors, whoever they are, seem to be by far the most politically incorrect group.) • Community college faculty are less liberal than other faculty, although, for faculty in general, the politically incorrect outnumber the politically correct. (Note, however, that the researchers placed faculty into these four categories: moderately correct, politically incorrect, politically correct, and non-committal.) At community colleges, 28% were moderately correct, 27% were politically incorrect, and 16% were politically correct. • The research found no evidence that politically incorrect professors were thwarted in advancement. • “When it comes to hiring and definitions of diversity, there is a strong belief—across levels of political correctness—that political tests should not be used.”
• • • • •
FOR MANY ISSUES, THE TRUTH IS "LIBERAL"
.....I think it's odd that the article’s (or the study’s?) author did not lump together the “politically correct” group and the “moderately correct” group and compare that combined group with the “politically incorrect” group. Perhaps there was a very good reason for not doing so. .....But, upon doing so, one finds that, even at community colleges, nearly 44% of professors are either moderately or “politically” correct, while nearly 27% are political incorrect. (30% are non-committal.) Hence, even at community colleges, the professorate is definitely skewed toward “correctness”— and, presumably, toward liberalism and leftism. .....But, of course, the key question is, why is that so? .....Unlike many conservatives (apparently), I am not a “relativist” about truth. Roughly speaking, in my view, for many questions upon which the professorate concerns itself, determined and rigorous efforts to find “the truth” tends to bring the group closer to the truth. .....(I suspect that many so-called conservatives—and many liberals too—would laugh at such a suggestion. I call ‘em, “clueless friends of Protagoras.”) .....My own view is that the professorate skews toward the liberal, the progressive, and the radical because, with regard at least to an important range of political issues (not all), the truth, i.e., the rationally most compelling and defensible position, is found there. .....Two quick and dirty examples: the nature of homosexuality and global warming. As near as I can tell, what we have learned about homosexuality in recent decades (I am thinking of the empirical sciences) inclines one to suppose that, contrary to the typical so-called “conservative,” homosexuality is not likely to be the product of “choices.” .....And global warming? I have followed this more closely. This is an issue that, for most of us, requires appeal to expert opinion. (In such cases, logicians and philosophers would have us seek “consensus” among the relevant expert communities. Luckily, such consensus obtains.) Now, unless one is hostile to science itself—or one imagines that scientists are prone to allow political correctness to affect their research (my knowledge of them greatly disinclines me to suppose this)—then one must agree that the evidence favors the reality of global warming and of humanity’s contribution to it. .....Another example. The knowledge or understandings about the nature of the nations and cultures involved in the current “Gulf War” and the “war on terror” offered by academics by and large contradicts what is routinely believed (or said) by so-called conservatives. Have “radical Muslims” attacked us because “they hate our freedoms”? Most academics in the relevant areas, it seems to me, would say, “of course not.” (Other academics would largely agree with them.) Is the leadership of the groups that have declared war on our country insane? Of course not. Does this conflict have something to do with our dependence on oil? Of course. Is the hostility toward the U.S. that one finds in the Muslim world irrational? Of course not. Does the Muslim world tend to view our nation through the prism of colonialism, a portion of history to which Americans seem largely oblivious? You bet. • • • • •
PC IN A STRICTER SENSE:
.....This new study seems to be more about “being liberal” than about “being politically correct.” To my way of thinking (and I suspect that most speakers of English would agree), being PC isn’t just being liberal or progressive. It is being liberal or progressive and in some sense enforcing (elements of) that perspective and/or exhibiting intolerance (or dismissiveness) of those who disagree with (those elements of) it. (As opposed to: leaving the question of what to believe entirely to the best evidence/arguments.)
.....With regard to whether academics skew toward the left—well, the empirical data speaks for itself. Conservatives, confronting the data, who immediately infer that there exists discrimination against conservatives (in academia) are reasoning badly, since there are other explanations for the pattern that are at least plausible. What is really going on here, in my view, is this. Conservatives are (usually tacitly) saying: “You liberals immediately infer the presence of discrimination from the unequal or disproportionate distribution of something (e.g., holding positions of power). Well, we’re doing exactly the same thing. So don’t complain.” .....Logicians call this the “tu quoque” fallacy, i.e., the fallacy of supposing that what one does is unobjectionable since one’s opponent does it too. (“Tu quoque” means “you too.”) Naturally, this is a fallacy, for, if liberals (et al.) err in reasoning as they do (I think so), then so do conservatives. .....But what about political correctness? Does that exist in academia? In my view, without a doubt, it does, although I do not think it infects everyone, and, even among those who fall prey to it, it does not necessarily infect their research. (I think non-academics underestimate the fundamental earnestness of scientists.) .....I’m opposed to PC, as defined above, because it is irrational. And, as I’ve argued previously, something like “PC” often infects conservatives as well. The “conservative” reaction to Wesley Clark’s recent remark about John McCain illustrates the phenomenon. (Clark said something—"Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president"—that is plainly true, but conservatives, apparently unable to think clearly about the matter, “enforced” the obnoxiousness and falseness of Clark's statement.)
.....Not long ago, DtB found itself discussing the dismal ignorance of the American voter, especially voters on the right wing of the political spectrum. .....Yesterday, Libby Copeland of the Washington Post wrote about an important new book called The American Voter Revisted, which is a revision of a 1960 classic (The American Voter). (See Another Peek Inside the Brain of the Electorate.) .....According to Copeland, the authors this time reach the same conclusion reached nearly fifty years ago: that the American voter is clueless. .....See The American Voter Revisited
.....Our old pal Matt Coker has a worrisome piece in the OC Weekly today concerning the “toxic plume” beneath the Great Park (it’s beneath IVC, too). (See TOXIC SOUP DU JOUR.) .....We here at DtB have occasionally drawn attention to the plume. But nobody seems to give a damn, 'ceptin' strange people in far-away lands. .....In today’s Weekly piece, Matt notes that, maybe a decade ago, opponents of the El Toro airport played the “toxic plume” card, citing studies. The plume is contamination that seeped into Irvine’s ground water, mostly from military activity starting in 1942. (See Navy, Wavy, Gravy, April 2000.) .....Soon thereafter, pro-airport forces (including Newport Beach Richy Rich types) sought to quell the growing “Great Park” movement, so they whipped out those same studies. (See Noxious Talk, January, 2002.) .....A year later, the Weekly's Anthony Pignataro described Larry Agran (Irvine Councilman and promoter of the Great Park) and his curious shifts in position about the plume, depending on the needs of the moment. (See Toxics? What Toxics?, April, 2003.) .....Well, as we all know, the Great Park forces (Agran, Fuentes, NIMBY, Gumby, et al.) prevailed against those nasty big-business “airport” people with their dollar-sign eyes. .....According to Matt, when Irvine gained control over the El Toro property in 2005, “the toxic soup talk went away.” .....Recently, there’s been lots of hoopla about the Great Park, and Agran remains the ringmaster. We hear about the big orange balloon. But we don’t hear much about the big orange toxic plume, even though a part of the "park" master plan is housing developments. .....Curious, isn’t it?
.....Very recently, though, the plume came seeping back. According to Matt, the Financial Times News reported on an alleged cover-up of the toxic danger. (See.) This report created some buzz in Irvine in the last two weeks, owing to fliers and such. It's affected the real estate crowd some. .....One problem though: nobody seems to know quite where to locate this “Financial Times News” story. There's a newspaper by that name, of course, but (says Matt) its fonts don't match those of the article that's been distributed. (I guess the Weekly is too cheap to pay for an online subscription.) .....But other media have gotten into the act, including NewsOc.org. Their page has a link to a story by salem-news.com that reports on former El Toro Marines and their worries about exposure to the carcinogen TCE. .....Yeah, I remember TCE. It was all over our reporting about the plume. .....The latter ("Salem") story includes a YouTube video, which follows a former Marine onto the dilapidated base:
.....What’s it all mean? Dunno. Could be a bunch of hype. Not sure. We know the plume exists. Is it dangerous? Are we drinkin' it? Our earlier posts revealed that there are facilities that seek to push the plume around and maybe filter out the toxins. There's some 40-year timeline, as I recall. About 8 years ago, some Irvine residents got steamed about how they were filling one of those fake Irvine lakes with the plumage. Check it out. .....Then forget, for ignorance is bliss.
.....I see that the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the South Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees has been posted (here). .....But first...
A reminder of some current SOCCCD issues:
1. ACCREDITATION. Both Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College must submit reports to the Accreditation Commission (ACCJC) on October 15. In February, ACCJC told each college to solve long-standing problems (e.g., board micromanagement) or else lose their accreditation.
2. THE 50% LAW. For years, Chancellor Mathur has allowed the district to slide toward noncompliance with a state law requiring that at least half of expenditures be on “instruction.” Last Spring’s sloppy and rushed faculty hiring extravaganza was part of an effort to significantly increase instructional spending, owing to this problem.
3. THE FACULTY CONTRACT. Currently, faculty are “working-to-contract” (i.e., limiting work to what is specified by the contract) in an effort to pressure the district to bargain more reasonably over the faculty contract. SOCCCD full-time faculty salaries do not compare well with those of nearby districts.
4. THE TUSTIN ATEP FACILITY. For years now, the board and Chancellor have sought to develop a large technology-oriented facility on 60 acres of the old Tustin helicopter station. Negotiations with potential investor/partners and the city of Tustin seem endless. Faculty, who by law have a central role in program development, have nevertheless been frozen out of the process, which, if successful, will entail new programs. Faculty tend to view ATEP as a money pit.
5. UPCOMING BOARD ELECTIONS. Of the seven trustees, three are up for reelection in November: Tom Fuentes (Lake Forest), Dave Lang (Irvine), and Bill Jay (Laguna Beach). Fuentes is viewed by faculty as an implacable enemy of faculty. Two or three years ago, Lang betrayed his long-time faculty supporters by supporting the odious Chancellor Mathur. Jay is considered a friend to faculty. It appears that, via the faculty union, faculty will be running candidates against Fuentes and Lang.
Here are some notes on the agenda outline for Monday’s board meeting:
CLOSED SESSION: .....The closed session begins at 5:00 p.m. (at the Health Sciences Bld., Saddleback College). .....In closed (super-secret) session, the board will discuss, among other things, the following: 1. Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release (4 cases) 2. Public Employee Appointment a. Vice Chancellor, Human Resources b. Vice Chancellor, Technology and Learning Services c. Associate Provost, Advanced Technology and Education Park
OPEN SESSION: .....The open session will (re)convene at 6:30. .....The board will pass a resolution about ATEP. Pure PR, no substance. .....The board will review the board policy concerning the naming of facilities. This, of course, is desperately important to them.
CONSENT CALENDAR: .....Among “consent calendar” items (which ipso facto are liable not to be discussed) are several that concern ongoing construction. .....Looks like there will be some layoffs: (5.12) Saddleback College Counseling Office Assistant, (5.13) Saddleback College Administrative Assistant. .....Item 5.16 is “ATEP: Donate Equipment Approve property to be of insufficient value and donate to Main Place Christian Fellowship.” .....5.18 is district institutional memberships (as opposed to college institutional memberships, I think).
GENERAL ACTION ITEMS: .....6.3 is interesting: “Terminate Exclusive Right to Negotiate Agreement: Camelot Entertainment Group Approve termination of agreement.“ .....There’s the usual slew of revised board policies for review and study, including Delegation of Authority. That one’s important. .....“Academic Personnel Actions” include * Authorization to Establish an Academic Faculty Position; * Authorization to Establish Administrator Position; * Authorization to Establish a New Salary Range IIa For Associate Provost Position on the Administrator Salary Schedule.” .....6.10 is very interesting (see recent post concerning Saddleback Academic senate): “Saddleback College Accreditation Report. Approve direction for the Saddleback College Academic Senate to work with its President and the District Chancellor to seek approval of compensation to faculty members for completion of Accreditation Report.”
REPORTS: .....Under “reports” is 7.4: Employees with Earnings Over $90,000 for Fiscal Year 2007/2008. .....That sounds like Fuentes. Who else would request such a list? .....We should give this list a name on Fuentes' behalf. Any ideas?
My oh my. Just spotted this in the OC Reg: Capistrano trustees found looking through superintendent's desk:
According to the Reg, 
