Los Angeles Valley College - Crown Yearbook (Valley Glen, CA)

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AVery Good Year By Margot A. Meyer Illustrated by Robert Lachman Generally speaking, 1973 was not the most profit- able year for a certain vice-president of national renown. But for Eric Thompson, Associated Student vice-president for Fall 1973, the year brought the A.S. presidency for the spring semester. After completing his first semester in student government office in january, Thompson, a soft- spoken music major, has discovered an acute addic- tion to political life on campus. The A.S. presidency will enable him to follow through on plans that were set in motion during the fall semester, and initiate new programs for campus and community improve- ment. Born and raised in the farming community of Fairmont, Minn., Thompson left high school to enter the service when he was 17. He came to the West Coast in 1965 and has attended Valley for four semesters. As a music major Thompson is attempting to improve and perfect his skills on several instruments and in the area of composing. Music is like any other parallel art.field, he said. First, you have to learn to be a craftsman. Then, when you become competent, you can adequately decide whether you want to be an artist. fi eff Channelled into the political vein through his concern for the Music Department at Valley, Thompson's ambitions increased with his involve- ment and were given a boost when he won the vice- presidency last year. I had a multitude of aims by the time I decided to run for vice-president, said Thompson. One was to increase communications on campus, tearing down the walls, so to speak. Another goal that the 33-year-old president brought with him to Spring A.S. Council was the idea of increasing the worth of the student ID card by increasing its benefits. Thompson said that he would like to give some kind of discount to the students for purchases in community stores, as well as on campus. This effort would promote close communications with the surrounding community. To upgrade and encourage a liaison between -the community and A.S. Council, Thompson created the appointed position of community coordinator. Two more objects of business that Thompson hopes to finish are tying down the ends of a teacher evaluation taken by A.S. Council during the pre- vious semester and completion of a constitutional review. Among his goals for the spring semester, Thomp- son plans to investigate forms of comprehensive health insurance and a possible meal ticket that would give paid ID holders a discount in the campus cafeteria. Also in the beginning stages is the estab- lishment of a women's self-help clinic. He expects that a major portion, if not all, of these projects will be accomplished before the year is out. Voter turnout is usually a cause for concern in student government elections. And this year's elec- tions proved no exception. But signs of concern did surface over the outbreak of war in the Middle East during several A.S. Council meetings. Although no formal action was taken by the council, more than 1,200 students signed a petition protesting Arab aggression in Israel. To Thompson this gesture of feeling and moral outrage was very significant in measuring the sensitivity and concern of the Associated Students. More students signed the petition than had ever voted in an election since Thompson has been at Valley. In an attempt to learn the 'craft' of being a politician, Thompson hopes that he can avoid symptoms of a popular occupational disease - Presidential Impeachitis. As a music maior, Thompson discovered the demanding hours of practice he must put in each week.

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