INSIDE
March 2, 2015
Kirsch Center Garden Community garden and hangout spot run by De Anza student volunteers. Features p. 4
Band profile: Epyllia Punk band featuring De Anza student showcases artistic talent at local venues around San Jose. Features p. 5
Justin Edgar profile
Vol. 48 | No. 16
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First baseman talks about his early love of baseball and his idol, former San Francisco Giant first baseman J.T. Snow. Sports p. 8
SJSU STUDENTS PROTEST CUTS
New scholarship system Social work seats given to other majors launches in MyPortal Adam Del Rio STAFF WRITER
BOJANA CVIJIC | LA VOZ STAFF
San Jose State University students protest social work enrollment spots being given to engineering and business majors with various signs at SJSU Feb. 20.
Rajvir Kaur STAFF WRITER
San Jose State University social work students gathered in front of Tower Hall Friday Feb. 20, to rally against cuts to enrollments. Their protests were aimed at university president Mohammad H. Qayoumi, who is being accused of giving priority enrollments to the engineering and business departments. Donna Coleman, a master’s in social work student set to graduate this year, went as far as to call Qayoumi a “power-driven jerk,” saying the numbers show where the president’s priorities lie. Statistical data from San Jose State University’s Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics website show that while engineering and business have had increases in enrollments, the College of Applied Sciences and Arts, which social work falls under, has decreased in enrollment. Since Qayoumi became president in 2011, engineering enrollment has increased by 44 percent and business enrollments by 21 percent. Applied Sciences and Arts enrollments, on the other hand, have decreased by 17 percent and first year social workers applying for their master’s in social work have decreased by 6 percent. The number of seats available to first-year social work
students is once again set to decrease, from 110 to 60 seats in the Fall 2015 semester. The people being impacted most are not only the students, said social work professor Glenn Thomas, but all the members in the community that social workers provide services to. “Social work matters,” said Carlos Bejarano, vice president of the SJSU Undergraduate Social Work Association. “While San Jose State may be powering Silicon Valley, the students from the School of Social Work empower Silicon Valley.” When the cut is made to 60 seats for the upcoming school year, communities served by social work student interns will lose an estimated 60,000 hours of free services. The hours of service will be taken away from helping foster children, juvenile offenders, abuse victims, the homeless, veterans, the aging community and healthcare. But the social work master’s program is not the only one affected. Undergraduates working on their bachelor’s are also having trouble getting the classes they need. Many students are angry because they were promised classes, but are now being told some classes may not be available. Other programs under Applied Science and Arts are also affected, including kinesiology, occupational therapy, nursing, and journalism. The cuts became mandatory
when, after receiving an influx of social work students in 2013 to increase enrollment, the number of full-time registered students majoring in Applied Sciences and Arts departments dropped.
SEE PROTEST P. 3
De Anza College students wondering how to apply for scholarships can relax – a new online scholarship system went live on Monday, Feb. 23 and the deadline to apply has been pushed back to April 3. The new system is available to all students through MyPortal. Scholarship workshops have traditionally been held in December and January, but the new system delayed the workshops. They will start up soon, said financial aid director, Lisa Mandy. The college has been working for over a year on making financial aid more student-friendly, she said. The link to the AcademicWorks scholarship application can be found under the “Students” tab of MyPortal. Students only have to fill out a basic application. The system transfers the students’ data from MyPortal and filters through scholarships to find the right ones
for each student. “The GPAs float over,” Mandy said. “You shouldn’t have to upload transcripts anymore. You can email the people that you want to do your references and the references come to us via email.” With the new system, students will no longer waste their time applying for scholarships they are ineligible for. Marisa Spatafore, associate vice president of communications and external relations at De Anza College, said the new placement on MyPortal simplifies things not only for applicants, but for references and reviewers as well. Mandy said she apologizes for not making information on the new system available earlier in the year, but she is sure that the less-complicated system and the prolonged deadline will make up for the lack of communication. Check the Financial Aid website on www.deanza.edu for updates on scholarships and workshops.
Activism through art at Tent City
ADRIAN DISCIPULO| LA VOZ STAFF
Above: Painted shirts are hung up to dry during a workshop at Tent City at De Anza College’s main quad on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The workshop, held by Students For Justice, welcomed students to stencil phrases and paint shirts to raise awareness and promote social activism. Left: Stencils hang up to dry at Tent City in the main quad on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Paint, supplies, and T-shirts were provided by the Euphrat Museum of Art.