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Volume 88 Issue 10 • Jan. 31, 2014
210-486-1773 • Single copies free
PENNY WISE IN THEORY It’s never too early to apply for FAFSA
ChemSpot open on a limited basis
Everyone should apply, scholarship director says.
Look for this science feature inside weekly.
Turn in your FAFSA as soon as possible because the sooner you apply, the sooner aid comes in. The priority deadline is March 1, and the deadline for online FAFSA applications is midnight June 30. Representatives from Café College will be here from 10 a.m.1 p.m. Saturday in Room 707 of Moody Learning Center to help students apply. They also provide oneon-one assistance 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays through March 1 at Café College, 131 El Paso St. Members of VITA, or Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, which provides free income tax filing for families earning less than $60,000 a year, will help prepare returns 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 22 at Café College. Students should file tax returns as soon as possible so they can send a copy with the application. Eyra Perez, director of the San Antonio Education Partnership, an organization that offers scholarships and runs Café College, however, said students can complete the FAFSA before they have filed. She suggested using the previous year’s returns to file early and submitting updated forms later. She said more than $800 million in financial aid was awarded to this city’s students this year. “Our advice to everybody is to fill it out,” including those who don’t think they qualify. If filling out a FAFSA without assistance, log onto www.pin.ed.gov to apply for a PIN number to sign the document. Dependents must also ask a parent to apply for a PIN. In addition to tax returns, applicants need W-2 forms and Social Security numbers. Those who are married must provide information for themselves and their spouse. Dependents must also provide parents’ Social Security numbers, date of marriage and birth, savings, investments and business assets. A Student Aid Report will be returned to the student in three days to three weeks if corrections or verifications are needed. Those who don’t qualify can apply for the TASFA, the Texas Application for State Financial Aid. Students must have sent in admissions applications before completing either FAFSA or TASFA. For information, call Café College at 210-207-4528.
Chemistry students will soon have a quiet spot to study and get tutoring with the ChemSpot. The spot is expected to open in Room 200 of the chemistry and geology building after human resources hires two tutors, Teanna Staggs, natural sciences chair, said. Staggs and geology Professor Anne Dietz were instrumental in creating the ChemSpot, chemistry Professor Krishnan Madappat said. Natural science students have access to the BioSpot, located in Room 350 of Chance Academic Center, which provides them with study materials and tutors. The ChemSpot will provide tutors, computers and learning materials for chemistry students, Madappat said. The room also is equipped with a chalkboard, white board and tables where students can study. Chemistry students have been asking for a quiet place to study for a number of semesters. They do not like studying at the desks in the corridor, chemistry Professor Usha Krishnan said. The room that will house the ChemSpot is the same room chemistry students have frequented for tutoring for the past two years. The space will no longer be shared with GIS, Roger Stanley, coordinator of chemistry, earth science and astronomy, said. The GIS program has been phased out over the last few years and is no longer accepting new students, Stanley said. Students currently pursuing that degree can still graduate, he said. Madappat will donate his Friday office hours, 9 a.m. to noon, until tutors are hired, he said. Call 210-486-0045.
Katherine Garcia
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Mind expanding Marketing freshman A.J. Perez and business sophomore Roy Reyes play a big game of chess between classes Tuesday in Loftin. The chess board and pieces are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Riley Stephens
Board approves one text per course Books will be bought at registration as part of tuition. By Katherine Garcia
learning materials at the lowest possible cost to students.” The board of trustees approved Paying for texts at registration the chancellor’s proposal to require ensures every student has a texta common textbook in courses book on the first day of class, Leslie taught in multiple colleges during said. He said the instructional matethe Jan. 21 regular board meeting at rials proposal will be implemented Killen Center. in steps, but the board will try to The textbook will be used in enact the change as soon as fall. He courses across the district. Students said the board decides in March if will pay for instructhe change will be tional materials at ready. “When we identify registration. The first step the best, it should Trustees disis putting together go to all.” cussed the proposal a committee of Bruce Leslie, with Super Senate two people from Chancellor in a special meeting each of the Alamo Jan. 14. The Super Colleges to aid in Senate, composed the evaluation, of representatives of faculty senates said Dr. Robert Vela, vice president at district colleges, opposed it, argufor student and academic success. ing different textbooks at different President Robert Zeigler has chocolleges are necessary to innovative sen Larry Rosinbaum, business prolearning. fessor, and Said Fariabi, math chair, “When we identify the best, it as this college’s representatives. should go to all,” Chancellor Bruce They will help “to come up with Leslie said. a methodology to evaluate effecAccording to the minute order, tiveness of materials,” Vela said. the proposal will “provide the best “Both of them have been in leadkgarcia203@student.alamo.edu
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Textbooks or ebooks? Textbooks 68% (112) Ebooks 24% (40) No preference 8% (13) Survey of 165 students Jan. 27-29
ership roles in the college,” Zeigler said. Rosinbaum is a former chair of this college’s Faculty Senate, and Fariabi is the college’s 2013 nominee for Piper Professor. The best books will be decided by assessing the different levels of engagement and assistance they provide to students. If a textbook is deemed the best and there is no online equivalent, then that book will be chosen, said Ruth Dalrymple, associate vice chancellor for academic partnerships and initiatives. However, she said if an online textbook were deemed better for students, then the online textbook would be the one used throughout all Alamo Colleges. According to the proposal, students would then have the option to print a hard copy of the book for a minimum of $15.
Vehicles parked outside Tobin Lofts on Main subject to tickets By Adriana Ruiz
aruiz168@student.alamo.edu
Parking is not allowed on the west side of Main Avenue outside Tobin Lofts between Laurel and Evergreen streets, but that hasn’t stopped drivers from creating a hazardous bottleneck. Residents and other students are subject to ticketing by the city of San Antonio if they park anywhere on Main Avenue, said Laura Lopez, marketing director for Aguillan and Associates, the public relations firm representing Tobin Lofts and its developer NRP Group LLC. The leasing manager for Tobin Lofts, Rico Aviles, said although there is no sign, parking enforcement officers ticket cars there regularly. Parking fines are $35 if paid within 14 days and $45 after 14 days. Aviles said Tobin Lofts is warning residents about parking fines by posting fliers around the apartment complex.
Harrison Guthrie, student at the Culinary Institute of America and Tobin Loft resident, said he regularly parks on Main outside the lofts and has never received a ticket, but on many occasions has come close to being hit while exiting his car. A look north and south on Main show the 1400 block is the only one where anyone attempts to park. Guthrie said although it is a dangerous spot, he prefers to park there instead of parking in the college garage two blocks to the north. Residents of the student apartments are encouraged to park on the second floor of the college parking garage in spaces reserved for Tobin Loft residents. Melissa Aguillan, president of Aguillan and Associates, said residents of the lofts are allowed to park in the college’s parking garage with a parking permit that can be purchased through the Tobin Lofts leasing office.
Vanessa Torres, director of public relations at this college, said students living in the lofts may purchase a parking permit for $150 to guarantee a space in the garage. The fee is $200 for residents who are not students here. “We highly suggest that all residents purchase parking permits,” Torres said. Torres added all Alamo Colleges students pay a $25 campus access fee with tuition, and students have the option of a parking decal or VIA bus pass. Torres said residents who are also students and choose to get a parking decal for the semester may park in any student parking lots, although parking is not guaranteed. Student parking decals can be ordered through ACES. Bus passes are available with valid student ID at the business office in Room 201 of Fletcher Administration Center. For more information, visit www.alamo.edu/sac/parking-permits/