Monday, June 3, 2013

The district's undeveloped "history" page


     As you know, we at DtB love history, especially local history, and we've uncovered quite a bit of it ourselves over the years (see links below).
     Districts and colleges have histories, too, of course; they're histories that a contemporary member of the college community can learn from. For instance, attention to the record can help develop an appreciation of our predecessors' efforts and accomplishments. Without the latter, the SOCCCD and its colleges would not exist. And they wouldn't be as good (and sometimes, as bad) as they sometimes are.

     THE SOCCCD "HISTORY" PAGE. As perhaps you are aware, the SOCCCD website sports a "history" page. Find it by going to the website (here); then clicking on "About the District"; then clicking on "history." Voila! 
     (Or just click HERE.)
     The district's history page comprises a measly 13 photos. Some of them are pretty cool. I especially enjoy the "shovel" photos from 1967. 
     Seems like a million years ago. Back in '67, I was in Junior High, listening to the Buffalo Springfield. The Reb was in kindergarten, I think.
     Obviously, the district's current "history" page needs work. I mean, just how much history can you capture in 13 photos, especially when 6 of the 13 are about Ronald Reagan? So, it's much too brief and it distorts the actual history, which stretches over 46 years and several distinctive eras.
     Wouldn't it be nice if the dang thing were beefed up and improved? Yes!
     The last 2 photos on the history page (see below) are about buildings dedicated to political leaders. The first depicts the dedication of the "James B. Utt Memorial Library" in 1973. The second depicts the dedication of the "Ronald Reagan Board of Trustees Room" in 2008.


     (Over the years, DtB has taken the lead in explaining just what kind of guy James B. Utt was [see]. In truth, he was paranoid and racist and gullible. An embarrassment. A nice guy, though. And a perfect illustration of one part of the wider story of OC in the sixties.
     (And Ronald Reagan? Well, there's no use getting into that. He's not remembered as a friend to higher education. I'm just grateful that our trustees didn't change the name of the district to "Reagan.")

     A MODEST PROPOSAL. Gosh, Gary, I'd be happy to assist in the improvement of the district's history page. We can use the original 13 colonies—er, photos—and just build out from there, like manifest destiny!
     Then we could move on to the "history" pages of the two colleges!

     For those interested in our colleges' and our district's history, I recommend perusing the following:
• College History (DtB)
• The district saga (DtB)
• SOCCCD headlines (DtB)
This graphic appears on a document entitled "Fast Facts," available at the Saddleback College site. It seems to represent the apogee of the site's interest in the college's history.
The closest thing to a "history" page on the IVC website seems to be the "Facts at a Glance" page, which says almost nothing about the IVC saga.

P.S.: THE SOCCCD SAGA

     I've updated DtB's running chronicle of the SOCCCD saga. Read it here.
     Let me know if you think I've left out anything of importance. I'm sure I have.

No-Confidence (N+1)

     At 6 PM on Friday, March 15, the online poll for the NYU Faculty of Arts and Science vote of no-confidence against President John Sexton closed. At 6:09 PM, the results were announced: of the 682 eligible full-time tenured and tenure-track professors, 569 had voted; 298 in favor of a declaration of no-confidence and 224 in favor of Sexton, with 47 abstaining. It was the highest-profile vote against a university president since Larry Summers was forced out of Harvard in 2006, and that was not its only significance: it was also one of the first major acts of faculty opposition to the top-down, corporate model of university governance that has been gaining prominence for the last four decades….

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