OHLONE COLLEGE
MONITOR
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2015 Vol. XLIX No. 2
Like live rock? Come and hear about some tasty jams on Page 5.
FREMONT, CA OHLONEMONITOR.COM
ASOC Student government elections MITCHELL WALTHER Editor-in-Chief
PETE SOUZA / WHITE HOUSE
President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to Congress on Jan. 20.
White House proposes free community college CHARLES TUTTLE Staff writer President Barack Obama announced during the State of the Union last month his plans to make two-year colleges free for all American students. The goal is for the two years of free education to be applicable toward an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, or job training. The White House estimates the plan could affect more than 9 million fulltime community college students across the country,
including those at Ohlone. Students could save an average of $3,800 a year, according to the White House. The program is still in the idea stage, though; no legislation has been introduced yet. “I want to make it free,” Obama said Jan. 9 in a speech at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee. “Community colleges should be free for those willing to work for it – because in America, a quality education cannot be a privilege that is reserved for a few.”
That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be restrictions, though. Jeff Tiller, director of specialty media at the White House, provided the Monitor with some details about the plan. Students taking classes full time who have a GPA of 2.5 or higher would be eligible. According to a fact sheet provided by Tiller, the Obama administration has no intention of halting current financial aid programs, and actually plans to double its investment in Pell Grants. Continued on Page 2
Fremont campus to host community discussion on race, social injustice MARTHA NUNEZ Staff writer Oh l o n e w i l l h o s t a “Community Dialogue on Race and Social Inj u s t i c e” i n re s p o n s e to the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris and controversial grand jury verdicts in the deaths of two black men in New York and Ferguson, Mo. The discussion provides an opportunity for the community of Ohlone and surrounding neighborhoods to discuss extremism and injustice. The event, co-sponsored by the Communication Studies Department and Ohlone College
Human Resources Department, is open to Ohlone students, staff, faculty and administrators, as well as community members. It will be from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Friday in Room 7101. Light refreshments will be served. On July 17, 43-year-old Eric Garner died in Staten Island, New York, after a police officer put him in a chokehold. A grand jury in December decided not to indict the officer. This follows several cases in the New York area with similar results. The decision came a little more than a week after a grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., decided not to indict the police officer who shot 18-year-old Mi-
chael Brown, who was unarmed. Thousands of people took to the streets in cities around the country to protest the verdict. Then, last month, two gunmen killed 12 people at the offices of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris in response to cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. This killing of extremism has brought the topics of press censorship, freedom of speech, and the art of parody and satire to the forefront of the media. For more information about the Ohlone event, contact Brenda Ahntholz at bahntholz@ohlone. edu.
Students have until March 17 to petition to run for student government executive officer positions. The Associated Students of Ohlone College executive positions available are president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and legislative representative. To apply to run for office, pick up a petition packet in front of the Campus Activities Window in Building 7 on the second floor. The packet must be filed by 3 p.m. March 17. The election will take place later this semester. In the same election,
students will chose their repres entative to the Board of Trustees. The ASOC acts as a liaison between Ohlone s tu d e nt s a n d a d m i ni s t rat o r s. T h e y b r i n g student opinions and concerns to the attention of the college’s Board of Trustees, and also lead multiple fundraisers and outreach programs throughout the year. ASOC meetings, which are open to the public, are held from 10 a.m. to noon Fridays in Room 7101 on the Fremont campus. For more information, contact Student Activities Coordinator Renee Gonzales at rgonzales@ ohlone.edu or call her at 510-659-7311.
Ohlone students show spirit for Club Days MONITOR STAFF Students set up tables promoting their clubs for the past two days in the lobby on the first floor at the Newark Campus. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, students perused tables of information from sports clubs, music and band clubs, a variety of scientific clubs, and many more. For more information, email studentlife@ohlone.edu.
LAURA GONSALVES / MONITOR
Right: Kevin Estabillo with the Volleyball Club. Bottom: Nabeel Nagri with the Astrophysics Club.