The Banner, Vol. 33 No. 3 - October 7, 1988

              The
nner
Volume XXXIII, Number 3
A Publication of the Students of Cal Baptist
October 7, 1988
Hazardous chemical removed from storeroom
By  Daniel  P.  Pryfogle
Editor for the Banner	
"Can turn to explosive," read
the label on an old rusty can.
And it did.
Just after 6PM Wednesday evening, approximately one pound of
crystalized picric acid, found in a
crate inside the science storeroom, was removed by Riverside
County Sheriffs and detonated
with plastic explosives on the
college's 15-acre lot on Magnolia
Avenue.
At 4PM all students, staff, and
faculty were evacuated from the
main building. Entrances to the
building were closed off, as two
detectives from the Riverside
County Hazardous Device Team
and members of the fire department worked to seal off the storeroom.
A crowd of over 70 students and
staff gathered to watch, many of
which had come to the cafeteria
for dinner. In addition, a reporter
and cameraman from NBC were
present.
Nearly two hours later, the acid
was removed from the science
wing, placed in an explosion container, and driven out to the 15-
acre lot Here, it was combined
with plastic explosives and detonated, creating an explosion that
set off alarms at nearby residences.
Faculty quality in top five
By  Kerri  Hollinger
Assistant Editor for the Banner
Cal Baptist was recently ranked
by U.S. News and World Report
as one of the top five regional
liberal-arts colleges in faculty
quality.
The annual comparison of the
nation's colleges and universities
ranks the schools in the areas of
faculty quality, retention, selectivity, and resources. Rankings
were based upon percentage of
Bill Hogue, executive director of the Southern Baptist Genera!
Convention of California spoke to students recently during
Denominational Awareness Week.    (Photo by Brenda S.
Flowers)
full-time faculty with doctorates,
faculty-student ratio and instructional budget per student.
Other schools listed in the category of faculty quality were Gal-
laudet University (D.C.), Ohio
Wesleyan University, Simon's
Rock of Bard College (Mass.),
and Spertus College of Judaica.
"One benefit of a small college
is the opportunity for student-
teacher interaction and the development of significant mentor relationships," says assistant professor of religion Dr. Susan
Shaw. "The national recognition
of Cal Baptist by U.S. News and
World Report points to the priority given to these relationships
by the school in terms of faculty
qualifications, student-teacher ratio, and instructional budget."
The schools considered were divided into five brackets: national
universities, national liberal-arts
colleges, comprehensive colleges,
small comprehensive colleges,
and regional liberal-arts colleges.
According to U.S. News and
World Report, "highly trained
teachers and large instructional
budgets alone do not ensure a
great education."
Ernest Benjamin of the American Association of University
Professors claims that "apart
from prestige, what people are
buying at small private colleges
are smaller classes and individual
attention."
"Being recognized in a national
publication such as U.S. News
see Faculty, page 6
Detective Harold Posey who
detonated the acid said that the explosion was a combination of approximately one-eighth plastic
explosive and seven-eighths picric acid. Had the acid exploded in
the storeroom, Posey stated "you
could have just scratched that
wing."
New chemistry professor L.
Alan Fossett discovered the picric
acid recently while going through
some "old chemicals we inherited
from some chemical lab that shut
down."
During the annual inspection of
the chemistry storeroom by sheriffs Wednesday, Fossett reported
the container of picric acid. According to Dr. Ed Harvey, chairman of the science division, picric acid is safe when in liquid
form.
However, as sheriffs reported
later, the container of acid had
crystallized. "If it dries out, it
becomes explosive," said Harvey.
Fire Inspector Randy Griffith
warned that the container could
"detonate by just moving the
cap.
Added one inspector, we are
"trying to take all precautions."
Students who were not allowed
into the cafeteria for dinner congregated in front of the BOL.
Some sat waiting while others
sang songs, accompanied by a
guitar, and listened to a two minute sermon by senior Dave Rose
on the second coming of Christ.
Commented one student, "this
was the best activity all year."B
IEALC policy reassessed
due to student complaints
By  Daniel  P.  Pryfogle
Editor for the Banner	
Just three weeks after instituting a new policy regarding
IEALC cards, the Annie Gabriel
Library staff has decided to reassess the policy due to complaints
by students.
According to reference librarian
June Reeder, the policy was discussed over two meetings September 30 and October 3, and the
library committee decided to
change the initial plan "because
of the number of complaints we
had."
The policy of three weeks ago
required students to apply through
Stephen Gateley, director of library services, who provided a
worksheet whichxalled for checking the card catalog, periodical indexes, and the library collection
for materials needed. Gateley
then reviewed the worksheet and
decided whether or not to issue a
card.
The revamped policy includes a
single page process, which, according to ASCBC President
Steve Berzansky, is "more a research aid rather than a bureaucratic process."
In addition, the card will be issued for a full semester, rather
than for three weeks, and can be
issued by Reeder, Gateley, and
Barbara Holohan, periodicals librarian.
Said Reeder, "At this time Mr.
Gateley wants only the three of
us to give out the cards."
Reeder indicated two reasons
why the library instituted the card
policy in the first place, pointing
to a reciprocal lending agreement
of the Inland Empire Academic
see Card policy, page 7
INSIDE
Fdcus: A Dukakis
Presidency?
...page 4
Just around the corner
...page 3
"Light!" feature
...page 7
Volleyball: ranked 19th in
NAIApoll
...page 8