Volume 140, Issue #3
News
RAISING FUNDS FOR HURRICANE RELIEF: Clubs Join Forces with Administration to Help Evacuees
BY
JON GUNTON
Staff Writer
JACK KARP / SPECIAL TO THE GUARDSMAN |
Student organizations at City College have joined the nationwide relief effort to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina, also voicing their opinions on the controversial events that emerged in the aftermath of the storm.
“What they really need is money,” said Patty Barraza, a City College student who volunteered to help the evacuees in the Houston Astrodome. “They need it for apartments, blankets, clothes and even food.”
City College joined a statewide community college mission to each raise $10,000 for the relief effort left in Katrina’s wake.
Americorps, a federal volunteer program with offices at City College, has now focused its efforts on aiding the victims in the Gulf Coast.
“Students can help by reaching out to organizations that are involved in hurricane relief,” Annie Chan, coordinator for Americorps, said. “Now really is the time to help out.”
Americorps held a garage sale that raised $200 toward the $10,000 City College hopes to collect.
Members have also helped by answering phones for the Red Cross, and assisting case workers dealing with hurricane refugees coming to the Bay Area.
Other student organizations expressed a need for open discussion in addition to aggressive fund raising.
“They need help,” CJ McCain, president of the Black Student Union, said at a rally held at Ram Plaza Sept. 21. “The Bush administration keeps telling us they are going to help, but they don’t. These are our people. We have to make a change. This is 2005, it’s ridiculous.”
The event began as a forum for impassioned speaking, and was followed by an educational workshop in the Multicultural Center to inform students about issues regarding the hurricane.
Students Supporting Students, a student-run organization funded by City College, sponsored the event with help from the Multicultural Center and other on-campus organizations.
“We took the initiative to do a workshop because we felt we needed a venue to get people informed about race and class issues, and also let them know what some good charities to give to are,” Gustavo Lopez, educational coordinator for the Multicultural Center, said.
“Following the disaster, it was really weighing heavy on everybody’s hearts and minds,” said Jeannie Bartolones, a member of the Students Supporting Students organization. “There needed to be a forum where students could engage in a deeper dialogue with one another.”
e-mail: jgunton@theguardsman.com
FREE WI-FI ACCESS DEBUTS ON CAMPUS
BY
JON GUNTON
Staff Writer
LEILANI WEBB / GUARDSMAN |
A new wireless network on Ocean campus has given City College students the freedom to go online with their own portable devices.
“As of Sept. 12 we are in a real live network,” said Network Manager Tim Ryan of City College’s Information Technology Services. “Students now have greater access to the Internet from more places on Ocean campus.”
Any student who is enrolled at City College can register for the free service, which allows personal electronic devices with wireless capabilities to gain access to the Internet. Approximately 150 students have already signed up.
“It has been great. It is very fast,” student Joseph Coleman said. “I’ve been able to check my e-mail or do research for classes without having to go to the library.”
Information Technology Services, with administrative help from the Library Automation Services, has created five distinct “hot spots” in the Student Union, the Smith Hall cafeteria, the third and fifth floors of the Rosenberg Library and the instructional computer lab in Batmale Hall.
“We tried to cover large areas where lots of people can take advantage of it — places where lots of students tend to congregate,” Ryan said.
“The main benefit I can see immediately is greater access for students to information,” said Library Automation staff member Clinton Komiya.
“The college is dealing with cutbacks of all kinds across the boards,” Komiya said. “Many of our computers are old and need replacing, but this way we can give greater service without an added cost.”
The networking equipment was purchased over the last four years using bond money allocated for technology purposes. It was finally put into use this summer when the network construction began.
Although the wireless service is currently only active at Ocean campus, Ryan is hopeful it will eventually be available on all campuses.
“The next step is to expand it to other areas,” Ryan said. “We’re open to hear more from students about where they’d like to have it. Financially we can’t do it everywhere, but there are advantages to certain places.”
Students can sign up for the service online or get registration papers at any reference desk in Rosenberg, the computer lab in Batmale Hall or Room 205 of the Student Union.
e-mail: jgunton@theguardsman.com
NEW WORKSHOP REQUIRED FOR LOANS
BY CHRIS ALBON
Staff Writer
|
Due to a steep increase in defaults on student loans, the Financial Aid office now requires Stafford Loan recipients to attend an information workshop.
“There’s always this twinge when you ask yourself whether you should borrow more money or work more,” said Debbie Phelps, a City College student who went through the workshop. “I’m not worried about paying the loans back. Others may worry, but I’m optimistic.”
City College’s default rate was at 5.5 percent three years ago, but the number jumped to 11.5 percent in 2004. The increase prompted the college to make its loan workshops a mandatory condition for receiving Stafford money.
According to Jorge Bell, dean of Financial Aid, a default rate of 25 percent may cause colleges to lose all federal financial aid, including grants.
“There are some universities that had to suspend or discontinue their program,” Bell said. “We want to save financial aid for the students.”
But the workshops also educate students about borrowing money in general.
“We get a lot of students who don’t have a clue about borrowing,” Bell said.
This year’s default rate dropped to 7 percent, which Bell attributed to City College’s effort to educate students about borrowing.
The workshops were available in the past, but students only had to complete a 10-minute educational computer quiz online to receive their Stafford Loans.
“Interacting with other people is always better than interacting with a computer,” Phelps said.
Whether the workshops truly educate all students is a different matter altogether.
“The workshop would have been informative if I hadn’t known everything,” City College student Brien Henderson said. “I’ve had previous Stafford Loans, but, for the absolute beginner, it was informative.”
Unlike Stafford Loans, students can still receive their Perkins Loans after the completion of a computerized entrance interview.
e-mail: calbon@theguardsman.com
FEDERAL WORK STUDY HITS GLASS CEILING: On-campus job market impacted
BY CHRIS ALBON
Staff Writer
|
Some recipients have complained that Federal Work Study is not a reliable form of financial aid because it is awarded to twice as many students as jobs are available.
The discrepancy comes from a tremendous increase in students receiving financial aid, without increasing the federal funding accordingly, said Jorge Bell, dean of Financial Aid and EOPS Services.
As a result, one-half of students who were granted Federal Work Study by demonstrating financial need on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid will have no chance of earning any federally subsidized wages.
“The competition is greater. More and more students are competing for employment just because the numbers have gone up,” Bell said.
The number of students receiving financial aid has increased by 40 percent since 2003, yet the total amount of money awarded has remained the same.
“The work study allocation doesn’t match the student allocation,” said Dana Galloway, who coordinates Work Study for the Broadcast Electronic Media Arts Department. “They should make it the same so the students won’t get shafted. I don’t think it’s fair to the students.”
When the FAFSA qualifies students for Work Study, staffers at the Financial Aid Office refer them to the Career Development and Placement Center. But Indiana Quadra, chair of the center, said it has always been difficult getting every department to send their job postings.
With so few positions available, many students like Dan Ochoa “worked the process in reverse” and went directly to faculty for jobs.
“They’re not really equipped to find you a job,” Ochoa said of the career center. “I looked at the binder and called a couple of departments but they were all full by the time I called them.”
“Three years ago, we had more Work Study than students that were willing to work. They were finding jobs other places and making more money,” said Bell, who attributes the new demand to the poor economy.
Although Work Study pays below minimum wage at $8.50 an hour, for a maximum of 15 hours per week, student Glenn Bachmann said it will do for now.
“I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth,” he said.
e-mail: calbon@theguardsman.com
QUEER RESOURCE CENTER OPENS IN STUDENT UNION
BY JEREMY BUDDEMEIER
Contributing Writer
|
Steve Ibarra has faced opposition for most of his life. But nothing could have prepared him for what happened last week.
While plowing through his algebra homework, he received a death threat in his voicemail.
Ibarra, the Queer Alliance group president and Queer Resource Center coordinator, was startled at first, but remained unfazed.
“We’re not scared,” he said. “I refuse to let them impede our progress.”
He did not notify campus police.
Ibarra and others have been fighting for the past four and a half years to establish a permanent location for the Queer Resource Center. When the kiosk on the Student Union building’s main floor became available, Ibarra jumped at the chance. He had been passed over numerous times or was offered what he deemed an inadequate amount of space in the past.
“Haven’t we been in the closet long enough?” Ibarra quipped.
Although the Queer Resource Center technically moved in this summer, it has provided resources and referred students to services since the fall semester began. It averages 40 to 45 students per day, and about 15 students subscribe to the e-mail list, which provides information about upcoming events.
“It’s a non-threatening atmosphere where people can pass on experiences,” said Johann Stahl, who volunteers and uses the center for nearly five hours per day. “It’s a good vibe kind of place.”
Stahl, 51, is one of the four volunteers who staff the Queer Resource Center during the day.
Volunteers provide information about how to obtain Pell Grants, scholarships, housing, free HIV testing, condoms and mental health services. They also provide referrals to support groups around the city.
Although fully sponsored by the campus, the center does not currently receive any funding.
In the next couple of weeks, Ibarra hopes to submit a Phase I proposal — which forecasts how many students will utilize the center and the amount of money required to accomplish its mission — to Associated Students.
Until then, volunteers split their time between classes, homework and taking turns holding down the fort.
They all agreed it was worth the effort.
SAN FRANCISCO COMMUNITY COLLEGE POLICE DISPATCH
|
Sept. 20 , 10:57 a.m.
Ocean Campus
Officers pepper-sprayed an expelled suspect after he returned to campus and resisted the officers’ attempt to remove him. The suspect tried to strike an officer but missed, punching a sergeant in the shoulder. The suspect was taken to County Jail Nine and booked for battery and trespassing.
Sept. 27 6:08 a.m.
Ocean Campus
A student, while using the restroom in Rosenberg Library, noticed another student masturbating and staring at him through a crack in the stall door. The student apprehended the person and brought him to a phone to call the police, who released him after issuing a citation.
DOUBLE VISION: A City College Column
BY DAN VEREL
Editor
Every City College student probably has a story as to how and why they ended up at this microcosm of a campus.
Whether it’s financial constraints, convenience or simply the fact that not everyone is ready to attend a four-year institution upon leaving high school, this campus is comprised of perhaps one of the most diverse student bodies in the country.
For students like myself, though, there are other reasons as to why, at age 25, I am still pursuing higher education six years after my initial introduction to academia.
Like many residents of San Francisco, I am not from here. Bad decisions, chemical dependency and pending legal troubles landed me in cities all over the East Coast, before finally head-ing west to start anew.
My three years in Boston are a distant blur. My younger years in Connecticut culminated in the accidental pellet gun shooting of the local homeless man, and New York City was way too conducive to a budding cocaine habit.
Yet somehow, despite living within walking distance of seven bars, I’ve managed to curb the biweekly blackouts that plagued much of my young adult life before enrolling at City College.
I can assure you that I am not alone when I express this plight, as nearly all of my friends here at school have endured a similar past.
The beauty of having a place with so many people who have learned to enjoy their indulgent habits with less frenzy, is that you end up with the most dedicated, determined student population, all striving for one common goal: the betterment of one’s personal life.
e-mail: sports@theguardsman.com
City College at Large
Call or e-mail Elizabeth Pfeffer with campus-wide news at: (415) 239-3446 or metronews@theguardsman.com
Evans Campus
Apprenticeship programs are currently being offered by City College with the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards, and local joint apprenticeship committees for students enrolled in trade, applied science and technology programs. The apprenticeships last between three and five years.
Mission Campus
The campus is offering working adults an accelerated degree program in Psychology and Studies of Ethnic Minorities in the United States. The six-week course meets Friday nights from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a total of 54 credit hours.
John Adams Campus
City College is offering a “Steps to Success” workshop geared toward students on academic probation who are enrolled in credit courses. The workshop will be held on Oct. 12 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in room 103 and Oct. 26 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in room 129.
Downtown Campus
In observance of Latino Heritage Month, the Downtown campus is presenting a lecture and DVD documentary on
the El Rey: Olmec Head Project in room 831. Will Maynez is sponsoring the event about the Olmec Head, which is said by scholars to be a hallmark of the Olmec civilization.
Short Cuts
Cafeteria Caters to Evening Students
Students, faculty and staff on Ocean campus in the early evenings won’t have to leave campus to find dinner anymore. The Smith Hall Cafeteria will be open weekdays from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for the remainder of the fall semester. The weekly menu can be found in City Currents, the City College newsletter.
FBI Warns of Katrina Scams
Since Sept. 1, over 4000 Katrina-related Web sites have been created. C I Host, a Web hosting firm, has estimated that as many as 2,400 of these sites are involved in fraudulent activities. The FBI has identified over 800 phony American Red Cross sites so far. They caution people not to respond to solicitations sent via e-mail, and also warn that the messages could contain computer viruses.
Light Smokers Still at Risk
A new study published in the Tobacco Control journal shows that people who smoke as little as one cigarette a day have a greatly increased risk of dying of lung cancer or heart disease. Scientists from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health tracked 43,000 men and women for 32 years. Men who smoked as few as four cigarettes a day were three times as likely to develop the diseases than non-smokers. Women were five times as likely.