The DtB year in review, part 1: an inveterate tolerance for sh*t

Mary Pickford c. 1926

     I figured I’d write a brief “2013 in review,” dissentwise, but, as I slogged through our posts starting in January of ’13, I found way too much to review.
     So here’s part 1.

JANUARY.

     • The year began with lots of talk in Sacramento, and by the Governor in particular, about needed changes in the state’s higher ed system, ‘cuz money’s tight, and ed costs keep going up. With regard to the state’s community college system, Brown focused on the need to increase graduation and transfer rates.
     • Meanwhile, those Rat Bastard higher ed “for profits”—U. of Phoenix, etc.—were true to form, getting smacked around by Accreditors for the usual misdeeds. Not that the latter were (or are) anything to write home about. (As I write, the ACCJC—and its leader, Babs Beno—are under considerable pressure and scrutiny over the ACCJC's decision to pull SF City College’s ticket. Old Babs ain’t lookin’ so good these days.)

Don Rickner

     • THOSE ZANY FOUNDATIONS. The two colleges’ foundations popped over the horizon in January. The trustees clearly had some concerns about ‘em. For instance, toward the end of ’12, one trustee made a request:

     “I understand that there will be a separate report on the foundations in January. ... The one thing that strikes me when I review the financial information … is the level of support that the colleges provide to each of the foundations in the form of donated services and donated professional fees. For Saddleback it was like 53.4% of the unrestricted total support. For Irvine Valley College it was 92.76% of that figure. And I’m hopeful that in the reports that you’ll come back with, there may be some information that gives us a way to benchmark that against perhaps some of our other peers and community college foundations…."

     • Not sure those January reports clarified much on that score. The reports were more a plea for funding for more staff. "It takes money to make money," they said.
     • In January, we reminded folks of the miserable record of IVC’s scholarship program in recent years, what with compliance (with fed rules) issues, poorly designed application forms, the odd decision to dispense with letters of rec, gross errors, and so on.
     • HUELL HOWSER DIES. Like everyone else in California, we noted the passing of Huell Howser, who had participated in at least one foundation event—way back in 2006.

An excellent suggestion ignored
(Thanks, SS)

     • LASER FREAKIN' ROAD? Also in January, the college (IVC) solicited suggestions for naming the soon-to-be-constructed Barranca entrance to the college. In the email, the name “Laser” was suggested. We noted that, not long ago, the college had created a committee to find a replacement for the “laser” mascot—the assumption being that the mascot needed replacing. As usual, at IVC, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.
     • THE CHEEK OF JEMAL. At January’s board meeting, newbie trustee Tim Jemal pisses off his colleagues by asking for some big reports on student mental health, certificate programs, and business partnerships. Why, the cheek of the man! But the Timster abides.
     • BULLY BLOCKING TENURE. We commenced tracking an apparently hinky effort by a disturbingly powerful instructor to block a colleague’s tenure. Soon, Glenn and Co. started circling the wagons. It all ended in a showdown—more about that later.
     We reminded readers of an effort, more than a dozen years earlier, to block a faculty’s tenure simply in order to intimidate faculty critics of then-IVC-President Raghu Mathur.

Cheeky fellow

     • SADDLEBACK COLLEGE OWNS THE COLOR RED? We noted absurd proscriptions in the paint scheme for the almost-completed Life Sciences Building at IVC. Faculty wanted splashes of red. But no. Red is Saddleback’s color, they were told. Really. Reason has no power at IVC.
     • Legislators—including our own “Dandy” Don Wagner—pursued legislation to train and arm school personnel. Natch.

FEBRUARY.

     • ROQUEMORE'S DUBIOUS CLAIMS. At the urging of some colleagues, we began asking questions about certain allegedly successful Foundation events and the funds they supposedly generated for “veterans.” How come the veterans haven’t seen that money? we asked. President Roquemore has never offered any explanation of this discrepancy. But that's his way. Glenn offers opaque bullshit and calls it transparency.

     • We noted the disturbing murder of Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence in an Irvine parking garage. That story soon mushroomed into one of the biggest in the state: the Christopher Dorner Manhunt.

     • ROQUEMORE AND BULLY HAUTE COUTURE. In early February, we reported recent tales of Roquemorian incompetence—and described his long history of supporting and protecting bullies. We tell the story of Roquemore’s panicky mishandling of the alleged fiscal emergency of the Fall and his apparent plan to deal with the “crisis” by unilaterally cancelling all new faculty hires. Luckily, the Academic Senate was on the case and, to a degree, thwarted Roquemore’s unilateralism.
     • TARGETED PROBIES. We connected Roquemore’s longstanding nurturing of a college “bully culture” with the recent “denying tenure” story. The latter grew big fast.

     • CONFLICT OF INTEREST. We noted that one of the probies that Roquemore was about to pass judgment upon is a close personal friend of his. At any rate, we had the photos of the two on holiday together in Hawaii (or some such place) with their families.
     • The “denying tenure” story continued. We wrote:

     Some of us wonder about the integrity of the (district) [tenure] process as it is being practiced here at Irvine Valley College. We worry about bullies throwing their weight around, pursuing personal agendas, driving others into submission or silence. Perhaps those and other failures of objectivity and fairness are afoot: helping friends, hurting enemies—that sort of thing.

     • Gosh, money must be growing on trees. In mid-February, we revealed a memo, sent to faculty from their dean, alerting them of the opportunity to “order name badges.” Really.
     Nobody cared.
     • BIOs SEE RED. The “Saddleback owns the color red” controversy continued:

     Bio faculty met again today with the usual district/college suspects, and they pressed for the rationale for prohibiting red in the new building. Once again, reference was made to Saddleback College's ownership of red. But they were also told that "every other user group" on campus has (in the past, I suppose) objected to the color red. (?)
     I was not aware of this. (Nobody is aware of this.)
     This bio crew is the only one who actually likes the color, Bio faculty were told.
     And so, today, Bio faculty were informed that, since "faculty" have expressed their wishes re color—they dislike red—that color must not be permitted in the new Life Sciences Building.
     —Yeah, but what if the actual occupants of the Life Sciences Building—namely, the Bio faculty—like red? What difference does it make that other faculty don't like it?
     Doesn't matter. Faculty have expressed their desire. End of story.

     • LASER LOSERS. At an Academic Senate meeting, reps learned that some committee had decided that the new Barranca entrance will be called “Laser Road”:

     "But wait a minute," I said. A few years ago, unhappiness with the IVC mascot—the goddam Laser—led to the formation of a committee charged with finding a replacement nickname/mascot. Besides, I said, the college used to own a laser, about which it used to make a big freakin' deal, but we sold the dang thing years ago. So our college is vehemently post-Laser.
     That "new mascot" committee seemed to fade away, but the problem—our laser mascotry—remains. Naming the new entrance "Laser Road" will, I said, cement the college’s misbegotten laserhood.
     Kathy S, the Academic Senate Prez, agreed that this road-naming move, if it stands, will yield laser permanence. Kathy then said she made precisely my point (about our efforts to de-laser) at the Deacons meeting. But, she reported, IVC's Director of Marketing—aka Glenn Roquemore's flack, Diane O—declared that the mascot change committee is dissolved and there's no chance we're gonna change our mascot.
     I said something like, "Um, who is Diane O to make that decision?" Pretty soon, several other members of the Rep Council piled on. David, our Recorder, normally a mute presence, made some dry remarks about the difficulty finding a suitable mascot for "a beam of coherent light." Just what would that be? he asked.
     Meanwhile, Steve noted that many among us are embarrassed by the Laser. The "word on the street," he said, is strictly negatory, laser-wise.

     • DtB recommends that the college replace the “laser” with the “zombies.”

     • THE ALI SYED STORY. It turns out that the latest rampaging OC killer is a Saddleback College student. His rampage is quite outstanding.
     • In view of the Ali Syed story—Saddleback College's rampaging murderer—we reminded readers that the district, or at least IVC, has a history of bungling the presence of potentially threatening students.
     • Re the “tenure denied/IVC bullies” story: just prior to the February board meeting, we reported as follows:

     …[T]he two fourth-year faculty probies in IVC’s School of Fine Arts up for tenure have reportedly received negative (i.e., terminal) recommendations by their Tenure Review Committees. In the case of at least one of these instances, a notorious faculty bully is involved, and some of us have grown concerned that an injustice is afoot. Glenn Roquemore’s history of accommodating bullies leaves us with little hope that pleas to look into possible problems in the process will yield anything.
     I noticed that the two probies in question are not on the list of fourth-year tenure-track faculty recommended for tenure … Expect litigation.

     • We noted the identity of the two probies who seem to be targeted for non-tenure. They seem to have received very positive attention in recent years.
     • ROQUEMORE'S DEFEAT. Wow. At the February board meeting, an enormous show of support for one or two of the above-mentioned probies appeared to move the board to reject Roquemore’s hinky recommendations for non-tenure. It’s a huge defeat for the Glennster, who imagines that he’ll be Chancellor some day.

     • GLENN'S LOUSY JUDGMENT. Notoriously, Glenn Roquemore holds all of the cards in the process whereby commencement speakers are chosen. Over the years, faculty have managed to get some interesting people sent up among speaker recommendations, but Glenn always choses the business types, the non-academics, the plagiarists, et al.
     Repeatedly among these interesting names was Gustavo Arellano, editor of the OC Weekly. Natch, Glenn always passed on Gustavo. But, as it turned out, UCLA chose Gustavo for commencement speaker. Meanwhile, Glenn went out of his way to choose an unimpressive guy who plagiarized part of his address.
     Gosh.
     Rebel Girl laid out some of the issues.

MARCH.

     • Rebel Girl offered some thoughts on the tragic passing of a well-regarded adjunct instructor.
     • Saddleback College opens its new library “and learning resources center.” The name “James B. Utt” begins to fade from memory.
     • FISCAL FOOL. We report on, among other things, Glenn Roquemore’s curious way with finances. Efforts to gain clarity about past budget decisions produce such answers as “don’t know.”
     • IVC invites the enemy—the for-profits—to set up tables at the college. Clueless as usual.

     • Fraudster and pal-o-Fuentes—and (thus) unwanted friend of the district—Chriss Street must pay a $7 million judgment. Chriss used to come around and explain the property tax situation to us.
     • DtB faces the miserable fact that the current board is likely the best board this district has ever had.
     • Cats, cats, cats!
     • Celebrating Amy Grimm
     • A brief meeting of the SOCCCD BOT in which Bill Jay declares his love of Kevin O’Connor and Tim Jemal gets all serious about business partnerships and such.
     • Jason Davis in the NYT. A student to remember. These days, he works for vets in Washington, D.C.
     • Duplicative administrators, natch

APRIL.

     • A sub-collegiate lecture at IVC. No wonder they poke fun at CCs.
     • THOSE WACKY TRABUCO HIKERS. The Missing wacked hikers in Trabuco Canyon story. It sure had legs, somehow. A field day for cynics.
     • Grading software?
     • The ever-popular Wacky Friday
     • MORE CATS! Cats in these mountains
     • THE STUDENT SUCCESS SCORECARD. Uh-oh, the Student Success Scorecard came today! We get a B-
     • DISMISSING CLASS EARLY IS UNCOOL. Rebel Girl blows the lid off of the nighttime Empty Classroom syndrome at IVC. (The issue would return in a big way in the Fall of 2013.) Glenn and Co. don't give a damn. Natch.
     • The student hour: our deeply fraudulent system
     • Delilah Snell

The Werlester

     • MORE IVC FOUNDATION BLUES. Another harangue re IVC’s Foundation and its director. Glenn's record of hires is really quite remarkable.
     • I'M SO OUTA HERE. Kathy Werle makes good her escape
     • TRUSTEES DISRESPECT ADJUNCTS. April BOT meet: adjunct complains about SOCCCD re “equal pay for equal work.” The board is remarkably defensive and testy. This will come back to haunt them.

MAY.

    •  IVC SCHOLARSHIP WORLD. We enter IVC’s wacky Scholarship World, and it isn’t pretty:

     A while back, the IVC Foundation—i.e., Executive Foundation Dir. Richard Morley—informed financial aid that the Foundation would be awarding six $1,000 scholarships, as they had in past years, from the “Learning Excellence” Scholarship.
     Oh good.
    The scholarship was posted on Stars and a number of students applied. A scholarship committee was formed to review and score all the applications. Students were chosen to receive the scholarships.
     Excellent!
     Um, one thing though: evidently, Herr Morley failed to confirm the funding for the scholarship, i.e., whether it would be renewed by the donor.
     Nope. (He made this mistake last year with a number of scholarships.)
     And so, after the selections were made and students chosen, go-to faculty Kurt Meyer and Kay Ryals were notified by Morley that the scholarships would not be awarded after all.
     There were sparks, gnashing of teeth—dark, dark mutterings.
     Before Mr. Morley came on board a couple of years ago, all the funding was confirmed before the scholarships were announced.
     No longer, evidently.

     • YET ANOTHER SCHOLARSHIP FUBAR. Another IVC scholarship fubar
    • An “atmosphere of fear” at OC agencies. OC shrugs, does nothing. It's Cretin-town, Jake.

Young Bugsy, my pal

     • Michael Shermer comes to IVC to do his skeptical shtick. It doesn't take.
     • I SEE THEM IN MY MIND. Colorful SOCCCD leadership - psychedelisized.
     • The Two types of seasoned instructor: my goofy graphics
     • TOD LOOKS FOR A NEW GIG. Saddleback College Prez Tod Burnett is lookin’ hard for a job elsewhere. We speculate that his job as SC Prez isn't secure--we can think of many reasons why--but what do we know?
     • May’s BOT meeting: what the adjunct said was correct—adjuncts have it bad; trustees, wise up! Also, ATEP land swap
     • Ray Manzarek is dead
     • TOD B LOOKIN' FOR GREENER PASTURES? Tod still looking for work
     • Glenn Roquemore at the Neanderthalic Pacifica Institute. Not good
     • TOD SEEKS AN "INSTITUTION OF EXCELLENCE." Burnett is looking for an institution of excellence. We can see his point
     • IVC Commencement pics

    • Pain: grading final exams - in goofy graphics
    • A typical Roquemorian bullshit email - Glenn Roquemore’s hinky moves re commencement: process schmocess

JUNE.

     • BIGOT. When Nancy Padberg agreed that we must “take back our Christian country”
     • The district’s history page
     • Burnett and Cabrillo College
     • No nod for Tod
     • ROQUEMORE'S "PROCESS." More on Roquemore’s Commencement speaker selection “process”; mighty hinky. Trustees, you listening? Ever?
     • The Scholarship Program “debriefing”, Part 1
     • The Scholarship Program “debriefing”, Part 2: how come a committee labors to produce recommendations, and then the recommendations are ignored? Richard is one thin-skinned dude:

     I…presented six points re the scholarship process that, in truth, had been composed by a (rebellious) colleague of mine who is very familiar with the issues surrounding the scholarship program at IVC….:

• Poor outreach. 300 application out of 15,000 students….
• Application process. Applicants need to be advised about submitting FULL applications (letters, statements etc.) and the failure to do so weakens their chances of gaining a scholarship.
• Some applications that I read had alarming facts – e.g., GPAs were noted but units earned were Zero(?!). Or the number of units earned was [inexplicably] large – in one case, very large (over 500).
• Concerned about distribution of awards. Is the old policy of limiting the number and/or amount of awards in order to increase the number of recipients still in place?….
• Why are the awards that are won by individual students not listed next to their names in the program? This absence fuels a sense of a lack of accountability.…
• The timing of the application and decision-making process. This is related to outreach and publicity. Is it possible to begin the application process late in the year (November?) and close in February, thus allowing for a longer period to apply? Is it possible to begin the decision-making process earlier, shortly after the application deadline?

     • Shots fired at Santa Monica College
     • Roy’s family - tales of the world's only nonverbal human family. Arf.
     • The Age of Stupid:

     • OC'S ZANY PAST. Right wing paranoia and foolishness, 1970: in those days, right-wingers worried about kids burning banks, even at UCI. A UCI/SOCCCD connection
     • Hysterical homophobic demagoguery: Don’s pal John Eastman of Chapman U; ridiculous
     • ONCE AGAIN, a reminder of DtB’s generous policy re opposing views: "everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it"
     • Flucht Kinder: Bauer family tales (the collapse of Germany)
     • Saddleback Memories
     • Another Bauer family story: “lots of cloud” - More yarns about the nonverbals of Trabuco Canyon
     • JACKASS FREE. The June SOCCCD BOT board meeting: the board is jackass free, more or less (so why don't they listen?)
     • The First Years of Saddleback College: we hear about a terrific sabbatical project—artifacts coming soon
     • RIPPING YARNS 1. Ripping yarns from 2001's Making History: the first years of Saddleback College - Really. Ripping.
     • MORE RIPPING YARNS: from Making History: the first years of Saddleback College - I pity the fool who doesn't read this amazing shit.
     • IVC Then and Now: IVC’s Pinterest page, old photos. Mighty cool.
     • PRAYER. Contra SOCCCD prayer: it's all about who's appointed to those "commencement" committees!: one way in which the shitty shenanigans of the old right-wing “Board Majority” continue. The bad faith bears.

     • Gumby College:

Evidently, among the names suggested for Irvine Valley College back in the spring of 1985 were "Gumby College" and "El Torito College."

JULY.

     • FRISCO CITY COLLEGE. Accred bombshell: San Francisco City College gets its ticket pulled—or no?
     • Teddy the cat - rescued—and lovable, as it turns out

     • On the Saddleback College history website. Impressive. Filmed interviews.
     • Coast campuses receive accred warnings: ouch
     • THE SUICIDE ARSONIST STORY. The odd and mysterious Saddleback College fire victim story breaks
     • More on the odd Saddleback College student/arson story
     • COAST TO COAST ACCRED SPANKAGE. The Coast CCD colleges get spanked by the Accreds; about Babs Beno
     • Arson/fire update
     • My niece has artistic talent, it seems
     • Campus fire a suicide
     • OC Weekly:

     A Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) administrator of a federal assistance program for migrant farm workers initially claimed she was innocent of cheating students out of their grant money but has signed a guilty plea.

     • ANOTHER HINKY ADMINISTRATIVE HIRE. July SOCCCD Board Meet: Trustees give themselves a raise; colleges’ student success “score cards” discussed & ‘splained; IVC hires yet another administrator with a troubled background (they get ‘em at Cuesta)
     • CLIMATE SURVEY: THE WEATHER IS DICEY. District climate survey results:

     I only glanced through the report, but it did seem to me that people had lots to say about an unhealthy rivalry between the two colleges—and some discreditable tensions between the two college presidents. Also, as usual, there were lots of complaints about communication and the quality and conduct of top administration at IVC. It amazes me that the P and VP at IVC still have their jobs.

     • "Verbatim responses" in the SOCCCD "climate" survey: oh my
     • DISTRICTULAR POPPYCOCK. Districtular poppycock: our “vision” and our “mission” and our tolerance of twaddle

Young Theodore, this afternoon

Took 'im to the vet recently; they fell in love with 'im, just like always, everywhere.

My mom visits fairly often just to have a few minutes with this little guy.

My sister, Annie, too.

And my cleaning lady.

He's a sweet kid, he is.

S.F. City College's accreditation in judge's hands (Pleasanton Weekly)

     Enrollment drops by 30%; students 'leaving in droves'

     As you know, I'm a big Alex Chilton/Big Star fan.

     Just saw "Nothing Can Hurt Me," the documentary about the late lamented band.

     Pretty terrific. Here's the trailer.

IVC's Life Sciences Building: coming soon

In recent months, Bio faculty would tell hilarious/disconcerting tales re the Life Science Building construction snafulosity. For instance, faculty were at one point told that any hint of red would not be permitted, a decision that caused some real problems. Why no red? "Because Saddleback is red," they were told. "We're blue, they're red."

"So we can't have any red, even a little patch?"

"No red. Saddleback is red."

That's what passes for leadership here at IVC.

The pic above is a very early rendering, I believe. The G-Man was still on the project.

I found this rendering at the architect's site, I think.

Looks like a confusing mess to me.

Soon, I'll just go there with my camera and take a few snaps.

It couldn't look this bad.

More confusing mess.

This looks pretty good.
If you look closely, you see that the people are translucent or diaphanous.
Wacky architects

I wonder if that thing at the left is called the "Terry Burgess Greenhouse"?

Lots of glass. Glass must be cheap.

Supporters Ask Judge to Keep SF City College's Accreditation

What will Saddleback's new Science Bldg. look like?

Rendering 1

Rendering 2

Saddleback College will break ground on new sciences building Monday

     The 51,244-square foot, three-floor building will house 26 modern laboratory spaces for academic programs in earth sciences, life sciences and chemistry. The new building will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified and will include sustainable design features like a courtyard with a themed demonstration garden planted over an underground element to provide onsite detention of storm water, reducing the impact on the campus storm water system.
     The new sciences building will be located at the college’s northeast end next to the Student Services Center. Saddleback College is at 28000 Marguerite Parkway.

Saddleback College breaks ground on new sciences building

New Agery in the SOCCCD: inane antimatter to academic matter

     What’s with SOCCCD college presidents and fuzzy-brained, New Age self-help philosophies?
     Some will recall that Raghu Mathur, whilst President of IVC, routinely employed the ludicrous methods and concepts of Helice “Sparky” Bridges, founder of “Who I Am Makes A Difference”® and IGNITE WHAT’S RIGHT™.
     Nope, I’m not making this up (see Raghu’s Wildfires of Inanity). Raghu really does have a thick “New Age” streak running down his back, right between his narcissism and his piety. No doubt such fuzzybrainedness was encouraged during his years acquiring his Ed.D. degree from a Cracker Jack box he found in Florida.
     And now we learn that Saddleback College’s Tod Burnett is the “Education Editor” of Legends and Legacies Magazine, a publication evidently guided by some seriously flaky martial arts gurus, namely, Frank Dux and Gordon Richiusa.
     According to Wikipedia,

     Frank W. Dux (pronounced "dukes") is a martial artist and fight choreographer. Dux established his own school of Ninjutsu in 1975, called "Dux Ryu Ninjutsu". He was the inspiration for the 1988 film Bloodsport starring Jean-Claude Van Damme [which featured exciting adventures in Southeast Asia]….

According to the LA Times,

     Military records show that Dux never ventured closer to Southeast Asia than San Diego. His only known war injury occurred when he fell off a truck he was painting in the motor pool.
     Dux's trophy from the Bahamas event was at least partially made in the San Fernando Valley, the trophy maker said. The ceremonial sword he won in the fights was sold, Dux said, in a failed attempt to buy freedom for the Philippine orphans.
     Dux argues that his claims are difficult to prove or disprove because of the secrecy surrounding both his military record and the clandestine tournament. He said his life story can be verified by a few witnesses who say they saw the blood-gushing fight in the Bahamas and received top secret messages from him while he was in the military.
     The real story of Frank Dux, say many who know him, is one of a bright but undistinguished young man who, using cleverness and chutzpah, re-created himself as a super-hero a decade ago, painstakingly authenticating his new persona with military medals, trophies and newspaper clippings of questionable origins.
     Through the years, his story has flourished amid the hazy braggadocio of the American martial arts industry, a field peculiarly vulnerable to fakery, according to several experts.

     Gordon Richiusa appears to fit the same mold: an under-educated self-promoter and self-help entrepreneur. A New Age opportunist and flimflam man, martial arts division.
     He’s an odd one. In a badly written (odd punctuation errors) essay entitled Why English?, Richiusa seems to suggest that English is somehow the best language in the world. He also seems to suggest that second generation members of immigrant communities ought to forget their native tongues in favor of the supreme language, English:

     U.S. citizen, Jhoon Rhee, listed as one of the 203 greatest immigrants in United States history, … writes in his autobiographical/philosophy book TRUTOPIA that most of his own 21 Miraculous Achievements are directly or indirectly related to his desire to proficiently speak, read and write English…
. . .
     To those who are native English speakers we have this advice: Consider how lucky you are to have been blessed with learning English as your first language! There are indeed many freedoms and blessings of living in the United States. Speaking English is just one that most of our forbearers … knew the value of achieving. Many immigrants in the past (and most today) know that the first order of family business when migrating to the U.S. is to assimilate the language of English….
     My grandparents, and my wife’s grandparents were Italian immigrants and, like many others from the Old Country, did not allow their children to speak Italian. This is true of many of the older generations of immigrant Americans. However, many of my generation feel that something was lost in the translation. We must be careful not turn our back on those values that produced a successful assimilation! Discipline, respect for others (especially elders) and the belief that the good of the “family” was greater than the good of the individual, are all pointed to as things that we may have lost (or are in danger of losing) by focusing solely on our base, individual survival needs.

     Richiusa can’t seem to help himself; he inevitably returns to daffy New Age notions, his and others':

     Remember, Jhoon Rhee’s originally wrote his book and promoted it in English (his second language), in the United States (his adopted country). He later translated his inspirational text back into his first language, but conceived his entire book in English, where he created the following Trutopian Pledge: When I am truthful, my heart is beautiful. When my heart is beautiful, people love me. When people love me, I am happy.

The Five Principles of Corpses: saying no

Legends & Legacies Mag

     Did you know that Tod Burnett, President of Saddleback College, is the “Education Editor” of Legends & Legacies Magazine?
     Yep. But what’s L&L Magazine?
     Good question. I'm not sure, but it looks pretty flaky.
     L&L Magazine explains itself on its website. There, we learn that it “seeks to both entertain and inform with a clear understanding that there is a difference between the two goals, but that one should not be compromised for, or confused with the other.”
     Uh-oh. Sounds like horsesh*t.
     It gets worse. Evidently, the editors of L&L follow a strategy that “can be found in the book, The Five Principles of Everything.” (Run!) The latter is pretty damned New Agey, I’m afraid. It’s author, Gordon Richiusa, happens to be one of L&L’s editors. He’s also a part-time English instructor at Saddleback College. Richiusa’s first novel was called SHIDOSHI: The Four Ways of The Corpse.
     Yeah, he’s into martial arts malarkey, as is another of L&L’s editors, Frank Dux – Editor At Large. So L&L looks pretty damned wacky, I’m afraid.
     You payin' attention, Grasshopper?
     The December issue of L&L sports an interview with Burnett, who's just full of things to say. Here are some excerpts:

     (Dr. Tod Burnett): …While the goal of free online education is noble, it’s never going to replace the human interaction of the classroom, and it’s harder to teach online than in a classroom….
     (L&L) Do you think that some students these days are reluctant to go to college, because of the high cost?….
     (Dr. Tod Burnett): Yes, and that’s sad. That’s where the community college comes in, because we need to turn that around. We need to redefine what education is, what it means to have an advanced degree. We know that for a student to say, “I’m not going to go to school because there’s not going to be a job,” that’s absolutely not true. Even if you take the most under-employed degree there is, it will help you one way or the other in your career, whatever job you want to do.
     …Unfortunately, the way our society is today, whether culturally, socially, definitely politically we tend to gravitate toward—I don’t want to say the lowest common denominator—I want to think of how to say this right. I’m going to coin a phrase here–the individual oppression. It used to be … that we wanted to protect the minority from majority oppression. Now it’s no longer about the minority being oppressed, it’s about the individual being oppressed. I use the term loosely. It could be related to a very small group of people also, or just an individual. When we are making decisions, we are not going to get anything done if we are going to try and appease. satisfy [sic] every small group or individual. ... How in the heck do you do something that doesn’t offend somebody, or isn’t in the best interest of one person against another when it comes to public policy? It’s impossible. So, what happens is that there are stalemates. The press, the media and even the public places it all on our wonderful two party system. How our country can all of sudden be divided up into two camps is beyond me. We’re the most diverse country in the world, and everybody is suddenly a Republican or a Democrat? I guess there is a third party, the Independents, but even at that, how can there be three? This is just the front of the opposition and problems that everybody focuses on. The real issue is that we don’t say no to anybody. If we don’t say no to anybody, then we don’t get anything done. So, things stifle.

Go big or go home: "the orderly and proper workings of the universe"

     (L&L) And, yet that’s the core of community college.
     (Dr. Tod Burnett): Yes and no. How we have to operate under that structure, we have that problem, we have to navigate it all the time, but we’re also the solution because we provide an opportunity for everybody. We were talking about the value of a degree of higher education. There is something for everybody. Anyone who thinks that education ends at high school is completely false, and incorrect. They are doing themselves a big disservice. They may not need to go to some liberal arts college and get a degree; I agree with that.
     … [W]e have to ask, “Who is going to survive in higher education and who is not?” The Harvards, USCs, Stanfords, the top 100 institutions of the world will be fine. The community colleges, the trade schools and technical schools are also going to be doing pretty good. They are positioned well, but it’s the colleges in the middle, the liberal arts colleges, some of the state colleges one might argue, the middle of the road colleges are the ones which are already showing decreases. What it comes down to is that you have to show what your value is in the education and training that you have. We either have to change our institutions to keep up with these environmental, social, cultural, physical, political changes or we’ll be left behind. We’ll become obsolete, or scale down to become almost irrelevant. That, in a nutshell is what’s going on.
     So, when we talk about degrees, we need to take that into account. I am passionate about community colleges, because we are the most comprehensive. ... I love the term, K-through-Career. It needs to be seamless, and a pathway all the way from kindergarten and preschool. With that, we’ll get to your common core, that’s exactly it. We keep focusing on common core, math and English preparedness, which is very important for the common core, but we need to think about the bigger picture and the holistic method of getting students to be good citizens, to have the work skills that they need. When we talk to the business community, for instance, we are hearing them say, “Yes, we need them to know math and English. We completely agree, but we need them to have analytical skills, critical thinking, communication skills. How do you work in a team? How do you come to work and dress properly? What’s proper etiquette? When I went to school, I was in the Boy Scouts, team athletics. I studied fine arts. I was in student government. Our college did activities. We were all active in PTA and our parents were involved. Our communities were involved, and it all happened naturally. Now, we’ve gotten rid of it all. Not only have we gotten rid of it in our educational process and what’s important, but we focus so heavily now on grades and, we’ll call it Back To The Common Core that we’ve lost sight of all these other skills that are important. Then, of course there are also environmental changes, the new technology changes.

     We laugh about video games. I was a TV generation, so they said it about us too. We seemed to be o.k. with TV, because what we did was all sit around and watch TV together. With video games you don’t have to. With texting and everything, this is the most knowledgeable, the most worldly, the most skilled, in a way, generation of all time, yet the most disconnected. Isn’t that odd? They don’t have the basic skills—and I’m not talking about English and math only. I’m talking about communication, interaction, people and governance. With Generation Y, the Millenials, we’re having a hard time finding students who want to be leaders.
     With all the leadership training, with all the stuff we talk about, we’re finding for whatever reason that young people are not stepping forward and being leaders. Part of that is the herd mentality. They’re in groups, together and they’re online and texting, but they are not ever out there alone. They have to be with the group. Today is 9/11 and it is said that mentality has to do with an insecurity that was instilled at that time. They are also the generation that has parents who have done everything for them….

Her chocolate voice

when alex was sixteen he growled that famous vocal for "the letter" and got told where to sit and where to stand … tired of that … did this music a couple of years later, in New York, kicking around … couple years later, ended up in Memphis with some talented pals; a great young band with a great sound; they had the bad luck that young musicians often have, and then some, and it destroyed them. 3 albums; a record of disintegration and collapse… alex lived on, sort of, and died, a hero, without a bank account, in Louisiana, 2010, 59 years old … his song always playing in my head

I always think of lonely rural nights, barns, and always that bit of reverb. Band of Horses. So very very cool and American, through and through

I know time's gonna take its toll

We have to pay for the love we stole

It's a sin and we know it's wrong

But our love keeps comin' on strong

Steal away to the dark end of the street

Her chocolate voice and love of stark instrumentation and subjects gets to me every time --rb

For-Profit Online University

A screen door on a submarine

     Did you know that IVC’s eternal President, Glenn Roquemore, is on the “Political Action Committee” of the Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA)?
     At the ACCCA website, Glenn is listed along with seven other PAC members.
     Golly.
     What’s the ACCCA, you ask? Well, according to the website, “Established in 1975, ACCCA is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of administrator's rights” [sic]. It is, they explain, “the premier association for community college administrators in California.”
     I guess these administrators have it pretty bad. Much put upon. So they've got this lobbyist organization to give 'em a little muscle so they can protect themselves. Like a can of Mace.

* * *

     Turns out, Glenn is on the ACCCA board. He’s the organization’s "Second Vice President."
     Gosh.
     David Bugay, the SOCCCD Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, is also on the board.

* * *

     Looks like the ACCCA and its PAC are nakedly political. They unapologetically play the lobbying game up in Sacramento.
     Elsewhere on the site, we’re told:

     The ACCCA Political Action Committee is the only PAC among administrative organizations, and gives ACCCA the ability to support political campaigns and legislators through direct contributions. The PAC ensures that ACCCA has the means to cultivate relationships with legislators, influence legislation, and contribute to significant initiatives and statewide campaigns that benefit administrators. ACCCA also employs a lobbyist to achieve these goals, and uses PAC money to support his efforts.

     They advocate pension reform.
     They provide salary surveys to their members. (Aren't paid enough, I guess.)
     They’ve got a newsletter with ads and everything.
     Evidently, they have strong views about the mess at City College of San Francisco. Some administrators are under threat there 'cuz CalSTRS thinks they aren't "performing creditable service." Imagine.

* * *

     Like I said, the ACCCA is all about promoting administrators’ rights. They're pretty focused on that. The organization’s PAC

is ... solely dedicated to advocating for your administrative rights in Sacramento. The PAC ensures that ACCCA has the means to influence legislation and contribute to statewide campaigns that help administrators throughout the California community college system.

     I wonder how the ACCCA feels about the growing sense,* across the country, that higher education is being overrun, even ruined, by administrators? And that said administrators are more useless than ever, which is really saying something?

     I wonder if ACCCA have a mascot? 

     I’ve got a mascot idea.

     How about a screen door on a submarine?

Glenn's the Captain.

*Regarding this sense, see 'The Fall of the Faculty'

Very top down

“I wanted to emphasize a major shift that’s been underway for several decades. Deans have an academic background. Years ago, they were part-time and always part of the faculty. This is extremely important because, like the faculty, they saw the university as an instrument of teaching and scholarship. Today, we have a cadre of professional administrators. I called them deanlets to give emphasis to the difference. They either have no faculty background or they decided early in their careers that their talents lay elsewhere. To them, what used to be the means is now the end. Instead of an institution serving teaching and scholarship, teaching and scholarship serve the institution.”

See also • REMARKS ON BENJAMIN GINSBERG’S FALL OF THE FACULTY • Book review

Yet another FUBAR: the "commencement prayer" issue at IVC

     As you know, Karla Westphal, a math instructor at Saddleback College, has for many years urged the board to back off of its practice of prayer, especially sectarian prayer, at district and college events. She has enjoyed the support of academic senates and other groups. (The prayer issue in this district predates Karla's efforts of the last dozen or so years. It actually goes back at least 22 years.)
     Naturally, in defiance, the Wagner- and Fuentes-dominated board, with then-Chancellor Raghu Mathur, started laying on the religion mighty thick, which led to the “Westphal v. Wagner” litigation, of which I was a part. (See Prayer in the SOCCCD.)

"Loophole" Boy

     In the end, a settlement was reached according to which a “commencement committee” (actually: the group of "event planners") was supposed to decide independently—i.e., without the influence of trustees or college presidents—whether or not to have an invocation or prayer during commencement ceremonies. (See actual "resolution" below.)
     As you know, Saddleback College’s Tod Burnett immediately defied the prima facie demands of the agreement (evidently on the basis of an alleged “loophole” in the "resolution" produced by the settlement), overriding the commencement committee's decision not to have an invocation.
     Folks complained, but it didn't matter. Not to this board.
     Ah, yes. Exploiting a loophole. Reminds me of the conniveries of such heroes of yore as Steve Frogue and Tom Fuentes, always lyin' and cheatin' for the Lord.
     Meanwhile, at IVC, friends close to the action informed me that the relevant IVC committee was indeed making the determination regarding prayer according to Hoyle. So I backed off and let them be.
     By late Spring (2013), however, I decided to pursue the matter more vigorously. Was the “commencement committee” at IVC, assuming there was such a thing, duly deciding the prayer question—and without undue influence?
     But first thing's first. Is there such a committee? Is there a committee, anyway, that is charged with raising and answering the question of whether there would be a prayer at commencement? Just who are the "event planners"?

Rumored to be Glenn's
"spiritual guide"–or possibly
Glenn's "spirit animal"

     On June 25, 2013, I wrote the Academic Senate President, knowing that she, if anyone, would be able to answer my question. In a friendly email, I wrote

     [A]s you know, the "Wagner v. Westphal" settlement essentially requires that the "commencement" committee will decide, independently of outside influence, whether to include an invocation/prayer. ¶ I do not recall how it is that the membership of that committee is determined. No doubt you do. Do we (the AS) appoint faculty members? I suspect that we do. ¶ If not, we need to consider changing that. ¶ Hope to hear from you. ¶ In either event, perhaps we can make this a higher priority next school year.

     The divine Miss S is known and celebrated for many things, but she is not known for speedy responses, and so I waited.
     On August 31, I received this response:

Hi Roy,
     There are several Commencement-related committees [she then notes the unclarity this situation creates]…. ¶ Scholarship awards (that’s the group that decides who gets what) Commencement speaker – for next year; this year (May 14) should already be decided but I don’t know the answer  ¶ Scholarship “oversight” TF [task force]– that is the one that started/restarted last summer to try to figure out how to make the system work. When that group was initially brought together, I thought that it was to look at scholarships and commencement issues, but apparently not. ¶ … and none, as far as I can tell, to look at the actual commencement exercises and how we arrange them. …[I]t appears that the commencement ceremony and associated [folderol] is a Helen L[ocke] - Glenn R deal. ¶ I will ask [IVC Prez Glenn Roquemore] about this at our next regular meeting.

     On that day (Aug. 31), I responded:

     Wow, if there is no "commencement committee" that oversees/plans the commencement, that's a problem. ¶ Do let me know how Glenn answers your question.

     I didn’t hear from Ms. S again (on this matter) for nearly four months—until today, Dec. 21:

"Let us pray" (& cheat) 

Hi Roy,
     It has taken many repetitive inquiries to ferret out an answer, because I kept getting partial answers. My response to you was further delayed because I tied together my notion of addressing what we see as a problem with this answer. I have not “fixed” it, but I think that I’m chopping away, and I did want to answer you in the same calendar year, even with a less than satisfactory answer. ¶ It seems to be “Student Services Council”, which in turn, has no faculty representation. In and of itself, no faculty is OK (parallel to, for example, Dean’s Council), but the problem, obviously, is that this group has purview over events in which faculty have interest and should have standing. So far, I have only been able to insert myself into these things informally and personally, which is a band-aid, not a fix. It is on the list for my first official meeting with GR next semester, to try to ‘convince’ Linda F of the virtues of inclusiveness…. ¶ Commencement is untied from scholarships, and we’ve been focusing on the latter since its timing is more critical. Thank you for your participation and voice in that discussion; I hope we can resolve those issues soon.

     —Well, I guess you’ll just have to stay tuned.
     So typical here at IVC. Everything's either encased in mud, obscured by fog, or operating (in a manner unknown & unhinged) behind closed doors in haunted and hollow A100.
     I think I'll contact this "Student Services Council" and ask how their "prayer" deliberations went last year. What do you suppose they'll say? (Normally, I'd contact Helen, but somehow I don't think that will work.)
     Here's my prediction. They'll say, "huh?" 
     Wanna bet?

Click on graphic to ENLARGE

Click on graphic to ENLARGE

Click on graphic to ENLARGE

     For an overview of the prayer saga at SOCCCD, see socccd prayer