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											February 4, 1977

Dear Mr. Critchfield,
 
	Three or four weeks ago I phoned Linda Heineke and told her I noticed that the etching
 
press had developed a little quirk, which made the pressure reading and actual adjustment
 
slightly disparate on one side.  It is my opinion that with proper use the press will continue
 
to function well; one spring may be slightly weakened.  Sometime later Linda Heineke told
 
me she might put a bar and lock on the press which would prevent students from making
 
faulty (unbalanced) pressure adjustments during unsupervised hours.  In passing, I said that
 
sounded fine.  (Since printmaking is a very time-demanding activity, the college has an
 
"open lab" policy which permits students to print and do some other printmaking processes 
 
any time the building is unlocked.)
 
	On Monday January 31 I arrived in advance of my class.  This day was to be the last
 
full class period of printing before a critique of 1/3 of the Quarter's work which I had
 
scheduled for Wednesday February 2 at 8 P.M.  Perhaps ten students were planning to print on
 
the etching press; a student was printing on each of the two lithography presses; three students
 
were doing photo exposures; and the rest of my students were working on projects in room A2.
 
With no warning whatsoever, I discovered the etching press had been fitted with a lock, was
 
locked, and not only locked, but tightened to a position where neither myself nor any strong 
 
man could run the press through.  Thinking Linda had forgotten to give me a key, I consulted
 
with her secretary.  She indicated she knew nothing about it.  Leaving my class at a standstill, 
 
I went with her to the Department of Continuing Education and phoned Linda Heineke at home.
 
She indicated to me that the key to the pressure fixing barrier was hidden behind a picture 

hanging in her office.  I told her I thought it was thoughtless not to have informed me re. the
 
situation and it was a great inconvenience to my tightly-organized class to have this long 

wait, but that since the the bar was just installed I would accept it as an oversight.
 
	After loosening the pressure about 1/4 turn we continued our printing.  The method
 
of locking limited adjustments to 180 degree intervals but I needed a much finer adjustment.
 
At the end of my class I locked the press in a looser position than was ideal -- given the 180 

degree separations -- and returned the key to the hook behind the picture hanging in Linda's office.
 
	On Wednesday February 2 I arrived well in advance of my class, planning to cut some zinc
	
sheets the Bookstore had brought upstairs for me.  At 5:45 P.M. Linda Heineke's secretary and
 
I talked about the lock to the acid cupboard.  Since Linda had lost her key she had just installed 

a new combination lock.  Through her secretary she requested that I unlock the old lock with my
 
key and turn in both key and old lock to her secretary, which I did.  Entering the classroom about 

6:20 I found the etching blankets draped over the end of the press and wrinkled and compressed
 
to one side as they passed through the cylinders -- as Susan Oviatt later saw them.  The normal

ans safe way to adjust the blankets is to center the press, loosen the pressure slightly, move blankets
 
into place, re-adjust pressure.  Returning to Linda's secretary, I asked her if Linda had left a key 

for me.  She said she didn't know.  So again I looked behind the picture, only to find the key gone.
 
	I walked to the administration building, found the attached note in my box, and asked
 
to see you.  In your absence, I showed the note to Susan Oviatt who decided to phone Linda
 
Heineke at home.  I returned to my classroom.  Finding it impossible to print large plates with
 
the blankets in such a position, I returned to the Office of Continuing Education and requested
	
that someone there see the classroom situation for himself.  Since you were occupied,
 
Susan Oviatt visited the classroom.  Susan said she would report my views to you and that
 
she thought a meeting of the interested parties was advisable.  I agreed.
 
	I then asked a strong student to hold the whole weight of the press bed as I ran
 
the bed out to an extreme and unchecked position, hopefully without causing shredding at
 
the side; repositioned the blankets; and re-engaged the press.
 
 
 


 
 
My views are as follows:
 
I.  I must have complete control over ALL the equipment and chemicals I am using during
 
the time I am teaching my class.  (I will lock up all necessary things when I leave, as always.)
 
II.  As a print teacher of 5 years standing at Foothill, and having a high caliber class producing
 
over that period of time more than half of the intaglio work done at Foothill, I request democracy 
 
in the decision-making that affects me, my students, and my performance in the classroom.
 
 
 
 
	I hope a meeting of concerned people, including Gordon Holler, and perhaps even some
 
dis-interested staff, as Susan Oviatt suggested, can be arranged soon.  Further, I think periodic
 
meetings involving all print department people should be held.  Open, democratic communication
 
should prevail on all on-going concerns we share:  e.g. adequate, locked storage space for those
 
of us without offices; supplies and budget; upkeep; cleanliness of the shop; etc.
 
 
									Yours sincerely, 
 
 
 
									Edith Smith


cc. Susan Oviatt