Two takes on two-tier tuition law

Opinion

-ConRoundup reporter

Chiara Perbil cperbil.roundupnews@gmail.com

California community colleges’ main goal is to provide learning opportunities, which is difficult with full and reduced classes, but the law resulting from California Legislature Assembly Bill 955 is not the answer.

The “Community colleges: intersession extension programs” law permits students to bypass the masses by paying full tuition, $236 per unit, to access popular classes during summer and winter sessions leaving those without the money to wait, which is why it has become the so-called “two-tier” law.

Every one of the students fighting for high-demand classes wants to graduate or transfer from community colleges within two years. This law is unfair because it limits the access of needed classes to the poorest students. The law will create a discriminatory gap between the students who can pay the high cost of tuition and those who cannot.

Many dedicated students who strive to get ahead cannot tolerate tuition of $1,180, before books, for a five-unit class. So students statewide are petitioning against the two-tier law.

Students who could pay the $236-per-unit fee, but think it is crazy, may try to find an equivalent at a university, change their educational plan or just drop out.

More than 600 students at Long Beach City College signed a petition against the bill, according the Orange County Register, and more have started online petitions.

The law states the classes affected include highly sought after transfer-level English, algebra and history courses. Students who make an extra effort during summer and winter sessions to take these courses shouldn’t bear an extra financial burden – the extra classes should be at standard tuition.

California State Legislature should protect public education by keeping the unit fees of $46 for summer and winter intersession and not limit the access to students with economic disadvantages.

Securing the public education system in California will secure the future of the state.

Opinion -Pro-

Roundup reporter

Todd Rosenbla trosenbla .roundupnews@gmail.com

Every college that is eligible should create extension programs under the new law because it gives students access to more of the courses they need to graduate or fulfill benefit requirements.

California Legislature Assembly

Bill 955, signed into law on Oct. 10, allows six community colleges to create full-tuition classes during winter and summer sessions.

It seems there is typical rhetoric about this law turning what is supposed to be a plan to give students more classes into something of a caste system.

No low-cost classes are allowed to be cut, shrunk or displaced by these new extension classes and there is no penalty if an eligible college does not participate in the program.

Many veterans, who clearly deserve our help for keeping America safe, may not be eligible to receive the financial assistance

-COMIC STRIP-

because they must be enrolled in college courses to receive housing benefits, according to the law.

The more open class sections there are, the less students have to beg for an add card while they sit on dirty floors in old bungalows hoping to win the enrollment lottery.

One only needs to recall the fight more than 100 students had trying to crash a single English class last semester to fully appreciate the elegance of the new law.

It’s true that classes which cost $236 per unit is hard to swallow, but regular fee courses will be given priority over higher fee classes and they will not be offered against $46-per-unit courses in the fall and spring semesters.

Within the law there are strict guidelines that state one-third of the enrollment fees must go to financial aid for these classes and students eligible for regular tuition fees will be given priority registration for the extension classes.

There is no apparent harm with this law, despite the conversations between many students and faculty at California community colleges who misunderstand or misrepresent it.

We are going to school to learn and grow, not to fret over adding classes.

Incident Report

– Compiled by Genna Gold

Oct. 27 - Nov. 2

10/28 - Attempted burglary - An unknown suspect tried to break into students’ vehicles by punching out the door locks in Lot 3.

10/28 - Injury - A vehicle crashed into the gate located on El Rancho Road and De Soto Avenue. The student complained of pain so the paramedic was called but the driver refused transport.

10/30 - Hit and run, parked vehicle - A student said his vehicle was parked in Lot 7 and was hit with no note left.

11/2 - Suspicious person - A suspicious person was hiding in trees and had his dog off its leash by the Plant Facilities building. He was warned and advised that he was trespassing.

11/2 - Ill visitor - A high school student participating in a track meet collapsed on the Cross Country Course and was transported to Kaiser Hospital.

(818) 719 - 6450

Emergency: (818) 710 - 4311

Living with HIV

[BEING ALIVE, cont. from pg. 1]

The group has been speaking at Pierce for the past 20 years and will be on campus again for two weeks starting Nov. 12 until Nov. 22 on behalf of HIV Awareness Month.

Hillel and other speakers will be available for all teachers to reserve a time for them to speak to their classes.

“We really want Being Alive on campus the week prior to testing and the week of testing, so we can give teachers two weeks to choose a time to invite a speaker to their class,” Beth Benne said, director of the Student Health Center.

Pierce is the only campus that Being Alive works with that offers free HIV testing to all students and faculty. According to Hadlow, Pierce is by far the most proactive school that Being Alive teaches at as far as getting involved with the student body in AIDS intervention and prevention.

“Although I realized it would be unrealistic to expect my doctor to be HIV positive also,” Wasserman said. “I wouldn’t have minded someone sitting next to him saying, ‘you know what, this isn’t good but it’s not the end of the world, we’ll find a way through this together.’”

When HIV first leached its way into society, it was seen as the new boogeyman after the fall of communism. People were tearing whole pages out of their phonebooks due to the number of deaths and doctors were left scared and puzzled with a disease that was smarter than them.