The chirpy Mr. B

     H & L RETIREES HONORED. Went to a shindig last night organized by the School of Humanities and Languages (of Irvine Valley College). ‘Twas a big hit, thanks in part to host Jeanne and her fabulous yard and home in an unincorporated zone against the Tustin hills. Partiers celebrated the careers of four stalwart and beloved colleagues who are about to retire. I forgot to bring my camera though. I think Beep took some pics. Glenn and Gwen and one or two other administrators were in attendance. Some previously celebrated retirees, too.
     We "humanists" are also very happy with our most recent hire: a shiny new historian. (See how positive I can be? I'm almost chirpy!)

     IVC SCHOLARSHIPS. Thursday’s IVC Scholarship Award Ceremony seemed to go very well; and it was well attended too. We’re glad, and we’re happy for the scholarship recipients. But there are faculty who do have issues with the scholarship process, which is not always what it should be. We’ll bring this up some time after commencement.

     EARLY COLLEGE. There’s continued peevishness among some (many?) faculty about administration’s devotion to the troubled Early College program. The program was originally pursued, about six years ago, sans faculty imprimatur and despite faculty objections that have proved prescient. A year ago, the Academic Senate completed a survey of program instructors—mostly part-timers—and its results were distinctly negative. And so the endless WTFs over EC grew louder. Administration always respond as though there can be no going back on this thing. Why? What is sacred about this benighted program?
     The fundamental problem with EC seems to be that a bunch of high school kids will act like a bunch of high school kids, and bringing college instructors to them doesn’t change that. Also, a high school will act like a high school, not a college, and that means our EC instructors face constant pressures to lower standards and otherwise accommodate these youngsters and their, um, ways. Because most EC instructors are adjuncts (aka employees with little-to-no job security), they are wise not to complain loudly. Nevertheless, the aforementioned survey managed to reveal some severe problems.
     Naturally, administration has “taken steps.” By the Fall of 2010, they commenced chirping that the problems have been “addressed.” But some of the same old complaints continue to be heard. I do believe the problems are intrinsic to efforts to bring college to high schools. These kids are just too immature.
     I’m told that, unsurprisingly, there will be some course cutting next semester, and that is why some have grown particularly peevish about the continued Early College fubar. Why devote our resources to this misbegotten hybrid monstrosity when, owing to a lack of resources, our regular students will find it more difficult getting the courses they need?

Federal Art Project, 1937

     FUENTES; THE 2010 ELECTION. I have heard that trustee Tom Fuentes’ health has taken a turn for the worse. Don’t know any details, but I'm sure it's true. In 2012, Jay, Lang, Meldau, and Fuentes will be up for reelection, but will they run? It seems likely that Frank Meldau will run (he just replaced John “corruption/incompetence poster boy” Williams, who quit at the end of December to focus on his catastrophic County situation). Don’t know about Lang, but he’s got to be sick and tired of the trustee gig, ‘cause it ain’t getting him any closer to the County Treasurer’s office. That’s what he wants, and it’s clear he’ll sell his soul to get it. Indeed, he sold it, and that got ‘im bupkis.
     If he had a shred of decency, he’d just go home and start writing apologies.
     It could be that the Faculty Association will have its hands full pretty soon, maybe promoting two or three candidates at once. Will the usual suspects—Education Alliance, the local GOP—put real money behind the usual Neanderthals? If so, look forward to a period of Sturm und Drang.

     SAME OLD BOARD? As you know, the board (and Poertner?) have decided to take the low road with regard to the “prayer” issue. Despite the plain language (SEE) of the recently ratified settlement agreement (of “Westphal v. Wagner”)—according to which, whether to have a prayer at the commencement ceremony is to be "within the sole discretion of the event planners"—they’re claiming that Prez Burnett gets to impose a prayer on Saddleback’s commencement next week. In fact, Saddleback’s planning committee unanimously decided to opt for a moment of silence instead.
     “I’m the decider,” says Burnett, I guess. And the board is backing him up. Why? Do they think this will make them look good?
     Remember a decade ago, when the law plainly said that hiring policies are to be developed jointly by the district and faculty senates? Nevertheless, our board argued that that meant that they could listen to faculty input, utterly ignore it, and then ratify whatever the hell they wanted to?
     So the old pattern continues. Too bad. I was hoping things were finally changing.

Chalk art on the sidewalk, IVC

     IVC’S PUBLIC SCULPTURES. In case I didn’t make myself clear enough last week, I do think that the public sculpture program we’ve got going at IVC is a great thing for the college. Has it cost us some money? No doubt, but it does add a new and interesting dimension to the campus. I had my doubts two years ago, but now I think it’s great. Have you seen the new crop of weird-assed Alphabet People and iron oak boxes? What do you think? Love it.

Abject stupidity in Los Alamitos: representing the "conservative voice" (2nd try)

Barke

     Abject stupidity has poked its empty but familiar head above the horizon once again, this time in Los Alamitos, home of the world's most notorious watermelon patch....

     The above—it's all that's left of my recent post about a decision by the Los Alamitos Unified School District board to compel teachers of a "global warming" class to come in and prove that they aren't forgetting to teach students the "conservative" side of the global warming story—namely, that GW is a "crock of crap."
     Yeah, really. It's all explained in the Los Alamitos Patch HERE.
     As I recall, the name of the board member who pushed for this measure was "Barke." Dr. Barke.
     Be sure to read some of the comments. There's like 200 of 'em, and most of 'em slam the Barkester and his benighted crew, including the Superintendent. I think her name was Meowe.
     For some reason, blogger was down for about a day (starting maybe late Thursday) and the upshot seems to be that my "Barke" post got lost in cyberspace.
     But do read the Patch piece. It's a doozy.

The Morning Matinee: I am Worried About my Grade

("Found" via Facebook - not a Rebel Girl Production.)

IVC's Scholarship Awards Ceremony (sans prayer)

The Irvine Valley College Performing Arts Center (PAC)

Yes, it was at this exact moment that something special occurred: the absence of prayer at the IVC scholarship awards ceremony! Rebel Girl told me to take a picture of it, so here it is. The non-prayer.

Of course, each of these is a photograph of the first IVC scholarship awards ceremony in a while sans prayer, as per the recently ratified settlement agreement of "Westphal v. Wagner." The event occurred Thursday morning in the Performing Arts Center, and it was fine.

Lots of young whippersnappers takin' their bows and grabbin' their cash.

Lots of beautiful young people. Made me feel like an old shoe. But these kids are pretty nice, so I shouldn't complain.

We were treated to some casual exotica. Half of these kids' names were non-European, of course. Something tells me they're the names of the country's future leadership. I expect much from them.

Yet another random shot. What can I say? Purty gals. Purty dudes, too, I guess.

Who knows what goes on up there in the rafters. I think they were dancing.

Lisa with the lovely (and absurdly young) Christina, who snapped up the Humanities/English scholarship.

Later in the day, Lisa and I stole some balloons. We grabbed 'em and then ran like hell. --Well, no. Lisa mostly sauntered. Oddly, IVC is fixated on those dang blue and white balloons, like weird, round unmatching eyeballs, strung into the sky, looking at nothing. Blank. On the other hand, they are festive.

We tied the balloons to Frank's Miata. That's Mark's 356 in the background.

Bad press for a rogue board

Saddleback College President's “Prayer” Order Supported by Board (Mission Viejo Patch)

AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT: Sunday's second annual Freethought Alliance Conference at the Hilton Irvine. Check it out:

Enduring Blogger's ill health

Blogger, which hosts DtB, seems to be experiencing technical difficulties one result of which is the temporary (I hope) disappearance of one or two recent DtB posts. I am hoping the situation will be resolved very soon.

One of the "disappeared" posts reported that the district is supporting Saddleback College President, Tod Burnett, in his imposition of prayer on next week's commencement ceremony. Plaintiffs of "Westphal v. Wagner" have filed a motion to enforce the recently approved settlement agreement. For their part, defendants have responded with a filing that asserts that Burnett's action is consistent with that agreement.

And so Jones Day lawyers are busy again, racking up the billables.

FUN FACT #1. In the meantime, I will entertain you with some fun factoids. Did you know that Tod Burnett was once vice president of Eva Gabor International, Ltd., a company that makes and sells wigs?

FUN FACT #2. Did you know that, early in his career, Raghu P. Mathur was the stand-in for Bozo the Clown? He quit in a huff when he realized that Bozo's mantra—"it's all for those little rat bastards"—actually expresses contempt for the, um, little rat bastards.

A lawless board: the district won't comply

     As you know, yesterday, I reported that Tod Burnett, President of Saddleback College, has ordered that there will be a prayer at Saddleback College’s commencement next week, despite the unanimous decision of the college's commencement planning committee to forgo a prayer in favor of a moment of silence—and despite the recent settlement of “Westphal v. Wagner,” which seems plainly to indicate that the committee and the committee alone is to make the decision regarding whether to have a prayer. (See settlement agreement (including resolution).)
     Yesterday, attorneys for plaintiffs filed an emergency motion to enforce the settlement agreement.
     According to plaintiffs’ motion,

     The settlement agreement provides that the decision at issue—whether to have an invocation at Defendants’ commencement ceremony—rests with the event planners’ “sole discretion.” The event planners for the Saddleback College commencement are the members of the Saddleback College Commencement Committee; that Committee voted unanimously to have a moment of silence but no invocation. After the Committee made its unanimous decision, Defendant Tod Burnett, the President of Saddleback College—and not a member of the Committee—unilaterally overruled the Committee and ordered the presentation of an invocation at the May 20, 2011 commencement.

     Defendants are standing by Burnett’s actions. (Burnett is among defendants, a group comprising mostly trustees.)
     (Meanwhile, Irvine Valley College appears to be complying with the settlement agreement. IVC's committee evidently decided in favor of a prayer but without involvement of outsiders, including the college president.)
     Defendants are claiming that President Burnett is the “chief event planner” who is the ultimate decision-maker as to whether there is an invocation at commencement.
     And so, having already spent over one and a quarter million dollars defending their arrogant actions, they will now spend more taxpayer money. (The district is using pricey lawyers from Jones Day.)
     And they will lose.
     Stay tuned.