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CITY TIMES WHAT DO YOU INK? City’s colorful students PAGE 5 Covering the San Diego City College community since 1945
BIRTH CONTROL
Right or responsibility? PAGE 7 Volume 66, Number 12
April 10, 2012
CSUs may not admit students Proposal to cut another $200 million in education By Brian Lett City Times California voters and students alike will be faced with a heavy ultimatum come November: approve Gov. Jerry Brown’s sales tax increase, or risk heavy reduction and eventual freezing of student enrollment into the California State University system in 2013. The cuts, According to CSU Vice Chancellor Robert Turnage, could result in an enrollment reduction of up to 25,000 students in the fall 2013 semester, and complete closing of enrollment in spring 2013 to all but eight CSU campuses: Channel Islands, Chico, East Bay, Fullerton, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Bernadino and Sonoma. Margaret Lutz, CSU San Marcos public information officer, shed some light on the details surrounding the ultimatum and how it came to be. “If the Governor’s tax initiative is not approved by voters in November, the CSU system as a whole faces an additional $200 million cut,”
The 2012 spring semester at City College marks an environmental milestone with the addition of several electric vehicle charging stations that have been installed in the V building’s parking lot. Students who commute to school in electric vehicles now have the opportunity to recharge their vehicles while in class for a small fee. The addition of these charging stations is City’s conscious attempt to become more eco-friendly. By promoting the use of lithium ion batteries rather than combustion engines, commuters save money on gasoline and reduce their carbon footprint. Electric vehicles expel no tailpipe emissions and can travel up to 100 miles on a single charge, usually needing 8 hours to re-charge.
Vets get a home away from home By Brian Lett City Times
San Diego State Univerisity would be one of many schools in California to freeze enrollment if a proposed $200 million budget cut goes into affect. Courtesy Photo said Lutz in an e-mail. “If the trigger is pulled, the proposed level of state funding to the CSU would equal 19961997 levels.” The proposed $200 million funding cut is in addition to a $750 million cut already made to the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which, according to the
California State Monterey Bay News, marks the lowest state funding in 15 years. Lutz added that if the budget is indeed cut, CSU is considering exploring alternative balancing options, including eliminating classes, academic and non-academic programs, or laying off hun-
dreds of employees. Greg Block, director of media relations for San Diego State University, cautions that community college students looking to transfer should not be overly alarmed, however. According to Block, prospective transfer students won’t be as heavily impacted
as first-year or lower division students. “Generally, when this happens we typically make transfer students a priority,” said Block. “They don’t have as many options as, say, students coming straight out of See Freeze, page 3
V-Building allows for a quick jolt By Michael Liggins City Times
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Lithium ion batteries are also smaller, lighter and more reliable than gasoline engines. The San Diego Community College district purchased the stations using funds allocated to them through the $1.55 billion propositions S and N construction bond programs. Last Sept., ECOtality, a San Francisco based electric vehicle charging company, installed more than 1,000 charging stations around San Diego County. The electric vehicle charging stations are part of ECOtality’s Blink Network, an online program that allows drivers to remotely schedule and charge their vehicles with a Blink card. Electric vehicle enthusiasts looking to sign up for membership to the Blink Network can do so by going to blinknetwork.com and select- A Nissan Leaf is charged Utilizing one of the 5 ECOtality charging sations in the ing charging plans ranging V-building parking structure. Sixteen stations like these where installed throughfrom $1 to $2 per hour. out the district as part of propositions S and N. Troy Orem, City Times
City College veterans will soon have another “safe haven” to come to with the opening of the Veteran Service Center. The VSC is planned to open soon after spring break and will be located in room A-220, formerly the DSPS proctoring room. Helen Elias, City’s dean of student development and matriculation, played a pivotal role in establishing the VSC, which manifested when she started asking questions like, “How are we serving our veterans other than through our traditional Veterans Affairs Office?” This was a question she first encountered during her time at Southwestern College, where she was the head of the disabled student services program. There her and her colleagues noticed a rapidly increasingly number of wartime veterans returning with visible and invisible disabilities. To combat these disabilities they set out to create what Elias called a “trauma informed campus that welcomed veterans and provided them with opportunities to more easily transition.” This is exactly the type of program that will be provided at the VSC through services such as counseling, student workshops, and mentoring programs. Other amenities such as computer access will also be available, and the center will serve as a meeting ground for clubs like City’s Veterans for Peace. “Safe haven” was a term used to describe the VSC by Elias and both the president and vice president of VFP, Maria Mustacchio and Bryce Schierenbech respectively. According to Schierenbech, a wartime veteran himself, faculty and student veterans began holding meetings, or “flex workshops,” to pinpoint some of the troubles returning veterans were having — what developed was the VSC. The VSC will be open from Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. sometime following spring break.