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Covering the San Diego City College community since 1945
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Volume 66, Number 5
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October 25, 2011
Campus protesters share Border talks similar views as ‘Occupy’ for equality By Jorge Benitez City Times
City College students were inspired by Occupy San Diego protesters and marched around the campus chanting, “Walk out, walk out, walk out for your education.”Fernando Yates, City Times
‘Occupy’ movement continues to make noise though some believe focus has been lost By Sydney Bryant City Times After several weeks of chanting and marching, dozens of people continue the Occupy San Diego protest. Since the initial Oct. 7 march, demonstrators have marched through downtown several times, a man died at the site of the protest, some have been arrested and dozens continue to camp out at the Civic Center Plaza. Mark Elliot, an aspiring journalist, said he believes that, “If we the people come together, we cannot be
defeated.” “Everything we are doing is about peace, love and revolution,” Elliot said, standing in front of the Civic Center Plaza Oct. 19. Participants in the Occupy movement have different reasons for why they are involved. However, they all share one common view: “Human Need, not Corporate Greed,” as many signs proclaimed. Supporters of medical marijuana have joined forces with the Occupy San Diego protesters. Recently the federal gov-
ernment said that it would shut down most medical marijuana dispensaries because they do not comply with federal regulations. “Together we can create embargoes against big corporations. We the people are the 99 percent,” said William West, who advocates for the use of medical marijuana through his website. Not everyone agrees with what has happened since Occupy San Diego started. Megan, a woman in her mid-twenties, who declined to give her last name, said that the movement has shifted away from its focus. “I really want to see the movement keep going,” said Megan, adding that she was worried that issues such as
unemployment, and extreme political views — the main themes in the first days of the movement — have now been replaced by topics such as medical marijuana. The Internet has been Occupy San Diego’s biggest supporter. Social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook have helped the movement expand all over the United States. According to occupysandiego.org, a committee meets at 5 p.m. daily, general assembly meetings are held at 7 p.m., and protesters march every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. For the latest information on Occupy San Diego, please visit the website at www.occupysandiego.org
Three experts on the U.S.-Mexico border described the exploitation of undocumented immigrants in the United States and the problems they face when they are deported. Experts Justin Akers Chacon, Victor Clark and Jill Holslin spoke on Oct. 7 at a panel discussion held in Seville Theatre for the 6th Annual San Diego City College International Book Fair. Victor Clark, director of the Binational Center for Human Rights in Tijuana and lecturer in the Latin American Studies Department at San Diego State University, addressed some of the issues undocumented immigrants face. He said, “There is logic in migration, due to the increase in jobs. We want people to work but don’t want them to have privileges. It’s a contradiction.” There are many reported cases of illegal immigrants being treated unfairly. Incidents of illegal immigrants having to work for as many as 60 hours per week while receiving less than minimum wage. Most of the time they are just trying to survive and are left with no option but to take whatever job is offered to them without thinking of the consequences it has on their rights. This year the amount of documented illegal immigrants deported is near
400,000. Many of them faced inhuman situations, according to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “In reaction to the increase in deportations, the Mexican government has launched a program where they offer phone calls, bus rides to Jalisco, Mexico, shelter and hospital centers to help immigrants find their way home,” said Holslin, lecturer in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies at San Diego State University. Hoslin has been documenting the construction of the U.S.-Mexico wall. At the end of the discussion a student asked a question which made the experts pause for a moment. “Don’t you think that it is patriotic as Americans to push for a harsh policy on illegal immigration?” the student asked. Justin Akers Chacon, author of “No One is Illegal,” responded to the question by saying, “Patriotism. It is necessary to reclaim it and redefine it. There is a very fine line between being patriotic and humanitarian; these kinds of issues need to be addressed from a human point of view, not patriotic. If not, in response we get groups such as the Minute Men, who are an extremist form of a radical group, hatred inspired.” The second Bi-National Border Conference will be held on Dec. 1 at City College.
Food pantry feeds those in need By Brian Lett Correspondent After a bit of turbulence, this year’s food pantry program at City College is back in action, thanks especially to a successful food drive that concluded Oct. 14 and was hosted by the athletic department. According to Kathy McGinnis, dean of health, exercise science and athletics, the food drive was able to collect 2167 pounds of food — an amount that food pantry coordinators expect should last well into next year. Aside from the athletic department, contributors include Students in Free Enterprise, the college book-
store, and Associated Students. The food pantry, which was established in the spring of 2008, came about after several City College faculty members became increasingly aware of a growing number of hungry students. After numerous surveys and examinations were conducted, an initiative was developed, passed, and eventually manifested into the food pantry program that still exists today. According to Cherie BromleyTaylor, CALWORKS administrative technician and official administrator of the food pantry program, the food pantry has distributed roughly 1,000 lunches to 850 students since being established, with around
300 lunches being distributed this semester alone. Dotti Cordell, director of student health services and one of the founding creators of the program, has nothing but gratitude for the participants and contributors who keep the program alive, as well as satisfaction for how the program has been able to evolve since its induction. “What’s really nice is the kind of people that we have at City, that (the food pantry) has been going on now for a couple years,” Cordell said. “Students can use it when they have to.” Cordell also commented on the steadfast commitment of BromleyTaylor, who was able to maintain
Bormley-Tayler holds a sign in the food pantr y storage room at City College. Nicholas A. Preston, City Times Bromley-Taylor has been highly control when the going got rough. “There were different kinds of revered by fellow participants as leaves and absences…turnover in the heart and soul of the project, administration, lack of people to help dedicating an enormous amount of [prepare] the lunches,” Cordell said. “Cherie has turned all that around.” See Pantr y, page 3