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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STUDENTS FUR ,Q .M By Michael Hudson Illustrated by john Rosenfield For two semesters in a row a group of students who banded together to form a political slate have captured a majority of the Associated Student Council seats. Last May, the U.S. iUnited Studentsl slate put up candidates for all 16 of the A.S. Council seats. lSince that time three more seats have been added to council. The seats are commissioner of Black, Chicano, and jewish ethnic studiesi Of the 16 who ran, 12 were elected. This semester the slate was entitled RSVP lRe- sponsible Students for Valley's Progressj, and it ran 13 candidates for office. Of those, 10 were elected. Their slate took 10 stands. . . . to work creatively to increase the A.S. in- come so that each Valley student would derive more benefit . . . to initiate an objective review of the consti- tution . . . to protect the Valley students' mandate that each ethnic department be represented adequately . . . to propose formation of a women's self-help clinic run by Valley students . . . to be receptive to the voice of Valley stu- dents through public meetings and more viable communication with council . . . to require each ASO commissioner to estab- lish a task force committee of students to augment progress . . . to insure a base for a permanent evaluation to help students in registration . . . to inquire into cafeteria policies, especially pricing and quality . . . to initiate a Valley College car pool ...and to establish a Valley community co- ordinator to increase communication between Val- ley College and the community All members of the slate have indicated that they will support these motions in council. Alex Hamp- ton, vice-president, said that by the end of the semester he wanted to act on every one of these motions, either to have them in effect, to have them come before council, or to put them on the ballot before the students. David Churchill, incumbent commissioner of campus improvements, wanted to end the present method of posting announcements and worked to establish two kiosks, pillars 6 to 8 feet tall to display posters. Cheryl Smith, commissioner of scholastic activi- ties, wanted to make more students aware of what A.S. funds are available. Mark Van Proyen, commissioner of fine arts, said, l want to bring to this campus films that have not been shown in commercial theaters. He worked to accomplish this goal with the help of Pat O'Brien, the chairman of video at Cal Arts, Bill Boritz, who is with the L.A. Film Co-op, and Fidel Danieli, Valley instructor of art. Ralph Griffin, Evening Division commissioner found out the average age of the night student at Valley, so he could plan activities valuable and interesting to these students. Alex Hampton, vice-president, had many projects involving Valley students. One of the projects will get the student in the stomach. Hampton worked to see a kosher style deli added to the cafeteria, and a 10 percent discount to all students holding paid lD's with purchases of 50 cents or more. Peg Foster, chief justice of the student court, was bucking, along with the rest of the RSVP members, for an objective review of the constitution by the entire council. Carolynn Kaiser, AWS president, worked toward establishing a health referral service on campus to handle women's health problems, and Ms. Kaiser also supports the campaign promise of RSVP to propose a women's self-help clinic. lirn Wenck, AMS president, planned the second annual World Pinball Championship, and estab- lished a men's health referral clinic through the AMS office. Brian Dennis, commissioner of elections, worked to promote an open, fair student body election at Valley. Lester Sloane, commissioner of public relations, worked toward getting the message to more VC students about the various activities that concern them. By making more effective use of the facilities on hand, he hopes to reach more people. He seeks better use of the various marquees on campus, more effective use of LAVC, and better distribution of the weekly student bulletin. Sherry Ann Tow, commissioner of social activi- ties, worked to implement more cultural entertain- ment on campus. I would like to bring the student back to the campus through things like dances and concerts, said Ms. Tow. Karen Bird, commissioner of women's athletics, worked toward establishing a chapter of California Association of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation at Valley. Beatrice Fortson, commissioner of Black ethnic studies, worked toward giving more information to minority students concerning their futures. I have started to meet with some of the Black students on campus. l am trying to interest them in certain activities and encourage them to attend. I am also trying to promote more Black awareness through Black history to help us get together, said Fortson. Ami Corden, commissioner of jewish ethnic studies, tried to set up information pertaining to Israel and Judaism, to set up a focal point between jews and non-jews. If the total hopes of the Spring '74 AS Council were attained, they would most likely stop the student from just coming to Valley and taking classes, instead, they would be transformed into an integral part of the LAVC scheme.