Accent, April 5, 2010 Issue

Page 1

April 5, 2010

www.theAccent.org

First issue free | Volume 12, Issue 11

Health care, Financial Aide Reform 101 The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 has many implications for students. New health care and financial aid options have opened up, and the Accent has full coverage on how the new law will affect students. See pages 5 and 6 to learn more.

Villarreal running for board place 5

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Elections start on April 12, SGA positions still missing candidates Trevor Goodchild Brandy Rodriguez Staff Writer

Michael Needham

The main braces of Villarreal’s platform include keeping tuition Staff Writer rates low, expanding the college, and increasing graduation rates. Villarreal feels that an In 2001 Vic Villarreal saw inexpensive school draws the an advertisement in the Hill community into it. Country News that changed his “It is an enabler. It enables life. the community to go to ACC,” The advertisement was for said Villarreal. “I truly believe positions on the planning and the best form of financial aid zoning commission in the city out there is low tuition to begin of Leander. Villarreal read the with.” description for the job and For Villarreal keeping thought he could do it. Two tuition rates low includes days after applying he was keeping all college fees low. He interviewed. explained that there is a danger As he walked into a in pretending a college is cheap conference room at city hall while miscellaneous fees have and saw four council members, increased. the planning director, and “Why double the out of the chairman of the planning pocket experience and all the and zoning board he was a bit while say our tuition is low?” overwhelmed. said Villarreal. “I don’t like that. I “I thought, oh my, what don’t want that to be a burden on have I gotten myself into?” said students, and it shouldn’t be.” Villarreal. Villarreal sees He got the job and in expansion as needed 2004. After his term and necessary. He was over, a council explained that a member called college should and asked him have 50 to run for a square feet spot on the for each city council. student, “My jaw and right dropped, now ACC and I was OARD has about like, ‘Wow,’” 20. said Villarreal. RUSTEES “That He ran, means you won, and in 2007 have cramped became the mayor classrooms,” said pro tem of Leander. Villarreal. “That means you don’t “I didn’t go to college to be have areas for students to meet a policy maker,” said Villarreal, and study.” “it just kind of happened from Villarreal supports the reading a little advertisement in current board policy which the paper, and a few years later I focuses fifty percent of its was a council member.” expansion efforts to current Now Villarreal is running for campuses, and the other fifty place five on the ACC Board of to new ones. He explained the Trustees. “I believe that I’ll win because importance of ACC being a catalyst for new jobs through of my balance of experience college expansion. – a high degree of experience A new campus brings about with ACC, having taught for 300 to 400 jobs directly to ACC, five years, and a high degree of and then another 600 peripheral experience with high growth entities like a city,” said Villarreal. jobs, said Villarreal. Cities like San Marcos, Bastrop, and Villarreal is no stranger to Leander want ACC to come to high offices, but he sees the them. board position as something “They’re going to fight tooth more. and nail to get a new campus, “I consider it a higher office and they are,” said Villarreal. than being Leander’s mayor pro Villarreal doesn’t want ACC tem,” said Villarreal.

Design by • Chris Scott

Courtesy of Vic Villarreal

Candidate — Vic Villarreal

wants to bring his city councilman experience to ACC’s boad of trustees. Villarreal became Leander’s Mayor Pro Term in 2007. to miss its opportunities with suburban areas and inner Austin growth. By setting up partnerships with business centers, Villarreal hopes to show non-transient students what they can do with a two year degree. “If we instill a sense of value of completion I think we will have more completers,” said Villarreal. When Raul Alvarez steps down, there will be no one left on the board with any formal municipal experience, Villarreal said. “You’ve got to have someone who has been a city councilman in the past,” said Villarreal. “When we sit down at the table with mayors and city council members from Austin and suburban areas, it would be a very good idea to have someone there who has been there and done that, who has been in their shoes.” Villarreal has worn those shoes. “I understand their issues,” said Villarreal. “I very much understand their issues.” Editor’s Note

Candidates running for a seat on the ACC Board of Trustees can contact the Accent at editor3@austincc.edu or 2233111 for an interview.

Student Government Association is holding their 2010 elections April 12 through April 25 and currently there are still many positions in which no one is running and others in which only one person is running. Running unopposed for President is Jorge Amador, and for Vice-President is Sophia Downing. For the Director of Communications (currently held by Downing) only Chelsey Williams is running, and only Dylan Pera has applied to be Parliamentarian. Riverside Campus has no one running for the SGA Senator position and the situation is the

same at Eastview, Pinnacle, and the South Austin Campus. For International Student Senator and Veteran Senator, there are no applicants as well. There are no applicants running for Treasurer either. For Secretary, both Rodney Hermes and Lauren Lightfoot have applied. “Basically I think people are really swamped this semester with their school stuff. Personally I love SGA, but have been too swamped, which is why I’m not running this semester. But next semester I plan on participating,” Treasurer Wendy Holder said. Anyone interested in running for office can still be written in. A write in candidate would have to promote him or herself to get

written on the ballot. After SGA checks to see if the candidate has the right requirements, such as a high enough GPA, the decision is made to deny or allow this person to be a candidate. “A lot of people are graduating, and if they’re not going to be at ACC there isn’t a point in them running for next year,” said Holder. On April 9, students will get a chance to interact with those candidates who are running for office at the Meet the Candidates event. There will be snacks and drinks provided. Despite the dearth of candidates in this year’s election, Holder remains positive about the future of SGA: “It always has the potential to get better.”

Proposal to change add/drop dates modified, decision postponed Christopher Smith Assistant Editor

The proposal to move late registration and the add/drop period to the week before classes begin was altered at a recent Academic and Campus Affairs Council (ACAC) meeting. The new proposal would move late registration to the week before class but keep a two day add/ drop period during the first week of class. The new proposal was sent out to the employee associations and the Student Government Association (SGA) after the March 5 ACAC meeting. After the ACAC meeting, Kathleen Christensen, vice president of Student Support and Success Systems, said that since there was still no consensus and approval of the proposal, the issue would need to be pushed back another year. To go into effect by fall 2010, the administration would have liked to have consensus and approval of the proposal before the fall 2010 registration calendar was published, said Director of Admissions and Records, Linda Kluck. The Publications and

Creative Services department deadline to include new information in the Fall 2010 Student Handbook and Course Catalog was March 29. Mike Midgely, vice president, workforce education and business development, made the suggested changes at the ACAC meeting. Midgley sent out an e-mail to the employee associations with the new wording: “ACC registration will end prior to the first class day. Add/drops for students registered prior to the first class day will be allowed during the first two days of the semester.” Midgley said it was after listening to the SGA’s report to the board of trustees and having conversations about the proposed registration changes that he thought of moving back registration but keeping an add/ drop period. The new wording is now being discussed by the appropriate associations and will then come back to the ACAC, but the proposal was not on the agenda for the April 2 ACAC meeting. The SGA representative on the ACAC, Mike Reid, said the changes to the proposal seemed

like a fair compromise. “This is a good change,” said Reid. “[The SGA] agrees with this change because the administration is meeting us half way in the add/drop issue.” Not everybody is likes the new proposal. “I think neither proposal is good,” said Devorah Feldman, president of the Faculty Senate and vocal opponent of the changes to the registration calendar, in an e-mail. “I support keeping Late Registration and Add/Drop as they are now in the interest of maintaining an Open Door Policy to educational potential in line with the mission of ACC,” said Feldman in an e-mail. The faculty is still divided over the issue, and Feldman said they would continue to discuss it at Faculty Senate meetings. The Faculty Senate, SGA, and other employee associations will be dealing with the issue in the coming months. Reid said he was willing to give the proposal a try. “Lets move it back one week and see what happens,” said Reid. “If it doesn’t work we can always put it back the way it was.”


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