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Show f JXU rr1 vmP - ...i-lv. t fiJ x r-v I i ; 1 . Monday, May 2, 1988 Weber State college Vol. 48 No. 61 r t .. . t " ; 1 - : ; - ' '.t-r-y . $"V --- - ,.r - vpuJ2 " x x" ' "s .'-vv V ' , . - . Now this is what I call study hall These United Parcel Service workers combine studying and getting some sun as they take advantage of the good weather on the lawn near Promontory Towers. The UPS workers recently held a conference here. (Signpost photo: Judd Bundy) Board of Regents gives okay to new telecourse system Noting that thousands of new students seek access to Utah colleges and universities every year, the Utah State Board of Regents voted last March to allow all nine public colleges and universities to offer courses on television statewide as one means of preserving access. "We arc at the very beginning of a long creativity test," said Wm. Rolfe Kerr, Utah Commissioner of Higher Education. "Over the next 20 years the State Board of Regents will be challenged to undertake every possible innovation to make a Utah higher education available to all the students who seek access. Today's action is one of many efforts that will be made to keep the doors to a higher education open. The course work will be broadcast over KULC-Channcl 9 and KUED-Channel 7. All but Dixie College will soon be linked via a microwave system and KULC-Channcl 9, a part of Utah's telecommunications network that distributes college and public education offerings to students who can't attend classes for whatever reason. Programming for Channel 9 originates from the state's colleges and universities and from the State Office of Education. Currently about 1,500 students are enrolled in five courses telecast over Channel 9. The 1988-89 expanded listing of course offerings includes courses in the history of film, political science, sociology, geography, calculus, art history, photography, physics, microcomputer applications in business, biology, intermediate algebra, economics and psychology. Courses also include an award-winning video series on the history of Utah, Utah's architectural heritage and a political science class based on "The Africans," a public television program. Courses are taught by instructors from the University of Utah, Utah State University and Snow College. Weber State will offer classes in criminal justice, respiratory therapy and medical technology, according to Bob King, audio and television station manager at WSC. Credit obtained by successfully completing these courses is fully transferable to any of Utah's colleges and universities. Adult illiteracy causes embarrassment but can be overcome Coral Lou Glenn Asst. News Editor Twenty million people in the United States 18 or older -- are illiterate, and 20 million more have low literacy, which means they can read words, but they don't always under their meaning, according to Sandra Collins, director of the Adult Literacy Program in Weber County. "Nationwide, adult illiteracy has reached crisis proportions," said Collins. Adult illiteracy is also a problem locally. "One in five Weber residents can't read," said Collins. "That's 12,000 in our county that can't read and write well enough to function in the basic requirements of everyday living, such as filling out job applications, signing a check, or following the directions on a bottle of medicine." Collins said life for an adult illiterate person can be embarrassing, isolated and a scries of lost opportunities. "I'm tired of being on the low end of the pay scale," said 37-year-old Charles Fife, assistant custodian at Central Middle School, and a participant in the Weber County Adult Literacy Program. "My application for head custodian has been skipped over many times because U of U president wants toy gun back (CPS) -- University of Utah President Chase Peterson wants his cap gun back. Peterson, whose father Elmer George Peterson served as president of Utah Stale University during the 1930s, placed the toy in what he thought was a safe place 50 years ago. In 1938, when Peterson was 8 years old, the gun Peterson's most prized possession at the lime was scaled will) other memorabilia in a time capsule in the cornerstone of Utah State's Old Main building. But when Utah Slate officials opened the time capsule earlier this month in conjunction with USU's 100th anniversary, Peterson's gun wasn't there. "There wasn't a cap gun in the items we took out of the cornerstone," said Utah State Vice President for University (see GUN on page 2) I can't read," said Fife. "I've worked hard for 15 years, and I deserve to be a head custodian. "It didn't bother me that I couldn't read until I went to work with the school district," Fife said. "Then, when teachers would leave notes in my box to fix a broken chair, or a leaky faucet, it was embarrassing to have to ask what it said." Fife said he joined the Adult Literacy Program at the library when he realized the district wasn't going to advance him until he learned to read. "I really like the program at the library," said Fife. "When I began three years ago I was barely reading on a low first grade level. Now I am reading on a fifth grade level." "The Weber County Adult Literacy Program is designed to lake a student through the program at his own pace," said Collins. "It's a one-on-onc approach, and we work not only on developing their reading skills, but on building their self-confidence, assuring them they can do it. "So many have had negative experiences', that it is important to retrain their thought process," Collins said. "The tutors are all volunteers who (see ILLITERACY on page 2) Inside ... Arts & Entertainment Classifieds News Opinion Signature Sports page 8 page 11 page 2 page 4 pages 6-7 page 9 .rC..,.. Mistcaks? In the Sighnpost No wcih! Sea pages 6-7 Tracksters shine Sec page 9 |