Curtains Up
DVC drops home game
‘Urinetown’ opens at DVC to a positive review.
Vikings lose to conference leader Sacramento City.
Entertainement - Page 3
Volume 75 Number 4
Sports - Page 4
Copyright © 2009 Diablo Valley College - The Inquirer
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Finances reason for test changes
DVC is ready to be judged
Christian Villanueva Staff writer
Rory Moore Staff writer
Next month, DVC will resume testing entering students on their writing and reading comprehension skills, but it will be a different test than the one used for the past 15 years. The college’s Assessment Committee voted last month to introduce Accuplacer, a computerized, multiple-choice reading test and a student-written essay, also scored by the computer. Accuplacer will replace the essay students previously wrote in response to a prompt, which was then evaluated by two English professors. Students’ scores determine whether they are recommended for placement in remedial and basic skills English classes or eligible for English 122, the college’s transfer-level composition class. English 122 is also a prerequisite for certain courses in other DVC departments “Money,” was English department chair Nancy Zink’s one-word answer as to why the college decided to switch. “English wanted to keep it the way it was,” Zink said. “We just couldn’t afford the
An evaluation team will be on campus Nov. 3-4 to determine whether DVC has made sufficient progress to remain an accredited college. The team will collect evidence and talk with students, faculty, staff and administrators to verify an 82-page report submitted by DVC earlier this month to the Accreditation Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The report outlines how the college has fixed problems identified by a previous evaluation team that led the Commission last February to downgrade DVC’s status to one step short of losing its accreditation. DVC President Judy Walters said she is confident the college is prepared for the team’s visit. “Absolutely, because of all the people we have had working on this,” she said. “If you look at the actions taken, the only clear solution is that we have satisfied all of the recommendations.” During the spring and summer terms, work groups under the umbrella of an oversight task force implemented the
Pay to Park
Associated Students say ‘no’ to endorsing parking pass fee increase
Oksana Yurovsky Staff writer The Associated Students of DVC voted not to endorse a proposed parking fee increase at a meeting Tuesday, while members of Students for a Democratic Society crowded into the room waving picket signs. “The battle is won but the
See TEST, page 6
struggle is far from over,” said Brian Donovan, president of SDS after the vote. ASDVC members voted 17-13 to not endorse the proposal, while 13 members abstained. Facing steadily increasing operating costs, the district’s police services See PARKING, page 6
Elise Acredolo / The Inquirer
See ACCREDITATION, page 6
Bookstore ‘red ink’ forces cuts to services Troy Patton Staff writer The DVC Bookstore continues to pare down a six-digit deficit after operating five of the last six years at a loss. Still on the table is possible elimination of the 5 percent discount for students with Associated Students of DVC stickers. “We’re having discussions at this time about [it],” said Bill Oye, dean of student life. The 5 percent discount for faculty was discontinued last semester. While exact numbers won’t be compiled until the end of the school year, Bookstore manager Elise Acredolo / The Inquirer Bill Foster was optimistic. “The reports I have seen
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so far look promising,” he said. So far, total sales this semester amount to $2.9 million, compared to $3 million for all of the previous semester – even though overall, sales are down 1.5 percent, Foster said. To chip away at the debt, Foster said the store negotiated a better shipping rate with UPS, cut its hourly staff from six people to three and now closes its Peet’s Coffee service at 2 p.m., instead of 7 p.m. Chris Leivas, vice president of finance and administration, said collegewide budget cuts may be contributing to the bookstore’s financial problems. See DEBT, page 6
46
Days until finals
Thursday, October, 2009
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60
yrs of Inquirer history “It was a constant pressure to try to remain a newspaper and have integrity and deal with the tension of not being liked or understood.” - Jim Jacobs, former Inquirer adviser
Ariel Messman-Rucker Editor in chief
On a foggy night two days before Christmas 1985, a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron airplane slammed through the roof of Macy’s department store in Concord’s Sun Valley Mall. Six people were killed, including Brian Oliver, 23, a DVC student and former “Enquirer” reporter, who was a passenger in the plane. On the ground, Patricia Larson, 45, a DVC student and current “Enquirer” reporter, was seriously burned and among the nearly 100 people injured. She died later in the hospital. Almost 25 years later, English professor Jim Jacobs, the Enquirer’s faculty adviser at the time, cannot talk about the students he lost without tearing up. “I’m still a little emotional about it,” he says. By the time Jacobs became adviser in 1976, the student newspaper had morphed from the “East Contra Costa Junior College Newsletter” in 1950 to the” Viking Reporter” in 1955 and the “Enquirer” in 1972. In the late 1970s and mid-1980s, the “Enquirer” covered a slew of exciting including a DVC student who stole $3 million, setting a record for the most amount of money stolen from a Brinks truck. “He and a partner concocted a scheme…and they nearly made it out of the country,” Jacobs says. There were also controversial stories including scandals in student government, feminist demonstrations and protests against nuclear armament. “If there is any single unchanging reality on this campus it’s the level of corruption in the Associated Students over the years,” Jacobs says. Reporting on stories people would rather have kept under wraps gave student reporters a window into the world of professional journalism. “It was a constant pressure to try to remain a newspaper and have integrity and deal with the tension of not being liked or understood,” Jacob recalls. “If a negative drama review appeared the drama teacher would hate us. If a story critical of the administration appeared, administrators would take a dislike.” Jackie Pels, who joined the newspaper in 1976 after taking Jacobs’ introductory news writing course, says, “I loved [the class], and he conned me into
working on the paper.” Now retired after many years as an editor at the “Contra Costa Times” and the “San Francisco Chronicle,” Pels owns a publishing company, does freelance editing and has written three books of nonfiction. A mother of six and in her early 40’s when she joined the “Enquirer,” Pels says it was a chaotic time. “I madly rode my bike out to DVC while [my youngest son] was in nursery school, took one class and then would madly ride my bike back,” she recalls. One of the highlights was an assignment to cover Dennis Banks, head of the American Indian Movement, when he spoke at DVC. A picture taken of her and Banks during her interview remains a treasured item. In those days, “Enquirer” stories were delivered to the campus typesetter, who retyped the copy and headlines on a machine called a “Veritype.” The photographic paper then went through a developer process. The students returned to the lab with columns of type and the headlines, which were run through a waxer and “pasted up” on the page. From 1972 to 1984, one of Carol Yacorzynski’s duties in DVC’s central services was typesetting the Enquirer. Yacorzynski, says her favorite part was reading the stories before they were published. “It was always interesting,” she says, “to see firsthand how the students were learning their craft and to see how things changed from the beginning of the semester to the end.” After Jacobs left the paper in 1986, he continued at DVC as an English professor, returning to the student newspaper for a semester in 1991 when his predecessor took sabbatical leave. It was during this time that David Lowe-Rogstad joined the staff as a photographer. Though the student newspaper changed over the years with advancing technology, one thing remained constant: From the six pioneering students who put together the first newsletter to the enthusiastic group that put out the paper during Jacobs return for a semester, deep friendships developed from working together on a shared passion. ”It definitely was not forced camaraderie,” Lowe-Rogstad says. “We helped each other out professionally as we moved on in our careers.”
“It was hard work, but the fun part was doing it and getting to know each other.” Photo Courtesy of Jackie Pels
Former “Enquirer” reporter Jackie Pels, right, interviews Dennis Banks, left, at DVC during the 1970s.
- Jim Jacobs Enquirer advisor from 1976-1986
Photo Courtesy of David Lowe-Rogstad
David Lowe-Rogstad, former “Enquirer” photo editor, takes a photograph at a protest for the newspaper in the late 1980s.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
3
A little slice of Hollywood at DVC Nick Sestanovich Staff writer Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, the new assistant professor in film and broadcasting, teaches her passion, which is also her other job. Guevara-Flanagan has left her production mark on a number of documentaries and short films, including “El Corrido de Cecillia,” La Caminata,” and “Going on 13,” which airs Nov. 2 on KQED. Her current feature length-documentary received top honors at the La Femme Film Festival and was officially selected for a screening at the Tribeca Film Festival. “Going on 13” is a coming-of age story that follows four Bay Area girls and the emotions they experienced over the course of four years. It will air on PBS throughout the fall. Guevara-Flanagan and her friend and co-director, Dawn Valadez, had talked about the prospect of doing a film about adolescence and determined it would make a “great visual story.” “We were interested in the idea that when girls reach middle school, they experience a drop in self-esteem and confidence,” Guevara-Flanagan said. “We wanted to look at what happened before and after that.” Guevara-Flanagan was first drawn to filmmaking in high school when she took a Super 8 class at her local recreation center. “I had a lot of fun learning about film, so I decided to pursue it as a major,” Guevara-Flanagan said. She received a bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley and a mas-
First three words are bold, must fill the whole thing
New musical has plenty of humor Troy Patton Entertainment editor I am not much of a fan of musical theater. My experience has either been of the overly melodramatic variety (I’m looking at you, “Cats”), or a play in which every line is delivered in song. While interesting for the first few minutes, both types wear down the sensibilities after two hours. That being said, “Urinetown,” DVC’s newest production, is a
perfect storm of over-the-top musical bits and hilariously selfaware dialogue. It takes place in a town where 20 years of drought has caused strict control of the water, and private toilets are outlawed. As a result, anyone who urinates without paying the proper fee is carted off to Urinetown, where they are never heard from again. The unusual staging sets “Urinetown” apart from other DVC productions. Instead of props, the action unfolds in three spots
on the stage. One is a large turntable that acts as a centerpiece, with two other circles at the front corners of the stage. While this setup may seem odd at first, it forces the audience to focus on the actors, who deliver their lines with wit and confidence. Officer Lockstock (Daniel Rubio) and Little Sally(Melody Perera) open the musical and act as narrators of sorts. Their exchanges usually occur during “time out” portions when no other actors are on stage or when the action is literally freeze framed. A comedic streak is maintained from the opening act to the play’s ironic finale and is the show’s biggest strength. But a musical isn’t a musical without music, and here “Urinetown” does not disappoint. The musical portions act like exclamation marks in a
ter’s de gree in film production at San Francisco State University. Since then, Guevara-Flanagan has been heavily involved in film editing, having done professional work for local news and producing work of her own Guevara-Flanagan had taught film part time at the Art Institute in San Francisco but wanted a full-time position. She found a posting for the DVC job, and, after visit ing the campus and meeting the other ar teachers, determined this was the place fo her. She currently teaches film production TV studio production, editing, and motion graphics. “The students here are a lot of fun and I’m finding them to be hard working and ambitious,” Guevara-Flanagan said. “I also like the range of students.” “I teach a night class which is demograph ically very different from my day classes. see a nice mix of young and old.” Her students have responded that they’ve learned a lot in her classes. “You get a great look at the behind the scenes process,” said Laura Pena, a stu dent in Guevara-Flanagan’s Film 292 class. “When you watch movies, you don’ really think about the filming or editing, bu the class has given me a new appreciation for it. It’s an art all its own.” Guevara-Flanagan is currently working on two films: “A Village Called Versailles,” a documentary about Hurricane Katrina and a community of Vietnamese who struggled to rebuild their community in New Orleans after the devastating tragedy; and “The History of the Universe as Told by Wonde Woman,” a documentary about Wonde Woman and other female superheroes. Guevara-Flanagan said she will continue to produce films, which will be influenced by her teaching. “I’m inspired by my students’ ideas,” she said, “and it helps me as a filmmaker.”
sentence. A scene may comprise a long section of dialogue, followed by a musical piece that acts as a crescendo and neatly wraps it up. In particular, the opening
“As a whole, ‘Urinetown’ is a memorable theatrical experience that shouldn’t be missed. - Troy Patton Entertainment editor piece, “Urinetown,” is almost epic in its delivery. With the full company singing, one expects the rafters to start shaking at any moment. Another notable piece, “Why did I Listen to that Man?” involves a rotating musical struc-
ture, with the actors fading in and out. As a whole, “Urientown” is a memorable theatrical experience that shouldn’t be missed. It runs through Nov. 18, with shows at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $17 for the general public, $16 for seniors, $14 for students with a valid student ID card and $12 if you have a current ASDVC sticker on your ID card. They can be purchased at the box office which is open from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before each show. You can also buy tickets by calling (925)-6874445.
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009
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Close loss ignites DVC fire Star players’ injuries continue to plague DVC in conference game against Sacramento City Curtis Uemura Staff writer The highly anticipated match between the Vikings and undefeated Sacramento City College didn’t have the result DVC had hoped for. The Panthers controlled the net throughout the match, preventing the Vikings from getting in any kind of rhythm. DVC made it difficult for Sacramento City each game, but could not get over the hump and lost 3-0. The first two games were a close 25-22 each, but Sacramento City pulled away in the third with a score of 25-17. “In being so close, you do want to kick yourself afterwards when you [ask], ‘Why didn’t I?’” Kristen Kemp said. “It also shows us we need to work on finishing our game.” Lilia Marcic and Krystal McCoy were still hampered by injuries. Kemp was also fighting a virus, so the Vikings were not at full strength against the top team in the Big 8 conference. “Sacramento brought out the fire in us and renewed our confidence in ourselves and in our play,” head coach Jackie Ponciano-Babb said. “Something that was missing over the last several weeks. But the chemistry prevalent during the Vikings undefeated start to the season shows signs of returning to form. “We watched some videos of our play on Monday of when we were undefeated and had that spark,” Kemp said. “And it is really helping in bringing that edge back.” DVC used different strategies throughout the match to counteract Sacramento’s strong net play, including trying to tip the
ball instead of spike it. “Tipping wasn’t a strategy initially against Sacramento City,” Jenny Kawakami said. “But as the game went on, it seemed like that was one of their only weaknesses.” But the Panthers quickly shored up their defense and shut down any attacks the Vikings tried. “Our focus was to try and attack their middles with quick sets and different plays in the middle,” Ponciano-Babb said. “However when the match started we never established ourselves in the middle.” As a result, DVC had to go back to its original plan of staying aggressive and swinging hard. “Unfortunately, that resulted in some balls going out on crucial points,” Kawakami said. DVC drops to 12-4 overall, but just 3-4 in the Big 8 Conference, sitting in fifth place above American River and the winless Modesto and Cosumnes River teams. The Vikings will need to pick up victories against Sierra, Delta, Santa Rosa or Sacramento, if they want to move up in the standings and get a better shot at playoffs. They were to play host to Modesto on Wednesday, too late for The Inquirer’s press deadlines. DVC then travels to Sierra on Friday in a game the Vikings need to win to bolster their chances for a playoff push. The loss to Sacramento City did not dampen the team’s optimism about its future. “Even though we lost, we had more fun in the first two games of the match than we have had in weeks,” Kawakami said. “And everyone seems to be back on the same page.”
Ryan Daley / The Inquirer
Holley Morris, left, spikes the ball against Sacramento City players in the last of a three game match. Krystal Mccoy, top, helps set the ball as co-captain Kristen Kemp keeps a close eye on it.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
5 Attack on college press, an attack on all
What are your plans for Halloween?
Patricia Barragan, 19 Political Science Major “I’m going to be the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. I got it from buycostumes.com.”
Editorial Note: This editorial was originally run in “The Hornet,” Fullerton College’s campus newspaper. The Inquirer is reprinting it along with other colleges across the state in solidarity with Los Angeles City College. Los Angeles City College’s student-run newspaper, the Collegian, is an award-winning publication that has been in continuous print for 80 years. Its staff of approximately 30 students works tirelessly to publish high-quality content while adhering to rigorous journalistic values. The Collegian is a training ground for writers, reporters, columnists and editors, as are thousands of other studentrun publications that hold to the same principles, standards and ethics. But LACC’s president, Jamillah Moore, has made calculated attempts to hinder the students’ right to a free press. She has tried to forbid a company working with the college from speaking to the student press; she has tried to pressure student reporters to sign releases for recording public meetings; she has
Elise Acredolo / The Inquirer
violated California open meeting laws by requesting that reporters identify themselves; and she has attempted to silence the Collegian by slashing its budget by 40 percent – when the budgets of other student organizations were cut only 15 percent. Adam Goldstein of the Student Press Law Center said that if he had to choose the biggest First Amendment offender in the country, he would most likely choose Moore.
And now, Moore is attempting to move the Collegian under student services, where the administration would have the option to edit all content, monitor stories and determine the direction of the paper. An attack on free speech anywhere is an attack on free speech everywhere. That is why we, the undersigned, have come together to universally condemn the actions of Moore and the actions of any
administration that makes de liberate efforts to break the free speech of student publications. As students, we have been taught to expect an environmen where freedom of speech will go uncontested. And as student journalists, we expect our administrations to understand that we strive to be an objective voice of reason. Bu we also recognize that any pub lication that disturbs the comfor of the comfortable will be chal lenged. Student journalists at the Uni versity of Pittsburgh, the Uni versity of New Mexico and the University of Oregon, as well as countless untold others, have seen such assaults on thei rights. This cannot stand. We, as student journalists come together today with a sin gle message: We will not toler ate administrations that, for thei own benefit, try to silence the voice of the student free press We will continue to rebuke those in power who attempt to diminish that freedom, and we will not be silenced.
Fee hikes will leave a devastating impact Greg Holmes, 18 Engineering major “Halloween’s gotta be scary, so I’m going as myself. I’m trying to go to this party in Pleasant Hill. It’s a Halloween and birthday party with lots of dancing.”
A college education is fast becoming a less available choice, even for students coming from upper middle class families. The fees at California Community Colleges were raised from $20 per unit to $26 this semester, a 30 percent increase. California State Universities also raised fees by 10 percent in May and then another 10 percent in July. This means CSU students are now paying an average of $4,827 per year. University of California fees went up by 9.3 percent as of summer 2009, which leaves UC students paying approximately $8,720 per year. The increasing cost of education is crushing the dreams of many students who hope to get higher education. My sister, Gabriela Almaraz, is a former
DVC student who recently graduated with a bachelor degree in psychology at the San Francisco State University. She will have to wait a year to continue her studies and plans on getting a 40-hour-a-week job to help save up money to pay for her master’s degree. It is stressful to know that the situation is not getting better but worse. One wonders how the state Legislature could place such low priority on higher education that it targeted community colleges, state universities and the UC system for such deep cuts. Possibly, but the jaw-dropping fee increases make it seem unlikely. We need educated minds to dig us out of the recession, not more uneducated individuals to cause chaos. Sad to say, our state legislators, the
UC Regents, and CSU trustees will no personally pay for their short-sightedness. Instead, those who could not afford an education will be the ones stuck in minimum-wage jobs, living paycheck to paycheck to get Igrid Almarez their own kids Staff writer through college. Still, if we continue to work towards our dreams, ou generation will be able to make a change in what we know is vital, affordable education for all.
Unfair cuts hamper disadvantaged students’ success Greg Willing, 18 Undeclared “I’m gonna be Waldo. I’ll wear the red and white striped shirt, the jeans, glasses, and beanie.”
DVC has been in some major trouble since the start of fall 2009. Our state legislators and governor made deep cuts to Disabled Student Services, Extended Opportunity Programs Services, CalWORKS and Matriculation. I started at DVC a few years ago as a DSS student. I was assured of doing well, because I could go to scheduled tutoring each week. This tutoring provided me with study strategies I would otherwise never have experienced. But fall semester began, and the “tragedy of budget cuts” hit. I attended my first classes and then went to get a tutor. But when I got there, I found the program had been canceled because of the budget cut. Math is enough trouble for me. Without a tutor, I have no choice but to delay my
transfer by a year. I’ve asked other DSS students how the budget cuts affected them. “It is already hard enough to do English and math with tutors,” one student said. “Therefore I had to drop those classes.” Another student said the DSS cuts had caused her to fall behind. “The lack of tutoring is driving me crazy,” she said. I also spoke with district Vice Chancellor Kindred Murillo. She said funding for DSS was cut by 49 percent, EOPS by 41 percent,, Matriculation by 51 percent and Cal-WORKS by 47 percent. But DVC’s general budget fund was reduced by $2.8 million or 4.2 percent, she said. It strikes me as odd there would be such a
huge difference. Dr. Murillo said the governor was always supportive of our schools until this year. But the deep cuts indicate to me the governor and state legislators are biased against poor families and students with disabilities. How can it be otherwise, when DSS and these other programs Travis Wonacott were cut 10 Staff writer or more times harder than the general fund budget?
Veterans’ conference gives chance to meet others Ryan Berg Guest Writer
Oldy Putra, 16 Business “It’s my first year in the U.S., so I don’t know what to be. They don’t really celebrate Halloween in Asia.” Interviewer: Julie George Photographer: Courtney Johnson
DVC’s second annual veterans’ conference will provide the chance for students who are vets to meet some of their biggest supporters. As a vet I am urging other vets and any students interested in veterans’ student life to attend the event. Most of us, when we talk about veterans, talk about our grandpas, uncles, or even our fathers. But more than 150 veterans attend DVC classes. They’re between 21 and 35 and major in subjects ranging from engineering to English. They’re hybrid citizens who emerge from military service with well-developed leadership qualities and often find it hard to Editorial Board
Winner of the 2008 JACC General Excellence Award
Editor in chief: Ariel Messman-Rucker News editor: Curtis Uemura Features editor: Ariel Messman-Rucker Entertainment editor: Troy Patton Sports editor: Christian Villanueva Opinions editor: Nick Sestanovich Online editor: Chris Corbin Cartoonist: Elise Acredolo Instr. Lab Coordinator: Ann Stenmark
adjust to student life. Veteran advocates at DVC understand this. In fact, Noha Basilious, Dennis Franco, Niccola Place, and many others are doing something about it. Like last year, the VA office and DVC student services are holding a conference, this time focused on “The New GI Bill and Successful Transfer Planning.” The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Taking part will be transfer reps from UC Berkeley and Davis, VA officials, Troops to College founder and Marine Col. Bucky Peterson, an Iraq student veteran panel, public and private university officials and DVC President, Judy Walters. I will transfer to UC-Berkeley in the spring and events like these have helped me the most. I met people who cared about my
Staff Photo chief: Chris Corbin Photographers: Sarah Kim, Ryan Daley, Kimberlee Walker, Jesse Thompson, Courtney Johnson Reporters: Chelsea Reed, Ingrid Almaraz, Julie George, Travis Wonacott, Oksana Yurovsky, Kamille SimmonsTurnquest, Rory Moore, Sawitree Sonburanakul, Kamille Simmons-Turnquist,
future and gave me advice that helped me succeed. This is why I started the Student Veteran Club – to help veterans adjust to the academi environment and be successful. Chris Clark, current president of the group calls the upcoming conference “a real gift to the veteran community…that will undoubtedl help us plan our academic futures.” Peterson, who works with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on the “Troops to College Initiative,” helps vets get to the front o the line when transferring to public and state universities. Williams is head of UC Berkeley’s veterans programs and services This is a conference no vet should miss. Please register at www.dvcveterans.org Lunch will be provided.
The Inquirer
Diablo Valley College 321 Golf Club Road, H-102 Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 The Inquirer is published on Thursday mornings during the school year by the journalism students of Diablo Valley College. All unsigned articles appearing on the opinions page are editorials and reflect a two-thirds
Phone: 925.685.1230 ext. 2313 Fax: 925.681.3045 E-mail: inquirer@dvc.edu Web: www.dvc.edu/journalism www.theinquireronline.com majority opinion of the editorial staff. All signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the writer or artist and not necessarily those of the Inquirer, Diablo Valley College of the Contra Costa Community College District.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
6 Calendar Thursday, Oct. 29 – Nov. 24 Wax Museum DVC Art Gallery 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., M - Th Thursday, Oct. 29 Brown Bag Lecture Practices that Promote Satisfying Relations SU – 204 12:30 p.m. International Movie Discovery Club event Screening of “The People under the Stairs” The Forum 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Mills College visits Transfer Center Appointments: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Drop-In: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saint Mary’s College visits Transfer Center 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Japanese Club’s Haunted House Trophy Room 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Latino Student Alliance: Dia de los Muertos Event Trophy Room 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 Men’s Water Polo mini-tournament DVC Pool 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2 Speech and Debate Team meeting PAC – 106 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Sacramento Sate University visits Transfer Center Appointments & Drop-In: 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3 College Success Workshop: TestTaking Strategies SU – 204 5:30 p.m. CSU East Bay visits Transfer Center Appointments: 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Drop-In: 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4 UC Santa Cruz visits Transfer Center Drop-In: 10 a.m – 12 p.m. Appointments: 12:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 Advanced piano and piano ensemble concert M- 101 2 p.m. Free CLASSIFIED PLACEMENT INFORMATION $1.50 a line 2 line minimum. 32 characters per line includes punctuation & spaces Copy and payment due the Monday before publication date. For more information call 925.685.1230 ext 2313 or stop by The Inquirer office.
ASDVC creates new committee Nick Sestanovich Staff writer Student leaders want to establish an “executive committee” that meets weekly to resolve “a lack of communication” among officers of the Associated Students of DVC. “I respect the previous executives,” said ASDVC President Lindsay St. Hill,
“but the lack of communication led to DVC not being its best.” St. Hill said most student government boards already have such a committee, including DVC’s Inter-Club Council, which holds a two-hour executive meeting once a week. Almost all of the 11 ASDVC officers agree with amending the ASDVC Constitution to include the
new committee, St. Hill said. Its aim is to “develop leadership strategies and organize executive agendas,” according to the proposed amendment. The committee would post its agenda 72 hours in advance to comply with the Brown Act, which guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in such meetings.
St. Hill said the committee will be an opportunity for the officers to talk about things they wouldn’t in weekly 2 p.m. Tuesday meetings. The amendment lists a designated meeting time of 3 p.m. on Thursdays, but it is still subject to change. “The idea of having a set time on a set day is to ensure that when candidates
run for executive office, they can plan their next semester’s schedule around the ASDVC Board meeting and ASDVC Executive Committee,” St. Hill said. Some proposed alterations in the amendment proposed and approved by the Constitutional Committee were also approved at the Oct. 20 meeting by the ASDVC Board.
Parking... Continued from page 1 department has proposed a parking fee increase, as well as other changes to the school’s parking policy. If approved by the governing board, semester passes would increase from $35 to $40, while day passes would cost $3 instead of $2. During the public comment period of the meeting, SDS community representative, Frank Running Horse, called the proposed fee hike “incremental oppression” “I want to encourage you, student leaders, to stand up and be brave,” said Running Horse, a former ASDVC president who first attended the school in 1973. Another speaker, ASDVC member Nick Holmes, who also belongs to SDS,
said, “We need to work with our brothers and sisters … to make education free for all.”No one from district police services attended the meeting. During a presentation at the Oct. 20 ASDVC meeting, Sharp said the proposed fee hike has been in the works since last February. Parking fees have not increased since Jan. 17, 2003. “We’ve waited as long as we could, but we can’t wait any longer,” he said. The proposal calls for the additional revenue to cover parking-related expenses, such as police aides, safety and maintenance. Parking machines will be outfitted with credit card machines so students are not forced to pay with cash only. The task of processing credit card purchases will be handled by a third par-
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“Since we are reducing our course schedule,” Leivas said, “we will probably sell fewer textbooks, and that will reduce our revenues.” Although a percentage of the bookstore’s profits is supposed to benefit students, Oye said his office has trimmed expenses, because the money has not been forthcoming. As a result, Oye’s office reduced its student workers from 16 to 11, cut back weekly lab hours from 51 to 36 a week and slashed its Peer Support Center hours from 44 to 16. Oye said the were based on actual student usage. “We’re trying to make sure the average student doesn’t suffer because of a financial problem,” he said.
readers.” Accuplacer will cost the college about $5 per student, compared to about $10 per student for the English readers, said Beth Hauscarriague, dean of matriculation. In fact, in the short-term, it will cost even less. The college buys credits called “units” at $1.70 per unit. The English assessment test will cost three units as opposed to one unit for the Accuplacer math assessment test that is also being introduced. Last year, when the college bought the math exam, it also purchased 18,000 units at the discounted $1.55 per unit. Although it depends on how many students take the math exam, there will
Accreditation... Continued from page 1 recommendations made by the previous evaluation team. These improvements include creation of a new College Council, revision of DVC’s mission statement, integration of technology into college planning, tying college planning to budget decisions and updating hundreds of courses. The commission also called for more transparency and campus wide communication in decision making. Faculty Senate President Laurie Lema, who served on the Accreditation Oversight Task Force, shares Walters’s optimism, “We have taken the considerations seriously, and we have worked to address them,” she said. Faculty Senate Vice President Keith Mikolavich said DVC has steered
itself in a new direction. “It takes time for an organization the size of DVC’s to absorb and work with change,” he said. “But I’ve had a lot of conversations with my friends and colleagues on campus . . . and I’m struck with how their magnanimous dedication to this college transcends any past tensions we’ve had.” Commission President Barbara Beno said the commission will make its decision in January after assessing the college’s “Show Cause” Report and evidence gathered by the team on its visit. DVC’s “Show Cause” Report states the district would be reconfigured into a two-college district, DVC and the San Ramon Center would be renamed as satellite centers under either Los Medanos or Contra Costa colleges.
Chris Corbin / The Inquirer
Frank Running Horse, community representative for Students for a Democratic Society objects to proposed parking fee increases. ty, Credentials Solutions, which will charge the district 49 cents per transaction to be covered by a portion of the increased parking fees. In an earlier interview, Charles Gibson, the district’s police chief, said the new credit card option will benefit students, even though the convenience fee is high.
“We’ve been providing a service for all this time for little to no money,” Gibson said of the proposed parking fee hike. “It’s time. If you want to maintain or get better services, you have to pay for it.” In addition, semester parking passes would be available for purchase on-line and mailed to students, under the proposed
be thousands of units left that can be used for the English exam, Hauscarriague said. “There is no human grading and the scores are available immediately,” Hauscarriague said. “In my mind, it is a better way of delivering the test with a method that is more familiar to them.” But some English professors don’t see the change as an improvement for students. “It doesn’t really [replicate] what we do in the classroom,” said Tom Barber, head of the English division’s assessment committee. “We normally have them do reading and writing, [but] it’s a multiple choice test.” As for how a computer could score a studentwritten essay, Barber said, “It’s sort of cutting edge
technology. It actually grades for ideas, important words, phrases.” He said the makers of Accuplacer compared the computer’s scores with those of college professors, and the results were similar. English professor Irene Menegas, who favored the old test, said, “I think we are losing a lot. “It’s hard to imagine how the placement could be as effective. They narrow the world of possible answers.” DVC’s assessment test was first introduced in the early 1990s and modeled after similar tests being used by the University of California system, said Barbara Sawyer, a retired English professor who was instrumental in developing the “homegrown” test. “We wanted the test so
changes. But Christina Cannon, who represents students from Diablo Valley, Contra Costa and Los Medanos colleges on the district governing board, faulted the process for not having input from constituent groups and said the proposal’s language only indirectly guarantees parking fee revenues will go to police services. “My conclusion is that people are building the emphasis on police aides, and that is not what it’s [necessarily] going to,” she said. The generated revenue goes into a restricted parking fund that may be spent on anything parking-related, such as lighting, equipment and maintenance, Cannon said. Cannon said faculty and staff should be required to pay a fee for on-campus parking. Currently, it is free for them.
incoming students would know what college was like,” Sawyer said. “We wanted to have a test that reflected the way we teach in the classroom.” Prior to that, there was no assessment and students could sign up for whatever English class they wanted, leading many students to sign up for classes they were not prepared for. “[Creating the test] was a lot of hard work, but in the end most of us thought we had something valuable.” Sawyer added. The “homegrown” test required far more involvement from instructors. An assessment committee had to choose readings,, readers who had to be trained, and then the essays needed to be graded.