Pierce College Farm

* Re “Supporters Vow Fight to Preserve College Farm,” Sept. 22.

If, as Academic Senate President Helen Krahn states, “many of us learned of his [Leland S. Shapiro’s] complaints in the newspaper for the first time,” then perhaps she should take the cotton out of her ears and listen! Shapiro and the Ag Department have been vocal for some time about the (potential) loss of the farm or any part of it.

What has become more evident is the administration’s commitment to disposing of the farm and those who support it. For them to conduct an “ethics investigation” into Shapiro’s manner of defending his job is almost ludicrous. I have taken classes from this man. . . . He believes in his job, in the farm and in trying to save the programs for the students who go to Pierce. There are parts of a college education that cannot be measured in dollars and cents. This farm is one of them. Every effort should be made to save this part of Los Angeles tradition.

MARY E. KAUFMAN

Calabasas

* Unlike what your article insinuates, the number of students in the Pierce Agriculture Department has not been drastically reduced from its “hay days.” Percentage-wise, we are approximately the same. In the 1970s, Pierce had twice the number of students on campus and we had twice the number of those students taking classes in agriculture. We had 16 professors teaching in our department. Today we have six. For the past six years, our classes have been full with long waiting lists. Today, there is a grater need to preserve what is left of our farm. We have lost dozens of acres, sold for millions of dollars. None of that money came back to the farm. It was to cover losses of the district.

LELAND S. SHAPIRO

Director, Pre-Veterinary Science

Program, Pierce College

Simi Valley

* Thank you for the coverage on the Pierce College farm. It is unfortunate that such a valuable educational resource has become a battleground between the community that supports it and the agency charged with its management.

The community-based task force, of which I am a member, was formed in response to a long history of lack of responsiveness by the many administrations of the college to the community’s concerns about the farm and the many educational programs that utilize it. This latest decision to use the budget crisis as an excuse to proceed with the unpopular golf driving-range proposal is merely proof of the current administration’s intention to proceed without community input and without attempting to revitalize the facility in its current educational use.

The members of the task force welcome the input of all members of the community who value this public resource and are concerned with its preservation. We can be reached at (818) 700-4767.

MARLA SCRIPTER

Granada Hills

* Re “A Vision for Pierce College’s Future,” Sept. 21.

Is a synthetic landscape of networking infrastructure totally the answer for the future of Pierce College in the 21st century? The operation could be successful, but will Pierce College survive? These questions need to be fully answered before the college is written off as just another statistic.

Pierce is worthy of salvation because it is an agricultural refuge in a sea of surrounding San Fernando Valley urbanization. The growth of more buildings, automobiles and land development will not breathe new life into what remains of the campus.

The relevant description of the Valley as [having] “reached the saturation point of mechanical development and energy-intensive technologies resulting from 19th-century models” is plainly another term for overdevelopment. Urban land development cannot be master planned having total disregard for open space or landscape input.

GARY H. ROLLER

Agoura Hills

* I found Peter Testa’s scholarly “Vision for Pierce College’s Future” most compelling. Barriers to interdisciplinary planning and teaching have and continue to stifle post-secondary innovation and human creativity. Yes, educational delivery systems need transformation using current and new media to encounter the expanding web of second millennium educational requirements. College district management appears to be unable to apply strategic planning outcomes which should answer many of the transformational questions and challenges of Testa.

Pierce College needs a broader and deeper vision. It also needs broader and deeper interaction to the multilayered communities it serves. It is poised by its mission, as well as physical, cultural and strategic resources, to create new dimensions of educational leadership.

J. JERRY DOMINE

Winnetka