(no subject)
this is what happened on my first day in my art of cinema class. lol great way to start of the semester.
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Dispute over registering son, 10, leads to trouble
By John Berhman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 27, 2005
SAN MARCOS - A woman who tried to sign up her 10-year-old son for a cinema-appreciation class at Palomar College yesterday ended up being handcuffed, hauled away by campus police and charged with trespassing.
The woman, Claire Bennett, 47, of San Marcos, said she registered for the class previously and was told that she could register her son, Jonathan, on the first day of class.
She described her son as a "film savant" and said neither she nor her husband, Russell, has any problem with his watching R-rated movies.
"He's seen hundreds of films, everything from the classics to R-rated movies like "The Godfather" and "Kill Bill I and II," Russell Bennett said. "He just loves movies."
Claire Bennett said she registered for the class two months ago, primarily to accompany her son. She said she was told by school officials that because he was under 15 and didn't have a special code to register online, he could just come to the first day of class and sign up then.
"I was told by one instructor, Robert Sheppard, that he didn't want a 10-year-old in his class, but there was another, Lisa Cecere, who might take him," the mother said. "I was told by someone else in that department there wouldn't be a problem."
Cecere did not respond to messages at her home yesterday seeking comment.
"I tried all summer to reach the teacher, but couldn't," Bennett said. "Then, Thursday night, we get a voice-mail message from her that there may be a problem. She said there may be too many students in the class, and some of them need the class to graduate."
When Bennett and her son showed up for the noon class, however, she said Cecere told her she could stay, but her son would have to leave. She refused that request, even after Patrick Schwerdtfeger, dean of arts and media department, was called to talk to her.
"I had a right to be in that class," Bennett said. "And so did my son."
Then campus police were called in. Bennett still refused to leave, officers said, so police handcuffed her and took her and her son to the campus police station. She was charged with trespassing.
Campus Police Chief Anthony Cruz said officers told him that Bennett became verbally abusive and threatening to the teacher and the dean. Bennett denies that. "I'm 47 years old, 5-foot-3 and overweight," she said.
College spokesman Mark Oggel said Bennett tried to enter Sheppard's cinema class Monday, but Sheppard told her he did not want a 10-year-old in his class. Bennett denies taking her son to his class. Sheppard could not be reached for comment.
Any instructor has the right to refuse admission to a class to someone under 15, Oggel said. He said the matter is being treated as a student discipline issue, which could include being disruptive to a class. One college staff member said Bennett tried to take over the class when the teacher and dean left to call campus police.
Bennett, however, said she just talked to several students, many of whom said they didn't have a problem with her son being there.
Russell Bennett, who works in computers for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Long Beach, said his son attends the Classical Academy in Escondido two days a week and is home-schooled by his mother three days of the week.
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Dispute over registering son, 10, leads to trouble
By John Berhman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 27, 2005
SAN MARCOS - A woman who tried to sign up her 10-year-old son for a cinema-appreciation class at Palomar College yesterday ended up being handcuffed, hauled away by campus police and charged with trespassing.
The woman, Claire Bennett, 47, of San Marcos, said she registered for the class previously and was told that she could register her son, Jonathan, on the first day of class.
She described her son as a "film savant" and said neither she nor her husband, Russell, has any problem with his watching R-rated movies.
"He's seen hundreds of films, everything from the classics to R-rated movies like "The Godfather" and "Kill Bill I and II," Russell Bennett said. "He just loves movies."
Claire Bennett said she registered for the class two months ago, primarily to accompany her son. She said she was told by school officials that because he was under 15 and didn't have a special code to register online, he could just come to the first day of class and sign up then.
"I was told by one instructor, Robert Sheppard, that he didn't want a 10-year-old in his class, but there was another, Lisa Cecere, who might take him," the mother said. "I was told by someone else in that department there wouldn't be a problem."
Cecere did not respond to messages at her home yesterday seeking comment.
"I tried all summer to reach the teacher, but couldn't," Bennett said. "Then, Thursday night, we get a voice-mail message from her that there may be a problem. She said there may be too many students in the class, and some of them need the class to graduate."
When Bennett and her son showed up for the noon class, however, she said Cecere told her she could stay, but her son would have to leave. She refused that request, even after Patrick Schwerdtfeger, dean of arts and media department, was called to talk to her.
"I had a right to be in that class," Bennett said. "And so did my son."
Then campus police were called in. Bennett still refused to leave, officers said, so police handcuffed her and took her and her son to the campus police station. She was charged with trespassing.
Campus Police Chief Anthony Cruz said officers told him that Bennett became verbally abusive and threatening to the teacher and the dean. Bennett denies that. "I'm 47 years old, 5-foot-3 and overweight," she said.
College spokesman Mark Oggel said Bennett tried to enter Sheppard's cinema class Monday, but Sheppard told her he did not want a 10-year-old in his class. Bennett denies taking her son to his class. Sheppard could not be reached for comment.
Any instructor has the right to refuse admission to a class to someone under 15, Oggel said. He said the matter is being treated as a student discipline issue, which could include being disruptive to a class. One college staff member said Bennett tried to take over the class when the teacher and dean left to call campus police.
Bennett, however, said she just talked to several students, many of whom said they didn't have a problem with her son being there.
Russell Bennett, who works in computers for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Long Beach, said his son attends the Classical Academy in Escondido two days a week and is home-schooled by his mother three days of the week.