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City Times
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Covering the San Diego City College community since 1945
Volume 74, Issue 6 | April 30, 2020
CAres act aids students during pandemic
City Collegewill receive$4.5millioninfundingfromgovernment B Y GABE SCH NEI DER Staff Writer
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an Diego City College students will r eceive just under 2.3 million in financial aid, accor ding to the gover nment database that lists the allocations for each college and univer sity acr oss the countr y. The aid comes fr om a package included in the Cor onavir us Aid, Relief, and Economic Secur ity (CARES) Act, which pr ovides $6.8 billion in initial for mula gr ants to higher education institutions known as the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). San Diego City College Chancellor Constance Car r oll said institutions in the distr ict, including City, Mesa and Mir amar colleges, would r eceive funds. City Times totaled just over $13.7 million based on the gover nment database that details the allocations to colleges and univer sities acr oss the countr y. I n her most r ecent update shar ed tonight by email and online, Car r oll said, ?they ar e closely monitoring feder al r elief funding.? ?We ar e gr eatly disappointed by the clar ifications we have r ecently r eceived r egar ding how the funds may be used,? Car r oll wr ote in the update. ?Clear ly, our values
as a community college or ganization ar e inclusive and it is our goal to help all students, especially those who ar e the most vulner able.? However, this amount allocated is based on Pell Gr ant figur es, which is tied to cr edit students. The guidelines fr om the CARES Act r equir e that 50% of the funds ar e allocated to students, especially students impacted negatively by the COVI D -19 cr isis. I n all, City College will r eceive just over $4.5 million in allocations. ?The funds can only be used for ?Title I V-eligible?students, defined as legal r esidents who have a high school diploma or GED and who ar e r egister ed in author ized pr ogr ams. The CARES Act HEERF specifically excludes undocumented, DACA, and inter national students fr om this funding,? Car r oll said. Accor ding to the chancellor, ?This clar ification would in effect also exclude some categor ies of noncr edit students.? Although many cour ses at City College ar e ?gr oundbased,? students whose schedules only included online classes on Mar ch 13 will also be excluded fr om aid. The colleges can use the r emaining funds to ?defr ay expenses for institutions of
Cur r ent COVID-19 safety pr ecautions have caused the San Diego Community College Distr ict to close campuses including San Diego City College. City Times file photo
higher education such as lost r evenue, technology costs associated with a tr ansition to distance education, and gr ants to students for food, housing, cour se mater ials, technology, health car e, and child car e,? Car oll wr ote on Apr il 15 and Apr il 23. Since students? ?financial needs ar e immediate and
gr eat? the four institutions have decided to distr ibute their scholar ship funds ear ly. ?Pr esident Ricky Shabazz r epor ts that City College has alr eady distr ibuted $283,090 to 210 students and is pr oviding emer gency funds as well,? Car oll said. San Diego Community College Distr ict r eceived
$200,000 fr om the San Diego Foundation to fight the ?Digital Divide.? City College will r eceive $49,000 to pr ovide computer equipment to students in need. This story will be updated on sdcitytimes.com as more information becomes available.
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CITYNEWS
sdcitytimes.com | April 30, 2020
NEWSCENE COVERSCOVID-19 ewscene cover s COVI D - 19 and how it is affecting internationally, nationally and locally in its weekly Fr iday show. Newscene is the student-pr oduced television news br oadcast fr om San Diego City College cover ing local to inter national news. Many of the stor ies focused on the pr ecautions and r eactions of or ganizations to pr event the spr ead of COVI D -19. Newscene is continuing their shor t news on YouTube ever y Fr iday. Details ar e still being finalized. Stay tuned for updates.
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SDSRADIOGOESSILENT he staff of the Student Deliver ed Sound r adio station ar e not being able to br oadcast their shows dir ectly fr om the station. SDS is the student- r un r adio station fr om San Diego City College that pr oduces r egular ly. However, they ar e now focusing on podcasting to expand their pr oduction skills and pr epar e them to cr eate mor e unique pr oductions. While wor king r emotely on podcasting, the station will be playing on auto until they can r etur n to the stations.
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Compiled by Issac Limon
CITYTIMESSTAFFWINSGENERAL EXCELLENCEATJACCSOCAL City Times staff took home two gener al excellence awar ds for online and L egend magazine. Scott Gar dinier and Sonny Gar ibay wer e both awar ded honar able mentions in news stor y wr iting. For mer staffer David Ahumada placed four th in gr aphics/design photo illustr ation. - Diangela Veras
CityTimes
Elizabet h War r en speaks t o t he media, including Cit y Times and Newscene, aft er her San Diego t own hall. Phot o by Vicky Pineda/ City Times
SDCCDANNOUNCESPLANSTOMOVETO ONLINECLASSESINRESPONSETOCOVID- 19 Distr ict colleges and Continuing Education ar e seeking appr oval for the Emer gency Blanket Distance s colleges and univer sities Education Addendum fr om the acr oss the countr y close or State Chancellor Eloy Or tiz Oakley adjust how they teach their for the effective dates of Mar ch 16 to students in r esponse to the June 1. The chancellor sent out a letter cor onavir us, the San Diego Community College Distr ict and City on Tuesday, Mar ch 10 addr essed to College ar e announcing their own distr ict colleagues and fr iends. The letter can be found on the San Diego plans. Constance Car r oll, the chancellor City College website. I t was an update to a letter the of the San Diego Community College Distr ict, said the distr ict?s thr ee chancellor sent out on Mar ch 4. A colleges and Continuing Education separ ate letter to students was exar e planning to begin the conver sion pected to go out sometime this week, accor ding to the Mar ch 10 letof on-site classes to online. At 11:24 a.m. on Mar ch 11, Cesar ter, to pr epar e them for a change Gumapas, the City College Public descr ibed as ?inevitable.? Car r oll also stated that distr ict ofI nfor mation Officer, sent an update r egar ding the cor onavir us to cam- ficials have been in close communipus via text and thr ough the campus cation with health agencies and have been closely following the acsafety app L ive Safe. Gumapas? message echoed what tions of other univer sities and comCar r oll pr eviously said in her ear lier munity colleges. ?I t is under stood that this is a messages. I t also said events on complex under taking and that some campus ar e being canceled such as the Social Justice Confer ence, City classes with labor ator y or other Women Rock, and Fr iday?s foster hands-on components will have difficulty with this conver sion,? said youth event. The bi- monthly Hunger Action Car r oll in the statement. ?Effor ts Days food distr ibution will continue have been made to wor k with accr editor s and other s to see how this as planned until fur ther noticed. The conver sion is expected to be pr oblem can best be sur mounted.? Pr esidents of the colleges and incr emental, star ting Mar ch 16 Continuing Education, along with thr ough Mar ch 31.
B Y VI CK Y P I NE DA Co-Editor-in-Chief
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sdcitytimes.com Volume74, Issue6 | April 30, 2020
VICKYPINEDA
CITYTIMESSTAFF
Co-Editor-in-Chief
JesseAltilio, Angel Cazares, Isai Figueroa, Mikal Garcia, Alex Gomez, MarlenaHarvey, Orrin Iverson, LuzJaimes, Jovani Juarez, Christopher LeFall, Isaac Limon, BrendaLino-Rojas, AarmonMehdiyan, UyenPham, Gabriel Schneider, Sophia Traylor, ElisabethVermeulen, ValerieVizcarra, Benjamin Williams
DIANGELAVERAS Co-Editor-in-Chief
MELISA CABELLO-CUAHUTLE ManagingEditor
LACEYSTEFANO Social MediaEditor
ISSAC LIMON MultimediaEditor
SCOTT GARDINIER BlogTeamEditor Copy Editor
NICOLEVARGAS Adviser
Publishedasthefollowingpublications: - TheJaySees(1945-1949) - Fortknightly (1949-1978) - CityTimes(1978-present) IncorporatingnewspapersTecoloteandKnight Owl & Flicks District policy statement: Thispublicationisproduced asalearningexperience under SanDiegoCityCollege?sDigital Journalism program. All materials, includingopinionsexpressedherein, are thesoleresponsibilityof thestudentsandshouldnot be interpretedtobethoseof thecollegedistrict, its officersor employees.
Duringthespring2020 semester, City Timeswill publishonlineregularly, or as newsbreaks, on sdcitytimes.comasof Monday, Feb. 3. CityTimes will publishamonthlyprint edition throughout thespringterm. Legend magazinewill publishoncein April. Signed opinionsarethoseof theindividual writersand donot necessarily represent thoseof theentire newspaper staff, City Collegeadministration, faculty andstaff or theSanDiegoCommunity CollegeDistrict Board of Trustees. Letters totheeditor: Letters totheeditor arewelcome, 350 wordsor less. Thestaff reservestheright toedit for grammar, spelling, punctuationandlength.
depar tment deans and chair s, have alr eady star ted to conver t some of the classes to online using Zoom and Canvas. Some students have alr eady r epor ted changes. Multiple students told the City Times staff that math classes had alr eady conver ted to online with little notice befor e the Mar ch 10 letter. At least one face-toface midter m for an online math class has also been canceled. The Accr editing Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) and the Wester n Association of Schools and Colleges alr eady have per mission fr om the United States Depar tment of Education to use online technologies. ?We ar e r eaching out to other licensur e or ganizations to see if hands- on or stimulation adjustments can be modified,? said Car r oll in a statement. ? We will need to find alter natives.? The study abr oad pr ogr am at City and Mesa have been canceled for this summer. The letter also said one event, Take Our Childr en to Wor k Day, had been canceled. I t did not include updates on any other campus events. Car r oll does plan to send out mor e infor mation to all students and faculty r egar ding the tr ansition to online classes tempor ar ily. Howtoreachus: CityTimes SanDiegoCityCollege 1313 Park Blvd. | San Diego, CA92101 Newsroom: L-117 E-mail: citytimes@gmail.com Memberships: JournalismAssociationof Community Colleges CaliforniaCollegeMediaAssociation Associated CollegiatePress CaliforniaNewspaper Publishers Association
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CITYNEWS stat echancel l or discusses emer gency r esponse
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sdcitytimes.com| April 30, 2020
B Y VAL E RI E VI ZCARRA Staff Writer ommunity colleges all over Califor nia ar e pr epar ing for online instr uction to continue, possibly thr ough the fall ter m, accor ding to Califor nia Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Or tiz Oakley. ?Even if we ar e able to come back to campus, it won?t be in the same way that we?r e used to,? Oakley said in a r ecent teleconfer ence with 90 student jour nalists. The chancellor also said that colleges have been instr ucted to pr epar e for similar cir cumstances into spr ing of 2021. ?We need to continue to move cour ses onto Canvas, continue to pr ovide faculty pr ofessional development,? Oakley said. ?We expect some level of social distancing pr otocol in the fall.? He said the state is pr epar-
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ing for online instr uction that will be a fr amewor k for futur e emer gencies if online lear ning is necessar y. Cuts wer e announced in Mar ch beyond the pr eviously dr afted budget for the upcoming fiscal year, accor ding to a letter sent to the state legislatur e by Gover nor Gavin Newsom. Funding will go to ongoing pr ogr ams that ar e consider ed essential and suppor t students in their educational goals. ?The budget committee announced that in August they will r econvene after r evenues ar e better under stood to determine whether or not ther e's going to be additional cuts,? Oakley said. I n addition, the chancellor s acr oss the state, including SDCCD, have appr oved flexible policies r egar ding gr ading and enr ollment r efunds. The policies allow colleges the
flexibility to excused withdr awals, which don?t count against the students? GPA or academic pr obation. UC and CSU school systems ar e accepting pass and no pass, adjusting admissions for tr ansfer students, said Executive Vice Chancellor of Educational Ser vices Mar ty J. Alvar ado, who was also included in the teleconfer ence. For bye, if a student has a COVI D - 19 r elated cir cumstance, community colleges ar e expected to give a full r efund. He also explained the impor tance of having ever y student and community member counted in this year 's census. ?I t is impor tant that students ar e fair ly r epr esented by our congr essional leadership. The r esour ces that we need, and r epr esentation, will be impacted by how many people ar e counted in the 2020 census.? Oakley said.
Chancellor of Califor nia Communit y Colleges Eloy Or t iz Oakley host ed a st udent media t eleconfer ence on Zoom. Califor nia Communit y Colleges phot o
To participate in the census, visit census.ca.gov | To viewthe full article, visit sdcitytimes.com
commencement pushed back B Y E L I SAB E TH VE RM E UL E N , Staff Writer As a fir st- gener ation college student, commencement was supposed to be a day to r emember for Cindy Tong. ?City has opened up so many door s for me educationwise, and the vir us hit, and now I can?t walk,? the Cosmetology major said in a phone call inter view. Tong studied on and off at City College for six year s. ?I put in a lot of wor k and I deser ve to celebr ate,? Tong said. The 2020 commencement cer emony for San Diego City College was scheduled at Balboa Par k for May 22. San Diego Community College Distr ict Chancellor Constance Car r oll announced that the cer emony has been postponed due to statewide r estr iction of assembling lar ge gr oups. Ther e wer e up to 700 gr aduates who participated in the last cer emony held at Balboa Par k in 2018. 4,000 with guests included. ?I f ther e?s any way for us to have an in-per son gr aduation, that is what we want to have,? said Mar ciano Per ez, dean of Student Affair s, in a video call inter view. ?We absolutely under stand the impor tance of students being able to walk acr oss the stage.? The school has r eached out
l apt op LOANS B Y L UZ J AI M E S Staff Writer an Diego City College will be giving out 500 laptops and Wi- Fi hubs to deser ving students star ting today, accor ding to an email sent by San Diego City College Pr esident Ricky Shabazz on Tuesday. ?Many of our students lack the r esour ces and technology needed to continue their college education r emotely,? said San Diego City College Pr esident Ricky Shabazz in a news r elease. ?We ar e making ever y effor t to suppor t our students and help them be successful as our cour ses tr ansitioned to online and other alter native modes of instr uction.? This will help students complete their wor k, which r equir es computer access as
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The 2020 commencement cer emony for San Diego Cit y College was scheduled t o r et ur n t o Balboa Par k on May 22. It has now been post poned due t o t he cor onavir us pandemic. St udent Affair s phot o
to Balboa Par k to seek any availability within June, July or August, but no potential dates have been given. Gr aduating students r eceived an email r egar ding the postponement. ?That?s pr etty upsetting to me, it?s a big smack in the face,? Psychology and Chicano Studies major L upita I bar r a said dur ing a phone call inter view. ?I ?ve r ealized that it?s not just about me, it?s about our families,? I bar r a said. ?I t?s a celebr ation for them and their sacr ifices. I t?s about being able to take my niece to my gr aduation and say ?hey, you can do it, too.?? The ceremony is also a time for students and faculty to come together.
?I feel bummed out because I had hopes to see my older pr ofessor s again all in one big cer emony along with the fr iends I was supposed to gr aduate with,? Communications major Edwin Nejia said dur ing a phone call inter view. Per ez also shar ed that he has wor ked and suppor ted students as they embar k on their college jour ney. ?For us, when we see students walk acr oss that stage, the same pr ide that your family feels is the same pr ide that we often feel as faculty and staff,? Per ez said. Although the decision on whether the cer emony will take place in-per son or vir tually hasn?t been made yet, the school has pr ovided options in
a questionnair e sent to gr aduates on Apr il 27. The options include: a livestr eam cer emony, a gr aduation video, a special acknowledgement package, a cer emony held dur ing fall or a joint cer emony with the class of 2021. The school is also taking r ecommendations. ?We want to make this special,? Per ez said. ?We want to make sur e that whatever
some class assignments and r eadings ar e difficult to access and r ead on smar tphones and other devices. Shabazz announced in an email that City College is shar ing a shor t video asking people to help and donate to pr ovide mor e computer s for students. Ther e ar e sever al ways that you can help your fellow classmates, including donating money and sharing the video on social media. Accor ding to the email, the goal is to eventually accommodate 5,000 students with laptops. For more infor mation or to donate, visit sdcity.edu/donate. Ar e you a student str uggling to complete online assignments due to technology issues? Shar e your stor y with us on social media @sdcitytimes. we?r e doing r eally honor s our gr aduates, that this is something that they can be pr oud of.? Spr ing gr aduates can expect their diplomas to be mailed out by ear ly August, while summer gr aduates will r eceive their s in the middle of October.
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CITYNEWS
sdcitytimes.com | April 30, 2020
RESOURCESSTILLAVAILABLE More information can be found on the sdcitytimes.comlive blog, which is updated daily. STUDENTHEALTHAVAILABLE DURINGCAMPUSCLOSURE Students who worry about not having campus resources available for student health and mental healthcanaccessthoseonline. No on-campus, in-person services are available in the Student Health Center until further notice, accordingtotheCityCollegewebsiteonSunday. The Student Health Center is instead offering an online form for students to complete using this link. It is recommended students should not share confidential information because the form is not fully secure. Messages and emails received by the office are checked at regular intervals during the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. pm Monday through Thursday from andonFriday until 12:30 p.m. Students will be assessed, and depending on the situation, staff can offer a virtual meeting using a secureversionof Zoom. Studentscanreferencethefollowingresources: For medical andnursingreferrals, call 619-388-3450. For mental healthreferrals, call 619-388-3055. Incaseof amental healthemergency, call 888-724-7240, or 911, or text ?COURAGE? to741-741 ? Isaac Limon
SUBIRDREAMERRESOURCE CENTERCONTINUESONLINE City College?s SUBIRDreamer Resource Center is continuingtheir support for undocumentedstudents. If students have concerns about their programs, the center created an online platform called Ask City where students can ask questions and give recommendations. The center will continue offering free immigration consultations with lawyers from Jacobs and Schlesinger LLP. Students have to meet with counselor Noel Puga to submit a one-on-one appointment request. Counseling sessions are available Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10 a.m. and4 p.m. Students who are facing challenges securing food or housing and think that this may affect their class performance may contact their professor, visit the Office of Student Affairs in M-200 or the Students HealthCenter in A-180. ? Isai Figueroa
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MENTALHEALTHCOUNSELING CENTEROFFERSSUPPORTFOR SPANISHSPEAKINGSTUDENTS
ASGELECTIONSCONTINUEONLINE
The Mental Health Counseling Center presents Viviendo Con Positividad, a new social support group for Spanish speakingstudents. The group will help Spanish speaking students build connections, express their ideas and share their experiences on various topics in a safe environment. They will meet every Wednesday viaZoomfrom12-1p.m. starting April 20, endingonMay25. Counselors will be conducting the group primarily in Spanish. Topics include: positive psychology, reframing thoughts, mindfulness andhealthyrelationships. For any students interested in participating in theevent, the Zoom ID and other information is listed on the San Diego City College website at sdcity.edu/students/services/mental-health/events-outreach. For any further questions, email the Mental Health CounselingCenter at citymhcc@sdccd.edu. ? Jovani Juarez
IMMIGRANTSUPPORT PROGRAMS, RESOURCES CHANGEDURINGPANDEMIC A number of organizations that work directly with students who are undocumented, DACAor immigrants have announcedchanges duringthecoronaviruspandemic. The United States Customs and Immigration Service is temporarily closing its offices across the country through May 4. Biometrics appointments have been postponed and will berescheduledafter USCISreopens. This means the renewal process for DACA and any changesin statuswill bedelayed. Organizations like United We Dream recommend submitting applications of renewal sooner than the recommended timeline from USCIS. This will allow applications to arrive at USCISin time for the initial process tobeginas soonastheofficereopens. Even with the quarantine, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection will continuing deportations. Know Your Rights information is availableat ilrc.org/red-cardsindifferent languages. ? Isai Figueroa
AREYOUGETTINGTHE$1,200 FROMTHEGOVERNMENT? As news of a stimulus package and a possible $1,200 check makes headlines, getting accurateinformation about howit will impact City Collegestudentscanbechallenging. CongresspersonSusan Davissent out anemail this week to constituents, answering the most-asked questions about the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, also knownasCARES. Who qualifies for the $1,200 rebate? (Answer: There is no simple answer.) Will individuals be taxed on the money? (Answer: No, it is not taxable.) Do rebates need to be repaid?(Answer: No, theydon?t havetoberepaid.) Davis says the money will support families and small businesses. To read the full Q&A, visit Davis?website at https:/ /susandavis.house.gov/ homepage/coronavirus.htm. ? Chris LeFall
It?s spring semester, which means the Associated Student Government of City College is electing a new board for the next school year, and students can vote online to make their voices heard. An email from Student Services announced the information alongwithalist of candidates. Among the candidates are Destiny Gallegos-Munoz running for ASGPresident, Isamar Mejia running as ASGSecretary, and Diego Cuadros, Marie Migambi, Victoria Boahemaa Owusu and Nicolas Ruvalcabarunningfor ASGSenator. Readabout thecandidates that arerunninghere. An ASG Candidates Forum to meet the candidates is being preparedsothat students canask questionsand bring upimportant matters about life at City College. ASGis asking students to submit their questions in advance to ASG Advisor Lori Oldham at loldham@sdccd.eduby Friday May1. A link to the forum will be available May 8 on the ASGwebsite where viewers can watch the candidates answer questions and deliver their openingstatement. Elections will be held May 13-14 via an email from the district that containsalink tovote. Theprocesstakesafewminutes. Resultswill bepostedonMay 26 by3 p.m. ? Scott Gardinier
DISTRICTUPDATESCOVID-19 GRADES, REFUNDPOLICIES San Diego City College announced in an email sent to students recent updates regarding grading and refunds for college students duetoCOVID-19. The pass/no pass deadline has been extended to May 8, 2020. Students can access this option using mySDCCD. For help, use the mySDCCDSupport Desk. If a student withdraws or is dropped from a class by faculty between March 9 and May 8, students will receive an excused withdrawal (EW) withanotationof COVID-19. If your status is switched toIn Process (IP), it means work will be completed later due to missing equipment that meets the course requirements. Students with unfinished assignments will also be notified if they have an Incomplete (I) at the end of the semester. Professors will notify youof themake-upsessionswhenit ispermitted. Refunds will be processed for EWgrades between March 9 to May 8, and payments will be refunded via check and mailed to your addressof record. Toverify or updateyour address, visit mySDCCD. The bookstore will accept returns of supplies and books one week after campuses re-opens. ? ValerieVizcarra
ON-CAMPUSTUTORINGGOESONLINE San Diego City College is has announced it is taking its services onlinetosupport studentslearning. Students can nowreceive online tutoring services in a variety of subjects, including the sciences, math and languages. For weekly tutor schedules, visit here. Online tutoring will be held using Zoom. It will allowyou to meet withatutor tohelpstrengthen subject comprehension. To begin your online tutoring session, visit https:/ /etutoringonline.org/ login. Students can enroll after creating anaccount. For further questions or concerns, call 619-388-3685 or email cjones@sdccd.edu. ? Valerie Vizcarra
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