Summer dreaming at OCC

Jim Carnett

Spring classes got under way this week at Orange Coast College, but

the campus is already abuzz with summer plans.

Three courses will be offered at OCC’s spectacular Rabbit Island

facility in British Columbia. Orange Coast might be the only

community college in the nation with its own international island.

Located 50 miles north of Vancouver, at the top of the Strait of

Georgia, Rabbit Island was donated to OCC two years ago by Southern

California yachtsman Henry Wheeler of Downey. Several classes were

offered there last summer.

Home to Orange Coast College’s Wheeler Research Station, the

40-acre wooded island rests in a beautiful archipelago. An abundance

of narrow passages, beaches and coves, teeming with marine life,

encompass the area.

Summer Rabbit Island courses are posted on the college’s website,

at orangecoastcollege.com. Visitors to the site should click first on

“Class Schedule,” then on “Courses on Rabbit Island.”

Summer course offerings include field archeology (Anthropology

282), island ecology (Ecology 110) and special projects photography

(Photography 260AD).

The three-unit field archeology class introduces students to

strategies and techniques required for the archeological excavation

of a prehistoric site. The class meets on campus on Mondays, July 11

and Aug. 8, and on the island July 24 to 29.

Anthropology professor William Breece teaches the course. Breece

may be contacted at (714) 432-5798.

The three-unit island ecology class will explore the marine

intertidal environment found in the Rabbit Island archipelago. The

course will be taught by marine science professor Dennis Kelly.

Kelly, who taught an ecology class at the island last summer, was

recently named OCC’s Faculty Member of the Year for 2004-05. He is

nationally acclaimed for his dolphin research.

The island ecology class meets on the island July 10 to 16. For

information, contact Kelly at (714) 432-5564.

The two-unit special projects photography course will meet for

seven weeks on campus, beginning June 8. The six-day Rabbit Island

field trip is scheduled for June 19 to 24. Shooting photos in a

spectacular natural environment, students will each work on

developing a portfolio.

Course instructor Blade Gillissen taught photography at the island

last year. He may be reached at (714) 432-5844.

Wheeler Research Station consists of four large water-view cabins,

a cozy lodge and outbuildings. Resting under trees and on top of rock

outcroppings, the cabins and lodge are at different elevations and

connected by wooden walkways. The island has its own power-generating

station, using diesel, solar and wind generation. A desalinization

system provides fresh water.

Summer session begins June 20

OCC’s 2005 summer session begins the week of June 20 and will

consist of four-, six- and eight-week classes.

Summer classes are open to OCC students, members of the community,

high school juniors and seniors, and students at four-year colleges

and universities.

The 2005 summer schedule will be listed on OCC’s website

(orangecoast college.com) in early April. Four-week classes will

conclude July 15; six-week classes will close on July 29; and eight-

week classes will conclude Aug. 12.

OCC’s printed schedule will be available on campus, free of

charge, beginning April 25.

Summer enrollment fees are $26 per unit.

For application or registration information, call (714) 432-5072.

National champs ... again

Congrats to OCC’s dance team, which captured its seventh

successive national championship Jan. 15 and 16 at Walt Disney World

Resort in Orlando, Fla.

The competition was sponsored by the Universal Cheerleaders Assn.

The Pirates were champions of the open division.

OCC’s dancers have captured the national title seven years in a

row and eight out of the last nine. Twenty-three universities

competed in the Orlando field this year.

* JIM CARNETT is senior director of community relations at Orange

Coast College. He writes the biweekly On Campus at OCC Column. Reach

him at jcarnett@occ.cccd.edu or by calling (714) 432-5725.