SOCCERSEASON KnightssurprisedtheTartars SPORTS, page4
CityTimes sdcitytimes.com
Weekly online | Monthly in print | Covering the San Diego City College community since 1945
National Pacemaker winner | Volume 71, Number 1| September 13, 2016
Parking stress By ROBERTODELAPEĂ‘A City Times
Meet the President Denise Whisenhut has served the San Diego Community College District for 15 years. At City College, she served first as Dean of Student AffairsandthenVicePresident of Student Services. Shebecome actingpresident after theformer president, Anthony Beebe, left inJune. She wants students to know that her door is open and that they are her first priority. City Times will publish a profile of her in an upcoming edition. CELIAJIMENEZ City Times
Murder conviction overturned By CELIAJIMENEZ City Times A cour t r uling has r eopened a sad chapter at San Diego City College?s histor y. The Four th Appellate Distr ict Cour t over tur ned the mur der conviction of Ar mando Per ez, who pleaded guilty to stabbing to death his estr anged wife, a City College student. The cour t said that Per ez needed counsel to plead guilty even though he insisted on r epr esenting himself. Dur ing the night of Oct. 12, 2010, author ities said Per ez waited for his 19- year- old wife, Diana Gonzalez, and dr agged her into a campus bathr oom, stabbed her multiple times and mutilated her. Dur ing his tr ial, the cour t accepted Per ez?s petition to
Analtar toDianaGonzalez duringacandlelight event at GortonQuadon Oct. 15, 2015 . CELIAJIMENEZ City Times File Photo
I f you dr ive to City College, you might have noticed that par king spaces ar e ver y limited. Accor ding to the San Diego Community College Distr ict Police Depar tment, ther e ar e appr oximately 1062 student par king spaces on campus. Though that might appear to be a big number this fall it has pr oven to be insufficient. City College annual r epor ts have shown that enr ollment number s have decr eased by about 1,000 between 2011 and 2015. On the other hand, the SD CCD police depar tment r epor ts show that par king per mit pur chases have incr eased by about 800 during the same time fr ame. Dur ing the 2011 spr ing semester, 3,449 par king per mits wer e pur chased at City College. By spr ing 2015, that number r ose to 4,243. That means that for ever y par king spot, ther e ar e four par king per mits. New par king str uctur es wer e added in 2012 to accommodate the par king per mit incr ease, but that only intr oduced about 290 new student par king spaces. City College par king assistant, Andr ea Hall, believes that the lack of par king spaces might be caused by Mir amar and Mesa Coll ege students who take classes at City. Pr evious enr ollment tr ends show that City College is losing students, but the school has not yet r eleased its 2016-2017 r epor t, which could indicate that the Fall 2016 semester has exper ienced a substantial enr ollment incr ease. I f that's the case, that might explain the par king satur ation. Ricar do Or tega is one of the students who dr ives to school. I n or der to get a decent par king spot, he ar r ives at 6:20 A.M and waits about two hour s befor e his 8:30 A.M. class begins. ?You tr y to get a class and even if you tr y to come in ear ly, it?s just so over cr owded that ther e?s not r eally much that you can do.? Or tega, a nur sing student said. He explained that if he wer e to ar r ive at City after 6:20, it might take him an hour or mor e to find a par king space. The par king situation has pushed many City College students to sear ch for alter natives. Some students taking classes in the P, E, and B buildings, find it mor e convenient to par k on Par k Blvd. Ther e ar e usually many par king spots on the other side of the 5 fr eeway over pass.
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Inside News Voice Sports
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EATINGATCITY
SAYYES
Thereisnocafeteriabut youcanstill eat on campus. NEWS, page2
Weall gainwithProp55. VOICE, page3
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www.sdcitytimes.com | September 13, 2016
CITYNEWS City Bites: Moody's food trucks
VOX POPULI Voi ce of t he Peopl e Questionsby TorranceJacko I Photosby AndreaMorin
"Isit worth it havea parkingpermit? Yes/ No, Why?" City Collegestudentshavesomefoodalternativesoncampusnowthat thecafeteriaisclosed. Therearefoodtrucksat twolocations Monday throughThursday, betweentheAHandBTbuildings and EbuildingandRussBoulevard. MIKEMADRIAGACity Times File Photo Building r econstr uction has closed the cafeter ia this year. The snack slack has been taken up by Moody's Food Tr ucks. Moody's has been selling food in San Diego for 90 year s. Two tr ucks par k on campus in the quad between the BT and the AH buildings. A gener al tr uck is open for business between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday thr ough Thur sday. A r otation of specialty food tr ucks par ks between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday thr ough Thur sday. A var iety of fr esh and pr epar ed foods ar e available for budget-minded students. Scan the QR code to watch a video of our r eview of these tr ucks. Tell us about your favor ite culinar y spot at info@sdcitytimes.com because ever ybody?s got to eat.
?Yes it is because other wise you won?t be able to find any par king and you?ll get a lot of tickets.? Gr egor y Zagiz, 21, Sociology
?For me it is, just because I have to commute about 10 minutes but they definitely need to do something either adding another str uctur e or mor e lots. I t?s just hectic tr ying to get in and out.? Blake Newman, 18, Communications
?Yes because you have a place to par k, you don?t have to tr y to par k somewher e ar ound her e downtown and you know your car is safer her e.? Natalia Maggio, 21, Theater
?I t?s not because ther e?s no point of having it if you can?t find par king at all.? Abdisalan Bulhan, 20, Business Administr ation
?I would think so because you need to par k but I don?t think we should have to pay for par king though, that?s just my opinion.? Mavis Thompson, 36, Dance
September 13, 2016 | www.sdcitytimes.com
CITYVOICE
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Vote yes on Prop. 55 Ther e is an impor tant budgetar y pr oposal in the upcoming election, Pr op 55. On its passage or failur e depends whether Medi-Cal and education will expand or contr act in the immediate futur e. Accor ding to the Voter Guide issued by the Califor nia Secr etar y of State, if it fails the state will lose $4-9 billion in r evenue by 2018 when gains under Pr op. 30 ar e set to expir e. Pr op. 30 was passed in 2012 to offset budget decr eases caused by the r ecession. The economy has r ecover ed somewhat but is still not as r obust as it was befor e 2007. The loss of Pr op. 30 r evenue would r equir e cuts to education and Medi-Cal. I t is uncertain exactly wher e cuts would come. WithCity TimesEditorial Board out a doubt ther e would be loss of teacher s and loss of classes. Colleges would likely suffer the most, since K-12 is mandated. I t is impor tant to note that Pr op. 55 incr eases no one's taxes. I t only maintains the cur r ent tax r ate in effect. Pr op. 30 incr eased the tax r ate only on people with a single payer annual income of over $263,000. No one who makes less than that suffer s any incr ease under either bill. Until Pr op. 30 ever yone with a single payer annual income of over $52,000 paid the same r ate, 9.3 per cent. When that pr oposition went into effect the r ate on incomes over $263,000 was r aised 1 per cent, to 10.3 per cent. Those with incomes over $316, 000 wer e r aised 2 per cent, to 11.3 per cent. And those with incomes over $526,000 wer e r aised 3 per cent, to 12.3 per cent. The Howar d Jar vis Taxpayer s Association objects to Pr op. 55. Tax incr eases ar e supposed to be tempor ar y, they say. That is tr ue. Pr op. 30 had an expir ation date. The gr oup also said it is not needed because the economy is doing better. Tempor ar y or not, needed or not, budget cuts would hur t education and MediCal at a time when pr ogr ams have not yet been fully r estor ed since the r ecession. Many feel those pr ogr ams should be expanded r ather than contr acted. Exactly how well the economy is doing is a matter of debate. Middle- and lowerincome ear ner s have been the last to feel the benefits. State r evenues, at $100 billion plus accor ding to the State Contr oller 's Office, ar e as high as they've ever been. But a loss pr ojected of as much as $9 billion (9 per cent) would have a sever e effect on health and education. The issue of whether the wealthy s h o u l d pay mor e has both pr actical and philosophical aspects. I s the income fr om the incr eased tax on upper income levels needed? The pr ospect of invasive cuts suggests that it is. How sever e is the impact on those who pay the higher r ate? I t's easy to say that cer tain incomes pay X number of dollar s mor e. L ess tangible is the benefit to business owner s of a healthier and better educated wor kfor ce ? a wor kfor ce, also, that because it is spending less on health and education, has mor e discr etionar y income to buy the pr oducts pr oduced in those businesses. People who ar e successful in business ar e to be applauded. Good for you if because or your intelligence and har d wor k you've done well. But you did not do it alone. You used an infr astr uctur e that we've all paid for ? r oads, police, wor ker s, even the militar y, etc., have all contr ibuted to your success. You have benefited mor e than the aver age per son fr om the system. You have a gr eater stake in maintaining it. Because of your good for tune, you can bear the expense of gover nment easier than someone living fr om paycheck to paycheck. Ther e ar e many people, especially since the Ber nie Sander s campaign, who feel that some wealth r edistr ibution is not only mor ally obligated but will have a positive effect on the economy. The bur den on the wealthy of Pr op. 55 is modest and only maintains what has been in effect since 2012. We hear tily r ecommend a "yes" vote on Pr op. 55.
EDITORIAL
CityTimes www.sdcitytimes.com
JAMES CELL
CELIAJIMENEZ
Editor in Chief
Photo Editor
ANDREAMORIN
MIKEMADRIAGA
Copy Editor
Social Media Editor Video Editor
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Illustrationby KARINAFLORES City Times
Kudos to Pokémon Go By GABERIVERA City Times Getting hit by car s, getting into automobile accidents, getting r obbed and falling off cliffs to your death ar e some of the mishaps that people ar e blaming the popular mobile game, Pokémon Go for. That?s a lot of accountability put on a game, when pr ecautions could have been taken to pr event these accidents and wer e clear ly not. For one, keep your eyes on things that ar e mor e impor tant, like r oads and the gr ound you walk on. I t doesn?t take a genius to not get hit by a car and maybe you should avoid bad neighbor hoods when walking ar ound at night playing a game? Accor ding to Statista.com mor e than 180 million people downloaded, a game to their phone in 2016. A total of 18.5 million of those people ar e playing Pokemon Go, a game that makes you get up off your couch. The other 160 or so million people ar e playing a game while sitting at home, school or wor k not bur ning calor ies, not going outside, and not meeting new people. Nintendo has been tr ying to get kids and gr ownups outside their homes for over 20 year s to play Pokemon thr ough human inter action. I t looks like they finally accomplished their goal. While the game has many hater s, most of whom just seem unhappy that people ar e having fun playing something as simple as a video game, ther e ar e many good effects that come with playing the game. One positive, is the oppor tunity to meet
September 13, 2016 | Volume 71, Number 1 National Pacemaker winner, Associated Collegiate Press PublishedasTheJay Sees(1945-1949), Fortknightly (1949-1978), City Times(1978- ) IncorporatingthenewspapersTecolote, Knight Owl andFlicks
CITYTIMESSTAFF Thomas Chesy, Roberto De La Peña, Melissa De Pineres, Karina Flores, Gabe Rivera, Daniel Wright Sr.
new people that also play. The other day I was at Cr own Point in Mission Bay and of cour se I pulled out my phone to go on a hunt. While per using for Pikachus, one of the game?s most popular char acter s, I encounter ed a young kid 20 year s younger than me on a wheelchair. He was so happy to be able to play a game outside with ever ybody and to have almost no r estr aints since most Pokestops and gyms ar e easily accessible for handicapped people. We quickly bonded and helped each other to find mor e Pokemon. Without this game I usually wouldn?t have given this kid the time of day but instead I made a new fr iend and closed a gener ation gap. Pokemon Go is also pr omoting healthy living. The game gives you eggs, which need to be incubated by walking, r unning, or safely dr iving slow. After you?ve tr aveled two, five, or ten kilometer s (1 kilometer = 0.62 miles) a Pokemon is hatched. Ther e isn?t any scientific pr oof to pr ove that people ar e losing weight playing the game but any per son can tell you that some walking is way better than no walking. I am a native San Diegan and I ?ve lived in the Mor ena/L inda Vista ar ea for two year s but it wasn?t until I star ted playing Pokemon Go that I began to walk ar ound and actually explor e the neighbor hood. Since then, I began playing basketball r egular ly again and star ted a gym member ship. I ?m not saying it was all Pokemon Go, but it definitely helped to guide me into a r egimen of exer cise and a healthier lifestyle. Maybe it can do the same for you.
City Timesispublishedtwicemonthly duringthesemester. Howto reach us: Signedopinionsarethoseof theindividual writersanddonot City Times necessarily represent thoseof theentirenewspaper staff, City SanDiegoCity College 1313 Park Blvd. Collegeadministration, faculty andstaff or theSanDiego SanDiego, CA92101 Community CollegeDistrict Boardof Trustees. Newsroom: BT-101 District policy statement: Phone: (619) 388-3880 Thispublicationisproducedasalearningexperienceunder E-mail: info@sdcitytimes.com SanDiegoCity College?sDigital Journalismprogram. All materials, includingopinionsexpressedherein, arethesole Memberships: responsibility of thestudentsandshouldnot beinterpretedto JournalismAssociationof Community Colleges CaliforniaCollegeMediaAssociation bethoseof thecollegedistrict, itsofficersor employees. AssociatedCollegiatePress Letters to the editor: CaliforniaNewspaper PublishersAssociation LetterstotheEditor arewelcome, 350 wordsor less. Thestaff reservestheright toedit for grammar, spelling, punctuation andlength. Designedentirely inthe cloudusingLucidpress
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www.sdcitytimes.com | September 13, 2016
CITYSPORTS
Knights Catch Tartars By CELIAJIMENEZ City Times The Knights soccer took advantage of open spaces the Tatar s left in their small ar ea, and the team was able to tie after a last minute pass that left El Camino- Compton Center ?s goalie stunned and ended the match with a 2-2 tie on Sept. 8 at San Diego City College soccer field. Dur ing the fir st half, Tar tar s quickly dominated the field and the Knights str uggled to get possession of the ball. Both teams battled for the ball in the midfield near the Knights?small ar ea. Compton made mor e effective counter attacks and was mor e effective in cutting its opponent's advancement. Compton continued its siege of the Knights and made sever al shots on goal, some of them deflected, and some that ended in the hands of sophomor e goalie Jose Calvar io. City College also had some shots on goal but Compton continued its dominance. But the Knights took advantage when the Tar tar s neglected their small ar ea and left an open space in their goal. Sophomor e Fr ancisco Contr er as exploited that, scor ing the fir st goal of game. After this, Compton pushed fur ther and the game become mor e aggr essive. Knights had to wor k har der to r epel the Tar-
Tartarssophomore midfielder AdrianGuzman andKnights freshmanmidfieldGerardo Lopez battleover theball near Knights' goal onSept. 8 at theSan Diego City College soccer field. CELIAJIMENEZCity Times tans?attacks. Towar ds the end of the fir st half, Compton concluded one of its counter attacks. Fr eshman for war ds Angel Gomez and Jose Avila got into the Knights' small ar ea, evading the defense. Gomez tied the game 1-1. The second half was even tighter. Tatar s continued to dominate the game and the tension gr ew among the player s. The game become mor e in-
tense and tensions ar ose among the player s and they star ted to make commit mor e fouls. The Knights changed their line- up and str ategy to set the ball for the for war ds but they wer e unsuccessful. The thir d goal of the game came dur ing minute 29, when fr eshman midfielder Odoom Baisie- Mensa got contr ol of a loose ball in the small ar ea after a mistake by the Knights
defense. The Tar tar s continued to dominate the game but Knights star ted to make mor e br eaks than befor e. Player s fr om both teams committed mor e fouls. One was costly for the Knights. Sophomor e midfielder Adr ian Guzman was leading what seemed a lethal move against City College. Fr eshman midfielder Kaleb Rubin was mar king him but Guzman was leaving
OVERTURNED Continuedfrompage1
There are about four permits for every parking spot and students struggle to find parking on campus. It can take themuptohour topark onCity College's lots. CELIAJIMENEZCity Times
PARKING Continuedfrompage1 I n an email, City College officials also encour aged students to par k at I nspir ation Point on Par k Boulevar d ,which is also near the 5 Fr eeway entr ances. Ter r ell Hall, a City College student, finds that public tr ansit is also a convenient alter-
native. He catches the tr olley in Mission Valley and it takes him about 40 minutes to arr ive on campus. That is a commute that can be shor ter than the dr iving time of many students once you factor in the time it takes to find a par king spot. Hall uses an MTS r egional monthly pass that offer s him unlimited r ides on all of San Diego?s buses and tr olleys. This pass costs $72 a month. However, college students can buy for $178 a semester pass that is valid fr om Aug. 15 thr ough Dec. 31.
r epr esent himself. He pleaded guilty to mur der on Nov. 24, 2014 and was sentenced to life without par ole plus one year on Jan. 16, 2015. ?I want to let you know that I plead guilty to ever ything,? he said, as r epor ted by The San Diego Union- Tr ibune. ?I want to let the family heal. I t?s for the best, for them and for my wife.? However, Califor nia?s Penal Code Section 1018 pr ohibits r eceiving a guilty plea when ther e is a death sentence or life sentence without par ole if the defendant has no attorney, the appellate cour t r uled in July. Accor ding NBC San Diego, Per ez r emains in custody and the San Diego County Distr ict Attor ney?s Office plans to pr osecute him again. Gonzalez?s mur der left indelible mar k on the City College scene. One of its impacts was to spar k a social platfor m for students, teacher s and administr ator s to shar e their expe-
him behind and Rubin committed a foul to stop Compton?s attack, ear ning a r ed car d. The Knights played the last minutes with a man down and it seemed the game would end 2-1 in favor of the Tar tar s. City College sur pr ised Compton when Fr ancisco Contr er as scor ed his second goal of the game, again tying the match. Tar tar s Head Coach Jose Gar cia believed his team should hae won the match. ?I think we deser ved to win the game but unfor tunately we just couldn?t put away the game the last 15 minutes,? he said. The Knights Head Coach Milton Hidalgo was pleased with the final scor e but he is awar e the team needs impr ovement. ?We need to wor k on our possession, keeping the ball,? he said. Accor ding to Hidalgo, the Knights have star ted this season str onger than their pr evious one, and despite only seven of the 24 player s being sophomor es he believes the team can get better r esults this year. So far, the team has won two, lost one, tied two games and scor ed a total of 13 goals. Forwar d Fr ancisco Contr er as has scor ed eight of them and he is the state leader. The Knights will play at home their fir st confer ence game against Palomar Comets on Sept. 13 at 3:15 pm. The Comets come fr om beating the Tar tar s 32 on Sept. 9.
r iences and br ing awar eness about domestic violence. Gonzalez was a victim of such violence befor e she was killed. "I t is r egr ettable and such an unfor tunate time in our campus histor y," said the Acting Pr esident Denise Whisenhut expr essing her disappointed over the decision in the Diana Gonzalez case. Asked what students should do, Whisenhut said, "Tell Somebody!" an r efer r ed students to campus Mental Health and Student Health Ser vices. "We, as a campus community, we'r e committed to suppor ting our students." Defense attor ney Mar c Car los spoke to NBC San Diego about the case and what lies ahead. ?Just because the pr osecution says they have a piece of evidence, until it?s pr esented in cour t in fr ont of the jur y, who knows what they have,? Car los said to NBC News. ?What we have her e is someone who has enter ed a plea without the pr esence of counsel to the highest possible char ge he could.? Since the mur der occur r ed sever al year s ago, he said that it won?t be easy to pr osecute it now.