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• 666 Jofinson Street, _fl{pena <M_J 49707 1/o{ume 6 / Issue 4 <Decem6er 11, 1996 -Views differ on parking policy • An average of 70% of parking tickets unpaid BY KENT ANDERSON NEWS EDITOR The parking policy at Alpena Community College is a red - flag issue for some stu- dents and faculty, and perhaps the hottest topic, the brightest flag, is the issuing of tickets. The1996-97studenthand- book clearly states that every- one at the college must obey the parking regulations. Dr. Don Newport, ACC president, confirmed this, say- ing, "We all have the responsi- bility of abiding by the campus regulations." Also, a memo is- sued to ACC's parking depart- ment by Tom Bowman, dean of administrative services, on July 14, 1994, says that faculty are to be ticketed if they violate the parking regulations. No change in the policy mentioned in the memo has ever been passed down, according to the parking department's supervi- sor, Ted Kruse. Also, he stated, the re would be hofaculty desig- nated parking slots. Handi- cap and no-park- ing areas would be the only , ones set · aside, ac- cording to Bow- " man. This comes a f t e r changes in the f parking Van Lare Hall but have to park behind the Center due to in- sufficient staff parking space in the Van Lare Hall lot. This requires a long walk across Johnson Street to get to work. Commenting on what he sees as a lack of traffic back-up waiting to enter the Van Lare Hall and Natural Resources · Center lots, Newport said that "if visual inspection has any merit at all, the new arrange- ment seems to be functioning very well." A cross - section of college staff, according to Newport, was involved in the concep- tion of the new parking rules. The policy they approved over the summer was "tweaked" by the Dean's Council and then implemented, Newport said. About the new organiza- tion of the parking rules, New- port said, "What this policy really revolves around is put- ting the customer first." And, ACC Parking Tickets , 4000 Parking Tickets issued on average each year But tickets are still issued and Kruse said that, on aver- age, he issues 4,000 tickets a year. When the voided tickets, faculty tickets, tickets issued to students who do not re - regis- ter, and outstanding (faculty tickets are not considered to be outstanding) unpaid tickets are ■ Tickets unpaid D Tickets paid a ticket, the revenue collected yearly comes to approximately $12,300, according to Bowman. A running total of out- standing tickets is kept, Bow- man said, and the number of unpaid tickets at present is 10,000, a figure that goes back several years. Despite the aforemen- tioned facts and Newport's statement, it remains unclear whether or not faculty pay any parking fines they receive. Bowman said that he could not confirm either that most faculty pay their fines or most faculty do not pay their fines. PHOTO BY POLEMIC STAFF A parking ticket decorates the windshield of an unsuspecting customer parked in the VLH lot. policy were ex- ecuted. No fac- ultypark- ingisnow allowed in the But any discussion of tick- ets may be pointless because, according to Bowman, under "strong consideration" for the fall of 1997 is a new parking policy that would be "first come, first serve." Under this new policy concept, he said, vehicle registrq,tion would no longer be required and tickets would no longer, be issued. Besser Technical Center or Natural Resources Center lots. Also, faculty and staff parking "We all have the responsibility of abiding by the campus regulations;" -Dr. Newport- The parking department's budget is composed entirely of the revenue from the col- lected ticket fines, according to Bowman. For him to project the department's budget for a forthcoming year, Bowman said that it is necessary to base his figures on the average num- ber of collected fines per year. According to Kruse, fac- ulty do not have ,to pay their fines. Also, the faculty con- tract contains no mention of any exemption from paying ticket fines, stated Sandy Libka, director of human resources. at Van Lare Hall has been in this case, the customers are moved closer to Johnson Street, the students. not n,ear the building as before. ,, And the custQmers seem Another change l.s that o be pleased, according to p4rkingbehind the new Center Heather Wooll, Student Sen- building is restricted to faculty ate president. There have been and staff.. Complaints have nostudentcomplaintsbrought arisen from staff who work in to her attention, Wooll said. subtracted, the average num- ber of tickets collected each year is 1200. · In other words, 2800 tickets per year go uncollected, and a disproportionate share of col- lections are borne by ACC stu- dents. Costing from $10 to $25 He said that included in the budget are Kruse's part - time salary, th,e wages o~ work j - study student employees, parking supplies, miscella- neous items, and fringe ben-· efits. Tickets keep the depart- ment running. Housing history explored PHOTO BY POLEMIC STAFF ACC's Business Department discusses accreditation. From left: Kim Chan, Brenda Buchner, Dan Cary and department chair Linda Suneson. Not pictured: Lee Kirkpatrick. Business Department seeks accreditation BY CHARLES K HURST STAFF WRITER Alpena Community College's Business De- partment hopes to have its accreditation through the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) by May of 1997. ' This specialized accreditation will pertain only to the Accounting and Business Manage- ment programs, making it easier for students to transfer credits to four year schools. It's also a statement to the faculty, students, and prospective employers that the programs meet certain high level standards set forth by theACBSP. The ACBSP educational standards reflect a · strong commitment to: 1. the enhancement of student learning 2. the advancement of teaching excellence 3. the measurement of program effectiveness 4. the preparation of students for successful careers 5. the recognition of unique organizational missions. "I think this accreditation will definitely say something about the quality of education avail- able through the business department," said Linda Suneson, Accounting instructor and Chair ·of the Business Department at ACC. S~eson has been a key member in the planning of this project. She was responsible for the self study evaluation of the business depart- ment, which was required by ACBSP. On November 17, ACBSP sent a team of two education professionals to ACC: Deanna Timmons, business/ technology division chair- person, and Von Plessner, accounting and busi- ness management chairperson. The team's purpose was to verify the facts contained in the self study evaluation, and no- tify ACBSP's Board of Commissioners about their findings. The Board will then render a decision on whether or not theACC business department will receive its accreditation. BY HOLLY MACE STAFF WRITER As the construction of the new student housing takes place on campus, one question goes through the minds of some people -- why did the previous student housing cease to exist? In 1967, Alpena Commu- nityCollegeopened the Russell J. Wilson Dormitory for stu- dents in what is now Luther Manor on Wilson Street, ac- cording to Frank McCourt in Job Development. McCourt became · affili- ated with housing in 19-71 when he was Dean of Stu- dents. In the winter of 1972, he became Housing Director and lived there for a semester as Head Resident. He remained Housing Director from that time until 1985-86, when the dorms were closed and later sold byDr. Charles Donnelly, president of ACC at the time. The dormitory had a ca- pacity of 246 students, said McCourt, many of whom came from the Concrete Technology Program, foreign countries such as Micronesia, and the Thumb and Detroit areas. The dorm closed in 1985- 86, after approximately 18 years of existence, due to de- creased enrollment and bud- get problems caused by the state of the economy, stated McCourt. In response to the question of drugs and alcohol being a factor in the shut down, McCourt responded by saying, "Any time you get 150 stu- dents together, you're going to have some alcohol abuse and some miscellaneous drug use, but there wasn't anything sig- nificant enough that would be a cause to close the dormitory . . "There were not any more drug and alcohol problems in the dormitory at the time I. operated it than there were at any other college campus any- where," he added. When asked to predict the success of the new housing, McCourt said, "It's our first experience with on-campus apartments, but it's certainly a dire need. We've needed stu- · dent housing on campus for a · long time." PHOTO BY POLEMIC STAFF Luther Manor on Wilson Street is the site of ACC's last attempt at student housing. -I N s I D E Sant Page A Exchange "i -~ ~,1~~ Art Page'S Page8