2008_1007_CT_v63i4

Q MOVIE REVIEW City Times reviews the latest Coen brothers installment

ARTS / PAGE 4

CityTimes www.sdcitytimes.com

Covering the San Diego City College community since 1945

‘We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us’

Volume 63, Number 4

October 7, 2008

Get Moving

MeCHA members rally against Operation Gatekeeper Evonne Ermey City Times

“October 2 will not be forgotten,” was the theme of the rally hosted by MeCHA and Puente members in Gorton Quad Oct. 2 where people gathered to commemorate the 40-year anniversary of Mexico City’s Tlatelolco Massacre.

Rally coordinators also used the day as an opportunity to protest the Operation Gatekeeper Act, implemented by the government in 1994, which they claim has resulted in the deaths of over 5,000 Mexican citizens.

The rally showcased several speakers from MeCHA a speech

by Christian Ramirez of the American Friends Service Committee and one by an eye-witness to the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre.

It was on Oct. 2 in Mexico City when the Mexican military and police opened fire on students who had gathered in a city square to protest the government of then president, Gustavo Diaz Ordaz and the Industrial Revolutionary Party.

The altercation resulted in the loss of between 200-300 lives, most of them students.

“If we forget about these things they can happen again,” said Jaziel Rivas a City College student, MeCHA member and Oct. 2 event coordinator.

The tone of the rally was point-

edly somber and reverent reminding people not only of the lives lost on Oct. 2 in 1968 but of lives still being lost at the Mexican border.

Many attendees attribute these deaths to Operation Gatekeeper.

“First our people were being massacred by the Mexican regime and now by the United States Government,” said Victor Montenegro, an engineering major at City College.

Speakers and event coordinators attribute at least 4,000 deaths to the implementation of Operation Gatekeeper, which sealed off the Mexican/U.S. border from Imperial Beach to the San Ysidro station and is ever expanding.

Using high tech tools like infrared and unmanned planes to deter illegal aliens at these once popular crossover sites has, according to Ramirez and Rivas, sent people illegally trying to cross the border into desert and mountain regions where they die in great numbers.

“We want no more deaths.

Operation Gatekeeper is death to our people and we don’t want anymore death to our people,” said Rivas.

The rally ended with a protest of approximately 30 people walking from City College to Fourth and B Streets Downtown carrying signs protesting Operation Gatekeeper and chanting in Spanish, “We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us.”

The 10th annual performance of the San Diego Trolley Dances took place on Sept. 27 and 28, with City College professor Terry Wilson stepping in as guest choreographer for the first piece, which took place in Mission Valley. Check out the full story on page 6.

CARLOS MAIA City Times

Constitution Day speaker opens minds at Saville Shannon kuhfuss City Times On Sept. 17 the World Cultures program and the history and political science Departments co-sponsored “Constitution of the ‘Divided’ States,” a speech given

by Ezekiel E. Cortez to the student body at Saville Theatre.

“I will not tell you historic facts.

I don’t want to talk like a professor because I’m not. I don’t want to talk down to you like a lawyer,”

Index

Take Note.................................2 News...................................... 3 Opinion................................... 4 Arts........................................ 6 Life..........................................7

said Cortez.

Cortez is a board certified specialist in Criminal Law, a top five percent Career Criminal Defense Lawyer, and a City College Alumnus. According to Cortez, however, his biggest achievement thus far was getting his GED. Cortez attended San Diego High School for one year before being expelled due to his lack of respect for authority.

He then worked at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company

before being thrown in jail after standing up to a superior for an African-American co-worker’s and his own rights. It was then Cortez decided to get his GED and become a criminal defense lawyer.

Cortez opened the floor to the opinions and views of the audience members, which included a mix of students, staff members and close friends.

“I want to keep the atmosphere open-minded... I want to be a mid-

wife for thoughts and expression,” said Cortez.

Cortez proceeded to explain that the country is deeply divided because, perhaps, we have forgotten who we are.

“The Constitution of the United States is a political document made by white men from Europe who were driven here by greed,” said to Cortez.

Why is a criminal defense lawyer saying such things about our country’s founding docu-

Inside

Q GET GREEN ON CAMPUS

San Diego’s first ever urban farm is well under way on City campus NEWS / PAGE 3

ment?

Cortez wants to give knowledge of the front lines from a law enforcement officer with 30 years of experience.

The debate about whether or not the Constitution is a living document or not has been questioned for years.

According to Cortez, “It depends on what century you live in”.

See CONSTITUTION, page 2

Online

Q BOOK FAIR RETURNS

City Times covers Juan Williams at this year’s City Book Fair WWW.SDCITYTIMES.COM

2

City Times

calendar / News

TakeNote Compiled by Shevaun Brandom and Nailah Edmondson Get your event or club meeting in the paper. E-mail us at citytimes@gmail.com or call (619) 388-3880

October

n Oct. 16 Environment stewardship committee host first food and farm festival. With live music, cooking demo, urban garden tours farm tours, face painting, pumpkin carving. Contact Karon Kipple at 388-3638

n Oct. 7 Blood Drive 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Gorton Quad

n Oct . 8 Men’s Soccer vs MiraCosta at home 3:15 p.m.

Women’s Soccer at Palomar 3:15 p.m.

Women’s Volleyball vs Mesa at home 6:00 p.m.

n Oct. 17

n Oct. 9

Spanish Club is celebrating El dĂ­a de la Raza at Gorton Quad 12-3:30 p.m. There will dancing, cultural activities and a singing contest with prizes. Come and join the fun!

Men’s Cross Country at Mt. SAC Invitational 10 a.m.

Men’s Soccer vs. Imperial Valley at home 3:15 p.m.

Women’s Cross Country at Mt. SAC Invitational 10 a.m.

Women’s Soccer at Miramar 1 p.m.

Women’s Volleyball vs Cuyamaca at home 6 p.m.

n Oct. 20

California Registration Deadlines, your registration must be postmarked no later than Oct. 20, 2008 For more info http://www.sos.ca.gov

n Oct. 10 Men’s Cross Country at Howard Brubaker Invitational 9 a.m.

Men’s Soccer at Southwestern 3:15 p.m.

Women’s Cross Country at Irvine Invitational TBA Women’s Soccer vs. Imperial Valley at home 3:15 p.m.

Women’s Volleyball at Imperial Valley 5 p.m.

n Oct. 23

n Oct. 11

Annual Transfer Fair 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Gorton Quad Over 30 Universities and Colleges coming to see City College Students! Don’t miss out on your chance on getting personalized information from your school. Contact Transfer/Career Center at 619-388-3722.

War Elements and Economy Empire at the Crossroads 12- 6 p.m. Room A-213. A half-day workshop/teach-in touching on all facets of the United States and the world’s movement towards wars and military confrontations. Contact San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice at 619-263-9301 www.sdcpj.org

Seussical the Musical Fridays/Saturdays 8 p.m.

Sundays 2 p.m. $10 for Students/Seniors/Military. $15 for general admission.

n Oct. 15

n Oct. 31

Constitution

Continued from page 1

Cortez also went into detail on the Second, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.

He raised the question to the audience, “Does the Second Amendment give you the right to kill somebody?�.

The audience seemed to jump at once.

Cortez continued to explain that indirectly the Second Amendment could be interpreted as such.

Cortez also added, “...the Second Amendment was intended to give guns to a certain type of person... the founding brothers contained no women, no blacks, no Asians, etc.�.

Throughout Cortez’s speech, he stated his views and opinions on issues regarding the Constitution but mostly focused on what the audience had to say.

Alternative views to his own were not only welcomed but encouraged.

When the hot topic of abortion was brought up, the room expectedly began humming with opinions and viewpoints.

Cortez listened to each audience member who was eager to share their thoughts and replied, “I don’t know whether abortion is right or wrong. Our technological advancement is phenomenal, but when does life begin?�

Instead of dictating ideas, views and facts, Cortez provided an open discussion in order to hear the diverse voices and ideas of today’s generation.

Spanish Club celebrates Day of Cultures Jessica Brandom Contributor The City College Spanish club will be celebrating “El Dia de la Raza� on October 9. This cultural event will take place in Gorton Quad from 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

There will be cultural presentations by members of the Spanish Club about the different cultures of Mesoamerica, including the Mayan, Toltec, Aztec and the Incan.

Professional dancers are slated to perform dances in the Maya, Incan and Colombian styles, and a Mariachi band will also perform during the festivities.

The Spanish club is also hosting several contests open to all students. There is going to be a singing and talent competition, a dance competition, as well as a poetry contest. There are prizes of fifty dollars for the first place winners of these contests.

Any student wishing to participate in the poetry contest should write a poem about their cultural heritage and submit it to the Spanish club. Any student wishing to participate in the singing, talent, or dancing should contact the Spanish club by October 7. Poetry submissions must be turned it no later than October 7 to Jessica Brandom at: SpanishCityCollegeClub@gmail.com.

San Diego City Club Meetings Spanish Club

Withdrawal deadline - No drops accepted after this date.

Men’s Soccer at Mesa 3:15 p.m.

Women’s Soccer vs Grossmont at home 3:15 p.m.

Women’s Volleyball vs Palomar at home 6 p.m.

n Oct. 31, Nov. 1-2, 7-9, 14-16.

October 7, 2008

Meetings every other week on Thursdays or Saturdays in the cafeteria. For more information please contact Jessica Brandom at SpanishCityCollegeClub@gmail.com. or Evelia Talamantes at EveliaTalamantes@yahoo.com.

M.E.Ch.A. Club

Tuesdays 3 p.m. B-203

Amnesty International

Wednesdays 2 p.m. B-204

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October 7, 2008

CityNews

City Times

3

Urban Garden looking for room to grow new programs Carlos Maia City Times San Diego City College has a new urban farm program on campus that started this fall. The farm is located in between the Saville Theatre and the Learning Resource Center.

Karon Klipple, a mathematics professor at City College, is co chairwoman of the Environmental Stewardship Committee, which is responsible for the recycling program and many other green friendly programs on campus. Klipple’s most ambitious project of sustainability is the urban farm.

The farm is staffed by two part time “urban farmers,” Paul Maschka and Julia Dashe, who manage the farm’s daily operations and oversee and coordinate the four student interns.

People often ask Maschka what he feeds his plants and why they are so green.

“The key is supplying them with sufficient nutrient rich compost,” compost is the food source for the microorganisms that make the food for the plants, “You’re just mimicking what happens naturally in the forest,” said Maschka.

Maschka points out that, “the agriculture business is the biggest industry overall in San Diego county, bigger than the defense industry and big business.”

They don’t teach agriculture here at City College in any capacity. Klipple and the urban farmers are doing something to change that.

Currently, there are no classes available for the urban garden this semester, though they are making steps that will eventually turn into a full-time program with classes. “This program is going to grow there is no stopping it,” said Maschka.

Organic gardening is very different from conventional chemical based gardening. This particular farm is modeled after a 3,000year-old Chinese farming system,

Photos by Carlos Maia City Times

Above: Julia Dashe adds water to a compost in order to speed up the decomposition process which creates the rich soil used for the vegetables in the urban garden located between the LRC building and the Saville Theatre. Below: Adam Taylor , an intern for the urban garden program prunes tomato plants on the embankment in the garden. feeding the plants with all natural compost materials, which when broken down by micro-organisms, feed the plants to grow into healthy, organic fruits and vegetables.

Unlike conventional chemical fertilizers, this method doesn’t ruin and kill the compost and micro-organisms that feed on it.

According to Maschka, most Southern Californians are used to planting warm season crops in the summer, such as corn, melons, squash, tomatoes, peppers etc., making the mistake of thinking the growing season is finished after harvest.

The great thing about the cool season is that there are a lot more options of things to grow than in the warm season.

In the past two weeks, the urban farmers, their interns and

volunteers have been gearing up for transition from the warm planting season into the cool planting season.

The next batch of cool weather crops that will be grown on the farm will be kale, chard, collards, snap pees, beets, parsnips, cilantro, bok choy, and spinach.

On Sept. 26, at the school board meeting, the Environmental Stewardship Committee made a presentation expressing some of their goals: “educate, empower and implement meaningful change” to the school.

Marley Peifer, one of the student interns spoke to the school board about his experience thus far as an intern at the urban farm, “lots of people are being exposed to something that they wouldn’t

See GARDEN, page 9

Web site investigates and grades college sustainability MIKE DORSEY UC Davis Aggie DAVIS (U-WIRE) — Schools are used to giving grades — not receiving them. But when the tables are turned, the truth about a university’s real desire to “go green” comes out — at greenreportcard.org.

The College Sustainability Report Card, found at greenreportcard.org, evaluates 300 schools in the United States and Canada across nine categories before assigning them a letter grade -aiming to identify colleges and universities leading in their commitment to sustainability.

Fifteen institutions — notably Stanford, Washington, and the University of New Hampshire — received an A-, the highest score on this year’s report card. UC Davis received a B and matched UC San Diego for the top grade

in the University of California system. “[The colleges given an A-] are across the board from really small colleges to large private universities,” said Lisa Chase, senior communications fellow for the Sustainable Endowments Institute which created the website.

“Some of them, UNH for example has a much smaller endowment than Harvard, and that underscores how much a school can do if committed.”

SEI is a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

Other groups, such as the Princeton Review, do similar evaluations — but none at the same scale, Chase said.

“The report is intended to be a collection tool, but also an information sharing resource so schools will talk to each other and hopefully get ideas about how to better their own sustainability,” Chase said.

Camille Kirk, assistant environmental planner in the Office of Resources Management and Planning pointed out that UC-Davis is on target for complying with UC policy on sustainable practices.

Within the UC goals and benchmarks is a requirement for campuses to do a feasibility study and develop a climate action plan to meet three goals: to lower greenhouse gas emissions to year 2000 levels by 2014, be at 1990 levels by 2020, and to become climate neutral as soon as possible.

“We are right now in the thick of putting together data to undertake that feasibility study, and are in the process of hiring a sustainability manager to coordinate that,” Kirk said.

John Seden has been working on campus sustainability since joining UC Davis as assistant director of Campus Unions last spring — specifically lighting and energy

systems. This increase can take many forms, and spans all the way from hallway lighting to making sure all the appliance systems we use are energy star efficient.

Seden’s staff has looked into daylight harvesting, which targets areas where enough natural sunlight makes lights unnecessary. The way is to place a small light sensor that turns on lights only as needed.

“This is something that is built into nearly all new buildings now, but we have a relatively old building [in the MU] so we’re trying to do all we can do reduce the energy use,” he said.

The department has already taken some unnecessary lights off the main circuit and put them on limited nighttime use.

“Because it’s brand new, we don’t have numbers on exactly how much specific changes save, but of course when it comes to energy

every little bit counts,” Seden said.

“And of course every month they’ll save more money and energy in a compounding rate.”

When a school is committed to environmental sustainability, it shows up in their bank account as well as on their brochures, Chase said. “It’s good business and it’s good for the bottom line,” she said. “Schools can even gain money over time by making renewable energy — traditionally there is a perception that being environmentally responsible means losing money — which is really not the case — it’s a smart move for many reasons.”

Chase said this report is especially valuable, because a university is a microcosm of a city or corporation. With energy going in and waste coming out — and still seeing a return on endowments — it provides a solid institutional model.

4

CityVoice

City Times

October 7, 2008

Campus club’s name is hip, expresses irreverent humor

Overreaction on both sides We, as the editors here at City Times, all seem to take the same stance on the FAGS name change controversy. We all tend to see both sides of the issue to hold some truth.

It should have been no surprise that this big decision to change the group name from LGBTSU (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Student Union) to FAGS (Fellowship of Associated Gay Students) would bring controversy, but taking the Dean to court seems to be a bit much.

Significant changes of City Times Editorial Board any kind made in a community tend to offend, hurt, or perhaps simply stir up people because not everyone will always be happy. This is why it is difficult to place blame on who is in the wrong and give justice to who is right.

Are we bridging a barrier or are we asking individuals to take a side? Is this a step forward to becoming more open minded as a community or are there individuals on one side patting themselves on the back while others in the background are getting offended?

The whole issue has been blown out of proportion by the administration and the group. If the intentions of the FAGS are genuine and they follow through on them, and the purpose is to desensitize the term, we are all in favor. We are for any positive movement for minority groups.

The battle to bring justice to this name change could potentially hurt people or relationships along the way, asking the question, do the ends truly justify the means?

This issue is no doubt a debatable one, so all we can do from here is wait and watch to see what happens next.

Editorial

“Can Dykes be FAGS?” Asked the cheerful young woman as she picked up the pen to join our ranks.

“Yes, yes dykes can be Fags.”

I replied, she giggled as she endorsed the green club packet.

FAGS, FAGS, FAGS; OK we have it out of our systems. The gay group on campus calls itself FAGS. We are the Fellowship of Associated Gay Students (FAGS) & Straight Allies.

Today liberal is associated with weakness, with frivolous utopian pursuits of politically correct toleration. Liberal used to be attached to fiery. There are fiery liberals still out there, “hi nice to meetcha.”

We are not interested in being passive. In matters of equality, passivity and compromise move at the speed of continents. The liberal left has the same right of viewpoint as moderates and conservatives, besides we are the only ones who have ever accomplished anything to truly better the world. The gay community is not monolithic, and the organizers at City College are not moderates.

We are fiery liberals, who have plans like free and anonymous

HIV testing on campus.

We have a right to our name, but right now we are being stifled from presenting the acronym. The name is a heated, but let us not neglect the most important element, the group. The people in my group, they love it, voted on it, and approved it. They did so at Mesa, City, MiraCosta, soon are going to have a chapter at Miramar, Southwestern, and Grossmont.

We are celebrating FAGS as seasoned activists and those in training. The world is not kind to gays and lesbians. We would be remiss if we did not recognize that.

If the daring nature of embracing an epithet is frightening or obscene to a handful, so be it. We dare to be bold. It’s working to attract more members than ever before. Take the L out of your acronym and call yourself FAGS more women show up than ever before, and they celebrate the name.

Facilitating a social and educational space for the GLBT community on campus is what we do.

Our name gets the attention, but our positive and progressive principles are what makes us last.

Our name expresses sophisticated hip and irreverent humor.

We are a lot of fun. They may have removed our posters, but we’re still here. Regardless of your sexual orientation if you

Perspective Jason Frye

care about gay and lesbian issues, safer sex, marriage equality, free speech, or want to make new friends and have one hell of a good time come to D-101 Wednesdays at 3.

My name is Jason Frye, FAGS is my baby, I created it, point all of your hatred at me. I’m also the President of both Mesa and City’s chapters; the buck stops here. I am one voice who represents many. Before you storm the castle with torches or lock me in your cross-hairs allow me to paraphrase a power-phrase.

We’re here, we’re queer, and if we decide to call ourselves FAGS, that’s our business.

Jason Frye is the student government president

Prop. 2 opportunity for Californians to end some factory farming abuses Like most conscientious students, I support local farms, protecting animals from cruelty, and ensuring that the food I buy is safe. That’s why I’m voting YES on Proposition 2.

Proposition 2 requires that animals be given enough room to stand up, turn around, and extend their limbs. No one considers it acceptable to force a dog or cat to live in a filthy, cramped cage for their entire life; yet, these are the miserable conditions that animals on factory farms are forced to endure. All animals, even ones used for food, deserve humane treatment.

Earlier this year, a shocking investigation revealed to Californians the routine slaughter of sick and crippled cows (so-called “downer” cows), whose meat was then sent to schools across the country. Not only did this investigation shed light on the shock-

CityTimes Volume 63, Number 4 October 7, 2008 www.sdcitytimes.com

David McAtee Editor-in-Chief Arts Editor Nailah Edmondson Managing Editor Sports Editor Evonne Ermey News Editor

ing cruelty in factory farms, it also exposed these operations’ threat to our public health. When

Perspective Mike Shabatay

factory farms cram tens of thousands of animals into tiny cages, they foster the spread of diseases that may affect people. Clearly, Proposition 2 benefits both animals and consumers.

The initiative also protects California’s environment. The American Public Health Association has called for a moratorium on new factory farms, because of the devastating effects of these operations on surrounding communities.

The spread of untreated waste in the ground and contamination of waterways, lakes, groundwater, soil, and air threatens our qual-

Published as: The Jay Sees / 1945-1949 Fortknightly / 1949-1978 City Times / 1978Incorporating the newspapers Tecolote, Knight Owl and Flicks

How to reach us: City Times San Diego City College 1313 Park Blvd.

San Diego, CA 92101 Newsroom: T-316

Shannon Kuhfuss Opinion Editor

Carlos Maia Photography Editor

Shevaun Brandom Design Editor Calendar Editor

Heather Richards Copy Editor

Luis Bahena Features Editor

ity of life. Thanks to Proposition 2, we can help to prevent some of the worst environmental abuses that threaten our precious natural resources.

California family farmers also support Prop. 2, since better farming practices enhance food quality and safety. They’re not only supplying forward-thinking and socially responsible businesses like Whole Foods and Henry’s, but they’re increasingly supplying major retailers like Safeway, Burger King, and Trader Joe’s. Factory farms cut corners and drive family farmers out of business, when they put profits ahead of animal welfare and our health.

This is an historic opportunity for Californians to end some of the worst factory farming abuses. Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and the European Union have already passed similar laws. Since

Michele Suthers Illustrator Mayumi Kimura Advertising Manager

Americans have become more aware of factory farming abuses and begun to demand reforms, however, the largest agricultural industries are mobilizing to preserve the status quo. The opposition, funded mostly by out-of-state companies, is spending more than ten million dollars to try to defeat Proposition 2.

They have also resorted to blatant lies; for example, they claim that the cost of eggs will skyrocket. In fact, according to a UC Davis economic report, the cost of raising hens more humanely is less than a penny per egg. They also claim that current practices safeguard consumers’ health; in fact, peer-reviewed studies show up to 20 times more salmonella present in battery-caged chickens.

Prop. 2 enjoys immense support from organizations, like the Cesar Chavez Foundation,

Phone: (619) 388-3880 Fax: (619) 388-3814 E-mail: citytimes@gmail.com Program homepage: www.sdcity.edu/citytimes

City Times Staff Tom Andrew, Angela Ang, Kadhja Bonet, Sofia Cancino, Alexandria Carrillo, Caroline Cha, Veronica Leyva Eissa, Jenna Henry, Keith Martin, Fahima Paghmani Contributors Jessica Brandom, Joseph Leonard Roman S. Koenig Journalism Adviser

Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, California Veterinary Medical Association, Center for Food Safety, and Sierra Club. This Nov. 4, join me in the prevention of animal cruelty. Vote YES on Proposition 2!

Mike Shabatay is a student government senator Send us your views City Times welcomes letters to the editor and commentaries. Letters must be 350 words or less. Commentaries must be no more than 500 words. The staff reserves the right to edit letters and commentaries for grammar, spelling, punctuation, news style and length. Letters and commentaries may be submitted online at www.sdcitytimes.com, by e-mail at citytimes@gmail.com.

City Times is published twice monthly during the semester. Signed opinions are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily represent those of the entire newspaper staff, City College administration, faculty and staff or the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees.

District policy statement This publication is produced as a learning experience under a San Diego Community College District instructional program. All materials, including opinions expressed herein, are the sole responsibility of the students and should not be interpreted to be those of the college district, its officers or employees.

Letters to the editor Letters to the editor are welcome, 350 words or less. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, spelling, punctuation and length.

Memberships Journalism Association of Community Colleges Associated Collegiate Press California Newspaper Publishers Association

October 7, 2008

City Times

NEWs

5

World Cultures and Jazz Live host Justo Almario Oct. 7, 8 Caroline Cha City Times Colombian musician, Justo Almario will be performing at a live jazz concert on Oct. 7 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Saville Theatre.

The concert is part of the “Between Two Worlds” theme, hosted by Jazz Live in conjunction with the World Cultures Program.

Almario’s music can be best described

as a combination of Latin, Afro-Cuban, South American, Funk and Jazz music.

Jazz 88 members are allowed to bring a guest and will receive free admission.

There will be a minimal admission fee of $10 for non-members. The admission for current students will be $5 with a student I.D. For more information, or to make reservations, please call Jazz Live at (619) 3883037.

Don’t be left out of the loop!

Sign up to get the latest City College news online at

www.sdcitytimes.com

As a member, you can receive e-mail updates and breaking news before it goes in print!

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CityArts

City Times

Trolley Dances delivers performances to commuters Evonne ermey City Times

Movie Review Kadhja Bonet

See TROLLEY, page 10

CARLOS MAIA City Times Members of the Jean Isaacs Dance Theatre perform “Untitled” on Sept. 27. Isaacs has organized and participated in the Trolley Dances for 10 years, spawning a San Francisco version of the event and a documentary which aired on KPBS Sept. 30.

Lee’s ‘City’ is a layered sucker treat film does not contain the same sort of in your face messages Spike Lee is notorious for.

DVD Review Kadhja Bonet

him stand out from the rest.

Lincoln is an up and coming member of the Chinese mafia, whose passion and verve are powerfully contradictory to the Asian stereotypes the media is poisoned with.

Nick is a white kid from the Mission District whose family is forced into V-Dub territory due to the dot-com gentrification. His white-collar crimes are a stark contrast to the violence of the gang-affiliated protagonists.

When these characters run into each other, there is inevitably conflict, as they each fight to protect what they believe is inherently theirs.

In its feature-length run time,

Burn after viewing “Burn After Reading” sports a powerhouse cast including George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt and John Malkovich.

The film takes advantage of intricate and compelling visual compositions, laugh out loud moments, and strong performances by all of the aforementioned actors, especially Malkovich and Pitt. It is the Coen brothers’ latest edition to their corrupt and comical movies, and well, they’ve done it again.

That of course depends on what “it” is referring to.

Commuters along San Diego trolley’s blue and green lines may have noticed more traffic than usual Sept. 27 and 28 as patrons of the arts and lovers of dance crowded the bright red box cars anxious to be transported, not from stop to stop, or line to line, but to an inarticulate destination created especially for them through the art of Trolley Dances.

Trolley Dances is an annual celebration that brings dance to the masses by staging site specific performances in areas along the San Diego trolley line. The brainchild of Jean Isaacs Dance Theater and the Metropolitan Transit System, Trolley Dances has proven to be a successful collaboration inspiring the creation of Trolley Dances in San Francisco as well as becoming the subject of a KPBS documentary, “Trolley Dances 2007,” which aired Sept. 30 to coincide with Trolley Dances’ tenth anniversary.

Like the art that it celebrates, Trolley Dances is an event in motion. Performance sites and trolley routes change from year to year, that along with a constant flow of new choreographers and performers, ensures that viewers won’t get the same old hat.

“Sucker Free City” (2004) was originally intended to be picked up as a series on Showtime, but was dropped due to complications with funding and personnel.

But don’t let that fool you! Director Spike Lee’s (“25th Hour,” “Do the Right Thing”) painfully truthful cinematography is some of his best work, denouncing the cinema’s happy-go-lucky, tourist-lunching, trolley-dinging San Francisco we’re oh-so used to, and providing us with a raw and palpable inspection of San Francisco’s heart - the streets.

Written by SF native Alex Tse (co-writer of the upcoming Watchmen, 2009), the story intertwines the lives of three main players. K-Luv (Anthony Mackie) is a member of the V-Dub Mafia, a black gang operating out of the neglected Hunter’s Point. His character has a poignant depth and consciousness that makes

October 7, 2008

Courtesy photo Spike Lee’s most ambitious joint was dropped from Showtime after funding difficulties arose.

Tse establishes full and complicated characters and behaviors that, in their depressing nature, make a whole lot of sense. The content and ethical perplexities that usually embody Spike Lee’s films are indeed similar, but the

The subplots are nuanced and engaging, leaving you unsatisfied when the film is left unresolved.

Although it finishes without resolution, (it was meant to be the first of many installments) that fact adds to the movie’s charm.

It would be contradictory to the nature of the story and reality to conclude the inconclusive: these issues and tensions of race, demographics and territory aren’t going anywhere.

The Latino presence, as well as the dynamic homeless population, in San Francisco are largely ignored in the pilot, but I have no doubt that they would have found adequate representation in the subsequent series. In essence, this picture’s biggest fault is that there isn’t more of it.

“Burn After Reading” is nothing new. All of the Coen brothers’ films contain the same basic elements of plot; neurotic or eccentric characters are driven to pursue a fortune that is out of reach, and while the degree of gore fluctuates depending on the seriousness of each movie, the impractical struggle usually results in demented and violent consequences, maintaining a surreal level of delusion throughout the whole ordeal.

This rendition of the story, which starts off kind of slow, involves an awkward and painfully insecure middle-aged fitness instructor (McDormand). She is willing to go to scary lengths to afford cosmetic surgery and refurbish life’s gusto. When she and a coworker (Pitt), stumble across classified intelligence documents, they see it as a leverage tool to make some quick cash, blackmailing the agent (Malkovich) to whom they belong. The resulting mess, involving an oversexed federal marshal (Clooney) is wry, witty, and a little depleted.

Though on the lighter side of their films (somewhere between “Fargo” and “Raising Arizona”), “Burn After Reading” fails to produce any air of originality or depth.

The Coens have so far been able to utilize the same plot formula with notable success, winning much praise for movies such as “Fargo,” “No Country for Old Men,” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, all movies worth seeing. However, it’s possible that their ability to throw provocative and novel spin on a once powerful gimmick has reached a breaking point.

Unlike some of their more intriguing films like “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” or “Miller’s Crossing,” this one leaves you with nothing to chew on and gravely unsatisfied, scarcely tapping into an emotion or reflection.

“Burn After Reading” is worth a viewing for a quick laugh, but unfortunately, cannot stand on the podium with the other, notable members of the Coen collection.

CityLife

October 7, 2008

City Times

Coffee bridges the gap For students looking to get energized for their studies, coffee has long been the drink of choice.

But with recent corporate upsets in the industry, will students be able to find a place to get their buzz?

Shannon Kuhfuss City Times School is back in full swing and students are getting bombarded with papers, homework, projects and tests and looking for a way to get through it all.

Well, students look no further! You have a companion to keep you going during the multiple hours of dry reading and pulling the dreaded all-nighters.

That companion is coffee!

With so many options for coffee shops these days, it may seem difficult to find the place for you, one that won’t drain a hole in your pocket, but also won’t compromise the quality of your liquid motivation.

The obvious Starbucks and the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf are well-known chain coffee shops that have been around for years and can be found around almost every corner.

For years the two companies competed against each other to win over the love of the public by introducing new drinks, foods and merchandise, but their pricey beverages leave customers looking for other options to satisfy the coffee fix.

Solutions to the price issue have come from some of the most unexpected places and have Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf running scared. Fast food restaurants and convenient stores are releasing new coffee drinks that won’t empty customers’ pockets.

McDonalds now serves iced coffee in a variety of flavors like caramel, hazelnut, regular and

vanilla. This iced coffee is also sold in sugar free vanilla syrup as a healthier option. McDonalds also now offers cappuccinos and lattes in caramel, hazelnut and vanilla, as well as mochas and sugar free options.

Once known for their bagels and other breakfast food, Einstein Bros. Bagels has also begun to expand their horizons in the coffee department. The coffee menu now consists of americanos, cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, caramel macchiatos and espresso. Each of these hot drinks is also offered in the iced form.

For comparison purposes, a medium sized iced mocha at McDonalds and Einstein Bros.

Bagels both have a price tag of $2.89.

This price is almost a dollar lower than Starbucks grande iced mocha which is $3.85 and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s regular size iced mocha at $3.65.

If cost is not an issue, perhaps quality and nutrition will help narrow down the best choice.

Companies such as the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf pride themselves on the way their coffee and teas are prepared and brewed.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf have always been a completely kosher company that uses all organic ingredients in their drinks.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf also uses a different ingredient than all other stores in comparison, and that is powder. Most other stores use syrups in the drinks which give them their extra sweet flavor, but are made up of artificial flavoring, provid-

Two cafes close near campus Tom Andrew City Times City College students, and faculty, will be looking for other ways to get their daily caffeine fix now that Starbucks and Maui Wowi, both by the City College trolley stop, have closed their doors for good this past September.

Sara Putnam, the manager of the now closed Maui Wowi, explained that the cost to run the store was just too high. “ I would get to the store every morning to find graffiti all over the windows, that and the many homeless people, kids and high school students didn’t help business. We were doing better every day, but it just wasn’t enough.”

Maui Wowi, a franchise, has

another location in Oceanside and while the owners saw that business was getting better they just felt the area wasn’t what they had originally

Illustrations by Michele Suthers City Times ing little benefit to health.

In this case, perhaps the price increase is worth it to some because there is great quality and care that goes into the drink being prepared.

Starbucks’ grande iced mocha contains 320 calories per serving with 150 fat calories, 9 grams of saturated fat, making this choice not only slightly more pricey, but fattening.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s

regular iced mocha contains 320 calories, 50 fat calories and 5 grams of saturated fat, which is not significantly healthier than Starbucks.

Therefore, does the quality of the coffee really justify the price? I would have to say no.

I have worked for one of the major corporations that prepares the pricey beverages and after years of consuming coffee to get through the day, I have

Make mine a McDouble When did this trend occur where coffee was considered a dessert and no longer a morning pick me up? Where coffee beverages consist of more sugar

Live & Learn Luis Bahena

thought.

Putnam mentioned the possibility of the space being leased to someone else, but at the moment those plans

See CAFES, page 10

found myself branching out to the new restaurants supplying coffee. If I get that extra pep in my step from my coffee, that’s all I need to make my decision.

So whether you prefer to say grande, regular or medium, it really comes down to personal taste. Some prefer drinks that are sweeter and nutrition is not an issue, some look to health factors first and for others, the price is the decision maker.

than caffeine? What happened to coffee?

Starbucks did! At least that’s who I blame.

With Starbucks coffee shops being almost everywhere, it’s no surprise that more and more people are making the coffee giant their stop for their caffeine fix.

Sure, not everyone gets the same coffee beverage when it comes to getting their morning java. It’s hard to pass

on the delicious tasting frappuccinos however.

Especially in these last couple of weeks, where the heat has spiked to a high 85 degrees.

As delicious as it might seem, the Starbucks coffee frappuccino is probably not the healthiest coffee beverage option.

In fact, back in 2005 when I was drinking a Venti coffee frappuccino almost twice a week, I managed to gain 15 pounds in a period of over two months.

Sure, there might have been other contributors like the lack of exercise, but for some reason it didn’t register that the frappuccinos were causing me to gain weight.

Looking closely at the famous coffee beverage, it packs 340 calories and 57 grams of sugar,

See McDOUBLE, page 10

7

8

City Times

NEWS

October 7, 2008

Work moves ahead on new vocational building Sofia Cancino City Times In the midst of the California education budget crisis, the San Diego Community College District board of trustees awarded bids for the construction of the Career Technology Center on June 19 at San Diego City College.

The original budget for the CTC building was estimated to be $44.79 million, but with construction still in progress the anticipated budget is already totaling $39.5 million.

In an attempt to maintain the original budget, District Chancellor Constance Carroll, Vice Chancellor Dave Umstot and the district staff have developed a new construction management format to lure a more diverse group of subcontractors.

“The construction manage-

Carrier Johnson Architects

An architectural rendering of the future Vocational Technology Center as seen from C Street and 16th Avenue. Work is now under way at the site. ment multiple prime approach has enabled us to attract more small businesses and diverse subcontractors to our bond program.”

District Chancellor Constance

states. “We are also committed to sustainability, and we are seeking a minimum Silver LEED certification on this project.”

The new budget plan is around

$5.21 million under the original estimation.

Rich Dittbenner, director of Public Information and Government Relations says of the savings, “The Chancellor is very pleased that the favorable bidding climate in San Diego is resulting in substantial savings over estimated costs of construction. This will enable the re-deployment of funds to other City College projects.”

Board President Marty Block says, “The award of these bids reflects two important goals of the district; namely, saving taxpayer’s money wherever possible while seeking to be environmentally responsible.”

The newly constructed CTC is going to be home to a developing Nursing program, as well as Cosmetology, Photography, and the new College Police headquarters for City College.

On top of these programs, the new CTC will also be environmentally friendly, including a photovoltaic, which involves the direct transfer of electromagnetic radiation, making sunlight into electricity.

Companies such as: A.O. Reed; Alpha Mechanical Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc.; Applied Waterproofing Technology, Inc.; Artimex Iron Co., Inc; Brady Co. San Diego, Inc. (2 contracts); Commercial & Industrial Paving, Inc.; Industrial Commercial Systems, Inc.; Lozano Caseworks, Inc.; Magnesite Specialties Inc.; Modern Masonry; Park West Landscape Inc; Pecoraro, Inc.; Prime Tile, Inc. (2 contracts); Rusco, Inc.; Sheedy Hoist; Southland Electric, Inc.; The McIntyre Company; Webcor Construction, LP; Western bay Sheet Metal, Inc. submitted the lowest responsible successful bids.

Governor vetoes Dream Act for third straight year Julianna Appenrodt USC Daily Trojan SACRAMENTO (U-WIRE) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation, which would allow undocumented students to apply for need-based financial aid at public colleges and universities, for the third time in three years Sept. 30.

The California Dream Act, proposed by state Sen. Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, was presented to the governor twice before, in 2006 and in 2007.

This year’s Dream Act did not include the Cal Grant program — the largest source of California state aid to college students — or any other aid administered by the state, said Xochitl Arellano, Cedillo’s press secretary.

“Last year, the governor said, ‘Look, I’m not going to put forth state dollars to go to students that are not particularly with a legal standing,’ so what we did this year is we did not include the Cal Grants,” Arellano said.

The act would have made undocumented “AB 540” students — students who attended a California high school for three or more years, graduated from a California high school and agreed to apply for lawful immigration status — eligible for grants, scholarships, work-study and loan programs administered only through the campuses.

Opponents of the act argued that spending tax dollars to fund the education of illegal immigrants would be an inappropriate use of state money.

Because of the governor’s veto, California community colleges, the Cal State University system and the University of California system will continue to regard undocumented students as ineligible for need-based financial aid.

“It’s very disheartening that the governor, in this time of financial crisis, doesn’t see an opportunity to support the basis for society to prosper, which is education,” Arellano said. “We’re very sad for these young folks that once again see another obstacle in front of them to reach their potential and to reach their goals.”

Because the University of Southern California is a private university, it would not have been affected by the California Dream Act, but undocumented USC students can already apply for

merit-based aid such as the Presidential, Trustee, Dean’s and Leadership scholarships. They cannot, however, receive need-based aid because of federal laws.

“A greater effort to provide financial aid to all students — regardless of legal status — should be part of USC’s goals,” said Jorge Madrid, president of the Latino Association for Policy, Planning and Development at USC. “For generations now, many immigrants have been denied rights and equal access to the prosperity that they help make.”

Although undocumented students are denied financial aid in California and many other states, some states have denied undocumented students a college education.

A bill was passed in Alabama

CKP

the campus kitchens project teach • reach • feed • lead

welcome to the newest classroom on campus: the kitchen.

Fight hunger in your community!

Email: info@campuskitchens.org

www.campuskitchens.org

on Sept. 25 denying all illegal immigrants admission to the state’s two-year colleges. A similar law was passed in North Carolina in August.

While California laws do not directly deny undocumented students admission to its colleges, they do inhibit many undocumented students from being able to attend college because they cannot afford tuition without financial aid. Madrid said it is unfair for students to be denied admission to college or financial aid based upon their legal status.

“Many of these young people didn’t choose to break the law and cross the border illegally,” he said. “Their parents made that choice for them in the majority of situations, but they are being made to pay the consequences.”

October 7, 2008

City Times

NEWS

Protesting Operation Gatekeeper

9

CARLOS MAIA City Times

Protesters, including members of City College’s MeCHA and Puente groups, rally Oct. 2 at the corner of Park Boulevard and B Street in commemoration of the 40-year anniversary of Mexico City’s Tlatelolco Massacre. Rally coordinators used the day as an opportunity to protest the Operation Gatekeeper Act, implemented by the U.S. government in 1994, which they claim has resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 Mexican citizens.

Garden Continued from page 3 otherwise be exposed to. We are really at the vanguard “ Kim Lopez, intern at the urban garden, also spoke to the board.

She “looks forward to the day when an eatable garden will bill be something that every body will be accustomed to when you eat high quality food it allows you to a obtain a high quality life as well, its directly involved and related.”

Other projects Karon Klipple and the urban farmers are working on include diverting all of the kitchen prep waste to the organic farm to make compost, ensuring that farm land no longer requires chemical fertilizer and uses one third of the water that the lawn previously used, building a terraced food forest that will grow fruit trees, grapes vines, kiwi, passion vines and more.

“We invite all our faculty to make this an option for their service learning and as many students that are interested to apply for the internship program,” said Klipple.

The urban farmers are on the farm every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. They encourage help from volunteers and anyone that interested in learning more about organic farming.

CARLOS MAIA City Times Urban garden volunteer Annie Henderson of South Park helps Oct. 4 with the clearing process of summer squash and other summer vegetables in order to make room for the cool weather crops . Henderson, who is not a student at City, says she heard from a friend that there was a farm on campus and that they were accepting volunteers. Henderson says wants to learn more about being able to grow her own organic fruits and vegetables.

Thank you for recycling this newspaper.

10

City Times

Trolley

ARTS / LIFE / NEWS

October 7, 2008

Continued from page 6

“The excitement is that every year it’s different and you can’t predict what will be different,” says Jean Isaacs, co-founder and artistic director of Trolley Dance. “Dancers hang from trees and staircases, they’re not dances that can be performed anywhere but that site. They’re not repeatable.”

This years Trolley Dances featured the art of 5 choreographers; Jean Isaacs, Monica Bill Barnes, Anthony Rodriguez, Katie Stevinson-Nollet and City College dance instructor Terry Wilson, along with 54 dancers. The performances ran the gamut with musical genres that encompassed everything from classical to country, destinations ranging from riverside to poolside to fire escape and choreographers interpreting, through dance, issues as dire as poverty and as fantastic as Alice in wonderland, all inspired by their particular site along the trolley route.

“We take the neighborhood where we are and we see what can happen,” said Isaacs.

Because the routines are performed in areas open to the public there is an element of unpredictability to each performance.

Terry Wilson, a veteran Trolley Dance

Michele Suthers City Times performer and choreographer, was the first stop on the Trolley Dance tour. Inspired by her site to create a dance centered around the socially sensitive issue of homelessness, Wilson encountered a wild card early, on when a citizen unhappy with the content of her routine disrupted their rehearsal and

tried to take one of their props. “Luckily the issue resolved itself.” Said Wilson.

For many the incorporation of the everyday goings on of people into the performance is one of the things that make Trolley Dances unique. Katie Brill, who performed in the Rolling Luggage Carts

dance at the Santa Fe Depot, enjoys the surprise factor of dancing in a public area.

“You’re always going to have people walking in the middle of your performance and that’s part of the fun of it because when you perform six times each day, in a way, it adds a little bit of fun for us,” said Brill.

“There’s always something that changes the piece.”

At the end of the day, as Trolley Dance patrons milled about the Santa Fe station, it seemed a general consensus that, though each had their favorite piece, the experience was, overall, a pleasant one that brought art to places where it might not be expected and created a feeling of community through dance.

“It’s fun to ride the trolley and we really love the site specific dances. They introduce us, each year to another part of San Diego that we’re not familiar with,” said Teri Miller of Leucadia. “It’s exciting and I think it introduces people to the arts in a real novel way. We’re standing around, we’re talking, moving from place to place.

It feels like a little community for the day,” Choreographer Terry Wilson agreed, “It’s a fabulous community project. It brings all different people together. You see people in the audiences at Trolley dances that you probably wouldn’t see in a typical theatre.” said Wilson. “It’s very accessible to the public and I think art should be accessible.”

Cafes

CARLOS MAIA City Times NPR analyst and host of “Morning Edition” and “Day to Day” Juan Williams answers questions and signs autographs after his presentation at the third annual Book Fair, which was held at the Saville theatre on Oct. 4. Watch for coverage of the Book Fair online at www.sdcitytimes.com.

McDouble Continued from page 7 according to Starbucks.com.

And that’s just the beverage alone, I personally like adding hazelnut syrup to my drink, which I believe adds another 100 calories.

Finally, add the whipped cream, which most of the frappuccinos come with, and you’re basically slurping down what can be considered a healthy calorie lunch.

Not to mention that these beverages are often paired with a lunch, that’s adding about 500 calories to whatever meal some-

one might be eating. Talk about a big lunch.

However, Starbucks is not the only giant competing for the coffee drinking clientele. The fast food giant McDonalds began competing with Starbucks when it introduced its iced coffees earlier in the year.

And now it has introduced a whole new coffee concept, McCaffe, where iced coffees, lattes, mochas and cappuccinos are being offered.

I have to admit, that I am a coffee drinker, and as much as I’m not a fan of McDonalds, their iced coffees are pretty good.

My personal favorite, Hazelnut iced coffee, medium, which is almost the equivalent of a Starbucks Venti, carries 190 calo-

ries and 29 grams of sugar according to McDonalds.com.

The cream that they use to cream up the iced coffee’s is a light cream, the syrup can be asked for sugar free, which brings the calorie content down, but all and all, it’s a pretty good deal for the price.

The Hazelnut iced Coffee cost around $2, plus tax. A Venti Hazelnut Coffee Frappucino can go anywhere from $3.50 to $4.

For someone who’s usually on the go, the convenience of drive through coffee is highly appreciated. Especially when the calorie content is lower than my breakfast and the price is decent.

I think I’ll pass on Starbucks’ sugary coffee beverage and stick to McDonalds’ iced coffee.

Continued from page 7

have been put on hold while the interested parties wait to hear back from the owners.

As for Starbucks at the corner of 11th and C Streets, baristas made their last Caramel Machiattos on Friday and also closed its doors forever, leaving many regular customers concerned about the companies’ future.

“Aside from the fact that the closest Starbucks to the City College campus is now at 10th and Market, I am beginning to wonder when, and if, they may get word that they need to close as well” said Alex Ojeda, City College student and regular customer.

Ojeda added, “I may not be a coffee drinker per se, but I do get my morning tea here and the occasional iced mocha.”

Last year, Starbucks announced that in the next year it would be closing 600 stores countrywide, 30 of them in the San Diego area. The campus Starbucks is now the third location to close in the downtown area, leaving City College students scrambling to find the closest spot to get their cappuccinos.

Jeff, a barista at the now closed location and also a City College student, says that he will either get his morning coffee at the 28th and B location, or at 10th and Market.

“That means I have to get up earlier, not only so I can get a coffee, but also so I can find parking, which continues to become more, and more, scarce.”

Fellow baristas, managers, and assistant managers, from the now closed campus location, feel the same uncertainty about the company, and find that even though they are all moving to other locations, many wonder if their jobs may be safe in the future.

As Ojeda sipped what was left of his iced mocha, he said, “We don’t really have too many choices left. Either we get our coffee on campus, at McDonalds or here at the Honey Bee Hive, and frankly, this wasn’t very good.”

With 26 more Starbucks locations closing in the next seven months, and no hope of Maui Wowi reopening anytime soon, these growing concerns may be well founded.

Got an event coming up? Mark it on our calendar. www.sdcitytimes.com

October 7, 2008

City Times

NEWS

11

California budget cuts leave transfer students hanging Justin Cooper SDSU Daily Aztec SAN DIEGO (U-WIRE) — A message from San Diego State to prospective transfer students: Come back next fall.

The state of California has slashed the education budget by 10 percent, a move that has universities such as SDSU and CSU San Marcos closing the door on transfer students for the spring of 2009.

Community college students who were expecting to attend SDSU this spring are now just spinning their wheels.

Ethan Singer, the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at SDSU said the problem is the result of not enough money and too little room. Singer said the changes were announced last February to give community college students as much advanced warning as possible.

“It is a combination of having (to) cut back enrollment to the

budgeted level,” Singer said. “As we were overenrolled last year, and at the same time not receiving any enrollment growth funding for new enrollment. Our numbers had to be reduced significantly, and therefore to have the right sized classes in the fall, we could not also take new students in the spring.”

Despite the spring moratorium, the yearly overall enrollment of transfer students to SDSU has risen, not fallen. According to Singer, the Fall 2003 semester admitted 32,872 students, a total that has increased to 36,225 in Fall 2006 and 36,625 in Fall 2007.

The budget cuts are part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s controversial plan to close the state’s estimated $14.5 billion budget shortfall.

As California’s spending on state schools is slashed across the board, both state universities and community colleges are feeling the heat. Community colleges often decide to cut back on

offered classes, meaning that it takes freshmen and sophomores longer to complete their transfer requirements.

At the same time, money for university classes also dwindles, which lowers the number of students accepted. The cutbacks are felt even more at community colleges because they receive less money from the state than universities do.

Samantha Austin, a 36-year-old nursing major at Southwestern College, has been on both ends of that problem. She was delayed in reaching her transfer requirements because of limited classes at SWC. This year, she met the requirements only to learn that SDSU would not be accepting spring admissions.

Austin is a single mother who depends on different grants for college such as Calworks, money that may now be in jeopardy because of the time-sensitive nature of the grants.

“It has just left me in a really

bad a spot,” Austin said. “I’m on a time slot with my grants and financial aid. I don’t know what I am going to do honestly. If I don’t get my grants, I’m not going to be able to pay my rent.”

Options for students are sparse, but there are some, Mary Rider, the Transfer Coordinator at Grossmont College, said. The two options that students have are to take as many classes as possible at a community college and also, when applying, to have the right GPA for their major in order to meet SDSU’s transfer admission criteria.

SDSU is simply too crowded and too popular, Norma Cazares, Director of Counseling at SWC said. For that reason, community college students wishing to pursue their bachelor’s degrees while staying close to home are going to find stiff competition.

“The whole world wants to get into San Diego State,” Cazares said. “That makes things much more competitive, which impacts

majors, which increases the criteria in order to meet the requirements for those majors. It’s the domino effect.”

Despite all the requirements, new local transfer students still have an advantage when applying to SDSU. In the past, transfer students would sign a Transfer Admission Guarantee that would ensure a transfer student a spot at SDSU. While there are no more contracts to sign, local students are still evaluated as T.A.G. students, according to Cazares.

Students can also be better prepared by arming themselves with better information, Cazares added. She has organized CSU application workshops and has tried to let students know about other options, such as private universities.

“Students need to think outside of that box,” Cazares said.

“San Diego State knows that I say this. I tell my students, ‘You need to think outside of San Diego State.’”

Be well ... Check out campus health services

12

City Times

SPORTS / ARTS

October 7, 2008

Women’s cross country team hitting their stride Jenna Henry City News Imagine a sport where the playing field is always different, everyone scores differently, and all you have to do to play is know how to breathe? Those are just the basics of cross-country running.

In the wide world of sports, cross country is sort of like a rare species: we know it’s there, but it seems we don’t really know a whole lot about it.

“Most people don’t know much about cross country running, other than it’s hard, so it’s best to keep the technical stuff out of it and make it interesting!” Kylie Edwards, coach of City College’s women’s cross country team.

Cross country is interesting, though, and much of that is credited to the differentiation of the courses. Runners compete on terrain that could be anything from muddy to grassy to sandy, and may have some steep hills. The length of the courses can vary from roughly between 2,000 to 5,000 meters. Scoring is also different, because the team with the least amount of points wins.

For the members of the women’s cross country team at City College, the reasons they joined the team are as unique as the sport itself. “Some want to go to a four-year school, some just to get in shape, some like the social aspect,” Edwards said.

Edwards talked about how this season is going and some of the challenges the City College team faces as well.

“Our first race at Palomar (College)

went well,” she said. “Most of the girls are new to racing or haven’t raced for a while so are just getting their feet wet. Everyone adapts to running differently, so it’s a challenge to know how much training people can absorb without getting injured, and of course everyone has busy lives outside of running, so it’s hard to balance being fulltime students, work, training, and family commitments too,” The team is up against Irvine, amongst others, at the Irvine Invitational at Irvine Regional Park on October 11th, in Orange.

Coach Edwards said she is looking forward to the competition. The team will be led by Captain Sarah McGregor, who is a veteran runner for City College.

“She ran all last year and trained all summer and came back in great shape. She is a very good leader,” Edwards said.

Edwards ran for SDSU and got into coaching as a way to stay with the sport.

She is in her second year as head coach for the women’s cross country team at City College. For her, coaching brings different rewards than competing, however.

“Seeing people do/achieve something they never thought they could is very rewarding, and it’s great to see young people gain confidence through sport,” she said.

For those women on campus who don’t know much about cross country but might be interested in getting into the sport, Edwards had some advice as well: “Come talk to me!” she said. “If you can breathe, you can learn to run, it comes naturally to everyone.”

Be sure to recycle this paper

Hitting the streets This year, San Diego Streetsecene returned to the Gaslamp, bringing top talent with it. The Hives, Cold War Kids and TV on the Radio performed, along with DEVO who was tapped to replace The Black Crowes, who cited an undisclosed illness.

“Howlin’” Pelle Almqvist of the Hives (right) performed with a high fever, yet kicked and belted out their trademark high energy blend of Swedish punk and American garage rock before their set was cut short at 45 minutes to make room for other heavyweights like TV on the Radio. Tunde Adebimpe (above) cranked the moog as his bandmates wailed and pounded through a powerful and mesmerizing set on Sept 19.

Photos by Joseph Leonard Contributor