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Film Studies Professor Rick Boeck attempts to predict Oscar winners
The Connection The student voice of Cosumnes River College since 1970
Volume 57, Issue 2
February 24, 2011
www.crcconnection.com
Campus smoking policy set to change Osay Ogbebor Connection staff In response to complaints about smokers and secondhand smoke on Cosumnes River College campus – students and faculty will now be required to smoke in designated areas, effective April, according to members of a campus Smoking Guidelines Implementation Task Group. The Task Group wanted to reinforce certain areas on which students and staff members are able to smoke on campus with the respect for all other individuals and the environment. “What we’re trying to accomplish is that if you’re a student or a staff member on this campus you ought not have to breath someone else’s smoke if you do not want to,” said Vice President of Administrative Services and Student Support Don Wallace, also the coordinator of the task group. Currently, smokers are allowed to smoke anywhere on campus that is 30 feet from a building. Many smokers disregard the 30-foot rule, said 20-year-old Aa’ron Taddesse, a mathematical biologist major. The new rules will limit areas where smoking is permitted. These areas should not include a large amount of the site and importantly all smoking areas must be kept clean. CRC’s task group have discussed and agreed that near the College Center and the open alley by the library would benefit the smokers and the non-smokers to be potential smoking zones.
Stephan Starnes Connection staff
Adam Hally | The Connection
“Me being a 30-year smoker, I chose to join the task group because I wanted to put a smoker’s perspective on the committee,” said Sociology Professor and task group member Paul Zisk. “The new policy would benefit the campus because students and faculty don’t have to look at smoke butts on the ground and they don’t have to walk through second-hand smoke.” Reaction to the new smoking rules were mixed. Twenty-year-old Sterling
O’Neal, a health science major, agrees with the smoking policy change. “I think it’s a personal choice but personally I don’t approve of students smoking on campus,” he said. “My parents used to smoke and as a result I have severely bad asthma.” One student who smokes, 30-year-old James Clarkson, a television production major, said he did not like the designated areas for smokers. “I understand the dangers of second-hand
smoke but when you start limiting things to designated areas it won’t be pleasing for a number of students in those areas without any protection from bad weather,” he said Barkley said that she preferred the campus to go smoke free. The smoking rule changes are a good first step to improving students’ health, Barkley said. “The changes that are going to occur on campus are going to help the students, not hurt them,” said Barkley.
Community meets, discusses light rail expansion Osay Ogbebor Connection staff Homeowners had a chance to attend a community meeting at Susan B. Anthony Elementary on Feb. 10, to talk about the extended light rail project that would be cutting through their backyards. Sacramento Regional Transit wants to extend the light rail 4.3 miles from the existing station at Meadowview Road, to Cosumnes River College. For this project to be complete, RT officials want to buy slices of the 47 residential backyards that would be affected by it. While planning, RT decided to buy a 20-foot piece of the homeowner’s backyards so they can build a separation crash wall separating the Regional Transit lightrail trains and the Union Pacific trains. “We had an approval from the Union Pacific Railroad to See LIGHT RAIL, Page 8
Campus weighs amendment proposal
Cory Fong | The Connection
The Regional Transit light rail will travel from Meadowview Road, through Cosumnes River Blvd. to the Cosumnes River College campus. Houses along the Union Pacific Railroad will be affected.
Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and David Vitter of Louisiana have sought to amend the United States Constitution so that children born in America would need at least one parent to be citizen in order to be considered citizens themselves. The 14th Amendment allows anyone who is born in the United States to be granted citizenship. The problem with the senators’ wishes is that it would be especially hard to change the U.S. Constitution at this point, said Political Science Professor Martin Morales. There are two ways to propose an amendment, according to the U.S. Constitution. One way involves a twothirds majority vote by both houses of the legislative branch. The other, which has never been used before, requires two-thirds of state legislatures to call for a constitutional convention. Ratification of a proposed amendSee AMENDMENT, Page 8
Impact of social media discussed by campus Dorian Love Connection staff With all the buzz on social media, many claim that social networking sites have provided infinite possibilities in the way we communicate. Not only is it fast and convenient, but it also allows us to talk with anyone in the world. But is this technology having a negative effect on students? Many instructors have seen a change seen the effects texting has on our youth. No longer are students communicating using proper language when texting, but they are using shorthand. According to an Arkansas News report, teachers have noticed a negative change in their student’s writing, Billy Ray Warren, secondary curriculum director for Florence schools, said, “texting has definitely contributed to the decline in writing skills.” Warren also stated that, “keyboarding, in general, whether at the computer or on a cell phone, is a definite culprit in the lack of
See COMMUNICATION, Page 8