REBEL GIRL writes a letter

Rebel Girl writes an administrator about room C2 in the CEC building:

SOCCCD: two minutes twenty-eight seconds

Picture with soundtrack:

Fotog Friday

t the entrance of office A238 in the A200 building, one finds a sign that says, "The Mouth of Hell." The phrase is a reference to the room's reputation as IVC's spore central. The reputation was inspired by the findings of a team of expensive moldologists that checked out the building several months ago. A238 is crawlin' with spores.

The room's two denizens are fatalists. Sometimes, the two stand naked in the center of the room just to maximize spore exposure.

Well, no. But they're funny guys. They seem to enjoy their office's notoriety.

Once inside the office, one can see a white vent register on the ceiling over to the left. Reportedly, prior to a recent clean-up campaign (bleach applied to rag; rag applied to vent surfaces), this register spewed an alarming quantity of mold.

Here's a pic that reveals one of the college's earliest anti-spore measures: installation of a nifty "spore deflection unit."


I have added graphics to indicate how the deflection unit is supposed to work: first, the spore colonies enter from the right; they then shoot leftward, down to the plastic "deflection acuator"; they then bounce harmlessly back towards the wall.

It's science!


hoto #2 is a sign on the side of the IVC gymnasium. As you can plainly see, it directs one to dial *80 in order to contact emergency services.


Mr. Eugene Debbs showed up recently, grinning. He told Rebel Girl about this "emergency" sign, which is on the outside gymnasium wall. We asked him what was so special about the sign.

This: as picture #3 clearly illustrates, the sign is hanging where phones should be hanging but aren't.


If you have an emergency at IVC, don't have it next to the gymnasium.


hoto #4 shows room C2 in the CEC building at IVC. Rebel Girl told me about it.

As you can see, in C2, there is a trash container amid the desks. It's there to catch the water that drips from the ceiling during rain.


We found a nasty little puddle of water on one of the desk chairs. Much of the floor was soaked. I stared in wonder.

Rebel Girl took her finger and started poking at the ceiling. Her finger went straight through it, as though it were a quiche. Here's a closeup of the ceiling, post-pokage:


Rebel Girl poked once too often. Suddenly, hideous insects emerged from one of the finger-holes she had created. I recorded their sound:

We ran screaming into the night.


aura Hayes dropped by earlier this week to do some catchin' up. When Brenda and Lisa heard that she was around, they came runnin'.


You remember Laura, don't you? Years ago, she covered the education beat for the Irvine World News, and she did a great job. Go to the IWN website and search their generous archive. Look under "IVC" or "Saddleback" or "rat bastard." Chances are good that one of Laura's articles will pop up. Great gal, that Laura.


ere's a picture of a tree at Saddleback College. Nice place, Saddleback College. The jasmine that blooms this time of year is wonderful.


We do have lovely campuses.

There's that. --CW

Scenes from an A200 pizza party

Glenn arranged for a pizza party in the A200 building, which houses faculty from Humanities & Languages, Social Sciences, Fine Arts, and Biology. Not sure why. (About the party, I mean.) I think we were supposed to be appreciating something.



In fact, mostly, we did appreciate our new floor and the help we got during the Flooring Nightmare from people like Tony and the other guys. I think we made Tony an honorary Humanist or something.

Some clever person ('twas Rebel Girl) plastered the walls with signs saying, "Happy retirement Tom Delay!" That was pretty funny, but somebody else added signs about Lyn Nofziger and Caspar Weinberger. We just stared at those.

What with the pizza and the signs and Greg's B-Day, it was pretty damned festive today in the A200 bulding.

People had a good time. We oughta do this pizza thing more often.

Don successfully micromanages institutional memberships (March 27)

At the January meeting of the board of trustees, Trustee Wagner motioned that the district cease the two college libraries' memberships in the American Library Association.

His reasons? First, said Don, the district should not support "partisan" or political organizations, and the ALA is clearly partisan. They're in favor of books and reading and stuff. Plus they're peeved about the Patriot Act.

With a great display of sneerage, Wagner implied a further reason: that the politics of the ALA is "left" or "liberal" and is thus contrary to that of the trustees' conservative constituents. His point seemed to be, not that the ALA is political, but that it is wrongly political.

Wagner noted that the ALA opposes legislation (CIPA) designed to place filters on library computers to protect minors from pornography. His point seemed to be that the ALA's position re CIPA is absurd or objectionable.

Wagner also noted that the ALA is a bunch of "busybodies" ("liberal" ones), putting their noses in business that does not concern them. He implied that the Patriot Act is clearly not the concern of librarians, and neither is "academic freedom," since librarians are "not faculty."

The motion passed, with Trustees Wagner, Fuentes, Williams, and Padberg voting in favor of it.

The matter came up again at the February meeting, but it was then tabled. Fuentes muttered something about pornography. It was pretty creepy.

At the March 27 meeting, the pro-ALA forces seemingly had their ducks in a row. It was clear that Trustees Padberg, Jay, Milchiker, and Lang were inclined to vote to reinstate our libraries' membership in the ALA.

But something came up, and Trustee Padberg was called away for over an hour. (I've been assured by reliable people that something really did come up and her absence was unavoidable. Somethin' about her run for judge.)

When item 29, the reinstatement of "institutional membership" in the ALA, came up, Padberg had not yet returned, and Trustee Fuentes motioned to table the item.

"Yes!" thought I. For some reason, Mr. Fuentes was doing the right and the collegial thing. He was putting off action on an item until Nancy, who seemed to feel strongly about it, could return. Great!

But no. For some reason, Fuentes, Wagner, and Williams voted for tabling. But Jay, Lang, and Milchiker voted against it! Huh?

The fate of the ALA matter was now set in stone. After a brief discussion, the vote was taken, and the item (a motion to reinstate ALA membership) failed, 3 to 3.

"Staff" had recommended reinstatement. For the sake of this discussion, they produced a two page document that answered questions regarding the ALA that had come up in January and February. Here's a brief summary of that document:

1. Was the ALA involved in opposing the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA)?

Answer: Yes. The ALA took the view that local communities should decide internet policies in their libraries. A "one size fits all" federal solution is clumsy and unnecessary. Further, the filters are not very effective. They unavoidably filter out materials that are unobjectionable, restricting access.

2. What is ALA's position concerning access of minors to pornography?

Answer: the ALA has never supported children's access to pornography. "The conviction that young persons are entitled to enjoy the same freedom to read as adults is not a belief that children should be given adult-themed materials. Librarians work cooperatively with parents to assure that what a child borrows from the library is age-appropriate and a good fit for the child's reading level and interest. ALA believes that library staff cannot and should not take the place of parents in the lives of children, and encourages parents to take an active role in guiding their child's reading choices."

3. What about the Patriot Act?

Answer: the ALA opposes "certain provisions" of the USA Patriot Act "which permit federal law enforcement agents to obtain records concerning individuals' use of library resources without a showing of probable cause...." ALA has worked with Republican and Democratic Representatives to try to amend the Patriot Act.

4. Is Laura Bush a nember of the ALA?

Answer: neither Laura nor her idiot husband are members of the ALA. [As I explained in an earlier post, Laura Bush has attended ALA functions and has accepted awards from that organization.]

What follows are two audio clips from the March 27 board meeting re this ALA business:

PART 1:
During "public comments": Saddleback College Academic Senate Prez Claire speaks on the issue.

(Once again, no librarian from either college speaks or even attends the board meeting (as far as I can tell). What's with librarians? I starting to think they deserve what they get.)

PART 2:
Trustee Milchiker argues in favor of the motion (to reinstate).
Trustee Wagner responds to Marcia. He's peevish.
The vote is taken.

Here we go again: the board is determined to violate Title 5 (AUDIO FILES)

As you know, Title V requires that boards delegate authority to the Academic Senate(s) in 10 specified areas. Reflecting that aspect of law, the board has adopted Board Policy 2100.1.

Here's the part of BP 2100.1 that concerns "planning":

…[I]t is the policy of the Board of Trustees that there shall be appropriate delegation to the college academic senates of responsibility for and authority over academic and professional matters. Regarding such matters, the Board of Trustees…Will rely primarily upon the advice and judgment of the academic senates in accordance with processes of collegial consultation as defined below….

Academic and professional matters upon which the Board of Trustees will rely primarily upon the advice and counsel of the academic senates include: …Processes for institutional planning….

[But what does “rely primarily” mean?]:

…Primary reliance upon the advice and counsel of the academic senates means that the Board of Trustees and/or its designees will accept the recommendations of the academic senates regarding academic and professional matters as itemized above, and will act otherwise only in exceptional circumstances and for compelling reasons.

If a recommendation of the senate is not accepted, the Board of Trustees or its designee will promptly communicate its reasons in writing…Such explanation will convey the "exceptional circumstances and compelling reasons" that necessitated the action in question.

The upshot: unless there are (explicitly specified) "exceptional circumstances" (for which there is a specified protocol), the board must "accept the recommendation of the academic senates" regarding "Processes for institutional planning...."

Please note that the Board Policy/Title 5 does not give the Academic Senates the role of "institutional planning." Rather, it gives the Academic Senates the role of determining the process according to which planning will occur. As Wendy puts it (in the audio post below), the Academic Senates' role is to "plan the planning."

Well, if you've been reading this blog, you know that the Chancellor has developed and established a new district planning process. He has done so unilaterally--without bothering even to consult the Senates.

That is, he has illegally taken over the Academic Senates' job.

The Academic Senates immediately alerted the Chancellor to this problem, but the Chancellor did not withdraw the process.

At its March 2 meeting, the IVC Senate acted to request "that the Chancellor immediately discontinue implementation of the illegitimate District Plannign Process or the Academic Senate will consider filing a Minimum Conditions Complaint with the office of the State Chancellor." (From minutes.)

Again, the senate presidents met with Mathur and made the above request on behalf of the senates. He responded by informing the Senates that he would not rescind the new planning process.

At its March 23 meeting, the IVC Academic Senate acted to pursue the Minimum Conditions Complaint, as per the March 2 action.

At that meeting, President Wendy G asked that the senate act, not to file, but to "explore," the complaint. Senators rejected that advice. (Listen below.)

Senators decided to pursue the complaint with the idea that, should the board/Chancellor rescind or withdraw the planning process, the senate would immediately cease the "minimum conditions complaint" process.

At the March 27 meeting of the SOCCCD Board of Trustees, during public comments, Wendy explained what the IVC Senate had decided. She again asked the district to desist.

Board President Dave Lang responded by stating, irrelevantly, that planning is not only within the Academic Senates' "provenance." The board gets to participate in planning, too.

This, of course, is not the issue. The issue is that it is the role of the Academic Senates to develop and define the planning process. It is not the district's role.

Further, Lang expressed disappointment that the senates had decided to go running to complain to an outside party.

Clearly, the senates had done no such thing. On the contrary, they had repeatedly asked the district to recognize their error and to simply withdraw the process.

Please listen to the audio files below:

AT THE MARCH 27 BOARD MEETING:

Wendy's remarks; Margot L cedes her time (about 4.5 minutes):

Lang's response (1 or 2 minutes):

AT THE MARCH 23 IVC SENATE MEETING:

These clips are brief:

Wendy requests that the senate "explore," not file, the complaint:

Senators disagree. It's time to file:

Senators: We'll withdraw the complaint as soon as the district withdraws the process

The action is taken:

Gensler, synthetic fiber, drunken sailors

1. GENSLER'S "AVENGER OF BLOOD." Not long ago, the Lariat ran a little story about Saddleback College econ instructor--and former IVC dean--Howard Gensler. Weeks later, I thought of Howard again, cuz I was cleaning out my office (see story 2 below), and I came across some images taken from one of his books, to which, intriguingly, the Lariat reporter had alluded.

This particular book--an "epic poem"--is called The Avenger of Blood. I thought I'd share some of these images. Here's the book's cover:


I seem to recall that a High School colleague did the artwork. Here's a typical illustration from the book:


And here's the page that explains about Howard:


That Howard is something else, isn't he? You oughta actually read the poem. It is everything you might hope it would be. More even. (More on Howard)

2. THE HEARTBREAK OF CARPET-LAYING. In the last week--the work's progressing in stages, and it's not quite done--faculty at IVC have experienced the heartbreak of carpet-laying. You know: packing your stuff into boxes and so on and then waiting anxiously while strangers take your stuff out and put your stuff back. It's traumatic, baby.


There sure is a lot of carping about this project, but it seems that, once the job gets done, instructors are generally pretty happy with the results.

I'm told that Tony Sidoti, Senior Groundskeeper, has been especially helpful. Thanks Tony!!

See? We say positive things here at Dissent the Blog!

Here are some pics.


This instructor was concerned that her "butt crack" would show in the picture. Nope.


Those zany Bio people were leavin' all sorts of corpses and bones and stuff in the hallway. It was pretty festive. Dave showed me a human spine and "dedicated" it to me.

Never say we don't have fun at Irvine Valley College. Every day is a veritable party! A celebration! Breath deep the gathering mold!


Glenn said he'd buy pizza, but I think he welched on the deal.

3. JOHN WILLIAMS SPENDS TAXPAYER MONEY LIKE A DRUNKEN SAILOR. Since I'm writing all these fluffy human (or synthetic fiber) interest stories, I thought I'd mention the fluffy fact that Trustee John "Stay Puft" Williams spends lots of taxpayer money on junkets, just as Nancy claimed back in January.

Nancy asked for a staff report on such expenses, and, at the February board meeting, trustees received it. It's called "travel by board of trustees and executive administrators." Here are some highlights:

During 2005, Williams spent over $10,000 on trips, including two in Orlando, FL (likely at the Peabody Orlando--very pricey). Most trustees spent 2k or less, which seems reasonable.

I do believe the fellow's already been to Orlando again this year! Nancy has explained that there are similar conventions held in California, but will Johnny go to those? He will not. Somehow, for "Brownie," the really worthwhile conferences keep happening in Orlando.


Here's how much the other trustees (and senior administrators) spent. With the exception of Raghu, generally, these people spend far less than Williams.

Marcia M: $2,600

Nancy P: $1,900

Dave L spent about $740

Evidently, Tom F & Don W spent zip. Good for them.

Raghu spent $7,594

Gary P spent about $2,000

Allan M spent about $5,000

Rich M spent less than $600

Glenn R spent $1,362

and Dennis W and Gwen V each spent less than $2,400

During the last board meeting, Nancy P requested another report: travel expenditures over the last 5 years. But John, Tom, Don, and Dave shot that down.

Wonder why?

One more thing. Could somebody explain to me how you spend this kind of money goin' down to San Diego (see above). I mean, San Diego is a ninety minute drive from here (even less from John's house). So this money has got to be hotel costs, right? Where the hell does this guy stay?