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

Solstice: Remembering Liz Marek and the Lockerbie Bombing 25 years later (Rebel Girl)

Rebel Girl is a party girl and even though she does not ascribe to any particular faith, she enjoys this season of celebration with its stories of miracles and lights, pilgrimages and stars shining bright.  She likes the solstice best and feels a sense of accomplishment on living through that day, the shortest one of the year.  When she was a child learning of such things in a public elementary school classroom, Rebel Girl once imagined she could hear the gentle crack of the earth's axis as it tilted, once more, back toward the sun, toward light.

The past 25 years have usually found Rebel Girl and her family hurtling south to Mexico on the Solstice.  This year, they will be a little late. But every year on the Solstice, they remember that first year they drove south for the season: 1988. She first wrote about on the blog five years ago.

from December 22, 2008
It was 20 Years Ago Today:
Twenty years ago, Rebel Girl and Red Emma first headed south into Baja, borrowing a friend's car and another friend's travel guide (what friends!). They fell in love with a part of Mexico that many find unlovable (the desert! The Sea of Cortez!) and have returned every year except for this one. This year finds them at home, unnerved by the brutal violence along the border, unwilling to be Americans who drive past other people's tragedies on their way to their own good time.

They usually leave on Solstice, the shortest day of the year. Rebel Girl can't remember if that was true for that first trip twenty years ago. She expects it might be. All she knows is that when they left, they knew about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

So they left on or shortly after December 21, 1988 and returned sometime after the new year, covered in dust and sunburnt. They hadn't followed the news very much, hadn't thought about the bombing except in the way that you do about such events, a distant awareness of someone else's heartbreak. So when they returned and found out that Liz Marek, fellow activist and friend had been on board the flight, there was shock. Liz was an activist of some standing in the LA area, a veteran of the so-called Great Peace March across that country and of many Nevada Test Site actions, a charismatic lead singer in a lesbian rock band and general all-round good person. Liz, working for a non-profit housing agency, had been instrumental in helping Red and Reb and their roommates obtain an apartment after their eviction from their home (long story).

Liz had once complimented Rebel Girl on her design of a banner for a Test Site demonstration even though Rebel Girl now understands that Liz was only being kind. Rebel Girl was on her knees painting it in the sanctuary of the Church in Ocean Park (some church!). Liz had stopped by on her way to a meeting. The banner was wincingly raw and earnest and the memory of it still possesses the power to embarrass Rebel Girl: "The Patriarchy Stops Here," it read, with an angry pregnant woman, her womb filled with a mushroom cloud, pushing back at the lettering.

Rebel Girl still remembers how Liz could belt out her band's version of "Devil in a Blue Dress" (she sang it as "Big Dyke in a Blue Dress"). Back then, she admired the courage, humor and vision of activists like Liz – they had fun at the same time they did good works. She wanted to be like them: gutsy, justice-loving good people.

Liz had been sitting in seat 36 C of the Pan Am flight, traveling with a friend, having got cheap seats for a holiday trip to England. She was 30 years old. The obituaries all identified her as an actress and peace activist.


Later, when Liz's memorial was held at the Church in Ocean Park, Rebel Girl couldn't look into the faces of Liz's family, of her mother; their grief was too stark. She concentrated instead on repairing the cake which had suffered some damage in transit. It was white frosting with blue cursive lettering spelling out Liz's name and some other message Rebel Girl can no longer remember, just as she can no longer remember the witty name of Liz's band.

So, while people gave eulogies and sang songs, told stories and wept, Rebel Girl repaired the sky blue letters, rejoining the links, restoring the integrity of the final loops of the lowercase "k." She smoothed the frosting, white as a cloud.

*

The original post inspired a few comments from other friends of Liz who found it via the web:

Anonymous said...
I was on the great peace march and searched out Liz's name today in memory of her great funny human self. I think [her] band was the Diet Cherry Cokes.

Anonymous said...
I knew Liz on the GPM and deeply appreciated her intelligence, wit and humanity. Thanks for your remembrance of her.

Dear Rebel,
I was at the memorial for Liz at Ocean Park and I visited the Pan Am Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery every year until I left DC in late 1999.

Her family was very kind to me at a time when they were grieving and I'll never forget how gracious they were/are. Especially when I told them about the couple of times I'd be so darned frustrated with knocking on the porta pottie doors and hoping folks would knock back so I could feel the vibration and not accidentally open the door and expose them. When Liz was around and saw me she'd grab my hand and pull me down the line of porta potties and would knock and knock until she found an empty porta potty for me. Her actions saved me a lot of time and she needn't've done it but did because she "got it" that I'm deaf and sometimes a helping hand helps just that much to make one's day a bit brighter. Just for this not so little kindness she's aces in my book.

Just so you know, I was shown kindness by every Marcher while I was on the 9-month walk. This made a huge impact on me. Huge. It still does to this day.

Jules
Peace Marcher

Twenty-five years is a long time.

Liz's mother still lives in Brookfield, Connecticut.

Rebel Girl found an article from Tuesday August 29, 1989: "Mother Makes Somber Visit to Lockerbie" which is exactly what its title suggests. The online version of the article features a tiny black and white headshot of Liz; it is not the best photo and the online scan of it fragments it even more but there's something there still in Liz's eyes that Reb likes to see.  Her direct gaze. It's Liz all right. The article appeared in the Connecticut newspaper The Day.

Immediately to the right is another article: "Black, white African leaders meet: Kaunda, de Klerk talk in Zambia" and a larger photo of  de Klerk, Botha (remember him?) and a skeptical Kaunda who is described as "a relentless critic of apartheid."

*

Roquemorean moment #237

December 2013

Glenn ten years ago

A golden fubar