Vol. 81, No. 14 Serving Kilgore College since 1936
February 16, 2018
FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Board hikes tuition rate Board of trustees meets to discuss developments
I
King’s
DREAM
Photo Illustration by: Kori Stroud / THE FLARE
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
ncreasing tuition, retention and smiles were all on the agenda for Monday night’s KC Board of Trustees meeting. The main action of the evening came with the unanimous increase of tuition and fees, which will begin with the Fall 2018 semester. Trustee Joe Carrington, chair of the Investment/Finance/Audit Committee, reported that, ranked among seven other community colleges in the area, KC sat at the bottom of the pack with the lowest per hour fees and tuition. By raising tuition $4 an hour for in-district students and $6 for out-of-district students along with the increase of $2 in general education fee, the respective rates per semester hour will increase to $79 and $154 per semester credit hour. This will raise KC to the second-lowest rate in the area (after Panola) and 11th lowest in the state among the 50 community colleges. “In total, our tuition is going to raise about $422,000,” Carrington said. “Fee increases should bring in another $600,000, so we’re talking about a little over $1 million that we need, that we feel like we need to invest in the students and the faculty.” In the Spotlight section of the meeting, KC employees Jimmy Rieves, Chris Gore, Ronda Lee and Ebony Dennis were recognized by Dr. Mike Jenkins, vice president of student development, for their work with the Retention Model Task Force. Dr. Jenkins explained how the college’s Jenzabar software system is now being used to aid in student retention and success, In addition to assessing risk of nonreturning students, it also serves as an early alert system to help pinpoint struggling students and offer them assistance. “The retention module as well as retention risk module, are pieces of data that lead to us being able to support our students,” said Dr. Brenda Kays, KC president. “If you were to go out to the market, you would find similar products asking thousands of dollars. And so with that in mind, the sophistication that we’ll see from this level of work is something that you’ve never experienced at KC.” Jeff Williams, facilities director, presented his proposal for upcoming bridge maintenance, including power washing, updating electrical work and repairing the cage. Two bids are currently being considered. Cecelia Sanders, chair of the Student Success Committee, praised Dr. Kays’ administrative team for their emphasis on Radical Hospitality. The next Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Monday, April 9, on the second floor of the McLaurin Administration Building. — Sarah Redford and Jamie Hwang
Ash Wednesday at KC Religious holiday falls on Valentine’s Day LUCAS STROUGH Executive Editor Ash Wednesday was observed on the KC Campus on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, at the Wesley Foundation as Pastor Ben Bagley from St. Luke’s in Kilgore officiated. Ash Wednesday is a traditional Christian holiday which is celebrated annually to mark the beginning of the 40-day period before Easter. This 40-day period is known as Lent and participants typically observe this period by giving up something that they normally enjoy, such as a luxury or enjoyable habit. For example, some people may give up eating red meat or sugary foods for Lent, while others may give up watching television or using social media. Giving up these things is supposed to
remind participants of Christ’s sacrifice as he spent 40 days wandering the desert. Ash Wednesday also marks the beginning of the Easter season, when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion on the cross. In the Ash Wednesday ceremony, a priest will use palm ashes to draw a cross on an observer’s forehead which they will wear for the rest of the day. The palm ashes are typically made by burning dried palm fronds left over from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration. As the priest places the ashes on the forehead of the participant, he or she may recite Mark 1:15, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” followed by Genesis 3:19, which reads: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Keaton Shelley / THE FLARE
Che’ara Blackwell, Denver, Colorado, freshman, participates in the Ash Wednesday ceremony held at the Wesley on Wednesday.