Q SUPREME WIN
City Knights claim second Pacific Coast Conference title in five years SPORTS / PAGE 12
CityTimes www.sdcitytimes.com
Covering the San Diego City College community since 1945
Volume 63, Number 11
February 24, 2009
New farmers market on Campus
Carlos maia City Times
Students weather the storm to buy City-grown produce
On a rainy Feb. 17, speech and journalism major Stephanie Simon stops at the farmers market between classes to purchases a bag of mixed salad greens grown on campus. “It’s so great that you are doing this,” Simon said as she paid for her vegetables and rushed to her next class trying to avoid the morning rain. The farmers market is the newest addition to the Urban Garden program at City. The market is held every Tuesday from 9 to 11 a.m. and is open to all. According to urban gardener Julia Dashe the farmers market made at total of $75 and the proceeds will go directly back into the program for buying more farming tools. Some of the vegetables that are being sold at the market are ruby streaked mustard greens, curly green lettuce, cilantro, daikon, and edible flowers. All vegetables were grown and harvested by the interns and volunteers of the Urban Garden program who are learning how to farm organically. Check out the full story and photos on pages 6 and 7.
Upgrading the way we communicate
New tech gives deaf students a wider range of communication options Nathan HIpple City Times Disability Support Programs and Services is hooking-up students who are deaf or hearing impaired with a new Video Relay Service (VRS). The technology enables a deaf person to communicate with a hearing person over the telephone, with the assistance of a video interpreter--who relays the conversation between sign lan-
Index
Take Note.................................2 News...................................... 3 Opinion................................... 4 Arts........................................ 9 Sports................................... 12
guage and the spoken word. Before the VRS technology, a deaf person had to be in the same room as an interpreter in order to see phone calls translated into sign language. Now the interpreter can be reached wherever there is access to a videophone. “Public places need to have one,” said to Dr. Debra HowardWright, Program Manger of Disabled Support Programs and Services (DSP&S). “The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
requires it. This relay phone must be available.” The ADA was signed into law in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush to prohibit discrimination based on disability. The videophone is intended to provide equal access to telephones for students who are deaf or hard-ofhearing. “That’s why we’re funded,” explained Dr. Howard-Wright, “so everybody has access.” Here’s how VRS works: First,
Inside
Q City Fixies
The growing cycling culture on campus LIFE / PAGE 7
the deaf caller signs a message to the video interpreter (they see each other on TV screens). Video Interpreters relay the signed-message to the recipient of the call, who listens and responds orally and the interpreter translates the message to the deaf caller in sign language, visible on-screen. “A number of students have been using it regularly,” reports Dr. Howard-Wright. “The technology has improved and there’s no delay anymore. “
She stressed the importance of video clarity and speed in viewing the subtleties of sign language. Dr. Howard-Wright is considering ordering a second device. Sue Taetzsch, the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Counselor at City College estimated, “There are about 15 to 20 students at City who are deaf or hearing impaired. “It varies each semester.” She noticed that students were utilizing
See DSPS, page 3
Online
Q Stumbling home
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